Chapter 3

John, Ed, Beth, and Kelly sat on one side of the conference table in the library. John, dressed in his robe, held his hands in his head and groaned occasionally. Beth and Kelly, dressed in their work clothes, kept looking at each other and giggling. Ed, dressed in his normal blue jeans and work shirt, did his best not to look across the table.

The staff filled the other side of the table. All of them were naked. Cathy was saying, “From my discussions with Marguerite, it was my understanding that dress was optional in this house.”

The new handyman and assistant security man, Greg, nodded in agreement. He echoed, “Hey, that was my understanding when I interviewed.”

Sarah said, “I told you I was a nudist when I interviewed.”

Cathy said, “Besides, I don’t think Jim was upset. I’m sure that he enjoyed the view tremendously. I know I do.”

Beth suggested, “Well, we can make a new rule. The upstairs and back of the house are clothing optional, but the front of the house is clothing required.”

Sarah pouted, but Cathy said, “That sounds fair.”

John added, “That means real clothing, not just bathrobes.”

The staff nodded in agreement. Kelly giggled as she asked, “Is there anything else?”

Cathy raised her hand asking, “Can we get the optional benefits early?”

John groaned. Kelly and Beth looked at each other with a smile. They were enjoying this. Ed shook his head. Kelly answered, “Sure. You’ve been with us for a month. How about at the end of six months?”

Cathy and Sarah pouted. Greg shrugged as he said, “Okay.”

Bob raised his hand. At a look from Ed, he asked, “Can we hire another man?”

Greg agreed, “Amen to that.”

“May I ask why?”

“Cathy is about to wear my dick off.”

“Amen to that.”

Cathy giggled. John groaned. Ed said, “We’ll take that up at another meeting.”

John nodded and said, “If there isn’t anything else that is pressing, this meeting is over.”

All of the staff, with the exception of Ling, got up and left. Ling meekly cleared her throat. Kelly looked up at Ling asking, “What’s the matter honey?”

Ling looked at John and Ed for a moment before she started to cry. Sobbing, she asked Kelly, “Can I talk to you and Beth privately?”

John and Ed looked at each other with concern and then stood to leave the room. John leaned down so that his head was between Kelly and Beth. He pulled them each closer. He whispered, “Take good care of her. Do what ever it takes to make her happy. If there’s anything we can do to help her, let her know we’ll do our best.”

John and Ed left the room. They headed over to the swimming pool. Ed said, “I had no idea that would happen when we hired Cathy and Sarah.”

“Neither did I.”

Ed took a couple of steps and then growled, “If any of them upset Ling, we’re letting them go.”

John nodded in agreement. He said, “You bet.”

The men reached the pool. They quickly stripped and climbed into the pool. They could feel the tension leaving their bodies. They swam for a while enjoying the feel of the cool water. Their play was interrupted by a dressed Cathy entering the room. She cleared her throat and then said, “There is an Ann Moore here to see you.”

John answered, “I’ll be right out.”

Ed laughed as he teased, “Sorry that you have to work buddy, I’ll be here swimming and thinking of you.”

Cathy interrupted, “She wants to talk to both of you.”

John laughed as he teased back. “I’ll be sitting in that meeting watching you, and knowing that you would rather be here.”

The men climbed out of the pool and went to the cabinet containing the towels. They quickly dried themselves and then threw the damp towels in the hamper. As they were dressing, Cathy asked, “Where should I take her? The library is currently being used.”

“We’ll meet her in the formal dining room. Have Marguerite fix coffee and some sort of snack, please.”

“Okay, John.” She left to perform her tasks.

John and Ed finished dressing. Both were curious what could bring Ann here. She hadn’t been here since the big raid and neither man knew what had happened that afternoon to her.

John asked, “Do you think this is business or personal?”

“I’ve got no idea.”

They entered the formal dining room to find Marguerite setting out a carafe of coffee and a plate of her special chocolate chip cookies. Ann and Marguerite shared a special look. Marguerite saw them enter and nudged Ann. Ann quickly turned around while saying, “Congratulations boys, you caught another serial killer. I just got back from the guys house. We found more than a dozen bodies in the yard. He was using the temporary agency to pick his next victim.”

Ed shuddered as he said, “That guy was pure evil.”

John added, “I’m so glad that we didn’t hire him.”

Ann said, “Well, he’s not going anywhere for a long time. Thanks a lot. I feel good when I help lock someone like that away.”

John said, “So do I.”

Ann was quiet for a moment. She looked to the door of the kitchen. Marguerite peeked out and nodded to her. Ann said, “My husband and I would like to invite you two and your wives over for dinner.”

“Sure, we can come whenever you want so long as Beth and Kelly are free from work,” John answered. He turned and looked toward the back of the house. He added, “They should be done soon. Would you like to make the arrangements with them directly?”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll call and ask Cathy. Just let her know that you’ve accepted the invitation”

Ed nodded, “Sure, no problem. However, the first thing they are going to ask us is what kind of clothes they should wear.”

Ann looked over at the door again. Marguerite smiled at her. “None would be best.”

John did his best not to look flustered as he said, “Okay. We’ll let them know that.”

Ann stood up and said, “Well, I had better get back to the office.”

