Mrs. Jenkins was the classic Southern lady. Wyatt was starting to realize that didn’t mean what he thought it did. She was polite, proper, and always looked so put together, but looks were deceiving. It wasn’t until she’d been coming into the shop for months that her daughter had stopped in to pick something up and spilled the beans.
Once she was out of the store, he took a quick look around to see if they were alone. When he was sure there were no customers, he threw himself down in a small upholstered chair that was some kind of antique reproduction, sighing dramatically.
When all he got from Carter was a snort, he looked over and frowned. “That’s not enough sympathy for this situation.”
“Honey, I grew up down south. That was not nearly dramatic enough if you want my sympathy.” Carter cocked his hip and pretended to flutter his lashes. “Now, would you care to explain, or do I have to show you what a real drama queen does for attention?”
“You’re not a queen. You’re sweet and loving and understanding and perfect and you’re going to regret not giving me a better response.” Wyatt closed his eyes and tried to calm down.
“You were just supposed to…Oh…What did you do this time? You actually had to talk to Sexy Agent Man, didn’t you?”
“Yes!” It came out more of a wail than a real word. “And stop calling him that.”
“You didn’t actually kneel, did you?” Carter asked in a hushed tone filled with worry and probably suppressed laughter.
“No, but it was close. He’s just so sexy and hot and powerful and did I mention sexy? He’s the perfect Dom and I’m an idiot who can’t function around him!”
Carter giggled. “Well, at least you stayed in your seat.”
“Yes, but I still ended up looking like an idiot.”
“What did you do?”
“When he asked about the address and company information I panicked and said I didn’t have it with me. I could hardly get a sentence out. I was so nervous. Now it looks like I don’t know what I’m doing. I was so afraid he was going to know once I said it out loud…and he was wearing that red tie again! I’ve got to stop going in there on Fridays!”
“I think the better vow would be to stop going in there so often.” Carter moved around from behind the antique desk to sit beside Wyatt in another of the weird little chairs. Wyatt thought he really should learn the name of them if he was going to sell them.
“That would be a lie and we both know it. I’m hopeless.” He couldn’t help it. Garrett, Wyatt didn’t even let himself think of the sexy Dom as anything other than that just in case he actually said it out loud, was perfect. Going into the office to get his fix of the hot Dom was the highlight of his month. Okay, sometimes his week, but still, a guy had to have some eye candy in his life.
“I thought you said the guys who own the club weren’t going to mention they knew you? Something about respecting your privacy. Ring any bells?” Carter had dated on the edge of the BDSM community but had never been up to the club in D.C. He admitted to being a sub but always said he was more than most Doms could handle.
Wyatt thought it was more likely that he didn’t want to have to explain his quirks to a Dom.
“Yes, they won’t tell, but I looked like such a spaz he’s got to think something’s wrong with me.” The guys had said that more than likely Garrett wouldn't even connect the corporate name to the club but Wyatt wasn’t so sure. They’d known Garrett well enough to recommend him as a new insurance agent to Wyatt when he’d told them he was moving down to Richmond. Something about the whole thing seemed fishy.
“I still don’t understand why you didn’t get everything out in the open when you first got your insurance there. A simple ‘Hi, I’m Wyatt. I picked you guys because I’ve seen you at the club,’ and you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“Because when I practiced it, I sounded like some kind of stalker! Then when I went in, I could barely talk to him and it all went to pieces.” He couldn’t function when Garrett was around. He was able to do a reasonable job when the Dom was out of the office but since the goal of going in was to see him, that didn’t work out so well.
Carter couldn’t control how funny he thought the situation was. Giggling and shaking his head, he just looked at Wyatt. “What did you do when he asked you about the address?”
“I ran out in nearly a panic, promising to give it to him later this afternoon. I can’t call him back!” That wasn’t going to be an option.
“Then email him. Send the address and thank him for his help. That’s it. Nothing else and…Hell, give it to me and I’ll email him. You’ll just do something dumb and it will go all kinds of wrong.” Carter held out his hands for Wyatt’s papers and phone.
Handing them over, Wyatt sighed again. “Just email the office manager. He’s nice and will pass on the information.”
Carter took a minute to email the information from Wyatt’s phone. “All right. Done.”
“You should come in next time I have to go pay my bill. You’ll see. He’s the perfect Dom.” Carter didn’t believe him, but Wyatt knew it would only take one look to change his friend’s mind.
“I’m not going to go with you to stalk your insurance agent. I need to be able to bail you out when you’re arrested.” Carter made it sound like he was planning when not if it happened.
“I’m not stalking him. I’m paying my bills and asking questions.” Mostly. Maybe asking a lot of questions but he didn’t go in there for nothing. That would be stalking.
“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Carter made it clear he wasn’t buying that line of BS.
“What are the chances that he won’t connect the dots?” Wyatt looked hopefully to Carter, but his friend, and almost boss, just shook his head.
“Slim to none. But then, I thought he would have realized he’d met you before by now. So you might get lucky.”
