by Kayt Miller
“Good. Okay, I’ve got these in order. I’ll read through these and get a summary for you. You go through his other email to see what we’re actually dealing with here.”
David nods.
We work in companionable silence for a good thirty minutes, and it feels just like old times. It’s how we have always worked together. It feels natural. I break the quiet by saying, “Wow, the two of them are something.”
“Lester and Gretchen?”
“Yeah. I actually think he knew she set up his Vice Presidents for sexual harassment. He doesn’t come right out and say it but he alludes to it.”
“Not surprising. He’s gotten himself into a fucking mess,” David says pointing to his screen. “Going back to the day before the day Beranger went public, he was trying to scrounge up a bunch of cash. He’s dragged some big names into this thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if he brought his own company down with the amount of money he put on this thing. It looks like two point five million dollars.”
“Why? Why would he do that? Did he base this entirely on the scribbles on that newspaper?” I ask pointing to my doodles. “If so, he’s lost his touch.”
“He’s out of touch, alright. My name is mentioned in almost all of these emails. People thought I had the scoop on this deal and he was promoting it based on that.” David pulls his laptop closer to himself and types. “Oh, here we go.”
“What?” I stand and walk to the other side of the table so I can see what he’s got on his screen.
David places his palm on my hip and nudges me closer to the table and his computer. “They want to see me after my appointment.”
“Well, that’s interesting,” I say sarcastically. I stand and peer down at him. He looks good––better than I remember with his longer hair and his five o’clock shadow. “Are you ready to meet with them?
I’m staring at him as he continues. He looks up at me, and before he speaks, I feel his palm make small circular movements on my hip almost absently, “Probably not but I’d rather get this over with, truthfully.”
“I get that.” I can’t say more because his hand has slowly moved around to my ass. When I look back down at him, his expression has changed from distracted to seductive. His eyes are dilated, and the bright blue has turned dark. I take a breath at the sight.
His other hand moves to the other hip, and he pulls me to him until I’m standing between his legs. “I’ve missed you, Cass. Say you forgive me, please?” He actually sounds a little desperate.
“I forgive you.”
He moves his right hand up until it’s at the back of my neck. He’s gently nudging me forward. Just as he’s about to kiss me, I add, “But, if you let your assistant buy me a gift again, I’m done.”
I can tell he thinks I’m kidding but when he gets a look at my expression he keeps his smile at bay. He looks at me sincerely now, “I won’t. I promise.”
I bend down for him and place my lips on his. “I mean it, David. You’re going to need to treat me with kid gloves for a while. I’m not that confident in your ability to not screw this thing up with us.”
This time he laughs. “Jesus, babe. Of course, I’ll screw this up. You know me, right? It’s not in my DNA to always make good choices with you. Please, just keep that in mind.” He slides his lips over mine back and forth. Sucking my bottom lip into my mouth, I feel my nipples bead. I open my mouth and lick his top lip.
“Fuck, Cassie. I need to touch you.”
“We don’t have time, it’s…” I don’t get the rest out because he’s kissing me again as both of his hands slide up my outer thighs lifting my skirt as they go. “David?” I pant.
“Please? I need you,” he almost whimpers.
“I guess we have time––if we’re quick.” One hand is now inside back of my panties while the other is cupping my sex. His thick finger is circling my clit, and I’m so wet now I’m dripping onto his fingers. “I need you too, David,” I whisper.
That’s all he needs as he pulls my undies down. I step out of them and wait. David grabs my hips and slowly turns me to face the table. “Hands on the table, honey. This is going to be fast and hard. Are you ready for me?”
I nod panting, “Uh, huh.”
I turn and feel cool air on my backside. My skirt is pulled up around my hips, and his warm hands are sliding on my bottom. “God, such a fucking amazing ass, Cassie.”
I jerk when I hear the slap and feel the sting. “What was that for?” I squeak. He spanked me!
