Chapter 201: Giving Away Big Checks

Monday, May 9, 2005 (Continued)

I said, "Poor Chloe," as we watched her mother drag the Jezebel into the taxi, and be driven off.

Robert left us to do his own stuff. Julia and I wandered upstairs to her room, talking. Right at the top of my list of things to talk about was: "I am VERY sorry I ruined your plan for helping Chloe. It's just that..."

"Stop, Mark! What you did was WONDERFUL! I am very, very happy that you showed the strength of character to stand up for yourself despite it going against my plan. I'm delighted that you're toughening up. Yes, I would've liked to help Chloe, but helping you is millions of times more important. A month ago you would've cravenly done whatever Chloe wanted, and you would've apologized to her nonstop while doing it, but today you were decisive and staunch even though you thought you were letting me down. You spent longer on Chloe than I thought she was worth, but I still think it's amazing how much you've changed in just a few weeks. I'm DELIGHTED by you."

I knew she was right, but I thought I could have done better. When I tried to talk about it, the moment I said, "But", Julia cut me off. Other than more praises of me, one of her points was, "She threatened us, which was very stupid of her. But it's not all bad news. Her mother now thinks Chloe gets a sexual thrill out of flashing her tits at guys. With her mother's attitude to breasts, she's bound to think that needs urgent action. Hopefully she'll rush Chloe into badly needed counseling. I'll talk with Mom later, to see if there's any way we can make sure Chloe gets help, because what her parents are doing to her must be child abuse."

"I agree with that. The whole female taxi driver thing still makes me laugh. With horror, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah. Her daughter needed her, but she still waited for a female driver. Enough about Chloe. Should I invite Katelin on our trip tomorrow?"

That appeared to be the end of that, so I let the topic change. "I guess so. I'd better call the company to confirm the seven-seater plane and arrange to pay the deposit. It's a pity Mackenzie's parents wouldn't allow me to take Diana and Claire on the trip. Not that we have enough seats, or that it makes sense in other ways either, but they were fun to play with in the parking lot."

"You can do the same to the rest of us whenever you want, so what makes doing it with them so special?"

"That they're sisters is sexy. On second thought, that's not so important, as I'd still have enjoyed it whether they were sisters or not. It's not because they're prettier than you or my other girls, because they're not. I guess there's the thrill of playing with a girl I haven't played with before, plus the 'Corruption of Innocence' aspect. That sounds like the name of a melodramatic movie. I don't know for certain that they're innocent, but they both seemed that way. It's strange, because I know I can have better sex with you or my others, but I still like playing with them."

"Yes, 'strange' is one word for it. I've never had an urge to do anything like that to boys, so your urge must be another of those illogical male behaviors." Julia smiled at me, confirming it was a tease.

^-- "Never mind. You enjoy it, so that's fine. I'm reminded about something I wanted to tell you. Your talk with Diana about how she has to behave around you took about ten times longer than it needed. She was already eating out of your hand, so you just had to tell her what you wanted. Don't lay out your reasons step-by-tiny-step. I know you're trying to be gentle, but it's gentler just to tell her what you want than to make her concentrate on a slow, careful series of logical steps. With a long process like that, she would have worried about the destination, or that she'd make a mistake, or that you must think she's dumb. When you're already in control of someone, just tell them what you want, okay?"

"Okay. I'll try to remember. Maybe I treated her so cautiously because you've shown me how deadly little girls can be, haha. Chloe learned that the hard way, after making that accusation against you."

"Can't say I've ever thought of myself as deadly before. I've got to go downstairs shortly, to be deadly to some carrots and other vegetables for dinner. What are your plans for this evening?"

"Umm. Start by calling the airplane people to confirm the plane, get their bank account number to pay the deposit tomorrow and ask about booking a hotel room for the other girls. Prof suggested being cheap with them, so I can put them into as few cheap rooms as possible, right?"

"Definitely. You and your three main girls in your room, the seat-fillers in a lower-quality room. It'll do them good to see that our room is much better than theirs. It'll give them something to aspire to."

I asked, "I'd call them 'bed-warmers' rather than 'seat-fillers', and I'm amused by your status game, but that's all good. Won't we need to book a separate room for Carol though? I guess we'd say it was for Carol and Ava, to make it look better. Or do you think we can get away with only pretending to book another room?"

