Smut Central Read online

  Sparks’s eyes widened before he laughed. “I got it.”

  “Good.”

  “Here is my contract all signed Mr. Jersey,” Entice said with a small voice.

  She was wearing something very simple, a sun dress with sandals. It was a very hot day. Tee-Neck gave her the once over, grabbed the papers, looked for the signature and smiled.

  Sparks gave Tee-Neck Markus’s papers. Tee-Neck looked for the signature.

  “Good for you boy,” he said. “I’m gonna cut you two your signing bonus.”

  “I would appreciate it,” Markus told Tee-Neck. “I gotta find myself a new place to live.”

  “Is that so?” Tee-Neck asked, sitting down. “I might be able to help you. I own a good bit of real-estate.”

  “Do you, where?” Sparks inquired.

  “Where ever I want.” Tee-Neck coughed out some cigar smoke. “Don’t ever question me.”

  Sparks was going to ask him another question but Markus placed a finger up to his lips. Sparks managed to remain silent for as long as it took Tee-Neck to write out two checks. Tee-Neck reminded Markus about Japan, it was two weeks away. Markus had a passport somewhere. He hoped Sparks retrieved it from the apartment. He told Tee-Neck he was ready for the trip to the orient.

  Entice inquired about the trip, but Sparks told her not to worry. He asked Tee-Neck if he had another one of those scripts handy. At first he didn’t know what Sparks was talking about. Then his eyes showed recognition. The new movie Daisy Lace wrote. Tee-Neck didn’t know whether to ignore Sparks or swat him away like a fly. He eventually, after a long leer reached into one of his desk drawers, and pulled out a copy of the script.

  “I think Entice would be perfect for the Amanda part,” Sparks suggested while handing the script to Entice.

  “We will see what Daisy Lace says,” Tee-Neck said, winking at Entice. “Get the fuck out of my office!” he barked with aggression.

  Sparks watched Markus and Entice walk out the door. He looked at the blunt he was holding and took a deep breath. The Zippo lighter was back on the desk. He looked at his nicely rolled blunt again. He took a step toward the desk, reached for the lighter.

  “Do you know what get the fuck out means?” Tee-Neck barked.

  “I sure do. Listen Tony,” Sparks began.

  “That’s Tee-Neck. A guy like you better call me Tee-Neck.”

  “Of course, pardon me. You mentioned real-estate. Markus really needs a place to live. He has a bit of a problem where he is now.”

  “What sort of a problem?” He asked.

  “Not the sort he needs you for, if I figured you out correctly.” He saw Tee-Neck smirk. “But he does need a place to go, like yesterday.”

  “I got this place in Jersey, a huge house where we film sometimes during the spring and summer when Daisy wants to shoot scenes outside. I haven’t used the place in years. I can rent it out to Markus real cheap.”

  “We might have to take a look at the…” Sparks started but saw Tee-Neck’s frown and changed directions. “Markus will take it. How much will this cost? Where is this place located?”

  “I’ll take care of everything. You’ll get a call tomorrow morning. A good friend of mine is gonna call, a guy named Petey. He’ll take care of everything.”

  “That sounds great, Tony. I mean Tee-Neck. Listen,” Sparks said, moving closer to the desk and placing his elbows on it. “If I got out of line earlier, I apologize.”

  Tee-Neck laughed. “I like your spunk, boy. But you gotta learn how to follow directions. Get your elbows off my desk.”

  “I’ll try to be more obedient,” Sparks deadpanned and slowly moved away from Tee-Neck’s desk.

  “See that you do. Get the fuck out.”

  Sparks made his exit.

  Markus and Entice waited for Sparks downstairs in the lobby. He told them about the house in Jersey. Markus shrugged his shoulders. He had nothing to say. He frowned at Sparks and figured his manager would take care of things. He had other matters troubling him. “I need you to drive me somewhere,” Markus said.

  “Where…?”

  “To Gwyneth’s, I gotta see about my car.”

