A Fucking Investment Ch. 04

Chapter 4

The Redhead, the Brunette and Me makes three

Eve. She looked tall but was only five six, five seven. She was a cliché; long hair—breast length, dirty blond, streaked with different shades but different carpet color, which I learned later, so dyed to achieve the effect. She dressed with class but when I followed her to the jewelry store, she was dressed in clothes which were two years out of style, one sleeve had a thread, tell tale signs of decay.

She was a middle daughter of the nation's royalty. Lost in the mix, she retreated to Holdingsfield. She seemed to rule that little pond for she organized and directed and established precedents. It was she who ousted my sister Sharon with a overtly casual campaign. I could not decide if she was one of my true targets or not but she appeared to be a worthy target, regardless.

She possessed the class and sophistication she was raised with . . . and with the secrecy. She fled her family, their purposes, their intentions for her, their encumbrances soon after graduation from college, a legacy of the family name with all its expectations, predictions and Calvinist determinism. Because she was not critical to their purposes her disappearance from their world was not missed or violently opposed. It was tolerated with a complacent conviction that she would eventually see the error of her ways and return to the fold, the cove of the Covingtons a she was wont to express it.

Eve appeared with them socially on occasion but they did not deign to pay any attention to her life. So they missed or ignored the fact of her husband slowly going broke, a descent which my team was intent on hurrying. Ignored with a true indifference which must have cut her in much the same way that her assault on Sharon her my sister. Life seemed curiously balanced before I intervened and I hoped my introduction into her karmic equation would not aim me at a nasty, brutish and short life as a rat when I was next reincarnated.

We steered tenants away from their properties with inducements, got their staff pregnant, exposed their gay members in the closet and hired those out of the closet away to work for us for they were routinely excellent. We robbed them of their talent along with their clients. Eve's husband had a real estate business which would have been under pressure in any case because of the economy but we made perfectly legal, though I admit costly, moves to move it along, accelerate it which I also confess was because I came to want her in the sexual way. Also, because if any of the women of Holdingsfield possessed the bearing and the comportment of a board member or even the Chairwoman herself, it was Eve Covington Sawyer. We moved on them soon after the slide began. I happened to know that they were rapidly approaching the bottom though I had not sent them the notice of eviction yet. Eve deserved a different tack, she deserved tact in fact. Nonetheless, when she asked the clerk to show her the diamond necklace, I knew she was window shopping as the surprised and eager clerk did not.

The clerk turned away and I eased in behind Eve. I placed my hands on her hips. I leaned forward and spoke in a normal voice, "That would look beautiful on your neck. Would you allow me to buy it for you?" To her credit, she did not flinch at my touch or show fright when I spoke nor was she enticed by my honest offer, false as it was.

She turned her head and said in a quiet voice, "I am married."

I chuckled deep in my chest. "So am I. You are Eve Covington. I recognize you." The clerk returned with a ruby and sapphire creation.

"That will be all. Let me look at it." Eve dismissed the woman with a voice at once gentle and uncompromising." The woman turned away and found something to occupy her attention. Eve picked it up and held each end of the strand up to me. From behind her, I reached around each side of her, took it and merely held it in front of her, not touching her at any point. My cock, however, stirred, standing this close to her. She gathered her long, blond hair and pulled out to the side, out of the way exposing the graceful line of her august neck. I fastened the stunning necklace and stepped back. She turned around.

"What do you want?" She said, any pretense of tolerance, gone.

"I am your neighbor." I said. She gave the merest acknowledgement. "I am not really married." That did get a flicker, a subtle change in the eyes.

"What are you doing here? Why are you bothering me?

"Am I bothering you? I apologize." I waited without movement, without expression.

Finally Eve nodded.

"I know about you. You ARE famous after all. I have been trying to figure out how to introduce myself without being creepy."

She nodded again and with that small motion her shield thinned a bit. "Well, I am Eve Covington." She said in a voice flush with reservation and the pleasure at being recognized. She could not hide or help it. Covington was her family name; she did not give me her married name which was Sawyer. That was encouraging.

"Can I buy you a lemonade?" I asked.

