Page 70 of Boss of Her

“Obviously I do need to yell, because you’re still standing here.” Jade crossed her arms. “Go. Away.”

“Okay, okay.” Muttering under her breath, the woman grabbed her drink from the bar and walked away.

As Jade watched her disappear into the crowd, she spotted another blonde-haired woman standing just a few feet away.

Simone.And she was looking right at Jade.

Simone joined her at the bar. “Was she bothering you?”

Jade gestured to the bartender, who began pouring her another drink. “Why do you care?”

“I care because you’remine. And I care about you.”

“You have some way of showing it.”

The bartender handed Jade her drink and disappeared to the other end of the bar, no doubt sensing the tension in the air.

“Listen,” Simone said. “We need to talk.”

Jade scoffed. “Oh, so now you want to talk to me? After you ignored my calls and messages all weekend? Why should I listen to you? Why shouldn’t I just tell you where to go?”

“If you’ll give me a chance to explain—”

“It’s been two days, Simone. Two days! Can you believe I was actually worried about you, at first? I thought something awful had happened to you. But then I realized you were just ignoring me. Then I realized you’d shut me out on purpose.” Jade swirled her drink around and took a sip. “Well, I got your message loud and clear.”

Simone glanced at Jade’s glass. “How much have you had to drink tonight?”

“I’mnotdrunk. If anything, my head is clearer than ever. I came here to find you, but now that you’re here? Now that I’m looking at you? I’ve realized I don’t want to talk to you at all. I don’t want to hear your excuses. I don’t want anything to do with you. So leave me alone!”

Silence stretched out. As the seconds passed, Jade assumed that Simone had done exactly what she’d told her to do.

Then, Simone spoke.

“Look at me.”

Jade’s stomach flipped. She kept her eyes pointed toward the bar, resisting the command in Simone’s voice.

“I said,look at me, Jade.”

She gripped her glass tightly. But she couldn’t fight herself. Even now, she couldn’t disobey her Mistress.

Jade turned to face her. “What do you—”

“I amnotplaying games,” Simone said sharply. “I am trying tofixthis. And you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want that too. So stop being a brat and listen to me.”

“Fine.I’m listening. Say whatever you want to say.”

“Not here. Come with me. Leave your drink.”

Jade took another swig of her drink before putting it down and following her. She hated the way she responded to Simone’s commands instinctively, hated the way her body still burned for her.

Jade was still under her spell. And Simone was right. No small part of her still hoped—prayed—that Simone really could fix things like she always did.

But what could she possibly have to say that could make everything okay between them?

A minute later, they stepped into one of the club’s private rooms. Just like the room Simone had taken her into that night so long ago, it was equipped with all kinds of kinky toys and tools. But unlike that night, they didn’t excite her. Instead, they reminded her of all the ways she’d given herself to Simone, only to have Simone treat her like she was nothing.

Simone gestured toward the bed. “Sit.”

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