9. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap （Ryan）
Chapter nine
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Ryan)
I hated myself for what happened next. After that drunk-high-fueled sex, we both fell asleep right there on the gazebo.
It was something that happened on its own.
We didn’t plan for it to sleep in each other’s arms beside the roaring fire.
When I woke up, I don’t know how many hours later, it was pitch black, leaving me disconcerted.
These weren’t the usual gray hues of my suite’s bedroom.
Where was I? Why was Melissa here with me, wrapped in nothing but my coat?
The thing that made me hate myself happened after Melissa had stirred and sat up. As she saw me sitting beside her, naked as the day I was born, she reeled, as if expecting me to go on another insulting tirade like last time.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I said, putting my hand on her shoulder and bringing her closer to me. I turned her face to mine, then looked her in the eyes. It made her see my face to show her that I meant no ill will. I was not someone to reel from.
“Bro, my head hurts,” Melissa said.
Phew. She wasn’t reeling after all. I’d gone and hated myself for nothing.
“I’ll get you some coffee, then drop you home.”
“I’m spinning so hard,” Melissa said.
“It was a little much, all of it. I’m worried that you’ll catch a cold,” I said, pulling my coat up and wrapping it around her again.
“Listen, Ryan. I’m glad that we’re past what happened and everything, but you have to understand that I’m pretty vulnerable right now, what with…
everything,” Melissa said, struggling to grab her clothes.
I reached out, grabbed them for her, and handed them to her.
They were warm and dry, thanks to the firepit.
“I understand,” I said.
“No, I mean, this cannot happen again. We’re going to be working together now. If we cannot stop ourselves from this,” she said, waving both hands at us, “then…”
“Believe me, I understand, and in the spirit of trying to be a better person, I will completely acknowledge, affirm, and accept what you’re saying. To keep the alliterative thing going, I’ll also abide by it just so long as you don’t think that I’m a complete asshole anymore.”
She put her hand on my cheek and stared at me intensely for a whole minute.
“I don’t think you’re a complete asshole. I think my father saw a lot of good things in you. I think that you embody a lot of them. It’s just that we got off on the wrong foot, that’s all. But we had our do-over. However, this cannot happen again,” she affirmed.
“This will not happen again, you have my word,” I said, putting my hand on my heart.
As the night progressed, all I could bring myself to think about was how I was going to effectively keep Hoffa’s last promise a secret.
He had insisted that I not share the details of my arrangement with his daughter.
I hadn’t intended to, but then again, before, I hadn’t felt what I was feeling tonight.
I was falling for this girl, and it was frightening to think about how much hung in the balance.
Next Monday couldn’t get here faster. I’d already asked the IT department to integrate Melissa into the system, give her a new company ID card, update her email, allow her access to our servers, and everything else.
The office that she was getting was on the same floor as mine, which wasn’t unusual as all the heads of the departments had their offices on the same floor, the topmost one.
Stacy still could not believe that Melissa was Hoffa’s daughter. She walked into my office, face all red, and snapped at me.
“How could you fail to mention that this was Frances’s daughter?”
“I don’t know, Stacy. I figured that was your thing, given that you know everything about everyone. How did you never tell me she was Hoffa’s daughter?”
“Because I didn’t know!” Stacy chided.
“Well, now you know how I felt.”
Stacy eyed me gloweringly.
“Did you do something stupid?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Fine. But we’re not over this yet. I’ll get back at you for this,” Stacy said, wagging her finger at me.
“Then you will be fired,” I called after her as she left my office.
“That’s going to cost you millions in an unlawful termination lawsuit!” Stacy, in fitting Stacy fashion, had to have the last word. I often let her have it.
As she left, Melissa walked in. It was her first day as the head of acquisitions and she was dressed for it, beige pencil skirt and white blouse and all.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” I snickered, trying to keep things as casual as possible. It had been a week since we’d last seen each other. I had dropped her home that day after our inebriated romp in the gazebo. This was the first time we were meeting after that.
She did that thing to me that all the poets wrote about — the whole heart-skipping-a-beat thing. I was glad to see her, even gladder to see that she came with a smile on her face.
