by Paris Rose
In my early twenties, I lived in L.A. and covered stories for major outlets like TMZ, People, Rolling Stone, and Billboard Magazine. And I even had a handful of television appearances with big names like MTV, Bravo, and E! Back then, I dated a few entertainment industry guys, but never an A-Lister like Trevor. Dating the wrong people during the ignorance of my youth is what caused my career out in L.A. to crash and burn before me. I was forced to leave town and start over here in Chicago. It took over three years, but it seemed like I was finally getting back to where I was before, both in my career and socially.
I was both excited and nervous about where my relationship with Trevor was going, but I wasn’t going to let thoughts about him consume me. I had work to do and goals to accomplish. I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and I headed out the door for work.
I somehow managed to catch the train before the one I usually take, so I arrived at work fifteen minutes early. I sat down at my desk and logged on to my computer. There was an email from my boss, marked urgent. He told me to come to his office as soon as I got in. Kevin was usually pretty laid back. The only time he ever got upset was if someone missed a deadline or we were behind schedule as a team. I’ve actually never faced his wrath because I always got everything done on time or early. And he was especially trusting of me because he perceived me as one of the driving forces that kept our magazine going.
Many of my colleagues were happy doing stories on popular cover bands and has-beens that had their day many moons ago, and there is nothing wrong with that. But I got us the stories that got us readers. I nailed several interviews with the hottest up-and-coming musical artists, and I have even been able to sit face-to-face with a few A-Listers, thanks to some of the connections I managed to maintain from L.A. The tone of Kevin’s email made me feel uneasy. He didn’t sound like his usual, relaxed self. I looked over at my phone and saw I had missed voicemails, but I decided to go talk to Kevin first. I didn’t want to make him wait.
When I got to his office, the door was open. He immediately stood to greet me. “Giavanna! I’m glad you’re early.”
“Why, what’s going on?”
“Something went wrong. I somehow made a mistake, and now we have a giant hole in our upcoming issue.” Kevin ran his hands through his shoulder-length blond hair. “I knew we were a little short on material this month, but I was certain I had done a good job distributing assignments to fill in some space, but now I’m looking at things, and we’re about three stories short. I can’t put out a half-finished magazine. And we don’t really have time to try to schedule interviews with any artists. You know how backed-up most bands’ schedules are. I don’t think anyone would be available on such short notice. And I don’t even know if there is time to sell additional ad space. Nobody else knows about this, one, because I just figured it out, and two, because I’m too embarrassed to tell them that I messed up. But I know I can trust you, Giavanna, so I wanted to brainstorm with you on how we can fix this.” He sighed. “What do you think?”
I was honored that my boss trusted me enough to come to me with this crisis, but I was apprehensive that I might not be up for the challenge. Over the past few months, he had been giving me more responsibility. I loved it. It made me feel like a very valuable member of the team, but deep inside, I was always worried that one day my victory streak would end and I would no longer be able to meet and exceed Kevin’s expectations. I had a feeling that today might be that day.
“Hmm…we are in quite the time crunch…but, for every problem, there is always a solution. At least, that’s my philosophy.” I was speaking exceptionally slowly to buy myself time to think of a solution by the time I got to the end of my sentence, but it didn’t work. I didn’t want him to see me sweat, so I drew my shoulders back and held my head high. I knew I had to exude confidence if I wanted him to continue to trust me and give me added responsibility. I stood silently while I gathered my thoughts. “I know this isn’t the answer you’re looking for, Kevin, but I need some time to think about how to handle this. I don’t want to come up with some half-baked idea that will put us further behind. May I have some time to come up with some ideas?”
Kevin rubbed his chin. He looked deep in thought. “Yes, that sounds reasonable. How about we meet at lunch?” He closed his eyes as if to organize his thoughts. “No, scratch that. I already have a lunch meeting scheduled. How about we meet at the end of the day before you go home…meet me here at my office at 5 p.m. And come prepared with your best ideas. I’m really counting on you this time. You won’t let me down, will you?”
“Of course I won’t.” I flashed a confident grin as I tried to get myself to believe the words coming out of my mouth. I’m pretty creative, so deep inside I knew if I relaxed and gave myself time, I would come up with something. I just wasn’t certain if my muse would be inspired within the next eight hours.
“You never do.”
I left Kevin’s office and checked my messages. Two of them were from publicists confirming upcoming interviews I had with their clients. Both were filler interviews. I already knew that neither would be a cover story. My last message was from a frantic publicist telling me that the pop star that I was supposed to interview the next day would no longer be able to meet with me, because she just got admitted to rehab. For a few seconds, I was flustered. I racked my brain trying to figure out who I could interview to replace that story. Then I realized I could do a piece on the star being admitted to rehab. I quickly called the publicist back to get the details. Fortunately, she gave me everything I was looking for, and I had enough material to write a killer story.
