When The Stars Align Ch. 01

The bet was forgotten in favor of the hangover I was sporting, right up until lap thirty two of the race when two of the cars in the lead had a 'coming together'. What happened next, could only be put down to timing. As the safety car was deployed to give the marshals time to clear the track, three woman walked along the isle to our seats, the wolf whistles and cat calls from the surrounding guys made the two women behind Gretchen stick their chests out even further. Once Gretchen stopped in front of me the two women handed hot dogs and coffee to my friends who just starred at the two hot women standing in front of them.

The activities on the track seemed to have taken a back seat for the moment, my friends accepted the food and drinks. They even blushed a little when both women leaned in, kissed them on the forehead and walked back along the seating amid more cat calls and wolf whistles before disappearing down one of the exits. Gretchen sat on my lap and handed me my hot dog, holding my coffee for me. Although both my friends had their mouths open, they weren't eating much.

"Hey slick, where have you been hiding this one?"

I still had a mouth full of hot dog, what the hell was I going to say.

So Gretchen said. "I'm his sex toy. He usually keeps me locked in his bedroom and only lets me out when I beg nicely."

Both the guys roared with laughter. Me, I choked on my hot dog. Gretchen patted me on the back and as I came up for air she handed me my coffee, smiled as innocently as she could, which of course set both my friends and all those around me that heard Gretchen's comment, off once again. I decided that the inside of my coffee cup looked rather interesting right about then.

I spotted her hand as she placed a piece of paper into my pocket, seconds before she stood, wished my friends a good day and walked down the seating, heading for the same exit the other two women disappeared through.

The safety car dipped back into the center of the track and the race was on once again, the noise level increased and all thought of conversation was put aside, in favor of the race. It was during one of the few other lulls in the race, that I pulled out the note Gretchen had left me.

'Reservations at Gardinies have been made for eight, I will be a fashionable five minutes late. My cell number is below if you change your mind about losing the bet, Gretchen.'

I looked up Gardinies when I got back home, I wouldn't get further than the door in jeans and t-shirt. Although dad watched me leave in a suit, he didn't say much, just smiled and shook his head.

Gretchen was a fashionably six minutes late, although she did say my watch was wrong. She was also right about dressing up, I watched as the waitress walked her to our table, oh boy. Her hair was set back and braided tight to her head, what make up she did have on only seemed to highlight her cheekbones. Yet her eyes shone, even more so when I stood. My mouth took a moment to work without being told to.

Her dress was almost the same color as her eyes, it stopped at a safe distance between knee and ankle, curved in all the right places and clung to the parts of her that screamed 'I'm a woman in here' as Gretchen turned to hand the waitress her shawl, her dress revealed even more of her. Backless to almost the small of her back and clearly without a bra the front was doing well to hold her tits in and show the shape of them real well. To a guy, that dress was hot yet at the same time built for comfort in mind and to show off the woman wearing it.

She had the fish, I stuck to a steak. We talked about the race and my friends for a while. I even asked her how she managed to get a ticket at such a late date. That's when she gave me one of those all knowing smiles again and told me that Petterson's did a great deal of business with one of the race sponsors, so a phone call and a quick chat with a member of the family got her onto the list for race day. A word or two and a hefty bribe to a couple of the female hired to help, got her the two girls to keep my friends occupied while she did the more subtle approach.

"Subtle? You sat on my lap and told my friends you were my sex toy."

The smile that came back and the flush of her cheeks made me pause to watch her.

"Yes I did didn't I, gosh I hadn't had so much fun in a while, although you have to admit, your standing amongst your friends went up a notch or two this afternoon."

Nodding my head in agreement was all I was willing to do. The rest of the evening we kept it light and even managed a few laughs. I was still waiting, trying to figure out what was her real purpose for being here and when she was going to drop that tidbit of information into the conversation. It was only when coffees were being served that she showed signs of agitation.

