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Introduction:

Scarlett and I meet two men who promise to make hell freeze over

IT WAS FRAUD—Part 5 of 6 by Senorlongo

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We walked into the doorway, hesitating just inside until Paul Weber came to greet us. I introduced Scarlett as my fiancée and then we walked in to greet Chuck Evans. I ignored the two underlings, having explained their situation to Scarlett earlier. She ordered a glass of Chardonnay while I ordered a gin and tonic before asking Scarlett if she wanted a few shrimp or a canapé. She declined indicating that she’d had a big lunch and was saving her appetite for dinner. I had just turned away to take a few of the three dozen extra large shrimp when Paul Weber struck up a conversation with Scarlett, moving with her to the other side of the room. When I noticed that his two goons moved between us I knew something was up. I also knew that I wasn’t going to like it.

Chuck had joined me and was talking about the restaurant when it happened. I heard the loud SLAP even as I saw the fury in Scarlett’s face. Her next move was to knee Weber in the balls. He groaned loudly as he fell to the floor in obvious agony and I could see the red hand marks on my fiancee’s breast, her dress torn badly. I put my drink down and walked swiftly toward Scarlett only to find myself screened off by Tweedledee and Tweedledum. “You have two choices,” I said menacingly, “get out of my way or get hurt.” That was when Tweedledumber made the mistake of his life—he tried to push me away.

I had learned a long time ago at my father’s knee that my two arms were likely to be stronger than virtually anyone’s single one. Gripping his wrist with two hands I rolled his wrist down and behind him, leading him into an arm bar, but I had something else in mind for this asshole. Holding his wrist up behind his back at the shoulder with my right hand, I grabbed his belt at his back, lifted and threw him into the air. He fell onto the table that had held the shrimp, the cocktail sauce, and the canapés. They flew into the air as the center of the table collapsed under his weight. I turned then, expecting a similar encounter with his cohort, but he had wisely retreated to the opposite side of the room.

I hurried to Scarlett. Weber had regained his feet and had raised his hand, seemingly to strike Scarlett, but it wasn’t to be. I snaked my arm under his bicep and over his wrist, pulling down and back. His arm was in a painful arm bar, held in place by my strong right arm and hand. My left went to his hair which I gripped tightly, forcing his body down. Once on the floor my knee on his neck held him there. I had to admit that I could have been more careful when I rammed his face into the carpet.

My left hand reached for Scarlett, taking her hand in mine. “Are you okay now, Scarlett?” I continued once she had nodded. “Take out your phone, darling and call 9-1-1. Tell the operator that you’ve been sexually assaulted. Tell them where you are and also that you will need police and EMT’s. Once that’s done call down to the desk and tell them what’s happened.”

“I can do that, Sean. I saw the whole revolting thing. It was disgusting. That man is a pig.” I could see the disgust in Chuck Evans’ face.

“So did I, Sir,” the bartender added to Dr. Evans’ comment.

“Are you going to let him up, Sean?”

“No, Scarlett; I noticed when he turned to greet you that he’s armed. His jacket swung open for just a second. He has a pistol on his right hip. He’s staying right where he is unless one of his minions tries to interfere. Even then he’s not going to go anywhere.” I looked behind me. The one I had thrown was still out and his friend had taken a seat, clearly indicating that he wanted no part of this. I was still in position fifteen minutes later when the first police arrived. I explained what I had done and why. They handcuffed Weber then removed his pistol, a Sig Sauer 9mm. He tried to turn and kick me, but it was a futile effort on his part that resulted in yet other charges against him—felony battery and resisting arrest when his kick struck one of the police officers.

The bruises on Scarlett’s breast had begun to turn black and blue by the time a female officer, the police photographer, and the EMT’s had arrived. I stood back to let the officials do their work, but I did insist that the EMT’s attend to the idiot I had thrown onto the table. I spent more than an hour explaining what I had seen and done—done to defend my fiancée from Weber’s sexual assault. Scarlett also gave a statement, saying that she had accompanied me to a cocktail party and dinner until Weber had for some reason decided to reach out and grab her breasts and rip her dress. Why? Neither of us had any idea.

I went downstairs to get a top and Capri’s for Scarlett so her dress could be taken into evidence. She had just changed and joined me as I thanked Chuck Evans for his help and his support. “I have a wife and two daughters, Sean. I’d probably kill someone who tried what Weber did to your fiancée. Well, I’d try, but I probably wouldn’t be as successful as you were.”

“Did you know that Sean was an All-American wrestler at Penn State, Dr. Evans? He was undefeated in his four years there.”

“Really, Sean?”

“Yeah, guilty as charged. I warned that guy that he had two choices—move or get hurt. That’s why I refer to him as Tweedledum, although that might be giving him credit for too much intelligence. I don’t know about you, Chuck, but I’m sure that Scarlett is as hungry as I am. Care to join us for dinner? I think the steakhouse is out so I’m thinking something fairly quick like barbeque.”

“Thanks for the offer, Sean, but I think I’ll go home and hug my wife and tell her how much I love her.” He shook my hand and Scarlett’s once she held it out to him.

I took her hand and led her out to the elevator. On our way to the door I turned and spoke in a low growl to Weber. “Listen carefully, you asshole. Hell will freeze over before I ever do business with Omni.” Then I led Scarlett away, taking the elevator to the lobby. I was surprised to find the concierge desk manned at this hour by a middle-aged woman. “Excuse me, can you recommend a good barbeque restaurant—one that has beef ribs?”

“I’m sorry, but I only moved here for this position about two weeks ago, but I’ll bet you can get a good recommendation from one of the cab drivers.” That sounded like good advice so I took it.

“Where to, sir?”

“Good question—know of a good barbeque place that has beef ribs?”

He laughed. “I sure do—Roegel’s is the best I’ve ever been to. I try to eat there once a week. Try the brisket, too. It’s usually great.” With that he pulled away from the curb. We stopped in front of Roegel’s restaurant about twenty minutes later. “Here’s my card. Call and ask for Carlos. Monday night is usually slow so I’ll be right out to pick you up. He was smiling as he gave me his company’s card, but he was smiling even broader when he saw his tip.

The restaurant was almost deserted when we were shown to a table. I ordered a pound of beef ribs with sides of barbequed beans and coleslaw. Scarlett ordered the brisket with coleslaw. The waitress told her that the brisket was her favorite, by far.

We drank our Cokes while we waited until she returned carrying a big and obviously heavy tray. I reached out to help her when she had trouble with the stand. She spoke conspiratorially as she placed the dishes on the table. “It’s late so I got you some extra meat and a bigger bowl of beans.”

“Thanks, but we wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”

“Nah, that won’t happen. My husband is the cook and he owns the place. Enjoy and let me know if you want anything else. I’ll be out with Coke refills in a minute.” I picked up one of the meaty bones and eagerly bit all of the meat off one side. It was delicious. I ate some of the beans, suggesting to Scarlett that she try them. Meanwhile, she was telling me how good the brisket was. We swapped—one rib for a piece of brisket—and we agreed that the meal was great. We’d been given a huge amount of food, but we finished all of it. I phoned for the cab, asking for Carlos, before I had even paid the bill. He was waiting for us as we walked out the door. We were in our room less than a half hour later where Scarlett energetically thanked me for protecting her—three times--before we fell asleep from exhaustion.

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We had just stepped off the elevator en route to the restaurant for breakfast the next morning when I noticed two elderly men, one in a seersucker suit that I thought at the time was more than a bit odd. Even odder, one held up a photograph as if to check us against it. I was hardly surprised to find them following us into the restaurant.

We had just been seated when they approached our table. “Mr. Sloan…Ms. Davies, we apologize for intruding. I’m Caleb Oates, the CEO of Omni Manufacturing and this gentleman to my right is Bill Preston, our founder and Chairman of the Board. We came here this morning to make Hell freeze over.”

“Pardon me?”

“Didn’t you tell that idiot Weber that you wouldn’t do business with Omni until Hell freezes over? Well, we’re here to make sure that happens, but first I need to tell you what happened after you left the Omni suite last night. One of Weber’s aides is my wife’s nephew. Weber’s been on a sort of probation with us because, unfortunately, his impulsive conduct in the past has left a lot to be desired. I put Chad onto his team as my spy. He phoned me once everyone had gone and I was livid when he told me what Weber had done in your meetings. When he told me that he had attacked Ms. Davies I’d had more than enough.

“Might we sit down?” I waved my hand dismissively. “I phoned Bill as soon as I heard what happened and we decided we needed to come here and speak with you personally. We used our company plane and got in around six this morning.”

