Power

by Jillian Dodd

  “I’d prefer the three girls to one guy fantasy.”

  “Have you ever done that?”

  I smile. “Maybe.”

  “It’s a yes or no question.”

  “Depends on what you're referring to. Three in the same night or three at the same time?”

  “Same time.”

  “No. Only two.”

  “I would never do that with you, Riley. Just for the record.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because even after your stupidity at the vineyard, I still respect you.”

  “We’d have fun, I promise.”

  “No.”

  “I don’t mean you, me, and Knox. I mean just the two of us. So you and Knox fucked. Big deal. I don’t care. We can still have fun.”

  “Which is the problem, Riley. You should care. So what happened with Ariela? Knox said the other day you were on cloud nine.” She looks around. “And now we're nearing the pits of hell.”

  “I went to pick her up and she was kissing her husband.”

  “Then fuck her.”

  “Yeah, fuck her.”

  “It's her loss. It really is.” She grabs my arm. “Oh, Riley, I think I drank too much. The bed is spinning.”

  “It is spinning.”

  “Did you drink too much too?”

  “No, I mean the bed actually rotates.”

  She sits up. “Oh, thank god. I’m not as drunk as I thought.”

  “Let’s drink to that.”

  We run to the bar, pour shots of something, making extras for Knox and Dawson.

  “Here’s to . . . Uh, October?” Knox salutes.

  “No wait! I know,” Jennifer yells, sloshing her shot. “It’s not October! It’s Cocktober! So, here’s to Cocktober. Hoping the use of yours is, um, plentiful and I get plenty for myself.”

  We all down our shots and then she says, “Uh, that sounded slutty. I didn’t mean I want all your cocks.”

  Knox lays a big kiss on her lips. “Naw, sugar, you only want mine.”

  After she kisses him, she pulls us all on the bed with her. “Let’s take one more spin on the bed!”

  Knox pops up when his phone rings.

  Dawson pips me on the forehead, taunting me like he did when we were kids. But Jennifer leans on her side and faces me. “I’m glad you’re not mad at me, Riley.”

  “You’re too cute to stay mad at,” I tell her.

  Knox ends his call. “Our guy’s here!” He gives me a wink then turns to Jennifer. “So, the plan is we go to some dance clubs and later we’ll invite some cool people back here to party.”

  “What, no strip clubs?” Jennifer asks, exactly as he’d hoped.

  “Oh, sugar, I wasn't sure how you felt about strip clubs. A lot of girls aren’t confident enough to go to them.”

  “I’ve never been to a Vegas strip club. It sounds like an adventure. I say we do that!”

  “Well, if you insist,” Knox replies.

  “I insist,” she says. “And what else should we do? I know! We’ll go dancing, get thrown out of a club, maybe get arrested, get married.” She bounces in place next to Knox. “Wouldn’t that be an adventure? Wanna get wasted and get married?”

  Knox pulls her into a hug. “That’s the thing about Vegas. No planning. You just go with the flow.” He pats her back while he looks at me and Dawson and mouths, No fucking way!

  As we leave the suite, I wrap my arm around my brother’s neck. “Tonight’s gonna be a good night.”

  And it was . . . Until we ended up in jail.

  “Riley Johnson, you can make your call now,” the policeman says, opening the cell door.

  I look down at myself, wondering what the fuck I’m wearing.

  The night is kind of a blur but I do remember running down the hotel hallway naked, chasing a hooker who I thought stole my wallet. Then Jennifer started stripping and invited everyone to participate in the naked party parade.

  I stare at the phone for a second, knowing who I need to call but dreading it.

  Dallas is the only one who can make this mess go away. For all of us.

  “Riley?” he answers groggily. It’s five in the morning and Dallas is not an early riser. “Tell me you’re not in jail.”

  “I’m in jail.”

  “Fuck. I was joking. Where? What happened?”

  “Vegas. Party. Drunk. Naked.”

  “You and Ariela went to Vegas?”