“It’s funny that you mentioned a cat, because as it happens, I wanted to kick off my new career with a big hit. I have just the cool cat to introduce to you,” Melissa said, already prepared with a file in her hand.
“I knew I made the right choice hiring you,” I said, taking the file from her and opening it. It was pretty barebones, which made me look up at her.
“This is Colby X,” she said, pointing at the picture.
“I know who Colby X is. He’s the guy with the billion YouTube and SoundCloud hits, but he’s also notorious for not trusting labels.
Right now, his cousin does all his track mixing and producing for him.
It shows in the shoddy quality of his content, but that’s Gen-Z viewership for you.
If something’s crappy, they stick to it like flies on… well, crap,” I said.
“And I believe you’ve tried to sign him on with Blue Riff,” she said.
“Tried eight times and failed. Of course, I never personally went to convince him, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t send my best.”
“You sent Evans.”
“Course I sent Evans. I wasn’t going to send some intern.”
“Well,” Melissa smiled. “In the one week that I spent preparing for my new role, I got in touch with him and managed to convince him to meet with us. All on the phone. He even agreed to meet us today.”
“You did what?” I asked, sitting up straight.
“I told him to come down to the office, and he said that he’d be there, right on the dot.”
“Well, then, what the hell are you doing here? Go get ‘em!” I said, grinning at her and passing her the file back. “Great start, by the way.”
“I just figured you’d want in, given it’s your label and all.”
“His Highness is already here?”
“Waiting in the conference room with his lawyer right now.”
“I have got to see this,” I said, getting up and following her out of my office.
If we could sign on Colby X, it’d change everything.
That man had no less than fifty million subscribers on YouTube alone.
I could get him to collab with all the other artists signed onto my label, and help boost their careers.
Colby X, as far as I knew, had never gone on a tour.
I could arrange for that too. Make him rich while making myself richer.
Everyone would profit. He already had the discography to show for it.
Now, it was time he got professional treatment in the form of proper equipment, a fully functioning studio, and our marketing department’s failproof techniques to make sure that he got ten times more views than he was currently getting.
“After you,” Melissa said, holding the door open.
“It isn’t like a gentleman to have a lady hold the door open for him,” I said.
“Jeez, man, just get in,” Melissa said, rolling her eyes.
I obliged and stepped into the conference room. I found Colby X sitting atop the conference table with his legs crossed, his eyes closed, his hands palms up on his knees, humming “Om.”
“Yo,” I said, waving in front of him. His lawyer shook his head aggressively, signaling me not to disturb Colby X in the middle of his morning meditation.
“Mr. Colby, if you wouldn’t mind taking your seat,” Melissa said as she stepped inside the conference room.
“I don’t really like being told what to do,” Colby X said with his eyes still closed.
“We don’t like people sitting on top of our tables,” Melissa said.
He opened his eyes and exhaled rather forcefully. He slid off the table and stood there, looking around for his shirt. He picked it off the ground and put it on.
“I thought y’all was cool,” Colby X said, pushing aside braids and looking at us disapprovingly. “It’s why I don’t like these corporate monkey suits to begin with, man. No soul.”
“Well,” I said, looking at Colby X threateningly as I stepped to him.
I did not like the way he was talking to Melissa.
“In that case, you may consider taking your business back to your cousin, for that matter. But you’d rather not do that.
See, I know you, Colby, and I know that your views and playbacks have been quite static for some time.
Or else you wouldn’t be here. Your Instagram posts suggest that you’ve got a new album coming in a few weeks.
That’s why you’re here. I suggest you abide by the decorum of our office while you’re here; we’ll see if we can arrange a yoga room the next time you come. ”
“Aight, aight, tough love, tough love, that’s cool. I respect the game,” Colby X said, and then promptly took his seat. I still did not like the way he was eyeing Melissa. “Say, you the shawty that called me?”
“That would be me, Mr. Colby,” she said, opening her file and averting her gaze.
“We can make short work of this, then. No need for a meeting,” he assured.
I did not like the direction in which this was headed.
“Are you or are you not interested in signing a deal with us?” Melissa asked.
