Real Love Ch 13

Writer's Notes:

'Real Love' is my personal tribute to JammyJimmy's (JJ) story, 'Threads: The Island'. I give JJ credit, because credit is due, for this story and for my own inspiration and entrance into writing. 'Real Love' is actually the first story I wrote, even before 'Tale of Two Teens', my first published story.

As I was writing this story way back when, I was hoping JJ would be the editor. Having been unable to make contact with him, I have been reluctant to release it. Some say JJ has passed away, but I don't know. JJ, if you read this and want this story removed, please contact me. Several readers have relayed to me, both publically and privately, that they would like it released.

Therefore, 'Real Love' is an unauthorized, reimagined rewrite and sequel to JJ's story, 'Threads: The Island'. The general storyline in JJ's story is embedded in this story. Several of the character names have been changed because this is my story. Anyone who has read JJ's story will identify the characters quickly, starting with my main character, Bradley Weber, formerly known as Kyle Watson in JJ's story.

This story is long, but tolerant and filled with several emotions. If you stick with it, you will experience euphoria, happiness, sadness, sorrow and it will make you horny. You'll be disgusted, pissed off, scared and you'll grieve, cry, frown, smile and sometimes, you'll laugh, I hope.

'Real Love' starts off slow, but gains speed with age. Feel free to leave comments about what you like and what you dislike about the story. Feedback is a good thing for those writers who want to know what reader's like and dislike about their stories.

Please don't be mean in the comments because those that put in many hours over a period of several months, and thought into designing and writing these stories don't appreciate it, nor do they deserve it.

I do hope you enjoy the 'Real Love' series. Just don't forget one important detail -- it's fiction. Please do give us 'not so professional' writers a little slack.

JJ, wherever you are, whatever you're doing, fair winds and following seas my friend.

Let the saga of Bradley Weber continue...

MDSW

* * * * *

As Brad emerges from the gym, a member of the fitness staff said there has been a call for him to go down to the pier to meet Mr Alden immediately.

Brad nods, frowning, and walks the short distance, seeing Craig sitting waiting for him in one of the Islands speedboats. He hops on board, gingerly.

"You want to see me, Craig?"

"Glad you're here, Brad. Let's go for a ride round the Island, shall we?" the lawyer replies, giving Brad an intense look. "Unfasten those ropes, please," he asks the staff.

Brad is wondering what the old man has to say that we have to go out on a boat to do it as the staffer unties the two mooring ropes from the cleats on the pier. Brad takes a seat as Craig starts the engines, puts it in gear and pushes the throttles forward a bit, as the long sleek boat pulls away from the pier, heading out to sea.

"So what's going on then, Craig? What did you find?"

"There's something going on here, Brad," the old man says as he turns the boat a couple of hundred meters out from the Island. "I've been through Danny's private banking and had my people pull out any one-off payments to construction companies between when the Island was bought and the main house was built, and they found one, an Indian company that specializes in home security."

"So you think they were brought in to build a safe house somewhere?" Brad guesses.

"Exactly. By my reasoning, it must be underground, as otherwise the company who built the main house, or any of the other buildings would have it in their plans, correct?"

"Makes sense," Brad says, bracing himself as they bounce over wave after wave.

"So Charles tells you there is no secure facility on the Island, yet Danny pays a company who specializes in building them from his own personal account at the time one would be built."

"So there must be one here. That means Charles is lying," Brad says. "Why?"

"There's only two reasons I can think of," the lawyer replies. "He's either hiding something in there, or he wants to keep the facility for himself. That brings me to the reason we have the boat for our discussion."

"What? Are you gonna tell me the rooms are bugged now?" he jokes.

"I believe, knowing Danny as I do, that there was no way he would lock himself in a steel box without some way of knowing what was going on outside. He always thought several steps ahead and contingency planned constantly. He always, always had an exit strategy."

"So what are you saying?"

"You understand I have little evidence to support this?" the old man says and takes a deep breath. "I believe there may be hidden recording devices, either audio or video, or both on the Island, and I believe Charles is using this safe room to view you and your sisters in an effort to collate private information on you. My guess is he'll use it in some form of extortion or blackmail. And possibly do the same with the friends Danny invited to stay on the Island. If this is true, it can be disastrous for the Packard Empire."

