Destinbury

"I really think you will someday, but I'm not strong enough to be there for you. I should be there to help you anyway I can and not run from those parties, but New York proved that I'm not strong enough to do that. You can't imagine how much I wish that had never happened, but it did."

"Nila, I'm getting past that and blame me for not handling that better."

"Alana and Kate both told me, rather pointedly in fact, that I had handled that situation so poorly, and damn it I don't want them to be right, but they are."

"You said pulling back, so does that mean there's still a chance for us? I really do love you Nila."

"I know you do. I've not doubted that at all, but...well to answer your question, I learned a long time ago not to say never. But Owen, you need to change or I need to get control of myself or both, I don't know. I'd like to think we'll be able to have coffee or a drink together one of these days, but not for awhile. I'll call you and...well bye Owen," and he heard the click.

"Fuck," he almost screamed and then silently just stared out through the French doors.

An hour later Kate called and asked him, "Why is it always me calling you and it's when your life has gone to shit? Why is that my brother?"

"Damn it Kate, talk to Nila okay?"

"Owen, I just did and there's nothing I can do to help. She's finally accepted the fact that she really screwed up in New York, but now she's wallowing in...hell I don't know what. She said jealousy, but damn it, you're not doing anything you weren't doing when she first told you she loved you, so I don't understand."

"I don't either Kate, so that means I don't know what to do to change her mind."

"Just to be sure, do you really love her, even after Jake?"

"Yes I love her. I have all along. I went crazy because of Jake, but I'm afraid that if I went through that again, I'd go crazy again too. It is as it is, but we were getting that behind us."

"Yes you were. Not quickly, but you two were making great progress. Now? Hell, I don't know and I'm sorry."

"Well stick with her Sis, because it sounds like she needs her friends."

"I will, and no I'm not going to interfere. I'm staying neutral this time."

"Thanks for calling Kate."

"Stay in touch okay? Oh, and don't faint, but I've had a couple of dates and yes with a guy."

"You're serious?"

"Totally."

"That's great, and I won't ask questions or make sick jokes. Just go, do and enjoy."

"That's pretty much my mantra right now. Later Bro."

Owen used his office in an effort to block Nila's call from his mind, but that was only partially successful at best. The one thing he did want to take care of though was call Molly, so he gave that his full attention, and twenty minutes later he had his second paid employee on staff. Char on the home front and Molly out in the field ready to take on what tasks he gave her.

Tuesday and Wednesday were more long days at work, but he was off the rest of the week, so once home from work, he stripped naked and took a rare swim in his pool and followed that with a cold beer while half lying in a lounge chair in the shade.

Owen was still in a pretty sad state of mind Thursday, but when he answered his cell phone late in the afternoon, he found himself with something to totally distract him for awhile at least. "Destinbury, this is Owen," was, for whatever reason, how he decided to take the call.

"Owen, great, the person I was hoping to reach. I'm Walter Vandenberg and this call is about a party."

That brought a nice smile to Owen's face as he said, "Yes Mr. Vandenberg, how can I help you?"

"Call me Van, everybody does."

"Great, and I'm just Owen. What might you have in mind Van?"

"Well I'm an acquaintance of Trace Spenner, and not long after he and Gail tied the knot, he told me about their wild party and wedding. Well that planted the idea in my head, and since then I've been working with family and friends about some kind of great party. Not like Trace had I'm sure, but a good blow out party of some kind. Of course the reason for my call is to see what you and I can come up with."

"I'd be happy to work with you Van. Do you have any preliminary thoughts as to dates, number of guests for example?"

"To be honest with you Owen, I'm still cold on all fronts. This is all new to me you see."

"That's not a problem, but just to make sure there's no misunderstanding, my party rates aren't for the faint of heart."

Van laughed and said, "Yes, that's what I hear, but what the hell, if I don't spend it, my ex wife might find a way to grab it, and I can't take it with me. That leaves me with spending it on myself and my friends. Okay, when can we meet?"

"I've been very busy all week, but I can come up with something to meet with you tomorrow or any time this weekend. Next week is something of a challenge though."

"Enough said Owen, how about tomorrow?"

"Say here at five, or do you need something in the evening?"

"No, five works for me."

