Chapter 25

It was obvious that I wouldn't be able to repair my shirt and jacket, so someone eventually found me a shirt to wear. Several guards lived at the embassy, and one was big enough that I could fit into one of his golf shirts. With the party breaking up the way it did, there was a lot of extra food. After they escorted the Prince and his family to the Ambassador's private residence for dinner, Lola and I went to the kitchen, helped ourselves to some food, and took it back to her office to eat at her desk.

After we ate, we dropped the plates back in the kitchen and rode in my truck back to my house. As you'd expect, before we left, they reminded us that we couldn't tell anyone about what happened at the Embassy tonight. Doing so would mean that I'd find myself at risk for retaliation.

Therefore, Lola and I now had a secret that we shared. As we walked in, Shawna looked at me funny. "Did you change clothes? You weren't wearing that when you left the office. The golf shirt with the suit pants don't match well. How many times do I need to tell you to check with me about what you're wearing?"

"We got mugged after dinner, and during the altercation, I guess that one of them cut me, so I had to get something else to wear home. I also need to get the shirt and jacket replaced. When I originally purchased the suit, I ordered two pairs of pants with each. I went ahead and ruined the jacket. Now I have two pairs of pants and no matching jacket."

"You got mugged, are you OK?"

"Lola and I are fine. He was just a bum. He cut my arm and took two hundred bucks. I'm more upset about the shirt and jacket. Those cost more than the two hundred out of my wallet."

Lola said, "He doesn't want to talk about it, but he got six stitches and the doctor said he'd be fine. He gets upset when anyone brings it up, so let's just not talk about it, if that's OK?"

Shawna said, "If that's what you want, then that's OK with me. Britt, Bill said that he thought the meeting went well today, and the more he thinks about it, the more excited he gets."

"I'm glad. reduce the amount of time that we spend running and sitting around just to get five minutes of face time."

"I think you're right. I hope you're right. I love what we do, but the 'Hurry Up and Wait' game gets old," she said.

Lola said, "I love what I've seen so far of your new place. Can you show me the rest of the house?"

I took her to the basement and showed her the pile of stuff. She liked the kitchen, and I talked about what I wanted to do out in the garden. We went back through the dining room and living room. Then we went upstairs to see the den and the parlor. She liked the library, even though we didn't have that many books. There was one guest room on the second floor. On the third floor was my master suite, with a sitting room and a small office. There was a second bedroom and bath on the third floor. The fourth floor was three bedrooms and two baths. Shawna and Annie both took rooms on the fourth floor. We thought that we'd use the second floor bedroom if Craig or another business associate came in town. The guest room on the third floor would be if I had a personal guest. The top floor guest room would be for Annie or Shawna's guests.

Lola said, "It looks like you have room here for a few more. Are you looking to reduce the rent? If so, I may have some interest. Shelly would have a fit, but we have been roommates forever."

"No, the house is full. We have the other rooms reserved for the occasional guest from the company who owns the house."

"How did you find it?"

"The guy I work for knows the owner."

"It's good to know people."

"Yes it is." We were coming down from the top floor, and we ended up in the sitting room on my couch in my suite. We started to make out and she was getting hot and bothered.

She was straddling my lap when she leaned back and said, "When I heard the gunshot, I was so scared. I thought they were coming to get us. I watched security run out into the hall while others ran to the ambassador and the Prince. When they finally gave the all clear, my body came down from the rush I was having and I felt worn out. Then I heard of your involvement, and I became scared, because I didn't know you well enough to know what to think, so my nerves went crazy again. Then they told me that you saved that girl and I became relieved that you weren't the bad guy, but wanted to get to you and ask your forgiveness for the negative thoughts that I had. When I saw you with all the blood on you it frightened me, but then they told me that it wasn't a bad cut. We had to act calm around Shawna and now I'm excited that I can be with you. Would it be all right with you, if I just asked you to hold me for a while? I'm so exhausted now, and I'll bet that you feel the same."

