Friends With Extra Benefits (24 page)

"Yeah, if this message doesn't make her realize
that Natalie is a complete psychotic bitch, then nothing will."

Brian nodded in agreement.

Rob's eyes brightened. "Wait, I know. I'm
friends on Facebook with a couple people, who I'm sure have Cindy's
number."

Rob rushed to his computer and after
successfully retrieving the number, he emailed a copy of the voice
message to Brian. Brian called Cindy and received her voice mail
greeting, but he didn’t leave a message. Instead, he decided to
keep trying to reach her while driving back to Miami.

Rob called Stanley Parrish and found he was
needed in Miami on Monday to testify.

Bridget called to check in with her office, and
was told she was being placed on administrative leave pending an
investigation of the day's events. This suited her fine, as she was
beginning to question her career decision and very much wanted to
accompany Rob back to Miami.

Brian dialed Cindy's number every half hour as
he drove. On the fifth call, she finally answered with an angry,
"What?"

He hesitated a moment before he replied, "Um,
Cindy?"

"Yeah."

"It's Brian Nash from Georgia State."

"If this is about the lawsuit, I really don't
have—"

"Listen, I really need to talk to you. Sorry...
One second. I'm driving, and I..." Brian quickly pulled the car
onto the shoulder. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts he
said, "Look, I know you and Natalie are, like, best friends, and I
hate to be the one to tell you this, but she... she—"

"What?" Cindy asked in a tired voice.

"She slept with Mitchell while you guys were
still together."

"She did not. You're lying—"

"I'm not."

"You just want me to testify against her, and I
won't do it."

"Look, I have a recording of her admitting it.
Just listen to it."

Cindy didn't say a word. After ten seconds,
Brian asked, "Cindy, are you still there?"

"Yeah."

"I really am sorry to be the one to tell you
this, but it's true. I swear. Let me email you the voice message...
please."

"Okay."

Cindy supplied her email address and ended their
conversation with a promise to call him back. Brian got back on the
highway and began to worry after nearly thirty minutes went by
without a return call. After another ten minutes, the phone finally
rang.

"Cindy?"

"Sorry it took so long, but I called Mitchell,
and that bastard admitted it."

"She called me a chubby bore, and she actually
had sex with him." Cindy began to sob.

"I know. She's a horrible person."

Cindy sniffled and blew her nose with an
ear-piercing blast that had Brian cringing on the other end. Then
she said, "I've always known it, but she gets in your head and
makes you feel special, even though half the time she's treating
you like shit."

"I know. I know," he agreed.

"Brian?"

"Yeah."

"I should apologize."

"For what?"

After pausing a moment, Cindy began, "I knew she
was messing with your head. I knew, and I didn’t tell you. You're
the only one of her boyfriends who didn't treat me like her fat,
ugly friend, and I—"

"You don't need to apologize. I was a moron. I
should have seen what she was really like."

She took a deep breath. "What do you need me to
do?"

"Will you testify?"

"I don't think I can. At the deposition, I told
them I didn't know anything... I think I can get in serious trouble
if now, all of a sudden, I change my story."

"I don't really know anything about how that
works. Let me ask the lawyers, and I'll get back to you. I'll keep
your name out of it until I can make sure you won't get in any
trouble."

"Okay, thanks," she replied.

"Aside from that, can you help us find some of
her old boyfriends?"

"Some. I think I know the names of a few of
them."

"Do you think Mitchell will testify?"

She scoffed. "I can get him to do pretty much
anything right now."

"Great."

"Oh, and Brian?"

"Yeah."

"If they can figure out a way for me to testify,
wow, do I have a lot of stories to tell. I read the book, and I
know she looks bad in there, but in actuality she's even worse than
the book makes her out to be."

Brian smiled brightly. "Wow, that would really
help. We just want the truth to come out, so..."

"So do I."

"Thank you so much. I'll get back to you
soon."

