Adult Situations Ch. 61-62

Alice said, "Dave, this is June Vega. She heads our one-man public relations department. She reports to the head of marketing."

"What does the head of marketing think about THAT?" I tossed the periodical onto the coffee table next to us. My tone of voice showed my displeasure.

June winced. "Well, Michael said that in the long run there's no such thing as bad publicity. People will remember your name and the company affiliation, but forget why. In the short run he thinks we should just hunker down."

I said, "I tend to think that's true at the corporate level, but I'm not sure that works on a personal level."

"Nonsense. When people see you today, they still see the hero that saved the world from the Satanic Virus. They already know from other articles that you have a flaky home life with multiples wives, fiancées, friends, and so on."

I speculated, "And they take the good with the bad, because they also know I live in polyamorous family that's oversexed and even holds periodic sex parties."

"The press never reported things that specifically. I know because I've read every article about you that could be found."

"Until that article," I pointed at the newspaper. "You have to read the whole article. At least we don't have underage girls at our gatherings, otherwise I'd be strung up there next to an effigy of Jeffery Epstein."

"I did read the whole article. If anything, it makes you look like a Sex God capable of rendering females comatose with orgasms because you're some kind of superman lover."

I rolled my eyes and started pacing again. "What should I do?"

"Nothing," June persisted. "Hunker down. If you say ANYTHING people will think you're either lying or bragging. You can't deny the truth of the article without lying. Never do that because, especially in this case, it's too easy to prove the truth. Your favorite expression about ANY of this should be 'No Comment!'. Laugh it away.

"Further, saying anything to the magazine will basically give them the opportunity to talk about what you said, how you said, and what it implied. They don't even have to be right, because they reach several million people with their publication.

"So, ignore it. If a more legitimate publication asks you about it, shrug and say something like, 'Well, there are truths and exaggerations in everything we read.' Don't let them drill deeper; force a question in a different area of your work or life. Keep it all at the 'No Comment' level."

I sighed. I knew June was right.

I asked, "What about Crystal's business? That's also mentioned in the article with the reminder that I did 'private porn' and some commercial stuff. Reading the article, everybody will think I'm still cranking out a film a week. Oh, and then there's Tracy Belle. She's trying to establish herself as a credible lawyer and no longer a porn star."

"This is good for Crystal Blue Photography. The demand for 'private porn' from her with you as the star will go up, of course. That'll taper off as people forget the article.

"I'd give the same advice to Tracy as I do to you: hunker down. Keep your mouth shut and don't do anything. Her old videos will command a greater following for a while."

"How do you know that?"

She laughed, "When Stormy Daniels sued then President Trump, every red-blooded American man ran to the Internet and searched for sex videos of her. Sales rose exponentially for weeks after that. The videos were even shown at what would have been normally tame cocktail parties, so everybody -- EVERYBODY -- got to see the hot porn star that the president fucked and apparently didn't do that good a job at. She made millions. Hell, even the president's approval ratings went 'up'."

"And Tracy's lawyering?"

"Cross your fingers, but I think this'll pass. I doubt she'll be disbarred. She didn't lie to the FBI or Congress the way Michael Cohen did. He really took one for the team. If she's employed, her employer may discharge her, but even that's doubtful." June thought a moment and added, "And if she does get dismissed, have Cyber Solutions hire her; we need another lawyer in our general counsels' office."

"What about the grainy photo of me and Tracy in our compromised position?"

"Keep it as a souvenir. It's already on record from a year or so ago that you screw around and have sex parties, and even swap partners. This is like trying to rekindle a dying fire. Let it die out."

"Would you talk to Tracy? You have such a strong grasp on all this."

"I'd be delighted."

"Alice will get the two of you in touch. Thank you." The two women left my office together.

I grumbled around the rest of the day.

I had my martial arts class at the end of the next day, and bitched to Russ and Deke about what had happened. They laughed. Russ said that he knew how to take care of drones. He'd be out that evening to be sure there weren't any further photographic missions over the patio.

At dinner, we all talked about the article and 'hunkering down'. Crystal had received two calls each begging for me to appear in a 'private porn' video with the woman that called. CBP now required pictures in addition to the routine health check before we'd even entertain the idea. Further, being a celebrity of sorts, my price for participating in a video had gone up ten-fold from what she'd charged before the silent auction or the Satanic Virus. $25,000 was a steep price for many.

