Roman Holiday Pt. 03

"Holy fuck," Jennifer whispered as she almost dropped the phone.What was Nancy up to? Why would she bring her all the way out to Rome only to interfere with a meeting that she knew was so incredibly important to her career?

"He said he still wanted to hear the presentation and that we could do it at the airport before he flies out, but I told him there was no way we would have enough preparation time."

Jennifer exploded in a rage. "What the fuck did you tell him that for?"

"I'm not ready," he said now crying. "I'm not ready, Jennifer."

"Ted! You aren't giving this presentation. I AM!"

Stay calm, Jennifer told herself. She stubbed out the cigarette and immediately lit another handed to her by Jun, holding in several deep puffs which she didn't bother to exhale.

"Listen to me, Ted," she said calmly.

"I'm sorry Jennifer, I totally screwed this up," he was crying.

"No, Ted. It's okay. TED, SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!"

Jun, who had been sitting quietly composed watching this scene unfold of Jennifer pacing the cabin with a cigarette between her fingers while completely naked, gave a little jump at Jennifer's outburst, but didn't miss a beat in the rhythm she had developed of bringing the 120 up to her lips for a slow puff.

Ted finally stopped crying and was silent.

"You are going to call the CEO back right now and tell him that we will meet him in the Executive Club's lounge in two hours." Jennifer was speaking calmly but forcefully into the phone. "You are then going to call the Executive Club and reserve a conference room. Do you understand, Ted?"

She heard some sniffles on the other end of the line.

"I'm going to make everything okay, Ted. You're going to get that promotion and be able to buy that Tesla your wife wants so badly. Just trust me and do as I say."

"Okay, Jennifer," Ted replied after taking a deep breath. "I'll make the arrangements."

"Good, I'll see you in two hours." She immediately hung up the phone and threw it on the bed. She brought the cigarette up to her lips and took a power pump on it, inhaled, and took another puff equally as powerful.

"That bitch!" she yelled as she practically spat the smoke out. "That conniving bitch! She got me on a plane for a 15 hour flight to Rome only to then completely try and fuck my chances of making this presentation which my team and I have been working so god dammed hard on for six months!"

Jun remained perfectly calm as Jennifer ranted in between puffs. "You think that was her plan," she asked as Jennifer fumed, "to hurt you?"

"Well, what else could it be?" she said turning on Jun. She was pissed and wanted to take it out on someone. "But she's not going to win. Oh, no, not this time. I am going to make that presentation to the CEO and secure that contract for my people." She took another puff feeling triumphant over Nancy.

"So," Jun asked very calmly, "you convinced the CEO to meet with you."

"No," Jennifer said matter-of-factly, "he told Ted that he still wanted to hear the presentation before he left and suggested we do it at the airport...." Jennifer stopped in mid-sentence. She closed her eyes and looked up at the cabin's ceiling. "Oh, God," she chuckled. "He suggested we meet at the airport for the presentation...which means thatshe no doubt must have suggested the idea to him when convincing him to fly to California. This was her plan all along. To get me a private meeting with the CEO at the airport." Jennifer burst out laughing. "Oh God, she can be so infuriating!" she said with an uncontrollable laugh.

Jun was now wondering whether she needed to call an ambulance to take Jennifer away in a straitjacket. "Are you okay," she asked the naked woman who started to regain control of herself as she sat down on the bed next to Jun.

"Did you know that my sister and I played chess when we were young?"

"No, I did not," she replied, wondering what this had to do with anything.

"Yes, we were statewide champions for our age group. My parents may have been hippies, but they were still Chinese. My life as a kid was filled with years of piano lessons and chess tournaments." Jennifer stubbed out her spent cigarette and lit another. "Nancy was a truly exceptional player. It was like she had an entire game mapped out in her head after seeing an opponent's first move. You know, three dimensional stuff. Just once I wanted to beat her. I memorized every stratagem I could find, but somehow she always outmaneuvered me. Then just before I left home when we were 18, we played one last game - and I won. I should have been thrilled, but in fact I was furious - because I knew that she had let me win. She denied it, of course, but to an expert player like myself, I could see what she had done. I thought she was mocking me; one final dagger in a broken heart caused by her philandering."

