by Xenia Melzer
They all rose from their chairs and exited the office while the Connellys stared daggers at them.
Once they had left the building, Peter turned to Richard. “If you weren’t a Dom and bigger than me, I would punch you right now. That was a risky thing to do, cornering and threatening them like that.”
Richard shrugged. “It worked.”
Peter sighed. “Yes, it did. But only because it was harebrained from the beginning. I don’t know what came over Trent to even take them on. He’s normally more calculating.”
Richard slung an arm around Dean. “You probably won’t believe it, but I have seen people do even stupider things for money. And I have quite a lot of it. My guess is that he thought I would do anything for Emily. Which is true. He just didn’t anticipate that this ‘anything’ doesn’t include me rolling over and letting others take the lead but, on the contrary, me eliminating any threat I see for my family.”
Peter nodded. “I can see how that makes sense.”
“But why would they ask for such insane conditions?” That was the part Dean didn’t understand.
Peter smiled sadly at him. “It’s an old tactic. They presented us with conditions that seemed to have Emily’s best interest in mind. Those were also the terms they knew you would never consent to. If we had agreed to enter negotiations, we would have eventually come to the point where they would have settled for money. Sorry, Dean, but that’s how the world works.”
Dean shuddered and snuggled closer to Richard. “They just wanted the money?”
“Yes, boy. That’s all they ever wanted. After reading the report on their financial problems, I had an inkling it would boil down to this. I have to admit, though, that even I was surprised by their blatant approach. I had expected a bit more finesse. Well, they are desperate, and desperate people tend to do stupid things.”
Richard turned to Peter. “Do you think this is over now?”
“Most probably. There are still some formalities we have to take care of, but I honestly don’t think they will take this to court. Trent most definitely won’t. He’s scared shitless of you, and he doesn’t take on cases he can’t win. The Connellys would have to find a new lawyer, and anybody who hears that they were dumped by Trent won’t touch their case. At least none of the high-class lawyers. They recognize a dead end when they see one.”
Dean snickered. “It’s kind of funny to hear my parents referred to as a dead end.”
Richard laughed. “That’s what they are, boy. Most definitely.”
Peter shook first Richard’s and then Dean’s hand. “Don’t get the champagne glasses out yet, but I think you can start to relax.”
“Thank you, Peter. You were great.” Richard patted the lawyer on the shoulder.
Peter grinned. “Yes, I know. Although, in the end, you won the battle all on your own, General. No backstabbing involved.”
Richard winked. “But we could have done it, if we had wanted to.”
Chapter 33
RICHARD WAS just sorting through some documents in his office at Whisper when his phone rang. He furrowed his brow when he saw it was Peter. It had been three days since their fateful meeting at Trent Colby’s office, and there still were some loose ends to be tied up. One of them being where the Connellys had gotten the pictures of him and Dean in their leathers. Since there were no pictures of them in action, the playrooms at Whisper were still safe. Because he and Dean only played at the club or at home, Richard wondered where the pictures had been taken. They were all direct shots, but the glimpses of background he could see on some of them suggested they were taken at the public area of Whisper.
Richard had already referred the problem to Martin, who was working on it. The safety of their clients’ privacy was one of the top selling points of Whisper. If that safety had been compromised, they had to find the leak. Richard sighed and accepted the call. Always so much to do. “Peter?”
“Hi, Richard. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Richard growled. He hated games. “Just spill.”
“Sheesh, are we grumpy today. Anyway, the good news is that the Connellys have abandoned the lawsuit because they have realized that at their age, they can’t successfully take care of a child. That’s the official version. So, congratulations. Now for the bad news. Their concerns regarding your sexual activities have reached the ears of some big shot at the Child Welfare Program. How that happened, I don’t know. My guess is, somebody at admin was a bit overly enthusiastic. You will get a visit from Child Welfare tomorrow to determine if everything is in Emily’s best interest.”
Richard sat back in his chair. He was relieved that the Connellys had dropped the lawsuit. He would do anything to keep Emily, but it was nice to know he didn’t have to spend the next six months in a courtroom. He wasn’t particularly worried about the control visit. It was something he had expected from the moment this whole nightmare started. “Do you know who’s coming? And do I have to worry?”
“They’ll send a woman named Meredith Denton. You should know her already, because she was the one who took care of Emily until she was allowed to stay with you. And no, I don’t think you have to be overly worried. Just make sure that the dungeon is closed and that Mrs. Denton understands the severity of your safety precautions. Then I don’t see why she should take Emily from you, especially since she agreed to you having her in the first place.”
“Except for the small fact that she hates gays.”
Peter let out a heartfelt sigh. “If that’s the case and if she takes Emily from you—and she needs to make it a case of gross negligence to justify it—I can always file a complaint and have somebody else come to your place again. You are in no immediate danger to lose Emily. The Child Welfare Program doesn’t have the manpower to act quickly.”
“Thank you, Peter. I’m going to tell Dean.”
Richard disconnected the call and stared at the wall for a moment. Martin chose that moment to enter his office.
