Mother - Hostile Makeover Ch. 01

"A gene for innovation seems to run in the Chase family; son Ethan developed the online giant's proprietary retail and data mining software platform while still a sophomore at Cornell. Six years and countless iterations later, Ethan Chase's unique contribution is the company's secret sauce. Says proud mother Lauren, 'Thanks to Ethan, we almost don't have to ask what our customers want. We know that before they do. Our real job's just to get the products to them.'"

Back from the taped segment, Matthews had joined Ruiz in the studio. "Thanks, Jim. Now, what about the stories that Blue Oasis is having a cash crunch?"

"That's what we're hearing, Mikaela. The company was ideally positioned to take advantage of rising health anxieties, combined with the explosive surge in online shopping, during the pandemic. But at the same time--"

Jon muted the TV. "I wish you wouldn't oversell the software like that. You make it sound like we're all just monkeys working in the warehouse."

"He compared you to Bezos, dear," Lauren pointed out. "Anyway, what's wrong with bragging a little on our son?"

"Cheer up, Dad. You have more hair than Jeff." Ethan Chase sprawled in the chair across from his mother, Nikes planted on the edge of the table. Lauren could tell that he was restless and that he'd rather be somewhere else--solving an algorithm, taking a car apart, or just out hiking the Marion. Despite his disinterest in meetings like this one and the routines of corporate management, she had not exaggerated his central importance to Blue Oasis. The vote among the four board members making Ethan a full partner had been unanimous--even if that of the CEO himself had been a bit grudging.

Jon rubbed at his thinning scalp and frowned. "Fine, let's get on with this. Are Frank and Janet online?"

"I'll try Jan's phone again," Lauren offered. "I'll bet Frank's had too many pineapple rums. I don't think the sun's even up out there."

"They're not there to party, damn it. This meeting's pointless without their input."

"Not entirely, sir. I've done some more digging on Novak Global. Things you should know." Everyone turned to the slight, colorless man seated at the far end of the table. Lewis Bradley was the company's lead attorney, and the only one in the room this morning who was not a Blue Oasis partner.

Bradley had joined the company just before they'd relocated headquarters to California two years ago. He'd never impressed Lauren all that much. His strongest qualification for the job seemed to be his gift for sucking up to her husband. And she disliked him personally for the way he'd treated his first wife, who he'd dumped over a year ago for a European runway model named Irina.

He glanced at his notes. "So, not much of a footprint in the States, but NGT's been trading in the Pacific Rim for nearly fifty years. Mainly vanilla and copra, other foods and botanicals. Even pearls. Family-owned, so we have that in common. Aleksandra and Stefan Novak are the current partners. They have an office in Hong Kong, but really run everything from Kai'ulau. They're not small-time operators--"

"We know all that already," Jon cut him off. Bradley tugged nervously at his tattered mustache.

"Uh, yes, well...here's the thing, sir...the Novaks have a pretty rough reputation out there. Not people you want to cross. Their competitors tend to have issues with unexplained shipping delays, suspicious damage to their goods, you know. Key employees quit suddenly. Or just drop out of sight altogether."

"Wait--wait a minute," Lauren interrupted. "You're saying that these people are shakedown artists? We're talking about selling half the company to gangsters? All for the chance to sell some mumbo-jumbo sex aid?"

Jon held up his hand. "No one's selling anything." He pushed himself away from the table and crossed his arms. "Not yet. I agree that as it stands the offer's insulting. The Novaks want to buy into us for what amounts to pennies on the dollar."

Just as Lauren started to let out her breath, he added, "But they are offering us exclusive distribution rights to this, uh, Lipidrone?"

Bradley hesitated. "Libidramine," he corrected.

"As in 'libido.'" Ethan laughed sardonically. "Wow, that's some sweet branding, huh? It's the miracle aphrodisiac that's gonna change the world! So much better than red ginseng! Which we already sell, and which doesn't really do much, either. In case anyone's wondering."

He winked at his mother. Lauren looked down at her keyboard. Her cheeks were suddenly hot, and she fought to keep a smile from her lips.

"Not so fast, Junior." Jon bristled at his son's ridicule. "If there's anything at all to this, the market potential is--well, it would be incalculable, wouldn't it? An all-natural, over-the-counter sexual enhancement med that works for men and women. That's a hell of a pitch."

