Pickle Ball-7
Ray and Tracy go to work. If you like this story, please give me a vote and a comment! Enjoy.
The next few days, I stayed busy. I finished two jobs, I played my guitars, I painted a few canvases, I fixed an appliance. I never thought about my penis and he never thought about me. and that was just fine.
I got a call from Jess in Miami. First, I told her of Jay and Janice. Jess commiserated and then got right to the point.
"So, how are you, Ray. I feel like I was just getting to know you. But, I think you and Jeff connected."
"Yeah, I think we did, too. How's it going there? I miss you both."
"We'll be back tomorrow. And we're bringing my assistant, Tracy." I perked up. "Tracy has been doing all the prep work here and now it's time for me to do my thing. Tracy is going to prep some properties on Bird Key and one on Casey Key for me. So, the plan is that after a few days, Jeff and I fly back to Miami and Tracy stays in the apartment in Sarasota."
"That's a lot!"
"Nah, we do this all the time. In fact, Jeff is flying up to the Hamptons next week to look at a few tips we got. While we are flying around, I'm sure that you will tend to Tracy's needs."
"I promise to do my best. And tell Jeff to ask me about the properties. I used to live in East Hampton."
"Really?"
"Yup, forty years. Had a lot of good times up there."
She laughed. "I'm sure. Listen, keep dinner open tomorrow. Be at our apartment at six, okay? I promise it will be worth it."
I was hard when she hung up. New possibilities! Wow.
The next evening, I drove over to the Ritz-Carlton Residences and Jack Dusty, the waterfront restaurant that I was directed to go. This hotel, a high-rise luxury property, with spectacular views of Sarasota Bay and The Gulf of Mexico, was about the best place in the town. Jeff, Jess and Tracy were sitting on the deck and drinking when I approached.
"Are you my tour guide?" asked Tracy.
"If you will let me guide you? Hello, I'm Ray."
Jeff ordered a huge bowl of shrimp with assorted sauces, a basket of fries and a large salad. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc but Jeff stopped me and ordered a bottle of their best chardonnay. I checked out Tracy as she was checking me out. This was one fine looking woman. I figured her to be in her mid-thirties, Tallish, about 5'9", with long black hair framing a beautiful face, she made a striking figure. It didn't hurt that her blouse was open revealing a cleavage worth exploiting. I figured she had a pair of thirty-eights, D-cups. I don't know that she noticed my crotch which was showing signs of stirring.
"This is the first time I've been here," I said, "To call it ritzy seems redundant. And this is a nice restaurant. Do you come here often?"
"Now and then," said Jess. It's convenient since we live here. Up there." She pointed to the building above us.
"Well, this certainly is a nice place to hang out. It feels so comfortable."
"Thank you, " said Jess, "considering I designed it."
Impressive, I thought. I turned to Tracy. "And how do you fit in this?"
"Well, it sort of goes like this. Jeff uses his incredible second sense and buys a property. Jess comes in and designs the interiors. I set up all the permits and prepare the infrastructure so Jess can do her thing. And then we sell it or, in some cases, own the property and license it out."
"How long have you been with them?"
"Going on nine years now." She turned to Jeff and Jess. "Wow, can you believe it? Nine whole years!"
"Tracy is my most valuable asset," said Jess. "She makes my job easy."
"And, what will you be doing down here?"
"My job in Miami is done. Jeff found some properties here that I will investigate for their potential to add to our boutique hotel properties."
Jeff added, "We have to get right back to Miami. We're leaving in two days. We thought you could be the perfect guide. I'm leaving a car in the garage for you. Use the credit cards in the glove department for gas and ancillary needs. I'm sure that you two will make a perfect couple, a legitimate cover for your snooping around. So far, this is all hush-hush and, for now, we'd like to keep it that way."
"It all sounds very interesting. Except for a couple of jobs I can complete tomorrow, I am all yours."
"What sort of jobs?" asked Tracy.
"One is a computer coding for a government agency and the other is a canvas I owe my gallery. Both are finished. I just need to put finishing touches on them."
We spent the evening talking about our histories. Jess and Tracy were mesmerized by my tales of being accompanying guitarist on the road with Davy Harper for twenty-five years. Jess, considerably older than Tracy, was a devoted fan. We talked a little about East Hampton which made me very nostalgic. But Jeff could see that I knew the place well and still had friends there.
The night ended with them calling it a night. Jeff said that they were leaving back to Miami on the day after tomorrow. Tracy said she would call me. I thanked them and headed home, considering the possibilities handed to me. I felt elated.
The next day, I finished my painting by dawdling over it until I signed my name to it. I drove it over to my agent, who also owned the gallery and he was very thrilled with the soft abstract of a nude. Then, I patched up my program and ftp uploaded it to CISA. I received a call about an hour later asking me some questions about the program. They would test it before signing off on it but I was very confident. And, suddenly I was free to concentrate on Jeff and Jess's plan. And, ahem, Tracy. Then, I plugged in and played me some guitar.
The next day, Tracy called me at ten, asking me to take her for coffee and to help her plan her itinerary. I got over there in about a half hour and took her to a French pastry place on Main Street. Over our coffee, I looked at the locations of her properties and all three were not far away. We walked back to the Ritz garage to get Jeff's car. It was the two-year old Bentley Continental GTC in metallic navy blue that we had driven over to the massage salon. I was in love. I suggested that I take her on a drive to see the properties, we'd catch lunch on our circuit and then I would show her around the environs. I just wanted to drive this beauty in this beauty. I put the top down so her black hair could blow in the wind. I was in heaven. It reminded me of the time I drove a Ferrari Testarossa around Maui. Now, that was a car.
"I've never been here to this part of the coast. I've been to conventions in Tampa and St. Pete, and one in Naples but never here. There's some real money down here, isn't there." Yeah, and I was driving it.
There were three properties on Bird Key and it took us about five minutes to pull up to the first address. In fact, it took us all of ten more minutes to see the other two. Her analysis was that none were possible for a boutique hotel. Neither of us liked any of the properties, even as private homes. It reminded us of Naples, much too congested.
Then we hauled down to Casey Key. This property was on the southern tip of the key across from Nokomis. This property was a different story. It was a small beach resort of twenty rooms, three villas and a row of cabanas. It had four tennis courts and a large pool. Unfortunately, it was run down. The owners suffered through a couple of Covid years and could not recover.
We spent about two hours as Tracy wrote notes and took a lot of pictures of the resort and the views. Back in the Bentley, I drove up to the northern end of the key until I got to the Casey Key Fish House. Tracy was quiet, writing and studying her notes and pictures.
"Oh, good. I'm glad we're here and breaking for lunch. I have a lot in my head."
"Just leave your notes and relax for a little while. You'll have a better perspective after lunch."