Chapter 4: Clean Foyer √ Polish Brass √...

Interlude: 25^th Anniversary

Cindy:

"All these things are self evident, except the Merger. You can clearly hear the capital letters, in the vocal inflections, when Mom or Dad talk about the Merger, but there are two things with one name.

I think it can be easy to overlook what Mom needed to do. She was a middle class girl, with aspirations to art, not money. Dad dropped her in the middle of the zoo he called home. They make movies about situations like that."

Sheila:

Meeting Gerald had been a genuine pleasure. We understood each other on a very basic level, much like Sean and I did, but without the fireworks. Gerald was someone I could feel safe around, which is one of my highest compliments. His comparing me to a senior line officer was of similar weight. Gerald would have my back as long as I had anything to say about it.

That warm feeling lasted about two minutes. Then I was introduced to the Brothers. Mitchell and Michael were not twins, but they acted like it sometimes. Mostly, it was by ganging up on an unsuspecting person and playing tag team. Though Mitchell was House and Michael was Grounds, they were happy to trade off in each other's demesne, at least if there was an edge to be gained. Expecting such things does not make them ineffective.

That morning they were set to impress me with their knowledge of my plans, the house and grounds, and the extent they could be of assistance, or not, given the regrettable schedule. They walked me through the house, back down to the lake and back to the entrance. To hear them tell it, the house was a palatial estate, in premium condition. There were, unfortunately, some minor difficulties, which would seriously impair the utility. Their efforts would be herculean, of course, but the possibilities were limited to a couple of dozen people on the grounds, and the house not at all. Regrettably.

The longer this went on, the more I was convinced that neither should be allowed much discretion. They reminded me of a librarian, whose ideal had every book in its place, and no students to mess things up. I was about to detail some specifics, which they could undertake immediately, when I saw Sean walking up behind them.

I winked at Sean, and gave them some rope. "Gentlemen, we seem to have a lack of communication here. Major revisions of the house and grounds are not needed to handle as many as a couple of hundred guests, for the wedding, and sixty, or so, for the gala in the ballroom." Then, I looked over their shoulders, tagging Sean. He did not let me down.

Sean said, "Gentlemen, I see you have met your new boss. How are things going?" I could kiss him. However, the iron was hot and Sean had tagged me into the ring.

I said, "There you have it. First, you need to contact everyone on each of your staffs. Personally inform them of the nuptials and the party. Anyone that is not already out of town is expected to be here at 5:00 PM. Anyone that can get here earlier will be put to cleaning, at premium rates. Sean will handle payment, as always, but I have creative and artistic control. All issues, other than payroll, come to me." Sean backed me up again.

"Gerald says she can deliver a thirty minute briefing in fifteen seconds. What do you think? Get busy. This lovely lady and I have some necking to do." The brothers were, literally, standing with their mouths open when Sean spun me into an embrace. Then, he gave me a nice dip for the kiss. My Teddy Bear.

As we left, I threw one more thing over my shoulder. "By the way, expect Miss Siobhan tomorrow, with a dozen Dartmouth students. I may have creative control, but she will have hands on responsibility." Let them try blowing off a family member, especially one like Siobhan. Sean chuckled his understanding. "You should torture people for a living. Oh, wait..." I punched him, then kissed him.

Sean then gave me the tour that I had not gotten earlier. The room, where we had met the Brothers Gilbert, was the Formal Salon. Across the hallway was the Library, which was in much better repair. Sean explained that he had a reading room, for convenience, but the main Library had never fallen into disuse. I expect that Siobhan had had something to say about that. In any event, it would stand public scrutiny. The biggest issue was likely going to be Siobhan's grad students.

Down the hall was the powder room, which was dusty, but perfect for my Bride's Room. Off the entrance foyer was a cloak room and an open area, which was called the Smoking Lounge. This room had a huge fireplace and tile floors. I suspected it was a mud room. Even this far from the coast, New Jersey weather could get quite nasty. In colonial times, a place to shake off the snow and remove the boots was essential. I saw it as the barroom.

