Chapter 44: This is War!

Rogerio picked me up and handed me a key.

“Sir, Mrs. Monahan had to go to an urgent meeting and asked you to go home, get comfortable and wait for her.”

I found a note that she had been called to meet an important customer, but to make myself at home. I put my things away, worked a bit and investigated the fridge. There was enough food to feed a regiment and her wine cellar, as always, was stocked with the best wines she could purchase. I looked at the prominently displayed smoked salmon but left that for another day. The weather was cloudy, but still warm and I decided to stay outside with my lunch. It was pleasant, but I was becoming drowsy after all the work and excitement of the last days and went back to Maureen’s bedroom, took off my clothes and lay down for a moment.

It must have been longer than I thought because a slight noise made me open my eyes; Eileen was sitting beside the bed looking at me. She smiled at me.

“Hello, knight in a shining armor. Maureen told me everything and I’m so proud of you, James, you cannot imagine. Nobody has ever defended me like you did and always will, and all I can do is love you.”

She was still dressed in her business clothes, but when I opened my arms, she jumped into them, hugging me with all her might.

“James, you don’t know how happy you made me.”

All I could do was holding her in my arms as she started to sniffle. She took some time to relax and got up, pulling me up with her.

“Come on, let’s have a glass of wine and discuss things. I bought a very promising Pinot Noir and I believe you’ll like that wine.”

We went to the sitting room, and she brought the bottle for me to open. It had the right, fresh temperature and when I looked at the label, I saw that it was a Drouhin from Oregon State. It was a surprise: Eileen normally drank Australian or French wines, but she looked at me with amusement in her eyes.

“Let’s see what the States can do for us!” It was a beautiful wine, still young, but already opening and after letting it breathe for a few minutes, it was delicious. She brought some finger foods and we decided to talk business. She had called the senior managers in the company to hear my proposals and expected to conclude by Friday night.

It sounded good; I was optimistic and so was she. When we finished, she said that she would prepare dinner and for me to prepare drinks and provide some music. I thought about the complexity of this woman; she could have afforded servants but preferred to make dinner herself for the man she loved. When she came back, she had changed: a comfortable green silk robe that covered her completely and gone was the transparent misty gown that normally showcased her body. I looked at her with a question in my eyes and she said: “James, my love, I’m not certain at this moment what you want. Am I still your love with all that implies, or are we friends now?”

I just opened my arms again and she flowed forward, laying her head on my shoulder.

“We’ll always be friends, but first of all, we love each other. Remember what I said to you? We, and I especially, don’t want that you give us everything you imagine we might like, but we want you, Eileen, our love. We had problems and will have them again, but always remember the base of our relationship is love and trust. So, if you want to stay back a while it’s your right, but if you want to be loved, I’m yours.”

She started to cry again, but this time the tears seemed to be happy tears, not sad ones. Then she looked up and smiled.

“I know how you like to look at me, so please give me a moment.”

She left and when she came back, she was a pleasure for my eyes: back were the proud breasts, the slender hips, and the long, long legs, all visible and presented to me. She smiled again.

“My puppies have been very sad, my love; they do need some attention!”

She bent forward and there they were: firm and beautiful, with the tips already stiff.

“Woof, woof, darling. Here they are and they want some tender care!”

I spent some time worshipping them and finally her puppies were satisfied with my attention. She laughed when my stomach grumbled.

“Here you are, holding an almost naked woman in your arms and you think of food? Where has all the passion gone?”

I showed her where all the passion was and after a while she cried for mercy. As always, the food was superb and the pinot noir a fitting match. I helped her clean up and we went back to the sitting room. The Mozart horn concerts were still playing, and she relaxed on my lap.

“James, we have to talk. About us, about you and about me. You know me: I’m aggressive and want to decide everything, and I don’t like to play second fiddle. I’ve given all this up to be with you...”

I snorted. “Given ALL up?”