Tracy was also feeling 'down' from the news article. None of her clients had cut and run, and the California Bar Association hadn't called, so she was hopeful her position would emerge relatively unscathed.

Russ and Deke were in a buoyant mood, almost looking forward to a little action of some kind regarding a drone attack. Russ said, "I want you and some of the women to appear on the patio naked and even smooching a little. Let's see what happens."

After dinner, everyone stripped down and we went out to the patio bar. I circulated and then realized that Deke and Russ were no longer hanging out with us.

After a half-hour, I was again getting romantic with Tracy. We were just making out in a serious way. Matt was similarly engaged with Heather and Crystal. Carol and Cory had decided they had nothing to lose, so they started to fuck on one of the air mattresses.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

I about leapt out of my skin and so did Tracy. We all looked towards the sea wall. A large sprawling sea grape tree draped over the edge of the wall into the bay. Russ appeared from one side of the sprawling tree and Deke from the other. Both were carrying large shotguns, either of which would have stopped a herd of charging rhinos. Both men also had a pair of night -vision goggles around their neck.

They came up to us. "Got one!" Russ pumped his fist in the air. "One dead drone now at the bottom of the bay just offshore. I think it was an expensive one, too. That'll sure send a message to whoever was harassing you."

"You shot it down?"

"It was a cake walk. The thing was only twenty feet in the air. We both got it at just about point-blank range."

"Won't the police worry about a gun discharge in this area?"

Russ shrugged. "Did you hear a gun discharge? Could you really tell where it came from? What were YOU doing when it went off? Could it have been a car backfiring?" He laughed.

Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang ... and rang ... and rang. I wrapped a towel around my midsection and went to the door. Some of the others followed but lagged behind. Russ and Deke were close at hand.

I opened the door and a man stood there, apoplectic with rage. "YOU SHOT DOWN MY DRONE, YOU FUCKER. YOU'LL PAY."

I played innocent, "I don't know what you're talking about. Drone? Shot down?"

The man stated that he was a member of the Fourth Estate, doing his duty collecting news, and that I had purposefully interfered with the First Amendment, and had disabled his drone.

I continued to shake my head. "No one here saw your drone."

"I heard the gun shots," the man protested. "They came from here?"

"Are you sure? We heard some firecrackers, we thought, but couldn't tell the direction. Sound bounces around this neighborhood all the time, especially at night and out over the water."

"My drone cost me $7,000. You'll pay."

"I have no intention of paying you anything, any more than some arbitrary citizen in Omaha. I did not do anything to your drone. Were you spying on my family? Are you the one responsible for that article in the American Inquirer? If you are, my lawyer tells me I can sue you for every penny you have or will have from now until the end of time? You have violated more statutes referring to privacy of citizens in the state than there are fish in the sea. What's your name? Who are you?" I stepped forward and the man backed up.

Crystal was nearby wrapped in a towel with her cellphone taking pictures of the man standing in the doorway and me talking. I was sure the video would be an interesting one. She stepped forward to be sure he knew he was being videoed.

The man backed away from the door onto the stoop. "I will find a way to get revenge."

"Maybe you already have. We're pretty pissed off about you violating our privacy, if that was the case. I don't doubt that you made some good money off the pictures you took with your drone a night or two ago."

He yelled, "Fuck you. Fuck you all." He flipped me the bird and went to his car in the driveway with the engine running and driver's door open. I made sure to get the license plate number and then wrote it down.

I worried about the article and the confrontation with the paparazzi for the next two weeks, but the silence was deafening.

During that time, Russ bought, on my behalf, a jammer that would frustrate flying a drone anywhere near the house. A drone encountering the electromagnetic dome of the jamming signal would turn tail and automatically return 'home' -- where it took off from or simply crash. Best we could tell, it never encountered any incursions.

Crystal did sell me into a half-dozen new 'private porn' sessions over the next four months. At least from the pictures, I would be having some fun with some nice-looking women. I pondered how there were so many husbands out there that wanted to see they spouse fucking me -- or anybody, and at a very steep price. We would donate all that money to a local charity or two.

