Chapter 61

Shelley McLelligott punched in the private work number of her friend Selena Hanson as her fingers trembled. Back in Manhattan Selena saw her private line light up as a soft tone played to distinguish the tone from inside lines.

"This is Selena." She answered knowing only a few personal and business contacts had the number.

"Hi Selena, its Shelley, do you have a sec, or are you tied up?"

"What's up Shell, you sound distressed."

"Today is the day Slim and I are supposed to figure if we have a future. We haven't seen each other for over a month and I can tell you I miss him like crazy. I'm so afraid he's found life is easier without a commitment, or worse yet, someone else." Shelley explained.

"Oh Shelley I don't think you have to worry, he's... "

"SELENA, It's almost noon and he hasn't called, and I thought the phone would ring at 7 or 8 o'clock!" Shelley shot back in alarm.

"Shell, you have to chill out a little. He was HERE by 8 o'clock. Miss Myerson said he flew in early. Just a minute after she opened the door he was buzzing for entrance and he was right back in the stacks working on a project for one of the principles. He's under pressure here too Shell. I don't think there's much doubt he'll be offered a partnership in January, but until he gets the papers in his hands he's going to be tentative about it. It's what he wants more than anything." Selena told her to calm her.

"I'm worried he wants that MORE than ME! It's probably a more stabilizing life choice than to get weighed down with a dumpy middle aged woman." Shelley said with all of her usual confidence spent out.

"Shelley, have you ever thought he wants that FOR you? Once he gets that he's secure, probably for the rest of his life, and the door is open for you. When you've talked he hasn't given you any indication... "

"No, not at all. I guess I'm just being paranoid." Shelley admitted.

"And for Gods sake, referring to yourself as a dumpy middle aged woman, you have to be kidding me. There are 30 year olds who would give up limbs to have the body you have."

"Well, now that I think about it, I think I may have done something stupid. Assuming Slim still wants me, and he wants me to be with him, I got a job tending bar at The Four Seasons. Well actually more than tending but. I did all this assuming Slim will ask me to move in with him down there."

"Wait, you got a job at The Four Seasons... HERE?"

My Joe Johnson wasn't sticking his nose in yo..."

"NO! Not at ALL!" Shelley quickly answered anticipating her accusation.

"I got the job on my own. I did some detective work through their website and I've got experience at an upscale big city establishment when I worked at the Marriott in Boston. I came into town and had an interview last week without any of you knowing."

"Shell, you didn't spy on Slim while you were here did you?" Selena asked in a low voice afraid of the answer.

"Selena, I promise you, I DID NOT! I was only in town for the interview at ten and I was on a train back home by one o'clock. They called me just before five to tell me I got the job and I was home to take the call. But, if he doesn't want me, I won't take the job. I'm not going to stalk him."

"Only because it's you Shelley do I believe you. Be true to your heart as you want someone else to be true to theirs." Selena told her.

"I'll respect his decision if he feels we shouldn't continue. I don't have to like it and it will break my heart. I have fallen for him totally and if he wants to move on, I think he will be back eventually. I've shown him my love in more than casual ways." Shelley quietly admitted.

"Shell, I have to go, it's busy here. Wait for his call, but don't obsess by the phone. You don't want something to happen for your happiness irregardless of his. I'll call you tonight, OK?"

"I understand and I was wrong and rude to call you, but I needed to talk to somebody."

"I understand as well. I'll call you later." Selena said as she sent herself a note to her home email and hung up.

Back Upstate Shelley sat by the phone and then decided Selena was right, obsessing by the phone was not the thing to do. She went to the bed on the other side of the room and lay down. She had arranged for the day off to make sure she was there to take his call. Like 3 other times since midnight after she had paced and stared at the phone trying to will it to ring, she closed her eyes and snaked her hand between her legs. She hadn't masturbated so much since she was a curious teen, but now it wasn't curiosity that fueled her ardor, it was a man; a man she wanted more than anyone ever. She never thought any man could satisfy her more than Joe, but Slim set her afire with his fingers and tongue and now the longing she felt to have his hard cock deep inside her was testing her. She regretted her lack of will power the night she gave into her urges and went down on him. Together they had given in on mutual masturbation, but the presentation of his straining cock before her literally made her mouth water. Her urge to taste him was overwhelming and she went for it, thus giving him the OK to do the same to her. While he twisted to get his mouth on her sex she held onto the hairy cheeks of his ass until they were lying on their sides, faces buried in each others genitals. He came quickly but she never stopped her mouth motions and soon he was rock hard on her tongue again as he began to bring her pussy and clit to a feverish vibrating mass. His second orgasm went right down her throat as she had pulled him deep into her mouth as she spasmed deeply under his mouths magic.

