Chapter 10

Muriel:

What the hell is so damn important that I have to drop everything and fly to fuckin' Vegas, of all places? I don't even have any factories targeted in this area. That chunky bitch didn't even give me time to pack more than this damn carry-on bag. Miss high-and-mighty workin' directly for the boss square-faced bitch. If I wasn't so scared for my job right now I'd tell her flat ass where to go.

She said that there would be someone here to meet me. Oh no, its that strumpet, Glenda or something was her name I think. I thought Sophie said that she was a lez, but she sure looks prego to me. Must be someone else.

"Hello, Muriel. Do you remember me? I'm Brenda, and this is my partner, Diane."

"Damn. It is you, but you are pregnant. How did you manage that? Is that how you paid for your job? And do you know why the fuck I'm here?"

"I told you she'd notice, Diane. Can't hide shit from a redhead. We'll talk about it in the car, Red. Do you have any other bags?"

"No, this is all that nazi slut would give me time to pack. Let's get out of here then. Do you know where I'm to be staying at least? Tubby didn't give any clue except to get here asap."

"Are you always this pleasant to people you hardly know, Muriel?" Diane asked, "I consider Alex's PA to be a very nice woman, who works harder than most. Why do you have to keep referring to her in such a derogatory manner? Alex and Sophia decided to give you a chance to get your shit together instead of just firing you, all Diane was doing was following orders."

What?! I was pretty sure Andrews was thinking about firing me, but what does "sweet little Sophia" have to do with it? I bet that slut is trying to get my position to add to her bonnet. I'll take care of her shit when I get back. Now what does a second chance have to do with these whores?

"As to where you will be staying, we have a couple of friends who will be hosting you while you are here." Diane smiled sweetly.

"Why can't I just stay in a hotel or something? Andrews can afford that."

"Oh, I think that the accommodations will much more to your liking than a Spartan hotel room. What do you think of your job performance over the past few months?"

"Well ... I've had some problems, but I've had some success too. If these asshole men could think with the big head I'd be doing a lot better."

"No, Muriel." Brenda spoke up, "If you treated people with a little more courtesy, you'd be doing better. Sophia tells us that you haven't been laid since you started that job, so we are going to take care of that." By now they were at the condos that Alex had purchased for the employees of Jewels. Brenda led a bewildered Muriel in while Diane carried her bag. They went on past their door to one at the end of the hall, and Brenda knocked on it.

A tall brunette opened the door, "Here she is, Tanya. This is the girl we told you about." Brenda turned to Muriel, "Tanya and her roommate Monica work at Jewels as dancers. Their love life has been getting a little stale and we promised them some variety. You. Enjoy yourself, we'll come back for you in a couple of days." She pushed the confused redhead in through the door. Diane handed the bag to the tall black woman who came up as Muriel went in. "Take good care of her, please."

The pair of lovers laughed as the door closed and cut off a squawk from the surprised redhead.

"If those two can't take care of her horny, then she is hopeless." Diane said.

Two days later a much calmer Muriel answered to door to Brenda's knock.

"Hello Muriel. How are you doing now?"

"I'm doing great. I can't thank you enough for providing me with these toys. Come on in girls, it is time for me to go."

Tanya and Monica entered the room. They were each wearing a velvet collar, and nothing else. Tanya's collar was black, and Monica's white. The colors contrasted nicely with the individual girl's skin.

"Are you going to come watch us work tonight, Mistress? We'll dance extra well for you."

"Yes, Pet. I'll be there. Any mistakes will come out of your hide, later. You may each kiss me before I leave."

The two tall dancers fell to their knees in front of the diminutive redhead. Muriel leaned down and kissed each woman soundly on the lips. "Be good, you two. I'll see you tonight."

Muriel strolled out of the apartment, followed by a bemused Brenda.

When she entered the apartment Brenda and Diane shared she asked, "So what is this shit about Andrews firing me? I've done what he needed."

Diane was sitting on the couch with an older woman and a young girl. "You got the job done, Muriel. But you pissed off and insulted a lot of people while you were doing it. Alex was okay with that to start out, but he wants a different tone as the company goes forward. Since you have not been able to find a good PA, he asked us to look for someone. This is my sister, Donna, and her daughter Chelsea. Donna worked for ten years as a receptionist and secretary for a legal firm here in Vegas. Chelsea just finished a year at college, and discovered that they were teaching her mostly baloney. She has an active interest in the uses of green technology. She has a crush on Alex and wants to help."

Muriel walked over to take a better look at the mother and daughter team. Donna stood up as she approached. "So you think you can control me, huh?"

"Oh heavens, no. I can keep you on schedule and offer advice, but the only person who can control you is you. I've looked over your record, and been quite impressed. Did you really tell the chief engineer from Delco to go home and stick his dick in his wife's ass, because that was the only satisfaction he was going to get that day?"

"I may have, I don't recall. That sounds like something I'd do though. The idiot was trying to say that we must have cheated on our test results, there was no way a generator could perform at those rates, or with that level of efficiency. I handed him a batch of reports from independent testers, as well as his own engineers, and told him that I would be back when he wanted to talk business. Otherwise I would just wait until his corporation folded. Andrews isn't complaining about that, is he?"

