Chapter 14

Jan had been going over the books and the customer records. The changes she had recommended had already been made; the product line had been cut by almost 90 percent in terms of number of items. It was clear that their best-selling item was the 40-mg. hard drive. Although it was very good and very reliable, there was nothing to distinguish it from several others on the market. Their biggest competition was from Argus Corporation which had virtually locked up the original-equipment market. She looked at all of the OEM companies and couldn't figure out how they could break in. What IT desperately needed was a superior new product but there was no sign of one so she had to make do with what they had. Finally she identified a single company, San Diego Computing, as a possible OEM customer. She asked Pete about it.

"San Diego? It's really a screwball company. It's owned by a woman in her sixties or seventies. She's a real character. She appears at the big computer shows, but no one I've ever met knows her. Her name is Jennie Carlson. At any rate, she makes all the decisions at San Diego. Darling, all I can say is, good luck! I don't have the foggiest idea how we could sell them. But I do agree it's probably our only shot."

Jan swallowed hard and looked in the manufacturers directory. After finding the phone number she placed a call to Mrs. Carlson at San Diego Computing. A woman answered, identifying herself as Mrs. Carlson's secretary. "I am Janice Stewart, vice president of Illinois Technologies. I would like to make an appointment to see Mrs. Carlson at her convenience. We're prepared to offer her very attractive performance guarantees on our hard drive and offer an excellent price structure. When would it be convenient for her to see me?"

"Miss Stewart, Mrs. Carlson does not see salespeople. Perhaps you might care to talk with her son, Mr. John Carlson? He looks after things like this."

"That would be fine. Today is Tuesday. Would it be possible to see him on Thursday morning? Say, at ten o'clock?"

"That would be fine, Miss Stewart. Mr. Carlson will expect you at ten."

Jan hung up the phone. She was discouraged and afraid she was wasting a lot of money on air fare to go out to San Diego but she went off to find Pete. Finding him on the shop floor she took him to the cafeteria and made a point of buying the coffee. Ignoring the employees sitting at the tables he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. Jan reached over and put her hand behind his head to hold him in position while she enjoyed the electric sensation she always got from his kisses. She looked up and grinned because of the applause and cheering from the workers who had been watching them. She waved and then stood to take an impromptu bow. When she was seated again, she explained to Peter what had happened.

"Honey, I agree completely with your analysis. If we can't sell to San Diego, we can't sell OEM. Why don't you give it a shot? I'm afraid your old friend, Hugo Bingham, has the rest of the major manufacturers tied up and I guess he's probably in at San Diego Computing, too." The discussion continued and Jan agreed to make the trip.

It was a beautiful afternoon when Jan cleared the airport in San Diego. She smiled to herself thinking of the small car she rented and the inexpensive hotel near the airport at which she had booked a room. It was quite a comedown from her days as a prostitute working the very best hotels and lounges. After checking in at the small hotel she called San Diego Computing to confirm her appointment with John Carlson for the next morning. Then she went out to a small inexpensive restaurant, had dinner and returned to her room.

It was eight o'clock Pacific time, ten o'clock in Deerfield. She called home and Peter answered almost immediately. "Hi, darling, I'm here. My date's confirmed for tomorrow morning. Do you miss me?"

Pete proceeded to tell her in explicit detail how and how much he missed her. She was nude and she just lay back on the bed. She ran her finger up her slit and licked it. "Darling, I'm wet just talking to you. Do you realize this is the first night we've been apart since we got married? Honey, I am thinking about turning in my resignation. Except that would mean you would have to make the damned trips so the result would be the same. I love you so desperately!" She smiled softly and hung up. Jan had a hard time falling asleep that night. It just didn't feel normal not to be sleeping on Pete's strong shoulder with his hand cupping her breast.

Arriving at San Diego Computing at ten, Jan was pleased when she was shown right in to John Carlson's office. He introduced himself deprecatingly as the president of the company and added that his mother really ran things. He looked at Janice and was impressed. She was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, and he said so.

"Thank you, sir. That's very nice of you to say. However, I'm here this morning to talk about hard drives. I want to ask you for all of your 40-megabyte business. I believe you buy your drives from Argus now. We believe our drives are better ... and independent rating services support our claim. I'm prepared to offer them to you at a lower price than Argus is giving you, provided we can have all of your business."

Carlson's eyes widened and he let out a silent whistle. "Miss Stewart, you don't beat around the bush, do you? All I can say is, wow!" He looked at her speculatively and then his eyes widened. "It is miss, isn't it?"

"No, sir," Jan replied with an apologetic smile. "It's Mrs. Stewart, but I don't like to correct a prospective customer on such a small point."

He looked at her quizzically. "Isn't Peter Stewart the owner of Illinois Technology? Are you related?"

He saw a glorious sunshine smile as she said, "He's my husband."

