Max Johnson is the proverbial playboy. Women around his workplace in San Jose know about him and his reputation, yet, they mill about like honeybees to honey whenever he comes out to play. And play, he did. He frequents nightclubs, bars, and billiard halls, all so he could satiate his sexual hunger. A bottomless pit, it seemed that will never get filled.
Every woman that knows him knows never to get involved, but it does not stop them from throwing themselves at his feet, wishing and hoping they would be the one he would stick with, and make him change his ways.
But Max would not budge because he has this chip on his shoulder, you see. It’s the one that says ‘he would never be good enough.’ To be anyone’s partner or to bring home and introduce to the family. To him, he will always be “orphan Max,” who had been abandoned and left behind in the orphanage when he was young. His parents did not want him, so why would these women do? What do these women want from him, anyway? He had nothing to give, is what he’s ingrained in himself, believing the lies people tell him.
Sure, he was well-off now, thanks to his genius of a sister Clara and her persistence to make him go to school, to strive to achieve more than people expected them to amount to. If it wasn’t for her, they would not have what they have now, SST, Security, and Software Technology. One of the most promising security companies in the country, and they were growing by the day.
Who would think he would have amounted to something? All the adults around him always thought he would resort to drugs and crime. But he proved everyone wrong. He was the head of marketing and budgeting. Though he studied computer science, they learned he had the knack for convincing people to buy whatever he was selling. Knowing their system from the ground up helps sell it too. So even though he missed programming and tinkering with computer parts and systems, he would rather be out in the world talking to and charming people.
-=-
Tonight he was alone, for the time being.
The anticipation of what was about to happen made certain parts of his anatomy swell and his skin tingle. That note, “Safeword: Syrup,” was open to interpretation, and only the people who sent it to him knew what was about to happen. Max Johnson has never been here before or in any establishment such as the one he was in now. But he's heard about them through the internet and whispers from his friends. Some people view them as posh getaways where their deepest sexual fantasies get fulfilled. He was never brave enough to venture or seek out these places. So he either impressed somebody, and this was a gift, or somebody wanted to get him back and humiliate him.
He was in a mansion high up in the mountains. Very elegant, unobtrusive, and unassuming. It looked like all the other houses around it. This was a house you would never suspect to serve whatever purpose it would serve tonight. It was located well enough away from its neighbors that any activity performed indoors or outdoors would not be heard by anybody. This fact made it kind of scary if you think about it.
Thoughts were running through his head. ‘What does it have to do with syrup? Does it have anything to do with food?’ He heard about using food to stimulate one's senses and excite sexual pleasure out of the participants. If this was what he thought it was, then he was in for a treat. He was a foodie who loved eating and gorging on buffets. What he was unsure about was how would food tie in with him being sexually fulfilled.
‘Well, there’s no use thinking about that now. We’ll just deal with it as it comes. Let’s do this,’ He thought as he stood up and rotated his arms around like a windmill. Having to sit there and wait was getting to him, and he was feeling tense. So he diverted his thoughts to how he got here tonight.
An invitation came in the mail. Sleek and black, without a return address. It should have been suspicious, on the get-go. But his interest had been piqued enough that he opened it. All it carried was the address to this mansion, the time, and the safe word, so of course, he needed to investigate. In hindsight, he should probably have informed his siblings where he was just in case something happened to him, but he knew that they would stop him, so in his shame, he slinked his way out here without informing anybody. All he said was that he had a date.
Max suddenly felt nervous, what if this experience ruins food and sex for him forever? ‘Maybe I should leave,’ he thought.
And just when he thought he would have to wait longer, two enormous doors opened. Women in strappy vinyl leather bodysuits and teddies that left little to the imagination came wheeling in trolleys of food. The aroma of the food assaulted his sense of smell. Grilled meats of every kind, stews, curries, herbs, and spices, made him salivate, and his stomach growl.
Embarrassed that they might have heard the sound his stomach made, Max looked around. A woman carrying oysters offered him a tray. She had the most beautiful, bluest eyes he’s ever seen, very exotic, and it mesmerized him. Her face was none compared to anyone he’s bedded before. With her chest peeking out, and her privates barely covered, he would probably do anything she asked of him just so he could have a taste. She smiled, enticing him to eat what people considered an aphrodisiac, to start him off with his adventure.
