Hostile Takeover

"We really should delete that video," I tell her.

"Oh come on, don't be a wuss. Besides I want to watch this video while we have sex," she says with a smirk.

"Fine," I relent.

Then we head to the office. Sarah heads off to her office as I head over to mine.

As I walk into my office I notice someone sitting in my chair as they swivel around to face me from looking out the window. Not just someone, a fiery redhead with a look of mischief that the devil can't even match. It almost looks as if a fire ignites in her eyes. I blink and look again, but her eyes appear as normal as one could be without a soul.

"I can't say I'm surprised, Vortex will do anything to get ahead. Even stealing products and employees," Kailyn Black says with a wicked smile. I have no idea what she's going on about, but seeing her sitting in my chair, behind my desk sends a shiver down my spine.

"What are you talking about? And how did you get in here?" I ask her.

"You haven't heard? Vortex just displayed a demo of their new product coming out with a new employee... It looks awfully similar to the one you have," she smirks as her eyes look upon me like a lion stares at a gazelle.

"And how does it affect me?" I ask.

"I know you were well acquainted with their new employee. I think his name is Abe or something like that. Looks like a rat in my opinion. Their new product reminds me of that device you displayed at the tech convention. The one that allows you to control a robot with a thought." She leans on the desk, locking her hands together, watching my expression with anticipation.

Abe is working for Vortex!? There's no way in hell! I grab the remote on the coffee table in the corner of my office next to the sofa. I flip the TV on and turn to the tech channel. Sure enough, there is my invention on Abe's head and he's wearing a polo with the words Vortex written on the breast. What the fuck!?

"I've going to give you a second chance. Come work for me and we can make all your dreams come true. An android assistant in every home. Helping billions of people. Saving lives. I have the resources to achieve it. I just need you."

"What about my employees?"

"You mean the 3 girls you have left? They can also come work for me."

I pause to think about it.

"Less than 5% of people your age will build a successful business. The odds are stacked against you. But with me, you will succeed, there is no chance of failure. What's more important, your pride, or your dreams?"

"I guess 25 million isn't so bad..."

"25 million? No, no, no, no, nooo. 25 million was before Vortex got their greedy little hands on the mind control device. Now that they own the product as well, it's become less valuable. Now it's only 100,000 and a decent salary for you and your employees." The most wicked grin I've ever seen curls across her face.

"What!? No way! There is no way in hell I'm doing that!"

"Suit yourself. But mark my words Peter, this is the last time I'll give you the chance to come work for me willingly. You're not going to get a better offer. But you will be mine eventually." A shiver goes down my spine as she gets up and strides over to me in such a sultry way. I feel paralyzed with fear. Her hand seductively wipes the dust off my shoulder as she leans up to my ear. "I always get what I want," she whispers ever so softly.

With that being said, she makes her way out. I can't help but look at her ass sway with every step. She looks back at me with such a devilish smirk as if she can read my thoughts before she leaves. I feel like I can finally breathe again.

"What was that about?" Sarah asks as she walks into my office.

"Did you know Abe jumped ship to Vortex with my remote control mind device?" I ask in a rather angry tone.

"What!? No way!" she says in surprise.

"I thought you said we could trust Abe..." I say to her.

"So did I... As unfortunate as that is, I've got even worse news. Ashley filed a claim of sexual harassment against you before she quit." Sarah says. "Did you say something to her?"

"What?! No! I would never!" I stammer. "There's no way I would ever say or do something like that."

"I know you wouldn't Pete, we just need to convince the police that," she says.

"Peter!" I look past Sarah to see Mitsugi marching her way towards us. Now what? "We're done! We're finished! How could you let this happen? Abe jumped ship with our device? This is bull shit! There's no way we can recover from this...I can't stay here when there's no future. I'm sorry Pete. It's time to call it quits."

She turns and starts to make her way to the exit.

"Wait, Mitsugi!" I yell after her. "We can still fix this!"

"Let her go, Pete," Sarah says as she grabs my arm. "We don't have time, you have to meet with the investors... Remember?! They've just arrived and are waiting for you in the conference room."

"Ohhhh crap! Could this day get any worse!?" I ask.

