Chapter 138

Allie was all smiles as she held Adam's hand when they walked over to the main house for breakfast. Well, Adam walked while Allie practically skipped.

Sarah and Erin had not arisen yet to make their way across but the rest of the group from the second house was there. Mary was the only one from the main house at the breakfast table and she offered a pair of rolled eyes when Allie came bubbling in.

"Good morning," Allie sang. Adam believed that Allie had many wonderful traits – even with her clothes on. She was funny and friendly. She was nice to animals. But she could not sing in the least. Carly Piper was in no danger of losing her touring spot to Allie Timmons, he decided.

"Is this going to be a regular morning occurrence?" Mary wondered. "Last week it was Erin and Karlie wandering around all glassy-eyed and happy."

"Don't forget me," Shelly said with a giggle.

"I was at class for the worst of that," Mary said. "Besides, I don't mind cheerful people in the afternoon. It's just the mornings that bug me."

Adam responded by leaning down and giving Mary a kiss on the cheek and a long hug that included the chair she sat on, as well.

"Well, I guess it's worth putting up with happy people if you're going to do that," Mary said. She put her arm backward around Adam's neck.

"Oh, Adam gives you a hug and you get all cheered up," Trinity said. "I give you a hug and you growl. I see where I rate."

"You forgot the kiss on the cheek," Mary said. She smiled and winked at Trinity. "And you got to me before my first cup of coffee."

"Noted," Trinity laughed.

"Adam, did you get the chance to read these?" Rebecca asked. She had a bunch of newspapers in front of her at the table.

"What are they?" he asked.

"The 'Chronicle' series on the industry," Rebecca answered. "Mike brought them over last night. He thought you might be interested."

"I'm sure I can tell you what they say already," Adam said, grimacing. "That Darcy woman already had her mind made up about things and I don't think she was interested in changing it just because her facts were wrong."

"I'm not sure what her original premise was, but what I read seems factual," Rebecca told them. "Mary, what do you think?"

"I don't know the business as well as you but there is nothing in the stories that is much different from what we've all talked about," Mary said with a shrug.

"Really?" Adam asked, pulling one toward him. "I got the impression that the woman planned to paint us all with the same brush. You know, write some sob story about women who were troubled well before they hit the industry but put the blame on the business for their deaths."

"Let's see if she did it right," Adam said. He didn't think his meeting with Darcy Stanton had made the slightest difference. He glanced at what had appeared on the Thursday morning edition. It spoke of the tendency of performers to be involved in a host of unsavory activities – from drug and alcohol abuse to prostitution and tax evasion.

Adam was somewhat surprised that Darcy had taken snippets from personal web sites and social networking sites and credited them to the performers who posted them. There was a listing of porn stars who had been sentenced to prison in the past 10 years for skimming on their tax payments. There were mug shots of performers who had been busted for possession or distribution of controlled substances and of those who had been busted for DUI.

Veronica's face was there among the others, causing Adam to frown.

"You know, a single DUI arrest is an anomaly," he said bitterly. "Anyone can get one. Hell, my Dad got busted for DUI a few years back. I think maybe they should have focused on those who have a lengthy criminal record."

"She wasn't mentioned in the story," Rebecca said. "And at least they listed them under their performer name instead of under their real name. They had to have their real name to get this information."

"They had to visit that stupid web site," Adam said. Once Veronica had mentioned "Celebrity Cons," he had checked it out. He was almost positive that these photos, along with the information, were taken directly from that site.

But Adam had to admit the story was different than he'd expected. It didn't sound to him like an indictment of the industry as a whole. Darcy was quick to point out that there were many performers with no criminal record and a few agencies who had no one on their roster with a known background in prostitution. She mentioned Elite, Majestic and Five Friends by name.

"Well, there is that," Adam said as he passed the paper to Shelly. Trinity and Karlie had read it over his shoulder. Rebecca and Mary had already looked at it.

Day 3 was about Rabbit Holes. It was the first time that Adam was truly amazed.

The story focused on the practice but it also gave a lot of credit to the studios he had mentioned for becoming the driving force behind slowing it down and named names of owners who held interest in more than one studio and in a casting agency.

"But this is not an industry-wide practice," the story read. "Although it cannot be termed 'isolated, ' there is a segment of the pornography business that has not only refused to participate but banded together to curtail the unsavory element. The bigger problem appears to exist solely in the larger studios, which are controlled by relatively few names. Many of the men – and they are all men – own significant percentages of more than one studio. They ensure their profits by bankrolling the casting agencies that propagate the practice of 'Rabbit Holes'."

There were quotes from Tate Benedict and Jerry Goldsmith about what steps had been taken to ensure that female performers were protected by their agencies and they mentioned which agencies were considered trustworthy. The list was pretty short. There were also the requisite 'no comment' from the men whose names had found their way into a news story on pornography. Adam was certain there would be some questions asked in boardrooms across the country this week.

Larry Warren (aka Sven Swenson) was named as the major source of the only accredited information. Adam wondered how much that had set the 'Chronicle' back.

"Damn," Adam said. "This is completely different from what I was led to expect."

"She might have rewritten it," Trinity offered from her perch beside Adam. "You know, most journalists do have ethics. I have a friend whose parents are both reporters. I think they would give up their eyeteeth before they printed something under their names that they knew to be untrue."

"You might have mentioned that to me before I met with that woman," Adam said.

