I sat at the soundboard, feeling lighter than I had in months.
With no worries about songs leaking or working with a traitor, the music was flowing. I would make the next album deadline with plenty of time to spare.
Nat was no longer a worry either. She'd given a few follow up interviews playing the victim and calling Callie a home wrecking slut. But she came off as desperate and bitter. Having lost all credibility, Nat's allegations against me were forgotten. Meanwhile the press had moved on and were loving the pictures of me kissing Callie.
Everything was going well. Except my relationship with Callie.
Besides the odd text, she'd kept her distance over the last week. I was trying to be patient but it's not one of my stronger qualities. Tapping a pencil on the desk, I tried to come up with an excuse to see her, move things along faster.
"You want to hear that back again?" Jared asked.
"Sorry, what?"
"The bridge. Want me to play it again?"
"Nah, it's fine," I said, as my phone rang and Callie's name appeared. "I gotta take this," I said to Jared before answering. "Hey."
"Do you have a minute to talk about my second condition?" she asked.
"What was that one again? The award show dress? My vote is something tight," I said.
"I wanted to run my idea for taking down Dickwad past you," Callie said.
I held the phone away from my mouth. "What's that Jared?"
He looked up confused. "I didn't -"
I brought the phone back to my mouth. "Sorry, Jared needs my help so I gotta go. But I'll pick up dinner and come by your place after work so we can talk. See you later."
I hung up before Callie could protest.
"I think I just got used," Jared smiled.
"For a good cause," I said, pleased at the turn of events. It was the perfect excuse to spend some time with Callie.
After grabbing takeout from a popular Mexican restaurant, I arrived at her house. Keeping my face turned away from the few reporters still camped out on the street, I let myself in.
"Hey," I called. "Food's here."
Callie walked into the kitchen with her hair wet and smelling like rose shampoo. My mind instantly pictured her in the shower and wondered why we'd never fucked there before. A huge oversight I would fix as soon as I could.
I pulled her into a hug. After a moment, she stepped away.
"You really didn't need to come over. We could have talked on the phone," Callie said, opening the bags and grabbing her dinner.
"This was one of your conditions to helping me out. I take that seriously," I said as we settled at the table with our food. "So how are we taking down Dickwad?"
"Well, it's gotta be something he can't explain away or worm his way out of," Callie said.
"I could confront him about roofying you, rough him up a bit," I offered.
"Thanks, but I have something else in mind," Callie smiled, then laid out her plan.
"Damn. That's clever," I said, impressed.
"Will you do it?" she asked.
I nodded. "I'll start making arrangements first thing tomorrow."
"Thank you," Callie said.
"Now, onto better things," I said, reaching for her hand and interlacing our fingers. "How are you?"
Callie pulled away and began clearing the empty containers. "I'm good. Thanks for dinner."
I rose and stretched. "Wanna watch TV?"
"Nope. Time for you to leave."
"What? I just got here," I said.
"Marshall, please," she sighed.
Instead of answering, I moved closer and ran my hands over her shoulders and neck. Gently I began massaging, trying to calm her down. Gradually I felt her body relax.
"That feel good?" I asked.
"Mmmm," she mumbled.
I increased the pressure and felt her sag against me. My lips found a good spot on her neck while I ran a hand down her back to the waistband of her pants and slipped underneath. Callie moved away, stepping out of reach.
"Please go," she said.
"Callie -"
"No Marshall. Leave."
"Why do I have to go?" I argued.
"Because we're not back together."
"And why not? I said I was sorry! What more do you want?" I asked, my voice rising.
"Time and respect for a start."
I closed the space between us and glared down at her. My jaw clenched. "You have no idea how much I want to fuck this 'not together' shit outta you."
Callie's eyes widened as I grabbed her and smashed my lips down on hers. The kiss was brutal, ending only when she shoved me away. We stood breathing heavily, glaring at each other.
"Get out," Callie ordered.
"Fine," I snapped, storming out and slamming the door behind me.
