Day 157 Friday
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but I'm going to have to let you go," Karen said in a tight voice. She wasn't really sure what had motivated her to that action, but once she had decided that it was the right thing to do nothing was going to stop her. She would never admit that a part of it was a small worm of jealousy that Denise had managed to get Dale.
"You might want to reconsider that in light of the invitation that I have been asked to deliver to you," Denise said without batting an eye.
Of all the reactions that she had expected, that was not one of them. Karen stared at Denise open mouthed. Wondering if she had misunderstood, she said, "What did you say?"
"Dale wants you to come over to his house," Denise answered. She licked her lips nervously and said, "He wants you over there around four."
"Is this a business call?"
Denise considered the question for a moment before she answered, "In a way it is."
"What does that mean?"
Denise said, "He mentioned to me that he would cancel all of his contracts with you if you don't show up."
"That's blackmail," Karen said feeling a sick falling sensation in her stomach. She had known the minute that Denise had said that she was having sex with Dale that her business was going to pay the price. She had thought that letting Denise go might reduce the impact, but it appeared that she was too late.
"Should I let him know to expect you?" Denise asked.
Karen sat at her desk considering her options. She couldn't afford to lose Mr. Speers as a customer. He represented almost twenty percent of her business. She looked at Denise and asked, "What does he want of me?"
"He wants to help you," Denise said. Seeing the expression on the other woman's face, she said, "It will take you months to realize just what he's doing for you. After months of hating him, you'll thank him."
"What about you?" Karen said.
Denise shrugged her shoulders and said, "I never really hated him. I hated myself. Now I don't and I thank him for it."
"I'll be there," Karen said curious by what Denise had said.
At four that afternoon, Karen knocked on the front door of Dale's house. There was no answer and she looked around at the secluded front yard wondering what she was supposed to do. Denise pulled up in the drive way and got out of her car. Smiling at Karen, she said, "Sorry, I was running a little late."
"What are you doing here?" Karen asked. Denise had been working at her desk when she had left the office for this meeting with Dale.
"I live here," Denise answered with a weak smile. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation that was about to take place.
"Well, I'm here. Where is he?" Karen asked.
"He'll be here later. Why don't you come in and we'll talk a little," Denise said opening the front door.
Suspicious, Karen followed Denise into the house. Denise stopped in the living room and said, "Have a seat."
"What's with the towels?" Karen asked looking at the stack of towels that was on one end of the couch.
"That's for sitting on," Denise answered wondering when she had stopped noticing them beyond grabbing one automatically when she went to sit down.
"Odd," Karen said taking a seat on the far end of the couch.
Denise said, "I'll be right back."
"Okay," Karen said looking around the room. She was struck by the good taste of the décor. The room spoke of money without being overwhelming. She had a pretty good idea of how much Dale Speers was worth. His company did an average of a hundred million dollars of business a year. He was the major stockholder of the company.
Denise returned ten minutes later carrying a sheet of paper in one hand and a package in the other. She handed the sheet over to Karen who was too busy staring at her to make a comment. Denise said, "Read the rules of the house."
"Why?"
"You'll need to know them if you decide to live here," Denise answered with a smile.
"Why in God's name would I want to live here?" Karen asked unable to get over the fact that Denise was standing in front of her naked as the day she was born.
"I understand that you are looking for husband who is handsome and brilliant," Denise answered while grabbing one of the towels. She put it on a chair and sat down to face Karen.
"What?" Karen asked.
"You know, a father for your child," Denise said.
Karen stood up and said, "Enough of this. I'm out of here."
As Karen made her way to the door, Denise said, "I don't want to threaten you, but if you walk out that door you are going to lose everything you've worked for. You're going to lose all of the dreams you are trying to achieve."
Karen turned to Denise and shouted, "What do you know about me? I'll tell you. You know nothing about me."
"That's probably true, but I know Dale," Denise said calmly. In a way she was surprising herself. A month ago she would have never been this calm when face by such an angry person. She shifted to face Karen and added, "He knows more about you than you can imagine. He'll use everything he knows to achieve his goal."
"What is his goal?" Karen asked.
"To help you," Denise answered with a small apologetic smile.
"I don't believe that for a second. He's scared that I found out that he likes fat women and blackmails them into having sex with him," Karen said. She glared at Denise and said, "He's going to blackmail me into being quiet."
"Actually, Dale doesn't like having sex with fat women. In fact, I'd say that he hates having sex with fat women," Denise replied.
"He's having sex with you," Karen charged.
"That's true. For a long time, he didn't enjoy it. I stopped being a fat woman and that all changed," Denise replied.
"You're nothing but a fat bitch," Karen said crossing her arms.