The first half of the day went quickly, and it was already lunchtime. My co-worker, Grace, stopped by my desk to ask if I wanted to join her for lunch. We weren’t particularly close, but she was always nice to me. I usually preferred to eat alone, but I wanted to pick Grace’s brain today. She read almost every BDSM erotica ever published. She was always talking about her latest read, but I’d never really paid that much attention. Now I was curious just how much she knew about BDSM and if she could teach me some things so I could impress Trevor when I got home.
Grace leaned against my desk as she waited for me to respond. She looked so sweet and innocent with her bright blue eyes and curly dark hair. I couldn’t believe I was about to lure her into a conversation about BDSM. I felt so devious.
“I’ll be with you in one second, Grace. I need to save something.”
“No problem.”
I backed up the document I was working on twice—once by saving it on the cloud, and once by saving it on my flash drive.
“All right, I’m ready. I’d be happy to join you for lunch. I actually want to talk to you about something.”
“Oh really, what’s that?”
“I can’t tell you while we’re in the office. Wait until we’re outside.”
“Oh, it must be something interesting.” Grace giggled.
“Interesting? Hmmm… I guess you could say that.” I chuckled as I grabbed my purse. “I’ve been dying to try the new restaurant down the street that serves all organic. Do you care if we go there?”
“That’s fine by me.”
Grace and I talked mostly about work while we waited for our food. She was pretty shy and quiet, but she had told me on more than one occasion that I brought out her talkative side. I told her about my upcoming story about the pop artist that just got admitted to rehab. She appreciated that I was going to put a compassionate spin on it, instead of writing it the way the tabloids would. I loved tabloid gossip just as much as anyone, but I was actually a fan of the artist I was covering for this story, and I felt bad for her.
Grace perked up. “So, enough about work, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about that was too juicy to discuss at the office?”
“Oh yeah, that.” I smiled uncomfortably. I was usually pretty bold, but all of a sudden, I was embarrassed over talking about sex with a co-worker. None of my colleagues knew I was dating Trevo
r. I wanted to be taken seriously as an entertainment journalist, and I didn’t ever want anyone to think that my success in my career could be attributed to the fact that I date men in the industry.
And on top of that, I really didn’t want anyone to know I was dating a billionaire. I was certain it would change people’s perception of me. I was trying to figure out how I could ask Grace questions about BDSM, without talking about my personal life. I put a forkful of food in my mouth to buy time. After I chewed more thoroughly than necessary, I took a long sip of water. “Sooo, I wanted to ask you about some of the stuff in those erotica books that you’ve been reading.”
“Really? You’re the one girl at the office who’s never been interested in erotica. I’d be happy to lure you over to the dark side.” Grace’s eyes twinkled. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to know about BDSM. What all does that lifestyle entail? When I think about BDSM, all I can imagine are whips and chains, and that does not seem erotic to me. But you and all the other girls at the office seem so into it, so I want to know what all the buzz is about.”
“Well, I don’t really know about BDSM as a lifestyle—all I know is the books are really hot.”
“Hmm…that’s interesting. So you don’t do BDSM in real life, you just like to read about it?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, what attracts you to the books?”
“I don’t know.” Grace shrugged. “I guess…” Grace thought for a moment. “I guess I like them because they are naughty. BDSM is kind of taboo. People aren’t supposed to be tied up and spanked. I like it because you’re not supposed to like it.” Grace looked down. “I’ve always been such a good girl all my life, and reading those books kind of gives me the opportunity to be bad. Does that make sense?” Grace looked up at me.
“Yeah, it does.” I nodded.
“Nobody has really ever asked me why I like to read what I read, so I never thought about it. But now that I’ve said it out loud, it makes sense to me, too. Why are you suddenly so interested in BDSM?” Grace’s eyes penetrated me. I looked away so she couldn’t read my expression.
“No reason, really, it just seems like it’s gaining popularity, and I didn’t want to be out of the loop.”
“I don’t think BDSM is really all that popular.” Grace leaned in close and lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone this, but lately, since I’ve been reading so much about it, I’ve really wanted to try some BDSM stuff, but I don’t really know how to ask for it. Guys in the erotica books just don’t seem to exist in real life. In the stories, there are all these breathtaking alpha males who have no problem taking charge, bending a girl over and spanking her. I’ve never met anyone like that in real life. Have you?”
Part of me empathized with Grace. Before I started dating rock stars, I could never find a man who was alpha enough to take charge and let me be a lady. I was always used to being the alpha in every situation, that is until I met Christoff. He was the first man that was masculine enough to allow me be feminine. Same with Trevor—he’s so manly and on top of things, in every aspect of our relationship, and last night he was super assertive in the bedroom. My muscles clenched as I remembered how it felt to have Trevor tie me up and please me beyond belief.
I wished that I could tell Grace that the type of man she’s looking for does exist in real life, but I didn’t want to expose all of my personal business, so I decided to fib a little.
“No. Men like that don’t exist.” I laughed. “That’s why it’s fiction.”
“Exactly.” Grace smiled. “Hey, if you ever want any book recommendations, I’d be happy to give you some suggestions.”
“Thanks, but that’s okay. I never have time to read these days. I’m always working.” I rolled my eyes.
