Chapter 31

My jaw dropped. “You mean ... like ... ummm ... porn?”

“Yes; with your physique, your looks, your personality, you’d be perfect for it.”

A million things whirled through my mind at the speed of light. I’d let Derek take so many pictures and videos of me, and it was something that I’d grown very comfortable doing. However, very few people had ever seen them. It was just a hobby, a sex aid, for my boyfriend and me, something we’d both enjoyed as a form of foreplay and to enhance what we did sexually. I did let Sofia and Buck see a couple of our little videos, and I guess they liked them, but what he was suggesting was so different from that. This would be millions of people watching me have actual sex, not just hundreds like when I danced naked on that stage.

“I ... ummm ... I don’t know,” I said hesitantly.

“Have you ever let anyone film you having sex?”

A deep blush broke over my face. “Yes, I have,” I whispered.

“How did you look on the screen when you watched it?”

“It looked good, I think.”

“Was it a boyfriend who filmed you?”

“Yes,” I admitted shyly. “But we just did it for fun, something for us to watch together. No one ever saw it.” That was a lie, but I was in no way ready to admit to Atticus that I’d let anyone else see the clips that we’d shot.

“You’re perfect for this, Jenna. I knew that from the moment I saw you.”

I cut my eyes at him. “This has all been bullshit, hasn’t it? Your idea was to get me into porn, not to come here to dance,” I said sternly. I rested my head over my hands. Another person just fucked me over. And I’ve signed a contract.

“L.A. opens up so many new opportunities for you, and I’m not just talking porn. I’m offering you the full gamut here: appearances, being a featured dancer at gentlemen’s clubs all across the country, and a website. Girls can make a fortune doing this,” he said enticingly.

I liked the idea of this, at least some of it. However, he hadn’t been honest with me about his true intentions, and I wanted to make sure that he knew I wasn’t happy about them. “Maybe I’ll decide to just move back to Texas and make three times as much as I make here.”

“That’s another option, Jenna. I’m sure Tony would be happy to welcome you back. I’m told he’s a lot of fun to work for. I’m sure all of your coworkers like working for a drug addict who takes sexual liberties with them, don’t they?”

I rolled my eyes again and took a drink of my Coke. Well, that didn’t work. Is this actually a good idea?

“Look, I’m sorry for being snarky. But I’m on your side. The more money you make, the more money I make. And you weren’t ever going to go anywhere in Dallas. But here we can do a lot of great things together. I understand that you’re upset with me for not telling you about being an adult star right away. However, my experience has shown that it’s better to have someone out here to take a look at the business first-hand before they make a decision. If I asked you this in Dallas, you would’ve just said no.”

Slowly, he was winning me over, maybe. “What do you mean, look at the business first-hand?”

“There’s a shoot going on today in the Hills ... um ... the Hollywood Hills. We’ve got use of a great house overlooking the city. One of my girls is in it. Lana Rhoades, have you heard of her?

“No, I haven’t.”

“No matter, but we can go watch the shoot for a bit so you can see that it’s on the up-and-up. Lana is one of the top performers in the industry. I feel that you can be better than she is.”

Hmmm. I guess this is the moment of truth. I do like seeing myself on the screen, and I know the other three people who’ve seen me thought I was great. I ... want to see exactly how this works and how much these people make, though.

I took a drink of my Coke, and Atticus drank the rest of his cocktail. He’s nervous. I’ve got him on the ropes. I tapped my fingernails on the glass, making an annoying sound. I could see he wanted me to stop, so I did it some more.

“No more lies, Atticus,” I said sternly. “I need to know that you’re on my side and not trying to fuck me over.”

“No more lies, I promise you that.”

“And no withholding information or any of that shit. You have to be up-front and straight with me. You know, I’ve only worked one night at the Rhino here, and I’ve already got two very beefy security guards who are really into me. All I have to do is point to a guy, and he’s in a lot of sudden pain. The more I point, the more pain they deliver.”

He smiled a half-smile, which quickly went away when he realized I wasn’t teasing. “I can promise you that won’t be necessary. I apologize for how I got you here, Jenna. That was wrong of me. But now that you are, let’s show this city who you are.”

I tapped my glass some more, hoping it was pissing him off.

“Alright, Atticus. I will go see your video shoot. In the meantime, you’re going to tell me how much money I’m going to make. Plus, you are going to forgo your commission for the first month as a penalty for lying to me.”

He nodded as our food arrived, and we got down to business.