“What’s going on, girl?”Andi asked.
“Not sure you’ll believe it.”
“Hold on.Let me get away for a minute.”
Andi owned a massively successful salon or, in her words, a hair artistry and design studio.They’d been friends since high school.Both of them had lost their moms early, and both of them had fathers who were overbearing.
“You’re calling to make an appointment, right?That’s what I won’t believe.You’re finally ready to do something about those poor, neglected tresses.Highlights?A new cut?Oh halleluiah, tell me we’re going to get rid of some of that length.We can always put in extensions to make it look longer.”Andi growled deep in her throat.
“Was that supposed to be sexy?Or were you trying to sound like a cat in pain?”
“Bitch.”
In the background, Kelsey heard blow dryers and a man yelling.“Lorean?”she guessed.
“Shampoo girl didn’t do a proper rinse,” Andi said.“Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer I’ll put up with him being a bitch.”
“Another ten years?”
“Probably.But only if he takes his PMS medication.”
She knew Lorean had been Andi’s first employee.Despite, and maybe because of, his mercurial moods, he brought in tons of clients.Pissed off plenty of them too.But all the bad reviews that former clients left online just seemed to fuel the drama and attract more interested people.He was becoming a legend in Houston.
“So if you’re not going to let me do something about that mess on top of your head, why did you call?”
Andi’s bluntness was her most compelling asset.Kelsey never knew what her friend would say, or show up wearing—from a designer dress and heels to cartoon-print leggings and an oversized sweater.But it was the hair and makeup that was always the best surprise.Blue.Pink.Bob.Shoulder-length blonde extensions, or even ash-gray ones which gave her purple eye shadow and false lashes the look of a movie star’s.
“Come on,” Andi encouraged.“I’m going to need to run to wrestle a fucking flatiron away from Lorean.Jesus H.Where’s my Xanax?”
“The Donovans have”—she ran her finger around the plastic lid covering her cup and settled for—“acquired Newman Inland.”She mentally patted herself for the word.It was better than her first choice, stolen.
For a moment, there was silence.“Donovan?Like Donovan, Donovan?”
“Yeah.As in Nathan Donovan is my new boss.”
“Holy fuck bunnies.”Andi whistled, and the noise was so high-pitched that Kelsey had to move the phone away from her ear.“That’s a fine man right there.”
Except for the personality that went along with the classic good looks and stunning body.“He’s a hard-ass.”
“Meaning he acts like a Dominant?”
“What?”Kelsey demanded.
“Just askin’,” Andi said.“I forget which, but one of the brothers is part owner of that new club.”
Kelsey frowned.“What new club?”
“You know, the one I was telling you about.The tie-me-up-and-beat-my-ass-hard club.”
“The BDSM one?You’re not talking about Deviation, are you?”Kelsey had read about it in an exposé in the alternative newspaper that could be picked up for free at the trendy places around Houston.A man who lived in Boston and was reputed to be a friend of Julien Bonds was the majority owner.But she didn’t remember seeing the name Donovan.Maybe because it hadn’t mattered at the time.But now… A kaleidoscope of questions turned over in her mind.Could Nathan possibly be a Dom?Could that explain her visceral reaction to his personality?
She shook her head to clear it.Even while she told herself she wouldn’t think of her new boss that way, she said to Andi, “Keep talking.”
“I may or may not have personal knowledge of said club.”
“What?You?You went to a kink place?”Kelsey almost dropped her cup.“When?”According to the article, the place was all very secretive and exclusive.It had some amazing high-tech additions, making it unique among all the clubs in the country.
She thought back to Nathan, his watch, the unique things it did.Was it possible that he was the brother who’d invested?She discarded that thought almost as quickly as it had formed.Even in the short time she’d known him, she doubted he’d put his money into something with that kind of risk.
