The Lifeguard

By Orrin Rush (Of Blessed Memory)

Published on Sep 26, 2000

Gay

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.

This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of the characters

to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence and not

intended. They are all products of the author's imagination.


It hadn't taken the run in with Tommy to make me realize how

fortunate I was. I already knew that, but this had brought

so much into sharper focus.

The question now was, should I discuss this with Eric?


THE LIFEGUARD

Chapter 26

Going over the whole sorry story in my mind had helped.

Several things were clearer. Yes, I had the capability of

hating Tommy, not something that I was particularly proud

of. I had pushed the whole experience out of my mind,

refusing to deal with it, and the confrontation had brought

everything to the surface.

In a lot of ways, it was very similar to what I had

experienced with Georgia. They were both people who knew how

to really get to me, but I had reached the point where

whatever Georgia did or said didn't affect me. I certainly

hadn't reached that point with regard to Tommy. That would

take some more time.

I tried to bury the whole thing again, but I guess I wasn't

totally successful. That evening, I felt that Eric was

watching me more closely than usual, probably oversensitive

on my part, but when you are as closely attuned to each other

as Eric and I were, little escaped the other's attention.

Nothing was said until we had climbed into bed. Eric

snuggled up behind me with his arm around me. "OK, give," he

said.

"I had a little brush with the past today," I told him.

"Whatever happened sure shook you up."

"I ran into Tommy."

"Oh."

"It wasn't pleasant, and Annie was there too."

"What happened?"

"We were having lunch and he just came over. It was a very

short conversation, then we left, but he managed to push a

lot of buttons."

"I can tell," Eric said.

"In just two or three sentences, he was able to bring back

all the old insecurities and self-doubt."

"Remember, we agreed to keep those 'insecurities' things out

in the open."

"I know," I agreed. "They were the usual, the ones that

bother me most, age and performance."

At this, Eric started chuckling. "We don't even need to go

into the age thing, and as to performance, that's totally

ridiculous."

"I still have doubts, sometimes."

"About what? I can't imagine why."

"You don't understand," I said. "Tommy was a total bottom

and I couldn't satisfy him. I even reached the point where

I couldn't even get it up, and I worry about that happening

again."

"That explains something I've wondered about - why it took

you so long to make love to me. You sure don't have any

problems in that area that I've noticed."

"Not any more," I agreed. "There's a tremendous difference,

thank God, between you and him. You've never pressured me,

and he was demanding to the point where it became impossible

for me."

"I can see how that could happen."

"What bothers me the most is that he can still get to me.

I thought it was a thing of the past, but I still reacted."

"Forget him. He doesn't know what he's missing. Let me tell

you something that I haven't told you. Before I met you, I

'got around' a bit myself. I don't know how many, 30, maybe

40 different guys, and NOBODY ever came close to making me

feel the way you do."

"I'll try to believe that, but it sure makes me feel good to

hear it."

"I only hope I'm making you as happy as you're making me."

"You are, you certainly are," I told him, rubbing my butt

against the hard thing that was pressing against it.

A few minutes and a little lube, and it was inside me.

Before lapsing into a euphoric state, the thought crossed my

mind, "It was never like this. Not with anybody,

particularly not Tommy."

Annie was still concerned, and was greatly relieved when I

told her that I'd talked with Eric.


The advertising campaign for the new Computers would be

starting soon. The Ad Agency who was handling it had sent me

tapes of the teasers for October.

There were two different teasers, both 15 second spots that

would be run on all networks. The first was a long shot of

an old CPU box. The camera came in for a closeup so there

was no mistaking what it was. A sonorous announcer intoned

"Same old box", then "Why?" That faded to the very

recognizable logo of the computer maker. That was it.

The other teaser was pretty much the same, but focused on an

old Monitor. There was the same message "Same old screen,"

and "Why?" fading to Joel's logo.

When Eric and I watched them for the first time, I got really

excited. In my opinion, this was great stuff. Eric shared

my enthusiasm, but cautioned that running these for too long

would defeat our purpose, causing frustration rather than

interest.

Joel evidently got a tape at about the same time because he

called to see what my reaction was. We agreed, it was a

brilliant approach.

While talking, I got an idea. "What're you doing this

weekend?" I asked.

"Working, of course," he chuckled.

"I've got a better idea," I told him. "Eric and I are having

a pool party on Sunday. Why don't you and your partner come

over and join us?"

"First, I don't have a partner, and I've just got too damned

much to do."

"Sorry, Joel, I won't take no for an answer. Be at the

airport at 4:00 Saturday, we'll pick you up. We'll get you

back Monday morning before eight. You can stay with us."

"Is that an order?" he chuckled.

"Damned right it is!"

"OK, you twisted my arm. See you Saturday."

"I see you're playing matchmaker, now," Eric teased me when I

told him Joel would be joining us. "Anyone in particular

that you want to marry off?"

"Nope, let him choose his own. He's a big boy."

Eric didn't want to go with me to Tucson, so Tina went along

for the ride. It was less than an hour each way. On the way

back, Joel and I talked business. His regular CRT monitor

business was booming, and he was almost bubbling with

enthusiasm over the upcoming introduction of the flat screens

with the new designed cases. For the moment, he wasn't even

producing flat monitors in the conventional design.

"I just have a gut feeling that these things are going to

take off like rockets," he bubbled. "The only problem is, if

they do, I'll be strapped to turn out enough to meet demand,

and my competition might get their foot in the door."

"If that happens," I told him, "we'll work something out.

And, NO, I'm not going to try to buy you out again. I think

I'd rather have you as a customer."

