Chapter 14: The Car Ride to Work

Once he'd made sure Anastasia was safely buckled in, Christian shot off another text message to Welch and Barney, his other heads of security besides Taylor. Jason Taylor oversaw his personal security and those of his family, and now Anastasia. Alex Welch oversaw the physical security of GEH and, on the side, of Miles Down Under. Barney Sullivan, one of the few employees Christian called by his first name, oversaw the cybersecurity of GEH, Miles Down Under, and Christian personally. Christian had been scheduled to meet with all three of them at 9:00 a.m., but he'd overslept for the first time in his life. He had now successfully rescheduled that meeting for 10:30 a.m. It would cut into the time he was supposed to have been researching a potential acquisition, but he'd make up for it by working through lunch.

Since the meeting he'd just rescheduled concerned none other than Elena Lincoln, Christian was reminded that Anastasia had a colorful opinion of his friend Elena, but she refused to talk about it. Now that she was his, he could compel her to tell him exactly what she thought of Elena. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

He turned back to his beautiful submissive, sitting quietly beside him showing off her tits in that sexy as hell pink bra, which was a few shades darker than the pink blouse he'd unbuttoned and made her wear like that in front of his staff. The windows were tinted, so nobody could see in, and Taylor was keeping his eyes on the road.

Traffic this morning was a nightmare, and while that meant Anastasia might be late for her meeting, it gave Christian enough time to get the answers he wanted concerning Elena. Anastasia was right that it would probably be faster to walk, but it wouldn't be as safe. And he wouldn't be able to ogle her luscious tits. He was tempted to pull down her bra again, like he'd done in his living room earlier, right before he'd punished her for her disobedience. If Anastasia were truly the exhibitionist she claimed to be, she would be aroused by the likelihood of Taylor seeing her tits. And Christian wanted her to be aroused and thinking of the night they'd just spent together and the one they would spend together again tonight. Above all, he wanted her thoughts to be on him and on pleasing him.

But he had work to do, so he kept his hands to himself, if not his eyes. Now that his mind was back on Elena Lincoln and his impending meeting with his security heads, which he didn't expect to go well, he needed to get some answers from Anastasia, and there was no better time than the present. Christian had suspected for some time, but even more since his last meeting with Elena this past Monday, that she wasn't to be trusted. He wasn't sure exactly what he suspected, but he'd begun to listen to the people around him for the first time in his life concerning Elena. BB had been warning him for years, even from the beginning of Christian's arrangement with his Mistress. BB was the only person in the world who knew about it way back then, and he'd done his best to convince Christian to tell his parents, but Christian had refused.

"Princess," Christian began. "I need to ask you again, and I want you to answer me this time. You're mine now, so you need to be honest and straightforward with me, and we don't have much time. I'm about to go into a meeting with my security heads concerning Elena Lincoln. I want to know why you said she's evil, and I don't want you to be afraid of how I'm going to respond. B.B.'s warning to you is a moot point now, because you're my submissive, not his. I don't care if your answer is 'disparaging to another Dominant.' I just want your full unreserved opinion. Why do you think she's evil?"

Anastasia had hoped that Christian wouldn't bring this up again, but she knew she had to answer him even if her words made him angry. She really didn't want Christian to be angry with her, and she felt certain that it was directly where they were headed with this conversation. There was no way around it. He'd be even angrier if she refused to answer.

She sighed before she told him nervously. "OK… there are a few things… a few reasons why I think… she's evil." She had to stop and take another long breath and blow it out before she continued. "I know that she's training women to act like submissives who really aren't. It's deceitful. They're all fake, including her. She isn't a real Domme. She's more… I'm sorry, Sir, but you insisted… She seems more like a pimp. Like a madame. Jose and I call her Madame Elena when we talk about her. She's not training submissives, she's giving acting lessons to whores. What real Domme would train submissives not to use their safe words?"

Christian looked surprised. "Who told you she does that?" he demanded coldly.

Anastasia's eyes filled with tears because of the tone of his voice. She'd known he would be angry with her, but he hadn't given her a choice.

"Nobody told me, Sir," she answered. "I told you yesterday… I've overheard your subs talking in the ladies' room. She warns them never to use a safe word because if they do, you'll not only end the scene immediately, but you'll never scene with them again. They give each other advice for how to get through the scenes without safe wording. No matter how brutal you are, they won't dare, not if they want to…" Anastasia stopped and took another deep breath. Her tears were running freely now, and she wiped at them angrily as she spoke. "They were using you to get things, Sir. They were willing to be whipped or flogged or whatever… just so they could get… things you would buy them. Apparently, you're… generous. You even… is it true you bought a sub a brand new car?"

Christian nodded impassively. "More than one sub received a car," he acknowledged.

