A Daddy for Mother's Day

by Natalie Knight

  I press a button on my phone and say, "Boys, dinner in fifteen minutes. The chef said don't be late. She's cooked your favorite dinner." The message is delivered to our group text.

  When I make my way downstairs,

  the table in the dining room is already set. The place settings are adorned with the finest china, the glasses filled with a vintage wine picked from the massive wine cellar. A small rectangle box sits on each salad plate. That’s my addition to the meal.

  I take a seat at the table before they all arrive. I'm incredibly nervous right now. What if they say I have to leave? You know, like Barbara did? I’d be devastated, but I know in my heart that will never happen. Too much has happened between us for me to be forced out of the house.

  The first one to enter is Carter. He looks perfect in a black pair of slacks, a white turtleneck, and a simple pair of black Italian leather shoes.

  "Wow, Stacy. You look amazing. I like that smile on your face."

  He kisses my cheek before taking the seat next to me.

  Next is Kieran. He’s wearing a warm grey suit, the tie a russet red. I can't believe how handsome he looks tonight.

  "Stacy, you went to a lot of trouble tonight. I guess we’ll have to show you how much we appreciate that later."

  His eyebrows wiggle suggestively as Nolan walks in dressed casually in jeans and a sweater.

  "Hey, stop flirting with my girl."

  Everyone laughs at this point. We all know that I am all of theirs now.

  After Nolan takes a seat, they all notice the boxes on the table. Carter picks up his, shaking it. Nolan does the same.

  "Hey, stop it. You'll spoil the surprise."

  All of them look a little confused about the boxes. I’m nervous, but I think I’ll get nothing but approval from them all.

  "So, we all know that I was never married to Percy, and he lied about everything."

  Nodding their heads, I can tell they’re being typical boys. The boxes are driving them crazy.

  "My father is safe now, and the threat is over. So, I have a little surprise for you all. Well, it's for me too. How about you open the boxes?"

  Chewing my bottom lip, I watch as they rip open the ribbons, pull the lids off, and stop everything. Each box contained a positive pregnancy test. I found out earlier today that I’m pregnant.

  "Whoa, what does this mean?"

  "Wait, you're pregnant?"

  "Which one of us is the Father?"

  All of them speak at once. But I can only answer two of them.

  "I am pregnant, but as for the father, I don't know. And I don’t want to know. I adore all of you, and I feel like we’re all in this together. I want you all to be the father of this child."

  I beam with pride as they all jump from their chairs and come over to hug me. One by one, each of the brothers kiss my lips, hugging the mother of their child.

  "We don't want to know either,” Carter says. “We can all live here and raise the child together."

  "Wow, I'm going to be a dad. That’s fucking awesome!" Kieran adds.

  "This is perfect. We all got the best part of this deal. We got you, Stacy." Nolan gives me a tender smile.

  Emotional tears run down my cheeks. I’m thrilled about this. I've always wanted a child, but now, it’s even better than I imagined it would be because I’m ensured that my baby will have the best life possible.

  "So, I was thinking. Since Percy’s gone, can I redecorate his room for the baby? It seems logical since it's the room that’s between us all?"

  "Of course. Just tell us what you need, but don't you touch a thing. We will hire someone to come in and do all the work for you."

  "I agree, I don't want you taking any chances with our child inside of you."

  "We can still fuck, right? That won't hurt the baby?"

  The entire room erupts in laughter as I ensure them the child will be just fine.

  After a fantastic meal, the four of us end up in what will soon become the playroom.

  Tossing the picture of Percy off the wall, his office is now the place that we’ll share all our dirty little secrets. Though now, there’s nothing dirty about it.

  We aren’t hiding anymore. We get to live our lives together and raise our child. That’s a better life than I ever could have imagined. And it’s my life now.

  Caught On Tape

  By Daphne Dawn & Natalie Knight

  Copyright 2017 by Crimson Vixens

  All rights reserved

  This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental. This work intended for adults only.

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  Todd

  I just became the lead story on CNN. Fox News has a therapist analyzing what happened, and TMZ is running the same clip of me over and over, ad nauseum.

  It’s all lies, of course. But it doesn’t matter because most people don’t have an appetite for the truth, anyway; in a sense, it’s like an unwelcome guest at a dinner party. What people want is gossip, rumor, and innuendo.

  And the media is more than happy to oblige. Anything to goose their fucking ratings.

  Jordan Ray, my public relations agent, a man I pay an obscene amount of money―which is most of the money he earns―is sitting across from me. He seems to think I’m in need of some damage control.

  We’ve been working together since the day my career took off, six years ago. And the truth is that he has gotten me out of a lot of situations I didn’t think even a fairy godmother could extricate me from. But this time, I don’t agree with how he wants to handle it.

  This…this…shit I’m seeing on Access Hollywood―the only thing I can do is scream at the ninety-two-inch screen mounted over the marble fireplace in my office. And I still don’t feel any better afterwards.

  Jordan patiently waits, tapping his fingers on the shiny mahogany. It’s obvious from the expression on his face that he has something to say. But I’m not interested in that right at the moment; I’m still pissed off and need to get the anger out of my system.

