Dick

"How is it you know the wealthy Mrs Tompkins?"

"Through family connections Dinah. I find her very pleasant."

"Oh yeah. Her husband is the surgeon-in-chief at our regional hospital and her money came from her parents who at one time owned almost twenty square miles of the best ranchland within 200 miles of here. I suppose you know she owns a lot of property but keeps herself occupied by running New Look Interior Design?"

"I knew she was into interior design."

Dinah took the order and leaned forward and whispered, "Mrs Tompkins frets because of her husband's disgusting reputation at the hospital."

Dick chided Dinah for gossiping and she looked embarrassed so he whispered, "An abnormal amount of patient deaths?"

She smiled wickedly and said misbehaving with nurses, female nurses. Dick returned to the table and decided to recruit Mrs Tompkins.

"Meg, that sewing supplies store over there..."

"Yes, it should close down. I don't know how Mrs Kollmorgen makes a go of it."

Dick said she probably didn't and he was in the process of buying the entire building.

"Well strategically it's a good buy being right next to your hotel. My people expect to have something for me to show you and Jade..."

"Kade."

"Sorry, show you and Kade late next week. They are used to designing modern so your challenge for traditional-modern has really excited them. I'm pleased at the way it's shaping up."

Her coffee and cake arrived and Dick made sure he didn't turn to look at the retreating backside of the young waitress.

"Back to that sewing store," Dick said, not sure was that Meg's shoe of her folded leg touching his trouser leg or a hungry rat. "Could you get someone to look at it urgently in terms of relining the walls with light colored wood, perhaps a modern-style chandelier and the ceiling dropped and finished in acoustic tiles and new flooring in wood, four spacious work stations behind the counter and a new wood and glass frontage and a classy sign but no neon proclaiming, Random Property Developments, Inc."

"We don't do office fit-outs but do décor."

"Aw come on Meg, this is a tiny job -- get a pal to work in with you."

"Okay."

"Good, I have my laptop with me. As soon as you go I'll email you complete instructions if the rat hasn't eaten my computer."

Meg asked in alarm, pressing her shoe hard against his leg, "What rat!"

"Just a windup. Pass me your business card."

They chatted and Dick introduced the second item of agenda.

"Do you have some place where we can meet from time to time, er, not too frequently?"

"I thought that fling was a one-off?"

Dick made sure she saw him lick his top lip. "You're a sexy lady Meg."

She looked surprise and said surely she was too old for him.

He patted her hand. "The truth is Meg I consider you are lively, interesting and no doubt very safe. Providing you keep moving your ass like you did that hot day we had while the girls were registering for college I don't have a problem. If you don't want to..."

"Yes, absolutely. Don't you realize you've the very best I've ever had between my legs?"

Dick grinned and said he liked the way she could express herself. "Just occasionally, for mutual benefit I would think."

Meg pulled out her business card and handing it across said she kept a room at The Regency for her numerous out-of-town clients who exhibited the promise of being big-spenders. "I often sleep there, going to bed drunk when my husband has other pressing business."

"Flesh-pressing business?"

"Yes but let's not mention him again and neither should we mention Jade, sorry, Kade when we meet under such circumstances. I look forward to a disgusting liaison."

"Me too," Dick said, pressing a hand on her thigh when kissing her when she'd said she must go.

"I think it's very appropriate we are setting up a disgusting liaison Dick because I have been wondering about talking to you about joint business deals."

"Sounds disgusting," Dick grinned.

After sending the email instruction, Dick called Iain McKenzie and waited a few minutes talking in a laidback flirting manner with receptionist Julia while Iain was on the phone with a client.

"A Meg Tompkins has put out a feeler about the possibility of mutual property development."

When Iain hesitated with a reply Dick asked was she a client and was told yes, so was asked was that the end of the conversation.

"Practically, but I could say your fellow director suggests to commence serious negotiations with her as she has been an unprotected lone ranger. How is the grass growing at the ranch?"

Dick laughed and said Iain needed to get a life. "Have you worked on India?"

"Son, that's privileged information," chuckled the grizzly attorney, cutting the call.

