When at lastFriday night arrived, bringing with it Lucian’s shift at The Shepherd, time slowed to a near crawl. He turned his head to look every time someone climbed the stairs, but it was never Marcus who met his eye. The smiling faces and devious looks of those who passed him by were as addicting as they were frustrating, if only because Lucian knew that for every face he saw, he was one closer to seeing the man he wanted more than anyother.
“You’re weird tonight,” Clarissa remarked. There was a lull in business, and it gave them time to chat while they cleaned and prepared for the next rush. “Somethinggoingon?”
“Nope.”
“Well, if that nope turns into a yep, you can let me know.” Clarissa smiled at him. Since Lucian had rejected Marcus, she’d settled down significantly. “There’s no bigger of a clichéd place to talk about your problems than at a bar, right? Gotta be for areason.”
Lucian laughed. “Except I’m the bartender. I’m supposed to be the one listening to problems while lookingdisaffected.”
“Hey, in case you didn’t notice, I’m a bartender, too.” Clarissa winked. “This pretty face isn’t wasted only on management. I’ll have you know I make averygoodmartini.”
“It’s sweet of you, but I’m fine.” Lucian let himself smile, not because it was expected, but because he wanted to. Bit by bit, he shed the social conventions he’d been trained to respect. The deprogramming he’d gone through at Stonecrest only stretched so far—Marcus was coaxing it out of him the rest of the way. “Ifyouhave any problems, you know you can talk to me, too, right? I know I’m still pretty new here, but I can promise you we have none of the same friends, so it’s not like I’m going to run and tell anyone whatyousay.”
Clarissa choked back a laugh and fanned at her face. Lucian didn’t think the joke was so funny, but his smile grew into a grin as Clarissa dissolved in fitfulgiggles.
“Thanks,” she said once she’d regained herself. There was maternal affection in her eyes that made Lucian feel at home. “You know, I might take you up on that sometime. Sterling is just… ugh.Thatman.”
“Sterling?” Lucian ducked down to pull forward some of the fruit juice containers they kept in the mini fridge beneath the bar. “He’s the big boss,right?”
Lucian’s employment was handled strictly by Clarissa, and while he knew that there were other managers and a club owner, he wasn’t familiar with any of them. It was only his fifth week at The Shepherd, and Lucian was still learning the inner intricacies of the establishment. The behind-the-scenes was a lot more complex than itleton.
“Mmhm.” Clarissa rolled her eyes. “And mybrother.”
Lucian looked up from the fridge, frowning. “Yourbrother?”
“We don’t go around telling people.” Clarissa shrugged. “I think most people assume that he’s in my pants, and if they want to imagine that, fine. Doesn’t account for the harem of young men Sterling entertains every weekend, but you know, I guess people are willing to overlook that thanks to where we work. You know, I’m fine with kink, but I don’t think polyamory is for me. Couldn’t do it. I’m toojealous.”
Lucian closed the fridge. He stood, studying Clarissa’s face. “So does that make you a partialowner,too?”
“I have shares, but it’s not like I really have much sway in any of the decisions Sterling makes. What he wants, he does. That’s kind of the way he is.” She unhooked a rack filled with dirty dishes and set it on the counter. “But before I go on and on ranting and raving about the big brother who so generously keeps me employed, I think we should make sure we’re set for tonight. You mind running these dishes down to the kitchens before we get swamped again? I don’t know where the busboy is tonight, but he’s not doing us anyfavors.”
“Yeah, sure.” Lucian brushed past her to heft the dish rack from the counter. Glasses got heavy fast. “You need anything fromdownstairs?”
“Nope. Not unless you can get me through that front door so I can kick back for the rest of the night.” Clarissa waved him off. “Now go on. No more procrastinating. It’s Friday night and that means there’s no way we’re going to stay dead for long. I need you back here to help me tackle thehordes.”
Lucian laughed. He ducked out from behind the bar, dishes in hand, and got moving. The kitchen was on the ground floor, a tiny speck of a room in the same out-of-the-way corridor as the bathrooms. The Shepherd didn’t serve food, but the kitchen was useful in other ways. Excess bar supplies were kept there, as were the commercial dishwashers. A dedicated kitchen supervisor and busboy kept dominion over the space, and they ruled the room much like Clarissa was teaching Lucian to rulethebar.
The stairs to the ground floor were dotted with people, some gathered in small groups to chat, others on their way up to the public rooms or down to the dance floor. Lucian kept to the right side of the stairs, and only once did he have to step around a group not paying attention to his passage. The young woman he brushed by, nude except for the pasties that covered her nipples and a thong that was barely there, looked at him with wide, startled eyes, like it had never occurred to her that there were people in motion around her. The oblivious look wasn’t unique to her. Lucian saw it from time to time in the expressions of others, especially those who’d recently left the publicrooms.
It had once reminded Lucian of the way he’d checked out of reality when purchased by a particularly unappealing client, but after what he’d shared with Marcus, he was beginning to think it wassomethingelse.
No one in The Shepherd wassuffering.
At least, not againsttheirwill.
Lucian made it to the bottom landing. The rack was starting to cut into his fingers, and he grimaced as he followed the wall to the short hallway that led to the kitchen. The party on the ground floor was in full swing—the dance floor was packed. Full nudity wasn’t permitted there, but it didn’t stop people from coming up with inventive ways to circumvent the rules. Lucian glimpsed a young man in a pair of sheer panties and a collar entertaining two much older men. It wasn’t until one of the older men tugged his nearly-nude partner toward him and kissed him hard that Lucian decided it was best to keep his eyes tohimself.
He hurried onward to thekitchen.
Down the hallway leading to his destination, Lucian ran into another crowd of people. They clustered along the walls leading to the bathrooms. Lucian kept his gaze averted and made for the kitchen door, but before he could make it, he heard a familiarvoice.
“No.”
Marcus.
Lucian looked up to find Marcus not ten feet away, back against the wall and expression drawn. Before him was Adrian—an omega Lucian had become familiar with. Adrian was no stranger to The Shepherd, and his peacocking made him hard to miss. Once, early into Lucian’s employment, Marcus had told him that Adrian liked to think he was The Shepherd’s biggest star. Lucian couldn’t think of a better descriptor for Adrian’sbehavior.
He was pushy, crass, andentitled.
