Trading in Strange Places

A Party in Denver

Our private jet from Steamboat Springs arrowed straight into Denver International and taxied to the private business terminal. A large van was waiting on the tarmac for the WIL group. I had taken Ellen aside before we left and said, "Denver is your new home base, and you are CEO. Take charge and make everyone toe the line. Even me."

The kiss was hot, and her husky voice said, "Watch yourself, outlaw."

After dropping us off at the new office, the van driver reversed course to return to the commercial terminal for Kathleen and Rya.

They rushed in with details for the phone call with Ellen's now former boss. He had asked for video and been turned down. The four of us gathered in a small conference room with a speaker phone in the center of the table. As we sat down, I kissed Ellen softly on the ear and said, "Relax, you'll be fine with this. Ellen Peterson isn't the first executive to be hired away from him."

The connection was good and he charged into the conversation. "Ellen! What the hell is going on? You just got here. I'm madder than hell and I want you to know it. What the devil can that jerk Adam Lucas do for you that I can't?"

He finally ran down and paused. Ellen said, "Ross, I want you to know I am very grateful for the opportunity you gave me to grow in my career. You are right that this is a sudden move, but the chance to be CEO of a new investment company located out here was too great to pass up. Adam's investors are telling us they will support the new firm, so I am already running full out to create the momentum we need."

Ross's tone changed. "I am hurting to lose you, Ellen. You made a lot of friends here in a short time. If things fall apart, I want you to call me first. By the way, I heard a rumor that there will be ski invitations for special friends. How do I get one of those? I'm tired of all the fur coats in Vail."

"Ross, you devil. You just want to come west to pirate our secrets. But, I will talk to Lucas about getting you on the VIP list. You take care now. Bye."

The door to the room burst open and screeching women, who had been listening outside, piled in. "OMG, Ellen, you were perfect. Can you believe he wants to be friends? A ski invitation!

I grabbed Claire. "I think you are already overbooked, Mistress of Le Bontemps."

Sandwiches and drinks appeared as things slowly calmed down. Ellen could hardly keep her seat. Kathleen was next to me and I whispered, "A Ross Cahill visit will require locking down everything in sight."

She tweaked my ear, "You've got that right. He didn't get to be in the top ten on the Street by being dumb. The last divorce cost him a fortune, but rumor has it there is already a new girlfriend. Do you suppose she is a fur coat or actually skis?"

Mely was on the other side. "Perhaps she will need a lesson or two from Lucas?"

Ellen was an instant shadow behind me, the grip on my ears very tight. "No one is getting any lessons from Lucas without my approval!"

Staying where she was, Ellen spoke to the room. "Thank you all for helping today be a special day. We couldn't have asked for a better launch. I meant what I said to Ross about running full out, but let's take the rest of today for our celebration and go back at it in the morning."

She leaned down and whispered, "That's the last CEO talk from me today. Can I just be your girlfriend for a few hours?"

I folded her into my lap and we had a long hot kiss to aww's from around the room.

As we finished lunch, someone asked about staffing the new office we were in.

Rya said she had been doing homework on that item and pointed to a list of potential job hires in a folder in front of her. "I will circulate these. Do any of you have candidates to propose?"

Kathleen was yanking my hair. "As your original girlfriend, Lucas, I am forbidding you from hitting on new staff. Is that understood?"

Amelia stood up with a big smile. "My youngest sister Antoinette just graduated from Boulder and is looking for a job. She has a degree in art and is a fine sculptor, but her biggest claim to fame is that she gets down the ski hill almost as fast as I do."

She paused, and then asked, "Do we dare invite her into this mess of a company?"

A great shout went up. "Incredible! An artist and a skier!"

Kathleen had me in a tight armlock. "Of course, she should be invited. Perhaps she is smart enough to say no. Lucas will not be allowed into the interview!"

I glanced at Richard, who rolled his eyes.

Mely went to call her sister and see if she could join the dinner for this evening, and the others planned their shopping expedition. Ellen dragged me into her office, which had a nice view of the Denver skyline and mountains beyond.

"You told me to take charge. Is it working?"

She was trying to look executive, but what I saw was an excited, energized female on top of her chosen job. She had never looked more beautiful. Eyes bright and gazing suspiciously at me. Cheeks pink, lips puffy, aching to be kissed. I couldn't restrain myself and pressed her to the wall.

