Breaking Out Bk. 02 Ch. 08

Once Helen had helped Ellie with her makeup, she looked so hot that even Greg had trouble taking his eyes off her. Before she had walked out of her place she had prepared to meet the team and was wearing a cream, mid-thigh length dress that featured a cowl neck that revealed some nice cleavage and a wrap-around style front that opened to reveal even more thigh when she moved.

Helen was wearing a long-sleeved white cotton blouse open to the third button, over a tight grey skirt that was only slightly longer than Ellie's. Ellie wore no jewellery while Helen had a small emerald teardrop on a gold chain nestling between her breasts.

Greg happily let both girls walk ahead of him up the stairs to their current office space. Not only was he a gentleman who would always let a lady go first but walking behind them meant that he had a great view of each of their cute asses.

The whole team was present and Carrie organised them to sit in a semi-circle around an empty desk so that both women could lean back against the desk while they spoke. That allowed Ellie's dress to open a little more and Greg could see that more than one man was having a lot of trouble looking anywhere else in the room.

Helen walked the team through what was coming in the weeks ahead and how they would be moving to much larger premises just before Helen left on her two-week tour. She then spoke about how the office would be run while she was away with Shanti and, at the appropriate point, she introduced Eleanor to the team, as a new partner, and explained what her role would be over the next few weeks.

She then introduced the team to the newest partner describing it as just a formality because Greg had been a part of the business long before they had a consulting business. That drew some laughs and then Helen got serious.

"I've spoken about the coming weeks and the fact that we are moving to much larger premises about the time Shanti and I are going on the road to promote the business.

"You guys aren't fools ... I am sure that you have already thought about how we are ever going to cope with any extra business ... we're already working over capacity now and I thank each and every one of you for the effort you are putting in to keep our customers happy.

"While I can't tell you what we are doing to overcome that problem ... or even how we are going to overcome that problem ... I can assure you that we do have a solution and you will just have to trust me when I tell you that it does not involve the use of any magic wands."

There was some laughter at that point and when the noise had settled Helen went on, "I am going to call on Eleanor to say a few words by way of introduction and I did think about asking Greg to say something but he is a man of so few words that it seemed pointless."

Eleanor smiled and introduced herself. She spoke about her challenges at being accepted as a genuine businesswoman and not some poor little rich kid with a huge trust fund. She also told them that she was proud of the fact that she was working for a living instead of living off the earnings of her ancenstors.

She talked about her experience in buying a small business and building it into a larger one before she was faced with the challenge of either growing it even bigger or taking an offer she couldn't refuse. Ellie wasn't afraid to admit that the next step for her business might have been a step too far for her so she had accepted the offer so that she could move into another challenging business with her friends, Helen and Greg.

She told them that she would be spending a lot of time looking over their shoulders and talking to them about what they were doing because she was one of those people who learned by listening rather than doing and she looked forward to learning from them.

Greg thought that if anyone thought that Ellie was a stuck-up rich bitch before then they would have changed their mind by the time she finished speaking. She spoke to the staff at their level, not down to them. She identified them as being important assets to the business and a beautiful woman told them that she needed their help.

Greg had no idea if Ellie had received any formal training in Human Resources but, if she was relying on natural talent to get by then she had just done very well.

Instead of making a formal exit Helen and Ellie simply stood up and stepped aside so that Carrie could get the staff back to work and the desk they had been perched returned to its rightful owner. Helen then headed downstairs and across the yards to see Byron while Ellie settled in next to Greg to watch what he was doing.

Many of the staff had already come up and introduced themselves to Ellie while the office was being rearranged after Helen had spoken but a few had been busy doing other things and they took a few minutes of Ellie's time while she sat next to Greg.

"How do you think I went?" she asked Greg quietly when the last of the staff had returned to their desks.

"Well, you certainly impressed me." Greg squeezed her knee and she shivered.

"It was good talking to them ... it made me forget what else is going on and I needed something to take my mind off that."

"Well perhaps I can take your mind of it with some of the interesting things that we're doing here. I said last night that I would have a brief overview ready of a couple of possible takeover targets and Diane ... the blonde lady in that stunning red blouse and black skirt over there ... is one of our analysts and she's taking a look at them right now.

"If you want to ask her about them then you can ... she knows that she can speak to you about her findings ... but make sure you do it when there's no one else around. I don't want anyone to know about our interest in these businesses until we have hit one with an offer.

"I understand my love ... is there a secret handshake that I should use to identify myself to her?"

Greg chuckled, "You are definitely going to fit right in with our crew and I think that's great! Just show her this," and he took her right hand and drew a circle on her palm with one of his blue pens. Once he had filled it in he sent her over to speak to Diane.

He watched as Ellie discreetly showed Diane the mark on her palm and then looked daggers at Greg when Diane fell about laughing.

When Ellie came back from her briefing with Diane ... and had finished punching Greg's shoulder ... she spent the next hour being taken through some of the reports that another consultant from another company had provided for their petrochemical client. Greg pointed out pointed out the inconsistencies in several reports and then asked her if she had any questions.

