Pheasant Construction

Well this was not exactly good news.

Life went on. Work was good, we were busy, making money and building some very nice things. The other parts of my life, not quite as positive.

Obviously the unclear news about my land and the county zoning was not what I wanted. I wanted to start building our new house but even with the money I was making at Pheasant, I still didn't have the cash to start the house I wanted for Tracie and I.

Come to think about it, it seems we were due for a dividend dispersal. Hmm, I will have to remember to talk to Marshall or Claudia about the status of that.

And then there was Tracie. We just didn't seem to be having as good a time as we used to. She was doing well with her business and becoming more confident. I think the new boobs had something to do with the confidence.

I wanted to go on hikes, go fishing, ride our mountain bikes or just spend time together at home. She seemed happiest when she dressed up and we went to the restaurants downtown. She had always looked good and now with the new physique she was getting a lot of attention. Though I did not doubt her faithfulness I noticed she seemed to enjoy the attention of other men.

At the beginning of September we hired a new employee at Pheasant . The new employee was none other than Iris Pheasant-Brown. Claudia's daughter, a recent college graduate. Iris had a Bachelors degree in architecture. I learned later that her plan was to go back for her Masters in a few years.

Claudia introduced us at our monthly meeting.

"Kevin, I'd like you to meet my daughter Iris Pheasant-Brown."

She nearly bowed as she said it as if I were meeting royalty. I wonder if the daughter had a stick up her ass like good old Claudia.

"Hi, I'm Iris Brown." She smiled and looked me straight in the eye as she held out her hand for a firm shake. Hmmm, so far not like the mother, and that's a good thing.

We went through normal business. We worked on the schedule a bit and talked about some of the upcoming builds.

As I got up to go, Claudia addressed me.

"Kevin, just because Iris is on staff does not mean you should be calling anytime you have a minor question." She said with authority.

"Jesus Mother!" Iris exclaimed.

Then Iris looked at me, "Kevin if there is anything I can do to help, please call me at any time. I've seen some of your work and you are really good. That's one of the main reasons I am excited to be working here." She told me.

"Well, I, uh . . . . I just know you will be busy." Claudia was backpedaling.

Iris ignored her mother, shook my hand and said, "nice to meet you Kevin." And that was that.

We continued to be busy and the workload continued to be stressful. Angel and I were focused on quality. Meanwhile Marshall was focused on volume and the money it brought in. There was some conflict about this.

This also created stress in Tracie and my relationship. She was busy with her business too, just not as busy as I was. I know one of the things she disliked was being home alone on the weekends while I was working.

I had scheduled a weekend off in mid October. The weather this time of year can be unpredictable, it could be 70 degrees or it could be cold.

This particular Saturday was nice. Tracie was in a good mood and so was I. Mid morning she came up behind me and put a blindfold over my eyes.

"Leave the blindfold on, count to 200, and then come find me," she whispered in my ear.

I smiled as I heard the door close.

I was almost to 200 when my phone rang. A client with a problem. It was very minor but some of these people with money were so self absorbed they believed the world revolves around them. He kept me on the phone for a bit.

After no more than 10-15 minutes I had calmed him down and got off. Just as I was getting ready to go find Tracie she stormed back in the house crying and angry.

She glared at me with tear streaked eyes and locked herself in the bedroom.

I was bewildered. What had I done? I was a few minutes late but, why all the tears and anger?

I called through the door but I never got a reply. Finally after two hours she came out, a little dressed up for a Saturday.

"Tracie, honey, I am so sorry." I said. "I promised you I wouldn't work and I had some asshole client call me about something small. I promise no more work all weekend."

"I understand." She said. "It's alright I overreacted." And she briefly smiled at me.

I took her in my arms and hugged her. She hugged back with perhaps a little less enthusiasm.

"What would you like to do this afternoon?" I asked her, hoping I could salvage the weekend.

"I've got to run a few errands in town." She said. "I shouldn't be long."

When I asked if she wanted company, she pleasantly but firmly declined.

There was always something to do on the property and I lost myself in chores. All of a sudden I realized it was getting to be late afternoon, not dark but heading that direction. I had not noticed Tracie coming home and I had not heard from her. Huh?

