A Shadow of Scarlet (Book #3)

She finished her forms. Exercise done, she was sitting in a lotus position. Meditating in the square of warm sunlight from the window when she felt as if she was being watched. Opening her eyes she saw April standing a few feet away looking at her.

"Hello." April moved closer when she saw Callie open her eyes. A small come-on smile crossed her lips. "Whatcha doing?"

Callie stood. "I was meditating. Can I help you with something?"

"Oh no. I'm just dropping off some paperwork. To Lainey. I'm April by the way." April held out her hand.

Callie shook April's hand.

"Callie." She introduced herself.

"Are you a member here? I've seen you around a couple of times."

"No. I'm not a member. I just work here. For Greenwood."

"Oh. Well, I'm usually here if you ever want to get together. I'd be happy to show you around. There are some really interesting members only areas that are off limits to most people. " April gave Callie her come-on smile again.

Callie looked at April and smiled back. April was pretty. From what Callie had seen, she was also popular. She seemed to be interested in Callie personally too. Which would be nice. Callie could use a friend to talk to besides Maria and Karen.

While they were getting introduced to each other, the elevator dinged just before the doors opened. Callie automatically looked beyond April to visually check the elevator space. Fox stepped out of the elevator to stand silhouetted against the silver doors as they closed behind her. She saw Callie looking past April at her. She dropped her eyes, uncertain of her welcome.

"I'd like that sometime. But, if you'll excuse me, there's someone here I need to see." Callie brushed past April on her way to Fox before she stopped talking.

April watched as Callie walked over to the newcomer from the elevator. Fox kept her eyes down as Callie stopped in front of her.

"Hey." Callie's greeting was soft.

Fox's shy nod was a stuttering jerk while she still looked at the floor. She twisted her hands together. Callie moved a half step closer to tenderly brush hair back from Fox's face. Fox looked up with hope in her eyes.

"Hi. My heart was lonely without you." Callie let her fingers trail down Fox's neck to stop in the small hollow at the cleft of her collarbones.

Fox lifted her arms to put them around Callie's neck as her face lit with happiness. Callie stepped into the embrace. April, watching them, felt betrayed somehow. She had been making an offer for a relationship to Callie. Who dismissed her. For some girl!

"Mrs. Smith." The voice came from behind April. It was frigid in tone.

April turned quickly. She knew who she'd see there. But, it was Scarlet, not Karen, who stood behind her. The tone of voice, along with the use of her House Title, made that unmistakable.

"Yes, Domna." April was already beginning to kneel before she was even fully turned around. "How may I serve you?"

"How long have you been a member of the House?" Karen's voice was still frosty.

"Three years, Domna."

"Three years? In those three years have you not learned the Rules?"

April was confused. Why was Scarlet asking her about the Rules? Of course she knew the Rules.

"Yes, Domna. I know and understand the Rules."

"I see. How is it then, that I suddenly find you breaking Rule Sixteen?"

"Domna?" April's confusion was even greater.

"Rule Sixteen. Recite it for me."

"Rule Sixteen: No recruiting outside the House."

"Correct. Yet, I distinctly heard you make an offer to bring someone," Karen nodded at Callie. "Who told you directly that she is not a member, into the restricted member's only areas. How is that not a violation of Rule Sixteen?"

April sagged as she continued to kneel at Karen's feet. "It is a violation Domna. I am ashamed. Please forgive me."

"Perhaps it is not so clear as I believed it to be." Karen explained about Callie. "She has a special, specific, exemption to the Rules of the House for the purpose of my personal needs and assistance. Unique needs and assistance which are sanctioned by the full Dominus Council. Her presence here is authorized by the entire House. Where I go, she goes. She is my shadow and inseparable from me."

"However, though she has full unlimited access to everywhere in the House, she is not a member. She cannot become a member. She has no authority over anyone unless that member is specifically so informed by me. Further, she cannot be directed by, detained by, or instructed by, any member of the House except myself. Regardless of what she wears or does not wear, in all aspects of her presence here she is permanently and irrevocably Red! Is that clear?"

"Yes Domna."