“Yes, Mr. Sloan,” Mr. Preston added, “That’s just how important you are to us. We went to the hospital first to see Ted Wellcome. He’s the stupid man who got into your way last night. We’ll stick by him while he’s hospitalized, but the minute he’s released he’ll be fired. We have a big factory out near Midland with more than a thousand employees. We have people from every almost every nationality and every religion and we treat everyone, even the lowest paid employee, with the highest respect and we expect our executives to do the same. After the hospital we stopped off at the city jail to see Mr. Weber. He wanted us to bail him out, but we fired him instead.”

“I’m surprised you could even get in to see him at that hour.”

Oates laughed. “It helped that the governor called ahead for us. Our factory puts more than a hundred million into the economy every year and we also pay millions every year in state and local taxes so we do have a little pull.

“We do apologize sincerely to you, Ms. Davies. No woman should ever be treated that way. I understand that your dress was ruined. Do you know what it cost?”

“Yes, I had just bought it yesterday morning so it was new. Sean paid about $1200 for it.” I was astonished to see Preston dig into his pocket and remove a thick roll of hundred dollar bills. He counted out thirteen and passed them across the table to Scarlett.

“Since yesterday was a complete waste of time, perhaps you can tell me what this is all about.”

Caleb Oates reached into his inside jacket pocket and pulled out an item that couldn’t have been more than six inches long and quarter inch in diameter with a round flare at one end and a crosspiece near the other. He handed it to me and I rolled it over in my hand. “Is this a valve,” I asked. Pointing to the crossbar I asked, “And is this for a spring?”

“We were told you had an engineering degree, Mr. Sloan and I see we weren’t misinformed.” Then Mr. Oates gave me the real skinny on what had been a multi-billion dollar project. “We’ve developed a new jet engine that generates much higher temperatures than any other engine yet to be developed. I’m sure you understand that the hotter the gas becomes the greater the thrust. The body of the combustion chamber is made of a ceramic material that’s top secret. We had hoped that we could make the valves from the same material, but they all cracked after roughly a hundred hours. The only material we’ve been able to find was your patented alloy Marciam. What does that mean?”

“I named it after my mother, but yes, I understand that you contracted with Bob Kennedy in Wichita, Kansas to supply them.”

“You’re remarkably well informed. We did, even though Mr. Kennedy told us the alloy was very difficult to work with because of its incredibly high tensile strength and melting point—the exact characteristics we’re looking for. More than half of the valves he supplied were defective. He actually requested that we cancel his contract and try to get the valve from you. That’s what Weber was supposed to discuss with you yesterday. Instead, he wasted the day in an effort to “control the process,” his term, not mine. I doubt that strategy would have worked with you.”

“Not a prayer,” I responded as our waitress delivered coffee, pouring four cups. “All it did was to totally piss me off.”

“Me, too,” commented Mr. Preston.

“”So, I assume you’ll want a quotation from me. How many units do you anticipate needing?”

“The engine is still in the development stage, but we believe it will revolutionize the industry. Our preliminary tests show that our new engine that’s half the size of contemporary engines will produce fifty percent more thrust. Initially, we’ll want about 300,000 a year, but that figure should grow to almost a million.”

“Okay, it will take me at least a month to get back to you. I have a few ideas, but they need to be tested. I’ll also need this in order to make duplicates.”

“How will you do that?”

“Initially, it will be the lost wax process, but eventually we may be able to use others that are more efficient. Just as you have your industrial secrets, I also have mine. I will send this to my factory manager today and I’ll also speak with him on the phone so he’ll get a head start on the process. I recently expanded my casting operation to a furnace that’s twice the capacity of my old one and I may have to add a second shift to meet production requirements, but those problems are for me to solve.”

Mr. Preston rose and Mr. Oates joined him. “We thank you for your time and I hope we have resolved any concerns you may have had about doing business with us.” Mr. Oates also said a few similar words then I rose to shake hands. Preston then dropped two hundred dollar bills onto the table, telling us that breakfast was on him.

We ordered and Scarlett asked me what I was going to do. “I think the first thing is to Fed-Ex this hunk of steel to Angus. I want him to have it as soon as humanly possible. Next I’ll have to speak with him, although…. You know, the more I think about it the more I realize that I have to speak with him first. I’ll do that right after we eat. What do you want to do? I could be at this for hours.”

“If it’s okay with you I’ll call Juanita and go shopping again. What do you think about those two men coming all the way to meet with you?”

“They didn’t get where they are by being fools. They gave away a lot in what they said. They all but told me that the success of their huge project depends on this valve. That could be potentially dangerous because I could charge Omni thousands for a simple piece of metal. Of course, they’ll add it to their final price. If the engine is as good as they claim a buyer would save millions in fuel costs because most jet engines last for twenty years or more with proper maintenance. Shopping is okay, but I don’t have enough cash to pay her fee again.”

“That’s okay. Juanita told me yesterday that she’d go with me again for no fee, but this time she’d take her car. All I have to do is buy lunch. I wouldn’t mind going back to that barbeque place. That brisket just melted in my mouth. Why don’t we have restaurants like that in Pennsylvania?”

“I think barbeque like that is more of a southern/southwestern kind of a thing. We do have Pennsylvania Dutch food in our area. That’s pretty good and don’t forget about cheese steaks. How much did you spend yesterday? Do you know?” I knew I’d have to phone the bank for the information when she gave me a look of total confusion. Taking out my wallet and phone simultaneously I phoned the number on the back of the card. My balance was $88,493 and change so I still had more than $11,000 left that Scarlett and I could spend without asking for a temporary increase. Then I thought about the hotel bills, meals, and some of the recreational things I wanted to do and I dialed the number again.

“What are you doing, Sean?”

“I’m going to ask for a temporary increase so we have more than enough for our trip and whatever incidentals we might need.” I usually hate the automated attendant that answers the phone for so many businesses, but this time I was put right through to a real live representative. I explained the circumstances and she offered a $30,000 extension once I had identified myself to her satisfaction. After thanking her I ended the call just as our breakfast order had arrived. Scarlett spent a few minutes phoning Juanita then we enjoyed our meal, knowing that it was on Omni. I laughed when I pictured the look on the waitress’s face when she realized that her tip would be well more than $100. Even with these prices, I doubted that happened often, if ever.

I kissed Scarlett good-bye at the entrance then watched as she walked quickly to a dark red SUV. I recognized the driver as Juanita. I waved as they drove away then walked quickly to the elevator. Once in our suite I opened the safe for my laptop and connected to the hotel’s wi-fi. Then I phoned Sandra and told her to get Angus into my office for a Skype call I’d place in fifteen minutes.

After our usual pleasantries I held the valve up in front of the camera.”This is what it’s all about, Angus. It’s a valve for a new jet engine. They contracted with Kennedy to make them, but a lot of them were badly flawed.” We spoke for more than ten minutes and I was pleased to see that Angus had the same idea that I’d had.

“We can use the 3D modelers and then we can use the lost wax process to make the molds. We’ll have more than a dozen finished before you even leave Houston,” he told me. I thanked Angus and ended the call. Next I used my cell to call Bob Kennedy—owner of Kennedy Machinists, Inc. I asked him about the problems he’d had with Omni. He explained that no matter what they did they always had at least a sixty percent level of failures. I told him that I’d refund his license fee since I was taking over the contract. The last thing I asked him was what he had charged Omni. I was initially surprised, but later in the day my analysis showed that I couldn’t do it any cheaper. In fact, I had already decided to charge at least ten percent more—first, because of the incident with Weber and, second, because of all of the potentially dangerous hand work that would be required. I also decided that the stress this work could entail would justify a salary increase for those employees.

The concierge told me that a Fed-Ex store was only about three blocks away. I walked out into the hot August day. Neither the temperature nor the humidity could spoil how I felt. I was going to get a huge contract that would bring me multi-million dollar profits for many years to come. Even better, I’d gotten the woman of my dreams. How fucking lucky could I get?

Once back in the suite I used my laptop to analyze the costs of production. The valve was small so the cost of the alloy would be minimal. It was the time associated with making and pouring the molds and overhead that would drive the cost up. The crosspiece meant that each mold would have to be broken once the valve was cast and cooled unless we could add it later on by welding it to the shaft. I developed the price each way, adding a more than ample profit on each unit knowing that our experience over the next month would tell me a lot more than I had now. I was finished around noon so I changed clothes and went to the fitness center where I ran three miles on a treadmill then moved to a Universal weight machine to manhandle some serious iron.

