Chapter 2: Building A Business

It was Megan who was the brains behind the website. Before she went to work for Rensselaer County, she had worked for a company in Albany that did graphic design and website e-commerce. She was able to find them a package that met their needs without being too complicated. After all, they only sold one product, Tropic Desire lotion, and only needed a system that told a little about the company and offered a way to buy some tubes of the lotion.

Initially, Tropic Desire was marketed on a person-to-person basis. Much of the first batch was given away to friends and acquaintances. Each tube had pictures of tropical flowers pulled off a stock photos website, and the website address of Tropic Desire. After using it, a customer could go online and order more. For the first few months, between startup costs and production of the initial batch, the company was running in the red.

The website was developed over a long night of drinking. The four of them stayed up one night late and came up with a fictional version of how the lotion was developed. Steve admitted that aside from the extremely proprietary mix of fragrances, it mostly consisted of palm oil and coconut oil. Instead, they came up with a story about explorers in the South Pacific, desert islands, pirates and wenches, and secret formulas passed down by generations of island maidens. Considerable amounts of rum punch were drunk while coming up with this ancient history. The system included a contact page with an email form, and the order page allowed for both credit card and PayPal purchases.

As part of their sales and marketing, Jack Rigoretto had been adamant that nothing they stated about Tropic Desire could go beyond ‘body lotion’ or ‘massage lotion’. They couldn’t make any claims about it being a suntan lotion, for instance, because they had not done any testing for SPF. Likewise, they couldn’t brag that it was a wonderdrug that outdid Viagra. They didn’t need the grief from the Food and Drug Administration and the years and millions of dollars involved in drug tests. Everything had to be just that it was a ‘lotion’. If their customers, on the other hand, wanted to brag, that was just fine. They could always add a disclaimer as needed.

Bragging was done on the blog page, which consisted of several forums for customer comments and company responses. That was even more amusing than the night they came up with Tropic Desire’s history. Brenda and Megan had written several posts about how Tropic Desire was the greatest body lotion and massage oil ever invented, and had gotten rather explicit in some cases.

‘My husband gave me a backrub with Tropic Desire the other night, and my back wasn’t the only part of me that got rubbed! We got very busy afterwards! They should have named it Tropic Orgasms!’

‘The scent is amazing! We opened the tube, and it was like we stepped onto a tropical island! It made me feel as beautiful as the floral scent, and my husband agreed! He spent the entire night proving it to me! The next morning, I was exhausted - and so turned on!’

‘Here’s a hint - make sure the kids are out of the house! We got so involved in our massage session our teenage daughters walked in on me giving my husband a happy ending in front of the fireplace. So embarrassing, but so much fun!’

‘Ever since getting a tube and discovering the best body lotion on the planet, our weekends have been amazing. We start with a date night on Friday and then come home and open the tube. By the time Monday morning rolls around, the tube is half empty, we are drained, and our vital bodily fluids need to be replenished! I am ordering more now!’

The forums were set up so that the company could have different topics. One major topic was Company Information. Another was Product Developments. The biggest forum turned out to be User Comments. Users could post about their experiences, respond to earlier posts, or even create their own topics. Buyers were urged to let the company and others know about Tropic Desire and post what they thought about it. Once they began getting purchasers, the posts began getting very hot and risqué.

One fun topic was First Timers. A typical post was one from HorniGranni:

’I bought a tube of Tropic Desire on a lark after my daughter told me about it. Her father and I went out to dinner on a date night, which means a suit or sport coat and slacks for him, and a sexy dress and heels for me. It was warm, so I wore a halter-topped dress down to my knees, stockings, and heels. Date nights always end up with some nice sex, so I don’t wear panties or a bra. Anyway, before we went out, I rubbed some of the lotion on, and the scent drove my husband wild! When we got home, we never made it to our bedroom! He took me right there in the living room! The amazing part was that we’re in our sixties, and he normally needs a Cialis to get ready. Not that night! Not only didn’t he need a pill, he didn’t need one the rest of the night! We made love four times that evening! He was insatiable - and so was I!’

That post was accompanied by a Dropbox link to a photo of HorniGranni. She had on a giant hat that covered her face, but she was wearing stockings and heels and nothing else. She had a martini in her left hand and a tube of Tropic Desire in her right. Steve approved of the picture; HorniGranni had what looked like DD tits, smooth skin, shapely legs, and a shaved pussy. Brenda said, “I hope I look that good in twenty years.”

“Think we should send your mom some?” asked Steve. “Something to get her and your father going?” Brenda started coughing at that.

Another user-created topic was Anal Experiences. NastyBlonde wrote:

’We’ve always liked to play in the backyard, but Tropic Desire takes it to a whole new level! Tropic Desire lotion is the best asslube ever invented! Important tip for those not used to anal. Prepare ahead of time! Clean up! Give yourself an enema and take a shower. You need to be cleaned out, because you are going to get an assload of cum up there! It is so hot and nasty!’

NastyBlonde included a photo of herself in a string bikini bottom from behind, bent over and showing how the string was holding in a jeweled buttplug. When Steve saw that, he waggled his eyes at Brenda. “Remember that hooker on Haka Nuva?”

“You don’t know she was a hooker.”

Steve smiled and shrugged. “No, I suppose she was his girlfriend. I mean, most twenty-something bikini models dressed in body jewelry and stripper heels fall in love with fat guys in their fifties. I guess that is possible. I mean, theoretically possible. Maybe. I’m sure she was a girlfriend. How much do girlfriends like that charge? Is it by the day or the hour?” Brenda stuck her tongue out at him for that. “Maybe we need to develop a line of Tropic Desire buttplugs and sex toys,” he said.

Brenda was on the verge of replying rudely but then she stopped. “Good idea!” She grabbed a notepad and started scribbling. “We can charge by the inch. Most women will be able to save a lot of money.” That earned her a Bronx cheer.

Even Steve ended up on the forum. He and Brenda were in bed one night when Brenda suddenly stopped playing with his cock and said, “Wait! I need to get my phone!”

“Your phone?”

“I need to get a shot of your cock.”

“WHAT?”

Brenda hopped out of the bed and grabbed her iPhone off the dresser. “I need to get a shot of your cock,” she repeated.

Steve began protesting. “Brenda...”

“Don’t worry, I’m not getting your face in the picture.”

“What in God’s name are you doing?”

“It’s for one of the new topics, Shaved or Unshaved. I’m going to use you as a perfect example of shaved,” she explained. Ever since their trip to Haka Nuva, Steve had been manscaping his cock and balls; Brenda had once told him that it turned her on when they watched porn. She had shaved him just the night before.