by Carter Blake
“Baby, do you think we should go? I’d like to take you back to my place,” I say.
She nods her head yes.
A part of me wishes that I didn’t have to go back to that dummy flat. I’d rather take her home to my penthouse, a place that’s more my style. Then I could lock her in with me for days.
I imagine just fucking her over and over again in the penthouse where every amenity is available so that we would never have to leave.
But as it is, I have to keep up the front of being some activist person. I have to keep spying on Katy, though my feelings are turning in a new direction.
All of it surprises me, and I wish that I could just lay bare the truth for her. But if I were to do that, and if she were to turn away from me, then my company might truly fall apart.
I can’t have that happen, and as much as I hate to do it, I silently vow to keep up this act.
“It’s time to go,” I say as I take her hand and lead her out of the jazz club that we will forever remember.
We walk out to the parking lot, and the cool air is a welcome change to the intense heat of the jazz club bathroom.
I take her hand and she clutches on to mine. For once, I feel at peace.
Katy
I am once again in Marcus’s apartment.
His posh little pad is not so bad, especially in comparison to my place.
I had wanted to leave after having sex in his car, but he convinced me to come with him. Like I said, he’s so charming.
But I’m really here because it occurred to me that I hadn’t had the time at the restaurant to tell Marcus my final decision about not being interested in joining his organization.
Somehow I have to break the bad news to him.
But now is not the time, as he’s handing me a delicious glass of wine, which I eagerly take. I curl up on his couch, and he turns the fire on before joining me.
He’s always a delectable sight to see walking around. It sure beats being in my apartment alone with my computer. Marcus looks like a model, albeit a rugged one. I could watch him all day.
He brings the bottle of wine over and joins me on the couch where I curl up next to him.
“So, Katy, I know you’re an activist but I don’t really know what you do. Can you tell me more?” he says.
I know I can’t open up to him about my entire life, but maybe I can tell him some small details. Once again, the fact that I’m venturing onto dangerous ground does not elude me.
In truth, I’ve never gotten close to anyone enough to be on such sharp alert as this.
But Marcus seems nice, and I did check him out, and everything should be in order. So I tell him a couple of things about my life. He deserves at least that for making me come so hard.
“Well, I mostly interact with an online community of people. I’ve never met any of them in real life. They share the same thoughts and ideas as I do when it comes to activism. It’s a unique situation, but it keeps me pretty busy. That’s really all I can say.”
He puts his arm around my shoulder and says, “That’s really interesting. So it’s all basically all online, huh? How do you exist like that, never seeing people?”
“Hey, I see people. Sometimes.”
I figure now is not the time to tell him about my lack of family or friends. It’s kind of weird that my only interaction with people is in a virtual online community of hackers, but that’s just the way I roll.
He seems attentive, and he keeps asking questions.
“So what areas of activism really interest you? I know you take pride in helping the poor, but what else?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m interested in helping the poor,” I say. At least that part’s the truth. “But I want my reach to extend further than that. I want to help the poor in not just a small way but in an enormous way. They deserve at least that. They need to have a voice. They need to have someone fighting for them.”
“I’m impressed, Katy. I’m very impressed. What you do is remarkable when you think about it,” he says.
I look up into his deep, gray eyes and say, “Well you’re into the same things, aren’t you? I mean your whole organization hinges on helping the poor. Am I right?”
His eyes darken and do that thing that makes me wonder what he’s thinking.
“That’s right. That’s what we do basically. Which is why we’d love to have you be a part of it.”
There’s no better time like the present to tell him the news I’ve been dreading all night. I have to let him know that there’s absolutely no future for us in terms of his organization or anything else. Now is the moment.
“Marcus, I have to tell you something that is really hard to say. I need you to know that I’m really not interested in joining your organization. I don’t need your help, and I don’t need the support of an organization to help my activism. I’m doing fine by myself. But I do appreciate it.”
He doesn’t look downcast or anything. He looks pretty fascinated...in me.
Doesn’t he care at all that I just turned down the job he’s been offering? Marcus remains a bit of a mystery, even though I technically know all about his life because I researched it.
Still, there’s a part of him that’s far removed from me, and I’m aching to get to know it. I want to understand all of him.
“You know, Marcus, if you really want to know me more, you can join in an outreach program that I volunteer at,” I joke.
I don’t know why I even extended the invitation. I’m trying to lighten the mood, and I just hope it works. I’ve just turn them down after all.
To my surprise so he says, “Yes, I’d love that.”
The fact that he just took that offer seriously sends a swarm of nerves going through my body. The idea of seeing Marcus in the future makes me nervous. The idea of sitting here on his couch in his posh apartment makes me nervous. Everything about Marcus makes me nervous.
He pours me some more wine, and we begin to talk all through the night. I ask him about his family and about his interests and everything.
