Real Love Ch. 03

"So you go and pick up all these girls?" Brad asks, amused at how matter of fact she is about it all.

"Yeah," she nods. "Three guys, five girls, a big fucking orgy in the back of the stretch limo for three hours. Got to give those guys some kudos for keeping it up for that long."

Brad laughs and raises his bottle of beer.

"To German businessmen."

"And the girls, they ride on," Caroline laughs, clinking her glass against his beer.

Brad makes a face.

"What about cleaning the limo afterwards?"

Caroline shrugs.

"Someone else has to deal with that job. And no, that's not the same limo. Yours is brand spanking new. Don't know how you managed that, but it suits me fine."

"Whatever works for you," Brad smiles. "So, is it like that quite a lot?"

"What? In the back of the limo?"

"Sort of. Sometimes. You kind of get spells where it goes a bit nuts and then nothing happens for ages. I've had all sorts back there though. Couples who hire it for a night just to drive around the city fucking behind tinted windows, trying to spice up the old marriage. I've had guys who jacked off on their own women who've helped them, sometimes even men who've helped them."

"Fucking hell," Brad mutters. "It's like a whole new world I didn't even know about."

Caroline laughs.

"You should try it out. See how the other half lives."

Brad grins.

"What? Jerk off in the back of the limo on the way home? Nah, not my style."

"Ha! You should hire a couple of classy escorts, have a threesome. It'd blow your mind."

"You're insane," Brad laughs. "Have you ever?"

"What? Me? Never hired an escort," she chuckles. "Those girls cost a fortune."

Brad laughs, lets the subject drop and finishes off his burger.

"Want some dessert?"

"Coffee?"

"That'll do for me," Brad agrees. "I would tell people I'm a latte-junkie, but it's the lamest sounding thing ever."

"Yeah, I wouldn't try and use that as a line on a girl. Speaking of which, have you noticed the two girls to my right checking you out?"

Brad chuckles.

"Good one."

"No, seriously."

Caroline nods, her face earnest.

Brad takes a swig of his beer and casually glances over to the booth where two girls are watching him. They jerk their eyes away quickly and begin giggling.

"Want me to get them in the back of the limo for you?"

Brad bursts out laughing.

"You sound like my pimp."

"You've got a pimp?" she teases. "Seriously though, it's pretty easy. You're a decent enough looking guy and the clothes make you look good. Plus you're sitting with a limo driver, talking shit, while it's parked right outside the door. You look good to them right now, so I bet if you picked up their check and got a bottle of champagne to go, I could walk over there and invite them to join you in the limo."

"That shit actually works?" Brad snorts. "Sounds like something from a bad TV show."

"Oh, it works. I've got tons of clients laid doing stuff like that," she grins. "All part of the service, my lord."

"Why are you so keen to get me to hooked up?" Brad asks, looking at her. "If it's not these girls, it's hire some hookers and have a threesome. What's that all about?" he asks and takes a swig of beer.

Caroline shrugs.

"I like to watch people fuck. I'm a perv, I don't care."

Brad nearly chokes and definitely lost a number of dude points during the coughing fit that follows while Caroline sits there and giggles at his reaction.

"You should totally look up a friend of mine," Brad says a few minutes later when he recovers. "His name's Ed. He's crazy, nuts, lots of fun and you two would hit it off."

"I dunno. I'm kinda fussy."

Caroline shrugs again and Brad smiles. It seems to be her favorite movement.

"Fussy how?"

"Well, actually I'm not that fussy," she grins and gets her phone out. "What's his number?"

Brad chuckles and gets out his phone for her. Once Caroline punches it into the address book she grins, a smile with a deliberate hint of evil to it.

"I'm totally gonna mess with him for a week or so."

"You really should. He's a comic book artist. That's what he does for a living. Better warn you though, he's a bit of an asshole, and he's got a ridiculous vocabulary for parts of the female anatomy, if you know what I mean."

"Oh, I'm sure I can give him a run for his money. My roommate is a professional escort, remember?"

They leave the restaurant ten minutes later with Brad managing to avoid Caroline's repeat suggestions that she drag the two girls with them. Ordinarily the idea would have held a ridiculous amount of appeal to Brad, but after today's revelations, not least of which is that he had inadvertently made love to one sister, had a lap dance from another, then jerked off to their memories several hundred times and being as tired as he is, he isn't in the mood for anything sexual.

It occurs to Brad, that he has gained some energy somehow, even though he hasn't had much sleep in the last four days. He's dealing with it. Maybe the smoking helps.

