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.

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.

THE LIFEGUARD

Chapter 36

"That's just a sample," he said. "Wait'll tonight. I'm

gonna make you cum so hard and for so long that you won't be

able to move for days."

Still gasping, I managed to tease "Promises, Promises!"

"You'll see."

"Don't move," he said when he walked out of the bathroom, his

long hard dick bobbing in front of him. "This is my party

tonight."

He pushed my legs apart and crawled between them, holding my

knees up so his legs could slide up along my sides. Dick to

dick, he leaned forward and pulled me up for a long kiss.

That alone would have been enough for me!

Lowering me, he spread a very generous amount of lube on his

hand, then put the bottle within my reach. Rubbing his hands

together to spread it and warm them, he slowly descended to

my throbbing, leaking dick. His strokes were feather light,

tantalizing, making me gasp and arch forward with the

sensations.

He had a mischevious grin on his face and his eyes never left

mine. The light stroking and the vision before me of his

awesome torso made me want to erupt, but Eric had other

ideas. I relaxed and let the visual and tactile sensations

take charge.

He sensed my closeness to the edge and leaned forward to

tongue my nipples, holding his hands still. I cooled, and he

started stroking again, close call avoided.

Another trip up to the edge, another cooling period and

replenishment of lube. He read my reactions so well that he

could ease up to the edge, dance around it, then let me back

off. The agony, for me, was not knowing if he'd stop in

time, or if he'd push me over. When he finally did, it was

more intense than any time I could remember.

I bucked and squirted, shivered and shook, and after the main

event, just lay there twitching with aftershocks. His head

was next to mine, his arm across my chest holding me tight. I

was in no rush to recover.

"I think you set a record," he giggled softly in my ear. "I

told you it was going to be long and hard."

"It IS long and hard," I said reaching for him. He pushed my

hand away, though.

"If you even touch me now, it'll be all over," he said.

"Give me a few minutes."

He got up to go wash the lube off his hands, returning

without the raging boner he'd had earlier. Good. I could

start from scratch!

He lay passively while I scooted into position between his

legs. I could understand how he'd gotten close while "doing"

me - my own dick was rising as I gazed at his pointing

skyward. God, what a turnon!

I lubed my hands and started the slow, light strokes. I

watched his eyes open and close slowly as he enjoyed. I knew

him well, too. The groans and gasps I understood, but knew

that when he whimpered, it was time to stop. My hands are

fairly large, but there were two fistfuls with room to

spare. Having his pulsing tool in my hands was getting me as

close as I was getting him.

The interval between cooling down periods was shortening, and

after a long stop in "neutral", I pushed him up to the edge,

held him there as long as I could, then pushed him over.

First, he stiffened his whole body, then, as he started

cumming, his body went into spasms, rising, twisting and

jerking. I held on through the whole ride, milking the hot

spunk out of him in unending spurts. He seemed to relax for

a few seconds, then stiffened and came a second time. Not as

long or intensely as the first time, but nevertheless a very

powerful orgasm.

He must've felt my hard dick against his leg because he took

it in his hand and with a couple of quick strokes, I shot all

over him.

"Film at eleven," he chuckled.

"What do you mean by that? I asked

"The camera was running," he laughed. "Want to watch it

tonight or later?"

"Later," I groaned.

"It's time to get creative," I told Eric, Annie and Tina.

"We need to come up with some names for the new companies."

"We need some good ones, too," Eric agreed. "Let's do

something original."

"Think Mythology," I suggested, "or maybe something having to

do with Alexander the Great." I winked at Eric.

They all agreed to think about it.

"I think we've found our man," Annie said, changing course.

"For what?" I asked.

"To run the development company," Eric added. "He's got

experience in both residential and commercial, and a really

impressive track record."

"A real nice guy, too," Annie said. "We want you to meet him

before we hire him."

"Why?" I asked. "I trust your judgment."

"We'd just feel better if we had your approval," Eric said,

smiling.

"OK, bring him on," I told them.

Annie had a small conference room in her office across the

street. The whole crew was on hand when Dean was ushered

in. Eric introduced him to Tina and to me.

I'd seen his resume and was impressed. He had also passed

all of our tests, including Bob's "Sensitivity" evaluation,

but I still had a few questions.

After the preliminaries were gotten out of the way, I asked

one of them. "You've been with your last employer about

seven years, what makes you want to make a move?"

