*** ~~ *** ~~ *** ~~ ***
Tag prayed like hell that this was going to work. He had serious doubts after looking at all of the faces staring back at him in the large meeting room, but he had to admit, it was worth a shot. Aside from outing Samantha on their own, and taking a direct hit that they would probably never recover from, he wasn’t sure they had much of a choice anyhow.
He was mostly there for support and to show the members that he was on their side. No matter their final decision, he would ensure their interests were protected to the best of his ability.
Tag’s eyes were glued to the woman now standing in front of the entire room. She was dressed to reflect the immaculate professional that she was, and he knew he wasn’t the only person riveted by how incredibly stunning she looked in gray pinstriped slacks that accentuated her tiny waist and her curvy hips while the crisp white button down shirt hinted at her impressive cleavage, although she wasn’t doing anything specific to draw attention to her body.
“Thanks for coming here today,” McKenna addressed the entire room after Luke took his seat beside Cole. “I know most of you probably know who I am, and I hope by the end of this meeting, I can erase some of the fear I see in your eyes.”
Uncomfortable laughter rattled through the room.
Behind McKenna, on the projector screen, was an enlarged image of the front page article from the Dallas Morning News.
“As many of you know, I’m here doing an exclusive on Club Destiny, and before you panic any more than you already have, I want to tell you that your anonymity is my first and foremost priority. I will, in no way, offer any names in any of my articles on this club.”
Tag might’ve imagined it, but he thought he heard several sighs of relief.
“However, from where I stand, I’m not the enemy that you need to watch out for.” McKenna pointed behind her to the screen. “Most of you have probably already read the article and understand the intentions of Stephen Crawford and Susan Toulmin, which is why we have invited each of you here today.
“You’ll notice amongst you there are several familiar faces not in attendance today. If you stop and think about who is not here, you will also note where you normally see those people.”
Tag held his breath, waiting for McKenna to get to the point.
“I’ve learned in recent days exactly how far Luke and Logan McCoy will go to protect the members of their club. And this may upset you at first, but if you think long and hard on their reasoning, you’ll understand that their methods have always been in your best interest.
“Each one of you is considered a full member of Club Destiny.” McKenna paused, and Tag waited to see if anyone would say anything. When they didn’t, she continued. “What does that mean? Well, it means that you have full access to the entire club while some members are restricted to certain areas, including the private wing.
“This may seem a little underhanded if you think about it, but again, every decision that Luke and Logan have made was in your best interest. Due to the nature of the club and certain activities that go on, each new member is put on a probation period in which they are observed, and more importantly, trust is established. That means that not every member you see within these walls is allowed to venture into the club.”
McKenna emphasized the last words, referring mainly to the real Club Destiny, which not many people even knew about. Every person in that room had at one time or another been to the other club, although they probably hadn’t thought anything of it at the time.
“The two people that you see on the screen behind me were never granted full membership.” McKenna smiled, “Now I’m going to tell you why I am here today, and why you’re hearing this from me and not from the owners.”
This was the part Tag worried about. McKenna did a fine job providing the backstory per se, but this was the point where it was going to get a little touchy.
“Most of you have been worried about how much Susan Toulmin knows. If you’ve ever interacted with her in any capacity, then you’ve worried your name may be on this mysterious list she keeps referring to. Well, it very well may be. It may very well be on Stephen Crawford’s list.
“Thanks to CISS, Luke and Logan have compiled their own list of people in attendance at one or more of the nightly events in which Stephen or Susan were present. Don’t worry; there is no video evidence of any of this as far as we know. Your visits are captured via the security codes that you enter upon entry and exit to this floor. That also doesn’t mean that every one of you is on that list. It does mean it’s a possibility, and Luke and Logan wanted you to be aware of what was going on. That is why your presence was insisted upon.”
McKenna stopped once again, this time when her eyes met his, he smiled. She was doing a phenomenal job. She hadn’t wanted to be the bearer of bad news, but she agreed because she wanted to assure everyone that she was not the enemy. Tag respected her for that.
“Now I’ll tell you why we brought you here today. It wasn’t just to inform you of the growing concern, which most of you already knew about. It’s to ask for your help, but let me preface this by saying you are in no way expected to react or agree to anything we suggest. In fact, we are open to your suggestions as well.”
Tag stood, knowing it was his turn to address the room. As much as he wished McKenna could keep talking because she was doing such a remarkable job, he wasn’t about to let her take the brunt of what they were about to unleash on them.
“Many of you know me, mainly because my face has been all over the news as it relates to Club Destiny and the current lawsuit against Ms. Susan Toulmin. For those who do not, my name is Tag Murphy, and I am Club Destiny’s legal counsel. My job is to represent the best interest of this club and, therefore, of its members.
“In light of the lawsuit, it has come to our attention that there are some other things going on which are affecting you as members as well as the owners of this club. These are serious matters, and I want to make sure you understand that your anonymity is not the only thing on the line here.”
