I rubbed my eyes wearily and muted the audio file playing through my earphones. A yawn forced its way through my body and I stretched, my muscles sore and tense. I was seated on the lone barstool at my kitchen island, my glowing laptop and a single lamp the only light sources in my darkened apartment.
God,
I thought as I glanced at the digital clock on the microwave.
Is it really that early?
The green numbers told me it was 6:30 in the morning, and I groaned. I wanted to lay down with my head on my arms and sleep, but I knew I wouldn't be able to. Instead, I reached out for the cup of black coffee beside the black-shelled computer and tipped a large swallow down my throat. I had hit the dregs at the bottom of the brew, but I could barely taste it anymore. I hadn't kept count, but to keep myself awake I'd definitely drunk a number of cups that enumerated into the double digits.
The generic white mug clattered softly on the counter as I placed it down, and I smirked tiredly as I read the swirling, artsy cursive script that had been drawn onto the ceramic.
World's Best Master
, it read in Sharpie, and it had a bunch of little red hearts dancing around the words. Amber had made it for me as a joke when I'd asked her to be my girlfriend. I kept it out of sight of company.
Twisting in my chair, I grunted softly as I felt my lower back
pop-pop-pop
and release some of the tension that had built up after having spent hours hunched over my computer trying to decipher the secrets of the little green drive currently inserted into the USB port. I scowled at the thing and bit my lip, then tried to come up with another angle of attack.
Fact: Mike Lassiter, TRANCE, Inc.'s Director of Talent Management, was going to come into the office at 9am on this Monday morning.
Fact: He was going to quickly realize that the USB drive where he kept the audio and video files for his hypnotic brainwashing protocol was missing.
Fact: He would also realize that the only reason someone would take the drive was because they had figured out his secret — he was using mind control to brainwash and program TRANCE's bevy of pornstars to make them into perfectly willing, submissive and enthusiastic bimbo playthings.
And if I were in Lassiter's place, I knew what I would do. I would set up some sort of meeting with each of the actresses, or all of them at once. Then, I would trigger them into a hypnotic trance, reprogram them and question them to ascertain which one of them had been found out... and by whom. Finally, that very special someone who had dared to fuck with my plans would be fired and prevented from ever having contact with the company or its actresses again.
Or...
I swallowed. TRANCE was the biggest adult entertainment company in the country, maybe on the planet. They were generating hundreds of millions in revenue. They might not even squirm at the idea of...
eliminating
... someone who could potentially uncover their biggest secret.
Who ever would have thought
, I wondered,
that I would fear being executed by hitmen working for a porn company?
The idea almost made me laugh... in a dark, twisted and slightly frightened sort of way.
I shook my head and tried to focus through the buzz of caffeine and the fuzz of sleep deprivation that shared space in my brain.
And that's why you need to figure this thing out...
I had separated Lassiter's files into two parts — video and audio — which helped to diminish their effects. Still, I had to make sure not to lose concentration as I listened and watched, because the ensnaring effects of Lassiter's creations were strangely powerful. Something about the strobing shapes and colors drew me into the screen, and some intangible quality to the musical beats in my ears made me want to relax, space out and absorb commands beyond the edge of my conscious hearing. I'm glad I hadn't been stupid enough to watch both at the same time. I might have ended up as suggestible as...
My girls chose that moment to walk into the kitchen. Each of them was drop-dead gorgeous with a happy, refreshed expression, hair worn loose and tousled from sleep and nothing else on except a thong and one of my old teeshirts. They queued up to say good morning — brunette, redhead, redhead, blonde.
Victoria, my dark-haired lover and current boss, came over with sleepy smile curling across her full lips. "Morning, baby," she murmured as she gave me a soft kiss on the cheek, scooping up my empty mug and taking it over to the sink.
I groaned something in response that might have translated to "Good morning" but could just as easily have been "Help..."
Next in line, Daisy smiled cutely at me while her identical twin sister bit her lip with a naughty gleam in her eye. Don't ask me how I knew which was which. Maybe it was something in the way they carried themselves, but my twin pornstar babes looked as alike as two peas in a pod. Both were slim and supple, with the gorgeous allure of 18-year-olds who were still young enough to give me innocent, angelic looks right before I fucked them senseless.
The redheads both leaned in at the same time and kissed me chastely on opposite cheeks. "Good morning, handsome," they chimed in unison, then giggled and shot each other amused glances.
The procession of beautiful women was waking me up better than the coffee, and I was able to give them both a weary smile as I glanced left and right. "Hey, girls," I responded as they went to the cabinet and fished for coffee mugs of their own.
Amber brought up the rear. She dimpled affectionately over my shoulder at the other women bustling around the kitchen, then hit me with a gorgeous, glowing smile. I turned on the barstool as she stepped up close and wrapped her arms around my neck, and I lowered my head so my forehead rested at the base of her throat. My hands went to her hips and found smooth, soft skin as I took a long, deep breath.
"How's my man doing this morning?" Amber asked fondly, her fingers running through my hair as her sweet scent tingled through my body.
I didn't answer for a moment as I felt my muscles relax and release tension I hadn't even known they were holding. Then, I looked up into her face. My hands slid up under the soft grey teeshirt she wore as I stood, bunching the fabric up under her full, round breasts. I saw her pupils go wide and her lips part as I leaned in and kissed her on the mouth, a soft moan escaping her.
She melted against me, her tits pressing into my chest so that I could feel her nipples hardening through the thin fabric. My hands brushed down her sides and slid around her waist, dropping lower as I sank my fingers into her muscular ass. Her malleable flesh gave under my fingers and I felt her groan low in her throat, her hips grinding up against mine.
We broke apart, both panting softly. "I'm worried," I admitted, breaking contact with her gorgeous blue eyes as I glanced over at the dark computer screen. "I can't figure out how to reverse-engineer this hypnotic conditioning program and I only have a couple hours before Lassiter comes in for work and realizes it's missing."
Conversing with Amber last night, I'd come to a fantastic realization. Some part of Lassiter's programming had made certain that even if the girls were made aware that they'd been hypnotized, they didn't mind in the slightest. I had been so stressed that revealing their conditioning would bring my house of cards tumbling down, but all of the women had assured me that it didn't change their feelings for me in the slightest.
I guess I should be grateful for the little things.
Amber pursed her lips and looked thoughtful as she drew back slightly, gazing off into the distance as though searching for an idea. Then, she shook her head, long blonde locks waving from side to side.
"Do you
need
to figure it out?" Victoria's voice was pensive, and I turned to look at the curvy brunette where she stood at the counter, stirring sugar into her cup of coffee. Her dark brown eyes met mine and her gaze was equally musing.
"What do you mean?" I asked tiredly. "I need to figure out how the program works so I can use it on Lassiter and make sure he doesn't come after us..."
