Quinn
After dinner, Alex and I walked around downtown, enjoying each other's company. It was nice to have a small moment of peace with someone. I spent my entire teenage and young adult life always looking over one shoulder and having to be on the run. For once, I didn't have to focus on all the things I was worried about.
Being with Alex relaxed me and I was pretty sure he knew it because he steered away from anything club related. He continuously asked me questions to the point where we might as well have been playing twenty questions.
When we passed a man playing the saxophone, Alex's eyes lit up and he held out his hand, "Dance with me?"
I obliged and let him pull me into his chest. The saxophonist started playing an upbeat jazz piece and Alex and I danced around to it. We were laughing the entire time and Alex tipped the man when he finished.
"You like jazz music?" I asked him and his grin became impossibly large.
"Yes, very much so. I was in jazz band in high school and played in a band in college. I can play the piano, the sax, and the ukulele,"
"Okay, the piano and the saxophone I can understand, but where does the ukulele fit in?"
"Tried to impress this guy once. Asked him to prom while serenading him. He said no, but it was fun anyway. Ironically, I can't play the guitar,"
"That's cool that you can play instruments. The most exciting talent I have is growing my hair really fast. It's one of the reasons I keep my hair long. No point wasting money cutting it if it's gonna grow back in like a month,"
"Makes sense," Alex checked his watch, "It's late. We should get back to the restaurant and head home,"
"Oh, okay. Sure,"
"It's not that I don't want to spend time with you. I have an early appointment in the morning and if I am not on time, the client can get a little antsy,"
"Yeah, no. Of course, I understand. Maybe we can do this again,"
Alex nodded, "I was hoping you'd say that. Come on, if we pass the saxophone guy, maybe he'll play another song," Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me along. I couldn't help but laugh at his excitement.
When we arrived back at the restaurant, his truck and my motorcycle were the only two vehicles in the parking lot. Alex unlocked his truck and handed me my helmet.
"I did have fun with you tonight, Quinn. Thank you for accompanying me," he took a step forward and moved a piece of hair away from my face, "I can't wait until next time," his hand rested on my cheek and he took a deep breath before stepping away.
"Be careful and please text me to let me know you got home safely, okay?"
"Alex, wait," I wrapped my hands around his neck and brought him into a quick kiss. I barely had time to pull away before Alex was kissing me back fervently, pulling me close to him. When he pulled away, I stood there for a second, feeling the remnants of the pressure from his lips. It felt weird and I wasn't sure if it was a good weird.
"I . . . Um,"
Alex laughed softly, "Yeah. Did it feel . . . I don't know, strange to you too?"
"For sure. It was a nice kiss, but I don't know," we both stood in awkward silence, "So, now what?"
"I'm good with being friends and going on dinner adventures if you are," Alex said, taking a step back and holding out his hand. I took it and nodded. Friends it was.
We said quick byes and before he drove away, he rolled down his window.
"Hey, Quinn. Call Ken and tell him you're good to work. It'll be nice to see you instead of other bartenders,"
I gave him a small wave, but when I got home, I did call Ken and told him I was feeling better and to put me on the schedule for tomorrow. I was going to do what I always did best. Push forward and say fuck it until I was good to go again.
🖤
Both Annie and Zade greeted me with a bear hug and I'm pretty sure Zade cracked my back when he picked me up and hugged me. They both started talking in rapid-fire about the gossip I had missed and what's been going on. We passed Owen, who barely had time to wave at me before I was ushered into the changing room. Charlie was standing by his locker with a scowl on his face. We ignored him and went to our own lockers.
"So, the rumor is you've been hooking up with Master Alex? When were you gonna tell us?" Zade prompted, nudging me. I rolled my eyes and peeled off my outside shirt before slipping on one of the club shirts.
"We're not hooking up. We went into a play room a couple of times and we may or may not have had a date last night,"
Annie's jaw dropped, "And you didn't text us the details?"
