AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Liam
At eight a.m. the next morning, the entire staff gathered in what had been the lower level of the main house, and was now the information hub of the club. The expansion from the original building was considerable, with the bar and restaurant extending to either side.
The assembled team of people from Masters and Mistresses to gardeners, maids, and cleaners was impressive with—he estimated—around ninety in employment.
In an hour, the first guests were due to arrive, with a significant number already confirming their booking. Several were booked into the upstairs suites, while a few groups were taking over the larger cabins outside.
Evander had mentioned at dinner the previous evening that he was already breaking ground further back in the forest for more cabins due to the sheer volume of interest; a ballsy move in Liam’s opinion, but Evander was the construction guru with money to burn.
Listening with half an ear to Eli’s opening speech, rules, and welcome to Serenity, Liam wondered if Sierra was awake yet. After a long day of playing in the Nursery, followed by dinner with the trio, she’d attempted to sneak in an hour’s work whenthey got back to the cabin and fallen asleep two minutes after picking up her needle and thread.
Leaving her in bed, tucked up like an adorable bear cub, was the easiest decision he’d made in a long time. A night without nightmares was a rarity, which meant she was awake and working before dawn broke on the horizon.
A habit he really wanted to break before it broke her.
“No sidekick this morning?” Slipping through the throng of people around him, Violet planted herself beside him.
“You tired her out,” he replied under his breath.
“My, my, what a compliment.”
“Hmm. There’ll be enough excitement for her later once the club’s officially open; I left her to sleep off yesterday.” He slanted her a glance. “A suspicious Dom might be wary of someone showing so much interest in his sub, Violet.”
“Lucky for me, you’re not a suspicious man, Liam.”
He really did like this Domme. Self-confident, humorous, compassionate, and an excellent friend for Sierra. Maybe his little minx could learn a lesson or two from the Southern belle. “Lucky indeed. Ready for the carnage to begin?”
Elias clapped his hands together. “All right, ladies and gentlemen, that’s it for the pep talk. I’m sure you’re all raring to get to your posts. Don’t forget, if you have any issues with your posted schedules or any of the systems, both Evander and I are here to help you deal with them. Have fun, enjoy the experience, and give the clientele a memorable time.”
The landscaping team beelined for the door first. A mere half-dozen men and women tasked with keeping up basic appearances through winter before the summer crews turned up in spring.
The kitchen staff, maids, cleaners, and maintenance teams drifted away to their respective quarters. No doubt off toperform last minute checks before their week of leisure time became strictly work.
“It can’t be that bad,” Violet said dismissively.
“Given the number of guests due to arrive this morning, the fact we’re all new to working together as a team, the computer systems are likely to glitch becausethey’renew…” Chuckling, Liam ticked each one off on his fingers, adding more as they came to him. “Sure, everything could run smoothly, but the odds are against it.”
“Are you usually this pessimistic?”
“I’ve been here before, only on a smaller scale. Avalon was already up and running when my boyfriend at the time took me there, but there was still some chaos. The wrong staff to start; Braun was trying to run several businesses, so he had a manager, a bartender, cleaners, and none of them worked together cohesively.” Christ, it had been a mess. Arguments and temper tantrums between grown adults, for fuck’s sake. “When he hired me, I changed all that. I needed a full-time job after I got dumped, so we took a big step and fired all of them. Avalon became my life. A club that size was manageable with one guy in control of all the aspects; Serenity is far beyond that.”
“Should I be worried?”
“That depends. How are you in a crisis?”
A slow smile curved her lips. “Cool, calm, and absolutely fabulous, darling.”
Out of habit, Liam glanced around for anything untoward. The two women acting as receptionists were already behind the front desk, booting up the computers as they chatted away to each other—friendly vibes, he noted with approval. “You’ll be fine. If you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with Eli before he gets caught up and swept away.”
“Of course. Good luck, Liam.”
They might need it, he thought as he strode after Eli. He wasn’t joking when he usedcarnageas a descriptive. All it took was something small like a rush of clients arriving at the same time to check in and the computer system freezing for five minutes. A rude guest upsetting another one.
Well, if anything, it was a new and exciting challenge to tackle.
Falling into step beside Elias as his boss entered into the pristine restaurant, Liam cleared his throat. “Eli, you got a moment?”
“Please don’t tell me we’ve got problems already?”