  “Fine we’ll do that and then—”

  “I just need you to drop me off. I’ll be fine after that. I got an appointment with my shrink later, and I got a couple of other things to take care of before then,” Markus said, cutting Sparks short.

  “Are you gonna be okay?” Sparks asked with concern, though he seemed more concerned about the blunt he was holding.

  He scrounged inside a pocket and pulled out a Zippo lighter. Markus took one look at the lighter and frowned. It looked like Tee-Neck’s lighter. “Entice can hang out with you until you see your shrink.”

  “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  Markus left the building and walked to where the car was parked. Sparks and Entice followed suit. Sparks looked like he wanted to say more but didn’t. Markus told him to find a bank. Sparks smiled a big one. He was going to cash that big check Tee-Neck wrote him.

  After Markus took care of things at the bank, he hopped inside the car, and gave Sparks an envelope. “This should cover your expenses and handle the living arrangements for a couple of months.”

  “Tee-Neck said someone is gonna call us tomorrow. I’m gonna drop you where you wanna go, just make sure you come back to my place tonight. I don’t want anything happening to you. We got that trip to Japan in two weeks.”

  Markus nodded. The Japan trip was so important because it was the first movie Markus filmed with Smut Central Entertainment under contract. He had to show Tee-Neck he was worth the six digits they were paying him this year. Before then he had to make every attempt to get his life in order. He had to hold confidence in Zimmerman and hypnosis. He had to have faith in Nancy fixing his brain up afterwards.

  Markus was quite certain the weird dreams had something to do with this past he couldn’t seem to remember. The session tonight was going to change his life forever, he was sure of it. Gary said he could rid the blackouts with hypnotism. That would be enough to make Markus content.

  Even if the blackouts were curable there were still the flashbacks, the mysterious, beautiful Michelle, the man and woman who might possibly be his parents. There was a crying little girl, and that evil looking man with the wicked scar on his face. Flies everywhere and everything Markus Johnson thought about became infested with them.

  25

  Tuesday night at 11:36 p.m. Jonathan Manners was pronounced dead. Valencia, the maid, had given Markus the news as he walked in the penthouse apartment. Emily came running out of nowhere and jumped into her father’s arms. He didn’t even get a chance to think about things.

  “How’s my little girl?” He asked kissing and hugging her.

  He held his daughter for what seemed like forever. Emily was the only concrete thing in his existence. He wanted to hold onto her forever. Markus reluctantly put her down. He went to one knee to address her at eye level. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. I’m going shopping today with mommy,” she said happily. “Mommy said that I can get whatever I like. I want a pony.”

  Markus smiled as wide as he could. He was certain Emily didn’t know of Jonathan Manners demise. She wouldn’t have been as happy as she was if she did.

  Markus knew Jonathan had some sort of salary cap on Gwyneth. It wasn’t a prenuptial, but she was only allowed to use a certain amount of cash a month. She was always complaining about how it wasn’t enough money for her. Now that her husband was dead she had millions. Markus had little feelings for Jonathan Manners. Jonathan had cared for Emily like she was his very own daughter. In the Manners residence, Jonathan had been the most sensible person. Markus wasn’t sure what would happen now that he was deceased. Gwyneth was one crazy, unpredictable bitch.

  “Where is your mother?” Markus asked.

  “She’s upstairs, in the gym.”

  “I’m gonna go say hi to mommy. Have Valencia dress you real pretty. I
’m gonna take you shopping. I won’t buy you a pony, but I’ll get you whatever else you want.”

  Markus never bothered to knock when he entered a room in the Manners residence. There was no respect for anyone and knocking mattered very little. This time he wished he had.

  When he walked in the gym he saw that Gwyneth wasn’t alone. He should have known something was going on by the way the maid was looking at him when he entered the penthouse, but he shrugged it off. He figured her sour face was because of Jonathan’s death. But Gwyneth was always up to some mischief. He wasn’t too surprised by what he saw, but it disturbed him to no end. Not out of jealously, but because he knew his daughter could have walked into the gym just as easily as he.

