LEATHER AND LACE (BAD BOYS & GOOD GIRLS, #1) Read Online Free Page A

mountain of bookkeeping. No sense buying into an issue that had yet to materialize.
    Shoving his phone into his pocket, he entered the main section of the club, completely dark without the lights on overhead. He flipped on the stereo and the under-the-counter lighting and started a fresh pot of Joe. While the coffee brewed, he checked out the main floor, turning on the hallway lights and inspecting the guest rooms.
    An hour flew by and he returned to the main bar finally grabbing a cup of coffee. Sipping, he surveyed the area in the dim light. He and Pen had spent days, refinishing the original hardwood floors. Gleaming mahogany-paneled walls lined the place. The splash of crimson and gold from the stained-glass and the matching fixtures along with the new leather furniture recently delivered amped up the atmosphere from the usual level of décor for a bondage club. He’d sunk some serious money into the place since last year.
    The entire downstairs had been redone. A main lounge surrounded by private well-equipped rooms on the perimeter where members could ‘meet’ or hire a stud. The club rooms were housed within three select hallways, and each hall had a single theme. To the south: the typical S & M dungeon rooms. The center hall contained semi-private rooms complete with viewing windows. The last corridor was strictly private, housing a large, fully stocked suite. His domain and it was his prerogative to decide who entered. He hadn’t gotten involved with a submissive, or any woman, for months and no one else, not even his partner, had the key to that room.
    Topping off his cup of coffee, he trounced up the back stairs toward his office. At thirty years old and working since he could pick up a hammer, he’d learned a thing or two about running a profitable business. He preferred to deal with the nuts-n-bolts aspects when it came to ranching, and gladly left the headache of paperwork to his brothers Matt and Miller. But he’d made a mistake once in letting someone else deal with the club’s finances. Never again.
    Today he had an appointment with his digital ledger. He opened the door to his office just down from his lonely apartment and glared at his computer. No way to escape the ordeal. He had to bite the bullet in dealing with the club bookkeeping he’d let slide to the last weekend of the month. For the last two years, he came up from Annona to Paris and stayed in the apartment above the club. Not easy, but he and Pen had finally established the S & L as high-class.
    “Now or never,” he muttered, preparing to untangle red from black as he shrugged out of his coat.
    He settled down in the wooden swivel chair, and sorted through the pile of paperwork spread over his desk. The club was open every night, and Penrose took over on the days when he was back at Evermore. Pen dealt with the ordering and inventory, as long as he agreed to do the books after their last SNAFU. Picking up a note scratched out by Pen, he narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher the man’s hieroglyphic handwriting. Something about the payroll . His attention snagged on a crimson costume hanging behind the door and he scowled at Val’s dress for a moment.
    God, how long had it been since he’d seen her? Not long enough. He’d gotten past their break-up when he’d confronted her on club money gone missing. She’d worked in the club boutique downstairs, and had been the S & L bookkeeper. But each month the club kept coming up short, and Pen started complaining about their account balance, and had pointed his finger at Val.
    Caught red-handed with a load of cash in her purse—marked money from their office safe. At first she claimed she needed the money to pay some bills. Her story fell apart when he found moving boxes packed in the apartment where she lived, which he’d paid for in town. She drove a car he’d given her. Val made a good salary never offering to cover even a cup of coffee when they went out together. She’d laughed in