  “No. When I went to pick her up, she was kissing her husband.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  “Exactly. So I decided to go to Vegas for the night with Knox and Dawson.”

  “Can’t one of them bail you out—wait, did they get arrested?”

  “Yeah,” I admit, hanging my head. “Jennifer too.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Riley, we need to talk. Seriously.”

  “Yeah, I know. I fucked up bad this time.”

  WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8TH

  Keatyn & Aiden’s beach house - Malibu

  KEATYN

  My cell phone wakes me. I see that Dallas is calling and quickly answer.

  “We have a problem,” he says.

  “What’s wrong?!” I exclaim, waking Aiden up. “Is RiAnne okay?”

  “She just had a contraction and you remember how fast the last baby came. We’re on our way to the hospital.”

  “Do you need me to do something? Come watch the kids?”

  He takes a deep breath. “Riley called me just before all hell broke loose at my house. He, Knox, Dawson, and our little angel, Jennifer, were arrested in Vegas. I’m supposed to bail them out, but now I can’t.”

  “Why are they in Vegas? I thought Riley had a date with Ariela?”

  “She was kissing someone, presumably her husband, when he got there.”

  “Oh, man. Poor Riley.”

  “We need to get Ariela out of here. She’s fucking with his life. And when she fucks with his life, she’s fucking with ours too. With our company. Can you imagine the press if this gets out?”

  “Shit. I’ll call Vanessa and see what she can do. You go to the hospital and take care of your wife. I’ll go to Vegas.”

  “Thanks, call me when you know more.”

  “You do the same. Tell RiAnne I said I’m sending her good vibes for a quick, painless, and healthy delivery.”

  “Will do.”

  I hang up, drop my phone on the bed, and plop back on my pillow.

  “What’s going on?” Aiden asks.

  “RiAnne is in labor. Riley is in jail.”

  “In Vegas?”

  “Yes, I need to go bail them out.”

  He slides his hand down my arm. “Surely, you can just wire the money.”

  “That isn’t really the point, Aiden. It’s not just Riley. It’s Dawson, Knox, and Jennifer. I don’t know what all went down, but we need to pray there aren’t any pictures.”

  “You aren’t going anywhere. What you need to do is go back to sleep. I’ll take care of bailing them out.”

  “I can’t go back to sleep, Aiden. This is all my fault.”

  He pulls me into his arms and hugs me. “It’s not your fault.”

  “Yes, it is! I’m the one who saw Ariela and invited her to dinner. Riley was so excited to take her out. He was talking to Dallas about how they had made love the night before. How he’d never be able to sleep with anyone else. That she ruined him. Dallas called it true love’s fuck. It was so beautiful that it made me cry.”

  Aiden kisses my nose and puts his hand across my stomach. “Pregnancy has your hormones crazy right now.”

  “That may be true, but I started this whole mess. I’m pissed at Riley for getting arrested, but I also feel responsible. And although I want to just go hug him, I’m also worried that his arrest could have a negative effect on our business. What if the board gets wind of it?”

  “Why don’t you have some breakfast then meet Vanessa at the office? She can
help you sort it all out. Do some damage control, if need be. Boots, I don’t want you getting stressed about this.” He bends down and kisses my belly. “It’s not good for you or our baby.”

  I reach for one of the gingersnap cookies Grandma made me, grab it out of the plastic bag on my nightstand, and shove it in my mouth. “Breakfast is over. Go, please. Now. Or I’m going.”

  He gives me one more kiss and gets out of bed.

  The second he leaves the bedroom, I call Vanessa and Tyler and ask them to meet me at the office as soon as possible.

  Vanessa’s Estate - Holmby Hills

  VANESSA

  I’m pulled out of a hot dream, where Dawson and I are having sex on the ridiculously expensive gold inlaid saddle that Bam bought me, by my ringing phone.

  I rub my eyes, pick up the phone, and answer a call from Keatyn.

  “I was having a really hot dream. This better be good,” I tease her.

