Chapter 11

The Japanese delegation arrived at the party. There was one older, grey-haired gentleman that was evidently the boss of the other two younger men so Joni correctly assumed him to be Mr. Ito. He was trim, had close cropped grey hair and a pleasant smile. There was a congregation of some of the Senior executives at the door as they entered. Many introductions were made with polite bows and handshakes. Mr. Kennedy presented a package to the elder businessman with both hands accompanied by more conversation and bows. The package was ultimately passed to one of the younger businessmen who dutifully spirited it away for safekeeping.

The Junior VP’s and wives held back from these greeting ceremonies for the time being. After some time, all the Senior Executives had been introduced to the three Japanese men and pleasantries were exchanged. Gene Kennedy began to escort the three men around the room to finally introduce the Japanese to the Junior Executives and their wives.

It struck Joni that none of the Japanese expressed surprise or even any reaction to the fact that only the four Junior VPs were accompanied by their wives. She figured out that they were well aware of why the wives were here. Either they were told of the arrangement and the availability of the women or they had done this before. She wished she had more time with Carol and Madison and mentally kicked herself for not asking if this was their first meeting with this particular client. It would have helped her to understand the degree of entitlement to the wives the Japanese might have.

The Junior VPs and wives were introduced by seniority so Mr. Kennedy led them to the table with Tim and Grace Davis first. Bruce and Joni were to be introduced last. Protocol and formality seemed to be essential, at least for the early portions of the meeting. Gene had said the party would be less formal and rigid after introductions were made and drinks were consumed. Being last gave Joni the opportunity to watch how the others conducted themselves. She noted that western handshakes took precedent over Japanese bows.

They waited patiently until finally Mr. Kennedy steered the contingent to their table. “Mr. Ito, may I present Mr. Bruce Kunkle, our Junior Vice President of Fabrication. Mr. Akira Ito, President and CEO of Tanoshimi Electronics.”

Bruce shook Mr. Ito’s hand firmly. “Very pleased to meet you Mr. Ito. Welcome to Vermont. I trust you had a peasant trip.”

“It has been very good thank you, Mr. Kunkle.” Joni noted Mr. Ito spoke excellent English with only a slight accent. He didn’t quite get their name out and pronounced it more like ‘Kunkoo’ but even that was subtle. “I very much look forward to discussing some of your manufacturing techniques. There is little question the quality of your materials is far superior to that of your competition.”

“And this lovely creature is Bruce’s wife, Joni Kunkle.” Kennedy indicated with his arm toward Joni.

“Very pleased to met you Mrs. Kunkle.” He said as he gently took her offered hand. “You are a vision of beauty this evening.” He smiled and raised her gloved hand for a gallant and gentle kiss while looking into her eyes.

“You are too kind, Mr. Ito. I am so pleased to meet you. You must be very proud of your company. We actually use many of your products in our own home. They always out perform any other products on the market.”

“We pride ourselves on being a step ahead of our competition and are always looking forward to the next exciting technological innovation.”

“ ... hence the name of your company” said Joni. Mr. Ito raised an eyebrow intrigued. Gene Kennedy and Bruce looked curiously at Joni with mild surprise.

Mr. Ito explained “Ah the young lady has done some research.” He said with an amused grin then said teasingly “And what do you know about our company name?” testing her in a friendly manner.

“I understand from my limited understanding of your language that Tanoshimi can mean both ‘forward’ and ‘exciting’, making it the perfect name for your products.”

Mr. Ito laughed heartily “Beauty and charm! You are a treasure my dear.” Gene Kennedy smiled and was obviously impressed and pleased by Joni’s revelation. She was very glad she had the foresight to get on the internet and do some research before the party.

Mr. Kennedy then introduced Mr. Ito’s associates. Mr. Itsuki Nakamora was a tall and well-built man that Joni guessed was in his mid-forties based on the flecks of gray in his temples. He had very handsome features and movie star smile. Mr. Haru Takahashi was the youngest of the entourage with an almost boyish face. He was introduced as Mr. Ito’s personal assistant and Joni remembered he was the ultimate recipient and caretaker of the ceremonial gift Mr. Kennedy had presented earlier.

