Chapter 50

Eleanor:

He was ... perfect. He never gave an inch -- and he told it how it was. If he said, 'Do this, ' he expected you to do it, period. When he said, "Practice Presentation One," it was right there in his voice -- his expectations. I knew I was going to Presentation Three before he did -- it was the next logical step. Then he put his hand on my ass -- and he owned it -- that was the vibe. Fine. I had no problem with that. I wanted him to -- I knew it right then.

It wasn't desperation, either -- I just sensed something. This guy wanted to own property -- and he knew how to build on it and cultivate it. He was a Boss Man -- and if all he was in charge of was himself, that was okay. Arthur had made demands, but they'd been simple and they'd had everything to do with him -- and they really hadn't been much, one way or the other. The attitude had been totally, different, though -- impersonal. With this guy, if I argued with him it would get VERY personal.

So there I was with my butt in the air -- the only person in the room doing anything like that. Okay, just about everyone was naked, and Presentation Three was not an unknown position, but it was still embarrassing -- and nasty, and a little bit of a thrill. He stood there, looking at my pussy, so I figured, 'What the heck?' and I wiggled my ass a little. I have no idea where it came from, and when his eyes popped up to meet mine, I was instantly nervous about it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time ... That's when he put his hand on my ass, watching me to see if I would get stupid -- and I didn't.

The next words out of his mouth had nothing to do with where his hand was; they were: "So tell me your sad tale." Clearly, he expected one...

I didn't have one. Things hadn't been great, but they hadn't totally sucked, either. It was just life, I guess. So I gave him the bare bones -- that I'd parted company with Arthur on Saturday and it was just me and Reggie. He seemed to expect me to be bitter about Arthur -- but in truth, I was relieved. Arthur was as dull as dirt, and under normal circumstances, I'd have been kowtowing to him until one of us fell over dead, too chicken to move on. This was an adventure -- and a chance to do better.

The guy was up-front about how he was and how he wanted things -- and it would have scared a lot of people, I guess. He said, "I'm a mean bastard. I'm demanding and when I want something, I expect to get it. If you give me shit, you'll pay for it and it's a sliding scale at about ten to one. I deal out humiliation -- but I'll slap you around if I think you deserve it. I like to fuck in public -- and if I pick out three random guys for you to give blowjobs while I'm plowing your ass, you'll swallow their loads while remembering who gets first call on your attention, or I'll beat your ass..."

I listened to the list and when he was done, the only thing that came to mind was, 'Yeah, but... ' -- so when he asked for a response, I just said, "Okay."

It rocked him. "Okay?" he said, "That's it? Just, 'Okay?' Did you, like, understand what I just said?"

I just smiled at him. "It's attention. It sounds like a lot of attention."

I'd upped the ante -- and that more or less wasn't allowed. He didn't think I was taking him seriously, so he decided to get my attention. He had me yell for Reggie, then unloaded on him, "I'm gonna fuck your momma, kid. You understand? You got a problem with that?"

I knew as well as he did that this wasn't for Reggie's benefit -- it was about embarrassing and humiliating me. It worked -- but it didn't mean that either of us was done. I assured Reggie that everything was fine and sent him off to play. I knew I'd won the round when the guy asked, "You've been doing this how long?"

He wasn't bluffing, though; his next question was, "Are you wet?" He was committed and not just talking trash -- and he wanted to make sure I knew it. He'd announced to Reggie and any witnesses standing nearby that he was going to have sex with me -- so he was. Was I wet? Yeah ... Why? I don't know -- excitement? I'm sure there is some psychobabble explanation -- all I know is that he was pushing my buttons.

His dick pushed more than that! I think he made two of Arthur -- one and a half, for sure! He asked about it and I admitted it -- and he got a kick out of it. He asked if I wanted to stop -- and when I said no as carefully as I could, he STILL threatened to pull out and stop ... He was the boss, and he wanted to hear me acknowledge it, so I said so ... He kept playing head games, like, "What if I decided to put rings in your nipples?"

The answer was SOOO simple... "Do you like them?" My head was totally in the game; if he showed up with a set, I would try not to scream too loud...

I knew I had him when he said, "Shut up and fuck, slut."

