The Lifeguard

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. If you are offended by graphic descriptions of homosexual acts, go somewhere else.

Copyright c 2000 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved.

Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed electronically or in any other manner without the express, written consent of the author.

THE LIFEGUARD

Chapter 19

When I woke up that Saturday morning, Eric was already up. I trudged into the kitchen, and found him at the stove cooking. "Get your coffee and go on into the den," he said cheerfully. "I'll be there in a minute with our breakfast."

Places were set on the coffee table. I sipped my coffee and waited.

He brought in two heaping plates, set them down, gave me a kiss on the cheek and started eating. I had no appetite, but ate anyway.

This was it. I had to tell him. There was no way out of it, and I dreaded what I'd have to admit.

With fresh coffee, he turned to face me. "Now," he said, "what's going on?"

Sheepishly, I told him that my insecurities had gotten out of control.

"About what?" he asked.

"You," I said, waiting for an explosion.

"I understand," he said, calmly, looking at me and sipping his coffee. "At times, I feel real insecure about you, too."

"Why?" I asked, glad about the diversion from my problem.

"You have so much to offer that sometimes I wonder if I'm worthy," he said, looking me straight in the eye.

"How could you possibly think that?" I asked, totally surprised.

"The same way you do," he said. "I know you're real sensitive about our age difference even though you don't talk about it. Look at it from my point of view. What've I really got to offer? I'll be 31 this month, I've accomplished nothing, so far, and about all I really have going for me is fairly decent looks. There's a lot of guys out there better looking, younger, more talented, more accomplished. Frankly, I'm scared of the competition."

"You underestimate yourself," I said.

"I'll admit I'm changing," he said, "but that's all because of you. Before I met you, I was a beach bum playing around at getting an education without any real thoughts about the future. Loving you has made me want to better myself, measure up to what I hope you want. You haven't tried to change me, it's been my decision. I want to be better for YOU, to be worthy of the love that you give to me.

"If you think I've been neglecting you the past couple of weeks, and I have, it's not intentional, but necessary, so that I'll be better qualified to stand by your side."

"Then it's a matter of trust," I said, suddenly defensive. "You think I'll run off with the first cute twinkie that shows up?"

"I trust you," he said. "It's them I don't trust."

"Why?" I asked.

"I 'caught' you, didn't I?" he asked. "I plotted and schemed to do it, and I'm afraid there's others out there who are smarter and even more devious than I am."

"Don't you realize how much I love you, Eric?" I asked.

"Don't you realize how much I love YOU?" he said.

"Then why are we having this conversation?" I asked.

"Because we're human," he said, "and we haven't been communicating our feelings to each other. I think we're both to blame on that count."

"Rest assured I'll love you til the day I die," I said.

"While we're on that subject," he said, "let's put this age thing out of the way once and for all. I've always found men older than me to be the most attractive. They're sexier, and you sure as hell are, and that's what I want."

"As you know," I added, "everyone on both sides of my family has lived forever, so there's a good chance I might even outlive you, although that's hard to comprehend now."

"I know that, and I've thought about it," he said. "Actually, I prefer it that way because I won't even think about life without you."

I slid across the couch and took him in my arms. We just held each other.

"What brought this all on?" he asked softly.

I thought about it for a minute, then said "I guess it was when I started thinking about the changes that will be taking place after you graduate. I started thinking about the possibility of losing you, and things just got out of hand."

"I'm going to make you a promise," he said seriously, "and I want one from you, too. If I ever feel insecure about you again, I promise to talk to you about it, and I want you to promise to do the same."

"I will," I promised. "I don't know why I didn't, guess I had an attack of pride."

"We both know where that leads," he chuckled. "Feel better now?"

"Tremendously better," I assured him.

"I know it's customary to jump in bed and make mad passionate love after a fight," he giggled, "but we didn't have a fight and I'd like to save that for tonight."

I just grinned at him.

As usual, he had turned the tables on me. Instead of being offended, as I expected, and making me feel like a complete fool, he'd turned the whole thing around and we both came out feeling better.

Eric had a week between his last final and the graduation ceremony. He spent a lot of time setting appointments with the people who had contacted him about working for them.

Since I had been postponing a trip East, and would be going soon after his graduation, he arranged meetings in the New York area for that time.

