The Idiot Tax

Author's Note:

This is my entry for the 2020 Geek Pride event on May 25^th. I would like to thank Chloe Tzang for her gentle nudge to write this story. It turned out a lot longer than I'd originally intended, but I quickly realized that this story wasn't going to let me get away with it being any shorter.

As always, I need to thank my editors Guinahart and SBrooks103x for their valuable input and review.

I did as much research as I could for this but admit to knowing virtually nothing about the actual inner running of the various Lottery organizations around the world. I've filled in all the blanks with my imagination, so please forgive me if I got something completely wrong. Also note that this takes place in the near future, so there are elements that are 100% made up by me.

Disclaimers:

It's probably too long. I probably don't know how to spell very well. Somewhere, a story like this one has likely already been told. If for some reason you make it to the end and still don't like it, I will gladly give you a refund.

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Sometime in the not too distant future...

It was another boring day in the office for Jared Stone. The stodgy old members of the board didn't understand what he did for them, but knew that he and his android assistant, Rex, had their best interests in mind. Their main function was to assist major corporations with making their management structure as efficient as possible, along with any technology modernizations that were needed. He was paid handsomely for his services.

All his adult life, Jared had always been a huge nerd. His older brother had always made fun of him, thinking that because Jared wasn't as strong as he was, that he must be a wimp. Jared's sister never really picked on him, but also didn't share a lot in common with her nerdy younger brother. She was into clothes and fashion, caring more about style than anything.

He'd been staring out the window of his 25^th floor Chicago office, annoyed at the increase in taxi traffic that flew past. The downtown corridor of the Windy City still lived up to its name. With nothing better to do, he decided to call his girlfriend.

"Rex, call Sasha," he said aloud. His assistant nodded its head, and the screen on Jared's desk lit up with her name, flashing as he waited for her to answer.

"Hey, babe," answered the small image of his long-haired girlfriend, Sasha. "That bored, are you?"

"Heh, something like that," he said with a chuckle. "I was actually thinking, after this next contract wraps up, you and I should take a vacation somewhere. What do you think?"

"A vacation sounds nice. What did you have in mind?"

"Honestly, I was hoping we could get away from people and just hide somewhere in the woods together. I'd have to do some research, but I'm sure we could find someplace like that."

"Mmmm, have you all to myself for a week in the woods? That sounds great," she almost purred.

Just then, his screen emitted a ding that announced he had another call coming in. "Hey, babe, I gotta go. I'll see you at home tonight, okay? Love you."

"Love you, too," she replied, before her face disappeared and was replaced by the ugly visage of his boss.

"Good morning, boss. What can I do-"

"Cut the shit, Jared. I know you were on the vid with your girlfriend," one of his bosses interrupted with a chuckle, taking the sting out of the words. The older board member continued. "I know you understand that every client is important, but this one is more so. We really need you to deliver for us. The customer is extremely nervous as billions are at stake."

"My flight is booked for 8am tomorrow, Sir. I've been reading up on the client, trying to make sure that I don't get there unprepared."

"That's good to hear, son. Just make sure to represent us well, and you'll be taken care of as usual."

"Are the usual suspects going to be joining me?" Jared asked the screen.

"Yeah, you'll meet up with them when you get there."

The screen went dark without warning, as was usual for this type of communication from his board. All five members were old. They came from old money, and they'd been in business since before he'd been born.

Jared turned his attention to the new client, tapping a few icons on the screen. When he got to the file for the client, it opened revealing several documents. He scrolled past all the formal stuff about the conglomerate, to get to the meat and potatoes of what he'd be working with.

He examined all of the architectural diagrams that had been included, showing application flow and connectivity to other systems. When he left for the day, Jared had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to start reviewing as soon as he was able.

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The smell that wafted to his nose upon entering their shared condo made him close his eyes and smile. She made his favorite, lasagna. It had been an old-world Italian recipe passed down from his great-grandmother, and Sasha made it for him whenever he had to go out of town.

"This is so much better than the crap they try to peddle in the stores," he commented as he walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.

