Chapter 3

"Don, I want you to meet Rachel Connors." Mr. Fox started to introduce me to the beautiful raven haired woman standing beside one of the two armchairs in front of his desk.

"Actually, I'm back to being Rachel Wells and Don and I know each other. How have you been, Don?" The woman said after my boss had introduced us.

"Things could be better, but nobody wants to hear about my problems. How have you been Rachel? Crushed any men's self-esteem lately?" I asked the woman who had crushed mine and what little self-confidence I had before I met her during our first semester of college. She had not only put me in my place when I had taken a chance and asked her out, she had done it in such a way that I had been publicly humiliated and had not had the courage afterwards to ask any girl out for the rest of the year.

"Only my ex-husband's and his divorce lawyer's. I know it's been a long time since our freshman year, but I'm sorry for what I did to you back then, Don. I was a stuck up, little rich bitch who thought she was better than most of her classmates. I promise you I'm not like that now." Rachel said to me and I could see that she was sincere.

"Mr. Fox, what's going on?" I asked my boss as I tried to ignore one of the most beautiful women I had ever met and had lusted after for a short period of time.

At 6', Rachel was four inches taller than me and even though it looked like she had gained a little weight since we were both eighteen year old college freshmen; it was in all the right places. Her black hair was still long and had a healthy luster to it with a beauty parlor style that drew attention to her face. Sparkling brown eyes above a smaller than I remembered nose which made me wonder if she had a nose job, high cheekbones, pouty lips that seemed larger than I remembered, and brilliantly white teeth gave Rachel a face that should have been gracing magazine pages or movie screens instead of the middle of my boss' cluttered office.

"Have a seat, Don, and Ms. Wells and I will explain to you what we need." Mr. Fox told me with the biggest grin I had ever seen on a grown man. The last time I had seen a grin like that was when I was eleven years old and my best friend Tommy Jaynes had snitched two candy bars from the 7-11 for us and gotten away with it.

"Don, you know that Ms. Wells' company is one of our biggest and most loyal customers so when her father called me and asked if I knew anyone who could help them with a problem with their new line of presses, I thought of you. You've solved almost all of our problems since you've started working here and have proven that most of your solutions were the correct ones when the older engineers said that they wouldn't work. I want you to work with Ms. Wells on a consultancy basis to help her come up with a solution to their problems.

"You'll still be employed by Fox Manufacturing and will keep all the benefits you already receive. If your solutions fix their problems, there will a bonus from Wells Industries and you'll get 60 % and Fox Manufacturing gets the other 40%."

"Why doesn't Wells Industries' own engineers figure out how to fix the problem with their presses?" I asked Rachel, ignoring my boss.

"Almost all of our engineers are older and are either too afraid or too rigid to try anything but their old ways of solving problems. The ones who are younger and maybe able to think outside the box are not taken seriously by my father who trusts the engineers that have been with the company almost as long as he has."

"Then, why do you think he'll take any solutions I have for fixing your problems?" I asked her as I tried to ignore how her beauty had caused me to harden in arousal.

"Because he promised me he'd not only listen, but implement any solutions we prove will fix the problem. You will be working directly with me and one of the younger engineers on fixing our problem. If you accept our offer, you'll be given your own office and supplied with everything you say you need to fix the problem. Will you help me, Don? My future and that of Wells Industries depends on us finding out what the problem is with our new presses and fixing it as quickly and cheaply as possible." Rachel pleaded with me and I could see the anxiety on her face.

"Yes, I'll help you, Rachel. I need a few hours to get some of my material together so I think you need to buy me lunch today and I'll share it with you then. I need to speak with Mr. Fox when you leave so I'll go wait outside until you leave. It's been a pleasure seeing you again and I look forward to working with you."

"Mr. Fox and I are done. Where do you want to have lunch?" Rachel said as she stood to leave.

I had managed to reduce my hard-on to a nearly flaccid state while listening to Rachel and I stood as she did which prompted Mr. Fox to stand.

"Either one of the "Roadhouses" you'd like to eat at Rachel would be fine with me." I answered her before sticking out my right hand. Rachel shook my hand and I was surprised by the firmness of it. She definitely did not have the average woman's limp hand shake.

"I like "Texas" over "Logan's". Meet you there around twelve?"

"I'll meet you there, Rachel."

After she'd left, I renegotiated the percentages Fox Manufacturing and I each got if a bonus was earned with an 85/15 split in my favor being our final numbers. I went back to my office and began gathering the data I had already put together from my earlier tests related to the presses Rachel had asked for help on.

