Nickles and Dimes Ch. 05

Ch. 05 - First Big Contract

Forward

Nickels & Dimes is a work of fiction. Characters and events come strictly from the imagination.

This is the fifth in that series about two truckers, owner operators (O O's), who, while finding trucking to be enjoyable and profitable, do not find it to be sufficiently lucrative to provide money for their eventual retirement.

Their solution is to take money from people who have plenty and won't miss what they take. Many of those from whom they steal are people involved in occupations that are on the wrong side of the law themselves. In this chapter Ilysa learns the price of a big contract.

In each of these stories you will find sex, drama, and conflict, even, perhaps, a bit of humor. If you like the stories, please let me know. If you dislike them, I'd like to know that as well. How else can we improve what we provide our readers if they don't let us know what they like and dislike?

Thank you so much for reading this story. I hope you enjoy it. Kindly leave a comment at the end of the story.

First Big Contract

The Rudiments of Freight

For weeks Ilysa studied freight. More than just selling the company's ability to back a tractor up to a trailer and haul it off, Ilysa wanted to be able to provide more than freight companies. She looked for weaknesses in the competition and problems manufacturers were having. Slowly she built on her knowledge. She wanted to convince smaller companies that using Guaranteed Transport rather than their own trucks could save money in personnel and equipment, not to mention quality of service to their customers.

She sought out and contracted with other OOs who would be interested in having a more consistent stream of work. For them, not only would there be the initial haul, but there could well be a backhaul as well. In her mind, in her plans, she would be able to provide an OO with a load to a vacation spot where he and his family could spend their vacation, then pick up a load as they went home allowing him to write off much of the cost of the vacation. That seemed a much more difficult challenge, but she felt it was possible and she'd continue to work toward it.

Electronics including specialized transponders, GPS, and computerized log maintenance kept her head swirling. She realized, however, that bringing those devices to the attention of her customers as compliance and cost-saving features of Guaranteed Transport could give her an edge.

Ilysa split her time between learning about the rudiments of freight and selling their basic product, hauling a trailer from one point to another.

She took online courses in salesmanship to enhance her ability to convert a meeting to a sale. It was here that she ran into a problem that her studies of freight had neglected.

"God," she said to Janet, "I get into these dirty backrooms with these big, grubby guys and you'd be surprised how often I have to almost fight my way out. I come to conduct business and they have only one thought in mind." She took firm hold of Janet's butt to demonstrate.

"You are beautiful, you know. I guess you will have to learn to keep control of the situation."

Ilysa snickered. "I know. And sometimes it results in a sale."

Janet raised her eyebrows. "Oh, well. But you don't want to be the slut that sells trucking services." She paused. "There are way too many puns there, none of which are good."

"Yep. I have got to have these people calling me because they want great service at reasonable prices. For that reason I do try to stay with larger manufacturers. Besides," she giggled, "they are much less likely to leave dirty hand prints on my clothes."

"Good thinking." Janet was laughing.

Jimmy, Look Me in the Eye

"Pifer & Company manufactures pet products sold around the country." The website went on from there with glowing descriptions of the company, its products, and how well it treats its employees. The company was within an hour's drive so Ilysa looked up the phone number and soon her sultry voice had her an appointment with a gentleman who told her that he made the decisions about selecting trucking companies to haul their goods.

He would, he said, be pleased to meet with her about Guaranteed Transport. "Can't ever have too many qualified trucking vendors," he told her.

When she hung up, she wanted to clean off the phone so strongly did he imply a sexual agenda. God, she said to herself, how could he have mentioned that he had a 'really comfortable' couch in his office. She felt like she should lock on a chastity belt.

Jimmy Glover, she wrote in her appointment calendar, Pifer & Company. She took a deep breath. They shipped a lot of product and they had no trucks of their own. Another deep breath.

She spend the rest of the day looking for others in the general area. Perhaps she could go down there and spend the night so she didn't have to waste time driving back and forth just to see a single potential client. She built up her list and found several others who were willing to see her. None seemed to be salivating on the phone, at least not like Jimmy had.

She'd see Mr. Glover just before noon and move on. A fast food lunch and time to clear her head would fill the time until the next appointment.