On the other side of the foyer was the Parlor. This room had french doors and several windows. I suspected the real name was Smoking Parlor. There was a massive leather sofa, which probably could not be removed without unframing windows. Amazingly, the leather was intact. Outside the french doors was a small banistered porch, surrounded by evergreen shrubbery. Smoking indeed, but cigars and pipes only.

Next was the grand staircase, which I put off. I did not plan to use the second floor, so the upstairs area was unimportant. Across from the staircase was the other entrance to the ballroom, the first being opposite the foyer. Further down was a door, probably leading to the service areas: kitchen, linen, pantry, etc. This was enough, though the lack of bathrooms would have to be addressed.

My plan was to stage a turn of the century wedding gala. Parking would be off site. We would engage a small fleet of horse drawn carriages, to bring the guests to the main entrance. They would be greeted and ushered through the ballroom, to the hill above the gazebo. After the ceremony, the flat area near the house would be used to seat the guests. On the nearby porch would be a live ensemble. Inside would be dancing.

We went back into the entrance foyer. Sean led me to the cloak room. There was nothing to see. I turned questioningly to him—and saw him pulling down his pants. I did not know where this was going, but my pussy was suddenly very moist. Lifting my skirt, I pushed down my panties and stepped out of them. Sean held out his hand and said one word, "Foot."

I placed my foot in his hand. Sean pushed it up til my ankle sat on his shoulder. Doing this cold made me glad of my workout that morning. I was about to ask a question, when Sean put his hands behind my ass and entered me. Then all thoughts of questions disappeared.

Sean's first plunge was a short one. He took a moment to reset his feet, which allowed me to reach his shoulders for leverage. When Sean started his thrust, I pulled myself toward him, leaning into the split. This doubled the force of the thrust. Sean's slammed in, all the way to the hilt, the tip of his cock reaching the end of my cunt, with a now familiar surge of sensation. I saw stars.

Sean did two more thrusts, developing his timing, then another deep thrust. More stars. My pussy grabbed Sean's cock and tried to pull it out, with the root. Sean gasped and shot his seed.

Then, as we stood gasping, Sean asked me, "Do you want to join the Mile High club? Francine says that is the perfect position for doing it in a lavatory." That brought a wealth of images. One of them was Francine trying to do it with some one Sean's height. It was so funny I cracked up. Sean must have been following my train of thought, because he snickered. "Francine did say that she was too short for it. It's perfect for you, though. It's called the Ballerina." Oh my.

As Sean pulled up his pants, he also snagged my panties. He stuffed them in his pocket with a definite look of satisfaction. I was certainly willing to cede the point. Like my wake up call the day before, I would use the cloakroom as the standard for quickies. Entry to exit could not have been five minutes, but I had come twice and Sean had come once. I could barely wait to see what Sean could do with some time to tease me a little. Suddenly I was moist again. Sean must have smelled it.

"Down girl. If you keep that up I will have no choice but to take you to the parlor, so Gerald can record it." I blushed all the way down.

However, what he said gave me an idea. I had Sean take me to Security Central, which, unsurprisingly, was in the same wing as the Master Bedroom. We passed through a door and moved from the old house to the new wing. The visual impact was stunning. We left 200 year old hardwood floors and paneling for tile floors and painted dry wall. It felt like a time machine. At the top of a wide concrete staircase was Gerald's domain.

On one side of the hall was a ready room. On the other was the monitoring room. I was pleased to see that Gerald was waiting when we arrived. His gaze flicked between us and his nostrils flared, but all he said was, "This way, ma'am."

Gerald introduced us to Albert, the tech on duty. Albert showed us all the visual feed for the new wing. A couple surprised me: inside Sean's closet and the sink area of the master bath. I endured the details of how things were recorded and stored. Eventually Albert ran out of things to show us, that he thought relevant. I asked about the old house.

Security in the residential wing was oriented toward personal protection. In the old house, theft was the primary issue, and the feeds showed it. However, the placement of cameras was surprisingly thorough. I asked Albert about the quality of the feed lines and the recording equipment. The first was very good quality, which made sense, since they were difficult to replace. Using the best available made good sense for the long haul. The cameras and recording equipment were not only dated, but were second rate from the start.

