It was a couple of days before I went back to the cleaners. I woke up early enough to arrive at the plant at 6:00 A. M. Sarah was alone. She was going about the opening duties, starting the boiler and turning things on. In general, she was getting the business ready for the day. She had not seen me when I came in and went to the office.
As she was passing the office door, I called out, "Hey, Good looking."
When she recovered from being startled, she said, "Hey, Good looking yourself. You scared me."
"So Sarah, how are you this fine morning?" I asked.
"I'm just fine," she said. "What I want to know is how you did the impossible and got Miss Beegee to pay up."
"All I will say is I have my ways," I said. "I can't give up all my secrets. She's paid up and is on a cash basis. Has she been back in?"
"She was in yesterday and left cleaning to be picked up this afternoon," she said. "Mr. Cuningham called and wanted you to call him. He wants you to have lunch with him today. I was going to call you if you did not come in." Sarah came over to my chair and placed her hand on my back and said, "However you got the money, you deserve a pat on the back." But instead, she gave me a half-hug.
"I want to thank you again for the money you loaned me the other day," she said. "It got us out of a bind. How do you want me to pay it back?"
"I've been thinking about that," I said. "I've been meaning to discuss a raise with you for a while. You have been increasing revenues as manager and Carla says you have good bookkeeping skills. So why don't we just consider the money you have as a one-time bonus? I'll be in a good mood after a good lunch and that will be a good time to hit me up for a raise." I stood up and she gave me a full hug.
I called Mr. Cuningham about 9:30 and his secretary said a car would pick me up in front of the store at 11:30 sharp. At 11:29, I saw a black Lincoln limousine pull up in front of the store and a uniformed chauffeur stepped out, opened the curbside rear door, and stood by. I yelled back at the crew, "You guys had better be good to me." I waved them to the front so they could see me ride away. Two customers were in the lobby. I said to them in passing, "It belongs to a customer."
One of the two women said, "It looks like one of Jason Cuningham's limos." I nodded back at her. So that 's who this is. Jason Cuningham was a retired financial wizard who moved into a mansion near Orlando.
The chauffeur deftly guided the limo through the gate and up the winding driveway to one of, if not the largest houses in Orlando. The car stopped in front of the white columns, which designated the entrance. I approached the door and the butler opened it and escorted me to a patio where a light lunch was being served.
Mr. Cuningham stood as I approached. He said, "Thank you for joining me for lunch. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
During lunch, we talked about Orlando, politics, the cleaning business, and my consultant firm. In general, it was just small talk. As we finished lunch, he invited me to take a walk with him in the gardens. I thought, "we must be nearing the reason for my visit."
"I understand you were with my wife the other evening," he stated calmly.
"She told you about it?" I asked.
"Certainly," he said. "We have no secrets. But I have a question for you. Didn't you enjoy her or find her desirable?"
"Of course I did," I said.
"Then you were serious when you gave her your reasons for not seeing her again?" he asked.
"Well, yes, I was serious," I said. "But the major reason is the obvious, she's married."
"Let me put your mind at ease," he explained. "I love my wife but I lost the ability to give her sexual satisfaction several years ago. Just because I can't do it doesn't mean that it doesn't need to be done. I've encouraged Beegee to find a discreet younger man but until now, she hasn't. She is definitely not a whore, but she thinks that if you are buying her services that you will not become romantically involved. You can have sex with her but her love belongs to me.
"You are welcome in my home at any time whether I am here or not. If you like I'll buy you two a place to rendezvous. The one caveat is that she can never know about this meeting. Here's the card of my accountant. Send him the bills on a monthly basis. Of course, you will pretend to let her pay you also. You may call her here and of course it is no secret that she volunteers at the Cancer Society. Call her and tell her that you have changed your mind."
"Sir, I want to thank you for being so candid with me," I said. "It takes a man with a great love for his wife to do what you're doing. If anything changes let me know. I will happily comply with your wishes."
"Well, I guess that concludes our business," he said. "I'll look forward to seeing you again." We had entered the house again. He pulled a tasseled cord and said, "Clayton will see you out and my car will make sure that you get back to your business. When I left the house, a chauffeur was holding open the door to a white limousine. I wondered how many limos he had.