Chapter 2
Who would have believed helping a guest find a good place to buy a cock cage in Hamburg would lead to me interviewing at a place like this?
As I stood at the base of the towering skyscraper in the heart of Philadelphia, my gaze traced the elegant lines of the building reaching up toward the sky. The glass and steel structure seemed to touch the heavens. The imposing facade of the GH Security headquarters commanded respect, and a mix of anticipation and nervous excitement filled my chest.
Mari had told me about the possible job last night; she’d made it sound almost too good to be true. I’d originally agreed to come back to the States and help her get things in order, take some time off between jobs and check out the area she called home, Philadelphia. It wasn’t that I was sure my days as a globe-trotting concierge were over, but it had been time for a change. No matter what country I had been in, everything had started to feel the same.
I suffered from restless-soul syndrome. At least that is what I called it. Completely my father’s fault as we’d moved around a lot because of his position in the Air Force. And as soon as I was old enough to be on my own, I was drawn to international positions that allowed me a fresh and exciting new start. Whenever I felt I’d learned all I could in one place, I’d leave. It didn’t matter if it was often at a monetary deficit.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed money as much as the next person, but there were so many more important things in life you couldn’t put a price tag on. Happiness, freedom, or not being on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
When I started my career, learning a new city or country had been a priceless experience. I ate it up like a starving woman, immersing myself in multiple languages and cultures had been my new joy. That joy had remained for me for quite a long time. I learned down the road that there was also a cost that had nothing to do with money—relationships.
I had friends all over the world, even a few lovers, but rarely true connections. It was hard to stay close when you were physically so far apart. Mari was the first person who turned out to be an exception to that rule. But she’d been more a force of nature than woman when we’d first met at a swanky hotel in Germany, where I was concierge at the time.
* * *
Days as a concierge at a five-star hotel were long but the end of my shift was temptingly close. The soft chime of the elevator drew my eyes to the doors but the tiny, beautiful woman who stepped out caught my attention. She had a commanding presence as she strode toward me that made it impossible to look away.
It was as if everyone in the lobby was entranced by her. The way she moved and the tilt of her chin made me believe that not only was she used to people staring at her, but she enjoyed it. I loved being watched but I was never as confident as she was. Did it take practice or was it something else? Perhaps she was an actress used to being on stage.
She wore a sleek body-hugging dress, with an electric-blue ombre pattern that darkened to black at the hem. The asymmetrical design highlighted daring cutouts that teased along the lines of her body. The designer red-soled heels were so high you would think she would have trouble walking in them but she strode across the marble floor with a self-assurance that was enviable. Her makeup was subtle except for her perfectly painted red lips which held a small smirk as if she were well aware of the attention she garnered, expected it even.
She was sexy with an elegance that never skirted the line into trashy. Her long wavy dark hair was a waterfall of loose waves that tumbled right down to her ass. As she glided closer to me, her eyes held mine with an interest that despite my normally straight orientation, tightened things down below.
“I’m Mari”—she glanced at my name tag—“Rose, what a lovely name. Could you possibly tell me if there is a good place nearby to purchase a cock cage?”
I couldn’t help the giggle of amusement or the expression of surprise at her request. It wasn’t that I didn’t get odd or kinky requests from guests. They were just usually far less confident when asking. Trying to recover my professionalism, I cleared my throat and straightened my shoulders.
“There are a few within a reasonable distance. WOS is the largest but my favorite is The Erotic Sex Shop, smaller in size but they specialize in kinks with higher quality products.”
“You had me at favorite.” She winked.
Oh, I liked her, I really, really did. She was a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed until she’d opened her mouth. “I am off shift in five minutes, and I’m more than happy to drive you over to the shop.” I held my breath as I waited for her reply. I wasn’t a lesbian so my interest in her wasn’t sexual. But there was something about her that drew me in, and I hoped that maybe we could be friends. At least my version of it was more like an acquaintance than anything deep and lasting.
“Friendly, beautiful, and personal service, check! I give this place five-stars and gladly accept your offer.” Without another word, Mari took a seat in the lounge across from where my stand was to wait for me.
* * *
I sniggered at the memory. That night had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship that stayed strong as I continued to jump around several different countries for work. Over the years, she’d made a habit of showing up unexpectedly where I was working and would repeat her request from the first time. I’d laugh and then we’d head out and have an evening of unforgettable adventures.