"How did you know that these reports were bogus, and the consultant was recommending suppliers who couldn't supply what the client really needed? Did you have some experience in the petrochemical industry before you started on this?"

"I had the reports that the client wanted us to look at ... there were 15 in all ... but I knew almost nothing about the industry and it would take weeks for me to learn about it so I focused on one narrow subject ... the pumps that were needed to suppress fires in different parts of their production line.

"I spent about a day and a half getting up to speed on what was required in this narrowly focused area ... I read reports ... I listened to addresses by experts and I even talked to a couple of experts who are based here in LA ... and then I started reading the report from a different perspective.

"I found the issues and now all Cal has to do is go out to Dallas-Fort Worth, talk to the guys in the plant to get their perspective and do an inspection. He then follows that up with a report that clearly sets out his recommendations, why they are his recommendations and why what the original consultant's recommendations won't do what the client wants them to do.

"Sadly, it looks as though the guys on the production line were never shown the consultant's report because they would have instantly told management that the pumps the consultant recommended were never going to be strong enough to pump enough retardant to put a fire out.

"We come up smelling of roses, they pay our bill and sleep easy at night knowing that they have installed pumps that will really do the job, and everyone is happy."

Greg and Ellie had been working at it for nearly two hours when his phone buzzed with a message from Helen asking me to bring Ellie down to the office.

When Greg and Ellie walked into the office Greg did a quick scan of his wife ... there wasn't a hair out of place and her makeup was perfect. It was almost too perfect and when he raised an eyebrow she smiled faintly.

'Well,' he thought, 'she's in love with the guy and he may be just as upset as Ellie and in need of some comforting.'

Helen hugged Ellie and then suggested that they adjourn to the kitchen for some coffee. The housekeeper was out doing some grocery shopping and the kitchen was far less formal and a lot more friendly than an office.

"How is he?" Ellie asked once they were seated.

Helen nodded, "First, tell me how you are on a scale of zero to ten, where zero is shit and ten is wonderful?"

Ellie smiled grimly, "I guess that on the Helen Weston Scale of Happiness I'm definitely at the bottom end of zero although I am moving up to a 1.5 sometime in the next hour."

Helen sighed, "That's right where Byron said he was when I asked him the same question.

"You really got his attention girl and now he is really in a mess because he has no freaking idea how to get you back. He knows that you are really angry with him, and he thinks he knows why you are angry with him but he still doesn't understand that things are about to change ... forever.

"He is still stuck in that mindset that he can solve any problem ... even how you feel about him ... by throwing money at it. He just wants to know what he should buy you that will make all these problems go away.

"When I left him he was still in denial and still telling me that everything would be fine ... he would just wait till you told him what you wanted him to buy and then the problem would be solved.

"I left because I was starting to get frustrated myself but he reminded me that we had a date tonight and he was really looking forward to it so I agreed that it was still on and I would spend the night with him.

"I'm sorry it's so awkward for you Helen."

Helen chuckled, "Don't worry about it Ellie ... for some strange reason I love him, so I don't mind going over there and it gives you and Greg a night alone."

"Thank you, Helen, it's really nice to think that I can snuggle up with Greg tonight ... and some of the nights you're away too."

"Love him lots on those nights Ellie because I will be really missing him and it's good to know that someone who loves him will be with him."

All three were quiet for a few minutes and it dawned on Greg that none of them were looking forward to those two weeks.

"Say, Helen do you think that it would be OK for me to go over there and pack a bag or two? Do you think Byron will get upset if I do that?"

Five minutes later they headed for Ellie's house and Greg went back to the main office to spend some time working on a quote that had been requested by a new customer. The customer was a relatively small plumbing supply business that specialised in bathroom fittings.

They had stores in four different towns across southern California and they were looking at buying software that would allow them to have better control over their inventory and allow their online shop to sync with their stock control software.

Their head office was in Sacramento, so Greg picked up the phone and called the contact on the information package the business had supplied.

"Dunno why we're bothering with a consultant ... we just need someone who knows how to type to put some stock into the online shop we already have," was the response Greg got when he identified himself and asked to speak to the Manager so he could arrange a visit.

He heard the handset get dropped, not placed, on a desk or counter and the person who took the call shouted to someone else who must have been some distance away, "Hey Stan, there's some fella wants to talk to you ... says he's from some consultancy group."

There was a wait and then some rattling as someone fumbled with the handset, "Manager, huh. I guess that's me bucko, Stan Granic. My wife and daughter nagged me into having you guys look at how to tie the stock control for our shops into the fancy stuff they're trying to do with our online store ... so what are you going to do for my company?"

Greg rolled his eyes, Mr Granic was displaying all the signs of someone who was still operating back in the last century and Greg knew that he wasn't going to get the information he needed from this living fossil.

"Hello Mr Granic, I'm a partner in HGEB Partners, the consultants that you have asked to have a look at your business for you and I was hoping to arrange to come up to Sacramento next Thursday to have a look at your business and spend a couple of hours with you to chat about exactly what needs to be done."

"Really? Are you a real partner in the business or is that just a fancy title for the office boy?"

