by Piper Rayne
“Now you have that Slade image,” she said, smiling with approval.
“Thanks to you,” I said.
“We’ll just get your paperwork done, and then I’ll give you the tour.”
Trish handed me a clipboard with a couple of sheets on it. “We just need emergency information and things Personnel required.”
“Okay,” I said, filling out the paperwork. In less than a minute, I was done and following Trish through the doors as she pointed out the conference room, a well-stocked kitchen that looked like it was straight out of a gourmet kitchen magazine, and individual offices, which were empty.
“They’re in a meeting,” Trish said. “With a client.”
“Anyone I know?” I asked.
Trish smiled. “Most of the clients here is someone you would know.”
“Of course,” I said, looking at the framed photos of A-list celebrities’ magazine covers adorning the walls of the conference room.
“Listen, Lily, I have to leave you now to work the front desk. As soon as the meeting is over, Pat will take over from here. She’s one of the best publicists to learn from, besides Mr. Slade himself. You’ll be in good hands with Pat. Welcome to Slade,” Trish said, leaving me alone in the room.
As soon as she left, I looked down at the company brochure, memorizing all the facts and details, eating up the history of the place.
I didn’t even noticed the door opened when I heard a male voice said, “You’re the new intern? Come on, I need you to come with me today. With everyone on Fourth of July vacation, we’re short-staffed.” I didn’t dare to look up. I knew that voice. That clipped smooth British voice.
Mr. Hotshot.
“Come on,” he said approaching me. “Can you handle a camera? Take photos?”
“Yes,” I muttered, still looking down at the brochure.
“Well, come on,” he said. “Or is that brochure so interesting, you’d rather stay here all day reading it, instead of tagging along with me to help save the career of a client? Pat and the other publicists are down at a Premiere handling several of our clients’ summer film interviews. So that leaves me with you. Most interns would jump at the chance to work with the owner of the firm.”
I finally looked up. “You’re Mr. Slade?”
Our eyes met. My blue eyes against his light green ones, which held for a long time.
“You,” he finally said. “I didn’t recognize you with your hair up and red lipstick”
“Trish did all that,” I said.
“So you’ve met Trish,” Mr. Hotshot said. “She tends to be the nurturing type.” He came up to me and frowned. “Your outfit. You’re going to have to change.”
I touched Trish’s black cardigan. “Why?”
He glanced at me, suddenly annoyed. “If you have to ask, you don’t belong here.”
“I got the job, didn’t I?” I asked, equally annoyed.
“Must have been a mistake,” he said. “Who hired you?”
“Maria Cruz,” I said.
“No longer with us,” he said.
“No, really? Why?”
“Full of questions, aren’t you?” he said. “Turned out her taste was awful. She thought recruiting our next trainee from the best college communications programs would be a great idea. We thought so, too, but look at you.”
He looked me over again with disdain. I could tell he thought Maria hiring me showed her bad taste. “I’m sorry I didn’t turned out how you expected, but I flew all the way from New York to be here.”
“Then you can fly back,” he said simply. “You simply don’t fit in.”
Tears formed in my eyes. I couldn’t believe how much I’ve already given up to be at Slade PR. Including leaving my apartment, my friends, my mother, and even my ex-boyfriend Max, although it was never serious with Max. After dating for a few weeks, we broke up and just remained friends. We didn’t even get to the point of having sex.
“Pack up and go,” Mr. Hotshot said. “I can’t stand seeing a woman cry.”
“I’m not crying,” I said, standing up.
“Looks like you were about to,” Mr. Hotshot said.
I faced him and said, “First of all, I don’t let bullies make me do anything. Especially start crying.”
For a second, he looked like I slapped him. “You think I’m a bully? Me? I’m the boss of this place. You’re just a lowly intern who I don’t even know your name.”
“It’s Lily,” I said.
“You don’t look like a Lily,” he said. “And you were the one who ran into me, spilling your coffee on me. Wrecking my new suit. And the coffee even seeped through my shirt so I had this big brown stain on my shirt I couldn’t even hide for this morning’s meeting. So don’t go saying I’m the bully when you, Miss Lily, is the one who assaulted me first.”
I shook my head. This couldn’t be happening. My first day at work, and my boss is a big asshole bully.
“What?” Mrs. Hotshot asked. “What did you just muttered?”
“I didn’t say anything,” I said.
“That your boss is a big asshole bully,” Mr. Hotshot said. He turned around, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t have time for this shit. I’m late, and I need a new intern.”
“Who wants to work with a hot-headed…”
“That’s it,” Mr. Hotshot said. “If you can take yourself out of this room and out of my offices, I’m sure Trish can show you to a cab.”
That’s when reality hit the fan for me. The boss, Mr. Hotshot, really didn’t like me. In fact, hated me, and he wanted me out. I didn’t have a job anymore. Not at Slade PR.
