Life after the Lottery Ch. 69

Hello everyone. As I said in the last chapter, I am bringing Life after the Lottery to a close. I am working on tying up some loose ends in the story as well as closing it out as I had planned. I hope to wrap things up quicker than I have been able to bring the next chapters online. I am currently writing three or four chapters at the same time, so I can keep things organized. Hang in there with me, and I hope you enjoy the conclusion. Copyright LATL 2020. No part of this story may be reproduced or posted on any other website than Literotica.com.

Life after the Lottery, Ch. 69

The trip back to the reservation

The Monday morning after Thanksgiving, I was driving into town on the interstate to the store to meet Walt. He was in town with his wife looking at houses and wanted to go over the placement of the fixtures in the men's store.

"What the hell?"

I looked up, and on one of the large billboards was one word on a blue background - "Allure."

"What is that?"

I drove about a mile and saw another billboard with two words - "Belle Dame."

"This has got to be Linda's doing."

I pulled into the parking lot of the store and got my phone out, and called Linda.

"Hey, James."

"Have you started some kind of marketing campaign?"

"Why?"

"I just passed two billboards. One said Allure, and the other said Belle Dame. That is all they said."

"Hmmm."

"Are you doing this?"

"Maybe."

"Linda..."

"Just some early marketing."

"Any other marketing you are doing?"

"Just some preliminary things. Are you going to have some photos soon?"

"Mid-January, or so. Are you going to put them up on billboards?"

"Maybe. I have some stock photos we can use."

"I don't think you can put up billboards with women in lingerie."

"I can," Linda said.

"Are you going to release the information about the store?"

"Not yet. I think we will create some curiosity first."

"I think the billboards will do that."

"I hope so," she said.

"Any other plans?"

"The website went up last night. It will have popup links for people within a 200-mile radius. It is just a teaser."

"What is on the website?"

"It will build slowly."

"Okay. I'm about to meet Walt at the store."

"Good. I hope we can get the men's store off the ground quickly. See what he needs to get things moving," Linda said.

"Okay. I will talk to you later."

"Bye."

I waited a few minutes until Walt pulled in, then got out.

"Hey, Walt. How is house-hunting going?"

"Very well. We should be able to sell our house in New York easily. We are looking at two here. I think we will be able to decide this week."

"Market is a little down right now," I said.

"Not where my house is. We will be able to get a nice house here for what I am getting for mine."

We went inside and saw all the work in progress. Walt had an armload of paperwork. We went up to the third floor and looked over all the work there.

"This is looking so good," Walt said.

All the woodwork was going up. It was nearly finished on the first two floors.

We rolled out the blueprints and pictures of the fixtures.

"James, this store is going to be great. Ms. Williams is doing a great job."

"She has big plans."

We looked over the plans and discussed options.

"Walt, this is yours to handle. You know more about this than I do."

"Okay...but I wanted you to see where the money is going."

"I looked over your budget. You are good to go, Walt."

"Okay. I just want to get the final order for all the fixtures."

"What about inventory?" I asked.

"I can have about 90% of it here by mid-January. The last part is the items from the new season. It will be here by mid-February. The tailor in New York that is retiring is moving here in late January."

"Okay, we have a place to put everything. I think Linda wants to be ready to move everything in immediately after the Grand Opening fashion show. That would mean starting the 16th, the Monday after Valentine's Day."

"We remodeled the men's area of the store in New York once. Everything was moved to storage. Once they were finished, we managed to move everything back in three days, but it was a lot of work and working around the clock."

"You think we could do it in a week here?" I asked.

"No problem. Everything will be ready. Just get the movers and bring everything in from the warehouse. I think we could be ready to open the next Monday, James."

"I'll run it by Linda. How long are you going to be in town?"

"The wife and I will be here for three days. We will probably decide on a house."

"I hope you find one you like."

We worked on the plans for a few hours. When I got back to the house, I called Linda.

"Hey, James."

"Hey, I just met with Walt. If we can get things cleared out from the fashion show the next day, he thinks he can have the store ready to open by the next Monday."

"That would be moving fast!"

"We would probably be paying people a lot of overtime to pull it off," I said.

"I don't care. That would be great!"

"How about the other stores?"

