Taming a Brat Pt. 16

*Kane's POV*

When I woke up, Alias was already gone. I was a bit disappointed. I thought we could grab breakfast on our way to the office, but I understood why she was upset with me. Truthfully, Keith Hanson is an old fashioned man. He didn't respect women high in business, and I refused to take Alias somewhere I knew she'd be belittled and not taken seriously. I could handle her being mad at me, but I know myself enough to know that I would cross a line trying to defend her. She couldn't see it how I do, but I knew she'd forgive me in short time. I made the decision with careful consideration, and it had nothing to do with our personal involvement.

Alias's abilities were not a question to me. I watched her be exceptional on a daily basis. I just hope I can make this up to her because the last thing I want is for her to feel like I'm taking opportunities away. I decided an "I'm sorry" dinner would suffice once I made it back into town and began making the plans in my head as I got ready for work. I threw on a comfy black suit and made my way downstairs. Damion was waiting for me, per usual. He seemed extra chipper this morning, to a suspicious degree.

"What's got you so happy?" I smirked at him.

"Sarah, man," He beamed ear to ear, "She is incredible."

"Oh, do tell," I encouraged him and he began to fill me in on last nights festivities.

"She's a natural submissive, I'll leave it at that," He winked in the rearview and I chuckled at his swooning.

"Congratulations, you definitely deserve it," I smiled at him proudly.

"So, how's things with Alias?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Well," I sighed, "I think I piss her off as much as I make her happy," I shook my head lightly.

"Well, how do you feel about her?" He asked compassionately.

"I-.." I started, "I'm not sure, Damion. I never intended to like her as much as I do."

"Why is that a bad thing?" He questioned me.

"She has had a lot of bad. I don't want to add to that list," I explained as the car pulled to a stop in front of the office.

"Then don't," He smirked. Easier said than done, Damion. I waved goodbye as I headed into the office.

I wanted to make things as blissful as possible for her, but she was a challenge in herself without adding both of our personal bullshit into it. I hoped she wouldn't be mad at me as I made the announcement about the pitch in our meeting today, but I can feel her glare already. When she cools off, I would like to try to explain to her better where I'm coming from, but for now, I'd just have to accept that she can only see her point of view right now.

I was lost in my thoughts as I rode the elevator up to my office. To my surprise, the doors opened revealing Alias sitting in the waiting chairs. Apart of me remembered how much I enjoyed seeing her waiting for me here every time she broke a rule. Seeing her now sparked that same joy. She looked eager and excited, instantly changing my mood for the better as I became excited for whatever it was she had to tell me.

"Ms. Star, please come in," I smiled at her as I opened the door for her. She walked in with a confident stride, paperwork in hand, and her head held high. My excitement began to fade as I realized exactly what this was about.

"Keith Hanson, CEO of Hanson & Sons Corporation," She laid down the paperwork on my desk, clearly not needing the reference documents. "H&S, for short, is a company that sells motorized bicycles, scooters, and chairs that are strictly electronically powered and designed to be the least harmful to the environment of any competitor brands. Their target market currently is-..."

"Alias, please," I cut her off. I knew her presentation would be phenomenal, but that isn't the reason I didn't choose her.

"Kane Rhodes, you are discriminating against my gender, and it will be the biggest mistake you've ever made," She glared at me, fuming.

"Alias, please understand this is for your own good," I tried to soften the blow.

"And how exactly is keeping me from doing my job- a job I'm damn good at, might I add, for my own good?" She spat. I hated she was so angry with me.

"Alias, I won't allow you to pitch a sale in a room full of businessmen that won't respect you," I explained.

"You think I've been respected my entire career?" She scoffed, "You think I've never been in a room full of men who doubted my abilities because I was a woman? You think I can't handle that?"

"I know you can, but I don't want to be the one to put you in that situation when I know better. Please try to understand," I tried to reason with her.

"Let me make myself clear, Kane," She leaned over my desk, "You don't get to decide when I need protecting and when I don't. I'm fully capable of handling myself, " She grabbed up her papers and headed for the door.

"Alias-..." I called after her, but the door slammed behind her in response.

