Webs of Deceptions (3 page)

“I don’t know”, mused Tim. “Did you notice
how he had you go first through the rooms and up the stairs? I
think he just wanted to watch your ass. I don’t know if we should
trust these guys, they might be looking for a little something
extra from you. Maybe we should get a lawyer to come to the meeting
with them tomorrow?”

Susan’s eyes turned dark and she stomped her
foot. Her joy had turned to anger in a split-second. “Tim, what has
gotten into you lately? No one has given me the slightest
indication that their intentions are anything but honorable!
Anyway, I haven’t so much as looked at another man since our
marriage and have never given you any reason to not trust me!”

She took a deep breath and crossed her arms.
“This could be our only hope to save our home and I don’t think we
should jinx it by bringing a lawyer tomorrow. It would look like we
don’t trust them; we never used a lawyer at closing when we bought
the house. Why should this be different? Anyway, we can’t afford a
lawyer now!”

Sue stomped off to her bedroom and slammed
the door.

Tim got the cold-shoulder all evening, right
through dinner. When Susan tucked little Timmy in bed for the
night, she went to bed alone. Later, when Tim got into bed next to
her, he cuddled up to her back and kissed her neck: “I’m sorry
honey, you know I just want to do the best for you and Timmy. I
need to trust your judgment more, and I do trust you.”

When she didn’t respond, he thought she must
have fallen asleep.

Susan was up bright and early the next
morning and was feeling very good. She actually did hear Tim’s
apology last night but decided to teach him a little lesson by not
answering. Now this was a new day and she was humming sweetly as
she got Timmy ready for MDO.

Their plan was to drop Timmy off, then go
next door to Scala Enterprise for their 10:30 meeting with their
new mortgage holders. Tim was acting contrite and promised to keep
an open mind for Mr Scala’s proposal.

Chapter Six – The Proposal

“It couldn’t be better”, Ted was talking to
Tony and Frank as they waited for the Dodges to show up for the
meeting. “The house is solid and in a good location, the value
should skyrocket once this recession turns around. The husband has
a real talent for carpentry and has been doing a lot of
improvements since he has been out of work. I even offered him some
work improving my retail stores and he was tickled pink. I also
told him that his deck needs to be replaced – the materials should
run about five-grand.”

“Hell, that’s only two Chinamen”, snickered
Frank.

“Yeah, but not before I get my cock into
sweet Mrs Dodge! Man, you guys were right about that sexy body of
hers”, said Ted. “Her husband almost caught me checking out her
perky ass as she was showing me around the house.”

Just then the intercom buzzed and the
receptionist announced that Mr and Mrs Dodge are here. “Send them
in”, said Tony.

Susan had changed clothes four times trying
to find the right thing to wear this morning. She finally settled
on an outfit she had bought when she worked in an office as an
accounts manager before she quit to be a stay-at-home mom. The
clothes were tight in some strategic places from the change in her
body after the baby, but she thought she looked fine. From the
admiring looks of the three men as they entered the room, she was
right.

Introductions were made and Tony asked them
if they would like anything to drink. “Coffee would be nice”,
smiled Susan. “Nothing for me”, said Tim.

As Scala fixed a cup of coffee for Susan, Tim
and his wife looked around the office.
‘It’s huge, bigger than
any office I’ve seen’
thought Sue. And it was clear to her that
no woman had a hand in decorating it, it was manly yet elegant.
Susan had noticed that Tony wore a signet ring instead of wedding
band and assumed he was not married. Now she noticed that all three
men wore a similar ring with the embossed inscription: “OMW”. She
guessed it was some kind of silly men’s club.

A massive leather couch was alongside one
wall and a fully stocked bar along the other. Hunting trophies and
awards were scattered about and a nautical theme prevailed. A
wooden model of a beautiful sailboat caught her eye: “That’s a
scale model of SV Jewel”, Frank said when he noticed her looking at
it. “She’s Tony’s pride and joy.”

“Maybe we can get Tony to take us all out on
her someday”, added Ted. “It would be my pleasure”, replied Tony.
“I’m always looking for an excuse to take her out for a sail.”

