Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 17:24:24 -0800 (PST)
From: Orrin Rush <orrinrush@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Lifeguard #36
Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. If you are
offended by graphic descriptions of homosexual acts, go
somewhere else.
Copyright c 2000 by Orrin C. Rush. All rights reserved.
Neither this story nor any parts of it may be distributed
electronically or in any other manner without the express,
written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction, any resemblance of the characters
to anyone living or dead is pure coincidence and not
intended. They are all products of the author's imagination.
--------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIFEGUARD
Chapter 36
"That's just a sample," he said. "Wait'll tonight. I'm
gonna make you cum so hard and for so long that you won't be
able to move for days."
Still gasping, I managed to tease "Promises, Promises!"
"You'll see."
- - - - -
"Don't move," he said when he walked out of the bathroom, his
long hard dick bobbing in front of him. "This is my party
tonight."
He pushed my legs apart and crawled between them, holding my
knees up so his legs could slide up along my sides. Dick to
dick, he leaned forward and pulled me up for a long kiss.
That alone would have been enough for me!
Lowering me, he spread a very generous amount of lube on his
hand, then put the bottle within my reach. Rubbing his hands
together to spread it and warm them, he slowly descended to
my throbbing, leaking dick. His strokes were feather light,
tantalizing, making me gasp and arch forward with the
sensations.
He had a mischevious grin on his face and his eyes never left
mine. The light stroking and the vision before me of his
awesome torso made me want to erupt, but Eric had other
ideas. I relaxed and let the visual and tactile sensations
take charge.
He sensed my closeness to the edge and leaned forward to
tongue my nipples, holding his hands still. I cooled, and he
started stroking again, close call avoided.
Another trip up to the edge, another cooling period and
replenishment of lube. He read my reactions so well that he
could ease up to the edge, dance around it, then let me back
off. The agony, for me, was not knowing if he'd stop in
time, or if he'd push me over. When he finally did, it was
more intense than any time I could remember.
I bucked and squirted, shivered and shook, and after the main
event, just lay there twitching with aftershocks. His head
was next to mine, his arm across my chest holding me tight. I
was in no rush to recover.
"I think you set a record," he giggled softly in my ear. "I
told you it was going to be long and hard."
"It IS long and hard," I said reaching for him. He pushed my
hand away, though.
"If you even touch me now, it'll be all over," he said.
"Give me a few minutes."
He got up to go wash the lube off his hands, returning
without the raging boner he'd had earlier. Good. I could
start from scratch!
He lay passively while I scooted into position between his
legs. I could understand how he'd gotten close while "doing"
me - my own dick was rising as I gazed at his pointing
skyward. God, what a turnon!
I lubed my hands and started the slow, light strokes. I
watched his eyes open and close slowly as he enjoyed. I knew
him well, too. The groans and gasps I understood, but knew
that when he whimpered, it was time to stop. My hands are
fairly large, but there were two fistfuls with room to
spare. Having his pulsing tool in my hands was getting me as
close as I was getting him.
The interval between cooling down periods was shortening, and
after a long stop in "neutral", I pushed him up to the edge,
held him there as long as I could, then pushed him over.
First, he stiffened his whole body, then, as he started
cumming, his body went into spasms, rising, twisting and
jerking. I held on through the whole ride, milking the hot
spunk out of him in unending spurts. He seemed to relax for
a few seconds, then stiffened and came a second time. Not as
long or intensely as the first time, but nevertheless a very
powerful orgasm.
He must've felt my hard dick against his leg because he took
it in his hand and with a couple of quick strokes, I shot all
over him.
"Film at eleven," he chuckled.
"What do you mean by that? I asked
"The camera was running," he laughed. "Want to watch it
tonight or later?"
"Later," I groaned.
- - - - -
"It's time to get creative," I told Eric, Annie and Tina.
"We need to come up with some names for the new companies."
"We need some good ones, too," Eric agreed. "Let's do
something original."
"Think Mythology," I suggested, "or maybe something having to
do with Alexander the Great." I winked at Eric.
They all agreed to think about it.
"I think we've found our man," Annie said, changing course.
"For what?" I asked.
"To run the development company," Eric added. "He's got
experience in both residential and commercial, and a really
impressive track record."
"A real nice guy, too," Annie said. "We want you to meet him
before we hire him."
"Why?" I asked. "I trust your judgment."
"We'd just feel better if we had your approval," Eric said,
smiling.
