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"Now, at Burke's Shoes? In Great Oak? That's in Texas, see, it's a full service shoe store, I mean, you sit down and we take your shoes off and measure them feet and go get you what you're looking for, lace them up, help you slide them on, full service, the whole shebang," Jerry drawled, leaning against the counter.

"Uh huh," Candy listened, enthralled by the worldly man.

"And this woman comes in, cute, cute little thing, one of them Hispanics, probably 'bout nineteen, twenty, wearing this little skirt and she sits down and Aaron? He's this new kid, fresh out of diapers I tell you, boy was still wet behind them ears," Jerry said, pausing to suck on his mint.

He offered a mint to Candy but she declined. Jerry did a quick visual sweep of the sales floor but no new customers had come into the store since the last time he'd looked.

"And Aaron takes his seat on the little stool there; has one them ramp kind of things for the customer to put their feet up on for you to measure them, help them put on their shoes?" Jerry said. "And I'm standing over by the counter; all I can see is the back of the little Hispanic's head and Aaron's face and I watch as Aaron finishes taking her shoes off and he measures her feet, smiling the whole time and he goes to look up to ask her what she's looking for and he just freezes and his eyes get real big and his mouth pops open and he's just sitting there and after a minute, she just gets up and smiles real big as she walks on out of there."

"Uh huh?" Candy asked when Jerry paused, grinning real wide.

"Well, like I said, boy was green, green, green. It was the first time he'd ever gotten a look at a girl's hoo-hoo. Some them girls? Get off on coming on in and flashing the goodies," Jerry guffawed at the memory. "Boy let me tell you! From that moment on? That boy was the top seller of women's shoes, that's for sure! He couldn't wait flop his ass down on that stool and wheel it on over."

"They ever flash you?" Candy asked, eyes twinkling.

"Me? All the time! All the time! Some would act like they didn't know they was doing it. Ones I liked? Was the ones knew they was doing it and smiled whole time they was doing it," Jerry agreed.

Jimmy was unimpressed by Candy's stories of Jerry's exploits. She gave him a very nasty look when he asked her, point blank, if this Jerry guy was such a fantastic salesman, why was he working at O'Neil's Furniture? Surely, a salesperson of Jerry's caliber would be working at a multimillion dollar enterprise, not a family owned endeavor.

"And, just how many sales has he made this week?" Jimmy asked.

"I, I don't know," Candy admitted.

Shortly after starting his employment at O'Neil's, Jerry mentioned the new Thai restaurant in Elgee, Louisiana. He asked Candy if she'd fancy putting on the old feedbag on Thursday night; they were both scheduled off that evening. Candy breathlessly agreed; she would just tell Jimmy it was work related.

Candy told Jimmy she and a few salespeople would be getting together Thursday evening. He asked her where they were going; Candy shrugged her shoulders. When he asked how many were going, again she shrugged her shoulders.

Jimmy was not home from his job when Candy left the house Thursday evening. In her car, Candy wiggled out of the plain white cotton briefs she wore whenever she came and went from the home. Reaching into her glove box, she fished around and decided not to put on any of the panties. Tonight, she would go commando.

Jerry had obviously gone home and shaved and showered for their date. His five o'clock shadow was not visible, his hair was slicked back with gel, and his pull over shirt was freshly ironed. In the foyer of the restaurant, Jerry brazenly chanced a quick kiss to Candy's lips and rested a meaty paw on Candy's rump.

"Serue, table for two," the hostess called out and Jerry again placed his paw on Candy's backside as he put her in front of himself to follow the hostess to their table.

"Hi, how you?" the hostess smiled when a handsome man walked into the foyer.

"I'm doing well, thank you," Jimmy said, no smile on his face. "I see my party waiting for me."

Jerry picked up the large leather bound menu and opened the book. Suddenly the book was jerked out of his hands.

"Hi Candy," Jimmy said. "Where's everyone else?"

"I uh, they, they couldn't..." Candy stammered, in shock as her husband flopped down into a chair he'd grabbed from another table.

"And uh, when I asked if you wanted to try this place out the other day, you said you wasn't in any mood to eat dog," Jimmy said, looking over the menu.

"I, I never said..." Candy stammered.

"You. Beat it," Jimmy said to the suddenly sweating Jerry Serue.

"I, uh..." Jerry said.

"Now," Jimmy ordered, face almost as hard as his voice.