Anastasia sighed heavily and wiped at her tears. "So, you have a… reputation for being generous. But that only happens if you contract them, and the only way to get you to do that is to… endure your punishment. They don't do it because they enjoy it, Sir. I haven't heard any of them talking about how good a Dom you are, or even how much they enjoy your... you know... the things most subs talk about. That's another reason why I know they aren't real submissives. And I suspect… that Elena is also paying them. That's why I said… we call her a madam." Anastasia blew out an air of exasperation and wiped at the tears that were continuing to run down her face.

Christian didn't speak for a few moments as he looked out the car window at the passing traffic, and Anastasia couldn't say another word.

She felt afraid for the first time since they'd signed their contract because she didn't know where she stood with him concerning Elena. Would he end things with her before they'd even begun? She knew that until now, he'd never contracted a submissive outside of his arrangement with Elena, and now that her feelings were out in the open, she wasn't sure where that left her. She sat there in the back seat beside him with downcast eyes, waiting for him to say something to her to give her any kind of indication of what he wanted from her.

After a pregnant silence, Christian became aware of Anastasia's silence and of her submissive posture. Hell, he knew when he looked at her that if she weren't buckled into a car, she'd be kneeling in front of him right now. And as much as he wanted her kneeling for him, this wasn't the time.

He took her chin in his hand and lifted her face towards his. "Anastasia, I've never done this before, so I'm… figuring it out as we go. But right now… we're just having a conversation. I'm not angry with you, Princess. I'm just trying to figure things out. I very rarely admit it when I don't know something, but I've wanted to be honest with you from the start. I think we agreed last night that we have to be honest about our strengths and weaknesses if this thing is going to work between us. Didn't we?"

"Yes, Sir," Anastasia mumbled, dabbing her eyes.

Christian continued, "I don't have a fucking clue how to have the kind of relationship with you that I know I want, and that you've made it clear that you want too, but I know it's possible. Hell, look at BB and Jose. They've been together for what, three... close to four years? And married for over a year."

Anastasia was confused about the change in direction of the conversation. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked. Did he want to marry her? Holy shit! No, that wasn't what he meant.

"Because I hate the look of fear in your eyes, and I hate to see you cry. I need you to trust me, Anastasia. Trust me in everything, including Elena." He wiped the tears from her eyes and continued speaking in a much more tender tone than he'd been using earlier. "What else have you heard about her?" he asked. "Not the fucking subs, but Elena herself?"

Anastasia sighed, realizing that the torment of being forced to talk about that woman was just continuing. "I've heard… that she has a thing for under-aged subs. For children, boys and girls. But mostly boys. I've heard she has a private dungeon because she can't bring minors into the club. And… I believe the rumors, because I know she's recruited underaged girls for one of the Doms who used to be a member. BB said he got kicked out… after he was arrested… for producing child porn. And I just know that Elena had a hand in that… in producing the porn, I mean, not in getting him arrested for it or kicked out of Down Under."

Christian didn't look at Anastasia. Instead, he looked blankly out the car window. "Do you have any proof of that?" he asked her impassively.

"No, just a hunch," she answered. "But… I also feel uncomfortable around her. I'm afraid of her, Sir, and it worries me because I know she's your… friend… or something. I don't like the way she looks at me. I'm sure she's noticed the way you look at me, Sir."

He asked, "How does she look at you?"

"Like I'm a cockroach that she wants to squash," Anastasia answered.

"Has she said anything to you?" Christian asked.

"No, Sir," Anastasia answered. "Not yet. But BB was pretty firm when he told me to stay away from her. His words were, 'Avoid her at all costs,' as if she's a danger to me."

"Don't worry, angel, I'll take care of her," Christian promised. "But in the meantime… I agree with BB. Stay away from her. I've known her for years, and she's an old family friend. She's not dangerous, but I don't want her causing you any grief."

"I already avoid her. I'll just keep doing that," Anastasia replied.

"Good. So, that's settled," Christian said as Taylor pulled the car over in front of 200 Spring Street. "Thank you for telling me what you think of Elena. I know it was hard for you because of my past with her, and we're still building trust, but you did well. You're a good girl."

"Thank you, Sir," she replied.

"I know this thing between us is brand-new, and we're learning how to trust each other," Christian told her as he buttoned up her blouse. "Thank you for trusting me with your lovely tits this morning. I like these pretty little pink buttons. And I like the pretty little pink things that you're hiding under there even more."

Anastasia blushed. "Thank you, Sir," she told him. "They're all yours."

Christian pulled Anastasia in for one last kiss before releasing her. "Don't forget to eat your breakfast," he reminded her. "I'll ask you about it later, and if you haven't eaten it by then, I'll punish you later."

"Yes, Sir, I look forward to that, Sir," Anastasia told him playfully as she took the bag with her breakfast in it.

Christian smiled as he watched her get out of the car door, held open by Taylor. He continued to watch as she made her way to the entrance of the Mile High building. It was his fault that she was going to be five minutes late for her 10:00 meeting, and he wasn't happy about that. But he would find a way to make it up to her.