Page 62 of Bet On Me, Daddy

Braden snorted. “Trust me, I could close the bar and the restaurant down for a month and still turn a profit. This place runs very deeply in the black.”

That was surprising, seeing as how Club BDE paid better wages than anywhere else she’d found and Braden was very generous with bonuses. He must be charging the paying members a fortune.

Pushing herself up on steadier legs, Ruby forced a smile. “Either way, I’m fine to stay. Don’t be such a worrywart, Daddy B.”

Braden’s eyes narrowed. “When you and Beckett make up, I’m going to make sure he impresses upon you just how much I hate that nickname.”

“Bold of you to assume he wants anything to do with me after I basically told him to fuck off.” Her heart was still racing from the confrontation, and her stomach was full of so many butterflies she’d nearly lost her dinner all over the bar.

“Beckett Stone doesn’t scare that easily, unfortunately for your backside. You two will work things out.”

“Maybe.”

Amusement flickered in Braden’s pale eyes. “Well, it appears as though your entourage has arrived. I’ll leave you in their capable hands. But I meant what I said, Ruby. If you need to leave early, I expect you to tell me. Because even if Beckett isn’t your Daddy when you’re working, Iamyour boss. And I expect absolute honesty out of my employees when they are under my care. Am I making myself clear?”

“Crystal, Sir.”

“Good girl. I’ll be around if you need me.”

He turned and left just as her entourage, as he’d called them, descended.

“Oh, honey.” Lottie’s voice, soft with sympathy and concern, reached her a moment before Lottie herself. Hurrying behind the bar to throw her arms around Ruby’s neck, she rocked back and forth. “It’s okay. He’ll come back.”

“I’m fine, Lottie.” And she was. Her heart wasn’t breaking, and if it felt like it was, that was simply the feeling of realizing Beckett really was just another rich asshole who wanted to control her every move.

She really should learn to trust her instincts more.

“Are you sure? Do you need to sit down for a bit? I’m sure I can cover the bar while you take a minute.”

“Lottie, I have never seen you mix a drink in your life.” Frankie slid onto one of the bar stools, her expression alight with amusement.

“I can pour whiskey and wine like a champ,” Lottie said with a delicate sniff. “That’s half of what everyone in this club orders anyway.”

“I suppose you have a point. But right now I’m more interested in exactly what our girl said to get Braden to back down. I was too far away to actually hear the argument.”

“Same.” Silver joined them, settling onto the stool beside Frankie. Unlike her companion, Silver’s expression was all concern. “Are you okay, honey? What happened?”

“Beckett came storming in here, demanding that I tell Braden I couldn’t work tonight and that I was going home.” Now that the confrontation was over and her system had settled again, she could feel the anger burning in her veins. Of all the fuckingnerve. “I told him I was not doing that, and if he had a problem with it he could go home. So he left.”

Frankie, who was watching her with something akin to awe sparkling in her eyes, slammed a hand down on the bar. “Okay, you havegotto tell me how you did that. Whenever I tell Holden to buzz off, he just doubles down!”

“That’s because Holden is man enough to admit he wants you,” Silver said, her tone taking on a hard edge Ruby had never heard before. “Beckett is apparently too much of a fucking coward to say the same about our Ruby.”

Breath catching in her throat, Ruby shook her head. “No. That’s not it. I keep telling you guys, we negotiated all this the other night and we were both very clear about not wanting anything serious.”

“Oh?” Shifting in her seat, Silver raised a single dark eyebrow. “You mean the other night, when Beckett took you back to his house, which he has not done once in all the time Ice has known him?”

Shit. “That doesn’t mean what you think it means.”

“I think it does.” Lottie gave Ruby’s arm a sympathetic squeeze. “And the Daddy thing? Braden said he’s never once let a submissive call him that. It’s always been ‘Sir’ and nothing else.”

“Fucking hell.” Groaning, Ruby closed her eyes, dropping her head into her hands. “We were trying so hard to keep this from getting messy but it’s not just messy. It’s a fucking disaster.”

“Sounds a bit like it.” Silver’s voice was filled with sympathy. “I’m sorry, honey.”

“What’s going on?” Despite being dressed like a high school cheerleader, complete with blonde pigtails bouncing with each step she took, everything about Cordelia screamed ‘pissed-off Domme’ as she strode up to the bar. “Someone said Ruby was crying. Whose ass do I need to beat?”

Great. Even more public humiliation, and not the fun kind. “I am not crying. I’m fine, Cordelia.”

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