Authors: K.L. Middleton,Cassie Alexandra,Kristen Middleton
Thane
“Ms. Billings,” I said, tapping her on the shoulder.
Sera’s head popped up and she looked around in confusion.
“You’re still at
Tangled
,” I said, smiling in amusement at her lopsided eyeglasses.
Staring at me in horror, she wiped the drool from the corner of her lip. “Oh, my God,” she said. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe that I actually fell asleep.”
“I take it the contract was nothing to write home about?” I teased, sitting down behind the desk.
“It was… fine,” she replied, removing her glasses. As she began cleaning them with a tissue, I found myself surprisingly fixated on her light green eyes and thick lashes. Although I could appreciate a woman with glasses, Sera was absolutely stunning without hers.
“I haven’t been able to sleep,” she said, still looking embarrassed. “With everything that’s been happening. Tell you the truth… getting this job seems almost too good to be true.”
“I’m sure you deserve it, and hopefully you can put everything else behind you soon. At least some of your financial worries.”
“I sure hope so.”
Her smile was radiant and it did something to me. I stared at her full lips and began to have some seriously wicked thoughts.
Damn you, Felicia.
Obviously, her mention of my sex life had stirred something up. Something I normally preferred to leave at home. I tried not to think about what was happening in my lap, and instead, thought about the bastard who’d used his fists on her.
How fucked up could anyone be to harm such a beautiful woman?
I was no saint. I’d beaten the shit out of many guys in cage matches for money. But they’d known what they were getting themselves into and I’d taken my own share of beatings. Raising a hand to a woman went against everything I believed in. And to top it off, the guy was supposed to have been a cop.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked, putting her glasses back on.
“No, why?”
“You just looked upset there for a moment,” she answered, studying my face.
I leaned forward against the desk. The only thing upset at the moment was my dick. “I’m fine. Did everything look agreeable in the contract?”
“Yes, and I signed it. One thing I wanted to ask you – is there some kind of dress code? I didn’t see any mention of it.”
“You can wear whatever you’d like under the salon apron. I’ll get you a couple of those before you leave.”
“So, casual would be fine?”
My eyes drifted to the blue silk blouse that outlined her full breasts. She looked like someone’s prim and proper secretary and it was suddenly very… sexy. I imagined her unbuttoning it and wondered what color bra she was wearing. And if it was a push-up.
“Thane?”
I blinked. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Just dress casually, then?”
“Wear whatever you want,” I said, a little more firmly than I would have liked.
Her eyes widened in confusion. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I sighed. “I’m fine. Just have stuff on my mind. I didn’t mean to jump down your throat. Sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“Uh, why don’t you go and look around the shop?”
“Okay,” she said, standing up. “Um, you do want to show me around?”
“I’ll be out in a second,” I answered, trying to appear busy at the computer. “The area you’ll be using is just around the corner, past the other hair stations.”
She put her purse around her shoulder. “Right.”
“Like I said, the last technician left some items, and apparently doesn’t need them. I also have the name of the distributor she preferred. I think she ordered most of her things through the website, but the company is located in L.A. It might be easier to take a trip out there and talk to them directly.”
“Actually, I did purchase a lot of supplies already. I wanted to make sure I could start quickly.”
“Good. In fact, start Monday, if you’d like. That gives you a few days, and by then, we can get your business cards printed.”
“Okay.”
I nodded toward the doorway. “So, yeah, just go ahead and make yourself at home. I’ll join you shortly. I’m going to make you a copy of your contract, now that it’s signed. So, you’ll also have one for your records.”
“Good idea.”
I smiled and she turned around. It was then that I noticed her shapely calves and slender ankles displayed below the mid-length black skirt she was wearing. I pictured those legs draped over my shoulders and groaned in the back of my throat. Felicia was right. I really did need to get laid…
Sera
I walked out of Thane’s office and released the breath I was holding. I was actually relieved that he’d stayed inside. Not only was I still embarrassed of having fallen asleep, there was something about him that made me nervous and tense. He certainly was easy on the eyes, however, and I could tell by the way his clothing fit that he kept in very good shape. And those eyes… although intense, they were almost too ethereal for a rugged-looking man like Thane.
Stop it. The last thing you need is to develop a stupid crush on your new boss,
I reminded myself.
Not only was it stupid, but I was still married to a psychopath. I couldn’t bring anyone else into such madness.
