Chapter 20
Deacon
“Okay, so if you get those reports to me by tomorrow morning, I’ll look over them first thing, and we’ll go from there,” I said.
Richard nodded before standing. “Thanks, Deacon. I appreciate you stepping in on such notice.”
“My pleasure,” I said. “We’ll get through this next month as smoothly as possible. I realize Victor Rainer had a very different leadership style than me, but I want to reiterate that asking questions or making mistakes is not something I’ll freak out over. Clear?”
“Yes.” Richard paused. “You impressed the team at lunch. Rainer came across as an arrogant asshole from the start, and we all struggled to work with him. He was more professional with us than he was with poor Riley, but to be frank, none of us were upset when Aiden fired him.”
“Well, I’ll demand the best from all of you, but I’ll always be respectful and won’t lose my temper,” I said.
“I’ll have those reports on your desk when you arrive in the morning,” Richard said.
“I appreciate it,” I said.
I waited until Richard left my office before sinking back into my chair. Other than when I’d escaped to the restaurant bathroom at lunch to text the sisters, it was the first time I’d had a moment alone since I walked into Aiden’s office and saw Charlotte standing there.
Riley. Her name is Riley.
I sucked in a deep breath, scrubbing my hand across my jaw. It had taken every last ounce of my willpower to scrub Charlotte - Riley - from my brain and concentrate on the job I was brought to do. But, seriously, what were the fucking odds that Riley would work for Aiden’s company?
I leaned back in my chair, studying the snow that fell outside my window. All this fucking time, she’d been working for one of my closest friends, and I had no fucking idea.
No, she was working for that asshole Victor Rainer, and he screamed at her and frightened her.
My hands clenched into tight fists. I thought back to how many times Charlotte had come to my house afraid and upset by her new boss, and I wanted to fucking murder him for treating her that way. My urge to track down his address and pay him a visit was a little on the alarming side.
I made myself relax. Char - Riley was safe, and I’d make damn sure I helped Aiden find a new CFO who would treat her with the respect she deserved.
I glanced at my watch. It was close to the end of the day, and I hadn’t spoken to her since our introduction this morning. I wasn’t deliberately avoiding her - I had been in a meeting all afternoon - but I could no longer put off talking to her.
I pressed her extension on my office phone.
“Hello, Mr. Ste - Cross.” Her soft voice stuttered in my ear.
“Hi. Can you come into my office, please?”
“Yes, sir.”
My fucking cock twitched just hearing her say, ‘Yes, sir,’ and I pushed my chair in close to my desk as the door opened and Charlotte stepped into my office.
She hesitated at the door, and I smiled stiffly. “Shut the door, please.”
She shut the door and joined me at the desk, sinking into the leather chair and staring quietly at me.
“So, this is unexpected,” I said.
She smiled faintly. “Yes.”
I cleared my throat. “I promised Aiden I would help him, but if you’re uncomfortable, I’ll make up an excuse for why I can no longer stay the month.”
She blinked at me. “What? No, I don’t… I mean, I wouldn’t ask you to do that. Mr. Wright needs you, and he’s been a great boss. I don’t want the company struggling because I’m… I mean, it’s my fault that you even have to be here.”
“No, it isn’t,” I said harshly. “I’m here because your former boss was an abusive asshole who treated you like shit.”
“I’m sensitive,” she said. “We both know that and -”
“Don’t do that. Don’t minimize the abuse, Char - Riley.”
She made a slight nod. “All right.”
I sighed and leaned back in my chair, rubbing my jaw again. “I know this is awkward, but I think we can make it work, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Good.” I hesitated. “I cancelled our session for this evening.”
“I know,” she said. “Celeste texted me.”
“I can’t book with you anymore,” I said. “You know that, right?”
“I do,” Riley said tentatively. “But you’re only here for the month, right?”
“Yes,” I said. “Just the month.”
“So once the month ends, we could return to the play sessions.”
“That isn’t a good idea,” I said.
Disappointment and, weirdly, what looked like a flicker of panic crossed her face. “Why not? If you’re no longer working here, there’s no conflict of interest, right?”
“True,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully. “But one of the reasons I use the agency is because I prefer to keep some distance between myself and the person I… play with.”
She stared silently at me, and I forged ahead, hating the thick awkwardness developing between us. “We’ll be spending a lot of time together over the next month, and it’ll affect our dynamic during play sessions. Even if I’m no longer working directly with you. I won’t be able to see you as Charlotte any longer but as Riley, the woman who was my actual assistant. Does that make sense?”
“Yes,” she said, “but we don’t have to be friends or anything to work together the next month, right? If our only interactions are related to work and we don’t share personal information or anything like that, then it will make it easier to disassociate who I actually am during play sessions.”
“It won’t work for me,” I said. “I’m sorry. Now that we’re working together, I won’t be booking you again, not even in a month.”
That brief panic fluttered on her face again before she gave me an unnatural smile that made my chest tighten. “I understand. Thank you for being honest with me.”