I usually prefer free weights, but there was nobody there to spot me other than the attendant and she looked like she weighed all of 95 pounds. The Universal was the better and safer choice. I began with a pull down, something that can’t be done with free weights, pulling a moderate 150 pounds. After thirty repetitions I moved to bench press. Now that my muscles were warmed up I increased the weight to 300 pounds for twenty repetitions. Finally, I went through a series of stretches for my arms, legs, and torso. I was a sweaty mess when I walked to the men’s room to change my clothes into my swimsuit and shirt.

Scarlett had faithfully applied Mederma to the welts on my back and she had told me several times that they were much improved. However, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to expose it to a bunch of strangers—not yet anyway. I knew there would be a shower on the pool deck. Most states require a shower before using a public pool even though few people abide by that law. I did, especially today after a long and tiring workout.

The pool was almost deserted so I dove into the relatively deep end on one side of the pool and swam about a dozen laps at a leisurely pace before flopping onto my back and floating for a few minutes. I went up to the suite, showered, and dressed casually for our dinner reservation. I was sitting in the lobby in the same seat with another newspaper when Scarlett walked through the entry doors. This time she had two big shopping bags hanging from each hand.

She spotted me immediately and would have run to me had I not cautioned her when she left this morning. None the less, she dropped the bags and jumped into my arms as soon as she reached me. “I had a wonderful time, but I missed you so much. Did you get everything done?”

“Yeah, the Fed-Ex store is only a couple of blocks away so I walked there in a few minutes. My conversation with Angus only took half an hour at most and I spent the rest of the morning working out cost projections on my laptop. I skipped lunch and went to the gym here for a good workout and then I went to the pool. I’ve been here in the lobby since three, so…about forty minutes.”

“Do you have the solution?”

“Yeah, but I can’t talk about it here. I have no idea who might be listening. You can tell me about your day on our way upstairs.” I kissed her again then picked up the bags from the floor and we walked quickly to the elevator. Scarlett was able to get another dress, but in a slightly darker color. Truthfully, I liked this one better. She also showed me several blouses and skirts she had bought and some really hot bra and panty sets that she modeled for me until she pulled me onto the bed. “I want you to relax, Sean. This is going to be all about you.” She removed my clothes quickly and hers—just her bra, panties, shoes and stockings--in a slow sensual striptease as she danced to imaginary music. After positioning me in the center of the bed, Scarlett moved my legs apart and climbed between them.

Her striptease had teased my eyes. Now her tongue teased my hard-as-granite organ. Scarlett’s eyes were glued to mine as the tip of her tongue moved up and down my shaft and around the spongy head. She smiled as she moved forward, her lips and tongue finding mine in the very same instant that I slipped slowly into her velvet vise. I expected Scarlett to commence a gradually accelerating pace, beginning with a slow and steady rocking motion. Instead she remained totally still and I knew in that moment what she had planned for me. Her pulsing pussy confirmed my thoughts a few seconds later.

Scarlett had used her Kegel muscles on me before and the experience was beyond incredible. What she did to me today was even better. Starting at the base of my organ, she squeezed me all the way to the head and then she did it again…and again…and again increasing the speed until I was barely coherent. When she reversed direction I completely lost any semblance of control. Scarlett had made me cum in less than two minutes even though we had made love several times just last night and again this morning in the shower. I was thrilled then that Scarlett was the person she was. Had she been anything like Lori she would have bent me around her evil finger in a second—maybe even less.

She was lying on my body, her hand stroking my cheek as my breathing slowly returned to normal. Raising her head she asked me, “Did you wear your shirt at the pool? I know the sun can really be strong in the South.”

“Yeah, I’m afraid of people’s reactions if they saw my back.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she said “Men!” in an exasperated tone of voice. Then she pushed herself up and off me, extending her hand. “Come with me, Sean. I want you to see something.” She led me to the bathroom where she stood me at the vanity, my back to the mirror. Reaching into her purse, she handed me her compact. “Take a look, Sean. Take a very good long look at what you’re so concerned about.”

I opened it and looked at my reflection in the large mirror through the compact’s small one. I could see lots of small irregular marks on my pale white back, but the welts had been flattened to almost nothing. “You see, Sean—it’s nothing to be concerned about. You could use a little color, but the medication has pretty much done its job. By Christmas your back will be almost normal and with your muscular build it will be much better than most men’s backs. You don’t have to hide it any longer.”

I had a tear in my eye when I turned to Scarlett, pulling her into a long love-laden kiss. “I wish I had some way to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”

“You really are a silly goose. See this ring? It means that you own me and I own you. Your love is all the thanks I’ll ever need. Knowing that you love me means more to me than a pile of gold or diamonds.” Then she pulled me down for another sensational kiss which she broke a few seconds later. “Besides, haven’t you defended me three different times? You make me feel so safe…so very loved.”

“I’m glad. That’s exactly how I want you to feel because that’s how much I love you. Now I think we need to shower so we can make our reservation for dinner.” I opened the shower door and turned on the water. Scarlett spent the time taken for the water to warm by hugging me and pressing her magnificent breasts into my chest.

“I’m going to take my temperature every day once we’re home. That way I’ll be able to tell exactly when I’m ovulating. I’m going to drain all of your sperm on those days. Are you going to be up to the challenge?” She was almost laughing when she said that.

I was grinning as I replied. “Oh, I think I can handle it, but first we need to plan for our wedding. C’mon, the water’s hot.” We washed each other as we always did, spending the majority of our time touching and kissing each other and barely finding the time to actually wash. Once we were done we dried each other then I shaved while Scarlett addressed her hair. We left the suite at 4:40 with Scarlett showing her surprise on her face.

“Isn’t it a bit early for dinner, Sean? What time is our reservation?”

“I made it for 7:00, but we’re going somewhere else first. I realized today that I made a mistake when we went to Harry Winston. I need to buy you some more jewelry.”

“No, Sean—I don’t need anything else.”

“I know that. Nobody really needs jewelry of any kind, but I want you to have a few nice things for when we dress up and go out. I’m going to get the Omni contract. I’ll confirm with Angus tomorrow that our idea works. I know he’s going to try it with something similar to the valve I sent him today.” We were in the cab when I continued. “We both had the same idea—pouring the molds inside the furnace and removing them only when that’s completed to allow them to cool gradually. I’ll know by Friday if that does the job.

“I have another reason. I was contacted late last week by Henry Duttonhoffer, the chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party. The Boyertown Area School District straddles two counties—Berks and Montgomery where we live. He wants me to meet with the party leadership about running for the board of education. I’ve always been an independent and I doubt that would change other than for appearances, but I’ll have to attend dinners and debates.”

“You mean, like ‘meet the candidates nights?’”

“Yes, and as my wife you’d be encouraged to attend, too. Most of the area leans toward the Republicans so it could be an uphill battle. Of course, I’m very well known and I’d like to think that I’m respected.”

“Okay, I’ll do it.” I smiled again. I knew she would.

I paid the driver and we walked into Harry Winston’s where we were met by the same saleswoman we had seen a few days ago. “Is there a problem with the ring,” she asked.

“No, but thank you for your concern; I realized yesterday that I wanted some additional items for my fiancée. Can we see some diamond studs to begin with?” She led us again to the rear of the store where Scarlett laughed when I was asked if I had brought my loupe again.

“Then I’d better bring out the better stones for you to look at.” Scarlett and I agreed on a pair of one carat round diamonds in yellow gold settings. Next I wanted to see some pendants and bracelets. Here Scarlett’s choices were diamonds and sapphires, the bracelet being four rows of diamonds with a central row of sapphires. I also “forced” a gold bangle-type bracelet, some gold and jewel earrings, and a diamond and onyx pendant on her, but that was all she would consider.

“Using your corporate card again?”

“Not this time; I have a debit card that I rarely use.”

“You have $96,957 in a bank account?”

“No…this is an account I have at Vanguard. You’ll make the charge and they’ll immediately sell whatever securities are needed to cover it. They’ll select the lowest performing ones to sell. That’s the agreement I have with them.” She processed the sale without difficulty. I signed and we walked out to find a cab waiting for us. Scarlett took the jewelry boxes, but wore most of the jewelry to the restaurant.

I was expecting Vic and Anthony’s to be a posh restaurant similar to steakhouses I’d been to in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but this was something special. We were led a table for two and seated in plush leather armchairs almost immediately. The maitre d’ held Scarlett’s chair for her, opened her napkin and menu while I took the other seat. Our waiter appeared immediately to take our drink order while an assistant filled our water glasses, promising hot bread and butter shortly. Taking our waiter’s recommendation we split a lump crab cake appetizer before our salad course where we agreed to disagree. Scarlett chose the lettuce wedge with Roquefort chunks and dressing while I chose the Greek. We did agree on eight-ounce prime filets and a side of scalloped potatoes to share. Most sides in top notch steakhouses are big enough for two or more.

