A Surface Problem Ch. 03

During this long experimental phase Peter had been seeing a lot of Anna. They spent weekends and occasional weekday evenings together. They enjoyed many of the same activities, and spent nights at each other's apartments. The early trauma with Katya was soon forgotten and occasionally they went out as a threesome, though usually Peter and Anna used Peter's place when Katya was home.

Anna was aware that her friendship with Peter was making Katya lonely so, somewhat hesitatingly, she broached an unusual subject.

"Peter, what would you say to me sharing you with Katya? She is so lonely and she and I have been very close for the past 15 years. We both knew that if one of us was lucky enough to find a partner, the other would lose out. But you do find her attractive, no?"

Peter was dumbfounded "are you sure you want this?" he questioned. "Have you asked her about it?"

"No Peter, not yet" she replied, "but I want to. What do you think? Not every time, but occasionally? But I don't want it to spoil what we have. I have never had a partner like you and I don't want to lose you."

"I am willing to give it a try" said Peter, "if she is interested." Who would say no to an offer like that, he wondered?

There was even more news. The next morning, Alastair invited Peter for coffee after squash, which was unusual. Alastair was quite a positive person but that morning he had been even happier than usual.

"Great news Peter, I'm going to be a Dad" he beamed. "We have been trying for several months now but Jane has missed two months. She went to an ObGyn person yesterday and was confirmed. She puts it all down to your cream! She says she feels much more 'frisky!. You may have a tsunami once your product reaches the market!"

"Somehow I doubt it" Peter said and they laughed together. "I'll give her a jam jar full if she really likes it. Perhaps we can convince her to be in our first commercial!" They laughed again.

Back in the lab Peter was scaling-up production of his cloned enzyme using baker's yeast as the vector. The 100L reactor run worked well and the first batch was formulated using Peter's own enzyme. This converted Anna's inactive surface protein to an active form, and kept her skin vitalized. He also added an enzyme to keep the components from oxidizing, in addition to vitamins A and C. This was to greatly increase shelf life.

The volunteers were all given 250 ml jars of the new product, enough for several years of use. The data and large samples were given to the Pharma group and Peter supplied significant amounts of his enzyme, but not the recombinant yeast which produced it: that stayed with him, at least for the time being. Several months were to pass before the Pharma group met again.

Peter was still seeing a lot of Anna. Nothing more had been said about 'sharing' and Peter did not want to raise the subject: perhaps the two women had disagreed? Not a problem for Peter, he was quite comfortable with the arrangement with Anna. They were both busy and professional people and their 'together time' was beginning to feel like friends-with-benefits, again.

However, one night at Anna's apartment, after a long and languorous evening of sex, Anna and Peter had finally drifted off to sleep when their bedroom door opened. A shadowy figure slipped in to the room and quietly got in beside Peter. His breathing continued unaltered. The platinum blonde snuggled up against Peter and extended an arm across his chest. He slept on. Then a leg across his leg: no action.

Finally Katya reached down to fondle his cock: it responded without waking its owner. She had forgotten that Peter was well-endowed. Not giant but well above average. She dived under the single sheet and captured the growing member with her mouth. Peter woke up, Anna slept on. Katya looked at Peter and grinned. She put her finger to her lips -- 'be quiet' -- then went back to her cock-sucking. Peter closed his eyes and lay back. He was seriously aroused.

Katya tasted the beginnings of the ejaculate: the 'pre-cum'. She licked her lips: sooo good! Then she slipped a condom on him and mounted him, slowly sliding down his greasy pole. She had been dreaming about this for many days, weeks even, since the day she met and fellated him in the lounge.

Peter felt so good inside her. He stretched her as she had known he would, and she kept a slow motion, almost allowing Peter to slip out, then dropping down to pubis-on-pubis. So good. Katya reached up and pinched her nipples, little eraser-stubs on small a-cups: she could feel a climax building. How long had it been since her last male-induced orgasm? Far too long! Perhaps that was about to change: she hoped so.

Katya guessed Peter and Anna would have been been active several times that evening, so Peter might be slow to react. But she could feel he was rising to the occasion and, after about ten minutes, he raised his hips and emptied himself into her. He stayed inside her for some time while she she lay on top of him. They both slept.

