Chapter 124

I was drying off after my shower when I heard someone knocking on the door to my room. I thought that it was Jim returning my car keys, so I just wrapped a towel around me, but it was Carol, the girl from Burgers when I opened the door. She was still in her cheerleaders outfit and she looked like something out of a men’s fantasy magazine in the room’s soft light. She asked if she could come in.

I knew that I shouldn’t have let her in dressed like I was, but she looked so pretty that I stepped aside and I closed the door behind us when she came in.

She stared at me for a few seconds, then she said, “Wow, you are really huge.”

I answered, “And you are really beautiful.”

She looked at the floor and she seemed nervous when she said, “Do you really think that I’m beautiful?”

“Of course, I do, I’m sure that people tell you that all the time. Can I help you with something?”

“You left without saying goodbye.”

“I’m on a tight schedule, is there something you want?”

She looked even more nervous when she said, “You seemed disappointed when I told you that I had a boyfriend.”

It wasn’t hard to see where this was going, and it was just like what Nell said might happen, but looking at this gorgeous girl was mesmerizing.

I knew that it wouldn’t take much to get her into bed, and I was tempted until I looked closer. She was actually shaking and it brought me back to reality.

This was a minefield. This gorgeous, innocent-looking girl was out on a limb here, and although I was tempted, I knew it would be beyond stupid of me if I did anything about it. Before she had a chance to say something else, I said, “I was disappointed because I’m a guy and the thought of someone like you having a boyfriend means that a guy like me doesn’t have a chance.”

“How do you know that you don’t have a chance?”

“Don’t, Carol. You’re a sweet girl and I’d love to be with you, but I can’t. I shouldn’t even be talking to you when I’m dressed like this. Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

I dashed into the bathroom and grabbed the hotel robe. She gave me an odd look when I got back, but I continued with, “I’m sorry that I flirted with you, but you’re so pretty that I couldn’t help myself. I just got off the phone with my wife and I told her how wonderful you were and how those flips and somersaults you did absolutely blew me away. I even told the TV guy that I wanted a copy of what he filmed today so I could show it to my kids.”

“Y-You’re married and have kids?”

“You bet I do, I have two wonderful kids. I have their pictures in my wallet. Let me show them to you. Wait, I have a better idea. I’ll get my kids on the phone. I want you to talk to them and they’ll be excited that they actually spoke with you when they see the film, but let me get some clothes on first. Hang on, I’ll be right back.

I went into the bathroom and closed the door.

I was going to give her a minute or two to change her mind, and if she was still there when I came out, well...

It suddenly hit me that I’d been given a fantastic opportunity. I was supposed to act like an adult, and here I was acting like a horny teenager, but I WAS a horny teenager and the girl was fantastic.

I then heard the door to my room close and she was gone when I peeked out. I was relieved.

I told Nell about Carol showing up on the way to Bakersfield. I told her how I answered the door wearing a towel and that she left when I said that I was married.

She laughed and said, “You should have let us know. Jim and I could have waited to have dinner until you took care of her.”

I guess that I looked shocked because she laughed and said, “I’m kidding. You did the right thing, Dear.”

She was quiet for a minute before she continued, “I told you that girls would be all over you, but I’m a little surprised that she actually showed up here. I thought that I’d be able to head off that kind of thing until I saw how you’d behave, but it looks like I didn’t need to. I’m very impressed by the way you handled it. What made you think that it would cause her to run if you told her that you were married?”

“I didn’t know for sure, but she got here so quickly that I didn’t think she had time to think things through. I think that she’s a nice girl who was in over her head. I’m not even sure that she knew what she was going to do when she got here.”

“Don’t be silly, she knew what she came here for.”

“I don’t think so. I think that it was a spur of the moment thing, and she got scared when I opened the door wearing a towel, and she realized what might happen. Besides, she left when I told her that I was married. My being married wouldn’t have made a difference if she came here just to have sex.”

“I think you’re being naïve, but you may be right and I’m glad that you handled it like you did. You represent Burgers now and everything you say and do can reflect on us. I’m sure that she would have told her friends had you gone to bed with her, and it would just be a matter of time before word of it got back to us. That would not be good for Burgers, and probably would have cost you your job. Why do you think that I’m so careful about you and me being seen together? It’s not because I’m ashamed to be seen with you, it’s because it would be bad for Burgers’ image.”

“I heard that you didn’t use to worry about things like that.”

“I didn’t, and I’m sure that you’ve been told that I did a lot of stupid things, but I’ve cleaned up my act since you came along.”

“You don’t miss the fun?”

She looked serious when she said, “It was never fun.”

“Then why did you do it?”

