The Novelist Pt. 07

Angie couldn't have been more terrified and turned on all at the same time. She could feel her heart racing. This is why she was here, she reminded herself. This is what she wanted to see. Although she didn't expect quite that many people. She followed the blonde into the guest house.

"This is where he does most of his training." She said taking the girl's purse and dress and setting them in a small closet. "You're stuff will be safe in here. Now, come with me." She walked back to the far wall and opened the wide cabinets. "Okay. So you need a ball gag and he requested a hood."

She pulled the items out of a box and handed them to the new girl. Angie looked at the black hood and the gag. It was all so strange to her. Then she glanced around the room. She remembered their conversation in her house. She believed him when he told her about his life. She thought he might be embellishing it a little bit. Now that she was standing here, she realized he wasn't.

"Breathe." Alexis said snapping her out of her momentary daydream. "Usually I'd ask if you're sure you want to be here. But you're sure. So just breathe. Relax. Allow yourself to experience everything."

Alexis wasn't a stranger to this conversation. She had talked many girls through it when they came to his house for the first time.

"How... how do you know I want to be here?" She asked a little overwhelmed by the blonde woman.

"The eyes mostly." Alexis stated. "You can always see the desire and determination in the eyes."

She reached forward without warning and ran a figure over her pussy causing Angie to jump back startled. Alexis smiled.

"I'm not wrong judging by the swamp down there. Come on. We need to get moving. If you have to pee, I'd go now."

Angie ducked into the bathroom in the guest house. She squeezed out whatever was left in her bladder. She cupped her hands under the faucet and brought some water up to her face. She looked at herself in the mirror.

"I'm a big girl. I can hold my own without getting scared off." She said mocking herself. It's what she had told him on the phone when she asked to visit. "Well, Angie, look what you've gotten yourself into now."

******

Tom went to check on his parents. He walked into the room seeing his father's eyes narrowed in anger and his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He knew that look. He'd seen it on rare occasions growing up. His mother on the other hand was sitting quietly with her hands folded lightly in her lap. No one was speaking.

John looked up at his son.

"So she's having an affair with someone out here? There's something you're not telling me. I knew you were picking sides, you little shit."

"What are you talking about?" Tom asked confused.

"She told me that she's moving here. She said she's been living in this house. So who lives here? Is she fucking some guy or not?" He was breathing heavily as he spoke.

Tom looked at his mom. "What's he talking about? I take it we're no closer to a settlement?"

"No, Sir. Not at all. I just said I'm not interested in getting back together, and that I was thinking about moving out permanently. He asked why I was staying here. I told him you could answer that."

"Christ, Marie! You're just going to air our dirty laundry in front of him? Can't you make decisions on your own?" John was losing it. "And you! You better start talking. I knew this was a waste of time and money. I shouldn't have come."

Tom glanced down at his tablet checking the time. He should have waited a little longer before coming back to into the room. He did his best to stall.

"It's not like I wanted to be in the middle of this." Tom said carefully. "But look, if you could both just think realistically then we can put this behind us." He looked at his father. "So she doesn't want to go back. You're getting divorced. That's the reality. So, what does she get for thirty-two years of marriage? The house? The car? A portion of the retirement savings?"

"Nothing!" He spat. "She gets nothing!"

"That's ridiculous." Tom said calmly. "You can't expect her to walk away with nothing. She didn't cheat on you. She hasn't done anything wrong. She just supported you and ran the household and raised me."

"Ha! And look at you. She didn't do a very good job. You know what's ridiculous? She is! You are! This whole fucking thing is!" He looked back at Marie. "Just get on a plane and go home. You can't keep up this act forever, you know. Take me to some fancy house and get a makeover and try and make me regret what I did. You know that you can't live without my support. Your little baby can't help you forever. And I won't give you shit."

Tom sighed. "I'm about to get..."

The phone rang interrupting him. Tom glanced down at the tablet and sighed in relief. It was already five after eight. They were late.

"You're about to get what?" John snipped. "Come on and say it."

"I was going to say that I'm about to get angry. But I need to take this call. I'll make a deal with you. Let me take this call, and afterward you can say whatever you want and then I'll drive you back to the hotel. If you want this to go through the lawyers, then fine."

