"Stephen!"
Stephen walked into Magus' office and asked, "What do you want?"
"I need you to run things until I return," Magus said.
"What?" Stephen asked looking around wildly.
Magus said, "I have a little errand that requires my attention and I need you to run things while I'm gone."
"I've got class later this afternoon," Stephen said. The last thing he wanted was to be in charge.
"I'll be back before then."
"Cathy is waiting for me back at the house."
Magus said, "She can come here."
"What will I do if someone comes here to talk to you?" Stephen asked.
"Tell them your name is Titus, get the appropriate payment from them, take down their problem, and then tell them that you'll get back to them later," Magus answered.
"Who is Titus?"
"You are."
"I'm Stephen."
"No, when you're sitting at a desk here you are Titus," Magus said.
"Since when?"
Magus answered, "Since you started working for me."
"Since when do I work for you?" Stephen asked. As far as he knew, he was a full time student and only stopped by the office to use the computer and printer. No one had said anything about him working there.
Magus answered, "Since today."
"I'm taking twenty-one credits at Harvard. I don't have any time to work," Stephen said.
"Poppycock, I taught you how to comprehend massive quantities of information better than that," Magus said. "Don't give me that noise about not having time to work. You can finish any of your courses in a week. You just want to spend all of your free time with Cathy."
"Can you blame me?" Stephen asked.
"Not really," Magus admitted.
"I thought you would argue with me on that one," Stephen said more than a little disappointed at not getting an argument.
Magus tapped the side of his head with his forefinger. He said, "Think, Stephen. In this business you have to be a realist. You know that. How can you ask if I blame you for wanting to be with a woman when you know that I have stated in the past that an erection has no conscience?"
"I was going to use that argument on you," Stephen said.
"There's no need to argue when all parties are in agreement," Magus said.
"I know," Stephen said.
"I'll be back before you know it," Magus said.
Stephen sat behind the desk twiddling his thumbs and staring at the ceiling. An hour had gone by since Magus had left. It had been one of the longest and most boring hours of Stephen's life. He shouted, "Claudia!"
"What?" Claudia shouted sounding a little exasperated.
"Is he back yet?"
Claudia shouted, "No."
"Damn," Stephen said.
"I've told you a dozen times to quit asking me that every two minutes," Claudia shouted.
"Sorry," Stephen shouted. The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the office. He looked up at the ceiling and said, "God, let that be Magus."
A man speaking with a Texan accent said, "Howdy there, Darlin'. I need to see Magus."
Claudia replied, "Magus is not available at the moment. Are you willing to discuss your problem with Titus?"
"Well Darlin' it is like this ... There's a big ugly galoot downstairs with gun that holds a bullet with my name on it. He's just waitin' for me to try to leave here. Do you think this Titus fellow can handle it?"
Stephen stared at the door. He muttered, "No. No. Tell him no."
"Titus can handle that," Claudia said.
Stephen paled. He leaned forward until his forehead hit the desk. He wanted to scream.
"Sounds to me like Titus is the fellow for me, Darlin'."
Claudia said, "Go in that door and he'll take care of you."
"Thank ya, Darlin'."
Stephen stared at the door with dread. He was on the verge of passing out when the visitor walked into the office. Stephen shouted, "Jake! I'm going to kill you and Claudia."
His housemate, Jake, burst out laughing. He sat down in the chair and said, "Claudia sent me an e-mail that you were driving her crazy."
"I was dying in here listening to you two talking," Stephen said.
Jake asked, "So where is Magus?"
"I have no idea," Stephen answered. "He just told me to take care of things while he is gone."
"What about Cathy? Isn't it your turn to take care of her this afternoon?" Jake asked with a worried expression.
"She's coming here," Stephen answered.
Looking relieved, Jake said, "Thank goodness."
Stephen said, "When I first learned about her problem, I figured this was like a miracle. I was going to get laid four or five times a day."
"Same here," Jake said. "What college guy wouldn't be ecstatic about that possibility?"
"I was kind of pissed that you and Tom were going to be sleeping with her too," Stephen said. The real surprise was the flair of jealousy that he had felt when he had realized that she would be sleeping with others. He wasn't even in love with her.
"Me too. Now I'm glad that the two of you are around," Jake said. Although they were housemates they had never really had a chance to discuss the situation concerning Cathy. Magus and school kept them busy.
Nodding his head, Stephen said, "It is a lot more difficult than I thought to make sure that I am there twice a day for her."
"I know what you mean. Working for Magus, going to school, and keeping up with her needs eats up almost all of my time. Even quickies would take at least two hours a day every day if I had to do it alone," Jake said.
The two young men were silent for a moment. Jake finally said, "I really worry about her. I couldn't believe how she was acting during midterms when none of us were around. She was frantic, depressed, and borderline suicidal."
"I worry about her too," Stephen said.
"It is hard not to feel protective of her. There are times when she's so vulnerable that it hurts to watch her," Jake said.
Stephen said, "I really hope the therapy helps. I can't imagine her having a real or satisfying life living like that."
"No guy would want to marry her knowing that she's going to have to bring other men into her bedroom. I mean, four times a day, seven days a week, and fifty-two weeks a year means that he would have to have sex almost fifteen hundred times a year. His dick would fall off after a couple years of that," Jake said. He had never thought about having sex during a woman's time of the month, but Cathy was even more desperate during that time.