To kill some of the remaining hours, they go to his apartment and Caroline helps him pack his new luggage with the designer clothes he just bought. A ridiculous amount of tags, bags and packaging accumulates beside Brad's sofa, but with an hour to spare, they have everything packed that he needs and in the limo. His bags don't all fit in the trunk, but Brad isn't bothered by a few bags in the back with him. He knows he isn't that guy, yet.

It comes as a bit of a surprise, at one point, when Caroline takes off her jacket to reveal a hand gun in a shoulder-holster. Seeing Brad's astonished look, she explains that she splits her time between limo driving and close protection security and today, she's doing both. Brad thought it's both surreal and funny that his first bodyguard is a woman who keeps trying to get him laid and can kill him if he makes the wrong move.

As he takes a few minutes to rest, he has another cigarette, calls his folks to ask them to keep quiet about the days events and lets them know he's heading out to Danny Packard's private Island for a few days to meet his sisters.

His folks seem relieved that he's taking it in stride, but Brad explains that he thinks it either hasn't sunk in yet, or it didn't matter to him that he's adopted because they're the only parents he's ever known, and given that both his birth parents are dead, it isn't like anybody is going to steal him away.

His folks promise to call him in a couple of days, but remind him he just has to call and they'll come to wherever he is. He rings off, nods to Caroline and they leave for the airport.

Brad gives Caroline a hug as she readies for departure, and waves farewell once the flight crew loads the bags into the private jet and he turns towards the small lounge in the Executive Privilege Airlines building. He looks up at the sign.

"EPA? Someone's got a sense of humor."

He opens the door into a brightly lit reception area.

"Mr Weber?" An old black man with wrinkles on his wrinkles asks from behind the receptionist desk.

"Yes."

"May I see your passport please?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

Brad hands it over to the man, along with his shot card, who gives it a cursory glance and hands it back. Brad is getting weary from his lack of sleep and his movements don't come as easy as before.

"If you'd like to go into the lounge, your aircraft will be ready in fifteen minutes."

Brad nods and as he enters the lounge, a woman rises to her feet. Her shoulder-length blonde hair frames her very pretty face with a perfect smile and eyes that makes his brain wake up. A charcoal Packard business suit covers her body that Brad can tell is in great shape. For someone who's face can be mistaken for Meg Ryan, she didn't come across that way at all. The minimal makeup, the lines of her suit, all create a professional ensemble that looks businesslike above all else.

"Mr Bradley Weber?" she asks, taking a few steps towards him, her voice clear and confident.

Kelly Miller has a perfect figure, attractive facial features and a smile that knocks your socks off. She stands about 5'-10" and is drop dead gorgeous.

"Brad," he replies, offering a little wave, rolling his eyes at his own lameness.

"I'm Kelly Miller. I understand Mr Alden told you I'm to meet you here?"

Brad nods and moves forward, shaking hands with her.

"Yeah, he says you're going to be helping me out. Is that right?"

"Yes, Sir," she nods, motioning him to a seat, taking the adjacent seat for herself. "I was Executive Assistant to Mr Packard for five years and my role with you is to primarily to look after you, act as your liaison and schedule manager, set up whatever you need and answer any questions you might have."

"Also, I want to offer my condolences on the passing of your father. He was a great man. I hope you're proud of him," Kelly says with humility.

"I am very proud of him and thank you for saying that... So, we're going to be working together quite a lot then?" Brad asks cautiously.

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, if we're going to be working together all the time, you should call me Brad."

"Yes, Sir."

Brad notices the hint of a smile twitching at her mouth.

"Funny."

"Brad it is then. I may call you Sir or Mr Weber in public from time to time though."

Her face really lights up when she smiles, and he notices.

"Cool. Whatever works for you," Brad says. "So how did you get stuck with me? Lose the lottery?"

Kelly takes a deep breath then lets it out slowly.

"Can I be honest, Brad?"

"Honesty is the best policy. If I'm going to rely on you, as Mr Alden suggests, then I much prefer honesty."

"Good. Out of the three of you, I asked your father to assign me to you because you have experience in business and not just at a ground level. That makes my job a little easier because you'll be quicker on the uptake. Likewise, sometimes I find women can be difficult to... establish good working relationships with from time to time."

"You mean because sometimes women are bitches?" Brad says.

Opting for excessive honesty himself, he's no stranger to office politics, as a smirk appears on Kelly's face.

"Yes, pretty much, and so can men, but I've encountered resentment with women because of how I look on plenty of occasions and it's usually overcome by sheer professional competence within a week or two, but I think that the next few days and weeks are going to define a lot about how Mr Packard's businesses end up being run in the future and my desire is to contribute to that."