"We can get through this," Sarah says. "Just relax and breath."

I take a few deep breaths and calm myself down as I follow Sarah into the conference room where the sharks are waiting. There are 5 investors total and they don't look happy as we take our seats at the table.

"We're not pleased Peter," says Mark who I think is the oldest. His hair is as white as snow and his face is full of wrinkles. His expression is one of annoyance.

"I can fix this, it's just a small little setback." I try my best to convince them.

"This is not just a small setback! Vortex, your competitor now has their hands on your device! How do you plan to fix this?" Devon asks. He's a bit younger than Mark, but he's less forgiving if that's even possible.

"Don't worry. I've got it all under control. Once we get the AI up and running, it'll blow that device out of the water!" I say.

"More false promises! Kailyn Black was right, you're too naive to run a business." Mark states. Of course, she's behind this. "And what is this I hear about a sexual harassment claim?"

"That was a lie! I swear I never touched her!" I argue.

"It doesn't matter if it's true or not. The accusation in itself tarnishes your reputation. A reputation we can no longer afford to be associated with. That's why we've agreed to sell our shares to Ms. Black. At least now we can get a small percent of our investment back, even if it's pennies on the dollar," Devon says.

"Do yourself a favor and just give up," he adds. "You're not fit for business."

With that, they all leave. I'm left in disbelief. Everything I worked for is gone. I've ruined my father's dream. Tears start to fill my eyes as I stare down at the desk.

"Everything is going to be alright Pete, don't listen to them. Don't give up." Sarah says.

"You should probably find another job too, Sarah. I've ruined us all. There's no point in staying with a sinking ship."

"Peter, I'm not leaving you," she grabs my chin, pulling me up to look at her. "We're in this together, no matter what."

"You can't possibly mean that... I've brought us to ruins."

She pulls me into a kiss as her hand caresses my cheek, wiping away the tears. "I'm not leaving you," she says as she pulls away to look me in the eyes.

"Now, we were supposed to visit your mother today, let's not disappoint her," she says.

"You're right," I admit to her and I let her grab hold of my hand and take the lead, but not before I pull her one last time into my arms. "Sarah... Thank you for everything. You're the only one who's stuck with me through thick and thin. You've always believed in me."

Our lips meet once more as I hold her close. After our long intimacy, she pulls back to look me once more in the eyes. "Pete, I truly do love you. I want you to know that."

"I know," I tell her.

We make our way to the assisted living that houses my mother. As we walk in, Trisha, the lady at the front desk calls us over. She has a look on her face as if someone dropped a wrecking ball on the place. "Mr. Reyes... What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" I ask. "I'm just visiting my mother..."

"You don't know? She was moved to another location," she says.

"What do you mean moved to another location? How could she be moved to another location without my permission?" I ask.

"Well... funny thing, the entire assisted living was purchased yesterday by Nemesis Holdings. We are in the process of moving to a new facility. I thought you were notified," she says with a look of embarrassment.

"Nemesis Holdings purchased this place? This can't be a coincidence, Kailyn is definitely behind this! Where's the new location?" I can't believe she would stoop this low!

"Here's the address." she hands me a slip of paper with the address written on it.

"Thank you, Trisha," I tell her as I march out of the building with Sarah.

"I can't believe she would do this?" I tell Sarah. "The nerve! We should pay her a visit."

"Pete, let's not do anything drastic," Sarah pleads.

"Kailyn Black purchased an entire assisted living that housed my mother so she could get to me! I'm definitely going to do something drastic!"

"Let's just go down to the new facility and check it out. We can always have your mom moved."

"Huhhhh, I suppose you're right."

We head down to the new facility and stop in at the front desk. "I'm here to see Yoshimura Reyes, please. I'm her son."

The girl behind the desk looks up at me without the slightest hint of emotion. "Sorry sir, we aren't accepting visitors today."

"What do you mean you're not accepting visitors!? I'm her son! I demand to see her!"

"I'm sorry sir, we still in the process of moving, visitation will be available starting next Monday."

"This is total bull shit!"

"Sir if you cannot remain calm, I'm going to ask you to leave."

