by Finian Blake
“It belongs to the Inn.” Adam had not one thing in his name the knoll was in Terri’s name. “I thought that with our clientele, we should crank up our image.” Susan shook her head. She knew that Adam would not bill it to the Inn, but this was a huge purchase. Lynn was all over it while they were talking.
“We can justify it as an expense. With our clientele it is not out of line.”
“I had it bullet proofed and super charged,” Adam said with pride. “I have been sneaking Frank and Mark out to driving school for a month now. We now have a bullet proof limousine driven by a fully qualified bodyguard.” Susan looked inside the Bentley. The interior was decidedly top of the line with its leather upholstery, walnut trim and wool carpets. The 6.54 liter engine with its super charger made up for the extra weight of the bulletproofing. Adam opened the front passenger door for Terri helping her inside. He opened the door for Lynn as Frank seated Susan. Adam did not get in. He smiled at Frank. “Enjoy the ride ladies.”
Frank turned out of the Inn on to the main road and hit the accelerator. The Bentley leapt forward smartly and they reached ninety kilometers per hour in a few seconds. He drove past the entry to the Knoll driving a few miles down the road to the Village. The Bentley pulled up in front of the Pub with everybody on the street wanting to see who was in the Chauffer driven limousine. The ladies got out and went in for a drink. After two drinks, they walked out the door waving to Frank. He pulled the Bentley up smartly assisting the ladies into the car. After he merged with traffic Frank looked in the rear view mirror.
“Are there any questions?”
“Other than getting a drink what was the purpose of that exercise?” Susan knew there had to be a point behind the show.
Frank smiled warmly. “Did you see all the people looking at you?”
“Yes we did. What is the point?”
“That is the point. Think about it. Important people like to look important.”
Frank drove to the knoll and dropped Terri off at the house. Lynn ran to the house as soon as the door closed not wanting to Miss Terri’s surprise. When she walked in, the entire staff from the Inn was packed into the house and shouted “Congratulations!” The surprise was for Lynn not Terri, Adam asked everybody to refill their glasses.
“Lynn, you have done a hell of a job for all of us. Thank you, for all that you have done.”
“Thank you Lynn,” was the chorus from the crowd. Lynn was caught absolutely flat footed. She thought that the party was for Terri. Lynn was speechless as people lined up to kiss and thank her. Susan was the driving force, but Lynn was the heart. Adam was second to the last in line.
Adam smiled sheepishly, “Susan put me up to it.”
Susan hugged Lynn tightly, “Your dad was dead wrong, but don’t think that you can use this as a license to misbehave.” Susan said swatting her firmly, but fondly on her butt.
Lynn kissed Susan back fiercely, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
When she had a chance Susan pulled Adam to the side. “Are you crazy? That is a hundred thousand dollar car and you put it in the name of the Inn. I would like to know if you are that generous or completely off your rocker.”
Adam laughed, “With all of that money I own not a house, car or property of any description, and yet I have the use of it all.”
Susan poked a finger in his chest, “What if I decided to turn you out?”
Adam gave a wry smile, “It is a chance, but I don’t ever see you or Lynn doing that at any time in the future.”
Susan shrugged her shoulders kissing Adam on the cheek, “I don’t see that day coming either.” The party lasted late into the evening, with Adam and Terri falling into bed fully clothed when everybody left.
