Freja and Jeanie Ch. 04

Her life had always been full of forgiving people. Her father, her mother, her brother and sister... the professors and Alex...

Alexandra...

She squeezed her eyes shut for just a moment as they stung, blinking them open so that she could keep an eye on where she was driving. She didn't want to pull over; she didn't trust that they had enough gas to make it there. She'd get out and push if she had to. She would not fail Jeanette again.

She couldn't understand how all these sensible people were so forgiving of her. Alexandra, her best friend, her soulmate- she'd never abandoned Freja, no matter how insane she'd acted. For a decade now, she'd been Freja's fast friend, her rock. How could she look her dearest friend in the eye now?

Freja had been confused when Jeanette had told her that not only were Mike and Karen coming down, no doubt to punish them for their utter stupidity, but her stomach fell into her feet when Jeanette had mentioned that Alexandra and Alex were coming as well. Freja flushed slightly at the notion of them bringing her best friend down to watch them lecture Freja, but then reminded herself that she deserved it. None of them had done this incredibly stupid and impulsive thing. Wasn't she going to be relying on their charity now?

And as much as she'd let them all down, it paled in comparison to how she'd failed her wife. Their whirlwind romance, which started the moment they met, ending up in a tangle of limbs on the floor of a gymnasium supply room at the university, began a new and wonderful chapter in Freja's life. She'd never been happier. But now she'd lost their best chance at financial security. Her only hope was that Jeanette loved her enough to somehow forgive her.

Because Freja was pretty damn sure she couldn't forgive herself. How many times had she gotten her wife in trouble? Nearly murdered by a crazed incel... nearly arrested by the police in Roskilde for holding an impulsive orgy in a park...

Now she'd bankrupted them.

She deserved whatever happened next.

They moved by a sign indicating their next freeway turn-off.

Holy shit, was I really hating on myself for that long? she wondered, pulling onto the ramp. She looked at the fuel gauge, noting that it was on the red line. Please hold on, please hold on... just get us there, for my wife's sake...

***

Napa County Airport, two hours and one blowjob for gas later...

The two girls waited patiently in the small Arrivals area. This hardly felt like an airport at all. It felt more like a bus station or a warehouse that was used as the terminal for an airport. Napa was not a big place, and the airport seemed to deal in mostly local traffic, along with smaller jets from other states. Freja and Jeanie were still unclear on why their friends had instructed them to meet here. As inhospitable as L.A. might have proven, at least they might not have made a nine-hour drive just to get told what idiots they were.

"Are you sure that you two are waiting for someone?" a security guard asked, walking up to them. They'd walked into the small terminal, explained that they'd been instructed to meet friends here this evening, and that was the extent of what they knew. They showed the guard messages they'd been receiving about how far out their friends were.

"They didn't tell you the number of their flight or anything?" he asked. Both girls just shook their head and said they'd come all the way from L.A. per their friends' instructions. The security guard shrugged and wandered off, since the two were not actually doing anything wrong aside from looking rather lost. They went back to looking out the large windows, still wondering what was going on.

"We only called them this yesterday night; the fact that they're getting here this evening means they're pretty pissed. I guess not telling 'em was our first big fuck-up," Jeanie sighed. "I'm sorry, Fre. I just... I'll accept responsibility for this."

Freja bit her lip and blinked her eyes, trying to get rid of the sting. "No, my love, this was my failure, and I will shoulder the blame. I should have known better than to say nothing. I... wanted to impress everyone with our initiative?"

"Not your fault, Fre," Jeanie said, shaking her head. "It was my idea back at Christmas to come tearing down here. Maybe... maybe I'm glad that we're here now, instead of L.A., y'know?"

"Well, we have no money to go back now, so this is where we are staying," Freja replied, smiling wanly. "Maybe they will just take us by the ear, drag us on a plane, and take us back home, this whole disastrophe put behind us."

Both their phones buzzed.

Two minutes out. Look for us.

They both swallowed and put their phones in their pockets, looking out again at the tarmac. They had no idea what they were looking for, but they were reasonably sure it would be a plane.

