When Dora saw that Ethan was about to leave, she shrieked. "Don't go," she cried. "At the very least, can you give me one more day? If you give me that, I will leave you alone forever. You have my word!"

"How can I give you anything more than I already have?" Ethan growled. "I can't – not after you hurt Kylie right in front of me. What had happened was my fault, but you had no right to take it out on Kylie!"

​​

"It wasn't your fault," Dora cried.

"I beg your pardon!" Ethan exclaimed.

"You're not to blame for what happened," she explained. "It was me."

"Explain yourself!" Ethan demanded.

"You excused yourself to go to the bathroom," she said. "Once you returned, the executioners were going to arrest you. It was I who intervened. I volunteered to climb onto the operating bed. I did that for you because I loved you, but I still felt that you owed me, which was why I went out of my way to make you feel guilty…"

Ethan sat back down. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why are you telling me all of this now?" he wondered.

Dora smiled softly, and she said, "I am telling you because I want you to know that I love you and that I'm willing to do anything for you. I know that you are with Kylie, but I am willing to fight for your heart."

"Don't bother," Ethan said. "Our past remains in the past. My future is with Kylie. Life will be easier for you if you accept that and move on."

Ethan tried to stand up, but his head suddenly felt dizzy. "What's this?" he wondered as he fell over in his seat and lost consciousness.

Dora got up and walked over to him. She was surprised at how easy this had been. He hadn't suspected a thing. She smiled and touched his face. It was angular, and there was a little stubble on his chin. She was just about to undress him when her phone rang. It was from Tom.

"Hello," Dora exclaimed impatiently. "What do you want?"

"I'm downstairs. I'm on my way up," Tom explained and hung up before she could tell him not to come. She tried to call him back, but he didn't answer.

Dora hardly had time to dump Ethan's coffee when the doorbell rang. When Tom saw Ethan, she explained that he'd drunk too much and passed out. Then, with his help, they were able to carry him into Dora's room and make him comfortable in her bed.

After that, she looked in the direction of her spare bedroom and asked Tom Thomas to go in with her.

There was a camera on the shelf in the corner of the room, and she had arranged everything perfectly. She looked at Tom and said, "We hadn't planned on doing this today, but I assume you've found someone who is appropriate?"

Tom looked at her with an embarrassed look on his face and said, "I know what kind of person you are looking for, but it is hard to find such a man."

"Bullshit!" Dora exclaimed. "You obviously haven't tried hard enough!"

Dora's mind was racing. She stared at Tom for a long time, which made him feel even more embarrassed than before. Seeing how upset she was, Tom was so nervous that his palms began to sweat. He looked her in the eyes and said, "I promised you that I did my best. I may have failed you, but I did my best."

Dora looked at him, sighed, and said, "Well, if we don't have the man I requested, you will have to fill in. Take off your clothes, and don't be shy about it."

Tom's face turned red and, with a shocked look on his face, said, "Did you just say what I think you said?"

"You heard me," she replied. "No dilly-dallying. I don't want Ethan to wake up!"

Not giving him a chance to process the situation, Dora began to undo the buttons on Tom's shirt. Once the shirt was open, she took off his belt. Then, before she could forget, she leaned over and pressed the record button on the camera.

Once Tom was naked, she embarrassed him, and they kissed passionately. Then he undressed her, playing with her naughty bits, one by one, as they were exposed. From the camera's view, Dora could be seen plainly, but the only part of his body showed his back and buttocks.

After a few minutes of foreplay, Tom lifted her and carried her to the bed. Dora laid back, and he climbed on top of her. "I am inexperienced," he whispered so that the camera wouldn't hear him. "What do you want me to do?"

Dora smiled. It was the first time that a man had ever asked her what she wanted.

At first, she felt uncomfortable. She had always thought of Tom as a brother and not a lover. Who she really wanted to be with was Ethan. Hopefully, she thought, this will lead to that.

Over time though, as he kissed her and touched her in the right places, her body began to take over, and she was able to imagine that it was Ethan – and, because he only did as she told him to, it also felt a bit like some kind of interactive masturbation.

***

When Kylie woke up the next morning, everything hurt. She'd fallen asleep at her desk in her office. My goodness, she thought, this has never happened before… I wonder why Ethan hasn't come looking for me…?

"Faith?" She called, but no one answered. She checked the time. It was still early. She checked Faith's desk and found that all of Faith's papers were still there. Kylie washed her face in the sink in her office, and she was about to leave when she realized that her safe had been opened. She took a look inside and saw that the only two items inside were a copy of Garcia Entertainment's equity transfer agreement and a DVD.

Kylie laughed when she saw that the two most important things had been left behind. Nothing of real value had been taken, but she couldn't imagine how she'd left her safe open.

This was not safe; she laughed.

When Kylie arrived home, she was surprised that Ethan was not there. She tried his cell phone, but he didn't answer. Kylie scowled. The last time that he'd disappeared, it had turned out that he was at Dora's house. After their conversation the night before, she sincerely hoped that he wasn't there because, if he was, she didn't know if she'd ever been able to trust him again.