Rex

The sound of my cellphone vibrating against the nightstand gets integrated right into my dream for the first missed call. After a few seconds, the vibrations begin again, rousing me from a deep sleep. I pick up the phone to see that it’s Brix, so I quickly click to answer.

“Rex? Thank God you picked up. I need your help,” Brix says, sounding exasperated.

“Brix? What’s going on?” I ask, my head still foggy from the short nap.

“That fucking Richard is threatening to turn me in,” he replies in a hushed voice. “What should I do?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the Sheraton downtown,” he says, sounding a bit unsure. “Yeah, it’s the Sheraton.”

“Okay, all I would do is make sure everything that was recorded before her eighteenth birthday is deleted and make sure all the deleted files are purged from all of your computers and servers,” I tell him, still feeling a little bewildered. “Didn’t you already do that?”

“We took everything off the web,” he says with a sigh. “This computer stuff isn’t really my thing, and my tech guy has been on vacation.” My stomach churns just at the thought of having videos of Felicia and me floating around in his system.

“Do you still have the picture of Daphne’s fake ID?” I ask, trying to think ahead on his behalf.

“I do, but a friend of mine told me that I was supposed to do a background check since she was new to the business,” he says, sounding distraught. “He told me I could get up to thirty years in prison for producing child porn and another twenty for distributing it.”

“Good God! You’d be in your mid-seventies by the time you got out of there,” I reply, getting out of bed so I don’t disturb Michael and Felicia. “I’m going to go to the office and see if that anti-piracy software is still finding any videos of you and Daphne. You should meet me there, and I’ll use your laptop to log in to your servers. I can help you get those files cleaned up,” I offer, wanting to make sure ours have been properly deleted as well.

“Brix is in trouble?” Felicia asks, cracking her eyes open when I come back for my wallet and keys.

“Yeah, that Richard guy is threatening to turn him in.” I bend down and give her a kiss. “I offered to help him clean up his servers. That way, I can check to make sure ours is gone as well.”

“That’s a good idea,” she replies with a look of concern crossing her face. “I still can’t believe that was broadcast to all of his members.”

“Yeah, that’s why I want to get into his system and make sure they’re gone.” I give her another kiss of reassurance. “He’s going to meet me at the office, so I’d better get going.” I slip my key fob into my pocket and give Felicia a kiss before turning to look in the crib. “He looks like a little angel,” I tell her upon seeing his sweet little expression. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I whisper before turning and heading for the door.

“Okay,” she replies, stretching and bunching up her pillow. I feel a little guilty leaving her to take care of the new baby, but she doesn’t seem to mind. My thoughts turn to Brix as I get into my car. I have to wonder why Richard is the one making a big deal out of it? Unless he’s trying to get back in her mother’s good graces or something. About the best Brix can do at this point is to eliminate as much evidence as possible.

Driving to the office, my stomach keeps getting increasingly queasy. The thought of Felicia and me being involved with a guy who could potentially be convicted of child pornography is not a good thing. Even though I know he didn’t do it intentionally, it’s something that has always made me sick. Young people are so impressionable, and if they’re in need of money, they can easily be manipulated. Since you have to be twenty-one to drink alcohol, I think anyone should have to be at least that old to be in a porn film. Or die in a war, for that matter. Some of our laws make no sense.

By the time I reach the office, I’ve decided that doing this for Brix is probably the best insurance for both of us. Brix isn’t a bad guy, and I know he had a tough childhood, as he’s mentioned on several occasions. His father died when he was just a kid, and his mother worked two jobs to get him through school. So I understand why he would be willing to operate in the gray area to make good money, but he’s going to have to learn to be more careful or he’ll end up in big trouble.

“What are you doing here?” Barb asks, shocked to see me in the office. “Didn’t you just become a daddy yesterday?”

“I did, and it wasn’t easy for me to leave him behind, but I had to get a couple of things done on the computer.” I pull out my phone and open my photos as Sally comes out of her office to join us. “Isn’t he cute?” I scroll through a couple of dozen pictures capturing every angle of my little guy.

“Oh, he’s a cutie just like his daddy,” Sally says, giving me a hip check. “I really like your new haircut, by the way,” she mentions for the third time since I got it.

“Yeah, you’ve said that a few times,” I reply, letting her know that it hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“I know. I just want to make sure you don’t go back to the old one.” Both she and Barb giggle.

