“Please,” Master said, motioning toward the chair between him and Sir, “have a seat.”
“Yes, Master,” I whispered.
Once I was seated, Justin was the one to start talking.
“As you can see, we had some things to discuss today. And we wanted you here for two reasons.”
I swallowed hard, then blurted out my fear. “Are you going to fire me?”
Despite all the fun and games, I had come to love my job and I didn’t want to have to look for another.
“It’s good, Luci,” Ben stated softly. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. Regardless of what decisions are made going forward, your employment here is secure. You’ve done a phenomenal job in that regard. I don’t want you to think otherwise.”
I was sure he meant to ease my fears, but he only made it worse. I had no idea what was going on. Everything had seemed fine when we left the island, but I could tell something was really off right now. And the issue appeared to be between the four of them. Did that mean I was at the heart of it? I had only briefly spoken to Justin and Ben since the island, so I wasn’t sure how that could be the case.
Justin leaned forward, planted his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head into his hands. It was strange to see him look that way. Usually the man was so self-assured, so confident. He appeared almost…defeated.
“We were actually trying to find a way to make things less confusing around here,” Sir explained when no one else spoke. “It seems that in the past couple of weeks, the dynamic has changed and we know it’s going to affect things here in the office.” He looked at me as he spoke. “I assume you’ve noticed it, too?”
I nodded. Things had changed. In a good way. Or so I’d thought. Now I wasn’t so sure. Still, I responded with, “Yes, Sir.”
Justin cleared his throat. “See, right there.”
Sir’s gaze shot over to Master, then to Justin.
I was scared to look at Master, worried what I would see on his face. The last time we’d been together, he had walked out of Sir’s bedroom without looking back.
Instead, I continued to focus on Justin. He seemed to be the most upset out of all of them and I didn’t know why.
He stood up and paced the room, all eyes following him.
A few tense moments passed, but then he took a deep breath. “We initially thought we’d give Landon and Langston the choice but then decided that wasn’t fair. To you.”
Choice? What choice?
I frowned, not sure what he meant.
“Initially, we were going to force them to either collar you or let you go.”
Collar me? Master and Sir? Why would they do that?
My hand instantly went to my neck. I’d read about collaring, knew exactly what that meant. When a Dom claimed a sub as his, he collared her. I’d read numerous stories, some so deeply romantic it was a level of trust and love that I’d never known existed. In my opinion, it was far more revered than even the sanctity of marriage, which, if I looked at it rationally, seemed to be more about government and paperwork than about true love anyway. And wasn’t the statistic something along the lines of one in three marriages ended in divorce? I mean, look at the divorce rate of famous people.
But that wasn’t the point.
The point was Justin felt the need to push the issue. I mean, yeah, I thought we’d made progress during our time together, but Master and Sir had given me no inkling as to whether they wanted this to progress further than what it was. In fact, Master had made me feel the opposite when he walked out on us the other night.
“However, after considerable discussion, we decided to make the choice yours,” Justin declared.
“Mine?” I didn’t like the sound of this.
Justin came over and knelt down before me, his hand cupping my face as he stared into my eyes. I could see a torrent of emotion in the ocean-blue depths. It drew me in and I found myself leaning into his touch.
“You see, our reasons for hiring you weren’t completely altruistic, Luci. Your friend Kristen…well, let’s just say that she had some positive things to say about you. And not all of them were work related.”
I pulled back, feeling as though someone had slapped me. “What does that mean?”
Justin returned to his seat and once again, I felt all eyes on me.
Sir sighed. “As you’re aware, Langston and I know her. And after your time on the island, I’m sure you even know how we know her.”
“No, not really.” I had yet to get that detail.
Sir continued, “Kristen’s a member of…the same club we are.”
I glanced around, my eyes going to Justin and Ben. “Everyone keeps mentioning this club. What sort of club is it exactly?”
