Page 8 of Dare to Love Again

“Seriously, man. I planned to get some sleep.”

Another grunt came through the speaker, one of disgust. “You’re too young to spend your weekends in bed alone.”

Keiran silently groaned; he’d heard this from his friend before. “I might squeeze in more DM time if you’d approve the staff requisitions I sent you two weeks ago. We’re flooded with new cases.”

Eric sighed. “When are we not? As soon as we train a new group, we need more.”

“Which keeps our bank accounts healthy.”

There were nine owners between the two business lines, Rossi Security, Inc., and Club Decadence, but the founding six, all retired military, were back in San Antonio. He had a team of trained professionals working for him, but Eric only had a few paid staff and relied mostly on volunteers from the membership. Some submissives offset their membership fees, which were significant, by working in the lounge and as receptionists, and Eric relied on the most experienced doms, whom they called club masters, to help monitor Keiran included.

“I assumed being in LA among the rich and famous, our caseload would be mostly celebrity security,” Eric commented, sounding tired and overextended himself.

“You’re not the only one. After the mess in San Antonio, I was hoping for a few boring investigations where I didn’t have to don a flak jacket.”

“The Lopez case got messy,” his friend stated quietly.

“I expected illegal drugs and gun running being this close to the border, but not by way of Texas. Who knew they’d have roots way out here? And despite the eighty-plus arrests the LAPD made earlier this year, it was barely a minor blip in their operation.”

“You’d have thought his arrest would have had more of an impact.”

“Yeah,” Keiran agreed tiredly, “but it did nothing to affect the legal ports of entry, where the vast majority of the shit is entering in the first place. Besides, I don’t think he was the top man.”

“Shit is right. I thought we’d get away from some of it with the move.” He laughed humorlessly. “What was I thinking? But that case is closed, and it’s back to protecting divas and providing security to the stars.”

“But Rossi’s reputation is a double-edged sword. Everyone from divas to detectives is knocking on our door. At least you drew the long straw and got the club.” Keiran looked at the stacks of files and asked, “Want to trade?”

“Fuck no. I get to combine work and pleasure. Which brings me to the point of my call. You need to get over to Decadence more and enjoy the perks of the job. Life’s too short. Soon you’ll wake up a dried-up old man in his forties, like me.”

“Dried up, my ass. You run circles around the younger guys when you’re in the field. I wish I could use you more.”

“The numbers ain’t gonna crunch themselves, man.”

Keiran chuckled, getting his words turned back around on him.

“Which brings us back to those requisitions. Louise, our new office manager, is so afraid of your artic death glare, she won’t process any new hires without one. And fuck you for hiring her while I was off on a mission. She thinks she reports to you instead of me.”

This time, Eric chuckled. “She’s a smart girl. I knew she’d be perfect for the job. And she’s submissive. She just hasn’t allowed herself to admit it yet.”

“She’s also young, beautiful, and single, working with a bunch of testosterone-charged ex-military and law enforcement types. One of them will steal her away, watch and see.”

“Shit,” Eric muttered.

“Yeah. Next time, I’m doing the hiring, and I’ll be looking for a ball-busting domme who won’t turn anyone’s head. In the meantime, sign the damn requisitions. I’ve got four guys champing at the bit to get started, but they expect to get paid.”

“I’ll see to it first thing in the morning.”

Keiran relaxed. Although four wasn’t nearly enough, it was a start. “The team would be obliged, as would I. I’d like to enjoy my hard-earned salary occasionally, when not completely exhausted.”

“So, I can expect you Friday night?”

“As my sainted grandmother always said, if the good Lord is willing and the creek don’t rise.”

“We say that in Texas,” Eric replied with a laugh. “I didn’t know it was also an Irish expression.”

“It’s not. Despite the accent and hair, which I inherited from my father, my mother was born and bred here in the States, in Georgia.”

“That explains it. The subs will be happy to see you. They’ve been asking where you’ve been. As Val says, they’re all agog over your brogue and melt when you turn your Irish green eyes their way.” He said the last part with a healthy dose of disgust.

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