Chapter 68: Preparing to Meet the Board of Directors

Friday, June 4, 1971

The small bulkhead light was still on when I opened my eyes. I found myself wondering what time it was, but I caught myself before raising my bare left wrist to look.

“Damn, I still need to do something about getting me a watch!” I thought to myself.

“I’ll try to find you one when we get somewhere I can shop. What kind of watch would you like?” Vickie thought back.

“You’re awake?” I asked out loud.

“Uh huh. I’ve just been lying here watching you sleep. Did you know you mumble in your sleep?” She smiled at me as she asked.

“How long was I asleep?”

“I don’t know. A little while. You looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to disturb you,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” I told her. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Oh, that’s all right. I understand,” she said. “When I sensed your pain, I kinda got sidetracked. I had no idea you loved her so much. Or that you were hurting so bad.”

“Me either. Whatever you did, helped, though. For some reason, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my heart,” I said as I looked in her eyes.

“Do I have permission to speak freely?” she asked, hesitantly.

“This is not a dictatorship. You can say whatever you feel like,” I replied.

“THAT is not true Michael, and you know it!” she said vehemently. “Our relationship may not be normal, but I understand now that it has to have rules.”

“Guidelines,” I interrupted her. “Our relationship has to have guidelines. Rules sounds so ... I don’t know ... rigid maybe?”

“Okay, guidelines. I understand now, why it has to have guidelines. I understand that while giving control of my life to you seems very simple for me, because it brings me happiness. I realized that it is going to be very hard for you ... at least, at first. But I don’t think I really understood how much responsibility I was putting on you.”

“It’s not that much,” I tried to say.

“Remember what you always say about no secrets around you. Well, you can’t have any secrets around me. So don’t fib to yourself, okay?” Vickie said it sternly because she was serious. But she also said it with a smile.

I nodded, because I realized she was correct. Taking on a submissive, is a tremendous amount of responsibility. Especially if you really care about the other person.

“You have so much responsibility in your life already, Michael. And you’re only sixteen. I’ve watched you take responsibility for your family, even the adults. Plus the princesses and their family ... and their whole nation, probably. And I understand there are some Indians you are helping too. Not to mention having to deal with the FBI, and the CIA. On top of all that, in a few hours, you will become the head of a large company with thousands of employees depending on you,” she said.

Vickie stopped and looked at me, then she sighed.

“Even with all that, when you came in earlier, you were focused only on my needs. Even with all your pain, you only cared about giving me pleasure,” she said, squeezing my hand in hers. “Don’t get me wrong, I wanted that. I wanted to be an ex-virgin. I wanted to feel a man inside ... No! That’s not true! I wanted to feel YOU inside of me,” she confessed.

“But when I was reading you, I saw that there was so much more. I don’t know if I’m saying this right, but when I read people, I feel things. But when I read you, while you were reading me, and I saw me as you see me, I could really see myself clearer.”

I actually followed what she was saying, even though it sounded confusing as she said it. She saw herself through my eyes. And since I see deeper and clearer, she saw herself deeper and clearer than usual.

“That’s it! You do understand!” she squealed joyfully. “And I want you to teach me to see deeper and clearer too. Because I saw myself as you see me, I realized that you don’t have a crush on me the way I have one on you. But I also saw that you care very deeply for me. So I’ve just been laying here, thinking, and watching you sleep.”

“And what do you think, now that you have thought about it?” I asked.

“I think that you and I don’t love each other. At least not the way you loved Grace,” she said with some sadness. “And I’m pretty sure I am over my crush, or whatever you want to call it.”

“Now, I want to get to know you a whole lot better. I think that I am looking forward to working for you more now, because I know you are not doing it to patronize or placate me. You really do need me!” she grinned real big as she said it, squeezing my hand with hers.

“Yes, that’s true. I do really need you. And I need your gift, and most importantly, I need your intelligence. That’s why I need you to always ‘speak freely’ as you put it,” I said.

