Prequel: This is a story of misunderstanding, conflict, and two people's journey to true love.
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Introduction:
A private corporation, accustomed to getting exclusive government contracts; the kind of contracts people never read or hear about except in the quietest corners of the Pentagon had run into trouble. Enormous sums of money, Federal money, unbudgeted money, and important highly secret information had disappeared. After a discreet internal investigation by key members of the innermost circle of the corporation's leadership a culprit had been identified. However, the criminal activity had been so carefully planned and so meticulously carried out that proving the transgressor's guilt without full blown public disclosure was virtually impossible.
Further investigation had become vital. Ultimately guilt had been proven, and the villainy had been unequivocally assigned. Yet to guarantee the malfeasance never leaked extreme precautions had to be arranged. Guilt was shown, the villain was caught, but their identity could never be made public, their perfidy never exposed. For the sake of the company, for the sake of national security their future had to be tightly regulated, and above all, they had to be punished.
Punishment was a ticklish task. Since no one must ever know of the crime, retribution had to be prudent. Repayment in this matter had to be well thought out, thoroughly planned, and absolutely air tight. There could be no possibility for error, investigation, or even rumor. Vengeance had to be harsh and irrevocable, but done in such a manner no one would ever suspect the treachery that inspired it.
The two kingpins of the business, co-founding brothers, hatched a plan they believed would protect their business, guarantee there will be no leaks, and would not only bind the thief, but would humiliate and destroy the evil doer forever. The plan was simple, thorough, and vicious beyond imagining. It would start with a party, but where it would all end was anybody's guess
A Luncheon is Planned:
The Guest List:
The first phase of the trap was to be sprung at an afternoon luncheon. The party was planned for a Saturday afternoon. Steve, an American technical expert was the host. As many as twenty people were expected.
They included Steve Hammer, the host, and his wife Cynthia. Steve was an up and coming yuppy type businessman. His wife Cynthia was the classic southern debutante.
There was a Canadian couple; Pearce Vasquals and his wife Collette. They brought their nearly grown son Flail. Pearce was a brilliant computer technician. His wife doted on him hand and foot. Their son Flail was a licentious monster in his late adolescence.
An Australian was present, Charles McNamara. Charles wasn't married, but had brought his girlfriend, Denise. Charles and Denise were both from Sydney. They'd been sweethearts since high school. Charles didn't know it but Denise had been bisexual all her life.
An English couple was also on hand. That was Charles Coburn and his wife Gwyneth. The Coburn's both represented old money and English traditional values. Next to Warren and Mildred Hanson, they were the oldest couple on hand. On first impression they appeared conservative and somewhat staid. In reality they were quite a couple.
Other key guests included Warren Hanson and his wife Mildred. Most people referred to Warren as the Colonel owing to his military record. He was the founder of the company, its largest share holder, and biggest stake holder. He was to be a central character to the plot of the story.
The Colonel's younger brother was there also. His name was Fletcher Hanson, if this story had a male protagonist that would have been Fletcher. He was the second largest share holder. Fletcher was a widower at the time the story began. He had three children who were attending a field day activity at their school, and would not be at the party. Fletcher had come to the party alone. He had been alone most of the time since his wife died two years earlier. Fletcher was a very complex man; a very lonely man.
The next to last invitee was Florence Henderson. Florence was the corporate comptroller, and the person who had first uncovered the culprit's scheme. Florence was a spinster, but had for years loved Warren Hanson from afar. She owned no shares in the company, but she behaved as though the company was her personal fiefdom.
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A closer look at all the participants above could have revealed a great deal more. Every family had its own story. Over time, if the story unfolds as expected some will become major participants in a tale of manipulation, cruelty, and perhaps love, deep abiding, all consuming love.
Regardless, the story was to be primarily about one woman. She was the last to come to the party. She was the guest of honor, the person for whom the whole gathering had been planned, our heroine Sorrel Sullivan.
Sorrel:
The guest of honor; that was to say the person for whom the picnic had been planned and around whom the story revolved was Sorrel. Sorrel was last to arrive. This was by design, for everyone knew Sorrel had a lot to answer for.
Sorrel was a beautiful woman. She stood a tall five foot five, and weighed a slight one hundred twenty pounds. Her hips were a little on the broad side, but she had a waspish waist.
Her breasts weren't large, only thirty-four B, but she'd learned to keep them firm and supple. The exercise regimen she followed guaranteed they stayed that way. She eschewed the use of fraudulent cosmetics and implants. She found hard work and exercise were the preferred courses of action.
She had a beautiful face, ravishing big blue eyes, a pert little nose, neither long and aquiline nor broad and flat. Her chin, with its tiny dimple right in the middle, gave her a mischievous look. Her ears were small, round, and lay flat against the side of her head. She'd had her lobes pierced just once, and always kept just a small ring affixed in each. She thought men liked hooked earrings; perhaps imagining it inferred a submissive nature. Men she believed liked submissive women; something she definitely was not.