"I'm about to run out of anything to do," Dean answered,

smiling. "All of the properties that they own have been

developed out, and they aren't looking for more. All the

projects we've been working on are nearing completion, so

it's a good time for me to leave. I have their blessing, by

the way."

"How much do you know about what we're planning to do?" I

asked.

"I know that you recently purchased Catalina Pacific

Properties, and I also know that virtually nobody outside

that company knows the extent of their holdings. I'm

assuming that you plan to develop those, and after talking

with Henry, learned that you have big plans and have the

resources to make them happen."

I had to chuckle. "We own the company," I told him, "but we

are still finding more property ourselves. Now, I have one

more question. We're a family company, privately held. The

four of us here are the owners. My question is: How do you

think you'll get along with us?"

"I've done my homework too," he smiled. "It's almost

impossible to find out anything specific about Metalco,

Lundborg Rush, or any of the other companies that you own,

but you have the reputation of finding the best people

available, then turning them loose. I'm pretty sure I could

work well with all of you."

"That's pretty much the way we work," I told him, "but, be

warned that we're all involved in everything that goes on."

"I would want that," he answered. "I don't have all the

answers."

All the rest had a few more questions, then the meeting was

over. Eric and Annie had talked with him, Tina hadn't, so I

asked for her opinion.

"He's qualified," she said, "and he doesn't talk 'down' to

us. I like that."

"Then, let's hire him," I said. "I'll leave it all up to you

guys."

Dean was anxious to start, and his former employers let him

go as soon as he accepted our offer. Although I wasn't in

daily contact with him, I heard a lot from Eric, Annie and

Tina who were.

The three of them spent a whole week introducing him to the

way we operated and what our long-term plans were. In most

cases, he agreed, but had suggestions on everything that

would either simplify or enhance our overall plans.

Everyone agreed that the Silicon Valley project was Priority

#1, and since none of us had even seen it, we hopped on the

plane to go have a look.

Jason flew as low and as slow over the tract as the FAA

allowed, but you couldn't really tell much from that

altitude. From the ground, it was completely different.

What looked to me like a bunch of bare hills and valleys was

seen completely differently by Dean.

"Even with the Topo maps, I had no idea this land had so much

character...and potential!" he raved. "Now I see why Henry

was so excited."

It was in the foothills of the Coast Range, not too rugged

and not much vegetation except a few big Oak trees and a lot

of scrub. We drove the perimeter as much as possible,

driving the dirt roads onto the property whenever we found

one. I obviously didn't have Henry's imagination, or Dean's

either, because I couldn't envision what would soon be

happening.

Eric, Annie and Tina were much more attuned to Dean's

descriptions of how roads would go "here", and lots developed

"there", and bigger, estate sized parcels "over there". They

could see it, I couldn't, yet.

Passing a small shopping center that abutted the property,

Dean saw something else. "This type of center won't begin to

handle the population once we get started," he said. "It's a

good central location, and we could provide access from the

whole project. They'll have to expand, and the only place

they have to go is onto our property. That's some rather

valuable commercial land we have there."

"Why not develop it ourselves?" Annie asked.

"That's a possibility," Dean answered, "but do you want to

get into the Property Management business?"

"We're going to be in it anyway," Tina added. "We'll be

building a lot of apartments, so, why not combine them?"

"It'll take millions of dollars..." Dean said.

"Not a problem," Annie said. "We've got virtually unlimited

borrowing power. Some of the lenders I work with on the

Hotels are so anxious to get involved in this project they

can't stand it! We're already 'into' them for about $15

billion, and they want more of the action."

"Sorry," Dean said a bit embarassed. "I keep forgetting how

big you really are."

A few days later, Dean had put together a "Plan of Action"

outline that he wanted to go over with all of us. It

consisted of one page, but everything was covered. I liked

his brevity.

He explained it point by point, detailing how he would like to

implement his plans, using language that we could all

understand.

Using Henry's conceptual Master Plan, he wanted to "flesh it

out". This meant detailed layout of the entire tract, right

down to where water, sewer and power lines would go. This

would give the City, who would approve the project, sufficient

information to act.

To accomplish this, he suggested that we build our own

Engineering team which he would supervise. This brought a

groan from Annie.

"Where are we gonna put em?" she wanted to know.

"We'll be in the new building in three or four months," Tina

spoke up. "We can find more temporary space around here

until then."

