The Novelist Pt. 03

The three of them laughed heartily.

Kevin just shook his head in disbelief. "How can you live with yourself, Frank? I mean sometimes I'm not sure how we do it. There are so many bad people out there that get off scott free because of a sneaky attorney or some legal loophole."

"I couldn't after a while." Frank said staring at the ice in his glass as he swirled it around contemplatively. "That's why I picked up and left. I do strictly entertainment law. I bleed money from rich studios, publishers and the like and give it to equally rich writers, directors and actors. I feel far less guilty when I take my cut now."

"Doesn't matter what kind of law you practice." Jason said. "There's always someone that loathes the lawyer involved. It's an inherent part of the game."

"True enough." Kevin said. Then he continued, "So look, Frank, I got in touch with one of the other partners on the way over here. We couldn't care less if we drop this case. It's not worth much money at all. I've got my secretary drawing up a letter of recusal as we speak. It'll outline the firm's opinion that the matter isn't worth pursuing and that he will have to find legal representation elsewhere. I can have it mailed out today."

Frank was very sincere. "I really appreciate it. If you don't mind, I'd like to pick up the letter myself. Tom wants to deliver it personally, and I'd prefer if you held off telling his father that you're dropping the case."

"That's your prerogative. Sounds like some fucked up family shit to me. I'm not sure it's going to do much though." Kevin noted honestly.

"It doesn't have to. It just has to make a point."

Strangely, it was a fact that made sense to all three of them. In the legal world, these men were all used to playing dirty when they needed. Neither Jason nor Kevin wanted to press it any more than they had already. It wasn't their concern. In their eyes, this was just a favor earned somewhere down the line. Frank knew it.

******

By the time Tom had arrived back outside his Aunt's house, it was already a little after five o'clock in the evening. He noticed his mom's car, which had been parked here since she left for California, was now gone. He opened the door with a spare key hidden in a flower pot. Tom made himself comfortable on the couch in the living room, and checked his messages. Alexis had texted him that they went out to grab a bite to eat and would be back shortly. He also had a text from Frank that said he was successful in his mission. Tom breathed a sigh of relief.

He was pleased with how ragged and worn out he left the little home wrecker after he had finished with her. Tom had taken the time to swipe his father's Viagra when they stopped by his home earlier. He had popped one in the car on the way to meet the young girl, and by the time she had wrapped her hand around his cock, it had begun to work. It gave him the extra boost he needed to make sure she'd never forget their encounter.

In between their fucking, Tom had learned quite a bit about Angie. Her mother had died when she was young, and she had foregone college to take care of her ailing father. He had a terminal illness and was bedridden. Angie had learned therapeutic massage to help him. He had been in an out of various clinics and hospitals, and she had met plenty of people in the medical community that appreciated her new skills. So eventually she had gotten certified in a variety of massage and therapeutic techniques. To save money she worked out of the house she'd inherited from her father after he passed. Now she was considering sports medicine as a more lucrative career.

Tom felt slightly bad for her dramatic and emotionally difficult journey. Angie, on the other hand, did not look for sympathy. She was forced to grow up quickly and deal with real life well before most girls her age. One of the consequences being that she didn't make friends, date guys or go to parties. It made sense to Tom that she was attracted to older men. She just didn't have the ability to socially connect with people in her age group. It also made it easier for him to manipulate her.

While he didn't consider himself a bad person, Tom certainly felt a small bit of guilt that she had been caught in the middle of a very personal family matter. She didn't even know that she was being used. He had answered her questions when she asked about the sexual lifestyle in his books, and he told her a bit about how he lived. He made sure to leave out any specific details that might hint toward his relation to her new boyfriend. By the end of their encounter, she was hanging off him more satisfied than she thought possible. John Bolden was the furthest thing from her mind.

******

Jane Harmon drove up to her house after a long day at the office immediately realizing something was amiss. She did not see her sister's car parked in the driveway. It also appeared that there was a new car parked on the street out front. She had just spoken to her nephew yesterday, and she knew that her sister was in California. Jane couldn't imagine that she would have flown back to Saratoga Springs without calling first.