I had a unique situation at Fox Manufacturing in that I was basically a one person research and development department. I had not only solved problems in the past that saved Fox time and money, but developed some different techniques and other innovations that did the same things so that I could do nearly anything I wanted without anyone questioning me or pressuring me for results.

Being a self-motivator and a curious bastard at the same time, I worked as hard as if not harder than any of my co-workers at Fox. I had earned a company car, the previously mentioned cell phone, and the independence to come and go as I pleased.

All of those had allowed me to run tests on not only our electric motor that we had presented to Wells for use in their presses, but the three motors from our competitors as well. For the first time in my memory, Wells had chosen the cheapest of the four motors and now it was coming back to bite them in the butt with durability and warranty issues. I was not about to tell either Rachel or Mr. Fox I already had a solution to the problem Wells was having. I was going to exploit my opportunity to get to work with Rachel and maybe if I was lucky; get the chance to impress Rachel enough that she would take an interest in me.

I was enjoying the sexual relationship I was having with Mindy, but I knew it was not going to go any farther than that even though I sensed that Mindy was expecting it to. Mindy was fun to be with and the sex was great, but we were too different for a long term relationship to work.

I liked almost all kinds of music but rap was not one of them and that seemed like the only music Mindy wanted to listen to.

I exercised; Mindy did not and would not even consider it. I liked trying different foods; Mindy did not and was adamant about not trying anything she was not used to eating. I liked to read or watch sports to relax, Mindy wanted to veg out on the couch and watch whatever was on the boob tube, no matter how stupid and banal it was.

Mindy had also started complaining about us not going out even though I tried to make some of the times we got together at her apartment like dates instead of the sexual romps they ended up being. I had brought DVD's over of older movies she swore she had never seen that I thought she would like and we cuddled on her couch until the sexual tension was too great and one of us, usually her, interrupted the movie with a sexual interlude.

I had brought CD's over and we had danced in her dining room which would lead to me bending her over the dining room table and pounding her until we both came. I even "accidently" ran into her and a couple of her girlfriends at a local club one Friday night and danced with all three of them for most of the night. I did not spend more time with Mindy than I did her friends and left by myself, waiting till the next day to go to Mindy's for our regular Saturday fuckfest.

I kept telling her that even after my divorce, it might be a long while before I was ready for another serious relationship. I could see the end of my relationship with Mindy approaching, but with Rachel now in my sights, that did not cause me any concerns like it might have before.

My lunch with Rachel went better than I could have hoped for. We spent two hours together and only the first twenty minutes after we'd eaten were spent on talking about the reason we had met. The rest of the time we caught each other up on what had happened in each of our lives since college. I was elated to find out she was not seeing anyone seriously and she was sorry for my martial problems. It was clear to both of us that there was an attraction for each other and that gave me even more hope that I could get her to date me when our business was concluded.

I started at Wells Industries on Tuesday and for the next two days went through the motions of trying to figure out their problem, but began feeling guilty about what I was doing. I asked Rachel to have dinner with me that Wednesday after work and, surprisingly, she accepted.

"Rachel, I need to tell you something and I hope it doesn't change the way you think of me. I already had a solution to your problem when you came to Mr. Fox's office on Monday. I didn't tell you right away because I wanted the chance to work with you and maybe get you to see me as I am now and not that scared freshman I was the first time we met. I was hoping to get to know you better so I'd have a chance at getting you to go out with me.

"My honesty won't let me continue to mislead you and that's why I wanted you to have dinner with me. Rachel, you're still the most beautiful women I've ever met and I know a slub like me isn't close to being in your league, but if you ever need a friend, I'll be there for you. I'll leave the data I've accumulated with Michael tomorrow and be out of your hair after that. Thank you for your time and I'm sorry that I tried to keep my findings from you just so I could spend more time with you." I told her after we'd eaten.

"I'll be going now. You don't have to come to the office you provided me with in the morning and I assure you nothing that doesn't belong to me will leave that office when I leave."

What Rachel said to me next was the first of two big surprises I would hear that evening.

"Don, I want to thank you for your honesty. Most men would have continued to stall and drag their feet as to prolong the time they could be near me. You're wrong about one thing though; you're the one who is out of my league.

"You had to work hard for what you've achieved while almost everything I have was given to me. I think Daddy gave me this project so I would fail and then he'd have a reason to get me to resign from the company. I don't want to continue to fail and I want your help to keep from doing that.

"Please come back to the factory tomorrow. I need you to find ways for Wells Industries to be more productive and profitable like you have with Fox Manufacturing. I'll pay you cash for your time and a bonus equal to ten percent of any money the company saves using whatever you suggest. You'll be free to go anywhere in the factory, talk to anyone you want to, and report only to me.

