Chapter 20 - Business Before Pleasure
I slept late the next morning, Sunday, finally waking to a
throbbing ache from my rectum. The trip to the bathroom wasn't fun
but there were no signs of blood so internal injuries seemed unlikely.
I showered and shaved and returned to the bedroom, where I dressed as
usual in corset, makeup and wig. For my outer clothes I chose a
body-conscious red knit dress with a wide black belt and choker for
accents and red sandals with the tall, tall heels Kelly had taught me
to enjoy.
Kelly was sitting in the breakfast nook, reading the Sunday
paper when I came out. She flung herself into my arms, crying.
"Oh, Brandy, I'm so sorry!"
"What are you sorry about?" I asked.
"I'm the one who made you go on a date with that horrible
Tanyon animal," she explained as though I were too dazed to remember.
"It's all my fault for what happened."
I disengaged her arms from around my neck and held her back
where I could look at her directly. "Listen, Kelly," I said, "none of
this is your fault. I'm an adult and I chose to go along with
everything I've done. But more than that, I'm not going to let you
take any of the blame away from that bastard. What happened is his
fault, not yours, and don't you forget it!"
She looked at me in surprise. I think she had expected last
night's disaster to keep me in the state of shock that I'd been in
when I went to bed. Maybe it should have, or would have for a real
woman, but I was more mad than shocked today. The fire in my eyes
must have wiped away any traces of a dazed look because she nodded in
acceptance. Then she seemed to become aware that I had dressed
normally in wig and stockings, towering heels and mini-skirted dress.
More than anything this seemed to reassure her that I had come to
grips with the previous night. She tried to recover the joyfulness
which was so basic to her nature by complimenting me.
"I must say, Brandy, you do look stunning in red."
This statement, in contrast to her previous concern, caused a
look of desperate sadness to fill my eyes. I sagged and looked away,
smoothing at the soft material of my dress. As I bowed my head, the
silken strands of my hair flowed past my face in a liquid cascade. I
reached for some of it in soft wonder and my glamorous nails caught
the morning sun streaming in the nook windows and gleamed elegantly.
Every aspect of my appearance seemed to mock me on that beautiful
morning.
"What's wrong?" Kelly asked as she felt the wave of sorrow
flow from me. Then she bit her tongue as she thought she was forcing
the conversation to turn again to bad memories from the previous
night.
"That bastard," she murmured under her breath. "I'll kill
him."
"No, love, it's not that," I explained. "Getting dressed like
this has become my normal habit now and it wasn't until I was putting
on the choker to hide my Adam's Apple that I remembered I'm not really
Brandy. Tomorrow, it's back to Ran."
"Why?" she asked.
Now it was my turn to look at her as though she was not
thinking clearly. I started to explain about my vacation ending, but
she interrupted before I could even begin.
"I'm serious," she declared. "You're as much Brandy now as
you once were Ran. Except for a minor matter of plumbing you're a
sensuous, beautiful woman. Why give that up? I love Brandy as much
as I love Ran, which happens to be quite a bit. Having a sister is
wonderful and when I need what only a man can give, I've got that,
too. I couldn't be happier if Brandy stayed forever."
I looked at her in astonishment. I had always thought her
encouragement had been due to willingness to indulge an eccentricity
of mine. But now that she opened my eyes to it, I could see that she
had been happy for herself as well. She loved to go out with girl
friends and giggle and chatter and flirt with other men without the
distraction of a hovering husband. She may have dodged the advances
of her blond hunk patrol, but she had been flattered by their
attention. This was a part of her awakened awareness of how beautiful
and sensuous she was in her own right and I could understand why she
wanted it to continue.
"But what about my business?" I worried.
"We've already talked about Ran taking on Brandy as a partner.
