Prince of Darkness vs Prom Queen 02

"Why?"

"Well, I thought you were going to start working for Trent Nichols and you wouldn't be here to make cookies and you make really good cookies, so I figured if I wanted them, I'd have to learn how to make them myself."

Her eyes widened and she propelled herself into his arms. "Donovan! I'm so proud of you! You actually tried to do something for yourself."

She was proud of him? "Obviously I failed, miserably."

"Nonsense. That was just a little setback. You were being ambitious. I know you're an overachiever, but we can work on something a little easier. I know! Tomorrow morning, I'm going to teach you how to make toast. You'll be a toast dominant before noon."

"Laci, I'm guessing toast requires fire, and that's probably not the best idea. Maybe we can start with something safer, like...ice cubes. Can you teach me how to make ice cubes?"

"Ice cubes and toast. You'll be a toast dominant and an ice cube master. I promise, and Donovan, even when you build your new training facility and you go off for weeks at a time, if you want cookies, all you have to do is call me and I'll send some to you. You'll have them the very next day."

"You'd actually do that?" He knew he shouldn't be surprised by her, but somehow, she always managed to surprise him anyway.

"Of course, I would. I may not be too good at the regular submissive stuff, but I promise to be the best cookie submissive you've ever had."

Great. He was going to be a toast dominant and she was going to be his cookie submissive. A match made in heaven. A heaven presided over by Laci Grace, Prom Queen and blue-eyed angel, with the most gorgeous ass in the universe, who understood how to take tying privileges to a whole new level.

It could work, and he was....happy. She was snuggled in his arms and he was really, dominantly....happy.

"Laci, do you know about Victor and Marian?"

"Of course. They're perfect for each other."

"Victor wants me to be his best man. Seems so strange. Never thought things would change. Figured he'd always be around telling me what to do and how I was doing it wrong."

"That won't change. They'll be right next door and Marian has a housekeeper who's been with her for years, so Victor will probably be at your house more than his own. He enjoys looking after you and giving you a hard time. It'll be nice for you to have Marian nearby, and even though she doesn't totally understand about the whole trainer thing, she'd do anything in the world for you. I'm glad you stayed close to her all these years. It's good you have some family to depend on."

"Who are you close to, Laci?" She wasn't answering and tried to pull away. He wouldn't let her. "Laci? What about your family? Who are you close to?"

"Donovan, I don't like talking about it."

"Please." He really wanted to know. For some reason it was really important that he knew.

"My parents split up when I was about ten. They argued constantly; really mean, yelling arguments. They both fought for my custody, but I don't think either of them wanted me. It was more like they resented me, but they used me to hurt each other and make things as hard as they could for each other. My dad met someone right away and moved to Pennsylvania, got remarried and started a new family. Because of the custody thing, I had to spend a certain amount of time with them, but I was an outsider whom they never tried to make feel welcome. My mother stayed in the house in Tennessee. It was about 30 miles north of the ranch. She met someone when I was about fourteen. They lived in Tennessee for a while, then he got a job offer in Ohio. A couple of months before I turned sixteen, I came home from school and the house was empty. There were some boxes with my stuff by the front door, but everything else had been shipped off to Ohio. My mother left a note with her new address in Ohio, 'if I wanted to go', which didn't seem like a real heartfelt invitation, so I didn't bother. A neighbor let me leave my stuff in her garage for a few weeks while I tried to figure out what I was going to do. I knew about the ranch, they were always looking for good workers, they paid really well, so I asked for a job."

"Victor told me you used to sneak back into the barn at night."

"I got away with it for about two months, but they found out and said I couldn't stay. There was a homeless shelter about a mile from my school, so I started going there, but I had moved all my stuff from the neighbor's garage and asked if I could leave it in the barn until I found another place. When the owners of the ranch realized what I was doing, they said I could live there, rent free, as long as I was working for them. They were so nice to me. There was a room off the barn and they converted it into a little apartment. It wasn't luxurious, but it was warm. I was able to save almost all my salary, so when I finished high school, I went to college. They knew I wanted to be a writer, and they surprised me and paid for my last year of tuition, so I'd have money to get started somewhere else. When I graduated, I sent invitations to both parents, but never heard from either of them. Maybe they figured I was expecting something from them, but I just wanted them to know how much I'd done for myself. That was the last time I tried to connect with them. All the people from the ranch came to my graduation and they felt more like family than my parents ever did. Other than them, I don't have a family."

He could feel warm tears on his bare chest. Now he understood why she was so attached to the ranch. The members of his family had more money than they would ever need, had opportunities someone like Laci would have killed for, and other than Marian, none of them had ever done anything with their lives. Laci started with nothing, demanded nothing, worked for everything, made her own opportunities. No wonder she wasn't submissive. He respected the hell out of her. He created an entire empire, and she deserved more respect than he ever had. She kept trying to pull away from him, and he just held her tighter. Pulling away was not going to be an option. It took a while before she stopped trying and started to relax.

He thought about the people he was related to and the people who served the people he was related to. He thought about the people he trained and the people who wanted them trained. He thought about the people he employed and the people who depended on that employment. None of those people made him as content as he was at that exact moment, lying in bed holding his happiness in his arms.

