Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Cordell muttered to himself from his perch at the banister on the second floor, as he finished listening to Tiffany put that asshole in his place down in the lobby.
Cordell had been thisclose to running down the stairs to pound on the man—not something he should be doing to a paying guest on opening day—when he’d demanded she get down on her knees and crawl.
But then Cordell’s little submissive had made him so fucking proud. He’d watched her straighten her spine, lift her chin, and be the strong, assertive assistant manager he knew she could be.
“If you grip that banister any harder, twat-cop, you’re going to bend the wrought iron,” Ian Sawyer chastised as he stepped into place next to Cordell, then took a sip of amber liquid from a rocks glass.
His brother Devon stood on the other side of him, with what looked like a glass of club soda with lemon and lime.
About ten minutes earlier, Cordell had seen the two men showing a few guests around and leading them into the Dominants’ lounge on the second floor.
Obviously, they’d stayed long enough to grab themselves a drink before wandering back out again.
Cordell raised an eyebrow. “Twat-cop?”
Ian shrugged. “I’ve decided to add you to my twat-roster. It’s a compliment by the way.”
A chuckle escaped him. “Okay, if you say so.”
“Think of it as a verbal hug or a pat on the back.”
“That’s my big brother—sarcasm’s his middle name.
He sprinkles that shit on everything,” Devon stated with a grin as the three of them watched Tiffany return to the asshole with a new keycard, then gesture toward the bank of elevators.
“You know, I was really surprised when Mitch agreed with your suggestion to offer the assistant manager spot to Tiffany. I mean, the only time I met her was last year when she came to Tampa with you for that collaring ceremony. All I remembered was this extremely timid sub who looked like she was going to fall to her knees any time a Dom spared her a passing glance or spoke above a whisper. I have to admit, Cordell, she’s come a long way since then.
You’ve done an amazing job helping her recover from the piece-of-shit wannabe she’d been with. ”
Ian nodded. “I agree. Although, by now, we know better than to worry about Mitch’s business decisions.
Ever since he approached us, years ago, with the plans for The Covenant, he’s hasn’t been wrong about a damn thing.
Every idea he’s had and every employee he’s hired has worked out. Nice to see he’s still got the touch.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say every employee worked out.” Devon took a sip of his drink. “There was that one he hired who—”
“Don’t fucking say it,” his brother interrupted with a frown and a low growl. “That’ll just put me in a piss-poor fucking mood and ruin my vacation until I can get my wife naked again. In fact, don’t bring that son of a bitch up in conversation when I’m around ever again.”
Cordell turned to face both men, having realized Tiffany was no longer in sight and had everything under control. His eyebrows lifted in confusion. “Um, something I should know about?”
The two men looked at each other for a moment, communicating silently with their eyes and facial expressions before shaking their heads and replying in unison, “Nah.”
Ian slapped Cordell on the shoulder. “Devon’ll tell you about it some other time when I’m not around to start throwing things.
But don’t worry—that was a complete fluke, and it’s highly unlikely it’ll happen again in my lifetime.
And since you’re a couple of years younger than me, I’ll probably go before you, so you’ve got nothing to worry about. ”
He still had no fucking clue what the two men were talking about, and honestly, he didn’t care. He needed to go check on Tiffany. Not because he didn’t think she could handle herself, especially after seeing her in action a few minutes ago, but for his own peace of mind.
Oh, who the hell am I kidding?
He wanted to find her, drag her somewhere private, tell her how proud he was of her, and then kiss her like there was no tomorrow. Hell, he’d like to do way more than that, but now was not the time.
More guests were pouring in, and the resort was already in full swing.
People were checking out the dungeon, lounges, boutique, spa, pool, and beach, and of course, the Bottoms Up bar and Havana’s Cigar Bar, off the lobby.
In addition to the finger-food stations in several areas, there was a free lunch buffet being offered at the Locked Inn as well as out by the pool’s tiki bar.
Cordell was glad Tiffany had suggested bringing in some of the per diem waitstaff to help with the tables and passed hors d'oeuvres, since even with extra bartenders on duty, they were working their tails off.
