The following is a story containing explicit descriptions of sexual activity. If you are not of legal age to read such material, or are offended by this type of literature, you should read no further. Also, if you’re looking for a quick stroke story, you won’t find it here. If you happen to have any comments, I always look forward to feedback.
It All Begins in Dreams
by Stargazer
45.
“Mistress.” Regina looked up, startled out of her reverie. “Mistress! They’re waiting for you. They’re waiting for you!” Jack was standing in the doorway beckoning for her to join him.
She looked past him to the board room. The board of directors had just finished voting—a foregone conclusion, of course—and wanted her to be there as they announced their decision.
“Let them wait,” she responded, with her customary air of dismissal. She wanted to savor this moment, and no one was going to deprive her of her celebration.
She had been reflecting back on the steps she’d taken to get to this moment. She recalled the day the technician had showed her his newest invention. He’d foolishly allowed her to try it out, and had inadvertently become her first devotee. In that moment, she had realized the awesome potential of the device.
She remembered all the work involved in maneuvering the board until enough of her people were elected and she could finally make her move. At first she’d hoped to leave Bob Hill in charge, and control him like a puppet. It had soon become apparent that that approach just wouldn’t do, so she’d had to get rid of him. Unfortunately, removing him had tipped off the older board members that something was going wrong, and had very nearly caused the ruin of all her plans.
In the end, it had been the dish that had saved her. It had been far more effective than she had hoped, quickly replacing the globes. With it she had, without so much as a struggle, overwhelmed the remaining opposition. Compared to all the years of planning and maneuvering, the end-game had been surprisingly simple. She’d laughed each time at the stunned look on each victim’s face as she had explained how they were about to serve her. Their protests were always enjoyable to watch. But one use of the dish, and they were joyfully doing her bidding.
Jack had bowed his head obediently as he awaited her. She smiled radiantly at him, recalling her relief when he’d finally been revived and, aside from an occasional migraine, proven to have very few after-effects from his ordeal. As she had planned, he now doubled as her personal servant. The man was quite effective, and satisfying, when properly motivated.
Taking a regal pose, she strode gracefully past him and into the room. Without being asked, she sat at the head of the table and looked upon her devoted followers. The look she saw on their faces told her it had all been worth it.
“Ma’am,” Jeri VanDoren began with the utmost reverence, “We are pleased to inform you that you have, by unanimous election, been chosen Chairman of the Board. We have taken the further step of making the position permanent, for so long as you choose to remain active. In addition, all powers once bestowed upon the board have been transferred to the position of Chairman.” There was nodding all around at this announcement. She finished with a deep bow, “It will be an honor to serve you, Ma’am.”
Regina smiled in satisfaction and bowed her head in acknowledgement. Turning to the rest of the board, she nodded slowly.
Before she could speak, her earpieces gave off an explosion of static. Suddenly alert, she looked around to see if this was some sort of attack. The stunned looks she received told her that this definitely was not the case. A glance at the door told her nothing was taking place. Besides, her men outside would have raised the alarm if anything were out of place.
“Are you okay, Mistress?” Jack asked, the concern apparent in his voice.
It wasn’t easy, but Regina was finally able to calm herself. She wasn’t sure what caused the interference, but from what she could tell, she was safe enough. One look at the faces around her assured her of that. She reached up and removed her earpieces before starting.
“Thank you. All of you. It will be an honor leading you into the future. And let me assure you, the future is here. It is time for a new beginning. It is time to take Stocker Scientific into a new direction. Together, we shall make Stocker the greatest company that this industry, or any industry, has ever seen.”
She felt another thrill as she saw herself steering the company through one aggressive takeover after another as she built it into a world leader. It would be far more than a scientific firm when she was done. It would take time, but patience was one of her greatest virtues. She took a deep breath and began to describe her plans.
46.
Slowly coming to his senses, Jack blinked, looked around, and thought, ‘Oh no, not again.’ Once again, he had awakened to find himself in his den. He should be getting used to this he knew, but this time was different. For one, he was surprised to find he wasn’t behind his desk. He considered taking his customary seat, but for some reason that didn’t feel right to him. Secondly, more importantly, he wasn’t alone.
