The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Prologue

She slid through the crowd like a snake, twisting her shoulders left and right as she eased past the throngs of excited supporters. Most were too excited to notice the petite, attractive blonde displacing them as she moved closer and closer to the stage.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

She looked up into a pair of impenetrably dark sunglasses. “Oh, hi!” She held up her badge and waved enthusiastically for good measure. “I have front row clearance, I just… I came in the wrong way. Sorry!”

Black Sunglasses frowned, then relented. “Okay, whatever. Just don’t push. People hate being pushed. I’m not breaking up any fights today, understood?”

“Okay, thanks!” Her voice was sweet and lyrical. You’re so awesome!”

A few more not-quite-pushes and she was her destination. From here she had a great view of all three podiums. To her left, a DJ began to work the crowd into a happy, dancing frenzy. She closed her eyes and waited.

Trust me. Obey me. Act when the time is right. Trust. Obey. Act. Trust. Obey. Act.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I obey.”

“He’s going to be here? Here? Tomorrow? Eeeeee! No way!”

Elodie beamed with pride. The interns were beside themselves, every last one of them. And who wouldn’t be? This was big. This was bigger than big. She had more than a few happy squeals waiting impatiently in her own lungs, begging to join in the fun, but the professional in her scolded them into submission. She could squeal on the way home.

“Tomorrow at one. It’s gonna be quick, okay? It’s not like Senator Barnes is going to spend the whole day with us. And Roberta?”

Roberta was too busy dancing to notice. She spun happily in tight circles, colliding with a desk and sending a stack of freshly-printed campaign posters sliding to the floor. “Oh!” She bent down to pick them up, reminding Elodie once again how jealous she was of the girl’s fit, athletic body.

“Roberta, remember, don’t weird him out! Do you remember the time David Darrow came by to do a photo op and you plastered the wall with pictures of him?”

“Yeah. Was that bad?”

Elodie smiled. She wasn’t about to ruin Roberta’s day. “Just… maybe make this about half as intense as that, and you’ll be great.”

Elodie was no stranger to dancing herself, and she skipped and spun her way across the city, passing on the bus for a longer, sunnier trip on foot. The sun was out, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Their energy only boosted Elodie’s own reserves beyond anything she’d felt in months.

“Hey, you look happy!”

She turned. The voice belonged to a tall, handsome young man. Her age, perhaps a bit younger. Like most young men on sunny city days, he was a sharp dresser. Her eyes went immediately to his face—he had great eyes—and then to his chest. She was a habitual chest-gazer now, men and women, young and old. Part of the job, perhaps, or just a weird new fetish. Either way, she found what she was looking for.

The big red button was hard to miss. The color itself was a giveaway, but still… she took a moment to read it. “Aristides ’73!”

Her smile flattened. Why are the cute ones always so dumb?

His eyes were fixed on her chest, too. She doubted that it was because of her campaign button. As if to confirm her suspicions, his lips curled into a naughty, hungry smile. “Hey yeah, um… me and my friends are going to watch the debate tomorrow. Wanna come with us?”

The way he lingered on “come” only made the offer worse. She took a step back, then another. Not gonna let you ruin my day, nope. Not today. “Sorry! I’ll be busy working to make Zavravia a better place!” She ran a finger over the generous swell of her turtleneck, coming to rest on her trusty button. “Remember to vote Barnes on September 30th!”

His lecherous smile deflated faster than Caster’s election chances, and he turned away with a barely audible huff.

Never made anyone huff before, she grinned. It was clearly a day for firsts.

Elodie was in the middle of loading the dishwasher when her roommate staggered through the door weighed down, as usual, by two armloads of canvas bags stuffed with paperwork. Why the girl didn’t own a backpack was anyone’s guess. One of the bags began to spill its contents, and she reached for it with soapy hands. “Darla! Look out! You’re um, leaking.” She giggled as she placed the rescued bag on the counter. Darla set the other one next to it and balanced the two against each other.

Convinced that her stack was now structurally sound, she shrugged off her coat and draped it over a stool. “Another day, Elly! This is getting intense! I spent all day working the phones, trying to get people to watch the debate.” She leaned against the refrigerator and let out a long, exhausted breath. “I got a bunch of people to sign up to vote, at least.”

Elodie couldn’t resist a jab. “You got all of them to watch Barnes beat the snot out of your guy? How nice of you!”