Anna woke first that morning. She looked across the bed and smiled as she saw Katya and Peter sleeping in an embrace. Walking quietly out to the kitchen she made a hot drink and thought about the situation. She was happy that Katya and Peter had made out last night though she was unaware of when Katya came in the room. Hopefully this could re-establish the cousins' good relationship and keep Katya happy too; she knew of her cousin's frustrations with the fashion business and her difficulty meeting suitable men.

What Anna was more concerned with, however, was her relationship with Peter. She had become very fond of him, and she knew he had been close to other women over the past few years. But did she love him? Had she ever been in love? She had never allowed herself to become as close to any man as she had to Peter, but could she marry him? Deep down inside her, she knew she wanted a baby, sometime, and Peter would be an ideal donor. Did she dare ask him?

Her mother had maintained a close relationship with her own partner for decades, dependent on him as a source of 'essence', but they had never married. Now with Peter's expertise, the need for a close relationship for 'essence' no longer existed. There were so many questions!

Anna finished breakfast and showered. She crept back into the bedroom to pick up clothes for work and as she left the room she heard someone stir. Before anyone emerged she had left for the school on her bicycle.

Katya looked at the man beside her; he was still sleeping. He reached over and touched him, remembering how she felt during the night. She wanted him again. Peter was flaccid, lying on his side. Katya touched his cock: Peter woke immediately and smiled at her.

"Just a minute; don't go away" he said as he shuffled off to the washroom. She could hear him pee and brush his teeth.

"Now, where were we? I'm sure we were in the middle of something," Peter grinned. Even after a restless night he was amazed at how beautiful she looked.

Katya excused herself then and used the washroom too. When she returned Peter was erect, and waiting.

"Oooh, is that for me?" Katya giggled.

"Who else?" he replied, and Katya leapt on the bed, kneeling astride him. She held his cock in one hand and rubbed the head along her slit: she was already wet. She eased down onto Peter thinking how wonderful it felt, filled up with 'man'. Neither of them moved.

Katya sat up and touched her breasts, twisting her nipples.

"Peter, I know my tits are small, but are they too small for you to kiss?" She asked, looking at Peter though hooded eyes and pouting.

He smiled and sat up, reaching around her to bring his lips close to her. He kissed her nipples, then held one between his teeth, then the other.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Oh Peter, that sends shivers down my spine. You fill me so full like this. Did you like me waking you early this morning?" Katya asked, dreamily.

Peter didn't reply but began to move against her instead. Katya was so wet she began to squelch. Peter rolled her over to be under him then he raised her legs over his shoulders so he could move into her more directly.

Katya closed her eyes and began to hum. As Peter began to speed up she started to mewl "oh yes, oh yes, more Peter, more." She started to raise her hips to meet his forward stroke while Peter put his hands under her backside lifting her even further. Faster and faster he moved until he realized: no condom! Just as he was about to come, he withdrew and sprayed Katya over her belly and breasts.

"Oh Peter, why did you pull out? I wanted you to come inside me!" Katya moaned.

"Well, lover," she liked the sound of that. "I'm not ready to be a Dad yet, at least not until we've discussed it!" Peter replied.

"Oh! Thank you Peter, I got carried away by the heat of the moment," Katya admitted. "But it was so good. I suppose you are going to leave me now, in my current position" she whined.

Peter laughed "you talk to your cousin about arrangements. I don't kid myself that I have anything to say in these matters. But, yes, I'm going off to work for a while. Do you want toast and coffee or are you going back to sleep?"

That was the first night of five that Katya would be back. Peter wondered if he could keep up.

Back at the lab Alastair and Peter were taking about how well the cream was working.

"I've had a message from Mervyn. He wants to move up the group meeting by two weeks, apparently the response from the other members is extraordinary and there is a lot to talk about," Alastair said as they sat around Peter's desk. "Do you have anything more for them?"

"Not really" Peter replied. "I've got the enzyme production stabilized with the protease under control. I just wonder if they will want control of the cloned gene."

"I see what you mean" said Alastair, "but how can they scale up if you keep the original plasmid here under your control?"

