Chapter 10E: The Cradle of the Pack

I became suspicious when the hostess led me to the restaurant's private room; my suspicion increased greatly when I saw who was already there. Esmeralda, Marie, Michael, Rachel, Brittany, the Lees, and my mother sat at a round table with Mandy and a female a little older than her. They arranged the seating so I would have to sit across from the two women. I took my assigned seat and studied Mandy. I would have preferred a warmer setting for a reunion lunch but accepted business was the principal reason for the meeting.

"Hello, David," Mandy said carefully. The other woman stared at me.

I nodded to Mandy.

"This is my sister, Sarah, " she said. Sarah dipped her head and continued studying me. She was a softer version of Mandy; honey hair, soft brown eyes, and the same facial feature. Sarah was a couple of inches taller and not as athletic. She struck me as something of a princess, one who understood the benefits of being one and had every intention of keeping her coronet firmly in place.

I looked around the table. The women, except for Marie, were nervous, as if they expected me to oppose something they wanted. Marie sported a look of avarice, which only made me warier. The birth of her son, Forrest Jr., a month before Rain and Roger, had focused Marie even more on making our venture successful.

I sat back and waited. Surprisingly, Esmeralda was the first to cave, which was an even bigger sign that everyone wanted what the two women offered.

"Mandy and Sarah have a business proposition," my aunt said.

"Our father died a couple of years ago," Sarah said softly. I nodded remembering the occasion; we sent our condolences.

"His death left a power vacuum in our company which is still unfilled," Sarah continued. The year I entered college their company, Allaire Electronics, was similar in size to Smith Holdings. The adjustments we made to Smith Holdings over the years poised us for great things while their father's lengthy illness and death reversed their growth.

"The strife between different factions of our family makes it impossible to hold the company together," Sarah said.

"Without help," Mandy clarified. Sarah nodded and looked at her sister. She set her lips in a look of one trying to keep her pride intact when she is the supplicant.

"We don't need an infusion of money," Mandy said sitting forward.

I nodded.

"We will not give up control of the company so a buyout or a takeover is out of the question," Sarah said firmly.

I nodded again.

"The will does not allow our generation to approve a merger. If we wanted to, we probably could it with some legal maneuvering, but dad wanted..." Mandy said.

"What do you need?" I asked when it became clear she would not finish her thought.

"Someone who can run the company and control the rest of our family," Mandy explained. I looked at them and around the table again. A couple of things clicked for me; everyone in the pack was leaning toward the two women subtly. I could sense the imminent arrival of a punch line.

"How can I help?" I asked. The women on my side relaxed and sat back. Michael was still looking ready to forestall any escape.

"We want you to do it," Sarah said. She did not seem convinced but bravely tried to sound as if it was her idea.

"Actually, you want to become a Smith Holdings partner," I corrected. Mandy put her hand on top of Sarah's before her sister could speak.

"Yes, but you would have full management control," she told me.

"With your improved distribution system, we would be a very profitable partner," Sarah said. She held on to her sister's hand tightly.

The situation still did not feel quite right.

"Your family would wrap us up in court for years. If you can't control them now, bringing me in would just add blood to the water."

Sarah and Mandy looked at each other. All of a sudden it seemed clear Sarah was supporting Mandy and not the other way around.

"The problems Sarah and I have stem from our lack of involvement in the company and inexperience with the business world," Mandy said less confidently.

"Even though we control a majority of Allaire's shares, we were never directly involved with the business. We own the buildings, but they have the people," Sarah explained.

I nodded.

"Their chauvinistic daddy put provisions in his will which would allow for the biological father of either Mandy's or Sarah's child to take full control of the company if the sisters and executor of the estate agree to it," Brittany said, putting the women's cards on the table. "Complete control to one man if those three stockholders agree. They can't take control of the company without the family, but you could."

Michael sat back surprised; I had wondered if he was in on it, apparently not deep enough to know the particulars. My eyes settled on Rachel.