“Hi, Richard. Everything all right?”
“Yeah. More or less. Peter just called. We’ll be getting a visit from the Child Welfare Program tomorrow.”
“Oh man, I thought that was over.”
“Apparently not. What can I do for you?”
Martin turned serious. He sat down and tossed Richard a file with a picture. It was one of the bar subs, a young man with pale skin, black hair, and huge green eyes. “That’s Emilio.”
Martin sighed. “That’s our photographer. He confessed that he took those pictures of you and Dean. He had a small camera built into his collar. The one with the spikes.”
Richard stared at the picture. He didn’t know Emilio very well, but he was sure the young man would never do such a thing. “Why would he do that?”
“Here is where it gets ugly. You know Emilio is all alone. His parents died when he was fifteen. He lived on the streets for some time, and now he’s trying to get his life on track. He rented a small apartment and is studying at a local community college. He needs this job here at Whisper to pay all the fees. Apparently a few months ago, a man approached him, beat him up, and threatened to kill him if he didn’t take those pictures. He brought him the equipment and gave him very specific instructions.”
“Do we know that man?”
Martin smiled coldly. “We do. He’s the PI who worked for the Connellys. He’s a brute, and I can understand why Emilio was afraid of him.” Martin paused, a malicious smile on his lips. “He has left the state. When I explained to him all the unpleasant things we could do to him should he choose to stay, he couldn’t pack his bags fast enough.”
Richard grinned. “Good thinking. Now, what do we do with Emilio? I gather from your comments that you are inclined to forgive him?”
“Yes. The kid never had it easy, but he’s smart and he has a chance to make it. After that PI worked him over, he even took pictures of all the wounds, just in case. And he never took pictures of you when Dean was naked. He only ma
de shots where Dean wore enough to cover the crucial parts. Emilio knew those pictures would be used against you, and he figured that they wouldn’t carry as much weight with both of you more or less dressed.”
“I bet that didn’t go over well with the PI.”
Martin winced. “No. According to Emilio, he was threatened with another beating. But he managed to convince the brute by saying that you are too jealous to parade Dean around naked for everyone to see.” Martin smirked. “I can’t imagine why, but the PI believed him.”
Richard shrugged. “No doubt because of my charming reputation. Why didn’t he give Emilio more grief about naked pictures?”
“He somehow got his hands on our list of security measures. They’re not exactly a secret, since we use them to advertise. That’s how he knew that Emilio had no chance to get material from one of the playrooms. He probably figured that you and Dean in leathers would be enough.”
Richard huffed. With the wrong kind of judge, it could have been enough. “I still don’t understand why Emilio didn’t come to us.”
“We’re a bit intimidating.” Martin gestured first to Richard and then pointed at his own bulky frame. Neither of them was a small man or lacking in the muscle department. To somebody smaller and in a position of dependency, they did not appear reassuring. “And he was afraid we would see him as a liability and throw him out.”
“This is a problem, Martin. Our employees should not fear us. They need to know that we are there for them.”
Martin put his feet on Richard’s desk. “A nice idea, Richard. Unfortunately, we have a BDSM club and most of our employees are subs. Subs without a Dom, as I may point out. To them, we are the top dogs. We are their masters and employers. We don’t play with them, but we pay their checks. They have no reason to trust us with such information, because they don’t know us.”
Richard stared at the desk and Martin’s feet. He knew his partner was right. No matter how often they stressed that the house subs could come to them with all their troubles, they didn’t have reason to do so. This was one aspect where the Dom/sub dynamics didn’t work in favor of a situation.
“They need somebody they can trust….” Richard noticed a dark spot on the sole of Martin’s right shoe. “Somebody who has no problem talking to us, but who isn’t intimidating…. Leeland! We could ask Leeland to become our middleman!”
The more Richard thought about it, the better he liked his idea. “He’s a sub himself, he works here, the other subs like him, he’s nonthreatening yet not afraid to stand up against a Dom, and keeps a cool head during crisis. He’s the ideal candidate. What do you think?”
Now it was Martin’s turn to stare into empty space. “Do you think he would be interested?”
“Most definitely. Especially if we offer him a pay raise.”
“Should we both talk to him?”
Richard thought about it. “I don’t think that’s necessary. When I see him next time, I can make the proposal. Problem solved. What do we do with Emilio?”
Martin put his feet down again. “I say we keep him, but as punishment for not trusting us, he has to do one hour of dishwashing after every shift he works for the next month.”
“Good idea! Are you going to tell him?”
“Yes. He’s desperate, and I want him to know that it’s over.”
Richard winked at Martin. No matter how cold his partner sometimes appeared or how threatening he looked, he had a warm and caring heart. If only he would find the right sub to share it with.
Chapter 34
“GOD, I’M so nervous!” Dean was pacing the kitchen, unable to sit still if his life depended on it. They were expecting Meredith Denton any minute.
“It’s fine, boy. Come here.” Richard opened his arms to embrace Dean, and he let him do it for the duration of a heartbeat. Then he resumed his restless wandering. Richard couldn’t blame him.
