I'll Carry Your Bag Pt. 02

While Sean signed the picture, Eldon got up, went over and had a brief chat with Josh's parents.

Sean handed Josh the picture, "You wanted some advice?"

"Yes sir, please."

Raquel couldn't believe how polite this young man was.

Sean thought for a moment, "I think the two things that will help you be the best caddy are, one, learn everything about the game of golf. The swing, how to read greens, the impact temperature and humidity have on the golf ball...everything. Don't forget to study the history of the game, how did the great players win and more importantly, how did they lose. The second piece of advice is how to apply all that knowledge. You need to understand your player. What motives him or her. What are their strengths and weaknesses. How can you make the most of their strengths and overcome the weaknesses. You need to have a good understanding of psychology to understand what your player's needs are at any specific moment. There's a time for a "pep talk," a time for a "kick in the ass," and a time to "be quiet."

When Sean finally stopped he looked up at young Josh. Now Josh was in shock. Maybe Sean provided a little too much advice.

Sean smiled, "Sorry, I know it seems a lot, but I have a feeling you're up for the challenge."

Josh went from shocked to amazed in a heartbeat. Sean Connors just told him he had faith in him.

"Wow! Thank you so much Mr. Connors."

All this time Raquel was watching the room. Everyone was listening and hanging on every word Sean said. She thought to herself, "Could he ever be more perfect?"

Josh thanked Sean, asked Raquel's forgiveness for interrupting their dinner, excused himself and went back to his table. The guy, at the table next to them began to clap. Then the next table joined in and the next. Soon the entire restaurant was giving Sean and Josh a round of applause.

Raquel leaned into Sean and kissed him on the cheek and then whispered in his ear, "You are getting so lucky tonight mister."

Sean blushed bright red.

Eldon finally returned to their table after shaking hands with Josh.

Sean asked, "What was that all about?"

Eldon smiled, "I was so impressed with that young man that I had to tell Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds. Did you know that kid was runner up in this year's state amateur tournament? And yet his dream is to become the next Sean Connors."

Sean was beat red again.

Eldon figured now would be a good time to make their exit before the fans got overwhelming. He asked for the check, but the manager said it had already been taken care of. When Eldon inquired by whom, all the manager said was the customer wanted to remain anonymous. Eldon, Raquel and Sean got up, but before they left they made sure the wait staff got a generous tip. As they exited the restaurant, they turned to the patrons and waved goodbye. Everyone waved back and yelled various things like, "Goodbye Kal-El or go get em Raquel or great job Sean!"

Raquel lamented, "I wish my foundation was also for boys. Josh deserves a scholarship."

El smiled and replied, "Not to worry, my foundation will take care of it."

As far as the two professional athletes and the caddie/lawyer were concerned, it was a magical evening.

******

Eldon parted ways with Sean and Raquel. He gave them both warm hugs and kissed Raquel on the cheek. They promised to get together very soon. Eldon even hinted that their two foundations should have a joint event in the near future.

When Sean and Raquel slipped into the rental, Raquel sighed, "I think this will go down as one of my all time favorite days."

Sean replied, "But you lost the golf tournament."

Raquel leaned over and gave Sean one of her toe curling kisses, "Exactly."

The drive back to the hotel took a little longer than it should because Raquel decided this would be a great time to suck Sean's beautiful cock.

Sean and Raquel finally arrived back at the hotel... one orgasm later.

They spent the next several hours engrossed in blissful love making. Raquel fell hard for Sean several weeks ago, but this week she was falling in love with him. Sean's emotions were a step ahead of Raquel's. He fell in love with her right about the time of their first kiss. He knew in that moment he was in deep trouble. He hoped Raquel had feelings for him, but he didn't think she was falling for him as hard as he had fallen for her

Wednesday - Pro-Am

In 1937 Hollywood Actor/Singer Bing Crosby held the first of his "Clambakes." He invited a number of golf pros and celebrity friends to play in a pro-am golf tournament. Crosby even personally put up $10,000 in prize money. Today it's called the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach in the Monterey Peninsula, CA.

Since then Pro-Ams have become a popular way to keep professional golf connected with the public. Granted it's the "elite" public, Hollywood stars, professional athletes and wealthy businessmen... not the everyday golf public. Most of the time they're held on Wednesday, before the official tournament begins.