The meal was as excellent as I had hoped, but there was a low spot when Scarlett told me we’d be on a diet as soon as we were back at home in Gilbertsville. I pretended to pout until she reminded me that we’d eat a lot of the vegetables from my garden. “About time we put that bat poop to some use, don’t you think?” Then she leaned across the table to give me a brief kiss and a promise of more—much more—to come. My prophesy came true as soon as we were in the suite with Scarlett once again riding me wildly until we both came vigorously—twice for her. We lay in our mixed juices as we fell asleep almost immediately.

We were busy Wednesday—Scarlett relaxing at the hotel’s spa and me on Skype with Angus reviewing his progress yesterday. I hadn’t said anything to him about experimenting with the alloy. I knew I wouldn’t have to. He had seen the valve and had made a rough duplicate using a 3D modeler and a ceramic mold that was formed overnight. Houston was an hour behind Pennsylvania so a lot had been done by the time I Skyped Angus in the office. He smiled broadly as he held up two carbon copies of the valve I had shown him yesterday. His strongest brogue was barely decipherable as he told me, “Perfect, Sean; they’re absolutely perfect, but I think we’re going to need some more 3D modelers.” He was probably right. I’d already had that thought myself. The most time consuming part of the process was making the molds. That would take at least a day per mold so the more we could do at one time the better. I gave Angus further directions so we would be ready to roll on Monday morning.

I met Scarlett in the suite at 4:30. She was simply gushing as she told me about her day. “I started with a long mud bath. It was hot and gooey, but it was really relaxing. Washing it off later was really funny. Know what I mean?” I did--at least I thought I did. “Then I had a massage from my neck to my feet. I never had a foot massage before. I see you spending many hours with my feet in your hands. I’ll do yours, too. I had my fingernails and toenails done then. Do you like them?” They were in a matching hot pink shade that looked great on her and I told her so. “They washed my hair, used conditioner, and massaged my scalp. Then they styled and trimmed my hair. Do you like it?”

I had to laugh. “I’m old enough to know never to criticize a woman’s hair, so—yes—I do think it looks great. But, then, I love you and I always think you look great. I know you skipped lunch so what do you want for dinner?”

Scarlett thought for a minute or two before answering, “Pizza; I know you like sausage and so do I, so can we find a pizza place?” Taking her hand I led her down to the concierge. Sergio was on duty and he pointed us to Frank’s Pizza, telling us that it was New York Style. That sounded good to us so we took a cab to the restaurant. Let’s face it—pizza restaurants look pretty much the same no matter where you go. We were early so we had no trouble finding a table in the small simple restaurant. The service wasn’t quite up to Vic and Anthony’s, but it was okay—pretty much what we expected. We ordered Cokes and a large pie with double sausage bits. We spent the wait talking about our wedding.

“First thing we have to do is get our license. I’ll have to find out where we have to go. Maybe we can get it in Pottstown. We might be able to go during your lunch break.”

“You know I have to work over the coming weekend. That was part of the deal I made to get the week off, but I will be off Wednesday. Think you can get the information by then?” I did and told her so.

“I’m going to ask Fred to be best man…again.”

“That’s great because I’m going to ask Judy. She’s been a really great friend since we met back in June.” I already knew that both from what Scarlett had told me and from tidbits I’d picked up from Fred.

“I’ll talk with Roy about who we can get to marry us and I do remember my promise to marry you in thirty days from last Sunday. We can have the ceremony and catering in our yard. I’ll ask Nick to do it. If he can’t I’ll bet he knows someone who can and will.”

“Don’t forget the second part of your promise,” Scarlett said with a sly grin pasted on her face.

“I’m especially looking forward to that part.” She had a scowl on her face as she elbowed me in the ribs, but by then she was laughing. Then she sealed the deal with a quick kiss. We continued to talk until our pie was delivered. If it tasted just half as good as it looked I’d be extremely pleased. The pie was literally covered by tiny pieces of Italian sausage in mozzarella that was bubbling—that’s how hot it was. I cut two pieces and we ate—slowly at first using our knives and forks until we were able to pick it up in our hands. We understood immediately why Sergio had recommended Frank’s. The pizza was great. We had no trouble devouring the entire thing.

An hour later we were in the suite lying in bed and watching TV before Scarlett tired of the show, gave me an evil grin, and pinned me to the bed. Okay, I’d never been pinned and I wasn’t really now. I didn’t know who was laughing harder, but we were having a great time with each other. Suddenly, she stopped laughing and mashed her lips into mine, her tongue moving deeply into my mouth. Her right hand gripped my head fiercely as her left found my cock and pulled it into her slit.

I wasn’t at all surprised to find her oozing nectar, and nectar it was--thick and sweet and as delicious as that of the finest fruit one could find. She waited not a second, but pulled me deep into her core. I’d made the sweetest love with Scarlett many times, but this was different. It was raw animalistic fucking driven by raw animalistic lust.

Scarlett was on top of me, enjoying her freedom of movement to the utmost as she drove her clit into my body mercilessly, torturing herself in quest of her orgasm…and mine, for she was doing this as much if not more for me than for herself. She drove herself in wanton fashion, forcing my cock into her cervix with every savage thrust and her hard swollen clit into my firm abdominal muscles. Our sexual sweat pooled on my abdomen as we rutted like two wild beasts.

No two human beings could long continue such a pace and, as I gazed into her eyes, I could see Scarlett climbing her mountain as her overwhelming orgasm rapidly approached. Then, in an instant, she tumbled into the abyss as it struck in wave after wave of massive convulsions. Just watching her lose control was more than I needed. I pumped her full of my cream and as I did she squirted three separate times before collapsing onto my chest. Raising her head momentarily she gave me a goofy smile then returned her head to me chest sound asleep.

There was nothing I could do but pull the huge king-sized comforter up and over our bodies. We were soaking wet and we were going to get wetter once Scarlett had leaked onto my thigh. The blanket below us was already sodden. I closed my eyes and smiled knowing how lucky I was to have Scarlett’s love.

>>>>>>

We slept in Thursday morning. Well, Scarlett slept in and I was stuck under her until she finally woke up, looking down at me with that same goofy smile I had seen last night. “What happened, Sean? What did you do to me?”

“I’m not sure, but you really seemed to enjoy it,” I replied with a laugh. “I’m sure we need a shower. I think we’re stuck to each other and this blanket is a mess. Don’t be surprised if we get a bill for it once we’re home. C’mon.” I pushed Scarlett up and that was when I realized that the blanket was even worse than I had imagined. Scarlett had a guilty look on her face as we walked to the bathroom. She could see that we were covered with goo and knew that it was almost all her doing.

We showered relatively quickly and, after breakfast, spent several hours packing our suitcases mostly with the clothes Scarlett had bought on her two-day shopping spree. We made sure that all of her new jewelry and our wedding rings were securely in my carry-on. We knew we’d be out until late tonight and have an early wake-up call tomorrow before our flights home.

We left the hotel at 3:45 and exited the cab at the Clock Tower Entrance of Minute Maid Park less than fifteen minutes later. I steered Scarlett straight into the Astros Team Store. She walked out ten minutes later wearing an authentic Jose Altuve jersey. We found our seats ten rows back in section 124—right behind the Astros’ dugout--and Scarlett ran down to the field, but not until I had given her a black permanent marker I had taken from my briefcase. “See if you can get some of the players to autograph your jersey, but don’t allow them any liberties,” I said jokingly. When one looked like Scarlett getting autographs was child’s play. She had a crowd of admirers in minutes.

I had learned early in our relationship that she was a real baseball fan and—even better—like me, she was a big-time Yankees fan. I was eight in 1995 when Derek Jeter first became a full-time starter for the Yanks. I was the only kid in school who wasn’t a Phillies fan, but that never bothered me. The Yanks were great in the nineties. I did take a lot of razzing when the Phillies won it all in 2008, but got my revenge the following year when the Yankees beat you-know-who—the Phillies—in the World Series.

Scarlett and I spent most of our nights watching baseball, especially the Yankees, before or after making the sweetest love. Some nights it was before, after, and even during the game. This afternoon I could hear her talking to a group of Astros players about our adventure with asshole Weber Monday evening. The story had been “page one” news on Wednesday morning, and apparently most of the Astros approved of the way I had handled the situation. Several looked my way, giving me numerous signs of approval, as Scarlett described how I had thrown Tweedledum across the room.

The autograph session ended at about 5:30 when the team retreated into the clubhouse. Scarlett returned to me with her jersey covered with autographs and a brand new ball in her hand. “How’d you manage that,” I asked.