After polite handshakes and brief comment to the other gentlemen by all, Mr. Kennedy indicated it was time to relax and enjoy the party now all formal introductions were concluded. Joni took that opportunity to ask Mr. Ito if she could get him a drink.

He nodded, smiled. “If the bar has a single malt, neat. Thank you.” Joni released her husband’s arm and walked toward the bar. She noticed the men were watching as she moved away so she swayed her hips slightly more than necessary as she walked hoping the dress accentuated the action.

When she walked back, holding the scotch, she found Madison and Carol had followed her lead and were moving to the bar for refreshments for the other two gentlemen. She realized Nakamora and Takahashi wisely allowed their boss to commandeer the younger woman once he stayed at their table indicating she was his choice for companion tonight. Joni was secretly turned on by the fact she was the designated top prize for the evening.

She glanced over to Grace Davis to see how she was occupied and saw Riggs had moved to their table. She guessed there was something to that ‘kindred spirit’ comment Madison made earlier in the evening. Grace was still very pretty but as the oldest wife present, she seemed to be least favored by the client businessmen. This must have left her vulnerable and allowed Riggs to move in and make a claim. Grace did not look pleased at his presence.

Joni presented Mr. Ito with his drink using both hands and a slight bow as she studied was a customary way for a woman to hand something to a powerful man in Japan. Mr. Ito noticed the subtle move and smiled in appreciation at her attempt to flatter him. She believed the other men nearby did not notice her gesture which created a sense of secret intimacy between her and the CEO which he acknowledged with a broad smile.

Mr. Kennedy and Bruce were joined by Bryan Newman. They all retrieved their own drinks and the conversation with Mr. Ito was strictly business. Joni listened silently as instructed and paid close attention to everything that was discussed even though she found the conversation somewhat technical as they discussed competitive pressure on prices, SWOT analysis of the electronics industry and delivery guarantees. More than once Mr. Ito asked about some engineering details with Bruce who demonstrated expertise that impressed the CEO. She was very proud of her husband even if she didn’t grasp the actual science that was discussed. Twice she refreshed Mr. Ito’s drink when it was empty without being asked. Each time it was accepted with a smile and nod from the CEO.

Similar conversations were held at a table across the room where Jeff Mitchum, Gene Kennedy and Dave Burton had Mr. Nakamora engaged while Carol Mitchum stood by demurely waiting for drink refills. Madison and Carl Scott kept the younger Mr. Takahashi engaged with some light hearted banter. It was obvious there was less reason for business talk with the young personal assistant.

As conversations went on for hours, Joni was starting to believe this cocktail party would actually end up being strictly business with no sex. But then she noticed Tim Davis was now sipping a drink alone at his table with a sad look on his face and Grace and Riggs were nowhere to be found. Joni assumed that since Mr. Ito found her acceptable company tonight, she was off limits and Riggs decided to get his jollies off with Grace. At least Tim did not have to be part of the humiliation this time. As bad as she felt for Tim, she was glad Grace was the recipient of Riggs’ attention tonight and not her.

The conversations around her table gradually devolved into topics that had less to do with business. Mr. Ito made several compliments on her appearance and how beautiful she was. “I was taken also by your initiative to research aspects of my company and our culture prior to this event. I consider that a high compliment Mrs. Kunkle.”

“I am flattered Mr. Ito, but please call me Joni.”

“I will do that Joni. I would like very much to hear what else you have learned of Japan if you wouldn’t mind a private conversation about that.”

There it was! The blatant yet polite invitation to retire for sex. She turned to Bruce “Bruce please excuse me. I would very much like to learn more about Mr. Ito’s culture in a private conversation. I feel he has much to teach me.”

Bruce smiled and kissed his wife softly on the lips. He turned to Mr. Ito “Mr. Ito I am honored to have you tutor my lovely wife in aspects of your culture. I look forward to hearing about the lesson later.” He raised his glass to the Japanese executive. Joni thought Bruce had found a very nice way to say “Please feel free to fuck my wife.” She also like the way he indicated to her at the same time that he would enjoy reliving the experience in detail later and that made her feel warm inside.