She grinned and stuck out her tongue. Adrian Aristides was kind of a creep. She couldn’t see what Darla saw in him. Still, they’d managed to agree to a truce months before they even began working the rival campaigns.

“Uh huh. Up another two points in the polls, girl. You just wait.”

“Another ten and he’ll be in the lead!”

“Pleeennnty of time, girlfriend. Plenty of time. How was your day? Boring?”

The dam holding Elodie’s glee finally burst. “I did it. I did it, D! He’s coming! I fucking did it!”

“Oh. My. God!” Darla’s mouth and eyes were as wide as they could be. She placed a hand to her forehead and pretended to faint. “You fucking got that asshole to come to your fucking office? You’re fucking incredible! When? When?”

“Lotta mixed messages in that, D.” Elodie went back to loading the dishwasher, pretending and failing to be casual and cool about it all. “Tomorrow at one. Please don’t come and heckle!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Darla’s smile flattened. “I”m serious, Elly. I would never ever ever. I know how hard you worked for this.” She walked to her jacket and lifted it from the stool. “Oh, and more good news! I picked up some more campaign buttons for you!”

“Nooooooo…” Elodie protested. It was a phony protest. She loved campaign buttons, and they both knew it. Darla made it a habit to scour every campaign table in town in search of the most ridiculous ones.

“Okay, first one.” Darla pulled a wide button from her jacket and held it, clenched in her fist, as Elodie giggled and braced for the silliness to come. The button was larger than most, too big for Darla’s hand, and Elodie could pick out the telltale red striped poking out on either side.

“That’s from your own office, isn’t it?”

Darla opened her hand. “Tah-dah! All the way with Double A!”

Elodie shook her head. “If you’re trying to sway me, D, that’s the worst possible way to do it.” She bent over, laughing. “Please tell me there’s more!”

“Oh, absolutely!” More digging. Another clenched fist, another dramatic reveal. This one was square and yellow with black letters. “Caster’ll get it done faster! Vote New!”

“No no no no no they did not…” Elodie steadied herself against the counter. “Caster’ll? Caster’ll? Did they all drop out of school in Year 3?”

“Apparently. Like candidate, like team!” Darla was back in the bag again. “This next one is going to knock you on the floor, I promise.” She held it up, failing to hide the enormous grin on her face. “Ready?”

“Okay, this… this… is… it’s… I… uhnnnn…”

Darla closed the distance between the two of them, waving the button back and forth in front of Elodie’s glazed, helpless eyes. “Do you see the button, Elly?”

“Yessss… I ssseeee…”

“What happens when I show you this button?”

“I…” the blonde toppled sideways, and Darla took her by the arm. “I will sleep and obey.”

“Good girl. Sleep and obey me, Elly. Sleep and obey. Listen to my voice, and follow me to the couch. We’ve got things to talk about.”

“Yes, Darla. I will sleep and obey.”

Darla guided the dazed blonde into the living room, and positioned her in front of the couch. “You’re getting ready for bed. Strip to your underwear.”

“Yes. I sleep and obey.” Her eyes closed, and reopened only partway. With a yawn, Elodie pulled her turtleneck over her head and dropped it to the floor, followed by her shirt. She began to fumble with her belt, her face scrunching as she struggled to get the buckle undone.

“Let me help you with that.” Darla dropped to her knees and pushed Elodie’s hands aside, quickly sliding her jeans to the floor. She grabbed the blonde’s bare feet one at a time and lifted them off the floor, pulling the jeans free. Her face was level with Elodie’s frilly pink panties. “You don’t even know how badly I want to yank these down and eat you out, roomie.” She stroked them slowly as the blonde responded with a soft, sleepy moan. “But there’s no time for it tonight. We have things to do.”

Darla kicked away the pile of clothes and sat Elodie down on the couch. She wrapped a nearby flannel blanket around the girl’s shoulders and pushed her against the rear cushions. “You have beautiful eyes, do you know that?”

“I haffff… beautiful eyes…” Elodie slowly sank into the couch. Her voice was so sleepy as to be hypnotic, and Darla found herself trancing out a bit herself just from listening to it.

“Listen to my voice. Only my voice. It’s movie night, Elodie. You’re going to watch a very special movie for me. When it ends, you’ll be so relaxed and tired that you’ll fall into a deep, deep sleep, and sleep all the way until tomorrow morning. Do you understand?”