"Most of the initial work will be on-site," Dean explained.

"We have to survey the whole thing first, so maybe a

satellite office up there would be best for starters."

It was pretty clear to me that Dean was a "Take charge"

type. That's exactly what we needed, and after a little

discussion, we gave him the go-ahead to get started.

"I think I'm ready to take some time off," Annie announced as

she plopped down in the den. "Everything is under control

and I want to get out of town for a couple of weeks."

"Any plans?" Eric asked.

"I want to spend a little time in New York," she said, "and I

was going to ask you if I could stay at your place. After

that, I'd like to head for the Caribbean."

"You don't have to ask," Eric told her. "That place is

'OURS', and that includes you. Have you ever met Sarah?"

"No, but from what you say, she's a really cool lady."

"Make you a deal," he said. "I'll fly back with you, show

you how the place 'works', introduce you to Sarah, then leave

you on your own. OK?"

"That'd be great, but I know my way around, and I don't need a

babysitter," she chuckled. "I don't want Sarah to feel

obligated to entertain me, either."

"I'll only stay over night, then YOU decide what you want to

do," Eric told her.

"Deal," Annie agreed. "How about next week?"

"I'm ready when you are," he told her.

I really wanted to go too, but this was between them. Having

a couple of days to myself would be kind of nice, too.

Eric made all the arrangements and they left early Saturday

morning. Eric planned to return on Sunday.

The only plans I had for the weekend were to be lazy and

maybe do a little reading - find a trashy novel to escape in.

Mary and Sam, however, had other plans. They cornered me

while I was eating breakfast and reading the paper.

"How do you like the new Chef?" Mary wanted to know. Rene

had only been there a week, one that Chef Maurice had picked

out for her.

"I think he's doing fine," I answered. "How does he like us?"

"He says he's happy here. I think he's still a little

intimidated by all of you, particularly Annie. She can scare

anybody, particularly in the morning."

"How well I know!" I laughed. "I hide from her in the

mornings too."

"By the way," Mary continued, "I had Rene checked out by

Security and everybody else. Don't want another Barbara

around here. I still feel terrible about that."

"Don't," I told her seriously. "Those people were after us,

and it could have been a lot worse. I see you also have a

couple of new 'girls'."

"Yes, and they were checked out too. What we really want to

talk about is that vacation we haven't taken yet. Is your

offer still open?"

I remembered, the Cruise. "Of course it is. Where would you

like to go? The Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Alaska?"

"You and Eric had such a wonderful time on that Caribbean

Cruise that we'd like to go on that one too."

"When do you want to go?" I asked.

"I figure Rene'll be ready to take over in two or three more

weeks, anytime after that unless you're planning any big

parties that I don't know about."

"No Parties, and I'll have Dan bring you a bunch of brochures.

Pick out any cruise you want."

Now it was Sam's turn. "Have you looked over the 'back 40'

since we've been working on it?" he asked.

"No, I haven't," I told him honestly.

"Got time to take a walk? We're about done with it."

"Sure, let's go," I said, rising. I'd seen the plans, but

had no idea what it would look like now. It had always been

just a weed patch that I'd bought as "insulation" from our

neighbors.

I'd seen the slate walkway that had been built from the deck

leading around the end of the house, but had never followed

it. When we rounded the corner, it was like a tropical

paradise, fully grown. Lawn now stretched all the way to the

tennis courts, and I could just barely see Sam's greenhouse

behind them.

The lawn went all the way to the cliff, but on the other side

was a jungle. Full grown trees had been moved in, and the

tropical foliage and flowers were lush and beautiful.

Occasionally there were paved paths through the jungle and I

followed one of them. On the other side was a paved parking

area that would hold a lot of cars.

"Now we'll have someplace to park cars when you have a party,"

Sam said.

"This is unbelievable," I told him. "You did it all right

under my nose and I didn't even notice."

"We tried not to cause any disruption, even when the cranes

came in to set the trees."

"They look like they grew here," I told him, "like they've

been here for years."

"We got 'specimens', some of them are 50 or 60 years old, and

they seem to like it here."

He was obviously very proud of his accomplishment, but was

itchy to show me his pride and joy - the greenhouse.

First, we entered a "Shade House", shaded from the sun with

some kind of cloth, and filled with large tropical plants.

