My Only Talent Ch. 25

After I got out and closed my door, he caught my attention again. "Two things, Roberts: one, thanks for the heads up on Glareete Bayliss."

"How is that going?"

He shrugged. "Good news and bad news. I think she likes me, but I have already hopelessly fallen for her."

"She finds you very desirable, Jeeves. It is up to you to convince her to want more than just that."

He looked very serious. "Two, you can trust Elizabeth Ashcroft Knowles with your life!" With that he sped away.

I went up to the room, carefully hung up all the stuff from my suitcase, including my spiffy new outfit, and then took a long hot shower, luxuriating in the virtually endless supply of hot water. I would not get picked up for dinner until 8, so I put in a wake-up call for 7:30 PM and was dead to the world for a while.

*******

Suzanne had been so efficient in taking care of the judge that she had lots of time on her hands, for if she got back to her parent's house too early it would raise questions. Just in case, and in keeping with her anonymous 'legend', she walked from the judge's condo, which was close to the court he served on, to the Federal Triangle metro station. She took the Blue Line to L'Enfant, and then the Green Line all the way out to College Park. She walked around a bit and doubled back to burn any tails, which she would have already spotted unless they were using lots of very experienced people, which was not likely, and then waited a while for the Yellow Line, which took her on a short ride to Fort Totten, where she caught the Red Line to Farragut North, from which she walked to the Blue Spot. The night was still young, but it had already been a very colorful evening. She descended the stairs, and was reminded of the neutral odor and good ventilation, and then discovered she instantly felt right at home there.

Kimee Blue and Steve the bartender spotted her almost simultaneously, and waved excitedly. A few moments later, Steve brought over his latest and most improved version of the Instant Stripper drink she had taught him to make. She sipped it: smooth, very tasty, and yet had quite a kick to it. "It's fantastic!" she said. He just looked at her. She got the hint, and stood up and languidly took off her trench coat, did a little Gypsy Rose Lee number with her gloves, and even took off the top of her dark business suit, revealing a sheer white silk blouse. Steve stared a moment more, and then rushed back to the bar and began making another Instant Stripper for her.

Kimee walked over. "Steve has been watching the door ever since he came on shift. I am so glad you showed up. Is the drink better?"

Suzanne smiled. "It's practically perfect, and I needed one!"

"Interesting times since you were last here?"

"You would not believe me if I told you."

"Would I enjoy hearing it, though?"

Suzanne smiled, and leaned in close to whisper in Kimee's ear, "I am certain of it."

Kimee giggled and then went off to make her rounds of the other tables. Suzanne perused the chalkboard menu, discovering she was famished. It was just plain Night Night, with no special theme, but the food items were all new to her and sounded great. She ordered a braised pork shoulder and white bean empanada, and a smoked salmon soft taco with mustard dill sauce, and she also planned to splurge on the peanut butter sorbet with homemade graham crackers. The DJ was playing some pretty good tunes, and a few couples were dancing.

Kimee soon arrived with her two 'entrees' although they were all of two bites each and with another tall Instant Stripper. Everything was tremendous, like before, and she savored every morsel. She ordered the sorbet and then settled in to people watch, almost hoping someone would ask her to dance. Maybe the Blue Spot should have an amateur night like the strip bars in Dallas. Nora had not been able to shut up about how hot it made her, and how hot it had made Robbie, and Suzanne was a little jealous, mostly of Robbie getting to see Nora naked when she didn't, but also of the thrill Nora had described when she finally stood naked before the screaming room full of men. She realized that Steve's version of the Instant Stripper seemed to be working on her tonight, much more so than the ZZZ version ever had.

*******

The wakeup call shook me out of a deep and seemingly dreamless sleep, at least none that I remembered. I decided to go with my new outfit again and walked around the hotel lobby for few minutes before stepping outside a few minutes before 8 to look for Reggie. He was very punctual, but I could tell he was disappointed that Peggy was not with me. I just assumed we would go somewhere near Canary Wharf, but instead Reggie turned west rather than east and got onto the A4, which I had noticed before and briefly studied on the map in the room. I recognized St. James square on the right as we zoomed by, and then we passed a very stately looking hotel and pulled up at what looked like an angular and unusual set of four apartment buildings.