The food kept coming. There were appetizers, raw fruits and vegetables, main courses, desserts, hot and cold food, and syrups of every kind. They paraded all of it in front of him, so he could see what he was in for.
He was open to anything, but now he was not sure. They made him bathe as he walked in the main doors, even though he showered before he came. ‘Oh boy,’ he thought. ‘After this, I might not look at food the same way again.’ Naked and wrapped in a silk robe, there was nowhere else to turn.
But he need not worry, because the whole time he was there, they placed a blindfold on him, tortured to guess what food they were using on him and how they would use it. To say he came out of that experience sated would be an understatement. They fed him well enough to satisfy his hunger for food and sex, at the same time. He had come more times than he expected, being tortured and stimulated in ways he did not think he would enjoy. Like a fatted pig, he could probably sleep for the next 2 days. But one thing was for sure, he was never going back to that place because he did not know if what he did, satisfied or shamed him.
Author’s Note:
Hmm… I wonder what happened there? Aren’t we off to a great start?
This was not the way he wanted to spend his Friday. They flew the first flight from San Jose that morning to administer this installation. He did not want to be here. A hot date waited for him later that evening, and he was going to play hookey all day. But Clara needed him and Jeremy to go with her to San Diego because somebody double booked their technicians. And since he and his siblings are trained enough to do the camera and systems installations, they were always on call for backup whenever needed. Plus, they could not re-schedule the job for this specific company, Navio, the biggest shipping company in the western hemisphere, because this was their ticket to get into the big leagues. If they get this under their belt it could open all the doors to other bigger industries. And that would be good for their company, SST, Security and Software Technologies. Clara, his sister, has worked hard to bring it up to the standard it’s on right now, almost up there with the big companies,
As soon as the sibling finished with the stickers, they took a break before they demonstrated the system to the CEO. 'Clara, can you please hold your tongue when we go upstairs? Leave the talking to me.' Max pointedly looked at her. She huffed, 'Yes, boss.' she said sarcastically, 'What? I can be nice,' she muttered as she rolled her eyes. The boys shook their heads. This was one instance where they hoped she would hold her tongue until they got the deal. Max got tasked with showing Sebastian the system. He highlighted the primary functions of the cameras, how to operate the controls and how to access them from different mediums. They used one of the unoccupied conference rooms with the lights turned off to demonstrate the use of the night vision cameras. The computer showed an image of the room and how it would have looked had it been flooded with daylight, and it made Max proud to show off what the technology could do. Their chief research and development engineer, Jeremy, design
-=- As scheduled, they arrived before the designated time they gave Sebastian. The siblings wanted to take pictures to memorialize their achievements. Navio is the first multinational company they have signed up to use SST's security system. Also, Clara wanted to get drinks and relax before Sebastian, which she labeled sarcastically as 'The President' could come and ruin their time together. Because of their busy schedule and the need to launch the product on time, the siblings didn’t have time to see each other, aside from work-related matters. This was the first time they had to relax and enjoy being with each other. It just felt like the more money they were taking in, the more responsibilities got piled on them. Work had always left them exhausted. Outside on the rooftop deck of the ‘V’, was an area where people gathered while they waited to get seated. There was a bar to get people started on their drinks and lounge seats to accommodate groups. The siblings chose a spot to tak
At the dinner table, the tension between Clara and Sebastian was so intense it was as if Max could see the sparks flying in the air. After a round of pleasant conversation, Sebastian tried to fish for more information about Clara’s relationship status. 'So tell me, are you dating anybody right now?' Sebastian stared straight into Clara’s eyes. 'Being your business partner does not mean I need to tell you all my personal information, Mr. Colfer,' Clara replied with a raised brow. 'Will you give me the answer if I cancel your project?' he smiled sheepishly. The brothers, Max and Jeremy, laughed without meaning to. 'Oh, for fuck’s sake, we are not canceling any business deals tonight. I will tell you what you need. She is single, hasn’t dated recently, so no boyfriends. She says she hates flowers but loves Calla lilies,' Max volunteered. 'Traitors!' she mumbled while coughing into her hand. Clara stared dangerously at her brothers as she kicked Max under the table. 'Ouch! She also