My whole attitude had changed about his career. Instead of dreading it, I was as enthusiastic and excited as Eric was. Whenever his confidence would waver, I was there to give him a boost.

He spent a couple of days with me at the office. It was different. Instead of following me around, he was invited to chat in the offices of the guys he'd worked with on the Milton thing. Mutual respect had developed, and he no longer was just the boss's boyfriend.

I noticed that Eric carried himself with a new confidence too. He was by no means arrogant, just more comfortable.

When Bill took us to lunch, his first comment was "We're going to have to go shopping again. Buy something so Eric can keep us out of trouble."

"You'd better get in line, Bill," I told him, laughing. "He's got so many offers we wouldn't stand a chance. How many, so far, Eric?"

"17 serious, a lot more marginal. I might not take any of them, though, you've made me so damned rich I don't have to work," he said to Bill.

"Don't you think I had an ulterior motive?" Bill shot back, and got us all laughing.

"Seriously, though," he continued, "since we financed part of the Milton deal, we've still got a lot of cash left, and the banks are banging on the door trying to loan us more."

"Let's get a little more comfortable with Milton before we get into something else," I suggested. "That doesn't mean you can't start looking around," I added, tacitly giving him the go-ahead to do a lot of preliminary work.

Eric caught on, and just sat there grinning and shaking his head.

"What're we going to do with more people?" I asked. "We're already bursting at the seams and all the Milton people haven't moved in yet."

"We've got a real problem there," Bill admitted. "We're leasing a lot of space in that building across the street, but I don't like it. When we're scattered out like that, people don't interact like they should."

"Let's move the whole crew," I suggested.

"Where?" Bill asked. "There's no building around that's bigger than ours."

"Not yet," I said, looking over at Eric who was smiling.

"Who's going to build it? Where?" he asked.

"We are," I said. "Remember that piece of ground we picked up out in the hills?"

"I'd totally forgotten about that," he admitted.

"I'll have something to show you in a couple of weeks. For a change, I'm ahead of you," I said.

"When do you have time to to that?" he asked.

"As usual, I gave the project to somebody else," I told him. "Don't you know I never do any actual work?"

"I know," he answered, "you just come up with the ideas. Who's doing this one?"

"I gave it to Tina," I said.

"Tina? Really?" he asked.

"I tossed the ball to her, and she ran with it," I said. "We'll have some preliminary drawings in a week or two. I think you'll be totally surprised with what we come up with."

"This is really becoming a 'family' company," he said. "You've got everybody involved - Annie, Tina, even Eric."

"Not me," Eric piped up. "I'm still not 'that' involved, even though Dave tries."

It was during this week that I realized how important his degree was to Eric. He checked the Internet every day to get his grades. When they were posted, he was ecstatic. All A's. He'd be graduating with honors, which had been his objective.

I was enormously proud of him. He'd accomplished it in spite of me, I knew. I took up a lot of his time, and wasn't that good an influence when it came to studying.

We had good seats at the ceremony. Karl and Ingrid, the proud parents and a very excited "partner".

The last graduation I'd been to was my own, almost 30 years ago, but nothing had changed. They marched in, the band playing, took their seats and endured the endless "inspirational" messages of College bigwigs. As each ones name was announced, they crossed the stage to receive their diploma and a handshake from the Dean. I noticed he had a few extra words for Eric.

Outside, afterward, still in his cap and gown, he posed for pictures with his parents and with me. I'm sure my pride in him was captured on film.

We left for New York Monday morning early. It was a business trip for both of us. Eric had his interviews and I would be going to the Milton plant in New Jersey. For a change, there wasn't a crisis to deal with. Since we didn't have any more hotels to "break in" in New York, we decided to go back to the Boutique one.

Eric had practiced his interviewing skills on me, and had them finely tuned. He intended that these meetings be "fact finding" tours, with the objective of finding out what these prospective employers had in mind for him. The only tip I'd given him was not to give away any free advice.

He swore that the only reason he'd even scheduled these interviews was to gain experience. He said he had no intention of accepting anything on the East Coast, away from me. I had mixed emotions about this. On the one hand, I would hate to be away from him, and on the other, I didn't want him to pass up any opportunities.

He'd also researched the companies he would visit. I noticed that he gravitated toward the newer high-tech and internet related companies rather than those in the older basic industries. They certainly couldn't be considered competition to Metalco.

