Page 158 of Masters of Control

“That’s pretty much how I felt. I think maybe she’s interested in him. She said she could go if I decided not to, but she also scened with Master Dylan this weekend and seemed interested in him, so I don’t know.” Morgan shook her head.

“Noelle… that’s the one who felt like she’s being bullied, right?” Camille asked Freddy thoughtfully. She was pretty sure but wanted to be positive. Both Olivia and Julie’s eyebrows shot up. Freddy gave her a look, but she didn’t care. First of all, if there was bullying, Olivia and Julie were in more authoritative positions, since Olivia managed Marquis and Julie taught the introduction classes, which Noelle had been a part of. Second of all, she wasn’t going to let Freddy constantly do things himself. And third of all, it was relevant to the conversation.

For someone who claimed she was having trouble finding scene partners, the fact that she’d clearly found someone over the weekend and now she was trying to set herself up as a fake girlfriend to one of Law and Iris’ good friends… well, Camille’s sympathy for the woman and her desire to give her the benefit of the doubt were taking some hits.

“Yes, Noelle approached me because she feels people have been… influencing whether or not Doms will scene with her and whether people befriend her at the club.” Freddy’s careful phrasing left out the bullying part, but that cat was already out of the bag.

Olivia snorted.

“Oddly, the only one I’ve heard spreading rumors is Noelle herself,” Olivia said dryly. “I feel like every other day, I’m having to correct people on something they heard about Iris, and I’m fairly certain most of the misinformation is coming from Noelle. I told Patrick that I think she’s going to end up being a problem, but he talked to Iris, who is still insisting she be given a chance. I think she’s scared what Noelle will do if we push her out of the club, but if she’s not working out… I haven’t noticed her lacking for scene partners.”

“She doesn’t seem to have any more trouble than anyone else with finding someone to scene with,” Morgan offered up, her brow wrinkled. From her tone, it seemed like she didn’t really understand what Noelle’s problem was, despite being friends with her. “I know she takes it really personally when someone tells her no, even though we’ve tried to explain it’s not personal. Not scening with her doesn’t mean someone doesn’t like her. She says she understands, but then every time she doesn’t get to scene with someone she wants to, we end up having the same conversation again. It’s weird.”

There was that bluntness Freddy had warned her about, and Camille covered her laugh with a cough. Morgan was refreshingly candid, though she could see how that could lead to inadvertent hurt feelings on occasion. Apparently, she didn’t always understand what should and should not be said. He blamed it all on her history, but Camille wondered if it was just part of her make-up.

With that kind of open honesty, she could understand why Morgan would have some trouble deciphering a hidden agenda, which she was starting to think Noelle had. That or Noelle was just wildly self-involved and didn’t realize how her actions and words appeared to others. Either seemed entirely possible.

“I haven’t heard anything from the other Doms, and normally, if there’s something going on with or about the new subs, either Law or I hear about it. In this case, considering her history with Iris and Law, I would think people would come to me.” Julie was frowning, her fingers tapping on the table, food ignored on her plate.

Camille knew that meant she was thinking hard, probably going through her memories of Noelle to see if she could pick anything out.

“I will say, I get where Patrick is coming from. If he’s not going to throw Marissa out for all the things she’s blatantly said about Leigh and Jared, he can’t throw Noelle out.”

“I think he should throw Truckstop out, too,” Olivia muttered, stabbing a piece of chicken rather violently.

Wide-eyed, Camille looked at Freddy.

Truckstop? she mouthed.

Freddy just shrugged, suppressing a smile.

“Truckstop?” Morgan asked, wide-eyed. “What does that mean? It sounds awful, but what does it mean?”

Olivia froze as if just remembering that Morgan was there… a submissive, and one who was friends with Marissa. Then she shrugged.

“It’s just my nickname for Marissa. It doesn’t really mean anything but somehow it fits all of my feelings about her. We don’t get along and haven’t since she and Jared were together. But please don’t allow my opinion of her or her and Jared’s relationship to influence you. Everyone gets defensive of the people they love, and I have a very strong opinion when it comes to her, but I don’t insist that everyone share it.” Olivia’s tone was apologetic but accompanied by no actual apology.

Camille had a feeling she wasn’t actually sorry for saying it, more so for saying it in front of Morgan, who might take issue with it.

“Oh, that’s okay. I know you two don’t get along. She’s been really nice to me, though.”

“Good, but if that ever changes, you know where to find me.” Olivia smiled encouragingly. “Anyway, Noelle has to know that no one can force people to spend time with her or scene with her. If she can’t deal with that, I suppose she’ll be leaving the club sooner rather than later. Problem solved.”

“Maybe. At least I can tell her what she’s experiencing is normal and encourage her to scene with the people who are interested in scening with her, especially since there are some.” Freddy sighed. Not a conversation he was looking forward to, to be honest.

“Good. If she complains again, maybe you could direct her to Julie since she’s the training Domme,” Camille said. Freddy shot her a look that was both amused and a little repressive, as if to say ‘I know what you’re doing.’ That was just fine with her. She wasn’t trying to be subtle. Freddy didn’t need to take care of everyone else’s problems, and he needed to know that.

“That’s not a bad idea. You’re going to need to spend more time focusing on your Domme and less time on all the subs’ problems now that you’re in a relationship,” Olivia said pointedly.

“Oh? Is that what you did?” Freddy smiled like a shark, lobbing the focus back at Olivia, who laughed.

“If they can get up the guts to come talk to me, I know it’s serious. You, however, get pulled into everyone’s sob story because they know you’ll be sympathetic.” She grinned at the face he made. “Though I did notice you have a room reserved for Valentine’s Day, so you’re not totally a lost cause.”

“You do?” Camille asked in surprise as Freddy turned beet red, making everyone else at the table look at him curiously.

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to do anything, but I wanted to be prepared if you did… but we don’t have to, unless you want to…”

Seeing Freddy knocked off his confident pedestal and turned into a stuttering mess over trying to set up plans for Valentine’s Day was surprisingly also a turn-on. She liked that he was sure of himself so often but that she made him a little unsure of himself.