* * *

That evening while reading in the double spa bath -- it being on of their agreed nights off liquor -- Dick waited until Kade was turning a page and said, "Meg Tompkins, she joined me for coffee this morning. She said the hotel sketches and specifications were coming along fine and would probably be ready to be presented to them late next week."

"Oh darling, communicating, how sweet."

Dick scowled and said he was making an effort. She shouldn't knock it.

Kade apologized with a laugh and said what was he about to tell her about Meg. "Oh, before you do, she'd be a great back up for you?"

Dick almost panicked but managed to say weekly, "She's too old."

"Rubbish, she's forty-three I think -- she's Ann's stepmother."

"I really don't think..."

"Darling I know we agreed it would be best that the identity of your backup woman remained unknown to me but I really think Meg would be ideal if you can manage to swing her your way. Being older means she's less of a threat to my relationship with you and she's classy and I like her. She's unlikely to be giving it round indiscriminately and would need to be discreet because of her professional reputation as a businesswoman. Go for it Dick."

"Well, I really don't know about that. But that's another day. What I wanted to say as I was paying the cashier the woman called Dinah whom feels she knows me because I'm in there most days..."

"Dinah Ross, her husband Andrew is sports and recreation advisor employed by the Council. Oooh, we ought to get to know them."

"Why?" Dick asked, pretending to be dumb.

"Our future events center dummy, and he a professional events manager and already known to everyone working with the Council."

"Oh yeah."

"Leave it to me. I know Dinah as she was an outside coach in gymnastics in my senior years at high school."

"Gymnastics -- but she's fat?"

"She carries a wee bit of weight darling/ She had one if not two kids and has just returned back to work. Her father bought the coffee shop for her."

Dick said Dinah had mentioned Mrs Tompkins had inherited a fortune from her parents and was big into property investment in the town."

"Who Meg?"

"That's what Dinah said."

"Well, what do you know? It's useful having you idle around town gossiping with women."

Dick laughed heartily, thinking it was an unlikely picture of him, at least in how he saw himself.

Sensing his confusion Kade said he did have a charming way with women thanks to his mom's foundation teaching. Dick flushed slightly and muttered he didn't gossip and Kade teased him, saying he was really such a girl.

He raised his hands from the water ready to turn her and slap her butt when she floored him: "Meg could be the person will need to help fund the design and construction of the events centers. He clients have to be wealthy to pay the prices she charges so she may have many direct lines to prospective investors from country folk such as ranchers looking for short-term investment opportunities. Instead of a sports center perhaps we could make it a center for rodeo and stock fairs and gymkhanas."

"Or having twin facilities -- the authorities are unlikely to accept sports being played in the same arena used by livestock."

"There we go, you now have a real project to focus on and perhaps I can return to my magazine?"

"Yes dear."

"Oooh, how genteel."

Chapter 27

The weeks passed quickly for Dick and Kade. Dick brought in contractors to construct a post and rail cattle-proof fence around the house site on the plateau, leaving the inner fence until later. They met Therese and approved the landscape plan, selecting some of the options presented. The two women got along well and Therese said the plantings would commence within a few days. King Street was partly closed early one Saturday morning to allow the old furniture factory to be demolished and Dick watched the last truck cart away rubble at 11:40, twenty minutes before the noon deadline for the street to be reopened. Work was already well underway in reconstructing the cinema multiplex and foundations for the parking building were due to commence on the following Monday. Sketches for the ranch house had been approved as had sketches to the hotel renovations and working drawings for both projects were underway. Dick and Kade were now in the new premises of Random Property Developments, their desks were behind the two receptionists Kade had employed.

Kade's fourth floor apartment was now tenanted on long-term lease and she and Dick were the new owners of the thirty-six acres on the other side of the lake and Therese had planted the five-acres of tree nursery in very similar plan to there tree and shrub selection on the ranch house site where Dick had built a pump-house on the nearest lake and laid a buried pipeline up to the ranch house site and installed a watering system for the recently planted trees and shrubs.