The phone rang several times at 6 AM with Adam picking it up on the tenth ring. Frank served notice that he was taking Adam and Terri for a run not accepting any of Adam’s mumbled excuses. Ever since Frank had broken Adam’s ribs in Barbados, he made it his personal mission to shape Adam up. Adam made a few more excuses and gave up trying to back out. He woke Terri and they dressed in sweats for the workout. When they walked out the front door Frank and Suki were stretching on the lawn. Frank allowed them time to stretch starting out at a moderate pace. Terri and Suki had no problem keeping up. Adam held down the back door since he was not a runner. They ran down to the equestrian property picking up the Old Men by Mark’s cottage. Susan and Lynn were both at work. Susan was still managing the outside accounts at Brit Worldwide, plus she maintained a marginal relationship with MI 5. Lynn still handled the dogs for customs keeping the dogs at the equestrian property. Shultz was her darling. The other two were still in training. They took the dogs for a run with them. The German Shepherds looked forward to their daily run. Lynn liked to keep her babies familiar with everyone at the Inn. The Old Men kept the run to an hour. When they arrived back at the base of the knoll Adam broke into a walk. Frank pulled back to have a word with him. “What are you going to do if someone is chasing you?”
“I would have to kill them. I will join you at the top of the hill.” He had only made it halfway up the knoll when the other men passed Adam on their trip back down from the top. Terri, Suki and Frank were stretching out as Adam walked up. With all of the exercise, Terri and Suki looked really trim. Their muscles were well toned and neither woman carried much fat.
Adam and Terri started back to the house for a shower. As they were walking in the door Terri looked back and noticed Frank and Suki heading to Frank’s apartment. “Suki and Frank have been spending a lot of time together. Do you think that there is anything happening?”
Adam shrugged off the question without giving it much thought. “I don’t think so. She is half his age.”
Adam and Teri showered and dressed. They were finishing when Suki walked in without knocking pulling Frank by the hand.
“Frank ran out of soap so we need to use your shower.” Suki was stripping off her clothes as she went through their bedroom pulling a red faced Frank behind her. Adam and Terri finished dressing and went into the kitchen.
“Suki and Frank,” Terri was floored. “He is my dad.” Frank had adopted Terri unofficially as his daughter when she married Adam in Barbados.
“I guess that we should have seen it earlier,” Adam chuckled, “They have been spending a lot of time together. It is not a huge surprise they are a good match.”
“He is my dad.” Terri did not really object even though she was surprised.
“If they find some kind of happiness I am all for it,” Adam insisted. Frank is a hell of a nice guy. I think Suki is a knockout. I think the whole matter is up to them.”
“What are we going to do about it?”
“I am going to put on a pot of tea and you are going to start breakfast for the four of us. Happiness is a rare thing and you should enjoy it if it comes along. Most of the people out there would not recognize happiness if it bit them in the ass.”
Frank had a sheepish smile on his face as he came in the kitchen. Suki went over to the tea pot, poured two cups pushing the two men into the dining room and returned to deal with Terri.
“Before you say it, Frank and I have been together for almost a month now. We just did not want to face the grief when we told you. I hid the soap for an excuse to drag him over here.”
“You did what.” Frank was caught completely off guard. Terri burst out in laughter, as Suki defended her position.
“Frank is a brave man when it comes to action, but a complete coward when it comes to women. He was afraid of what you would say about our romance. When he ran out of soap, I dragged him over here so that he couldn’t back down. What did Adam say?”
“Grab happiness when it comes along.” Terri smiled at Suki. “You have never failed to surprise me in the past. I shouldn’t be surprised now. Help me with breakfast.” She gave Suki a kiss and a hug, just as the frying pan caught fire. Suki grabbed the lid to smother the flames and Terri turned off the stove. Adam and Frank rushed in to s
ee where all of the smoke was coming from.
Terri looked at the two men. “The bacon will be crisp.” They salvaged breakfast preparing for the day.
Susan returned to the Inn at half past eight. The people from the movie studio were due in an hour. She went to the security center to make sure the ‘Asparagus’ was lowered. The ‘Asparagus’ was a series of hydraulic poles that were strategically placed to prevent unauthorized landings by helicopters. Susan wanted to have a smooth start with Lynn standing by her at the ready. Frank brought the Bentley down in case they wanted to survey the area. Suki, Terri and Adam were on carts doing a quick review of the Inn. The helicopter showed up early. The Bell Jet Ranger touched down, and the studio review team stepped out. William was a producer remembering the Inn from a few years back. Marshal was the other producer, Andrew was a director, and Muriel was the camera person. She was an apprentice on her first assignment. Susan greeted them warmly assigning Adam to see to the pilot’s needs.