"I may be overweight, but I'm not a fat woman," Denise answered. There had been a time when Karen's insult would have devastated her. Now it didn't. She smiled and added, "I'm going to ignore the bitch part for the moment. I imagine that from your perspective that I do appear to be acting a little like a bitch."
Karen decided to try another tack and asked, "What does he know about me?"
"He knows an awful lot about you. He knows things about your time in college and your dating habits while you were there," Denise answered.
Afraid of the kind of things that Dale might have found out about her, Karen sagged down and returned to the couch. She looked at the piece of paper and read the rules of the house. She looked over at Denise understanding the depressed state that the woman had been in months earlier. Echoing words that Denise had spoken months earlier, she said, "This is sick."
Denise shrugged her shoulders feeling that she couldn't argue against that assessment. She said, "Those are the rules."
"I'm not going to live by them," Karen said defiantly.
Handing the package she was holding to Karen, she said, "I picked up a swimsuit for you. He's waved one of his rules to a slight degree. You can wear that out by the pool."
"It is too cold to go swimming," Karen said looking at the package that had somehow ended up in her hands.
"You won't be swimming. You and another woman will be seated behind a small partition while Dale introduces me to some men," Denise said.
"What?" Karen asked.
"Dale has erected a little partition in the backyard. Actually it is a little tent. You are to stay there out of sight. He wants you to hear a discussion with some men. If you aren't interested in staying here after that, you can leave once he returns to the house," Denise answered.
"Why should I wear a swim suit if he's not going to see me?" Karen asked.
"Well, he is making an exception for you and another woman. Normally, he'd require that you be naked anywhere on his property that is behind the front door," Denise said. She pointed to the sheet of paper and said, "It is there in the rules."
"If I'm not interested after listening to the conversation, he won't cancel my contracts?" Karen asked hoping to salvage something.
"That's right," Denise said.
"I'll wear it," Karen said.
"Come with me to my room. You can change in there," Denise said. She led the way to her new bedroom.
While Karen changed, Denise sat down in front of the computer. She double clicked the video that documented her weight loss. She could watch it for hours. Karen looked over and asked, "What's that?"
"That's a video of my weight loss," Denise answered.
Karen watched the video documenting the pounds dropping off of Denise. Each time it repeated she was struck by the sudden contrast between the pictures of the thinner Denise with the first picture of her. Denise said, "You can see that he delivers what he promises."
"And all you had to do was to live by his rules," Karen said.
"That's correct," Denise said nodding her head. She understood exactly what Karen was thinking.
"That's sick," Karen said. She held up the bathing suit and stared at it. Dismayed by the minuscule amount of material in it, she said, "I might as well be naked."
"You can go naked," Denise said.
At six o'clock in the evening, Karen was seated in a little tent near the patio. She couldn't see anything outside, but she could hear people moving around. She looked over at the naked woman next to her and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm hoping to meet the man of my dreams," Candy answered with a smile. She tugged at the collar around her neck and then at the stake in the ground wondering why Dale had insisted upon it.
Outside the tent, Denise stood naked while four men followed a very attractive woman around the outside of the house. The woman stopped in front of Dale and asked, "Does my suit meet with your approval?"
"Yes," Dale answered.
"A bathing suit of no more than twenty square inches," Michelle said shaking a finger at her brother.
Dale laughed and said, "I can only bend the rules so far. Twenty square inches sounded almost excessive to me."
"You just want to see your sister naked," Michelle said.
"No," Dale said shaking his head.
"So why would my little brother bend the rules of the house enough for me to come over?"
"You have four men in the program and I have three women searching for handsome, brilliant young men," Dale answered.
"So why not send them over to me like you usually do?" Michelle asked.
"Ah, that is a very good question," Dale said.
"So answer it," Michelle said. She enjoyed dealing with Dale. It was a shame that they couldn't visit more often.
"Well, one of those women happens to be in Claire's harem," Dale answered.
Shocked, Michelle stared at her brother before she burst out laughing. Once she regained control, she asked, "What did she do to you?"
"Oh, she fixed it so that I had to go a whole day without sex," Dale answered.
That was the ultimate sin in their family. Michelle shook her head and said, "Is she still alive?"
"Yes," Dale said.
"How many years has it been since you've gone a whole day without sex?"
Dale answered, "My freshman year in college."
"Jesus," Michelle said. She couldn't believe that their sister had done that to him.
"That was after she had a woman over here taking care of me nine and ten times a day," Dale said.
"Candy?"
"Yes, Candy."
Michelle looked over at the men standing behind her. She smiled and said, "Everyone loves Candy. If you guys play your cards right, one of you might end up married to her. That little lady knows more about the erotic arts than me."
One of the men said, "That's impossible."
"No. Candy is very special. I suspect that once you guys meet her, that only one of you will survive the melee that is going to follow," Michelle said.