"This is where we 'recondition' the plants from the house,"

he explained. "Now I can rotate them rather than replace

them when they get tired of the low light in the house."

Next was the greenhouse itself. It was a lot bigger than it

looked. Sam explained that here was where they grew the

"bedding plants" that provided year-round color to the whole

yard. Another section was where he grew flowers for cutting,

forcing them into bloom all year by regulating the number of

daylight hours with black drapes. In another section were

bench upon bench of what looked like potted cuttings.

"These are Poinsettias for Christmas," he explained. "I'm

growing enough for your new office, too, every color

imaginable, but mostly red."

"You really have to plan ahead, don't you," I said. "How're

your helpers working out?"

"Got my grandson working with me," he said. "He was a

Horticulture major at Riverside. Don't think I'll be able to

hang onto him for long, though, he's got big ambitions."

When he'd mentioned the new office, I'd gotten an idea, so I

presented it to him. "We're going to need a ton of plants

for that new office building," I told him. "Would you and

your grandson be interested in handling that?"

"I thought you already had a contractor," he said.

"I really don't know much about it, but if you're interested,

it's yours. I'll even finance it if you want."

"Money we don't need," he chuckled. "You pay us so much, and

we never spend it, so that's not a problem. I'll talk to him

and see if he wants to do it."

"Talk to Tina," I suggested. "That's her project."

What Sam had accomplished was a miracle. He'd turned a weed

patch into a Garden of Eden. I heaped well earned praise on

him which I knew he appreciated.

We'd use the new area, too. It was perfect for the big

parties we occasionally threw.

While it was still fresh in my mind, I sent an Email to Tina

regarding Sam's interest in handling the plants for the new

office. She was never around anymore, spending all her time

with her architect.

I also gave Dan a call. I asked him to book Mary and Sam on

any cruise they wanted, in a suite, and to take care of

everything for them. I knew I could count on him.

Eric came bouncing in, all bubbly. After a hug and a kiss

that made it seem like he'd been gone a month rather than

overnight, he told me about his trip.

"Annie's all settled, and I think I'm going to have to fight

her for Sarah's attention. The two of them really hit it

off. I'll bet she never does get to the Caribbean."

"Sarah may be an old broad," I said, "but she's got more life

than anybody I've seen in years."

"She didn't say anything to me, but I feel like she knows

what Annie needs - a change of scenery and some new faces. I

do know that Sarah's taking her to a party tonight."

"Annie's independent enough that she won't get into the

'social swim' unless she wants to."

"Sarah loves all of Annie's energy. She seems to feed on it,"

he said.

I made us a drink then plopped down next to him. "You're

sure full of it," I told him.

"Slept all the way home," he said. "I'm all charged up, so

you'd better look out," he leered.

I'd planned ahead for that. I picked up the strategically

placed blanket, and told him to grab his drink. "I have

something to show you."

Drink in hand, he followed me out the back, across the deck

then up the walkway around the house.

"My God, when did this happen?" he asked when we rounded the

corner of the house.

"Sam and his Grandson have been busy," I told him.

"Oh, so that's who that kid is. Have you seen him? He's a

knockout! This is fucking fabulous! I remember seeing the

plans, but I never imagined it would look like this."

The plantings on the Eastern side weren't in a line,

irregularly placed, leaving spots that were private and

hidden between them. When we got to one of the deeper ones,

I walked over and spread the blanket.

Eric sat down beside me, putting his arm around my shoulder.

We just sat there, looking at the coast and the ocean

beyond. It was quiet, it was unbelievably peaceful.

We were silent for a few minutes, then Eric moved around so

he was behind me, his chin on my shoulder, his arms around

me. "I have a feeling we're going to spend a lot of time out

here," he said softly. "It's like the door to the real world

suddenly slammed shut and here we are in a little world all

of our own."

I hugged him to me. It was so peaceful and having his warm

body wrapped around me made me feel so secure.

"I'd love to sit here just like this until sunset, then make

gentle love to you," he murmured. "But, dammit, we have to

be at Mom and Dad's house in a couple of hours."

That realization broke the spell, a little. "There'll be

other times," I promised him, turning to kiss him on the

cheek.

An hour later, he shook himself and stretched. "This is

better than meditation," he almost whispered.

In addition to being my "inlaws", Karl and Ingrid had become

really close friends. Without any effort, they made me feel

comfortable whenever I was around them.

