Chapter 18 – Remembrance of Things Past
by Kleo EriliAs Chloe climbed out of the dryer and stood up, Ashley rushed over to her with a bathrobe and a water bottle. She wasn’t necessarily thirsty, but she wrapped the bathrobe around herself, grateful for the illusion of privacy, even though everyone in the room had just seen the important bits naked anyway. Besides, her legs were quite sticky.
Steve was already putting his jeans back on and looked as if nothing had happened. He caught her eye and nodded briefly. “Uh… good job today.”
“Thanks. You too.” The polite phrase came out automatically.
As she drank the water, Chloe watched Madeline Stokes rush the crew around the set. She moved among the crew members like a general inspecting his troops.
“Miguel, the next scene is on set 3. We need the high-key setup, please get it over there right away.” Madeline’s tone brooked no argument. Miguel, a stocky guy with a full beard and tattoos on both arms, just nodded and got to work.
“Ashley, are the performers for scene four in makeup yet?”
The PA checked her list on the clipboard. “Yes, Keisha should be done soon. Jake has reported that he will be late.”
“He’s already ten minutes late then. Call him and ask where he is.”
“If you’re looking for the showers, they’re across from the wardrobe room!” Ashley smiled apologetically at Chloe and then disappeared with the phone to her ear.
Madeline turned back to the first cameraman. “How’s the footage?”
“Looks good, boss. The lighting of the creampie was perfect.”
A brief satisfied nod. That was all the praise Madeline had to give. But it was enough. The cameraman beamed as if he had just won an Oscar.
She could vividly imagine it. Samantha, stubborn and proud, and Madeline, who wouldn’t accept anything else than her vision.
Immovable object against unstoppable force.
With that thought, she made her way to the shower.
~
Chloe had just slipped back into her normal clothes after her shower when Ashley poked her head into the dressing room. The production assistant looked slightly flustered.
“Ms. Stokes wants to see you in her office.”
Chloe’s stomach did a little somersault. Had she done something wrong? Had her performance not been good enough? In any case, it was a chance to gather some information. She forced herself to maintain a neutral expression.
“Is everything okay?”
Ashley nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, she just wants to talk. Come with me.”
She led Chloe through the warehouse, past Set 3, where a scene was being filmed in a replica office with a performer dressed as a secretary wearing very little. At the end of a long corridor, far away from the noise of the sets, was a door with a simple nameplate: M. STOKES.
Ashley knocked once briefly, waited for a “Come in!” from inside, then opened the door.
“Chloe Heart for you, Ms. Stokes.”
“Thanks, Ashley. Send her in.”
Madeline sat behind a neat dark wood desk, scrolling through something on her tablet. She looked up when Chloe entered and pointed to the chair in front of the desk.
“Sit down.”
Chloe sat down, her hands folded in her lap like a student in the principal’s office. Madeline put the tablet aside and looked her over with an alert, direct gaze.
“Good work today,” she said without preamble. “You’re professional, punctual, take instructions well. I appreciate that.”
“Thank you, Ms. Stokes.”
Madeline leaned back in her chair. “Ben really pushed to get you in here. Said you specifically asked to shoot for Sinful Stepsisters.” A hint of skepticism tinged her voice. “Is that true, or is that just Ben being Ben?”
Chloe laughed softly. “I told him I’d love to work with you. But maybe I didn’t phrase it quite the way he put it.”
That actually brought a small smile to Madeline’s lips. “Ben has a tendency to… exaggerate things.”
“A little, yes.”
“So.” Madeline leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “I’m curious. What made you want to shoot specifically for Sinful Stepsisters?”
Chloe had prepared this answer, just in case. “Before I was in the industry, when I was just watching…,” she laughed briefly, making it sound a bit embarrassed, “there was this one scene that I really liked and watched, like, so many times. The Christmas scene with Samantha Sparkles, where she unwraps the package… you know, the dick package.”
Madeline’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
“And I thought to myself,” Chloe continued, “if I ever actually dare to… shoot porn myself, then I definitely want to work with the people who produced that. And now I’ve dared to do it, so I asked Ben if he could ask you guys…” She shrugged.
“That’s actually one of my favorite scenes, too.” Madeline’s tone softened a little.
I know. You mentioned that four years ago in an obscure fan podcast.
“I directed that scene back then. We won an EVA for it, Samantha and I.”
“Ben mentioned that you two… had some issues.”
Madeline snorted. “Issues. You could call it that.” She stood up, walked to the window, and leaned against the windowsill.
“It was a little more complicated than that, but Ben probably didn’t tell you that. You know Valeria Cruz?” Chloe nodded and Madeline continued. “Valeria Cruz and I are basically the Coke and Pepsi of the Valley City porn industry. Two big production companies, similar markets, and we compete for the same talent.” An ugly smile. “And also, we can’t stand each other personally.”
Chloe nodded and waited for Madeline to get to the point.
“When Samantha started to really take off,” Madeline continued, “we both wanted her. Exclusively. It was absolutely clear that we had a once-in-a-decade star on our hands. We both made her offers, and we were pretty emphatic.”
Madeline returned to her desk.
“The problem was that it wasn’t exactly pleasant to be caught in a struggle between two powerful producers who both desperately wanted exclusive contracts. I pushed hard. Valeria pushed harder. It got ugly.”
“What happened?”
“Samantha happened.” Madeline laughed dryly. “She came in here one day, into this office, and had a complete meltdown. I mean a real tantrum. She screamed, yelled and made it unmistakably clear to me that she wouldn’t sign an exclusive contract with anyone. She literally told me to take my exclusive contract and shove it up my ass.”
Madeline’s mouth twitched.
