Controlling Interest (6 page)

“How does alcohol contribute to ambiance? Frankly, drunk
people are the least elegant people around, and the ambiance they contribute is
the sense of a place that’s out of control.”

She watched him take a deep breath and could almost hear him
counting to ten before he responded.

“People don’t drink to excess here.”

“How do you know?”

“We enforce a two-drink maximum.”

“How do you do that?” Tor growled, so she turned to the bar
manager instead. “Well, Wade? On a busy night, how do you know that Mistress A
has had only one drink but Master B has had his two drinks? Especially if the
sub is going to the bar to get the drink for them?”

“Uh…” He looked uncomfortably at Tor.

“In other words, you don’t know.”

“We have discreet dungeon monitors keeping track of whether
someone is behaving badly so you can just quit channeling my mother.”

“Tor, just because it was your mother who commented does not
mean she was wrong.”

“Look, Mouse, why don’t you just observe operations for a
night or two to see how things go before you start suggesting changes.”

She pressed her lips together to silence her irritation.
“Fine I’ll observe…
tonight
. We’ll see how that two-drink maximum
functions in reality.”

“Right. Let’s move on.” He rolled his eyes and headed for
the stairs to the upper level.

She followed. Mouse looked up the stairs as she started to
follow Tor, and even as obnoxious as he was, she couldn’t keep her mind on
business. He had such a
fine
ass. She wished he would have gotten naked
on Saturday night. That was the only thing missing from making that evening a
perfect fantasy experience. He reached the top and turned to face her, only to
catch her staring. He grinned when he realized what she’d been staring
at
.
She looked away as she joined him on the upper level. There was an open space
at the top of the stairs with a reception desk.

“What’s that for?”

“We have someone on duty to coordinate the private rooms.”

“Is that all that’s up here?”

“No. We have a large public water bondage area up here along
with locker rooms so people can keep a change of clothes on-site. In addition,
we have small private dungeons for use by couples or small groups under five.
We also have some large dungeons for private parties. One can accommodate up to
twenty, the other will hold up to fifty.”

“Do the dungeon monitors stand watch at private parties?”

He colored slightly. “They’re
private
parties.”

“But if someone is hurt here or something, aren’t you liable
even though it’s a private party?”

“We have our members and their guests sign waivers.”

Mouse thought about it and raised her brows. “Okay that
covers your ass, but what if someone really messes up? This isn’t a video game
arcade. Someone could get seriously injured, and if they did, the club’s reputation
would be damaged and you could still be sued.”

His face reddened and he gritted his teeth. She could tell
he was counting again. She should
not
have been with him on Saturday—not
when she had to work with him on Monday morning. It bothered her to press him
about club operations because she could see it upset him. So how stupid was
she? Their working relationship was already going south because she was
addressing Regine’s list and she hadn’t even been here for an hour yet. He
obviously wasn’t going to handle
any
of her questions well.

“Mouse, I know my mother is behind this. So fess up. What’s
the deal?”

“It’s a legitimate question, Tor. Your mother has nothing to
do with it.” Which was a lie, but she wasn’t ready to deal with that yet.

“Nothing to do with it?
Bullshit
.” He shrugged his
shoulders to ease some tension then went over to the reception desk. Tor moved
behind and grabbed a set of keys. “Let’s get this damn tour over with and then
you can start finding fault elsewhere.”

“Finding fault?” She frowned as he stalked past her and
quickly unlocked the rooms along the main corridor and flipped on light
switches.

“Yes. You don’t like anything here and I know why.”

“Why?”

“Mother. She disapproved and she infected you.”

“She did not
infect
me.”

“If you say so.” He sighed and pointed. “The water play room
is straight back behind the reception desk. Along the hallway on either side of
the desk are a series of rooms with different themes. The party rooms are at
either end of the floor.” He tossed the keys to her, but she didn’t get her
hands on them before they hit her in the tummy and dropped to the floor at her
feet. “Go ahead and explore, and I’ll wait for you in the office downstairs.”

