That was how Tank and I came about.
Turned out, Jamie hadn’t found Tank anywhere. She’d gone in search of him specifically for me after my shitty breakup, hoping Tank could fill the void no one else could. Since she knew me well, she’d concocted the story to appeal to my softer side—she insisted I had one no matter how much argument I gave her. By the time I learned of her evil, evil ways, Tank and I had been together for two years and already bonded.
Now, I wouldn’t know what to do without him.
A knock sounded on my door and I looked up to see Benjamin Snowden—one of the partners in the company—standing in the doorway.
“What’s up?” I asked, spinning around to face him.
He stepped inside and passed over a sheet of paper. “I’ve got a new client who’s interested in talking to you.”
“Please tell me it’s not the self-appointed CEO,” I grumbled as he set the paper down.
His dark eyebrows shot downward, his forehead creasing. “No. Why?”
I smirked. “No offense, but I prefer to talk to those who know what they’re doing.”
Ben chuckled. “I assure you, the CEO—and he’s not self-appointed—knows what he’s doing. However, he also knows that he pays people to handle this sort of thing.” He motioned toward the paper. “That’s the head of their cybersecurity division. They had an incident recently and they’d like a second opinion.”
Fuck. I really needed to hire some people to handle this shit for me. I’d been given the go-ahead by the big dogs, but I hadn’t yet found the time. Plus, I didn’t care for people all that much and hiring a few would mean I’d have to deal with them.
“He local?” I asked, glancing down at the chicken scratch scrawled across the paper.
“Valparaiso, Indiana,” Ben said as he squatted down to pat Tank, who had ambled over to see who I was talking to. As he rubbed Tank’s wide head, Ben’s eerie gold eyes shot up to my face. “I heard Addison’s been sneaking him treats.”
I laughed. “Yep. She’s bribing him. I told her it wouldn’t work.”
“I wouldn’t bet money on that,” Ben said as he got to his feet. “She’s quite gifted at getting what she wants.”
Most submissives were, I’d learned.
“You gonna be here this afternoon?” he asked.
“Planned on it. Why?”
“We’ve got a contractor coming by for the restaurant. I’ve got a meeting at three, Mr. Parker’s out of town until tomorrow, and Langston and Landon are cutting out at lunch. Need someone to meet with them.”
“Yeah. Sure. What do you need me to do?”
“Probably nothing. Brax should be here by then, but I’ll need someone to keep them in line. While we’ve given Brax carte blanche, I need a level head there to ensure he doesn’t go overboard.”
I nodded my head even as my cock jumped to attention at the mere mention of the cowboy’s name.
“He in town again?” I asked casually.
“This time for good,” Ben confirmed. “They’re driving in today.” He glanced at his watch. “Should be stopping by to get the keys to the apartment any minute now. Speaking of,” he said as he reached into his pocket. “Think you could pass these over to them when they get here?”
He held out a key ring that had two gold keys dangling from it.
“I promised Addison I’d take her to lunch. She tends to get antsy when Mr. Parker’s out of the office.”
I wasn’t sure Addison was the only submissive who got antsy when their Master was away. Ben wasn’t as good at hiding it as he thought he was. The switch had a soft spot for both his Dom and his submissive.
“Yep.” I reached for the keys, letting the ring slide down my finger before twirling them. “I’ll make sure they get them.”
Ben’s golden gaze met mine. “Be nice to them, Zeke.”
A wicked smirk pulled at my lips before I could hold it back. “You’ve got my word. I won’t give ’em anything they don’t deserve.”
Ben rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Sometimes I wonder if they knew what they were in for taking these jobs.”
Oh, they knew, all right. Because I’d mentioned it last Monday, when they were here to scope out the apartment Chatter had so graciously offered them. I was oddly intrigued that they’d actually accepted the offers. That meant they would be here indefinitely.
My body hardened when I thought about that day.
Holding Tank’s leash with a firm grip, I waited until the elevator emptied before I stepped on and punched the button to get me up to the thirty-second floor. Just as the doors were closing, I heard someone yell for me to hold it.
I didn’t. No one had ever accused me of being chivalrous. They could wait for the next one.
Before the doors could completely shut, a hand reached in to stop them.
