Authors: Vera Roberts
“So because I’m taking my time on Mari, I don’t trust her?” Scott asked. “Is that the new logic?”
“Does Mari know how much you’re worth?” Dave asked.
Scott looked around the room and saw six eyes staring back at him. “All right, let’s play.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…” Jeff interrupted. “You didn’t tell your girl how much you’re worth?”
“Do you plan on dropping that little tidbit to her anytime soon?” Paul asked.
“She knows,” Scott defended. He felt like he was in front of a firing squad. “She knows.”
“Scott, I saw the look on her face when you gave her that money,” Dave interjected. “She doesn’t know.”
“Why does she need to know? What purpose could that serve her?” Scott asked.
Jeff smiled. “So let me get this straight. You trust your girl enough to marry her, but you don’t trust her enough to let her know how much you’re worth?”
“You still didn’t answer me: why she would need to know how much money I’m worth?” Scott asked.
“I don’t know…” Paul began. “Maybe it’s a part of that commitment, communication, and honesty bullshit you married fools like to agree on so damn much, so I thought it would be true.”
“I’ll tell her eventually.” Scott added. “Just not now.”
“So when you present the prenup to her, I’m assuming that’s when she’s going to know?” Dave asked.
Scott fell silent and concentrated on his cards. His silence was thundering. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. “The moment she becomes Mrs. Reed is when I tell her everything. Until that day, she won’t know.”
“All right, I got a bet for y’all,” Paul folded his cards and addressed Jeff and Dave, “I will bet the two of you that Mari will not sign that prenup.”
“I’m in. I’ll bet my jet on that.” Dave added.
“I’ll bet ten percent ownership of my holdings on that,” Jeff chimed in.
“And I’ll bet one of my islands on it,” Paul smiled at Scott. “Your move, partner.”
Scott smiled at his friends’ naïveté. “I will be my entire net worth she will,” he spoke to dropped jaws, “that’s right—all hundred and fifty million of it.”
****
Mariana never had so much fun in her life. The women danced at Tao nightclub for a few hours before heading to another club, Aura. They then ended their evening getting ice cream sundaes at a fountain shop inside one of the hotels.
“Soooo…” Victoria began. “How serious are you and Scott?”
“Well, we went ring shopping a few weeks ago. I’m just waiting for my ring.” Mariana was getting impatient. She wanted to be engaged already so she could start planning.
“Have you decided what kind of wedding you want?” Bella asked.
“I don’t know. I mean, Scott said money wasn’t a concern, but I know there’s not that much money to spend,” Mariana took a bite of her sundae.
“Wait…what?” Bella asked.
“Surely, Scott isn’t as wealthy as the rest of the guys,” Mariana mentioned. She knew Scott’s friends were very wealthy based on how they dressed and acted.
Bella raised an eyebrow. “Who told you that lie, sweetheart?”
“It’s not a lie! I see Scott everyday and I know how he is with money,” Mariana justified, “I mean, he has the fancy car and trinkets but he’s not nearly as rich as Dave, Paul, and Jeff.”
Trish smiled. “Sweetie, just because Scott isn’t obvious with his money, it doesn’t mean he’s broke.”
Mariana thought about her Mercedes. “I know he’s not broke.”
Bella placed a hand on Mariana’s arm. “Mari, Scott paid for your car in full.”
The revelation surprised Mariana. “What?”
“Your car is completely paid off, and I saw the price tag of your engagement ring,” Bella hinted, “it’s about a three-bedroom house in the Coachella Valley.”
Mariana was stunned. Why did Scott feel the need to keep his wealth a secret from her? “So how much money does he have?”
“Honestly?” Trish asked as Mariana nodded. “He’s about halfway between a CEO and a basketball player. You do the math.”
Mariana was shocked. Did Scott have a rich uncle she didn’t know about? “How did he acquire all that wealth?”
“When Scott graduated from USC, his dad and grandpa gave him a nice graduation present in the sum of $50,000 on the condition he didn’t go to Vegas or blow it on bullshit. He took the money and made a lot of wise investments and played the real estate market before it crashed a few years ago. He also became a silent partner to the guys, helping them start up their businesses. He owns about twenty percent of Costa-Williams while they owe the lion’s share. He also negotiates a lot of deals behind closed doors while Jeff is out there milking it for the cameras and bitches,” Bella laughed.
