Chapter 29

At first, the voice caught me off guard. Due to the fact that for several months other than Steve, my family using the Internet as well as Dr. Sung, no one had spoken English to me in half a year. Looking up from the book I was reading, I first spotted a pair of tanned muscled legs not contained by panty hose. Continuing up, the legs merged into a brown business skirt, blouse and jacket, to be topped by a tanned face with long straight blond hair; in all, the woman in front of me looked as if she had just walked off the beach.

Replying to her question, all I could get out, was, "Excuse me?"

Looking down at me, she replied, "I asked if I could sit down for a minute."

Looking around I could see that the lounge was half-empty and with her asking to sit with me, I figured she was there like so many others, to try to solicit my services on behalf of some relative.

Being the first blond I had seen outside of the lab in months, I nodded, setting my book down. As soon as she was seated (next to me instead of across from me), she stated, "For a person so young, you have created quite the controversy."

Playing the game, I answered, "I don't see how. I study and play a few sports and work in a medical facility. Normally I am not in trouble with the law and I don't go looking for fights. Not that my minders (I motioned to the two people sitting nearby) would let that happen anyways."

Playing the game, she smiled, adding, "You seem to be missing a few things on that resume of yours. First of course, is your coaching, to be closely followed by your ability to be in the right place and time when people who have suffered severe injuries have miraculous recoveries."

"If that were true then maybe my grandfather would still be around," I replied.

"Maybe, I am sorry for your loss. I am sure we could go around in circles with this for hours or more but that is not why I am here today," she said.

"I'm glad that we're getting to the reason for your visit because I was wondering why a pretty lady such as yourself who has not introduced herself would travel several thousand miles, if my guess to where your accent is from, to ask to sit next to me in a half empty lounge."

"I apologize. My name is Jamie Ferguson and I work on the national shooting team as one of the coaches." Looking around at the people in the lounge, she added, "As to why I am here I can assure you that it is not due to your medical knowledge on behalf of me or anyone I know. With that being said, I would like to invite you to dinner this evening at my hotel. I have arranged for us to have a private dinner where we could continue to discuss the reason I am here."

Not having a reason not to have dinner with a pretty lady I agreed to dinner though I did state that I would be having my mentor along with me as I had no idea who she really was outside of a name I did not know. Although she had asked for a private dinner, I pointed out that it would not be a secret stating that in addition to my two minders there were seven or eight other people who had taken an interest in our conversation. Each of them had been added to the classes I had but up until now, they had all kept their distance evidently being content to observe and report on my behavior.

Stating that I was going to be accompanied to dinner did put a frown on her face, explaining that Steve was my mentor did lessen the severity of the frown as she stated that she would try to arrange a suitable companion for Steve at dinner.

Arriving at the hotel Steve and I were told that we were not eating in the dining room but instead our dinner was planned for one of the penthouse's that had a kitchen. Being escorted to the penthouse, Steve and I were met at the door by Jamie and another lady who was older than Jamie was, but younger than Steve, by the name of Natalie who after introductions picked up the conversation with Steve. That of course left Jamie to focus on me, with conversation being somewhat light before and during dinner. The conversation after dinner was another matter, because once the chef departed along with the wait staff, Jamie and Natalie turned to the reason for their visit.

Bold and audacious would be two of the words I would use to describe what they wanted to do. What they wanted was nothing short of the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic Games. In seventeen months, Brazil was set to host the games, but before the games began certain Australian Olympic committee members as well as other interested parties, wanted me to consult with the athletes as I had done with the softball, volleyball, and track teams. Sierra and Valerie were also mentioned by name with a greater emphasis on Valerie as her elevated play had continued in college after I had left for Korea.

At first, I did not see a problem spending a year down in Australia with the more sexually liberated women there. Because right now other than a couple of times with women I had to pay for, Steve and I were outcasts with people outside of the university looking at both of us as something less than human. The problem I did have was their suggested level of payment for my services for a year and a half. When they mentioned what they wanted to pay I outright rejected their suggestion and were it not for Steve who calmed me down long enough for him to negotiate for me, I would have walked out of their room and never looked back.