His Absolute Arrangement: A Scandalous Billionaire Love Story (Jessika, #1) (3 page)

A
sher walked beside Lucent down the hallway of the Landseer corporate office building.  It always surprised him how far he'd come and what he now controlled.  True, his father had built up this empire and set a solid foundation for his son to take over after his unfortunate death, but Asher had built it up even further.  He hoped to make Landseer Enterprises more formidable and powerful in the future, too.  Not because he needed more; because, to be honest, he could purchase almost anything he wanted without even blinking an eye.

No, he wanted to give more to everyone.  He wanted to allow anyone to afford luxury, within reason, because he felt like everyone deserved it sometimes.  The hard working, single mother who spent long hours in a job just so she could try to save money for her child's college fund and help her daughter become better in life?  The men and women, thinking themselves locked into minor jobs working in coffee shops or restaurants, with low self-esteem, scared to ask someone on a date because they didn't think they had anything of worth to offer?  Anyone who didn't have the means to afford even a slight vacation every year, a day trip, a weekend getaway, some sort of happiness to let them know the world wasn't a horrible place, anything...

He wanted to give them something to look forward to, and at less extreme costs but without lowering the quality of the experience.  Unfortunately, it wasn't always possible with vacation resorts, casinos, and the things that his father had built up over the years.  Asher doubted his father had really considered a more giving attitude when creating Landseer Enterprises in the first place.  His father had wanted to give to his own family, first and foremost, and Asher understood and appreciated that.

Now, though, Asher didn't need more.  He wanted to give, too, but he needed to find a better way to do it.

Thus, the various other entertainment arms of Landseer Enterprises were born.  Publishing, books, music, short films, festivals for all of those, and more.  Free outdoor entertainment venues sponsored by not only Landseer Enterprises, but other businesses, as well.  Local, national, international; it didn't matter.  There were ways to give to people without losing anything in the process.  Everyone could gain from this, and that's exactly what Asher wanted to happen.

"The books are performing lower than expectations dictated," Lucent said, browsing through a document as he and Asher walked the halls.

"Do we have any recommendations for helping that?" Asher asked.

Lucent scowled at the paper in front of him, then handed it to Asher without saying more.  Asher read it, lips pursed, considering the data written therein.

"So... we find more writers?  Or tempt authors to Landseer Publishing with quality offers?  How do we know they'll succeed, though?  Can we afford to have negative profit for an extended period of time?" Asher asked.

"Unfortunately, all of these entertainment avenues that Landseer Enterprises has been slipping into are much less obvious and overt in regards to success," Lucent said.  "I don't believe the issue resides in quality or quantity, so much as persistence and dedication."

"You don't think we can do anything, then?" Asher asked.  It sounded odd coming from Lucent, but who knew?

"The advice is sound," Lucent said.  "Finding more authors will increase the awareness of Landseer Publishing and bring prestige to that aspect of the business.  It's possible that the music industry will benefit from similar treatment, along with filmography and everything else.  It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, though.  That's all."

"Bitter, because...?"

"Miss Tanner and Mrs. Landseer try their best, which is all anyone can ask of them.  Bringing in new authors seems to downplay their efforts and qualify them as 'not good enough,' which may lower their sense of self worth and lessen their enthusiasm in continuing with their endeavors."

"Oh," Asher said.  He thought he should say more, but he wasn't sure where to go from there.

"Indeed," Lucent agreed.

"Perhaps they should write something else instead?" Asher offered.  "Or is it too soon to tell?  Perhaps they just need more books out?  Can we do audiobooks?  Elise and Jessika could narrate them, couldn't they?  That'd save costs, and be a fun sort of experiment, I guess.  Can we get into the trade paperback business, perhaps?  Move from electronic to physical, offer a wider variety of content?  Landseer Publishing is just starting, so we need to keep expectations in check, don't we?"

Lucent frowned, blinked, stared at the folder of documents in front of him, stopped walking, frowned again, and...

"Lucent, what's wrong?" Asher asked.