Jennifer got up from the bed and walked over to the lava lamp. She wrapped her palms around it, feeling its energy flow through her body. "What I realize now is that she wasn't mocking me on my way out; she was trying to get me to stay at home. She thought that letting me win at chess would make-up for everything." Jennifer turned her face towards Jun. "It's ridiculous, of course," she said as she pulled her hands away from the lamp. "I was filled with too much bitterness to see it then. But I can see it now. After all this time, she still wants me back." She waved her arm around the room. "The plane ride over; the lava lamp; you and Mae; getting the conference cancelled but still giving me a special chance to make my presentation. It's all part of her plan to get me back."

Jennifer took a long puff. She loved how the nicotine jolt helped her to more clearly think through complex problems. "She's gone to a helluva lot of expense to do that - and I dearly love her for it." She looked at June and smiled. "She's helped me find my way back home."

Jun got up from the side of the bed and walked over to Jennifer. She wrapped her arms around her and whispered into her ear, "Then welcome home."

Jennifer was not the type to get emotional, but she did feel a bit misty-eyed.

Jun took her hands into hers. "So what happens now?"

"Change of plan," she said as she brought Jun's hands up to her chest. "How would you like a Roman holiday?"

"Oooo," Jun cooed, "can I be the princess?"

"Only if I get to be Gregory Peck," Jennifer replied with a laugh and proceeded to pull out clean underwear and a bra from the small dresser Mae had unpacked her clothes into. "But first, I need to go and secure a couple of million dollars in program spending for my team members."

"You're pretty self-assured," Jun said with admiration.

Jennifer stopped dressing and looked straight at Jun. "Oh, I've got this," she said with total confidence. "As soon as we land, I'll need a car to take me to the Executive Club." She attached her bra and then kissed Jun on the mouth. "Later this evening we will be celebrating at the most romantic restaurant Rome has to offer." She turned and pulled a blouse out of the drawer.

Jun walked out of the bedroom and took a few steps into the lounge. She pulled out a small cell phone from her pocket and began typing a text to Nancy: "Roman Holiday is a go."

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When June arrived at the Executive Club in the airport terminal, she first met Ted who obviously had suffered several panic attacks as his hair was wet with sweat and his eyes red from crying. Normally she showed her supervisor a level of respect, but she honestly felt that she didn't have time for that kind of crap today with millions of dollars at stake.

"You look like shit, Ted," she said before leading him to one of the restrooms and telling him to wash his face and comb his hair. She waited outside for him to ensure he did as instructed; as she did so, she reached her hand into the medium sized bag she was carrying across her shoulder. She could feel the energy from the lava lamp reinforcing her confidence. She wasn't going to take any chances. The lava lamp's energy would also loosen things up in the room for her; and since she never met an Italian male who didn't smoke, she checked to make sure that she had her pack of Virginia Slims as well as several clean ashtrays which she had taken from the plane. The lava lamp would also help kindle that desire, too.

When the CEO arrived, Jennifer met him with a firm handshake. Working in lower management for as long as she had, she'd always been comfortable around power. She considered herself an honorable person, but if she ever had to metaphorically cut a throat in order to climb the corporate ladder, she was okay with that if the ends justified the means.

She and Ted invited the CEO and his associates into the conference room where everyone took a seat along tables that formed a room sized square. Jennifer kept the lava lamp in her bag for she knew it didn't need to be displayed in order to have its intended effect. Though she hated small talk, she could engage in it superbly when necessary. Before she started her presentation, she had discovered from the CEO not only that he was married with three children, but that he loved taking long walks with his pet cocker spaniel. In other words, she had him liking her from the start. All she had to do now was sell him on the proposal.

Jennifer reached into her purse and pulled out her pack of Virginia Slims.

Ted, who was a non-smoker, was aghast and whispered to her, "What are you doing? This is a non-smoking facility!"

Jennifer ignored him and with supreme confidence she lit her 120 freehanded and placed it in one of the ashtrays she had retrieved from her handbag. "Be a dear, Ted, and pass these out for me please," she said as she handed him the stack of other ashtrays from the plane. To no one's surprise except Ted's, all the men in the room had already lit up and gladly accepted an ashtray.

Jennifer picked up her cigarette, took a powerful puff, and then exhaled after breathing in enough to give her brain a good jolt. "Gentlemen," she said, "I'm here to explain how a little seed money from the corporate office to my team's project will make this companya lot of money."

