4 Emeric
Serenity is up in the office when I finish my class, hastily packing her things into her bag. There’s a mountain of paperback shoved to one side of her desk, and one file cabinet drawer is half open. She slams her hands on the desk when she spots me, wide eyes meeting mine.
It’s almost cute. Like the shocked look she gave me when she realized I could see her in the curtains of the stage. She’s not one to watch my classes, so it was a surprise when I spotted her in the curtains.
And something close to a nightmare when I noticed Chad. I like that guy less and less, but unless I can find some reason to kick him out there’s no reason to deny him entry to the club. If I start any drama, Vinny will call and have my head.
I would expect Jo to do it, but when we last spoke she didn’t sound well. I don’t think things are going great in Florida.
“Nice class,” Serenity says, her eyes dropping to the desk. This happens every time she addresses something kinky, and I can’t help wondering how she plans to survive long on the floor. Even vetted members like to swarm to the innocent and naive, and she’s giving off every signal that she really doesn’t know what she’s doing here.
Closing the door, I lean back against it. Her head lifts at that, eyes narrowed on the only exit point from the room. There’s a window I’ve never seen opened, but it’s too high and narrow for her to try and shimmy through.
Lifting the corner of my lips in a grin, I nod to her. “You looked like you were enjoying yourself. That scowl wasn’t etched on your face for once.”
“Ha-ha,” she deadpans, her voice lacking any inflection. “I just wanted to see how classes are going since we have so many issues with the club right now.”
That drops the grin right off of my face. We’re finally getting in a flow of applications again, and now there’s new issues to address. She left a grocery list of items we need to discuss on my desk, and I promptly ignored it to go down to my class. Whether she chooses to acknowledge it or not, my classes bring in a huge crowd. People love the techniques, and I’m not blind enough to ignore the fact that there’s a handful of unpartnered submissives who come to the class seeking my attention. I don’t humor them, but they keep returning anyway. “Yes, I recall.”
“If you aren’t up here to talk about that-”
“I came up to relax before I walk the floor,” I tell her, interrupting her spiel. She glares at me, but she’s no longer packing things into her bag. I could waste my breath and ask why she’s at the club on her day off, but I’ve noticed she likes to come in and do busywork instead of doing anything social. She’s a decade younger than I am; I know this because Jo casually dropped it into conversation when we met. I’m surprised she isn’t out with friends. “And I wanted to see if you were just as flustered as you were downstairs.”
“I’m not flustered!”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “If you want to play ignorant, keep it up. But you are pitifully bad at lying.”
She scoffs. “I seriously doubt that. I’ve been lying to the media my entire life and no one ever picks up on that.”
The air between us shifts, an unspoken issue settling in the room. We don’t talk about Jo and Vinny, not outside of addressing club issues. We aren’t friends, and without talking about it we have no way of knowing what each other knows about the situation. She might be blood, but I’m the family they chose.
“About your dear cousin?”
Serenity shrugs, brushing back her loose blonde hair. She squirms around uncomfortably in her seat, and we’re hitting a touchy subject. “Occasionally. Now that it”s been… a while, no one really asks me anything about that. Even with the rumors and the news no one really remembers who I used to be to them.”
I raise a brow. “If shit’s going down again you don’t think that someone will look into you? Your father works at the hospital and blasts his name everywhere. A nosy enough reporter will find you.”
She blushes hard enough it stains her cheeks to chest in a heavy red hue. “Maybe. But I know what to say. I’ve been doing this my entire life.”
Rocking back on my heels, I study her. Things that happened more than fifteen years ago are coming back to haunt us, and while I may have escaped Florida, Jo and Vinny flew right back into the fray. “It doesn’t prepare you for whatever comes of this.”
She grabs the straps of her bag, a monstrous purse that”s brimming with far too many things, and it gives me a moment to study her. She’s wiped at her face while sitting up here, and there’s smudges beneath her eyes where she’s rubbed the makeup off. Her application is uneven now, little blemishes that make her human, peeking through the face she pretends to wear. “It doesn’t prepare them either.”
I drag my teeth over my lips, watching her approach. Part of me wants to dig and find out how much she knows but that involves digging into my side of the story. I’m not ready to tell it, not with the secrets still resting heavily on my chest.
I can’t fix what’s happened to any of the three of them. All that’s left is to see if they can work it out and find the elusive copycat.
Or he could just state the truth. I wonder if he’ll really ride that lie to his grave.