I stood up and looked at Sean. Sean looked back, then we both looked at Gerald. Gerald looked at both of us, then sighed. Albert looked confused. Gerald patted Albert on the shoulder and said, "Cheer up Albert. You will be getting new toys to play with." Then he looked at me. I held up four fingers. Gerald held out his hand. I fished out my office keys.

Then Gerald looked at Sean, who had been watching this interplay. Sean said, "Colonel Harrison?" Gerald nodded. Sean looked impressed. Gerald had already made a comment, but still...

Fortunately, Albert's confusion saved me some embarrassment. Gerald explained that a crew would be going to my studio, removing my precious video cameras, with the recorders, then mounting them in the old house. This raised the question of where, exactly, we could get the best results. In turn, this led to a discussion of placement, exterior cameras and recording bandwidth. I think Sean was bored before we finished.

Once that was done, I dropped the big news. "Gerald, plan to vacate this hallway in the next nine months. Also Christine has been hired as the nanny. She will need a room next to the nursery." Albert's mouth dropped open. Gerald put his face in his hand and shook his head. Then he asked Sean, "She's getting the big ring, isn't she?" Sean only smirked. Gerald sighed again.

I had to throw one thing out, as Sean and I left the room. "Gerald, I expect the renovation of the old house will fall under Siobhan's purview." Sean snickered and rushed me down the stairs. Once we were safely in the bedroom, I asked Sean about the reference to Colonel Harrison. Sean thought for a moment, then told me of William the Silent. My mouth was not open, but only because I was paying close attention to it.

Sean was not finished. "He likes you a great deal. Gerald is hard to impress and careful with complements. I don't know if you caught it, but Gerald's name took the wind right out of Michael and Mitchell's sails. He scares then shitless. Gerald was a good place to start conquering the house. By the way, that shot about Jo was perfect. My sister terrorizes everyone, even Gerald. I hope you two get along." My smile was just to myself. Gerald was not the only one a bit afraid of Siobhan.

Then Sean showed me his Walgreen's bag. How sweet. Sean is such a teddy bear.

Sean:

Sheila was not impressed with Michael and Mitchell's protestations. Clearly, she could have handled them easily, but my weight quickly closed the deal. So. We had a five o'clock briefing for the staff. That left much of the afternoon to do other things. We started by walking the house.

I do not think Sheila was aware of her hands as she moved. When we reached the entrance, she waved the doors open, then gestured the people in. Her hand movements were subtle, but you could read a great deal if you paid attention. Her ideas for the wedding quickly took shape. I had to tip my hat to her. Sheila thought big, even though our invitation list would be short. Perhaps she thought, as I did, that everyone and their in-laws would choose to attend.

I particularly liked her idea of having the bar in the house, rather than outside. That would keep it away from the children. Making the Parlor into a smoking lounge also had appeal. It would give the crotchety businessmen someplace to meet and talk shop. It was close to the bar, but away from the music. The big sofa had to stay, but a great deal of seating was in various rooms under cloths.

Once we finished with the basic plan, our steps drifted back to the entrance. Once there, my eyes fell on the cloak room door. Something Francine had said came to mind. It would not be the Mile High Club, but a cloak room is a great place for a quickie.

I led Sheila inside and deliberately left the door open. Sheila looked puzzled, until she saw me fumbling with my pants. Then, she hiked up her skirt and took off her panties. They were utilitarian cotton panties, but that meant she was planning to work. Grabbing some nookie at work would get you fired, but I knew the owner. With a grin I asked for her foot.

Sheila gave me her foot without comment. In passing, I noted a lovely black open toed pump. I put it on my shoulder, then grabbed Sheila by the ass. In her heels, we were almost exactly the same height, which was important. I was able to enter her on the first attempt. The thrust was awkward and did not penetrate far. I corrected that on my second attempt, which went all the way back. Sheila shivered all over.

As before, Sheila's cunt was extremely tight. I sawed a couple of misses, which led Sheila to help adjust our positions. My next thrust nailed her to the wall. The sensation of my head meeting Sheila's womb jolted me, but it had Sheila in near collapse. I held her for a moment, then started to pull back. Her pussy grabbed my cock and jerked. My load came shooting out and I came close to collapsing myself.

