Chapter 19

Well it is all up to Red. She needs to be damn sure of what she wants for her life. I'm willing to be part of it, but I will not be a fulltime masochistic toy for her. In the back of my mind was a nagging thought that the therapy was not quite as effective as we had hoped and that maybe she needed some more – not more abusing me, but true professional help at this point.

Let me call Greg, see what's going on with him and maybe grab a bite to eat with him. Well that was not going to happen. Just like every time I called since I got back, my call went to voice mail and he never did call back. I started to wonder is this is something that Michelle is doing.

What the heck, I needed to eat, did not feel like cooking and it was nice outside – nice for early December and I decided to go to Sixth Street for a beer and burger. Those Bison burgers are good.

I was just about ready to leave when Roz walked in with her guy. I noticed that as soon as he saw me, he was ready to bolt but Roz had a firm grip on this arm. They came straight over to me.

Roz gave me a big hug and said

"Peter I'm so sorry. I never saw this coming. I hope she gets it right in a hurry."

Looks like ever body knows about my troubles with Red, well at least every body who mattered.

Turning to her guy "slave, don't you have anything to say to Mr. Peter?"

I thought to myself, Mr. Peter?

"Mr. Peter, I'm very sorry that I tried to trip you last Sunday. I should not have done that. I know better now. Dr. Roz has been beaten my ass every day. The only way it will stop is if you tell me that you accept my apology.

Please sir, please..."

I looked at Roz and she just ever so slightly nodded.

"OK boy, since I don't know your name, boy will have to do. I accept your apology even though you probably could have made a little more effort, be a little more creative. Never the less, I do accept."

"You hear that slave, I agree with Mr. Peter so you will receive one last beating tonight when we get home."

"Now buy Mr. Peter a beer and then sit quietly in your corner till I come and get you."

I had a hard time not laughing but there I sat with another beer in front of me and Roz sitting in the chair next to me with a glass of wine while her slave slunk off into the corner next to the men's room and sat on the floor.

"Wow Roz, I'm glad I'm not your subbie."

She laughed "he likes it, I bet his panties are full of pre-cum right now from the mental abuse we just handed out. A nice touch about being a bit more creative. I was looking for a reason to whip him one more time. He's off tomorrow and has all day to recover and I feel rather sadistic tonight."

"Peter, how can I help with the mess Red got herself into. I know she loves you. Cindy didn't go into too many details, just told me that Red was with her and a mental mess because you walked out on her but with good reason."

"Please tell me what went on after I left. Maybe another perspective could be helpful."

So I told Roz the same things that I had conveyed to Cindy earlier today.

"Peter, you may be right. I think she's confused and not sure what she wants. She misses Michelle but does not want to lose you. Probably way back in her mind blames you for Michelle's leaving her. Telling herself that it is your fault that you got her even to think about guys in sexual way because of the way you treated her that weekend at your lake house."

"I'm really good friends with her therapist down south. We went to school together. If it's OK with you, I would like to talk to her. Tell her what is going on because I know sooner or later Red is going to either see or talk to her. If she has the background from your perspective, she has a better idea of what questions to ask."

"Look Roz, I'm in favor of anything that will help Red, even if it means I lose her. I just want her to be at peace with herself and her sexuality whatever that may be. I care too much for her to see her suffer. I don't need any form of retribution. As far as I'm concerned last week was an experiment. If it went wrong, that's too bad. I can live with that. What I can't live with is what went on this morning."

"Hey I know and understand. Even that pathetic little slug in the corner over there will get a break tomorrow. I'll let him fuck me till he passes out and when he comes too, I'll make him eat every drop of his cum and he'll know that I love him."

"Roz, please tell him thanks for the beer. I've to go, got an early start tomorrow. I like to walk through the plant about fifteen minutes after the start of the shift. That means I've gotta be out of my place by six thirty."

I gave Roz a kiss on the cheek and started to walk out – even waved at "boy" who must have gotten some sort of signal because he was getting up and headed towards where Roz was sitting.

We had our scheduled luncheon meeting where we discussed our proposal for cost reduction and the just in time delivery challenge the army had presented to us. It turned out that we could guarantee deliveries of seventy five units within five days without any increase in costs. We could shave a bit of our costs by making some minor change in the manufacturing process. Combining that with some "fat", I would be able to offer a price reduction of up to seven percent.