As they watched, a gleaming black jet taxied toward them from some nearby runway. It wasn't a giant jet, of course, because one wouldn't fit at this airport, but this apparition was sleek, elegant, and looked expensive. A business jet. It rolled slowly forward and turned, revealing its flank. Lettering near the nose that indicated it was made by Bombardier, but it was the gold lettering in the middle that caught their attention, and apparently named the aircraft.

'Thunderhawk'.

"They... they own a jet?" Jeanie said rather nervously. "Shiiiiiit..."

Freja took her hand and squeezed it, every bit as stunned as her wife. "No matter... no matter what happens, yndling, we will face it together."

Jeanie nodded, unable to say anything. She could feel her heart thumping and her throat was doing dry.

The imposing jet rolled to a stop, not far from the tiny terminal. The darkened windows of the cockpit faced the two girls silently, ominously. Several minutes passed, and runway crews scurried around the Thunderhawk, getting it ready for its passengers to debark.

Jeanie wasn't exactly sure why, but she felt her breathing speed up, and she was starting to sweat. She was anxious. Whatever ass-beating awaited her, it was getting her worked up. She tried not to whimper.

The stairs were lowered from just behind the cockpit and both girls trembled as the titan form of Mike DeBourne moved down the steps, the jet wobbling and ricking under his weight. He was followed by his beautiful wife, Karen, and then their son, Alex. Right behind the handsome young man was his aunt and wife, and Freja's best friend, Alexa. Bringing up the rear was one of their employees, Valentina Prospero. Once they were all at the bottom of the steps, they turned and started walking toward the small terminal.

Jeanie and Freja both felt their hearts thrumming at the sight of the five individuals, but Jeanie found her anxiety bleeding away, replaced what she could only describe as relief to see her friends. A desperation to hug them. Her eyes welled up again, and she felt like she had to pee. Beside her, Freja was also trying to control her tears, looking at the way Alexandra smirked at her. Mike's warm smile as he towered over everyone caused her dread to almost crumble. And Karen looked at her as she walked, and all she did was smile serenely and nod.

The girls waited while the small group checked themselves in with security and then moved to the reception area, walking directly toward them. Jeanie was almost bouncing on her toes and choked back a sob. Freja glanced at the gleaming black jet and then back at Alexa, confusion mingling on her face with her worry.

"Don't ask, slut, I just found out myself this morning," Alexa said in Danish as she pulled her best friend into a tight hug. Despite all her anxieties, Freja broke down crying, all her emotions flooding out of her. Jeanie burst into tears as she crushed herself against Alex's muscular chest, and his strong arms held her.

"Don't worry, the cavalry's here," he said soothingly, stroking her curly brown locks while she wept.

"I ams so sorry for the crying," Freja sobbed, unable to control herself. Every single emotion had crashed over her and fallen away, and she felt very raw right now. "We just... we have had so..."

"Hey now, it's fine," Mike said in his deep, comforting voice, pulling the two into a hug in his huge, powerful arms. They both sighed through their tears at the sense of protection in that embrace, an emotion every other woman present could readily identify with. "What's happened has happened, ladies. "And we're here now to help you fix the issue."

"The issue, I am not so sure it can be fixed," Freja sniffled as Karen hugged them both now. "We have lost everything. We have no money at all now, we spent our very last funds coming to meet you here."

"Of course it can," Valentina assured them, taking their hands and smiling at them both. "So you had a false start, and now you've got the best backup anyone could ever ask for."

"Maybe you are right, Miss Prospero," the Danish girl said, breathing deep and trying to get hold of herself. "It has been a very bad few days for us. We are just feeling... what is the term... very dragged out."

"Yeah," Jeanie agreed, wiping at her eyes as relief flooded through her. "Pardon my French, but I feel like cat shit on linoleum. We really screwed up, guys. We've made enemies of everyone in L.A., we're a laughingstock, and we don't have ten cents in the bank. We're so damn broke."

"Wow, you blew through all your camgirl money?" Alexa asked, raising her eyebrow and looking at Freja. "Impressive."

"It was not just this trip," Freja insisted, trying to defend herself just a little. "There was our trip to Roskilde for Christmas, and maybe we have done some splurging because our spirits were high. We thought... we thought we could not fail."

"And you will not," Karen assured her, stroking her cheek gently. "We are here now, and we will see this through with you. Promise."