"This is between you and I," he said.  "Also, to preface what I'm about to say, I mean this in the nicest of ways."  Lucent cleared his throat before continuing.  "I'm unsure if I would feel comfortable with Miss Tanner narrating her book for a public audience."

"She wrote the book, though.  She published it and everything.  People have bought it, haven't they?  We gave away—"  Asher paused to check the paper in his hand.  "Is this a lot?  We've given away nearly 3,000 copies through promotional efforts.  That seems alright, doesn't it?"

"According to my sources, an excellent free promotional period is more akin to tens of thousands of copies downloaded, so in those regards Miss Tanner's e-book is performing below average, as well.  I haven't informed her of this as of yet, and I'd appreciate it if this remained between you and I."

"Alright, so...?"

"My caution comes from the fact that her sole book as of now is of an extremely erotic nature and I believe she'll narrate it as such," Lucent said.

Asher blinked, frowned, stared at the paper in his hand, blinked again...

"So you're saying that she'll get too into the sexy parts?" he asked.  "Wouldn't that potentially be good?  I mean, we've never really considered adding phone sex operators as a part of our business operations, but it sounds nicer if you sell erotic audiobooks doesn't it?"

Lucent scowled.  "Audiobook narration isn't nearly the same as phone sex."

"I'm just saying that it could appeal to some sort of demographic.  People buy the book, don't they?"  He checked the number of copies sold thus far.  "Is this good?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh."

"I approve of Miss Tanner's enthusiasm and curiosity in exploring her ideas, but I feel as if she may be better served—and that Mrs. Landseer may also be better served—by writing to an audience that prefers longer works.  This allows us more vantage points to access, if you will.  Audiobooks and trade paperbacks, yes, but also film opportunities, as well."

"I suppose you don't want to turn her current book into a short film?  Have her play the starring role?"  Asher stifled a laugh, and forced himself to stifle it further when Lucent jerked his head to the side and stared at him with an expression bordering on horror.

"What!"

"You'd play opposite her, of course!  We wouldn't just hire some random person.  There's erotic content in that book, you know?  We'd need to make the experience genuine and thrilling."

"Have you read the book, Asher?  Really, have you?  I've read it.  I actually hope you haven't read it.  But, here, let me summarize it for you.  It starts out with Miss Tanner writing the book, and this happens inside of the book.  Then it switches to her falling asleep.  I've shackled her to my bed in my apartment.  She's no longer on birth control.  I use multiple methods to bring her to climax in order to make her womb more fertile for impregnation, and then I have my way with her and fill her with my seed."

Asher snickered.  A woman passing by the two of them in the hall hesitated for a moment upon hearing Lucent speak, her ears burning a deep shade of red, and then she forced herself to continue walking, albeit with a wobbling, knee-clenched gait.

"Well, there's more to it after that, isn't there?" Asher asked, no longer able to hide his amusement.  He laughed aloud, filling the quiet corporate halls with the sound of his mirth.  "I mean, it all turns out well in the end, doesn't it?"

"I am many things but I'm not a spoiler of stories, Mr. Landseer.  I refuse to indulge your callous amusement towards my anguish in this situation."

"You referred to me as Asher before," Asher pointed out.

"A mistake.  My apologies."

"Alright," Asher said, breathing in deeply.  "Maybe a lot of what I said is a bad idea.  What do you recommend, then?  Maybe just something longer?  Less sexual?  More birth control?"

"I feel as if longer stories or novels would sell better, yes.  I'm unsure if the contents other than that would have any effect on sales to an extreme degree.  We should recommend lengthier publishing prospects in the future and discover the results through first hand experience, then move forward from there."

"Sounds good," Asher said.  "What's Elise working on now, then?"

"I am assured that it's good, but I'm scared to read it."

"Oh."

"She's informed me it involves excessive manual stimulation and squirting."

"Like a squirt gun?  Water fight in the summer?"

"One can only hope, though I believe it is best not to set my expectations high."

Asher chuckled and nodded.  "I'm sure it's fine.  It's just the beginning, anyways, so it's a good time for experimentation, right?  I'll pass along the information about attempting something longer and let Jessika know, though.  It probably wouldn't hurt to open up submissions for other authors, as well.  Nothing serious and locked-in, but the potential to bring someone in if they show an interest and connection with the brand."