Tag continued to explain in brief detail what Stephen Crawford was doing and what he was using as blackmail against Luke and Logan. That did not go over well because rightfully so, the members felt as though they had been unnecessarily dragged into the middle of this mess by Crawford’s admission into the club. They were accurate in that regard, but when Tag continued to explain, there was a measure of understanding amongst them. Although, that didn’t mean they weren’t angry.
“Why doesn’t Samantha just suck it up? She’s the one they’re after,” one of the members asked.
The growl that erupted from the back of the room, coming from Logan’s direction, was predatory in nature.
“I’m sure that explains it clearly,” Tag said, referring to Logan’s reaction, “but I’m going to reiterate that Logan and Luke are working to ensure that your membership to this club is kept strictly confidential. But, I can also tell you that, without your cooperation, our hands are tied.”
That settled the room down some. It was clear from his comment that, at this point, their identities were going to be released if Susan or Stephen had anything to say about it. Tag didn’t fault Logan for wanting to protect Sam. Hell, he wanted to protect Sam. But, the only thing he could think about was if McKenna was in this same situation and what he would do.
As much as it concerned him to think that way, he knew he’d go to any length necessary to protect her.
~*~*~
Once the speeches were concluded, McKenna stood at the back of the room with Tag, watching while Logan and Luke addressed the crowd of people. It was still a civil conversation, but it was hanging by a thread. If anyone ever doubted how protective the two twins were of their lovers, they had no question about it now.
And yes, there was an idiot in every crowd, today was no exception. There was one who continued to insist that Samantha be responsible for her own actions. When Tag told her that the particular idiot was a state senator, McKenna sighed. Of course he was. Hypocritical bastard.
By the time the meeting was adjourned, Luke and Logan looked about ready to spit fire and McKenna couldn’t say that she blamed them. After trying to reason with them, the member’s insisted that they were in no way supportive of their names being released. They didn’t care that Logan and Luke were willing to waive their membership fee for the following year if they allowed McKenna to use their name in an article on the club.
“What the fuck are we going to do now?” Luke barked as he approached them when the room had completely cleared of everyone except the McCoy twins, Cole and Alex McDermott – whom McKenna learned was the head of CISS, and Ashleigh Thomas’ soon to be husband.
“When is the next free for all?” McKenna asked, trying to keep a straight face. She didn’t find any of this amusing, but the fact that these guys couldn’t come up with a better reference still tickled her.
“Next week.”
“Hmm...”
“What does that mean?” Tag asked, standing straight and tall at her side.
“I was just wondering.” She didn’t really know why she wanted to know, but she was thinking that maybe if she knew what went on there, she could give it a sexy twist that her readers wouldn’t be offended by. Not everyone was into public displays or group sex of any kind, so it would be a risk either way.
“Well, I need to get back to the office,” Logan said. “And tomorrow I plan to talk to Sam. She deserves to know what’s going on.”
McKenna couldn’t argue there. In her opinion, Sam deserved to know a long time ago. However, she understood Logan was only trying to protect her as best he knew how, even if she didn’t think he was going about it the right way.
“I’m going to put something together, and I’ll let you all read it and let me know what you think,” McKenna explained. “With your approval, we’ll publish a brief article and see what type of response we get.”
“Were you able to figure out where the emails to McKenna came from?” Tag interrupted, speaking to Alex.
“Dylan’s working on it as we speak. He’ll have more in a little while. I’m heading back to the office now to check out the video. Hopefully we’ll get something that might help.”
Alex didn’t look at all hopeful, and McKenna was beginning to understand how dire this situation was. Club Destiny was going to take a hit, and based on today’s meeting, if the member’s identities got out, there very well may not be a Club Destiny in the future. She couldn’t imagine what must be going through Luke’s head right now.
Two hours later, McKenna was putting the finishing touches on the story she prepared. It wasn’t going to be anything radical, nor would it probably get a lot of attention, but it was the answer to the threat that the newspaper article implied.
“Will you read over this?” she asked Tag when he reappeared in the living room. He had disappeared with the excuse that he was taking a shower as soon as they made it back to his room. Now it was McKenna’s turn to shower because, in just a little while, they would be doing the official tour of the underground club that no one seemed to know about.
She wondered whether attendance would be low tonight considering the meeting and the topic of discussion. However, she also wondered whether it might have the opposite effect. Some people got off on the anticipation that they just might get caught doing something taboo. She suspected that many of Club Destiny’s members were, in fact, kinky like that.
“Sure.” Tag glanced down at the laptop before walking around to sit on the cushion beside her.
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a shower now.”
“You could’ve joined me.” Tag grinned for what seemed like the first time that day.
“I could have. But I figured you’d need all of your energy for tonight.”
As if she had thrown ice water on him, Tag’s smile disappeared, and he turned his attention to the computer screen. McKenna headed into the bathroom, unable to stop thinking about what his reaction actually meant.