Elodie’s eyes were already locked on the screen. “Yes, Darla.”

“This is a gamble. What if he doesn’t read the line?” Darla tapped a red Aristides campaign pen against the kitchen table as she juggled the phone and her roommate’s notes. “I’m worried that he’s gonna skip it.”

“You know the drill, Darla. Put it about a third of the way into the speech. Is she ready?”

Darla glanced over to the living room, where Elodie’s slack face was still glued to the wild display of lights and sounds being projected at her. Her lips moved as she repeated her newest instructions. “Yeah, she’s ready. I’m giving her another round of the reinforcement tape just in case. You know how to pick em, Lars. This girl’s a natural somnambulist.”

“I do good work. So do you. Good luck tomorrow, Darla. Your country will thank you.”

She placed the phone on the table and made her way over to the viewscreen, fumbling for the off button until the room plunged into darkness. “The movie is over, Elodie. You will sleep now. Rest, and wake up refreshed and relaxed tomorrow morning. What will you remember?”

“I… had a quiet evening. I watched… movie… fell asleep watching it.”

“Good girl. When I say ‘close your eyes,’ you’ll fall into a deep, dreamless sleep, okay?”

“Okay… Darla…”

“Good girl. Close your eyes.”

She waited another thirty seconds, listening to the girl’s soft, even breathing, before sprinting to her bedroom and her vibrator.

“So this is the girl who is single-handedly delivering me Paxia City?”

Elodie’s smile couldn’t have been any wider at that moment. She tried anyway. Oh wow oh wow oh wow say something you idiot!

“You’re so kind,” she finally said, sliding back into the glad handler persona that only five months on the campaign could have prepared her for. “Senator Barnes, we’re all so excited to have you here today! Can I show you around the office?”

He turned his head and scanned the room. “It’s a great operation you’ve got here, Elodie. My aides tell me that YPU has been burning the midnight oil for weeks.” He let out a polite laugh that carried over into a genuine one. “You’ve done more prep for this debate than I have!”

Elodie couldn’t help but admire the man’s handsome face. God, if you were thirty years younger and still in the Bronze Guard! “Everyone here at YPU wants to see you win, Senator. In fact…” she lifted the papers she’d be clutching in her nervous hand, hoping that they weren’t too crinkled from her tight grip or gross from sweat. They looked okay. “…your aides told us that we could write an intro to your debate speech tonight. I… I hope you like it?”

“Miss Smith,” he said, gently pulling the papers from her hand, “I will be honored to read this in front of the entire world.”

Her heart melted right there and then.

“…heated words between the candidates today as supporters of Adrian Aristides called on Rupert Caster to drop out of the race. Speaking at a rally in Claria, Zach Wellster of the Zavravian Business Alliance had strong words for the third-place candidate.”

“The New Party had its day, but that day is long past. We need every single vote if we’re going to win in September. Rupert Caster’s reckless campaign is splitting votes that simply can’t afford to be split!”

“Meanwhile, Caster himself called for Aristides to drop out of the race, calling him a ‘fringe candidate’ in spite of the National Party’s recent rise in the polls.”

“Aristides has never stood for anything, will never stand for anything, and should not be running for president of the chess club, never mind the presidency of Zavrav—”

“Pffft.” Darla scrunched her face and took a long, long drink. She found the remote and hit mute. “There’s another three hours of this? I should have just programmed her to kill Barnes on sight.”

She stood and took a quick lap around the living room in search of any leftover personal items, coming up empty after two circuits. Everything—tables, lamps, books, pictures, figurines—all of it belonged to her roommate, who Darla had programmed long ago to never notice the one-sided nature of their shared flat’s decoration. Two large suitcases—stuffed and waiting by the front door—were the only real evidence of her occupation. In an hour this would become Elodie Smith’s flat, and hers alone.

She glanced at her watch. The pickup was an hour out. The debate was three. She had time to kill.

Five minutes later, she found herself settling into the couch, wrapping herself in the same toasty flannel blanket and treating herself to the last of Elodie’s most expensive bottle of wine. On screen was the video she really wasn’t supposed to have made in the first place. Elodie stood in front of the camera, stark naked, deep in trance.