Hitting the road at six for her first appointment meant getting up at four thirty, a time Americans had come to call oh-dark-thirty. She rose and bleary eyed, padded to the coffee pot to switch it on.

As she passed a mirror she saw reflected her nude body and wondered about these Americans and their obsession with nudity. She loved being free of her clothes. She slept naked. Often, as now, she'd have her breakfast before she dressed. Looking the mirror, studying her body for signs of aging she noted a short, blond pubic hair that had escaped her razor. She ignored it. Tomorrow, she thought. But it wouldn't leave her mind. It was something that wasn't perfect. She tramped off to the bathroom and found her razor. Better, she thought, after it was whisked away. She was again smooth and bald.

Her first two appointments yielded positive responses. Ilysa was feeling good as she headed for her next client.

Pifer & Company was located in a business park created for light manufacturing. She took note of the park name planning to look up its occupants when she got back. It would be good to have a number of accounts in one general location.

The reception area was managed by an older woman who apparently had some other job in the company as well. As she busily completed work on papers scattered on her desk Ilysa waited patiently. The woman looked up finally. She did a double take seeing a gorgeous blond in a business suit. There was nothing slutty about her visitor, but she was a knock out.

Blinking repeatedly, her mouth opening and closing several times before words came out, she managed, "How can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Sylvi Lundholm. I'm here to see Mr. Glover."

The woman stared. "Why?" The question obviously had nothing to business. She was asking why such a gorgeous woman would be calling on Jimmy. No woman looking this good would ever want to be in the same room with Jimmy, and certainly not alone with Jimmy. She didn't even want to be in the same room with him. At Christmas parties the women did everything in their power to stay out of arm's reach.

"I represent Guaranteed Transport, a freight services provider. Perhaps you've heard of them. It's quite a well-known company."

The woman nodded. Her mouth was open.

"My appointment is at eleven." Ilysa could see the confusion in the woman. She'd seen it before, but never so blatant. It was nearing eleven.

The woman nodded again. She pushed a button on her cluttered desk. "Jimmy, you got a visitor in the lobby."

A voice that Ilysa recognized came from some distance as though he was standing across the room from the intercom. He was gruff in his response. "Yeah, I know. She good looking?" He knew his question was going out to everyone in the reception area including his visitor.

"None of your fucking business. Just get your ass out here," the woman retorted then slapped her hand to her face so hard Ilysa saw her head rock back. "I'm so sorry." She had released the button. This was just between Ilysa and herself. "I forget myself with that asshole." Her head dropped. "There I go again. You just be careful. You are so beautiful, I'm almost afraid to send you back there with him." She was looking at Ilysa as though she was sending her into mortal combat.

Ilysa smiled. "I haven't found one I can't handle," she said softly, but, hopefully, she thought, with authority and confidence. "We'll see. It's part of the job."

"You just let me know if anything happens back there." She was looking at Ilysa as a mother might. "If he does anything, I'll report him."

"Thanks," Ilysa liked having a bond with someone at each account. This was a good start. She was, however, thinking of what it was she was getting into with Jimmy.

"You might as well sit. It will take him a few minutes to get here. And," she added, "he likes to play the big shot and keep folks waiting."

Ilysa nodded. She held a Guaranteed Transport folder clutched to her chest in a manner that, pushing up on one breast, drew attention to her figure. Her bag was slung over the same shoulder. Looking at the woman, she relaxed her grip on the folder and her breast relaxed back into her bra. She buttoned a button. Then, thinking more about Jimmy, she put the folder in her bag.

She looked at the woman at the desk who had been watching her. "That better," she asked.

"Yeah, that's better. Hopefully it will be good enough."

She found a seat where she could see the door she thought he'd enter from and picked up a trucking magazine. Hmm, she thought, she'd have to find a way to get Guaranteed Transport written up in one of these magazines.

Indeed it was twenty minutes before Jimmy Glover made his appearance. She'd been early but by now the clock read 11:15. She'd have to cut her lunch short or not eat at all. She heard a door close as she skimmed an article. Ilysa looked up. There was no one there. Then a hand touched her shoulder. She had to restrain her startle reflex not to lunge at the perpetrator. She looked up. He must have come from another direction because standing over her was a man in a plaid shirt and blue cotton twill pants. His hand rested heavily on her shoulder. Pot belly, one or two day stubble, tousled hair under a ball cap that read Pifer & Company, he was the image of a good ole boy.

