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 2002 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 65

We both lay there in shocked silence.

I couldn't believe I'd said what I just did. It was how I felt, but I didn't have to lash out like that. We could have talked, anything but this.

I turned back to him and threw my arm over his chest. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. I moved closer but all he did was carefully lift my arm off his chest, get up, put his sweats back on and leave the room wordlessly.

Oh my God, what have I done?

I tried to think. It wasn't working. My mind was a maelstrom of thoughts, none making any sense. I couldn't concentrate, hell I couldn't put a rational thought together.

Above all, I realized, I was scared.

I finally did something sensible. I went into the bathroom and doused my face with cold water. That helped a little.

The reason for my very existence had walked out on me, severly hurt by a remark I'd made that expressed how I felt for an instant. Could I make him understand?

Most importantly, what was I doing here with him out there?

He was sitting on one of the sofas in front of the fireplace, his head buried in his hands. I sat down next to him, not touching. "I'm sorry," I said softly but never meaning two words more sincerely.

No response. I waited. "Can we talk?" I literally begged.

It took a little time, but finally he said "In a while. I'm going for a walk." He got up without looking at me, got some shoes and went out the front door. I stood to watch him disappear in the darkness.

There was hope. At least we would talk. I threw a log on the fire and sat down to watch it catch fire, my mind still reeling but the ability to think lucidly starting to return.

Unable to concentrate on anything, I replayed what had happened. I was right to feel the way I did, but wrong for saying anything. It would have passed.

He wasn't gone as long as I expected. He came back and stood in front of me. "Stand up," he asked. I stood and he took me in his arms, pulling me gently to him, holding me. "Still wanna talk?"

I mumbled "Yes". We were both sniffling.

We sat, looking in each other's teary eyes.

"That was the dumbest, selfishist thing I've ever done. God, I'm sorry. All I was thinking about is having another one of those orgasms. I totally ignored all the important things, you mostly. Hell, I didn't even give you a kiss all evening.

I started to say something but he wouldn't let me.

"What happened last night was an experience I'll never forget. It happened because of you. The trust and love we have for each other made it possible, and if that isn't present, like it wasn't a while ago, it'll never happen for either one of us again.

"That'd be a shame, but it isn't anywhere near as important as what I feel about you." Tears were welling in his eyes. "David, you are my life, my existence, nothing else matters."

"You're the same to me," I said, taking him in my arms.

We were a little bit careful of each other the next morning. I wasn't sure if Eric was "over it", and, I guess he had the same doubts.

I puttered. Eric helped me put the boat away, and then I checked out the rest of the gear in the boathouse. We took a walk around the perimeter of the property. There were rail fences down the sides from the road to the lake to show the boundaries, and some repair was needed. The whole property was left pretty much natural. No landscaping, no maintenance.

We found the fallen tree on the shoreline where we'd spent some time after the shooting incident a year or two ago and again sat and enjoyed the scenery.

"Remember this spot?" Eric asked.

"Sure do," I smiled, and snuggled up to him. "We've had a fair amount of excitement in the last three or so years."

"I don't think we seek it out, but it finds us anyway," he chuckled.

Jacques made us a light lunch then took off for town to pick up some supplies that we'd run out of. Eric and I went out to the deck for some more sun.

It was a comfortable silence, but I didn't like it. It seemed as if a barrier had been thrown up. His lounge was almost horizontal. I got up and straddled him, settling on his thighs. "No more pussyfooting around," I told him and leaned forward to his lips.

His arms went around me, and the action of our tongues soon had me unaware of anything else. I felt back where I belonged, in the arms of the man I loved.

The confinement of our shorts was getting painful. I rolled off and we both adjusted, but that still wasn't enough. "Come on," I said, getting up.

We sprawled on the bed, our lips meeting immediately and our hands fumbling with zippers. We stopped long enough to lose our shorts. I grabbed the lube off the nightstand and handed it to him, our signal that I wanted him inside me.

