Myka and the Millionaire

by Alexis Alvarez

  “What?” Myka grabbed at the laptop. She read aloud, “Gossip Rage has uncovered some super juicy tidbits about local millionaire investor Gabriel Chevalier. Are the long-whispered rumors true? The independently wealthy bachelor, a long-time donor to charities in the city, has a kinky as well as philanthropic bent, according to our source. He owns a sex dungeon where, according to Ms. Myka Thomas, couples gather to whip each other and engage in hard-core sex orgies together.

  Ms. Thomas told us that she’d visited the dungeon on occasion and was nearly forced into acts with which she wasn’t comfortable. ‘I was lucky to get out of there,’ Ms. Thomas said during a phone interview. ‘He’s not what you think he is. First you trust him, then he stabs you in the back.’ ”

  Myka clapped her hand to her mouth, feeling vomit in her throat. “It’s not true. I never talked to anyone at Gossip Rage.” She stood up, then slid to the floor, clutching her knees.

  “Myka?” Lourdes sat beside her, pulled her arm. “Look at me. Myka?”

  Myka’s phone rang, and Lourdes passed it over. “It’s Gabriel. Let it go to voicemail.” But Myka answered.

  “Myka.” It was the first time she’d heard his voice in over a month, and it still sent shivers of desire through her body, even with his tone. “I saw the article. Why would you do this?” He sounded angry and curt.

  “But I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me, Gabriel. I’m horrified at it, too.”

  His voice was cold. “You were so angry with me, and it seems coincidental that this just happened. Were you out to get revenge?”

  “You know I would never betray you like that, no matter how angry I am. Don’t you know me at all?”

  “Apparently I don’t. I’m incredibly disappointed, Myka.”

  “That’s me in the picture. Why would I want a naked picture made public? And how do you suppose I took it, huh? With my magic extra arms and levitation powers?” Her voice rose with frustration.

  “I don’t know where the picture came from,” shot back Gabriel. “I imagine that a reporter took it and reached out to my acquaintances for comments. I said it wouldn’t break me if the truth came out about my club. But what you told them, Myka, was far from the truth. This is slander. You signed a nondisclosure. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  Myka hung up abruptly. Her hands shook. “He doesn’t believe me.” She collapsed into the floor as Lourdes’ mother entered the room, concerned at their raised voices. Lourdes’ mother let loose a tirade of fast Spanish, and Lourdes replied at length, following her around the room, both of the gesturing, pointing. After a few minutes, Lourdes’ mom got on the phone in the other room, and Lourdes crouched down.

  “Myka. My mom has a good family friend, he’s an attorney. She’s going to call him right now.”

  Clutching her stomach, Myka blinked back tears. “Your mom is conservative, and she’s going to think I’m a total slut and then she’ll hate me. She’ll think I’m evil and anti-Godly and she’ll make me leave and then I don’t know where I’ll live. Everyone hates me!”

  “Myka. Stop it. Nobody thinks that. Please. My mom loves you like a daughter.”

  Lourdes’ mom came in and bent down. “Mija, stop it. Please don’t talk that way. You know you are always welcome here. We won’t judge.” She gave Myka a stern look. “You think I would turn you away because you have sex in a club? Because somebody took a picture they had no right to take?” She shook her head and grabbed Myka into a tight hug. “I may not approve of it all, but we will stand with you, mija, and help you through this.”

  Myka felt a crazy mix of relief, gratitude, and the urge to explain that she didn’t actually have sex in the club, she just hung out watching other people do that. Then she felt a surge of hysterical laughter, thinking about the completely awkward and pointless conversation that would be.

  Lourdes joined in the hug and added, “And Myka? There are going to be phone records, interview records. Eventually it will come out that it wasn’t really you. You should be the one getting mad—you should sue the Gossip Rage people.”

  “Why would somebody do this to me?” Myka’s head swirled without answers.

  “I know this is crazy, but do you have any enemies?” Lourdes was concerned.