"OK, bring him on," I told them.
Annie had a small conference room in her office across the
street. The whole crew was on hand when Dean was ushered
in. Eric introduced him to Tina and to me.
I'd seen his resume and was impressed. He had also passed
all of our tests, including Bob's "Sensitivity" evaluation,
but I still had a few questions.
After the preliminaries were gotten out of the way, I asked
one of them. "You've been with your last employer about
seven years, what makes you want to make a move?"
"I'm about to run out of anything to do," Dean answered,
smiling. "All of the properties that they own have been
developed out, and they aren't looking for more. All the
projects we've been working on are nearing completion, so
it's a good time for me to leave. I have their blessing, by
the way."
"How much do you know about what we're planning to do?" I
asked.
"I know that you recently purchased Catalina Pacific
Properties, and I also know that virtually nobody outside
that company knows the extent of their holdings. I'm
assuming that you plan to develop those, and after talking
with Henry, learned that you have big plans and have the
resources to make them happen."
I had to chuckle. "We own the company," I told him, "but we
are still finding more property ourselves. Now, I have one
more question. We're a family company, privately held. The
four of us here are the owners. My question is: How do you
think you'll get along with us?"
"I've done my homework too," he smiled. "It's almost
impossible to find out anything specific about Metalco,
Lundborg Rush, or any of the other companies that you own,
but you have the reputation of finding the best people
available, then turning them loose. I'm pretty sure I could
work well with all of you."
"That's pretty much the way we work," I told him, "but, be
warned that we're all involved in everything that goes on."
"I would want that," he answered. "I don't have all the
answers."
All the rest had a few more questions, then the meeting was
over. Eric and Annie had talked with him, Tina hadn't, so I
asked for her opinion.
"He's qualified," she said, "and he doesn't talk 'down' to
us. I like that."
"Then, let's hire him," I said. "I'll leave it all up to you
guys."
- - - - -
Dean was anxious to start, and his former employers let him
go as soon as he accepted our offer. Although I wasn't in
daily contact with him, I heard a lot from Eric, Annie and
Tina who were.
The three of them spent a whole week introducing him to the
way we operated and what our long-term plans were. In most
cases, he agreed, but had suggestions on everything that
would either simplify or enhance our overall plans.
Everyone agreed that the Silicon Valley project was Priority
#1, and since none of us had even seen it, we hopped on the
plane to go have a look.
Jason flew as low and as slow over the tract as the FAA
allowed, but you couldn't really tell much from that
altitude. From the ground, it was completely different.
What looked to me like a bunch of bare hills and valleys was
seen completely differently by Dean.
"Even with the Topo maps, I had no idea this land had so much
character...and potential!" he raved. "Now I see why Henry
was so excited."
It was in the foothills of the Coast Range, not too rugged
and not much vegetation except a few big Oak trees and a lot
of scrub. We drove the perimeter as much as possible,
driving the dirt roads onto the property whenever we found
one. I obviously didn't have Henry's imagination, or Dean's
either, because I couldn't envision what would soon be
happening.
Eric, Annie and Tina were much more attuned to Dean's
descriptions of how roads would go "here", and lots developed
"there", and bigger, estate sized parcels "over there". They
could see it, I couldn't, yet.
Passing a small shopping center that abutted the property,
Dean saw something else. "This type of center won't begin to
handle the population once we get started," he said. "It's a
good central location, and we could provide access from the
whole project. They'll have to expand, and the only place
they have to go is onto our property. That's some rather
valuable commercial land we have there."
"Why not develop it ourselves?" Annie asked.
"That's a possibility," Dean answered, "but do you want to
get into the Property Management business?"
"We're going to be in it anyway," Tina added. "We'll be
building a lot of apartments, so, why not combine them?"
"It'll take millions of dollars..." Dean said.
"Not a problem," Annie said. "We've got virtually unlimited
borrowing power. Some of the lenders I work with on the
Hotels are so anxious to get involved in this project they
can't stand it! We're already 'into' them for about $15
billion, and they want more of the action."
"Sorry," Dean said a bit embarassed. "I keep forgetting how
big you really are."
A few days later, Dean had put together a "Plan of Action"
outline that he wanted to go over with all of us. It
consisted of one page, but everything was covered. I liked
his brevity.
He explained it point by point, detailing how he would like to
implement his plans, using language that we could all
understand.