Checking the time I saw it was a quarter to 5. I gave her a call and it went straight to voicemail. I texted her "hey where are you, what's the plan for dinner?" By my calculation she had been gone nearly six hours. That is a hell of a lot of errands.

I kept checking for a reply but no calls or texts. I went back to the house, showered and changed my clothes, still nothing. Now I began to worry that something may have happened to her. Once you introduce this type of thought into your brain your imagination can run away with itself. I began to worry more.

After another attempt to reach her by phone was unsuccessful I decided to drive toward town to see if maybe there had been an accident. By this time it was after 7 and it was dark out.

I drove the route to town, going slowly to see if I could see anything on the sides of the road.

Got to town, no sign of anything. I sat for a moment to think where she might be. Pondering this I realized that Tracie really didn't have any friends I knew of . There was no one I could imagine her being with. If I wasn't so worried I may have pondered a little more deeply the sadness of that.

Finally I drove back to our house checking along the way for any signs along the roadway.

I considered calling the police but I knew she would have to be gone far longer than this to get any action. I decided to have dinner. I made enough for a leftover plate for Tracie. Afterwards I cracked a beer and waited.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew Tracie was coming in the front door.

Coming out of my evening nap I was momentarily disoriented.

"Hi Honey, I'm home," she giggled.

"What happened!?" I asked. "I've been worried about you, are you OK? Didn't you get my messages?" I went on.

"Sorry Honey." And she gave me a kiss on the cheek. A faint smell of alcohol?

"Time got away from me." She explained with a broad smile on her face.

I watched her. A little unsteady walking. Her eyes looked a little glassy. She looked on her way to being drunk.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked.

"Just a little," she giggled. "I had some wine with dinner."

"Tracie," I firmly said, not quite a shout, "I have been worried about you. After not hearing anything from you I drove the highway looking for you."

"Why would you need to be looking for me?" She asked with an amused quizzical look on her face. "I was fine." She said.

I was pissed and the conversation went downhill from here. I finally did start shouting and she didn't seem to grasp what she had done wrong.

She claimed she was shopping and decided to have dinner at Pizazz, an Italian place in town with a bit of a pickup bar. She said she only had 2 glasses of wine, I doubted that was the quantity.

We finally just quit talking to each other. I was pissed and she became pissed that I was pissed. She didn't get my worry and why I was angry. More than anything I had never seen this type of behavior from Tracie.

We ended up having one of those married couples' cold wars for a few days. You know how they go, you just gradually start being more civil to your spouse until you found a level of affectionate normalcy. Despite the normalcy I had seen a side of Tracie I had not experienced before and I had some concerns.

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River Ridge was a newer high end development in the northwest section of town. These were expensive luxury custom homes. Many had views and the most exclusive were right on the river.

Pheasant Construction had begun doing a lot of our work in this area. Our quality and craftsmanship reputation had become well known. The demand for our services was high and some of the wealthy customers would pay well for our services and some would also wait for our availability.

Early December and Angel and I were trying to get our latest project buttoned up. There was a particular tricky set of angles coming together on the porch roofline. I called Iris about it and she said she wanted to see it live, so she came to the job site.

She and I looked at the porch and she brought out the plans. She detailed the roofline and I now understood how we wanted to build this particular detail.

We walked the house together. Iris is in her mid twenties. Tall at 5'9 and wholesome looking. Not a lot of makeup but I wouldn't call her "earthy". An attractive tomboy. Slim with a few feminine curves but she didn't dress to show off that healthy body.

I asked her how she liked working at Pheasant.

"Oh I like it, I love the challenges of designing high end custom homes. When I think of some of the other kids I went to architecture school with, designing hospitals and sewage systems, it all seems so boring compared to what I get to do." She told me.

"Well you are good at what you do and I'm glad you like it here." I said.

"Thank you. There are just a few things that kind of bug me. Number one, my Mom." She said.

"Oh?" I questioned, I was not going to say too much about her mother.

