The Missing Ingredient

Hello and welcome to my readers. Thank you for your votes, feedback and comments on my previous submittals. It is always a pleasure hearing from you. A caveat: this little tale may change the way you look at a popular Holiday confection. Read on and enjoy.

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"VeryMerry Baking Company, fruitcake our specialty, good morning, how may I direct your call?"

Lucas Owen strode through the lobby of the company's office building, smiling at the pretty receptionist answering the first call of the morning in a cheery voice. 'What was her name again?' he thought. 'Oh yes, Leah, Leah Watson, such a lovely name for a lovely girl.' Humming a popular Christmas tune, he rode the private elevator to the top floor and his new office. It had been great Uncle Henry's office for thirty-five years since he had started the company, but now he was dead and Lucas had assumed control.

Lucas settled into the worn leather chair behind the immense mahogany desk, its polished surface gleaming in the morning sunlight streaming through the picture window. He spun happily in the chair, then arose and gazed through the glass at the factory he now owned. Great Uncle Henry had never married and his nephew was his only surviving heir willing to assume the responsibility of running the factory. Lucas watched as the yard below him teemed with huge trucks and scurrying workers. It was three weeks before Christmas and they were barely meeting the demand for their special Holiday fruitcakes.

He glanced at the immense oil painting of his Great Uncle hanging on the office wall, his pinched face as in life, frozen in a perpetual scowl. His reedy body was clad in an inexpensive grey business suit, a drab tie knotted carelessly around his neck and a rumpled handkerchief protruded from his jacket pocket. 'Looks just like the old bastard' Lucas thought wryly, amazed that Great Uncle Henry would allow himself portrayed in such a fashion.

However, Henry Flint was not concerned with sartorial elegance; his motivations consisted solely of the desire for money, power and control. Over the years, he had ruthlessly eliminated his competitors, actually driving one to suicide, until his was the largest privately owned bakery in the country. Their products graced millions of tables each holiday season with the corresponding profits returning to Henry's grasping hands.

His advancing years had at last begun to tell on the ruthless bakery owner and he began to lose his edge. Reluctantly, he began grooming his nephew to take control of his beloved business, slowly allowing the reins to slip from his hands. What he had not counted on was Lucas' impatience to take complete control, and that was the old mans' undoing.

Surrounded by servants long since cowed into complete subservience, Henry was especially vulnerable to the machinations of his ambitious heir. It had been so easy for Lucas to begin substituting placebos for his Great Uncle's heart medicine. Over the long months, the old man suffered through more and more of his 'spells'. Rebuffing the advice given to him by doctors that he considered money grubbing quacks, he finally succumbed on a rainy Friday evening. Lucas took his time summoning help and by the time an EMS unit arrived at the mansion, the old man was dead. Now the business was his to do with as he wished.

Lucas' reverie ended abruptly when he heard the private door to his office open and a whiff of perfume met his nostrils. He knew without looking that his secretary and secret lover had entered the room. He turned to face her, his cock already swelling in his pants.

Ginger Ross walked slowly towards her lover, crimson hair brushing her shoulders, her pussy wet with desire. She was clad in a tight skirt and blouse that emphasized her jutting breasts and rounded ass. She had been his Great Uncle's secretary for three years before she and Lucas had begun their secret affair, their first encounter being in this very office following an evening meeting. They were the last two employees remaining in the building that night and they felt a mutual attraction immediately.

Lucas asked if he could kiss her and she said yes. He was the boss' nephew and besides she thought he looked hot with his piercing blue eyes and buff body. In no time, they were naked and fucking like minks on the big leather couch near the conference table. They could not seem to get enough of each other that night and so their affair began.

Lucas wasn't married and neither was she, but they remained discreet for fear of the old man finding out. The shriveled old prude would have probably fired her and demoted Lucas to the loading dock. Before long, she was providing Lucas with her boss' private correspondence and any other bits of information that he found useful in his plan to take over the business. She had even obtained various benign pharmaceuticals from a friend who worked in a doctor's office, enabling Lucas to continue his efforts to kill the old man slowly. She didn't care, she had Lucas, he had the company, it was smooth sailing from here.

"Morning lover," Ginger said, grabbing Lucas by the head and planting a grinding kiss on his lips.

"Morning baby," Lucas replied, putting his arms around her waist and returning the kiss with equal fervor.