"Melee?" Denise asked.
"They are going to be fighting each other tooth and nail," Michelle said. She paused and said, "You know, I might require them to do that nude. A good fight between naked men turns me on."
Dale laughed and said, "The naked young lady standing beside me is the second one. She's a technical writer."
"A technical writer?" Michelle asked rather unimpressed.
Dale smiled and said, "Claire thinks that Denise is going to write a great novel one day. She said that she's never met anyone with such a gift for words. I have to concur with her."
"Hmm," Michelle said turning to look at the men behind her. She said, "You've all met Susan. I think this young lady is going to look a little better than Susan when she finishes Dale's program."
"Yes, Ma'am," one of the men said looking over at Karen. His eyes traveled over her body as if he was removing the fat to see the woman that she would become.
Michelle looked around and said, "You mentioned a third woman."
Nodding his head, Dale said, "The third woman has an IQ in the top two percentile. She owns her own business. She'll be more attractive by the time she finishes the program."
"Where is she?" Michelle asked.
Dale answered, "She hasn't decided if she wants to participate in the program."
"Foolish fat bitch," Michelle said.
"She's not overweight. Her problem is a little different," Dale said.
"Oh? What kind of problem does she have?" Michelle asked curious about why Dale was suddenly branching out in his program goals.
"She's brilliant and won't date anyone who is less intelligent. She occasionally dates women, but prefers men. From what I understand, she needs a little attitude adjustment about her sexuality. She's isn't too inhibited, but she feels ashamed of her urges. One of her boyfriends said that one day she'd be hotter than a firecracker and the next day she'd snap his head off if he touched her. She'd drive anyone of your men crazy until she gets through the program," Dale said. There was a strangled cry from behind the partition.
"That's interesting," Michelle said. Frowning, she asked, "What are you going to do about that?"
"Oh, I'm going to send her over to Claire's for ten days," Dale said with a smile.
"That ought to be interesting," Michelle said with a smile. She looked at her brother and asked, "So why did you want us to come here?"
"I'd just like to interview the young men who will be fighting over three such lovely ladies," Dale said.
"I have the best taste in men of any woman on this planet," Michelle said slightly offended by her brother's answer. She added, "Every man I accept in the program has an IQ in the top one percentile. They are all technically successful in their fields. The only thing holding them back is that they are socially inept. I fix that."
"I know that, but these poor women don't," Dale said trying to look innocent.
"Okay. Talk to them," Michelle said crossing her arms. She studied her brother and realized that he was playing a different kind of game. She had to admit that she was curious about where this was going. Turning to the four men with her, she said, "Answer his questions so that the young ladies will be suitably impressed."
"Yes, Ma'am," one of the men answered.
Gesturing to the large patio table, Dale said, "Let's have a seat around the table while we're talking."
As everyone moved to take seats, Dale turned to Denise and asked, "Would you mind bringing out the food?"
"Yes, Sir," Denise said turning to head into the house. It felt weird to be the only one who was undressed, but she didn't let it get to her.
One of the young men said, "I'll help you."
"Lawrence, are you sure you want to do that?" Michelle asked. They were there to talk to Dale and not to chase after women.
"I think so, Ma'am. Isn't that the polite thing to do?" he answered looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.
Recognizing interest when he saw it, Dale smiled and said, "Have fun, you two."
"Lawrence," Michelle said stopping the young man in his tracks.
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"She's not dressed. Don't you think it would be appropriate if you offered to undress so that she won't feel so isolated?" Michelle asked.
"The thought had not occurred to me, but you are correct," Lawrence said looking thoughtful as he considered the suggestion. He said, "I'll get undressed."
"You might ask her if that would actually make her feel more comfortable if you undressed. You never know if she would view your nudity as a threat. Remember that," Michelle said waving a finger at him.
Denise followed the exchange shocked at how Michelle talked to the young man. He turned to her and asked, "Would you feel more comfortable if I were undressed?"
"Whatever makes you the most comfortable," Denise answered unsure of how she felt about it.
Lawrence stood there for a moment and then looked over at Michelle. He asked, "What am I supposed to do?"
Michelle rubbed her forehead and asked, "Would you feel more comfortable dressed or undressed?"
"Dressed?"
"Then tell her so," Michelle said. She shook her head and said, "When someone gives you a choice like that, be honest and state your preference. If you think that the choice was offered out of politeness, you can verify that either choice is fine. If you are sure that the choice is truly intended, you can select your real preference. You don't win in a social situation by lying."
"Yes, Ma'am," Lawrence said.
She looked over at Dale and said, "He's new to the program. I'm still training him on the social niceties. He's got a long way to go."
"I understand," Dale said with a smile. He gestured to the man seated nearest to him and said, "Tell me about yourself."