"She's just so anal about things, she gets all wound up about the smallest detail. And oh my god, she tries to be so protective of me. I'm not a child, I'm a 26 year old adult." She added.

I didn't say anything but I did agree with her comments.

"And another thing is Uncle Marsh," She said. "I know he's a good businessman and the company is doing well but for him it's all about profit. I believe if you create good products at a reasonable price the money will take care of itself."

I just nodded. I actually did agree with what she was saying. Philosophically we were in full agreement. It will be nice to have an ally within the company.

The next week Marshall called and invited Tracie and I back to the villa in Cabo the first week of January. Angel and I will have finished the house in River Ridge easily by then, this trip may be the thing to get Tracie and I back on track and the timing was right.

When I told Tracie she went crazy, she was so excited. She hugged me and kissed me and started talking about buying a new swimsuit.

This buoyancy in her mood lasted the entire holiday season. It was like we were back to our earlier days when we were so focused on each other. I decided I needed to start taking more vacations.

The villa was just how we remembered it and we were very excited to be in tropical Mexico. The weather was warm and beautiful and the blue ocean was a wonderful sight from the deck.

Tracie was excited to wear her new bathing suits. That first morning we decided to walk on the beach. I had not seen any of her new suits so I was a bit shocked when she walked out to go to the beach.

It was a thong and she definitely has the right ass to wear it. The top was the bigger surprise. We are talking about strings and very small triangles - that was it. With the brand new boobs, she was quite a sight.

"Tracie, you are almost naked." I told her.

"You don't like it?" She asked with an expectant expression on her face.

"No honey, you look great," I told her. "But I think others will see parts of you that only I should be seeing." I went on. I had a bit of a smile on my face as I said it, I didn't want her getting upset.

She looked at me, smiled and said, "it's OK, we're on vacation, I'll wear my cover up."

So we went for our walk. The coverup was soon removed and I watched as others saw my sexy wife showing much of her ass and tits on the beach in Cabo. I relaxed a little knowing we will never see these people again.

After a while the heat made us thirsty and I asked Tracy if she wanted a water or something

to drink.

I walked up to one of the beach shacks to get beverages while Tracy waded in the ocean. As I returned with the drinks I saw two younger guys, fraternity types, standing by Tracie talking. These guys were in good shape and probably 6 or 7 years younger than Tracie.

Returning I handed her the can of Coke. The guys were polite and fairly quickly moved off. When I asked her what that was all about she said they just asked her where she was from and how long she had been there. I couldn't blame the guys, she looks hot. What bothered me a bit was the way she was slightly flirting back at them.

The afternoon was spent on the sun deck. Marshall seemed to be paying extra attention to Tracie. I think he was impressed with her new boobs.

Belinda didn't even bother to evolve from skimpy to topless. Day 1 the big boobs were on display. What surprised me was that by Day 2 Tracie was topless.

I was a bit bothered that Marshall saw her bare boobs. I know we were on vacation and I certainly had seen his wife topless, but Tracie was well, my wife, and it was just different. I'm not exactly sure why.

The other thing that bothered me was that Marshall continued to pay extra attention to Tracie. Tracie seemed to enjoy it, giggling at his comments, nearly flirtatiously. I had observed Marshall in business situations turning on the charm when he wants something. He's good at it, and normally does get what he wants. I was seeing some of that here in Mexico.

That night after dinner Tracie and I were on our small balcony off our bedroom watching the sun set. Despite my consternation about the flirting, it had been a good day.

As I was sitting in my chair Tracie started rubbing my shoulders and neck and it felt good. After a bit she softly slipped a scarf over my eyes and tied it, I was blindfolded.

She then slowly pulled my shorts and underwear off. I heard a slight rustling and she fed me one of her erect nipples. She then took the sunscreen and squeezed it on my erection and slowly gave me a sensuous hand job.

The balcony was small and she kind of pulled my chair to the far side. I'm still blindfolded, just waiting to see what will happen next.

