Taking Care of Business

  'I'm totally shocked. Not that you'd have a fling and all, but that you didn't tell me. He has seemed more chipper lately. I guess you're the reason for that. How does he feel about the move here?'

  'I haven't told him yet. I don't know what to say, Leah. We've had this no-strings thing, just fun meetings for sex and suddenly I'm here in his backyard. He's got kids and an ex-wife . . . a life. And he hasn't asked me to be part of it in any way other than what we've had.'

  'Wow. Well, I suppose you won't know until you tell him. Am I going to have to pretend like I don't know?'

  'I told him I was going to tell you today. But no one else knows. I'm already uncomfortable enough with people thinking I got this of counsel job because I know you; I'd be horrified to think anyone thought I got it because I was fucking in-house counsel.'

  'Anyone who knows you would laugh at the idea. I expect to hear everything, in great detail. Now that you live here we can actually hang out. I can almost forgive you for not telling me because of that.'

  'Well, you're the one who has a string of cute male strippers all lining up to give you attention every time you go to the club. I'm just there to grab your sloppy seconds.' They both snorted and began chatting for the rest of the short trip to the hotel about nothing much but all the stuff that makes you really like someone else. Shoes, Duran Duran, Clive Owen, the newest sci-fi movie they both wanted to see.

  Kate had met Leah in the eighth grade when Kate's parents had decided she should try public school. It was love at first giggle and they'd been friends ever since. Leah had seen Kate through a lot of rough times. Leah had stood by her during the whole mess all those years ago and it was Leah who she told all her secrets to. There hadn't been an important moment in Kate's life that Leah hadn't shared in some sense.

  Hell, they'd even shared a man once. The summer after high school they'd worked at a horse camp for junior high-schoolers. There'd been another counsellor who worked mainly with the horses and he'd been older. Delicious even. After an evening in the barn, just the three of them doing shots of Jack Daniels, she and Leah had stripped him naked, tied him up and tag-teamed him quite nicely. Kate snorted to herself at the memory. They'd rocked his world and she couldn't even remember his name.

  Still, of all the people in the universe, Kate knew it was Leah who'd tell her the truth, even if it hurt, who'd listen to her without judging. It was a huge comfort to have a person who'd keep you honest with yourself and who also gave you safe harbour.

  By the time they arrived at the hotel, Leah's spirits had risen. Being with a good friend could do that. Make even the crappiest day better.

  'He'll get that,' Leah said when Kate lifted her suitcase from the trunk. She pointed at the bellboy, who'd been lounging by one of the tall marble columns. He snapped to attention at Leah's gesture. 'Take these up to room 223.'

  He nodded as the valet stepped up to take her keys. Leah turned back to Kate to continue their briefly interrupted conversation as they headed inside the hotel. She stopped just inside the doors when she saw her friend's expression. 'What?'

  Kate shook her head with a small laugh. 'They just do whatever you want. I love watching it.'

  Leah's brow furrowed. 'Who?'

  Kate waved a hand towards the bellboy carrying her suitcase towards the elevator. He gave them a smile and a nod as he passed. 'Boys. You say jump, they ask how high.'

  'Oh, stop.' Leah laughed and led Kate in the direction of the bar.

  'I'm serious.' Kate gave her a look. 'Don't tell me you don't notice.'

  Leah paused, her smile fading as she thought of Mike. She sighed. 'Not usually.'

  They took seats at one of the booths instead of at the bar. A different bartender was on duty, a girl this time, and Leah insisted on paying for the drinks even though Kate protested.

  'You can get the next round.'

  'Next round?' Kate lifted her glass in a semi-toast. 'OK, if you're talking more than one round, I know you've got a lot to tell me. Start talking.'

  Leah hesitated. Not because she didn't trust Kate's judgement, or because she thought her friend would criticise. It was just hard to admit she'd made a mistake —another one. Some things were too personal even for a friendship as long and close as theirs.

  'I woke up today with a dick in my mouth,' she said finally.

  Kate's eyebrows rose. 'And you didn't bite it off?'

  Leah laughed, feeling the knot coiled in her stomach start to ease. 'No.'

  Kate took a swallow of her drink. 'Leah. You never talked much about Mike, so I know I can't say too much, but . . . he sounds like an utter asshole and I'm glad you dumped him.'

  Leah sipped some of her drink. 'It's not as simple as that.'

  'Is it ever?' Kate sighed, commiserating. 'So tell me.'

  Leah drank again, thinking exactly what to say. The bar had been mostly empty earlier, other than the two absolutely-not-queer suits, but now as evening wore on it had filled. Mostly young professionals stopping on their way after work or staying in the hotel, she judged by their clothes. Typical for a Monday night.

  Kate was waiting and Leah really wanted to tell her. She doubted her friend would be shocked or even surprised, yet somehow her mouth wanted to keep holding on to the past eighteen months like a secret. Like something shameful, when that wasn't it at all. At least not because of what she'd done. Just because of why.

  'I really thought,' she said slowly, shaping the words to keep her voice from shaking, 'it was what I wanted.'

