FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

“Morty, come on! I’m not asking that much, just an advance on my salary for the month. Money’s tight and I can’t afford my rent without this.”

“No, Grant.” The human looked down at the lizard, a stern shake of his head. “We’re just starting to take off, and we need the capital here. I can’t just let you go taking money out whenever you want.”

“This is serious, though. I’m not asking for extra money, just what I’m going to get anyway.”

“That’s how it starts. You take it out once, and then once more, and then you need more. And then you wreck everything because you’re bleeding the company dry.”

“Really? You don’t really think I’d do that? For crying out loud, I really shouldn’t even have to ask. I’m doing it out of professional courtesy...I don’t want to do it in secret, that would be rude to you.”

“So you’re planning to steal from us, is that it?” Morty shook his head again, this time seeming more disappointed than anything. “I suppose it was inevitable that it would come to this.”

“Steal?! What the hell are you talking about? This is my money too!”

“No, it’s not. Not anymore. It’s clear what you’re trying to do, and I’m going to put a stop to it before you can. You’re fired.”

“Fired?!” Grant’s jaw dropped. “You...you can’t fire me! We’re co-owners! We have an equal partnership!”

“You really thought that, Grant? That’s why you’ll never be worthwhile as a businessman. I established it so that I actually have sole possession of the company. I can fire you without consequence.”

“Wh...what? You...you...Morty, you can’t be serious!”

Morty shook his head pityingly, watching the color drain from Grant’s face. “You’re just not good enough for this. You spent all your time with the employees, trying to be one of them rather than the boss. I’m not wasting my time down there, and look where that’s gotten me...exactly where I belong, and without the biggest thorn in my side.”

“Th-thorn in your side? I thought we were partners, I thought we were friends! We’ve been at this four years, Morty! I’ve put my heart and soul into this, and almost all the money I had! How can you just...do this to me?!”

“Maybe if you weren’t so occupied with working like a peon, you’d understand that business is a harsh world. Friendships are just in the way. You have to be ruthless to get ahead, and you weren’t. Now you’re out, and good riddance.” Suddenly a pair of bulls grabbed Grant from behind, pulling him back towards the door. “Security will take you out...the employees will see you being tossed out and learn not to cross me. A free tip for you, showing them what you’ll do to them will make them obey you.”

“Morty!” Grant could do nothing as he was dragged out of the office, watching the door be shut behind him. Just like that, it was over...he was no longer a part of the software company he’d helped found, just as they were on the brink of their first major success. Betrayed by the closest friend he’d ever had...sadness and anger coursed through him, but it had no way out, held in check by the brutes holding him. He could only curse Morty, swear he would overcome this...somehow...

---

It was a bitter pill to swallow. Santilus was him, his blood, sweat, and tears, and now he was being forced to sacrifice it. Morty couldn’t stand it, he was supposed to find success and renown unlike anything he’d ever had before, but falling profits and professional struggles were threatening to take that all from him. Now here he was, about to accept a buyout offer from a rival, and upstart that he predated yet which had grown far bigger than Santilus, growing like Morty had expected Santilus to grow. It was a setback, yet the only way he could still keep his chance at making his dream come true.

It still felt like the worst thing that could have happened to him. Nine years he’d been at the top, nine years of being the master of his domain, and suddenly it was to be taken from him. Only semi-forced...he had no other choice, his business debts were considerable, and he had really no other option to keep it afloat than to allow the buyout.

But he wasn’t doing it gracefully.

He faced down the council of Egalicorp, his competitors...well, not directly, but they were a rapidly-rising new company, established a few years after his own, and it had taken the opposite trajectory of his own. He had started strong, bolstered by a strong proprietary software that had been the next hot thing…but things had gone quickly stagnant, and then fallen off. By this time, everything had fallen into near-ruin, his efforts to solve it on his own had failed, and it was either this or lose everything completely. He wasn’t keen on giving up what was his, but if he played his cards right he felt he could get it all back, or even more. That was what kept him going through this, his only solace in this difficult time.

But that meager positive vibe was seriously tested once he saw who was on the Egalicorp executive council. His heart had nearly stopped the moment he laid eyes on the green lizard, stern-faced and jaw clenched tight like he was doing everything he could to hold his tongue, but eyes boring into Morty like vicious drills, ceaseless in their drive.

Grant.

He couldn’t believe it. How could he be here, looking down at him, more successful than he was? It must have been a joke, or a mistake...maybe he was being propped up by the rest of them. But it didn’t matter at the moment, all he wanted to do was avoid the reptile’s gaze and focus on the rest of them.

Egalicorp’s council was eight people strong, each one of them looking to be quite successful and proper. The sturdy rhino in the lead seemed more fit for professional sports than computers, but he nonetheless seemed to be the spiritual leader of the group, and Morty tried to engage him most. “So...you’re Grassus Brand?”

“That I am...Morty Schiel, was it? I’m glad we could come to terms here...we’ll take good care of Santilus, don’t you worry.”

Morty forced himself to keep a thin smile. He had gotten virtually nothing out of the buyout...mostly they had just erased the debts Santilus was in, and retained him as part of the deal. He wasn’t looking forward to working underneath anyone, but he told himself it was only temporary, until he bought his way back out of it, or impressed the council with his business acumen so much that they would accept him as one of theirs. “What sorts of plans do you have for Santilus? I’d like to keep it in one piece, if possible…”

“Santilus will become a division of Egalicorp. We’ll do some rebranding, incorporate our elements into the logo and such, but like with our other start-ups and acquisitions, it’ll retain a fair bit of its own identity.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Mr. Brand. I’ll do my best to turn this ship around, with a bit of polish I’m sure it’ll become a force in the field again.”

