Page 68 of Nefarious
“Yes.”
“So—” Her face fell. “Is it me? I thought we’d go back to your place. I thought we were going to—”
He pulled in to a parking space in front of her door. “Look, Selena. Yesterday was great. Completely impetuous and unexpected.” He shot her a smile. “And delicious.”
“So what? You only do things when they aren’t premeditated? That seems fruitless.”
“And yesterday, I didn’t realize you were interested in Anthony. But now I do. And I don’t want to complicate that.”
“Anthony? Nothing is happening with him. We hung out and talked. Yeah, I like him, but if that’s why you drove me home, you should know I’d rather be with you.”
He took her chin in his hand and looked back and forth between her eyes. “You have to understand that I don’t share my toys.” Not true, normally. But this was about competing with a younger man.
Her lip curled slightly. He thought she was going to tell him to go fuck himself. It’s what she should have done. It’s what Val would have done. Noelle would have slapped him. Selena leaned her head forward and took his thumb in her mouth.
“And, Selena, you can’t tell anyone about this. Not even your closest friend. Do you understand?”
She climbed across the median console, sat in his lap, and began unfastening his tie while her lips trailed kisses down his neck.
Dane threw the car in reverse. As he slowly drove out of the parking lot, he slid his hand up Selena’s dress and pulled her underwear to the side. He swerved onto the main road, one hand on the steering wheel, one hand between Selena’s thighs as she ground herself into his groin.
His phone buzzed as he pulled into the driveway. When Selena walked through his front door, he opened the email and glanced once at the picture Morty had sent. It was a great shot of Selena with her foot halfway up his pants leg and his lips on her hand. He might have to give Morty a raise. Val would be very pleased.
He lifted his eyes to find Selena unzipping her dress in the middle of his living room. He tossed the phone onto the floor, along with his tie and his already unbuttoned shirt. He crossed the floor in two strides and pulled the dress down over her shoulders, running his hands along every inch of her exposed skin. She arched her back, and he caught her in his arms and carried her upstairs where he intended to spend the rest of the night making her show him exactly how she liked it.
Val swiped to the left and brought up the next picture on her phone. Dane got a haircut Saturday morning. Swipe. Dane went back to the children’s hospital and read to the children’s ward. Swipe. Dane went for a jog. Swipe. Dane left his house in a suit. Swipe. Dane sat at his favorite table at his favorite restaurant with Val’s favorite intern.
She hovered over the screen, studying Dane’s expression. She was pleased he'd sent her the photo but wasn’t sure if his intentions were altogether altruistic. He could have held onto this little bomb for some future payout, but he knew she’d want it in her on-going war on Geraldo. It would make a wonderful addition to the list of ways Geraldo’s daughter would soon disappoint him.
Still, Dane wouldn’t send it out of the generosity of his heart. There was a reason Val asked Morty to hold back the pictures he took. Dane probably thought he could make her jealous in order to melt her stubborn resistance and get her to cave to his seduction on his timeline.
But there was still Noelle to deal with.
No, she’d play the game to the end. She wouldn’t crawl to him.
Val knew the risks she was taking. She was beginning to worry Noelle meant more to Dane than he even realized. What if she had as far back as New York? What had Val unleashed?
If she could get him to destroy Noelle, then she’d know he was completely hers. But if she gave in before forcing him to prove Noelle meant nothing to him, she could lose everything.
She swiped to the next picture and chortled at an image of Dane apparently coming out of mass on Sunday morning along with a whole crowd. The next picture showing Selena waiting patiently in his car undermined his carefully planned illusion. It also hit Val in the gut harder than she’d expected. Selena had spent the entire weekend with Dane. She couldn’t think of the last girl he’d actually spent time with.
Val moved through the rest of the pictures, all taken for Noelle’s benefit. She laid her phone down and stood to stare out the window. What would she do about Selena now? The damage had all been done. Would she let Dane keep her?
A flash of light caught her eye, and she watched as Dane’s garish car swung into the parking lot. Why he didn’t keep a more practical car for everyday use made no sense to her. But she did love seeing him climb out of the driver’s seat. Especially since he was alone.
External Security Camera #1 Footage
9:12:Dane Russ’s car pulls into a parking space at the northwest corner of the parking lot.
9:13:As he is getting out, Noelle Constance crosses into view, walking directly toward Mr. Russ.
Ms. Constance appears to speak, but Mr. Russ begins to walk toward the building, and she follows.
9:14:Ms Constance touches Mr. Russ on the arm. Mr. Russ stops and points toward the southeast corner of the parking lot.
External Security Camera #2 Footage
9:14:Mr. Russ walks to a picnic table. Ms. Constance sits first. Mr. Russ sits facing her.