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Two hours later, Jennifer and the CEO were once again shaking hands as he congratulated her on a terrific presentation. His assistant, he said, would soon be contacting her to coordinate the necessary funding for her team's project.

"Excellent work, Ted," the CEO said. "Keep promoting this one," he said pointing at Jennifer. "She's going to do great things for this company."

"Yes, sir. We're very proud of all the work Ms. Chou has done."

After the CEO had left, Ted nearly jumped for joy. "We did it," he said with a shout.

You mean I did it, you limp prick, she thought to herself.

"Oh, Jennifer, how can I thank you?"

Jennifer was packing up her bag. "By letting me leave. I have a friend waiting for me."

"Of course!" he replied happily. "Go have yourself a nice Roman holiday. Next week the work begins."

CHAPTER 14 - LOVE AND BETRAYAL

After checking in to the St. Regis, the most expensive hotel in Rome, Jennifer and Jun spent several hours celebrating in bed. Bringing the lava lamp with them into the room certainly enhanced their love making, but the affection these two women already had for each other didn't need much further enhancement. As they laid in bed thinking about where to eat, Jun asked what was the most expensive restaurant in Rome.

"La Pergola gets rave reviews," said Jennifer who had been to Rome several times before, "but I doubt we could get a reservation."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Jun said waving Nancy's credit card. "This gains you access through doors you never thought would open." And so they spent 600 Euro on a 10 course meal, plus another couple of hundred on wine.

"I hope I'm not going to get you fired," Jennifer said when she saw the bill.

"This is all Nancy's idea, Jen," Jun said as she handed the waiter the credit card. "She knew that with your knowledge of the city, you'd be able to choose the best spots; and she told me that price was not to be a factor."

It was close to midnight, but both women were wide awake from the time difference between San Francisco and Rome, and so they spent several hours at a sidewalk cafe sipping cappuccino and smoking into the early hours.

"You know," Jun said after lighting a fresh 120, "I really feel sorry for the rest of humanity."

"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked perplexed as she held the cigarette horizontally near her cheek.

"None of them can really know the pleasure of smoking the way a Chou does. We can smoke as much as we want without any consequences."

"We are a different breed," Jennifer replied proudly after hissing out a stream of smoke between her pursed lips.

Jun lifted the cigarette up to her mouth and said before taking a puff, "The world would be such a paradise if everyone smoked." Then she turned the tip of her 120 orange and slowly French inhaled the smoke.

Fuck, Jennifer thought to herself,I have never seen someone make love to a cigarette the way Jun can. It was the most erotic experience of her life to watch this young woman smoke.

"So why haven't you told me about your husband?" Jun asked as she held her cigarette aloft.

"Not much to tell really," Jennifer replied after a sip of her cappuccino. "He wowed me after we first met, but I soon learned that he was more talk than action. I can't live with a person who lacks commitment. The guy could never hold on to a job. They didn't understand his brilliance, he'd say. I just wanted him to bring in an income, but he couldn't even do that on a regular basis. The sex - which to be honest was never that good - stopped soon after the twins were born. Then came the arguments and the drinking. It was affecting the children. Finally I told him to leave. I didn't even care that he refused to pay child support. I just wanted him out of our lives."

"Oh my god," Jun said with genuine surprise, "it sounds like a nightmare." They were both silent for a moment, and then Jun asked, "Did you ever love him?"

It was a bold question to ask, but one that Jennifer had actually asked herself many times.

"There was a time when I thought so," and she proceeded to tell him how they first met at Cal. "The problem was that I couldn't stop thinking about Nan all the time, even when I was having sex with him. It just never felt right."

The two sat in silence for about half a minute until Jennifer added, "But he did love to watch me smoke." They both gave a short giggle. "Old George Zhou definitely had the fetish," Jennifer said with a smile as she stubbed her cigarette out in the ashtray.

"Zhou?" Jun asked with great interest.

"Zhou with a 'Z' he used to say," Jennifer offered as clarification.

Jun brought her hand up to hide her mouth as she started giggling, which then turned in to laughter.

"What?" Jennifer asked. "Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry," she said after taking a deep breath. "I just remembered you telling me that you broke with your family over their promotion of incest."

