Courtesan Ch 44

This is the forty-fourth episode in a series entitled "Courtesan". If you have not read the previous forty-three episodes of this series, I encourage you do so before beginning this chapter.

"Courtesan" is romantic story about a dominant hot wife and her submissive cuckold husband. While they have a deep and abiding love for each other they do lead an alternative lifestyle. If this subject matter offends you or makes you feel uncomfortable, I strongly suggest that you find something else to read.

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As soon as Donny was gone I turned to Kirby and said, "I'll bet Tonya's in the back dining room."

"Let's go find her." He rushed through the door that led into the kitchen. I followed right behind him.

The kitchen was deserted. We quickly crossed it and walked through the door to the back dining room. It was still crowded and filled with the sounds of laughter and boisterous conversation. Edward, Nathan, Maurice, Doris, Ben, Florence, Cassie and Elvira were all still seated at the table. Mr. Tyler, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Reynolds had returned and were once again sitting with them. Tonya was now also there. She was seated between Elvira and Florence.

As soon as he noticed our presence John Reynolds stood up and started to say something, but then out of the corner of his eye he saw that Tonya was also standing. Once he realized that Kirby and Tonya were staring at each other he discreetly stepped back from the table and waited.

Kirby had taken two steps into the room before he found Tonya sitting at the table. The moment he saw her he froze.

The noisy room had suddenly become very quiet. Everyone's attention was now focused on Tonya and Kirby. We all anxiously watched as they silently stared at each other. I got the distinct impression that everyone knew what was happening.

After a moment Tonya said, "Kirb, did Donny tell you?"

Kirby nodded. "Yes he did."

"Are we still okay?"

Kirby smiled at her. "Tonnie, I don't give a damn if you're rich or you're poor. The money doesn't make any difference to me. I just want to spend the rest of my life with you."

When she heard that Tonya smiled. So did everyone else in the room.

After taking a deep breath Kirby continued. "I'm not sure why you want to hang around with a fat old retired navy cook, but apparently you do. So Tonya, I'm going to go out on a limb and ask you, Will you marry me?"

Tonya stared at Kirby for a moment and then she said, "Kirby Lundquist, you may be a fat old retired navy cook, but you are definitely the sweetest fat old retired navy cook that this broken down old whore will ever find."

She ran to Kirby and threw her arms around his large waist. "Kirby Lundquist, if you'll have her, this broken down old whore would love to marry you."

As Kirby wrapped his huge arms around Tonya and kissed her hard on the lips everyone in the room began to applaud.

After they broke off their kiss Tonya turned around so that she was facing the group. With Kirby's arm still wrapped around her shoulder Tonya flashed us a smile and did a little head wiggle. We all laughed.

Kirby waited until everyone was quiet and then he said, "We do have a little problem.

Tonya looked at him. "What's that?"

"I just lost my store. The firm was kind enough to buy me out so that I could pay off my debts, but I'm still broke. It's going to take me a little time to save up enough money to buy you an engagement ring."

Shaking her head, Tonya said; "Kirby honey, I have plenty of money..."

Kirby held up his hand. "Tonya Lewis, you are not going to pay for your own engagement ring."

John Reynolds, who was still standing up, stepped forward. "If I may interrupt, I think I might be able to be of assistance here."

Chuckling, Martin Jackson said; "Yes John I think that's very true."

There was a general murmur of agreement around the table. I had the distinct impression that these people knew something that Kirby and I didn't know.

Mr. Reynolds took another step towards Kirby and Tonya. Kirby looked puzzled. Tonya was grinning.

I glanced around the room. Everyone was smiling and their eyes were all focused on John Reynolds. Something was definitely up.

"Kirby and Timmy," Mr. Reynolds was looking back and forth at Kirby and me." While you were in the dining room talking to Don Kline I made an announcement in this room. You may have noticed the bottles of champagne on the table."

I hadn't, but now that he mentioned them I saw that there were several magnums of Moet Et Chandon on the table and everyone had a champagne glass in front of them.

"We're having a bit of a celebration. You know that for the past six months I've been spearheading a major project."

Kirby and I both nodded.

