Lisa's Husband

Lisa was finally coming to grips with how far apart they'd grown. She just kind of deflated before his eyes and flopped down on the couch. Her vison blurred with big, crocodile tears that broke free and ran down her cheeks. It was the first real sign of sadness Trey had seen in her since she told him about New York. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She leaned against him and put her head down on his shoulder.

"You're really not going with me, are you?"

"No, honey, I'm really not." When he heard her deep sob he had to make her understand why. "Honey, it doesn't mean I don't love you because I do. I love you with every fiber of my being..."

"Then why?" she cried. "You've never even told me not to go."

"Because your priorities have shifted, hon. I want a successful career too, but I want to balance it with a family, and for me the family comes first. In a successful relationship, each party makes sacrifices. Lately it seems all the sacrifices have been on my end. Look, I'm not looking for another partner and I don't think you are either, at least I hope not."

She looked at him and shook her head, no. "Never, Trey, you're the only man I've ever loved."

He smiled. "And I'm counting on that," he told her. I'll admit, this is the biggest gamble I've ever taken in my life, but if you didn't go because I asked you not to, you'd always wonder what if, and eventually you'd resent me for holding you back.

"I'm hoping, praying that you get a taste of that life and decide it's not what you really want and come back to me on your own accord."

She pulled her head from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes again. "Or you'll come to me on your own?"

"Or I come to you," he confirmed.

The belief that one day in the near future they would reunite did nothing to keep the tears from flowing as they said goodbye to each other at O'Hare. As Trey watched the seven-thirty-seven defy gravity, he prayed Lisa would soon realize what was truly important. As Lisa felt herself being lifted high in the sky, she prayed the same for the man she loved.

As soon as she walked into Kennedy, she saw a man dressed in a chauffer's uniform, holding a sign with her name on it and was already starting to feel important. He already had the address of a luxurious apartment and was paid to drive her there. She was met at the door by a concierge who helped her with her bags and showed her to the suite.

"Wow," she said out loud as she looked out at the city lights, "this is the big time."

The first thing she did was call Trey. She knew if she could just get him to come out for a weekend, he'd feel the same excitement she did. He did promise he'd come out for a weekend but wouldn't commit to time schedule. Still, she was certain he would join her before long.

She had two days before checking in at the station and she was going to make the best of them. Her first stop was the Empire State Building where she viewed the city from the observation deck and bought a small replica at the gift shop. Next she took the ferry to the Liberty Island and the Immigration Museum at Ellis Island. She took lots of pictures and marveled at all the things she'd only seen in books and post cards.

The night before she was to start at the station Lisa was so full of nervous energy, sleep was impossible. It was about two in the morning when she finally gave up and sat down at a desk with a pen and some stationary. The first letter was to her mother to whom she expressed her excitement with the wonders of the city. The second letter to her in-laws was very similar. The third letter was to Trey. It expressed her love for him and her loneliness. Again she begged him to join her.

The following morning was filled with more wonders. Rockefeller Center was a city onto itself with parks, gardens, and statues, restaurants, exclusive shops, and Radio City Music Hall. It was like a dream as she wandered around. Finally, time was getting short. She found an information desk and asked directions to studio 8H. A nice looking gentleman met her as soon as the elevator doors opened and escorted her to Berry Randel, her executive producer.

They took the elevator up again to his plush office several stories above the studio. There he explained her role. Every week she would be responsible for an eight minute interview. The station would give her a list of four or five people and her secretary would contact them and try to get it scheduled; sometimes it would be done at the studio but most of the time she would go to the subject's home or work place. She was given a staff of two, her private secretary and a research assistant who would help her explore the backgrounds of the interviewees. She was totally responsible for compiling a list of questions from the contextual information, then would submit the list to Mr. Randel for his approval.

He explained that her segment was not going to be the hard hitting journalistic reporting the show was famous for. On the contrary, her eight minutes was considered light fill. In time, he promised, if she did a good job she would be moved up as one of the co-anchors, but that would be awhile.

