Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Camille
Another hard talk with Mr. Alexander, another visit from Donaldson Sr., and Camille was ready to take the first job offer that came her way if it paid the same.
The desire to jump ship was overwhelming.
Calling her mom at the home and getting to talk to her for a bit helped get Camille back on an even keel.
She couldn’t just up and go without a replacement job.
She didn’t have the savings for herself, much less to take care of her mom, for any real length of time.
At least she’d gotten the process started. She’d even gotten an email back from a firm in Baltimore, requesting an interview. Not that she wanted to move back across the state, but she was starting to think the commute would be worth it.
Putting together a list of the things she and Mr. Alexander had talked about, she shot it off to Freddy.
Granted, he wasn’t willing to bend on much, but after Freddy had dropped his threat, the man had seemed slightly less combative.
She’d learned that, underneath his pricked pride, he also didn’t want her to have any shares in his company, and that was something they could push for, especially if he was willing to give on some of the other sections.
While she had a feeling Freddy was right about what would happen if they went to court, the fact Mrs. Alexander was still open to negotiating meant Camille might be able to make Mr. Alexander less unhappy. She didn’t have a lot of hope he’d actually be happy with her efforts.
She couldn’t do anything about him sulking because Mrs. Alexander hadn’t shown up and was clearly happy to do everything by proxy.
It was a good move on Freddy’s part. Though Mr. Alexander seemed determined to drag things out, without Mrs. Alexander there to torment, he seemed to have lost most of his energy for it.
As soon as she was home, she called Freddy.
“Hello, beautiful. How was your day?”
Just hearing his voice made her smile, though that greeting didn’t hurt either.
“I thought we were keeping things professional,” she teased.
“Don’t you call all your co-workers beautiful?” The mock innocence in his voice got an outright laugh from her.
“You are trouble.” She sighed. “Sorry about today, but I think we got some real work done. Did you get my email?”
“About the shares? Yes. I think Brittany’s main concern will be getting him to leave her alone. She doesn’t want anything to do with the company or him, so that shouldn’t be an issue if you can get him to agree to it.”
“I’ll do my best. If you can put up a big show of reluctance and make every concession begrudgingly, that will help.”
“Oh, believe me, every concession will be begrudging on my part,” Freddy replied dryly. “Normally, I wouldn’t show it because I get great satisfaction out of denying assholes what they want, but I’ll make an exception in this case since I think both you and Brittany would prefer it that way.”
Knowing she was part of the equation made her feel warm inside.
“I do love watching you take him apart,” she said. “It’s hot.”
He chuckled.
“I feel the exact same way about you.”
“I don’t take him apart,”—Camille wrinkled her nose—“though I want to sometimes.”
“I don’t think you realize the effect you have on him. Trust me, he feels taken apart.”
Hm. Well, that was something to think about. She had definitely been firmer with him the past week than she had originally and knew part of that was because Freddy was there watching, but it felt good. It felt right. Like she was alive again.
That night at Marquis had kicked off so much more than she’d realized.
“I’ll have to take your word for it. I feel like I’m holding back so much, maybe it’s hard for me to see what I am doing.”
“That makes sense. Hopefully, you won’t have to hold back much longer.” A sultry note changed in his voice, and she knew he was thinking about their agreement that they would scene again after they were no longer working at cross purposes with the Alexanders.
“I got the acceptance for my membership to Marquis and Stronghold.” She’d be occasionally serving as Dungeon Monitor to get a discount on her fees, but it would be worth it. “And Julie and I are going to the show at Marquis on Friday.”
“Ah, so you’re her guest. We were all taking bets on whether she was going to bring someone to try to prod her secret admirer into speaking up.”
“No, just me.” Camille laughed. “She’s busy pushing me, but once she’s done with me, I wouldn’t be surprised if she puts her mind to figuring out her admirer.”
“I’ll be glad when she does. I’ve tried to figure out who it could be, but we don’t have that many single submissive men at the club, and we all know Julie is hetero. The mystery is killing me.”
The fact Freddy didn’t even have a guess was interesting. She would have thought he’d have at least a suspicion. From what Julie and Olivia said, he had a firm finger on the pulse of the club’s submissives and always knew what was going on with everyone.
“Are you going to be watching the show?” she asked, not knowing which way to hope. As much as she wanted to see him outside of work, doing so would be tempting fate. Not to mention tempting herself.
“I’ll be seating people, just like last Friday. I usually help out during the rush, then I’m off for the rest of the evening unless I feel like hanging around. So, I’ll see you there.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me, too.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, then he had to go. Camille sighed as she laid on the sofa. Her apartment suddenly felt very lonely. At least she had Friday to look forward to.
Freddy
It had been a long time since he’d been nervous at Marquis, but tonight, he was a bundle of anxious butterflies.
Every time someone reached the top of the stairs, he let out a sigh of disappointment when it wasn’t Mistresses Camille and Julie.
Morgan said it was like working next to an anxious frog.
He couldn’t help himself.
He’d dressed up a little, wearing grey slacks with a bright blue shirt and a grey corset vest with black laces that made him look damn good. Usually, he went for comfort when he was working, but knowing Mistress Camille was coming in made him want to look his very best.
The more he’d gotten to know her, the more he liked her. Even though they’d been keeping everything mostly within professional boundaries, who she was as a person had shown through.
