A deal was struck. Tom would live with Shona and he'd work in the company's weakest area -- female apparel. She was already aware that Locus Thongs (Didn't he mean Lotus Thongs? Shona had smiled) were currently the market leader.
The two partners greeted Tom's recruitment with sighs.
"Shona occasionally comes in with a stray," Ben yawned. "Earn your salary and you can fuck her till she'd blue in the face for all I care."
Tom grabbed Ben by the shirtfront and would have popped buttons had Ben not been wearing a polo shirt, buttons undone. "Apologize or I'll swipe you into tomorrow."
"Er I apologize for my churlishness."
"No, apologize for being rude about her," Tom snarled.
"Just do as he says," Shona laughed and Ben obliged.
Caps asked nervously, "Shona said you didn't go to college Tom. Did you make high school?"
"Yeah, I attended some days for football and that kind of stuff and I liked English language study and doing projects. Every one wanted me on their project team because I pushed the right buttons."
"You had sex during classroom time?"
"No birdbrain. I was the ideas guy."
Shona said proudly, "Tom came up with that terribly creative line for Lotus Thongs."
Her two partners looked at Tom.
"Come on Tom, who did that work?" said Caps and Ben nodded in support.
"Are you calling Shona a liar?" Tom roared, advancing on Caps who backed off until he was practically espaliered against the wall.
"Retreat Sir Tom," Shona called sweetly. "My honor is intact. You have scared the crap out of the knave. That is punishment enough."
Tom returned to stand beside Shona. Caps wiped his handkerchief across his forehead and said, "Well Tom, it will be interesting having you around here. Welcome aboard. I'm placing you on a base salary of forty thousand. The more productive you become the higher will go your salary."
"Thanks Caps no hard feelings. I won't shake hands because gays have weak wrists."
"What's this about being gay? I'm married with a kid and Ben has gotten the woman he lives with pregnant?"
"But I thought..."
"Ah, Shona told you the story Ben and I roomed together at college and that meant we must be gay. So she sacrificed her body to engage us in regular threesomes to lead us to salvation?"
"She didn't mention anything about a sacrifice to readjust you guys sexually. She implied she was virginal."
"Shona!"