Brad feels sick, like he's just eaten a dozen burritos and been kicked in the stomach.

"And bearing in mind the questions you asked me about legal representation when we first met, am I right in saying that there are secrets you hold that you would prefer kept from the world?"

"Fuck," Brad mutters. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

"I'll take that as a yes," the lawyer replies. "Now, I don't need to know what they are, even though you're my client and I can't reveal anything, even if I daresay I can hazard a guess or two. The question is, have you verbally or physically implicated yourself, or have your sisters"?

Brad immediately remembers the conversation he had on his balcony last night with Stacy and Peggy, the individual conversations they've had and the several conversations he's had with Kelly about it too.

"Fuck."

"Have you committed any criminal offences, Brad?"

He shakes his head, then changes his mind.

"I... don't know, actually. I think... fuck it. I met Peggy three years ago when she was a stripper and she gave me a lap dance. Then I met Stacy at a club and we slept together. None of us knew we were related and since then we've done nothing."

The old man's brow furrowed as he thought.

"Has there been any... physical contact between you since then?"

"No," Brad replies quickly. "I did hug Stacy in her bed the first night we got here, but I was on top of the covers and she was under the covers and we were both dressed."

"Have you discussed your... history?"

"Individually with Stacy, same with Peggy, and then last night the three of us spoke about it."

"Hmmm," the old man mutters.

"Oh, and I told Kelly about it. You said I could trust her," he reminds him. "She got someone to do a little digging into the friends that were with us on Spring Break. My buddies are cool. In fact they're arriving here any time, but two of Stacy's friends might be problematic, so we got some info on them."

"And what happened to them?"

"One of them has a sick kid, so we're helping her out with her medical bills and expenses. The other girl has some history of drugs and stuff. Videos too I think. She was working at a law firm, but now she's working for us with a massive pay increase. Both of them have signed agreements not to say anything."

"So potentially you can be open to extortion or blackmail, bribery and investigated for incest too," Craig says bluntly.

"Fuck my life," Brad mutters. "I'm guessing so."

"Even if there are no criminal proceedings, simply leaking recordings of the conversations would be enough to force you to resign from any positions you may hold in the future, destroy your credibility, or instigate political hearings. It could also potentially destroy your companies."

Brad slumps into his seat, craving a cigarette, a bottle of tequila or anything that would numb his brain.

"Is there anything else you can tell me about what's happened on the Island? Anything strange that's occurred since you arrived?"

"Fuck, everything's been strange, Craig. This whole place is bizarre."

He shakes his head, then looks up sharply as a memory appears.

"A few nights ago one of the staff snuck into my room and had sex with me. I thought it was someone else."

"Did they drug you, anything like that?"

"No. Just... well, they fucked me then gave me a..."

"Yes, yes, yes. I get the picture," the lawyer says, holding up a hand. "Do you happen to know who? Or why?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it was Sara, the masseuse. The thing is, I've never laid eyes on her before," Brad explains.

"And she just appears in your suite and propositions you?"

"No," Brad replies, shaking his head. "No, I'd been flirting with Kelly just before she went to her bed. After I fell asleep, this girl joined me in bed, held her finger to my lips to be quiet and then we had sex. I thought it was Kelly, but when we finished she ran off."

"So what was her motivation?" Craig asks. "She just randomly decided to seduce you?"

"Apparently. It's possible," Brad says, shrugging. "I don't get it though."

"Does she know you have suspicions?"

"Sara? No."

"Then you need to find out what motivated her to come up to your room," Craig says. "It may be that she simply saw you and decided to seduce you, thinking she'd get on good terms with the new boss. Then again, if you're being set up for leverage, a sex tape could be a helpful thing to have, yes?"

"Mother fucker," Brad blurts out.

"On the plus side, you mentioned that it was Connor Grant who put you onto the idea the Island should have a safe room, yes?"

"Yeah. And I let Connor know earlier today that Charles had said no, that you're looking into it and he asked to be kept in the loop. Oh, he also said that he's going to see what he can find out himself."

Craig frowns as he steers the boat out a little farther from the shore.