And I didn’t have any money on me since that was what I had flown to Hollywood to do. Work. Earn a living.
“Look, Mr. Slade,” I said. “I’m sorry I called you a bully asshole boss. I’m really in a bind. I’m dressed this way because someone stole my luggage this morning, and I didn’t have anything to change into. I know how to dress professionally, but I lost every single clothing I’ve brought with me, even my underwear. No stores were opened this morning since I had to start this early. And I’m sorry I spilled coffee on you earlier. I didn’t have breakfast and coffee since I flew from New York so it’s been almost 10 hours since I had anything to eat… what I’m saying is, I’d do anything to stay at this job right now. At least give me a chance.”
Mr. Hotshot stared at me word vomit for a while, his expression stone cold. Then a slow wicked smile formed on his handsome face. “Anything?”
I nodded.
He was clearly enjoying me groveling to him, enjoying his power over me. He smiled again as though he had backed me into a corner and now had the upper hand, which I inwardly groaned since that was what he had done.
“Now that, lowly intern, is what I need right now…someone who would do anything and everything I say. If you agree to that, you can keep this job today.”
I nodded again.
He smiled a wicked smile at me before saying, “You’re going to regret this.”
2
Lily
I didn’t think my day could get worse, but when you’re with Mr. Hotshot, a man determined to get rid of me and make me crawl out in defeat, I should’ve known it could only get worse.
* * *
As soon as he warned me against him, he took my wrist and led me out the door. “I’m taking our new intern with me on the Ronny Repp’s case,” he told Trish on the way out.
* * *
Trish gave me a thumbs up while I pass her by, and I tried to keep up with the long strides of Mr. Slade.
* * *
We took a turn and went down the elevator back to the lobby. When we went out the front door, a black Mercedes pulled up, and Mr. Slade walked up to it, tipped the valet, before gesturing for me to get inside. As I climbed in, Mr. Slade reached over to buckle my seatbelt, lightly brushing his hand against my thigh. His touch was electric, and we both seemed to hold our breath.
* * *
He finally s
tarted the car, and turned to face me. “We have a lot of work to do. Our best publicists are at the premiere but others are tied up working with the press, trying to divert attention to Repp’s big scandal.”
* * *
“Ronny Repp?” I asked. He was a major A-list actor who was in all the blockbuster hit f ilms. “What scandal is that?”
* * *
Mr. Slade was already driving down the highway as I checked my phone for any news about Ronny Repp.
* * *
“You hopefully won’t find anything on him, yet,” Mr. Slade said. “We’re all trying to keep it from spilling out.”
“What?” I asked.
* * *
“His wife had accused him of something we all pretty sure know is fake, but she is good at playing the victim so whatever she accuses him of doing, it will not be good for his career.”
* * *
“Wow,” I said, “that was vague.”
* * *
“It’s intentionally vague, Lily,” he said. “So the news doesn’t spread. These days, any post on any social media can start a wildfire.”
* * *
“And you don’t trust me,” I said.
* * *
Mr. Slade smiled. “Bingo. Everything you’ve done so far has led me to think you’re not what you seem. You have to earn my trust, Lily. And I’m giving you a chance to do it today.”
* * *
“I said I’ll do anything to keep this job.”
* * *
“Good, because I need you to do something you might not do, if you weren’t so desperate.”
* * *
I gulped, wondering what he meant by that.
* * *
We pulled into a small parking lot in the back of a shopping strip. He got out of the car and came to open my door. At least he was a gentleman about that.
* * *
Then he led me into the back entrance of a shop. An adult store. Glowing condoms lined the shelves along old DVDs with naked busty women on the covers. “Hi, Mr. Slade,” a skinny young man in his 20s said. “What are you looking for?”
* * *
“The sluttiest outfit you can find,” he said.
* * *
“That would be a treat,” the store clerk said. He walked over to the back, came out holding a life size blow up doll, and took off the sequin-covered rainbow crochet bikini top, the white denim short shorts she was wearing and handed it to him. “That blow up has been getting a lot of action because of that outfit,” the clerk grinned at Mr. Slade.
“Perfect,” Mr. Slade said. “Changing room?”
* * *
The clerk pointed to a small bathroom in back.
* * *
Mr. Slade handed me the bikini and short shorts. “Change into these.”
* * *
My mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”
* * *
“You said you’d do anything for this job,” Mr. Slade said.
* * *
I closed my mouth and reluctantly grabbed the outfit. Steaming, I walked into the tiny dirty bathroom that was about the size of an airplane’s restroom. After tugging and pulling I was able to squeeze into the body-hugging short shorts and the sequin bikini top, which smelled like dried semen and pee. Disgusted, I walked out of the bathroom.
