Knights of the Boardroom (7 page)

Law couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer, “Damn, I’m glad Cressida isn’t here—that tirade would have cost you a small fortune.” The woman they intended to have between them in the very near future had been horrified by what she’d termed their
blatantly unprofessional
language. She’d started levying fines for cursing not long after she’d come on board, they hadn’t been able to come up with a valid argument against her complaint, and since money wasn’t an issue they’d gone along with it. All of Templar’s employees had been subject to the ban on “inappropriate language”, but she’d certainly focused on the two men she worked for. Everyone who’d been
caught
made an increasingly significant contribution to what became known as the Chivalry Jar because Cressida had continually reminded them if they named their business after the elite group of knights, they were obligated to honor the group’s Code of Chivalry with its numerous references to manners and respect. Law had to admit, cleaning up his everyday language had indeed made it easier to remember to keep in clean in public but there had been times that first year all four partners had sworn she was making enough money on the side to fund a third world country. Later they’d learned she’d been donating the money to a nearby after-school program, so they’d added the small group to the list of charities Templar regularly supported.

Brodie finally dropped into one of the chairs facing Law’s desk and shook his head, “I’m grateful for the information, but at the same time I almost wish we didn’t know.” His friend’s voice had a note of hesitance in it that Law hadn’t heard often. He agreed with Brodie, but he didn’t think they’d landed on the same page for the same reasons.

“Explain.”

“I’m not sure we’ll be able to set it aside and give her the experience she is looking for.”

“Considering what we’ve just learned, I don’t think we dare start out as we intend to go. I know that is a guiding principle in D/s relationships, but I think that would be a mistake for a couple of reasons. First, we’re going to have to be careful, she is a lot smaller than we are and I damned well don’t want to hurt her. Every woman deserves to remember the first time a man makes love to her as something special—it should be a treasured memory not one that strikes terror in her heart whenever she thinks back on it. Hell, if it’s awful—why would she want to continue exploring when the only frame of reference she’ll have is pain. She’d probably be packed and headed back to D.C. before dawn if we came at her full force. Fuck, you know as well as I do that we’ve been known to put experienced subs into an orgasmic coma and I don’t want to think about how overwhelming that kind of pleasure might be for her.” Most of all Law didn’t want to do anything that might endanger their chances to make her theirs. The chemistry between the three of them had gotten so intense, Law had known they weren’t going to be able to ignore it much longer—but he also hadn’t expected Cressi would be the one to make the first move.

“Fuck me. I really need to take another look at the limit list she sent back to Tristan. Did you see where she tried to deny us the privilege of providing her wardrobe? I understand and respect her objection—in principle, but she really has no idea how expensive thin strips of silk, leather, and lace can be. And we enjoy shredding whatever our sub is wearing—that expense is probably going to become a line item in our budget if we collar her.” Leave it to Brodie to focus on the legal and accounting details when all Law could think about was getting her naked and exploring every square inch of her sweet little body.

“She’s frightened and I understand that because she doesn’t know
who
is going to be training her.” The look on Brodie’s face was priceless—something between stunned disbelief and abject horror.

“Well, she sure as hell isn’t working with anyone else. She’s ours. She has always been ours.” Law wanted to laugh at his friend’s ferocity, if it had been up to Brodie, they’d have resolved this dilemma long ago. During several late night talks with Parker and Tristan, he and Brodie had talked endlessly to their business partners about their desire to claim Cressida Walker. Both men had repeatedly expressed their concern the entire situation was a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen, and oddly enough it had been Lawton who had agreed while Brodie had shaken his head in denial. “She is incredibly insightful, but she is searching for something and if we don’t show her, someone else will. I see it when I look into her eyes, and Lawton you see it too, I know you do. There is a hunger there, a bone deep belief there is something more out there, she just doesn’t know what it is or where to look for it—but deep in her heart she knows it exists.”

