by Naomi West
A montage of policemen, firemen, first responders, soldiers, and doctors, all talking about how rough their jobs could get and how the stress and emotional demands of what they lived through made them vulnerable to anxiety and the symptoms of PTSD, filled the screen. At, the end of it, all the first responders shown in the video were standing in a line, holding prescription pill bottles with the Dimalerax brand name on the side. They held them up together. “I keep working, because it keeps working,” they said, in unison.
Abby sat back in her chair, a look of shock mixed with utter disgust on her face. “I . . . I just . . .”
He put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. “Thousands have been destroyed by this drug, Abby,” he said. “And maybe thousands more will be. They deserve answers and relief from Pharma-Vitae. They were targets in all this—just innocent marks your company went after. But you have a chance to make things right, now. Print up the files, and we'll go to my reporter contact. I promise.”
# # #
Abby
Abby was furious. Blood-curdling, fire-breathing, mad-woman furious.
Mark had done this. She just knew it had to have been him. How he had gotten it greenlighted without her knowledge, though, she had no idea. The worst part of it all was that she hadn't been part of any of this. She'd done her due diligence and had thought she'd known what she was getting herself into.
Now she was blindsided by this video, this goddamned pill, all the lies, and the cover-ups that must be involved. She wanted to kick her computer monitor over and flip her desk, then go find Mark and kick his teeth in, just for getting her wrapped up in this whole mess. Letterman was to blame for everything. She just knew it.
Zed's plan wouldn't work, though. She knew it wouldn't work. The media would just focus on her, as CEO, just like they had in every other big scandal. Then the board would end up serving her up on a silver platter. Hell, they might even leave Mark completely alone when the allegations and investigations began. And, boy howdy, were there going to be investigations if this all got out.
No, what she needed to do was bringing this all to the board of directors on her own. The only way she'd manage to keep the success she'd already worked so hard to attain would be do this quietly and internally, without any outside interference whatsoever. When things were handled and Mark was out of the way, she could help Zed with Kai. But not before then.
She leaned forward, switched back to the files on her screen, and typed out a series of commands, acting like she was going to print it.
“What are you…?” Zed asked, confused, trailing off.
“I'm . . . wait . . . there!” she said, deleting her copies of the files from her computer.
“What the fuck?” Zed yelled. “What did you just do? Bring them back!”
“I'm trying!” Abby lied, as she fervently looked through where the files had just been on her computer. “There's nothing there, Zed!”
“No!” he groaned loudly, one hand running back through his hair, the other rubbing down the front of his face. “They can't be! I was so close fucking close! Why did you do this to me?”
As she looked at the hurt on his face and saw the obvious failure he must have felt, she wanted to tell him how close he still was. The files were still on the servers at Pharma-Vitae. They just weren't here anymore, accessible from her home office.
Abby followed her first impulse and reached out to him, but quickly withdrew her hand. She had nothing to say and no way to comfort him. He was right. This had been his only chance. But she needed those files, regardless of what he wanted them for. She had a responsibility to her employees, and to her own ambitions. She'd come this far in life, and she still had to prove she had what it took to stay on top.
“No,” Zed growled, shaking his head. “This was it. This was my chance. And it's gone now.” He turned to her, his eyes hard, firm, and red-rimmed around the edges. His knuckles cracked as his fists balled at his sides. “It's all fucked. And it's your fault!”
Chapter Twelve
Abby
Abby braced herself for his wrath. What would it be this time? A spanking? The time out chair? Would she have to service him again? Or would he actually take the belt to her? Or worse? She cringed away from him as she tried to remind herself why she was doing this. She needed the material on Mark. She needed to make sure she could protect herself and her employees from the fallout from that bastard's treachery.
Zed's cold eyes stayed on her. But, as she watched, they began to tremble and fill with ears. He dropped to his knees, his body wracked by a single, heartfelt sob. “I failed him,” he whispered, his words coming out as a ragged, shaken moan. “I failed him, Abby.”
She was crushed and confused. She hadn't expected him to do that. That wasn't what was supposed to happen.
“Kai's stuck there now,” he groaned, as he sat back on the floor, his body against the wall. He continued to speak, his voice softer than the wind rustling the leaves in the garden. “My brother's stuck there. He's getting proper treatment now, and he knows what he did. He just wants to die, Abby. His life is hell, just sitting on death row by himself, in an empty cell, hoping his appeals will hurry up and run out.” He stopped and looked up at her, tears wetting his cheeks.
Abby tried to look away in order to preserve some sort of hardness in herself that might help her live with the decision she'd just made, but she couldn't. She stayed focused on Zed as he poured his heart out to her. It was like a knife in the gut, or a slap across the face. What had she been thinking? Yes, Zed was probably crazy, and, yeah, what he'd done to her was pretty fucked up. But he was still a human being, and she was torturing him just as much now as he had tortured her.
