Angels and Guardians Pt. 06

Ashley crawled over and gave Cindy a tight hug and a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, Cindy. For everything you're doing."

"You're welcome. I enjoyed chatting with you. Good night."

Ashley stepped through the door and closed it behind her. She used the bathroom, and padded into the bedroom, taking off her shirt and jeans before slipping under the covers in her bra and panties beside Joe. He was still watching TV, but stripped to his boxers when Ashley came in the room. Joe snuggled close to her and started toying with the outline of her bra. She sat up for a second and removed the bra. When she laid back down, Joe reached over and played with her breasts. Ashley had committed to herself that she would be available to him physically, but she wouldn't actively encourage or deny him. Whatever he wanted to do, he could. She didn't want to influence him into or out of something he didn't want. Joe still had the TV on, but leaned down and kissed and sucked her nipples almost absently. She played with his hair as she allowed him to comfort himself at her breasts. Ashley expected him to take her, and she braced emotionally for him to be rough with her. She had seen and felt firsthand how males take their frustration out either through violence or sexually. She prepared her body for the latter, since she knew Joe would never strike her, but the rough stuff didn't come. He seemed content to play gently at her chest until suddenly, he stopped, as he had fallen asleep. She reached over and grabbed the remote to power off the TV, and fell asleep herself, with his head still on her chest.

She woke a few hours later to Joe fumbling with her panties. She raised her hips, slid them down her legs, and kicked them off to the floor from under the covers. Ashley laid back down, facing away from Joe and tilted her hips toward him, letting his hardness slide between her legs. She looked back at him and said, "go ahead. I know what you need to do."

The next morning, Cindy woke them by calling Joe's phone. "Wake up sleepy heads! I have room service bringing breakfast in an half hour."

"Okay, thanks," Joe mumbled into the phone and hung it up. He took his shower and came back into the bedroom, waking Ashley by kissing her forehead. "Your turn for the shower." She slid out from under the covers and Joe sucked in a breath through his teeth. "Oh, damn. I'm sorry."

She looked down to see small spots of faint bruising dotting her breasts, especially around her nipples. "It's okay," she said. "You feel better now?"

"I did until I saw that. I didn't mean to..."

She stood to kiss him on the mouth. "Shh. I knew you needed to, and I let it. You didn't break me. See? I can still walk," she said as she slipped past him toward the other room.

"Yeah, but not very fast," he said in punishment to himself.

Ashley emerged from the bathroom wearing a white turtleneck shirt, emerald green vest, and black dress slacks. She knocked on the partition door and Cindy answered. "Do you have any makeup I can borrow?" Ashley asked.

"Of course, come in." Cindy was fully dressed and ready for the day. She handed Ashley a small bag, and Ashley sat at the vanity, plucking out what she wanted to use. As she started applying the colors to her face, Cindy grabbed a brush and pulled it gently through Ashley's hair. "You have a good night?" she asked.

"Yeah. Joe should be feeling a bit better, now."

"Oh? Your gait did seem to be slightly off," she said knowingly.

"Yeah, well. I sort of let him work through his frustrations."

Cindy worked with Ashley's hair, pulling it back and holding it neatly in place with a couple of barrettes. "He needed to. You should have seen him on the phone with the union guy."

"I know. Trust me, I know," she said as she finished the last of her eyeliner. She looked in the mirror at her hair. "Oh, that's cute! I don't have the patience for barrettes. I just throw it up in a ponytail, usually."

"Well, the color of your hair contrasts so well against the green of your vest, I thought it would look nice to display it like this."

There was a knock on the suite door, and Cindy went over to accept the breakfast. They ate together in the sitting area, while Cindy ran through the appointments with Ashley and Joe. When they finished, Cindy called for the car, and they grabbed their coats and headed to the elevator to go downstairs.

The first stop was the funeral home that Cindy selected. The director took the information Cindy gave him on Joe's parents' life insurance policies and disappeared to the business office for a few minutes. He returned and told Joe that the policies were substantial, and included several beneficiaries. Joe asked who the beneficiaries were, and the director said that Joe received the majority of the benefit, minus funeral expenses. The others were Kim, Jill, Jasmine, Sally, Allison, Marybeth, Ashley, and Cindy, who all would receive an equal lesser, yet significant amount. Ashley cried a tear upon hearing of their generosity. The director told Joe that the insurance company would mail the checks to his house for disbursement.