“I need to go,” Serenity snaps, pausing in front of me. “I’m having dinner with my family.”
“Good old Mom and Dad,” I ask, raising a brow. I might know a lot about Jo and Vinny, significantly more than most of the members of the club, but I know very little about Serenity.
“Just Dad and my sister. My mom isn’t the type to hang out with family.”
Hmm, that’s a strange thing to say. As far as I’m aware she’s never mentioned her parents being separated but she’s giving me the impression they are. “Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from that.”
She nods, moving to the handle. I catch her wrist instead of moving like she expects, leaning into her space. The strawberry scent of her hair hits my nose and I almost pull back in surprise. I’ve never been this close to her. “You should consider a class.”
She scoffs. “A pole dance class?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes narrow. “With you?”
“Haven’t you heard? I’m a fantastic teacher. People keep coming back for more.” I lean in closer, letting my breath ghost over her ear. She shivers, looking up at me with guarded eyes. “It’s a nice rush, and a hell of a workout if you’re new. You might need it.”
She bristles. “Are you telling me to work out?”
“No, Doe Eyes, I’m saying you need to work off the stress. And since I never see a partner between your legs, I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of stress relief.”
Serenity snarls and pulls back. A laugh slips free, and I finally step out of her way. There’s nothing but venom in her gaze as she wrenches the door open, glaring at me until she steps into the hall. But her voice carries back to me before she slams the door closed.
“The only reason I don’t have a partner between my legs is because I haven’t found a man here good enough to bother with.”
~~~
Almost a week passes again before I get to corner Serenity again. She’s elusive when she wants to be, hiding in the office when I’m busy and slipping downstairs before I can pester her. She’s avoided me ever since I caught her watching the class and even more upstairs since I cornered her in the office. It’s a tad amusing but as fun as it is, we can’t continue to manage the club like this.
I have her number since we’re the only managers currently, and on occasion we need to discuss things when the other is out of office. There’s very few reasons we message. There’s less than a dozen texts between us in the last few months. I was half tempted to poke fun at her that way, but then I’d miss her in person responses.
I’ve heard through the grapevine, mostly from Callie, that she’s casually asked a couple times how my classes are going. It’s hard to tell with Serenity, but sometimes I think she really doesn’t belong in a place like this. She’s constantly blushing and looking away during a conversation, but it’s hard to know if it’s embarrassment or disgust with the way she wrinkles her nose. I see her trying to interact more with the members of the club, which is kind of a good thing. Half the time she just looks painfully awkward down there.
I end up in the office a few minutes early, and she’s just starting to collect her things once again to book it downstairs. Serenity glances up, her cheeks burning that pretty red again as she clears her throat. “Class over?”
“Not many people today. Kind of hard when people are busy before summer.”
She frowns, and I wonder if things like that even register on her radar. Serenity is disgustingly rich’ I recall Jo joking about it a few times in the past. But it isn’t a fib, she really is loaded. I don’t know if she’s ever had anything stressful to do before summer.
“Oh,” she replies, fingering the badge. That maroon lanyard is in her hand, and I’ve noticed she flips between the work badge and the play one whenever Chad is here. Of all the members, why did she have to go for him?
“We need a new plan to up membership,” I tell her bluntly, and her head snaps up at my words. “The numbers are down, we both know it, and Jo and Vinny don’t need any more stress while they are away. When I talked to them yesterday they seemed worried about how things are going.”
“It’s not that bad-”
“Doe Eyes, you said you prefer the office work, didn’t you? So you must know that things are down and we need a draw to bring people in.”
She huffs. “Well, do you have any suggestions?”
“Plenty,” I tell her with a grin. “The classes are fine, but we need more immersion. People get bored with the same old shit. So maybe we bring in some other experts, people who do extreme bondage, roleplay, or even a demonstration on kinks.”
“But Nate and Callie do a large portion of our informational classes. And doesn’t that guy Julio come in every so often for a performance? You don’t think that’s enough for the next few weeks?”
“I think we need to do something new to draw the crowd,” I tell her with a shrug. “I haven’t nailed down an idea yet that you won’t veto.”
“I don’t veto everything!”
“Sweetheart, you’re the queen of saying no. I wonder how a sweet yes would sound on your lips.”
She blushes harder, and I take it as a win. Getting under her skin is one of the only things that makes our interactions bearable. But she squirms beneath my gaze, dropping her eyes back to the desk before she speaks. I half expect her to go on a tangent about our last conversation, but she steers things the other way. “I did have an idea.”
