“Ms. Russak, I hadn’t expected to see you here tonight. You are a very lucky man to have captured such a talent.” My blood ran cold. Judging by this conversation, not only did my boss know Ava, he knew of her proclivities. “How did you two meet?” Ava looked up at me clearly at a loss for words. I wasn’t much better.
“We met years ago, but we only started dating recently.” I wanted to get off the topic at all costs. I was breaking into a cold sweat. It was my boss’s companion who chose to pry further.
“Oh, that sounds like a cover story. I bet the origin story to this coupling is quite the tale.” I chuckled nervously.
“How about you join us for a night cap at the end of the night so you can tell us all about it.” My boss suggested. I wanted to say no. But my boss had a certain air about him. In that moment I knew he had phrased it as a question out of courtesy, and not because it was a choice. I reluctantly agreed to meet him after the festivities were over. With that decided the two of them went to mingle with other guests and I took my chance to take Ava out for some fresh air.
“Was that my imagination, or…” I tried to find a way to not awkwardly start the conversation with Ava.
“Jacob and I used to go to a club in the city all the time. Mr. Ezra is the owner. Jacob and him are good friends. I never expected…”
“You two were never…”
“No, no, not that he didn’t want to though. He has a long list of women that take care of him. I wasn’t needed let me tell you.” She was nervously talking. I took her shoulders and told her to take a deep breath.
“There is no going back babe. So, what if he knows about our type of relationship. I’m not ashamed of it. Are you?”
“God no, it’s just…I feel like I made it awkward for you.”
“I will reserve judgement on how awkward things are after our drink with them.” I sighed still in disbelief that I had actually agreed to it.
The night seemed to drag on forever. I was on edge wondering what was going to happen during our after-party rendezvous with my boss. Ava and I did manage to find a way to have some fun. I loved dancing with her. I loved having her in my arms. My coworkers also fell in love with her. She was so personable and friendly, how could they now. The party was starting to dwindle when and my boss approached us for the second time that night.
“We are planning on returning to the penthouse, will you be joining us.” He asked. Again, I wanted to reject the offer and make some ridiculous excuse. Instead, I ended up agreeing and following them out. The four of us were silent in the elevator as it pulled us up the building. They warmly welcomed us into the living room of their suite. We all took a seat on the couch; Ezra was the first to speak up.
“Can I assume this is a community space?” His attention was on Ava.
“Yes sir.” She gave him a slight bow with her head. What happened next had me a little shell shocked. Ava slid off the couch onto her knees and situated herself between my legs. Ezra called out to others in the apartment that they could come out. I watched as four women emerged from the bedrooms of the penthouse. They all went over to Ezra and kissed his cheek. I watched all of the find a comfortable spot around the room. Ezra went introduced each of them to us. When he was done Ava introduced the two of us. I think she could sense how lost I was.
“He seems a little green.” One of the girls commented pointing at me with a giggle.
“Aiden is new to the lifestyle, but he is learning. Not be rude Mr. Ezra but we only came here for one drink and then we plan on leaving. Is there anything particular that you wanted to discuss?” Ava defended me.
“There is no need to be defensive Ava. Jacob called be after your last phone call with him and I was curious about the new man in your life. I really thought you and Jacob were in it for the long haul.”
“With all due respect, Jacob was the one who left. My life is here and I couldn’t follow him. I am more than allowed to find a new love.” I put my hand on Ava’s shoulder to comfort her.
“Really, I meant no harm Ava. I was just saying that I was surprised when Jacob called me upset. Listen, I know I am close to Jacob; but that doesn’t mean I am not your friend. All I wanted to do was meet the new man in your life. I also have a bit of a gift for you two.”
“A gift?” I finally managed to compose myself enough to join the conversation.
“Yes, it’s actually a bit of a funny story. The hotel made a mistake when you upgraded your room and charged it to the company; since you made other reservations through the hotel, they also went on to the company card.”
“Oh my god…” I gasped. This was absolutely humiliating. Ezra waved it off. One of the girls handed all of us drinks then took a seat next to Ezra on the couch.
“I already took care of it, no harm, no foul. But I did see your reservations, which brings me to my gift.” He snapped his finger and one of the women handed him a manilla folder with some papers. He handed it to me. “It’s a membership to a club I own in the city. It’s a very private club.” He turned to Ava. “I know you are not planning on returning to the club you used to go to with Jacob, so I am offering you a membership to this one because not even Jacob is a member.” He turned back to me. “Everything that you were planning to do, you can do there. I’ve set up everything; and this is sort of an apology for canceling the other ones since I had to withdraw the payment for the reservation.” I opened the folder just prove that the insane things he was saying were true. Ava stretched to see the paperwork that was in my lap.
“Mr. Ezra, that is one of your most exclusive clubs. We can’t accept such a generous offer of free membership!” She gasped.
“Nonsense. I insist. Aiden is one of my best employees; and you little miss, I know a true lifer when I see one. Ava, I know you always thought it was just me having a physical interest in you, but it was more than that. I’ve watched you blossom into this confident woman. In many ways I feel like a guardian of sorts. I want to see you happy Ava, and I want to know that you are cared for.” The woman sitting next to him chuckled a little and commented.
“You sound like a protective father.”
“Hey, I don’t mind if Ava calls me Daddy.” He joked back. That lightened the mood in the room. We finished our drinks. Ezra explained a little more about what he was offering us in the folder. I was still feeling uncomfortable and got out of the room as fast as I could. We were on our way back to our room when Ava spoke up in the elevator.
“You were uncomfortable in there. Is it because we were talking about our relationship with someone who knew our intimate lifestyle?”
“I’m not embarrassed if that is what you are asking. I was a bit blind-sided, and it was definitely weird finding out all of that about my boss; but I wasn’t embarrassed to talk about it. It was my first conversation with anyone outside of you that involved the BDSM lifestyle. I can admit that I was stiff. There was so much to take in at once, give me a break.”