1998

Las Vegas, Nevada

AEX

-1-

Alex Haley’s forehead strikes the bathroom vanity.

His vision goes white and a sharp sensation slices down his body. Kenneth Maxwell forces him to face the mirror. He hated the sight of his blotchy red faced reflection.

“Stop being fucking dramatic. Look at yourself,” Maxwell growls from behind him. “Crying like a little bitch. Are you a bitch ?”

Maxwell drags him by his hair to the toilet. He shoves Haley to his knees in front of it.

Haley lifts two shaky fingers to his mouth. Maxwell smacks them away.

“No, not that, Angel,” Maxwell teases coldly. “If you want to act like a bitch I’ll play along. Show master what a good little puppy bitch are.”

Maxwell lifts the toilet seat and kneels to Haley’s eye level.

“Drink, bitch.”

“M-Maxwell, I’m sorry--,” Haley trembles. “I—I—I’m sorry—I just forgot--”

“Bitches don’t talk. I said drink.”

Maxwell palms the back of Haley’s head and forces his face into the toilet bowl. Hot tears of humiliation rush down his face as it submerges in the water. When he can’t hold his breath any longer his mouth opens. The taste of industrial bleach and a chemical lemon over power his senses.

Surprisingly, it was more tolerable than lapping up canned dog food off the kitchen floor. And at least there was no one  else around to witness this.

Maxwell pulls his head out of the toilet bowl and Haley coughs up water, his throat raw.  He watches a drop of water fall on to Maxwell’s prized Cartier chronograph. He recalls the diatribe Maxwell went on when he’d stupidly referred to the $10,000 silver timepiece as simply a watch.

“Disgusting little bitch,” Maxwell snaps, shaking the drop of water of the chronograph.

Maxwell stands and takes two long strides back to the hotel suite’s gold-veined granite vanity  and unzips his leather toiletry case. He takes out a small bottle of  Listerine and throws it to Haley.

“Rinse your filthy mouth. And next time I tell you to do something you better fucking do it,” Maxwell growls. “I want that character reference done tonight. Use my laptop --”

“What about the staff dinner--”

“Nobody gives a shit if you're at my dinner, Angel. I need that reference letter. If Lansing gets to  keep custody of my son I’m blaming your fat ass.”

Maxwell walks out of the bathroom and Haley rinses with the mouthwash before starting a shower. He takes a  small comfort in knowing they had social obligations this weekend and Maxwell wouldn’t dare leave marks on him.

Barely 8 hours into Adult Entertainment Expo weekend, his favorite weekend of the year, and he’d already fucked it up.

Their annual AEX  weekend trip had started off perfect.

Maxwell sent their luggage ahead with a production assistant so they could drive from their home in Los Angeles to Las Vegas in Maxwell’s new Miata. He put the top down and let Haley have full control of the music, only rolling his eyes playfully when Haley chose to listen to the …Baby One More Time album three times.

Maxwell hadn’t snapped when he asked if they could stop so he could use the bathroom, he let him pick In N Out for lunch  and hadn’t berated him when he ate all his french fries. Their Las Vegas hotel suite had been upgraded free of charge by a sponsor. He’d just finished giving Maxwell two blow jobs and had  been  picking out an outfit for the cast and crew dinner at Spago. It was the perfect day.

Then Maxwell’s mobile phone rang and ruined everything.

It was Maxwell’s custody lawyer informing him he’d never received Haley’s character reference for Maxwell. Haley had tried to feign sleep, hoping Maxwell would think it was a mail error and they’d deal with it when they got home.

But it hadn’t gone that way at all.

Maxwell was too determined to get his son back.

Two months ago, a tape of Maxwell verbally abusing his 8-year-old son  arrived in the mailbox of Lieutenant Lansing Prescott, Maxwell’s ex-partner. Lansing went to the police with it and finally got the full custody he’d been fighting for. The package with the tape had been  postmarked from the cleaning service Maxwell employed  but the tape hadn’t come from one of his maids.

