Praise

Emerson mentally reprimands himself for finding Charlie attractive when she shows up for her first day of work. He agonizes over their interactions, afraid that he will inadvertently reveal his attraction. He encourages her to ask questions about the Salacious Players’ Club and is gratified when she seems curious but not judgmental.

Meanwhile, Charlie is overwhelmed by the vast array of kink practices. Emerson explains that his own interest is in “a Dominant-submissive relationship” (46). She asks him what he thinks she might find arousing, and though he deems it likely that she responds strongly to praise, he demurs. Emerson dislikes imagining her sharing such practices with someone else, though he criticizes himself for being selfish to think this way. He vows to keep his distance from her.

Charlie feels intimidated by going to the Salacious Players’ Club and meeting “kinky people.” The club’s general contractor, Drake Nielsen, flirts with Charlie, which Emerson dislikes. Emerson discourages her from discussing kink with the other club employees, which she notes is hypocritical, given his stance that kink is far more common than popular discourse suggests. When he claims that he worries because she is “not ready,” she angrily insists that she is best equipped to determine her own emotional readiness.

Charlie meets Garrett, who encourages her to explore the half-finished club. He tells her to sit on a throne and kneels in front of her, suggesting the erotic possibilities of the position. Charlie finds herself uncomfortable, both by being in the position of power and by the feeling that she is being unfaithful to Emerson, despite the lack of sexual chemistry she feels toward Garrett. When Emerson sees them, he becomes angry, and Garrett finds this amusing. Emerson demands that Charlie remain near him when she is at the club, citing her past relationship with Beau. This makes her feel foolish; she has been worrying over her attraction to Emerson, and she now believes that he sees her as a child. She finds the idea of him being angry with her extremely unpleasant.

After Emerson and Charlie leave the club, he explains that he wants to protect her because she is “too young” to get involved in the club. When he asks about Beau, Charlie admits that she bumped into him and says that he was angry over the security deposit. She says that Beau sees her as “nothing but a fuckup. A loser and an idiot” (60). Emerson denies that she is any of these things and apologizes on Beau’s behalf for making her feel that way. Charlie doesn’t know how to respond to his defense of her. Later, she considers how good it would feel “to have a man like Emerson Grant look at [her] as a woman good enough for him” (62).

After work, Charlie picks Sophie up from school and takes her to purchase the newest installment in her favorite manga series. When Charlie notices the clerk at the comic shop looking at her revealing outfit, she flirts with him to get him to find a copy of the popular book for Sophie. Later, Charlie reflects that it felt good to think of herself as “a sexual person” (65).

Garrett teases Emerson for his unilateral praise of Charlie. Emerson insists that this is because their relationship is platonic. Drake and Maggie join them, as does Hunter and his wife, Isabel. Drake and Hunter tease Emerson about Charlie until Garrett urges them to stop and apologizes for flirting with Charlie. Emerson struggles to tamp down his attraction to Charlie, feeling that it is inappropriate due to her past relationship with Beau. Hunter raises a toast to their club, though Maggie cautions him not to jinx the opening, which is still six weeks away.

Charlie is surprised by a photo of a woman in elaborate, Shibari-style bondage as part of her application to give a presentation on rope bondage at the club. She stops herself from asking Emerson if he has ever bound a sex partner. Over her first two weeks working for Emerson, her attraction to him has grown. She has not been back to the club since the first day, and she credits this to Emerson’s “overprotectiveness.” She contrasts this tendency to protect her with her own absentee father’s “territorial and stubborn” forms of control (73).

Charlie has settled into her work, and she entertains herself by dissecting Emerson’s reactions to her outfits. They discuss their family lives, and she fears that he will fire her when he realizes that she isn’t going to bring Beau home to him. She is flattered when Emerson asks for her opinion on a suit for the club’s grand opening, but she is surprised that he plans to attend without a date. Charlie reads his palm and concludes that he has “a long, straight heart line” (75), which signifies that he values love. She predicts that he will have an epic love and insists that she plans on having the same. Emerson touches her hand gently, which arouses her.

He offers to take Charlie to the opening, but she refuses, citing her inadequacy because she is his secretary and his son’s ex-girlfriend. Charlie is also nervous about witnessing sex acts, but he promises that no sex acts will occur outside of private rooms. He then offers to purchase her dress, which she cannot afford, and ultimately, she agrees to go with him. He teases her about her lackluster agreement, and she comments about her unglamorous job at the roller-skating rink, where she still works on weekends. They laugh together and then kiss, though Charlie reminds herself that this is a poor decision.

The phone interrupts them. Charlie jolts away, embarrassed, and Emerson urges her not to apologize. They both agree that a relationship between them is a bad idea, and Charlie agrees to stay at work. He praises her, which she finds extremely soothing, and he asserts that he does desire her, despite their decision to not enter a sexual relationship.

Despite his skepticism about palm reading, Emerson is preoccupied with Charlie’s interpretation of his love life. In the decades since he split from Beau’s mother, he has not given romance much thought. However, meeting Charlie has led him to consider romance again, though he reminds himself that this is counterproductive to his plan to reunite with Beau. He leaves his son another “desperate” voicemail, and he references Charlie’s job with him.

Charlie returns to work after having walked miles in the cold to retrieve Emerson’s lunch because her car wouldn’t start. This frustrates Emerson; he wishes that she had called him for aid and plans to help her jump start her car after work. Because she walked in heels, he orders her to let him give her a foot rub, though he recognizes the sexual connotations of the act. He worries that Charlie will find him “predatory” when she realizes that he is aroused, but she encourages him.

Later, Beau calls and scolds Charlie for taking the job with Emerson. When Emerson tries to take the phone, Beau hangs up.

Emerson jump starts Charlie’s car, and she finds his competence appealing. Emerson is dissatisfied even after the car starts and insists on buying her a new car battery. She protests taking his credit card to pay for the expense and for a dress for the club opening, but she gives in when Emerson insists that she needs both for her job. She sees the offer as an apology for reporting her employment to Beau, and she wonders what came between father and son. (Later, she learns that Beau disapproves of the club.) She disliked Beau’s accusation that she was having sex with Emerson and his assertion that his father is “sick.” She insists that she is comfortable working for Emerson and has no intention of quitting; Emerson admits to being uncomfortable with their employer-employee relationship, but he says that this isn’t because of Beau, which Charlie finds confusing.

Charlie goes dress shopping with Sophie, who is concerned about her sister’s recent style change. Sophie admits that Charlie seems happy with how she is “changing.” Charlie is surprised by this descriptor but recognizes that she has been recently developing a sexual confidence that makes her feel able to pursue her own desires without shame. Sophie fears change, but Charlie finds it exciting.