Now her pussy juiced like never before as she longed for the man of her dreams. She would give herself in any way to please him, but she was afraid he may not want that and filled herself with doubt as her fingers sloshed between the lips of her smooth vagina.

At WSGG the final draft of their statement to members about WayMart was being previewed on inter-office email. Selena had just sent her OK to Deneigh who was waiting to see if there were any dissentions or edits requested before posting it for distribution. Selena's two cups of coffee were just having their effect on her as she left her office for the ladies lounge. Slim was just walking by to report on his findings in the stacks when Selena stopped him.

"Uh... Slim, you're planning on calling Shelley today, right? Don't tell her I told you, but she is home waiting for your call and a little over anxious. Whatever you're going to tell her, do it soon." Selena said as quietly as possible.

"Whatever I'm going to tell her? I'm not sure I can last more than a few more hours without her. I just don't know how to remedy our long distance situation." Slim said, obviously worried after his last foray into long distance love.

"Well, first chance you have, call her. Let her take a breath and DO NOT tell her you talked to me. This is against my "don't stick your nose in" policy." She said with a chuckle before pushing the LADIES door open.

"I understand." Slim said with a grin.

Slim knocked on the door of Ross Curran and turned the knob tentatively until he heard a loud "Come!" from the other side.

"Mr. Curran I've finished the research you and Mr. Fountain requested and having it copied and bound in a file folder as we speak. Miss Myerson and Mr. Branniff have projects in the Xerox queue as well. Should I have it notarized and a cover letter prepared?" Slim asked confidently from the doorway.

"Well, yes and a no. Please come in Mr. Beupour." Ross said hoping to drop the formality behind his office door.

"Slim this is a standard inquiry from our lawyers who will represent us as we've been summoned as a witness is an insider trading case. I just need you to tell me that you've done a complete job and that in familiarizing yourself with the monitoring of the transactions involved you didn't see anything unusual." Ross said raising an eyebrow to be sure he accented the importance of the inquiry.

"I'm familiar with the case and I figured out right away what the reason for the request was as it all unfolded. Our findings and notice to our subscribers was just good detective work. There is a timeline they will want to use on the case, but our suggestion to sell is clearly way ahead of the insiders sell. Energy futures were getting a big sell with no real product behind them. It mirrored the Anron scam with bad money propping up good. We saw it early when things didn't add up on some of their old deals and no actual cash was changing hands. We're fortunate that there are little investors who are just financial fans that subscribe. They were the fuse we saw burning. We are clean as a whistle on this and if we get to testify it's going to be like an ad for our services. Anyone who heeded our warnings had plenty of time to get out before they froze trading and the empty house collapsed." Slim said pounding his index finger to his palm as he made points.

"It's quite possible we caused the fold with so many middle scale investors pulling their money back. I think we kicked a leg out of the wobbly table, for sure. That all started when a Premier Member asked for a one on one consult that ended up as a conference call with Selena, Jay Fountain and I. Jay smelled the rotting fish right away just as the member did and patched Selena in. She was still getting her legs but saw what was happening and pulled me in. It was a real tour de force for us. This is why I think WE SHOULD schedule one on ones to pick the brains of our subscribers from time to time, maybe get a different view of things." Ross said with a confidant smile.

The ringing of Ross Curran's phone led to the end of their conversation but Slim felt a wave of personal satisfaction rush over him. He felt he was dealing with people on his level of financial prowess for the first time in his life and he was going to be a partner soon. He glanced at his watch and knew he was way overdue in calling Shelley and dashed to what would become HIS office to make the call. Nagging doubts about making the investment and fitting in seemed to dissolve in the last few hours. Knowing he would hold one of the keys to the future success of WSGG, and knowing the WHO of the other partners made his personal stock in himself soar.

Dialing the phone to Shelley held a bit of trepidation as he knew he had to look out for his own mental well being. His last experience of commitment with the opposite sex had torn him apart both mentally and physically and he was sure that he never wanted to go through that again. He wanted Shelley as much as she wanted him, BUT, knowing that love is trust and trust is love he hated to offer one caveat with his commitment to her. She would have to situate herself close by. He could not suffer the mental anguish of a long distance relationship. Commuting downstate every day was certainly do-able for him, but when he became a partner he would have to be readily available.

"Hello?" Shelley answered before the phone could ring a second time.

"Hi Angel, I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier, but I was really tied up."

"I understand. Listen before you say anything I want to go first and tell you something I've been dying to say each time we talked since you've been there.

I've fallen in love with you Slim and being away from you has just made those feelings more intense. If you've decided that a relationship is too much to add to your life, I want you to know that I'll wait for you until you're ready." Shelley said in an excited voice, hating herself already for not saying the exact words she planned when she rehearsed her spiel.

