Author's Note: The last installment was kind of an interlude. If there is a main plot, this is a continuation. But Kim and Sarah just keep demanding to have major roles in this series, and I indulge them.
The mind control aspect has been kind of in the background except as a contextual establishing element for a few installments. That is no longer the case.
Where We Left Off: A little over a year ago, Garrett Morley - a fixer for an Evil Corporation(tm) used a secret mind control protocol to steal a march on rival Clark Perkins and elbow Clark's company out of a lucrative contract. The unscrupulous Garrett used the same protocol on Clark's bitter wife and rebellious daughter, utterly transforming the household in unexpected ways. Now all of the household members look up to Garrett, each in their own particular way. Creatively adjusting his plans, Garrett realized that the bungalow would be a very pleasurable place to lay over when visiting the local office, which is now established and ProTekOmega is becoming a major force in certain tech circles in the LA area.
All characters are at least eighteen years of age. In fact, all are at least twenty-one years of age. And many are over 40.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 5, 1:33 PM PACIFIC TIME
Sarah Perkins was driving her BMW i4 electric sports sedan through the Hollywood Hills, carefully only five miles an hour over the speed limit, but enjoying taking the curves at full speed. She was on her way back to the office from a long cocktail-enhanced lunch with her closest female friend at a lovely trattoria perched on the edge of a scenic valley.
She was happy with her life, and not just because Garrett Morley was in town.
Since Garrett had changed her life a year ago, she was much less frustrated with her home life, particularly her sex life - and it showed. She was much less quick to anger and turn on her subordinates in shrewish bitchiness, and team morale and productivity had improved to the point that their accomplishments were being noticed company-wide.
Her life was so much simpler now. Unlike her catty friend who was still frustrated with balancing family and career, Garrett had focused Sarah's own mind on what was important. She loved it so much when he complimented her attractiveness, when he ran his hands over her body, when he laid her down and gave her what her body craved. She loved to please him.
When Garrett was around, Sarah was hornier than she'd ever remembered being. And giving control of that part of her life over to him allowed her to put all her effort into her career.
Similarly, her daughter Kim was excelling at school now that Garrett was her only boyfriend. Thinking about the relationship between her daughter and her lover, Sarah always felt that she should be jealous. But somehow she couldn't find it within herself. Garrett was just so good for both of them, always there to satisfy all their needs whenever he was in town. She couldn't be so selfish to keep Garrett to herself.
Sarah slowed her car down a bit - she was getting distracted from driving due to thinking about the mature man who always gave her what she needed. She was even getting a little wet, down there. The pleasurable, slippery sensation between her legs gave Sarah an idea, and she reached down to engage the sporty car's phone.
"This is Garrett Morley," came the answer.
"Hello, lover," Sarah replied. "I'm going to have a present for you when you come home tonight."
PROTEKOMEGA LOS ANGELES OFFICE - JULY 5, 4:35 PM PACIFIC TIME
Clark had picked up Garrett from LAX when Garrett's flight from O'Hare landed at just after noon. Garrett had been intrigued by Sarah's mysterious call. As the sedan sped off towards the ProTekOmega office, Garrett had spent a pleasurable few minutes in the back seat pleasantly visualizing Sarah's perfect teardrop tits and pilates-toned butt.
But then he had pulled himself together and focused on the job he was here to do. And it wasn't his usual line of work, either.
This was supposed to be a slam-dunk. ProTekOmega ate contracting situations like this one for breakfast. The Request For Proposals was from a major Japanese firm, Daini Yonkyo, which was expanding their operations to the west coast of the United States. The acquisitions and contracts people should win this one on cruise control.
But there was a fly in the ointment. OnlyConnect. Two years ago, they'd been a glorified startup trying to disrupt a field that didn't need disruption. But then they repurposed their product line and re branded themselves. And they started winning small customers. Then they'd gone from strength to strength - and now they could credibly compete against the big boys in the field.
Garrett spent the majority of the afternoon in the bowels of the headquarters building. He had little time for executives in the best of situations, and when the Los Angeles office had called him in, they'd emphasized that this wasn't that. He spent time with everyone involved - the numbers guys, the negotiators, even the legal staff.
Things were going sour and no one knew why. Solid contacts not always taking calls. Negotiating sessions which had formerly been cordial becoming frosty and polite. Junior executives deferring to their seniors to avoid saying "no," or saying "yes" knowing they'd be overriden. Daini Yonkyo execs spotted in public networking affably with their OnlyConnect counterparts, at the expense of ProTekOmega people with established relationships.
Garrett also talked with his own people. The guys and girls who worked in the shadows. The people who did the dirty work. And they were in agreement - this was just how things had gone on OnlyConnect's other recent wins over the past year.
Their surveillance footage and what industrial espionage they'd managed to accomplish - OnlyConnect seemed suspiciously capable in this area - backed it up. OnlyConnect had a playbook and they were running it.