Make it happen. Tomorrow, call your office as Ran and tell them that
you hurt your leg while on vacation and will be working at home for a
while. Tell them that I, Kelly, will be bringing down your sister,
Brandy, who will be joining the firm as your partner to handle most of
the customer contacts while you, Ran, focus on the computer analysis
and transactions. You've been talking about tele-commuting for a long
time and now's your chance. You own the company for goodness sakes!
If any of your clients insist on a face-to-face meeting you can trim
your nails, wash your face, change your clothes and be Ran. You can
change back that same evening. Just keep making your clients lots of
money as Ran and start charming them as Brandy and they'll be happier
than ever."
"What about the neighbors?" I continued to raise obstacles,
but it was clear that I wanted her to knock them down.
"Who cares? They don't own us. If they get too obnoxious
we'll move. The only neighbor we're close to is Billie Jo and she
already knows and approves!"
"Maybe we could get away with it at that," I mused in dawning
wonder.
"Sure we could!" Kelly exulted. "Tomorrow you'll put on your
business suit and I'll introduce you to everyone you need to know as
though you were just meeting them. You can even impress them with how
fast you learn everyone's name," she chuckled.
My tentative smile was reflected by the joy in her face and
then multiplied as she turned on the brightness that only an angel
could display. It would be complicated, but the chance to continue to
be Brandy would be worth almost any price. That it made Kelly happy
as well was the icing on the cake and I resolved to make it work,
whatever it took.
"That's my girl!" Kelly grinned as my resolution showed.
Since she had slipped out of our bedroom quietly that morning
to allow me to continue sleeping, Kelly was still in tee-shirt and
shorts. She went back into the bedroom to change while I sat down to
read the paper in her place. An ad for that nightclub Dart had taken
me to caught my eye. I hadn't really thought about getting revenge on
the bastard, but I realized that I could find him if I wanted to.
When Kelly came out she was in an ice-blue version of the short knit
dress I wore and we headed out for brunch. The attention that men
paid to us was undiminished and we soon were back to our laughing and
flirting. Knowing that it didn't need to end in just a few days made
it even better as the stress of a deadline evaporated.
We headed by the mall for some shopping and were passing by a
jewelry store when I decided to formalize my commitment to Brandy by
having my ears pierced. I had only worn earrings a small part of each
day since the pressure of the clips was too uncomfortable. With
pierced ears I could wear earrings as much as I wanted. The small
studs that were used as starters weren't quite up to the glamour level
Brandy typically maintained, but that would come in time. They would
actually work for Ran since earrings were becoming more common on men,
or he could just leave the small holes empty. In celebration of the
occasion we got a pair of heavy gold loops to use as soon as I could
wear regular earrings.
That night I stretched Kelly to the corners of our bed and
gave her the most effective massage ever, in part because I stayed
dressed as Brandy, removing only the dress. I used my long hair to
softly caress her body and she moaned with the delicate touch. I
moved the bungees holding her ankles until they were high on the
corner posts, her stretched legs holding her hips up off the bed.
When I began to kiss her jewel her intense vibrations reminded us both
of how effective our bondage arrangement had been and when I finally
penetrated her with my throbbing erection she screamed with
uncontrollable emotion and began to thrash against her bonds as the
energy built up within her. My own release triggered her ultimate
spasms and we both passed out together, her from the unbearable
pleasure, me from loss of breath in the corset.
"I'm either going to have to loosen this corset or learn to
hold my breath longer," I grinned as I recovered. She nodded in
understanding, but was too spent to speak. I snuggled down beside her
to rest for just a moment but we both fell asleep, me in my corset and
she in her bonds. Somewhere in the night she woke up and gently
called to me until I roused. She was willing to stay bound but needed
to make a pit stop and thought we both should wash our faces to keep
our complexions clear. After I released her, however, we decided just
to complete the proper preparations for sleep and I left her bonds
hanging loose.
The next morning I made the planned phone call to my office,
using Ran's voice though I was already in corset, stockings, heels,
and tumbling hair. It seemed strange to be using my Ran voice, and
stranger still to do it while looking like a lingerie model from a
high-class magazine. My staff wished me a speedy recovery from my
injury and said they looked forward to meeting my sister, Brandy. I
finished putting on the short-skirted business suit and was adding the
final jewelry touches when the doorbell rang.