He grinned and lubed his fingers. His preparation had me gasping and when he started working his long dick in, I had to think of something else to keep from cumming. Buried to the hilt, he felt so wonderful inside me, like he belonged there. Each of his long strokes brought sensations that I cannot describe.

When he leaned forward and we kissed, I was complete. I KNEW this was going to be an orgasm to remember.

No games, no prolonging, just a straight fuck right to the finish. The tempo increased and I begged for more. I could feel it coming, building, building until neither one of us had any control. I tensed, he tensed and the ride began.

The lights, the colors, the feeling of his strong arms around me, his chest plastered to mine, his lips on mine sucking the air out of my lungs. All of these things registered along with the incredible waves of pleasure that were coursing through my entire body.

The intensity was unbelievable, building to a point where I didn't think I could stand any more, and I thought I'd explode. Then serenity. I felt like I'd dissolved and was running all over the bed in liquid form. So peaceful, full of love for the man who was quaking on top of me.

I felt his dick rapidly deflating in me then slip out and his body roll off of mine. Barely coherent, we lay side by side gasping for air. I rolled over to put my head on his shoulder and my arm around him. Full recovery from THAT experience was going to take time.

We dozed. We weren't capable of anything more strenuous.

I woke up with this warm fuzzy feeling - but to a helluva mess. There was cum everywhere. I moved a little and realized that my whole body was stiff too, my muscles ached painfully.

When he awoke, Eric hurt too, so we peeled ourselves from the sheets and went out to the hot tub. There was still such a feeling of oneness that we couldn't let go of each other, even in the tub.

"I don't know what to say!" he said. "My mind is still trying to figure out what happened."

"I know how you feel," I laughed. "All I know is that I want to do it again and again." His lips shut me up.

We left for home around noon, rested and glowing, and probably more in love than we'd ever been.

We had plenty of time to stop by the office but didn't. "We'll be there until midnight if we do," Eric said, "at least I would."

However, when we got home, we did talk about all the things that would be pressing and urgent the next morning and worked out a game plan.

Between Coast Hills and the Foundation, Eric had a killer workload. I offered to take a more active part in Lundborg Rush and Lovebird to cut him some slack. At first, he fought me, but when I assured him that it would be temporary and I'd discuss everything with him, he relented.

When we went to bed, it was obvious that we both were ready for some lovemaking. After climbing in bed, we were in each others arms immediately. "Can we talk for a few minutes - first?" Eric asked.

I nodded.

"What do you think brought about what's happening to us these days?" he asked.

"Love," I said.

"How do you mean?"

"I've had more time to think about this than you have, and I've for damned sure thought about it a lot. My conclusion is that my brain finally recognized how much I love and trust you, and decided to relax. Then my body reacted accordingly."

"I don't get it."

"I've loved you since day one. I think you know that. But, all of my self-preservation instincts still held back, unconsciously. When they finally got the message that everything was OK, they allowed me to open up and let myself go completely, to enjoy what I believe we're supposed to enjoy."

"That makes sense, though it's hard to believe. Why would it happen to one of us, then the other right after?"

"Love," I said. "We're so closely attuned to each other that when one of us lets go, the other recognizes and joins in. It's a case of giving ourselves totally to the other. Sure, it feels good to us, but it's our expression of total trust to the other. That certainly isn't a scholarly opinion, just mine, but it works for me."

"It works for me too. I think it's pretty accurate, about the only plausable explanation. Total Love! Let's keep it going for the rest of our lives."

Before we dug into the pressing and urgent stuff, Eric took me to Warren's office. He explained that because of his workload on Coast Hills and the Foundation that I was going to take responsibility for Lundborg Rush for a while. It'd only be temporary, but for how long we couldn't say.

Warren was delighted, welcoming the opportunity to show me what they were doing.

"Dave's not exactly unfamiliar with LR," Eric said, "I discuss everything that's going on with him on almost a daily basis."

