Chapter Eight

“Fuck, pussycat, you make my knees weak.”

 “Bailey, you aren’t hearing a word I’m saying,” Lucy complained as she snapped her iPad cover closed, yanking Bailey from her daydream. The exasperation in her voice was sharply reflected on her face.

Bailey forced her wayward thoughts back to the present.

“I’m sorry, my mind was elsewhere.”

“Extreme Desires, perhaps?” She pursed her lips. “Yeah, don’t even try to deny it. I can’t get him out of my mind either.”

“At least you know what he looks like. I have no clue who my Santa was.”

“What he looks like doesn’t help me much, since I have no idea what his name is,” she pouted again.

Bailey frowned. “I don’t understand. I was under the impression you knew who he was.”

“Well, no.” Lucy shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I saw him talking to Rob one night, at the club I went to with him, in New York. I was immediately attracted to him but all Rob said was that he’s a business associate. I saw him kiss the woman he was with, so I assumed he was married and left it at that.”

“But now you know he’s not?”

“Yeah. Rob told me about the auction at Extreme Desires and mentioned that the guy he spoke to at the club was one of the new owners and would be one of the Santa Clauses.”

“So, why don’t you ask Rob?”

Lucy fiddled with her dress. “I don’t want him to think I’m desperate.”

“Rob?”

“No, Master Fury.”

“So, you have been trying to find him?”

Lucy shrugged. “Well, I just searched a little but the club is registered to a company called Extreme Investments. The shareholder information is classified. I phoned the club last night to try and find out who Master Fury is, but no one has any clue.”

“Or,” Bailey smiled indulgently, “they’ve been sworn to secrecy.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s possible.” Lucy’s shoulders slumped. “Did we do the right thing, girlfriend? To just walk away?”

Bailey pondered over her question. The scenes, sensations and emotions that Master Rage had evoked, replayed in her mind. It was more than she’d ever experienced.

I can’t cope with that. Not with the pressure at work. I don’t have the time.

Bailey didn’t realize it was the same old excuse that always resurfaced when she became involved with someone.

“For me, yes. I don’t have the time to invest in a relationship of that kind, Lucy. I also did some research on the BDSM lifestyle and commitment between the couples is extraordinary. And besides, you know I don’t believe in happily-ever-after,” she responded curtly, her mind made up.

She watched Lucy’s expression fall. Her sigh was softly deflating.

“But that doesn’t mean you can’t explore it, Lucy. I’ve never seen you this absorbed and depressed in all the years we’ve known each other. If he’s the kind of man you wish to build a future with, go for it.”

“That’s what worries me, Bailey. You saw how popular both of them were in that club. The subs were all hanging on their lips, craving a smile or a touch, even with us by their side. I’m not sure I’d be able to adapt to watching him scene with others.”

“Who says he’d want to once you commit to him?”

“Because I overheard a discussion while I was in the lady’s room. It’s how they operate. Even if they are in committed D/s relationship, they never agree to exclusivity and continue to scene and fuck others.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would be a problem.”

Lucy looked disheartened and unhappy.

“But, you’ll never know whether or not you might be able to adapt, Lucy, unless you try. Remember how those three Doms twisted you into a pretzel while he watched? At a guess, I imagine, seeing you being pleasured and reach a level of euphoria excited him.”

Lucy’s eyes widened in memory. “Gawd! You’re right. It did excite me and to be honest I wondered at the time how it would feel to be fucked three ways by them while he watched. I guess that’s what scared the shit out of me.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Bailey had been shaken while she’d watched the three men with Lucy. She’d imagined herself in her place a couple of times, with Master Rage watching, over the past two days since they’d run out of the club. She shook off the thoughts with an annoyed shrug.

Get a grip, Bailey. You’re not interested in meeting up with him again. Not with the way he turned you into a limp noodle.

The phone in Lucy’s office rang and she went to answer it. Within seconds, she buzzed Bailey.

“It’s Daniel Wilson, the owner of the Sunset Hotels in Milwaukee. I thought the proposal deadline was the 30th?”

“Yeah, please put him through, Lucy.” A sense of foreboding crawled up Bailey’s spine as she greeted the wizened old businessman. She’d met him a month ago to discuss the purchase of the two hotels in Milwaukee. He was selling the entire group, which consisted of four more in various states, but Bailey wasn’t interested in them. The sale had been opened to a number of interested buyers. Bailey had been hoping that her private meeting with him might count in her favor.

