Rich Man, Poor Man

My plan to leave early went down the drain; I stayed until the last dance with Rebecca was over. Going back to our table I saw that over half of the guests had already left. I offered Rebecca a ride home but she said her car was in the garage across the street. She pulled a card out of her clutch, wrote something on the back, and handed it to me.

"The front has my office number and I wrote my cell number on the back. Give me a call Jamie, I would like to continue the discussion we had tonight," she said. She gave me a full body hug, kissed my cheek, and waved good bye with an evil little grin. I wasn't sure if she was referring to our business discussion or about what happened on the dance floor.

The next day was Saturday and for the first time in a while I wasn't working on anything that weekend. I decided to go shoot some hoops in the park across from my apartment; I needed to work out the alcohol from the previous night. I had the court to myself so as I shot jumpers I had a chance to think about the dance and Rebecca. I wondered if I should call her or just let it go.

Rebecca was a beautiful, sexy, delightful companion and I thought of how she looked and acted on our one night together back in college. A repeat of that night in her apartment wouldn't be such a bad thing, I thought. Just as long as I understood that's all it would be; a carefree sexual romp with a beautiful woman, I warned myself.

Problem was that I really liked Rebecca and had since I helped her that night at college; her courage in fighting the three men had impressed me. She was intelligent, witty, and fun to be with and I'm afraid I would want more than just a romp with her. My thoughts hadn't changed concerning relationships; sex had to be more than an energetic way of shaking hands. I know, not normal thinking for most men but it was the way I felt.

Finally as I sank a long three pointer I decided to let things slide. I had been ok without Rebecca in my life for more than three years and there was no need to change that now, I thought to myself. However I hadn't counted on Rebecca. Two weeks after New Year's, Rebecca called me at my office on a Monday; she needed an escort to her company's dinner/award dinner that weekend.

I hesitated and she said, "No big deal Jamie, but I could use your help here. I have to go to this damn thing and if I go alone I'll be the target for every single guy there; some of the married ones too. It'll be like waving a red flag in front of a bunch of bulls. It's bad enough that I have to go to this stuffy doings but I can do without being red meat for the wolves."

"Well, I don't ......" I began before she cut me off.

"C'mon Jamie, be a buddy. Do one more good deed, Sir White Knight. Please," Rebecca took her last shot and scored.

"Okay, but just to help you out here," I answered.

She suggested that she pick me up saying that she lived on one side of the city and the dance was on the other side with me in the middle. I agreed and started to give her my address; she informed me that she knew where I lived and would be there at 7 PM on Saturday.

That Saturday evening at 6:45 the front desk called to let me know that I had a guest on the way up. For some reason I was running a little behind so I opened the door to my suite and went to my bedroom to finish dressing. I was putting the final touches on my tie when I heard Rebecca call my name.

I told her to come in and as I walked out of my bedroom slipping on my tuxedo jacket got my first look at her. If she had been beautiful and sexy at the Christmas party she was stunning and sultry now. Rebecca had on a mid thigh, red sequined, dress that shimmered and sparkled every time she moved. It was cut in a deep V in front which left no doubt that she was the female of the species.

"Damn Becky, no wonder you need a knight protector; that dress would make a dead man sit up," I said by way of greeting.

"Becky huh, I haven't been called that in a long time," Rebecca answered. "It's nice to hear it again. Thanks for the compliment."

She said that we should go and as we stepped out of the elevator she handed me her car keys; suggesting that I drive. The valet had left her car parked in front of the hotel; I almost stumbled when I saw it. Sitting at the curb was a Maserati Granturismo; the car cost as much as my yearly salary with bonuses.

"Like it? Daddy gave it to me at Christmas. I think it was a bribe to stay away from his house during the holidays so he and that Cindy could jump each other's bones uninterrupted," she said with a big smile.

I could only nod and lead her to the car; they valet had the passenger door open and got a good look at her legs as she got in. Jumping in the driver's side I took off, peeling rubber because of the car's tremendous power. I could learn to like this I thought; maybe I'll get one next year.