She smiled. “Well, I’ve given up a lot and I must share you with my daughter and even with Jenny, and it’s fun, but occasionally it all comes back. I want you for myself and I know I cannot have it, and this causes frustration, and frustration causes irritation, and then I snap at people, including you. I thought long about this, and I’ve concluded: when you cannot have the world you want, you must adapt to the world you have. The world I have is a loving relationship between four people, and that’s a million times better than to be alone. So, what you’ll have in the future is a woman who loves you from the bottom of her heart, who’ll do anything to make you happy, who you can have ‘anytime and anyhow’, and who’ll try very hard to fit in. All I want is that you love me and forgive me when I get snappy. Remember how we started all; love and trust are the base of our relationship, and love and trust I give you.”

She looked at me with pleading eyes and I nodded.

“Love and trust you’ll have from me, now and forever. You’re not the only person who is not perfect; we are, too, and you saw an example in my stupidity in Sydney. We’ll need help and forgiveness when, once in a while, we play our own game. Love doesn’t mean that we always focus on the other person; love means that we have her in our heart and soul, and that, Eileen, you can be sure that you are and always will be. It doesn’t help that we live in two different cities, but remember, my love, that living in the same city as we’ll be soon, brings other problems. We’ll resolve them as they come, and we will always resolve them together!”

She looked at me for a long time. “James, I have not yet gone wrong trusting you, so I will. We’ll resolve it together, but that’s a problem for the future. Can I have now another glass of wine, please?”

We finished the bottle and then she got up. “It’ll be a long day tomorrow so we better rest.”

Then a small smile appeared on her face. “Do you want to sleep alone, or do you want company?”

I got up and lifted her in my arms. “Is this response satisfactory?” and I carried her to her bedroom. She continued smiling, but with a happier face. I laid her on her bed and somehow her scant outfit disappeared. I lay beside her and when I bent over to kiss her, she asked, “James, my love, can we just sleep together tonight? I want to be held in your arms and feel safe and protected. But don’t you dare to take your hand off me during the night!”

She kissed me deeply and then offered her breasts for my attention. It was a pleasure to obey and then she snuggled into me, her back to my front and she placed my hand on her breast.

“Goodnight, my love and dream of me.”

Unfortunately, my dreams were not walking with her on a beach into the sunset, but it was more of a nightmare, having to decide with whom I would stay and who I would have to discard. It was pure hell and when I woke up, I was soaked in sweat. I tried to get up while it was still dark, but Eileen mumbled something and did not let me remove my hand from her breast. It took some time until I could sleep again, and this time my dreams must have been different: I could not remember any of them.

The sun must have come up, since the first rays were creeping through her curtain. She turned and slowly opened her eyes.

“My love, this was wonderful and exactly what I needed to settle my emotions. Let me get up and prepare breakfast.”

She kissed me and remembering local rules, let me enjoy her breasts. Have I said recently that I adore the touch and the feel of a female breast? And there were no more beautiful ones than those of my ladies.

She left reluctantly, but after a short moment in the bathroom she asked: “Do you want to share the shower with me?” It did not take me long to decide that this was an offer too good to decline, and after my own ablutions I joined her. It was fun, washing her from her head to her toes, with special attention to the more interesting parts, but she stopped me.

“James, no more of this. We’ve a difficult day ahead and we must focus on that. Depending how the day goes, we might fool around at night a bit...”

She enjoyed it, however, when I washed and brushed her hair, and suddenly we had to hurry. Eileen was dressed in her executive power woman costume, dark blue and narrow skirt, a white blouse with only one button open (and the pendant appeared occasionally in the opening as she moved), and a severe dark blue jacket. She looked beautiful and when she saw my face appreciating her, she smiled satisfied.

“This, James, is yours whenever you want it - but not now, alas - and may I say that you are not too ugly either?”

I had dressed accordingly with my dark blue suit and my Hermès tie, and we were both happy with each other.

Eileen took me to the big meeting room where most people were already waiting for us.

