“When can I start?” Amber grinned. Her nose crinkled, making her freckles more prominent.
“I have a photo shoot planned for tomorrow in Miami, which is why I’m eager to hire you today. Are you available?”
“What time does the bus leave?”
Emily held back her laugh. “My girls don’t do Greyhound. They fly unless they want to drive their own vehicle. Kenny will email you the details in a few hours, along with your welcome information for setting you up on the site. It was nice meeting you, and welcome to The Playhouse.”
On cue, Ryan showed up and escorted Amber out. His dark brown bald head glistened in the sunlight when he opened the door. With his broad shoulders and muscular arms, he resembled a black Mr. Clean.
Emily needed to get up to her office and do the monthly billing but wanted speak to Ryan first. “How do you like it so far?”
He turned from the closed door with a huge smile on his face. “What man wouldn’t want a job watching over beautiful women? I’m enjoying it.”
“I think they’re enjoying you as well. I saw the googly eyes Amber gave you. Just remember the rules. No dating my girls, and we’ll be fine.”
He nodded.
Emily reluctantly headed up the stairs. She hated doing the bills, but there was no way she was about to pay an accountant to steal from her. Celebrities were always having financial troubles due to their accountants’ failure to report. Emily alone handled the books and made sure Uncle Sam got his cut.
She took a seat at her cherry Oakwood desk and deducting out site maintenance for Kenny, security, and the girls’ pay. The girls moaned and groaned about getting a check or direct deposit instead of cash, but business was business. Their pay would reflect in her report to the IRS.
After deductions, Emily tallied her earnings to more than seventy thousand for the month, up by twenty thousand from the last quarter. Business was definitely doing well.
Emily was still amazed to see how many people would pay to go online and get their freak on but was happy they did. The online webcam business was booming, and The Playhouse was number one of the highest ranked sites. She was way more generous than most in the adult entertainment business, to ensure her girls stuck around.
Everything was falling into place for Emily. Her house and vehicles were paid for, and she could even afford her new building without having to make cutbacks. The only thing missing from the equation was her girl Janet to run the business with her. She missed her best friend. Janet hadn’t bothered to call in the past week even after Emily left several messages. It was very strange for Janet not to call at least twice a week, especially after she had finally landed her first acting job.
Emily finished up her accounting and called Kenny.
“Boss lady,” he answered.
“Are you free?”
“Always for you.”
She laughed. “Meet me in Buckhead for an early dinner at Imperial Fez in an hour. It’s on me.”
“What are you up to?”
“It’s payday, and I want to hand deliver your check. Just be there, okay?”
“Okay.”
“See you then.”
She hung up, grabbed her purse, and said goodbye to Ryan. It was time to fight traffic on I85 but not before calling Mr. Italian and thanking him for breakfast. Her insides moistened at the thought of him.
Chapter Four
Antonio had been up a few hours and still couldn’t get the look on Emily’s face out his mind. What had she dreamed as she dozed off during the movie? He knew the look of pleasure when he saw it. Was she trying to torture him? First she brushed against him, sending a jolt of energy through him and then the look.
“No, she’s your client, nothing more. Get it together. She probably has men lined up to be with her,” he said to himself.
He drove toward the northern suburbs, making his rounds to his other two clients to check on the status of his employees. Atlanta was full of celebrities, and he wanted to ensure his employees did a great job to continue booking them. Word of mouth was how he’d gotten started. It was also the way most businesses failed.
Antonio had been discharged less than a month when his childhood friend, now well-known actor, needed a fill in for a body guard. His friend joked that he really didn’t need protecting; it was merely in keeping with appearances. Antonio did the job, was paid well, and soon received calls for more jobs, which led to him starting his own company.
When he received an email from Emily, he assumed she would be older and white. From research, it seemed the majority of the market was run by older white men and a few white women, at least for the websites not focusing on the niche market of being all black, all Latino, or all whatever. The Playhouse was anything but niche. It was high end, and the girls were from all nationalities. He laughed at the thought of calling a webcam site high end, but from what he saw, it definitely was.