Then we were putting our clothes back in order. I grabbed Sheila's panties, but she did not seem to mind. I mentioned the possibility of repeating in an airplane lavatory. That got me a wink. I threatened to do it again in a monitored area, which earned me a nice blush. Then, it was back to business.

I had shown Sheila all she wanted to see of the old house, so we went through the door into the new wing. I had found it amusing that Sheila had a rabbit hole. It was her secret path between studio and gym. As a kid, "rabbit hole" was my name for this door. The change of centuries is pretty abrupt. Sheila took it in step as I led her into the center of surveillance and Gerald.

During the week, Sheila had made a good first impression on Gerald. That impression was reinforced through their subsequent interaction. This was my first chance to see them together. I was not disappointed. Gerald introduced us to one of his geek squad, Albert. Sheila was all business, as Albert showed his system. The first words she spoke were to ask about the old house. Since we had just come from that area, Gerald would have guessed at our interest, but Albert had not.

Though we both knew Sheila was capable of ripping Albert a new orifice, she did not. Instead she followed his pace and explored the system's potential, or the lack of it. Only when she had run things to the ground did she look up. I was more lucky. I could see the smile twitching at Gerald's cheek.

When she did look up, it was to look at me. The question was obvious. Should we use her fancy equipment to upgrade the house system for the wedding. Hell yes. We both looked at Gerald. He nodded and looked at Sheila. By this point Albert was waking up to the unspoken conversation. That was OK. Gerald took pity and informed Albert that he would be receiving some new equipment. There was a sense of deja vu as Sheila held up four fingers.

I asked, "Colonel Harrison?" Joseph Harrison was the company commander when Gerald and I met, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. As a major, he already had a reputation for pulling more out of visual-only tape, than anyone else could see. After the fact, we could sometimes reconstruct the clues he had seen, but often it seemed like magic. The reverse was true. He expected you to draw information from him, without verbiage. His interrogations were usually full of raised eyebrows, skeptical looks and one or two word questions. It was unnerving to watch. From a spook, like Gerald, a reference to Colonel Harrison represented the highest possible praise.

Then the conversation got technical. That was again like Colonel Harrison. He could talk when he wanted to and it was usually in detail. Long and tedious detail. Tech speak is not one of my skills. Sheila is fluent. It is one of many reasons I treasure her.

They finally ran down. I dragged Sheila away before they could think of something else to talk about. Sheila was not quite finished, and her Parthian shot was beauty. Even Gerald treads lightly around little sister. I took her back to my room, though we did not have time to do much more than we had already done in the cloak room. Instead, I explained the reference to Colonel Harrison, in terms Sheila could google.

"William the Silent, Prince of Orange and King of the Netherlands, was known to give military briefings with just a map and his finger. Technically, we would call them "oral" orders, since they were not written, but no word was spoken. William would point to a man, or men, and then at a map. They were to go to the place on the map and do what needed to be done. Colonel Harrison was often compared to William the Silent. In case you were wondering, the Prince is remembered as one of histories great generals."

Sheila was visibly trying to restrain disbelief, which was not inappropriate, so I told her my impressions of Gerald's reactions. I had particularly liked her parting shot, since even Gerald is a bit afraid of Jo and her wit. Hell, I was too. Why did I feel Sheila was laughing at me?

To change the subject, I pulled out the bag of shampoo's and such that I had purchased for my bath. As I expected, Sheila was not prepared to move in yet. When she was, there would be a truck to unload. For the next few days, hopefully, this would have us covered. It seemed like a small thing to me, but my Kitten was very touched. I needed to remember how many things she had had to do for herself.

I checked the clock. It was 3:12 PM. We told the bothers Gilbert to assemble the staff at 5:00. That gave Sheila and I only about 90 minutes to flesh out the plan. Even in bare bones it was daunting.

Clean and dust the Ballroom, Parlor, Small Parlor, Smoking Lounge, Library, Powder Room, Foyer and Main Entrance.

