Black Dog Security- Complete 5-Part Series

by Camilla Blake

  At some point during all of that, John crawled out of bed and ate a full-course breakfast before leaving for the day. Sometimes, he went to work. Sometimes, he just… went away. I didn’t really know what he did. Lately, he’d been home more. It was driving me insane.

  I got touched up again after all of that and recorded a video for my YouTube channel. That took a few hours, with Gerald cutting and yelling directions at me the whole time.

  There was always something. After the video, it was a lettuce lunch, chased by a couple of multi-vitamins and water. Then I reported to a studio in the city, where I recorded my daily crafting segment for a local station.

  It all blurred together. After the studio, it was dinner at a nice restaurant, with Gerald or John. Smile and look pretty. Then it was writing a chapter for a book. Working out. A quick shower and then I’d fall into bed sometime around midnight. Just to wake up the next morning at four and do it all over again.

  My schedule on the weekends was much more relaxed. I even got to eat carrots on the weekends. Sleep in until 8:00 and then eat egg whites and carrots. Work out. Work. Lettuce and carrots. Work out outside. Work. Dinner out. Die.

  I was pretty sure that I was already dead by the fifth morning of the week chasing a flying alarm clock around my bedroom at 4:00 in the morning. The fifth morning of the week listening to John yell because I’d dared wake him up before he was done getting his beauty rest. The fifth morning of the week that I’d been convinced that if I didn’t stop moving for a second, I’d die. Not even dramatically. Literally.

  Charlotte Crier-Banks. She lived a life that so many women craved—and yet none actually knew about. Charlotte had graced the covers of magazines, won an Emmy for her daytime segment, and been to the Whitehouse on more than one occasion. Charlie was a tired bitch who would kill for a cheeseburger.

  The saddest part was that I wasn’t even exaggerating. My schedule usually went from four until midnight. There were days that I got to steal more time to myself, but it was rare. Asking about the schedule was a no-no, too. Gerald had it down to an art and he freaked out if anyone messed with it. It was all planned a certain way, for a certain reason—or for certain the world would crumble. Even getting my makeup done before working out instead of just the once, after. Heaven forbid Carlos see me as just plain Charlie.

  What if he told his friends and they told their friends and their friends told the president and it all fell apart? I’d literally heard Gerald argue something that way once. The only people who saw Charlie were Sharon, because I couldn’t do my own makeup, John, for obvious reasons, and Gerald. By contract, I had to hold up the charade that was Charlotte.

  Even in my own house.

  There were usually down periods where the only people in the house were the three of us. John, Gerald, and me. Those times were my heaven. I got to relax for a second, even slump a bit. On the rare occasion when I needed to, I could even burp. I held those times near and dear to my heart. I needed them to survive. I needed them to remember who I was.

  That was why having security didn’t work for me. Gerald wanted me to be Charlotte in front of them, too. Because, again, what if they told their friends and their friends told their friends and their friends told the fucking president? My eyes were bound to roll right out of my head at some point.

  On the days that John left for work, either in the city or in LA, Gerald had security come to the house. The first guards had lasted for a while. When I managed to run them off, Gerald hired another company. Black Dog Security. So, not only was I surrounded all day by people whose only job was to make me better than I was; I was also surrounded by a guard whose job it was to watch me constantly. And I was somehow supposed to keep up the front of being Charlotte.

  I hadn’t even met the new guard. He arrived while I was working and he left while I was working, the few times he’d been by. I’d been so swamped and he’d had no reason to come inside. John had been home almost every day, so the new guy hadn’t been back in a while.

  It was a catch 22. I didn’t want John around, but if he was around I didn’t have to have security. So, it was either be surrounded by someone I hate, or someone who was going to watch me like a hawk, forcing me to keep up the act even more than I already had to.

  I just wanted to relax.

  That night, it was 1:00 a.m. before I got in bed. I pulled the covers back and groaned when I saw that John was naked on his half of the bed. I slapped the covers back down and groaned.

