Free Friends With More Benefits by Luke Young Page A

dive
right into it, can you?"
    "Uh, no."
    The clerk scanned the book then held it up. "I
just love the cover. That's a real ballet move you know?"
    "Uh, huh."
    "The Rebecca character is a real monster. I
don't want to give anything away, but she's completely out of her
mind." The clerk whispered, "Into this really deviant sex stuff. I,
uh, couldn't put it down though. Are you one of our reward
members?"
    Natalie returned a tired look. "No."
    The clerk glanced at the screen. "That'll be
thirty fifty-eight."
    Her jaw dropped as she asked, "Thirty
dollars?"
    "Yes. It would be about twenty-five, but you
don’t have a rewards card. I can sign you up if—"
    "Are you selling a lot of this book?" Natalie
asked with keen interest.
    "We are. I think it could be her biggest seller
ever. Her fans have been waiting almost two years for a new
book."
    Natalie wore an evil grin as she handed over the
cash.
     
     
    Once she retuned to her dorm,
Natalie dove into the novel. When she finished at 3:16 A.M. boy was she pissed.
Rebecca was obviously based on her—she was Rebecca. Brice and Ryder
and Anastasia were Brian, Rob, and Jillian. It was worse than she
thought in the bookstore. She was painted as an anal sex whore,
man-manipulating lunatic. She flipped to the copyright page and
read:
     
     
    This book is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the
product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely
coincidental.
     
     
    "Coincidental my ass," she said out loud as she
tossed the book on the bed then drifted off to sleep exhausted.
    At 10:38 A.M. the next morning she was
awakened by a knock at her door. She opened it and signed for an
overnight package. Natalie tore it open and discovered another copy
of The Leg Thing .
She glanced at the Post-it note with the name Rebecca on it and
frowned. She searched the envelope for a return address and could
find none. Then she picked up the printed articles, enclosed with
the book, and studied them curiously. She sat down and read every
word. One of the cases caught her attention. A case where a young
man was awarded an undisclosed settlement rumored to be in the
six-figure range with a complaint similar to hers. And that author
was nowhere near as big as Jillian Grayson. An attorney from New
York named Josh Roth handled the case and was quoted in the
article.
    Natalie located the Web site for the law firm,
clicked on Josh's picture, and found him to be young and
attractive. She smiled when she located a recent article featuring
Josh as one of New York's most eligible bachelors. He was single as
well. What twelve hours ago seemed like a complete nightmare was
looking more like a dream come true. She was already planning how
to spend the settlement money.
     

12
    Natalie was standing at the reception desk of
one of the most prestigious law firms in New York City. She was
wearing a pair of supertight jeans and an equally tight top that
showed off all her assets. Under her top, she wore a lace miracle
bra, which made her look a full cup larger than her God-given Bs.
She looked hot.
    The young female receptionist glared at her as
she said, "As I told you twice before…without an appointment you
will not be able to see Mr. Roth. He's in meetings all day."
    Natalie picked up her copy
of The Leg Thing from the counter and glanced around the busy lobby. She
paused to think and then headed out to the bank of elevators. She
watched as attorneys and clients walked in and out of the offices.
Nearly all the men who walked by gawked at her as they passed, but
Josh Roth was the only attorney for her, and she would wait as long
as it took.
    Two hours later she saw him heading out of the
offices toward her. She stood quickly and waited as Josh hit the
button for the elevator. She moved next to him and dropped the book
on the floor. When she didn’t make any attempt to pick it up, he
glanced to