The Unicorn Box Set (Swinger Bisexual Menage Romance): All Four Episodes Value Priced! (The Unicorn: Swinging and Single Book 5)

by Mia Moore

  It was 9:00 p.m., and they only had a few hours left till the end of the shift and their work week. Buckley was behind the wheel.

  “Hey,” he said to Pennington, “mind if we go over to the west side? I want to check something out.”

  Pennington shrugged. “A little outside our zone, but sure, what the hell. What’s up?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in when we get there, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Fifteen minutes later they were in a semi industrial section of the city. Single story offices, a few distribution companies with trucks parked out front, some specialty manufacturing firms lined the boulevard they travelled on. Buckley nodded to a building set apart, its front lit up.

  “Here we are.”

  Pennington leaned forward, blinked and turned to his partner. “Oh reeeally?”

  Buckley gave a slight shrug. “Yeah. I just want to take a peek, okay?” He pulled the unmarked car into the parking area and stopped it at the door in the ‘Fire Zone’ painted area. Above the door, in blue lettering against a white brick façade was a lit sign that said ‘G Spot’. He turned off the car and both men got out.

  “I got the door, you do the talking,” said Pennington. “Now wait a second, bro—there going to be any rough stuff? What if she’s here fucking someone?”

  “Nahh… I don’t think she’ll be here tonight. I think she usually shows up here on Saturday nights. I just want to get the lay of the land, y’know?”

  “Sure.” They both tucked their portable radios in their back pockets, turning the volume way down. They adjusted their jackets. While they didn’t look too much like a couple of guys heading out to a club, they weren’t as intimidating looking as they would have been if they showed up in uniform.

  Pennington grabbed the door, opened it and went in. Pennington followed and stepped to the side of the doorway as soon as he got inside.

  Inside on the left, was a high counter and a middle aged redheaded woman behind it. She eyed Pennington taking station at the doorway and watched Buckley as he approached. Buckley pulled his badge out from under his shirt flashing it at her.

  “What can I do for you officer?” she asked.

  “I need to take a look around.” He could hear music coming from deeper inside the club, but a wall and alcove separated his sight line from the rest of the establishment.

  “Is there a problem? What’s wrong?”

  He held up his hand. “No big deal, just routine.” He gave her a smile. “Just checking for underage drinking, stuff like that.” He nodded to Pennington. “My partner and I got a list that we have to turn in at the end of the night. Quick look around, and I’m out of here.”

  The woman breathed a sigh of relief. “If that’s all, be my guest. I don’t think you’ll find anyone under 25 here tonight to tell you the truth. We pretty much cater to an older clientele.”

  “That’s good to know.” He turned to the alcove and corridor to the main club area.

  “Now wait a second, officer,” she reached over and put a hand on his arm. “You do know the type of place this is, right?”

  He nodded silently. “Yeah, I’ve been briefed.” He nodded to Pennington and headed through the corridor, his partner a few steps behind.

  Coming into the main club area he looked the place over. To his left was a bar with two bartenders working briskly serving the lineup of about thirty people standing waiting. Opposite the bar was the dance floor.

  Some dance floor. The music was playing Joe Cocker’s You Can Leave Your Hat On, and the thirty or so people gyrating together in couples, and threesomes were not just dancing… they were living the song. Every woman on the floor- from 30 year olds to probably women in their 50’s were wearing clothes that would make a stripper sit up and go green with envy. Some were dancing together, and others were with men. Hands were gliding and fondling, doing things normally done behind closed doors. Closed and locked doors.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Pennington, whose eyes were pretty damn wide too. They nodded to each other and went around the side of the floor, past the tables and couches set up on risers. Other groups of people were watching the action on the floor or talking and laughing with each other. As he went past, a few of the ladies locked eyes with him and smiled. With THAT kind of smile…

  Reaching the back of the club he found another corridor going off to his left and right. Turning to one side, he found a large room with mattresses and beds arrayed throughout. They were all empty, but the night was still young.

  Pennington remained on his six as he checked out the other side of the hallway, which led into another large ‘play’ area.

  No Erica.

  He gave the high sign to his partner, and they headed back to the entranceway.

  “Well?” said the woman at the counter, “everything in order, officer?”

  “Yeah, it is.” Pennington went past and took station by the entranceway. “You guys going to be open tomorrow?”

  “Yes. You thinking of becoming a member?” He nodded. “Well, you need to be here at 8:30 for an orientation. If you’re coming as a single male, it’s a premium entrance fee.”

  “Not a problem—it looks like an interesting club.” He gave her a short wave before he and Pennington left.

  Chapter 25

  “Damn you, Buckley!” The door to her condo had just clicked shut and Erica was standing in her living room that Friday night. Tears of frustration and disappointment were kissing the corner of each eye.

  Everything had been going wonderfully until Sherri’s call! For the first time, she had wanted to tell a guy about her photography. And a guy who was a real artist in his own right!

  When she had gone through his drawings, she could see the development of the emotion in the images. The ones from high school were powerful and raw. Not too many from his college days—he said he had been too busy trying to just pass his courses for his degree.