“Oh goody!” Cheered Sue. Tim just nodded his
head in agreement. He was clearly impressed with the office as
well. “Your woodwork is outstanding”, he told Tony. “And that desk
looks hand-made?”

Tony smiled and said: “Yes, it is. I work
hard, like you Tim, and I like to reward myself with the best
quality. Your lovely wife is proof that you do as well.”

Tim looked at the handsome stranger, thought
for a second and decided to take that as a complement. He was
looking at the woodwork around the bar and a door next to it.
“That’s the door to my private bathroom, feel free to use it if you
like.” Tim had opened the door to feel its weight and noticed the
granite room with a massive shower in it. “Very nice”, he said.

Tony brought Sue’s coffee over and placed it
at the front of his desk. It was a signal the meeting should begin.
Frank and Ted sat at the couch while Tim and Susan took chairs at
the front of the desk. Tony sat behind his desk and began speaking
in a soft voice:

“Scala Enterprise functions in several
different areas, one of them is Venture Capital, where we finance
now for greater profit later. Believe it or not, your home falls in
that category and you two are it’s greatest asset. Tim is a highly
skilled carpenter and Susan is a gracious hostess who can make
people happy with her smile. We think we found a way to get you
through this economic downturn, and all of us will come out ahead
when it is over. It will require some sacrifice now, but will
benefit you greatly in the future.”

Tim and Sue were sitting on the edge of their
chairs, nodding and waiting for him to continue.

“We are going to change your existing
mortgage from 15 years to 30 years and maintain the same interest.
That will reduce your monthly payments by half… Tony leafed through
a document on his desk: “Lets see, your new payment will be
$849.53. I am offering Susan a part-time job with us at a monthly
retainer of $1,000 plus expenses. That will more than allow you to
cover your home payments, plus a little extra.”

Frank and Ted remained silent from the couch
and were watching the Dodges carefully. Both Sue and Tim’s eyes
widened, but Tim had a frown while Susan had a beaming smile.
Before either could speak Tony went on:

“Tim, you will continue to collect
unemployment benefits and pick up any work you find. I understand
that Ted has already offered you some carpentry work at his retail
stores.” Tim nodded in silent agreement.

Scala looked directly at Tim as he continued
speaking: “You will continue the fine improvements you have been
doing on your home. I know it has been slow going because of the
cost of materials; we are going to take that impediment away. You
will have a pre-paid credit card from us that will allow you to buy
materials as you need them.” Tony handed a Visa card to Tim. “We
will start with a $10,000 credit and keep adding to it as you use
it and turn in the receipts. The money that you spend will be added
to the back end of your mortgage and Scala Enterprise will get that
back if you sell or refinance the house. For this consideration, we
will also have a 20% share of the equity in the house.”

Tony slid an inch-high contract across the
desk to them. “Any questions?” He asked.

The room was silent for a couple of
heartbeats, and then Tim and Susan started talking at once. Susan
took the lead: “What do you mean by a ‘part-time’ job and what
would my duties be?”

Tony smiled at her: “Your time would be
flexible and at your discretion. I understand your desire to spend
time with your child, but I would like you to plan on Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 3pm. Do you think you could
change your MDO days to accommodate that?” Susan nodded in
agreement as Tony continued:

“As to your duties, a part of it will be
research and learning about the products you would be representing
for our clients, you will have your own office here in this
building. I know from your past work history that you were an
account manager for our competitor, Ritchie and Associates.” Tony
smiled at Susan as he continued: “Standing in front of groups and
speaking occasionally should be no problem for you. Of course, this
will involve some travel to symposiums and trade shows, some
lasting one or two days. This is one of the sacrifices I was
referring to, another would be for Tim to be ‘Mr Mom’ during your
brief absences.”

Susan’s smile, bright eyes and body language
made it clear to everyone that she was thrilled with the prospect
of this job. Tim’s frown was another matter. He said: “These
‘assignments’ you would be sending my wife on, are they like models
at trade shows?”