“Jose Altuve got it for me once I had told everyone who we were. They asked all kinds of questions about us and mostly about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, they couldn’t believe that you threw a 265-pound man ten feet so I told them all about your high school and college wrestling career. Then I told them about the other times you defended me. When I asked if many foul balls were hit where we’re sitting Jose went into the dugout to get me one.”

“Let’s go and eat while nothing’s going on.” We walked out to the concourse and turned left to the Texas Legend Grill. We ordered Nolan Ryan beef brisket, fries, and ice cold beer, returning to our seats in plenty of time for the game.

We cheered for the Astros and were rewarded when Jose Altuve hit a two-run homer in the third inning and again when Carlos Correa hit a solo blast to the train tracks in left field in the sixth. George Springer finished the Mariners with a bases clearing double in the eighth. We stood with the rest of the crowd when the game ended—Astros 7, Seattle 2. Scarlett was thrilled when Jose Altuve made eye contact with her and waved just before disappearing into the dugout. I told Scarlett to sit down and relax. We’d have a much easier time catching a cab in twenty minutes than fighting the crowds now.

We did find a cab once the crowd had thinned out and we were in our suite fifteen minutes later. I packed our dirty clothes into my carry-on, but Scarlett told me that she wanted to wear her jersey tomorrow. After one of our typical showers we climbed into bed, our hair still damp. Scarlett pushed me down, telling me that she was still taking the top. “Yes, Ma’am,” I replied. “Whatever you want.”

“Good answer, Sean; I never thought you were a stupid person, but I hope you know that I’ll never turn you down. I waited all my life for the chance to do this with the man I love and now I plan to do it as much as we can.” And she did—several times, in fact—until we were both too exhausted to continue. I just hoped we’d be able to get up when our wake-up call came through at 6:30.

>>>>>>

Scarlett wore her Astros jersey when we went to check out. We were in a taxi ten minutes later for the trip to the airport. It was rush hour, but we were leaving the city so I was hopeful that the traffic would be relatively light. It wasn’t to be until we had pulled into the ramp for departures. Fortunately, we had budgeted enough time for a lengthy trip.

Once again we were “encouraged” to print out our boarding passes at one of the kiosks and, once again, I demurred with a scowl on my face, stepping instead to the first class line with our suitcases. Check-in for first class never takes a long time so we walked to security just a few minutes later. The TSA Pre-Check line moved quickly and I led Scarlett to the Delta First Class Lounge a few minutes later where we had coffee, small bowls of fresh fruit salad, and fruit Danish. Our flight took off almost on time at 10:27.

We had a two-hour layover in Atlanta so I used some of the time to phone my mom. She answered after the first ring. “Hi, Sean—how are you and Scarlett?”

“We’re good, Mom, but we’re a bit tired. We didn’t get back to the hotel until almost midnight, and then….”

“Don’t give me too much information, Sean. I have a good imagination, you know.”

“I wasn’t going any farther. Want to join us for dinner tonight? Our treat.”

“Your dad and I will join you, but it will be here. Drive straight here from Pottstown. Everyone is coming over. Fred, Judy, and the girls will be here with the beast. They had a great time this week with Sandy.”

“That’s good to hear, Mom. I’ve got to run. We want to use the restrooms before we get on the plane. We’ll see you soon.” I turned to Scarlett to explain then she took off for the ladies room. She had an admirer when she returned, but he vanished into the crowd when I stood possessively to greet Scarlett. Five minutes later I had returned and was working on my email with my laptop. It was just past 2:00 when we took off. Next stop—Philadelphia, and home.

We left the Pottstown Airport just before 5:00 following a quick and safe flight from Philly. From here my parents’ home was only ten minutes away. Scarlett spoke first once we were underway. “I had a great five days, Sean—probably the best five days of my life. Not only did I have a great shopping spree, a day at an exclusive spa, and a major league baseball game, but I got the best prize of all—you. I love my ring and I love you. You’re the best man I’ve ever met.”

I leaned across the console to give Scarlett a quick kiss before pulling onto Route 100 toward Boyertown and my parents’ home. “You’re not so bad yourself,” I told her with a rather loud chuckle. She gave me one of those faux exasperated expressions than joined me in full blown laughter. “I think we’re going to laugh a lot, my love.”

“I hope so,” was her reply. By then we had pulled into the driveway. I had recognized Fred’s SUV and Roy’s sedan in addition to Nick’s Mercedes convertible. They must have been looking for us because the front door opened and Nellie, Allison, and a furry chocolate-colored blur ran to us before we could even get the doors open. I lifted Nellie and hugged her as I swung her around then repeated with Allison. They hugged and kissed “Aunt Scarlett,” dodging Sandy’s wildly wagging tail as they did. Several times Allison was knocked to the ground and I was a bit concerned until I saw how she was laughing. She hugged Sandy as soon as she was able to stand and our once timid, scared-of-people dog obviously loved her interaction with the kids. She licked Allison’s hand and face as she capered across the front lawn. Eventually, I led everyone back into the house.

Mom was the first to hug and kiss Scarlett. Then Gail, Dad, and Pete approached for the traditional hug and kiss. I shook hands with Nick and hugged his wife, Victoria. Sandra and Sal were next. Eventually, things calmed down and Mom asked to see Scarlett’s ring. When asked to describe it she said, “It’s 2.4 carats and Sean tells me it’s a really good stone. It should be for what he paid for it.” Then I passed her the Harry Winston bag. “Where’d you get this, Sean? I thought it was in your carry-on.”

“It was, but I got it while you were being attacked by the beast.” Not surprisingly, Sandy had curled up at Scarlett’s feet with Nellie and Allison and Gail’s two daughters hanging all over her. That was the advantage of having a big dog. Sandy knew that the kids couldn’t hurt her so she allowed them to lie and crawl all over her.

“Do you have other things to show us, Scarlett,” asked Gail.

“Do I ever; Sean bought me a set of diamond studs and a beautiful bracelet in addition to our wedding rings. I’m wearing the studs now and here’s the bracelet. She draped it over her wrist to the admiring comments of all of the women. I laughed as I got up to get a can of beer from the kitchen.

Fred had followed me so I asked, “How did the week really go with the girls and Sandy?”

“Remember the old saying that no good deed goes unpunished?”

“Oh, no; don’t tell me there was a problem.”

“No, things couldn’t have gone better. They took turns walking Sandy and feeding her. They even picked up her messes without being told to. Sandy slept at the base of Allison’s bed one night and Nellie’s the next. They were very responsible, but guess what I’ll be doing most of the day tomorrow.”

I couldn’t help myself. I laughed and laughed. “Driving to the SPCA and Humane Society, by any chance?”

Fred nodded as he explained. “I don’t mind, actually. You know that I’m sometimes called to crime scenes at all hours of the night and I do worry about Judy and the girls. My only conditions are that it be a young adult dog rather than a puppy, and a big dog rather than some useless tiny thing. They’re so excited I’m surprised they haven’t said anything yet.”

Scarlet was telling about her trip—the shopping and the spa and about getting the autographs on her jersey. “Some of them look like they’re in some pretty personal places, Scarlett.”

“I had my hands under the jersey when they wrote there, Mom. Only Sean touches me there.”

“Any idea when you’ll be getting married, Scarlett? There’s so much to do.”

“Actually, Mom,” I interrupted. “We’ll be married within the next twenty-four days. That’s a promise I made to Scarlett.”

“I’m not at all religious and I don’t want a big wedding or a fancy expensive gown. We plan to have a magistrate do it at Sean’s house and have the reception right there, too.”

I couldn’t resist ribbing my mother—not this time, anyway. “Mom, you’d better watch out. I think you’re going to swallow some flies if you don’t close your mouth. Roy, know where we can get a marriage license?”

“You could do it at the magistrate’s office in Boyertown or at the City Hall in Pottstown. I can help you with a magistrate, too. Remember, Alex Boardman?”

“Of course, who could possibly forget Ichabod Crane?” I was laughing when Scarlett asked what I was talking about. “Alex was six feet five inches tall and must have weighed about 165 pounds with a really prominent Adam’s apple, kind of like the Disney character in their version of Sleepy Hollow. We started calling him that while we were reading the story in English and it stuck, although mostly we just called him Ichabod. Whatever happened to him, Roy?”

“Last I heard he was selling insurance out in Carlisle. Anyway,” Roy continued, “his mother is a magistrate in Montgomery County. If you want I’ll phone her Monday morning.” He opened the calendar on his phone and Scarlett picked the second Saturday in September—the twelfth. We’d work out the time later. I asked Nick about catering. He said he’d gladly come, but he couldn’t cater, too. Instead he recommended a well-known restaurant in Pottstown. That was one more thing for me to do tomorrow while Scarlett was at work.

