by B. B. Hamel
“Alcohol makes everyone feel closer, that’s for sure.”
“How’d you find us?”
“Sven told me.” He smirks and steps closer. “I’m enacting the contract.”
I blink, surprised. “Right now?”
“Right now,” he confirms.
I take a deep breath. I only had one drink but I suddenly feel completely drunk.
“Are you actually… going to?” I ask him.
“You’ll see.” He reaches his hand out. “Coming?”
I glance back over my shoulder. Mel’s watching me and I know she’ll probably make some assumptions based on what I do next, but fuck it. I think she’ll understand. I mean, she’s the girl that spent like ten minutes talking about how big Monk’s dick is and how badly she wants it again.
I want something similar. I take David’s hand. “I’m coming,” I confirm, and we leave the bar together.
12
David
This time, she knows where we’re going as soon as the building comes into view.
“I didn’t think I’d be getting another chance,” she says. “Especially not after what I did in that meeting.”
“Normally you’d be right,” I say. “I was pretty annoyed.”
“But what?”
“But we had a breakthrough and I can’t help myself.”
She perks up a little bit. “Breakthrough?”
The car parks and we step out. We walk together toward the side entrance again, just like last time. “It’s not a big, flashy one, but it’s important.”
“What is it?”
“There were some bugs when it came to tight handling at low speeds. We couldn’t get the braking matrix to line up properly with our acceleration protocols and it was absolutely janky.”
She frowns a little bit. “I didn’t notice it the other day.”
“That’s because Dirk was driving.”
Her eyes widen. “It wasn’t on autonomous?”
“Nope. Sorry about that. I faked it a little bit, just to give you a better experience.”
She laughs and smacks my arm. “David!”
I grin at her, a little sheepish. “What? I’m trying to fuck you. Gotta put my best foot forward.”
She rolls her eyes but she’s grinning, which is what I wanted. I swipe my card and we step into the building. It looks just like it did last time, with the Mark 2 right in the middle, but tonight we’re all alone. Dirk doesn’t need to be up in the control room driving the vehicle. It’s just me, Emma, and the Mark 2, which is exactly what I wanted.
“After you,” I say, opening the driver’s side door.
“You’re sure this is for real this time?” she asks.
“I’m sure.”
She nods and ducks her head, getting down into the seat. I shut the door behind her, go around the car, and get in.
“Okay, let’s do this.” I use my fingerprint to start the motor. It revs into life and I tap a few buttons on the touch screen, putting it into fully autonomous mode. I enter in the pre-set course, which is just a simple figure-eight loop around the warehouse, and lean back in my seat.
“Hit the green button whenever you’re—” I say, but Emma cuts me off by jamming her finger against the screen, grinning madly.
The Mark 2 jerks forward before falling into a slower, smooth glide as it drives around the warehouse.
Emma giggles. “I felt that,” she says.
“Bugs aren’t all completely squashed, but trust me, this is so much better.”
She nods, looking totally delighted. “This is a real test drive, then?”
“The first one, actually.”
She cocks her head. “Really?”
“Yep. I just solved the issue earlier today and pushed the changes about an hour ago. It was approved right before I found you.”
“Holy crap. We’re the first two people to experience this version?”
“Yes, we are,” I say, laughing. “What do you think?”
“Amazing,” she says, and I lean toward her, putting my hand on her thigh.
She looks at me and I smirk as I kiss her. She’s surprised at first, but she quickly leans into the kiss, letting herself get lost in the moment. This is really what I came for, not this car bullshit, although I knew she’d like it. Everything I said is true, of course.
I’m just more excited by Emma than I am about my work these days, which is confusing as hell.
I’ve always been the kind of man that could lose himself in programming and work and conquest. I’ve always loved the game of creating and sustaining and building, which is how I’ve taken my company so far. I have a singular drive and it’s always been good to me.
But now, though, that drive is focused on something else. I should be thinking about my company and about the launch of the Mark 2, and I’ve been trying. I’ve been keeping myself locked up in my office, coding for hours at a time, although I technically should be letting my team write that stuff. I haven’t missed a single day of work or a single meeting, even though all I’ve wanted to do is skip everything and fuck Emma all day and all night. I want to be a part of her life and I want to meet me daughter for real.
I’ve been fucking good. I’ve controlled myself. Now I’m going to give up a little bit of that control.
My hand slides between her legs and she groans a little bit into my lips. “Is this a good idea?” she asks me, pulling back as I fumble with the button on her pants.
“You think we’ll crash?”
She blushes a little bit. “I mean, uh, I don’t—”
I laugh a little bit, getting her button undone. I tug her pants over her hips and she doesn’t stop me. She helps me get them off and she’s sitting there in these little black panties that make her fucking hips look so gorgeous.
I meet her gaze. “Your lack of faith in our technology is disheartening, Miss May.”
She looks apologetic. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Mr. Carlson.”
My grin gets bigger. She wants to play.
“I think we’ll have to punish you for this,” I say, leaning back in my chair and unbuttoning my own pants. I slide them forward and get them off while she watches. “What do you think is an appropriate punishment?”