“Hey, girl,” said Felicia as I drew closer to her station. She was putting small rollers into an older woman’s short, white hair. “How’d it go with the Lion King?”
I chuckled. “Well, he didn’t bare his teeth or roar in my face. I guess that was a good sign.”
She smiled. “A
very
good sign. So, when you startin’?”
“Hopefully on Monday.”
“You hear that, Monica?” hollered Felicia.
The old woman sitting in her chair looked confused. “What?”
She pointed to me and said loudly, “We have a new nail technician. Sera. You might want to make an appointment with her now. Something tells me she’s going to book up pretty fast.”
“I might just do that,” replied Monica, smiling. “Do you have a card, dear? I need to check my schedule at home and then I’ll get in touch with you.”
I cleared my throat and answered loudly, “Sorry, not yet. But, if you call me on Monday, I’ll make sure to fit you in as soon as possible.”
She leaned closer to me. “What was that?”
“Call me on Monday!”
Monica looked frustrated. “Wait a second, let me turn on my hearing aid. I forgot that I’d turned it off.” She reached up and fiddled with the small gadget in her ear. “There we go.” She smiled. “You said Monday you might have an opening?”
“Yes.”
She pointed to her shoe. “Do you also do pedicures? I haven’t had a pedicure in so long. Now that Tom is gone, I think I could use a little pampering.”
“I’m sorry. Was Tom your husband?” I asked.
Her eyes sparkled. “Husband? No. My husband died fifteen years ago. Tom was my Submissive.”
I looked at Felicia and then back to Monica in confusion. “I’m sorry… what?”
“She used to tie him up and make him do all kinds of crazy, kinky, and sometimes painful shit,” answered Felicia, chuckling. “And to top it off, the man begged her to do it.”
I was left almost speechless. “He… you… Really?
“Actually, there was a little more involved than just that,” replied the woman. “We also used to role play and my, oh my… he was
such
a wonderful lover.” She smiled wistfully. “Nobody filled a cock-ring like Tom. Did I tell you he was nine inches, Felicia?”
I blinked, unable to believe that this woman, who had to be pushing eighty, was so straightforward about her sex life. Thankfully, there was no one else in the shop besides us, and Thane was still in his office. I couldn’t even imagine him walking into this type of conversation.
“Anyway, he used to do all of my nails. Unfortunately, he moved back to Germany a couple of months ago. So,” she raised her fingers and wiggled them. “They really could use some tender loving care.”
“Have you replaced Tom with another Sub?” asked Felicia, rolling another curler into her hair. “Cause if you haven’t, I’ll show you how to access my website.”
“Honey, I’ve probably got more things in my toy chest than you have on your entire site,” replied Monica. “Although I should probably ask –you don’t take in items on trade, do you?”
Felicia’s eyes widened. “You talkin’ used?”
She shrugged. “Well, they’re obviously
clean.
I haven’t used them in a while. Now they’re just collecting dust. I’ve already tried pawning my swing, but I just can’t get anyone to take it.”
I pictured skinny little Monica on a sex swing and stared at her in disbelief. She looked so dignified and prim. Yet, she talked about sex like it was an innocent hobby.
“You could try selling it on
eBay
or
Craigslist
,” replied Felicia.
“My goodness, Felicia, I don’t want any freaks coming to my house,” she answered, her eyes round. She looked at me and pursed her lips. “People are so weird. Especially in California.”
I tried to keep a straight face. “I could only imagine. Although, I’m originally from Wisconsin. We have our share of kooks there, too.”
“Wisconsin, huh? Not much to do there I suppose but eat cheese and drink beer. That’s what I heard, anyway,” replied Felicia.
“They also like their winter sports,” said Monica. “Isn’t that right, dear?”
“I guess,” I answered. I wasn’t much of a beer drinker or a football fan. Not like Ray. He’d enjoyed both, which had probably ruined any interest I may have had. Especially that last few months we’d been together.
“I know one thing – people are weird
everywhere,”
said Felicia. “It just so happens that they’re just a little more open about it here.”
“Very true,” answered Monica.
I cleared my throat. “I’m going to take a look at my new work station. Thane mentioned that it was back that way?”
“Yeah. There’s a lot of stuff still sitting out from our last nail tech. Anything you don’t want, you can probably put it in the back storage area.”
“That’s what Thane said, too,” I answered, heading back toward a white curved table.