  Kate said nothing, the perfect response.

  Leah looked at her. They'd shared just about everything with each other ever since the eighth grade. 'Do you remember Todd?'

  Only one of Kate's brows raised this time. 'I was just thinking about that on the way over here. I'd forgotten his name but it's kinda hard to forget him, don't you think?'

  Leah laughed. 'Yeah. I guess so.'

  'Mike doesn't sound like Todd, sweetie.'

  'He wasn't. But . . . you remember the rope?'

  Kate laughed and covered her face briefly with her hands.

  'Oh, God. Yes. Of course. He didn't know what hit him. I bet he thinks of us every time he uses rope.'

  Leah laughed too, remembering how they'd tied him up in the hayloft and had their wicked way with him. 'I couldn't ever forget that.'

  Kate sobered a little. 'And?'

  Leah sighed and finished off her wine, wishing she'd ordered something a little stronger. 'You know I've had a few boyfriends since then.'

  'You and me both.'

  'Well . . . I guess I just kept looking for something that reminded me of that.' Leah shrugged, took a breath. Took a chance. 'I always thought it would be so nice to have someone just . . . do stuff. For me. To me, I guess.'

  Again, Kate only nodded, listening.

  'Mike wasn't the first,' Leah continued. 'But he was really into it. Dominating. And, at first, I really liked it, you know?

  He laid it all out for me. What I would wear. What I'd make for dinner. The sex was great. He knew just what to do. I never had to tell him a thing.'

  Leah gestured at the waitress to bring another round. 'But, after a while, he stopped knowing what I wanted and expected me to know what he wanted.'

  'And when you didn't?'

  'That's the thing,' Leah said. 'I did. I always did.'

  Kate smiled. 'Of course you did.'

  Leah shrugged. The conversation didn't hurt as much as she'd expected. In fact, the more she talked, the less it seemed to bother her at all. The less important Mike and his demands became.

  'He never made me do anything I didn't want to do.' She wanted to make that clear. 'He was just a little more into the whole master/slave dynamic than I was, I guess. And it started feeling all very one-sided. I never felt like a slave,' she said finally. 'And I realised he really wasn't much of a master. He was just a selfish, self-involved prick who liked having someone do everything for him.'

  'And getting his dick sucked apparently.' Kate w
aited until the waitress delivered their drinks before continuing. 'And no, he doesn't sound like much of a master.'

  They'd always been open with each other about their sex lives —sharing a boy had sort of broken down any barriers there might otherwise have been. But Leah had never told Kate about the particular quirks of some of her relationships. Now she wondered what had held her back.

  'So that's that.' Leah drank thoughtfully. 'And you know something? I thought I was going to be way more upset about it. Now I'm just relieved. I'm just . . . yeah, relieved.'

  'Good for you,' Kate said sincerely. 'I mean it.'

  Leah grinned. 'And I thought I was going to be completely soured on even the thought of ever having sex again, too.'

  She told Kate about the afternoon, Stu and Larry, and how Larry had practically run away at her suggestion.

  'But let me tell you,' Leah continued conspiratorially, 'those massage shower heads? Awesome.'

  Kate snorted with laughter. 'Glad to hear you're getting back on the horse.'

  This set them both off into gales of laughter at the memory of a barn, a boy and a bale of hay.

  'I'll tell you what. I'd like to break off a piece of that,' Leah said when her laughter subsided. She discreetly pointed with her chin towards the bar.

  The man there had leaned forwards, elbows on the polished wood, to talk to the bartender. From this angle she got a good look at the way his black dress pants clung to the curve of his ass.

  He stood, up and up as they watched. He stood at least a head taller than most of the other men in the bar. His dark unruly hair looked thick enough to get lost in. It was hard to see the colour of his eyes from this distance, but Leah guessed they'd be dark, too. His white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up and tie pulled loose, wasn't showy but it flattered his broad shoulders and lean waist.

  He grinned at something the bartender said. A true, genuine smile, not a smirk or a seductive, sly quirk of lips.

  He ducked his head briefly before replying.

  'Him?' Kate pursed her lips and spoke in a put-on, deeper voice. 'Golly gee whiz, ma'am, can I mow your lawn for some extra money? I'm saving up to go to Paris with the band.'

  He did have that look a bout him, just a little. A clean-cut, earnest sort of aura that wasn't entirely out of place in the bar but not entirely in place, either. Leah couldn't hold back the chuckle at her friend's assessment.

  'I like that,' she said. 'Like he's just waiting to be corrupted.'

  Kate gave her a look, serious even though she was smiling. 'Did it ever occur to you that you've been putting yourself on the wrong end of the leash?'

  Something tightened inside Leah at her friend's words. She looked again at the guy by the bar, who was still chatting up the bartender. He looked serious now, his hand tracing something like a list on the bar's polished surface. The bartender was nodding, solemn.

  Leah looked at her friend. 'I think I'm done with all of that, Kate. I think I'd like to try something just . . . normal for once.'

