The Society #StalkerProblems

by Ivy Smoak

  “Ew,” said Madison. She’d apparently completed her perimeter check for perverts. “They probably have AIDS, you know. By the way, this closet is even bigger than we thought. There’s actually three stories.”

  “Three? Are you serious?”

  “Yup. Did you really not see anyone build this place? That seems almost impossible.”

  “Vampire magic!” said Chastity. “I just wish we could have caught it on tape. Wait…did you ever set up that webcam I sent you when I was trying to convince you to be a camgirl a few months ago?”

  “I did not.”

  “Damn.” Chastity plopped down on one of the many couches. “We were so close to learning all his secrets.”

  “Were we?” I asked. “Because I’m pretty sure all the video would have showed us was what construction company he’d hired. What we really need is a camera in his apartment. Or his office.”

  “Ash! You’re a genius!”

  “I am?”

  “Yeah. Bugging his office is brilliant. Best case scenario he’ll just let his secret slip during a private phone call. Worst case scenario, he’ll give us enough hints to find Club Onyx, and then we go there and learn all his secrets the old-fashioned way.”

  I laughed. Or he gets us fired. “Of course. How did we not think of that sooner? Especially since bugging an office is so easy. Let me just call my contact at the CIA and get a few pointers.”

  Chastity rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. It’s not that hard to bug an office. I know Dexter has some equipment we could use.”

  “The IT guy that tricked you into getting naked during a game of D&D?”

  “That’s the one.” She pulled out her phone and texted him. He responded almost immediately. “Okay, he’s in.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yeah. I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist a good blowjob.”

  “You really don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind,” said Chastity. “He actually has a pretty nice dick. And I don’t know what his secret is, but his cum makes my skin so soft. Anyway…my job is easy. You’re gonna be the one doing all the hard work tomorrow.”

  I had a lot of questions about that cum comment. But I was a little more preoccupied with what she was going to make me do. And whether or not my skin was about to be soft too. “All the hard work?” I asked. “What exactly is your plan here?”

  “I’m not sure yet. Depends on the tech Dexter has available. But I do know one thing…”

  “Which is?”

  “One sec.” Chastity disappeared among the racks of clothes. When she reemerged, she was holding surprisingly classy work clothes. “You’ll need to wear this tomorrow.”

  “Okay…”

  “And this underneath.” She let the work clothes slide off her arms to reveal a hanger with some strappy blue lingerie.

  “Why exactly will I need to wear that?”

  “You’ll see.”

  ***

  “Did you get the tech?” I asked as Chastity and I walked into Tanner’s office building on Monday morning.

  “I did. Dexter was happy to help.”

  “I bet he was.”

  “Are you wearing what I told you to?” Chastity pulled on my blouse to look down my shirt. “What the hell? Where’s the blue lingerie I picked out?” The other people waiting for the elevator pretended not to hear that.

  “I thought you were joking.” I didn’t really. But I wasn’t prepared to seduce Tanner in the middle of the office. Or to do a striptease in the middle of our cubicles. Or whatever crazy thing Chastity had planned.

  “Eh, no big deal. The plan might work better without it.” She stepped onto the elevator.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.”

  I didn’t believe her. But I didn’t press for details until we were safely at our cubicle.

  Chastity pulled a tiny little USB drive out of her purse and put it on our desk. “So this is the bug.”

  “Is it a microphone? Or camera?” I turned it over in my hands. “Are you sure Dexter didn’t just give you the USB for a wireless mouse?”

  “Dexter wouldn’t dare screw me over. Especially after the things I did to him last night.”

  “Please don’t elaborate.”

  “Wanna see?”

  “No. I don’t need to see what you two did behind closed doors.”

  She stared at me for a second and then laughed. “Wow, not at all what I was offering. Although I’m happy to give you tips any time. All I’m going to say about last night is that he successfully invoked Single Girl Rule #27: If he makes you come, he can cum anywhere he wants.” She winked at me. “But really I was asking if you wanted to see how the tech works?”

