Chapter 74: The Art of the Deal

May 9, 1992, Chicago and Plainfield, Illinois

“I need a sauna,” Kara groaned as we left the dojo.

“The weapons test is the hardest one, in my opinion,” I said.

“No way,” Kara said. “Sparring next week. Against you!”

“I’m going to put you down,” I grinned. “Though I don’t think Sensei will be happy if I pin you to the mat the way you WANT to be pinned!”

“OOOH!” Kara giggled. “Nude sparring? You can take me down for sure!”

“Why am I NOT surprised that you would think about sex?” Jessica laughed.

“I’m not afraid to show off this body!” Kara declared. “And you shouldn’t be either, my wife the doctor! Our husband and I both think you’re sexy!”

“Yeah, at the end of a twelve-hour shift, I am SOOO sexy,” Jessica sighed. “You classroom professors have it SO easy at work! And you CEO’s? What do you do? Sit on your butt all day? Come out with your pressed suit looking like you barely wore it?”

“Somebody is grumpy today,” I chuckled. “Besides, I don’t usually wear pressed suits to work!”

“I heard from someone on the inside that I’m going to be assigned to Frank Young,” Jessica sighed.

“Well now THAT sucks,” I said. “Can’t Al do anything about it?”

“No. He’s not in charge of the surgical service, and you know he has to be careful with influencing things.”

“Who has it in for you?” I asked.

“Probably the Chief Resident. He’s a misogynistic bastard who doesn’t think women should be surgeons.”

“How the hell does someone like that get to be Chief Resident? It’s 1992 for Pete’s sake!”

“There is still an ‘Old Boy’ network in medicine. And we little girls aren’t supposed to intrude on their club.”

“What is this?” I asked angrily. “Calvin and Susie Derkins? Did they put up a sign for their club? ‘Get Rid Of Slimy girlS’?”

“It’s almost that bad, especially in surgery.”

“So now what? A year of fighting this idiot?”

“So it would seem. It’s not official, but I doubt anything changes by Friday.”

“Sorry, Babe,” I said. “But you’re smarter than he is, I’m sure.”

“The problem is, a mediocre mid-year review from him could cost me a Fellowship.”

“OK. Now we’re talking going too far!”

“Tiger, you HAVE to stay out of this. You can only make it worse.”

“I swear, the more I see of how medical training works, the more surprised I am that the entire system hasn’t come crashing down from incompetence, egos, and stupidity.”

“Promise me you won’t do or say anything,” Jessica said worriedly. “I have to work within the system which exists, not the perfect one you seem to think needs to exist.”

“This sucks,” I sighed.

We arrived home, showered, dressed, and ate lunch. I put on rarely worn blue jeans and a lightweight flannel shirt. I didn’t have riding boots, so I simply wore a pair of comfortable sneakers. Samantha had asked me to pack a change of clothes, so I tossed a pair of khakis and a button-down shirt into a gym bag, along with clean underwear and loafers. I grabbed my brown fedora, and my wives and I went to sit on the front porch to wait for Samantha.

“Now THAT is what it means to have real money,” Jessica laughed. “A seventeen-year-old with a brand-new ‘Vette.”

Samantha had pulled up in a black, 1992, Chevy Corvette ZR1. There wasn’t a close parking space, so she simply stopped in front of the house, got out of the car and waved. I kissed my wives, grabbed my bag, and headed down the steps to the sidewalk. I stepped out in the street and got into the passenger’s side. Samantha leaned over for a quick kiss and I’d just barely buckled my seatbelt when she hit the gas.

“Damn!” I chuckled as I was pushed back in my seat.

I cinched my seatbelt tightly as she took the corner at about twice the speed I would have dared in my BMW.

“5.7 liters, 300 horsepower, with a six-speed manual transmission!” she laughed.

“There’s no need to show off or get a ticket! I’m impressed!”

She slowed down a bit, as we approached the entrance ramp to the Dan Ryan.

“The car was a birthday present. My birthday was April 14th. I passed my pilot certification the following Saturday. So now I can fly AND drive!”

“We’re heading to Plainfield? How long is the drive?”

“About seventy-five minutes, roughly,” Samantha said. “We’ll take the Stevenson out to Illinois 126.”

“What did you drive before this?”

“Usually my mom’s Mercedes, but sometimes my dad’s Lotus.”

“Unreal,” I said.

“What I’m going to ask is completely impolite, but because I’m seventeen and cute, I can get away with it. You aren’t wealthy, are you?”

