Shadows in the Dark (Dark Lotus #1)

28. Brynn

In the days that followed, I had gone through my bedroom numerous times, even after I had put everything back in order and rehung every item in my closet, but strangely, the only thing I could find that was unaccounted for was the pair of panties from the set that Erebus69 had bought me and had sent to the office. Since that struck me as extremely odd, I went back through all of my clothes and items again. And again. I came up with the same result. It was rather embarrassing to tell SFPD that there was a panty thief on the loose, but at least the officer was good natured about it and told me it wasn’t the first time.

“I shouldn’t say this, ma’am, but those must have been some panties,” he said with a chuckle. I couldn’t help but snicker in return.

“Oh, they were, Officer. They were,” I countered.

He thanked me for the information, promised they would update with any additional details they gathered, and that was that. In all honesty, I wasn’t hopeful anything would come from that report. Nothing of real monetary value was taken, though the lingerie meant something to me because it was a gift from EREBUS69.

Based on what I was learning in my sister’s journals, Dominants did sometimes give submissives gifts, but only those they wanted to know better and to spend more time with. It went beyond just scenes in Lotus. When a Dom took an interest in a particular sub, it had the potential to mean something. Apparently, a Dom had taken an interest in my sister, though she hadn’t named him in this particular diary.

I refused to skip ahead. I wanted to experience her thoughts and emotions in order, so I would read the books one by one as they were written. I was learning so much about Blair, about the lifestyle, about her choices…it was helping me understand a lot, but I knew there was so much still to comprehend.

In this particular diary, she had written more than once about a certain Dom that she had met at Lotus for a scene. It sounded a lot like how I had first ended up meeting EREBUS69:

Dear Diary - I logged on to the server today, eager to see who might be online. I’ve become casual friends with some of the others, which is nice. I don’t have anyone to talk to IRL about these things, so it’s helped me work through things in my head to have a couple at Olympus. So far, I’ve been pulled into private chats a couple of times. The Doms here are very particular about doing that. I know they monitor interactions in the group channels to see if anyone sparks interest. So many of the girls go for months before being separated for a private session. For me, it was inside of a couple of weeks when I got my first ping. The Doms I have chatted with are so very nice. Some of them are extremely by-the-book, while others are controlled, but don’t mind taking a more casual approach. I’d heard stories about one Dom, though…no one knows much about the man beyond him being the toughest nut to crack. He’s the most difficult to get to know, much less score an invite from. He’s the one all of the masochists want to work with. I really hope I can pique his interest. It would be quite the accomplishment to get a club invite from “Him”. I’d finally feel like I was moving forward in my assignment.

No further detail was given about said assignment. My sister had frustrated me her entire life, and even in the afterlife, that still held true. I continued to read until I felt a cold, wet nose bump my arm. Soulful blue eyes peered up at me. I checked the time and immediately started apologizing.

“Oh, my sweet boy. I’m so sorry. You must be starving. Let me get your dinner, then we can go for our walk.”

While I wasn’t all that hungry, the dog certainly was, and it was nearly two hours past his feeding time. I was a terrible caretaker when I got distracted. As Lug Nut ate, I set a daily reminder for myself then and there so I wouldn’t forget to feed him ever again. It was a silly thing to do, but for me, it was sadly necessary.

I made sure the front door was locked when we left the house, and checked my pocket for my phone. Taking no chances, I’d had the security company install cameras and the front and back doors. Now, if someone was on my porch or in my backyard, I got a notification and could see who it was right then and there. EREBUS69 and I had spoken about that the other night when I’d had the cameras installed and he’d seemed very pleased that I’d taken the initiative to do so.

As though he knew I was thinking of him, my phone and my wrist vibrated with a message from him. Now that he had my cell number, he had made a point to check on me a few times while he was out of town on business. I was flattered he was using my cell, but he had brushed it off saying it was simply easier to reach me that way.