Susan had a lay out of the property on a large table in the dining room giving them a paper tour first. The people from the studio were impressed by the layout and the period of the architecture which provided a consistent look throughout. The hedgerows insured privacy even within nearby areas of the Inn. Terri and Suki covered the mechanical assets: the resort had three backup generators, the false hedgerows that provided easy access throughout the resort, and the extra wide road down the center would allow the support trucks to keep equipment accessible. The whole shoot could be contained in controlled areas. The land on the other side of the river was a conservation area and the Knoll that connected to the Inn could be used for an over view. All of the buildings on all three properties matched perfectly appearing to be at least one hundred years old. Marshal was impressed by the set up.
“Before we take the trouble to evaluate this, how many banks are involved with the mortgage? We will need their permissions if we alter the properties.”
“The Inn is wholly owned by the board and I own forty five percent of the corporation.” Susan was proud of that fact. “The rest of the board is present so there will be no problem. We consistently have unanimous votes.”
“Will it be possible to rent the whole Inn?”
“If you want to lease it, there should be no problem. Our permanent staff lives on the property but I am sure that something can be worked out. Would you like a tour?”
“Yes, we did a fly over and things looked promising. Let’s do the tour.” Susan loaded Terri and the four studio people in her cart. Suki and Frank followed in the other cart and Lynn went directly to the house.
The tour started at the equestrian property making frequent stops. Muriel shot several rolls of film as the tour progressed. When they stopped by the stable Martin was waiting for them. From the outside, the stable looked slightly run down with the door looking like it was ready to fall off the hinges. The surprise came when Martin opened the door. There were eight spacious stalls, one oversize stall and a large tack room.
“If you look overhead, we have lifts for the horses so each stall is like a hospital room. The oversized stall is exclusively for veterinary use, and the tack room doubles as a veterinary center.” The stable was up to date as it could be. Martin made sure that nothing in the stable was wanting. He could handle most emergencies in the stable without having to resort to outside help. He was better equipped than most vets. “It also works for little girl’s sex games.” Martin muttered under his breath causing Susan to fire him a harsh glare. Sometimes when her new saddle over-stimulated her, she and Lynn would indulge themselves in the barn after a ride. A small red light next to each of the doors signaling when the stable was restricted.
They moved to the front of the property near the highway. The exercise track was a full mile, with twenty six acres in the center containing a paddock, breeding pens, and a grazing area in the middle which was interspersed with fruit and hardwood trees. Brent’s cottage was in the far corner by the road. Next to the gate was Mark’s cottage, and on the other side of the entry was Martin’s cottage followed by the stable. A large kennel was between the stable and Susan’s house, so that Lynn could keep her babies close by. The Guest cottage was immediately next to Susan’s home. Ryan’s cottage was on the other side of the rear entry from the guest cottage. Finally, Tom’s cottage was in the far rear corner on a rise near the river. He had a clear view of the entire property and had a view of the river behind the Knoll. If the river flooded he would be isolated, but well above the flood. In the back half of the property was a forty acre steeple chase area that contained six possible courses ranging from easy to extreme making it a beautiful setting for the house. When Susan walked out of her front door most of the view was of the steeple chase area. Susan went to the guest cottage first opening the door to the guest cottage.
“This is identical to the other cottages in this area. Each cottage has two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen and a sitting room. Lynn has prepared a tea for us at the house.”
When they walked in the house, Susan directed everybody to the sitting room where there was a tea cart positioned for service. Lynn had changed into a maid’s uniform with her short skirt barely hiding the tops of her mesh hose and her high heels gave her legs extra definition. Lynn made it a point to serve Muriel last. When she handed Muriel her tea, the cup came off the saucer soaking Muriel’s blouse and pants. Susan jumped up with a serviette and started to dry the surprised woman.