“We only met once, and that was a couple of years ago when I was still dating my old Dom. He was polite, and it was quick before he moved off to talk to other people. He wouldn’t have had any reason to remember it.” Wyatt had still been enamored with his previous Dom at that point and while he’d noticed Garrett, it hadn’t turned into an obsession yet.
Wyatt didn’t develop his crush until later when his relationship had fallen apart. His Dom had taken a job overseas. It wasn’t until Wyatt realized he had no desire to go with him that he had taken a good look at his relationship. Ending things had been hard, but it had been for the best.
He’d hung around Baltimore for another six months or so until Carter had told him it was time to stop moping and do something new. Which is why he ended up moving to Richmond and trying to turn his furniture hobby into a business. Carter had been wonderful enough to let him work in the antique store he owned until Wyatt could get settled.
He’d known Carter since their freshman year in college when they’d bonded over being a bit outside the box. Wyatt had already figured out he was a complete bottom and was starting to research the BDSM community. Carter had been trying to uncover his more flamboyant side and was experimenting with all kinds of different things.
He toned things down more now that he was a successful business owner but it had taken some of their more conservative customers a while to get used to the occasional skirt and guyliner. Today he was really toned down in black pants that looked almost masculine and a neutral sweater. The only noticeable thing was a little bit of makeup.
“You look strangely normal today. Why?”
Carter sighed. “I have a date. I thought I’d tone it down a little.”
“With the online guy?” Wyatt didn’t have high hopes for that one. The guy sounded entirely too vanilla for Carter. “Well, from what you’ve told me, he seems…nice.”
That was about the only good thing Wyatt could say. The two met on an online dating site but he’d turned out to be the most tragically normal gay man Wyatt had ever heard of. Carter snorted. “That’s what I’m afraid of, but it seemed mean no
t to at least give it a go. There’s nothing wrong with him.”
To Wyatt, the fact that the guy wasn’t a Dom was reason enough not to date him but it was up to Carter. “I’m sure it will go fine. Where are you guys going?”
Carter perked up a little. “He said he was feeling like steak. Hopefully, dinner should be good.”
“See, that’s a good start.” At least his friend would get a nice meal out of it.
“Fingers crossed. What are you up to tonight?”
Now it was Wyatt’s turn to get excited. “I’m finishing up some of the final pieces for the new club.”
When Ben and Conner decided to open up a second club in Baltimore, they’d called Wyatt to see if he could make the furniture for the new site since he’d already done the benches and a few more intricate pieces in the other one. Between that and some private commissions he’d started picking up lately, it looked like he was going to be able to do it full-time in the next couple of months.
“That’s great. They’re going to love them.” Carter couldn’t have been more supportive of Wyatt and he’d be forever grateful. If it hadn’t been for his enthusiasm, Wyatt might have never tried to make a go of it.
“They’re over the moon about the pieces that have already been delivered. I’m heading over to the garage as soon as I’m done moping.” Wyatt gave Carter his best puppy dog eyes. “When do you have to go to your date?”
“Not for another hour,” Carter laughed. “You can stay here and beg for attention.”
“Good!” That’s what friends were for—sympathy when you were a moron.
CHAPTER 3
Garrett
“What do you mean you plead the fifth? I just asked if he was making the furniture for the new club. He came in today and it was…odd.” It had taken three phone calls before Ben had picked up the phone. Garrett was going to be late for his meeting. With the damned thing being in his conference room that wasn’t going to make him look good.
“Well, I can’t tell you why I can’t tell you.” Ben’s slow Southern drawl made Garrett want to reach through the phone and strangle him. Hearing the noise and music from the club in the background didn’t help either. It had been ages since he’d had time to go up.
“What the fuck!”
“No need for that kind of language.” Garrett could hear Conner losing his mind laughing in the background. “We made some promises to some of our subcontractors about privacy, that’s all.”
Privacy? “They’re subcontractors not submissives why would they need privacy! Especially from their insurance agent!”
There was a long pause on the other end of the phone and if it weren’t for the laughter and occasional “Hush, Conner” he would have thought he’d lost the call. What had he said that—
“He’s a sub! From the club?”
More laughter and noise came from the other end of the phone. “Conner, hush, he doesn’t care if that rhymes. Sorry, Garrett, he was good this week and got permission to have a couple of drinks. They’ve gone right to his head. Now what were we saying? Oh, right. You’re going to be a good agent and send any paperwork a customer requests, without asking me things I can’t answer.”
He was a sub. Things were starting to make more sense.
“If you’ve promised someone privacy, I can’t ask you to break that. Club guidelines officially list respecting members’ privacy as a primary rule of the group.” Garrett tried to word that as carefully as he could.
Evidently it was enough, because Ben chuckled. “Very true. Listen, I have to go. He’s trying to talk me into another drink and if I don’t keep an eye on him he’s going to be dancing on the tables again. Naughty boy. Keep that up and you’re not going to get spanked tonight!” The smile in his voice, and the odd nature of the threat, didn’t make it sound very terrifying.