"About a year ago we learned that one of the largest construction companies in the world was in grave financial danger. The problems had been caused by a combination of factors; bad weather, unexpected political unrest, several overly ambitious and unrealistic time schedules that caused them to miss key deadlines and two major law suits. We launched a thorough investigation and quickly learned that the company had been struck by virtual perfect storm of unexpected disasters. This was still a solid corporation that was currently floundering because of a combination of bad luck, some poor long range planning and several disastrous management decisions."

I took a quick look around the table. Everyone was listening intently.

"Because of these misfortunes the companies value had plummeted. After further investigation we came to the conclusion that we could purchase controlling interest in the company for around one point eight billion dollars.'

He smiled. "And if we are able to correct the problems and get the company functioning smoothly again, we estimated that we should be able to sell it for between three and three and a half billion dollars.

My jaw dropped. John, Martin and Wendell were attempting to pull off a business deal that could earn a gross profit of well over a billion dollars.

"The problem of course, was that one point eight billion dollars is not exactly chump change. Raising that amount of money is a challenge. Never the less, we decided that the potential reward was worth the effort and the risk, so we went to work and I was assigned to spearhead the project."

The room was silent. Everyone was listening to John with rapt attention.

"I started barnstorming the country. By the end of last week I'd managed to convince twenty three different financial sources to commit one point two billion dollars. Ever since the beginning of this project we'd always known that Donald Kline was going to be pivotal for us. He represents a group of very adventurous entrepreneurs. He is also an astute financial analyst. We knew that he would immediately understand that the crux of the issue was putting together the mammoth sum of money required to make the project work. For that reason, we decided that we would wait to approach Donald Kline and his group until we could show him that we'd already been able to raise a substantial portion of the necessary capital."

He smiled at everyone. "A little over an hour ago Donald Kline agreed to commit up to six hundred million dollars to this project. That gives us enough money to proceed. Tomorrow we are going to meet with one more investor. We feel confident that we can persuade his group to commit at least another two hundred million dollars. If we can do that, we should have more than enough working capital to be able to take control of the company, correct the problems that caused it to founder and restore it to its full value. That will allow us to then sell it and make a very nice profit for ourselves and our investors."

Mr. Reynolds looked at us. "Kirby and Timmy, you're both new to JTandR so you may not be aware of our policy regarding bonuses. While we try to pay all of our employees a reasonable base salary, we are in what can frequently be a very lucrative business. We like to reward the employees who are instrumental in making us successful. I believe that today's function was pivotal to the success of our effort to enlist the support of Donald Kline's financial group in our project. Martin and Wendell both agree. For that reason we've decided to reward everyone who participated in this function with a five thousand dollar bonus. Everyone should be receiving their checks by the middle of next week."

He smiled at Kirby. "That should be enough to buy a very nice engagement ring."

Tonya put her arms around Kirby's massive shoulders and kissed his cheek. "This old whore would be happy with a cigar band."

Shaking his head, Kirby said; "Nope, as soon as I get that bonus check we're going across the street to Smithson Jewelers and you, my beautiful lady, are going to get the biggest rock that five thousand dollars can buy."

"Way to go Cookie!"

I turned. Elvira was standing up. She was clapping her hands. Everyone at the table quickly joined her.

I glanced at my big friend. Kirby was grinning like a four year old boy who'd just been given a giant red lollipop.

Martin Jackson stood up. He waited until everyone had settled down again and then he said, "It's been a very exciting and productive day. While I understand that right now all of us are a little wound up, I remind you that we still have guests in the house. We'll need to have breakfast ready for them at 6:30 tomorrow morning."

He glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's now 12:40, it's time for all of us to get to bed."

After a general murmur of agreement everyone stood up and slowly started filing out of the back dining room.

I was about to follow Kirby and Tonya through the door, when I heard Martin Jackson behind me. "Timmy, could you stick around for a moment. I'd like a private word with you."

Turning, I saw that he was still standing next to the table. I smiled at him and said, "Certainly."

Cassie and Florence started cleaning up the mess on the table so Mr. Jackson gave me quick wave and said, "Come on, let's move to the formal dining room."

I nodded and followed him through the kitchen and back into the room where Kirby and I had just spent over an hour talking to Donny Kline.

