With the end of the semester just around the corner, all of the college students in the area were under significant stress. The worst hit by that time of the year were the students about to graduate. On top of worrying about final exams, research papers, and homework, there was the matter of uncertain futures looming on the horizon. Those who were seeking employment and were without offers were desperate for anything to solve their employment problems. They were terrified that they would have to continue their education until an offer appeared. Students wishing to continue their educations and had not yet been accepted into a graduate school were fearful that they would have to get jobs.
The upshot of all of those concerns was that students began to flock to Solutions Incorporated in what seemed like an endless stream. Magus and Titus were booked solid with ten dollar consulting jobs. The average consultation required only fifteen minutes, although there were a few surprises that took a little longer.
While Magus and Titus were busy, Igor and Hagar were not. Most of their time was spent reading books affiliated with their passions. To an outside observer, watching the two rather large substantial men lost in reading with classical music playing in the background would have been an odd sight indeed.
The book of Shakespeare's sonnets was open to one of Nestor's favorites. He read it enjoying the feel of the words as he spoke them aloud. It seemed to him that poetry was enjoyed the most when spoken. Poets who strived for interesting plays on sounds, rhythms, and cadences were not served well by readers who just skimmed the surface of the poem looking only for meaning. He wondered who could silently read Poe's great poem, 'Bells.'
"When forty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now, Will be a totter'd weed of small worth held," Nestor read aloud. He grinned and said, "Talk about not growing old gracefully."
Phil knocked on his door. Feeling a little irritation at the interruption to his reading, Nestor asked, "What is it?"
"There is something interesting about to happen over at Solutions Incorporated," Phil said while watching how Nestor, with exaggerated care, marked his place in his book and set it on the little table by his chair. He understood exactly how Nestor felt about his books.
"What?" Nestor asked perking up a little.
His interest was real. He was seldom asked to do things of much substance. Even when his services were required, it was usually pretty boring; although, taking care of the women who pursued Titus did have its moments of excitement. There was nothing like finding a naked beauty queen knocking on the front door. He wondered what Stephen was about to ask him to do.
Phil smiled and said, "As you may know, Stephen is about to graduate from college. He'll be starting law school soon."
"I do know that," Nestor said.
It was a frequent topic of conversation around the house. Although Stephen wouldn't be graduating until the end of the summer semester, his entry into law school was often the subject of teasing. Even Nestor took opportunities to call Stephen an ambulance chaser wanna-be.
Phil said, "As you many know, Mel is graduating, too."
Mel had taken the same course load every semester as Stephen. While his program was much more aggressive than hers and he was working, they were in a contest to see whose GPA would be the highest. Although no one said anything, everyone knew that Mel didn't stand a chance.
"I know that," Nestor said. "Why are you telling me things that I already know?"
Phil paused just long enough to irritate Nester before he said, "Mel has an appointment with Magus."
"I didn't know that," Nestor said.
"Neither does Stephen," Phil said with a broad grin.
"I wonder why she has an appointment with Magus," Nestor mused aloud.
"There are so many possibilities, but one seems most likely," Phil said.
"Wedding bells," Nestor said rubbing his hands together excitedly. He could just imagine how Stephen would react.
"Exactly," Phil said. "Stephen is about to find out what it means to be roped and branded."
Nestor asked, "Just when is this appointment?"
"In just about ten minutes from now," Phil answered.
"Let's head over there," Nestor said.
With little going on in the office at the moment and fully caught up on his schoolwork, Stephen was bored. He stepped out of his office and walked over to Irene's desk. He asked, "Are there any appointments for me this afternoon?"
"None for you," Irene said. She snickered.
Stephen frowned. He said, "I guess the end of school year rush is just about over."
"Yes, it is," Irene said with a grin.
"It sure seemed to be worse this year than last year," Stephen said watching her closely. Something was fishy and this wasn't Denmark.
With her grin getting ever larger, Irene said, "Magus dealt with most of the students last year. It was a whole lot better with the two of you here."
"You look like you're exceptionally pleased about something," Stephen said.
"Not really," Irene said. It was hard to stop grinning like an idiot.
Stephen studied Irene for a second and then asked, "Are you pregnant?"
"No," Irene answered.
Phil and Nestor entered the office. Rather than stepping up to the desk, both men leaned against the wall and watched Stephen. When Stephen looked over at them, the pair smiled and waved at him without saying a word.
Stephen frowned and asked, "What's up?"
"Nothing," Phil said.
"Not a thing," Nestor said sounding too innocent.
"Something is up," Stephen said getting suspicious. Everyone looked a little too cheerful. He looked over at Irene and asked, "Where's Magus?"
"He's in his office waiting for his next appointment," Irene said.