I buried my head in my hands and sighed deeply. I tried to regain my composure as I grabbed my materials for the meeting in a few minutes. I don't know if I can make it through this meeting knowing she's going to be sitting there upset the entire time. If it were any other company, I'd take her in a heartbeat, but I know Keith personally. I know what he thinks of women, especially women in business. He'd assume she was my assistant in a heartbeat and disregard her every word after. I simply refused to do that to her. I reassured myself I made the right choice as I made my way to the conference hall.

For once, I was late to my own meeting. Surprised faces spanned the room as I made my way to the podium. Alias sat in her usual spot, in my direct vision. She maintained her emotions well, but I could tell there was anger written all over her face. I peeled my eyes from her and cleared my throat as I began discussing each point until I finally arrived to the final announcement, the one I dreaded most.

"Tomorrow, I will be flying out with one of the Senior Marketers to New Jersey for a huge opportunity for us," I glanced at her, her face turning more sour by the second, "And I'm proud to announce that will be..." I trailed off as I spotted her anger turn to sadness, "Sam Thompson," I barely choked out the words as her face fell.

Applause erupted, people patted him on the back. It was a rare opportunity for me to take a senior marketer on a pitch like this, so it was something to be celebrated for sure. Though, Alias nor myself were up for much celebrating. I fought through my feelings, putting up a cheerful front as I shook hands with Sam and greeted the other employees. I wanted to speak to Alias, but I realized she had slipped out amongst the commotion. I knew I made the wrong choice by the way I was feeling. I knew she deserved to go, but I was torn between what I knew and my chivalry. I'd talk to her later and hopefully come to some sort of happy medium.

____________________________________

I didn't see Alias the rest of the day. I have to admit, I looked for her a few times. Even though I know I made this decision to protect her, she was damn good at making me feel like I made the wrong choice.

Damion picked me up per the usual and took me back to my place. He caught me up on his latest conversations with Sarah, but my mind was stuck on trying to figure out how to make Alias understand where I'm coming from. I bid him goodbye as I made my way upstairs. Alias was sitting with her legs crossed on the sofa, scrolling through her phone intently. She smiled lightly at me to greet me before going back to whatever she was doing.

I pulled off my tie and unbuttoned my dress shirt before plopping down beside her. I wasn't trying to look at her phone, but my eyes landed on the apartments she was scrolling through. Panic spread through me, and I realized I hadn't considered the fact that she wasn't going to live here with me.

"You know you're welcome to stay here, Alias?" I asked softly.

"Do you think that's the best idea, Kane?" Her tone was harsh.

"I don't see why not. The penthouse is big enough for you to live here and barely see me," I tried to joke with her.

"You think I should just move in? We barely know each other," She said coldly. Ouch, I thought we were working on fixing that.

"Alias, what's really wrong?" I decided to cut to the chase, knowing my announcement was the root of the issue.

"I just never would have taken you for a guy who can't respect my work because you've seen me naked. Made me realize maybe I don't know you as well as I had considered," She shrugged her shoulders, trying to hide the pain in her voice.

"Alias Star, you should take that bullshit back right now," I began, "You know damn well I respect the hell out of you and your work, and quite frankly what we do outside of the office has nothing to do with any of that."

She opened her mouth, but I cut her off, "Another thing, I'm not whatever the insecure mess of men you've dated previously are. I find your entrepreneurialism to be sexy as hell, not to mention how damn good you are at every single project you involve yourself in. I didn't choose you because you're a woman, yes. That wasn't because it was my preference. It was because the CEO of the other company would have said something to you, and I would have cost us the entire deal for telling the son of a bitch off when he did. Please, Alias, please understand where I'm coming from."

"Okay," She said in exasperation, "I understand. Please promise me-.."

"Alias, I promise you our personal life will never affect my perception of your professional life," I looked genuinely into her eyes. They softened as she realized I hadn't done anything to purposely upset her.

"Thank you," She smiled at me, locking her phone, "But definitely call me when you can't close the deal. I'll save the day."

"You'll be on speed dial," I chuckled at her.

"You really want me to live here?" She said, spanning the room with her eyes.

"I hadn't considered it honestly, but I wouldn't mind," I put an arm around her shoulder. To my surprise, she climbed over into my lap, straddling me.

"How about we'll see how it goes?" She smiled at me as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I leaned my head back to meet her lips in a gentle kiss.

"Sounds good to me," I smiled back at her, "I don't like when you're upset with me."

"Aw, poor thing, don't make me upset then," She smirked jokingly.