The meeting continued to settle details about casket or cremation, whether to have a memorial locally, obituary write-ups, transportation of the remains back to Florida, and service arrangements back home. Ashley helped Joe pick out caskets for his parents, and he settled on two identical elegant wood ones. He agreed with Ashley that his parents were modest, even in the face of their success. The vessels were expensive looking, without being showy. Joe signed various forms and the funeral director told him that they would pick up the remains from the hospital morgue that afternoon, and begin preparing the bodies for the services to be held on Monday morning. Joe thanked him for his time and they left.

The next stop was at the regional offices for the plant and some retail units around Denver. Cindy had set up a meeting with one of the company lawyers there. Joe thanked him for spending some of the promised day off to see him, and the lawyer brushed the sentiment off, saying, "anything you need, let us know." Joe nodded and proceeded to relate what he did yesterday regarding the seven he canned. The lawyer told him that the bylaws of the company were written so that if something did happen to his parents, control and ownership would instantly be handed over to Joe, without going through probate, wills, or any other nonsense. Joe was the only heir to his parents' estate, as the next closest relative was a distant cousin, tied to the family only through a complicated series of failed marriages and relatives who'd already passed. He assured Joe that he had the authority to run the company as he saw fit. Joe then asked if his interpretation of Florida labor law was correct. Yes, Florida is an at-will state, he was told. The attorney answered a series of questions regarding the union contracts at the two plants in the Midwest. "If you think you can run those plants without the workers, by all means you can fire them. Just remember, you'll be removing income from 1200 families counting on that support," he said as Joe got up to leave. Joe thanked him for his advice and wished him to enjoy the rest of the time off if he could.

They ate lunch next, and Joe said that he wanted to stop by the plant to personally thank the workers who couldn't leave their shifts. Cindy called ahead to set it up, and they got in the car to make the 45 minute trip. Ashley used the time to text her usual group.

"Memorial service here Mon morning. We're flying back Tue. Should be there by 3, your time. Wake is at 5 on Wed. night at Faith Chapel North. Funeral at 9 Thur. Morn. at Sacred Heart, burial following at Barrancas National Cemetery, since his dad was retired USAF engineer. Might be back at school Fri. We'll see. Take care."

She replied to the sporadic answers and questions that came back to her phone. One said, "Hey, we're here." Ashley looked up to see Cindy putting her phone in her pocket, grinning broadly. Cindy said to Joe, "she loves that phone, doesn't she?"

Joe was putting on his coat when he answered, "She sure does. Sometimes I wonder if her heart would stop beating if the phone battery died."

"Hardy har," Ashley said as she slipped the phone under the waistband of her slacks. She donned her coat, took the lanyard from it's pocket, and draped the badge around her neck as the car pulled up to the front gate.

Word had gotten out about their pending arrival, as a band of reporters and workers met them at the gate. Joe got out and made a few comments to the reporters, mostly saying he was there to thank the critical support team. He stepped over to where a makeshift shrine had been set up the night before near the fence. Joe relit one of the candles in the snow, softly touching a picture showing his parents together. The media ate it up, even though that wasn't Joe's intention. He went over to one of the guards in the hut and leaned in, telling the guard so that only he could hear to not let the memorial get messy and to clean it up with respect Wednesday afternoon. The guard nodded, then stepped over to the car and checked Ashley's badge. He noticed her necklace late as it was partially hidden by the collar of her coat and said, "oh! Sorry, miss. I should have seen that earlier."

She leaned toward him and answered, "quite alright. I'm not used to it meaning something to others, myself." Joe returned inside the limo and they rode up to the plant's entrance.

Joe and Cindy showed Ashley around, while Joe would stop to thank an occasional supervisor or guard they came across for working during the tough time. Now that Ashley had her coat open, they passed through different secured areas without the guard giving her a second look. There were two areas that were guarded by both a military and company guard. The company one noted the necklace and said ok, but the military guard scrutinized her clearance pass before letting her through. The first area was a bit boring to her, especially with so few workers around. Just a bunch of tables with electronic scopes and instruments littering them. Joe explained that this area was used to manufacture the radio chips for the Air Force's UAV's. "Oh," she said non-noncommittally. Cindy grinned, because that was her same reaction when she first saw this room.

