Smokescreen

by Ahren Sanders

  Many stare at me as I walk through and a few clicks of camera phones go off, but I keep my head straight and focused. My goal is to get to Sullivan PR before any of these pictures go online.

  When I get in the back of the car, I text Jake that we’re on our way and he responds that everything is going as planned.

  When we pull up in front of her office, my mom’s car is up front and I see her waiting at the door with her camera hidden discreetly behind her back.

  Stella is supposed to be in her office with Laci discussing a fictitious business problem. Whatever it takes to keep her out of sight until I get in the building. I straighten the bright red bow on the dog’s neck, silently thanking Dana, once again. Then let the dog down in a patch of grass to pee. I read that excitement will cause a lot of peeing. This dog is about to experience more than excitement.

  The buzz of the entrance bell alerts the whole office to our arrival. Laci mutters, “Who the hell could that be,” loudly as my cue. As soon as Stella’s body is in the doorframe, I lean down and let the puppy go. She whines a bit until hearing Stella’s cries then turns to the noise hesitantly. Once she sees her, she goes running, tripping over awkwardly and causing everyone to laugh. Stella drops to her knees and squeals as Brutus lands in her arms. Cameras are clicking and “ooh’s and aah’s” fill the room.

  “Hey, baby girl! Hey, sweet thing! Oh my God you are so soft and fluffy,” Stella coos and Laci stoops down next to her. The puppy licks and wiggles shamelessly soaking up every bit of attention.

  Jake gives me a shit-eating grin and then shakes his head with disbelief. I can’t blame him. I’m a fucking goner.

  “Max, get over there.” My mom pushes me and points to the ground where Stella and Laci are fawning.

  I walk over and whisper softly in Stella’s ear, “Surprise.”

  Her head snaps to me and eyes pool with tears. “I can’t believe this.” She rests her forehead against mine. Even with tears spilling down her cheeks, her smile brightens the room.

  “How? I thought she wasn’t available until next week.”

  “They told a little lie. I asked them to hold you off until I could get her for you.”

  “You two look at me.” My mom breaks in and snaps a few shots as we smile at her. Once she’s done, she drops her camera and comes straight for the puppy.

  Stella hands her over and leans on me to help her up. I pull her close and breathe in her scent, memorizing this moment. The look on her face, the pure amazement, the love, the delight, erases all the memories of the afternoon with Grant and fills my heart with joy. If she responds this way to a puppy, I can’t wait to see how she responds to holding our children.

  Finally we get to bed at midnight. Once we left Stella’s office, everyone came back to her house and ordered dinner. My mom and Dana had a car full of stuff for the dog. Mason and Matt joined us and I sat back and watched as all the women unpacked and set up. I hadn’t pushed the move since we got back because I wanted Stella to have this dog in her house. She wanted it so badly and I couldn’t take it away from her. But as soon as Brutus was trained, we were moving.

  She assumed I was giving her time to get used to the idea, especially after we spoke to her parents, but I was appeasing her. I told her dad, Sam, about the dog and he laughed saying I was going to regret it. He explained that he did something similar once and he didn’t sleep alone with Jenny for two years. I immediately told him about the crate. He laughed harder and slapped me on the back. Her mom was pleased with the idea of us living together, saying once you found love not to ignore it. I agreed with her completely.

  Stella’s sister, Amy, was harder to warm up to. She was reserved and quiet. Her focus was always on her big sister and I tried like hell to talk to her. She was always polite but kept her distance. It wasn’t until the end of the night that she hugged me close and said, “Don’t fucking hurt her,” that I understood. She’s fiercely protective.

  Tonight when I saw her with the dog and her happiness, I knew. Just her smile could lighten my darkest day. My mom, Dana, and Jake saw it too. Each of them took the opportunity to give me words of encouragement, or in Jake’s case, shit, as soon as they could.

  When my brothers watched the video Landon took on his phone and uploaded, I swear there was a tear in Matt’s eye. He pushed off the sofa with the excuse to get a beer, but I knew he was affected. Our dad gave Matt a basset hound on his fifteenth birthday and he had the same reaction as Stella. His excitement got to him and we all cheered. That dog still lives at my mom’s house and follows Matt around everywhere.

  Chris showed up with a bottle of my favorite scotch as a congratulations on my “first child.” I wanted to shove him, but Stella ran into his arms and I had no choice but to watch him hug my woman smugly.

  After dinner, everyone said their goodbyes. Stella moved the crate to her room and set it up in the corner before jumping in the shower and instructing me to “watch the puppy.”

  If this dog was going to be a cock block, I had a huge problem. A naked, happy, and grateful Stella was in the shower and I was sitting on the end of the bed watching a puppy snore.

  Stella walks out a few seconds later with steam following her and nothing else. My eyes dance at her naked body as she comes to me, barely dry from the shower and sexy as hell.

  “You deserve a really, really big thank you.”