But the real kicker came from Karl who had reviewed the original design specifications and found out that the processer used and approved by the army had programming capacity way over what the army was looking for. It looked like that HH had gotten some kind of deal on the an obsolete processor and had really raked in the money during the first two years of the contract. Later he had gotten some small outfit in Singapore to continue making it but at a higher cost.

I was not quite sure what this meant because we really did not know what the army was doing with the part, but the way we built them, there was a lot of computing capacity to accommodate a bunch of upgrades.

So we could offer them the extra capacity at a small reduction of the unit price or change the processor to a simpler one saving them even more money. Interesting.

"Thank you gentlemen, I'm going to draft a proposal for the army and send it to each of you for review. I would like your comments by tomorrow night so that I can finalize the proposal for my trip up to DC on Thursday.

Just before five I got a call from one of Red's paralegals.

"Peter, could you please stop by the office at six tonight. Red has your final divorce decree and wants to give it to you personally. She also said something about needing to talk to you but on more neutral ground than your or her apartment. Not sure what that means."

"Thanks, please tell her that I'll try to be on time depending on traffic."

I wonder what that was about.

It was just a couple of minutes past six when I walked into Red's offices. The receptionist was just packing up to leave and after saying "hi" pointed at the door to the conference room.

"Hi Peter, how are you? Would you like something to drink?"

"No thanks Red and I'm good. I hear you have something for me."

I looked at Red and realized that she didn't look so hot. Her make-up couldn't quite hide the dark shadows under her eyes. I guess she did not sleep too good.

"Yes, I have your final divorce decree you are now officially single again. I suggest that you put it someplace safe, but I'm sure you know about that."

"Anyway, I also wanted to take this opportunity to apologize to you. I know I screwed up and maybe you are right that I have not quite figured out what I want for the rest of my life. Things moved pretty quick since you came down to see me and my folks. I don't know, I may have let my Mom put some pressure on me. I just don't know."

"What I do know is this. No matter what happens, I would like to stay your friend, maybe even a very special friend. I know that a very big chunk of my heart belongs to you. I'm just confused about the rest of it. So Peter, I beg you to please be patient with me. I know I've asked that quite a few times of you. I'm trying very hard to figure out what is going on in my head. You can help by taking the key to your CB."

Pushing the key towards me "Peter I set you free. You have no obligations to me. You fulfilled your end of the bargain. It's me that is not living up to your expectations."

I'm asking you, no plead with you to grant me some time. You had offered that yesterday morning. I'm taking you up on that."

"There is one more thing and if you don't want to do that because you think you'll get hurt in the end, I will understand."

"Peter, I would still like you to come down with me to visit my family for Christmas. I also would like you to go with me to my therapist after I've seen her alone once we get there. Nicole will be happy to put you up at the B&B like last time. I feel safe down there and I know that I will have lots of support trying to figure out what I need and want. Having you close will also help."

"Like I said, it's a lot to ask and I'll understand..."

"Red, I'll be happy to give you all the time you need trying to figure out what is best for you. I'm not sure if I'm up to going with you. But I promise that I'll think about it. We still have a bit of time before I have to make that decision. Maybe by the weekend we can talk again. See where your head is in this whole thing. But, please, please be totally honest with yourself and me. I'm sure you understand that right now I'm a bit leery. I don't want to get hurt. I love you and my heart aches seeing you struggle but it's a struggle that you have to go through without further sacrifices from me. I'll be there for you any time you want to talk. Be happy to answer questions."

"If it helps, I'll be happy to talk to your therapist by phone."

"Thank you Peter for trying to understand. I'm so bloody mixed up right now. Michelle wants to dissolve the partnership which puts additional stress on me. I have a responsibility to the people that work for me so I won't follow my first notion to say 'screw it all' and run home and stay there. I got her to agree to postpone any move till after the first of the year."

"Problem is that I have to pay her some money, her share of the both the office space and the apartment. We bought them together. As far as the legal practice is concerned, we kept them financially separate. She already laid off her paralegals. A shitty thing as far as I'm concerned, so close to Christmas. I wish I had work for them but I don't. I'm going to have to find a new partner. Part of my success was that I had some one working with me who knew a great deal about finances and ways of sheltering assets to keep them safe from the opposing spouse."

"Well those are my problems and I'll deal with them. However, I may have to ask for my investment in your company because of this. She just sprung this on me today so I'll have to talk to my accountant and see where I stand."

"Would asking you for the money create a problem for you?"