She glanced at her watch and stood. “Would you like a cup of coffee, Mr. Cross? I often made Jamie one at this time of day.”
Too sick to my stomach for coffee, I nodded anyway. “Yes, that would be great. Thank you.”
She left my office, and I sat back in my chair, feeling like I’d been through a twelve-round match with a prize-winning boxer.
“I fucked that up,” I said to my empty office.
I turned my chair and stared out the window again. Ending my play sessions permanently with Charlotte was the right decision. Working with her every day, seeing her every day, even if we did our best to remain polite strangers, was too similar to how things had changed with Eloise. We’d gradually grown closer, spending more and more time together until I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
I was already too invested in Charlotte’s life before I knew her as Riley. Giving her my cell number, driving her home, and making her share personal details were similar to how I’d treated Eloise.
Meeting Charlotte in real life was a good wake-up call for me. It opened my eyes to the mistakes I was making and gave me the clarity to see I was falling down the same rabbit hole I had with Eloise. Spending time with Charlotte every day would only make my urge to ask her for more - more play sessions, more intimacy, more personal information - even stronger. It was a mirror of the Eloise situation.
It isn’t the same. Sure, Eloise pushed to spend more time with you, but it was always through the agency, wasn’t it? How often did she stay the night with you without getting paid for it? Three times. Three fucking times. You were blind to what Eloise really wanted because you were in love with her.
Maybe, but the feelings I was developing for Charlotte - fuck, Riley! - were too close to how I’d begun to feel about Eloise. Better to end it now before it went too far.
I think it might be a little too late for that, buddy.
I ignored my inner voice. It was wrong. I was still in control of the situation and my heart.
* * *
“Thankyou for returning my call, Deacon,” Celeste said.
“Sure, what can I do for you?” I added more rosemary to the sauce and tasted some before turning down the burner. After my conversation with Charlotte today, I didn’t have much of an appetite, but I had to do something this evening beyond pacing the fucking kitchen.
Catherine and I just wanted to check in with you about Charlotte.”
I tensed. “What about her?”
“Well,” Celeste’s voice turned brisk, “we know you were very happy with her services prior to now, and we’d like to confirm that she didn’t do or say something that led to your decision not to book with her anymore.”
“She didn’t,” I said.
“You know that we guarantee one hundred percent satisfaction for our clients, so if -”
“She didn’t do anything wrong,” I said a bit harshly. “My decision to stop booking with her has nothing to do with her.”
“All right,” Celeste said. “Thank you for your honesty. If you have time to drop by this week, we can chat about other employees I believe can fulfill your needs.”
“No, thank you. I’m taking a break because work is busy.”
“Ah, okay.” Celeste’s relief was palpable even through the phone. “Well, you know where to find us when you’re ready to start booking again.”
“I do,” I said. The thought of booking someone other than Charlotte made my stomach turn, but I didn’t share that with Celeste. Give it a month or two, and my obsession with Char - Riley - would fade, and I’d be happy to book with the agency again.
You sure about that?
“Deacon?”
I realized I’d completely missed what Celeste said to me. “Sorry, what was that?”
“I asked if you’d be open to a couple of questions about your experience with Charlotte.”
“Why?” I asked.
“You were Charlotte’s first client and her first foray into exploring her kink. In these situations, Catherine and I often like to have a small chat to glean more information for her next client. It would be helpful for Charlotte and her new clients if we could give them more detailed information about the level and intensity of Charlotte’s praise kink.”
“Charlotte booked with another client?” I asked as a hot wave of jealousy washed over me.
“She’s dropping by Wednesday evening to review the client list again. We have some new ones, and I’m confident one or two will match her needs. So, would you classify Charlotte’s praise kink as mild, moderate, or intense?”
“I’m booking Charlotte for Wednesday night.”
There was silence, and then Celeste said, “I’m sorry?”
“I’ve changed my mind. I want to book Charlotte for Wednesday night,” I said as that hot jealousy bumped and thumped through my veins.
“Oh, I… well, all right. I’ll text Charlotte and check her availability,” Celeste said. “Your usual time, I assume?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you, Celeste.”
“You’re welcome.”
I ended the call and tossed my phone on the table before staring at the simmering sauce. What the fuck was I doing? I couldn’t see Charlotte again.
If you don’t, someone else will.
That bitter jealousy reared its head, and I paced the kitchen. Why the fuck did I think Charlotte would stop working at the agency when I stopped booking her? The thought of her being touched by another, of her being called a good girl by someone who wasn’t me, of her soft pussy and perfect breasts being touched and tasted and…
I sucked in a deep breath. Okay, booking with Charlotte was a gut reaction on my part, but I could still salvage this. Tomorrow I would talk to Charlotte and convince her that working at the agency wasn’t in her best interest. Once she agreed with me, I’d cancel the Wednesday night booking. Aiden paid his admin staff good wages. What possible reason could she have for needing the extra money?