Chapter 39

William stared at Lucy in shock. Unable to believe what he thought he had heard her say, he asked, "Excuse me?"

Pointing to the woman at the front of the conference room of the Carter House, Lucy said, "I asked her to remove her clothes."

"I thought I misunderstood you," William said. He glanced over at Mary Gold. The woman had her head down and was hiding her mouth behind her hands. The twinkle in her eye suggested that she was trying not to laugh.

The twenty-four year old woman standing at the front of the room was stunningly beautiful. She had shoulder length brown hair, green eyes, sensuous lips, and a body that most women would willingly sacrifice their first, second, and third-born children just to have it for a year. Totally unphased by the request, she calmly unbuttoned her blouse while watching William. Once the buttons were undone, she removed her blouse and put it on the chair.

Ignoring the action at the front of the room, William was staring at Lucy unable to believe what she had requested. Incredulous, he asked, "Why would you do that?"

Lucy ignored him and watched the woman undress. She found it hard to believe that William wasn't watching the strip show at the front of the room. Trying to sound business-like, she asked, "Did Mary Gold explain all of the requirements of the job?"

Watching William and amazed by the fact that he was ignoring her strip show, the woman dropped a lacy bra onto the chair and answered, "Yes, she did."

"What requirements?" William asked wondering if there was anything in the job description that he had missed. He looked over at Mary Gold, but the woman had turned her back to him. It looked like she was having a hard time keeping from laughing. He looked down at the resume once again. The woman was a phenomenal job candidate and he could hardly believe that someone so qualified had applied to be his personal assistant.

"Are you bisexual?" Lucy asked watching William out of the corner of her eye.

"Yes," she answered. She was pleased that William did not turn to look at her with the kind of leer that most men would have upon hearing her answer. He was too busy staring at Lucy to even spare a glance in her direction.

Lucy nodded her approval and said, "Good."

"Huh?" William stared at Lucy as if he had never met her before.

The woman removed her business skirt and placed it on the chair. She stood before them wearing a white garter belt, stockings, and lacy panties. She placed a foot on the seat of the chair and undid the garter. She rolled the stockings down her legs. Lucy watched her strip looking for imperfections in that amazing body. She noted that the woman trimmed her pubic area rather than shave it bare.

The woman noticed where Lucy was looking and said, "I can have it waxed bare if that is preferable."

Lucy looked at William wondering what his preference was in that area. It suddenly seemed strange to her that the topic had never come up in one of their conversations. She noticed that he was staring at her open mouthed. Smiling at her husband, she said, "Close your mouth."

Barely registering what she said, he closed his mouth. Finally, he managed to asked, "What is going on here?"

Pointing to the woman, Lucy asked, "Do you think she's devastatingly beautiful?"

For the first time since she had started stripping, William looked over at the woman. She was posed like a beauty queen; wearing nothing except for a smile. He examined her in the same manner he would if his opinion was asked about a piece of art. She had all the right parts in all the right places. She had a completely different body type than Lucy. He answered, "I suppose that most people would think so."

A little disappointed at William's reaction to the naked woman, Lucy shook her head knowing that she should have expected it. Looking at the woman, Lucy said, "You can get dressed."

The woman started to dress while thinking that either William was gay or he had the most control over his sexuality of any man she had ever met. She watched him while she dressed. It was easy to see that his attention was not on her. Although that was the result she had hoped to see, it was still surprising.

His confusion was beginning to turn into frustration. With more of an edge to his voice, William looked around the room before asking, "Will somebody tell me what is going on?"

"What do you think of her qualifications for the job?"

"They are outstanding," William said glancing down at her resume. This was the third time she had asked and he didn't understand why Lucy kept asking that question.

"Can you work with her?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure that the job will be challenging enough for her," William answered gesturing at the candidate with the resume.

Mary Gold bit back a laugh at the suggestion that the job wouldn't be challenging enough. Keeping track of a Carter was a full time job. Lucy said, "The position of personal aide for William is yours if you would like it."

"Thank you, I would like that very much," she answered.

Turning to face Mary Gold, Lucy said, "When she's finished dressing, we'll have the next candidate."

"It has been a tradition among the Carter Clan for staff, including new hires, to participate in the interview with the subsequent candidates," Mary said.

"Ah, I wasn't aware of that," Lucy said. She looked at Mary Gold for a moment and then asked, "What about Lisa, Ken, and the bodyguards. Shouldn't they be here?"

"They've already met with the candidates and approved them," Mary Gold answered with a smile. She had already run the candidates past the existing staff while the couple was on their honeymoon.

"Oh," Lucy said. She glanced over at William and said, "I see no reason to break a family tradition."

"Barbara Gray, you are now the personal aide for William and Lucy. Their schedule and personal needs are now in your hands," Mary Gold said.

