Chapter 40: Aftermaths of a Disaster

The next morning, I watched her as she was slowly waking up. There was a tentative smile, but at her first move she moaned.

“James, what did you do to me? I’m sore all over!”

She tried to stretch, but immediately stopped. “James, I feel like I have run a marathon race last night, and some parts hurt even more than others!” She saw my concerned face and immediately qualified her words.

“Darling, I’m really sore all over, but it was wonderful. It was exactly what I wanted and needed. By the way, good morning! Did you sleep well? Are you ready to go? If yes, my love, may I ask a boon? Can you run me a bath, while you are preparing breakfast? And can I have my breakfast in bed, please?”

I shook my head. “What happened to the Lord and Master treatment? And the obedient slave? All I had from you were orders and complaints about services not rendered properly! Run my bath! Bring me breakfast! Anything else?”

She protested. “I did not order you around, at least not all the time. And I definitively do not complain about last night’s services. James, you were wonderful and fulfilled every one of my dreams. You know that and stop complaining. I’ll make it up to you later, but not today because there are certain movements involved that will be painful. Tomorrow, you can have me again - anyhow and anywhere!”

I consoled her, giving her a tender kiss on her lips and then on the tips of her breasts. She leaned forward to offer better access but stopped. “Apage Satanas! Stay away from my body!”

I listened and obeyed. The bathtub was soon filled with hot water, and I added some fragrant bath oils to have the right consistency. I pulled her off the bed and practically carried her to her bath; inserting her carefully into the water, she moaned again, but this time with pleasure.

¨Yes, James, this’ll help. You know that I love you?”

I nodded. “Especially if I carry you to your bath, get you breakfast and then perhaps a light massage?”

“James, you always know what I want, but please come and get me when you are ready. I’ll stay here and relax.”

I did not say anything and just looked at her. She smiled and leaned forward. “Give me a kiss, darling. Now you can go.”

I wondered how I had gotten into this position but was happy to satisfy Eileen´s wishes. As Rogerio had said yesterday, the weather had become grim and there were strong winds with occasional showers. Our idea of a picnic had gone away, but there were other things we could do at home. I had copied Maureen’s waffle recipe and with tea and coffee, toast and jam, the waffles, and a glass of sparkling wine I believed she would soon be back among the living. I brought the trays to the bedroom and went to help her out. She was red all over; perhaps the temperature had been exaggerated, but she smiled. “James, you’re an angel. I feel much better already.”

I helped her to sit against the backboard and offered tea. When she reached forward. the cover fell and her breasts were completely exposed. She saw me interested. “James, you have a one-track mind. OK, come and give them a good morning kiss, and then behave!”

I enjoyed doing this, then fed her and she laughed, complimenting me on my waffles.

“James, you know that the way to a woman’s heart is through her sweet tooth...” giving me a peck on the cheek.

“I’ll remember that when you get mad at me.”

“Planning on angering me into a rage already?”

“You know how guys are. We don’t intend to do it, yet somehow we get the blame for everything.” I said with a laugh. She just grinned, but nodded, confirming my statement.

When we finished, I brought everything back to the kitchen and then went back. She had already gotten up and was dressing in a jogging suit. Looking at the mess of our bed, she shrugged. “I’ll do this later. Let’s go and sit and listen to some music.”

She could walk on her own now but was still very careful in her movements. I sat her on the couch, increased the air conditioning to a more comfortable degree, and put more hot tea on the side table. She had these old funny tea warmers from the UK, this one depicting an old Victorian church. She patted the couch beside her. ¨

“James, come and sit here. I want to go back to our conversation of yesterday. Did you think about it?”

“Darling, it sounds interesting, but I need more time. You and I have different management styles, and we’d have to discuss who could do what.” She smiled and said that this was easy.

“This is easy, my love. You tell me what you want to do, and I do it.”

I started to laugh. “Do you really believe that this will work this way? ¨

She nodded but stopped. “Well, there might be misunderstandings and I might push too much; is this what you think?”

