SSS 2 - Confront

TWO HOURS EARLIER

Shatteringly loud thunder shakes the old shutters and windows of CCL House.

Blue lightning flashes across the cars parked on the gravel in front of the old mansion, which appear to be huddled together like animals in the storm. Cold torrents of water pour from the brand-new gutters. Even though the house is on a hill, alarmingly large puddles have begun to form.

A soft light glows on the upper floor: a lamp on the stately, wooden desk in the master bedroom, where a girl with smooth, dark skin and thick glasses sits in front of a Macbook, dwarfed by the big, leather, executive chair that she sits in.

You are MEREDITH ‘MERI’ POWERS, President of CCL. It’s late. The light of your computer shines on your face, and you shiver a little. CCL House has come a long way since you convinced the former president to embrace sound economic policy, but this place will always be drafty, especially in a storm. You should put a robe on; your seamless hipster panties and undershirt don’t hold much warmth.

Light shines and lovely smells flood the room as the bathroom door opens. You can hear the bathtub draining, but your concentration isn’t so easily broken, although it’s tough to focus knowing that three of your girls are out in this. You didn’t expect this storm to be quite so hardcore. It frustrates you that the forecast couldn’t get it right. Using pledges for this kind of run is now a tried and true technique that you have perfected, but sending them into a typhoon is another matter.

You sense Colby behind you and lean back, looking up at her. She’s a little shorter than you are, a little curvier, and much, much paler. Her short, blonde hair is damp and she holds her towel shut. Her bare thighs are still pink from the hot water.

You glance back at your spreadsheet, then up at her. You know the look on her face. It’s not pouting or a scowl, but she is not happy. Expectant, you meet her gaze, leaning back in your chair.

“You good?” you ask finally.

Now you get the scowl. “For real?” she asks.

You pull one knee up onto your chair and wrap your arms around it, cocking your head.

“Baby, what?” you ask her.

“Do you remember when we last saw each other?” she replies bluntly.

You have to think about it. Her eyes flash dangerously. It has been a minute. Now her face goes stony. She turns and plants her rear end on the desk, not quite sitting on it, more leaning. The damp towel is on some important papers, but you ignore that. If this was anime, veins would be popping out on her head.

“You know I’m busy,” you say defensively.

“Yeah,” she says, looking down at the spreadsheet on your Macbook.

“So I can buy you things,” you add, patting her knee. “Because I’m your sugar mama.”

She’s not in the mood for jokes. She points at the floor.

“Do you know what happened when I got here?” she asks. “They almost didn’t let me in. Half the girls here don’t know who I am. I don’t need to be a queen, Meri. They don’t need to roll out the red carpet. But it’s almost like they don’t even know that the President has a fucking girlfriend.” She doesn’t even say it angrily.

Meri bites her lip. She clears her throat.

Beside her, her phone dings.

Colby raises an eyebrow. “Athena?”

“You cannot be jealous of her,” Meri says, flipping the phone over. “She’s in New York, for God’s sake.”

“I thought she didn’t leave for another week.”

“She left early,” Meri says. It’s the truth. After a moment, Colby is able to see that.

“Oh,” she says, suddenly looking a bit uncertain.

You had better do something about this.

Kiss Colby?

Or reassure her?