“Ah, yes, about that…” Morty’s smile faded as Grassus’ remained, but became noticeably stiffer. “It’s our intention to let one of the council take charge of Santilus. All major decisions will be made as a group, of course, but each of us has lead on one of our projects, except for our newest partner. And I’m sure he’ll be particularly interested in taking an active role in the decision-making process here.”

“Someone else...but...I’ve been here for a decade! Surely I’m the best choice for-”

“With all due respect, Mr. Schiel, we’ve found that if someone’s been in charge of a failing company for a decade, that tends to mean they’re NOT the best choice to continue to be in charge,” a fox woman said, rather sternly. “You’re not the first to make that claim, not even the first we’ve taken on.”

“Yes, but this is different, Miss, erm…”

“Marker. Kathy Marker.”

“Marker, right. I’ve been with the company through the highs and lows, I know it inside and out. Not only that, I know the industry as well. If anyone has their pulse on the field, it’s me.”

“I wouldn’t say you’re the only one,” Grassus stated. He looked over to the last person Morty hoped he would. “From what I hear, Grant here already used to be with Santilus, and since he’s joined us, no one has been more savvy with the state of the field. We think he’ll be the perfect person to take on Santilus, and turn it back into what we know it can be.”

“G-grant? Grassus, please, I have to ask you to reconsider. He’s...you know that would be a professional conflict of interest.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean. Besides, he’s the only one currently without a project, and I’m certainly not going to deny him that opportunity because of your discomfort.” He nodded towards Grant. “You won’t let personal difference get in the way of your performance, right?”

“I assure you, I’ll be the consummate professional,” Grant replied. “However my feelings are, my only goal is to make Santilus a success.”

“Good man.” He turned back to Morty. “I’ll ask you to set your feelings aside as well. The decision is already made.”

Trying to maintain an even expression at this point was almost a strain to equal his last few months of running Santilus. He forced himself to do his best, but he was sure his displeasure was on display anyway. It was one thing to be bought out and have to work under someone else...but that someone else being the guy he had had forcibly removed from Santilus years ago, the guy who he considered an incompetent fool who couldn’t run a business to save his life? This was going to be a disaster.

---

The temptation to resign was brutal. But Morty knew he couldn’t - that would be an admission of failure, and he was still convinced that he hadn’t failed, he’d just suffered some minor setbacks. So he went in as usual, sucking it up and dealing with Grant’s presence. The first week was the toughest, he told himself, but they’d catch on to his importance soon enough. Especially Grant...maybe the lizard would even offer him an apology for giving him so much trouble and making Morty force him out.

That last part was definitely wishful thinking, but he had little else to go on.

There was little to like about the arrangement, having his decisions checked and being watched all the time, but the group meetings were the worst. Grant was just like always - the first thing he did was engage all the employees. Morty couldn’t believe he was making the same mistakes as before...he had to have learned something by now, right? He wasn’t about to say anything, though, it would make the lizard’s fall that much quicker and prove to everyone who the real businessman was. Grant deliberately did not spend as much time listening to him, the one who should have been in charge...it seemed he was blinded by his own vision.

He carried on like he always did, making sure all the workers stayed in line. But something had changed...there was more defiance, more airing of unpleasantness. One of his longest-tenured programmers, Collin, was speaking his mind a lot more, and a lot of it was anger directed at Morty. He tried to fire him, but Grant barred it. It was a slap in the face to him, a clear sign that Grant was trying to get personal revenge.

Then the second slap came. Acumenica, the software that had been their driving force for ages, was being changed. Grant had ordered a stripping down, removal of features and applications he called unnecessary. Most of them had been Morty’s ideas, his vision of the program, and retooling it was a massive attack on him and his ability as a businessman. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he was revoking the license policy in exchange for a subscription-based plan, at half the price annually. If that wasn’t a terrible idea, Morty didn’t know what was - it was like he wanted to hemorrhage money.

As the first days went on, he noticed that Grant was having individual meetings with everyone. Why he would, Morty had no idea - personal meetings were for firings and dressing-downs, and he certainly wasn’t instilling terror and heartache into the employees, judging by their expressions when they left Grant’s office. It was just another sign of poor business skills to Morty...how would the employees ever respect him if he was so cordial and pleasant to them? If that was his idea of management, Morty would eat him alive when Grant called him in. No one was better at intimidation than him.

It wasn’t until Friday that he got his chance. It didn’t go as he’d planned.

He sat down in front of Grant, the lizard behind his desk and looking quite serious. There was none of the more friendly, casual air that he had in the group meetings and with other employees. That already had him on guard; it was no secret to him that Grant didn’t like him, and he was probably here to get some kind of revenge.

“I’ve been talking to everyone in the department. They’ve all told me similar stories about how things are going here. All of them point to one main problem: you.”

Morty scowled; the lizard hadn’t wasted any time. “Oh, right, of course. Trying to put everything on me, just like I thought you would. And you said it wouldn’t be personal.”

“It’s not. I’ve recorded all the conversations, and gone over them with Grassus. He agrees with my assessment. You’ve been a tyrant, firing people on whims, underpaying the people who are here, forcing them to work beyond their hours without pay, which I’m pretty sure is illegal. You’ve stifled creativity, been insufferable with your demands, and foisted bad ideas on them without opportunity for discussion. I’ve heard that most of the issues that have been bogging down our Acumenica software were from you. Do you deny any of this?”

