Joe
Hearing a strange noise, I wake to the sight of Mark standing at the foot of our bed, watching us sleep. Anger instantly fills me within seconds.
"You Bastard!" I whisper, so I don't awaken Dee.
Mark, our boss, just shakes his head and walks out of the room.
Getting up, I follow him because he is going to hear me.
This is going to end now, and the two of us are leaving this nightmare tonight.
We walk into his office through Mark's side door, and he waits for me to begin.
"Who did it? Was it you or one of the other VP's you like to join in your sadomasochistic shit? Who whipped her, Mark?" I yell, and he just stands there looking at me straight-faced.
This son of a bitch is trying to figure out how to play me, per usual. Mark is all smug, standing there in his 3-piece suit, looking at me in my boxers. I'm filled with such rage as I see him smirk.
Mark says with a tone, "So... you love her, do you?"
Hearing this, I am completely shocked.
"How is it possible that you, my killer pit bull, have been taken down by this little girl? You and I have screwed over so many people, corporations, millionaires a like, but this one little bitch is going to ruin what we have. I Don't Fucking Think So!" Mark yells back at me as he gets right up into my face.
My God, he heard us. Shit, this will make him want her even more. I am an idiot!
I yell back, "So what if I said I loved her, it was in the heat of the moment. We have been fucking for 5 straight days and it just came out. Right after I said the words, I was trying to think of a way to take it back, but that was impossible. You know me, I care for her and felt bad, but I fuck them and move on. The problem is that you physically hurt her and that I cannot condone."
Mark smiles as he looks past me.
A small soft voice says, "Well, that hurt more than being whipped. Don't worry about backing out of it, I heard you loud and clear."
Deidre's sweet face is distorted by anger and pain.
Looking at her pleadingly, I hope she sees my expression, but she doesn't care right now and Dee is hurt. I notice the necklace is now gone. She took it off and is filled with rage.
I did that to her.
Behind me, I hear Mark laughing in a sick and maniacal way.
"Deidre, I'm sorry he broke your heart. Joe is good in bed, but a poor boyfriend. He will always be loyal to me because I could ruin him in a blink. Didn't you two realize that I video tape all that goes on in that room?" He laughs even harder and I don't know what to say.
He adds, "Funny, how I'm never the one on those tapes though. I have a crew that spends their day watching and taping all that you two do together. They even have a tape of you being whipped, Deidre! How could you do that to her, Joe?"
Mark glares at me, and I shake my head no.
It was him! He did this... Wait, what?
"The video shows you entering the room, shackling Deidre to the St. Andrew's cross and whipping her senseless. She didn't deserve that and I know you like to pretend that you're into pleasure, but I have seen the proof, it's locked in my safe." He says with a wicked grin.
"You are a fucking liar!" I shout.
Mark continues, "Joe, you enjoy doling out pain as well. Don't you ever talk to me that way again or I won't even think twice about releasing that tape to the authorities. You see Deidre, Joe has another side to him he doesn't like people to know about, but I know it exists."
I look at Dee, then back to Mark.
He is going to blackmail me. Fuck!
"I didn't whip her and you know who did," I say with total rage in my voice.
Again, I look at Dee pleadingly once more, but she is furious with me.
He adds, "Really Joe, then how do I have the evidence right here, in black and white? We can watch it back if you would like, but you and I are the only ones with access to that room, Joseph. You know this is true, so why lie to us?"
He says this so matter-of-factly, and I need to prove it wasn't me who did this to her.
Quickly, I exclaim, "I want to see the video right now, Mark. You are lying and she needs to know that I would never do that to her."
When Mark turns and walks over to his safe, I felt like this might not go well for me as he opens it and pulls out a VHS tape. Then he walks over to the VCR, smirking at me the entire way, and he pushes the tape inside.
Okay, now I am worried. What did he do?
The TV turns on and I see the room. Dee is making the bed wearing the same pink baby doll negligee I found her wearing that day. She looks so pretty even doing housework. Dee takes the sheets over to the laundry chute and drops them inside. Then she goes over to drink her lemonade at the bar and eats her already prepared salad.
Mark then fast forwards up to where a man enters the room. Dee is taking a nap, and this guy removes all of his clothes. Standing there naked, with his back to the camera, he walks towards her.
He must have had his team make this video by splicing it together from different times we were together. That can't be me?
