Page 13 of Lies You Told
Iget off the Subway at Battery Park and walk towards a small coffee shop a block away. As I approach, I see Kieran standing outside, dressed in a blue suit and tie. It throws me off at first, as I’m not used to seeing him dressed like this. He’s either in jeans and a tight t-shirt or naked on the top half of his body. I see he has two coffees in his hand, and I hope I’ve not had him waiting long. He turns around as I approach, a smile coming over his face as I approach.
“I was half-expecting you not to show up.” He says, handing me my coffee.
“Thanks,'' I say, taking a sip. It's still hot, so he couldn’t have been waiting long.
We walk and talk, the Hudson out in front of us. The occasional runner passed us. I tell him all about the Jaxson, including my run-in with him last night and my argument with Franchesca. I know I’m being stubborn, but she hurt my feelings last night. I’m not ready to talk to her unless she wants to mend what she did. She knows how much harder I’ve had to work to get where I am.
He puts his arm around me, and it surprises me. I stiffen under his touch. But he doesn’t let go. I’m not used to being comforted outside of the club setting. But he tightens his hold slightly, and I breathe out slowly, glad for the feeling of him next to me.
“You need to start letting people in, Chloe. You have this amazing personality that you don’t let anyone see. You can only use the Club as a crutch for so long.”
I know he’s right. That’s the most annoying thing about all this. It doesn’t make hearing it from him any easier. I guess that’s what friends are for, huh?
“We’re going to start having some social evenings at the Club. A night where the people who, like you, are submissive in our circles. You need to make friends with some of the other submissives. I’ve seen you keep to yourself. I know you don’t talk to any of them when they hang around in the locker room. It doesn’t go unnoticed. I know you are friends with some of the Doms, but they are trying to find their forever sub. There is not a dominant–sexual–bone in your body. You need to make nice with the other subs. You’d be surprised just how much, A: you have in common with some of them, and B: you might actually like some of them.”
I know he’s right. I’ve seen the others looking at me, wanting me to make eye contact. I’m social on the floor, but that’s usually with a couple of the guys I can hold my own against. Most of them are some of the girl's Dom’s, their other half. Their special person in their life.
“Was this your idea or Jacob’s?” I ask as I throw my cup in the bin on the sidewalk.
He laughs. “Does it matter?”
I guess not.
9
JAX
The glass wall in my office isn’t frosted today. I wanted to see the moment Chloe and her client walked onto our floor. I’ve met Greyson Huntington numerous times, mainly through my association with his daughter's husband. That was the last time I saw Chloe, a month after we graduated from Harvard. Though we avoided each other the whole night. It seemed neither of us wanted to ruin our friend's day.
I’ve been unable to get the image of her hot naked ass out of my head all morning, which resulted in me being locked in my office all morning. Bryan agreed with me that our client wasn’t going to get a better offer. I knew I had to settle, especially since the amount was higher than even I expected.
Our client's brother wasn’t happy, which further pissed me off because I’m almost certain he was behind this lawsuit. Our client accepted the offer before I even finished telling her the details. Her brother doesn’t like me. He’s been giving me the death glare from across the office all week. I heard he had his eyes on this office and was unhappy when he heard I was moving from across the country. Nobody agreed that he deserved the promotion. Instead, he’s still in a cubicle in the bullpen.
I watch as Chloe walks away from the reception desk with our client slightly ahead of her as the receptionist walks them through the bullpen. The black knee-length dress Chloe’s wearing is classy, but leaves nothing to the imagination. She’s wearing the shoes again, the ones from the club last night. Last time they made her legs look like they go on for days.
I close my eyes, breathing through my nose. Her body last night was a sin. I adjust my cock before I stand. ‘Get a fucking grip.’ She shouldn’t have this effect on me. She’s been my enemy my whole adult life. You don’t get a hard-on for your enemy.
I need to get these images of her out of my head. The office already thinks I have trouble keeping it in my pants, thinking they know my reasons for leaving Los Angeles. I cannot walk to the conference room with a hard-on just because a hot piece of ass has walked into the building.
The door was left open for me, and Chloe and our client sat down before I entered. Chloe takes a sip of the water in front of her.
“Jaxson,” Greyson says. Greyson has always been friendly towards me, sometimes more so than he is to his son-in-law.
I didn’t even see him come in. How did I miss that?
“Mr. Huntington,” I smile, holding out my hand.
“Jaxson, please. You’ve not called me Mr. Huntington since you were at Harvard.”
He’s right, of course. ‘Give me a break,’ I plead with my eyes.
He slaps me on the back, laughing. He sits down next to Chloe.
“Ms. Lawson,” I say, holding out my hand. She looks down at it for a second longer than is polite.
“Mr. Hill.” I can hear the disgust in her voice. Then I’m reminded of the total dick-ish mood and behavior I showed her a last night in the restaurant.
Bryan opens the door and follows me to our side of the conference table. He sits far enough away that I know he’s here purely in an observational capacity.
