Matrimony

It creaked open and Mr Donald Holloway hesitantly entered. He was followed by Evangeline who looked far from hesitant. I stood and walked over to them holding out my hand for the man to shake, "Donald... Evangeline... So good of you to come." I said as I pumped the husband's hand and looked him in the eye. I forced myself to behave stereotypically in that I concentrated upon the man and largely ignored his wife.

I spun around and, smiling, indicated the three easy chairs and coffee table that I had borrowed for the occasion. I needed to put them at their ease and step one was me saying. "Please be seated!"

When they were, I reached around and grabbed one of the files from my desk but as I did so I caught a whiff of Evangeline's perfume and had too fight down a small shiver of anticipation, not to mention the twitches inside my panties.

"Are there any developments?" Donald Holloway enquired hesitantly

I looked sombre. "I am afraid so. It seems that things may be worse than you led me to believe a fortnight ago."

The both looked shocked so I changed the subject by enquiring. "Tea or coffee?" Then I left them to 'stew' while I phoned my drinks request to housekeeping.

I chatted with them, largely about the weather and other trivia until one of the bank's servants brought our refreshments - I needed the pair of them relaxed and more than a little susceptible to what I was about to say. It had been Helena's idea to dose their drinks with a suitable will-suppressant and she had suggested a mild version of the highly effective drug that we both use on our pets.

I watched them as they sipped their coffee and waited a few minutes for the telltale effects to become obvious. The gently up-turned mouths; the slightly wide-eyed open expressions; the increased tendency to relax and lean back in their chairs. Medicating one's clients is not normally considered as good business practice, but in their case I firmly believed that it was for their own good.

I began by metaphorically hitting them below the belt. "I'll be blunt," I said straight out, "I am afraid that the Bank's auditors do not believe that your company's assets are large enough to meet your liabilities if you continue trading."

Donald almost choked on his coffee while Evangeline looked stunned. "Are you sure?" She asked.

"I nodded. "They have taken everything into account and there is something like a twenty five per cent shortfall."

"Can't you grant us a loan to cover the difference and we'll pay it back over the next couple of years? This is a merchant Bank, after all, so surely you view this as an investment opportunity?" That was Evangeline, still thinking clearly, despite the stuff in her coffee.

I paused and drank some of my own coffee which needless to say, was not dosed with anything other than cream. "I'm sorry, but taking your projected future tax bills into account, it is going to be at least ten years before we would see a return on the investment which is a far longer term than the Directors would be comfortable with."

By now Donald seemed very close to tears but I could almost see the little wheels going around inside Evangeline's head. "Why can't we file for bankruptcy and relaunch ourselves as a new company with a new name? That way we could just walk away from many of our debts."

Where had this woman been all of my life? It as an excellent suggestion, but I was ready. By way of an answer I extracted a sheet of paper from one of my dossiers and handed it to her. I didn't say anything but then I didn't need to.

She read it and turned as pale as her husband. "What?" She almost shrieked. "This is not possible!"

"I'm afraid it is." I said gravely. "We have double checked it and it's true. Your company was not registered correctly with Company's House and so your limited liability status is not valid. As a result, the two of you are personally liable for the whole of the debt."

Donald Holloway looked as if someone had just hit him while his wife did a passable impression of a goldfish. I gave them a minute or so for the levels of panic to rise before adding. "I have also been led to believe that, because of this error, the Inland Revenue, bless them, are about to commence legal proceedings to recover the whole of the tax bill that is currently owing."

Horrified, they stared at each other and then at me and by now I could see that they were both shocked. So far, so good...

"Can't the bank do anything?" Evangeline almost sobbed. On reflection I was glad that I had dosed her coffee with the drug for I doubted that she would have fallen for my ploy if I hadn't. The Lady was shrewd.

I smiled reassuringly. "I think so. We are a merchant bank after all and have a wide network of contacts. I am sure that we can slow things down so that we can gain a little grace. I'm pretty sure that we can also come up with a bail-out package that will get you both out of trouble!"