We pulled into a drive near the center of the buildings, and then did a quick left and right, through a gate that was manned by three guards, and then turned right as we descended into a parking garage. We stopped at an elevator manned by two more guards, and Reggie stopped abruptly, barking "Welcome to the other side, mate, and good luck, their drivers will take you back to Horse Guards." There was a note of disapproval in his voice far beyond what I would associate with Peggy's absence. I got out of the car, and recognized Alexis T. Quandry, the uber-nerd and mathematical whiz, who Elizabeth had described as the 'other player'. Did I want to be included in this 'player' category?

"Hello Robbie. I want you to meet someone before we join the dinner group. Follow me." He was wearing the most expensive looking suit and tie I had ever seen, and even in my vaunted new outfit I began to feel like a sixth grader at the senior prom. We entered the elevator and I noticed its unusual interior: there were no buttons, no display of the floor we were on, no mirror, nor anything else save a little swipe card reader with three LED's above it, and a flat black plate next to that. Alexis swiped a red plastic card through the reader, and then touched his thumb to the black plate on the wall. The green LED blinked, and the elevator began to move, very smoothly. I could not tell how fast it was going, or even if it was going up or down. When it stopped, I realized it must have gone up, as we walked out into an entry hall three stories tall, with windows on one side all the way up, showing a spectacular view of the city lights. Greeting us was a dark Arabic looking man in his late forties I guessed, dressed in a suit at least as nice as Quandry's. He had a close cropped beard with hints of grey, and a very intelligent expression.

He smiled tightly and offered his hand. "Hello, Mister Roberts. My name is Mohamed, but you may simply call me 'Med'. He handed me a business card and I somehow managed to give him one of mine. He had another one of the those long names full of 'Bin's and 'Al's, and on my first read it looked like a Zayani and a Fayez in there, and I assume he was related somehow to Fayez Adnan, our host.

"The pleasure is mine, Med, and call me Robbie." I managed. He motioned to a luxurious looking couch and a set of chairs and we three sat down.

Alexis spoke up. "Med is one of the most influential money managers in the world, advising the sovereign funds of many nations, including those that are the primary investors in many of the projects we are bidding on. He has a keen interest in making sure we are covered against all contingencies, not so much to ensure our profits, but to make sure our clients can take the projects forward to completion even in the face of adverse events."

I mentioned a famous legal case from Engineering 101, where the contract was for specific performance and the court's decision had directed the insurer to make extraordinary expenditures to minimize the delays after an earthquake. Med looked up in surprise.

"Precisely on point! Alexis tells me you are a freshman at ESU. What's your major?"

I suddenly felt like I was on familiar ground at a UDP mixer. "Electrical Engineering. I just had to declare it at the end of the semester."

He laughed. "I absolutely hated electrical engineers when I was there. I was a Petroleum Engineering major, and I had to take EE 331, the electrical engineering course for non-electrical engineers. It nearly killed me. Kirchoff's current law, Kirchoff's voltage law, three phase motors and generators, a zillion problem sets, and a Korean TA that barely spoke English. I still have nightmares sometimes, even though I graduated 25 years ago. Which engineering professors have you had?"

"Only Lillehammer."

He laughed. "He was brand new when I was there, and he taught Engineering Mechanics, the course designed to weed people out of engineering, and he took delight in doing it. What a bastard!"

I decided not to tell the story about Lillehammer and my project management assignment, at least not now. "I have to take it this coming spring semester, but not from him."

"Good luck!" Then Med threw me a quick question. "How did you meet Abelard Peters?"

"We met at an ESU home football game. He was in Austin for the F1 race and missed his arranged tour group of the stadium so I showed him around individually. He was fascinated by Bevo, and I think my girlfriend, too."

"He does have a discerning eye. His wife is an arresting woman, and very attractive, too." I didn't even notice him shifting mental gears, and then he said "Why do you think I should be in favor of Abelard using a new and unproven American insurance company on projects that I invest in?"