Jared nuzzled into her neck, planting soft kisses on the tender skin his lips found. He knew that she was sensitive to this kind of touch and was rewarded with the slight hairs on her neck standing up. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of his girlfriend.

He'd met Sasha at a friend's house, basically an after-work social gathering. There had been several from their shared group of friends that attended, and after mingling for about a half-hour, Jared was introduced to her.

"Hey, Jared, this is my new friend Sasha. She moved into the apartment next to ours," his friend said introducing them.

Jared hadn't really seen her yet, so when he looked at her face, their eyes seemed to lock onto one another, the rest of the party going on around them fading away from focus. His initial impression of her was that she looked like an angel. She was by no means a super-model but had the classic girl-next-door look, which had an immediate reaction on him.

He smiled and said, "Hi, Sasha, I'm Jared. I'm just a guy that comes over for free drinks every now and then."

Sasha laughed at his joke, smiling in return. "Nice to meet you. So how often do you freeload around here?"

The party host wandered away from the pair, neither of them noticing his departure. They talked for a while that night and had met up for a real date a few short days later. The couple had admitted that they each had strong feelings for the other, and that neither wanted to share with anyone else. Within another two weeks, they were a committed couple living together.

Jared backed away from Sasha, smiling at the memories of how they'd met. He rarely stopped thinking about her, basically only when he was distracted by work. He felt lucky to have her, and Sasha always told him that she felt the same.

"You're gonna owe me for that, mister," she said to him over her shoulder. The tone in her voice gave him no doubt what she had in mind. He would enjoy his punishment.

Jared changed and joined her, eating dinner on the couch. They watched a cooking show together, and after putting their dishes away, Sasha winked at him and ran for the bedroom. He caught on quickly and ran after her, pulling his shirt over his head as he dashed down toward the bedroom. Sasha jumped onto the bed as he entered the room, and she was already down to her panties.

"Come on, slow poke," she joked. "Act like a porn star!"

A smile spread on his lips, knowing full well what she wanted. Before the opportunity passed, Jared shed his pants and boxers together as he, too, dove onto the bed, laughing while getting tangled up with his girlfriend. Sasha was an incredible woman, one that had a higher sex-drive than Jared on most days. He did his best to keep up with her, but she never ceased to amaze him.

He barely got a kiss from her lips before she bent over and ran her tongue over his rapidly inflating cock. Sasha licked around the crown, along the sides and back up from bottom to the very tip. Jared shuddered at the contact, the sensation of her soft tongue along his hard shaft. She moaned and moved to put her lips around the head, lightly flicking with the tip of her tongue.

She was driving Jared crazy with lust, his brain a fog of passion as she slowly descended on him, reaching the bottom and holding before moving back up at the same pace. Her slow motions up and down were making him lose control quickly, so he tried his best to warn her.

"Babe... OHMYGOD... So close," he tried.

She understood and was secretly thrilled at having made him lose it so quickly. Within seconds she hummed again and felt him tense up, before unloading himself into her mouth. She continued moaning as Jared spurted, twitching like he'd been electrocuted. He fell back onto the bed after several intense seconds of her continued sucking. She made a show of swallowing his load, before resuming cleaning him off with her tongue.

"Oh my god... How did I... get so lucky?" he panted.

Sasha smiled at him. "Yeah, you are pretty lucky to have a slut like me, huh?"

He groaned, lust returning to his eyes quickly. "Now you're gonna get it," he laughingly threatened, as he pulled her up by the shoulders.

The pair connected lips almost painfully, all of the raw passion they shared flowing through that kiss. He ran his hands down her soft back, reaching her tender ass and grabbed a hold of each cheek, squeezing hard, pulling her to him.

She groaned, mashing her hips into his with a grinding motion. Jared grabbed her hips with both hands, hooking his thumbs into the thin material of her panties, pulling them. Sasha didn't need any other encouragement, before assisting his efforts by lifting her hips off him. She moved up so that he could complete his mission and free her from the confines of the thin garment.