He was rough and fast and probably angry -- and wonderful! He was in me so deep, pounding hard ... Arthur would climb on and pump for a minute or so, and it would be over and he would go to sleep -- and I would go to the bathroom and get out my hidden vibrator and finish myself while Arthur's goo dripped out of me. This ... this was TOTALLY different! I watched him over my shoulder and we spent a lot of time with our eyes locked -- and he was a wild man and I loved it! It had been years since Arthur brought me to orgasm -- and this guy did it in three minutes -- maybe less! When I came down, I goofed off a little -- and THAT didn't fly! He gave me a solid swat on the ass and I got the hint and tightened up on him; it was better that way, anyway ... And then a bit later I realized that it was going to happen AGAIN...

He got off, too -- and he made funny faces and funny noises, but I was peaking, too, and it added to things ... He didn't let me slide; when he pulled out, the first thing he did was give me another handprint and tell me to suck his gooey dick.

Arthur was a self-declared 'purist'; he liked pussy, period. No blowjobs, no hand jobs, no pussy licking -- stick it and pump, with very little warmup. Somehow, we created Reggie ... I wasn't very good with my mouth -- but I did it and I enjoyed it. I was SOOO happy -- for once, I was the center of attention -- and the embarrassment and humiliation were worth it! The guy kept calling me slut -- and the word had this weird dual effect on me; I would flinch, but my pussy would spasm.

When he was done, he stepped back and said something about considering me among his other candidates and he took my contact number. I knew it was probably over, but then he'd never offered anything and I'd gotten quite a bit. Maybe I'd gone too far ... Well, it didn't matter; I had a wonderful memory, if nothing else, I decided, as I watched him walk away.

Dr. Rhonda Patterson:

I spent Monday morning in concubine classes -- like I had a choice. It was a come-down from being the Linguistics Lead at the Brinkman Foundation, but a six point five was tough for a female to get -- and I'd missed by two tenths of a point, doctorate and all. There had been some noises about trying to get exceptions for senior staff that didn't make it -- but that's all there had been. Well, the Sa'arm didn't use language as we knew it, anyway, apparently, so I was useless in my old job; maybe it was time to settle down and raise a family -- as if I had a choice...

Some things weren't to be borne, though; I'd gotten three calls from Farris Lieberman -- and hadn't taken them. There was just NO WAY I was THAT desperate. Maybe there was a nice garbage man out there...

Just after lunch, the AI (how many were there, anyway? One? Six? Ninety-five?) spoke through my collar, <You have a communication waiting, Rhonda Patterson.>

"Not Lieberman again..."

<The concubine Britney Shelton, assigned to Doctor Hopkins, > the AI replied.

"Oh! Put her through!"

"Rhonda?"

"Hi, Britney. How are things on the right side of the tracks?" I answered.

"Lonesome."

"Really? I thought Dr. Hopkins had two concubines, anyway -- where is the legendary Vera?" I asked.

"Out creating new legends," Britney replied, surprising me. "She's a sponsor. What's more, she picked up Big Mike and Cletus White for boy toys!"

"Wow!" I gasped.

"Yeah. She and Oliver are pursuing things at the top level, but each of them has their own slots to fill -- which brings me to the reason for this call..."

"Britney..." If she was jerking my chain...

"So, have you had a lot of calls from prospective sponsors?" Britney asked.

"If you don't count Farris Lieberman -- and I don't -- no," I replied.

"So ... I'm not the Godfather, or anything, but if I were to make you an offer you couldn't refuse... ?" Britney drawled.

"Oliver?" My heart gave a little flip-flop. Britney and I had talked about Oliver, well, incessantly, when laying out our pickup hopes...

"The same..." Britney was enjoying this... "I just HAPPENED to mention your name..."

"Don't tease me!" I pled.

"But it's so much fun!" Britney cackled. "This isn't the Oliver you THINK you know -- the one under Vera's thumb! I WATCHED him BEAT Vera with a riding crop while she was still a concubine!"

"Oh, my!" I gasped. "You're kidding, right?"

"Uh uh! I can name witnesses! Heck, Vera would probably tell you herself!" Britney swore.

"Brit, is he ... well ... were we kidding ourselves?" I asked diffidently.

"Ha!" Britney laughed. "If anything, we underestimated him! Omigawd!"

"When should I come by?" I was shaking.

"Soon. Any time. You know how the girls get when they smell fresh blood..." Britney reminded me.

"Where are you?" Britney gave me an address. "Is he home?"

"Not yet, but it'll be all right. Come on up -- we can talk about how we're going to chop him up," Britney giggled.

"I'm on my way!"