“But I need to have someone to make decisions for me too,” she replied. “This is so confusing!”

I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms around her.

“I have an idea, Vickie.”

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Why don’t you become my sex slave?”

“What!” she exclaimed as she bolted straight up in the bed.

“I said ... why don’t you ... become my sex slave?” I repeated slowly.

She was seriously scanning me now, trying to determine if I was kidding or not.

“Okay. I can sense you are serious, but I don’t understand. Please explain it to me,” she finally said.

“It’s simple. But it has to work for you, and only you can decide that,” I stated. “You have two gifts ... not one.”

She looked at me puzzled. I had put a shield in place to keep her from jumping ahead.

“Okay. I know one gift is my empathic ability. What’s the second gift?” she asked. “And you have GOT to teach me that shield thing!”

I just grinned as I continued. “Your second gift is your amazing intellect-slash-memory. And I will be glad to teach you this,” I told her, referring to my shield. “Put it on the list and don’t let me forget it.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you forget. Go on,” she said.

“Well, in addition to your special gifts, you also have a special need. It gives you pleasure to be told what to do. In fact, you need it to feel good. To feel secure. Right?” I asked.

She nodded, thinking it over.

“My idea is to offer you a position as my assistant. I know, I told you to do it last night. Now, I’ve reconsidered. I think it’s time to put that superior intelligence to work. And you can start by evaluating this offer and making your own decision,” I challenged her.

“I’m ... not sure I understand,” Vickie said, with a confused look.

“If you accept the position, I will expect you to use your gifts to do the job the best you can, including making decisions. I will also offer you a second position, for when you’re ‘off-the-clock’ and in the mood, or in need. I will make every decision, and be totally responsible for all you do. So, on the clock, you’ll be Vickie, the administrative assistant to the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Off the clock, you’ll be my little sex slave, Victoria.”

“What are the hours?”

“Whatever you decide is necessary to get the job done.”

“Where would I work?”

“Wherever I am. In New York, you’ll have an office next to mine. Other places, we’ll have to play it by ear for now.”

“Who decides whether I’m on or off the clock?”

“Either of us can, I guess,” I told her. “I don’t know how all the details will work out. We’ll have to work a lot of it out as we go.”

“Okay. How much does it pay?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking somewhere around thirty. Why don’t you research it and find out what other top company CEO’s pay their assistants, and we’ll decide after I review them. I can tell you the position includes all expenses, and your health care. It will also include room and board, as I want you near me.”

“Thirty? I make eighty-two dollars a week working at the bank!” Vickie exclaimed.

“A year. Thirty thousand a year, is what I was saying. I think that’s a little more than eighty dollars a week, but I’ll leave the math to you to figure out. After all, that’s what I’m paying you for.”

“Thirty Thousand Dollars...” she cried. “ ... A year? That’s over five hundred and fifty dollars a week! That’s insane! You can’t afford that.”

“Do the research. I think you’ll find I can afford it. Besides, you’ll earn it,” I told her.

“But thirty thousand? That’s like ... maybe three times the average family income,” she said as her mind was churning away at this new information. Finally, she looked up at me.

“Okay-y-y. So, how does the sex slave thing work?”

“If I’m right, and you use your gifts to do your job well, I think that when you’re not working, you could pursue your passions, by giving up control. You would decide when you wanted or needed it, and I will be there to fulfill your wishes.”

“Do you really think I can do it? Make all those decisions I mean,” she asked.

“Absolutely! Especially with Catherine and me there to help you. But the question is, do you?”

“I don’t know. It’s all so ... so different. I never even imagined I could do something like this.”

“Well, why don’t you take some time to think about it? You certainly don’t have to make a decision right now. In the meantime, hang with me tomorrow ... er ... later today, and see if it’s actually something you’d like to do,” I suggested.

“Let me get this straight. You’re going to pay me some outrageous amount to be your personal assistant, to help you run your company, and you expect me to use my intelligence as you call it, to make decisions. And when I need to be submissive, then you will take control?”