Over the next couple days, I made arrangements for the partners of Callie's law firm to tour the studio. Although her reluctance to resume our relationship continued to bother me. Maybe she was playing me. I didn't think she was like that, but I'd been wrong before.
Could she be only using me to take down Dickwad and had no intention of getting back together with me? And what if she was? Hadn't I needed her help in dispelling the escort story? Were we using each other and nothing more? I hoped things wouldn't play out that way.
The afternoon of the tour, I nervously checked everything several times. This had to go perfectly. Jared watched me without comment. I'd told him about Callie's plan.
Callie poked her head into the control room. "Hey guys. Is everything ready?"
Jared smiled and quietly slipped from the room, leaving us alone. I stood and faced Callie. She was wearing a blouse with a plunging neckline showing plenty of cleavage and a very short skirt.
"Wow, you look ... " I struggled to come up with something appropriate to say. She looked like the slutty lawyer of my fantasies.
"Figured it wouldn't hurt to offer some encouragement," Callie said. "How's this?"
She flicked a pencil off the desk and bent over to pick it up. Her round ass strained against the skirt and I saw a flash of red panties.
My mouth went dry and my dick hardened. In a flash I was behind her, pressed against her ass, hands gripping her hips.
"That's more than Dickwad deserves," I said as she straightened up. "But if you wanna play that out with me later baby, I'm game."
Callie laughed and looked over her shoulder at me. "Guess that means it works."
I pressed a kiss to her neck, scratching my beard on her sensitive skin. Looking up, I met Callie's eyes. "Is that a no?"
She stepped away and adjusted her blouse, covering up a bit more.
"Let's keep the couple stuff for public," she said. "Almost show time. You ready?"
I tried not to let my disappointment show as I nodded.
"Great. I'll see you later," she said. Pausing at the door, she turned and smiled. "Thanks again for doing this."
She was gone by the time I whispered, "Whatever you need."
An hour later Callie knocked on the door and led four men into the room. I recognized one as Dickwad as I stood to greet them.
"It's wonderful to meet you and see what you do here," Rowan Steele said after introducing himself. "Thank you for this opportunity Mr. Mathers."
"Marshall please," I said, slipping an arm around Callie's waist and drawing her closer to me. "And it's me that should be thanking you, for bringing Callie to Detroit. She's been amazing, both professionally and personally."
Rowan beamed while Dickwad frowned. Too fucking bad asshole, I thought. Even if Callie wasn't mine, she'd never be yours.
The other partners were introduced as Alan Harris, Derek Vance and Donovan Cane, aka Dickwad.
With Jared at the controls, we ran through a short demonstration of how the recording equipment worked. Alan and Derek asked questions enthusiastically while Dickwad glowered off to the side. Alan even wanted to get in the booth. We recorded as he spit a nursery rhyme while acting like a gangster. Playing it back for him, everyone laughed.
"Yo. If the law doesn't work out for you, give me a call," I joked, but he seemed pleased.
I looked over at Callie and she nodded. Showtime.
"Jared why don't you take a break and grab a coffee while I show our guests the rest of the studio?"
Jared nodded, flicked a couple switches and we all moved towards the door.
"Oh!" Callie said, looking down at her phone. "I need to take this call. Go ahead and I'll catch up with you."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "We can wait."
"It's fine. I'll just be a moment," Callie smiled. "I'll use the booth for privacy."
Nodding, I led the way down the hallway into the open air conference and practice rooms. Everyone gathered around and I noticed Dickwad wasn't among them. As proud as I was of the studio, I was having trouble giving the usual spiel, knowing what must be happening in my sound booth. This was much harder than I thought it'd be. It took all my self control not to barrel back there.
Answering more questions from the partners, I smiled and nodded. After an excruciating five minutes, I pretended to look around. "Seems we've lost Callie and Donovan. Let's head back to the control room and get them before we continue."
When we walked into the room, I saw Callie readjusting her blouse. She looked upset, but nodded at me.
