Chapter 165

Rebecca took Katya's place beside Adam when the Russian wandered off to talk to someone else.

"Relieved or disappointed?" she asked. It was obvious that Adam was the last to know something again.

"Confused," he admitted. "I, uh... , well... , I didn't actually realize that was under consideration."

"I'm not sure it was but it's best we got it out of the way," Rebecca said with a laugh. "Now we can just drag them to the bedrooms without worrying about someone getting the wrong impression."

Adam lowered his head and shook it. In the past couple of days, he'd had sex with only three of his girlfriends – but with three women who weren't.

"I think Sean is going to announce the other surprise in a minute or so," Rebecca continued.

Sure enough, Sean stood and managed to get everyone's attention.

"It's been a great couple of days," he said. "But it's time to put on our boots and get to work. Tomorrow, we're setting up Walt's trolleys for the horses. Ben will be here in the morning to decide on camera placements and Karlie and her crew will be doing the last fittings for the costumes. I think Sarah wants to run lines with everyone in the afternoon and have a dress rehearsal in the evening."

"And by dress rehearsal, I mean, dress rehearsal, Adam," Sarah said. "So keep your log in your pants. It's just for getting our spots down and letting you and Cameron work on your footwork. It will also give us a chance to test run the camera that will be zipping beside the horses. Do we have any issues that have cropped up in the past couple of days?"

No one could think of anything that hadn't been addressed ad nauseum.

"Now, while the guys do the hard labor in the morning, the women will be helping out where they can – in our swimwear," she added with a smile. "I don't think we'll have time for any actual group sunbathing this time but I'm sure it will spur the men into working to get things together quickly."

She nodded for Sean to continue.

"Saturday and Sunday, we're shooting," he said. "We're going to do our best to use natural lighting for almost everything, so the scenes won't be shot in order. I understand from Shelly that they are rarely shot in order anywhere but the adult industry. We are on a very ambitious schedule and we really need to wrap up on Sunday afternoon."

The group nodded and Sean waited for the expected question.

Seeing no one else was going to step forward, Rebecca did it.

"Why?" she asked. "I thought we planned on Monday for overruns."

"We did," Sean said, smiling at Rebecca. "But given how well 'Cotton Panty Chronicles' came off, we changed our minds. Instead, we decided to have another surprise for the Fourth of July celebration. We've invited the families of those who are still close to theirs."

A slight murmur broke out as people exchanged glances.

"Sarah, your Mom and Dad will arrive Sunday at 5:00 p.m.," Sean continued. "My Mom and Rachelle's Dad are picking them up at McCarron on their way in. Don't worry, they'll call ahead to make sure we're in good shape. Trinity's family will be here a little after 7:00 p.m. Katey's Mom and Dad will arrive at 7:30 p.m. Walt's parents and Mary's family are providing a shuttle service from the airport to the hotels we've arranged for them. Fittingly, they will all be in the Excalibur for the time they're here."

He consulted his list.

"Jason, your folks and sisters are actually going to be on the same flight with some members of Leslie's family. Leslie, your Mom and Dad both had prior commitments, but your older brother and your sister will be here Sunday night."

Leslie felt tears in her eyes.

"My brother is coming out?" she asked. "Thanks, Sean."

"Thank Adam," he said. "My only contribution was filching your cell phone long enough to get your parents' number. Elena's parents are coming over from Wyoming. Lucy, I'm sorry but there wasn't enough time to get in touch with your Mom. I promise, the next time we do this, she'll be invited. Sadly, some of the people we contacted couldn't take time from work or weren't interested. As plans have come together or fallen through, we've spoken to people and they understand. Please don't let the fact that some people's families are not here lessen your enjoyment at having yours here."

Adam had found himself singularly pissed off at the attitudes of some of the people he'd phoned. Meredith's mother absolutely refused, as did Tyanna's father. Timm's mother hung up on Adam when he had contacted her.

This was a free trip to Las Vegas to see your child, Adam thought. No one in their right minds would pass up that chance. He had been wrong but it still irked him.