"Shelley, I feel pretty much the same way, but I have to ask you to do one thing to make this all work like it plays in my mind. How would you feel about moving down here with me? I trust you not to hurt me, but I need the security of you here with me. I know this isn't the long distance relationship I had before, but I need to hold and touch you. I know the old saying is "absence makes the heart grow fonder", but in my case it will make me weary. I've spent a lot of my life as a run-around, flashing my cash and good looks instead of looking into someone's heart. I'm not that shallow anymore. You're all I need and want to live out the second half of my life. Be with me and I'll be with you and I think we'll find a lot of happiness." Slim said pouring out his heart even more so than he planned.

Slim only heard crying on the other end of the phone as Shelley's emotions ran over. Instead of trying to soothe her he waited for her next reaction.

"You have such a good heart Slim and you're proving to be the man the man I hoped you were as I lived here away from you all these lonely nights. Your words tell me that you doubted yourself and tried to find contentment without me, and that's OK. It saddens me, but I think your heart of hearts needed to prove something to itself." Shelley said as her tears subsided.

"You stole my next words. I guess I didn't know I gave myself away. I was a bad boy once but the circum... " He started.

"Please Slim, no explanations. I understand and forgive you even though I have no real right to hold you accountable for these last weeks. What's important is us, and YES, I will come and be with you. I've already asked for a 6 month leave of absence from work here and I've agreed to a job down there. I'm going to tend bar at The Four Seasons until I can find something in the financial world. I can handle myself quite well in that situation and we can both feel safe in that."

"You,... you were THAT sure of us?" Slim said, almost stupefied.

"Yes, I was. I've never been so sure of anything in my life. For the first time since my sister died I feel whole again. Slim, I love you." She said with tears starting again.

"I love you too. How soon can you be here?" He asked impatiently.

"I need a day or two to close up the house, decide what I'm bringing and what to leave behind. I need a caretaker,... Oh God there's so much, but I start at 3 on Friday and... I'll tell you details later. Let me get started here. I wish I was there to give you a big kiss and a whole lot more. Call me as soon as you get home from work.

"I will. God, I want to run out in the streets shouting how much I love you. A few months ago I would have bet I never would fall in love again." Slim bubbled.

"Not to poke a hole in our balloon, but my coming to New York and living with you is to make sure this is all real. I obviously feel pretty sure; I've never lived with a man I wasn't married to. I never thought I would go back to tending bar, but for you I can do it, and this situation is great, The Four Seasons, and I'll end up bar manager like I was before. It's not a hangers-on or pick-up bar. But once I get settled in the city I might like to find a financial job, but let's not get ahead of ourselves." Shelley warned him. "If by the end of your temporary lease all is well we'll look for a place to call ours."

"Shelley, I love you. Umm... I have to get back to work. Thanks you for understanding everything and making me so happy. I'll talk to you tonight." Slim said knowing he had been away from the job too long.

It was hard to wipe the smile from Slims face for the rest of the day. He wanted to bubble over and tell the world, but the first people he wanted to discuss it with was Joe and Selena together. He would keep mum on it all, although he knew he would tell Deneigh on their walk home.

"Oh my God," he thought. "The walk home! How uncomfortable was THAT going to be? They had said they would act as if nothing happened, but... "

Slim decided to let the day pass and when quitting time came he would see how it played out. With the exception of a short meeting with the whole group updating them on what he had found in the stacks for the legal case, it was an uneventful day after the WayMart discussions and general message to the subscribers. Slim had taken a lot of notes from his observations on the financial news lines and the tickers available to him. Every few days he would sit with one of the partners and review things he saw and noted to give each of them a picture of what he saw and what he looked for in the numbers as the numbers geeks picked each others brains.

As 4:45 rolled around and he was packing his briefcase Deneigh's heels clicked in the big room as she made her last rounds turning off the coffee maker and locking each office before powering down the main frame and up-links.

"Slim you're walking me tonight, right. Nothing planned?" She asked as she passed by.

"Yup, all set. Nothing planned. I'll meet you in the front." He answered as he usually did glad that nothing had changed.

He would take his brief and go out front and wait for her to lock up. When he saw her through the window slipping out of her heels and putting on walking flats he knew it was only seconds before the door opened and she was out.

She smiled at him as she came down the steps and they began their brisk walk to their apartments. They made small talk as usual but when they came to a particularly busy corner with a traffic jam caused by a VIP motorcade she took him aside beside a phone kiosk.

