“Good evening, Rainor. May I introduce my boyfriend Ben Shepherd? Ben, this is Rainor Hahn.” Margaux said smoothly, recovering from her earlier stiffness.
The man affected an awestruck expression. “The Ben Shepherd? The one who kills evil white slavers barehanded, poses naked for statues, rescues young women from dens of sin, and abuses his ex-wife, though that last one was reported in one of those awful scandal magazines so I suppose we should ignore it,” he said with a sharp smile as he watched Ben’s expression.
He’d delivered his opening salvo boldly, his accent and speaking patterns as crisp as the tailored shirt he was wearing. The dig had been a decisive move but Ben had been prepared for something like this.
“I don’t think we’re going to be friends, Rain Man,” Ben said calmly watching the man’s eyes. They showed his confusion then tightened in reaction when he caught the insult. He quickly locked that down and just smiled slightly at Ben. He nodded and turned back to Margaux.
“My wife, Gretchen,” he said gesturing back with his perfectly manicured right hand and collected the woman behind him to move her forward.
She was at least 6′ plus the three inch heels, very slim but perfectly proportioned in an elegant, form fitting black cocktail dress. She had large, dark brown eyes framed with thick lashes on a heart shaped face. Her straight black hair was in a bob cut reaching and curling in at her shoulders and her blunt straight bangs stopped just above her eyes. She wore only the merest hint of makeup as her lips were naturally pink and full. When she smiled at them her face lit up momentarily but a nervous glance at Rainor hid that brilliance away once more.
Ben saw it then. For all her stature her body language practically screamed it. She was a Sub, potentially in a very strict, possibly abusive relationship. He twitched but clamped down on his reaction brutally. Her eyes widened when she looked at him then she slipped behind her husband once more.
“It should be a pleasant evening on the water, yes? Enjoy!” Rainor nodded to them and turned away, moving back to the bar as his wife followed. She glanced back once at Ben and he caught her eyes with his. Definitely a Sub.
Margaux took a deep breath and looked up at Ben. She caught the stiffness in his body. “Are you ok?”
Ben gave himself a little shake and nodded to her. “Yes. He’s a very… unpleasant man. It must be… difficult to be married to him.”
Her eyes glanced once more to the tall woman with Rainor. “Perhaps it’s her preference. I have known women to give themselves over entirely to controlling pricks like Rainor. Her submissiveness may be an extreme example.”
“You saw that too? I have to admit it’s the first time I’ve recognized the signs of someone being a Sub.” Ben said in surprise.
Margaux smiled. “Ah yes, the young woman with the tattoos at the dance club. Whatever happened to her?”
“She’s doing well. Tina and I signed her up in an Audio Engineering course at the local college and her grades are excellent,” Ben said with a proud smile.
“She… she’s still with you?” Margaux said, seeming a little rattled.
“Yes, did I fail to mention that?” Ben asked, concerned by the expressions flitting across Margaux’s face.
“Yes. It did come as a surprise. Are you… her Dom?” she asked carefully.
He nodded and held her eyes. She nodded and smiled weakly at him. “If you don’t mind I need a little air. No, let me… please,” she said to stop him from following her as she headed for the side door to the open deck.
Ben let her go but watched her with a worried look on his face. He suddenly felt lost. He wasn’t sure what he should do and he was in an unfamiliar place with a bunch of strangers. He looked to the door once more. If she was dealing with her jealousy issue maybe it would be better to give her a little space so he took the stairs up to the upper deck and joined some of the staff watching the sun set over the city.
He was having difficulty enjoying the view and looked at the group around him. Several smiled at him and he smiled back but one man walked over with a pretty woman at his side.
“Hi, I understand you’re Margaux’s boyfriend. I’m Kayden Price and this is my wife Molly,” he said offering his hand.
Ben shook it and recalled this was the man Margaux thought so highly of. “Ben Shepherd,” he said as he moved to shake Molly’s hand as well. They were both probably in their early thirties and looked like a happy couple. Kayden had sandy brown hair and wire rimmed glasses and Molly’s hair was a darker brown and pulled back into a ponytail. She had a sweet wholesomeness about her and a naturally smiling face which was beaming widely now.
“I’m a big fan, Mr. Shepherd!” Molly gushed.
“Oh?” he asked cautiously. He was famous for a few things, not all of them he was proud of, so this was a tricky subject for him.
“The way you rescued those girls from the slavers was inspiring!” she continued, oblivious to his unease.
“Ah, yes. Well, just in the wrong place at the right time,” he said humbly and looked back to the stairs wondering if he should go find Margaux.