"Red, if you need it, I'll have it for you. I'll figure a way. We are making money and I'll have a better idea later on this week about the future of the army contract. They are talking about extending it."

"I'm really sorry, that everything seems to piling up on top of you like this. Do you know what Michelle is going to do?"

"Yeah, she's hooking up with Greg, some sort of partnership deal."

"Well I wonder if she and Greg are going to come and want their money back. Looks like I better get myself a new lawyer too. Maybe I'll call your Dad in the morning, ask him about the associate that he was talking while we were playing golf."

"Do you want to go and grab a bite to eat, you know just two friends?"

"Thanks Peter, I better not at this point. I just need to try my best to figure out what I want out of life and as much as would like your company, right now I'm not quite ready for it. Maybe by the end of the week. Let's make a tentative date for Friday night – Joshi's."

I was in a way relieved because I felt the same way. "Joshi's on Friday sounds good. Just the two of us or do you want to ask Cindy?"

"I'll see Peter, I'll let you know."

OK, leave me a message. I'm going to be at the Pentagon on Thursday but I'll be back latest by noon on Friday. Take care and remember, I do love you."

I picked up my papers and left her office, feeling a bit empty in my heart but on the other hand I'm not ready to give up on her. Her willingness to have dinner on Friday was a good omen in my mind.

In the morning I spent most of my time working on the proposal for the army so that I could send it to the guys for their review.

Just before noon the mailman showed up with three registered letters for me. I signed for them and went back to my office, closing the door behind me, a clear sign that I did not want to be disturbed. Two of them were from Michelle, the third one from Greg.

One of the letters had the office as a return address so I opened that one first.

"Dear Mr...

This is to inform you that I've decided to close my office and pursue other interests. You have until December 31st to pick up all the files pertaining to your business.

Failure to do so will result in them being destroyed with the exception of certain items that I may be required to retain under federal and state law for a certain period.

Sincerely,"

Well that was clearly a form letter and I guess it went out to every one of her clients.

On to the next one. That had a P.O. Box in the main post office in town as a return address.

"Dear Mr...

Pursuant to our agreement regarding certain investments in HI-tek inc. I herby give notice that I wish to withdraw my investment and any accrued profits effective December 31st.

However, in view of the upcoming holiday season I am willing to extend this to January 15th, 2011.

Below is the required banking information for you to make the transfer of funds.

In addition, I require no later than January 31st 2011 a certified audit covering the operation from the day you took over operation until the day you are returning my investment.

Sincerely,"

Well now I had a very good idea of what was in Greg's letter and I was right. In essence it was identical to the one from Michelle. The one difference,

There was a hand written note.

"Peter,

I apologize for not returning your calls. I'm making some major changes in my life. I feel bad about this and if it will help, I'll be happy to give you time till the end of March to return my investment.

Michelle is saying that she heard from M, that you are not doing very well and are about to lose your contract with the army. That is the reason for us asking for our money back.

I'm truly sorry. I've valued your friendship for the last fifteen years but I don't know, I guess I'm just under the spell of a beautiful woman that bears you ill will.

I wish, it could be different but over the last few months, I've discovered some things about me that I had no idea existed in my mind.

Again, I'm truly sorry.

Good luck,

Greg"

Shit, so it looks like M latched on to Michelle and pulled her over to the "dark side". Michelle being "ripe" for the picking because of her resentment towards me, blaming me for taking Red away from her. What do they say about a woman scorned?

I don't know where this rumor is coming from about my losing the army contract. I mean my discussions last week were very positive. I guess I'll have to hang in there and see how the meeting goes on Thursday.

After lunch I called my banker to see about my line of credit since I may have to come up with a million plus on short notice.

He wasn't very cheerful.

"Peter, good to hear from you. I was just about ready to call you. I'm getting pressure from one of the directors that is sitting on the loan committee about cutting your line."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Sorry but yes, he's talking about you losing a major share of your business next year..."

"Let me guess, that wouldn't be James Collins, would it now?"

"How did you know?"

"He's a cousin to the guy I bought the business from. He and my ex wife are trying to stir up trouble. I have taped confessions of some employees that had been paid to sabotage production."

"Are you going to file criminal charges? That would go a long way of shutting that guy up."

I wasn't going to but I may have to. But first I have to find a new attorney, Michelle just quit."

"Listen, I have a meeting with the army on Thursday, they are talking about extending the contract. Why don't I get back to you. But one thing, I'm going to need that line. Some of my investors are pulling out and I have to buy back their shares."