Some kind of sixth sense sizzled in the air, lifting the hairs along the back of his neck, and he jerked his gaze to the top of the stairs.
Somehow, he’d known that this time, it was her arriving.
And he was right. She and Mistress Julie reached the top of the stairs at the same time, two stunning opposites.
Despite her heels, Mistress Julie only came up to Mistress Camille’s chin.
Mistress Julie was dressed in all black, while Mistress Camille was wearing bright red, making them stand out even more next to each other.
The tight red corset wrapped around Mistress Camille’s curves pushed her breasts up to an incredible height, nipped in her waist, and showed off her hips.
Her pants were a matching red but made of stretchy material that hugged her thighs before flaring out at the knees, like bell bottoms. Her hair was pulled into little twists that were decorated with shiny red beads.
She looked stunning and dangerous at the same time.
The kind of woman he could spend hours worshiping. Preferably with his tongue.
“Mistresses,” he greeted them with a smile, though he knew his gaze lingered longer on Mistress Camille. Her dark eyes met his, and it felt as if the room was filled with electricity. But he was supposed to be working. “Welcome. May I take your coats?”
They handed over the coats they were carrying, Mistress Camille shooting him a special smile. Freddy beamed back at her before hanging them up.
“Thank you, Freddy,” Mistress Camille said, and the note of approval in her voice made him want to preen.
Seeing her at the club was a completely different experience than seeing her in the office. It was as though all the pent-up sexual tension was leaking out now that they didn’t have to suppress it.
“Let me show you to your table.” As much as he wanted to indulge in small talk, something, he was tongue tied. Not his normal state.
Grabbing up the night’s menus, he led them to their table, putting a little saunter in his step.
He knew the pants he was wearing made his ass look fantastic.
Some men might discount how much a woman enjoyed looking at a pair of well-fitted pants, but Freddy knew better.
Women appreciated a fine ass as much as men did.
“Here you go,” he said when they got there, stepping back so the two women could slide into the booth.
Mistress Camille brushed by him on the side he was standing, perhaps a little closer than necessary.
He might have wondered if it was intentional if she hadn’t peeked up at him when she sat down and shot him a flirtatious wink.
His whole body was buzzing.
Unfortunately, he had to walk away, but that little wink made him feel like he was floating the whole way back to the lobby. When he got back there, Morgan raised her eyebrows at him.
“Back so soon?”
“I couldn’t exactly stand there and flirt.”
The look she gave him was of pure exasperation.
“Why not? I have this covered.” She gestured at the front desk, and he realized part of her objection was because she thought he thought she couldn’t handle it on her own. Even though it was a Friday night, she would certainly be okay for five or ten minutes.
“It wouldn’t be professional. We agreed to keep things professional until we’re not representing opposing parties.” As much as that sucked.
“Oh…” Morgan blinked. “So, it’s just going to be lots of longing glances and heartfelt sighs until your clients get divorced?”
“Well, until they figure out how they’re going to settle things, at least.” Once they’d signed off on the papers, Freddy would consider himself free of any obligation to not fuck opposing counsel.
“It’s kind of Romeo & Juliet but with opposing legal firms.” Morgan giggled. “It sucks, though, having to wait.”
“It does, but we’re still talking and texting a little.
Taking things slow isn’t the worst thing.
” It had been a while since he’d had any kind of real relationship, and in the past, he’d had the habit of jumping in too far too fast. He really wouldn’t mind being able to jump into things with Mistress Camille faster, but he was good at trying to convince himself.
Something Morgan picked up on. She snorted.
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” she asked, echoing his thoughts.
“Sometimes, you’re too smart for your own good,” he joked, nudging her with his hip and making her giggle.
The time flew by. Just knowing Mistress Camille was in the next room, having dinner, made him antsy.
He already knew he would be hanging around tonight instead of leaving before the show ended, hoping to catch a glimpse of her on the way out.
Maybe she’d be interested in having a completely professional drink at the bar.
What he wasn’t expecting was for Mistress Julie to come out of the main room five minutes before the show started and pin him with a look.
“Freddy, I have to go. My cousin is having some kind of issue she needs help with. Can you go keep Mistress Camille company through the show, so I haven’t totally abandoned her?”
If anyone other than Mistress Julie was doing the asking, he would have suspected a setup, but she wasn’t that kind of person and was anxiously shifting from foot to foot like she wanted to run out of there. Whatever issue her cousin was having, it was enough to make her worried.
“I…” He wanted to say yes. Of course, he wanted to say yes.
But should he say yes? It would be one thing to run into each other at a bar, it was something else entirely to watch a kink show with her.
How the hell was he supposed to do that and remain professional?
It would be pure torture and not the fun kind.
“Say yes,” Morgan hissed at him. “Stop overthinking it and go!”
That would be her advice. It was also what he wanted to do.
“She would love to have your company, but she’ll stay on her own if she has to,” Mistress Julie said.
Well, that decided it.
“I would be honored.” He nodded at her. “I hope everything is okay with your cousin.”
Something flashed in Mistress Julie’s eyes.
“Don’t worry,” she said grimly. “It will be. Have a good rest of the evening.”
Morgan handed Mistress Julie her coat, shooing Freddy toward the door at the same time. Heart in his throat, he gave her a wave as he entered the room.
This evening was either going to be amazing or the worst case of blue balls he’d ever had.