It had come from Haley.

---

1990

Sunland, California

-2-

Alex Haley was six months shy of 18 when he decided he couldn't take it anymore either.

His  mother had died of complications of an overdose the year before and his older brother had missed the funeral because he'd been sentenced to a long stint San Quentin. Then his older sister had packed her things and walked out of their grandmother’s house leaving a short note; I’m sorry. I can’t take it anymore. I love you. Love, Isla.

Haley’s 88-year-old grandmother assured him the church would save them but she also forbade him from telling the pastor about the pending eviction notice, cut off electricity and empty fridge.

She encouraged him to drop out of high school the summer before his senior year so he could work more hours at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center's cafeteria. Haley loved his grandmother and wanted to take care of her.

But he also hated her.

He came  home from 12 hours shifts  to find his paycheck already cashed and half of it sent to her favorite televangelists who had private jets while they were surviving on cafeteria leftovers and food pantries. 

Between his night shift and morning shift he’d  take the bus to West Hollywood and hover at Wonderland, a small 24 hour gay bookstore. He'd sneak glances at the magazines  and VHS tapes with bulky half naked men clad in leather. When it looked like he'd been staring too long he'd  grab a handful of the $.50 used pulp novels and leave as quickly as he came.

He’d been doing  just that when he was approached by Dynamo Hinkley, a talent manager for Real Live Ass, Inc. They were creating a subsidiary for alternative markets  called Harmony Entertainment and offered him softcore modeling work.

“How old are you ?,” Dynamo had asked.

“17,” Haley had said.

“Shit. Alright, when is your birthday ?”

“6 months.”

“Okay. I can work with that,” Dynamo grinned.

Nearly everyone in the Los Angeles area was trying to break in the business but it had never seemed like an option for Haley.

Out of curiosity he took the offer and showed up to a studio in the San Fernando Valley two weeks later.

He was shown an elaborate craft services table where he could eat whatever he wanted for free. Then he was introduced to a production assistant, makeup artist, director and photographer who dressed and posed him for hours.

They loved his small frame, full lips and that he wore his blonde hair long, hanging just past his ears. He’d only ever been teased for his looks and even had a small scar on his eyelid from where he'd tried to cut his eyelashes off when he was 10 because his mother's friends teased him so much.

Modeling was  more fun than cafeteria work and he went back as often as he was asked. They paid him $40 an hour, bumping it up to $75 if he sat for hair extensions and makeup and posed in women’s lingerie. At first he went by his last name but eventually took the stage name Angel Ward.

His photoshoots were done in the same studio Harmony filmed hardcore videos. He’d touched naked bodies when he was too young to understand what was being done  but these bodies were different. They were all camera ready, unblemished and beautiful with carved muscles and softness in all the acceptable places. He  hovered, watching how the scenes were filmed and listening to the actors talk about their rates while they ate lunch.

On his 18^th birthday, the Harmony cameras rolled  as the gathered actors and crew sang happy birthday to him. He blew out his candles on a tiered, sprinkle covered birthday cake,  and  filmed his first hardcore scene.

He’d never had a secret life and wasn’t as careful as he could have been. When his grandmother found proof of him kissing another male model she’d called over a lay minister who accused  him of worshiping Satan. They ransacked his room and he argued and when it was over he was told to leave and only come back when he was better.

It hadn’t scared him as much as it should have. He  moved into a shitty  San Fernando Valley  apartment with  Minnow Dory---a 24 year-old aspiring starlet from Las Vegas who was new at Harmony too.

He met her older brother, Jean Dory, a professional escort  who visited often from Vegas. He also met their friend Luce Grace--who the Dorys treated like an annoying little brother despite the 22-year-old USC freshman having the body of a Wrestlemania star and a quiet manner.

