The Girl from the Ouachita Ch. 05

The Brute was on a rampage that night -- potent and indefatigable -- and he was ready to romp the next morning as well. Chris got up and went to work after an enthusiastic morning delight, but Jo cut her first class and drug herself to her second at eleven. She vowed never to never again let him go without for longer than a week; he was too exhausting!

By Wednesday Jo was recovered, and in a devilish mood. She hadn't seen Chris since early Monday morning, so just before lunch she donned her Christmas present from the Alexanders: the leather boots and matching skirt with the red sweater. She talked Elle and Kate into walking to the stadium with her. He plan and purpose were explained on the way over, so they made a major production of entering the stadium from the southwest corner.

They giggled, laughed, posed, and Jo pointed excitedly at Chris, who was on the far end. They sashayed down the walkway through the west side bleachers, slowly bringing work to a halt -- even the crane stopped.

Chris was intently looking at plans, but Jimbo noticed the sound of silence and followed the eyes of the workers on the field. "Chris, we're going to have to dock your paycheck if your girlfriend keeps causing work stoppages, and this time she brought two more with her!"

Chris looked up and around, spotted Jo and her suitemates, and laid the plans down. He was glad to see her, but also a bit embarrassed by the spectacle. He walked toward them smiling; Jo hurried to him, jumped into his arms, and kissed him. Kate and Elle followed, and he gave them hugs after Jo ended the kiss.

Loudly, given their proximity, Jo said, "Honey, we're invited to the Tri-Delta's Winter Formal on Valentine's Day! Will you go with me, PLEASE?"

He smiled at her and answered her would be honored. She jumped in his arms again, cried, "Thank you!" and gave him another hot kiss. She told him they could work out details this weekend, but he would need a tux. He nodded, told the other girls goodbye, winked, and teasing said, "I'm glad it's almost lunch, because we're not going to get anything out of these guys for a while; especially if you leave the way you entered."

Jo promised they would make it entertaining, IF he would agree to meet them for lunch at Dutch's. He agreed with a smile and walked back to the plans. By the time the girls reached the other end, all eyes were fixated on them, and remained there until they were out of sight. Then they turned toward Chris.

"What? You guys have wives and girlfriends too, and they have girlfriends, don't they!" he said loudly.

"Not like that!" was yelled back, and laughter and comments filled the stadium.

"Aw hell, take an early lunch; I can see you're not gonna get any work done for an hour anyway!"

They cheered and went to eat their lunches. Jimbo clasped his shoulder and said, "The more I'm around you the better I understand the reputation."

****

"Bob, it's time for Chris' mid-year evaluation. I need to meet with you and Jimbo this afternoon at three, if that works for both of you. If not, suggest a time."

"I'm pretty sure that will work, Trey. Jimbo is supposed to be in the office this afternoon. Says he's wasting his time being onsite when Chris is there anyway.

"But, Boss, if you want anything but superlatives, best get someone else to sit in. We're both totally impressed."

"See y'all at three," the CEO/majority owner said with a grin.

The next day, Jimbo shows up at one pm. "Hey, Chris, Trey needs you in the office at two; time for your mid-year ass chewing."

"Oh, crap! I forgot it was that time; I haven't done my self-evaluation yet!"

"Like it is going to keep you from getting reamed anyway! Just be there at two," Jimbo replied with a grin.

At 1:55 Chris was greeted by Tina, Tim Beck's PA, escorted to his office, and announced. He entered to find Bob Elliot was with Mr. Beck, and they had stern looks. After cordial greetings and the formality of setting the stage for the evaluation, Beck began. "Chris, I'll admit you've done some good things in the past six months. Getting the historic bathhouses restored, of course. Being audacious enough to revisit the plans for the stadium expansion, and to sell it to the university and their architects, for another.

"But, Bob, Jimbo and I have a few concerns."

Beck gave him the compliments with a neutral face and tone of voice, but said the last part with a frown on his face; a frown Elliot mirrored. Chris' heart rate increased, but as he waited with bated breath he saw small traces of humor on their faces.