This was the bait and I had dangled it in front of them expertly although I say so myself. I opened another folder and extracted a couple of wads of paper. "The sooner that we can get things moving the safer you will be so could you please have a look at these and sign them as indicated... The Bank can't act without your authority, which these papers grant. Think of them as giving us 'powers of attorney': these allow us to act on your behalf without having to pester you every few minutes.

Donald immediately began to scribble his signature everywhere that was indicated by a little cross and had run through the whole of the twenty or so pages while Evangeline was still reading the first one. "Receivership?" She enquired.

I nodded. "It allows the Bank to take control of all of your assets: this is by far the best way to protect you both from your creditors. You'll remain in control of your company but we will be able to protect you from creditors and possible predators."

She nodded and signed in all of the places before moving on to the second sheet. "Most of the powers that you grant us will not be needed. They're only there in case of an emergency."

She frowned. "Then why do we need to sign now?"

I smiled reassuringly. "If they are needed then it will be at very short notice. There might only be a few minutes' grace - nowhere near enough time to contact you. This is a pretty involved business - one misstep and the whole thing could unravel instantly and then where would you and your family be?"

She scribbled a couple of signatures and moved on to the third sheet. "Inland Revenue?"

"This gives us the authority to deal with them on your behalf." I explained.

She shivered and signed. By now she was spending less and less time reading each sheet and had begun signing more by reflex than judgement. Suddenly she stopped and looked up. "Articles of Partnership?"

I shrugged. "If a cash injection is required, you may have to sell a part of the company and take on a business partner: probably a Merchant Venturer who specialises in bail outs of this sort. Again this is a decision that would need to be made at very short notice."

She signed the page... And the next... And the next...

I took a good look at her: she now looked as relaxed and happy as her husband did. The drug, for some reason, had taken longer to work.

I gathered up the papers, put them back inside the folder and locked it in my safe heaving a sigh of relief now that the first stage of my take-over bid was complete.

Evangeline would make a beautiful bride.

Soon it would be time for lunch but there was one more thing to do and within a minute or so my phone rang right on time heralding the next phase of today's machinations: Donald was going to be taken out to lunch by Helena Yorke so that he could meet his new partner.

I answered the call making all of the correct responses, finishing with: I'll send him up. I turned back to the Holloways. "That was my boss, Ms Yorke, she has asked that you go up to her office to meet a potential investor. Things need to move much faster than I previously believed so just go out of the door and up the stairs to the sixth floor. Helena's office is opposite the staircase. You can't miss it.

They looked at each other and then stood and made their way to the door. "Er, not you, Evangeline. The Investor specifically asked to see Donald alone for the initial talks."

"What?" She asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

I shrugged. "Sorry about that but perhaps you would like to join me for lunch? That way we can fill in some of the gaps in your understanding of events?"

"Don't agree to anything without checking with me first." She snapped at her husband who nodded. Actually He wouldn't need to agree to anything: his consent was already signed and sealed and locked up in my safe. Either way, Donald was in for an 'interesting' time: with or without his wife's agreement.

5. The Perils of a Working Lunch.

Perhaps you will forgive me for feeling relieved but everything seemed to be coming together quite smoothly. I had taken Evangeline to a little restaurant a few streets away and just outside of the 'City' proper. It is very discrete and a favourite of the financial community so I was pretty sure that we would not be interrupted. We commenced proceedings by opening a bottle of rather good wine so that we could celebrate a successful outcome to our meeting and as we chatted I learned one or too things about her, Thanks to the wine, and the drops that I had put in hers Evangeline became a bit giggly and opened up a much more than she had intended.

I learned for instance that she was thirty and was ten years younger than Donald. Immediately that I heard this my ears pricked up - so she was Donald's second wife and that daughter could not be hers. I poured her a second glass just as the steaks were arriving: there was a slight confusion over our orders which I used to put a couple more drops into her glass which in turn caused her to become even more relaxed.

