Taylor's was a family business, and Thomas Taylor, the third, was the latest of his family to head the business that had been on the town's Main Street for over eighty years. The business was famous enough for people to use when giving strangers directions, such as 'You want to take the next left after Taylor's'.
Thomas would hold court in Murphy's Bar and Grill, also on Main Street and famous locally for not selling food. He joked that it was his bad luck to have married women who only produced daughters. It was typical of Thomas to place the blame on his wives.
Thomas had been married three times: to Geraldine (one daughter), to Mary Jane (two daughters), and now to Meredith (no children yet). In total, his three marriages to date have only lasted seventeen years.
Meredith, the latest Mrs Taylor was twenty-five years Thomas's junior and had little interest in producing the next generation. Privately, she would have mentioned that Thomas wasn't that interested in s.e.x. This was a considerable drawback in the fathering of children.
She would also say that Taylor was a loving, considerate husband and that she was more than comfortable with her marriage and the lifestyle it brought her. As far as Meredith was concerned, there were other considerations when starting a family. The chief being, Meredith, didn't think a man in his late fifties should be starting a new family.
Casey Taylor, Thomas's youngest daughter and fresh out of college, did not see why the next Taylor to head up the business should not be female. Fuelled with enthusiasm, Casey wanted to transform Taylor's into what she called a 'forward-facing' business.
It would have been fair to say that father and daughter did not always agree. Casey's business ideas were light on details about how Taylor would become forward-facing. Thomas, as with all fathers, was prepared to make excuses and overlook Casey's mistakes, of which there were many.
"What ideas?" Meredith had asked, the question loaded with the knowledge that Thomas had rarely accepted her ideas to improve the business. If Thomas had now started to take Casey's advice before hers, then more than mere words would have been exchanged.
"Give her time ..." Thomas had replied somewhat defensively. He was anxious not to start a row with his wife about a girl who could be described as her stepdaughter.
"While the business just melts away!" Meredith snapped back. She was responsible for the business's books and knew that it had lost money for six months running. It was not attracting new customers, and slowly, its existing customers were drifting away.
Meredith was no business graduate, but she knew enough to recognise the signs of decay affecting the business. They needed new ideas and energy, while Taylor was essentially conservative and lazy. What worked for his father worked for him. This meant that the catalogue of their services had not changed in twenty years.
"Seasonal variations." It was Thomas's usual reply. Just like his giving her time, the seasonal variations had now become a Thomas stock excuse, allowing him to delay change for a little longer.
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Casey and Meredith rarely saw eye to eye, and disputes were a regular feature of their meetings. Regardless, Thomas wanted his daughter and her stepmother to be part of the business, in his words, to rub along.
"An exchange of views is good. It challenges each of you to consider the alternatives." Thomas explained to them both at the end of another stormy meeting.
Thomas's explanation just triggered another round of arguments. What he said next saw a united front against the news he gave them. Thomas was not stupid; he was braced for a negative reaction.
"Remember Gerald Barrow? He was a friend of my father's. Well, his grandson Don is looking for a job ..." Thomas did not get any further.
"Dad, we can't afford an employee!" Casey protested, and for once, Meredith agreed.
"For his grandfather's sake, I have said he can work for us as an intern." Thomas continued as if Casey had not spoken.
The two women had exchanged a what can you say look that Thomas took as their agreement. To allow them time to cool down, Thomas took him off to Murphy's.
Intern Arrival
Any of Thomas's wives would have said that he had a type. He liked blondes, preferably with a willowy figure and an outgoing personality.
Meredith matched Thomas's preference, and naturally, so did his daughters, for the uninformed Meredith and Casey might have been mother and daughter or, more practically, sisters.
When Don followed Thomas into the main office, he was greeted by two slim-figured blondes. Thomas made the introductions.
"Don ... this fine young lady is my wife, Meredith, and this fine young lady is my youngest daughter, Casey."
The general hum of greetings was before Thomas had continued into his office with Don trailing after him. Don was already wondering how Thomas had managed to pull Meredith.
The two women exchanged looks. Both suspected that Thomas had found the son he so badly wanted.
"At least he hasn't got a squint," Meredith observed.
"Or a body odour," Casey added.
The two women smiled and almost laughed.
Don listened to old man Taylor and wondered what he had let himself in for. Old man Taylor's description of his duties wouldn't have excited a sixteen-year-old, much less a twenty-four-year-old with a degree in business.
Okay, Don had spent most of the two years since his graduation wasting his time on a Florida beach, but the scenery had been hot and usually willing, while Ravens Peak was typical of small-town America.
It had only been when his father had stopped his monthly allowance, having grown frustrated at Don's lack of anything approaching beginning a career and fending for himself. Don had decided he needed to show the longed-for personal ambition, at least for a few months.
It was winter in Florida, and the beaches were empty of what attracted Don: young, attractive and willing women. Don loved sex but did not like working for it.
Of course, the internship was all for show. The one thing the beach-based Don had developed was a glib tongue and an easy smile--a winning combination when added to his linebacker build and beach tan.
He had been delighted that old man Taylor's outer office was so well populated with attractive women. Don had already made a bet with himself as to which one he would shag first. He was uninterested in business, but his conquests already numbered nearly three figures.
Meredith was his favourite, if only because she was older than him and also married; those were two attractions that Don always found irresistible. There was also the attraction of Meredith being married to old man Taylor. Shagging Meredith would be a sort of revenge.
In comparison, Casey was the boss's daughter, which was an attraction that delighted the ever-horny Don. He thought himself spoilt for choice, so for a few months, he would be entertained.