Check the house and storage for suitable furnishings.

Prepare the ballroom for music, probably from the porch off the Small Parlor.

Upgrade lighting where needed.

Prepare a dining plaza outside the ballroom.

Arrange for food service, possibly from the Kitchen, but more likely outside.

Paint the Gazebo and Boathouse.

Clean the boathouse interior, float the houseboat if feasible, do something with the yacht.

Arrange outdoor entertainment.

Bathrooms and more bathrooms.

Arrange carriages.

Arrange music.

Sheila had a different attitude. Delegate and deal with it. As a CEO, delegation is a way of life. Somehow this was different. Sheila broke things down this way.

Costuming and sets – Francine

Catering and sideshow – Special Events

Technical assistance – Jo

Manpower – TempWorks (Richards Enterprises' temporary labor company)

In short, Sheila wanted Jo and Francine to run things and my companies to supply most of the materials. That worked for me. The bottom line was that Sheila was the one getting married. I was just the groom.

Then we turned to other things. It was a relief to get back to business. Sheila and I had discussed the idea of a real estate group, centered on her gym/studio property. She had just told my security to come pick up the video equipment, so that we could have some good pictures of the wedding. That meant she was planning on moving very soon, and I had an idea where she would land.

Sheila wanted to buy the Parker Heights school. This would allow a lot of good things to happen. Notably, the studio half of the old warehouse could be converted to rental use, with XTreme Fitness ready to take over a chunk of it. There was room for several offices as well. I had feelers out for several properties nearby, plus some contacts for wither development or working capital. We just needed to get off the ground.

Sheila proposed an LLC (Limited Liability Company). She would contribute the building, but retain ownership of the XTreme Fitness franchise. Her franchise would then bid on the interior of the building, allowing development of the outer portion as office or retail space. Across the street was a vacant lot, which she had purchased a few years earlier. This would be converted into fenced and monitored parking. There were two other warehouses nearby. These would be suitable for loft apartments. Sheila lacked the capital to develop them, but I could raise the necessary funds.

What Sheila proposed was a company to buy, renovate and manage the properties. I was willing, but suggested that we should first organize the real estate group. We went back and forth for a while, then decided to arrange a meeting of the principals. I sent emails to the others I had contacted. Sheila had one other suggestion. She wanted to call our new company K&T Properties.

I laughed so hard Sheila punched me. In penance, I gave her a foot massage.

Sheila:

Once Sean had given me his impromptu bathroom shower, we got down to business. I knew things would be difficult, but I needed some stability and soon. We went back and forth for a while. I suggested a partnership, then shifted to an LLC. That would give us a lot of flexibility going forward. Sean liked the idea, but wanted to arrange a meeting with some other interested parties. He sent some emails. We had a tentative meeting set up for Monday afternoon. Then I suggested a name.

K&T Properties is exactly the type of name you see everywhere in real estate. I had reason to know. Sean picked up the reference immediately, which was nice, but he almost fell over laughing, which was annoying. I punched him in the chest to calm him down. He was contrite, though.

"I'm sorry, but that is too rich. No one will get it. Well, maybe Gerald and Francine, and Jo. Nothing gets past Jo. But, that's close friends and family. No one we do business with will get the joke. We'll need a good false answer." Tell me something I do not already know.

Sean got up and stretched. I checked the time. It was startling to realize we had been haggling for over an hour. I was about to get up myself, when Sean dropped to his knees. Without a word, he picked up my foot and slipped off the pump. What followed was fifteen minutes of bliss. I made a mental note to have Christine study massage.

At 4:55 PM, I reluctantly put my shoes back on. Sean and I went down to a room off the kitchen. There were a number of unfamiliar faces, many of them looking hostile. We waited til 5:00 sharp, then Sean cut to the chase.

"Good evening and thank you for coming. Some of you will have heard rumors. Most likely they are mostly true. Let me introduce my fiancé, Sheila Schwartz, soon to be my wife. More to the point, she is now your boss. Listen up." Gee. Thanks. I feel so warm and fuzzy.

