Love, Money, and Lies

by Olivia Saxton

  Aaron helped Margo get her things into an office. The floor was white and lime tile. The desk was big enough for two monitors, and the chair looked pretty comfortable. It was obvious that Aaron decided to spend a little money on cleaners for the warehouse. Margo didn’t think he had the entire building cleaned; that would have been a small fortune within itself.

  She sat her books on top of a gray steel shelf. After they had hooked up her computer, she tested the internet.

  “Good speed,” she said.

  “I got top notch. Can’t have a lagging connection with what we’re trying to pull. I figured that we could set up for the big event in the cafeteria. It’s a ways down the hall, but it’s more space to set up multiple monitors.”

  “Yes, we’ll need at least four to be able to monitor everything on New Year’s Eve,” Margo stated. “Are you still in the mood to go online shopping for what we need?”

  “I’m always in the mood for business, Margo. You know that.” Aaron smiled.

  He pulled up a chair next to hers. They shopped for the equipment they needed. Aaron had a credit card under an alias name that he used to purchase what they needed for the heist.

  During that time, Bruce called her twice. Margo didn’t answer. She couldn’t imagine what he wanted. After last night, she figured she would never hear from him again. In a way, she was sad about that, but her other half was relieved. She was about to pull the biggest heist in this country’s history with her partners in crime, and nothing could get in the way of that.

  They purchased all the hardware they needed. Aaron wanted to look at some security websites. The factory had a security system, but it was terribly outdated. Aaron wanted better quality security cameras and monitors. As they searched and discussed, Margo’s phone rang again.

  “Damn, Margo,” Aaron said. “Who keeps calling you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “It’s Sunday. Most telemarketers don’t call on Sundays. So, you do know. Just answer it.”

  Margo picked up her phone. She was about to turn it off when she saw it was Lana. “Hello.”

  “Hey, girl. How are ya?” Lana greeted.

  “Good.”

  “Good. I was – ow! Easy!” she cried

  “Lana?”

  “Hey, why haven’t you returned any of my calls?” he asked.

  “Bruce?” she blurted with surprise.

  Aaron’s eyebrows rose. “Bruce,” he mouthed with amusement.

  “Yeah, Bruce. Why did you leave this morning? I was hoping we could have breakfast together.”

  “Um, I’m sorry, but I had business to attend to.”

  “What kind of business?”

  She didn’t like the question. What was it to him? “I had to meet with a client.”

  “Oh, a client am I?” Aaron whispered with hilarity.

  She gave Aaron a sharp glare. “Didn’t you see my note?”

  “Yes, and it didn’t explain anything. But, never mind, I got you now. Let’s have dinner tonight.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I was just hired for a big project, and I have to start working on it.”

  “Are you trying to avoid me? Get rid of me?”

  “Not exactly. Look, Bruce, we had fun, but let’s leave it where it is, okay?”

  He was quiet for a moment. “No,” he said simply.

  “No?”

  “No. I think . . . we should explore our compatibilities.”

  “We don't have any compatibilities. You’re beer and peanuts, and I’m champagne and caviar.”

  “Yes, but . . . okay, we’re different, but opposites attract. It was true last night.”

  “I’m sorry, Bruce. Maybe one day we can get together again for kicks. That’s all I can offer for now.”

  “I’ll accept that. What about Saturday then? Remember I told you that Jimbo’s has barbeques in August on their property?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Their first one is this Saturday, August first. It’ll be like a picnic. Lana and Alec are coming.”

  “Saturday,” she repeated and looked at Aaron.

  He shrugged.

  “I won’t keep you long. Not unless you want me to,” he said in a deep tone.

  That was the problem. She hadn’t wanted to leave after he had fallen asleep, but it was for the best. “I . . . I really don’t think we should. I’ll see you around. Goodbye.” She hung up before he could stop her. She powered her phone off.

  Aaron laughed. “Well, I see that magnum cum laude pussy of yours has done it again.”