"Great, I'll show you around here and then it's on to some party details."

"That works, see you at five and your Destinbury right? The large iron gates?"

"Oh, so you're from this area."

"Not very close to you, but I did a drive by not long ago, with directions from Trace."

"Great. See you tomorrow then."

With that call ended, he called Molly and left a message for her to call. Now all he had to do was keep Nila in the background of his thoughts so he could focus on his new party project.

Chapter One Hundred Fifty Four

Owen still needed to keep his mind active so he called June and invited himself over to see her.

"Hi, he said before kissing her and stepping inside.

"It's about time you came to see me lover."

"I'm back to work so I don't have quite as much free time as I did before."

"Okay, I'll buy that excuse."

"Oh, hi Peggy, June didn't tell me she had company."

"Don't worry, and it's good to see you again," she said before he kissed her lightly.

"You seem even taller than the last time I saw you."

"I'm the same."

June took Owen's arm, and steering him toward the living room she said, "We have to hear about everything going on in your life, and how Nila and the others are doing."

"Well for starters, Nila and I have split again."

She stopped and looked at Owen as she said, "I'm so sorry honey. Okay, no personal questions, but I so hope you two can work things out."

"Thanks. I do too, but it isn't looking good right now. Sad to say, I'm a great part of the problem that has pulled us apart."

"Come sit on the sofa between me and Peggy and tell us whatever you feel up to sharing with us."

Owen shared more than he intended and took longer to tell his story than he wanted to, but then he said, "I'll just keep rambling on about my problems, so let's get on to something else."

"Of course," June said, and Peggy, true to her usual self, had been pretty quiet, but she hadn't missed a word that was said.

Peggy, hooking her arm through Owen's, surprised him by then leaning into his side saying, "I'm here with June for a couple of days because I've just gone through something similar to your situation, so I can really empathize with you. Tell us about happier things Owen."

He told them about a chance for another party, about hiring Molly and even touched on his trip with Alana, but left out all of the really significant details.

"But wait," Peggy said, getting more animated than he thought she was capable of, "Back to that party. Is there a purpose? I mean a birthday, or another marriage or anything like that?"

"I didn't get that impression. It was more like he just wanted to blow a lot of cash and have what he referred to as a blow out party."

"I always thought parties needed to have a purpose, but that's just me. I really hope that works out for you and...Molly, right?"

"Right, and I'm really going to put her to work on this and take some of the pressure off of me."

"I'd love to help you," June said with a smile, and added, "But you and I know that we just might not get a lot done if we get entangled like that again."

"You and I play together a lot better than we work together."

"Play is what I do best," and she kissed his cheek. "Well you've lost your photographer, so what will you do about that?"

"Good question, and one that I'll be going over with Molly."

"Any more sexy photography for you Owen?" Patty asked him.

"No, and I do miss that. Might you agree to pose for me, or better, flash for me?"

"Me flash? God, I'd faint if anybody saw me with my breasts on display."

"You can't convince me you'd faint if I saw them."

"Well okay, but I mean like in public. I've seen photos like that, and they are pretty sexy. I can see where that could be fun, but really, how do women find the courage to do those things? Could you June?"

"Me? Maybe, given the right situation, but not around here. I'd flash the world if I was in Italy for example."

"My God, not even anywhere here in the states?"

"Oh I guess, but the farther away the better."

The women had promised to get Owen's thoughts away from Nila, and they were succeeding by getting into one of his favorite forms of entertainment. "Peggy, would you pose for me? Say out by my pool for example?"

"Owen, I'm so flattered that you'd even ask me, but...I don't know. I'm not a very outgoing person."

"I wish I could change your mind. I think you and I could have a lot of fun."

"I'll think about that okay?"

"Great, but don't be mad at me if I think of another way to try and convince you."

Ready to get back to his office, he told them it was time for him to go. They stood up and Peggy gave him a long and firm hug said, "Owen, thank you for asking me to pose for you. I'm not material for what you like to do, but I'm very flattered."

"Peggy, I must not see you the way you see yourself. I'd love to work with you. Yes, especially flashing, but I'd love to photograph you anyway you would allow."

She kissed him, smiled and said, "Just talking about doing that is out of character for me. Thank you again."