“With that volume and intensity… there was no ambiguity. So I backed off. When someone says ‘no’ that loudly, you accept it.” A pause. “At least some of us do.”
The implication was clear. Valeria hadn’t backed down.
“Samantha was incredibly stubborn,” Madeline said, almost admiringly. “I would never have worked with her if she hadn’t been so talented. But it could definitely be frustrating.”
She shook her head.
Madeline opened a desk drawer and pulled out an envelope.
“Anyway. That was all years ago, and I don’t want to bore you with ancient industry history. If I ever become like Ben and start waxing lyrical about the good old days in the nineties with tears in my eyes late-night at industry parties, shoot me.” Madeline grinned, and Chloe smiled back.
Oh yes, she knows Ben.
Then her tone became businesslike again. “You did a good job today. I’d like to book you again. I have a few projects coming up in the near future and I think you’d be a good fit. I’ll contact Ben for the details, but it may take a little while.”
She slid the envelope across the desk. “Your payment.”
Chloe took the envelope and resisted the urge to count it. “Thank you, Ms. Stokes. I’d love to work for you again.”
Madeline nodded curtly. “I’m glad to hear that. Say hello to old Ziegler for me.”
Chloe left the office and walked back down the hallway to the studio entrance.
Ashley was waiting at the exit and said goodbye to her. “Everything okay?”
“Oh yes, everything’s fine,” said Chloe, putting the envelope in her bag. “Thanks for looking after me today.”
“You’re welcome. Hope to see you again.”
We’ll see, Chloe thought as she stepped out into the afternoon Valley City heat.
~
The apartment door closed behind her, Chloe threw her bag in the corner and grabbed her laptop to quickly record everything while it was still fresh in her mind. Madeline had given her so much information.
She skimmed through the last entry in her investigation document before updating it.
Investigation document
Dinner with Ben Ziegler: He has a pattern with his “stars”. Definitely slept with Tiffany Wild, Jenny Jackson, AND Samantha (YUCK). Desperate to make a comeback to the industry’s top league. His story about Samantha: She was too stubborn, made bad business decisions, made enemies. Daz Carter (ex-boyfriend, videographer) was allegedly pathologically jealous, drama and distraction. Said Samantha had conflicts with Madeline Stokes (Sinful) and Lucia DeVries (Dark Desires). IMPORTANT: Ben dodged HARD when the murder came up.
She started typing.
Investigation document
Madeline Stokes: Massive rivalry with Valeria Cruz (“Coke and Pepsi of the porn industry”). BOTH wanted Samantha exclusively under contract and pressured her. Madeline says Samantha had a complete meltdown in Madeline’s office and made it clear that she would NEVER sign an exclusive contract with anyone. Madeline withdrew after this outburst. But Valeria apparently continued.
Valeria Cruz (again and again): Trevor Knight confirmed Valeria’s pressure on Samantha and hinted that Samantha wanted to leave the industry, Elena Rodriguez warned me about “powerful people” and “private parties” and on Threadit I also read something about secret sex parties organized by Valeria. Madeline Stokes also confirmed that she and Valeria pressured Samantha, but that Valeria doesn’t respect any boundaries.
Theory: Samantha wanted out, but Valeria didn’t want to let her go.
As she typed, a realization suddenly hit her like a blow. She had just finished another shoot. A porn shoot. With a guy named Steve Balls, for fuck’s sake. And it had been… okay?
She had even had a normal conversation with the director afterwards, and Madeline had treated her like a business partner, not a piece of meat. Respectfully, even.
How did it all become normal so quickly?
She thought about dinner with Ben. How easy it had been for her to play Chloe Heart. The broad smile, the feigned “Oh my God!” exclamations, the calculated flirting. It had come so naturally, without having to think about it too much.
And with Madeline, she had built rapport and teased information out of her. But was that Chloe Thompson investigating? Or Chloe Heart networking?
She had almost had an orgasm today. With a guy named Steve Balls balls deep inside her. In a dryer. In front of three cameras.
What the hell is happening to me?
She remembered Samantha’s CCC video. How her sister had smiled on that black leather sofa, had climaxed on that black leather sofa. Her sister, who had apparently slept with her agent. With Ben fucking Ziegler. Maybe she hadn’t even had to act from the beginning. Or had she stopped acting somewhere along the way?
Would that happen to her too? What if the performance became reality?
She tried to calm herself. She was here for a reason. Justice for Samantha. Not for a career, not for money, not for fame. Just for the truth. Once she had that, she could leave. Go back to being Chloe Thompson.
But can I? Will Chloe Thompson still exist when this is over?
BRRRT. BRRRT.
She jumped as her phone vibrated on the nightstand, pulling her out of her spiraling thoughts. She reached for it and saw Ben’s name on the display.
She put her phone away and stared at the wall. Everything she had learned so far pointed to Valeria Cruz. The pressure on Samantha. The ignored boundaries. The private parties Elena had warned her about.
And now Valeria wanted her there.
It would give her direct access to her prime suspect. That was what she had worked for, what she had allowed herself to be humiliated for.
But these parties had a dark reputation. And Valeria was dangerous, Chloe was sure of that. Samantha had tried to get away from her. And she had been murdered.
I have no choice.
She had to go. That was why she was here. Why she had spread her cheeks for Randy Miles. Why she had let Trevor Knight fuck her throat. Why she had gotten fucked in that damn dryer.
Chloe reached for the laptop again and typed one last note:
Investigation document
Ben passed on an invitation to a private party from Valeria Cruz. This Saturday
RIP word document formatting. Also the level of dissociaation she’s trying to build between herself and the person who does porn shoots is not gonna stay as astrong as she’s hoping.
No idea why that broke though.
Should work again now.