Diminishing Wrath of Jackie Stone

On the fourth morning just before 6:30 am Jackie was waiting in the parking area under the tenement building. As he'd done on the previous three days The Thug arrived to unlock his car. Jackie came in behind him and shoved her gun into his back.

The Thug obviously knowing this wasn't a rehearsal raised his hands without being asked and complained he wasn't carrying much money.

Jackie dropped her pistol and clubbed him with the baseball bat she'd been carrying in her other hand. The two-handed swing delivered furiously felled him like a stone.

Checking that no one was around, Jackie dropped to her knees, rolled him on to his back and unzipped him. He smelled washed, thank god.

There was enough room so she pulled out a pair of builder's nail pullers and mashed one of his testicles. She didn't have the heart to mash the second one.

Gathering her gear and placing it in her sports bag and then removing her tight hat and gloves Jackie left and on the way to the train station changed her sneakers into shoes and placed her sneakers into the bag, thinking there was not much chance of detectives doing a DNA investigator who'd converted a local hood into a one-ball complainant.

At the station, having pre-booked a roomette on the train, and collecting her checked in bags, Jackie stopped off for coffee and smiled. "No one fucks around with Jackie Stone. Already she was no longer thinking of herself as a criminal, just a sweet-talking avenger.

It was a long journey but when in Chicago Jackie dumped her sports bag into a commercial refuse bin awaiting collection. She buried it deeply and sighed, knowing she was faced a cold start again but had managed rather well so far.

The cab driver who'd watched Jackie dump the bag in the bin came up slowly when she waved and looked at her dubiously.

"The Dana Hotel, " she said brightly.

The driver said, "You mean a side or rear entrance?"

"No thank you, the grand entrance if they have one."

At journey's end with her four bags being loaded on to a trolley, Jackie handed the cabbie a ten-buck tip and he looked at it if examining a counterfeit banknote. She was surprised that Chicago cabbies appeared to have a reluctance to accept money.

Jackie said she'd stay ten nights although only had booked for three. She said she was quite impressed. The receptionist smiled and upgraded her to a Corner King for no extra charge.

Alone in a big city, unknown to anyone, Jackie knew the way through the barrier was to do something to make things happen. She began calling agencies seeking business partners but got nowhere fast. She read newspaper business columns and finally picked one to follow up: 'Investment of up to $1,000,000 required to refinance upgrading and retooling of business manufacturing in-vogue consumer leisure products. We both market direct and supply on-sellers'.

The word 'marketing' of course caught Jackie's eye and knew she could be interested provided the product wasn't sun beds or mow-your-own-lawn. She called and smiled when the sunny-voice receptionist said, "Porthole Spa Pools."

Porthole? She winced and thought god the company required marketing expertise. "I'm enquiring about investment opportunities."

"Oh, please wait while I connect you to Mr Lawrence Junior."

"Hi ma'am. Would you like to meet to talk investment?"

"It's miss. Yes please."

"Are you aware there are risks in marketing consumer luxury products and the spa pool market is very crowded?"

"Overcrowded?"

"I'm not sure how that could be assessed. In my book best products with best marketing and after-sales service comprise the winning package."

"Agreed. So I come to you."

"No where're in a mess here. Let's meet at a hotel."

"I'm at the Dana."

"Oh very nice. Lunch?"

"No, lunch can get in the way of business. I'll be wearing a white jacket and burnt orange pants and will meet you in the lobby at 2:00. There are no conferences or meetings booked today according to info on my computer. I'll arrange to use one of the small boardrooms. Bring support material please."

"Yes ma'am."

"It's miss but I guess ma'am make me sound more like a potential investor."

"Yes miss."

She smiled and cut the call.

Jackie walked out of the elevator precisely at 2:00 to find him already waiting, dressed in a blasted suit. She smiled and said hi and the guy said hi and looked away.

Oh god, it wasn't him. She looked across the lobby and saw an under thirty guy dressed urban casual with an arm across his chest holding his other arm and that hand waved discreetly. She smiled, he smiled and they walked on a diagonally closing distance between them to arrive at the woman who waved to Jackie and stood ready to take them to the door of a room marked 'Reserved'

"Mr Lawrence I presume" Is that Lawrence with a wubble-you?"

