Love On The Brazos Page 7

  She pulled him to her. They were touching the full length of her body. Her hips began to undulate beneath him. She felt him turn and heard the zip of latex against flesh. He mounted her, and teased her by rubbing his member back and forth, up and down against her clitoris. He moved it to the entrance, penetrated a small amount, withdrew and penetrated again. This time she was waiting. With a strong upward thrust of her hips, she felt full penetration. Michael was moving up and down inside her. She found the rhythm and began meeting his thrusts with her own upward thrusts. She felt the tension and waves of passion; she began moaning. "Wait for me," he said.

  “You had better hurry,” She gasped. She began moving faster as did he. Suddenly he was going faster and faster. She felt him pumping his juice into the condom. Suddenly, she reached the edge and tumbled over. She began thrusting upward as he continued to pump. She climaxed with a tremendous shudder.

  “Wow! Oh wow! That was tremendous.” She squeezed him. “That felt so good.” Then mischievously, she said, “Can we do it again?”

  “We may have to wait a minute then I think I’ll be up to it.” Sure enough, after a few minutes of touching and grinding her hips over his member his soldier stood at attention. He was ready again. They went slower this time and longer as well. Each met the rhythm of the other as they climaxed together.

  After lying in his arms, for a few minutes, she asked, “Michael, I need to shower before I go home, do you mind?”

  “Of course. Will you need any help?”

  “I might, come on in.” The shower was large enough to hold four people. With some delay and a few detours, they managed the cleansing effort quite well. Jordy got dressed while Michael made coffee. When he had it started, he came back to watch her dry her hair. Since it was cut short, it didn’t take long.

  Michael said, “You know, not many women could manage to look sexy while drying their hair, but you manage to pull it off.”

  They were sitting in the breakfast area with their coffee. “Why didn’t you tell me your father was head of the investment department?”

  “Would this be a bad time to tell you he’s also the president of the bank?”

  “I wonder else are you holding back?”

  “Nothing I’m aware of,” he said. Dad owned the Bank of Sugar Land, First City made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. That’s how this came about. He certainly seemed to like you.”

  “That’s nice. I like both of your parents, but I’m wondering how I can maintain my dream if I do business with your bank.”

  “You can rest easy there. Dad is all business when it comes to business. I can promise you that.”

  Michael drove Jordy home. When he pulled up in the circular driveway and stopped in front of the door, he shut the engine off and walked around to hold the door for her. They went onto the porch and Michael wrapped Jordy in a tight embrace. “Thank you for coming to meet my folks. I know how intimidating that can be, but it was important to me and I appreciate it.” They kissed, a longing, tender and satisfying kiss.

  “Thank you for asking me. It was a lovely evening. I enjoyed it. All of it.” She blushed prettily. “Good night, Michael.”

  “Good night, Jordy. I’ll call tomorrow.”

  “You had better.”

  She turned and went inside. Her mother was in the family room. “How was your evening, dear?”

  “It was wonderful Mom. Mr. Simms is very nice and so is his wife. They were very friendly and easy to talk with. Michael told me his family owned the Bank of Sugar Land before First City acquired them.”

  “Then I’m sure I’ve met him. We used to do all of our business with them. So did my father.”

  “I think Michael might be the one, Mom.”

  “Do you really?”

  “Yes, I do. By the way, Dad’s going to watch the store while Michael and I go to Belize. He really surprised me by agreeing so quickly.”

  “You are your Daddy’s girl, and he loves you very much.”

  “Speaking of, have you talked to his doctors? Is he doing okay? Do they say anything about the possibility of another stroke or heart attack? I couldn’t bear it if something happened to him.”

  “They have him on an aspirin regimen, and he has to watch his diet to keep the cholesterol down. Everyone is one clot away from a stroke so the risk is there. I just wish he would exercise more. I cannot get him to do that.”

  “I’ll work on it. Maybe I can use my girlish charm and accomplish a miracle.”