  Gwyneth was inside on a mat wearing a tennis dress and a sports bra. Her legs were split as wide as they could go. A man was stretching her legs and eating her pussy. Gwyneth wasn’t overly involved because she saw Markus as he barged in. She looked up from the head between her legs to Markus’s face. She gave him a devilish smile.

  “Hmm… You still haven’t learned how to knock,” Gwyneth moaned, faking annoyance.

  “Who is this?” Markus asked, looking at who was between her legs.

  A young European dude, probably her personal trainer by the way he was dressed. The guy hastily turned around when he heard Markus’s voice. He jumped. His mouth was glistening with Gwyneth’s secretions.

  “Leave,” Markus said with the meanest voice and look he could muster.

  The dude ran out the door. Before Gwyneth could get off the mat, Markus said, “Jonathan Manners is dead.”

  “Question or statement, because you say it as if I wasn’t aware,” she laughed. “I was at the hospital when he passed. I saw him gasp his last breath.”

  “You probably strangled that last breath out of him,” Markus said with little humor.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Why was that man between your legs?”

  “Between a woman’s legs is where a man is supposed to be. You should know this better than anyone in the world. Do you want to continue where he left off, Mr. Excitement?”

  “I’d sooner be where Jonathan is.” Markus wanted to strangle the life out of her, but was more intrigued by Jonathan Manners death. “Emily could have walked in here as easily as I did.”

  “No she would not. She knocks because she has got better manners than you,” She snapped and continued to stretch, only this time standing.

  “How did he go?” He asked.

  “Respiratory problems…”

  “I thought he was sick with some rare bone disease.”

  “He was.”

  “What now?”

  “I don’t know what you mean by that,” Gwyneth said giving Markus a curious look.

  “You know damn well what I mean!” He roared.

  He took a step closer. He seemed ready to deal out violence. Gwyneth laughed at his appearance and anger.

  “That outburst almost made me cum,” she blurted with mirth.

  She walked over to a table and reached for a box of Virginia Slims. There was a lighter on the table as well. He watched her smoke the cigarette. She was looking him over as she puffed. She was sweating. She looked very good for her age.

  “What now?” Markus asked.

  “Now I shop. Now I fire every asshole at the brokerage firm. Now I start to live my life,” she laughed in a sinister tone. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this? You have no a clue. And now it’s finally here.”

  “The many times you begged me to murder Jonathan was more than enough clues,” Markus said dryly. “I wasn’t talking about you. I meant what now for me. What are you gonna do about Emily and me. The whole baby idea was Jonathan’s idea, not yours. You didn’t want it just as much as I. Every nasty little trick or scheme you two situated around me was more his, than yours. You were never that smart. But Jonathan Manners is dead, the devil is gone. Now what is gonna happen to me and my daughter?”

  “Nothing is gonna happen to you and my daughter. Everything is going to remain the way it is now. Nothing’s going to change. You’re going to continue to fuck me, and I’m going to continue to allow you visitation privileges. What made you think things would change?” Gwyneth laughed in his face. “I promised you nothing. You were supposed to kill Jonathan for me years ago. I only promised you things if you did, and you didn’t. You always had some excuse but the only excuse was that you were scared. Not even custody of Emily could give you the balls to do what I wound up…” she paused, changing directions. “It wound up happening on its own...”

  “You asked me to kill a man like it was a simple thing, a man who provided for me, a man who educated me!”

  Markus wanted to strangle the life out of her. He cared little for Jonathan but he cared even less for Gwyneth. He rushed her, grabbed her by the neck, and forcefully moved her away from the table. He backed her body against a wall. Markus’s face rammed into hers so hard it nearly sent her unconscious.

  He was breathing heavily, his eyes were bloodshot. Gwyneth let out a pathetic yelp.

  “You’re hurting me,” she whined with what little air she could get out of her lungs.

  Markus was so enraged that he wanted to strike Gwyneth. It excited her, but she was scared as well. He had never assaulted her with such intensity. She wasn’t sure what he was going to do next.

  “You’re going to kill me for a man who hid the truth from you? This is a man who had you fucking his wife while he watched because he was too sick to do it himself.”