"No, actually, he said that he was impressed with your restraint at that meeting. It's been the last couple of months when you have started to implode. You have been trying to do too much on your own and your temper has shown how overworked you are. He is hoping that Chelsea and I can reduce your workload so that you can do what you were hired for."

"So he knows all about you two?"

"No, Diane hired us. She also said that if it didn't work out, we would be guaranteed a place at A&C."

Muriel turned to Diane, "I didn't know you had that much sway with Andrews. Is it because you loaned him your lover for a couple of weeks?"

Diane and Brenda broke down laughing. When she finally gained some control, Brenda responded to Muriel. "Oh boy have you got that wrong. For one, Donna meant Alex's Diane, the one you referred to as "Miss Chunky". And as far as my being loaned to Alex, Inez had to twist his arm severely to persuade him to get me pregnant. It's probably going to be just as bad when Diane goes down for her treatment next year. When Alex was in Vegas, we offered him both of us for the price of one, and he turned us down. I know Sophia explained it all to you, your barbed wit isn't going to prick us at all, Red, so shield it. Diane interviewed Donna and Chelsea over a video link and hired them both. Her instructions to you were to give them a chance. If you simply couldn't work with them, she would help you find someone else."

Muriel turned to the young girl, "And what am I supposed to do with you? I already have a couple of toys to play with. You're not likely to get too chummy with Andrews around me, I avoid him as much as I can."

Chelsea didn't back down a bit, she stepped up to Muriel and held out her hand. "I'm not your "toy", as you put it, I am your helper. When you show up at a factory, I am the one who makes sure that you have everything you need to snow over those "good old boys". I make sure that your computer can conference with their IT department and that there is sufficient space made available for you to work. I make sure that you and mom eat regularly and take care of your clothes and I am also to be your driver. I'm supposed to go and learn from Inez's driver just how to protect you. I have some martial arts skills and will also be your basic protection. After what happened to Norma and his partner, Mr. Andrews is not taking any chances. He has Sophia's helper taking the same training. According to him, your days of traveling naked are through. Mom and I needed work, but even if we didn't I'd jump at the chance to be a part of A&C. I take this work very seriously and will do my best."

"When Alex heard about that demonstration in Texarkana he blew up." Brenda said, "He almost had you and Sophia accompanied by a security detail to go to the bathroom. Steve Grant calmed Alex down enough to let him and Paul train your protection. Chelsea is it for you, and John Manning is going to be Sophia's minder. Chelsea's martial arts training has been evaluated by the security team we use here, and she leaves tonight for driver training with Paul. I wonder if she'll be allowed to drive that bad-ass Dodge Alex has?"

"I hope so, but what I'm looking forward to is that '64 corvette, fuel injected 327 with a four-speed, that is gonna be a blast."

"My daughter, the car junky. I thought I was doing her a favor when I got her a Miata. She bitched about the small engine and no carrying room until I let her trade it in for a four-wheel-drive pickup truck. Now she races it in the desert on weekends. Not what I had in mind for a daughter."

"Ah, Mom. It's not that bad, at least I win sometimes."

"Speaking of winning, what did you do to those two down the hall, Muriel?" Brenda asked, "You should have seen them Di, they were nude except for collars, kneeling, and calling her Mistress."

"The biker bitches? Do tell, Muriel. What did you do?"

"I just showed them who was boss, that's all. I promised them that I would go see them dance tonight. Don't you two have something to do there?"

"Yes, Muriel. We manage the club. I think you'll be surprised at how the place looks and how your two companions work. They are two of the best we have. Sometimes they go up together and the dances get very steamy."

"Very well. I am going to take my two new "employees" out to lunch and try to get to know them a little better. I need to do some shopping as well, so we'll be back in time to go to the club, let's say about eightish?"

"That'll be fine, Muriel. We'll be here and ready by then. Have a good day, and don't let her get to you Sis. She can't be much worse than I was."

"If she is half that bad, I'm gone. Don't worry about it, we'll get on fine."

Alex:

I sat at my desk, and looked across at Steve and Bill. They said that they had an update for me, and now we were just waiting for Diane to get here.

"So, can you give me a hint, Bill?"

"It's about Daniel Smith, the man who ordered the actions against you." He paused as Diane entered the office and sat down. "Smith has been going nuts trying to gain access to his accounts. When we shut them down and transferred the funds to us, we made it seem that his boss was doing it. One of the IT guys in their company has a grudge against both of them, it seems that their sons were not very nice to his daughter. I heard the word rufie mentioned. I'm glad that you don't have snakes like that working for you, Alex."

"I hope I don't, Bill. So what did Smith do about the loss of his money?"

"We knew that he would probably do something stupid, and we implicated his boss to try to keep innocents from being harmed if we could. Smith was sure that his boss, George Grissom, was trying to screw him, so he kidnapped the man's family. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. We were able to intercept the demand for ransom, and clued in the FBI. They of course messed it up entirely, and killed Smith, his son, and badly wounded Grissom's boy. During the cleanup, they found the rufies and evidence implicating both boys and a few others in several rapes on the campus of Georgia Tech. There was even a tape with Grissom and Smith taking part in one gang rape. I would love to impress you with our ability to manufacture this stuff, but it was all valid. The corporation was already reeling at what you have done to them, but with this little bit of drama, they are dust. Wait about a week or two and you can buy their stock for pennies on the dollar."