It was all go. Added to that was Dick was assisting Kevin to wear down the last two of the seven property owners who had stymied Dick's bid to buy the total block between his new office block and the multiplex cinemas. They thought they had failed by as both properties bounded the cinema and the new parking building when the two owner-occupiers, fed-up with the disturbance of the construction, called Kevin independently as asked him to find them new locations. Kevin found a drapery business at the busier retail end of High Street and that suited both owners who decided to merge their carpet and soft furnishings businesses. That gave Kevin total ownership of the target block and Kevin had no trouble finding new tenants for the last two vacated properties. Other tenants had opted to stay.

With that all done Kade decided to take a break so she and Josie went off on a 8-day shopping vacation and as the tenants would not arrive to take up their lease on the old ranch house, Dick talked Rex into taking a week off and staying at the old house with him and help him to renew the boundary fence along the old forestry road. The old posts and rusty barb wire that had been in place for about twenty-five years had been removed by contractors who'd then cleared the line and drilled the new post holes 16.5 feet apart and erected the end bracings and intermediary bracings at the two gateways. That left Dick and Rex to erect a string guide line in the three sections between the gates and throw in and straighten and tamp in approximately 630 posts over the one and a quarter miles. They spent six of the seven days working in the stony terrain and, understandably, came up short, ending up with perhaps 400 posts in place, taking turns to shovel in spoil while the other person rammed it hard around the post.

Josie had said it would do Rex good to get off his butt for a week and do physical work but warned Dick to not work Rex too hard. Dick had come up with the idea of fencing with Rex who while they worked could lecture him about stock management and some of the other things he needed to know about ranching. They started on Wednesday, the day Kade and Josie left and quickly settled into a rhythm of working at a steady space for two hours and then having a rest break. On Friday evening Dick had called his farm supply merchant and ask Dottie to have more posts delivered in Monday. They chatted about what he was doing and who was helping and he learned that she knew Rex as his firm purchased cargo tie-downs from her. She said she'd come to D&K ranch after the supply depot closed as usual at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon and would stay for a drink.

At 1:30 on Saturday Dick told Rex they deserved a longer rest and should go back to the house, shower and put their feet up. The first thing Rex knew company was coming was when the two women arrived with a roast ready to put in the oven and two apple pies made, ready for baking. The arrival of the second woman took Dick by surprise.

Rex gave Dick a funny look when noticing the women were carrying food and any suspicion that something was up leaped when he saw the over-the-top greeting Dick got from Dottie and then Elaine grabbed Rex's attention for a similar greeting. Then he noticed the women's overnight bags and motioned Dick outside to talk.

"What the fuck is this?"

"Just a bit of company Rex."

"But they obviously intend staying the night."

Dick looked Rex in the eye. "We've been set up Rex, so enjoy. You've found you know Elaine slightly."

"Yeah but..."

"Just let it happen."

"But I really don't..."

By this time Dick was on a roll. "Oh, you're never done this before?"

"Not on my own backyard."

Dick patiently explained they were ten miles away from Rex's home and the women had to sleep over because they'd be drinking and it would not be safe for them to drive home."

"Oh, I see."

Dick grinned and said, "Stay here for a minute." He went inside, slapped Elaine on the butt and said, "Go get him darling. Rex is almost ready to bolt, so show him a tit or something but don't rush him."

When Elaine and Rex returned to the lounge Dottie who was on her back across the kitchen table and Dick appeared to be giving her close attention. Rex took Elaine by the hand and led her to his old bedroom where he already knew the Owens's had left their bed along with other old furniture.

Despite not working most of Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning Rex and Dick finished up on Tuesday late afternoon well satisfied when they turned and looked and the long string of posts in their wake. Wearily they agreed to work from dawn to dusk the next Saturday and Sunday, believing with the extra hours should finish placing the remaining posts.

"I feel very much fitter already," Rex lied, his hands and shoulders killing him and his back bent in weariness. He managed to slap Dick on the back affectionately as the two guys had bonded, with a feeling that had returned from their past.

"You've done well pal, having a couple of bottles of beer in a hot bath and you'll be a new man. You won't have to worry about Josie because they're not due home until tomorrow night. I think I'll get the contractors back to do the wire."

After dropping off Rex, Dick stopped before turning on to the main road to check his phone. There were no messages from Kade because he'd told her he'd have his phone switched off, one from Carolyn and all the others were business calls apart from the one he answered.

"Hi, you called. I've been out fencing and am whacked."

