Allison smiled at her, it was loving and sincere in nature. She took Felicity's hand into her own. “You know I love to talk shit.”
Felicity chuckled. “Yeah, I know. It's how we ended up being best friends. You're hilarious.”
“But I want you to know that I love you dearly and if this man makes you happy, if he makes your days brighter and you see yourself with him along with all of your grandbabies, then I love this kinky bastard, too. Whatever gets your rocks off is none of my business. I just had to see your face blushing when you were talking to him like some school girl,” Allison said.
“I was so worried you were going to look at me differently for being into it, you know?” Felicity said bashfully.
“What? That BDSM stuff? I ain't gonna lie, I'm a little bit shocked because I didn't think you'd be into it. But he obviously pushes all the right buttons for you. As long as he's treating you the way you want to be treated, I'm cool. Even if he does seem to tell you when you can and can not go out with the girls.” Allison smirked.
“He's my Dom. It's the power I give him over me. It really turns me on,” Felicity said, giggling.
“I can tell. I don't think I can do that... maybe just for a little role play, but some people live that life... like you,” Allison said.
“I do, don't I,” Felicity agreed.
“If I ever did that life, I'd have to be the one on top whipping the hell out of some hot guy,”Allison said, nodding lewdly.
“Hey, who knows, it might be your thing. You never know. Come on down to the club one day and see if it's something you want to sample,” Felicity said.
“Stop trying to corrupt me,” Allison joked.
“Come... be one of uuuuussss,” Felicity droned as she held her arms out toward Allison.
“Stop it,” Allison laughed as she slapped Felicity's hands away. “Okay, time to get serious. We're doing this thing at my house, right?”
Felicity nodded. “Yes and we can probably write the story tonight, too.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean...,”
Felicity touched her knee. “Yes. If this story is going to break new ground. I want us to do it together. I want my best friend with me on this.”
Allison nodded. “All right. We can do this.”
“Tonight.” Felicity smiled then turned back around to finish her daily assignment.
~*~
Allison finished putting on her comfy clothes, dressing in a loose t-shirt and shorts. She offered a similar outfit to Felicity who graciously took it. Both sat down on the cushy sofa in front of Allison's fifty-inch LCD television. She had connected her laptop up to her TV and slid the USB port from the camcorder into the USB slot on her laptop.
“I should have popped some popcorn for this shit,” Allison said as she settled down beside Felicity on the sofa, folding her legs under her.
“I feel kind of shitty busting the mayor's ass for going to the same sex club that I go to,” Felicity said.
“I'd be inclined to agree with you if you were trying to raise taxes for the middle class, cut public school funding, abolish collective bargaining, cut funding to local hospitals, raise business taxes for local small business owners, raise property taxes for businesses and home owners and sell the city's parking privileges to outside industries more than tripling the price to park on the streets. All the while indulging in the finest cuisines around, living luxuriously on tax payers money and traveling around the world,” Allison pointed out, tagging each finger on her raised hand noting every offense.
Felicity snorted. “Now that you put it that way, hell yeah, let's do this.”
Allison used her wireless keyboard to operate the mechanics of her laptop, typing in her password to access her desktop. Clicking a few folders, she opened the file containing the recording they wanted. She double clicked and the video began to play.
On the screen, the two women saw the shaky footage as Felicity was setting the camcorder on the floor. Once settled, they watched the mayor, Dwight Goldberg get berated by his Dominatrix. Still bound to the stockade she forced him to lick her genital areas. She beat him with various objects, such as whips, crops and his own shoes. She spat on him, slapped him, made him drink his own semen after she surgically milked his prostate. Her fingers weren't the only things she shoved into his rectum either. An array of objects ranging from the heels of her boots to ten inch dildos were among the selection. The recording lasted for two hours before the battery died. The mayor was still being tortured, his nipples clamped in rings and he was swinging from the ceiling trapped inside yet another piece of furniture Felicity recognized as the Gibbet Cage.
Allison turned to Felicity, aghast by what she'd seen. “I lied. If your ass is into any of that crazy shit... I am judging you.”
“I used to be like you. Alistair's taught me not to judge a person's sexual desires. He also taught me not to be ashamed of them, either. To explore and embrace them. Yeah, Goldberg's fetishes are a bit... extreme, even for me, but I won't put him down for having them,” Felicity said.
Allison reflected on her friends words. “Yeah, well the rest of society is going to have a thing or two to say about it. And I'm really curious to find out if his wife knows.”
“If she doesn't, she's going to find out. I hate men who cheat on their women,” Felicity said. She managed to push back the painful memory of a distant boyfriend who betrayed her that way.
“So what do we want this story to say?” Allison asked.
“Before we get into that... I've got to know something,” Felicity began.
Allison's brows creased. “What?”
“You said you'd be in control if you were to ever venture into my world. What did you think about the video?”
Allison gave Felicity an offhand gesture. “Oh please, I was just talking shit.”
“So you didn't see yourself in her vinyl boots?”