"We need to know if you're interested in the business aspects of the situation," Rachel said.

"A child..." I started but was interrupted by Esmeralda's raised hand.

"ANY child is our business," she said in a voice telling me very clearly this was their domain. Every woman in the room stared at me to see if I would step over the line. I looked at Michael; his shrug was not much help. I did not care for Esmeralda's tone, but she had the right of it.

"The Alominos site," I said to Marie.

"The capital we set aside for the purchase could be used elsewhere," Michael said before she could speak. She looked at Michael and nodded.

"I'm beginning to take more responsibility with Smith Holdings; splitting my attention would not be a good idea," I said almost to myself.

"They have a rising executive who meets our requirements for your surrogate," Brittany said pointing to a folder in front of her.

"He was recently divorced due to 'irreconcilable differences', which really means sexual incompatibility. The wife was prudish," my mother chimed in. "He is not adjusting well to life without a woman at home, even if she was someone who only did the missionary. He's a very loyal man who needs certain structures in his life: marriage, the job, and his friends. A child or two would make him even more loyal."

"Samantha looks a lot like every woman he's ever dreamed of," Rachel said.

I tilted my head curiously, "How do we know what the man dreams of?"

"It's not difficult to discover what any particular man finds attractive, but in this case, Samantha could have been his dear mother's twin. They were very close; she's been dead ten years but he visits her grave every week," Marie said.

"Once the family issues are resolved, we only need to set up permanent communication channels between the two companies. He'll need some guidance to keep the company on track for the eventual merger if the executor and the sisters find it to be beneficial. He's very good, David, so it should only cost us a year in the schedule we set for you to take complete control of Smith Holdings," Joanne Lee-Smith added helpfully.

"The cost savings on the Alominos site is more than worth the time," Michael concluded. He was the one who had been anal about keeping the schedule on point, so his support almost sealed the deal.

I nodded and looked at Mandy. She had finally relaxed and seemed content to stare at me. She had maintained the muscular thickness and with the knowledge of why she was there, my body reacted to her presence.

"The executor will agree?" I asked.

"Our aunt is very impressed with you," Sarah assured me.

"She knows you've been looking for a location like Alominos. We understand there's a very large federal contract. Senators are afraid of the consequences of even mentioning that particular contract at this stage though," Mandy said.

"The Alominos plant is a limp dick," Sarah said. "So whatever you have planned has to be monstrously profitable for the site to be ideal."

"The child?" I asked Rachel curiously.

"Only your child will satisfy both sides," Rachel said forcefully. Esmeralda looked at Rachel nervously, which meant my wife had dictated that term. Sarah was attractive and the women in my family were becoming more and more unhappy with Ovaldo's continued single status. They would not have allowed the opportunity and excuse to tie him down to pass by.

I looked at Rachel, who stared back at me. The lioness was close to the surface again; I almost prodded it. The hardened part of me vetoed the idea; its entire focus was on a naked Mandy. I sat back and relaxed for the first time since I arrived.

"What are the specials?" I asked looking for a menu.

"Darling, you should have lunch by the bar," Rachel said sweetly. "We have a couple of things to clear up. I'm sure Michael and you need to do some preliminary planning for the change in circumstances."

Michael could not have gotten out of his chair faster. He always avoided situations, which we thought of as female responsibilities. The inclusion of Taylor in his life solidified the bias. Marisa and Taylor were settling comfortably into a relationship, which confused the hell out Michael, but he tried very hard not to disturb his idyllic life. I understood his reluctance, sleeping between two women was habit-forming.

I smiled at Mandy, who dropped her facade and looked at me with hunger. I walked around the table and touched her face. She put her hand on my groin and leaned towards me. I kissed her; the memory of our first time 'In the Dark' was in the touch of our lips.

Marie followed Michael and me out of the room. I looked a question at her when we sat down at a table by the bar.