The next stop was Hal's office. He too was eager to work with me.

"I need a quick update on the Foundation," Eric said. "You got time to join me?"

George was his ususal ebullient self. Everything was moving along on schedule for the school awareness program. Al was helping him a lot, providing Hollywood professionals to help with casting and training.

"There's another matter that I've needed to talk to both of you about," George said, and jumped right in. "Here's an idea I had: We want to keep the Schools Program as uncontroversial as possible so that we don't run into any opposition. It's neither straight or gay oriented, and I think we should keep it that way.

"The other two programs we're starting, scholarships and community, are strictly gay. If we don't separate these, we might be in for trouble down the road. With that in mind, I suggest we split off the other two into another Foundation that's at least arm's length from Lifeguard. Excuse me for a minute."

He got up and left the office, but was right back, handing us a piece of paper. "This came in yesterday, and, I believe, could help us do what I suggest."

It was a warrant from the State of New Hampshire for 1.6 Billion Dollars.

"Damn!" Eric said. "I've never seen that much in one check!"

"It's going to the bank today," George said. "Every day is about a quarter million in interest."

"I think you've got a real good idea about separating them," Eric said. "We don't want Lifeguard caught up in any controversy. We just want to get the word out, and the less opposition, for any reason, the better."

"I agree," I said. "Can you work up a short proposal, George, and we'll look at it?" He nodded.

"Can I borrow this check for a few minutes?" Eric asked. "I want to scan it and print a color copy to frame."

Then, we went to work. It was always amazing to me that if I left for a day or two, there was always a pile of messages waiting for me. The phone didn't ring that much when I was there for chrissakes.

Annie came in and flopped in front of my desk. "Don't ever get married!" she said. "It's too damned much work!"

"I already am," I reminded her.

"That's for sure," she giggled.

"The only thing that's saving my ass is the team I've got. I know it's rather unorthodox, but Lotti and Sarah are doing almost everything. Lotti's a godsend in Germany. Neither Sarah nor I would have a clue how to get things done, but Lotti just sails right in and handles it."

Annie went on to tell me all about what was planned. It sounded spectacular with lots of pomp and circumstance. Even Chef Maurice had volunteered to supervise the wedding dinner.

"How's your money situation?" I asked. "You know I'm going to write you a check for everything. Need an advance?"

"Actually, I could," she said. "I'm running kind of low on cash and I'm not anxious to sell any stock."

I got out my checkbook, signed one and tore it off. "You fill in the amount," I told her. "It won't bounce."

She came around and gave me a hug. "Thank you, Dad."

"How many people are you expecting?"

"We sent out over a thousand invitations, about 600 in Europe, the rest here. We're holding our breath to see how many accept. The Great Hall in the castle will only seat about 1,200, and that's jammed in tight. We may be in trouble from the looks of things because just about everybody we've heard from so far is accepting."

"A lot from here?"

"Hundreds. I don't know where they'll stay in Koenigsburg, it's more like a village. Guess we'll have to run shuttle busses. Don't worry, though, all the family's staying at the castle."

"Maybe I'd better think about chartering a big jet to take a load from here," I told her.

"Maybe you'd better think about several!" she giggled.

"Let me know who's accepted from here, and we'll see what we need."

To be on the safe side, I gave Dan a call to see what we could do if we had to. There were all first-class wide bodies available that would hold around 200, but they had to be reserved in advance, so I asked him to see if any were available.

"The minute we got our invitations, I made reservations for Neil and me," he said. "Found a nice little Inn in Koenigsburg and we're booked there too. From what I hear, the minute the date was announced, the Press booked every other room in town. Want me to look into rooms in Hamburg, it's only 45 minutes away, and busses too?"

"I guess we'd better."

That night I told Eric what was going on. No sooner had I finished than Annie came in with an updated list of acceptances. While I looked at it, Eric and Annie talked. He was full of questions, and their conversation was a helluva lot more interesting than the list.