As soon as we were in the dining room Mr. Jackson turned around and asked, "How did the meeting go with Donald?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, I think it went fairly well. He seemed to enjoy talking to us. He's sending a case of that fancy Scotch to both Kirby and me."

"The Chivas?"

"Yes."

"Why is he doing that?"

"I think he's just trying to be a nice guy. Neither Kirby nor I had ever tasted eighteen year old Chivas Regal before so we were joking around and making kind of a big deal about it. He asked us if we liked it. We told him that we did. The next thing we knew he was leaving a message to his secretary on his pocket recorder to send us each a case."

Mr. Jackson smiled. "Timmy, if you and Kirby end up becoming good friends with Donald Kline I'll buy you a whole boatload of expensive scotch."

I smiled and then I said, "Oh I suppose I should also mention that he gave us his personal cell phone number. I think that was probably a pretty good sign."

Mr. Jackson raised his eyebrows. "He did what?"

"He gave his personal cell phone number to both Kirby and me. Don't you think that's a good sign?"

"Yes, I think that's a very good sign." Mr. Jackson laughed. "I don't have that number."

He paused for a moment and then he looked at me with a serious expression. "Timmy, please guard that telephone number very carefully."

"I will sir."

Now it was my turn to pause. After a brief debate in my head I made a quick decision. "Mr. Jackson, there's something I should tell you. Donny asked me not to say anything about this, but I think that might be a mistake. I'm fairly certain that it would be better if you knew about it in advance. You do have to promise me that when he calls you, you'll try to not let on that I told you about it, all right."

Mr. Jackson grinned at me. "Timmy, I give you my word and don't worry, I'm a pretty good poker player. I'll make sure that Donald never suspects that you told me anything."

I spent the next few minutes filling him in on the plans for the New Years party on Cape Cod.

After I was done Mr. Jackson smiled. "Timmy, thank you for telling me that. It was the correct decision. It's always nice to be forewarned. It reduces the possibility of making an inadvertent social blunder. Of course all three of us are going to accept the invitation. Right now, we want to do everything we can to strengthen our relationship with Donald Kline."

He laughed. "It also sounds like it's going to be a fun way to spend the New Years Holiday."

"I think so too sir."

Mr. Jackson nodded and then he said, "Timmy, you and Kirby did a good job for us tonight. It appears that you built a lot of good will with Donald Kline."

I shrugged. "It was easy to do. He's a nice guy, I like him."

"Our relationship with our investors is largely based on trust and good will. They give us their money because they like us and because they believe that we'll use it wisely and when we give it back we'll be returning substantially more to them than they originally gave to us."

He smiled at me. "That's why our hostess program is so important to us. Timmy, right now your wife isn't trying to talk Tyler Greer into investing in our project; she's upstairs building good will with him. If you take a man out to dinner he'll remember it for a week, if you get him laid he'll remember it for the rest of his life."

Suddenly Mr. Jackson stopped and shook his head. "Timmy, I'm sorry, that was incredibly insensitive of me."

I looked at him and asked, "Why?"

"Because, well, I mean I just sort of threw it in your face."

"Mr. Jackson, I know exactly what my wife is doing right now. I also know that you know. I appreciate your concern for my feelings, but it's not necessary. We've talked about this before. The fact that Kelly sleeps with other men does not upset me."

Mr. Jackson closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry Timmy. You're right, you have explained it to me. You've explained it to me several times. The problem I'm having has nothing to do with you and Kelly."

I smiled at him. "It has to do with you and Mandy, doesn't it."

He nodded. "Yes it does."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Yes, very much."

Mr. Jackson stared at the floor for a moment and then he looked up at me and took a deep breath. "Timmy, I'm in love with her. I've known it for a long time, but I've refused to admit it to myself. There are just too many complications."

"Like what?"

He threw his arms up. "Damn it Timmy! I'm old enough to be her father."

"How old are you?"

"Fifty-one."

"And Mandy is 26." I smiled at him. "I just had a similar conversation with Kirby, only it was kind of the opposite of this one."

"He has strong feelings for Elvira, doesn't he."

"Actually so do I."