Luce worked security for Harmony to put himself through school at USC. When Haley started eating lunch outside to get away from his co-stars, who were often straight men begrudgingly doing gay scenes for money, Luce joined him. Luce claimed he liked the quiet.

When Harmony sent the cast and crew  to the 1991 Adult Entertainment Expo in Vegas Haley stayed close to Luce and the Dorys. It was his first time out of state and since they were all from Las Vegas and  took delight in showing him all the tourist traps. He couldn’t legally gamble but  he’d spent the night being their good luck charm and they’d won big in Caesar's Palace together.

It was the most fun he’d ever had. They were a close knit group and Haley thought he was close to being allowed inside their world too.

But he’d let it slip away the day he met Kenneth Maxwell.

 

1991

San Fernando Valley, California

-3-

At 39-years-old, he was 21 years Haley's senior, stood at 6 and a half feet tall with dark hair and even darker eyes. He was an army veteran with an M.B.A, a juris doctorate, a buzzing social life and a recently acquired inheritance from his grandparents that got him the EP Harmony job.

Months after he was hired Minnow Dory gave up on finding success in the adult entertainment industry and went back home tp Las Vegas, leaving Haley with an apartment he couldn’t afford on his own.

Maxwell offered to rent Haley a room in his North Hollywood house. It only took a week for him to move into Maxwell’s bed. He fell for everything Maxwell offered; attention, adoration and safety.

The only movie Haley owned  was Pretty Woman. He was convinced he was Vivian Ward and Maxwell was his Richard Gere.  That he was getting his Pretty Woman moment.

But Haley hadn’t known about Cassia, Maxwell’s ex-wife in Anaheim who had full custody of their daughter and got almost half the income he bothered to report.

Or Lieutenant Lansing Prescott, Maxwell’s bitter ex-partner stationed in San Bernadino.

Or Skylar Maxwell, Maxwell and Lansing’s 11-month-old son that Maxwell had no interest in taking care of but had taken full custody for out of spite.

The  summer  Haley moved in  the baby was spending the summer with his grandparents in Monterey.  By the time Haley discovered he existed he’d fallen hard for Maxwell.

Haley been so wrapped up in his fantasy he hadn’t noticed Maxwell cutting all of his scenes so he had time to do personal favors for him.  When Maxwell was between nannies he asked Haley to fill in. When Maxwell decided he no longer wanted to pay aspiring adult actresses to be his nanny, he left Haley to watch Skylar all weekend while he went out . Haley didn’t know the first thing about babies but he’d learned for Maxwell.

The first time Maxwell slapped him had been eight months in.

 He accidentally bought regular soda instead of diet with Maxwell's lunch. Maxwell had apologized relentlessly and the next day twelve dozen red roses were delivered to the house with a promise it would never happen again.

But it never stopped.

The first time Haley tried to leave was two years in. It had been right after he’d been punched in the face  in front of Sky for asking about getting work right after Maxwell had just forbade work talk at the dinner table. Haley had made a show of grabbing the money he’d kept hidden in the shed and taking a city bus to a men’s shelter. He’d barely been inside the unkempt, overcrowded shelter for  10 minutes before he’d called Maxwell, begging to be picked  up.

He’d bite his tongue and spent the next five years living in the good moments and finding reasons to stay in the bad ones.

But in the last year Haley had noticed Maxwell had started directing his anger towards Sky. 

He was only 8-years-old but Haley could see he was going to be tall like his father and he feared what happened when a man like Maxwell felt threatened. He knew he needed to get Sky out of the house. Sky had another father so it wasn't like he would end up in the foster system.

So  he’d left one of Sky’s handheld games on in the middle of the hallway for Maxwell to find and recorded his reaction.

A naïve part of him hoped there wouldn’t be a reaction to record. But Maxwell had been in a foul mood that day. He called his son names and made horrible threats. The police and a social worker had come two days later and  escorted the confused 8-year-old boy away. 

