Page 58 of Submissive Lies

Hi! This is Thomas. I can’t take your call right now…

“Thomas, I know you’re getting my messages. I don’t know what’s going on, but I need you to call me. Now.” I held the phone to my ear, my neck burning. “Call me, Thomas. I’m serious. Please. Bye.” I slammed my thumb into the END button and then tossed the phone to the table.

God fucking dammit. What the hell was going on?

I stood for a moment, shaky. I drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Moving away from the table and my phone, I made my rounds, trying to cool myself off. Irrational anger continued to pulse through me, and I needed to get rid of that before I talked to Thomas. I made two circuits of the booth, talking myself down. It helped, but only a little. I moved back to the table and sat down. Keeping a cursory eye on how things were proceeding, I flipped the phone up to where I could see the screen, watching for Thomas’ call or text. Fifteen minutes passed, then twenty, then thirty, and by an hour I was done. Fuck. You. I pushed the phone away from me, and with an almost savage glee I turned my attention to surreptitiously watching Steve. Where earlier I might have thought that dangerous—observing him quickly became thoughts that turned into fantasies—I now embraced it with gloating fury. Fuck. You. That sustained me. Carried me through the rest of the morning as my phone sat silent. Steve came by at one point, and we talked, and the smile I gave him was a sunburst of latent sexual energy. When I asked him to arrange lunch for the crew—a last-day-of-the-set tradition that I had started years ago—I fucking purred.

“Do you think you could make that happen for me, Mr. Friess? Please?” I batted my eyes at him, bit down on my lower lip as I poured a carton of sex over the words.

-Wow. Lay it on fucking thick, why don’t you?-

“I will absolutely make it happen, Ms. Boyd.” If my request, and the manner in which I asked it, took Steve aback, he hid it well. He grinned as he stood looking down at me, his eyes narrowing. “I think this may be only the second time I’ve had a client buy lunch for the crew on a job.”

“Well…” I responded in a husky voice that bordered on erotic. “I like to take care of my people.”

“So I’m aware.” His eyes thinned to slits, one corner of his mouth turning up almost imperceptibly.

Just before lunch, he and Keith came by to discuss the layout of the graphics in the exhibit. I had gotten myself a little more under control by that point, but I was still flinging mental Fuck You’s at Thomas. As we walked the booth, laying out the visuals out in the proper locations, there were a few moments when my eyes met Steve’s. I had no idea what he was thinking, especially given my little display earlier, but when our glances did catch, I had my suspicions. I knew what I was thinking. That this day could not end quickly enough.

The crew had chosen pizza for lunch and Tony brought the food to the booth when it arrived, spreading the boxes out on one of the empty crates. I asked him to join us, and after some half-hearted protesting, he finally agreed.

“Ms. Jen, did Stevie have a chance to talk with you about maybe cutting your crew back a bit?”

“He did.” I took another scan around the exhibit before I turned back to him. “We’re in really good shape. I certainly don’t have a problem with it.”

“Aw, Ms. Jen, you’re the best!” Tony gave me a broad smile. “Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me.” I glanced over at Steve, shooting him a meaningful smile. “If it wasn’t for the fantastic job Steve and the crew did, we wouldn’t be this far ahead.”

That earned me a few chuckles and a chorus of thanks from the crew. I acknowledged each of them with a brief nod until my gaze landed on Steve. My eyes locked on him, and as the voices died down, he spoke in a low, polite tone.

“Thank you, Ms. Boyd.”

“No, thank you, Mr. Friess.” We stood contemplating each other, and the smile he gave was thanks for far more than my praise or the pizza that lay before us. My gaze dipped, and I drew teeth across my lower lip before looking back up at him. If anyone took notice of us, it didn’t show. Spirits were high, lunch seemed to have everyone occupied, and the two of us shared this private moment before we turned to other things. Throughout the remainder of lunch I forgot about unreturned calls, texts unanswered. I let the warmth of a crew well pleased wrap around me. And Steve. Gathering what I had from the look he’d given, a blanket of serenity stayed with me long after the moment had passed.

After we finished eating, the call was scaled down to three men, including Steve. That was more than sufficient for the work we had left. For the most part, the exhibit was set, the empty crates tagged, and some were already being cleared away. There were only last-minute things to take care of. I puttered about, handling minor tasks while the small crew continued working, making sure that nothing was amiss. I knew from the e-mail this morning that the salespeople planned to be here around 4:30 p.m. for the review, and it was clear everything would be in place when they arrived. As we worked, I bumped into Steve near one of the workstations.

“What time will I be able to see you tonight.” he asked, voice low.

We were alone in this area of the booth, so I dropped my voice into a tone I wouldn’t have risked otherwise. One I knew he’d react to. “Do you want to see me tonight, sir?”

“Yes.” His response was an emphatic, quiet rumble. “I most definitely want to see you tonight, Ms. Boyd.”

“Okay.” His voice shot a charged thrill straight from my brain to my now slickening core. “I can’t tell you exactly what time it will be, but I’ll make it as soon as I can, sir.”

“Good.”

“The salespeople are due here at 4:30 p.m. for the pre-show review. I’m not expecting it to take long. If they ask me to have dinner with them, which I’m hoping they won’t, I’ll beg off. It’s been a long set, I’m not feeling up to it, whatever. That will leave me all yours tonight.” I glanced around once more to see if anyone was looking towards us, and then I lowered my head.

“Sir.”

“Good girl.”

Those two words along with his stare sent a sliver of electricity running up my spine. His presence this close, along with the knowledge of what lay ahead this evening, swirled into a heady cocktail of anticipation, balanced on an edge of giddy arousal. I stepped away from him before he could say anything further, moving off. I did not need to see him to know he was watching me. And I added fuel to that fire. Put an extra sway into my hips, ass swishing left and right as I walked away.

Yeah, Steve enjoyed teasing me. Well, I could play that game too. And I had a reason. One that I hoped would earn me something special tonight.

Something very, very special.

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