She smiled back and thought, ‘Everything about you is cute, even your smile. Maybe I will say hi…,’ she laughed to herself, ‘...later.’ She tore her gaze away and started listening to her friends, pretending like she was not affected by that brief encounter. Celine looked at her watch discreetly, checking the time to see if enough time had passed for her to check and look back at him again. See if he is still interested. Most of the time, when she does this staring game, as she calls it, they get tired and find some other conquest. It was a test. She will not let them get to her that easily. She was not here for a one-night stand. Max was indeed still staring at her when she looks up. ‘Let’s see if he follows. I don’t even know what’s come over me, but I’ll make the first move.’ ‘He doesn’t seem to want to do anything, just standing there staring and waiting. But then again, my friends are too much sometimes, and I don’t want them to tease us or even take a look at him. He’s min
Everyone knew Sebastian Colfer. He was in the news lately, and all the women in the city have fantasized about him being their husband. Max frowned at Celine’s reaction. ‘How does she know Sebastian? Did they use to date? You asshole!’ he glared at Sebastian. ‘You can’t have my sister and Celine at the same time.’ ‘I’m going to beat this guy up if he reveals he used to date Celine,’ his mind was racing with all these terrible thoughts, and he couldn’t help but keep on glaring at Sebastian. Jeremy shakes his head before finishing his drink and gazes into the empty glass. It was typical for his older brother to pursue a married w
Clara, Max, and Jeremy all grew up in the orphanage. That’s where they adopted one another as siblings. As young adults, this ragtag crew changed their last names to Johnson, in homage to the wrestler, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. They left Max at the orphanage when he was around 5 years old. Jeremy was only 2 during that time, so they had no recollection of their parents. Because the orphanage was very poor, they forced the older kids to care for the younger ones. This was to ensure that everyone would have someone to care for them and minimize the cost of hiring additional personnel. Max got assigned to Jeremy, and because of this, grew to love him as a younger brother. Occasionally, the boys gave into sibling rivalry, but the longing to have a family always kept them together. Clara was eventually added to the mix later when she got left outside the orphanag
When Mr. Wong’s business started failing. Another facility with more updated and high-tech gym equipment had opened up in the next city over. They claimed they were training better security personnel, taking most of their business. And because money was getting tighter, instead of competing head-on with their competitor. And perhaps going to debt just to buy top-of-the-line gym equipment, Clara suggested they venture out where they’ve never been before. To specialize in the technology side of the industry. A business that needs little to nothing in terms of capital. This was because they needed to supply the equipment only upon demand. It was slow going at first. Installing security cameras, monitoring systems, and intruder alert technology for single individuals and small family-owned companies, but as their clientele grew, so did their profit. Eventually, when the business kicked off, they were able to
Peace had returned to their household, and everything felt right. Celine and Max traveled back and forth between San Diego and San Jose since Celine reconciled with her parents, and Max was getting to know his parents better. They were having fun riding Sebastian’s plane all the time. It was the perk of knowing a billionaire and being closely related to one. What they had really wasn’t a terrible deal, having 2 houses and a place to stay wherever they were. They didn’t even need to pack any outfits since there had closets full of clothes in both locations. The thing is, they couldn’t decide which place to choose, where to stay and which one to leave, and the more the couple got together, the more they wanted to settle somewhere, where it was just them, so they both agreed that Celine would join Clara’s company, SST and Max would find them a house to settle in, something they could call their own. Max was the first to separate from their group, but Celine did not want to live too far
‘I feel nervous as hell. We’ve done this a hundred times before, yet I feel like it’s our first time.’ Celine had been in the bathroom for the last half hour since the reception ended. She couldn’t enjoy the party because she kept thinking of what might happen tonight, resulting in frayed nerves and an empty stomach.Celine hesitantly left the bathroom. She knew prolonging the inevitable would only result in disaster. But the minute she walked into their honeymoon suite, the smell of fries and burgers invaded her senses.‘Hey babe, I ordered room service.’ Max greeted as he arranged the plates on the coffee table in front of the TV, as they always did when they were still dating and binge-watched one of their shows. ‘I saw you touched none of your food, so I ordered us some burger and fries. I figured