  “If anyone can, you can. I’m going to bed. Goodnight honey.”

  “Goodnight, Mom. I love you.”

  She went into the bedroom. As she undressed to get into some lounging pajamas, she glanced into the mirror. “You look like a satisfied woman, Jordy Carlyle,” she said to the image reflected back to her.

  * * *

  “First City on line 2 for you Jordy”, the voice of Jordy’s secretary came over the intercom.

  She picked up the phone and said “Jordy Carlyle, how may I help you?”

  “This is Paul Merriam, Ms. Carlyle. I am preparing the package of your proposal to present to the executive committee, and I need some financial information from you.”

  “Just what is it you need, Mr. Merriam?”

  “We need some financial information from your father and grandfather before proceeding.”

  “And why is it you need this information? They have nothing to do with this proposal, other than the land belonging to my grandfather.”

  “It is routine in a matter this extensive, Ms. Carlyle.”

  Mr. Merriam, that is a deal breaker. I won’t be going forth on this with First City.”

  “If I may say so, Ms. Carlyle, I think you are being a bit unreasonable. If you would have your father or grandfather call me, I’m sure we can get this straightened out in short order.”

  “Mr. Merriam, would you have your accounting department gather all information regarding my personal account with First City, including investments together. I will be transferring it to another bank at the opening of business tomorrow morning. Goodbye, Mr. Merriam.”

  Thirty minutes later, her direct line rang. It was Michael. “Jordy, what in the world happened with Merriam earlier? He came into my office as white as a sheet. I thought he was going to pass out.”

  “Did he tell you what happened?”

  “He just said he called to get some information, and you told him it was a deal breaker and would not be going forth with First City on this project.”

  “Well, he got that part correct anyway,” Jordy said, still fuming. “He asked for financial information on my father and grandfather for the past two years. I told him they had nothing to do with it other than grandpa’s land. It’s my project. Then he said I should have Dad or Grandpa call him, and it would be straightened out quickly. That’s when I told him to prepare all of the information on my personal account together; I will be moving it with the opening of business tomorrow.”

  “No wonder you scared him. Do you have any idea what you have with us?”

  She knew her dad had transferred some of her trust funds into her account but not how much. “Somewhere between twenty and thirty million, why, what does that have to do with it? Michael, I am not the little lady that’s going to sit around the house popping babies. I am a business woman. I know what I’m doing, and I will be respected. I told Merriam when he visited the property that we were fully prepared to underwrite this project ourselves, and we are.”

  “What can I do to make this right, Jordy?”

  “Michael, I’m sure he has tried this with other women. I’m not sure I want to business with an organization that condones that behavior.”

  “Would you agree to a meeting with Dad, me and Merriam?”

  “I’ll have to think about it. Right now, the steam is still coming from my ears and nose.”

  “That’s fair enough. Will you let me know?”

  “Will I be seeing you tonight?”

  “I don’t
know Michael.”

  “Jordy, don’t let this come between us. It has nothing to with what’s between the two of us.”

  “Michael, it does affect us. Merriam works for you. I just don’t know. I’ll get back to you. I've got to do some thinking. Goodbye, Michael.”

  “Janie, I’m going to home to talk with Dad for a while. Take messages if anyone calls. Only tell Michael where I am if he calls, but I don’t think he will call.”

  * * *

  “Dad,” Michael said. “We need to talk.” He outlined what had transpired between Merriam and Jordy that morning. “I don’t think this is the first time he’s done something like this. I think it is the first time he’s been called on it. I think Jordy is fully prepared to pull all of her holdings and this project from us. She’s an only child and the only grandchild of Isaac Carlyle. Do you have any idea how much they have with us? We stand to lose the entire thing, and you know something, I don’t blame Jordy. She told me she’s not some woman that’s going to sit home popping babies, she’s a business woman and a good one. I agree with her.”

