All My Loving

Jason was lost in thought as he worked on the repair. He hadn't really expected it, but it was no real surprise when Big Jerry strode up to him and demanded that the repairs be done immediately.

"I'm working on it, Big Jerky," Jason replied calmly. "Why don't you go blow the boss again, while you're waiting?"

Big Jerry gave Jason an angry look and then turned away. Jason smiled to himself as he prepared for what he was certain would come next. Big Jerry suddenly turned back and swung a meaty fist at Jason's face. Jason had kept a large pipe wrench at his side after he witnessed Big Jerry's cowardly, unprovoked attack on Barry. He timed his swing perfectly. The pipe wrench in his hand met the other man's fist just inches from Jason's grinning face.

There was a sickening crunching sound, followed immediately by a surprisingly high pitched scream. Jason immediately brought a foot up and kicked Big Jerry in the gut hard enough to knock him over. He landed on his ass in a large mud puddle with his good hand clutching the mangled one.

"What the fuck did you do?" Jason's boss demanded as he hurried over to Big Jerry and helped him to his feet.

"What you weren't willing, or able to do," Jason replied. "That big fuck can't go around smashing guys whenever he gets a hard on. It'll be awhile before he tries that shit again."

"He'll be laid up for weeks! That'll cost both Jerry and the company money."

"It wouldn't have done me much good if the dumb bastard had connected with the haymaker he was trying to sneak in. Frankly, I'd rather have him crying like a little bitch than me being transported to a hospital or the morgue. The cowardly fucker had it coming, end of story."

"I can't have fighting on my shift," the boss declared. "Pack your shit and get the hell out of here. You'll probably need to lawyer up. Jerry will sue your ass for depriving him of his livelihood, as well as for his medical expenses."

"No problem, Asshole," Jason stated before turning to speak to Barry, who was standing to his left. "Did you get the whole thing on video with my phone?"

"I sure did. Here's your phone back," Barry replied. "You should save it to the cloud and email yourself a copy just in case you lose your phone or something. If you're headed south, I'd appreciate a ride. I've had about enough of the shit around here myself."

Jason pocketed his phone and nodded. "Let's get packed and on the road. We can manage a few hundred miles before we stop for the night."

"You can't leave like that. We'll be shorthanded," Jason's former boss protested. "You have to give two weeks' notice."

"You just fired me, Asshole. That means I don't have to give you shit," Jason countered.

"I've got two weeks of vacation coming. I'll take it starting now. Consider this my notice," Barry added. "I have direct deposit, so paying me shouldn't be a problem. If I don't get paid, my uncle, the lawyer, will be in touch. Have a great day!"

Jason and Barry were on the road headed south within the hour. While driving, Jason answered a phone call from his friend, Art.

"You're a rich bastard!" Art practically yelled into his phone. "I just had $4.2 million wired to my account and half of it is yours! They realized our property was the best option by far. Money didn't make any difference once they decided they wanted it. Email me wiring instructions and I'll send $2.1 million to your account. Be sure to line up a good accountant to help get around the tax obligations."

"I don't know what to say, Art. This is great news!" Jason exclaimed with glee. "Thanks for including me in your investment idea. I'm driving now, but I'll email the information to you when I stop for the night."

"How did you dare trust me with that kind of money? You're a great friend, Jason and I'm happy as hell that I was able to repay your confidence with hard cash. Now I have to call my folks and some friends. I'll wire the money tonight when I get the instructions," Art promised. "I'll talk to you again soon."

"A business investment just panned out," Jason explained to Barry as he mulled the news over. He should be ecstatic that he had become at least moderately wealthy, but knowing it all began with the money his wife was awarded for her part in weekend orgy made it a somewhat bitter pill to swallow.

The next day, Jason dropped Barry off in his home town in upstate New York. With nothing else pressing, he decided to take a few weeks off and visit his parents. He had not seen them since just before he left town in the early summer. At the time he had been in a hurry to get away from Beth and the failure of his marriage. Time had helped heal the wound, at least a little, so he felt comfortable enough to spend Thanksgiving with his family.

