Page 27 of Dominated

“I didn’t tell you …” My head shook as I said that out loud—the words more for me than her.

I hadn’t told her because I hadn’t told anyone.

I’d been in my own little confused bubble since everything had gone down.

I looked at my best friend, someone I’d relied on since college, whom I shared absolutely everything with—everything, except what had happened the other night—and I backtracked from the moment Bale’s membership had been approved to when I’d met him at the bar.

I didn’t skip a single detail.

And when I was done, she was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, the most confident look on her face. “Well, I think his agenda was extremely clear.”

My brows rose. “You do? And what was it?”

“A person doesn’t just disappear into thin air unless they didn’t want to be found in the first place. That takes planning and prepping from the very beginning. And that tells me, Bale went into this, knowing he was going to vanish, which means he didn’t get spooked, nor was he cheating on his wife, girlfriend, whoever—all things I initially considered. My guess is that he was at Lush to either get something, find someone, or both. I assume that person was you, Pepper. He manipulated his way into your system. He got what he wanted, and then he took off.” She paused. “Sex, well, that was just the icing on the cake.”

“What would he want?”

She smiled. “Your client list. Access to your database. Maybe he was paid off by a competitor or soon-to-be competitor. Maybe he is the competitor. But every move that man made was extremely strategic. Shit, he probably has eyes on you right now.”

I glanced around the room as though looking for a camera. “Are you being serious? Or is this a case of watching far too muchDateline?”

Her arms rested along the back of her desk, and her body moved forward so she was leaning on them. “You came here because you know I’m always right about these things.”

I tried to sift through everything Scarlett had just said. That Bale’s presence had been premeditated. That his knowledge of what I ordered at the bar was because he’d been watching me, not because he’d read me. That he probably chose the act of denial because he had known it was what I desired. That every word he’d said to me was more or less a script.

I’d had plenty of competition over the years. Most hadn’t been able to make their concept work. The anonymity was something they just couldn’t keep up with. But that was where I excelled. That was why my waitlist was so long. That was why Lush was so sought after.

The result was an extremely successful business.

So, the idea that someone would want information or my practices or even my company itself wasn’t that far-fetched.

I was just surprised I had fallen so easily for Bale’s tricks.

That I’d felt something when there wasn’t anything to be felt.

“I just have one question,” I said, looking up from my hands, a place I hadn’t realized I’d been staring. “What’s Jacob’s tie in all of this? He’s a member of the club, he’s my Friday night partner whenever I’m in Florida, I have access to his address and phone number—that’s a ballsy move, no?”

“Bale is a man who covers his tracks. He certainly wouldn’t leave a loose end like Jacob running around. Therefore, I highly doubt Jacob even knows Bale. Bale just used him.”

“You’re saying if I finally track down Jacob—and I’d better—he’s going to tell me he was handcuffed to a bedpost in a hotel in, say, Boynton Beach, by a masked man and was finally discovered by housekeeping, who let him free? And while he was shackled to that bed, the same man who had kidnapped him also broke into his house so we could have sex there?”

“Something like that, yes.”

I held on to the armrests with both hands. “You’re serious?”

“I can’t be one hundred percent positive it went down just like that, but when you do find Jacob—and I’m sure he’ll pop up at some point—I don’t think he’s going to tell you that he and Bale are besties and offer to give you his number.”

I felt my head shake back and forth. “What do I do?”

“Do you mean about your security?” She tucked a chunk of her long, dark hair behind her ear. “You amp it up. Add several more armed guards at the entrance of both locations, and you should probably have one with you at all times just until we know Bale’s purpose of entering the club. If you’re talking about your network, then I suggest you hire a forensic analyst to make sure you have the most secure network in the world. The last thing you need is a breach. That’ll cause quite the scandal.”

“I mean about me.”

She stared at me silently for several seconds, her eyes narrowing. “You care about him.”

I was sure Scarlett would think I was ridiculous for having these feelings.

Bale and I hadn’t even spent twenty-four hours together.

---