  'First of all, just because not everyone does it doesn't mean it's abnormal.' The lawyer in Kate was coming out and Leah sat back with a grin for the lecture. 'Second, you're so full of shit, because having a fantasy about fucking two guys at the same time and wanting them to also do each other is so not something your average soccer mom is dreaming of.'

  'I'm not a soccer mom,' Leah pointed out. 'And I bet more of them than you realise want to have two men.'

  'Two men, yes,' Kate replied. 'Boy touching? Not so much.'

  'Mmmmm,' Leah sighed, thinking of it happily. 'Boy touching.'

  'Admit it, you're a perv.' Kate finished her drink. 'Nothing wrong with that. And if you want Band Boy over there, I say go for it. I doubt he'd know what to do with you, but go for it.'

  'I think he'd know exactly what to do,' Leah said under her breath just as he turned and looked in their direction.

  His eyes were dark, she could see that now. He'd been smiling again as he turned, and it sent a bolt of sheer desire straight between her legs. She'd always been a sucker for a smile.

  'I bet he could trim your hedges, too,' Kate said, and they both burst into laughter again.

  'Oh, shit. Shit,' Leah breathed between bouts of giggles. 'He's coming over!'

  'See? I told you!' Kate wiped her eyes and tried to force away the giggles but didn't quite manage. 'He's coming to hit us up for a couple of bucks. Maybe he'll p-p-play his trombone . . .'

  Leah put both hands over her mouth to hold back the semi-hysterical fit of chortles forcing their way out. He was coming over, weaving his way through the tables with effortless grace. By the time he got to the table, she only managed to get herself partially under control.

  He looked back and forth between the two of them. Kate kicked Leah gently under the table and waggled her eyebrows. Leah ignored her, afraid she'd burst into uncontrolled mirth again. She cleared her throat and attempted to take her hands away from her mouth, ready to slap them back at the first sign of an errant snort.

  'Hi,' the man said. Though his grin was all 'garsh, ma'am', his voice was anything but. Deep, low and entirely male, it followed the path his smile had taken straight to her centre. 'How's everything over here?'

  Kate sat back in her seat but, damn her, didn't answer. She kicked Leah under the table again, a little harder this time. Leah craned her neck to look up, up, up into his face. Damn, he was long.

  'Fine,' she said. 'It's fine. How're things for you?'

  He looked momentarily perplexed and then, damn. The grin was back, spreading wide and bright across his face. 'Um . . . it's fine. Do you need anything else?'

  Ah. He worked here. He wasn't just trying to hit on them, more was the pity. Kate made another small noise and pretended to study her glass. Leah, bolstered by a day that had begun like shit but had ended up being much better and by the alcohol too, looked up at his face.

  'Well, yes,' she said and rubbed the back of her neck to prove looking up so high was giving her a pain. 'You're very tall. Sit down.'

  And damn . . .

  He did.

  5

  'You're very tall. Sit down.'

  The woman with the dark hair spoke like she had no doubt she'd get exactly what she wanted, and Brandon did as he was told. He pulled an unused chair from the next table and sat. He watched the smile freeze on her face. She hadn't expected him to do it, he thought, and wondered why she'd told him to if she didn't believe he'd obey.

  'Is this better?' He'd turned the chair around the opposite way so he could straddle it, and now he folded his hands on the back to look at her expectantly.

  It wasn't Brandon's job to make nice for the guests, but the hotel manager had talked him into taking some extra shifts and he could use the cash. Taking over for Heather while she was on maternity leave had meant a lot more responsibility but no raise. Besides, it wasn't like it was hard work or he had anything better to do with his time.

  'Much,' the woman said while her friend stifled a laugh.

  He'd already made sure their waitress was taking good care of them, but their laughter had drawn him. They were having fun. The fact they were both smoking hot had nothing to do with it, he told himself, knowing it wasn't true. Hey, working late had to have some perks, right?

  'Well, if you need anything,' he said, 'just let me know, all right?'

  'Did you hear that?' the woman on his left said across the table. 'He did say anything, Leah.'

  Leah. He let the name play around on his tongue but kept inside his mouth. She had an empty drink in front of her, and he knew he should ask her if she needed another but before he could her friend got up. She used his shoulder to help her get out of the booth but waved him away when he started to get up to help her.

  'I'm fine,' she said. 'You stay. Leah, I'm wiped out. I'm heading upstairs.'

  Leah looked at her. 'Kate —'

  'No, no,' Kate said. 'You stay. Get that grass taken care of.'

  Leah put a hand over her eyes brie
fly, shaking her head, before she looked up with a grin. 'You're so bad.'

  Kate flashed him a grin he returned, and she patted his shoulder again. 'Have fun in Paris.'

  He waited until she'd gone before turning back to Leah. 'Paris?'

  'It's nothing.' She waved a hand. 'Private joke.'

  One he clearly didn't get. 'OK.'

  Behind him he heard the buzz and murmur of the crowd and knew he ought to make some more rounds. He didn't want to.

  'Well, I guess I should get back to work . . .'