“My colleagues and friends, we’re here today to decide about our future. You all know James and he has prepared a proposal that’ll give us basically two options: defend our safe position in this state or go out and beat them up. I’ll let you alone so that you can discuss freely and will meet you again at lunch, when the basic positions have been cleared up. You’ll then have the rest of the day to go into any details you need and don’t hesitate to call me when you need any information that is missing. Good luck, guys!” and left.

I introduced myself to three people I had not met before, and we started. I had collected all the information I could get on NT, on its market in this state, and the extension into NSW. Two business associations had given me more on competitors in each state, and going through the company sites and newspapers, I had dug up interesting details on ownerships and financial statements of the bigger ones. It took me almost three hours to go through the basic part of my proposal, occasionally interrupted by questions, and when I saw that their eyes were slowly glazing over, I stopped.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is what I could find and I’m happy to say that whatever information you added, has complemented my position as far as I can see. Let us break now and after lunch we can start strategy discussions. You certainly will have to make some phone calls, so let’s meet again in forty-five minutes for lunch. OK?”

They nodded, probably happy to escape my relentless flow of data and interpretation thereof. I went to see Eileen, but her secretary asked me to wait, since she had an important visitor. She was older than Eileen, but well preserved I must say. She looked at me.

“If I may ask, sir, what will happen to this company? Rumors are flying around, and you’re involved in all of them. I know Mrs. Monahan for a long time; actually, I worked first for her husband, and all she told me that you’re here to discuss the future of this company. Is there anything you could tell me?”

I told her that I could not add much to this as I was here to discuss a proposal, but that it was Mrs. Monahan’s decision what would be done and added with a smile, “I’m just a consultant, and you know that consultants consult, but they do not decide. I’m certain, however, that a decision will not take long.”

After a while the visitors left, and Eileen asked me to come in. She closed the door and came into my arms. “I wish that you were here taking all these calls and having to put up with these guys who believe that they are very important.”

She kissed me, laid her head on my shoulder for a moment, and then sat beside me on the couch. Her office was big with a window overlooking the city; the furniture was basic Scandinavian and seemed to be comfortable. She had several oil paintings hanging on the wall, all of them showing the Australian bush with aborigines and local wildlife. They showed her own character: wild colors, but beautifully matching, people on their own, sitting on a night’s campfire, and the wild loneliness of the Australian bush.

“How is it going? Any problems?”

I shook my head. “Not yet, but we have discussed only basics. During the afternoon I intend to go into strategies. Will you participate? Who do you want from the people who have been there in the morning?”

“I have a meeting soon after lunch that will last about an hour, and then I’ll join you. I also believe that you should keep the senior managers and let the analysts go back to work. The discussions will be way above their pay grade!”

Her phone rang to advise that lunch was ready, and I received one more kiss; then she straightened her costume and became the executive once more. The discussion during lunch was lively and I noted that one young guy, George Benham, was much more creative than his colleagues; his ideas came to the point decisively and I reminded myself to keep track of him. I explained to the group that the discussion would continue in a smaller group in another room and thanked them for their help. I had learned a lot and was certain that we were on the right path.

Now we were eight and I hoped that we would go forward now; I had read that the Chinese considered this a very lucky number. I briefly presented the position we had reached before lunch and that now we should decide what was best for the company: build a fortress in the state and be number one in this region, or to become aggressive and try to be number one in Australia, too. I reminded them that the Sydney branch was going very well, but that this expansion had raised warning lights to our competitors in NSW and we would have a much tougher time ahead.

The group was split: the senior managers were satisfied with their success up to date, the younger people wanted to go and battle. When Eileen joined us, it had become a stagnant discussion, and I was ready to stop. When I told her where we stood, she took over.

“Gentlemen, you had a tiring day. I suggest that we stop now and that everyone re-thinks his position. We will reconvene tomorrow at nine o’clock and everyone will state his arguments against or in favor. Please remember that the company is mine and I will make the final decision. I have learned during the last years, however, that it pays very well to listen to you and your advice. So, see you tomorrow.”

All nodded and left and Eileen turned to me. “What do you think?”