Annie was excited about the whole thing, and it showed. She repeated to him what she'd told me earlier about what would happen. It would be a fairytale wedding befitting a princess.

"What's your new official name going to be?" he asked.

"Her Highness Princess Anna Catherine von Koenigsburg, quite a mouthful wouldn't you say?" she giggled. "Legally, it'll be Anna Catherine Rush von Koenigsburg, but hell, just call me Annie."

They continued and I went back to the list. When I'd gone through all the pages, I broke into their conversation. "There are a lot of people here I don't know, but most I do. Should we offer to provide transportation and rooms to everybody?"

"I don't think so," Annie said, "Most of them can damned well afford to take care of themselves."

"But, it's kind of unfair to be selective," Eric said, "and those who've accepted have probably made arrangements already."

"Probably so," Annie agreed, "but there's a lot from here in town that it might be difficult for, and I definitely want ALL the lifeguards there."

"Why don't we limit it to only people here in town, then?" I suggested. "Eric and I can get the word out."

"That'd work," Annie said and Eric was nodding vigorously.

"Between Metalco and Hydra people, lifeguards and a few other people, we'll have a planeload," Eric said. "No problem!"

"We're having a Groundbreaking Ceremony at Coast Hills, want to come up for it?" Eric asked.

"Sure, but I'm not doing any digging, that's work!" I laughed.

"Yeah, I know, you just don't want your picture taken."

"You're a helluva lot prettier than I am anyway," I told him.

"That's 'handsome', darling," he said giggling, striking a pose.

"Beautiful to me, and with a hardhat and boots, SOOOO Butch," I giggled.

"I don't mind being 'front man'," he said. "Everybody else is going," he added.

I started spending a little time with Warren at Lundborg Rush, learning a lot. The new facility was partially complete and as new equipment arrived and was installed, production was being moved from the old plant. Once running, old equipment was being moved and reinstalled.

Warren's main concern was having everything ready to meet Micron's production requirements. The problem was getting enough new copiers from Koenigsburg.

He and I worked out what would be ideal, less what was expected to be here, and still came up with the 15% shortfall.

It would be a great help if Micron gave us the masters a month early, or if Koenigsburg was able to ship early.

I called Greg to see how Micron was progressing. The news wasn't what I wanted to hear. It didn't look like they'd be early, but late. It'd be mid November, giving us only two weeks to get initial stocks to stores.

I also talked to Hans about deliveries. Their production schedule was pretty rigid, he said, and the best they could do was a few days one way or the other. He suggested, however, that we air freight them. That would save about three weeks on each one, and, since we were desperate, would be worth the extra cost.

Hans also told me that they were getting close to introducing a faster, larger copying system that would help us out, but that they wouldn't be available until sometime next year. I asked him to reserve as many production slots as were available for us.

With this new information, Warren wanted a few days to work on his scheduling.

With as many people as there were wielding shovels, they could have done the grading themselves. It was a photo-op, nothing more, and all the local officials got into the act.

We were officially represented by Eric, Rick and Dean, but the rest of our troops were there on the sidelines. Of course there were speeches. When it came to Eric, he was the only one who was brief. "I'm happy to represent my partners at The Hydra Group," he said. "It's our objective to build a community that we can take pride in, and one that will be an asset to the whole community."

The backdrop for this ceremony was lines of earth-moving equipment that would start digging the next morning. Grading would be confined to roads, the lots themselves would be left as "natural" as possible.

We hosted a reception at one of the local hotels. Drinks and canapes. Dean introduced me to all the local officials, most of whom were pleasant and excited about the project. Construction would, afterall, be a major industry in itself.

Henry Gibson was very much in evidence, smiling widely. "This is the first project I've ever worked on where there haven't been any restrictions," he told me. "Without somebody looking over my shoulder trying to cut costs, I think we actually saved money and are ending up with a superior project."

"I just don't have your ability to 'see' things until they're built," I laughed. "I'm going to have to wait until some of it gets completed."