"Easier said than done," I scooped her up, and laid her back gently on the couch, lowering myself onto her. Her hands floated to my shoulders, and I tucked her hair behind her ear lightly. I kissed her softly, but passionately. I wished momentarily she was going with me tomorrow, already missing her even though she was right here.

"When do you fly out?" She asked with disappointment in her eyes.

"First thing in the morning, sweetheart," I looked at her with the same longingness.

"And you'll be back Friday?" She asked with a little excitement in her tone.

"I'll be back Friday," I smiled down at her, stroking her hair lightly.

"Could we do something Friday night?" She asked, biting her lip. Fuck, she made me weak every time she did that.

"Who's to say I don't already have plans?" I smirked teasingly at her.

"For us?" She raised an eyebrow curiously.

"For me..." I teased, she shot a sour look and I couldn't hold back my laughter, "Yes, for us."

"Oh, what kind of plans?" She smiled, seemingly surprised.

"It's a secret," I winked at her. I had already made plans to make up for this whole sales pitch ordeal this morning after I made the announcement.

"I'm excited to see," She grinned eagerly.

"What plans did you want to make?" I raised an eyebrow at her curiously. I planned to try to incorporate whatever she wanted to do with the plans I already had.

"Well..." She hesitated, "I was doing some research and I read about scenes..."

"You researched? My interest is peaked, please continue," I grinned devilishly at her. In our two times together, I know Alias was going to be a fantastic sub if we could ever tame the brattiness inside her. I was thrilled to hear she was taking this seriously and was enjoying it enough to learn more on her own.

"Well, I read that Doms create scenes for the submissive..." She kept trailing off.

"Alias, Im not going to judge you," I smiled softly, reassuring her.

"Scenes where it's not really sex so much as..." She bit her lip, "Play."

"Play as in?" I raised an eyebrow, smirking, knowing exactly what she meant.

"There were a lot of different scenarios," She blushed.

"And which ones stood out to you?" I smiled at her innocence. I was hoping something in particular caught her eye so when I do plan our first scene I can incorporate something she knows she wants.

"There were... um..." She was so nervous, and it was almost a turn on. Tell me, Alias, tell me what you want.

"Toys..." She sputtered out.

"What kinds?" I grinned cheekily as my mind filled with images of playing with Alias.

"Like... vibrators and stuff," She put her hands over her face, causing me to chuckle at her. She was like an inexperienced teen, too shy to open up about her desires. I found it beyond intriguing that this impeccably strong, mature woman never learned to talk about sex.

"Gasp, not vibrators!" I chuckled, joking with her.

"Kane! You said no judgment!" She seemed like she might die of embarrassment, which only made my amusement grow.

"I'm not judging you. I just find it adorable how flustered you get," I smiled at her genuinely.

"I can't help it! This has always been taboo to me," She bit her lip anxiously.

"I think nobody has ever given you the chance to talk about it, so you don't know how," I raised an eyebrow with a knowing smirk.

"That too," She blushed, "Why do you?"

"Why do I want you to tell me what you want?" I asked.

"Yeah, why do you?" She looked at me curiously.

"Well, firstly, because I'm a classic Dom who gets off by pleasuring you," I explained, "Secondly, I care about what you want."

"You're the first," She giggled, "What do you mean by classic Dom?"

"Remember I told you each Dom is different," I began. Alias nodded signaling me to continue, "There are some Doms who get off on pain or humiliation, some get off on service subs, some get off on slave subs..."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Service subs?"

"Yes, the sub would do anything to make the Dom's life easier. For example, making his lunch each day or cleaning his home. There isn't always a sexual aspect in those relationships," I explained.

"How is there any pleasure in that for either of them?" She seemed totally bewildered by the concept.

"The thing about submissives is they all have one core fundamental, and that is to please their Dom in whatever way fits their dynamic," I explained as best I could.

"So, wanting to be dominated doesn't necessarily make you a submissive?" She seemed as if she just had a revelation.

"No, being dominated can be nothing more than a kink. To be a true submissive, your pleasure is in pleasing your Dominant and vise versa," I responded.

"So, how do submissives please a Dom that is a sadist?" She asked curiously.

"Somebody has been doing research," I chuckled, "But usually, a sadist would want a submissive masochist, someone who finds pleasure in pain or degradation."

