by Vivian Ward
“Oh! I bet I hear from Darcy tomorrow,” Ally says. “She’s going to be so pissed off when she learns that she can’t publish that story.”
“That’s right! Yeah, I bet Greg will find out about the purchase tomorrow.”
“Colton, I have to go down there tonight after dinner. Since you bought the place and own it now, I need to get down there right away.”
“For what?” I ask. It’s not like she needs to start re-organizing the place tonight or anything.
“Once they figure out that they can’t publish it, they might try to take the story to another news station to sell it. Anyone with half a mind would buy that story so they could spread the gossip about you! I have to get down there tonight to get on my computer and make sure it’s still there.”
Her theory sounds great but there’s just one problem with that. “Ally, just because I bought it doesn’t mean that I own it yet. The purchase still has to go through. All they did was accept the proposal I made to their counter. It’s not official. There’s not been any exchange of money or contract.”
She thinks about this for a minute. “What’s the worst that could happen to me if I get caught?”
“Um, you could be charged with breaking and entering, and wind up in jail,” I explain to her.
“It’s okay, you’ll get me out. Besides, who’s going to prosecute me? There are two problems with that. The first one is that I work there and I could say that I needed to get a story that I was working on since I now work from home.”
“And that’s the other reason no one would prosecute you?” I ask her.
“I’m your woman!” We all get a good laugh. “Nobody is going to mess with Colton Kaswell’s girlfriend. They’re not that dumb.”
“You’ve got some pretty valid points but let’s wait until after dinner so that we can talk to Tyler. He should be—,” the doorbell rings, “here any minute.”
Walking over to the door, I open it and welcome him inside.
“Thank you,” he says, stepping in as he hands me a bottle of wine. “I thought I’d bring this as an apology.”
“Dinner is almost ready,” I say. “Come in.”
The two of us walk to the kitchen where Linda is already plating our food and I find Ally helping her by pouring our drinks. For a brief minute, I picture her pregnant and barefoot while making lemonade. I shake my head and quickly erase that image out of my mind. There’s no way I could handle kids. I’m not even sure that I want kids. It’s difficult for me to get close to people, let alone tiny children.
“Hello, Tyler,” Linda warmly says.
“Good evening,” he replies. “And hello, Ally.”
“Thanks,” she murmurs.
“Let’s have a seat. I’m sure they’ll serve us dinner very shortly.”
We walk to the dining room as the women busy themselves with making the final dinner preparations. I hear Linda asking Ally to check the bread that’s in the oven and to get the butter out. I point to the chair near me and invite Tyler to sit down. Moments later, Ally and Linda are bringing the food, serving it like we’re feeding an army. My eyes dance as I watch Linda load up my plate with a huge hunk of meat, savory potatoes smothered in gravy, and freshly baked bread with butter melting over the top of it. I bet it tastes as good as it smells. It does.
“Mmmm,” I say to Linda. “This is too good. You make the best bread.”
She repays my compliment with a smile. “If that’s all for you this evening, I’ll be on my way.”
I dismiss her for the night, and then we get down to business. Ally sits opposite of me, unusually quiet tonight. Even though Brooke’s not here, I think she’s a bit put-off by Tyler’s presence since the two of them are a couple.
“So, tell me about the fax that I received,” I start the conversation. “You said you were going to try to find out more today. Did you make good on that promise?”
He swallows a piece of beef and nods as he picks up some potatoes with his fork. “Yes, I did but let me say up front that I had I known any of this was going on, I would have called you immediately. And if by some off chance your attorney would’ve filled it out and sent it back in, I would have cancelled the sale myself.”
This is the Tyler that I know. He’s honest, admirable, and knows what’s best for everyone involved which is why I didn’t understand how or why he’d make the decision. “Thank you,” I nod. “I appreciate that.”
“Well,” he says, rubbing his stomach as he continues to eat. “You said that the fax came through around four in the morning, so I got to thinking about that. I don’t get up until 6:30 every morning. I don’t care what day it is or what the reasoning is, I get up at the same time every day. And then I got to wondering who would know your attorney information and have access to my fax machine.”
“Those are the same things I’d thought about too,” I say to him.
“Yeah,” he nods, shoveling a piece of bread into his mouth. He chews it a few times and then swallows. “Well, after spending a lot of time thinking about it, I figured it could only be one person and that would have to be Brooke.”
Ally gasps as she realizes what he’s saying is probably exactly what happened. I nod in agreement with him because I’d thought the same thing. She’s the only person who knows how we both handle business and that’s only because she’s been around so long and she was always at the club so she’s seen and heard things firsthand.
“After I talked to you, I gave her a call. She tried to deny it at first but then I got her to admit it,” he laughs.
“And then what?” Ally presses. “Tell me that you broke up with her or that you kicked her out of your house or something!”
I can see the anger in Ally’s eyes and hear it in her tone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her angry but it turns me on. Every vein in her thin, delicate neck begins to pop out with each deep, rapid breath she takes. My cock begins to get hard beneath the dinner table. The bad thing is, I’m not afraid of taking her right in front of Tyler. It’s not like he hasn’t seen me fuck dozens of girls anyway, but I refrain for Ally’s sake. I don’t want to do anything that would embarrass or upset her, especially right now.