Haley wanted to feel righteous but it broke Maxwell to have his son taken away. He cried in Haley's arms and woke in the middle of the night from nightmares that Haley was going to leave him too. He promised he’d be a better man. He'd made Haley laugh and feel special.  He said he wanted Sky back so they could make if official and be a family.

Haley's grandmother had passed by then. His older sister had cut off all contact with him after they'd gotten in a fight at their grandmother's funeral because of her vehement disapproval of Maxwell. He didn't have anymore family left and he wanted one with Maxwell. The man who had been the only constant presence in his adult life.

And so again. He stayed.

1998

Las Vegas, Nevada

AEX
-4-

Haley wakes to Maxwell humping his thighs, his gin-soaked breath hot on his neck. With a deep grunt, Maxwell angles his hips and marks Haley's backside with semen.

“Get up, Angel,” Maxwell sighs, getting out of bed.

“It’s five in the morning--”

“I said get up. We need to print that fucking letter.”

The hotel’s business office concierge helps them print Haley’s character reference letter and gives him a stamped envelope to mail it. Maxwell’s cell phone never stops ringing and when he’s not paying attention  Haley quickly replaces the letter in the envelope with a blank sheet of paper. He’d figure out what to do about it when Maxwell found out later.

Satisfied the letter was mailed, Maxwell leads them to the hotel gym. He guides Haley to stand on the digital scale in the corner of the gym.

His anxiety spikes watching the numbers on the scale. He didn't perform much but Maxwell like him to attain his camera ready body as if he did. He made sure they worked out twice a day to maintain it.

Haley clips his reliable  old Walkman to his hip and runs on the treadmill to the Dixie Chicks tape inside. Afterward, they shower together and Maxwell fucks him against the slippery shower wall before going out to the balcony to smoke.  

Haley pulls on a tie-dye t-shirt with the Harmony Entertainment logo embroidered on the upper left and  fitted white jeans. He ties the shirt into a knot at his waist and blows out his hair with a round brush until the blonde layers curl to frame his chin. His hair was a little longer than Maxwell liked it, but he hadn’t said anything about it.

A continental breakfast is bought up to the suite for Maxwell’s breakfast meeting with the talent managers. Haley does what is expected of him; drinking only water and sitting adoringly at Maxwell’s side; selling Maxwell's  image as a hotshot producer.

Later, the Harmony cast and crew come up  to be briefed on the Expo schedule. Haley wasn’t familiar with any of the Harmony cast and crew—not since Luce Grace left Harmony's security detail two months earlier. Haley tries to be friendly and  Maxwell keeps him close, pinching his side as reminder when he was talking too much or saying something stupid.

When they all leave Maxwell turns suddenly  and scoops Haley into his arms. Maxwell's hands cup his ass and Haley’s legs wrap around Maxwell’s trim waist. Maxwell kisses him sweetly, brushing their noses together.

“That went well,” Maxwell smiles. “That new PA could not stop  fucking staring at you.  Have I told you that you’re amazing today ? Because you are.”

He craved Maxwell’s praise. It made him feel good. He carefully takes one of Maxwell’s hands and places it on the button of his jeans.

“We have time,” he whispers.

“Hold that thought, Angel.” Maxwell hums. “I have to run to a meeting at Caesar’s Palace--”

“That’s my favorite casino,” Haley beams sitting up higher in Maxwell’s arms and placing his arms around his neck. “Did I tell you how when I came here my very first time we won like $1200 in blackjack--”

“Don't say 'like', it makes you sound like an ignorant cousinfucker. And I need you  to sit this meeting out.” Maxwell interrupts walking over to the desk and setting Haley on it.

Maxwell carefully removes his chronograph and sets it in Haley’s hands.

“Take this to the jewelry cleaner in the lobby for me.”

He nods.

“....Do you think maybe I could walk over and wait for you in the casino--”

“No,” Maxwell snaps. “This meeting is with the major distribution reps. I can’t risk  them seeing us together and being reminded they’re having drinks with a queer.”

