Trading Places

by Anita Cox

  She smiled and nodded.

  Hori gave Chuck a nod, who finished his email and placed his phone back in his pocket.

  Chuck’s staff carried in the main course. Lobster was served with melted butter. The lobster had already been removed from the shell but placed delicately on the plate. It looked whole, but without a shell. I found myself daydreaming how the staff pulled that one off.

  “What do you think about our proposal, Candy? You aren’t really saying anything.” Chuck dunked a piece of lobster in butter and chewed while he waited for an answer.

  “First, I need some time to consider it. This is a huge career change for me. Second, and most importantly, I refuse to relocate. I am happy here and have no desire to move. Third, you should probably know that as of yesterday, I began looking into opening up a business of my own. I don’t plan on leaving, but it is an investment that will take up some of my time. However, due to the nature of the business, I should probably tell you what it is.”

  “Your swing club shouldn’t be a problem,” Chuck said waiving me off like I just asked for extra butter.

  “How in the hell do you know about that?” Anger overwhelmed me. I’d only talked to the people closest to me. Who would have betrayed my trust?

  “Ms. Kavana, you know damned well I have the best security system money can buy. That comes with audio. While Mr. Takahashi was researching you, I watched you for a couple of days. I’m impressed by your ability to get so much done in a day while plotting world domination…”

  Shit! He heard us with Dekker.

  “But the fact that you are so ambitious and so willing to create a business to help a friend. It’s good people like you that restore my faith in humanity.”

  I ate my lobster while I absorbed everything that had happened over the course of the evening. I had been watched, researched and dissected. It meant opportunity for me, but I felt violated nonetheless.

  Olivia had taken over, making small talk with the men while I thought.

  The evening wasn’t going like I’d thought it would, but it wasn’t going badly. Dekker was going to be out of our lives for good, which was a step in the right direction. Alaska was a great place for him.

  Dessert was served in tiny crystal glasses. I chose the strawberry sorbet and Olivia had the chocolate mousse. Small talk continued through dessert, which had been accompanied by coffee Hori had brought from Japan.

  “Ms. Kavana,” Hori started.

  “Please, call me Candy.”

  He bowed his head slightly. “Candy, I will increase your salary thirty percent. We will take the average of your commission over the last two years and pay that to you while you get the division up and running. Since you won’t have as many clients, which will open up more time for you to get your own club up and running.”

  He turned to Olivia. “You like to be in the background because you don’t want to be held accountable and have the stress that Candy has. You also don’t believe in your ability to charm clients, but believe me when I say, you are ready. I have the utmost faith in both of you. I need you to have faith in yourself.”

  Hori turned back to me. “To prove to you that your club won’t be an issue, I’ve arranged some entertainment for us this evening. I believe in faith and loyalty. I am exercising faith in your discretion. In doing so, I hope we earn the loyalty of each other.”

  Olivia eyed me nervously.

  “Chuck, Hori, before we move on to the entertainment, do you mind if Olivia and I go out onto the balcony alone and have a smoke?”

  “By all means,” Chuck said with a smile.

  “Can we, uh, get some assurance that no one will be eavesdropping on our conversation? While I know that you two had the best of intentions, I think we’re both a little freaked about being spied on.” Olivia had found her lady balls.

  “You have my word. Besides, do you really think a man like me wants cameras in his house? If anyone here should be worried about blackmail, it’s me.” Chuck laughed and waved us on.

  I grabbed my purse and led Olivia onto the balcony.

  “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!” Olivia started pacing.

  “Kick your shoes off before you break an ankle.”

  “Ma’am, I uh, I’m supposed to ask if you want an espresso martini.” A mousy looking maid stood behind us.

  “Two, thank you.” I gave her a sincere smile. Poor thing, working in a place like this. I bet she could barely afford the couch. Hell, I could probably just barely afford to buy the couch. I shook it off.

  “Candy! What do we do?” Olivia continued to pace.

  “Well, before you wear a hole in the marble, you should probably calm down.” I snickered while I lit two cigarettes, one for each of us.

  I handed one to her and took a deep drag. “Are you ready to make a step like this?”

  Olivia shook her head. “No, but I never will be. What if I fail?”

  “You won’t.” I saw the maid coming and nodded to Olivia.

  We both thanked her for the drinks.

  “Thank God there’s alcohol. I don’t know how else I’d get through this.”

  “Olivia, you aren’t losing your virginity, you’re getting a promotion. It really is time. You’re more than capable and whether or not you realize it, you’re already doing it for the most part. You’ve brought in clients, led meetings, completed the marketing strategies and everything else. It’s just my name on the deals.” I tried to encourage her…but I felt sad. She had become an integral part of my life.

  “Will you miss me?” she asked.

  “That’s all I can think about.” I smiled. “But now we can hang out on a personal level without work always hanging over our heads.”

  “This really isn’t what I expected tonight.” She guzzled the rest of her martini.

  “Same here. I say we have one more smoke and go in there heads held high and confident.” I pulled out another smoke.

  Olivia didn’t reply. That was usually her way of agreeing with me.