She parked her car and grabbed her legal briefs from the passenger seat before heading for the door. She hadn't made it far at all when her brother-in-law's Ford Explorer came screeching to halt on the street, and John jumped out of the car fuming as he stormed up to confront her.

"The fuck did you think you were doing?" He yelled stomping up and startling her. "You think you can just come into my home whenever you please? I know you were there."

She stuttered in confusion. "I... I have no idea what you're talking about, John." She stated in honesty. "I haven't been to your house since Marie came here last week. I... I told you she's not here. She went out to Los Angeles to stay with Tom. I left you a... uh... message yesterday."

"Bullshit." He seethed. "I just got home from work thirty minutes ago, and someone has been through the house. Her clothes are missing."

John was certainly aware that his wife was in California. He had a vague recollection of the phone call he placed yesterday. It could have only been Jane who stopped in to grab her belongings, and he was furious over the unannounced intrusion. Jane, on the other hand, really didn't understand what he was talking about.

******

Tom heard the argument starting up outside. He had peered through the window, and seen his father's car. He had not expected this complication. Tom didn't want to see his father until he was ready to sit down with him to discuss his unreasonable approach to the pending divorce. The only thing worse than this was the possibility of his mother and Alexis coming home in the middle of this altercation. Tom had to get him out of here before it got out of hand. He stood up and walked outside.

"Hey, Aunt Jane!" He shouted out cheerily doing his best to maintain a confident, pleasant demeanor. "I'm sorry I didn't call you, but I flew in today to visit my friend." He walked up and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Tom?" She said confused. "I... oh. I wish you had called."

She looked nervously toward John and then back at her nephew. Jane couldn't have been more startled.

"I know. I'm really sorry for just stopping in unannounced. My friend Erik's grandfather passed away, and I wanted to be here for the wake. It all happened last minute." He lied. "Why don't you go inside, and we'll catch up in a minute. Give me a minute with my dad, okay?"

John was equally caught off guard by his son. He had just spoken to him last night, and now that he was here John remembered the conversation. He didn't regret it, but it made standing here feel slightly more awkward.

"Um, yeah. Okay." She said and began to turn around and head toward the front door.

Tom turned to look at his father. His aunt still wasn't out of earshot.

"You're a stupid prick showing up here." Tom said in a measured and clipped tone. He walked up pointing his finger in his father's face. "I stopped by the house this morning. I'm pretty sure that's allowed. And, yes, I grabbed some shit for mom. You have a problem with that?"

John was shocked at the entirely different tone his son had taken with him. It angered him to be talked down to by his own kid. He began to form some type of response, but Tom didn't give him the opportunity to get it out.

Tom continued toward him forcing John to take a step backwards. "I didn't appreciate getting a drunk phone call last night. You know, I can't remember ever having a bad word to say to you. Your head is all fucked up. I guess you just want to alienate everyone in our family. Is that the plan? You want to be estranged from me and mom? Stupid thing is I've spent the last couple days convincing her to sit down with you and have a conversation. I'm so close too. But you just want to fuck it all up."

"Who do you think you..." John tried to cut in.

"No!" Tom snapped at him. "You answer my questions. Didn't you want to sit down and have a conversation with her... face to face? Isn't that what you told me last night?"

John narrowed his gaze fuming. "Yes. That's exactly..."

"Then shut your mouth." Tom barked. "Damnit. You don't even know when someone is trying to help you. You give me a day or two longer. I'll make sure you both sit down together to discuss whatever you need to discuss. Right now, I suggest you get back in your car and never come back here again. There isn't a reason for you to ever be at this house. If you show up here again, I'll make sure you're taken away in cop car." Tom stopped for a moment and calmed himself. "You know, I haven't seen you in over a year. Isn't it sad that this is how this had to go? I would've liked to know how you're doing. I hope you figure out whatever mid-life bullshit you're going through."