"I'd be happy to hold you. Would you like to spend the night, so I can hold you all night?"

"I'd like that a lot."

I guess the adrenalin rush and the difficulties of the night got to both of us. We both just tossed and turned until the early hours of the morning. It was after three before I heard her sleep and at least another hour for me.

I was in a very sound sleep, when before we knew it, the sound of Annie screaming as she came bursting through the door, suddenly woke us both up. She was screaming, "We got the job, we got the job!"

Her scream made me jump. I was out of bed and looking for the cause before I realized that I was standing there naked, except for a bandage on my shoulder. Annie stopped in her tracks and looked at me. She looked at the surprise on my face, then the bandage on my shoulder. She then let her eyes look to my chest, abs and then my nine-inch morning wood. Her eyes stayed there for a long pause, and when she saw my fists clenched, she started to apologize and tell me that everything was OK.

Lola was just waking up, but had enough wits about her to say, "Everything is alright. We got mugged last night and he's still a little jumpy." By now, she was out of bed and had her hands on me. Lola was rubbing my back with one hand and my chest with the other saying, "It's OK. It's OK."

Although I was still groggy, I had figured out where I was and by then, had become calm. I said, "I'm sorry Annie. You just surprised me, and we couldn't fall asleep until after three. Did you say that Craig gave you the job?"

She came to me even though I was naked and wrapped her arms around me. She said, "I'm sorry that I scared you. I'm sorry that you got hurt. Are you alright?"

"I am," I said, as I broke free and grabbed a pair of gym shorts off the chair near the bed. "I don't really want to talk about it, but we're both alright and I'll just have a small scar to remember it by."

"I'm glad you're both safe. Craig and Susan hit it off well, and they knew some of the same people from where he used to work."

"UPS?"

"Yes, they were the customer at the firm she was with before she went out on her own. Craig liked our presentation and we even signed a contract before his wife joined us, and we went to dinner. Susan wants to meet you, and Craig mentioned that you want to kick the hornets' nest with some congressman from Maryland."

"Just let me know when she wants to get together, and I'll be there," I said.

"She's downstairs right now."

"In that case, Annie, can you please ask her if she can just go home, or somewhere, and tell her that I'd be happy to take you all out to lunch at noon. I'm trying to keep some distance between our work and our personal lives. I know that won't be the case all the time. Sometimes it will just be easier for both of us, but now isn't one of those times. I have a guest and I'm not even awake yet. Let me take a shower and then we can go to lunch and become acquainted. Alright?"

"You're right. I was just so excited and wanted her to meet you. She can wait another hour. I'm sorry for bursting in here."

"You're forgiven. Now get."

She hurried down the stairs. A few minutes later, I heard her go by again on the way to her room. Lola said, "Do you want to take me home or should I call a cab?"

"I'd like for you to have lunch with us. If I take a quick shower, can I drive you home to change?"

"I'd like that."

I got clean, and when I walked down, the girls were talking, and I overheard Annie saying, "It was huge. I'm not sure if it would fit."

She got quiet quickly when I came around the corner. She told me the name and address of the diner and I took Lola home. Shelly was there and we talked about nothing while Lola showered and changed.

Susan apologized right after we met. She said, "My job is to help you act correctly to project the right image and message, and Annie and I got so excited that we just did the wrong thing. For the last hour, I've been kicking myself, and I'm very sorry."

I shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it. When you're chewing me out sometime, I'll say that nobody is perfect and you'll have to back off. I have a get out of jail free card, so I'm in a good mood. Let's see if this place has anything good to eat."

I ordered first and had a patty melt with fries. All four girls had salads. I called the waitress back and added a strawberry milk shake. If they were going to make me feel bad about not having something healthy then I thought it would only be fair to remind them that there were some tasty treats out in the world. I was halfway through the meal when I realized that I couldn't do push ups or swim, and would have to watch myself when I ran. My shoulder would be a problem for a couple of weeks until it healed.

