Marla Jacobs was bound and determined to achieve the same success as the men who held sales records for the John Deere Company. But she also knew it wouldn't happen overnight. She would have to climb the hard path to the top by beginning with small sales to individual farms, and one day being assigned a distributor account and then a regional area, and ultimately to National Sales Manager. So now was the start of that long hard journey.
Unfortunately it wasn't starting out too well. She had failed to make a sale of any equipment on the first three calls she made this afternoon, and now a heavy downpour had hit the area and washed out some of the back roads she was traveling on. To add to that, her car was sputtering like she might have purchased some bad gas at that last country fill up, or maybe the distributor was getting wet. She glanced at the farmhouse on the hill to her right and wondered if they could call a repair truck for her. Out in this rural area, her cell phone was not getting any signal.
She grabbed one of the larger brochures from the back seat and ran up the drive holding it over her head, to try to block whatever rain she could. But by the time she reached the door, she was thoroughly soaked.
Two rings finally brought a response. A petite woman who looked to be in her late forties answered.
"Yes," she asked Marla, running her eyes up and down the drenched outfit of the frustrated sales person. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm so sorry to disturb you, but I'm on my way to Evansville and this heavy downpour has caused some problem with my car. I had to pull off the road just a few yards down from your farm. My cell phone isn't connecting so I wondered if I might use your phone to call a tow service."
"Oh, you poor thing and you are drenched. By all means come in out of that rain. I'm not sure you will get anyone out here this late and in this weather, but come dry off and we can try."
"Thank you," Marla said, "You're very kind. It's not quite the situation I expected to find myself in this evening."
She opened her purse and handed the farm woman her card, saying, "I'm Marla Jacobs of the John Deere Equipment company. I've been making sakes calls at farms in the area and was calling it a day and going to Evansville to get a motel for the night. Then, the rains hit and my car stalled."
"I'm Stephanie Anderson," the woman replied as she studied Marla's business card. "Ours is just a small place and I don't know if we need any equipment, but I'll give your card to Mike. He's just over at the barn securing things for what looks to be a long storm. But now, take off that coat and let's hang it up to dry. You can try to call for help but I'm not sure you will find anyone close by at this hour."
With that, she took Marla's sopping wet coat and led her to a phone in the kitchen. She pointed out a phone book on the counter and went to hang the coat up by the back door.
"When Mike gets in he can build up the fire and maybe we can get this dried out for you."
Marla smiled and said, "I'm awfully sorry to put you and your husband to such trouble. I'm very grateful to you."
"Oh Mike isn't my husband, he's my son. His father died about two years ago, so he's managing the farm now. I'm not even here half the time. I'm a registered nurse and I serve on the county disaster emergency relief team. In fact they have me on alert tonight based on the predictions for this storm."
"Well thank you anyway," Marla replied, "You are very kind, and I'll try to get out of your hair as soon as I can get help."
For the next fifteen minutes she tried calling emergency services for assistance, and cursed under her breath that she still hadn't mailed the form back to sign on to AAA for her car. Triple-A, she knew, would respond to any problem she had, at any hour and anywhere. She swore to herself that as soon as she got home, that form was going into the mail.
She was not having any luck finding anyone available to come check her car and Mrs. Anderson came over and offered her a cup of hot tea. She also suggested that Marla get out of the wet clothes and handed her a woolen robe to put on. She was about to remove her soaked blouse when the rear door opened and in stepped Mike Anderson. He was wearing a poncho as rain protection and let out a brief comment as he entered the room.
"Holy shit, this rain is heavy, good thing we........" he stopped suddenly as he finally saw Marla by the phone. "Oops," he stammered, suddenly realizing he and his mom were not alone.
Marla quickly pulled her unbuttoned blouse together, her cheeks flushing a bit.
Mrs. Anderson said, "Mike, this is Miss Jacobs. Her car is stalled out on the road. Maybe you can take a look at it if this rain ever lets up. Poor thing is soaked to the skin."
"Well, Hi, Miss Jacobs. Sorry about your problem. Maybe I'll be able to get you going again after while."
Marla studied the young man. He looked about twenty and had a build that suggested he was either a pretty hard worker on the farm or at least worked out. He had one of those smiles that looks like a blend of mischief and shyness.
What Marla didn't know was that as Mike was smiling at her, he was studying her intently. The wet clothes did nothing to her appearance except heighten it as the damp material clung to her body, accentuating her well contoured shape.