Both starving and desperate for some fresh air,
Rob and Bridget picked up carryout from a local restaurant and ate
by the pool. When they returned to Rob's apartment, they sat on the
sofa, both exhausted. He turned to her and smiled. "Well, that was
fun."

"Yeah, I've never had such a good time," she
replied with a grin.

"I still can't get that image out of my mind of
you tied up with your ass in the air," he said while sighing and
looking away. He shook his head coyly then asked, "Any chance I
could see you that way again?"

"Maybe tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." He asked innocently, "You want me to
run you a bath?"

She gave him a skeptical look.

Rob's jaw dropped as he stared at her. "No, I,
uh... just thought you might want to relax. You could stay over, if
you want. I'm not trying to have sex with you or anything."

"Okay. I'd like to stay."

"I mean, if I get to see you naked one more
time, that'll be a bonus, but..."

She grinned. "A bath might be nice. If you
behave yourself, I'll even let you get in."

"Cool," he said with a smile. He rushed off to
the bathroom, and she watched him while wearing a wide grin.

About an hour later Bridget and Rob were lying
in bed, watching television. On the screen, a reporter appeared as
the news began:

"The founder of Wealth Stone Investments was
arrested today and will be charged with fraud as the mastermind
behind an apparent ponzi scheme, which had taken in a more than
five hundred million dollars in client investments. It is being
reported that a substantial amount of gold and cash was recovered
during the arrest. Rodgers was captured as he was preparing to move
the contents of a safe from an unnamed location in Orlando. It's
not known if the recovery is enough to pay back all the defrauded
investors. A press conference is planned for noon tomorrow.

As the reporter moved to another story, Rob
turned off the television. Bridget said, "Those bastards didn't
even mention you."

"I know, here we save the day, probably recover
everyone's money and then some, and no one gives a shit."

They shared a laugh.

She wore one of his t-shirts, and he couldn't
help but stare since she looked pretty fucking amazing in it. The
gentle curve of her breast stood out deliciously beneath the thin
fabric.

"Well, I guess we should go to sleep," he said a
little sarcastically as he slipped down to lie flat.

Following him down, she gave him a grateful
look. "Thanks again for saving me."

They stared into each other's eyes with their
noses nearly touching.

"Don’t mention it." Pausing a moment, Rob looked
toward the ceiling, seemingly reliving the horrifying experience,
but wearing an expression which told her he was just trying to get
some sympathy action. "But I could have been killed, you know. It
was, uh..."

She grinned. "I promise I'll make it up to you
tomorrow."

"I'm just kidding."

"Well, good night. I'm wiped out."

"Me, too." Rob turned off the light, then they
both adjusted their pillows before turning onto their backs.

In the pitch darkness of the room, they both lay
staring up with their eyes wide open and their minds racing. Rob
could feel he was rock hard, but he tried to focus on something
else. Taking a deep breath, he put his arms behind his head and
closed his eyes.

After ninety seconds, Bridget moved her foot to
his and slowly ran it along his ankle.

"Hey, that's not helping me sleep," he said.

"I don't think I can sleep."

"Well, that's making me ha—"

Before he got the words out, her hand was
holding his erection through the fabric of his boxer shorts. He
moaned as she extracted his length through the flap and gently
massaged it with one hand. Rolling over, she placed her head on his
chest. "You did risk your life for me today, and maybe I should try
to pay you back at least a little tonight."

Bridget tossed off the covers and trailed kisses
down his chest. He stared down at her and said, "I guess, if you
really wanted to, you could—"

He shut up when her wet lips plunged over his
erection. After ten minutes of that, Rob slipped it inside of her.
Five minutes later, they both came and two minutes after that, they
were both out cold.

After Jillian called Stanley to relay the new
developments, he was overjoyed and called an emergency meeting of
the legal team. Stanley promised to protect Cindy Taylor's
interests in the matter and directed a team of lawyers to review
her deposition testimony for any possible legal exposure if she
were to now "recall" some pertinent facts and become a witness for
the defense. The lawyers worked until after 2:00 a.m. and found
what they needed.