I’d been feeling more and more discouraged by the hotel industry. Being a military kid, I was by nature a people pleaser, and for a long time, my work was very fulfilling. But because of my large dossier of work, and the fact I was fluent in seven languages, my jobs had increased in prestige.
I hadn’t realized that the rich of the world were pretty much all cut from the same cloth and it wasn’t that unique of a fabric. I wanted a challenge, something that I would have to struggle to achieve. Their requests were either boring or vulgar to the point of depravity.
I wasn’t a prude. In fact, my interest and involvement in BDSM was a large topic of discussion between myself and Mari. But when something crossed consent or local laws, I wasn’t willing to even attempt to accommodate it. After being harassed one too many times for not being willing to bend around some rich asshole’s will, I’d realized I’d climbed to the top of what my career had to offer, and found it was lacking.
So when Mari’s parents passed on and she asked if I was willing to move to be close to her for a while, I hadn’t hesitated. I figured I’d spend a few weeks helping her finalize their estate and maybe she’d take me to finally see one of the BDSM clubs where she was part owner. The descriptions of the kinky things that happened inside had always intrigued me.
If I wasn’t going to be working, I was hoping to find someone to hook up with. Someone who wasn’t intimidated by a smart, career-minded woman who loved to be sexually submissive. Unfortunately, my vibrator had been my only action for several months. Except instead of leisurely time off hunting for a man to scratch my itch, I was on my way to a job interview.
Mari had picked me up from the airport late last night, bubbling with excitement about a job opportunity she’d found for me. The crazy woman had already scheduled the interview. I wasn’t sure working for a private security firm was something I was interested in, but for her sake, I would do my best to make a good impression.
Here I stood outside the offices of GH Security. There hadn’t been much time to study the company, but what I had on my side was the ability to jump time zones with little effort, so waking early, I’d managed to learn the basics, enough at least to not embarrass myself, or so I hoped.
Despite my naturally sunny disposition and high-hopes attitude, I was nervous. Mari had mentioned that the man I would speak with could be brusque to the point of sounding rude and arrogant. He apparently was very picky about who he worked with. Having dealt with thousands of people, this didn’t bother me. It was the fact that this man and her were friends that made me nervous. The last thing I wanted was to embarrass Mari.
With five minutes to spare, I stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hallway toward their entrance. The unique door was intricately carved wood. I admired the unusual choice to stand out from the typical metal of the rest of the office doors. Their company name and the motto “Forever Defend” was carved over the doorway in both English and Norwegian. Maybe my knowledge of that language would give me a leg up in the interview.
Taking a deep breath, I opened the wooden door. I expected it to be heavy but it swung effortlessly at my touch as if on a pillow of air. Wow, talk about high-end. The luxury continued into the reception area. Filled with timber beams, plush, yet sleek furniture, and antique metal lamps, the whole place gave the impression it belonged in a sci-fi version of a past era. The receptionist’s desk was a thing of beauty, carved mahogany topped by the most current computer technology that glowed under the lighting. It reminded me of how Mari had described the design at the clubs. Had the same person decorated here? I’d have to ask her later.
The scowl on the receptionist’s face didn’t seem directed at me, and I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. Was she in a bad mood because her boss was a dick, or for more personal reasons? Determined not to start off on a bad foot, I put on my best customer-service smile and walked over to her.
“Hello, I’m Rose.” I spotted a picture of a dog framed on her desk. Score! No one can be in a bad mood when talking about their pets. “Oh my god, is that an Australian Kelpie? They are so rare; I bet he’s a treasure.”
As I hoped, her face broke into a wide smile. “It is. He’s my baby.”
“I bet he is and what a sweet-looking fella. What’s his name?”
“Bilbo.” She giggled and I couldn’t help but join her.
“That giant is your little hobbit?” I loved when people named their pets in interesting and silly ways.
“Yup. Nice to meet you, Rose. I’m Yula.” Her eyes sparkled.
“What the hell do I know about what a sixteen-year-old girl wants for her birthday?” The shouting from down the hall interrupted our impromptu bonding. “Look, I’ll figure it out, but you owe me one.”
Yula sighed and I gave her a questioning look.
“We’re just one big not-so-happy family.”
