Business

Her first words to us were, "So the professor told you two to actually have a group, huh?" She smiled and said that she wanted to work with us anyway.

"But you guys are hard to talk to. You're so, "us against the world." Are you guys, like married or something?"

"Or something," said Alex. "But we'll keep you posted."

The thing that made Darla great was that her range of skills covered an area that neither, Alex or I, excelled in.

Darla was a genius in marketing. Alex and I were so busy designing and creating our business plan and procedures that we hadn't considered how we'd market it. Darla took over marketing. We got our A. We must have lost some of our cards or flyers somewhere though, because the very night that we saw our posted grade, we got a call. Someone had found one of our cards and tried to hire us. We called Darla and told her about it. She laughed with us.

Then Alex turned to me with a serious look on her face and asked me. "Dan, what are we going to do next?"

"Whatever you want Alex," I said.

"Oh that's so cute," said Darla.

"No seriously," said Alex. "What are we going to do, after all of this?"

"I don't want us to drift apart and you work for one company and I work for another company. Then we never see each other, we grow apart, our sex life goes to hell and you start cheating on me." Darla and I looked at her crazily.

"And we get a divorce," she said.

"Alex, I'd never cheat on you," I said. "I'd die first, and we don't have a sex life anyway."

"You guys aren't fucking? You're kidding me, right?" said Darla.

"What's your answer?" I asked.

"Let's do it for real," said Alex.

To make a long story short, we did. Our plan was to find situational workers or temps for a wide variety of businesses to supplement or complement our customers' existing workforce. If a business needed secretaries or clerks, we gave them business majors. If they needed designers or draftsmen, we had engineering students. We had chemists, medical technicians and lab techs. Almost any job they needed to fill, we could. It was a triple win situation. The businesses got a steady supply of highly skilled and easily adaptable workers, some of whom got permanent positions. College students everywhere need money, so we had no shortage of students volunteering. And we made money, lots of money. Let's face it, our startup costs were next to nothing. We already had everything made for the project. It was pure profit. Alex started on the books, I started calling on customers and Darla started a marketing campaign, with flyers, free radio and internet spots and word of mouth.

After a while I found a far more organized way of selecting the proper applicants for positions. I set up a referral system of professors in each of the disciplines we needed. The professors got a small percentage for recommending their best and brightest students. This also made the students work and study harder in hopes of getting those recommendations. Being one of our faculty advisors was a highly sough after position. If you were a math teacher who worked with us, you got a lot more students in your class because lots of students wanted those jobs.

I think that the best thing that happened was that Alex and I spent even more time together. At this point we didn't have a building. We were running the business out of my apartment. After a day spent in school and a long evening spent going over the books or planning presentations for local businesses, we were sometimes together for days at a time.

Then Alex started bringing clothes with her so she could just change there, instead of me having to take her home before we went out. Or if it was one of our all night cramming sessions before we went to class. One night, while I was practicing a power-point slide show for a meeting the next day, I noticed that Alex was falling asleep.

"Come on sleepy head, I'll take you home," I said.

"I'll just sleep here," she said.

You could have pushed me over with a feather. The next morning when Darla arrived all full of bubbles as usual, she asked me, "Where's Alex?"

"She's still asleep," I said.

"Well shouldn't you go pick her up?" she asked. "Are you guys having an argument?"

"I don't have to go pick her up, she's here," I said.

Darla raised her eyebrows several levels, but didn't say a word.

"That's how rumors get started," I said. "She slept in the bed, I took the couch."

"You're fucking kidding me," said Darla. "You're pretty dense aren't you?" she asked. "Uhm aren't you supposed to be the older more experienced one?"

"Think about this, a woman who's obviously attracted to you, spends the night at your place." She tilted her head like I was supposed to understand what the hell she was talking about.

"She asked you to stay too, didn't she?" she asked.

"Maybe," I said.

"What do you think was on her mind?" asked Darla.

"Maybe, she was too tired to go home and just wanted to crash." I said. "You know Dee, both of us aren't dented. Maybe she wanted to test me to see if I could be trusted. How does she know that I'm not some axe murderer, waiting to get her alone and at my mercy so I could try to rape her while she's sleeping?"