* * *
I didn’t want to think what the gross guys who used that blow up doll did to the doll who was wearing this outfit. If I did, I would throw up.
* * *
“Looks just as good as it did on Lola,” the clerk said, indicating the blow up doll. His eyes traveled all over my body with lust.
* * *
“Thanks,” I said.
* * *
“What about shoes?” Mr. Slade said, looking at me from head to toe.
* * *
“I have these 7 inch patent leather red stilettos,” the clerk said. “Or these 5 inch glitter rainbow ones.”
* * *
“The glitter rainbow ones,” I said, thinking I’ll break my ankle just trying to wear the 7 inch ones.
* * *
When I had the stilettos on, trying to balance myself, Mr. Slade leaned in towards me and said, “You look so fuckable right now, it’s a bit of a distraction.” His warm breath tickled my ears as I felt my nipples harden. I was sure you could see my nipples through the bikini.
He pulled my hair back and neatly twirled it into a high ponytail before pushing it into a long platinum blonde wig. He took out a small bag and applied makeup on my face like a pro. “What are you…a makeup artist too?” I asked.
* * *
“I learned how to make people project a beautiful image early on when I arrived in Hollywood,” Mr. Slade said. “I was a personal assistant to many celebrities that I even learned how to apply makeup to some of them. You wouldn’t believe what personal assistants go.” He was finished, and when I looked in the mirror at myself, I was stunned. I looked like a sexed up unicorn kitty slut. A really hot one.
* * *
“Wow,” the clerk said. “She is ten times hotter than Lola.”
I got the feeling, he was the one using the blow up doll. “Don’t worry,” I said. “Lola’s still pretty hot. If all goes well, she can have her outfit back, and I can have my own.”
* * *
I glared daggers at Mr. Slade, wondering what he had in mind for me in this ridiculous outfit.
* * *
“You’ll find out what I have in mind for you in this ridiculous outfit pretty soon,” Mr. Slade said, resting his arm around my waist as he pulled me out of the Adult Store and back into his black Mercedes.
* * *
My stomach rumbled in the car, and I realized it was close to lunch time. I haven’t eaten since New York, and I was starving.
* * *
‘Hungry?” Mr. Slade asked. “I’ll get us some lunch.” He pulled along the street to parallel-park his car next to a hot dog dive where there was a line of people waiting for their orders. With a constant flow of traffic, it was a popular location. He got out of the car and walked up to order window. After placing his order, he stood outside, under the shade and gestured for me to join him.
* * *
I was mortified. In this outfit? He gestured for me to get out of the car to join him again. I opened the car door, but looked around for anything to cover me up. Unfortunately, there was nothing. I got out of the car and closed the door.
* * *
All eyes turned toward me, and all conversations ceased. As I walked toward Mr. Slade, people were all staring at me. From the hot dog dive’s patrons to the cars driving by. Cars were moving slowly so they could see what other people were staring at, and all of them had their phones out, filming me.
* * *
It got worse.
* * *
As soon as I walked up to Mr. Slade, he handed me a two-foot hotdog on a long stick and told me to go find a table to eat at. I looked around, and all of them were full. I was so hungry, I couldn’t wait so I stood at the edge of the eating area, taking a large bite from the hot dog. I was so hungry, my mouth covered the hot dog like I was giving it a blow job.
* * *
People had stopped eating at the table area, and cars had slowed down again. The phones were out filming me as I ate my hot dog like I was starving, which I was.
* * *
To everyone else, it looked like I was doing something obscene with the long piece of meat. There was no way to get around it. I attacked the meat, enjoying the saltiness of it, as I wrapped my lips around it, biting it, tearing chunks off it, and using my tongue to push more of the meat into my ravenous mouth.
* * *
The construction men working on the sidewalk stopped and was yelling, “Oh man!”
* * *
Someone shouted, “Please, eat my weiner!”
* * *
A car pulled by and a young man with black wavy hair yelled out, “You are so hot!”
* * *
The construction men had stopped working completely and were standing with their arms crossed just watching me eat, groaning with each bite I took. I was licking the stick when Mr. Slade walked up to me, handing me a cup of soda. “You just have a knack for making the pure act of eating into food porn, don’t you?”
* * *
“Food porn?” I asked.
* * *
His eyes were on my mouth. He looked like he wanted to devour my mouth, but pulled out a napkin to wipe the corners. “You have hot dog juice all over your mouth,” he said, his voice huskier. “I have to fix that.” He took my hands and led me back to his car.
* * *
Back inside the car, I felt safer, the humiliation of wearing this outfit dissipating. Mr. Slade reached over to buckle my seatbelt, and his cheeks accidentally brushed against my cheek. We both let out a breath as the air between us grew thick.