“I’ve done nothing wrong! You still don’t get it, an executive has to take charge, show people where they belong, make decisions even when they don’t get seen as popular! You don’t get here by accident! Or, most people don’t, obviously.”

Grant’s eyes darkened. “I’ll assume that was a jab at me. I’ve also heard that in all your cost-cutting measures, you never touched your own compensation except to expand it. And yet I hear that you don’t do much work.”

“It’s work just being here and doing what I do! Have you seen how much effort I’ve been putting in?”

“All I’ve seen is you running off on a power trip, acting like you’re still in charge. You’re not, though, and it’s time you learned that. As of today, you are no longer a manager in Santilus. You’ll be kept on as a programmer, provided you can prove that you’re capable enough to remain here.”

His jaw dropped at this news. This wasn’t at all what was supposed to happen, he was supposed to get the upper hand over this fraud, not fall even further behind. “What?! No! You can’t do that! I’m the only one who can keep things running here! You try to pull this stunt, you’ll fail faster than anyone in business history!”

“I can do this, and I’m doing it right now. And I can guarantee you, nothing I do will be as bad as what you’ve done. I expect you to clock in and get along with your new co-workers, is that clear?”

“Yeah? And what if I don’t?”

“Well, you’re free to leave, then. But then you won’t be able to work your way back and try to prove me wrong. And you’ll also be unemployed...I hear you’ve been rather frivolous with your spending, I wonder how long you can afford to be without work?”

That was a low blow, and Morty could not have been more furious about it. If looks could kill, Grant would be dead on the spot...but he couldn’t, and so all he could do was storm out of Grant’s office, fuming about his misfortune. He’d go to Grassus or one of the others about it, this was clearly punitive and he wouldn’t stand for it.

---

Months passed, and one night Morty found himself sitting in front of the computer, stewing. His hopes for a quick turnaround had been dashed badly, in fact it felt like he was farther away than ever. Santilus had become something he barely recognized anymore, his baby had been bastardized into a shadow of its former self. And it was all Grant’s fault, Grant had changed everything just to spite him. It had Morty furious, everything he’d built up was being undone.

The entire power structure had been revamped. Instead of being totally top-down like Morty, Grant had set up a system of managers and supervisors, promoting some people from within and hiring on a lot of new and returning employees, including ones Morty had himself fired. All the employees were happy, eager to be working and productive, except of course for Morty. Everyone had gotten pay raises, which Morty couldn’t believe would be a good idea for a failing company...except it had come out of the executive compensation budget Morty had set up. Grant wasn’t taking a penny from it, instead turning it all to the business and employees. He said he was getting paid through the sum of Egalicorp’s holdings, but it was crazy that he wouldn’t take more - that was part of what being a CEO was all about. He wasn’t acting at all like someone at the top of the food chain.

And Morty was on the bottom of that chain. Getting the hang of programming wasn’t that difficult - it wasn’t like he hadn’t gone to college for four years for nothing. But this kind of work was supposed to be beneath him, and so he didn’t put in the effort. The result was that he was paid less than everyone else, not given any good projects, and spent most of his time sulking in the corner.

The projects they were working on had changed completely as well. Acumenica had been stripped down to nothing, the subscription model had been implemented, and features that had been part of it had been spun off into their own products, some of which followed the same model and others which were distributed for way cheaper than Morty knew they were worth. And he was diverting resources to other projects, things Morty had never heard of. Apparently, a number of the ideas were suggested by the employees, something he never would have allowed, but once again Grant was catering too much to them. They had already put out updates and new products, to Morty a waste of time that took away from what they really were. Acumenica was the lifeblood of Santilus, there was no reason to change what worked.

Grant met with everyone all the time, individually and in groups. The employees liked him, they engaged readily with him, and he listened and responded, putting their happiness and satisfaction before everything else. Morty couldn’t understand that - they should be satisfied simply by working for him, by being in a prestigious company. If that wasn’t enough motivation, then they were wasting the company’s time. It was wrong for an executive to stoop down to their level, act like they weren’t just inherently better. They were - that’s why they were executives rather than employees.

Everything was wrong. And Morty kept telling himself what he knew would be the truth - that the reptile’s failure was imminent, that he was going to go down in flames and would have to cede the company back to Morty, give him the opportunity to prove that he did things right.

The problem was, it was working. Earlier that very day, the meeting had seen Grant present them with a stunner: the company had turned a profit for the month, the first monthly profit in nearly three years. The losses had been stemmed, new products were being bought eagerly and en masse, productivity was drastically higher, and the future was bright. They had had a small celebration to commemorate the occasion, taking the afternoon off from business to enjoy themselves.

Morty had left almost right after it started.

It flew in the face of everything he knew. Grant was supposed to fail. Morty was supposed to succeed. That was just how the world was supposed to work in the ruthless, cutthroat world of business - if you weren’t just as vicious, you were nothing. Morty had practiced for years cultivating the vision and tenacity to become that type of person, and watched Grant fail to match him in every way, so it had been clear to him who would go far. But instead he had failed, and Grant was now succeeding...succeeding where he should have been. It was wrong. It threatened his future, everything he stood for. Now, he was stewing, certain about one thing: Grant couldn’t be allowed to succeed. Morty would have to ensure that.

He just didn’t know how.

The stress of the party had gotten him thinking about schemes, but he couldn’t figure out one that would actually work. He had nothing on Grant, no sordid history from college, no dirt that could undermine him to that kind of degree. There were no other disgruntled employees to deal with, and it didn’t seem like anyone else in Egalicorp’s network would help in any way, at least not anyone he felt comfortable dealing with. It was frustrating; how could he be so hard to touch?

