Different Circles

“You are going to be living in our house with us,” Laura explained. “You are going to see the real Kingsleys if you take this job. Not the Kingsleys that the media like to portray us as, not the Kingsleys you are probably envisioning in your mind, not even the Kingsleys that we like to think we are, but the real us. All the good, all the bad, all the juicy gossip.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice cautious again. “And ... uh ... what are the real Kingsleys like? I think I should probably get an idea of where you’re going with this before I sign my name anywhere.”

“I think you’re right,” Jake said. He looked over at Laura for a moment and she nodded.

“Tell her,” she said.

“Tell me what?” she asked, her tone wavering between fear and curiosity.

“First of all,” Jake said, “let me assure you that we are not talking about anything illegal under the law—not really anyway. The only truly illegal thing we do here is to smoke a little weed. I’m sure that does not surprise or shock you.”

“No, not at all,” Meghan said. “I pretty much just assumed that you did that. You are musicians, after all.”

Jake smiled. “Good point,” he said. “We also drink alcohol, probably more than your average person does, but again, that is not illegal. We do not use any hard drugs. I used to do a little cocaine back in the Intemperance days, but haven’t touched a single flake in many years. I have never used meth or hallucinogens or ecstasy or anything like that. I do not plan to start using such things.”

“Okay,” Meghan said. “That’s all good, I guess.”

“However, there is something that we do indulge in that, while not illegal, we do not wish to become general knowledge. It is a particularly juicy piece of gossip that, if you mentioned it to a single person you know, would spread like wildfire from that point. It is something that you will not be able to help but notice, I’m afraid, and it is something we must be able to trust you to keep to yourself.”

“Wow,” she said. “This sounds pretty intriguing.”

“Indeed it is,” Jake said. “We have made the decision to tell you our secret now, at this interview, before you sign the nondisclosure agreement you will have to sign to accept the position.”

“But ... if I don’t sign the agreement first,” she said, “then there is nothing to keep me from blabbing whatever it is you are going to tell me.”

“That is true to some degree,” Jake said, “but we’re going to do it anyway. We want you to know what you are getting yourself into and what level of secrecy we will require of you. If you decide that you can’t keep something like this secret, please tell us now and then feel free to go out into the world and blab what you know. We won’t be able to stop you. Of course, we will deny the story and you will have no proof of what you accuse, so the damage would be minimal to us. It is only after you have worked closely for us for a few months and were able to provide details, times and dates, specific actions, and possibly even photos or audio recordings, that your knowledge would truly become believable.”

“I think I understand,” she said slowly. “Is this about ... you know ... Satanic rituals though? If that’s what you’re talking about then I’m not sure I can take the job. I’m a Christian girl, after all.”

Jake laughed. “No, it isn’t about Satanic rituals or any other kind of occult worship. I am agnostic. Laura is a lapsed Mormon. Neither of us would know the first thing about Satanism.”

“Okay,” Meghan said. “Then ... uh ... what is it?”

Jake looked over at Laura. He gave her the nod.

“Okay,” she said, blushing a little in advance. “Here it is.” She took a deep breath. “I am ... uh ... bisexual.”

Meghan looked at her carefully. “Bisexual? You mean ... you like girls?”

“I am primarily attracted to men,” Laura said, “but yes, I do have a certain degree of sexual attraction to women as well.”

“Okayyy,” Meghan said. “And that’s your secret?”

“Only part of it,” Laura said. “And, before it occurs to you to wonder, no, I am not going to try to seduce you. I will admit that I think you’re kind of cute, but you are far too young for my tastes and I would never want to engage with an employee anyway.”

“That’s uh ... good to know,” Meghan said. “I’m not really into chicks anyway.”

“I didn’t think I was either until I was considerably older than you are now,” Laura said. “But that’s neither here nor there. I tell you this not because I want to get it on with you. I tell you this because it is a secret part of our lives that you will become privy to if you work here. It is a part of our lives that you must keep secret.”

“I understand,” Meghan said, “but people already say that about you. There were all those reports about you and those girls from the audience on your last tour. They even said that you and Celia Valdez were ... you know ... doing it with each other.”