  “You’re a pig,” she sneered. “And a fool.” She and Aaron had slept with each other a few times in the past. The few times it happened was because they were celebrating a successful heist where they got away clean. One time, they had both been horny as rabbits, and they dove in out of necessity.

  “You should let that man have another taste,” he suggested with a smirk. “Besides, you can’t work on this night and day. You should keep an even balanced work and personal life.”

  “It’s not that simple. Do you remember the guy who ghosted Bobbi last year?”

  “God, do I. She ranted for a while on that – hold it, he’s the same guy?”

  “Yes, he’s been hitting on me for over a month now. I went out with him last night in hopes that he would lose interest and leave me alone.”

  “Hell, Margo, you’re not the type of woman most men can walk away from after a one-night stand. I damn near went crazy,” Aaron admitted. “Be reasonable. Go out with him one more time.”

  “Have you forgotten that you were the one who told Bobbi that it was for the best since he worked for the feds?”

  “No,” he said simply. “This guy sounds like a self-involved douchebag anyway. He isn’t going to suspect . . . what you do for a living. Unless you mess up and say something, and I know you won’t. You’re too smart to do that.”

  “Either way, I am not playing with fire, so let’s get back to work.”

  Chapter 11

  Margo had worked her fingers to the bone for five and a half days. Every time she came close to having something, it would crash as soon as she tried to transfer it to Aaron’s undetectable flash drive.

  She leaned back in her chair in her office. Someone tapped on the door.

  “Yeah.”

  It was Aaron and Anthony.

  “Hey, girl, guess who’s on the phone?” Anthony said with joy.

  “Hey, Margo,” Bobbi said through the speaker of Aaron’s cell.

  “Hey,” Margo said with glee. She hadn’t heard from Bobbi in in over a week.

  Aaron perched himself on Margo’s desk, and Anthony sat in a folding steel chair.

  “How’s Dallas?” Margo asked.

  “Wretched,” Bobbi replied with disdain. “I don’t like it here. The men are absolute pigs. Seriously, I feel like I’ve gone back in a time warp. Women are not taken as seriously as they should be here. We’re like second-class citizens.”

  “Maybe it’s just cultural differences. Perhaps you’re misunderstanding them,” Aaron said.

  “Ha,” Bobbi scoffed. “It’s not, but I have found that it comes in handy. I’ve been flirting with the director of security at work. He’s a real chauvinist. One night, he was pulling the late shift for an employee who had called-in sick. He called me at home to come by to keep him company. I was able to avoid sleeping with him, thank God. But I was thinking, once Margo creates the virus, I can convince him to let me visit him on the late shift again, I slip something in his coffee to make him fall asleep, swipe his keycard, and get into the control room to insert the flash drive.”

  “Not bad,” Aaron remarked.

  “Well, it would be better to insert the flash drive into the mainframe at that location than a desktop computer,” Margo said. “If it starts at the mainframe, it will spread quicker into the system in all the locations. Inserting it into a desktop computer would do the same thing, but it will take
longer, and I won’t know how long. It would depend on how many attachments are sent from the infected computer to other computers.”

  “Well, the mainframe plan sounds like gold to me,” Anthony said.

  “What about the security cameras?” Aaron said. “Even if you’re able to do it without getting caught at that time, they’ll see you on the security footage in the control room. I know you’re a master of disguise, Bobbi, and you have a knack of turning away from cameras, but you told me a few days ago that the cameras cover every inch of that place.”

  “I got a solution to that, I think. I have a friend who works in Hollywood. He is such a good makeup and costume artist that he can make Julia Roberts look like Michael Clarke Duncan. I can call him to make me a mask that will change my features.”

  “Hmm,” Aaron mused. “It might work if we can get him. But, even so, the director will know that you took his keycard to get down there – disguise or not.”

  “Wait,” Anthony said. “Are you the same height and build as this guy?”

  “Same height, but he’s definitely bulkier.”