"I understand that you're going to build it out yourselves. You've got two wonderful young men running it for you."

"They have my confidence," I told him, "and since both are financially involved, that'll be an added incentive."

Eric started commuting almost daily from home up to the site. They'd found an airport that could handle one of our small jets that was only 15 minutes away from the site and Eric's office in the shopping center.

I suggested that he stay up there, get one of those "Executive Suites", but he wouldn't listen to it. "I want to sleep with you every night," he said. "And, it's amazing how much work I get done on the way up and back."

His current project was finding a Construction Boss, someone to translate his and Rick's plans into reality. He wasn't having much luck finding the type of guy that he was looking for. Either they were "Executive types" who would be afraid to get their hands dirty, or they were illiterate bullshitters.

He was also building a "Distribution Facility" where materials would arrive in bulk for delivery to each lot as needed. This was centrally located to serve the whole property and would be torn down when all the houses were built.

While all this was going on, Eric was getting richer by the day, a fact that he paid little or no attention to. Micron was on a steady climb, going up a point or two every day. So far, the market value of his holdings had gone from around $5 billion to almost $12 billion, and in my opinion, had not even gotten close to the top.

Since he knew I was watching it, occasionally he'd ask "Still going up?" and when I'd tell him how much, he'd giggle and say "Good." that's all.

Annie's wedding had caught the imagination of the world. The supermarket tabloids were having a field day, and the TV networks were touting live coverage and specials. I guess a dashing prince and a beautiful heiress were too much to resist.

From the size of the check that Annie'd written, she wasn't sparing the horsepower either!

Our chartered plane was full and Dan was busy taking care of the overflow. The time was getting close. Only one major question remained in my mind. What would we do about Georgia?

I asked Annie what she'd done, so far. "First of all, she didn't get an invitation," she said. "Without an invitation, NOBODY gets into the castle. The Koenigsburg Guards are handling security, and since a lot of other royalty are going to be there, it'll be tight. There's no way she'll get in."

"What happens if Georgia just shows up and makes a helluva scene when they won't let her in?"

"Let me explain," she said. "Being a Koenigsburg Guard is an honorary position for local people. They take it very seriously and have the same powers as the local police. They have orders that no disturbances will be tolerated, and those who will be manning the gates will be expecting Georgia, even have pictures of her. If she tries to crash or has somehow gotten hold of an invitation, she'll be arrested on the spot and hauled off as quietly as possible. I think we have the bases pretty well covered."

"Sounds like you've taken care of things," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "At least, I didn't have anything to do with it," I laughed.

"I wonder if they'll stash her in the dungeon?" Annie giggled. "They have one, you know."

Eric was elated. "I think I've found the perfect guy to boss construction," he announced. "He's got a college education, a contractor's license and isn't afraid to dig in. He's so fucking butch that he should be in cigarette ads. I don't think he'd look right in anything but Levis and a hard hat and with a name like Clint..."

"Congratulations!" I told him, "now start delegating!"

"The only thing that worries me is what his reaction is going to be when he finds out I'm queer."

"I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think you'll be hitting on him - - will you?" I chuckled.

"You never can tell!" he shot back with a gleam in his eye. "Are you out of your mind? Why would I look when I've already got the best there is? Anyway, he's not my type."

"The most important thing is you're getting the help you need."

Curbs and gutters were going in, and as soon as streets were paved, they'd be able to start building houses. It wouldn't be long. Eric already had a Purchasing Manager who was buying up a storm.

Eric wanted me to spend a day with him to see the progress they were making, but I wanted to give them a little more time, wait until we got back from Germany.

I really missed Eric now that he was gone three or four days a week, but I certainly got a lot done. I was able to follow up on the market research project that had been started, then dropped, earlier. More Metalco people got involved, and the promising areas were pinpointed.

A team was put together to conduct further "on site" studies of distribution and marketing. Pending the results of that, we'd prepare a game plan for entering these new markets.

