by Jayce, Aven
“Do I have to be here?” I ask, suddenly overwhelmed and feeling queasy.
“Doron, turn the fluorescent lights off and tilt the blinds slightly to let a little light in, but keep it dim. It’s too early for me to deal with that bright Nevada sun.”
My father sits and Cove takes a seat across from him. Neither one of them looks at me, but Cove at least acknowledges my existence and pulls the chair next to him away from the table. My legs are shaky from nerves and I’m happy to take the seat.
“Dad, I want to see Mera. I’m taking her with me… back to St. Louis.”
My father ignores my words, still staring at Cove. Doron sits next to my father, rocking back and forth in the chair. He looks out of place, wearing jeans and a button down shirt with rolled sleeves, far more casual than the rest of us.
“I heard what you said at your mother’s. You’ve agreed to help bring back NOVA, my moneymaker. That’s why I have decided to meet with you, and it’s the only reason. I need someone for this project, and Doron is the only other person who has the time to work on it. The reality is you know the ins and outs better than him. You’ve lived it. Now you need to take charge of it.”
“Why would you place a bug in Leondra’s home? Do you think that sweet, caring woman deserves such treatment?” I ask in a harsh tone. He ignores me again. I don’t exist in this place and his world.
“I knew you were listening,” Cove says, placing a hand on my leg. My father looks down and sees the contact through the glass tabletop. Cove withdraws his reach and focuses on the discussion. “I knew you were listening, Paul. That’s why I said that to my parents. It was one way to keep you off my back until I made it here. It’s how I got into this office.”
“Doron, stop fucking swiveling in that Goddamn chair,” my father yells, his face turning red with deep twisted lines across his forehead. He glares at Doron for a moment and then looks back at Cove. “Don’t say you fucking played me you little prick, you know Doron carries. I’ll take it out of his belt and shoot you between the eyes before you have a chance to blink.”
“Dad! Stop it!”
Cove raises his hand signaling me to calm down. I sit back in the chair and fold my arms. This needs to end.
“What are you doing here, Star?”
I roll my eyes, unable to hear that porn name one more time. My father has his fingers interlaced, with his hands on the table. He leans forward, his body language prods for an answer.
“Answer him,” Doron says, preparing to stand.
“An exchange. I’ll give you what you wanted from me three years ago.”
“Ha, I don’t believe it,” Doron roars. “Dayne told me last night that you had Blackjack, but I thought he was fucking with me. I even bet him a grand that you didn’t.”
“Doron,” Paul shouts, placing his hand up to cut him off.
“Did you kidnap someone? Did you find a new employee for my dad?” I ask.
“Shh,” Cove replies, stretching his arm toward Doron. “Give me my phone.”
Doron looks at Paul and Paul nods, waving his hand to go ahead. Doron slides the phone across to him, and Cove picks it up quickly typing his password.
“I need an agreement, Paul.”
“You shit, you don’t make deals in my company. Show me what you have and then I’ll tell you what happens next.”
“No. I want Mera to go home with Sophia. I want them out of here and away from this. Don’t you want that for your daughter?”
“You tell me, shithead. You’re the one who brought her here.”
“I was going to come no matter what,” I say to my father. “You took my best friend, Dad. Did you think I would just sit home and say, oh well, that sucks, I guess there’s nothing I can do?”
He turns and finally looks at me, his face tense and angry. “You left my protection, Kiddo. You made your choice and you made that choice very clear to all involved. Mera wanted to come. She works for me now, and she’s happy. You’ll see that for yourself soon enough, now stay quiet.”
My mouth drops open from his cruel and punitive words. “You callous, insensitive…”
“Sophia,” Cove pleads, turning toward me to whisper in my ear. “Stay strong, let everything you hear go. This is business.”
“No, both of you, this is not business. This is my life and Cove’s life, and Mera’s life. What the fuck?”
“Do you want me to take her out?” Doron asks.
“What does that mean, are you going to shoot me?”
He laughs, swiveling in his chair once again. “No, it means physically take you out to the waiting area so we don’t have to listen to you bitch.”
“Doron, let her be,” my father says. He looks at me and sends a partial smile my way. “You done?”
I close my mouth and wait. Cove’s hands noticeably shake as he holds his cell.
“Show me,” Paul demands.
Cove types into his phone then trembles, and falls back into his chair. “How about a drink first?”
“God dammit, I’m tired of this shit. Last time, and if you’re lying your father won’t make it out of that infirmary.”
“Oh Jesus, you’re such an ass,” I murmur.
My father pounds his fist on the table, nearly breaking the glass. Cove quickly types and pushes the phone across to the two of them.
My father picks it up and looks at the screen, while Doron slides in close to see what he has.
“Oh, ssssssshit,” Doron hisses in a low voice.
“YOU FUCK,” my father shouts. His chair hits the back wall as he stands and grabs Cove by the collar. He pulls him forward and drags him across the table to the other side. I gasp and my eyes widen, frozen in my chair by the scene. “YOU DUMB FUCK!” he yells. He yanks him off the table and throws his body against the wall, slamming his face into the hard surface. He knees him and positions his kneecap under his balls. Cove’s like a ragdoll, allowing my father to toss him around. “You better not have fucking posted that anywhere. If I find out that’s online, you’ll never be seen or heard from again.”
