Pinned Down: A Triple Threat Sports Romance (12 page)

Kendra

I was having shitty luck trying to track down donations to replace the money the charity had lost. No one wanted to donate more, and a lot of the donors I reached out to decided to withdraw their money simply because I had called to ask for more.

The longer I worked in the office, the more I realized that I was watching my dream fall apart around me. I had to come up with the money I owed on the mortgage and payroll right away, but I couldn’t come up with anything. The harder I worked, the more money I lost.

“You’re going to have to do it,” I told myself aloud. I didn’t want to give in and sell myself to Tommy like that. The only reason I had agreed to it was because I knew I could use it to get more time to find donations, but there were no donations to be found.

Then there was Lucky. I was going behind his back. He had no idea I had been considering the deal to begin with. Hell, I had moved in with him to avoid Tommy, to make sure Tommy didn’t show up at my apartment to try to rape me.

The only thing that seemed to slow Tommy down was that I was allowing him to think I was a willing participant. It seemed like he was going to keep coming after me no matter what, and I had a choice of letting him have me for money or always watching over my shoulder for him.  At least by letting him do it, I was going to get something out of it for Older Brothers.

I hated that sex was just a business transaction for everyone. I didn’t understand how everyone kept trying to tie it to money. Tommy was willing to make a significant donation just to have sex with me, and it seemed so pointless, so empty to use sex that way.

That was one of the reasons why I hadn’t wanted to sleep with Lucky at first. Our relationship was supposed to be just business, and yet, we did everything we could to make it more than that. He did everything he could to get me in bed, but I realized when I finally gave in that what was happening between us was more than just business or just sex for him.

I smiled as I thought about the way Lucky had taken me to bed at his parents’ house, the way he had refused to fuck me, insisting on doing it tenderly instead. Even though neither one of us had admitted it to the other yet, we had made love that first time. There were emotions tied to our relationship.

Then again, that bitch Raven had probably felt the same way about him as I did. He had probably led her to believe he was in love with her as well before dumping her and moving on. I wondered if he was going to do the same thing to me. I wondered just how much time I had before it was my turn to find out it had only been just for sex from the get-go.

I wasn’t going to wait, I decided. I was going to continue doing what I always did. I was going to take matters into my own hands and make it all work the way I needed to. I couldn’t depend on these men to take care of me. I hadn’t even depended on my parents for that for any longer than I absolutely had to.

I had moved out at a pretty early age to pursue my dreams and my own personal goals. I wasn’t going to let a couple of men hold me back from continuing to do that. I wasn’t going to let my loyalty to Lucky keep me from taking care of business with the charity I was running. As soon as I sacrificed my dream to him, he would turn around and crush my heart. I could already see it happening.

Then, there was Tommy. I wasn’t just going to give Tommy what he wanted and watch him decide he wasn’t going to give me any money to help me survive. No, I was going to draw up a contract that glossed over the sexual part of our agreement enough to keep it legal, but not enough to get me out of it. I wanted to fuck him, but I wasn’t going to unless I got something out of it. I already had a man at home. I could get sex whenever I wanted, and I was pretty sure I could have convinced Lucky to do it anyway I wanted him to.

I sat down at the desk and started working on the contract. We hadn’t discussed a specific amount of money yet. And I still needed to decide how to describe what I was offering him in a way that wouldn’t land me in jail if I ever had to use the contract to get the money out of him.

“I’m offering him my companionship,” I mused to my old lonely office.

I laughed and shook my head. That wasn’t quite legal either.

“I’m agreeing to make a public appearance with him at an event,” I said. I felt like I was getting closer. If only there had been an event for us to attend on the night I had promised to give in to him.

I looked through my calendars, but there wasn’t anything.

That was when it hit me.

“In exchange for a sum of money, which I still need to determine, I agree to attend an investment dinner and any festivities related to it.” I smiled and wrote down investment dinner and related festivities so I wouldn’t forget them when it was time to draw up the contract. The dinner satisfied the public appearance aspect, and the related festivities made the companionship piece sound a little less like prostitution, I felt.

I grabbed the phone on my desk to call Tommy and see if we could agree on an amount of money. I put the phone to my ear, but the line was dead. I needed to pay the phone bill, too. I grabbed my cell phone instead and called him up.