  “Of course not.” Myka sat up. “The only person I can think of, even marginally, is that asshole Marcus from Club Sin. Maybe he’s got a grudge against me, and he figured that he could get to me like this?” She shook her head. “I don’t even think he knows my name, though. And how did anyone get my picture on private property? That’s creepy.” She felt a cold shiver along her spine. “Do you think I have a stalker? Oh, God.” She sucked in her breath. “I have the aerospace presentation tomorrow, and if anyone reads this, it might ruin my credibility, the whole project. What if they read it?”

  Lourdes bobbed her head. “The thing is, not everyone reads Gossip Rage. Some of their stuff goes viral, most doesn’t. This article might die out. Probably the people at your work are too smart to read these kinds of sites.” She gestured at her laptop.

  “But what if they do read it and think I said it? You’re smart, and you read it. Gabriel read it, somehow.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go tomorrow?” Myka tugged at her ponytail. “Maybe I’ll call Eric and tell him that I’m sick.”

  Lourdes pursed her lips. “If you don’t go, that seems like an advance admission of guilt, to me. Or cowardice.”

  Myka nodded. “Yeah. And it’s also bad, because I’d be leaving my team at the pinnacle of the project, and I’m better than that. I need to go do it, no matter how hard it is. I mean, this is my job, my life. I can’t just—back out of it.”

  Lourdes patted her shoulder. “If anyone asks, explain that someone slandered both of you, and that you’re retained an attorney. Stand strong.”

  Myka nodded and stuck up her chin. “You’re right. I’m going to do my best. I didn’t do anything wrong. There’s no reason to hide. And you know what? Probably nobody will have any idea that it’s me in the picture, or that I supposedly wrote that article. It’s going to be okay.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  As she entered the conference room the next day, Myka’s heart beat double time. She approached Eric, checking his face, wondering if she was going to have to explain things that shouldn’t have ever been brought out into the open. But he was busy setting up his laptop and projector system, while the other team members were chatting about slides. Everything seemed utterly normal.

  Myka took a deep breath. If she could make it through this next hour, she’d be home free. Maybe Lourdes was right. People weren’t going to bother with stupid gossip websites. She started to relax, getting back into her work zone.

  Eric tapped her shoulder. “Here comes Marcelline Pratt, our CEO.”

  A regal woman in her sixties strode into the room, flanked by several executives. She was dressed in an elegant cream-colored skirt and jacket, and her hair was pulled into a taut bun. “You must be Myka Thomas,” Marcelline said, extending a hand for a firm shake. “I’ve heard good things about you.”

  “Thank you,” responded Myka. “We’re proud of our work.”

  As Eric began to talk, Gabriel slid into the room and took a seat at the back. Myka felt her whole body tingle and her stomach lurched with nerves. His icy face let her know that his emotions were anything but tender, but she breathed in and focused on her work.

  Eric wrapped up his portion and announced, “I’ll turn the floor over to Myka Thomas, our lead IT engineer. She’ll talk you through the program code and our proprietary design plans.”

  Myka talked for about an hour, gaining confidence as she went. She felt relief as she finished with, “We’ve beta-tested the program for several weeks. As of this week, we feel that the system is ready to be shipped to the client. I’ll now open the floor for questions.”

  The CEO spoke. “I’m extremely pleased with the outcome of the project. We’ll meet next week to
finalize the shipment to LockStar. I want to thank the team for their hard work.”

  The room burst into applause. Even Gabriel clapped, although his face was stony. Suddenly the CEO broke off as her cell phone trilled, once and again. At the same time, Eric’s phone began to ring, and Gabriel’s, and the rest of her immediate team members, a symphony of mismatched modern music.

  “What’s going on?” Myka asked. “Is this an emergency alert? Are we supposed to evacuate?”

  Nobody answered. They stared at their phones, some scrolling. Then Myka’s phone trilled with a text message from an unknown number, and it contained images. Curious to see what everyone was examining in such detail, she pulled them up and almost passed out.

  There was a grainy image of her, Myka, standing at the St. Andrew’s cross in the Dark Sin club, her skirt pulled up to expose her buttocks, her eyes closed in an expression of ecstasy. And there was Taylor, holding the flogger.

