“He’s so boring, the stick up his ass probably seems comfortable.” I flopped down in Preston’s comfiest chair and shook my head. “What were you thinking?”
“You saw the pictures. We both agreed he was fabulous.” Leaning back in his chair, Preston stretched out and seemed to be fighting off a yawn. Why was he so tired?
I thought back to everything I’d been supposed to do for the company lately, and I couldn’t think of any ball I’d dropped or paperwork I’d missed. I’d have to check my master to-do list at home, but for the time being, I was pretty sure it wasn’t my fault.
“But the man who took those pictures was not the stuffy guy who was so judgmental up there earlier.” I shook my head at the memory. “He was—”
I wasn’t even sure how to describe it. He’d been dressed professionally, and once I’d walked away, he’d done a good job talking to the other models, but something about him put me on edge. Maybe it was the condescending looks he’d given me or the anger that had flashed through his eyes when I’d flirted with him. Like he’d taken it personally or something.
Flirting was like breathing. People needed it to survive.
Well, some people…fabulous ones like me.
“He’s going to be miserable here, and he’ll drag everyone down with him.” I was a pretty good judge of who would fit and who wouldn’t. That’s why new employees usually got a baptism by fire kind of treatment. Photographers got naked models and chaos, and everyone else at the company got to sit through a photo shoot.
Seeing how they reacted and how they treated people was key to making sure they’d fit. He was not going to fit.
“He looked at me like I was some kind of bug.” I couldn’t get the look out of my head. “Or something under the bottom of his shoe that was sticky and gross.”
But the guy had been hot.
His casual business attire hadn’t fit in with the rest of us, but had made him look sexy and a little bit superior. It was enough to get my curiosity going. For just a moment, I’d seen a stern guy who knew exactly what to do with a brat like myself, but then it was gone in a flash.
Preston sighed but didn't disagree with me. “And you just couldn’t resist baiting him.”
“I wasn’t lying, and I wanted to see how he would respond.” Greghadspanked me when it was called for in a photo shoot. Sometimes the panties looked so much hotter with a nice pink ass. What I hadn’t mentioned tothe stick, or anyone else for that matter, was that Greg would bend me over and spank me when I’d needed it as well.
He’d been mostly straight. Well, too straight for me, so it never went beyond that, but it’d been a stress reliever that I’d needed. There was no way I’d have anything close to that kind of relationship with the new guy.
I sighed and slouched back. “From the pictures, I thought he’d be different.” Maybe I’d baited him a little, but it’d just been such a disappointment.
Preston understood immediately what I was talking about. “Me too.” He reached forward and pushed a few buttons on the computer, bringing up Roman’s portfolio. The official one, and the file with the other photos that he’d found online.
“I don’t know how those photos were taken by the same man.” Shaking my head, I looked at the contrast.
The still-life photos were boring, and the portraits were good but nothing spectacular. It wasn’t until Preston had shown me the ones of Roman’s ex that I’d seen his real potential. The ones he’d taken of his lover had been amazing.
He’d caught the passion and the fire behind his lover. He’d also managed to show BDSM scenes that could have ended up disturbing or just kink, and had brought a magic to them that made them incredible. We’d been positive that man could take the site to the next level.
People didn’t always understand the vision that Preston and I had for the company. We’d always wanted it to be more than just a traditional web store for lingerie. We wanted a place for people to feel safe and welcomed. Where their passion and kink didn’t have to be hidden or make them feel ashamed. The blogs, vlogs, selfies, and stock all worked toward that goal.
The fact that the whole thing was succeeding financially was a bonus as far as I was concerned.
“I’m caught in the same dilemma.” Preston looked at the photos, studying them, then gestured toward the sexy ones. “This was the man who I’d hoped would interview with us.”
“Instead we got that jackass who hates me.” And I wasn’t even being dramatic and ridiculous.
Preston turned and started studying me. “Have you slept with him? Had a bad scene at a club, maybe?”
I would have been offended, but we’d had a problem a few months ago with another employee when something like that had happened. So it wasn’t as soap opera-ish as it sounded. Luckily, I was in the clear for this one. “Hell no, I’d remember that man. There is no way this is my fault.”
“Masquerade balls? Random hookups with a couple while you were visiting your family?” Now he was starting to grasp at straws.
“Elijah has to go visit family. He’s not even gay, much less anything else weird. I couldn’t have met him like that.” Eli and Elijah were like Superman and Clark Kent, except in my case, one was boring and as close to asexual as I could get him, and the other was the fabulous me that only got to come out when I was away from my family.
But thanks to school and the business, that was more often than I’d ever thought possible.
Preston nodded. “Maybe he’ll relax and things will calm down. You didn’t veto him, so I offered him the job, and he accepted. Let’s give him some time.”