He was on the far right of a semi-circle of chairs facing the desk. Next to him, his wife Stephanie, was also beginning to come around. She was no longer wearing her mini-skirt and low-cut blouse, choosing instead for jeans and a more conservative top.
On her left he saw Simone, still wearing her French Maid uniform, although she had a disheveled look about her. She was staring off into space with a blank look on her face. He looked at the woman and her outfit, remembering the intense desire he’d felt the last time he’d seen her. Strangely, that feeling was entirely gone. Almost as if that had happened to another man, he felt absolutely nothing for the woman.
Next to her was Regina Ramos. He couldn’t imagine what the hell she was doing there. She too, was staring off into space, but had the trace of a smile on her face. He wondered what she was thinking.
“Thank you. All of you. It will be an honor leading you into the future. And let me assure you, the future is here. . . .”
There was a empty chair beyond her, and no one sat in the office chair behind the desk. He wondered who was going to take them.
47.
Jeri VanDoren drove up to the house, but didn’t pull into the driveway. Instead, she parked in the street, behind a van. Heading over to it, she knocked on the door, then got in when it slid open.
“Alright Martinez, what’s going on?”
“They’re all inside the den, but nothing’s happening yet,” he replied. “They seem to be waiting for something . . . or someone.” Turning, he reached for something behind him.
“But you need to see this Ma’am,” he said, uncovering a globe whose light filled the van. Her eyes widened in recognition. This was one of the globes she’d finally unearthed in the archives! Looking up sharply, she saw something in his eyes she didn’t like. Moving quickly, she scrambled to get out of the van, but was surprised to find her way blocked by one of his men.
“You really do need to see this, Ma’am,” he said more forcefully. At a gesture, her arms were held firmly behind her. She struggled in vain to pull away as the globe was brought closer.
48.
Jack looked up as the door opened. He was surprised to see Jeri VanDoren standing there with a strangely vacant look on her face. A man guided her into the room and led her to the seat beside Regina. The man was carrying one of the globes in his hands and was waiting patiently for his next order.
Amanda walked into the room with another, larger globe, set it on the desk next to what looked to be a miniature satellite dish, and then sat down.
“Thank you, Jason,” she said with a smile. “Please put that on the shelf, right about there, I think. Oh, and you can take that box away now, but leave what’s under it,” she told him. He put the globe on the shelf, then went to the other side of the room, picked up a box that was sitting upside down, revealing yet another globe.
Looking at the globe, Jack recalled the moment when, unable to move, he had watched Simone pull it out and activate it. He remembered the sinking feeling that accompanied it, but didn’t remember anything after that.
Now, looking around the room, Jack counted four globes, all pulsing in unison. He whistled softly in appreciation.
“Is there anything else, Ma’am?”
“Yes, please take those earpieces from the ladies,” she said gesturing towards Regina and Simone. He reached down into their laps, and retrieved the devices they held in their fingers. “That will be all for now. Please make sure we are not disturbed.” He nodded and left the room.
Jack looked closer at Amanda. She seemed very different to him now. Her nervous, shy behavior was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she acted quite at ease with a group of people much older than herself. She looked over at him and smiled warmly.
“Well, it looks like we’re all here.” She made an adjustment to her globe, then looked over at Regina, Simone, and Jeri. Slowly, their blank stares gave way to bewildered expressions.
Regina spoke first. “What the hell’s going on here?!” Then, seeing Jack, Stephanie, and Jeri, she stopped. “What the—” she trailed off. Realizing something was wrong, she reached up and, for the first time, realized her earpieces were gone. She shot a look at Amanda.
“Yes, I did this, Ms. Ramos.” Amanda thought for a second, then said, “We all know each other here. Would anyone object to my using your first names? No? Good then.” Turning back to Regina, she said, “I just couldn’t allow you and Simone to destroy my family, Regina.”
Stephanie, who didn’t have a clue what was going on, asked “What are you talking about?”
Amanda thought for a moment how to respond, then said, “To put it simply, Simone was working for Regina, trying to influence Daddy’s vote at the upcoming board election.”
