A note to readers:
This is a long story that unfolds chapter by chapter through the eyes of two protagonists – Mark and Elsa, and as in many of my other stories involves a growing spate of horny characters. Every ten chapters or so I will provide a short summary at the start of that episode to bring new readers up to date. This story could appear in a number of genres (Loving Wives, Incest, Lesbian, Fetish, and more) depending on the chapter, but the overall theme is Group, so I have applied this moniker to all chapters. The story is still being written, yet I intend to post a new chapter every couple of days. Enjoy.
Chapter 7 – Extravagant Gifts and St. Croix Trip
Mark
Monday did not start out as well as the weekend days with Elsa and Cindy. I was up at four-thirty and immediately checked my texts and emails. I had a message from John Thornberry of my London Office that one of the deals to trade around some cash and chemical plants in other places around the world was falling apart. He needed me in London ASAP.
I went and kissed the girls goodbye, but neither woke up enough to take in that I was leaving. I put Elsa's cellphone beside the bed, and then left for the airport. I'd arrive in London in time for drinks and dinner with the head of Royal Chemicals and his negotiating team.
As morning got underway, I talked to Sheila and Andy at the office from my trans-Atlantic flight, and then I called Elsa, giving her a wake-up call.
Elsa said in groggy tone, "Where are you? I thought you were in the other room."
"I think the Citation is just coming up on Newfoundland, why?"
"Newfoundland!" I could visualize her suddenly sitting up in bed.
"On the way to London, and I'm not sure when I'll make it back. One of my deals is faltering."
"Anything we can do?"
"Not really. Andy and Sheila will rally the troops on this American side of the pond. In another few hours I'll start to get the details I need to get things back on track. I love you – both."
The girls pledged their love to me, and then told me they were going to shower and dress for work. I'd arranged that when they came out of the master bedroom suite, my butler Barnes would be there offering them breakfast. I also had made sure the limousine was waiting for them to do their bidding. I'd told them to stay at the condo anytime they wanted, but I learned that evening when I called them that they each went to their own apartments. A little part of my brain verified yet again that these girls were not gold diggers.
I met with Clive Rowland, the head of Royal Chemicals, and some of his minions for five hours Monday late-afternoon into the evening, and we picked up again on Tuesday morning for another six hours. We hammered out a new agreement that he hoped would pass muster with his Board of Directors. His Board had been the reason for the scuttling of the prior agreement.
Clive set out about two o'clock London time to walk the new agreement past enough of the Board to get an indication of yea or nay on it. He urged me to stay in town one more evening in case there were further details, and so I agreed. My week's schedule was already in chaos, but Sheila was working to keep anything else from falling apart. She was superb in that role.
I headed over to Bond Street in Mayfair to do some shopping for my new girlfriends. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I knew that by most standards it would be an expensive trip. Cindy and Elsa had reluctantly kept the diamond necklaces and tennis bracelets as well as the gowns and other clothing items I'd bought for them for the Hospital Gala. I needed some other ideas.
I found the perfect gift for each of them in an exclusive jewelry store – Rolex watches. They were beautiful, very feminine, and only $14,000 each, plus applicable taxes. Each watch was rimmed in pink gold, with twenty-four diamonds around the bezel, the diamonds at each numeral being larger than those in between. The backdrop was mother of pearl inlay. The watches were functional yet a work of art.
I walked out of the high street jewelry store about five thirty just as my cellphone rang. Clive was calling to tell me that we had been successful in this go around as far as his Board was concerned. They would formally approve the swaps, mergers, and cash trades at their regular meeting on Thursday. We were both happy executives.
Clive invited me to dinner at his club, so I accepted. Clubs in London have a special meaning unlike in the U.S. The gentlemen's clubs started in the seventeenth century for members of aristocracy, with the area around St. James Square being the epicenter of 'club land.' The private clubs were and are exclusive, and one could always find companionship and get bar service regardless of time of day, unlike the regular bars. Many of the clubs today have women members as well, a recent addition and break with three hundred years of tradition.
Clive belonged to a club named Annabel's at 44 Berkeley Square. The club had morphed from several prior incarnations with other names, but it had always been exclusive and swinging. Members of the royal family belonged, and many famous people have attended or been members. Lady Gaga was one of the recent entertainers.
Dinner was posh and delightful, and with a glass of port in hand Clive led me to one of the social rooms. A fashionably attired and most attractive middle-age woman welcomed him, who fawned over him so much I thought perhaps she might be an escort. Clive asked about a friend of hers, and almost instantly another knockout of a woman came and joined us from across the room. Thus, I met Lady Vane and Dame Ross.
I don't pretend to understand the pecking order of the British honors systems, but given the youthful age of these two women, I knew they must be extraordinary individuals. In an aside, Clive told me that Lady Linda Vane had brought honor to the empire by her solo long-distance yachting around the globe; Dame Holly Ross had started some kind of special charity that met a crying need in the country and had been personally instrumental in its growth and success over the past two decades.
The women were delightful company and flirted outrageously with us. The pair reminded me of Elsa and Cindy in how they flirted, and I resolved to be a good boy and didn't make a pass at either of them although I could have caught a few. I did however nurse several small fantasies. I'd save those for later. We ended things about eleven-thirty, and I left, leaving Clive with his two companions.
I caught a few hours of sleep at the hotel and then in the limousine, made it to Luton Airport, north of London at about five a.m. We touched down at our own airport about eight-thirty local time, and I was in the office by nine a.m. despite rush hour traffic.