Kelly was still getting dressed so I went to the door and
opened it to find Rocky! I gasped in surprise and stepped back, not
really intending an invitation. He followed me in anyway and suddenly
we were standing in my entryway.
"Hello, Brandy, you're looking as beautiful as ever."
"What are you doing here?" I gulped.
"The last time we met you were a lot more friendly," he
grinned.
By this time Kelly had entered the room, or at least started
to as she froze at the end of the hall.
"What is he doing here?" she asked in alarm.
"Do you ladies practice that duet, or is it natural talent?"
he laughed.
I wasn't laughing, and neither was Kelly. In a moment, he
realized we really were concerned about something and dropped his easy
grin for a more serious expression.
"Brandy, I had to see you again. I know you told me you have
secrets you don't think you can share with me, but I just have to know
for myself that they're too terrible for me to accept. I think I may
love you. But if your secrets are too much for me to handle, then I
guess I don't. I decided to camp out on your doorstep until you
either tell me something I can't live with or run out of things to say
to scare me off."
"I'll even give you two possible things I thought up, to show
you where I'm coming from. If you're engaged to someone else, I'll
respect that and give you my blessings and leave just as soon as you
convince me you still love him more than me, which isn't certain after
the other night."
At this Kelly gave me a quizzical glance and I remembered that
I had never told her about the evening I spent with Rocky in
Anchorage.
He continued, "Another possible secret you might feel you have
to keep is that Kelly is not really your sister-in- law, but that
you're Lesbian lovers. If that's the case I want to know if you
ladies would consider expanding your relationship since I know Brandy
likes men, too, and Kelly seemed to appreciate the attention of all
those blond guys she attracted. I'm really serious about how much I
care for you and will do almost anything to keep seeing you."
"Now, Shaharazad, start with your 1001 tales."
He moved to embrace me, but all of the sudden his powerful
arms reminded me too painfully of Dart, and I jerked back in panic.
"Don't touch me," I cried. Regaining at least a little of my
composure I added, "please, not right now." Rocky frowned but stood
back. He folded his arms across his massive chest and leaned against
the wall, shouting silently of his determination to wait as long as it
took, daring us to try and move him away.
"Please, Rocky, leave. You don't want to know."
He stood mute, still leaning against the wall as massive as a
six-and-a-half-foot boulder.
"You don't want to know," I murmured softy, knowing that my
argument was no argument at all, just an unsupported claim. He just
shook his head softly, a small smile trying to defuse the tension, but
stubbornness written in every inch of his muscular body. I drew Kelly
aside down the hallway.
"Go get the restraints and chains. I'm going to tell him, but
I want him bound first so there's no repeat of the other night."
She looked at me with deep concern, but nodded silently and
went to do as she was bid. I went back to Rocky.
"If I tell you, you'll hate me which probably doesn't matter.
You'll feel bad about our time on the ship and in Anchorage, which I
will regret. But worst of all, you'll feel bad about yourself which
will make me very, very sad. Please, don't make me tell you."
"Brandy, you've just got to recognize that this is eating at
me. I have to know. I tracked you here in order to put my own mind
at ease on a mystery that nags at me like an aching tooth. I really
need to know."
His own eyes pleaded now, not demanding, and I nodded
reluctantly. Just then Kelly appeared with the restraints and chains
and his eyes widened.
"The last man who found out my secret raped me," I declared
bluntly, wanting to shock him enough to get him to reconsider. "If
you want me to tell you, you'll have to agree to be bound so that I
know you won't do the same."
"I would never hurt you," he cried. "I'd kill anyone who
raped you."
"Then you won't mind being bound," I insisted with a quiet
determination that was the echo of his own. "You can always leave,
you know."
"No," he said, "do whatever you want."