We talked about family - my two brats and Ryan and Diane,

and, of course, the baby. Eric helped his Mom with dinner,

just like a little boy. He was so damned sweet. Karl and I

discussed life in general.

During dinner, Ingrid made an announcement. "The Lundborg

family is having a reunion in July, someplace outside of

Chicago, and we're all going." She grinned at me, "You too,

Dave."

She caught me totally off guard. It wasn't an invitation,

but a command performance. There was no way out, so I

grinned back at her and said "OK".

"That was easier than I expected!" she said. "I thought I'd

have to use threats and do a sales job. Has Eric softened

you up, perchance?" she giggled.

"A little, maybe," I said. "I know when I'm cornered, and

I'm too lazy to argue."

"Neither Eric nor Ryan have met most of Karl's family, and I

haven't seen most of them in a long time. I want to show off

my boys and my son and daughter-in law."

"It should be thrilling," Eric added. "I can hardly wait!"

That got a pointed stare from his mother.

"We can all go together," I volunteered. "We'll have the new

plane by then so we can be comfortable. Don't forget, Eric,

we have to go to Savannah this week to pick out the interior."

"I hear it's about the size of an airliner," Carl commented.

"Not quite, but it's going to be a lot bigger than the little

ones we have now. It's hard to tell until we see one," I

said.

After dinner, Karl asked about the Railroad. Eric took over.

"It's a helluva lot more than just a railroad," he said. "I

haven't had a chance to tell you what else came along with

it."

"For that kind of money, I figured there was more," Karl said.

"We've got the Railroad, which is a nice little moneymaker, a

thousand square miles of land that very well may have some

valuable minerals on it, and you wouldn't believe the land

that the Development Company has. The Development Company's

land alone is worth many times what we paid for the whole

thing."

"I notice you using the words 'we' and 'our' a lot, Eric,"

his Mother said. "What do you have to do with all this?"

"Eric's a partner," I said. "Annie, Tina, Eric and I each

own a quarter of it."

"That was mighty generous of you, Dave," Ingrid commented.

"I have to admit that it wasn't my idea. It was the girls'.

And don't worry, he's going to work damned hard for it."

Eric went on to tell them how we were selling off marginal

property to recoup our investment, and how we were moving

ahead on the Silicon Valley project that would take up to 20

years to complete.

When he got to the mining, he winked at me. "We've already

started exploration. Dave and I have been over to Arizona

and have checked it out ourselves. We haven't found anything

major, yet, but the potential is enormous there too."

"How in the hell you guys keep track of everything you've got

going on sure beats me," Karl commented.

"We're following Dave's tried and true management method,"

Eric told him. "Everybody has an area of primary

responsibility, then we all find the best people we can and

delegate. Dave watches over Metalco and Milton, Annie runs

Rush Properties which has grown enormously, Tina is in charge

of the new office project, and I'm responsible for Lundborg

Rush.

"Dave and I are handling the mining ourselves, the Railroad

pretty much takes care of itself, and we're all involved in

the Development Company. It works."

"Me and my three kids," I laughed, getting a glare from Eric.

"I've got an idea," Eric said on the way home. "The Hydra

Group."

"What're you talking about?" I asked.

"The name for the new Company. You suggested Mythological,

and Hydra fits."

"What's a 'Hydra'?" I asked.

"Hydra was the nine-headed monster of Greek Mythology. When

they tried to slay it by cutting off one of the heads, two

grew back in place of it. Indestructible, just like us," he

giggled.

"Not bad," I commented.

"The Holding Company could be Hydra, Inc., or The Hydra

Group, or something like that. The Development Company could

be Hydra Properties, or Hydra something, and we can find a

Mythological name for the mining, maybe Midas."

"We're NOT in the muffler business, I don't think," I

laughed. "But I think we could use a 'muffler' the next time

we go to Arizona so the rest of them could get some sleep."

On the way to Savannah, Ron came back to talk to us. He had

several items on his agenda, and according to him, the only

time he could talk to us was when we were "cornered" on the

plane.

First was the question of more pilots. He was in the process

of interviewing the men that my buddy Russ had sent to him,

and had some good prospects, he said. Since we'd soon have

three planes, he wanted to hire at least three if not four

more. The two planes we already had were in the air a lot.

Eric and I were far from the only people using them.

"Having three planes will ease the pressure," he said, "but

we need backup."