“I don’t understand what the big hurry is, Sean.”

“Well, Mom—it’s what Scarlett asked for, plus you’ll get to be a grandmother that much sooner.”

“You mean….”

“Yes, Mom,” Scarlett said with a huge smile, “I stopped taking the pill on Sunday and I’ll start taking my temperature tomorrow morning. It should take a month or longer to become fertile again, but we’ll be ready when it happens.”

“Yeah, and we’ll need to practice to get ready for the big day.” Everyone was laughing and Scarlett was as red as her name when Nellie asked what we were practicing. “We’re practicing having a baby, Nellie.”

“Oh, sex.” When everyone suddenly went silent she continued. “I am going into fifth grade, you know.”

“Sean, pray for boys. Just take my word for it.” Fred acted serious, but we all knew how much he loved his daughters. Mom and Gail excused themselves to get the food ready. I knew it would be a buffet of some kind. That was the only way to feed this crowd. A little while later we found ourselves more or less alone with Fred and Judy. Scarlett took the opportunity to ask them to stand up with us. They agreed eagerly.

We were snacking in the living room when Scarlett asked Roy if he had done the pre-nup for my marriage with Lori. “Yes, I did. Why?”

“I want you to do the same thing for our marriage.”

“I tried to discourage her, but I couldn’t. However, it will only be for five years. That was the best I could do.”

“But why would you want a pre-nup, Scarlett,” Mom asked.

“I don’t want anyone to think that I’m marrying Sean for his money. This is the way I can prove it.”

I was shaking my head as Scarlett spoke until I interrupted. “I tried and tried to talk her out of it, but you can see how successful I was. I’m only surprised that I could even talk her into actually marrying me.”

“Sean…you did nothing of the sort. You barely even asked me before I agreed.” I pulled her to me then and we kissed. It was only a quick one, the kind you have in a room full of friends and family. I had just broken it when Mom asked me to cut the ham.

I walked into the kitchen with Fred at my heels. Taking the carving knife, fork, and sharpening steel from the drawer I ran through the sharpening routine. “That’s some carving set, Sean.”

“It should be. I made it from the highest quality Sheffield stainless. I probably spent at least ten hours just on this knife heating the metal then bending it and hammering it down then reheating and repeating the process until there were 256 layers. You can see them if you look carefully. That’s what makes the blade so strong.”

“How do you get the right shape and the blade?”

“Mostly by grinding, first with a coarse wheel and once the shape is where you want it to be, use finer and finer wheels. Of course, to get a concave blade like this you have to use a matching convex wheel. Like the handles? They’re genuine elk horn. I’ll make you a set if you want, but it’ll take a while to get it done. I have a few things on my plate right now.” We chatted for a while as I cut into the ham. It was a really easy job because the ham had been spiral sliced at the processing plant. There was a big pile on the platter when Mom called everyone in to eat.

I stepped back, waiting for Scarlett. She wrapped her arm around my waist and reached up to kiss my cheek. Sandy was right at her heels until I sent her back to the living room. She’d get her share and more, but she’d have to wait until everyone else was done. We were almost at the end of the line with only Mom, Dad, Nick, and Victoria behind us. I laughed when Dad told us that he had “raided” my garden for the tomatoes in the salad. I took a big portion as did Scarlett, adding a generous amount of Italian dressing. We had deviled eggs, potato and macaroni salads, carrot sticks, and several slices of the baked ham then found seats on the floor near the couch. Sandy curled up in front of Scarlett, but ignored the food, knowing that her turn would come.

We picked through the scraps, pouring tiny pieces of fat from the ham, boiled egg, and small chunks of tomato on top of the normal dry food. Sandy sat as Scarlett placed the dish on the floor and she stayed there until Scarlett told her to eat. Then she attacked the food like she hadn’t eaten in weeks—just like every other night. Scarlett and Fred’s girls petted Sandy’s ears then we returned to the living room. Fred and I transferred Sandy’s bed and the bag of food to our SUV. We planned to leave as soon as Sandy finished eating. It had been a long and exhausting day for us.

We said our good-byes a few minutes later, taking the time to hug and kiss everyone. I made Nellie promise to phone us tomorrow evening to tell us how their day had gone. She and Allison were almost in tears when they bade Sandy good-bye. I backed out of the driveway and beeped the horn as we drove down the road. Ten minutes later we were home. Sandy was obviously thrilled. She ran in circles through the living room and kitchen for several minutes then reversed while we laughed like crazy.

We carried the suitcases into the bedroom. Scarlett placed her new clothing into the closet and dresser, separating the dirty clothing into piles on the floor. She put one load into the washer and the other into a basket for tomorrow. I put Sandy out while Scarlett prepped our shower. She was under it when I joined her. “A tiring day, Sean, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. All I know is that every day I spend with you I love you even more even though I think that’s impossible when we wake up in the morning. I think I’m the luckiest woman in the world.” She threw her arms around my neck, ground her pussy into my thigh, and pulled me into a long hot kiss—her tongue tickling my tonsils.

We showered quickly knowing that Scarlett had to be at work by five Saturday morning in preparation for a surgery at six She’d received a text early this morning warning her to be prepared for a long day—a heart replacement. I was willing to skip making love so she could get to sleep earlier, but Scarlett refused. “Making love with you always helps me to relax, Sean. Most nights I take less than a minute to fall asleep.”

She pushed me down on the bed and I tried to turn the light off, but she stopped me as she positioned herself over my hard cock. “Please leave the lamp on, Sean. I love to look into your eyes while we make love. I feel that I can look deep inside of you—all the way to your soul.”

“Do you like what you see there?”

“I do. It’s one of my favorite things—right after you stretching me out. That’s my all-time favorite.” She stopped talking then, much preferring to kiss me as she arched her back to drive her sensitive clit into my abdomen. She brought us to the edge several times, backing off to extend our mutual pleasure until I reminded her that five o’clock came awfully early. Scarlett responded by squeezing me tightly as she forced her clit into me for only a minute. She screamed into the night as her powerful orgasm hit. Mine was only seconds behind her as I drove her up more than a foot every time I erupted into her. She kissed me again and we were deeply asleep seconds later. It was a fantastic ending to an even more fantastic week.

>>>>>>

Scarlett left for the hospital at 4:40 Saturday morning, driving in the dark as she waved goodbye. I took Sandy back inside to clean up the kitchen and make the bed. I walked Sandy around the back yard then put her into the back seat of my truck and drove her to the post office for our mail and then to my office. I kept her on the leash as we walked in. She curled up on the floor while I went through my mail. I was especially interested in a letter from Toyota. They had tested the valve springs I had sent them and agreed with our findings. Enclosed was a purchase order for five million four hundred thousand springs over the next six months and another four million six hundred thousand the following six. I had built a profit of twelve cents into each spring so this contract would net me more than $1,000,000 a year for as long as it was renewed and that would probably be years from now. It was a great way to start the day. Now all I had to do was manufacture at least 900,000 each of the next six months.

I put the order into my outbox with a note to Sandra to have Angus see me first thing Monday morning so we could streamline production. The sun was shining by the time I had finished with the mail so I stood, stretched, and took Sandy for a short walk around my buildings. The exteriors were finished and I noticed that the new 100,000 liter tank for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, was installed inside an eight-foot high chain link fence with angled barbed wire at the top. LNG was much cheaper than propane and burned cleanly and completely. I’d estimated that we’d use twice as much LNG as we had propane at almost the same cost.

Sandy and I continued our walk around my new 60,000 square foot building. I knew that the first pieces of the new equipment were scheduled to arrive mid week. Angus would supervise their placement and the contractor would make the electrical connections. The expansion was ahead of schedule so I was extremely pleased. I sent Scarlett a text telling her that I’d get something from Zern’s for dinner and that I had good news to share.

Once that was done I walked through the factory and through the newly made corridors that connected the buildings, first to the new furnace building where I saw several dozen valves for Omni on shelves along the wall. They looked to be perfect. I had one other idea I wanted to try before sending my proposal to Omni. Then I turned back and walked into the building that would house almost all of the new equipment. This was a major expense so I needed to get them on line and producing as soon as humanly possible. The first step would be to make the dies that would be used to shape the metal into the parts that were on order. Only then would I be able to make effective use of the machinery.