"What you've already done has helped me more than you can

imagine. I can finally breathe a little now that I don't

have to come up with the money for all those dies."

"We consider something like that a good investment," I told

him.

At home, Joel got settled, and he and I were on the deck

having a drink when Eric wandered out. He was in his home

"uniform", a pair of shorts and t-shirt. I introduced him to

Joel, then he wandered off again.

"I don't know what I expected," Joel gasped, "but I didn't

expect THAT! He's the most beautiful man I've ever laid eyes

on!"

"Afraid I have to agree with you," I chuckled.

"And he's got brains, too, from what I've read."

"Oh yes, and a helluva lot more. Wait 'til you get to know

him."

"Anybody that goodlooking intimidates me, at first, anyway."

"Better take a tranquilizer tomorrow, then. There'll be at

least a dozen more like him."

"Any of 'em single?" he asked.

"Almost all of them."

Eric sauntered back out, collected our glasses and made us

refills before plopping down next to me.

"Gotta hand it to you, Joel, you're one of the few that's ever

out-foxed Dave. I think it's great. You both got what you

wanted," Eric said.

"I'm pretty independent," Joel admitted.

"Nobody can be as independent as Eric is," I commented.

"Then why is it you always get your way?" Eric laughed.

We bantered back and forth until Joel asked about the party.

"It started a couple of months ago, just a few of our friends

coming over to use the pool and grew from there. We have one

or two a month now," I said.

"We have groundrules," Eric said, then went on to explain

them. "It's not an orgy, just a bunch of us getting together

to have a good time."

"Do you think I'll fit in?" Joel asked.

"Hell yes," Eric answered. "Our friends are real people, not

a bunch of stuck-up jerks with attitude. Our friends are

their friends. You'll see."

Annie and Kevin stopped by to pick up Tina. They were all

going someplace for the rest of the weekend.

"Hey Mr. R," Kevin teased, "hear you guys're having a pool

party tomorrow. How come you never invite me?"

"Dammit, Kevin," I laughed, "SOMEBODY around here has to be

straight!"

"Hell, I know 'em all anyway," Kevin shot back.

"How well?" Eric asked, with a straight face.

"You guys are so much fun to tease," Kevin laughed. "Gotta

go, have fun guys, see you late tomorrow night."

Joel was shaking his head. "You have the nicest

normal-abnormal family I've ever seen."

"We tell it like it is," I told him.


The guys started arriving with food. After the first few

"superhunks" arrived, Joel seemed to become more

comfortable. They all treated him like just another one of

the guys, including him in the fun and games.

Even though I was the oldest member of the group, I "got no

respect." The guys tormented me unmercifully, and I enjoyed

every minute of it.

There were only about a dozen of us, so there was no

splitting off into smaller groups. We played together, drank

together, and ate ourselves stupid as a group.

When they had all gone, Eric, Joel and I stretched out on the

deck.

Joel was contemplative, staring into space. Finally, he

spoke. "I didn't think that people like all you guys

existed. Particularly in the gay community.

"Usually, there's so much posing and posturing and attitude,"

he continued. "All you guys are so damned 'real'."

Eric spoke for both of us. "We're just not much into

phoniness and pretentiousness. If they can't be themselves,

we're not much interested. By the way, get any phone

numbers?"

"Nope," Joel answered, "totally forgot about it, but I hope

you guys'll invite me again."

"Anytime we have one," I assured him.

"Another thing that's really nice," Joel commented, "is the

fact that I don't have a clue who those guys are, what they

do, anything about them, really. That never came up."


Metalco people had virtually been running Lundborg Rush,

handling payroll, invoicing and all the rest of the

paperwork. As a result, they were neglecting their regular

jobs. We had to do something about this.

So far, all these duties were handled from the Metalco

offices, but they needed to be separated and since space

there was at a premium, we started looking for office space.

This was another reason why we needed to move on a new

headquarters building. Tina had a presentation ready, but

we'd all been so involved in other things that it had been

forgotten.

I figured that it might be best if she made a presentation to

just a few of us, Eric, Annie, Bill and I. At this point, I

hadn't seen anything she'd done since she started the

project, so it was as new to me as it would be to everyone

else.

Tina's patience was remarkable. She'd been waiting for more

than a month to show us what she'd accomplished. Her

enthusiasm hadn't waned, however.

She had several easels set up in the living room when we

gathered. Several groups had prepared presentations, and she

had narrowed it down to three.

Before showing us anything, she explained how she had

provided each group with a topographic map of the property

and had allowed each to choose the site for the buildings.

The first drawing she showed us was of boxy glass and steel

structures connected by tubular walkways. It reminded me of

De Gaulle Airport in Paris. "This is the best of this style

of Architecture," she told us. "You can imagine how awful

the rest were."

The next was of long, flowing structures, seemingly separate,

but overly ornate and "busy". She didn't comment on this one

at all.

Before showing the last, she explained that it had been

prepared by students at the Taliesin School. When she put

up the drawing, we all rose automatically to take a closer

look. You had to look hard to make out what was construction

and what was the natural landscape. It flowed and melted

into the surroundings.

The structures flowed from hill to hill, sandstone and

glass. None of the existing landscape had been altered, the

hills and big boulders remained.

"There are connecting passageways through the hills," she

explained. "They'd be excavated then returned to exactly the

way they were. Parking is underground too, so it doesn't

detract. It's plain, simple and would be very secure."

Next she put up an aerial view of the site, showing how the

buildings branched from hill to hill, with room for

expansion.

"This one's by far the most expensive to build," she

explained, "but in my opinion meets all our criteria the

best."

