Chapter 13: A Pretext

April 29, 2000, Chicago, Illinois

“I read the paper this morning, Jamie,” Pete said at breakfast on Saturday morning. “How the hell did THAT happen?”

“Just like the paper said - financial mismanagement by the managing partners.”

“How does that work?” Terry asked. “I thought you were a partner.”

“Consider it like shareholders and a board of directors. It’s not quite like that, but the partnership turns day-to-day management of the firm over to the managing partner, or partners. That was Allen & Baker, who were also the ‘named’ partners. There’s a pecking order - associates, partners, senior partners, and named partners. The managing partner - or partners - are selected from the senior or named partners and run the firm on behalf of the rest of the partnership.”

“Can you tell us what happened?” Eduardo asked. “My company is a partnership, and we have basically the same structure, though the only named partner is Egon Zehnder himself.”

“I have to be careful, but the basic gist is that we took stock in lieu of a couple of large payments and used the stock as collateral for operating capital. We also borrowed heavily for the complete remodel of the offices. When the stock market collapsed, there was a margin call.”

“Which means you were well and truly fucked if you didn’t have the cash on hand,” Bo declared emphatically. “Nothing personal Jamie, but that was immensely stupid!”

“TELL me about it!” Jamie replied. “Once we covered the margin call, we no longer had sufficient funds to continue to operate. Fortunately, the opportunity with McCarthy/Jenkins was available.”

“Let me guess,” Dave said with a grin, “someone put two and two together and made four. McCarthy/Jenkins is a big NIKA client.”

“I really can’t divulge how things came about.”

Dave smirked, “Given someone I know popped into town unexpectedly I’m pretty sure I have it figured out.”

“Just keep it to yourself, please,” Jamie said.

“Where are your new offices?” Bo asked.

“Naperville. Jackie and I are going to look for a place in the area, probably not too far from where Elyse and Eduardo built their house.”

“It’s OK if you don’t want to say, but how bad did this hurt you financially?” Howard asked.

“I don’t have a full accounting just yet, and it’s complicated by the way you initially buy in, so I’m not even sure the percentage I gave Steve yesterday is accurate. I went over things with my accountant last night and the weirdest thing he said was that because of the way it was structured, I owe myself money. On the plus side, only the senior partners are on the hook for making good on any debts to anyone outside the firm.”

“That sounds like a royal mess!” Brian said. “And I thought the Navy was fucked up!”

“You have NO idea,” Jamie said with a grin. “But, our personal finances are good and we never overspent, so we’ll be fine.”

“In VERY positive news, Clayton got his travel orders from BUPERS,” Howard declared. “He arrives in Chicago on July 8. I figure we won’t see him or Charlie until around November!”

All the men laughed.

“Any word on Karl?” I asked. “I had hoped to get to London this year, but it’s not going to work out.”

“He’s basically topped out if he doesn’t want to do a DC tour,” Brian said. “I’d expect him to retire in two years, join a major law firm, and eventually become a Federal judge. If he was willing, he’d have a good chance at Vice JAG, and if he made the right connections, JAG.”

“I take it he wants to come back to Chicago?” Terry asked.

“That’s his plan, though I think Ginny would have loved to stay in Italy!”

“Given we’re on this topic,” Brian said, “Steve, how is your dad?”

“Other than his hips bothering him, he’s in fantastic health for a man who’ll be 83 in about four months!”

“Damn! Is he coming up this summer?”

“The drive is tough on him, but he’ll have Patrick Shaughnessy fly him up at some point, and then for the usual Christmas visit. I’ll make sure he’s able to join us for breakfast.”

“Let me know,” Brian said. “I want to organize something at Great Lakes. Let some of the ‘fresh-faced recruits’ see what a real Navy hero looks like!”

“You can ask, but that’s not usually his thing.”

“I’ll get Karl to talk to him. They’ve always had a good relationship.”

“True. I’ll leave that to you Navy boys and girls!”