"I'll see what I can do. In case we need it, do you have any other collateral?"

"Yes I've got the lake house, it's appraised value on the tax rolls is 1.8 million and I don't have a mortgage on it."

"Wow, OK that definitely will do in a pinch. Let me know how you make out with the army and we go from there."

We said our goodbyes and I started to think. No more Mr. Nice Guy. M is trying to fuck me over. I need a blood thirsty attorney.

So, called Dan and asked him about the associate they had up in our neck of the woods. I told him what was going on and he said.

"Peter, she is just what you need. She's going to put some "balls" on that DA and force him to file criminal charges if you want her to. She'll also be good on all the other stuff you might need. Why don't I call her and tell her that she can expect a call from you in the near future. Probably would be good if you had all the files from Michelle to give to her."

That sounded good and I called Michelle's office to find out how fast they could have my stuff packed up and ready for pick-up.

"Peter, it's all ready to go. We packed it up last week. Red still has the key to your place. If you want us to, we can just bring it over there now or just before we are ready to go home. Friday is our last day here."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but yes go ahead and bring the stuff over when it's convenient for you. Just put it on the dining room table. Thanks and good luck. Why don't leave me your phone numbers in case I hear of any job or I might need some part time help."

"Thanks Peter, take care."

Well that was that, no sooner had I hung up when the phone rang again.

"Hi Peter, it's Ted. Do you have a minute?"

"Go ahead."

"Peter, I'm sorry to spring this on you but I've been asked to stay. They offer me a maximum travel of twenty five percent of the time. I know..."

"Hold on Ted, we had a deal. You actually signed a contract. What is really going on here?"

"Well Michelle says that the contract is going to be hard to enforce plus you probably wouldn't do it because you would know that I'm just working for you under duress of the contract."

"So Michelle is behind this?"

"Yes, she's Greg's new partner and responsible among other things for all HR things. She's the one that made that offer, not Greg. To be honest I'm not sure he knows about it."

Could my day get any shittier?

"Listen Ted, can you get a baby sitter on short notice? I would like to have dinner with you and your wife tonight at the grill in the Palace Hotel."

"I want to talk to you about this face to face and I really would like your wife to hear what I have to say."

"Peter, I guess that is only fair. I'll call her and find out. I'll get back to you. What if she can't make it tonight but tomorrow?"

"Sorry, I'm going to be at the Pentagon tomorrow and Thursday. I would prefer tonight but if that does not work, how about on Saturday. They have a neat little band there starting around nine. When was the last time you took your wife dancing."

"Peter, you are 'evil'. You're trying to get to me through my wife. But that is a good option. I'll call you back before five this afternoon."

"Thanks Ted, I look forward to hearing from you."

Now I'm sure that Michelle has really gone over to the dark side. I was contemplating leaving Greg a voice mail telling him what was going on but decided against for the time being. I'll wait till I have all the details from Ted and a decision.

It was just before five when my phone rang – a number I didn't recognize.

"Peter?"

"Yes"

"Peter, this is Lucy, Ted's wife. Listen, I'm so sorry. I ripped that lunkhead a new one once I heard what he had been up to. Of course he is going to work for you starting in January. So there is no need for the dinner."

"Lucy, listen now more than ever do I want to have dinner with you and Ted. I want to meet the lady that can do what you said you did. There are some very important things going on that I think you need to know about. I really would like for both of you to hear this."

"Peter, you offered Saturday as an alternate day, can we do it then. I mean if nothing else I want to get a nice evening out from this mess. Ted needs to get "punished" and treat me like a queen for that stunt. First I'm going to stick him with the kids while I go get my hair, nails, in other words the works done."

I had to laugh. "Lucy, you got it. Saturday seven thirty at the Palace Hotel Grill. I'm really looking forward to this."

"Yeah, me to. See you on Saturday."

I'll see how Friday goes with Red. Maybe I'll ask her to join us. Could be fun.

I was just about to go home when I got the guys comments back for the proposal for the army.

I decided to go home and work on the final version in the comfort of my home.

When I got home, I had three file boxes sitting on the floor of my dining room. But was really nice was that there also was a box of discs. Maybe I'll make some copies for myself before handing the whole thing over to my new attorney.

I fixed myself some dinner and then went to work. I made two separate proposals, one with just the cost reduction and JIT requirements and a second one covering the extra computing capacity for possible upgrades.