“By whose standards?” I asked. “Compared to the vast majority of Americans, I’m damned well-off. Compared to your dad, or Margaret Lundgren, or Alec Glass, or Jeri, I’m a pauper! But I’m happy. Money isn’t important to me except insofar as I want to live a comfortable, happy life.”

“More impertinence, but until you got involved with Jeri’s family, you were never around anyone with serious money, were you?”

“The closest would be my first mentor who was a successful businessman, a friend from High School whose parents had a maid, or a friend who runs his own global security company. But they aren’t several orders of magnitude wealthier than I am. Most of the people I met at Foundation functions are pretentious jerks. I can be a pretentious jerk at times, but I recognize it and do my best to avoid it. It seems like a prerequisite for being rich. And if that’s the case, no thanks.”

“You obviously don’t think Jeri’s like that.”

“Because she’s not. And honestly, Alec Glass and his daughter Lisa seem like regular people, too.”

“I suspect you’re sensing the difference between inherited wealth and earned wealth. Alec Glass started with $5000 he saved working at McDonald’s in High School and what he managed to save while he worked to put himself through college. So he’s like you, I suppose. You started your own company and paid your way through college.”

“Mostly, yes. I did have some help. So that explains Alec, and I suppose Lisa has his attitude. And Jeri hates her mom so much that she basically wanted out.”

“You have no idea!” Samantha laughed. “Or maybe you do. Jeri was disgusted with her parents from the time she was about ten, if I understand it correctly. I only got to know her really well about four years ago, when she and Lisa became my friends. They’d been friends for quite some time by that point.”

“So, which camp do you fall into?” I asked.

“The middle, I suppose. I can be a very pretentious bitch, and it’s not just me acting like an ‘Ice Princess’. I like the power and freedom that comes with having what Daddy calls ‘Fuck you!’ money. Where you can tell ANYONE to drop dead because it doesn’t matter. If I decided to drive to O’Hare, we could be on a plane to Paris or London or Hawaii in a couple of hours, assuming you have a passport. First class. With a full suite of hotel rooms waiting for us. I can buy anything I want. Do anything I want. Have anything I want. Why be ashamed of that?”

“I just never saw life that way,” I said, “I like being comfortable and being able to provide for my kids and family. Beyond that? I guess it seems excessive. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no socialist and I’m not about to suggest massive taxes or wealth confiscation, or anything like that. You’re entitled to whatever you or your family have earned. But it does seem excessive.”

“You and Jeri have the same attitude. Alec Glass is similar. It’s why he gives so much to charity. And why he wants to redirect the Foundation the same way Jeri does.”

“And you?”

“Daddy thinks Reagan was a liberal. I think Daddy is a liberal.”

I laughed, “Wow! Now that’s serious, hard-core conservatism.”

“Daddy says we should have taken Baghdad. I think we should just have nuked it and moved on.”

“You’re talking to the wrong guy, then.”

“Jeri said you’re not a liberal whack job like her mom. What gives?”

“I’m libertarian, and generally a pacifist.”

“With a black belt in karate?”

“Yes,” I said with a nod. “I also believe in a strong military. If you’re the baddest of the bad-asses, nobody will mess with you.”

“I suppose I can see that,” Samantha said.

“If you’re a ‘pretentious bitch’, what are you doing with Jeri and Lisa?”

She laughed, “I’m not ALWAYS the ‘Ice Princess’. I told you if you got to know me, I can be quite the opposite. Just never in that crowd. Ask my friends at school. I can actually be fun! Even while being a ‘pretentious bitch’.”

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you I ran into a girl like this in the past and it did NOT go well. She acted like a bitch to get her way, though she was sweet in private. But she was controlling and manipulative.”

“Being a ‘pretentious bitch’ isn’t an act. But you don’t strike me as the type who could be manipulated. I know, I know, I’m only seventeen, but I’ve been immersed in this lifestyle since I was born. I know who can and can’t be manipulated. Alec can’t. You can’t. Jeri found that out when she didn’t fill you in on her plans.”

“Yes, she did. Be blunt with me, and we can usually figure out a way forward. Play games or try to manipulate me, and it’ll usually backfire. At least at this point.”

“Blunt and direct?” Samantha queried. “That’s what you want?”

I chuckled, “Always.”

“I have a few questions.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you find me attractive?”

“Yes, very.”

“And you liked the kiss?”

“I did.”

