It took me exactly four minutes to hack into Bobby Dunlap's e-mailâthe university's e-mail service was “protected” by a security system that was laughableâand see who he'd copied on the message. As I scrolled through the addresses, I shook my head. He'd sent it to almost every single Beta Kappaâso everyone in the house had seen it. But one name was missing from the list: Chad York. [email protected] wasn't on Bobby's list. I went to his in-box, and there wasn't anything there with a video attachment. I rolled my eyes and clicked on Deleted Mail. Like so many others, Bobby believed that deleting an e-mail got rid of it and didn't know he actually had to clear his deleted mail archive.
Typical.
And sure enough, there it was.
An e-mail from Chad with a video attachment, and the subject line read:
Check this out.
I opened the e-mail and read the message.
Bobby,
Download this video. I am sure you will be as shocked as I was. For obvious reasons, I can't forward this around. Would you mind doing it? Everyone in the house has to see this.
Xo Chad
I forwarded it to myself. I signed out of Bobby's e-mail account and switched over to mine. I opened the e-mail and hit print. I leaned back in my chair and thought while it printed. I leaned forward and opened another access programâone my father's company had developed for law enforcement. I logged in the IP address of Bobby's computer and crossed my fingers. If his computer was hooked up to a wireless networkâwhich Beta Kappa hadâI could access his computer like it was right in front of me.
Got to love wireless.
I smiled to myself as Bobby's desktop came up on my computer. I clicked on his documents folder.
Oh, silly, silly Bobby,
I thought as I started dragging all his class notes to the trash. I opened a couple of filesâterm papers he was working on.
Pity,
I thought as I deleted them
. Sure hope none of these are due soon
. It was tempting to load a hard-drive-destroying virus, but I resisted that temptation. A corner of my mouth curled up into a smirk.
No virus,
I decided,
because while that might suck, it will drive him crazy wondering what happened to all his schoolwork.
I pictured him sitting in front of his computer, eyes wide in horror, as he tried to find his term papers and finally realizing they were gone forever.
Next time you'll think twice before doing Chad's dirty work, asshole,
I thought as I emptied the trash, smiling at the pop-up warning ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO EMPTY TRASH? FILES WILL BE PERMANENTLY DELETED AND CANNOT BE RETRIEVED. I knew that wasn't strictly true; a ghost of the files would remain on the hard drive and an expert tech could retrieve themâbut it would also cost a fortune Bobby didn't have. I clicked the
Yes
box, and the trash emptied.
Never should have fucked with me, Bobby. I'm smarter and richer than Chad. You picked the wrong side, now suffer the consequences.
I whistled as I deleted all evidence I'd tapped into his computer from his history files, and I logged out of his computer.
Even the best forensic computer expert wouldn't be able to figure out someone had hacked in.
For a brief moment, I considered hacking into Chad's laptop, but decided against it.
I had something much nastier in store for his sorry ass.
Someone started knocking on my front door, and my heart lifted for just a moment, thinking it might be Dante. But it couldn't beâsecurity hadn't called me to let him in.
I really do care about him,
I thought sadly as I went to see who it was, and cursed Chad again.
I opened the door to see Jeff standing there in his white Speedo, a blue towel draped around his shoulders. “You got any coffee made?” He gave me his dazzling smile. Beads of water speckled his firm chest. “We're out and I'm dying.”
“Come on in. There's some in the kitchen,” I replied, standing aside to let him in
.
“Where's Blair?” I asked as he took the last of the coffee.
“Do you mind if I make some more?” he asked, yawning. “Blair left for Palm Springs yesterday. His dad is being interviewed for one of those stupid magazines for a special on Father's Day, and they're doing a photo shoot, and they want Blair to be a part of it.” He dumped the wet grounds and refilled another coffee filter. He took a big drink from his mug and sighed in relief as the coffeemaker started brewing. “On my own this weekend.” He shook his head. “Was a shitty night at the bar last nightâdead. I didn't even get a hundred bucks.” He yawned again. “I don't know why I bother sometimes. I'm completely exhausted, and for what? Maybe it's time to stop dancing and get a real job.” He plopped down on the couch. “I could make more at Starbucks.”
“Would they let you work in a Speedo?” I teased, following him into the living room. “I'd certainly frequent that Starbucks if they did.”
He laughed. “I don't think that would fly.” He peered at me. “How are you doing this morning?”
“I've been better.” I shrugged. “Last night was kind of rough, but I'm figuring it all out.” I grinned at him. “Some things have gone down, but I'm looking at it as an intellectual challenge.”
He set the mug down on the coffee table. “Listen, Jordy, I've got to tell you something.” He cleared his throat. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but this morning when I checked my e-mailâ”
“You had a message from Bobby Dunlap with a video attachment,” I interrupted him. “When you clicked it open, it was a video of me having sex with someone in a steam room.”
“Oh, you know.” His body sagged a bit. “I'm so sorry, man. Are you okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah, actually, I am. I freaked out a little last night when I saw it, but what can I do?” I shrugged. “It's already out thereâBobby sent it to the whole brotherhood. It's embarrassing, but I'm okay with it. I'll live, obviously.” I gave him a brittle grin. “Hey, it might even get me laid. It's a good advertisement.”
Jeff laughed. “Well, you've certainly got a great attitude about it. It's weird, you know, I made porn when I was a junior active, and the brothers found out about it. It was just that one weekend, butâ” He sighed. “At least things have changed around the house since then. I was almost expelled from the house.”
“Seriously?” I hadn't thought about that. I closed my eyes for a second and fought down the panic.
