by Rosemary Rey
“I want to buy the shares from you. I’ll buy the Pentagon shares and you can keep the rest of Matt’s offerings.” He wanted to phase out Matt from Pentagon, which puzzled me.
“What if I don’t marry Matt and I don’t sell you the Pentagon shares?” I asked smugly.
He grinned sadistically. “Then you would leave me with no choice, but to release a really great video of you and Matt fucking in the manager’s office the night you had dinner with the group at Carve.” I was ready to vomit. My stomach churned as he kept talking. He looked satisfied with making me squirm.
“You were so right to question him if there was a video camera in the office. Matt isn’t, dare I say, as street smart as you. You’ve been around, haven’t you? Stripping in Vegas, and now fucking in public. What would your mother have thought of your behavior . . . the video? I know my mother would be disappointed to see how her little girl turned out, fucking in public places with a man she barely knew. Divorced. In debt. Working several jobs, but barely making ends meet. ” He smiled lecherously as he tore me down. It was hard to breathe. I gripped the arms of my chair, bracing myself for more.
“I’ve watched that fine piece of erotica so many times I can remember every moan, groan, and hiss that came out of your mouth. I’m getting hard just thinking about what you must taste like. He really loved eating you out. I can almost feel how your legs felt on his shoulders, nude heels on, and how you took him all in. I’ve seen his dick, it’s as impressive as mine. He’s a lucky man to have had a sexy woman like you. No wonder he fell hard.” He stared deeply into my eyes, until I pulled away in revulsion.
“I’m just disappointed I wasn’t the one fucking you as you looked deeply, lovingly and seductively into my eyes.” I squirmed, my insides shaking in fear. Brady always made me nervous and he confirmed my suspicions. He wanted me, but I also sensed he hated the notion of being with a woman like me.
He pierced through my most vulnerable layer; my disparate feelings toward my full body and my natural sensuality. Even when I danced burlesque for many men and women in Vegas, I never felt so dirty and exposed as I did sitting before Brady Clay. I thanked my God in the heavens Brady didn’t try to use me first. He could’ve easily broken me more than Matt ever did. Aida was not so lucky, having been used by Brady to acquire Parisi, she ended up killing herself over him. I collected my reserved strength.
“Who would care about two people having an intimate moment? There’s a shit load of porn out there, what makes Matt and I so special?”
“When a doctor, who is also a partner in a successful corporation in a major city, falls in love with an insolvent, divorced woman, gives her ninety percent of his fortune in return for marriage, and she decides not to marry him but keep his fortune, I’m sure a lot of people would heavily scrutinize a sex video.” He leaned forward, closer toward me.
His voice lowered as he continued, “Your family and friends would see you in a very different light than the Perla you portray yourself to be. You wouldn’t be able to go out in public without having paparazzi travel wherever you go. What man would marry and impregnate a gold digger, unless he’s a gigolo after her newly acquired money? You don’t strike me as the type to commit the rest of your life to a gigolo, and you don’t want to be alone for the rest of your life. Do you?” I felt the walls of the room closing in on me.
“It gets lonely at the top, Perla. You sell your shares to me, and you can walk away from all of us, especially from Matt. He did, after all, break your heart.” He had this all figured out. By the look on his face and gleam in his eye, he was enjoying making me uncomfortable.
“Does Matt know about the video?” I asked in a calm voice, summoned from deep within.
“No. He doesn’t need to know unless you don’t sell me your twenty percent, and then everyone will know.” I was relieved Matt wasn’t aware of the tape, which meant he didn’t have anything to do with the recording.
“How much for the shares?” I asked, needing to rid him from my life.
“Ah, I knew you’d get to the point of money. A woman like you always does.” I resisted asking him what the hell he meant by his statement. I didn’t want to verbally spar with him. Brady was far too intimidating than I’m used to. His words were like a punch to the gut. He pulled out a small manila envelope, placed it on the desk and slid it toward me. I left it on the table.
“If you and Matt are such good friends, why do you want his shares instead of him getting them back?” I needed to know why he would turn against his best friend.