Stephanie stared at her skeptically. “That’s ridiculous, Amanda.” She didn’t notice that she was the only one to show the slightest surprise at the accusation.
“I’m afraid it isn’t. Regina wanted Daddy to become, uh, interested in Simone—”
“I never—”
“Daddy, please,” Amanda said quietly. “It wasn’t your fault. What they did to you—” She stopped, looking down uncomfortably. “What was done to you wasn’t your fault.”
Realizing there was more here than she’d thought, Stephanie was staring at Simone and Regina. “Just what did you do?” she demanded.
Jack watched both of them closely. Simone averted her gaze. Regina, however, met their eyes defiantly and said nothing. The silence stretched out, as the tension between the ladies grew.
Finally, Amanda said, “Using the globes, they tried to influence Daddy.”
“Influence how?”
Instead of answering that, Amanda said, “They needed him to change his position on a few things, mainly who he’d vote for at the upcoming elections—especially the vote for Chairman. Simone’s position here gave her a unique opportunity to do that. In addition, she had one particular advantage in her favor.”
“Which is?”
“They knew he’d be attracted to her.”
“Your father’s not that kind of man,” Stephanie replied, somewhat defensively.
Uncomfortable, Jack tried to head this off. “Look, we don’t need to get into this.”
Surprised, Stephanie turned on her husband. “You don’t have a thing for this girl, do you?” Jack opened his mouth, then closed it again.
“As I said, Simone has one advantage no one else does,” Amanda put in.
Stephanie’s eyes never left her husbands as she responded. “And that is?”
“Well—” Amanda hesitated, as if trying to decide how to put it into words. She looked at Simone, as if asking if the maid wanted to tell them or if she should. “It’s okay, Simone, I’ve removed the compulsion.” When the maid said nothing, Amanda shook her head slightly in disappointment. She opened her mouth to speak, but never got a chance.
“Her real name is Simone Galla Ramos.” Everyone turned to Jeri. “She’s Regina’s daughter.” There was a stunned silence.
Jack shot a glance at Amanda, who nodded in confirmation. He then looked at the two women and studied them. Once the connection had been revealed, the similarity between the women was obvious and he wondering how he could have missed it before. The round faces, sharp noses, and even the shape of their mouths showed the relation. He thought back on all the times he’d had that nagging feeling he’d met Simone somewhere before. It all made sense now. He wanted to kick himself for being so dense.
He turned and looked at Jeri with a puzzled look on his face. She avoided his eyes. He knew that she’d been investigating Regina, but hadn’t heard a thing about this before. Something about that bothered him.
Amanda’s next comment, though, brought him out of his speculation. “A few years ago Regina nearly succeeded in, um, winning Daddy’s vote, when she tried to get on the board of directors.”
It took a moment for that to sink in, but when it did, Stephanie turned on her husband again. “You never told me that!” she said accusingly.
“I . . . didn’t want you to think there was anything there,” he explained, realizing that the fact that it had remained hidden for so long made it look just the opposite.
Amanda added, “So, between Simone’s appearance, and the globe’s effects, they planned to influence Daddy, win a majority on the board, and then take over the company.”
“That is ridiculous!” Regina said, finally. “I don’t intend to sit here and listen to your baseless accusations.” She ended this outburst by giving Simone a hard look. Jack wondered why she didn’t get up and leave. He wondered why any one of them didn’t leave.
“Simone didn’t tell anyone, Regina.” Amanda said calmly. “She couldn’t. You created a compulsion preventing her from telling anyone.”
“Another lie!”
Amanda touched the globe and adjusted it. “It would make this a lot easier if you would keep from trying to mislead everyone here. From now on, I’d appreciate it if everyone spoke the truth.”
“But—” Regina gave a startled look, then stopped. It looked like she wanted to say more, but couldn’t.
Seeing a chance to speak, Stephanie asked, “If she couldn’t tell anyone, how did you learn all this, Amanda?”
“Well, even though Simone may not have been able to tell anyone, she knew. Eventually, I did, too.”
“How?”
“With this.” Amanda had a hand on the globe.