I agreed with him, and relied on his judgment.

All the pilots had to go to Houston for training for the new

GV. Gulfstream provided a school for corporate pilots to

fully familiarize them with the new planes in classrooms as

well as simulators and flying the planes themselves so that

they could obtain FAA certification. Ron planned to go with

Jason, first, then send the others. That's one of the

reasons he was anxious to hire more help.

With a twinkle in his eye, he gave us a parting shot "After

you've seen that new baby, I want to talk to you guys again,"

and then disappeared into the cockpit.

"I wonder what that was all about?" I commented to Eric.

"All I know is that the new plane is a lot bigger than this

one."

"That's all? You haven't seen pictures or layouts or

anything? You just plop down $40 million sight unseen?" he

said, shaking his head.

"That's about it. I've seen some of the older models and

they were nice, and I understand that this one is the

ultimate in private jets. Only the best for us," I chuckled.

"Boy, are you ever in for a surprise! Jason showed me a

brochure on it, and now, I can't wait to see your face when

you get a look at it."

We were met by the Senior Vice President of Marketing. He

was close to being obeisant. I looked at him, kind of

puzzled, and he explained.

"With virtually all of the aircraft we sell, all the details

are handled by lower echelon executives. You're the first

CEO, not to mention owner of a major company to get

personally involved. We want to treat you right."

"Hell, I'm just a regular guy," I protested.

"I believe you, Mr. Rush, that's what makes this all the more

fun for me. When we get through with our tour, our President

would like to meet you."

The four of us were led into this absolutely enormous

building. Planes in various stages of completion were in a

line as far as I could see. The ones closest to us were the

closest to being complete.

"Would you like to start at the beginning of the line?" our

guide asked.

"The rest might, but I don't think I'm ready to see one of

these with their guts all hanging open," I told him.

"We'll start with this one, then," he said gesturing toward

the first in line. "It'll be complete in a week or so, and

will be delivered to a Sultan in the Middle East."

We climbed onto a platform then went through the door. My

first thought was of Rene de Thierry's red Rolls Royce.

Oriental carpeting, maroon velvet and red brocade everywhere

was set off with gold fittings just about anyplace they could

find to put them.

Once the affront to my senses wore off, I noticed the plane

itself. There is only one way to describe the cabin.

Spacious.

I counted the seats. Sixteen, but they didn't seem in the

least crowded together, arranged in groups around tables, it

still seemed really roomy. We walked the length of the

center aisle, and I noticed something else - Headroom, lots

of it.

At the back of the plane was a galley, compact, but on closer

inspection, better equipped than most kitchens. The way it

was arranged, it would be totally functional. I turned to

Eric who commented "Looks like we're going to have to find a

Steward who knows how to cook."

I couldn't supress the giggle. We were both so male-oriented

that the thought of a Steward-ess never crossed our minds.

Walking back through the cabin, our guide explained that this

was the standard 16 passenger configuration. There were

other standard layouts available for from 8 to 19 passengers

as well as custom layouts that could be installed.

The next plane that we looked at was completely opposite of

the first. It was utilitarian, more like an airliner, with

seats lined up side of the cabin. The decor was also bland,

everything in shades of gray. The only feature that I really

liked was a separate "Crew Quarters" just behind the

cockpit. It wasn't huge, but would allow two crewmen room to

stretch out, even sleep comfortably in reclining chairs. In

the rear was another galley that also looked more utilitarian

than the first.

The third one was somewhere in between the other two. The

color scheme was brown and rose, pretty bland, but

comfortable. The 14 seat layout was spacious even though

there was a slightly larger "Crew Quarters" in front. The

galley was unbelievable. "Top of the line, the 'Gourmet

Edition'," our guide explained. We'd definitely want that

one!

Outside the plane, our guide elaborated. "You've seen only

three of our standard configurations, we have a total of

twenty, and I'll give you a brochure with all the details.

There's another option, though. We have a 'Completion

Center' in Dallas that can finish the interior however you

want, something you might want to look into and use your own

decorator."

Ron, Jason and Eric wandered off to take a look at our plane

which was seventh in line. I looked around the huge building

at all the activity.

"No guts lying around," Eric reported, chuckling, "But there

really wasn't much to see."

From there, we were ushered to the President's office.