The brown beauty who answered the door had caught him off guard. Her amazing smile and slender frame with curves in all the right places were a turn on. Her sassy attitude reminded him of women like his mother. If Emily were Italian, she’d fit right in.
He wondered about the loser who left her stuck with a child. She didn’t provide much information other than he did nothing for his son. Antonio couldn’t wait to see her again, but for now, he needed to focus. He pulled up into the wraparound driveway of the mini mansion and parked.
***
The bourgeois hostess showed them to a small table in the back corner of the restaurant. After being ignored by the hostess until Kenny arrived, Emily wasn’t off to a good foot with their service. The hostess had the nerve to look at Emily as if she couldn’t afford the place, but when Kenny arrived, she all but fell over him to make sure he was seated.
“Charles will be your server,” she said to Kenny.
“I guess I’m chopped liver,” Emily joked as the woman walked off. She sat across from Kenny, checking out his linen outfit and freshly manicured nails. She admired how he dressed not quite hip hop but not uptight either. He was always nice and professional when he was around her.
“Nice place,” Kenny said.
“I’ve never been here, but they had high ratings. I checked out the menu online, so I know what I want.”
“Something to drink?” the waiter huffed at them like he had some place more important to be.
“Heineken for me, and the lady will have a Pomegranate Martini, please. We’re also ready to order, if you do not mind.”
“You remembered my favorite drink.”
Kenny smiled at Emily before address the waiter. “The lady will have the lamb and I’ll take the rosemary chicken.”
The server brushed across her to reach for the menu. Emily cut him the side eye. He could have simply asked her to hand it to him. He speed walked back in the direction of the kitchen. She adjusted her attitude and concentrated on the reason for meeting with Kenny.
“I just want you to know I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Without you, I don’t think my business would be as successful,” she started. “The constant updates you do on the pictures and designs keep the men wanting more. I think they come back just to see what’s new.”
“Me?” He shook his head. “You’re the one with the vision, and I admire that. You are a hardworking, dedicated, and independent woman. You saw something you wanted and went for it,” he replied in his British accent she had finally become accustomed to.
“Thanks, but this dinner is about your great work. You’re my right-hand man. I don’t know what I would do without you.” She pulled out a cashier’s check written out for ten thousand from her purse and slid it across the table. “Here’s a bonus for you.”
Kenny stared at it for a moment before speaking. “One day, you will see that it’s not the money keeping me around. Though the money is a plus.”
The waiter placed their food on the table. Without saying a word, he turned and marched away. Emily rolled her eyes as she watche
d him converse with white patrons at another table.
Her stomach growled at the sight of the lamb shank in front of her. It looked delicious. She forgot what she was about to say and took a bite. “This tastes amazing.” She swallowed the mouthful. “Are you going to be able to handle the girls in Miami without me? I want to meet with the contractor to get a quote on the building. It’s a go.”
His eyes lit up. “Really?”
She nodded. “Shayla called me this morning. I want to have everything in place to have the launch in three months. Time waits for no one.”
“You’re the boss. I’m sure the girls won’t be much of a bother.”
They gave each other a knowing look, then burst out laughing. Twenty wannabe divas on a photo shoot were worse than watching a room of kindergarteners. The laughter subsided, and they finished off their meals.
“Will there be anything else?” the waiter asked with annoyance. He’d hovered back and forth past them for the last fifteen minutes.
“I take it that’s the hint for us to leave?” Emily shot back, looking him up and down.
“We do have other customers waiting.” He reached across her and began clearing the table.
“I notice you didn’t pester the other party who arrived at the same time we did,” Kenny said, casting a glance in their direction.
“Do you know who that is?” he whispered like he was about to give them classified information. “That is the owner of the Hawks.”