In the end none of their philosophical observations mattered, because Cressida had taken the decision out of their hands when she’d called Tristan. There wasn’t a chance in hell they would let her work with anyone else at The Knight’s Club. And it wasn’t that there weren’t plenty of other Doms who were more than qualified and who would no doubt have been completely on board with a month-long training contract. Some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people were members and the waiting list read like a who’s who among the up and coming as well. One of the reasons The Knight’s Club memberships were so coveted was because they couldn’t simply be
bought.
Memberships were incredibly expensive, but all the money in the world was useless if you didn’t make it through the screening process. Even guests were heavily screened, if they were cleared they were only allowed in the most public areas for special events, they were
never allowed to play.

Lawton agreed they had no choice if they wanted to make her theirs, the question was could they take it slow enough to keep from scaring her out of their arms.

*****

Brodie watched Lawton closely waiting for him to return his attention to their conversation. He knew his friend would get lost in a mass of schematics, spreadsheets, and strategic plans if he let him brood too long.
Damn, he’s going to plan himself into an early grave.
But Brodie also knew better than to interrupt him too soon or Law would only hear bits and pieces of the discussion. The man was a brilliant systems designer with a unique gift for predicting market trends in everything from the stock market to real estate to technological advancements, but once he focused on a problem he was all but oblivious to the world around him. And clearly Lawton Hill was focused on making Cressida Walker theirs.

“This whole deal is teetering on the short side of an already tight timeline and we’ll be gone all day tomorrow. We have to finish up the negotiations on the Cell-Tech contract, we already have people in place and ready to go on this project but they need the specs in that contract.” Brodie wanted the deal wrapped up so they could focus on Cressida, he’d already begun putting things in order so they’d all three be able to spend a minimum amount of time in the office during the coming month.

“We can be back by the time she leaves if—”

“No. This is a billion dollar contract. We
cannot
rush through it.” None of them would ever have to work again once they wrapped this one up. Brodie wasn’t going to bumble through a project that had the potential to benefit so many people in third world countries, not to mention all the designers, techs, and engineers who would be employed for years to come as a result of T.E.G.’s latest brainchild. Law’s gaze drifted over Brodie’s shoulder as if he expected Cressida to come through the door, so Brodie knew it was time to speak up.

“Let’s go by her place this evening and let her know who she is going to be dealing with and make arrangements to take her shopping Saturday morning.” Brodie wasn’t about to waste any more time, the clock was already ticking on their month and he could hardly wait to begin.

The cab ride to the apartment Cressida shared with Carli wasn’t a long one, but Brodie noticed Lawton seemed distracted. Brodie knew before he even spoke what his friend was thinking, and as if to prove the point, Law finally asked, “What if she doesn’t want to work with us? We’re taking a big chance here, we could push her right out of our lives if we aren’t careful.”

“For a man who regularly makes million dollar deals based on hunches, you’re awfully uncertain about taking a chance this time. What if we are exactly who she hoped for? You can’t deny the way she looks at us—and the sexual tension has been growing between us until it practically vibrates when we’re all together.” Brodie wasn’t completely surprised by Lawton’s hesitance, hell, he was worried as well, but he wasn’t about to walk away from this opportunity. After leaving the club they’d hacked her Amazon account, and after looking at the books she’d been reading for the past eighteen months there was little doubt she had more than a passing interest in D/s relationships. Obviously she’d also had at least a basic understanding of the lifestyle and that would help them tremendously. Cressida might not have much sexual experience, but she certainly had a rudimentary understanding what was going to be expected of her, and she’d regularly chosen books about ménage as well.

“There is a big difference between casual interest and the level of trust required to put yourself fully into the hands of another person. And while I’m sure she trusts us on many levels, I doubt jumping in the deep end of the pool with her is a wise decision. If she has
any
sexual experience at all it’s limited at best, and I’m willing to bet it’s actually far closer to nonexistent.”

“Agreed, but she has obviously grown tired of simply reading about Dominance and submission—do you really want her hooking up with some abusive poser in another club?” Christ, just the thought made Brodie’s blood boil.