Allison pondered the question, mulling it over as she imaged herself in the woman's position. She shrugged a shoulder. “I don't know... I mean, I don't think I'd be as extreme as she was, but I think the idea of dominating a man is sexy. All of the raw, physical power they have and to see them be under your heel, I think I'd be into that. But again, on a way lower level. Like handcuffing him to the bed, blindfolded and light spanking with some denied orgasms thrown in.”
“Well, look at you,” Felicity said, smiling slyly. “Looks like you need to explore your options. Or you could continue to have unfulfilled sex for the rest of your life because you were too judgmental or cowardly or both to take the plunge.”
Allison frowned. For the first time, maybe even in the history of their friendship, she didn't have a comeback. Felicity waited, giving her a chance to shine her signature wit upon her, but nothing came.
“So, about this story,” Allison said, attempting to change the subject.
Felicity gave her a knowing look but obliged. “We stick to the facts. What works in our favor is the ban the mayor passed on video stores selling porn and the extra high taxes he increased on sex shops around the city simply because they sell to the industry he's obviously a proud member of.”
“Prove that he's a kinky hypocrite. That works for me. But that's what's going to follow anyway with the big reveal. What we need to focus on is the extramarital affair. The sex scandal of the decade should be our angle,” Allison said. “It's simple, true and doesn't require us to dig any deeper than what's on the surface.”
Felicity nodded in agreement. Allison started typing the story, stating the facts. Felicity took over, adding innuendo and human emotion. They made sure to include the Mayor's current stances on the adult industry that were contradictory in relation to his endeavors. The two women worked for hours weaving a story so salacious and inflammatory in political nature any media outlet would be insane to pass it up. Felicity looked at her cell phone, noting the time. It was much later than she expected it to be. She wondered if Alistair would even be awake at that time of night?
&
nbsp; “Are you going to try to go home when it's this late?” Allison asked, yawning.
“He does live kind of far. Let me call him.” Felicity dialed his cell and he answered on the sixth ring.
“Hello?” he greeted in a groggy and slightly agitated tone.
“I'm sorry Alistair, I didn't mean to wake you,” Felicity said, feeling kind of guilty that he would be sleeping all alone tonight.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice becoming clearer.
“Yes. I'm just really tired and it's so late... I don't think it'd be safe for me to try to drive home tonight.”
“What time is it?” Alistair asked.
“A little after two AM.”
“Ugh, hmm, yeah,” he grumbled. “It's late. You do know that this little excursion of yours has earned you a punishment?”
“I know, sir.” She almost moaned as she thought about how sexy he looked laying naked in bed, raven hair disheveled.
“What about your clothes? Are you going to work tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes, but I have that covered, sir.”
“Fine, see you tomorrow night and be prepared to face severe consequences,” Alistair said, “Good night, Felicity.”
“Night, sir.” She ended the call.
“So how'd that go?” Allison asked drowsily.
“I'm going to be punished by him tomorrow for breaking my word.”
“By 'punished' I hope that means a lot of fun for you.”
“It does. Come on, let's go to bed.”
“You can sleep on the floor beside my bed. The queen doesn't share,” Allison joked.
“Yeah, whatever.” Felicity sprang from the sofa and ran towards Allison's room with Allison trailing behind her. She entered first and locked the door. “You can sleep on the sofa.”
“Felicity, you better open this door! People tired!” Allison said, banging on the door.
After several minutes of taunting on both of their ends, Felicity opened the door and received a well deserved blast of cold water mist from Allison's plant mister.
“Ahh! I'm melting!” Felicity said as she wiped the water from her face.
“I wouldn't be surprised if your evil ass did.” Allison climbed into her queen size bed on her side and slid under the covers.
“That's what you get for tricking me with that lipstick camcorder,” Felicity reminded. “I told you payback's a bad bitch with a long memory.”
“Shut your ass up and come to bed,” Allison said, giggling into the softness of her pillow.
Felicity did just that, climbing under the covers. It wasn't long before both women were fast asleep from their exhaustion.
Chapter Thirteen
“Mr. Greene will see you now,” said editor Oliver Greene's assistant, Michelle.
“Thank you,” both Felicity and Allison said in unison. They rose from the two office chairs they'd been sitting in for the past half hour and walked into his office. It was large, with floor-length windows. Dark green carpeting, several art-deco painting decorated the cream walls. Brown leather chairs were placed side by side in front of his large oak desk. The editor sat behind the desk, his blue eyes scanning both women as they entered.
“My assistant tells me you have a story that I need to know about?” Oliver said by way of greeting. He twirled a silver ink pen between his fingers doing a trick that Felicity's fingers could never grasp.
“We've received a very incriminating video file showing our good mayor's extramarital activates,” Felicity said.
“Oh really?” Oliver asked, shoulders straightening as his interest was peaked. “And what kind of 'activities' are we talking about here?”
“The kind the mayor would never want to see the light of day. I don't know what location the footage was taken from, but it does show our mayor Goldberg clear as a Sunday morning having sexual relations with someone who isn't his wife,” Felicity said.
“How did you happen upon this footage?” Oliver asked, his face a perfect mask of indifference. He continued to twirl his ink pen between his fingers. The little interest he showed earlier, apparently vanished.