"You're welcome," and June walked with him to the door.

She very softly told him, "Owen, don't get your hopes up about Peggy. That just isn't her thing."

"I remember what you told me about her awhile back, but she smiled and seemed to enjoy me asking her."

"Oh you've made her day without a doubt."

"Good. Now June honey, anytime you're ready to go flashing with me, just let me know. I'd love to share that with you."

"Thank you honey, and thanks for bringing us up to date on things in your life. Again, I'm sorry about Nila."

"Thank you. Take care of yourself as well as you obviously are now."

"You're a darling, thank you."

Then as Owen cut across the lawns toward home Char called him. "Owen, are you mad at me for not showing up the other day?"

"I'm not mad at you at all, but I hope you're ready for questions."

"I am and I want to talk to you about what happened, but I don't want to wait until Monday. When would you have time?"

"How will you get away from your man?"

"That isn't a major problem."

"Then come now and we'll talk over a drink, and for as long as you need."

"Thanks. Okay, I'll see you as soon as I can get there."

"Tell your man that I'm about to book another party and want to talk to you about that."

"Really?"

"Well I'm working on that, so that's not a total lie."

"See you soon then," and then with the call over, he quickened his steps toward home, but was slowed when Alana called.

"Hi honey it's me."

He almost stopped walking as he smiled and said, "Hi, it's great to hear from you."

"I'm officially calling you to see if we could get together for dinner, but I want to just talk if you can safely talk now."

"Nila and I have split again, so I don't have to worry."

"Oh my God, not again. What happened?"

"Can I tell you some of that when we get together?"

"Yes, of course you can. So dinner Saturday night at the Olive Garden at six?"

"I'd love it. How are you and Dan doing now honey?"

"I so wish we could just be together to talk about that, but of course we can't. We'd end up in bed and not talk about that anyway. I'm well into telling him everything now."

"You're still stringing that out?"

"Yes, and that has worked well, so I don't mind. He however, can't decide what or how he feels. He was okay with me flashing you, and in fact I had him so on fire that he didn't even ask more questions of me for the rest of the day. He was sure we'd share a motel room, but he didn't expect that to be my idea, so I shocked him with that. We really shared a lot in those two days didn't we."

"You and I burned a path to Springfield and back, and not a day goes by that I don't think about some part of our time together."

"Well Dan knows we made love once. That didn't go as well as the flashing as you can imagine, but in the end, I had him in bed and he couldn't get enough of me. I think he's a little confused about how he really feels about things. He knows I was pretty much responsible Owen."

"No Alana, that's not true."

"Nice try baby, but it was, and I even smile when I think about that. I absolutely loved teasing you, and I loved it when you took out your cock for me. I loved riding naked with you and...I just loved every minute of our time together. It was so intense and exciting and different."

"I still get hard just remembering that long weekend. So do I apologize to Dan, or how would you like me to handle it?"

"Pretend nothing ever happened. I'll keep him going with little additions to my story, and he'll be okay."

"Will you end up telling him everything?"

"Yes, and I won't need much longer. Now that I think about that, I'll finish before we see you Saturday night. Oh, and I'll be calling Perry and Kathy okay?"

"That would be great. I've been totally neglecting them. I've really been busy, but shame on me anyway."

"Other than your sad news about Nila, will you have any news about other things in your life?"

"I will have a couple of things at least."

"Good, because it's always fun to get the details of things you've managed to get yourself into. Love you so much baby."

"I love you too honey, and I can't wait to see you."

As soon as that call was ended he almost ran the last short distance home so he could freshen up before Char could get there.

Chapter One Hundred Fifty Five

Before Char could say much of anything after she got there, he warned her he was expecting a call. But then putting his arm around her waist, he said, "Okay lady, let's get comfortable next to each in the den, and with a stout drink in hand."

"Just one stout drink, because with two I might fall asleep on you."

"Then I'll carry you to the guest room and tuck you in."

"Right, me with two stout drinks in me, in your arms and you'd be tucking me into bed?" She smiled and told him, "Boss, just to warn you, despite my age I wouldn't recommend that course of action. My hubby started something he couldn't finish earlier so...sorry that's far too much information."