Kelly brought one of our heavy dining room chairs and Rocky
sat down. I used the wrist cuffs to bind his arms behind him,
wrapping the chain through the back of the chair. Kelly bound his
ankles to the legs of the chair with another length of chain. I knew
his massive strength could break the chair and free him at least
partially, but I thought we would have enough time to get away if he
did.
"One last chance," I offered, but he just shook his head.
"Okay," I said with a deep breath. "I'm not engaged, and not
a Lesbian, but Kelly is not my sister-in-law."
I pulled my lustrous mane off and stood there in my short
haircut. Changing to Ran's voice I continued, "But we are lovers
because she's my wife. I'm a man."
His jaw dropped, his eyes bulged and his face turned red. I
watched for signs of violence, but instead, he sagged in his chair as
though hit in the stomach with a 2 x 4. For a long moment he didn't
even breathe and I began to think it had been a good idea to chain him
just to keep him from falling out of the chair. He blinked and shook
his head, then looked again as though a second glance would change
what he had seen. His mouth moved a few times, but no sound came out.
I stood there in my towering heels and short skirt, holding my
wig and wondering what I should do next. It felt wrong, somehow, to
be partially dressed as Brandy. When I was pure Brandy I had an
identity I had become comfortable with, and while I was Ran there was
no issue, but this half-and-half condition bothered me.
Finally, Rocky began to breathe again, and swallowed. He
blinked as though regaining consciousness. "Well," he said, "that's
some secret. I considered that you might have a history of crime, or
a terminal disease, or all kinds of things you might want to hide, but
I never imagined this." He kept staring at me as though not yet
believing it. I saw him try out a weak grin, which didn't work at all
well. He pasted it on and kept it, though.
"What's the line from the movie?" he asked, then answered.
"Nobody's perfect."
I was a bit shaken myself from having my secret exposed not
once but twice in a couple of days, so I didn't respond. But Kelly
knew the reference and decided to try and get a conversation going to
fill the stunned silence.
"That's from Some Like It Hot, when Jack Lemmon takes his wig
off," she explained.
"See?" Rocky asked. "You're not so unusual after all, except
for being unusually beautiful."
His grin was a little more real, now, and I began to think he
didn't find me as terrible as I had feared. I looked down at the wig
in my hands and I just couldn't stay in the half-dressed condition so
I caught Kelly's eye to watch Rocky and went to our bedroom to put my
hair in place. In a few minutes thick waves were flowing back to my
waist with their usual grandeur and I returned to the entryway where
Kelly was releasing Rocky from his cuffs and talking to him.
"So you see, one thing led to another, it's all my fault
really," she said.
"Kelly!" I interrupted with a warning tone. Since I was
properly dressed again I found myself using Brandy's musical voice.
She looked sheepishly at me then said, "Well, maybe not my
fault, but at least my ideas. I urged her on every step of the way.
She only saw you again after the first night on the ship, when you
kissed her, because I told her if she were to be pure Brandy then she
had to react as a woman would. I even told her to take you to bed and
pleasure you in whatever way she could."
"Everything I did, I did because I wanted to," I declared.
"Everything?" Rocky asked.
"Right up until I got home. This is the only time with you
that I regret in any way," I affirmed.
He nodded, still sitting though he was now free of his chains.
Rocky had a thoughtful look on his face, clearly trying to absorb the
shock of my secret. His eyes were looking with a gaze that focused at
a thousand miles, or at minus 3 inches. After a few more minutes of
awkward silence, he shook himself and a wry grin appeared.
"I was prepared to share you with Kelly if you were a pair of
lovers. I'm surprised to find the idea still interests me. Maybe I
just haven't absorbed the reality, but as long as you look like that,
I find myself remembering the ship and Anchorage and not caring as
much about what's under your skirt as I would have thought."