“I would, girl, but Ima need to take you out for a spin beforehand, know what I mean? See who I’m getting in business with.”
Before Melissa could respond, I slammed my fist into the table and stood up.
“That’s it. You, get out!” I said, pointing at the door.
“Whatchu playing at, fam? You ask me to come here and then insult me like this?” Colby X yelled.
“You know I’m not playing at anything, and you know that you just inappropriately talked to her. I can see why we didn’t sign you on in the first place. We’re sticking to that decision. Get out.”
“Aight, chill dawg, I’m leavin’,” Colby X said, raising his elbows above his head.
A vein kept throbbing on my forehead as I watched him and his lawyer leave the conference room.
“What the hell was that all about?” Melissa asked, looking exasperatedly at the door and then at me.
“I did not like the way he was talking to you. It was nothing short of sexual harassment,” I snapped angrily. We don’t need his business. Not if he talks to you like that,” I said.
“He didn’t really say anything…”
“No, but he implied it and that’s just as bad,” I said.
“And why do you care?”
“Because I do! And I can’t not care, Melissa,” I said, my voice raised high. It was just as strange for me, to feel this much accountability and responsibility for her.
“You really care, don’t you?” she whispered.
“I do,” I said, realizing how close we were standing all of a sudden.
“You just lost me my first client,” she snarled, her lips lingering close to my face.
“That’s okay, you’ll get dozens in no time,” I said, unable to hold myself back. I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close, kissing her full on the mouth with unhindered passion, our teeth clashing, our tongues pressed together, and our lips wet.
“What are we doing, Ryan?” she panted in my ear.
“Something we promised we wouldn’t do,” I said, holding her by her hips and propping her on the table.
It had been one whole week since I’d last seen her, and not a moment had gone by in that week when I didn’t think about her. Now, I couldn’t keep myself away from her. Every fiber of my being wanted to be closer to her.
She held onto my neck, pulling me close, kissing along my jawline, my neck, and burying her face in my shirt, her lips brushing my chest, her hand already unbuckling my belt.
I slid off her skirt, then deftly pulled her panties to the side while she stroked my cock and brought me closer to her.
We kissed carnally, our mouths wide, our tongues lolling.
I touched her inner thigh with the tip of my penis.
She gently nudged me in the right direction, helping me slide effortlessly inside.
It was a good thing that the conference room had opaque, soundproof walls — a prerequisite for a music label.
Several artists blared their music at deafening volumes without anyone in the adjoining rooms even hearing so much as the reverberation of loud bass.
It was a good thing entirely, because the way I fucked her and made her moan. Any other room wouldn’t have been able to contain her screams and the sound of our rhythmic movements atop the table.
I grabbed her by her shoulders as I lay her down on top of the desk and parted her legs as I lay on top of her, feeling her soft breasts on my chest from under her silken blouse. Her eyes were closed, her face contorted into a pure expression of sexual ecstasy.
I couldn’t last for more than a few minutes, but those few minutes were nothing short of heavenly. When I inadvertently came inside her, I could feel her pussy contracting around my dick, which brought me some comfort, knowing that I’d helped her come too.
Still panting, reeling from the rollercoaster of sensations, I got up and rolled to the side, bringing my pants back up and buckling them hurriedly. I realized that the door was never locked and at any given moment, anyone could walk in. It was a wonder that no one had already done it.
“Did you mean it?” Melissa asked, adjusting her skirt hastily.
“Of course, I meant it. I do care about you. I’m not ashamed to admit it,” I said.
“What changed between today and our first night together?” she asked, prodding a topic that should have been left well enough alone.
I was ready to tell her that I cared for her, but I wasn’t ready to profess that I loved her just yet.
It was not the right time. It wasn’t just her that I’d been thinking about this past week.
It was the promise I’d made to Hoffa that wouldn’t leave my mind.
I couldn’t understand how I was to keep such a big thing a secret from her.
Now, having told her that I cared for her, I couldn’t help but mention why.
“A promise,” I said, still trying to hold myself back from telling her the truth.
“A promise to whom?”
“Your father,” I said.
Then I told her everything.