John just stood there silenced by his son. His words hit home just a little, and he watched as Tom turned around without even saying goodbye and walked back up the driveway. John took a second to look around slightly disoriented after being put in his place. Then he walked back to his car fuming inside but unsure what to do about it.

******

Tom met his aunt on the porch. She had stood there listening to the conversation unfold. She was dumbfounded by his ability to diffuse the situation. She likened it to the conversation she had with him yesterday on the phone. It was so confident and forceful. Tom just reached up and gave her a hug and then they walked inside.

"I'm sorry about your friend's grandfather." She said.

"That wasn't true. I just made that up." He stated dismissively. "God, he's such a prick. Anyway, yeah, sorry about not calling. My mom is here too. She just went out to grab a bite to eat."

"Marie is here? But how did you get here so quickly? Why didn't you call me first?"

"It was all last minute. We took a private jet out early this morning at landed at the Saratoga County Airport. I had some things to take care of with my parent's divorce. I just want to get this finished."

"A private jet?" This was all very sudden and confusing. She had only just learned of his success and wealth.

"Yeah. My lawyer's firm leases one. He went down to figure some things out regarding the lawsuit in Albany."

"What stuff?" Jane asked perplexed.

"Between you and me..." Then he paused for a moment before continuing, "You know what? Hold on." He dug into his bag and pulled out one of his contracts. "Look if you want to be a part of everything then I'm going to need you to sign this. I really wish my mom hadn't told you about my career or anything. This is just to protect myself. I maintain a low profile, and this helps ensure that."

She looked at it, reading it over. Jane was familiar with legal jargon, and she was impressed at the professional and thorough nature of the agreement. It didn't seem particularly dangerous to sign it. The odd thing was the lack of description of what type of information it was protecting. It just ensured that any details of her nephew's career and home life were to remain confidential.

Jane was certainly curious about her nephew. His career was intriguing to her. She wanted to know more about it. She felt like she needed to know, although she was afraid to ask the questions that she really wanted to ask. She was certain that his in-depth accounts of sex and submission in his books must have been garnered by some type of experience.

Jane signed her name on it and handed the papers back to him.

"That seems awfully paranoid." She said.

Tom just smirked.

"Now what has he been doing with the case? Has he contacted your dad's attorney? You should have told me. I'm representing her. I need to know these things."

Tom just looked at her annoyed. It wasn't her fault. He was annoyed by everything involving this case and the complications it had added to his life.

"My dad doesn't have an attorney."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean that as of this afternoon, the firm representing him has recused itself. No one there is interested in offering him legal representation."

"How is that possible?"

"Why does it matter, Jane?" He shot back.

She was confused by the turn of events. She was confused by everything about her nephew at the moment. This certainly wasn't the boy she remembered.

"But he'll just find another attorney." She stammered.

"I hope that this is settled before that ever happens." He said.

"How do you plan on making that happen?" Jane didn't think it was possible. Yet she had no idea how he got the law firm to recuse itself either, so she hadn't ruled out his ability.

"What do you think is one thing that is driving his confidence? What do you think is the very source of all this? What do you think he values most of all at the moment?" Tom asked in a rather conspiratorially fashion.

"You mean that little tramp?"

She wondered why he would bring up that girl.

"Yeah. That's what I mean." Tom said. "He thinks that he can just treat all of us like shit, and then head off into the sunset with his little twenty-something lover. He thinks that his life is going to be perfect. That he can relive his youth. It's the only thing that's keeping him from the reality of being a fifty-one year old husband and father." He continued as his aunt looked on with intrigue. "So I stopped by her place today, and I fucked the shit out of her."

Jane gasped at the comment. "You didn't! I mean how?"

Her mind reeled at the thought of it. She couldn't believe he could be so blasé about the whole thing. If it was true, she wondered how he made it happen. Surely it wasn't possible to show up and just ask to have sex with someone.