"They are on schedule," Linda said. "They are finishing up the first two floors and will start with the fixtures soon."

"Good. Sherri and Brenda said things will start arriving soon."

"Have they told you about the photos they want you to shoot of the local ladies?"

"They have mentioned it. I told them to make a schedule for when we all get back."

"Is Dawn getting ready to go back to the reservation?" Linda asked.

"She is, but she is putting things off for some reason."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

Linda and I finished talking.

Dawn came in about 2:00, and we snuggled up on the sofa.

*****

Samantha came running into the house about 3:00.

"Did you see them!" She exclaimed.

"See what?" Dawn asked.

"The billboards! They are all over town!"

"I saw two this morning," I said.

"They are up all over town! Did you know about them?"

"I talked to Linda. This is some of her early marketing."

"It's cool!"

"Keep in under wraps for now," I told her.

"I better start looking for some salesladies. How much can I tell them?"

"You can tell them you know about a new lingerie store in town and how you plan on them selling."

"Cool. So, I can tell them they will be wearing the lingerie and bathing suits?

"I guess. Check with Sherri and Brenda."

"You and Amy talk to Brenda and Sherri and see what their plans are," Dawn said.

That evening I was in my study about 5:30, so I could call Dan before he started class.

"Hey, Dan, it's James."

"Hey, James. What's up?"

"I wanted to catch you before you started class. I wanted to talk about Samantha."

"Is she okay? I want her to come back."

"She will be back Saturday. We had guests this weekend."

"Great."

"I want you to do something for me."

"What is that?"

"I want you to bang her up a little Saturday."

"Why?"

"She wants to go after training hard. I want her to see what it is really like, so she doesn't quit after she starts."

"I don't want to discourage her," Dan said.

"I don't either, but you know how fast people drop out," I said.

"What is she wanting to do?"

"She wants to be a blackbelt as fast as she can. If she is that enthusiastic, I want her to learn quickly how hard the work is."

"I see. I will have the new students work individually with my assistants. You and Dawn can work with her, too, because you are level two instructors."

"Sounds good. Some grabs and throws would work too."

"I hope you know what you are doing, James."

"I do. She is high-spirited, and I think she will do well. I just want to see if her heart is in it."

"Are you coming Saturday? I need some help with the advanced students."

"I'll be there. I'll get Dawn to come also."

"Great. See you then."

"Thanks, Dan."

I went back to working on some spreadsheets.

"It's time to eat," Dawn said when she came into my study.

"Okay."

"What are you working on?"

"Some ideas for the limo marketing. I sent Lori an email and asked if she can come by tomorrow evening."

I got up and went to eat with everyone.

"Linda is being sneaky with the new store," Samantha said.

"I'm sure she has some good marketing people."

"Are Sherri and Brenda back?" Dawn asked as we ate.

"Yes. I will be meeting with them this week."

"Have they got things going?"

"They said they have everything ordered. They sent a ton of things here."

"You need to move it out of your studio."

After we finished eating, we were all together on the big sofa in the den.

"Do any of you need to be studying?" I asked.

"I'm caught up," Amy said. "I have to go to the school in the morning to do some research."

"I'm good until tomorrow," Samantha said.

"I need to go in tomorrow," Dawn added.

We laid on the sofa and watched a movie until 10:00, then we all went to bed. Samantha and Amy seldom slept in their rooms anymore.

*****

Dawn had run to the school Tuesday morning but was back by lunch. I got a call from Katrina

"Hey, Katrina, how was the trip?" I asked.

"Very productive and enjoyable. It is starting to get a little cold for pictures outside."

"That's okay. It will make your nipples perk up. Can you be ready Sunday?"

"I will be ready Sunday."

"Come Saturday night and stay."

"I brought some lingerie back, and we shipped you some," Katrina said.

"I have it here."

"Okay. Can Joe come?"

"Of course."

"Okay. What time?"

"About 7:00 Saturday. Come for dinner."

"Okay. We will see you then."

"Bye, Katrina."

"Was that Katrina?" Dawn asked as we sat on the sofa in the den.

"Yes. She is ready to do her photos this weekend."

"If you are going to be taking any outside, it will be cool."