"Thank you," they both murmured, hugging the woman they admired most in the world. They were no longer anxious, they just felt... overwhelming relief.

They began walking out of the terminal, with Freja and Jeanie occasionally looking back at the jet that had spirited their friends down here on a moment's notice to rescue their sorry asses. Alexa just shrugged. She hadn't been lying, she'd only found out about the Blackwell corporate jet that morning. They were gathered out on the curb waiting for their porter to bring the luggage while Mike began explaining the plans to everyone. Jeanie managed to interrupt him only once.

"Sorry, but... Fre'n I can't get back to L.A. now, and what do we do about our dead hooker hotel room?"

"Nothing," the giant man said simply. "Leave it, let them cancel your stay on their own and rent it out again. Put Los Angeles behind you, we'll be working out of Napa now."

"Why is this?" Freja queried. "Could you not have met us in Los Angeles?"

Karen smiled. "Since we decided to come and assist you, I thought I would use the opportunity to visit my family's wineries here in Napa. We'll stay here while we figure out what to do to handle your crisis. That means plenty of wine for everyone, not to mention any other fun we can find for ourselves."

"Like finding out our besties own a damn jet?" Jeanie mentioned.

"Don't get me started," Alexa sighed, shaking her head. "I am the world's worst proletarian."

"We've arranged for rooms at the Hotel Arquero not far from here," Mike said while Karen tipped the porter. "You two could no doubt use a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, we relax and enjoy ourselves, let you destress."

"This is sounding good," Freja agreed, nodding. "If you had not come down in your mystery plane, we might have been sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles tonight. We spent our last cash to come meet you here in Napa, it was a nine-hour drive with bad traffic. Yes, we are rather tired."

"Money is not your concern anymore," Mike said firmly, looking at them both with his laser-blue eyes. Those eyes made a person feel like he was stripping away not just their skin, but all their defences, and leaving them bare, so that he could see everything about them. It was unnerving if one didn't know him, but it could be so very exciting and enthralling as well. "Kar and I will handle the expenses from hereon in for this trip. Ladies, your only duty for the next few days is to relax, recover, and then get ready for round two. Understand?"

"Yessir," they both said readily. Submitting to Mike was something of a kink for them both, after all.

Karen was talking with Miss Prospero, and Mike was arranging for limo-taxis to take them to the hotel, when the four youngsters all stood in a small group together, holding hands.

"We have been so worried," Freja confessed, sighing. "We had convinced ourselves that Michael and Karen, they were coming down to do the chewing out of us, and to drag us back to Toronto in shame, doomed to live at the Manor with their charity because we have now lost our home."

"You Danish dodo," Alexa giggled, squeezing her friend's hand. "The minute Jeanie told them what was up, they resolved to come down here and help, silly. And if they need to cover your condo fees for a few months, they will."

Alex allowed his aunt-wife to draw the two girls into a close hug, speaking gently to them in her lyrical, crystalline voice. "You need to remember," she whispered. "Kar and Mike will never forget the part you both played in bringing me back home after I ran away. I don't think you'll ever truly understand the depth of the dedication they feel toward you. When you called, they dropped everything and made sure that Alex and I could come down and help fix this."

She leaned back now and smiled at them both, her dazzling, enchanting smile that would melt winter and turn it into summer. "And believe me, guys... it will get fixed. You will succeed. Just... stop being such dumbasses and running off to do crazy shit without us, okay?"

"No promises, but we'll try," Jeanie said, half-laughing and half-crying as Alex hugged the three girls.

It was good to be back together.

***

Ninety Six Chop House, Main Street, Downtown Napa an hour later...

They were sitting around a large table near the back of the establishment while soft jazz played over the speakers. The dining room felt dark and comfortable, despite its size. Freja and Jeanie sat between Alex and Alexa, while Mike, Karen, and Valentina filled out the rest of the circle. A waiter had just brought three bottles of aperitif wine and poured when Karen looked at the young couple.

"So," she began, sipping her Lillet to make sure it was to her taste. "You have expressed your concerns in the broadest sense, you made a dog's breakfast of things. And while I intend for us to absolutely enjoy ourselves for the next day or so, it would be best if you caught Michael and I up to speed on the relevant details, in case we need to see to anything forthwith. You may begin."