I cribbed shamelessly from the report that Brujo Lagoria, Sapiento Gallo's money man, had prepared and given me a copy of. I figured one money man's take would resonate with another. "Tier Group is going to grow tremendously over the next few years, regardless of who insures them. The absolute amount of risk is more than their current insurers should take on. So the question is not if, but who Abelard adds as a new insurer. Many of the new projects are going to be energy and/or shipping related, and we have as much or more expertise in that field than the present vendors, and a strong balance sheet. But most importantly, we identified the issues first, we want the business, and we are proposing the best solutions."

His expression was completely unreadable. "What if, in order to get the business, you needed to make some 'disbursements' in addition to those made through Adnan?"

That sent a jolt through me. Was he angling for a little additional 'mordida' of his own, or was he testing our loyalty to Adnan? Should I say yes and close the business, or would saying yes queer the whole deal? My father's dinner table advice about bribery suddenly occurred to me, and it was the same as that about sucking up to someone: if it works with them, they are probably not going to stay the real decision maker for long. Plus I didn't think I could just punt and leave the issue open. Think fast, Robbie. "We might re-evaluate our position if it turns out we are not successful with these initial proposals, but we have decided to rely on Adnan for his expertise in this area."

His expression was even more unreadable, leaving me in an ongoing state of worry. He stood up. "Let's join the other guests for dinner." He walked on ahead of us.

Alexis Quandry held my elbow to slow me down a few steps and then said "See, Robbie, even an anti-social, autistic math freak like me can sometimes see the value of networking."

We trooped up a very ornate staircase into a large dining room, set up for about 30 people, as other folks filed in along with us. I saw Adnan, with his obviously dyed black hair and mustache, talking with Barry Fermy, and he motioned to us as we approached. Med took Adnan by the elbow and then shook his hand, and then introduced me to him.

A waiter came by and offered us drinks, and when I declined, Adnan spoke "You are not a drinker, Mr. Roberts?"

"No. I don't drink or smoke or use any drugs. None of them affect me like they do most people: they just make me sleepy. I don't get high."

"What does get you high?"

"Women!" The whole group chuckled when I said it, "running, and sometimes playing competitive tennis." A bell rang and everyone started toward their seats, complete with nametags at each place.

I noticed that there were no women in attendance – Barry Fermy was here, but not Penelope Profico. Ben Wahni was here, looking as nervous and ferret-like as ever, but Senex Pedo, the project management guru, was not. None of our party was seated together, but rather dispersed across all the tables, encouraging intermixing, I supposed. I met lots of guys, most of whom had those long names that are hard for me to remember, but I began to associate some of the titles and faces. The few Brits and Americans that weren't part of our traveling group were relatively easy to remember. The food was absolutely fantastic, and every course was something new and amazing. One of the other guests commented on Adnan's new chef, which apparently he had lured away from some other, more minor billionaire.

As the evening wore down, people began to trickle out, and Adnan and Med installed themselves near the door in sort of an informal reverse reception line, speaking with each person as they went out via the elevator foyer. Barry Fermy motioned to Alexis to stay behind with me, and then he took Ben Wahni by the arm, and led him out ahead of us. When we passed by, Adnan asked if we would join him on his yacht when we returned after the first of the year and were visiting some of the sites in the Middle East.

Alexis accepted for both of us, and Adnan asked 'Will you be bringing the fashion models you mentioned?"

Alexis looked embarrassed. "Yes."

"Mr. Roberts, would you like to invite a female guest, too?"

"Yes, but she will want to bring her personal assistant with her. She is a dedicated to my girlfriend, and someone we both get along with very, very well." Alexis looked at me funny. Med and Adnan smiled broadly. Personal assistants were not uncommon in their world, and I thought they got my drift with regard to how personal this assistant might be.

Med spoke up. "Do you think we will enjoy seeing this assistant on the yacht?"

I smiled archly. "Yes, she is very unusual, and at any rate my very beautiful but very spoiled girlfriend needs her assistant there to put on her suntan lotion."

Adnan said. "I see no problem with that. Where will they be coming from?"

"Pimlico, here in London." I said.

"Wonderful. If you send her contact information to the email address on my card, my personal assistant will contact her and set everything up for us."

"Thank you so much. I am going back to Dallas in the morning. I look forward to seeing you in the New Year."