"As long as we have to wait, let me get something off my chest. We got pretty drunk the other night and I make no secret about the fact we got pretty naughty together. I'm fully aware of everything that went on and I wanted everything to happen. Don't think for a second that you took advantage of me or that I don't remember anything. I remember it all and it was absolutely incredible sex. It went further than I intended but I'm not sorry for anything, but like we discussed we have to be sure that "it never happened". I want to be sure we're clear with that. As good as it was it was stupid to be with a co-worker."

"Deneigh, don't worry. It never happened for sure. No remorse or anything here. If anything, it made me miss my girlfriend even more and made a decision we had to make that much easier. She's coming to New York to live with me. We had a cooling off period to be sure all was right. She knows I had a fling but not with who and that's always a secret. "It never happened" is something I'm familiar with when I was a male trollop trying to bed down most of my co-workers and clients. I don't like the person I used to be then and the other night reminded me of that. I feel bad for the people we're involved with but I think we can put this aside and get on with our relationships." Slim said agreeing with Deneigh's view.

"I don't have a relationship any more, Slim." She said with an obvious lump in her throat. "What happened the other night has nothing to do with it, but he gave me an ultimatum of sorts to move overseas which I just can't do, and I found he was cheating. Not that I'm any better, but he has a full fledged relationship with someone. I'd rather not talk about it right now but let's say in the end it will make my life better."

Deneigh finished her words with Slim and wanted to move along before the lump in her throat turned to tears. It was now clear to cross the street and she grabbed Slims arm and the two of them continued their walk home. They remained wordless until they got to Slims door.

"I can walk you the last few blocks if you like." Slim offered.

"No, you've been sweet to listen to me and a comfort in more ways than you know. That good hot fuck the other night centered me, believe it or not. Some day when I become a partner that thought will become an occasional wink from across the board table. I'll remember it as the starting point of a new life with new goals." She said resisting the urge to hug him, but instead kissed him on the cheek and swiftly walked away towards her apartment building.

He watched her walk up the block and thought that if it were another time and he were 10 or 15 years younger she would be a definite interest to him. But, he already ached to speak with Shelley again and quickly headed up to his apartment to call her.

Deneigh fought off the urge to cry because the last thing she needed was a pity party hosted by herself for herself. As soon as she walked into her apartment she got on the phone to a guidance counselor for evening classes at Columbia and began to map out a strategy to get the partnership she wanted. Once she showed how serious she was about her future at WSGG and put out the grades to bear out her intent, she could be reimbursed for her schooling by the company. That would require signing a commitment deal and that would further cement her to the city where she wanted to remain. Although any of the partners would be happy to mentor her through, she looked up especially to Selena. She hoped she might groom her to slip into her seat at the tank when her commitment ended. She decided her quest would start in earnest that night.

Slim was flopped on his bed with the phone glued to his ear like a curious cheerleader taking a call from the football team captain. He was giddy talking to an equally giddy Shelley. Although sex wasn't his sole interest in Shelley, right now he could think of little else, and she felt no different.

"I'm thinking about the night I had you in my mouth. You were so delicious, strong and firm, I loved making you happy that way. Your juice was bitter but so satisfying knowing it came from you. Then when your mouth put out my fires I still yearned to feel you deep inside me. Now I want that more than ever. I want you to fill me everywhere. Take all of my... " Shelley began to say.

"Please stop, Shelley! I don't want to jerk off here on the phone with you. I want you to be here with me." Slim pleaded.

"It's what I want too, but I don't know if I can wait that long for release." She said frantically.

"Let's do it for each other then. I need to do a penance for you even though my sin assured me that I was ready for this relationship with you."

"Slim, my love, you owe me nothing but to love me. But if waiting will mean something to you, we can do that. Just know how badly I want you." Shelley pined.

"Listen to us, we're like a couple teenagers and in reality we both have a few too many trips around the block." Slim said trying to put things into perspective.

"Slim, making love to you will be special and still be a first time. No matter how many people we've been with, when we make love it will be ours and remain special forever. I hope I've been special already, because what we've had so far was very special for me; sort of magic and spontaneous, if you will. What I did for you is something I haven't done with every man I've been with, especially the end." She said nervously.

"Oh God, you HAVE been special. That was beautiful and loving; just watching your devotion made me want you the same way. PLEASE let's change the subject so you can settle things and get down here as fast as you can. Otherwise I'm going to be walking around New York with a tent in the front of my pants." Slim said getting exasperated at his condition.

"I'm sorry, hotpants! I'm pretty juicy here too, you know. I'll start making the arrangements here I have to make and I'll be there as soon as I can. Slim, I love you and look forward to being with you. It's not just the physical stuff I crave with you, it's you letting me be me and having someone special to laugh and talk with." Shelley said trying to wind down the conversation.

"You know I feel the same way, Shell. You do what you have to do to get here. I'll call you during the day tomorrow. Goodnight my love!" He whispered and hung up.