It didn’t take long for Mariana to figure out how much wealth Scott had. It was well into the millions. Other than his occasional splurges, he didn’t live like a millionaire. It was what she found the most fascinating and wonderful about him. “I’m not with him for his money,” She defended.
“I know you’re not, and Scott knows you’re not.” Bella took a bite of her sundae.
Mariana still didn’t understand her boyfriend’s actions. “So why the secret?”
“I’m sure you know about the story with The Great Disaster, right?” Victoria asked.
How could Mariana forget? “Yeah, I’ve heard.”
“He still has trust issues, and she really did a number on him.” Victoria sipped on her float. “It’ll be a while before he can completely trust another woman.”
Mariana wasn’t sure how she should take the news. Was Scott ever going to trust her? What would she have to do to prove to him she was trustworthy? She was already His submissive. Wasn’t that trustworthy enough? “What are you saying?”
“If you and Scott ever plan to get married, expect the prenup of all prenups,” Trish warned, “he will make sure you won’t get shit.”
T
HIRTY-
T
HREE
Chris Molina was overdue for a promotion at McCormick and Sheppard. He knew with the great work Mariana was doing for the Guess campaign, he was finally going to get one.
For years, he had busted his ass in Brand Strategy, coming up with demographics and branding ideas that had not only solidified McCormick and Sheppard’s reputation as one of the industry’s leading marketing/PR firms, but it also made him a favorite in Scott’s eyes. No matter how angry Scott was on a particular day, he never took that anger out on Chris for any reason.
Now Chris hoped Scott still treated him as a favorite, despite the Hiroshima-like bombshell he just dropped on his boss. Brand Strategy occasionally messed up but nothing this bad. He had gone over the figures with a fine-tooth comb and thought everything was perfect.
“What do you mean we’re fifty thousand short?”
“We’re fifty thousand short on the budget, Ice,” Chris nervously repeated.
Scott simmered his temper. There were a lot of words he could say but only one came out. “How?”
When he had gotten a frantic phone call from the head of Guess’s marketing department asking him why they had taken out fifty thousand of their marketing budget, well, Chris didn’t have an answer for it. What made the situation worse was the person behind the mistake. The error was discovered several weeks later, just in time for Caprina’s campaign to start shooting. “I assigned the budget to one of the interns and double-checked the figures and it was fine. I don’t know what happened.”
“You don’t have to be vague,” Scott reminded, “I know it’s Mariana.”
“She normally does a fantastic job with hardly any errors,” Chris went to bat for her, “so I don’t know what happened. She’s really meticulous.”
“Except now,” Scott smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile.
“Ice, I don’t know what to say,” Chris offered, “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Send her in here,” Scott kept his emotions in check, “I’ll handle her.”
Chris silently nodded and left Scott’s office. Scott turned around and faced the skyscrapers. He was going to hate his job in a minute.
Mariana entered Scott’s office a short while later. “You wanted to see me, Scott?”
“Have a seat, Mari,” he pointed to the chairs in front of his desk.
Mariana walked over to the chairs and sat down. She felt tension coming from Scott and she could sense he was trying to keep his composure. He was very angry and she had something to do with it. “What’s going on?”
“I should be asking you that question,” Scott replied. It took a lot of effort to quiet his anger.
“I don’t understand,” Mariana questioned, “is something wrong?”
“Mari, you messed up on the budget,” Scott couldn’t understand how she didn’t realize the magnitude of her mistake, “you really messed up.”
“Messed up?” Mariana was perplexed, “how?”
Scott slid the spreadsheet printout to her. “The budget is fifty thousand short.”
Mariana’s eyes widened. “What?” She studied the spreadsheet. In glaring red font was the incorrect figure for Caprina’s campaign. “That’s impossible! I double-checked the figures before I sent it out!”
“You didn’t double-check well enough,” Scott replied quietly.
“This is ridiculous, Scott,” Mariana couldn’t believe what she was seeing, “I promise you I had the correct figure before I sent it out.”
Scott leaned back in his chair and stared into a blank space. Pain had a tight squeeze on his heart and the words were stuck in his throat. He forced them out. “I have to take you off the campaign and temporarily suspend you from having any major involvement with other campaigns. You’ll still be able to attend meetings and take notes, but you will no longer be involved like you were until I do a complete investigation.”