"I'm a real live Partner with a capital P ... and before you ask, let me tell you that our company deals with everything from multi-billion-dollar petrochemical companies to chicken shit little operators like you. We don't discriminate ... we give the same level of service to everyone

"So, if you're serious about saving money and increasing sales and revenue get your wife or daughter to give me a call and I'll talk to them rather than to some smart-ass with an attitude problem."

Greg ended the call and then sat there looking at the phone. Did he really just flip the bird to a potential customer? He wondered if he was more stressed than he realised.

Helen's comment about being disappointed in him for his attitude about the business and making sure that Byron stayed happy with them had really stung him. But then he had to admit that his attitude did suck even if he wouldn't have gone through with what he was suggesting.

Yes, it was unlike him to even think of something like that, but their business could really go big with Byron's help ... or it could go really badly if Byron turned on them ... and it was all out of Greg's hands.

A few moments later his phone rang, "Hello Mr Weston, this is Marsha Granic. I'm the wife of the smart-ass with attitude."

Mrs Granic had a really pleasant voice and she sounded very nice, but Greg expected that to all change in the next few seconds

"Hello Mrs Granic, how can I help you?"

"I'm the person who is interested in saving money and increasing sales and revenue and we definitely need to do it because so many of our processes are so outdated that our accountant has stopped telling us that we need to update them.

"He has stopped telling us that because now he's telling that if we don't update them then we'll be out of business within a year or two. It seems our outdated processes are getting close to costing us more money than we are making and, while my husband may choose to ignore that warning, I am taking it very seriously.

"So, while we still have a few cash reserves that we can call on to pay for expert advice and cover the costs of implementing them, I want to turn us around.

"Mr Weston, I know who you are and I know what your wife does ... and it doesn't bother me in the slightest ... it never did bother me either ... so will you please help us?"

"Off course I will Mrs Granic ... can we start by getting together tomorrow in a Zoom meeting at say ... 9am. You don't have to be in the shop but please don't have any distractions around you and it might help if you had your financial records handy so you can answer any questions I might have."

"9am sounds fine Mr Weston, I often use Zoom to chat with my son who is currently in Australia, so there shouldn't be any problems there ... but when you call ... please, I'm Marsha."

Greg chuckled, "I'll call you Marsha if you call me Greg. I'll email the Zoom link to you in just a few minutes."

"Thank you, Greg, I will look forward to seeing you tomorrow ... and I should say that I have read a lot of what you and your wife wrote when you were running your lumber yard and I've heard both of you speak ... and I was very impressed."

Greg sent the link to Marsha and then pushed back from his desk and looked at the time on his monitor ... it was almost time to finish up for the day so he decided to head down to see Helen and then do a few laps in the pool. On the way out he let Carrie know where he was going and then went to find his beautiful wife.

He found her in the master bedroom packing a few things in an overnight bag, "Just packing some things to leave over at Byron's," she said as she came into Greg's arms, "I guess I'll be spending a few nights over there in the coming months ... do you mind?"

"You know I don't Helen ... I miss you like hell when we're not close to each other but this crazy life we're living just makes it hard to be near to each other as often as we could back when we ran the lumber yard."

"I love you Greg ... I feel that I've got to keep telling you that ... and I'm going to stay as close as I can to you Lover."

"I love you too Helen ... it seems to have taken me a long, long time to settle down to this life, but I think I'm there now and I am going to support you in every way I can."

She kissed him and she moaned softly when their tongues touched and touched again.

"Where's Ellie?" he asked quietly as his hands followed the sweet curves of Helen's tight ass.

"Gone to see her attorney about a divorce and gaining control of her trust fund. She wasn't expecting to be back for another hour or so." Helen had been pushing hard against the bulge in his pants and when his hand slipped under the hem of her skirt and began exploring hidden places she attacked his lips with a passion.

"You want me?" Greg asked as she slowly leaned back to look into his eyes.

"Oh fuck yeah," she growled, "very hard and very deep and very right fucking now!"

They tore their clothes off and Greg almost threw Helen onto the bed. A moment later he was on top of her and she was giggling, "You missed Lover. You used to be so good and nailing me first time."

"I'm outta practice," he groaned.

She reached between them and wrapped her hand around his cock as she stared into his eyes. He saw the challenge and when she had his glans between her inner lips he thrust into her. He saw her eyes mist over and knew that she was now seeing the pleasure that was already beginning to fire through her body.

Four minutes of hard and deep fucking was all it took to bring her to the point where her fingernails were digging into his back as she surrendered to the orgasm that had been building in her.

"Now Lover! Give it to me now!" she begged as she pushed her hips up to meet his thrusts. When she felt the first tell-tale throb of his cock she pulled his head down and clamped her lips to his. As he flooded her cunt with cum she raped his mouth with her tongue and didn't stop till he had nothing left to give her.

"Stay in me," she whispered, and they stayed wrapped together, kissing and touching, till his cock became too small for her to hold inside her.

They showered and continued to touch and fondle each other as Greg told her about the conversations with the owners of the plumbing supply business and she told him of two meetings she had been able to organise for the time she was away.

Her times for meetings in almost every city she was visiting were almost full but her excitement at going was tempered by the fact that she would be missing Greg terribly.