"My name is Robert Carnes. I own a biomed laboratory where we are developing new tests for diseases. Right now I'm trying to develop a five minute test for HIV."
From the nearby enclosure, a female voice said, "Oh my God, he's a scientist. I think I'm going to come."
Michelle looked over at Dale and said, "I assume that is Candy."
"Yes," Dale answered. He gestured to the next man and said, "Tell me about yourself."
"I'm Bill and I graduated from Caltech. I own a small startup company. We're developing some nanostructure devices for detecting trace particles in the atmosphere. There are some Homeland Security applications for our technology. Oh, we've just filed six patents on our inventions."
"Oh God, I'm coming," Candy shouted.
"Jesus, get a hold of yourself!" a second voice said from the enclosure.
Dale broke out in laughter. He hadn't quite believed Denise when she told him about Candy's desire for a scientist. Shaking his head, he said, "Your turn."
Denise and Lawrence came out of the house carrying two trays loaded with finger foods. They set the trays on the table and turned to head back into the house. Dale watched them go with a smile. He had a feeling that Denise had found her man. He turned to the man and gestured for him to talk.
"I'm Albert Dansing. I'm a research scientist at the University working on massive large-scale computing architectures. Right now, we're building a cluster of sixteen thousand computers."
"Get a hold of yourself," came a frustrated voice from the enclosure.
"Robert, what are you looking for in a woman?" Dale asked ignoring the outburst from the small enclosure.
"I'm looking for a partner. I want someone smart and driven. I want to her to work in my field, preferably with me. I want to be able to discuss my work with her," Robert answered.
"How about you, Bill?"
"I guess I want someone who complements me. I'm all technical. I want someone who can give my life a softer touch. I hate to say it, but I want someone to take care of me," Bill answered with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I'm yours," Candy shouted.
"Albert, how about you?"
Albert was silent for a minute and then answered, "I don't know. Like Robert, I want someone who can talk to me about my work, but I don't want to be in competition with her and I don't want to work with her every day. I'd like someone who is driven, but I'd like her to be interested in raising a family. I know that my wants are contradictory, but I can't help it."
Dale turned to Michelle and said, "Tell me about Lawrence."
"Lawrence, he's a tough one. He's probably the most brilliant of the men that I've ever had in the program. He's working at the University with Albert, but he's got a much more eclectic range of interests. He reads all of the time. He doesn't care what he's reading, just that he's reading," Michelle answered. She looked at her brother and said, "I'm not sure what he's looking for in a woman, but the man is definitely going to keep her happy. He's got a tongue that reminds me of a 220 Volt vibrator."
Denise nearly dropped the tray she was carrying. It took her a moment to recover and set the tray on the table. Lawrence, blushing furiously, placed his tray of drinks on the table. Denise leaned over and asked, "A 220 Volt Vibrator?"
"That's what she says," Lawrence answered. His face was bright red.
"Hmm," Denise said imagining the possibilities. Her nipples got hard.
"Help yourself, ladies and gentlemen," Dale said gesturing to the spread of food. As everyone reached out to load small paper plates with sandwiches, vegetables, cheeses, and fruits, Dale said, "I might want to mention that Candy prepared the spread."
"It looks great," Bill said. He glanced over at the small enclosure and said, "It looks very nice, Candy."
"Oh, God. I want him."
Denise said, "She's got a thing for scientists."
Dale said, "Tell me about your work, Albert."
"Well, my job is to design specialized computers for signal processing, but I've got a small side project that I think will represent a major leap forward for the home computer market. I'm building a new architecture for hardware based on the old N-cube concept. I'm planning on splitting up the kinds of tasks that are commonly performed on a computer among eight processors," Albert said.
"Why eight?"
"Well, one of the big problems in vision and voice processing is CPU power. With a CPU that is sharing the load among a couple of dozen programs, you have a hard time getting enough CPU cycles to perform vision processing and speech recognition. I'd like to dedicate a couple of CPUs to dealing with video and audio inputs."
"That's interesting. Why do that?"
"I want to change the computer into a more human friendly kind of device."
Inside the little tent, Karen listened to Albert talk about his work. She understood the technology and liked his vision for the future. He was definitely smart enough to be of interest to her. She thought about what Dale has said about her. He was far more informed than she thought possible. She wondered how he had tracked down one of her past boyfriends and learned about her sexual mood swings.
Dale said, "You might be interested in knowing that the third woman has three Master's degrees and that one of them is in computer science. If I remember correctly, her Master's thesis was in the area of vision processing."
"Really?" Albert asked sitting up. He said, "Tell me more about her."
Three hours later, a naked Karen was on her knees sucking Dale's cock while Denise watched the lackluster performance. She understood exactly what Karen was feeling.