I nodded. She was beginning to get her beautiful head wrapped around this new idea as to how she could possibly start living her life.

“Show me,” she said suddenly.

“Huh?” I was surprised. I hadn’t been reading her because I found that when people are making decisions, the emotions can really be confusing as they go back and forth, evaluating and discarding whatever it is they’re deciding. And it’s usually just not worth it, because what they are feeling this second, could change the next.

So when she said to show her, I didn’t know what she meant.

“Show me what I have to do to be your sex slave,” she said devilishly.

I didn’t say anything, as I rolled out of the berth. Standing beside it I commanded, “Stand up, right here, and turn to face the bed,” indicating a spot on the floor between me and the bed.

When she was standing with her back to me, I reached for my jeans lying on the floor and pulled my belt from them.

“Put your hands behind your back,” I told her.

I wrapped the belt around her arms, above her elbows and cinched it until it was almost uncomfortable before tying it off.

Stepping around in front of her, I sat on the edge of the bed and commanded, “Kneel, slave.”

When she was on her knees, between mine, I simply nodded at my groin. She grinned and took my partial erection into her mouth. I was reading her the whole time, aware that she was trying hard not to read me. But she kept sneaking a peak to see if she was sucking me in a way that pleased.

“Slaves are not worthy of seeing into their master’s heart,” I thought to her. “That privilege must be earned.”

Vickie resumed her quest to stimulate me, and quite frankly, was doing a good job. Too good! I stopped her and had her kneel on the bed. Then crawling behind her and holding her hips, I pushed her face down on the mattress, sliding my hand between her legs. While I teased and caressed her between her legs, she struggled to find her balance with her arms still bound behind her.

“This is how a master takes his slave!” I thought to her as I entered her from behind.

Her excitement level rose even more as she realized what was happening, and she began to shudder. More from the newness of the position, and the emotional thrill from me taking charge, than the actual stimulation in her pussy. I slowed to let her enjoy the moment, then started thrusting again. Slowly at first, getting gradually harder and deeper, until I was pounding her as hard as I dared for her first time.

Reaching for the belt around her arms, I pulled her back towards me as I continued to thrust into her. She started moaning again. Her instability, coupled with my cock pounding her, had her motor racing. Soon, the belt, which was not actually all that tight, begin to slip down her arms, allowing her head and shoulders to sink back to the bed.

Throwing the now useless belt on the floor, I pulled out of her and ordered her to lie on her back.

Crawling between her spread legs, I used my hand to slot my erection between the wet lips of her vagina, and eased my way back inside. Then, lowering myself to my elbows, I covered her body with mine, rotating my hips as I ground against her.

It wasn’t long until the little ‘eeks’ began as she reveled in the protection and security she found in this position.

“You are mine, Vickie. I promise you, I will do everything I can to protect you and make you feel safe and secure,” I whispered to her. “You are mine to have and to use. I will choose your pleasures, and your pains. I will help you find that happiness deep inside you.”

The words were mine, but the sentiments were hers. It’s one of the advantages of my gift, and I was thankful for it. I felt the glow of her heart as her bliss filled her. Sensing her climax overcome her, I felt the rumbling deep within my groin. So I pulled out quickly to squirt my cum on her belly. It had occurred to me just moments earlier that she wasn’t protected.

She lay there panting, her eyes closed, and a big smile on her face. Finally, she opened them, looking first to her cum-covered belly, running her hand through it. Then bringing a finger to her lips, she tasted it.

I rolled out of the bed and padded to the bathroom. When I returned moments later, I had a damp cloth and a towel. I started by softly wiping her tummy and around her pussy to her legs. Ever so gently, I wiped the lips of her pussy, before bending down to lightly kiss them. Then I trailed my kisses up her belly to her breasts, her neck, and finally her cheek, before softly kissing her lips.