  “You can make up for that with padding. I can get you a drug that will make it look like he got high at work. And if your friend can make you a mask that looks like the security director’s face, they’ll think it was him that went down there if they ever go back to look at the cameras.”

  “I like it,” Bobbi said.

  “I don’t like that we have to bring someone from the outside in on this,” Aaron stated. “It might be easier to hack into the security system and manipulate the cameras. We’ve done that on numerous jobs.”

  “Easier? Says you,” Margo scoffed. “This isn’t some cheesy security system at a local bank we’re talking about. We’re talking about the Federal fucking Reserve. I’m sure as soon as I hack into it, the server will be traced right back to this factory in seconds. That wouldn’t be good for any of us. Bobbi’s plan has a lot of steps, but it’s probably the safest way.”

  “I can tell my friend that I need the mask for a costume party,” Bobbi said.

  “Hell, she’s got my vote,” Anthony said as he waved his hand into the air.

  “Yeah, Aaron. I can’t risk trying to hack into a federal government security system. The job is risky as it is. Let’s not fuck up our lives because we were lazy,” Margo said.

  “All right, I give,” Aaron conceded.

  “Bobbi, I’m still working on the virus. It’s going pretty rough right now, but I’m shooting to have it complete by the first week of November,” Margo said.

  She grunted with disappointment. “Oh well, at least sleeping with the old man boss has some perks. He gave me a thousand dollars to buy something nice last week. Yesterday, he bought me two carat diamond earrings.”

  “Clean up where you can,” Anthony said. “I ain’t mad atcha.”

  They all chuckled.

  ****

  It was three o’clock when Margo was driving on Sunset Boulevard. Before she knew it, Bruce strode out in the middle of the street from Lana and Alec’s yard and stood in the path of her car.

  “What the hell,” she cried as she slowed the Mustang down to a stop.

  “You need to turn your phone on,” Bruce stated as he rounded the convertible. He had been blowing her phone up with text messages and phone calls. She had to leave it off for hours at a time.

  “The only thing I need to do is go home,” she said with annoyance.

  He leaned down, resting his arms on her door. “Why have you been avoiding me?”

  “Bruce, you know why. I’m busy.”

  “Yeah, but you can’t work twenty-four hours a day. It’s not good for you. So, park your car and hop in mine so we can go to Jimbo’s barbeque.”

  “Bruce–”

  “Three hours,” he said. “Then I’ll bring you home.”

  Margo moved her head over to look around him. Lana was loading Keisha into Alec’s truck. Alec was loading the back of the truck as he was trying not to watch them.

  “We’re leaving now,” Bruce said. “You’ll love it”

  Margo blew out. “Well, I am hungry.”

  “My treat,” he said with a smile.

  She figured he wasn’t going away until she went out with him one more time. “Okay, let me get home and freshen up.”

  “Great,” he said with a big grin.

  Chapter 12

  Instead of being at Jimbo’s Steakhouse BBQ for a few hours, they stayed until eight o’clock in the evening. The time had gotten away from Margo because she ended up having a better time than she thought. It was great to watch Bruce play with the kids there along with Keisha. Margo and Lana had a nice chat. Then Alec, Margo, and Bruce played softball with a few other guys and teenagers.

  Bruce walked Margo to her door. She unlocked it and turned around to face him. “Thank you for taking me to the barbeque.”

  He grinned. “I told you you would have fun.”

  “I did, and I hadn’t played softball since I was in high school. You were the hero of the team with that homerun that won us the game.”

  There was a twinkle in his eye. “I’m glad that I helped the team, but the reward of that kiss you gave me was better.”

  “Oh, I’m sure my kiss and the three other women’s kisses right after was great for you,” she remarked. She had given Bruce a kiss on the lips for winning the game. Before she could get an inch away from him, three young ladies had hurled themselves at him, laying kisses all over his face. One of them had actually leaped into his arms.

  “It’s like I told you while we were there. They were just friends of mine from Jimbo’s.”

  “Uh huh,” she mussed with a smirk. “Your friends were . . . pretty friendly to be only friends.”