"How does it feel to own this big bakery all by yourself," she purred, rubbing her firm breasts against his chest and grabbing his crotch.

"Not as good as you feel," Lucas replied, cupping her ass cheeks in his hands. "Didn't you get enough last night, my little sex machine?"

"I can never get enough of you, or this," Ginger said breathily, her hand stroking Lucas stiff cock. "Let's lock the door and get on that couch. I've already directed the phones up front to Leah so we won't be disturbed."

Leaving a trail of clothing behind them, the lovers fell onto the couch, pawing at each other frantically in an explosion of lust. Lucas lifted Ginger's long legs over his shoulders and began to lick and suck on her wet, red furred pussy.

"Mmmmm. Oh yeah, eat it baby. You eat so damn good..." Ginger moaned as Lucas' tongue slithered in her juicy slit, sliding tantalizingly against the soft pink folds, scooping out delicious mouthfuls of pussy juice.

Ginger pinched and tugged on her throbbing pink nipples as her lovers' wiggling tongue drove her mad with desire. She shrieked in delight as Lucas pushed three fingers deep in her cunt, two in her slick asshole and sucked her pussy lips between his teeth, nibbling on them with gusto.

"Ahhhhh, my Goddd, fuck yesssss..." Ginger screamed, arching her back as Lucas plunged his fingers deep in her wet holes. Thrusting eagerly into his lover, he bit down on her throbbing clit, sending her over the edge. Ginger howled as her orgasm smashed through her quivering body and she squirted thick white cum into her lovers' face. Squealing and erupting twice more, she fell back on the couch, gasping for air.

Lucas' was in agony, his stiff dick and aching balls were in desperate need of release. Moving upward on her body, he straddled Gingers' chest. Pulling her head to him, he stuffed his rock hard prick into her gaping mouth and began to fuck her face. He gasped as Gingers hands grabbed his flat ass and drove two fingers into his puckered asshole, searching for his prostate gland.

Breathing easily through her nose, Ginger deep throated her lover until his heavy balls bumped her chin, her long tongue circling the hot shaft as the velvet head scrubbed the back of her throat. "Ohhhhhh, suck it, suck it, you're the best..." Lucas groaned as he rammed his thick meat into Ginger's eager mouth, her fingers digging deep in his ass.

Pumping frantically, he could feel his balls tighten and his cock throb. He tried to hold on, but the flavor of Ginger's pussy juice coating his mouth and her probing fingers deep in his ass drove him to the peak of arousal. He needed to squirt right now. "Ahhhh, I'm cumming, baby" he cried, hips bucking, "ohhhh, fuckkk, I'm cumminggg..."

Lucas blasted load after load of hot cum into Gingers' sucking mouth. Coughing and swallowing, she drank as much of his warm seed as she could, but it ran from her nose and dripped from her mouth and chin until his balls were empty. He pulled his softening dick from her mouth with a soft 'plop' as she plucked her fingers from his ass. Lucas fell back on the couch between her outstretched legs, his head spinning with the intensity of his orgasm.

Recovering quickly, Ginger climbed on top of Lucas, grinding her mouth against his as they licked and swallowed their mingled secretions. Ginger laughed happily, as she felt Lucas' cock stiffening between her legs. His ability to sustain an erection is one reason she stayed with him while he slowly murdered his Great Uncle. That and the fact that he would be worth forty million dollars when he sold the bakery to the AmoebaCorp conglomerate after the Christmas season was over. With that kind of money, they could live anywhere in the world without fear of arrest, in case the authorities ever discovered the real circumstances of the old man's death.

"Ready for some more fun, baby?" Lucas growled. Taking his hard cock in his hand, he rubbed its velvet head between Gingers' pussy lips.

"Is pig pork?' Ginger replied eagerly, straddling him and impaling herself on his rock hard tool. She began to bounce up and down, grinding her clit against his pubic bone. Lucas leaned forward and filled his mouth with Gingers' wobbling breasts, sucking greedily on the firm tit flesh and stiff nipples.

Lucas placed his feet on the couch and raised his legs against Gingers' back, supporting her as she rocked and plunged on his cock. Ginger rippled her pussy muscles along Lucas' throbbing shaft as he gasped in pleasure, her gushing cunt coating his belly and hips with slippery cum. On and on the lovers fucked, each wanting to be the first to make the other cum. Finally, Lucas could take no more.

"Ahhhhh, baby, I'm gonna cum, cum with me..." he gasped, feeling as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his raging cock.