  Where had he cum on her? And I thought it was just a blowjob? What had she been up to? I just nodded.

  Chastity took her phone out and put it on the desk a few inches away from the bug. At first, nothing happened. Then part of the bug started unfolding until it had 8 little legs. It scurried over to her phone and attached itself to the charger plug at the bottom.

  “Jesus!” I said, nearly falling out of my chair. “What the hell is this creepy thing?”

  “What did you expect from something called a bug?”

  “I don’t know. Like a little microphone that just sticks to the bottom of a desk. Or a camera that you put in a stuffed bear.”

  “That’s a nanny cam. Why would I blow Dexter to get one of those when I could just order it on Amazon?”

  “Because you love sucking dick?” And it really seemed like they’d done more than that…

  “Hmm…fair point. Anyway, this tech is a million times better than a microphone or a nanny cam. Because not only will we be able to hear Tanner’s conversation in his office, we’ll be able to hear them everywhere. And track his movement. And see all of the files on his phone.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Mhm.” She slipped me a piece of paper with a URL, username, and password.

  I followed the instructions on my laptop. Sure enough, an interface popped up that showed the home screen of a phone. I clicked on the gallery to make sure it was Chastity’s. Which was a mistake, because about 75% of her photos were naked mirror selfies. I quickly exed out.

  “Pretty impressive, huh?” asked Chastity.

  “I mean…it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. But yeah, you keep it tight.”

  “Thank you. But I was talking about the tech.”

  “Oh right.” Awkward. “Yeah, it’s amazing. So it’s just gonna scurry in there and hook up to Tanner’s phone and then we’re all set?”

  “Kinda. Dexter is working on a remote-controlled one that could do that, but for now, this one can only locate and run to a signal that’s within like 6 inches. Then it connects, uploads the malware, and runs away.”

  Sure enough, the bug had disengaged from Chastity’s phone and returned to its original position. I still had access to her phone on my computer, though. “I admit, this is cooler than I thought it would be. But should we really hack Tanner’s phone like this? He just made me the coolest closet ever. And got us freaking Spaceboy for the launch party. This feels like a betrayal.”

  “What’s a betrayal is that he keeps teasing you and then pulling away. If he would just man up and ask you out, then we wouldn’t have to do any of this. But noooo… Mr. Vampire boy has to be all secretive. And it’s not like we’re gonna sell his data to terrorists or something. We’re just going to track his every move and listen to all his conversations. And look through all his files. And his search history. No big deal.”

  “That feels like a pretty big deal.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” said Chastity, putting the bug back in her purse. “It’s better for you to just keep blindly pursuing him and then end up being melted in a vat of acid by the cartel he pissed off. Or if you’re worried about that, you could just stop hanging out with him. He’s not that great, anyway. Who needs private Spaceboy concerts and giant secret c
losets?”

  “Fine! I’ll do it.”

  “Good.” Chastity pulled some red lingerie out of her purse and tossed it at me. “Now go put this on under your clothes and we can get started.”

  I hid the lingerie under the table to try to avoid our coworkers seeing it. “Where did you get this?!”

  “I took it from your closet because I knew you’d be lame and not wear what I told you to.”

  “Is it really necessary?”

  “Yup. We need to get the bug close enough to his phone for it to latch on. And there’s only one way I see that happening.” She told me the plan. And as much as I hated it…she was right. The lingerie was necessary.

  Chapter 47 - Buggin’ Out

  Monday

  I slipped the bug into my bra and made sure I still had easy access to it. “Wish me luck.” And pray I don’t make a total fool of myself.

  “You got this,” said Chastity.

  I nodded and stood up. The plan was simple. Tanner always kept his phone in his jacket pocket whenever he went anywhere, so all I had to do was get the bug into that pocket. The tricky part was that I didn’t know exactly where his jacket would be. Generally, he either draped it over his chair or hung it up on his coat rack in the corner. Both of those scenarios would require a slightly different course of action. And since his blinds were pulled shut, I had no idea which scenario I was walking into.

