Elliot

I’m sweating. Just thinking about Nick and Charlotte together—it’s driving me nuts.

He said he wouldn’t lay a hand on her. He’s just supposed to take the drug in her presence and see what happens. He promised if she came onto him, he would make an exit and leave her be...

But this is Nick, I’m talking to myself about.

I stand up.

I sit down.

I put my elbow on the desk and rub my forehead.

She’s irresistible. Nick’s not going to be able to keep his hands off of her.

I stand up again and, thank God, the phone rings.

“Well?” I answer.

“Well, it works,” proclaims Nick.

Ugh, I feel crushed. “So, she came onto you?”

“Fuck no. She fucking hates me. She got all psychotic and shit—tried to choke me. I had to tie her up.”

“What?!” I rub my forehead again. “Where?”

“I tossed her in the Bank.”

“Ugh, Nick,” I groan. “She’s not going to want to work at NIM.”

“Stop worrying. Just tell her who you really are.”

“I can’t do that. The second she knows I’m just that dumb kid—a geek, she’ll start running.”

“Then take the pill!” Nick squawks. “This is everything you’ve been working towards. Suck it up and be a man. Be the type of asshole she always gives herself up to. Take the pill, fuck her, then dump her. That’s what you really want, isn’t it? To get back at her. To fucking own her. You need to take care of your own needs, man. Stop putting other people first—especially her. That’s why you’re still a geek. You let other people dump on you because you feel a need to dump on yourself. Check yourself. Check what you need and take care of it.”

I don’t know what craziness made Nick the person he is—a lunatic. I do know he’s bitter about a lot of things, especially about his father who Nick stole the company from. I also know I must be just as loony as Nick is because I do whatever he says.

In truth, I can’t help it. The problem with Nick’s craziness is that it’s honest. Whatever comes out of Nick’s mouth always seems to be the truth, except of course, when it comes to Loulah. But Loulah is not my priority right now. Right now, Nick’s got Charlotte tied up in a bank vault turned dungeon and, all my needs aside, I do feel like it’s my fault Charlotte’s in such an uncomfortable position.

I need to take care of it—take care of her.

“I’m coming up. Don’t be there when I get there,” I tell Nick and hang up, picking up a pill in its container and tucking it into my pant pocket.

As I head up to Nick’s office, I twiddle with the container and I consider taking the pill before I go into the Bank to set Charlotte free. This might very well be my last chance to have her. Once I untie her, I’m sure she’ll want to leave NIM and never come back. One slip of the pill under my tongue and she’ll be mine, at least for a few hours before the drug wears off.

Walking into Nick’s office, I see he’s gone. Heading over to the Bank, Charlotte’s feet come into view. They’re tied with her legs spread wide open.

As I enter the room, she sees me.

“Oh thank God! Mr. Nine,” she pants. “Can you help me?”

I find myself slowing my pace as I approach her. I’m ogling her thin white lace panty that shows her slit through.

“Mr. Nine,” she blurts. “I swear this is not what it looks like. Mr. Rohr—Nick and I got into an argument. We knew each other back in high school and, I don’t know what came over me, but we got into a bit of a scuffle and he put me in here and then left. Can you untie me?”

My approach lags purposefully and my fingers are slow to fumble at her ankles. Nick strapped her in tight and I’m enjoying seeing her squirm much more than I thought I would. Perhaps it's not too late to take the pill.

I pause.

“Mr. Nine!” Charlotte calls out, but I don’t turn to her. I’m a little tired of her calling me by the wrong name, which is just a nickname given to us by some of our closest friends. Maybe I should tell her who I really am and then take the pill and see what happens.

“Mr. Ni-ine,” Charlotte calls again with a crack in her voice. Looking up at her face, I notice a pout on her bottom lip. It’s the same pout she used to give me whenever I tried to show her any of my bugs when we were younger.

I sigh and go back to untying her other leg. “So, I take it you’re not planning on staying with NIM.”

“Absolutely not.”

When I get to her wrists, I push a button at each cuff, releasing her arms.

“Is that all I had to do was push a button?”

“Yep,” I nod.

“No keys?”

“No keys.”

Her face falls flat, but I know it's not because she feels aloof from not being able to free herself. It’s because she’s disappointed I knew how the handcuffs worked.

I force a smile. “Listen, Charlotte. Can I offer to take you home?”

She slides her legs together and leans up, dropping her legs off the edge of the bed to sit up. She sits there for a minute rubbing one wrist and then the other.

I’m surprised. I thought she’d run away by now.

She sighs running her fingers through her hair.

Fuck, I want to pull that hair. I slip my hand in my pocket.

“That’s the thing.” She turns to face me with a phony smile. Her eyes are getting teary. “I don’t have a home to go home to.”

“Where are you staying?”

“NIM put me up in a hotel, but I’m sure when I walk into Human Resources and tell them I’m quitting, I won’t be able to stay there.”

“You could stay at my place if you need to. I have an extra room or two or three, actually.”

She chuckles. “That’s very nice, Mr. Nine, but I probably should find a way to get back to my parents’ home. Can you believe I’m thirty years old and I still live with my parents? And I have to sleep on the couch. I burned our house down when I was in high school and they can only afford a one-bedroom apartment now. Oh God,” she whines, “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. You must think I’m such a dork.”

“Honestly, I think you’re spectacular, and I happen to like dorks. I used to be one as a kid.”

She squints at me with suspicion.

“How about this?” I take a big breath and exhale slowly, pulling my hand—empty—out of my pocket. “How about I take you back to the hotel. You freshen up and get dressed. I’d like to take you out to dinner so I can share a proposal I have for you.”

“Proposal?” She stands and crosses her arms. “Mr. Nine, I don’t know what type of girl you think I am, but I’m not going to sleep with you just because you’re some billionaire—”

“Millionaire,” I correct. “Nick’s a billionaire.”

She gulps. “Whatever. I’m not into indecent proposals or any of that type of kinky shit.”

“Charlotte,” I chortle, “I swear that’s not the kind of proposal I’m going to make. And if you decline what I’m proposing, I will send you back to your parents. I will even pay for your flight. So, what do you say?”

Charlotte’s eyes gravitate to the floor where her feet tap and she sways. She’s nervous. “Just dinner?”

“Just dinner so you can hear my proposal. That’s all I’m asking.”

She cocks a brow. “How do I know you’re not going to try anything inappropriate? How do I know you’re not like Nick?”

I smile. “Would you trust our good friend, Mr. Elliot Crowe?”

“Ye-Yeah,” she stutters.

“Then, you can trust me.”