His first meeting was with a high-flying software company. I left for New Jersey before he had to go, and after a hug and kiss for luck, was on my way.

My first impression on entering the Milton office was that there was a change in the atmosphere. The office staff seemed friendlier, more relaxed and enthusiastic. It could have been for my benefit but I doubted that.

I was led to Edward and John's old office, but, after looking around, found a bright, cheery conference room that suited me much better than that dark old cave. Instead of holding court there, I found the Plant Manager's office, and met with him there.

We quickly went over the production and financial reports, then just talked. He'd never seen financials on his operation. The Miltons had been very secretive, and he felt he could do a better job if he knew how his operation was doing, particularly with all the detail that our people had provided. He felt that there were a lot of areas where he could improve, now that he knew about them.

There was no mention of the way the Miltons had been "cooking the books". I felt certain that he had no idea about it, and there was no point in my bringing it up.

Corporate philosophy was discussed. He liked the way Metalco did business - no secrecy, and giving managers responsibility as well as the authority to carry it out. I really liked the guy.

When I brought up the possibility of moving the operation to a more modern facility, he fully agreed, saying that such a move was long overdue. He mentioned several industrial parks that were opening up, and that the city had Industrial Development Bond money available for new construction.

When I got back to the hotel, Eric was waiting. Although he tried to hide it, I could tell that he was so excited he was about to explode.

"How'd it go?" I asked after I'd made us a drink and was seated next to him.

"Fucking awesome!" he said, then the story came in a torrent.

"First, I met with Jerry, the guy who called me. He tried to be formal, but after a few minutes gave up on that, and we just talked. Then his 'partners' came in.

"I've never seen anybody as enthusiastic as they all are. They have reason to be, too. They're one of the few new software companies that's actually making money, big money too.

"They're not just a 'one product' company either. Everybody knows about their 'Micron' stuff, but you wouldn't believe all the stuff that they're getting ready to introduce, and they're plowing a large part of their net right back into more development.

"They're so excited about what they're doing that they spent five solid hours telling me all about it. It's contagious. They got me excited too!

"I sure never expected my first meeting to go anything like this!"

"Where do you fit in?" I asked.

"Their stock is flying so high, it's an ideal time for them to look at stock-swap acquisitions," he went on. "Lots of other software developers want to jump on their bandwagon, and even though their stock is outrageously priced, want to be bought out.

"I get the feeling that these are 'big picture' guys that aren't too interested in details or getting bogged down in all the bullshit that's involved with picking up these companies.

"Once they pick out the companies that they want, they would like me to take it from there."

"Did they make you an offer?" I asked.

"Stock and a signing bonus, stock options and a two-hundred thousand dollar salary," he said.

"Only two hundred thousand?" I said.

"A month," he said, breaking up laughing.

"They must really want you," I said.

"We really hit it off," he said. "I didn't give them any freebies, but I gave them enough so they think I'm up to it."

"Wow!" I said, "does that mean you'll be moving to New York?"

"No way," he said. "That's part of the deal. I'd work from the West Coast and only have to come back here once a month or so, or when things get sticky. I'd have an office here, and they'll open one for me at home. They wanted to know about my relationship with you. I think they were wondering about the business aspect, but when I told them that it was closer than that, they thought that was 'cool' too.

"They'd really like to meet you, and they've invited us for dinner tomorrow night.

"I know it all sounds too good to be true, but I checked them out some time ago and they're totally for real."

"Not bad - for a first interview," I observed.

"Yes, this IS only the first one," he said seriously, "and it's going to be a hard act to follow. I do intend to talk to all the others, though."

"I'm so damned proud of you," I told him. "Now, will you stop underestimating yourself?"

"I might stop that, a little," he said. "Days like today give me a lot of confidence, but I'll never take myself seriously. Now, tell me about your day."

Eric's next appointment was with another Software Company, and I went back to New Jersey.

Overnight, Bob, the Plant Manager, had been busy. He estimated that if his plant were moved to a one-level facility, he could increase production output by at least 15% and cut labor costs by 5 to 10%, using existing equipment.

Such a move would take at least a year to accomplish, but definitely warranted further consideration. Our people at the home office would work with Bob to weigh the advantages.

