Chapter 35 #2
Maude taps her fingernails on her knee. “He’s clever.
Maybe cleverer than I gave him credit for.
He started by criticizing the changes you’ve been making.
He suggested that they stemmed from your caregiving ‘indulgences,’ as he called them.
He brought up your aversion to gang bangs and said you were creating a culture of intolerance toward hard sadism at the club—”
“Well, that is fucking rich,” I burst out.
“I’m aware of the irony.” Maude reaches out and covers my hand with hers.
She locks our fingers together and takes a deep breath before she says, “He reminded us that we’re dominants.
That we are driven by the need to control.
The house subs are driven by the need to give themselves over to that control.
They don’t always understand that about themselves and that’s why they come to us, to help them discover those deep truths and explore their submissive nature.
“He reminded us that we are, in essence, hunters, and the subs are our prey. We wrap that in scenes and safe words but we will always have that need to control and subjugate and denying those needs is denying our own truths. He asked us to consider how we could hope to provide true dominance for our subs if we’re lying to ourselves about what we are? ”
I start to growl, “That is complete—”
“Hear me out,” Maude says quietly. “He pointed out that although Shannie was frightened, she did, in fact, submit successfully to both Ty and Hart. The scene fulfilled one of her key submission goals. Drew reminded us that sometimes we have to use a sub’s fear to get them where they don’t just want but need to go.
He called it a successful scene and there were a number of nods around the table, Logan. ”
“Then they’re assholes. None of them sat there while we talked to Shannie. She doesn’t think it was fucking successful.”
Maude nods. “Unfortunately, Annabelle isn’t as well known.
She’s too new. There were only a few committee members who had scened with her at all and almost none of the hard sadists.
Drew expressed regret at her leaving the club and denied any knowledge of the threats made against her.
He admitted being involved in the DVP scene but said it was negotiated in advance and she never used her safe word.
He understood it might have pushed her physical limits but pointed out that she’s given vaginal birth to two babies without mishap.
Drew said he took that into consideration and wouldn’t have attempted a DVP scene with most of the other house submissives.
He came across as thoughtful and conscientious—”
“Then he’s a goddamn sociopath because no one who thinks it’s okay to hunt our house submissives has any shred of fucking conscience,” I snap.
“We can’t judge him on his morals, Logan, only his actions. That left the situation with Cappa which, as you know, didn’t directly involve Drew—”
“The asshole who tore up Cappa so badly he needed sixteen stitches is part of Drew’s fucking wolfpack,” I growl.
Maude squeezes my fingers hard. “Direct your anger at a useful target. Caddy, Cris, and Chess said not one word against Drew or in your defense when he was accusing you and Mac of being too soft on the house subs because you’re Daddy Doms—”
Maude breaks off at a sharp snort.
“I am not a Daddy Dom,” Mac says, finally interjecting himself into the conversation.
“In less than a month, I wrangled one of the toughest, sassiest subs here into twenty-four-seven submission. Something not a single other Dom here managed in five years. Not that I believe for a second that Logan’s gone soft, or that a little softness in this situation isn’t warranted.
This is bullshit. That baby-faced prick is an abuser.
Anyone with eyes can see it. If the committee doesn’t see it, or isn’t willing to do anything about it because they have a beef with Logan and me, then they don’t deserve the house subs. ”
Maude’s eyes flick from Mac to me and back to Mac. “What are you saying, Michael?”
“I’m saying that none of the house subs will be showing up for work until this club is a safe place for them.
And that if they don’t get full pay while they’re off, I’ll personally file hostile work environment claims for all of them against Drew and every member of the management committee who supports him. ”
Maude clears her throat. “Well.”
“Navy taught me a thing or two about using what little the law provides,” Mac says.
“There are thirty-eight men and women here who are being put in an unsafe situation by their employers. Thirty-eight uniquely vulnerable men and women. And by God, Uncle Sam, and the great State of New York, I will protect them.”
Having seen Mac get like this before over the men under his command and remembering what he said about letting him fight this battle, I sit back with a nod. “What he said.”
“Michael, you’re very new to all this—”
“Doesn’t make me blind or stupid. No, I don’t have the history with the people in that room that you and Logan have.
But I have spoken with each and every one of the house subs over the last two weeks, which is something I’m betting none of the other committee members has done.
More’n one of ‘em’s hurting. Many of ‘em are scared. None of ‘em will show up tomorrow if I send a message to the chat group every single one of them joined tellin’ them it’s not safe for them here.
” Mac chuckles. “Well, Briar Rose might. Have fun with her.”
Maude looks faintly impressed.
“I suggest trying to catch the three Cs now, before any of them leave the building, and ask that they reconsider.”
Mac nods and rises, scooping Livvy’s car seat up by the handle. He holds Maude’s chair for her like the gentleman he is and gestures for her to precede us out of the Trattoria.
“Even if this is the right decision, they won’t like being strong-armed into it,” Maude warns as we follow her into the hallway.
