by King, Jayna
“Prosecco?” she asked, sitting with her knees together and pointed to one side—a position that would have been prim and proper had it not been for the fact that her skirt was hiked up just far enough that I could see the top of her stockings. Black lace, of course.
“Hell, yeah,” Gordon answered, in true rockstar form. “Boys, we’re on tour. Let’s fuckin’ enjoy it!”
I tried to tell myself that Natalia didn’t hold my gaze any longer than she had with Gordon or Rob when she handed me the flute of sparkling wine. I knew she had, though. Goddamn, I’d just gotten to Italy, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it out of the country without doing something I’d regret.
My last phone call with Tatum had been tense. I’d finally had to tell her that the tour was sponsored by a porn star—the very same porn star I’d be tattooing on camera when we finished the tour in Amsterdam. I’d told Tatum that I wouldn’t sleep with anyone else but her, and I’d promised I’d be on the first plane home to Vegas when the tour ended. It wasn’t so much that she acted like she didn’t believe me; it was more like she didn’t really care. I’m a man of my word, but I had a strong feeling that Natalia was going to put me to the test.
I stared out the window as I drank my wine, trying to pay attention to the city—one I never really thought I’d ever have the chance to visit. I hadn’t looked at the hotels we were booked into, but Rob had assured us he’d insisted on suites in some of the top hotels in each city. I knew I wouldn’t have any other chance in my life to enjoy such VIP treatment, and I was determined to soak it all up. The buildings—many of them with rooftop terraces and trailing plants—didn’t look like anywhere else I’d ever been.
We exited the highway and wound through streets so packed with little cars and scooters that I couldn’t imagine how anyone managed to avoid daily fender benders. I lost track of the number of sights Natalia pointed out, and it was as we drove by the Colosseum, Gordon and Rob practically hanging out the window, that Natalia caught my eye. She’d hiked her skirt up even higher on her stocking-clad legs, and before I realized what she was doing she spread her knees far apart, giving me a full view of her perfectly shaved, completely naked pussy. I had an instant erection. She spread her knees even further, and I could see her perfect pink opening glistening beneath her modest black suit. It was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. This beautiful Italian woman was offering herself to me, and all I could think was how upset Tatum would be if she found out.
Gordon turned to talk to Natalia, and she quickly put her knees together and slid her skirt down over her thighs. I wasn’t sure if he’d realized what had been going on.
Glad we had a bit of a drive before I’d have to stand up, when we pulled in front of the hotel I was relieved my hard-on had subsided.
“You are very near to some of the best shopping in Rome,” Natalia told us as we climbed out of the limo. “You can find perfumes, scarves, shoes, and even lingerie, should you wish to shop for a girlfriend.” She looked straight at me. “Or a mistress.”
I felt turned on and flustered all at the same time. “I think we’ll be too busy to shop. I have appointments scheduled starting tonight, I think.”
“Yes, you do,” Natalia said, putting her hand through my arm. “Pussy Katt herself will be there this evening to meet you and watch you work. Do you mind if I accompany her? I would love to watch you. I might even get some more ink myself.”
“You have tattoos?” I was surprised, given her elegant appearance.
“Si,” she answered with a smile. “Just let me know if you would like to inspect them. It’s something best done in private, though. They are in rather … intimate places, Reed.”
Jesus, I was going to melt down if I didn’t get away from her. “Maybe later,” I said, extracting myself from her clutches. “I have those calls to make.”
She got us checked in at the front desk and went with us to all three rooms to make sure we were pleased with the accommodations. She saved my room for last, so—of course—I was alone with her.
“So, what do you think?” she asked, turning slowly around to face me from the middle of the large suite.
I was stunned. The room was spectacular. “It’s wonderful.” I walked to the window and looked out, surprised to see the Colosseum not far away. “Wow, the view’s magnificent.”
“Glad you like it.”
Natalia’s voice had come from the other room, so I followed her to look at the rest of the suite. I stopped in my tracks when I entered the bedroom. She was bent over the end of the large bed, one knee up and her skirt pulled up to reveal the perfect curve of her ass.
“What do you think of the view in the bedroom, Reed?” she asked, turning to look at me over her shoulder.
“I think it looks like a view my girlfriend would dislike.”
“Oh, I don’t mind if your girlfriend joins us in bed. I like women very much.”
I turned around and walked out of the room. I couldn’t stay there without touching her, and I knew if I touched her, I’d end up balls deep in no time. I was not going to break my promise to Tatum.
Natalia walked back into the living room, seemingly unperturbed by my abrupt rejection of her offer. “You know, if you’d like to see what you’re missing out on, you can check out my YouTube channel.” She dropped a business card on the desk. “Take a look. I’ll see you this evening.” She kissed me on both cheeks and left the room.
I was dying to see her YouTube channel, but I had a feeling I knew what would be on there. She worked for a porn star. She was clearly in the same line of work. Maybe when I finished my day, I’d take the time to pull up a video or two. Jerking off wasn’t cheating, after all, and since Tatum wasn’t with me, I was clearly going to have to take matters into my own hands.
