Why was she here?
Vivienne Gilbert kept turning that question over in her head as the elevator slowly carried her up toward Melanie Adams's penthouse. There was nothing particularly strange about the sequence of events that had brought her here. Early that morning, one of her mindless personal assistants had put a call from Mel Adams through. Mel had invited Vivienne to her apartment to continue their talks. Vivienne had accepted - and now, here she was.
But... why?
Why had Vivienne accepted the invitation? Why had she even taken the call? There was nothing for them to talk about. Vivienne had already given that irritating nepo baby her final answer: there was no way in hell she was going to let her mothers acquire Vivienne's company. So why had she come here?
There were lots of possible reasons, of course. Foremost amongst them was idle curiosity. Maybe Vivienne simply wanted to see more of Mel and the way she lived. Or perhaps she suspected Mel had an improved proposal for her. Possibly, it was a ploy. There were all kinds of ways in which dragging out negotiations could serve her interests.
And yet, deep down, Vivienne knew none of those things had motivated her decision. On the phone, Mel had been insistent - and Vivienne had ended up saying 'yes'. It was as simple as that. For most people, that might have been completely innocuous. But Vivienne feared it was something as dangerous as it was humiliating: a moment of weak will.
Vivienne Gilbert did not - could not - suffer moments of weak will.
And that prompted another fear: the fear that she had been compromised. Conceivably, Melanie Adams could have found some way to bring Vivienne under her psychological influence. Efforts like that were practically routine between hypnogarchs. Vivienne herself had dealt with more than one rival using mind control. Like all rising hypnogarchs, she had defenses - but all defenses had their potential weak points. So what if...
Vivienne shook her head to snap herself out of it. No. It was impossible. Vivienne was made of steel, and Mel was nothing more than an over-sheltered whelp. There was absolutely no way Melanie Adams had gotten into her head.
Ultimately, Vivienne decided that there had to be a far more benign explanation: she'd accepted the call and the invitation because she was in a good mood. And she was in a good mood because of Emma's personalized video.
Ever since last night, when she'd received a private, cheerleader-themed thank-you video from her absolute favorite OnlyFans star, Vivienne had been on cloud nine. She couldn't have asked for a greater gift, or a better way to relax. After listening to that video, the rest of the evening had passed by in a pleasant, stress-free haze. All Vivienne remembered was that she'd spent most of it working out some pent-up physical need.
Not the most dignified way for a high-powered CEO to spend her time, perhaps. But a very, very welcome way.
In fact, Vivienne had done the same thing that very morning, before dragging herself out to Mel's building. It was a rare indulgence, but one she just hadn't been able to resist. She didn't regret it either, even if it had left her just a touch disheveled and more than a touch late. Watching Emma's video again had put her in a delightfully pleasant, upbeat, relaxed - and slightly horny - mood.
One of these days, she was determined to focus hard enough to pay attention to Emma's words all the way through.
But there would be time for that later. For now, Vivienne just needed to get her head off her pillow so she could make the most of this little meeting.
By hypnotizing Melanie Adams.
Whatever the reason she'd agreed to come here, Vivienne had made up her mind not to leave empty-handed. She touched her hand to the outside of her suit's jacket pocket, and felt the familiar outline of her pocket watch within. It seemed only fair. If Melanie Adams wanted to play power games, she was going to find out just how much it was possible to lose. Vivienne doubted the trust fund brat had any real defenses, and having their daughter under her sway would make taking on her mothers that much easier.
She'd hardly be Vivienne's first conquest. She relished opportunities to get her hands dirty. This one was going to be easy.
Her confusion and doubt set aside, a thin smile came to Vivienne's face as the elevator arrived at the top floor. She stepped out of it and presented herself at the door to Mel's penthouse suite. Immediately, it opened, and once Vivienne saw who was there to greet her, her smile dissolved into an expression of open-mouthed shock.
It was Emma.
The Emma. Emma, the OnlyFans model Vivienne adored. Emma, the woman she'd spent all night and all morning frantically getting herself off to. Emma, the glorious bimbo she'd only ever expected to see through a screen, on a website - only now she was here, in the flesh, flashing Vivienne a brilliant, winning, ditzy smile.
"Hi!" Emma said, voice irrepressibly bright and bouncy. "You're... um... Mel's guest, right?"
Vivienne nodded dumbly.
"Well, what are you just standing there for, silly?" Emma giggled after a moment. "Hurry up and, like, come in!"
Without speaking another word, Vivienne nodded and followed Emma inside. The whole time, her mind was racing. Half of it was frenzied speculation. Why was Emma here? What was the nature of her association with Melanie Adams? Had she brought her here for Vivienne? How did they know about her fascination with Emma? What should she do? Should she say something? Ask?
The other half was equally frenzied fangirling.
It's Emma. It's actually Emma. The Emma. My Emma. Oh god. She's right there. She'd said 'hi' to Vivienne. Vivienne could reach out and touch her if she wanted to. Would she sign something for her? Oh god. She's so hot. She's even hotter in person. Oh god. Oh god.
She really was even hotter in person. Looking at her on a screen, in a highly polished piece of video content, it was easy to gloss over Emma's sheer physical perfection. Her clear skin, her sleek, blonde hair, her perfect, hourglass figure, and the hints of toned muscle underneath - all of it was truly unbelievable. Vivienne found it hard not to be dazzled by Emma's raw beauty and sex appeal. Her outfit - a simple sundress, albeit one that was cut low and very, very short - was far less salacious than the kind of slutty workout clothes Vivienne usually saw her in, but that didn't make Emma any less stunning. If anything, it enhanced her allure - plus, there was something utterly precious about getting to see her like this: casual, domestic, offhanded.
Just like the video, it was something none of Emma's other fans would ever get to see.
Vivienne was suddenly, overwhelmingly grateful for Mel's invitation.
"Vivienne!" Melanie Adams rose to her feet as Emma led Vivienne into the living area of the apartment. "Thank you so much for coming."
"Of course," Vivienne replied, because she didn't know what else to say.
As she watched, Emma rushed to Mel's side and stretched up to kiss her cheek, a big, dumb grin on her face. Envy hit Vivienne like a wave - and she wasn't even sure who she was jealous of.
An instant later, her corporate instincts kicked in. She couldn't let it show. Her envy, her desire - any of it. Not even the fact that she knew who Emma was.
"Thank you for inviting me," Vivienne added, before nodding toward the bimbo. "And... who's this?"
Silently, she prayed her voice didn't sound as robotic out loud as it did in her head.
"Oh, this?" Mel's grin was wide and proud as she slipped her arm around Emma's waist. "This is my lover - and my pet. Emma."
Emma let out a sickeningly sweet giggle and pressed herself to Mel's side. Their body language, the looks on their faces - it was obvious they were in love. And from Emma's videos, Vivienne knew there was only one person Emma felt this way about.
Which meant Melanie Adams, her corporate enemy, was Emma's mysterious mistress.
For a moment, Vivienne was speechless. Her instincts screamed at her that something was wrong, but she suppressed them. Her security and anonymity were perfect. There was no way that anybody could know, least of all Mel. There was no reason for anyone to even suspect. This was all just one big coincidence.
But, god, what a coincidence.
"Pleased to meet you," Vivienne said stiffly.
"You too!" Emma sang out, and her voice was so bright and carefree, Vivienne couldn't help but freeze in her tracks as words from the video came back to her.