"That's between Rachel and Mandy," she said with a shrug. We ordered and sat in our thoughts for a couple of minutes. Marie pulling a folder out of her bag interrupted our reverie.

"Rachel instructed the Lees and I to put together some preliminary information on Mandy's family and Allaire." I nodded and a little of the annoyance I felt at not being included must have slipped in. Marie put her hand on top of mine to soothe it away as much as she could.

"Mandy only contacted Brittany a couple of weeks ago, David. None of us would have kept it from you if you could have added anything. We did the research just in case their proposal was attractive to you."

I nodded to her absently. Rachel was careful not to abuse her power so I shrugged it off. The offer did not take a lot of thinking to decide whether or not to accept. The real work would begin when the women came to an agreement. I watched as a much older woman with Mandy's features strode past us on the way to the private room.

"The aunt?" Marie asked.

"Yes," Michael said picking up some of Marie's papers.

The business side of the meeting went late into the evening. The Lees and Brittany eventually joined us. We went back to the office where federal representatives were included in our discussion. They, in turn, contacted their bosses.

Every federal representative was circumspect with their questions, knowing they were going to get exactly what they wanted at no extra cost. The highest ranking fed at the table brushed off the details of my need to procreate with Mandy to satisfy the provisions of her father's will. Some people looked uncomfortable with the thought of an extramarital child being the key ingredient to sealing a business deal, but Marie distracted them with pictures of the site, blueprints, and the prospectus explaining why it had been our first choice.

I arrived home to be swarmed over by the children. Rain immediately launched into her favorite phrase, "It wasn't my fault!" which alerted me to the fact I was not in for a quiet night. The interesting aspect about Rain's disavowal was that most of the time she spoke truthfully. Discarding the incidents she caused for the sake of her brothers, Rain did begin trouble. She did have an unerring instinct for being at the heart of a problem, especially if it involved her siblings, nephews, nieces, or cousins.

On this day, Esmeralda's daughters picked a fight with Sean and Patrick's children, for no better reason than they were kids. Joanne and Stephanie delivering twin boys and girls a couple of months after Rain and Roger were born had not been a surprise. It made the odds four to two, which would have evened things since Esmeralda's hellions were older. Unfortunately for them, the two sets of twins were far more coordinated than even my baby monk and lion cubs. Rain ended up in the eye of the storm because Esmeralda's daughters only heeled at her command. Rain's brothers got involved as soon as she caught ball with the side of her head.

Things rapidly devolved into a three-sided free for all.

The staff made it worse by trying to separate the children, which only gave them a common enemy. Fighting each other was entertainment, fighting together against someone outside their family was instinct. Rachel, Brittany, and Mandy got home to find the children fortified in their playroom and holding the staff at bay. Ovaldo's dogs, who behaved like lovesick puppies around Brutus, were a major reason for the stalemate.

Rain's explanation was far more subjective than her mothers', but the boys were doing credible jobs as star witnesses in support of Rain's version of events. Everyone sat around watching me eat as they waited for my reaction.

"No story tonight," I said quietly. Rain's reaction was typically overdramatic, making it seem like I sentenced her to a public whipping and night in the stocks. I knew better though and watched as she carefully wrapped Mandy around her finger. The quivering lower lip was what broke Mandy's will. She gathered Rain into her arms and tried to give unneeded comfort. The boys surrounded Mandy to get in on the comforting.

The children ended up with most of the female attention, which seemed unfair considering they had done a damn good job of wrecking their playroom.

I was in the master bedroom when Mandy came in. The master bedroom was what Rachel called it. I thought of it just as my bedroom since we each had a bedroom of our own. Rachel's connected to mine; Brittany was getting increasingly insistent about putting a door between ours. I thought for a minute about how they were going to manage to connect one to Mandy's room. I shuddered knowing they were hoping I would agree to knock down the walls to all the adult bedrooms on our wing.