I was introduced to most of Bob's staff, and got a lot of insight into the strengths and weaknesses of their operation.

I got back to the hotel before Eric. He'd been shopping. There was a big pile of bags and boxes. He came in with another load.

"I'm helping the New York economy," he snickered after giving me a kiss.

"How'd your meeting go, today?" I asked.

"Pretty good," he said, "but nothing like yesterday's. It only lasted an hour, so, since I'm going to have to 'dress the part' wherever I go, I did a little work on my wardrobe. Got a couple of things for you, too."

"God, how I hate shopping," I groaned. "Was it fun?"

"It's always fun - when I'm spending your money," he teased. '"I've sure changed. I used to be so careful and feel guilty about it, but not anymore. It's just spend, spend spend!"

"I'm glad," I told him. "Tell me about your meeting."

"A completely different situation," he said. "Where Micron is dynamic and enthusiastic, this outfit is stagnant and desperate. They think that acquisitions will pep them up and give them the 'shot in the arm' that'll solve all their problems. I don't think it'll work. Their problems are a lot more basic. They've become too conservative, afraid to take a chance. They've been complacent too long, and I don't see them changing their basic philosophy. Working for them wouldn't be any fun, and we didn't even get to an offer. I'm really not interested."

"I can understand that. Do you think I'm dynamic?" I asked.

"Definitely," he said, "and you're becoming even moreso. Basically, I think you're pretty conservative, but you're willing to take a chance. Calculated moves, nothing rash. I like that."

"Thank you, my dear," I said. "I sure wouldn't want to be a stodgy old fart."

"That you'll never be," he chuckled. "Want a quickie? Jerry's sending a car for us around seven. We have time."

"Let's wait until later," I suggested, "then we can take our time."

"I'll try to contain myself," he said, rubbing his crotch. "Oh, by the way, the Micron guys are totally in awe of you."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's the way you do things, quietly, but not secretively, and you don't pull all sorts of stuff to get your name in the papers. They respect that," he said. "They don't even know what you look like. That picture they use in the papers is 20 years old!"

"Do you remember a long time ago when I told you that I like a low profile?" I asked.

"Yes, I remember," he answered. "I was right after we got together."

"If my picture, or yours, for that matter, were splashed all over, we wouldn't be able to do the things we do," I said. "For example, we couldn't run around New York like we do without attracting attention. Our privacy would be gone. I like it just the way it is."

"Me too," he said. "I'll be damned careful about pictures myself."

"With your looks, my dear, and the publicity you've already gotten, they wouldn't leave you alone."

"I DON'T want that!" he said. "That'll have to be understood by whoever I go to work for."

The "Micron Four" met us in the restaurant's foyer. Introductions were gotten out of the way, and we were led to a table.

"This is a new place," Jerry explained, "hasn't had the chance to 'catch on' yet. It's trendy, but at least they give you enough so you don't go home hungry like so many other restaurants do."

They were an average looking group, not the least bit "nerdy" like you come to expect of computer geniuses. Of course, I checked them out! I think that's automatic for gay men. They were all about Eric's age and it also soon became clear that their personalities weren't nerdy either. They were all charming, witty and interesting.

After we'd ordered, the subject turned to business. They politely asked about Metalco, and how our latest purchase was working out.

"Extremely well," I told them. "We made a few changes right away and the results are already showing." I winked at Eric.

"You're really lucky to still be private," Mike said. "It seems like we can't do anything without going through some damned government filing, but we needed the money, so here we are."

"Not having stockholders has its advantages," I said. "It lets us move pretty fast when we have to."

"The four of us still have control of Micron," Jerry added, "so we can move pretty fast too. That'll be to Eric's advantage if he decides to work with us."

"I hear that if you ever did decide to go public, it'd be the biggest IPO in history, and you'd probably be in the Dow Jones Industrials within a year," Greg, one of the quartet offered. "Ours was peanuts by comparison."

"I don't know about that," I said, "but it's not going to happen soon."

The subject shifted to Micron. Their enthusiasm was unbridled. I could see why Eric was excited about them. I was fascinated when they related their history, how they'd started at M.I.T., and gone on from there. They had a good basic product and were building for the future. They included Eric in the conversation as if he was already a member of the team.

"What made you decide to settle in New York City?" I asked.

