Chapter 50

Since the land around Las Vegas is so flat and there are relatively few roads, Ann had no trouble at all finding the country club where Mike and Mark were scheduled to go off at the first tee an hour later. They changed in the ladies’ locker room and then went to the practice tee with Duke and Duchess pacing beside them. It was the tigers’ first time at a golf course and the animals kept their eyes casting around to take everything in. They had been fitted with light harnesses to enable them to carry the girl’s golf bags so they could caddy for them.

Aside from providing protection and companionship, the tigers offered other advantages. First, quite by accident, Ann had found that with their wide-spaced eyes the animals had superb depth perception resulting in an ability to visually measure distance that rivaled top optical range-finders. When this ability was discovered, working with Susie, the computer, the two huge animals studied the game of golf, including its rules, but particularly focusing on club selection. Duke was caddying for Mary, while Duchess was carrying Ann’s bag.

On the practice tee, the fun began. Sitting beside Mary, Duke looked down the range and selected the 150-yard marker. First, he reported that the distance was incorrect; it was 145 yards. Second, because the ground sloped down from the practice tee, she needed a shorter club than normal for the distance and recommended one. Having taken her initial warm-ups, she took the indicated club, swung normally and hit the ball high into the air. It landed right at the base of the post supporting the marker, and Duke congratulated her on her lovely golf shot.

The two girls repeated the process aiming for different targets on the practice range with the same result. They finally decided that, inside 250 yards, the tigers distance estimates were accurate to within a single yard. Moreover, they were natural-born judges of terrain. It was shaping up to be a very interesting day.

Finally they walked over to the first tee. Mark and Mike Campbell were waiting there for them, having just learned what the girls already knew: the pro had paired them to create a foursome.

“Hi!” Mark greeted Ann. “I’m Mike Campbell.”

He held out his hand and Ann just looked at him. “Do you want to try again, Mark?” she asked. “Or did you forget what I said the last time?” Then she just shook her head and said, “Mark, I think you and your twin need a lesson. I think I heard somewhere that you’re looking for some money for your company. Is that correct?” When he said it was, she continued, “How does $500 million sound? Free and clear. No cost to you.”

Mark was stunned. “Who do we shoot, and then which bank do we rob?”

Ann reached into a pocket of her golf bag, took out her Morgan-Guaranty check book, and wrote a check payable to him in the amount of $250 million. But she didn’t sign it. Holding it out to him, she said, “I’ll sign this check — and Mary will sign another in the same amount — if you can beat us on the golf course this afternoon. How’s that sound?”

“As a joke, it sounds pretty good,” he admitted. “But as a check? Get serious! I could write one just like it payable to you, but it would lack $249 million and large change of clearing.”

She took the check back, wrote a phone number on its back, and told him it was the phone number of the Private Banking Division at Morgan. They would tell him if the check was any good.

He cocked his head and said, “You’re serious, aren’t you?” When she assured him she was, he took the check and went back toward the pro shop. “But I’ll get the number from Long-Distance Information, if it’s all the same to you.” A couple of minutes later he came back looking pale.

“What did they say, Mark?” his brother asked.

“The guy — a vice president, yet — took my call. I told him I had a check from Ann Whitfield. He said, ‘It’s good.’ ‘But I didn’t tell you the amount,’ I said. ‘Is it for more than $10 billion?’ he asked. Stunned, I said it wasn’t. ‘Then it’s good.’”

Mark shook his head trying to clear it and then added, “I asked him what if I had said it was for more than $10 billion? He told me that in that case there might be some delay; he would have to work it out with his money desk.” Then he turned back to Ann and said, “Okay, if I beat you, you give me $250 million. But what if — by some miracle — you win? What happens then?”

“Oh,” she said with a happy grin, “that’s easy. You just sign over your shares in your company to me. We know that without the money — and you haven’t had much luck raising any, have you? — the company’s toast. So the company wouldn’t be worth much, anyway, without the new money.”

He shrugged and shook on the bet, while Mike did the same with Mary. As the men stretched — neither had been to the practice tee — Mark said, “Wait a minute. On this course, they give away miles to the ladies’ tees. You have to play from the whites with us!”