“If you want to stay in this state, you will be very successful and make a lot of money when, finally, someone makes you an offer you cannot refuse. If you go out and battle the world, you will have to substitute your financial and especially the admin director; they’re good, but a bit tired. Offer them a good package and they’ll stay until the last moment supporting you and the company. You could bring Maureen in as the HR manager as she is very good at this, make Jenny the Sydney Branch manager for a year and then bring her in as the admin director. She’s much better than we think! You’ll have to find candidates for the financial position, but I believe that this will not be very difficult. By the way, you’ve a junior manager in the financial department who’s very good, George Benham. He could be put on a fast track and tested with more responsibility. In my opinion, you have a very good team and a more than reasonable chance to win.”

“And you, James? What will you do?”

“If you go to battle stations and you want me to come in, I’ll do it. But there is a condition that I’ve stated before: I shall work with you as your assistant, give my advice and recommendations, but the decision is yours. When we decide that I have the experience necessary to take over, I’ll become the CEO, and you will run the Board. Decisions will be mine, but I will listen. You must also ask Allan to join you on the Board; between your and his business experience we will have the best company in the world. All of this will have to be put in writing. Eileen, you and I are so involved emotionally, that there must be a document that sets out the rules in case there are misunderstandings - and there will be.”

She looked at me for a long time and then nodded. “It was a long day, so let’s go home, talk a bit more, you can call Maureen and Jenny, and then we will go out for dinner. OK?”

This is what we did. I first called Maureen who was very curious what had happened. I told her the main parts of our discussions and she only said wherever I would go, she would be at my side. Then I called Jenny and she seemed to be a bit tired.

“James, my love, it was a long and tiring week and today we had tests in the morning and the afternoon. We’ll be graded and they said that the best student would receive a silver platter; no cheap course this. We’ll receive our certificates tomorrow before lunch and then I’m off to see you, my love. I miss you so much!”

Her voice had picked up during our talk and I could hear her smile. I repeated my spiel on the day’s discussions, and she said that she would call when she would arrive at the airport. She did not have the flight details yet because it depended when the course would end. She had made reservations on all flights from Canberra, however, and once she was at the airport, she would call. I promised to pick her up, but only if my discussions were finished; if not, we would send a driver.

“Call Maureen when she will come; perhaps you can arrive at the same time?”

Her voice was loving but decisive.

“James, let me tell you one thing and you know that I love Maureen. If you are at the airport, I shall wait with you whatever time necessary for Maureen to arrive; if you´re not there and she could arrive only half an hour after my flight I’ll take a taxi. I want to see you and half an hour more waiting is too a long time!”

She was serious and it touched me; her dedication was total, and I was worried since it put a heavy responsibility on my shoulders. I had to be very careful never to disappoint her and considering that we had a long life together before us that was difficult - not impossible, but difficult. There would be occasional thoughtless and careless remarks that would hurt, moments of inattention at a delicate moment, or misunderstandings in our relationship. I shuddered when I remembered the incident in Sydney. Never again!

Jenny had only me, but I had Maureen and Eileen to consider also, and I promised myself that as soon as possible I would have to sit down with her and discuss this, and it might be a good idea to bring in Maureen at a certain time also. I knew, however, that I loved her from the bottom of my heart, and we would resolve it together.

Eileen called me to have a drink with her and we discussed once more today’s events. I felt that she had taken her decision but did not want to voice it yet. Evening came and she wanted to go out.

“We’ll have dinner at one of my favorite restaurants where there’s a very good DJ, so dress up, Count de Winter!”

I did and whistled when I saw her coming into the sitting room. She was dressed in a long, slinky gown that flowed over her curves faithfully, and there was a long slit at the side so that she could move easily. The pendant emphasized the position of her proud breasts, and the ruby brooch shone on her left breast, complementing wonderfully the dark blue silk of the dress. Her hair was made up and part of it curled down over one bare shoulder. There was a silvery dust in her hair that seemed to concentrate the light on her face, but the best part was her smile that illuminated the room.