“Because he took what was mine.” Brady said gruffly, his eyes trained on me. The sound of his voice stopped any follow up questions I may have had. He stood up, puffing out his broad chest and brushed at his slacks and continued, “My contact information is in the envelope. Don’t sign the prenup tomorrow. Keep in touch with me. I want to move on this right away. If you don’t sell soon, my reps are poised to push this video forward to some very interested distributors.” He walked to the door and exited. I had no idea what Matt had taken from Brady, but it was clear there was animosity which appeared one sided. Matt had never revealed any problems or resentment between any of his friends, much less Brady.
Soon after he left, my whole body shook. Having three hours left in my shift, I needed to compose myself and get back to work. So much had transpired. I should’ve known Pentagon would move quickly to preserve their business and Brady had always appeared to be the ringleader of their gang.
I was embarrassed and ashamed for allowing myself to strip away my defenses by having sex in a public place. At the time, I’d wanted to please Matt because I had missed him so much. If he’d asked me to, I would’ve dropped to my knees and given him a blow job in front of everyone in the private dining room; I was spellbound by him. I didn’t heed Alice’s words to be careful with how I displayed my body to Matt. I refused to give him a peep show when we video chatted, but the instant he wanted to fuck me, I went to an unfamiliar office and spread my legs. With my luck, it was logical for a video to be captured and used against me.
Did I even care anymore? I lost Matt, the love of my life, because of the lies and betrayal. In the grand scheme of things, the sex tape didn’t matter because I felt like I lost it all. I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I didn’t want to marry Matt under those conditions. However I didn’t want to keep the shares. Most importantly, I knew Brady should never get Matt’s shares.
If Matt didn’t have anything to do with the sex tape, then how did Brady find out about our little rendezvous in the office? I surmised Brigit had informed Brady of what I said and he’d known the office was wired. He claimed Matt didn’t know we were videotaped, but it’s plausible this was part of a plan which may have backfired on Matt. One thing I determined, I needed to stay so far away from Pentagon I could potentially be transported to another continent.
*****
A knock on the door, snapped me back to reality. I looked up and saw Chelsea standing in the doorway.
“Hey, you were lost in thought. How are you?” She asked concerned.
“I’m okay. A lot on my mind. Do you think Ray will allow me to come in later tomorrow morning? I’ve taken off these past few days. I’ve been taking extra time here and there. I was late this morning. I’ve cancelled my classes with you, and now I need to open the office later for the third time this week. I’m just afraid I’ll get fired.”
“You have the time, and if you need to take it off, ask him. He’s a great guy.” I nodded, but remained quiet. “I can’t stay and chat. I just wanted to check in.” I smiled and said goodbye, lowering my eyes to the envelope on the table. I couldn’t tell Chelsea about Brady’s visit. I desperately wanted to share with her my humiliation and pain at being recorded in an intimate moment, being threatened with distribution, and losing myself in this whole relationship calamity. I went from being alone, to falling in love, to feeling lonelier than I felt after my divorce to Ben. But most of all, I felt the need to protect ev
eryone from this quagmire I’d fallen into.
I was still nursing the searing pain of Matt’s betrayal. However, I would never want to hurt Matt. I never wanted to have him hurt more than I was hurting. Matt had only allowed me less than five days to be out of this relationship, and I needed more time to forgive. He conceived of a way to woo me back, and his proposal had caused a catastrophe.
I got up from the desk chair and walked over to the door. I closed it and went back to the desk to read the contents of the envelope. I felt a nubby, protrusion and deduced there was a flash drive. This mess started with a flash drive and seemed to be ending with one too. Upon tearing open the thick yellow envelope, ignoring the piece of paper with the dollar value placed on the Pentagon shares, I pulled out the flash drive and inserted it into the desk top. I muted the volume, not needing to hear the sounds of our pleasure because Brady had sufficiently described what turned him on most. I knew I was breaking every moral and professional code by viewing it at work, but I needed to know what I was dealing with.
It was all there in black and white. My facial expressions of ecstasy as Matt went down on me after shifting my panties to the side. My eyes rolling in the back of my head as Matt pumped into me, opening them only to watch him please me. My legs on his torso and high heeled feet on his shoulders, and white knuckled grip on the edge of the desk as I took in all his deep drives. I didn’t know if this was a shortened, edited version of the entire encounter, but I watched it from beginning to end.