With a sigh, he tried to put it out of his mind. He was tired, and wanted to unwind...at least he could still do that. He clicked onto his browser and started perusing one of his favorite sites, a porn-for-pay site he regularly frequented. He knew some would consider this a frivolous expense, that he could find stuff easily that didn’t have a paywall, but like hell he was going to watch porn of amateur quality. If it wasn’t purchased it wasn’t good enough.

He clicked on one that looked like a good bet - something involving lizards and humans. Maybe thinking about a reptile other than Grant would help put his mind at ease. With the fee paid, he opened it up, hoping for a good distraction at the very least, and something nice and saucy to get him in the mood at most.

Unfortunately, the first impression wasn’t so promising. He saw the human walk into the door, eyeing the lizard on the bed with obvious desire. The lizard, though, reminded him of Grant too much. He didn’t know a lot of lizards, so he wasn’t sure how similar they looked to each other, but this one was definitely too close to Grant.

“I’m here for my, um, tutoring session,” the human said, with a nervous-sounding tone that was clearly practiced rather than genuine.

The lizard grinned even wider than before, raising a hand to beckon the human closer. “Well...I’m glad to see you. Now, how about we start teaching you some...important lessons…”

Morty did a double-take. That voice...he would know it anywhere. Maybe lizards could sound similar, but not THAT similar...now he took another look, trying to get a good view of the reptile for reasons other than his own satisfaction. There weren’t any real distinguishing features to take advantage of, but the similarities between the camera creature and the familiar face he knew...they were getting stronger all the time.

As the action on screen started getting hot and heavy, he KNEW. There was no question, that was Grant. The lizard who pretended at being a professional was on camera, fucking another guy. He was in porn!

Morty grinned wildly. Now he knew what he had to do. This would be the scandal that he could use to gain his leverage. No way Grant would want THIS coming out...but it would be public knowledge unless Morty got what he wanted. Finally, his chance to regain his status, his glory, his company!

His mind went over the story as he started to stroke himself, getting into the action even more than usual with his added excitement. This was money very well spent.

---

It was a few days before Morty could pull his trap on Grant. The lizard was busy constantly, and he didn’t have a chance to get him alone most of the week. Finally, late on Friday, when most people had already left, he decided to take the initiative, striding into Grant’s office to confront him head-on.

Grant’s office was similar to how Morty’s had been, large and spacious and nice-looking, though with considerably more business inside. Grant was dressed nicely that day due to a meeting with a potential client, but despite the look he was still acting like a worthless employee, doing busywork that was best left to the peons. It burned him up, and made him even more convinced that he needed to get things in order.

“Grant. I’ve got to talk to you.”

Grant looked up at him. “Likewise. I notice you haven’t turned in any of the work I asked for this week. You’ve only been asked to do simple coding tasks and even then your work needs a lot of review due to all the bugs and errors, you have to start getting me something or else you’re not going to be with us much longer, deal or no deal.”

That was not the kind of treatment Morty wanted. The anger was bubbling even more strongly now. “That’s it! I’ve had enough of your bullshit. I don’t have to take this, you know I deserve better and now I’m gonna get it.”

“...Really.”

“Really. You’re going to give me back my position, with a six-figure salary. You’re going to put me back in charge of personnel and business decisions, like I’m supposed to be, and defer to me on any changes you want to put in. And you’re going to recommend to your little council that I be given consideration for joining, and taking your place at that. Making sure Grassus knows that I’m a better leader than you are.”

Grant chuckled a bit. “And really, why would I do any of that? You ran the business into the ground, and certainly haven’t done a thing to warrant any kind of promotion or obscene salary.”

“Because if you don’t, I’m gonna tell them all about your little secret. Your sordid past, your deviant, unprofessional behavior. You fuck people on camera, you don’t think they’re gonna be scandalized when they hear that their golden boy is a pervert?”

Grant didn’t look as shocked as he thought, but he’d probably just gotten good at bluffing. “That’s your angle? You’re going to claim a sex scandal? I’m not even married or dating, who’s going to care?”

“I know what business is like! Image is everything! And if the image everyone has of you is some deviant who screws people on camera and puts it out where kids could get at it...the moral guardians will be on you in an instant. Egalicorp’s reputation will be tarnished, they’ll lose money, and they’ll need to take drastic action. And you’ll be first on the chopping block!”

He expected anger. Fear, maybe. Some sort of denial, some sort of threat, something to indicate just how strongly Morty had the upper hand. He didn’t expect Grant to laugh. Not just a little, it was a full-on bout of laughter, no fear or anger at all. He just stared at the lizard, utterly bewildered. What on earth was he thinking? This was his future, couldn’t he even take that seriously?

“So...that was your big plan? That you’d found a porn video of me, and thought that would be your blackmail ticket?” Grant shook his head, still grinning widely. “You thought they would be shocked to find out about my activities...Morty, how do you think they FOUND me?”

Morty just stood there, numb. He still couldn’t believe his gambit hadn’t worked...there was no reason it shouldn’t have worked, how could that be? Slowly, though, he was registering what Grant had said...not only wasn’t he worried, he knew that the bosses weren’t going to have any problem with that, because they knew as well...it had to be a bluff, he couldn’t be telling the truth.