"Ma'am I presume? Yes it is. At your service."

"I'm Jackie Stone, recently arrived from LA."

"Hi Jackie. Please call me Brad and welcome to Chicago."

The conference assistant manager already had the lights on and a jug of water and two glasses, pens and notepaper on the table.

"May I serve coffee?"

Brad nodded to Jackie and she said, "Yes please Kim."

As soon as Kim left Jackie said well to business. "Please make your opening statement."

"Well please don't think me rude but you are much younger than I expected. Er the minimum amount we'd accept from any single investor is 100K."

"That's fine Brad. My opening statement is I'm seeking to invest sufficient money to secure myself a job as head of marketing in a business, preferably a smaller business. Do you still wish to talk?"

Jackie stared at Brad and wondered if the word formed by his lips but left unsaid was Jesus?

* * *

Brad Lawrence, with a bachelor of engineering degree, majoring in design, had just turned twenty-nine. He'd been called home because of a family crisis. His father had fallen, drunk, down concrete steps and was now confined to a wheelchair, possibly indefinitely, leaving him with no one to run his ailing business. His general manager and the female sales manager had resigned and been paid off not long before his accident.

When Brad arrived his father Alec, who'd been released from hospital a week earlier, had said grimly, "Either you stay home and run the business, getting it up and running again, or I fire everyone and sell the assets."

That was a tough decision to make so Brad wandered around the plant and talked to longer-serving workers, some of them he'd worked alongside during his high school and later college breaks including through summers, the company's busiest season together with late spring.

He'd said to his parent's he would return to Utah in the morning to resign and would be back in a month. It would be unthinkable to close a business founded by his father when all it required was new thinking and new funding to produce updated product.

They'd gone cap in hand to banks and other reasonable lenders for money but had to agree they looked pretty pathetic, a bearded and white-haired guy in a wheelchair and his son who was to run the business with no business experience and not yet thirty years old.

Brad, now just returned from Utah had been advertising for investors. He wanted to retool the plant, introduce new systems and expand production so that his parents and he and his finance Kate could live off profits very comfortably.

Kate had one look at what she called 'the dump' meaning the plant and took off back to Utah asking Brad never to call her. It actually took a few hours of argument and twice he was thinking he was winning her over when she said, "Fuck you Brad, I'm out of here" and left.

"Thank god we didn't end up having her for our daughter-in-law," said Laurel his mom, pushing out the wheelchair with Alec holding the bottle of whiskey and three glasses.

The men laughed, without much mirth.

The ad ran in the newspaper six days a week for two weeks and then came this response from this good-looking babe. She looked young enough to be his baby sister but Brad though he's made the effort to be here so he should hear her out.

She said, "Do you have photographs."

"Yes but you have to understand..."

"I understand production sites, I was raised on a farm. Shit and mess everywhere but that doesn't mean the outfit is not making money."

Brad nodded and said, "That's sensible talking but..."

"Show me the photos Brad. I promise not to drop dead in shock."

He pushed them across and she looked at them slowly as if trying to make sense of them. He looked closely but her face remained blank. What the hell was she thinking?

Jackie pushed the ten photos back and said, "Okay I've seen a bomb site. Now what about pictures of the plant."

Brad opened his mouth to explain to the stupid bitch when he caught the lurking smile. God she was teasing him.

He managed a lopsided grin.

"I'll call that a production center with a decayed heart."

He nodded and said her description was probably better than his one. "My dad had the guys ripping it apart to rebuild when he fell down some stairs to land up in a wheelchair.

"For life?"

"We hope not. He thinks so but mom doesn't think so and she knows him better than he knows himself, so I have my money on mom. Actually the surgeons said there was some hope, that at the moment it was nature's call."

"Great way of putting it. Most of us calling ourselves unreligious are aware there is something around us and we have this thing we call hope."

"Yeah, you express yourself brilliantly."

"That is scarcely surprising. I've been deeply involved in marketing and we think positively. What do you have behind you?"

"I'm an engineer, civil."