“Oh my God, Dad, enough!” I shout. “What is it?”
“Sophia, sit your ass down.”
“No, Dad. Let go of him.”
“Paul,” Cove groans. “I didn’t post it. It’s not to get back at you, it’s to make you money. I’ll give it to you.”
“Give it to me? You hear that Doron, he’ll give it to me.” My father turns Cove around and plants a hard fist across his jaw, sending him to the ground.
“You still have my followers. They’re still your loyal customers,” Cove blurts out, his voice strained. “Market it, hype it up, and charge a few bucks for people to download it. I know when NOVA ended we had thirty-five thousand wanting that as the finale. Give it to them now, they’ll still watch it, I guarantee it. That’s an easy hundred grand for you in one shot.”
“Shit, he’s fucking right, Paul,” Doron says.
My father paces back and forth, then swiftly kicks Cove in the gut. He goes down, curling into a ball on the floor.
“Dad, no!” I start to run over to him but Doron grabs hold of my arm. “Dad, please!” Cove starts to sit up, and my father places a foot on his side, keeping him down.
“You know I can’t fucking post that, you fuck. Does she know?” my father asks, his fists clenched and body tense. Cove’s silent. He doesn’t move or respond to his question. “DOES SHE KNOW?” he shouts, commanding an answer.
“No sir, she doesn’t know,” Cove responds with a defeated voice. “You’ll make a shitload of money. Just take it and let Mera and Sophia go home. You can do with me what you want.”
“I can’t fucking post it, you shit. You know that.”
“Tell me what’s going on, I want to see that phone.”
My father takes his foot away and allows Cove to sit up. He walks over to me, and picks up Cove’s phone, looking at the screen.
“It’s gone.”
“I have the video and screen locke
d. You can’t view either one without my password.”
“Bring it up. Show Sophia.”
Cove wavers to his feet, gripping the table for stability. He takes the phone and unlocks the screen and video, allowing it to play again. He places it on the table and I try to walk over, only to be restrained by Doron.
“No, Cove. Fucking pick it up and show her.”
He closes his eyes and exhales, picking up the phone on his way over to me.
“I’m sorry,” he says as he holds it up for me to view. “It’s the two of us… in the airplane bathroom. He wanted my virginity, and thousands were willing to pay to watch me lose it. His clients were with me for years, watching my every encounter. They’ve never seen me with a woman in such an intimate way, but I’m sure many of them have fantasized about it. I was in their lives for many years. They tuned in every week like I was their favorite television show. The final episode is usually the most watched… and it’s the moneymaker. I could’ve had sex outside of this business, and none of these followers would have known if I was really a virgin or not, but in their eyes, I always was. The company portrayed me that way and people tend to believe what they see. I didn’t do this to hurt you and....”
I put all my strength into one hard swing and slap his face with my hand. “You fuck!” I sneer, trying to release my arm from Doron’s hold. “Let me go, fuckhead,” I yell, pushing on his chest for my release.
“Doron, sit her down. Cove, sit your ass down. Both of you, now!” my father shouts.
“You fuck! I hate you! I hate both of you! Let me out of this room, now!” I scream, punching Doron in his chest. He turns me around and pushes me onto a chair, then holds my shoulders so I can’t escape. Cove takes a seat and places a hand on his forehead. I try to swivel the chair. I need to turn away but Doron blocks my movement. “Turn me around. I can’t look at either one of them,” I request as tears stream down my face. My father nods and Doron turns my chair so I’m facing the wall. I let out a high-pitched scream in frustration, being used again for a profit.
“You asshole,” I yell. “You should’ve told me your plan. You lied to me and set me up. I hate you! I never want to speak to either one of you again!” I yell and kick at the wall in front of me. I hear Cove sigh and my father pace. “I want Mera, now!” I shout, kicking the wall.
“Knock it off!” my father yells.
“What should we do, Paul?” Doron asks, pulling a chair up behind me and placing his arms under my armpits and up to my shoulders. I’m locked in place.
“I don’t know, let me think,” he says, continuing to pace.
“Where was the camera, Cove?” I ask in a heartbroken tone.
“I had it in my hat, the one I took off and placed on the shelf next to us. I turned it on when I went into the restroom before we boarded the plane.”
“And how’d it get on your phone?”
“I set all that up the first morning in the hotel room, when you woke up and I was using my laptop.”
I stop my tears, too angry to cry. “You had this entire fucking thing planned out, and I fell for it. I loved you. I can’t believe I fucking loved you and thought that you actually loved me.”
“Soph... I, I do. Remember what I said earlier, everything was real. Everything is real.”
“Shut the fuck up! I can’t think with the two of you whiney ass kids bitching back and forth,” Paul seethes.
“Paul… you have fifteen minutes until our next meeting,” Doron says.
“Yeah, well our little Star just fucked me over again. I’d like to just leave him out in the desert, or take him out to Lake Mead and have some fun with him in the water.”
