Chapter 19 Compromised #2
“Someone is trying to blackmail us with pictures of Lothair and me in compromising situations.”
Lothair let out a short laugh. “So what? Everyone knows I fuck around. We can say they’re a few months old.”
I looked at another photograph and froze. This wasn’t Lothair and me. A similar hotel bedroom and a similar bed, but the window was on the other side.
A slim omega was sitting on a bed, dressed in an open white shirt and elaborate lingerie. His cock was hard between his toned legs. A muscular alpha was kneeling by the bed, naked, his arms hanging limply by his sides. The omega was resting his foot on the alpha’s face.
Another picture showed the alpha still on his knees with the omega standing above him. He was about to put a long black dildo into the alpha’s ass. A black flogger lay on the bed.
In the next photo, the big alpha was stretched out on the bed like a starfish, his arms bound to the headboard, a gag in his mouth.
The base of the black dildo peeked from between his spread legs.
The omega stood by the bed. His corset and lace shorts clung to his impeccable body, his nipples peeking out enticingly.
His arm was in the air, the flogger about to land on the alpha’s rearing cock.
It was Paris and Boone, easily recognizable. There were more pictures, at least ten, but I didn’t need to see them. Now that I realized what I was looking at, I felt gross, invading their privacy like this.
I handed the stack of photos to Boone. “I’m sorry.”
Boone shuffled through them all. He went pale, and his mouth tightened, eyebrows drawn together in a scowl.
“They must have been taken at the apartment we rented two weeks ago,” I said.
Boone slipped the photos back into the envelope. “I need to talk to Mr. Olivier.”
Lothair walked over to us. “Can I have a look?”
I shook my head, and he frowned.
Boone stomped out of the room and into the other part of the suite, where Paris’s bedroom was.
“What’s going on?” Lothair asked quietly.
“It’s not just pictures of you and me.”
“No?”
“Boone and Paris are in a relationship.”
“I knew it!”
Lothair’s smile fell as he took in my expression.
“Their sex life is very unconventional.” I let the information sink in.
“This could severely damage Paris’s career, and if the pictures are published together with the ones of you and me having sex in the same apartment, they could lead to all kinds of speculations.
This could be the sex scandal of the decade. ”
“For fuck’s sake. Why do people still care who fucks whom and how? We’re all adults! This is a free country!”
Paris appeared, wearing a satin robe and a towel around his head. Boone shuffled behind him, still pale as a ghost, carrying the envelope.
“They care a lot. Especially those whose sex life is disappointing.” With that, Paris poured himself a glass of bourbon.
When Boone spoke, he sounded hollow. “We missed the cameras during the apartment checkup, which means they must have been chosen and installed by an experienced professional. The envelope was handed to you in public during a major event to show what they can do to you. The action required extensive resources and planning.”
“Do we know who’s behind this?” Paris asked.
He was surprisingly calm. It was Boone who looked on the verge of a breakdown. Paris seemed as businesslike as ever.
I didn’t hesitate with my answer. It was glaringly obvious. “Carlos Sorensen, Lothair’s now ex-manager.”
Lothair swore next to me. “I’ll fucking kill the weasel.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. After a quick glance at the screen, I met Paris’s eyes. “You have our deepest apologies. You’ve been dragged into our mess. None of this is your fault.”
Paris scoffed. “It’s everyone’s and nobody’s fault, Terrance. In this industry, people eagerly eat their young if it gives them a leg up. If Lothair weren’t involved with me, nobody would target him. Are we sure it’s Carlos?”
I showed him my phone. “The message is from him. He wants to meet you and Lothair tomorrow at his office. Boone and I are not allowed into the building.”
Boone flashed me a glare. “Mr. Olivier is not going anywhere without me.”
Paris put his palm on Boone’s shoulder, gently rubbing. “Hush.”
With that single word and touch, Boone slumped like a puppet after its strings were cut. I’d noticed the odd dynamic between them before, but after seeing those pictures… I wasn’t even surprised. It made perfect sense.
“Let’s sit,” Paris said.
Boone obeyed, lowering his huge body onto the sofa. Paris sat beside him. He took Boone’s hand and held it with both of his in his lap. Boone closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the sofa. It was fascinating how fast the big scary alpha relinquished all control to Paris.
“We don’t know what he wants, but we can assume,” I said.
Lothair nodded. “I haven’t spoken to him since I fired him, but I know him. With the productions Allan Caspian has lined up for you and me, Carlos feels cheated out of loads of money. He thinks he made me, that I’m nothing without him, and wants his share of the cake.”
“He’s a simple man, then,” Paris said. “Predictable.”
“Yes and no.” I took a deep gulp of my drink, wishing for the umpteenth time that alcohol had some effect on me. “I suspect the security leaks we’ve been facing were intentional. He found the most effective way of getting you press and didn’t care if you ended up in danger.”
“Could he be behind the car crash as well?”
“I didn’t think so before, but now I’m reconsidering,” I replied. “He could have hired someone.”
Paris squinted at the envelope lying on the coffee table. “Interesting. So he’s willing to go quite far.”
“Unless he’s in danger himself,” Lothair said. “He’s afraid of Terry and Boone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have banned you from the office, right?”
“But he’s also getting desperate,” Paris said. “If this goes wrong for him, he’s finished. Nobody will work with him ever again. He could even end up in jail.”
“Or dead,” Boone said darkly.
Paris chuckled and lifted Boone’s hand to his lips for a soft kiss on the knuckles. “No, baby. Carlos will survive.”
Boone grunted.
“What do you suggest?” Lothair asked, his eyes on Paris.
“He wants money. We pay him.”
Lothair leaned forward. “You want to let the crooked little fucker blackmail us?” His voice rose with frustration.
“We pay him to destroy the images, which will buy us time.” Paris’s smile was as angelic as ever. “It shouldn’t take long to dig up enough dirt to sink him. His closet must be full of skeletons.”
“Do you know people who could do the digging?”
Paris gave a pleasant nod. “I know people.”
“So tomorrow, we’ll go meet him and pretend he’s getting what he wants.”
“Yes.”
Boone sat up straight. “No. Mr. Olivier is not going without me.”
“I don’t think Paris and Lothair will be in direct danger…” I began.
“No!” Boone growled, tearing his hand out of Paris’s grip and slamming a fist into the coffee table.
Paris turned to Boone, his gaze stone-cold. Boone was shaking his head vehemently.
“No.”
“Boone. It’s the best solution.”
“Please, Master. It’s not safe.”
When the humungous alpha called tiny and frail Paris Master, I wanted to leave the room and give them privacy. Why did that sound so sexual? Was it because I’d seen the pics?
“I’m sorry, Boone,” Paris said mildly.
“No, Master. Please. I can’t.”
“You will stay behind,” Paris stated loud enough for his voice to echo. “That’s an order.”
Boone clenched his jaw and dropped his gaze. He was all but trembling but said nothing.
Paris stood. “We’ll leave tomorrow at nine. Good night.”
“Good night,” Lothair and I said simultaneously, both of us a little stunned by the interaction we’d just witnessed.
Paris Olivier floated out of the room with his chin high, his bodyguard stalking behind him.
“Wow,” Lothair murmured when they were gone.
“Yeah.” Wow indeed.
“Any more strategy points we should talk about before I go and meet that slime stain?” Lothair asked.
“Let’s update Devon first.” I wanted to hear my boss’s opinion on Paris’s plan.
“Okay.”