"Anya, Allie, Shelly and Karlie, we did not contact your families," Sean said. "I don't want you to worry about them showing up here."

"I'd sort of like to see my uncle or my dad show their faces," Karlie said bitterly.

"They would end up like my dad did," Shelly promised. "Flat on their asses. Don't worry about it Sean. I have my family with me already."

Allie nodded. She could tell that Sarah and Trinity were excited to see their families again and that was good enough for her.

"Veronica, we have a surprise for you," Sean continued. "Mary has located your Dad in Kuwait. He can't come home right now but we have his e-mail address and a phone number. It was only last night that we got confirmation from his company and were able to contact him. He said he will give you a call later tonight."

Veronica felt tears spring to her eyes. She had hoped that Mary would be able to track down her dad in the Middle East but she hadn't harbored much hope. There were thousands of U.S. companies doing business over there and the identities of Americans in that area were closely guarded – not only by the companies but by the State Department.

Mary probably could have found out by hacking the State Department servers but Veronica wasn't willing to ask that of her (or of anyone). Instead, Subarctic Enterprises hired a private detective to scour the small Kansas town where Veronica had been raised for any word about her father. Once they had the company's name, it was only a matter of finding the right person to give them his phone number.

"Oh, and Timm, your mother refused to discuss the prospect," Sean said.

"No surprise there," Timm answered. "I live in a den of iniquity, don't you know. She probably sterilized the phone after hearing the words 'Las Vegas.'"

"Well, your aunt and uncle were only too happy to come up for a couple of days," Sean said. "They might arrive early to catch the last scene but they are the only ones invited out here. Most are arriving Sunday night but their visits don't officially start until we wrap up 'Dragon Lore.' Is that OK with everyone?"

The ones looking forward to seeing their loved ones nodded eagerly. For Leslie, it had been almost two years since her brother had spoken to her. She hoped he wasn't just coming out for the free trip.

"So, after we're done Sunday, everyone is free and clear," Sean said. "We're having a get-together Monday afternoon and a picnic Tuesday. Attendance at either is purely optional. If you would prefer just to hang out with your families, no problem. Most of your folks have to be back at work by Wednesday, so it will be a brief visit but one that I hope everyone will enjoy."

Veronica gave Mary a heartfelt hug as Leslie broke away and raced to hug Adam.

"Thank you," Leslie said.

"You're welcome," Adam replied. "I spoke to him for a long time. He's looking forward to seeing you as much as you're looking forward to seeing him. Your sister is also coming. I hope that isn't a problem."

"No, it will be good to see her too," Leslie said. "I talk to her a lot. She's a lot of fun and she's almost an adult now. She'll graduate high school next year."

Adam glanced at Rebecca. He knew she had gone to her parent's house the night before and he expected her to chime in with what role they would play.

"Not so sadly, I will not be participating," she said to him. "Last night was a disaster."

"Sorry," Adam replied.

"Dad decided it was the perfect time to try to get me to invest in one of his businesses," she continued. "Mom kept hinting I should make sure when the dust settled that you and I were the only ones together. I left before dinner was through."

Adam put his arm her.

"Don't worry about it," Rebecca said. "I'm actually looking forward to introducing you and Allie to them the next time we're up here."

"Just us?" Adam asked. "Why just me and Allie?"

"Well, all of you but particularly you and Allie," Rebecca clarified. "And I am going to spend the entire day before pissing you off just so you tell those idiots what you really think of them and do it quickly enough that we can all go somewhere enjoyable afterward. Maybe I should take Walt and Mary, too."

"Or, of course, you could just do it yourself," Adam pointed out. "I've seen you lose your tact from time to time – mostly at me, of course."

"I have told them off so often they don't even notice anymore," Rebecca said bitterly. "I told them off last night before I walked out on dinner. I can see Allie punching my mother in the mouth. No, I can't let that happen. Mom will claim whiplash and sue us all."

"I didn't realize it was that bad," Adam said. Rebecca had, of course, spoken about her parents in the months she'd been with them. But it was always in general terms. It painted an unflattering picture but not one as stark as what she had described.