The door to the bedroom opened and a sleepy Alex emerged.

"Clothes," she said. I pointed to the couch.

"Kisses," she said. I kissed her.

"If you're going to rape me, do it while I'm awake." she said. Then she started the shower and closed the bathroom door.

"Did you notice that?" asked Darla.

"Yep," I said. "That T-shirt has never looked that good on me."

"No, not that. She kissed you with morning breath and you didn't gag. Eww, gross," she said.

"I still can't believe you guys didn't, you know...She didn't go home. Whoa, that's big. "Everybody in her dorm will probably notice...."

"Notice what?" asked Alex, as she toweled her hair and handed me a brush.

"That you didn't go home last night." said Darla.

"I am home or I would be, if someone asked me," said Alex.

"Asked you what?" I said.

"God you're thick," said Darla.

So Alex moved in with me, we still didn't actually have sex for a few days but I was in heaven. After the first night, when she went to bed, she told me I could sleep in the bed with her, if I could keep my hands to myself. I slept on the couch. I didn't want to risk losing her. The next night as I kissed her goodnight she pulled me down on the bed and just said, "Please stay."

When I woke up the next morning, we were spooned together, with my arms around her. She turned her head and kissed me, and said, "OK, so you obviously want our first time to be anal?"

I jumped back and said "What?"

I was saved by Darla's usual early morning knock at the door.

"Hey guys, have you looked at our corporate BB lately? We're doing really well cash wise. 25 percent of that is mine, right? Because I'm buying a car," she said. "No more schmoozing rides from you two." Then she looked at us curiously.

"Am I missing something?" she asked.

"Dan wants to try anal," said Alex.

"What, when, details?" said Darla. I must have turned red in the face.

"Well, I woke up and thought there was a pipe poking against my butt," started Alex. "But it was only Dan or one part of Dan anyway."

"Alex," I said.

"Dan," she said back.

That's how DanAlex Inc. got started and how Alex and I got more serious.

* * * * * * Dana

For about 3 weeks I settled into my new life. I taught classes, checked papers, met with students, checked more papers, attended faculty meetings and staff training and CHECKED PAPERS.

I made a few friends, most were too new to be considered true friendships though. I looked around and tried to reach out to some of our old friends from my married life. The few that I could find, still wanted nothing to do with me. Time apparently doesn't heal all wounds no matter what the old saying claims.

I went out to a club that was 50 miles away to make sure that I wouldn't run into anyone from the school or my new life. Very few of the men approached me early on but as it got later, I got a few bites. Finally I allowed one big burly guy to take me to a place that was more comfortable. It turned out to be the back of his car. What a romantic. He whispered sweet nothings into my ear in place of foreplay. His words were so poetic they drove me to tears. He said, "Come on baby, gimme that pussy."

Then he just rammed his dick in me. 3 or 4 strokes later, he pulled out and with a grunt squirted his load all over my face and my brand new sweater. I was still in pain from the initial un-lubricated penetration, and he was done.

He used more of his flattery to ensure a 2nd date at some point in the future. He said, "Look bitch, it's getting late and I gotta work tomorrow so see ya."

I knew then that he was my soul mate. Not! He made a night with my vibrator seem like a honeymoon.

But he really did help me more than I knew at the time. My session with him was in fact a view in microcosm of all of my relationships since I destroyed my marriage. So I went through the motions of life, but mostly I just ached.

As I taught my classes or passed through the halls, I never saw Dan or his bimbo. But I heard about them constantly. I'd pass a math class and the professor would ask, "What is symmetry? Describe something symmetrical."

Some pimple faced nerd would raise his hand and with a smirk say, "Alexandra Stanton".

And I saw those damned DanAlex T-shirts on everyone. Even some of the faculty wore them.

I fucking hated DanAlex with a passion. One of my new friends Melva Bryant decided that living like a hermit wasn't good for me. So she decided that she and I, and a couple of the other female faculty members needed a girl's night out. We decided to meet at, strangely enough, the same bar/club I'd gone to the week before, oh joy. But at least I'd be getting out.

