Page 70 of Making It While Faking It
“I know,” I sigh.
We stand comfortably in stillness and silence for a little while longer. His nearness is starting to get the better of me, and we both turn to look at the empty hospital bed at the same time.
“Not now?” he asks.
“Um, hashtag inappropriate.”
We chuckle together.
“But,” I say as I unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. “It’s never too inappropriate for a BJ.”
Achilles’s eyebrows shoot up as I go down on him and take his big cock into my mouth and taste him, lick him, and suck him until he quakes with an orgasm, and then I drink every drop of him.
Mason Vayle Harper — Time of death 11:23:05 p.m.
Recompense
ACHILLES LORD
NINE DAYS LATER
The last nine days have been hectic, to say the least. I couldn’t have gotten through them without the woman sitting to my left, TG.
Mason’s death hit us all hard, but not as hard as it hit his fiancée and Hercules. But he, we, couldn’t let us lose ground. I reminded Herc that nobody wanted this moment to occur more than Mason. He was so important to our operation, to our progress, that he owned five percent of stock in LTI, and he had been wise enough to officially transfer his holdings to Lake Mary Clark, who has handed over her vote to PG.
I’m certain Max, Leo, and Xander saw this coming. On the night I proposed to Treasure, and after Mason died, she and I returned to our townhome and sat on the rooftop and drank a bottle of wine in silence. For a long time, Treasure sat next to me on the chaise lounge, head on my chest, I smelling her hair and she listening to my heart.
The sun poked through the eastern horizon when she finally asked, “Now, what do we do about my family?”
And since then, we’ve been steadily heading toward this moment.
Treasure and I are already seated. In walks Max Grove, Xander Grove, and Leo Grove who’s not happy to see her and me sitting so close. Paisley and Herc stand at the head of the table. We’re in the executive conference room at LTI.
I keep my eyes on Max Grove. It was Treasure who insisted that we add Lake’s name to the list of investors even if the shares hadn’t finished being transferred to her name. Slouching in his chair, he seems to have a chip on his shoulder as he reads the top sheet and then stiffens. Treasure squeezes my thigh under the table. Hell if she wasn’t right. Max Grove is going to be easier to deal with during this negotiation from here on out. He even looks up and down the table as if searching for Lake’s ghost. There’s no way we expected her to be here. Even though she knows her name will be invoked to influence Max.
“Monitors up,” Paisley says into the table microphone. Three large-screen monitors power on. Then Paisley’s mother’s face appears on one monitor, and Xander nearly jerks himself out of his seat.
“Heart?” he says and frowns at Paisley. “What’s your mother doing here?”
Paisley repeats GIT’s rule on owners’ voting rights to override the CEO’s decision.
“Today is that day, Dad,” she says. “But you’re going to want to see this first.”
“We’re all present. Let’s get started,” Hercules says.
It’s so quiet we could hear a mouse scuttle across the floor. The lights come down as a large screen lowers against the wall. And the video plays of TRANSPOT actually working. I remember when I saw the demonstration in real life. I was fucking blown away.
Five individuals from five corners of the world in one room as solid digitized images of themselves having tangible forms. Each image could interact with the others—they shook hands and patted each other on the back. At this stage in development, their interactions were minimal, but the possibilities are endless.
The video ends. The lights are up. Xander, Leo, and Max are three pictures of shock, but Max displays rage too.
“It works,” Max growls, aiming his death stare at Paisley who nods stiffly.
“I, who’ve never”—Max slams his fist on the table—“crossed you…”
The door opens, and Bethel, one of the administrative assistants, escorts Lake into the room.
“Sorry I’m late,” she says. “I thought maybe I should be here for…” Her words trail off as she looks at Max’s face.