Turning to them, I exclaim, "No, that's not me! You must have paid your crew well, to make this entire thing up, or did you get an actor to do this, Mark?"
As they keep watching the television, Dee walks closer to the screen and I'm anxious. What we are about to see. The man walks over to Dee, blindfolds her, and somehow, with my voice dubbed in, he tells her to get up in an angry tone.
Dee looks so tired, but she slowly does as he says. This guy walks her over to the cross and removes her clothes. Ripping them down and off her body. As the negligee lays at her feet, he shackles her to the cross.
She then says, "Joe, your right, I've been bad and I need to be punished. Please, Joe, I need to be spanked tonight."
As Dee begs him, she uses my name, and I am shocked by her statement. Looking over at Dee, she is just staring at the video.
"As you wish, baby, I will give it to you so hard tonight. Is that what you want, Deidre?" The man asks.
It's my voice, but I never did this to her.
"Yes, please Joe, I need it so badly," Dee says as the man spanks her with his hand.
Harder and more forcefully, he hits her, and I look at Dee. She just stares at the television, motionlessly.
Does she enjoy this? I look back at Mark, and he smirks at me once more.
Feeling that same anger fill me again, I shout, "I don't know what you're up to, Mark, but that is not me. Who the fuck is that?"
He just looks at me with a glare and says, "What are you talking about, that's you. Deidre knows it was you."
"It was you, Joe... I remember everything now and you wouldn't stop. I begged you to but you wouldn't and you hurt me." Dee cries as tears slowly trickle down her cheeks.
Turning back to the screen, she shouts, "Stop, Joe, Stop! That hurts... You're hurting me!"
Watching Dee scream at the video and I can't watch this anymore. The man walks over to the drawer and pulls out the whip.
"Turn it off! That's not me, God dammit! I can't even watch this, so how could I have done that to her? Dee, that's not me, I would never hurt you, baby." I shout with fury.
Then I turn to Mark and add, "Have I ever hurt a woman? Mark, have you ever seen me whip a woman for as long as you've known me?"
He looks at me and shakes his head.
"No, Joe, you have never hurt anyone like this before that I know about. Why did you do this to her?" Mark asks in a mocking tone as the video continues to play.
"Stop Joe! Please No more!" Dee cries and I can't stand it.
Grabbing the VCR, I rip it out of the wall, throwing it to the ground, and turn to him.
"That was not me! You know it wasn't! You tell her it's all a lie, you son of a bitch!" I scream with rage.
Mark yells back, "Joe, if it wasn't you, then who was it? You and I are the only ones with access to that room. That was you, Joe, it's your voice, she knows it was you and that was your naked body, not mine!"
"You tell her the truth or I'll..." I holler, but stop and try to control my temper.
Mark says, "Or you'll what, Joe? What will you do to me? I own you and this power play ends now!"
He then glares at me.
"I'll kill you for this! Mark, I will fucking kill you if you don't tell her the truth. Is that what you wanted me to say? I will fucking murder you!" I shout, and he smiles at me.
"Nice, really nice Joe. Why the hell would I do anything to hurt you? Why would I make a fake tape? How could I get Deidre to say it was you over and over on this tape? Seriously, Joe, you're losing your goddamn mind. First the party, now this. I don't know what to believe anymore. Maybe you should get some help." Mark says in a sickly tone.
I so want to beat the living shit out of him. Right now, I am so frustrated that if I don't leave, I'm going to lose my temper even more so and God only knows what will happen then.
"Fuck this... Fine, believe what you want, Deidre. You know I would never hurt you and also know what Mark is capable of, the bastard. As he said, Mark has a crew who edits him out of the videos, so who knows what they can put back in these sick little movies. I am done with all of this." I say while walking back into the room to gather my clothes.
Seeing the broken necklace on the floor, I pick it up, flip off the cameras wherever they may be hidden, and I storm into my office. Then, grabbing my things, I leave, not knowing if I will ever be back here again.
Filled with rage and absolute disgust, I go to the elevator and press the button. When it dings, I ride it down to the lobby. The video replays in my head and I just can't believe all of this madness.
Mark did it... He destroyed what we had, and Dee will never trust me again.
As I am about to leave the building for the last time, I hear the guard say my name and run towards me.
"Mr. Whitney, I cannot let you leave, sir. Please, sir, I need you to stop right there." He says as I turn and think, you have got to be fucking kidding me.