“Have fun. I have a meeting I need to get to.”
“Oh, I’m going to have fun. You should too. Maybe go buy furniture or something.” Then the infuriating man hung up.
“Go buy furniture…” Garrett was still mumbling and trying to work through everything he’d learned and everything that he hadn’t learned when he walked back to the conference room. What Ben hadn’t said was just as interesting now that Garrett wasn’t tempted to kill him.
He was still trying to figure out what to do next when he walked into the conference room. Normally, he didn’t mind meeting with everyone. It was only one Friday a month and he liked getting together with his family. Today, though, he wasn’t in the mood to deal with anything.
It would have been too much to ask for Calen to have kept his mouth shut.
As soon as Garrett stepped into the room, Calen called out. “So what did you find out from Ben and Conner? The little one is more than meets the eye, isn’t he?”
How many beers had he consumed?
Of course, that was too much for his nosey family. Just enough of a tease to make the hounds smell blood. Or in this case, good gossip. Between his three brothers and an assortment of office managers, the room was packed. They all started talking but Brent was the closest to the door and the least likely to say something obnoxious, so Garrett focused on him.
“Everything okay at the club?” Brent was always calm and had this feeling about him that you could depend on him. Garrett always found him the easiest of his brothers to talk to.
“Yeah, I had a question about some insurance for the new one they’re opening and talking to them was frustrating.” That was an understatement but Garrett knew if he went into more detail it would just lead to endless questions.
“Were they already at the club?” Brent looked nearly as jealous as Garrett felt. They’d all been working too hard lately and hadn’t taken nearly enough time off. Maybe in the next couple weeks he could make everyone take a weekend off and they could all go up.
“Yeah, Conner was already three sheets to the wind as a reward.” That part had honestly been funny so Garrett’s smile was genuine.
Brent laughed and leaned back in his chair, ignoring everyone else. “Was he on the table already?”
“Just about. Ben had to hang up and go chase him down. That’s why I’m running late.”
“Conner probably needed the stress relief. I know with the second club going up he’s been under a lot of pressure to keep things on schedule.” Brent frowned and shook his head. “With that, plus his normal projects he’s probably bouncing off the walls.”
Ben and Conner owned the club together but Conner also owned a small construction company that primarily did custom homes. He was always crazy busy and incredibly stressed. When Ben said Conner had been good, he’d meant that his boy hadn’t overworked himself and had actually slept.
“If he’s earned this big of a reward then things can’t be going that bad.”
Brent nodded and then came back to what he’d probably wanted to know to begin with. “Little one? Am I safe in assuming that he’s talking about Wyatt?”
What?
“Why would you assume that?”
That had everyone laughing hard enough that Garrett couldn’t ignore them anymore. “Hey!”
He loved his family, he really did, but some days he just wanted to—taking a deep breath he tried to focus on anything else besides where he’d hide the bodies. Sometimes he wasn’t sure what made him think going into business with his brothers was a good idea.
His parents had built up an incredibly successful insurance business but things were so much more difficult now. Instead of one branch, there were now three, and Brent, who was the claims manager for the area. The fact that they all had such strong personalities didn’t help either.
Things would have been easier if they were all more traditional but with everyone being bossy, nosy, opinionated, and into the lifestyle in one way or another, meetings were always interesting. He was at the point of saying to hell with the meeting when Brent cleared his throat and gave everyone the look that said he was done with the clowning around.
For someone who identified as a sub, he always got everyone else in line.
They settled down pretty fast, but Grant, the oldest, just started shaking his head and wouldn’t let it drop. “He’s not kidding? He has no idea how you knew it was Wyatt?”
Oldest always knows best. Garrett didn’t have the patience for that today. He loved Grant, he really did, his older brother would do anything for any one of them, but Garrett wasn’t in the mood to butt heads with him today.
There was a chorus of laughter and the general consensus was that he was stupid. “What?”
With everyone shouting over each other, it was a few minutes before they were all quiet enough for him to talk. “Would someone like to explain now?” He was getting frustrated.
Grant looked over at Bryce, the baby of the family. “You explain it. You saw it first.”
“Saw what?”
Bryce grinned and cleared his throat before turning to Garrett. “Do you remember when I came in a few weeks ago and we were talking about the Murphys’ retirement plans?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t a moron.
“Wyatt came in that day to pay a bill, right?” Bryce’s voice was careful and measured.
Garrett felt like he was being led along one step at a time. “Just get on with it.”
Bryce cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for Garrett to answer the question.
Stubborn bastard was all Garrett could think. “Yes, damn it. I remember.”
Grinning, Bryce kept going. “Do you remember how he was acting?”
“No odder than usual.” Wyatt was always a little bit different. Garrett wasn’t one to throw stones but something about the bo—customer was unique. Garrett’s answer had everyone in stitches.
Even Bryce just looked at him, confused. “He’s like that all the time?”
“He’s been like that since the first time he came into the office.” The conversation was going nowhere fast.
Garrett: A M/m BDSM Romance (Bound & Controlled Book 1) Page 2