He looked straight down her blouse.

"Got something to sell me, honey?" He couldn't have been more lewd if he had added vulgar references about the specific body parts she might be selling.

Ilysa stood. At over six foot, she was taller than Jimmy. Her heels added to the impression, and his surprise.

He recovered. "Well," there was a pause as he exhaled. He made a point of looking her up and down. "Come on back."

As she followed him out of the reception area, she made eye contact with the receptionist who gave her a wary look. She followed Jimmy back into the warehouse. The clacking of her heels caused workers to stop what they were doing briefly as they passed. She heard a low whistle in the background. Quickly she got Jimmy chatting about the weather. She almost always used the weather conditions as an entree from which to segue into sports, family, vacations, and eventually trucking. With Jimmy it was sports. By the time the whistle intruded, they were deep into the Patriots and Brady.

"Don't mind that," he said. "They're a pretty crude bunch back here."

"I feel safe with you," she'd replied throwing him into the position of protecting her. It was difficult to reverse roles and become the predator, she'd found. She'd still need to be careful.

In his office he removed a stack of magazines and catalogs from a chair to give her a seat. "Don't have many trucking people coming here to tell me about their business," he allowed as she sat. There was no couch in the office.

She couldn't tell if it was on purpose or if he couldn't help himself, but he stared at her breasts as she began. She put the brochure she'd brought with her on his desk moving her chair to a point directly across from him. His gaze was on her breasts in spite of the folder lying open before him.

She reached out and very slowly raised his chin. When their eyes met, she said sweetly, "I know I'm pretty. I don't think I'd change it if I could, but I really think I have a good product that will work well for Pifer & Company. However, if your mind is just on my boobs . . . ," she just let it hang for a minute. "Well, there just might be a test later." She smiled. He smirked.

He'd been smiling. Now he was close to drooling. She'd never taken her fingers from the stubble of his chin. Now with a forefinger she stroked his chin. He beamed, but his eyes detoured to her breasts again.

She sat back. The chair rocked slightly on its uneven legs. She unbuttoned the single button on her suit jacket. He sucked in his breath as she found a button on her blouse. "Will I have your full attention?" He understood what she meant, but his attention was elsewhere. Nonetheless, he nodded. Her fingers worked the button. It came loose, but she held the material of the blouse together. "Promise you won't tell?" He nodded as the material slipped from her fingers. Her other hand still held his chin. She continued to stroke the underside of it with her finger.

Her fingers went to the next button. He gulped. She slipped the button out. Holding the blouse together, she said, "Stand up and cross your heart." He stood and looking down her blouse, crossed his heart.

She let the fabric go. There was one more button. When her fingers found it, she said, "And hope to die?"

Her bra was fully visible now. He gulped as he nodded. The blouse opened. She pulled it from her skirt. Then in a moment he would relive for the rest of his life she gently prised her breasts, one at a time from the cups of her bra. Tentatively he reached toward her. She leaned forward. She could see the shivers run through his body as she allowed him to caress her. He was very gentle.

"I enjoyed that," she whispered as she stood and put her clothes back together.

She sat and smiled at him for a few long moments. "I hate to interrupt the nice moment we had, but may I tell you about Guaranteed Transport?" He nodded agreement and paid full attention to her.

In the reception area as he said goodbye, the receptionist noted his hand finding Ilysa's butt. She saw Ilysa gently take his hand in both of hers and holding it close, allowing it to brush against her breast, she leaned in to him. "Thank you so much for this opportunity to speak with you. I'll have one of our guys pick up that load tomorrow."

His eyes met those of the beautiful saleswoman. Eyebrows arched as they exchanged smiles.

When she finally sat in her car, she exhaled, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled again. She found a McDonald's and ate slowly to let her body recover. Heart rate slowed, she called in the Pifer & Company load to Sandy who would pick it up.