His mother and father were delighted to see him. He had been calling them on Sundays to remain updated on his home town, but he had never indicated he would be home for Thanksgiving. Jason appreciated how his parents avoided mentioning his divorce, or Beth.

His luck ran out when his younger sister, Brandy, came home from college for the holiday. "Jason! You look like you've lost some of that baby fat and added some muscle. Beth will eat her heart out when she sees you."

"I prefer we never see each other again," Jason insisted. "Don't bring her name up, okay?"

"No, it's not okay," Brandy replied curtly. "She was one of my best friends and your divorce pretty much ruined our relationship. You ran off with your tail between your legs like a whipped puppy. She said you never even spoke to her about leaving, divorcing her, or not wanting her to go on that weekend event. You just sulked like a little boy and left town."

Jason felt his anger and sense of betrayal return as his sister described Beth's version of that final weekend. He looked at his mother, who appeared to be shocked at Brandy's declaration.

"I think I'll pack up and head south, Mom. The last few days with you and Dad have been great, but I'm not willing to put up with Brandy's bullshit for another minute. I'll call every Sunday."

"Stay, Son," Jason's father spoke as he entered the room. "I heard what your sister just said. If anyone's going to leave, it'll be her. No one treats a guest in my home like that, not even my daughter. Brandy, if you can't be civil to Jason and avoid mentioning his ex, maybe you should find a friend to take you in while Jason is here. You will not treat him like shit in my house."

"I'm sorry, Jason," Brandy responded, her surprise at her Dad's declaration evident. "Dad's right. I was pissed at you for leaving so suddenly. Beth insisted she had no idea why you left her, but I know it had to be something big. She and I used to be such good friends, but we never talk anymore. It's just too awkward. I won't mention her again. Please stay."

Jason wound up staying for Thanksgiving and a few days beyond. During that time, he shopped for Christmas gifts for his parents and sister. He was finally able to afford something better than power tools and cheap jewelry. He never told anyone except his new accountant about his investment with Art and how much he had realized on the deal.

It was late November when Jason answered a call from an unknown number. "Mr. Jason Gibson? This is Martha Houseman. You were employed by my company until recently. May I have a few moments of your time?"

"Of course, Mrs. Houseman," Jason responded politely, "but, if this is about my little dispute with that idiot trucker Jerry, you'll have to speak to my attorney. I should warn you that I have a video of the entire confrontation. I don't think I'll be losing any lawsuits."

"I heard about that unfortunate situation. That man no longer works for us. I called about the possibly of employing you," Martha Houseman replied. "That is if you would consider working for my company again."

"Mrs. Houseman, I'm not really a mechanic. That was just a temporary job for me. I have no intentions of freezing my butt off in a Maine winter. I'm not interested in getting my old job back."

"That's perfectly understandable," Martha Houseman replied. "I had something different in mind. Would you be up for a consulting position with my company? I've heard from several of my more trusted employees that you had a strong grasp of our machinery, how it was supposed to work and why it sometimes didn't. Production from your area began dropping almost as soon as you left.

"Every year my company reps attend a logging expo in Vegas the first week in December. They have acres of new and used equipment available for sale. We've managed to make some very profitable purchases. We've also wound up with more than a few turkeys. I'd like to hire you to look over any equipment we might find interesting and give us your assessment. We'd pay your airfare, hotel accommodations, meals and fees."

"I don't know what you heard about me, but I'm not an expert on heavy equipment."

"I Googled you, Mr. Gibson. I know you are a mechanical engineer, recently divorced and according to my sources, a bit of a wizard at repairing, modifying and improving our equipment. You never mentioned your education to anyone in my company. If you had, your salary would have reflected it. Your modesty came at a price."

"I've always heard being overqualified for a job is almost as bad as being under qualified when seeking employment," Jason stated as he considered the offer the woman was making. "Email me with your proposal and if it's acceptable, I'll take you up on it. Make your best offer first, because I won't try to negotiate with you."

Jason chuckled to himself as he realized how having a hefty bank account allowed him to be far more selective when seeking employment. Not needing a job made it easier to get one.