Barbara finished dressing, opened the door, and called for the next candidate. Once the woman entered, Barbara took a seat beside Lucy. Accepting the stack of folders from Mary Gold, Barbara removed the top one. Turning to William and Lucy, she said, "This is Ms. Sandra Wells. She's interviewing for the administrative assistant position. Her job will be to make things happen."

Frustration on full boil at never having his original question answered, William asked, "What is going on?"

Lucy examined the folder for a minute and liked what she saw. She looked up at the woman standing at the front of the room with a smile. She handed the folder to William and asked, "Would you tell me what you think of her credentials?"

Looking down at the folder, William could see that this woman was very qualified. He was surprised that she would even consider the position based on her resume. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "I'm impressed. Her credentials are impeccable. So tell me what is going on."

"Would you mind taking off your clothes?"

"No problem," Sandra answered. She removed the coat of her business suit and placed it on the chair beside her.

In a very firm voice, William said, "Hold it. Lucy, if you don't tell me what is going on I'm going to get up and leave."

Sandra looked over at Mary Gold to see if she should continue to undress. It was easy to see that William had reached the limit of his patience. Kelly had warned Mary Gold and Lucy that this would happen. A small gesture from Mary let her know that she was to stop.

Sighing, Lucy said, "It's a long story."

"I'm willing to listen," William said settling back in his chair with his arms crossed.

Gesturing to the other women in the room, Lucy said, "I guess I should start with the problem."

"I wasn't aware that there was a problem, so that might be a good place to begin."

"Women have been throwing themselves at you wherever you go. Don't deny it, everyone has been commenting on it."

William shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's what people have been telling me. I haven't seen any signs of it."

Fully aware that he hadn't noticed, Lucy said, "It's true. Your mothers and I discussed this matter. We came up with a solution to the problem."

"That solution is?"

"I am going to make sure that you are surrounded by the most beautiful women possible. I want to know that any woman who approaches you is going to be intimidated by them. I expect that the majority of gold diggers will back off immediately."

"So why ask them to strip?" William asked afraid that he knew what the answer would be.

"I don't want you sleeping with women who are anything less than perfect," Lucy answered. She looked over at the woman at the front of the room and said, "Please, continue getting undressed."

"Don't undress. Who said that I was going to be sleeping with them?" William asked getting angry. "In case you've forgotten, we got married a month ago."

Rolling her eyes, Lucy pointed to the woman at the front of the room. She said, "Look at her. She's gorgeous. There's no way a red blooded male will be able to work with her for any length of time before he's tempted to sleep with her. You will try to sleep with her."

"That doesn't mean that she'll want to sleep with me and you know that I would never ask," William countered defensively.

"Ah, William. You don't get it, do you?"

"Probably not," he answered thoroughly confused by his wife's behavior during the entire interview process.

"You and Eddie are so much like your fathers," Mary Gold said. Shaking her head, she said, "I only worked with them for a couple of months before I was head over heels in love with them. Believe me when I say that the women who work for you will feel the same way."

"The women we hire are not going to be able to work with you for any length of time without wanting to sleep with you," Lucy answered in a matter of fact voice. At the wedding parties, she had talked to every woman who had ever worked for the Carters and it had been the same story over and over.

"You've been talking with Momma Kelly, haven't you?" William asked.

"Your mothers and I talked a lot while you were working on your dissertation. Kelly pointed out some things to me that I had never considered. We worked through my feelings about fidelity and true love," Lucy answered. Initially, she had been devastated by what Kelly had suggested. She was hurt at the idea that William would cheat. The fact that his own mother had said it was a forgone conclusion that he would be tempted at some point in time only made it worse.

Watching him during the months after William had returned from Texas had opened her eyes. She had seen how William and the women around him reacted to each other. He was oblivious to the women who flirted outrageously with him. The same couldn't be said about them. It seemed to her that a third of the women between the ages of sixteen and fifty looked at him with far more desire than was comfortable for her. She knew what Kelly meant when she said that William wouldn't chase, he'd be pursued. All that would be necessary was one moment of weakness and he would fall.

Shaking his head, William said, "It's not right to require them to sleep with me as part of their job."

Surprised by his assumption, Barbara said, "It is not a requirement of the job."

"So why strip?"

Barbara looked over at Lucy as if seeking permission to speak. Nodding her head, Lucy gave permission for her to explain. She said, "To see if you were worthy of having me work for you."

"Huh?"

"I needed to see your reaction to my body. The last thing I want is to work for someone who only sees me as a pretty face. The man or woman who I work for must see my mind first and my body second," Barbara answered with far more venom in her voice than William expected. When Mary Gold had said that she could be naked during the interview and William would ignore it had been so absurd that she had challenged Mary Gold to prove it. Every other interview she had been on had ended with the suggestion that her duties might include activities outside the office. Years of being treated like some sort of centerfold had soured her on most men.