"Come on, dear, you know it's bullshit," Lauren objected. "Anyone can take a pill and have fantastic sex, all night long, and no side effects at all? Novak's trying to sell us a lurid fantasy. A very old one at that."

"If we were sure it was bullshit, we wouldn't have sent Frank and Janet out there," Jon countered. "You know, up until a few decades ago, a drug like Viagra was a pipe dream. Pfizer's still raking in half a billion a year on it--and that's since it's gone generic." He paused, as if letting his keen insight sink in before delivering the coup de grace. "Partnering with NGT would wipe out our capital problems. Hell, if there's anything to this Libidramine at all, we could double our total revenues in a couple of months."

There were days when Lauren swore that her job consisted largely of talking her husband down from his latest brainstorm. Getting between him and his self-image, as a visionary who saw solutions where others saw only problems, was an unending assignment. So she'd agreed to the Palmieris' trip out to Kai'ulau to placate him, fully expecting a decisive and negative outcome.

"If Jan were here, she could explain to you exactly why these claims don't make sense. She understands the science."

"She's got a B.A. in botany." Jon rolled his eyes. "Lew, read the datasheet that Novak sent us."

"They're playing this real close to the vest. All they've provided are summaries of several preclinical studies," Bradley hedged, anxious to support Jon. "There are indications that Libidramine..." he read from his laptop,"...uh, 'supports increased VO2 uptake and functions as a vasodilator. Regenerative and anti-agathic actions have been observed...'"

"Anti-what?" Lauren asked.

"It's sci-fi jargon," Ethan explained. "They're claiming their shit stops you from getting old. On top of everything else, they're selling the Fountain of Youth."

This time, Lauren did smile. Her son's ebullience at the absurdity of all of this was infectious. By nature, Jon Chase looked for the easy answer and the big score. It made him credulous. Ethan was the opposite, an unaffected skeptic. The contrast between them favored Ethan in his mother's eyes, as did most of his other qualities. As Lauren's relationship with her husband had frayed over the last few years she'd found herself more and more drawn to Ethan.

He's your son, damn it. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. That she should have to remind herself of that so often was making her psychiatrist a small fortune these days. But Ethan was far from being a kid anymore, and "proud mother" didn't scratch the surface of her disturbing feelings for him.

Ethan was oblivious to his effect on her. At least, she hoped he was. She was sure he'd be mortified by the idea of his own mother crushing on him.

"Jesus Christ, Jon, how would we even market something like this? We can't run ads with these kinds of ridiculous efficacy claims," she argued. Never mind being laughed out of business, the first time we try, half the government will dogpile us--FTC, FDA, the works."

"We sell a lot of pills that people believe in without proof that they work," Jon pointed out. "People sell themselves on supplements. And then they sell each other."

Bradley cleared his throat. "I've been thinking about that. If I may?"

"Go ahead, Lew."

"Well then...My sense is that NGT proposes to market Libidramine as a food supplement instead of as a medication largely to avoid just that kind of regulatory scrutiny, at least initially. They're sacrificing the security of patent protection for making a big splash in the marketplace. If the Novaks think that word of mouth will make this drug--uh, this supplement--a success, that's a sign that they really believe in it. It's not just a hustle to them.

"And they're set on controlling the product supply chain, right down the line. They own a manufacturing plant in Manila. They want to have a partnership stake in their worldwide distributor as well."

Jon scowled. "And if we don't take the deal, another company will snap it up."

"So they'll sell their snake oil elsewhere. Tragic." Lauren said. "Let's go back to the part where they sabotage their competition. No way the board will approve a merger with a gang like that. I won't go along, and neither will Ethan or Janet. So--"

"Uh, Mom, hold on a minute."

"You wouldn't."

"No, of course not," Ethan said. "But Lew bringing up the manufacturing angle got me thinking. If we turn them down flat, what happens next? We have a supply chain of our own in that region. Manufacturers, wholesalers...maybe Novak doesn't just take their offer to our competitors. Maybe they turn around and knock us on our asses for good measure."

"Kid's got a point." Jon snapped his fingers, moving to take advantage of a rare disagreement between his wife and son. "What about that, Lew? Could these people make trouble for us?"

Bradley spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't know, sir. If you're going to turn them down, I'd suggest that it's best to be diplomatic. At least sit down with the principals, face to face. Aleksandra Novak rarely leaves the island, but Stefan is in the States right now."

