Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Iris
For the first time since her fight with Noelle, Iris practically bounced into their apartment. It didn’t matter what had been going on between them—nothing was going to get her down today.
Last night, she’d gotten her final ‘good girl’ from Master Law while serving out her punishment, and tonight, she would finally have a scene with a real Dom.
She’d ignored all the texts her brother had sent today.
She’d check them tomorrow, but she could guess what they said and would not let him ruin this for her, either.
Not him, not Noelle… nobody was messing with her good mood today.
Which apparently startled the heck out of her roommate since Noelle was in the kitchen when Iris came in. Noelle actually looked at her, making eye contact for the first time all week, and her eyes widened.
“Why are you so smiley?” she asked, curious instead of antagonistic, so Iris answered her.
“I have a… sorta date tonight.” She’d explained about ‘scening’ to Noelle, and her friend didn’t entirely understand but had mostly taken it well. Regardless, Iris didn’t want to deal with Noelle if she decided to make a thing of it.
To her surprise, Noelle’s face lit up.
“Oh, that’s great! It’s been forever since you’ve had a guy interested in you. It’s about time you put yourself out there. Do you want some help with your hair and makeup?”
That was classic Noelle—saying something she didn’t realize sounded incredibly insulting, then offering her help.
“I haven’t been interested in any of the guys I was meeting,” Iris pointed out drily. Noelle’s offer was an olive branch, and Iris would be a fool not to take her up on it. Things around the apartment would be a lot more comfortable if they had a détente. “And sure, I’d love some help.”
“Awesome, let me get my things.” Noelle took a last sip of water, then rushed to her bedroom, leaving Iris standing there, shaking her head.
She knew Noelle didn’t mean anything by it and didn’t even notice Iris’ small correction, but sometimes, the things she said could really burrow under Iris’ skin.
Good thing she was in such a good mood. She would not let a little thing like miscommunication bother her.
Especially since that little exchange amounted to her and Noelle making up.
Dropping off her stuff, Iris went into the bathroom and pulled her hair out of its bun, giving it a good brush out. She’d taken a shower that morning, so all she had to do was make it look nicer.
“Up or down?” Noelle asked as she entered the bathroom.
Of the two of them, she had the better makeup kit and loved to play ‘Barbie doll’ with Iris, dressing her up and doing her hair.
It had been a long time since they’d done this.
Iris realized Noelle’s words might have stung because of the truth in them.
Not so much the whole guys not being interested in Iris, but that it had been so long since she’d wanted a specific man to be interested in her. She really wanted a guy who was into kink, and the guys at the club definitely hadn’t shown an interest in her, even if they felt it.
Thanks, big brother.
Yup, going into tonight, she would need to make sure she didn’t have expectations from Master Law.
It would be way too easy to start wanting him because he was the only Dom willing to go toe to toe with her brother.
Fingers crossed, he would start a trend, but it was hard not to judge other Doms for holding back until they saw someone else go for it.
“Earth to Iris, hair up or down?” Noelle’s blue eyes sparkled in the mirror, a smirk on her lips. “Distracted much?”
“Maybe a little. Let’s do up, please.” Iris smiled at her in the mirror, and Noelle grinned back.
It was as though they’d never fought and hadn’t been avoiding each other all week.
Noelle expertly curled Iris’ hair and pulled it back, using a single clip from which the curls all spilled out.
The clip was long and vertical, making it look as if they were pulled into an updo when in actuality, it would be very easy to take out the clip and let her hair loose.
Noelle had Iris flip around on the toilet, so she could do her makeup, updating Iris on everything that had happened with Tyler while they weren’t talking.
Not that Noelle said it that way. She just told Iris what had been going on without mentioning why she needed to catch Iris up on a week’s worth of gossip.
“I don’t know if we’re going to last much longer. He blows hot and cold… I think his friends all hate me, and they’re influencing him.” Noelle made a face as she brushed some blush over Iris’ cheekbones. “Not that he says they hate me, but they used to be a lot nicer to me.”
“They’re mean to you?” Iris frowned.
“Not outright, but like… they’re always trying to get Tyler to hang out and have guy time without me. When we do all get together, nobody makes an effort to include me.” Noelle made another face. “Close your eyes. Do you want them smoky?”