Remember, you've got an ace in the hole.
“You think maybe that's why Bobby sent it around? To get me blackballed?”
Jeff's eyes widened. “Oh, God, I didn't think of that.” He shook his head, drops of water flying. “I don't think that's Bobby's style. He's a gossipâand he probably didn't think about that.” He frowned. “If enough brothers complain, thoughâyeah, they could try. Conduct unbecoming a Beta Kappa, which is a fine line, you know. Being gay's not a problem anymoreâthat's why they tried to get rid of me, which forced the issue. Fortunately, the brothers decided to make the house open to gays. But yeah, it's a possibility.”
“I'm not worried about it.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Don't worry, Jeff. Trust me, I have the entire thing under control.” I waved a hand. “I'm not worried.” My phone rang. I saw who it was and smiled. I held up a finger. “I need to take this. Give me a second, okay?” I walked out onto the balcony. “Hello?” As I listened, my smile grew. “Excellent,” I said. “Absolutely excellent. Go for it.” I hung up just as my phone chirped. It was a text from Chris:
Hey, I need to talk to you before Big Brother Night. Can you come by my office around six?
See you then,
I replied. I walked back into the living room. “I just got a text from Chrisâhe wants me to come by his office at six.”
“Uh-oh.” He frowned. “That's not good.”
“Don't worry.” I put my phone down. “I'm not.”
“Well, call me and let me know how it goes. You sure you're okay?”
“I swear.”
“Cool.” He got up and gave me a hug. “If you need to talk . . .”
“I'll call you.” I squeezed him back. “If you'll excuse me, I have some things to take care of before I meet with Chris.”
“Can I take another cup of coffee?”
I nodded. After the door shut behind him, I checked my watch. It was almost one. I retrieved my phone from the study and checked it. Dante hadn't answered my text.
Maybe he's just busy. Yeah, right.
I didn't have time to deal with Dante today.
I walked out to the car and drove over to Body Quest.
The parking lot was practically empty, so I parked close to the front door. I walked in and smiled at the guy working at the front desk as I approached. “Hi,” I said as he smirked back at me. I'd been right. I'd seen him beforeâat Fusions. He was short, maybe about five seven, with red hair and freckles. I'd always thought he was kind of hotâhad even thought about hitting on him once or twice. Now, I was glad I never had. “Hi,” I said. “Is Rosemary in?”
He nodded. “She's in her office.”
I glanced at his name tag. “Thanks, Robby.”
I walked back to the office. Before I stuck my head in the door, I checked. The room behind Rosemary's office lined up with the steam room. I rapped on the door as I entered. “Rosemary, can I speak to you?”
She looked up. She was maybe about five feet tall and was of Hispanic descent. Her hair was a mop of disheveled curls, and she was about twenty or thirty pounds overweight. She never wore makeup and had an abrupt, unfriendly manner. I'd never liked herâshe was kind of a rude bitch, which was going to make this even more fun.
Her eyes narrowed. “Ah, yes. Jordan Valentine. I've been meaning to call you. Would you mind shutting the door?”
“Not at all.” I slammed it and sat down in a chair in front of her desk.
She cleared her throat. “It has come to my attention you've engaged in conduct on the property that is unacceptable, and I'm afraid I am going to have to cancel your gym membership.” She tapped a pencil on her desk. “You've been a really good member, and I'm sorry that it's come to this.”
“And you've already fired Jay?”
“I'm afraid so.” She bit her lower lip.
“And just how did you find out? About our conduct?”
She flushed. “I was e-mailed a video ofâwhat you two did in the steam room. Obviously, I have no choice in this matter.” She passed an envelope across her desk. “You'd paid for a year's membership in advance, and you'd also paid for three more months of training sessions with Jay. I've written you a check for the money you paid. I didn't have to do thatâyour conduct violated the membership agreement you signed, and so you were entitled to no refund. But I want this to be as amicable as possible.”
I kept smiling. “I have absolutely no desire to make this amicable, madam.”
Her face turned a darker hue of red. “You have no choice in this.”
“On the contrary, I actually hold all the cards here.” I leaned back in my chair and put my feet up on her desk. “Someone with a more curious mind, madam, might have wondered a bit about that video and how it was shot. Do you honestly believe that Jay and I are both so fucking stupid we would have sex in the steam room with someone else in there recording us?” I gestured to the door at the back of her office. “Where does that door lead?”
“The storeroom. Kindly remove your feet from my desk.”
“There is obviously a peephole in the wall the storeroom and steam room share.” I left my feet on her desk. “I'm sure the rest of the membership of Body Quest would be fascinated to find out about that.”
All the color drained out of her face.
“And I am relatively certain only employees have access to the storeroom,” I went on. “I am certain the members would find that even more fascinatingâand so would a judge.” I winked at her. “I mean, how does anyone know that's the only tape in existence? Maybe other members have been taped in the steam room. Granted, they might not be doing anything untoward, the way Jay and I were, but I think you'll find that most people will take a very dim view of being photographed or videotaped in the nude without their knowledge.” I removed my feet from her desk and leaned forward. “Judges take a very dim view of that as well.”
Her mouth opened and closed. No sound came out.
“In fact, I forwarded the video to my attorney this morning.” I folded my arms. “He was quite fascinated, especially when I explained it could have only been shot by one of your employees and that neither Jay nor I gave our consent to being taped, and there are no signs posted in the men's locker room that there are surveillance cameras.” I leaned forward. “So not only is there a civil suit loomingâmy attorney seems to think we can sue for, oh, I don't know, at least a couple of millionâthere are also some criminal liabilities involved as well.”