The next thing I know my erection is piercing her well lubricated pussy. She is controlling the pace slowly moving my erection in and out of her, kind of half sitting on my lap, facing away from me. My hands are cupping her breasts and I am massaging her erect nipples. This goes on for some time until I feel her start to climax. As I ejaculate the blindfold slips down and I glimpse the scene. Beautiful backside of Tracie, palm trees swaying in the tropical evening and, . . . was there movement from Marshall's balcony?

Later in the week Marshall and I broke protocol and discussed business. Now with a clear conscience we can write off most of the trip.

Marshall believed we needed to hire a few more carpenters.

"Kevin, our brand is hot now. Our backlog already is many months out. We've got verbal commitments for 4 more homes in River Ridge. I'd like to get all 4 finished this year." He said.

"This year!?" I exclaimed. "Angel and I are starting 552 Juniper after we get back and we will be lucky to get that other big one done this year also. There is no way we can get even 3 done. And doesn't that one on Canyon have some real custom stuff going on?" I asked.

"Yeah, a bridge." He said. "Kevin, listen, I have a plan. A guy I golf with, brother in-law is moving to Central Oregon in February. I spoke with him on the phone. He's a builder. Sounds like the guy knows what he's doing, and he's got a crew. Apparently he's been building houses in Houston for a while."

"Not to worry, you're still in charge. He'll report to you. I see you and Angel doing two houses and the new guys doing the other two." He smiled and clapped me on the shoulder.

Great I thought. We've got a high end brand to protect. And now I'm in charge of these new guys who I have no idea of their skill. I can already sense the stress and workload.

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All too soon we were back in Central Oregon. Tracie seemed to carry the good mood of Cabo back home to our post vacation lives. That was a positive.

Angel and I began the house on Juniper Drive in River Ridge. I knew I was going to be busy this year. I promised myself I was going to carve out time for Tracie and I through the busy year.

The funny thing was, it was Tracie that was around less than normal. There was an evening every week or two she came home mid-evening, after dinner. Even some weekend days she was gone for long periods of time. When I asked her about it she said that her business was really picking up.

The positive mood continued and that was good. Our sex life was quite good too. There was very little of the submissive Tracie of our early years. This was a new sexually confident Tracie. I chalked it up to the new boobs. We still played hide and seek, but less often.

Marshall called out of the blue one day and asked if I would meet him at the office after work. As I arrived I heard some voices from Marshall's office and Iris gave me an odd look, rolling her eyes. I walked in.

"Kevin, glad you could make it." Marshall said with gusto. "I'd like you to meet our new employees." He went on. "Kevin this is, Terry Destry, Junior Messersmith and Ed Krump."

As I silently shook their hands I looked at the group.

Destry looked like the leader. Lean, lupine, leathery skin, with a permanent smirk on his face and half lidded eyes. I had the distinct feeling I was not going to like this dude.

Messersmith had to be 300 pounds, fat, but a hard fat with a shaved head. He didn't look particularly intelligent either.

Krump was small and squirrely looking, eyes dancing about. He was always looking to Destry, gauging his expression before reacting to something. A puppet. I certainly hope my initial reaction to this group was wrong.

"Let's all go grab a beverage around the corner, get to know each other and get a preliminary plan together." Marshall said and I saw him clap Destry and Krump on the back as we exited the office.

I wanted to figure out how much Destry knew about building. I'd ask him about a particular construction technique and he claimed he knew it. All my questions were answered briefly and affirmatively. Every so often I would say something and Destry and Krump would share a little chuckle as if I were some hick too stupid to understand their inside joke.

At one point I looked over and saw Marshall talking to Junior about his vision for Pheasant Construction and the long term plans for growth, the brand, our goals. Junior stared back at him with a completely blank expression on his face. Marshall may just as well be talking to a stone Buddha.

The next day I met with Angel and once we got going, I left to see how Destry and company were doing. I rolled up to their job site, and no one's working. Destry and Krump are smoking and Junior's eating a doughnut.

"Guy's taking a break?" I ask.

"Got no plans boss man," Destry says to me. "You're the project manager, I expect you at the job site to give us our marching orders." He says with a challenge in his voice and that smirk on his face.

I stared at him long and hard, shook my head and laid out the schedule for the day. According to all he told me last night this build should be no problem for his skill set.