6 -- Tatum
I was just about to leave the office to pick up some lunch when the phone at my desk rang. I looked at it, a little surprised because the office phones hardly ever rang. In fact, I’d wondered why we even had phones on the desk, but my boss had shushed me right away and told me one of the partners was a bit of a Luddite. Apparently he’d have preferred it if we sent smoke signals to our colleagues and clients. I laughed as I wondered how he handled email.
“Tatum Monroe,” I answered with a smile.
“Ms. Monroe, you don’t know me, but I have something you need to hear.”
Well, that was certainly unusual. “Okay.” I pulled a pen from the cup on my desk and flipped my legal pad to a fresh page.
“You are acquainted with a Tina Monroe, I assume?”
I was instantly apprehensive. “Yes.”
“A messenger will arrive with a folder for you. The contents are yours to deal with as you see fit.”
“What’s in the folder?”
“I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. And if you tell anyone where you got the folder from, I will not only deny it, but I’ll have you charged with theft.”
“I haven’t stolen a thing! Who is this?”
“Your father is an old friend of mine, and I recently came across some paperwork that … well … concerns me. I want someone who’s in a position to act to see it before it’s too late to stop what’s going to happen.”
“Look, mister. This is all mysterious and shit, but what the hell is going on?”
“You’ll know as soon as you open the folder. It should be there shortly. And don’t forget. If you tell anyone I gave it to you, you will regret it.”
He hung up.
I replaced the phone and shook my head, having trouble processing what I’d just heard. I decided to head to the front desk just in case the folder came early, hoping I could see who delivered it. If I was going to piece this little mystery together, I wanted to have all the information I could gather.
“Has anything arrived for me?” I asked the young woman at the front desk.
“Let me look,” she said, turning in her chair to scan the boxes labeled with each employee’s name. “Ms. Monro
e. There’s an envelope for you.”
“When did it arrive?”
“No idea. I’ve been here since eight-thirty except for a couple of bathroom breaks, but I haven’t had anything arrive via messenger, and the mail’s not here yet.”
“Hm,” I said, taking the folder from her outstretched hand. “Thanks. Let me know if anything else arrives.”
“Will do.”
I carried the large envelope back to my desk and examined it on the way. It didn’t have any markings on the outside except for my name and the name of my firm. I opened it and slid out a plain black pocket folder. In the left hand side, I found copies of one month of statements from the equity group that I knew handled many of my father’s investments. I skimmed the papers, noticed both my father’s and Tina’s names attached to the account, and I also noticed several large withdrawals: one for seventy thousand dollars about two weeks ago, and a more recent one in the amount of one hundred twenty thousand dollars. Idly speculating that perhaps my father had withdrawn money for campaign expenses, I dropped the folder on my desk as a horrifying thought occurred to me.
What if he’d done something illegal with the money? What if he’d bribed someone again?
My face flooded with color as anger swept over me, and I could feel tears filling my eyes as I hoped I was somehow mistaken. Had he really done this to his family again?
I sat back down and looked at the paperwork on the right side of the folder, pulling it out and realizing it was another statement, this time for a bank I’d never heard of in the Cayman Islands. My eyes widened as I noticed the damning details—the account only bore a single name: Tina Monroe, and there were two deposits, in the same amounts as the withdrawals from the investments account.
Shaking my head, I replaced the statements in the folder and closed it. At first glance, I knew one of two things was going on. Either my dad and Tina were trying to avoid paying taxes on some of Dad’s money, or Tina was stealing money from my dad.
The trouble was, I didn’t know how to figure out which scenario was the truth. I needed some help.
I picked up my cell phone, realizing there was only one person I could call, and I hoped I wasn’t making a huge mistake.
“Stanford Boyle, at your service,” he said when he answered my call on the very first ring.
“Hey, Stanford, I hate to bother you, but I need some help. Any chance you’re free for lunch?”
“For you, dear Tatum, I’d move heaven and earth. Let me make a phone call and bump an appointment, and I’m all yours.”
Gack. He was just over the top, but I needed him. There was no other way. “Sounds great. Meet me at my place?”
“Oh, absolutely,” he said, sounding far more thrilled than I wanted to hear. “Can I bring anything?”
“No. I’ll just make us an omelet or some sandwiches, if that’s okay. Mostly, I just need to bounce some things off you, and I don’t want to do it in a public place.”
“No problem.” He still sounded excited, even though I hoped he realized there was no way in hell I was going to sleep with him.
“See you in half an hour?”
“Perfect.”
I was pretty sure we had enough food in the fridge to whip up something for lunch, so I headed straight home. It wasn’t until I was halfway there that it occurred to me that I could have called Reed. We were halfway through the month he was supposed to be gone, and we’d actually only talked a couple of times. With the time difference and the fact that every photograph of him in the tabloids showed him having the time of his life, I was starting to have less and less faith that things were going to work out between us. We hadn’t recreated the super hot phone sex, and I could hear women in the background the last time we’d spoken.