"Neither. Our room is a suite isn't it?"

"Ahh. I do remember something like that. I'm not sure what that means though?"

"You'll see when we get there, but it includes having more than one bed. The four of us can quite legitimately stay in a suite. We'll tell the other girls that you'll be in one bed with me mostly, and Carol in the other with Ava mostly."

"That's perfect then!"

"Yes it is. I'll make sure I tell Ava that the four of us will be in a suite, as that'll get her excited about getting you and Carol together. For the other three girls you just need one more cheap room. They can rough it by sleeping in one bed together if they have to."

Julia left me to go be deadly to some vegetables. I went to my study to ask the anti-bugger whether I could receive an email on my computer.

"Sure. I'll be finished here in a couple of minutes, then it's all yours. No sign of anything improper. Is this your desk, with the two 30-inch panels?" (I'd pointed at them when I'd asked about receiving an email, "on my computer.")

"Yeah, that's where I work."

"It's an unusual setup, having the two computers with the screens side by side like that, and one of the machines hardly being used."

I didn't know how he knew that, but he obviously did. "I work somewhat unusually. I like the two large screens though; they're a pleasure to use."

"They're impressive all right."

I excused myself to go back to the bedroom to make the call. Everything was easy: the seven-seater was still available, so it was allocated to us. The extra hotel room was booked while I was on hold as it only took a few seconds, and they said they'd send me their account details for my bank wire. The whole thing took very little time.

Known I was going to write some checks, I'd kept my checkbook with me when I'd dropped my schoolbag at home, leaving my bag being my excuse to walk my sisters inside so I could tell Donna that I wasn't going to be earning $2 million per day ever again. I pulled out my checkbook now and started writing.

The complete profit split, with my share adjusted because Prof had conveniently won more than we'd planned, were:

Person: Pre-Tax; After-Tax
Me: $6,700,000; $4,466,667 (Note)
F & S: $1,000,000; $666,667
V & P: $2,500,000; $1,666,667 (Note)
Andrew: $150,000; $100,000
Robert: $150,000; $100,000
Julia: $300,000; $200,000
Carol: $300,000; $200,000

Total: $11,100,000; $7,400,000

Note: $1,000,000 to be subtracted for Emergency Funds.

I wrote the checks for Andrew, Robert, Julia and Carol. For Mom and Dad's check, I made the amount $1,005,000, to return their $5,000 investment. Altogether, it was nearly two million dollars in checks; a new record for a single day's expenditure for me. I particularly admired Mom and Dad's check, and suspected they would too.

I put them all in my pocket with Julia's on top so I could pull it out easily. I went downstairs to the kitchen. Julia was doing food preparation work, which is something that I'd not normally interrupt, but I couldn't resist saying, "Looks like you're doing a good job."

"Not really. It's just something simple so we can hit the road quickly when Mom gets home."

"Nonetheless I'm impressed, and I think you should be rewarded appropriately." I pulled her check out of my pocket and passed it to her.

Julia knew what it really was for, of course - it'd be terrible if she thought she was going to get $300,000 every time she cooked dinner! - but liked the little joke. She admired her check for a few seconds, then said, "YOU'RE amazing! It's incredible that you can earn as much as you did."

"Your father helped me a GREAT deal. I couldn't have earned even as much as you're holding by myself."

"I'm sure Dad was very helpful, but he wasn't 'amazing'. There's no one like you."

"And I wouldn't have achieved a fraction of what I have without your motivation and help."

We had a mutual admiration conversation, which Julia won. After which I said, "One of the first things I've learned about having more money is that I have to go to the bank a lot more often. I have to go again tomorrow lunchtime to wire our deposit to the airplane company because I don't have a credit card yet, and to drop off the credit card forms Mom and Dad have to sign this evening. Seeing as I'm going to be in the area, do you want me to take your check to your bank and deposit it for you?"

"Yes thanks. On second thought, no. I've never deposited a check like this before, and I've got nothing planned for lunchtime tomorrow, so I'll come with you and deposit it myself."

"Okay. I've also got checks for Robert and Andrew, but I'm not sure when to hand them over. The sooner the better from The Boys' point of view I'm sure, but I'll be going home soon and I think I'd better spend the night there, because Mom's going to be bent out of shape when I tell her about today's fight."

