Your Favorite Girl (YFG Series) (23 page)

I met up with Patton on his way to the piano.

"How did you do that?" he asked eagerly.

"I don't know.  I just asked and he said yes."

"That's amazing.  He never listens to anyone."

"It makes me nervous."

"As well it should."

I stopped short of the piano and waited while Patton collected Flora.  When he whispered in her ear, she immediately stopped playing and stood.

She looked sad.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

"No, you were spectacular," he said.  "We've just had a change of plans for the evening and have to cut the music short.  You'll still receive credit, don't worry."

But that wasn't what she was worried about.  This was a big deal to her.  Maybe the first time she'd ever been off Level D.  I hadn't considered that.

"I have to go back," she told me.  "Will you come to my graduation?"

"Definitely," I said.

I walked with them to the elevator with the intention of coming along, but Patton stopped me at the door.  "Have a drink.  Socialize."

"With who?  No one will talk to me."

"Talk to Yakov.  He wants something from me and I haven't pried it out of him yet.  Maybe he'll tell you.  I'll be right back."

Flora waved at me and I returned it.  When the doors closed, a sort of darkness fell over the room.  The atmosphere changed.  I could literally hear the difference in conversation.  More irritability, more impatience.  An argument developed between two men at the bar.

No wonder Mr. Shriver brought a Flora Girl to every event.  Her presence alone
generated and maintained a pleasant aura.

So why did he consent?

The tension in the room was so visceral, it left me wanting to seek out Yakov, the only one amongst them whose natural condition was merriment.

"We meet again," he said when I found him by the food.  "Melissa, correct?"

"You didn't forget me," I said flirtatiously.

"How could I?  You're such a treat to the eyes.  Where's Patton?"

"He had to run an errand.  He'll be back in a few minutes.  He said to keep you company."

"A fine and hospitable man," he said.

"So what brings you here?" I asked.  "Business or pleasure?"

He took a moment to chew and swallow his food.  Then he said,
"A smart man doesn't travel from Russia all the way to the United States without making time for both."

"So you are here for business."

"Of course."

"Mind if I ask you a question?"

"By all means, my love."

"What business can a weapons company possibly have with Your Favorite Girl?"

He smiled.  "If Patton hasn't told you, neither can I.  We must keep the secret, you understand?  No one knows.  Not even Mr. Shriver--
especially
not him."

Intriguing, to say the least.  Patton really was planning something.
  I found comfort in that.  Whatever his role in this company, at least he was working against Mr. Shriver.  How, I didn't know, but I added finding out to my To Do list.

"Is Brian involved?" I asked, regretting it immediately.

Yakov's face turned solemn.  "I believe I've said too much," he murmured, walking away.

I chased after him.  "I'm sorry, I should mind my own business.  Please don't go."

"You've made me nervous, my love, and now I must leave."

"No!"  I grabbed his arm.  "I was just curious, I promise.  We can change the subject."

"I don't like my secrets being shared.  Patton was to tell no one of our business."

"How about I tell you a secret?"

The muscles in his arm relaxed a little.  "It must be of equal magnitude."

"It is.  I mean, not on a scale to match big business dealings, but for me personally, it's . . . something no one can know about."

I had his attention.  I could see it in his body language.  He turned to face me directly, his expression one of intrigue.

"Go on," he said.

I took a deep breath, leaned in close, and whispered, "I murdered my husband."

He jerked back as though he'd been stung by a wasp.  "You didn't!"

"
Shhh
.  If anyone finds out . . ."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said.  "What did he do to you, if I may ask?"

"He had an affair."

"The bastard.  What more could he want?"  He began to look me up and down.  "What more could a man want?" he said dramatically.  "He deserved it.  Don't you lose a moment of sleep, my love.  May I ask how you did it?"

I stalled, wondering how Mr. Shriver would take me sharing the details of how I came to be here.

"I believe we're even now," I said, poking him on the chest.  "You want more secrets from me, you have to tell me another."

Once again, I had him under my thumb.  "I do have another secret," he said, "but I fear you'll think less of me if I tell you."

"It can't be worse than what I just told you."

He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side, as if to say,
I'm not so sure about that.

"
Tell me something," he said.  "Who is your favorite?"

"Of the girls?"

"Yes."

"Flora."

"You haven't seen the others."

"I've seen a few."

"Really?  And you still choose Flora?"

"Yes."

"She's the only one I've seen.  I would like to see the rest."

"Is that your secret?"

"No, no," he said.  "I'm building up to it.  May I ask another question?"

"Go for it."

"This one will take a moment."  He paused, gathering his thoughts.  "I understand why Mr. Shriver refuses to sell Favorite Girls to his business associates.  It's a scam, designed like all scams to cheat people out of their money.  Everyone in this room has greater value to Mr. Shriver than any immediate capital gain, so he refuses.  He shows us a glorious display of Flora Girls, laughs at us while we jack off, and then chooses not to sell them to us.  I understand.  But there's something I don't understand."

He waited for me to ask, something I found extremely annoying, but I had to entertain him.  "What don't you understand?"

"Why is there no Favorite Boy?"

I laughed so hard, Yakov backed away.  I had to collect myself quickly so he wouldn't run in shame.  All this time I thought he harbored some dark, scandalous secret.