I pulled back to look at her. “She is truly beautiful!” I thought.

On hearing my thought, she grabbed me and pulled me to her, kissing me then hugging me tight.

“Oh, Michael. Thank you! I am so glad you think I’m pretty. That was wonderful,” she bubbled as she spoke. Her eyes were shining and her smile radiant as she basked in the afterglow of her pleasure.

I lay back down beside her, gathering her into my arms. With her head on my chest, I reached to turn out the light.

There was only clack-clack of the wheels on the tracks as we lay there in the darkness. I felt a warm glow inside me, as I held the gentle creature and I realized I was holding back. I wasn’t ready to risk my heart with anyone yet. Still, I couldn’t deny the feelings that were growing inside me as I held her.

Vickie snuggled into my arms and sighed.

“I think I’m really going to like working for you, Michael,” she told me.

I smiled to myself. I was thinking that I was going to like it, too.

“We must be in Newark,” I thought when I felt the thud of the switcher, (the small engine used to move cars around the yard), as it connected to our three car consist. We were being shunted to a side rail beside a loading platform, until they were ready to connect us to a northeast bound freight for the last leg of our journey to Bridgeport. If everything went according to plan, we were supposed to be switched sometime this morning.

Vickie had slept right through the commotion, and I wasn’t surprised. I had drifted off to sleep after our early morning sexual congress, only to have her wake me again a little later. This time, when I felt between her legs, she was moist, but winced as I probed with my fingers. So I kissed it to make it better, and just kept kissing, and licking, and nipping and sucking until she had grabbed my head and pushed it from between her legs with all her might.

“Just so you know, that’s how I like to torment my sex slaves,” I had thought to her.

She hadn’t responded though, she just shivered and snuggled her butt closer against me, pulling my arm tighter around her. Then she moved my hand to her breast and sighed. I don’t believe she had moved since then.

I rolled out without waking her and stepped into the small ensuite bathroom. It wasn’t large by any stretch of the imagination, but it was bigger than the one in my room. That reminded me that I would need to do something nice for Debbie for letting us use her room last night.

Since I didn’t have any other option, I threw on the jeans and t-shirt I had worn yesterday, making another mental note to change clothes before our guests arrived. But first, COFFEE!

Catherine was at the conference/dining table going over papers with John and Jeff. I knew that all the rest of the adults were in the dining car, except for our five ‘guests’ and Peter, who was guarding them. It appeared that they had been moved to one of the bedrooms.

“Hey sport!” Jeff said, rising to shake my hand. John just smiled and nodded.

I shook Jeff’s hand and bent to kiss Catherine on the cheek.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to meet the board dressed like that!” she snapped.

I stepped back, as I felt my temper flare. Okay, so Grace had walked out. Now it looks like Catherine is going to do the same. So be it!

But that doesn’t give her license to be rude to me or the others around me.

“THAT IS JUST ABOUT ENOUGH FROM YOU, YOUNG LADY!” I said through clenched teeth.

John and Jeff both drew back in surprise at my anger.

Putting my face inches from hers, I said, “I have not invaded your privacy, Catherine, ever since you asked me not to on the bus. You said you needed time. I have tried to give you time and space, so that you could work out whatever it is that’s eating at you. But you have been snippy with me ever since we left Colorado.”

I stepped back a step and looked at her before continuing. Catherine looked at me with a combination of guilt and defiance.

“Now, I respect your right not to like me, and you can walk out on me too, if you want. But you have absolutely no right to be rude. So, I’ll give you fair warning. You do that to me one more time and I will turn you over my knee and blister that uppity little bottom of yours. Do you understand me, young lady?”

She bit her lip. Literally. As she choked back her words of anger. I almost said to hell with it and invaded her privacy right then, but suddenly tears filled her eyes as she began to cry.

“You’re right, Michael. I’m sorry for snapping at you. I know that you are not to blame, it’s just that...”

Catherine rose, and walked quickly to her stateroom without finishing her sentence.

