Chapter 1

Richard Wilson, or Rick, as he was known, placed the storage box on his kitchen table and thought that the contents of the box represented his thirty two years of work experience. Rick had asked for and had just taken an early retirement offer from the large insurance company he had worked for. There was some negotiating of the buyout package the company offered before Rick agreed to accept it but an agreement had been reached to both parties satisfaction.

In the negotiations, Rick had indicated that he might write a book and would be discussing some of the company’s skeletons and bad business practices that he was aware of. That remark caused the company to increase the buyout offer to two years of his salary which would be spread over four years. He would receive the normal retiree benefits, but he was required to sign a confidentiality agreement agreeing not to discuss the company in any way or the buyout offer.

Rick took a cold soda out of the refrigerator, sat at the kitchen table and thought it was a good thirty two years. He really enjoyed doing his job as a Claims Manager and thought he had done it quite well. The last year of his work however was a bitch which is why he asked for the early retirement buyout. He had a new boss during that year who was borderline incompetent and that just didn’t make the job fun anymore. He did have bad bosses in the past, but they were nothing when compared to his present boss. This lady had to be somebody’s favorite which was the only reason Rick could think of as why she was in her present position. It certainly wasn’t because of her ability or leadership skills. Rick had a reputation for telling it like it was and would only say, “She was a few cards short of a full deck” It was unbelievable that she was in this managerial position, but there were a number of things happening with the company that if the stockholders were aware of, they would be sellers of the company stock.

Rick could afford to take early retirement because of his 401K plan, his personal investments, and the lump sum he took instead of a pension. This lump sum was the amount of money it would take to purchase an annuity from a company for them to pay him his annual pension. Rick’s age, current interest rates, as well as the amount of the pension, were the critical factors in determining the amount of the lump sump. With present interest rates being low caused the calculation for this lump to be close to seven figures.

The company gave the employee the choice of taking a pension or the lump sum and it was one of the few companies that did it. There were rumors going around that the company was going to make major changes to the pension plan and the options, which was a factor in his deciding to do an early retirement before these changes were made.

While sipping his soda and looking at the storage box which contained his personal effects, Rick started reminiscing about his work career. He remembered some of the more interesting claims he handled or was involved with and at the same time remembered some of the women he had crossed paths with during that time. Certain women were very interesting and he thought of some of the sexually exciting situations he was involved in with them.

His work career started after he was released from his two years of active duty in the US Army. Rick had taken advanced ROTC while in college. The military hadn’t yet become an all volunteer force and the draft was still in effect. With his Second Lieutenant’s reserve commission, he elected the two year active duty commitment which should free him from monthly ready reserve meetings. Vietnam was just starting up and Rick was fortunate to be missing it. With his active duty obligation now behind him, he needed to find a job.

Rick went down to his university’s placement center and perused the career listings. Of the many listings he reviewed. the listing that caught his eye was the one for an insurance claims adjustor. It seemed that this could be an interesting career and there was a company car involved besides a decent starting salary.

The interview with the insurance company must have gone well, because he was offered the position and was told he would be assigned to at a claims office that wasn’t that far from his home.

Rick was an only child. His father was a hard worker and had been successful with the combination food and liquor store he owned. His father had a good business sense and used the some of the profits he made from this business to invest in stocks and real estate. His father knew Rick wanted to leave the nest and offered Rick one of his apartments to live in. This gave Rick the opportunity to be on his own and also have a little bachelor pad that he could invite the ladies to if the opportunity presented itself.

Rick wasn’t being conceited, but he knew he was a good looking guy. He was six foot two inches tall, one hundred and eighty five pounds with wavy brown hair. Both men and women had told him he was one handsome dude. Because of his looks it hadn’t been that hard for him to find female companionship. In a few of his relationships he was the one being pursued as opposed to him doing the pursuing.

This pursuit of him resulted a few times in a little problem that some of the women that Rick wasn’t interested in would bad mouth Rick when they realized that he wasn’t interested in them. There was nothing he could do to avoid this reaction from them which had him just accepted it. He had no problem in getting along with his male friends.

When Rick reported to the claim office he was to work at, he was warmly greeted by the claims office manager. He was given a company car and assigned to an experienced adjustor for his training. The job wasn’t rocket science but did require people skills. It required empathy with insureds and claimants who had been involved in accidents or reported losses. He did need to become familiar with the many intricacies of litigation as he learned that a number of injury claims resulted in law suits being filed.

In looking at the women who worked in the claim office he saw that their ages varied considerably. There were however some women that were attractive in all these age groups. Rick had made it a rule in his socializing with the office women of not dipping his wick in the company ink well, but as with all rules there could be exceptions.

One exception to his rule was Lana Kress. Lana was about two years younger than Rick, with auburn hair that came down to her mid-shoulders and a body that was dynamite. She had to have one of the nicest figures on a woman he had ever seen. She did emphasize her nice figure by wearing knee length tight skirts as well as tight sweaters or blouses. Her butt was nice but her breasts, at probably a thirty eight double D size, were her nicest feature. She was a head turner when she walked around the office.

While Rick appreciated her looks and would observe her, he thought he caught her watching him at times. He didn’t know when the opportunity would arise for him to see if he could have a relationship her, but he just had the feeling that something could be happening between them.

A number of the people from the office wanted to join a Friday night bowling league and they asked Rick if he was interested in being on the team. He told them he didn’t want to be a regular bowler but he would be a substitute if a need arose. The need did often arise and when he bowled he had a chance to talk with Lana, who was a regular team member.