“Yes, please,” Iris replied, grateful Noelle had changed the subject. She would have had to bite her tongue against the obvious question since she had to wonder how much Noelle was trying to get along with Tyler’s friends.
From what Noelle said in the past, she hadn’t liked Tyler’s friends all that much. If they were sensing that, it wouldn’t be surprising that they weren’t into hanging out with her.
“So, tell me about the guy,” Noelle said as she did Iris’ eyes.
“He’s a lawyer, a little older but hot. Filipino. Bald. He has a beard and is pretty bossy.”
“Ooh, an older guy, that is hot. How much older?”
“Ten years.”
“Mm, so not too much older, but still hot.” Noelle giggled. “Where’d you meet him? Did you use an app?”
“No, I met him at Marquis.” Iris opened her eyes when Noelle moved back. The expression on her roommate’s face wasn’t happy, but she didn’t appear to want to pick a fight.
“Is this like one of those sex dates you told me about?” Noelle asked.
“Well, we haven’t talked about if we’ll be having sex yet. He’s taking me out to dinner.” At a sex club, but Noelle didn’t need to know that.
“Hmm. Well, I hope you have fun. If he’s older, that probably means he’s looking to settle down.” Again, it was unclear from Noelle’s tone whether or not she thought that was a good thing.
“Maybe.” Iris stood up to get her mascara. That was the only part of her makeup, Noelle didn’t do. When she saw herself in the mirror, she had to smile and pose. “Damn, I look hot.”
“Of course, you do,” Noelle replied smugly, squeezing in so she could see herself next to Iris. Her eyes swept critically over Iris’ reflection. “I do good work.”
“I’m gonna get changed. Thank you.” Iris reached her arm around Noelle to give her a hug, relieved they were back on an even keel. Still grinning, Noelle hugged her back.
“Have a great night!”
Iris definitely planned to.
Law
The Marquis manager’s office was decorated in a distinctly feminine way despite the heavy wooden furniture and red and black color scheme.
Unlike the office at Stronghold, which was far more minimalist and designed more for function than visual appeal.
Not that Marquis’ office wouldn’t function as effectively—Olivia, the manager, had made it both functional and beautiful.
She was the Mistress of Marquis, overseeing the second-floor operations and acting as the liaison to the restaurant beneath on the first floor.
Not a job Law envied. Her boyfriend and submissive was one of the silent backers of the business and was sitting in a chair in the back corner of the office, seemingly engrossed with a book.
Despite being an owner, Luke never involved himself in the day-to-day running of the club. Probably for the best, since Law didn’t think Olivia would take that well.
Sitting behind the large desk, wearing one of her signature red suits, with her red hair pulled back into a tight bun, she exuded both an air of inherent sexuality and professionalism. She gave off a kind of naughty-librarian vibe that was extremely appealing.
“So, next month we have the class for newer submissives to the clubs, but we have a small problem, which is why I’ve asked you both to join me today.
I want to talk through it and get your thoughts.
” Olivia’s gaze passed back and forth between Law and Mistress Julie, the Domme who also taught the classes.
Mistress Julie was the shortest and least physically imposing of the three of them, but Law would also classify her as the scariest when she wanted to be.
Especially since Olivia had softened after becoming involved with Luke.
Not that he’d ever tell Olivia that. He liked his balls right where they were, thank you.
“What’s wrong?” Frowning, Julie leaned forward with interest. Like Law, she was still dressed for work, though she wore a pair of jeans and a polo shirt with the company logo. She liked to joke it constituted business casual for tech geeks like herself.
“Well, we have another switch. Possibly.” Olivia’s lips quirked, which meant she had an opinion on the subject but wouldn’t share in the interests of not influencing anyone else’s thoughts. “Q would like to sign up for the submissive class and explore that option as well.”
Law and Julie took a moment to absorb that statement.
“Interesting. He definitely has dominant qualities, but I could see where he might enjoy the other side,” Law said thoughtfully.
“Where’s the problem?” Julie frowned. “Unless you think he has an underlying motive for signing up?”
“No, I think he’s genuine in his desire to explore both sides.
