Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 16

"That soldier didn't look that little!" blurted Stephanie as everyone else broke into laughter.

"That seems to be another characteristic of the women in the family. We tend to be attracted to well equipped men. Jason fills the bill quite nicely," beamed Lisa as she snuggled against Jason's chest.

"He must fill more than the bill," observed Gwen. "That beautiful baby on your breast is proof of that."

Steve suddenly stood with Lisa in his arms. He gently turned her to face Jason. "Do you see any reason why Stephanie wouldn't make an excellent lingerie and swim suit model, Jason? Do you think she's pretty enough and her body is shapely enough?"

"My God! Are you kidding?" exclaimed Jason as he ran his eyes over Stephanie. "I went over the speed limit all the way home just to be sure I'd get here before Stephanie left, and it was worth it! Maybe you should slowly spin her around so I could be sure her ass is as perfect as the rest of her."

"Okay! I'm getting dressed!" declared Stephanie as she slid from Steve's grasp and turned to step from the tub, giving Jason a long, lingering view of her backside. "It seems like I helped both Gwen and Lisa out tonight. Be sure to remember the details so you can tell me about it tomorrow. The sacrifcies I make for my cousins!

"Jason! Were you staring at my ass as I climbed out of the tub? What's wrong with these guys anyway? They're regular perverts," laughed Stephanie as she gathered her clothes and headed for the door.

"Let me guess," began Gwen as soon as Stephanie closed the door. "Stephanie was concerned that she didn't look sexy enough to model with us, but being as smooth as you are, you somehow managed to convince her that she's smoking hot?"

"Bingo!" chuckled Steve. "Helping ladies in distress is one of my favorite activities. Lisa, do you need any help with your self esteem?"

"The way you keep staring at my boobs is boost enough, thank you very much," laughed Lisa. "I already know that you guys find me quite acceptable.

"Thanks for taking care of Theresa, though. She's fallen back asleep. I've never thought to bring her out to the hot tub, but she really seems to like it. Now you can add two more females in the family, Stephanie and Theresa, that you've seen naked, if you're keeping count."

The next morning saw Jordan, Gwen, Charlie and Steve ringing Diane's door bell at 8 AM. They rang it twice before Stephanie yanked the door open and glared at Steve.

"You're in my dog house, wise guy! They kept me up half the night. I may never recover from the trauma to my psyche. I just hope I inherited Mom's multi-orgasmic genes," fumed Stephanie.

"What am I missing here?" asked Jordan. "Why are you blaming Steve for your parents' long love making session? He couldn't have had anything to do with it. We just picked him and Gwen up at Paula's house."

"This jerk is so good, he can induce orgasms from great distances," complained Stephanie. "It'll serve you right if Mom's too tired to work on your routines today. I'll be surprised if she can even walk, never mind dance."

"Stephanie, why are you keeping everyone at the door?" questioned Diane as she breezed into the kitchen with a huge smile. "Anyone want any coffee before we start working? It looks like a great day to dance!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes as Jordan gave Gwen her 'what's going on?' look. Charlie was every bit as bewildered as Jordan, while Gwen and Steve were barely able to contain their mirth.

"You certainly look good this morning, Aunt Diane," observed Gwen. "You seemed quite happy last night and it looks like it's carried over. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Yes, I did," beamed Diane. "I slept like a baby and I'm ready to work on those routines. We only have a couple weeks and you'll be at med school much of that time, so we'd better get started. I'm thinking that when Gwen isn't around, I'll work with Steve since he has a few days off this week. Jordan and Charlie will be here so I can work with them every day."

"I can take Gwen's place when she's back at school," volunteered Stephanie. "That way you'll be able to watch and point out where Steve needs to improve."

"That won't be necessary. I know how busy you are with the company and everything. I'll be able to handle it," countered Diane.

"I insist, Mother," retorted Stephanie immediately. "We need to keep this professional, and I don't think you're able."

"Where's that coming from?" demanded Diane. "I've worked with Gwen and Steve for years. You know that."

"Yeah, but that was before I found you in the laundry room with Steve, all flushed and with your boobs out. I know about you getting into a hot tub with him when you found out you were pregnant. He watched you nurse Billy every chance he got. You like him looking at your big boobs. Admit it!"