“My old one was a little immature, but it wasn’t like it was bad,” I reply, tired of hearing about it. “Here comes Brix. He’s got my old haircut, so you can tell him your opinions too.”

“Oh, he’s young,” Barb says without hesitation.

“And built,” Sally adds with awe in her voice. “He can pull it off.”

“But there’s a girl with him,” Barb says as Daphne’s tagging along behind him. “I guess it’s back to the drawing board.” I join them in a laugh. I could just imagine Brix and Barb as a couple.

“Thanks for helping me out, man,” he says, coming through the door into the reception area. “I’ve been freaking out since last night. We changed hotels after he threatened me, and I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“I’ll do what I can for you,” I tell him before leading the two of them back to my office. “Why is Richard so intent on getting you in trouble?”

“He’s jealous,” Daphne blurts out. “He has been waiting for me to turn eighteen. That’s why I left home in the first place. He kept hitting on me but never crossed the line. He was just waiting for me to be old enough. I told Mom about it, but she didn’t believe me.”

“Wow, I’m sorry,” I tell her, not knowing what else to say. “That had to be a little awkward since he’s obviously a very powerful man and so much older.”

“Yeah, he’s forty years older than me,” she says with a cringe. “He’s almost twenty years older than my mom, for fuck’s sake. Mom liked having a rich guy around, so she wouldn’t listen to me.”

“Again, I’m sorry.” I log in to my server and check the anti-piracy software. “It’s caught eleven copies of our video so far and had them taken down. It has caught over four hundred videos of you guys. It actually caught more in the last twenty-four hours than in the first twenty-four, which is weird. That number should be declining unless someone is uploading them faster than they can be taken down.”

“It’s Richard. He made most of his money by flipping a video streaming startup,” Brix tells me. “So if he has some of our videos, he can keep uploading them.”

“That’s how you can nail him.” I grin at the thought of turning everything against him.

“What do you mean?” Daphne asks, perking up in her chair.

“Since Brix found out that you were a minor, he deleted the videos and has done everything in his power to make sure that content is not seen by the general public,” I tell her, setting up the situation. “Richard, on the other hand, is continuing to distribute the videos even though he knows they qualify as child pornography. Your friend said that you can get twenty years in prison for possession and distribution.”

“Holy shit, you’re right!” Brix jumps from his chair, excited by the revelation. “How can we nail him?”

“First, let’s log in to your network and make sure everything is clean,” I tell him, motioning for him to sit down in my seat. “After we know your network is clean, we’ll figure out whom to call.”

I send Felicia a text letting her know it’s going to be an hour or two and asking if she wants to order in something for dinner. I’m in no mood for cooking, and she’ll be busy with the little guy. A smile comes to my face at the thought of how sweet he looked sound asleep in his crib. My phone buzzes and its Mom calling.

“Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

“Well, now that I had his size, I went shopping for baby clothes this afternoon,” she says, sounding completely energized. “They have the cutest things nowadays. I must’ve bought over a dozen different outfits.”

“Wow, we were just saying that we would have to go clothes shopping,” I reply, a little surprised by her pleasant demeanor. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense!” She huffs. “It’s a grandmother’s job to make sure the grandkids are properly spoiled, so I thought I’d better get started. I bought him a cute little mobile for his crib too. How’s he doing? Can I come over and visit?”

“Um, yeah. At the moment, I’m at the office helping a friend out of a jam, but Felicia is home with him,” I tell her, thinking maybe she will wait until tomorrow.

“You’re not still friends with that Erickson boy, are you?” she asks, referring to my shadiest high school buddy. “Stephen, was it?”

“No, it’s not him. I haven’t thought of him in years.” I laugh at the thought of her still not liking him. She always thought he was going to get me in trouble. Luckily, we never got caught. “It’s a business associate, actually.”

“Ah, someone else who’s in the sex trade?” she asks in a rich, sarcastic tone.

“Actually, he’s the one who sells those therapy chairs that you like so much,” I reply with a chuckle. “He does porn on the side, and one of his girls had a fake ID. So the first few scenes he did with her, she was only seventeen.”

“Seventeen?” She gasps. “They should lock him up and throw away the key! Seventeen! She’s just a child.”

“In his defense, she doesn’t look seventeen.” I glance up at Daphne, who is glued to my conversation. “She looks like she’s the same age as Felicia. You would never guess she’s five years younger,” I tell her in his defense. “Anyway, I’m helping him make sure everything is erased from his servers. Apparently, he was supposed to do a background check on her.”