"Not all computer whizzes are one-dimensional," Ted, the fourth of the group, explained. "Some of the best people have 'lives' outside of work, and we felt that the major concentrations in Silicon Valley, Austin, and New England didn't have enough to offer outside of work, work, work."

Then, he added, a little sheepishly, "My uncle owns a lot of real estate here, and we got a pretty good deal in the beginning when we really needed it." This got a laugh around the table.

These guys had either thought out their moves carefully, or had made them by accident and it had turned to their advantage.

"It'll definitely be a factor in my decision," Eric said. "Out of necessity, we've been kind of homebodies lately, but we do like the bright lights."

He was wavering, that was pretty obvious.

The subject of business was dropped for the rest of the evening. These guys were interested in a lot more than computer software and making a buck and were great conversationalists.

On the way out, Jerry asked me to help them convince Eric to go with them.

"You don't know Eric very well," I told him. "He makes his own decisions and I don't even try to influence him."

"I understand," he said knowingly, "but we're going to have a lot of fun!"

"What do you think of them?" Eric eagerly asked on the way back to the hotel.

"I can see why you're interested," I told him. "Saying they're dynamic is an understatement. They're almost hyper!"

"What do you really think," he asked seriously.

"They've got their feet on the ground," I said, "despite their enthusiasm, and I think they'll be around for a long time. With a little luck, they'll put Bill Gates in his place. In fact, I think I'll buy a little more of their stock before you get involved. Gotta be careful about 'insider trading' you know."

"Then you think I'm going to say yes?" he asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me at all," I said. "The decision's entirely up to you, though."

"It's a real exciting prospect," he said, "but let's wait until I talk to the others. Maybe something better will come up."

We gave each other backrubs, then frontrubs. I loved the feel of Eric's muscles under my hands. I was careful to stay away from his biceps, however. Didn't want the evening to be over prematurely.

We graduated to kissing, but soon our dicks were getting really eager for some attention too. We 69'd for a while, then I was the first to get really serious attention. He crawled between my legs and licked from my balls upward, stopping and just tonguing the underside of the head. That alone almost did it for me, but he backed off then took me all the way into his mouth. Slowly he built me up again, fingering my balls at the same time. Then, the velvet blender kicked in, his tongue doing indescribable things to me, and I lost control.

He giggled as he watched me twitch and shake like a leaf while coming back to earth. "That was a really long one," he commented. "Tasted pretty good too!"

He kissed me. I could taste my cum on his tongue. It wasn't bad, but not nearly as good as the nectar he supplied me with. When I could, I rolled him on his back and got between his legs, the best angle for me to deep throat him.

I worked my way down his smooth shaft until he was totally buried in my throat. I stroked up and down, feeling him respond. I decided to up the ante a little, and with one hand played with his hard nipple. This got more reactions of pleasure from him. I decided to back off for a minute, lubed up my finger and when I went back to work on his dick and nub, added another sensation. Gently I probed him until my finger was all the way in. I felt his prostate and ran my finger across it gently. I knew I had the right spot when he moaned louder and louder.

It wouldn't be fair to keep him at this pitch for too long, so I added one last stimulant. With him bottomed out in my throat, I hummed.

He literally exploded. His hips rose, then his back arched. He had no control over his movements, they were involuntary, and judging from their duration and the amount of cream he shot down my throat, it was one of those orgasms to remember.

It was my turn to giggle as I watched him return to consciousness.

"I don't know what the hell's going on," he mumbled. "That one came from so many directions I'm not sure what set me off."

We usually didn't say much during lovemaking, but discussed it afterward. We both felt that this helped us know what did the most for the other.

"Man, you were pushing so many buttons at the same time I almost got lost," he said. "I thought for a minute that you were going to fuck me, then you hit my button down there. Wow! What a sensation. It felt completely different from having your dick there."

"You liked it?" I asked.

"You saw what it did to me, that should give you a clue," he said, chuckling.

Lying with him in my arms, I told him "Seeing you react like that, and for so long, is more of a turn-on for me than you can imagine."

"There's no way you could have gotten as much out of that as I did," he answered.

Eric continued his interviews when we got home. None of them could compare to Micron. By any standard, the offers he received were generous, but they lacked the excitement that Micron promised.