"It will be okay. I am going to shoot a lot in the studio. Joe is coming with her, and they are staying the night. I told her we would shoot them Sunday and maybe Monday since we are going to class Saturday."

"Do you have everything?"

"I'll need to run by the camera store."

"Stock up," Dawn said.

"Why?"

"Are you ready to shoot some more women and get the prints made by the end of January?"

"I guess I could. It will be busy with the store opening."

"I know, but I have your next customers."

"Who?"

"Remember Ashley talking about the club being redesigned in January?"

"Yes."

"I talked to Rick, and he wants some nice photos of most of the girls to put up in the club. I told him we would do them for free if he would let us put a plaque on them for advertising?"

"Really? I can do that."

"Well, there is one other idea we discussed."

"What?"

"Since Ashley and Raven are the top two at the club, he wants to do something special with them. He wants you to take one of their photos and make a limited number of prints, and he is going to sell them at the Grand Opening as a fundraiser."

"Who is he raising money for?

"He hasn't decided. It will be for charity. He thought if Ashley and Raven autographed them, he could sell them for $100 each. I told him some 24 X 36-inch prints would work well. You could sign and number them as a limited edition."

"How many does he think he can sell?

"Fifty of each."

"If he wants 50 of each, they will have to printed by a regular printer, not by me. I am not printing 100 photographs. He will need to go with a four-color poster."

"If they are printed, what will that cost?"

"For a high-quality poster, I would have to check."

"Maybe he could auction off the original prints," Dawn said.

"I could make it a one of a kind print. When were you planning on me doing the photos?"

"As soon as you are ready. The club Grand Opening after the remodel is set for February 1st."

"That will be cutting it close. Other than Ashley and Raven, how many other ladies?"

"Ten."

"That will be a lot of work. I will have to figure out a schedule. I also have to shoot the photos for Sherri and Brenda."

"Okay. You will be busy, just let me know when," Dawn said.

"I'll talk to some commercial printers in town."

"You are going to be busy."

"If I can get everything scheduled, it won't be too bad."

"I will be glad when things settle down some," Dawn said.

*****

Tuesday evening Dawn and I were sitting at the table waiting for Amy and Samantha to join us for dinner. They came down the stairs with their hands behind their backs, smiling from ear to ear.

"What?" Dawn asked.

"Look!" Amy exclaimed.

They held out their driver's license and their checkbooks.

"We are official!" Samantha said.

I took Amy's driver's license and looked. It now said, Amy Smith.

"Me too!" Samantha exclaimed.

I took her license and checkbook; they both said, Samantha Smith.

"We got our licenses today in the mail!"

"I guess you are official now," I said.

"We are!"

They were happy that everything had come in the mail.

Lori showed up about 7:30, and I took her to my study.

"I have some ideas I want to run by you for marketing the limo business," I told her.

"Okay, but we need to move quickly."

"I think we can. I want to make some commercials, sort of."

"What do you mean?"

"You know I'm having large monitors put up at the offices to run promotional materials on. I think we could use the same things on the website."

"I am working with Linda's people to get the website set up," Lori said.

"Good. What if we did this. Have some nice video taken of a couple getting married and them riding in the limo. Also, some video of a party on one of the party buses."

"That would be great. Who would do the videos?"

"We can find someone that makes commercials."

"What if we also had some shots downtown of executives getting in the town cars?" Lori said.

"Now you are getting the idea," I told her.

We sat and discussed some other ideas for a while.

"Tomorrow, call the manufacturer and see if we can take delivery on one of the town cars and one of the party buses. Also, see if they have one of the big white limos ready for weddings. We need the cameras set up in the limo and the bus."

"They should have at least one or two ready. They have been keeping me updated."

"Find out when we can have them here. We will go and get them if we have to."

"Are we going to stage a wedding and a party?" Lori asked.

"Staging a party is no big deal. A wedding is a different story. If you can get the limo delivered in a week or so, we can go to a wedding planner and offer free limo services for a wedding in early January."

"That will be cutting it close."

"I am tied up until then," I said.

"If we can get the limos delivered in a week, I can take care of the video shoot," Lori said.

"You know what we want. I will let you run with it. Let me make a few phone calls and find someone that can shoot the videos," I said.

"I like this idea."