"So by working with me, you think we'll get along better and quicker than you would if you were working with a woman?" Brad asks, admiring her honesty, but a little confused.

"That's part of it," she nods. "Mr Packard and I worked together for five years. I've invested a lot of time and effort into his businesses. I think you're the most business-oriented of the three of you, based on nothing more than your files and, if you are, that's the area I'd prefer to be working in."

"And that's all of it?" Brad asks.

"Pretty much."

Brad nods.

"Nice to meet you Kelly..." he says, holding his hand to shake hers, and they do. "You're hired."

"Mr Alden told me I can trust you. He says you're really good at your job and you'd be a real asset to me if I can learn to rely on you. Any idea what he meant by that?"

"It can be something as simple as trying to encourage you to open up and trust me. You're not use to having an assistant, nor are sure about what will be offered to you and I understand that. My job is to work with you and help you with anything and everything, both personal and professional. It will be a learning experience for both of us. I can learn how to support you more effectively, do my job more efficiently and help you out as much as possible by knowing as much about you as I can."

She frowns.

"Did Mr Alden really say that?"

Brad nods, looking around as his craving kicks back in.

"Yeah. He did. Does that surprise you?... Do I just go outside if I want to smoke?"

"That's the first time I've ever heard somebody say I'm really good at my job is all... I'm not aware you smoke," Kelly says, tilting her head, her expression curious.

"Recently took up the bad habit again. It's been quite a day."

"Yeah, I bet it has. How are you feeling?"

"Tense, still a little dizzy, bemused, and kinda like I'm watching someone else in a movie, except the movie is my life going in a strange and wacky direction. I'm also tired as hell because I've been working nonstop with very little sleep for the last four days," Brad replies.

He moves to stand, but Kelly places a hand on his leg and gets up herself.

"I'll get you an ashtray. Just smoke here if you want one."

"Fucking weird," Brad mutters, lighting up indoors.

She returns shortly with an ashtray.

"Want something to drink? Beer? Cocktail? Coffee? Soda?"

Brad shakes his head.

"No, thanks, but don't let me stop you. I'll take a water if available."

Kelly nods her head, gets the water and sits back down.

"For future reference, you don't have to do everything for me, okay?"

"Okay... So how did the shopping go?"

"Kinda bizarre," Brad says, grinning. "Pulling up in a limo and wearing designer clothes when you walk in a store is a different level of service I've never experienced."

"It will get more bizarre than that in the next few days," she warns. "Wait until you start getting fitted for tailored suits by Margaret."

"She's the person who wrote this list for me, right?"

Kelly nods, a slight frown on her face.

"That's Margaret. She's has a really great eye for dressing people."

"I hear a 'but' in your voice..." Brad adds, guessing there's more.

Kelly smiles.

"But she's arrogant and a nuisance, and believes that fashion is the ultimate reason for the human race to exist on the planet."

Brad laughs.

"Sounds like a joy to work with."

"Fortunately it doesn't happen very often, or my schedule would be shot to hell by brunch on a daily basis."

"So, I'm to lean on you for advice and all that. What mistakes should I try to avoid?" Brad asks, figuring he might as well find out.

"Time management is going to be a factor for you. There's only so many hours in a day and everyone will want a piece of you, so don't accept any appointments. Refer them all to me."

"Okay, that makes sense, I guess. I've never had an assistant before so I'm kinda groping in the dark here," he admits.

"You'll get used to it," she says, smiling disarmingly. "What else can I suggest? Ask me anything. Don't be afraid to ask it even if you think it will upset me, or if you think it's stupid and don't worry about asking twice either."

"You're going to be taking so much information in over the course of a day that you'll forget some things, so rely on me. It's what I'm here for."

"Great. My very own wiki?"

She chuckles.

"Wiki? I like that... Okay, what else? Let's see... be honest with me. If something I do annoys you, let me know and I'll either agree or we'll argue about it until I win," she says grinning.

"As simple as that?" Brad grins.

"Probably not, but we'll figure that stuff out as we go. One last thing for now," she says, pausing. "Please, don't lie to me. If you start doing that, then I can't do my job, and you'll be the person who feels the impact of that."

"Because you'll punish me?" Brad asks, still grinning.

Kelly snorts.

"No, but if that's what you're into, I think we have people for that... What I mean is, if you're having an affair then tell me. It's no one else's business, but if it can have a future consequence then I need to know so I can prepare, or take action to make sure it doesn't become an issue."

"Wow, okay. Well, I'm not having an affair, so that's one thing off the list."

She shakes her head.

"Just one of a million different things I could have selected as an example."

There's a knock at the door and the receptionist enters. It's the same guy that processed his passport.