Now it was my time to be shocked. I had been sure he would at
least storm out of the house when we let him loose. Yet here he was
sounding like our relationship was not over, just redefined. Kelly
was sending me urgent telepathic signals requesting an explanation of
Anchorage, but I ignored her. Plenty of time for that later. I stood
before him with my hands on my hips, not realizing that I had stopped
in mid-swing and had struck a sensuous pose. All of the sudden he
stood up and embraced me. I stiffened in shock, still remembering
Dart's massive arms, then I jerked free with a frightened cry and
stumbled back. He reached for me again, but Kelly intercepted him.
"Don't! Didn't you listen? The last man to find out her
secret raped her! Don't grab at her now!"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Just what I said," she replied. "I arranged a date for her
on Saturday night after she got back from Anchorage. That's another
thing that may not be my fault, but I certainly had a part to play in
what happened. Anyway, her date took her to a lonely road and
demanded a blowjob as payment for dinner. He was pulling on her hair
to force her face to his crotch when her wig came off. When he
realized who she really was, he got so mad he turned her over a park
bench and raped her in the ass. Do you wonder she doesn't want to be
touched by a man right now?"
The confused look on Rocky's face transformed first to sorrow
then to anger as the story poured out of Kelly. He started to reach
for me again where I stood a few feet behind Kelly, but stopped his
hands before they had more than twitched. His face softened as he
looked at my wild eyes and pale complexion. Gathering Kelly into one
massive arm, he pulled her to the side and reached out one open hand
to me. He still held Kelly in his embrace to demonstrate a gentle
control and patiently held the other hand to me, waiting for me to
make the next move. I found my hand moving toward his as though
controlled by someone else. I watched as it reached his hand and was
enfolded within his massive grip, now controlled to a pressure as
light as a summer breeze. He pulled gently and I came to him. In
another instant I had flowed into his embrace as he surrounded both
Kelly and me with arms large enough to protect us from all the
troubles in the world. In a moment, Kelly and I were both crying,
trailing mascara down our cheeks.
"I guess that settles it," he said gently. "I'm not sure just
what other people would call what I feel, but I want to help you and
protect you and most of all I want to keep seeing you, both of you.
Brandy, I'll treat you however you want to be treated. I can ignore
as though I never knew it, anything you don't want to be part of our
relationship. Kelly, the love you've shown Brandy plus the fun that
poured out of you on the cruise make it clear that you're a special
person, too. I would be proud if you would let me into your life on
whatever terms you want. Or tell me to go, and I will."
I looked at Kelly, who was looking at me, and in a second we
were laughing and crying at the same time. We both hugged Rocky, and
his arms tightened around us in an embrace that was not threatening,
only comforting.
"This will be complicated," I murmured into his powerful
chest.
"More than we probably know," he agreed. "But I'm willing if
you are."
I looked at Kelly and saw the streaks down her face, then
realized that I must look the same.
"Oh, my!" I exclaimed as I drew back. "I must look a fright.
I have to go repair the damages."
Kelly laughed and followed me into our bedroom, calling to
Rocky to make himself at home. We had to strip our faces down
completely and start over, which meant we had to take off our blouses
and it must have been 15 minutes before Kelly was done. She headed
out to entertain Rocky while I finished my own repairs. In another 20
minutes I was done as well and I swung out to the living room to find
them laughing together.
"You should have seen the look on that geek's face when we
caught him in the act of dropping his spoon. If Brandy hadn't been
graceful even in heels and could dance away, he would have really had
a sight!"
"What lies have you been telling about me, now?" I questioned
with a laugh.
"True, all true," she giggled, but her laughing eyes showed
that some embellishment had happened.
I caught Rocky's eyes and suddenly we were serious. Kelly
picked up on the mood, too and quietly waited for us to resolve
whatever issue had captured us.
"Who do you want to be?" he asked. "What do you want to be?"
"I'm not sure," I admitted. "For right now, I guess I want to
be Brandy Dewinter, a unique person. I want to be a beautiful woman
who has a very special ability to use to give Kelly pleasure. That
also means I lack one particular ability I could have used to give you
pleasure. Can you deal with that? Both of you?"