"So?"

"Are you aware that the Chou clan of Hunan was originally formed out of the Zhou clan?"

"You're joking," Jennifer said with genuine surprise.

"Where was his family from?"

Jennifer closed her eyes and sat back in her chair. "Somewhere around Hunan," she said quietly.

Jun again began laughing. "Ah, life is full of surprises, isn't it? Despite your opposition to incest, you still managed to marry a distant cousin. What are the odds of that???"

After Jun had finally stopped laughing, Jennifer asked her, "How do you know all this family history?"

Jun exhaled her final puff on the 120 and stubbed it out in the ashtray. "Every kid in our village does. Nancy did research on it years ago and wrote it all down in a book. She even translated it into Chinese where it was taught in the local school."

"Is that why I had twins?" she asked.

"Maybe," Jun said as she reached for her pack. "Nancy has a theory that she tried to explain to me, but I find it too confusing." Jun shook the pack. "Empty," she said. "Time to go back to the room."

Jennifer agreed. By this time she was exhausted and hoped to get at least a few hours of sleep between all the fingering she knew the two of them would be doing. When they got back to the St. Regis, however, Jennifer discovered the benefit of having a lover nearly half her age. Jun brought her to orgasm several times with an amazing swirl of her tongue around her clit. She, of course, had never experienced anything like it with George; and she and Nancy were still too inexperienced to really know more than just heavy petting when they were teenagers. Clearly the females of Hunan had developed a sophisticated and highly pleasurable technique to get each other off.

After the third wave, Jennifer begged for a rest. It was, after all, well past 3 am. She couldn't possibly provide the same level of pleasure to Jun unless they took a break. Jun didn't mind. She enjoyed showing this American what a Chinese woman could do. But Jennifer insisted, and so they both lit a cigarette and snuggled between the satin sheets.

Jennifer thought about just how far she had come in the last few days as she looked over at the lava lamp. Now she was in bed practically chain smoking with a beautiful young cousin from Hunan. She was even looking forward to getting home and seeing Nancy. It had been so long since they had made love. There was a lot of catching up to do. "You know," she said to Jun after blowing a cloud of smoke at her head and guiding it with her fingers into her hair, "I didn't realize how deep I had suppressed these feelings. It's like I've been sitting in a fallout shelter for 25 years."

June lightly stroked Jennifer's arm. "I guess you just needed someone to sound the all clear."

Jennifer chuckled. "Thanks for opening the door to that shelter."

They were quiet for a few minutes, listening only to the sound of their smoky exhales.

"I hope Mae isn't upset that I've taken you away from her these last two days," Jennifer said as she continued to run her fingers through Jun's long, silky black hair.

"Don't worry about her," Jun replied with a wide smile. "She's keeping busy with the two pilots down the hall. I don't think they've even left the room since we checked in."

"Oh," Jennifer said surprised, "are the pilots also cousins from Hunan?"

"No, they're Americans. It's the only way she's going to get a cock inside of her."

Jennifer was confused. "You mean all the male cousins have left the village for work in the city?"

Jun sat up. She suddenly realized that Jennifer didn't know. "I mean that they were never born. There are no males in my generation; only females."

Jennifer was even more confused. "How is that possible?"

"Nancy thinks that somehow the lamp's energy made it so that the men in our village can no longer make boys. Something about Y chromosomes? I don't know, it's pretty confusing. All I can tell you is that we were dying out as a family. The village doesn't even need a primary school anymore because the kids have all grown up."

Jun laid back down and snuggled up to Jennifer. "But now Jacob has come of age and the Chou line will live on. I can't wait to meet him. Tell me, is your son handsome?"

A soft ringing began in Jennifer's ears that grew louder and then deafening. She felt a numbness starting at the top of her head begin to quickly move its way throughout her body. She no longer heard what Jun was saying. Was she about to pass out? Her vision was going dark.

"No!" she said firmly shaking her head. She was not going to lose control again. She would will her body to obey. Jennifer immediately sat up in the bed as Jun fell to the wayside. "I know what this is all about," she said now with a clear mind. "Oh my god," she said at first with a slight laugh. And then it hit her: the betrayal from all sides. Her hands flew up to cover her face."Oh my fucking god!" she screamed. "Why didn't I see this coming?"