  “I knew I liked her. She’s full of piss and vinegar. She knows how to handle power. Well, she’s holding all of the cards now. Do you want me to handle Merriam or do you want to do it?”

  “I’ll do it.”

  Michael called Merriam into his office. “Paul, you insulted Ms. Carlyle with what could be termed a feminist remark. It was totally uncalled for.”

  “Michael, she has no idea what she is doing. We are a business organization, and she doesn’t understand business.”

  “Did you know she has a degree in Business Management?”

  “I thought she was an engineer.”

  “She is. She had a double major from A&M. Summa Cum Laude. Her second major was Business Management. She went to work with her father from the time she was six, and she prepared the proposal herself. She intends to hire someone as project manager. You may well have cost First City her account, her father’s and her grandfather’s. Do you have any idea the scope of their investments with us and the cash involved? It is probably over 100 million and growing. Her grandfather is a shrewd investor.”

  “She does not understand the business world.”

  “She understands it well enough to know it’s her money, and she has the backing to do this project. She may agree to a meeting and allow us to save what your bumbling may have cost us.”

  “But Michael…”

  “But nothing. You are terminated as of today. You will get three months severance. You will remain at your desk for security and clean out your desk, and you will be escorted from the building. One more thing, if there is any repercussion publicly from you, we will take legal action, do you understand?”

  * * *

  It was mid-afternoon the next day when Jordy called Michael. “We agree to a meeting, Michael. Would 10:00 on Friday fit your schedule?”

  “Friday at 10:00 will be fine. I’ll reserve a conference room.”

  “We have some ground rules we would like to have agreement to for the meeting.”

  “Do we need ground rules?”

  “I think so. Your representative failed to pay attention to what I had specified, that’s how this all got started.”

  “Okay. I should probably tell you that Paul Merriam is no longer an employee of First City. His actions failed to meet our standards of performance. What are your ground rules?”

  “We will meet in our conference room. The meeting is to provide First City the opportunity to present reasons why they should continue to be the financial institution for Carlyle Enterprises.”

  “Whoa, hold up there. You just threw a new term at me. Who is Carlyle Enterprises?”

  “Oh, you don’t know? You really should be more familiar with your major depositors. It’s an organization founded by my grandfather about 20 years ago. We are consolidating all Carlyle businesses under one umbrella, Carlyle Enterprises. It’s registered with the state of Texas.” Isaac Carlyle is chairman of the board, Jim Carlyle is president of the Carlyle Construction Division and I am the chief operating officer of the construction division.

  Carlyle Estates is off the table for the meeting. I am looking at all options for the project.”

  “And if we don’t agree?

  “Then all assets of Carlyle Enterprises will be transferred to the Bank of America prior to the close of business, June 30, 2012.”

  “Have you thought all of this through, Jordy?”

  “We have. My grandfather has used Baker, Chatsworth as his attorneys for years. They will have a representative at the meeting. We met with their financial partner, and he thinks this is the way to proceed. With all of the additional land available, this project could be a smaller version of the Woodlands.

  Will you call me when you decide whether you want to proceed with the meeting? I would advise you not to delay as all of the dates I mentioned are firm.”

  “I’ll get back to you before the end of the workday. Now, could I take you to dinner tonight?”

  “I don’t think so Michael. I have a lot on my plate right now, and until this is all settled, I won’t have time for a personal life.”

  * * *

  In the office of the First City Investments President that same day…

  “Dad, we have a real problem here. I’m afraid Merriam’s goof has awakened a sleeping tiger. Have you ever heard of Carlyle Enterprises?”

  “Yes, they are a major customer with us and the banks. What are you getting at? Wait, don’t tell me that …”

  “One and the same. Isaac Carlyle is Jordy’s grandfather. It seems they have rolled Carlyle Construction under the corporate title of Carlyle Enterprises. She, they have agreed to a meeting, on their turf. A meeting where we have the opportunity to discuss, not Carlyle Estates but why Carlyle Enterprises should remain as a client of ours. If we don’t convince them, then all assets, deposits and holdings will transfer to Bank of America no later than June 30.”