The second secure area was of more interest. They viewed the room from a balcony that lined the walls. Below were what resembled large model planes. To Ashley, they looked like elaborate paper airplanes clipped to model stands. "I didn't know you built planes. Even if they are small." Joe explained that she saw the frames and shells of UAV's that are shipped to them by Boeing. The bare-bones units they receive weigh only about 15 pounds. Carter Electronics installs the encrypted radio chips and connects them to the control boards. The aircraft, now fitted with "brains" are shipped to another Boeing plant, where they will be outfitted with engines, cameras, and missile mount points. The finished product will weigh somewhere around 60 pounds. "That's cool. Those things can fire missiles?" she asked.

Cindy answered, "yes, and we make the chips that ensure only us good guys can control it."

They finished the impromptu tour, and Ashley left impressed. This was only one plant that employed 10,000 and yet, she saw assembly rooms for laptops, cell phones, and calculators, plus where they did their part to bring an important weapon to life. She had no idea his parents' company was this large, or important. They got in the car and headed back toward toward the hotel. Joe had the driver take them to a nice restaurant. They were dropped off at Joe's request, and found the place to be both popular and packed. Cindy went inside to give their names, and came back out to join Joe, Cindy, and about 50 others in their wait in the fresh falling snow. Any other time, the weather and place would have made for a romantic evening, but Joe simply wanted good food and a distraction. He asked Ashley ahead of him if she was warm enough. She turned to face him and said that she was fine for now. He gave her a hug to be spontaneous, but she winced and gave a squeak.

Cindy noticed and asked, "you okay?"

The question caught the attention of several ahead of them, and Ashley decided to be in a playful mood. Talking loud enough so those eavesdropping could hear, she said, "yeah, I'm fine. Joe got a bit carried away with me last night, and my tits are still tender as hell." She smiled and winked at Cindy when she got the groaning reaction she aimed for from the nosy people around them.

Cindy caught onto the game and decided to play along. She matched the volume Ashley used. Not loud enough to attract more attention, but just enough to let the nosy ones hear. "Yeah, he gets like that with me, too. Don't you hate it when he leaves hickeys on your nips? Ugh! It chafes like crazy!"

Ashley didn't expect Cindy to join in, and mouthed, "really?" Cindy rolled her eyes and looked pointedly at her, shaking her head. Duh. "Well, next time he does that, just wear a satin bra the next day. It won't chafe as bad. But I tell you what, it is delicious while he sucks that hard!"

Cindy mouthed to her, "you're bad!" Then, for the benefit of the snoops, and not to be outdone in this game, "That's ok, but I like it better when he leaves little hickeys around my puss. I get so hot, I go at it for hours."

Ashley mouthed back, "what the hell?" Cindy raised her eyebrows in a challenge. Oh, no she didn't! Ashley thought to herself. "Well, you ain't getting none of him tonight. The week isn't over, so you can't touch him until tomorrow."

Cindy replied, "tomorrow happens at midnight. I plan to make him forget he was ever with you."

Ashley was determined to win this. "I don't see how you can, cause when I'm done with him, the neighbors will be screaming my name and scrambling for their cigarettes!"

The group ahead of them had stopped snooping, and were blatantly watching now.

Cindy upped the ante a bit with, "of course they'll be screaming your name. You're so loud, they'll be shouting for you to shut up."

Ashley pushed further, saying, "you didn't complain when you had your head between my legs!"

Joe had caught on to their game and noticed the gawking group was being called inside. He added for effect, "pipe down you two, or I'll leave you both here in the snow and go screw Amy, instead!"

The snoops shot them dirty looks as they went inside, sending Ashley and Cindy into giggling fits. Cindy said, "I haven't done that in years. Oh, that was fun!"

"Yeah, it was," Ashley said. "Did you see that grandma of a hag? She looked like she was gonna stroke out when you said 'puss'!" They laughed for a while, then when it died down, Ashley said quietly this time, "my tits do kinda hurt, though." Cindy snorted into fresh giggles, infecting Ashley with them as well.

