“Ah. The ex.”
“Christ, you asshole. Did you tell them everything?” Violet demanded.
“Of course, beignet. It is hard to ask for assistance if they don’t know what they are assisting, no? Lying is not my style, so when I am asked why I want to use a false name to check in, I tell them the truth.” Reaux ignored her furious hiss, turning his attention to Elias. “Violet is a curious creature. She has the biggest heart, the most giving nature, but if certain needs are not met, she becomes restless, angry, fractious.”
Elias scowled at her. “Are you not taking care of yourself, Violet?”
“Oh, fuck you, Eli. It’s none of your business, and Boudreaux needs to shut his mouth.”
“Fractious,” Reaux repeated solemnly.
“Stay out of this, you interfering, obtrusive jackass. Me and my life have nothing to do with you anymore; you severed theties very effectively.” Dismissing him with a jerk of her head, Violet focused on the two men regarding her with a wise degree of wariness. “My personal life is none of your concern. I work my contracted hours and more, I keep the clientele happy and coming back. Obviously, that’s not good enough for you, so as I said, my resignation will be on your desk by the end of the day.”
Evander opened his mouth to speak, but the darker Dom set his hand on his shoulder, squeezing in an intimate fashion. They glanced at each other, sharing a wealth of thoughts and opinions without saying a word.
“That is your prerogative, Violet, although we would be upset to lose you.” Elias rubbed his thumb over his bottom lip thoughtfully. “However, I would be remiss in my duty to the club if I didn’t point out clause twenty-two B in your contract.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please, oh mighty one, remind me what that might be.”
“In the event of a non-emergent resignation such as a family emergency, urgent relocation, etcetera, we uphold the right to request that the resigning employee remain in our employ until such a time as an adequate replacement can be found and vetted.” Elias didn’t smirk, but his eyes lit with triumph. “Finding a Domme of your caliber, with your experience and skills, won’t be easy, Violet. We headhunted you for a reason—because there is only you who fits what we want for the club.”
The low growl she emitted brought Reaux’s cock to full, throbbing mast again.
“We don’t want you to leave, Vi—we just need to understand what’s going on and made you so unhappy.”
“Well, for starters, colluding with my ex hasn’t brightened my mood, Evander. A little heads-up from my friends would have been real nice.” She tossed her head, sending her beautiful hair cascading over her shoulder. “As for the rest, is it physically impossible for me to have moods? To be happy, unhappy,scared, excited, or God forbid, a fucking bitch if I want to be? Am I the only Domme here being reprimanded for being fucking human?”
“No, but that attitude is,” Elias fired straight back.
It was quickly becoming obvious to Reaux that, while Evander was a Dom, when Elias was in the vicinity, he was the more passive of the two. Unsurprisingly. Elias emanated a strong undercurrent ofdon’t fuck me with methat was both impressive and daunting.
When pitted against Violet’s own brand of dominance—equally as impressive and daunting in a much sexier manner—they clashed like two bulls locking horns. Perhaps if their roles were more balanced and not that of employer and employee, Violet might have attained a stronger foothold, but Reaux knew how to read her and, however many times she threw her resignation into the fray, she didn’t truly wish to leave.
She was hobbling herself instead of cutting loose.
“Gentlemen,” he interjected quietly, “might I suggest we reconvene at a later time? Tempers are flaring, yes? Some time to let heated emotions settle might prevent a regrettable exchange of words.”
“What the hell are you even still doing here, Fontenot? You got what you wanted, now take your French accent and your fancy suit and get out of my goddamn sight.”
Magnificence, pure and simple.
Reaux simply shrugged, enjoying the show. “Actually, by the terms of the agreement between myself and the club, I’m now your shadow for the foreseeable future. Twenty-four hour, all access, quality time with mypetite beignet.”
She sat abruptly, dropping her head in her hands. “I pray to every God the world worships that each and every one of your past subs, girlfriends, pain in the ass lovers come backand makes your lives misery. All the way back to fucking kindergarten.”
“She thinks this is a punishment,” Reaux commented, sending the Doms a wink. “For me, personally, a reunion would be pleasant—all my lovers leave as friends.”
Evander cleared his throat and shot Violet a meaningful look.
“Bennie was more than a simple lover. She will be a lot more by the time I’m done.”
The woman under discussion growled and rose swiftly, her face hard as stone. “You have one month to find my replacement, Evander. That’s all I’m prepared to give you, whatever the contract dictates. And as for you,” she said in an icy tone to Reaux, “I don’t want you near me for the rest of the day. I don’t care what you’ve agreed with these two, you stay out of my sight. If you insist on continuing this charade, be outside my cabin at nine a.m.”
“Of course, Mistress.”
Violet’s eyes lit with sinister glee. “Don’t be so quick to agree, Boudreaux. Playing with these two will only cost you money. Fucking with me is going to cost so much more than you can afford.”
The smallest shiver of trepidation trembled down his spine, not that he showed it. He was not one who felt fear, let alone offered it on display, and Violet would not change that. “As I said before, I don’t care what it takes.”
