Lucille Nailed It Ch. 09

by EgmontOriginals (c)

A late arrival at the gala opening of MagWorld on that Friday evening in October 1979 was Bob Monk who came straight from the airport after attending an advertising conference in New Zealand as a primary speaker.

Later in the evening Lucille hosted the celebratory restaurant dinner that followed the cocktail party at MagWorld.

Bob a standout in a white tuxedo sat beside Lucille at a place reserved for him. Opposite them sat Chrissie McKeon and her stepmother who Bob didn't know and media baron Angus McKeon; the two men were 'old mates' as local vernacular termed it, having had a business relationship for fifteen years and a social relationship through the Media Club and in Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron racing.

"Lucille has a man – Bob Song! Ohmigod pass it on" was more or less that whisper that women spread through the now rather boisterous gathering.

Bob's appearance put an end to any private speculation that Lucille's sexual preference was females although a few and perhaps tighter mouth females had knowledge of a short fling with Digger Morrissey soon after her arrival in Australia.

As Lucille had suspected, Bob was the real McCoy in bed. They spent that night at a hotel and stayed together for five more nights with Lucille only making occasional appearances at MagWorld to escort VIPs through the premises.

She looked exhausted from lack of sleep and accepting Chrissie's advice, Lucille set up a temporary office at the hotel to attend to her work under reduced external pressures.

* * *

A former American now an Australian citizen, Lance Edison, who'd arrived a year earlier in Lucille's expanding team to fill the newly created position of manager of pre-press production had his title changed to general manager of design and pre-print production services. Chrissie who worked on page design without a title was named chief designer and deputy manager of design and pre-print production services.

The other change was the company's senior accountant becoming director of administration.

When announcing those changes, Lucille said the restructuring was necessary because expansion was on the way with several new magazines in the early stages of development.

As FashionUP soared in popularity, Lucille she set about to add to her stable of magazines. Launched progressively were IndoorStyle, OutdoorStyle and HolidayStyle magazines.

In addition, Lucille co-launched as quarterly publications BeachWear, MountainWear and OutbackFashion in partnership with designer/fashion manufacturer Ashleigh Avon and under the banner of that separate company all the design and pre-print production work was carried out on contract at Lucille's growing empire at MagWorld.

* * *

Already astonished at her elevation and more than aware of her failure to entice the creative concepts from Lucille's head, Chrissie had assumed her future with the company would soon be terminated. Instead Lucille's words at a staff meeting when announcing Christie's lift in status to chief designer and assistant general manager of design and pre-print production services delighted the young woman:

"Lance everyone is aware Chrissie is my protégé; please treat her accordingly and prepare her to become your successor for when you choose to retire."

Lance smiled and said of course. Chrissie just sat, mouth open, in a daze.

Later she called her parents with the news and they reacted with astonishment.

"Lucille must be on too many pep pills," said Geneva her stepmother and her father Angus McKeon said, "Either the woman is deranged or she has incredible insight that allows her to visualize the distant outcome of such a decision."

"Dad," bleated his daughter, "I do possess talents and have received bonuses for my performances."

From her hotel hole-up, with Bob feeding her ideas as well as over-subscribing to her sexual capacity, Lucille continued to work on development of her businesses, usually while resting in the bath.

Fit and approaching her thirty-second birthday, Lucille took this high-peak change in her business and domestic life without too much difficulty and her mental exhaustion gradually dissipated.

When Bob went to Melbourne for two days to adjudicate on behalf of the Advertising Association to settle a major dispute between two prominent advertising agencies, Lucille invited Ashleigh Avon to a business lunch. Over splendid tuna salads and sparkling wine, they continued to plan the progressive development of the three magazines they'd produce using the pre-print services of Lucille's MagWorld Design and Pre-print Services Ltd.

That evening Sue, Lance and Chrissie had dinner with Lucille at her hotel where the master plan, still all in Lucille's head, was unveiled.

