Page 13 of Master Cordell

Going up on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Sir.”

Master Reed handed Tiffany the glass of wine she’d requested but hadn’t noticed sitting on the bar. “Here you go, little one. Allow me to make a toast. To Tiffany’s transformation into a sassy, bratty submissive who will kick ass and take names.”

She burst out laughing, and so did Sir and Dante before they clinked their glasses with hers and Master Reed’s. “To Operation Tiffany,” Dante said with a smile and a wink.

For the next three hours, they walked around the club, observing several scenes and having a good time. Master Reed and Dante introduced them to so many people that Tiffany had lost track of everyone’s names. She’d also been approached every five or ten minutes by other Doms who requested to negotiate a scene with her. Some were far more intimidating than the others, but each time she successfully turned a man down, her self-confidence ticked up a few notches. A few times, she’d actually started to get pissed at a Dom’s forwardness. But when Sir hadn’t interfered, she’d finally figured out that some of the Doms had been instructed to push her to the point she had to be extra assertive to get her point across. None of them had crossed the line and touched her breasts or ass, but there’d been unwanted but harmless physical contact, leering looks, a few crass propositions, and some arrogant attitudes. As soon as she’d put them in their place, however, the Doms had smiled and wished her a good night before walking away.

Tiffany wasn’t naive enough to think that in some real situations, where the Doms weren’t playacting, the person harassing her would just smile and leave if she didn’t give into their demands. But knowing she could handle herself in most incidences had her standing straighter and holding her chin up high. The satisfied looks on Sir’s, Master Reed’s, and Dante’s faces, after she sent each Dom on their way, had also been good for her self-esteem.

By the end of the night, she was almost certain she’d finally said goodbye to slave Tiffany, the doormat, and had embraced submissive Tiffany. However, she’d only had a brief moment to savor the triumphant feeling when she realized she was now one step closer to being one of Sir’s finished projects, which meant she was one step closer to losing him.

When they left the club a little after midnight, the limo was waiting for them in the parking garage again. Tiffany slumped into the plush, leather seat next to Sir and rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed her on the forehead. “You were amazing tonight, Pet. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, Sir. And thank you for showing me that I could do that. I may still tense up occasionally with some Doms, but now I know I can take control of a situation and not be afraid of being punished or ridiculed if I refuse a demand I’m not comfortable with.”

He put his arm around her and tucked her into his side. “And if a Dom doesn’t heed your request for them to leave you alone?”

“Then I’ll find you, a Dungeon Monitor, or a Dom I trust to intervene.”

“Good girl.”

“You can always find me too, Tiff,” Dante said with a wink. He’d pulled on his T-shirt again after climbing into the back of the limo. “I have no problem letting my alpha freak fly with any Dom other than Master.”

Reed barked out a laugh. “It’s true. I’ve been told on more than one occasion in the club that my subbie is mouthy and arrogant. My response is always the same—they clearly don’t know how to draw out his submissive side like I do. And if they gave him a reason to go all alpha, then they definitely don’t want to tell me what happened to get that reaction because I’d probably be ten times worse on them than he was.”

Tiffany watched as Reed leaned over and captured Dante’s mouth with his own. For a brief moment, jealousy coursed through her. Dante had told her their relationship went beyond a D/s one. In fact, when Reed had asked Dante to move in with him a few years ago, he’d torn up their contract, not wanting to be bound by any perceived end dates. When she’d asked him if they would ever get married, Dante had said he would absolutely marry Reed if the man ever proposed. But even if he didn’t, Dante was in it for the long haul, wanting to spend the rest of his life with his Master, whether they made it legal or not. She was happy for him and wished she didn’t have to worry about an end to her contract with Sir. If only there was a way to make Sir fall in love with her. Too bad that’s not how love worked.

* * *

Five weeks later ...

Striding through the lobby,Tiffany glanced around. The place was buzzing with activity. In three days, the resort would be officially open, and their first guests would arrive. Some of their new employees were going through the last day of training, while others were helping put the final touches on the decorations, among other things. Today, Tiffany was going to inspect every room and common area to make sure everything was in order. The entire hotel had been fully furnished and accessorized over the last ten days, and there shouldn’t be a thing out of place as she did her final walk-through with two of her department managers.