"Sorry, we were just coming to join you," Dickwad smiled.
Although I longed to punch the fucker, I moved to the soundboard and hit rewind. Callie turned to Rowan and the other partners.
"Gentlemen," Callie said. "Donovan has been sexually harassing me and using his position as a partner to demand sex. I suspect he's done the same to many women at the firm. It has to stop."
Dickwad spun to glare at her. "Those are outrageous accusations. You better apologize before you ruin your career."
"Ain't her career that's gonna be ruined," I said and hit play. Dickwad's voice filled the room.
"So you're fucking the rap guy?"
"Marshall and I are together, yes."
"Doesn't mean you can't have a little fun on the side. I'm sure he is."
"No extra fun needed, thanks."
"Come on, the chase is getting old. When are you gonna let me have you?"
"Don't touch me!"
"I can do great things for your career Callie. You just have to give it up."
"Let go! You're hurting me!"
"You're a big girl, you know the way things work. This is going to happen."
The partners' mouths hung open and Dickwad's face lost its color as he realized everything had been caught on tape.
"This – this is entrapment! She propositioned me!" Dickwad protested.
"That's not how it sounded," Derek said.
"Callie, thank you for bringing this to our attention. We will investigate this matter thoroughly," Rowan said, frowning at Dickwad.
Dickwad sputtered, looking at the other partners for support. Seeing only stony faces, he turned back to Callie.
"Callie, this is all a big misunderstanding! I'm sorry if you thought there was more going on than joking between colleagues," Dickwad smiled. "It won't ever happen again."
"Don't," Callie shook her head. "The words mean nothing when your actions are the complete opposite."
"I agree," Rowan said. "In light of that recording, Donavan you're suspended until our investigation is complete."
"You fucking bitch!" Like a cornered animal, Dickwad lunged at Callie, wrapping his hands around her neck. Callie gasped and clawed at his hands as they tightened.
"No!" I charged forward, gabbing Dickwad by the shoulders and throwing him to the ground. Kneeling on his chest, I rained down punches.
"You piece of shit!" I roared, feeling hands pulling at my back.
"Stop," Jared said, grabbing my arm. "He doesn't matter, Callie does."
His quiet voice cut through my rage. In seconds I was up and looking around for her. Callie had turned away from the group, taking gulping breaths of air. I pulled her into a hug, stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry," I murmured.
In the ensuing chaos, my security was summoned and dragged Dickwad out. Alan and Derek also departed quickly, leaving only Rowan Steele.
Rowan cleared his throat and Callie turned to face him. I kept an arm around her, pressing her to my side.
"Callie, I'm truly sorry," he said. "Marshall, could you please have a copy of that recording sent to my office?"
"Absolutely," I said. Rowan nodded his thanks and left.
I drove Callie home. She disappeared to change while I grabbed some Tylenol and a bag of frozen peas for her neck. We ordered food and ate in front of the TV. Her neck had some bruising but it wasn't bad as I first feared.
"Okay," Callie said finally. "It's late and I'm exhausted."
I moved to help her up from the couch, but she waved me away.
"Stop hovering! I'm fine!" Callie said. "Go home Marshall."
Go? If she thought I was leaving her after what she'd been through, she was crazy.
"No way. I'm staying."
"No, you're not," Callie sighed.
"After - "
"We're not together!" Callie said. "Thank you for your help today, but I'm fine. And I'm sleeping alone."
Anger and frustration rose inside me, fueled by the fear she had no intention of giving me another chance. But this wasn't the time to argue and I bit back my objections. She'd been through enough today. I blew out a sigh.
"Can I at least kiss it better?" I asked.
After a brief hesitation, Callie nodded. I slid my arms around her and leaning down, pressed a soft kiss to her throat above the bruising. Raising my head, I kissed her lips and felt Callie respond.
Pulling back, I stared at her. If she gave the slightest indication she wanted me, I'd insist on staying. But she didn't.
"Call me if you need anything," I said, and reluctantly left.