The three visitors accepted an invitation to join Lucille together with three outsiders Ashleigh Avon and Lucille's lawyer as directors on the board of Graham Inspired s Limited.

Four weeks after the opening of the MagWorld publishing center, Lucille and Bob parted, amicably.

Lucille had become aware she was pregnant and she was unsure whether Bob or the interior building design and fit-out contractor Tony Modotti was the father. She decided not to seek parental paternity testing to eliminate that uncertainty and would raise the yet unborn child as a solo mother.

With that in mind she calmly told Bob at dinner one evening that there was more to life that sex and she found it extraordinary he could simply roll off her and reach for the phone to continue the advertising business of RYJ Worldwide immediately after sending her over the top as if she was a colleague slotted into his business schedule.

She was scarcely surprised when he declared, "Baby that's the way it has to be."

Lucille responded next morning.

"This is the way is has to be, baby. It's time for us to say goodbye sexually but let's remain friends."

"God Lucille," Bob whined. "Let's stay together – you have the fitness and drain me almost to a standstill. I've never had such an accomplished bedfellow. Let's keep this going um please."

Bob then received a gentle chiding about there being more to a relationship than sex.

Surprising when speaking to a supposedly creative advertising person, Lucille sensed it was like talking to a hardwood fence post. She sighed, kissed the man old enough to be her uncle on his bald top and signed off: "Goodbye Bob; I'm off to my office and best of luck in finding my replacement."

At least that message penetrated.

Lucille returned to her apartment to be greeted joyfully by Chrissie, "It's so sweet, so exciting as a protégé to greet one's benefactor."

They kissed and hugged and Chrissie sighed. "I'm so sorry I haven't managed to squirrel those design concepts you have in your head."

"I say don't worry," Lucille replied. "You've given it your best shot and there's no other person I know who could bring release. Let's give it a final try – we need to change our environment."

"Sure but you can change your environment anytime from this Saturday. Your apartment at MagWorld will be handed over on Friday afternoon – it looks lovely. We can settle on this apartment at your convenience – daddy has given me the money."

Chrissie suggested they should disappear somewhere for two or three days on a final effort to unplug Lucille.

"Yes and that's a great idea although your wording suggests it's something dirty," Lucille, giggled. "Where should we go?"

Christie said, "Let's go where daddy takes his girlfriend of the moment. He and Geneva are in Queensland this next weekend at a media event which means we won't find him at the retreat. It only has three rooms and a shared lounge."

"You know where your father does his dirty business?"

"Yes, someone has to act as the go-between if he's wanted urgently and he trusts no one quite as he trusts me."

"My god, does Geneva know this?"

Chrissie giggled and said she supposed so. Her father had taken Geneva there several times before his last marriage broke up. "He's a creature of habit and I'd imagine she knows that and probably suspects he still goes there to do what you call his dirty business."

"Men are a problem, aren't they?" laughed Lucille.

She asked Chrissie make the arrangements and was aware that Chrissie wished to have an affair with her – she read it in the younger girl's eyes. It was puppy love and she should not be tempted because the late Mrs Graham would never have had sexual involvement with her protégé and that was the relationship that Lucille would have with Chrissie with emphasis on the three P's: pleasantness, purity and progressiveness.

She sighed and guiltily thoughts of her occasional assignation with either of two married women, Mo and Ashleigh and sometimes they met as a threesome, continuing a low-key relationship that began near the end of their tremendously successful business trip to New York.

The assignations took place at outer city hotels where there would be sex and then out for a movie, late dinner and back to the hotel for whatever.

Mo was much shorter than Lucille but a great delight, a real bundle of fun and she was ever so sweet in bed. They accepted they were in an open relationship that gave them both great satisfaction and to their delight their secrete association seemed to enhance their business partnership.