Pam and another waitress brought our food just then, and we all dug in. The conversation mostly revolved around sports, with the consensus being the Cubs sucked and would be lucky to not finish last in their division; the Penguins, now owned by Mario Lemieux in one of the strangest Bankruptcy Court outcomes in history, had won their first-round playoff series, the Blackhawks had missed out completely; the Bulls were equally bad; and the hapless Bears, who had missed the playoffs, didn’t show any signs of improving.

One thing bothered me, and that was that Ed had called Terry at the last minute and told him he wasn’t going to make it. That didn’t bode well, and I was tempted to call my sister, but I didn’t want to create any more problems. I decided to wait until we were in Durham to talk to her, thinking there was a good chance Ed wouldn’t show for the family dinner on Sunday evening.

When we finished eating, I left Bucktown Bistro to drive home so that Kara, my daughters, and I could head for the dojo. I’d missed quite a few practices, but there really wasn’t much I could have done about that because of the necessity of traveling. I’d run on treadmills and done my kata, so I was getting sufficient exercise, but that didn’t help my students at all. I spent most of the class working with Miyu, but also some time with Misty. When class finished, Kara, Birgit, Stephie, Ashley, and I headed home for lunch.

After lunch, Maria Cristina and I went to my study.

“I need to book the tickets for St. Martin,” I said.

“Eight?” she laughed.

“I’m not sure who’s worse - Samantha, Penny, or Kara,” I chuckled. “And I thought you wanted the romantic lovemaking session under the stars on the beach!”

“I do!”

“Then why do you want to bring a friend? Or six?”

“I thought you had fun with Samantha’s friends!”

“I did, but things have changed in the last seven years. Not to mention the fact that this seems out of character for you.”

“And you don’t think living with you, in this house, and being very close with Kara has changed my character?”

“Oh, it has, and I’m not complaining. But don’t you think that’s over-the-top? And do you seriously have six friends who’ll fly to St. Martin to have sex with me?”

Maria Cristina laughed softly, “Probably not.”

“Then let’s drop that idea, please. I could see bringing one friend to play with us, but you’ve resolutely rejected that idea, even after watching Kara and Jessica on several occasions. I don’t want you doing something because you think I want it or you think it would make me happy or because Kara does it. I want you to do what you want and what makes you happy. You know, like making love under the stars on the beach!”

“You always put it that way - that my happiness is what matters.”

“Do I seem unhappy with the circumstances?”

“No.”

“Then let’s just go together, and I can enjoy your sexy body on the beach!”

“I bet you next year I’ll have lots of friends who don’t have time for relationships!”

I chuckled, “I am NOT opening a stud service!”

“You’d turn down sexy twenty-two-year-old girls who need to work off stress?”

I laughed, “Let’s worry about that in the future. I’ll book two tickets to St. Martin. OK?”

“OK.”

“I’m sorry I won’t see you for tomorrow for dinner or our usual Sunday night together.”

“It’s OK. We’ll make up for it when you get back.”

We hugged, exchanged a soft kiss, and left my study. Maria Cristina got her bag and left to go visit her mom as she usually did, and I grabbed an overnight bag, kissed Kara and the girls goodbye, then left the house, got into my BMW, and headed for Oak Park.

“Hi!” Natalie exclaimed when she opened the door to the house. “Come in!”

“Hi!” I replied, and walked into the house.

“Nicole is upstairs in her room; it’s the first door on the left. I’m going to spend the night with Jack. See you tomorrow, if you’re here when I get home!”

“Have fun!”

“You, too!”

Natalie and I hugged, she grabbed her windbreaker, and then left the house. I went up the stairs and stopped at the open door of Nicole’s room and knocked.

“Come in!” she called out.

I opened the door and went into a room with several Pittsburgh Penguins posters on the wall, a Mario Lemieux bobblehead on the desk, and a very pretty hockey player wearing a Penguins jersey with black lace panties and nothing more.

“No autographs?” I asked with a grin.

“No.”

