An Absence of Trust Pt. 02

This is a continuation of another story I wrote called AN ABSENCE OF TRUST. This is my first attempt at a follow up story. There are several subplots that I thought were necessary. This, like most of my stories, is long without a lot of sex.

In my opinion you should probably read the first one before this.

If you do read it I hope you like it.

I guess I was nearly done with the house. My dream of restoring the stately Madison Park house in Seattle was almost complete. I thought of what it looked like when Antoine had first shown it to me. A lot has happened since then. But for some reason I did not have the satisfaction I thought I'd have upon the completion.

No doubt the house looked good. I had remodeled, really restored, it the way I wanted, but somehow I thought I would have greater pleasure after getting it finished. Perhaps it was the process and not the end product that was more fulfilling

Sitting here, in the living room, I started to understand my melancholy mood. First off I didn't have anyone to share the big house with. Originally that had not been the plan. That particular plan did not end well. Secondly, I was afraid I'd be bored. For the past five + years, this house has been my hobby.

I glanced up at the grand staircase. It was hard not to think of the orchestrated accident that occurred on these steps. A mixture of feelings came over me. Sadness over what had happened mixed with a grim satisfaction at the punishment delivered.

Somehow though, the mixture of thoughts about my house, the spectacular breakup with Maddie, even years later, and the feeling that my life was incomplete created the unsatisfied mood I found myself experiencing.

Mentally I kicked myself in the ass. Quit feeling sorry for yourself. You are living in a beautiful, two million dollar-plus house in Seattle, and by the way, it's paid for. Money was not a problem. The last time Danny, my financial guy, and I reviewed my finances my net worth was over twenty million. I was in good health and I had a solid group of friends. Just no girlfriend at this particular time.

You never know perhaps that could change.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

I was getting ready to leave my office for one of the last few times that Thursday when I received a phone call from my brother Richie. I talked to him every week or so, somehow this phone call seemed a little different.

"How's it going?" I asked him, curious.

"Pretty good." He said, but I heard something else in his voice, a hesitancy. There was something off. My normal happy go lucky kid brother didn't sound like himself.

"Leslie doing okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, she's great," he began, "I guess." He trailed off.

"What about the business?" I asked, "business has to be good."

Richie had never gone to college. It was a combination of a lack of funds and a lack of motivation. The only way I had made it through college was because of my athletic scholarship.

Instead, Rich enlisted in the Marines. He did four years with the Marine Corp, about half the time driving armored transport vehicles in the Middle East. That's where he'd met his buddy Dallas.

Once he got out Rich had started driving truck, local deliveries. Two years ago there was an opportunity to buy Mettke Freight, the company he worked for. Through my financing Rich (and I) bought the business from Carl Mettke.

Actually the way things are set up, Rich and I guess Leslie, his wife, own the business, office equipment, and other assets. I own the building and the trucks. The business (still called) Mettke Freight pays me rent. The building has a third floor with four apartments. I collect the rent for these units too. I lease the trucks back to the business.

Rich's wife, Leslie, runs the business. Leslie is the office manager and surprisingly does a pretty good job. Rich's title is general manager but most of the time he's content out making deliveries. Leslie and the dispatcher really run the office.

"Yeah, I guess business is good," he began, "it's just that... " he trailed off.

I paused.

"What's up Richie?" I asked.

"Can we grab a beer? Just you and I?" Rich asked.

"Sure," I said confused and a little concerned.

We decided to meet at The Reef. Our old hangout. This was where I first met Leslie. Leslie and I had a brief, you really couldn't even call it a relationship, fling may be more appropriate. Later, she and Rich got together. I recall her telling me that she'd changed since our, let's call it friendship. And for the most part it looked as if she had.

Leslie is an attractive woman with a killer body. Not the girl next door type but certainly several octaves away from trashy. Somewhere in the middle. For me, she'd been a fun pickup on a few nights out, years ago. For Richie it was different, he married her.

We'd had exactly one conversation about our co-mingled sexual history. After that we never spoke about my experience with Leslie.