  “John!” I whispered harshly to him while grabbing a pillow to smack him with. “I told you! You sleep with clothes on or you sleep somewhere else.”

  “I don’t like being restricted. Don’t be a bitch about it.” He rolled away from me and farted.

  I turned my lamp on and threw another pillow at him. “Get out. Get out of my bed.”

  “Turn the fucking light off, Charlotte!” He hissed, sitting up and throwing the pillow back at me. “What the hell is wrong with you? It’s the middle of the night!”

  “I know it’s the middle of the night. I just got done working. I’d like to get in my bed and sleep for a couple of hours before getting up to do more work. Do you mind?”

  He gestured to the bed. “Be my fucking guest.”

  I looked up at the ceiling and tried to remain calm. “John. I am not sleeping in the bed while you’re naked.”

  “We’re married, honey. Grow up.”

  “Oh, go to hell. It’s in name only. I didn’t sign anything saying I’d sleep next to you, at all, much less while you’re naked and farting under the covers like some Dutch-oven factory.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Point is, I didn’t agree to this. I’m not going to agree to this.”

  “Oh, my God. Charlotte, it’s just a body. You have one, too, probably. Under all that housewife trash you call clothing.” He threw the covers back and got out of the bed. Walking around to my side, he stopped with his dinglehopper inches from me. “I’m going to talk to Gerald about this. You can’t make me miserable just because you are.”

  I shuddered from the ick factor and tossed my robe on the foot of the bed before climbing in.

  That was the thing about John. He came with Charlotte. What good was a homemaking, cooking, cute-as-a-button crafting queen like Charlotte if she wasn’t married? Gerald felt like she’d depress women if they saw a complete package like Charlotte hadn’t even been able to find a husband. So, I had a husband.

  John wasn’t even straight. Even if he had been, though, he would literally be the farthest thing possible from anyone I’d ever consider considering. He was crude and mean and more selfish than almost anyone I’d ever met.

  He was a big part of why being Charlotte was so awful. He was torture to live with. For some reason, Gerald was so easy on him, too. Gerald managed both of us, which is how we got pushed together, but John didn’t have all the strict rules and regulations that I did. Besides the fact that he couldn’t do anything to hurt Charlotte’s image.

  I had no doubt that Gerald would lecture me in the morning about not being so awful to John. And I had no doubt that I would argue, as long as there was no one around. In the end, there was also no doubt that what I wanted wouldn’t matter.

  I fluffed my pillow and gagged as the lingering scent of John’s fart hit me. I closed my eyes and imagined myself strangling him. I wasn’t sure it was healthy, but on the other hand, it had to be because it was the only thing keeping me from actually wrapping my hands around his neck and killing him.

  As much as I hated having security around, I needed John to disappear for a while. Maybe, if I was lucky, John would go away and the security company would quit so I could just be alone.

  Slim chance.

  Chapter 2

  Tucker

  I dropped the weights back on their stand and grabbed my water bottle. Taking a long drag from it, I looked around the gym to see if there were any prospects for later that night. It’d been a while since
I’d hooked up with anyone and I had a feeling I was going to need the release before really starting my new job.

  Not that I hadn’t already started. I’d been on at the Charlotte Crier-Banks job for a couple of weeks already, but I’d only had a few active days. The manager, the man setting everything up on the job, had called the Black Dog office just earlier that day and mentioned that the husband was going out of town for a little while and I’d need to be there full-time.

  I’d never met Mrs. Crier-Banks, but I’d heard enough about her to know that she was going to be a ball of fun. So, that release… I was going to need it.

  Two weeks prior, I’d met a woman named… Carly? Carla? I’d met a woman named something at the gym and she’d been real fun. I’d gotten tied up in work and hadn’t called her back after she’d left a few messages, though. I doubted she’d be up for another round.