"I need to apologize to you and of course to Lou-Lou. You see for many years Victoria and I have used our home language to our advantage. Both of us use it to keep our conversations private. We know it annoys the board and most of the management at Petterson's but it's our way of keeping the world out and us in."

Gretchen watched as I put my coffee cup down, her face still showed so much uncertainty.

"You two pissed a lot of people off that day with that language thing, and despite repeated requests to stop doing it, you still chose not to. I accept your reasons and understand that you both need an edge over some of the people you do business with, but around real folks who mean you no ill will, you have to stop it."

It was Gretchen's turn to nod her head this time. The pause as she tried to work out how to say what was next on her list, took her a little longer.

"Victoria still wants to talk to you. Will you come with me tomorrow?"

My father's words made me pause and think. Connie would want this settled either way, and Lou-Lou had to be my priority in all this.

"Where is she?"

The pause was momentary. "Boston."

I never did finish my coffee.

"Are you out of your mind? I'm not going all the way to Boston for the day."

There was something in her eyes, desperation perhaps, I wasn't sure. She looked down at her cup and seemed to grow strength from it.

"Victoria can't leave Boston at the moment, its part of the reason why I'm here. Please come back with me, even if it's only for a few days."

There it was again, that something in her eyes that I just couldn't place. The way she held onto her cup made her knuckles white, even when I looked once again at Gretchen, I could see the anxiety build within her.

Nodding my head and saying. "Ok, but I have to be back home by Thursday, I have things I have to do, the rest I can play catch up on, but Thursday I can't miss, even for you or Victoria."

The relief she seemed to feel almost made her look like she deflated, her smile came back and Gretchen quickly talked logistics, in case I changed my mind. We both spotted her taxi pull up and for a moment I wasn't even sure she was going to leave in it, until I told her I would see her tomorrow. We stood and hugged and I watched her head back to her hotel.

*******

I had never been in a private jet before. I must say, wow. Talk about express check-in and premier service. Oh, to be worth a few bucks. Gretchen was a fanatical conversationalist, until I sat her down and told her that I was on the plane. She didn't need to fill in the gaps because there were no in-flight movies. She gave me one of those wicked smiles and pushed one of the buttons on her seat, a screen slowly came down and the NASCAR race that we were both at, came on.

During the lull in the race when the safety car came into effect, one of the camera people went looking amongst the crowd. He caught the whole scene with Gretchen and the two girls, even as I placed my head in my hands, all I could think of was that Connie knew and if she knew, so did dad and Lou-Lou. I sure had a lot of explaining to do when I got home, that was for sure.

It seemed we had no sooner took off than we were back on the ground again, mind you, re-living the scene of the camera man zooming in on Gretchen, as she sat on my knee feeding me and handing me my drink did make for a topic of conversation between us.

*******

The limo dropped us off at the front of a four story brownstone building, Gretchen told me that my bag would be taken care of, and that was the last I'd see of it until later that evening.

We strode into the block and were greeted by Victoria's security team, one of them I recognized. The elevator was a key only affair and took us straight to the top floor, on the way up Gretchen explained that the whole building was owned by the company. The first three floors were the head offices of Petterson's Jewelry Company. The top floor was where Victoria lived, I thought that was odd, but I kept my opinion to myself, for now.

As we emerged from the lift we entered the day room, to the left were a bank of TV screens showing all sorts of information and computer terminals. A small open kitchen next to it with closed doors at intervals around the room. The furniture was minimal yet also plush, Victoria heard the lift open and walked towards it to meet us, avoiding all the furniture as she did so.

Lou-Lou had every room in dad's house mapped out in her head and unless you moved a piece of furniture she would never bump into it, it was clear to see Victoria had her own map. It was also clear to see, she lived her private life the way she furnished her apartment, very minimalist. Her hair held back in a loose pony tail, her tits swung in the UCLA Tee shirt she was wearing and the shorts showed a pair of legs that would make a model envious.

"Doug, I'm so glad you decided to come back with Gretchen."

We hugged like old friends would and I found myself feeling uneasy about it, Victoria then walked towards a couch and asked me to sit, Gretchen walked over to the kitchen and started to make us all drinks.