I knew that he was trying to be open-minded and objective, but Micron was obviously his first choice. I also knew he was agonizing about being on the East Coast at least a week every month. We discussed it at length, and I believe that I made my position clear to him. If our relationship couldn't stand that amount of separation, then we had much bigger problems.

I wasn't exactly overjoyed at the prospect of him being gone that much, but I agreed that it was the opportunity of a lifetime. With Milton on the East Coast, and several of Metalco's operations there too, I had a good excuse to spend more time there myself.

After repeated assurances that his absence wouldn't jeopardize our relationship, he accepted Micron's offer.

There wouldn't be any press releases. He'd just start working on their projects, and pretty soon the press would catch on. He was scheduled to start the following Monday, spending his first week in New York getting acquainted with Micron.

He insisted, no demanded that I accompany him for his first week. He wanted me "there" when he came home from work, even though it'd be a hotel room.

While I dreamed up things to do to keep me busy on the East Coast, Eric got his "work" clothes organized.

Since our buyout, I had been in touch with Sarah Thornton on several occasions, and a friendship was developing. When I told her about Eric's part-time move to New York, she immediately offered to "keep an eye" on him when I wasn't along. She also insisted that we both come to a dinner she was having the following Thursday for some Eastern European dignitary whose name I could neither pronounce nor remember. I accepted, subject to Eric's availability.

I decided to have some fun with Eric about this. "I'll be in New York with you next week," I told him, "but I won't be able to do that every month."

"I know, babe," he answered. "Don't worry about me, I'm a big boy now."

"I'm not the least bit worried," I assured him. "For the times when I can't be there with you, I got a babysitter for you."

"You got a WHAT?" he asked, incredulous.

"A babysitter," I said. "Someone to look after you and protect you from all those slick New York men. "Actually I didn't 'get' her for you, she volunteered."

So far, I had been able to remain serious, but keeping a straight face was getting more difficult by the minute.

"You're kidding, I hope," he said, still unsure of what I was telling him.

Time to stop this, before he got the impression I didn't trust him. "I talked with Sara Thornton today," I explained, "and she offered to keep an eye on you. You should be flattered."

"Asshole," he said. "You really had me wondering for a minute."

"She's a nice lady," I told him. "She's invited us to a dinner next Thursday night. Do you think you can make it? I accepted, but conditionally."

"Tell her we'll be there. I'll pack an extra suit," he said. "This might be fun. Sarah's a cool lady, and I'll bet she's even more fun under non-business circumstances."

"I can already see you two as great pals. Inseparable," I told him. "I'm getting jealous already."

He just smiled and came over to cuddle with me.

"I have to pinch myself ever so often," he said. "So much is happening so fast I need to fall back and get my bearings."

I hugged him and reassured him that he was doing fine.

"You're my anchor, you know," he said. "You keep me in touch with reality. You don't even know you're doing it, but all I have to do is watch you for a few minutes, and you show me what I need to know."

"Flattery WILL get you someplace," I told him.

"Soon, too, I hope," he answered. "I'm horny as hell."

Eric was up early, taking the first shower. We were at the Marmount, our "boutique" hotel. For his first day at Micron, he put on a grey pinstripe suit, white shirt and red "power" tie. He looked wonderful, but hell, he looked great in whatever he wore, and I never got tired of looking at him. There would be a lot of eyes on him today, and I'm sure a lot of them rather covetous.

A hug and a kiss and he was gone. Off to his first day at a "real" job as he put it.

My car was waiting and we headed for New Jersey. Not a limo, just a car and driver. I didn't know my way around, and damned sure didn't want to learn. This was much easier, and would save a lot of time.

Bob was his usual cheery self. The primary item on the agenda was a new plant. Bob had supplied our headquarters staff with a lot of information which had been thoroughly analyzed. A new plant would pay for itself in less than 5 years it had been concluded, and I got to break the news to Bob.

"We're ready to move," I told him. "Our guys feel that a new, modern, facility is a must. You're making money here, but we can do better."

His eyes lit up. "You have no idea how nice it is to be working for a company that's on the move," he said. "Don't get me wrong, Edward and John treated me very well, but they were so timid."

If you only knew how ballsy those two really were...I thought to myself.

"The first step is to find a site," I told him. "I'll be here all week, so can you line up some for us to look at?"

"I've been hoping," he admitted, "so I've done a little looking myself. I've found several that I think would fit our needs. When would you like to take a look at them?"

