Page 154 of Masters of Control

“Yeah, she said it’s been getting weird for her at the club lately,” Amy said, a note of worry in her voice. “She doesn’t think Iris is behind it, but she worries about what Rae and Domi are saying. I don’t think they’d be trying to influence anyone, but I know they’re also super protective of Iris.”

That was true. There had been an incident when he’d had to shut down some nasty talk between the two of them about Morgan, but as far as he knew, they’d never tried to talk to anyone else about her. Afterward, they’d both regretted their words and mended their ways.

He knew some of the issue had been the fact that they didn’t know about Morgan’s past, so they’d had a very skewed view on why the Doms showed so much interest in her. Didn’t help that Rae had been wildly jealous of how much attention Master Brian paid attention to Morgan, even if she wasn’t willing to admit it. They’d never said anything directly to Morgan or even where she could hear. It had been pure chance he’d overheard one of their conversations.

That had been over a year ago, and as far as he knew, they’d never said another mean word about her or any other sub. They’d also started working on reaching out and making new friends, which was how they’d become friends with Iris and another sub, Avery. It didn’t hurt that Domi’s fiancé, Mitch, had a large group of friends they’d been pulled into as well.

He didn’t think they’d make trouble for Noelle now but couldn’t entirely rule it out.

“Do you know what they’re saying?” he asked. “Noelle didn’t want to get into specifics.”

There was a long moment of silent hesitation, then Amy sighed.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know that they’re saying anything to anyone. She says they don’t like her, which is true, but it’s not like they’re going around shouting it to the rooftops. She seems really paranoid about it. It doesn’t help that Marissa and Caroline smother her in sympathy every time she talks about either. I don’t think she realizes that they have their own axe to grind with that group.”

“Are you doing okay with all of it?” he asked. “I know you spend a lot of time with Zach, and he’s good friends with Mitch…”

“Oh, yeah, they aren’t treating me any differently. I don’t really spend time with Zach’s friends, you know.” Almost the moment she finished speaking, Freddy could hear a masculine voice in the background. He couldn’t understand what the man was saying, but he sounded angry. Amy’s fiancé? “Shoot, Freddy I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

She hung up before he could respond, and he frowned. If that was her fiancé, it sounded like trouble in paradise. He hoped he hadn’t caused it by bringing up Zach.

“Hey, you ready to go?” Camille appeared in the doorway, a tired smile on her lips. She raised her eyebrows at him. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Sounds like Noelle’s unhappy, but I can’t find anyone who has anything concrete about her being treated badly or even differently, so that’s good news.” He didn’t bring up the end of his call with Amy. He wasn’t sure why she’d had to go so quickly and didn’t want to spread her business around if she was having trouble with her fiancé. “Anyway, what do you want for your celebration dinner?”

“My celebration dinner?” She laughed as he met her in the doorway, dropping his lips down to hers for a quick kiss.

“Of course. A new job deserves a celebration.”

“Alright, you’ve convinced me.” Smiling up at him, he could see the pure happiness in her expression.

Fuck, it was no wonder he was falling so fast.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Camille

It was official. She wanted Freddy next to her every morning when she woke up. It felt like their relationship was moving fast, but that’s because her emotions were moving fast. Lying on her back in the bed alone, wishing he was there, she had to face the fact that she wasn’t falling… she’d fallen.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Which was in two days.

They’d known each other for a little over a month.

Yeah, but what a month.

Maybe the old saying was true—when you knew, you knew. Didn’t matter how long it had been. That’s why she’d taken him to meet her mom yesterday. She wasn’t sure if he realized what a big deal that was, although he’d seemed like he understood at least a little. He’d also been sensitive enough to know she still wanted a little time alone with her mom.

They should probably talk about it, but it felt like it was too soon. It was too soon, right? She shook her head.

Today, she would be handing in her resignation to Donaldson, so she needed to get her head in the game. She could figure out relationship stuff later. Unlike her job, which was much more pressing.

She wished she felt nothing but relief at handing in her resignation, and she was absolutely thrilled to be moving to a new firm, but there was still a part of her that almost didn’t believe it. That worried someone at Donaldson might ruin everything, even though she’d already signed on with Murdoch and had the official offer letter and everything.

Even though Emily Murdoch had reassured her they weren’t going to listen to anything anyone at Donaldson had to say about her.

It all felt almost too good to be true. First, Julie reaching out to her and rekindling that friendship, as well as finding new friends. Then meeting Freddy, and him actually wanting to stick around through the Alexander’s case, and how amazing he was. Now, the new job she’d been wanting?