Page 26 of Going Deep (Odyssey #3)

F riday night at the club, Ginger wandered alone.

Michael had gone off to take care of a problem on the third floor, and Anna and Grant had gone off to play.

Grant had invited her to observe, his eyes dancing as a gagged and cuffed Anna had squawked in protest. Ginger hadn’t had the heart to tease her, declining with speed, and Grant had grumbled that she would make a terrible Dom .

Duh.

She grinned as she walked through the bar area. She thought it was a very good thing she wasn’t a Dom —if she were, she certainly wouldn’t be with Michael .

And she liked being with Michael .

She settled into a chair in one of the more out of the way conversation areas with a happy sigh. The couple on the sofa next to her were negotiating and paid her no attention, so she was content to sit back and let her mind wander.

It wandered, as it often did these days, to Michael .

The day at the batting cages seemed to have marked a turning point in their relationship.

Though he hadn’t come clean about the Killingsworth Foundation , he’d been spending more time with her outside of the club.

Bringing pizza to her place, taking her out to a Cubs game.

Tying her to the kitchen island and going down on her until she screamed herself hoarse.

He seemed to be on a mission to make her yell.

She smiled as she recalled the night before, and the evil little slapper he’d pulled out of his bag. He’d tied her to the ottoman, put a blindfold over her eyes, and used it on her breasts, her thighs, her ass, and finally, her pussy.

She’d come so hard she’d nearly passed out. And when he’d rammed his dick into her, she’d come again.

Then he decided she hadn’t yelled loud enough and did it all over again.

Really, the man was obsessed—but she wasn’t complaining.

She glanced idly around, hoping he’d be back soon, and spotted Simon heading her way.

“Hello, Ginger .” He leaned down to kiss her cheek, then sat in the chair opposite her. “ Where’s Michael ?”

She smiled at him. “ Something came up on the third floor he had to handle. He left me to wander.”

“Not letting you wander far though, is he?” At her confused look, he pointed at her. “ You’re wearing his collar.”

“Oh.” Her fingers came up to trace the soft leather. “ Yes .”

“It looks good on you.”

“Thanks.” She dropped her hand and changed the subject. “ Where’s Lola ?”

“She’s talking with Edward downstairs.” His smile was just a little too knowing for her comfort. “ He’s going to be giving her single-tail lessons.”

“Really? That’s cool. Um .” She paused, wondering how to phrase the question that came to mind. “ Is she, ah…”

“No,” he said firmly, amusement sparkling in his golden eyes. “ She will not be practicing on me.”

“Who won’t be doing what to you?” Lola asked as she walked up behind him, and bent to press a kiss to his shoulder.

He dragged her around to sit on his lap. “ You will not be practicing your single-tail skills on me.”

She flung her arm around his neck. “ It would be nice to have someone to work with, but if you’re that insecure…”

He sent her a narrow-eyed stare. “ That will not work on me, Tiny Terror . And if you try it again, I’ll make you sorry. Publicly .”

Lola subsided, a laugh lurking around her mouth as she glanced at Ginger . “ Hey , sweetie. Where’s your man?”

Ginger ignored the warmth that unfurled in her belly at the idea of Michael being hers. “ Tackling a problem upstairs.”

“The joys of ownership,” Lola quipped. “ How’s it going with you two? Good ?”

“Things are…” Amazing . Wonderful . Multi -orgasmic. Scary as fuck. “ Good . Things are good.”

“Well.” Lola’s lips twitched, and Ginger knew her friend could hear every word left unspoken. “ That’s good. Simon , would you go get Ginger and me a drink?”

“You know, you can just say, ‘ I want to talk to my friend alone’,” he pointed out.

She batted her eyes at him. “ I thought I just did.”

He rolled his eyes. “ Hey , why don’t I go get you ladies a drink?”

“Why, what a lovely idea!” Lola exclaimed. “ Isn’t that a lovely idea, Ginger ?”

“Lovely,” Ginger agreed, doing her best not to snicker. “ I would like a ginger ale, please. Thank you, Simon .”

“I’ll have a glass of champagne,” Lola said.

He lifted Lola off his lap and rose, pressing a hard kiss to her lips. “ You’ll have a ginger ale, because I’m beating on you later.”

“Okay,” Lola said agreeably and settled in the chair when he walked away. “ Now that he’s gone, give me the what what.”

“We’re not actually saying that, are we?”

“Sorry, it’s kind of fun.” Lola waggled her fingers in a come-ahead gesture. “ Well ?”

Ginger lowered her voice. “ I gave him my resume, and he ‘passed it on’ to Sean .”

Lola offered her opinion of that in a snort. “ And ?”

“I have an interview on Tuesday with Miriam Glass ,” Ginger went on. “ She’s the executive director.”

