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one of the things that attracted me to him.
As I sat there at the table with all of my research spread around me, a cup of coffee in my hand and laptop balanced precariously on the edge of the table, I was faced with a thought about Pete that I hadn’t allowed into my head in a while.
The whole reason I had gone on a date with him in the first place. It wasn’t just because he was cute, although that had definitely been a factor in my decision. I had a crush on him. It was a deep and abiding thing, the sort of feeling that is better left unknown and unrequited unless you’re in the middle of a romantic comedy and are assured a happy ending. My life would have been better if I had just left it all alone, said no to the date, and never gone anywhere with Pete Wilson.
But I had gone with him and that had made all the difference. I had been tricked into that cruel and hideous prank and now here I was, 10 years later, still thinking about it. It made my blood boil to think about kids who dealt with this sort of thing nowadays because I knew that bullying of all kinds had only gotten worse in the last decade.
I had liked him though. Very, very much and that was part of what had made it so painful. I had liked him from the moment I saw him and it had only grown when I came to know him a little better, mostly as a passing acquaintance, but I would also see how he treated other people. Pete Wilson might have had it all, but he also seemed to be good and kind, looking out for others and taking the high road whenever it might have been easy to choose another direction. I had like him so much and wanted so badly to have the chance to enjoy his company, and the thought of him asking me out on a date had seemed so improbable. When he did it gave me the sort of shot to my system that I had needed. Up to that point in my life, and for a few years after if I was totally honest with myself, I had lived a sort of ugly duckling existence. No one had really ever paid any attention to me and I knew that I wasn’t the prettiest girl anyone had ever seen. Even calling myself pretty…well, it wasn’t the easiest thing for me. My body image and self-esteem were about as low as they could go.
When it came down to it, I was a perfect target for Pete Wilson and whoever else in his crew had been involved. All I had wanted was to believe that someone could want to go out on a date with me. The fact that it had spiraled into one of the most horrifically embarrassing events of my life had shown me rock bottom self-esteem had a basement.
I heard keys in the door and soon Sara appeared, carrying a few canvas bags filled to the brim with produce she had picked up at our neighborhood’s weekly farmer’s market.
“How was your day?” I called from behind my stack of research folders.
“Great,” she said, heaving the bags up onto the countertop and starting to unload them. “What do you have going on there?” She asked as she glanced at the mess of a project I currently had spread out in front of me on the dining table.
“Well, Lauren thinks it may be the story of my career. Or at least it could be the story that catches some attention. It’s sort of secret and I guess you could say that I’m undercover.”
Sara turned around with wide eyes and a smile. “Oooh, I love a mystery. Tell me more.” She continued putting the fruits and vegetables away as I leaned back and took a deep breath, unsure of where to begin.
“It’s a complicated story, where I come into it anyway. Have you ever heard of Club V?”
Sara nodded, looking for a place for the celery. “Sure. Super fancy-schmancy sex club.”
I gave her a puzzled look. She seemed completely unfazed at the mention of Club V. “How do you know about it?”
She shrugged. “A couple of my co-workers went on a night whenever they were running some kind of deal where people could check the place out before they signed up for a membership. Sort of a ‘try before you buy’ thing.”
It was my turn to be surprised. “Did anyone buy?”
She gave me a sideways glance. “Don’t say you heard it from me, but Ivan signed up.”
I thought I was going to fall out of my chair. “Karaoke Ivan? Living on a Prayer, blue mohawk Ivan?”
“Well, he got rid of the mohawk a few months ago.”
“Number one, I had no idea that he was making enough money to get a membership there. Two…Ivan, seriously? Not that I want to know, but what on earth is he into that they’ve got to offer there?”
Sara shrugged as she sat down at the table. “Looks like you would know better than me. All I know is that he signed up and he does go there sometimes. I think it’s more of a place for him to get a drink and sort of enjoy the company of people with similar interests. Maybe he’s into the open sex stuff? Or don’t they have girls walking the floor? I don’t know, maybe it’s like…they’re sex workers or something? You know Ivan. He’s kind of shy with girls. Maybe it was easier for him to find someone this way.”
I was still surprised. Ivan and I weren’t close, but I had known him long enough to still think this was odd behavior for him.
“I guess so. It’s just…well, I guess it’s not really the sort of thing I ever expect to find out my friends are into, you know what I mean?”
She nodded. “Yes, trust me. When he was spilling his guts about it in the break room it was all I could do to get out of there. So tell me about what you’re going to put on the cover of Expose.”
I opened the folder nearest to me and showed her the photo inside. “This is Pete Wilson. He’s the founder and one of the three owners of the club. It was his idea that he came up with in college and pitched it to his two friends. They went in together and invested, starting the first club and it’s grown to be the nationwide thing that it is now. Massively successful, the guys are all billionaires now. I think they had all made their first billion within the first two years. It’s a remarkable success story.”
“I guess I am missing whatever you’re going to expose them for.”
“That’s a little more involved. There’s this super secret thing that they might possibly be doing, but no one is really sure yet. It’s a rumor that’s been floating around for a long time. As of today, we don’t have any evidence to support our claims, but what we’re trying to dig up some information on is the allegation that they have an auction room that is super exclusive to clients who have the money. Sara, people are saying that they auction off virgins.”
Sara made a face and nodded her head. “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”
I looked at her aghast. “Well hell, maybe you need to write this story then.”
She shook her head. “Nah, you know me. I can handle the most complicated tax forms the government can come up with, but I can hardly string a sentence together on paper.”