Susan was very nice and had a lot of experience. She was a very caring person and most of her clients were non-profit or a cause. Women's health and children's diabetes were on her list of clients. We were big bad corporate America, but when Annie told her about my vision for my employees and the American consumers, her heart melted and she wanted to help me.

Susan said, "When I heard about that congressman, I wanted to say just what you did. His only intent was to use politics to help his good ole' boy contributor. We're going to spin this to say just that, but in a way that doesn't smack of retaliation. 'Mr. Customer. Your prices are higher because Mr. Stewart wants his district to stand together against this new model of business. It will hurt some of the businesses in your district, and by standing alongside your neighbor, you'll be showing support. As a business, we respect Mr. Stewart, and your district, so we're abiding by his request'."

I said, "How long do you guess will it take for me to receive a call from the congressman and what do you want me to say?"

"It will be a few weeks, but we'll have a script in your hand long before he calls, and it may turn out that you are having lunch with a writer from the Wall Street Journal when you take the call. If not, he may hear about it after the fact."

"I'm glad that you're on my team, Susan."

Annie was acting a little off, and I'd look away quickly after looking her way. I'm not sure if she was still embarrassed about waking me or if there was some other issue, but I let it slide and we finished lunch. I for one was very happy with my meal.

After lunch, I dropped Lola back at her house and she said, "I'm sure that my roommates are home or I'd invite you in. I still have a certain need that I didn't satisfy last night. Are you free tonight or tomorrow?"

"I can take you to dinner tonight, and we can go back to my place."

"Let me drive over so that you won't have to drive me home. I don't want to spend the night, but look forward to going to bed with you."

I got a kiss on the cheek before she got out of the truck. At that point, I decided to get a new car and stopped at the Mercedes dealership on the way home. Believe me that I know all that, "Be American, buy American" stuff, but being very honest, most of the cars in 1982 were just ugly. I preferred the three series to the six series BMWs. The Cadillac's were ugly so I went with the Mercedes 380SL convertible. I didn't want to look like Magnum PI driving around Washington, so, of the many cars in contention, this car was one that I was willing to accept.

Although I purchased a red one, the color of the car was not a major concern. The girls didn't see me pull up and I didn't bring it up, so the afternoon was quiet as I started to read a report. They left me alone, but I heard them from time to time, moving about the house. Shawna stopped in and said, "I have a date tonight. Annie wants to know if you want her to fix you dinner."

"I have a date with Lola. Maybe tonight will be less crazy than last night."

"I'll let her know. Have a good night."

"You too. Who's the lucky guy?"

"Just a guy I met at the bar after work. He works over at the Supreme Court as some type of lawyer, but I'm not sure what he does."

"Have fun."

"You too, Britt."

That evening I dressed casual, but still had on a sport coat. Lola knocked on the door and I came down to answer it. When we left, I didn't see either of the girls. Lola liked the new car and asked about the truck. I told her about buying the truck for three hundred dollars at the auction and trading it in for five hundred on the car. To tell the truth, I never even registered it, so I just transferred the title. We went to a casual restaurant and had a pizza and some beers. We tried to keep the mood light, but Lola had gotten a call from the embassy and asked if I could stop by on Monday. They didn't know my real name, or have my contact information. I told her that I'd try, but we would have to ask Shawna about my schedule later.

After dinner, since the sexual tension was too strong to resist, we went straight back to my place. We went to my room and there was very little snuggling. We were hot and heavy. It took a while to get undressed because we were both pawing each other and our tongues were busy playing with the others tonsils. We eventually got undressed and I threw her on the bed and dove between her legs. We were noisy as we pushed each other to do what we wanted. I was paying attention to her and listening for her responses and so I drank at her fountain. She was quiet at one point, and I thought I heard someone creak up the last two steps outside the door. Then there was a pause. Someone didn't continue up to the third floor, but stopped to listen. I could only think that it was Annie, since Shawna had a date.