Using Henry's conceptual Master Plan, he wanted to "flesh it
out". This meant detailed layout of the entire tract, right
down to where water, sewer and power lines would go. This
would give the City, who would approve the project, sufficient
information to act.
To accomplish this, he suggested that we build our own
Engineering team which he would supervise. This brought a
groan from Annie.
"Where are we gonna put em?" she wanted to know.
"We'll be in the new building in three or four months," Tina
spoke up. "We can find more temporary space around here
until then."
"Most of the initial work will be on-site," Dean explained.
"We have to survey the whole thing first, so maybe a
satellite office up there would be best for starters."
It was pretty clear to me that Dean was a "Take charge"
type. That's exactly what we needed, and after a little
discussion, we gave him the go-ahead to get started.
- - - - -
"I think I'm ready to take some time off," Annie announced as
she plopped down in the den. "Everything is under control
and I want to get out of town for a couple of weeks."
"Any plans?" Eric asked.
"I want to spend a little time in New York," she said, "and I
was going to ask you if I could stay at your place. After
that, I'd like to head for the Caribbean."
"You don't have to ask," Eric told her. "That place is
'OURS', and that includes you. Have you ever met Sarah?"
"No, but from what you say, she's a really cool lady."
"Make you a deal," he said. "I'll fly back with you, show
you how the place 'works', introduce you to Sarah, then leave
you on your own. OK?"
"That'd be great, but I know my way around, and I don't need a
babysitter," she chuckled. "I don't want Sarah to feel
obligated to entertain me, either."
"I'll only stay over night, then YOU decide what you want to
do," Eric told her.
"Deal," Annie agreed. "How about next week?"
"I'm ready when you are," he told her.
I really wanted to go too, but this was between them. Having
a couple of days to myself would be kind of nice, too.
Eric made all the arrangements and they left early Saturday
morning. Eric planned to return on Sunday.
- - - - -
The only plans I had for the weekend were to be lazy and
maybe do a little reading - find a trashy novel to escape in.
Mary and Sam, however, had other plans. They cornered me
while I was eating breakfast and reading the paper.
"How do you like the new Chef?" Mary wanted to know. Rene
had only been there a week, one that Chef Maurice had picked
out for her.
"I think he's doing fine," I answered. "How does he like us?"
"He says he's happy here. I think he's still a little
intimidated by all of you, particularly Annie. She can scare
anybody, particularly in the morning."
"How well I know!" I laughed. "I hide from her in the
mornings too."
"By the way," Mary continued, "I had Rene checked out by
Security and everybody else. Don't want another Barbara
around here. I still feel terrible about that."
"Don't," I told her seriously. "Those people were after us,
and it could have been a lot worse. I see you also have a
couple of new 'girls'."
"Yes, and they were checked out too. What we really want to
talk about is that vacation we haven't taken yet. Is your
offer still open?"
I remembered, the Cruise. "Of course it is. Where would you
like to go? The Caribbean, the Mediterranean, Alaska?"
"You and Eric had such a wonderful time on that Caribbean
Cruise that we'd like to go on that one too."
"When do you want to go?" I asked.
"I figure Rene'll be ready to take over in two or three more
weeks, anytime after that unless you're planning any big
parties that I don't know about."
"No Parties, and I'll have Dan bring you a bunch of brochures.
Pick out any cruise you want."
Now it was Sam's turn. "Have you looked over the 'back 40'
since we've been working on it?" he asked.
"No, I haven't," I told him honestly.
"Got time to take a walk? We're about done with it."
"Sure, let's go," I said, rising. I'd seen the plans, but
had no idea what it would look like now. It had always been
just a weed patch that I'd bought as "insulation" from our
neighbors.
I'd seen the slate walkway that had been built from the deck
leading around the end of the house, but had never followed
it. When we rounded the corner, it was like a tropical
paradise, fully grown. Lawn now stretched all the way to the
tennis courts, and I could just barely see Sam's greenhouse
behind them.
The lawn went all the way to the cliff, but on the other side
was a jungle. Full grown trees had been moved in, and the
tropical foliage and flowers were lush and beautiful.
Occasionally there were paved paths through the jungle and I
followed one of them. On the other side was a paved parking
area that would hold a lot of cars.
"Now we'll have someplace to park cars when you have a party,"
Sam said.
"This is unbelievable," I told him. "You did it all right
under my nose and I didn't even notice."
"We tried not to cause any disruption, even when the cranes
came in to set the trees."
"They look like they grew here," I told him, "like they've
been here for years."
