Part 4 (1/2)
”All right, well how about we compromise?” I suggested.
Jimmy laughed unkindly. ”Right. You, compromise.”
”Hey, I compromise a lot.” I could have gone on but I shut my mouth right on time.
He sat back down, leaning back in his seat, and studied me.
”Do tell, Dex, what is your compromise?”
I exchanged a quick look with Perry to make sure we were on the right track before I said, ”Give us one more chance.”
”No.”
”Just hear me out. Give us one more chance. We'll pay for the whole thing out of our own pocket.” Perry stiffened beside me at that. ”We'll arrange everything. We'll shoot the episode and we'll get that sponsor. If the sponsor doesn't come on board, then we quit. We're done.”
I could feel Perry's eyes on me. I knew she was going to flip out over the whole paying for it thing. She had no money anymore, not really. Jimmy had been her only source of income and it was a s.h.i.+tty income at that. But I had money, money from my inheritance, money I'd been smart with over the years, and I'd take care of everything for her. If she'd let me.
Jimmy pursed his lips then said, ”This sounds promising, Dex. But I have to think about it.”
I groaned, exasperated. ”Why? It's all on my head here, I'll carry the whole thing. What do you have to lose?”
He gave me a pointed look. ”A lot. Even if it does work out and la di da we have an episode, and the sponsors come on board, how are you going to keep it up? The two of you together are trouble.”
I heard Perry snort from beside me but kept my eyes on Jimmy.
He went on. ”You understand me? There's no guarantee what we'll get from you in the future. Unless the format changes in some way.”
”Look...”
”Dex, I said I'll think about it. Give me twenty-four hours or less to let it stew. Then I'll come back to you.”
d.a.m.n. Somehow he was still calling all the shots. I hated having a boss.
He dismissed us with a tired wave, and Perry and I left the office just as my man Seb was coming in.
”Dex,” Seb said. ”Dude, it's been like forever.”
I did one of those bro hugs with him: hand clasp, slap on back, no eye contact.
”Seb, you have no concept of time,” I told him. He was quite the stoner but his brain-dead antics kept me entertained during the whole Perry and I debacle.
”Maybe time has no concept of me,” he said, tapping his head where his disheveled ponytail was coming loose. It was only then that he noticed Perry. ”Hey...Perry, right?”
”Yes. Hi, Seb,” she said with a smirk on her face.
”Cool. Well I better go in and see what Jimbo wants.”
”You have a meeting too?” I asked. Seb had a show with my friend Dean called Gamers, where they just basically acted like f.u.c.ktards and played video games. It was pretty popular, considering, but maybe not as lucrative as I thought.
He shrugged. ”I guess so. Hey, I'll see you tonight, right?”
I frowned. ”What's tonight?”
”Nothing, just me and Dean feel like getting s.h.i.+tfaced. I let Rebecca know too. We'll be at the Spelling Bee.'”
The Spelling Bee was one of those divey on purpose type bars that served overpriced drinks over on 2, not too far from the apartment. I wished him luck and told him we'd hopefully see him there. To be honest, I felt like getting a little loose tonight and even more than that, I felt like showing Perry off.
”Do you feel like going out tonight?” I asked her as we got in the elevator.
”I'm up for anything.”
”Oh really?”
I whipped around and pulled out the elevator's STOP b.u.t.ton. The elevator lurched then went still.
”What are you doing?” she screeched, wild-eyed.
”Nothing you need to worry about, baby,” I told her, placing both hands on either side of her head and kissing her hard, hard enough that she was flattened against the wall. We didn't discuss it, but we naturally played our relations.h.i.+p cool in front of Jimmy. Now I was making up for lost time.
I bit her lower lip, pulling it between my teeth. She moaned and I smiled.
”You ever had s.e.x in an elevator?” I asked, taking my mouth to her sweet neck and alternating between wet licks and fierce sucks. I didn't care if she ended up with a million hickeys. The more the better.
”No.”
”Anywhere in public?”
”Does a Canadian national park count?” she whispered, sounding both turned on and uneasy.
”No, it doesn't,” I murmured, my hands cupping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”Sounds like something we have to fix, doesn't it?”
”Isn't this illegal?”
I pulled away and looked at her. ”Elevator malfunction. Living it up while I'm going down.”
She smiled and then arched her back to give me more access to her fantastic b.r.e.a.s.t.s. ”You can't use Aerosmith as an excuse.”
”I can do anything I want,” I grunted, pressing my erection into her hip.
”My goodness,” she exclaimed at the pressure.
I grinned, my hands folding down her bra and rolling her nipples between my fingers.
”I told you. I'm always hard for you, I'm just good at hiding it. Which, actually, isn't easy when your d.i.c.k is the size of your leg.”
She laughed and lowered my head to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, my mouth yearning, searching.