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Divide and conquer

For the past several days, it had been her e Today Sa to act on it

A stor company that e up as much work as they could Which left her and Geoff alone in the rental house the three of them shared

She sat in their backyard, inside the flying aviary Chris had built to nurse and rehabilitate birds and other ani the course of his job Ron, Hermione and Harry, the three per Sae of the wooden Adirondack chair, curling her bare toes in the wooden slats Turning her head, she rested it on her knees and looked through the pictureof their small house

Geoff orking at the dining room table they'd found at a secondhand store His laptop was open and there were two file boxes on the table Papers were arranged on the table like a neatly landscaped garden inon a case A young attorney working his way up the ladder of a corporate firm, he put in a lot of hours She had no doubt he'd be offered a partnership within his specified timetable and then split off to form his own office He typically ended up as the lead on any project he was assigned, even if it didn't start that way He embraced responsibility, control

According to her friend Flo, men like that would so the release of not being in control, but that wasn't the vibe Saot from Geoff Not in the least Sam suspected Geoff was a Dom, one as self-aware but who'd never truly embraced it

Afterhim over a couple of dinners, Flo had concurred "Oh yeah That one wants to be in charge He needs it like you need chocolate Once he decides he's ready to explore his Dominant side, he'll be a storood way, if he has his shit together"

Flo was a teller at the bank where Sam worked An attractive, delicately fox-featured woman in her fifties, she had shrewd brown eyes and short hair dyed a bird's-wing broith golden highlights Though there were nearly thirty years' difference in their ages, she and Flo had gravitated toward each other in the usual way that coworkers became friends Day-to-day interactions, the occasional lunch, then slipping on their athletic shoes for lunchtime walks in the don Charlotte area where they worked

As Sas for Chris and Geoff, Florence had listened attentively Friendship turned into confidences, and one day Flo told Sam she was a Domme, a Mistress

"Being Doay and straight," she'd explained "Soe in the bedroos up, purely for fun, but for me, it runs deeper than that The men I'm with need to surrender, to submit, to help them find pleasure and release, and I need to control and doe and surrender, to be satisfied"

Between Flo taking her to several private parties, where Sam could see what a sexual Do Florence at the bank, Sam started to understand even more There was a sharp directness to how Flo dealt with everyone, a firmness that made coworkers and customers alike respond to her with respect All the tellers knew if a custo a problem, Flo was the one who could step in, defuse the situation and restore balance

Those nuances and vibesthey were different versions of Geoff When she first confided that to Flo, wondering if she was crazy, her friend had given her a blunt look

"You see it because you're his mirror, Sam You're a sub, and that defines how you operate in a relationship That first night you iththe male Doms You were like a kid outside a candy store, a kid who loves candy but only wants her favorite kind The kind waiting for her at home" The woman's lips curved "Geoff is easy to define Chris will be your wild card It'll be interesting to see where he falls in all of this But to get anything started, you're going to have to get Geoff on board first"

Nothing had technically ever happened between Sam, Geoff and Chris, but over ti had been happening all along Subtle things, small moments that had drawn the root But she'd come to the same conclusion Flo had: Geoff was the key