No, what I was worried about was what this would do to DeVon and my relationship. I could try to keep it a secret, but it’d come to light eventually and having lied about it would just make things worse. But the idea of telling him terrified me. I knew how vulnerable he was when it came to things like this. Catching his fiancée in bed with his best friend two days after he proposed had really fucked him up when it came to trusting women. If I did this, there was a very good chance I’d lose him.
I just didn’t see any other way out. Landon wasn’t only my friend, he was DeVon’s friend, and I couldn’t let this happen to him when I had the power to stop it. I had one last ditch hope before I agreed, however. I’d call Mayflower, I decided, and tell him that I would be convincing DeVon to pay the full million. Once I told DeVon what the options were, I was sure he’d agree to the money rather than me. I didn’t know if Mayflower would go back to the original terms.
First, I called Landon. No matter what offer was accepted, Mayflower would be bought off and my friend would be safe. I didn’t want Landon spending any more time worrying. He didn’t answer, so I left a vague message telling him it’d be handled and breathed a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to try to dance my way around any questions he threw my way.
My next call was to Mayflower to give him my counter offer.
“I see how it is,” he said when I’d finished. “You think you’re too good for me. You’ll parade around at your fancy parties, flirting and showing off. Probably fucking anyone up there who wants you, just to get your company flying high. But me, no, I don’t get that same treatment.”
I wanted to ask him if he’d always been a moron or if someone had dropped him on his head as a child, but I refrained and let him keep talking even though it didn’t sound like he was liking what I’d said.
“A million’s not on the table anymore,” he said. “Three million cash, or half a million and I get to fuck you. Quarter of a million if you bring along a couple of your prettiest clients to join us.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to go fuck himself and it took all of my self-control not to do it. We couldn’t give him three million in cash. It wasn’t that we couldn’t get it together in time. If we gave him that much money, it’d be open season on our clients. Every paparazzi in Hollywood would be trying to find compromising pictures they could use to blackmail us and our people.
“You sign an NDA that states you never speak about what you saw, the pictures you took or the arrangement we come to,” I said. “There will also be a legally binding addendum that prohibits you from photographing, recording or otherwise benefiting from any images of any Mirage clients ever again.”
“You can’t do that,” he sputtered. “I got a right to take pictures of who I want.”
“You do and I’ll go public with the fact that you not only blackmailed Mirage for money, but for sex as well.”
“No one’ll care,” he retorted.
“They will if I mention that you wanted me to bring Mirage’s youngest female clients along to join in the fun.”
“I never said that! I ain’t no pervert.”
That was debatable, I supposed, but I kept my observation to myself. “Once you sign the agreement that I’ll draw up, you get half a million dollars.” The words were rancid in my mouth. “And you get me.”
Chapter 12
Krissy
By the time Wednesday arrived, I was a wreck. Pale, dark circles under my eyes. I hadn’t eaten because the nausea had returned full force. Tracy kept asking if I was coming down with something, but DeVon didn’t notice, or at least didn’t mention anything if he had. I was more convinced than ever that he was trying to figure out how to break off our personal relationship without affecting our professional one. He wouldn’t want me to leave Mirage. I was too much a part of who the agency was now. I’d brought in clients of my own who would go with me if I left. Not to mention people like Lena Dunn and Cami Matthews, my first clients who were now regular guest stars on two established TV shows.
All of that on top of what I’d agreed to do with Mayflower was killing me. It didn’t help matters that I knew as soon as DeVon found out what I’d done, it would most likely solidify his decision about our relationship. If I hadn’t been so unsure about where we were, I might’ve been a bit more confident that he’d see the necessity behind what I was going to do, but now, I wasn’t so sure.
I’d spent all day yesterday perfecting the contract I was going to make Mayflower sign. It was ironclad and made it so that if he so much as breathed in the direction of one of our clients or hinted at anything that had transpired over the past week, he’d be libel not only for monetary compensation to the wronged party, but also criminal charges as the details of the arrangement would become public knowledge. I also buried a couple things in there regarding threats to out any celebrity, even those not represented by Mirage. After today, I’d be watching him like a hawk and the second he violated a single word of this contract, I was going to nail his ass to the wall. He could yell and scream First Amendment all he wanted, but a judge would have to uphold the contract. It’d be on Mayflower’s head if he didn’t read it, and considering he’d be signing it before he got to fuck me, I had a feeling he wasn’t going to bother reading it since I’d told him that I was going to make him sign an NDA that I wrote. It wasn’t my responsibility to disclose every detail of the document to him.
The thought of being able to outsmart this asshole was all that kept me going as I headed towards the part of LA where there were ‘massage’ parlors and hotels that rented rooms by the hour. Mayflower had set up the place and I had a feeling I wasn’t the first woman who’d been coerced into fucking him in one of these rooms.
As I approached, he turned towards me and I wanted so badly to wipe that shit-eating grin off of his face. Instead, I held out the envelope with the contract in it.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“The NDA you’re going to sign before you get what’s in this bag.” I patted the bag I was carrying. “And before you get any closer to me than where you are now.”