Again, I wanted to scan her. But I knew, deep down, that my word to her, NOT to scan her, was important right now. So I swallowed the urge, and started for the Dining Car. John and Jeff just stared as I left. I’m sure that some damage control would be necessary there, but I didn’t feel like facing it now.

Catherine had gotten short with me several times now, ever since Grace had decided not to come with us on Wednesday. And while I had an idea what was eating her, I didn’t know for sure. And without being able to scan, I’d have to wait and see. It’s just that my ‘wait and see’ was about gone.

I made my way to the dining car galley, and Kip rewarded my efforts with a fresh cup of coffee.

“How’d it go with the FBI?” I asked him.

“Not so well, I take it. Our friends just clammed up and refused to speak. Those guys are all professionals, you know,” he exclaimed.

“Did they touch them?” I asked. I had left very specific instructions for the FBI not to harm them in any way.

“Oh, they made the usual noises. But their threats were mostly empty since they couldn’t actually do anything to them. The Ruskies seemed to figure it out real quick. I believe all they got was the Russian equivalent of name, rank, and service number.

“And the FBI guys?”

“They were off the train before it came to a stop. They claimed they had to go report in,” Kip supplied.

Kip became quiet for a few moments while I sipped my coffee. Finally, he got up and disappeared into the galley. He came back a few moments later, carrying a plate with two hot apple tarts and sat it down in front of me.

“They just came out of the oven,” he said by way of explanation.

I took a bite and looked at him.

“These are fantastic!” I told him. “Where did you learn to bake?”

“The recipe came from Paris. My dad was stationed there for a while,” he said. I waited for him to continue, but he volunteered nothing else, so I didn’t either. But I read his thoughts as he remembered a young French girl whose daddy was a baker.

After a few more moments of silence, he spoke.

“Boss?” he said.

I arched my eyebrows at him, but remained silent.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Not counting that one?” I replied.

He looked at me for a moment, trying to see if I was being a smart ass, then said, “What am I supposed to do with all the stuff you showed me last night? You know, all their secret thoughts and plans?”

“Give ‘em to your employer,” I told him. Kip didn’t know I had tied Anna in as well. I’m sure the CIA had a great deal of it already.

“You mean David?” he asked. He was fishing now, but like Penny, he had a decision to make.

“Tell the General that I said it was a down payment,” I said cryptically.

“How did...?” he bit off his question. I could sense he was deep in thought analyzing everything that had happened. I waited. It was a lot to comprehend and slightly surreal, so there was nothing I could do to help him process his situation.

“If I chose not to work for ... ah ... the General, as you call him, are you offering me a job?” he asked.

“Look, Kip, I’d like to have you. But if you commit to working for me, you’re probably in for the ride of your life. There is a lot the General doesn’t know about me, yet. But Anna knows it all. So why don’t you talk to her. She should be here in ... oh ... twenty minutes or so, if the taxi driver doesn’t get them killed! She says to ‘shuffle your feet’, whatever that means,” I relayed to Kip from my connection with Anna.

Kip smiled as he recognized the code in what she had said. “I think I will,” he said absently.

I finished my apple tarts, then helped myself to another cup of coffee, as I headed for my room to get dressed. Our company would be here soon.

I decided that since Catherine was in a mood, I’d wait in my room until everyone was here, or she sent for me. So I laid out a pair of nice slacks, a white Ralph Lauren shirt that had my initials monogramed on the cuffs, and my Navy blazer with the unknown crest. Then I stretched out on my berth, closed my eyes, and scanned.

Nicky and Randi were up and talking excitedly as they dressed.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” I thought to her.

“Good morning back at ‘cha,” she thought. “Did you make Vickie’s dreams come true?”

“We had a very good conversation where we both agreed we weren’t in love with each other,” I told her. “So now she’s deciding whether or not to become my sex slave.”

“Your WHAT?” Nicky cried out. I wouldn’t be surprised if she said it out loud too.