On Saturday, Stanley and his team, along with
Brian and Jillian, met to discuss this new breakthrough in the
case. They held a conference call with Cindy. She was assured that
she would be protected and offered legal services—fully paid for by
Jillian Grayson—related to any issue arising from her testimony.
She was thoroughly satisfied with the arrangement and proceeded to
tell them everything she knew.

First, Cindy supplied the names of eight of
Natalie's previous boyfriends. Two members of Stanley's team were
immediately dispatched to track them down. Next, Natalie's longtime
roommate shared stories of deceit, male manipulation, and
unnecessary heartbreak, all caused by the she-devil herself,
Natalie Brookhart. After the new witness had shared all that she
could, everyone in the conference room smiled brightly and was
fully confident that this would turn the trial in their favor,
although they stopped short of opening a bottle of champagne.

Afterward, arrangements were made for Cindy and
Martin to travel to Miami so they'd be available on Monday to
testify.

The legal team spent the rest of the weekend
preparing documents and filing briefs in preparation for the
firestorm that awaited Miss Brookhart's case come Monday morning.
Jillian thanked Brian publicly at the meeting, and as they drove
home she fantasized about how she would really thank him in
private. The sun was setting, and as they drove past a store that
sold pools and hot tubs, it hit her.

Her mind raced as she went over the details. As
she daydreamed, she found herself getting a little worked up. She
shook herself out of the fantasy and sent a text message to
Victoria. After she received the reply she was looking for, she
grinned. "Mind if we stop by Victoria's for a few minutes before we
go home?"

"Sure, why?"

"Oh, I just need to pick something up."

He nodded, oblivious. They were still thirty
minutes from Victoria's house, and as Brian drove, Victoria was
already rushing to put Jillian's plan in motion.

By the time Brian pulled the car into Victoria's
driveway, she was already gone. The front door was unlocked, and
Jillian went inside first with Brian right behind her. On the table
was a large platter of gourmet seafood from a local restaurant.

Jillian removed her shirt and bra as Brian
stared at her, confused. "What are you doing?"

Turning to him, she gave him a sexy smile.
"Thanking you."

"Thanking me?"

She kicked off her shoes, pulled down her shorts
and underwear and then made her way to him.

Brian glanced around the room, "Where's
Victoria?"

"Out."

He asked hesitantly, "A group of our closest
friends aren’t going to pop out and make fun of my penis or
anything, are they?"

She shook her head slowly. "Who would make fun
of it? It's perfect."

"Seriously, what are—"

Jillian put her fingers to his lips and said
slowly, "I need to thank you properly for saving Rob and for saving
me today." She ran her tongue around her lips as she lowered her
hands to the bottom of his shirt and then pulled it up over his
head.

Slipping down to her knees, she unbuttoned his
shorts then pulled them down, along with his boxer briefs. Jillian
placed a tiny kiss on his already growing penis and then stared up
at his face. "You see that platter of delicious food over there?
It’s from McNulty's"

Brian glanced at it quickly before returning to
her. "Uh-huh"

"We're going to take it out to the hot tub.
There, we're going to enjoy it, and then... I'm going to enjoy
you." She licked her lips seductively.

Swallowing hard, he craned his neck to look at
the platter. "Do I see their famous broiled scallops?"

"You do."

His excitement was now on full display, and
Jillian placed another tiny kiss on it.

"Oh, wow. You really give me great, uh... when
you eat scallops."

"That’s why I requested it special."

Jillian stood and turned away from him. Reaching
back, she gently took hold of his erection and slowly led him
outside to the hot tub. At edge of the water, Jillian let go of her
'leash' and motioned for him to get into the tub. Brian wore a
silly grin as he slipped slowly into the hot bubbling water.

She pointed to the twin bottles of expensive
champagne chilling in ice next to the tub. "You pour, and I'll be
right back."