I nodded. “It’s your company and you deserve to run it as you want; just see the success you have had up to today. If you want me to come, there’ll be stress; remember what happened once before! I want to avoid this at all costs, even if I’ve to look for another position in Sydney or somewhere else.”

She thought about this. “My love, I believe that I have learned my lesson, but you’re right. We must agree on a transition period and how it’ll be handled. I want you to come here and if necessary, I concede whatever you want.”

“This will not work either but let me think about it. I’ve an idea, but I need more time. I promise that I’ll considerate it very seriously.”

She poured more tea and offered the cup to me. “What I have is yours, but let’s go back to this matter tomorrow. Now, what do you want to do? I got the Sydney Morning Herald for you, over there are the CD’s I bought last week, and I believe you’ll enjoy them, and there is still the book you tried to read the last time but did not finish. I will just sit here and be with you.”

I drank the tea, poured again, and gave it to her, and then selected a Rachmaninoff Piano concerto from the CD’s. I always admired the piano concertos 2 and 3 for their wonderful melodies and their brilliant orchestration. Then I went back and hugged her. “Let’s just sit here for a while and talk about us.”

She nodded happily and for the next hour we went back to the time we had met first.

“Remember the pool incident? ‘This is the first and only time you will see my breasts!’ They are yours now and I would be very disconcerted if you wouldn’t touch. The weekend in Sydney? The Hunter River? The first time we made love? And when I almost ruined everything?”

She reminisced about the mostly good times but did not avoid the bad moments. She lay down and put her head in my lap. “Darling, I’ll close my eyes for a moment. Get your book and stay with me.”

I got up and took several thrillers, since I did not want to philosophize at this moment and went back to the couch. She moved around a bit, blew me a kiss, and went to sleep. One of the thrillers was okay and together with the music, the next two hours passed rapidly.

Suddenly I sensed her moving differently and looking down, I saw her opening her eyes. She lifted her head and offered her lips for a kiss. “My love, it’s almost lunch time. What do you want to eat? I know a restaurant close by where I order occasionally, and they deliver. They’re quite good and you don’t have to cook, darling!”

Suddenly the phone rang - Maureen was calling me.

“James, the secretary of a Mr. Ian Taylor called me, asking for you. She said that he was on the Board of Burroughs and had next week a visitor from abroad. They want to call you. Should I give her this number?”

I told her to hold for a moment and asked Eileen whether she knew the guy. She nodded.

¨He’s the CEO of CSR, a major industrial complex. They were once the biggest sugar producer in Australia. I’ve met him occasionally, and he seems to be a good guy. I’ve heard that he’s on the boards of several companies. I suggest you take the call.”

I went back to Maureen and agreed to the contact. Half an hour later and we had just ordered our lunch, the call came.

“Count de Winter, I’m Ian Taylor and I’m on the Board of Burroughs. I assume you know the company?”

I assumed that he wanted to keep the conversation light; after all, Burroughs was the major competitor of IBM in Australia, and I had taken several customers away from them. They were dominant in the financial industry (their mainframes and their software were built for banks) and wanted to expand into other areas.

“Count, next week we have our Executive VP for Asia and Australia here for a visit. He wants to look at our investment plans and wants to meet several leading executives to get an idea about the potential we would face. I’ve heard that you’re no longer with IBM and I’m not sorry about that; so, would you accept our invitation to meet Mr. Cummiskey for half an hour and eventually have lunch with us?”

I thought about that for a moment and told him that I would give my response later today. Eileen was all for it.

“James, go for it. There’s no negative side; all you must do is sit there, talk about Australia, and wait to see what they really want. I bet you two blowjobs that they’ll offer you a job. I doubt that you’ll take it, but don’t you want to have your ego stroked a bit, especially after that idiot in Hawaii? And one more thought - don’t you think that this call gets Allan to move a bit faster?”

This was Eileen - there was always sex involved! While we were waiting for the food to arrive, we discussed the potential side effects, and at the end, I called Maureen (who agreed) and contacted Mr. Taylor. He said that he would advise the day - probably Wednesday, and the time - noon? I agreed and he told me that he was looking forward to seeing me.