"We got 'specimens', some of them are 50 or 60 years old, and
they seem to like it here."
He was obviously very proud of his accomplishment, but was
itchy to show me his pride and joy - the greenhouse.
First, we entered a "Shade House", shaded from the sun with
some kind of cloth, and filled with large tropical plants.
"This is where we 'recondition' the plants from the house,"
he explained. "Now I can rotate them rather than replace
them when they get tired of the low light in the house."
Next was the greenhouse itself. It was a lot bigger than it
looked. Sam explained that here was where they grew the
"bedding plants" that provided year-round color to the whole
yard. Another section was where he grew flowers for cutting,
forcing them into bloom all year by regulating the number of
daylight hours with black drapes. In another section were
bench upon bench of what looked like potted cuttings.
"These are Poinsettias for Christmas," he explained. "I'm
growing enough for your new office, too, every color
imaginable, but mostly red."
"You really have to plan ahead, don't you," I said. "How're
your helpers working out?"
"Got my grandson working with me," he said. "He was a
Horticulture major at Riverside. Don't think I'll be able to
hang onto him for long, though, he's got big ambitions."
When he'd mentioned the new office, I'd gotten an idea, so I
presented it to him. "We're going to need a ton of plants
for that new office building," I told him. "Would you and
your grandson be interested in handling that?"
"I thought you already had a contractor," he said.
"I really don't know much about it, but if you're interested,
it's yours. I'll even finance it if you want."
"Money we don't need," he chuckled. "You pay us so much, and
we never spend it, so that's not a problem. I'll talk to him
and see if he wants to do it."
"Talk to Tina," I suggested. "That's her project."
What Sam had accomplished was a miracle. He'd turned a weed
patch into a Garden of Eden. I heaped well earned praise on
him which I knew he appreciated.
We'd use the new area, too. It was perfect for the big
parties we occasionally threw.
While it was still fresh in my mind, I sent an Email to Tina
regarding Sam's interest in handling the plants for the new
office. She was never around anymore, spending all her time
with her architect.
I also gave Dan a call. I asked him to book Mary and Sam on
any cruise they wanted, in a suite, and to take care of
everything for them. I knew I could count on him.
- - - - -
Eric came bouncing in, all bubbly. After a hug and a kiss
that made it seem like he'd been gone a month rather than
overnight, he told me about his trip.
"Annie's all settled, and I think I'm going to have to fight
her for Sarah's attention. The two of them really hit it
off. I'll bet she never does get to the Caribbean."
"Sarah may be an old broad," I said, "but she's got more life
than anybody I've seen in years."
"She didn't say anything to me, but I feel like she knows
what Annie needs - a change of scenery and some new faces. I
do know that Sarah's taking her to a party tonight."
"Annie's independent enough that she won't get into the
'social swim' unless she wants to."
"Sarah loves all of Annie's energy. She seems to feed on it,"
he said.
I made us a drink then plopped down next to him. "You're
sure full of it," I told him.
"Slept all the way home," he said. "I'm all charged up, so
you'd better look out," he leered.
I'd planned ahead for that. I picked up the strategically
placed blanket, and told him to grab his drink. "I have
something to show you."
Drink in hand, he followed me out the back, across the deck
then up the walkway around the house.
"My God, when did this happen?" he asked when we rounded the
corner of the house.
"Sam and his Grandson have been busy," I told him.
"Oh, so that's who that kid is. Have you seen him? He's a
knockout! This is fucking fabulous! I remember seeing the
plans, but I never imagined it would look like this."
The plantings on the Eastern side weren't in a line,
irregularly placed, leaving spots that were private and
hidden between them. When we got to one of the deeper ones,
I walked over and spread the blanket.
Eric sat down beside me, putting his arm around my shoulder.
We just sat there, looking at the coast and the ocean
beyond. It was quiet, it was unbelievably peaceful.
We were silent for a few minutes, then Eric moved around so
he was behind me, his chin on my shoulder, his arms around
me. "I have a feeling we're going to spend a lot of time out
here," he said softly. "It's like the door to the real world
suddenly slammed shut and here we are in a little world all
of our own."
I hugged him to me. It was so peaceful and having his warm
body wrapped around me made me feel so secure.
"I'd love to sit here just like this until sunset, then make
gentle love to you," he murmured. "But, dammit, we have to
be at Mom and Dad's house in a couple of hours."