A Micron Board Meeting sneaked up on me. I did NOT want to go to New York alone, but Eric was just too busy. He'd take advantage of my being gone and stay up North for a few days, so insisted that Jacques go with me.

I fought that on principle. I didn't think I was too old to take care of myself! Eric argued and won, of course.

The Board of Directors was a happy bunch. All of them had made a potful on the stock they owned, and the new programs hadn't even hit the market yet.

The main concern was timing. Would the software be on store shelves on schedule?

I was able to assure them that Lundborg Rush was prepared, and at most, we would be 5% short of projected volume requirements during the first 30 days, but would be able to handle full volume by January 1st with spare capacity.

"Yeah, it'd be in your own best interest to get that stuff out as fast as you can," one of the Attorney board members cracked. "I still can't see why you weren't foreward thinking enough to have everything in place so you'd be able to support ALL of our requirements."

"Timing and logistics," was my answer.

"This makes me wonder if it's a good idea for us to use you as our sole supplier," he continued snidely.

"You're not giving us a lot of incentive to bust our asses for you with remarks like that, Sir," I said. "Feel free to find another supplier, but I suggest you find one to handle all of your production because with us, it's all or nothing."

"Whoa!" Jerry jumped in. "That is not a matter before this Board. If anyone wants to pursue it, bring it to the next meeting in the proper form."

"I'll just do that. It's just too damned cozy," the Attorney muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "First his boytoy rips us off, then he can't produce."

I didn't rise to the bait.

From there, the atmosphere was decidedly hostile, most of it directed at the mouthy Attorney who wouldn't shut up. Luckily there wasn't anything important left on the agenda.

I left as soon as the meeting adjourned. Back at the penthouse, Jacques told me I had an urgent call from "Greg".

When I caught up with him, he was steaming, but wanted me to join them for dinner, at Maurice's, naturally. He asked me to see if I could get reservations, he couldn't.

I sat and thought about the afternoon's events. I could take offense at what'd been said and strike back, or I could ignore the whole thing. My first reaction was to ignore it, but whatever I decided, Eric would be a part of the decision. I'd wait until I got home to tell him about it. That'd give me a chance to hear what the "Micron 4" had to say.

"Smile!" I told myself.

Maurice and Sheila were both waiting when I arrived and escorted me to my table. If their smiles were any indication, everything was going wonderfully. I'd hear all about it when we got together the next morning.

When the Micron boys arrived, their attitude was quite a bit different. They were all apologetic about what had happened, and wanted to reassure me that nothing was going to change.

"Giving you guys our production was one of the smartest things we've ever done," Greg said. "We're sure as hell not going to change that!"

"Listen guys," I said, "I can understand his disappointment that we'll fall short. That's a business matter, but I do object to the personal attack, and I think mentioning Eric was unnecessary."

"As far as directors go, in reality they serve at OUR pleasure," Ted, the quiet one said. "The four of us still hold the majority of the company's stock, and you can be sure that we'll take care of that guy."

"It really pisses me off to hear anything derogutory about Eric," Jerry said. "He's directly responsible for all the good things that're happening to us."

"Actually," Greg said, "our inability to meet demand on release might be a blessing in disguise. As long as we meet the roll out date with some inventory, a little scarcity may increase demand. This isn't going to hurt us a damned bit and may very well help us."

"Don't worry fellas, I'm not the least bit worried," I told them, laughing. "We could have all your business replaced before the machinery cooled off."

"Where IS Eric?" Greg asked.

"Working his butt off," I laughed. "He's building about 50,000 houses for one of our other companies in Northern California." They wanted to know all about it.

While eating, I mentioned that I'd seen that they were coming to Annie's wedding.

"Our wives would have divorced us if we didn't," Jerry chuckled. "It's the biggest event of the century, and since we were lucky enough to get invitations, there was no way we could stay home."

"What I don't understand is how you and Eric, easily two of the world's richest men, manage to maintain such a low profile," Greg said.