Sitting around a conference table there, the virtues of the

Gulfstream V were extolled. The plane flew at almost the

speed of sound high above the weather and commercial traffic

and had a range of 6,500 miles.

When he got into the technical aspects of the aircraft, I

held up my hand. "You're talking way over my head," I

explained. "We're already sold on it. Hell, if it works

out, we may even order another one."

"How many planes are you currently flying?" he asked.

"Two," I answered, "and they're in the air almost all the

time. Adding this one will help, but our business is growing

so fast we need to move a lot of people around, and we also

use them a lot for personal travel."

"You'll love the GV," he answered.

We gathered up all the literature they gave us and headed for

home. Once in the air, Ron came back to the cabin. "Whatcha

think?" he wanted to know.

Eric spoke first. "Those interiors were nice, but I'll bet

Brucie could do a lot better job."

"No psychedelic and no antiques," I laughed. "I liked the

bigger 'Crew Quarters', what do you think?" I asked Ron.

"Having a place like that would be really nice," he said.

"Once we're at cruising altitude, the plane literally flies

itself. Only one person needs to be in the cockpit. Be nice

to be able to stretch out for a while."

"You'll still have to blow Jason in the cockpit," Eric put in,

snickering.

"I told you, we only do that when we're flying empty," he

shot back.

"Just kidding," Eric answered. "Personally, I'm all for it -

anytime!"

"OK guys, back to business," I chuckled. "I like the 14 seat

arrangement, but none of them had a sofa. I'd like to have

either one of those or a love seat that makes into a bed in

place of a couple of seats. What do you guys think?"

"Definitely," Eric said.

"Is that all you guys ever think about?" Ron laughed.

"No, dammit, we like to sleep sometimes," Eric answered,

giggling.

"How's this sound?" I started. "We establish criteria then

turn Brucie loose, and I've got a guy at home I want to give

a shot at this to also."

"We'd better get busy if we expect delivery before Christmas,"

Eric suggested.

I got a pad and started writing. "Gourmet Galley," I spoke

as I wrote. "Larger Crew Quarters, 12 seats and a sofa-bed,

warm colors, no blues or greens. How about stereo and VCR?"

"I'll check to see if those're included," Jason said. "I'm

pretty sure all the communication gear like phones, fax and

all that will already be in the cockpit area. We're getting

the full instrumentation package."

"Leather's nice," Eric added with a wink, "but I prefer cloth

seats."

"I think that's about it. If we think of anything else, we

can add it later. As soon as we get home, you call Brucie,"

I said to Eric, "and I'll call Gary, the guy who's doing the

new offices. We'll give 'em a week to come up with

something, at least preliminary. If they need to go to

Savannah to see the plane itself, we'll buy them tickets."

"Why wait until we get home?" Eric asked. "We've got a phone

here."

He located Brucie and gave him our specifications. Brucie

wanted to see the plane and agreed to go to Savannah the next

day and have drawings for us in a week or less.

When I called Gary, he didn't feel it necessary to actually

see the plane, but needed all the measurements, and also

promised drawings.

Ron went back to the cockpit to call Gulfstream to request

that drawings of the cabin be faxed to us at home, and got

the phone number of the "Finishing Facility" in Texas.

When I talked to them, they indicated that they had space to

start on our project as soon as the plane was ready.

Gary was the first one ready to make a presentation, and

agreed to come to the house on Saturday.

I'd worked with Gary on the house several years ago, and he

was the only "butch" Interior Designer I'd ever met. His

work was good, conservative if necessary, flamboyant when

that was called for.

When I led Gary into the den, Eric was on the phone, his back

to us, wearing only shorts, no shirt. When he hung up and

turned, it sounded like somebody had knocked the wind out of

Gary.

I performed introductions, and as soon as the hand shaking

was over, Gary slumped in a chair not taking his eyes off of

Eric.

"Sorry about that," he said when he regained his composure,

talking to me as if Eric wasn't there. "Is he...?" I

nodded. "My God, he's the most..." he stuttered,

"awesome...male I've ever laid eyes on."

"I couldn't agree with you more," I said, putting my arm

around Eric.

"Would you like something to drink?" Eric asked, giving him

one of his most dazzling smiles.

Gary choked then managed to say "Triple Scotch. No, just

give me a glassfull."

Eric chuckled then got up. "Want anything babe?" he asked me.

"Just a Coke," I told him. "I may have to drive Gary home."