"I would suggest the following. One -- You figure out a way to discuss the matter with Sara, somewhere off the Island such as on a boat like this or perhaps in a helicopter, if you can arrange it. Two -- You need to get Connor on your side and, given his personal skill set and employment record, I imagine he'll be happy to help out if he can."

"He already is."

"That man is a nuisance, but when he's working, he's like a different person entirely," Craig says. "Use him as much as possible, but above all you must be discrete."

"We have been so far."

"No, Brad. I mean you can't act differently, you can't discuss this openly with Peggy or Stacy, don't discuss the situation with these two girls or with Kelly either. I'll speak with her directly about that myself. If what you're saying is true, I'm best placed to deal with these two ladies myself anyway."

"Okay, don't talk about it, act normal, don't do anything differently," Brad repeats, wondering how the hell he is going to pull that off. "If it's okay with you, I would like to deal with Kelly, and Debi, if need be."

"Okay. It's fine with me Brad."

The pier comes in sight as they complete their circle around the Island and Brad frowns, thinking about everything the old lawyer has told him. It seems certain that Charles is setting him up for something. Either that or he's getting paranoid. Maybe the man who ran Danny Packard's private Island has some unknown valuables stashed away, and didn't want to let the new kids know about them.

Either way, he knows something is going on, and he feels a little comfort knowing Craig is helping him. He knows he has to get to Connor at some point today though, and somehow get him up to speed.

As the old man maneuvers the boat back to it's mooring, the staff ties it up and Brad wobbles and nearly fell over as he is stands up.

"Brad?"

"Sorry, my legs have tightened up," Brad explains. "I came here straight from my work out, so my muscles are really stiff."

He rubs at his thighs and slowly begins to stretch his muscles.

"Speak to you later?" Brad asks, climbing painfully up onto the pier.

"Anytime," Craig replies as Brad helps him to the pier.

Brad walks back along the pier, grimacing with each step until he begins to loosen enough to walk relatively normally, following the path up from the beach and around to the main house.

"Where have you been?" Kelly asks as he enters his suite. "Julian says you left ages ago."

"I was chatting with Craig," Brad says, trying to remember to act normally. "He took me for a lap around the Island on one of the speedboats. Very cool."

"Well, you're late for lunch."

Brad nods and heads back to the bathroom, sighing as he sees that the bath is empty.

"Sorry. It got cold, so I emptied it," Kelly explains from behind him.

He feels her hands on his hips and her lips press softly against the back of his neck. With Debi still in the office area of the suite, he knows she won't be joining him, but he smiles at the secret display of affection.

"I guess you'll have to settle for a shower, for now."

Brad glances around the room, wondering if there are cameras in here and then his eyes widen as he realized he may have been filmed or watched doing all sorts of stuff with Kelly. He gulps. If there are video tapes of his escapades with Kelly, it could have serious consequences if they get leaked.

"Hey, you okay? You seem a bit out of sorts," Kelly murmurs, slipping around to face him.

He forces a smile on his face.

"Just tired. That was a hard workout and my muscles are all tight and sore. Feeling pretty exhausted."

Seeing her worried expression he adds, "I'm fine though. I'll be okay."

"You sure?" she asks, then lowers her voice and pouts. "I hope I didn't wear you out last night. And this morning."

"Not even close. Just workout fatigue."

He moves forward to give her a hug, but she squirms away.

"After your shower. You're a sweaty mess and you'll ruin my suit."

Brad heads for the shower and the hot water feels good on his skin. Not as relaxing as a bath, or one with Kelly's assistance, but it helps a little. His mind whirls though, trying to remember every conversation he had since he got here that could potentially be used against him.

What he can't get his head around is why? If Charles is planning to blackmail him or extort money, why is he doing it? What is motivating him when by all accounts he lives in paradise, of his own free will, everything is paid for and he's got a salary that he doesn't really have to spend. So why blackmail someone when you have everything you want and need, paid for by someone else's purse?

He shakes his head, turns off the water, dries himself off, then heads for the dressing room. Someone laid out a pair of sneakers, jeans and a sleeveless black top, a neat pile of accessories at their side. Brad gets dressed quickly, then joins Kelly and Debi, heading down to lunch together.

