CHAPTER 3

* Ford Louis Hendrix *

There was a loud rap before my office door opened. Kenneth entered without waiting for permission, and he was the only one allowed to do so.

“Just get back?” I ask as I briefly glance up at him and then back down to the quarterly tax report on my desk.

“Few hours ago,” he says as he drops down into one of the chairs opposite my desk and sighs with satisfaction.

“Let me guess,” I say dryly without even looking up at him. “You stopped off in one of the rooms before you came in here.”

“Debauch Room,” he says, and I can hear the grin in his voice without even looking up. “Some dude in there whacked off while I banged his wife from behind.”

Chuckling, I pushed the tax report away and leaned back in my chair to look at my closest friend

and my only trust. I met Kenneth Laurier when I was a young 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps. I

was just in college, newer to official candidate school, and on my first deployment to Afghanistan.

My unit was paired with a unit from the Royal Marine Commandos, led by Kenneth. We bond as

we spend months flushing the Taliban from small villages, a tedious and dangerous job that is

mentally stressful.

I admired Kenneth, and he was with me, and he was the first person I asked to come with me as a

civilian contractor. I knew I wanted to leave the military after I was shot, not because I was scared

but because I was a businessman. I thought if I was going to do dangerous shit in serving my

country and its allies, I would be well paid for it.

So when my enlistment ended, I never looked back. That was ten long, profitable years ago, but

we’ve worked seamlessly ever since. I will sell The Hendrix Group to him when I am fully retired.

As it stands now, I’m pretty far from it. Kenneth has been running it all for the past year and a half

as I devote my attention to The Sinful Night Club.

“So getting your rocks off was more important than reporting the final details of your operation to me?” I ask him with a straight face.

Kenneth knows me well. His grin gets bigger. “I think you’ve gone soft, dude. You’ve been living in fancy suits and sitting in a comfortable chair for too long. Meanwhile, I’ve been freezing my ass off in the Pakistan mountains gathering intelligence for our country, eating freeze-dried food, and whacking off in my sleeping bag.

So yeah… it was more important I visit The Debauch Room before coming here.”

I smirk at Kenneth because I agree with him. When I go out on missions, the first thing I want to do is fuck. In my single days, that was nameless, one-night stands. Then just Molly, who I met three years after I started The Hendrix Group, I wanted to flirt with. I am twenty -eight and ready to settle down. We had only dated six months before I proposed, but I had no doubt.

He accepted, and I thought things were perfect. Less than ten months later — and only two weeks before our wedding — I left the mission a few days earlier to surprise her, and it was really surprising when I caught up with her in our bed with Jaden.

Infidelity hurts. I could go a million different ways where that betrayal changed me. But when it comes down to it, it’s more than the fact that he cheated on me. He and Jaden took away something I love most in the world, and this is why I am so mad at them.

Nowadays, I fuck one-night stands and frankly, I don't find it to be unsatisfying at all. No annoying marriage, no expensive marriage to hold, and the knowledge that my heart will remain safe.

“Everything go according to plan?” I ask Kenneth, pushing my thoughts away from the bitter taste that floods my mouth when I think of Molly and Jaden.

“Absolutely no problems,” he responds to me.

There was a time when I was forced to give him a play by play mission, but these days, I find out I

don’t care. It’s a combination of natural trust in Kenneth and burning in The Hendrix Group. Now

that I run The Sinful Night Club Los Angeles, I find myself fully fulfilled.

I have more money than I know what to do, and I have off-the-hook sex whenever I want. Tell me

how can I have a better job?

I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity my former marine buddy, Robert Collymore, presented

me when he introduced me to his boss, Adamaris Stoll. Robert knew I wanted to retire from The

Hendrix group and I had little money to invest in a new business opportunity.

Robert also knows that Adamaris is looking for a franchise of The Sinful Night Club in Zina. He

contacted us and after a few meetings as well as checking in with each other, we formed a

partnership to open The Sinful Night Club Los Angeles.

Although clubs are very different in setup and services offered, they are still clubs that allow people

to indulge their sexual fantasies. Only here in Los Angeles… we do it with a bit of showmanship

and pizazz.

“We’ve been asked to bid on a contract by the French government for an operation they would like

us to assist the French Foreign Legion with,” I tell Kenneth. “I sent the information to you through our encrypted server. Take a look at it and rough me up a proposal.”

“Sure thing, boss,” he replies confidently as he settles deeper in his chair, propping an ankle on top

of the opposite knee. “Anything else before I head home and do about five loads of laundry?”

I hesitate for only a moment about whether to bring this up, but I decide it’s good if someone else

knows about it. “Jaden Beckett reared his ugly face again.”