Bob Elliot spoke up, "I was there the first time you caused a work stoppage, and Jimbo says there was a second such stoppage more recently. Even though your crews are well ahead of schedule, we are concerned about these... interruptions and distractions."

They were struggling to stifle the smiles now, so he knew. With a straight face that showed proper concern, he replied, "Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about. I can't think of a single incidence in which I've created a distraction that caused a work stoppage. Could you be more specific?"

They both burst out laughing. "He's a poker player too!" Beck said to Elliot after they stopped laughing. Chris sat there with a puzzled look, but a smile played around his mouth.

"Jimbo asked the security guard why he let her in that second time, when she showed up with friends. He turned red and told Jimbo, 'I'm sorry, Boss, but I'm not capable of telling her no. She just breezes up, greets me by name, gives me that dazzling smile, asks about my family, and breezes on in like she owns the place! I don't think any man can tell her no, and I know I can't!'

"Jimbo loves to tell that story, and he admits he couldn't either, so I guess it is up to you, Chris."

"Mr. Beck, having been around her several times, do you really think she's going to take 'no' for an answer from me?" They all laughed this time.

"A bit more seriously, here are your bonuses for completing the last project early and below budget, and for saving us and the university considerable money and time on the stadium project. These are the copies of your evaluation we need you to read and sign. I think you'll be pleased."

Chris read his evaluation and was almost embarrassed. Good thing he didn't turn in his self-eval ; it wasn't nearly so kind! There were many things he could have done better with. Then he opened the envelope with his bonus checks and almost choked. He looked up at his smiling bosses and said, "These are both far too generous! I mean, the evaluation is too generous, but the bonuses -- wow!"

"We suggest you see your investment advisors PDQ, Alexander, or the government will get too big a chunk."

"Yes, Sir, I'm going to do that right away. And thank you! I think you're being too generous, but I greatly appreciate it!"

"And we think you deserve it, Chris. Now, have you looked into the grad schools?"

"I have, and I've narrowed it down to two good choices. Nothing of note available in Texas, but Penn State and Colorado offer the kind of project-driven coursework in which I learn best. I don't know if either will give any credit for the work I've been doing, but the catalog wording makes it seem that the potential is there. I'd like to be through in a year, and I'll do summer school twice to accomplish that. I'm not really interested in any place ignores my experience and treats me as if I'm just out of undergrad, or that believes classroom theory is better than hands-on learning.

"My next step is to determine whether either will give me credit for my experience. Do you have any guidance on this, or preference?"

"Let's get Sam in here; he's a proud CU Buffalo."

Sam had no doubt that Colorado was the right choice; he knew the dean of the engineering school very well, and he would intervene on Chris' behalf.

Trey smiled, "Well, you can tell him we just won a bid on a twelve-story building in Boulder, and we can offer several paid internships to other students - IF Chris is awarded all due credits for work experience, and is allowed to serve as assistant manager on the project."

Sam told them not to worry, asked for a copy of Chris' most recent evaluation, and told Chris to complete the admissions packet online.

Chris wandered away dazed, with the rest of the afternoon off and a burning desire to deposit the checks.

****

By the end of February, Jo was adapting to campus life and university academic demands, but, for several reasons, the social side was a struggle. At the top of the list of reasons: her looks and personality made her the center of attention wherever she went. Without any visible effort, she attracted males by the score, and that drew girls who wanted to hang out with her for their own selfish purposes, not because they were or wanted to be friends. More girls meant more boys, and her circle grew and grew. She had no idea who she could trust or not trust, because so many of the girls were so terribly two-faced, and the boys wanted to get into her panties!

She was on scholarship and had to maintain a high GPA; many of them had wealthy parents who were paying for everything, so all they had to do was make good enough grades to keep getting credits toward graduation. The girls wanted her to go and do, see and be seen, and help them get boys. The boys wanted her to go out with them, and when she wouldn't date, they turned to asking her to go eat, or have coffee, or watch a play, or game, or whatever.

She wasn't good at saying no to the cajoling, harping, begging, and peer-pressuring, so that was affecting her study time.

