“Hey, Harper,” she says, glancing up from another laptop as I walk in. She then spies the computer in my hand. “Uh-oh. What’s wrong with it?”
I smile. “Nothing major. It’s asking for a firmware update.”
She laughs. “Is that all?”
“Sorry. I figured you’d rather do it than have me try.”
She moves the other laptop to the side, where I can see a virus scanner in progress, then grabs the loose end of a power cable and plugs it into my machine.
“Standard questions,” she says, opening the laptop. “Have you backed up your data? Any other problems?”
“Everything I’ve done so far has been stored in the cloud. No other problems.”
She gives me a curt nod. “Hang out for a few minutes, then. It shouldn’t take long.”
“Mind if I ask some questions while it’s doing its thing?”
“Sure, just let me get it started.”
A couple of minutes later, the computer is downloading the firmware patch, and Sam turns to me. “Okay, what’s up?”
I glance at the floor. “I wanted to talk to you…about Axel.”
“Oh?”
I start fidgeting, trying to figure out how to phrase my question. “I’ve heard…rumors…about his personal life.”
She leans forward, a smirk on her face. “I think I can guess which ones you’re talking about. I take it you want to know if they’re true or not.”
I nod. “We’ve been working together a lot, and…”
She laughs. “No need to explain it. When somebody is as indiscreet about their personal life as he is, word gets around.”
“So it’s true?”
She nods. “There was a time when he wasn’t so good about closing his office door at the end of the day, and I would be in the middle of something and staying late. For a while, after Maddox and Madison got together, he would regularly tell both Maddox and Declan all about what he was getting up to at that club.” She pauses and winks. “I didn’t always bother to get up to close my door, either.”
I swallow. “So…it’s true…what happens there?”
She reclined back in her chair. “Let’s just say that Axel is a man who knows what he likes, and he gets it.”
I’m not exactly sure if I’m intrigued or intimidated. Perhaps a bit of both.
Sam takes my silence as an indicator for her to continue. “It’s mostly bondage, or at least it was when he talked about it more. Sometimes whips. He’s probably branched out somewhat since I last overheard him talk about it, though. From what I gathered, he was still relatively new to the lifestyle back then.”
“And these women? They just let him do whatever he wants once they’re tied up?”
Sam chuckles. “Sort of. I take it you’ve not really looked into this kind of stuff?”
I shake my head.
She smiles. “I have a few friends who practice at home. Let’s just say there’s an important aspect of this kind of…play.”
“What’s that?”
“Three words—safe, sane, and consensual.”
I blink in confusion. “Safe, sane, and consensual?”
She nods. “It means just what it sounds like. Don’t do anything dangerous or crazy, and always get consent.”
“But if they’re tied up?”
Sam shakes her head. “If somebody is bound, it’s because they allow it. And if a dominant violates their boundaries, especially at a club, then the dominant quickly finds themselves without a partner. Dominants understand that consent can be revoked at any time. Control is given, but only because there’s trust.”
“But what about outside the club?”
Sam shrugs. “What about it? How far the dynamic extends is up to the individual parties. Some practice full-time, others for casual fun.”
“You mean the women don’t always give over full control?”
Sam laughs. “Only if they want to. The submissive actually has more control over the scene than the dominant, because, without that willingness to submit, there’s nobody to do what the dom says. Does that make sense?”
I think for a moment, then nod. “Yeah. It does. You’re pretty knowledgeable about this stuff.”
Sam smiles. “Like I said, I’ve got friends who practice. Besides, you can’t work IT and tech support for long before eventually running into somebody’s porn stash. It helps to understand the difference between reality, fantasy, and stuff that you need to contact law enforcement over.”
“You have to contact law enforcement over porn?”
She shakes her head. “I haven’t, but it happens. It’s best to be prepared.”
“I think I understand.”
She seems about to move on when my laptop beeps. She turns to it and smiles. “Just in time. Looks like it’s all updated.”
I smile. “Thanks, Sam.”
“No prob. A firmware update is a nice change of pace from dealing with viruses and malware.”
“I meant for the chat, too.”
She shrugs. “It’s not often I get to participate in office gossip, being back here and all. Besides, it seemed to be bothering you. Hopefully, you’re not as worried about working around him now. Axel really is a decent man and a good boss, he’s just got a couple kinks in his personal life.”
“Still, thanks.”
“Of course.”
I’d thought that confirmation about Axel’s personal preferences would have cemented my feelings about him. Instead, I find that I’m even more conflicted.
In our next meeting, I look across to Axel with a new perspective.
“After talking with a few people from the creative teams, I think we can reduce costs for both us and potential clients if we offer some template packages rather than tailor for each new client.”
Axel nods. “What are you thinking of offering?”
“Everything from a rack-card pack for the specialty shops to put in hotels to a full-service pack that includes direct mail, internet, radio, and television campaigns.”
“What are the chances of selling a full-service pack, in your opinion?”
I chew on my lip. “I’d guess under ten percent. If we do get one, I’d expect it to be from an anchor store with a large reach, but not enough to have a dedicated in-house advertising team.”
“Agreed. We’ll offer it, but not expect to sell one. It doesn’t go over the price-match, does it?”
“It’s just at the upper limit.”
“Good. Let’s go over your packages and a la carte options.”
I shuffle through my folder to pull out my package list when there’s a knock on the conference room door.
Both Axel and I turn to see the woman whose desk is next to mine pop her head in. “Harper?”
“Yeah?”
“Your cell phone has been blowing up with calls and text messages for the past ten minutes or so. Somebody is really trying to get a hold of you.”
My stomach drops as I stagger to my feet and to the door. “Thank you,” I manage to get out.
“Harper?” Axel asks behind me.