  The caption read:

  How do you like your superstar IT geek now? She’s a sex slave and a gossip writer. Check it all out and see if you still want this skanky, double-crossing bitch working for you. I’d fire her if I was you.

  More pictures followed: Taylor crouching at her feet, binding her ankle into the leather cuff; Lili’s huge naked breasts squashed into Myka’s shirt during a hug. And finally there was a link to the Gossip Rage article that she’d supposedly written.

  Gabriel cursed. “Putain. Mais c’est foutu!”

  Myka gulped and the room swam. After the shock of being accused of slandering Gabriel, the stress of the breakup and losing the band tour job, and now this, she simply couldn’t take any more. The dizziness started in the back of her eyes, a sort of faint buzz, then it grew stronger, tunneling through her brain like a swarm of bees. And now it was a roaring waterfall, gushing through her entire body. She sank into a chair, barely registering Gabriel’s clipped voice.

  “The meeting’s over, everyone. Please head on out. Eric, Marcelline, everyone who got that page—stay. Thank you.” He closed the door behind the rest of the people, then bent down by Myka. “Are you all right?”

  Myka shakily stood up, trying to push Gabriel’s hand away, but he gripped her waist firmly. “I’m a little shaky. I didn’t eat this morning, and I haven’t been sleeping well.”

  Gabriel grabbed her a water. “Drink it.” He faced the group. “Give me your phones. Immediately.” He took the phones in turn and deleted the text, then cleared his throat. “Those were private photos taken during non-business time, and whoever sent it has no respect for this entire team. You are going to act like you never saw that, do you understand? And there will be no gossiping, repercussions, or insinuations about Myka. Am I clear?”

  Nods. Gabriel continued. “Myka is an excellent programmer and this team is lucky to have her. You all know it. This project could never have been completed on time without her. If she receives any harassment, even a wink in the hall, you will answer to HR and to me personally. I hope you understand my meaning.” He glared around the room.

  Marcelline cleared her throat. “Gabriel, please. Although I agree with the sentiment. First, Myka, are you all right?”

  Myka looked the CEO in the eye. “No matter what you saw on that text, the project is completely topnotch, professional work. All the way. I’ll step down from the team if you think it’s best, but please don’t penalize the other team members for what you saw.” She bit her lip. “I’ve retained an attorney to sue the Gossip Rage website for slander. I had nothing to do with the article.”

  The CEO’s voice held compassion. “Myka. You will not step down. In fact, we’re going to hire you for the next big project.” She looked around the room, making eye contact with the other team members, then returned her gaze to Myka. “I don’t care what people do in their personal time. I do care about my team members being threatened or slandered, and my attorneys will be at your disposal.” She looked around the room again. “Gabriel is correct. There will be no gossip about this. Nobody will treat Myka differently. Anyone found mocking her or giving undue attention will be held liable up to termination. Are we clear?”

  Marcelline went around the small group, obtaining verbal affirmation from each person. “All right. Team, thanks for your excellent work. Please head back to your offices. I need to speak with Gabriel and Myka in private.”

  Once they were alone, Myka shook her head. “I appreciate your support. But I can’t work with them anymore. They’ve seen those pictures of me. They’ve seen me at my most vulnerable. I can’t even bear it. People are going to laugh, make jokes, talk. I’ll have to quit.”

  Gabriel bristled. “Nobody will do any of that. I’ll see to it.”

  The CEO shot him a look, and took Myka’s hand. “People may do those things. But time will pass and people will forget. And your professional behavior and quality work will help you through it. HR is available to you if you receive any negative comments or any issues. But you’re strong too, and you can get past this. I expect no less. Whoever sent those pictures wants to break you, make you lose your job. Don’t give them what they want.”

  Myka nodded. “You’re right. Okay. I’ll do my best.”

