own. “We’re looking through the data today. We’re going to have to go through this shit and find the evidence that we’re looking for. It might take hours or it might take days, but I guarantee you that whatever we need and whatever Sienna is planning is stored in here.”
Parker already has the laptop connected and he’s scrolling through the various directories and subdirectories that belong to Sienna Sinner.
I know. What we’re doing is literally an invasion of privacy. But the stakes are pretty fucking high on this one, you know? The entire fate of one of the most iconic and inspiring modern publishing houses to emerge out of self-publishing might be at stake. I try to tell myself that the ends justify the fucking means.
I mean, they have to. Right? We can’t be doing this for no reason. We can’t have broken into an author’s office and stolen her personal and confidential files unless Cara had a very, very good reason for blowing the whistle on Sienna.
That’s what I tell myself as I look at Derek and Parker. I can see the conflict in their eyes. They want to find the smoking gun that shows how Naughty Angel Publishing is going to be forced to shut it’s doors. But they’re a bit squeamish at what they’re being asked to do.
I get it. I feel the same way. But I also know that we need to man the fuck up and do what we don’t like when times require it.
“Looks like Sienna’s got her private diary in here too,” Derek says, scrolling through the file.
I clear my throat and push the projector integration button and the screen of my laptop shows up on the projector screen an instant later.
Nifty little tool that I have for sharing my workspace. And I need to distract people from getting too caught up and empathizing with Sienna.
“I mean it looks like she’s got everything on here,” Parker says. “There’s even a fucking folder called ‘sexts.’”
This has the potential to get sidetracked really fast. Besides, looking at naked pictures of Sienna’s pussy isn’t why we’re here. We need to focus.
“Listen, let’s put Sexting with Sienna on the backburner for a second,” I say standing up and drawing their attention. “We’re looking for any sign that there was any sort of collusion between Sienna and any sort of third party to bring down Naughty Angel Publishing.”
“And what do we do when we find it?” Derek asks. It’s not a challenge. The dude is genuinely interested in the fucking long game and I realize just how much I misjudged him from the very beginning. See, I thought that everyone associated with Sienna Sinner was a fucking scammer. I shut her out and I included everyone that worked for her too. But the fact of the matter as far as I can see is that these people followed her. But they trusted her that she was leading them along the right path.
Which makes her even worse of a person. Because she knows that these people who work for her – her models, her publicists, her PAs – they’ve entrusted their livelihoods to her. And her going all fucking black hat only places them in the spot where eventually they’re going to get fucked.
And to do that with someone who has trusted you with their livelihood is the worst thing a person can do.
All this goes through my head as I’m about to answer Derek. But Parker beats me to the punch.
“Once we have conclusive proof, we’ll take that information to Abby Angel who runs Naughty Angel Publishing. Mason will most likely take the information to the RGAA. Abby will probably take it to Rainforest.com executives. And Sienna will be banned from the Cradle store that Rainforest runs,” he says. There’s a gleam in his eye and I can tell he’s looking forward to the day when his boss doesn’t have to worry about Sienna, who at one point was someone Abby looked up to. That was great for a while, until Naughty Angel Publishing really blew up. And then that success? It was just looked on with resentment.
Parker summed it up better than I could've expected and Derek looks satisfied. Nodding to myself, I sit down and start scrolling through the directories.
There’s enough on this hard drive to give the most jaded blogger a fucking boner. Release strategies. Books that Sienna was taking ideas from to change around to make hers. Everything that would make a great expose.
But nothing that was overtly illegal.
Did we make a mistake?
I’m beginning to despair that she managed to move any incriminating evidence. Until Derek chimes in with a question.
“Guys, have you ever heard of a new site? Called Pure Smut For You?” he asks us.
Parker and I both shake our heads and I see his face go pale.
“What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Has Cara ever been a published author?” Derek answers with a question.
Again, Parker and I shake our heads. I should know if she was. I know every author that comes out of the big brands to branch off. And Cara has always been a PA.
There’s a look of concern in Derek’s eyes.
“Then you better come take a look at this,” he says to me. “I think we found our fucking smoking gun.”
Chapter 18