Behind the front desk, the daytime reception manager, Jesse Thomas, was going over the new computer system with his team, while the concierge manager, Brigette King, was nearby, having a meeting with her staff which included the valets and bellhops. Over in the bar, two employees were stocking and organizing liquor bottles and different types of glasses, while the resort’s sommelier was inspecting several cases of wine that’d just been delivered.

In Decadence, Chef Adley was having a meeting with her sous chefs, two of whom would be in charge of Locked Inn’s kitchen, the front-end managers, and the rest of the staff for both restaurants. They were going over the menus and wine choices for the upcoming weekend. A huge shipment of fresh food and canned goods was expected to arrive in about an hour, and all hands would be needed to help bring everything in and stock the pantries and walk-in refrigerators in both kitchens. The linens, silverware, plates, glasses, and other necessities had arrived last week, along with all the pots, pans, utensils, and specialized cooking gadgets.

Some members of the housekeeping staff were busy making sure everything was clean and sparkling, while a few others were currently helping the resort’s interior designer with placing large floral arrangements and decorations around the lobby and other public areas. The woman had spent yesterday and the day before with the maintenance crew, finding the right spots for all the wall art and hanging them.

Over in the boutique, Sasha and her staff were putting out new inventory, straightening up displays, and familiarizing themselves with the stock and computerized system they’d be using. Outside, the groundskeepers were planting flowers and tending to the landscaping, while the beach and pool staff were making sure everything was ready for guests to enjoy themselves. In other areas of the resort, several managers were meeting with their staff members, including the spa, the event planners, and the small clinic, going over last minute details and expectations with everyone.

Sir had told Tiffany his plans for the day included inspecting the entire dungeon, the playrooms, and all the equipment in both, the outdoor pool, with its lazy river, and the beach the guests could use for sunbathing, swimming, and water sports. Dante and his staff were double checking for any security issues. They hadn’t found any more spy cameras since the first ones had been discovered, so that had been a relief.

Later that afternoon was the start of their soft opening. A bunch of people from Tampa were arriving, including Tori, Ty, and Mitch, Ian and Angie, Devon and Kristen, and about a dozen others. For the next two days, they were going to act like real guests, who weren’t or didn’t know the owners. The point was to help the staff find any flaws in the system or areas that needed work before the actual guests started arriving on Saturday. The Tampa crowd would also be spending the long weekend joining in the grand opening festivities.

Spotting the housekeeping manager, Emma Horton, and the head of the maintenance department, Luis Peña, waiting for her by the elevator, Tiffany made her way over to them. Like her, both were carrying new iPads to make notes of everything that needed to be addressed by their staff. She smiled as she approached them. “Good morning, Emma, Luis. How are you today?”

“Morning, Tiffany. We’re ready to get rolling,” the fifty-year-old man responded with a grin. While most of the staff members called her Ms. Armstrong, in deference to her executive position, she’d asked the managerial staff to call her by her first name unless guests were around. “I already have my team working on a few things that were reported over the last few days, but nothing major.”

“Great. Emma, did you solve that staffing issue?” One of her new employees hadn’t come to work yesterday, and they hadn’t known if she’d quit without telling them or if there’d been a legitimate reason why she hadn’t shown up.

Red-haired Emma was about Tiffany’s age and had come to the resort with great references and experience, so it’d been a no-brainer to hire her for the head of housekeeping position. Tiffany had liked her immediately, and the young woman fit it well with the rest of the managerial staff.

“Yes. Actually, Rita came to work this morning. Apparently, her elderly mother fell and broke her hip yesterday, and she spent the day at the ER with her. She’d contacted HR and left a message, but Sloan said the call had gone to a voice mail that wasn’t checked until this morning. And when I’d tried to call her, it was on her home phone number, and she didn’t get the message until after I’d left for the day. After all that, I made sure my staff has my cell phone number and Jesse’s for emergencies.”

“Perfect. I hope her mother is okay though.” The elevator arrived, and the three of them entered the car, taking it up to the top floor.

“They were doing the hip surgery today, and Rita’s brother is at the hospital, so she came to work. But I told her to take the day off and go back there to be with her family. They need her more than we do today. She’ll be back to work tomorrow.”

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