Once removed, she slid back down with one hand on his chest, the other snaking it's way to his hard dick. She grabbed his pole and aimed it where she needed it most, completing their union with a loud grunt from both. The feeling was heaven for both as they seemed to fit together perfectly, him filling her up completely without any discomfort. The tip of his cock brushed against the back of her channel, making her nearly squeal when he would hold it deep and rub it around.

Sasha opened her eyes to see Jared staring at her with a look of amazement. "You are the most amazing woman I've ever met," he nearly whispered.

She smiled wide, pleased with his words. Sasha slowly slid up and down on him, feeling his cock reaching everywhere inside her. "You feel incredible," she moaned.

Jared was so enraptured in lust with her, he didn't speak. He sat up, wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, kissing along her neck and shoulders, wanting her to understand the deep emotion he was feeling. Sasha panted as he continued to lick and nip at her soft skin with little bites of his teeth. He moved down to pull one of her tender nipples into his mouth, licking and sucking, alternating between hard and soft motions.

Sasha moaned again, "Yes, baby..."

She moved her hips slowly again, generating a new heat between them, slowly grinding her clit on the base of his shaft, working her way up to an intense orgasm. He felt her shudder. He knew that she was close to a massive orgasm, and he had every intention of helping get her there.

He pulled her tightly to his chest, quickly rolling her over without leaving her snug pussy. When she landed and he pushed in harder, she grunted out her passion. One look at her face, tense with the anticipation of her explosion, her eyes fluttering open and closed as he continued the pace they'd started picking up.

Sasha's hips continued to move with his, both in sync with their motions. Jared's eyes snapped shut as he felt the heat in his groin intensify, knowing that he was going to explode into her. Sasha had no concept of space or time as her man continued thrusting, her head lolling from side to side as she fell over the edge.

Jared pulled her to himself, impossibly hard as he felt himself go. His release was so intense that he saw stars behind his eyelids, his ears roaring with the sound of his own heartbeat. "OH GOD... OH FUCK..." was all he could manage to get out.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pair collapsed into a heap, legs tangled as he slid off her to the side. Panting and out of breath, neither said anything for at least a full minute.

"Wow," was all that Jared managed to say.

"I know... Holy fuck..." Sasha got out.

She rolled up some, meeting him as he moved his face closer to hers. They shared a quick kiss, both still panting trying to catch their breath. Sasha fully rolled over onto him as he lay back against the pillows, running his hand along the skin of her back. The couple remained intimately connected for a long time, before Sasha picked her head up from his chest, looking into his eyes.

Jared looked into her soft almond and gold flecked eyes, smiling. "I love you, so much. You're perfect for me in every way."

Sasha smiled in return. "I love you, too."

The pair kissed again, this time slow and unhurried. The tenderness they shared was enough to begin stirrings in Jared's recently used member. Sasha felt it growing and giggled, smiling into their kiss. Her hand snaked down his torso, wrapping her fingers around his already hard cock. She pulled on it a few times and smiled again. "I think someone's ready for round two," she chuckled.

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Jared awoke with the alarm going off, getting up earlier than his usual 6 a.m. due to the flight he had to take. Sasha would miss him while he was away, but over the months they'd dated, she'd gotten used to his erratic schedule. He lightly kissed her forehead before heading out the door for his early morning flight to Miami.

After getting through the screening area, he didn't have to wait long for boarding. Air travel was faster than it had ever been, but Jared still cringed every time they touched back down on the ground. This flight was no different, although he was grateful it only took about an hour to get there from Chicago O'Hare. They'd recently been adding a new spaceport to the place, making it the third in the country to now offer travel to the Moon. Jared still considered vacationing into space a bad idea, but shrugged and promptly forgot about it, as he picked up his luggage and sent his girlfriend a quick message of his arrival.

Jared arranged for his rental car and told the computer which hotel he was going to stay in. The car navigated its way through the city as he sat gazing out the windows. He'd never been to Miami before, so everything was new to him. The sun was out, and the air was warm but wasn't oppressive like the humidity of the Midwest. He decided that he was going to enjoy his time in the Sunshine State.