Mariana read deeper into what Scott said. She was good as fired, but he spared her. “Scott, I promise you,” her eyes swelled up with tears and her voice cracked, “I swear I did that spreadsheet correctly.”
Scott watched his girlfriend’s heart collapse before him. He had to remain professional, though he all wanted was to hold her. “I’ll let you know the status of your position here once our investigation is complete, Ms. Harlow.”
Mariana no longer contained the tears and they fell down her cheeks. “Ms. Harlow? Ms. Harlow?” Her voice was thick with pain and anguish. “I’m Ms. Harlow to you now? It’s like that, Scott? Why don’t you believe me? Why?”
Scott read her eyes. There was something not mistakable about them: innocence. But he had a job to do, and it was better he did it than someone else. Still, it didn’t stop Scott feeling like the biggest dick on planet earth. He swallowed his emotions and continued. “Ms. Harlow, like I’ve said…”
“No, fuck what you said!” Mariana stood up and wiped her face. “I’ll take the rest of the day off since there are no meetings for me to play secretary at,” she walked out of Scott’s office and slammed the door shut.
Scott turned his chair around and looked at the skyscrapers before him. “If I fire her, I’m fucked. If I let this slide, I’m fucked.” He shook his head. “Either way, I lose and I lose big.”
T
HIRTY-
F
OUR
“Problems with the wifey?” Caprina asked.
After work, Scott went to EMK for happy hour and to calm his nerves. He knew Mariana would be home when he arrived, and there was going to be an epic fight. He didn’t want to battle her when there was so much at stake. His reputation in the advertising industry was weighing on this campaign. He knew people were talking about him. Would he be able to handle Caprina on a professional level? Could he prove to everyone that he still had it despite working with Caprina?
For the first time in a long while, Scott didn’t care about his career. He had his arguments with Mariana before, but nothing this major. Although he didn’t say it, it was obvious what he was doing with the campaign: he was choosing Caprina over Mariana, and that fact made his stomach turn. “None of your concern,” Scott quietly replied.
“Ooh, that bad?” Caprina teased. “She’s too young for you, Scotty.”
“You’re stuck on age,” Scott nursed his whiskey. “Missing your youth?”
Caprina took the shot on the chin and cleared her throat. “She can’t handle you, Scotty. She can’t handle you like I could.”
Scott took another sip of the cool liquid and thought about what Caprina said. Unpleasant memories flooded his brain.
Caprina took the reins and dominated Scott during their sessions. It wasn’t anything BDSM-related; just hardcore, passionate sex. She got on top and rolled her body back and forth on his cock with both cowgirl and squatting positions. If Caprina had a surprise for Scott, she surely didn’t show it during their lovemaking. She took his cock whole and sucked on it until Scott came no fewer than three times in her mouth. She swallowed his cum and licked her lips. “Did you like that, Scotty?” she asked as she licked his balls.
Scott could only nod. He was too spent from blowing his load multiple times. “Ye…ye…yes, Ma’am.”
“Good, that’s great to hear.” Caprina nodded. “Do you think you’ll be able to continue?”
Scott’s dick had already gone limp. He had nothing else left in him. Not at least for another few hours. “I…I…I can’t, Ma’am.”
“Good.” Caprina pulled out a device she hid underneath the pillows and placed it on Scott’s cock. She locked the device and put the key in her bra.
Scott immediately woke up from his dream-like state. Some contraption was on his cock and he was pretty damn sure it wasn’t a cup. “What’s this?”
“This,” Caprina stroked the device, “is a male chastity device. I hope you enjoyed all the pussy you could handle now because we’re not fucking until I feel like it.”
Scott sat up in bed and moved away from Caprina. He looked down at his cock and there it was—a hard plastic device locked around his cock. It gripped him tightly and the only way he could remove it was with a key—that Caprina was holding. “Ma’am, this isn’t funny.”
“It isn’t? Kinda like how I didn’t find it funny for you to obey Sanora and disrespect me last week?” She snapped.
“Now, Caprina…”
Caprina slapped Scott across his face. “You know how to address me.”
The sting of the slap burned Scott’s face. “Ma’am, I only did what I was told to do.”
Caprina grabbed Scott’s face and held it to her attention. “I’m the only one you obey orders from. Not anyone else, and certainly not that cunt-bitch Sanora, you got that?”