‘Do you know what really shocked me, aside from Raffy being my abductor? Is that when I woke up after he abducted me, his butler declared dad was on the phone.’‘Why was Raffy calling you dad?’‘I wanted to tell him you were in town because he kept calling the past few weeks and wanted to know when he could visit.’‘He said you approved of him as your son-in-law? How could you do that to me? You sold me to the devil, and he saw that as an excuse to do what he wanted with me.’ she looked at her father accusingly. Celine was so mad that her father had something to do with Raffy, thinking they had welcomed him into the family when Max was not.Celine and Clara’s parents, Nathan and Emelia Jacobs insisted on visiting afte
It took an hour for the couple to arrive at Sebastian’s house, and to expedite their travel, they were escorted by the motorcycle brigade to navigate and clear the traffic. Otherwise, with the congestion in the city it would have taken them a few hours to get home. By the time they got home, both sets of parents were present together with their siblings. ‘Max–’ ‘Celine–’ ‘We’re so–’ ‘You’re here!’ ‘I’m glad–’ ‘Are you–’ They all yelled excitedly, but Max ignored them and carried Celine directly to the bedroom. She tucked her head in his neck when she expressed she did not want to see anyone. And because she was more important than everybody else, he closed the door and drew her a bath. He wanted to help her relax and scrub all the terrible memories away. Get her clean so she could feel like herself again.Celine clung to him like a lost child would his mother, not wanting her husband to leave her even for one second. ‘Turn on the lights, please. They kept me in darkness most of the
Raffy laughed out loud as he watched the cops breaking into his mansion and finding nothing. ‘You idiots will never find me.’ He left his butler at the mansion to deal with the authorities as a taunt. He knew Max was more resilient than any regular husband, and could track him down faster than the police or the FBI could, so he had to take measures to cover his tracks.The house he was hiding in was purchased for the sole purpose of keeping his victims, like Celine. It wasn’t recorded in any of his financial books, or any of his aliases, and he figured it would take time before they find him, enough to carry out his plans and have sex with Celine. If she doesn’t cooperate, who knows what might happen? He might just do what he threatened her with, and tie her to the bed. He shook his head, remembering how the other women reciprocated his affection.
Celine pulled off all the pictures from the wall, every single one of them, and tore them up into little bits and pieces to satisfy her anger. The last piece that pushed her over the edge was a naked picture of her as she slept, with a hand squeezing her breast. She knows that Raffy probably had copies everywhere, but with Jeremy and Max’s help, they could erase all this embarrassing information from every computer, phone, and tablet Raffy might have them saved in.‘I’m so screwed.’ She cried while scrubbing her face with both hands. ‘Max will hate me for this. Fuck! Now I have to do what Raffy says or he’ll leak the pictures out. Oh, I don’t care. Fuck him! I won’t do anything I don’t want.’ she debated as she paced around the bedroom.‘Why do these assholes have to follow me all
‘Sebastian Colfer! Explain to me who this woman is with my sister?’ Clara barges into her husband’s office, at the same time, the security guard speaks. ‘Sir, there’s a person downstairs claiming his girlfriend never showed up to their date yesterday, and her phone shows she’s still in the building. We called her department, and they said she left early yesterday. What should I do?’‘Search the entire building and see if you can find her phone. Check the parking lot and see if her car is still downstairs. Maybe she ran away with another guy, who knows.’ Sebastian answered.‘What is it, sweetie? I did not get what you were asking.’ he focused on Clara and her laptop.‘This woman was in the elevator yesterday with my sister before she disapp
Celine lies back in bed and curses. ‘How am I going to get out of here if I don’t have clothes?’ So she started exploring Raffy’s bedroom, hoping to find something more decent to wear, when she noticed the pictures on the wall. ‘Fucking pervert!’ she exclaims.There she was, splattered on every surface of the room. Different sizes and images of her. One had her laughing, the other brushing her hair away from her face, and another of her eating. What bothered her more were the pictures of her in different states of undress. In one she was in a bath towel, another in her underwear, while the others had every outfit she has donned in the past year. She even had one in the lingerie she was wearing right now. The pose reminded her about that night she wanted to send Max a naughty video, to which he ended abruptly.
‘Yeah, but my sister, Clara, came… and I needed... You know what, it’s not important. I came by to get my car downstairs. I left it in the building.’‘Hey, tell me, isn’t the boss dating your sister? Is it true that they got married?’ she whispered while getting closer to Celine.‘Yeah, they did. It was a lovely ceremony. I helped plan it.’‘That’s a big ring you have on your finger. Rumor has it that you’re married as well.’‘Can you keep a secret? I got married in Vegas last weekend. Eeekkk…’ Celine said excitedly.May squealed, ‘Omg, are you serious? That is so unexpected. We knew you were dating but didn’t know it