The dinner dance was about what you would expect. Boring speeches when the awards were handed out, an okay buffet, but it did have a good choice of alcohol and plenty of it. The band was actually pretty good and played a nice mix of music.

Watching the men watch Rebecca in that dress was entertaining, to say the least. They would sneak looks at her as she sat, as she walked from table to table greeting co-workers, and when she danced; especially when she danced. Rebecca still moved with a sensual grace that attracted attention and lots of it. More than one man got an elbow in the ribs from their wives, girlfriends, or dates. It was more interesting than reality TV.

Rebecca apparently wanted to make sure the bartenders at each of the three bars in the ball room were doing a good job. She taste tested vodka martinis from each one and then retested each one several times. I guess they were doing a good job because I never heard her complain.

We sat through dinner, the awards, and about an hour of dancing. Our last dance was more of me holding her up than moving to the music. It was time for Cinderella to leave the ball, I decided. With an assist from the valet I got Rebecca into the car and began the trip home.

Now what, I thought? Should I take her home and get a cab back to my place? She was still alert enough to tell me to take her to my apartment, feed her some coffee and then she could get home. I didn't think there was enough coffee in the city to sober her up but I followed her directions.

I had the valet park her car and took her up to my apartment. Once inside, she made a beeline for the bathroom ten minutes later that's where I found her. Apparently she had started to splash water on her face, sat down on the toilet and passed out; the water was still running into the sink. I gathered her up into my arms and took her into the guest bedroom and laid her on the bed.

Now the question was should I undress her or just throw a blanket over her. Because of the way her dress was cut in the front there was no doubt that she was braless; because of the way she got into the car and the way she sat a few times at the dance I knew she had on little red lace panties and thigh high stockings and nothing else.

If I undressed her she would be all but nude and with all the rubbing together as we danced that night and the alcohol I had consumed I wasn't sure that I could or would do the right thing. I covered her with a light blanket and went to my bedroom; avoiding the temptation.

I woke up as someone sat on the side of my bed, glancing at the clock it read 9:30 AM. Rebecca was sitting beside me, smiled when I opened my eyes, and leaned over to give me a kiss.

"I'll have your clothes cleaned and returned to you," she said. "Thanks for going with me last night Jamie and thanks for taking care of me afterward."

She left my bedroom carrying her dress and thigh highs and she was wearing one of my T-shirts, a pair of my sweats cinched around her waist, and her high heels. Not the most fashionable look, but sexy anyway. By the time I was out of bed she had already gone but there was fresh coffee, that life saving liquid, in the kitchen.

On Tuesday I received a package at my office containing my T-shirt and sweats, cleaned and pressed. The package was addressed to Sir White Knight with a note simply reading "Thanks again". White Knight my ass, I thought; one more drink that night and Rebecca wouldn't have slept alone. Some knight in shining armor.

I didn't talk to or see Rebecca for three weeks. She called and again asked for my company at a charity auction. Rebecca used the same reasoning as before; she didn't want to be food for the predators at the shindig. It didn't take much convincing to get me to go. Let's face it, spending the evening talking to, dancing with, and entertaining a beautiful woman beat the hell of whatever was in second place.

The evening was almost a repeat of the dinner dance. Rebecca again was stunning, men again watched her and got punched by their partners for doing so, and she again tempted me like hell when we danced. The major difference was she drank mineral water all night after one glass of wine. I watched my intake of alcohol too; after the last time I wanted my wits about me.

As we pulled up the driveway to the front door of my hotel, Rebecca said, "Thanks Jamie, you were a life saver. Good night." She got behind the wheel of the Maserati and drove off. No kiss, no hug, no nothing; I must be losing my touch I thought.

This time it was only two weeks before Rebecca called with another invitation. This time it was an art exhibit that she had been instrumental in obtaining for some gallery. Same excuse, too many wolves for her to go alone. Hell, I'm easy I thought and agreed to go.