"I'm sure there's some guy out there that might not mind; at least for a little while," Stephen said. "Can you imagine trying to raise a family like that?"
"No," Jake answered.
"Therapy doesn't seem to be helping her too much," Stephen said.
Jake said, "The psychologist has prescribed some new medications for her. He thinks it is more of an obsessive compulsive disorder than nymphomania arising from childhood abuse."
"I hope they work. I'd really like to see her happy," Stephen said.
Claudia stood at the door and said, "I think it is nice that you two worry about her."
"I'd be a pretty poor excuse for a human being if I didn't worry about her," Stephen said.
"I think a lot of guys would view her like a slut and just use her," Claudia said.
"I couldn't do that."
Jake said, "Me either."
"What about Tom?" Claudia asked.
"He feels the same way as us," Stephen said.
"I think it is interesting that Magus found three college guys who would treat her with respect," Claudia said. "I imagine that there are a lot of guys out there who would pimp her out."
"To tell the truth, I'm kind of surprised that hadn't happened to her to already. She's very lucky," Stephen said.
Jake said, "If the therapy or medications aren't successful, she could still end up in that situation."
"Not as long as I'm around," Stephen declared in a tone of voice that spoke of a lifetime commitment if necessary.
Stepping into the room, Claudia said, "You sounded just like Magus."
"Keep your distance. You know that you make me nervous," Stephen said holding up a hand in Claudia's direction.
Jake's eyes opened wide. He said, "My God. You're becoming Magus."
"Hey, he's right about beautiful women. Have you seen how Phil acts around her?" Stephen asked while pointing at Claudia.
"That is kind of disturbing," Jake admitted.
Claudia stepped out of the room and said, "Men! You can't live with them and you can't live without them."
Stephen said, "I've been observing people. It is amazing how drop dead gorgeous women affect smart men. You can listen to a guy talking about theoretical physics and then as soon as a beautiful woman comes into the room he can't put together two coherent sentences."
"I know what you mean. There is this woman in my data structures class. Samantha could be playmate of the month. Professor Hard-ass Hilbert can't even hold onto his books when she turns on the charm," Jake said.
"Has she tried to get you to do her homework for her?" Stephen asked.
"Yes. Fortunately I had to leave right away to take care of Cathy," Jake said.
Claudia said, "Not all beautiful women are that way."
"Yes they are," Stephen said.
Jake said, "Magus just might be right about that."
Claudia said, "I would love to help you find a beautiful woman who loves you like I love Phil."
"Please don't," Stephen said holding up a hand. "I'd like to keep my intellect intact if you don't mind."
"Your mother was right to worry that spending too much time with Magus would warp your personality," Claudia said.
Fortunately for Stephen, the door to the office opened. Claudia turned and looked at who had entered. She said, "Cathy is here."
Jake rose from the chair and said, "I'll let you take care of her. I better get back to work."
"Thanks," Stephen said.
Cathy had been gone for an hour when the door to the reception area opened and a man in his mid-thirties entered. He was a well dressed man. His suit suggested that he was moderately successful and could expect even greater success in the future. Claudia felt that a lot of women would consider him to be fairly handsome. His good looks and air of success made him a good catch. She also noticed that he wasn't wearing a wedding ring. That meant that he was available. She mentally went through her list of single women thinking about trying her hand at a little matchmaking.
The man walked over to the reception desk as if he were marching in front of a firing squad. She asked, "Can I help you?"
"Uh."
Claudia waited for him to say something else, but his mouth just moved without any sounds emerging. She asked, "Can I help you?"
"Uh."
"Are you okay?"
"Ah."
"Cat got your tongue?" Claudia asked. The poor guy was turning purple.
"Uh."
Claudia pointed to the door and said, "Titus will see you."
The man practically ran into the office. He plopped into a chair and said, "I have a problem."
Titus held up a hand and said, "Before we get to your problem, we need to deal with the unpleasant matter of payment."
"How much?" the man asked.
"Ten dollars and a favor for the first solution. Every solution after that adds a zero to the price without an additional favor," Titus answered.
The man asked, "Do you take plastic?"
"No. We take cash or check," Titus answered.
The man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a checkbook. He hastily wrote a check and then handed it over to Titus. He announced, "I can't talk to beautiful women."
"Do you really want to?" Titus asked while glancing over the check to make sure that it was filled out correctly.
"Are you kidding?" the man asked. The question had taken him completely by surprise.
"No," Titus answered.
The man asked, "What man in his right mind wouldn't want to talk to a beautiful woman?"
"A smart man," Titus answered.
Claudia shouted, "Stephen! I'm calling your mother!"
Rising up from his desk, Titus said, "Excuse me. I need to close the door."
A half of an hour later, the newest client of Solutions Incorporated stepped out of the office. He looked over at Claudia and said, "Titus is a very brilliant young man."
"Many people think so," Claudia said having a hard time getting the words out of her mouth. She stared daggers at the man's back as he confidently walked out of the office. Once the door had closed, she shouted, "Stephen, call your mother."
"I'll call her later," Stephen shouted. He sat back in the chair and said, "I could get to like this job."