He leans into my back. He’s still wearing his shirt. I feel the warm air hit my ear when he whispers, “That’s for pulling away from me after I told you I fucking loved you, baby. I love you so much. It nearly killed me to think you were done with me.” I hear his belt buckle then his zipper as slowly slides it down. “Spread your legs, Cass.”
Still in my heels, I step one leg out to the right the other left. “Perfect.” He murmurs. I feel his hard cock sliding between my legs and make a tiny sound that I know he heard, “You want this, Cassie? You want my big cock in that pretty little pussy of yours?”
I nod because I can’t speak.
I feel him at my entrance. I arch my back and stick my bottom out and hear him groan, “God, I’m gonna fuck you so hard, honey.”
In one thrust he’s completely inside of me and I feel chills run over my entire body. My nipples are hard as nails, and I want more. “More,” I pant.
“Oh, I’m gonna give you more. Hold onto the edge of the table, Cass. Hold on tight.” He sides out and then pumps right back in one hard thrust. My face nearly hits the top, so I slide my hands down a little further to grasp the edge and push my ass back into him. “Jesus, baby. That’s good. You push back as I fuck you, okay?”
I nod and wait. He slides out, and as he moves in, I push back. “Oh, God. So deep,” I murmur. We work in tandem pumping into each other until I feel myself squeeze him so hard. I can’t control myself. I’m so close to coming, and in seconds I’m moaning out his name.
“Fuck, Cassie. You feel so damn good. I’m almost there. Hang on.” In moments he presses into me and stills. Moaning my name, David comes inside of me. “Fucking amazing, Cassie. It’s always so good with you, honey.” He kisses my neck and catches his breath while he’s still inside me. As he slides out, I feel his seed trickle down the inside of my leg.
I turn to him as he bends down and picks up my panties and holds them for me so I can step back into them. “I should go clean up.”
He pulls up my underwear and leans in, “I like the idea that my come is all over you, Cassie. I like knowing you smell like me. You’re mine, and I want everyone to know it,” he says huskily as he gives me a soft kiss on my lips.
Why is that so damn sexy? “Okay,” I whisper back.
Chapter 32: David
We walk to the Tribune building holding hands the entire way. Since it’s only a few blocks from my place, we’re there with fifteen minutes to spare. Checking out the list of offices on the huge information board in the lobby, we see the Finance section is on the seventh floor.
No one can just walk into the Tribune office, so we stop at security and tell the security guard we’ve got an appointment with Kevin Ross. They pick up the phone and place a call. The guard hangs up the phone and hands us both visitor passes and explains how to navigate up to Kevin’s floor and office.
I’m fidgeting in the elevator, something that’s not typical behavior for me. I’m normally pretty confident and cool, but this whole thing has caused me to lose some of my mojo. I feel a small hand squeeze mine. I turn and smile at my beautiful girl, “It’s going to be okay,” she says sweetly, “You’ve got this.” She runs her hand down my tie and tugs slightly. “You’ve got on your lucky tie. Nothing bad can happen when you’re wearing that, right?”
“You’re right.” Cassie suggested I changed out of the tie I was wearing into this one before we left my place. “Thanks for thinking of it.” I smile back at her as the doors ding open. “Here we g
o.” I squeeze her hand and then let it go.
At reception, I ask for Kevin Ross. We’re given directions that lead us back to a large glass-walled conference room. No one is in the room yet, but we head inside anyway. We sit next to each other facing out toward their large newsroom. People are bustling around at a frantic pace––probably working on last minute stories and changes for the next edition.
“Busy place,” Cassie says like she’s reading my mind.
“Hectic but I bet it’s never dull. I…”
Before I can finish my thought, the door opens, and a man about my age walks in with a woman about Cassie’s. We both stand. I hold my hand out to the man, “You must be Kevin. David Flynn.” I turn to Cassie and start to say, “This is Cassandra Darrow, my…”
“Business partner,” she finishes.
I blink at her, and for the first time in our tenure, I see her as exactly that, my partner––in everything.
The woman with Kevin raises her hand to me, “Chastin Caverly. Editor.” She shakes Cassie’s hand then adds, “Nice to meet you, Cassandra.”