It was after noon by the time I got Sandy home so I wasn’t surprised to see her run to her water bowl for a long drink. I made lunch and relaxed by the pool until about 1:30 then I went out to harvest tomatoes and green peppers from the garden. I also noticed that some of the sweet corn was ready. I held off on picking it until I knew that Scarlett was on her way home. Zern’s opened at 10:00 on Saturdays so I left the house around 2:30 knowing I’d have plenty of time to shop before dinner. I bought a good head of lettuce then a loaf of bread and a pound of bacon. I also bought a flank steak for tomorrow’s dinner. Once home I marinated the steak in olive oil, vinegar, garlic, diced onion, oregano, and salt and pepper. The marinade and steak went into a plastic bag for the refrigerator.

I wasn’t expecting Scarlett until 5:00 at the earliest so I was surprised when Sandy jumped up and ran to door to the garage at 3:45. Scarlett walked in, petting Sandy a few minutes later. I knew in an instant that something was wrong. She had always run into the house and into my arms, but not today. “What happened? I thought you’d be much later.”

She reached up to kiss me, her hands wrapped around my neck. Her head was on my chest when she responded. “The patient expired on the table. Her lungs were in much worse condition than they thought. If the committee had known how bad off she was they never would have recommended the surgery. The heart would have gone to someone else. We cleaned up the operating room and they sent us home. She was only thirty-five—the mother of two. Dear God…those poor kids.” I held Scarlett close to my body, hugging her tightly while Sandy looked up at her mistress eagerly wagging her tail.

Finally, she pushed herself back. “Did you go to Zern’s yet?”

“Yeah, I got us BLT’s for tonight’s dinner and a marinated flank steak for tomorrow then we can decide what we want for the rest of the week.” Taking her hand I led her up to the kitchen where we opened our mail from the week. As usual, most of it was junk that we just threw into the trash.. I was surprised to see a letter from Lori, sent from the County Jail. I was about to throw it away, but Scarlett stopped me. Reluctantly, I opened and read:

Dear Sean, I want you to know how sorry I am for what happened. I listened to my mother when I should have listened to my heart. She convinced me that I could have everything—Michael for great sex and you for money and respectability. I’ve known for years that Michael was only good for sex and not much else and I should have dumped him a long time ago.

She went on to try to tell me a bunch of other things that I considered to be even more nonsense. I passed the letter to Scarlett and, after a minute’s reading she threw it into the trash. There was no reason to reply and even less to keep it. I’d see Lori at the trial and never again—not if I had anything to say about it.

“Why don’t we go down to the pool for a swim? I can get us a few Bud’s from the refrigerator downstairs and we can relax. I think you can use a little down time after the day you’ve had.”

“That’s a god idea, Sean. I’ll put some lotion on you, but I think you should start to expose your back to the sun. It’s much better, but your color is kind of pasty.” She took my hand and pulled me to the stairs. We shed our clothes on the way down and were totally naked by the time we reached the doors to the pool deck. Once outside, Scarlett applied lotion to my body while I reciprocated with hers. I couldn’t help myself; my hands spent entirely too much time on her breasts, areolas, and nipples. Scarlett laughed. “You are so predictable!”

She turned me around and did my back, butt, and legs then pushed me down onto a lounge. I expected her to join me, but she walked inside for the beer I had forgotten. Rather than take another lounge she squeezed in next to me. After pinching my butt she gave me a quick kiss and handed the cold cans to me for opening. Then she kissed me again and told me about her day. “You know that we always start cardiac surgeries really early. I was in the locker room changing into scrubs when one of the other nurses noticed my ring.”

“I’ll bet everyone wanted to see it and hear about the proposal that wasn’t.”

Scarlett laughed. “You always make me feel so good, Sean, and you’re absolutely right. I must have spent twenty minutes telling all about our trip to Houston and how you proposed. I told them how romantic it was with the huge bouquet of flowers. They’d heard about Weber assaulting me on CNN and all of them were amazed at how you handled him and his goon. They’re almost as proud of you as I am.” And to prove it she leaned forward to kiss me again.

“You know, Sean…I wish we could swim here all year long. I hate that you’re going to have to close the pool in another month or so.” I didn’t say anything, but Scarlett had given me an idea. I’d discuss it with my buddy, architect Dave Specht, on Monday. We might have spent the entire afternoon there lying in the sun, but we got a phone call from Nellie, reporting in as requested.

I answered the buzzing on my cell, barely getting a word in before an excited Nellie almost screamed in my ear. “Uncle Sean! Uncle Sean! We got a dog. Her name is Angel. I wish you could see her. She’s a mutt and she’s about the same age as Sandy.” I looked at Scarlett and she nodded just before rising from the lounge and going in to clean up the clothes strewn on the family room floor before dashing upstairs to find two suits for us to wear. While she was gone I invited Nellie, family, and dog to the house. They showed up thirty minutes later to find us almost fully dressed.

Nellie and Allison ran through the gate leading a fairly large dog—black with a white mark on her chest. She approached us warily and Sandy carefully. I had no idea how Sandy would react to this intruder, but, after a long bout of sniffing each other, they ran with the girls out into the yard where they chased after some of the small sticks I planned to use for kindling. We were joined by Fred and Judy and wound up ordering in pizza—so much for our diet. It was a great time with even greater friends.

>>>>>>

Okay, so we pushed the BLT’s back to Monday which solved one of our dinner dilemmas. It was just as well because I was incredibly busy. Beginning at 7:00 or earlier, I worked through lunch, taking a couple of bites out of an Italian sub that Sandra picked up for me and a swallow of Pepsi, finishing at 7:00 in the evening. Most nights I staggered in dead tired until a long hot kiss from Scarlett rejuvenated me. Most nights she had already made dinner then she shooed me into the hot tub before leading me upstairs to shower, make love, and fall immediately to sleep just so I could do it all over again the next day.

I had taken a break on Wednesday so we could get our wedding license. Roy had spoken with Magistrate Audrey Boardman Monday morning before court opened for the day. She remembered me from high school and was looking forward to meeting me again. She was an avowed Democrat and a member of their county committee. She knew that I had been offered the chance to run for the school board and that I had accepted. We set the time of the wedding for 2:00 in the afternoon.

Also on Wednesday I had met with Dave Specht. He almost laughed at my request, but told me it could be done. “It will be expensive to do it properly, Sean, but when I’m done you’ll be the envy of everyone in town, maybe even in the state. I can see this in Architectural Digest, that’s how good it will be.” I wasn’t quite as optimistic then, but I was amazed at the drawings and 3D model that he brought to the office two weeks later. I was even more amazed when I saw the projected price tag--$137,000—to enclose the pool area and the deck outside the living room and to add solar panels to our south-facing roof to heat the water in the colder months. Dave also told me that I’d have to add security locks to the French doors upstairs and down to close off the area to young children. I decided then to add some extra windows to my living room. Dave told me to budget $4,000 for that.

The enclosure was a two-story high greenhouse with an arched roof. One side would connect to the house where our bedroom and bathroom was. The other came down to the edge of the concrete pool deck. The walls had double-glazed glass panels that could be opened in summer to cool the area with screens to keep the insects out. A door at the far end gave access to the back lawn. I was tempted to make the anodized aluminum supports in my factory, but I had plenty of work to do already. Dave told me that he’d bid the job, but he was almost certain that Four Seasons, a major manufacturer of similar greenhouses and solariums would win. I kept one of the drawings to wrap as a wedding present for my bride. Dave told me that we could expect work to begin in mid October and be completed by Thanksgiving weekend unless the weather intervened.

Angus and I worked for hours on the Omni project, even creating an alternate valve—one without a crosspiece that would enable us to use the same mold at least twice. Making the molds was the most time consuming and expensive part of the operation. We agreed that a crosspiece could be welded in place. We cast dozens of straight shaft valves and welded cross pieces on opposing sides. Testing welds with gradually increasing pressure was second nature to any machinist or fabricator. We had a robotic welding machine that was both fast and effective. If Omni approved the welded crosspiece I would invest in a machine that would weld both sides simultaneously. That would cost almost $300,000, but would earn much more in productivity. A robot can weld in one-third the time an experienced welder would take and I wouldn’t have to pay the welder $50,000 a year plus benefits. Robots don’t take breaks for coffee or lunch either.

>>>>>>

We had all of the new equipment installed by the Wednesday before the wedding and all of the new employees were on site beginning their training. This was the time when my section leaders and managers really earned their money. Our contract with Toyota called for us to produce ten million valve springs a year. That meant at least 800,000 each and every month or 40,000 a day. I had given thought to buying a second set of equipment to reduce the gauge of the alloy to what we needed as well as one to cut and twist the steel into the exact size we needed.