"Today's massacre, you mean. What I saw wasn't a fight. None of them came close to even slightly hurting you, but you crippled each of them as easily as you wanted."

"I don't think Mom's reaction will be as confident..."

"I'll come with you. I'll finish making dinner, grab something for myself, and then come with you to provide moral support. It won't take me long. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Thanks. Mom tends to get very worked up at such times, so having you there might help. So what about The Boys' checks? Should I leave them here or take them with me, for another day, or what?"

Julia suggestion was, "I don't think you need to wait for Mom and Dad, because this is your gift to The Boys. Even though they're twins and get bundled together often, there's no need to do everything simultaneously with them. Give Robert his check now. I doubt Andrew will be home anytime soon, so leave his check with Robert. That way Andrew will probably get it tonight and you can still thank him verbally next time you see him. The checks are for 150 thou', right?"

"Yep. That's what we agreed, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm just being nosey. I'm fairly sure they've got no idea it's coming. Let's go give Robert his one now. I want to see his face."

Julia was getting excited at the prospect, and there was no compelling reason why not, so we went in search of Robert.

On the way we encountered some of the debugger guys, and I realized I should ask, "Umm, excuse me. My car is one of the ones you guys are checking, and I have to leave soon..."

Julia interrupted, "I asked them to do it immediately, when I handed over your keys."

One of the bug guys said, "I think it's been done, but ask the boss. He's in your backyard at the moment."

So we went out the back door, while I wondered what he'd be doing outside. They were 'sweeping' (I guess that's the right word) the exterior walls of the house. My car had been done, was reported as being clean, and I was given my keys back.

He added, "We'll be finishing in about half an hour. We haven't found anything so far today, so it looks like you've got nothing to worry about for now."

"Ahh, why did you add, 'for now'?"

"Because whoever you were worried about could come back tomorrow. We can only check the situation now."

"Of course. Silly me. I didn't think first."

Julia said, "Don't worry about it, Mark. Let's go talk with Robert."

On the way to find Robert, Julia said, "That 'for now' was probably his standard salesmanship line that he says to everyone. Making us worry enough to invite him back is good for his business."

"Good point."

We found Robert in The Boys' study (which the Williamses called "The Library", because "The Boys' Study" was a facetious nickname for the Guys' Room.)

I asked him, "Do you want to take a break from schoolwork to play some high-stakes 8-ball?"

"Not with you I don't! There's obviously a story behind that question, especially with the look on Julia's face?"

"I thought you might enjoy some high-stakes gambling now that you can afford it," as I passed his check over.

He looked at it, then looked again! His eyes bugged open. "What's this for?"

I had thought how to word this carefully, for maximum effect, "I figure you deserve a very large compensation for the terribly onerous task of living with Julia."

"You BEAST!" Julia let go my arm so she could start hitting it with both of hers.

I defended myself bravely, but she got several more punches and slaps in. When she'd fully expressed her righteous indignation (there'd been a lot of that happening around here recently), she hugged my arm again, explaining to Robert, "It's for being helpful to Mark's business, guarding the houses during the day, and things like that."

I agreed, "Yeah, that'd be the second reason." Which earned me another little slap on the arm.

Then we had to do the I-Can't-Accept-This thing, with Robert saying, "It's a small fortune. It's ridiculous."

I gave him a nicely mathematical reason, "You contributed your time and effort to help me earn what I earned. You know I earned that in just a few days. If we total up all the hours everyone put in, your fair share is a lot of money."

He was strangely unconvinced, "No way were the few little things I did worth this much."

Julia tried, "Dad and Mom have already approved the amount. If you argue they'll give us your account numbers and we'll deposit it ourselves."

"How can they think such a huge amount of money is fair?"

Julia said, "I know. It should be reduced to a tiny fraction of that, because of the pleasure you get from living with me."

I said, "There's a real reason which is no laughing matter. The last business I did got a bit worrisome, making it a good example of something that I worry about fairly frequently. Some of the stuff I can do is rather weird, and it's possible that being associated with me might result in your being caught up in unpleasant stuff. That payment is larger than seems normal because the situation is more worrying than it would normally be." I could see that he'd gotten the point, and I'd sobered the mood.