He scowled at me as he pulled out the papers. “Got a pen?”
I handed him a pen and waited to see if he’d hurry through or actually read the pages he was signing. Before he could do either one, however, I heard my name being called.
“Krissy! Don’t you dare!”
I turned to see Landon walking quickly across the parking lot, his expression angrier than I’d ever seen it before.
“Landon, you shouldn’t be here.” My hands tightened on the strap of the bag.
“No fuck.” He grabbed the papers out of Mayflower’s hand and shoved them back at me. “Whatever deal you’ve made, it’s off.”
“Mind your own business, you fucking fa–”
Landon grabbed the front of Mayflower’s shirt and lifted the short man up onto his toes. My jaw dropped as Landon slammed the reporter against the side of the hotel.
“Listen to me, you piss-poor excuse for a human being.” His blue eyes flashed. “I’ve had it with you and your kind thinking the First Amendment was written so you could make money off of prying into people’s personal lives and acting like it’s news. You’re going to stay the hell away from me and if I see so much as a hint of those pictures, I’ll see to it that the only job you can get is sucking dick for gay porn.” He shoved Mayflower away. “Now get out of here.”
For a moment, I thought Mayflower was going to try to retaliate and that I’d have to call the cops on a fight I really didn’t want to see in the papers, but something about the way Landon was holding himself said that he wasn’t joking about any of it.
After Mayflower took off, Landon turned to me. “What the hell are you thinking, Krissy?!”
I stared at him, unable to believe what had just happened.
“When I got your message, I started doing some research and I heard from a couple different people the kinds of ‘deals’ Mayflower made. It didn’t take
much to figure out where he would’ve taken you. I’m just glad I got here in time.”
“You and me both,” I said. I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the stifling heat. “Do you really think he’s going to sit on those pictures?”
Landon shrugged. “Probably not for long, but I’m going to beat him to the punch.”
My eyebrows went up and I wondered if I was misunderstanding what he was saying.
“When I wasn’t tracking down information on Mayflower, I was coming to grips with this decision.” Landon squared his shoulders and took a deep breath. “I made some calls and I have an exclusive interview with Proud and Out magazine on Friday. I’m through hiding.”
“That’s great!” I threw my arms around him, feeling tears pricking at my eyelids. As relief rushed through me, the tears escaped and I began to sob, everything that had happened in the last week and a half pouring out in one gigantic flood of emotion.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Landon hugged me close. “Shh, sweetie. It’s all right.”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not.” I tried to stem the flow of tears, but they just kept coming. What the hell was wrong with me? Sure, this was a lot of shit going on, but I’d dealt with worse.
“Come here.” He took my arm and led me back to his car. It was nice, but not overtly flashy. He waited until the air cooled us both down a bit before turning to me. “Now, what’s wrong, hon?”
I hesitated for a moment, but when Landon reached over and took my hand, the kind gesture completely undid me and everything came pouring out. Mayflower’s proposal. DeVon’s strange behavior. How he hadn’t even noticed that I hadn’t been sleeping or eating.
“You know him,” I said. I took a shuddering breath. “He’s never done a long-term relationship, not since Haley. What if he’s getting bored with me?”
“Krissy, don’t be silly.” Landon plucked a tissue from a box and wiped my eyes. “DeVon is madly in love with you. He has been since before he’d admit it to anyone, including himself.”
“But what if he’s falling out of love with me?” I pressed the issue. “What if the reason he’s been so distant is that he doesn’t know how to tell me it’s over?” I let all of my fears spill out.
Landon grasped both of my hands between his. “Look at me.”
I did, my eyes meeting his.
“I have known DeVon for years and I’ve seen him with dozens of different women, but from the moment he met you, he’s been a different person. A better person. He’s not going to give you up.”
“But he’s being so distant.” My insides twisted as I thought of all the times over the past week-and-a-half where I’d tried to be close to him and he’d pulled away or ignored me. The times when I’d thought he’d be concerned about me, but he’d barely acknowledged my existence.
“Krissy Jensen.” Landon’s voice was firm. “You are one of the strongest women I know, so get off your ass and do something about it.”
I blinked. I hadn’t been expecting that.
“Do you love him?”
“More than anything.” The answer was automatic. I didn’t even have to think about it.
“Then fight for him. Go after him. Make him tell you what’s wrong. Do not give in without a fight. That’s one of the things he loves the most about you,” Landon said. “Did you know that? We’ve talked sex and love over the years, so I know a bit about his fetishes and preferences. He likes to be the dominant person in a relationship, but I also know that he loves it when you push back, when you challenge him. Your strength is what drew him to you in the first place.”
I sniffled and reached for another tissue. I didn’t feel particularly strong at the moment.
“If you love him, fight.” Landon kissed my forehead. “Now, let’s get a manicure and go shopping. I have to look perfect for my interview on Friday and you should get some sexy new lingerie that DeVon can tear off with his teeth.”