Jason was surprised at the compensation package Mrs. Houseman forwarded to him the next day. He looked it over and agreed to the terms. He electronically signed the contract, and then he explained to his parents that he would be leaving for Vegas in two days. He hoped to be home for Christmas, depending on what opportunities came up once his week of consulting was over.

For that reason, he returned to the appliance store to purchase a new refrigerator for his mother. He made arrangements for it to be delivered and set up two days before Christmas. Jason signed the paperwork and handed over his credit card for payment. As he did so, he noticed Beth's mother, June, standing nearby. She was watching him.

"I saw Jason today," June stated to her daughter when Beth stopped in for dinner. "He seems to be doing well. He bought his mother a top model refrigerator as a Christmas gift."

The mention of Jason's name caused Beth's pulse rate to increase. Their divorce was final, but she wasn't over the manner in which her marriage ended.

"He probably used the money I sent him for settling with Martin and Martin," Beth suggested. "Did you speak to him? Is he working in the area?"

"He told me he's taking a consulting job in Las Vegas. He'll be flying out the day after tomorrow," June replied. "He looks different, like he's hardened up. He was pleasant to me, which I appreciated. He seems more confident and self-assured."

"What are you insinuating, Mom? Divorcing me was a character builder and he's better off now?" Beth demanded.

"His character was never in question, at least in my mind," June retorted quickly. "I wasn't implying anything about your divorce. I was making an observation."

"If he had just told me how he felt before I left for that damned retreat, it would have saved us both a lot of pain and heartbreak. He wasn't man enough to be honest with me."

"Yeah, I can see what you mean. Every day of our married life, your father has made it a point to tell me not to sleep with other men. That made it clear how he felt on that particular day. I'm just waiting for the morning he forgets to mention it," Pat replied sarcastically.

"Okay! I get your point. I screwed up. I knew he wouldn't like it, but I thought I'd be able to convince him it would improve our situation. Obviously, I misjudged him, but he still should have mentioned that he was going to leave and divorce me," Beth maintained. "Maybe I wouldn't have gone."

"Beth, you've got to be honest with yourself. We've had enough conversations since that weekend for me to know there was no way you were going to let him talk you out of it. You were sure he'd forgive it all in order to keep you, even if he hated your actions. You were determined to go. I'm sure he felt that talking his wife out of sleeping with her bosses was already a deal breaker. When you failed to turn down the invitation to that lakefront for the weekend, you essentially ended your marriage. I just don't understand what could have possibly made you think it was okay to sleep with other men while you were married to Jason."

"I guess I had started thinking of sex simply as a pleasant pastime when I was in college. When I met Jason, I fell in love and the sex was great, but I'm afraid that I never lost the mindset that sex with random men was fun but didn't really mean anything. It required no emotional investment. Obviously, Jason felt differently. We were so good together and I didn't realize how special it was."

"I'm glad you're thinking is beginning to follow a more traditional path, but I doubt Jason will ever forgive you," June remarked gently as she rubbed her daughter's back.

"That ship has sailed, Mom," Beth admitted. "I've just got to straighten out my life and do better in the future. I can't change the past."

Jason had just nicely settled into his rather luxurious hotel suite when there was a knock on his door. He found an attractive, well-dressed woman in her late forties when he opened it.

"Jason Gibson? I'm Martha Houseman. I took the liberty of making dinner reservations. I thought we could discuss business over a nice meal. Your apparel is fine. It's a casual dinner."

Jason found Martha Houseman to be very knowledgeable. She had a list of equipment she wanted for her business. She gave Jason a copy so he could familiarize himself with her needs. As Jason looked over the list, he realized he had worked on similar equipment, so he would have an idea what he needed to look for.

Jason put in long hours the next week as he crawled over, under and around various pieces of heavy equipment. He was able to rule out several machines with obvious defects, and two on which mechanics had gone to some effort to conceal serious issues. By the end of the week, he had enabled Martha Houseman to fill her wish list, with the exception of purchasing a large used dozer. None of those available at the expo were worth buying and shipping back to Maine.