"He was probably too tired from all the sex they had,"
"Actually, we went to dinner, walked around the city, and then said goodnight,"
Zade hit his head on his locker, "Boring. I can't spread that gossip around. That is not exciting,"
I tugged on my boots, "Would it help if I said we kissed?" Zade's face lit up again, "But it didn't end well. We both agreed that it felt weird and we've decided to be friends,"
Both Annie and Zade's facial expressions deadpanned, "You have no sense of gossip," Zade muttered as I made my way to the door.
"Sorry, not sorry!"
I met up with Ken at the bar and he told me I was behind the bar since I had just come back from being sick. While, I hadn't actually been sick, I wasn't going to complain or say otherwise. I asked him who would be joining me and he said Charlie and Ryan. I wanted to protest but he shrugged.
"Sorry, Quinn. It was too late to fix the schedule. Just be careful of your stuff, stay out of his way, and you know to find me or Daniel if anything happens,"
I sighed as Ken walked away. I was going to keep my money on me at all times. I was going to stay on my side of the bar and I was most definitely going to avoid Charlie at all costs.
"Hey, stranger. Feeling better, I take it?" Ryan's arm rested on my shoulder and he nudged me with his hip.
"For the most part. Not looking forward to working tonight though if you know what I mean," I nodded my head slightly in Charlie's direction and Ryan nodded.
"Well, fortunately, I am in the middle of the bar, so I can act as a barrier between you two. Speaking of work, it looks like someone's waiting for a drink,"
I made my way over to the Dom in question, "Hello, Master George. What can I get you?"
Master George grimaced and let out a nervous laugh, "Uh, actually. Would you mind if Ryan served me?"
"I—I guess not. Um, did I do something? Was there a problem last time I served you a drink?"
"Well, not really. It's just that Charlie told some of us that you used to live on the streets and what you did and well—"
"He said what?"
"It's nothing personal, Quinn. It's just that . . ."
I didn't even let him finish. I threw my notepad down, marched over to Charlie and pushed him. When he turned towards me, I grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him against the wall.
"How. Fucking. Dare you. I have put up with your bullshit for the last few weeks, but this is the last damn straw! I've dealt with your fucking pettiness. I've dealt with the rumors. I've dealt with you blaming shit on me, but how fucking dare you spill information that you don't know shit about. Are you fucking proud of yourself?"
Charlie's mouth opened and closed rapidly as I pushed him further into the wall. Zade and Ryan pulled me back quickly before I could throw a punch.
Master Knight was by Charlie's side instantly, making sure he was okay. Charlie assured him he wasn't hurt, just a little shaken up.
Good. He deserved to feel shaken up.
Master Knight turned towards me, looking livid, "Go cool off in the changing room. I will deal with you soon,"
Zade and Ryan followed me, keeping a safe distance away as I made my way to the changing room. I hit the wall, feeling overwhelmingly angry.
"Fuck!" I clutched my hand as pain ricocheted through it. I exhaled sharply and leaned against the wall. Zade stepped towards me hesitantly and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.
"What happened, Quinn?"
"He told some of the Doms that I'm from the streets and that I used to, you know. It's not like I'm ashamed of it, but he had no right to tell anyone that. How did he even find out?"
"Master Knight has files on everyone both on paper and on his computer. Charlie could have easily found yours and read it," Ryan said, grabbing my fist and examining it. He pulled me towards the first aid station and had me sit on the bench.
Zade sat down next to me while Ryan bandaged my fist, telling me that if it swelled, I'd have to see a doctor.
"I'm going to be fired, aren't I?" I asked softly and both of them were silent. That told me everything I needed to know, "I shouldn't have blown up like that in front of everyone. I should've gone straight to Master Knight or Ken,"
"Yes, you should have," Ryan said and he sighed, "But I would have done the same in your shoes. Charlie had no right to tell anyone about your past. That is privileged information and he should be punished,"
The door opened and Ken walked through. He cleared his throat, "Daniel wants to see you, Quinn,"
I pushed my hair out of my face and stood, "It's been nice having a job while it lasted," I muttered. Zade pulled me into a hug and Ryan joined in too.
