"Polite, my ass. I had all the pleases and thankyous in the right places."
Before Nick could reply, a loud voice hailed them. "Hey Hailey, help me win a bet, willya? Let me lob three pieces of ice into your gorgeous cleavage. A large dinner is riding on this."
Hailey hated moments like this. She dressed in clinging, showy outfits because it seemed to be expected of her, but the resultant "attention" she got only made her feel sick and vulnerable. Usually, to cover her fear, she got nasty. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and worked up the courage to come up with a sarcastic refusal. But before she could reply, Nick spoke up in a mild voice, "She's not playing any games today, are you Blondie?" Hailey turned to him, startled. The drunk was not impressed. "Hey, I asked the lady, not her wooden stick puppet."
Nick was not fazed. "Richard, isn't it? Why aren't you working on on the Levanti presentation, Richard? Isn't it due tomorrow?"
The drunk suddenly sobered. "Mr. Saylor? Uh...ummmm.... Me and the boys are just taking a break, Mr. Saylor. The presentation will be ready tomorrow. You betcha, sir. We'll get it. We'll...."
"See that you do." Nick's tone of finality chased him away, while Hailey watched in surprise. Most men of her acquaintance would have egged Richard on...they certainly wouldn't have protected her. She wasn't sure if she wanted protecting though she certainly was relieved. She didn't know that Nick had been watching her every emotion writ clearly in her eyes.
"I could have taken care of him..."
Nick smiled, a much nicer smile than she had seen all evening. "Sure, Blondie. Next time, I'll let you brandish your own weapon."
"He'll LET me??!! Next time???" she thought with a combination of outrage and intrigue, but before she could reply, the other two came back to the table. She continued to be keenly aware of him all evening, and when at the end of it, he asked her out to dinner, she accepted with a mild sense of curiosity. The geek had more to him than was suggested by his harmless appearance.
Actually, the geek, aka Nicholas Zachariah Saylor was a lot of things. He was a computer programmer, who had developed and sold so many games that he was a gadzillionaire before he was thirty. And for all his mild looks, Nick was also a Dominant: many young ladies were ready to come forward eagerly to vouch for his expertise in the art of control and painful pleasures. Hailey intrigued him - her beauty, her apparent hard layer that concealed a soft, conforming core presented a challenge and Nick loved challenges.
The first date was quite a success. Nick took Hailey to a quietly expensive restaurant, and was a very agreeable companion. He asked a lot of questions, and actually listened to her answers. For Hailey, who was usually treated like a blonde bimbo by men who wanted only one thing from her, this was a great change. She chattered away to him, not noticing that he would always gently deflect her when she grew bitchy. Being bitchy upset her, but that evening she came away happy, unaware that the quiet man in front of her was closely observing her.
They went out many times after that. He accompanied Hailey to all her charity galas, and Hailey was amazed at how comfortable and secure she felt in his company. She went with him to all his geekfests (as she termed it). But she was never bored or restless, just occasionally frustrated that he made no move sexually, other than a few sizzling goodnight kisses that left her burning for more.
Then came the game and the bet. Hailey had been whining and nagging at Nick to learn salsa dancing so that they could impress people at the big annual charity bash, but Nick had refused saying that he wasn't a good dancer. Until that day - when Hailey had nagged just one more time. Nick said, "Well Hailey, let's make a deal. We are going to watch a baseball game right now. If your team wins even by a point, then I'll learn to salsa. But if my team wins by a minimum of eight points, you will be my slave for a year."
Hailey thought that he was joking, but giggled and agreed to the bet. Eight points seemed to be a big margin, but then Hailey knew very little about baseball. She should have thought again......She also did not know that the match they were going to watch was a prerecorded one, and the outcome looked very, very good, at least for Nick.
So, Hailey stared in openmouthed shock when, at the end of the game, Nick said quietly, "Come, slave, let's see what we have here. Take of your clothes and kneel before me, so that I can inspect my property."