Stephanie clearly didn’t understand, and opened her mouth to ask about it. Then, staring at the globe, her eyes widened and the blood drained from her face. Taking a nervous glance at Simone, she looked away quickly. Jack was sure that she was hiding something. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what it was.
Recovering somewhat, Stephanie changed the subject quickly. In a very quiet voice she asked, “So, they wanted Jack, to, to what, vote for Regina to join the board or something?”
“Something like that. Actually, she wanted to be Chairman.”
Amanda then looked at Regina who made no response whatsoever. Jack knew her enough to know that if she couldn’t lie anymore, she sure as heck wasn’t going to offer anything that would incriminate her.
“Please, Regina,” Amanda asked. “This part is yours. You really should be the one to tell it.” She waited a moment. Getting no response, she added, “Please. It really was quite brilliant, you know.”
Jack suppressed a sigh, knowing this was pointless. Vain as she was, Regina would never fall for so blatant an attempt to appeal to her ego. To his surprise, her face twitched into a brief smile which she quickly concealed. Amanda went on singing her praises while Regina just soaked it in, her face gradually betraying her desire to have everyone learn of her genius.
Jack didn’t understand it. What had gotten into her? He looked back at Amanda, wondering how she was doing this, when he noticed her hand still on the globe, slowly turning a knob. She gave him a wink. His eyes widened in amazement at the incredible power of the device.
Finally, unable to restrain herself anymore, Regina said with false modesty, “Well, it wasn’t all that brilliant. Not really. I just saw a good thing and found a better use for it.”
She went on to explain how she had seen a private demonstration of a new device designed to help military intelligence interrogate prisoners. But giving it to the military was the last thing she wanted, for she’d seen possibilities for it that they had never imagined. After a quick test, where the inventor was subtly coerced, she realized her idea was correct.
The next thing she needed to do was to kill the project. She handled that by getting her new devotee to cause the official demonstration to fail horribly, assuring that development on the project would be killed. This allowed her to continue working in secret.
“But that demonstration,” Jeri interrupted with a look of incredulity. “The test subject’s mind was totally destroyed. He was a vegetable afterward.” If she expected any remorse, she was disappointed. The look she received from Regina was almost confusion, as if wondering how that was relevant to her plans.
Annoyed at the interruption, Regina, began again. “This was shortly before my attempt to join the board of directors.” Her disgust was apparent in the looks she gave Jack and Jeri. “After that, I knew what my first use for the device would be! One by one, I began eliminating board members, making sure my people were in a position to replace them. If that wasn’t possible, I worked on the new member personally. Pete DeMarco would have been ready for the upcoming vote if you hadn’t moved the date up.”
When Regina was finally ready, she moved on Jack. Upon hearing of Stephanie’s need for a maid, she’d jumped on the possibility and had suggested Simone. Sending her “best person”—she said that now with more sarcasm than praise—she’d expected results right away. When that didn’t happen, they had been forced to look towards the rest of the family to assist her. Tonight, Simone had called to say that she had everyone in the house under control.
His worst fears realized, Jack looked at his daughter and his wife. He knew what his thoughts and dreams had been like the past few weeks. Just what had their control consisted of? His wife was studying the floor. The look of anguish on her face told him all he needed to know. Looking past her, he saw a look of revulsion on Jeri’s face.
“But Simone is your daughter,” Jeri said. “You sent your daughter to seduce and destroy your so-called enemy!? And his family?? That’s disgusting!“
“Not nearly as disgusting as betraying your own ‘friend,’” Regina replied hotly. “Leaving the knife in the back is nearly as bad as putting it there.” There was a pause while the two women looked at each other. “Don’t look so outraged, Jeri. You knew what was happening. You had to!”
Jeri looked surprised. “Me?”
“Yes, you! Would you care to explain why no one on the board ever discussed Jack’s situation? When Simone’s efforts dragged on, I knew his absences would make it clear that something wasn’t right—especially at a time when so many people were acting strangely. We should have heard something, anything, about Jack, but none of my people ever did. Not even an excuse for his absence. It was as if everyone knew it was a subject that shouldn’t be raised. I knew something wasn’t right.”
“Jeri?” Jack asked in total disbelief. The look he received wasn’t comforting. That nagging suspicion he’d had about Jeri returned. “Say it isn’t true, Jeri?”