We decided that I'd ride with her and meet up after class the next day. She called me a hour before the meeting and told me she'd be a few minutes late because she had to turn in her list, and as a new proffesor she thought I might find it interesting. I really don't think she knew.

As I entered the staff office, I heard her voice in her cubicle. I thought she had students so I sat down outside to wait. She saw me and motioned for me to come on in and I heard her voice say, "This is the new history professor I was telling you about."

As I entered the cubicle time slowed down drastically. I remember seeing tanned and toned female legs that were at least a mile long. That damned streaked tawny hair cascading in waves halfway down her tiny little back. She must've had at least a yard of cleavage in a low cut sweater, and those crystal clear eyes. As she looked at me there was no recognition. There shouldn't have been because we'd never actually met.

But Dan knew me instantly and lurched backwards, his snarl of revulsion wasn't covered up nearly quickly enough for anyone not to have seen it. Before any words were even spoken, the little bitch jumped up and moved between me and my Dan. As if she needed to, or could protect him from me.

That was when I decided that the bitch had to die.

Melva quickly tried to defuse the situation though she didn't know what was going on.

"Dan Patterson, I'd like you to meet Dana Woodruff-Patters....oh shit!" said Melva.

"Exactly," said Dan. "Melva, can we do this tomorrow?"

"Call Alex in the morning and you can reschedule." He was leaving too fast to even talk.

He never made eye contact with me. He just backed away, as if I was a rabid dog he had stumbled onto while out for a run.

Alex eyed me as they left, obviously sizing me up and in her little mind finding me lacking.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," said Melva.

"Actually I still don't know," she said. "Let me guess, sister, cousin, sister in law?"

"Ex-wife," I snapped.

"Holy shit, I didn't see that one coming!" exclaimed Melva.

"I just figured it had to be some kind of nasty incest thing from all of the tension in the air. It's still so thick in here that you can feel it and they're gone," she said. "It's funny though, you don't seem like his type."

"Why, because I'm not a 20 year old cheerleader with huge tits and no brains," I snapped.

"Never underestimate her, she's pretty damned smart." said Melva. "And if she thinks you're trying to come between them, it might get ugly. Did you see her put herself between you guys?" I just nodded. I was still too shocked to comment.

This is a story that I must hear," she said.

"What about the bar?" I asked

"Neither that place or the lowlifes in it are going anywhere," said Melva. "Besides you look like you need to unload, it'll make you feel better. But tell me something. You knew he was around here, didn't you?" I nodded and so did she. She smiled broadly.

"I could tell because you didn't freak out that much when he saw you, but he looked like he was staring into hell," she smirked. "He couldn't get out of here fast enough, what happened?"

"Short version?" I said. Melva nodded.

"We were married for over 10 years," I started. "He worked really hard to support us. Do you see the way he treats that little cunt?" She gave another nod with a smile on her face. Yeah I could see she liked the way he treated that girl and maybe even wanted some of that for herself.

"Well that was the way he treated me too," I said, which left her dumbfounded.

"When he loves someone he just gives them all of him, no questions and no conditions. When I wanted to go back to school, he started working double shifts to pay for my tuition and books and supplies. After a while I started thinking I had outgrown him and I was smarter than him. I started doing things I shouldn't have done, with people I shouldn't have. He kept trying to put the spark back in our marriage and he trusted me." I wrung my hands and looked away from her. Even now I was ashamed of the way I'd acted back then and the things I'd done.

"So when he found out I was cheating on him, it just broke his heart and he just left. We never even talked about it. After he had his lawyers serve me the Divorce papers 6 years ago, I never heard from him again until just now. Of course I tried to fight it. I refused to sign the papers and refused to meet with his lawyers. I figured he'd have to come to me to get me to sign them but he never did."

"His lawyers ended up suing the school I went to and got my scumbag professor fired. I ended up moving on with the scumbag. But after a few years, It was going nowhere because we had a difference of opinion on our relationship."

"I know how it is with those old academics," said Melva. "You thought you were his partner or his academic equal and he thought you were just his girlfriend or his mistress and you should just stay home and keep the house."

"Not even close," I said. "I thought I was his protégé. I knew I wasn't on his level but thought that he'd help me to develop my intellect like he told me. He thought I was his personal whore and after he tired of me, he passed me around to all of his friends, who treated me like dumb pussy."