That realization broke the spell, a little. "There'll be
other times," I promised him, turning to kiss him on the
cheek.
An hour later, he shook himself and stretched. "This is
better than meditation," he almost whispered.
- - - - -
In addition to being my "inlaws", Karl and Ingrid had become
really close friends. Without any effort, they made me feel
comfortable whenever I was around them.
We talked about family - my two brats and Ryan and Diane,
and, of course, the baby. Eric helped his Mom with dinner,
just like a little boy. He was so damned sweet. Karl and I
discussed life in general.
During dinner, Ingrid made an announcement. "The Lundborg
family is having a reunion in July, someplace outside of
Chicago, and we're all going." She grinned at me, "You too,
Dave."
She caught me totally off guard. It wasn't an invitation,
but a command performance. There was no way out, so I
grinned back at her and said "OK".
"That was easier than I expected!" she said. "I thought I'd
have to use threats and do a sales job. Has Eric softened
you up, perchance?" she giggled.
"A little, maybe," I said. "I know when I'm cornered, and
I'm too lazy to argue."
"Neither Eric nor Ryan have met most of Karl's family, and I
haven't seen most of them in a long time. I want to show off
my boys and my son and daughter-in law."
"It should be thrilling," Eric added. "I can hardly wait!"
That got a pointed stare from his mother.
"We can all go together," I volunteered. "We'll have the new
plane by then so we can be comfortable. Don't forget, Eric,
we have to go to Savannah this week to pick out the interior."
"I hear it's about the size of an airliner," Carl commented.
"Not quite, but it's going to be a lot bigger than the little
ones we have now. It's hard to tell until we see one," I
said.
After dinner, Karl asked about the Railroad. Eric took over.
"It's a helluva lot more than just a railroad," he said. "I
haven't had a chance to tell you what else came along with
it."
"For that kind of money, I figured there was more," Karl said.
"We've got the Railroad, which is a nice little moneymaker, a
thousand square miles of land that very well may have some
valuable minerals on it, and you wouldn't believe the land
that the Development Company has. The Development Company's
land alone is worth many times what we paid for the whole
thing."
"I notice you using the words 'we' and 'our' a lot, Eric,"
his Mother said. "What do you have to do with all this?"
"Eric's a partner," I said. "Annie, Tina, Eric and I each
own a quarter of it."
"That was mighty generous of you, Dave," Ingrid commented.
"I have to admit that it wasn't my idea. It was the girls'.
And don't worry, he's going to work damned hard for it."
Eric went on to tell them how we were selling off marginal
property to recoup our investment, and how we were moving
ahead on the Silicon Valley project that would take up to 20
years to complete.
When he got to the mining, he winked at me. "We've already
started exploration. Dave and I have been over to Arizona
and have checked it out ourselves. We haven't found anything
major, yet, but the potential is enormous there too."
"How in the hell you guys keep track of everything you've got
going on sure beats me," Karl commented.
"We're following Dave's tried and true management method,"
Eric told him. "Everybody has an area of primary
responsibility, then we all find the best people we can and
delegate. Dave watches over Metalco and Milton, Annie runs
Rush Properties which has grown enormously, Tina is in charge
of the new office project, and I'm responsible for Lundborg
Rush.
"Dave and I are handling the mining ourselves, the Railroad
pretty much takes care of itself, and we're all involved in
the Development Company. It works."
"Me and my three kids," I laughed, getting a glare from Eric.
- - - - -
"I've got an idea," Eric said on the way home. "The Hydra
Group."
"What're you talking about?" I asked.
"The name for the new Company. You suggested Mythological,
and Hydra fits."
"What's a 'Hydra'?" I asked.
"Hydra was the nine-headed monster of Greek Mythology. When
they tried to slay it by cutting off one of the heads, two
grew back in place of it. Indestructible, just like us," he
giggled.
"Not bad," I commented.
"The Holding Company could be Hydra, Inc., or The Hydra
Group, or something like that. The Development Company could
be Hydra Properties, or Hydra something, and we can find a
Mythological name for the mining, maybe Midas."
"We're NOT in the muffler business, I don't think," I
laughed. "But I think we could use a 'muffler' the next time
we go to Arizona so the rest of them could get some sleep."
- - - - -
On the way to Savannah, Ron came back to talk to us. He had
several items on his agenda, and according to him, the only
time he could talk to us was when we were "cornered" on the
plane.