She went on to explain that even though it would be

expensive, it would still cost less per square foot than a

downtown high rise, and could be doubled from the original

size of two million square feet and still retain

architectural integrity.

I liked it. It was a different concept, and at first glance

very esthetically pleasing. I held my comments until the

others could speak.

"It sure doesn't LOOK like an office building," Annie

commented. "I like it."

"It'd be like working outdoors," Bill said, "nature instead

of other office buildings to look at. Peaceful."

"It's definitely different," Eric said.

"So are we," I snickered.

"Let's all think about it," I continued. "We're looking at a

big investment here, and need to decide if something

unconventional like this is what we really want."

"Well, what do you think, Dad?" Tina wanted to know.

"I like it. It's growing on me already. You did a great job

on this," I told her, giving her a big hug.

We moved the easel with the drawing into the den where we

could look at it at our leisure.

Eric hadn't said much, and I didn't press him. He did look

at it a lot, though, getting up to look at it closely several

times. Finally, he turned to me. "Let's take a ride," he

said. "I'd like to see this drawing in the context of the

site."

We picked up the drawing and drove out to the property. With

the drawing propped up against a rock and the hills where the

buildings would sit in the background, it was much easier to

imagine how it would actually look.

We sat on the ground and looked. First at the drawings, then

at the hills, then back. The more I looked at it, the more I

liked the idea.

Eric stood and looked all around us. "If you build it

there," he said, pointing at the hills the students had

chosen, "It'll be virtually isolated. You'd barely be able

to see it from the outside, but the views from the building

itself would be great. I think it would be fucking fabulous!"

I stood to look at it from his perspective. After looking

around, and back at the drawing, I agreed.

"What about landscaping?" I asked, thinking out loud.

"Natural, with a little help," he grinned.

"Let's do it," I said, quietly.

"It'll be spectacular," he answered. "Some'll like it, some

won't."

"I don't care."

When we got home, I found Tina and drug her into the den with

us.

I told her what Eric and I had done. She had done the same

thing earlier. "We're going to build it," I told her. "If

you want to do it, I'll make you head of the whole project.

Interested?"

She leaped onto my lap, throwing her arms around me. "You'd

trust me with the whole thing? Even after what I did?"

"Of course! You could coordinate the whole thing. There'll

be a lot of other people involved, and you could keep the

whole thing on track. It'll take a year or so, but I think

it'd be good experience for you."

"Of course I'll do it, Dad. Thank you, Thank you for the

chance."

"You're remarkable," Eric told me as we were getting into

bed. "You get what you want, but you make so many other

people happy in the process. That's one of the many reasons

I love you."


Lundborg Rush was forging ahead. In our first full month of

operation, we'd even shown a small operating profit. Instead

of running behind schedule on production for Micron, we had

excess capacity. Eric, after gaining permission from Micron,

took responsibility for adding new customers. He had a

market survey done, as well as an analysis of what other

independent producers were doing. It soon became obvious

that there was more available business than we could possibly

handle. In our second month of operation, we were already

considering expansion.

When we learned that delivery of the copiers was at least six

months, we went ahead and ordered 20 more of them. There was

room for up to 80 more in our current building.

Eric's duties for Micron weren't keeping him as busy as he

wanted to be, so when they requested that he come to New York

to discuss the next year's strategy, he jumped at the

chance. He also wanted to put the finishing touches on the

penthouse, so planned to be gone at least two weeks.

Naturally, I wasn't delighted about the prospect of being

alone, but on considering it, looked forward to a little time

to myself.


When I'd first met Eric and fallen in love with him, I'd

given a little thought to all the changes that would be

taking place. Not even in my wildest dreams had I expected

the excitement that had occurred so far. He was like a magic

catalyst. A lot may be coincidence, but more had happened in

the short time we'd been together than in the last ten years

of my life.

My attitude had changed drastically. I was now looking at

the future with enthusiasm, taking calculated risks that I

wouldn't have considered earlier.

Metalco was on the move. In little more than a year, we had

grown by almost forty percent, and our profitability was

skyrocketing. We'd built momentum and would almost be forced

to grow some more, something that would've scared the hell

out of me a couple of years ago, but now I looked forward to

it.

For years, the business had just evolved, products were

improved, re-designed, and a few new ones added. Now, we

were taking a more proactive stance, innovating and doing

more than looking at new ways of doing the same old things.

It was exciting, exhilirating and giving my life purpose.

Entry into the high-tech area through Lundborg Rush was

exciting too, even if we were only on the fringe.

Possibilities in that area were endless, and no doubt would

develop over time.

The biggest change, for me anyway, was the contentment I

felt. Eric was directly responsible for that. Totally

sharing my life with someone was a new experience and one I

had never realized that I craved. We had no secrets and

discussed everything - business, goals, ambitions, and our

lives together and separate. These things brought us even

closer, if that was possible, and we had grown to rely on

each other to a degree that I never dreamed possible. We

were a team.

Our love for each other was expressed in so many ways. The

little everyday things, as well as the tender lovemaking that

we enjoyed almost daily. He aroused me unbelievably. All I

had to do was think about him and I got an instant erection.

Physically, he was perfect, the epitome of manhood, but there

was so much more.

I was content, yes, but not complacent. Any relationship

that's worthwhile requires effort to maintain. We both

worked at it.


Computers using our new designs had been rolling off

production lines around the country for several weeks, and

the day they were officially introduced, we had kind of an

unveiling ceremony ourselves. Examples of the various

designs, CPU, Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse were installed

throughout the Metalco offices.

The press was invited to come in and take pictures, and a

short press conference was hosted by our Sales department.