"You said out there you wanted to be a girlfriend for a few hours. Where does that fit in?"

After a long kiss, she said, "I have no idea."

I didn't respond but buried my head in her shoulder and licked.

"God, you give me a rush."

She pulled back and stared, "I need a favor."

I knelt and said, "Anything, mistress."

At that moment, C-M stuck her head in to say the limo for shopping was ready. Seeing our tableau, she asked, "What have you done to him?"

"He has just agreed to my demand that he go back to Steamboat and let us do some work. One minute ago, I almost dropped my panties."

Ellen and I walked to the door, where C-M batted me and said, "Vile miscreant! You hire all this talent and then abuse it!"

"Catherine, it was all my fault. He was actually trying to be helpful."

"Oh my god, I can't believe this. I thought it was only me that chased around naked with him."

"Go," I said in my toughest male voice. "You are spending our money faster than we earn it. But just this once, you all deserve it."

She was right. I needed to get out of the way of my talent factory and let them get organized. And other things, no doubt. Speaking of which, I wandered around looking for sleeping quarters. Ellen said something about sleeping was close by.

In a far back corner of the suite of offices, I discovered a smallish room stacked with futons. And giant baskets filled with colorful pillows and duvets. A lot of togetherness and zero privacy. Looked like something I would have done. Down the hall was an executive washroom. None too generous shower and no tub, but it did have a sauna.

What about a sauna, shower and nap? And a tryout on the futon?

Dimly I heard, "Look at this, I thought he was supposed to be making money to pay for our extravagances?"

In moments, the room was crammed with bodies, duffels, clothes bags, and futons scattered about. Mely and Ellen pushed me against the wall and made themselves comfortable leaning on my legs. With Richard, there were nine of us. I asked Mely if her sister was coming.

"Yes. Remember, no hitting on new girls." I pulled her in for a quick kiss with my hand where it didn't belong. The two of them hugged each other while I confirmed the reservation for seven pm and added one more person. I looked around the room, and the early rising hour this morning was sending everyone to the nap I had just finished. My two hotties climbed under the duvet and didn't have energy for any conversation. I smiled and kissed and hugged as they slipped away.

I spied Rya by herself, wiggled out of my nest and crawled over. Lifting the duvet, I seized two pretty bare feet, and slowly dragged her to the door and into the hallway. She was mouthing "naughty" to me and clinging to the duvet. Around the corner and into an office, where I stretched out against her under the cover and applied gentle kisses.

"You are very bad. Why am I getting special attention?"

I wasn't done kissing, but positioned her on my chest and rubbed her back. After several more kisses, she raised her head and asked, "What?"

"I just needed to talk to you for a minute."

"You are not talking, you are making out. You are getting me all hot and bothered."

"That is a good thing, isn't it?"

"I'm not sure. What about your other lovers? We are all trying hard not to get territorial with you."

"Miss, is it possible to get a date? They can't complain about a simple date, can they?"

She collapsed, totally limp, and mumbled in my ear, "You are terrible, but I love you. What are we talking about if you ever get to that?"

We hummed each other, rocking gently, and I said, "It's about Toni. I'm worried about this special treatment business. Shouldn't she get the same welcome you got?"

It took another minute of humming before she said, "In principle, yes. But this is the younger sister of one of your most important helpers, not to mention lover, confidant, and one of the few of us who can apply any discipline."

I hugged her tighter and kissed the side of her lovely face, down which a tear was dropping.

"You are not supposed to get emotional about me. About us. You are a beautiful, smart woman and your loving is a special gift to me."

That was the wrong thing to say, because she started quietly sobbing, pulling the cover completely over our bodies and faces.

"Damn, Lucas, damn."

I whispered, "Tell me what you really think. Is every woman we hire going to get involved with me?"

She cried louder and tried to hit me. I ran my hands underneath her shirt, unhooking the bra and rubbing everywhere. She fought back with a hard knee lunge into my crotch. Gathering her in my arms, I marched back to the sleeping room and launched us into the middle of Mely and Ellen, where I had been before. They snapped awake, and started hitting me immediately.

"What have you done now? Why is our newest recruit crying? This won't do, Lucas. It just won't do."