"Peter, let's go get something to eat and go over our options. There is no point it getting yourself into trouble," Sarah says.

I can't argue with her at this point. I'm so mad, I just need to get out of here before I scream.

I follow her out as we head over to a local restaurant.

She orders us two alcoholic drinks. I give her a look, but surprisingly the waitress doesn't ask for my identification. "After a day like this you definitely need a drink or several," she says empathetically.

I don't argue with her, today has been one of the worse days of my life. The waitress brings us over two glasses of a bright yellow drink. I take a sip and it tastes like orange juice. I go ahead and down it. "I feel like I've just ruined everything," I say.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Pete..." She places her hand on top of mine. "This could have happened to anyone."

"But it didn't happen to anyone, it happened to me," I say as Sarah motions to the waitress and she brings me another one. "Devon was right, I'm not fit for business."

"Devon is an asshat. Don't listen to him!" Her thumb gently does circles on the back of my hand. I take another sip of the bright yellow drink.

"I let my father down, this was his dream to build an android assistant to help those in need," I sigh. I down the rest of my drink.

"Don't worry, we can still achieve it, we just have to find another way," she says.

"How? Take Kailyn on her offer?" I ask as I look up into her eyes.

"Would it be so bad?" she asks. "I know you view her as the enemy, but if she's the only way you can achieve your father's dream, are you willing to swallow your pride to work for her?"

I think it over as the waitress brings me another refill. I mull over why I don't trust Kailyn Black. She's the type of person who'll do anything to get what she wants... What exactly does she want? I doubt it's the same thing I want. She doesn't seem like the type who wants to do something good for humanity.

"Do you really think she'll be willing to give away free androids?" I ask.

"You never know until you ask her," she says. "But I know she's more reasonable than the people at vortex!"

"They'll do anything to increase their profits, even if it means stealing other companies products and employees." She makes a good point. If it's between Vortex and Kailyn Black, I have no choice but to choose Kailyn.

"What about Prometheus? John Farrell seems like someone who cares more about making the world a better place than making a profit. Look at all the good he's done. He's not only cured most diseases, but he's figured out ways to eliminate them," I ask.

"How can you trust a man that owns over 70% of the world's economy? Of course, he's willing to cure a couple of diseases. It gets the public on his side, a few million dollars is only pennies to him." She makes another good point. I never realized how much power one man holds.

"So your saying Kailyn is our only choice?" I ask as I take a long sip of this delicious drink.

"Unless you've got a better idea..."

"I still don't trust her, but she does already own a significant share in the company after she bought out the other investors."

"You don't have to trust her, you just have to work for her and convince her that it's in her best interest to put an android in every home," Sarah explains. "She can still make a profit by building different tiers of androids. A cheap model that can still assist with the basic needs of the elderly and disabled can be given out for free. She can make her money off the higher tiers. The lifelike model's that would cost top dollar. Not only will she earn a significant ROI, but she'll look good in the public eye. You need to make your goal, hers."

"Make this offer to her and not only can you achieve your father's goal, but you can get her on your side," she adds. "A woman like her makes a better ally than an enemy."

"You make a good point, it's hard to argue with you." After I finish my drink and I'm feeling a little more than tipsy. My bladder also feels like it's going to explode. "I have to take a leak. Can you order me some food?"

She nods and I head over to the bathroom. As I relieve my bladder, I come to the conclusion that Sarah is right. Kailyn is my only option. I head back to our table and another drink is sitting there waiting for me.

"You're right Sarah, I guess we have no choice but to take her offer," I admit as I start to drink up this yellow drink. It tastes a little different than the others, maybe I'm just a little drunker than before. I should probably stop, maybe after this one. Before I know it, I'm feeling quite dizzy.

"Are you feeling alright?" Sarah asks. "You look kind of pale."

"I don't feel that good."

Sarah pulls into the booth squeezes in next to me and I can feel her hand against my cheek. "I'm sorry Pete, I truly am." Are the last words I hear before everything goes black.

Chapter 7

"Uuuuughhhhhh," I groan as I open my eyes, waiting for them to adjust. As everything becomes clear, I see I'm in a dingy hotel room. Someone's knocking on the door. I look around to see a mess of sex toys, drugs and all sorts of things. I drag myself up and answer the door. Two police officers are standing there.