  I finished my martini and my smoke and started to head back to the dining area when the butler informed us we were to follow him.

  It felt like we had walked for nearly ten minutes when we finally reached a large theatre room. After we entered, we were served more martinis and sat together at a table directly in front of the stage. Hori and Chuck were seated a few tables away, which I found odd, but only at first.

  “We are about to see a show from one of our potential new clients. You can get a little taste of what you’re about to get yourself into.” Hori gave us his familiar nod and waved to a woman in the corner.

  The lights went dim and music started to play.

  Olivia elbowed me and pointed to an ashtray in the center of the table. She knew I chain smoked when I was nervous. I lit up and tried not to slam my martini.

  A woman entered the stage, dancing to the music. She wasn’t wearing anything but a thong and a large necklace that didn’t seem to move.

  Moments later a nicely built man entered doing flips and dancing to the music. His thong did little to hide his massive erection.

  During a peak in the music, he pinned her on a bed I hadn’t noticed. I don’t know how I missed it, it was barely five feet away. Ropes appeared from the ceiling and he used them to tie her up.

  “They’re going to fuck? Here?” Olivia whispered in my ear.

  “Guess so,” I said as I watched intently.

  The man had expertly tied the woman’s legs up with her ankles near her rear before flipping her over on her stomach and onto her knees. Her hands were tied to the headboard. She was his for the taking.

  He swatted her behind and the music became very quiet. We could see her winces every time he swatted her. In sync with the music he dove under her and pulled her down on his face. The woman cried out as she ground herself against his mouth.

  With one hand stroking his cock and the other poking fingers inside her, things were heating up. When she climaxed, he retreated and recl
aimed the position behind her. The volume of the music increased a little as he fucked her, starting off with doggy style before turning her sideways in an odd position that looked like something from the Kama Sutra. The position of her legs looked painful, unless she was incredibly flexible. One ankle rested on the man’s neck and the other was behind his knee. She wailed in ecstasy as he fucked her to the beat of the music.

  Pyrotechnics went off when he climaxed, bringing the show to a close. It had been naughty and tasteful at the same time. I was so aroused I couldn’t wait to get home to John…but I had been drinking.

  The men had stood from their table so Olivia and I followed suit.

  We approached Chuck and Hori. “Olivia and I accept your offer, but I have a few conditions.”

  “You do?” Olivia looked stunned. We hadn’t spoken about conditions.

  “Of course,” Hori said with a smile. “Let’s hear them.”

  “First, Olivia not only gets my old salary, but my parking spot, my office and to pick a staff of her choosing. She receives a budget upon my departure to redecorate to her liking. That computer is slow as hell too, so she gets a top-of-the-line model as well.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. You two have earned more than enough money for us to accommodate you. Next?”

  “I get one week off. I’m in the middle of moving and trying to start a business. This will give me time to get some things accomplished. And for my last demand, we have no supervisors other than the two of you. I’m sick of dealing with power-hungry men who cannot accept a woman in a position of authority. One more Dekker in my life and I’ll probably go crazy.”

  “Fair enough. You’re officially on vacation.”

  “One more thing,” Olivia blurted, “Candy and I draft a letter to the clients explaining the situation in a manner that makes us comfortable.”

  The two men chuckled. “Not a problem. Our merger has already hit the papers, so there’s no need to worry there.” Chuck patted Olivia on the back. “See, you went from kitten to minx in a matter of an evening. You’ll do fine on your own.”

  Olivia smiled.

  “Now I just have to ask a favor,” I said flashing a smile. “I’ve been drinking.”

  “Pete is already waiting with the car,” Chuck interrupted. “Horace, my butler will follow you in your car and ride back with the driver.”

  “Thank you…for everything.”

  “You may have the rest of this week off, but mark my words, Ms. Kavana, you’ll hear from me bright and early Monday morning about our new venture.”

  I bowed to Hori and shook Chuck’s hand before Olivia and I went out to the limo.

  What a night.

  Chapter 17

  Thankfully John was willing or I would have taken him against his will. As soon as we were done and had reclaimed our breath I filled him in on the events of the evening.

  “That’s fantastic, Candy. The whole show thing was a little weird, but it’s still very cool.”

  I slid off the bed and put on my robe. “The movers will be relocating me officially tomorrow morning and we have the property to view tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Are you going to be okay with this?” he asked.

  I glared at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  “To my best recollection, you don’t do so well with change.”

  “I only kept a few small pieces of furniture,” I said, changing the subject. “So we’ll have to buy new stuff to match in here.”

  “Let’s take a swim,” John said as he got to his feet. “Then we’ll relax in the hot tub and still get to bed at a reasonable time.” Smart man, not continuing with his concerns.

  I snickered. It wasn’t the first time we’d had two separate conversations. But I agreed and a short stroll later, we were swimming. The water sobered me a bit and the weight of my decisions hit me a bit more.

  What in the hell was I thinking? I was going through so much change and it wasn’t the first time. I worried about culture shock, about having my entire life full of nothing but sex. What if I got sick of it?