"It is," she said simply. There was no way she could tell any of the females what her mother suggested. They would have gone over there and throttled the woman. But she thought she could tell Adam.

Still, she hesitated for a moment to gauge his mood.

"My mother suggested I get pregnant," Rebecca said softly. "That would force you to marry me and push the others out of our lives. Or it would force you to pay extraordinary amounts of support if you chose another route. She said it with such ease that I wondered if that is why she married my father. But it's her family that had most of the money when I was born."

She glanced up from the floor long enough to notice a neutral look on Adam's face. An instant earlier, she would have seen something far different – a mixture of anger and terror.

"You don't seem surprised," she said.

"Oh, I'm surprised," Adam replied. "But these are your parents and I've vowed that I'm going to stay out of those parts of your lives. I enjoyed talking to Sarah's family. They were super. So were Trinity's. Leslie's Mom and Dad were very friendly and so were her brother and sister. Meredith's family - I will not contact again. Nor will I call Timm's family. Beth's Dad was a little brusque but I caught him at work. When he called me back, he explained he was an over-the-road truck driver and he had been restricted to local jobs since her mother left. He was trying to make enough money by doing coast-to-coast jobs [how, if he's restricted to local?] so he could help Beth out if she wanted to do something else with her life."

"Did you explain we were doing the same thing?" Rebecca asked. Over the past few weeks, she had seen Adam walk off with his phone a number of times and come back either a minute or an hour later. If he came back in a minute, it was with anger written on his face. If it was longer, it was usually with a look of satisfaction.

"I did and Beth had told him about it," Adam said. "But he still wanted to be sure. He can't make it this week because he will be in the East. But he's going to swing by later in the month when he's back this way and has a few days off. Honestly, he sounds like a good guy who loves his little girl and would do anything for her."

"Unlike mine," Rebecca said flatly.

The girls were dressed in their Wally Walrus suits from the moment they got up and showered. Karlie and Trinity had perused the internet for different colors and models for the women who were new to the fold. Allie had insisted upon buying them.

For the first time in her memory, money wasn't an issue for Allie Timmons. She was still seeing $500 a week in dividends from Daystar from what she and Adam had shot three months earlier. To her surprise, but apparently not to anyone else's, she was the most popular member of 'Sweet Things' – although she, Rebecca, Sarah and Leslie were within a few hundred members of each other. Allie was still clearing more than $15,000 a month after she set aside a large portion for taxes.

She was also able to pick and choose her jobs. Now that Veronica was in a position to negotiate, the women of Five Friends had put together a sliding scale for their services. Using data compiled by Mary and her trusted assistants, the group's booking fees were based on a number of factors: The woman requested, the number of subscribers to the site (if it was an online project) or the gross profits of the company (if it was a studio). The larger the studio and the larger the web site, the more they were expected to pay. The larger the name requested, the higher the price.

Then there was the Daystar deal. She hoped it was working out to Ben and Tate's liking – neither had said anything – because she was loving her duties for them. Once or twice a week, she would pop up in the Daystar chat rooms and discuss not only her upcoming projects but what the company was doing next. She had represented Daystar at a convention in Los Angeles and would do voiceovers for scenes that required narrative introductions.

Ben and Tate both insisted they pay for any duty not expressly written in her contract, even though they knew Allie was really enjoying most of the work. After three months, Daystar was reaping the benefits – along with Dazzle and Goldwall and several smaller sites – of getting in on the ground floor of what Allie and her crew were doing.

Most of the benefits were financial, for which they were happy and didn't mind sharing a portion of, but the other benefit was in their reputation. The groups that had unofficially affiliated themselves with the new movement were getting calls from starlets who repped themselves – people who they would have considered out of their league six months earlier. Some of the women wanted their normal paychecks but most were willing to work for web standard just to get the chance to do a decent scene that showcased their talents.

Ben's running joke was that he was asked for by name as often as Adam, Jason, Cameron or Timm. But none of the males were asked about as often as Ashley Malibu, who despite the way she chose jobs and the restrictions on who she worked with, was the odds-on favorite to be the most downloaded starlet of the year.