Page 9 of Royal Hacker

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be announcing club members’ information. Last time I checked, that was a rule, and you could get punished,” CJ whispered.

“Well, as long as nobody says anything. I had my first punishment last night. My butt still hurts, and I’m not planning to repeat that punishment anytime soon. I’m taking the straight-and-narrow path from now on,” I told the table with a straight face.

“You had anal last night? You talked to Sam for the first time last night,” Jessica once again announced to the diner.

“No, he spanked me with a paddle for disrespecting Neal. At least I wasn’t disciplined by Neal. I don’t think I could ever look him in the eye,” I said quietly, hoping the diner wasn’t listening to our conversation.

“What happened after he spanked you? Did you like it? Did you sleep together?” Bridget fired off questions so fast, it was hard to keep up. I wasn’t sure they’d actually given her decaf.

“After he disciplined me, he held me in his arms on the couch, and we watched other scenes being performed. We talked about what was going on in each scene. We didn’t sleep together. He gave me a goodnight kiss and asked me to research the BDSM lifestyle this week. Sam will call me in a week so we can discuss what I’ve learned.”

“Did you know for every ‘normal’ webpage, there are five porn pages? You shouldn’t have any problem finding research,” Jessica said with a straight face.

“Jessica, how the fuck do you know this much random shit and still have room in that head for all the numbers you crunch?” When we were kids, Jessica put her head in books to read, but not typical kids’ books. She liked numbers and facts.

“I would let Neal punish me if I weren’t in a committed relationship with Asher,” CJ stated while looking off into space.

“That is disgusting to think about. Neal is a brother to me, and thinking about him intimately is disturbing,” I choked out.

“Neal is your brother?” Bridget and CJ asked at the same time.

“No, Neal is not our brother. I met Neal when I was at MIT, and we hit it off. His dad is a piece of shit, so he stayed with Jessica and me. I paid for his housing, and we lived together during school. He’s been like my brother ever since. So it was kind of disturbing to see him at a BDSM club.”

“Let’s stop talking about the sex club. I want to hear more about your life and what you’ve been hiding from us,” Bridget demanded.

It was so strange that I was about to talk to CJ and Bridget about my life. I hadn’t told anybody about anything before they signed a nondisclosure agreement. We spent the next couple hours talking about Shialia. I also explained that I was the oldest, and one of our three brothers would most likely take over the crown.

I left out the story about why Jessica didn’t want to take over when our father passed down the crown. Jessica had been kidnapped about ten years ago, and the kidnappers had been after me, not Jessica. When they figured out they had the wrong heir, they tortured Jessica to get my father to hand me over. She had been with the radical group for five days before Dad was able to rescue her. The group had wanted me to marry the leader so they would have access to all the rare gems in the mines of Shialia. If she wanted anyone to know what had happened, it was her place to tell the story.

Since the kidnapping, my three brothers had become more protective of Jessica and me. Their overprotectiveness was getting on Jessica’s nerves, though. When she met Doug, she kept it from our father and brothers until she was engaged. The family never liked Doug, but we all wanted her to be happy after what she’d gone through. I’d always been close with my three brothers, and they came to visit at least five times a year. I was curious to see what they would think about Sam.

“Okay, I know you said you stayed here with your mom during the winter. Does she still live here?” Bridget asked.

“We lost our mom a few years ago to cancer,” Jessica replied with a shrug.

CJ changed the subject. “I don’t get why you don’t work with Neal and act like a regular employee.”

“I could work there every day and act like a regular employee and have him telling me what to do. I was worried the information would eventually come out. Instead, I come home each night and look at the reports he sends me. We have conference calls and discuss what’s being worked on. Since he lives below me, he comes up to my penthouse once a week. We have dinner and discuss anything I need to know.”

The waitress walked over and filled up Bridget’s coffee. She asked if we needed anything else. I was pretty sure we were getting close to being done with our conversation. I forwent the second round of cake.

“Are you ever going to admit who you are and take over the everyday parts of the company?” CJ asked before taking the last bite of his muffin.

“Maybe someday I’ll take over. Right now, Neal does an excellent job running the everyday operations. I would like to expand our business. If I go back, it will be more to work on research and development and let Neal continue to run the other side of the company.”

Bridget seemed to be more interested in our heritage than work. “Do you think one day either of you will take over Shialia?”

“No,” Jessica and I both replied at the same time.

“I still can’t believe Doug was going to that club. I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him.” Jessica said to CJ. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She hadn’t applied any makeup and was wearing a pair of black yoga pants with a white T-shirt.

“I met him for a second and didn’t place him when I saw him at the club. I’ve never been that close with Doug Barron. I don’t think Sam paid attention to him either. If I had figured it out, I would’ve told you.” CJ looked disappointed in himself for not putting two and two together.

The remaining time at lunch was great. We talked about Jessica and me and how we grew up.

Jessica and I hugged Bridget and CJ goodbye outside the diner. While Jessica and I walked toward the law office, there was significant tension between us. My stomach felt like it was in knots when Jessica and I weren’t getting along.

“Why did you put your nose where I didn’t want it?” Jessica asked while we were heading down the street.

---