"Are you always this rude?"

"Rude?" I did not understand.

"Are you going to introduce yourself?"

I actually blushed. I presumed she knew my name but then again I knew hers and she introduced herself. "Joshua." I said. "My name is Joshua Gale."

"Yes." She responded. "Pleased to meet our new neighbor." Her voice was cold enough to belie any pleasure at our meeting.

I turned around and walked towards the food court. It was a Tuesday morning, early and the mall was sparsely populated. I heard the click clack of her heels on the linoleum floor as she followed. She caught me as I found the table and put down my back pack. I was dressed in shorts, T and carried a small back pack with nothing interesting in it except a brand new vibrator specially designed for clitoral stimulation. I headed for the 'Lemons Into Lemonade' shop and waited in line, not turning around. When I returned to the table the pack was adjusted. She had surely looked. It was possible she found the brand new vibrator but she had certainly thought about trying to look—likely checking for recorders or cameras which would have identified me as paparazzi parasite. I sat down and looked into her perfectly clear blue eyes. She made a swipe at her hair with her graceful lightly, tanned hand. Her nails, like nearly everything, were perfect.

Eve put hers lip to the straw and pursed a bit, drawing the cold lemonade into her mouth. Her crystalline blue eyes were down, showing the prefect eye shadow, the long lashes and the liner that gave her the effect every hooker in the world tried but always failed to attain: royal sensuality—both the promise and impossibility of sex in every detail of her presentiment. "So, Mr. Gale. I understand you are fucking a couple of our mutual neighbors." Eyes fixed on me as she spoke. I did not flinch or deny anything immediately, she stirred the drink with the straw and drank some more though watching me with her huge eyes.

I stared into her eyes for a moment and then let mine slip down to the limp labels of her blouse, a sort of avocado green mixed with a shimmering silver that, though out of date, was stunning on her. Finally I nodded. "For money, actually." I said casually. "Not everyone is as lucky as you are to have sufficient financial backing in this harsh economy. I am making it possible for Liza, Ted and Val to stay in their houses. I am not fucking Ted, incidentally. I hope this will help support our collective real estate valuations. Why didn't you offer to loan them money? I would have thought you of all people would be in a position to help your friends and neighbors out?" I pivoted to the offensive without a pause.

She did the same. "Charity at this level of society is like a weight, it drags one down into the gutter, both parties really. Hard times are a test of one's poise and grace under pressure. If you loan to your friends you lose both friendship and your money which is not a good combination and almost always a bad transaction." She drank again.

My throat was dry and so I drank as well, taking the pause as time to think. I nodded. "I get it, they have no collateral so there was no basis to help them. They really had nothing to offer you. That makes sense."

"No need to be nasty, Mr. Gale."

"I am sorry, I am not trying to be nasty. Really. I had hoped that this sort of thing would remain, shall we say, discreetly out of sight? I am a little off guard that you are so well acquainted with the, ah, situation."

"I think you will find that there are no secrets in our community. We know each other quite thoroughly and appreciated a sort of, shall we say, frankness when it comes to sex, or money for that matter. But, regardless, I do want to thank you for helping my friends. Even if you are forcing yourself on defenseless women, it is a gesture I will not forget."

"I am doing what you, yourself could not do. Are you going to refuse to do what you can do and then have distaste for me when I fill the breech?"

"Is that what you call it? Filling the breech?" She smiled.

There is no wonder why the woman had been famous as a model. That smile was ethereal, perhaps divine, certainly beguiling. "I call it fucking." I said. "And I think either would be insulted that you characterize them as defenseless. Now tiny Ted, he is defenseless."

Eve smiled, a sort of flick of her lips which seemed so casual, so insincere as to be almost indiscreet and made me feel embarrassed for her and ashamed of my success.

The careful dialogue skirting the facts and redecorating them to please her was a game I would never win. "I like women but I like them best on their backs with their legs spread. They both seemed willing to participate in the arrangement. Do you mean everyone knows about this arrangement in the neighborhood?"

"No. Why? Do you have your eye on someone else?"