  “It seems the tiger has claws doesn’t it?” Steve Simms said.

  “I didn’t know it until yesterday, but she has a degree in Business Administration, in addition to a masters in construction engineering. I know for a fact she did not know the extent of the family holdings until this week. She’s done her due diligence and is holding all of the cards.

  Do you know who the attorneys are for Carlyle? Baker, Chatsworth of Houston. They will have an attorney at the meeting.”

  “What about the Carlyle Estates project?”

  “I’m afraid that may be gone. She said discussion about it is off the table.”

  “Is this the same beautiful girl we had to dinner?”

  “It is. I asked her to dinner tonight, and she blew me off. Doesn’t have the time now. That one hurts. I really like her, and I thought she liked me. I’m to call her and let her know about the meeting. It’s tentatively set for Friday morning at their offices. She would be willing to delay it, but the June 30th date is firm.”

  “We had better get a couple of associates working on visuals and facts,” said his father. In the meantime, I’m going to ask Dad to call Isaac and see if he can do anything on that end.”

  “I’d suggest not doing that. It could blow up in our faces.”

  “You’re probably right. I won’t do that yet. Do you think we should have Dad at the meeting?”

  “Couldn’t hurt.”

  Later that day…

  “Jordy, Friday is fine for the meeting. I have a couple of people I would like to have at the meeting. Will your conference room be large enough to hold everyone?”

  “We could find out if ‘Constellation Field’ is available,” she said.

  “You’re having fun with this aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I guess I am, although it’s hard work. I’ve hired a project manager to take over Carlyle Estates. That should free me up enough to handle the other responsibilities for a while. I have just awakened to all of the resources that are available to me. I actu
ally had no idea until I went to see Grandpa after Merriam dropped his bomb the other day. It’s been a real education in just three days. If Dad regains his health, I’m going to pursue an MBA at Rice. It isn’t Harvard, but at least it’s local.”

  “Ouch. That hurt. We’ll be at your place Friday at 10:00. Can we forget business and talk about us?”

  “Is there an ‘us’? I thought there might be, but I’m not sure anymore. Do you want an ‘us’?”

  “I do. I’ve come to realize I really care for you, and that has nothing to do with the business situation, whatever the outcome.”

  “Michael, I care for you also, too much, I’m afraid. I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t want to be hurt either. I’m not sure I can separate the two situations. If only you had stayed out of it as I asked.”

  “That wouldn’t have changed anything. I had a corporate responsibility. I realize now; I should have told you earlier what my job was and I should also have told you about Dad.”

  “You think?”

  “Yes, I think. I would like to see you. I miss you.”

  “Aren’t you sweet? And I’m not being sarcastic or bitchy. I think you are sweet. I really am tied up tonight and tomorrow. Perhaps after the meeting if there isn’t too much animosity?”

  “There can’t be enough animosity to keep me from wanting to see you.”

  “I’ll see you Friday morning. Goodbye Michael.” She broke the connection and went outside where a crew was taking down a wall to extend the conference and make it large enough to accommodate the large table being delivered later.

  Chapter 9 The Meeting

  The mockingbirds were scolding the squirrels for stealing the seeds her mother had put out for as Jordy walked to her car. “God, how I love this place,” she thought to herself. She was wearing a dark blue Liz Claiborne business suit with a white blouse, along with mid-height dark shoes. The sky was a deep blue with a few puffy cumulus clouds drifting aimlessly around the sky. The weatherman had promised a high of 83° for the day. A more perfect day could not have been ordered. “This would be a nice day to be going to the beach with Michael instead of meeting in a conference room.” She put the thought aside and climbed into her car for the ten minute drive to work. She stopped off and picked up some cookies for the meeting. This delay allowed her secretary to beat her to the office for a change.