  There was a pretty thing on the treadmills who had given me more than one glance, but just as I turned to walk her way, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked down at it and swore. She’d have to wait. Duty called.

  I opened my phone even as I was striding towards the locker room. “Fields.”

  “Tucker. We’re cooking out at the office. You coming?” Lauren’s voice hadn’t lost the tense edge it’d had lately, but she sounded like she was at least pretending to be happy. “Everyone else is here.”

  I stopped and looked back at the woman who’d caught my eye. She glanced over at me again and flashed me a smile. I smirked back at her and lifted my eyebrow. “I’ll try to stop by later.”

  “Got better things to do?”

  Treadmill cutie got off the treadmill and sauntered over to me, her eyes trailing up and down my body as she came. “Hi.”

  “Gotta go. I’ll be by later.” I hung up and shoved my phone back in my pocket. There were no major fires to put out at work, I was off, and there was no reason to deny myself and the treadmill cutie our basest needs. “Hey.”

  She twirled the tip of her ponytail around her finger and tilted her head to the side in a way I’d always found charming. “I was just heading out. You?”

  I nodded. “I was just going to grab a shower first.”

  Her eyes flashed. “Me too.”

  I started walking that way and grinned when she stayed in step with me. “How do you feel about conserving water…?”

  “Lacey.” She lightly caught my wrist and tugged me in the direction of the women’s locker room. “I think it’s the most important thing. I also think there aren’t that many women here right now, so the best place to do it—conserve water, that is—is over here.”

  I let her lead the way and looked over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching. It wasn’t the first time I’d had a casual hookup in the gym. Something about the adrenaline and sweat got to me. Some women, too, apparently. I knew the age-old saying about not shitting where you ate, but I could find another gym if it came down to it. So far, everyone knew the score, though. No one fucking in a gym locker room for the first time was looking for love, I was pretty sure.

  Lacey had a thing for blow jobs. She was really fucking good at them and liked giving. The sex was mediocre, but she got off and then finished me with her mouth. We showered together after and left smiling. It was that easy. No drama, no bullshit. If I saw her again, if we hooked up again, it’d be fine. If not, that’d be fine, too.

  We’d spent a solid hour in the locker room and when I came out of the gym, it was already dark. I walked Lacey to her car and she ended up sucking me off there, too. Her pink lipstick left a nice ring around the base of my cock as a parting gift.

  Getting in my truck, I was worked out and well released. I felt more productive than I had in weeks and I drove towards the office with a content smile on my face. I couldn’t complain.

  I had to turn around and stop by my house before getting to the office, though. I’d forgotten to feed Spark. My neighbor had bought her kid a cat, just to find out that he was severely allergic to cats, so I’d ended up with the little shit, somehow. They’d named her Sparkles, and for some unknown reason, the fucking thing actually responded to her name, unlike any other cat in the world. I’d started calling her Spark for short.

  I hadn’t fed her earlier and if she went “hungry” for too long, she’d start eating my couch. It wasn’t the life I’d expected, but I’d just gotten a blow job in a parking lot, so, like I said, I couldn’t really complain.

  By the time I got to the office, Mercer had already gone. He hadn’t been that great lately. I was surprised he’d even shown up to begin with.

  Everyone else was sat at the picnic table, looking tense but like they were faking smiles for each other. I pulled up a chair and straddled it.

  “About time you showed up. The food’s cold.” Lauren rolled her eyes. “What sad girl did you find tonight?”

  “I can promise you that she’s not sad anymore.” I winked at her and laughed when she fake-gagged. “Where’d Mercer go?”

  “Why are you asking me? He’s made it abundantly clear, I’m not his keeper.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and stood up. “I have something to do in the office.”

  I watched her go and raised my eyebrows. Looking over at everyone, I nodded to her. “What’s up with her?”

  Cooper, sitting next to me with Sonnie, shook his head. “Same old shit, different day.”

  Vince groaned and stood up. “I’ll go check on her.”