Jeri, unable to lie, said nothing. Jack felt himself swaying as if someone had pulled away one of his last supports. Maybe they had. In a strangled voice, he asked, “When did you know all this? When?” How long had she been betraying him?
“I . . . I. . . .” She was trying to speak, but words wouldn’t come out.
“When did you learn about Simone? When did you know they were coming for me? For my FAMILY!?“
After another long pause, Jeri finally let out a strangled, “A . . . few . . . weeks. . . .”
WEEKS!!! And you never said a word?? Not one word???” Jack was livid now and was ready to jump up and strike the woman who had so long been his ally. He would have too, if he hadn’t found himself once again immobilized. He let out a scream of frustration as he thrashed about in his chair trying to shake free. He shot a look of rage at his daughter, who just gave him a slight shake of the head.
Amanda looked down, waiting for her father’s rage to subside. When she could be heard again, she asked quietly, “I think you need to tell us the rest of it, Jeri.”
Jeri’s mouth started moving involuntarily. It was clear she didn’t want to speak, but couldn’t stop herself. Finally, she spoke.
“I knew it.” The words were being dragged out of her, and she fought every one. “It’s true Jack. Back around the time of the surprise board meeting, I realized you were the next target of Regina’s takeover. But we were still in the dark. We didn’t know how they were doing it. We couldn’t do anything until we knew. So Carl and I decided to have you watched to see how she was doing it. He didn’t want to do it, but I told him it was the only way we could finally stop her.” The look on her face showed she wanted to stop talking in the worst way.
“But why,” Jack said, finally. “I mean,” he tried to put into words what he felt. He and Jeri had been a team. For years they’d covered each other’s backs and fought together to keep the company strong. He’d even stood by her when she had put both their positions in jeopardy. He couldn’t find the words to express this, and finally asked again, “Why?”
“At first, it was so we could know . . . but then I . . . I saw a chance. . . .” She hesitated, fighting to keep the words in. In the end, she couldn’t stop herself and blurted out, “Carl didn’t know. I didn’t tell him. When Bob resigned, I realized . . . I knew I could become Chairman. I hadn’t really wanted it before, not much anyway, but after he left, well, I thought we needed the right person to guide the company.”
Jack’s couldn’t believe it and had stopped listening to her. His eyes bored into his colleague, demanding more. He didn’t know what he expected, but there had to be more than this! There had to be an explanation that didn’t show her to be a shallow, back-stabbing, opportunist!
But if he expected a better explanation, he wouldn’t get one. Jeri didn’t even try to meet his eyes.
“I wanted to stop. After awhile, I did, but we still didn’t know—”
“I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done to me. To my family! I expected this from Regina, but never from you, Jeri. Never.”
“Jack, I swear, I didn’t do anything—”
“No, of course you didn’t!” he shouted, the hostility in his voice startling her. “You never did a thing, did you? You just didn’t lift a finger to help me, even when you knew I was in danger. What did you tell anyone when they asked about me? Did you tell them I was secretly looking into this? Did you tell them the whole deal could be blown if anyone tried to contact me? Did you tell them to sit tight until you knew more and could explain it all?
“I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done,” he repeated. “If I ever get the chance, and I swear I will, I’ll make sure you never serve another day on the board of Stocker Industries. Everyone will know what you’ve done. Everyone.”
49.
When Jack leaned back in his chair, he sat there breathing heavily, trying to regain his composure. There was an uncomfortable silence as his words hung in the air.
Finally, someone spoke. “I’d like to know something.” Everyone turned to Simone, who was looking at Amanda. “Why did you do this?” The tone in her voice made it clear she actually meant, ‘Why did you do this to me?’
Jack’s anger, not fully abated, turned on the young woman. Of all people to talk about betrayal, he thought bitterly. He wondered again what had gone on between the two young women to make Simone feel that way. He was too wrung-out to pursue it now, but he vowed he would find out exactly what had happened between them.
Getting no reply, Simone added, “And how could you? When I left you in your room, you didn’t know a thing about this.”