  “I might have taken one or two of them out on a date.”

  She chuckled. “I figured that.”

  “But I wasn’t there with any of them. I was there with the prettiest girl in town.”

  “Nice save. Well, I better get inside. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “You’re not going to invite me in for a drink?”

  She thought for a moment. She wouldn’t mind having another piece of Bruce. He was the best lover she had ever had. But she had been running and sweating in the sun for hours. “I would, but I really need to take a bath.”

  “I could use one too,” he said and stepped into her personal space.

  She looked into his eyes and picked up what he was hinting at. She chuckled. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. As you said, I did win the game for the team. I think I earned the perk of you washing my back.”

  They both laughed.

  “I like lots of bubbles in my bath,” Margo said, trying not to smile but failing.

  “I can get down with bubbles.”

  She smirked as the image of suds glistening off Bruce’s naturally tanned skin filled her mind. “Follow me, Mr. Styles.”

  Twenty minutes later, Margo was resting her wet head on Bruce’s chest as they lounged in the double Jacuzzi tub.

  Bruce nuzzled her hair. “You smell so good.”

  “Now I do,” she joked.

  He chuckled as his hands roamed up to her breasts. “Why don’t we go into the bedroom so I can give these babies the attention they deserve.”

  She smiled. “I won’t argue.”

  They got out of the tub and quickly patted themselves dry. Margo walked naked into her bedroom. She barely pulled the covers down before Bruce hand whirled her around and lifted her up. He gently laid her across the bed. His head hovered above her generous bust. Margo ran her hands through his damp hair as he kissed every inch of her mountains.

  After he had thoroughly worshipped her mounds, he trailed down her body with the tip of his tongue to her smooth womanhood. He kissed her folds, working his way to her button. She inhaled sharply as his lips pressed against it. She let out breathy moans as Bruce’s tongue and lips worked her until she climaxed.

  Then he stood
on his knees and spread her legs wide. They both groaned when he slid his staff into her wetness. Bruce placed her long legs over his shoulders and started stroking in her at medium speed. Her breasts swayed to his rhythm. He groped them, making her squirm. Bruce thrusted as he applied more pressure to his squeeze.

  Margo cried out. Her pink nipples hardened as her trembling orgasm reached its peak. “Yes! Oh, Bruce!”

  He gave her light pumps, making the ride down from the cloud more pleasurable for her. As she was purring like a satisfied cat, Bruce carefully turned her over. He lifted her by the waist, indicating that he wanted her on her knees. With her trembling thighs, she did her best to comply.

  “Show me a little more of that ass, hon,” he instructed in a husky tone.

  She lowered the front of her body down on the bed, making her tush rise higher in the air.

  He grabbed her hips, “That’s it.” He entered her.

  She moaned as he had his way with her. Bruce pulled out his rod and beat it against her full bottom as he groaned. Then he stuck it back in. She started lightly twerking. He growled his approval. He began to slam into her, giving her everything he had. For the third time that evening, she came – with Bruce. He yelled her name as he spilled inside her.

  Margo’s knees buckled, making her lay down flat on the bed. His body fell on top of her as they fought to catch their breaths.

  ****

  The light chiming of her phone woke her. A heavy arm was draped over her waist as light snores echoed behind her. Margo was surprised that Bruce was still there. She figured he would have slinked out by now. She picked up her phone; it was Bobbi.

  “Hello,” she whispered.

  “Hey, I know it’s late, and even later your time, but we hadn’t spoken privately since I started my job.”

  Margo looked at the clock. It was three a.m. “Hold on a minute,” she whispered and placed the phone on the nightstand. Margo carefully maneuvered out of Bruce’s arm and slowly stood. Then, she grabbed her pink negligee from the chair and pulled it over her head. After she quickly slipped her pedicured toes into her pink fuzzy slippers, she grabbed the phone and tiptoed out of the bedroom. She put it up to her ear. “Okay, go ahead,” she said as she made her way down the stairs.