  “Who were you with this time?” she asks. I’m always telling her about my random hot dreams. She’s even turned a few of them into scenes in her movie scripts.

  “Dawson.”

  “Oh—um, so the reason I’m calling is because I need your help. Like, right now.”

  I quickly sit up and grab a pen and notepad off my nightstand. “What’s going on?”

  “Riley, Knox, Jennifer, and Dawson went to Vegas last night. It was wild. I expect we’ll need some damage control on this. Knox and Jennifer are too famous for someone not to have noticed them. And you know how the tabloids scour the arrest records.”

  “Who got arrested?!”

  “All of them.”

  “Do you know what they did? The circumstances behind the arrest?” I ask.

  “I’m not sure,” she says. “Dallas was going to take care of bailing them out. But then RiAnne started having contractions, so he had to take her to the hospital.”

  “Oh, I’m so excited to find out what they have! I think it’s a boy. She seemed to be carrying the baby low.”

  “I think it’s a boy too. We’ll find out soon! So, do you think you can meet me at the office? I’m going to head there in a few minutes.”

  “Of course I will,” I say, already scrambling out of bed.

  While I’m getting ready, I’m scrolling through tabloid sites. And not liking what I’m seeing.

  This is way worse than an arrest notice.

  Captive Films definitely needs my help. This has the makings of a publicity nightmare, and it’s going to take some brilliance and a whole lot of manipulation on my part to get this under control. I start thinking of ways to spin it.

  But as I continue to scroll through the damning photos, I can’t help but smile about one thing.

  Even though there are numerous photos of the group with random girls, Dawson doesn’t appear to have hooked up with anyone.

  And that makes me feel happy.

  I stop in the kitchen on my way out the door.

  Ariela is perched at the breakfast bar eating an omelet made by my chef. I think he has a little crush on her.

  “You’re up early this morning, Miss Vanessa,” he says. “What can I make for you?”

  “Just a coffee to go, please,” I tell him then turn to Ariela. “Riley was arrested in Vegas last night along with Dawson, Knox, and Jennifer.”

  “Arrested? Is that why Riley and Dawson had to go to Vegas suddenly? Because of Knox and Jennifer?”

  “I’m not sure why, but this doesn’t look like a business trip to me.” I toss a few of the photos I printed out onto the counter.

  She looks at them and lets out a sad sigh. “I thought . . .”

  “He was different?”

  “Yeah. How could he do this after the night we shared?”

  I shrug and say, “He’s a man.”

  “I didn’t sleep at all last night. That look he had, on the video we watched of him leaving, it’s the same look he had when I told him I wasn’t moving here with him. I tried calling him last night. I texted him. Left messages. I have to fly up to the vineyard today and be there all week. If so much wasn’t riding on this wedding, I’d go sit at his office until he showed up and get to the bottom of this. I know you think otherwise, but I know in my heart he saw me with Collin.”

  “I don’t mean to sound callous, but if he did, this is the result. A PR nightmare for Captive Films. One that I need to figure out how to fix.”

  “Can you fix it?”

  I shake my head. “At this point, there are too many photos out there to fix. I’m going to have to work on damage control.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says, getting teary. “I shouldn’t have come here.”

  I give her a hug. “It’s okay. I’m just a little overwhelmed right now. I promise when I see Riley, I’ll tell him the kiss was unwanted. In case he did see.”

  “Oh, thank you.”

  “But that’s all I can do. It will be up to him to decide if he wants to talk to you about it.”

  “Thank you. I understand and appreciate it.”

  Captive Films - Santa Monica

  KEATYN

  When I get to the office, I start scanning celebrity gossip websites.

  The first one I go to, the one with the widest reach, has a video of a very intoxicated Jennifer dancing around a stripper pole.

  Make that, dancing around and then falling off a stripper pole.

  My phone dings with a text from a board member who lives on the East Coast.

  Jennifer Edwards is trending on Twitter. And not in a good way. We can’t be associated with someone of this character. You need to cancel her contract immediately.