"Some short 30 second videos would be good on the website."

"James, what about for the Grand Opening of the store? If that is going to be a big media event, we should have someone shoot some video of it. We could use that too."

"Good idea. How are you coming on school?"

"I turned in my final project yesterday. I have to wait for my grades, and then I will graduate."

"Maybe we can have a big party for you on the bus!"

"That would be great!"

"Linda is going to help with promoting the limo company. She is working it into the new stores as a luxury item. You and her need to meet. I will set that up tomorrow."

"Okay. We need to do some minor maintenance at the offices. Paint, clean, things like that," Lori let me know.

"Why don't you send an email to everyone and see how many people you can recruit to help. Explain to them we are trying to hold down expenses, so they make more money. They can come in and help with things like that. I will get Sam busy on installing the TV screens around the office."

"I will check with the manufacturer in the morning. The last update I had from him they were on schedule to deliver everything mid-January."

"Great. The sooner, the better."

"The sign people want to know when they can put up the signs?" Lori asked.

"Get a firm delivery date on the limos. Have the signs put up the week before. How is the hiring going?"

"We will have enough drivers. I have enough good drivers from the other local companies ready to go to work for us, plus all the others."

"Good. Make sure they understand the week before, and after the grand opening, we will be busy."

"I will finalize everything now that I am finished with school."

"You are doing a great job, Lori. This is going to be a big success."

"I hope so."

"I have been meaning to ask you...did things get too crazy for you on the trips," I asked.

"No, I had a good time. I hope your wife didn't get upset."

"Lori, my three wives know about everything, I told you that."

"Okay. It's just hard to think that they would be okay with you having sex with me."

"Were you okay with me having sex with you, Lori?"

"Oh, fuck, yes! It was wonderful."

"Have you been too busy with school to have some fun?"

"I have been very busy. It took up all my time."

"That's too bad. You need to celebrate now."

"I plan on it!"

"Let me know if I can celebrate with you. I'm sure the girls would like to celebrate with you too."

Lori smiled at me.

We talked and kicked around some more ideas for videos and short commercials for an hour, and she left. I sent Sam an email and asked if he knew a production crew in town that could make the commercials.

"Are you finished for the night?" Dawn asked as I walked back into the den.

"Yes. Lori and I needed to discuss some ideas for commercials."

I sat with Dawn and the girls.

"I need to shoot some photos of all of you for our photo business."

"What about for the lingerie and swimsuits," Amy asked. "We brought back several swimsuits."

"We may have to go with stock photos for the swimsuits until the weather warms up."

"We can do lingerie shots with the lingerie we have," Samantha said.

"Are you three okay with me using photos of you for the lingerie photo shoots?"

"Sure."

"We can always do nudes," Dawn said and smiled.

"When do you want to do the photos?" Amy asked.

"As soon as I can find the time."

After we had dinner, everyone went out to the pool.

"It is getting cold. I hope it snows," Samantha said.

"Not anytime soon," I said.

"I hope Lieke gets to see some snow."

"I will take her skiing in North Carolina."

"You will have to take us some time."

"I will, once things settle down."

*****

Wednesday morning, everyone was off to school early. I did some planning on the photoshoots and what I wanted for the website and advertisements. I spent the morning looking over some websites a few people I had talked to had designed. I needed to get someone to start working on ours.

I was getting ready to go to the camera store in the afternoon when Amy and Samantha came in from school.

"Are you two finished for the day?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Okay. I am going to run to the camera store. You want to go with me?"

"Sure."

They followed me out to the Escalade, and we drove to the camera store and went in.

"Hi, Dr. Smith."

"Hi, Bob."

"Who is this?"

"This is Amy and her sister Samantha."

"Hello, Amy and Samantha."

"Hi."

"Hi."

I told Bob everything I needed. He went and got the film out of the refrigerator.

"Do you need paper or chemicals?"

"Order me 100 sheets of 24 X 36 color paper from the same lot number if possible. I also need black and white paper the same size. Also, can you still get 36 X 60 color paper?"

"Damn, what are you printing?"

"I have a special project coming up."

"It will take a week. It comes ten sheets to a box."

"No problem. Get five boxes of color and five of black and white of the 36 X 60."