No, she didn't know anything much about Donald's first wife as he refused to talk about her: she gathered that the separation had been far from amicable. These facts were naturally filed away for future use.

As the meal proceeded I asked my 'date' about herself and learned that she was from Skipton in Yorkshire and had been an only child but her parents were now both dead. I offered my condolences for form's sake even though she was too merry to notice. No parents or siblings: now that was good news as it meant that there would be no close family to wonder about the sudden changes in lifestyle that the woman was about to undergo.

When I judged that her defences were well and truly down my questions became a little more probing and I then asked her if she had ever had sex with another woman. This time the giggling lasted for a full ten seconds and was accompanied by a bout of blushing so I took that as a 'yes'.

Bimbos do not normally appeal to me but I was now beginning to find the air-headed version of Evangelina to be quite a turn-on. The highly intelligent Evangeline was witty and had a sharp mind and a fantastic personality which had been the original attraction. However the silly version was very endearing and a real turn-on so I would need to make up my mind very soon as to which one I wanted. Should I keep her as she is, with all of the inherent problems of controlling her degree of intelligence or have her bimbofied? Bimbos have a lot of advantages in that they are far easier to maintain and tend to fuck like bunnies. The highly intelligent woman that she now was would be a great intellectual asset that I could utilize both at work and at home but the bimbo would be more entertaining. I realised that I would have a choice to make at some point in the future because I could not have both. Ah! Choices! Choices! Choices!

Eventually the meal came to an end and I signed the bill - well it was a business lunch after all. None of the restaurant staff seemed to notice that the beautiful brunette who accompanied me was three sheets to the wind but then that is all part of the service. They called a taxi for us and helped the lady into it, sympathising with the fact that she was 'unwell'.

I made a decision and used my mobile to call Helena informing her that Evangeline would have to come home with me 'for her own protection' as she was a little 'drunk'. Helena chuckled and told me that Donald was getting on famously with his potential new partner and that their working lunch would last several more hours because the new partner wanted to take Donald clothes-shopping as he was dissatisfied with his current image.

I called in at the Bank on the way home and asked Albert to get the blue file from my office safe as I intended to work at home. The blue file was the one containing the unsigned copies of the documents that the Holloways had signed and was for reference only.

"Certainly, madam, please be good enough to wait here while I send a messenger up to collect it." He said with his usual smile.

* * *

By the time that I arrived home with Evangeline she had become semi-conscious so I had two of my maids put her to bed in the guest room. I knew that they would amuse themselves a little while they undressed her and helped her into bed, but that didn't matter. Her clothes were much the worse for wear, she having spilled a good deal of food and wine during the meal so I made a note of her sizes and did some phoning around, contacting a couple of shops that I knew would deliver. Within a couple of hours I obtained clothing that I judged to be far more suitable than her rather severe tailored business suit. Donald wasn't the only one who would be getting a new wardrobe.

Evangeline would be staying so I was quite generous in my purchases. The underwear would be quite a bit skimpier than what she had previously worn and the skirts and dresses were no doubt shorter than those she normally wore but she would soon get used to her new look. I know that most women spend a lot of their time in slacks or trousers but Evangeline would only ever wear skirts for as long as she was living under my roof and I was determined that this would be for a long time, a very long time!

I had learned that her daughter was away at school so that was one complication that did not have to be taken into account... Yet! As far as I was concerned she was actually an added bonus and I had plenty of time to decide how to utilize her... Or at least I had until just after the wedding when life would change for the young lady: yes, it would change drastically indeed.

I stopped and thought - perhaps it wouldn't hurt to set the ball rolling a little early and it was always a good idea to secure one's assets. I thumbed through the file that I had brought from the bank and found the page with her details: I read through it and then phoned Mr Delkins and asked him to arrange for her to receive a medical examination plus certain emergency 'treatment' at the clinic that I stipulated. That done, I sat back and allowed myself the luxury of feeling smug.