He nodded. "It's easy to understand why, she's pretty special. Wendell was lucky to find her and he knows it."

"Mr. Jackson, Elvira is 72. Kirby is about your age. Elvira didn't refuse to get involved with him because of the current difference in their ages, she was worried about the difference that could potentially exist five to ten years from now."

"Timmy that doesn't make any sense. People grow old at the same rate. The difference in their ages remains constant."

"Mr. Jackson, if you'd met Mandy twenty years ago would you have considered asking her to marry you?"

"Of course not. She would have only been six years..." He stopped and smiled. "Timmy, you never cease to amaze me."

"Elvira didn't want to risk saddling Kirby with a wife who was an infirm old lady. At this stage of her life she wanted a man who was closer to her own age so that they could face the challenges of growing old together."

"Like Wendell."

"That's right."

"So because of the difference in our ages, you're advising me to forget about a serious relationship with Mandy." There was a very clear tone of disappointment in Mr. Jackson's voice.

"No, not at all. Hopefully you're still at least twenty-five or thirty years away from that stage of your life. That gives you and Mandy the potential for a lot of good years together. I think you should talk to her about it."

Mr. Jackson slowly nodded his head. "All right."

"That's not the only problem, is it?"

"No Timmy, there's also the whole sex thing."

"You mean the question of your being faithful to each other?"

"Yes, when we talked in the hall earlier this evening you suggested that Mandy was a lot like her mother and Kelly. You offered the opinion that all three women were simply not cut out to remain faithful to one man. And then you pointed out that if I married Mandy I would most likely end up being her cuckold."

He shook his head. "I hadn't considered that and at first it bothered me. Then I listened to that conversation in the back dining room earlier this evening. The one that occurred just before John, Wendell and I left to meet with Donald."

I nodded. "When Cassie was telling us about her husband and his stable of wealthy middle aged white women."

Mr. Jackson laughed. "Yes, that was the conversation."

He paused. After a moment he said, "Actually it was Wendell's comments that really caught my attention. Wendell is one of my oldest and closest friends. I have a deep respect for him. He's one of the most rational men that I have ever known. Hearing him tell us that he was comfortable with Elvira having a male friend who she occasionally meets for a little extracurricular fun started me thinking. Then I heard him telling us that he thought it was all about confidence, trust and security. Since then, those words have been echoing in my mind."

He smiled. "Timmy, when I look at you and think about Wendell's words I start to understand. Kelly doesn't cuckold you because you're a wimp. You may be a submissive, but you are definitely not a wimp. You have as much back bone as any man I've ever met. It is obvious that you enjoy surrendering power to your wife. Mandy enjoys surrendering power too and apparently so does Kirby. While I don't think that I'll ever be able to fully understand why the three of you enjoy it, I can tell you that Tonya, Kelly and I are all very happy that you do. I cannot begin to describe the thrill we experience when we're dominating a submissive."

I laughed. "And we can't begin to describe the thrill we experience when we're being dominated. Sir, it's just lucky that we all found each other."

Grinning, he said; "Timmy, you're right about that."

Mr. Jackson paused for a moment to think. Finally he said; "Timmy, what I'm trying to say is that I'm finally beginning to understand that being a cuckold doesn't make you a wimp." He shook his head. "If you're a wimp, it's only because you deliberately choose to play that role. The fact is, being a cuckold doesn't make any man a wimp, it just means that he allows his wife to occasionally enjoy the company of other men."

"Mr. Jackson are you trying to tell me that if Mandy decides that she wants to continue playing around with other men, you think you'll be able to accept it?"

"I'm willing to try and with a little help from friends like Wendell and Elvira, Kirby and Tonya and you and Kelly; I think I'll be able to do it. Of course, that does mean that I'll also get to continue playing around with Tonya and Kelly." He looked at me. "That is, as long as it's all right with you and Kirby."

"You know that will always be fine with both of us. Of course, ultimately that is up to Tonya and Kelly, but I can't imagine that either one of them would ever object."

I thought for a second and then I asked, "What are you going to do if Mandy decides that she wants to continue working as a hostess? You'd better be prepared for that possibility, because I think it's very likely that that's what she's going to want to do."