This is a series of stories that are a sort of sequel to two text-adventure games. Each installment is a complete story on its own, but for a full understanding, the reader may want to start with Chapter 1.
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"Here you go," said my boss Cathy, sliding a file across my desk to me. "You know I brought you into this office to see if you can crack some of our toughest potential customers. Here is one of those problem accounts." I picked it up and looked over it. "Gus Merkle is the decision maker there. They buy thousands of dollars worth a week, but never from us. No salesperson I have sent in has gotten the time of day from this guy... and I definitely stopped sending women to call on him. Sorry, but he is kind of a creep."
"Looks, uh, fun." I replied. Cathy laughed in reply.
"No pressure," she said, her glossy black hair spilling over her shoulder as she looked back at me while she headed out the door, "but guys like him really are the reason I brought you in."
So. LOTS of pressure...
I picked up the phone and got through to Gus directly, which was little bit of a surprise. He was gruff and unencouraging, but he did agree to see me just after lunch. After lunch? Old school-sounding guys like Gus usually made getting free meals out of salespeople agenda item one.
The account was on the south side of town, in a light industrial area. I pulled up and went in to introduce myself. The initial meeting went well, though I could tell that Gus had someone else take him out to lunch and drinks already, which is why my expense account was not hit on that day. I could also tell that Gus was indeed something of a pig, both in personality and appearance. At least he didn't stink, which was surprising in a guy who looked like a toad in a rumpled business suit.
What I got from Gus was not promising. Essentially, he believed that CKE and our competition all had essentially the same product, which to be honest, in the product lines he purchased, we all did. He also was very comfortable with his existing supplier relationships. They took care of him, and he bought from them. But mostly Gus did not like working very hard. Changing suppliers and shopping prices was a lot of work, so Gus was very disinclined to consider any such thing. As I said, not promising.
As I pulled away from the business glumly, my phone rang. My real estate agent, Lee was on the other end to let me know that negotiations were complete, and I would be the owner of my own suburban home in a matter of days. Lee was an attractive woman and very able real estate agent, who had also demonstrated great skill in balling my brains out on a grassy back lawn. She had reverted to her cordial, professional self after the night she fucked me into making the offer that had just now been agreed to, but I was ok with that. I'm not looking for any one woman at this point in my life. Or any two, three, seven or ten women for that matter!
So now I was a homeowner. When I got back to the office just before most people were knocking off, I saw Cathy in the hallway and told her I was gong to be clearing out of the corporate condo shortly. "Thank you!" she said. "Good work. I do need that condo for the new engineer. You should celebrate. I'd buy you a drink myself," she added, "but I have a hot date tonight!" She winked at the world in general and left, fortunately without asking about Gus.
The problem was, I knew a lot of co-workers, but had made no real friends in the city yet. No one to celebrate with. And, truth be told, having sex with Lee after several weeks of casual abstinence had reignited my considerable libido. I did not necessarily need to get laid tonight, but I did want some sexy fun.
I reversed course and stepped back into my office. I sat down and opened my phone's browser, since this search was sure as hell not appropriate for an office computer, and checked out what the strip club scene was like in this city. I was surprised at how many options there were in town, not just for the size of the city, but in absolute terms. People in this region liked their titties, apparently.
I soon came to the conclusion from the reviews there was one club that stood out, and hopped into my car to investigate.
It turned out the club I had chosen was on the south side of town, back the way I had just come, and not very convenient to the condo where I was staying, or my new home. Probably a good thing, as I am fully capable of spending too much cash on clothing-removal engineers. I was suddenly a home owner. I'd have to start watching my finances. But maybe not tonight.
I arrived and stepped inside to get the lay of the land (after paying an exorbitant cover). The club was pretty big. There was a huge main stage in the center of the room where I entered, round and elevated about two feet above the floor. It had a brass pole reaching up to the 15-20 foot high ceiling and a brass rail running around the stage at about four feet above floor level. Behind the stage was a long bar. Guys sat at the bar, around the stage and at tables spread throughout the room. A wide hallway led away to one side, with a steady stream of dancers and customers flowing in and out. The dancer on stage was chunky and sported tattoos. Too many tattoos. The only real value in looking at her for me was to learn that this was a full nude club despite serving alcohol, which was a combination outside my previous experience.