Mandy was wearing a soft lavender colored nightgown, which went down to mid-thigh. She walked to the foot of the bed and stared at me. I was wearing thin shorts in case the kids got away from their mothers. I put down the sheet of paper I was reading and looked at her.

"Rachel insisted I move in tonight," she said slowly.

I nodded.

"Is this really going to work?" she asked nervously. She looked at my groin; the thinness was not enough to hide my growing attention.

"It worked for the Coven," I replied. "It works for Rachel and Brittany."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Can you share me?" I asked.

"When is it my turn with Rachel?" she asked breathlessly and crawling on to the bed. She moved up my body until she could kiss me.

"She is not the one I taste?" I asked. Mandy stared at me closely.

"Brittany thought a quickie would relieve my nerves," she said with a pout and kissed me again.

"You were nervous?" I asked, kissing a trail down her neck. My hands were itching to palm her breasts, but I was trying to prolong the torture for both of us. She pulled my head back and looked at me again.

"Every woman is nervous on her wedding night, David," she told me.

That did the trick!

I brought her down for a hard kiss and used my other hand to strip her breasts of the nightgown's protection. She pulled up so she could pull my shorts down enough to free me from confinement. I let go of her hair and moved my hand between her legs. She was wet, warm, and thick exactly like I remembered. She moved up, and I took a nipple in my mouth.

She moaned years' worth of wanting to be with me and reached between her legs to straighten my phallus. Brittany had taken care of the foreplay so Mandy was ready for me when she placed the head of my dick against her pussy's entrance. I moved both hands to her ass and took a hard grip. I gave attention to her other breast. She held me in place and settled her weight on top of me.

It had been a long time since I had felt the thickness and gentle pressure of Mandy's body around me.

I had been thinking about being inside her for most of the afternoon; it felt better than my daydreams when she was fully seated in my lap. I spread her asscheeks and pushed up into her to get deeper. She wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed tightly. She was not moving so I had to act. I flipped us over in one swift motion. She was tight and thick; my motion had taken me half out of her body. I took back what was now mine. Mandy welcomed the taking by squeezing me with her thighs.

"Oh God! I missed you so much!" she whispered and kissed me desperately. There were tears in her eyes. She moistened my cheeks with them as we continued kissing. We did not fuck; instead we ground our hips together so I did not lose any depth. It was enough after so much time apart. I felt once again the gentle pressure that was unique to Mandy when she came.

I forced my hands underneath and palmed her asscheeks. I squeezed hard and moved against her. Her orgasm lasted long enough for me to begin my own. It felt like I had been saving up cum for our reunion. I came like I was trying to fill her with enough cum to give her a child naturally.

Usually, I tried to get off a woman so I could ensure she did not get uncomfortable. I did not care at the time and stayed on top of Mandy until I hardened inside of her again. I heard the door open as I began to move in and out of her.

I turned my head to see Brittany and Rachel walking in naked. Rachel was carrying a small tube and crawled on the bed. Brittany got on the other side of us and reached down to where Mandy and I were joined. She pushed against me to get my cock out of Mandy's pussy. She pushed me back even further and leaned down to take me into her mouth. Rachel turned Mandy over with kisses and nips on her sides. She straddled the small of Mandy's back and opened the tube. It was a lubricating gel; she traced a line between Mandy's asscheeks with it. She enjoyed spreading the lubrication into a woman's ass; Mandy had one of the finest asses we ever shared. Her finger invaded Mandy's anal rose to prepare the way. I got harder in Brittany's mouth, and she let me go to watch Rachel's treatment of Mandy. They guided me back to where my dick could touch their newest lover-wife.

"Ours!" Rachel whispered as Brittany placed the tip of my dick against Mandy's asshole.

Mandy's extended family did not take the sisters' strategy lying down. They tried to get Smith Holdings into court, but the judge bowed to the opinion of the will's executor. The aunt was a battleaxe whom no one in the family wanted to go up against alone. There were other attempts to undermine the authority Mandy and Sarah were passing to me. They eventually culminated in a boardroom meeting with all of the principals.