She touched my cheek and answered, “I did things for a lot of different reasons. I’ll tell you someday if you really want to know what I was all about, but I don’t want to talk about it now. You should know that I’ve never let anyone get as close to me as you are.”

She looked sad, so I tried to lighten the mood and said, “So you learned a lesson, eh?”

She sighed, then smiled and said, “You did too. You learned about telling people that you’re married so that they would leave you alone from Kristen. She told me that she does the same thing. She said that she tells people that you and she are married all the time.”

“Do you talk with Kristen a lot?”

“No, but as I told you, we had a long conversation before you moved in. She’s quite a girl; you’re lucky to have her.”

“Do you really think that I have her?”

“Yes, I do, don’t you?”

“She tells me that she loves me and wants to get married, but it seems like her career always comes first.”

“And that bothers you?”

‘Well, it seems that she goes away whenever we’re about to get together.”

“And you don’t like that, eh?”

“No, why does she always want to run off somewhere if she wants to be with me?”

“I’m sure that she doesn’t want to, but it’s her career so she has to.”

“Well, I wish that she didn’t have to.”

“Okay, then how about this. Quit working with us, stop doing filming, forget about dancing with movie stars, and join her on tour so that you and she can be together?”

Shocked, I said, “But I love working with you. I just...”

“Oh, so it’s okay if she gives up her dream so that she can spend time with you, but you wouldn’t do the same for her, eh?”

“No, I just want to...”

“Shut up, Pete, you’ll be a very wealthy young man by this time next year if everything that you have going for you works out like we all think it will, and she’ll be a big star if her career takes off like it looks to be. Both of you are on a path most people only dream about, but hers is different. She knows that only a small fraction of the people who go after her kind of dream ever make it, so she has to do everything that she can to try to make it happen. That means that she is going to have to spend time away from you sometimes, so get used to it.”

I thought about what she said as I drove along. She was right, I had no choice but to agree with her, so it looked like I was going to have to suck things up if I wanted to be with Kristen.

Nell then said, “Today was really something. Wait until the Board hears about all the print and TV coverage that we got today. They are going to be very pleased.”

I asked, “About what happened with Carol, should I tone it down when I meet the next girl?”

“Absolutely not, all those things that went on today were because of how you played her.”

“So stuff like what happened today will go on all the time?”

“No, today was probably a fluke. We thought that she would contact her friends and get them to come to the store, but we never thought that she would bring the entire cheerleading squad in.”

“What about her showing up at the hotel?”

“Well, I told you that things like that might happen, and they’ll probably happen again. I’m depending on you to keep your wits about you and your pants zipped up.”

I joked, “Gee, you mean that I’m not allowed to have any fun at all?”

She was smiling when she said, “You have to leave the employees alone, but I saw how that customer who wanted to buy a refrigerator and put it on her credit card was looking at you. I bet that she’d meet us tonight and show you a good time if we got hold of her.” We were both laughing when she added, “Although you might have to let Clarence watch.”

I marveled again at how spread out Bakersfield was as we approached the outskirts. I’d first noticed it the time Sam and I picked the planes up and flew them back to Cantil. Thinking about it brought back memories. I laughed to myself when I thought about when we stayed here overnight and how she ‘tested’ me to see if I would betray her friend, Della, who was my girlfriend at the time.

Thinking of Sam brought back more memories as I remembered the night that she and I were on the beach in Mexico, and the dancer and her friend touched and caressed us as Sam and I made love. It was a wonderful night and it made me wonder if she was back from Hawaii and how I would feel if I saw her again.

Nell and I didn’t stop at the Burgers store on the way into town this time. She said that Jim was going to go there and handle setting things up, so we went directly to the hotel.

She said, “I want to get Jim used to doing the setups,” when I asked her why. “There may be times when you’re too busy to show up ahead of time.”

The hotel was a Sheraton and it was even nicer than the hotel in Fresno. We had separate rooms again, and we agreed to meet for dinner at seven o’clock. I was in my room trying to figure what time it was in Germany and if I should try to call Kristen when my cell phone rang. It surprisingly was John Burger and he said, “I want to tell you how pleased I am with the way you handled yourself today, Pete. I was worried about your age when you first came on board as you know, but you showed a level of maturity today that surprised me. I just talked to Nell and she told me what you did when the girl who did all those somersaults showed up in your room at the hotel. I have to say that I’m impressed.”

“Thanks, John, are you going to come to the store in Bakersfield tomorrow?”

“No, I’m back in LA. I’ve seen all I needed to see and I’m going to tell the Board that you’re ready for anything. Good job, young man.” It was nice to hear from him, but I’m glad that he didn’t know how close I came to throwing Carol down and jumping her bones.

