Tempting (Man x Man)

Tempting - Chapter 58: Weird... Is a Understatement

Switched Perspective

"Oh my god..." I can't take my eyes off the luminous screen. I keep scrolling, and I start to feel all the questions I wanted answered gradually come to light. This is...

"Yes, I found it weird the first time I uncovered it, but it was great in getting what I wanted." Ms. Collete says.

"Weird... is a understatement." I take a glance over the photos once more, and the captions below them.

"How did no one know about this?" I query.

"He probably paid the woman off. Or threatened her, either way he was shocked when I brought it up."

What a... incredible find. Mary Simmons, a former employee of Mr. Malone, has a child that was coincidentally born 8 months after her working under him. There was also other pictures and captions of employees Mr. Malone has supposedly been with. I stare at Mary's face in the doc, finding it very familiar.

There is no doubt that her child has some of Mr. Malone's features, but I'm finding her face quite off putting. Actually, all of the prior employee's faces look familiar.

"They all... look the same." I infer.

"Yeah, I suppose Mr. Malone has a type."

"I think this is further then just having a type." I scroll through the excess images.

"Look, same hair, same eyes , same face, same body what the heck? They all have multiple traits that are the same. Actually they kind of remind me of..."

"That new guy Mr. Stewert?" Ms. Collete finishes as I rub my hand over my mouth. What in the world is going on here?

"Yeah... Yeah that one. Is there a reason for this?"

"I don't know. I didn't really do research on his preferences, just showed that he was sleeping around with his employees which ended him up with a kid."

"Ah." I can only let out a simple breath as I once again scroll down the page. This is a gold mine.

"So what happened to Mary and the child?"

"Well I don't see her in the news talking about him or see Mr. Malone being around the child, so maybe he payed her off to be quiet, like most of his other employees."

I nod, now fully understanding how Mr. Malone got persuaded into giving Ms. Collete the job. This is something that could ruin his entire career... and its all in my hands. I'm in my own dismal world when Ms. Collete snatches her phone back from my grasps.

"Wha-"

"If you want this, we're going to have to agree on something."

"...Agree on what?"

"I want 60% of the money we 're going to make from this."

My eyes widen as I look over her face to see if she's joking. Its severely nonchalant.

"What do you mean 60%? The deal was 50/50."

"Since you want it so urgently, that means the price for it has gone up. So, take it or leave it."

"...Are you serious?" I say with disbelief.

"Do you think I make jokes?"

I suppose not... I sigh and rub my hand over my face, knowing that she's caught me in a corner. She's such a.... Actually its fine, I'm so close to the finish line that this doesn't matter. I just need to keep trucking forward.

"Fine." I agree reluctantly.

"Just make sure to send it to me by tomorrow night to get everything together. I'm going to be needing it then."

"Yes, I know how this works. May I be excused then?" She scoffs, opening my car door and walking out into the dim night. I mildly hit my dashboard as I watch her go off. Damn woman keeps getting me every time.

I fall against my seat and let all the heavy air expel out of my nose. I... need a drink. Mastering the art of deception can only get me so far... the stress is really getting to me. As I'm sitting there, I can't help but feel like something has completely slipped my mind. Something really important...

I bolt up suddenly as I realize what that something is. Calvin! Jesus, how could I have forgotten... I look over at the time and see that its almost 2 am in the morning. Has he been staying there for that long?... I scramble for my phone and call the number of the police station.

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"Yes sir. There is no one in our system with that name."

"Are you sure? Check again. Its Calvin Stewert."

"Hmm." I hear the lady typing in the background until she comes back on the receiver,

"I'm sorry sir. I've looked everywhere in our database and no one by that name is popping up. Have a good day."

"Uh... you too." She ends the call and I reluctantly pull my phone away from my ear. Calvin is not popping up anywhere in their system? How could that be possible? The only way that could be possible is if someone deleted all of his...

Wait a minute. Of course. I roll my eyes and kick start my car, switching the gear to drive. Most likely Calvin called Mr. Malone instead and he bailed him out with his money. Great, as if I need Calvin being around him right now.

I roll out of the parking lot and onto the street, making a sharp right at the end of it.

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Calvin POV

I sit motionless on David's couch as he goes inside his kitchen to prepare some drinks. Its dark; the only light present is the one emitting from his empty hallway. I never thought I'd be sitting on his crimson couch again, nonetheless sharing drinks with him.

I stretch out my legs, still sore from sitting in fetal position back at the station. I can here his dogs sleep soundly on dog beds in the other corner of his big living room. They're... actually quite cute when they're not jumping all over the place.

I had the thought of calling Mr. Hamsure to let him know that I'm out, but I don't want to do it in front of Mr. Malone, knowing their history. He'd probably just get upset.

I owe him that much at least for getting me out. 

Enjoy and have a good weekend! :)