As he all but ran down the stairs, she sighed. Regine hadn’t
made this easy…for either of them. He seemed to take every comment she made as
a personal insult. This was a business, wasn’t it? Shouldn’t he want to improve
it? She bent and picked up the keys. Maybe she was going about this all wrong.
For whatever reason, this place was more to him than a business—it was like an
extension of himself. So her criticisms of the business were like criticisms of
him
. And obviously he didn’t like it. Damn. She wished she could start
the day all over again, she thought as she began her very quiet, solitary tour
of the second floor.

* * * * *

Tor slammed his office door shut, feeling highly satisfied
at the ringing sound. But damn, he needed to calm down. A Dominant did not lose
control like this, but that woman was getting under his skin. And it was even
worse than it had been with his mother. When Regine spoke, he could blow her
off as old-fashioned. Behind the times. But Mouse was new to the scene.

And while he was damn sure his mother had primed the pump in
some way, he didn’t think Mouse would parrot comments just because Regine told
her to. She’d never been like that in all the time he’d known her. The number
of times she’d talked back to his mother astounded him. Hell,
he’d
rarely talked back to his mother. He’d gone the route of avoidance by ignoring
her. But when Mouse voiced her opinion, it was because she felt strongly, and
usually Mouse had been right. And when she was right, Regine had caved. Mouse
had a damn good brain and she used it. So if she was feeding him Regine’s suggestions,
it was because she agreed with what his mother had told her. Shit.

He leaned against his desk. Tor could count on one hand the
number of people who could get under his skin enough to make him mad. His
mother had always been number one on the list. But Mouse was right up there.
The worst part was…he wanted her. He’d wanted her almost from the first time
he’d met her after Regine had hired her, and six years was a fucking long time.
Not only did he want her, but he
liked
her too. She was funny and smart.
There’d been so many times she’d make some dry comment and have him laughing
out loud.

And God, that had been a gift ever since his mother had been
diagnosed with breast cancer. Mouse had been a rock. Always doing and saying
exactly the right thing. She’d acted as Regine’s protector—and his—during the
darkest days. Mouse had even run interference for him the day his mother died,
dealing with the press while he slipped out the back. He couldn’t have faced
the jackals that day, and Mouse knew it. He should cut her some slack about all
this. She was new to it and she faced a steep learning curve. If only his
emotions weren’t involved, it would be easy.

“Damn,” he groaned, throwing himself into his chair and
putting his feet up on the desk.

His mind drifted back to Saturday night. Now
that
had
been a good evening. Tor sighed, rubbing his face. If he was truly honest with
himself, he’d been drawn to Miss Minnie Squeak because she’d reminded him of
Mouse. Of the way he wished Mouse was…sexually submissive.

Tor closed his eyes and let himself remember the way the sub
had wiggled on his lap as he spanked her. He pictured Mouse in her place and
groaned as his cock rose to attention. He could just imagine pulling that dull
brown tweed skirt up to her waist and reddening her ass. Fuck. He set his hand
on his cock, rubbing through his pants. Imagining himself buried inside Mouse’s
tight, wet cunt while she begged her “Master” for more. Begged
him
for
more.

He heard the door and opened his eyes. Mouse stood there,
her eyes wide and startled as she stared at his crotch.

“Son of a bitch.” He kicked his feet off the desk and slid
under it to hide his erection from her shocked gaze.

“I… I’m sorry, Tor. Really. I didn’t mean…” She started to
back out the door.

“Get back in here, Mouse.”

“But…”

He waved her apology away. Tor was a little embarrassed, but
he wasn’t going to apologize for jacking off when he was alone in his office.

“Come in here and sit down. Now.”

She did his bidding and looked startled when she sat down
without a word of protest. Tor smiled, his cock tingling because of her
obedience. It was hot to have her obey him, but… But they had to deal with this
thing with his mother and they had to deal with it now. He wasn’t going to
fight her disapproval for the next six months.

“We need to talk about the club, Mouse.”