“Have her give you the rundown when you see her later,” I suggested. “I have to get ready for the board meeting.”

“You’d better believe I will. I just wish she was coming with us,” Nicky thought to me.

“Where y’all going?” I asked with an East Tennessee twang. I’m sure I had picked it up from being with them for the past three weeks.

“Aunt Liz is taking us shopping. There’s a ball tomorrow night, you know,” she replied.

“When she wakes up, tell her I said she should go with you all,” I told her. “And Nicky, make sure she and Penny ... and anyone else ... buys whatever they need. Just tell them you’re spending my allowance, okay?”

“YOUR ALLOWENCE? You bet! This will be fun,” she laughed.

“Just leave me enough for bus fare, in case the board doesn’t like me and I have to walk home,” I said.

“Like you? They’ll love you. What’s not to love?” she told me supportively.

“Right now, Catherine is probably figuring out how to bury me. She keeps snipping at me and she won’t let me read her. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m to blame for Grace leaving.”

“Boy! Take away your ability and you’re as clueless as the next guy!” Nicky laughed at me.

She was right. Without my empathic ability, I was just as dumb as the rest of the Y chromosomes. So I waited for her to continue, hoping she might explain.

“She’s hurting. She feels like she has lost a daughter,” Nicky continued. “And she’s blaming herself. She feels like she’s the one who pushed Grace and you together, and she’s the one that arranged for you all to be alone together last week up in the cabin. She feels that if she had let your relationship build more gradually, it might have worked out differently. So now, she feels like she caused the whole thing.”

“Oh,” was all I could say. I had been so wrapped up in my own little pity party that I hadn’t really thought about Catherine hurting too.

“And Michael? You were pretty rough on her this morning.”

You heard that? I asked, surprised.

I think everyone on the train heard it,” she said. “Well, the ones that can sense you did, anyway. She also feels bad because she thinks she has caused you pain. She said she wished she had never gotten involved in your love life,” Nicky added.

“She told you all this?” I asked.

“Not in so many words. She did let a little bit slip out, but most of it is female deduction. Like how I would feel if I were in her shoes,” Nicky explained.

“When did my sister become so wise?” I asked her.

“I don’t know if it’s wisdom, brother dearest. It’s just that Grandmother and I think a lot alike,” Nicky responded.

“Well, I sure didn’t pick up on it. And I should have, but I promised her I would not read her. And without using my gift, I didn’t really have a clue,” I told her.

“Go to her, Michael. She feels just awful. I haven’t seen her smile since we left the ranch,” Nicky urged.

“Are you sure? I mean what if it just makes her more angry?” I asked Nicky.

“Trust me. Just go to her and tell her you still love her,” Nicky urged.

I thought about it, and decided I had nothing to lose.

“Thanks, Sis. You’ll take care of everyone else while you’re shopping? I mean ... make sure they have money and all, for whatever they need, okay?”

“You can count on it! I love spending someone else’s money. Especially yours!” she exclaimed enthusiastically. “Now, go to her. Make her feel good again.”

“I love you, Nicky,” I thought.

“I love you too, Michael. And don’t forget about me when you have a minute or two in that busy schedule of yours,” Nicky said with a giggle.

“I won’t,” I promised.

I dressed in my slacks and blazer, but passed on wearing a tie. It’s supposed to be an informal meeting and I’m sixteen, so I should be able to get away with it. Dressed for the board meeting now, I made my way to Catherine’s stateroom. I hoped we’d have a few minutes before everyone else arrived.

“It’s me, I thought to her as I knocked on the door to her stateroom.

“Come in,” she replied.

“I just came to ask if I look okay for meeting the board,” I said as an icebreaker.

She appraised me quickly, and brushed the shoulders of the blazer.

“I should have thought to have it pressed,” she muttered. Then, “You look fine. Did you not have a tie?”

I grinned at her like a little boy and told her my thoughts about it being an informal meeting.