When the meeting was over, Mr. Randel called for someone to introduce her around. She was shown to her office where she met Dar, her secretary, and Brenda, her research assistant.

She was given the first week to get acclimated. The show would introduce the new segment, starting the following week.

She was scared shitless and was almost crying that night when she called Trey. As much as he wanted to tell her to just come home, he couldn't do it. Instead, he encouraged her, flattered her, and tried to renew her confidence. They talked for over an hour. When they finally hung up, Lisa felt like a new woman. The following week she relied heavily on her two coworkers but in the end it was her itinerary that was approved.

Trey flew up to watch her inaugural broadcast together. They sat on the couch eating popcorn then made love when it was over. Unfortunately, he had to take the redeye home. It would be the last time they'd see each other for a few months.

That was becoming a big problem for Lisa. Abstinence, she discovered, was for the birds. Every day she worked with good looking successful men, many of whom came on to her. They flirted, some touched a little here and there; nothing over the top but just enough to let her know they could be had.

Almost nightly, she'd use her fingers to try and reduce the sexual urges that had built up during the day but it wasn't enough. She needed something more. What she needed was a man, but she swore to herself she would remain faithful to Trey. Okay, if not a man, she thought, how about a vibrator?

Trying to buy a vibrator was the first time Lisa's growing fame really became a problem. She was afraid to use her credit card to buy one on line for fear someone would get the information. There were a ton of adult shops around but she certainly couldn't be seen going into one. She couldn't leave her apartment in disguise, the doorman would know something was up.

She needed a plan. One night she walked out of her building with a bag. She took a cab downtown, adorned a pair of oversized sunglasses she bought the day before and strolled into a small restaurant for a cup of coffee. Before leaving, she slipped into the ladies room and changed into an old pair of jeans and an old blouse. She rolled her long blond hair in a ball on top of her head and covered it with a baseball cap. She smiled as she looked at the stranger in the mirror.

Next stop—sex toys and lingerie shop.

She picked out one of the nicer looking shops and went inside. She never knew there were so many different types of vibrators. She looked and was ready to buy a standard massager when something else caught her eye. It was more phallic looking but it had a little arm coming out from the bottom. She walked over and read the package...clit stimulator. Now that sounds interesting, she told herself. She could hardly wait to get home and try it out.

Anxiously, she opened the package and inserted two of the half dozen batteries she bought with it. She stripped and lay on the bed, naked. The buzzing sound was downright erotic. Slowly she started to run the bulbous vibrating tip up and down her slit. It didn't take long before she was soaking wet. Gently, after all it had been a while, she slipped it inside then back out a little before pushing it in all the way.

"OH MY GOD," she cried out as the small arm made contact with her clitoris. Her back arched and her body launched into spasms. She moved the wicked electric stimulator around a little before a full-blown orgasm grabbed her by the pussy and shook her whole body as it sent her pleasure receptors into the stratosphere.

"Damn!" she quietly exclaimed after finally coming back down to earth, "It can't wrap its arms around me and make me feel safe like Trey does, or make me feel loved like he does, but from a purely physical standpoint, this little sucker is unparalleled. It would surely stave off any uncontrollable sexual urges, that was for sure.

*****

Still praised as the woman who saved the Pope, Lisa was enjoying her success, while Trey had a little excitement of his own.

He was finishing up for the day when another photographer caught him just before he left. "Hey, Trey; there's some gorgeous creature out by the reception area asking for you."

"Yeah, right," he chuckled.

"No, I'm not kidding; really."

"Is it Lisa?" Suddenly his heart started to pound. Was she back?

"No, it's not Lisa. Go out the front and ask the receptionist. I'm telling you, man, this broad is a stunner."

Trey couldn't think of any reason someone would be asking for him but as he turned the corner near the front of the building he asked. "Hi, Gail; Harry said someone was asking for me?"