“Want an autographed Lemieux poster? I can get you one.”

“Seriously?”

“It’ll just take a phone call.”

“Now, if you can just arrange for me to meet Mario Lemieux.”

“Actually, that might just take a phone call as well.”

“NO WAY!”

“The only problem would be getting to Pittsburgh. The Pens played here already this season. They don’t play here again until next season. But I can get you to a game, in a sky box, and if my contact can pull it off, a trip to the Pens locker room.”

“Have you done that?!”

“No, but I’d certainly like to! I did meet Mario Lemieux last year, but he was wearing street clothing.”

“I heard you get to go to playoff games.”

I nodded, “Yes. One of my executives in Pittsburgh has season tickets, plus the guy who can arrange for the autographed poster has a skybox. I’m going to the game in Pittsburgh on the 4th.”

“Think they’ll beat the Flyers tonight?”

“They should. They had no trouble the night before last, and they beat the Capitals pretty handily.”

“We could watch the game later if you wanted. We have cable.”

“That’s up to you. I can stay until around 1:00pm tomorrow, so use your time wisely!”

“Did you bring your jersey?”

“I did.”

“The bathroom is across the hall. Jersey and undershorts.”

I nodded, dropped my bag, bent down, unzipped it, and extracted my Mario Lemieux jersey which matched the one Nicole was wearing. I turned, opened the door, and went across the hall to the bathroom. I shut the door, stripped down to my briefs, put on my jersey, then went back to Nicole’s room, shut the door behind me, and put my clothes on a chair by the door.

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“Score?” she smirked. “You know, deke, move to the slot, and put it in the ‘five hole’?”

I remembered my joking with Tara and decided to have some fun.

“So, twitch your twine and light your lamp?” I asked.

“With a good, hard shot from the crease?” she asked.

“Start with a forecheck, hip check, backcheck, body check, and poke check? Then high sticking?”

“Too funny!”

“Or maybe a bit of roughing? Or boarding and spearing!”

“Those words are NOT going to mean the same thing to me in the future!” she laughed.

There was, of course, the LAST thing I’d said to Tara - an offer to go behind the goal and stuff it in the back door. I wasn’t sure that was the best thing to say to Nicole at this point.

“Not to put a damper on the silliness, but your test?”

“The paper is on the desk.”

I walked over to the desk and slid the paper from under the bobblehead and as expected, it was clean. I returned it to its place then took two steps to stand next to the bed. Nicole scooted to her left and patted the mattress. I moved onto the full-size bed and sat cross-legged next to her.

“Have you done anything before?” I asked.

“Other than kissing Jesse on the cheek on his birthday, no.”

“Do you like Jesse?”

“You mean like, want to kiss and stuff? No. He likes Francesca, even if her mom is a total bitch. Besides, he’s like the best brother in the world! He’s around when I need him. He doesn’t bug me and I don’t have to live with him!”

I laughed, “That sounds like the opposite of what Birgit would have said until very recently. She and Jesse are getting along a lot better.”

“I kept telling him she made a better ally than an enemy!” Nicole said with a smirk.

“So you’ve been fomenting the formation of the terrorist cell in my house!” I said with a grin.

“Natalie and I have to stick together so we can do what we want without our parents finding out. Mom found out about what happened between you and Natalie in Russia, but I guess that was kind of important for Natalie.”

“And me being here?” I asked.

“No way! Natalie knows, of course. I told her I wanted to do this after she told me everything the morning after you guys did it in St. Petersburg. But we didn’t talk about it again until maybe a month ago when I told her I was ready. But this is only between you and me. Obviously Natalie knows, but she’s spending the night with Jack for the first time, so we both have something to keep from my parents.”

“And you’re sure you want your first time to be with me?”

Nicole laughed, “After what Natalie told me? Are you KIDDING?”