Freja and Jeanie looked at one another for a moment, shrugged, and then the brunette started trying to explain. "Well," she said, trying to recall everything. Her memory was far from epidemic. Was that the word? Epidemic? Idolatric? Dammit. "Fre'n' me decided-"

"Freja and I," corrected the bronze-haired woman.

"The two of us decided back at Christmas that we were probably sitting on a fortune with the kinetic makeup and that we should give it a shot. Rather'n stick to small potatoes, we get it in our heads to go right to Ground Zero and go for the big time."

"Straight to Los Angeles," Mike mused. "Impressive."

"Right?" Jeanie confirmed, nodding and rather missing the point. "We'd been standing in our en suite shower, having a good time with Fre skewering me on Bossa Nova when-"

"Jeanie?" Karen interjected, smiling.

The brunette paused, looking at the matriarch.

"Relevant details, darling," Karen said gently but firmly. "Knowing which of the interminable sex toys in your shower you bruised your brainstem with is of no consequence or interest to me whatsoever."

"Sorry," Jeanie said, blushing.

"Why did you two decide to not tell us at all?" Alexa asked.

Freja and Jeanie both sighed. "I... we jus' thought this would be a walk in the park and that we could impress everyone with what we'd done. I mean, imagine getting to go back to my parents and explain that we were as rich as they were? They couldn't hold anything over me anymore."

"That's completely understandable, my dear, but planning is always key to success," Karen pointed out. "If you had told us, we could have helped you form a strategy, even if you were determined to do this yourself."

"I know," Jeanie pouted. "I know now, anyway. We landed in L.A., we rented a cheap hotel room, because we were trying to conserve our money, and then we would visit the various cosmetics companies, and they'd go nuts and buy it from us for a ton of money."

"So you went to various headquarters," Mike said, keeping the pair focused on details.

Jeanie nodded. "We tried a big, famous one first. Didn't have an appointment, but we said we wanted to see execs because we have a new makeup that would revolutionize the industry. They actually let us in, and there was, like, five of 'em sitting around in a meeting room. We tried to make the pitch, but it went to Hell immediately."

"How so?"

Jeanie scowled. "They were asking for dumb business details, and smirking the whole time, like they knew we had no idea what they meant. Freja could provide some technical ones about how the makeup worked, but they were really shitty about her English, not to mention my running shoes. I couldn't explain it, and they were raggin' on us about a business model. I asked why that was necessary, we just wanted them to buy the rights to use it. Freja tried demonstrating by putting some on me, but when we asked them to kill the lights so we could show it to them, they wouldn't even do that."

"And then?" Karen asked.

Jeanie almost went silent, looking at her lap. "They offered us a hundred bucks for the rights, and they were laughing when they did it."

Mike and Karen gave each other a sidelong glance before letting Jeanie continue.

"We got mad and we left, with those bastards all laughing loudly as we did," she said, her face hot as she blushed at the memory. "There was no need to be so damn mean. One of 'em even commented that we'd've done better if I put the makeup on my tits!"

"So that was strike one," Mike said, nodding. "I'm assuming that means you moved on to another company?"

"Well, we figured we had to do better than that, so we tried the next one on our list."

"Did that go better or worse?" Alexa asked as she nipped into her prawn cocktail.

"Y'wouldn't think it possible, but they were even meaner," Jeanie admitted. "After making fun of us for almost half an hour, they offered to take the makeup off our hands for free, so that we didn't hurt ourselves with it. We stormed outta there, too, but not before Freja hoofed a security guard in the nuts for trying to make us leave the makeup behind. It was a makeup company, not a mafia den! We made a really quick getaway then."

Freja was frowning at the table. "They were so mean. Why?"

"They might have been trying to just humiliate you into giving it to them," Karen said, shrugging. "Nobody likes spending money when they don't have to. But they were remarkably offensive to you, no question."

"They wouldn't've done that to you two," Jeanie grumbled. "They were just pickin' on us because we're a pair of dumb girls. And now we're dumb girls without a penny to our name. Don't ask what we had to do for the gas necessary to get here. But we figured third time was a charm, right?"

"And that meant the last of the big names in town," Mike posited reasonably.