The units went on sale the same day, and we all anxiously

waited for sales results, which were being carefully

monitored. We hoped to sell an average of 50,000 units a

week for the 10 weeks remaining before Christmas.

I talked to Eric several times a day. Micron didn't have any

major acquisitions planned. Their main focus was on

introduction of the next generation of their software which

was tentatively scheduled for March. 2001 would be a year of

consolidation rather than expansion for them.

This meant that there wouldn't be much for Eric to do, but

they wanted to keep him on as a consultant, utilizing his

talents as a trouble- shooter as needed.

Although they were greatly pleased with the job we were doing

with software production, they were concerned about our

ability to handle the increased volume that their next

generation software was expected to generate. That concern

vanished when Eric told them that we already had 20 more

copiers on order. After thinking about it for a few days,

they then offered Lundborg Rush a contract to produce their

Educational and Games software as well.

When I enthusiastically agreed, an arrangement similar to the

last one was agreed to.

Seeing how their dependence on us was growing, Eric felt that

the time was right to propose a stock swap instead of payment

for all of the equipment. This would give them an incentive

to stay with us for the long term and virtually insure that

we would have their business. This met with immediate

approval and more contracts were prepared.

The rest of his time was spent working on the penthouse and

squiring Sarah around. I knew how much he enjoyed her

company, and since I'm kind of a homebody, it was a good

opportunity for him to enjoy the social whirl.

I was able to spend a lot of time with Tina, and found an

office for her near mine and Annie's. The school whose

design we wanted to use for our new office building was

limited to the design concept only. An architectural firm

had to be found to do the rest of the work. Tina wanted to

find a local firm so she could work closely with them.

That was a more difficult task than it appeared. First, she

had difficulty getting prospective firms to take her

seriously. The idea that a beautiful 20 year old girl could

be in charge of a hundred plus million dollar project was

hard to comprehend, and I was often called on to confirm

that she was indeed in charge.

Once that hurdle was overcome, the ego thing came into play.

Architects weren't interested in using someone else's design

concept.

After receiving this kind of rejection from the major firms,

she turned to some of the smaller ones, and received a lot

more positive reception. She narrowed it down to two groups

and was looking at their completed work, and waiting for

their presentations.

On another front, the new computers were NOT selling as

expected. The first week after introduction, fewer than

10,000 units had sold.

The builder of the CPU units had sent out an army of people to

interview point of sale store personnel to find out why.

Their findings caused us all to re-think our approach.

Customer response to the new designs was very positive, but

they weren't buying because of the cost of the matching flat

screen monitors which was much higher than the cost of the

computer itself.

Retailers were also showing resistance to carrying them

because they had to stock so many different CPU cases and

monitors, causing inventory problems.

Joel was producing a few reasonably priced CRT monitors in

the new designs, but had concentrated on the flat screens.

The CRT monitors were selling, the flat screens weren't, and

it would take a few weeks to get an adequate supply of the

cheaper monitors into the stores.

Since Metalco made the cases for him, we had to do some fancy

footwork to get him the supply he needed.

It was generally decided that once cheaper monitors were

available, and sales volume picked up, retailer resistance

would disappear.


Eric had been in New York almost three weeks when he

suggested that I join him to finalize all the new agreements

with Micron and see what he'd accomplished with the

penthouse. It took me only a few hours to be on the plane.

It was like we had been separated for months instead of

weeks. On the limo ride from the airport, we couldn't keep

our hands off of each other. It felt so damn good just to be

able to hold him.

He hadn't given me any hints about what he'd done to the

penthouse, but the changes were evident when we got on the

elevator.

"You have to insert this keycard or the elevator won't go to

the top floor," he explained. "We can turn it off if we're

expecting guests, but the rest of the time you have to have

one. It's for our security and cuts the insurance cost on

Sarah's Art."

When we arrived at the top floor, there were more surprises.

What used to be a nondescript lobby was now richly paneled

and furnished with credenzas holding sculpture and fresh

flowers.

The living room wasn't changed, but there was the addition of

flowers.

"Since nobody's around to water them, plants just wouldn't

make it," he told me, "So, we'll have flowers when we're

here instead. Wait'll you see the rest. It's all finished."

We both spent so much time being serious that Eric's

enthusiasm was catching. He had every reason to be proud of

his accomplishments. There were three more bedrooms that

were completed. Each was different. He and his decorator

had worked around Sarah's art which was everywhere. Large

paintings and small ones were the focal points of each room

as such masterpieces should be.

What had earlier been two rooms, a library and a study, were

now combined into one large room which was our "Den". The

room's centerpiece was a priceless Rembrandt that I'd seen in

many Art Books. Comfortable looking furniture was grouped

around an antique fireplace, and windows along another side

gave a different view of the skyline.

"Sit," he ordered. "I'm going to get us a drink. We'll

check out the kitchen later."

The sofa was as comfortable as it looked, and I relaxed and

waited.

I toasted his accomplishments. "Here's to OUR happy second

home," I told him, pulling him into my arms.

After hearing all of the details on the redecoration, he

changed the subject. "Do you know we've never made love in

the Den at home? The other one, I mean."

"Never thought about it," I answered. "Too many people

around, too public, I guess."

"Nobody else's here," he said, leering and rubbing my

crotch. My response was immediate. After being celibate for

three weeks, it wasn't surprising. I didn't have to grope to

tell he was also fully aroused.

Time to allow them freedom. I reached for his belt and

zipper. He raised up so I could lower his pants, letting

that wonderful dick that I loved bounce upright. He had mine

out in record time too.

