"Can we focus, please," I said.
"Is that a no?"
"Well, I didn’t say that..."
Her eyebrows flicked with amusement and she slipped into my lap. Fuck, she still smelled of sweat and leather.
A medley that instantly had me hard as she touched my chest through my shirt, stroking me admiringly. "Hmmm. This is nice. Ah, Miles, if only more of our villains were like you. So strong. So... vital. So willing to do everything it takes to make the job go right. Did I mention I find you deeply attractive?"
"I got the indication," I said, but warily. "But I’d like to get to the point of this quickly if you don’t mind."
Lacey never played games like this without a purpose, and she was buttering me up like a slice of toast. And I hated to say it, but it was working.
At least far better than putting a gun to my head and threatening me.
It was hard to say no to such an attractive woman. Especially when she was in my lap, ass practically grinding on my cock.
"How right. How clever. And I’ve been so impressed by your work today, I was hoping you might take on another little task for me."
"Yeah?" I said deflated. "How shocking."
"Yeah," she said, putting her hands on my shoulders, straddling my lap, smirking down at me and practically shoving her tits in my face. "We have a project coming up. A hot rookie hero we’re hoping to deploy. She used to be a actor, believe it or not. Very big online—tiktok was it."
"You want me to debut her?" I said flatly like she just killed the mood, maybe even my erection.
"Kiiiiiind of," she said, leaning in closer, the tip of her tongue sliding along her lips.
It was a scene intensely arousing, spoiled only slightly by me being able to see my face in the twin lenses of her glasses. "She’s going to debut, but we’re thinking of going in a... different direction with her. We’re looking to ferment an arch situation. Two sexy young things in competition. Villain and Heroine. The kids will just eat it up."
"Woah, woah," I said quickly immediately stopping her. "I don’t arch. Never have. That brings way too much drama to things."
One of my own rules was to never get to personal with anyone.
"How true, dear Miles. And I know how much you loathe exclusivity. It’s one of the many... many things I find fascinating about you. And not to worry. We have another in mind. I think you’ve met her."
"Who?" My mind instantly snapped back to the woman in the lobby. "Glacia?"
"Exactly."
"Hm," I said, mollified a bit. "But, I don’t really see how I fit into this."
"Well," Lacey purred, lazily arching, pushing her breasts forward, gleaming with sweat, bouncing in the tight, tight top. "I was hoping you might see your way to... mentoring the dear girl..."
"Uh huh," I said, for a second not quite hearing her, enraptured by the display. Hey, I’m only human. Then her words filtered down through my throbbing Id and into the Superego, and I snapped back to the present. "Hold up. You’re asking me to take on a sidekick!"
"Just for a liiiiiittle while," Lacey said sweetly. "Just to train her up and plan her big debut!"
"No. No way!" I said, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her back. "I don’t do sidekicks. I work alone! Sidekicks get in the way."
She sighed, and even with the glasses I could tell she was rolling her eyes. "Come on now, Miles. You work with minions."
"Those are minions. Henchmen! You’re telling me to take on a newbie. I can’t afford that kind of carelessness."
Lacey cocked her head at me, bemused and annoyed. "Really now, Miles. You have so much talent. So much potential. You could be the best villain I have here if you weren’t insistent on being so stubborn. She could be the next best thing, and you have a chance to be responsible for her."
"Yeah." My mind was made up and the conversation and my erection was now dead. "The answer is no!"
"Pleeeease," she said, leaning in close. "For meeee?"
I scrunched my face at her. Who the fuck did she think she was to me. "I—"
"And two million dollars."
"I’m listening," I said, interest back in.
Her smile widened and she leaned back, arms crossed, every inch of her telling me it was a whole new ball game and I was up to bat. Damn. I was already regretting it, but that kind of money was tough to say no to. Two mil? I could afford a whole lot with that. Maybe even take a vacation. Yeah, maybe that seems greedy, but fuck it. Freelancing is tough.
"It’s a very simple job," Lacey said, which immediately made me suspect it was anything but. "You’ve heard about the Ice Diamond?"
"Yeah," I said. I made an effort to keep up on big events in Metro City. I was often hired to menace them. "It’s being revealed at the Museum of Natural History in a week."
"Exactly. Our dear girl is going to be there, and so will you. Glacia will break in during the party, cause some damage, make a nice big show for our guests, and get in a brawl with Mysteria. That’s the name we’re giving the new heroine we’re crafting. She’s going to be very big."
"And that’s all I have to do?" I said suspiciously.
"That’s it," Lacey said sweetly.
Trying to get a read on what Lacey was thinking was like trying to decipher a blank page. The woman had a poker face like no other, and having her tits thrust in my face wasn’t helping things. But two mil... even after expenses that was a lot of cash. And I supposed it couldn’t be too bad.
"Fine," I growled at last.
Lacey beamed, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "There we go! I knew you’d come around. Don’t worry. She’ll be just a peach!" She eased back, sliding from my lap and once more onto the desk where she tapped the intercom. "Julia?"
"Yes Miss Lacey?"
"Show the new girl in, please."
"Of course."
I stayed seated, crossing a leg to hide my hard on. Fucking Lacey wasn’t even giving me a second to compose myself. I glared at her, but her smirk said she didn’t care. In the midst of this very unequal contest of wills Glacia came in, as demurely pretty as ever. But her smile cracked that façade, radiating the kind of nervousness that put me off balance. I tried to smile back, but my heart wasn’t really in it. I could already tell this was going to be a big job, and an even bigger pain in the ass.
And that was going to be an understatement.
"Pleasure to meet you, sir," Glacia said, putting out her hand. "It’s an honour to be working with such a veteran in villainy."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks," I said, no longer tenting my pants, meaning I could finally get up and shake her hand. Her touch was ice cold, which sealed the deal on her powerset, as if her name wasn’t obvious enough. "So, ice powers?" I asked.
She beamed. "Exactly, sir," she said, raising her other hand. Into her palm swirled a sliver of crystalline ice. "I can manipulate and freeze moisture in the air."
"Handy," I said, and sincerely. Pure elemental powers were very versatile and generally powerful. I’d worked with a number of freezers in my life, and they were generally level-headed, if a bit melancholic.
Lacey clapped her hands, making me start as the echoes died away in the large room. "Well!" she said, grinning like a tigress that just found a morbidly obese, blind and crippled antelope. "I can see you’re both going to get along famously! Glacia, listen carefully to what Miles has to say. No one knows more about menacing heroes than him. Miles? I’m counting on you."
"Yeah. Thanks," I said, with another glance at Glacia and her earnest smile. Well, no sense in delaying. "Come on," I said. "We got some work to do..."