by Vivien Vale
“Kevin,” Hull’s voice sounds loud over the phone. He sounds serious, but then, he always does. “I don’t like the way we’re starting this off.”
“What do you mean, Franklin?” I ask. He’s probably referring to the anonymous tip he got. “I’ve taken steps to…”
“We’ve been threatened with a sex tape,” he says, cutting me off. My blood drains from my face and I’m grateful he can’t see me. I swallow.
“A sex tape?” I ask. My voice sounds a lot less panicked than I feel. Point for me.
“A sex tape, with you and that secretary of yours. They’re threatening to leak it.
“Under what circumstances?” I ask. Is this some kind of ransom situation?
“No matter,” another investor, Bill Hayes, says. “This looks bad for us. How can we pump money into a business that has such bad publicity following it around?”
My stomach turns to stone. I can’t lose the funding. This is bad news. Terrible news.
“I’m sure it’s just a stunt for attention,” I say. “Naturally, I’ll do everything I can to get to the bottom of this.”
“You do that,” Hull says. “Our patience is running thin. I don’t need to tell you that image is everything, Meyers.”
Meyers, not Kevin. I’m in deep shit.
They end the call. As soon as I’m off the line, I groan. What the hell is going on here? I’m pretty sure this is personal. Carly’s sister is my first suspect if I must think about it, but blaming the woman when I hardly know her is just as unfair as her doing something like this to me.
I take a deep breath and try to calm down. I’m starting to panic, now. Verbal accusations about sexual encounters aren’t nearly as threatening as an actual sex tape being leaked. A tape suggests evidence that is impossible to lie about.
I dial Scott’s number and he answers on the second ring.
“What’s up?” he asks.
“I just got off the phone with the investors. Hull says there’s a tape.”
“What?”
“A sex tape, Scott. They’re threatening the investors, telling them they’ll leak it.”
Scott is quiet for a while.
“Are you there?” I ask.
“How the fuck?” he asks.
I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “Whatever it is, I have to get to the bottom of this. If it comes out and it’s real, it’s not only our careers but our personal lives, too.”
Scott continues swearing, letting out a line of colorful words. I wait for him to get through them all.
“How are we going to get to the bottom of this? I can only think of one person that might be behind this.”
“Carly’s sister,” I say. “I thought of that, too.”
“So? What are we going to do about it?”
I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m not going to confront Carly about this – it won’t be fair because it’s not her fault – but she should know. And if this goes any further we might have to cut things off with her.”
“No,” Scott says right away, so quick that I frown.
“Forget about the bet, Scott,” I say. “And it’s just sex,” I continue, even though I know it’s not entirely true.
He hesitates before he says, “it’s just as detrimental to her image as to ours, we should rather try to fix it.”
The hesitation made me think that he thought something else, first. I’m not going to ask. He is right, of course. This will affect all of us and I don’t know if we will be able to bounce back from it. Carly might be able to – a PA isn’t in the same circles as we are. But she wants more than just being a PA – how can I crush these dreams of her? Of course, Scott and I… I will fall the hardest of all, of course.
The rest of the day’s work is slow. I struggle to concentrate and I get very little done. By the time I finally finish, it is after nine. Everyone else has left. The office is dark and quiet and I’m the only one locking up to leave. I glance at Carly’s desk when I walk passed. She is a good PA, no matter what we do behind closed doors. She doesn’t deserve to fall from grace like this because I was set on fucking her. She deserves so much more and I want to see her succeed.
My heart is heavy when I make my way down to my car. I put it in gear and pull out of my parking spot. When I come to the intersection, I take a left instead of a right and drive to Carly’s apartment.
The light is on when I look up at her window. When I knock on the door she opens it, dressed in shorts that look like she’s ready for bed and a t-shirt with Daisy Duck on it. Her hair hangs loose around her shoulders and she’s not wearing makeup at all.
“Kevin,” she says, surprised. She steps to the side so I can walk into the apartment. “Is everything okay?”
I shake my head and sit down on the couch. Carly comes to sit next to me. I notice her legs – long and slender and smooth. I want to reach out and touch her, feel her skin beneath my fingertips. But I’m not here for that and I will get distracted if I do.
“I had a call from the investors today,” I say. “The conference call.”
She nods.
“They have a sex tape.”
Carly blinks at me, confused.
“Of us?” she asks.
I nod and watched as she makes the connections by herself. Her face changes from confused to shocked to panicked.
“Oh, my God, Kevin. Is it real?”
I sigh and scrub my face with my hands. “I don’t know. We can’t afford to ignore it.”
Carly nods. We sit in silence for a while. When I glance her, she’s staring at the carpet, chewing her lower lip. She’s nervous.
“I don’t know what do. We must figure out what’s going on, if any of this is true. It can be that someone is just looking for attention but this time it’s a bit close to home.”
Carly nods. “It’s not as simple as the anonymous phone call. This can be… real.”
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. She’s right. It can be real.
“And if it is,” she continues. “We’re in big trouble.”