“What do you think?” asked Thane, approaching me a few seconds later as I was going through some of the drawers and abandoned supplies.
“I like it,” I answered truthfully. The table still looked almost new and there was a small shelf on top, which still held several bottles of nail polish. She’d also left a lamp, a U.V. nail dryer, and wax warmer, which sat on a small cabinet next to the table. It was as if she’d just got up one day and walked out, leaving everything behind. “So, can I use that as well?”
He turned toward the black and white pedicure chair in the corner. “Of course. She sold it to me at a very reasonable price. I guess this one has a built in massager.”
“I noticed that. It must have been very expensive. You know, I do have a little money saved. I can pay you for use of the chair.”
“Actually, the monthly lease includes use of that chair.”
I grinned. “Oh, good.”
He looked down at his watch. “I’ve got a meeting I need to get to. Do you have an email address?”
“Yes,” I replied. “It’s on my resume.”
He grinned. “I guess we found a use for it.”
“I guess we did.”
He stared at me for a second and then said, “Well, I’ll send you an email to set up your business cards. Hopefully we can get them printed and here by Monday.”
“That would be great. I appreciate you giving me this opportunity, Thane. I’m sure you could have rented this spot out to a number of technicians. Ones with clients already established.”
“Yes, I could have, and you’re welcome.”
I smiled. He’d seemed to warm up quite a bit since I’d first arrived.
His cell phone began to ring.
“I guess I’ll talk to you soon,” I said as he took it out.
“Definitely. Call me if you need anything. If you don’t mind, I’ll get you those aprons on Monday.”
“No problem. Have a great weekend.”
“You, too.”
When I walked out of
Tangled
, I felt a sudden calmness that I hadn’t in a while and hoped it meant that our lives were finally going in the right direction. At least for my daughter’s sake.
Chapter Eight
Sera
“So, how’d it go?” asked Fred when I arrived home forty minutes later. He was in the kitchen, stirring, what appeared to be, a large pot of chili or spaghetti sauce.
“Good,” I answered, feeling my stomach growl. Like Sam, Fred was an excellent cook, and the smells in the kitchen were reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. “I start on Monday.”
“See, I knew it would work out for you,” he said, setting down the large wooden spoon. “In fact,” he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “I picked this up earlier today. So that we could celebrate.”
I smiled at Fred, whose eyes were twinkling. He was such a kind old man. Not only had he opened up his house to us, he’d volunteered to watch Emma whenever I needed a sitter. She now adored him and called him Papa Fred.
“That’s was very sweet of you,” I said, and then walked over and gave him a hug. When I pulled away, I could see from his flushed cheeks that he was still not quite used to unexpected displays of affection, which I thought was cute.
“What’s sweet is Emma. Look at this picture she drew,” he answered, pointing to the refrigerator. He smiled. “She certainly is a talented little girl. You’ve got an artist on your hands.”
“I know. She just loves to draw and paint,” I said, staring with pride at the paper. Emma had colored a picture of her and Fred holding hands in a field of pink and purple flowers. There was also a rainbow, a smiling sun, and a yellow dog standing next to them. I looked in amusement at Fred. “So, who’s the dog?”
He laughed. “I figured you’d know. She said that its name was Penny and that you’d be getting it for her soon.”
I chuckled. “Is that right? Where is she, by the way?”
“Emma’s watering the flowers in the backyard with Arlene.”
Arlene was Fred’s new neighbor and now, girlfriend. She’d moved into the cottage home next door less than seven months ago, and they’d hit it off right away. She owned a flower shop not far from
Tangled
, and had apparently helped Fred start his own little garden, which included vegetables. Fred had admitted that he didn’t have much of a green thumb, but enjoyed all of the food they’d been growing. I enjoyed the vegetables too, since he cooked with them daily.
I set the paper down onto the kitchen table. “I’ll let her know that I’m home.”
“Good idea. Dinner should be ready in about thirty minutes. Hope you like chili-dogs and potato salad. Arlene brought over a couple pounds of it. I think she’s trying to fatten me up.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” I said, opening the back door.
“Well, you know what they say – the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. She’s definitely staking her claim on both.”
Laughing, I stepped outside and found Emma and Arlene huddled over some bright yellow flowers in a deep conversation. Arlene was tall and thin, with short white hair, bright blue eyes and a warm, loving aura. As I approached, they both turned to me.