After a long, deep kiss, I tried to lower my head to his

crotch.

"You're first," he said pushing me away, leaning over and

taking my dick into his mouth.

Oh God, he felt so good. I needed to feel him, and took his

hard dick in my hand while he moved up and down on me. We

both savored the sensations for a few minutes, then he turned

on that undescribable "velvet blender". I immediately lost

control and started cumming, jerking and thrashing in

ecstacy. I could feel my cock throbbing and spewing in his

mouth, and it felt like it just kept going and going. He

didn't let up, and neither did I.

Eventually the spasms stopped and he fell on top of me. "I

think I can skip dinner," he giggled. "That was one helluva

load!"

"Let's see what you've got for me," I said, squeezing his

dick which was still in my hand. I got into position so I

could take him all the way and started licking. I wasn't in

a hurry to get him off. I wanted to enjoy the sensations of

having him in my mouth and throat.

I took more and more of him until I was stroking him full

length. He felt so good, and the sensations I was enjoying

soon got the better of my plans to prolong things. My

tongue and throat muscles got into the act and I felt him

tensing. I didn't back off and increased my efforts. He

blew and blew, and bucked and thrashed. Even though I

slipped off the sofa, I held onto his cock and drank every

drop.

"No dinner for me, either," I said as I licked up the last

dribbles.

"That's just the first course," he said. "I'm cooking

dinner, then there's dessert!"

Snuggling up to him, I looked around and chuckled. "Was that

a setup?" I asked. "Where's the camera?"

"How'd you guess? It's right up there," he said, laughing,

and pointed to a spot just above the drapes. "This should be

a good one. I swear, I thought you'd never stop cumming."

"You didn't do so bad, either. I damned near drowned! Kinda

delicious, though."

We sipped on our drinks and snuggled.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Are you serious about cooking?"

"You haven't seen the kitchen yet. C'mon," he said dragging

me to my feet.

"Chef Maurice helped, and Brucie went wild," he told me as we

went in.

What had been a sterile, bare room was a riot of color.

Cooking tools were everywhere. It looked like a psychedelic

cook's playground.

"You should have been here for the cat fights," he explained.

"Maurice wanted a functional, usable kitchen. Brucie wanted

form and color, fuck function! Sarah refereed, and I stayed

the hell away. I think it'll work pretty well, once you get

used to all the color."

"It'll wake you up fast in the morning," I commented.

"Actually, I really like it."

"Come over here and see the dishes and stuff that we bought,"

Eric prodded.

He opened a door into a small room that was lined with

shelves from the floor to the ceiling. The shelves were

filled with dishes, glassware and silver.

"Just the basic necessities, according to Maurice," he

explained. "If the price was any indication, it must all be

the very best."

"You're becoming so domestic!" I laughed.

"I'm learning," he said, laughing too. "It's all your

fault. You introduced me to the good life, so I'm damned

well going to do it right!"

I took him in my arms. "You're a natural," I told him.

"Everything you try, you do very well. A renaissance man."

"I have a good teacher," he said, holding me. "You're also

one hell of an inspiration."

Back in the kitchen, I noticed that all the appliances were

made by Metalco and commented on that.

"Chef Maurice says these brands are the only ones worth

owning. He didn't even know you made them until I told him."

"The man knows his stuff," I said.

"He's gay, too. Got the cutest little French boyfriend."

After we ate a steak that Eric cooked, we went back into our

den. No fancy names for the place, Eric insisted. Not the

"library" or the "study". Just the "den", even though it was

such a spectacular room.

Eric showed me some of the hidden features. At the touch of

a button, paneling slid back, revealing a TV and music

system. Other panels hid just about every type of office

equipment that one would ever need. The computer, one of our

new designs, of course, was on the desk, it's woodgrain

finish making it fit in.

"You really put a lot of thought into this," I marveled.

"I worked it all out quite a while ago," he said. "Brucie's

guys have been working on it all along."

We talked for a while, catching up. Nothing serious because

I think we were both a little anxious to continue what we'd

started earlier.

It was a night for exploration and getting reacquainted with

the familiar. Our earlier "quickie" had only whetted our

appetites.

Clothes came off slowly. As skin was exposed, it got tactile

attention from our fingers and tongues. The buildup was

gradual but intense. By the time we were naked and heading

for bed, we were both at a peak of arousal. Without a word

being said, we backed off, giving attention to less sensitive

areas to slow down and prolong.

A great deal of stimulation was given to the "known" hot

spots, and a few new ones were discovered. I actually think

that they move around. Sometimes a particular spot would

elicit moans, other times, nothing, making each encounter an

adventure.

We were so well attuned to each other that words weren't

necessary when it came to how we felt. Sometimes, one or the

other or both of us weren't into long foreplay, other times

we were. That night, it was slow and easy.

The same applied to the decision on who was going to get

fucked, if that was on the menu. Again, something that was

sensed rather than discussed. Whoever reached for the lube

first was going to be on top. Overall, I'd guess that we

were running about 50/50, both enjoying either position, and

neither opting for predominance.

After warming to the point of gasping, then resting, and

cooling down several times, Eric reached for the lube. Since

it had been a while, he took extra time in preparing me.

Only when I nodded did he proceed.

When he was all the way in, I realized how much I'd missed

that feeling over the past couple of weeks. Just lying there

with him in me, not moving, gave me a sense of connection to

him that I'd never felt with anyone else. And, the best was

yet to come.

Then he started moving. Slowly, in and out, sending ecstatic

impulses to my brain. I moved to meet him, urging him to go

faster and harder, but he continued the long, slow strokes.

