Not Safe for Work(92)

Teagan scrunched her eyes shut and waved a hand. “Okay…okay… I’m…” She looked at me again. “Are you telling me, they told you with a straight face that you have to—”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t that, like, prostitution?”

“Kind of feels like it,” I muttered.

“Can they do that?”

“Fuck if I know.” I thumbed the edge of my glass. “Dawson’s looking into it, but she doesn’t know either. She’s talking to a lawyer she knows, and then I guess we’ll sit down with HR.”

“That’s going to be a fun conversation.”

“Tell me about it.” I sat back. “The thing is, I’m not sure what difference it’ll make. Even if they can’t fire me for it, it isn’t like they can get fired for giving me the ultimatum. Part of me wants to say ‘Fine, fire me! I’ll see your asses in court!’ But I’m not even sure if I have a case, and even if I did, there’s no way I could afford a lawyer who could hold a candle to the firm’s legal team.”

“Well, you—” She chewed her lip.

“What?”

“You might not have the money. Your, um, boyfriend—”

“No.”

“Jon.” She huffed sharply. “They can’t get away with putting you in this position. If you can’t afford to go after them, but Rick can…” She shrugged. “Why not?”

“Because that’s not how I do things. If I can’t afford it, I don’t need it.”

“But you do need this job. And you have every right to work in a place that isn’t literally threatening you with unemployment if you aren’t at the sexual beck and call of their client.”

I shuddered. It would’ve been a distasteful position to be in no matter what, but the Dom in me wanted to start flipping tables. “I’m also well aware that if I quit or get fired, I’m screwed for keeping my house and putting my kids through school. Or finding another job.”

“Ugh, I hear you about another job.” She scowled. “There isn’t much out there for us.”

“Exactly. The thing is, if Rick finds out what’s going on and he pulls Horizon Developing from the firm, everyone here is screwed. We both know his company is the only thing keeping us all employed.”

“Shit. Yeah. Man, I do not envy you.”

“The thing with the money, with him paying for a lawyer or something, it…” I hesitated. “Look, there’s a little more to this, and there’s no way I can explain it without getting into a little bit of TMI.”

Teagan’s eyebrows climbed her forehead. “Am I going to need therapy after this?”

“Probably.”

“Great. Go on.”

I laughed a little, but it took a hell of a lot of effort. “The thing is, we… The reason we click is that we’re both…” I cringed. “We’re both kinky.”

Teagan blinked a few times. “Kinky? Like, whips and chains?”

“Kind of. Head games more than anything. Dominance.”

She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Rick Pierce is a dominant? Seriously? Seriously?”

“No.” I swallowed. “I am.”

She straightened. “Oh really?”

I nodded. “So we—”

“No, no. Hold on.” She put up a hand and closed her eyes. “Just…give me…”

“Teagan?”

She waved her hand to silence me. After a few seconds, she shivered and opened her eyes. “Sorry. Just needed a minute to imagine him like that.”

“You weren’t imagining me, were you?”

She frowned. “Thank you for ruining my little fantasy, dickwad.”

I chuckled halfheartedly.

“Anyway. Sorry.” She leaned closer, resting her folded arms on the table. “Go on.”

I searched her eyes, and she was definitely serious now. Though I had to admit, I did appreciate the momentary break in tension; any excuse to catch my breath. “So, an enormous part of my sex life—especially with Rick—is telling submissives what to do.”

“Right. Being dominant.”

I nodded. “But after the firm gave me this ultimatum, I feel like the minute I go to do anything with Rick, suddenly I’m the one taking orders. And it just kind of…kills it for me. I still want him like you wouldn’t believe, but whenever I even think of doing, well, the things we’ve done from the start—”

“So basically, you have to keep f*cking him, but you can’t enjoy it.”

“Exactly. And going back to the possibility of a lawyer…” I rubbed my temples and exhaled sharply. “In all seriousness, money can f*ck up a relationship. That kind of money? Asking him to pay for a lawsuit against a company he’s tied in with like this? And on top of that, the kick in the balls of having to admit to my submissive that I’m f*cking helpless?”

“You’re not helpless, Jon.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do, and…” She ran a hand through her ink-black hair. “Man, I have no idea what to tell you.” She paused. “You’re not going to tell Rick, are you?”