The dishes were quite acceptable, and Eileen selected wines, which complemented the food perfectly, and then went back to her bedroom for an afternoon nap. The weather did not improve and afterwards she decided to open a bottle of a good red wine and take out cheeses and cold cuts. I helped her set the table and when she saw me looking into the fridge, she reminded me that tonight the salmon was forbidden. It was a leisurely dinner with pleasant talks about the world, politics in Australia and whether Jenny would stay in the company or would leave. The phone rang and there she was. Again, I heard only one side of the conversation; when I pointed to the speaker, she shook her head.

“I feel wonderful, Jenny. Sore all over, but wonderful. He really worked me over, the beast.”... “Not really, only at the end, but he was getting close, so I let him go and enjoy me.”... “Jenny!”... “I lost count.”... “I made certain that he was satisfied also.”... “Jenny! Really!”... “Let’s just say that the day was wonderful, that I had fun at the pool in the morning, had fun dancing and had even more fun having him in me at night. Satisfied?”

Then she became more serious.

“I told James that I’d like you to come up here for a weekend so that we can talk. James is sitting beside me, and he doesn’t know whether he should get up and hide, or whether he should stay not to lose any juicy bits. How was your week?”... “Really? A Brit? What does Sir Allan say?”... “Well, he must be happy that he can go home now and care for his wife.”

Eileen asked me to get her a glass of wine, and then it started again.

“Good for you. What happened?”... “Again. One day he’ll become very disappointed!”... “Yes, that’s your problem. Jenny, please let me talk to Maureen. Have fun and take care of yourself.”

“Maureen, darling, is everything alright? You’ll arrive at what time? OK, we’ll pick you up.”... “I’m alright and James had this morning a smile on his face like the cat that finally got the canary. You’ll see tomorrow. Just a moment.”

She handed me the phone and sighed. “Now I have to listen to these lovebirds cooing to each other. How boring!”

I suggested that she could retire to the bedroom, but she declined. “And lose the moment when you will blush all over again?”

Considering that we had avid listeners on both sides, we kept it short, and I assumed that they were disappointed. I sent her a kiss and confirmed that we would pick her up at the airport.

We finished our dinner, and I cleared the table, since Eileen was still enjoying her (probably fake) invalid position. We went to her bedroom, undressed, and slipped under the sheets. I took her in my arms and kissed her.

“My love, I thank you for today. It’s so easy to be with you, we can talk about anything, and the discussion is always stimulating even if it gets occasionally a bit risky, and I enjoy just looking at you, seeing your beauty and especially your special smile that you have for me.”

She smiled that smile and whispered, “Thank you, too, my love. I feel so safe with you beside me, content when you look at me and excited when you touch me. Tomorrow I’ve to share you again with Maureen, but these days were absolutely wonderful.”

She offered her lips for a kiss, smiled again, and pulled down the blanket to expose her breasts for my caress, and then closed her eyes. I followed her and we slept quietly. We woke up late but decided that a few biscuits and an assortment of nuts were satisfactory and continued sleeping.

The next morning, I felt that she was awake and when I looked at her, she was smiling.

“Hello, sleepy head. Rise and shine; it is late already.”

I groaned; I am not really a morning person and after having such a quiet night, it hurt to be so rudely awakened. She ignored me.

“Darling, I feel much better and will prepare breakfast for us. Stay a little while, but your eggs will be on the table in twenty minutes.”

She bent forward to kiss me, rubbed her nipples across my lips, and off she went. I remembered that she had welcomed me by saying that she would be my humble and willing slave, but up to now, that person had not appeared. What to do? I went to the bathroom, did my things, dressed, and went to the kitchen. She looked at me.

“What got you here on time? To be with me or the eggs?”

“The eggs, my dear. I don’t like cold eggs!”

“At least he´s honest. Well, get the bottle of champagne from yesterday and pour us two glasses.”

She turned back to the stove and considering that she had dressed only in a little apron the view was enchanting. She looked over her shoulders. “Down, James! Not now and remember that Maureen is here in the afternoon!”