“Let me tell you a story. I lost my apartment just a few days after you threw me out. It was hell trying to get into shelters, find places to stay...my family’s not even in the country, so I couldn’t get to them, and you lied to our mutual friends so they turned on me as well. The only people I knew around here were struggling themselves. I was out on the streets too often, trying to avoid being arrested...sometimes I hoped they would, so that I’d have a roof over my head.”

“About six months passed, and then I was found by a guy. Barret Bolitz. You’ve probably heard that name, or seen it, owner of the Starlight Club. He said he’d take me in, but I’d have to pay him back. I’d do that by performing at his club. He was up front about what that meant. Striptease shows, sex in the back rooms, working in his porn videos, all that stuff. I said yes anyway. Hell, I was about to start turning tricks just to get inside a building to sleep at night. Wasn’t much worse I could do.”

“But Barret, he’s a different kind of guy. Right off the start, he told me that he wouldn’t have me do this if I didn’t respect myself. Some places, they take you because you don’t respect yourself, you’re an easy target. He didn’t want that. He wanted performers who weren’t guilty about what they did, who didn’t feel like they were there because they didn’t have any other prospects. Barret forced me to learn how to feel good about myself again. He had me get in shape, take the time to get healthier. He guided me to a good diet, even paid for it without penalizing me. I learned how to do what I needed to do from the others in the club, and they were the same...they had confidence, self-respect, they liked what they were doing and they were doing more than that. Most of them, they started off like I did...some of them were still there, even though they could’ve left, because they wanted to help Barret build up new guys like me.”

“I was there because I had to be for about a year. The next three, I was there because I wanted to be. I had other work, freelance stuff that helped me build up some good savings, but I enjoyed my work at Starlight. And I hadn’t ever felt better in my life.”

“Wouldn’t you know it, that’s where they found me. At the time, they’d just founded Egalicorp, and were just getting off the ground. They had some products, some stuff that Starlight used even. It was pretty good, just had some issues. Grassus was the first one I met. Came in, bought my services for the night. When I found out what he did, I couldn’t help myself, I started talking about the ways that the software could be improved. He liked my ideas, and he liked me. He came back several times. Often with the others. I slept with all the guys on the council. They all have different tastes, but I could fulfill them.”

“Soon they hired me on. I started out as a developer for them. The money I’d saved helped me move to my own place, get going with the next stage of my life. I worked my way up, kept putting in my all...I bounced around Egalicorp’s different branches, doing everything I could to bolster every part of it. I had a hand in a lot of their products that got them on their rise, only really was in charge of a couple of them but assisted in many more. They made me a partner last year. Best day of my life.”

“I wasn’t the one telling them to buy Santilus, I just voted to move forward with it. But Grassus told me he was gonna put me in charge, I think he wanted to see me get back at you more than I did. I’ve already had my revenge...I’m more successful than you, and beyond that, I’m happier with who I am.”

“But you know what? I still go back to Starlight a fair bit. I still dance, still serve there, still do the videos. Reminds me of where I had to come from and what made me who I am. And I enjoy it. And you must not have watched all the videos, because if you did, you’d’ve seen Grassus a few times. The others as well. They’re not afraid of any exposure, because they all have that confidence, that fearlessness, that let them take the real risks - not the asshole things you do, but the stuff that actually gets you ahead in business. The moral guardians? They know better than to mess with us. Anyone on the Egalicorp council would have no problem telling their side of the story and getting support, while making the detractors look silly for being so up in arms about it. You try to go to them with this, and they’ll just laugh at you and tell you that you’re wasting your time with your vendetta.”

Morty felt his heart sink. Perhaps Grant was bluffing...but that was far too elaborate a story for that to be the case. No, he had the advantage once again, Morty’s one shot to get one over on him had gone up in smoke just like that. But if he thought it couldn’t get worse…

“Now a question for you, Morty…” Grant leaned forward a bit at his desk. “What kind of site were you on, exactly, that you actually found porn of me?”

He hadn’t been expecting this, and it got him struck dumb. “Uh…”

“Because the places where you might find me only cater to rather specific tastes. Anthro-on-anthro, or anthro-on-human...you’re not gonna see me on sites that are typically human-oriented. Which means you can’t have just randomly stumbled upon it going to one of those sites...you had to be on one looking for materials with non-humans. Materials with lizards specifically, even…”

“I...that is...it was just…”

“You know, I wondered about you a while back, Morty.” Grant suddenly stood up, walking around to the front of his desk. “There were some moments where I thought I was just imagining things, or misreading things, or what have you. But thinking back on it, I think I was just so wrapped up in the business that I wasn’t paying attention.” His eyes bored into Morty, who shrank away a bit. “It was always that way, wasn’t it? Not much interest in your own kind…more interest in MY kind.”

Morty wasn’t able to respond, but the lack of response was response enough. Had he been able to deny it, he would have done so vehemently...but he was so out of sorts that he couldn’t even come up with a plausible denial.

“Maybe if I’d paid more attention, I would have had the warning.” The glare was harsher than ever, almost striking daggers into Morty’s soul. “The whole falling out, your betrayal of me nine years ago, your abandonment of what had been such a mutually beneficial friendship and partnership...and that was all because I wouldn’t sleep with you?!”

It turned the dials back in Morty’s head...that day when they first launched Santilus officially, when their dreams were starting to take flight…

They were at a bar, celebrating with some of their first employees. It was the start of the big time, the beginning of a new era, but they were still young, pretty fresh out of college, so a night on the town sounded like the perfect way to kick it off.