Oliver:

I spent most of the afternoon with Dave, trying to unwrap some personnel issues. Harriet looked a lot better than she had at version one point oh, but she was still without anything resembling interest or support. Apparently, her ovaries WERE capable of stimulation -- something that continued to be a scary thought for a number of us. Then there were a number of dependents ... Dave was absently fondling Peg's left breast through most of the session -- and I heard no complaints. Thank God for the end of the politically correct workplace... "Where is Antonio?" I asked at one point.

"Home with young Rory, believe it or not," Dave replied, grinning.

That brought another question -- one I'd been holding. "Has anyone looked in on Rhonda?"

"Farris is all over her, to my understanding," Dave replied. "I was giving her a day or two to deal with the whole demotion thing, but Farris..." Leiberman wasn't one to pass on such an opportunity.

"I discussed her with Britney," I sighed. "Too bad, I guess."

"Yes..." Dave muttered. "So how is the family shaking down?"

"It's early," I replied. "Vera swears that she wants to continue to live with me, but she took on Mike and Cletus. Maureen is out on her own with a young man in tow. Beth, of course, is taken care of -- and even pregnant, I'm told. That leaves Judith." I shook my head. "You should have seen her personal ad."

Dave chuckled. "Jack tended to be unforgiving of failure this morning ... Young Abe made quite a little commercial..."

"Indeed." I chuckled, myself.

I went home to collect Britney for dinner -- only to find Rhonda! "Well, good evening!"

"Good evening, Doctor." Rhonda actually blushed. She was a bit taller than Britney -- an inch or maybe two -- but otherwise very similarly built. I noticed that she had spiky nipples; was that a general feature, or had the girls been playing, I wondered...

"I understand that Doctor Lieberman has taken you under his wing," I began, "how is that... ?"

"HE HAS NOT!" Rhonda erupted hotly. "Not if he were the last man..." She gathered herself in. "Sorry!"

"I'm ... sympathetic," I muttered. "You have ... other options..."

"That's why I'm here," Rhonda said diffidently. "Britney seems to think..."

"Oh?" I played dumb, for reasons related solely to enjoying the results. "I'm afraid she might be mistaken. I picked up a couple of teenagers, two young mothers and a very nice couple this afternoon, thinking you were..."

"Oh, God!" Rhonda covered her face.

"Oliver..." Britney cocked her head. "Rhonda, one of the things I HAVE learned from Vera is that Oliver is a poor liar. You ARE lying, aren't you?" she challenged.

"Guilty as charged," I chuckled -- then immediately felt horrible; Rhonda was crying. "Oh, my! That was thoughtless of me! I'm so sorry!" I stepped forward and collected Rhonda in my arms, rubbing her back while she cried into my chest.

"Beast!" she accused, swatting me on the shoulder, her face still buried. "You scared me to death!"

"Yes, well..." I really had no answer for that.

After a bit, she backed off a little and wiped her face. "Now that I look like a total hag, tell me -- am I here for nothing?"

"Well, that would be up to you..."

Britney rolled her eyes. "He's SO obtuse!"

"Oliver," Rhonda swore, her eyes holding mine. "I know the rules. Anything you want, you can have. That's how it is, anyway, now -- but you could have had it -- Gawd -- two years ago? Without the specter of Vera, I'd have camped out under your desk!"

"You'd have had to share!" Britney giggled.

"Vera is a lot more than a specter, Dear, but she has other outlets. You'll have to get along, but I don't think that is the issue it once was," I opined.

"Please ... Tell me I can stay..." Rhonda begged.

"AI?" I muttered.

"Recording."

"I hereby do whatever it is necessary to offer a contract of concubinage to Rhonda Patterson."

"Rhonda Patterson?" the AI prompted.

"I accept!" She bounced a bit and I enjoyed the jiggle of her unfettered breasts.

"Duly recorded," the AI intoned.

Rhonda put a hand on my chest and asked, "Do you want something now? I'd be happy..."

"Let's go eat. I'll content myself with a little manual exploration, for the nonce," I replied. Turning, I beheld Judith. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." Judith smiled wanly. "I think one of my options is slowly disappearing." She seemed bothered. "Daddy? I met a guy today ... I'm not sure you know about him -- he's the transporter room guy."

"Yes?" I didn't see the point...

"He's a crewman -- the Valhalla is his duty station, as he calls it. It's his colony. If I were to pick him, I couldn't stay with the family..." She looked away, blinking.