Rule of Thumb Ch. 08

"It looks like you've got it mostly under control here, yeah?" I walked up behind her, rubbing my hands across her ass cheeks to the small of her back. She turned her face to kiss me, giving me a nice view of her breasts.

"Yep. You could wash those greens...or not..."

"I've got to make two more calls before it gets too late, if that's okay. How long before we eat?"

"15?"

"Perfect. I'll be right back."

I grabbed a robe from the bedroom and went into the study to call Gordy.

"So, here's the deal. I'm having a cock-tail party on Saturday," I got to the point after minimal pleasantries. Even though I was calling him at home, I still treated these calls as professional. "It's to introduce her to a bunch of prospects."

"Shit, Rick. You serious? She's serious business. You know that right?"

"Believe me, I know it, Gordy. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, it really helped my negotiations just dropping your name. But I want to do more than protect myself. If she's extorting people, I really want to put a stop to that. I don't give a shit what people do in the bedroom, but if she's fucking around with them on the outside, well, she deserves to get whatever we can pin on her." I was getting a little animated, thinking about the photographs and her blatant attempts to coerce me.

"It doesn't work quite like that, Rick. It takes witnesses willing to testify, and depositions, and messy exposures of people's private lives. It's how she's able to do it. Nobody wants their shit plastered on the public record."

Maybe,I thought. "You want to come?"

He paused and I could see the gears turning. Gordy had been part of the lifestyle for years, but of all the people I knew, he had the most to lose and had kept an extremely low profile. Anna only knew his name because of the work he'd done rooting out bad actors in the community – not just the swinging community, but plenty of them too. She knew he had a track record keeping people in line and she had calculated the risks, coming up in my favor.

"I'm not sure that would be wise, Rick. Who all's going to be there?"

I read him the invitation list, knowing he wouldn't know most of 'em. "And Anna of course."

He sighed. "You know, Rick. I don't think it would be wise. I'll tell you what, though. I'll drop a dozen cards in the mail to you. Hand 'em out. Discretely, yeah? These folks should know what they're getting into. I'll give the standard free consult." He stopped and I felt like he might have something else to say.

I waited.

"Nah. Nothing. Just...it doesn't matter, you're already down the road." He sighed. "Just be careful."

I assured him I was being as cautious as I could, but that most importantly, if there was anything I could do forhim,that was my hope.

The next call was going to be a bit tougher. I breathed carefully before dialing.

"Wilson Residence."

"May I speak with the Mistress?" I wasn't sure who had answered. It didn't sound like Mamiko.

"This is Anna."

"Anna. Richard. I hope I haven't caught you at an inconvenient time."

"Not at all, Richard. Is everything okay? I trust you survived our scene from last night?" Her voice was soft, like a panther's paw.

I smiled. "I'm going to change things up a little...now hold on...let me finish. I know we're just getting started, but I wanted to hold up my end of the bargain and I've arranged to have a few friends over for a cock-tail party next Saturday." Again, I emphasized the word.

Her laugh was like breaking glass. I winced.

"And I thought you could take this as an opportunity to do a little prospecting. Everyone I've invited is already in the lifestyle to one extent or another, but based on your depth of experience, I'm sure they could all use some counseling."

"Richard, you don't miss a beat. Okay, what time?"

"6:30. Feel free to bring Mamiko if you think it appropriate. And, perhaps we can use Loren as a case study of how quickly you get results?"

She laughed a little more softly this time, and I imagined she was shaking her head. "Okay. 6:30, next Saturday. Expect two of us. Thanks for the call, Rick."