Page 16 of Master Cordell

“Understood.”

No one said anything for a few moments, as they mulled over what they did and didn’t know about the two incidents, before Devon gestured toward the cottage. “Need any help in there?”

“Not really,” Cordell responded. “But you’re more than welcome to take a look around while I pack some shit up. See if you can find any clues who this asshole is that the deputies might’ve missed. Tiffany and I are staying in one of the hotel rooms tonight. I told her to recruit some of the housekeepers tomorrow to help clean up in here. That way it won’t take us all day.” He glanced at his watch. “Shit. Can someone look up the phone number for the Sundown Bar and Grill and tell them we’ll be about a half hour late, so we don’t have to rush? The reservation is under Roberts.”

Nick whipped out his phone and started typing away. “On it.”

While he did that, the five other Trident men and Mitch followed Cordell into the cottage. Even though Cordell had declined their help, they began putting things back in place, dragging the destroyed furniture outside, and filling up garbage bags someone had retrieved from under the kitchen sink. As they shifted through the chaos, they also searched for any clues to try and figure out who the intruder had been and why he’d targeted Cordell and Tiffany’s place.

After packing up some clothes and toiletries that somehow hadn’t been destroyed, Cordell contacted Milo Brooks and asked the contractor to send over a small industrial dumpster in the morning. That way, they could throw all the garbage in it and have it hauled away before guests arrived on Saturday. The couch, end tables, dinette set, and mattress had all been ruined and needed to be replaced. There were extra mattresses for the resort that were in storage, and the loveseat, table, and chairs from the temporary HR office were still in the other cottage. In the morning, he’d have some of the maintenance guys retrieve everything and set it up for him and Tiffany. Hopefully, by the time she saw the place again, it wouldn’t be so traumatic for her. He’d also have the security team replace the door lock that’d been picked, add a deadbolt that could be engaged from both inside and out, and set up a few more cameras around the cottage. He also wanted an alarm system added. The former owners had never installed one—they’d probably never been burglarized or had any other reason to consider putting one in.

Unfortunately, by the time Cordell and the others headed back to the hotel, no one had found any clues that would help solve the mystery of who the intruder had been. Brody reported that the only fingerprints he found on the bat were Cordell’s. The suspect had probably worn gloves, which meant the crime scene techs likely hadn’t found any prints that weren’t supposed to be there either.

While the majority of the damage in the cottage had been cleaned up, Cordell had told the men to leave everything else until the morning. It was time to get ready for dinner, and he was certain everyone was looking forward to relaxing and having a few drinks. He knew he could surely use a few shots of whiskey.

Tiffany was waiting for him in the lobby and led him up to the fourth floor where she’d commandeered a guest room with a king-size bed in it. “I made sure to leave Emma a note to have this room cleaned tomorrow.”

“Good. We’ll be able to stay in the cottage again tomorrow night.”

When she paled, he pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry, Pet. We’ll be adding all sorts of security measures in the morning, so you and Eastwood will be as safe there as you are in my arms. Okay?”

Holding him tightly around his waist, she nodded against his chest. “I trust you to keep us safe, Sir.”

His heart swelled at the conviction he heard in her voice, and he fell a bit more in love with her.

Chapter12

As she checked everything on the second floor of the resort, Tiffany was so glad the Tampa crew had come down early and given the staff a dry run the day before. While a few minor snags had come up, all in all, things had gone smoothly. The staff had been attentive and professional, and Sir and Tiffany had been proud of them. The guests had enjoyed themselves throughout the day, sunbathing, exploring the small island, and checking out the water sports. Breakfast had been served in the Locked Inn, followed by a lunch buffet in the shade by the pool, and a delicious, elegant dinner in Decadence later that evening.

Luckily, all the couples with children had been able to leave them with family or friends, allowing them to get away for the long weekend. They’d checked in with them throughout the day, and Tiffany had gotten a chance to hear all about them and see several of them on Skype.

After dinner last night, everyone had wandered into the dungeon to take a look around and even play for a bit. Any resort employees who were off duty and participated in the lifestyle, or were interested in learning more about it, had access to the club as a perk of working there. Sir had made a point to let them all know they were welcome to join everyone for a small pre opening celebration, and many had taken him up on the invitation. Since they were still getting to know their employees and vice versa, Sir had chosen to take Tiffany into one of the private playrooms for a scene. He’d spanked the stress of the day before out of her and followed it up with a round of amazing sex that’d left them both completely sated.

The housekeeping, maintenance, and security staffs had spent yesterday doing a wonderful job making sure Sir and Tiffany’s cottage was livable and, most of all, safe for them to stay there again. While she’d appreciated everyone’s effort, and she felt secure with Sir by her side, it’d still creeped her out to sleep there last night. Apparently, Eastwood had also had a case of the heebie-jeebies. When Tiffany had brought him back from her office last night and opened the carrier to let him out, the poor cat had made a beeline for the bedroom. No amount of coaxing from his two humans could get him to come out from under the bed until this morning when Tiffany had used the electric can-opener which announced his breakfast was being served.