So far the week was going well for Raquel and Sean. Sean had joined Raquel on her morning runs and workouts in the gym. He was already in pretty good shape, but being a lawyer was making him a little "soft." Raquel's workout regiment was exactly what he needed. Even after about a month, he was feeling stronger, tighter and had more energy than he had in years. Hauling around a 40 lb golf bag, six days a week, didn't hurt his physical conditioning. In the evenings, Raquel was benefiting from his increased endurance as well.

On Monday, after arriving at the new tournament venue, they only had time for some range work and putting. Tuesday they managed to get in 27 holes of practice. Raquel had played this particular course several times as an amateur and last year she got into the tournament by playing the Monday Qualifier, so she was pretty familiar with its layout. She liked this course; beautiful, well groomed and tough as nails. There were a lot of undulating fairways which rarely resulted in a level lie. The contours of the massive greens ensured there were very few "straight" putts, even two feet away from the hole. The tree lined fairways would gobble up any errant hit golf balls. Precision would be a premium over length in order conqueror this course.

She did sign up for the pro-am on Wednesday. Although, not required, it was strongly encouraged by the League to participate. Raquel learned she would be paired with Halton Gregory, the CEO of a major pharmaceutical company and a significant sponsor of the WPGL. Raquel had received a message from the Commissioner's office that Gregory had specifically requested her as a partner. Gregory was a tall, lean man, in his middle 50's. He had wavy silver hair and a billion dollar smile to go along with his gregarious personality. He also had what Raquel thought were "roaming eyes."

When he met her, she felt like the first thing he did was undress her with his eyes. Instead of the traditional handshake, Halton insisted on a hug from Raquel. Raquel was a bit uncomfortable, but this guy was important to the League, so her job was to keep him happy. Raquel went to introduce Sean to Gregory, but Halton just blew him off. As far as the Halton Gregory's of the world were concerned the "service class" was supposed to remain in the shadows and just ensure the needs of the "wealthy class" were taken care of. He had no wish to interact with them. Caddies were part of the "service class," even if they were wealthy lawyers and members of the Hall of Fame.

Halton's caddie, Jeff, introduced himself to Sean, and told him it was honor to meet him. Sean shook his hands and passed on his condolences for having to put up with such an asshole. Jeff told Sean to watch out for Raquel. Halton did not have a good reputation when it came to women. Sean thanked Jeff for the heads up.

Rounding out the foursome was WPGL Professional Jan Walters and retired major league baseball player and Hall of Fame member, John Stone.

The round was palatable. There were several moments, predominantly on the greens, when Gregory was getting a little creepy, standing too close to Raquel, unnecessary touching, stuff like that. He kept asking her to read his putts. As she squatted down to see the line, he made sure there was some "incidental contact." Between the tee-box and the greens they weren't in close proximity. Raquel was typically in the fairway and Halton was ball hunting in the rough. Sean opined that Halton had mastered the "foot wedge" at his home club to improve his lies.

On the third tee box, a par three, while waiting for the group ahead to clear the green Halton recalled seeing Raquel at a WPGL dinner the previous year. "I was at the WPGL Battling Childhood Cancer charity dinner, last year. I must say you clean up nicely. These golf outfits don't begin to reveal the beauty underneath." All the time staring at her breasts.

Raquel was shocked by the lewd compliment, but trying to be a "team player" responded with a simple "thank you."

On hole number eight, while they waited their turn to hit, Sean finally asked, "Do you need me to step in and make Gregory behave?"

Raquel looked at Sean knowing how hard this had been for him to watch, "Please don't. He's very important to the League. I'll let you know if he goes too far."

Sean retorted, "Nobody is that important to the League if they feel like they have all the power to harass you or any other player."

Raquel was suddenly a little concerned of what Sean might do. "Sean, please don't do anything. Let me deal with Halton Gregory."

Sean still wasn't happy, "You're the boss."

As the round continued, Halton Gregory got progressively more handsy and suggestive. Finally the last putts were holed on the 18th green. Halton ignored Sean's offered handshake as well as the other caddies. Sean sensed Halton was getting ready to make his move on Raquel. He wasn't the only one who had been concerned with Halton's behavior. Jan had taken her phone out of her pocket, turned on the camera and pressed play in video mode. Halton was so focused on his prey, he never even noticed, but everyone else on the green took note; however, did nothing to warn Gregory.