There had been plenty of drinking, and both he and Grant were pretty buzzed. The others had left, and they were about to as well, seeing as it had been last call. They were just about on their way out when Morty finally broke. He pushed himself into Grant, trying to kiss him, his desires coming out all at once as the booze overpowered his senses.

Grant pulled back, pushed Morty off of him. He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t seen it coming, and there was no way he was ready to go to something that far, not without really taking stock of his feelings. He told Morty as such, slightly harsh with his own lack of inhibition but still fairly tame overall, just that he needed to figure his feelings out and right now he couldn’t reciprocate.

Morty had gone off on his own, fuming. In his mind, he deserved it - he’d had success, they were going to go on to great things, why couldn’t he have Grant? The notion of “let him figure it out” never came into play...in his mind, he had been full-on rejected, and that was all that remained with him. Over the coming days, he would decide that if he couldn’t have Grant, then Grant couldn’t have anything. He’d do it all on his own, make him regret that he didn’t give Morty his due.

...And that had been where it had all started. Even the few moments where he was more tempted to take a second shot, he talked himself out of it. Grant had never shown any particular interest, and as wrapped up in work as he was, didn’t seem to be putting much time into his own feelings. It had angered him...and gotten him to the point where he just wanted Grant out of his life.

“Pathetic. I didn’t ever realize you were until after you booted me out...but you were so pathetic it made me sick. Couldn’t handle a little blow to your ego, that you shouldn’t have ever had in the first place. What did you think was going to happen, springing that on me after over three years of not giving me the slightest hint that you felt that way? I couldn’t just say yes. I didn’t know what to think. I was spending so much time trying to get Santilus off the ground that I didn’t have time to think about it. And you didn’t say anything afterward, so I figured it was just a drunken error that you didn’t want to think about. Wasn’t until years later that I made the connection...and realized how pathetic you really were.”

Now Grant took a step towards him. “But the most pathetic thing...you still want me, don’t you?” Morty’s eyes widened as Grant’s hand went to the top button of his shirt. “After nine years and probably a thousand curses directed at me, you’re still hot for me, aren’t you?”

Morty felt himself backing into the wall, but he didn’t have for to go before he was flush against it, only waiting for the lizard’s approach. Each step Grant took meant another button undone, until his shirt was hanging open and Morty could see his chest and stomach. It was the picture of fitness, health, suitability...it was everything Morty could have ever hoped for and more. He’d never taken care of himself like that, but had always harbored a hidden desire for that...maybe as much as for Grant himself.

Grant placed his arms at either side of Morty, so close that his warm breath was wafting over Morty’s face and neck. The human could feel himself getting redder, feeling more humiliated and at the same time aroused...no, there was no denying it, he did, he wanted Grant as much as he ever did, maybe even more. The fact that the lizard had somehow so thoroughly beaten him, had turned his betrayal around on him, hadn’t dampened that in the slightest...in some bizarre way, it had even made him more attractive. All those hidden feelings were suddenly coming rushing to the surface, making it hard for him to even breathe…

And then Grant pulled away, turning his back and heading back to his desk. Though turned away from Morty, the position of his arms hold him he was buttoning his shirt back up. “Thought so...if you had just told me the truth, we could have worked it out years ago. But you had to be an asshole instead…well, look where that got you. You’re not at the top anymore...you’re back at the bottom.”

Morty watched as Grant sat back down, leaning forward again, elbows on the desk and head resting on his hands. “You want any chance at me at all...it’ll be the same position. No nice, easy partnership...no chance of that happening. It’ll be one person with the power and one taking orders. I’m sure you know what that would entail, so you’d better ask yourself if that’s what you actually want. Because that’s all that you can get with me, if I even decide to give you that much, and I may not. Now get out of here. I have work to finish.”

Morty could do nothing but meekly nod and head straight for the door. Once again the exact opposite of what he was hoping for had happened, and now he was faced with a quandary of very different proportions. His mind was racing, clinging on one hand to the thought of sating years-old desires and on the other to despairing over losing his position and any chance of regaining it. Taking the former would ensure never rising again...returning to ambition would certainly slam shut all hope of any personal contact with Grant.

At the moment, he didn’t know what was worse.

---

A couple months passed before the matter was finally settled. It wasn’t easy, Morty struggled with competing desires almost every second of the day, and it wasn’t made any easier having both of them in his face constantly. Grant wasn’t even trying, just being around was torment enough, and he was having more dreams and fantasies than ever before. Even as he was, though, he was trying to find openings to advance in the company, make some headway back to his old life and old position.

But over time, the decision was almost made for him. The growing success of the company proved to me more than just a momentary victory, as monthly profits kept rising and the company started to expand. It was becoming more and more clear that he wasn’t going to find himself back in charge, much less with an apology for doubting him...in fact, it was becoming clear that he had been wrong, the company’s failure had been on him. It was a huge blow to his confidence and ego, to realize he’d been sunk by himself rather than the outside forces he’d claimed...he took it as a personal reflection on himself, and that was destroying his ambition. He hadn’t the ideas, ability, or capital to try to make it on his own again...and even if he did, that would likely fail as well, because he couldn’t run a business the way they wanted.

When he found himself outside the Starlight Club on that afternoon, Morty knew where things were going. Grant had told him what he would be doing, he knew what to expect...and the fact that he wasn’t fully dreading it was proof enough of where he stood. Once he went in, there was no going back, but he could already see that there wasn’t much back to go to...stopping here would only deprive him of the one thing he had to look forward to. With a deep breath, he went inside.