"Please tell others what I have told you to ensure that my will on this is known. Because her position and status may have been uncertain until now, I will overlook your violation. Do not let it happen again. Do you understand?"

"Yes Domna. Thank you. It will not happen again."

"Dismissed." Karen continued to stand in place as April got from her kneeling position.

"April?" Karen used her name once April was standing to indicate her different persona than Scarlet.

"Yes Ma'am?"

"I will not tolerate jealousy in the House." Karen gave a tiny thrust of her chin at Callie and Fox who were still entwined.

"Their relationship is very new. Yet, you can see that they are obviously happy together. Callie works directly with me so she is here always. At this time it is uncertain, but Fox may be here often also. If that becomes so, then what I just told you will apply to her as well.

"You can be friends. If they invite you for more, that is your business. As long as it is outside the House. But, I will not tolerate jealousy or pettiness. If that is going to be a problem, I would be more than happy to talk to you about it. Unofficially over coffee sometime."

April smiled at Karen. "Yes Ma'am. It won't be a problem. I would like the coffee though."

Karen smiled back. "Good. We'll get together. Right now I can't because I'm really busy. But, I will be sure to make time for us. Soon. I promise."

"Yes Ma'am. I hear there's a new confectioner who is going to be supplying the Club restaurant. They're supposed to be really good. Better than what we have now. Perhaps we can sample their products together?"

"It's a date." Karen laughed. She hadn't even formally told anyone about Rose's new venture and already there were rumors about how good her desserts were.

Karen waited until April walked away before placing her hand gently on Callie's shoulder.

"Callie! You two little flowers need to stop trying to pollinate in public."

Karen referred to their rather special names as a method to let them know that public displays of affection are fine. Public groping was not. No matter how much they wanted to.

Callie kissed Fox one last time before she turned to face Karen. She continued to hold Fox's hand as she stretched up to kiss Karen on the lips.

"We haven't actually had a chance yet to try to pollinate, as you put it. Which you very well know."

Fox blushed at the hint of sex. She tried to pull away from Callie in embarrassment over intruding into what she thought was Callie's relationship with Karen. Callie pulled her forward and kissed Fox again.

"It's ok. Karen doesn't mind. She told me so herself."

"It's true. Your mother lives an alternative lifestyle and you do not judge her for it. You grew up in that environment. You accept her for who and what she is."

"I, too, associate with a great many people, and friends, who live alternate lifestyles. I cannot afford to judge them for it, so I accept them for who they are. I may not participate, but I do not condemn or judge them. I do not judge you either. If you and Callie are happy with each other, then I am happy for you. It is that simple. Truth." Karen had adopted some of Callie's metaphors for herself. That made them no less useful and often helped to convey her full intention and meanings.

"Really? But you . . . She . . . You're . . ." Fox let the end of her question fall away.

"No, we're not. I'm not like you two. I have slept in the same bed with Callie while she was sick. She needed someone there with her constantly until she was able to recover. We did not make love because I am not like you or her. I don't mind if Callie and you are together."

"I don't understand. You are always . . ."

"Yes we do. Quite frequently. It means something else for us. It has nothing to do with any relationship that Callie has or may develop with you. Does your mother kissing her partner mean she doesn't love you?"

"No." Fox was sure about that.

"This is the same. Callie is very special to me. She is special to a few others as well. She returns our affection for her. She does not sleep with us. Well, she does sleep with Maria but that's because Maria only has one bedroom in her apartment. So they sleep. Together." Karen threw up her hands and laughed.

"It's complicated. But, please believe me that neither I nor Maria are her lover. As far as I know, you are the only one she looks at like that."

"But we haven't . . ." Fox blushed again.

"Not yet. But, I suspect that you will eventually. In any regard, this subject is not appropriate for the hallway."

Fox nodded but refused to look up. Calle hugged her and whispered in her ear. Fox nodded again looking up at Karen after a moment. She blushed again when Karen looked directly at her. She started to drop her eyes once more, but caught herself before she did more than begin.

"Good." Karen told her obliquely. "Let's get out of the hallway. We can go down to my office. Then you can tell us why you are here."

Fourteen

"My mom thinks she's discovered there's going to be a meeting." Fox told Karen once they were in Lainey's reception area.