"True" Peter replied again, "but in a pilot scale or full production run, how can you keep control in downstream? Any sample will contain cells and a chance for industrial theft."

They decided to talk with the group about procedural problems at the meeting the following week.

The week passed quickly and on the Tuesday the four men met on the campus.

"Gentlemen" said Mervyn, " I have excellent news, which Jos and I have already discussed. The Pharma Group are 100% behind your new product and they want to begin production as soon as possible. The feedback from the satellite test groups has been overwhelming and they feel they can set their own price: they are anxious to start. Added to that, and listen to this, samples were sent to the big cosmetic companies and they want in on it. They say they will use their product lines already in use and describe your cream as a 'New, Super Improved' version. At a new price, of course."

Alastair thanked Mervyn for the news, which he and Peter were very happy about. He went on to describe the potential problem of where to store the plasmid which contained the enzyme and the risk of industrial theft. There was no obvious answer so the group decided to proceed with the base cream and Peter would produce cell-free enzyme to be added at the last stage. He would keep the plasmid under lock in his lab, but he was even worried about security in his lab.

Jos pointed out that there was a cyber security firm in Chevy Chase, Washington, that companies have been consulting about physical security. Would it be worthwhile contacting them? Peter agreed: calling in a security specialist would be good.

"So, before we finish I want to give you the really good news, Peter," Mervyn sat, smiling, with his hands together. Jos smiled too. "The Pharma Group have decided that this project has such potential that they are awarding you an additional $3 million dollars if the sales reach $100 million over a time period. Remember US cosmetics sales are more than $60B a year and worldwide over $500B. They are so confident that I have the papers for you to sign here."

Jos continued "As an accountant, I would recommend that you take the first million over 3 years, for income tax purposes, and use the rest for backdated shares of the major Pharma companies. When the sales news hits Wall Street these shares will likely rocket, and you should gain significantly."

The paperwork took little time, then the men got up, shook hands and walked downstairs to the entrance: the Pharma men left the building. Alastair and Peter sat down and looked at each other.

"I had no idea about the bonus" said Alastair, "you are a rich man, Peter! Well, perhaps not by Palo Alto standards, but you are getting there, and my 10% is looking good too."

Peter sat in shock: to him the scene was surreal. He already lived well below his means, living comfortably on less than 20% of his salary. The remainder he put into dividend mutual funds which had shown a 10% gain every year for 15 years: steady and cautious.

Later that week Peter decided to use some money. He instructed a law company in Palo Alto to find out the outstanding mortgage on his parents' house in Dorset, and he paid it off. He phoned his mother and father, explained what had happened to him, and wished them a Happy Christmas. When his balance was to increase in the next year he would do the same for his sister Sandra's house in Worcester.

The first two large-scale batches of essence were fortified with enzymes in the last stage. Peter and his ladies prepared and concentrated his enzyme after removing all traces of the yeast. Although he was not concerned about the bonus money, Peter was unhappy about security and beginning to lose sleep about the potential problem.

Finally he contacted Jos about the Washington security company. Jos said he would handle that aspect of the business; Peter relaxed.

Life with Anna and Katya was satisfying. While Katya was away the two were a couple, and nothing was ever mentioned about a long-term relationship. Peter was content not to raise the subject knowing Anna's family history. When Katya was in Palo Alto they were often a threesome or Anna made some excuse to leave them together. It worked seamlessly and everyone was happy and comfortable.

So it came as a surprise when Anna casually mentioned to Peter that she might like to have a baby, sometime in the future, and would Peter be prepared to be the donor?

"Well" said Peter, "when you are thinking about it seriously we should talk. In the meantime I won't say no but there are considerations." They both smiled as if to say 'it's a possibility'.

It was two, maybe three, weeks after Peter phoned Jos about security that Sharon looked in on Peter in his office.

"There's a lady here from the Washington security company to see you" she smiled. Peter had forgotten the email he had from Jos the previous week. Good job he was here!

"Please let her in" Peter said, pushing his chair back to acknowledge the visitor.

"My God, Sophie" exclaimed Peter. "What are you doing here?" He asked, dumbfounded. "I'm expecting a security whiz any moment."