After assuring him the dog and I were on our evening walk, he wished me a good evening and I finished the route in relative silence, save for the familiar neighborhood sounds that gave me a sense of comfort. Several of my neighbors made a point to keep an eye on my place, even on the days I worked from home. It was easy to see why my sister had loved living here. I had fallen in love with it myself.

The next day was an in-office day for me. When I walked in, I was ecstatic to learn Randall would be out of the office because he had the flu. While I wouldn’t wish anyone to be ill, it was a relief to know I wouldn’t have to deal with him at all. I would also have more time to focus on any items Edward and Thomas needed.

“Brynn, dear.” Looking up from my desk, I smiled as Thomas walked toward me. “Could I steal you for a few minutes?”

“Of course!” I grabbed a legal pad and a pen and followed Thomas into his office. Edward was already in there. I became slightly nervous but wasn’t sure why. I had no reason to be nervous because I hadn’t done anything unless Randall was causing trouble for me.

“Brynn, we’ll just get right to the point. Randall is a dick head.” Edward’s blunt statement took me so off-guard I couldn’t help but laugh. He continued. “We don’t know who shoved the stick up his ass, but we do know he’s been giving you a hard time because you won’t go out with him. Thank fuck you have better taste than that.”

Thomas jumped in then. “We’re sorry he’s making your life miserable here. Just know we are aware of it. We see it and we are in the process of doing something about it.”

These two dear men were like grandfathers to me. “Thank you. Both of you. But, you don’t have to fight my battles.”

“Oh, we know. A little birdie in HR told us all about your email. Good for you. Keep all that shit in writing. It’s a shame we have to go the extra mile and document it all, but since he’s the CEO’s cousin’s son’s nephew or some shit, we have to make it stick. It’s stupid. He’s stupid. And he’s gotten away with fucking around for too long. We see you, Brynn, and we are going to do what we can to help. Our goal is to get his ass out of here by the end of the year.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” I asked, genuinely curious. Both men grinned like Cheshire cats.

“Obviously, we wanted whatever you could find to make its way to us, but we also didn’t want you to get so discouraged that you leave. You are a valuable employee, Brynn.”

“I appreciate that. While I don’t plan on going anywhere at this time, I can’t guarantee what will happen a month or two months from now. Some things are out of my control.”

“We understand. Don’t feel like you’re alone, though. Okay?”

“I won’t. Thank you again. It means a lot that you both care enough to pull me in and talk to me this way.”

The day was so peaceful without Randall being there and the morning flew by. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch and I was more than ready to break into the homemade chicken and wild rice soup I’d made from scratch.

While I was taking my first spoonful and scrolling through news on my phone, Colleen set a box on my desk.

“Seriously, Brynn, I need an admirer like yours. Another box from this place? Sheesh.”

I nearly choked. It was another delivery from the exclusive lingerie store that EREBUS69 had used the day of my break in. This box was smaller than the last one, but that probably just meant the contents had less material. Oh, god.

Since Randall wasn’t here, I wanted to peek inside and at least grab the card I knew had to be in with whatever he had sent.

Quickly splicing through the tape along each edge, I lifted the top, spotted an envelope on top of lilac tissue paper, snatched it up, and slammed the lid back down. The temptation was so great to see what he’d given me this time, but I would make myself wait.

Karma,

This is to replace what was taken from you. I’ll see you in it very soon.

My entire body felt over-heated and it wasn’t from the soup. I knew my face had to be red and I felt like I was sweating. How could typed words on a page cause this reaction?

‘Because you can hear him saying those words…’

I certainly could. No matter what he said, his deep, rumbly, accented voice would pour over me like honey, coating every nerve ending in desire until I was a sticky, vibrating mass of need.

After sending a quick thank you for the package, I finished the rest of my soup and took full advantage of the remainder of the Randall-free day by drafting presentations for Edward and Thomas three weeks in advance. I was incredibly productive and managed to leave the office without a headache.