"A meeting? With whom?" Karen stopped instead of continuing into her office. Callie parked her hip on the spare desk pulling Fox into her arms. Lainey watched them in silence.

"I don't know. She didn't tell me that. What she wants is for you to talk with her so she can tell you herself. She doesn't trust the computer anymore. I don't either. I think there's a backdoor and a keylogger."

Fox snuggled closer to Callie as she explained. Karen gave a small indulgent smile but didn't say anything. Callie deserved happiness and the mutual affection they showed each other was not a problem given all that went on in the House. Honestly, with all the rampant sex and everything else which went on downstairs, a little cuddling was nothing. As long as it didn't get in the way of business.

She'd also learned that happy people gave top level performance. If what it took to get that from her people was to let them have a cuddle or snuggle, or even a scene, then that's what it took. The company benefitted in a huge way. Her people were happy, healthy, and content. The company clients were happy too because they got the top level results they needed. All because of a little affection and personal satisfaction. Win-win-win.

"A what?" Karen prodded Fox to expand on what she'd said.

"A keylogger. It's a hidden program that records all the key strokes you make. It can be retrieved so that someone else can see what you are doing by what you typed. Typed memos and reports, internet pages, emails, everything is recorded."

"Oh. That would let anyone know about the reports and they could go in through the back door and erase them."

"Yes. We were lucky they didn't think about the backups. Or they could have erased them too. Probably would have since they erased the computer files. But, the backup is internet based. They probably skipped that part of the file because I use the computer to surf the web. I used to use it a lot for homework. There's a ton of junk websites you'd have to slog through to find the backup site. So, whoever it was didn't bother. They just erased the computer files."

"The files were erased?"

"Yeah. The folders showed that they were all modified recently. All the folders. On the same day and at about the same time. I checked them out just for that because I was curious about why the files were missing."

"Good girl." Karen told her. "Very good girl."

Fox glowed at the praise. She pulled Callie's arms tighter around her body. She started to drop her eyes but remembered just in time to stop herself. She looked up at Karen instead. Karen looked meditatively at Fox.

"I need Callie for some things for about an hour. I can't invite you into the office with us, sorry. But, if you want to wait here for her, when she's done you two can go and be together if you want to. Are you ok with that?"

Fox nodded. "I don't have anything to do. I want to be here. With Callie. It's ok if I stay?"

"It's very ok if you stay. But, you'll have to wait out here. It'll take about an hour or so."

"I don't mind. My mom thinks I'm window shopping. We can't afford for me to buy things, so I look into the store windows a lot downstairs. Sometimes I go in the stores, but I don't like to do that too much because I never buy anything. The security people think I'm trying to steal stuff; I wouldn't! But, they give me a hard time sometimes. Usually I stay outside to just look at the displays in the windows and watch the people."

"All right. You can sit at the desk there while you wait. Ok?"

Fox nodded.

"Good. Lainey? Level one."

"What's that mean?" Fox wanted to know.

"It's a security protocol. Because you're here. It's the lowest level since I know you. However, we still have to make security happy. So, the protocol has to be set. Don't worry about it."

Karen explained calmly while Callie swivelled her head to stare at Karen like she was crazy. There wasn't anything like what Karen was saying. She ought to know. Callie opened her mouth, but Karen pointed a finger at her to cut her off before she could speak.

"We do not discuss security protocols. You know that."

Callie shut her mouth. She would ask Karen what she was doing once they were inside her office.

Lainey looked at Karen. "I understand," she said.

Karen nodded. She motioned at Callie for her to come inside.

"It'll be about an hour. Until then you can keep Lainey company. If you want, you can go sit where Callie was when you came out of the elevator. Either is fine. Please don't leave without letting someone know. Security hates it when that happens and no one tells them."

"I won't leave. I have no where to go and I want to be here."

"Ok. Once Callie is done, she'll be free the rest of the day as long as she stays in the complex. Unless an emergency happens you can be with her as long as you want."

Fox looked at Callie with hope and yearning in her eyes. Callie smiled back as she caressed Fox's cheek.