When I saw Richie enter The Reef I could tell something was up. Our tumultuous childhood had different effects on each of us. The tough upbringing forged me into a better athlete and a more confident businessman.

What I observed was that Rich growing up was more like a whipped dog. He did have an inner toughness but also a softness that allowed others to take advantage of him. He'd gotten better. I think owning and running the business had helped his development and I also think his marriage had contributed to his confidence too.

"Hey man," I hugged my brother as he walked up.

We chatted for a while, just regular friendly conversation, local sports, my work situation, normal stuff.

But, I watched him. Throughout the conversation I saw fleeting signs of unease. The confidence I'd described seemed to be slipping. His normal good natured personality was absent.

After a few minutes, I asked him.

"So what's going on?" I said to him, shifting gears.

He looked me in the eye and for a moment I thought he was going to cry.

"I'm not sure." He replied.

He told me that Leslie's mood had changed. I was prepared to tell him that he really needed to be having this conversation with her. But he kept talking.

"I'm pretty much driving full time. We lost a guy that did our north run and I just took it over. Leslie has talked about hiring someone else, but nothing has happened so far." He said.

"She treats me like an employee. At times she disrespects me, in front of others in the office. I've talked to her about it but she brushes me off saying I'm imagining it."

We talked a little more, me trying as delicately as possible to tell him to grow a pair of balls and to not back down.

"And there is one other complication," he stated. "Our dispatcher, Dominic."

According to Richie, Leslie hired Dominic almost a year ago. She knew him through her sister. Dominic is a citizen, but was originally from Eastern Europe. Apparently there is a small community in North Seattle.

At first Dominic performed exceptionally. He managed the dispatch office and the business had never run better.

"While I'm out driving, Leslie and Dominic run the office. Business is good, but I feel like I'm not involved in the management of the company." He continued. "And it seems like the two of them are always on the same side on an issue, and I'm on the other."

"Do you trust this Dominic?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure," he began, "but I have to say since he's been running dispatch, it's never been smoother."

I sat for a minute and thought about the situation. And then I thought about Leslie. I also thought about Richie. I took a deep breath and then I addressed him.

"Okay, first thing," my voice got a little louder, with an edge, "YOU are in charge. When you go home tonight and when you walk in the office tomorrow, you MAKE SURE Leslie and anyone in that office know who is running the business."

"No more feeling sorry for yourself or backing down. This is your company, not anyone else's. If anyone down there, including Leslie, can't accept that, they are gone."

It was like his backbone suddenly grew physical substance. His chin perked up, his eyes were clear. He nodded in agreement with my words.

"You know bro," I said to him, "I've got your back 100%. But it's you that has to go down there and kick ass."

"And Rich," I said to him as we were leaving, "same thing with your marriage. You make sure Leslie know's she can't walk all over you."

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

It was a bit ironic that I was giving relationship advice. I'd bungled my relationship with my college girlfriend, and well, I don't need to reiterate what happened with Maddie. Too many people know that story already.

And amazingly enough, despite all the promises I made myself, I did get quite serious another time not long after Maddie and I split up.

After my divorce I had specifically stayed away from any type of romantic involvement. The scars of the breakup with Maddie were too raw. Occasional pickups, little actual dating, and a firm pledge with any females I became entangled with, that I was not looking for any type of extended relationship.

And then a bunch of us went to Cabo.

Someone in the office put the trip together. It was an all-inclusive on the Pacific side of Cabo. There were two suites with four of us guys in each. The rooms all were en suite with a large central living-dining room we all had access to. It was three grand a head including the suite, all the food and drink you could consume, and the flight. How could you say no?

The resort, Cabo Pacifica, was spectacular with many different swimming pools, outdoor activities, and restaurants from casual to fine dining.

The area that most of the guests congregated around was in front of the restaurant La Luna. There was a large infinity pool with a swim up bar on one side and a terrestrial bar on the restaurant side. It was called La Plaza. There was a constant good natured holiday atmosphere throughout the resort, but the party intensified at La Plaza.