“I gave you what you wanted. It’s an easy hundred grand, just take it and let Mera and Sophia go.”
Paul and Doron both laugh and I push up from the chair, trying to stand and walk away. I need to be out of this room. My chest is tight and I start to hyperventilate. My body is consumed with a panic attack. I shake and my face is on fire. My stomach feels like it’s full of slithering snakes trying to dig their way out. I tense and pant.
“I wanted the new NOVA, shithead. Not Blackjack. Twenty-one should’ve happened years ago.”
“It still can. You know it, and I know it. They’re still out there, waiting.”
“Hey, fuckhead,” Doron says. “Don’t you get it, it’s Paul’s daughter. He’s not going to use it. We just went through this shit with you last week. I say we just kill him and be done with this chapter of our lives. Or use the video and kill him anyway.”
“If I kill him then I’d have to take care of Leondra as well, and possibly Wayne and Lydia. There are too many people involved.”
“And me… you’d have to kill me too. As soon as I’m out of this chair I’m going to the cops, so just go ahead and dump me in the lake with the rest of them.”
“You bastard, Cove Everton. I guarantee you that this is the last time I deal with you and your shit,” my father says.
“You can block Sophia out of the shot,” Cove responds.
“People don’t want to watch a woman’s face blurred out. That’s not going to turn them on. They want to see that erotic moment on her face. The tension, the eyes, the mouth, that’s all part of how they get off.”
“Why do you care if she’s online? You don’t even love her, so what does it matter? Just use what I have.”
“You fuck, don’t tell me how I feel and don’t feel.” I hear my father walk across the room and then a loud crash and rustling papers makes me jump in my seat. It sounds like he wiped his desk clean in one quick swipe of his arm.
“Hundred grand. Money or family? What’s more important to you?” Cove mumbles.
“What’s more important to you, Cove? Money or love?” I snap. “Just post the fucking thing. I don’t care. Make your money. The two of you mean nothing to me.”
“Sophia, I’m doing this to help you.”
“Bring the video back up,” my father interjects. “Let me see it again.”
I’m suffocating. I can’t breathe. I think I’m going to pass out. The room is silent and all I can think about is my father watching me fuck him. I won’t say make love, since that’s no longer the case. He’s watching that scene right now. My dress was off and I only had on a garter and thigh-highs. Don’t look at me. As a child I showed my body to my brother and his friends. Oh boyssss, look at me, I said, standing in that bedroom window displaying my body. Now, don’t look at me. Don’t.
“How is it Paul?”
“Not bad. Nice angle. The lighting’s good too. It seems real, unplanned, which always gets our highest ratings. His face is a mess, and people might turn away from that. He’s not pretty, that’s for sure. Then again, women like that wounded man shit, and some men like the tough guy look. Is there sound?”
“No,” Cove replies. “You don’t need to hear what we said to each other. And I have you to thank for my face.”
My father chuckles and Doron’s body moves in quiet laughter. “I suppose we can easily place our own sounds in… wait, hold on a second.”
There’s silence and my father sighs. “You dumbass. There’s no cum shot,” he says, slamming the phone on the table. “How can you work in this industry for so many years and not pull out to show the cum shot?”
“Ohhhhh,” Doron groans. “Rookie mistake, Cove. What happened, you get too excited that you finally were doing it?”
“So fucking edit one in,” Cove shouts. “That’s easy enough. I can do it for you and make it look real.”
“Why don’t you just reshoot it? No one will know you’ve already done it,” Doron suggests.
“I won’t let him touch me, ever again. You’ll have to find someone else,” I gasp, as I fight to breathe.
“I’m not doing this with anyone else. It was meaningful to me. That’s why I waited so long. Don’t you see the passion in what you just watched? It’s real. You can’t recreate that.”
“It was real, but only for a brief
moment. It’s not anymore.” I rage.
“Think about what you have, Paul.”
There’s silence again. I hear my father pace as I stare at the cold grey wall. He walks across the room and takes a seat, then I hear him pick up his office phone.
“Dayne, he has it, but there’s an issue. Sophia’s in the shot.”
“Put him on speaker,” Doron says.
There’s a click and I hear Dayne’s voice in the room.
“Hey douchebag, remember what happened last time you fucked with us?” Dayne rages. “I thought you finally agreed to do this project and get it over with, and now you show up today with this shit. And, you had the nerve to show it to Paul? You made him watch you fuck his daughter? I bet that was pleasant. What do you say you and I go for a ride this afternoon, outside the city?”
“There’s no cum shot, Dayne,” Doron laughs.
“Oh Jesus. I hope she’s on some form of birth control, otherwise we’ll have to bring back the in-house doc to take care of things.”
“What?” I yell.
“Enough already. Don’t take me to that place right now, any of you,” Paul shouts. “Dayne, if we take him out we’ll have Leondra to deal with. If Cove’s gone she’ll have nothing left and she won’t think twice about going to the cops. Then, if we take care of her, we have Wayne and Lydia, plus my daughter is in the middle of all of this. What do we do with her?” my father questions.