“That’s okay. I know family and co-workers can be complicated. Is that the boss?”
“One of them.” Yula nodded. “Lincoln, the apparently unhappy gift giver, will be the one to escort you to Conference Room A.” She gave me a sympathetic smile before hitting an intercom button. “Rose is here for her interview, Sir.”
“I’ll be right there.” His sulky voice let me know he wasn’t thrilled with the news. I would need to think of something to turn his mood around.
The powerfully built man came around the corner, his mind obviously not on me but on the document in his hand. His skin was the color of the coffee I’d just finished drinking. His posture and effortless ability to not bump into things when not looking screamed ex-military to me. I’d bet a bottle of my finest wine on it.
He stopped in front of me, probably a step too close for most people, before pulling his eyes from his document. He probably used this technique to intimidate and throw off people. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t get flustered easily. I smiled and tilted up my chin to meet his gaze as his eyes narrowed.
“You must be the 9:00. This way.” He gestured back the way he’d come. Not overly friendly, but like Yula, I was determined to win him over.
“Is she a girlie girl or more of a rebel?”
“Huh?” He pulled his eyes from the document I wasn’t sure he’d actually been reading and focused on me for the first time.
“The girl you have to find a gift for. Is she a typical girlie girl or more punk rock?”
He laughed. “A total brat actually, but our parents are elderly and my brother has passed this task to me. Girlie girl I’d say.”
“Perfect, then I can help.”
“How?”
The skepticism in his expression made me want to roll my eyes but I resisted.
“I know one of the best makeup artists in the city. Give me your contact info and I will forward you her information. Tell her you’re friends with Rose from the Grand in the Bronx, she’ll know exactly who you mean. And then tell her you want the princess package for your sister.”
The smile he gave me was genuine and finally, the handsome man who was hiding behind the scowl was revealed. Hopefully, not everyone in this place was that grumpy, but I wasn’t going to let it bring me down. Mari had assured me this would be a spectacular place to work if I was up for a challenge. So far, I wasn’t sure if it was the job or the staff that would prove to be the bigger hurdle.
“Here we go.” Lincoln opened another soundless wooden door and we entered a beautiful conference room that had twelve seats around a large oval glass table. “Gabriel will be right along. Don’t let him throw you, he’s a pussycat under all that dominant attitude.”
With that cryptic and unhelpful advice, Lincoln left. Usually how dominant someone was didn’t come up in an interview. Was this meeting meant to be a hookup or a job? Would Mari do that to me? I’d like to think not. Hopefully, it was just that all of her friends, except me, were Doms and they’re used to dealing with each other in a certain way.
I sat, doing my best to look relaxed. Unfortunately, all my cool flew out the window when the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen walked in. It was all I could do to rein myself in and not gape at him. Tall is a term that is usually used for people who are over six feet but this man was at least six inches taller than that. You wouldn’t think that would make much of a difference, but it did.
He was massive but not in a thick football player way, or thin like a basketball player. He was that perfect muscly goodness that was a swimmer or soccer player. It didn’t help that he wasn’t wearing a button-down shirt that would blunt the mouthwatering effect his physique instilled. Instead, he was wearing a tight black tee that hugged the well-defined muscles of his chest to the point I could count every line in his abdomen. Nope, not an inch of fat to blunt the temptation of tracing each dip with my tongue.
One… two… three… yup, an eight-pack of goodness to tempt the eye. It would probably be unprofessional to ask him if I could practice reading braille on his stomach, right? As if his body wasn’t a big enough lure to have me taking off my clothes, his eyes were a piercing blue/black color that almost looked like the night sky as it touched the ocean. His features were so classically aquiline that Roman sculptors would have brawled for the right to depict him in stone. I could easily picture him as an emperor, or a demigod, right down to the dark-golden hair that crowned his head.
Down girl, we are here for a purpose, and it doesn’t involve satisfying your libido.
“Who are you?”
All of my dirty thoughts came to a screeching halt at the derision in his voice. If he expected me to believe he didn’t know exactly who I was, then he had another thing coming. But I could play the game.
“I’m Rose Dodds, and you are Mr.?” Okay, so technically, since I was interviewing for a job, I should have shown off that I’d memorized all the names and photos available on the website, but the truth was I wasn’t sure I wanted to work in an environment that led to people showing their worst sides.
“Dakos.”