I nod again. I feel down about it. I don’t know what I can do to stop it. I’ve been stressing about it so much all day, it’s hard to think about anything other than the mess we’re in.
“I’ll see what I can find out,” Carly says. She sounds more determined than shocked, which is more than I can say for myself. She looks at me and her eyes are drowning deep. “I won’t let this happen. I won’t let you go under.”
I smile at her and raise my hand to her cheek. Her skin is soft, like the skin of a rose, and her eyes are serious.
“You’re so caring,” I say.
She shrugs. “I know what it means to you. And this thing, the accusations and the alleged tape… it’s wrong. It’s just wrong to bring someone down that way. I want to do some digging, get to the bottom of it.”
Her eyes bore into mine, her face beautiful when she’s this passionate, this determined. I lean forward and press my lips against hers. Her lips are soft. She kisses me back, our lips careful on each other. When I push my tongue into her mouth she opens for me and I explore her mouth, tasting her. I pull her against me and she sighs against my lips.
Desire unfurls inside me, but it’s warm and gentle, very unlike the savage hunger that I’ve felt with her before.
Scott flashes in my mind’s eye. What will he think of this? What will I think if he’s the one doing this?
I break the kiss and pull back. I’m already hard in my pants and when Carly looks at me, her brown eyes are dilated. She feels it, too. She wants me like I want her. But I’m not going to do this. I clear my throat.
“I have to get going,” I say.
“You can stay,” she says softly.
I almost agree, but I shake my head instead.
“I’m sorry, princess. Not tonight. It’s been a rough day.”
Carly nods and she stands up when I do. She walks me to the door and opens it for me.
“I’ll see you in the
office, tomorrow,” I say. She nods. I lift my hand and brush the back of my hand against her cheek before I leave her apartment. The door clicks shut behind me.
What am I doing? Why am I walking away? Because Scott will care that I’m here. Or at least, I would care if the roles are reversed. Scott and I fucked the same girls before. It wasn’t ever a problem. But this isn’t just about fucking anymore. This is about Carly. And Scott is on the picture, and if it were reversed I would hate if he were here, kissing her the way I did, thinking of her the way I was.
Because it’s not just about the sex, now. And we aren’t doing this, it isn’t part of the deal.
I glance up at Carly’s window and see the light go out. She’s going to bed and I’m not going there with her. I sigh and pull into the road.
When did it become about more than sex and bets? Maybe I’m just in a bad place because my company is in danger, because I feel like my hands are tied.
That must be it. This can’t be about emotions, because I don’t care about Carly. Not like that. Sure, she is a hell of a good fuck. And the threesome with Scott was something else. But other than that, she is just my PA and I care for her as a person and a great assistant.
The emotions I feel aren’t anything more than that.
Are they?
Carly
After work, I stop at Emma’s place. I knock on the door and step to the side a little so she can’t see it’s me through the peephole. I don’t want her to be able to decide if she wants to see me or not.
When the door opens and it’s me standing there, Emma’s face hardens.
“You walked away from me twice, now,” I say. “Are you going to be childish about this, or can I talk to you?”
Emma shrugs. “There’s not much to talk about, but if you insist I guess you can come in.”
I groan inwardly. She’s going to make this as hard as possible. If it was any normal fight I would have walked away and let her have her temper tantrum alone, but this is about more than that.
“Is Ron here?” I ask.
Emma nods.
“I want to talk to you alone,” I say.
“I was just leaving,” Ron says, coming up behind Emma. He’s tall and lanky with dirty blond hair and eyes that aren’t exactly green or blue, but something in between. He kisses Emma, flashes me a smile and walks away from us, whistling.
I walk into the apartment. The place is so much neater than mine. It is so neat, in fact, that it is almost uncomfortable. I sit down on the couch.
“Something to drink?” Emma asks.
I shake my head. I’m not planning on staying that long.
“Alright,” Emma says, sitting down without getting herself something to drink, either. “What do you want to talk about?”
“I’m not even going to touch on you being a little bitch about my relationships and who I do or don’t sleep with.”
She raises her eyebrows but I’m not going to give her a chance to talk.
“The investors mentioned a sex tape threat. You’re acting all innocent about the anonymous tip, pretending to be hurt that I suspected you. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
Emma’s eyes widen when I swear at her.
“You think that is me?”
I nod. “I do.”
I remembered something in bed, after Kevin left last night. I remembered how I wondered about Emma’s intentions when she picked up my key, how secretive she was.
“You have my key,” I say.
Emma shakes her head, looking down her hands. A smile plays on her lips and I don’t like it that she thinks this is funny.
“So, what if there is a sex tape?” she asks.
My mouth drops a little. “You’re saying there is?”
Emma looks up at me. “God, Carly, you’re so naïve. I can’t believe you haven’t found the camera yet.”
I blink at her. I came in here, ready to confront her, but now that she’s so open about it I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“How can you do this to me?” I ask. “You have the tape?”
Emma nods, looking pleased with herself. I jump up.
“Where is it?”