"Okay, I admit it. Happy? Is this about me or about how you've always had a crush on Steve and never dared act on it?" asked Diane. "I know that you undid your own buttons before you came out of the laundry room yesterday. Maybe you should try sitting in a hot tub with the guy and see how it feels. I've never cheated on your father and I never will, but I'm a woman, and it's nice to be appreciated as one now and then."

"I did try it, ... last night," revealed Stephanie.

"You were in a hot tub with Steve?" repeated a surprised Diane. "Were you wearing a swimsuit at least?"

"Mother, I'm 23 years old. I was naked with Steve and I'll get naked with him anytime I want. If you don't like it, I'll move out. I can afford my own place quite easily now."

Steve moved ahead slightly and was about to speak when Gwen nudged him in the side with her elbow. When he glanced her way, Gwen shook her head slightly. Steve knew immediately that he was expected to remain silent.

Diane glared at Stephanie and then at Steve. Everyone could see the emotions wash across her face. Then she suddenly broke into a big smile.

"Tell me all about it. How did he behave? I bet he loved your figure. My little girl is really growing up. I wish I felt comfortable enough to tell you about the hot tub thing I had with Steve, but you were too young then. I just never felt comfortable about telling you. You're so lucky to not have to keep it a deep secret.

"Gwen, I hope that you knew about this before just now," added Diane. "I'm afraid that we take your willingness to share Steve for granted at times. I'm sure that Stephanie won't be getting naked with Steve anytime she wants, as she so bluntly put it."

"Gwen was there for a lot of it. She explained the 'rules of engagement' with the guys to me last night. Lisa was there, too. She's the one that mentioned that Steve's seen numerous mother/daughter combinations, like you and me, Lisa and Theresa, Paula and all three of her daughters, as well as Jordan and her mom," summarized Stephanie. "Steve's going to work on getting Grandmother into the hot tub with him."

"How did Mom and I get dragged into this somewhat perverse and strangely erotic conversation?" asked Jordan. "It's no secret that I've been naked with Steve a few times, but I didn't know Mom's escapades were so well known. I didn't think Steve would tell stories out of school."

"Paula and I watched and listened to Steve with your mother that morning," revealed Diane. "Steve never would've mentioned it, but Paula and I were so impressed with his defense of you, as well as his praise of you and Paula, that we kind of let people know how amazing it was."

"So he really did tell Mom how perfect I look and how nice my figure is? You heard him do it?" beamed Jordan as she hugged Steve and kissed him quickly on the lips. "Now that we've determined that Steve has seen all of us naked, and probably will again, let's get to work on our routines. I'm pretty excited to be singing and dancing at the Oscars!"

About that time, Will, still wearing his pajamas, staggered into the kitchen and dropped tiredly into a chair. Steve slapped his shoulder lightly and chuckled. "I hope you're able to get some rest today while I'm dancing with your wife, holding her in my arms, and ..."

"Never mind!" groaned Will. "Why don't you go save a small nation or something and leave Diane alone?"

Steve, Gwen, and Stephanie all broke into laughter while Jordan, Diane, and Charlie looked totally bewildered.

"What's the matter, Dad? Getting too old to keep up with Mom?" goaded Stephanie gently. "She looks relaxed and happy as a clam. I bet after a day of watching these buff younger men with their washboard abs and rugged good looks, Mom'll want a repeat performance tonight."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Diane. "Did you hear us last night? What's going on?"

"That's what I've been wondering," admitted Jordan. "You, Charlie, and I are not in on this little joke, whatever it is. It'll help me to understand better if you tell me what Stephanie heard last night."

"Nothing, ...well, nothing that unusual," corrected Diane. "Will was in a romantic mood last night and we may have made enough noise for Stephanie to hear us."

"May have?" repeated Stephanie. "The whole house was shaking!"

"While interesting, and great for you, Diane, I don't see how Steve could have had any direct influence on your activities. I still don't understand why Stephanie is blaming, or crediting, Steve for your ardor," puzzled Jordan.

"That makes no sense," responded Diane. "The last I saw Steve was at Paula's house before we went out. Stephanie saw a lot more of him last night than I did, and I mean that literally."