  His drawings showed his growth—the emotion was still there, but it was… controlled? More mature? Then his time as a cop.

  He laid his life out in front of her in those sheets. She turned and looked at her own wall of framed photos. She was looking forward to returning the compliment.

  Until that damn phone call.

  No. Not the phone call. His reaction to it. A dear friend had called. But Buckley couldn’t get his head around the mystery of sex. He responded with as much close mindedness, with as much stereotyping as any moral fundamentalist would. She shook her head.

  He judged and condemned her lifestyle. Her lifestyle! With as much prejudice and contempt as… as a prude!

  “Argh!” she said out loud. That son of a bitch! To be on the receiving end of this from a black man? Didn’t he know what it was like to be pre-judged? For his taste in music? For his dress? For the color of his skin? And he did the same to her?

  Forget that shit.

  She had better things to do.

  She went to her home office and booted up her laptop. If there was one thing Erica was good at, it was focusing. She’d start work on the stuff she was going to have to deal with at the office on Monday. She’d get a real head start this weekend.

  ***

  The following afternoon her phone rang again. It was Sherri. She answered it and they went over the general pleasantries before Sherri began to dig.

  “Sooo…?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Erica leaned back in her office chair and put her feet up on her desk, nudging her empty coffee cup aside. “I threw him out about five minutes after you called.”

  “What!”

  “Yes. It was pretty easy to do.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  Erica sighed. “Well, he got curious about who called and about you asking me to come out to the G Spot.” She fingered a lock of hair. “And I told him about the club, the Lifestyle…”

  “He didn’t take it too well, did he?”

  �
�Understatement of the year. He practically called me a slut.”

  “Practically? How do you almost call someone a slut? Is it like almost telling someone to fuck off?” The grin in Sherri’s voice came through the phone.

  “Or being just a little bit pregnant?” Both women giggled. “Well, Sherri, he was just so…” her voice faded.

  “Judgmental?”

  Erica nodded. “Yes. And not curious.” She sighed. “I hoped he’d be curious… He was when we first got together when Mike was harassing me.” She sat up, planting her feet on the floor. “But I guess that was just to get laid.”

  “Oh. Mike. Yeah. What’s going on with that pig?”

  “Nothing really. They figure since it’s his first arrest, he’ll plead out to some bullshit petty offense, take probation, keep his nose clean and that will be that.” She let out a wry laugh. “Mike was a pig who attacked me. And you want to know what’s the real irony? That he hurt me less than Buckley did. How’s that for crazy?”

  “Hmmm… I don’t know if it’s crazy, hon. I think that cop got under your skin… in a good way.”

  “The man sure had potential, Sherri…”

  “I’m sorry. It’s a bitch being a professional and beautiful, Erica.”

  “You would know!” They laughed again.

  “Look—why don’t you come out with us to the G Spot next Saturday? Get back up on the horse and all that. We’ll play… if you want… or at least dance and get flirty and stuff. What do you say?”

  “I say that’s got some potential. But I got a hell of a two week schedule coming at me, hon. They’re really bearing down on the project, and if I shine well enough, I’ll be Project Manager for the next one.”

  Sherri laughed. “Oh the challenges of a career woman. I get it. But still…”

  “I’ll have to let you know.”

  “Okay.”

  They chatted some more about other things, and an hour later, Sherri rang off.

  And Erica got back to work.

  She didn’t think about Buckley for almost ten minutes.

  Chapter 26

  Near misses hurt more than utter failures, and Erica was sick and tired of them. Buckley had come so close. Closer than any guy in her life had up until now. For a woman 29 years old, there really hadn’t been a lot of guys. Two relationships since college and that was all. She didn’t have the time to invest in someone else if she was going to build the sort of career she wanted. Right now she was so close to breaking that god damned glass ceiling.

  Maybe it was better they parted ways anyway. The contract needed her full attention at this stage, putting in 14 to 16 hour days gave her plenty to focus on, and it kept the ‘what might have beens’ at bay.

  The following two weeks the progress had been amazing. Which wasn’t surprising. Everyone on her team saw that she was the first in and last out and quickly followed her example. Being at her desk at 6:30 a.m. and leaving no earlier than 8:00 p.m. didn’t give her any sort of a social life, but it certainly gave her credibility at the meetings. Nobody was more prepared, more informed than she was.

  In her office she sat back in her chair and folded her hands behind her head after the 2:00 p.m. update meeting had ended. She had been toying with a concept for the last six months and she had just completed the presentation. The initial designs of the chemical plant were heading into last draft and she seized the moment.

  Quinn, her boss, and the Project Manager stopped her cold when she was only five minutes into her presentation.

  “Hold it right there, Erica,” he said.

  She had just put up the third Powerpoint slide with the title of her concept. Her heart fell.

  “Can you edit that slide on the fly?” he asked.

  She glanced at her laptop. Is he kidding? Of course she could. “Yes.”

  “Good. Change the first word of it to the company’s name.” Quinn stood up. “Everyone stay in your seats, I’ll be back in a minute.” He grinned at Erica and ran out the door.

