“So, let’s talk business,” Zeke prompted, raising his glass as the waiter neared. The man gave a quick nod, then instantly turned around, likely to get a refill.
“You mentioned having questions.” I leaned back, waiting for him to fill me in.
“Travel? I know you and the Moore twins travel often. I need to understand what sort of schedule I’d be looking at.”
“Do you have a problem with traveling?” I asked this for a couple of reasons.
“It wouldn’t be an issue if Tank could go with me,” he said with a sheepish grin.
“Your dog?”
“Tank is a hell of a lot more than a dog, boss,” he countered. “He’s my kid.” Zeke grinned. “Or as close to a kid as I’ll ever have and I’m not fond of leaving him alone.”
“Where does he stay when you travel now?”
“There’s a day care near my place. If I can’t take him with me, I board him there. Plus, he goes there during the day when I work.”
A day care? For dogs?
Knowing that I had to recruit Zeke, because the guy would be almost as beneficial to the firm as Greg, I figured this was going to be something I wouldn’t win. “Well, as you know, these days, we can do most of our business virtually. Plus, if I can get Jane on board, we’ll reduce the amount of traveling the three of us would have to do rather significantly.”
“Has she agreed?”
I shook my head, then paused as the waiter placed our steaks and baked potatoes on the table.
“Can I get you anything else?” he asked as I cut into my steak to ensure it was cooked the way I’d ordered it.
“Another round of drinks,” Zeke told him after I shook my head.
“Of course.”
When we were alone again, I looked to Zeke. “At this point, she hasn’t agreed to anything. I’m meeting with her first thing next week. I’m talking to Greg on Friday, but that’s more for Ben. Greg has the technology background that’ll benefit him the most.”
“We haven’t talked salary,” Zeke noted as he cut into his steak.
“No, but I can assure you the compensation is more than fair. Meet me in the office next week and I’ll have a formal proposal for you.”
Zeke seemed to consider this for a few minutes while we ate.
“Aside from the money…” Zeke held up his fork. “Provided it’s fair, then I only have one other stipulation.”
I already knew what he was going to say, but I waited.
“Tank has to be able to come into the office with me.”
“It’s not an issue,” I assured him. “I’ve already had the conversation with Landon, Langston, and Ben. Provided he can mind his manners, your dog is welcome at the office.”
Zeke grinned. “He’s more than my dog, boss.”
Yeah, yeah, whatever.
If it would get Zeke on board, I would agree to let the big bastard walk around naked if that was what he needed to be happy.
Granted, I was seriously hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
Speaking of dog…
I sat up straight and met Zeke’s stare. “I need a favor.”
“Anything.”
“You might’ve heard about the incident with Addison and her ex-boyfriend.”
“The incident with the crop?” His eyes narrowed. “Yeah. I fucking heard about it.”
“Well, I need someone to follow up with him. Someone with the right intimidation factor.”
That seemed to intrigue him. “I’m all ears.”
I decided to tell him exactly what I had in mind. If anyone was capable of putting the fear of God into a man, Zeke was that guy.
*
BEN
WHEN MR. PARKER INFORMED ME that he was going to dinner with Zeke, I took that as an opportunity to have dinner alone with Addison. Wanting to give her time to rest, I asked her to come over to my place at seven thirty. I was impressed when she arrived right on time.
Our conversation over dinner was relatively light and I got the feeling Addison was trying not to bombard me with a million questions. I felt her pain because I was doing the same for her. There were so many more things I wanted to know about this girl, but I felt as though we’d already picked her brain enough over the past couple of weeks.
Some people might’ve figured since she’d had my cock in her mouth and her pussy on my face, she should’ve been comfortable with me. After all, we’d given each other some rather intense orgasms without ever having full penetration. When it came to our world, getting to know someone before being intimate wasn’t always the case. I’d learned in my lifetime that people gravitated toward BDSM for a variety of reasons, but after a while, sex became a common denominator. And some people needed it for a release, rather than to make a connection.
I wasn’t assuming that was the case with Addison, but I also wasn’t ruling it out. I could tell she purposely kept a distance between herself and others, although she was starting to open up more than I’d expected in the short time we’d known her. Still, I wasn’t willing to push too far too fast.
