either.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” He took a swig of his beer.
“What doesn’t sound good?”
They all turned to greet the newcomer, Master Carl Talbot.
The middle-aged man with slicked back, salt-and-pepper hair was
distinguished-looking, but when he dressed in his black pants and dress shirt,
he could pass for a vampire in a movie. At least the older movies. Nowadays,
the Hollywood men with fangs were young and handsome, catering to the teenagers
who thought it would be romantic to have a vampire shower them with attention.
It also didn’t help Master Carl’s image when the subs found out the man was a
sadist as well as a Whip Master at the club—not that he minded, of course. But
there was also a gentle side to him, which he showed during the aftercare for a
sub following a scene—after he inflicted whatever pain the sub was into.
As another couple, Master Reggie Helm and his
submissive/fiancée, Colleen McKinley, joined the group, Kayla and Marco went
over the details again. Reggie was a lawyer whose firm handled the legal
business for Trident Security and The Covenant, while Colleen had been
Trident’s secretary for over a year. It had taken her awhile to break the habit
of calling the team members “Master” during business hours, but she was damn
efficient and had just received a handsome raise for all she did for them.
Sipping his beer, Brody scanned the bar and sitting areas.
Sometimes, he and his former ménage partner, Marco, tag teamed Harper, but that
was only when his friend approached him about it. Brody would never ask to join
them since it came off as him sounding like a desperate third-wheel, which he
was definitely not. There were plenty of available submissives in the club who
he’d played with before, and he honestly had no preference over a duo or trio
scene.
When the subject changed among the group once again, he
turned back toward Kayla. Between her and another sub, Parker’s wife, Shelby
Christiansen, they kept up-to-date on the status of the submissives—who was
currently collared or in a contract. They were kind of the mother-hens of the
club, along with Mistress China, a Domme and one of the Whip Masters. “Hey,
Kayla. Have you been down to the sub area yet tonight?”
“Yes, Sir, about fifteen minutes ago while my Mistress was
busy.”
“Who’s available this evening?” he asked.
“Sasha is working in the store, Sir, and Georgia was
negotiating with Master Cain earlier. Oh, and Cassandra signed a temporary
contract with Master Stefan last night.”
His eyes narrowed, but Mistress Roxanne beat him to it. Her
voice was deep in reprimand. “My little subbie, I don’t think that helps Master
Brody at all. Instead of telling him who’s not available, skip the
gossip and tell him who is . Then we will have another discussion about
your chattiness when you’re asked a direct question.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” An apology was evident in her eyes, but Brody
wasn’t concerned about Roxy disciplining her sub. Kayla was a bit of a brat and
masochist at times. “I apologize, Master Brody. Several new submissives passed
their final training class last night, so they’re available. A few of them are
downstairs already.” She paused. “Is there anything else I can help you with,
Sir?”
He shook his head, not needing any further help from her
since he’d overseen several of the training classes and done the initial
background checks on all of them before their memberships had been approved. He
analyzed every aspect of a potential member’s life before forwarding all the
information to Ian, Devon, and Mitch for the final approval. “No, thanks. I’ll
wander down there and do my own negotiations.”
Excusing himself from the group and leaving his half-empty
beer on the bar, he ambled over to the stairs, nodding hello to several people
on the way. When he reached the security guard dressed in black dress pants, a
red, button-down shirt with a black bowtie, he handed