“So freaking what! We’re paying just like he is.” Emily slapped a hundred dollar bill on the table, enough to cover the tab and tip, and made a bee line to the door.
“Wait up.” Kenny caught up to her. “That ingrate really hit a nerve, I see.”
“People like him always want your money but don’t want you to be seen. Did you even notice how the hostess walked us to a freaking corner table right next to the restrooms when there were plenty others in the middle of the restaurant? And how long it took him to even take our order in the first place? Not to mention the funky comment he mumbled after taking our order. The whole he knows how we never tip well so why even bother. Hell, I always tip very well. I mean, if the waiter does their job, like coming to the table and acknowledging our presence! You know what…never mind. I can’t believe I let his simple ass get my blood pressure up.” She stopped walking and crossed her arms.
“As you would say, you are a hot mess.” Kenny laughed. “Even if everything you just said was true.”
Emily couldn’t help but smile at Kenny using her words. He was a great friend.
After they said their goodbyes, she was still trying to figure him out. He needed a woman in his life. Kenny was a great guy and deserved happiness instead of always being at her beck and call.
She was one to talk. Outside of a few friends, her love life wasn’t anything to write about. “An online Madam.” The words still stung. It was what her last so-called boyfriend called her. It wanted to hear nothing of how she didn’t do any online work nor did her girls have sex with the men.
Her heart hurt at the hate in his eyes. “It’s lonely at the top.” She was now learning the true meaning of the saying. Pulling in her garage, she decided to clear her mind with a nice bath.
Inside, she poked her head in the security room. “Hey, Ryan, how’re the girls?”
“Freaky.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” She laughed.
“There’s a blonde coming to the door.”
Emily stepped farther in the room to see. She clasped her hands and smiled.
“I can get it,” she said, already out the room and on her way downstairs. She snatched open the door. “Janet? Girl! What are you doing here?” she screamed, hugging her friend. “I thought you were on your way to glamour and glitz with your first acting role?”
“I was, man, I don’t even know where to begin.” Janet broke off the hug, came inside, and flopped down on the couch.
Emily tilted her head and eyed her best friend. Janet looked like the typical surfer girl with the natural blond hair and blue eyes, but was anything but.
Kicking off her shoes, Janet leaned back on the arm of the couch like she was in a therapist office. “I showed up for the first day on the set, ready and willing to dive completely into my character. I studied my few lines the night before and knew that the deranged killer was supposed to make me his next victim as I was having sex with my boyfriend in the back of his truck in an isolated park.”
“What type of D rate movie was this?” Emily laughed.
Janet held up her hand to silence her. “Things got really strange when my co-star showed up in a robe, dropped it to the floor, and slid next to me in the truck while asking if his dick was big enough. If that wasn’t bad enough, the director was trying to coax me into different sexual positions like I was just going to have sex right there on the spot! When I kept refusing, the co-star got pissed off. He said, ‘Andres I know you wanted to make an amateur porn film, but did you have to get a damn virgin?’”
Emily’s jaw dropped.
“At the mention of porn, I put my clothes back on with lightning speed and got the hell out of there. I was so mad I went back to my apartment, packed up my belongings, and here I am. It took two and a half days.”
“Wow! That is crazy!” Emily shook her head in disbelief. “I think you need a drink.” She proceeded to the kitchen where she pulled out her blender and whipped up a batch of Pink Panties, a mix drink she learned in college. Rum, pink lemonade, and whip cream.
“So you were about to be a porn star?” Emily smiled, handing Janet a glass.
“What the hell ever, smarty? I can make more money working for you. Can you believe those bastards were only paying five hundred dollars to film me having sex?” Her blue eyes were serious.
“The sad part is I bet they actually get a lot of people to do it; otherwise, I don’t think that guy would have ever approached you.”
“They tried to act like it wasn’t even porn and was normal as taking a crap. If that’s what the glamorous life is about, then they can keep it.” Janet held out her cup for a refill.