Ken smiled softly as I passed him, "Wait," he pulled me into a hug and whispered, "If Daniel fires you, I will personally kick his ass. You need to tell him everything,"
Daniel
Quinn sat down, looking nervous. He looked around the office and not in my direction. He was probably aware of how furious I was. I noticed his newly bandaged hand and wondered what he did to it.
"Do you know why you're here?" Quinn nodded, "And that is?"
"I pushed Charlie, Sir,"
"And would you mind explaining why you pushed him?" Quinn shrugged and I slammed my hands down on the desk, barely registering him flinch, "That is not a good enough response. You don't just push people for no reason!"
"I'm sorry, Sir. It won't happen again,"
"It better not. If it does, I may have to consider your future here, Quinn. This is not the first time you have had an incident,"
"What?" He sat up and for the first time, stared directly at me, "But Master Knight, I've never got into a fight before this,"
"That's not what I've heard from Charlie. He's told me that you've been getting into fights with Doms, spitting in their drinks, making problems for the other bartenders,"
"That's bullshit! He's lying. None of that is true. You know how much this job means to me. I have no reason to jeopardize this job, you know that!"
"Well, who am I supposed to believe, Quinn? My submissive or someone who lived on the streets for part of his life?"
Quinn stood so fast, the chair fell over, "You know why I left my house, Daniel! I had no choice! I did not choose to live on the street, so you have no right to throw that in my face. I told you that in confidence and if this how you want to treat your staff, then I quit!"
"Quinn—"
"You don't know what I've dealt with over the last few weeks. I have kept quiet because I need this job, but I can't keep this to myself any longer. I—"
The door opened and Charlie stepped in, "Sorry. I heard screaming. Is everything okay?" Quinn sat down in the chair that wasn't overturned and placed his head in his hands.
"Quinn, what's been going on that I don't know about?" He shook his head and I could hear the sniffles.
"Go wait outside," I told Charlie.
"But, Danny—"
I glared at him and pointed toward the door, "I said, go, Charlie,"
"Sorry, Master," he whispered and shut the door firmly behind him.
"Don't quit, Quinn. You're right. I shouldn't have said that. I know that it wasn't your choice and it was wrong of me to go there. I'm just a little stressed and I don't know what to believe or who to listen to. Go home and I'll talk to you about this later,"
As Quinn opened the door, he turned, "I never stood a chance, did I?"
I rubbed my face and shrugged, "Go home, Quinn,"
He shut the door and I rubbed my temples, already feeling the headache coming on. The door opened again and it was Ken. He picked up the chair and sat in it.
"If you're going to lecture me, I don't want to hear it,"
"Nope. I have nothing to say. I'm here to listen to what you have to say,"
"What do you know?"
"I'm not going to say anything, Daniel. It's not my place. I will say that maybe you should consider who you're trusting in this situation. Quinn's been loyal since day one. Charlie's left once,"
"I can't ignore what happened tonight. Quinn pushed another bartender. A bartender that is my submissive, who has informed me on a lot of information,"
"You're only hearing one side, Daniel,"
"So are you. I know Quinn talks to you. Charlie is afraid of Quinn, you know?"
Ken shook his head and laughed dryly, "Wow. Okay, you know what, Daniel. I'm done. You want to fire Quinn? Go ahead. I don't care anymore," Ken didn't say another word as he slammed the door behind him.
Hey guys. So, kinda a serious author's note. I wasn't sure I was going to publish this chapter today because I've been having some family issues and just didn't want to deal with editing and publishing, but this book is my source of happiness right now and I couldn't bear to not publish a chapter today
So, back to the story. Things are heating up and they will get better from here! So just bear with me for a little while longer. I am very excited about this chapter. I've been wanting to publish this for a while and I'm so excited!
I am still in the process of writing chapter twelve because I kinda screwed up. The beginning of this chapter hadn't been intended, but I loved the idea of having a sweet moment before it went to hell.
I'm hoping to have chapter twelve done and thirteen started before Thursday, but I'm having to rearrange a few things, so if I have to go off the grid for a week, that would be why. I will update you guys on whether I will be going off grid.
I think that's all the news I have for this week.
So don't forget to vote and comment and stay safe!
I will hopefully see you guys next week with chapter Twelve. Have a great day/night!