Knowing that nothing I might say would make any difference, I left quickly.

A while later, I was sipping bourbon in the lounge when they appeared, looking less than angry, but not happy.

"She explained you were trying to be helpful."

"Why did you do that to a woman who doesn't have much experience of men? Who has almost no experience of you and your terrible ways?"

I gestured to my knees and they sat, each grabbing a generous hunk of hair and leaning to kiss me delicately.

I asked, "Did she tell you the question I asked that started all the waterworks?"

"Yes, and we don't know the answer. But it is a good question. Western Investors can't be a Lucas harem, can it?"

The kisses were less gentle and the eyes were sparkling.

Amelia pounded on my shoulders. "I heard she told you I was almost the only one who could discipline you?"

I leaned my head down far enough for my tongue to reach the covered tip of her breast. "Yes, mistress."

That got me more blows from both of them. "Listen, devil, we are going back there and send her to the shower, where you are already going to be. You will apologize, and offer to do anything she desires. You will tell her that this evening is to be sweetness and light, and Toni is to receive all the standard friendliness from us. The CEO is taking a homework assignment to figure out how to keep work and loving separate within the company. There will be further instructions about that."

"Yes, mistresses." They pulled my hair and giggled and stood. Mely got in my face, "You are a wonderful man and we all love you and we will work this out!"

Hot water was beating down on my head when her arms circled around and the stiff nipples of her modest breasts pressed against my back. "They said you wanted to talk to me."

I turned the water down to a trickle so it would last and held her tight. "I am very sorry for this afternoon. I was completely out of order. I deserve to be punished. I will scrub your incredible body while you think of a good punishment."

It was a definite race between mutual lust and the search for a punishment. My soapy fingers worried her sex, especially the sensitive clit, which got stiffer and caused more jumping around.

"Lucas! Stop! I'm going to come!"

I moved my hands to her back and massaged carefully. She pulled my head around for a kiss and said, "I've decided what your punishment is. I'll tell you when we are done, which is now."

I dried her and wrapped the body in a big towel and carried it out so others could use the shower.

"I can smell whiskey on your breath. Take me to the lounge and let me sip from your glass."

"You will sit back on the sofa with me in your arms and be quiet. No false moves."

Our naked chests were pressed together. She closed her eyes, so I closed mine. I could feel her heartbeat. The whole experience was heavenly, even though I didn't know yet what the punishment was.

In a tiny voice, which made the accent even more glorious, she said, "I am to be permitted to make friends with Toni tonight, and invite her to sleep over. I will tell her it is a slumber party, not an orgy for you and Richard. Sometime during the night or tomorrow morning, I am allowed to describe everything that happened this afternoon. The good, the bad and the ugly. If she is willing to work for your company after that, it is on her own responsibility."

She buried her head on my chest and licked my nipple, making little girl noises and giggling.

I opened my eyes to discover several of the women scowling at us, already dressed and looking fabulous. "Look at these two. They have regressed to grade school. And underage drinking! Go get dressed this instant."

Our towels were yanked away and we had to run naked down the corridor to our clothes.

Rya was in a lacy underwear set in a flash and handing me a gorgeous crimson dress that was a perfect match to her Nordic complexion. I lowered it carefully and did the zipper. She turned around and said, "Before I apply lipstick, I want an apologetic kiss and a yes to your punishment."

The kiss went on forever, which was my acceptance. She breathed in my ear and whispered, "Lucas, every meeting with you is like being on a desert island. Promise you won't go away and leave me behind?"

"I'm not going anywhere, and you are to stop worrying and be the life of the party tonight. Tell dirty Finnish jokes, or something like that. If you are in charge of publicity, that must include parties, too."

A few minutes later, she came skipping down the hall on my arm, a smile lighting up the room where everyone was gathered. I was inspected critically. Navy blazer, gray slacks, open collared striped shirt. I mumbled, "Forgot to bring my tux. Maybe you should leave me behind."

"Not on your life. You are the sugar daddy for tonight!"

The stretch limo barely contained us, but the mood was warm. After all, we had pulled off a major coup, and seemed to have gotten away with it, to judge by the number of clients signing up. The hard work of managing portfolios and ramping up our computer systems was still ahead, but that was for another day.