“Yes!” Lola cheered, then lowered her voice. “ What’s the job?”

“That’s the thing,” Ginger said. “ I don’t think there is a job.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, there’s no job listing that I’m qualified for on their website, nothing even remotely in my wheelhouse.

They’ve got some hourly stuff, like kitchen and custodial staff, and a couple of part-time activities director positions.

But there’s nothing to do with education, or any administrative positions. ”

“So what are they interviewing you for?”

Ginger lifted her hands, then let them fall. “ I have no idea. Do you think Michael would make up a job for me?”

Lola frowned. “ I don’t know him well enough to answer that. I could ask Simon , but I don’t think we should bring the guys into this.”

“Me neither.”

Lola darted a glance at the bar, where Simon stood waiting for drinks and chatting with Skip . “ What if he did?” she asked. “ Make up a job for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, would you take it?”

“I don’t know. I need a job, and I’m not stupid enough to turn down free money.” Ginger huffed out a breath. “ But on the other hand…”

“Yeah,” Lola agreed.

“At best, it would be weird,” Ginger decided. “ At worst, I’d feel obligated, and I really don’t want that.”

Lola looked grim. “ No , you don’t.”

“But he doesn’t know that I know that he’s the one pulling the strings,” Ginger said, “and to make me feel obligated, I’d have to know, right?”

“That’s true,” Lola allowed.

Ginger rubbed her temples. “ I should’ve told him at the batting cage that I knew about the foundation.”

“Well, that ship has sailed, so we deal with what it,” Lola said philosophically. “ Are you going to go to the interview?”

“Hmm? Oh . Sure , what have I got to lose? I have to find something to wear, though. I left all my professional clothes back home.”

“Back in Ohio ,” Lola corrected her. “ This is home now.”

Ginger worked up a feeble smile. “ I hope so.”

“We’ll go shopping Monday after work,” Lola decided. “ You , me, Anna . Shopping , then dinner. We’ll find you something to wear, you can practice your interview skills, and we’ll help you figure out how you’re going to tell Michael .”

Ginger slumped in her chair. “ Thanks . I need all the help I can get.”

“What do you need help with, darling?” Michael asked, strolling up to stand next to her.

She shot Lola a panicked look as she sat up in her chair. “ Um , an outfit. For my interview on Tuesday . Lola and Anna are going to take me shopping.”

Simon arrived, two tall glasses filled with pale amber liquid and ice. “ Hey , Michael . Ladies , your drinks.”

Ginger took hers with a grateful smile. “ Thanks , Simon .”

Simon handed Lola a glass, then perched on the arm of her chair. “ What are we talking about?”

“Shopping,” Lola said. “ Ginger has an interview on Tuesday , and she needs an outfit.”

“An interview?” Simon’s golden eyes sharpened. “ For a job here in Chicago ?”

Ginger forced herself to sip her ginger ale slowly and nod.

“That’s great,” Simon enthused. “ Is it a teaching job?”

Ginger hesitated, then realized it would be more suspicious if she didn’t answer. “ No , it’s at the Killingsworth Chicago Family Center ?”

“Really?” Simon’s gaze arrowed to Michael , and it took all of Ginger’s willpower not to turn around. After a moment, Simon looked back at her. “ How’d that happen?”

“We ran into a friend of mine who works there,” Michael said smoothly. “ Ginger was interested in the Center , thought it might be a good fit for her, so I passed her resume on. They called on Friday to schedule an interview.”

Simon was looking at Michael again, his golden eyes unreadable. “ Well ,” he finally said. “ That’s great. Good luck, Ginger .”

“Thanks,” she said and managed a smile. “ I’m nervous.”

“You’ll be great,” Michael told her, and she turned to aim her smile at him.

“I hope so.”

“Well,” Simon said after a moment of humming silence, “you ready?”

Lola looked up at him and raised one finely arched eyebrow. “ For what?”

“For me to beat on you,” he said easily and plucked her glass from her hand to set it on the small table beside the chair.

“Oh, you were serious about that?”

“Very serious,” he assured her and drew her to her feet.

“Oh, well, in that case.” Lola slipped out of her shoes and nudged them under the table. “ You’ll have to catch me first.”

Simon just grinned when she took off, running like a gazelle for the stairs leading to the second floor. “ Later ,” he said and took off at a lope after her.

“They’re weird,” Ginger decided and sipped her pop.

“It takes all kinds, darling,” Michael drawled, watching his friends with amusement, then turned to look down at her. “ That’s ginger ale you’re drinking, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” Plucking it from her hand, he set it next to Lola’s , and held out his hand. “ Come .”

Ginger gave an internal sigh. She just couldn’t resist when he did that. She slid her hand into his and let him draw her to her feet. “ Where are we going?”

“Wherever I want to take you, darling.”