“No. She wasn’t exactly in the mood for congenial introductions.”
“Then here’s what we need to do. You go home, I’ll clock you a sick day. That’ll give me time to talk to the OR supervisor and see what I can find out that’ll help clear your name.”
Alessa’s first response was an emphatic no. Leaving would mean Charles had gotten to her, and she didn’t want to give him that satisfaction. But she could tell by Casey’s set face she thought this would be best, for today anyway. Left with no choice, she rose on shaky legs.
“Okay. Thanks, Casey.”
She tried not to fret that evening and the next day, but by the time she left to join her friends for their get-together at Sandie’s, two of her fingers throbbed with infected soreness from her nervous habit of pulling on hangnails. Knowing Krista the way she did, Alessa knew her best friend would become suspicious if she didn’t show up tonight without a good reason, so she’d opted to see the evening through instead of lying—even though the last thing she felt like doing was socializing with her happily committed friends. Sean’s three phone calls she’d let go unanswered hadn’t helped her disposition and by the time she arrived at Sandie and Zach’s penthouse apartment downtown, she regretted doing the right thing by not coming up with a false excuse for her absence tonight.
“It’s about time. You’re the last to arrive.” Sandie stepped back, holding the door open for Alessa with a smile.
“Sorry. I hope you saved me some wine.” Alessa wanted a drink in the worst way and accepted the glass Krista handed to her when she followed Sandie into the spacious living area where Hope and Julie were already seated.
“Bad day?” Krista asked, her eyes shadowed with the worry Alessa heard in her voice. Only Master Sean had been able to read her with such accurate astuteness as her friend.
“Yes, so I’m grateful for this.” She held up the glass then sipped the sweet alcohol with appreciation for the flavor and mild kick.
“It must be something in the air. This week’s been crappy already for me too,” Hope said. “I’ll spill if you will.”
“What? Oh, no, that’s okay. You go ahead.” Alessa should’ve known they wouldn’t let her off the hook that easily. After Hope talked about the busted water pipe at the shelter, followed by her new dog Sadie’s allergic reaction to something she ate resulting in an emergency run to a veterinarian, everyone turned to her. “Hey, I can’t beat that,” she tried to joke, but they weren’t going to let her off the hook.
“Come on, Alessa,” Julie coaxed. “We’ve all pissed and moaned about our problems at one time or another, but you never have. Give.”
“And I can tell by the two band aids on your fingers you’re upset about something. Plus, you’ve finished that glass in record time, so feel free to complain away,” Krista encouraged her.
Sometimes, Alessa pondered, it was a pain having such good friends, but in a good way. While she refused to share her grief over what she’d heard from Sean’s father, she could use their moral support with what Charles had done. She looked at Sandie and lifted her empty wine glass. “You pour, and I’ll talk.”
“Works for me.”
After Sandie filled her glass, Alessa curled her legs under her, turning to Krista. “Do you remember Dr. Ward, the one that nurse in the elevator said got her transferred out of the OR?”
“Yes, he’s a jerk. I never did like assisting him when I worked at the hospital.” Krista narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Now what’d he do?”
All four women expressed outrage when Alessa revealed Charles’s insubordination complaint, and their unquestioning loyalty lit a warm glow inside her. If only talking about the other upsetting occurrence at work could be as helpful, she might get through the split with Master Sean. With Paul’s words still ringing in her head, putting an end to the hopes she’d dared allow herself to feel, she couldn’t bring herself to speak of the end of their relationship.
“Someone needs to get him off your back, Alessa.” Sandie flicked her gaze to Krista. “Can’t Dax do something? He’s a bigwig at the hospital.”
“I can ask him—”
“No,” Alessa interrupted, her throat clogging with emotion at her friends’ outrage on her behalf. “Thank you, but I don’t want to involve anyone else in this. I don’t know what Charles will do next. When I return to work tomorrow, I’ll file a counter complaint, stating harassment. I’m hoping my supervisor will have the name of the nurse he got transferred out of the OR. With her testimony, I think he’ll backtrack on the insubordination charge. At least, that’s what I’m counting on.”