Felicity was feeling a bit discouraged. She had been hoping for more enthusiasm than what he was giving them. “It was anonymously delivered to Allison through the office mail.”
Allison gave Felicity a quick exchange, as that was news to her, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Why you?” Oliver asked Allison. “You're not an investigative reporter.”
“I don't know,” Allison replied truthfully. She didn't know why Felicity had the tape delivered to her, but she suspected her friend had her reasons. Any any case, she wasn't liking the fact that he seemed to be attacking their integrity. Here they came to him with the hottest fucking story that had literally come across his desk all year and he's giving them attitude! “We just ran with it. When you get a lead like that with the proof to back it up, any reporter worth their stock would follow through.”
“Again, you're not investigative reporters, which is why I'm curious as to why the video file was address to you,” Oliver said, his blue steel gaze scrutinizing both women.
“Like Allison said, Mr. Greene... we don't know. We watched it, and were shocked by what we saw. There's over two hours of footage showing the mayor with a woman who appears to be a Dominatrix. The mayor is clearly indulging in several fetishes in the video. This is a scandal of epic proportions, don't you think?” Felicity asked.
“If it is what you actually say it is, then yes, that is a scandal,” Oliver said.
“One worthy of front page news, if you ask me,” Felicity pressed.
“It couldn't very well go into the obits, now can it?” Allison quipped.
“The mayor's chances at re-election will,” Felicity added.
“No can do. If we were some trashy celebrity gossip newspaper that printed stories of plastic surgeries and affairs, then yeah. The Chicago Word prides itself on its integrity. Printing some sex scandal about the mayor would tarnish this paper's reputation, not including the mayor's. I won't do it,” Oliver said.
“This isn't just some trashy sex scandal story, Mr. Greene. The story deserves full media attention. It stands legitimate regarding his political platform, especially considering the mayor's public stance on adult enterprises,” Allison said. “His ban on such entertainment venues have resulted in job loss for employees and bankruptcies from local business owners already struggling in this economy.”
“This exposure may very well get some of those bills he passed overturned,” Felicity argued.
“Exactly. I'm sure those hurt by the bill will be happy to revisit the issue,” Allison said. “We did shed light on that in our article, Mr. Greene.”
“Do you have the article with you?” he asked.
“Does that mean you'll print our story?” Felicity asked.
“It means I'm considering it. Now, do you have it?” Oliver waited for an answer.
“Yes.” Felicity showed him the three typed pages. “We can also email it to you if you like. So, can we run with this, both Allison and I? It's our story and we want full credit.”
“The only team at this newspaper is our movie critics, not our investigative reporters,” Oliver said.
“I'm sorry, but I must insist. Either you publish this story accrediting both of us, or I take it somewhere else. I'm sure our competition would be very interested,” Felicity said, standing her ground. She hoped he didn't see the anxiety in her expression or hear her heart thumping inside her chest so loud the sound nearly drowned out all others.
Oliver frowned as he sat back in his chair, tossing his pen on his desk. “Is that a threat, Ms. …” he paused long enough to double check her last name on the note his assistance had given him. “... Summers?”
This motherfucker right here! Allison thought. You'll know our names soon enough! She looked at Felicity and nodded. The expression in her eyes said: If you go, I go. I've got your back.
Felicity turned back to
Oliver. “It's not a threat, Mr. Greene. It's an ultimatum. Either you print our story... and it is our story or we go to someone who will.”
Oliver studied her and Allison for several seconds, making both women nervous. Then he smirked. “I respect a woman who can play hardball. How about this, I read your story, see if it holds merit. I'm also going to need to see this proof you two speak of. I'm not going to risk this paper's reputation on an unsubstantiated rumor. Being held accountable for libel isn't acceptable, not for me at least. So, you leave your story with me and email whatever footage or video you have and if it pans out, I will agree to your terms. Does that sound fair?”
Allison and Felicity looked at each other and nodded. “Yes,” they said in unison.
“Keep in mind, we may not be able to publish the photos if they're overly explicit. I take it the location is a public place?”
“I don't think it was his home... may have been a sex club. It didn't look like a hotel or motel room either,” Allison said.
“I'll have to review everything before a decision can be made one way or the other. In the meantime, I'm glad we can come to a friendly and hopefully successful resolution,” Oliver said. “The papers please.”
Felicity handed it over and he took it.
“Thank you. I'll get back to you later on today regarding this story. All right?”
“Sure, sounds fair. We have our contact information on the cover page,” Felicity said.
“That's all I need then. All right, ladies. You'll be hearing from me soon.” Oliver gave them the dismissive smile he gave most people when he wanted them to leave his office peacefully.
The two took the hint and left. It wasn't until they were on the elevator that Allison started talking.
“I loved how you checked that bitch ass motherfucker!” Allison complimented Felicity.
Felicity laughed. “You know what, it never ceases to amaze me how you seem like you speak two languages.”
“Girl, I've got my 'It's time for business, Allison' and my 'bitch, we cool, Allison'. You're one of the fortunate few who get to see both,” Allison said, smiling.
The Pleasure Room Page 24
