Chapter 1

It was the last weekend of May. I was spending Sunday morning doing the exact opposite of relaxing, flipping through dozens of financial charts and graphs on my laptop trying to decide if I should accept a deal. The biggest company in the industry wanted to either buy my business for much less than I thought it was worth, or compete with me full-throttle until they drove me into bankruptcy.

If I sold before the deadline the next night, I could retire with $60 million at age 34, instead of the $104 million my company was valued at. If I didn’t sell and was stubborn, smart, and lucky, I might be a billionaire in ten years. I also figured there was a 1 in 3 chance I’d lose everything.

I felt the pulse pounding in my temples. I noticed my hands were twitching slightly and redder than usual. Despite the air conditioning, I felt my underarms were damp and sticky. I’d barely slept for three days. Stress is a killer.

I realized I had been digging through spreadsheet after spreadsheet for hours, looking for information that just wasn’t there. As I flipped back to one I had looked at only minutes before, I got an email.

“This is a reminder, our offer expires in 30 hours. Choose wisely!” Below there were two pictures.

One was a model in a bikini, drinking champagne and sitting on a large stack of gold bars.

The other image was a beggar with a scraggly beard holding a sign, “Need food! Please help!”.

For the first time in two days, I spoke. “BRUTAL MOTHERFUCKERS!” The doorbell rang as I slapped the laptop closed.

At the front door was a tall thin woman. Despite the warmth of late May, she wore a red sweatshirt. She also had jeans on and a baseball cap atop her head. Her dark hair was unkempt and she looked unwell.

I said, “Whatever you’re selling, I don’t...”

“I’m not selling anything. I just want to talk.”

“I don’t have time for politics or religion. I’m very busy, sorry.” I started to close the door.

She blocked the door with her foot. “Wait! Just wait a second! I’ll give you a blowjob, if you’ll just listen to me for ten minutes.”

“What?”

“Just talk to me inside for ten minutes. If you don’t agree with what I’m saying, I’ll suck you off and leave and you won’t hear from me again.”

I had several assorted thoughts in only a few seconds. ‘Why would she offer a stranger a blowjob? The prostitution law only includes trading money or valuable items for sex, not talking. Why is she so desperate to talk to me? She’s kind of ugly and a lot older than I usually like. Still, a blowjob is a blowjob if I close my eyes.’

I opened the door a little wider and used a shrewd business tactic, promise the chance of something better than their offer, if they deliver their part first. Once you have the goods, you can always refuse or renegotiate if nothing’s on paper. I told her, “Sit on the couch and suck me off. After that, I’ll give you a half hour if it’s interesting.”

“Well ... okay.” She followed me inside and closed the door.

She sat on the sofa and I stood in front of her and unzipped. I rested my hands on her shoulders for balance, as she started stroking my shaft. I was hard before long, and her warm wet mouth felt great. I imagined a pretty girl I’d seen downtown a few weeks earlier. Other than solo stress relief in the shower, I hadn’t had sex in months.

She licked and sucked, and before long I shot off into her mouth. I zipped up and sat next to her, breathing heavily. I remembered the old saying, ‘Any sex without an injury is good sex.’ It wasn’t amazing, but even a below-average blowjob feels pretty good.

She asked, “Daniel, do you remember the first time I did that for you?”

She didn’t look familiar, but I thought I remembered a voice similar to hers from a long time ago. “Uh...”

“That was fifteen years ago, and I had just turned fifteen.”

“HUH? WHAT?”

“I’m Rachel. We dated for a few weeks when you were a Senior in high school and I was a Freshman. It broke my heart when my family moved away. You were the first guy I ever loved.”

She wiped her eyes and continued, “I heard that the next girl you dated was even younger than me. One of my friends saw you kissing an eighth-grader, a girl only 14 years old! You were almost 19!”

“I ... uh...” It was true, but I was very wary of admitting anything.

“Don’t worry. I’m not here to make trouble for you. I’m here to arrange something both of us will be happy with. I need money quick. I barely ever left the little towns I grew up in. I’m dying of cancer, and I want to see the world before I go. I only have two months left, maybe three.”

“That’s awful! I’m so sorry!”

“We don’t have any other family. Will you adopt my daughter Victoria and give me twenty grand?” She showed me a picture on her phone, a short thin brunette. I thought her large round brown eyes combined with her small ears and little nose were adorable.

Rachel continued, “I know you don’t like women much, but you love teen girls. She’s 14. Very cute, right?” She paused a moment. “The day after I told her I was dying, I caught her smoking with a boy in the garage and he had his hand in her shirt. She knows at least the basics of sex and is old enough to want it. You were gentle and kind with me, so I don’t think you’ll hurt her. Please take her in and be good to her? Twenty thousand for a...” She started to cry. “ ... for a pretty teen lover?”

I said, “Sure, it’s the least I can do.” My strong emotions were a muddle of sadness and arousal.

Many tears fell as she said, “I’ll bring her over tomorrow after school. They only have three days left before summer break. I’ll sign the custody papers and one so you can marry her when she’s 16. Have the money ready.”

As she left, I walked to my laptop and accepted my competitor’s offer. If I’d have a sexy little cutie to play with, 60 million was enough. I went to my bedroom and closed the curtains before I slid the bed aside and took twenty grand from my hidden floor safe.

Rachel brought Victoria over the next afternoon, and we sat at the kitchen table. Rachel signed the forms and put the bag of cash in her purse. She sadly said, “I already explained this, Vicky, but I want to make sure you understand. I’m leaving you with Daniel because I know he’ll take care of you. I need to do a lot of travelling. There might be a cure for me somewhere.” The pretty little brunette just sat unmoving and stared blankly.

Rachel hugged her. “I love you so much, sweetie! I’m going to miss you so bad! Be a good girl for Daniel. Do what he wants, and he’ll take care of you. I wish I didn’t, but I need to go. Remember, I’ll always love you, baby!” She slowly turned to leave but froze and hesitated. After a moment, she ran out crying furiously.