“Caverly? Do you know a Malcolm Caverly?” asks Cassie.
“I think I do,” Chastin smirks. “He’s my son.”
“Wow, really? We went to Loyola together. I love Malcolm.”
She loves Malcolm? Who the fuck is Malcolm?
“How is he?” she asks interrupting my jealous thoughts.
“He’s terrific. He’s got a son who is almost three now and one on the way. Crossing fingers it’s a girl,” she winks. “I can’t wait to buy some of those adorable dresses.”
“I know what you mean,” Cassie chuckles. “I’m so happy for him. Tell him I said hello, would you?”
As long as that’s the only thing she does. Cass doesn’t need to be rekindling any relationship with Malcolm Caverly. No way.
“I sure will, Cassandra.” Chastin pauses and leads us back to the table. “Let’s get started. Tell me why you’re here.”
Cassie begins, “We’re here to clear David’s name and to give you an amazing story. That is if you agree to write and print a retraction.” Cassie turns to look at Kevin as she continues, “David’s career may be irreparably damaged by your reporting, Kevin. Did you attempt to contact David to get a quote from him?”
Kevin looks at David when he responds, “Uh, I called your office. Your secretary told me you didn’t want to speak to the newspaper.”
I start to sputter when Cassie continues talking. “You made one attempt to speak to him? That doesn’t sound like you did your due diligence. He’s got a landline at his home that’s listed. Did you call his home? Did you email him? Did you search for him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram?” She looks at Kevin with the fiercest expression I’ve ever seen.
“Uh, no.”
Cassie doesn’t stop there. “Because, Kevin, if you had. You would have discovered some serious discrepancies with Gretchen Ingot’s story.”
“Gretchen Ingot?”
I finally speak, “Yes. She’s Lester Ingot’s niece.”
Chastin looks at Kevin, and she doesn’t look happy. “Okay,” sighs, Chastin, “Let’s see what you’ve got then we can talk about our next step.”
With that, David and I pull out the printouts showing the emails between Gretchen and Lester along with Lester’s emails around the time of the IPO.
Chastin’s expression is grim. She sifts through the stack of papers asking, “Do I want to know how you got these?”
I speak first, “No.”
“Shit,” she mutters. “So, what you’re saying is that Lester used information that he took from your desk without your permission…”
“Misinformation,” I correct her.
“Right. Misinformation. He then took that info…misinformation and invested heavily into Beranger Aeronautics. When the shit hit the proverbial fan, he turned this around to be your fault.”
“In a nutshell, yes,” replies David. “Here, let me show you this.” David pulls out his phone and brings up the app for his office videos.” This is Lester sitting at my desk. He was waiting for me as I exited my bathroom. Watch this.”
We wait as Chastin and Kevin see the exchange about Beranger and why David hadn’t invested. It’s, at least, partial proof that David was smart enough to stay away from that IPO.
“Interesting,” says Chastin. “What about the memo?”
We both laugh when she mentions Gretchen’s handy-work, “That was all Gretchen. The woman can’t spell. I’ve got memos saved showing other examples.”
“Not gonna lie, I was a little concerned when I thought you wrote that,” laughs Kevin. He really shouldn’t be laughing. He fucked this thing up royally.
I ignore the dumb-ass Kevin and show two more videos. The first shows Lester searching David’s desk, the second shows Gretchen and Lester breaking into his drawer to access passwords.
“Our reporting estimates he invested over two million. Have you heard anything on your end?”
“No. I’ve been asked to meet with the board of directors tonight, though. I may know something after that.”
“The board? Why?”
“For the same reason, I’m here now. They think this was my doing.”
Chastin stands, “We’ll get a retraction printed for the morning. We’re going to follow-up on this information and do real research,” she says looking at Kevin. “May I make copies of these emails?”
“Sure.”
“I’d love the full scoop about this when the dust settles––if you’d give it to me. I’ll be sure you’re the hero and not the villain,” asks Kevin.
We look at each other then back at Kevin. “He is the hero in all of this,” Cassie says determinedly.