"It's become a habit," I admitted. "Neither of us are interested in notoriety, and we just don't allow our pictures to be taken. We do everything we want to, but don't allow any publicity. That may change with Annie's wedding, though. I hear the papparazzi will outnumber the townspeople in Koenigsburg."

The subject turned to Lundborg Rush. I told them about the expansion that we had underway and how we planned to be opening facilities overseas next, mainly to make record CD's.

"You must be keeping Koenigsburg busy," Greg commented.

"They'll be unveiling a new higher-production copier next year and we've already reserved as many slots as they'll give us," I told them.

"Of course," Jerry laughed, "you have the inside track now."

"Doesn't help as much as you think," I said. "They'll only give us a fixed percentage of their production of any one thing at a time. Right now, we're at the max in two areas, copiers in their electronics division, and injection molding equipment in their heavy machinery division. Metalco is building a plastics plant in Houston."

"Hadn't heard about that," Greg said.

We were ready to go when one of the boys asked what it took to get the dinner check.

"There won't be one," I told them. "Eric and I own this place."

Maurice and Sheila came bouncing in early the next morning. Sheila gave me the latest financial reports which I just glanced at. "Well, how is everything going?" I asked.

"Couldn't be better," Maurice said enthusiastically. "We're full every night, and I'm in love with Sheila!"

"Don't tell me you're going straight on us," I chuckled.

Maurice reddened. "I didn't mean THAT way!"

"I know what you mean, I was just kidding you."

"We've become a team," he said. "we work so well together, and Sheila takes care of so many things. She's even our hostess every night, and we know where every cent goes."

"Isn't that a lot of hours Sheila?" I asked.

"Not really," she said. "I got a good bookkeeping program that's compatible with the mainframe at home, so it doesn't take much time, and I love the time I spend in the restaurant every night."

"You've learned to put up with this outrageous guy?"

"Oh, he's a pussycat."

I could tell that they were both anxious for me to take a look at the financials, so I did. The Balance Sheet looked good except for an "Extraordinary Loss" item. I asked about that. It was the loss from embezzlement and could be used for tax purposes, Sheila explained.

The Income statement was most impressive. They were definitely making money, big money.

"We're in a position to start paying back the money you advanced whenever you want us to," Sheila said.

"Unless we expand," Maurice slipped in.

I couldn't help it. I broke out laughing. I guess they thought I was laughing at their idea. I set that straight in a hurry. "Eric and I predicted that this would happen before we even got started on this one," I told them. "I support you, and I'm sure Eric will too."

Their enthusiasm returned. "I have a few cautions though," I continued. "What you've created here is a phenomenon, probably one of the most successful restaurants in the world, and you've done it in less than a year. Don't do anything that might detract from it or pull down the reputation of 'Maurice'.

"Another consideration is, can you maintain quality and excellence at more than one location?"

"We've given both of those ideas a lot of consideration, along with a lot of others," Sheila said. "One of our strengths is that we're not 'Trendy'. Our fare is basic, classic French with Maurice's personal flair. He's been training other chefs in his approach, and soon, they'll be able to follow his style on their own."

"Right now, I could take a month's vacation and nobody'd notice," Maurice said seriously.

"Have you looked at locations?" I asked.

"We're getting lots of offers," Maurice said. "Even from hotels where I've worked. Now they see us as a drawing card, and are making offers that are basically floorspace rental. They've really changed their tune!

"We wouldn't consider anything in New York. One here is enough. We're more interested in the West Coast, probably Los Angeles, and possibly Las Vegas."

"I understand LA, but why Las Vegas?" I asked.

"The big new hotels are promoting the 'upscale' image, and since 'Maurice' personifies class, there's a bidding war underway to get him," Sheila said. "It's down to free rent and a small percentage of the gross, and we think that even that can be negotiated."

"I'd look at LA first," I recommended.

"We all agree," Maurice said. "Sheila figures that we can finance most of it ourselves, too."