A few short minutes after checking into his room, there was a knock on his door. Not expecting anyone from the new client's office yet, Jared suspected that it might be his team there to join him. He peeked through the peephole, seeing a darkly tanned and stunning looking woman, smiling as she waited.

Jared pulled the door open, "Hi, can I help you?" he asked lamely.

"I'm Melissa, and I was sent by the Lottery Commission to show you around town," replied the sun-kissed blonde woman. "Don't let my looks fool you, I'm their in-house attorney," she said with a wink.

Jared blinked, cleared his throat and after his brain re-engaged, he said, "Hi, I'm Jared. Honestly, I was just surprised to have a gorgeous woman knocking on my door, period. I had no idea the client was going to be sending someone to meet me. It's a pleasure to meet you," he replied, extending his hand. "Has anyone else arrived yet?"

Melissa shook his hand and then followed him into the room. "Yeah, two others from your company got in last night and are already settled in. Did you just check in?"

"Yeah, hadn't even had time to check out the pool yet," he replied.

"Pfft, the pool! You're in Miami now, you should visit the beach," she announced with pride. "Anyhow, we can get to that this afternoon. Right now, I have to take you to the office and get you setup with access. Afterwards, I thought maybe I could take you to dinner and then show you that beach..."

Jared gulped, "Sure, that sounds like a plan."

A short car ride later, the gorgeous lawyer led him into the front office of the client, the American Lottery Commission, or ALC. The receptionist at the desk greeted them both with a smile and handed Jared a visitor's pass to hang around his neck. Melissa led him further into the building, passing several cubicles and then down a short hallway to an office at the end.

"This is my office. If you need anything you can find me here."

He followed her further, as she led him to a cubicle area where he would be able to work while he was there. Upon entering the space, the other two from his company were already seated and furiously working away. Both turned as Melissa said, "I believe you already know each other."

"Hey, guys," Jared greeted his co-workers. "Been here long?"

"We got in late last night, so we could get an early jump on the morning," replied Henry, rotating his wheelchair fully around to face the two new arrivals. "You're late," he said gruffly. Henry was a marketing and finance advisor, having operated as CFO for a larger company before semi-retiring to the consulting gig with Jared's company.

Jared rolled his eyes and turned to his other co-worker, laughing, "Did you get stuck traveling with that?"

Sam, short for Samantha, was a legal specialist that worked in contract and business law. She was a very serious woman that rarely ever joked around. Jared knew that Henry had been joking, but when he looked at Sam's face, he knew she wasn't joining in.

"He's right, you're late," she replied before going back to whatever it was that she had been reading before the interruption.

"Okay then, shall we?" asked Melissa, smiling at Jared.

Jared followed her as they went to meet the ALC in-house IT guru. Clara was not what Jared would ever expect in an IT professional. She was fit and toned like a fitness model, with short cropped tight curls, and light brown skin. When he was introduced to her as the tech consultant they'd been expecting, her eyes narrowed slightly as she appraised him.

"So, you're the one they sent to fix us, eh?" she asked, with a forced laugh.

"Um, I'm not sure what they told you that I do, but I'm not here to fix anything," Jared replied diplomatically. "Our main job is to make sure that everything is efficient for this business, that's it. I have no doubt that your systems already do what they're supposed to, or you wouldn't still be here."

Clara's eyes softened and she reached out her hand. "I'm Clara. Nice to meet you. I have already set you up with network access and a username for the system. I expect that we will be working together quite a bit in the next few days."

The sudden predatory look in her eyes troubled Jared, so he smiled and shook her hand quickly. "Thank you, I look forward to it," he replied.

Clara handed Jared a slip of paper that identified his user access and password. He stashed his things in his temporary cubicle quickly, and then Melissa escorted him to meet with the Commissioner to explain the primary reason for his presence.

The Commissioner's office was on the fourth and top floor of the building, of course, but thankfully the elevator ride was quick. Reaching their destination, the doors whooshed open to a rather bland looking waiting area, a large double door made of dark wood at one side, a large desk facing them just off the elevator. Behind the desk was a newer model auto-assistant, similar to the one he had back in Chicago. The android raised its robotic right hand, waving.