“That is exactly what she would be doing”,
said Tony. “There is nothing like a pretty, perky female to get
men’s attention for any product. Doesn’t matter if it’s cars,
boats, BBQ’s or cheese cutters. Supplying this service for clients
is a real cash cow for us. Currently we use models from an agency
but they are expensive and not very dependable. Most are not that
good-looking either. Susan’s looks, intelligence and appeal would
bring new clients to our door and be more cost effective for us. I
see it as a win-win situation Mr Dodge.”

Tim was still hesitant. He asked: “What would
she be wearing when doing this… modeling?”

Tony replied: “Usually very elegant designer
dresses, sometimes a business suit or casual wear depending on the
show.”

Tim frowned, “You mean like short-shorts or
skimpy bikinis?” He mumbled.

“Certainly we would want to show Susan off,
but she would never be asked to wear anything she did not approve
of.” Tony said, glancing at Sue.

Sue turned to her husband and said softly:
“Timothy, don’t you dare start that kind of talk again! I believe
Mr Scala would never ask me to do anything I would be uncomfortable
with, and I have never given you any reason to not trust me. After
all, I’m not just your wife; I am Timmy’s mommy too. I love you
both and would never do anything to betray your trust.”

From across the room Frank and Ted smiled
secretly to themselves as they realized that Susan’s mini-outburst
had the desired effect on her husband. Tim was contrite as he said:
“Of course I believe you honey, I guess I am just surprised that
you seem so anxious to go back to work after just a couple years of
being a stay at home mom.” He put his hand on hers, “And I’m not
sure how I feel about having strange men drool over you.”

Sue squeezed his hand: “Oh silly man, that’s
not going to happen. Anyway, the hours Mr Scala asked for won’t
keep me away from you and Timmy very much at all. And if I can
contribute to our family’s welfare by paying the mortgage, I would
love that.” She turned to Tony: “When do you think my first
overnight trip might be?”

“Well, we have an auto show coming up in a
couple of weeks that would be for two days and a night that I would
like you to take on”, Tony said. “You would simply stand by the new
car in an elegant gown and look pretty. That would be no problem
for you.” Suzie blushed at the complement.

Tim picked up the thick contract; “I would
like to read through this before we sign.”

“Of course.” Tony said. “Why don’t you two
sit at that conference table by the window and go through it
together. You will both have to initial each page where marked and
sign the last page to make it binding.”

After ten minutes Susan got bored with trying
to read all the legalize so she just leafed through and initialed
where she had to, then signed it. She left it with Tim to continue
reading and went over to the bar to refill her coffee. The three
gentlemen were standing at the bar chatting softly and smiled at
her as she joined them.

Tim was having trouble concentrating on the
document because he kept glancing up to see his wife laughing and
talking to the three men who were gathered around her.

Finally, he picked up the pen, initialed and
signed the contract.

Chapter Seven – Let’s Celebrate!

Susan and Tim were giddy with excitement on
their drive home. “I think you were right about these guys honey”,
Tim admitted. “This seems like one hell of a good deal we got to
let us keep our home and get back on our feet. We won’t even have
to ask your parents or mine for money to help us out anymore. In a
couple years we will be sitting pretty.”

“Oh Tim, this was better than I expected in
my wildest dreams!” Sue said. “You don’t know how frightened I’ve
been about our money problems. Even the sacrifices that Mr Scala
said we would have to make won’t be any problem. I’m actually
anxious to go back to work, especially for a salary that will cover
our mortgage payments. The part-time schedule I have means that I
will only have to increase little Timmy’s time at MDO by one day –
from the Tuesday and Thursday days he has now to Monday, Wednesday
and Friday. He loves it there and won’t mind a bit.”

Tim nodded and said: “Hey, I have a great
idea! We have a couple hours before we pick up Timmy, and I have
the Visa card from Scala with a ten thousand dollar credit on it.
Why don’t we swing by the house, change out of these monkey suits
we wore for the meeting, have a ‘quickie’ then go to the mall and
buy some presents for ourselves?”