Steve and the Indian Booth Babe

Bela let out a big sigh. She held onto my arm. I felt the shudders wracking her body subside.

I held her for several minutes before I said, "We should get some sleep. The last two days have been rough and tomorrow will be a long day."

Bela whispered, "Goodnight."

I still had an erection when I let her go. She slid under the sheet while I turned out the light. I dropped my bathrobe onto the chair and slid into the bed wearing just my boxers. I was surprised Bela had neglected to place a pillow between us. I turned onto my side facing away from her. I tried to review tomorrow's agenda, but I fell asleep before I could think past breakfast.

I woke in the middle of the night to hear Bela whimpering about someone named Kushak.

She cried out in hopeless misery, "Kubiak, please don't. Auntie will hear us. Please stop. I don't want to do this anymore."

Bela was thrashing around on the bed. She hit and kicked me until I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I peed and had a drink of water. Earlier, I had been surprised she had felt guilty for John's assault. Now, I wasn't sure who Kushak was, but I had a feeling Bela had had a hard life. I realized I didn't know much about her other than she was engaged to Himnish and had left India to go to graduate school with her fiancé. The only thing I knew for certain was that she was shy, smart, hardworking and stunning. My project would never have been completed without her.

In the morning, we ate an early breakfast before getting ready for the trade show. Bela had an appointment at the salon to be groomed and dressed in her 'prom' dress. I had it easy. I could wear a Paradox lab coat for the day. I planned on heading over to the convention center alone after breakfast to get the demonstration system running.

I wolfed down a three-egg omelet stuffed with ham and cheese and sat back to sip my fourth cup of coffee. I felt excited and hopeful for a successful day. Other than being on our feet all day, it wouldn't be physically taxing. I watched Bela as she finished her breakfast.

Perhaps I shouldn't have asked, but I wanted to know what motivated the blows in the middle of the night. I said, "Who is Kushak?"

Bela dropped her fork and emitted a squeak. Fortunately, we had a table away from everyone else. Her eyes darted up to mine before staring at her shaking hands.

"I'm sorry. You were talking in your sleep. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but you started hitting me. Forgive me. You don't need to talk about Kushak if the subject disturbs you. I shouldn't have brought it up."

Bela's lip quivered as she said, "Kushak is my uncle. When I was six, my parents were killed in a car accident. I had to move in with my uncle who is married to my father's sister."

"I'm sorry about your parents. I cannot imagine what it is like to lose your parents at such a young age. Was it Kushak who arranged for you to be betrothed to Himnish?"

"I was too young to remember much about my parents, but my father is the one who arranged for me to marry Himnish soon after I was born. My father was a proud man, and he wanted to improve our station in life. Our family is classed as untouchable and have scratched out a living collecting and processing trash for longer than anyone can remember. However, my father found great wealth processing castoff electronics. He expanded the business by bringing in electronics waste from America."

"Your father sounds like he was a brilliant man who made the most of his opportunities."

"Yes, my father was very clever. He bought my engagement to Himnish with the promise of a large dowry. My fiancée is a member of the prestigious Rajanya caste, who historically have been rulers, administrators, and warriors. It was my father's desire that I live an easier life free of prejudice."

"I thought India outlawed caste discrimination years ago."

"That is true, but it is difficult to enforce laws that run counter to thousands of years of custom. The caste system is still alive and well in India which is why my father also arranged the marriage of his younger sister to Kushak, who is a member of the Vaishya class that includes merchants and tradesmen. The marriage required a generous dowry and the promise to bring him into the recycling business. Unfortunately, my uncle is incompetent at both business and marriage despite his caste. My father covered over my uncle's failures while he was alive. After my parents were killed, I went to live with my uncle and aunt. Once he was on his own, my uncle made one bad business decision after another. He came close to losing the business several times, and our lifestyle was never as good."

"My father left behind a sizable inheritance for me along with my dowry. Kushak said I was too young to live with my future husband's family. I am sure he wanted to get his hands on my inheritance to cover his business loses. I doubt any of my dowry or inheritance remains. I don't know what Himnish will say when he learns about the loss of my dowry. Perhaps it will not be an issue. My fiancée says we will become wealthy Americans thanks to our education and do not need anything from our families."