He made a mental note to remind tonight’s Dungeon Monitors to watch out for anyone too inebriated to play safely.
A drink limit was one of the things that would be difficult to enforce in a resort, as opposed to a private club like The Covenant, Edge, and Club Domain.
However, if anyone appeared intoxicated, they wouldn’t be allowed in the dungeon.
That was another rule the guests and members had to sign off on before coming to the resort.
Aside from the idiot who’d locked himself out of his room, everyone seemed to be having a great time.
Cordell told the Sawyer brothers he’d see them later before descending the stairs.
Unfortunately, by the time he spotted Tiffany exiting the elevators, with a satisfied smile on her face, he was on his way to the tiki bar with the resort’s two on-duty EMTs for a guest who’d already gotten too tipsy and fallen into the pool.
The lifeguards had assured them over the radio that the woman was stable with a few scrapes on her leg from where she’d slid against the concrete edge on her way into the water.
Cordell couldn’t wait until later when both his and Tiffany’s duties were over and their playtime could begin. Seeing her stand up for herself had been the highlight of his week, and he was looking forward to rewarding her when they were finally alone.
Once the inauguration ceremony was over, the guests and club members scattered, heading for various pieces of scene equipment, playrooms, or sitting areas where they could just observe what was going on around them.
Tiffany, her friends, and the staff had done an amazing job on the black, silver, gold, and white decorations, giving the dungeon a dark but festive atmosphere—the perfect combination for the evening.
Pulsating music flowed through the speakers as the owners, their significant others, and the management staff left the center stage.
At the bottom of the steps, Mitch, Ty, Devon, and Ian stopped Cordell and Tiffany.
They each shook the manager’s hand before kissing Tiffany on the cheek.
Mitch toasted the two with a bottle of water.
“We can’t sing your praises enough. I can’t tell you how many compliments we’ve received today about you both, your staff, and the resort itself.
A lot of guests have already booked return trips.
That was a great idea, by the way, Tiffany—offering a room discount for a future visit if they made the reservation either today or tomorrow. ”
Even though she shrugged off the accolade, her broad smile said she was still pleased. “A friend of mine once told me they did that on a cruise she’d taken. I thought maybe it might work here too.”
“Well, it definitely did,” Ian responded. “Cordell couldn’t have picked a better assistant manager. Now, you two are officially off the clock—the night managers have taken over, so go have some fun like the rest of us plan to do.”
Cordell grinned. “You don’t have to tell me twice. My sweet submissive deserves a reward for all the hard work she put in to make today a booming success.” Grabbing her hand, he dipped his chin toward the other men. “Have a great evening.”
“You too,” they responded.
Since he’d already reserved one of the playrooms for him and Tiffany, Cordell led her in that direction while carrying his toy bag.
For the first few weeks, at the very least, he didn’t plan to do any public scenes with her where she would end up partially or fully naked.
Not until he was certain the staff could separate Tiffany, the resort’s assistant manager, from Tiffany, the submissive.
It would take some time for the employees who were still getting to know her and/or were new to the lifestyle to become comfortable receiving orders from her if they’d seen her naked and spanked the night before.
It took them longer than he’d expected to get to the other side of the dungeon to Playroom #18, since they were stopped every few moments by guests and members who wanted to congratulate them or ask a question.
But once Cordell had Tiffany behind the closed door, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her sweetly.
“That’s for doing a phenomenal job, pet.
Today and all the days leading up to it.
Master Ian was right—I couldn’t have picked a better assistant manager.
You earned that title in spades. I don’t know if I could’ve pulled this all off without you and your staff.
In fact, I think you deserve a raise, but we’ll have to talk to Mitch and Ty about that.
In the meantime, I’d like to show you my appreciation in another way that will satisfy us both. Whatta you say, hmm?”
The gratitude combined with lust in her deep-brown eyes nearly brought him to his knees.
“I say, yes, Sir, and thank you for the compliments. They mean a lot to me. I have to admit, I’ve been worried I wouldn’t be able to live up to everyone’s expectations of a good manager, but having you trust me and believe in me helped so much. Thank you for that.”