I’ve come back to New York a week early. The London office is in perfectly capable hands with Charles and there is far too much going on back here for me to let it sit.

“You’re looking…different,” I say, stopping to look down to Agnes as I walk toward my office. She’s straightened her hair so that it falls down past her shoulders in attractive auburn waves. She’s also done something different with her glasses so that her green eyes are more noticeable, in a good way. She actually looks halfway attractive like this. Still not my type—not that I’d ever dabble in the company pool—but certainly an improvement.

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Bennett,” she says, actually blushing. “Simone—Miss Parker gave me a makeover. Do you like it?”

“It’s…very nice,” I say in a neutral tone. I don’t like the idea of Simone getting so cozy with my staff.

Thinking about her reminds me of why I came back early and I quickly forget about my secretary’s new appearance. My highest priority is the email with the attachment I received yesterday. I wasn’t stupid enough to open it on my own damn laptop. I also wasn’t stupid enough to delete it. I forwarded the email to the head of IT at Bennett Financial, George Tanaka, while I was in London.

“Call George in IT and have him come to my office ASAP.”

“Yes, Mr. Bennett.”

She announces him just as I’ve finally settled in behind my desk. That was quick.

“Send him in.”

He walks in looking like a rabbit that’s come face to face with an actual jaguar. I’m fully aware that I have an imposing reputation among my staff, but his expression seems especially wary.

I motion impatiently to the seat across the desk and he breathes out a heavy sigh before walking over to take it. He has an iPad in his hands, which I’m assuming has this damning little tidbit about Simone.

“Well?” I say expectantly.

“Well, the good news is it wasn’t a virus,” he says quickly.

I wait, my impatience growing.

“The…ah…good—er—other news is, well….”

“George, I’m a busy man. Perhaps you can get to the point.”

His brow wrinkles with concern. “Perhaps it would be best if you saw it for yourself, Mr. Bennett.”

He quickly stands up and hands over the iPad. I grab it out of his hands and see that it’s a video waiting to be played. My eyes roll up to George who shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He doesn’t seem very eager to tell me what I’m about to watch.

I press play.

The video starts in a blur, the camera man or woman swinging their arm in preparation for filming.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Josh.”

Simone’s voice is unmistakable.

Josh. It takes a moment for me to place the name, then I remember the night of her “Manhattan Wake.” The name I wasn’t allowed to mention. What comes next gives me a better idea why.

The sound of her voice is followed by the camera panning to bring her into view. I can’t hide the surprise that hits me when she finally comes into focus.

She’s completely naked, somehow managing to strategically cover her more intimate parts. One arm is pressed across her breasts and the hand of the other is firmly planted where Eve’s original fig leaf was located.

She looks just as young and immature as she did during Kevin’s wedding, back when she was only nineteen. This must have been taken not too long after that. This is nothing like the somewhat more mature version I know today.

In the video she’s got her head cocked with a smile that says: I’m almost convinced, just push me a little bit more.

It doesn’t help that her giggles indicate a few glasses of champagne, or some other alcoholic beverage, have already pushed her halfway there.

“Come on, Babe. Kim Kardashian. Pamela Anderson. Everyone’s doing it, and you’re way hotter than them. Don’t you wanna be famous?”

“Not like this, you perv.” But her laugh hints that maybe he’s bringing her around.

“What if I promise never to show anyone?”

So much for that promise.

“What happened to being famous?”

“Your call, Babe. It’s my personal spank bank until you give the go-ahead. All I know is, you have a body and face made for film.”

“You mean porn?” she laughs.

“Nah, you’re all class, Simone. Come on, you know you wanna. We can sit back, grab a bowl of popcorn, relive me sticking my dick in that sweet pussy of yours…”

“Josh, don’t be disgusting!”

He’s laughing. Meanwhile the tension in my body has reached levels that could snap an iron bar. I have an irrational hatred for the man and I don’t even know who he is.

“Okay, serious now. I promise I won’t show or send this to anyone. Just my own little present. Got it? So can I get a little show and tell?”

Her head is still cocked again as she mulls it over. The smile on her face already tells me the answer. Besides, why would anyone send me this video if she didn’t bare it all?

“Okay, fine,” she says, giving an embarrassed laugh.

Before I can close the video I catch a brief flash of Simone Parker completely naked as she quickly removes both hands covering her body.

I don’t know why, but for some reason I feel guilty having gone this far. I knew exactly where it was going, so why didn’t I close out earlier?

In the split second it took to hit pause, the image frozen on the screen is etched on the part of my brain that will no doubt be filed away in my own “spank bank,” no matter how reluctantly. Josh was right, Simone does have a face and body made for film.

Goddammit, this is not the kind of distraction I need.

I’m pissed to realize that George is still sitting across from me, looking even more uncomfortable than before. I had completely forgotten he was there. He refuses even look me in the eye, and who could blame him?

“So how much of this did you actually watch?” I ask, making sure that my face and tone are completely neutral.

“Well…I…er, I had to make sure that…um.”

“It’s okay,” I say dismissively. “I’m sure you were just being thorough, and she is an attractive woman.”

His eyes flash up toward me, filled with panic. “No, Mr. Bennett, I didn’t…I mean yes, she is…but I would never—”

“George, there’s one thing I won’t tolerate and that’s lying. You don’t have to tell me you sat there and jerked-off to the thing, but I do need to know if you saw the entire video and, more importantly, who else might have seen it.”

He straightens his shoulders. “You told me not to involve anyone else and I haven’t,” he says firmly.

I nod with appreciation. “And it will stay that way. I’ll hold on to this,” I say, holding up the iPad.

“Of course.”

“I do want you to make one more copy for me. Then you’re to delete any and all others permanently, do you understand?”

“Of course, Mr. Bennett.”

“After that, I want you to focus your attention on who sent it.”

“Well, that may be difficult since—”

“But not impossible?” I hint, cutting him off.

He pauses and I can almost see the sweat begin to bead on his skin. “Perhaps not….” he says slowly.

“George,” I say, leaning in over my desk. “This is a billion dollar company. If you can’t do it, I don’t want to find out that someone else can.”

Even though his face goes a bit green, he nods. “I’ll start working on it right away sir.”

“Thank you, George,” I say by way of excusing him. He’s all too eager to leave.

I steel myself, erasing any bit of emotion and hit play again. This is strictly for informational purposes, at least that’s what I tell myself. It goes as expected. A lot more show and tell. The obligatory blow job; she’s surprisingly enthusiastic, and I note, to my puerile satisfaction, Josh is below average when it comes to size. Various positions of the sex act itself: her on top, from behind, underneath him on the edge of the bed, then an abrupt end.

“Josh” never manages to show his face, which makes me hate him even more. It smacks of cowardice. What the hell did Simone even see in this guy?

Once I’m done, I turn in my chair to look out the window that spans the East River. “Dirt” doesn’t even begin to describe this. A bona fide sex tape. It’s all the ammunition I need to get complete guardianship over Stuart.

So why do I feel so disgusted at the thought of using it?