Haley nodded. Most of Maxwell’s drunken rages were about how he’d been hired because he could blend with the straight men who ran the industry even though they didn’t respect him or his “lifestyle.”

“Okay, well…when are we going to go to the Expo floor ? …I haven’t left the hotel since we got in--”

“Why would you even go to the Expo floor ? The crew have the booth handled,” Maxwell sneers, shrugging on his sports coat. “I need my chronograph cleaned, I don’t give a shit what you do afterwards but I want you back here waiting for me tonight so I can get you ready for the party.”

----

-5-

The AEX show  floor was a mix industry professionals, overzealous diehard fans and wide-eyed groups of roaming yuppies from the Consumer Electronics Show next door. Most of them men. Most of them straight.

Occasionally an elaborately dressed starlet surrounded by security would walk by and an excited small crowd would form around her for pictures.

Haley walks the entire floor from one end to the other, collecting the little free gifts along the way. After an hour he reaches the slower end of the floor with  a knapsack full of zines, pens, keychains, condoms and buttons. The smaller, cheaper booths had less free items but he still liked to make the effort.

In a small, unadorned booth the scent of leather catches his attention. He turns to see a criminally handsome male Dominant tying his middle aged female submissive with a soft belly to an expensive looking St. Andrews’ Cross.

Her body was so different from the other the naked bodies he saw on the floor. Her skin dimpled in places, lines marked her thighs and her breasts swung low. The realness of it made what they were doing feel even more intimate, despite being done on an open convention floor.

He’d been tied up for fetish shoots. He’d done it at the clubs Maxwell used to visit when they first started dating.  But it had never struck him quite like this this.

The Dom notices him staring and walks over, crossing his generously muscled arms.

“Do you want next?,” he rumbles in accented English. Haley notes the Mexican flag patch on his leather vest.

He wanted to say yes. Hell, he'd  happily do anything this man told him. But before Haley can respond a new voice calls his legal name--despite the name on his badge being his stage name.

“Aaaaalex Haleyyyy !,” it trills.

Haley turns to see Jean Dory walking toward him, a plastic bag bulging with Styrofoam takeout boxes hanging off each arms.  Jean’s spiky dark hair was now highlighted a bronze-y blonde at the ends. His tall slender form was encased in  studded denim flare jeans, a bejeweled Ed Hardy t-shirt and stacked platform boots.

He sets the Styrofoam boxes down and opens his arms to Haley. Jean’s easy energy was just as  affectionate as he’d remembered.

“Hi,” Haley smiles. “I can’t believe you remember me---”

“Oh, I’d never forget you, love,” Jean smiles as he breezes over and squeezes the arm of the tied up woman and the Dom who tied her up.

Jean gives them each a Styrofoam box before going to sit behind the table in the unadorned booth space.  A printer paper banner above the booth reads Virtue and the bare table was sprinkled with novelty condoms and business cards.

Sitting behind table is a very pregnant girl hunching over a purple iBook. She inspects the contents of the Styrofoam box Jean hands her  and then goes back to the laptop.

“Is this your booth ?,” Haley asks.

Jean smiles and nods.

“Welcome to Virtue ! I burned out of the escort game and  realized…I should be my own damn boss.” he says and gestures to the pregnant girl. “Oh, and this is little Charlotte. She’s helping as my cute little summer intern--”

“Jean, we’re almost out of business cards,” Charlotte says resting her hand on her baby bump. “We should have printed extras of the cheap ones. And we should be collecting e-mail addresses too--”

“Oh, tut, tut,tut,” Jean dismisses her and stage whispers to Haley. “Two years at Pepperdine and suddenly she thinks she knows everything. Charlotte, my love, this is Haley. Your aunt’s roommate when she lived in that dreadful hovel in California.”

Haley had known Jean had a  daughter when he and Minnow were roommates. She'd spend most of the time at a boarding school and summer camp. It seemed impossible she was in college and pregnant.