That answer seemed to provoke exceptionally large grins on everyone's faces except Stephen's. Phil nudged Nestor in the side.
"Uh, can I see that appointment book?" Stephen asked.
"No," Irene said.
Stephen held out his hand and said, "Hand over the appointment book."
Before Irene had a chance to react, the door opened behind Stephen. Rather than turning to see who was coming in, everyone watched Stephen. He slowly turned around with a feeling of dread. Mel was standing at the door holding up a ten dollar bill in her right hand like it was some kind of protest sign.
Smiling, she said, "I have an appointment with Magus."
"Awk!" Stephen shouted upon hearing those words.
"He doesn't look too good," Phil said after all of the color drained from Stephen's face.
"He's turning all white and pasty," Nestor said nodding his head in agreement.
"Do you think he'll fall forward or backward?" Phil asked watching Stephen sway from side to side and back and forth.
"I don't know," Nestor said.
"He might go straight down," Phil said.
"We should probably catch him," Nestor said.
A second later, his actions had to match his words when Stephen started to topple. He caught the young man and lowered him to the floor. Standing over him, he said, "He's out for the count."
Looking down at Stephen in concern, Mel asked, "Was it something he ate?"
Irene said, "No. I think it was the shock of seeing you here."
"How odd," Mel said.
"Yes," Irene said with a grin.
"Will he be all right?" Mel asked concerned about Stephen.
"We'll take care of him," Nestor answered.
Mel asked, "Is Magus ready to see me?"
"Yes, he is," Irene said with a snicker.
Mel went into Magus' office. She closed the door behind her. Silence descended upon the room for a second and then Phil, Nestor, and Irene burst into laughter. Irene said, "Life should be interesting around here for a while."
Stephen groaned.
"He's coming around," Nestor said.
"What happened?" Stephen asked.
"You fainted," Nestor answered.
"I'm too young to get married," Stephen said frantically as his memory of Mel standing there with a ten dollar bill in her hand returned.
Irene asked, "So what do you think Magus will tell Mel to do in order to land Titus?"
"He'll tell her to get a tattoo," Phil said.
"Are you kidding? I hate tattoos on women," Stephen said.
"Really? I didn't know that," Phil said.
Stephen stood up and swayed a little unsteadily on his feet. Seeing Mel as a customer was a bit of a shock to the system.
"He'll tell her to dance around without panties on. That's a sure fire way for a woman to land a man," Nestor said. He was speaking about Phil's experiences in the matter, since he had been the man who was landed in that fashion.
"That's how Phil got caught by Claudia. It won't work on me," Stephen said.
Phil said, "I don't know. You probably won't be able to resist her."
Irene said, "Magus will probably tell Mel to frolic around without any clothes on."
"We've been there and she's already done that," Stephen said shaking his head.
"Lap dance," Nestor suggested.
"No," Stephen said with disgust evident in his voice. "She's not a stripper."
Nestor said, "Don't knock lap dances performed by amateurs. They put a whole lot more effort into it than a professional."
"How do you know?" Irene asked.
"I've been taking care of the women who are after Stephen," Nestor said. "They don't play by the rules."
"What rules? There aren't any rules," Phil said.
"So what will Magus suggest?" Irene asked.
Nestor said, "He'll suggest locking Stephen in a room with a really beautiful woman for an hour. He'll be so panicked by the time he gets out that he'll propose to her in his weakened state."
"I don't think so. I'm liable to propose to the wrong woman. Magus knows that would be a disaster and Mel wouldn't want to risk it," Stephen said.
"That's true," Phil said scratching his head trying to come up with something different.
"Lacy lingerie," Irene said.
"Nope," Stephen said.
"Leather," Nestor said.
"No way," Stephen said.
"Latex," Phil said.
"What is that?" Stephen asked.
"Rubber fetish clothing," Phil said.
"Not in this lifetime," Stephen said shaking his head.
Irene said, "A little bondage maybe?"
"What kind of world do you live in?" Stephen asked looking at Irene.
"The regular world," Phil answered.
"Lots of people play games like that," Irene said.
The door opened and Mel stepped out. She went over to Stephen and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
"I don't know. Should I be feeling better?" Stephen asked.
"Sure," Mel said. She winked at him and added, "I'll be waiting for you to come home from work this evening."
"Okay," Stephen replied wondering what he would find upon returning home.
Mel strode over to the office door. She looked back at Stephen upon opening the door and then said, "Don't be late."
"Never," Stephen said.
He watched the door close behind Mel. Turning to Nestor, he said, "Save me."
"How?" Nestor asked.
"I don't know," Stephen said.
Nestor said, "Then I can't help you."
"I think I better get into my office and start thinking like Titus."