"Well, what if I'm a submissive that disobeys?" She asked thoughtfully.

"Then you're a submissive that would be punished a lot," I chuckled.

"I mean, what kind of submissive gets off on pushing your buttons?" She blushed lightly.

"You're referring to a brat, not a submissive," I explained a little bitterly. Alias was undoubtedly a brat at times, but a part of me hoped she wouldn't brat me when we were in a scene. Not that I had a rule against brats, I just never much cared to deal with the passive aggressive, manipulative way they go about getting what they want.

"Why are they different?" She seemed offended almost.

"Brats only want to provoke the Dominant. Their pleasure comes from getting a reaction and being punished for their behavior, not from pleasing and obeying the Dom," I answered.

"What if they enjoy getting a reaction, but behave and obey their Dominant after the punishment?" She asked intently.

"Sounds like you're blurring the lines between a brat and a submissive," I said sarcastically.

"What kind of Dominant would enjoy that?" She asked.

"Probably a Dominant interested in being a Brat Tamer," I held back the eye roll waiting to happen.

"Oh..." She trailed off, "You're not that kind of Dom?"

"Alias, I've played with brats. I appreciate complete obedience over being provoked to react," I explained.

"So, yesterday when I disobeyed, you didn't like that?" Sadness seem to come across her face.

"Truth be told, normally, I wouldn't like that. Normally, I wouldn't have reacted," I replied cautiously.

"So why did you?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to punish you for disobeying," I answered.

"But you're not a sadist or a brat tamer?" She seemed confused.

"No, Alias, but I wanted to remind you who was in charge," I smirked lightly.

"But you liked it?" She smiled deviously.

"I would have much more enjoyed you kneeling when I told you too," I chuckled, "I did enjoy throwing you over my shoulder and punishing you too though."

"I think you can be both," She said confidently.

"Both what?" I raised an eyebrow curiously at her.

"A brat and a submissive," She stated.

"How do you figure?" I asked, interested in her response.

"A healthy balance of the two," She smiled, "Submit, but occasionally misbehave," Her smile turned to a smirk, "I also think you can be a classic Dom and a Brat Tamer."

"And what makes you think that?" I asked, my curiosity peaked.

"You enjoyed putting me in my place as much as you enjoy me obeying. Maybe it's not so black and white?" She grinned cheekily. I didn't say it out loud, but she honestly had a point. I always differentiated the two and never considered the dynamic could work like that. She wasn't wrong, I did enjoy it, but I've been the same Dominant since I started into this lifestyle. I wasn't so sure how well I could handle bratting.

"For now, I think it's best we just see how well you handle your first scene. Then, we can figure out what kind of submissive you really are," I smiled at her. She really wouldn't know until she got some experience under her belt.

"I think that's probably best," She blushed, "Thank you for talking through this with me."

"Always, Alias," I kissed her gently. We locked eyes momentarily as I pulled away. Lust filled hers as she stared into mine.

"When will we do our first scene?" She asked quietly, biting her lip.

"I'll plan one for us this weekend," I smiled as her, resisting the urge to start one right this second.

"You have to plan it?" She asked in shock.

"After a while, not so much, but definitely for now," I chuckled at her eagerness.

"Ugh, Kane, it's going to be forever until I get to do anything!" She huffed in exasperation, which only made me chuckle harder.

"Sweetheart, by the time I get back, I'll have one planned for you. You can't rush these things. You had to form a level of trust with me before we could really get started," I kissed her nose playfully.

"How do you know I trust you?" She asked seriously.

"After you talked to Tara, I knew you figured out you could trust me," I explained.

"What makes you think that?" She teased.

"You wouldn't be here right now otherwise," I smiled down at her genuinely.

"Yeah, yeah. My trust is hard to come by, so don't fuck it up," She said playfully.

"I have no intentions to do so," I smirked at her.

She leaned up to meet my lips with hers in a passionate kiss, my tongue roaming her warm mouth. She was intoxicating. I've found myself growing more and more attached to this incredibly complex, free spirit that is Alias Star. My thoughts turned to silent bliss as I melted into her lips, every worry drifting away. Her hands running softly up and down my chest soothed away all the stress of the day. Her body nestled underneath mine is an indescribable feeling of comfort. I don't know how or why I feel so much for her, but in this moment I realized one thing: I can't lose her.