She didn't have the money to eat out at expensive restaurants or go shopping like the rich kids, but they were so pushy she sometimes did, just to shut them up. At this rate, her sparse spending money wouldn't make it to spring break, but if she let someone pay they expected more of her!

The female hangers-on and male hustlers were social media darlings, constantly taking pictures and posting them on every possible platform. She didn't want to refuse, but it seemed everyone wanted to have their picture taken with her!

Being seen repeatedly in the middle of scantily clothed and sexily posed girls, of sexily posed mixed groups, and with boys who had their arms around her and were hugged up to her... It looked like she was only at school for the party, and was most definitely running around on Chris.

Too much of that exposure earned her a conference call via facetime from his sisters, and both called her out on it. She cried as she tried to explain the pressure she was under, but they were adamant.

Diane told her to put her big girl panties on and learn to say NO; if that didn't work, say HELL NO! Then they gave her a lesson on dealing with rich bitches and turds.

By way of warning, they told her that their mom had called Chris earlier to try to get a reading on his feelings without alerting him to the situation if he didn't already know, and his response had been, "Yeah, I know; I have social media too. I don't own her; she's a college kid now, and she's testing her wings. Not much I can do about that."

"But it's not what it looks like! I swear I haven't done anything bad with any of them!" she argued.

"And Chris knows this how? He says he rarely sees you, or even hears from you. He's making important decisions right now, Jo, and they do not include you!"

"I've just been so busy! But we had a date to the Winter Formal on Valentine's Day, and he didn't say anything! I'll call him tonight and explain."

"Good luck! Telling him you don't have time to talk to him because you're always out with and surrounded by boys may not be as well received as you hope. Suppose you saw him on social media in the same settings he's seeing you in, Jo. How would that make you feel?"

She called as soon as they hung up; he didn't answer, so she left a message asking him to call her. She waited, but he didn't call. She cried herself to sleep.

****

When Chris returned from work the next day, the first thing he saw was his big, orange Jeep Wrangler Sahara parked beside his Ram pickup. Conflict welled up inside as his heart jumped at the possibility that Jo was inside, and his head reminded him of her lack of attention since the Winter Formal and the night after. It was more likely she was there to give him his keys back and move on.

The Ball had been fun, but disturbing. Jo was indescribably beautiful in the champagne-colored gown she had borrowed from Kate; she only had eyes for him, she danced only with him, and she tried to kill him with sex and love when they got back to his apartment.

That was all good; the number of men and boys who approached and greeted her in a familiar manner was the disturbing part. Chris concluded that, although she may be studying long hours, she had plenty of time to meet and get to know many, many other students, including a variety of wealthy fraternity boys and athletes.

That was as he expected, of course, but it was still a bit disturbing. Her attention to him, her rejection of dance invitations, and her immediate introduction of Chris as "my boyfriend" or "this is the boyfriend I've been telling you about" when approached by other students certainly helped soothe his anxiety, but he felt a disturbance in the forces that bound them.

Even knowing it would happen, and should happen if she were to get the most from her collegiate experiences, her popularity and concomitant withdrawal from him was concerning.

As soon as he entered the apartment, though, she ran to him, hugged and kissed him, and pleaded, "Can we talk?"

He smiled, but told her, "Not right now. I have an appointment I need to get to in twenty minutes. However, if you want, you can go with me; or you can wait here and we can talk in a couple of hours; or we can talk another time."

She was taken aback by the coolness of his response, but seized on the opportunity to go with him. "Am I dressed okay to go with you?"

He eyed her tight jeans and sweater, nodded, and said, "I'll be back as soon as I shower. We're going to meet at a place called Uncle Julio's over on Camp Bowie, so we will have to hurry."

He was back in ten minutes, clean and wearing her favorite cologne. He was dressed casually, in boots, jeans, and a pullover sweater. She thought he looked yummy; he thought she looked even more scrumptious than usual, but he grabbed her hand and led her to his pickup.

"I won't be in the way at your meeting, will I?" she said as he hurried though the rush hour traffic.

"Not at all. In fact, I value your opinion, so you'll be helpful.

