Ch. 05 - First Big Contract
Forward
Nickels & Dimes is a work of fiction. Characters and events come strictly from the imagination.
This is the fifth in that series about two truckers, owner operators (O O's), who, while finding trucking to be enjoyable and profitable, do not find it to be sufficiently lucrative to provide money for their eventual retirement.
Their solution is to take money from people who have plenty and won't miss what they take. Many of those from whom they steal are people involved in occupations that are on the wrong side of the law themselves. In this chapter Ilysa learns the price of a big contract.
In each of these stories you will find sex, drama, and conflict, even, perhaps, a bit of humor. If you like the stories, please let me know. If you dislike them, I'd like to know that as well. How else can we improve what we provide our readers if they don't let us know what they like and dislike?
Thank you so much for reading this story. I hope you enjoy it. Kindly leave a comment at the end of the story.
First Big Contract
The Rudiments of Freight
For weeks Ilysa studied freight. More than just selling the company's ability to back a tractor up to a trailer and haul it off, Ilysa wanted to be able to provide more than freight companies. She looked for weaknesses in the competition and problems manufacturers were having. Slowly she built on her knowledge. She wanted to convince smaller companies that using Guaranteed Transport rather than their own trucks could save money in personnel and equipment, not to mention quality of service to their customers.
She sought out and contracted with other OOs who would be interested in having a more consistent stream of work. For them, not only would there be the initial haul, but there could well be a backhaul as well. In her mind, in her plans, she would be able to provide an OO with a load to a vacation spot where he and his family could spend their vacation, then pick up a load as they went home allowing him to write off much of the cost of the vacation. That seemed a much more difficult challenge, but she felt it was possible and she'd continue to work toward it.
Electronics including specialized transponders, GPS, and computerized log maintenance kept her head swirling. She realized, however, that bringing those devices to the attention of her customers as compliance and cost-saving features of Guaranteed Transport could give her an edge.
Ilysa split her time between learning about the rudiments of freight and selling their basic product, hauling a trailer from one point to another.
She took online courses in salesmanship to enhance her ability to convert a meeting to a sale. It was here that she ran into a problem that her studies of freight had neglected.
"God," she said to Janet, "I get into these dirty backrooms with these big, grubby guys and you'd be surprised how often I have to almost fight my way out. I come to conduct business and they have only one thought in mind." She took firm hold of Janet's butt to demonstrate.
"You are beautiful, you know. I guess you will have to learn to keep control of the situation."
Ilysa snickered. "I know. And sometimes it results in a sale."
Janet raised her eyebrows. "Oh, well. But you don't want to be the slut that sells trucking services." She paused. "There are way too many puns there, none of which are good."
"Yep. I have got to have these people calling me because they want great service at reasonable prices. For that reason I do try to stay with larger manufacturers. Besides," she giggled, "they are much less likely to leave dirty hand prints on my clothes."
"Good thinking." Janet was laughing.
Jimmy, Look Me in the Eye
"Pifer & Company manufactures pet products sold around the country." The website went on from there with glowing descriptions of the company, its products, and how well it treats its employees. The company was within an hour's drive so Ilysa looked up the phone number and soon her sultry voice had her an appointment with a gentleman who told her that he made the decisions about selecting trucking companies to haul their goods.
He would, he said, be pleased to meet with her about Guaranteed Transport. "Can't ever have too many qualified trucking vendors," he told her.
When she hung up, she wanted to clean off the phone so strongly did he imply a sexual agenda. God, she said to herself, how could he have mentioned that he had a 'really comfortable' couch in his office. She felt like she should lock on a chastity belt.
Jimmy Glover, she wrote in her appointment calendar, Pifer & Company. She took a deep breath. They shipped a lot of product and they had no trucks of their own. Another deep breath.
She spend the rest of the day looking for others in the general area. Perhaps she could go down there and spend the night so she didn't have to waste time driving back and forth just to see a single potential client. She built up her list and found several others who were willing to see her. None seemed to be salivating on the phone, at least not like Jimmy had.
She'd see Mr. Glover just before noon and move on. A fast food lunch and time to clear her head would fill the time until the next appointment.
Hitting the road at six for her first appointment meant getting up at four thirty, a time Americans had come to call oh-dark-thirty. She rose and bleary eyed, padded to the coffee pot to switch it on.
As she passed a mirror she saw reflected her nude body and wondered about these Americans and their obsession with nudity. She loved being free of her clothes. She slept naked. Often, as now, she'd have her breakfast before she dressed. Looking the mirror, studying her body for signs of aging she noted a short, blond pubic hair that had escaped her razor. She ignored it. Tomorrow, she thought. But it wouldn't leave her mind. It was something that wasn't perfect. She tramped off to the bathroom and found her razor. Better, she thought, after it was whisked away. She was again smooth and bald.