"Let me talk to Eric and see what he thinks," I told them. "Neither of us need to be repaid in a hurry, and if it looks like a good move, we have more if necessary."

"That's as much as we could ask for," Maurice said beaming.

The minute they were out the door, Jacques and I were on our way to the airport.

We were several hours ahead of schedule, so I went to the cockpit to talk to Ron. With the three hour time gain, we'd arrive on the West Coast in mid-afternoon, so I suggested we change course and go to San Jose instead. I could surprise Eric. To make sure he didn't leave early, Ron contacted Peggy and asked her to have Eric's pilots fake "mechanical problems" if he did try.

About an hour into the flight, Ron came back to the cabin. "I've gotten permission to land at the closer airport," he said. "You know I wouldn't attempt it if I wasn't positive that it's safe."

"You're the boss," I said, meaning it. He understood.

"I've flown Eric a few times, so I know the way to the project. Want me to drive?"

"That'd be great," I told him.

Headwinds weren't as strong as usual, so we made excellent time. On the approach, I could see the activity at the project. Roads were being carved and a line of houses under various stages of construction could be seen.

When I walked in the door of his storefront office, I saw Eric, sitting at a table with Rick and another guy, his back to me. Rick saw me and said "Hiya Mr. R, didn't expect you!"

Eric turned and tried to stand at the same time, almost losing his balance. His smile told me everything. He rushed over and gave me a very chaste hug, then turned to introduce me. I gave Rick a hug too, he understood. It would help keep Eric from being "outed".

Eric and Rick couldn't wait to show me what was going on. To my delight, Eric had a Jeep. When we were out of sight of the office, Eric pulled over. "Turn your head, Rick," Eric said and reached for me.

As we neared the main entrance, they started explaining. The road that we were on would be expanded to 6 lanes, there would be a sound-barrier wall surrounding the property, and just inside the entrance would be a Sales Office. There wouldn't be any "Model Homes" since every one was different. All they'd offer were floorplans of available designs.

"We don't actually intend that every single house is totally different," Rick explained. "We'll repeat some of the really popular ones, but in different parts of the development so you'll really have to look to find them."

We turned up a paved street and went to the end. All along the way were houses in various stages of construction, men working everywhere. Where we stopped was the "beginning". Here, trenchers and small backhoes were digging foundations, Eric explained. Next back down the street, forms for the concrete foundations were being set, after that, the plumbing and underground electrical were being installed. On it went until we were back to the starting point where the framing was complete.

The "function" concept that they were using was very obvious, and looked to be working.

"We're learning the timing," Eric said. "Wherever a particular function is out of sync, we either add or subtract crews so that the timing is synchronized with the other functions. We'll be fine-tuning for a while yet, and we know that when we get to interior finishing, we'll have a LOT of adjustments to make."

"The results are damned impressive," I told them.

"All we have to do is stick to the system," Rick added. "It's easy to get sloppy and lazy and lose the momentum we've built up."

On the way back to the office, Eric wanted to know if I was ready to head for home a little early. Rick was staying over. I was ready, so we dropped Rick off and drove directly to the airport.

We were soon airborne and all over each other. Two nights apart seemed more like a month.

I was kidding him about being out of uniform, no hardhat and boots when my cell phone started making noises. It was the Senator.

"I'll bet you thought the whole thing was a dead issue," she chuckled. "Not even close. You can get all the details if you watch the national news tonight. It's the lead story on all the networks."

"I'll admit I'm surprised," I told her. "We'll be watching, I assure you, and thanks so much for letting us know."

"Glad to do it, and keep in touch. I like working with you guys."

I knew I was grinning from ear to ear. "Who was that?" Eric asked.

"The Senator," I told him. "She really surprised me, she didn't drop the whole issue, and it's the lead story tonight on all the networks."

"Maybe that old bastard finally is going to get what's coming to him!"

"We'll find out pretty damned soon."

To be continued.