"I haven't gotten to talk with you much since the Ball, but I got a couple of big bonuses and a very nice salary increase on February 15. My financial advisors want me to spend all of the bonuses and some of my investment earnings on real estate, so I'm meeting with my realtor, and then looking at places."

"Wow! Must be nice bonuses!" she exclaimed, looking impressed.

"Not THAT nice, but combined with the dividends from investments, my financial advisors say I need to purchase some things that generate tax write-offs or my taxes are going to be way too high.

"I found a few places online that I like, but I need to see them before I go any further, so I'm glad you stopped by. Different eyes see different things."

The realtor, Tina, was a tall, beautiful, and impeccably dressed woman Jo guessed to be in her early thirties. She wore wedding rings, but certainly seemed to appraise Chris thoroughly, and then fawn all over him while being all but dismissive of Jo.

While they were waiting for their tacos, she moved her chair as near as possible to Chris. She leaned against his shoulder, held her phone in front of him, and in a voice not quite appropriate for a business deal, said, "Let me show you photos I've taken of the places you picked out, and of a new listing I just got this afternoon that I believe meets your criteria better than any!"

The phone was turned so Jo couldn't see the photos well - until she glared at the realtor and threatened to sit in Chris' lap so she could see. After the phone was turned to include her, she could see that all of the houses and grounds were nice, but Jo knew Chris would withhold judgement until he visited them in person.

The carne asada tacos were excellent. Tina paid, and invited them to ride with her so they could talk about the pros and cons of each place. Jo sat in the second seat of Tina's BMW X5 SUV and chafed at the way Tina showed off her long, long legs and chatted in a flirty voice while she drove. She almost poked Chris for staring at her legs, but he finally raised his eyes to Tina's and engaged in the conversation.

Any of the four houses he had picked out would have been a great place to live, and likely a good investment. All had quick access to major roads, were located in well-maintained neighborhoods, and had decent-sized yards. Jo didn't have a favorite among them, and Chris seemed pleased but not excited.

Perhaps it was the way he held her hand, or the way he deferred to her on the kitchens, baths, and closets, but Tina warmed up to Jo after the first showing, and included her in the conversation. Jo tried to keep from gloating and stay focused, but she might have smirked once at having 'won' the battle.

Then she realized that Tina could win the next battle and the war because she would be alone with Chris while Jo was at school. That made her try harder to engage with Tina, hoping that seeing Jo as a friend would keep her from seducing Chris.

Then it hit her: if she was willing to cheat on her husband, being friends with Jo would mean nothing -- she needed to focus on regaining the closeness with Chris!

It was close to sundown when they turned off General Pershing Drive onto a street that ended a half-mile south at imposing house surrounded by what appeared to be five or more acres of woods. The 3-story wooden house needed painting or new siding, and the various steeply sloping tin roofs were rusty.

What caught your eye, however, were the two third floor turrets, a large stained glass window under the roof overhang, the banks of windows on the first and second floors, and the fact that each story had its own covered porch or porches.

The yard, shrubs, and grounds in general needed attention, as did the several outbuildings and the garage.

As they parked in front of the house, Jo saw an old pickup and an old car through the open doors of what appeared to be a barn.

"Everything goes with the house, including the old vehicles and the tractor and equipment in the barn," Tina informed them. "This is the seven acres the couple who lived here -- the Kittlers - retained from the original section of farm and ranchland his grandfather ran. It has a creek running across the back, is heavily wooded, and the land is worth more than the house, in my opinion.

"Their two kids live in Los Angeles and they just want to be rid of it. They wanted it priced to sell; I gave them a range and they took the smallest number with instructions that time mattered more than price. I think they believe real estate prices in Texas are still like they were when they left thirty years ago.

"I immediately thought of you, since this is both a place to live and an investment opportunity. If you give them asking price, you still have about $50k to spend on fixing it up, based on the prices you were willing to pay for the other homes.

"I'm representing both buyer and seller in this so I have to be careful, but you have cash and they want a quick sell. You figure it out from there."

Chris walked around the outside and examined the house and foundation as an engineer and experienced construction manager should before entering. Once inside, he ignored everything but the integrity of the building, the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing. The two women followed him, fascinated by his approach to this house versus the others.