  I hurried towards Tanner’s office. It was best to just get it over with before I was entirely drenched in nervous sweat. Evie tried to stop me, but I ignored her and barged right in.

  Tanner was talking to someone on speakerphone, but he stopped mid-sentence and stared at me as I pulled the door shut behind me.

  “Ash,” he said. “How can I help you?”

  “Thanks for the closet full of clothes, big boy.” Big boy? What the hell is wrong with me? And where is his jacket? It wasn’t on his chair. So that meant it was hanging up in the corner. “I thought you’d wanna see how they looked.”

  “The blouse fits you perfectly,” he said. “By the way, have you met…”

  “Shhhh,” I said, putting a finger to my lips. What am I doing? “Just watch.” I unbuttoned the blouse, tore it off, and chucked it into the corner, hoping to hook it on the coat rack with his jacket. Then I unzipped my skirt and did the same thing. Two shots at the coat rack were better than one. “So what do you think?” I asked, giving him a little shimmy for added effect.

  “I think you look stunning.” His eyes wandered to my breasts. “But I also think that you may have slightly misjudged this situation.”

  I gave him a funny look. “What do you mean?” As I said it, I caught a glimpse of movement in the corner. Fuck my life. “We’re not alone, are we?”

  “Nope.”

  I turned towards the corner. My aim had been spot on. Unfortunately, a man had been standing directly between me and the coat rack. He pulled my blouse and skirt off his head and looked at me like I was a crazy person.

  “Hi there,” I said. “Could you just put those on the coat rack for me? Also, please don’t look at me. And forget this ever happened.” God, the longer I stared at him, the more familiar he looked. Did I know him? I could feel my face turning red as I debated hurling myself out the window. But I didn’t want to ruin my new lingerie.

  He looked like he really wanted to hand them back to me instead, but didn’t want to engage with my craziness. So he hung my clothes up and then turned back around. He drew his eyebrows together, clearly perplexed by what the hell was happening.

  “I’m Ash, by the way.” I stuck my hand out for him. It seemed like the best course of action to pretend like I hadn’t just stripped down to my very revealing lingerie. And the fact that I hadn’t put my clothes back on once I realized he was there. But I weirdly felt confident in my outfit. I mean…Tanner said I looked stunning. I was practically beaming through my embarrassed red cheeks.

  “James. James Hunter.” He shook my hand but was very respectful about not staring at my body.

  “James Hunter?! I knew you looked familiar. Oh my God. I freaking love your wife. I mean, I don’t know her. But I’ve been watching her. In the tabloids. Not with binoculars. I’m not stalking her or anything.” I laughed nervously. James was even more handsome in real life than in pictures. I always hoped to meet him someday. I just thought I’d be wearing more clothes. Or less, depending on which of my daydreams we’re talking about…

  James cleared his throat. “Speaking of my wife, I’m not sure she’d be too thrilled about all this.” He put his hand in front of his face, trying to block me from his sight. “So I should probably get going.”

  “Why? I said I’m not a stalker.”

  “I was more concerned about the surprise striptease.”

  “Oh, right. Well if it makes her feel any better, it wasn’t meant for you. I can make sure you don’t get in trouble if you wanna just call her real quick. You could put her on speakerphone. I’ll explain everything. She’ll be cool with it. We texted once. I mean, kind of.” This didn’t feel like a great time to bring up the fact that I’d gone on a date with one of James’ best friends because his wife kind of catfished me. That catfishing had been one of the best moments of my life. The actual date had been hell.

  “Yeah…I’m not going to do that.”

  Tanner cleared his throat.

