Broken Submission

Office Supplies

The next week passed in a blur. Every morning Amelia dragged herself out of bed, drank as much water as she could to ward off hunger pains, and drove her rattling deathtrap to the office. Her work was entirely unsatisfactory. A glorified office temp, she had landed this job when she first left the home she'd shared with her ex. The position had been a filler until she found better work, but when the office grunt quit, she had slid into his position.

It had been stable work, but that was about it in the way of benefits. She honestly wasn't entirely sure what their firm did. Her job was to retrieve and replace files, to order refills of office supplies, and to call in the occasional restaurant reservation. It was mind numbingly dull work, but it kept the lights on. Or, it had. Now, she needed to start looking for additional employment.

Derek's offer flitted through her mind. But she crushed the idea as quickly as it appeared. As antithetical as it might seem for a sub, she simply wasn't willing to put herself in that position, putting herself in debt to another, to give them power over her. She would never do so again. Besides, the offer baffled her and quite honestly, made her uncomfortable. Why would he offer something like that to her? They weren't friends, in fact, they have never officially met before that night.

She shook her head as she jammed the staples into one of several staplers scattered on her desk. Her tasks were rarely sufficient to keeping her mind from obsessing. A scene would do her good... She reviewed her bank numbers mentally. She snorted—she couldn't afford even the cover charge for an open night, the one night it wasn't members only. Not that she would have the guts to go back anyway, to scarf down the scraps of what other members still had.

Derek frowned in concern. "But you're alright?" he asked Tara.

She and Tony said across from him in his office. "The doctor said she'll be fine," Tony responded, his wife's mouth occupied with a steady stream of moans as he worked on the knots in her shoulders. "But we just don't want to take any risks that we don't have to, and the doctor said the more rest, the better."

Tara opened one eye long enough to look balefully at Derek. "Which this caveman has taken to mean that he should carry me everywhere—" She yelped when her husband, the big bad dom, flicked her ear.

"No sass out of you, young lady," he growled into her ear.

Derek grinned watching them. "Don't forget that I'm a caveman to," he teased her. "I have no problem holding you down so he can paddle your ass."

She looked at them with big, pleading eyes. "You two would beat a defenseless, pregnant woman?"

Tony pulled her back against his chest. "I could pull out the butterfly vibe instead..."

"Torture!" she cried. Then she grinned at Derek. "Sorry, sir. You don't want to listen to us bicker. I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly—"

He nodded. They had had trouble getting pregnant. Neither of them were willing to do anything that would put their miracle in jeopardy.

"No apologies. You guys will keep coming to scene though?"

Tony mock scowled at his wife. "How else am I to keep this brat in line? We miss a week, and she'll be the one holding the whip..."

They bantered back-and-forth for a while before Tony—true to his word—carried his wife through the door, claiming that he didn't want her to wear herself out.

In reality, he had likely picked up on Derek's inattention. His mind kept drifting to a certain quiet sub. He had a legitimate opening at the bar now. It might have been a fool's errand, but he was sorely tempted to drive down to her apartment complex and offer her the position once more. It couldn't hurt.

"What do you mean there's no one here by that name?" He stared at the desk clerk. "I dropped her off barely a week ago. Hell," he looked the man up and down, "you were the clerk on duty!"

The man cringed. "Even if there were someone named Amelia Scott in our complex, it is against our policy to give out our tenants' personal information—"

Derek slammed his palms down on the desk, and the man closed his mouth, backing up a few steps. Derek seethed.

"Well, if she's not here, then where is she?"

The man, the kid really, showed a little fire then. "Why don't you leave her alone, huh? If she wanted you to know where she lived, she would've told you!" The kid paled as the words left his mouth.

Derek paused. Why would she have given him a fake address? They hadn't spent enough time together for her to be afraid of him or for her to have come to the conclusion that he was a creep. He remembered his earlier confusion about the expense of the complex. Was it a money thing?

"Look, kid," he said. "I'm not going to hurt her. I'm not an ex and I'm not a stalker. But I need to know which way she went. Nothing else, just this way," he pointed to the front door, "or that way?" he shifted until he pointed 45° left of the door.

This complex was flanked by two low income projects. It would've been simple enough for her to direct him here and then walk to the real building. In the dark. Alone. In a bad neighborhood... Oh her ass was his now.

At some point in his speech, the kid must've started to believe him when he said that he didn't meet her any harm because he pointed right with only a slight hesitation.

"Thank you." Derek jogged to the door without further ado. Even in a car, he noticed just how many shady figures lurked by the buildings. For her to not want him to know her address was one thing. She could have easily chosen to call a cab. But to lie to him and then put herself in danger like that...

Anger was starting to build in his gut. She wasn't his sub. But she would damn well take care of herself if she didn't want to find herself with a babysitter. It wouldn't be the first time the guys had come together to protect one of their own. Even if they didn't want it. Even from themselves.

Amelia opened the door a crack to peer under the chain. Two things hit her. One was that Derek Jensen was standing outside her door. The second was that he was pissed.