Tom pressed the button answering the phone on his tablet before it stopped ringing. He held up a finger to his father to keep quiet.

******

Alexis secured the ball gag in Angie's mouth in the kitchen. Then she smiled at her reassuringly before pulling the black hood over her head cutting out all the light. She walked the girl into the living room.

Anne was tied down on the coffee table in an impressively intricate display. She wanted someone to fuck her. She felt grateful that Stephen decided to teach Frank a few things. The feeling of tight ropes on her skin was just so enticing, and she wanted to experience it more.

"... and then we'll use a slip knot." Stephen said as he finished wrapping some rope and then pulling it taut. "There! Now that's one helpless little subby slut. Best part is that with this position you still have access to all these fun little holes."

Stephen had tied a much more complicated version of a breast harness. Anne's upper arms were secured to her sides. He had bent her legs and wrapped her thighs and calves together tightly on each side. Then he pulled her ass back until her thighs pressed against her stomach. Lastly, he pulled her forearms back and tied her wrists to the ropes around each leg. Every wrap of rope around her body was braided, and the loose ends were tucked into the knots making the whole display appear seamless.

"You make that look so easy." Frank said. "I'm not sure I could recreate it."

"Repetition!" Stephen said giving Anne a hard slap on the ass to punctuate his excitement. "It takes repetition. Trial and error. Once you get the hang of it, there's nothin' easier."

Both men looked up as Alexis led the woman into the room. All the girls sat quietly and watched. Everyone knew that things were going to be different tonight, but this was definitely intriguing. Kimmie was suffering from sensory overload watching these men discuss the proper way to bind a submissive.

"Well, well!" Stephen cackled. "Now this is getting interesting. A new peach!"

Alexis looked back at him and then to the rest of the room.

"Sir says no one is to touch her. She is his toy to play with."

Angie's skin seemed hypersensitive and her senses were heightened. Those words excited her. She was his toy, she thought. She could hear the other voices and the movement. She wished she could see what was happening in the room. She wondered what these people looked like. Alexis kicked the ottoman over next to the armchair where Kimmie was seated. She sat Angie down guiding her to the cushion.

"Legs spread." She said watching the girl stretch her legs to either side. "Good. Now back straight. And put your hands on your knees."

"Mistress, is she new?" Abby chirped.

She couldn't help but be turned on looking at the request written on the girl's chest.

"Yes, Abby. She's brand new." Then she turned her attention back to Angie. "Okay. I need you to wait just like this. Can you do that for me?" She watched the covered head nod affirmatively. "Good. Sir will be out here soon enough."

Angie sat there unmoving. She thought about how she ended up in this position. His instructions had stopped after she knelt inside the gate. At that point it just said to text the number and obey. She wasn't used to the gag in her mouth. It strained her jaw. But she knew that he would test her limits.

Fran and Ybeth sat together on the couch. Fran had been watching Stephen tie up Anne, but Ybeth had been watching Jane. She'd never seen another woman get collared, and she stared in fascination at the lone figure at the side of the room. Jane had received no acknowledgment since she got into her presentation position. Ybeth watched her fidget and strain. She remembered seeing her arrive on Saturday, and she thought about how quickly she had bent to his will.

******

"Tom Bolden." He answered into the speakerphone.

"Hey, Mr. Bolden. I've got Jim and Maryanne on the line for you." The assistant replied.

"Tell them to hold for just a minute."

"Okay."

Tom pressed mute on the phone. He lifted the papers in front of him, and pulled out the divorce settlements looking them over. Then he reached forward and placed all three in a row in front of his father.

"These are divorce settlement offers. This one says that she gets nothing except some personal items. This one says she gets everything and you can keep a few personal items. You can read the particulars of how those things get divided. This last one is a happy medium."

John picked up the agreement that offered his wife nearly everything and ripped it in half staring back at his son spitefully. Tom didn't flinch at the action.

"Well at least think about the other two before you do something rash. We'll discuss it in a moment." Tom stood up and walked to the entryway and called out for Frank.