"What the hell does he want from me now?" I shout as the security guard stares and waits for me to follow him back to the desk.
The guard looks confused by my outburst, as he hands me the phone and says, "It's Mr. Roth, he just wanted to talk to you, before you left for the day, sir."
Grabbing the phone out of his hand, I look at him in total annoyance.
"What do you want now, you son of a bitch?" I shout.
Both of the guard's eyes get huge. They can't believe I am talking to their boss in this manner.
Mark says to me, "Stop this shit right now, Joe. You can leave for the day, but I expect you back here tomorrow morning and everything better be back to normal. I'll sort this out, I promise you that, but until then, you no longer have access to Deidre. She does not want to see you and I have to abide by her wishes, per your stupid fucking contract. I honestly don't know what happened this week, but I know you would never hurt her. Joe, you are my best friend and we will get through all of this, I promise."
I don't answer and just hang up the phone. Standing there, I have a decision to make.
If I stay, I'll be here for the rest of my life, and Mark will own me from here on out.
Walking out of the giant glass doors of the Roth Corporation, I vow to never return, but I know, deep down, I will.
He has me under his thumb and Mark will never let me go.
The next morning, I wake up in my bed, after a full night's sleep. I haven't slept in this late in a long time. Looking at the clock, it reads 10:30 a.m. and I feel well-rested. There is no place to go, nowhere to be. And then she pops into my head.
How could this have happened? What if he hurts her again? If I am banned from her room, Mark, or whoever that was, could attack her again. Dee could be in a lot of danger. My God, that's what he wanted. He wants her all to himself, and now Mark has Dee right where he wants her. Christ, what did I do to this man? He wants to ruin me. He wanted Dee to be his slave, and I just handed all of that to him on a silver fucking platter.
Quickly, I get dressed and decide what I need to do. I need to talk this out...
Looking in the mirror, I start. "Okay, this sucks, but I will do my penance and try to find a way back into his good graces. At least if I'm there, I can monitor her and keep Mark in check."
No, I don't have access to her. Fuck!
"Christ, this is going to be a nightmare, because he knew I would come to this conclusion. Wait, that's it. He knew I would come crawling back, and he planned this all out. He never wanted Dee as his submissive, he wanted me to be his slave. That son of a bitch, he could have me arrested for abuse, kidnapping. And what else did Dee say? 10 different counts of fraud..."
What the hell is that all about? He knew all along...
I shout. "Mark remembered her from the club that night. He knew I liked her and wanted her. It was not like him to forget a pretty face, and he didn't. He wanted to have something over me, but why? I cannot believe he did all of this, just for the hell of it. There must be an agenda, but what could he possibly want from me?"
As I think back over the past few weeks, something else pops into my head.
Deidre Murray Blake? Where did he get that name from? Dee doesn't know who her biological father is, so how could Mark?
The redheaded lady that was banished looked so familiar to me, too.
Where the hell do I know her from? As I think about her it hits me, into the garage, the night Deidre and I met.
"She was the one I watched having sex. My God, this is crazy. This woman looked a lot like Dee, but is that just a coincidence? This is all so insane, and none of it is making any sense. He's got me over a barrel and he won. Goddammit, guess I'm going to work after all today. Fuck me, I'm screwed." I exclaim and then throw the toothbrush across the room.
Walking back into his office building was the hardest thing I have ever done. Linda looked up at me with a slight grin as I walked by her desk. It was not an, I'm happy to see you smile, but more of a so, you're screwed too, kind of look. I wonder what he has on our Linda to keep her coming back day in and day out.
Sitting at my desk, I look over at the panel and consider checking to see if I am locked out for real, but I don't.
Mark would enjoy that as well. And I assume the cameras are on me right now, too. I've always wondered how he sees everything and everyone. Where is this video crew he talked about? I have seen no one in his office except for that S&M construction guy. Well, I guess it doesn't matter, because I saw the tape and it looks like me, sounds like me, and Dee believes it was me. People have been arrested for less, so I am screwed.
My phone rings, and I just look at it for a minute before I answer.
When I finally do, she says, "Hello Joseph, he wants to talk to you. He asked that you come to his office within the next fifteen minutes and to bring the Wagner files."
I don't even answer her and just hang up the phone.
It is not her fault, but I am sick of this place and everyone who works here.
Grabbing the file, I get up and walk down to his office. Without knocking, I walk in and sit in his stupid chairs to wait for him to get off the fucking phone.