"Her husband?"

"Her son. Mrs. Novak's husband passed a while ago. Stefan's out east in New Derby, supposedly on business. But he's getting a rep as a jet setter. Spends a lot of time here and in Europe, dates around, models and actresses. What you might expect from a successful young guy who--"

"Yeah, we get it." Bradley blanched at Lauren's icy glare.

"Ah, at any rate, Stefan Novak manages to stay off of the gossip sites while blowing a nice little fraction of the family fortune."

"Hmm." Jon nodded, hands folded across his chest. He closed his eyes as if in deep thought, smiling to himself. His wife recognized the signs of trouble brewing. "Lauren, how about you fly back East and meet up with Stefan?"

"What?" She rose from her seat. "How about, no?"

"Something informal," Jon continued as if he hadn't heard. "Lew, can you reach out, set something up in a hurry?"

"Y-yes, sir," Bradley stammered, "I have his contact info--"

"No!"

"You heard Lew. Mr. Novak likes the ladies. You're still pretty hot, Laur. Go do your thing."

"Oh, thank you. My 'thing?'"

"Charm him, string him along. See if there's a way to keep them off our backs while we figure this all out."

Lauren's mind raced. She trusted Ethan to lie for her if she beat Jon senseless with her laptop, but was none too confident that attorney-client privilege would prevent Bradley from talking to the cops.

"Do you want me to put out, or do you think maybe just a hand-job will do?"

"Lauren!"

"You know what burns me up?" she asked as calmly as she could manage. "It's not so much that you believe what the media says about you, all the 'Visionary Founder' bullshit. No, it's that you can't make room in your self-made myth for the rest of us.

"Frank? You're good with Frank because he always agrees that you're the smartest guy in the room. But to you, Janet's just an airhead with suspect credentials. Your own son's an overpraised IT nerd who's getting too much credit for our success.

"And me? I run the day-to-day, I deal with the banks and play hardball with wholesalers. And I do all that media stuff, which I hate. But you think the best use of my time is to drop everything and fly three thousand miles to shake my ass for some Polynesian huckster who you're hoping will bail you out."

Bradley looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Ethan looked like he might applaud.

From the look on her husband's face, Lauren guessed he'd tuned out just after "visionary."

"Us," he said at last. "Bail us out. Will you please go talk to this guy, darling?"

"Yes I will, darling. Oh, and fuck you."

Later she would wonder what her life might have been, had she refused to meet Stefan Novak. By that time, there was no going back.

†††

Janet slid further down into the hot water of the enameled steel tub until bubbles covered all but her face, luxuriating in the warmth of the early light streaming into the bath chamber.

She'd fucked from sunset until well past midnight and awakened refreshed after five hours of serene slumber. At one point, she'd briefly stirred at the sound of angry voices echoing down the stone corridor from another room somewhere down the hall. She'd recognized Frank's reedy voice and Jakob's low, calming rumble. Their argument was heated but she could not make out the words. She'd drifted off again until just before first light.

She turned her memory to last evening's pleasures and slid one hand between her thighs to touch her clitoris. The stubborn little button seemed to always be stiff these last few days. It demanded a lot of attention whenever she was alone for very long. As a woman with some understanding of pharmacology, she found it difficult to wrap her mind around the notion that a simple pill could catalyze such extraordinary changes in her body and mind.

She started at the sound of heavy footsteps on the wooden floor outside the bath chamber door. She wasn't ready to face Frank again. What was there to say, really? The marriage was certainly finished, with few of the regrets that she'd have had a month ago. She didn't just want to remain here on Kai'ulau; she needed to stay. She had a sense of mission for the first she could remember. Her life and purpose unfolded before her, plain and whole. Libidramine was a gift that she would help the Novaks to bring into the world.

The door scraped open. Manate and Dominic leered down at her. They were both naked and hard. Trembling, she draped her ankles over the high, round lip of the tub, tilting her pelvis up so that her freshly-shaved vulva emerged from the suds. The cool morning air tickled the folds of her open pussy. She ran her tongue along her lips. "I'm pretty wet."

Manate braced a big hand on the rim at the foot of the tub and started to step into the water. Janet curled her toes around the edge of his forearm to stop him. "Up here. I want you in my mouth," she rasped. "Dom can have my cunt--this time."