“I think I’m going to start doing background checks on my new clients,” she says with a flutter in her voice. “Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but some of my new clients are making me nervous.”

“Maybe you should cut back and stop accepting new clients altogether,” I suggest. “Then you would have more time to spend with your grandson.”

“Here we go. Now someone is just looking for free daycare,” she says suspiciously.

“No,” I assure her. “Felicia and I will both be working from home most days, so we’ll be taking care of him ourselves.”

“Oh, well, I can do it whenever you have something going on,” she replies, immediately changing her tune. “Are you two getting married, or are you just going to keep living together?” she asks, never one to hold back her opinions.

“I proposed to her last night,” I tell her, once again thinking about the fact that I need to get an engagement ring.

“So we get to plan a wedding too?” Mom squeals as if she just hit the jackpot. I always told her I wasn’t getting married or having kids, intentionally setting the bar low. Now, she’s going to have the grandson and daughter-in-law she always wanted.

“We’re going to get married on a beach somewhere, but you and Dad are invited,” I immediately add, not wanting her to start looking for a venue. “We’ll do it sometime this fall, once the dust settles.”

“You’ll have to get Michael a cute little outfit that matches your suit,” she says with visions already dancing through her head. “It will be beautiful. Are you thinking the West Coast or somewhere in the Caribbean?”

“I just proposed last night, so I’m not thinking anything quite yet.” I chuckle. There’s a long pause, which leads me to believe something else is on her mind.

“You didn’t propose just so you’d have someone to help you raise the baby, did you?” she asks, once again saying whatever pops into her mind.

“No. I’ve known right from the beginning that she’s the one for me,” I explain, even though I shouldn’t really have to. “Although she did ask me the same question.”

“I’m sure. Your son is born, and five minutes later, you’re proposing,” she says with a snicker. “It’s more than a little suspicious.”

“Okay, when I get home, I’ll rescind my proposal. If our just living together makes you happier, then that’s what we’ll do,” I tease, knowing nothing is further from the truth. “That way she can keep her options open.”

“You’re hilarious. But it is pretty good that she’s willing to help you raise a son who isn’t hers,” she says in a way that reminds me of the mother I grew up with.

“Under the circumstances, it’s probably pretty good of me to step up and raise the child as well. If you remember, this woman did this behind my back and in the process committed a felony,” I remind her. “I could’ve sent her to prison instead of making her an offer she couldn’t refuse.”

“I’m aware,” she says. “But I expected that from you. We raised you to do the right thing.”

“Okay.” I decide it’s best to just let it go. “Felicia is home if you want to stop by. Just give her a call first. She might be ordering in dinner, if you want to join us.”

“I’ll give her a call,” she says, pausing once again. “And yes, I’m very proud of you. I was really hoping you would step up and do exactly what you did. He’s your son.”

“Just like with Felicia, I knew it the instant I saw him,” I reply, thinking back to the first moment I looked into his eyes. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Hanging up the phone, both Brix and Daphne are staring at me like I’m an alien. “How can you be so calm with your life being completely turned upside down?” Brix gasps.

“Yeah, having a kid and getting married? My God!” Daphne adds, her eyes widening at the thought.

“I think I was ready for a big change,” I reply, reflecting on the past year. “I wasn’t even interested in dating anymore. I could’ve easily ended up being alone.”

“Yeah, right!” Brix turns to me and shakes his head in disbelief. “You’re the man! I’ve heard the stories.”

“Yeah, you’re a sex machine,” Daphne says with a naughty little twinkle in her eye.

“A retired sex machine,” I clarify. “Now, I’ll log you in through a proxy server and we’ll whitewash your whole network,” I tell Brix, getting back to business. Once connected, the first files I scan through are the ones from last Friday. They were deleted, but the deleted files are still on the server, so I show him how to get rid of them. “Now we just have to do that with all the old files before her eighteenth birthday.”

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused,” she says, looking as if she could easily burst into tears.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” Brix says immediately. “I don’t blame you. I blame Richard. He’s the one who pushed you into doing something desperate.”

“All the more reason to take him down.” I push back from the desk. “I have a few things to check on. Just yell if you need something.”

As long as I’m going to be here for awhile, I might as well go through the sales and inventory reports with Sally. It makes me a little nervous leaving my business in someone else’s hands, even if I know they are perfectly capable of running it.