"That is very generous of Himnish. He must love you dearly. Still, I don't understand why you pummeled me and shouted out your uncle's name."

"My uncle's failure as a businessman and his guilt at taking my inheritance made him cruel to me and everyone around him. As a child, the best I could hope for from my uncle was indifference."

"What about your aunt? You were her brother's daughter. Surely she protected you."

"I love my auntie. She has always been kind, but she is subservient to her husband. Somehow, she manages to overlook his transgressions even when he gets drunk and beats her. Unfortunately, he drinks a lot, and as the business deteriorated, the abuse of my auntie increased. My uncle ignored me until I was nine. We were all excited about preparing for the Holi Festival that celebrates the arrival of Spring. During the festival, people visit family, friends, and foes to throw colored powders on each other, laugh and gossip, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. One of the favorite drinks for Holi is bhang lassi."

"I've had lassi at an Indian restaurant. It's sort of a smoothie made with yogurt. I've never heard of bhang lassi."

"Bhang lassi is lassi combined with the ground buds and leaves of cannabis. Sometimes alcohol is added to make an especially potent drink. On that day, the men in the village had been drinking bhang lassi since daybreak while the woman prepared food for the festival. By custom, the older women in the village took the girls to the river to bathe in preparation for the celebration. The men had a separate bathing area. I loved the women's pond and had learned to be a good swimmer. While we were bathing, one of the women noticed a group of men on a nearby hill. My aunt laughed and said they are too far away to see anything. Ignore the old fools she said. Another woman with better eyes said one of the old fools is Kushak and he has binoculars. We hurried into our clothes, but the damage had been done."

I dreaded what I knew she was going to say next. I reached out and held her hand as she continued to spill her darkest secrets. I have no idea why she felt safe telling me. Maybe she had held it in too long and had to tell someone.

"My uncle had been drinking bhang lassi all day, and he was a wild man. That night he beat my aunt until she was unconscious when she slow to submit to his desires. I tried to protect her, but I was even smaller then than I am now. He threw me against a wall and broke my arm. He continued to abuse me often until I was twelve. I pleaded with my auntie to allow me to travel to a city some distance from home for my higher secondary schooling. At first, my uncle refused but relented when my auntie hired a couple of young women to perform the chores I had been doing. My uncle commented that two whores were better than one."

"I worked hard in school and did well in my examinations which allowed me to continue my education. I earned my bachelor's degree in Computer Science and won a scholarship to graduate school at SUNY Poly where I would join Himnish who was working on a master's degree in Computer Technology. We were far away from India and moved in together to save money. We have always slept in separate bedrooms because Himnish insists we wait until we are married."

"What does your family in India think about you living together?"

"We keep separate addresses, so no one in India knows we live together. I don't plan on returning to India, but it would be very embarrassing if anyone back home found out we shared an apartment. I would die before I return to India. It is a big country, but I know my uncle would find me. Now that I am an adult, I fear he would do far worse things than beat me."

"I'm so sorry, Bela. Now I understand why you hate your uncle. I cannot believe he would treat you so horribly and have the nerve to call you a whore."

"How can I hate him? He is no different from any other man. John King is much the same as my uncle. Powerful men feel they are entitled to do whatever they want to a woman under their power. My auntie told me all men are ruled by their cocks and expect women to be compliant to their desires. She said if you let men have their way, you can use their lust to control them. I know she always practiced her own advice except for that one time during Holi. I fear if I return to India, I will once again be under his power.

"Bela, that's just not right. I don't think most men are like your uncle. Surely your father was different, and I imagine Himnish loves you deeply."

"I barely remember my father, but you are right about Himnish. He loves me so much; he is consumed by jealousy. He often scares me with the intensity of his feelings, I am afraid he will beat me like my uncle beats my sweet auntie."

We sat for a moment alone in our thoughts. In all the months, Bela had worked on my project, she had never given me any hints of her disturbing childhood.