Kenneth didn't say a word, but his eyebrows rose in curiosity and astonishment. He was waiting for

me to move on.

“Actually, his sister showed up at the club yesterday. She asked to collect on the favor I owe Jaden

for saving my life.”

“What was the favor?” Kenneth asks.

“She needed money. Got in trouble with a loan shark to the tune of twenty-five thousand, and he

roughed her up a little bit. Jaden sent her to collect the favor.”

“The favor is for you to give her twenty-five?” he asks for clarification.

Shaking my head, I lean back in my seat. I distractedly pick at the leather armrests before admitting

to him, “It was a loan she wanted with special repayment options. She’s broke and doesn’t have the

ability to repay it, at least not in a timely manner.”

“And…?” Kenneth drawls out.

“So I made a deal with her. Told her I’d give her the money in exchange for working at The Sinful

Night Club for thirty days.”

Kenneth lets out a bark of laughter and then throws his head back to continue laughing even harder.

When he finally looks back at me, he says, “Oh man, let me guess… she’s a fucking knockout?”

I give him a grin and nod. “She’s gorgeous. Doesn’t look anything like her brother, thank fuck.”

“What are you going to do—just have her do the nasty to you for the next thirty days? Because,

dude, you don’t need that as a repayment option. You got all the pussy you need here in this club.”

My smile morphs, and I know there’s a sparkle of malice in my eyes as I say, “I have something a

little more involved for Miss Beckett.”

Now I really have Kenneth’s attention as he leans forward in his chair, head tilted with curiosity.

“What are you going to do?”

Kenneth was well aware of Jaden and me's bad history. While Kenneth didn’t have the personal hurt

I did, he was also hurt because of being together on a team and the nature of the missions we do, the

trust and honesty are all there. While Kenneth feels to me the way any best friend feels, he is more

pissed off at breaking honesty.

He didn’t bother me to beat the shit on Jaden before he was fired from The Hendrix Group. Kenneth

also knew that I owed Jaden for saving my life and the fact that I feared the day I would have to pay

it off. He really wouldn’t be surprised that I wouldn’t pay my debt in an aboveboard way.

“While I do intend to have my fun with her over the next thirty days as part of the favor he owes

me, I’m going to provide a little humiliation to Jaden by showing him the dirty things I’m going to

do to his sister.”

Kenneth stared at me in astonishment, and I could see the wheels spinning in his brain. He’s a guy

with a bigger heart than me, so I know it worries him. He won’t keep quiet with me, though. He

never was.

“She’s an innocent pawn in this, brother,” Kenneth said softly. “You sure your conscience can

handle that?”

“I’m not going to do anything to her that she doesn’t want,” I assure Kenneth. “I’m just going to

share the details of how my favor was repaid to Jaden. I’m thinking some photos and video would

do nicely.”

Kenneth was shaken, and I could clearly see in his face that he didn’t like this idea. Fortunately I

didn't need his permission to do this. It’s a better thing that my conscience isn’t as steadfast as his,

because I always knew if there was any more way to hurt Jaden than the kick I gave him, I would

accept. After all he destroyed, I will never miss this opportunity.

“Listen, Ford,” Kenneth says, eyes intent. “This is not a good idea. You beat the shit out of Jaden,

you kicked your cheating fiancée to the curb, and you went on to build a multimillion dollar empire.

You have a good life now, dude. You need to let it go.”

“You know this has nothing to do with Molly and Jaden fucking around behind my back.” My voice

is hard as steel. “I was satisfied with the beating he got, and I’m thinking Molly wasn’t my true soul

mate because I don’t miss her a bit. You, more than anyone, know why I want further revenge on

Jaden.”

Kenneth's face softened and his eyes softened in remorse. He knew I was right. In fact, he was the

only one who knew what was really driving me, and I could tell by the way he looked at me that he

wouldn’t support me, but he also ended up trying to stop me from doing so.

“What are you going to do with her?” Kenneth asks curiously.

My lips tip upward into a wicked smile. “She works exclusively for me the next thirty days, so I’m

going to do with her whatever I want. If I want her to scrub my bathroom floor, she’ll do it. If I

want her to suck my dick each night when she comes on duty, she’ll do it. For thirty days, she’s

mine to do with what I want.”

“Never seen you focus on one woman for that amount of time,” Kenneth observes.

I shrug. “Didn’t say I was going to focus on her exclusively during the thirty days. Maybe I’ll just

insist she watch me with another woman.”

Kenneth rolled his eyes, but he knew I wouldn't hesitate to do so. The amazing thing about owning

this club is I can indulge my wildest and kinkiest fantasies.