  “I’m gonna kill you for myself,” Markus yelled. Everything Gwyneth said reached his sensibility. “What do you mean by hid the truth?” He asked.

  “Markus,” she wheezed, attempting to squirm out of his grasp. “You can’t possibly be as dumb as you look. Do you honestly believe we simply found you out on the street, in some park?” She laughed. “Where you think we found you I would never dream of going in a nightmare.”

  “What?” Markus couldn’t believe what she was saying. “I was out on the streets for months after I ran away from the orphanage. You guys were walking through the park and found me curled up on a bench, scared, homeless and hungry.”

  “Jonathan has never walked since I’ve known him. He purchased you for my birthday. You were a gift. I was tired of getting run through by Jonathan’s friends and the male prostitutes we picked up from the street. I wanted something more stable and someone with a huge penis. I wanted something, someone I could control. You were young but genetically sound, black, and beautiful. I knew once you reached sixteen or so you would be packing something. I was right. And you loved me. I was your beautiful white thang. You made me feel like I was worth something.”

  He wanted to choke the life out of Gwyneth, murder her where he had her propped against the wall. He didn’t want to believe anything she said, but everything she said sounded like the truth. His head began spinning like a carrousel. He saw Jonathan Manners and Gwyneth walking through Central Park. He had seen Jonathan walking. There was no wheelchair. He was using his legs. Markus became even more confused.

  Flies swarmed everywhere, buzzing, whispering words he couldn’t understand. All the kids in the room were crying, yelling, whining. He was in the middle of the room, in the middle of a sea of children but he saw the light seeping in through the crack under the door, he felt the air. It was fresh and not filled with the stench of sweat, feces and piss.

  Markus was somewhere else, no he thought, I’m still in the room just alone. There were no flies, no children, the door was wide open. He inhaled the freshness of the air. He was ready to leave, ready to escape, finally. Then something came rolling inside the room, it was a wheelchair, Jonathan Manners’ wheelchair…

  Markus was in the early stages of blacking out. He was seeing glimpses of his past. Finally, he realized the truth. What he was seeing wasn’t the past. What he saw before his mind shifted back to reality, shifted back to the gym and Gwyneth was Jonathan Manners’ wheel
chair, but his memory showed Jonathan walking. He knew which was real and which wasn’t now. He knew he was blacking out.

  Gwyneth knew something was wrong because the fingers wrapped around her neck loosened. She slid to the floor gasping for much needed air. Markus stumbled a few steps. He couldn’t breathe.

  “I see Jonathan walking, but I hear someone telling me that he can’t walk,” Markus told the air.

  He staggered out the gym and began stumbling down the flight of stairs that lead to the main floor of the penthouse. He promised his daughter he would take her shopping but he knew Gwyneth would do it. He hoped his daughter wouldn’t see him staggering and stumbling on his way out.

  Valencia was busy dusting in the entrance hall. Markus almost kicked a vase over and knocked her down. She uttered something in Italian but said nothing more nor did she hinder his path. Markus turned the doorknob and crawled out the front door before he blacked out.

  26

  Nancy Adler’s secretary notified her that a ragged looking Markus Johnson was in the waiting room. He was over four hours early for his appointment. Nancy was surprised.

  “He just walked in the waiting room and sat down. Mr. Johnson has not said anything. What shall I do Dr. Adler?”

  “Do nothing,” Nancy said over the intercom. “Let him sit there.” She thought things over and said, “Stephanie cancel all of my appointments for the remainder of the day. When Mr. Watson leaves allow Markus Johnson to enter.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Very serious,” she said with uncertainty. “And you can have the rest of the day off, Stephanie.”

  “But—” the secretary began to speak.

  “That will be all, Stephanie,” Dr. Adler said more sternly than she wanted.

  Nancy moved away from her desk and sat on the chair that was always adjacent to the couch. Mr. Watson was in the middle of some revelation about himself when the session was interrupted by the secretary’s dilemma.

  “I apologize for that interruption,” Dr. Adler said to her patient. “Please continue...”