“I take it you’ve given more thought to my offer,” Tommy said when he answered. It almost sounded like he was talking to someone else at first.

“I have. I’m working on the contract,” I told him.

“Oh, so you’re giving up on trying to get out of it, and you’re getting ready to let this happen like it should have when you first came into town?” he said, pleased with himself and proud.

“Something like that,” I agreed. “I need an amount of money to put down for your donation.”

“Why am I donating money? What are you putting in this contract as your contribution in this deal?” he asked me.

“I’m accompanying you to an investment dinner and any related functions that evening. I’m writing it up as a public appearance in exchange for payment and donations,” I told him. “That way it doesn’t look like I’m just going out with you to fuck you. But that’s where the related functions part comes in.”

“I like it. You drive a hard bargain, Kendra Boles. I see that you’re trying to get dinner out of me now, too. Do I need to find anyone to accompany us so that it seems legit?” he asked.

“Not at all,” I said. Everything was going to look just fine on paper, and it wasn’t exactly uncommon for donors to be treated to dinner.

“Okay, how does three million sound for the donation?” he asked me.

“A three-million-dollar donation?” I asked, my jaw hitting the floor.

“Do you need more? I think that’s fair. I think it’s enough to help you recover from the last director and get the charity moving in the right direction. It should also be enough to help you distance yourself from that football player who beat his ex,” said Tommy.

“He didn’t, but you’re right,” I said, dropping my hardball tone for my softer, natural tone.

“Come on, Kendra. Don’t tell me you’re still siding with the guy. You saw those pictures, didn’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah, and believe me, we’re distancing ourselves from him over here, but I know him, and I know he didn’t do it. You have to have faith in people, Tommy, in order to do the kind of work I’m doing over here,” I explained, bringing my professional tone back and trying to cover my ass so he didn’t think I was really trying to defend Lucky.

“Well, you definitely want to avoid him. His reputation and behavior could easily destroy everything you’re doing. Anyway, what’s your appearance fee?”

I liked the way that sounded. A smile spread across my face at the sound of it. I was going to be receiving an appearance fee for attending a dinner with one of our donors. It was going to be a way to connect our interests. Well, something was going to get connected, though it probably couldn’t be considered business interests.

“Would you say thirty thousand?” he offered when I didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry?” I asked for clarification.

“Okay, would fifty be better?”

“Hold on. You want to offer me more than I make in a year to make an appearance that’s not even real?” I said, laughing.

“Exactly, and since you’re drafting this up in an official document, you might be able to take this non-appearance you’re making for me and turn it into something to help support yourself and the Older Brothers organization. You know, branch out, make this a kind of on-going thing, as far as actual appearances and charging an actual speaking fee,” he suggested.

“Alright. I’ll draw it up for three million in donations and fifty thousand as essentially a speaking fee,” I said. I was impressed. Tommy had introduced me to a concept I hadn’t even considered, something that was going to take me to a whole new level – speaking fees.

“Exactly, and make sure you include that the other functions must be attended in order for you to get paid,” he insisted.

“Will do. Thank you, Tommy. I’m sorry I doubted you,” I said before we hung up.

I stared at the old walls of my office with their chipping paint for a moment before opening my laptop to start working on the contract. I was almost excited about sleeping with him now, not because of the sex, but because of the benefits. Once it was all said and done, I was going to be able to pay my employees, keep the lights on, get the phone back on, and keep the office. I was also going to be able to start moving towards real financial independence.

The only problem was I was going to be going behind Lucky’s back to do it. I didn’t feel good about being dishonest with him. At the same time, though, his train was pulling into the station. His days were numbered. My ship was about to come in, and I was going to set sail on it. I was just getting started.

Fifty thousand dollars was more money than I made in a year normally. I was going to make it in one night, and it was going to be billed as payment for making an appearance, which was going to set me up to start charging for appearances as part of the charity, as a way to promote myself and Older Brothers. I was sure I wasn’t going to get fifty grand every time, but it was enough money to change my life and launch a whole new portion of my career.