Instead of sitting across from me, or next to me, he dropped in a chair at the head of the table. As if that showed his power, oh, please! Having this interview in a conference room rather than an office meant that power games were the plan for the day. While I enjoyed a good power exchange during private time, would every day be like this if I accepted the job, assuming he’d offer?
The door opened again and a much friendlier-appearing man stepped into the room. His grin was a mix of mischievous and welcoming. Unsurprisingly, he was equally large, just lacking the height of Mr. Dakos, my grumpy giant.
“Sorry I’m late.” The newest addition stuck out his hand. “I’m Colin and will be joining the interview today.”
It was nice to finally meet someone who didn’t need cheering up. I took his hand and shook it, trying to give him my most professional smile. “Very nice to meet you, Colin. I’m Rose Dodds. I can’t wait to let you know more about me and learn more about this opportunity.”
My focus was on Colin but I caught Gabriel’s slight roll of his eyes in my periphery. Colin glanced from me to the scowling man at the head of the table and back again, as if he could sense the discontent between us.
“Do you two know each other?” The question was for both of us but he was looking at Mr. Dakos when it was asked. Who, I might add, only offered him a smirk in return.
“No, I’ve never had the pleasure.” I hoped the sarcasm in my voice wasn’t too obvious. If Colin had picked up on it, he didn’t give any outward sign.
“Okay.” Colin cleared his throat, then moved to sit down across from me. “You come highly recommended by a mutual friend. Tell me, what do you know about GH Security?”
I straightened my shoulders. “Only the cursory outline your website provided, I’m afraid. It wasn’t until my flight landed last night that I learned Mari—sorry, Marissa—had set this up for me. She didn’t speak about the company so much as how important your work was and gave me a brief description of what you needed.”
Colin opened his mouth as if to speak, but Gabriel cut him off. “I see almost all of your experience is in concierge work, so what makes you think you are qualified for being in charge of tactical teams, scheduling and all that while working with several aggressive men who like things done a certain way? Do you have the flexibility and skill needed to make last-minute changes?”
I observed both men as I leaned back in my chair. The innuendo in his aggressive words was clear, but if he thought that would bother me, he was out of his mind. The biggest mistake he could make was to underestimate or undervalue what I could bring to the table. If he wanted to play dirty, fine with me. “By your statement, you have made it very clear that you have zero knowledge of how the hotel world works, so I’ll spoon feed you some pertinent information.”
Colin dipped his chin to hide a smile while Gabriel’s glare would have roasted a lesser person on the spot.
“At my last job, Mr. Dakos, I was in charge of organizing entire chains of high-end resorts and clubs where the rich expected, demanded, in fact, what they wanted, when they wanted it. I am crystal clear on how flexible I need to be to satisfy hundreds of customers at a time rather than just the few dozen or so you handle in a month. I have contacts all over the world I can call when I need to access more unique items than standard supplies. So if you think having to change travel plans at the last minute for a crew of several aggressive men who like things done a certain way, I believe is the way you put it, then I can tell you, I’m more than capable.” I held his eyes, not backing down. “And I can do all that with a cheery disposition and a smile on my face.”
Colin smiled, but Gabriel gazed at me like I had three heads. “I’m sure you can, but there is much more to this. What happens when we are due to arrive to set up private security for a function and there is a snowstorm and we can’t just be redirected to another plane or airport?”
I rolled my eyes. “Hire a private plane willing to fly through the weather.”
“We’ve arrived, but our equipment doesn’t?”
“That’s ridiculous. Any equipment that couldn’t travel on board with you would already be at the location ahead of time to clear the way for any potential issues. I would also have rentals or loans of identical equipment ready to go in every country in advance in case it was lost, or the plane, train or any other mobile transportation was in an accident. You can’t rely on only what you provide. To be as global as you are implying you are, means you either have these things already at various locations or, like myself, you have called in favors and have things ready to borrow or purchase. Right?”
Colin clapped his hands, his applause and his grin telling me I’d won him over. But what about Gabriel?
Mr. Dakos rose to his feet and shrugged. “We’ll be in touch, Rose. Colin will escort you back to the front.”
“No need.” I rose to my feet. “I know exactly where I’m going.” And, with an extra swish of my hips, I left the meeting room, waving goodbye to my new acquaintances on my way out.