  I discussed my concerns with John, who shrugged them off. He always had a ‘we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it’ outlook on life. It annoyed me. I hated the unknown.

  John did laps on the left side of the pool while I waded on the other side, admiring his form. You would swear he was an Olympic swimmer in a former life.

  I decided to swim to try to clear my mind. I was about to take on an insurmountable amount of work, and change my life forever. Visions of the future flooded my mind. I swam harder and faster. Before long I had thoughts of nothing other than aching muscles and lungs of fire.

  I spotted John climbing out of the pool and swam over to the stairs, following him into the hot tub.

  “That was a pretty serious swim you took,” he teased as he eased himself into the hot bubbling water.

  “Yeah, my head was swimming so I decided to make my body do it instead.”

  John put his arm around me after I eased in next to him. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ll be with you every step of the way. You’re not alone in any of this.”

  I thought about what John said. I had spent most of my life going through things alone, even when I was married. Then Stacy stepped in and I wasn’t alone. I was alone at work until I hired Olivia. Then I wasn’t alone there anymore either…until finally I had met John. Loneliness had completely left my life. I had to have faith that John would be by my side.

  Faith was something I hadn’t practiced much of throughout my life. But I was going to have to learn.

  I scooted down, letting the water bubble up around my chin. The heat relaxed my tense muscles and the sound of the jets soothed me. Nothing went through my mind but John and our future. Our future…that was new.

  I had nothing but great things to look forward to and I needed to get accustomed to it.

  “Candy, you’re snoring. I’m afraid you’ll drown. Let’s go to bed.” John was shaking me.

  I opened my eyes and held onto John’s hand as he led me out of the hot tub, helping me dry off before leading me back to bed.

  “Sleep, my wonderful girl,” he whispered in my ear as he hugged me from behind.

  * * * *

  The next morning went quickly, with delivery guys hauling in boxes and the few furniture pieces I’d kept. I started unpacking my clothes and other personal items as quickly as I could manage while John made us a light breakfast.

  After eating, I hurried through a shower and got ready for my day before returning to unpacking. I hadn’t realized how much time slipped away until I my stomach was growling yet again.

  John had the deli down the street deliver sandwiches for us and after a quick lunch, we were in his truck, headed for our potential new property.

  I had butterflies in my stomach. The more nervous I became, the harder John squeezed my hand. I found myself very grateful I had asked for his help.

  When we pulled up to the position indicated on the GPS all we could see was a driveway. We turned in anyway. Everything was overgrown but the barn on the property looked like it was in great shape.

  Olivia’s sister, the realtor, was already there waiting for us.

  “You must be Candy,” she said as I jumped out of the truck.

  “Hi, this is John. You’re Aubrey?” I asked holding out my hand.

  “I am. Are you ready to take a look around?”

  “I’d like to start with the barn.”

  Aubrey nodded and unlocked the door, letting us inside.

  John went to inspecting immediately. I, however, let my eyes wander. I spotted the perfect place to put in the bar, the bathrooms and all the necessary playrooms. There was plenty of room and two stories of space.

  I ignored Aubrey as she babbled about herself and the property. It didn’t matter what she wanted me to see, I had my mind set on what I wanted. Salesman generally hated me, and this was a reason why. I was hard to control. My life’s work was to make something from no
thing, to have the vision my clients lacked. Aubrey couldn’t distract me from that.

  John gave me a thumbs up. The building was stable and secure.

  “Let’s see the property now,” I said.

  Aubrey huffed as she ushered us out of the barn, locking up behind us.

  The property may have been overgrown but it was beautiful. There had been an error in the original legalese and now the bank was stuck selling all ten acres and the barn together.

  The pond was crystal clear and I could see fish at the edge. Three small buildings sat in a clearing.

  “What are those?” I asked.

  “Those are cabins. This was used as a campground by the family that owned it.”

  John and I left Aubrey standing where she was as we walked straight toward the cabins.

  “This place is fantastic, Candy. It’s a great buy.” John opened the door to the first cabin.

  “Wow,” I said looking around.

  “Don’t worry, I can fix it.” John grabbed my hand.

  “Fix what?” I looked at him puzzled.

  He laughed. “Why’d you say ‘wow’?”

  “It’s fantastic. But what needs fixed?”

  John put his arm around me. “Anything you don’t like. But this place needs a new floor in the kitchen.”

  I hadn’t even noticed the kitchen. The cabin looked dusty but beautiful. The floors were all wood except in the kitchen where cheap linoleum was starting to peel.

  “Let’s look around. I wonder how big it is.” I was half talking to John, half to myself.

  “I’d say about 900 square feet,” he said answering me.

  The bathroom was a bit small for my liking, but other than that, the place was perfect. It had one good-sized bedroom, a small bar, a kitchen and a living room.

  “Let’s look at the others.” He grabbed my hand, leading me to the next building.

  “If you have any questions…” Aubrey yelled as she tried to catch up with us. “Ah, fuck it. I’ll be at my car if you need me.”

  John and I both snickered as we dove into the next place.

  “This is fun,” I said, still snickering.

  The next two cabins were identical to the first.