  She surprises me by dropping to her knees and reaching for my belt. My cock jumps at her as soon as she gets my pants down enough to set it free

  Her eyes meet mine for a brief second before she sucks me into her mouth, causing a groan. She’s given me blowjobs before, but this is different. When I hit the back of her throat, she squeezes my balls lightly, causing me to buck into her. I grow even harder feeling the blood rush to my dick. Her head bobs up and down coating my shaft with wetness that leaves me wanting to come desperately and watch as she swallows every fucking drop. But I hold back as blood pounds through my veins. She moves to the tip, paying special attention to my head, licking and nipping it. I feel my balls start to shrivel, ready to explode in pleasure.

  “Stella, I want you. Don’t make me come like this, I need to feel you.” Desperations fills my voice because I can’t hold on much longer. Watching her give me head is possibly the worst form of sexual torture trying not to come. I could have blown as soon as she hit her knees.

  “Lucky for you this is the kind of thank you that you get to choose. However you want me, all night long, your choice and your control.”

  My mouth goes dry. “Climb on and wrap around, I want you against me all night.”

  She backs away only enough to undress me and push back on the bed. Once I’m propped on the headboard, she untangles her bun and lets her hair fall over her shoulders. My dick is hard and raging and she takes no time straddling and sliding me inside her. My legs cage her in and hers do the same. We rock together slowly, feeling the burn as one. Her elbows rest on my shoulders and hands grip the back of my neck. My palms travel down to hold onto her waist right above her hips. Her skin is smooth against my fingertips and I savor in the feelings shooting through every nerve. Her body sets me on fire.

  I push into her roughly and she moans in pleasure. Her pelvis pumps against mine until we find a rhythm. Our chests rub against one another, causing her nipples to poke into my own. My hands skim up her body until both cover her tits, squeezing, kneading, pinching.

  She throws her head back arching into me deeper and I fucking stop myself from coming on sight. The animalistic growl that leaves my throat triggers her head to snap up and the amber of her eyes does me in and I pump into her faster.

  She meets me thrust for thrust, clawing at my shoulders, biting at my neck and then finally screams my name so loud I swear the windows rattle. My release follows, filling her so hard, so hot and heavy, my knees shake below us. I bite down on the skin between her collarbone and the swell of her left breast, pouring myself into her. We stay silent for a few minutes, holding each
other, panting, letting our sweat seep together. In this moment, I never want to let her go.

  “This is my new favorite position,” she mutters.

  “Mine too. Think we can sleep this way?”

  “Actually yes.” She maneuvers some pillows behind me and pushes me back, falling forward. Her body molds to mine and we don’t move.

  “I’ll be right back, she needs to go out.” Stella says softly pulling away from me.

  I groan into my pillow and lift up on my elbows to watch Stella throw on my shirt and then unlatch the kennel. I hear them pad through her house to the back door. It’s two minutes until they come back to bed and Stella puts her back in the crate.

  “I’m beginning to understand why you want a yard.”

  “Honey, we’ll start working on potty training right away. Especially in your place.”

  “Our place, and I’ve got that handled. You’ll get a call next week from a trainer. She’s certified and recommended. I don’t want you out all hours of the night walking the dog.”

  “Okay, but is it too soon?”

  “No, I spoke to all the people at the society. Brutus—or whatever—is going to be big. Her lineage is uncertain. They think she’ll do well with training.”

  “Okay, but I want to be there all the time. She’s going to the office with me during the day. I’m so in love with her already, I can’t believe you got her.”

  “Believe it.”

  “Do you have any names in mind?” she asks me sleepily.

  “No, but we need to think of something soon.”

  “It may sounds silly but what do you think about waiting a few days? I think a name should reflect who she is.”

  “I’m thinking that sounds smart.”

  “Max, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I have another surprise.”

  “What?”

  “I have a check for seventy five percent of your unpaid invoices.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah, babe, and I promise the next time you don’t tell me you’re getting screwed—financially by a company—I will spank the ever living shit out of you.”

  “Max—”

  “No, my company can and will pay you. You should have told me. Now I have to kick some ass when I get back in town.”

  “Do you have any idea how much I’ll miss you?”

  “Can you come to New York with me?”

  “No, I wish, but I have new business and loose ends at JOS. When you get back I’ve scheduled several more TV and radio airtimes for you.”

  “Christ, more?”

  “Yeah, but these will be more declarative. You’ll have the first half of the factory ready.”

  “Okay, but look at a weekend in November for you and me to get away again?”

  “Absolutely. Anything you want.”

  My head spins as I hang up the phone and look at my calendar. One more client phone call is going to kill me. It’s not a secret that Max and I are together, but every socialite in a two hundred mile radius wants me to run their charity or non-profit gala in hopes that he and I will attend and he’ll give a donation.

  He’s thousands of miles away in South America and all I want is to feel his arms around me. It’s been almost two weeks since he left for New York and then the factory and it’s been chaos.

  Once his picture hit the internet walking out of the Humane Society with Scout—what we had now named Brutus—every non-profit wanted a photo op. After we finally sent the picture of the three of us to the Brag Wall, it got worse. Jake’s job became a bit harder once I was recognized. He actually moved into my guest room, at Max’s urging, until he could get home.

  Laci, Landon, Ryan, Chris, the McCoy family, and even Dana stopped by the office or my house often to hang out and discuss the progress with the factories. Unfortunately because of the schedule and workload, Max and my conversations are short but informative. So everyone relies on my updates.