  Elizabeth, Branson’s new lady, put her hand on Vince’s shoulder. “No, you stay. Sonnie and I will go talk to her. This requires a sensitive hand.”

  Branson snorted. “Then you should definitely stay behind.”

  She smacked him on the back of the head and then she and Sonnie disappeared into the front office.

  “They fight again?” I leaned forward and grabbed one of the hot dogs from the plate on the table. It was cold, but I’d eaten worse.

  “When are they not fighting?” Branson leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m seriously regretting not having been a womanizing slut like the two of you before all of this shit started happening. Then, I wouldn’t have them both at my house, fighting all the damn time.”

  When the cops had kicked Mercer out of his house to treat it like a crime scene, he’d had no option but to stay with one of us. Cooper had just started seeing Sonnie seriously, though, and Vince and I were considered man whores. Mercer thought we’d have strange women over at our house all the time. That left Branson. Too bad for Branson that he’d met and fallen for Elizabeth after Mercer had already moved in.

  “Hey, it’s not our fault that we were judged to be sluts.” Vince shrugged. “I can’t say I’m sorry for it, though. Those two can really go at it.”

  Cooper opened a small bag of chips and crunched on one loudly. “Mercer is so damn stubborn and so damn blind. She loves him.”

  “Okay, Oprah.” I laughed. “You’re not wrong, though. What’d they fight about today?”

  Branson snorted. “He fell asleep while grilling and she told him that he was going to burn the office down and burn her hot dog. He got defensive, she got angry. Next thing you know, he’s storming out. Those two are like fire and gasoline.”

  “When do you think they’ll get together?”

  It was my turn to snort. I shook my head at Vince. “It’ll take him getting his head out of his ass and the chip off of his shoulder. So, probably never.”

  “With what’s happening now… I don’t know if they’ll have a chance.” Cooper grunted. “Shit, I don’t know if we’ll even be able to keep him out of jail.”

  My stomach tightened and I loudly took in a deep breath. “Fuck. Has anyone heard anything?”

  He gave a short shake of his head. “Not a peep.”

  Mercer was being accused of murdering a girlfriend that he’d had years ago. They’d found evidence in his house, but I didn’t believe a word the cops said about it. Something weird was going on.

 
“How’s the Charlotte job?” Branson changed the subject. “She driving you crazy yet?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t even met her. Each time I was there, she was locked away in the house all day long.”

  “Just wait. You two are going to hit it off like oil and water.”

  I grinned. “I hardly ever meet a woman I don’t like, Bran. You know that.”

  “Charlotte is hardly a woman. I’m pretty sure she’s a robot.”

  Vince slapped me on the shoulder. “Tucker’s not opposed to that kind of thing, either, are you?”

  “Says the guy who had a vagina mold in the Middle East.”

  He had the decency to look embarrassed. “Fuck you. That girl I was dating sent that to me. What was I supposed to do? Look a gift horse in the mouth?”

  Cooper laughed. “That would’ve been better than what you did to it.”

  We all laughed and the mood lightened. There was a lot going on, but we were still brothers in arms who had more history than sense half the time. They’d been my family for years and joking with them always made things a little easier.

  I finished my hot dog and stretched out. “So, what’s the deal with this Charlotte, anyway?”

  Branson shrugged. “I couldn’t figure her out. For one second, I thought she was nice, but it vanished quickly. She doesn’t want security, so she’s a pain in the ass about it.”

  “Does she actually need security?”

  “I don’t know. There’s been weird letters and shit from someone the manager claims is a stalker, but she sure as hell doesn’t seem worried about it. I’m pretty sure there’s something else going on there—I just never figured out what. I wasn’t there for that long, though. Maybe you’ll crack the code.”

  “Tucker Fields figuring out a woman? Who are you kidding?” Cooper rolled his eyes. “Tucker couldn’t figure out a woman if she came with an instruction manual and he could actually read.”