First was the question of more pilots. He was in the process
of interviewing the men that my buddy Russ had sent to him,
and had some good prospects, he said. Since we'd soon have
three planes, he wanted to hire at least three if not four
more. The two planes we already had were in the air a lot.
Eric and I were far from the only people using them.
"Having three planes will ease the pressure," he said, "but
we need backup."
I agreed with him, and relied on his judgment.
All the pilots had to go to Houston for training for the new
GV. Gulfstream provided a school for corporate pilots to
fully familiarize them with the new planes in classrooms as
well as simulators and flying the planes themselves so that
they could obtain FAA certification. Ron planned to go with
Jason, first, then send the others. That's one of the
reasons he was anxious to hire more help.
With a twinkle in his eye, he gave us a parting shot "After
you've seen that new baby, I want to talk to you guys again,"
and then disappeared into the cockpit.
"I wonder what that was all about?" I commented to Eric.
"All I know is that the new plane is a lot bigger than this
one."
"That's all? You haven't seen pictures or layouts or
anything? You just plop down $40 million sight unseen?" he
said, shaking his head.
"That's about it. I've seen some of the older models and
they were nice, and I understand that this one is the
ultimate in private jets. Only the best for us," I chuckled.
"Boy, are you ever in for a surprise! Jason showed me a
brochure on it, and now, I can't wait to see your face when
you get a look at it."
We were met by the Senior Vice President of Marketing. He
was close to being obeisant. I looked at him, kind of
puzzled, and he explained.
"With virtually all of the aircraft we sell, all the details
are handled by lower echelon executives. You're the first
CEO, not to mention owner of a major company to get
personally involved. We want to treat you right."
"Hell, I'm just a regular guy," I protested.
"I believe you, Mr. Rush, that's what makes this all the more
fun for me. When we get through with our tour, our President
would like to meet you."
The four of us were led into this absolutely enormous
building. Planes in various stages of completion were in a
line as far as I could see. The ones closest to us were the
closest to being complete.
"Would you like to start at the beginning of the line?" our
guide asked.
"The rest might, but I don't think I'm ready to see one of
these with their guts all hanging open," I told him.
"We'll start with this one, then," he said gesturing toward
the first in line. "It'll be complete in a week or so, and
will be delivered to a Sultan in the Middle East."
We climbed onto a platform then went through the door. My
first thought was of Rene de Thierry's red Rolls Royce.
Oriental carpeting, maroon velvet and red brocade everywhere
was set off with gold fittings just about anyplace they could
find to put them.
Once the affront to my senses wore off, I noticed the plane
itself. There is only one way to describe the cabin.
Spacious.
I counted the seats. Sixteen, but they didn't seem in the
least crowded together, arranged in groups around tables, it
still seemed really roomy. We walked the length of the
center aisle, and I noticed something else - Headroom, lots
of it.
At the back of the plane was a galley, compact, but on closer
inspection, better equipped than most kitchens. The way it
was arranged, it would be totally functional. I turned to
Eric who commented "Looks like we're going to have to find a
Steward who knows how to cook."
I couldn't supress the giggle. We were both so male-oriented
that the thought of a Steward-ess never crossed our minds.
Walking back through the cabin, our guide explained that this
was the standard 16 passenger configuration. There were
other standard layouts available for from 8 to 19 passengers
as well as custom layouts that could be installed.
The next plane that we looked at was completely opposite of
the first. It was utilitarian, more like an airliner, with
seats lined up side of the cabin. The decor was also bland,
everything in shades of gray. The only feature that I really
liked was a separate "Crew Quarters" just behind the
cockpit. It wasn't huge, but would allow two crewmen room to
stretch out, even sleep comfortably in reclining chairs. In
the rear was another galley that also looked more utilitarian
than the first.
The third one was somewhere in between the other two. The
color scheme was brown and rose, pretty bland, but
comfortable. The 14 seat layout was spacious even though
there was a slightly larger "Crew Quarters" in front. The
galley was unbelievable. "Top of the line, the 'Gourmet
Edition'," our guide explained. We'd definitely want that
one!
Outside the plane, our guide elaborated. "You've seen only
three of our standard configurations, we have a total of
twenty, and I'll give you a brochure with all the details.
There's another option, though. We have a 'Completion
Center' in Dallas that can finish the interior however you
want, something you might want to look into and use your own
decorator."
Ron, Jason and Eric wandered off to take a look at our plane
which was seventh in line. I looked around the huge building
at all the activity.