“I’ve been trying to get hold of you since four o’clock on Christmas Eve,” he said by way of greeting.

“I apologize, Mr. Wilson. I haven’t even looked at my cell phone. I’ve been indisposed.” Bailey cursed inwardly.

Another reason why I can’t become involved with Master Rage. He’s a distraction I can’t afford!

“I’m afraid I have some bad news, my dear,” he continued.

“Are you bringing the closing date for proposals forward?”

“Not exactly. The truth is that I have accepted another offer for the entire chain. I am sorry, Bailey, I really like you and after our discussion, the plans you had, would have been terrific for the town but the investors weren’t interested in a piecemeal sale of the hotels. And, they offered me an attractive deal for those two hotels.”

Bailey slumped in her chair. She was devastated. She’d worked so hard to finalize her proposal and it was a damn good one. If only he’d been able to get hold of her, she might have swayed him.

“If I may ask, Mr. Wilson, who did you sell to?”

“Gibbs & Hutton Incorporated.”

“No! You’re not serious!” Bailey couldn’t breathe.

“You have to understand, my dear, I am a businessman first and foremost. They made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

Fuck, really? Bailey fumed to herself. Carter Gibbs had been the man responsible for her grandfather losing his hotel five years ago. He’d immediately turned the hotel into an exclusive ski resort, completely changing its architecture. None of the age-old lines of the place had remained. It had broken her grandfather. She believed it was the reason her grandmother had a heart attack and died soon after. Since then, he’d become a recluse.

Now, five years later, he still lived in a secluded wooden cottage high up in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. He’d aged overnight and couldn’t get over his wife’s death and losing a place really dear to him.

Whenever Bailey had the opportunity to visit him, he spent the entire visit talking about how happy her grandmother had been there. The nostalgia brought tears to her eyes every time.

She cleared her throat and wiped the cobwebs of the memories from her mind.

“When did they make the offer?”

“On Christmas Eve. Which was why I was trying to get hold of you. I wanted to give you an opportunity to discuss your proposal. Not that I expected you to up your offer, but I might have deliberated if I had a more in-depth insight into your plans.

“What are they intending to do with it? If you don’t mind me asking?”

Not that she needed to ask. Gibbs & Hutton only bought old buildings for one reason; to destroy and build something modern and superfluous in its place. They always resold it for five times the original price.

“They want to develop a brand of modern, up market apartment hotels. I imagine most of them will be built from ground up.”

“Oh, no. They’re going to wreck the lovely Victorian buildings?” Bailey was shattered. She had a passion for old buildings and renovating them into something modern without jeopardizing their original appearance gave her immense pleasure. “Can’t we discuss the proposal now? Won’t you at least look at my offer?”

“I’m sorry, Bailey. They were in a hurry to get the offer sealed and only gave me until Christmas morning to consider their offer. I had no choice.”

“I understand. Thank you for personally informing me.”

She sat staring blindly ahead of her until Lucy walked in.

“What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Bailey leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. She felt completely drained. Weeks’ worth of plans—meetings with architects, paying thousands of dollars to have projections designed—all for nothing.

“We lost it, Lucy.” She said dejectedly.

“What?”

“The two Sunset Hotels in Milwaukee,” she sighed and turned her head to look at Lucy. “Gibbs & Hutton made them a more lucrative offer. We lost it because Daniel Wilson couldn’t get hold of me. And do you know why, Lucy?” she asked bitterly.

Lucy shook her head. She poured Bailey a strong cup of coffee.

“Because we were too busy getting fucked all the way to kingdom come to hear our phones ringing. Geez, I still haven’t looked at my cell for that matter.”

“Oh god,” Lucy blurted. “I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. I should never have insisted we go to the club.”

“No, it’s not your fault, Lucy. It’s their fault—Gibbs and Hutton—and their greed. Let’s not forget greed.”

“There’ll be another opportunity, Bailey,” Lucy tried to console her.

“Not like this one.” She sat upright and reached for the mug Lucy had placed in front of her.

“Please inform the marketing and architect teams to stop all work on this project. It’s no use throwing money in the water until we have another solid proposal in the bag.”