Rather than rush out and buy the equipment I decided to talk the problem out with my staff and, was I glad I did. Rob Spellman had been with me for three years and had mastered several different kinds of production machinery including the machine that cut and wound the springs. His wife was a quality control inspector at a factory in Pottstown, working second shift—from 4:00 p.m. through 1:00 in the morning. Rob offered to work the same shift. That was okay, but one of our safety rules required at least one additional staff member be on hand. That problem was solved when one of the new employees offered to take the shift. I compensated them with a shift differential and we met our quota easily.

I had been in communication with Caleb Oates at Omni several times a week although my first attempt to phone him was as hilarious as it was frustrating. They kept transferring me from department to department until I finally asked to be transferred back to the switchboard. My message was simple—“If you don’t want to waste the billions you’ve invested on your jet engine project I suggest you call me back.” He did and after a fruitful discussion he gave me his direct line number.

We had run tests on the crosspieces that had been cast and those that had been welded. I wasn’t at all surprised to find that the welds were stronger than the casts. I sent Oates a package with twenty of each as well as the original valve he had given me. Each was sealed in plastic and numbered. I dared him to tell me which was his original and which were copies. “Test them any way you want and let me know what you want. The cast valve will cost you $76.70 each and the welded valve will cost 67.40.” I sent the answer in the following day’s mail. He called me a few days later to tell me that I’d won. He told me that he couldn’t tell the original valve from the copies we had made. Omni sent an official contract two weeks later for 300,000 with welded crosspieces.

All of that was completed by the Thursday before the wedding. Scarlett and I took Friday off, spending the day at the pool. I decided that was the perfect time for Scarlett’s wedding present. “What’s this,” she asked when I handed her the 24 x 36-inch neatly wrapped package.

“It’s your wedding present.”

“I thought that was you, silly.”

“Okay, so you’re getting two presents although this one will take some time to deliver.”

Scarlett laughed. “You’re not pregnant, are you?” I shook my head as I scowled at her humor. She looked at me in confusion when she saw the architectural rendering. “Okay…what exactly is this, Sean?”

“I’m going to have the entire pool area enclosed so we can swim all year round. These are solar panels for the roof to heat the water. The glass on the sides can be moved aside in hot weather and there will be screens to keep the bugs out. It will be high enough to reach the top of the railing on the deck outside the living room. Dave says it will be worthy of Architectural Digest when it’s done.”

Scarlett looked at it for several minutes before turning to me and telling me, “I love you. This is incredible and so are you.” Then she kissed me. It wasn’t much because we had company. That’s also why we were wearing our bathing suits.

I had rented a big canopy—twenty feet by forty—and it was being installed today. There were clear vinyl panels that could be lowered in the unlikely event of rain. Once the canopy was up the crew placed the tables and chairs where we wanted them. The caterer would provide charcoal grills to cook the filets and baked potatoes for the reception dinner. We’d have an open bar, plenty of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, and a deejay. We would have forty-two guests—most of them our friends and relatives although I did invite Angus and his wife as well as Paul Martin and Ginny. Scarlett had invited four of her fellow nurses and their husbands. We’d also invited Magistrate Boardman and her husband since she had refused to accept any payment for performing the service.

Scarlett and I left the pool area around 4:30. Today had been only the fourth time I’d exposed my back to the sun. It was also the first time anyone other than Scarlett had seen it. The rental company’s workers had seen it several times and there had been no gasps or cries of revulsion so I had to assume that the ointments and Scarlett’s loving care had done a great job on the hundreds of welts that had once adorned my back. Was that nightmare really only three months ago?

We dressed in casual shirts and shorts then I drove us to The Pit Stop for dinner. Nick was expecting us and we weren’t surprised when he met us at the door, shaking my hand and hugging Scarlett before leading us to our reserved table. We passed several people I knew from either school or my work. I stopped to say hello to each group. Word had gotten around that I was running for the board of education and I’d been interviewed by a reporter from the Reading Eagle. It was thirty minutes that I couldn’t afford on an extremely busy day, but it was also something I had to do.

We were almost at our table when I ran into Al Kutz who I knew was a member of the board at a neighboring school district and an avowed Republican. “I know you’ve always been an independent, Sean so how could you run as a Democrat?”

“That’s easy, Al. They asked me. If the Republicans had asked I’d run for them, but everyone should understand that I will never stand for using our children as pawns for political gain. Being on the board of education has nothing to do with partisan politics.” We shook hands as I heard Al tell me he was going to phone the Montgomery County Republican Committee and tell them to get their heads out of their asses. I laughed and Scarlett joined me. I had known Al Kutz for years. He was a gung ho Penn State grad and an extremely successful custom home builder in northern Chester County, just on the other side of the Schuylkill River. He might have built my house, but he had told me that he was too busy to take on another project at the time.

Once we were seated we scanned the menu, but we’d already decided what we wanted. We would have lots of prime beef tomorrow—filets cooked to order—so we opted for seafood. We began with French onion soup then Scarlett ordered broiled shrimp and I ordered the broiled scallops, both with baked potato. I tried to order wine, but our waitress had already turned away. I looked at Scarlett and shrugged my shoulders. She returned a few minutes later with a bottle of Marcassin Vineyard Chardonnay which I knew from talking with Nick was one of his very favorite wines.

We enjoyed dinner immensely and even more when we learned that Nick had treated us. I dropped a twenty and a five on the table for the waitress as Scarlett approached and hugged Nick, thanking him for the outstanding meal. “I wasn’t kidding when I said the food is better here than at Stokesay Castle, Nick It was really excellent…once again.” Then she hugged him again. I shook his hand as I thanked him, too.

Ten minutes later we were back in the garage where Scarlett was going to leave me. I’d tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted that she sleep with her aunt and uncle tonight. “It’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony.”

“I’m sure you realize that’s just an old wives’ tale. You don’t strike me as a superstitious person.”

“I’m not, but you’ll have me every day for the rest of our lives. Now kiss me and let me go.” I kissed her, but I didn’t want to let her go. After several minutes Scarlett began to laugh, no mean feat while you’re kissing someone. “You have the first part down pat, but you need a lot of practice on the second.” She pushed me away. I reluctantly let her go. She waved as she drove away.

I lowered my head, took a deep breath, and walked into the house where Sandy greeted me. Not surprisingly, she looked everywhere for Scarlett—all around downstairs and then up to the living room, kitchen, and all of the bedrooms. I fed her, giving her some of the left over baked potato skins and some scraps of scallop and shrimp to go with her regular dry food. Once I had put her out I headed for the bedroom to shower again and sleep knowing that I’d have a really long day tomorrow.

I was lying on my back, wondering where Scarlett was when Sandy ran out and downstairs, looking for her again. She came running back a few minutes later to lay her head on the blanket on Scarlett’s side of the bed. I reached over to pet her head and scratch her ears. “She’s had a big impact on your life, too, hasn’t she? I still remember how terrified you were when we first met you. That’s all gone now, isn’t it? I think you love her as much as I do and I’m glad. She’ll need you to protect her when I’m not here. I think you’ll be pretty good at your job. Now, what do you say? Let’s go to sleep.” I petted her again and pointed her to her bed at the end of ours.

Well…it sounded like a good idea, but actually doing it? I missed the feel of Scarlett’s skin on mine, the sensation of her firm breasts against my chest, the scent of her hair, and her mostly leaking pussy on my thigh. I lay there for well more than an hour, my eyes wide open and ruing the day I had agreed to Scarlett’s staying tonight with Sandra and Sal.

I was surprised when my cell phone rang out with “White Wedding” by Billy Idol—my ringtone. Looking at the phone I cracked a big smile. “Hi…having trouble sleeping?”

“Yeah, this sounded like such a good idea when Sandra suggested it. I’m not used to this small bed and I miss sleeping on top of you. How’s Sandy?”

“I think she misses you as much as I do. She raced all around the house when I walked in. She was looking for you. She had her head on your side of the bed when I climbed under the covers. We had a nice conversation about you then.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, we decided that you’ve had a big impact on our lives and she promised to look after you when I’m not around.”

Scarlett laughed then I could picture her clapping her hand over her mouth. Then, proceeding quietly, she continued, “I never realized that you could speak dog.”

“I only know a few dialects,” I kidded her. “I know dachshund and Labrador retriever. I still recall a little German Shepherd from my youth.” Scarlett was laughing now and was about to lose control so I thought it was time to stop. “I really do miss you and I love you more than I’ll ever be able to tell you.”

“I’m glad,” she whispered back. “I’m so much in love with you, Sean and tomorrow we’ll be together forever. I think though that we should say goodnight now. I can’t wait for tomorrow to come.”

“Me neither, even though it’s only fourteen minutes away.”

I was hoping for a reaction, but Scarlett simply told me goodnight, blew me a kiss and ended the call. I put the phone away, closed my eyes and nodded off, a big smile on my face.

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