"I wasn't here," Trinity replied. "And I think you probably needed to go in there a little pissed off. You have a really sharp wit but you choose your words more carefully when you're angry. Plus, the ones I know are small-town writers. They have no interest in awards or accolades. They write because they think people need to know about things. I know they speak of larger-market writers with disdain. So I kept quiet."

"Oh," Adam replied as he pulled out Saturday's story. His feeling of amazement lingered. He figured there would be only sob stories about how pornography had taken promising young lives and ruined them. He got that in Josey Swallow's biography and he was almost positive it was correct in this case. But Darcy had also rewritten parts of the other two profiles to include their troubled early lives and included a fourth biography of Charisma Leon.

Josey and Charisma got the majority of space – because they were the news hook. But the troubled pasts of the other performers weren't glossed over. There was even a large portion about Kitten Davis' uninvestigated suspicious death. Adam found himself looking forward to seeing what Sunday held. His mouth dropped when he pulled it toward him.

There, in living color, was a one-column photo of him above the fold. Beside it were pictures of several other people he had come to respect – Ben, Tate and Melody – along with a few of people he didn't recognize.

"The Changing Face of Porn" was the headline above a collage of faded pictures from adult movies.

"Thought you might find that interesting," Rebecca said. "We're all in there. There is a mention of almost our whole roster. The only one they missed was Michelle Foxx. There are quotes from sources about what we're doing and how we're doing it. You're quoted pretty extensively. I think Trinity is right. You are very well-spoken – at least in the story. I like the way you turned the phrases."

The story focused on the "next generation" of adult performers – people with college educations; women with their own web sites and legions of fans in their teens; sites that had seen a large increase in their profits by changing their approach.

"What is it?" Shelly asked, crowding toward them. "Oh, damn. Look at that handsome face."

She paused for a moment.

"I didn't realize Tate was so good looking," she giggled. "They left me out? I think I'll call and demand a retraction."

"Shelly," Adam said crossly. He was trying to read and she was right beside his ear.

"Oh, come on," Shelly said. "I'm playing. Besides, this is only going to help us. I mean, Jesus, they practically anoint you as the Messiah for everything decent in the industry. Listen to this: 'He is a shining light in the darkness', a woman who owns a web site under the name of Christina Webb said. 'He treats everyone at our site with respect and courtesy. He doesn't act as if it is a chore to do a scene with us. That is not the norm, I can tell you that. But it's more than that. He is a warm and friendly person. I've heard others in the business say the same thing about that whole group'."

Shelly smirked slightly at Adam and pinched his cheek.

"'A shining light in the darkness'," she quoted. "I like it."

There were quotes about how Ashley Malibu was helping to transform the face of Daystar. Tate was explicit about how she was the primary force behind their improved bottom line. Jerry was just as effusive in his praise of Sahara Rain.

"It's more than just the performers," Jerry said. "It's the ideas they bring. Sahara and Ashley are extremely bright and extremely articulate. Our recent additions, making 'Interludes' a web product and branching out into major features, are being done solely because of what Sahara Rain brings to our company. I think Tate will tell you the same thing. Ashley and Sahara have given us the ability to move forward. Without those two – and the rest of the group out there – we would still be doing what we'd always done."

"Well, that's true," Adam said when he finished reading it. He was comfortable that Five Friends had received so much positive publicity. But he didn't like the fact that his face was the one the paper had associated with the company.

"Here is my favorite part," Rebecca said, pulling the paper to her and opening it to the inside section where the story continued. "'They are repainting the entire scene', an insider claimed. 'Not only are they well-spoken and knowledgeable – two traits not generally associated with porn performers – but they understand the business side. They show up on time. They give their best effort every time. They don't make unreasonable demands. They have developed a following, too. They started out small but they have brought in big names to supplement the talent they are developing. I can see this model becoming the standard in the industry for years to come'."

"Pretty cool, huh?" Rebecca asked. "I just wonder who the 'industry insider' is. It wasn't Ben, Tate or Jerry. They are quoted by name throughout."

"Could be Holly or someone like that," Allie offered. "I'm going down to read this to Sarah."

"Brave woman," Shelly said.

"She doesn't mind being awakened if she's being complimented," Allie giggled. "Besides, I'll play with her tits for a while before I try to get her out of bed. It's surefire."

Leslie made her way downstairs before Allie returned with Sarah and Erin. She glanced at all the faces in the room, smiled slightly, then curled up on Adam's lap like a cat. It was Leslie's thing. Every morning, she would sit on either Adam, Erin or Rebecca's lap for a few minutes while waking up fully.

None of them minded and they always rubbed her back gently until she had come to life. She was too cute for anyone to get upset with her. Leslie was a lot like Sarah and Mary. The rest of the group would usually shower before coming to breakfast. Sarah, Mary and Leslie needed caffeine first thing in the morning before anything else.

The only problem Leslie had when sitting with Adam was that she sometimes felt so comfortable that she went back to sleep. It wasn't really a problem. He would kiss the top of her head softly and use a really soft voice to awaken her. It always embarrassed her a bit.

Allie had wandered off with the newspapers so Leslie only got a synopsis as she drank her coffee. She preferred tea but would settle for coffee in a pinch. She realized she was sitting there with a silly smile on her face and glanced up at Adam.

He gave her a wink and rubbed her back.

"I think I'm as happy as your girls that you aren't rushing off of the mornings," she said, snuggling in closer. "Becs and Erin are nice but I prefer you."