I took Sean's example and laid it out bare. "My name, as you heard, is Sheila Schwartz. I do not like being called Miss Schwartz, so you may call me Sheila, or Miss Sheila if it makes you feel better. Next week you can call me Mrs. Richards." You could have heard a pin drop.

I went on to explain the basics of the plan. People were starting to look very nervous, until I promised them a wave of temporary help. Then I mentioned Siobhan and her dozen grad students. That brought a different silence. Then, all sorts of questions started coming forward. Sean stepped up.

"I know there are a lot of questions. Right now we do not have a lot of answers. This much I know. We have six rooms and an entrance, in the old house, that need to be presentable in six days. That is where we start. Overtime is authorized. Bring in your spouses and teenagers. On Saturday, there will be some sort of fair set up outside. Your families will be allowed to visit it on Sunday. Now, get busy."

Once that was done, Sean took me down to the boat house. As a child, my family was not into water sports, but I had always loved the idea of boats. That did not prepare me for Sean's boats. There were a dozen at least, but two of them dwarfed the rest. One was an outright yacht. Sean proposed beginning renovations, as a cover for not being able to float the craft. I was good with that, provided he also finished renovations. The yacht was a beauty.

The other boat was what Sean called a houseboat. Silly boy. It was a party barge. It consisted of two pontoons supporting a covered dance area. House boats have rooms and a kitchen. This was much more basic, except that it was paneled in genuine wood instead of faux-ply sheets. Suddenly the gazebo seemed to be less than the perfect place for the vows.

I said, "Sean, could we do the ceremony on the boat? We could get so much more seating set up. We could anchor it about ten feet from shore and used a microphone. Even if we need to tow it around, it would be a real asset to the reception. I would work perfectly with the period theme. Siobhan will love it. Justin will go crazy." I was starting to babble. Sean touched his finger to my lips. He is such a teddy bear.

After that Sean and I walked hand in hand along the shore. Sean told me some of the history of the lake. It was fascinating. Between this ancestor and that, the Richards' water rights were older than the USA and worth more than the land. Presently we came to the edge of the property and turned back. It was one of the most tranquil times I had had in months.

On the stroll back, Sean told me about the carnival sideshow that he had found in storage. He started pointing out places where events could be staged. I could easily see how a small fair would fit along the water front. Add the party barge, some small boats, and this could become a memorable afternoon, especially if we enforced costume requirements. Siobhan would have a field day.

We went back up to the house to observe the progress. I have to hand it to Mitchell Gilbert. He had a ton of activity going. All the windows and French Doors were open. The lighting was 80 years old, but it still worked. All of the furniture from the foyer, the two parlors, the lounge and the library was assembled in the Ballroom. Beside them were rolled rugs.

Moving into the hallway, preparations were underway for a wax and buff of all the floors. Ladders were up and people were dusting the crown molding and cleaning the light fixtures. Seeing Sean and I, Mitchell came over and asked about raiding the house for additional furnishings. Sean thought that was an excellent idea, but to wait for Siobhan. Cleaning the rooms and waxing the floors would take a full day in any event. On the other hand, Sean wanted every available rug rounded up. Those would need to be cleaned, so time was critical.

While they talked, I was able to watch the staff work. One of the great assets I enjoyed at the gym was the ability to watch people work, when they were unaware of the scrutiny. Sean had as much as said that these were now my people. I wanted to know who worked, who talked and who made trouble. Sean and I had talked for an hour about merging our real estate assets, but merging me into his household was looking much more challenging.

Sean:

Sheila did very well at her debut. While I knew she had never supervised a large staff, her sense of theater was perfect. She kept it short and easy to understand. We had the Gilberts for detail assignments. I did my best to back her up.

Then, I took her for some quality time. I took Sheila to the Boat House. I had loved it as a child, but my grandfather had still been alive to run children off. I moved over to the garage, where things were more in keeping with young attitudes. Sheila immediately saw the potential for the reception. She loved the old yacht and houseboat. Then, she floored me again. She suggested that we use the house boat as a floating stage. Even working around the gazebo, we could seat far more people. I made a note to get someone on it in the morning.