  “You know what?” I said. “I should probably get back to work. It was rude of me to interrupt your meeting. Just let me grab my clothes real quick…” I brushed past James and grabbed my clothes off the rack. I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to pull the bug out of my bra and slip it in Tanner’s jacket, but it was almost impossible to do with both of them watching me. “Ahem,” I said. “Can’t a girl have a little privacy while she dresses? Perverts…”

  Both of them turned away.

  Score! I had been worried that James being here had ruined everything, but really his presence had made my job easy. The original plan had just been to do a little striptease for Tanner and then hope that he’d be so transfixed staring at my ass that he wouldn’t notice me slipping the bug into his jacket. There was still a chance he would have spotted what I was doing. But with both their backs turned? No risk. I deposited the bug into Tanner’s jacket pocket and finished getting dressed.

  “It was so nice to meet you, James,” I said and then slipped out the door before the encounter could get any more awkward.

  “Well?” asked Chastity when I got back to our cubicle.

  “I just stripped in front of James Hunter. But mission accomplished.”

  “James Hunter?” asked Chastity. “As in…the billionaire who’s married to your idol? No way. You’re lying.”

  “Unfortunately I’m not lying.”

  “Well what happened? Did you blow both of them? Oh my God. I’m so freaking jealous right now!”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that a blowjob was completely unnecessary for this mission?”

  “And how many times do I have to tell you that you’re being silly, because you literally should use sex in this scenario. Single Girl Rule #25: Don’t be ashamed to use sex to get what you want.”

  “I didn’t use sex.”

  “Wait, so James Hunter was offering to let you suck his dick and you said no?”

  “No!”

  “So you did blow him?” She looked completely baffled. “You’re being very confusing right now.”

  “Chastity. There were no blowjobs. Or offers of blowjobs.”

  “Suuuure.” She winked at me. “But you still delivered the bug?”

  “Yup! Now we just have to wait for him to put his phone in his pocket.”

  It didn’t take long. Because ten minutes later, he and James exited his office and headed towards the elevator.

  I logged into the tracking website and watched his GPS tracker go from our office to a restaurant a few blocks away. We were able to listen in on their convo, but it was nothing exciting. Just something about
a potential joint venture between Hunter Tech and Rhodes VC.

  It was much more entertaining to poke around his phone.

  He had SO MANY CONTACTS. Like, thousands of them. Half of them sounded like dumb sluts. There were at least 20 Hannahs and even more Emilys. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any contacts called Club Onyx. Not that I would have called the number even if he had it. I was willing to do some crazy stuff to figure out Tanner’s secret, but I drew the line at cold calling.

  “Why did you start looking at his contacts first?” asked Chastity. “What is this, the early 2000s? You’ll find so much more by looking at his texts and emails. Oh! And his browsing history. What kind of porn do you think he’s been watching?”

  “Better yet…how about I just go straight to the Society app?” I clicked on his Tax Codes app. A login screen popped up. Damn it! My Society app kept me logged in. Tanner must have changed his settings after that time I’d grabbed his phone and gone to the app to prove he was in the Society.

  He didn’t have any social media apps, so I went to his email next. And his inbox was completely empty.

  “What kind of psychopath doesn’t have any emails?” I asked.

  “You’ve never heard of the inbox-zero theory to success?” asked Chastity. “Apparently lots of high-performing CEOs keep their inbox empty. It’s a thing. Check his sent folder.”

  Chastity was right - there were plenty of emails in his sent folder. But after about an hour straight of Chastity and I reading all his sent messages, we found that none of them had anything to do with the Society or what his secret might be. Same with his texts. Well…almost. There were a couple noteworthy threads.

  The first was his ongoing conversation with Evie. Not because it revealed his secret. But because they hadn’t exchanged a single nude photo. It was all business. Thank God.

  Then there was his conversation with someone named “Best Friend.” Again, it didn’t reveal his secret. But it was super adorable that he actually called someone his best friend.

  “Oh my God,” said Chastity. “I bet his best friend is so rich. And he sounds like a total stallion. Do you think Tanner would introduce me?”