“Are you ready, Count, to take a lady out for dinner?”

“Milady, it would give me immense pleasure if you were to give me the honor of accompanying you to wherever you want to go.”

She smiled and gave me her arm to lead her to the car. I did not have to drive; she had called Rogerio.

“I don’t want to worry about a glass of wine too much, James, so relax.”

She took me to one of these international hotels, where they had a renowned rooftop restaurant. The maître d’ recognized her immediately and led us to a small table in an alcove close to a dance area. There were orchids on the table covered with a white linen tablecloth, and the glasses were obviously crystal and finely carved; no cheap place this. He placed the menu before us and gave me the wine card. One look at the prices was enough; it was definitively not a cheap place. Eileen looked at me.

“Remember, darling, that I’m rich and occasionally I want to use my money to get the best available. This restaurant is outstanding, and the DJ is very good. We can eat, dance and later be merry - anywhere and anyhow, darling. Enjoy yourself and enjoy me. You can order the food but let me order the wines.”

We started with a glass of the Lustau Añada 1990 Oloroso, a beautiful dry sherry awakening our appetite. I had selected a generous assortment of oysters, which caused her to grin.

“Being optimistic, are you?”

She ordered a bottle of the Crystal champagne to complement the food, and after we had slowly finished the oysters, I asked for the Saint Jacques, chicory and black truffles, and crushed walnuts.

“Good choice; we can finish the champagne with the fish.” Again, there was a good match and I regarded her.

“Do you want to continue or dance a while to settle the food?”

She shook her head telling me what a fool I was, as between dancing with me and eating, she would always go dancing. She asked for the DJ and when he came over, introduced me.

“This is Count de Winter, my son-in-law. Could you do me a favor and select music to dance to and whatever you have but play it soft. I want to dance the night away!”

He nodded and went back; I called the maître d’ and told him we would suspend dinner for a while, since Mrs. Monahan wanted to dance. He nodded and we were off to the dance floor.

The DJ started the first tune, and it was a lively foxtrot; Eileen moved into my arms and the fun began. It was always a wonderful experience having Eileen in my arms and feeling her slender body pressed against mine, but it was different when we were dancing. She anticipated every move I was going to make, following me in all my steps. Her smile was getting more radiant as the dance went on and when it finished, she was happy.

“More please, and whatever rhythm you have.” The DJ changed to a waltz and Eileen twirled around me as you can only do in a waltz. Then there was a tango, and I knew why her dress had that long slit up her side and the audience we had gained enjoyed the show when her long leg appeared and hooked around my leg, following the exotic rhythm of the Argentine dance. We danced for about half an hour and finally she stopped.

“James, now I need a drink and if you want to, we could discuss a second dish to continue our dinner.”

The guests applauded when we left the dance floor; we had given them a show and they had enjoyed it. We had worked up an appetite and decided to divide a Boeuf Wagyu Guma, a fancy name for Japanese meat (the cattle that was massaged every day and which drank beer!) on a liver bed with a foie gras reduction and a spicy sweet/sour arugula salad. It was a strange combination and even Eileen failed to come up with a matching wine. The meat demanded one grape, the reduction another, and the arugula...

She gave up and ordered another bottle of the Crystal. It went down well enough, and we went back to the dance floor. She really loved dancing and we floated through the steps, the floor all to ourselves. At the end, we realized that we were practically alone in the restaurant, the only people left were there just to watch us.

We bowed to the applause and Eileen decided to call it a night. The maître d’ appeared and told Eileen that he would send the bill to NT, as always, but that this time he would offer a significant reduction due to the entertainment we had offered.

“Please come back, Mrs. Monahan, and you, Count, and the next dinner is on the house ... that is, if you continue to spend your time on the dance floor...”

He smiled and led us to the car where Rogerio was waiting. We arrived safely at the house and Eileen told me to have a shower and join her, that is if I wanted to have company at night. If I preferred, however, to sleep alone, she would wake me up in time to go to the office. I embraced her and my only answer was a deep kiss.