Meg laughed sympathetically and called him her poor darling. "I was talking to Rosalie earlier this afternoon and she mentioned Kade would not be back in town until tomorrow night. I need to discuss some modifications to foyer reception design with her because I think the architectural layout is too cramped. But that can wait. I'm at The Regency tonight. Why don't you come straight here and shower and I'll rub some massage oil into you and we can then go to dinner. Rosalie said you were at the ranch fencing."

"I really..."

"I have been waiting patiently for you to call to arrange a liaison."

"Yeah, why not. I'll try not to fall asleep."

Chapter 28

The guestroom at The Regency was just that -- a double room with bathroom, not a suite. There was no sofa or large table to lie on to be massaged but Dick yawned and supposed the bed would do but it would be springy. Well it was accommodation used mainly as a complimentary to woo clients to spend more with Meg's business so why dip into profitability to maintain a suite to curry business favor? Wise decision Meg, he thought, kissing her as if she were an auntie but received no complaint. He was stuffed. She pushed him into the shower and left him.

Dick came out into the rather drab room feeling a lot better with a towel tucked around his waist ready to do his 'duty'. He noticed Meg was at the ready, clothes gone and appeared to be in only a white toweling robe. He mentally groaned and hoped he wouldn't be a big disappointment to her. But she smiled, glanced at her watch and removed it, putting it into a carry bag. She pointed to a robe and said, "Come on, I've booked one of the saunas after you called. I need you re-energized."

On the walk to the elevators behind the much smaller woman Dick felt like King Kong in the robe, his arms still tending to lift outwards from the hard grind of fencing. He thought not only Rex would feel the benefits a little father down the track. He then marveled how could the smaller woman walking daintily ahead of him managed to take his thickness and bear his weight. Women really were amazing. At that he felt his dick stir and was pleased.

Meg punched in the time the sauna would be in use by them on the illuminated indicator panel on the door, pushed her zombie inside and locked the door. She pushed against him as they kissed but all Dick felt apart from her lips was squashed toweling. How this was going to help he had no idea. Meg unzipped her dark blue carry bag and asked him to lie down on the slatted boards. She tossed prepared mix on to the rocks of the heater and Dick, already beginning to sweat removed his gown and Meg hung it up while he stretched out, his nostrils already taking in the so-called therapeutic aroma from whatever Meg had thrown on the rocks. She handed him a sports revival drink with straw already inserted and he sucked greedily

Meg massaged him at length -- neck, upper arm and shoulder muscles and lower back and she slapped him on the butt and he turned over, pleased he'd not fallen asleep. He was sweating but so was she and he watched fascinated at the rivulets running down over her tits while another flow dropped off her chin. He'd fancied the sweat streams would have run on to her nipples and then spilled but they actually ran around the nipples and some cascading across her swinging breasts nowhere near a nipple. Dick noticed her dark nipples rising out of light apricot areola were as firm as he'd ever seen them and he began hardening but her massaging hands never touched his penis. He pretended to be disappointed but knew her hands, mouth and cunt would be attempting to squeeze it senseless in due course -- er, intercourse. He grinned and hardened a little more.

"That's enough," she said.

He sat and they kissed, mixing facial sweat and as he bent and licked a nipple she pushed him away and said, "My turn but take a long drink first."

Dick massaged her, really not knowing what he was doing but she groaned in appreciation at times. He had no idea if she was faking. A guy never did know with a woman.

She turned over, they kissed and he really worked on her breasts and didn't have to guess about any change -- he could clearly see they had swelled and firmed. She groaned when he oiled her belly. He pussy appeared more than ready to receive him but, as she'd done, he ignored it and to his astonishment found oiling her well-developed thighs was a real turn-on. She told him later she played social tennis. The bell went and she said, "That's us finished."

Dick had assumed they would fuck on the slats, but apparently not. The basement corridor was deserted. Meg handed Dick the bag and then dipped her hand between the sides of his robe and led him into the elevator by his half erection that quickly rose to the occasion and he wished as they traveled to the top floor which was the third level that they'd been in a hotel tower because in the elevator she'd dropped to her knees and had just started on him when the bell went and he heard someone outside say, "It's this elevator."