As the week went on, Jason noticed a tall, thin man approaching various buyers. It was apparent to Jason that the man was trying to sell a product or idea, but seemed to be striking out. Near the end of the week, Jason found himself relaxing and drinking a soda when the thin man sat down at his table.

"What is it that you're trying to peddle?" Jason asked. "You've been here all week and it looks like you've struck out."

"It may be too risky for these buyers, but I had to give it a try. My partner and I have been working on building a battery capable of powering heavy equipment. It'll revolutionize most businesses that use heavy machinery."

"Seriously? Why would anyone turn that down?" Jason asked. "It sounds too good to be true. Is there a catch?"

"Only that we don't quite have it perfected and we haven't worked out exactly how to mesh the battery with the drive systems of the machinery. We're close, but we need some fresh money to buy the materials we need, and to pay the rent on the warehouse we're using."

The man's story piqued Jason's interest. "Give me one of your business cards. I might be able to help you out."

The following week, Jason found himself in the warehouse the man and his partner used for their project. Jason was unable to conceal his surprise when he was introduced to the man's partner, an attractive, willowy blonde woman. Her name was Candy, which made Jason chuckle when he was introduced.

"I know, right? Everyone thinks I'm a showgirl or a stripper when they meet me. It's the name Mom gave me, so I'm stuck with it. Gavin said you thought you could possibly help us finance our project. Are you a venture capitalist or something?"

"Gavin told me he thought he could complete your project with a relatively small investment of around a million dollars. I'd consider investing that much if you can convince me that Gavin's claims are legitimate," Jason replied.

He signed several nondisclosure documents before being allowed to enter the area where the actual batteries were kept. Jason was amazed at what he saw. The potential of the project was almost limitless if the last few hurdles the couple had encountered could be surmounted.

Gavin and Candy had met while studying at MIT. Jason quickly determined they were both quite brilliant. What had begun as a lab assignment had grown into their life's work. Jason was especially impressed that they had incorporated more common metals and elements in making their batteries. With no need for precious metals or rare materials, the batteries could easily be mass-produced.

Jason realized the two scientists were close to finalizing their efforts on the powerful battery, but needed to alter the basic design to make it more compatible with the machinery for which they were intended. He felt his knowledge and ingenuity would dovetail nicely with their efforts.

Jason was pleasantly surprised when he was offered a 20% share in their company if he invested the needed cash along with his time and knowledge. He quickly agreed to the proposal, rented a small house and started working with his new partners.

Gavin's wife, Lana, seemed suspicious of his intentions and credentials when she first met Jason, but came to accept him when she saw his enthusiasm for the project. His tireless efforts to integrate the batteries with heavy machinery swayed her in his favor.

For Brandy's spring break, Jason paid the air fare for his parents and sister to spend a week with him. Brandy was very curious about Jason's project, but he refused to talk much about it. He would not even allow her into the warehouse to see it. Luckily, she got along very well with Candy and Gavin's wife, Lana.

While Brandy was in Vegas, Beth was stalking her on social media. Marci came home to find Beth looking at her phone with tears trickling down her cheeks. Marci quickly asked her what was wrong.

"Jason has a girlfriend. She looks like she's one of those beautiful showgirls. She's got long blonde hair and an incredible figure."

"How do you know that? Did he email you pictures or something? What a rotten thing to do," Marci replied with some heat.

"No, Brandy never said that Jason was dating the girl, but she's in most of the pictures with Jason and Brandy. Her figure is perfect and her name is Candy, so tell me she's not a showgirl."

"Maybe she's just a stripper," Marci joked.

"You're not helping," Beth responded as she went back to looking at her phone.

At that moment, Brandy was riding to a convenience store with Jason when she asked about Candy. "Your partner's stunning, but you don't seem to be romantically involved with her. Could I ask why not?"

"Several reasons," Jason answered. "The first is, as you mentioned, we're partners in business. Emotional entanglements could really screw things up. Another reason is we don't seem to connect in that way. She's a genius, so she may be looking for someone really smart. I like her as a person and she's extremely beautiful, but I'm not ready to get back into the dating game yet. Things are going great with us being friends and partners. Neither of us wants to jeopardize that."