Filling her cup back up, Emily replied, “You know you will always be a glamour girl to me. I told you before, you’re my girl, and the offer’s still available for you to have a piece of The Playhouse.”
“I know, but that’s your baby. I need to find my own way, and now I know being an actress isn’t it. I think I’m going to finish up school. When can I be put on the schedule, boss?” She gave Emily the sad puppy dog eyes.
“I’m your girl, not your boss. I’ll put you on, but what you make, you get. You won’t be hurting me any.” Emily took a sip off her drink, careful not to swallow too much to get a brain freeze. “Besides, school isn’t cheap.”
Janet perked back up. “You got that right. I want to see my competition.”
Emily took her up to the office where Ryan was already posted up, watching the monitors. “Anything interesting?” she asked.
“Just the stuff your freaky clients say.” He laughed. “The guy with Cream wants her to dress like a man, and Bree’s client wants her to read nasty letters to him describing how he was a bad boy in class and needs to be spanked.”
“That’s mild compared to some of the things I’ve seen, but I’ll let you experience that for yourself. By the way, this is my best friend, Janet. She just got in from LA.”
“Hello. Wow, LA…must be really nice.” Ryan made goo goo eyes at Janet.
“Isn’t it time for shift change?” Emily added.
He nodded.
“Go ahead and relax downstairs. There’s enough for another drink in the blender.” She had to save him from making a fool of himself.
They watched him walk out.
“Sexy!” Janet said.
“Don’t you find any white guys attractive?” Emily joked.
“Don’t you?”
Actually yes. “Point taken. I’ve never been with a white guy so you, my white sister
from another mother, are free to date or screw whomever you like.” Emily laughed, then scanned the monitors. Divine, White Chocolate, OhSoSexy, and Tasty were all in private shows by the time Janet and Emily were comfortably seated in the black leather office chairs. Divine looked like she was entertaining her TV screen more than her paying client while Tasty was doing her favorite, dominatrix.
“You come when your mistress tells you to come!” Divine yelled.
Emily pushed the mute button on her room.
White Chocolate was working out on her newly installed stripper pole, so Emily decided to go with OhSoSexy. The entertainer was already down to nothing but her white thigh high stocking and clear stilettos. Emily clicked on the administrator voyeur view and turned up the volume.
“You want me to ride you like a good cowgirl, baby?” OhSoSexy purred at her computer.
Yes, ride this dick, baby! 9hard4u typed back.Moan for me, he quickly added.
The client clicked the cam-to-cam function, allowing Emily and Janet to see him as well as the girl.
OhSoSexy reached out of the camera range and reappeared with a dildo with a suction cup attached to the end. She placed it on the floor and rode it like a champ. The dildo slid in and out of her with ease as she did squats on it.
“Mmm, ooh, aah, this feels so good, baby! You feel so good inside of me,” she said in gasps.
Take it, baby, take all of me! 9hard4u responded, stroking his throbbing manhood faster and faster.
“Give it to me, daddy!” she screamed.
Thank you, baby, he typed and disconnected from the show.
“What the heck was that?” Janet said in between her laughter. “I mean he just cut her off.”
“Girl, please,” Emily said, rolling her eyes. “He came. That happens all the time. They get what they want and end the show. She was lucky to get thanks. Sometimes they simply disconnect or run out of money before they get a chance to finish. She did great keeping him online for twenty minutes with four other men sneaking a peak at the same time. She made fifty dollars off the man who bought the private show and another hundred from the ones who voyeured in. Men like the voyeur option because it’s cheaper. The girls like it ‘cause they getting extra money off it. Of course, my business percentage will be deducted, but, hey, she’s in the privacy of her own home. She didn’t have to touch anyone or get her ass grabbed. And believe me, OhSoSexy pulling out that dildo was all her idea. That girl is wild.”
Fire and Desire (BWWM Romance) Page 4