Page 59 of Impressing Brett

Brett gives my hands a squeeze. “I’ve met your bosses before, Lacy,” he informs me.

I gasp and look between all of them again. “Why? Where?”

“We belong to the same fetish club,” Devon says.

My heart starts pounding as I try to process this detail. “Surrender?”

“Yes.” Rick nods.

So many thoughts go through my head, starting with my conversation last night with Eve. She had been so certain my bosses would understand my plight. She knows they’re members of Surrender, but she couldn’t tell me that. It starts to sink in.

I shift my gaze back to Brett. He’s a member, too. That’s why he flinched when we stepped off the elevator. He knows my bosses.

I can’t decide if this is helpful or a disaster.

Devon taps the table. “We actually saw you at Surrender last Friday night, Lacy. We made ourselves scarce and left soon after you arrived. We didn’t want you to panic if you saw us on your first visit.”

Brett squeezes my hands again. “I’ve known Devon and Rick for a long time, but I didn’t know they were your bosses. We don’t share that kind of information at the club.”

“Oh.” And then I flinch as I realize what they would have seen. My face flushes as I look away. “So, you saw me with Eve and the others in the, uh…” I can’t bring myself to say daycare. I’d like to fall through a crack in the floor.

“Yes,” Rick says gently. “And we do not judge you. Your kink is your business. We would never tell a soul. We’ve never breathed a word about Eve, either. Your private life is none of our business.”

“Most of those pictures won’t even shock you then,” I murmur. “Some of them were taken as I entered the club that night.” I still don’t need my bosses to see me having sex. I shudder.

“We won’t look at them, Lacy. You have my word.” Devon leans back in his chair. “We’ll do nothing more than open the envelope to verify the contents and let you know if and when it comes.”

“Thank you.” How the hell am I supposed to face these men again? I can’t believe they saw me in full Little mode, playing with Eve and the others at Surrender. I can’t even believe I did such a thing. I can’t do it again. I’m too mortified at having been caught not only by a private investigator but my own bosses. What was I thinking?

“I know it’s overwhelming right now,” Rick continues. “The first time I ran into someone I knew from the real world at Surrender, I thought my world would end. But it won’t. I promise. Ask Eve to tell you about the first time she saw us there. She was a member before us. We were visiting one night and ran into her. She was mortified. It took a while to calm her down and reassure her we would never tell anyone and that it would never affect her job.”

I pull my hands free of Brett’s and lower my face into my palms. I really can’t believe this is happening.

Devon clears his throat. He looks slightly nervous. “You will see us there, Lacy. We don’t hide who we are from the fetish community anymore. The easiest way to handle it is to simply nod as we pass each other. Our kink is not related to yours. You won’t see us in the daycare.”

I stare at him and then look toward Rick. Suddenly, I wonder what sort of kink they’re interested in and why they seem to go there together. Everything they’ve said was we, we, we.

“We’re a couple, Lacy,” Devon says softly. “We’ve chosen not to share that at work. It’s easier. But we live together, and we play together at Surrender.”

Rick reaches over and rubs Devon’s neck.

I’m so stunned I can’t even blink. I had no idea. Not a single inkling. I thought they were just business partners.

Devon covers Rick’s hand with his. However, his gaze is on me. “Are you going to tell anyone about our private life?”

I gasp. “Of course not. Never.”

“Then you can understand that we wouldn’t do that to you either. You have our word.”

I nod slowly.

“I know you’re scared, Lacy,” Rick says gently. “I would be too if someone was blackmailing me with pictures of Devon and me together. Not everyone would understand our relationship.” He waves a dismissive hand through the air. “Not the fact that we’re a gay couple. We don’t care much about that. But our D/s relationship isn’t something we care to share. That’s why we’ve chosen to keep our private lives to ourselves.”

Devon lets out a sardonic chuckle. “In this case, your blackmailers have barked up the wrong tree. The joke is on them. We don’t care who you choose to love or how you choose to express that love as long as it’s consensual.”

I flinch when he says love. That word scares me. Brett and I haven’t said that to each other, and it’s probably for the best. He’s not going to be understanding when I tell him I just can’t be who he needs me to be anymore.

Devon threads his fingers with Rick. “Don’t misunderstand. Neither of us is ashamed of being gay. But we’ve dealt with enough prejudice in this life that we made a choice not to openly flaunt it at work. I’m sure some employees have seen us arriving or leaving together. They can think what they want.”

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