"I've read about Eric Lundborg the 'Wall Street Whiz', and I

guess I expected some nerd, certainly not THIS!" Gary

explained. "Where on earth did you find him?"

"Actually," Eric said, putting our drinks down in front of

us, "I found Dave."

Gary choked again, and took a mighty swallow of his Scotch.

"We'd better get to work while I can still function."

He dug out his drawings while giving us a rundown on what

he'd done. "I've worked closely with Gulfstream designers

and plan to use their seating. It's not like you can go into

a furniture store and pick out chairs! They've already done

the work, and their seats have been designed for comfort as

well as ergonomics for less stress. They will be covered in

MY fabrics, though."

His first drawing showed the layout, grouped seating with a

side-facing sofa that folded out into a queen size bed. Then

came the full color artist's conception of the space.

Instead of plastic surfaces, the entire interior was lined

with light brown suede. The seating itself was many shades

of rust, russet and orange, trimmed with Walnut burl.

A big flat-screen TV was strategically placed as was a

console for a VCR and Stereo system. Headset jacks were

located at every seat.

"The concept I worked with was 'cozy'. Not too dark to be

cavelike, but still masculine yet spacious. I know how

'butch' you are, Dave, so no pastels," he chuckled.

"This color scheme may make the space seem slightly smaller,

but I believe that's offset by the warmth of the colors.

With all those big windows, it should be plenty light inside

too. The carpeting is really thick pile a few shades lighter

than the wallcovering and sculpted to define the traffic

pattern. Well, what do you think?"

Shoulder to shoulder, Eric and I had been studying the

drawings intently as Gary had presented them.

Eric spoke first. "I like your concept. The warm colors are

relaxing and soothing, and at the same time dramatic." He

then gave Gary another of those dazzling smiles, and I

thought the poor man would swoon on the spot.

My turn. "I like it all," I told him, "the colors, the

layout, everything. But, I would like to think about it a

little. You have to admit it's a radical departure from what

we're all used to.

"By the way, Gary, the guy who designed Eric's penthouse in

New York is also making a presentation, so we'll have to wait

until we see that before making a decision. It should only

be a few days."

Poor Gary looked crestfallen. "I didn't know this was a

competition."

"It's not," I said. "We'll probably buy a couple of these

planes and we certainly wouldn't want them all alike." That

seemed to satisfy him. I certainly didn't want to hurt his

feelings.

With the drawings still spread out, the conversation moved to

the new office building. We had pretty much just turned the

project over to Gary, letting him 'do his thing'. Neither of

us had even seen any drawings of the interiors. I, for one,

wanted to be surprised. I had total faith in Gary's

abilities.

On his way out, Gary turned to Eric. "You'll have to forgive

my reaction," he said. "I was totally unprepared. It's not

often that one has the opportunity to gaze upon such

perfection."

Eric didn't answer, but gathered him up in a big hug that,

I'm sure, made his whole week.

Monday, Brucie came flouncing into my office with Eric right

behind. Amidst all the fluttering and waving of arms, he

showed us his idea of how the plane's interior should look.

I was very surprised to see that his concept was far more

conservative than Gary's. Lighter, more subdued colors

throughout, with the cabin sheathed in a light antique gold

fabric.

No doubt his concept would make the cabin seem more spacious,

but I was leaning toward Gary's design. I liked cozy.

"I really had to hold myself back," Brucie admitted. "If you

guys would turn me loose, I could do something so spectacular

you'd get off just by looking around."

"That's not quite what we had in mind," Eric told him,

chuckling.

I explained, again, how we were looking at other design

concepts, and would let him know in a few days.

That night, Eric and I spread both sets of drawings out in

front of us. It was a tough call. Both were excellent and

"different".

"My only concern," Eric said, "is that Gary's brown interior

will be too dark. Other than that, I'd go for it."

"What the hell," I said, "if it turns out that it's too dark,

we can always have it changed. Let's go with it."

Although she called every day or so, this call from Annie was

different. The purpose of the call was to let us know that

she wasn't going to the Caribbean and was planning to spend a

couple more weeks in New York.

It wasn't so much "what" she said, but how she said it.

Instead of the all-business, brusque Annie, she was giggly

and relaxed. No reasons were given, and I didn't ask any

questions.

Hmmmmm. I wonder.

To be continued.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 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 and also let me know if you would like to

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