"Ohhhh, shoot a big creamy load in my hot pussy, lover," Ginger moaned. "I'm cumming right with you, I'm...Ohhhhh..."

Grunting and thrashing, Lucas and Ginger exploded together, their orgasms blending into a red-hot wave of pleasure that had their senses reeling. With one final blast of cum, they fell away from one another; Ginger collapsing on the couch and Lucas tumbling to the carpet, breathing heavily.

"Wow, baby, that was great," Ginger sighed as Lucas arose from the carpet, took her hand and pulled her from the couch.

"We better get ourselves presentable for the rest of the staff," Lucas laughed as they walked into his private bathroom. "We don't want everyone to think we've been fucking all morning." He glanced at the clock, "It's eleven thirty, and I guess we have." Laughing and joking, the lovers washed each other and began to dress.

Had their attentions not been focused on themselves, they would have noticed a startling change in Great Uncle Henry's portrait on the wall. The dour look on the portraits face had changed to an evil, tooth-baring grin and the eyes glowed like hot coals.

***

Five days before Christmas, the VeryMerry Baking Company factory was in a frenzy of activity, rushing to fill the orders for fruitcakes that had been streaming in from wholesalers, retailers and their internet web site. Lucas and Ginger had little time for sex interludes in his office and they were too tired after work to do anything but sleep. This was Lucas' first Christmas rush when all decisions were being made by him and there was no one else to consult. Swamped with paperwork, Ginger could not be of much help, he was on his own.

"How in the Hell could that old bastard handle this year after year," Lucas muttered as the phones continued to ring and the e-mails flowed in from managers and supervisors, each seeking his okay or advice. For a second, he thought he heard an evil chuckle echoing in the room. "I'm goin' nuts here," he sighed, "Now I'm hearing voices." As he continued to work, the portrait looked down at him with glowing eyes, its painted lips curled in a chilling snarl.

***

Finally, it was Christmas Eve. Most of the factory staff had left to be with their families and friends, but one crew remained to handle the last remaining orders. Lucas and Ginger sat exhausted on the leather couch in his office, recovering from the days events. "This'll be the last Christmas for this crap, babe," said Lucas tiredly. "I'm signing this place over to AmoebaCorp after the holidays, grabbin' that bank draft for forty mill and we're off to parts unknown. This factory and that conniving old bastard will be just a bad memory."

"Sounds good to me," Ginger replied. "All I want to do is sleep all day and fuck all night." Her attention focused on the portrait on the wall, which had assumed its normal appearance. "Why do you keep that ugly thing hanging there, hon?" she asked with a shudder. "It's looking right at me and it's creepy."

"Let the new owners deal with it," Lucas muttered. "The damn thing probably weighs a hundred pounds. On second thought, maybe I'll have Maintenance take it down and throw it in one of the furnaces."

Lucas stood up and stretched. "C'mon babe," he said, helping Ginger to her feet, "I'm getting my second wind. Let's go to my place and celebrate Christmas early, in bed."

"Oh goody, a night of fucking, I'm down with that," she laughed as they stepped in the elevator.

***

Lucas and Ginger had just sat down in his red BMW convertible when the shift supervisor came running toward them, waving his hands excitedly.

"Mr. Owen, sir," he said panting from his run, "we need your help on Line Number Five. The machinery just quit for some reason and we can't find the problem. We have the ingredients for three hundred fruitcakes in the processor; the ovens are at the right temperature..." He paused and took a breath, "We could sure use your help sir," he said expectantly.

"Okay, Barnes," Lucas muttered, reading his nametag, "I'll be right with you. Sit here for a minute; babe," he said to Ginger as Barnes ran back to the idle machinery, "this won't take long."

"No way am I sitting in this parking lot alone," Ginger replied. "I'm coming with you." Lucas shrugged his shoulders and they walked into the factory.

***

An hour had passed and Lucas had examined every piece of machinery, every connection, every component. The equipment simply refused to run and he was becoming frustrated. "What the fuck is going on here," he screamed in anger, his voice echoing in the cavernous building.

"Let's just get out of here, babe," Ginger whined. "It's almost midnight and my feet are killing me. These damn concrete floors are..." She paused as something on the factory floor caught her eye. "Lucas," she asked, "is that thing supposed to be open?"