The eight of us were all single, but a couple of the guys were in committed relationships and not looking for any female companions. For the other five of us, it was on.

The second night we were there I noticed a group of seven or eight attractive women. Kind of a female version of our group. They were probably mid twenties, we were slightly older.

Eventually one of our guys started talking to one of their girls and the confluence began. They were on some type of pre-bachelorette party. The girl I was talking to told me that the potential bride-to-be wanted to see if she was really ready to get married.

"She's not," the blonde I was chatting with told me.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"If she really wanted to marry her guy, Parker," she said, "she wouldn't need to be on this type of 'prove it to yourself' excursion."

I thought about that for a moment. She was right. If you were truly committed to someone you would already know that. You wouldn't need some type of test.

I looked with new found interest in my chat-mate.

"By the way," I began, "my name is Billy Damon." I said and extended my hand.

She looked at my hand, then looked at me with a half smile on her face.

"Bambi." She said.

The atmosphere was loud at La Plaza and I wasn't sure I heard her correctly.

"My name is BAMBI," she said, not quite shouting, making sure there was no confusion on the name.

"Nice to meet you Bambi," I said and we shook hands, she slightly ran her fingernails down my palm as we disengaged.

She told me that her grandfather had worked for Disney and her mother was obsessed with everything that had to do with Walt Disney.

"My sister's name is Snow," she told me, "and I bet you can guess her middle name."

After a moment I answered, "White?"

She nodded and smiled. I took a breath and really looked at Bambi, this may end up being more than a casual chat between drinks I thought.

She was blond and tan with blue eyes. She was maybe 5'4, I was easily a foot taller than her. She had large breasts and nice muscular legs. Facially she was attractive and she became near beautiful when she smiled.

We continued to chat and I found out Bambi was from Southern California just north of San Diego. She was an account manager with an advertising agency. She had graduated from USC with a degree in marketing.

"I'm thinking about going back for my MBA." She told me.

Smart, fun, and attractive. Check. Check. Check.

I told her a little about my life and career specifically making no mention of my financial success. That didn't seem to matter to Bambi. She seemed confident and financially solid herself, no gold digger vibe whatsoever.

The evening continued and I was thoroughly enjoying the time I was spending with Bambi and she seemed to like hanging out with me. At one point one of the girls in her group told her some of them were all going to go to a club downtown. Apparently a few of my travel mates were also going.

Bambi looked at me.

"Do you want to go?" She asked.

Maybe a few years ago I would have said yes. But I found I was less interested in that scene. I was personally quite happy at the resort, I didn't want the hassle of getting there, and I knew Cabo could get crazy on the verge of dangerous for drunk Americans late at night.

"No thanks," I said, "not really my thing." I told Bambi.

At that Bambi looked at her friend and told her she wasn't going to go either. The friend tried to persuade Bambi, but the crowd leaving for the club called her away.

All of a sudden the atmosphere at La Plaza was quieter.

"What shall we do now?" Bambi asked me with a small smile on her face maintaining eye contact.

"We could take a walk on the beach," I suggested and, drinks in hand, we strolled along the beach.

The beach on the Pacific side of Cabo is dangerous. There is a strong shore break and a pronounced slope to the beach with an unpredictable undertow. Tourists are warned about the danger. Conversely the Sea of Cortez side is quite safe with clear calm water and hardly any waves.

We stayed high on the sand as we walked along the Pacific. The different resorts were lit up and as we walked back Bambi pointed out their unit in the penthouse.

"One of my friend's parents bought an expensive timeshare years ago," she said. "It's really cool. The parents hardly go anymore, so we get to use it."

It just seemed natural as we returned to Cabo Pacifica to continue our walk and conversation. Soon we found ourselves outside the penthouse.

"You've really got to see this," she said as she scanned the door lock with her card key.

As it turned out, we were the only ones there. The penthouse was truly opulent with a full gourmet kitchen, four bedrooms all en suite, a huge main deck overlooking the grounds and the beach, and a small private deck with its own swimming pool adjacent to one of the bedrooms.

"I got lucky and got the El Supremo suite," she said as she showed me the small pool on her deck.