Lucky

After the meeting with the lawyers, I wasn’t really feeling any better about everything. If anything, I was feeling worse. I knew my career was probably over, and I knew the only way I had to stay on top of things was to make sure that Kendra didn’t have to go through the same thing. I had to make sure she didn’t lose Older Brothers. I felt like I owed her. It was my behavior that had put her in a bind with the program, so I figured that by turning it all around, I would be able to help both of us out of this jam we were in.

I hopped in my car and drove up to her office. I knew I was the last person she wanted to see in there, but I wasn’t going to let her just drown like this, and I wasn’t going to let her pimp herself out to get more money with this other donor she’d told me about. I didn’t care how it needed to be done, but I was going to get her the money.

One way or another, I was going to fix everything I had screwed up.

I walked in, and no one else was there. I didn’t know if that meant she had sent everyone home, or if they had all quit, or what. What I did know was that it didn’t look good for the organization for there not to be anyone in the office during business hours. They were struggling, indeed, it seemed.

Older Brothers was in an old office building. It was my understanding that they had moved several times over the years due to poor management, and the last director had been the worst. Most of what Kendra was having to deal with was that lady’s fault, and I was pretty sure no one was going to cut her any breaks thanks to that thief.

The building looked like one of the old brick public schools, with its arched doorways and old arched windows. It had been converted to an office building years ago, so it had the moveable tiles in the ceiling with the typical office lighting. At one point, most of it had been repainted, but in some places it was obvious it had been a while.

Older Brothers was not in good shape. Any money she had made through the donations so far had gone to catching them up on their overhead. Nothing had gone into furthering the cause yet. Even if I had to make an anonymous donation, I was willing to, if it meant getting her out of the hole.

I looked into every room, looking for her office. Literally no one else was there. I wanted to double back and make sure the front door was locked. I really wasn’t comfortable knowing that she was in there by herself while anyone had access to the building at will. I didn’t turn back, though. I kept on until I found her office.

“Kendra?” I said, poking my head in her door.

I saw her sitting behind her wide wooden desk while something was coming through her printer. She looked up at me with wide deer-in- headlights eyes. I was the last person she had expected to come through that door, but I was there nonetheless.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed as she got up from her desk.

“I’ve come to tell you that I intend to help you, whether you want my help or not.”

She pushed past me and looked down the hallway. “Did anyone see you come in?”

“Kendra, no one else is here. It’s just you,” I said. “What the hell is going on?”

“I sent everyone home, Lucky,” she said, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes that made me just want to hold her in my arms and take care of her, but I knew if I didn’t play my cards right, she was going to be taking care of me before too much longer, and I wasn’t having that.

“Is it really that bad, Kendra, that you can’t pay your employees?” I asked as she walked back around behind her desk.

She nodded. “I can’t make the mortgage. I can’t make payroll. I can’t even have the individual offices repainted. I’m done here unless I do something.”

“You’re thinking about going to that other donor, aren’t you?” I challenged her to admit it.

“I am. He came by today and told me how much he’s thinking about giving me if I give myself to him for a night.” Her voice was somewhere between self-doubt and the confidence of making up her own mind.

“He came by? Did he try to persuade you by any chance?” I asked.

“He did. He gave me the numbers and told me how to set up the contract,” she said.

“Oh, you two have a contract.” I approached the desk.

“Look, Lucky, I know you’re not keen on the idea, and I understand why. I do. I feel the same way about you, even though you haven’t admitted to me how you feel yet,” she stared.

“Cut the crap, Kendra,” I snapped. “We’re both adults. Stop playing with me and just say what you’re trying to say.”

“Okay, I will. I have to do what I can to keep this foundation afloat, and in this case that looks like it’s going to be sleeping with a donor who has offered Older Brothers three million dollars and has offered me fifty grand to take care of my personal expenses,” she said, dropping all pretense of giving a damn.

“He’s donating three million?” I asked.

“And paying me fifty grand. It’s for an appearance fee, since I will be appearing at a diner and staying for additional functions,” she said, enjoying every word of it because it was obvious she was using that particular language to cover up what she was really doing, which was fucking him for money.

“You’ve already slept with me, Kendra,” I snapped at her. “Let me pay for everything. I can give you more than he’s promising.”

“How?” she asked. “You barely make that in a year. A good year.”

“I have other ways of collecting money,” I told her. “The money I get paid through my contract isn’t even the majority of the money I make every year. It’s a good base salary.”