He had lubed up my dick and it was sliding between our

bellies as we moved together. I felt the tingling begin,

tried to suppress it, but couldn't. Eric sensed this and

pounded me as hard and fast as he could, locking his lips on

mine, causing us to sail out into space together. A free

fall with each of us struggling to milk every sensation

possible from it.

As I became aware of him swelling and spasming inside me,

that set me off a second time, probably more intense than the

first.

"Daily double," he chuckled as he rolled off. "Your second

one set me off again too."

"Sorry," I laughed, "didn't notice. I was someplace else!"

After a rest and recuperation period and a quick cleanup, we

assumed our usual position - on our sides with him behind me

spoon fashion. It was then that I realized that the bedroom

had been rearranged. Instead of looking at a wall, the city

was spread out before us.

I gazed at the lights for a few minutes, pulling him tighter

to me. "Thank you," I murmered.

"Thought you'd like the view," he answered, hugging me to him.


Over breakfast, which I helped cook, we got down to business.

With the addition of Micron's Games and Educational software

production, Lundborg Rush would also pick up 20 more copiers

that they would no longer need. Those, along with the 20 we

had on order, would bring the total to 100 of them.

"We have room for 40 more, don't we?" Eric asked.

"Comfortably, where we are now."

"If our credit's any good," he teased, "I suggest we order

forty more. We haven't taken on any new customers yet, and I

really haven't done much in the way of selling, but I'm

convinced the business is out there."

"I think that's a good idea," I told him. "It's pretty hard

to sell production you don't have."

"I've worked on the numbers. Even if we only make a dollar a

unit, they'll pay for themselves in a year if we can keep 'em

busy. We're grossing about $2.50 a unit on the Micron stuff,

and we should be able to do a lot better on smaller

contracts. I'll have the time now to really sell."

Taking up that direction, I asked "How do you feel about

being just a consultant now?"

"Hell, I was bored shitless. Didn't have enough to do. Now

I can work on other things and be a little more productive.

I can spend more time on Lundborg Rush, and I'm sure you can

find a thing or two for me to work on."

"Do you think Micron'll have many assignments for you?"

"I doubt it. They're totally focused on the rollout, and

want to beef up their position in Education and Games.

They're not looking for anything new unless something comes

along that'll enhance their position in one of those areas."

"I'd like to have you looking over my shoulder whenever you

have time," I told him. "We didn't do our homework very well

on the new computers."

"What happened, exactly?"

"The public seems to like the new designs, but balked when

the only matching monitor they could buy was one of those

high-priced flat-screen jobs. It'll take a while to get the

cheaper ones in the stores. We may miss out on the Christmas

season, or at least, not do as well as we should've."

"Who dropped the ball?"

"I think we all did. We were all so anxious to get them into

the stores that we didn't assess the market properly.

Business accounts are about the only ones buying them. They

can afford the flat screens, but the everyday guy just isn't

ready to plunk down that amount of money just to get

something 'new'. Prices on the flat screens will drop when

volume picks up, but they're just too pricey at the moment."

"How's Joel handling it?" he asked.

"A little red-faced, but as soon as the numbers started

coming in, he switched over as fast as he could. He's

shipping the much cheaper CRT's as fast as he can. It's just

going to be a matter of time until we get everything sorted

out. I don't think it'll hurt any of us in the long run, but

we could have avoided this whole mess if somebody, me

included, hadn't been in such a rush. It's a setback, that's

all."

"I don't know whether I'd have noticed, either," he said,

"but I'm more than willing to get involved in what you're

doing from here on out. I knew you'd get me involved, and

hell, I WANT to be!"

"It'll never be boring," I promised.

We were scheduled to meet with the Micron guys that afternoon

to sign all the new contracts.

Our new computers were everyplace you looked at Micron. At

least somebody was buying them!

Greg and Jerry were like old friends. Formality went out the

window when we got to Jerry's office, with both of them

giving me a hug in addition to a handshake.

"Good to see you under happier circumstances," Greg said.

"I thought our little escapade in New England was fun!" Jerry

countered.

They wanted to know how Annie was doing and what we were

doing about our lawsuit.

I explained that Annie had recovered, was back to being her

old self, and that we were still researching our case against

the County in New Hampshire.

"It may seem 'cut and dried', but we have to move carefully

or the whole thing could blow up on us," I told them. "From

what we hear, the whole State is backing the County, and is

afraid that they'll all be dragged into the suit. They're

going to fight like hell, so we have to tread very lightly.

All we really want is our money back."

"I read that some little podunk county in the South tried

something similar," Greg said. "The Governor stepped in, and

the whole thing was stopped before it could get out of hand."

"Too bad the Governor in New Hampshire is such a wimp," Eric

added.

"The National Association of Manufacturers is throwing their

weight behind us," I added. "That makes good publicity, but

really doesn't help us. We need a clearcut win the first

time the case is tried so they'll lose on appeal too. It's a

foregone conclusion that it'll be appealed all the way to the

Supreme Court and is going to take years, but we're ready to

fight."

"Let us know if there's anything we can do to help," Jerry

offered.

"We're planning on filing right after the first of the year,"

I told them. "If we need help, we'll holler."

The subject got changed to the business at hand. Micron was

excited about participating in our new venture, if only in a

very minor way. They considered the trade of their equipment

for Lundborg Rush stock an investment in the future.

"The only problem," Eric told them laughing, "is that you're

going to find out how much money we're making on our

contract with you, and then, you're going to want to

re-negotiate."

