Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Steele led him through the club, where, surprisingly, no one attempted to get his attention.
In fact . . . in the last few weeks, he’d barely had to answer any questions about the club. His time had been freed up.
Those complaints and issues hadn’t gone away . . . but he knew who was now fielding them.
That’s her job.
Yeah . . . but it could be a lot. Had he even checked in to make sure she was coping all right?
Fuck. He needed to keep a closer eye on her.
He followed Steele upstairs to his private lounge. The other man headed over to pour himself a bourbon.
“A bit early, don’t you think?”
Steele just stared at him before he slammed it back. He was going to get drunk quickly if he kept that up.
“Something you want to talk about?” Grady asked.
“She’s a Little.”
Grady blinked at him. That wasn’t what he’d expected him to say.
“How do you know? Did she tell you?” He couldn’t see how that conversation would come about.
“No. Of course not. But she still has that toy in her bag.”
“You know that doesn’t mean anything. Lots of adults have stuffed toys.”
“That they bring to work with them?”
He had to admit . . . that wasn’t terribly likely.
“It still doesn’t mean anything.”
Steele paced back and forth, clearly conflicted. “I want her.”
“Yeah. I can see that.”
“I basically told her that.”
Grady sucked in a breath. “We have that rule for a reason.”
“Know that. I made the damn rule. But when it comes to her . . . I don’t much care.”
“And what will that mean for her after you’ve finished fucking her?”
“After I’ve finished?” Steele asked. “Like you don’t want her?”
“I don’t need to fuck her.”
“Grady, you might like to pretend you’re a robot without feelings, desires, and needs. But we both know that’s not fucking true.”
Grady shot him a quelling look.
“You freaked the fuck out, man. I could see it. She could see it. You know it. And you never freak. Not unless someone means something to you. Didn’t see it before. You kept it hidden well. But you like her.”
“Pour me a drink,” he commanded.
Steele threw him a look but poured him a bourbon.
He took a sip from it. No way was he slamming back bourbon that cost three thousand dollars a bottle.
“I don’t know how this happened. But the first moment I saw her on that dance floor . . .”
“Wish I’d seen that,” Steele said with genuine regret. “And now she’s never allowed back near a pole.”
“Agreed. But it was her dancing before she even got to the pole that was . . . it was beautiful. She’s beautiful. And kind. Smart. Since she started, the only issues or complaints I’ve had to deal with have all come from Lucy. She’s been dealing with them all.”
“All of them? Do we pay her enough for that?”
“If it was anyone else, I’d say yes. But I don’t want her stressed out.” He didn’t like how often her door had been knocked on in the short time they were together just before.
“Keep an eye on that,” Steele commanded. “She’s got a lot going on. She doesn’t need extra stress.”
“Her boy is good?”
“Sixteen going on forty. Seems like he tries to take care of her as much as she does him. Smart. Empathetic. Yeah, he’s a good kid. But he shouldn’t be putting up with shit from rich assholes at his school.”
“Do you want me to take care of that?”
“I’ve got some names, I’ll send them to you. You see what you can find out. All of this will likely be coming from their fathers.”
“Want to send a warning?” Grady asked.
“Yeah. A warning to begin with. More if necessary.”
“I’ll get onto that.” Nothing would give him more joy.
“We also need to do something about her upstairs neighbor. He’s been keeping her up late at night. I’ll send one of the guys around to give him a warning.”
Grady nodded. “So what are we going to do about Effie?”
About their feelings for her. About their need for her.
Steele frowned off into the distance.
“We both want her,” Grady said.
Still nothing.
“But she works for us and she’s not a one-night stand, Steele. I won’t risk hurting her. Or losing a damn good assistant.”
Steele turned to look down at him. “Pretty sure she’s Little. Definitely submissive. She needs help. Protecting. Guiding. She got dizzy when she stood up earlier.”
Alarm filled him. “What?”
“Says she gets low blood pressure and poor circulation from her back injury. Doesn’t take care of herself. Always smiling even when she doesn’t mean it.”
“I don’t know about that last part. She doesn’t smile all the time with us.”
“That’s a good thing.”
Grady was startled for a moment, but then he realized that Effie’s smiles weren’t always genuine. They were a mask.
“She hides her true thoughts,” he said.