“You are deeply hypnotized. You will do anything I command.”

Darla slid a free hand beneath the blanket and began rubbing her sex. A distant part of her brain protested—leaving the couch soaking wet with pussy juice was a potential loose end they didn’t need—but she ignored it entirely. Her favorite part of the ‘movie’ was up next.

“I am deeply hypnotized.” The girl’s voice was so wonderfully flat and calm. Darla’s fingers pressed against her lips. “I will do anything you command.”

“If I asked you to fuck me right now, would you do it?”

The camera shook wildly as Past Darla removed it from its mount. The view switched from Elodie’s face to the hardwood floor, bouncing and jiggling until her elegantly-pedicured feet came into view. The camera panned up slowly, lingering on her athletic legs and neatly-trimmed bush.

Darla’s eager fingers found her clit as Past Elodie responded in the affirmative. “I would fuck you right now, Darla. I will do anything you command.”

That first night had been wild. For a straight girl, Elodie knew her way around a woman’s body. The sex had only gotten better since then. Darla began to stroke faster, building herself up to a climax as her home movie reached its own.

“Would you ever kill someone, Elly? Is killing someone wrong?”

Elodie’s perky boobs filled the screen. “No. Darla, I would not. Killing is wrong.”

Darla closed her eyes and tried to hang on. Her entire body was on fire. “Fffffuck oh holy hell yesssss say it say it say it!”

“But when I tell you to kill for me, you will do it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Darla. I will do anything you command.”

Darla filled the apartment with passionate screams as she came.

Trust me. Obey me. Act when the time is right. Trust. Obey. Act. Trust. Obey. Act.

Elodie would never admit it to anyone, but she had more than a little crush on Senator Julian Barnes. The twinkle in his eye, the strong jaw, the way he carried himself as he stood behind his assigned podium. Aristides stood beside his podium, trying to act casual and hip, while a tired-looking Rupert Caster hung on to his as if it were a life ring and he was stranded at sea. They both looked ridiculous. Only Senator Barnes had a stage presence, not to mention experience and rugged good looks.

She edged as close as she could to his position. From this angle the Senator was certain to catch a great view of her cleavage—she’d worn the sweater just for that purpose—and of course her light-up United Party pin was there to draw his eyes right to her. That’s if he’s not too busy demolishing these other two clowns. She laughed, and the people around her laughed with her.

Then she realized that they were all laughing at one of Aristides’s lame jokes, and her smile flattened. Why are they all in this section? Go stand in front of the creep if you want to vote for him! His opening speech was just an extension of what he said at every campaign stop across Zavravia, pattering blather about peace and prosperity. It was hard not to roll her eyes, and looking up at Senator Barnes, it seemed like he could barely keep from rolling his either. That brought her smile back. Maybe he’ll let me see him after the debate!

The slimy goon with his slicked-back hair and toothy grin finally wound up his painfully boring speech, to loud applause from his supporters and even louder applause from everyone who wanted to see him take the next train back to Narva. Senator Barnes sensed the moment and stepped confidently to his podium, placing his hands on either side and gazing out over the crowd. He did not look down at Eloide, but she was too mesmerized by his presence to even notice.

“It’s good to see all of you out there!”

Sleep and obey, Elodie. Sleep and obey. Watch the screen. The screen will tell you what to do.

“It’s a great day to be in Paxia City, my friends! Everyone here is just amazing. I had the opportunity to meet with some of my favorite supporters this afternoon, from Young Professionals United. And they asked me to read a speech they’d written for me.”

He was looking directly at Elodie, even lingering a bit on her, his steel-grey eyes checking her out for a second or two before darting back to the crowd. She smiled, but not because of his attention. Something else—something deeper—floated to the surface.

You hit every target, Elly. Very good. Now remember, when we get home you will forget all about this afternoon, all about the gun range. It makes you so happy to obey.

“So happy to obey,” she whispered. Her hand drifted to her purse, the pretty purse Darla gave her for her birthday.

The crowd roared, and Elodie looked up. She’d missed the first part of the speech, the part Roberta had written about finally standing up to Larerna and the crazy junta that ran things over there these days. Even the Aristides supporters around her clapped, and she promised herself to thank Roberta for her contribution later. The girl knew how to write speeches.

Up next was her part, and she leaned forward. This was Very Very Important.