"Let's get our routines down," interjected Steve to direct the conversation away from the activities of the previous evening. "We really don't have all that much time."

"So, Gwen, how was Steve last night? Was he able to take you to those places most of us can only dream about?" kidded Stephanie to her cousin. "I'm curious to know if you owe me a 'thank you' for my part in getting Steve in the mood."

"He's always in the mood," laughed Gwen. "But he brought his A-game last night. That's for sure! We visited those places to which you just referred several times. I guess I do owe you a lunch or something."

"What's going on around here?" demanded Jordan. "Is there some sort of sex cult or ritual going on that no one mentioned to me? I may want to join since it's working so well for Diane and Gwen."

"You're already a member in good standing," assured Gwen to her friend. "I'll explain it later. Right now, we need to get to work."

After a strenuous morning working on their routines for the Oscars, the friends joined up with the rest of their group at the LiR studios to make the commercials. Before shooting was scheduled to begin, Stephanie asked that Lisa, Kate, Jordan, Gwen, Charlie, and Steve meet with her in private.

"I've been working on a few projects that I believe will benefit the company. I don't believe that we've been marketing your popularity like we should and I plan to change that," announced Stephanie. "To that end, I have several projects I want to implement, unless you guys tell me not to.

"The first is a quarterly magazine. It'll be 'Lady in Red', aptly enough. We'll shoot the first cover for it today and it'll feature all six of you. This will be like a journal of your lives. Each of you will have space for a blog, opinion, events... pretty much whatever you care to reveal to the public.

"I'll have people trying to get candid pictures of you guys as you go about your lives and I'll expect you to take some of your own to use in your stories. The first issue will be a recap of how this company was born and grew. It will cover everything right up to the present and it will be out in late May

"We'll advertise every aspect of the business in the magazine. You guys and your good friends will be the models for the clothes and perfumes, so we'll need lots of pictures today, and I'll be asking you all to stop in to pose for more every now and then for future issues. Your movies will be featured along with any interesting developments that happen during filming.

"We'll accept some advertising from other companies, but we don't want the magazine clogged with annoying ads that detract from our goal of promoting you and LiR. We'll charge at least double what other magazines ask for advertising to limit the exposure of any other company in our magazine.

"Your music will be featured a great deal. Your good deeds will be discussed at length. Gwen's experiences in Congress will be covered. Jason and Lisa's efforts to help people in emergencies as well as the homeless shelter that Ashley first started will be included.

"The specials you did for Christmas and New Years Eve were huge successes. I'm getting requests to commit to doing it again. I plan on negotiating a lot more money for them and perhaps adding a few more specials. I'm also looking into pay-per-view for the concerts you give, even if they always seem to be free for the people that watch them live.

"I'm going to ask Jordan and Charlie to make more movies since they are out of school and have more time than the rest of you. They are extremely popular now and we need to take advantage of it. I want to get Lisa and Jason appearing in more films since they look so good and are naturals in front of the camera. Of course, whenever Steve and Gwen can make a movie, we'll do everything possible to work around their commitments. Kate's busy in law school, but she and Chip and the rest of your friends will be worked into more films as well. There's increased interest in Naomi since she did so incredibly well in your last movie, but her Naval career will restrict how much she can film.

"Becky is in greater demand all the time. She's very good and people love how she's not letting the loss of a hand hold her back in any way. She's making money for the company as well as for herself. We'll start working Pete into some movies when we can. He's a good looking guy, and if he can act, he'll do well.

"I've hired some people to write some animated movies featuring you guys. Once we get some scripts and the animation done, you'll have to stop in to do the voices of your characters.

"I think I should point out that Jordan and Charlie have been bringing in the most revenue lately. They share in the success of the movie, and sell a lot of music and do a lot of concerts. They also pull in a lot of money with the royalties from the songs they write. Is everyone fine with that?" asked Stephanie.

"If they need a bigger cut or something, I sure won't complain," stated Kate quickly. "I haven't contributed much to this business, yet, but I hope to in the future."

"Jordan and I are extremely happy with the way things are right now. Between us, we own a third of a wonderful company with some great people. We'd never be here if it weren't for Gwen and Steve. You'll hear no complaints from us," insisted Charlie as Jordan beamed her agreement.