"Just you, Ms. Covington. I want to know what it takes to get a Covington into bed."

"I would not know. I am no longer a Covington." She blushed a bit, the pinkish scarlet filling in behind the perfect makeup.

"Then I am confused because I was sure you introduced yourself that way."

The color increased and her eyes crinkled the smallest bit. "Well, yes, I did. My married name is Sawyer but I usually introduce myself as Covington . . . to avoid confusion."

"Don't you mean embarrassment? His business is failing, I have reason to believe. How long before he becomes Covington too?" This was just cruel and I regretted it almost the moment it was past of my lips.

But Eve merely nodded, finishing her drink. "You have pointed out my hypocrisy. I am Eve Sawyer. The Covington's will never provide me or my husband financial help in our time of need." She sat the cup down. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gale. And no, your little transactions are not general knowledge and you can count on me to be discrete, for my friend's sake. Not yours. " She rose and was gone.

Before she was out of sight, the phone rang and my situation changed. Completely.

On the way back to the Strasbourg House, I called both Liza and Val and asked that they come to my house by noon the next day. I had some preparations and some business to follow up on and spent the rest of the day doing so.

Liza arrived first the next day and I opened the door for her. It was Wednesday and I had her money but was waiting to deliver it as expected on Thursday.

Liza stood at the door with an expectant look on her face. I was on the phone and she looked disappointed when I gestured her in and closed the door behind her and walked into the kitchen without her. I ended the call, preliminary travel arrangements and asked if she wanted tea or coffee. She took a cup of coffee and sat down.

In that moment, I felt nervous. I owned her body and she was there to give herself to me. I walked over and tipped her head back and kissed her hard on the lips. Hers remained closed though I touched them with my tongue a time or two. She appeared pleased when her eyes opened again, when I stepped away. I still had not thought of anything to say to her when the bell chimed again. That rescued me. What I had to say I wanted to say to both women so they could both be nervous and give me an immediate answer.

I answered the door and Val was there in a tube dress that left her shoulders bare and nothing to the imagination, cinching her full breasts out before her like a wave perfect for surfing. She presented me with her lips and I ran a hand up her leg to see if there were panties under the mini dress. She was bare. And wet. The walk over must have excited her as she imagined what was about to happen to her. Then she squeaked and jerked out of my arms as Liza appeared over my shoulder. Liza had cleared her throat. Val stepped away looking guiltily at the floor. I leaned into her. "I am fucking her, too, dear."

Val smiled a wan, almost sickly smile and stood waiting for me to move. I walked into the kitchen and she followed. Tension followed her and not the good, crackling sexual tension but just the tension you get when you stretch a rubber band, like when two women meet who are the current and former lover of the man in the room; that kind of tension. Liza sat down at the kitchen bar and I walked over to her and pulled her to her feet. I casually unbuttoned her blouse.

Liza wore a plain white—though see-through—blouse with a long skirt, ankle length that swished with the twitch of her hips when she walked. Her hands grasped and then caressed mine as I unbuttoned her blouse, revealing the white bra underneath. With a couple buttons still fastened at the bottom, I slipped my hands inside the blouse and unhooked the bra. I took loose the arm straps and removed the whole thing, leaving Liza sagging against the bar with her breasts exposed to the cool air framed in the open V of the white blouse.

Val stared, still standing at the entrance to the kitchen. I scooped one of Liza's breasts out of the blouse and sucked the nipple hard into my mouth. When I bit down, Liza cried out, arching her back against the bar, pressing her breast against my mouth. I immediately withdrew from her and went over to Val and pulled her into my arms and kissed her hard on the lips again. This time her lips were open and her tongue greeted me when I touched her lips and her mouth opened completely when my tongue entered her. Meanwhile, my hands found the hem of her skirt and when Val began to inhale, I broke the kiss and pulled up on the tube skirt. Her arms went over her head and it was off of her before she finished her breath. She wore no bra, so, except for the heels she wore, Val was completely naked.

"Would you like some coffee, Val?" I asked.