"Wow, it looks great," I said, "it must be wonderful to plunge into your own personal pool with this great view."

"You know, you're right," she said and unbuttoned the front of her dress, "I haven't done that yet, but it's time. Want to join me?"

I just watched to see how far this would go. Quickly she was down to her underwear. She watched me watching her. Then her arms snaked around her back and unhooked her bra. I stared. And finally off with the thong panties. She jumped in.

"What are you waiting for?" She asked.

I needed no more encouragement. Soon my clothes were piled on a chair and I was naked stepping into the pool. Bambi watched me and her eyes flicked lower to see my full erection.

Though the setting was spectacular, overlooking the resort and the beach, what was more spectacular was Bambi.

As soon as I was in the water we moved toward each other. She threw her arms around my neck and we kissed. Soon her naked legs encircled my waist and we ground against each other.

I lifted her out of the pool sitting her on the edge and I kissed her while caressing her large firm breasts. My lips kissed their way down to her taut nipples and I felt her take a deep breath.

Eventually my tongue moved lower and the tip outlined her trimmed pussy. Her hands were caressing my head, urging me on. She climaxed with me sucking on her swollen clitoris.

She lay back on the tiled veranda spread eagle, eyes closed, winding down from her pleasure.

I moved between her legs and before she knew it I had impaled her genitalia with my swollen erection.

She gasped as I entered her and she sat up slightly wrapping her arms around my neck. Eventually we made it onto the large chaise lounge a small landscape light slightly illuminating our fucking.

We were so completely involved in the sex neither of us noticed one of her friends calling for Bambi as she walked into her suite. The friend stopped and stared for a moment as we continued.

All at once I noticed her and began to stop, I started pulling out.

"Don't stop!" She commanded me, "What is it Beth?" she asked the friend, still in the midst of the fucking.

"Umm, nothing," Beth replied, still staring, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm, uh, uh, just fine, but you'd probably better leave. Billy's shy." She teased.

Later we took round two into her bed and it felt like the most natural thing in the world to spend the night. We showered together with more sex in the morning, and then I did the male version of the walk of shame past Beth and the others, which actually wasn't that shameful I have to admit.

At first I viewed this as just a normal vacation hookup, but later when we ran into Bambi and her friends at the resort I immediately sought her out. There was nothing awkward or uncomfortable, we just took up where we had left off earlier.

I was with her again that night.

And almost every night through the end of our week. My buddies had lined up a fishing trip on the second to the last day. When I made noises about maybe forgoing it to hang out with Bambi the guys got on me. I ended up going but still slept with Bambi that night.

As the days in Cabo wound down I began to realize I definitely did not want our time together to end.

"I'm going to be in Portland for work Thursday, heading home Friday afternoon," she told me.

To say my schedule was flexible was certainly an understatement. I agreed to meet her and we ended up staying the weekend at Timberline Lodge on Mt Hood. She flew home Sunday evening and I drove back to Seattle.

Something changed, at least for me, that weekend. It was one thing to hook up in the never-never land of a vacation romance, but now in the real world, we are accommodating schedules to be together. Suddenly things became different.

Nearly every weekend one of us or both of us were on flights meeting somewhere. Normally on the west coast. She spent a few weekends in Seattle and I was in Southern California pretty regularly too.

We were saying things like 'I love you' and speaking of future plans. Upcoming vacations, holiday schedules, and longer term life goals we both wanted. For me, this was a regular healthy relationship that was progressing.

I have to take a minute for a further description of Bambi. I couldn't help but compare her to the other two serious relationships I'd had in my life to date. Chrissy and Madeline.

Chrissy is like the girl next door. Healthy, normal, quite attractive, and I can imagine her as a wonderful mother. I still thought about her, but deep down I was sadly happy for the life she has as a mother with a good guy for a husband.

Madeline is beautiful, intelligent, driven, and confident. She had a level of sophistication that enhanced her beauty. I had hoped she would be my life partner. I have to admit, I still think about Maddie and wonder what our life would have been like. It still makes me sad.