Michael, the Lees, Marie, and our lawyers represented Smith Holdings at the table. They had the offending family members, along with their lawyers, on the other side. I sat away from the table with Rachel, Brittany, and Ovaldo while Sarah, Mandy, and their aunt sat at the opposite end but away from the table too.

The wrangling had been going for an hour and half. Every woman in the room, who knew me well, was casting increasingly nervous glances in my direction. The women on their side of the table felt the tension and began to try to negotiate a settlement instead of trying to get whatever they could.

The men got insulting; a particularly offensive dig was directed at Rachel, criticizing her willingness to allow her husband to birth an illegitimate child with Mandy. Every woman on my side of the table got up and walked away.

Most of our lawyers were female; Michael and I were comfortable with the mostly matriarchal system we were a part of and got along better with female lawyers. Their law firm was a four-generation conglomerate of interrelated families. It had more male partners than female, but the senior female partner, their matriarch, was in charge of the Smith Holdings' account. The woman had a lot of experience with Roger and Michael; she had correctly expected me to fit the mold. The firm backed their matriarch on anything she wanted when it came to Smith Holdings, like tendering a partnership offer to Mandy's battleaxe of an aunt. Sarah and the battleaxe moved to stay close to Mandy, and the firm took immediate action to establish something they never quite accomplished with Smith Holdings, a family tie.

The law firm partners were privy to the contracts the government signed with Smith Holdings. They even willingly did the menial paperwork to reduce the number of people who knew the details of those contracts. They had a close enough estimate to the amount of money the contract was worth to scramble for available female or male firm members to present our family as possible spouses.

The battleaxe was one avenue; the youngest son of the most senior partner joined Helen's new martial arts school as another. The young man was on the fast track and most of it had been earned with some hard fought legal battles. He was the only other male on our side of the table and was taken aback by the sudden exodus of female support. He also looked ready to take the insulting fool outside, which decided me on the Helen issue.

He understood Helen was considered a part of our family. He was giving her all the right signals, but also exercising discretion in case Helen was not interested. I insisted Helen test her compatibility with him before I made a final decision. She said he was a good kisser, and she could have the firm tied to us by marriage in six month's time.

I sat down beside him and looked at the people who had made themselves my adversaries. Their lawyers must have explained it carefully, using small words where necessary. Our lawyers had not even blinked at the will's provisions. Their legal opinion was the solution Mandy chose had been anticipated. They even checked with the lawyers for Mandy's father to ensure the social morality aspects of our plan did not interfere with the old man's intent. The people in front of me should have known better from the social history of Mandy and Sarah's departed father.

Sarah and Mandy did not share a biological mother. The two women had lived in different houses on his estate. The old man had married neither and maintained a carnal relationship with both until his final illness.

Mandy and Sarah had been nervous about the agreement and the women in our family, but not because it was something foreign to them. Their nervousness stemmed completely from the state of their inheritance and needing an outside force to salvage it.

"I did not appreciate that remark. I expect an elaborate, heartfelt apology before we finalize this, or any offer I make today will be rescinded and no further offers will be tabled by Smith Holdings," I stated clearly.

They grumbled and got loud again; I sat watching them. The women were the first to silence when they noticed Mandy, Sarah, and the battleaxe had moved their chairs beside Rachel and Brittany. Every woman on my side of the room relaxed and watched the other side with smiles. Michael was drumming his fingers on the table with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sure your lawyers explained three sitting judges have weighed in with opinions that the language of the will covers this exact circumstance."

My words caused another spat of noise, but the lawyers were the first to quiet down which gave everyone else pause.

"The sexual predilections of Mandy's father serve to illustrate this was something he knew might happen. He specifically chose to use the term 'biological father' instead of husband. Wording which holds unequivocal meaning."

The explosion of noise barely lasted sixty seconds.

"Are we agreed Mandy is a qualified daughter under the will?" I asked the lawyers. They nodded reluctantly; the family members grumbled.