“Whatever you think,” she says demurely. “I trust your judgment, Mr. Carlson.”
“Of course you do, Miss May.” I slide my cock out from inside of my boxer briefs and I’m actually surprised by how fucking hard I am. “Come here and let me abuse that trust.”
She leans across the car and I take her by the hair. Her mouth opens as she takes my cock between her lips and I groan softly, her tongue rolling around my tip as I press myself further into her throat.
“I believe this will suffice as a punishment,” I groan as I fuck her mouth. The Mark 2 continues to drive in its pre-programmed pattern, never varying from its path. If someone were to walk in front of it, the car would stop, but otherwise it’ll keep going as long as there are no obstacles.
Emma gags on my cock and I let her pull back, taking a breath. She’s so sexy with her hair spilling down all around her. She leans forward again and starts to suck me, concentrating on the tip before moving down my shaft, and I lean over to my left, finding her panties. I push them aside and use my fingers to tease her soaking wet pussy.
I love the feeling of her moans as she sucks my cock. There’s nothing more perfect than a woman’s deep purr as she gags and chokes on your big dick. I slide my fingers inside of her and she moans more with my dick in her throat. I thrust up, making her gag as I press my fingers deeper into her tight little pussy, pulling her closer.
She moves back, breathing deep as I keep teasing her. “Fuck, Mr. Carlson,” she says. “You’re ruthless.”
“You’ve insulted me,” I say, taking her by the hair with my other free hand. “And you’ll pay for that, you filthy fucking girl.”
She groans as I pull her across the car, making her straddle me. She moves her hips backwards, r
iding her pussy along the tip of my cock before slowly rocking backwards and plunging my big shaft deep between her legs.
Her whole fucking sexy body shudders with pleasure as she slowly starts to ride me. We fuck in the moving car as it keeps driving, her hands gripping the headrest, my hands gripping her hips, her pussy gripping my cock. She’s so tight and warm and incredible as I thrust into her, wanting to wreck her, fuck her, destroy her, make her come so hard she forgets her own fucking name.
Hell, I’m starting to forget my own fucking name as she twists her hips and twerks her ass, her soaking pussy sliding up and down my cock. Her pussy lips grip me so hard I can barely fucking breathe. I pull her blouse open, popping off a button in the process, but she doesn’t seem to mind. I tease her breasts, unhooking her bra and pushing it up to bite her nipple. She grunts in pleasure and pain as I thrust back into her.
She leans back suddenly, hands on my knees. She looks at me, hair spilling all around her, and she’s a fucking goddess. I’m completely taken with her, more than I even thought possible as our eyes meet. My cock throbs inside of her and she slowly moves her hips, grinding along me, pleasure blooming between us.
“You’re too much,” I say. “You fucking know that, Emma?”
“I know, Mr. Carlson.”
I groan and grab her hips. I can’t take it anymore. I pull her off me and push her to the side, putting her ass up with her knees on the driver’s side seat. I get behind her and grab her hips as I fuck her rough like that.
Her face is pressed against the glass and she’s panting my name. She’s too lost in the moment to care that she’s uncomfortable, and I’m not holding back anymore. I can’t help myself. I need to come in this tight little cunt so badly it almost hurts. I rock my hips, thrusting deep and rough, and she’s gasping now, moaning loud.
“This is why you signed that contract, you dirty girl,” I grunt at her. “You need this big fucking dick, don’t you?”
“God, yes,” she groans. “Fuck me, Mr. Carlson. I’ve been such a dirty little slut.”
I groan and grab her hair, pulling it back, rocking into her tight pussy hard. She gasps and moans and I know she’s close from the sound of her voice. I reach around her hips to rub her clit and her whole body shudders with the increased pleasure.
We move in a rhythm together, grinding and fucking and rubbing. Sweat is beading on her skin and I lick it off as I rock deeper and deeper, losing myself in the trance of the moment, pleasure intensifying between us. I can feel it starting, feel it ready to break its way free, and I can’t stop myself.
She groans and twists her hips, bucking against me, taking my cock even deeper. “Come on,” she gasps. “I need it, please.”
I groan and fuck her harder. She puts her hand on my thigh and moans, her whole body shaking, and I know she’s coming, nice and hard. I fuck her through it, not stopping for a second, my own orgasm building to a deep and body-shattering release.
I come hard as she finishes, my cum filling her up. I thrust through it, fucking my way inside her, boring deep into her core as I come and come and come. It’s incredible, too much, too intense. I gasp as I pull back and she looks over her shoulder at me, sweating and beautiful, her mouth hanging open.
I leave my cock inside her as I kiss her. I hold her like that for a while, going soft between her legs as we keep kissing. We finally break apart and get dressed on either side of the car.
“Was that satisfying, Mr. Carlson?” she asks, grinning at me.
I laugh, unable to help myself. “Very satisfying, Miss May.”
“Good.” She leans across the console and kisses me again. “I aim to please.”
“I bet you do.” I kiss her one more time. “But you’re not done pleasing me, not by a long shot.”
She laughs. “Maybe, or maybe you just knocked me up.”
“I don’t mean that.” I give her a look, half smirk, half laugh. “You’re doing fine on that front. No, you have another job.”
