Page 51 of Sub Mission

“Whatever,” Ari mumbled. “Listen, Baker, whatever’s troubling you about Seth, you need to talk to him about it. He’s a good guy and loves you, like enough to be the poster child for a lovesick fool. Just talk it out.” He snatched the candy bar out of my hand and said, “And put that shit away. You aren’t hungry. Or having a sugar attack.”

I smiled. “It’s a good thing you’re gay, Ari. Women wouldn’t put up with that attitude of yours. Snatching chocolate from their hands could get you killed, no questions asked, and they wouldn’t feel the least bit bad about it afterwards. No touchy the chocolate.”

I looked over my shoulder and saw Seth tuck his cell into his back pocket. His eyes met mine, darted away guiltily, and then returned to mine.

He winked.

I frowned.

Ari rolled his eyes.

“You still need a ride, Ari?” Seth asked as he jogged to catch up to us. We reached the car at the same time, and Seth quickly moved to open the passenger door for me.

Aww, what a mother-fucking, cheating gentleman.

Smiling up at him, I said, “Thank you, Seth.”

“Climb in, Ari,” Seth said as he opened the car door for him, as well. “Why did you disappear?”

I turned around in my seat to look at Ari. Watching my friend squirm might work wonders for getting my attention off my own problems. “Yeah, Ari,” I said as Seth backed the car out of the parking lot. “What was with the vanishing act? And, before you answer, remember that you accidentally referred to the new employee as an asshole when we were talking earlier.”

He flipped me off. “He’s not going to be a new employee if I have anything to do with it,” he muttered in disgust. “I try my best to stay out of dad’s business, but I’m going to have to meddle this time. We don’t need Eli on our team. End of story. I’m going to tell dad not to hire him.”

Seth snorted out a laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to work out for you, Ari. The interview tonight was nothing more than a formality.” Looking into the review mirror where he could meet Ari’s gaze, Seth added, “Trust me; I’m no more excited about his presence than you, my friend.”

My head whipped around in Seth’s direction. “Why would you say that? You barely spoke twenty words to him.”

Seth’s chest expanded with a deep breath before he answered. “The man we just met, Eli Wallace, is Samantha’s stepbrother.” He turned and looked at me, a naughty look twinkling in his eyes. “You remember Samantha, right? Your ex-Domme?”

My eyes widened in shock. Why was Samantha’s stepbrother suddenly interested in the business? I plopped back against the seat and realized that I didn’t know if this man was justsuddenlyinterested in the business. He could have been working at one of the satellite agencies for years, and I wouldn’t have known it. Not only had I only been working for The Company for a little over a year, the Domme/sub relationship I’d had with Samantha had been strictly business. I knew absolutely nothing about her family or what, if any, their dealings in the company’s business might be.

Without considering the consequences, I seized the opportunity Seth had just tossed into my court and answered, “Why, yes, I do remember her. Maybe I need to visit her again…just so I don’t forget what the inside of a playroom looks like, of course.”

I heard Arizona’s gasp of surprise, but it was nothing compared to the look of pain that flashed across Seth’s face. I wanted to take it back the instant it left my mouth, but it was too late.

Fuck. I’d fucked up. Again. The fucking story of my life.

Seth’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, but he didn’t use words to fight back against my unfair and intentionally mean threat. He used his silence, and it hurt far worse.

“I’m sorry, Seth,” I whispered. “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it. You know I didn’t mean it, right?”

“I’ll always want you to say what’s on your mind, Baker,” Seth finally answered. “It’s one of the many things I love about you. Your honesty.” He offered me a stiff smile and added, “Let’s change the subject, shall we? Perhaps this is something better left to discuss when we’re alone.”

“Hell, yeah, it is,” Ari muttered from his spot in the back seat. “I’m not into those dirty games the two of you play in the dark, but that comment made me want to whip your ass, Baker. Can we please just talk about me and how this asshole’s arrival is going to potentially ruin my life? Me, me, me,” he teased. “You two need to work on your miscommunications in the privacy of your own home. I need all the focus onmeright now.”

I turned around to glare at him. “I know you’re not into all the dirty games Seth and I play in the dark, but I really think somebody needs to whipyourass right now,” I countered. “Could you possibly be any more spoiled? The whole world doesn’t revolve around you, Arizona.” Narrowing my eyes at him, I ordered, “Now…spill the deets. Why do you hate Eli Wallace, also known as Samantha’s step brother, aka asshole, so much?”

Still feeling like a shit, I reached my hand over and looped it around Seth’s. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d shoved it away, but he answered with a reassuring squeeze. I kept our hands locked together.

“Okay,” Ari began. “You guys know that I’m a computer nerd and there’s not a code out there that I can’t write or decipher.”

“Brag much?” I said.

“What you probably don’t know is that I’m not just a computer nerd…there’s a good chance I’m a full-time, twenty-four seven, around-the-clock nerd. I graduated from MIT when I was seventeen years old. When your entire section of the world is much older than you, more mature than you, and more confident than you…well…it leads to ugly situations. People were either mean or treated me like some sort of pet mascot.”

He grew quiet for a few seconds and had a faraway look in his eyes. I hadn’t known Arizona for very long, but I’d never seen him act anything other than happy and well-adjusted. He always smiled and wasn’t stingy with laughs. Looking at him now, his eyes screamed sadness and insecurity.

“Did Eli do something to you, Arizona?” Seth growled. “Was he one of the crowd that mistreated you? Does your father know this?”

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