Okay. Wow. If she’d meant to shock me, she certainly achieved her goal. I frowned as I sipped my coffee. To be honest, I hadn’t thought Jamie knew all that much about my … kink. Sure, she knew I went to clubs, and she knew I was into BDSM, but I hadn’t been aware that she knew of my desire to hurt people.
“And I’m not being judgmental, Zeke,” she clarified. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your sadistic side.”
“Is that the psychologist speaking? Or my sister?”
“Both,” she said with a grin. “And yes, I’ve wondered what makes you tick. Why you get pleasure from … doing what you do.”
At least she was mindful of the others around us. Not everyone was okay with hearing that someone wanted to beat on someone else. I’d had people accuse me of being abusive but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t go around hitting people for the hell of it. And I never hit someone out of anger. Never.
“But I’m even more curious as to why someone would need it from you.” There wasn’t any accusation in her tone or her gaze. “Are people born that way? Or does their past mold them, make them desire it?”
I took another sip of my coffee. “Couldn’t say. I don’t have the desire to be hit.”
“Nor do I,” she said with a grin. “Although, I wouldn’t mind being spanked.”
“Okay.” I set my coffee cup on the table. “That’s TMI, my dear sister. Please don’t sit here and tell me that shit.”
Jamie laughed and I suspected she enjoyed getting a rise out of me. “Fine. I won’t tell you. But have you ever wondered about the masochists you play with? What drives them? Why they need what they need?”
“No.” And I wasn’t about to start now.
“Liar.” She giggled again and took a sip of her juice. “You might want everyone else to believe you’re a hard-core badass, but I know you, Zeke. I know that you have a soft, mushy center.”
I frowned. “Now you’re just being a brat.” It was time to change the subject. “Have you talked to Edge?”
Her face flushed. “Yes. I have.”
“And…?”
“And what? If we’re not going to talk about your kinks, we’re certainly not gonna talk about mine.”
I didn’t want to believe my sister had kinks, but I didn’t say as much. Thank God the waitress opted to bring our food because the mere thought of Jamie and Edge together … yeah, I’d rather dig into my own psyche than think about that shit.
I got the feeling today wasn’t going to be a good day.
*
“What do you think of the three we’ve talked to already?” I asked Ben as we sat at the conference room table after having spent an hour talking to one of the many interviewees scheduled for today.
“I don’t think Mark’s going to be what we’re looking for,” Ben explained. “As for the last two, I don’t see any major issues. You?”
“Mark’s out of contention,” I replied as I set that resume aside before glancing over Lance Douglas’s. “I’m worried Lance needs more handholding than I’m willing to give.”
“Good point,” Ben conceded. “I can see that.” His eyes dropped to the copy of the kid’s resume. “He’s got quite the education, but not a lot of experience in the corporate world. Could require some molding to get where we need him to be.”
This was the part I hated about hiring people. It wasn’t necessarily the interviews, more so narrowing it down to who would be the right fit. You picked the wrong person and you were stuck with them, perhaps indefinitely. After all, you couldn’t necessarily fire them for being a whiny asshole, especially if they were good at their job. I’d done my fair share of hiring over the years and it all boiled down to who was capable of excelling without needing someone there to walk them through every step. Training was one thing, being their mother was something else.
“Thoughts on Heather?” I prompted. “I think she’s got what it takes.”
“Agree. She lacks a lot of experience, but she’s got quite the attention to detail.”
The conference room door opened and Justin strolled in. “Any luck?”
“A couple of possibilities,” I told him. “I’m willing to call Heather and offer her the job if you’re both in agreement. Mark’s off the list but I’ll keep Lance in the running. This afternoon’s applicants will be here shortly. We’ve got Chris Cavanaugh, the guy Edge referred, coming in at three.”
Justin peered over at Ben, who nodded his agreement.
“Good,” Justin stated. “Then I’m going to borrow my pup here for a little while.”
I smirked. “I’ll meet you back here in forty-five minutes?”
“I’ll make sure he returns in one piece,” Justin promised.
“As long as he can walk,” I added with a chuckle.
Justin grinned from ear to ear. “Walk, yes. Sit down? Well, that’s to be determined.”