  “Go fuck yourself!” I scream at the screen, loud enough to practically blow it off the wall.

  Jordan clears his throat, and I finally stop pacing and join him at the table. I nod, as if to say, go ahead, take your best shot. And he does.

  “I tried to stop you. You couldn’t keep your fucking hands to yourself?” Jordan yells as he stands and begins pacing the length of the room.

  I’m so not in the mood to listen to this. I want to walk around the table, pick him up by the lapels of his thousand-dollar suit and toss him out the window.

  Yeah, I know, he’s my best friend and the best PR man in town. I also know I’m lucky to have him. But what he’s telling me to do…it just doesn’t work for me.

  “Jordan,” I say in my most commanding voice before giving a slight look at the chair.

  It’s all I need to do. With that one gesture, I communicate that he needs to shut up, sit down, and listen to me―I’m an actor, so I know how to command any situation. I’m good at what I do, and he stops and sits.

  “So, how bad is it?” I ask.

  “Bad” is Jordan’s terse reply.

  “I’m gonna need more specifics,” I say. “On a scale of one to ten, where are we at?”

  Jordan places his hands on the desk and looks into his palms as if the answer will magically write itself in the air in front of me. “I’d say you need to lay low, leave town, go visit a sick relative, go on vacation, take some downtime. That bad.”

  “Fuck,” I shake my head, “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “Yeah, well, it doesn’t look that way— “

  “Make this go away,” I interrupt him
before he can say anything else. “Are you keeping up with me here? I need you to have this entire saga dry up and disappear.”

  “It will be much easier if you aren’t around, where the paparazzi can follow your every move,” Jordan responds.

  I just stare at him in disbelief.

  “You’re a distraction, Todd. We just need you out of the picture for a while if we’re going to do our job.”

  This doesn’t sit well with me. Jordan knows what really happened, and he needs to figure out a way to get the truth out, not the version of the ‘truth’ that’s playing all over TV and YouTube. I’m fed up. Enough.

  “Just make it go away!” I yell and storm out of the room.

  Walking down the long corridor of my penthouse apartment, I glance at the dozens of photos of me hanging on the walls.

  Six years ago, I was a struggling actor. Now, I’m on top―and when you’re on top, there’s always someone who wants to take you down. But I’m not going quietly.

  Not me.

  I yank out my phone and give a good hard swipe to the right. Pulling up my Twitter feed, I can see it’s not good. “Damn, word spreads fast.”

  I can’t believe it. It’s a hashtag fiesta: #ToddSucks, #LoserTodd, and what instantly becomes my personal favorite, #CLIT, which apparently stands for, Chump, Loser, Idiot, Todd.

  “Assholes... don’t these people have anything better to do with their time?” I say to no one.

  With my eyes glued to the screen, I walk into my bedroom and slump to the floor at the foot of my bed, still scrolling through my feed.

  Jordan knocks on my door.

  I turn and scream, “Go away, and don’t come back until you fix this!”

  There’s silence from the other side of the door, so I know he gets that I’m dead serious.

  “In case you don’t know how I feel, let me break it down for you. The media, collectively and individually, are a bunch of hairy sleaze ball suck eggs, with a fucking twisted sense of the truth. You and I both know that tape has been edited to make sure I look bad.”

  “I know, I know,” Jordan says, obviously trying to placate me.

  “Then go away and do your fucking job.”

  I really have had enough of this bullshit. It’s time to change my mood, and there’s only one way to do that: change of atmosphere.

  I jump up, strip off my clothes, and head for my walk-in closet.

  I gotta admit, sometimes this is my favorite place in the apartment. I had it built to my specifications when I moved in.

  I gave up one of the bedrooms to make sure it was big enough to accommodate all my clothes, a couch, and a work out bench. This six-pack didn’t come in the mail.

  I give a pat to my flat stomach, “All muscle, baby,” I say to my reflection in the full-length mirror.

  “He thinks I’m okay with laying low,” I mutter to myself, looking through my built-in drawers “Yeah, right…go on vacation, as if.”

  I push a button that brings the revolving clothes rack to life.

  “Disappear? Fuck that! The only place I’m going is out,” I push the button again, the rack stops, and I rip a pair of jeans off their hanger.

  Finally dressed, I check my reflection again from head to toe: black v-neck tee, jeans, and boots. I have to admit, I look good―like I always do.

  I reach for my phone. Flipping through my options, I see a number that makes me smile, and push it.

  “Hey, baby, let’s go get something to eat.”

  Sophie

  Alice is tugging at my shirt.

  “Now, Sophie, now.”

  I finish typing the text message to my mother. As usual, she’s agitating me to firm up plans for our proposed lunch next week.

  “You’ll miss it,” Alice tugs harder.

  With a sigh, I put the mobile down and roll my eyes.

  “I don’t even know if I want to see it,” I start and reach for my mug of coffee.

  “Of course you do.” Alice corrects me, and I laugh.

  “No, I don’t. And I really don’t think I want to work with him either. From what I’ve read on social media, he’s a prima donna of the highest caliber, not to mention rude…”

  “Shush,” Alice puts her hand over my mouth.

