“If one negative story about Aaliyah Smith comes out, I’ll burn down the goddamn DNC and I’ll make sure you’ll be the one captured holding the match.” Jay smiled.
Ricardo met Jay’s stare. There were rumors floating around for years the younger man was the real power in Congress and no one ever seemed to confirm it. Those who spoke about Jay did it in hushed tones, though Ricardo didn’t see how harmful he was. He was a pretty boy heartthrob who just happened to become a senator. He was called The Breck Girl for a reason.
Unbeknownst to Ricardo, he was going to find out very soon why the younger man’s other nickname was The Notorious J.A.Y. “Thank you for meeting with me on short notice.” The older man stated. “I’ll see myself out.”
Jay watched Ricardo exit from his office and waited a few moments before he called his wife. “Baby, that story on Ricardo we’ve been sitting on? Run it tomorrow. Yeah, I’ll be home for dinner tonight. Pot roast sounds great. I love you, too.”
~~~~~~~
Ocean just stepped out of a committee meeting and was about to head to his office when a young woman bumped into him. His files flew out of his hands and he bent down to get them. “I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed as she helped him pick up the various files. “I didn’t see where I was going! I was in a rush.”
“It’s fine. Totally understandable. I get like that myself at times.” He chuckled. “Besides these floors are super polished now.”
“Yeah, they are.” The woman helped Ocean put his files together and handed them back to him. “There you go. I hope you have a great day, Mr. Ellison.” She smiled and hurried down the hall.
Ocean watched her leave. “I will now.” He gathered his files and noticed there was a small bulge in the manila folder. He opened it up and noticed it was a jump drive. “What the…?” He turned back to the woman and she was long gone. “Okay.” He looked at the jump drive again and noticed there was a note attached to it.
Play me, Ocean.
Ocean looked around and noticed his fellow senators and congressmen were about to go to lunch. He hurried over to his office and locked the door behind him. He opened his laptop and inserted the jump drive.
He watched for a short while and saw nothing of interest. A file on Ricardo Montez. Ho-hum. Who cared? A profiling of his background, philanthropic donations, and community rallies over the years. He was praised by the NAACP, Women’s Rights groups, and many others.
“I don’t care about how big his dick is,” Ocean yawned. He was about to remove the jump drive when the screen went black and reappeared again. The next image was of Ricardo at a hotel room. He was naked. His back was towards the young vixen on the bed and he appeared to put something in her wine glass. “What the…?”
The next images appeared of Ricardo giving the woman the drink and she passed out a short time later. He double-checked to see if she was awake before he proceeded to have sex with her. The timestamp on the video made it clear it was a recent video.
Ocean sat back in his leather chair and blew out a breath. He needed to go to the police for sure. He would need to alert every member of the press. He was sure Ximena would be crushed, given she had taken over the #metoo movement and was an outspoken spokeswoman for it.
All Ocean could do…was smile.
He got on the phone with Justin. “Hey, remember that investigation I asked you to do on Ricardo? Suspend that for a moment. There’s something you need to look at.”
~~~~~~
“It took you forever and a day to get back to me!” Aaliyah chided Brittany over the phone. After she’d finished Eli’s tattoo, she retreated back home. She’d stopped filming for the day and relished the solitude her home gave her.
While Aaliyah liked the perks the reality show had given her, Aaliyah knew she was the most comfortable being private and at home. There was nothing like putting on soulful music, drinking tea, and reflecting of the day.
It was a peace Ocean’d given her. Before him, she would still want to crank it up and play her hard and fast music. He showed her how to decompress and remove the stress of the day at the front door. He’d given her a peace she’d hadn’t known before.
She felt a little guilty doing her research on the family but she needed to know who she was marrying. If Ocean didn’t know about her past, that was all on him. She felt compelled to know about his. “Did you find anything good on the family?”
“Well, other than they’re super mega rich, there’s nothing too scandalous. Rumors of Thomas’s affairs weren’t just rumors but he must paid the mistresses very well because they all never said anything bad about him. On the same token, they also never said anything good. It’s like they refuse to talk about him at all.”
Thomas still wielded his power, Briana noted. “Interesting.”
Brittany admitted. “My cousin did find out a piece of information that you might find interesting.”
“Oh?” Aaliyah settled into her sofa and flipped through channels. “Such as what?”
“Well, Thomas was in a car accident like twenty years ago with a female passenger who died.”
“Really?” The hairs stood on Aaliyah’s arms. She remembered how cold and calculating Thomas’s eyes were when they danced. “Okay.”
“And the female passenger was widely rumored to be his mistress.” Brittany continued. “She was a black female.”
Aaliyah remembered Ocean mentioned something about an affair his father had that the press harped on. “Okay, he had a black mistress, that’s not really anything ground-breaking.”
“No, it’s not.” Brittany surmised. “Except, the mistress wasn’t just the father’s; she was also the mother’s.”
Aaliyah sat straight up in the sofa. “I beg your pardon?”
