Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69456 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Wanda seems to get the last bit of gumption or courage and takes a step forward.
"You think you're so tough, coming up here and saying these things about me that you know aren't true," Wanda says and I can see her convince herself the only way to get out of this now is to lie. And she has to lie through her fucking teeth. "You know you were the one who probably convinced Eliza to steal the money. And you announced it and got in front of the cameras to throw them under the bus when I found out."
“But you announced yourself what they made you do,” Wanda sneers. “And not that you’re a saint. Your squalid and filthy little whore of a stepdaughter and Carter are just a lot of morally bankrupt people.”
I shake my head. “And you Wanda? Blackmailing us? And then trying to put out leaks to get us destroyed in the court of public opinion? What do you call that?” I shoot back.
It's like watching a tennis game. Or a ping pong match.
"You're trying to have your cake and eat it too and I'm not going to let you, because you're part of the problem," Wanda yells. "You're trying to steal the money that Eliza's father asked her to manage."
I smile.
"No Wanda," I say. "You're lying."
"Prove it," Wanda says to me with a snarl. Then she looks over to the reporters. "Who are you going to believe? Him or me? He's right. His intern did come to me and tell me he sexually assaulted her. I do have her testimony. So either Derek Stackford is trying to protect himself from that. Or he's trying to do something else, but he has absolutely no proof that things happened the way he says they did. He has no proof I was even in his office."
And this is where I smile.
Broadly.
"Actually, Wanda," I say and relish the moment as I pause and let people turn to me. Moment of fucking glory. "I got a tape."
There's a hush that goes through the crowd.
"I had to see how far you'd take it, but I have a tape of the whole thing from my office," I say.
Wanda sputters.
"I record the sessions with the interns because you know, you might want to watch and jerk off to something later," I say and the crowd actually laughs. Including Carter. "But I don't need them anymore because I finally found two people I love."
I mean it. No more need for an endless supply of interns. I have the two people I fucking love right next to me.
"But that tape has Mandy moaning my name. It has you coming in. Threatening me. Telling me what to do. And it's right here," I say, pulling out a small compact blu-ray disc out of my pocket.
Wanda's face falls. Literally, her body crumples. Not a sound comes out and I see, for the first time, realization sinks in that she's well and truly fucked.
"Who wants it?" I ask the crowd.
With a collective roar, each person signifies they want to see it.
"Plenty to go around," I yell and take out an envelope full of discs. "Everything is corroborated there, and I think the NYPD will probably want a copy too."
If you can imagine a collective mass of humanity trying to reach over and grab something as if their lives depended on it, then that's exactly what happens.
Wanda has shrunk, literally.
Defeated. Destroyed.
I turn to Carter.
"Listen, Carter, I want you to know that I always knew there was a reason why it was so easy to hate you," I say and he looks at me. I gulp. "Because I loved you too."
He nods. "I love you Derek. I can't explain it," he says and I nod.
But no more words are needed. Carter leans forward and I meet his face and in the next moment he's kissing me. A deep, probing kiss.
When he disengages, I turn to Eliza.
She's smiling.
"Wanna get out here?" she asks us.
I look to the crowd, shouting questions to a cowering Wanda who's crying as they try to get the tapes and play them. My work here is done and I nod to Eliza.
It's time to get the fuck out.
And on with the first day of the rest of our lives.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Eliza
Fucking one incredible man makes a girl’s heart race and gets her all tingly inside. Fucking two incredible men that you also watch touch each other? That’s the thing of pure erotic fantasies that make a girl’s body tingle all over. I know because that’s what is about to happen.
“You’ve barely touched your dinner,” Carter says.
Derek shoots him a knowing glance.
Yeah, they both know what’s up. We finally get to have each other and I’m not really in the mood to touch my crab cakes. Like, who can focus on food when they have an aching pussy that needs attention? Not me. I bite my lip and look to Carter. “I guess I’m not in the mood,” I say, teasing out my words slowly and narrowing my eyes at him with a smile.