“I just wanted to prove to the judges, lawyers, and press that it was the medication that made him lose his shit. That was all. And it was right there. Right in front of me. There was proof that Demialerax was responsible for him killing his family. But now it's gone—slipped through my hands.” He waved dismissively. “Sand through my fucking hands, Abby!”
She never would have thought Zed capable of tears, let alone this emotion. Clearly, Kai was the most important person in his life. If she hadn't known that before, she certainly saw it now. She finally managed to look away, biting her lip hard to keep her emotions down as she turned.
Abby had broken him. She’d broken the strongest, toughest, and craziest man she'd ever met. She felt her anger at herself stirring, immediately feeling the regret over her actions building.
She heard him sob hard, as he slammed a meaty fist into the wall.
Not knowing what else to do, she spun the chair back and got down on her knees beside him. She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her body comfortingly into him. “I'm sorry, Zed,” she whispered. “Don't cry, okay?”
# # #
Zed
He didn't bother to fight the hug by the woman who'd just completely fucked him over. Why would he? What would have been the point? All of this had been for nothing, anyway.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered again, her voice sincere and full of regret. “I'm so sorry I hurt you,” she said, as she leaned back a little and wiped a tear from his cheek. “I'd get the files back for you if I could.”
Maybe he had finally gotten through to her? Maybe it hadn't been just the firmness that was needed, but the softness and vulnerability, as well? But it didn't matter if he'd finally chipped through that cold Ice Queen facade, or not. It was all ruined. His hopes had evaporated and disappeared into the ether. He had nothing to show any court and no evidence of any of the systemic corruption and lies by Pharma-Vitae.
“I'm sorry I did it,” Abby whispered, her eyes soft and wet with burgeoning tears as she leaned her head against his chest. “I just couldn't let you go to the press, Zed. I just—I need those files in my hands, not being leaked to someone.”
“Why?” he groaned, his arm coming up and wrapped around her body. Yeah, she might have fucked him over, but there was somethin
g about the sudden genuineness of her concern that made his body respond to her comforting touch. “Why couldn't you just help me?”
“Why?” she repeated back his question, sighing deeply into his chest. “Because I have to think of myself. The world chews up little goody two-shoes, you know that? If you want to get ahead in this world, you can only be focused on yourself and on your own wants and needs. My mother taught me that, and my ex-fiancé proved she was right. No one cares about any of us. The universe doesn't give two shits about you or me. We need to do whatever we can to survive.”
Zed leaned his head back against the wall, the tears still wet on his cheeks. He took a deep breath and let it out through his nose, still frustrated that he'd been so close. “So, you fucked me over to help yourself?”
“I fucked you over to prove that I have what it takes.”
He closed his eyes. She was just the same as him, willing to do whatever she had to do to win her war. But he knew she wasn't any more likely to achieve that victory than he was. This was all just a fool's errand, and they were just tilting at windmills. He squeezed her tighter against his chest, realizing neither of them would win this fight. Two people, against a massive, corrupt corporation and the entire criminal justice system? How could they?
“I really fucked up, didn't I?” Abby asked.
“Yeah,” he agreed ,as he opened his eyes and squeezed her tighter against him. “You really screwed the pooch on this one.” He'd never felt this close to anyone, in any context. They were like two sides of the same coin. And yeah, she was a cold, heartless bitch. But, in his arms and pressed against his body, she felt warmer than any human being ever.
She pulled back from his chest and looked up at him, her almond blue eyes lingering on his, their lips just inches apart. “Yeah,” she agreed, as her eyes flickered down to his lips for the briefest of moments. “I did.”
He didn't think. He just needed to feel her skin against his and feel her body bending to his whim and will. He had to find some sort of control in his life. He needed to feel that everything wasn't spinning away from him.
Abby's body trembled in anticipation as she bit her lower lip.
He knew what she wanted, in spite of, and, perhaps, because of what he had done to her over the last several days. He leaned down and kissed her.
Chapter Thirteen
Zed
He didn't hold back as he crushed her lips with his. She was soft and sweet as a peach as he pushed his tongue into her mouth, groaning with frustration transformed into lust.
Abby opened her mouth to him, moaning as she swirled her tongue around his.
He crushed her body with his arms, squeezing her tightly as he began to peel her clothes off, his hands tearing at her shirt and shorts. He pulled her t-shirt over her head, his eyes sweeping over her half-naked body. She hadn't worn a bra today, and he loved how hard her little pink nipples were already.
She pressed herself into his arms, panting as he ran his hands over her. She went to slide her hands beneath his undershirt and to rake her nails across his flesh, but he brushed her hands away.
She belonged to him, and he wanted to do with her what he saw fit. He moved lower, to her neck, his teeth flashing as, together, they pushed her shorts down off her hips.