  We had a situation last week that caught Dana and me off-guard. When Landon tried to deposit the check from Hurst & McCoy, it was voided. The account it was written from had a stop payment flag. When I called Dana, she looked into it and saw the invoices had been moved and there was no record of payment. She was livid and explained that Edward had stopped the original payments from coming to me and Max overrode his decision. We both decided not to bring it up until Max was home. I needed the money, but my reserves were holding out well, especially with new client retainers coming in.

  Pedro has become a huge asset to Max and JOS. He’s increased his hours to a manageable schedule while Max is in town. I get email updates daily with pictures of all the changes. Although I had nothing to do with the actual factory renovations, pride still surges through me.

  “Yoo hoo! Earth to Stella!” Landon sashays into my office with an overly dramatic flair. “We are going out celebrating! Tonight. You get to tell Jake.”

  “Really, what are we celebrating?”

  “I got a call from the bank to verify our business account information. Apparently thirty-five thousand dollars has been transferred and they have fifteen more on hold for twenty-four hours.”

  “What? Did they verify it was from Hurst & McCoy?”

  “Not in so many words. Just said it was for services rendered. Asked if it should go into your personal account, but I confirmed it was business.”

  Why would they ask that? Before I can ask him more, my phone rings and Max’s face pops up on the screen. Landon nods and walks out.

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  “Bella,” he breathes into the phone. “God, I miss you.”

  “I miss you too. How’s your day?”

  “Busy, dirty, exhausting. Sunday can’t get here soon enough. What about you?”

  “Busy, some calls coming in about helping every charity in town. I’ve got a few meetings set up next week for groups that need the publicity being new and underfunded. But that’s boring. Let’s talk about my amazing, generous, and sneaky boyfriend.”

  “Keep going, I’d like to know more about this guy.”

  “Max, don’t play coy. The bank just called. The fifty thousand dollars will be all deposited by tomorrow. With all the problems, I can only assume you’re behind that. Bet Edward didn’t like that too much.”

  The line goes so silent I have to look at the screen to see if there’s still a connection. “Max?”

  “What are you talking about? What problems? What fifty thousand?”

  “The money for the outstanding invoices. After the check was rejected—”

  “What the fuck!?” he roars into the phone and I hear him typing.

  Jake appears in my doorway with his laptop and phone in hand.

  “Baby, put me on speaker, tell me everything. I just emailed Jake because something isn’t right.”

  With a shaky breath, I tell him about the check and Dana’s findings.

  “Have Laci get Dana on the phone. Tell her to go to my office on a private line and call in.”

  “Laci!” I shout.

  “On it, heard him.”

  “While we wait, get Landon in on this conversation and someone go lock the front door.”

  Jake moves quickly and the lock beeps and alarm sounds. The noises add to my rising anxiety. What the hell is going on?

  Laci waves her hand, pointing to my desk phone and I hit the speaker button. “Dana?”

  “What’s going on, Stella?”

  “Dana listen, we have a situation.” Max takes over the conversation. “Something’s not right and a large amount of money is about to go into Stella’s account. Run a scan through every account in all businesses for amounts equaling thirty-five and fifteen thousand dollars, a day apart. Use my private code and it won’t alert anyone. While you’re at it, also pull the accounting system for JOS, I want the transaction number for the check I handed Stella.”

  “Okay, done. Want to tell me what this is all about?”

  “Want to tell me why you or Stella didn’t
think to let me know her check basically bounced back?”

  “Max, it’s not a big deal. You had enough to worry about.” I try to soothe him even though I’m internally freaking out.

  “It is a big deal. Everything with you is a big deal. There are very few coincidences in my life. And your payment stopping and me being out of the country is not a coincidence.”

  “Max, the scan is through. It’s not good,” Dana says and we can hear her typing rapidly.

  “How bad?”

  “There are no payments with those amounts going out in the last forty-eight hours. I went through every single account in the system, including the petty cash till. Also, there’s no stop payment on the check you gave Stella. That whole account has been frozen with no history since the night you requested it.”

  “What does this mean?” My voice cracks slightly.

  “This means Hurst & McCoy didn’t call your office, didn’t wire you the money, and erased all evidence of your initial payment. Jake, what do you see?”

  “Max, maybe we should talk privately.” Jake’s face is unusually stoic. He looks between the laptop and me.

  “Don’t you dare hold back because of me.” I narrow my eyes to let him know I’m serious.

  He nods and starts typing quickly. “From what I see, approximately three minutes ago the deposit for thirty-five grand went live. It’s gonna be difficult to trace. No banking or routing numbers, no transaction details. Not even a teller note that the amount was approved. There’s also a pending wire with fifteen grand in process.”

  “Fuck, shit, son of a bitch! Can you stop the pending?”

  “I’m trying. It might take a while because this guy is good.”

  “Want to fill me in? What the hell does all this mean?” I screech.

  “Bella, I need you to listen to me. Someone has hacked into your accounts and is dropping money that’s hard to trace. There’s got to be a reason. Do you have another business account, possibly hidden?”

  “Yeah, it’s in Laci’s name at a different bank.”