” Olivia sighed. “The problem is he’s indicated a strong desire to work with a female dominant, and since he’s straight, that probably would help give him the best indicator whether or not he has a submissive side, but the only female top who signed up to work with the class this session is Samantha. ”
Oh. Oh.
Law and Julie exchanged grimaces. Even if Law hadn’t talked to Q recently about what seemed to be an escalating prank war between the two of them, it had been obvious in the Dominance class they had some kind of issue with each other.
On the other hand, if Q wanted to explore his submissive side with a woman, the club would do their best to honor that, and if Samantha wanted more practice as a top, they would do their best to help her as well.
He could understand why Olivia found it to be a quandary.
“Law, I need you to talk to Q, and if he’s onboard, then Julie, I would like you to talk to Samantha.
” Olivia made a face. “I would do it, but at this point, I think both of them would be more comfortable with each of you and more likely to be truthful. I can call in some favors if we need another Domme to step in and help with Q, so it’s not entirely on Julie’s shoulders. ”
“I can do that,” Julie said, and Law nodded after a moment.
His initial instinct said Q would balk, but he deserved the right to make the decision for himself. Not to mention, even though he’d been annoyed about his car being covered in post-its, he really hadn’t wanted Asad scening with Samantha.
In some ways, it reminded Law of the way kids teased each other because they didn’t know how to deal with a crush.
“I’ll talk with him.”
Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, causing all three of them to frown. Olivia looked past them at her boyfriend, and Law turned his head to see Luke’s reaction, but he looked as puzzled as the rest of them.
“Were you expecting someone?” she asked.
“No,” Luke replied as he got to his feet and headed to open the door. He swung it open, standing far enough to the side, they could all see who was there.
All of them were taken aback when they saw one of the bartenders from downstairs, Shane, standing awkwardly, holding a vase full of a dozen red roses.
“Shane?” Olivia blinked, taking in him and the roses.
“Um, this was delivered downstairs for Julie Kim.” Shane met Julie’s eyes. “I knew you were having the meeting up here, so I figured…”
“Right, of course.” The obvious question of how someone would know Julie was here had them glancing at each other. Olivia got to her feet, making a sweeping motion with her hand. “Bring them in.”
“Is there a card?” Law asked, also getting to his feet. Julie followed more slowly, her expression blank.
“Yes.” Shane set the vase down on the center of Olivia’s desk, Luke close behind him, so they were all crowded in. He pointed, and Julie paused for only a moment before plucking the card from among the roses.
The office was silent as she opened it, all of them staring at her. Law didn’t know why it felt ominous. Maybe because Julie didn’t work here. So, how did someone know to have flowers delivered to her here at exactly this time?
“What does it say?” Olivia asked, too impatient to wait for more than a minute.
“It says, ‘I think you’re beautiful.’”
“That’s it?” Law frowned, leaning sideways to see it. Wordlessly, Julie handed him the card.
That was it. No name, no signature, and the message was printed rather than handwritten, so no clues there, either.
“Huh. Looks like I have a secret admirer.” Julie leaned forward and gave the flowers a sniff. Whether she was pleased was impossible to tell. “I wonder how they knew I was here.” There was some skepticism in her voice, which made Law feel even more justified in his own unease.
“Please, it’s Stronghold and Marquis.” Luke snorted. “It’s amazing anyone can get anything done without everyone knowing about it. Like Law and Iris’ date tonight.”
“You and Iris have a date tonight?” Julie asked, turning to him in surprise.
“Ah, I’d better get back to work.” Shane zipped out the door, which reminded Law that the bartender was the reason everyone knew about his date.
Well, Iris was the real reason since she’d been talking about it in front of Shane, which she’d only done because Law had texted her while she was at Marquis.
So, it wasn’t really anyone’s ‘fault,’ but he could still blame Shane for being part of the gossip train.
“It’s not a date. She needs someone willing to scene with her who isn’t intimidated by her big brother.”
“Uh-huh.” The others exchanged a glance, and Law scowled at them. This club was full of nosy gossips.
“I’ll talk to Q. In the meantime, I have a scene with a submissive I need to get ready for.” He stressed the word ‘scene.’ Not that it mattered. The other three were whispering to each other before the door closed behind him.
Hopefully, tonight didn’t end up being more trouble than it was worth.