A moment later, his lawyer stepped into the room. "Frank, this is my father, John." He said. "Dad, this is my lawyer."

Frank extended his hand. "It's a pleasure, Mr. Bolden."

John was a bit startled by this new person and reflexively returned the man's handshake. He looked at his son confused.

"I thought this was supposed to be informal. You said no lawyers."

"This has nothing to do with you and mom." Tom said. "Let me take this call and then I'll answer all your questions." He looked at Frank. "You ready?"

"Always." Frank replied.

He realized now why Tom had set the call so late. He glanced back at John and saw the childish scowl on his face as he stared at the settlement offers in front of him. His parents would both hear this call. If his father really had no idea about his life then this would be a jarring and eye opening moment. Tom pressed the mute button.

"Hello?" Tom stated.

"Tom!" The feminine voice poured out of the speaker. "How are you?"

"Great, Maryanne. Frank is here too."

"Frank." She said with no enthusiasm whatsoever.

"Good to hear your voice too, Maryanne." Frank replied.

It was evident that these two didn't care much for each other.

"So," She said getting straight to it, "I read the draft on Saturday. I sent it to the other senior publishers Saturday night, and they read it yesterday. We're thrilled, Tom! We're more than pleased with it. I wanted to get on the phone with you today to let you know that we'll be cutting your check for delivery even though it's not quite finished."

Jim piped up. "I told you there was nothing to worry about, Maryanne. My boy delivers. And that beautiful little brain of his is filled with a lot more good material."

Tom laughed.

"Thanks. I'm flattered. I never think my books are very good. I guess I'm just too close to it."

"For the record," She said, "we think this is the best one yet. We're certain sales will be through the roof. Jim tells me you want this to be a trilogy of sorts. We want to be the exclusive publisher of all three. So, I'm really excited to say that in addition to the million for the delivery on this novel, we've preemptively gotten approval to offer you $2.75 million for each of the next two. How does that sound?"

"Million?" John sputtered.

Tom glared at his father on his left side. John set down the papers in his hand utterly confused. He looked down the table toward Marie. She wore the widest, proudest smile a mother could have. She knew he was successful, but until now she never knew the numbers. She glanced from Tom back to John and just stared at him. It was as if she was saying, "See what our boy has done? Do you get it now? He's my pride and joy." Although she didn't say anything. She didn't have to say much anymore. She just sat back allowing Sir to end this complication.

"Who was that?" Jim asked.

"Sorry." Tom said. "My father is in town." He turned giving him a stern look. "I promise he won't interrupt again."

"Well you must be very proud, Mr. Bolden." Maryanne said. "It's not often such a unique and talented literary voice comes along."

"That's a joke, right? That's your offer?" Frank scoffed cutting in and referencing her offer. "He's a three-time New York Time's bestselling author. How many writers can say that? My opinion is we shop the next two. Any other publisher would pay through the nose to pick up his work and his loyalty."

Maryanne sighed into the receiver. "And what would it take to get you to stay with us?"

She had worried that Frank might not be excited with the offer.

Tom looked up at Frank and held up three fingers. Frank on the other hand held up five. "Five?" Tom mouthed silently.

Frank cleared his throat. "If you'd given him gross percentage on the last deal, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But, since you felt like being stubborn. I'm thinking five million."

"Five?" Maryanne whined.

"Yes. Five for each book... and 15% percent of the gross sales."

"That's extortion! I can't take that number back to our business affairs and ask for a percentage on top!"

Jim jumped back in riding on Frank's counteroffer.

"It's good business, Maryanne. Tom's got these next two hashed out already. I can put book proposals on your desk tomorrow. You said yourself that you expect this book to hit the best seller list its first week out. Talk to your people. My only request is that he gets a bonus built in if they all make the NY Times list. Let's say $500K."

"How about a percentage of profit, not gross?" She countered.

"No." Frank said upset. "Gross sales or no deal."

"Okay. How about five million and ten percent of gross sales?" She asked.

"I can deal with that." Jim stated.

Frank nodded at Tom acknowledging it was a solid offer, and Tom nodded his consent. "That sounds acceptable. Was that so hard?"