“You knew a lot, of course” Amanda replied finally, “and I learned more later on from Jason Martinez.” She nodded towards the door. “The rest I learned from Regina.”
“But there’s no way—”
“And why is Jason helping you, all of a sudden?” Jeri interjected.
Amanda chuckled as she turned her head. Jack got the impression she was glad for the distraction. “Well, actually, he thinks he’s helping you, Jeri. I’m afraid he thinks I’m you,” she said, almost apologetically, “and that you’re a filthy, disgusting impersonator working for Regina.”
“Gee, I wonder how he got that impression,” Jeri returned dryly.
“Maybe, because that’s what I told him. It was easier getting him to help Jeri VanDoren than seventeen year old Amanda Radley.”
“You never answered my question,” Simone said with emphasis. “How could you possibly have known?” She was clearly at a loss. To Jack, it seemed like it was almost a matter of pride with her.
Amanda considered her for a long time, biting her lip as she did when she was uncomfortable. When at last she spoke, there was a great deal of sadness in her voice. “When you came to me that day, I thought it was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to me. I thought you were the most wonderful person in the world. I would have done anything for you.
“Then you did things . . . to my parents.” She was looking down, troubled by the subject. “I didn’t know what you’d done to my mother until it was too late, but I heard you talking to my dad. I heard you tell him what you were doing and how you were going to destroy him.”
“There’s no way you could have heard us. Not up there,” she said glancing up to the ceiling and the rooms above.
“When you’re in deep contact with someone,” Amanda said, looking down at the globe, “you can read their thoughts, of course. You’d have to, otherwise you could never interact with them in dreams. After all the time he’d been exposed to this, my dad was more open to direct communication. I could tell what he was going to say before he spoke.”
“Well, that’s Jack, but you couldn’t have read my mind, no matter how flawed the earpieces were.”
“A conversation requires a person’s thoughts to be on what he or she is thinking as well as what they’re hearing. I may not have known your exact words all the time, but I did get the gist of it.
She explained how she’d heard the plan revealed to her father and realized what Simone really meant to them. Her cold, calculating attitude destroyed Amanda’s fantasy.
“Something snapped inside me.” Then she looked at Jack fondly. “I guess I have too much of my father in me. Whatever it was, I could feel something change, and I knew I couldn’t stand by and let you do this. I definitely couldn’t help you anymore.”
Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Simone again. “So, after you left to call Regina, I tried to ‘fix’ my dad. Using the two globes together, I thought I could make things right. I was just starting when Jeri’s men rushed into the room.”
“Two globes?” Simone asked, clearly confused.
“Well, it was your idea, after all.” The look she saw on Simone’s face, made her smile. “That’s right. I made you forget about that. It was your idea to finally overcome my father by bringing in a second globe set to the same frequency. But you were afraid the two globes might damage him somehow, so you had me transmit at a low level, at least at first, then had me create a scenario his mind could accept.”
Turning to her father again, she said, “Anyway, Jeri finally gave the order to get you out of here so they could find out what had been done to you. As soon I sensed their presence, I panicked, and tried to get them to stop. I was surprised to learn that everyone in the room froze. Completely.”
Looking to Regina and Simone, she said, “It was then I found out something unusual about the globes. When two of them are in the same room they’re more powerful than a globe working alone. Much more powerful. If they’re set to the same frequency, that is. A mind caught between them finds the influence to be overwhelming. At least, Jeri’s men did. I was surprised at how easily I overcame their objections and altered their perceptions. I had far more control than I expected.”
Turning to Regina, she said, “That’s one of the reasons I asked if you knew how two globes behaved in a room. I wondered if you’d realize that you were being affected by more than one mental field.”
Jack looked around and saw four globes. That explained why it was so easy for his daughter to control this group of people and get the truth out of everyone.
Going on with her story, Amanda said, “Soon after that, I learned that Regina was on her way over here. I wasn’t sure why she was coming, but I knew it wasn’t good news. If she suspected something, I figured she’d try something. I needed to get her in here long enough to let the globes work on her. I never expected her to have two earpieces, though. That made my job much harder.”
“Hold on,” Regina interrupted. “Even with two globes, there was no way you or Jack could hold out against that dish,” she said pointing to the device now sitting on the desk. “It still should have fried your minds.”