She smiled. “Come whenever you’re ready.”

I showered, changed into a robe, and went to her bedroom. When I opened the door, she was already lying on her bed, naked as she was born, with her arms held open to receive me and her legs slightly opened to present her pussy, already glittering. Her eyes were shining.

“I hope the oysters did their work, darling! I told you could have me, anytime and anywhere, and here I am. Enjoy me as I will you!”

I slid off the robe and lay beside her, admiring the picture of a truly beautiful woman and happy that she offered herself to me. I bent down and kissed her and then began my journey on her body, re-discovering all those sensitive spots that I had learned would excite her. Her hair was luscious and it had a weak smell of the lemony shampoo she used, her lips were sweet and her tongue came out to welcome mine, We kissed and then I continued my journey down her neck, kissed her behind her ears, which caused the first satisfied moan to escape her, and then went to her breasts: high, pert, firm and soft at the same time, and her areolae already crinkled, her nipples standing up proudly, waiting to be kissed, to be caressed and to be mauled, to give her and me pleasure.

The moans became louder, and she pushed her chest up to shove her breast into my mouth.

“Yes, darling, take them. They are yours.”

I continued my labors for a while, and she was audible happy about the attention. The smell of Opium, her preferred perfume, was now mixing with her female scent of excitement wafting up from her pussy and I decided to move south. I tickled her bellybutton with my tongue, and she laughed and told me to move on. There were other, more interesting places waiting for me!

Her shaved labia were red and white as creamy drops were slowly appearing, showing that she was ready for more, much more. I just touched her there and continued my journey along her side, moving between her legs and lifting one foot to my lips. She liked it but made it clear that she wanted my attention at a different place, so I moved upwards again and when she opened her legs wide, I lifted them on my shoulders to have better access to her sweet spot. Touching her labia with a finger and then opening the two lips, the intensity of her smell exploded in my nose. She pushed herself up into my face and when I licked her open pussy lips, she moaned.

“Yes, James. Please make me come!”

It was my pleasure to obey her command and she started to tremble and when she exploded, jets of her fluids were filling my mouth with Eileen’s special tangy, heavy taste. She squirmed, moving convulsively and it took her a long time to calm down. Finally, she relaxed and looked up to me.

“James, darling, I needed this, but let me now do the same for you. Our love is a two-way street and I want to give my body and my heart to you to confirm that I’m yours, and yours only.”

She turned me around, settling on my hips. I was still rigid and slipped easily into her when she opened her labia for me. I saw on her face how she enjoyed the feeling and when I finally hit bottom, she grinned satisfied.

“This is where you belong, dear.”

She started to move again, and I followed her, pushing up when she pushed down. We were both excited and seeing her on top of me, my hands holding her breasts, her eyes never leaving me, we were slowly feeling our mutual excitement taking over. Suddenly she closed her eyes, pushed down with all might and cried my name. She shook and fell forward, hugging me with her pussy still massaging my shaft. I was tempted to let go, but wanted her to come once more, really satisfied with the day and the night. Remembering my math teacher, I did the multiplication tables and managed to hold back. She came back to earth but was disappointed.

“James, I wanted you to come with me. Why did you stop?” I just lifted her off me, slipping out with a little pop, and turned her around.

She grinned at me. “The oysters did their work, I assume?” She pulled me over her and opened her legs. “I gave myself to you, now take me!”

I went back into her opening and as I slid all the way in, she gave out a loud moan. She moved a bit awkwardly at first, as she had come already twice, I must admit, but soon came back to accompany my moves. We began to work together, the ancient in and out rhythm only set off by its intensity. On each inward stroke we came together in an almost bruising impact. It wasn’t surprising that I only lasted a few minutes, but Eileen looked surprised when my release triggered one of her own and it seemed that her world exploded into fiery sparks, the rest of her dissolving into blackness. As she returned to the world, we were still coupled and both breathing hard and fast. She smiled and pulled me into a kiss.