Tina was his mother, though, and I knew better than to accuse her of stealing from my father or sheltering money illegally without more proof. I decided I’d figure out what was really going on, and then I’d make the call to Reed. I just hoped Stanford would help me. He seemed so close to both my dad and Tina that I wasn’t sure I could really trust him.
I rushed around the kitchen and got things prepped for an omelet—ham, spinach, cheese, and mushrooms were chopped and in bowls by the time I heard Stanford at the door.
“So what’s going on?” he asked as he watched me pouring the eggs into the skillet.
“I have some questions, and I’m hoping you’ll answer them honestly. You need to know that I have my dad’s best interests at heart, here, so even if things don’t make sense, you have to trust me.”
“Okay…” he said, drawing the word out.
“Are Dad and Tina having any problems?”
“Do you mean like marital problems?”
“Marital, financial, anything.”
Stanford studied me for a minute without speaking. “I don’t know how much I should say, Tatum. I really like and respect your father, and I believe with all my heart that he’s the right man to lead this city. I don’t want to say anything that could jeopardize that.”
“But what if he was doing something wrong, something illegal?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think he would.”
“He did before.”
“I know. And the heartache it caused you is why I don’t think he’d do it again. Tatum, he knows how hard he made your teenage years. He’s a proud man, and he’s not going to talk about it much, but he feels terrible for what he put you through.”
“He’s said he’s sorry. Talk is cheap.”
“But that’s just it. It’s not just talk. I don’t think there’s any way in the world he’d do something illegal. Not even to win the election. He really has changed, whether you see it or not.”
I was suspicious. “How do you know so much about this?”
“Can I trust you? I mean really trust you with a secret you can’t tell?”
“Of course.”
“I overheard Tina telling him she had a surefire way to guarantee a win.”
“That sounds like trouble.”
“Yeah. She’d found a guy who could fix the election outcome … for a price, of course. Donald told her he didn’t want anything to do with paying off the company that maintains the voting booth equipment. Apparently there’s a sliding scale for a win. The mayor’s race is worth a hundred thousand dollars.”
“You overheard all this?”
“I did. Donald said no.”
“A hundred thousand dollars, huh?”
“That’s what she said.”
“I assume you don’t just write a personal check for something like that. Did she say how it was supposed to go down?”
“I didn’t hear that part. Donald stopped her, and I didn’t want to get caught eavesdropping. I walked into the room and it was business as usual.” He took a bite of his omelet. “Delicious. But it’s time for you to spill it, girl. I’ve told you a secret. You have to tell me what you know.”
I took a deep breath and pulled the folder out of my briefcase. The way Stanford had talked about my dad made me believe I could trust him. “This arrived at my office today. I don’t know who sent it, but it has to either be an attorney or someone who handled my dad’s finances, maybe an accountant? Anyway, who sent it doesn’t matter as much as what’s in it.” I handed him the folder and sat down on the barstool to let him draw his own conclusions.
He read the documents carefully, more carefully than I had, studying them for several minutes before he looked up at me. “There’s more than a hundred thousand dollars for the payoff in this account,” he said.
“Yes.”
“And it’s only in Tina’s name.”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “I think she’s stolen it from him. I don’t think he knows about it, at least not yet.”
“Technically, she didn’t steal a thing. Her name’s on the account, which means she can legally withdraw the money.” I pointed to both their names on the investment account. “I’ve never been very informed abo
ut his finances. Do you know how soon he’ll notice the missing money?”
Stanford shook his head. “Not really. I think he reviews his investments with one of the people at the equity group twice a year, but I don’t know when they’re slated to meet.”
“So it could be tomorrow, or it could be six months from now.”
“I have a general idea of what’s on his calendar from week to week. If I had to guess I’d say it’s at least a month out. I don’t recall seeing that meeting scheduled in the next thirty days.”
“Shit. So if he’s not going to see it, she could get even more.”
“That’s a possibility.”
“What are we going to do?” I stood up and started to pace between the kitchen and living room. “I’m afraid if I accuse her of this, she’ll lie to Dad, and he’ll believe her.”
Stanford watched me pace. “I think you’re half right. She’ll lie for sure, but your dad wouldn’t take her word against yours, not if you had proof.”
“I guess I could just show him the statements.”
“You could. But what if she convinces him the money’s for something else?”
“Like what? It’s almost two hundred thousand dollars.”
“I don’t know. A sailboat? A trip around the world?” He stood up and crossed the room to where I stood in front of the window. “Tatum, I know you don’t like Tina, but I’m not sure you understand how far she’ll go to keep her gravy train. Do you realize she spent eight thousand dollars on spa treatments last month?”
“What? How do you even do that? Does Dad know?”
“I don’t know if he knows or even cares, but I overheard her talking to a friend on the phone. It was like she was gloating.”
“Good God, remind me to never try to have a private conversation with you in the building.”
Stanford laughed. “I don’t trust her. I haven’t from the moment I met her, and I don’t want to see her screw things up for Donald. He’s been really good to me, and I feel responsible for protecting him, as strange as that sounds.”