We were welcomed at an exclusive new restaurant on the south side of town. I reminded the hostess that the bill had been prepaid against my credit card, and she smiled and led the group to a quiet dell under a canopy with overhead heaters that was surrounded by foliage and rare plants.

Richard and I were forced to take male spots at the ends of the table, and quality champagne arrived immediately. Claire, taking to her new B&B hostess role, had consulted with the ladies about the menu and they had decided on prix fixe for everyone. Richard and I, of course, had no idea what we were going to be served.

We had just been seated when Toni dashed in, making apologies for the terrible traffic on the way down from Boulder. Amelia took her sister around and introduced each guest. The newest arrival must have been coached about finding a new dress, because she looked terrific and was seated between her sister and Rya, who winked at me.

I had Catherine-Marie on one side and Claire on the other. Ellen was next to Richard. It was obvious we were subject to close control. I asked Claire if she was ok with the B&B assignment, so far.

She leaned over in a cloud of scent and kissed my cheek. "Lucas, this is the most challenge, and the most fun I've had since I gave up ski bumming. Lyn and I are having a ball with the design, and the women hostesses are all over us with great suggestions."

She lay her hand on mine and said in a low voice, "Ellen is nervous about the skiing, especially after that business at lunch. You should promise some personal instruction. She is afraid of falling in front of all her employees!"

I took her hand and kissed the back of it, smiling down the table at Richard. "Point taken. Although it would be nice for the snow to wait long enough for us to finish the remodeling."

Richard was suddenly on his knees next to us. "I thought the ground rules for tonight were no hitting on the women?"

Tangling her fingers in his hair and applying a soft kiss, Claire said in a stage whisper, "He was just thanking me for suggesting he help Ellen with her ski lessons. Now you get back to your seat and be nice."

My fellow Marine and I rolled our eyes. We were way behind the eight ball in this group.

I was about to ask C-M about her menu plans for Le Bontemps when the sommelier arrived with a prized bottle of white Burgundy for me to taste and approve. It was six years old and perfect. I nodded and felt my wallet take another major hit.

I whispered, "You remember when I accused you of spending us to death feeding the clients at Le Bontemps? Well, stay away from this Burgundy. If they get a taste of it, I'm done for!"

Looking at both Claire and me, she said, "Lucas, this is giving me ideas. We can't count on all the guests being ski freaks. And we can't really turn them away if they don't want to ski. After all, they are clients. But what if we have two menus? One can be high quality hearty skier entrees. Served with reds from the Rhone Valley that won't break us. Maybe some of the California meritages that go with venison and so on.

"The other menu, which will carry a hefty surcharge, with the Wine List being entirely a la carte, will include a different prix fixe dinner each evening. Five courses. Served in a special partitioned area of the dining room."

Claire and I were holding hands again. "My god, Catherine, the reservations will be backed up for weeks. Especially with a chef from a Paris two star!"

I took C-M's hand and stood the three of us to our feet. Grabbing the glass with the precious Burgundy in it, I tried to collect myself and toast the talents, energy and prospective good fortune of the assembled company. I made a point of nodding to Toni, saying we were very happy to have her with us to learn about Western Investors and see whether she might be interested in joining the team. Finally, I said that my end of the table had been discussing our planned B&B, and I was amazed and excited to learn of the plans which C-M and Claire were putting together, about which they would hear more shortly. I added that Rya had generously offered, in addition to her other important duties, to be in charge of event planning, especially parties.

Rya tried to frown at me, but broke out in a big laugh when Toni whispered in her ear.

With each successive delicious course, the conversation tempo got lower and more relaxed. After espresso and dessert, Ellen got up to make her remarks.

"Friends," she began, "we have ended up together here tonight from many different directions. As your CEO, I am humbled by the talent which you bring to Western Investors, Limited. We are already off to a running start, for which I thank you. We have the privilege of working with and for a man of unique capacities, which amaze us every day. I think most of you know the story of how, a few short weeks ago, I came west to take down Adam Lucas, the renegade trader, and instead fell into his arms and his business. I haven't stopped running since, nor have you. I can see by your smiles that you are as captivated as I am by his ability to make hard work a daily challenge that we look forward to. And, of course, his boundless energy for fun and loving!"