"I'm sorry," I said.  "It just surprised me is all.  I thought you liked women."

"Oh, I do, my love, I do," he said, "but not as much as I like men.  Do you think he would do that for me?"

"I don't understand.  You want a Favorite Boy?  What's Patton have to do with that?"

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?" I asked.  "Brian's the one who creates them.  He's the lab geek.  Patton is just a doctor.  He just takes care of the girls."

Yakov's smile made me nervous.  He knew something I didn't.

"I've bothered you too much," he said, turning away.

"Wait.  What are you not telling me?"

"As I said before, if Patton hasn't told you, I can't either."

I started to follow him, but
then I noticed Patton returning from the elevator.  He was approaching quickly, obviously in a hurry, so I decided to bite my tongue and save my round of questioning for later.

"Come with me," he said.

I followed without questioning, recalling what we agreed to on our way to the party. 
You say jump, I jump
.

He led me to a door, and I looked around for Mr. Shriver as he pushed me through it.

"Will he catch us?"

"No.  When I got off the elevator, I saw him talking to Mr. Partridge.  He'll be preoccupied for a while."

"Who's Mr. Partridge?"

"He's the reason we're here tonight.  He owns a pharmaceutical company.  Tonight they're signing a deal.  Let's go."

We walked briskly down the hallway.

"What kind of deal?" I asked, though I thought I already knew.  The prospect was terrifying.  The Libido Drug on the open market?  Civilization would crumble.

Patton could read my suspicions.  "It's not what you think," he said.  "We hold many patents.  This particular compound is somewhat similar to LD, only its strength is conditional and it's not nearly as effective.  It's a painkiller that works by tricking the brain into experiencing pain as pleasure.  Very dangerous.  I've tried and tried to talk him out of it, but the potential for profit is endless."

"That's sick," I said.  "People will be hurting themselves on purpose."

"Exactly."

"How can you let this happen?"

We stopped at another door.

"Melissa, the only power I have in this company is that of influence, and clearly it doesn't get me far.
  If I'm going to change things, I have to play along.  For now."  He put his hand to the doorknob.  "Now are you ready for this?"

I nodded.

Patton opened the door.  "After you," he said.

I stepped into a dark corridor lined on either side with prison cells.  It was dank
and cold in here.  The smell of mildew was enough to make a person gag.  Miserable conditions, clearly of deliberate design.

"This is where the decommissioned Favorite Girls go."

"How many are there?"

"About thirty at the moment.  Half of those are Floras.  The rest are an assortment of the rest.  Only one Frog Girl."

I started up the hallway, reluctantly peering into the cells.  They were all empty.

"Where are they?"

Suddenly Patton rushed past me, looking back and forth into each cell as he rushed up the hallway.

"Good question," he said, clearly nervous.  "That's a very good question
indeed.  The Floras aren't supposed to be here.  They're being prepped for the show.  But the rest of them should be."

He stopped at one of the cells and turned to face it.

"Frog," he said.  "Where is everyone?"

"Day took dem."

"Where?"

"Dunno."

I came up next to him and looked in at Frog Girl.  She was crouched on the wet floor, naked and shivering, her knees sticking out on either side of her deformed head.  When she looked up at me, I thought I saw recognition in her eyes.  It made sense.  She was probably the Frog Girl I'd seen the first day I came here, the one who humped the lab tech's face so hard she crushed his skull.

Jacob, Kate had told me.  Mr. Shriver's son.

Which meant Mr. Shriver probably had plans for this poor girl.

"Hi," I said, waving to her.  I felt like crying.

"Can do dake me?  I'm code."

I couldn't make out what she was saying so I asked Patton.  "Can you take me?  I'm cold," he whispered.
  Then he said, "Something's wrong.  We need to get back to the party."

When we walked away, I started bawling.  Patton stopped and hugged me. "I'm sorry," he said.  "It's hard to take, but you need to see everything."

"We have to put a stop to this."

"We will
, but I'm going to need your help."

"I'll do anything."

"Good, because I have some bad news."

"What?"

"Mr. Shriver wants something from you."

I pulled back.  "What does he want?"

"He wants you to be the new Selection Guide.  He plans to approach you with it tomorrow."

The news hit me so hard I couldn't respond.  I felt numb.  All I could think about was how Kate had described her job to me: fucking clients, getting ga
ngbanged by Sean and his guards, with long periods of doing nothing in between.

And Patton was letting this happen.

We returned to the party without speaking again.  I immediately went for the bar, downed a shot, and asked for another beer.

An hour later I was having trouble standing.  Patton tried several times to engage me in conversation, and each time I politely told him to fuck off.  I wandered the party alone, drinking and making smartass remarks to anyone who looked at me.

When Mr. Shriver spoke into a microphone, I was sitting in the circle of chairs, almost asleep.

"Can I have your attention everyone?"

The party fell silent and everyone began to gather around him.  He stood on a platform behind a podium.

"You all know why we're here tonight: to celebrate a long-awaited deal between Your Favorite Girl, Incorporated and
Partridge Pharmaceuticals."

A brief round of applause, and then I felt a hand hook me by the arm.  It was Patton.  "Stand up," he said.