Kelly nodded immediately since we had already defined
ourselves to each other, but Rocky had to think about it. I didn't
blame him. I'm not sure how I would have reacted if I had come into
this from the outside.
"I can't honestly say what I think about all this," he
explained. "For now, let's keep ourselves on the level we had at the
ship. I'll enjoy your company, but no intimacy. Is that okay?"
"It works for me if it works for you. I enjoy your company,
too. Speaking of company, Kelly and I have an appointment."
He raised an eyebrow in invitation to explain further.
"I, that is, Ran owns an investment consulting firm. We're
going down to introduce the staff to his new partner, his sister
Brandy. We need to get going."
"Are you a good investment counselor?" Rocky asked.
"Very good, actually. My track record is better than most of
the big Wall Street firms," I declared.
"Then take me along with you," he suggested. "You can gain
some points with the staff by bringing in a big account, mine, and
they won't feel you're intruding on their success."
"You don't have to do that," I said.
"I know," he affirmed, "but you said you were good. I'll just
start out small, at about half a million, and see what you can do with
it. As successful as you are at things that you set your mind to, I'm
not worried."
We headed downtown to Ran's office and Kelly introduced me to
his staff, two secretaries and a part-time accountant. The important
new client didn't hurt in building confidence with them. I had a
pretend phone call with Ran to decide where to start with Rocky's
money, talking to our answering machine while the staff listened to my
end. Coincidentally, Ran's suggestions were exactly the ones that I
considered best.
The three of us went to lunch at an upscale businessman's
restaurant where Rocky drew a roomful of admiring looks from the
executives at the other tables, though there were questions in their
glances as well. Kelly and I were dressed too formally for
secretaries, but our skirts were too short for typical junior
professionals in some big firm. I decided that I wouldn't have much
trouble attracting clients when I let the word get out that I was a
partner in my own firm.
Lunch really was a business discussion. I talked with Rocky
about investment strategies and what other holdings he had. Though I
never directly asked him what his net worth was, it was clear that a
couple of cruise ships and a fleet of fishing boats was the tip of a
very major iceberg. Kelly's contribution was more on the banking side
of things, but she had some creative ideas for money flow that made me
realize I had never truly appreciated her own expertise. Perhaps the
firm of Dewinter and Dewinter, needed to add yet another partner.
After lunch Rocky took me back to my office so that I could
catch up on the things that had happened during Ran's vacation and
said he would be back at the end of the day. I expected that he would
just give Kelly a ride home but when I met him after I left the
office, Kelly was still with him. My arched eyebrow invited an
explanation, but her smug smile answered with invincible armor plate.
Kelly really was a beautiful woman and Rocky had offered to share. I
wondered if they had pursued that idea during the afternoon. I would
once have been insanely jealous at the thought, but my own awakening
as Brandy and the changes that had brought into our lives confused the
issue too much for a single, pure emotion. I hadn't even sorted out
my own feelings toward Rocky, let alone decided what relationship I
wanted between Kelly and him.
We went to dinner. Rocky's massive strength provided a
bulwark against the local stud patrol, which was a bit of a relief and
a bit of a disappointment at the same time. I began to understand
Kelly's enjoyment of going out with the girls unchaperoned by a
husband. At one point in the dinner, Kelly made the nose powder
signal and we adjourned to the appropriate room for touchups. As soon
as we were in the room, she swung to me with an urgent look.
"What did you do in Anchorage with Rocky? I forgot to ask you
when we were fixing our faces at home."
I blushed, which was a large part of an answer in itself and
wondered where to begin. "He found me at the restaurant I had chosen
for supper, and afterward, we went back to my room. This time we
weren't interrupted and I . . . um . . . completed what I had started
earlier."
Kelly grinned in congratulations for my success as Brandy,
then got to what I thought might be her real question. "What sort of
relationship do you think he and I should have?"