Tyler and I stare at each other and my eyes grow wide, signaling him to answer her before she comes unglued.
“Actually, I-I-I can’t. She won’t allow me to kick her out,” he says.
Ally looks at him as though he’s wearing three heads. “She won’t allow you to kick her out of your house? What? Are you insane?”
It only takes one look from Tyler and I know exactly what’s going on but I’m not going to be the one to tell his business. If he wants to explain it to her, he can but I’m going to continue eating my dinner because it’s not my place. There’s a long, awkward pause from everyone at the table before Tyler finally breaks the silence. He can tell by my expression that Ally has no clue what’s going on.
“Brooke and I are in a cuckold relationship,” he blurts out. “I’m not allowed to do things unless she gives me permission. Most things,” he adds for clarity.
“You’re kidding me, right?” She says, looking to me for an answer. I simply shrug my shoulders and continue cutting my meat. “Let me get this straight,” she begins. “Brooke tells you what you can do and what she can and won’t do, and you’re okay with that?”
“I mean, that’s not exactly how it works, but yeah, that’s pretty much the gist of it,” he says.
Ally’s eyes grow wild, her little chocolate stars look like they’re on the verge of exploding when she looks at me. “And does she have this same power over you?”
I almost choke on my food. I’m no sissy boy, no woman has ever bossed Colton Kaswell around. “Hell no!” I declare. “Hell no. You are crazy for even asking, Allison Parker.”
“Anyway,” Tyler says, attempting to get the conversation back on track. “I spoke to her about it and she promised that she will not do anything else like that again.”
“How do you know she w
on’t?” Ally asks him.
“Because she won’t. I won’t allow her to,” Tyler answers.
It’s then that I take this moment to present Tyler with an offer. I’ve thought long and hard about mine and Ally’s conversation and I’ve decided that if or when she ever does want to go to the club, I want her to feel comfortable and that’ll never happen as long as Brooke’s around. Knowing that she and Tyler are in a cuckold relationship, I don’t see her going anywhere any time soon. She can use him for far too many things and I don’t want her in the club if it makes Ally uncomfortable, which I know it will.
“Tyler,” I say, interrupting the silence. “I want to make you an offer. I know you’re my business partner with the club but I’d like to buy you out.” His face falls and it looks like he’s holding his breath for my next words. “It’s okay—breathe,”I tell him. He finally relaxes and exhales. “You don’t even own half the club and you were more of a silent partner anyway. Brooke and Ally don’t get along and it looks as though the two of us are finally settling down with the women who complete us,” I look at Ally. “Or, at least I am. She doesn’t like Brooke and since I own majority of the club, it’s best if I retain your portion in addition to mine.”
He studies Ally before turning his attention back to me. “She’s not really going to go into the club, is she?” he asks. “She seems more like the homebody type who sits around reading or surfing the internet.”
Ally’s obviously offended by this and is quick to respond. “For your information, I was telling Colton just the other night that I wouldn’t mind going to the club, but he’s right. I won’t go there if Brooke is there and I’ll never like her.”
Tyler considers his options for a minute. “You know, I could be a dick and force you to take me to court to buy my portion of the club but I won’t do that. Have your lawyer fax me the necessary papers and I’ll have my attorney take care of them where I’m concerned and we’ll handle this like men.”
“Good,” I say. “Thank you. I’ll give Winston a call and have him get everything in order.”
“Okay. Anything new with you guys? I haven’t seen you in forever. I feel like I hardly know you anymore.”
I smile at Ally and say, “Well, we just bought The Gateway Times.”
“What?” he gasps. “Holy shit! Why would you buy the newspaper company?”
I nod toward Ally, “Because they were running it into the ground and she loves writing and I love the local news, so we’re joining forces to save the paper and make it better.” Tyler looks at me as though he doesn’t believe me.
“Come on now,” he says. “Don’t expect me to believe that you just wanted to save the newspaper or that you couldn’t get her a job working anywhere she wanted to. What’s the real story?”
“You know me too well,” I sigh. “They had a story on me—about the club—and were going to publish it. I had to do something to stop them and I knew that if I didn’t do something drastic, some very bad things would happen. Besides,” I blow Ally a kiss. “I’d do anything for that beautiful woman.”
She blushes as she sits across from me. “Stop it!” she says.
“In fact, after dinner, I’m about to help her commit a crime. We’re going to go down to The Gateway Times and break in so she can wipe the story from the computer before they learn that their new bosses aren’t going to let them publish the piece.”
Tyler laughs hysterically. “I fucking love it!”
After dinner, we bid him goodbye and hop in the car to get the deed done.
Chapter 18
Ally
Last night was a total success. Not only did Colton and I break into The Gateway Times to wipe the story out of existence but we also fucked in the lunch room on one of the chairs. We couldn’t help it. It was so dangerously fun and sexy to be doing something bad (the breaking in part) that it made us horny, and we thought, “What the hell?” and we went for it.