"That won't happen," Greg told us seriously. "It's the best

deal we've made in a long time. No more headaches, and we

have somebody else to yell at if deadlines aren't met. If

what you've done so far is any indication, we won't be doing

any yelling, either."

"If you're worried about capacity," Eric said, "Forget it.

We've decided to order another 40 copiers. They'll be the

newer ones that run almost twice as fast as the other ones,

so, in effect, we'll have triple the capacity that you had in

New Hampshire, plus the 20 we'll be getting from Games and

Ed."

"That's a pretty heavy commitment!" Greg commented. "You

won't have any trouble selling the extra capacity. All the

other Software guys that I talk to are always complaining

about production problems I'll give you guys some names."

All the agreements were signed and we were given a copy of the

Corporate Resolution approving the equipment swap for stock.

"We're going to miss having Eric around," Greg told me.

"He'll still have his office here, and we'll be calling on

him from time to time. We want to keep him tied down, though,

so he doesn't go to work for our competition."

"I know he's happy with the arrangement," I told him. "I

plan to keep him good and busy, too. We have a lot of work

to do on Lundborg Rush, and I can always use some good

advice."

"You guys are quite a team," Greg added.

"I know," I answered, smiling.


That evening we went to the restaurant where Chef Maurice ran

the kitchen. It was in the hotel chain's flagship property,

which happened to be one of Annie's recent purchases.

After we'd been seated, Maurice roared out of the kitchen to

say hello.

"Aha! My two favorite people," he shouted. Eric rose and

got a peck on each cheek. I settled for a handshake. "I

surprise you tonight, no?"

It wasn't a question, but we fully agreed.

Instead of being served by a waiter, plates were brought

directly from the kitchen by one of the chefs. Dessert was

an elaborate concoction of ice cream, fresh fruit and

liqueurs prepared at our table.

The waiters seemed miffed at this special treatment, and when

the head waiter tried to horn in, the chef serving us

informed him that Chef Maurice had demanded that we be

personally served. "These men are his personal friends," he

was told, "and they OWN this hotel!"

After dessert, Maurice came out again to take a bow. It was

more than deserved, and he got our sincere thanks. He also

wanted to know what I thought of our kitchen. "Those colors

are horrible!" he exclaimed, then laughing, "I don't think

they'll affect the food, though. That's what really

matters."

I noticed that his accent disappeared when he didn't have an

audience. As good a chef as he was, however, entitled him to

act however he wanted.

Full but not particularly tired, we walked home. After

changing into robes that Eric had gotten, we went into the

den and lit a fire in the fireplace.

"I'd like to check out progress in New Jersey tomorrow," I

told Eric.

"We're having dinner with Sarah tomorrow night," Eric

reminded me.

"We'll be back early," I assured him.

"Is Annie still going to turn the old plant into a shopping

center?"

"She plans to. She's been trying to learn all she can about

Mall management, and I think she'll do a good job. She's

also going to take care of leasing our building downtown

after we move. She's going to be a busy girl."

"You're going ahead with the new office, then?"

"We've got to do something," I told him. "Tina's already

found Architects, and they've gotten started."

"I thought the School in Arizona would do that."

"No, all they could do was the design concept. Somebody else

has to do the rest."

"What do all the Metalco people think about the move?"

"They don't know about it yet. As soon as we get some cost

estimates and make a final decision, we'll announce it. Just

like everything else, some will be happy, some won't."

"Am I going to have an office there?"

"Right next to mine," I told him. "There'll also be room for

Lundborg Rush, and any other things we might get into."

"I kinda figured that, and took the liberty of telling the

Micron guys about the possibility. They think it's a great

idea, and want to call it their 'West Coast Headquarters'.

Won't be much, but it sounds good. Is that OK with you?"

I started laughing. "The web tightens. You'll have a job

for life, and we'll have their software tied down forever. I

think it's great, and we'll be in the driver's seat."

"It's turning out pretty well," he agreed.

The tent in Eric's robe signaled that our conversation was

about over. "Better turn on the camera," I advised, stroking

the tent pole.

"Nah, I think we better go to bed," he said, his eyes

twinkling.

I got the hint. I also realized that it wouldn't be slow and

easy, but directly to the point.

Foreplay was short, and when I was about to reach for the

lube, Eric beat me to it. I was disappointed until he handed

the bottle to me.

I loosened him and played with his prostate with my finger.

While I was slowly entering him, he locked his long legs

around my hips and literally forced me all the way in.

Rocking slowly, he eagerly met my thrusts. His internal

muscles were gripping and releasing me, providing

unbelievable stimulation to the entire length of my dick.

When I leaned down to kiss him and sped up my pumping, it was

only a matter of seconds before I felt the change. His

contractions on me became erratic and more demanding. I let

the feelings take over and unconsciously stroked harder and

faster, no longer in control. The warm wetness I felt

spreading between us made me drive all the way in, hold and

jerk as I emptied my load. Stars flashed before my closed

eyes.

Spent and totally satisfied, we lay in each other's arms for

what seemed like hours.


We spent a little time with Bob, the Plant Manager.

Everything was running smoothly, and he was anxious to move

into the new factory. When it was ready, smaller departments

would be moved, then the operation shut down while the heavy

machinery was moved. He projected that, at most, only a few

weeks of production would be lost.

We drove out to the new facility. It was much larger than I

had imagined, with the walls standing, and the cavernous

interior filling with posts to hold up the roof.

Construction was running ahead of schedule, and they hoped to

have the building enclosed before winter weather hit. Work

then could continue inside without interruption.

"This place is huge!" Eric observed.

"Remember, we're on several floors now," Bob said. "When you

spread it out all on one level, it takes up a lot of space."

