by Vivien Vale
“Where did you hear it?” I ask. I sound a lot calmer than I feel. Point for me.
“It is an anonymous tip. That makes me think the source might be correct.”
My stomach turns to stone. My blood is cold and I struggle to think past the sound of blood rushing in my ears.
“So, you come to me to ask if it’s true?” I ask.
“Is it?” Hull shoot back at me.
His stare is like steel. I swallow, trying not to look like I’m panicking.
“Of course, not,” I say. “This is a professional operation, Franklin. You wouldn’t have chosen to invest in it if it isn’t.”
Hull looks at me with a face that’s void of emotion. I have no idea if he believes me or not.
“You realize how quickly I can withdraw,” he says.
I nod. “And I can assure you that won’t be necessary. I will launch an investigation into the allegations. Of course, we can’t have these rumors doing the rounds, even if they’re false. I’ll make sure it’s all straightened out as soon as possible.”
Hull doesn’t look satisfied, yet.
“Let me be honest with you, Franklin. Everyone in the office can see that Miss Brown and I have a good working relationship. We get along and that is exactly what I need in a personal assistant. But she is a personal assistant and no more. I assure you, I’ll get to the bottom of this and in no time at all, we’ll look back and laugh at this.”
Hull blinks at me. He doesn’t look like the type to laugh at anything in hindsight.
“See that you take care of it, Kevin,” Hull says, standing up. “It can become very nasty if it goes any further.
“Of course,” I say, standing too. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”
I watch Hull walk to the door, open it and walk out. The moment he turns the corner out of sight I let out a breath I don’t realize I is been holding.
How the fuck did it come out? God, I think Hull is going to withdraw right then and there. I can’t afford losing the funding. The company is hanging by a thread and without Hull and his money I’m going to fold. It’s the only reason I put up with his antics. I don’t care for the way he considers himself to be God’s gift to mankind.
I turn to my window and look out over New York. How the hell am I going to reign this in? Surely, Scott and Carly don’t talk about what they are doing? They know as well as I do that it will sabotage everything we do and everything we have.
I turn around and pick up the receiver, calling Carly.
“Will you come to my office? I’m getting Scott in, too.”
She agrees and a moment later I have Scott on the line, too.
Five minutes later they are both in my office. Scott closes the door behind him, the last to arrive, and they both look at me. How different this is from the last time we are in the same room together. We are naked, worked up and completely comfortable with each other, then. Now, I am unsure of where we stand, of the relationship we’re building.
“Franklin Hull is just in my office.” I say to Scott, filling him in. “He wants to see me for an emergency meeting.”
“What about?” Scott asks.
“He got an anonymous tip that Carly and I are sleeping together.”
Carly gasps. Scott’s eyes widen.
“What the hell?” Scott asks, putting his hands on his hips. “Where the fuck did that come from?”
When I look at Carly she looks pale.
“Just that you two are fucking?” Scott adds. “Not the three of us?”
I shake my head. “Thank God, no. I think he will has withdrawn if that is the case.”
“He didn’t withdraw?” Scott asks.
I shake my head again. “He didn’t, but he’s unhappy, and I don’t blame him. Did either of you say anything to anyone?”
Scott shakes his head. Carly did, too, but then she stopped.
“I spoke to Emma about it,” she says.
I blink at her. “You told your sister you are sleeping with your boss?”
She shrugs and folds her arms over her chest, looking defensive. “We tell each other everything.”
Now, I understand why Emma is so unhappy at the club when the four of us are together on the dance floor.
“And you don’t think she may have said something out of spite?”
Carly shakes her head. “No,” she says firmly. “We get stuck and she can be a bitch, but she wouldn’t do that to me.”
Scott and I both look at her. I wait for her to show she might be unsure, but she looks as certain as it gets.
“Okay,” I finally say. “I hope you’re right. If this goes wrong, we all stand to lose a lot.”
Carly nods. “I understand.”
I nod, Scott nods. We are all in agreement. Except, I don’t trust it. Emma doesn’t look like the type of person that will be loyal. She wasn’t exactly nice at the club that night. Sure, I don’t know her at all, so I don’t know how capable or how loyal she is, but I don’t trust her.
It seems perfect for a scorned sister to call in a juicy little fact like that.
“I’ll speak to her, if that will make you feel better,” Carly says, pulling me out of my thinks. “I’ll find out if she said anything.”
“Do you think she’ll just tell you, if she did?” Scott asks. He was very quiet until now. He isn’t quite as involved, considering the rumors only involve the two of us. But if whoever leaked the information knows more, he can be implicated as well. That will be very bad for all of us.
Forget about the VP bet. If this thing goes sideways, we’ll all become unemployed soon enough.
Carly glares at Scott. She is on the defense. It is a touchy topic and I am aware we sound accusing, but the fact is that we are in trouble and I’m stressing because the rumors are true.
“I’ll find out if she said something. I know Emma well enough to be able to tell if she’s lying or not, you know.”
“We’re just worried,” Scott says.