Mac shrugs. “I don’t care what they like or don’t like. They can kick me to the curb instead of Drew if they want. I’ll still be taking the house subs with me and making sure they never submit again to someone who thinks hunting ‘em without their consent is in any way acceptable.”
I smile at my friend and mentor, who will always do the right thing, no matter the personal cost.
The Three Cs, Ten, Javier, and Franco are still in the small conference room when Maude knocks on the door and enters.
“Lady and gentlemen,” she says as she holds the door open for us. “Michael has something to say that you need to hear.”
Chess gestures to the seats around the table. Mac delivers his threat as coolly and smoothly as he did in the Trattoria.
Chess goes pale. Caddy’s lips thin. Ten frowns thunderously.
“Logan, when you took back Master of Training—” Franco, the club’s lawyer, begins.
Chess barks a laugh. “None of us thought you’d be staging a Subbie Rebellion.” He starts clapping. “Well done.”
Franco and Ten look at Chess like he’s lost his mind. Caddy’s black-hole gaze bores into me. Cris types something into his tablet.
“Mr. MacNally’s right,” Cris says quietly. “About the hostile work environment claims. That would be substantially more of a financial loss for the club than refunding Master Drew’s membership fees.”
“If proven,” Franco says.
Cris tips his head in acknowledgment. “Punitive damages are a possibility under state and federal law. As the club’s legal advisor, you’ll need to tell us the likelihood of success of such claims but as the club’s financial advisor, I can tell you that financially the decision is clear.”
Franco pinches the bridge of his nose. “We can’t let it even go to tribunal. As soon as the nature of the house subs employment becomes clear, it will be referred to law enforcement and the club will be shut down. I’ve warned the committee about this before.”
“Yes, you have,” I say. I wasn’t going to play that ace in the hole unless I had to, though.
“Looks like you’ve gotten your way, Logan,” Caddy says softly.
“What way is that?” I ask. “You encouraged me to promote age-play at the club and then you backstabbed me when I did it. You sat on your fucking hands while Drew and his fucking wolfpack terrorized our house subs—”
Maude reaches over and curls her hand around my forearm at the same time Caddy snaps, “You have no idea what I’ve done or haven’t done, nor whether my actions have helped or harmed. What we do know is that only two wolfpack members at the club have been revealed—”
“Do you believe there’re more?” Mac asks.
“I believe we’ll never know now,” Caddy says, her eyes boring into me.
“Drew and Emmett will be expelled from the club but as they haven’t been arrested, it’s unlikely they’ll face other justice.
Logan’s overt maneuvering means they know why they’re being expelled.
The rest of the wolfpack knows we know. Do you think they’ll disband?
Or that they’ll just become more subtle?
Abusers don’t reform, they just find quieter victims.”
“Theo’s making a case against Emmett,” I protest.
“But not against Drew,” Caddy retorts. “I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to speak with Emmett and Drew but five minutes of conversation would have made clear who is the beta and who is the alpha in their vile pack.
Emmett’s a follower. Drew threw him in our path and you took his damn bait, Logan—”
“Maybe if you’d ever fucking told me what was going on, I wouldn’t have!” I flare.
“Did you take me into your confidence?” Caddy snaps. “I’ve been going on whispers just as much as you have. The only thing I know about Drew that you didn’t is that he’s related to me. Second cousin.”
My gut knots. Javier mentioned that Caddy’s uncle, the former chairman of Blunts, abused her.
That piqued Emily’s curiosity and she went digging through Blunts’ archives and public records.
What she found made my blood run cold. David was a pedophile and a rapist and his favorite victims were his own family members.
“On your uncle’s side?” I ask, my voice choked.
Caddy nods.
“Was he—?” I can’t complete the question.
“He was called as a witness but refused to testify against David,” she responds, her voice cold and hollow.
“As I said, I’ve only been going on whispers.
Rumors. Dark glances. But I know that age-play is a trigger for Drew.
I’ve overheard him bad-mouth it often enough.
I’ve seen the looks he’s given you and your little.
I encouraged you to create the Nursery and promote age-play at the club as much to change the club’s culture as to draw him out. ”
“Fuck’s sake,” I say. “If you’d said one word.”
“What word?” Caddy asks. “You’re the damn detective, Logan. I approached you. I encouraged you. I supported you behind the scenes. I made sure the Nursery was funded despite your ridiculous budget requests. A tree? You needed a goddamn tree in the middle of our club?”
“I really like the tree,” Cris says. When Caddy swings her dark gaze at him, he holds up his hands. “What? I bet we’re the only lifestyle club in the nation that has a tree in the middle of one of our dungeons. It’s a selling point.”
Caddy returns her fulminating glare to me. “This is on you. Drew won’t stop and now we’ve missed our opportunity to stop him.”
Her words settle deep in my chest.
“I won’t give up,” I say.
“Don’t,” she responds.