Because Jackie's face didn't change he guessed she was disappointed, so added, with emphasis on design.

Her face lit. "We are diverting in philosophical and personal changes and that's quite okay but will become dry business. Would a white wine go down well?"

"Oh yes, I'll get it."

"No, consider yourself my guest. If we dawdle over this I'll probably invite you to dinner."

Jackie pulled out her phone and called Kim, ordering the wine and two glasses.

"Okay," Jackie said, "Let me paint the picture. I'm running the show and you have come cap in hand asking for money. So let's see company financials for the past five years."

Brad opened and booted his electronic notebook. "I actually downloaded financials for ten years."

"Even better. Can you assure me these are audited accounts?"

"Absolutely apart for the last ten weeks but then production had all but halted by then and we lost our two largest salary-earners so they present a messy picture anyway."

"Right Brad, first show me the inventory of stock and then of materials on hand."

Brad grinned. "You are not just a pretty face are you?"

"I possess an MBA Brad and am probably hugely overqualified to run your company but setting up new production lines and retraining people and building up marketing for new production and selling concepts to consumers and on-sellers will take a number of support personnel before we get income streams looking anywhere near healthy. Without rigid planning and inspired thinking we could be swept down the drain and I'd never see my money ever again."

"I'm good for rigid planning Jackie and driving the troops on the ground."

"That sounds promising Brad but we need to talk more. I'm good for inspired thinking and marketing including leading the team to talk to major on-sellers including new ones and doing budgets. Is your father good to running admin?"

"Yes but the office is above the plant."

"No problem Brad. You're the engineer. That's a problem for you to resolve."

Kim arrived with the wine.

"This is a good drop. Thanks. Why are you talking as if you have made the decision to invest?"

"I know nothing about spa pools and marketing them and the nature of competition but I sense I have a setup here that's ripe for exploitation and I end up being a director and having the business pay me a salary as well as a dividend."

"Um Jackie may I ask how much money you are willing to invest?"

"Hold on to your seat boyo because at this stage I think we ought to go big but there is more pre-investment study to do. I'd say I'll make two million dollars available for capital investment. Does that interest you?"

Brad's hand was shaking so much he stopped attempting to pick up his wine. "Ohmigod."

"Yes I can understand that giving you quite a jolt. We have to get that existing production line back into full output because we have to make money to pay all overheads including wages and salaries. The money I'll be pumping in, if this goes ahead, will be earmarked entirely for capital development. Two many businesses attempting to restructure fail simply because they milk the capital inflow. We are not going to do that Brad, are we?"

"No of course not. Um, this is embarrassing: you really do have the capital we'd require?"

"Yes Brad slide that notebook to me." After several series of keystrokes Jackie said, "This is just my investment account of money on call. You can see the total in the box at the bottom of this page and my name, current address which is here and even my photo at the top of the page."

"Yeah, right and that says it's your passport photo," Brad noted, having already seen the box that stated total funds on call were $2.7 million."

"I inherited a lot of money from my grandfather and this lot is on standby waiting for me to find an investment opportunity. I can top it up by liquidating investments in stock and bonds anytime."

When Jackie went off for a pee Brad called his father and tried to play down his excitement. "It looks pretty good dad, in fact very promising. The downside is a condition is that we employ her. She has the credentials we want."

Alec said, "Yeah, yeah son but be careful, very careful."

"We went to her college and university web sites. She definitely has her MBA and she pulled up her investment funds available on call."

"Oh yeah, and so how much is she talking about investing. It better be heaps if we have to employ her."

"Two million bucks dad."

"Oh fuck I can walk again," yelled Alec and then his voice turned serious. "Be very, very careful son. I smell a con. Perhaps she is who she says she is. But let's not get too excited until we see the money in our company account."

"Right dad, I'll watch my ass. Bye."

Brad looked around guiltily thinking Jackie might be standing right behind him but it was another minute before he heard his high heels clicking on the floor as she approached the door. She entered and smiled and said I went and booked dinner knowing that would give you time to call your dad. I bet her warned you to be very careful?"

"Yeah he did," Brad said, struggling to hold her gaze. The brunette had really intense green eyes.