"I told her to take a seat in the reception area, Trey."

"Thanks," he muttered as headed toward his mystery guest.

He almost didn't recognize her. Harry was right, even dressed casually, she was a stunner, but then she always was. "Britney Holcomb?"

"Hi, Trey; how have you been?"

He hadn't forgotten about her attempt to break up him and Lisa and with the current strain on their long distance relationship the last thing he needed was any more drama in his life. His short, direct reply was meant to convey that very message. "What do you want, Britney?"

She wasn't really surprised at the tone. "First, to apologize for I did to you back in college. Second, I'm hoping to be able to return a very big favor you did for me."

"Favor? What favor did I ever do for you?"

"Would you have time to get coffee someplace where we can talk? I'll tell you all about it. I also have a proposition I think you'll be interested in."

As much as his little voice told him to run away fast, his curiosity got the better of him. "There's a little restaurant across the street. I still have to run some work up to the newsroom. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

She already had two coffees waiting when Trey slid into the opposite side of the booth. "Alright," he asked before even taking a sip of java, "what was this favor I supposedly did for you?"

"Those pictures you took of me changed my life, Trey."

He looked a little confused so she continued. "I'm sure you heard what happened to daddy's company. His accountant embezzled tens of millions of dollars and took off for parts unknown. They still haven't caught him. Anyway, on top of that, Dad was having trouble completing some of the contracts they had so some of those companies sued him. The company's stock took a nose dive and suddenly we weren't rich anymore. Daddy still owns his company but he's fighting like crazy to keep from losing it."

She stopped to take a sip of coffee and saw she had his attention. "Anyway, it was pretty easy to see I wasn't going to have the future I thought I would. In the eyes of most rich eligible bachelors I went from trophy wife material to gold digger. It was scary to think I was actually going to have to make a living on my own.

"Well, everyone I showed those pictures to said I should be a model. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea so I took them to New York and showed them to several of the modeling agencies up there. Trey, IMG and Elite signed me up right out of the gate. They gave me a crash course on modeling but I'd already learned so much from you when we were shooting that I picked it up in no time.

"Trey, in the last two years I've traveled around the world. I've been on five covers, Vogue three times, Glamour once and Cosmo once, not to mention I've modeled for hundreds of ads; and it all started with those shots you took."

Trey still had yet to say a word so she took another sip of coffee and picked up where she left off. "That was the favor you did for me, now, if you're interested, I think I might be able to repay it."

"How so," were the first words he said since sitting down. He still didn't trust her.

"Advertising women's fashions is time sensitive. The shoots are done well in advance then advertising time and space has to be bought in advance—everything is organized and signed, sealed, and delivered before the first shot ever makes it to print. Well, I was all scheduled to do a shoot in a couple of weeks but the photographer had an accident and is in the hospital. They didn't have a back-up photographer set up and no one can do it on such short notice...I thought of you."

"Me? Britney, I work for a newspaper. I don't have a studio, I don't have the lights I would need; in fact I don't have anything I would need."

"I know you work for the newspaper. I've seen your name every time I come home. Congratulations on winning photographer of the year, by the way. As far as a studio is concerned, you can rent one. There's all kinds of studio space to rent in New York, I'm sure they have the same thing in Chicago."

"Not that I know of," he replied. "Britney, it was nice of you to think of me but I just don't think I could put it together. Even if there is studio space to rent, I'm sure it costs a fortune."

"How much?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it's more than I can come up with."

"I can help. I can loan you some money. You can pay it back after the shoot."

"Britney, I don't even know how much to charge for something like that."

"Well, you won't make as much as they do in New York but I'm sure you can make twenty to thirty grand."

That caught his attention. "Twenty or thirty thousand dollars for one shoot?"