Carly sighs and nods. “I know,” she says. “It’s just… nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
I nod, too. “Well, we’re all doing what we can. As soon as we get to the bottom of this we can sort it out.”
Scott sits down, the first sign that we are starting to relax. I sit down behind my desk, too.
“Talking about sex and forbidden things,” Scott says. “When are the three of us arranging another play date?”
Carly giggles and blushes. It’s cute when she does. I love it when she blushes.
“Should we really talk about this right now?” I ask. “We’re already in the shitter.”
“Come on,” Scott says. “You know you want to do it again. Wednesday was fucking fantastic.”
Carly grows redder and Scott looks damn satisfied with himself. And I want to do it again, Scott is right.
“We’ll arrange something, soon,” Carly says. “I’m down for round two.”
Scott grins at me. We completed our pact by fucking Carly together. Doing it again is a whole different story. This isn’t about doing something we said we would do anymore. This just becomes so much more.
And I want it. I liked it. God, I fucking loved it.
“I have to get back to work,” Carly says. “I have an actual job to do.”
She smiles at both of us before she leaves the office. When she closes the door, I look at Scott. He is still smiling, looking smug and content.
“You have to admit, this is a hell of a lot more than either of us think we’d get when we set out to do this,” he says.
I nod. “Absolutely. I’m just unsure about this rumor… you don’t think that if we keep going it will bite us in the ass?”
Scott shakes his head. “Don’t stress about it so much,” he says. “It’s probably a rumor created by a disgruntled employee or something. The fact that it’s true is a coincidence. It will blow over and we can happily carry on fucking her without worrying about who will find out.”
I chuckle. “Yo
u’ve really got a thing for this, don’t you?”
“What, a threesome with my best friend and the hottest woman that’s walks the face of the earth? That will be a resounding fuck, yeah.”
I laugh. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s a wet dream come true. I’m just stressing about this.”
Scott nods. “I know. Which is what makes you so good for this job. But it will be okay, I swear.”
It seems like a promise Scott is in no position to make, but I accept it and let him persuade me. I need to believe that it will be okay. And the truth is, I want to do another threesome, too.
Of all the reasons, I can think of why not to do it, I can only think of one reason why we should do it.
And that is because I want to. Good enough for me.
Carly
“Do you want something to drink?” I ask Emma when she sits down on my couch.
“Just water,” she says. I nod and walks to the kitchen. I fill two glasses with water from the pitcher in the fridge. I walk back to the living room with both glasses. Emma sits on the edge of the couch, looking like she would rather be anywhere but here. I sigh and pass her glass to her before sitting down on the arm chair to the side.
I invited her over to talk. She won’t reach out to me, so I must do it. Usually, Emma is so quick to sort things out between us. That she hasn’t tried yet, worries me.
“What did you want to talk about?” Emma asks.
I blink at her. “I was hoping we can fix whatever went wrong between us.”
Emma just looks at me, her face unreadable.
“Come on, Em. We never fight for this long. Why are you so angry?”
Emma sips the cold water before shaking her head.
“You can’t tell people that I’m jealous of you and expect me not to get angry. Especially if it’s your boss, the same guy you’re fucking.”
I sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I was a bitch.”
Emma nods. I don’t completely mean what I is saying – Emma was the bitch that night, not me, but we all must bend a little, right?
“Besides, you’re throwing your life away, Carly. What do you think will happen if something like this comes out? It can ruin your career. Sleeping with your boss…”
I shake my head. “If you’re worried, say so. You’re my sister and we do that for each other. But I’m an adult, I can make my own choices. And I told you before – I don’t intend to be a secretary for long.”
Emma narrows her eyes at me. “This is exactly what I mean,” she says. “You’re not even willing to listen. You dream, and you dream! But it’s always the same thing, over and over again. God, you never listen!”
“That’s because I don’t have to,” I snap. “Not only am I older than you, but I don’t have to do what you say to me, anyway. You’re not mom.
Emma shrugs. “No, but at least I’m not throwing my life away.”
I put my glass on the coffee table. I don’t drink any of the water.
“That’s a matter of opinion and I resent you saying that.” I glare at Emma and she glares back at me. “I called you to fix things between us and you’re just going right back onto that track. Why don’t you try, too?”
“Are you still sleeping with him?” Emma asks.
I frown. “You’re going to be a bitch about this unless I stop screwing him?”
“So, you are,” she says.
I roll my eyes. “I regret telling you that. I can’t believe this is becoming such a big thing! We’ve always told each other everything. Did I come down hard on you when you were sleeping with Ron?” I ask.
“That’s different,” she says.
“How?”
“We’re in a long-term relationship. We don’t sleep together until six months in, and most of all, he’s not my boss.”
I groan. “What happened to us?” I ask.
Emma shrugs. “I don’t know,” she says in a soft voice.
I have my theories. She’s settling down and she’s dating – something neither of us said we’d do after our dad left. And now, I’m living the life, partying and sleeping around, and she’s stuck being an adult. I’m sure it’s jealousy, but I’m not going to say that to her, again. Once already caused her not to speak to me for a few days.