Tom walked up to his aunt. He knew that things were going to continue to get complicated. He wouldn't allow it to blow up on him unexpectedly as it had with his mother. Tom decided to lay the seeds ahead of time. Some part of him enjoyed the thought of it. He knew from the second his mother told him that his aunt masturbated to his books that this would be the inevitable conclusion.

He leaned in close and whispered. "My mom says you're a fan of my books. Says you masturbate while reading them." His aunt bristled and her muscles tightened as he spoke the words. "You'd be surprised what I'm capable of, Aunt Jane. She's a nice girl, you know. The little tramp, I mean. A home wrecker for sure. But a nice girl. I fucked her so good she'll never be able to enjoy an intimate encounter with my father ever again. And I'll tell you something else... I filmed it. So now my father can know what it's like to get fucked over. He'll know what it was like for my mother to watch that video over and over. Then I'll have taken the one thing he cares about most."

Tom stepped away and grabbed the small Sony video camera from his bag. "My mom said you asked her if she thought I was into anything kinky. It's the closet sluts like you that amuse me the most. So feminist and into your girl power and all that bullshit. Then you sit at home alone and dream of man dominating you. I bet you wonder what's on the tape. Go ahead and watch it. I dare you. But, if you mention a word of this conversation to anyone, including my mother, I guarantee you haven't seen a fraction of what I'm capable of."

Tom left her there shaken and confused, and walked into the kitchen to make himself something to eat. He was starving. It seemed like an awfully harsh thing to say to his aunt. It had taken a lot of consideration to figure out how to handle her. In the end, he knew that she'd get nosey and there would be some kind of confrontation. It seemed easier to let her find out about his lifestyle first. He was afraid if she discovered that her sister was fucking her own son that the backlash would be harder to control. Tom noted that if he could control his aunt, or at least let her succumb to her inner needs, then he could control her reaction. Tom knew deep down that if his aunt played the video and watched the lurid encounter then her fate would be sealed. If she set it aside, things would be far more complicated.

******

Jane stood in her living room flushed and embarrassed. Her nephew had just said some of the nastiest things that any man had ever said to her. She wondered why she sat there so quietly and let him get away with it. He had called her a slut. Normally she'd slap anyone that used such derogatory language, but she had stood there and accepted his observation as if it were a fact.

The strange thing for Jane was the realization that his words hinted at the questions she wanted to ask about his books. It seemed to her that he must be into some type of alternative lifestyle. There were plenty of things that didn't make sense though. Why would her sister tell him about their conversation? Why did he think he could be so brash with her? What was he capable of? It was clear that he had taken charge of the situation with his father. She secretly loved the thought of humiliating him. Jane never liked her brother-in-law.

She held the camera in her hand staring at it as if were toxic. Part of her thought she should set it down. Part of her wanted to ignore it. It was hard for Jane to watch the video of John and that little tramp, but it was part of the case and she didn't have a choice. This video was of her nephew. She wondered what it would say about her if she willingly watched it. She'd see him fucking this girl. Somehow, she thought it would make her some sort of pervert. If she didn't watch it then she could deny her absolute curiosity.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Jane realized that her will power was weak. She flipped open the screen on the camcorder and played the single file stored in its memory. She sat down completely overcome by the images that appeared on the screen. It wasn't possible for her to ignore the lust and need that coursed through her.

******

Alexis and Marie had completely lost track of time. They had only intended on going out for a quick bite to eat. Neither of them knew where Tom had disappeared to, or when he'd be back. It started off with a quick detour on the way to a local diner, but soon Marie had driven Alexis by all the major landmarks of Tom's life. They had seen his school, his local hangouts as a teenager and many other significant places from his childhood.

Marie knew that she had been right about Alexis' importance to her son. Although they had only known each other for a few days, it was easy to see how genuinely he cared for her. Now that Alexis had a chance to see the place that shaped him into the person he'd become, Marie realized that this girl loved him more than she had thought. It was sixth sense that every mother has about a significant other in their child's life. Despite her recent submission and her love for her son, she approved of Alexis and wished to foster their relationship.