Chapter 22

Trust Renewed

When his last name was called, Joe was relieved that the group that watched Cindy and Ashley's performance was seated in a different part of the restaurant. The food was good, and Cindy entertained them by telling some humorous stories from working with his parents. She remarked at one point how similarly Joe handled last night's phone call to what his mother would have done. "She was a tigress," Cindy recalled. "Mrs. Smith knew exactly how to turn any conversation into her favor, and she wasn't afraid to step on toes. I'd receive some calls where very influential people would timidly ask to speak with her." Joe agreed, and told some stories of his own about growing up under their care.

During desert, Ashley asked what was planned for tomorrow. Cindy replied that nothing was pressing. Ashley suggested that they take the day off, then, and try to enjoy it. Joe asked what she had in mind. She listed off some things like shopping, seeing a museum, just bum around in the hotel, but the others could tell her heart wasn't really into any of them.

When none of her suggestions got a response, Ashley said, "I don't know. I just thought it'd be nice to have a day to decompress and forget about things for a while. I'm not familiar with Denver. What's there to do?"

Cindy got an idea. "The Broncos are in town. You two want to see the game?"

Ashley answered, "Yeah, but the night before, we'd never get tickets...at least ones worth while. Besides, I got clothes that let me dart between where we're going and back to the car. They wouldn't work for surviving three hours in the cold." Joe and Cindy started laughing. "I'm glad I could entertain you with my thin blood," Ashley pouted.

Joe put his arm around her and said, "no, it's not that. We think it's funny that you don't know Cindy very well, yet."

"What do you mean by that?"

Cindy piped up and asked, "do you want to go or not?"

"Sure, sounds like fun, if I can stay warm enough. We're gonna have to stop by the mall again, Joe."

Cindy shook her head. "No you won't. You'll see why when you get inside Mile High Stadium." She picked up her phone, got up from the table, and started dialing, saying, "two tickets coming up."

Before she stepped away from the table, Joe said, "get yourself one, too." She nodded has she headed out to talk.

Ashley looked at Joe, "thanks, but I don't think I could stand being that cold for long."

"You won't be, you'll see," he answered. "Besides, you'll have me to keep you warm." He leaned over in the booth and gave her a long kiss.

Cindy returned a short while later, snow sticking to her elegant coat. "It's really starting to come down out there! Anyway, it's all set up. Tickets will be waiting for us at the will call window."

Ashley said, "that was quick, must not be an interesting game, or no one wants to go in the weather."

Cindy smiled, "oh no, it's sold out because they're playing the Cowboys. I'm just that good."

Joe frowned, "there's some irony for you."

Cindy shook her head slightly, chastising herself. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have thought of that, since your parents just got back from seeing them. I'll cancel, if you want."

"No, it's fine. It'll be fun with you two there."

He paid for the meal, and they were picked up to go back to the hotel. Cindy excused herself for the night, wanting to take care of some office housekeeping on her laptop while she had time. Joe engrossed himself with a late college game on TV. Ashley changed out of her outfit and into a t-shirt and undies, taking advantage of the toasty room. She laid next to Joe for a while, but he didn't seem to notice her. She didn't mind, but she was getting bored and something weighed on her mind. She asked Joe if he minded her calling Kim. "No, go ahead, sweetie," he said. He was a bit surprised that she closed the door when she left the room, but he figured she wanted some private time to talk to her friend.

"Hey Ashley!" Kim answered.

"Hey Kim. How are you?" Ashley asked quietly.

"I'm fine. But, something's up. You sound down."

"Eh, I'm okay. Just kind of bored. Cindy is doing some work stuff and Joe's watching football. So, I thought I'd call you. We're you busy?"

"Honestly, my hand was, but I'd rather talk to you."

Ashley sighed. "I'm sorry. You can keep going, if you want."

"Ashley, I said I'd rather talk to you. My kitty can wait."

"I meant keep going while you talk to me. I won't mind."

Kim gave a short laugh. "I'm sure you wouldn't. My heart wasn't in it, anyway. I was just killing time. What's up, besides being bored? Something is eating at you, other than the expected stuff. I can tell."

"We had sex last night," Ashley said flatly.

"Yeah, well, it's natural and healthy to get rid of tension that way."

"I know, but Joe was trying to be all gentle and shit, when I knew he really needed to tear into something."