Chapter 13
Krissy
After spending the day with Landon, I was feeling much better when I got home. I considered putting on the barely-there lingerie I’d gotten and greeting DeVon at the door, but eventually decided against it. I wasn’t entirely sure when he’d been getting home and I wanted to talk to him about what was going on before working on any seduction. In the end, it turned out to be the right choice because I ended up falling asleep on the couch before he got home.
I woke up in the middle of the night to find the house dark. I was covered with a blanket, which was a nice gesture on DeVon’s part, but it didn’t sit quite right with me. On the rare occasion in the past when I’d fallen asleep, DeVon had carried me to our bed. I supposed he could’ve been too tired, but I suspected it was more that he hadn’t wanted to risk waking me and having me ask him what was going on.
I went into the bathroom on the main level and turned on the shower. I needed time to think and the hot water would ease the kinks out of my back. I knew he wouldn’t hear me down here. It was obvious that DeVon wasn’t going to talk to me. I’d tried and he’d had plenty of opportunities. I hated the idea of sneaking around behind his back, but it looked like he wasn’t giving me much of a choice.
By the time I finished my shower, I’d made my decision. I quietly crept into the bedroom and got some clothes, then went back to the living room. I dressed in the jeans and t-shirt and crawled back under the blanket to attempt to get a couple more hours sleep before DeVon left.
I heard him a few hours later, moving about in the kitchen and trying not to make any noise. I feigned sleep, wondering if he’d come in and kiss me good-bye like he usually did when he left before me. Instead, I heard the front door close.
I got up quickly and slipped on the shoes I’d placed by the couch. I wondered if he would’ve even noticed that I’d changed or that I had shoes ready even if he had come in. As distracted as I’d been, I doubted it.
I opened the front door carefully and saw DeVon pulling out of the driveway. As soon as he was out of sight, I hurried to my car, pulling up my GPS app as I went. DeVon and I both had ‘find me’ apps on our phones since so much of our business information was on them. I’d never dreamed I’d be using it to track him.
I followed the blinking dot, keeping myself close enough that I could still catch glimpses of his car but far enough that he wouldn’t be able to see me. I’d admit to following him when I finally confronted him, but I wanted to be sure I knew what was going on before I did anything.
Eventually, we ended up at the Pan Pacific Park. Now I was really confused. I’d been prepared to follow him into a lawyer’s office, to a hotel for some liaison, even to a restaurant to meet with a lawyer or a woman. Hell, I wouldn’t have been surprised if we’d gone to some sort of sex club. A park hadn’t even been anywhere near the list I’d been making in my head.
I parked several spaces away and waited until I saw him get out before I did the same. I’d purposefully picked plain clothes and had my hair pulled back in a ponytail so I wouldn’t draw any attention to myself. Now I saw that he had done the same thing. There wasn’t really much of a way for him to disguise those powerful shoulders or his height, but he’d worn a pair of plain jeans and a t-shirt that wasn’t fitted to show off his physique. Basically, he’d worn what he usually wore to do work around the house. While he usually hired people to do things like that, every once in a while, he’d get in the mood to fix or do something himself. That was one of the outfits he wore.
He couldn’t be meeting someone here for an affair, not dressed like that. And I doubted he’d be talking to the press for any reason, especially not a clandestine meet like this. I frowned as I followed him, always keeping a few feet back as he headed deeper into the park.
When he finally stopped, he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around as if he was waiting for someone. I ducked behind a tree, aware that anyone who saw me would know that I was spying on someone. I didn’t care, though. Whoever he was meeting here had to be the reason h
e’d been acting so strangely and missing so much work lately. I’d called Tracy to tell her I’d be working in the field today and I had no doubt that DeVon had made a similar call to Melissa. I wondered if he’d told her he was working or just that he wouldn’t be coming in. All I knew was that I wasn’t the only one he’d been lying to.
After a few minutes, a woman came towards him. She had dark hair and tanned skin, a build similar to mine. We didn’t look enough alike that people would think we were related, but I didn’t doubt he’d dated her. Or what had passed for dating DeVon at one point. Unless – my stomach did a flip – he was fucking her now, and the fact that she and I had some of the same physical characteristics was part of his attraction.
I shook away the thought. I’d seen DeVon with plenty of women before we’d gotten together as well as after. His body language had changed once we’d become official. Before, he hadn’t just oozed charm and sex appeal, he’d used both like a weapon. Women had been conquests, whether they’d realized it or not. Now, even when he was using those same qualities, it was different. There was an acknowledgement that it was business only, that there wouldn’t be any follow-through because he was taken. I knew that’s how it came across, because I did the same thing. We’d flirt, but we always went home together.
I watched him with the woman and read his body language since I wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying. DeVon wasn’t angling himself towards her or trying to get closer. If anything, he was presenting himself in a very stand-offish kind of way. I felt better...until she stepped into his personal space and put her hand on his arm. When he didn’t shrug her off or move back, all of the previously dispelled tension returned.
Then I saw her motion for someone to come over and I followed the line of sight. A dark-haired boy, maybe six or seven years old, walked over from where he’d been playing. He walked over to DeVon, a serious expression on his young face. He didn’t look like DeVon or the woman, not really, but I still had a bad feeling I knew what was going on.