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“He doesn’t want to impress Em, he wants to make her his own,” said Kendra putting the last part in air quotes.
Emerson shivered with revulsion. “The man makes my skin crawl. There’s just something about him that creeps me out, but some of our most lucrative jobs have come through him.”
“Something he never fails to remind us of,” said Kendra. “Anybody else on the guest list you want to connect with?”
“The gala is one of those events that people kill to get an invitation to. If nothing else, Ravenel Reliance will be talked about in the paper. Besides, I hear the Fitzwallaces of London are going to be there. I haven’t seen either of them in a number of years.”
“Didn’t Cerberus get you out of the UAE when one of the minor royals tried to prevent you from leaving?”
Emerson nodded. “It was kind of scary until Fitzwallace and his team showed up. He’s one of those men that you just know you’re safe with. We hooked up with JJ at one of their safe houses, and she and her team made sure I was okay. I have always been so grateful.”
Kendra nodded. “That could have gone so badly.”
“And the guy from our State Department kept saying they were working on it. If we’d left it up to them, I think you’d still be there. Doesn’t Fitzwallace own some swanky BDSM club in London?”
“Actually, it was JJ’s before they married. Once they got together, he moved his black ops and security firm above the club. They are the most amazing couple. It’s like they have this connection you can just feel.”
“You sound like you envy them,” said Tegan. “You do know they’re kind of famous for owning a BDSM club in Chicago as well. I heard a rumor the other day that they’re looking at Carriage House.”
“Damon Knox’s place?” asked Kendra. “I heard he sold a controlling interest in the club to Viktor Romanov.”
“What does a Russian oligarch want with a kink club?” asked Emerson.
“Do you pay any attention to the society or business pages?” Kendra asked, knowing the answer was no.
“The dictionary defines an oligarch as a very rich business leader with a great deal of political influence. Viktor Romanov certainly qualifies,” said Tegan.
“Are you telling me he conducts business at the Carriage House?” asked Emerson, genuinely curious about the man.
“Not just him, but some of the most powerful people in Charleston and the surrounding areas. There are people who come to play at the club from all over the world. It was well-known in certain circles before Knox sold to Romanov, but Viktor has really upped the ante. It’s as much a power brokerage as it is a kink club,” answered Tegan.
“What about Romanov himself?”
“They say he can be a real bastard. He doesn’t date…” added Kendra.
“I read enough of the society pages to know that isn’t true.”
Kendra shook her head. “The pictures? Mostly women who want to be seen with him. If they’re on Romanov’s arm for a photo op, they’re either members of the club or those who partake in the same kind of kinky activity. The rumor is that he contracts any and all sexual encounters—and there are lots of them—via the club’s contracts. He wants to ensure the women he fucks or uses for his other needs know the score.”
“And what’s the score?”
“That he won’t stay with them. That he won’t be exclusive. That any involvement he has is with the lifestyle and attending to his own needs.”
“So just slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am?” Emerson wasn’t sure why that thought bothered her.
“Oh no. The women who’ve been with him even once brag about how he can go at it all night and always leaves his partners sated and exhausted. The stories about him—sex with an audience, using a whip on a naked woman to the point she climaxes, having sex with more than one woman…”
Tegan nodded excitedly. “They say he once conducted a business meeting in the lounge with a naked woman on her knees giving him a blow job. When she was done with him, he offered her services to the other guy.”
“I’ve heard he likes to tie women up when he’s playing with them and then only fucks women doggy style, never face-to-face.”
“And they allow this guy out in public?” Her sisters looked at her as if she was an idiot. “You do remember this is the same societal group that disowned dad because he married mom, right?”
Kendra reached over and laid her hand on Emerson’s arm. “Dad’s family were and are jackasses, but you have to admit, we had a pretty wonderful childhood.”
Emerson smiled. “That we did.” She took one last look in the mirror. “Well, ladies, it’s time Cinderella headed out to the ball. Viktor Romanov can get up to whatever sexual perversions he likes. I’m going to this stupid gala for one reason and one reason only: the financial health of our business.”
“We’re doing fine,” said Kendra, who did the actual books for the company.
