Page 56 of Daddy P.I. 3.0

Mac shakes his head.

“I don’t want Ty or Hart to get into trouble,” Shannie says. “It weren’t their fault.”

It was if they lost control of the scene.

“Did you tell them afterwards that you felt unsafe?” I ask, keeping my tone gentle.

Shannie hangs her head, shaking it slowly. “They were so happy with the scene they high-fived each other afterwards. An’ at first, I felt good about it too. I’d submitted to both of them. I’d made them both happy. But that chant kept comin’ back to me. It made me feel like nothin’. Worse than nothin’.” She sniffles. “I haven’t felt that way since I joined Blunts.”

I rub her back. “I’m so sorry you felt that way.”

“Shannie, what can we do to make this right?” Mac asks. “What can we do to help you feel safe again?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. That’s why I didn’t want to say anythin’. I don’t know how anyone could fix this. It’s just somethin’ I gotta get past?—”

“No, no, Shannie, it’s not. We can start with a rule about staying with guests at all times. You shouldn’t ever have felt that you, Ty, and Hart were outnumbered or unable to control Drew’s guests. Drew should have stayed with them. We’ll start there. Is that a good start?”

Shannie nods. “I don’t want to do any more scenes with Ty and Hart,” she whispers. “I don’t know how to tell them without makin’ them feel real bad.”

“We’ll take care of that,” Mac says, patting Shannie’s hand. “You focus on you. Feeling safe. Feeling more grounded and confident.”

“Oh-okay, I’ll try.”

“Is this something you feel comfortable talking to Master Rob about?” Mac asks. There’s a little edge to his tone, like he’s gritting his teeth.

“I don’t want to make this his problem. He spends time with Ty and Hart, like hanging out. He goes to Master Hart’s gym. They’re friends. I don’t want him to be mad at them.”

“I know this is hard but nothing improves if we keep secrets. Give Rob the opportunity to help you and deal with his relationships with Ty and Hart in his own way.”

Shannie looks dubious.

“What’s wrong, Shannie?” I prompt.

“Master Rob’s just mentioned exclusivity. That’s what I want. What if this scares him off?”

I glance at Mac to see if he has any thoughts.

Mac rubs the back of his neck. “We don’t want to do anything to scupper your relationship, sweetheart. But if Master Rob finds out about this through the club grapevine, it might hurt him more than if he hears it from you.”

Shannie dabs at her eyes and blows her nose. “I need to think about it.”

“Okay, Shannie,” I say. “We don’t want to push you. We just want to help. You tell us the best way to do that.”

“A rule about guests would be good. Then it wouldn’t have happened.”

I don’t know Drew well, and some of our members use the club more like a country club, shuttling guests in and out ofthe nightclub, spa, and restaurant, than a lifestyle club with vulnerable employees. Maybe we need a retraining for members as well as a new rule.

“Is there any other way Logan and I can help make this better for you?” Mac asks.

Shannie glances from Mac to me. “Are you really stayin’ this time?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I am. And Mac’s helping me this time. We’re not doing this alone, Shannie. Not any of us.”

She nods. “I know why Annabelle quit. It ain’t my story to tell and she’s not gonna speak to you about it. You’re part of the membership committee. But if Master Mac called her, I bet she’d talk to him.”

Mac’s eyebrows shoot toward his hairline. “I can do that.”

“It’s bad,” Shannie says. “You’re not gonna like it.”

---