Much of the conversation around the table is about an offer that Stacy and Peggy have received to appear on the Howard Stern show, asking them to be interviewed together and to ride his infamous sybian side by side. Stacy finds it disgusting, Peggy finds it hilarious and Nikki has them in stitches doing her impersonation of Stacy trying not to orgasm. All too soon though, it is time for Brad to go back to work, so Kelly and Debi accompany him back to the suite.

The dreaded scheduling meeting continues and for the following hour, Brad listens to Kelly and Debi debate if he should tour this office on that day, or do this press event, or take the time to rest up. Brad has difficulty concentrating on it though, his own thoughts consume his mind with the situation with Charles and how he's going to get a hold of Sara without tipping his hand, not to mention the need to let Connor know what he's learned from Craig.

* * * * *

"How long have I got before Ed and Casey arrive?" he asks.

"About twenty minutes," Kelly replies, not looking up from the piles of paper on the desk.

"I'm going to go see Connor and then I'll head down to the pier for them as they come in," Brad announces, gathering his phone and cigarettes.

"What for?"

"I haven't given up on hiring him."

"You can see him later. There's still work to do, Brad."

"I know. Plus, I just need ten minutes on my own," he explains, then taps the side of his head. "Lots going on and it's giving me a headache."

"You okay?" she asks, a worried look returning to her face.

He nods, trying to appear relaxed, but he's not convincing either team member. Kelly cocks an eyebrow at him, but he winks back at her when Debi's eyes drifts back to work.

"See you guys back here," he says, stepping outside.

As he walks, he thought about which problem he needs to tackle first. He knows he'll be seeing Connor later this afternoon, so that can be set aside for the moment. The Charles thing is too complicated right now, so he turns his thoughts to Sara, trying to figure out a way to get her into a boat or helicopter alone.

"What reason can I have to want some alone time with her?" he muses quietly, then grins at the obvious answer. Everything suddenly clicks into place.

He knocks on Charles's office door a few minutes later.

"Charles?"

"Ah, Master Bradley. Do come in," the Englishman says.

Brad enters, keeping his face as neutral as possible, wondering what this guy is up to, but trying not to let it interfere with his little charade.

"What can I do for you today?"

Brad takes a deep breath, then launches into the lie he just developed in his head on the way there.

"Well, Charles. I wonder if you could help me with something... discrete."

"If I can, Master Bradley."

Charles's eyes narrow as he speaks.

"Can I ask what, exactly?"

"Well, yesterday I got a massage from this girl, Sara," Brad begins, trying to appear hesitant, and embarrassed.

"Ah, yes. Sara's a wonderful masseuse, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," he nods. "She's also very... hot."

Charles smiles, a brief tight-lipped grin.

"Now, a couple of nights ago, I had a late night visitor who was very..."

"I'm familiar with Sara's reputed appetites, Master Bradley," Charles replies. "I take it you two..."

"Oh yes," Brad says, feigning enthusiasm. "And if you don't mind me saying, I thought she was fucking amazing. If it was her, of course."

"And what makes you think it was her, Master Bradley?"

"A process of elimination," Brad says. "I'm pretty sure it was her, but I'm really just guessing. But since then, I haven't been able to get her off my head, if you know what I mean."

He gives Charles a pointed look.

"Aha, I do, Master Bradley," Charles replies, nodding quickly.

"Which brings me to why I'm here," Brad says, moving on, feeling a little more comfortable in his acting role.

He bites his lip, as if hesitant to say something, then launches into it quickly.

"Do you think you could arrange for Sara to be waiting for me in the helicopter after my workout? I'm thinking we can go for a little fly around, I can ask her if it was her and... express my admiration for her skills, see if I can convince her to do it again?"

"You wish to... hook up with her, Master Bradley?" Charles says, a broad smile on his face now.

"Well, yeah. But somewhere that Kelly or my sisters aren't going to know about," he adds. "They're kinda... control freaks. It feels like I can't take a shit without one of them walking in on me, or micro-managing my every move, and I'm pretty tired of it."

Charles nods.

"I understand entirely, Master Bradley."

"I mean, take Kelly, right," he continues, warming to his role. "She's there when I wake up, she's there all day, and she's there when I go to bed. And don't get me wrong, she's really fucking HOT, and if she's giving it away, I'm not gonna say no, but... "