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Grace thought she should be honest. “I feel like I should start calling you ma’am.”
Beth snorted. “I wonder what Tommy would think of that.”
“Does Tommy know?”
“About our lifestyle?” Beth kept her wording vague in case they were overheard. “No. And to my knowledge he and his girlfriend lead a very vanilla life.”
Grace hadn’t met Tommy’s girlfriend, so she’d have to take Beth’s word for it.
Beth placed her coffee mug on the counter and met Grace’s gaze. “Nothing has to change. At least while we’re at the café. I’m still Beth, your boss, and you’re still Grace, my employee.”
“I guess I wasn’t sure if... how...”
“We’re just two people sitting here having coffee.” Beth smirked. “Or one person having coffee and the other keeping her company.”
Grace grinned. “It’s not weird for you at all?”
“Not really,” Beth said, picking her mug back up and taking a sip. “And it shouldn’t be for you either. You have nothing to be ashamed about. It’s part of who you are just like it’s part of who I am.”
“You don’t think any less of me?” Grace felt guilty asking it, but she needed to know.
“Do you think I think less of Drew?” Beth asked instead.
“No.”
“Then why would I think less of you?” Her boss leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on Grace’s arm. “I’ve known you had submissive tendencies since the day I met you. It didn’t bother me then and it doesn’t bother me now. In fact, I’m glad to see you embracing who you are.”
Grace never got the chance to respond since Tommy burst through the doors, holding up a piece of paper. “We’ve got a large order and they need it ASAP.”
Without a word, she and Beth hopped off their stools and got to work.
***
Daniel’s office was downtown near the Arch, which would have made it easy to find even if Alexander hadn’t had GPS. When he walked in, all the desks were empty and there was not a person in sight. He checked his watch. It was eleven fifty-six. “Hello?”
A few seconds later a young man who looked to be right out of college popped his head out of a room on the left. “Hello. Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Daniel.”
The young man opened his mouth, but at the sound of someone else entering the room, he turned, leaving his words unsaid.
Daniel strolled into the main room with a folder tucked into the crook of his arm. “Right on time.”
“Years of being made to run miles for being even a minute late is a hard habit to break.”
His friend chuckled. “One of the many things I don’t miss about the military.” Then he addressed the young man. “I’ll be gone for a couple of hours. If the Robinsons call, let them know I still haven’t heard anything back.”
“Will do.”
Daniel plucked his jacket from the coatrack near the entrance and they headed out. “There’s a nice bistro around the corner that recently opened up.”
“Sounds good.”
The bistro was close enough to walk to, so Alexander left his car in front of Daniel’s office. It was a little windy, but at least the sun was shining. Considering the amount of times he’d been deployed in the desert, the change in temperature was still a bit of a shock to his system.
Once they took their seats, Daniel handed Alexander the folder he’d brought with him. “I spent the morning putting together some listings I thought might interest you. All of them have easy access to the highway. I figured accessibility would be important.”
“Yes. Very.” Alexander took his time going over the locations Daniel had put together. There were close to a dozen, but only two piqued his interest. They were both the right size, in great locations, and the prices were reasonable.
