Anne Cheng was furious with her husband. She knew he had a gambling problem when she married him but the extent of his current losses was almost beyond comprehension. Charles had had problems back in China but he had promised Anne that those days were behind him when he had accepted a wonderful job with an American tech firm.
Anne had naively believed that a new start in a new country would change her husband for the better. For a time he was indeed a very responsible man. He settled his wife, mother and two small children in a charming house just outside the city. Anne had made many new friends both Asian and white in her new mixed neighborhood. Anne's English had progressed in in the four years they had been in America from passable to superb. On Saturdays she occasionally gave English lessons to the other Asian immigrants and their children. Her own children, a boy and girl attended a local preschool. Anne loved her new country. Things went very well for a few years Then, to combat stress at work, her husband had begun gambling again.
Lured by the higher odds and greater risks of non-licensed casinos and betting parlors he had been attracted to places like Randall Acosta's member's only casino. The Cheng's were both as a matter of fact in Mr. Acosta's office. The big man who was Randall Acosta was not happy. Charles was seated next to his wife and both were seated before Acosta's desk. Her husband's usually immaculate business suit was disheveled and Charles was drenched with sweat from fear. Like a machine he nervously chain smoked cigarettes. Charles' confession had just spilled out of him. Behind Mr. Acosta, two hulking, ugly men each slowly fondled the gripping end of a baseball bat.
The salt and pepper curly haired Acosta began to speak once more. "You can tell , Mrs. Cheng, how serious your husband's shortfall is. We thought is important that you hear his confession in person. That is why we called both of you to this office. The presence of my men here helped ensure that your husband's confession would be full and total."
Anne eyed her husband contemptuously and then found her voice.
"But SO much money! That is much much more than my husband makes in an entire year! I am sorry, Mr. Acosta, I had no idea that my husband was gambling once more. He had told me that he was working nights on a special project. Unfortunately it is not the first time he has misled me. He had problems of this sort in our old country. I appreciate that you have made my husband confess his deceptions but I am a bit confused as to why I am here. I am certainly in no position to cover my husband's debt."
Randall Acosta took a long look at Anne Cheng. She was ravishing. Her jet black hair framed a lovely face with a pert nose and beautiful languid brown eyes. To Acosta's eyes she seemed especially well built. She wore a close fitting red dress which accentuated her flawless skin. The dress was of a conservative cut and length but Acosta could tell that Anne Cheng's legs were very nice indeed. Although the same age as her husband, 32, Anne Cheng looked a good decade or so younger than her husband. An idea began to unwind within the gangster's mind.
"I had first brought you here," said the gangster, "so that your husband could not weasel out of his confession. The wife is always the last to know. There are several courses of action we can take. Nearly all result in you and your family losing their possessions. You husband's very life is also in the mix. I could report your husband's activities anonymously to the authorities, depending upon the mood that the INS is in they could deport all of you back to China. I am sure that none of you want that."
Tears came to Anne Cheng's eyes. "Please Mr. Acosta do not do that!"
Randall Acosta leaned back in his chair. Before him Charles Cheng was still cowering and smoking, afraid to make eye contact with the man he was so greatly in debt to. Anne Cheng stared intently at the wall behind Acosta, her eyes welling up with tears. Acosta knew that he could never hope to recover the debt the husband owed. The wife however had no way of knowing that.
"There is an option, Mrs. Cheng but I don't think you will like it."
"What do you mean?" Asked Anne Cheng, as she met Acosta's penetrating gaze.
"Perhaps you CAN settle your husband's debt. Oh certainly not all of it but enough of it to satisfy me and preserve your husband's life and leave you with the lifestyle you have grown accustomed to."
Anne Cheng began to feel some unease. She understood in which direction the conversation was about to go.
"What must I do Mr. Acosta?"
"I was thinking of two weeks as a "personal" servant to persons of my acquaintance, my son and his best friend actually."
"What do you mean by '"personal'' Mr. Acosta?" asked Anne Cheng with trepidation.
"My son is a wonderful lad. He neither looks like me nor shares my disposition. He takes after his late mother. He is an excellent student and does very well in college. If he continues on his studies he will be a doctor or surgeon. I really do not want him to follow in my footsteps. First he has no temperament for this job. Were he to try and fill my seat he would last perhaps a week before he was eliminated by my rivals. In fact my son has no idea what I do for a living. There is no need to eliminate his ignorance. Anyway, my son is handsome enough, but he and his best friend are cut from the same cloth. They love women but have no idea how to approach them. What those boys need more than anything is confidence. Last year they went away to spring break and returned home with their virginity intact. Spring break is not far off; if the boys were to spend the two weeks after that at my cabin in the woods with a completely compliant and submissive beautiful woman who would be willing to fulfill ALL of their fantasies and make men out of them..."
Anne Cheng's draw dropped.
"Mr. Acosta Please DON'T ask that of me!"
Randall Acosta withdrew a picture from his desk and set it before her. The picture showed Charles' mother pushing the family stroller towards the park near their home. Walking next to Anne's mother in- law was Anne and Charles' oldest child.
"It would certainly be a tragedy Mrs. Cheng if a car were to speed though this intersection one day soon while your children and your mother in law JUST happened to be midway across the street. If I were to prefer to accept the insurance money from such an unfortunate event to repay your husband's debt; that COULD be my prerogative. "