I continued looking at her and she was satisfied that I was enjoying the view. It was even better when she finished the preparations and sat in front of me - now the apron was gone, and I could admire a beautiful body and an alluring smile.

“Let’s have a late lunch in a little restaurant I know and then go to the airport to pick up your wife. James, doesn’t it sound strange that I sit here, naked as I was born, and think of your wife? We’re a strange group, my love, but I wouldn’t want anything else!”

I nodded and when we finished, helped her to clear up. She moved easily and when at the end, she turned to thank me and pressed her body against mine, I felt the first inklings of a possible interest waking up. She smiled, happy that she caused that reaction, but stepped back.

“Now, darling, I’ve to clean up everything because I don’t want Maureen to think I cannot handle a man in my home. Go and have a shower, read a book and we’ll go out whenever we are ready.”

I did what I was told and finally, she appeared, ready to leave. She was dressed conservatively, a white blouse and a black narrow skirt, with a little bolero over her shoulders. When I came closer, I saw that the chaste outfit was only for show - beneath the blouse there appeared a little lacy bra, pushing her perfect breasts even higher. Her pendant hang in her almost decent décolleté, calling even more attention to her beauty.

She grinned. “This is just for you to drool a bit, James...” and closed two buttons. When we stepped out of the door, the phone rang. She hesitated for a moment but went back.

“Sir Allan, I would have contacted you still today, but since you called, let us finish the conversation. Do you have any proposal for me?”

She waved to me, to come back into the house. Allan must have stopped because she asked him,

“James is here. Do you mind if I put this on the speaker?”

He agreed and now I could hear both sides of the conversation.

“

Sir Allan, that is not acceptable for me. Your company appointed a CEO, who insulted Australia, its people, your staff, James, me and even Mary Ann. Did I forget something?”

There was silence on the other side.

“Sir Allan, I have discussed this with James and listened to his arguments at least partially. I’m not worried about an eventual financial loss. The company is mine and even without you, we would be alright. I can write-off a few millions; that doesn’t scare me. Sir Allan, I’m furious, however, about the fact that your headquarters let this happen! I know that it’s not your fault since I’ve the utmost respect for you as a businessman and a person. But I want that guy in Armonk to realize that he cannot get away with this.”

She had talked herself back into a fighting mood, tapping her foot angrily.

“Sir Allan, James convinced me to scale down from what I really wanted. So, I shall continue with IBM, if I get four letters. First a letter on general terms, stating and apologizing for the problem, and informing that the person responsible has been fired. Second - a letter addressed to me, apologizing for the accusations that executive raised about me, namely that I let myself be seduced by James, trying to get undeserved benefits into the contract. Third - a letter addressed to Mary Ann, apologizing for the accusations that she slept with James and other staff to get a promotion. And last - a letter addressed to James, acknowledging his superb performance the last year. I also want these letters hand-written by your chairman - and I have my means to check whether he did write them or one of his henchmen did this. Finally, I want them hand-delivered to me by a senior executive I don’t want you to do this - you are not responsible for this mess. So, if I get these letters, I’ll continue to work with IBM.”

There was silence on the other side. Then Allan came back.

“Mrs. Monahan, I don´t believe that the Chairman will accept this. He seems to be as furious as you are because his beloved nephew had to leave the company in disgrace. He will not accept to personally write the letters you demand.”

Now Eileen really was pissed off.

“Sir Allan, let me be perfectly clear, so that there no further misunderstandings. I’ll do the following - the contract with IBM is cancelled, I’ll go next week to the media explaining that IBM had insulted Australia, its people as fucking incompetent hillbillies, and its women as prostitutes - and remember that there are witnesses for this. Can you imagine how this will play coming from me, a respected executive on my own? Let me just add another little bit of information for your considerations - Burroughs has asked James to meet the Executive VP for Asia and Australia next Wednesday. Do you believe that they’ll discuss the weather? And do you believe that his wife and I will tell him not to go? So, I suggest that IBM reconsiders its position. Good day, Sir Allan!”

All I could say was “WOW!” and stare at her. She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax.