She knew Sir, Dante, and the other men were annoyed that, even though they’d caught the intruder on camera, he’d managed to hide his face with a baseball cap and had pulled on gloves before entering the cottage. According to Sir, they were certain the suspect was a male because of his build, clothing, and the way he’d carried himself. He’d been wearing a pair of black jeans, sneakers, and a gray T-shirt—nothing that had made him stand out. If anyone had seen him, which no one could recall doing, he would’ve looked like any one of the numerous employees, vendors, contracted workers, or delivery people who’d been around all week. What they had noticed was that he hadn’t walked or driven up the main driveway to the resort. Instead, he’d been picked up on a camera aimed at the eastern-most shore of the key, arriving in a small motorboat. He’d obviously known the security cameras were there. He’d kept his head down as he made his way through the thick underbrush between the small beach on that part of the key and the area where it opened up again near the cottages.

More than half of Tiffany’s and Cordell’s clothing had been destroyed, but they’d managed to find a few outfits that weren’t damaged and were appropriate for the resort’s big grand opening. Tiffany had donned a pair of navy-blue crop pants with a matching short-sleeved bolero jacket over a white camisole. Navy-blue flats, understated jewelry and makeup, and a brass pin with her name and title on it completed the look. The result was professional looking yet comfortable. Since she'd be spending most of the day inside with the air-conditioning, she wasn’t worried about getting too hot with the lightweight jacket on. Sir had opted for black dress pants, a light-blue polo shirt with the MKR logo, his name, and the word manager stitched over the left side of his chest, and black loafers sans socks.

He’d looked her up and down when she’d joined him in the living room. “You look great, Pet—I mean, Assistant Manager Armstrong.”

A smile had spread across her face. “Thank you, Manager Cordell. You look very nice yourself.”

He’d handed her a small device that looked like a hearing aid. “This is your Bluetooth earpiece to communicate with me, security, the clinic, and all the managers. They finally arrived yesterday, but it was late in the day when I saw the box. Jared is making sure everyone who’s supposed to have one gets theirs this morning.” As she put the thing in her left ear, he’d held up a small, white box that was the size of a closed flip-phone. “This is the receiver and transmitter, and it clips onto your waistband. You can put it wherever it’s most comfortable for you. To activate the microphone, which is actually on the earpiece, you just push this button here and hold it. Then let it go to listen to everyone else. If there’s a lot of chatter going on and you need to speak to someone privately, you can tell them to go to channel two and turn this dial. Just remember to go back to channel one when you’re done, so you can hear everyone else. This switch is the on/off, and this dial is your volume.”

After examining the device, she’d attached it to the front waistband of her pants, just above her left hip, and turned it on. She’d heard a melodic tone, indicating the device was working, and adjusted the volume.

Cordell had put his own earpiece in and clipped its receiver to his belt. Handing her a travel mug filled with what smelled like her favorite coffee, which had been sitting on the counter, he’d picked up a second one, then gestured toward the door. “After you.”

Before he’d followed her, he’d turned on the new alarm system and then stepped out onto the porch and engaged both the doorknob and deadbolt locks. As they’d strolled toward the resort’s main entrance, Tiffany had thought about all they’d accomplished over the past few months and how nice it was to walk to work with him each morning. She didn’t want to think about the future and what would happen if and when Sir decided it was time for her to find a new Dom. For now, she was going to savor every moment with him and their new venture.

After joining everyone for breakfast that morning at the Locked Inn again, Cordell and Tiffany had bid them all a good day as they prepared for the influx of guests that would be arriving soon. Sir had gone to check in with the different managers, while Tiffany inspected the public areas to make sure everything was in order.

Now, as she descended the grand staircase to the lobby, she noticed several vehicles pull up to the drop-off area outside the front doors. She glanced around and saw the bellhops, front desk clerks, and valets were all in position and ready to greet and assist the guests.

Taking a deep breath, she strode across the lobby to the double doors. As people entered the building, she shook their hands and introduced herself before pointing them in the direction of the front desk where six clerks were available to check them in. Some people paused to comment on how beautiful the resort was or ask her a few questions, which she answered as best she could. If someone inquired about nearby businesses, tourist attractions, or excursions, she directed them to the concierge, which had all that information available, so she could move onto the next new arrival. Everyone seemed excited to be there, and she watched as some of the guests walked around, taking in their surroundings with broad smiles on their faces. A few women spotted the boutique, which was already open for business, and headed in there to investigate. Sasha was at the door to greet them and offer her assistance.

Occasionally, Sir came into the lobby to help Tiffany welcome their guests but was called away a few times for various reasons. Meanwhile, Tori, Ty, and Mitch were standing by the staircase, introducing themselves as three of the resort’s owners to the guests and inviting them to take a peek into the dungeon. The Tampa crowd was in there, offering to show people around even though the play areas were cordoned off with braided ropes until the club officially opened at 8:00 p.m. with an inauguration ceremony. Tiffany loved how they’d all come together to help out. While only a few of them were blood related, they were all one big, happy, extended family, and she was thrilled they seemed to consider her and Sir part of that now.

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