"Of course.  That sounds prudent."

I
finished writing my... steamy love scene?  With a little bit of steam, at least.  I'd read Elise's stories and they were more like a sauna compared to my tea kettle's worth of vapors, but to each their own, right?  I kind of wondered if Lucent was actually like that, though.  Did people do those things?  Asher could be commanding and rough—oh, yes—but the things Elise wrote about were, uh...

Yes.

I saved and closed my story document, then opened up the Landseer (Proclaim) email client.  Directing it to send a message to Elise Tanner, I typed up some important sounding subject line, then started writing her a message.

Hi Elise,

Asher is going to tell Lucent this and he'll tell you, I'm sure, but you're both invited to the party tonight.  I know you don't like parties, but Asher's planned out a sort of wedding reception before it and during it, so there'll be nice things and family and friends, and also some cake.  You like cake, don't you?  I don't know what kind it is.

Please come, though.  I mean it!  Seriously.  It's going to be kind of stuffy and with a lot of people, but I'll be there, and Asher will be there, and of course Lucent will, so it won't be too bad, right?

You don't have to dress up, but just wear something nice.  Probably wear heels, too, but if you want to come in sneakers I won't say anything.

Send me your next story, too!  Lucent said it's good.  I can't wait to read it.  We'll break into this publishing thing soon, you know?  We're just learning everything now, but I think we have a chance to really do something big.  I'd like to prove myself.

I hope everything is going well!  See you tonight!

~Jessika

P.S. Do you and Lucent really do the things you write about?  I know it's just writing but... let me know.  Oh god.  Or don't.  Forget I wrote this.  Unless you want to tell me, then don't forget.

I reluctantly sent the email, while considering deleting the entirety of my post-script, but... no.  No!  I needed to say that.  Elise would look at me funny, perhaps, but she wouldn't do much else besides that.  Sometimes she was a little strange, but I liked her.  She was fun and strange in a fun and strange sort of way.  Different, I guess.  Interesting.

Tipping down the top of my laptop, I scooted out of my chair and rose to my feet.  The day wasn't over, but I needed to take a break and get something to drink.  Maybe a small snack, something to eat to give me something to do while I prepared for the next step of editing, or researching, exploring marketing options, and so on.  I loved the writing part of writing the most, but there was so much more to it and if I wanted people to take me seriously, I needed to figure it all out.

I didn't want to just be
Asher's wife
, some irrelevant part of his company's portfolio, arm candy for events, and nothing else.  I needed more.  Some small part of me wanted a lot more, but in a good way.  I wasn't greedy, but how neat would it be if Elise and I could transform Landseer Publishing into something important and powerful within the grand scope of Landseer Enterprises?  Could we rival the resort and tourism industry?  I... didn't think so, but that didn't mean I should settle for mediocrity, right?

With that mindset, with determination and perseverance in my thoughts, I strode out of my little office, shut the door behind me, and went in search of a snack and a drink.

I
grabbed a bottle of water and a bag of mini rice cakes from one of the vending machines in the cafeteria, then headed back to my office.  Should I continue working in there, though?  There were meeting rooms I could take advantage of if I wanted.  The cafeteria wasn't extremely busy right now, either, and I'd worked on some projects there every so often.  I could always go and find Elise and see if there was some way we could arrange an impromptu meeting, too.  I knew that part of the weekly reports Lucent needed to speak with Asher about were in regards to the performance of Landseer Publishing; or, more accurately, the performance or lack thereof of the books Elise and I had published so far.  It might be a good idea to spearhead any potential issues right here and now and start fresh.  I briefly wondered what Lucent thought and what suggestions he might offer.

As I continued walking down the hall back to my office, lost in thought, I realized something seemed off.  Wrong?  Yes, slightly, but I couldn't quite place it yet.  The hallway was empty for the most part, with the soft, subtle sounds of people working behind closed doors.  Taps on keyboards, the shuffling of feet, squeaking chairs.  The ventilation system overhead hummed a soft cadence, bringing fresh air and keeping the building climate controlled.