"So 6 wasted years later, I'm teaching in a community college and who turns up here?"

"Dan Patterson, who won't even look at me," I said.

"Sweetie, you are kind of old for him," she said.

"He's 3 months older than I am," I told her.

"Well, the years don't affect us all evenly," she said. "You want him back don't you?"

"With every breath I take," I answered.

"Find someone else," she said, "He did."

"Plus," she finished. "It almost made him sick, to look at you. So I wouldn't hold out much hope. "But if you insist," she said, "You do have a couple of cards to play. Neither one of which might work, but it could at least get you some face to face time."

"What?" I asked

"First off," she said.

"If he is your ex-husband, you can legally get a lawyer and take him to court to amend your settlement. He is on the verge of getting RFR with DanAlex."

"What's RFR?" I asked.

"Really Fucking Rich," she said.

"Since he started the business after you divorced, most judges will not give you a dime but at least you'd have to communicate to try and settle the petition, who knows."

I was nodding my head, Melva was pretty smart, slippery, but smart.

"Secondly," she said. "You might want to sit down."

"Why?" I asked.

"You never signed the papers, and he left. Technically when he left, he abandoned you," she said. "You didn't sign the papers, so you might still legally be married. And Dan living with Alexandra could constitute adultery on his part." My eyes were wide open when she said that.

"In short you cheated and he cheated, it's a wash and you're still married. Most judges would want counseling to try and solve your problems before they'd give you the divorce. He might even have to stop seeing her during the counseling period."

I was smiling from ear to ear. In my mind I was going to take Melva's plan one step further. I had to arrange an accident for little Alex. There were a number of reasons why this had to happen. I knew that Dan would never willingly give that girl up. I also knew that she'd never give him up either. She'd kill me first. And number 3, if something were to happen to her, Dan would be hurt very badly. Not that I wanted to hurt him, but the facts were clear. He'd only loved 2 women in his entire life. So if something happened to that little bitch, who else would he turn to, to help him through his grief? Helping him deal with the tragic loss of poor little Alex might over write my past transgressions. I needed a lawyer, a plan, and a makeover.

* * * * * * Dan

"Alex, we need to go on vacation," I said.

"Two questions," she replied. "One." She held up one of her tiny fingers.

"Where are we going, and for how long?" she asked.

"Anywhere," I said, "Let's go to Paris, women always want to see Paris."

"I don't," she said. "It's just another city."

"Two," she said, holding up another finger.

"Why and more importantly, why now?" she asked. "It's that evil bitch isn't it? I should have kicked her ass then."

That was really funny to me, because Alex was so out of character. She was not really used to using profanity, and here she was saying "bitch," and "ass," in the same sentence.

Also, Dana was not a huge woman, but Alex was tiny. The only thing remotely big on her were her breasts and those eyes. So the thought of her actually being able to kick anyone's ass, except for an elementary school kid was funny. On a purely size and disposition rating, I think most junior high-school girls could kick Alex's ass. So I had to avoid laughing at her, but her desire to protect me made me love her even more.

"We are not letting her run us out of town, no way. We have a business to take care of," she said emphatically.

"Besides, I'm already on vacation," she said snuggling up to me. "Every day that we're together, is a vacation Dan."

"This isn't what I wanted when I was a little girl. That will come in a bit. But right now I can't think of anything I want more than us. I know that old woman hurt you, but I'll never let her do it again. She teaches history, we've both already fulfilled our history requirements."

"We don't need to have any contact with her. Let's just be us, and let her go to hell," she said.

"Is there anything else ma'am?" I asked

"Yes, we need to have a board meeting right now," she smiled.

"OK," I said, "I'll call Darla and get her over here."

"Not that kind of board meeting." Her smile got brighter.

"What other kind is there?" I asked.

"The kind we have in our bedroom, when we're bored," she said smiling.

"Or where I get bored," she took off running for the door. I ran after her, forgetting what I was worried about in the first place. Why was I worried? I was in love with the most beautiful girl in the universe. Why should I care if my dried up whore of an ex-wife was teaching at our school? Because life always wants to piss in your corn flakes, that's why.