Where There's Smoke Ch. 03

Upon their arrival, they talked to the floor manager and arranged that all of their selections would be stored in one place and delivered to their home the following day. When they had completed the majority of their selections, at about three PM, Kathy produced the credit card and the authorization note from Tim.

Since it was an AMEX Platinum card, the amount of the purchases wasn't in question, merely the authority of the purchasers. After some delay, they were asked to step into the manager's office.

The store manager, although polite, questioned their authority to use the card even tho they had produced the signed letter from Tim. When the manager held firm, Kathy suggested calling Tim at the golf club. The manager dialed the number and asked to speak with Mr. Tim Tyler. After a short delay, he came on the line, asking immediately what was wrong.

The manager explained that two ladies had selected quite a sizable amount of merchandise and wished to use his AMEX card to pay for the purchases. Given the amount of the bill, the manager admitted that he decided to be conservative and request confirmation directly from the cardholder.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief and began to provide the necessary information. First, he supplied the card number and the fraud code, which he had memorized. Next, he described the two women, supplying their names and described the authority document. Finally, he suggested to the manager that they would take their business elsewhere unless these ladies were accorded first class treatment in every respect.

When the manager quickly agreed, Tim asked to speak to one of the women. When Kathy came on the line, Tim quickly ascertained that they had been treated well and were done with today's shopping.

"What's going on now, Tim? Is there anything else we should do?"

"No, love, everything is under control. If you have finished your shopping, ask the manager to have your things delivered to the house today. I'm sure he can arrange it. Remember, if you feel that you are not being properly taken care of, you have the option of leaving everything there and shopping somewhere else. I have no particular connection to the Myer Centre. I'll be going home now so if there is any further problem, call me there, OK?"

When Kathy handed the phone back to the manager, he asked Tim to confirm their authority for the amount of their purchases.

"Whatever it is, it's OK." Tim hung up the phone.

The manager turned to Kathy with a rather embarrassed look on his face as he hung up the phone.

"Your credit is excellent, Ms. O'Riley. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

Diane started to say no but Kathy spoke up.

"Is there a way that you can have our things delivered yet today?"

"Certainly. I'll have one of our own trucks take them out right away, unless you wish to add to your selections."

"Not today, thank you. Come on, Di, let's go get some coffee."

"One moment please, ladies, and I'll give you a receipt for your purchases."

Five minutes later, Kathy and Diane left the managers office with Tim's card and a detailed receipt that listed all of their purchases. The cost of their shopping trip was just over $20,000. When they were seated at the coffee shop, Kathy took out the receipt and rapidly moved her eyes over the list, stopping when she saw the bottom figure. Her hands were trembling as she silently read the number printed there.

"Diane, I think we went overboard. This number is huge. I've never even seen this much money let alone spent it on clothes. For all his big talk, Tim is going to kill us or worse."

She passed the tape to Diane and watched as the color drained from her face.

"OHMYGOD! That can't be right! Kathy, what did you mean by, or worse."

"This could be the worst mistake we have ever made. Even if we return all of this stuff, Tim can still throw us out, you know, and that would be so much worse."

"OH, NO! Kathy! We can't let that happen. I love him just as much as you do and I couldn't bear having to give him up, not like this. What are we going to do?"

"I think the best thing is to go straight home and confess to our crimes and hope for mercy. I can't imagine his reaction when that truck shows up and we're not even there. Come on, let's hurry!"

As they turned the corner they saw the Myer truck just closing it's doors. Diane parked at the curb and shut off the car, staring at Kathy with empty eyes.

"Cheer up, Kath. We can always plead insanity and send the stuff back. If that doesn't work, we'll simply beg him to let us stay and we'll be his slaves - - forever."

Kathy grimaced. Exhaling a huge breath, she opened the car door and stepped out.

"I guess you're right. It can't be that bad. Even so, I think I'd rather hide under the verandah until the storm blows over. Come on, let's get this over with."

Holding hands, the two women walked through the gate and up the back steps like criminals expecting to be sent to the gallows.

When they came through the back door, they found Tim standing in the hallway surrounded by their purchases. He turned towards them as they crossed the dining room and grinned.

"When does the next truckload arrive?"

Kathy and Diane couldn't believe their ears. Next truckload? Their eyes were wide, their mouths dropped open, and their hearts skipped a beat as they stared first at Tim then at each other. As one, they rushed into his open arms and began kissing him and hugging him. After several minutes of this affection, Tim called a halt.

"Hey, calm down, you two, before you kill me. I love the attention but you two are going overboard. What's gotten into you?"

"Oh, Tim, we were so afraid that we overdid it when we saw the total on the receipt. Do you have any idea how much all of this costs?"

"No, but I'm sure that you two are worth every penny of it."

Diane took his hand and led him to a chair.

"I think you had better sit down before we give you the bill. I'm afraid it will be a bit of a shock."

Tim sat in the chair and waited while Kathy extracted first his card then the receipt tape from her purse. She held them out to him with two fingers as if it would burn her hand. Tim accepted the card and placed it on the end table next to his chair. He started reading the items from the top, letting the tape hang loose in his hand.

"Hmmmmm. About two feet worth. When does my fashion show start? These descriptions are rather cryptic. I'm sure they'll look much better on the two of you."

He tossed the tape in their general direction, seemingly without looking at the total. The girl's mouths dropped open. They couldn't believe his calm reaction to their spending more than $20,000 of his money. When they didn't respond, Tim decided to explain a few things to them. It was finally time.

"Sit down, you two, before you fall down."

Kathy and Diane sat cross-legged on the floor in front of his chair. He leaned forward, touched each of them on the cheek, running his finger across their lips, and ended with a flip of their nose.

"First of all, don't think for a minute that I don't know how much you spent today. I know exactly. To the penny. Secondly, if you remember our conversation of this morning, Kathy, I gave you permission to spend a great deal more than you actually have spent, so I am pleased that you were reasonable in your spending. Third, we three have an agreement that says we share everything with each other, right?"

When the girls nodded assent, he continued.

"What you didn't know when this agreement was set up was that I am quite wealthy."

"This shopping spree is just the beginning of your sharing of my wealth. Now, before you get too carried away, I'm not going to just give you money. I will however pay the bills for all of your necessities as long as our agreement lasts and clothes are certainly necessities. I expect that there will be certain changes in all of our lives over time but I don't anticipate that running out of money will be one of our problems."

After what seemed like an eternity of stunned silence, Tim saw the tears rolling down both faces.

Diane was the first to speak.

"My God, Kathy, you sure can pick 'em."

He moved off the chair, knelt on the floor between them, and hugged them to him, kissing each of them on the top of their heads. He felt each of them shudder as the emotions of the afternoon played out in their respective bodies. For his part, the bargain was sealed. They were officially a threesome. Kathy finally raised her head and looked at Tim.

"Honey, I think we will need a little time to get organized for your fashion show. Is that OK?"

"Of course, love. I think I'll have a cup of coffee out on the verandah while you to get organized."

He leaned forward and kissed Diane and then Kathy. He stood up and walked out of the room, leaving them seated on the floor facing each other's tear-stained faces. The two women hugged each other as tears of joy rolled down their cheeks. The emotions of the moment overcame them and they kissed each other feverishly with open mouths and probing tongues. Unknown to them, Tim witnessed the kiss through the open doorway of the kitchen and grinned widely, noting the instant hardening in his pants.