Bela said, "I need to go to the salon to get dressed in my long gown. We have a quota to meet. I will try to be more compliant today. We cannot afford to lose any more customers."

"Bela, we'll be alright. Last night was my fault. I need to do my job while also protecting you from unruly clients. Fortunately, the rest of our schedule is limited to the convention center and group social activities. I promise I will stay by your side."

I walked Bela to a cab before I walked across the street to the convention center. I had plenty of time to get the system running before I saw Bela strutting down the aisle to our booth. She looked lovely in her long flowing dress. She even managed to smile while she carefully placed one foot in front of the other. Her trim brown thigh flashed from the long slit up the side. Her breasts jiggled with each firm step. Her long black hair was coiled on top of her head and gave her a few more inches of stature. Combined with her high platform heels, she almost qualified as short.

The day was long and busy. We had an endless stream of visitors to the booth. Most of them were just after swag and departed as soon as they scooped up a sleeve of golf balls with the Paradox logo. Some of them hung around to flirt with Bela. Some grabbed our marketing brochure before scurrying off to the next in an endless floor of exhibits.

We kept careful notes of anyone who stayed for a demonstration. We had our earpieces in, and Fred told us over our cell phones who the important people were. He informed us that most of our visitors were engineers or low-level management. He would contact these non-decision makers in the coming weeks. However, if we were going to make our quota, we needed to focus on the owners of privately held companies who could make a decision on the spot. CEOs of publicly held companies relied upon technical review committees to guide the purchase of a million-dollar-plus machine that would shut down the production line if it broke. We didn't have time to wait for a committee's recommendation.

The high point in our day was when the chief engineer from our biggest competitor, Eagle Vision, stopped by our booth. He asked a lot of detailed questions that Bela happily answered with fluff from the marketing department. He watched intently as Bela demonstrated the system. We even let out competitor pick out a tiny piece of glass and seed a test jar. After the InspeX 200 had kicked out the contaminated jar, he insisted on running it through again and again.

Finally, he shook his head and said, "I guess we're just going to have to buy the Paradox food inspection business."

I tried to ask him what he meant, but he turned around and left at a rapid pace. I wondered if they were already in negotiations with our CEO.

By the end of the day, we were dead on our feet, but Fred was happy with our list of six strong potential customers. He told us to get cleaned up and head over to the pool party at the Bellagio.

"What about dinner? Bela and I only managed to split a small sandwich for lunch."

"There will be plenty of food available at the pool bar. It's important that you get there early and grab a good seat. Change into your swimsuits and make sure you wear your earpieces."

Bela and I went back to the hotel. I showered first and dressed in my baggy knee-length swimsuit. I had on a colorful Hawaiian shirt. I wasn't surprised at how long it took her to dry her hair since I had witnessed the process before. Fred had finished his hospital dinner and was chomping at the bit by the time Bela walked out of the bathroom with her red and gold wrap covering all traces of her bikini. We took a cab to the Bellagio. Despite Fred's concern, the pool bar was practically empty.

Bela took one look at the enormous pool and said, "I'm going for a swim. My muscles are all knotted from wearing those ridiculous heels all day."

I said, "Sounds good to me."

I heard a squawk from Fred as I pulled out my earpiece. We dropped our electronics and clothes on a pair of lounge chairs across from the pool bar. Bela dove into the pool before I finished undressing. I followed as quickly as I could, but she was already halfway down the long pool. I learned to swim in high school to fulfill a graduation requirement. The school was satisfied with students staying afloat for ten minutes and performing a rudimentary dog paddle. In college, I learned how to do a crawl from a YouTube video. What I am trying to say is that I am not a great swimmer. Bela, on the other hand, was a porpoise. I only saw her briefly when our paths crossed. After maybe thirty minutes, I had had enough and scrambled out of the pool to dry off in the desert air. Bela did a couple more laps to show off before clinging to the edge of the pool at my feet.