“How do you make so much money, then? You don’t do any endorsements. You don’t do anything except get yourself in trouble.”

“All I can say is what you probably already know, Kendra. It’s not the cleanest money in the world,” I admitted.

“I don’t want it,” she said.

“It could be anonymous, Kendra. Please. You don’t have to go out selling your body to make a profit for this foundation. Let me give you money. Or hell, let me find those donations for you. They don’t have to come from me. I can find people to help you.”

“I don’t want it,” she repeated, slower this time.

She walked over to her printer and pulled off the paper that had just printed when I walked in.

“Is that your contract with Tommy?” I asked.

“It is,” she said, handing it over to me.

I read it in disgust. It was so neat and clean. The language was so safe and sterile, and it hid what was actually going on for the money he was promising her. It was disgusting.

“No,” I said.

“No? It’s not yours to reject, Cade,” she said.

“But it is,” I told her, going out on a limb. “It is as long as you’re my girl. I’m not going to let you do this to yourself. I’m not going to let you give yourself away just to keep this place afloat, not when I can support you, not when you’re mine to support.”
“We may be together, Lucky, but I’m not yours. I don’t belong to anybody,” she said defiantly.

Something inside me woke up then, something that had been dormant the entire time we had been together. I had used my Lucky’s Charm to win her over, but I hadn’t taken charge over her. I had made love to her at my parents’ house. I had been treating her as an equal, or maybe even like she was above me, but that was about to change.

I was going to make her mine. I was going to show her that she was mine and that she had to answer to me for shit like what she was trying to pull. Of course, I had to do the same for her, but I was going to remind her of what her position was.

I approached her around her desk.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m going to make you mine, Kendra,” I told her.

“No, no, Lucky. It doesn’t work that way,” she said, backing up.

“It doesn’t? That’s what Tommy did, isn’t it? Didn’t he come in here and persuade you to let him sleep with you for over three million dollars?” I pursued her to the wall.

“He did, but this isn’t how he did it,” she insisted.

“Bullshit,” I told her. “I know the game, Kendra. I wrote most of the rules. I know exactly what he did. I know he bent you over that desk and let you feel how much he wanted you.” I took her by the back of her thin neck and pulled her back to the desk. I didn’t grip her hard. I grabbed her gently, but I let her know that I could have grabbed her forcefully if I needed to.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she admitted with a spiteful tone.

“What did he do, Kendra?” I asked.

“He pushed me against the desk, and he pressed his hard cock against me,” she said, mocking me, antagonizing me, making me so fucking hard I couldn’t stand it.

“What else?” I pressed myself against her. I could feel the gap between her legs when I bent her over and pressed against her skirt.

“I pulled up my skirt so I could feel him better, and he ran himself along my wet panties, Lucky. I could almost feel him penetrating me,” she taunted me.

She pressed her ass against me as I pulled her skirt up.  Her body trembled against mine and she sucked her breath in between her teeth. I couldn’t tell what was turning her on more – having me against her like this or telling me what Tommy had done to her in this same spot. Either way, she was ready for me. I could feel it.

She pushed herself up by her hands on the desk so that she wasn’t completely bent over, putting even more pressure on me as I stood behind her.

I grabbed the contract, sitting on the desk in front of her, and I held it up in her face.

“Tear it,” she ordered me.

“This contract doesn’t exist,” I told her, “because you’re mine. No one else can have you.”

My desire surged as I said the words, and she moaned as I ripped the paper in front of her. She slid her ass down, running the front of my pants along her crack. I wanted her so bad I hurt. I pressed against my zipper as hard as I could imagine. I could feel even the slightest movement of her body in front of me.

“Show me I’m yours, Lucky,” she said. “Fuck me right here. Make me feel sorry for talking to another man about sex.”

She was not the same person I’d made love to in my old bed. She was demanding my sex, and demanding that I dominate her against her desk at work. Somehow, I knew that even if I gave her exactly what she wanted, my dominance would still put her in charge. And that turned me on even more.

The question wasn’t whether or not she was mine, it was how much I belonged to her instead. I grabbed her shoulders and pulled her against me. I could feel how wet she was through her panties and through my pants.

I was going to take her the right way this time, and there wasn’t going to be any more talk of other men.