"I hear you two made national TV."

Gretchen and I looked at each other, she shrugged her shoulders, I felt myself getting warm.

Victoria giggled and said. "Well, I thought it was funny, it's a good thing Gretchen told me what she had done, before I heard about it from the board. The board of directors believed it showed us in a bad light, since I knew in advance, I killed the story before the board could make anything of it."

By now, Gretchen had made us all drinks and placed them on the coffee table, sitting across from us, she could still see I was slightly confused about Victoria's comment.

"At the moment Doug, there is a great deal of in-fighting amongst the board, most are board members from when Victoria's father ran the company. There are three things that they hate and are doing everything they can to rectify."

By now, I had held up my hand to stop Gretchen. "Wait a minute. This is board room stuff. I have no need to know any of this. I'm just a guy who lives on a farm. I did my stint in the big city; it didn't work out and now I'm back where I belong, which also leads me back to why I'm here in the first place."

It was clear to see that there was more going on around here than I was being told. The way these two kept looking at each other was a dead giveaway, I was left to wonder if I was going to like what I was eventually going to be told.

Gretchen spoke in that language again.

Victoria looked directly at her and said. "No Gretchen we agreed, in American or he will think we are hiding things from him."

This time Gretchen looked directly at me, her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed. I had seen that look before, she was sizing me up, it sure felt like the pause was slightly longer this time.

"Doug. We want something from you, we know you are a man of honor and you come from a family that counts its word amongst its highest values. Please Doug, give Victoria and I your word now that you will hear us out and that you will let us give you all the facts, before you decide on what you wish to do. If you agree to that, then no matter what you decide, we will both abide by it."

Now, was one of those get up and pace moments and I sure took advantage of it. I think Victoria suspected I would and adjusted her seating position so her legs were now under her body as I did so.

"This isn't about why I left the agency anymore is it?"

Victoria shook her head before replying.

"If anything Doug it was the catalyst that started all this, but we can't say more until we have your word. I understand we are both placing you in a difficult position and I'm sorry but we just can't."

It was clear to see that I wasn't going to get anything else out of them, so I shrugged my shoulders and sucked it up, although deep in the recesses of my mind I was preparing myself for the worst. Not even I was ready for what came next.

"Ok I give you my word that I will stick around, not fly off the handle, and try my best to behave like a gentleman throughout everything you two are about to tell me, until Thursday when I go back home."

Gretchen smiled and then burst into tears. Victoria leapt from her seat and went to her aid. I just stared at both of them not sure what to think anymore.

It still took awhile before things calmed down enough, for either of them to say anything, Victoria told how her father had started Petterson's and groomed her brother to take over the company when he retired. Both were killed in a car accident in Italy, seven years ago, the board saw the power vacuum that was left and it caused an all out battle in the board room for total control of the company.

The real casualty of all this, was the company. The resulting loss of confidence caused an almost total collapse of the company, both Victoria and Gretchen were still at UCLA at the time when one of the members of the board came and asked Victoria to take over her father's position and become president of the company. Even though he warned her, what would happen if she did, he also told her what would happen to the company if she didn't.

Victoria believed she had no choice and left UCLA to take up her role as head of the board, the bitter boardroom battles that ensued, lasted close to a year but slowly she won one board member over at a time and Petterson's did once again, play a leading role amongst its competition.

By now, Victoria seemed to have wound herself down and Gretchen seamlessly took over, she even did the pacing thing and I tried hard not to smile, or at least not get caught doing it.

Petterson's has a mandatory retirement age. Three of the most hostile board members are now eight months away from it and it's only recently that their own long term strategy had come to light. For some years they had combined to force Victoria to deal with one problem after another, making her spend so much time resolving every issue that came along. It was those three that forced the vote within the board, causing them to refuse to once again sign up their regular ad agency in the hopes that Victoria would fail to find one that wasn't even remotely as good.

