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B rynn had been avoiding my presence since I arrived, and even if it was only that, I might’ve let it go. There was something she wasn’t saying which had me concerned. It wasn’t fear like it should be, but actual anger, and I suspected this disappearing act she’d been playing all morning was because of it.

When she’d had every reason to be upset with me before, she hadn’t been so I wanted to know what was going on. Things had been fine the night before when we’d left BT for the night. She’d been headed to her neighbors, and I’d gone to Lotus.

I began to wonder if perhaps her neighbor had told her something about me. I didn’t know the man, so I had no idea what he could’ve said, but it had to be something to make Brynn come in to the office with this chip on her shoulder, and one that was solely aimed at me.

As I reached my office, I stepped aside enough to let Brynn pass, before I not only closed, but locked, the door behind me. She scurried away from me as far as her legs would take her, and I watched as she went to the floor-to-ceiling window on one side of my office.

“Are you enjoying the view?” I asked.

She didn’t turn, but I did see her shrug her shoulders in defiance. While I wanted nothing more than to go to her and shake her, I could feel the palpable waves of energy coming from her, and each one screamed the same damn thing.

Stay the fuck away.

I wasn’t used to this between us, even when I’d been mad. And maybe that was the problem. The only time I had ever really seen her this mad at me, I didn’t actually see her. I’d done something to get her back into my good graces, but whatever it had been hadn’t lasted long because here we were once again.

This is why I keep things impersonal.

It was, and had been, until her. Until Brynn. We were in a vicious circle that kept spinning around and around before starting and ending at the same place. She was a submissive, and I had many of them, or at least I used to. Since touching Brynn for the very first time, I’d wanted no one else but her. That was still true today.

“Is there something you would like to discuss with me?”

Again, she simply shook her head to answer me as if she didn’t quite trust her voice.

“While I might enjoy this silent treatment from time to time, will you at least tell me what I’ve done to deserve it?”

This time, she just tensed. I waited for some reaction, then saw her turn around to face me. “I don’t know to what you’re referring. Is there something you need from me, Mr. Benedict?”

I needed many things, but honesty topped that list.

“Something seems to be bothering you today, and I– ”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied to me.

I narrowed my eyes at her as she slightly squirmed. She might think she was fooling me, but I knew her too well for that. Part of being a Dominant was getting to know a submissive so well that you could anticipate their needs before even they did. Another part was trust, and neither Brynn nor her sister had any reason to trust me. Especially not Blair.

This time, I was the one to feel like squirming. While I maintained my same unaffected demeanor to her, I was anything but calm, cool, or collected. Brynn would never be the wiser to that, though.

Deciding to try to break down this newly erected wall in a different way, I closed the distance between us, then gently grabbed both arms. Brynn uncharacteristically jerked both away, then began to rub at them.

“Did I hurt you in some way?” I asked her, meaning not just a few seconds ago, but for some other infraction altogether.

“No, I just need to take some time off this afternoon,” she told me.

Again, she was lying because I could hear it in her voice. “What for?”

“A personal issue,” is all she said.

While I wanted to get it out of her right here and now, I let out a sigh. “Will you be back?”

“Of course,” she told me, and I felt stupid for even asking the question.

“Fine,” I told her, then added as she hurried to the door. “I hope your attitude improves by the time you return.”

Brynn mumbled something I could’ve sworn was aimed at those parting words, but the sound of the door closing loudly broke me from those thoughts. Something was definitely going on, and she not only didn’t want to be in my presence, but she also didn’t even want my touch.

I returned to my desk, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Lunch came and went, and I stayed in my office the entire time. I had work to distract me, or at least it usually would. It didn’t seem to have the same effect on me today, though.

Finally, I knew what I needed to do. It was time to bring Brynn back to Lotus. A scene with her would not only reiterate my commitment to her, but it would be a safe place for her to confide in me.

When I thought about it, her keeping secrets from me wasn’t that new of a concept. She’d kept the biggest one ever from me, but me getting mad at her would be like the pot calling the kettle black. She only kept Blair’s relationship with her a secret from me, while I had ended the woman’s life keeping a future from her instead.

Brynn was way too close to the situation for my liking, but I liked her. If I was being honest, I might even love her. Just the thought of that four letter word made my mouth fill with bile. I neither deserved that type of emotion from anyone, nor did I need it from anyone either. Still, the very idea of things ending this way between Brynn and me was even far less palatable to me right now.

I had to do something, and knowing what I had to do, I picked up my cell phone, then scrolled through my general section of contacts for a specific one. When I found the lingerie store where I’ve always ordered pieces for the submissives over the years, I hit the call button.

“La Prima, this is Lisa. Will you please hold?”

“Yes,” I said, then began to wonder if this was really the best idea. I could just as easily go to her house tonight to sort things out. I then remembered her beast of a dog, and I quickly scratched that idea altogether. If she gave off even a quarter of the same energy around it, he’d tear me apart limb by limb.

“Thank you for holding. What can I do for you?”

I cleared my throat. “It’s Adrian Benedict, and I need to have a pre-selected piece delivered.”

“I can certainly help you with that, Mr. Benedict. Let me go into the back and see which selection you would like to have delivered.”

There was a slight rustle as she moved from what I assumed was the front of the store to the back. While that boutique didn’t often deliver, I was a VIP client and had certain perks that other customers did not. My name and checkbook paved the way for several different things and places in this city, and this happened to be one of them.

“Is there a particular color you had in mind. I see several selections in black, blue, – ”

“I would like to have the red set packaged up,” I told her to save her the trouble of having to go through all of them. If anything, the selection definitely fit because something had Brynn seeing red, and I would find out soon enough what that was.

“Consider it done. Where and to whom would you like this to be delivered?”

“Brynn Davis, and have it sent here to Benedict Technologies.”

“It should be there within the hour. Will there be anything else today?”

“That will be all, Lisa. Please put that on my account with a twenty five percent gratuity,” I told her before disconnecting the call.

Brynn hadn’t returned and I now realized it might’ve been better to have just followed her to wherever she’d gone, but I hadn’t because I knew she had nowhere to go. She just didn’t want to be near me. If I had to guess, she’d gone home for lunch, and was likely sitting there at her place stewing over what I would soon drag out of her.

When the courier arrived, Brynn had not yet returned. The package was set on her desk, and after signing for it, I stared at it for several long minutes. Finally, I returned to my office, then sent a text message to Brynn.

I’m going to be in a meeting for the remainder of the afternoon. I left something on your desk that needs your attention. Please have it handled when you return to the office.

She didn’t respond back to me, but I’d gotten her read receipt, so I knew she had gotten it. After, I pulled out a sticky pad, then quickly scribbled a short message to her.

Tonight. 8:17. Be on time. You know the rules.

With that, I gathered my things, then walked back to her desk. I placed the bow wrapped box onto her chair, then slapped the message on top of the box. Brynn was likely on her way back to the office now, so I made a hasty retreat back to my desk so I would be out of her space by the time she returned. Tonight, I’d have her at my mercy at Lotus, and I would get everything from her that I needed.

Unfortunately, patience is not my virtue.