“Yeah, you’re a machine. I wish I could be as productive as you.”
“Aw, thanks. Speaking of work, let’s get back to the office. I have a ton of stuff to finish.”
“Yeah, me too.”
As I was listening to a new album that I needed to write a review on, a flood of ideas came to me as to how we could fill the blank space in our upcoming issue. I paused what I was listening to, grabbed a sheet of paper, and started brainstorming.
At first, I considered asking Trevor if he could connect me to one of the artists on one of his labels for a last-minute interview, but I quickly scratched that idea. I vowed to myself that I would never directly use Trevor’s status to get ahead unless it occurred naturally. Being around him inherently gave me connections to more people than I ever had access to on my own. For instance, when we were out partying in L.A., he introduced me to a television executive at his network, Rock Hard TV, and I also got to meet my favorite female rock artist, Jade Johansson, face-to-face. We hit it off immediately, and she cleared her schedule to let me do a story on her. I didn’t feel bad that I got a story from someone that Trevor introduced me to, because it happened naturally, over the course of spending time with him.
What I was wary of was directly asking him for favors. I didn’t ever want him to think I was using him for his money or his status. And besides, I’ve always found it much more satisfying to succeed based on my own hard work rather than having things handed to me. I abhorred nepotism, but perhaps that’s because I’d never had many connections that could help me. Everything I’d ever accomplished, I earned it myself.
But maybe the reason I hadn’t realized my dream of having my own entertainment news show on television was because I was too afraid to lean on people. I re-wrote down the idea of asking for Trevor’s help in getting some interviews, but then I scratched it out again. I had five solid ideas, and I decided to go with the top two. It was 4 p.m. I had an hour to wrap up the rest of my work for the day and then meet with Kevin. I wanted to be sure to leave the office on time today so that I could get back to Trevor’s place for our lesson on BDSM. My heart fluttered in anticipation.
I was able to finish all of my work quickly because I was fueled by adrenaline. I knocked on Kevin’s door at 5 p.m. sharp. He was wearing his headset when he answered the door. He was on a call. He held up his finger, indicating that he would be with me when he was done. He gestured for me to sit down in front of his desk. I did as told. I hate being in the room with people when they are talking on the phone; it is awkward, especially when it’s a personal call. Kevin was clearly bickering with his wife about something. I tried hard not to listen. I looked over at his bookshelf and pretended to study the titles while he wrapped up his conversation. After over ten minutes of back and forth, he finally told his wife that he had to go, and he ended the call.
“Sorry about that, Giavanna. My wife is having a bad day and she’s taking it out on me. Must be pregnancy hormones.”
“Oh yeah, when’s she due?”
“In about six weeks, right after the holidays.” Kevin beamed. “It will be our little Christmas present.”
“Aww, how exciting!” I cooed.
“Yes, yes it is. But right now we have more pressing things to talk about. Did you come up with any ideas of how to fill this blank space as quickly as possible?”
“Yep, of course I did! You know I would never let you down.”
“Excellent!” Kevin clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation. “All right, whaddya got?”
“My top two ideas are to do more new release reviews. I really love listening to new music and opining on it, and the readers seem to really dig my reviews, so I can just do more of those.”
“Good, good. I like what I’m hearing,” Kevin interjected.
“And to fill up an even bigger hole, I was thinking I could try out doing a satire piece.”
“Hmmm what do you mean?”
“I could write a fake story about a really big artist. And you know, make it really funny and outlandish so people know it’s fake, kind of like The Onion. If it does well we can do one for every issue.”
“Hmmm… that is something I wouldn’t have thought of o
n my own.” Kevin rubbed his chin as he digested my idea. “How many words do you think you can make it?”
“I don’t know…about twelve hundred, maybe.”
“All right, all right…I like this. Yeah, let’s do it. It’s brilliant! When do you think you can get all of this done?”
“I don’t know. When do you need it done?”
“Like, yesterday.”
“Well, I have important plans tonight, but I could stay late the rest of the week and get everything done before the weekend. What does that give me? Three days. Yeah, I can do it in three days. I’ll just have to work ‘round the clock.”
“Awesome. Perfect. I knew you would come through for me. Thank you, Giavanna!” Kevin was practically jumping up and down with excitement.
“It truly is my pleasure.” I smiled. I loved making Kevin happy. It made me happy. Even though my sights were set on bigger things for the long term, I felt lucky to have a job where my contributions were valued, and where I really excelled. I’m a naturally hard worker, but Kevin was such a great boss. He always motivated me to work harder. I loved that most of my work made him smile, and I always went out of my way to impress him.
“Really, Giavanna, I don’t know where this publication would be without you. One day you’re going to be sitting here in my chair.”
“What? Are you planning on retiring sometime soon?”
“No, I can’t with the baby coming. But when I do, I know you will be first in line to step up.”
“We’ll see about that when the time comes.” I chuckled.
“That we will. All right, I’m going to let you get back to work. You’re excused.”
“Thanks, Kevin.”