“James, only part of this was theatre - I am really pissed off about the whole situation. But let’s see what will happen on their side. I’m certain that they’ll concede defeat. Obviously, my friend, any chance for you to go back there is gone. I’ll win in any case - I get my letters and work will continue, or they want to go to court, and I’ll have my fun in the media. Sorry, that I made that decision without consulting you, but you don’t know how furious I was - and still am - about that idiot! He tried to hit you! He insulted Jenny! He insulted me! He’ll pay, this idiot!”

She was really irate, and I tried to calm her down. She took a deep breath and kissed me.

“

But let’s forget this and have lunch and pick up Maureen!”

She took my arm; I my jacket and she drove her Mercedes to the restaurant she had selected. It was simple, but good food, and when we left it was time to drive to the airport. It was not far, and we arrived early. Walking around, Eileen met many people she knew, and I was always introduced as ‘James, Count de Winter, my son-on-law.” She still enjoyed showing the title off.

I was still thinking about the scene with Allan. She was right to be annoyed, but that was my fight, not hers. Looking at the mess we were in now, I wondered about the Law of Unplanned Consequences. One drunk idiot in Hawaii, and now it had exploded beyond all limits! It was awful for all, except for Eileen, and she seemed to enjoy the confusion!

At the airport, the public system announced that the Sydney plane had arrived and after a few minutes I felt her coming close to me. Since we made love the first time, we had been connected in an unexplainable way and I always knew where she was. And there she was - a vision of beauty! People seemed to enjoy looking at her, judging from the little smiles that accompanied her on her way to me. She was also dressed in her office uniform - light blue blouse, dark blue narrow skirt with a little slit at the side, dark blue sandals, and a huge smile appeared when she saw us. My eyes feasted on her - the luscious red hair, the perfect face, the huge green eyes shining with love, her opal hanging between her breasts, and her arms opened to embrace me.

“My love, I missed you so much! I love you!”

People parted around us, seeing a couple in love, but finally a cough reminded us that there was a second person waiting for her. “Mom! You look beautiful!” and she embraced her, too. Stepping back, she added “And you look very satisfied also. Did you leave something for me? Remember, I’m his wife!”

“Maureen, my dear, he’s still alive. Barely, I must say, but he can walk, drive and talk. What else do you need from a man?”

“Mom, I can think of many other things, but this is not the place to discuss it. Let’s go home and relax; it was a productive but tense week for me.”

She placed her arm through mine, I took her luggage and off we went. Arriving home, she said that she needed a shower and looking at me, asked me to bring her case to her room. “Mom, I’ll need some time, so do anything you want. I’ll advise when I’m ready.”

It was strange how the situation had changed with her arrival. Before Eileen had commanded my attention and I had enjoyed it, but now my love was here, and Eileen stepped back.

As soon as I closed the door she jumped into my arms. “James, I really missed you. I know that you needed to get away, but I didn’t like it. Did Eileen treat you right? No problems, no exaggeration? I know that you made love and I’m happy with it, but now I’m here and you’re mine!”

She hugged me and started to cry. “James, I love you so much. Only when I’m with you, I’m whole again!”

She sobbed a bit, but her tears dried rapidly. Her smile reappeared and she stepped out of my arms. “I need a shower, my love. Could you perhaps feel strong enough to wash my back? I don’t know what Mom did to you, but I’ll find out; so, what are your intentions?”

I assured her that I was able and willing, and helped her out of her clothes. I turned on the shower and when she entered it, she beckoned to me.

“Will you just be standing there, or will you join me?”

I decided to join her and as ordered, washed her back and all other parts of her body. It took some time because I had to check that everything was in its proper place, and she verified also that these days with Eileen neither had hurt nor damaged my equipment. It was fun! I dried her carefully and led her back to the bedroom where she looked through her outfits.

“What do you want, James? Sexy? Very sexy? Nude?”

I shook my head. “I want you beside me and what you wear doesn’t count at this moment. There is no competition - you will always be my love. Eileen and I had our fun, but now you’re the center of my life again. That doesn’t sound right; you know that you are always the center of my life, but the last days Eileen demanded my attention, and I was happy to oblige ... Actually, I don’t know what I am saying, and whatever comes out of my mouth can and will be misinterpreted. So, let me just say one thing - you are here, and I am happy!”