The inside was nicer than he expected, fairly clean and well-kept, and there were nearly nude male and female dancers on stage, being fixated on by many of the patrons. Grant was sitting at the bar off to the side, at the corner closest to the door. He wasn’t dressed up nearly as nicely as Morty had seen him most days around Santilus; a simple T-shirt and shorts, something quick and light, clearly he wasn’t expecting to wear them long. He was looking right at Morty when the human entered and stood as Morty approached, clearly having expected him. Wordlessly, he beckoned for Morty to follow him, and he did so as they entered a back room into a harshly-lit hallway. It seemed no words needed to be exchanged between him and anyone else in the club; he’d arranged it all ahead of time.

Self-consciousness gripped Morty again as he followed Grant into a room in the back. He was well out of his element...sure, he’d watched plenty of videos before, but he’d never actually dared to take part in something like this. It didn’t help that Grant looked so much more desirable than him...a built, confident reptile against his scrawny, useless self. But on the other hand, that had turned into part of the appeal...Grant had done so well for himself despite Morty’s effects on his life, he was the one deserving to look that good.

The room was spartan, a couple of dressers and a bed set up in a white-walled space. Morty could see cameras mounted on the walls and ceiling, all of them focused on the bed. Laying in wait on that key furnishing were some restraints which looked pretty tight...he wouldn’t be able to get out once he was in, completely at Grant’s mercy. This was part of his fantasies, even if it was terrifying to actually be there…he didn’t know whether Grant knew this, or had just wanted to do something like that himself. Either way, the result would be the same.

The door shut behind them, and a lock clicked in place. Grant turned to him with a severe look. “Strip. Now.”

Morty swallowed and nodded. Shakily he moved to the middle of the room, slowly taking off his garments. His overshirt and undershirt were tossed onto the ground in a heap, then he slipped off his shoes and socks, kicking them all over to the side. He was more hesitant to remove his pants, but one look at the reptile’s gaze pushed him into it. He undid his fly and they dropped to the ground, revealing a pair of tight white briefs underneath. As he stepped out of the pants, he gave one more glance up at Grant, where he could swear he saw a small smirk on his features...then he realized that there was a bulge in his briefs, a sign that his awkwardness was not being reflected in one key part of him.

Hands trembling, he grabbed the band of his underwear and pulled it downwards, making his hard dick pop into view. Already dripping a bit at the tip, his arousal couldn’t possibly have been more obvious. His face burned, it was rather humiliating...but then again, that was only heating him up more. He knew this was only going to be the start of it, and that he’d be drinking in every moment of it.

Now he was standing naked in front of Grant, and only then did the reptile shed his own clothing. His disrobing was quick, unflinching, putting on a deliberate show for the cameras as he drew his shirt off in a rather visible display, then shucked off his shorts, showing that he’d gone commando. He stood right in front of Morty’s gaze, letting everything show except his endowment. “Bet you’ve been waiting ages to see this in the flesh, haven’t you?”

Morty gave a small, abashed nod. Grant’s body was incredible...he’d seen it in some of the videos but it was nothing like seeing it in person. Trim, fit, muscular, he looked like a model, or even a drawing. Not huge, not like Grassus Brand, but clearly outclassing the average in every way. And especially outclassing Morty, who was thin and pale, didn’t look like he’d worked out a day in his life. Which was almost the truth…

“Better than you in every way...isn’t that the truth, you little bitch?” The word stung, a direct shot at Morty, but as he felt his cock twitch he knew he wasn’t going to object. Red-faced, he nodded, but Grant wasn’t satisfied. “Speak up, bitch. Let the world know.”

“Y-yes...you’re so much better...you look amazing, I’m just a weak little bitch…”

“Good, you know your place. On the bed.” Morty turned obediently and clambered onto the bed, getting himself into position. He didn’t need to ask questions here, the restraints weren’t there for show. Turning around, he laid on his back, putting his arms and legs right where they needed to go. He laid still, heart racing, as the reptile wrapped his arms and hands up and buckled the restraints down, leaving his hands encased in fabric and barely able to move his fingers, ensuring no escape. The legs only had cuffs, but he had even less range of motion with his legs when a bar was snapped into place, keeping him spread wide.

Satisfied with the tightness, Grant climbed onto the bed over Morty, his body looming fearsomely over the human. Morty could see his slit parting, his twin cocks emerging and firming up...he knew they were big, he’d seen them before in the videos, but they looked even larger now that he was on the receiving end of them. “Can’t move, can you? Helpless to do anything other than take what I want to give?”

“Y-yes...I can’t move at all…”

“Just as it should be, bitch. But you like that, don’t you? Like that I can do whatever I want to you, don’t you?”

“Ngh...y-yes, I...I do, I love it that way.”

“Won’t refuse anything I want, will you? Doesn’t matter what you want, all that matters is that I get mine, right?”

“You...can do whatever you want to me...I’m just the bitch that has to take it, I don’t get a choice.”

“Damn straight.” Suddenly he forced a gag into Morty’s mouth, silencing him. It was buckled around his head, effectively keeping him from any verbal retraction. “Since you’re being such an agreeable bitch, I’m gonna give you a treat. Both my cocks, without any preparation.” He leaned in closer to Morty, whose eyes had gone wide with that suggestion. “Wouldn’t do that for just anyone, don’t know if they could take it...but I’ve gotten a little info on you, seems like you’ve been preparing for this...hemipene dildos of pretty considerable size, that you shove into yourself without any lube...you’ve just been a ravenous slut waiting to be fed, haven’t you?”