“And everything Jeri told me about Los Angeles and San Francisco is true?”

“A qualified yes, because I don’t know what she told you.”

“And your wife knows you’re with me?”

“They BOTH saw you from the porch swing when you picked me up,” I chuckled.

“Sorry, yes, wives. And they know I kissed you?”

“And that I kissed back, the second time.”

“Good,” she said. “Blunt and direct?”

“That’s always the best.”

“Then after we have a nice horseback ride, you’re going to come with me to the hayloft and take my virginity.”

“And the price?” I said, looking over to see her smirking.

“A wise man! It’s never free, is it?”

“No! And especially not in this case.”

“I get to be your mistress. I think your situation at home allows that.”

“Yes, but there has to be more than that. You could have any guy you wanted.”

“I could. But I want YOU. You meet all my check boxes. Older guy who knows what he’s doing. Check. Nice looking and in good shape. Check. Doesn’t treat me like a piece of meat or think I owe him something. Check. Has ZERO interest in Daddy’s money. Check. Has a very good report as a skilled lover. Check. Made me tingle when I danced close. Check. Made me tingle a LOT when I kissed him. Check.”

“A fair answer, but you still haven’t told me the REAL price.”

“See me once a week, be available if I need an escort to some event, and make me your regular date if your wife can’t make Foundation functions. And not see any other girls besides the girls you live with.”

That would mean giving up Siobhán, but I thought that was going to happen anyway. It would mean giving up her promise of a wild last time, but the sexy young woman driving the Corvette was certainly a good exchange in my mind, if it was going to be a long-term thing. There really weren’t any other girls I was giving up. Gina and Michelle were both friends. There was the potential of Jennifer and Bethany, but they fell into the exception of ‘the girls you live with’. The way she’d phrased it, she was aware that I wasn’t limited to just Jessica and Kara.

“Pretty steep demands,” I said.

“How often does a wealthy, hot, seventeen-year-old heiress offer you her virginity and offer to be your mistress?”

“You’re the first,” I chuckled. “My concern is that I have business demands, plus karate, plus my family. I also have female friends. That said, I think we can work this out. What would you say about joining us on Sundays for dinner? My wives would want to get to know you if we’re going to have this kind of relationship.”

Samantha laughed, “These things usually END when the wife finds out! Yours are truly OK with this?”

“Funny you should mention that. My wives would actually prefer I find what you called a mistress than my old ways.”

“Lots of girls?”

“Yes.”

“Not if you want me! As I said, that’s part of the price.”

“But female friends are OK?”

“Yes, but friends only.”

“You’re that good?” I teased.

“I suppose we’ll find out together. Do we have a deal?”

“There is a non-negotiable demand.”

“Jeri told me. Covered. She explained why.”

“Good. Can we be flexible about when we see each other? It’s tough to set a fixed night each week.”

“Yes. School ends soon, so that will help. But if you become unavailable for a long period of time, I’ll be cross.”

“We wouldn’t want that! I think we have a deal, if you’ll come to dinner tomorrow night.”

“I will.”

“I’m curious. What about your dad?”

“Daddy thinks I gave it up when I was fourteen or fifteen and I never saw a reason to let him think otherwise. And if you’re worried about him finding out, don’t. I told you he lets me do as I please. I could take you home with me and he wouldn’t bat an eyelash.”

“And why is that?”

“You’ve heard of the spoiled rich kid? That’s me.”

“You’re not exactly doing a great sales job.”

“You wanted blunt. I’m just telling it like it is. So long as I get straight A’s, don’t do drugs, and go to the social events he wants me to, I’m allowed to run my own life. The ‘pretentious bitch’ or ‘Ice Princess’ reputation is well-earned and honestly given. You’ll see it, even when I’m with my close friends. You’re seeing some of it today. If you can’t deal with it, then we can call this off and I take you home.”

“It’s really a question of not wanting to be controlled and manipulated,” I said.

“How much power do I have over you in the end? Your wives are aware of this, so I can’t hold that over you. You aren’t stupid enough to take a chance of getting me pregnant, and that’s the LAST thing I need. And I know what happened when Jeri’s mom tried to go after your business and family.”

I chuckled, “Don’t worry about pregnancy. I had a vasectomy.”

“I guess I wasted $5.00 on that box of rubbers then!”

“More evidence of good advance planning on your part!”

“You think I’d do this on a whim?”

“No, I don’t. Not after what you said about all the guys who tried to get it from you.”