“What is Virtue  ?,” Haley asks.

Charlotte hands him a black and white brochure that looked like it had been printed from a home computer and a thick business card that had gold engraved text and a  rhinestone in the corner. “Virtue is still in launch phase but it will be a fully cyber adult experience--”

“Don’t give him the pitch,” Jean interrupts shaking half a bag of barbecue chips into Charlotte’s takeout box.

She purses her lips.

“Don’t look at me like that, love. I know you want them,” Jean says before turning back to Haley. “Virtue sends porn directly to our members using the internet.  No tapes or magazines. Plus without the middle man  we can have flexibility with the types of models and scenes we shoot.  Oh and we'll  even do  custom scenes and  give out bonus access like personal blogs and e-mail access to fan's favorite performers.”

“Do people want porn on their computers ?,” Haley asks. The whole thing sounded too complicated for anyone to bother with.

“Look at this place, love.  It’s all they want on their computers. You should see the garbage people post on online. It’s not at all as quaint as You’ve Got Mail would lead you to believe. I’m still hiring talent if you're interested. You might get to work with Gaige.”

He inclines his head towards the dark haired Dominant who was somehow making squeezing a mustard packet on a turkey sandwich look incredibly sexy.

“Oh, I’m still technically signed with Harmony,” Haley explains pointing to the logo on his shirt.

Jean grimaces.

“Yes, I know. Your Harmony shit sucks,” Jean retorts bluntly around a mouthful of chips. “Don’t you think all that barely legal and tricked by a chick with dick bullshit is gross ? I’m all for kink but there is a line. Especially considering the audience Harmony claims they want.”

Something about the few scenes Maxwell produced for him always made Haley uncomfortable but he'd just been grateful to be allowed to work.

“I don’t have the body to do a lot of other scenes--”

“Says who ?”

“Max-”

“Maxwell ?,” Jean sighs in exaggeration. “Oh, fuck me. Are you still with--”

“Yeah,we--”

“Listen to me. What is sexy is never standard,” Jean continues. "I was a professional escort for a very long time and let me tell you;  people find more things sexy than hard abs and big dicks. You know Minnow always thought Maxwell was a prick--”

“How is Minnow ?,” he asks. He needed a subject change.

“Oh, she’s Assistant Director of Operations for the MBC Grand Casino,” Jean beams proudly.

“That’s great,” he smiles. “And Luce ? Have you heard from him ?”

Luce had left security work at Harmony Entertainment after he earned his second Master's and was offered a grown up job in Silicon Valley. He and Haley promised to keep in touch and call but neither had.

“Oh, Luce is just being Luce,” Jean quips.

Haley smiles even though he had no idea what that meant.

“I should go--”

“Will I see you at the fetish party tonight ?,” Jean asks. “I’ve heard it’s quite a blast.”

“I’ll be there. It’s strange…I just remember this whole thing being so much more fun the first time,” Haley says.

“That’s because places like this are only as fun as the people you’re with.” Jean winks.

>>>

---

This is one of the shorter chapters because there is a TON of exposition. 1998 will be kind of  a big chunk and then we'll move forward a bit.

CP!Shawna: Did we realize Haley's stage name is the same as a name you used for El's sister in Sunshine ?

SHV: Um....oops. Wow, we realized this waaaaay too late. lol.😅

Research Facts:

- I purposely don't name the hotel they are staying in because I know I'd get hung up on looking up details.

- I originally thought it was weird having  Charlotte help her Dad launch his adult entertainment company but the biggest adult entertainment producer, Vivid Entertainment is a family company. The CEOs are siblings and their father made "stag films" in the 50s ....I'll blog later about the insanely Safe For Work research I did on the adult industry in the 90s.

-  There are going to be a few anarchism in this that will only bother me.  Like Charlotte's clamshell iBook wouldn't have come out until 1999 but I really wanted her to have one, lol.

>>>