“How did you meet Ms. De la Cruz?” Molly gushed.
“Molly!” her husband gasped.
“It’s fine. It’s not a state secret. We bumped into each other at a dance club in Paris,” he said with a smile.
“Love at first sight?” Molly continued to her husband’s dismay.
“Hardly! He ruined my night!”
Ben turned and saw Margaux standing behind him. He looked to her and her smiled was a little shaky. He moved closer but she leaned away from him and patted his arm as she turned her face to Kayden and gave his cheek a kiss as well as his wife’s.
“So good to see you again Molly!” she said.
“It’s always a pleasure to see you!” the young woman smiled.
“Crap, I was hoping he’d missed the boat.” Kayden sighed as he spotted Rainor coming up the stairs.
Ben didn’t have to turn around to know who he was talking about. “Rain Man,” Ben sighed.
“Rain… PFFFT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Kayden exploded into a loud, uncontrolled laughter as Ben’s nickname for Rainor struck his funny bone. Molly caught the insult too and couldn’t stop giggling. People around them stopped to look over at the laughing man and smiled. Ben watched the man’s laughter with a grin.
Rainor approached the group with his wife at his heel. Kayden was red faced, his eyes were watering, and he was gasping for breath. Margaux handed him a napkin to dry his eyes which he gratefully accepted. Molly’s giggles were beginning to sound a little nervous as the tall man stopped to smile at them. Ben caught her eye and shook his head faintly with a smile and Molly relaxed.
“Delightful to hear you enjoying yourself so much Kayden. Was it a good joke?” he asked his co-worker.
“Mmmhmm!” was all Kayden could manage as he clamped his mouth shut to stop the laughter but his eyes glanced towards Ben and Rainor caught the motion.
“Ah. So, a joke at my expense maybe?” His smile became a little stiff as he looked to Ben. The men locked eyes but the relaxed smile on Ben’s face never wavered. Rainor stepped a little closer. “Has no one ever taught you how to play nice?” he said quietly for Ben’s ears only.
The words were soft but Rainor’s voice held a definite note of threat. The man did not like being the butt of jokes.
“I did say we wouldn’t be friends,” Ben said equally quiet. There was something not quite right behind Rainor’s eyes but Ben wasn’t about to give him an inch. Instead, he leaned in.
“What’s going on up here?” Di asked as she approached with the other Asset Managers. They’d heard the laughter from all the way down on the lower deck and came to investigate.
“I swear they’re about to whip them out and take measurements!” Nan responded happily and her group giggled excitedly at the idea.
Ben cracked a grin but his eyes never left Rainor’s who was beginning to look a little unnerved by the approaching ladies.
ZZZIP!
Rainor looked down in surprise when he heard Ben’s zipper drop. The ladies shrieked in delight causing Rainor to leap back. Ben slowly closed his zipper much to the disappointment of the gathered crowd.
Rainor’s face was red with suppressed rage and humiliation. He roughly dragged his wife away back down the stairs to the main level.
Ben saw her wince at her husband’s tight grip on her arm and regretted pushing the man so hard as he was likely going to take it out on her. The woman’s eyes were on him as she descended the stairs.
“You enjoyed that,” Margaux accused him with a curious look.
He turned to look at her with a slight smile. “Maybe.” Then he winced and the smile was gone. “I shouldn’t have pushed him so hard but the man doesn’t know when to say enough.” He cast a concerned look in the direction they went. “I’m worried about his wife. He’s not quite right in the head. Keep an eye out for him tonight. He may try to retaliate.” Ben looked at her seriously and she nodded though an odd… possibly angry expression flashed across her face before she looked away.
Before he could ask her what was wrong Kayden leaned in close and Molly did too. “Mr. Shepherd, that was absolutely wonderful! I’ve wanted to see him taken down a notch since I first met him. He gives my Molly creepy looks and he’s so rude!” Molly nodded vigorously.
“Yes, that was fun but remember we have to work with him come Monday morning so picking on Rainor is done for the night.” Margaux said and looked around to catch the eyes of the group around her. She received nods. “Come on. They’ll be serving dinner soon. Let’s find a table.”
They made their way downstairs and saw the tables had been prepared so they found seats and the waiters circulated amongst them serving the prepared food. Ben enjoyed his meal as did Margaux who stood up halfway through the meal to address the group and thank everyone for the successful launch.
Ben kept scanning the group for signs of Rainor and his wife but they remained missing throughout the meal. His agitation increased as the image of her staring at him as she slipped out of sight on the stairs returned to him again and again.