Page 180 of Owned (Office Intrigue Duet 8)
“This is the new library,” Ransom presented to the group following close behind him, of which I was a part of.
Braelyn and Ransom, along with a horde of people they’d wrangled to help out, had been hard at work for the past month. Extremely long days had been spent installing and updating, remodeling and redecorating. They’d even opted to bypass the suggested Owners’ Retreat when a brilliant idea had come to Braelyn. Because I would give her the moon and stars, I had indulged her, giving her and Ransom carte blanche to do as they pleased. Helped that I trusted them to keep me in the loop, which they had at every step.
It had been Braelyn’s idea to bring Memphis and Tiegan back to the island, along with one of their assistants and another member of their team, to take a grand tour of the almost finished resort, which had even earned a new name. The objective was to give them an idea, as well as get their input, on the improvements thus far and a few that were still pending. What had once been structured with a business feel in mind had received a kinky overhaul.
Again, Braelyn’s idea.
“Wow,” Tiegan said when she stepped inside the newly designed library.
I watched her, wondering if she was gearing up to shoot them down. Although Memphis had informed me they’d settled their differences and were actually smoothing things out rather nicely, I never knew with Tiegan. We had yet to talk since I reassigned her, and I knew she still held me responsible. I couldn’t really blame her.
“This is nice, Ransom,” she said approvingly.
And by nice, I assumed she meant lascivious, perhaps even salacious, because nice wasn’t even close.
The space had doubled, now close to two thousand square feet with forty-foot-tall ceilings. The lighting came from the two chandeliers—both fifteen feet in diameter—hanging on each end of the room.
The only things that technically made this a library were the books contained within. Even the shelves holding them had changed. Gone was the traditional dark wood. That had been replaced by white, weathered brick, which now lined all four walls from floor to ceiling. Mounted to the brick walls were two-inch-thick, stainless-steel-wrapped shelves, which supported the books throughout. Because they were different lengths and mounted at various heights, there was no uniformity to the shelves, or to much of anything else, for that matter. The ductwork and pipes overhead had been exposed to raise the ceiling as well as add to the industrial feel Braelyn had been going for.
The floor was an artistic element that I found interesting. Gone was the hardwood, revealing the newly etched concrete, which sported a gray stain topped with a shiny gloss. Thick, plush black rugs were spaced throughout, all big enough to hold two or more people. Atop them were a plethora of silver and white satin pillows, I assumed for comfort.
Along two of the walls were four futons with black-leather-encased cushions, which provided seating as well as play space. Or so I’d been told. Another wall held three enormous mirrors with antique silver frames, which basically offered a view of the entire room in the event you weren’t looking at it straight on.
“The question I have is, will there be a librarian?” Memphis teased.
“Actually…” Gideon walked to the door, crooked his finger.
A female possession wearing knee-high black boots, a short, pleated plaid skirt, a thin red tie that hung between her bare breasts, as well as signature reading glasses and her hair pinned up in a bun walked in.
“What happens if you do not have enough female possessions to use?” Memphis asked.
A good question, considering the lack of females had always been one of our issues.
Ransom was the one to answer. “She’s actually an employed possession.” He glanced at Braelyn. “My sister’s idea.”
“Employed?” Tiegan looked intrigued.
“The objective is to offer options to potential possessions,” Ransom continued, “including belonging to the resort, rather than being available for acquisition by an Owner.”
“Employment opportunities?” Memphis asked, peering over at me.
“Correct.” I’d been on the fence about this, but Braelyn had convinced me with a rather compelling argument. Based on our initial testing at one facility, we were finding that it allowed for laxer requirements for potential possessions since we did not have to enforce the “no limits” rule. By employing the possession, we could outline responsibilities and acquire based on interests and desires.
“Does she speak?” Tiegan asked.
“Yes, Mistress, I do,” she answered easily.
“Do you have a name?” Memphis addressed her.
“No, Master. You may call me whatever you’d like.”
His eyebrow rose and I could see he wasn’t sure what to make of it. I would admit, it would take some time to work out the kinks, but I had a feeling the additional amenities would prove positive for our image.
“I’m curious to know how you managed to redesign and still make this feel like a library,” Tiegan noted, smiling over at Ransom. “Because, yes, it certainly has a BDSM feel to it now, but the library is still the main factor. I don’t feel like I’m in a dungeon. Just a comfortable space to relax and read, maybe indulge a little.”
