Thistle arrived at the club with fifteen minutes to spare. She would have been even earlier if she didn't have to struggle to hide her new bald spot. That and the "uniform" she had decided to wear. Lucky for her, a long navy-blue coat she had lying around solved both issues. But there was something else she couldn't hide.
She glanced down at the metal ring shining brightly around her neck in the evening light. She had wondered a few times if she should have put her foot down and said no. She may be warming up to Archer, but this was crazy for knowing him less than a day. Plus, he clearly was dangerous. But she couldn't deny the thrill of all this. She was finally living life, albeit a crazy one. So, the collar stayed.
There was no line to the club since it didn't open for another hour. She let herself in and found a familiar auburn wolf in the front, both doing inventory.
"Hey there." She said, getting his attention. He looked up from his clipboard, wearing the cutest reading glasses. It gave him cute nerd energy to the highest degree.
"Hello?" he said as if confused by her presence. But then it seemed to click. "Oh, it's you. Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first."
"Should you? We didn't even talk last night."
"Boss had a meeting with all the security staff about you and your status." His eyes glanced down toward her collar for a second before snapping up.
"Please tell me it wasn't anything bad?" She groaned, memories of earlier playing in her head.
"No, quite the opposite. He had high praise."
"Ha! Never to my face, of course. I'd better go in and see the man in question before I'm late."
"Oh, before I forget." He put down his clipboard and grabbed a bracelet. It was like her one from last night but gold and shiny like metal. He waited for her to remember to give her arm to him. He was quick in securing it, the gold dangling from her wrist.
"Thanks...sorry I didn't ask your name?"
"Milo." He replied eagerly with a big grin. She wondered if his tail was wagging behind the counter, but she couldn't tell.
"Thank Milo. I hope to see you around."
"You too, Miss."
She headed down into the bowels of the club, luckily memorizing the way to Archer's office from last night. The same doorman from last night was at his station again. He gave her a nod and opened the door for her.
"Thank you." She said stepping inside, which closed promptly behind her. Archer was at his desk typing away at a laptop. He couldn't even bother to look up at her.
"So." She started dangling the bracelet. "Why do I have to wear more jewelry? Or is it a game to see how much I will accept before getting annoyed?"
He glanced up with such a look of annoyance that it stopped her in place. The look reminded her there was a line and if she was not careful, she could stumble right over it. His gaze, though, soon was back on his computer.
"You're hiding my mark." He said coldly, unfeeling. The nice guy from this morning was gone leaving the asshole behind.
"I was never told not to cover it, and you're deflecting again."
He didn't respond. Just kept typing. After a minute, he closed the laptop, rising from his plush leather chair. He walked to the front of his desk and leaned against it.
"It's the VIP version of the owned bracelet. It's to avoid anyone else pursuing you here. You can take it off when you leave."
"Oh well, that's fine." She crossed her arms, feeling silly for causing such a fuss. Of course, it was part of the club's dumb system.
Archer only responded with his dumb smirk. "You're early."
"Have an issue with that now?"
"Just noting how eager you must be to serve me."
"Or not wanting to see what punishment I get for being late." She shot back.
"Speaking of punishments. I recall telling you to wear something that could be your uniform."
"And I am." She put a hand on her hip as if modeling her coat.
"If you expect me to let you wear something that covers you up, I'll tear it off you and make you go naked for a month."
She gave a dramatic eye roll at that. "So dramatic. It's underneath, silly."
"Then why are you wearing a coat?"
"Because I would get arrested in this outfit." She thought not that he needed to know that. Teasing him was much more fun.
"For a surprise reveal."
"He actually growled at that. "Show me, pet."
"As you wish." She undid the buttons on her coat and dropped it on the floor. It revealed the schoolgirl uniform underneath. The idea had come to her as she closed her shop and she rushed to get one. The only issue was that the only size the store had was one too small for her. She had taken it, though. The green and black plaid skirt barely covered her ass. And her breasts pressed tightly against the sheer white top, leaving no room for a bra. She even added thigh-high white socks for good measure.
She had decided to go for the surprise route, wanting to get the upper hand this time, and it seemed to work. His mouth hung open, shock on his face. But he quickly recovered, the cold mask descending once more.
"What is that?" His tone was impossible to read.
"You said I had to have a uniform. This is a uniform."
"You want to wear that every day that you're here?"
She shrugged. "Better than nude, like you prefer me."
He only shook his head at that. "I'll allow it for today as we've got to cover the basic rules, I expect you to follow. Try it again though..." He left the sentence in the air, allowing her mind to fill the blank.
"Of course." She replied, putting her arms behind her back, shifting on her feet to cause the skirt to sway. She caught his eyes having a wandering glance.
"First, as I said before, I like how we talk, but I can't have an untrained pet. So, you can continue to talk like this, but you must use Master in every sentence addressed to me. But if we are in company or public, you will behave. I will not tolerate you making me look bad."
"Hold up." She stopped swaying as she spoke. "You expect me to call you 'Master' in public?"
"Of course. Imagine you're working for a rich client with too much ego."
"So, you?" she teased. "But fine, I can agree to that."