We were working on deleting the story from my computer and going through the desk drawers to make sure there were no exterior backups of it when we heard a noise near the hallway. At first, we thought someone could be in the building with us so we went to check it out. After searching all over, we discovered that it was just the soda machine that’s near the refrigerator in the lunch room. Once we were in there, something just came over us.
Colton grabbed me by the throat and pinned me against the soda machine, holding me in place as he kissed and nibbled a path from my earlobe down to my cleavage. When he got to my chest, he pulled my blouse down and began sucking on my nipples. I was too caught up in the moment to try to stop him so I went with it. The next thing I know, his pants are pulled down to his thighs and I’m on my knees sucking his cock as he moaned and pulled my hair.
He could have easily come down my throat—as he often does when I suck him dry before I swallow his load—but he insisted that I ride him. My eyes danced as he grabbed a chair and sat in it before patting his lap. He said, “Come, Princess. Come fuck me.” Seeing his completely stiff cock as he sat in the chair taunting me was enough to make me do anything he wanted. I quickly disrobed and climbed on his lap, putting my back against his chest as I leaned forward on the table and rode him until we both came. It was a fun, fast fuck and I’d totally do it again.
I’ve decided not to write today. Even though Colton doesn’t technically own The Gateway Times yet, I’ve decided that I’m done with Gretta’s bullshit. I’m not taking orders from her to write these silly little pieces anymore. I can’t believe that these were given to me as ‘busy work’ while Darcy was allowed to freely explore and write on her own. I was so mad when she told me that but it doesn’t matter now because it’s over. If I wanted to, I could fire each one of them and tell them they’re through—and I might just do that. It’d be nice to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Today I decide to spend the afternoon hanging out around the house doing nothing at all. I figure my days are numbered before I have to step up and take charge of the paper so I’m giving myself a mini vacation for the next couple of weeks. This afternoon, I’ve finally gotten Linda to agree to go get a mani and pedi with me. She admitted that it’s been a while since she’s had one so I told her there were no choices, she must go.
We spend the early morning sitting around talking, drinking coffee and just as we’re about to leave, my phone rings. It’s Darcy and I have no doubt she’s calling about the sale of the newspaper. I can’t help but smirk when I answer it. I’ve waited a very long time to put her in her place.
“Hello, Darcy,” I answer the phone. Linda’s eyes bulge when I say Darcy’s name and then she sticks her tongue out. I have to refrain from giggling.
“Hey, Ally,” she attempts to make her voice chipper but I can hear the worry and smell the fear from a mile away. “What’s this I hear that your man bought The Gateway Times?”
I knew that would be the first question out of her mouth. “Oh, yeah, that,” I say, gulping down the rest of my coffee before I place my mug inside the dishwasher. “He had his lawyer draw up a business proposal and they liked it, apparently. Everything should be finalized before the end of next week.”
She doesn’t know what to say so there’s a long pause before she finally speaks again. “That’s interesting. You know what else is interesting?”
“Hmm?” I ask. “What’s that?”
“The story that was on this computer is missing. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” she sneers.
“What story?”
She’s dumbfounded. “Uh, your story, the one you wrote.”
“Oh, yeah!” I pretend to act like I forgot. “Well, you said it yourself. The story that I wrote. I took my story and deleted it because I didn’t want it sold or published.”
I wait for her to say something sarcastic but it doesn’t come. “Heh,” she says, realizing she’s fighting a losing battle here. “So, do you know if everyone gets to keep their job? You’re not going to hire new p
eople are you?”
I’m quiet for a moment. “Some will stay, some will go. I am hiring a lot of new people and I—,” she interrupts me.
“Oh, please, Ally! Please! Let me keep my job. I know that I probably did and said a lot of things to piss you off, but don’t replace me, Ally. I need this job.”
I want to laugh at her and tell her that karma’s a bitch but even I have a heart that is big enough to include Darcy—although, I shouldn’t—but I decide to let her sweat it out for a bit longer. “You’re easily replaceable and after the way you treated me, I shouldn’t even keep you around to write the crappy articles that Gretta gave me to write. I know for sure that I’m firing her.” It’s true, too. She’ll be the first one to go after making me write those dumb articles for all these months.
“And I don’t blame you one bit, Ally, but please don’t fire me. I need this job so much,” her voice cracks and it sounds like she’s about to cry.
She sounds desperate to the point that I’m starting to feel sorry for her. “Geez, Darcy, okay. Why do you need this job so badly? I thought you were doing just fine.”
She sniffles and then the tears start to flow and they turn into sobs as she begins to tell me her story. “Well, you know the paper doesn’t pay us interns very much, so Greg was helping me out with my bills and stuff. You know, he’s been here so long and has so much seniority that he makes a decent salary that he could afford to do that.”
“Yeah?” I say, urging her to continue.
“Well, god, this seems like everything’s hitting me at once from all directions,” she blows her nose. “Someone—and I have no idea who—mailed pictures of Greg and me to his wife! His wife, Ally!”
It’s kind of funny because that’s what happens when you sleep with married men: their wives usually find out, but I don’t rub it in her face.
“You didn’t take them and mail them to her, did you, Ally?” she asks through sobs. “Because it ruined everything.”
“No, it definitely wasn’t me. What’d she do when she found out about you guys?” I ask.