Ann appeared reluctant, but finally agreed. While her face was impassive, inwardly she wanted to cheer. Both she and Mary knew that they had to play from the men’s tees. The distances off the ladies’ tees were often too short for their game.

Then Ann said, “To show you what ladies we are, since we’re going off the men’s tees, we’ll even give you the honors on the first tee. So hit!”

The course they were playing was a typical desert course. It had lots of bunkers, but was basically very flat. In spite of its irrigation system, the fairways were quite hard so a well-hit ball carried a long way. As a result, in yardage, the course was very long but very flat. With their tremendous power it was ideal for the girls’ game. Their accuracy virtually ensured that the sand bunkers wouldn’t be much of a factor, either.

However, the greens were very large in area, so it was quite common to have first putts longer than 100 feet. But with their short-game accuracy and putting skill, that posed no problem, either.

Mark led off with a very nice drive that landed about 200 yards out, and rolled another 25. He was quite proud of it, and looked it. Mike followed, but he pushed his drive off to the right and caught a trap on the right edge of the fairway. The girls flipped a coin, and Ann went first. She had really been letting out her swing at the end of her practice, and while the first hole was very long — it was a 445-yard par 4 — it was straight to the pin.

She took her stance, took a deep breath and let it out, then addressed the ball. She really got her hips and legs into her shot and loved the sound the driver made as it struck the ball perfectly in the heart of its sweet spot. Only when she finished her follow-through did she look up and pick up the ball in flight. It was in a low but still-rising trajectory just to the right of the fairway centerline. Finally it came down and landed at a shallow angle that would maximize the roll. With the top-spin put on the ball by her slight draw, the ball continued to run and finally came to a stop.

“That was 285 yards in the air, Mistress, and another 30 on the roll,” Duchess informed her. You hit it 315 yards.” Then she paused and added, “It was a truly beautiful golf shot.”

The men had watched the whole process and were now utterly stunned. “My God!” Mark said in stunned amazement, “Davis Love, III, and John Daly don’t hit drives that far!”

“No, they don’t,” Ann agreed. “I know Love holds his down to about 275. He says that beyond that he just gets into trouble — driving through doglegs and things like that. I was just showing off. I apologize.”

“Your apology is not accepted,” Mark said with a grin. “Never apologize for a shot like that! It was utterly magnificent. It must be almost 300 yards out.”

“It’s 315,” she said. “It was 285 on the fly, and the rest was roll.” When he looked at her with a question in his eye, she just pointed to Duchess, who sat there with a smug grin on her face.

Mary’s drive was almost a carbon copy of Ann’s, except it ended up one yard shorter and two feet to the left. Mike used an iron out of the trap but was still over 100 yards short of the green while already lying 2. Mark hit a good second shot but was 50 yards short of the green.

Reaching Mary’s ball, Duke took a range on the flag stick and said it was 119 yards to the pin. Mary pointed out that the hole was 450 yards, but Duke reminded her that distances were measured to the center of the green. Since the pins were moved every day, and since typically the greens were very large, this could create substantial differences in the yardage a hole actually played. Mary took her wedge and hit the ball perfectly. The men watched in utter amazement as her ball appeared to be dropping almost straight down as it reached the pin. It hit three feet past the cup, and walked backward but stopped six inches from the hole.

Ann took her wedge and hit it perfectly. It, too, landed about three feet past the cup, but came walking backward to drop neatly into the hole without even touching the stick.

“Yes!” she screamed as she jumped thrusting her right fist up into the air. Mary hugged her, and Duchess gave her a kiss. The two men were stunned.

Mike hit a good third shot to the green, but it landed over 100 feet away from the pin. It took him two putts to get down for a 5. Mark hit a lovely pitch, and then sank a 9-foot putt for his par. Mary tapped her ball in for a 3, while Ann had her eagle 2. With only one hole played both men were already down by two strokes.

The first hole set the tone for the whole round. One of the first things the girls did was to develop an appreciation for the tigers’ incredible ability to determine range. On every shot where it was relevant, they would give the exact distance from the ball to the pin. This proved to be invaluable on the par-3 holes because not only did the distance change due to the placement of the pin, it also changed with the placement of the tee markers. The only long putts the girls took all day were on par-5 holes that they invariably reached in two. Almost inevitably, they were putting for eagles.

