Page 2 of Salacious Star

"Cole is fine," he said easily. "Mr. Black is my father." He winked at me, and the casual gesture made some of the tension wracking my shoulders drain out of me.

"Alright, Cole," I said, still a little hesitantly. I sat in the chair that he gestured to, and then linked my hands together in my lap as I looked at the three men. They were all watching me carefully, so carefully that it was almost unnerving, but I had already used up all the courage I had showing up to this meeting in the first place, so I certainly wasn't going to be the first to break the tension.

It took almost a full minute before Dorian and Emmett looked at each other, and then at Cole with matching smirks. "I like him," Dorian declared. He linked hands with Emmett, and Cole smiled, turning his attention to me.

"So, Xander. You said that you have a little bit of experience in the industry? Tell me about it," he instructed.

I relaxed a little more, the knowledge that Dorian outwardly liked me helping to kill some of my remaining nerves. That had to be a good sign, right? "I've done cam work on and off for the past five years. Just when I need some extra cash. I have a few loyal fans who have been subscribed to my page since the beginning, and they're always pretty happy to see me when I pop back on the site." I licked my lips, clenching my hands together on my lap before continuing. "I've never done anything with a partner, but...well, there's a first time for everything," I finished, a little lamely.

But God, what else did he expect me to say?

Cole nodded, tilting his head to the side. His hair was dark and brushed back neatly, and I could see the beginnings of grays at his temples. I would have ventured that he was probably in his mid-thirties, based on the lack of lines on his face, but thegrays suggested that he was at least a decade older than that. "And why are you interested in working here?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to say something other than, 'Because I need money'?"

Emmett snickered, and Dorian looked at himfondly.

Cole didn't seem put off by my snark, though. Instead, his smile widened. "We like them honest, here," he said, nodding reassuringly. "Is that truly all? No judgment if it is. There's no shame in needing a job in this economy, no matter what the job is."

I nodded, the rest of the tension draining out of my body. "That's a lot of it," I admitted honestly. "I've also heard good things about the way that you run things here. Your ethics are far better than most adult film companies, and I know that you have a rock solid NDA and protection agreement for your performers. I appreciate that you care about your people enough not to exploit them. If I'm going to sell my body, I'd rather do it on my terms."

[Fluff out]

"We don't engage in prostitution or anything illegal here, Xander, so I might suggest you put that thought out of your head," Cole said dryly. But then he nodded, and reached for the folder that was sitting beside him on the table, which I hadn't noticed before. He pushed it my way, and nodded when I looked down at it questioningly. "Look it over."

I swallowed, and flipped open the folder. Inside was a small stack of paper, and despite how unnerving it was to have three steady pairs of eyes on me, I took my time reading it over.

It was a temporary contract for salaried performance work, four weeks agreed upon. Up to thirty hours a week for a base salary, and then anything beyond that would be considered overtime for hourly work. The NDA was just as solid as I had been hoping, and the protection agreement almost better.

TL;DR? The company would protect me, as long as I behaved in a way that was worthy of being protected.

I almost snorted at that little clause. What sort of behavior would be considered too much for a porn company?

Just as quickly as I had the thought, though, I knew exactly what they were referring to. Stalking, violence, physical or sexual. Anything that would end up in the newspapers, and paint a bad picture of adult film stars.

I didn't have to think twice before I held out my hand, and looked up at Cole expectantly. "Do you have a pen?"

His smile was bright and genuine, and he reached into his pocket to dig out a pen that he handed me. I signed the paperwork with a flourish, then looked at Dorian and Emmett who were both looking at me with smugly satisfied grins.

"Finding good people is hard," Dorian offered in explanation when I arched an eyebrow. His eyes flicked down my body, and the gleam of interest there couldn't be denied. "Especially when they look like you."

My face flushed a little at the compliment, and Cole waved one hand at his videographer. "Don't scare him off," Cole instructed, making Dorian snicker. Then he turned his attention back to me, his genuine smile back there. "We have a particular partner in mind for you to work with. His stage name on the website is Lance Stone. I would suggest you watch a few of his videos before your first scheduled shoot on Friday. I’ll send you a month membership to your email so that you won’t be charged to do some research."

My eyebrows shot up into my hairline; Friday was only two days away. "So soon?"

Cole chuckled. "Sooner rather than later, right?" He winked. "You'll be great." He stood up, offering me his hand to shake when I followed suit. "Welcome to Studio Black."

2

Gunner's, the local gay bar - and one of the better bars in town, if I was being honest - was packed when I finally made my way inside the next night. I had spent the entire day after the meeting simultaneously freaked out and elated at how well things had gone, and then mostly just freaking out over the fact that my first day of work at aporn studiowas going to be less than seventy-two hours away.

A big part of me felt like things should have moved a little slower. Didn't they need to file my paperwork with their lawyers, and have me meet with HR before I could walk on set? Maybe there were more restrictions that I would be asked to adhere to if I made it through the four weeks and was offered a full time contract. I didn't know, and I couldn't decide if the butterflies in my stomach were more from nerves or excitement.

"Xan!" Ethan waved at me from a little table near the back, and a smile broke out of my face as I gently shouldered my way through the crowd to get to my twin.

"E. Sorry I didn't text back yesterday. I was a little..." My words trailed off, and I finished by giving my brother a hug, rather than trying to detangle the complicated web of emotions that had filled me since the day before. That still squirmed in my stomach, begging for me to pay attention to them.

Ethan looked at me a little oddly, hugging me back before he sat back in the booth and raised one hand to hail a waiter. He already had a glass of water in front of him, and the polo shirt that he wore was green today, as neat and pressed as it always was.

---