"Good, he sounds careful. Well back to business."

* * *

As they were leaving the restaurant, Brad pushing back his brown curls nervously, wondering if he should suggest going up to the rooftop Vertigo bar Jackie said, "It seems a pity to end our day right here. Would you like to come up to my room?"

"Sounds good."

"You are free to decide whether to stay for just a while or even all night."

"All night?"

"Yes, having sex if that's what you decided you should but then you might think you ought not be rushed."

"You are quite right. It ought not be rushed."

Brad boggled at the city lights through the wall to ceiling windows, nearby buildings appearing almost looming above them.

"Er can people in those building see into here?"

"I really don't know and am not bothered. They won't know who I am and I'll never recognize them so there's nothing to worry about."

"What if..." Brad stopped.

"You fuck me? Well turn the lights down if you wish, even turn them off."

Brad's response to her offer of coffee leaped out of his mouth.

Minutes later Brad's mouth turned dry and he felt shy. Hell Brad Lawrence shy? If this had been Kate he'd been feeding his erection into her eager mouth.

"Don't hold back. The first time for most things is awkward. Just grab my left breast and kiss me or kiss me and grab my breast."

"Which do you prefer?"

"Oh Brad, just grab at both breasts and kiss me and this ends this conversation. Take over Brad."

The breasts were smallish but firm and after playing around a bit he had the nipples up and he thought they'd by worth a nibble or two.

Jackie's mouth opened and his tongue slipped in and hers struck at his like a snake. They were heating up and dribbling and she was unbuttoning his shirt so he assisted and pulled it off for her and felt her going in for his nipples.

"God you don't have much hair and feel surprisingly muscular."

Although he knew for sure what she was on about he teased, "Is that good?"

"Very good," she said huskily and without warning slammed her hand over his cock. He almost panicked because he didn't want to offend this lady who might be the salvation of his parent's company: should he unzip or leave that to her?. He was under pressure and hoped that wouldn't lead to his erection sagging. Brad decided she was a very forward young woman and would prefer to do it herself.

She was now beginning to unbuckle his belt, struggling with it.

Brad tried to ignore that and pushed up her top and worked to free her tits. They were only just big enough to use to jerk him off if that's what she wanted, providing she squeezed them in against him. He was used to Kate's tits. They were big enough to tie into a knot around his cock. Should he be thinking of Kate at a time like this? He cringed.

While Brad kept up the pressure with tit-play and going after her tongue he did feel Jackie wriggling and then felt warmth and wetness around his cock. She had moved into position and was feeding him in.

Oh boy, what a girl.

He began moving his ass and she murmured, 'Good boy." She really sucked on his tongue.

Sweaty and tired Jackie and Brad faced each other on the bed. She stroked his face and said, "You are a very nice man. I really like you."

"Will you consider living with me Jackie? I have to find somewhere because it's a little crowded at home."

"Oh Brad, that sounds tempting. That's some of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. I'll let you know tomorrow late. First thing tomorrow I want you to take me on a tour of the plant and to meet key personnel. I need to get a feeling of the place and the people before I can proceed further towards commitment. I also need a meeting with your parents... perhaps early afternoon tomorrow if that is suitable to them."

Brad called his parents later and his mom asked that he bring Jackie to lunch and that she'd try to get his father into some decent clothes.

After gloriously slow sex in the morning, the young couple went out to breakfast and then took a cab to the plant.

The marketing/head of sales person with two assistants was a male. Jackie took an immediate dislike to him and decided he must go before if she instantly disliked him and she was reasonably tolerant, what would be the reaction of less tolerant clients? Everyone else seemed fine and the production manager confided personnel were anxious that production had all but halted in preparation for restructuring.

"We worry about our jobs"

"What would it take to keep the production line going to remove that fear Nick?"

"To get up to a minimum of fifty units a week."

"Well that seems like chicken shit Nick. I'm confiding with you. I'm looking at investing in this operation and if I do I would be thinking 600 units a month average, perhaps peaking at 1200."

Nick scratched his nuts. "How much money do you have?"

"A big bundle Nick."

He scratched his leg by his nuts and looked unconvinced.