She abruptly turned around and left the house. Ed and John watched her go and then stared at each other. John asked, “Has the whole world gone crazy today?”

“I think so.”

John reached over and poured himself a cup of coffee. He grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it. Puzzled, he asked, “She was here for five minutes?”

Marguerite came out of the kitchen. She answered, “No. She’s been here since the meeting was over.”

“Why didn’t someone get us earlier?”

She answered, “She was talking to me.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that you knew her.”

Marguerite smiled as she thought back to that evening she had spent with Ann. Ann had earned to play. She answered, “We are very good friends.”

John nodded and said, “Good. She can use a good friend like you.”

Ed remembered that Ann had not known Marguerite the day of the big operation. He looked speculatively at Marguerite and decided they had a major clue as to what happened to Ann. He hadn’t thought Ann was like that. Of course, he was wrong in his deduction.

Ed poured himself some coffee and took a sip. He changed the discussion to the problem that his wives were sorting out with Ling. He asked, “Are the new people causing any problems?”

Marguerite surprised at the change in subject answered, “No. Why?”

Ed heard the truth in her words. He shrugged and said, “Just curious.”

She left the room. Ed looked at John with a grin. He said, “Well, I think we know where Ann disappeared to that evening.”

John looked at Ed in surprise as the pieces fell into place. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Wow, I would never have thought Ann was like that.”

Ed added, “I don’t think the staff is the reason why Ling is upset.”

John asked, “She was telling the truth that she wasn’t aware of any problems from the new staff?”

“Yes.”

“Drat. This must really be serious.”

Cathy entered the room. Ed noticed her entrance and said, “Ann has invited us to dinner one night. She will call you and arrange a night when everyone is free.”

“Okay, I’ve got everyone’s schedules.”

“Good.”

Cathy looked at them for a second. She said, “Kelly and Beth would like to talk to you in the library. They looked quite upset.”

John and Ed ran out of the room to the library. Kelly and Beth were sitting there with tears in their eyes. John asked, “What’s the matter?”

Beth said, “Ling wants to leave.”

John’s jaw dropped. He asked, “What? Why?”

Kelly answered, “She’s fallen in love with a married man.”

Ed asked, “Why would that make her want to leave?”

Angrily John asked, “Who is it? How dare he play with her feelings like that!”

Beth answered, “She didn’t say, but we know who it is.”

Kelly burst out in tears. She cried, “There’s got to be something we can do.”

Beth hugged Kelly and comforted her by saying, “I know. I don’t want her to go either. I love her, too.”

John and Ed went over to the women and put their arms around them in a group hug. Ed said, “None of us want her to go.”

Kelly pulled out of the group hug. She left the room for a couple of minutes and returned with a box of tissues. She gave a couple to Beth and took some herself. She turned to John requesting, “Could you go get Jim?”

“Sure, I’ll call him right now.”

“No, go get him personally.”

John shrugged as he answered, “Okay, I’ll go shortly.”

“Please, John. Could you go, now?”

John nodded and stated his agreement, “Sure, Kelly. Anything you want.”

John left the room. He was confused by Kelly’s insistence that he get Jim now. If she really needed Jim quickly, a telephone call would be faster than driving there and picking him up. He went to his room and got dressed to leave the house. He grabbed his walking stick and headed to the garage. He caught sight of Ling, just as she disappeared into her room. She was still crying.

John returned with Jim in tow. Jim kept asking why he had been summoned, but John was unable to tell him anything, except there was a problem with Ling. Of course, Jim thought John was being his normal secretive self. They entered the room to find Beth, Kelly, and Ed talking quietly with smiles on their faces. Ed turned to Jim and then requested, “We need a ruling on a point of order. Can a majority of stock holders in the family hold a vote in the absence of another stock holder and have their decision stand?”

Jim thought about it for a second. He answered, “If they own a majority of the stock, what they decide goes.”

Kelly looked at John and said, “While you were out, we held a vote and the motion passed.”

John sat down and looked around the room. He had a queasy feeling in his stomach, almost as if he had been cheated on. He looked around the room before asking, “So what did you decide?”

“We decided to sell shares for the Carter clan to Ling.”

John stared at them in shock. “Why?”

Kelly came over to him and held his hand. “Sometimes you are a fool. Don’t you know that the married man she fell in love with was you?”

John slowly sank to the floor as the enormity of what she had said sunk in. He looked around the room from his position on the floor. Everyone that he looked at nodded his or her agreement. He realized that he was the cad that had played with her feelings. He numbly nodded while saying, “I vote with the majority.”

Beth smiled at John knowing the he would have spent an hour denying that Ling was in love with him, but with the decision made he would go along with it. She said, “I guess one of us should go tell her.”

John decided that she meant he should be the one that goes. He took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I’ll go.”

Beth shook her head as she countered, “No, I’ll go. It needs to be one of the women in the family.”

Jim stood there looking around wondering what he was supposed to do. Beth left and Kelly turned to Jim. She asked, “Jim, are there papers that have to be signed or anything?”

Jim answered, “No. She just has to buy the stocks. I can record the sale.”

Beth turned to John and said, “John, you can take Jim back to the office now.”

Ed told Jim, “I’m sorry you got dragged out here. Kelly decided that it was necessary to get John out of the house so that we could talk.”