“Mommy!” squealed Emma, dropping a small green water bucket.
“Hi, baby,” I said, bending my head down as she threw her arms around my waist. I kissed the top of her head and looked over at Arlene, who was watching us with a smile. “Hi, Arlene.”
“Hi, Sera.” She took off her sunglasses and placed them on top of her head. “How was your day?”
“Did you get that job?” interrupted Emma before I could open my mouth. She was looking up at me, her eyes filled with hope, and I was relieved to be able to tell her the good news.
I grinned down at her. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. I start on Monday!”
“Yes!” she hollered out loud, pulling away. She did a little dance and then stopped suddenly. “Does that mean we can get a dog now?”
I laughed. “A dog? We don’t even have a house yet, sweetie. We can’t get a dog.”
“But we live here,” she protested. “And Papa Fred said he loves dogs.”
“We are only staying here for a short time,” I said, glancing over at Arlene, who gave me a sympathetic smile. “It’s not quite the same thing.”
“But, I have my own room and… Arlene said that I needed to keep an eye on these Black-Eyed Sallys,” she said, pointing to the yellow flowers and then to a nestle of pink ones. “And those puppies.”
Arlene laughed. “She means the Black-Eyed Susans and the Poppies.”
“Yes. Those ones,” said Emma. “They need me, Mommy. Fred keeps forgetting to water them. They’ll die if I don’t take care of them.”
“I’m sure that Fred and Arlene can keep an eye on them.”
“But they said they were my very own flowers!”
I sighed. I hated it when Emma whined, but I’d put her through so much the past year and could understand her frustration. “Listen, honey, we can plant our own garden,” I answered, putting my hand on her hair. I smoothed it down. “We’ll make it beautiful, too. I promise.”
She looked at Arlene and then back at me, her lip trembling. “But why can’t we just stay here? Why do we
always
have to move?”
I sighed. Of course she didn’t understand. She was only six. I couldn’t expect her to. “Remember, we talked about this before. Fred is just letting us stay here until I can afford a home of our own.”
“But I don’t want to leave him and don’t you remember? He said we could stay here as long as we want,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
Groaning inwardly, I pulled her back into my arms. “Just because we’re moving doesn’t mean that we won’t see Fred or Arlene again. In fact, I bet we can even find something close to here. Then we can visit them all the time.”
“What’s going on out here?” asked Fred, now coming up behind us. “Why all of these tears?”
Sniffling, she pulled away from me. “Papa, Mommy said we have to move out. We can’t stay with you.”
I smiled sheepishly. “It won’t be for a while, yet. If that’s okay?”
Fred stepped next to Arlene and slid his arm around her waist. “I guess this is as good of a time as any,” he said, his eyes now sparkling. “Should we tell them?”
Arlene stared up at him smiling. “I think we should.”
He nodded and then cleared his throat. “A situation has come up.”
“What do you mean? What kind of situation?” I asked, suddenly feeling excited. Something told me that the particular situation he was talking about was very good for all of us.
“Well, it’s like this…” He grinned. “Arlene and I are getting married.”
My jaw dropped and then I smiled, so happy for them. “You are? Congratulations!”
“That’s awesome!” cried Emma. “Can I be the flower girl?”
“Yes, of course you can,” answered Arlene, removing her yellow gardening glove. She raised her hand, showing us the diamond engagement ring.
“Wow,” said Emma. “That’s a pretty ring.”
“It’s beautiful,” I said, looking at Fred, as I examined it. “I have to say, you have great taste in both women and jewelry.”
“Oh, thank you,” replied Arlene, who seemed to be glowing.
“Actually, she picked it out,” he said, smiling. “I forced her to. Heck, I even told her she should get something larger, but she went with the small solitaire.”
“But this is perfect,” she said, staring down at it fondly. “I wouldn’t want anything bigger than this, you silly goose.”
“You sure you can even see it?” he joked. “You don’t have your glasses on, you know.”
“Oh, I can see it just fine.”
“I’m so happy for both of you,” I said. “This is such wonderful news.”
“Thank you, Sera. Now, I know it seems sudden, but, we decided not to wait. When you get to be our age, you know when something feels right,” said Fred. He looked down at Arlene and pulled her closer. “And you have to jump on it, before life passes you by.”
“You got that right,” replied Arlene, kissing him on the cheek. “Life is too short and we want to spend the rest of it together and not alone.”