"I'm glad to hear that because we're in this together," stated Steve as he looked around the room at his friends. "Each of us will do what we can and that will be enough for all of us. There's no ledger being kept to determine who's doing what. We're partners, friends and family, and I want us to stay that way."

"I'm extremely impressed with Stephanie's plans for the company," praised Gwen. "If we keep giving away hundreds of millions of dollars at a time, we'd better be sure we keep money coming in. I thank each of you for being so generous with your time and talent to make our company a successful, yet compassionate enterprise. I'm very proud of all of you."

"Okay, since there are no questions or objections, I'm going to pursue these ideas," declared Stephanie as she headed for the door. "Now let's go make the sexiest, most interesting commercials any Super Bowl has ever seen!"

As the afternoon wore on, Steve found himself watching Paula when he wasn't actively filming or posing for ads. He couldn't help but notice how great she looked, but how miserable she was being to Ted. Unable to watch and listen any longer, he decided to speak to her.

"Paula, would you please step into the conference room with me?" asked Steve to a surprised Paula.

She concealed her shock and followed Steve into a small conference room. As he closed the door, Steve noticed that Gwen and Lisa had been watching him take their mother aside.

"Paula, you've been all over Ted's case this afternoon. Can you tell me why you feel it's necessary to be so tough on him?"

"My relationship with my husband really isn't any business of yours," replied Paula somewhat curtly. "I have my reasons for keeping a close eye on Ted. They don't concern you, however."

"That simply isn't true," replied Steve firmly as he stepped closer to Paula. "I've been listening to, and watching how you're treating him today. We're pretty much family. I love you like I've never loved any other woman. You're part mother, part fantasy, part hero, and part very good friend. This family is my business. I respect and admire Ted. Frankly, I think he deserves better from you."

"Maybe you haven't noticed how he looks at those young women in there!" snapped Paula. "It's embarrassing to have a husband that's pushing fifty behave like a hormonal teen. He needs to act his age."

"That's it?" asked a stunned Steve. "Ted is looking at the some of the most beautiful women in the world, and most of the time they're in swim suits or lingerie, and you think there's something wrong with him?

"Did you think you married a eunuch or something? Do you see any of the girls complaining about it? They'd be a lot more hurt if he didn't look. What's really going on here?"

"It's just that Ted and I have been married almost thirty years. I can't compete with those young women. After looking at them all the time, he'll have no interest in me anymore. Our sex life has slowed down lately. I know he's probably wishing he had a younger, hotter wife."

"What have you been smoking?" demanded Steve. "The guy adores you. Things slow down for everyone, and they pick back up. You must know that by now. Being around the other guys and all these beautiful women helps Ted feel younger. The girls respect him a lot. They enjoy teasing him and getting a reaction from him, or at least they did until you started hammering him. He's a good looking man around some very beautiful women. Let him enjoy it! He'll be hornier than ever if you just let up and allow him to relax a little and enjoy the day."

"You think I'm just being petty and Ted's behaving like a normal almost fifty year old man?" questioned Paula.

"Yes!" laughed Steve. "The key word you used is 'man' and Ted is that. When he no longer looks, take him out and shoot him. What you need to do is borrow a page from Will's play book. Have the girls flirt with him! Tell them it's a favor to you. They'll understand and be glad to do it. They think the world of Ted."

"Will's play book? What does that mean? Does he get the girls to flirt with him so he'll be more romantic toward Diane? You expect me to believe that Will flirting with those young girls is a good thing for Diane?" scoffed Paula.

"That isn't exactly what he does and I probably shouldn't have mentioned it. He doesn't interact too much with the girls. He's even more introverted than Ted," responded Steve carefully.

"You're the one that brought this up. Exactly what is Will's so-called playbook?"

"I'm not very good at keeping secrets like this, am I?" chuckled Steve. "Over a period of time, Will has observed that Diane is more romantically inclined after she has interacted with some of the guys in our group. Will encourages some contact and sexual banter knowing that he'll be the benefactor later that evening."

"Do I understand you correctly? Will likes you to get Diane all hot and bothered for him, like you're doing the foreplay and he's getting the main event? That's ridiculous!" insisted Paula.