Tracy never heard a word due to the news article, and as far as she could tell there were no repercussions other than an increase in the number of web searches for her old videos. They were all still out there in video land.

Matt and Crystal did cement their 'deal' with each other. All the terms and conditions that they talked out amounted to a fifty-page, single-spaced document they both signed and had notarized.

Now, besides the workload that Crystal Blue Photography generated, the editors would have hours of other video to try to turn into some kind of credible pornography.

I watched the first one-hour video they'd done for Matt. I'd also seen the raw footage. The soundtrack was a waste of time and had been disposed of. The choppy videos of two men and a girl fucking got turned into a smooth, seamless video with a high degree of erotic content and a high arousal factor. It was great work. The team had 'shined shit'.

Matt was happy with the video and did sell it several times to several major sites. It made some money. As an incentive, Crystal rewarded her team with that news and some bonuses.

Crystal Blue Photography now consisted of seven people: Crystal, Carol, Troy, Temple, Molly, Dane, and Kent. They'd moved all their computers and operations to the 'studio' in an old building outside of town.

Gulf Coast Photo Studios consisted of Crystal, Carol, and a man they hired to help with photo shoots such as weddings and portraits. That side of the business was as asexual as they could make it. If business came in that was of both kinds, such as Carl and Jade's wedding a few years earlier, the work got split into two segments.

I flew to Atlanta the following Tuesday for three days in headquarters. As I walked into my office a blonde dynamo that was my AA as well as my Atlanta wife hurled herself across the space between us and actually leapt into my arms. As I caught her, I staggered backwards and Jean's arms and legs wrapped around me. I got the kiss of the decade from her.

"I love you. I love you. I love you," She repeated. "Please just love me."

"I do. I love you, too. I love you, Jean."

I finally staggered under her weight to the sofa in my office. She wasn't that heavy, but she'd caught me by surprise, and it wasn't as though I was carrying her. She was clinging to me.

Suddenly, it was if she realized we were at work. Mike Manning, the overall head of marketing, was standing in my doorway laughing. I gave him one those 'I can't help it' looks, but he still laughed.

Jean jumped off my lap. "Oh, dear. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I spoke, "Don't you dare be sorry for loving me. I repeat, I love you. I gave you that engagement ring as a symbol of that love, and I'm glad you wear it so others know of our relationship."

I turned with a blush and said, "Hi, Mike. What's up?"

Mike grinned, "I wish I got welcomed to my office that way. I'd like coming to work ten times more than I do. Of course, Doris would murder me. You, sir, are the luckiest fucker in the world. I've met the rest of your family, and you've got to stop hogging all the gorgeous women in the world."

I waved dismissively at him. "What's the bottom line on the Inquirer story?"

Mike held up one hand and made a circle with his thumb and other fingers. A naught. He just smiled at me.

"Zero? Really."

I asked all our offices, talked to a couple of dozen of the sales staff personally, and the net of it all were a few chuckles about getting caught with your pants down by the paparazzi. If any of our customers know, care, or read the article we can't predict. All we know is that not one of them said anything about your stellar performance with Tracy Belle.

"On a more personal front, I happen to also harbor a deep grudge that you got to fuck one of my all-time favorite porn stars. I cried with grief when she announced her retirement from being in front of the cameras. I happen to have an extensive porn collection that my wife wants to dispose of. Tracy is the only actress for whom I have every one of her films."

I relaxed a little and chuckled. "I'll try to arrange a meeting with her sometime, but I can't predict her sexual behavior. You'd need to be on your best behavior."

"Oh, God, really. Please." He faked getting down on one knee to beg. Jean stood beside me laughing.

I asked, "Anything else?"

"No. You can go back to paying intimate attention to ONE of your MANY fiancées and wives. I'll see you at the staff meeting at eleven." He waved over his shoulder as he left the office.

Jean said, "I like that man. He's funny. His wife is a doll and he's right; murder would occur if he stepped out of line. You'll meet her at the Christmas party."

"Do you think people like Doris will come to the party, after all I'm fundamentally a bigamist, a porn star, and degenerate. I skirt right along the edge of the laws on this with all of you."

"And I don't think any of them fault you for it. You're just seen as radically different. It's just a different lifestyle that they opted not to engage in. As for me, I love to engage in it."

"I didn't talk to you yesterday. How'd everything go around here?"