Morty shook a bit. How Grant could have found out about that...someone must have said something, but who knew about it? He didn’t have people over to reveal that little secret of his...but now it was no longer a secret, how it came out didn’t really matter much. What mattered was that now he was going to get his secret desire fulfilled, and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.

Grant’s huge staves dragged across his skin as they trailed down to his ass, the reptile taking one hand to press them together against Morty’s hole. Slowly he felt the tips push against him, push slightly in, then pull back...then again, the pressure came, and again it receded. Grant was taunting him, teasing him...he couldn’t say it, but his body showed that he wanted it, wanted him to just do it already. And then he did, Grant suddenly thrust in, burying his twins halfway inside Morty in a single thrust, the well-loosened hole taking them in fairly easily.

Muffled cries came fast and furious from Morty, his body thrashing under the forceful entry. This was barely anything like using his toys at home, there was so much more power and energy behind it, and so much more life, the warmth of those cocks was a better feeling than any silicone or other fake material. It was somewhat painful, but felt so good, he knew he would adjust to the size but wasn’t so sure he could get over how it felt inside him, how much pleasure it brought. It was as good as he’d dreamed and then some.

Grant gripped the human’s arms tight enough to almost hurt as he pounded him without remorse. He’d had no shortage of partners over the years, in all sorts of positions, both top and bottom - he’d been in Morty’s position more than once, though not quite as meek about it. But he was enjoying this beyond just the sexual pleasure; it was his chance to work out his frustrations with Morty, frustrations which had been lingering for years, which he’d been working to overcome but which hadn’t quite gone away fully. Driving his twins into that tight ass, he finally felt like he was getting the crap out of his system, getting back at the source of his worst stresses of the last several years. So incredibly cathartic, making the pleasure on his cocks twice as good. And there was definitely a guilty thrill in being so dominant and aggressive against someone who had been that way to him so much, finally putting him in his place.

Morty could feel every living inch of those beasts stretching him open, breaking his asshole in thoroughly. He could feel the ferocity that Grant was laying into him, battering him into full-on submission to the reptile’s force of will. He had taken everything - his business, his respect, his confidence, and his dignity - and Morty was rock-hard from it. All his life he’d avoided looking weak and submissive, but now his mindset had shifted - this was where he belonged, this was where he was mean to be, and he was being rewarded for it. His body shaking under the intense rutting, on the verge of a climax already, helpless to resist the power of that sexual conquest.

“Heh...can only imagine how much you’d be mewling if you had your mouth open,” Grant taunted through pants. “Hard to believe you never went out to a seedy place and got yourself what you wanted...maybe you were too afraid you’d take a dick from a guy who wouldn’t take your shit and enjoy it. Couldn’t stomach the thought you might be a real bitch, could you?” Only nods from the bound human; he didn’t really know whether it was the truth or not, but that didn’t really matter at this point, he was enjoying himself too much to refuse anything that Grant was saying. “Well, you’ll get plenty of it now, bitch. You serve me, you do what I want. I’ll make sure you get plenty of cocks in your greedy ass, and I’ll make sure you beg for them like a proper slut. I’ll make sure you take it from the sleaziest, lowest-class fuckers, the biggest bigwigs, and everyone in between. And you’ll get plenty of camera time, believe me. Can’t wait to get video of your being gang-fucked by all the guys on the Egalicorp council, they’re looking forward to wrecking your ass too.”

Suddenly Morty’s body bucked, and he felt himself lose control, cumming hard. The sexy talk put him right over the edge, his body surrendering to his desires even without them being acted on. He heard Grant let out a hiss as his ass tightened around his hemipenes, giving him a nice tight grip as he drove in and out. His jizz splattered against his stomach, his groin, making a mess in his pubes; he could feel the liquid cooling and sticking to his skin, making his face burn bright as he shot his load all over himself.

Grant wasn’t too far behind; his thrusts started getting erratic just as Morty’s orgasm ended, his hips pounding faster and harder as he worked himself to the breaking point. At last, he let out a loud, throaty grunt and his rods pulsed inside Morty, sending a surge of fluid deep into the human. He could only moan through the gag as he was flooded deeply with reptile seed, the first load he’d ever taken and the part that drove home how much better this was than the toys he’d tried to sate himself with before. They’d never measure up again, the real thing would be what he would need, he wanted the heat, the life, and the ultimate payoff, the sensation of a male’s seed claiming his ass, marking him as his superior. He squeezed down on Grant’s cocks, trying to milk them of all they could give as the lizard ground them into his hole, each spurt a message of ownership that he readily acknowledged.

It felt like it was over too soon, even though Grant was shooting quite a bit longer than Morty had. Eventually, he dragged himself out of the human’s ass, leaving a dripping, sticky mess at his rear. Grant got off the bed and stood up, looking down at Morty with satisfaction; he’d been waiting to see his former partner and saboteur like this for a long time...perhaps not exactly with these details, but the themes were right, and that was all that counted. “Just how a bitch should look. You could have a lot more of this...or you could reject it and go back to what you were doing before. Your choice...you want to keep this up?”

Morty didn’t even have to think about the decision. His nod came quickly and eagerly.

“Good. Remember, I caught that on camera, so don’t think you can pretend it never happened.” Grant headed to the door. “I’m gonna go get a guy from the club for Round 2. Sit tight, heh heh…”

Morty felt his face get even redder as the door shut behind the lizard, leaving him alone, an utter mess of sweat and cum and degradation. He’d only just agreed to this and already he was going to be a plaything for other guys...but his swiftly reviving cock told him all he needed to know about what he thought of that. This hadn’t been his plan for life, but maybe it would still work out all right.