Halton approached Raquel and instead of the celebratory two pat, light hug, he brought her in close and tight. "Listen gorgeous, I think we have some great chemistry. Why don't you join me for a private dinner in my hotel room? We can play a more intimate round, if you know what I mean." Then his hand dropped and he squeezed her butt.

Raquel shoved him, not gently, away from her and slapped him across the face. "You pompous, arrogant, son of a bitch! I'm not going anywhere with you! How fucking dare you! If you know what's good, you'll walk away now!"

Raquel turned and retreated from the green leaving Halton Gregory seething. Halton made a move to chase her down, "Now just wait a fucking minute! No one walks away from me!" Halton yelled as he began to pursue Raquel.

He didn't make it two steps. Sean moved quickly between Halton and Raquel. His right foot was positioned behind his body and slightly to the side, a classic posture in self defense. Halton ran into Sean and bounced off his hard body. Sean was also eerily calm, "That would be unwise. You heard her, now walk away." John Stone had moved into a supporting position behind Sean. If Halton got passed Sean he'd have to get passed John as well and that was unlikely.

Then Halton did something very stupid. He grabbed Sean by the shoulders and tried to shove him out of the way, but it was like trying to move a large boulder. Sean used Halton's momentum and moved his right foot in front of him, resulting in Halton being flat on his back. Sean then placed his knee square on Halton's chest.

"Mr. Gregory, I said walk away." Sean's breathing never quickened and his voice never raised. For the first time, Halton Gregory "saw" Sean Connors and was afraid.

Sean stood up and offered Gregory a hand. Halton angrily refused the gesture, clumsily got back on his feet. He looked at his caddie and said, "Let's go! Now!"

Before he stomped off the green he said to himself a little too loud, "That bitch will regret fucking with me." He shot Sean an angry look, "This isn't over asshole!"

He never noticed that Jan was still recording.

******

Sean picked up Raquel's bag and headed off to find her. He found her waiting for him near the club storage building.

Sean dropped her bag and brought Raquel into a warm embrace, "Are you ok?"

Raquel was crying into Sean's shoulder and couldn't answer for a moment. Finally, "I should have let you say something to him on the course."

Sean held her close, "It wouldn't have done any good, he's a legend in his own mind."

Then two things happened simultaneously, Raquel received a text message from Jan and a phone call from WPGL Commissioner. Raquel answered the call. The Commissioner wanted to see her immediately in the club's business office.

Raquel looked at Sean, "I just got called into the Commissioner's office. I think I'm in deep shit."

Sean looked at her, "Don't worry, your lawyer will be right by your side."

She replied with a nervous smile and looked at Jan's text. There was a video attached to the message. All her message said was, "I've got your back girl." She pressed the play button and gasped at what she saw, particularly the ending where Sean had taken Gregory down and prevented him from chasing after her.

Raquel looked at Sean, "Your calmness scared the hell out of me. You took him to the ground so easily. Would you have hit him?"

Sean smiled, "That would have depended on his next move."

What neither Halton Gregory nor Raquel Simmons were aware of was during all the years Sean had caddied in the men's League, much of his spare time was training in Tae Kwon Do. By the time he retired he was a fourth degree black belt. In reality, had Gregory done something incredibly stupid, like take a swing at Sean, he never would have stood a chance.

Raquel hugged him and laid an incredibly passionate kiss on him. "I love you Sean Connors."

That's the first time either of them had expressed their feelings.

Sean continued holding her, "I love you too Raquel Simmons. Now let's go get this unpleasantry out of the way so we can spend some time showing how much we love each other."

******

Barbara Mac Michaels had been the WPGL Commissioner for the past three years. She had worked hard to develop the League's brand. That wasn't easy in a sport dominated by the men's league. Last year the top 125 men made over one million dollars in tournament winnings. That didn't include their earnings from sponsors. Even the senior men's league was more lucrative than the women's. Hell, the top 31 senior men made over a million dollars. The women only had 15 players earn a million or more. As disheartening as it seemed, it was better than when she first started. Barbara had worked her ass off at developing corporate sponsorships and TV revenue and it was beginning to pay off. Tournament purses were beginning to increase. It was a struggle, every step of the way, but Mac Michaels believed with all her heart, the struggle was worth it.

The incident between Halton Gregory and Raquel Simmons could derail all of her efforts. What was Simmons thinking? Gregory had specifically asked to be paired with Raquel. Raquel understood how important his company's sponsorship was to the League. Gregory had been personally instrumental in bringing other Fortune 500 companies to the table.