  I switch over to Twitter and pull up the trending hashtag #JEdsStripperFail.

  The video from her stripper dance, where she twirls around a pole then face plants, has become a meme. And been shared millions of times already. Jeez, doesn’t anyone sleep?

  My office phone starts ringing off the hook.

  Then my cell rings.

  It is another board member, a long standing and vocal one.

  “Hi, Walter,” I say, trying to sound cheerful.

  “You sound too happy this morning. Have you not been online?”

  “I just got into the office. It’s six a.m. in California.”

  “Well, then the whole world knows but you. Let me read you a headline. Captive Films CEO Riley Johnson arrested in Vegas. And another. Riley Johnson, CEO of Captive Films—”

  “I’m aware of Riley’s arrest. I’ll deal with it, Walter. Thanks for alerting me.”

  “Keatyn, I know Riley is your friend, but this isn’t good for our business. I’ve spoken to some of the other board members and we’re in agreement. You need to ask Riley to resign.”

  “Captive Films is more profitable than it’s ever been because of Riley. You and the board know that.”

  “Does he need to go to rehab? What the hell is going on with him?”

  “It’s personal. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

  After I end the call, I lay my head on the desk trying to figure out how I’ll handle it.

  I smell Tyler coming long before I hear him.

  “I brought you some coffee,” he sings. “I suspect it’s going to be a long day.”

  My stomach starts to churn.

  “Um, I’ve given up coffee for lent.”

  “It’s not lent. Come on, smell it. You know you love it.” He waves it across my desk, causing me to gag.

  “Please, don’t ever bring me coffee again! It’s making me sick!” I cry out.

  He narrows his eyes at me, takes the coffee out of the office, and comes back with a cup of lemon tea. “My sister drank this when she had morning sickness,” he says softly. “She said it helped.”

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you, Tyler. Please don’t tell anyone. We haven’t even told our families yet. The crazy thing is I’m sitting here wondering if I announced my pregnancy today if it would give the press something else to think about.”

  “Well, you know
how fickle the press is. They’re always moving on to the next big scandal. And if they thought you were pregnant with Knox’s love child while engaged to Aiden that would be a pretty big scandal. Can you imagine the headlines?”

  “It would take the focus off Riley, Jennifer, and Captive. Make the board happy.” I touch my stomach. The thought of using Aiden’s and my baby, my pregnancy, to create headlines sickens me.

  My cell rings again.

  “Shit, it’s my grandpa.”

  “Would you like me to leave?”

  “No, it’s okay, Tyler.” I hand him my laptop. “Look around. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think it is.”

  “Will do, boss,” he says, making himself comfortable on the couch.

  “Hey, Grandpa,” I say into the phone.

  “It’s a good thing I’m an early riser. Every single board member has called me this morning to raise a ruckus. They all want Riley’s head.”

  “I’ve heard from a few of them myself. You always have good advice. Tell me what I can do to fix this.”

  “You can’t fix it, Hotshot. He has to. I know he’s your best friend, but this is business. Don’t let your relationship blind you to what’s going on. It’d be different if it was a one-time thing but he’s starting to get the kind of publicity Captive doesn’t need. Between his relationship with Jennifer, the way he behaved at dinner and, now, this. You can’t bury your head in the sand. You have to deal with it. And I’m afraid the board is right.”

  While I’m talking, Tyler is printing off pictures and laying them across my desk.

  Riley shirtless and humping a Greek statue.

  Riley and Knox with girls draped all over them in a party bus, cheesing for the camera, their eyes bloodshot and bleary.

  Riley naked, sitting on the edge of a hot tub preparing to dive into the middle of about ten topless women.

  Knox, wearing a shirt but no pants, being cuffed by a police officer.

  Grandpa is still lecturing me, so I have to stifle my laugh. It’s pretty funny seeing Knox’s naked ass all over the news, especially when it was supposed to be revealed for the first time ever in the next Trinity movie. The studio is probably going ballistic about it.