“My fellow Zavravians, we should be proud of our place on this planet. And to our friends at home and abroad, let us be a beacon of hope and a source of support. A friend who is always there to help, because that is what true friends do.”

Her hand reached inside her purse. Trust. Obey. Act. When you hear the words. When you hear the words. Trust. Obey. Act.

“And when the naysayers come, as they always do, to try to tear us down, to try to pull us apart? When they try to ruin our friendships and make enemies of us all? My fellow Zavravians, I will look those people straight in the eye and say—‘Never bite the hand that feeds you.’”

The crowd cheered.

Trust. Obey. Act.

She calmly pulled the pistol from her purse, aimed, and fired. The dreamy smile never left her face.

“Did she do it?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Darla… you mean to tell me that the biggest event of your lifetime just went down and you didn’t even watch it happen?”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Lars? I got out of town two hours before the shit hit the fan. I’ve been holed up in this fucking cabin ever since. Cut off from the world, and that’s how things are gonna stay until I can get my ass over the border. Did you get the passport?”

“I did indeed. Congratulations, Darla. You’re now a proud citizen of the Republic of Trandu. Kick off your heels, grab a fruity drink, lay out that beach towel and bask in the warm sunshine, Miss Sabrina Soules.”

She leaned back in bed, wincing as the flimsy iron frame squealed as she did so. Springs dug into her back. “You couldn’t have picked a better name than that?”

“The dead woman I took it from sure seemed to like it. Now about that meeting…”

Ow. This fucking bed… “You know the drill. We wait two weeks. I come down off the mountain, we meet at Reesla Shores, you hand me my bag of goodies, I hand over all of the evidence of your involvement in this thing. Then I’m off to the islands and you can enjoy having Aristides as your leader for the next six years.”

“Actually, Darla, plans have changed.”

She froze. Suddenly the isolated cabin didn’t feel isolated at all. Her hand threatened to crush the receiver. “What do you mean,” she said, slowly, knowing the answer couldn’t possibly be good.”

“Open the door and find out.”

“Lars? What the fuck?”

“Open the door and come outside, Darla. I’d hate to see you get killed over this. Do you know how many bullets a Z-322 can put out per minute? More than you can shoot back, that’s how many.”

“You fucker. You fucking fucker. You sold me out. After all I’ve done for you, you assho—”

“Heh. Cute. Just get your ass out here. Time’s wasting. And Darla?”

“What?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll live.”

Two loud pops. A blur of motion. A surge of red-shirted bodies surrounding and immobilizing the shooter, a pretty blonde in a low-cut sweater. The blonde yelling at the stage. “All glory to the New Party! All glory to the New Party! All—” The Aristides supporters pinning her to the ground as she squirmed and continued to yell.

Then the tape looped back to the beginning and began to play again. By now, Darla had seen it two hundred times, perhaps more.

“This is bullshit, Lars.” She kicked her chair, letting it topple over with a satisfying crash that echoed through the building. “It’s not my fault. I did everything you asked. I did everything I was told to do.”

“I know, Darla.” He flicked his cigarette out of a half-open window, peering after it as it fell. “Still a big mess, isn’t it?”

“Lars… I have a theory.”

“Oh? You’re the expert on brainwashing now?”

“I think…” she did know a shit ton about brainwashing. The last four months, at least, were full of it. “Maybe she was so drawn to Barnes that she couldn’t shoot him? She hated Aristides. I thought I programmed that out of her mind but Lars, even at the end, she… fuck.” She lifted the chair off the ground and settled into it. “I thought I had her programmed. I really did.”

“You really did.”

Darla twisted in her chair but could not make out the speaker. A man, with a deep voice that could make itself a nice career doing radio commercials. This was, apparently, the man they were waiting for. “You must be the guy who’s here to set me free,” she said. Experience told her that if someone wanted you to see them, they would walk in front of you. If not, it was best not to look at them. She waited.

“You were perfect, Darla. I couldn’t have asked for a better result.”

He stepped in front of her. She looked up and gasped.

This was not what she expected.

“The Nationals are a joke, Darla. Aristides was the only candidate they could all agree upon. And with him out of the way? And Caster’s people blamed for it? I’m going to sail to election without lifting another finger. So thank you, for your help. Like I said, I couldn’t have asked for a better result.”