Rebecca was more than beautiful again, in another fantastic dress. She had a little more to drink this time but was careful to limit her alcohol intake; I did too. There was no dancing this time but we spent most of the evening holding hands or with Rebecca holding onto my arm. After the exhibit when we got back to my place she said she would really like that cup of coffee she didn't get the first time.

In the elevator I picked up the phone, called room service, and ordered coffee. I could have made it but the coffee from the hotel was much better and would be delivered almost before mine would be done; that's one of the nice things about a concierge hotel.

I invited Rebecca to have a seat and excused myself to hang up my suit coat and get rid of my tie. Rebecca then went to "freshen up" and by the time she got back the coffee had been delivered. She came back into the living room wearing the same T-shirt and sweats that she had borrowed before.

"Hope you don't mind; I'll have them cleaned and sent back to you again," she said.

After pouring coffee for both of us I sat down across from her and asked, "Okay Becky, what's going on?"

She smiled at me calling her Becky but just shook her head and looked puzzled at the question.

"You've made a point of using me to squire you around on these special evenings and I want to know why," I explained. She started to respond and I said, "The truth please Becky."

Rebecca took a few seconds as if to gather herself and asked, "Remember at the Christmas party I said that there were some things that you grew out of or felt differently about? I was talking about my life style back in college and for a time after graduation; I don't live like that anymore."

"That still doesn't explain these evenings together," I reminded her.

"I didn't know how much I missed you until Daddy called and asked me to be your date for the evening. When I saw you it brought back all the old feelings I had for you." She giggled and continued, "Do you know that I followed you around campus for over six months? I thought that if you kept seeing me you would change your mind about me, about us."

"What feelings? We had one night together, a great night, but just one night. And with your cavalier attitude about sex, even that couldn't have been all that special."

"You don't give yourself enough credit Jamie. You made quite an impression on me and it isn't easy to impress "The Princess Colman". Do you know why?" I shook my head no and she continued.

"When you attacked those three guys that night, you didn't do it because I had money; you did it to help a young woman in trouble."

"I didn't know it was you until it was over," I explained.

"Yeah, but you knew afterwards. You knew when you turned down that check Daddy sent you. You could have parlayed my rescue into a very nice life but you didn't. All you saw was a girl that you liked, you didn't see dollar signs. That's why I quickly developed, if not a love, at least an intense like for you. And then my life style screwed it up."

"So what do you want Becky? What do you see happening here?" I asked.

"I want us to spend time together or see each other or date; whatever you want to call it. We could start as friends hanging out and see if anything more develops; if it doesn't then we've had some fun together as friends. But if something grows from our time together just think how great that could be." Rebecca stopped as if to catch her breath; I think she was trying to see how I was taking the things.

"So what do you say, Sir Knight? Feel like saving the damsel again?" She waited expectantly for my answer.

I looked at Rebecca for a few seconds and said, "Let's see if I've got this right. My duties would include hanging out with a beautiful woman?"

Rebecca smiled and nodded yes.

"I would probably have to drive her Maserati once in a while wouldn't I?"

Another nod.

I would have to take the chance that we might become more than friends, wouldn't I?"

She nodded again, this time with a big smile.

"I just have one more question Lady Becky." I paused for a couple of seconds and asked with a big grin, "When do I start?"

Rebecca got up, come over to my chair, climbed onto my lap and said, "How about tonight, Sir Knight?"

I held her or rather we held each other for several minutes, occasionally talking but mostly just holding each other. Becky got up pulled me over to the couch so we could sit together and poured fresh coffee. She never did leave that evening and no, we didn't jump into bed together; she slept in my guest room

The next day I drove her home in that great car of hers where she changed into jeans and sneakers but continued to wear my T-shirt and we went on a picnic. I had my hotel put together a picnic basket with goodies and we drove out to a nearby lake. It was still too early in the year to swim but we enjoyed being beside the sparkling water.

