Chapter 40
Forty
ROME
Eloise whimpers next to me, waking me up. She’s already in my arms, curled up against my side, but her beautiful face is puckered in a frown as if she’s in pain or dreaming about something awful.
“It’s okay, baby,” I whisper and kiss her forehead softly, not wanting to wake her but needing to soothe her.
I check the time and drag my hand down my face. We’ve only been asleep for about four hours. We both worked last night, and I need to get down to my office now. I shouldn’t have come up to bed at all, but I wanted to be close to her.
I needed her.
In the past week since Scarlett was whipped, Eloise and I have grown even closer while settling into a routine.
It’s completely unexpected. We work, we fuck, we talk, and we sleep.
Not always in that order. I’m not a chatty man, and I don’t confide in people.
But with my firefly, the words just come. I don’t shy away from her questions.
I trust her.
That puts me on edge, yet is also something I want to lean into. I know she comes from a piece of shit. Mateo and Julian are still wary, worried that she could be spying on my operation for her father.
But there’s no way in hell.
Eloise settles into a sweet sleep once more, and I press my lips to her head before I ease out from under her and get dressed, then leave the penthouse and make my way down to my main office.
The building is mostly empty at this time of day. The cleaning crew is taking care of making sure everything is sanitized and ready for tonight. Employees won’t start rolling in until around eight this evening.
But I asked Loveland to meet me at noon. I don’t give a fuck if she’s been to bed yet.
After that night a week ago, I wanted to fire her on the spot, but then I decided to sit back and watch her. I’d grown too complacent over the years where Loveland was concerned. That was my mistake.
One I won’t make again.
I gave her specific, seemingly insignificant tasks to see to, and she didn’t do even one of them.
I told her I wanted a new policy implemented for new members.
It hasn’t been done. I asked for a list of names of any members who have received warnings in the past year.
She hasn’t delivered. It seems she believes that she can do whatever the fuck she wants around here, and she’s going to pay for that.
I’ve just started looking through emails when there’s a knock on the door, and Loveland walks into the office. She’s still wearing the same white dress she wore for work last night.
“It’s not like you to call a meeting so early in the day,” she says as she sits across from me and crosses one long, thin leg over the other.
I lift an eyebrow and stare at her for a long moment until that casual, comfortable look in her eyes is replaced by fear.
“You’ve been running the playroom the way you see fit for a while now,” I begin.
“I’m the manager,” she says simply. “That’s my job. To run it for you so you don’t have to.”
“To run it for me,” I repeat and lean back in the chair, feigning relaxation. “To my specifications.”
“Of course.”
“To the letter.”
She tips her head to the side. “Yes.”
I nod and turn the laptop next to my desktop around so she can see the screen, watching her eyes as she takes it in.
“That’s Mr. Deluca.”
I don’t say a word, waiting.
“He’s a newer member,” she continues. “We vetted him about three months ago.”
“We?” My voice is granite, and she starts to breathe a little faster.
“Yes. Don’t you remember him?”
“Oh, I remember him. But I didn’t vet him, Sarah.” I only use her first name when I’m pissed, when she’s in trouble.
And once upon a time, when I fucked her.
Her pupils blow wide.
“This sack of shit hurt my girls.” She squirms in her seat. “And you know it. I told you to revoke the membership and make sure he didn’t come back.”
“I did.”
“Lie to me again.” It’s said in a challenge, and she bites her lip.
“Look, it was the spanking bench. I talked with Beth, and she said he didn’t leave marks or break the skin.”
I want to fucking rip her heart out of her throat.
“He ignored her safe word.”
“He didn’t hear it.”
I slap my hand on the desk, making her jolt. “He. Ignored. Her. Safe. Word.”
“We’re all human,” she says with a negligent shrug. “He fucked up and assured me he wouldn’t do it again.”
“That wasn’t your call to make.”
She starts to argue but then thinks better of it. Shutting her mouth, she glares at me.
“He came back a week later and whipped Scarlett so badly, she’s still recovering.”
“She should have used her safe word.”
I lean forward, and with a menacing voice, I say, “She did.”
I hit play, and the security footage from the playroom starts to roll. Scarlett is tied to the cross, her face in view as Deluca whips her, and her face is a mask of horror, pain and terror.
Loveland swallows hard, but doesn’t cave.
I make her watch every strike of the whip. By the time number fourteen is delivered, Loveland is sweating.
“Does that look consensual, Sarah?”
“I don’t—”
I hit another key, and the next photo to pop up is what happened to Deluca when we were finished with him, and Loveland’s eyes fall away.
“This is what happens when fuckers don’t follow my rules.”
I slam the laptop shut and stand, and she closes her eyes.
“What makes you think for even one second that you can run things your way, Sarah?”
“I made a bad judgment call,” she says, her hands twisting in her lap. “Like I said, we’re all human, and I made a mistake.”
“Yes,” I agree. “And according to Scarlett, who is still in enormous pain, thanks to you, when she requested you lower the music in the playroom so it’s easier for members to hear each other talk, you laughed in her face and ignored her completely.”
“Rome, the members haven’t complained—”
“A member of your staff suggested something to change for the benefit of both staff and members alike, and you fucking ignored her.”
“Rome—”
“You’re done.” Taking her by the hair, I pull her out of the chair. “You have six hours to pack your shit and get the fuck out of my building.”
She spins, her mouth agape. “I don’t have anywhere to go.”
“I don’t give a flying fuck. You’re fired.” I shove a stack of bills into her hands. “That’s the last of your pay. I’ll send two of my men up to make sure you’re out in six hours.”
“I can’t find a new apartment in six hours, Rome.”
I get in her face, my nose almost touching hers. “I DON’T GIVE A FLYING FUCK!”
She jumps, and then she backs up to my office doorway.
“Can I have twenty-four hours?”
“No. Get the fuck out.”
I pick up my phone and call Luke.
“Don’t you ever sleep?” he asks, his voice drowsy.
“Send two men to Loveland’s apartment to make sure she packs her shit and is out by six. Not a minute more.”
“Yes, boss.”
He hangs up, and I sigh, rubbing my hand over my face.
I’m quite sure that piece-of-shit Deluca paid Loveland off. She’s lucky I didn’t take her to the cell and interrogate her.
And I’m glad she’s gone.
Just as I’m about to head back upstairs, my phone rings with a call from an unknown number.
“Alexander,” I growl into the device.
“Have you found my daughter?”
This motherfucker.
She’s asleep in my bed, and I fucked her six ways to Sunday less than a half dozen hours ago.
“No,” I reply, clipped. “My men haven’t seen her.”
“It’s been more than a week since I asked you to handle it,” he barks.
“Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to?”
Rizzo clears his throat. “I’m sure she’s in Vegas. I want her home. If your men can’t find her, I’ll send my own.”
“If any of your men set foot in my city, I’ll execute them.”
“You’ll never find them,” he says. “They’ll be in and out.”
“Don’t fucking push me, you sack of shit,” I snap, but my voice is bland. “You’re lucky we didn’t kill you when you paid Julian back. I told you we’d be on the lookout for your kid, and if we see her, you’ll be contacted.”
I hang up and take a breath.
I can’t wait to fucking kill him.