  The CEO ensured Myka had the appropriate contact numbers, then said, “My lawyer, Alexandra Hamilton, will be in contact. I also have a private detective. Alexandra will help manage whether we need him.” After a few more encouraging words, she departed, leaving Myka and Gabriel alone.

  When Gabriel spoke, his voice was low. “You weren’t vulnerable in those pictures. You were enjoying yourself. You’re vulnerable now, Myka. Part of your pain is my fault. Let me help.”

  Myka shook. “Why?”

  “I still care about you,” he said harshly.

  Myka was urgent. “You need to believe me, Gabriel. I had nothing to do with that article. You don’t know how much you hurt me by thinking it was me.”

  “I know.” His voice was bleak. “I called you immediately after I saw the website, when I was angry. I lashed out at you before I thought it through. But then I reread the thing, and the style wasn’t yours. And I do know you better. I don’t know why I keep—” He broke off and swore. “Myka. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry about what? Sorry that I got fired from the tour? Or that you believed, even for a short time, that I’m a bitch who would slander you? Sorry that I got my reputation destroyed at my dream job because now everyone has seen kinky pictures of me? God, Gabriel. I don’t know how I can look anyone in the eye again.” She buried her face in her hands. “Or are you sorry because you treated me like an idiot because I fell for you? Sorry that you were harsh and cruel to me on purpose? Sorry that you hid your pregnant ex from me and then I got to find out like a really special surprise?”

  Gabriel cleared his throat and seemed about to speak, but Myka interrupted before he got a chance.

  “Oh, one more.” Myka’s tone was sarcastic. “The biggest one of all. Maybe you’re sorry that you hid the truth from the beginning? I should have seen the pattern. From the first night when you sneak-interviewed me, to keeping your club a secret, to—to where we are now, where you never talked about your ex or came clean about your past with her. Maybe you’re sorry for that?”

  “I’m sorry for all of it,” he said quietly.

  “Well, I’m sorry too.” Her voice was brittle.

  “Let me take you home,” he suggested.

  “I don’t have a home. I got fired from the band job. I’ll take a cab to Lourdes’s house. I’m crashing there until I figure out what to do next.”

  “At least let me walk you out.” Gabriel put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off. If she couldn’t have all of him, she didn’t want any.

  * * *

  Myka met with Alexandra Hamilton, the CEO’s attorney, who contacted Gossip Rage to let them know there would be a lawsuit. Gossip Rage immediately responded with requests to mediate instead, saying they could clear things up without resorting to the publicity and cost o
f a trial. Myka was considering it but she was also struggling to keep her head above water.

  There was so much ugliness clotted together in the deep wound of the past few months, and it was a slow heal. She started a yoga class and also began seeing a therapist, but it was the crying sessions with Lourdes and the drinks with Lili and Dax that kept her sane.

  To her relief, there was no fallout at Aero Logistics. Eric and the team approached her one by one, red-faced but sympathetic, and let her know that they weren’t going to say anything. As the weeks passed, she found herself walking with her usual confidence, back to her normal work persona. Strange, but this too was passing. Something that had seemed so fundamentally earth-shattering had rumbled on through at a low level on the Richter scale, barely rearranging the trinkets on the shelves of her career.

  She went house-hunting in the further suburbs where she could afford something, but her efforts there lacked ambition. She was still too sad to get excited about a new start, because this particular new start was anything but fresh and beautiful.

  But she was determined to do things differently. She’d engaged in a complicated mix of getting lost in the means, as a hope of getting to the end she desired, and instead of making progress, she’d gotten stranded. “Next time,” she promised herself. “I’ll be more careful. I’ll make better choices about what I put up with just to get what I think I want.” She was determined to insist on honesty and full disclosures with work, with friends, and in love, assuming she found that again.

  She eventually responded to one of Jessica’s outreach calls and agreed to meet her for drinks. When they met in a local café, Jessica flew over and gave her a hug. “I was sad about you and Gabriel. You seemed so right together, before…”

  Myka shook her head. “We were just about sex, short-term. When I got too emotionally involved, he backed off.” She shrugged. “It is what it is. How are you doing? How’s Brett?”