For the next month we would go out during the week a couple of times; no big shindigs or party's; just two close friends enjoying some of the small restaurants in the city. We would find a little mom and pop pizza place or a neighborhood eatery and give them a try. On the weekends the "dates" would be more upscale; including art exhibits, charity affairs, and even the opera. I didn't care for opera but Becky loved it so I went along; like a good friend should. There were a couple of times that one of us would sleep over but that's all it was; there was no sex involved.

I realized that my feelings for Becky were more than just remembering that one fabulous night we had in college. She was fun to be around, we could talk about almost anything, and she was maybe the most beautiful woman I had ever seen much less spent time with. I was falling in love but still had some reservations about her previous life style.

There had to be a reason that Rebecca changed her life style; I didn't think she woke up one morning and said to herself, "I think I'm going to change the way I live". So I decided that a little a quiet recon mission was called for. I contacted a friend, George Taylor, in the IT department of JRC, the division of JCOL that Rebecca worked for. George was a friend from my college days and owed me a favor or two.

George and I had worked on two or three projects together during school and he was my roommate. We had gone our separate ways after graduation. George and I ran into each other at Angelo's, my favorite pizza joint, one evening and reconnected. We would get together for a beer once a month or so and talk shop. I learned that he was working for a competitor and that he wasn't happy there. He said that the IT director was the owner's nephew and other than playing video games didn't know anything about computers or networks.

I told Randy Smyth-Jones, the head of HR and Bill Myers, my boss, about George and his dissatisfaction with his job. Explaining who he was and how I knew him, I suggested that he would be just the guy for the open IT position at JRC. This was before Rebecca came to work for JRC. They asked him to come in for an interview and offered him a job that same day.

George didn't get the job because of me, he got it on his own merits; I simply gave my guys a heads up on him. He didn't see it that way; George was grateful and thought I could walk on water. I had always believed that you should use all your resources to solve a problem; I had a problem and George was a resource that I could use.

After the usual how are you and what's been going on, I asked George for a favor. He said anything I needed and I explained what I wanted him to do. I told him to find out any gossip or talk about Rebecca that was running around JRC.

"You sly old dog. Trying to get next to the bosses daughter again, huh?" George said.

"Already got next to her," I said and explained that Rebecca and I had dated some. "Before I get too invested in her I want to know if what I see is what I get or is there something more to the girl that I should know about. I don't want to get burned again, if you know what I mean."

George knew about my little fling with Rebecca in college and why it ended so abruptly. "I got your back Jamie. I'll get back to you in a few days."

"Do on the QT, George. I don't want Rebecca to know about this," I requested.

It was ten days later that George called and suggested we meet for beer and pizza. I joined him at Angelo's and after getting a pitcher of beer he gave me his report.

"JRC is like a little Peyton Place and if the people there worked as much as they gossip, the company would be a lot better off. I found out that Rebecca is very standoffish with all the men in the company. She refuses to go out with any of them. In fact there was one guy that wouldn't take no for an answer and kept bugging her to go out with him and paid for it with his job." George stopped to chuckle for a few seconds.

"The story goes that the next time this asshole started pressuring her to go out with him, she told him she would be right back. When she returned she had another woman with her; it was her supervisor but the guy didn't know it. Rebecca asked the guy why he kept bothering her and he smiled and said he was trying to wear her down." George stopped to see if he had my complete attention.

"So what happened? What did she do?" This was getting good, I thought.

"Rebecca lit into the guy. From what I heard I don't think the guy could sit down because of the ass chewing she gave him. After a couple of minutes she told him that if he bothered her again she would file a sexual harassment suit against him. The guy crawled away not realizing that he had just lost his job."

"Lost his job? Did she file the suit?"

"No, even better. Rebecca's supervisor reported it to the department head who reported it to his boss who reported it up the ladder. No one but upper management knows that Rebecca is old man Colman's daughter. When the big boys heard about it, they took action. The guy was called into the office and it was suggested that he might be happier working somewhere else. He was gone that afternoon." George sat back and poured us some more beer.