“Please, sir,” she panted, as he bit her neck and she arched under his controlling hands. “Please, God. Please fuck me, sir. Please just fuck me.” She went to shimmy her bikini-cut panties over her hips as Zed pulled her shorts off her shapely legs, but Zed was faster.
The need to taste her, to be inside of her, was greater than anything he'd ever felt. Memories of her soft lips, expert tongue, and lithe fingers flashed in his mind. He wanted her to succumb to his touch. He slid a hand through the hip strap of her panties, and, with one, firm pull, the fabric stretched and tore as he ripped them from her hips.
She moaned, her legs spread and her blonde pussy displayed for him.
He pulled her into his lap, forcing her to straddle him. He bit her shoulder and cupped a firm cheek with a big, rough hand, covering almost all of her behind.
She gasped under his roaming hands and biting mouth, wordlessly pleading for him to not stop.
His hand came up, encircling her throat as he dipped his head to first one breast, then the other. He bit her hard as he sucked, and she yelped in surprised pleasure.
“More,” she groaned, her voice gasping as he squeezed her throat harder. “Pease, sir. Do whatever you want with me, sir!”
“Hands behind your back,” he growled, squeezing her ass so tightly, he knew it'd leave bruises. “Now.”
She thrusts her arms behind her back and locked her fingers together, pushing her tits higher on her chest.
Zed roughly shoved the hand at her throat, arching her back as he dropped his head again to her breasts. He squeezed her throat, choking her as brought his hand up from her ass and yanked her hair.
She gurgled her moaning approval, her hips grinding as she pleasured herself on the front of his woolen slacks. The heat was rolling off her pussy, and it was aching for his attention.
# # #
Abby
Pain blossomed all over her body, but it just seemed to meld with the pleasure as he bit her flesh and squeezed her until she thought she might die from how wonderful it all felt. She'd never felt so possessed in all her life, or so dirty and used. She belonged to him in that moment, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Here she was, her eyes wide and staring at the ceiling of her home office, Zed's giant hand clasped over her throat, the fingers of his other hand tangled in her long blonde hair, as his mouth did things to her breasts she'd never dreamed of letting another man do, let alone dreamed she would ever enjoy. But she was grinding herself on his crotch like a wanton slut, panting as she felt her first orgasm building inside her.
He let her go and she almost whined in protest. “Undress me, slut,” he growled.
“Yes, sir,” she said in a raspy voice, as she eagerly nodded. “Anything, sir.” She could still feel the heat from his hand on her throat, and her scalp felt like it was alive and on fire from the vicious hair-pulling he'd been giving her. But, for whatever reason, it all only served to stoke the furnace between her legs that much higher.
She began to pull his shirt up, revealing his six-pack and broad chest. She wanted to kiss him and to run her tongue over his stiff nipples like he had to her, but Abby knew that wasn't what she'd been ordered to do.
He helped her pull his undershirt over his head and tossed it aside, his eyes narrowing as they swept over her naked form.
She kept her own desires in check, making sure Zed's were forefront, and slipped her hands down between her wetness and his crotch. She unbuckled his belt, unsnapped his slacks, and fought the urge to slip her hand inside his pants to get at that stunning example of manhood she couldn't keep from her mind. She needed to remember that she could only follow his orders. She was his, to do with as he pleased.
“Take them off,” he commanded, his voice husky.
She climbed off his lap and got on all four in front of him, straddling his legs. She hooked her fingers in the tops of his boxer briefs and slid his underwear and slacks off him as he lifted his hips. Abby groaned in anticipation as his full length came into view and she saw him naked for the first time.
“Come here, slut,” he beckoned with one hand.
She crawled up his body, careful to brush her sharply excited nipples over his thighs as she moved up his legs. She straightened herself out, melting into him, and pressing her breasts against him till they flattened against his chest. She stopped with her sex hovering just over his turgid length. All she could think of was how much she wanted him inside her, filling her. She knew he would hurt, but just at first, the same as all of her past experiences with him.
He brushed his lips over hers as he encircled her in his arms and held her tight. “Tell me you want it,” he whispered.
She closed her eyes, trembling
as he squeezed her tightly. “I want it, sir.”
“Tell me you need it,” he replied.
She whined in protest, but still complied. “I need it, sir. I need you inside me.”
“Good girl,” he whispered, his hand passing from her lower back to her firm ass. He slapped her hard, making her eyes fly open in surprise as she moaned excitedly at the sharp crack of pain. He moved his hands to her tiny hips, making her feel small and inconsequential.
He could break her at any time, but he could also send her to heights she never knew existed. She bit her lower lip, whining again as she trembled in anticipation.
“Guide me, like a good little whore,” he whispered.
She reached down between her legs and wrapped her fingers around his rod. He was thick and hot, just like she remembered, and she was momentarily worried that he'd be too much for her. She guided his head over her dripping lips, though, and, realizing how wet she was, she knew she'd be able to fit him.