* * *

It was the following afternoon before I was able to compare notes with Helena. I had sedated Evangeline and left her in the capable hands of my beautiful pets: they would look after her and ensure that she didn't do anything silly. They would also keep her sedated so that she was easier to handle and would no doubt handle her too.

I asked Helena about Donald's lunch appointment that had taken place on the previous day and she had given me a big beaming smile. "Armando. he's the new investor, by the way, is quite taken with Donald and is keen to obtain a controlling interest in the Holloways' company and in much more, besides. He's going to buy Mrs Holloway out completely and take ten per cent of Mr Holloway's holdings too. Donald, of course, doesn't know about any of this yet and I intend to break it to him gently. Actually things will be much easier now the wife is out of the picture - she was the one who was controlling everything and running her husband too. With her out of the picture it will be very easy to manipulate Donald.

The lunch had gone well and Donald had remained pliant thanks to the drugs that he had been fed. By two o'clock, Armando had become his new best friend and was well on the way to becoming his partner too. Luckily Donald had not read the paperwork and so had no idea as to what sort of 'partnership' he was in the process of entering into.

Armando wasn't happy with Donald's appearance and so had insisted on taking him shopping and on purchasing a whole new wardrobe and image make-over for him. They had started off at a beautician who catered for that certain type of male... Here Donald's hair had been styled and highlighted; light make-up was then applied to his face; his nails shaped and painted and finally all body hair removed and he had been tastefully sprayed with subtle perfume. Then it was off to an adult shop where he had acquired figure-hugging underwear that held his genitalia in a contoured pouch that left nothing to the imagination and thrust everything forward so to make a prominent bulge in the front of his trousers. This Armando love it because it accentuated his manhood while Helena thought that it made him look as well-hung as a Shetland pony.

Next Armando took him on a tour of several exclusive boutiques and purchased a whole new wardrobe for him. A wardrobe that Armando alone chose. When she had last seen them: Donald had been wearing a figure-hugging silk floral shirt in pink and purple and skin-tight maroon trousers that flared out below the knee and accentuated his new, bulging crotch. His new shoes had three inch Cuban heels which caused him to roll and sway when he walked: in fact he was so unsteady that he had to slip his arm through Armando's - just for support you understand!

The Italian financier had then informed Helena that he was taking his new friend home and that Donald would be living with him from now on. Donald was too spaced-out to grasp the implications of the statement so he just nodded and grinned vacuously.

I had laughed and clapped my hands in delight. "I think that it's time to dispose of their houses an their cars. Surely we urgently need to recoup some of the money owed to the Bank?"

When Helena smile knowingly and I continued. "Evangeline has moved in with me - she doesn't know it yet, but being homeless will make it a lot easier for me convince her that she has no alternative. It will also cement Armand's hold over Donald too."

There was still one more thing that needed actioning and this was urgent. To this end I removed a sheet of paper from the blue file that was now on my desk and showed it to her. "Could this possibly become absolute on Wednesday next week?"

She glanced at it and smiled. "It'll be tight to get it done in nine days but I'll instruct Delkins to make sure that your deadline is met. I am sure that Armando will be highly appreciative afterwards too."

I could definitely hear wedding bells but now there were two sets of them ringing in unison!

6. Tying-up Loose Ends.

I was on leave from the Bank: a month's leave with Helena's grateful blessing. No matter how unorthodox the series of transactions had been, the Holloways had got their wish and their family business had been rescued from certain bankruptcy. It now had a sound future as a part of the Armando Bergamaschi Group whose headquarters were in Pietada, Italy. If there is a moral to this part of the proceedings it is that people should always be careful in what they wish for because wishes just sometimes are granted!

Today was Monday and the beginning of the fourth week of my dealings with the Holloway family and Evangeline had been staying with me for a week. At first she had been more than a little confused but I had kept her sedated and on a low-dose of will-suppressants to prevent her from becoming stressed or distressed. The doses would be reduced in the future as she adjusted to her new role and to the change in her status.