Jean blushed, "Well, I was here most of the day and things were quiet. I had a long lunch."

"Long lunch?" I wondered if she'd found a lover.

"Not that kind of lunch. I ... I ... I had a doctor's appointment."

"Are you okay?" My voice shifted to one of real concern.

Jean choked up and could barely speak. Suddenly, she looked very concerned about me and what I might say about what she said next.

I went over by her. "Darling, what's happening?"

"I'm pregnant."

List of Characters (Dramatis Personae)

Couples grouped together.

Dave Toller and Crystal Wolcott -- cyber security expert/Ross's son & flight attendant/runs Crystal Blue Photography (CBP).

Ross Toller & Trish Wolcott -- Investment manager/Dave's father & nurse/Crystal's older sister.

Greg Caldwell & Darlene Mentis -- Lawyer & nurse. She works w Trish.

Mitch & Deborah Singer -- Runs Silver's Gym & flight attendant.

Molly & Jake Walters -- private porn client of CBP & kinky husband.

Allison & William Kirby -- private porn client of CBP & husband.

Kit & Dax Morrison -- private porn clients of CBP.

Brian & Beth Wolcott -- Trish & Crystal's parents. Farm equipment sales & middle school teacher.

Carol Grainger -- video editor for CBP

Jackie Turner -- private porn client of CBP

Maitlin Westlake -- private porn client of CBP

Steve & Julie Wallace -- client of Crystal + HVAC bux. & runs modeling agency

Wendy Wallace -- Steve's daughter. College freshman.

Lisa Wallace -- Steve's daughter. High school senior.

Derek Frost -- Wendy's BF. College sophomore.

Jade & Carl Dewherst -- bride and groom

Ken Beck & Savannah Sorrell -- best man and matron of honor at Jade & Carol's wedding

Kim Stanley -- Julie Wallace's mother; Lisa and Wendy's grandmother; rich venture capitalist.

Madison Landry -- high school senior; friend of Lisa's.

Doug & Penny Rogers --neighbors next-door to Ross's house.

Stacy Landry -- Madison's mother

Paul Richards -- work colleague with Ross

Josh Kirby -- Internet trader. Bill Kirby's younger brother.

Harley Palmer -- high school friend of Lisa Wallace.

Cory Thomas -- Carol's computer date. Works at Zenith Technology.

Dale and Patricity Short -- across the street neighbors

Morgan Hunter -- friend of Josh & Allison

Tara Green -- friend of Carol. Caterer and flight attendant

Daryl Wills -- friend of Jackie Turner via CBP

Roy Marten -- friend of Maitlin Westlake via CBP

Tom Dayton -- friend of Deborah Singer

Elynn Ghent -- friend of Paul; works with Ross.

Adam and Jill Timms -- another find by Carol

Macy Clark -- friend of Tara; flight attendant.

Heather Sellens -- graduating student; future nurse; Lisa's friend

Chyanne Winslow -- graduating student; Lisa's friend

Mandy Jakes -- graduating student; Lisa's friend

Lynell Wynne -- graduating student; Lisa's friend

Daisy Gervais -- graduating student; Lisa's friend

Tom Dayton -- friend of Deborah Singer

Troy Bennett -- video editor at CBP

Temple -- video editor and photographer at CBP

Jean Muir -- AA to Cyber Solutions (CS)

Alice O'Rourke -- AA hired in Sarasota for CS

Connie and Bob Mason -- neighbors of Jean Muir

Meg Roland -- HR director at CS

Jim Manning -- Crystal & Carol's date. Retail Software

Ben Tabor -- Crystal & Carol's date. Retail Software

Russ (Rusty) Martin -- ex-Special Forces. Runs dojo. Does porn

Deke Scarborough -- ex-Special Forces. Runs dojo. Does porn

Alan Bullock -- passenger on a Tara flight; knows she does porn

Heide James -- reporter for People magazine

Don Witter -- reporter for People magazine

Tinsley Whitney Peabody -- NY socialite who wins Dave in auction

Matt Volpetti -- Adult Distribution Systems owner

Tracy Belle -- Matt Volpetti's girlfriend/fiancée

Dane Anders -- hired by CBP as editor/Cameraman

Kent Savage -- hired by CBP as editor/Cameraman