“Really? Where did you have that pointed again? Was it here?” she asked, spreading her arms in reference to her place behind the desk. “Or was it here?” Without warning she was behind them, her arms still spread out, the globe floating somewhere before her. “How about here?” she asked, sitting on the desk, now looking like Jeri.
Just as quickly, she was back as herself behind the desk saying, “And where was my dad?”
Suddenly, Jack heard the sound of a door opening. Turning, he saw an image of himself standing in the doorway demanding, “What the hell’s going on here?” He gave an involuntary look down at himself then back at his likeness.
“With two globes working together on both sides of the room, I was able to make anyone in between—with or without earpieces—believe I was actually here. The earpieces were never designed to shield a user from that much mental force. Sure, it was tricky and took some time to work the image into your mind, but Simone was nice enough to help me out, even if she didn’t know she was, by reporting everything she’d been up to.”
Jack looked back at Regina, to see her response to having her globes used this way against her, but it was Simone’s reaction that caught his eye. As understanding came, a distraught look overcame her as the weight of her actions sank in. Trying to seduce him, she had resorted to a plan that had cost her—cost Regina—everything. His anger was slowly being replaced by satisfaction as he learned of their downfall.
He also felt a great deal of pride for his daughter. As he looked at her he was once again amazed by her behavior. There was something very different about her now. Never once had she let the meeting get out of her control. She was acting with all the poise of a seasoned veteran. He made a note to ask her about it afterward. He never got a chance to ask that question.
50.
“So now what?” Stephanie asked.
Jack looked at her and blinked. He’d been so caught up in what he’d learned here tonight, he hadn’t given a thought to what the next step should be.
“What about the company?” Stephanie went on. “What about us?”
“Obviously we’ll need to postpone the vote,” Jeri said, “until we sort this out and decide what to do with Regina.”
“If I go down, I’m not going alone, VanDoren,” Regina retorted.
Interrupting the argument that was about to explode, Amanda said quietly, “It’s time to set things right.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Set things right?” Stephanie asked. “You can’t bring the others back, can you? Or have the vote yet.”
“No, we can’t bring the others back. Well, not yet, we can’t, but we can have the vote.”
Everyone started talking at once.
“Are you crazy?”
“You can’t do that!”
“There’s no way we can be ready for that—”
Amanda smiled patiently and held up a hand saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.” Looking up at the clock on the wall, she said, “Now, it really is getting late and we need to wrap this up.”
The questions would have gone on if the globes hadn’t begun to glow brighter. Jack felt his mind drifting away into a swirling cloud of gases. He looked around him and saw everyone else getting a far-away look in their eyes.
“What are you doing?” His voice sounded faint to himself.
“It’s time to set things right,” Amanda repeated.
“Wait. . .” Jack tried to say. He never finished his sentence.
“Let go, Daddy. Let go. . . .”
51.
Jack leaned on his desk and stood up. “Well, I think this meeting has been very productive,” he said. “I want to thank you both for coming here tonight. I know you had your reservations, but I hope this exchange has shown us that there really is a middle-ground for us to explore. The best part is, it’ll be Stocker that reaps the rewards. We’ll all win.”
He looked across his desk to see Jeri and Regina also rising to their feet. Their expressions showed they may not have been totally sold on the idea, but they did appear to be open to the possibility. Thinking about it, he realized that was the best he could hope for at this point.
When Jeri had told him she wanted to nominate him for Chairman, he’d insisted on having a private meeting with the three of them. It was time to finally put their feud to rest, he’d said. Jeri had refused, saying the idea was absurd.
But he’d insisted, “Jeri, I’m not backing down on this. I don’t want her scheming behind my back all the time, and much as we don’t care for her, she does have a way of getting things done.” Jeri had steadfastly refused, though, and he thought she’d pull her support for him. In the end, though, realizing this was going to be a deal-breaker, she had grudgingly relented—conditionally.
“You’re going to regret it,” she’d said, “but it’s your call. But if I think it’s going sour, I’ll pull my support.” What she really meant was the senior members wouldn’t support him, which was as good as killing his chances of being elected. Well, if this didn’t work, he wouldn’t want to be Chairman anyway.
