“SO! ― What’s the plan for tonight?” asked Sandy abruptly, trying to sound enthusiastic and to also change the subject.
“I thought we might change things up and take things to the bedrooms,” replied Ally. “Make things a little more intimate. What do you girls think?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” replied Lois. “What do you think Sandy?”
“Sounds good to me,” said Sandy. “Do we chose partners now or later.”
“How about now,” suggested Ally. “Can I have dibs on Mike?”
Lois and Sandy both laughed. They were knowing laughs.
“W-H-A-T?” whined Ally good naturedly.
“You really loves you some man meat,” giggled Sandy. “Don’t you darlin’?”
W-E-L-L ― ―YEAH!” snickered Ally, glad that things were taking a lighter turn.
“How about you, Lois?” asked Sandy.
“Dan and Nick seem to be forging a closer friendship,” replied Lois. “Would that be OK with you, Sandy?”
“Sure,” replied Sandy. “I’ll entertain the other two boys. Chris and Matt both seem a little inhibited―and I’m just the slut who can cure them of that, once and for all.”
“Well―OK then girls!” enthused Ally. “I guess we all have our dance cards full. So, now why don’t you sluts get some more sun!”
Lois and Sandy looked up at Ally as she got up from her chaise, smiling at them. Ally looked down at her cell phone before flipping the leather cover closed.
“It’s almost 2:30 and Josh and I have a Zoom call with the office at 3:00, if you’ll excuse us. Try not to get into too much trouble on your own ladies,” said Ally smiling.
Ally motioned to Josh and pointed at her cell phone. He understood the message and joined her as they walked up the hill to the house together.
~~~~~
The boys watched Ally and Josh as they ascended the path to the ranch house.
“Where are they going?” asked Chris.
“They have a Zoom call or something,” replied Mike as he got up himself and walked toward the wooden dock.
“Where are you going?” asked Matt.
“To get more beer,” replied Mike, without turning around, “and to see if Dan is ever going to get off his fucking computer and join us.”
“Now where are YOU going?” asked Chris, sounding exasperated as Nick was the next to get up and move off.
“To talk to Dan. Maybe I can get him to tear himself away from his computer and join us,” said Nick, looking back at Chris and Matt as he raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders. “I’ll be right back.”
After Mike and Nick had been gone for several minutes Chris turned to Matt with a question.
“Man! Everyone seems to be all amped up today,” said Chris, “What’s the deal?”
“Yeah, I think the whole Mike and his mom thing has everyone all wound up,” responded Matt. “There’s been all this Oedipus stuff going on ever since we got here. And Mike and his mom was the final straw.”
“Huh?” asked Chris, sounding confused.
“You know,” responded Matt, “Oedipus Rex! The king in Greek mythology who killed his father and fucked his mother.”
“I guess I skipped class that day. I must have missed that lecture in Western Civ,” replied Chris, rolling his eyes before sinking back into his chaise and closing his eyes.
“Haven’t you noticed how strange Ally and Josh talk to each other now?” asked Matt. “It’s always ‘baby this’ and ‘baby that’!”
“Yeah? So what?” replied Chris.
“It’s like Ally constantly needs to remind Josh that she’s still his mom or something!” continued Matt. “And Josh calls her ‘baby’ back just to reassure her, I think. All that ‘baby’ shit back and forth is over the top!”
“Man, that’s some pretty high level Freudian shit,” replied Chris dismissively. “Maybe they just like calling each other ‘baby’.”
“I don’t think they even realize they are doing it,” said Matt.
“Seriously dude,” said Chris in exasperation, “let it go!”
“How many years have we known them?” asked Matt, trying to drive home his point. “And how many times have we ever heard them call each other ‘baby’ before?”
“Whatever!” retorted Chris. “Bro! You’ve got paralysis of the analysis!”
“Who’s paralyzed?” asked Nick as he returned and plopped himself down on his chaise.
“Dr. Phil here, is analyzing everyone,” said Chris mockingly.
“I’m just saying Ally and Josh seem to call each other ‘baby’ a lot,” retorted Matt, unwilling to yield the point. “I think Ally is all psyched out that Josh doesn’t love her like a mother anymore, that’s all.”
“She kinda quit being his mother when she started fucking him,” challenged Nick. “Don’t you think?”
“Yeah, but she still wants the love of a mother too,” said Matt.
“Maybe so,” replied Chris as he continued to sun himself. “But that’s for the two of them to work out. All I know is that she fucks like a bunny. And I don’t need to psychoanalyze that!”
“Chris is right, man!” said Mike as the other three looked up at him, not having noticed him walk up. “Women use sex to get love, and men use love to get sex. It’s that simple. Nothing more to analyze.”