Alexis T. Quandry was beaming as he swiped the card to take us back down in the elevator. "Am I a consummate networking genius, or what?"

Adnan's driver took us back in a beautiful mint old Rolls Royce. I texted Peggy and she agreed to take a taxi to Horse Guards to spend the night together there. When we pulled up, the Rolls looked right at home on Whitehall Place, and Peggy got out of the cab just as I arrived. Our perfect timing continued throughout the evening, and we made long and tender love, and managed to come together as I looked her right in the eye, with all my weight pressing into her. We then cuddled up and she began to talk.

"So Robbie, did they invite you on the yacht?" A warbling Suzie escaped her, signaling her excitement.

"Yes, but they insisted that I bring my girlfriend and her very personal assistant, and that I promise she would shamelessly exhibit herself on deck in front of all those rich old men, and their mistresses, while another woman put on her suntan lotion."

Her Suzie signal grew like an air raid siren. She leaned down and sucked my cock until it was hard, and then grabbed my neck and straddled me. I suppose it was my duty, for God and country. We said a tearful goodbye in the morning, and I before we got out of bed I suggested she send me a Christmas card with a topless photo of herself, taken from her little outside balcony. I could feel her nipples pulse next to mine.

I took a taxi out to LHR and boarded my 10:45 AM flight for DFW. It was a brand new looking 747-400, perhaps the same one I came over on. I settled into seat 3A and expected to spend a lot of time looking out the window. This flight had no Elizabeth, and no Peggy, but at least I was on the way back towards Suzanne and Lara, although I wouldn't see them until just before classes started again. The cabin attendant handed me a little card announcing a new service, in flight Wi-Fi, no extra charge here in first class, and provided a network name and password for me to try. I had left my phone off all last night, and when I turned it on and brought up the setup dialog and joined the network, lots of messages popped in. By the time we were on takeoff roll, I had something to do.

One of the first I saw was from the Dean of Engineering, congratulating me on making the Dean's honor roll, and inviting me to a reception at the Faculty club. This actually arrived before my official grade report, 4 A's and one B. There followed an email from Lillehammer, congratulating me for finally picking a major, even if it was EE, which he considered greatly inferior to ME. He must not have seen the dual major deal, as I was trying to pick up a second undergraduate degree in Computer Science. Perhaps being around Nora was having a positive effect on me. I was sure that having Nora around me (tightly) would be even better. The CS degree required a language, and I would likely choose Italian, which I considered a better choice than that made by my cousin Mikee from New Jersey, who had taken two semesters of Klingon at a flakey junior college before dropping out. That sure looks good on your resume.

Next was an invitation from Jay Kincaid to spend a day in Waxahachie with him and his family (and Millie) on his granddad's spread and I decided that would be the right time to have a serious talk with each of them, separately, about the other. Bigun Jackson sent an email about how wonderful Alley was, and inviting me to go with him to a car show in Fort Worth the day after Christmas. There were more than a dozen emails about Spring Rush. Part of me wanted to just pledge UDP and be done with it, but my curiously told me this would be my best chance to get some direct information on some of the other frats and frat rats. Finally there was one from Günter, asking that we have a one on one face to face talk before our next 'dinner' at their apartment. I thought we had all that worked out, in sort of a 'sexual point shaving scheme' but maybe not. I needed to have the same talk with Ralph, too, and ask him if Big Liz and Marilyn had heard Suzanne' s offer, and how they responded.

Having sorted out my inbox, I then did my business networking duty and chatted up everyone in first class, including a nice looking blonde singer in her late forties that I did not recognize with an unusual sort of British or something accent who lived in London and was pouting about having to travel commercial and not being able to get a direct flight to Vegas, where apparently she had booked a series of concerts at a hotel over the holidays. She had not performed in some time, and was a little nervous about the new show. The older couple on the other side of the aircraft recognized her and made a big fuss about her and asked for her autograph, which seemed to cheer her up, and I even took the man's smart phone to take picture of them with the singer. I gave her one of my cards, and she gave me one of hers. I ate the pretty nice first class lunch, topped off with two warm chocolate chip cookies, and then slept the rest of the way.