He asks me the same, and I have to lie a couple times, but also I tell him some of my truth. I don’t lay my whole life out there for him to see, but I do tell him bits and pieces that are real, like that my favorite food is sushi and that I have to have a pot of black coffee every morning just to wake up.
He strokes my legs and rubs my back. I lean into him and feel safe against his solid, rock-hard body. The fire flickers into the night as we keep talking.
It’s fun getting to know him in this more intimate way. Usually, we’re just having sex, not talking like this.
The fact that he can hold a conversation with me is endearing. I hate to be narcissistic, but most people bore me to death.
Not Marcus. He’s enchanting and charming and everything a woman could want.
Too bad it’s not gonna last.
He’ll get over me quickly, I tell myself.
We drink so much wine that I don’t realize that I’ve fallen asleep on his couch.
I dream of him and of hacking and of our two lives intersecting. In my dream, everything explodes. Marcus finds out who I truly am, and my dream turns into a nightmare. He leaves me because he despises my lifestyle.
I guess my inner fears are embedded within my subconscious and are expressing themselves.
I awaken with a start, and I’m alone in his bed. He must’ve moved me here. We didn’t even have sex last night.
There’s a note on his pillow telling me find the breakfast he arranged for me on the table, and that I can stay as long as I like.
He must’ve gone to work early.
I stretch and wake up, taking my time to get ready. To my utter delight, he has a pot of black coffee waiting just for me. I eat the breakfast he’s laid out, and I stay until just before lunch.
I feel cozy and comfortable in his apartment. It’s a feeling I relish. Normally I’m not so at ease with strangers. I guess Marcus is becoming less of a stranger and more somebody I
care about.
I leave a note saying thank you to him before I go.
I make sure to keep everything in order. I make the bed and clean up after myself so that he can come home to a spotless apartment.
And then I leave.
Except for the first time, I’m not running away.
Marcus
Finally, I got a lead on who Katy really is.
She’s been hiding her hacker life, and last night she revealed just enough to give me some of the information I need.
She’s a part of some online hacking world. So it’s not just her working alone. There are others.
For a second I feel bad about betraying her, but it has to be done. She’s betraying me too, after all. An eye for an eye, right?
I’ve been so wrapped up in Katy lately that I haven’t been able to focus on work. Today’s the day to get back in the office and to accomplish some things.
I might be into Katy sexually, but don’t get me wrong, my mission is clear. I’m going to uncover her secret plan to take me down. I can’t let someone get in the way of my business, no matter who she is.
I didn’t expect to fall for her so hard. She’s fucking gorgeous...and smart. But I can keep business and pleasure separate.
The problem is when Katy finds out who I really am, she’ll despise me. But that’s a fate I’m willing to deal with later. As for today, I have business to do.
I drive to work in my Mercedes. I’ve been forgoing the limousine lately because I enjoy driving, and also because I don’t want to tip Katy off as to who I really am.
I drive hard and fast around the streets of New York City, and it feels good to be behind the wheel.
When I get to the building, however, I see a small group of people forming outside to protest. I’m pissed. Not these animals again.
Can’t people just move on when things don’t go their way? Why do they have to keep harboring on the fact that they were fired? This irritates me. And I take that aggravation to work with me.
“Why are they here?” I practically scream at Jeremy.
“I don’t know, sir, they’ve been forming since very early this morning. What should I do?”
“Well,” I say. “You should’ve called me, to begin with. I have to get the security team on this. Next time they do this, let me know immediately. We can’t let the press get a hold of this.”
He’s mumbling his apologies when I slam the door to my office. I don’t want to hear it from him or anybody else. Those assholes downstairs are starting to put me in a bad mood. Anything that could jeopardize my business puts me in a bad mood.
It’s a wonder I’ve been able to sleep with Katy and to put our differences aside, considering she’s planning to burglarize my entire firm. She’s lucky she’s gorgeous.
I call my head of my security and tell him to get the entire weight of his team behind this. I don’t need more protests happening in front of the building. I don’t need the scene exploding into a media frenzy―which it definitely will be, if anybody finds out.
It’s probably exactly what those protesters want. They want to drag my name through the mud, to delegitimize my business, and to tell lies. It’s not gonna happen.
I give the security guy a piece of my mind and tell him that he should on top of things like this without my telling him so. He’s supposed to be the best, after all.
I’m able to at least focus on work for most of the day. I have so much stuff that I need to catch up on.
My whole mind and heart have been wrapped up in Katy and it’s so unlike me. Normally a woman doesn’t get between me and work, but she’s the exception.
It’s nice to be back in my penthouse office. I don’t mind going to the dummy apartment with Katy but I’m so used to having the best. My constant staff and fine furnishings calm me and make me feel powerful.
I’ve built a goddamn empire, and it’s my time to enjoy it. Having the best is how I operate. I’m a billionaire, and I enjoy acting like it.