"No guts lying around," Eric reported, chuckling, "But there
really wasn't much to see."
From there, we were ushered to the President's office.
Sitting around a conference table there, the virtues of the
Gulfstream V were extolled. The plane flew at almost the
speed of sound high above the weather and commercial traffic
and had a range of 6,500 miles.
When he got into the technical aspects of the aircraft, I
held up my hand. "You're talking way over my head," I
explained. "We're already sold on it. Hell, if it works
out, we may even order another one."
"How many planes are you currently flying?" he asked.
"Two," I answered, "and they're in the air almost all the
time. Adding this one will help, but our business is growing
so fast we need to move a lot of people around, and we also
use them a lot for personal travel."
"You'll love the GV," he answered.
We gathered up all the literature they gave us and headed for
home. Once in the air, Ron came back to the cabin. "Whatcha
think?" he wanted to know.
Eric spoke first. "Those interiors were nice, but I'll bet
Brucie could do a lot better job."
"No psychedelic and no antiques," I laughed. "I liked the
bigger 'Crew Quarters', what do you think?" I asked Ron.
"Having a place like that would be really nice," he said.
"Once we're at cruising altitude, the plane literally flies
itself. Only one person needs to be in the cockpit. Be nice
to be able to stretch out for a while."
"You'll still have to blow Jason in the cockpit," Eric put in,
snickering.
"I told you, we only do that when we're flying empty," he
shot back.
"Just kidding," Eric answered. "Personally, I'm all for it -
anytime!"
"OK guys, back to business," I chuckled. "I like the 14 seat
arrangement, but none of them had a sofa. I'd like to have
either one of those or a love seat that makes into a bed in
place of a couple of seats. What do you guys think?"
"Definitely," Eric said.
"Is that all you guys ever think about?" Ron laughed.
"No, dammit, we like to sleep sometimes," Eric answered,
giggling.
"How's this sound?" I started. "We establish criteria then
turn Brucie loose, and I've got a guy at home I want to give
a shot at this to also."
"We'd better get busy if we expect delivery before Christmas,"
Eric suggested.
I got a pad and started writing. "Gourmet Galley," I spoke
as I wrote. "Larger Crew Quarters, 12 seats and a sofa-bed,
warm colors, no blues or greens. How about stereo and VCR?"
"I'll check to see if those're included," Jason said. "I'm
pretty sure all the communication gear like phones, fax and
all that will already be in the cockpit area. We're getting
the full instrumentation package."
"Leather's nice," Eric added with a wink, "but I prefer cloth
seats."
"I think that's about it. If we think of anything else, we
can add it later. As soon as we get home, you call Brucie,"
I said to Eric, "and I'll call Gary, the guy who's doing the
new offices. We'll give 'em a week to come up with
something, at least preliminary. If they need to go to
Savannah to see the plane itself, we'll buy them tickets."
"Why wait until we get home?" Eric asked. "We've got a phone
here."
He located Brucie and gave him our specifications. Brucie
wanted to see the plane and agreed to go to Savannah the next
day and have drawings for us in a week or less.
When I called Gary, he didn't feel it necessary to actually
see the plane, but needed all the measurements, and also
promised drawings.
Ron went back to the cockpit to call Gulfstream to request
that drawings of the cabin be faxed to us at home, and got
the phone number of the "Finishing Facility" in Texas.
When I talked to them, they indicated that they had space to
start on our project as soon as the plane was ready.
- - - - -
Gary was the first one ready to make a presentation, and
agreed to come to the house on Saturday.
I'd worked with Gary on the house several years ago, and he
was the only "butch" Interior Designer I'd ever met. His
work was good, conservative if necessary, flamboyant when
that was called for.
When I led Gary into the den, Eric was on the phone, his back
to us, wearing only shorts, no shirt. When he hung up and
turned, it sounded like somebody had knocked the wind out of
Gary.
I performed introductions, and as soon as the hand shaking
was over, Gary slumped in a chair not taking his eyes off of
Eric.
"Sorry about that," he said when he regained his composure,
talking to me as if Eric wasn't there. "Is he...?" I
nodded. "My God, he's the most..." he stuttered,
"awesome...male I've ever laid eyes on."
"I couldn't agree with you more," I said, putting my arm
around Eric.
"Would you like something to drink?" Eric asked, giving him
one of his most dazzling smiles.
Gary choked then managed to say "Triple Scotch. No, just
give me a glassfull."
Eric chuckled then got up. "Want anything babe?" he asked me.
