*Author's Note: This is erotic fantasy. It involves sexual situations between consenting adults, all of whom are over 18 years of age. Since it is fantasy and it's my fantasy, I presume a world free of STDs. I hope you enjoy the story. Comments are always appreciated.
WENDY - Part 6
When Wendy arrived at work Monday morning, she went in to Jonathan's office after first asking Monique to bring them coffees, and placed her signed contract on his desk.
"Thank you," she said, then sat down.
"You're one of the best investments I've ever made, Wendy," Jonathan said, smiling. "Did you make a copy or do I need to have that done for you?" he asked.
"I've scanned it," Wendy replied. "I noticed that you, Fred, and Marge had already signed it."
"That was so that you'd know that we're all in agreement on this," Jonathan said. "But I also have some rather...distressing news," he said, his face falling and Wendy noticed lines of stress around his eyes that she had never seen before.
"What is it?" Wendy asked, concerned, seeing that he was clearly distraught, though he was trying to cover it.
"Good morning!" Monique said as she entered the office with their coffees and placed them on the desk.
"Good morning, Monique, and thank you," Jonathan said, smiling. "Did you have a nice Christmas?"
"The best ever," Monique replied, a big smile on her face.
"What's the problem?" Wendy asked when Monique had left the room.
"Fred has indicated that he'd like to retire," Jonathan replied.
"Oh, no!" Wendy gasped, her hand going to her mouth.
"He came out to the house over the weekend to tell me," Jonathan said. "He's been with me from the beginning. We built this. I never thought that something like this would happen, though I know that Lori would like to see more of him than she does."
"What does this mean for us?" Wendy asked.
"Well, first and foremost, we need to find someone to replace him," Jonathan replied. "He said that he'd give me as much as a year to find someone so that he could train them, teach them whatever he could, and that he'd always be available as a consultant or to help. He also wants to exercise his stock options. He's going to retire and play golf and eat three meals a day with Lori and play with his grandchildren on the beach."
"He's moving to his new condo in Kauai, Hawaii, isn't he?" Wendy asked.
"Why, yes, he is," Jonathan said.
"When I saw that he was the buyer of the penthouse at our Kauai property, I thought that it was just an investment," Wendy replied. "I didn't realize that he was thinking about retiring."
"He's selling his place here and moving there," Jonathan said.
"What are you going to do about his shares?" Wendy asked. "Can you afford to buy them from him?"
"It'll cost me $1 billion," Jonathan replied, "but I can handle it. Hey, are you all right?" he asked when he saw her blanche, then sway in her seat as though she was going to pass out.
"$1 billion," Wendy said weakly.
"It's somewhere in that area," Jonathan said. "He's agreed to just take an even $1 billion and save all of us the hassle of actually doing the kind of audit that would be necessary to determine an exact figure."
"My...my stock is worth $1 billion?" Wendy asked.
"I suppose it is," Jonathan replied, smiling. "How does that feel?"
"Surreal," Wendy replied.
"I'll be disappointed if it isn't many times that within five years," Jonathan said. "Fred's actually giving me a deal. He doesn't need the money and he wants to make sure that I can maintain control of things. There's going to be some big money sniffing at us soon enough. There are some people out there with seriously deep pockets who are going to be looking at us and seeing a good investment opportunity."
"Do you have someone in mind to replace Fred?" Wendy asked.
"Not off the top of my head, no," Jonathan replied, shaking his head. "I thought that maybe we could use that same company that found Gianni for us."
"Hospitalio Recruitment," Wendy said. "Fred said that he'll give you a year to bring whoever you hire up to speed?"
"That's right," Jonathan replied.
"Then I know who to give the job to," Wendy said, smiling broadly.
"Am I going to like this?" Jonathan asked, smiling.
"You're going to love it," Wendy replied, laughing. "Mary."
"Mary. To replace Fred," Jonathan said, staring at her. "You're serious, aren't you?"
"Yes," Wendy said. "You know Mary better than I do as an employee. Has she ever disappointed you, no matter what you've asked her to do?"
"Never," Jonathan replied, "but being a receptionist or a PA is a far cry from being able to manage a sprawling property and hospitality group like this."
"If you break it down, it's managing managers," Wendy said. "It's about numbers. Mary can do math in her head faster than I can with a calculator. She's very smart and she never demurs on a request because she doesn't know how to do it. She figures it out and delivers. I've done that to her many times already, given her tasks where she had to learn for herself how to accomplish them. She never complains, not a word. She gets along with everybody. Hell, she's the party wherever she is. If you put her with Fred for a year, I have no doubts that she'd be able to do the job. And something that I know is near and dear to your heart, she is as loyal as they come and you trust her."
"Jesus, Wendy, don't you ever come up with normal solutions to problems?" Jonathan asked.
"I had no experience, either," Wendy reminded him softly. "Now look at me, I'm a potential billionairess in six months. I'm willing to bet you that she'll not only succeed, but excel if you give her the job. This job and sex are her life. She'd do anything for you and you know it."
"What are you willing to bet?" Jonathan asked, deadpan.
"Well, uh, I'll bet you half of my stock," Wendy replied.
"What would be the terms of the bet?" Jonathan asked.
"You bump her salary to $500,000 and assign her full time to Fred for up to a year, or whenever he says that she's ready, because she'll be ready," Wendy replied after thinking for a few moments. "You pay Fred $3 million a year. If Fred says that she's ready to do it, you give her a 3-year contract at $1 million a year. If you decide not to keep her at any point for any reason, you win the bet. But if you extend her to a long-term contract after the 3 years, I win."
"What's to stop me from deciding not to keep her at any point just to get back the shares that you're betting?" Jonathan asked. "You've left it to my discretion."
"I think that you'd rather die than do something that dishonorable," Wendy said. "Now who's joking?"
"You're willing to lose your PA?" Jonathan asked, Wendy's heart soaring.
"I hate the idea of losing Mary, but it's the right thing to do for the company, and her. I'll take Monique as my PA," Wendy said. "She is very street smart. I don't think that it would be hard to turn her into a really good PA. I'm willing to give it a try."
"Then you'll have to get another receptionist," Jonathan said. "I'm going through them like water."