Being in the dummy apartment with Katy should make me uncomfortable, but something about her puts me at ease, even in the midst of a modest living space.
I spend the afternoon immersing myself in work and thinking about Katy. She’s always on my mind. We have this connection that never seems to go away. I’ve never felt it before with anybody else. I try to ignore it, but I also try to get some work done.
Eventually, as evening descends on the city, I decide it’s time to get out of here. I go back to the apartment I use with Katy to pick up a few things.
Once I walk in the door, I see that she left me a note. It’s nice that she said thank you. She’s thoughtful.
I pocket the note and give her a call. “Hi, Katy, it’s me. Thanks for the note.”
“Well, thank you for breakfast. It was nice to wake up that way.”
“Miss me yet?” I ask.
“I haven’t had time to miss you, Marcus. I just saw you this morning.”
She certainly says it like it is, doesn’t she?
“I’ve missed you. I want to see you again, Katy. When can it happen?” I say, anxious to see her again.
“Remember that outreach program I was telling you about last night? I’m gonna be going there, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?” she says.
Damn. She caught me in my lie. I agreed to go because I didn’t think it would really happen.
I don’t want to go volunteer my time. I never should’ve said yes to that. But now I have to go for the sake of getting Katy to trust me more.
“Of course I remember. And I would love to go with you.”
“That’s great, Marcus. I wasn’t sure if you really meant about being there with me. It should be fun. I’ll text you the address,” she says.
“That sounds fine, Katy. Bye.”
We hang up, and I think about what I’ve just gotten myself into. I hope it’s worth it. I hope it makes Katy trust me more, so that she might tell me some more information in the process.
I need to know about her life and, most of all, about her online community that plans to take down my business. Things are getting real between us. I have to start finding out more information or this whole relationship will have been for nothing.
I leave the apartment and go to my real house, the penthouse.
I’m glad to be back in my true environment for the rest of the night. I don’t mind living like a pauper for just a little while, but at this point, I’ve had enough. I’m ready to be back in my own environment.
I don’t know how Katy does it. She obviously has access to a lot of money, which she doesn’t take for herself. She’s happy living in some old apartment building. I just don’t get that. How can money not matter to her at all?
She kinda reminds me of myself when I was a young and idealistic person. I built my business from scratch. I definitely know what it’s like to have nothing, but Katy seems to thrive in it.
She’s so into her hacking that she doesn’t seem to realize what her environment looks like or something. I just can’t figure this girl out. And yet I want to so bad.
Back at the penthouse, I play some music on the loudspeakers and pour myself a stiff drink while the chef prepares a healthy dinner.
I plan on taking the night off, just to be alone and to reset. But instead, all I can think about is...her. She continues to permeate my thoughts.
For one night, I wanted to get away from it all, but her allure continues to unravel me, and I can’t set even the thought of her aside.
What does this mean?
I have my drink and go to bed early. I think about her, tossing and turning all night. I doubt this will be the last night, either.
Katy
I don’t know why I answered when Marcus called.
Something about seeing his name light up on my phone causes a wave of thrilling pleasure to ignite within my body.
I need to become better at saying no to him.
As much as I enjoy being with him and as
much as it’s the best sex I’ve ever had in my life, it can’t become a habit. I wish I could give into just this one thing, but I have to protect myself at all costs.
There’s absolutely no way on earth that Marcus can ever find out my real vocation. He would likely hate me and turn me in.
This fact makes me feel lonelier than ever. Being with Marcus has made me think outside of the box for once. Being with him has made me realize what I’m missing in life.
But at the same time, I know that what I’m doing is for a good cause―and I can’t stop doing it. There are too many poor people depending on my work. That’s ultimately what drives me.
When I invited him to help me with the outreach program, I was sure that he would decline and make excuses. That’s the only reason I brought it up. But to my surprise and chagrin, he still agreed to go.
What am I gonna do now?
I immerse myself in my online work.
In the familiar chatroom, I’ve come to depend on all the others that are there.
Enigma16n4 writes, You guys ready for another job? It’s a smaller one but it will still be fun.
I’m in, I write. This project is personal for me so let’s not get it wrong.
The money we’re gonna get from this job is gonna be donated to the outreach program that I volunteer at once or twice a month. It’s the one I will take Marcus to in a couple days.
We’ll go to the poorest part of the city, give them help, and teach them livelihood programs. It’s really important to me that this job goes well. They need the money like nobody else I’ve ever seen.
Dragon168 types, Let’s do this! Another one bites the dust.
That’s the thing about this unique group of people. We all work together with the same goal in mind, helping people who don’t have anything.
I’m lucky to have found them, really. Before joining this online world of hackers, I was doing it all myself. By having their support, I’m able to funnel so much more money into organizations that we care about. It’s way more than I could do on my own.