“Yeah, sure, I’m just going to give it up to you. You think you’re so awesome, sleeping with more than one guy. It doesn’t make you awesome, Carly, it just makes you a slut. Besides, they’re using you – I’m just trying to help you.”
If I wasn’t so stressed about the sex tape I just realized is real, I might have been insulted by what she must say about me. Now, I don’t care. I march to her bedroom.
“Where are you going?” Emma calls after me. I storm into her room and turn in a circle. Where am I going to start? I walk to her nightstand and yank the drawer open, rummaging through it. The chest of drawers is next and I ruffle through her underwear, her socks, and then the vanity case on top.
Nothing.
It isn’t in her closet, either. Fuck, it can be anywhere.
When I turn around, unsure where else to look, Emma is leaning against the doorpost with her arms folded. She smiles at me.
“You know, if this isn’t about the fact that your morals are so screwed up, I would be amused by this. But it’s sad, instead.”
I shake my head.
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
Emma shrugs. I’m so angry I feel like I’m going to spontaneously combust.
“You’re sly, Em. Cunning, like fox.”
Emma is still smiling. I want to say something that will wipe that smile right off her face.
“No,” I say. “Not a fox. You’re cunning, just like dad.”
That did the trick. Comparing her to our dad is the one thing that hurts more than anything else. I push passed her.
“I have nothing more to say to you.”
I let myself out the front door and get into my car. I speed home, unlock my door and run to my bedroom. I turn the room upside down, looking for a camera. I look everywhere a camera will still have a view of the bedroom – in doors and the curtains and the lamps. Eventually, I find it. It’s a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I don’t know much about this kind of technology, but I know enough to know what I’m looking at.
I turn the small device around in my hands and notice a small groove on the side. When I press it with my nail, a slot pops open for a micro SD memory card. And the slot is empty.
“Dammit!” I shout.
I walk back to the living room where I dropped my handbag and fish for my phone. When I find it, I dial Scott’s number.
“I found a camera,” I tell him.
“I’ll be right there,” he says.
When he hangs up, I phone Kevin whose response is similar. When he hangs up, I sit down on the couch, feeling drained.
Ten minutes later, a knock sounds on my door. I open and both Scott and Kevin stand in front of me. They look worried. I let them in and close the door behind them.
“Here it is,” I say when they’re inside, picking it up from the coffee table where I put it to stare at it. Kevin takes it and turns it around in his hands. He finds the memory card slot and opens it the same way I did. When it pops open he hands it to Scott.
“So, Emma put it in your room?” Kevin asks when Scott inspects the empty slot.
I hug myself and nod. “She admitted it to me today. It’s the only reason I searched until I found it. It’s so small.”
“Where was it?” Scott asks.
“Attached to my lampshade. It has a black pattern so it isn’t very noticeable.”
Scott nods. Kevin looks at the camera in Scott’s hands.
“We don’t know that there was ever and SD card in there,” he says.
Scott looks at him before he looks at me.
“That’s true,” he says. “It can still be that she’s bluffing.”
I shrug and sits down on my couch. “I guess she can be. This is unlike her so I want to believe that, but I don’t know. I just… don’t know. I feel lik
e it’s my fault.”
“Hey,” Scott says and sits down next to me. He puts the camera back on the table where it stares at me with it’s one eye. Kevin sits down on my other side. “It’s going to be fine,” Scott says. He put his hand on my leg. I changed into slacks and a tank top in the time I waited for them to come so I’m comfortable. Scott’s hand is warm through the thin, stretchy material on my thigh.
“You can’t have helped this,” Kevin says. They both sit very close to me and I’m aware of their bodies, the heat radiating from their skins. Scott moves his hand on my thigh, rubbing it slowly up and down.
“He’s right,” he says. “She’s playing us. It’s not your fault.”
I hear what he’s saying but his hand on my thigh distracts me. He moves his hand up and down, his fingers sliding closer and closer to my pussy. I watch his hand. I’m worried about the camera, everything feels like a horrible mess and still Scott turns me on by touching me the way he is, now.
I look at him and his eyes are a deep green. His gaze slides to my lips. I feel the atmosphere charge around us, the worry changing to desire. Scott leans in toward me, placing his hand behind my neck and pulls me closer to him. I close my eyes and his lips come onto mine. He kisses me and I open my mouth, letting him penetrate me, taste me.
Kevin’s hand lands on my arm and he strokes me, his hand moving up to my shoulder and back down again. He nuzzles my neck as I make out with Scott, kissing the tender skin so that I get Goosebumps. His hand moves to my breast and he cups it. His skin is hot through my shirt.
Scott slides his hand up until his fingers brush my pussy. I shiver, moaning softly into his mouth. When he breaks the kiss, Kevin turns my head with his hand on my cheek and kisses me, taking over where Scott left off. His tongue pushes into my mouth and he squeezes my breast, massaging, kneading. Scott, having nothing else to do, pushes his hands between my legs. I open my legs for him to give him access. He rubs my pussy through the pants, the material friction on my pussy lips and clit driving me wild.