“Shoot,” I tell her, falling into my desk chair. It’s cramped as hell on this side of the office, but at least I can get some work done on my own without Serenity peering over my shoulder.
Biting her lip, she continues to stare at the desk long enough that I’m losing faith she’s going to speak. “We could hold an auction.”
I snort, knowing how difficult running a successful auction can be. The longer I wait for her to say what’s really on her mind, the more I realize this is it. “You’re not serious are you?”
She nods, turning to the computer. Dear lord, she’s going to show me a chart. I’m almost sure of it. “Yes. When Jo and Vinny used to hold them annually they made a mad amount of money.”
“I’m aware,” I grumble, thinking of the last auction I witnessed. That feels like a lifetime ago and I doubt Serenity knows what all that entails. It was a nightmare to put together. “It’s incredibly difficult.”
“We could open up for new members to join as part of the auction, and to whatever ends their agreed upon contracts extends, we’ll waive the fees,” she says, a note of excitement in her voice. That sounds like a jumbled mess to me, and I know right away she doesn’t really know how complicated it can get.
“And you think everyone sets their own rules and timelines and boundaries?”
“That’s the point isn’t it?” she asks with a frown, lifting her head again. “To let each individual set their boundaries? Make up a basic itinerary for everyone who wants to go up for auction, leave names off, have them sign some specified forms before and after the auction to whoever is the highest bidder. Part of the money goes to the club and part could go to the person being bid on.”
“Doesn’t that veer towards prostitution,” I ask her seriously. “We don’t need to get into trouble for that.”
“Not really. It’s kind of complex. People would know all the details and boundaries before signing up. Audience members could bid. It would pack the house with unpartnered members which could up membership numbers if people stay on. It would increase profits and membership enrollment while engaging the current members.”
My jaw ticks. “It’s going to be a huge mess to set up.”
“Well, as you said, that’s why I do the office work. I can handle the specifics, but we need to market it the right way to the club. If the ongoing members aren’t onboard, we’re fucked.”
My lip twitches. “You sound so dirty when you cuss, Doe Eyes.”
She sneers. “Cut it out. I’m being serious.”
“And have you asked the owners about this,” I press, raising a brow. “Auctions are a lot of work and if it”s a disaster the club could look bad. They are putting a lot of faith in you.”
“I’m Jo’s cousin,” she says, narrowing her eyes. “They inherently trust me.”
“Being blood related means very little when it comes to trust,” I tell her, swiveling in the chair. “The people most willing to betray you are the ones you know best.”
“I doubt of the two of us I know Jo and Vinny best,” she replies, and I almost detect bitterness in her voice. “I’m family by blood and they saw that to be important enough to ask me to help with the club. They didn’t entrust this place to you alone.”
“I left,” I tell her, shrugging. “I had opportunities out on the east coast and I didn’t let them pass me by.”
“Yeah, in Florida,” she says, and I narrow my eyes. “You didn’t happen to go see him, did you?”
The him hangs between us, and it’s beginning to become a habit to have these tense conversations up here. “What I did in Florida is my business.”
“So maybe it did have to do with him,” she taunts.
“Even if it did, that’s a problem that’s bigger than you, Doe Eyes,” I snap, standing. Her brow furrows, but I’m done going down this train of thought. “He’s their problem now, and if they’re smart, they won’t let him twist the story again.”
“Did he-”
I wave a hand, interrupting her before she can go off on a tangent. “Hard to say. I’m not getting into it.” Pinching the bridge of my nose, I glare at her across the room. “You know what? Pitch the damn auction. If they go for it you can make it a passion project. I’ll support whatever you think you can handle.”
“Emeric-”
“But I think you’re in over your head,” I continue, turning away. “Everyone has to be willing to be auctioned, and it”s kind of a gray area if things go wrong. Good luck working that out.”
She sighs, and I shove the papers that are in my way to one side before logging into my computer. I don’t spare her another glance, not as her heels click across the floor, or even when there’s a lengthy pause from the time she reaches the door to when it clicks open.
She’s wanting me to say more. To dig in and hear my thoughts, or maybe she wants to know more about what I know about Vinny and Jo. Either way, I offer her nothing more, and with a sigh she opens the door and disappears.
When it clicks shut, I fold my hands and stare blankly at the screen. She’s digging for answers, many of which I can never give her.