"Yeah, by the time you get done with all the print and electronic media licensing fees, at least that. This is an international campaign, Trey. Your shots will be seen all around the world. Twenty or thirty thousand is nothing for all that. Unfortunately, I don't think you should try for much more because you're unknown in the industry, but once your name is out there you'll be making two and three times that. I know the ad agency will pay you thirty-five hundred for the actual shoot but you'll have to negotiate all the licensing fees. That's where the real money is. You should probably find a lawyer or somebody who knows what they're doing in that respect."

This was all too much for him to comprehend at the moment. He needed a little time to think so he got Britney's contact info and told her he'd call her in a couple of days. She warned him not to wait too long and he assured her he wouldn't.

He needed advice but didn't know anyone with the expertise he needed. The one person he could think of was his old professor, Gordon Watts. It took some doing but he finally got his number and gave him a call. After a few minutes of catching up, Trey explained the situation.

Once again his favorite professor came through. He gave Trey the numbers of a couple guys he could talk to, one who would rent him studio space, and another who would help him negotiate the licensing fees. Suddenly, he felt he could pull this off.

The following day he saw his boss first thing and told him of the opportunity. He told Lee he had to take a couple weeks of vacation time. He had three weeks coming so Lee scheduled it for him and wished him luck. Next was the call to Britney. She sounded almost as excited as he was. A visit to the studio he was going to rent was next on his list. It was more than adequate for his needs.

He wasn't looking forward to buying two round trip tickets to New York for him and the negotiator that Gordon recommended so Britney convinced the ad agency to send a contract manager to Chicago. The three sat down and when they got up again, Trey had signed a contract worth thirty three thousand dollars. Of course the negotiator got his fifteen percent and the studio expenses had to be taken out but the ad agency took care of Britney's modeling fees and all the other costs involved.

Trey didn't want to mention anything to Lisa until all the parts were in place, but once everything was signed he called to give her the news. It had been a week since they'd last talked and Lisa started the conversation. She was so wrapped up with telling him about all the interesting people she was lining up to interview, he couldn't get a word in edgewise. He finally gave up, politely listened to her excited ramblings, told her he loved her, and hung up.

The experience turned out to be everything he thought it would be and more. Just two hours into the first day of shooting and the old creative juices started to flow. He came up with ideas that stunned the ad execs as well as the client. By the end of the three day shoot, everyone thanked Britney for suggesting this great, new photographer. Unfortunately, one shoot does not make a career so at the end of his vacation Trey was back in the newsroom.

It had been three weeks since the fashion shoot. Trey was sitting in Lee's office discussing an upcoming editorial assignment when he felt the need to express his feelings. "Lee, my first love has always been commercial photography. When I first took the job with the newspaper it was because I couldn't find a commercial studio that would hire me. Now I have always given this job a hundred and ten percent. Never once have I ever sluffed off on an assignment and I never will, but I have to tell you, Lee, I'm praying that, that fashion shoot I did last month will lead to something more.

"When I was in that studio I was in my element, Lee. I was the master of all that surrounded me and I just knew I was home as far as photography was concerned. Now I don't have the financial means to open my own studio and have no plans to quit the paper, but I don't want you totally taken by surprise if I get an offer I can't pass up.

"You've been very, very good to me. I have a lot to thank you for, so if the day ever comes, I hope we can part friends."

Lee took a moment to absorb what he'd heard. "Trey, I...I always thought this was your calling, I really did. I've been in this business a long time and you're one of the best men with a camera I've ever seen. I guess I've just never thought of you doing anything but this. I always figured if I lost you it'd be to another newspaper. That's why I've pushed so hard for your raises—to make sure you always got the max. You're actually making more than guys at The Tribute with more experience."

"I know, Lee, and please don't think for one minute that I don't appreciate everything you've done for me. I'm not quitting, Lee. I've already had offers from other newspapers. Some of them have offered more than I was making at the time but I wouldn't do that; not after all you and the paper have done for me."

"Well, I do appreciate it, Trey. I don't doubt that you've had plenty of offers. If and when the day does come it'll be a sad day for me and The Northwest Star, but I'm glad you told me."