"Will you do this for me, Don? I want to be able to run Daddy's company when it's time for him to retire and I think with your help; I'll be able to do that." Rachel said to me.

"I don't know, Rachel. Mr. Fox has been very good to me and I wouldn't want to be disloyal to him. Can I have some time to think about it?"

"I'm not asking you for any trade secrets or for you to betray Mr. Fox. I only want you to look at our operations and see if there are things we can change that will make us more profitable. I can give you a little time, but can't wait too long for an answer. Please, Don, I'll be eternally grateful if you'll do this for me."

"I promise to think about it Rachel, but I need to be getting home. Goodnight." I told her as I stood to leave. She stood from her side of the booth and pulled me into a hug when I stuck my hand out to shake hers. She had to lean down to whisper in my ear.

"I'll do anything you want if you'll help me, Don. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

I could feel the heat in my face and did not know if it was from what she had said or from the feel of her body against mine. I came close to accepting her offer at that moment, but my sense of loyalty to my current employer and good friend would not allow me to do so. All of that changed as soon as I got home.

Sylvia was not at home when I got there which gave me time to listen to the backlog of recorded phone conversations on my laptop. The conversation that pushed me into deciding to help Rachel occurred that very evening.

"Oh God Ronnie, I have ruined everything." I heard Sylvia sobbing over the phone to her slut friend.

"Why do you say that, Syl?" Ronnie asked her in response.

"I didn't listen to Don when he told me not to go out with Jerry that Friday night and after he finds out I'm pregnant; he'll divorce me."

"You're pregnant? That's great, Syl. Don won't be able to divorce you when he finds out you're carrying his baby." Ronnie blurted out in her excitement over Sylvia's news.

"It's not his baby. I won't be able to show my face in town again when everybody finds out I'm carrying another man's baby and Don divorces me. I've lost the only man I've ever loved and I don't know what I'm going to do."

"How do you know it's not his?"

"God Ronnie, don't you ever listen to me when we talk? Don't you remember me telling you Don was sterile when you asked me why we didn't have kids yet when we first became friends? He'll divorce me once he finds out, I just know it."

"Sylvia, what haven't you told me? Has Don been hitting you? No, he's too much of a wimp to do that. I know he's been verbally abusing you by calling you a no-good cheating slut while he tries to prove he's a better lover than Jerry when the two of you have sex."

"Don is not a wimp. I don't want to hear you bad mouthing my husband ever again, Ronnie, or our friendship is over." Sylvia yelled at her friend over the phone.

"Okay, Syl, calm down. I won't say anything bad about Don again. Why do you say you've lost Don?"

"He doesn't want to have anything to do with me is why. He hasn't kissed, hugged, or touched me in any way since I went out with Jerry. He sleeps in the guest bedroom which he put a new lock on that requires a key and I've not been able to find, hasn't sat down and ate a meal with me, doesn't talk to me, avoids me when he's home, and comes home late three or four nights a week. I think he's seeing another woman, but I've not been able to prove it.

"When he finds out I'm pregnant, he'll leave me for sure. What I'm I going to do, Ronnie?"

"You need to come over here to the house so we can figure out what you're going to do. One thing you can't do is tell Don you're pregnant. I need you to come over here and together we'll think of a solution to your problems. I'll do whatever I can to help you, Sylvia. I'll brew us some tea while you're on your way over."

"Okay, Don would have been home by now if he was going to come home and I don't want to spend another lonely evening waiting on him. I'll be over in a few. Thank you for being such a good friend, Ronnie."

My anger from hearing that final comment from my wife had me ranting and raving in the empty house.

"Good friend, my ass. She's the reason you're in the situation you're in, but you're too stupid or blind to see it. When you started trusting what she was telling you over what I was telling you, you started this whole mess in motion. I'd kill the both of you if I weren't so afraid of prison."

After my outburst, I had the presence of mind to retrieve a thumb drive from the den and download Sylvia's conversation to give to Charles. I was going to divorce her for sure and did not care anymore if she got half as long as I could get away from her.

I went back to Wells Industries and told Rachel I would accept her offer and that no one could know about our arrangement. I gave all my documentation for fixing the problem they were having with their presses to Michael then went to see my lawyer.

Charles informed me the recording of Sylvia's and Ronnie's phone conversation was still not strong enough to force Sylvia to sign the divorce papers giving me the terms I wanted. I went back to the office Rachel had provided me with angry and frustrated from the whole situation I found myself in. Rachel found me sitting there with my head in my hands and immediately asked me what was wrong.

"Sylvia's one night tryst has resulted in her getting pregnant. I can't wait for her to give me something that I can use to force her into signing divorce papers that are in my favor now. God, I wish I could get away from this whole mess for a little while, but I can't afford it." I answered her while fighting to control my conflicting emotions.

