The Power Trip

suitable form of communication?

Cashoo circled her like a wary coyote.

She smiled and unbuttoned her blouse, shaking her large breasts at him.

Cashoo had never seen enhanced breasts before. So big and firm. He reached out to touch them with his bony fingers.

Ina slapped his hands away, then unzipped his jeans, directing his long thin hard-on towards her breasts.

He got the idea, plunged his penis between her huge breasts, and within seconds he ejaculated.

Ina smiled at him once more before shooing him away.

It made a pleasant change to own the power for once. It was her way of getting back at both Cruz and Sergei for treating her as if she didn’t matter.

They thought they owned her.

Think again.

She knew everything about both of them.

Chapter Seventy-Three

After speaking to Eddie in New York, Hammond sank into a black fury. Goddamm it, he was out of town for a few short days, and all of a sudden there was a girl he barely knew accusing him of sexual harassment.

Skylar Byrne, some stupid dumb intern who, as far as he could recall, had come onto him.

Or had she? Whatever…

Bitch! Fucking bitch! They were all bitches at heart.

How dare she accuse him. And how dare Eddie go along with it as if the girl was telling the truth. The actual truth was that she was waiting for a big payout, and Eddie was too dumb to realize what was going on.

On top of that nonsense, Eddie had informed him that Radical had been expelled from her strict Swiss boarding school, and was now staying at his apartment until Hammond and Sierra arrived home.

Great. Radical. Such a perfect boost for his public image with her green-streaked dyed black hair, and her unbearable snotty teenage attitude.

Hammond was fully aware that he would need Sierra’s help in dealing with both these problems. The public was in love with Sierra, she was their darling and could do no wrong. This was excellent, because he needed her to shut down Skylar’s accusations, before shipping Radical off to another boarding school far, far away. One thing about Sierra — she kept a clear head when it came to putting out fires. She’d know exactly how to crisis- manage.

He’d told Eddie to shut the Byrnes up by promising them a meeting the moment he got back. Sierra would have to be at that meeting, supporting him while he informed the Byrnes that it was all the fantasies of a power- struck young girl with a crush, who’d used her imagination to make up silly stories. With Sierra in the room there was no way the Byrnes would believe their daughter. It would be his word against Skylar’s, and nobody played honest, moral and upstanding better than Hammond Patterson — especially with the lovely Sierra by his side.

Unfortunately the timing was hardly perfect, what with Sierra getting restless because of seeing Flynn Hudson, who’d apparently fed her a mouthful of lies.

Well, not actually lies. Hammond had doctored the photos to break them up. Flynn had not deserved a girl like Sierra, so he’d dealt with the situation. At the time it had cost him, but the results were well worth it.

The car accident was a happy mistake, causing Sierra to lose Flynn’s baby. Good riddance to that. Although the downside was that she’d taken off, and it was a few years before he’d managed to lure her back in and marry her.

Sierra Kathleen Snow. The perfect political wife. She was his ace in the hole, and there was no way he was letting her go.

It was unfortunate that Flynn had inserted himself back into their lives again, stirring Sierra up, trying to persuade her to break free.

As usual Hammond had managed to get her under control. She always believed his threats, and so she should, for in his mind he knew he was capable of anything. And he was certainly capable of getting rid of Flynn once and for all.

When they got back to New York, the demise of Flynn Hudson was number one on his agenda.

* * *

‘I think I’m ready to return to the real world,’ Flynn remarked to Cliff as they sat on the top deck drinking Jack and Cokes before dinner. ‘All this luxury — it’s not for me. I need to be where the action is.’

‘You gotta admit it’s not bad though,’ Cliff said, reaching for the guacamole dip. ‘I could get used to it. Might even buy myself a sailing boat.’

‘I’m going to try an’ leave tomorrow,’ Flynn said, clinking the ice in his glass.

‘It’s the big birthday night tomorrow,’ Cliff reminded him. ‘Why not wait?’

‘Got things to deal with,’ Flynn said restlessly. ‘Besides, I’m better off on dry land.’

Cliff nodded. ‘I get it, but I’m happy to be taking a break. No paparazzi, no interviews, no five a.m. calls to the set.’

The two of them had become quite friendly over the past few days. Cliff had enjoyed listening to Flynn’s stories about his world travels.

‘You know,’ Cliff said, signalling Renee for a refill, ‘you should consider writing a script.’

‘Why’s that?’ Flynn asked, thinking that there was nothing he’d like less.

‘’Cause you’ve had some damn fascinating adventures.’

‘Kinda,’ Flynn said modestly.

‘You’ll write a dynamite script, I’ll star in it,’ Cliff said, quite getting into the idea. ‘It’s about time I played a real character with integrity.’

‘What makes you think I got integrity?’ Flynn quipped.

Cliff laughed. ‘Y’ know, I like you,’ he said. ‘You’re an interesting guy. You should take a trip to L.A., come stay with me an’ Lori for a couple of weeks, months — whatever suits you. Bring Xuan — that’s if you can pry her away from Aleksandr.’

‘Uh… yeah,’ Flynn said, hesitating for a moment. ‘About Xuan — between us, she’s not my girlfriend.’

‘You don’t have to explain to me.’ Cliff paused, then added an expectant, ‘Although, if you’re in the mood to talk — what’s up with you and the Senator?’

‘I guess you heard about the fight?’ Flynn said ruefully.

‘Hey — this yacht is luxurious, but it’s still close quarters. What goes on soon spreads around, not to mention the shiner you gave him. Ever thought of doing stunt work?’

Flynn grimaced. ‘He deserved it.’

‘No love lost between you two?’

‘We go back, all the way to college,’ Flynn ruminated. ‘Hammond was always a prick.’

‘He’s done well for being a prick.’

‘An insidious, smart prick, I’ll give him that,’ Flynn allowed. ‘Treacherous as a fucking snake.’

‘Suitable character traits for a politician.’ Cliff said dryly. ‘Believe me, I’ve met a few of those.’

‘You live in L.A. — why am I not surprised?’

Cliff cleared his throat and laughed. ‘So… the current battle?’ he prompted, as Renee delivered his fresh drink.

‘Long story,’ Flynn said, rubbing his chin.

‘Aren’t they all?’

‘Wouldn’t want to bore you.’