Free Totlandia: Summer by Josie Brown Page A

plug deeper into his ass.
    When, finally, he quit sobbing, she whispered, “Tell you what, send me a link to this so-called club. If I like what I see, we’ll talk.”
    She whistled for Prince Vsevolod.
    The sound of the dog’s footsteps elicited a groan from Art’s lips, but it put a smile to Bettina’s. She’d been training the Tibetan mastiff to growl whenever Art moved or complained. Once she found Art whimpering because Prince Vsevolod was licking the wounds on his bum.
    Even Bettina had to admit Art had reason to worry, what with the way in which the bench left all his naughty bits exposed.
    “Bettina, please! Keep him away from me,” he begged. “Before he bites a piece of anatomy we both love too much!”
    What the hell could that be? she wondered.
    Instead, she laughed and walked away.
    So that he wouldn’t presume the S and M club was a slam dunk, she left him shackled to the bench for the rest of the night.

Chapter 3
    Wednesday, 15 May
    9:55 a.m.
    The next morning, Jade’s eyes were still too puffy to go out of the house without sunglasses.
    Brady didn’t even notice. He handed over Oliver without saying a word, let alone a cursory glance.
    She was so late for her debriefing with Bettina there was no time to discuss Monday’s reconnaissance mission. By the time she reached the Moscone Recreation Center, the PHM&T advanced placement classes had already begun.
    Oliver whined the second she handed him off to Janine Ledbetter, one of the legacy Onesies moms. She couldn’t blame him. Janine’s son, Jackson, was a biter. He preferred to play with Zoe.
    Well that will never happen again, she thought.
    Even as she kissed Oliver on the nose and cooed goodbye, she stilled her trembling lips into a smile, then walked into the small room where the Foursies yoga class was taking place.
     
    ***
     
    Bettina’s heart swelled with pride at the sight of the PHM&T Foursies—her daughter, Lily, included—cross-legged and chanting unintelligently along with their meditation instructor, Swami Jay.
    That is, with the exception of one little boy, who was crooning, too loudly and oh so clearly, the lyrics to Justin Timberlake’s Suit & Tie.
    Noting Bettina’s scowl at his promise to touch something that is so, so hot, and to show them a few things, the boy’s mother scooped him up and ran out of the room.
    Obviously she was still within hearing distance to hear Bettina query Jade, “Isn’t castration still the only cure for perversion?” because the errant tot’s mother burst into tears just as she reached the classroom door.
    Kimberley and Bettina snickered, but Jade sat as still as a zombie.
    Bettina wanted to yell, Snap out of it. After all, they had a long day ahead of them. Soon they’d have to head outside to watch the Twosies’ soccer lessons with the Manchester footballer. After lunch, there was Mr. Pudberry’s Shakespeare class, again with the Foursies.
    She nudged Kimberley. “Outside. Now. And grab Sleeping Beauty there, too.”
    She got up without waiting for Kimberley’s response.
    Both she and Jade were getting on her nerves lately. One thing she knew, and wasn’t afraid to remind them of: everyone is replaceable.
    Then again, who would want to be a Top Mom once word got out that the club was being sued? Sure, it was great to be one of Bettina’s chosen few. It meant they’d aced the club’s unspoken criteria. But the moment that unspoken criteria was aired in a public court of law, no one would welcome being at her side.
    She’d have to make the spinelessness of these two work in her favor. Otherwise, what chance did she have with the thick-skinned Mallory, the every-woman-for-herself Joanna, and the gullibly stupid Sally?
    Carrot and stick, she reminded herself. Keep your friends close, and your frenemies closer.
    If only she could stay there in the yoga sanctuary beside Lily, breathing, relaxing, cleansing her chakras! But no. Instead, she had to save her club.
    With that, she clasped