The remainder of the day and most of the next she called on appointments as well as a few cold calls with mixed success. Feeling the stress throughout her body, she drove slowly back to her apartment, Guaranteed Trucking's world headquarters. There she removed her clothes and opened a bottle of wine.

NextGen, A Big Contract

"Be here Thursday afternoon at four thirty. I'll have the contract ready for you. I think you'll be pleased." With that he went back to the work on his desk, effectively dismissing her. Ilysa, or Sylvi, as he knew her, nodded, though he wasn't looking. She left not knowing whether or not to be pleased with the outcome of the meeting.

Ilysa nodded again at his admin as she passed. She thought the admin gave her an odd, assessing kind of look. It was all strange.

She elected not to tell anyone about the potential contract lest it blow up and everyone be disappointed so for two days she held the news tightly inside her.

On Thursday morning she began examining clothes and jewelry for the important afternoon meeting. She had only two suits and she'd worn them both in meetings with Mr. Roberts. For today she selected the dark blue one to add contrast to her fair complexion. She was freshly out of the shower and had not yet dressed. Still damp she continued considering her wardrobe for the meeting concentrating now on her underwear. She would wear a soft pink silk blouse with her blue suit so she pulled a pink bra from her drawer. It was one that they'd purchased at Naughty Nicole's. It was low cut and would show through the blouse. Would it be too much?

She'd keep her jacket on, she allowed.

She pulled on the matching panties, then the bra and finally the blouse. She wished the bra had less lace, but all in all with her jacket closed, it should be fine. On a whim she changed to casual clothes and went out to have her hair and nails done. She wanted to look professional, but attractive when she talked about the contract with Mr. Roberts.

At four fifteen she pulled into the NextGen parking lot. She continued to be impressed by the huge building behind their offices. She wondered if she'd ever get to see the inside. Perhaps she had a right to ask. After all if was from here that all the trucks pulled out with their loads.

She suspected that the tanker cars on the rail spur brought in the raw material that NewGen Plastics turned into the thousands of products they sold.

She'd been calm, but as she approached the door to the office building she felt her heart begin to pound. This was an incredibly big day for her and for Guaranteed Transport. Taking a deep breath she opened the door and walked to the receptionist's desk. With luck, this could be the biggest contract ever.

"Nice to see you again, Ms. Lindholm," the receptionist said brightly. "You here to see Mr. Roberts?"

"That I am." The receptionist's attitude made her feel a thousand percent better. How nice she remembered her and who it was that she came to see.

"I'll let Ms. Baird know you're here." Then in a confidential tone she said, "Her name's Kaytee, but she's so, well, uppity that most everyone calls her Ms. Baird. I don't. I don't need the job!" She smiled again as she lifted the phone. "Hi, Kaytee, I have Ms. Lindholm to see Mr. Roberts." She paused as apparently Kaytee was responding. Shortly she looked up at Ilysa even though she was speaking to Kaytee. "OK. I'll tell her. Bye." She hung up the phone. "She said to take a seat. She'll be down in about five minutes."

"Thanks," Ilysa replied and found a seat. She picked up a magazine. It was a plastics trade magazine. She found no solace in it. Slowly her heart began to beat harder again. In less than five minutes the elevator doors opened and Ms. Baird stepped out. Ilysa wanted to look like her. She appeared to be only a few years older than herself, but she looked and acted the part of the professional administrative aid. She looked like someone a CEO like Mr. Roberts could depend on to get things done. No wonder everyone called her Ms. Baird.

With a pleasant face she walked directly to Ilysa who rose to meet her. Ilysa took her offered hand. "Nice to see you again," she said pleasantly, but without the bubbling warmth of the receptionist. "Mr. Roberts is waiting for you." She turned and walked back to the bank of elevators. She inserted a key and within a few seconds a car arrived. She inserted the key again inside the elevator closing its doors. There were no stops on the way to Mr. Roberts sixth floor suite.

"What does the key do," Ilysa asked.

"It makes the elevator an express elevator for Mr. Roberts. That way he spends less time waiting." Again pleasantness in her voice without a great deal of warmth. The door opened inside Ms. Baird's private office suite. They stepped out and walked to Ms. Baird's desk. She stopped there. "Would you wait her for a second?" She smiled. Ilysa nodded.