“Right. Of course, Cassandra. I didn’t mean anything…”
“It’s okay,” I respond. “We can talk when we both know more. We’ll see ourselves out.” I take Cassie by the hand and lead her out through the newsroom and into the elevator. Once inside I lean down and kiss her lips. “You were amazing in there.”
“Thanks,” she smiles up at me.
“For the record, I loved the sound of Cassandra Darrow and David Flynn, Business Partners.”
She smiles up at me again. “We did make a great team. It's a shame you screwed the pooch on all of that,” she says laughing.
I groan, “I know. Believe me, I know! But, we shouldn’t give up on the idea of working together again. We’d be unstoppable.”
Nodding, Cassie squeezes my hand. “Maybe that’s just the job opportunity I’ve been waiting for––as long as we’re equal partners. I’m not going back to being your Administrative Assistant.”
“Of course not. If we work together again, it’s as partners. Equals.” I lean down to kiss her again and smile thinking of one word: Wife.
Chapter 33: David
Cassie and I part ways outside the Tribune building. We make plans to meet back at her place after my meeting with the board. She’s going to order take-out as soon as I let her know I’m on the way. It’s really domestic, and I’ve gotta say, I don’t hate it.
I kiss her lips and then her beauty mark for good luck. I don’t think I need my tie anymore now that I’ve got her, but it doesn’t hurt to double up on my luck just now. I email Peter Valley to let him know my meeting is over. In minutes he responds, “We’re in the large conference room next to Lester’s office. See you soon.”
“Shit. I’m nervous as hell.”
I search for a number on my phone and hit ‘send.' When she answers I say, “Sandy? I need some encouragement right about now. I’m about to walk into the Lion’s Den.”
“Huh? What’re you talking about? I’m lost.”
“I spend the walk to the office telling her all about my work drama.”
“Jeez, dude. You should just quit that job. It sounds toxic.”
“Strange. I hadn’t given that any consideration. I guess I always pictured myself at IIM forever. That is until all of the shit hit the f
an. Now, I can’t think of anything else.”
“Lots of other things a guy like you could do for a living. You could help Mick with Mick’sology. If you two hooked up, things would actually start happening.”
“Damn, I never considered that.” It’d be amazing to work on a project like that–to nurture something––watch it grow. I bet Cassie would be a fantastic partner on that project as well. The four of us, Roni, Mick, Cassie, and me––we’d be unstoppable.
“Maybe you should. If this meeting goes as badly as I think it’s going to go, it’s an option.”
“I like options.” For the first time since I was promoted, I feel a sense of relief and hope. Goose bumps are breaking out on my arms, and I smile into the phone. “God, I love you, Sandy. You’re the best.”
“Ah, you’re so sweet. You owe me, asshole. Dinner and something real pretty from Crate and Barrel.”
“Alright. We’ll go get you something next week.” My sister loves home décor. She dabbles in interior design, but her real job is a self-employed Digital Strategist. Yeah, sounds pretty fancy but she’s really good at it. Her job is basically helping clients with their web presence tweaking social media, making the company websites more streamlined, and analyzing demographic data.
“Sweet. Okay. Good luck and call me when you’re done with the Inquisition. I’ve got a meeting here in a few minutes. If you get my voicemail, leave me a detailed message. Okay?”
I groan, “Okay.” By the time we hang up, I’ve made it to IIM. I make my way up to the top floor doing my best to keep my nerves in check. Thinking of working with Mick and Cassie helps a lot. If this goes down the way I think it will, I’ve got an out.
I knock on the conference room door, “Come in,” I step inside. I look around the room and see a table full of angry faces. Lester sits front and center looking smug. Peter Valley’s expression, however, is neutral.
I nod at the table and speak first, “You wanted to see me?”
I hear a few insincere chuckles around the room. “You could say that,” mumbles Peter. He looks at Lester who nods like a king on his fucking throne. Peter turns back to me, “We’re not sure where to start with you, Dave. You seem to have fucked us all over.”