There were now a handful of people at the pool bar. I had my earpiece in again and relayed Fred's concern to Bela. She hopped out of the pool, and my eyes fell out of my head. Now I knew what the clothing salon assistant meant when she said Bela's swimsuit was not made for swimming. The sheer wet fabric was clinging to her brown body and had turned transparent. I could see every delicious detail of her brown breasts including a small mole. My eyes dropped from her deep brown areoles and erect nipples to the bottom of her suit. The see-through suit bottom clung to the lips of her hairless slit. I could easily see that the salon had shaved every hair from her sweet pussy.

Bela saw my mouth hanging open and the path of my eyes. She looked down and pressed a hand to her mouth to suppress a shriek. I quickly turned and grabbed a towel. She snatched it from my hand and covered herself. I noticed a couple of the bar patrons staring at Bela with huge grins. I imagine they had had a pleasant view of Bela's beautiful ass before she covered it.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stared."

Bela looked at me like a deer in headlights. She was still panting from her strenuous swim. Fred was yelling in my ear to hurry up. I handed Bela her earpiece so she could hear his frantic demands.

Bela asked me to hold up my towel to shield her while she put on her wrap. Fortunately, her wrap was not affected by water. We managed to find some prime seats at the bar despite Fred's concern. Ed, the owner of International Food Packing, insisted that Bela sits on the stool next to him. I made sure to sit next to Bela. Ed's booth babe moved around to sit next to me. Fred was finally happy since Ed was one of the owners who had been excited when he saw our demonstration earlier in the day. Ed bought us drinks. Bela and I went with mango margaritas.

We sat with Ed and his booth babe all night. I watched Bela slowly sip one mango margarita after another. Bela fielded a steady stream of technical questions from Ed. He was probably 6' 6" tall and had to lean over to hear Bela talk. He told her that he was considering purchasing two inspection systems this year. He had previously purchased all his units from Eagle Vision, but he was impressed with our new capabilities. As we talked, I knew Ed was feeling us out. A critical factor in hiring a vendor is the personal relationship. Trust is key.

I was happy when Fred said he was tired and hung up. I made sure not to leave Bela alone tonight especially when John from Global Foods joined us for a couple of drinks. It seemed Ed and John were old friends. Thankfully, John was well behaved tonight.

I searched for Ashley and saw her talking to a big shot vendor who sold food processing equipment. She was wearing a tiny string bikini that covered almost nothing. I stared at her lovely ass as she walked away from the pool area with the vendor. I sighed. I had known all along she was out of my league.

If I thought Bela had attracted a lot of attention at the trade show, it was nothing compared to what she received at the pool bar. I was surprised since she wasn't showing nearly as much skin as the other booth babes. Her wrap covered everything except for her short but shapely brown legs. As the drinks flowed, the booth babes still wearing beach wraps shed their coverings to reveal Brazilian bikinis barely larger than postage stamps. Perhaps she was receiving more attention because she was new to the convention scene. Bela was an exotic foreign woman in a sea of tall, leggy blonds.

Bela and I didn't have to buy food or drinks all night. For some reason, her admirers thought she would benefit from eating raw clams. I never ate so many clams and shrimp cocktails in my life. I lost track of how many mango margaritas Bela drank.

In a rare moment when I had Bela to myself, I asked, "How do you manage to handle so much alcohol? Last night you finished off most of a bottle of French wine after downing two potent margaritas."

Bela laughed and whispered in my ear, "I was feeling woozy after the margaritas last night, so I poured most of the wine into the potted plants when John's head was turned."

"That was smart, but it was an unfortunate end for an expensive bottle of rare wine. How are doing tonight? There aren't any potted plants around."

"I'm pacing myself better tonight. I am still sipping my second margarita. You didn't notice when I switched three of my full drinks with your nearly empty ones. I've also let some of the other women sample my mango margaritas. They never tried anything more daring than a strawberry margarita. So, it only looks like I've had a lot to drink."

Now I understood why I was feeling hammered. I'd been finishing Bela's drinks all evening.

"Smart, very smart, Bela."

We had been at the pool bar for a little over an hour, and it was now packed with people from the trade show. Ashley had returned from her escapade and was talking to all the booth babes one after another. Ashley came up to us and hugged Bela.