He expected Regina to give him a hard time, but she had been easier to convince than Jeri. He suspected she had some ulterior motive. No matter. Just getting them to the table was the important part.
“Thank you, Jack,” Regina purred, extending a hand for him to shake. “This meeting was very helpful. I think relations between the various groups will be far more. . . enjoyable from here on out. Don’t you think?” He took her hand and shook it, ignoring the suggestive look in her eye, and how she held his hand just a bit too long. There was a time, he knew, when that would have had an effect on him. Now, though, he felt nothing whatsoever. There was only one woman for him. He glanced down at the picture of Stephanie on his desk and smiled warmly. In fact, he was looking forward to talking to her about something as soon as this business was finished.
“I think everyone will benefit from this, Regina—the company most of all.”
After she’d left the room, Jeri said to him, “I have to hand it to you, Jack. I never thought this would work, but it went down just like you said it would.” She looked out the door and mused, “Maybe there’s hope for that woman, after all.”
Looking back at Jack, she said, “More than ever, I’m certain you’re the man for the job.”
“Thanks, Jeri. I appreciate it. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, though. I’ll need both of you with me to set things right again.”
“Well, if you need anything, make sure you let me know. I think the other senior board members are ready to set things straight.”
“Jeri,” he said reprovingly. “I’m going to need all the board members to get behind me on this, not just the senior members.”
Jeri sighed. “Alright, you can count on me.”
Jack was standing with Stephanie in the doorway, waving to his guests as they left. Closing the door behind him, he turned and gave a leering grin to his wife. “Now, then, what are the chances of my getting you back into that ridiculously sexy outfit you were wearing before?”
“Why Jack Radley, I didn’t think you’d noticed,” Stephanie replied, with a seductive look in her eye.
“How could I miss it? You were looking hot woman, especially with those boots on! But why did you have to pick today of all days to pull it out?”
“I wanted to see if you’d notice. It’s been awhile. . . .” she trailed off, her message quite clear.
“I think it’s time we put end to that,” he said, pulling his wife in close for a passionate kiss.
After they’d parted, she said, “I might just be able to slip into that again, but. . . .”
Intrigued by her tone and a look in her eye, Jack raised his eyebrows and waited for her to continue.
“. . . Only as, well, Chairman of the Bedroom.”
Well, this was a new twist. Jack wondered what had gotten into his now-playful wife. He couldn’t suppress the smile that betrayed his interest. “I think we can put that up for a vote.”
“Oh no, there’ll be no vote,” she said, putting a finger to his lips. “You will agree to serve the Chairman without question, Mr. Radley. If you do, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.” She ran a fingertip slowly down his chest as she gave him a meaningful look. “But I warn you. I can be very demanding.”
Jack’s smile grew. He realized he was going to like this new arrangement.
Amanda pulled back from the doorway and smiled happily. Things were back to normal again—better than normal, actually. She thought how the whole situation had worked out rather nicely. The solution had seemed rather apparent, after she’d learned of all the maneuvering that had been going on.
At first she’d been amazed at how her mind was working, sorting through it all and homing in on a course of action. Afterward she realized that having been in such close contact with her father and Simone, she had picked up a lot of their tendencies and mannerisms. Her father’s thinking in particular, and his understanding of boardroom politics, had made the path out of the mess rather obvious. There was a lot of work to do on other board members, both current and past, but she had plenty of time for that later.
In the meanwhile, the Simone part of her was feeling somewhat neglected. She sat on the bed, pulled out her globe, and began focusing on it.
In the kitchen, Simone was finishing the cleanup of the night’s dishes, unaware of a glow that began to fill the room. Free to wander, her thoughts kept returning that sweet young thing upstairs, and the flirtatious looks she’d been sending out. That girl had absolutely no idea what she was getting herself into! It was time to show her who was the real mistress around here. She looked forward to giving Amanda Radley a lesson she would not forget!
Amanda put the globe down with a satisfied look on her face. Leaning back on the bed, she waited to be seduced for the “first time” by her gorgeous maid.