“You said she’s gorgeous?” Kenneth asks with pure curiosity and no censure. “What’s she look

like?”

A faint knock on my door sends me adrenaline. When I looked at my watch, I saw that it was seven

o'clock in the evening.

With a nod of my head toward the door, I tell him “You’re fixing to find out.”

“Come in,” I call out in a deep voice.

Kenneth turned to his chair and watched the door open slowly and Thalia stood there with slightly

glaring eyes. Nervously she licked his lip, eyes back and forth between Kenneth and me.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting,” she says quickly. “I can come back later.”

She starts to turn away from the door, but in just one word, I insist on my command to her.

“Stop.”

His body was stiff and after a while, he slowly faced me. I waved him into my office as Kenneth

stood up in his chair.

“Thalia,” I say as a means of introduction. “This is my closest friend, Kenneth Laurier. He helps run

my other business, The Hendrix Group.”

Kenneth held out a hand to him and he temporarily shook it, something whispered in his breath.

Looking over his shoulder at me, Kenneth gives me a small shakes of his head that I should so not

be messing with this woman.

I ignore him. “Are you ready to get started?”

Thalia swallows hard, and there is no mistaking the uncertainty in her eyes. Still, she holds her back

straight and keeps her chin lifted when she says with an unconvincing smile, “Sure am.”

I’m glad his voice is loud because I don’t feel like interacting with a gentle little lamb.

“I’m going to head out,” Kenneth says. “I might come back later but if not, I’ll catch you

tomorrow.”

I raised my chin in agreement before turning my attention back to Thalia, I heard the door close

behind Kenneth.

I stared at Thalia intently. He was wearing nothing but a faded jeans and a red shirt that flowed over

the top but hugged her waist tighter. Her hair was a wild mass of waves of varying lengths pouring

down her back, with streaks of different colors in her hair. Various shades of brown to golden

blonde, giving a dark honey color.

Her makeup is very light tonight. In fact, I’m not sure she’s wearing much other than mascara. I'm

smart enough to know that means he doesn't want to pay attention to himself. I told him I would

give him a uniform when he arrived. When he asked me last night what uniform he would wear, I

just told him it depended on the job I was asking him to do.

If she barks, she will wear a black miniskirt and black shirt. If the spice tray was to be made, she

would have nothing but a belt to cover her pussy and the straps from the tray to cover her breasts.

And if I kneel him in front of me, he is naked. I hadn’t yet decided what I was going to do with him,

but I knew I needed to calm him down. I will not take him without appetite. I would rather he beg.

“Have a seat, Thalia,” I tell her as I point to one of the chairs. “I’ve had an employment contract

drafted up, along with documentation of the money I’m going to give you in exchange.”

“Okay,” she says softly. When she takes her seat, I reach into a lateral file drawer to pull out the

paper.

Handing it across to her, I say, “It’s very simple. But then again, our deal is quite simple.”

Thalia took the single page from me and started reading it. I'm not lying ... it's very simple. I know

this because I drafted it. It won’t stand in court, but all I have to do is stand in Thalia’s mind.

He takes his time, eyes moving with words. It actually says that I agreed to give him twenty -five

thousand, and ten thousand of that has already been paid. In return, he agreed to work for me at The

Sinful night Club for thirty days. It could be any of the jobs available, which he has already seen

and which he already knows.

That’s why I gave him a tour last night, because I wanted to make sure he knew everything he was

getting into. And since Thalia specifically mentioned having sex with members as a no-go, I made

sure to put that there as well. I personally don’t care if he has sex with other members when he’s not

on duty, but he’ll be surprised when he finds out I’m not a member of this club and this agreement

doesn’t apply to me.

It’s not like I’m going to force him into anything because I don’t need to. I can be very persuasive

and Thalia will end up wanting what I offer. Obviously last night on the tour. I saw the gentle way

he moved on his feet and the change in his breathing patterns. She turned on what she saw, and I

intend to introduce her to my world very soon. This contract is nothing but a way to make sure she

doesn’t use the “no sex with members rule” as an excuse if she’s nervous.

When he finished reading the contract, he placed it on my desk and moved to his chair. Without a word, I handed him a pen. He signed it, not asking a single question or showing skepticism. I wonder if it’s because he believes I’m just giving him a legitimate job in exchange for a loan or if he’s so relieved to lose the loan shark to him, he really doesn’t care what he has to do over the next thirty day.

I have to say, I hope this is the latter. Having Thalia Beckett at my beck and call without any hesitation from her would make it a very pleasant experience indeed.