The scene was captured from above, possibly from the corner of the ceiling. How I didn’t notice it when I looked around the room, at that point didn’t matter. I noted my face was the only one visible. Even with it being slightly grainy without color, it was obvious I was the star of the show. I reviewed the video twice to confirm I was the only one discernible. Once I confirmed Matt could not be identified, I made the call which would change the course of our lives.
SEVEN
When I woke up in the morning, I remembered I’d stayed over at Carson and Turner’s apartment. Matt was disappointed I wouldn’t sleep over at his place, or allowed him take me to Carson and Turner’s place after work last evening, or to pick me up in the morning. In general, he wasn’t happy about my avoiding him. I couldn’t physically bring myself to see him before the prenuptial meeting.
I had a choice to make before the signing of the prenuptial contract. My decision wouldn’t be helped by seeing Matt while trying to decide to marry him and go against Brady’s threats, or keep his fortune thereby rejecting his proposal and keeping the Pentagon shares. I barely slept last night. My body throbbed, but mostly my heart ached with the pain of regret and indecision.
I walked out of the guest room fully dressed for the meeting. In the kitchen, I found Carson preparing me a plate of egg and toast. “Morning, beautiful.” He greeted, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and dark jeans. His body was simply a work of art and every ripple of his muscles showed in his clothing. “How’d you sleep?”
“I guess the question should’ve been, “Did you sleep?” I smirked.
“It’s all settled. You’re going to sign, marry a doctor, and live happily ever after with your billions of dollars. Why couldn’t he have been a gay man?” Carson sighed and seemed to genuinely lament the fact Matt was a very heterosexual male. I shook my head and stuck out my tongue.
“I’d trade places with you any day. I’d marry a very successful lawyer who bails out all my loved ones, especially me.” I exhaled noisily with a groan.
“Speaking of lawyer, he’ll be ready soon. Apparently everything is ready at the firm, but there are a couple of things Turner wanted to tighten up to ensure you’re completely satisfied with the results.” Carson offered in explanation.
I nodded and started eating. He handed me a mug of coffee and placed the creamer and sugar beside it for me to prepare. Adding just sugar, I stirred the coffee and admitted, “I’m scared.” I thought of all the scenarios which would forever change me.
“Sweetie . . .” He sighed and took my free hand in his. “You’ll be fine. You two have decided how this relationship will proceed from here on out. You won’t need to do anything, but show up with a dress and say your vows, which was your choice, by the way.” He said with a hint of disappointment in his voice, reminding me of the ‘no family or friends at the wedding’ clause. It meant Carson and Turner couldn’t be witness to the spectacle.
“I’m sparing myself and others from this farce.” I reminded him.
“Those of us who adore you won’t be there for support. And you love him, so it isn’t a farce, really.” He chided.
Turner arrived in the kitchen and stood beside me. He looked as dapper as ever in his lightweight suit and tie. His sandy brown hair styled neatly. He was clean shaven and smelled so crisp and summery. I inhaled deeply as I mustered a smile upon seeing his image. His presence was the reality of what I was about to do this morning.
“Ready?” He inquired with a smile, which was a combination of grim and hope. I nodded. We both kissed Carson chastely, and took off to Kevin Zipperer’s midtown law office.
As we commuted by cab to the meeting, I felt caged in the slow moving vehicle. The traffic was horrendous, and I’d wished we’d taken the ‘T’. Turner was too refined for such things. He belonged in a town car driven by a driver at his beck and call. He was extremely gracious; typical of a Southern man. However, there was an air of self-righteousness, which came naturally from his upbringing.
Turner placed his hand over my fist, which I’d rubbed on my lap. “You keep rubbing up against that dress, you’re liable to start a fire, darlin’.” He said casually. I bought the capped sleeved, wrap dress on sale at a store in Downtown Crossing. I purchased a new pair of underwear. I put on the same sandals I wore to work the day before.
“Maybe then I can get out of this mess.”