“This is
so
great,” gushed Emma, smiling brightly. “You’re really getting married to Papa Fred?”
“I sure am.”
She looked at her shyly. “So, can I call you Grandma then?”
“You’d better,” she answered, smiling down at her. “In fact, since I don’t have any grandchildren of my own, I would be very, very honored if you’d call me that.”
“Yaay!” She rushed over to the couple. “I knew this was going to happen! I just knew it!”
Arlene’s face lit up as Emma slipped her arms around her waist and gave her a tight hug. She hugged her back and my heart swelled to see the warmth and affection between them. I knew they’d been spending a lot of time together, and it had obviously brought them very close.
Fred walked over to me, tugging on his white moustache like he always did when he was contemplating something serious. “So, what do you think?”
“Like I said, I think it’s just wonderful,” I replied, smiling at him warmly. “You’re both such great people and deserve each other. I couldn’t be happier for either of you. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, but… what I really meant is, what do you think of living
here
? Permanently?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Obviously we don’t need both houses. And Arlene has fallen in love with hers, and… well, I’m not going to ask her to move into mine.”
I understood what he meant. His house was smaller and needed many renovations, where Arlene’s looked like something out of the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Fred was a hell of a cook and an avid coin collector, but was clueless when it came to a hammer or paint brush. He’d admitted to being embarrassed about it, especially one day when I had to help him replace one of his yard lights.
“You want to sell
me
your house?” I asked, feeling my stomach flutter with excitement as I started to think about the possibilities.
“Or rent it. Whatever you’d like. And don’t worry, Sera, I’ll make it very affordable.”
I turned around and looked at the yellow bungalow, which had been our home for the last few months. Although the roof was in desperate need of repair, the faded paint was peeling, and most of the appliances were on their last leg, the offer couldn’t have been more appealing.
“I know it’s probably not what you were looking for. It could also use some work.” He sighed and scratched his head as he stared at the house. “Like I told you before, I’m not much of a handyman. And for heaven’s sake, don’t feel obligated to buy it.”
“Are you kidding me? Fred, I would l
ove
to buy your house,” I replied, now reeling with giddiness. “It’s already begun to feel like home as it is.”
“Excellent. And, like I said, I’ll give you a great deal. I really don’t need the money, and I know that you’re pretty strapped at the moment.”
My smile fell and I turned to him. “No, that’s not fair; I wouldn’t do that to you. I’ll give you what its worth. You deserve it. Especially helping us the way that you have.”
He waved his hand. “Hogwash. I’m selling it to you at whatever price I want and if you don’t like it, well… that’s just tough. Isn’t that right, Emma?”
Emma grinned. “That’s right! Fred can sell it for whatever he wants. And we weren’t moving anymore. Yaay!”
“See that, there,” he said, his eyes softening. “Emma’s already put her stamp of approval on it. Besides, you can’t leave us now. The flowers wouldn’t survive without that little lady.”
From the look on his face, I had a feeling that he was also speaking of himself, and not just the garden. Fred had been so good to us, and deep down, I wasn’t ready to move away from him either. And now fate had taken another turn, this time in our favor. We’d found a way to still be near him, along with a permanent home – one that was safe and near two people who both cared deeply. It seemed too good to be true.
I blinked back tears and laughed. “I guess I can’t argue with that logic.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, dinner is almost ready. Emma, why don’t you come inside and help me set the table?”
“Okay,” she answered, still bubbling with excitement. She seemed to enjoy helping Fred in the kitchen almost as much as she loved gardening. “I’m coming.”
He began walking toward the house with Emma and she grabbed his hand. He smiled down at her and it was a moment that I wished I could have captured on camera.
“He really loves her, doesn’t he?” I said to Arlene.
“How can you not love that sweet child?” she replied, grinning at them. “You’re very lucky.”
I smiled. “I know.”
Fred looked back at us. “By the way, you two ladies – don’t go too far. Dinner will be ready shortly.”
“Sounds good, Fred.” She looked at me and began removing her other gardening glove. “I’m going to run home and wash up. I’ll return in a few.”
“I’d better change my clothes, too,” I answered, looking down at my outfit.
She began walking toward her yard. “Yes, relax now, you’re home.”
I really was…
“I’ll let Fred know that you’ll be back,” I called, walking toward the house. As I stepped through the sliding glass door and into the kitchen, Fred handed me my cell phone.