The phone rang and Mike quickly picked it up.
"Hello," he said into the mouthpiece, and after a brief pause. "Ok, Sheriff Clancy, I'll tell her. The jeep is all gassed up and she has her gear packed in it. She should be able to join you right away. OK, bye."
"Mom," he said, turning to Mrs. Anderson, "The emergency reaction team is being assembled to deal with the flooding over at Carson. Sheriff Clancy says they need you right away over at the county court house."
"Well, I expected that was coming. I have everything ready," she said as she grabbed a slicker and donned it. "Miss Jacobs, I'm sorry I have to leave you, but there is more tea on the range, and if you come upstairs with me I'll show you my room where you can get out of those dripping clothes and put the robe on. Mike, build up the fire so Miss Jacobs clothes can dry quicker."
After leading Marla to her bedroom, Mrs. Anderson again made apologies and told her to take her wet clothes back downstairs after she changed and have Mike show her where to hang them. Marla thanked her again and watched her head back to the stairs. After a few moments she heard a vehicle start up and as she looked out the window she saw Mrs. Anderson's Jeep pull down the drive, out onto the road, and off to the south.
She began removing her wet clothes and as she was down to her bra and panties, she heard a creak on the stair. Glancing in a bureau mirror, she could see that the door to the room was slightly ajar and she could see that Mike Anderson was standing in the hall, slyly peeking into the room.
Mike stood in the hall outside his mother's room. She and Miss Jacobs had turned on the light and he saw that the young woman had removed her blouse and skirt and was standing in only her bra, panties, and stockings. He saw the woman lift a foot to the footboard of the bed and slowly begin to slide her right stocking down toward her foot.
She quickly removed the stocking and then the other before picking up the robe and pulling it tightly about her. She looked back into the mirror, but the young man was gone.
She wasn't sure if he really had been watching her or whether he had just come up the stairs, glanced in, and seeing her state of undress, had turned and headed back downstairs.
She was surprised to feel her under-things were quite dry, the coat having absorbed most of the rain water and her dress only getting slightly damp. Her bra was dry to the touch and when she touched her panties, they too felt dry. That is until her fingers slid across her mound. It was damp!
"Hmm," she wondered, "Did that happen just from thinking Mike Anderson might have been watching her?"
Shaking her head slightly, she grabbed her dress and stockings and headed back down to the ground floor. Glancing around, she couldn't see the young man, but she did see a blazing fire, indicating he had built it up before he had gone upstairs. She draped her dress and stockings over a rack in front of the fire when she heard his steps on the stair.
He came down and went into the kitchen to retrieve her wet coat so he could place it in front of the fire as well.
He entered from the kitchen and placed he coat on the same rack as her dress and stockings. Marla noticed he was now wearing a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt from which the sleeves had been removed. His bare arms gave away the young man's build.
"There we go," he smiled at her, 'The heat should get these things dry in an hour or so."
Marla noticed that after he placed her coat on the rack, he had felt her stockings. Was he testing them to see how dry they were, or was there a more curious interest that drove him? He then slid a comfortable looking chair over close to the fire and suggested she might better enjoy the fire's warmth if she sat in it. Nodding her thanks, she sat down as he said he would go to the kitchen to retrieve her cup and fill it with fresh hot tee.
While he was out of the room she faced the fire and spread her knees slightly to let the warm radiation heat her legs. The movement caused the robe to open, nearly to her hips, and not hearing Mike, she allowed the warmth to fill the opening. She also did not hear him reenter the room until he appeared in front of her offering the tea. She realized he was looking down at her legs and the look on his face was one of admiration. She quickly closed her legs and adjusted the robe before taking the cup and thanking him.
Mike sat on a hassock on the other side of the fire and asked her to describe the car problem she had. He also asked what brought her out to this very rural area.
Marla explained her position with John Deere and the sales calls she had been making. She described the trouble the car had given her and what she thought might be wrong. Mike said that when the storm let up he would head down and check it out.
Marla then thought that this unplanned stop might have some payback after all. She inquired about the Anderson farm and what their equipment status was. She quickly determined that Mike ran the farm for his mother and that he was the person who would be involved in purchasing any equipment. Recalling his admiring look when her robe had been opened, she thought of the unwritten sales principle number 12 – do all you can to please prospective clients to enhance your chance of a sale. As they continued to discuss the farm and its operation, she let the lower part of the robe again slip open, and she was quick to spot that Mike realized when it did.