Manate was a giant, nearly seven feet of solid muscle with a cock to match. Janet hadn't seen that cock soft yet. He easily straddled the clawfoot tub with both of his feet flat on the soapy, wet flagstone floor. Janet lifted her chin. She extended her tongue, dragging it along the underside of his prick, coaxing the bulbous tip into her wide-open mouth.

"Hot mouth," Manate grunted as his glans slipped past her lips. "Good as your pussy."

"What a dear thing to say," Janet murmured. Those were the most words she'd heard out of the big islander in one breath since he'd met her and Frank on their arrival at Kai'ulau's little airport. That day seemed like a lifetime ago, now.

Properly managed, young men were simple and satisfying creatures. Janet's feelings for these two studs ranged somewhere between maternal and the affection one might feel for pets. They were like a pair of big, unruly, eager-to-please dogs. The key was to show no fear or hesitation. Dominate them. Get them hot, make them wait, then reward them with the kind of fuck that an experienced woman could throw.

Dominic stepped into the tub behind Manate with a splash. She couldn't wait to get him in her. He had a nice penis, a sort of club-shaped cock with a big blunt knob and a slimmer but deeply-veined shaft. Whenever he entered her, she'd swear that she felt the coronal ridge and could count those veins as they glided up her snug sex hole. Libidramine heightened her physical sensitivity that much.

After her first long round with Jakob last evening, she'd gone two with Manate and another with Dominic before finishing with Jakob again. But this would be her first time in decades with two men at once. How she'd missed double-fucking! She nearly came just at the awareness of her own wickedness. Was there was any limit to her supercharged sexual appetite? She meant to conduct the experiments to find out.

Dominic lifted and held her thighs wide apart. Her labial lips clung to his shaft as he pressed steadily forward into her vagina. He and Manate fucked her in rhythmic counterpoint. Janet moaned around the giant's throat-plugging cock as he withdrew while Dominic drove deep and fully into her with each powerful stroke. She gyrated her hips against him and worked his cock with her talented pussy muscles, and as he pulled out she sucked Manate's huge cock all the way down her throat.

Janet climaxed hard and frequently, thrashing so violently beneath the men that she was surprised there was any water left in the tub by the time she felt the pulsing of Manate's cock signaling his imminent ejaculation. She pulled him deep into her throat one last time before letting all but his glans slip from her mouth. Growling like a grizzly bear, he fed her long jets of warm semen, filling her mouth more rapidly than she could gulp it down.

Dominic quickened his pace, approaching his own orgasm. Janet raised one foot to his flat, muscular belly and gently pushed him back with her toes, causing his cock to slide out of her cunt. He grimaced in disappointment until she said, "Change places. I'll suck you off while he fucks me."

Janet had not wanted to bruise either of the islanders' feelings by admitting aloud that she needed Dominic to go first in her pussy to stretch her for Manate's mammoth tool. Her channel was wide open now, more than ready for the biggest cock she'd ever seen. She squealed happily as he stretched her out, at the same time welcoming Dominic's wet cock between her cum-smeared lips.

Dominic erupted after only a few minutes. When he subsided, she licked and kissed his cock to keep him hard. She'd discovered that males on the island recovered from orgasm within minutes, with only the mildest stimulation.

So much to explore! She would dedicate her life to learning all she could about Kai'ulauan sexuality.

For science.

Jakob waited for Janet in her bedchamber. She was a vision when she appeared, china skin scrubbed pink, her short locks lying damp against her brow, aglow with the contentment of a well-fucked woman.

Yet when she saw him lounging on her bed, her eyes sparkled with fresh desire.

"Mrs. Novak wishes to meet with you. To further discuss your plans together. In her office."

"Right away?"

Jakob smiled. "This afternoon."

"Then we have time." She climbed onto the bed and knelt between his legs, undoing his trousers. Even as she admired his erection, he could tell that something else nagged at her. "Where's--Will Frank be meeting with Aleksandra too?"

It was the question he had dreaded all morning. "Not today, Mrs. Palmieri. Your husband is not here."

"Where is he? Did he leave without me?"

"Would you be very unhappy, if that were the case?" Jakob had to be cautious. He was growing too attached to this woman, this outsider. That awareness brought with it an unaccustomed gnawing of conscience. He could not afford to falter.