"Necessary," he told her and she nodded. Inter office politics were something she didn't want to participate in, and she was sure the gossip network would go into overdrive about this. They'd have to be calm, collected, and cool at work, distant even.
"Are you sure you want to date someone like me?" she asked. She wasn't used to this. Gorgeous men didn't just pursue her. It was the average or nerdy guys who did, and usually lost interest sometime after sex and the third date. But Glenn hadn't even gotten a first date before they'd gone and had sex. That was...worrisome. How could she keep his interest.
"Someone like you?" he asked, arching a brow. He sipped his coffee slowly, and she waited him out, trying to not squirm, trying to pretend she wasn't completely in knots over it all.
"Overweight," she finally said, trying to remain casual. "Chunky, Zaftig, plus sized, whatever you want to call it. You know I'm so not in the normal range of BMI and nobody would call me slender."
"So?" he asked between sips of coffee. His expression was impossible to read.
"What would a guy like you want with me? Movie star handsome," she said, lifting one finger. "A successful doctor." A second finger. "Owner in a very popular business that caters to a specific sort of person." A third finger went up. "Rich." Finger number four. Was she going to have enough fingers to finish this?
"You forgot kind to animals and helping elderly women cross the street." He paused, putting his cup down and taking the hand with all the upraised fingers into his. "I know what I want, and that is someone I've worked beside for years now, someone I saw grow from a girl just out of nursing school to a fantastic nurse, who also functions as a receptionist, bookkeeper, billing specialist, transcriptionist, and, in that last major storm we had, the one who made a Herculean effort to get the office open to call and reschedule all the appointments, even though that was supposed to be Cathy's job."
"I know." That wasn't the point. She was aware she did a good job, but that was only a part of things.
"Do you really think I'm so shallow as to consider just the skin or weight, Melissa?"
"I … "
She kind of did, to her everlasting embarrassment. "Melissa, you're beautiful because of who you are. I happen to love your body and think you're a beautiful woman, both inside and out. I hope you don't have any problem with that?" he asked her, brushing her dark hair back, his fingertip lingering at her earlobe. "Whatever you've been through in your life, I think you deserve good things, and I'm a good thing. And I'm not going anywhere, do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now let's get back to the business of breakfast. Everything else will work out, Melissa. I promise."
Melissa couldn't quite believe her life. Even though they'd only been dating for a month now, Glenn had changed her life. She'd done some scenes with him, both at his home and at the club, gently dipping her toes into the BDSM waters. He'd recommended they do this slowly, that the evaluate what her needs were as well as his. BDSM wasn't one kink fits all. That had become his mantra and something she, too, lived by. If it wasn't fun, they didn't do it again, but if it was fun, they'd explore a kink at all different angles.
She found she loved to be blindfolded, but hated any other sort of sensory deprivation. He'd found that her hands bound by cloth were much more of a turn on than when she was cuffed. He liked her trimmed close and not shaved, and she liked him manscaped. She loved giving him blowjobs when in a scene and he didn't like rimming.
It was an exploration that when above and beyond who they were to each other, or even their bond in or out of the office. Some days, it was just them, the kink fading deep into the background, and some days, she came into his house itchy and ready to be taken hard, in any way her Dom saw fit.
Melissa pressed the inside of her wrist, where a bruise was just healing up. The little throb when she pressed inward reminded her of how much her Dom cherished her, and that was something to be celebrated.
"What's new, Chicken?" Cathy asked one afternoon when Glenn was off and it was just the two of them. They'd lost an office manager to an interstate move and the billing person, a nerdy college guy named Frank, wouldn't be in until the weekend.
"Not much," Melissa replied. "What about with you?"
"I'm seeing this guy. Ray, he plays rugby on the weekends. He's English. You know how that is."
Did she? How could she? Melissa had never dated anyone English.
"How is it?" she asked.
"Oh, he's a little aggressive, a little too caveman for me. Every guy seems to think he needs to prove something because of the book and movie thing. You know the one I mean?"
Melissa nodded. So, this wasn't a British thing, was it? Then how could Melissa know? She yanked her sleeve down, covering her wrist, and Cathy's eyes knowingly tracked her movements. Shit. This wasn't good at all.
"Who is he?" Cathy asked, looking concerned, motherly almost.
"Who?"
"The man who hurts you."
"I'm not hurt. We just like it a little rough sometimes." What else could she say? "It is totally consensual."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive." Melissa bit her lip. "It's a guy I've been seeing. My friends and I ran into him at a club. He works downtown."
"And yet he never picks you up or visits you here."
"He's busy," Melissa replied, knowing how lame that sounded. "I promise, he's okay. And hey, if it all works out, I'll bring him to the Christmas party."
"I'd like that," Cathy replied.
"So what is it about Ray," Melissa pressed. "Do you not like what he does, or is he going too far, or what exactly."
"He's just a little too rough. He thinks I like it harder than I do." She gave Melissa a thin smile, and Melissa realized she'd have to proceed with caution. "I'm not being hurt, I'm just uncomfortable after sex because he goes so hard and fast."
"You should tell him."
"Maybe I will." Cathy pulled in a deep breath and Melissa sensed that the conversation was done for now. "You know, I think Doctor Glenn is seeing someone pretty seriously."
"You do?" Melissa asked, watching her friend's face for any confirmation that she knew who he was seeing. "Why do you say that?"
"He looks happy," Cathy explained, motioning toward the back of the building, where Glenn's office was. "And he's humming. I think he's seeing someone and that person, whoever she is, is a pretty lucky lady. A doctor and a gorgeous one to boot. You know, in the movies and on TV there are always guys like McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy, and not Doctor Neil with his thinning hair and very unfortunate nose."
"Doctor Neil is a dentist."
"Close cousin to a doctor," Cathy said with a shrug and a laugh. "Look at this, we're all seeing people. It's like an office first, isn't it?"
"Frank's seeing someone?" Melissa asked.
"A little nerdy girl, just like him. See, there's someone for everybody. What do you think Doc's lady is like. And where did he meet her. Think maybe she's one of our patients?" Cathy drummed her fingernails on the desk, and Melissa had the sense that if she could, she'd start running down the list of potential patient booty calls for Glenn. Which was not good. At all.
"That would be unethical, and Doctor Glenn is anything but." God, did Melissa have to sound so uppity. She would have rolled her eyes at herself, but Cathy was doing the same.
"Some day, Doc is going to come off the pedestal you have him on," Cathy said gently. "I hope it isn't a hard or a painful fall from grace."
"Me too."
Glenn looked at the text message, and couldn't stop the uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. It was from Melissa and had come in two hours after he'd arrived home after a visit to his family. He'd wanted to bring her along, but they couldn't let the office be understaffed.
He'd have to make some arrangements soon, because he and Melissa were here to stay, and he had no intention of changing that. She was a hell of a woman, tolerant of his moods, gentle with him when she needed to be and firm when she needed to be. They'd found a happy balance of leaving their lifestyle at the club, while being equals on their other off work hours. It was the best way for them to have a healthy relationship. Glenn wanted to take it to the next level, to bring her into the family scene, to see if she could manage to get along with his three kid brothers and their wives, to see how she treated his parents.
He'd met her mother several times, but Melissa didn't like exposing him to that part of her life. And that was just the word she'd used. Exposed. As if he hadn't been round heavy drinkers before. Her mother drank more than she did anything, including cleaning or being involved in her daughter's life, and Glenn wanted more for Melissa. He wanted her to move in with him. He wanted them to take it to the next level.