When they finished the front nine, the girls were tied at 30 strokes each. Mary had picked up the stroke she had lost to Anne’s eagle on the first hole with a hole-in-one on the par-3 4^th, thanks largely to the precise range to the pin that Duke had provided. The men were being demolished. Mark had a 40 and Mike had a 41 for the front nine.

They had previously arranged with the starter to take a break after nine holes, and given the girls’ prominence, there were no questions asked. They ordered lunch on the terrace, and asked for two empty ice buckets filled with Snapple lemonade for the tigers who were lying at their feet. The girls were sitting stretched out on their chairs with their feet resting on two others, while the men were in a state of shock and dismay. Their company was falling right out from under them.

“Don’t worry,” Ann said sounding half asleep as she soaked up the sun with her eyes closed. “Mary and I will give you at least a couple of more chances to get your company back.” Then she added in the same sleepy-sounding voice, “Of course, your employment contracts are still in force.”

Then she opened her eyes and was wide awake as she added, “And boy! Are they beauts! They are ironclad, and really lock you into the company for the next ten years. You can’t be fired, but you can’t quit, either.”

“We can’t” Mark asked in stunned amazement. “How do you know?”

“Because I read them, silly,” she replied. “They’re on file with the Secretary of State along with your other corporate papers. Then she shook her head and added, “I guess that’s a part of it you never considered. You two were making so damned sure that you couldn’t be pushed out, you locked all the exit doors, too. Those contracts are wonders.”

Mark looked at Mike who just shrugged unhappily and shook his head. Then Mark said to Ann, “How long have you two been playing golf, anyway? Did you take it up when you were two?”

“Not hardly!” Ann replied with a giggle. “I guess we saw our first golf ball about four months ago, and saw our first golf course last week. Why do you ask?”

“Because I have never seen a golfer with a swing as perfect as yours, is why.” Then he looked at her carefully and added, “And you and Mary are incredibly muscular, aren’t you?”

As fast as a striking cobra, she punched him on the arm. “Thanks a hell of a lot, Mark Campbell. Now I’m muscle-bound!”

“No, you’re not,” he said as he rubbed his bruised muscle. Ann’s punch had hurt. “You’re just satin-smooth skin over hidden muscles.”

Then he grinned and asked, “Are your tits as solid as the rest of you? And how do you keep your nipples erect all the time? Mike and I have been watching them move under your golf shirts all day. Maybe that’s part of the reason you’re killing us. That, and the fact that you’re far better golfers than we could ever be, of course.”

“Yes, they are,” Ann admitted. “Mary and I both have very firm tits. I hope you don’t mind?” she asked with concern in her eyes. Mark looked around the terrace, saw that there was no one looking in their direction, and asked if he could feel one.

“Sure,” she replied and then leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes again. He cupped a tit in his hand and gently squeezed. It was very firm. Then he very gently pinched a nipple causing an instant spasm in her pelvis. When he asked what that was, Ann replied with her eyes still closed, “That, turkey, is called an orgasm. My tits are sinfully sensitive.”

Then again moving almost faster than his eyes could follow, she struck him on the other arm.

“Ouch!” he exclaimed. “What was that for? I thought you liked it. You certainly seemed to like my hand on your tit.”

“That was for making me cum,” she said softly. “Now I’m going to have to play the back nine with wet pants. Since it’s all your fault, I hit you.” Then she added almost silently, “But I hope that’s the first of many orgasms you create for me.”

“But how do you keep your nipples so hard?” he asked. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Shaking her head slowly, Ann replied, “I really don’t know. Barbara Sloan showed us how to do it months ago, and since she and Steve like to see our nipples hard all the time, we keep them this way. I used to have to concentrate to make them hard, but now it’s become involuntary. They just are. And I really have forgotten what I did to make them this way.”

Then she opened her eyes, looked at him and said, “Why did you ask? Do you want to pass along a tip to your girlfriend?”

“What girlfriend?” Then he looked at her and said softly, “Ann, I’m sure you know that I’ve loved you from the first instant I set eyes on you. And Mike’s madly in love with Mary. But I’m sure you both knew that anyway.”