“You’re going to marry him because you love him. And even my fiancé wants him, but for his money. Don’t you want to marry him?”
“Hmm. I just want to get this meeting over with and move on with . . . things.” He nodded.
The cabbie pulled over and parked in front of the high rise building. Turner and I reached for our respective wallets. Turner shooed me away and paid the fare, leaving a tip.
We rushed to the elevator and up to the offices. The receptionist, Tara, from the last meeting greeted us with a kind smile. She stood and walked us to a different conference room. My heartbeat quickened, knowing I would see Matt in a matter of seconds. I summoned the courage necessary to interact with him.
Once he saw me, Matt rushed to my side and hugged me. If I hadn’t prepared myself for business, I would’ve melted right into his arms. He kissed me softly on the lips as he held my head in his hand.
When I didn’t respond in kind he pulled back and looked me right in the eyes. “Are you okay?” I nodded and pulled away. I walked over to sit beside Turner. Matt looked befuddled. He stood in place and watched me while I sat. I didn’t look Zipper in the eyes or greet him, which was cold and calculating of me. However, I made myself clear where the Pentagon men stood in my life. Zipper called the meeting to order.
“It seems we managed to complete the prenuptial agreement between Dr. Mathias Keene and Perla Mercurio in record time.” He shuffled three sets of equal sized packets of papers. Attorney Noble has reviewed the documents and has approved them for Perla’s signature. Before me are three copies of the same document.” He touched each pile as he explained.
“We will sign each and be filed for safekeeping by each party’s representative, the third copy will be filed with a trustee handling the business and financial affairs of Dr. Keene until completion of the ceremony. All will revert back to Dr. Keene upon which time the agreement has been completed and all will return to normal.” Zipper handed the first packet to Turner. The packet was riddled with plastic signature flags indicating where each of us would sign, and Turner and Zipper witness.
When Turner offered
me his pen, I stopped him.
“Gentlemen, I’ve come to a decision.” Matt looked at me with a raised, perplexed eyebrow. “I’ve decided I’m not going to sign the prenup.” I stated evenly, relieved my voice didn’t quiver with the panic I instantly felt.
“What? Perla, you have to sign the agreement in order for us to get married and everything reverts back to me.”
“I’ve decided to keep the shares of Pentagon.” An audible gasp came from Turner and a clearing of Zipper’s throat filled the air. “I don’t want or need the rest of your fortune. You can keep everything else, but I’m keeping the twenty percent ownership of the stocks.” I said to Matt. My eyes failed to meet his, but stayed at his soft lips.
“What?” Matt asked incredulously, anger behind his question. Turner looked at me in equal surprise.
“I’m keeping the stocks. I think it’s the least I should have for the troubles Pentagon made in my life.” I said coldly.
“Perla? Darlin’? This comes as a big surprise and shock to all of us, maybe you need more time to decide this. A few days of decision making time wasn’t enough for you.” Turner reasoned. I shook my head ‘no’, and pulled my hand away from Turner’s reassuring touch.
“No. I’m quite certain what I want. I’d been thinking this through and I feel as the former, beneficiary of Liberty Inn, I won’t have a chance to receive my future gift. Pentagon now owns it, and Matt made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” I didn’t set my gaze on either Matt or Zipper’s faces, but I could tell they were in immense shock and anger.
The quiet was broken when Matt started laughing. I finally looked at him. Turner reclined and watched Matt laugh. Zipper rubbed his chin. “This is a joke. Perla, you got me good. If you’d like for me to sign first, I will. Then you can sign. Hand me those papers, Zip.” Matt was in denial. Zipper made to receive the papers, which Turner pushed forward.
“I’m not signing anything. My mind is made up. I’m not marrying you in thirty days or ever. I don’t want your fortune. I just want Pentagon. When we got our marriage license, you said something to the effect ‘sometimes we have the means to get ahead in line, and we must take it’. I’m jumping the line by taking the shares. Thank you for the settlement in penalty for ruining my marriage, for seducing me in order to steal my key, stealing business information in order to take away Liberty, and impinging on my future rights to property.” I said coldly. With each string of reasons for keeping the shares, my backbone hardened to granite.