"How about tomorrow," I suggested.

We discussed the various locations. Bob wanted to stay in the same general area so he could keep all his people, an idea I agreed with.

"What do you plan to do with this place once we move?" he asked.

"My daughter wants to turn it into a shopping center like Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco," I told him.

"Never thought of that," he said. "It'd work, though. This area is becoming more commercial, and with that as a drawing card, the whole area would change."

I left early to go back in to New York. I wanted to be waiting when Eric got there.

He was exuberant when he roared in, grabbing me and hugging me.

"How'd it go, or needn't I ask?" I asked.

"Unbelievable," he gushed. "Now I know I made the right choice."

"Come on, tell me about it," I said.

"It was 'get acquainted' day," he said. "I met all the top people, and saw their whole operation. Jerry spent most of the day just showing me around.

"You should see the office they gave me! A corner one with a great view. I've got a title, too. Executive Vice President. Aren't you impressed?"

"Very," I said, dryly. "So you really like it?"

"I love it! This has got to be the dream job of the century!"

"Come over here," I said, patting the cushion next to me. "It makes me so happy to see you're so happy."

He went on to tell me, in detail, everything that had happened.

"For the next four days, I'm going to learn all there is to learn about Micron. It'll be a crash course, but I think I can handle it," he said. "After that, we go home, and I set up our West Coast office, then REALLY go to work."

"Do you know who the target companies are yet?" I asked.

"Not yet," he said, "but they tell me they've already done a lot of research on them. I'll know by Friday."

Eric worked and I went to New Jersey every day. A lot of progress was made on a new plant site, and put an option on 30 acres, one that would allow us to grow.

Thursday night, we dressed carefully for Sarah's dinner. Eric looked stunning, and I didn't look too damned bad myself.

On arrival, we were greeted by a butler. Sarah found us quickly and introduced us around. A lot of her guests were people I'd heard of but never met before. They came from every field - Government, the Arts, with a few titles thrown in. She insisted on hearing all about Eric's new job, and when she learned that he'd be coming to New York once a month, asked him to stay with her if he was traveling alone.

"This is not an invitation," she told him, "it's a command performance. If Dave doesn't come with you, then I insist you stay here."

Eric gracefully accepted, and she was obviously pleased.

At dinner, the guest of honor, Count Whassisname, was seated on Sarah's right, I was on her left. Eric was at the other end of the table between two women who showered him with attention.

The Count spoke excellent but highly accented English, and touted the business opportunities in his country. They were emerging from the Communist years, and a full-fledged boom was occurring, and the kind of consumer products that we manufactured were in short supply. It was definitely worth following up on.

Business discussion was short lived, as Sarah directed the conversation in other directions. It was lively and stimulating, touching subjects that were familiar and some I was out of touch with. Not only was it enjoyable, but a learning experience.

On our way out, Sarah reminded Eric of her invitation. "You've never seen a 'woman scorned' until you turn me down," she laughed. "It's not a pretty sight."

Eric was quiet on the ride back to our hotel. In our room, it became clear why.

"I realized something tonight," he observed, "there's a lot more to life than just business and pleasure. That group was so diverse and so interesting, and their interests were so wide ranging that I felt lost."

"From what I saw, it looked like you were holding your own."

"I bluffed my way through, I think," he grinned, "but those people made me realize how narrow my focus has been. It's given me a real incentive to broaden my education. A degree in one field is just a starting point."

"That's what life, as I see it, is all about," I offered. "It's a continuous learning experience, but you have to make an effort and be willing."

"What were you and the Count so intent on?" he asked, changing the subject.

"His country is shaking off the old system, and they're embracing Capitalism with a vengeance. He thinks there may be some wonderful opportunities for us."

"Sounds interesting, when do we go?" he giggled.

"You're a working man now, I get to go alone, and check out all those gorgeous blond boys all by myself," I teased.

"Go ahead, but I think you'll be back for some of this," he said, rubbing his crotch and butt at the same time.

"How about some right now?"

"Thought you'd never ask!"

To be continued.

Author's Note: I really appreciate the suggestions I've been receiving from you guys. I'm using most of the ones I receive. I answer all mail, and love to hear from you, and don't mind getting bashed when I make a mistake. orrinrush@yahoo.com

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