“I don’t think she was joking, Sir,” Meagan said, worry still etched across her features.
Luke put his arm around her. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of it.”
“But what about . . . ?” She glanced first to Simon and then back to Luke. “Should someone tell her?”
“I’ll leave it up to you,” Luke told Simon. “With whatever you decide to tell your other partner or partners. It’s probably only talk, but I’d hate to make that assumption and be wrong.”
What Simon didn’t want to do was tell Faye to watch her back. Seriously, if he didn’t know what she looked like, how would anyone else find her? But like Luke had said, the possibility of something happening if he didn’t tell her was more than he could imagine.
“I think she’s safe, but I’ll let her know the threat has been made,” Simon said. Damn, he hoped she didn’t run away after he told her. Odd as their relationship was, he enjoyed the time they spent chatting together. “What’s the plan for Anna Beth?”
Luke was rubbing Meagan’s back. “She thinks you two are in a relationship? I say break up with her. Here. In public, so there’s no doubt.”
“She sounds a bit unstable,” Simon said. “You don’t think that will set her off?”
“I think she’ll handle it okay since you’re the one she’s obsessed with,” Luke said. “From what I gather, she’s all about making you happy.”
“Obviously not, or she wouldn’t threaten the woman I am with.”
“After you break up with her, I’ll be here with some backup and we’ll escort her out,” Luke said. “I’ll talk with her. If I think she was exaggerating for dramatics, I’ll send her through the retraining program. If I think she was serious, I’ll let her know she’s no longer welcome and that if she comes back or threatens anyone in the group, we won’t hesitate to call the police.”
“Here she comes, Sir,” Meagan whispered.
Simon looked over at the women’s locker room and, sure enough, Anna Beth had just trotted out and was making a beeline toward him.
This was not going to be pretty.
• • •
Lynne knew it was crazy, but she kept her laptop out and ready on the off chance Simon was able to finish whatever it was that had come up for him and was able to chat. She’d spent so much of the day stressing out about how to do the video conference and not reveal who she was, it was sort of a letdown now that it wasn’t going to happen.
She’d found a mask to cover her face. It was a no-frills black number that covered what she thought were her most telling features. The eye holes were small enough that she didn’t think anyone viewing her from a webcam could tell much about them. There was nothing remarkable about her nose, but the mask covered it as well. The only part of her face left uncovered was her mouth.
She’d made up the part about her audio output not working. She hated to add in another lie, but she couldn’t think of a way to change her voice on such short notice. It was only a little lie in the big scheme of things. And the only other option would have been to tell him she didn’t want to do it, and she was too curious about what he had planned for the video chat to tell him that.
And what was her reward? Some emergency had popped up and he’d had to reschedule. She’d been so worked up about what she hoped he had planned, she’d let loose and joked with him. Now, though, she had an entire evening of nothing planned.
If she really tried, she probably would have been able to convince herself that she’d brought it on herself for lying about the audio. Served her right. She’d always been told that there were consequences for lying.
However, she’d do the same thing again, if given the chance. More than that, she knew she would keep up the pretense of the audio output not working. Consequences be damned.
The ping of an e-mail made her jump.
Simon!
She grabbed her laptop and headed to the couch to read. Her smile withered when she saw it wasn’t Simon, but Anna Beth, and it disappeared completely as she read the e-mail.
Lynne,
I know we aren’t close, but you’re one of the few people I know in “real life” who’s into kink. It’s been crazy at work, and then shit has been going down at the club. You would not believe what happened tonight. I’m still furious.
I’m telling you in case you decide to revisit a club—be careful who you confide in. The place I was going to always seemed to be on the straight and narrow (or at least as straight and narrow as a BDSM club can be! LOL).
Someone at my club has been telling vicious lies about me. Straight-up LIES. Not only that, but when I showed up, the Dom I told you about? He said he wasn’t going to play with me anymore. In front of EVERYONE. It was so humiliating.
Ridiculous, right?
I don’t know who would do such a thing to me. Maybe someone who wants my Dom?
I don’t know.
I don’t know anything.
I don’t even know why I’m telling you all this.
—Anna Beth
P.S. I mentioned running into you to Lori—remember her? She had this old picture she asked me to send. Good times, right?
Lynne sat and stared at the screen for several long seconds, trying to process what she’d read. It was a serious matter to be kicked out of a club. And to have it done in such a manner? That made her think there might have been some credibility to what was being said. But she couldn’t tell that to Anna Beth.
Actually, she decided, it was late, she was tired, and it appeared Simon’s issue or whatever was still ongoing, and he wasn’t going to be able to chat. She closed her laptop. Plenty of time tomorrow to worry about the hot mess that was Anna Beth.
She clicked on the picture and smiled at Old Lynne at a party, three years ago. Though why Lori wanted her to have it, she didn’t know.
She changed into her pajamas, got into bed, and picked up her e-reader to read a few more chapters in her current BDSM romance novel. As she read, her hand drifted to the hem of her gown.
It would have been so easy to let her fingers keep going and to grant her body the relief it craved. But she stopped, her fingers curling into a fist. She had more self-control than that. She’d held up over the past two weeks. Surely, she could handle a few more days. With a heavy sigh, she put her e-reader on the nightstand and turned out the light. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would have a sex dream.
• • •
As it turned out, it was longer than a few days before they had a chance to get together again. The day after he had to cancel their evening appointment, he was called out of town. His regretful tone was evident through the e-mail he sent. He explained that as manager of the temp agency, he’d been asked to step in and visit a major client that was having personnel issues.
Lynne told him it was fine—she actually had exams to study for. As fun as it was to be spending time with Simon again, she couldn’t forget that her first priority was to study. She looked at the few days that Simon was away as a chance to buckle down and focus on her coursework.
The other thing she did was reply to Anna Beth. She kept it simple but straightforward, thanking her for the picture, telling her that she was sorry to hear that Anna Beth had had such a rough time at the club, and yes, it was uncalled for and totally unacceptable for someone to spread lies. She almost added that she hoped the club’s management found out what happened soon, but changed her mind. For one, she wasn’t certain Anna Beth was telling the complete truth, and if she wasn’t, Lynne didn’t want her to think she somehow condoned anything she had done.
She contemplated telling Simon about it, but didn’t want him to think she had whack jobs as friends. Eventually, she decided to keep the e-mail to herself, thinking maybe she’d talk to Abby about it in the future.
Finally, six days after they were supposed to have their video chat, she received a message from Simon right before she headed to bed.
Faye,
I’m finally back. Missed chatting with you. Reschedule video chat for tomorrow at 8 p.m.?
—SirSimon
Lynne was both excited and nervous.
She was still going to say that her audio output wasn’t working. Maybe make it sound like it was more expensive to fix than she felt she could spend. She replied, telling him that eight p.m. the next night was perfect and she was looking forward to finally connecting.