Gregory had been so forceful in his complaint and threatening if it didn't result in an outcome he approved of, that Mac Michaels' judgement was somewhat clouded. Had she been less intimidated and more thoughtful, she most likely would have taken a very different approach.

Her assistant poked her head into the office, "Ms. Mac Michaels, Raquel Simmons is here."

Barbara looked up, "Please send her in."

Raquel and Sean both walked into the Commissioner's office.

Barbara wasn't happy before Raquel arrive, now she was even less happy that she brought someone without her consent.

"Ms. Simmons, this was to be a private meeting between you and me. Your caddie was not invited."

Sean responded, "Oh, I'm not here as her caddie, I'm here as her attorney."

Barbara was taken back and sat straight up in her chair. Now, not only was she not happy, now she was downright pissed off. Raquel and Sean sat down, waiting for the Commissioner to begin.

Barbara got right to the point, "Ms. Simmons, Halton Gregory has filed a very serious complaint against you and has threatened that if it isn't dealt with quickly and severely, his company will pull all of its support from the League. Do you have any goddamn idea what that would mean?! This league... your fucking ability to play golf professionally depends on the Halton Gregory's of the world!"

Sean wasn't phased, "Ms. Mac Michaels what, specifically, is Mr. Gregory's complaint against my client."

The Commissioner raised her voice, "Oh his complaint isn't just against Ms. Simmons but also you Mr. Connors! He said Ms. Simmons made an inappropriate sexual offer to him and when he refused, she assaulted him and when he tried to work things out, you assaulted him! I wouldn't be surprised if your next conversation isn't with the police Mr. Connors!"

Mac Michaels paused, boring her eyes into Raquel, "Based on the seriousness of the complaint, I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to..."

Sean leaned in, "Commissioner, with all due respect, I would be very careful with your next words. You appear to have already come to a conclusion without considering all the evidence. The fact is Mr. Gregory sexually harassed Ms. Simmons for 18 holes. On the 18th green he sexually assaulted her and that's when the alleged assault against him occurred. Although this is all so very fresh, when I'm done, Ms. Simmons will file a workplace sexual harassment complaint with the EEOC and then she will file civil actions against Mr. Gregory and his company. If during course of all this it's learned the WPGL had prior knowledge of Mr. Gregory's behavior, she will also sue you and the League."

Sean recognized Mac Michaels wasn't thinking objectively. He thought the threat of a scorched earth approach might get her attention.

Barbara Mac Michaels was a tough business woman. The threatened lawsuits didn't scare her. But Sean's forcefulness made her stop and think for a moment. There had been rumors that Halton Gregory was a "player." But this was a he said/she said situation.

"Mr. Connors, threat of a lawsuit doesn't scare me. In fact, get in fucking line! As for an EEOC complaint, Mr. Gregory wasn't at work and Ms. Simmons doesn't work for him."

Sean responded, "Mr. Gregory may not have been at work, but Ms. Simmons most certainly was. In fact that golf course out there is her predominant workplace. Also she doesn't have to work for him, all he has to have is power over her. Us being in this very room, having this conversation, demonstrates he has such power. Before you say that a lawsuit doesn't scare you, please take a look at this video, shot on the 18th green."

Sean slid the phone over to Mac Michaels. She hit play and turned more pale as the video progressed.

"Who shot this video?" Barbara asked.

Sean responded, "Does it matter? I don't know for a fact, but I'm very confident that Raquel's playing partners, Jan Walters and John Stone, plus their caddies will testify on behalf of Ms. Simmons and myself. In fact, Mr. Gregory's caddie warned me before the round began."

Barbara saw how John Stone had positioned himself to back Sean up, therefore either Walters or one of the caddies shot the video, so she knew what Sean was saying was true. Now she was very worried. Halton Gregory didn't have the power to bring down the WPGL... but Raquel Simmons did. The way she started this meeting didn't help her cause. She had prematurely jumped to a conclusion. A moment of clarity struck Barbara Mac Michaels like a bolt of lightning. Her number one job was to support the players of her League. She was now epically failing in her responsible. She had specifically asked Raquel to be paired with Gregory. The fact that he requested the pairing didn't lesson her vulnerability. The fact that Halton Gregory was the one who bullied her into an premature conclusion wasn't relevant. There was only one way out of this mess.