“At least you know that when you’re in a hole, you better stop digging. I know what you wanted to say, and there’s no need for further words. I’m here, I’m yours and you are mine. Full stop.”

She took out one of my football shirts and unfortunately it covered her completely. Another kiss and we went to look for Eileen. She was not in the kitchen nor the sitting room, so we waited for her to appear. I changed the CD’s when I glanced to the corridor and saw Eileen appear, this time in one of her grey gowns. She had one look at Maureen and turned back, only to appear also dressed in an oversized Australian Rules shirt. I appreciated this; she did not want to show off.

“Well, daughter, tell me why you had a tense week.”

Maureen told her about two prospects she had been chasing for weeks and they had finally given in and signed a contract. “I want a bonus for this, Mom!” She had also contracted an auditing company to check her operations; there were still some unexplainable actions happening in her company. They started to go through the company’s accounts and movements, but I told them to stop, as this evening was for us, not for business.

Later Eileen returned to the offer she had made to me, but first she told her about the flare-up with IBM and Sir Allan. Maureen was very unhappy - first that Eileen had taken that step without consulting me, and then that Allan had received her ire.

“Mom, Allan had nothing to do with this!” Eileen agreed and told her that she had emphasized to Allan that this action was against the company and one specific person, but not against him. Maureen slowly relaxed and when she was given all the details, she grinned.

“The next days will be interesting, Mom. You did fine, but you should have told James before. Don’t forget this in the future! James, go ahead and meet this guy - we know that you´ll make the right decision!

Then Eileen came back to her offer.

“Maureen, I have asked James to come and take over the company. He has raised some objections about eventual conflicts of management styles and their possible impact on our personal relationships, which I agree with. He also asked for some days to analyze the proposal. To complete the offer, I asked whether you would come, too, to run the HR department, and with your degree it should be not too difficult. And finally, if Jenny wants to enter the bandwagon, I will offer her to run the Sydney branch. This would depend only on a weekend I want to have with her to judge better her abilities. You don’t have to answer now; discuss this with James. There’s no hurry, but I wonder how long James will be able to stand life without something to do.”

Maureen looked at her. “Mom, I go wherever James wants to go. If this were here, I would come also. As far as Jenny is concerned, she would run the branch probably better than I can. I wonder if you know how intelligent that girl is, and her drive reminds me of you. Her only weak point is James - whatever he tells her, she will do without a moment’s hesitation.”

I started to laugh. Maureen qualified her remark. “She’ll do whatever he wants if either she wants it also, or if it is a serious decision. Then she´ll do it without contesting him.”

Both looked at me and I nodded. “Let’s suspend the discussion for a week while I am going through my options. As promised, I shall very seriously analyze your offer, and I might have an idea how it could work, but this is enough of serious business. Is there any food in this house? I’m hungry!”

Maureen agreed that she might eat something, too, and the two ladies vanished to the kitchen. I listened to another Beethoven piano concerto and when I was called to the kitchen, the table was set and as always it was delicious. The banter started again, and it was difficult to hold my own against the two. Thank God that Jenny was not here! Well, the three of them would have been even worse for me, but I missed her already!

It was late when we finished, and Eileen looked at us. “Children, you’ve not seen each other for a week - well, three days, and need some time for yourselves. I shall clean up and see you tomorrow morning.”

Maureen glanced at me. “Mom, you’re always welcome in our bed, but I appreciate the gift. See you tomorrow.” She kissed her and whispered something in her ear, which made Eileen smile, nodding her head. I gave her a kiss also and we went to our bedroom. I thought it funny that it was Eileen’s room, but Maureen’s bedroom was ours.

When I closed the door, Maureen was already naked and in my arms. “James, I missed you. I want to stay in your arms the whole night! You don’t have to make love if you’re still exhausted from Mom, but I want to feel your body on mine, and I want to feel your heart beating with mine.”