  The other eight people sat as stunned as she was. Except they were all smiling at her too. She quickly added ‘Dunwoodie Engineering’ to the slide and saved it.

  Within two minutes, Quinn came back into the board room with—holy shit, Mister Dunwoodie, the CEO! Erica’s hand began to shake. He came in, nodded at everyone, and glanced at the projector screen behind Erica.

  “Dunwoodie Sustainable Industrial Development?” he said to Quinn.

  “Yep. Sound good to you?”

  Dunwoodie took Quinn’s seat. “I always love my name in lights, sure.” He looked up at Quinn standing beside him. “What’s this all about?”

  Quinn nodded to Erica. “Ms. Barr will explain it all, Peter. Go ahead, Erica.”

  And she did. The concept was simple, actually. The client already was compelled to adhere to existing environmental regulations, but with some basic alterations in the processes and plant design, the project would actually have a smaller environmental impact than if the land the plant was constructed on remained untouched.

  “Now wait a damn minute.” Dunwoodie folded his hands under his chin and stared at Erica. “Are you trying to say that if we implement these modifications that a chemical plant will actually improve the environment?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely.” She passed him a file folder that was about an inch thick. “Here’re my numbers, sir. Math doesn’t lie.”

  The room sat in silence as Dunwoodie leafed through the report. Every time he turned a page he glanced up at Erica. Halfway through, he looked at her with an arched eyebrow. “I think you’re actually underestimating the positive effect, Erica.”

  That was the first time he’d ever called her by her first name. She nodded. “I know, sir. I’m pretty sure that the benefits will actually be greater than my projections.”

  Dunwoodie closed the folder after the last page and handed it over to Quinn with a grin. “Greenpeace is going to fall in love with us, Quinn.”

  “Yeah, I think so too. That’s why I grabbed you out of your office. I wanted you to be here for this right out of the gate.”

  “’Dunwoodie Sustainable Development’, I like the sound of that,” he said. He rose from the table and crossed over to where Erica was sitting and stuck out his hand. “Hell of a job, Erica. Hell of a job.” Everyone else at the table began to clap.

  Now back in her office, she reveled in her accomplishment. The corner of her mouth twitched. It would have been so damn cool to have someone special to call right now, that weren’t her parents.

  She exhaled sharply. Oh well, it was still one hell of a meeting.

  Buckley would have understood. He was a lot smarter than your average guy.

  What the hell was she thinking about him for? She hadn’t thought about him for hours.

  She shook her head and got back to work.

  On Friday afternoon, Quinn came into her office. He was smiling and carrying her report. He flopped down into one of the chairs opposite her desk.

  He raised the folder. “The Old Man is over the moon over this, Erica. He’s had all his VP’s double check your calculations and people are singing your praises over in Executive Row you know.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Yeah, you pretty much locked up the Project Manager for the next job you know. God know, I won’t be doing it—I’ll be taking a new office over on Exec Row when this one’s completed. The Old Man just let me know.”

  “That’s great news, Quinn! Oh! I guess I need to start calling you ‘Mister Quinn’ now, huh?”

  “Yeah, right. That’s still down the road.” He leaned forward. “What are your plans for the weekend? Planning on coming in to the office, aren’t you?”

  “Well… yes.” She tapped her inbox. “There’s plenty here to keep me from being bored.”

  “Yeah, well that’s why I’m here. I don’t want you to come in.”

  “But…”

  “But nothing. I’m
not blind Erica. You’re an example to the rest of the team with your commitment to this project, and you’re leading by example. We’re in the home stretch now, though, and I want you to delegate more of that,” he pointed to her inbox. “Who’s the most capable person on your team right now?” He held up a finger. “Besides you.”

  She thought for a moment. “Shane McCloud. He’s only been here three years, but he’s really, really bright.”

  “Okay, load off half your inbox to him. I need you for the long haul. No more than ten hours in the office for you from now on, and absolutely no more weekends.”

  “But…”

  “But nothing. You got to smell more flowers or whatever, Erica. You’ll be putting in a grueling schedule when the construction phase kicks in, and I want you okay for that, got it?”

  She nodded. He was right. She had been pushing it pretty hard.

  “Good!” Quinn stood up. “Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.”

  “Okay. Thanks, Quinn… er… ‘Mister Quinn’. She shot him a cheese grin.

  “Smart ass.” With a wave he left her office.

  When he left she picked up the phone and dialed. She waited until voice mail cued in.

  “Hi Sherri, it’s Erica. Things are going great at work, so good that I’m under orders to take the weekend off. So I’ll see you at the club Saturday.”

  Hanging up the phone, she had a satisfied look on her face, chin set. She needed to get out. And if she wound up playing with her friends, so much the better.

  ***

  On Saturday evening, she was finishing up her preparations. The irony wasn’t lost on her. At work, she was focused on her profession and career, making damn sure that the clothes she wore didn’t serve as any sort of distraction. Short heels, pantsuits, no makeup besides a touch of lipstick, blouse always buttoned up to her neck was her general appearance. She didn’t mind looking like a 29 year old frump—she was one hell of an engineer.