Free Reason To Believe by Roxanne St. Claire

she heard a low, muffled grunt, a groan, a whimper. Coming from the closed door of Brian’s office. Was that…what she thought it was?
    She looked at Chase, and could tell he was thinking exactly the same thing. She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I want to walk in on that.” She glanced around at the desks. One was Carla’s, for sure. Were they…
    A guttural groan of pleasure came from the other side of the door. The distinct uncontrolled call of a man about to have an orgasm. Arianna’s stomach tightened and she drew back, embarrassed.
    “Let’s go,” she whispered, tugging at Chase’s arm. “I really don’t want to hear the grand finale.”
    Brian moaned again, calling out baby or lady.
    “Come on .” She pulled Chase, disgust and panic rolling up her middle.
    He nodded, staying with her as she broke into a light run down the hall to the front entrance. Outside, she sucked in air and lifted her face to the warm California sun.
    “Well,” she said, with an uncomfortable laugh. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that from an unscheduled visit to his office.”
    Chase seemed unfazed, his focus on her. “You okay?”
    “Sure,” she said, feigning a casual voice. “Just heard a little bit of the nasty, but, hey, this is Hollywood.”
    “It seems odd that a man that busy and important would pleasure himself in the middle of the business day.”
    She blinked into the sun, the strobe effect as jumpy as her brain. “He wasn’t in there jacking off, Chase. Someone was doing it to him.”
    “I only heard one person.”
    “Maybe she had her mouth full,” she shot back. “He’s not the kind of guy to shut his door to spank the monkey—women throw themselves at him. It was probably Carla. She’d do anything to get ahead in this business.”
    “And is he the kind of guy who’d exchange sex for a promotion? You don’t strike me as a woman who would be attracted to someone like that.”
    Somewhere in that statement, there was a compliment. But she was still too caught up with what she’d just heard in Brian’s office to dissect his comment.
    “He just…he isn’t like that.” She knew she sounded lame, defending her ex-lover. “We never…” Well, they had, but not in his office, for crying out loud. “Believe me, he’s a workaholic. If I know Brian, we probably overheard an audition tape for a show he’s casting.” Oh, wouldn’t that be nice. She started walking, clinging to that pathetic hope. “I bet that’s what it was.”
    “Maybe someone wanted you to walk in on that,” Chase said.
    The thought brought her to a stop. “Whoever called me! Yes, that’s possible. Someone wanted to set me up. But why?”
    “Maybe to get you to quit?”
    “Why would that make me quit?”
    “Someone who thinks you’re still in love with him?”
    “I never was. We’re friends and we parted on great terms, but Brian…well, he’ll never have room for anyone in his heart but his first love.” She pointed across the lot. “The security offices are over there.”
    “You know,” Chase said, “all those e-mails do have that same subtext in the message. Like someone wants you to be exposed as a fraud, and then you’d have to quit. Are you sure there isn’t another psychic waiting in the wings to take over your job? Maybe that’s who was auditioning in there.”
    She considered her response, walking again. “At the risk of sounding like a total egotist, I’ll just tell you that Brian says it isn’t what I say, as much as how I say it. I don’t like to think that’s the only reason people watch my show, but I do like to think I offer…something special. He has me play it up, with lots of personality and way too much makeup. Some people have suggested rotating me with another psychic to build even more ratings, maybe a man like John Edwards. But Brian said I have…enchantment.”
    She stole a look at Chase, expecting a big eye roll. But he was just smiling at her. “He’s right. You are