"Your old team are damn good at their job Doug, not one of them has left and all but one of their commercials has won awards."

I smiled when I looked towards Victoria and said. "I didn't lie when I said they were the best I had ever worked with."

She nodded her head and went back to her tale, Gretchen watched her and frowned as she spoke I started to wonder why.

"My father inserted a rule, it was meant for my brother. He was a notorious womanizer and dad wanted him settled, since Petterson's is a family company my father insisted that everyone on the board should be married by the age of thirty. Since all of them were, they passed it anyway knowing it was only aimed at my brother."

The pause in the room as Victoria finished speaking left me wondering if I should have picked up on the intent she had placed on what she had said. My first thought, I instantly dismissed as stupid and waited for her to continue.

That stillness as no one said anything, each of us holding onto our own thoughts simply grew into an uncomfortable silence.

Gretchen adjusted her seating before saying. "Victoria said that she would sign up your company if you removed yourself from the team. When our people turned up at the agency the next day you had resigned, that was not our intent. We wished you off the team, so we could offer you a job here at Petterson's."

Shrugging my shoulders was all I could think to do at first, but neither Gretchen nor Victoria would allow that, the silence that followed left my mind to wonder back to that evening and I explained what had happened on my journey back to my apartment only to discover the break-in. With my own decision made, I simply packed and went home, both smiled when I told them how I resigned and tossed the phone over the bridge.

"Would you come back if we asked you?"

Both Gretchen and I looked towards Victoria as she asked me that question. I suppose I pondered it for a moment and there seemed to be a flicker of something cross her face as she waited for my answer.

"To be honest, no. It was a boyhood dream and I was given the chance to live that dream, but I'm a full time father now and have responsibilities of my own. I did the big city thing with the intention of bringing Lou-Lou with me at a later date. Back then I thought her quality of life would be better. That's a mistake I won't ever make again, her quality of life is back home on the farm, surrounded by people who love her and will always protect her, yet allow her to be the great person she is."

The silence between the two of them seemed to stifle the room. I hadn't planned to say more, as usual my mouth ran away from me.

"I won't allow anyone to take advantage of Lou-Lou because she is blind. My family won't allow that either, my daughter has spirit and we intend to nurture that spirit within her. When she sets her mind on something, she is like a guided missile sometimes and admittedly that can become annoying, but she is all I have left from my marriage. If she grows up to be half the woman her mother was then I will know I did the right thing and left the city alone."

Gretchen tried to stifle a yawn. Victoria heard her and suggested we eat and all have an early night, I guess I didn't get to a have a say in the proceedings. As Victoria headed for the kitchen, Gretchen showed me to my room.

"Since this apartment only has two bedrooms, I'm bunking in with Victoria and you're in my room."

Well, that slowed me down some.

"Wait a minute, why don't I just book into a hotel?"

By now, Gretchen had scooped her arm into mine and guided me toward a closed door in the corner.

"Dearest Doug, you did agree to come and talk to Victoria and you can't do that from a hotel room. I seem to remember you promised to hear us out and since we haven't finished, that promise is still in effect."

Guys mumble, women hear us but choose not to let us know they do, unless it's to their advantage that is. I had just finished telling myself and her, she would make a great lawyer.

As Gretchen opened the door to her room she said. "I am a lawyer, Victoria made sure I passed the bar before I joined her. I have exclusivity over one client."

My suitcase was already on the bed, I heard Gretchen tell me dinner would be in thirty minutes and that I was to freshen up, just before the door clicked shut and I was left in a room that was clearly a guest bedroom. Taking advantage of the amenities, I showered and changed into casuals, it seemed my version of casual sure wasn't theirs. Both wandered around in t-shirts and shorts for the rest for the evening. The conversation just drifted from one topic to another.

I figured this evening was only to put me at ease. The fact I'm sharing space with two women and a whole pile of bodyguards downstairs wasn't real conducive to my way of being put at ease, but they did their best. As the evening caught up with us all, I headed to bed, still unsure what I was doing here in the first place.