Given the events of the last twenty-four hours, the three other boys all had to restrain themselves from saying something sarcastic. They all decided to leave it alone.
“Can I have one of those?” said Nick instead, as Mike sat the cooler full of beers on the swimming platform before handing Nick a beer.
~~~~~
“There’s something I need to tell you before we start the Zoom call,” said Ally as they sat next to each other at the dining room table with the laptop, secondary monitor and three-ring binders arrayed in front of them. They were both dressed now in preparation for the online meeting.
“Oh, what’s that?” asked Josh.
“When I spoke to the office earlier,” answered Ally, “I asked them to back off the move on Michael’s company.”
“OK,” replied Josh, seeming more curious than concerned. “Why is that?”
“When I was talking to Dan’s dad, he told me that Mike’s dad had retained him because someone was making a play for his company,” answered Ally. “That’s the kind of work Daniel does.”
“And you didn’t want to create a conflict with him?” said Josh. It was really more of a statement than a question.
“Exactly, baby!” replied Ally. “I wouldn’t want anything to come between he and I and Lois and Dan―and you.”
“That makes perfect sense,” replied Josh. “But what about Andy and his dad’s company?”
“I left that play in place,” said Ally matter-of-factly before pausing, then adding. “Actually, I told them to move ahead more aggressively.”
“So you are going to take him down?” asked Josh.
“It’s a prudent business move,” replied Ally. “Turns out he’s way undercapitalized and ripe for the picking.”
“How do you know that?” asked Josh.
“Because Bree told Sandy and Sandy told me,” replied Ally.
“Well, that’s certainly some insider ‘insider’ information,” replied Josh, snickering.
“All’s fair, baby,” replied Ally. “Oh! And something else―”
“What’s that?” asked Josh, amazed again how cutthroat Ally could be.
“If you have no objection,” Ally continued, “I want to retain Daniel to negotiate on our behalf and to handle all the legal details. Is that OK with you?”
Before Josh could answer, Ally’s phone rang. They both looked down at it and then at each other with a questioning look on their faces. Ally picked up.
“Bree, I’m so sorry we didn’t get a chance to say goodbye when you and Andy left,” said Ally, rolling her eyes. “Is everything all right?”
Josh couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation but Ally commiserated and sounded empathetic as Bree told her tale of woes before Ally finally spoke.
“So, Bree―is there anything, anything at all, I can do to help,” said Ally with just the right amount of sympathy. Ally paused as she listened to Bree.
“OHHH! I see,” replied Ally earnestly as she looked at Josh and mouthed the words ‘Oh shit!’
“Well, of course,” replied Ally. “We’re always looking for investment opportunities. As long as the numbers work, of course, I’m all in. And you’re sure your husband is onboard with this?”
Ally turned to Josh smirking as she listened to Bree’s reply.
“Well good then,” replied Ally enthusiastically. “You let him know we’d be happy to be his ‘White Knight’, so to speak. I’ll have my people get in touch with his people to work out the details.”
Again, there was a pause at Ally’s end of the conversation as she listened to Bree.
“Well, it’s my pleasure. I’m so happy you thought of me in your time of need,” said Ally reassuringly to Bree. “That’s what friends are for.”
Josh could tell by the way Ally kept nodding her head that Bree was gushing her profuse thanks.
“Well, you’re welcome,” said Ally finally. “And reassure your husband that we will want to retain him to run the company. I’ll instruct my team to make sure the deal includes a very generous compensation package, so you and your family have nothing to worry about.”
Again, Ally paused as Bree gushed over the other end of the phone. Now loud enough for Josh to catch a few words.
“Oh, by the way,” said Ally when Bree quit talking, “I think I’ll retain Dan’s father to handle the deal, if that is OK with you. We’re all friends and I’m sure he’ll make sure everyone is treated equitably.”
Another pause.
“Well, I’m so glad you agree,” said Ally. “I’m so happy you thought of us first. But I’d better get off the phone now. I have a Zoom call that I’m already late for with my staff. It will give me an opportunity to set the wheels in motion. Oh yes, you’re welcome. Talk to you soon. Bye!”
As Ally hung the phone up she had a shit-eating grin on her face as she turned to Josh.
“What the fuck was that all about?” asked Josh, even though he suspected he already knew the answer.
“Long story short, Bree’s husband asked her to call to see if we could be his white fucking knight and buy his company on favorable terms before things turned to complete shit,” replied Ally. “The cocksucker was too embarrassed and too much of a pussy to make the call himself. He let his wife do it!”
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