Then he looked sad and added, “Now if only we could figure out some way to get you past our mother, we would be all set...” Then he shook his head sadly and added, “But there’s just no fucking way...”

They had just finished their lunch and their beers when a boy came up from the caddy shack to tell them they were next off on the 10^th tee. On the back nine, the girls continued the demolition they had started with their drives on the 1^st tee. When they finished the round, the girls were tied at 60, while Mark had a 74 and Mike had a 75. Mike had never recovered the stroke he lost to Mark on the first hole.

They left the 18^th green, went to their car and put the bags and the tigers’ harnesses in the trunk. Then they returned to the terrace for drinks and a snack before heading back.

When they sat down, Mike looked at Mary and said, “That was utterly unbelievable golf you two played today. Simply perfect!”

“It was really too easy,” Mary replied. “We played in a tournament in Los Angeles last week and shot 62’s. It was really better golf, and it was played on a much tougher course than this one.” She just shook her head and added, “Here, the course is just long. And for Ann and me, that’s not a problem.”

“No,” he agreed, “I guess it’s not. But not only are you two long hitters, you have pinpoint accuracy, too.” Then he grinned and asked, “Have you ever taken a bunker shot?”

“That’s funny!” Mary responded. “It’s what Molly Adams asked—”

“Molly Adams?” he interrupted. “You mean the pro who’s been winning everything there is to win? That Molly Adams?”

“The very same,” Mary agreed. “She played with us last week and claims she was making the greatest shots of her life. But she complained we never had great shots to make, and teased us about our putting.”

“What’s to tease?” Mike asked. “You’re perfect.”

“She was teasing us about our incredibly difficult two-inch putts. But in answer to your question, we’ve never been in a bunker in a round, so I don’t really know. But it’s pretty easy when we practice,” Mary replied.

“You mean you keep hitting until you hole one out from the bunker?”

“Oh, no!” Mary corrected. “We practice until we’re holing out more than half our shots.”

Mike just rolled his eyes. Then he said softly, “Mary Whitfield, would you mind if I kissed you?”

“Of course not,” she replied softly. “Why would I mind?”

Mary was stretched out in her chair with her feet resting on a second, in the same manner she had done at lunch. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed completely relaxed. Getting out of his chair, Mike knelt on the terrace and melted his lips to hers. As he kissed her, his hand closed over her tit. To his surprise, Mary placed her hand over his to hold it in position while they kissed. The kiss was everything she had ever dreamed, and more. Instantly, there was a two-way surge of electricity and both could hear the ringing of bells.

Mike almost fell over from the unleashed power of her kiss that was loaded with love, joy, grace and pure passion. When he gently squeezed her nipple, her pelvis spasmed and she just held his hand down tighter.

“Squeeze my tit, please,” she murmured and then melted her lips to his again.

He did and realized he was holding an utterly perfect tit in his hand, one with a perfect little nipple that was now engorged like a blunt pencil.

When he eased away with his head reeling, Mary whispered, “Thank you, Mike.”

“Aren’t you going to hit me?” he asked. “Ann hit Mark when he felt her tit earlier.”

“Of course not,” she murmured. “We had nine more holes of golf to play then; now we’re finished for the day. And truly, it felt great.”

In the meantime, seeing Mike and Mary, Mark kissed Ann and obtained the identical reaction. When she didn’t hit him after he squeezed her tit, he asked her about it.

“I didn’t for two reasons,” Ann said softly. “First, we’re finished for the day, so I really don’t care if my pants get wet. Second, your squeezing my tit is old hat now, so it’s a little late.”

Mark looked into her green eyes and said, “That’s how you tell us apart, isn’t it?” He didn’t explain, but asked if he could kiss Mary. When he did, he found what he had started to suspect: Her kiss was filled with love and grace, but it was like kissing his sister ... or would have been if he had had one.

Mike kissed Ann at the same time with the same result. When they were seated again, Mark said, “Brother, I guess it’s all over trying to fool these girls about which of us is which. If Ann looks at one of us and her heart rolls over, it’s me; if it’s just a guy, it’s you. And I’m sure it’s the same thing with Mary.”