Nell, Jim, and I were sitting at a table for four in the restaurant, and the waitress had just showed up to take our drink orders when I saw Jim staring wide-eyed at something behind me, and I noticed other people looking too, so I turned around.

It was Brandy and she looked like something out of a fashion magazine. I was beginning to see a pattern with her. She doesn’t walk or stroll when she’s in a public place, she strides in like she owns the place. She’s a beautiful woman, she knows it, and it’s hard not to stare at her. She came to our table, stood next to the empty chair, and looked down at Jim who immediately jumped up and pulled it out for her.

Everything that she did was smooth and impressive. She didn’t just flop into the chair, she gracefully lowered herself and she gave Jim a thousand watt smile and mouthed, “Thank you,” once she was seated.

Poor Jim looked like he was going to fall over.

She then looked at Nell and me, and said, “Hello, Dears.”

Nell was shaking her head and grinning at the way Brandy was behaving, and she asked, “What are you doing here?”

Brandy answered, “I decided that I’d come and keep you company when you called me earlier and told me what a great job Pete did in Fresno, and that you were on your way here tonight,. Besides, I want to see Pete do his thing tomorrow.”

“So you’re staying here tonight?”

“Of course, Dear, I didn’t want you to have to stay in a strange town by yourself. It’s the least I could do for my best friend.”

Nell looked at me then back at Brandy. She raised an eyebrow, but Brandy turned to Jim and asked, “And who is this handsome gentleman,” before Nell had chance to say anything.

Nell leaned toward her and said, “His name is Jim Sutter, and I want you to leave him alone,” then she turned to Jim and added, “Her name is Brandy James, and she’s of low moral character, so don’t believe anything she says and don’t ever lend her money.”

Jim chuckled, then he surprised us by saying, Low morals, eh, sounds like she’s my kind of woman,” which caused all of us to laugh. He then said, “Hello, Ms. James. I’ve seen you at the office when you have lunch with Ms. Burger. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Brandy looked at Nell and said, “Did you hear that? A Burgers’ employee with manners; be still my heart,” which caused more laughter.

Dinner was fun. Nell and Brandy unmercifully teased each other and they switched to Jim when he tried to join in. I tried to join in too, but I quickly learned that I was outclassed.

The meal was great but Jim excused himself as soon as it was over, and Nell started telling Brandy about Carol showing up at my room when he left, and the teasing switched to me.

Brandy excused her self to go to the restroom at one point. Nell said, “Brandy wants to stay with me tonight. Do you mind?” when she left.

“No, but I’ll miss you.”

She raised an eyebrow and said, “I mean she wants to stay with ‘US’ tonight.”

“I was kidding, I kinda figured that.”

“You, umm, know what that means, don’t you?”

“It probably means that she’s gonna want to play, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sure that she will. Is that all right with you?”

“It is if it’s okay with you, but why are you asking? The three of us have been together before.”

“I know, but I told you that I wouldn’t be with anyone else as long as we were together when you moved in.”

“I thought that we talked about this. We already said that Brandy might join us once in a while. Brandy is your best friend, she doesn’t count.”

Nell laughed and we decided that I’d go to my room for a few minutes when Brandy got back to the table, then I’d join them in hers.

I went to my room and took a quick shower, then went to Nell’s room. She was talking on her cell phone earpiece and was holding a glass of wine when she answered the door. She pointed to a table where there was a bottle of wine and some glasses, so I went over and poured myself a glass.

This was a suite with a separate bedroom. The bedroom door was open so I wandered in while Nell was busy to see if Brandy was there. I didn’t see her, but I heard the shower running in the bathroom, so I went back to the living room and sat on the couch. Nell seemed to be scolding someone on the phone, then she raised her voice a minute later, and said, “Now go home!” then came over and sat next to me. She was frowning when she said, “That was Cindy. There are some problems and I may have to go to Atlanta tomorrow.”

Surprised, I said, “Cindy! It’s Saturday night and it’s almost nine o’clock. What did she want and why were you yelling at her?”

“That crazy girl is at the office. She came in on her own to look into some things, and Cindy picked it up when a call came in to my private number. Both the manager and the assistant manager at the Atlanta store got into a fistfight with some customers right before closing, and they’re both in jail. Cindy has been trying to reach Sarah or John, but no one is answering their phones. She left messages and she’s waiting for them to call back, but she got nervous and called me. I told her to forget about it and go home. I’ll make some calls in the morning, but I may have to fly out there to straighten things out.”

“Can’t John do it?”

“No, and this might take a day or two. John has meetings and he needs to be at the office. I’ll call him in the morning and fill him in, but this is my area.”