"Laci? What if I asked you to be part of my family?"

She was quiet for so long, he thought she had fallen asleep. "You want to adopt me?"

"DAMN IT! No, I don't want to adopt you! I swear I'm going to forbid Victor from ever speaking to you again. You have to stop listening to him. Why the fuck would I want to adopt you? What the hell is wrong with you? Adopt you?" She was messing with him. She had to be. She couldn't seriously think he wanted to adopt her, then again, this was Laci Grace. Who could be sure of anything?

"Let's try this again. Laci, considering how quickly you seem to catch on to the business principles we've discussed, I'm going to put this in the most profitable terms I can think of at the moment. I am asking if you will consider the possibility of a merger; however, in the interest of maintaining a fair and equitable partnership, we need to have a long talk and do some serious negotiating, but if there is one thing I have figured out about you, it is never to negotiate without every bit of brainpower I possess, and after the kitchen crisis and what you did to me a little while ago, my brain is not working at full power. Therefore, in the morning, we can further discuss this transaction and come to an understanding about our future dealings which would include, among other things, cookie baking, toast making, and tying privileges. Agreed?"

"No adoption?"

"No, Laci. No adoption."

"That's good."

He had to ask. "Why is that good, Laci?"

"Because if you adopted me, we wouldn't be able to 'insta-fuck' anymore."

He'd take that as a 'yes'.

When Victor opened the front door the following morning, he immediately smelled coffee. Laci was always awake early and got coffee started. He pushed open the kitchen door. It all seemed so shiny. "What the hell...?"

"Good morning, Victor," Donovan greeted him. "I'm making toast."

Victor couldn't miss the warning look he was receiving from Laci behind Donovan's back. "Well, that's great, Donovan. Toast is a good thing to make."

"Laci taught me how to use the toaster."

"Did she? Toaster? So that's what that thing is? Always thought it was a radio."

"Shut up Victor and don't patronize me. You fucking well know it's a damned toaster."

"True. Listen, I need to go call Marian. I just got a call from the real estate guy and somebody outbid us for the house next door."

"Victor, I'm so sorry," Laci said. "Marian is going to be so disappointed. She loved that house."

"Yeah, but we'll figure something out."

Donovan looked up. "You know, Victor, maybe you and Marian can move into the guest house. Laci is going to be moving into the main house as soon as we get the master bedroom renovated."

Victor wasn't sure he'd heard right. "Laci is moving into the main house? This main house? With you?"

"Of course with me. We were up bright and early and laid out an entire prospectus for a future merger and how we can combine our individual assets into a single corporation. Commercialism is amazing, wouldn't you agree?"

Victor just stared, trying to interpret his boss's words. "Huh?"

"And Victor, on the counter behind you is a brown folder and a gray envelope. When you have a few minutes, could you read through what's in the folder? I decided to take your advice and liquidate some of my residences and real estate holdings. As you pointed out, I can only live in one place at a time. I'm keeping a few of them, like the place in Seattle, since I do a lot of business there. And I'm keeping the place in London, so I have a home base to work from when I'm dealing with European transactions. Of course, I'm keeping Kalake. Oh, and I'm keeping the New York apartment because Laci said I should."

"Laci said you should?"

"Yes. She has an incredible mind for business. I wanted you to look over the list and see if I left anything off, if I forgot anything."

Victor opened the folder and scanned the list. "Stone Edge? You're getting rid of Stone Edge? What about the training facility?"

"I changed my mind about building a new one. After the Texas session went so well, I decided that from now on, if anyone requires my services, I'll go to them. I can fly in, do the training, and fly out. Much easier. No mess. No overhead. No insurance. I'll be a traveling Dom and trainer. Laci thinks I can even arrange for a cell phone app. Mobile Dom. Great idea, don't you think?"

"Huh?"

"Oh and Victor, you'll probably want to give that gray envelope to Marian. She's far more responsible than you are. She'll make sure the deed to your new house doesn't get misplaced."

"New house?"

"Yes, Victor. I bought the house next door as a wedding present for you and Marian. And you mentioned some work needed to be done, so when I have the crew working here, they can work on your place, as well. Maybe I should have Laci talk to Marian and arrange everything."

"You bought the house for me and Marian?"

"Yes, I did, and after you pick your jaw up off the floor, don't forget you wanted to call Marian." Donovan turned to Laci. "Let's have breakfast in the garden. You bring the coffee and I'll bring the toast."

What a wonderful morning! The birds were chirping softly, there was a slight breeze, the scent of garden flowers was everywhere, and Laci was shining. It had started exceptionally early with the most intense and profitable negotiation he'd ever participated in. Laci really had an amazing grasp of business, especially when she suggested they seal their deal with an 'insta-fuck'. He had never sealed a better deal.

Free enterprise was incredible. Laci was moving in. Victor had been stunned into silence.

It was a perfect arrangement.

*******

I am blown away by the feedback and pleased Laci & Donovan's story has found an audience.

To everyone who has read and commented, a very sincere THANK YOU!

Another THANK YOU to bigg_mike for every bit of help, encouragement, and suggestion.

CHWH