"Let's go to Las Vegas, Don, my treat." Rachel surprised me by saying.

"I can't let you do that. If anybody saw us getting on a plane together and it got back to Sylvia, I'd not be able to at least break even in the divorce."

"Don, my poor stupid friend, no one would see us getting on a plane together but the two pilots for Daddy's jet and they know how to keep their mouths shut."

"When would we go? What about accommodations? Why would you want to do this for me?" I asked her as her grin got wider and wider with each question.

"We could go today, we would stay in the two bedroom condo Daddy and I own, and because I've been where you are now without anybody to help me through it. John got his bimbo secretary pregnant which is why we're divorced. Daddy wanted me to stay with John instead of getting the divorce and all my so called friends thought the same thing. I don't share and that's why I'm divorced.

"Come on, Don, what have you got to lose? You need to blow off some steam and Las Vegas is definitely a good place to do that. If we leave in the next couple of hours, we can be drinking cocktails and pulling on those one armed bandits the casinos have before two Vegas time."

"Fuck two hours. I've had a bag packed and in the trunk of my car since that Friday Sylvia killed our marriage. I can go right now if you can."

"I have extra clothes at the condo so yeah I can go. Meet me out front in twenty minutes. I need to run and tell Daddy where I'm going so he won't worry too much when he doesn't see me around for the next two or three days." Rachel said to me with an excited tenor to her voice before she hurried out of the office.

I called home and left a message on the machine that I was going out of town on unexpected business and would not be home until Saturday or Sunday. I was not feeling guilty about not calling Sylvia personally and telling her the news. I called Fox Manufacturing and talked to Mindy, telling her I would not be able to see her that night or over the weekend because I would be out of town on unexpected family business. I knew she would not be talking to Sylvia or anyone else about what I told her and my two lies probably would not come back to bite me in the butt later.

Twenty minutes later, I was following behind Rachel's 450 SL Mercedes toward the municipal airport of our little town. I parked beside her car inside the hangar her father's jet was stored in. The two pilots were completing their pre-flight inspection of the plane as Rachel and I boarded the plane. We were in the air headed toward Las Vegas ten minutes later.

I knew as soon as I saw it below me that we were flying over the Grand Canyon even before one of the pilots announced it over the plane's intercom system. Rachel opened her eyes after the pilot was finished talking and informed me we were only minutes away from landing at a small airfield similar to what we had back home.

After we landed, we taxied to a hangar in the middle of a row of hangars. Rachel used a key from her purse to open a padlock that was on the hangar door while I unloaded my suitcase. As soon as I was clear, the plane taxied back out to the single runway and took off, I assumed for a return to our home town.

I had not even heard the sound of the car from inside the hangar until Rachel blew its horn at me; causing me to jump in surprise. I loaded my suitcase into the back seat of the older model Mercedes station wagon that Rachel was now behind the wheel of. I tried to take in all the sights of a part of Vegas I had never seen during the few visits Sylvia and I had taken to Sin City.

The complex Rachel's condo was in looked to be several decades old, but was well maintained. I had no idea how far away the "Strip" with all the big name casinos was from where we were, but Rachel assured me that once we had freshened up from our flight, she would take me to any of the big casinos I was interested in going to.

Thirty minutes later I was sitting at a blackjack table in the MGM Grand Casino with a thousand dollar advance from Rachel. I managed to double it in the next three hours before cashing in my chips when I noticed a couple of men in sport jackets with the casino's name on them hovering around the table. I walked across the street to the Excalibur and managed to win another thousand before the same thing happened and I left.

The Tropicana Casino was my next stop where I was only able to win five hundred dollars before men with sports jackets appeared around the table I was playing at. I decided it was time for me to leave, but I could not resist the urge to try one of the slot machines I passed on my way to the cashier's window. I put twelve hundred dollars' worth of chips into the machine which would give me three pulls at maximum bet level.

I had already turned to walk away after the final pull when the sound of the machine's melody was replaced by louder bells and whistles. When I looked back at the machine, the words "Big Winner" where flashing in red on the machine's screen. There were five red apples in a row on the winner line which made me the winner of one hundred and twenty times the maximum bet, forty eight thousand dollars to be exact.

It took all my powers of persuasion to finally get the casino's management not to make a big publicity event out of my winning. I had called Rachel to let her know I was ready to go back to the condo as soon as the manager had begun trying to talk me into being comped into the casino's hotel. I took the cashier's check and, with only a minimal amount of flirting from Rachel with the casino's manager, gained an armed escort from the casino's office to the parking garage where Rachel had parked.