Owen laughed and said, "You don't scare me lady." He fixed them both a double of scotch and a splash of water and then followed her to the nearest sofa. "Okay love, tuck in close to me and tell me what's on your mind."

Char didn't quite tuck herself into his side, but she did take about half of her scotch down before abandoning her glass to lean into him. "Well obviously, the first thing I have to do is apologize again for dashing out naked and right past your guest. Oh God, you can't imagine how embarrassed I was. It took Jim quite awhile to settle me down after that dumb move."

"Char, under some circumstances I would have been ready to kill you for that, but you got lucky."

"No I didn't, because I wouldn't let Jim make love to me," and she smiled before she said, "Okay, so how was I lucky that time."

"That was Molly, a woman I was interviewing for my new position of party planner."

Leaning back she slapped her forehead and said, "Oh great, as though I wasn't feeling bad enough."

"I was talking to her about if she would be able to handle very adult situations during that interview of course, so I had a chance to see how she might handle surprises like that. She passed with flying colors by the way. Totally surprised, but not shocked to the point of being unable to think clearly."

"Then she handled that much better than I ever would have."

"I think she did better than I would have too, but I'd never admit that to her. She's the one I hope will be calling by the way. I'm going to offer her the job. She's the first one I've interviewed for the job, but she hit me as a perfect fit."

"And because she's hot, good looking, loves to flirt or all of the above."

"Just for your information smart ass, she's good enough looking, but has eyes that almost made me piss my pants. She's not what I consider hot at all, and I saw no signs of flirting at all. Very professional in fact, but charming and focused on the issues at hand."

"Well good for you."

"Now tell me all you can about Art smooth talking you out of your clothes and into Jim's viewfinder?"

Char laughed then and paused before she said, "Owen love...sorry, Owen..."

"Hey, call me love anytime. I need all the love I can get."

"That one is quite hard to believe. So anyway, Art told you he talked me out of my clothes."

"Oh yes."

"That's so perfect, I love this. Boss, I was having more fun with him than I've had in a long time. You remember how quickly and willingly I stripped for you right?"

"Darn right I remember that, and thank you again."

"You're sweet. Owen, I played Art like a violin. I almost said a flute, but then I remembered it's you I'm talking to," and both of them smiled. "I professed modesty, reluctance, insecurity and anything else I could think of. He was working so hard, and he really did have a decent line that I just totally enjoyed. Anyway, he worked hard to get me to show him a breast. His reason was that would help prepare me for posing for Jim. Plausible I'm sure, but so unnecessary. I told Art I'd never be able to be naked for photographs, and he struggled to get me out of my skirt. Oh Owen, I had so much fun with him. Please never let him know the truth."

"You can count on that. He's so infatuated with you, and thinking he'd coaxed you into being naked for him just made his...well his week at the least. He went home singing and talking about plowing his wife's field." Char laughed harder, and grabbing her scotch, she leaned into Owen even more as his arm went around behind her.

"He isn't infatuated with me, he's hot to have a fling."

"Lady, you're a tough one. Some day in some way I hope to prove to you that you're quite attractive and sexy enough to cause men to gawk at you. For example Jim and Art, and yes, damn it, put me on that list."

"Now you don't gawk at me, but okay, I have caught you looking at me."

"That's gawking. Damn you're stubborn."

"Look, you haven't even taken more pictures of me, and you have your arm around me and there's no sign of life between your legs."

"You're like no other housekeeper in this world. Life between my legs? Damn, you're a constant surprise. Want life between my legs? Then get naked."

"Okay," and emptying her glass, she set that down and promptly stripped for him and just smiled at him.

"You lose."

"I do not," and she boldly knelt in front of him and put her hand on his bulge. "Well check you out, I really did lose."

'You knew you'd lose lady, you can't fool me. You wanted to be naked."

"If I want to do something, I usually do it," and she pulled his zipper down as he watched her in total surprise. He was her boss, and what they were getting into wasn't at all a smart thing to do, but that message never reached his brain. Instead, he watched her unfasten his slacks and a minute later had his very hard cock in her hand and she was kissing his now damp cock head. That's when Molly chose to call, and when Char looked up at him he rolled his eyes and swore before he answered the phone. "Hi Owen, I hope you're not busy."