Flustered, aroused and naked, Val nodded because, I suspected, I had taken away her voice. She walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Her heels clicked on the floor and the chair scraped in the silence. I handed her the coffee and returned to the sink, leaned against the counter and crossed my arms on my. Val had crossed her legs and hunched over her breasts. Liza had surreptitiously pulled her blouse together to cover her hers.

"Val, Liza. I got a call yesterday morning which might be of interest to you. You may not know but my business connections have given me very good access to very important, powerful and famous people throughout the world and many who are one or two but not all three which is sometimes inconvenient for them. One of them called me this morning and asked if I knew two women, white women, which is important since he is African—black as coal and chauvinist to the core. He wants a matching pair of white women, who would be willing to spend seven days on their backs with him. He suggested twins or at least sisters, but was willing to accept a Mother-daughter combination but I took that to just be complications to help him in our negotiations for your services."

I stopped, looking back and forth between the naked brown-haired woman and the redhead with her breasts showing. "I have met this gentleman once but I have never shared a woman with him though he has invited me several times. I asked him about the boundaries and he insisted that they should be willing to follow his imagination. I told him I would check and he gave me till one o'clock today. I thought of you. I think we can negotiate a very good deal for the pair of you which I would split with you and apply the remainder to your respective debts. Make no mistake, this man will challenge you. I have heard he likes fear and once he finds what you fear, he will demand that you go there, just to get you scared so he can fuck you in the midst of your terror. It is not the terror for your life, but just things that you are uncomfortable with. Like pain, for example or spiders or stripes and plaids together. I do not think he is a danger to either of you but he will be a challenge, perhaps a risk. What do you say?"

"What do you mean, 'what do you say'?" Val spat out. "You are telling me that two fucks and I am going to be handed off to some stranger like a rented car?"

I was going to get angry with her and scare her but Liza laughed so completely that Val smiled over at her, a bit irritated but more than a lot curious. "What?" She said.

"Reminds me of a joke, two really. A little kid and his mother is at the grocery store, in line behind a fat woman in the line. The fat ladies' phone begins to ring and the boy pushes back against his mother. 'Look out, Mom, she's backing up!" Liza stifled a laugh. "Another fat woman dressed in yellow dropped something while standing at the curb at the airport in the line for a taxi. When she bent over to pick it up, someone thought it was a cab and hopped in." Liza continued to laugh but finally stopped and wiped her eyes leaving her breasts free of the blouse. I stared at them and when she felt my eyes on her chest, she stopped chuckling altogether.

I looked at Valerie and we both shrugged at the same time. I guess you had to be there, wherever 'there' was, wherever Liza had gone.

Liza looked at Valerie. "Val. He owns us. I watched him fuck you last week. He fucked me like I have never been fucked Monday morning after I blew the collector who has you and Ted in a jam. Unless you are going to welch on the deal with Josh, this is an opportunity to put a dent in our bill. Let me tell you, Val, watching you made me so fucking hot. When Josh pled no contest and threw me out because you fucked him to death, I was pissed at him. I wanted his cock if not right then, then certainly later when he recovered but he refused till the contract was signed. Trust comes from doing what you say you will do or asking for exceptions when you can't . . . ." Whatever else Liza was going to say, something stopped her. She turned to me and her mouth was open wider than her eyes but just barely.

"You knew you were going to own us before we even signed, didn't you? Why else would someone call you for two white women to fuck their away across the country unless they already knew? He called because you have let it be known that you would have pussy for sale! You son of a bitch . . .!"

"I knew I was going to own someone." I said but that darkened the red rising in Liza's cheeks so, not knowing what to say, I said nothing.

I could see the anger rising in Liza and fought the urge to try to stem it. Surprisingly, Val stood up, completely naked and walked over to where Liza was a standing by the bar and put her hands on Liza's breasts and pinched the nipples. That stopped Liza; the flush vanished immediately to be replaced by a pasty paleness. Liza did not speak and stopped moving and stopped breathing. Val still had hold of her nipples. For a solid minute, the two women stared at each other then abruptly, Valerie squeezed harder and when Liza winced and closed her eyes, Val said softly, "You watched him fuck me? I think I should have the same opportunity, don't you?"