We dressed for Sarah's dinner. Neither of us knew exactly

what to expect - a large, formal dinner, or something else,

so we both wore dark suits. Eric put on one I hadn't seen

before, he'd been shopping again. This prompted me to bring

up the subject of going to Europe to replenish our

wardrobes. I needed it more than Eric, but I wanted to

introduce him to the great tailors in London and Rome.

The relationship that had developed between Sarah and Eric was

obvious from the moment we arrived. It was just the three of

us, Sarah explained. She had some serious things to discuss

with us, she said.

Over cocktails, Sarah got started.

"Eric," she said. "There's something about those paintings

I've loaned to you that I think you should know about." She

stopped to wink at me before continuing.

"I've just signed a new will, and I'm leaving all the ones

you have and all the ones here to the Metropolitan."

I glanced at Eric, who didn't flinch.

"There's a condition, however," she continued, and paused for

a long moment. "The ones you have now, and any others that I

may loan to you are to be yours for your lifetime. Only then

will the Museum get them. And," she went on, "When I pass on,

you will have the opportunity to take any of the ones here

that you want under the same conditions. Quite frankly, I

hope you take them all."

"I don't know what to say," Eric murmured. He rose and

walked to where Sarah was sitting and took her hands in his.

"What you've done is uncomprensible. It'll take a while to

sink in. All I can say is 'Thank You' from the bottom of my

heart."

"That's good enough for me," she chuckled. "It makes me feel

good to know that they're going to someone who will

appreciate them and really enjoy having them." She stood and

Eric gave her a big hug.

When they were both seated again, Sarah continued. "I know

how these Museums work. As soon as they learn that they're

going to get the collection, they'll want it right away, and

do anything they can to get it. I've taken care of that.

The will is ironclad. If they try anything with you, my

executors are empowered to transfer ownership to you, and

they'll be out in the cold. You'd then be able to dispose of

them however you want."

"It looks like you've thought of everything," Eric said.

"I want them to be a pleasure for you, not a burden."

"They'll be enjoyed, I assure you," Eric said. "I'll take

good care of them and see that they're always insured."

"I know you will," she said. "Now, Dave, I have something

for you. Not anything tangible, but information. I'm afraid

it isn't good news."

This definitely got my attention.

"I have it on pretty good authority that my brothers are up to

something," she continued. "I think I'd better tell you what

happened when you bought the company.

"I called them here and confronted them with the information

you'd given me. They were stunned. I think the damned fools

actually expected to get away with what they were doing, and

to continue even after you took over the company.

"I gave them a choice. Clean up the books or face

prosecution. They know I don't bluff, so agreed to clean up

the books in a hurry. I added a few conditions. I didn't

promise NEVER to prosecute. I told them that all the

evidence I had would be given to my attorneys, and if they

ever tried anything vengeful, with you or with me, that

evidence would be turned over to the proper authorities.

"As the three of us know, I didn't really have that hard

evidence. I took your word on it. Now, I'm wondering if I

shouldn't get it and turn it over like I promised."

"We may have a problem there," I admitted. "What we have

wasn't gotten through legal means, and I don't think any of

it would stand up in court."

"I understand that," Sarah answered. "I don't need to know

how you came by the information, just what they did and how

they did it. Nobody ever needs to know where I got it."

"We can do that," I said. "All the money went offshore, so

it'll be hard to substantiate."

"I have friends in high places all over the world," Sarah

said with a twinkle in her eye. "I think you'd be surprised

at what I can find out. I'm sure they didn't pay any taxes

on what they stole, so maybe the IRS would be interested. If

they got involved, it would at least keep Edward and John out

of the country.

"I just want them to know that somebody knows what they did,

and let that hang over their heads. That should keep them

from doing anything else."

"It'll take a little time to round up," I said. "We

destroyed all the copies but I'm sure the original stuff is

hidden away somewhere. By the way, I had copies in my pocket

the day we first visited you."

"I assumed that," she said. "You're not fools, so you

wouldn't have come here empty handed."

"I'll get what you want," I told her, "and either Eric or I

will deliver it personally."

"It'll save us a lot of future headaches," she answered.

That settled, we had dinner. The conversation went back to a

more pleasant subject, the art collection.

"I have a feeling you knew what Sarah was going to do," Eric

said when we got home.

"She told me about her plans a couple of months ago," I

admitted. "She had to give you the news herself, though."

"I have to admit that selfishly, I wondered what would happen

in the long run. I certainly never expected this!"

"You've made a wonderful friend," I told him, "just by being

your regular, charming self."

"She's such a sweetheart. Are you going to give her all the

information she wants?"

"It'd be in our best interest," I told him. "I'll have Bill

dig it out and write a narrative on our interpretation of the

facts we have, and we'll be coming back here before Christmas

and can deliver it to her."

"I wonder if they'll try anything," Eric mused.

"All we can do is wait and see."

To be continued.

Author's Note: The State of New Hampshire was chosen at

random as the setting for this part of the story and is not

meant, in any way, to denigrate the citizens of that fine

State. It could have been anywhere!

I appreciate hearing your comments on the story, my writing,

and anything you would like to offer - good or not so good.

Send me a message at orrinrush@yahoo.com if you would like to

be included on my "alert" mailing list for new postings.

Next: Chapter 27


Rate this story

Liked this story?

Nifty is entirely volunteer-run and relies on people like you to keep the site running. Please support the Nifty Archive and keep this content available to all!

Donate to The Nifty Archive
Nifty

© 1992, 2024 Nifty Archive. All rights reserved

The Archive

About NiftyLinks❤️Donate