“But… but the contact…” She tried to wrap her head around it. Elodie shooting Aristides was one thing. But for her real target to come and offer his regards? How did he even know about it?

“How did you…” even know about it? The rest of the sentence died in her throat. She couldn’t even bring herself to say it. “Why,” she began, but that thought stopped after only the first word. She lowered her head in defeat.

“Darla.” Senator Barnes drew closer, until his knees were touching hers. “What if you had failed? What if Miss Smith had failed? Think. What better way to protect myself than to have everyone on board thinking that I was the target? Hell, I could have hung the National Party on that all by itself! But you pulled it off, just like Lars promised.”

“I told you, Barnes. She’s the best at—“

“Shut up, boy. I’m speaking with my very special friend. Remember now, Darla, how very special our splendiferous friendship can be.”

The words floated over her head like clouds. She looked up at them, watching them spin in dizzying circles, endless circles. She needed to watch the circles. Keep her eyes on the circles. Watch and sleep. Watch and sleep. “Watch,” she slurred, as her head lolled uselessly to one side. “Watch…”

”What is your name?”

She looked up at him. “Darla Ross. But you knew that.”

“I did. You’re doing so well. Have you ever heard of Sabrina Soulas?”

She shook her head. “Never heard of her. Is this related to the job? Should I know about her?”

“She’s unimportant. You will forget her name now and forever, until I mention it again.”

“Of course. I understand.”

“Listen to my voice and sink deeper into trance. What will you do for me?”

The clouds were so beautiful. She wanted to relax and sleep, to let the clouds carry her away as she drifted into a deep, deep sleep. As soon as this was all done, that was what she planned to do. “I will befriend Elodie Smith. When I have earned her trust, I will hypnotize her. I will use the videos to program her.”

“You will believe that you are programming her to kill Senator Barnes. You will believe this will all of your heart and soul.”

“I will believe this with all of my heart and soul.”

“Deeper now. So very deep. What is your name?”

“My name is Darla Frank.”

“Who is Sabrina Soulas?”

“I don’t know.”

“Very good. Very good. Relax and listen to my voice.”

“Welcome back, Sabrina.”

She placed her hands on her head, trying to take the spinning stop. It worked. Mostly. “Where… what’s going on?” She looked at the man across from her. “You’re that Senator.”

“I am, Sabrina. Do you remember how you got here?”

She squinted her eyes. “No… the last thing I remember, I was having drinks at the beach bar. and… where the hell am I? Did I black out? What the fuck is going on?” Her voice went up in volume with each new question.

The Senator raised his hand. “Splendiferous sleep, Sabrina.”

“What? Youhhhnnnnnn.”

“Bring her back to Trandu and wipe her brain, Jack. I might need her again in a few years.”

Jack lit another cigarette. “Like I said, she’s the best at what she does, even if she can’t remember it.”

“Uh huh. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a funeral to go to. Gonna be hard working up tears for that son-of-a-bitch. Your payment will arrive in a week. Don’t get flashy.”

Jack began to protest—he’d never been flashy—but by then the Senator was walking away.

Epilogue

Blue liquid swirled around the edges of her glass as she made her way back from the little beach hut. She sank to her knees and carefully dug a little hole in the sand, placing the glass at the center of it. “Shit. I fucking love days like this,” she said, as she piled handfuls of sand against her glass to steady it. “I hate that the season’s almost over.”

“The rainy season’s only two months. And I’ve got plans for us. I got this new book about sex positions we can try when—”

“Lars, you are insufferable!” She lashed out at him with one sandy foot. “What did I ever see in you?”

“Absolutely nothing. You hated me. So I had you hypnotized and brainwashed into becoming my perfect lover. You can’t not be madly in love with me.”

Their eyes met. They said nothing, until Sabrina began to giggle. “Right. Obviously. You know, beach boy, if you stopped reading those spy novels and did some work around here, I wouldn’t have to pay all of our bills every month.” She gave him a stern look. “What about it?”

He rolled over, brushing the sand from his chest. “Just got a new contract in. Gonna keep us in the best suite for a while, I promise. There’s a guy with a problem that needs fixing.”

“No, that doesn’t sound weird or illegal at all,” she laughed. “Come on, tell me more. I wanna know.”

He looked into her eyes. “Listen very carefully to the sound of my voice, Sabrina…”