There stood Sophie, 5'8", slim, long blonde/silver hair, still in a scrunchy. She was wearing a fine wool suit, white blouse, 4" pumps and a briefcase. The consummate young businesswoman.

"Hello to you, too, Peter" said his junior school and long-time friend. "I AM your security whiz! I wasn't sure if the name Dr van Osterlin gave and you were one in the same so I came to find out! How are you? Doing pretty well by the sound of it!"

Sophie and Peter came together by the desk and hugged, then kissed, softly.

"Oh Peter, that was all the welcome I needed" said Sophie, wiping a tear from her eye. "I was so scared it wouldn't be you, or you wouldn't want to talk to me. So often I wanted to talk to you, or email you. When Mummy spent that time with you before Fiona's wedding I wanted to come here too."

Sophie sniffed: the dam had broken and Peter could see how upset she was. He needed to get her home but he had cycled so he asked Sharon to call a taxi while he wheeled his bike into the office.

"I probably won't be in tomorrow Sharon" Peter said as he picked up Sophie's suitcase. "Can you hold the fort for me? You know what's happening in the lab and if you need to, just call me. Thanks."

"No problem Peter" said Sharon as she looked on, quizzically.

Peter got Sophie into the taxi and gave the driver his address. Then he turned to Sophie and took her hands in his. Her face was a mess: her mascara had run, her eyes were wet and red, and her nose was running. He gave her a handkerchief and she used it, then she took a mirror out of her handbag and looked at herself.

"Oh my God, I'm a mess! What must you think of me Peter! I'm supposed to be impressing you!" She almost burst into tears again. They used the elevator to get to the flat -- sorry, apartment. As soon as the door closed she was in Peter's arms with her arms around his neck.

"Just hold me Peter," she said. So he did, for several minutes, and he loved every one of them, and he told her so.

She looked up, smiling, and kissed him on the lips, hardly touching his.

"You're so good to me Petey. I don't deserve you," she said, sitting on the sofa.

"OK, its 4 o'clock. I assume you came straight from SFO or San Jose?

"Yes" she replied.

"Did you book a hotel?

"Yes, the Four Seasons."

"OK, phone and cancel. You're staying here."

"When did you eat?"

"Snack in the plane."

"OK. That's my bedroom on the left, guest bedroom on the right. There's an en suite in both, go and have a shower, towels in the closet in the corridor. Then we'll go for dinner. I have some calls to make."

Peter called Anna and told her he would be busy for the next couple of days, that he had an old school friend visiting and that she and he had a lot of catching-up to do. Everything true and open. Katya had left the previous weekend so she was out of the picture.

An hour later Sophie and Peter were drinking tea in the lounge. She was smiling and relaxed wearing a fresh blouse, tailored slacks, slip-ons and a necklace. She looked good enough to eat -- and Peter told her so.

"You're such a tease Peter Banks!"

"Try me and you'll see" he replied.

Gradually, over the next 5 hours, they told each other their recent life-histories.

Sophie had shown herself to be very competent in her section at GCHQ, and had risen quickly with sympathetic supervisors who recognized her talents. Jeremy either had difficulty adjusting to her promotions or was simply in the wrong partnership. He was not a strong character and had little to offer, so when she was given the chance of an exchange with the CIA at Langley he offered to step down. She accepted both the Langley position and his offer to dissolve the engagement. "Saving" The Manor was no longer of concern.

Peter gave Sophie a brief chronology of life at Stanford and the research institute. He explained the 'carte blanche' agreement with Big Pharma as long as he produced from his 'hobbies'. He also explained the most recent development of the cream, its basis, success, and his strange relationship with Anna and her cousin.

"How serous is the Anna thing?" Sophie asked as they ate in a Chinese restaurant at the mall, her choice.

Peter replied that he didn't know, and told Sophie about Anna and her cousin's families with no males, that both he and Anna had never talked long-term, and that he was still sensitized by Fiona.

They walked back holding hands and stopped for coffee and desert, still chatting like the longtime friends they were. There was a comfortable silence as they both thought about their relationships.

"Well, Peter Banks, you are a deep one alright. Not so sure what to make of you!" Sophie quipped. "All this and Mummy too. We have some memories between us, don't we?"