She cocks her head. “What is it?”
“You have to make this damn car the best thing in the world, or else you’re fired.”
She stares at me, not sure what to say, and my grin gets even bigger.
13
Emma
David’s words keep ringing in my ears, even days later. I know he can’t fire me, even if he wants to. The contract we signed means my job’s safe for a long time, and I can’t imagine David would fire me out of spite.
Still… I know a lot rides on this project. Even Sven seems a little worried, constantly peppering me with questions about all the different ethical conundrums we’ve been working through.
“But what if,” he says to me one day over coffee, “the car cannot stop. What if the choice is you or a baby in road. Which then?”
I sigh. “We’re not assigning value on people.”
“Do people not get choice? I choose death for baby to live.”
“You don’t get a choice, unfortunately. The decision would have to be made too quickly. People don’t have time to think of that.”
“Yes, yes, so we make choice for them. We choose driver.”
“We choose driver,” I echo. “Otherwise, people aren’t going to want to drive in these cars. Would you want to be in a car that’ll choose someone else’s life over your own and you can’t do a thing to stop it?”
He hesitates a second. “When put that way, nyet.”
I laugh a little. “Yeah, me neither.”
He sighs, stretching, and I realize that I’ve never seen him wear the same track suit twice. He has to have hundreds of those things. Maybe even thousands, although I haven’t been here that long. Maybe he’ll run out eventually.
I actually enjoy this little morning ritual with him. We have coffee, talk through some things, and then go about the day. If we need to make new plans, we make them. He’s amazingly efficient.
And the team’s responding, at least these past few days. They’re stepping up and we’re tearing through the commits like crazy. Each new task is assigned and finished by the deadline, which is like basically unheard of in this job.
“What then, in end, we always choose driver? Not ethical, you ask me.”
I sigh. “It’s not that simple. We’ll build some leeway into the models. For example, if it’s a choice between the driver or ten people, the algos might choose the ten people.”
“Interesting. So what number do you say, then? Driver is worth ten, but not nine?”
“We’ll rely on the machine learning for that,” I say. “It’ll model the likelihood of everyone surviving, and it’ll make choices.”
His face darkens a bit. “We let robot make human choice then.”
“We can’t do it fast enough,” I point out again. I feel like we’re having this conversation every day.
“Yes, yes, I know. Still worry, no?”
“I worry about it too,” I say softly. “It’s why I’m here. We’re going to try and make this as fair as possible.”
“Fair for who?” He sighs but at least he changes the subject.
Still, Sven keeps me on my toes. I keep finding myself staying late, making little tweaks here and there, and even reading some of my favorite ethical philosophers. I’m so engaged with my work that it takes ten days before I realize that I haven’t seen David at all.
Olivia startles me one afternoon. She taps me on the shoulder while I’m in the middle of an hour-long programming binge session. I look up, eyes bleary, and she smiles at me with those perfect little teeth.
“Emma?” she asks. “May I speak with you?”
I nod, a little dumbfounded. “Yeah, sure.” I stand up and I can feel the team watching as we walk away together.
We step into an unused conference room and Olivia shuts the door behind her. “I’m sure you’re wondering why you haven’t seen David lately,” She says to me.
I blink, surprised. “Uh, he’s the CEO. He doesn’t have time for me.”
She rolls her
eyes. “Right. Is that how you’re playing this?”
I hesitate. “Do… do you know?”
“Of course I know, Emma.”
I groan. How the hell could he tell Olivia? I’m so embarrassed I want to die, but she’s not looking at me like she’s judging me. She just looks annoyed that we’re going over this.
“It was his idea,” I say to her quickly. I want her to respect me so badly, it feels almost strange. “I mean, I didn’t argue, and I know it’s strange. But what would you do, in my position?”
“The same thing,” she says, shrugging.
“It’s just sex,” I say, sighing and sinking down into a chair.
She doesn’t say anything and I finally look up to meet her gaze. I expect her to look stern, but instead she’s totally shocked, her mouth hanging open.
“What?” I ask.
“David’s… he’s forcing you to have sex with him?”
I blink. “Forcing? What? No, it’s a part of the contract. I mean, I can’t get pregnant if we don’t have sex.”
She sinks down into a chair, her face even whiter than usual, and I realize that I’ve made a big mistake.
“Get you pregnant?” she repeats. “Contract? Holy shit.”
“You don’t know,” I say softly.
“I knew something was going on, so I bluffed. I mean, I figured it was something weird, it always is with David, but… holy shit.” She looks at me, eyes wide. “Who else knows?”
“Nobody,” I say. “Nobody knows. Nobody needs to know.” I lean toward her. “Olivia, this is something we both agreed to.”
She takes a breath and lets it out. “What, exactly, does this contract stipulate?”
So I tell her everything. I leave out the parts where David and I have sex, but I explain to her what the contract means and what it says. She’s completely blown away by the time I’m done.
“He wants a family,” she says softly, laughing a little bit. “Never would have guessed that.”
“He doesn’t seem like the type, does he?” I shrug a little. “But I’m a single mom and I can’t turn away from money like this, let alone the job security.”