Her cell phone rang just then, and after a short conversation, she said, “Hold on,” and said to me, “It’s Sarah. This may take a few minutes. Use your phone and call Cindy. I bet that she’s still at the office. Tell her that I’m talking with Sarah and that I appreciate how she handled things, but to get her ass out of there and go home.”

Cindy answered on the first ring with, “Nell Burger’s office,” when I called her.

I said, “Hi, Cindy, it’s Pete.”

“Did you hear what happened, Pete?”

“Yes, I did. Nell is on the phone with Sarah right now. They know what to do. She wanted me to tell you how much she appreciates how you handled things, but it’s Saturday and it’s almost nine o’clock, what are you doing still there?”

“I came in to look at some stuff and I couldn’t leave when the call came in until I let someone know about this.”

“So you’ve been sitting around waiting for someone to call you back?”

“Yes, but I’ve been busy. So how did things go in Fresno?”

“They went pretty well. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back. Speaking about ‘going’, how are things with you and Ted going?”

“They’re okay, but I’ve been so busy here that I haven’t had much time for him. Did you hear the great news about Digger?”

“No, what’s up?”

“The treatments he’s been getting are starting to work. The doctor is pretty confident that he’s going to get some of his sight back.”

“That sounds wonderful. How much will he be able to see?”

“The doctor is being cautious. He said that he probably won’t be able to see well enough to drive a car, but he thinks that Digger should be able to watch TV and even read a newspaper.”

“That’s fantastic! How long will it be before it happens?”

“It’s already started. He gets a shot in each eye and it takes a day or so for things to settle down. He got the latest shot on Friday and we went out in the back yard Sunday and he was able to describe what I look like.”

“That must have been a wonderful thing.”

“It was. Don’t tell Digger that I told you, but both of us ended up hugging and crying like babies.”

“So he finally got to see how pretty you are?”

She was quiet for a few seconds then she said, “Don’t Pete, don’t say things like that to me.”

“Confused, I said, “I-I’m sorry, why not?”

“Just don’t, Pete, it’s hard enough to... , never mind. So you had a good time in Fresno?”

“Yeah, I did. It’s not as scary as I though it would be, and so-far so-good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Oh, don’t mention what I told you about Digger to Myrna by the way. He wants to surprise her.”

“So they’re still getting along, eh?”

“Boy, are they ever! The twins are back east visiting a relative, so she’s over here all the time.”

She suddenly shouted, “Oh, shit!”

“I asked, “What’s the matter?”

“I’m on the computer and I just found something. Lemme talk to Nell, quick!”

Nell had ended her call with Sarah, and she said, “What are you doing still there, Cindy?” when I handed her the phone.

There was a long pause, then, “Son of a bitch! I KNEW that something was going on. You’re amazing and I owe you big time. Now get your butt out of there and go home.”

She slammed the phone closed and was standing there thinking when I asked, “What was that all about?”

“We have a superstore in Nashville and shrinkage has been two to three times what it should be for the last six months. We put extra guards in and spent a lot of money on surveillance, but we could never find out what was going on. We thought that it was employees at first, but we couldn’t catch them at anything, so we thought that it was a group of professional thieves with some new kind of scam. It turns out that it’s an elaborate scheme involving the store manager and one of the top vendors. We’ve had people looking into it for months, and Cindy found it in two fucking days. Some heads are going to roll because of this and Cindy’s in for a nice bonus.”

Brandy came into the room wearing a robe just then. She sank onto the sofa, smiled, and leaned her head back.

Nell looked her for a minute, then said, “I know that look, you horny bitch. You got yourself off in there, didn’t you? I wondered what took you so long.”

Brandy answered, “Damn right, I did,” with a lazy grin. “The shower has a flexible hose with one of those pulsating shower heads. It’s like a vibrator only wetter. I gotta get me one of those, but that was only an appetizer. Why don’t you and long dick over there get out of those clothes. I’m squeaky clean and I need some face time.”

Nell laughed, “Getting or giving?”

Brandy answered, “Both, now hurry up or do I have to call room service and get one of those cute waiters up here?”

Nell looked at me and said, “What do you think, should we give in to the bitch or kick her ass into the hallway.”

I tried to look serious and said, “We’d better not do that. This is a nice hotel and they might fine us for littering.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I’m going to take a quick shower. You two behave yourselves until I get back.”

Brandy looked at me for a few seconds when she left, then she stood up, motioned for me to follow her, and we went into the bedroom.

She turned the overhead light and the lights on the nightstands on, then sat on the bed and said, “Do me a favor, Pete, take your clothes off.”

“What for?”

“I want to look at you.”

“Why?”

“Please do it. I really want to see what you look like.”

“You saw me naked two nights ago.”

“I know, but I had a lot to smoke and drink that night. I want to see what you really look like.”