Five minutes passed. Then ten. But his patience was rewarded when the man emerged from the clinic alone.
“I hope they pay you well for what you do,” Kingsley said as the man walked past him.
The man didn’t turn around. Instead, he walked backward until he stood in front of Kingsley.
“Volunteer,” the man said. “Got a problem with that, mate?”
“You’re Australian. I didn’t expect that. Mon ami.” He added the “mon ami” in retaliation for the “mate.”
“Yeah, and what the fuck are you?”
“French? American? Bisexual? Rich? Kinky? Pick one. Or all of them.”
The man lifted his chin and cocked an eyebrow at Kingsley. The Aussie was sizing him up. The man was taller than him and had more overall muscle mass. But Kingsley was a trained killer and didn’t sense anything threatening in the Aussie’s posture.
“Australian,” the man said. “Straight. Not rich. Not sure about kinky. It’s only kinky the first time, right?”
“I had a feeling I would like you. What’s your name?”
“Lachlan. Lockie, my friends call me. Not saying we’re friends.”
“I wouldn’t dare presume.” Kingsley nodded his head in polite and feigned submission. “I was impressed earlier. It must not be easy, doing what you do.”
“I don’t do it because it’s easy. I do it because it needs doing. I saw you earlier. You weren’t protesting and you don’t look pregnant. What do you want?”
“You,” Kingsley said. “Not in a sexual way. You wouldn’t by any chance be interested in a job, would you?”
“I have a job.”
“A different job, then. I’m starting a club. Opens in November. I need someone to work as a bouncer of sorts.”
“Of sorts? What the hell does that mean?”
“I’ll have professional submissives in the club. They’ll need a watcher when they’re with a client. It would be a far more pleasant form of escort duty.”
“I do important work here.”
“You can still work here. The hours won’t conf lict, I promise.”
Kingsley took out a silver case and passed his business card to the man.
“Kingsley Edge. Edge Enterprises,” the man read aloud. “This is for real?”
“As real as it gets. I need a strong intimidating man who will be able to stand in a corner, keep his mouth shut and intervene if and only if a client crosses a line. He needs to be calm under pressure and able to face, let’s call it…unpleasantness without getting unpleasant.”
“I’m supposed to stand in a corner and watch someone beat up a woman without intervening?”
“Yes.”
“She’s getting paid for it?”
“Well paid. And she’s consenting. And she enjoys it. All my employees enjoy their work. I see to that.”
“And you’re going to pay me to watch?”
“Good job, oui?”
“I can think of worse ways to make a living.”
Kingsley smiled. “The club doesn’t open until the end of November. You call that number if you’re interested. My secretary will bring you in for a more formal interview.”
“I might be interested.”
“There is one thing that might dampen your interest.”
“What?” Lachlan asked, eyeing him.
“We’ll have male submissives, too,” Kingsley said, knowing most straight men wouldn’t be comfortable watching two men engage in kink. “Male submissives with male or female dominants. They’ll also need a watcher, a protector. That bother you?”
“I protect whoever needs protecting. I’m in this fucking city ten thousand miles from home because my sister married the world’s biggest wanker. I’m not leaving until I can take her back to Sydney with me.”
“Introduce her to me. I have a way of getting women to leave their husbands.”
The man shook his head and laughed. The laugh transformed his expression from one of stony suspicion into boyish amusement.