Page 51 of Delicious Surrender
His club manager knew not to walk in unannounced and he was glad to have a minute to compose himself. “Come in.”
Gage feigned interest in the menu and gave Garrick the nod. “Looks good, man. Food fit for a sheik.”
Garrick grinned. “Right. We have an array of choices from Persia, Lebanon, Armenia, Arabia, and Turkey. Servers will pass around the appetizers, then we will set the buffet up around eight. The key is to keep everyone well fed, so no one gets too smashed.”
“Agreed. Sounds like you’ve got everything covered.”
“That we do.” Garrick nodded. “I’ve also hired extra security—four new guys will come in for training tomorrow.”
“Good. We’ll need to keep a close eye on Brynne and Dimitri.”
“Speaking of our rebellious little redhead, I see she’s not here until Thursday. It’s been rather boring around here. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Garrick was goading him, and he refused to play. “I hadn’t noticed.”
His friend snorted loudly, unable to conceal his amusement. Gage glared at the big man, whose shoulders shook with laughter.
“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Aye, that I do, boss. Cheerio.”
Alone at last, Gage went to lock his door and poured himself a scotch. He told himself he didn’t miss her, he just enjoyed sparring with her. If he had taken her home, what would have happened? Would his willpower have remained steadfast against the temptation? He wasn’t sure. There was something fresh and innocent about her one minute, and willful and fiery the next. She was a contradiction. A siren and a virgin. Which one was real?
It was difficult to conceal his shock when she boldly admitted her desire to invite him to bed her. In his experience, women played games. One minute they flirted, and the next they played hard to get. If they said what they wanted, there was always an agenda.
She would not play him for a fool. One way or another, he would find out what she was up to.
Gage closed the party files and tackled his Venture Capital email inbox. His assistant had sent him four messages, and the last one was rather terse. Fiona didn’t like being ignored andtold him so. He realized his preoccupation with the club was adversely affecting his team in Edinburgh. He had a strong COO to handle the day to day, but large acquisitions needed his explicit approval. She was asking for his signature on several documents related to land purchases, so he fired off a reply and told her he would review all of them before tomorrow. When his phone buzzed, he sighed audibly.No rest for the wicked.
“Hello, Mother.”
“Darling, why don’t you sound happy to hear from me? Never mind, don’t answer that. Tell me when you’re coming back to Edinburgh. Haven’t you had enough of London and that sordid club?”
“No Mother, I haven’t. I can’t leave the business right now.”
He heard her huff on the other end of the phone. “It’s time you found a nice girl and settled down. I just wish you hadn’t given up on Sierra. She was good for you.”
“Mother, I have no intention of rehashing this with you. It’s over with Sierra. She was not right for me. The furthest thing from it, in fact.”
“Fine, then let me introduce you to—”
Gage interrupted her. “This is the last time I’ll say this: Butt out of my life. If I want to hire a submissive, fuck the women’s volleyball team, or torment an annoying redhead, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
She sputtered, “Good heavens, son, you don’t have to be so vulgar!” She quickly picked up the scent, though. “Who is the annoying redhead? Anyone I know?”
“None of your business, Mother. I’ll be in Edinburgh sometime next month and will let you know when.” He punched the hang-up button and slammed his fist on his desk. “Bloody hell.”
If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. He could see why Cole preferred to hire professional submissives to fulfill his needs—sexually and sometimes socially. The idea looked more and more appealing. He wouldn’t have to listen to any family drama. He could enjoy himself and send the woman home in a taxi afterward.Thank you, miss, your shift is over. See you Friday at six o’clock sharp. Wear the red corset and heels. Say nothing unless I give you permission.
His cock twitched at the thought. The problem was he could only imagine one feisty redhead being his beck and call girl.
Disgusted with his train of thought, Gage dialed one of his two best friends. It was time to set a plan in motion.
“Mack! How are you?”
Gage smiled at hearing Cole’s distinctly Southern drawl. “I need your advice.”No sense in beating around the bush.
“Wow. Since when do you need advice from me? Unless it’s about a woman? Who is she?”