"Great, sounds good... Yup, just get it done. He is here now and I will talk to him about all of this and explain what we know." He says and I couldn't care what he is talking about.
Mark hangs up the phone, and I just sit there with the file in my hand.
"Well, here is the file... What do you need, Mark?" I say in an annoyed tone while tossing it onto his desk and knocking something over.
Why did I ever trust this jerk? He has been fucking me over for years and I am so stupid that I fell for it every goddamn time.
Mark states, "We caught the guy who whipped Deidre, and you are not going to believe what happened. It was one of the construction guys and you met him. It was Gary who gained access, and then he could tamper with the tapes. You had called to have your security system checked, and Gary was the one who came to fix the scanner. He is now on his way to jail."
Looking at him in disbelief, I wonder how they can bring charges against a man who abused our kidnapped assistant. He's fucking lying.
He then adds, "There is a small wrinkle, though. I couldn't bring him up on charges for Deidre, but my lawyers said that we can get him on breaking and entering, tampering with security equipment, and also corporate espionage."
Sure, that will stick. He just has to open his mouth, and we are fucked.
"His brother works for the Wagner Corporation, so Gary was looking for information regarding our deal, too. He came in that night and knew exactly where the cameras were pointing. Gary was the one who installed all of them, you remember. It was easy for him to get around all of that, but he did not know that I keep an extra set of tapes for everything that goes on around here in our security office downstairs." Mark explains.
That's great... I am happy he found out the truth, but I am so disgusted with all of this that I don't care anymore.
Mark continues, "So, Gary tampered with the tapes and he drugged Deidre so that she thought it was you. Bill Wagner wanted dirt on you, and Gary made him some. We found drugs in her system, nothing major, but they made her loopy as all hell."
I doubt he told Dee the truth though... Bastard.
"He admitted the entire thing to my lawyers, and we agreed to go easier on him if he did not bring up the girl or the room. If he does, we will then bring him up on charges of rape and attempted murder. Gary agreed to these terms and he will spend time at a minimum-security facility, for 6 months." He states and I just want to get out of here.
Mark adds, "I'm sorry, Joe. That was the best they could do. I'm sorry that I didn't believe you and I should have. You do not like to torture women. Hell, I know that and that's why I had my security guards check the second set of tapes."
Sure, that all makes sense. He couldn't have looked at those first?
"As for Deidre, she doesn't want to see you, but I will tell her what we've found out so that she knows the truth." He explains, and I sit there, saying nothing.
Once he is done, I get up and leave his office.
Mark then states, "She is angry with you, Joe, and she hasn't stopped crying. When Dr. Donaldson went to see her, Deidre was really upset and told him she thought you were the one for her. Thank God you got out when you did, buddy. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that you're in the clear."
Feeling the ache of losing her, I leave and walk back to my desk. Right now, at this moment, I couldn't give a rat's ass about Gary, but I wish he could have brought him up on charges for Dee's sake.
She deserves better than that, but I have no say anymore.
It's December 18th, one week before Christmas, and it's been 3 weeks of hell. Not seeing her day in and day out is killing me, but I refuse to let Mark in on that information. Soon he will tire of her and allow her to go, I'm sure.
Hell, for all I know, he may have already let her leave. We do not talk about Dee, ever. I refuse to speak her name, and Mark knows better than to bring Deidre up to me.
Knowing that they are probably watching everything that I'm doing in my office, I try not to look at her door or act differently. Our relationship as friends, between Mark and me, is over and I refuse to talk to him about anything other than work-related topics.
Also, I have looked for another job quietly. I doubt he will allow me to leave, but if I keep going this route, he may tire of me too soon.
Leaving for a meeting with some of our accounting staff, I saw Mark's wife walking onto the elevator, looking miserable. And who could blame her? It must be terrible being his wife and having everyone know he is screwing around on you. At this point, Mark doesn't even try to hide it and the lawsuits alone must embarrass her, along with our company's reputation.
Mrs. Roth is a beautiful little thing, with long blonde hair, and Evelyn can't be over five feet tall. I noticed the scars on her wrists and feel bad for her because she seems like such a sweet lady. Why this woman stays married to him is anyone's guess. Linda says that they have been together for most of their lives, childhood sweethearts, and she is pretty much oblivious to his antics. Linda also mentioned that Evelyn loves to shop.
Well, whatever floats your boat!