Chapter 1: An enticing offer
"What?!"
Lacey's face showed a mixture of excitement and provocation. This expression was one of the specific reasons Charles Cole loved his wife so much. It was Friday evening and they were enjoying tacos and beers on their backyard deck.
"How can you even be taking time to think this through? This is the thing! This is the shot you've been wanting for so long!"
She was right. For the last three years, Charles had been working at Lawson, Dawes, and Brooks, a law firm specializing in real estate law. The firm was small, which was exciting as there was a variety of work available and kept him on his toes. The downside was that there wasn't much chance for advancement.
It's not like life was hard for them in Austin. They were both 27 and had managed to put a down payment on a nice house with a backyard and pool (with some help from the parents). With Lacey's job at a software company showing promise, they each were in line to pay off their student debt by the time they would hit their thirties.
Charles couldn't shake off the fact that although life seemed good, he wanted more. Sometimes he thought he was a little too passive at work and wasn't managing to get himself noticed.
"Honey, they've
noticed
you." Lacey seemed to read his mind, "Don't make that face! Oh my god, I can't believe you're actually considering turning this down. Might as well walk away from the firm then!" She took a deep breath and brought her hands together in a way that made her look like a campaign manager tackling a big issue. "Let's talk this through, when do you have to give your answer and what do they want you to do?"
"I have to call Mac tomorrow. Now that Jon is no longer in the picture, they need to bring someone with them to help out. We'd be leaving Monday. Essentially, we travel to San Francisco for a week and renegotiate our contract with Palm Horizons."
"And that's the holding company that makes up 50% of your firm's business?"
"75%." Charles smiled at Lacey's mixed reaction to the number. "Yeah we basically only really exist for Palm Horizons, we're really fucked if this negotiation doesn't pan out."
"This is way more intense than I thought then. Shit," said Lacey.
"It's not that bad, actually. Mac and Tom are old friends of a lot of the top people at Palm." Charles was referring to two of the three senior partners at his firm. The third, Jonathan Dawes, retired the previous year after discovering he had cancer. "These negotiations are usually just updating terms and an excuse to hang out for the older guys."
"So why do they need you?"
Charles pretended to be vexed by her question. Lacey mock-hit him on the arm.
"Don't be a shit! You know what I mean!"
They both laughed.
"Basically I'd be the one dotting the 'I's' and crossing the 'T's' while they have their yearly reunion."
"And now is the time you tell me why you want to say no to this?" said Lacey.
"Well..." Charles wasn't sure how to broach the topic. "I've heard some strange stories about these trips."
"Strange stories? Like they're part of a cult or something? Are they sacrificing chickens?"
Charles laughed and took a sip of beer. "God. No. I think they go to some exclusive rich people club and... there's some weird sex stuff."
"Oh my god, like Eyes Wide Shut!" exclaimed Lacey. "Your bosses are Eyes Wide Shutters!"
Laughs again. "Yeah maybe. I don't know. I just don't want to be put in a position where I'm expected to have sex with a prostitute to advance my career."
"But you just said you're the fill-out-the-papers guy! You can just chill in the hotel while they get their dicks wet."
Charles was always impressed how Lacey made coarse words sound so great. It was one of her skills. "Yeah, but you never know. And, I guess we're more important to me than a promotion."
Lacey was looking at him with a small smile that he never quite knew how to read. She was either about to make a joke or patronize him.
As a couple, they had a fulfilling sex life. They communicated well, explored some mildly weird or naughty stuff when the mood hit, and had even gone to a sex party the previous year. While they had never shared each other with other people, it was something they had talked about; mostly to see how the other person felt about it, but neither was really into the idea.
Recently, their sex life had begun to heat up as Lacey had stopped taking contraceptives. It's not that they were in a rush to have a family, but they were open to that possibility. That and Lacey no longer felt comfortable taking the pill for health reasons. When they broached the topic, they were pleased to discover that having unprotected sex and the possibility of starting a family was a green light for both of them.
And it turns out that sex with the possibility of pregnancy is hot. Really hot. Lacey broke the silence.
"Do it."
Charles took a moment to realize what she was saying. "It's a tough situation. Wait, what?"
Lacey brought her hands together in Namaste. "You have my blessing."