Then he looked at Ann and said, “That is the way it works, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” Ann replied simply. Then she opened one eye, glanced at her watch and yelped. “Come on, sister, we’ve got to roll! We’re the guests of honor at the big banquet tonight.”

Then she looked at Mark and said, “We’ll meet you at the UNLV pool tomorrow morning at eleven. We’ll swim 400 meters and give you a chance to win your company back.”

When she rose, Mark stood up too, and went to take her in his arms. “One kiss is enough, Mark Campbell, and you’ve already had it. Bye!”

When he went to take her in his arms anyway, he suddenly found Duchess between them baring her teeth at him and growling menacingly. “Thank you, darling, for your help,” she said to Duchess, “but I think he was getting the message.”

Then to the guys she said, “I suppose you two can swim, can’t you? After all, you were both Rangers.” With that the two girls waved gaily and returned to the ladies’ locker room.

They showered quickly, laughing as they washed the cum from their groins. “Did you feel my kiss, Mary?” Ann asked. “Is it working the way we thought it might?”

“Oh, Ann! I’m so happy for you,” Mary exclaimed. “Did you feel mine, too?”

“Sister, it almost put me out!” Ann exclaimed. “The combination of Mark’s lips on mine coupled with the joy and passion you were feeling was almost too much. But what about you?” Mary admitted it was the same. “We’re really going to have a problem when the guys fuck us,” Ann added. “I can see us both dying from mutually reinforcing ecstasy.”

“So can I,” Mary admitted, “but what a way to go!”

That night the two girls looked exquisitely regal as they entered the banquet hall flanked by Duke and Duchess, both meticulously groomed for the occasion, and both pacing with their heads up high as if they were escorting a monarch to his coronation.

For the occasion the girls were wearing the tiaras they had last worn at the gala in Prague. The sponsors of the award dinner were nonplused. First, the computer and software people are famously casual; it’s not uncommon for someone to show up at such an affair in Levi’s. But second, the universal reaction was that these young women truly were to the manor born. Their grace and dignity were just an integral part of themselves. The men — and women — realized that there was nothing added or taken away. What they were seeing was the way Ann and Mary truly were.

After being greeted by COMDEX’s president and top officers, they were introduced to the members of the board of directors at a very private reception held in a room behind the banquet hall.

The girls found themselves talking to a woman who was the founder and chairman of a specialty computer software company, Jane Ellis. The woman was very attractive and still on the sunny side of 40 — but just. She took Ann’s hands in hers, looked deeply into her eyes, and then slowly shook her head. “I have a confession to make,” she said. “I voted against selecting you for this award. I was convinced it was all smoke and mirrors, somehow. After all, we know it’s impossible for a couple of women to do what you have apparently done. Now that I meet you, I am utterly ashamed. Like so many other people here, I saw the KNBC interview you did with Joyce Johnson.”

She smiled and interjected, “That must be the most well-worn bit of news film since marines erected the flag on the top of Mount Suribachi. Every station in the country, if not in the whole world, must have run it by now.” Again she shook her head and said, “But regardless of what I thought when I saw it, now I know it was just the complete truth. It was, wasn’t it?” Ann just nodded her head. “But the focus of the show was on your brains. They totally overlooked your incredible beauty.”

Then she paused and studied the girls some more. Grinning now, she continued, “But something new has been added, hasn’t it? You two are now head-over-heels, desperately in love, aren’t you?” Both Mary and Ann smiled sheepishly and nodded. “I’m so happy for you!” Jane exclaimed. “Who are the lucky guys?”

“I’m sorry, Jane,” Ann replied. “It’s so new, we don’t want to jinx it. I hope you don’t mind?”

“How could I possibly?” the woman answered. “I’m just being nosy.” Then she said, “But now I really see it. The children you two will bear — lots of children you will bear — will be utterly perfect little things.” Then she shook her head and added, “Don’t I wish that could be me!”

“It can be, Jane,” Mary said softly. “And it will. It’s not too late.”

Suddenly the woman beamed. “Thank you. I so hope you’re right.” Then she paused and added, “You two really have your priorities straight.”