Both were at ease in the company of Mo's pilot husband Harry who really liked Lucille. No longer did he run off for a week or so with his fancy women but Mo found the occasional evidence that he still played around and was delighted he was so discreet about it; that allowed her to dally occasionally with Lucille and/or Ashleigh without being conscience stricken.

As lovely as Mo was she could not compete with Ashleigh, not that it mattered, as Lucille avoided highlighting comparisons in her mind. They both offered welcomed loving companionship.

Lucille's problem with Ashleigh was it was the closest Lucille had ever come to loving someone. They looked like sisters - both were almost the same age, slender and long-limbed with open personalities.

Approaching the time to meet Ashleigh alone at a hotel would have Lucille teetering on edge for days beforehand and saddened for at least a couple of days after they parted. Their minds and spirits soared when their limbs were entwined or lips sunk respectively in each other's vulva. Late at night, going to sleep either clasped in Ashleigh's arms or clasping Ashleigh left Lucille with the unaccustomed feeling of being somebody, belonging to somebody and being awash in serene ecstasy in the sexual aftermath.

The generation and gradual building of feelings for Ashleigh initially alarmed Lucille in becoming aware she was being totally exposed to an emotion loosely called love. She had a fondness and deep respect for the purity of Maria that (in her mind) she'd inadequately recompensed even when sending US$15,000 after Maria mentioned in her regularly quarterly letter that she and Enzio were busily diverting income into a refurbishment account to meet new standards for restaurants.

She'd developed a very close attachment to Mrs Graham, almost from day one, which she regarded as a mother-daughter love although wasn't at all sure if that's what it was.

Lucille had not allowed any physical association to develop with Deborah Monk, believing Debs was rather too emotionally flaky to cope with that, making Lucille wonder ironically if Debs had been rather neglected as a child.

Then, rising above them all like Aphrodite was Ashleigh who came closest to perfection in Lucille's mind of any person she'd known with sexual intimacy.

Ashleigh, of course, had her very much wider circle of friends and a husband and two dear little children. She took a great risk to be with Lucille but her strong feelings compelled her to do so. In those days – not yet 1980 – any disclosure of Ashleigh being involved in a lesbian affair would almost certainly have ruined her career and perhaps her marriage.

Lucille felt her heart stop the night Ashleigh confided that she thought husband Martin suspected she and Lucille were more than just good friends.

Alarmed, Lucille had blurted, "Oh god, your marriage!"

"Hush," soothed Ashleigh, running fingers through Lucille's hair. "I am absolutely confident Martin is one of those men who will accept the concept providing he doesn't come face to face with the reality."

"W-what d-does that mean?"

"Translated for you, my dear American means he knows and accepts it providing no none tells him about it and he never catches us at it."

"You really believe that?"

Ashleigh paused to suck a finger.

"Yes – yes I do."

"Oh, I'm so grateful to hear that."

Kissing the alarm from Lucille's eyes and then blowing gently into her ear, Ashleigh whispered: "Since we suspect he knows, should I invite him to join us?"

"Ashleigh!" screamed Lucille, jerking upright, her head catching Ashleigh just above an eye and making her howl in pain.

They pressed the impact with an ice-pack and breathed with relief in the morning when they found no sign of a bruise.

"Oh God, I'm so relieved," said Lucille. "What would you have told Martin if you'd arrived home with a bruise?"

"I would have lied, telling him I had you in a yoga position and was licking your clit when you kicked me."

"Ashleigh!"

"Stay away from me, you dangerous beautiful bitch," Ashleigh laughed, side-stepping to avoid Lucille who charged her.

Thereafter Lucille limited these clandestine meetings with Ashleigh to once a month.

Sure, she'd liked more, even daily. Conversely she had to protect Ashleigh in her other life; infrequency in being together would help do that.

They met socially of course and occasionally Martin would run a hand down Lucille's butt casually when greeting her and if Lucille looked at Ashleigh at that moment she'd catch a wicked grin and an acutely raised eyebrow. Their children called Lucille 'aunty'.

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