“Tor, look, I’m sorry. I meant to ask questions and offer
suggestions about the business. I wasn’t questioning you or your management of
the place.”

He leaned back. “The business is me. I’m the business.”

“This business
isn’t
you. It isn’t a person. It’s a
thing
.”

He shook his head. How could he make her understand? “This
was my first business right out of college. I had my parents’ support and
mother helped me with the funding, but it was
my
baby. It rose or fell
with my management.
My
efforts. For you to come in here with nothing but
disapproval…”

“I don’t disapprove of everything.”

“No? Just what do you approve of?”

“The location is awesome. I love the way it’s decorated. The
contemporary design fits the building. The place seems really cutting edge, you
know?”

He smiled. “Thanks, but you dislike more than you like.”

“Don’t you want me to be honest?”

Tor frowned and looked down at his hands. “Yes. Actually I
do. There are few enough people I know who’ll be honest with me, even when it
hurts.”

“Well, let me be one of those people.” She leaned forward
and reached out to touch his hand. “Just because I ask a question or offer a
differing opinion doesn’t mean I think less of
you
. What I have to say
is about the business. Not about you.” She pulled her hand away and he wished
she hadn’t. He met her earnest gaze.

“I get that.”

“And I want to be able to share my opinions honestly. I
don’t want to enforce things because I have controlling interest in this club.
I want us to discuss things with one another, and if changes get made, we do it
together. With consensus.”

“I’m a Dom. I don’t do consensus. I do command.”

She laughed. “Well, Mister Dom, it’s time to learn
cooperation. Didn’t your mother teach you how to share your toys?”

“I
never
share my toys.” Tor grinned wickedly at her,
flirting to see how she’d respond.

“Never?” She blushed, but there was definitely awareness
there. Awareness of him.

“Well, almost never. But when I own something…”

“Or someone?”

“Or
someone
,” he nodded, “then my toy belongs to
me
.
And I
don’t
share.”

Color bloomed in her cheeks and he liked it. He liked the
way she responded to his teasing and flirting. God, he wanted her, but he
wanted Mouse combined with Miss Squeak’s submissiveness. Now that would be the
perfect woman for him.

She cleared her throat. “For the next six months, you have
to share the club. So let’s call a truce. For your sanity and mine.”

“All right. But damn it—what kind of agenda did Mother put
in motion?”

“Agenda?” Her voice squeaked.

Damn, that was fucking odd. And familiar. But no… He shook
his head then turned his gaze on her. “Yes, agenda. What kind of laundry list
did she give you?”

“List? I don’t know anything about a list.” Squeaky again,
and he could see by her expression she was lying through her teeth.

“Mouse, if you want me to trust you, then quit lying to me.”

She rubbed her hands on her skirt. “Okay.”

“Okay, what?”

“She gave me a list. Regine said it was my job to weed out
the truths from the lies.”

He held out his hand. “Hand it over.”

“I don’t think I should.”

“Damn it, Mouse, did she forbid you to let me see it?”

She tilted her head. Why did he have to love that? It was
so…cute. And he hated cute. But he didn’t hate Mouse.

“No. She didn’t.”

“So?” He held out his hand. The command worked. With great
reluctance, she reached into her purse and tugged out a sheet of peach paper.
His mother’s handmade stuff. She held it toward him but then pulled her hand
back as he reached for it. “What?”

“I’m going to let you look at it, but then I want it back.
Intact.
”

He smiled. She knew him far better than he liked. Even
though his mother had written it and he was feeling sentimental about losing
her—shit, he missed her like hell—still, he wanted to tear the damn list into
tiny pieces.

“All right. You get it back in one piece
after
I read
it.”

She handed it to him. He skimmed the list and realized that
he’d heard all of these from his mother at one time or another.

“So, you’re in favor of all of these changes?”

“I don’t know yet. I’ve only been in the club for a couple
of hours. Regine told me to read through the list and use my brain to decide
whether these things are true or not and if I should push for the changes she
listed.”