Then she laughed and said, “I’ll tell you how screwed up I’ve been: After voting against giving you the award, I thought about it some more and was delighted about your receiving it. You were really showing up the men! But now I realize nothing could be further from the truth. You’re just trying to be helpful. The idea of showing up men would never enter your heads. You just do your thing, and I think your thing is great!”

Dinner was served, and then the award was made to the two girls for the greatest contribution to the computer industry in 1995. Both girls made short speeches thanking the Association for the honor, and then received a heart-felt standing ovation. When they left the dinner, they had captured the hearts of everyone present.

Had they known it, they would have rejoiced at the fact that many of the attendees were rethinking their position regarding the importance of God in their lives. Bill Gates often spoke of it, but his statements had previously been dismissed as only being a way to avoid telling anyone the true secrets of his success with Microsoft. But now, after hearing the girls, they were not at all sure.

The next morning when the girls emerged from the locker room at UNLV, they found the men waiting for them beside the pool. They were just wearing very brief racing trunks which covered next to nothing. Ann went to Mark, slowly ran her fingers over his torso and murmured, “Pretty nice.”

While she was doing that, Mark was looking at Ann’s body in the white racing suit she was wearing and said, “Utterly magnificent! Ann Whitfield, you are perfect.”

“You’re not quite perfect,” she replied, “but you’re close.” Then with a grin she asked, “Are you and Mike ready to get your clocks cleaned again?”

He slowly shook his head and then asked, “What’s the deal today? You said yesterday you would give us a chance to win our company back. How does it work?”

“How’s this sound?” she began. “Mary and I put up the stock and the $250 million apiece we offered yesterday. Okay?”

“What do we put up?” Mark countered. “Our lives?”

“You put up the money you have in the bank and in securities. Okay?”

“Do you know what you’re asking? Mike and I probably have less than $20,000 between us. And that’s all we put up against the company and $500 million?”

“That’s all,” Ann agreed. Then she grinned and added, “Mary and I thought we might have sandbagged you yesterday, so we’re trying to even it up a little.”

Instantly, the two men shook on the bet. But when Mark went to take Ann into his arms she said, “None of that! We have a race to swim first. If you think you can turn me into a pile of warm mush just before the starter’s buzzer sounds, you’re crazy!” Then she winked and added, “Later ... Maybe!”

UNLV — University of Nevada, Las Vegas — is a new school. Being located in a sparsely populated state, yet one with enormous revenues largely derived from gambling and related activities, the school is very well-funded and no expense had been spared in its facilities. For this reason, its swimming pool was true Olympic caliber, 50 meters long by eight swimming lanes wide. In addition, it was fully equipped with the latest in electronic timing equipment and underwater and above-water video capability.

As they stepped up on the starting boxes, Ann looked around and was surprised to find a large number of spectators in the seats watching. She also saw a group of men wearing UNLV jackets who she guessed were members of the swim team coaching staff. Earlier the men and girls had agreed that Mike and Mark would swim in lanes 2 & 3, while Ann and Mary would be in lanes 6 & 7. The two middle lanes and the two wall lanes were not going to be used.

When they were in position on the boxes, they waved to the coaches, one of whom waved back and activated the automated starting process. An electronic voice rang out, “Swimmers ... Take your marks ... Get set...” Following was the loud starting buzzer. The girls beat the men off the blocks in perfect dives.

The instant he saw the girls go off, the head swimming coach verified that all of the video cameras were operating and were tracking the girls through the water. As he watched he muttered, “My God! Those girls are perfect.” He stood up to try to improve his view.

The girls might as well have been synchronized swimmers as they moved through the water with identical strokes. At the same time, there was not the slightest waste motion. Every ounce of effort was driving them through the water. Moreover, the coach realized that their pace was incredible. It was as if they were racing 50 meters rather than 400. By the time they made their first turn they were leading the men by a quarter of a pool length, but just kept pulling away.

The men were also swimming well, but were not in the same class as the girls. The coach’s eyes widened as he realized the girls were not slowing down. They were continuing the same blistering pace when they made their second turn at 100 meters and third at 150. At that point they were leading by almost a full length of the pool and were opening their lead even faster than they had at the start. But at the same time, there did not appear to be as much as an inch separating the two girls from each other. It was obvious that there was a private race in progress between the two of them with neither willing to yield an inch.