Callie, let's go. We have work to do. The sooner we get to it, the sooner it gets done. Karen opened the door to her office. Callie followed her inside closing the door behind them.

"What was that about?" Callie asked Karen once the door was secured. "There isn't any security protocol like that."

Karen motioned Callie further from the door. "Remember the things I had you do when you first came here?

Callie nodded, then suddenly understood. "It's a test. To see what she wants to do. But why?"

"Because she understands computers. She already knows about Scarlet so there's no security or secrecy problem. She is used to alternative lifestyles. The sights or sounds won't bother her. Nor is she someone who would become a member of Scarlet even with her preferences for a life partner. Which keeps her out of the hierarchy and any favoritism aspects."

"Still . . ."

"Also because Lainey needs someone to help her out. And maybe, eventually, Lainey might like to retire or take a few vacations to Rio or wherever she wants without worrying about us."

"She's Lainey's replacement?"

"Maybe she's Lainey's assistant. It depends on her. It always depends on the person and what they are willing to do. You can't teach someone to get off their rump and help themselves up. It has to be inside them. They have to want to reach for it."

"So, if she's not willing, then she's not welcome?" Callie didn't know if she liked that part or not.

"She will be welcome as your friend. But, you know that there are limits to what secrets can be shared."

"I remember my promise." Callie bowed her head.

"There is also one more reason." Karen kept the best for last. "I like her."

"So do I." Wolfe added from her side of the office. "Now be quiet, I'm trying to concentrate. Or I will evict the both of you to the other hallway." Wolfe pointed to the hidden door. Behind which was a narrow walkway. A very narrow walkway.

Callie grinned at Karen. Who grinned back as she sat down at her desk again.

"Do I have to stay?" Callie asked quietly.

"No, but where would you go?"

"I'll stay inside the building. I promise. Would that be ok? I can go out the hidden door."

Karen looked at Callie intently, then nodded to herself. "Tell them Scarlet said you are allowed a guest room."

"Tell who, what?" Callie asked innocently. Too innocently.

"Tell the Inn I said that you were to have a guest room. You were going to get a room, right?"

Callie blushed.

"Remember to eat. Both of you. Now, go." Karen pointed at the door in Wolfe's office. "Before we get evicted and have to work in the hall."

"Too right." Wolfe grumped at them.

Callie beamed at Karen, giving her a kiss before walking across the bridge. She stopped to kiss Wolfe's presented cheek before she pressed the button that opened the secret door.

"Thank you."

Neither Wolfe, nor Karen even looked up. Callie missed the brightness in both of their eyes as she closed the door behind her.

* * * * *

Today was the third day in a row Fox had said she'd wanted to come by the office to be with Callie. The first two days had been wonderful. She and Fox had spent the afternoon in bed with each other both days.

Callie wasn't that experienced, but Fox had almost no experience at all. Fox had been embarrassed when Callie had slipped off her T shirt and bra. More than embarrassed when Callie had began kissing Fox's body. Licking and gently pinching her nipples while her body responded to the very much wanted attention. Callie had needed to spend some time verbally and physically convincing her that it was ok for her to like what she was feeling.

It took a bit of time because both wanted each other, yet were unsure of opening their hearts fully. Neither wanted to be hurt emotionally. Nor hurt the other. But, in the end it was worth it. Fox's orgasm matched Callie's in strength. The love shining in her eyes afterward was equaled only by the love returned in Callie's. The kisses as passionate. As gentle. The final embrace was warm as they drifted together in the afterglow of sex and love.

It wasn't lust, though that was part of it. It was that each felt that they had found something which had been missing. Something which now made them complete. Whole.

Callie fidgeted as she watched the clock waiting for Fox to arrive. She wanted that feeling back.

"Stop fussing." Karen told her without looking up. "Even if she were here right now, you couldn't run off and get naked anyway. I need you, and she needs to step up. Today."

Callie nodded. She knew. Some opportunities had an expiration date, this one's was rapidly approaching.

"Wait! What is this?" Wolfe's exclamation made both Karen and Callie stop what they were doing to look at her.

"Since when do we have a project here?" Wolfe pointed at her screen before turning to Karen. "Is this something I don't know about?"