“Look,” I say. “I wanted to ask you something.”
Emma looks at me, curious.
“Someone gave the investors at Raven Publishers an anonymous tip that Kevin and I are sleeping together. Was it you?”
Emma’s jaw drops. “You’re asking if I betrayed you?”
“It sounds worse when you say it like that,” I say. “But yes, I am.”
Emma looks shocked for a moment before it translates into anger.
“Do you think I’d do that to you?”
I shrug. “I’m just asking,” I say. “You’re the only person I told so I need to follow up because it’s a matter of losing my job or Kevin losing the company.”
Emma is angry, now. “You think I’d do that to you?” she asks again. This time, her voice is raised. “I knew we aren’t in a good place, Carly, but to think that I will do that to you?”
She groans as if it hurts.
“I just have to check, Em,” I say. “I said I would ask.”
She glares at me. “This is why I’m so against all the shit that you do. It changes you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re fighting against everything that happened with mom so much you can’t even be yourself. You think that if you stay as wild and reckless as you are, you won’t get hurt, but you’re wrong. You’re hurting yourself.”
I shake my head. This has gone in a completely different direction.
“That’s not fair,” I say. “Just because I don’t deal with things the way you do, and I haven’t found love and I want to settle down doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”
We glare at each other for what feels like forever. Finally, Emma blows out a breath and looks down.
“You’re right,” she says. “I’m sorry.”
I’m surprised by her apology. It comes so quickly.
“I don’t want to fight with you,” I say. “Can’t we just forget about all of this and be friends again?”
Emma nods. “I’d like that.”
I get up and walk to her, hugging her. She lets out her breath in a shudder.
“Are you seeing Ron tonight?” I ask.
Emma shakes her head. “He’s away at some conference again. I’m just alone tonight.”
“We’ll go out, then,” I say. “Just to hang out, catch up, be together again.”
Emma hesitates.
“Come on,” I say. “It will be fun.”
Finally, she agrees and I smile. She gets in her car to go home, get some clothes and come back to me to get ready together.
We go to Aqua again. The club has a whole new meaning to me after what Scott and I did in the storage room. I try not to think about it too much – Emma is with me and we are just getting to a good place again. I’m not going to tell her about me and Scott or about having a threesome with them both. Emma is already upset about what’s going on between Kevin and me.
We have shots at the bar, getting drinks to chase them down with and move to the dance floor. I love dancing when alcohol courses through my veins. I always feel sexier, when I drink, more comfortable in my own skin. I move to the music and it pulses through me. Emma dances next to me. I’m aware of eyes on us and when I look around, men are sneaking glances at us.
“They’re all looking at us,” I say to Emma, leaning in so that she can hear me.
Emma shakes her head. She looks a little sour. “They’re all looking at you,” she says.
I sigh. I don’t know if she’s right, I don’t really pay that much attention, but Emma is pissed off again and I don’t like her in this mood. She seems to be in this mood more often.
“Come on, Em, it’s not just me,” I say.
Emma stops dancing. “I don’t
care, you know. I have Ron and that’s more than enough for me.”
I stop dancing too. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. Let’s just have fun, okay?”
Emma nods and we start dancing again, but she looks unhappy and I don’t know how to restore her mood.
“Well, aren’t these the two most beautiful women I’ve seen in the club,” someone says behind me and when I turn, Scott stands behind me, beaming. I smile – I can’t help it.
“Scott,” I say and hug him. His arms close around me and I’m aware of his body, taut and muscular and the smell of his cologne that clings to his clothes. I shiver. This smell, the feel of this body, hold very intimate memories for me, now.
“You remember my sister, Emma,” I say, turning around to include her. She offers a pinched smile.
“I do,” Scott says. “And might I add you both look spectacular.”
Emma doesn’t respond to the compliment the way I did. She doesn’t look happy.
“Where’s Kevin?” I ask. I catch Emma rolling her eyes. I can’t take it back, now.
“He’s at the bar,” Scott says. Kevin comes up behind him as he says it and I smile at him, too.
“Speak of the devil,” Scott says.
“In the flesh,” Kevin says and winks at me. “And Emma,” he adds, looking at my sister. “How nice to see you again.”
Emma doesn’t even offer Kevin a smile the way she offered Scott a bad one. She doesn’t like Kevin and her dislike is rooted in nothing other than the fact that she thinks it’s wrong that I’m sleeping with him.
“Well, don’t you just look stunning,” Kevin says, putting his hand on my lower back. “Are you here to show yourself off? Everyone’s watching.”
I shrug, blushing.
“Em and I are just spending a bit of time together, you know, checking out the talent around here.”
Kevin glances at Emma, grinning. “And? What have you seen so far?”
“Oh, nothing that catches my eye,” I say. I look Kevin up and down before glancing at Scott. He’s looking at my body, his eyes trailing down slowly, touching me in intimate places.
“Carly hasn’t seen anything because there isn’t anyone here for her,” Emma says. We all look at her.
“Em, we’re just joking around,” I say. Emma is being a real pain.