"What sort do you want?"
"I really don't know. I've never been with any man but Ran
and I've always been satisfied, really. But Rocky is so massive and
masculine. I find my tits popping up whenever he smiles at me."
"Then go for it, girl. I would have if I could have, I know
that now. That makes whatever you want to do or actually manage to do
no more than fair. Have a good time. Actually, I wondered if that
was what you had done this afternoon. You certainly had an
interesting grin on your face when you both came to get me."
"Oh, no," she giggled, "that's not what I was smiling about.
Rocky will tell you when we get back. I just had to find out about
Anchorage, and about your thoughts on Rocky and me. I know you'll
enjoy the other topic."
Her mysterious grin resurrected itself, and by the time we got
to our table, Kelly's smug smile threatened to burst from excitement.
She clearly had a major secret to share. Rocky saw her grin and
answered it with one of his own, though his contained a mischievous
flavor I thought was normally limited to little boys who were about to
do something their parents wouldn't approve.
"Did you tell her?" he asked Kelly.
"Nope," she declared. "It's mostly your idea and I wouldn't
spoil your secret."
"What are you two up to?" I demanded, but just then the waiter
appeared with our meals.
When the waiter had finished, I looked my question at Rocky
again, holding my hands in my lap in clear signal that I would not
start anything else until he told me what was going on. He grinned at
my determination and motioned me to eat. Since the salad would wait,
I just arched my eyebrow at him and smiled with an echo of the calm
patience he had shown that morning. He laughed and nodded.
"Okay, I'll tell you, but go ahead and eat."
He suddenly became more serious. "For all my life," he
explained, starting with a seemingly unrelated topic, "I've been
bigger than those around me, bigger than the kids I grew up with and
bigger than the adults I worked with. I saw those who used their size
to be bullies and I hated it every time I met one. When I could, I've
tried to teach them the error of their ways. That's the one thing
besides hard work I'll really use my size for, to pay back a bully.
This bastard who raped you is nothing but a grown up bully. I want to
teach him a lesson."
Rocky continued, "This afternoon Kelly and I picked up a few
odds and ends that we can use for his lesson." "By the way," he
grinned, "she has a wonderfully creative mind, but don't ever get her
really mad at you. However, we have one problem, Kelly tells me she
doesn't know how to find this Tanyon character since he always called
you and never left a return number. Do you know how to find him?"
I thought about the nightclub and his obvious familiarity
there. I knew he must go there often enough that we could find him
with a reasonable wait. I didn't like the bastard, either, but there
was a reason I couldn't let it go too far.
"What did you have in mind? I won't help you kill him. He's
mean and petty and a bully all right. But he didn't have to throw me
the handcuff key and I would have really been in trouble without it.
That one gesture gets him some consideration."
"Oh, don't worry. What I have in mind won't kill him, it
won't even hurt him, much. I just intend to make him feel as helpless
as you felt, and as embarrassed. Of course, I may scale things up by
the ratio of his strength to yours. That's how you make a bully
realize just how terrible his behavior has been," he smiled with the
confidence of repeated experience, and I resolved never to bully
anyone in his presence.
"So, what did you have in mind?" I asked.
"First, can you find him?"
I nodded and explained about the nightclub. If we waited for his
Porsche to show up, I was sure we could catch him going in or out of
the club. When Rocky started explaining his plan I began to chuckle,
then to giggle. When Kelly explained her embellishments, we all broke
out in laughter than had heads turning. I thought about the last time
we had made a mirthful disturbance in a restaurant and wondered if we
would again attract the attention of the management. Looking around
at the other patrons, I saw a geek staring our way, not the same one,
but the same type. When I reminded Kelly of the other time and
pointed out our new admirer she almost fell off her chair from
laughing. Rocky looked at us in amusement, caught up in our
happiness, but his deeper thoughts still had control of his smile and
the mischievous look remained in his eyes.