“No, but have you ever taken a woman’s virginity? Personally, I’ve always avoided it simply because it implies a level of intimacy—a special bond I had never been comfortable with. But now—with Cressida, the idea gives me pause only because I’m terrified of hurting her. I can’t imagine causing her anything but the sweetest tinges of pain that dance on the edge of mind-melting pleasure.” Brodie was glad they’d arrived at their destination, he was tired of talking the whole thing to death—it was time to act.

Within minutes they were standing at Cressida’s door and suddenly Brodie’s usual bravado and his ability to distance himself emotionally from a problem before him seemed too far out of reach. Nothing had ever challenged his ability to “close a deal” and he wasn’t foolish enough to believe this was anything less than the deal of a lifetime. Nothing had ever pushed his confidence to the very edge until this moment…with this woman.

Cressida reclined on the sofa staring blankly at the television wondering why she couldn’t seem to focus enough to even follow a simple sitcom.
And why is it so blasted hot in here?
The skimpy cotton camisole and well-worn boxers she’d put on after her shower were the coolest things she’d been able to find and she still felt like the room had become a stifling sauna. Her dark hair was down, the damp strands beginning to wave as they dried naturally. She’d forgone using a blow dryer to avoid any extra heat, and the thought of standing any longer than necessary made her want to curl up on the bathroom floor to take a nap.

She’d finally eaten a few pieces of fruit and cheese, because she hadn’t been motivated enough to make anything more substantial. It wasn’t that she couldn’t cook, it was more she had never cared enough about it to bother learning. And even though she hadn’t really felt like eating anything at all, she’d known she needed to since she’d missed both breakfast and lunch due to the appointments Tristan had made for her. The manager of the spa had offered Cressi a tray, but the idea of snacking while having every last hair on the lower half of her body yanked out by its roots hadn’t seemed very appealing but it had been distracting. At least now she could be content knowing her bald-bottomed self had managed to eat something with more nutritional factors than her usual take-out fare.

Her day had been filled with intrusive questions and pain. The doctor she’d seen had seemed competent, and a familiar air of authority surrounded the woman that Cressi hadn’t been able to identify. The young physician had asked more questions in an hour than Cressi’s own doctor had asked—ever. Some of them had been so intrusive, Cressi had hesitated to answer, but in the end she’d quietly confessed the fact she was still a virgin. The woman had simply stared at her for several seconds as if she wasn’t entirely sure she believed her, then she’d simply smiled and said, “I’m sure the Doms Tristan has chosen for you will remedy that in short order. And since I’ve been told you have a spa appointment in less than an hour, I doubt that you’ll feel up to anything that rigorous tonight.”
Tonight? Does she really think I’ll find out that quickly who drew the short straw and has to train the newbie?
“I don’t know what that thought was, but I’d suggest you banish it quickly before your Masters make an appearance.”

Cressi must have looked confused because the doctor had simply shaken her head and laughed, “Cressida, I assure you I am not a mind reader. Just watching your expressions change is informative enough, it’s almost like hearing what’s echoing through your mind. You’re very genuine and I have no doubt you’ll find that both a blessing and a curse as a submissive.” Cressi hadn’t been exactly sure what the woman had meant, and she’d been too surprised by the woman’s suddenly relaxed demeanor to ask.

The spa Tristan had sent her to would be more accurately described as paradise. From the moment she’d given the receptionist her name, Cressi had been treated like a princess. She’d enjoyed the manicure and pedicure, as well as the facial, but the full Brazilian wax had been tantamount to torture—not to mention she was marking it down as the single most embarrassing event of her entire life. The only other people who had seen her so intimately had medical degrees, and what kind of ninny was she that she had allowed the esthetician to smear hot wax so close to her girly bits and then rip the hair out to its roots? And when she’d felt hot wax being painted around her anus, Cressi had been sure she’d die of humiliation—that is until the young woman had pulled those final pieces of wax off nearly sending her into orbit. She’d actually cursed—something she tried very hard to avoid at all costs. Now she was going to have to put money in the Chivalry jar at work and that just added insult to injury in her opinion.