  Luckily, she’s been my best friend since way back; otherwise I might have objected.

  The television screen is filled with none other than Todd Alexander: current mega star and bad boy.

  “Turn it up, I can’t hear.”

  I lift cushions off the couch, push Puff the cat off, and find the remote to the TV. As I turn it up, we can hear Todd’s angry voice. A close up of his face shows his eyes narrowed and his lips tightly draw into a thin line.

  “You’re nothing,” yells Todd at a little Italian man who is holding up a tea towel. “Who the fuck do you think you are, wog boy?

  “I don’t give a shit about your money. So what if you can afford this place? Why don’t you do us all a favor and crawl back down into that hell hole you crept out of.”

  I cringe. It’s worse than I thought it was going to be. Todd’s eyes are now wide open; he is baring his teeth at this poor man who is still holding up his tea towel.

  Was Todd going mad? Rabies? Brain tumor, or simply a personality disorder?

  My money is on the latter.

  Whatever that was, my mind is made up. I don’t need to see the rest.

  Just then, Todd lunges forward, and I watch horrified as his right fist makes for the poor man’s face.

  Jordan, his PR guy, appears out of nowhere. He grabs Todd and tries to pull him back. It is to no avail.

  Terrible Todd seems to be frothing at the mouth. Left jab, right jab and left again.

  I’m holding my breath.

  Dismayed, I see Todd’s fist collide with the face of the Italian. Blood trickles down from his nose. In slow motion, the hurt figure crumples onto the ground.

  “Fucking useless mole,” Todd continues to sneer at the mess of a man on the floor. No one else in the restaurant appears to be moving. Jordan is hot on Todd’s heels.

  Todd is still swearing as he leaves the restaurant. Jordan is hot on Todd’s heels.

  My hands are shaking. There’s clearly something wrong with our alleged superstar. No one in his right mind behaves the way Todd Alexander just behaved. No one.

  He just made a psychopath look like a gentle giant.

  The screen of the television goes black and voices are cut off mid-sentence.

  “Fuck you” are the last words we hear.

  “Can you believe it?” I shake my head and start pacing the length of my living room.

  “You―” starts Alice but I cut her off.

  “No. No. No. And in case you still aren’t sure what I think: NO.”

  I’ve stopped pacing and am looking at Alice, hands on my hips.

  She’s sitting on the white leather lounge, legs tucked underneath her, and she smiles at me.

  I know that smile. I know her too well. I lift my right hand and point my index finger at her.

  “No. Alice, I mean it.” I run my hand through my hair and point at the television. “Did you see and hear him? I mean, who behaves like that?”

  I cringe at the thought of having a confrontation of any type with Todd. So what if he’s got the looks and the talent?

  “Come on Soph, he’s not all bad. You know Megastar has the deal in the bag. Todd has to sign his part of the contract, and it’s a done deal. And we need this. You can’t back out now.”

  I hate it when she calls me Soph. Pouting, I flop onto the couch. Puff hisses at me and abandons his spot.

  He goes to Alice who pats him. Promptly, he purrs and gets comfortable on her lap.

  Traitor.

  “I can’t work with him.” I shake my head. A man of Todd’s caliber would never listen to me. A director has to work with people who get on with other people; Todd isn’t one to get on with his fellow human beings, that much is obvious.

  “The whole thi
ng might have been a misunderstanding. You should listen to Todd’s version of the story first.”

  I roll my eyes before I look at Alice.

  “You’re joking. How could any of what we saw have been a misunderstanding?”

  Alice doesn’t reply.

  “Alice, please,” I start to beg. There must be a way out of this.

  “Listen, Sophie.” Alice suddenly sounds serious. “You can’t back out now. We’re all tied up in this deal. The movie will be made. You will direct it. You’ve got the balls, girl.”

  I laugh.

  “Don’t forget Jordan’s there as well.” Alice adds.

  Briefly, I think about Jordan. Why does he stay with Todd? Does he like facing a personal challenge every day?

  Can I really manage Todd? Negative self-doubt creeps through me like thorny weeds.

  Of course you can’t, it says over and over. No one can, not even Jordan.

  “But he’s always been bad, Alice.” I chew on my bottom lip. “This latest scandal is one of many.”

  Surely there must be a way out.

  “Do you remember the story your mum used to read to us when were kids?”

  I stare at Alice. What is she getting at? I shake my head.

  “The little engine that could?”

  My lips curl up a little.

  “You do remember.” Alice sounds triumphant. “Remember the I can’t turns into I think I can, I think I can, I can.”

  With a long sigh, I flop back on my lounge.

  “Okay then, if the little engine says so. I guess I’ve got no choice but to give it a go.” I give in and see Alice’s triumphant smile. Her right fist slices the air in a victory punch.

  Oh, what have I just gotten myself into?

  Todd

  Christ on a motorcycle, who isn’t carrying this story? I click through all fifteen hundred channels, both broadcast and cable, and I get no relief. Every morning show has the same video footage of me throwing the punch.

  I can’t get away from it.

  I’ve been sitting here for an hour, and the more I watch, the further I slump into the couch. This crap is depressing me, it’s like a career ending drama.