"We've had several complaints of screaming and drug use, we're going to need to take a look around," the officer says.

"What?" I ask in shock. "I..."

Before I can even finish my sentence, the officer brushes past me. "What the fuck is going on here?" he asks. "Is that drugs?"

"Sir, you're under arrest for possession of illegal drugs," the officer says as his partner pushes me up against the wall and starts to frisk me.

"Those aren't mine I swear!"

Everything just felt so surreal after that moment. It felt like a dream, more like a nightmare. They took me down to the station and booked me. I was asked a million questions, about everything. About my relationship with Ashley and Sarah. About Abe. They took my phone and went through it. Then they asked me about the video I sent Sarah, inferring that I blackmailed her.

"I didn't blackmail her. Or any kind of harassment. Sarah and I were in love!" I told them, but they didn't listen. Soon after I was put in a cell. I thought long and hard about everything that happened leading up to this moment. Showing off my mind control device at the tech convention. Meeting Sarah as she gave me her resume. The interview we had. The way she convinced me to develop the technology to a march larger robot and convincing me to go all in on my dreams. She was the one that suggested we hire Abe, Ashley, and Mitsugi.

Sarah was also the one who suggested sitting down with Kailyn Black and videotaping the bondage. And what did she say to me last night? I'm sorry Pete, I truly am... What did she mean by that? Did she plan all of this? Did she ever love me at all?

"Wishing you took my offer?" I look up to see none other than Kailyn Black staring back at me on the other side of the cell. How the fuck did she get there?

"Did you do this?" I ask her.

"No Peter, you did all this when you turned down my offer," she smirks. "But, I can make all of this disappear if you come to work for me."

"I knew it," I shout. "This was all you from the start!"

"So, what'll it be, rot in jail for the rest of your life, or come work for me?" she asks.

"Huhhhh..." She's got me between a rock and a hard spot. If I say no, she'll continue to ruin me. On the other hand, if I agree to work for her, there's no telling what she has in store for me. But what Sarah said before still echoes in my head. You need to make your goal, hers. "I'll work for you on one condition."

"You're not really in a place to bargain, but you've got balls and I admire that. What are your terms?" she asks.

"You help me achieve my father's dream of creating androids to assist people in need. I want to put an Android in every house." She mulls over my words, carefully dissecting each and every one of them. "There's a way we can both win. We can make a cheap Android that will serve the basic needs of the elderly and disabled. A version that everyone can afford. Then we can create better tiers you can charge for a hefty price. Androids that are lifelike. People would be willing to pay a fortune for something like that."

"Deal," she says without batting an eye and then she walks away.

A few seconds later, two officers come in and unlock the cell and take me out. Before I know it I'm being released. They give me the few items that I had and I'm walked out the door. I look down to see a limousine a driver holding the back door open. I look around and see no one else, so I walk down towards the limo as I give the driver a puzzling look. He only nods in recognition, so I get into the limo. Kailyn is sitting down on the seat perpendicular to me.

"For once you've made the right choice," she says with a devilish grin.

"It doesn't feel that way," I say with a gulp. "Feels like I made a deal with the devil."

"In more ways than you know," she smirks. "I'll be honest, I did all that because I want you. As far as your dreams go, I'll give you the resources to achieve all of them as long as you stay loyal to me and obey me."

A chill runs down my spine as I adjust my collar. It feels like it's getting hot in here. For a split second, her eyes soften and her smirk turns to a genuine, sincere look. "You have nothing to fear from me, Peter, I don't want to hurt you. I know that may seem like the furthest thing from the truth considering all that I put you through, but it was for the best. I hope you and I can one day build an intimate relationship with each other."

All of her sudden that look of sincerity was gone, replaced with a serious undertone. "But... Betray me and all of your worst nightmares can't compare to what I'll do to you."

It all of a sudden got really cold in here. I feel paralyzed under her gaze as if she's staring into my very soul. It feels like the breath has been sucked out of my lungs. And just like that the feelings subside as her expressions fade back to nothingness, then a smirk appears on her face.