She moved to sit in my lap, with my legs still crossed. She faced me, and rested her arms gently on my shoulders. I wrapped my arms lightly around her lithe body and she scooted forward just enough so that her panties came into contact why my briefs. Nicole looked deeply into my eyes then moved her head forward just a bit. I moved mine towards her and our lips touched briefly, then again, and then on the third time, pressed softly together in Nicole’s first kiss.

When I felt her lips part slightly, I tightened my arms around her and gently pressed my tongue into her mouth. When our tongues met, Nicole tightened her arms around me and ground against me. I moved my hand down and slipped it up underneath her Penguins jersey. I ran fingers along the soft skin of her back and discovered, as I had expected, she wasn’t wearing a bra. I moved my other hand so that I could slide it under the front of her jersey, then slowly slid it upwards to cup her small, firm breast.

I ran my thumb over Nicole’s nipple, and she gasped into my mouth. Our kiss became fierce and she moaned as she ground against me. I moved my hands so I could take off her jersey, but she stopped me.

“Leave it on for the first time,” she requested.

She moved off me and quickly slipped off her black panties and tossed them onto the floor. I straightened my legs and with a few contortions removed my briefs and tossed them in the same direction Nicole had tossed hers. I crossed my legs again and she moved back onto my lap, though this time I felt slick labia on my now rock-hard shaft. After we resumed kissing, I slid my hands inside her jersey and rubbed her nipple with my thumb while she ground against my erection.

She was sopping wet, and given her athletic activity, I was sure she no longer had an intact hymen, so when she broke our kiss and raised herself up, I simply moved my hand from her back and grasped my shaft. Nicole lowered herself until her labia touched my glans, then moved to kiss me. As our tongues twirled and swirled, she moved down until my glans slipped through her well-lubricated labia. She paused for a second, then pressed downwards, slowly taking my shaft into her extremely tight tunnel. She was so tight that had she not been so ridiculously wet, she’d have made no progress.

Nicole groaned into my mouth as I moved deeper and deeper inside her, finally settling onto my legs as our pubic hair meshed together. Nicole broke the kiss and took several deep breaths, then put her head on my shoulder.

“Wow,” she breathed. “You’re so big and I feel so full.”

And I felt the amazing grip of her muscles on my shaft. It had to be the skating, I thought, remembering Katt and Laura, the two previous skaters I’d been with. They’d been figure skaters, but their builds hadn’t been much different from Nicole’s. She ground gently against me, and squeezed and released her muscles, generating intense pleasure for me. After about two minutes, she shuddered and breathed out hard, and her muscles grasped me even more tightly. Her gentle orgasm, the first of what I was sure would be many, lasted for nearly a minute.

“Natalie said you could last a long time,” she sighed when her orgasm had passed. “Can we just do this for a while?”

‘Forever’ I wanted to reply, savoring the sensations as her pussy gently massaged my dick while enclosing it as securely as any rubber ever could.

“As long as you want,” I replied, then kissed her neck.

With no exertion, and with extreme pleasure, Nicole gave herself a series of gentle orgasms over the course of nearly forty minutes, before she began moving up and down, instinctively knowing how to bring about my release. When I came, I came so hard I felt as if I was going to blast her from my dick, though the exquisite friction would have prevented that, if it even were possible.

“Oh, God!” Nicole gasped as the warm, sticky fluid jetted into her spasming pussy.

When both our orgasms had passed, Nicole put her head on my shoulder and I held her tightly against me. She whimpered softly when a few minutes later I softened and slipped from her freshly deflowered pussy.

“Can I remove your jersey now?” I asked quietly.

“Yes,” she replied.

She sat up and I pulled her jersey over her head and tossed it on the floor. She did the same for me, and then I pulled her to me, crushing her small breasts between us and enjoying the feel if her hard nipples boring into my chest. We began kissing and Nicole ground her clit against my pubic bone, bringing herself off three times before I was hard enough for her to mount me once again.

The second time around was very much like the first - with Nicole grinding against me and squeezing and relaxing her muscles. I lost track of how many orgasms she had before she brought me to the height of pleasure for the second time, then rested her head on my shoulder.