Chapter 8 Hayes
Hayes
Fucking grandpa? I’ll show her–
I should take her over my knee and show the little brat exactly how un-grandfatherly I can be.
But I won’t. I’ll keep things polite and respectful.
She’s clearly struggling to cope with this breakup she went through.
There’s a part of me that wants to find the woman and make sure she understands what a fucking mistake she made by hurting this woman that clearly loved–loves–her.
Except it’s not my place to avenge her. She’s not mine and I’m certainly in no place to keep her, either.
Not with my wife lingering out there, fucking with this land deal.
I have to focus on the club and moving it forward, but I can’t do that until I can get Raegan here, so we can get this long awaited divorce over with.
The sooner I sever the tie, the sooner we can both move on with our lives.
“Hayes.”
I turn to face Demi. She’s staring at me with a mixture of concern and confusion.
“It’s your turn. I told you my trauma. Now tell me yours.”
“Oh, Little Pixie. You don’t want to know. Trust me.” I pluck a slice of bacon off my plate and toss it into my mouth.
A sharp pain lances through my arm and I look down to see she’s just fucking pinched me.
“Did you really just do that?” I scoff, my eyes widened in surprise at her boldness.
She straightens her spine like she’s preparing for battle. “I told you something pretty private and vulnerable. The least you can do is share something too.”
“First of all, if you were mine, I’d punish you for that little bratty stunt you just pulled.” My shoulders roll back as I prepare to give her what she wants. “Second of all, I’ll give you the condensed version and that’s all you get.”
Blush creeps up the fair skin of her neck before she softens her posture and nods.
“Twenty years ago, I married an angel of a woman. We weren’t married long, but she was the best thing that had ever happened to me. Then one night, everything changed. We were fucking around and I tied her up. Ended up breaking her wrist. And then I lost her.”
She sucks in a hushed breath at my confession.
“I sent her divorce papers, but I found out last night she never signed them. Now she’s stalling the land purchase behind the club.”
“Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you going to do?” she asks, surprisingly non-judgmentally.
I release a long drawn out sigh. “My lawyer is drawing up new divorce papers and he’s working on getting her here, so I can physically watch her sign the damn papers this time.”
“And did you say… club?”
“Yeah, I own half of Gravity with my best friend, Ryker. It’s a kink club in the city.
” Gravity has quickly become the premier adult club in the mid-west, with its unique style and the fact that it’s located inside an old abandoned church.
We’ve created themed playrooms, located in the attached school portion of the building, the top floor is a bar and the basement has both private and less private rooms. The basement has become a space where almost anything goes.
We’re elite and believe in the safety of our members, which is why we have a state of the art scannable wristband system that forces people to max out at two drinks.
That club is my baby.
“Yeah, I know what it is. I’ve been there, silly,” she laughs.
I have so many questions about that. Why was she there? Was she there alone? Was she safe?
“Don’t get weird about it, grandpa–”
“Call me grandpa one more time, Little Pixie. See what happens.”
She blushes again and I can’t stop the smile that tugs at my lips knowing the effect I have on her.
She makes an exaggerated point of clearing her throat before speaking again.
“I was just going to say, since you seem so concerned about safety, that I didn’t go alone.
I was with CeCe and a couple of her friends and I only observed.
I also met Wrinley that night. Love that girl–not in the biblical sense, though. ”
I eye her skeptically.
“Don’t look at me like that, please. I happen to be a grown woman and that means I can go to an adult club if I want.” Her eyes widen and her lips form the most adorable pout. “But never fear, your membership prices are too rich for my blood, so I won’t be going anymore.”
I’m strangely uncertain if I’m happy about that or not.
I know the club is safe, but I also know she’s an attractive young woman.
She’ll draw attention, especially if she’s there alone, and I don’t know if I like the thought of other men–or women–getting the wrong idea, thinking they can approach her or even worse, have her.
I also know there’s no better place to explore kinks than my club. She’s clearly got some experience, but there’s always more.
“Lucky for you, I own the place. I’m also a grown man and can do whatever the fuck I want. So, if access to the club is something you’d like. It’s yours. I’ll make it happen as early as tonight, if you want.”
“Hayes.” Her voice is soft as she places her hand on my forearm under the table. “I appreciate the offer, but I shouldn’t. I hate the thought of taking a handout like I’m some kind of charity case.”
Fuck.
“It’s not like that–”
“I know it’s not, but I’d always feel like I owed you for it.”
I know what she’s getting at and it sickens me that anyone would take advantage of her like that. There’s more she’s not telling me but I don’t want to push her on it–not yet. I do, however, want her to have this.
“I have an idea, then. Come work at the club.”
“What? Hayes–”
I press a finger to her lips, silencing her protest before it’s begun.
“I teach classes and I need a demo bunny. Basically, someone I can demonstrate things on to the class. Anyone that works for the club, gets full access. It’s a win-win.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to do this because you feel sorry for me.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t feel sorry for you, at all. Not even a little bit. I do need you, though. You’d be helping me out… a lot.”
Her pupils enlarge at the realization of what I’m offering. Complete and unrestricted access. But something is still holding her back.
“What about last night?”
There it is.
“What about it?”
“I-I’m just not in a place where I can be involved with anyone. I shouldn’t have even done it last night. I need to let my heart heal so I can move on from my ex and I can’t do that if I’m getting lost in someone else, no matter how good they smell.”
That last part was oddly specific.
“Don’t worry, Little Pixie. I’m not really in any shape to get involved, either.” The corners of my lips turn up into a smirk. “Besides, you’re not my type, remember?”