"Fuck you, Frank." She replied dryly. "Tom, I'm going to do my best. I'll take this to our team in the morning. I'm really excited to see the proposals. By the way, your lawyer is an asshole."

"A really competent asshole." Tom joked. "Thank you, Maryanne. Sincerely."

"We'll regroup later this week." She said before hanging up the phone.

******

Jane was trembling on the floor and shifting her weight from one knee to the other. She wanted to get up. She was surprised by how quickly she lost track of time. It felt like it had been a while already. She wanted to lift her head. Two more women had arrived. She'd been listening to Stephen give instructions on rope bondage. She just wanted to join the others.

"Mistress?" She whispered unsure if she should speak up at all.

Alexis crossed the room and knelt down next to her.

"You better not say another word, Jane. Don't move. Don't make a sound. Just wait for him to acknowledge you. Do not disappoint him. If you want that collar then you'll stay right there even if it takes an hour, a day or a week."

Jane was completely deflated by her words. It wasn't that she needed to sit up. It was a more immediate need to go to the bathroom. She hadn't had a lot to drink today, but she had swallowed a lot of piss. She continued to fidget.

"What's wrong with her?" Stephen asked.

"She's been down there for a while." Alexis noted.

Jane whined a small, muffled little cry. Then she couldn't hold it any longer and she began to pee feeling it splatter on the floor beneath her and pool around her knees. It was humiliating to think that everyone in the room was watching. As soon as she was done, she felt physically relieved but emotionally small.

"Haha! I see what the problem was!" Stephen let out an unaffectionate chortle.

She heard the girls whisper to each other after the boorish remark. And then the blood flowed back to her pussy and she felt the heat build and the lips moisten. It was still a very confusing realization that she was turned on by such humiliating treatment.

******

John had momentarily forgotten about the settlements sitting in front of him. He just looked from Tom to Marie and back at Tom again. That phone call couldn't have been right. For a second, he wondered if it were a stunt. He mulled the idea that they set this entire thing up to fuck with him. He'd grown awfully paranoid lately, but deep down he knew it was real.

"Tom?" He said in a confused voice.

Tom was in the middle of some congratulations with the older gentleman sitting on the other side of the table.

"Yeah." He said turning back to his father. "So let me just get the particulars out of the way." He reached into his stack of papers. "This is a confidentiality agreement." He said sliding the paper across the table to his father. "If you want to ask me questions then you'll need to sign that. I don't discuss my career with anyone that hasn't signed one of these."

John lifted the paper and read through it.

"It's harmless." Frank added. "That just says you won't ever discuss his career or anything that happens inside his home, also noted as his workplace in this agreement. Any release of his actual name in connection with his penname can result in litigation and punitive damages. Basically keep your mouth shut about his writing."

It seemed simple enough, John thought. He was hesitant to sign it, but he had questions.

"Marie, did you know about this?" he asked speaking to her in a civil tone for the first time.

"I just found out last week." She replied.

He looked back down and took the pen next to him signing the document. He carefully slid the paper back toward his son completely unsure about what was happening. Tom took the paper and stuck it back in his pile.

"That call?" John asked.

"That call was the culmination of my last years' worth of work." Tom said. "My fourth novel. And it appears with the help of Frank here, my fifth and sixth are going to pay out."

"How come you've never said anything about it?" He asked still a bit dazed.

"Because I never needed your recognition. I'm your kid. You either love me or you don't. My success shouldn't have any bearing on it." Tom stated simply. "But I'm just a poor, faggoty writer. That's what you said, right? Why should knowing I'm successful change your opinion of me?"

Tom realized how easily angered his father was lately. He knew that prodding him would stoke his temper.

"So you're a big shot, then? I guess I'm supposed to be impressed."

"You're supposed to be my father. You're supposed to be a husband. You're not supposed to threaten to steal the livelihood of the people that care about you." Tom said. "You are so disrespectful. Don't you see that I couldn't care less what you think of me? I couldn't care less about your little life."

It seemed to be a very harsh retort to John's behavior, but it also seemed to be the only way to get through to him.

He continued. "And if my mother wants to come live with me then she is more than welcome in my home."