"And obviously he's a very lucky man! Mrs. Stewart, I am impressed. I'll tell you what: I handle marketing and administration here. My mother handles the technical side, most particularly including the kind of hard drives we use in our units. I don't know one from another, I'm sorry to say. Would you excuse me a minute? I hope you don't mind waiting for a few minutes in the reception area?"

Jan went back to the reception room and started thumbing through a magazine. A few minutes later, John Carlson came out to see her. "Mrs. Stewart, I should have asked: Do you have any other appointments today?"

"No, I don't. I came out specifically to see you people."

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind visiting my mother at home. Could you drive out to see her?"

Jan agreed instantly and John gave her detailed directions to find the house. She drove out and found herself at the gate of a fenced estate. There was a closed-circuit TV camera with a squawk box mounted on a post. After she stopped and identified herself, the gates opened smoothly and closed quickly behind her as she went up the driveway to the entryway. The house was a massive Spanish colonial that was obviously worth a fortune. As she got out of her car the door to the house was opened by a beautiful young woman about her own age. Jan was amused to see she was wearing her own favorite casual attire: skin-tight Levi's and a blue chambray work shirt. Her feet were bare.

The girl held out her hand and Jan took it in a very firm grip. She decided she liked this young woman very much. "Hi! You must be Janice Stewart. I'm Jess Collins, Mrs. Carlson's private secretary. I'm terribly sorry, but Mrs. Carlson became ill just after speaking to her son. Since we couldn't reach you and you drove all the way out here, she asked me to see you. Would you mind coming out to the pool?"

Jan was impressed as they walked through the house to the back. Although it was new, it was authentic Spanish colonial. Even the furnishings were sparse giving a feeling of spaciousness to what were already large rooms. The decor was impeccable. She followed Jess as she padded out to the pool area. They sat down at a pool-side table with an umbrella shading it and found the table set for two luncheons.

Jess turned to Jan and said, "Mr. Carlson doesn't pay attention to the clock. Since it's after twelve, I took the liberty of having lunch served. I hope you haven't already eaten?"

"No, I haven't, and thank you so much."

The meal was a Mexican salad served in a large tostada shell with iced tea. The girls chatted and when they finished eating, the subject turned to computers. Jan noticed that Jess had no paper nor did she need any notes. Nevertheless, it was obvious that she was very knowledgeable about both Illinois Technology and Argus and their respective products.

As they talked Jan studied the young woman. She felt she was a kindred spirit. Her hair was more brown than Jan's but still golden. Her eyes were also a deep blue — almost the identical shade as her own. She was deeply tanned and wore no makeup. As the conversation continued, an idea developed in Jan's mind.

Finally, she was convinced her idea was correct, so she acted on it. Jess had just stopped speaking and Jan took advantage of the pause to say, "You're Jennie Carlson, aren't you? John's your husband, not your son."

The girl's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, then she closed it. She just looked at Jan closely. Without acknowledging the statement she said, "Jan, I'll make a deal with you. We'll have a little competition regarding the order. Do you swim?" When Jan said she did, the girl grinned and said, "Let's do it! Eight laps in the pool for openers."

Jess/Jennie stripped off her shirt and jeans and slipped off her bikini. It was all she was wearing. She was standing nude waiting for Jan. Jan grinned and began to undress. When she, too, was bare, Jennie gave a soft whistle and said, "Janice Stewart, you're too much!"

They went to the end of the 25-meter pool and Jennie gave the starting count. At "Go!" they both entered the pool in flat racing dives.

Jennie was an excellent swimmer, but Jan was better. She slipped through the water and did beautiful racing turns at each end. At the end of the eight laps she had Jennie by nearly half the length of the pool. She was sitting on the pool edge when Jennie touched. The girl flipped her hair out of her eyes and looked up at Jan. "You really are good, aren't you? Now it's time for tennis."

Jan was nonplused. She had nothing with her other than her business suit and said so. Jennie grinned and said that was okay, they wouldn't wear any clothes. She found a tennis racket for Jan and, still dripping, went over to the tennis courts. Fortunately for their feet, the courts were made of Hartru, a soft, clay-like material.

Hitting the tennis ball gave Jan an even better look at Jennie. Her body was exquisite. Like her own, there was not an apparent ounce of fat, only well-toned muscles and tanned skin. Her figure was perfect. They warmed up and began the match. It was remarkably even, but Jan started to pull away. She hadn't realized until that moment the extent to which her tennis game had improved as a result of playing with Pete on Maui. She finally won the set 6-4.

Jennie hurdled the net to congratulate her. Jan had her hand extended to shake hands but Jennie ignored it. Instead, she took her in her arms and kissed her cheek. The two sweat-slickened bodies came in contact and Jan decided it was very pleasant. She hugged the girl back.

As they walked off the court Jennie looked back ruefully and saw where their footprints — quite deep in places — had dug up the previously perfect court surface. "Carlos is really going to be pissed at me!" she said. "He always gives me fourteen kinds of hell for playing barefoot. Come on! Let's cool off."