Susan scolded Lynn “You are so clumsy.” She and Lynn attempted to dry Muriel off finding her body to be remarkably firm. Finally Susan looked at Lynn. “You are close to her size. Take Muriel upstairs and let her use some of your clothes while we dry hers.” Lynn led the way up the stairs with Muriel a few steps behind. From that angle Muriel could see everything under Lynn’s skirt.
“Lynn, you should be spanked.” Susan added when they were halfway up the stairs. Lynn looked back giving Muriel an unmistakable smile. Andrew could not help but add his comments.
“You don’t want to say that. I think she is a dyke. I have hit on her five times, and she turned me down each time.” William and Marshal both spit their tea into their cups at Andrew’s comment. They could not believe that he said something like that to people that he never met before.
Susan had to break the moment. “Suki and Frank, will you continue the tour. We will catch you up in a few minutes.”
Terri and Susan waited downstairs for a few minutes. They went upstairs to see what was happening. Terri eased open the door hearing Lynn crying. Muriel went heavy on the spanking and Susan instantly regretted her comment not realizing that Muriel was decidedly adventurous.
“I see that you don’t mind risky behavior. Have you thought of making some money at it?” Susan let her comment sink in. “We sometimes have clients that wish full service entertainment if you know what I mean and we try to provide what they are looking for.”
“Full service,” Muriel looked at Susan with a funny expression on her face. “What do you mean?”
“They want to screw your brains out, and they pay very well for the privilege. From what I see you would work out well.”
“I don’t know.”
“Think it over. You better join your boss.” Muriel seemed to flinch at the word boss. Lynn fit her with some clothes and they rejoined the others. Andrew gave Muriel a list of shots to take in the cottage area.
The last stop was the Knoll. Susan turned the tour over to Terri since it was her crowning achievement. As they pulled up to the edge of the knoll the Inn unfolded below them. Muriel broke out her three hundred millimeter lens taking a few rolls from the edge.
Frank took them up to the gym and the extra fifteen feet in elevation made a big difference in the view. Marshal commented on the extent of the Knoll. The seven buildings that made the estate were impressive. Terri allowed a full acre for the courtyard to make the studio and garage appear smaller. Terri took Muriel over to her studio.
Her half was two thousand
five hundred square feet. Suki had the other half, and the second floor which was seven thousand square feet was unfinished. Terri’s designs for the Inn were hanging on the wall. There was a drawing on the wall for a small pub that she was planning to build in the center of the Inn’s courtyard and the new stable in the equestrian area.
“The stable will start in the very near future and all of the plans for the pub are complete. All that we need to do is let out the contracts which should be sometime this summer.”
“A building like that would complete the set. That two acre space in the middle of the cottages is much too open an area. We could pass it off for a village if there were a pub there. Is the Knoll part of the Inn?”
“No this belongs to Adam and me. We are both board members and will make its use part of a package if you wish. Lynn will handle those arrangements.”
“Ah yes the clumsy girl. That maid outfit was something else.” Marshal let go with a chuckle. Terri wanted to tell him how sharp Lynn was, but he would find out later. Lynn was a tough negotiator, leaving many a victim behind in her wake.
Terri showed Marshal both greenhouses on the knoll. The floral green house was six thousand square feet with a hot tub in the center that was surrounded by miniature fruit trees. Flowers had been profitable for the Knoll with Terri selling to several shops in Manchester. The other greenhouse which was also six thousand square feet was for fruits and vegetables. She was considering a smaller third green house for exotic flowers and herbs because they always sold out at the farmers market. The Inn maintained a stall there to sell fresh herbs and vegetables. The three cottages were all situated on the edge of the Knoll and the view was spectacular.
“We even have two access points to the river, one at the roadway and one up at the shooting club.”
“Are we going to need to deal with a bank? We may have to make changes to this property?”