He, too, felt nervous, something he wasn’t used to and didn’t like. Even Emily had picked up on their strange mood and was softly crying in Aaron’s arms. Richard took the girl from his father and held her close, letting the feeling of utter love he had for her wash over him. There was one last hiccupping sob, then Emily leaned her upper body back, stared at him with her incredibly blue eyes, and announced, “Dada! Woofie!”
Richard smiled and put her down. Donar and Thor were already waiting for their favorite playmate, wagging their tails in eager anticipation of the games Emily would come up with. She walked under the table—she was still small enough to do so—grabbed the two stuffed elephants Richard’s father had bought for his dogs, and scampered toward the door. Donar and Thor followed with interest in their canine eyes.
Dean sighed and sat down on Richard’s lap. “I just can’t imagine her not being here.”
He voiced his biggest fear, the one they all had locked deep inside their hearts. Richard kissed Dean on the lips, and his father patted his back.
“No matter what happens, son, we’re not giving her up. Never. She belongs in this family, where she is loved and wanted, nowhere else.” Richard threw his father a grateful look. His support meant a lot to them. The older man nodded and smiled.
The doorbell rang and Donar and Thor started barking. They viewed the house as their territory by now and defended it with the same vigor as their own home. Gently Richard pushed Dean from his lap. “Let’s go and get this over with.”
WHEN RICHARD opened the door, Meredith Denton looked almost exactly the same as when they had first met. He wondered if she only had this kind of sensible outfit. His gay-hater radar pinged like crazy, even though the smile on her lips when she took his hand was friendly.
“Ms. Denton. It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”
“Mr. Miller, I’d love to say the same, but we both know I’m not making a courtesy call.” She smiled again and took some of the sharpness out of her words. “You don’t want me to be here and the heavens know, I don’t want to be here. When I left Emily in your care, I was convinced that my decision was right. I hope I don’t have to regret it.”
Richard hesitated for a moment and then decided to go with her straightforwardness. He liked to take the same approach in his dealings and appreciated it in others. “You are right, of course. We’re not overly thrilled to have you here, so why don’t we go inside so you can ask your questions, and then we’ll show you around the house.”
Meredith nodded her approval. “Sounds like a plan, Mr. Miller.”
She entered and greeted Dean and Richard’s father before she glanced around. “Where is Emily?”
At that moment, the little girl came barging out of the kitchen, closely followed by Donar and Thor, who had been banned there by Aaron. Meredith smiled at the picture.
“I see she has found some friends. And she looks great, Mr. Miller, Mr. Connelly.”
Richard beamed with pride. “She’s big for her age. Of course, the dogs helped getting her to walk because she wanted to follow them everywhere.”
“Animals are good for children. Are those your dogs?”
“No, they belong to my father, Aaron.” Richard nodded toward the general. “He stays here at least twice a week for babysitting duties, so Emily sees the dogs a lot. We have kittens.”
Meredith raised a brow. “Isn’t that a problem with two such big dogs?”
Aaron smiled warmly at her. “We thought so at first, but the kittens showed the dogs who’s boss at the first meeting. They’re thick as thieves.”
Meredith actually laughed. “I would have loved to see that.” She turned serious again. “Now please show me that ‘horrible dungeon’ the Connellys mentioned in their plea for custody.”
Richard waved toward the stairs. “Please follow me.”
Meredith inspected the door to the playroom as well as the locks and the security system. She seemed satisfied. “I’m not going to embarrass us all by asking you to unlock it for me. I can see that you have taken all measures to prevent Emily from entering here, which is more
than I can say for the gun safety in some of the homes I’ve been to. At least whips can’t kill you.”
She straightened. “Let’s go downstairs and do the paperwork.”
After a tedious hour, where Meredith even made a sketch of the locks and the location of the playroom inside the house, she finally sat back. “I think we can call it a day.”
“We can keep her?” Dean looked at her imploringly.
Meredith smiled. “Yes, you can keep her. I don’t see a reason why not. You are caring, doting parents who take Emily’s well-being seriously. I don’t think she can do any better.”
Dean laughed out loud and kissed Richard. He trembled with joy while tears streamed down his cheeks. Over the head of his excited lover, Richard looked at Meredith.
“I thank you. We are truly grateful.” He hesitated a moment. “Can I ask you something, though?”
“Of course.”
“I’ve gotten the impression that you don’t like gays. My instinct in that regard is always dead-on, and I don’t think I misread you. So what made you decide not to make our lives hell?”
Meredith shrugged. “It’s true, I don’t like gays. I also don’t like onions, the color lime, and action movies with Vin Diesel. My dislike has nothing to do with your ability to take care of a child. For me, the only thing that counts is Emily’s well-being. What you two do in the privacy of your home is none of my business. I may disapprove, but as long as you don’t hurt anybody and behave like decent citizens, I have no reason to act against you.”
Richard could only stare for a few moments. He had thought he’d seen it all, but Meredith had just managed to surprise him. “That’s a very distinct view.”
