The Merciless Alpha(erotica)

The next morning’s shoot was at a tall waterfall on the big island, so we had to meet Mercedes at the airport and fly there by helicopter. Colleen was right; the video had hit the internet within minutes, and the news had been playing it as we ate breakfast. I was expecting Mercedes to be mad when she showed up. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what? That asshole got what he deserved. You kicked ass and looked great doing it, in a Bodyglove bikini,” she said. “Your fight was on every channel in the world this morning, and no one blames you except Skip. You told him to stop, he announced his intention to rape you, and he got his ass kicked for it. My phone has been ringing since midnight, Vicki. Press interest in your appearance at the Surf Shop is off the charts!” This morning was the last photoshoot, as my schedule had me signing autographs and talking to fans at the store from two to four this afternoon. “Could you do a press conference before the signing? PLEASE?”

“You better feed me,” I said as Mom rolled her eyes. “And we can’t short the fans. As long as there is a line, I’m going to sign,” I said. I didn’t sign the pictures and posters Mom had printed at the Bodyglove events unless a fan brought it in. Mercedes made sure some of the best shots from my first shoot became posters that bore the Bodyglove logo by my name, and they were free.

“As long as we finish by six. We have the Executive Dinner and the reveal of the best shots from this week’s shoot starting at seven. You’re going to wow them, Vicki.” At my first modeling job, the bruises on my ribs and face had to be hidden by my poses or erased digitally. I’d fully healed since then, and Hawaii was a beautiful backdrop. I couldn’t wait to see the photos we took yesterday.

My fans deserved my time, I’d vowed earlier. I was still amazed at how much money we’d raised for shark research in just one month. We’d placed a second order for more of the trackers, since we shattered our fundraising goal. We already had over five hundred tags active, with more coming online every day. Tomorrow, I was going out with Ocean and her team to tag Hawaiian Tiger Sharks with a documentary team. Our cheaper tags had a considerable advantage over previous designs; you could attach it to the end of a pole, then push it towards the shark’s dorsal fin from the front or back. The clamp would trigger when the edge of the dorsal hit the fold of the tag, so you could tag without capturing the shark first. The new method meant a lot less stress on the sharks, and a lot more sharks you could tag in a day.

I couldn’t talk the pilot into letting me have the controls on the return trip, which was the only bad part of the day. The press conference was chaotic, but the video was as clear as my story. It gave me a chance to talk about respect for women and the meaning of no. I don’t think Skip would be getting as many dates once his compound fracture healed.

I loved the signing, so many fans from little kids to grandparents. I signed, posed for pictures, and thanked people for over three hours until the store sold out of Bodyglove merchandise.

The dinner with the Bodyglove executives was even better; they loved me as their spokesman, and their sales had nearly doubled since the campaign began. The CEO wanted to lock me into a long-term deal as soon as possible and asked me what it would take. “I don’t mind the modeling, and I love the public events, but none of this was something I set out to do,” I said. “I love three things in my life; my family, my diving, and sharks.”

“We’ve made a substantial contribution to your shark tagging study,” he said.

“And I appreciate that very much. I love your company, and I want these lines to succeed wildly, and that’s why I want to talk to you about Amy Miller.”

“Your best friend, the one who was injured in your kidnapping?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Amy’s vision has improved a bit, but she may have permanent damage. That won’t stop her,” I said. I pulled out my phone and showed some photos of the two of us together. “We’ve trained and dived together since I was five. She’s going to dive again, and you should be with her when she does.” He looked up at me in shock. “She’s young and beautiful, more than I am. Her courage sets her apart. The press is going to notice, she’s going to attract interest, and you need her wearing Bodyglove when that happens.”

“How soon is that?”

“This summer.” I could see him thinking; in the fall, they would be planning the rollout of the spring lines, ones that I had more input in designing. “Amy and I are best friends, and you can work with that in next year’s campaign. Give her a contract, and you won’t regret it.” Having the two of us working and traveling together would be like a dream come true.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

“You’re not what I expected, Vicki. I’ve never met someone so energized in the idea of me hiring someone else.” He shook his head as he smiled at me. “I’ll talk to Mercedes about it.”

I wasn’t the only one smiling as the photos came on the screen during dessert; the CEO was having a rather animated conversation with Mercedes. The shoot had been a big success.

“I love it when a good plan comes together,” I sent to Mom.

Eugene, Oregon

Three Weeks Later

I checked myself in the mirror one last time; the Bodyglove-designed evening wear was beautiful on me. Inspired by the waters of Monterey Bay, the green strips resembled a kelp forest that swayed as I moved. The deep sea-blue by my hips got lighter as it moved up my body, ending in fake diamonds surrounding the bust and back representing the surface. My shoulders were bare, the thin straps doing just enough to hold everything in place. I topped it off with shark earrings and a beautiful diamond necklace Leo gave me for my sixteenth birthday, one that originally belonged to his first mate.

“Let’s make sure you are ready,” I said as I pulled Amy forward. Her dress was a shimmering white, like the moon on a winter’s night. It clung to her curves like paint and set off the black hair of her wig. Her diamond choker matched the engagement ring she wore on her left hand. “Kai is not going to be able to speak when he sees you,” I teased.

She moved her hand along her side. “I wish I could see, but it’s all fuzzy. I can see blobs where we are, but no detail.” Her vision was very slowly improving; her doctors said it could be years before enough of her brain rewired itself so she could see again. In the meantime, we rejoiced in every improvement she made. “I can almost imagine what this dress looks like from the feel.”

“Those Bodyglove designers went all out for you,” I said. The weekend after my Hawaii trip was the shark tagging event at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was the first public event for Amy since the attack. She was nervous, but we had her back. Well, us and Kai’s twin sisters, Makani (‘wind’ in Hawaiian) and Noelani (‘heavenly mist’). The pair worked with a local service dog training center to get certified as a seeing-eye dog while Amy was in the hospital. The vest and harness allowed them to go everywhere with Amy now, and since they were twins, they could alternate off fur time so each could get a break.

The fans loved her. They had heard my story, but Amy’s determination to see and dive again was inspiring. We sold every poster we had of the two of us, and she posed for hundreds of pictures.

Mercedes was impressed. I’d convinced the Bodyglove CEO she was worth a contract, and Mercedes was there to find out. Over dinner, she offered Amy ten thousand dollars to do a test shoot the next day. Amy wasn’t sure it would work, because she didn’t see how beautiful she was. The injury took her hair, but the rest of her body was hotter than mine.

The next day, we were on the rocky and wave-tossed Oregon coast. The makeup girls handled Amy like an old friend, making her comfortable as they used different makeup and wigs on her. She looked great in the swimsuits, and better in the wetsuits. It was during a morning break that the photographer spotted them.

Kai and Amy had walked off together, her ‘dog’ by her side. The photographer hid behind boulders as they came back, catching the loving couple as they enjoyed the day. “These are dynamite,” he said after they noticed him. “Is he under contract?” Mercedes said no. “Get him a contract. You can’t fake what I just saw. I HAVE to capture this.”

“I don’t know if I can sign a contract, I’m in the Naval Reserve,” Kai said.

“Take them anyway,” Mercedes said. “We’ll work it out when I’m not freezing.” And so they did. The rest of the shoot was of the two of them, modeling an entire line of Bodyglove products. They were freezing by the time the day finished. When they reviewed the shots on Monday, Mercedes was begging to get them both under contract.