She’d been on her own for so long before the last few weeks of submitting to Sean. As easy as it would be to let Dax handle Charles, Alessa needed to get back into the swing of not relying on anyone to be there for her. Balls of distress rolled around her abdomen when she thought of moving on without his steady grey eyes to settle her, his commands that left her no choice but to obey and alleviated the stressful task of making decisions alone, and his harsh discipline that showed he cared.
“If that doesn’t work, let me know.” Krista leaned forward and scooped bean dip onto a Frito chip then said, “In the meantime, are any of you taking part in the charity auction at Chains this Saturday?”
“What auction?” Julie wanted to know.
“It’s an annual event. Submissives are auctioned off for the night to the highest bidder and the money goes to Special Olympics. Dax signed us up, promising he’ll outbid anyone else provided I behave.” A mischievous gleam sparkled in Krista’s blue eyes. “I’m tempted to push him on it by not behaving Saturday.”
Hope shuddered. “I wouldn’t have the nerve to push that man.”
Sandie laughed. “Of all the guys, Miles is the scariest.”
Alessa was too busy plotting to get involved in the banter. Maybe the auction would be a good way for her to move on, to get her mind off Master Sean and focused on someone else. She kept quiet about her plans, relieved when Sandie, Hope and Julie all said they couldn’t make the fundraiser. By the time Krista discovered she’d signed up, it would be too late to back out. Odds were, by Saturday, Sean would have told at least Dax they were no longer seeing each other, so that would be one revelation she wouldn’t have to suffer through.
“What about you, Lessa? Has Sean mentioned it?”
Pulling her mind back into the conversation, she answered Krista with a shake of her head. “No, not yet.”
“He did seem possessive the other night,” Hope commented. “He may not want to risk you catching the eye of someone else.”
Yeah, that’s not it. Julie stood and carried her glass out to the kitchen and Alessa followed her lead with relief. It was definitely time to go.
SEAN TOSSED his phone onto the desk and swore under his breath in frustration. He hadn’t seen or spoken to Alessa since Sunday when she left his house to get ready for work. After she didn’t answer his calls Monday, he’d been hoping to catch her at the hospital when he visited his dad. When he heard she’d already clocked out, he began to worry. He’d planned to drive over to her bungalow after work yesterday and confront her, but his dad’s insistence on coming home called for his immediate, time-consuming attention. When he couldn’t talk Paul out of it, Aunt Vivian offered to stay with him, make sure he took his daily walks and ate properly, at least for a week or two. By the time Sean had gotten him settled back home and helped Vivian with her things, he knew Alessa was already enjoying the evening with her friends and he’d have to put off reaching her until today.
But it would help if she’d pick up the fucking phone. Thinking back over the weekend, he recalled the way she embraced his commands and the sex with whole-hearted enthusiasm, so he didn’t believe her silence now was due to anything he’d introduced her to during the few days they spent together at his house.
He’d never lived with a woman, but the short time he’d invited her into his home had turned out to be the best days he’d ever spent with a submissive. She’d fulfilled
every fantasy of obeying his commands and he’d been hoping that meant she’d grown to care for him the way he did her. Picturing the soft wonder crossing Alessa’s face when he brought her to climax, the way her eyes shone at his praise, Sean knew he couldn’t be wrong. Alessa did care, but maybe that was why she was retreating now. Given her insecurities, he imagined the very idea of letting herself fall for him, of risking her heart after all the past disappointments, scared the crap out of her. It was a good thing she had him to calm those fears.
Sean’s next client arrived and he switched gears back to his job. It wasn’t until late afternoon and he was leaving work intending to drive to St. Vincent’s to confront Alessa where she couldn’t hide from him that his plans changed with a call from Dax.
“What’s up, bro?” he asked, holding the phone to his ear as he slid behind the wheel.