"Just a Coke," I told him. "I may have to drive Gary home."
"I've read about Eric Lundborg the 'Wall Street Whiz', and I
guess I expected some nerd, certainly not THIS!" Gary
explained. "Where on earth did you find him?"
"Actually," Eric said, putting our drinks down in front of
us, "I found Dave."
Gary choked again, and took a mighty swallow of his Scotch.
"We'd better get to work while I can still function."
He dug out his drawings while giving us a rundown on what
he'd done. "I've worked closely with Gulfstream designers
and plan to use their seating. It's not like you can go into
a furniture store and pick out chairs! They've already done
the work, and their seats have been designed for comfort as
well as ergonomics for less stress. They will be covered in
MY fabrics, though."
His first drawing showed the layout, grouped seating with a
side-facing sofa that folded out into a queen size bed. Then
came the full color artist's conception of the space.
Instead of plastic surfaces, the entire interior was lined
with light brown suede. The seating itself was many shades
of rust, russet and orange, trimmed with Walnut burl.
A big flat-screen TV was strategically placed as was a
console for a VCR and Stereo system. Headset jacks were
located at every seat.
"The concept I worked with was 'cozy'. Not too dark to be
cavelike, but still masculine yet spacious. I know how
'butch' you are, Dave, so no pastels," he chuckled.
"This color scheme may make the space seem slightly smaller,
but I believe that's offset by the warmth of the colors.
With all those big windows, it should be plenty light inside
too. The carpeting is really thick pile a few shades lighter
than the wallcovering and sculpted to define the traffic
pattern. Well, what do you think?"
Shoulder to shoulder, Eric and I had been studying the
drawings intently as Gary had presented them.
Eric spoke first. "I like your concept. The warm colors are
relaxing and soothing, and at the same time dramatic." He
then gave Gary another of those dazzling smiles, and I
thought the poor man would swoon on the spot.
My turn. "I like it all," I told him, "the colors, the
layout, everything. But, I would like to think about it a
little. You have to admit it's a radical departure from what
we're all used to.
"By the way, Gary, the guy who designed Eric's penthouse in
New York is also making a presentation, so we'll have to wait
until we see that before making a decision. It should only
be a few days."
Poor Gary looked crestfallen. "I didn't know this was a
competition."
"It's not," I said. "We'll probably buy a couple of these
planes and we certainly wouldn't want them all alike." That
seemed to satisfy him. I certainly didn't want to hurt his
feelings.
With the drawings still spread out, the conversation moved to
the new office building. We had pretty much just turned the
project over to Gary, letting him 'do his thing'. Neither of
us had even seen any drawings of the interiors. I, for one,
wanted to be surprised. I had total faith in Gary's
abilities.
On his way out, Gary turned to Eric. "You'll have to forgive
my reaction," he said. "I was totally unprepared. It's not
often that one has the opportunity to gaze upon such
perfection."
Eric didn't answer, but gathered him up in a big hug that,
I'm sure, made his whole week.
Monday, Brucie came flouncing into my office with Eric right
behind. Amidst all the fluttering and waving of arms, he
showed us his idea of how the plane's interior should look.
I was very surprised to see that his concept was far more
conservative than Gary's. Lighter, more subdued colors
throughout, with the cabin sheathed in a light antique gold
fabric.
No doubt his concept would make the cabin seem more spacious,
but I was leaning toward Gary's design. I liked cozy.
"I really had to hold myself back," Brucie admitted. "If you
guys would turn me loose, I could do something so spectacular
you'd get off just by looking around."
"That's not quite what we had in mind," Eric told him,
chuckling.
I explained, again, how we were looking at other design
concepts, and would let him know in a few days.
That night, Eric and I spread both sets of drawings out in
front of us. It was a tough call. Both were excellent and
"different".
"My only concern," Eric said, "is that Gary's brown interior
will be too dark. Other than that, I'd go for it."
"What the hell," I said, "if it turns out that it's too dark,
we can always have it changed. Let's go with it."
- - - - -
Although she called every day or so, this call from Annie was
different. The purpose of the call was to let us know that
she wasn't going to the Caribbean and was planning to spend a
couple more weeks in New York.
It wasn't so much "what" she said, but how she said it.
Instead of the all-business, brusque Annie, she was giggly
and relaxed. No reasons were given, and I didn't ask any
questions.
Hmmmmm. I wonder.
- - - - -
To be continued.
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