Lucas looked where she was pointing and his anger flared. "The fucking loading hatch for the fucking third stage blender isn't closed. Why didn't I see that before? The safety interlock stopped the whole line." He strode angrily toward the offending hatch, Ginger trotting behind.

Stepping carefully around the gaping hole in the floor, Lucas pulled the lever for the hatch's' hydraulic closing mechanism, but it refused to budge. It was too heavy for one person to move, so once again he became frustrated.

Ginger had been peering into the opening, looking curiously at the reddish brown slurry of ingredients and the gleaming blades of the blender. "What's this thing do, Lucas?" she asked, edging away from the hole.

"It mixes the final ingredients for the fruitcakes then fills the individual pans and they go right in the ovens," Lucas replied, leaning against the hatch cover. "At least that's how it's supposed to work. I just can't figure out..."

His voice cut off in mid-sentence as a deep, rumbling laugh echoed throughout the factory, an expression of ultimate satisfaction and pure evil that made their flesh crawl. Lucas stepped to Ginger's side as the lights dimmed around them and the smell of sulfur permeated the air.

Ginger squealed in terror as a dark gray column of smoke appeared from thin air. Out of the smoke stepped a massive creature, its skin the color of flame, its face indescribable, it's stench unbelievable. Then it opened its fanged mouth and said in thunderous voice, "Well, well, my traitorous nephew and my deceitful secretary. I have you both together, this will be fun."

"Who, who are you," Lucas stammered as Ginger whimpered and clung to him.

"Don't you recognize me, nephew," boomed the creature, stepping closer to them. "Oh, of course you wouldn't. Your old Uncle has changed a bit, haven't I?" The demon emitted another evil laugh. "One of the benefits of being in Lucifer's good graces is this new body. He really enjoyed my work when I was here."

"What do you want with us?" Lucas asked, his voice shaking with terror. He felt as if he was going to piss his pants. Ginger clung more tightly to him, her whimpers blending into a continuous moan.

"Why you two are my Christmas present, nephew," rumbled the creature that Henry Flint had become, "you and your girlfriend belong to me. We celebrate the Holiday's down there too, you know, Lucifer being a fallen angel and all. Of course we hang suffering souls from the tree... but I digress." The creature stepped closer to the trembling couple on cloven feet.

"That wasn't very sporting of you to take away my medicine, nephew," the demon growled. "I suffered quite a bit, you see. I only had another year to go, so they tell me down there, and then this factory would have been yours anyway. Oh my, it is finally midnight. Now it's time for me to open my present."

Fast as lightning, the demon stepped forward, its clawed hands grabbing Lucas and Ginger by the scruff of their necks and lifting them into the air as easily as a feather. With a grinding roar, the factory machinery started as the couple struggled frantically in the demons vice-like grip. "Merry Christmas, you two," the demon laughed. "And in case you're interested, my Christmas present is my revenge. I'll be seeing you."

His laugh echoing throughout the factory, the demon threw Lucas, then Ginger into the open hatch of the massive blender; their agonized shrieks ending abruptly as the slashing blades reduced them to fragments in seconds. The demon disappeared in a puff of smoke as the huge hatch hissed shut.

Within seconds, Barnes came running down the factory floor crying, "Mr. Owen, you're a genius. The machinery's running again..." he paused, a puzzled look on his face. "Where'd those two go? Oh well. Let's get this last batch of cakes in the ovens, boys," he said into his radio, "I want to be home for Christmas."

***

Jim Barnes sat in the company cafeteria finishing his breakfast. The last fruitcake orders filled, the lines had shut down for cleaning and repairs. "Jimbo, how's it goin'?, asked his fellow line supervisor Freddie Waters as he sat down across from him at his table, coffee cup in hand.

"Glad the rush is over Freddie," Jim replied. "How was your Christmas?"

"Great man, just great," Freddie laughed, his ebony face wreathed in a broad smile. "I bought my kids one of those new video game players. My brother and I stood in line at Bargain World all night just to get one. No more Dad take me here or take me there, they just play games. It's great."

"So Freddie," Jim asked, sipping his coffee, "where do you think Mr. Owen and Ms. Ross disappeared to?"

"Beats me," Freddie replied, shaking his head. "They haven't found a trace of 'em. Dave in the guard shack told me the Clear Lake City cops, the FBI, some government spy outfit, CIB I think they called it, been comin' and goin' constantly. Everyone is lookin' for 'em, but no luck so far."