"Mandy has provided an affidavit and medical proof that the child she is carrying is mine, correct?" I was answered with silence and surly looks.

"As the 'biological father', this qualifies me to activate the provisions of the will you are arguing against." The men on their side were becoming increasingly unhappy.

"Actually if you read the provisions carefully, you will come to the same conclusion I have." Even the people in my side of the room quieted down. I smiled and shook my head. "Mandy and Sarah's father did not write the provisions to address an esoteric situation. He wrote them specifically with me in mind."

The battleaxe's gasp confirmed it for everyone in the room. I spun the chair to look at Mandy and Sarah. They were staring at their aunt in stunned surprise. They turned towards me.

"Your mothers have access to the same information channels you do." Clarity came to them at the same time. They had overlooked the fact their mothers became sisters through their sorority affiliation and not by sharing a man they loved. Mandy's sex life would not have been a surprise to her father.

The battleaxe nodded respectfully at me. Rachel and Brittany were looking me with surprise almost equal to Mandy and Sarah's. It seemed clear to me as soon as I read the will.

The old man had daughters who could not run his business, but he had women he was responsible for. He made sure death was no bar to taking care of them.

I would have done the same thing.

"All I need to win every lawsuit you bring against me is place the executor of the will or Mandy and Sarah's mothers on the stand." The other side tried to drown out the revelation with angry words and gestures.

A sharp hand wave from Michael quieted them down.

"The mothers will sit in the witness chair and extensively explain their relationship with Mandy's father. They're going to say things like, 'He felt responsible for his sister, the two of us, his daughters, and the hundreds of loyal employees.' 'Towards the end, he became desperate when he considered we would not be taken care of unless he left his company in the right hands.' My personal favorite is going to be: 'We're talking about bringing a child into the world who will be worth millions with her first breath! A child that is an entire company's hope for a future!'"

I let the vision of Mandy and Sarah's mothers expressing those thoughts on the stand settle in.

"My wife, Rachel, will testify she is vehemently opposed to any child of mine being raised apart from their siblings or father." I smiled at the troublemakers as they fidgeted. "Brittany's testimony that her son is already living in the manner anticipated by the will should seal every judgment in my favor. Morality is all well and good, but my wife and I are in a marriage of convenience. She is sixteen years older than I. Her full acceptance of a situation she is ALREADY living with comes with significant financial rewards. They may not believe her intentions are pure, but no one will doubt the situation benefits her and, more importantly, benefits her children greatly."

I hesitated a moment before continuing, "You won't win the court cases. The old man was too good, and I was hand-picked to succeed him."

"You don't actually believe all that!" one of the younger men said. It was always the young ones!

"You're right," I said, surprising everyone. "This will not make it to court too many times. Any delay increases the power of my position. I will soon be able to stop you from using Allaire's funds to attack my daughter's inheritance."

"The child might not even be born," the youngest male said in a voice, which made every woman in the room's head turn towards him.

Ovaldo moved like a striking snake when he needed to, but Michael was closer to the idiot. He met Ovaldo's rush head on. Michael's body sailed over the table and landed hard on the other side, but he delayed Ovaldo long enough for Esmeralda to grab her youngest brother by the ear. It was not a tight grip and the look she gave the idiot with a big mouth said she was only stopping Ovaldo because she wanted her pound of flesh first.

The voice the idiot used contained the barest hint of threat.

Brittany and Rachel were standing between Mandy and him. Every woman on my side of the table was looking at him like they were about to jump over the table to get their hands around his neck.

I drummed my fingers on the table and waited for everyone to settle down. The idiot was made very uncomfortable by the eyes of every woman on my side staying on him. They were giving him the look they might have given a rabid dog who needed to be put down.

Michael got up shakily and sat down in his chair. He was the angriest I had ever seen him, and the people on the other side of the table were rightly worried. Michael had been the voice of reason throughout our extended negotiations.