"He makes twice as much as you do," Candy hissed bitterly to her husband.

"You knew what I was when we got married," Jimmy said. "Hey, this peanut chicken looks good. What you think?"

<<>>..<<>>

**..**

The middle aged woman, large diamonds on all her fingers, shiny bracelets clattering on each arm and a large diamond pendant hanging between her silicones enhanced breasts flirted shamelessly with the crew of the fishing boat. Next to her, her much younger husband attempted to reel in a marlin. The young man ignored the girl as she served drinks; he ignored his wife; he ignored everything but the dancing, flailing skipping fish on his line.

"Hey, Pedro!" the woman giggled drunkenly, making sure the captain got an eyeful of her shiny breasts.

"Yes ma'am?" the captain smiled graciously.

"So, what I got to use as bait if I want to catch..." the woman leered, her diamond encrusted fingers rubbing over the captain's flaccid penis in his khaki uniform trousers.

"Oh, ma'am, you, you are using the right bait," the captain smiled then excused himself. "But, ma'am, I must, I must check our depths; it would be no good if we became grounded."

In the cabin, the man quickly located the ship as it reached the oil rig. Deftly, he used the cell phone to maneuver the submersible fiberglass tube toward its target.

"Hey, Pedro," the girl taunted as she entered the small cabin.

"It is Miguel," the man insisted, frowning at the young woman.

"Their money is good," the girl taunted him.

"Fish is not the only thing we can use as bait for these gringos' fishing pleasure," the captain threatened the laughing woman.

**..**

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Lynelle Turner sat in the back seat of his Lincoln Navigator, sweating. His sweat trickled freely despite the air conditioning blowing directly on his face.

"Aw yeah, here, here we go," Lynelle smiled tightly, seeing one of his runners cautiously approaching the SUV.

"C'Mere, c'mere," Lynelle ordered and the runner looked back and forth before approaching the lowered window.

"What? I ain't your boy no more," the young man said. "Genny? Everybody wanting them the Genny and you ain't got none."

Lynelle got out of the car and beat the boy savagely. After emptying the boy's pockets of product and cash, Lynelle got back into the rear seat and demanded the driver take him to the Waters Projects; he had a few more runners in that area.

The first runner told Lynelle the same thing; everyone was asking for Genny. The second and third runners refused to even look at Lynelle.

<<>>..<<>>

**..**

With the same military efficiency, the tube was removed from the boat and transported to the processing depot. The product was then distributed to the suppliers who in turn doled the product to the runners.

**..**

<<>>..<<>>

Jerry suggested a long lunch break at the Acadiana Motel. Candy wrinkled her nose at the mention of the cheap motel but Jerry, being an excellent salesperson sold the idea as a 'down and dirty sleazy easy bit of fun' and Candy giggled.

Arriving at the front office, both Jerry and Candy were shocked to see a PC Nations service truck parked in front of the motel's lobby. With a squeal, Candy ducked down. Jerry could not be sure if Jimmy was the service person working behind the counter or not. He could not be certain of whether or not the service person saw them as he hurriedly backed out of the parking spot.

At home that evening, Candy watched Jimmy, waiting for the explosion that was sure to come. Instead, Jimmy drank a beer after their bowls of seafood gumbo and settled down to watch ESPN's coverage of sports highlights. He grunted as Candy finally said she was going into the living room to watch a reality television show.

"So, how's Jerry?" Jimmy said just as Candy stepped out of the family room/man cave.

"Oh fuck you," Candy hissed under her breath as she stepped into their formal living room.

The next time Jerry and Candy worked together, Candy asked why they couldn't just go to Jerry's place. Jerry smiled his easy smile and admitted his two sons were living with him and the house was a typical bachelor pad.

"I mean, pizza boxes, beer cans, dirty underwear," Jerry smiled. "I know I don't look old enough, but I got two boys, one in his twenties, one just getting out of high school so you can just about imagine the mess."

"And a nagging bitch of a wife too," Jerry did not add to the statement.

Candy sent a text message to her husband, inviting him to Clark's Drive-In for a quick burger and malt and if they had enough time... Jimmy sent an apology; he was busy wiring a new construction in Baylor Lake. She agreed they would do it tomorrow. Then she smiled a triumphant smile at Jerry.

"Well, my house is available," Candy said.

Jerry Serue was a great salesman. He forgot one cardinal rule about sales; under promise and over deliver. He over promised and completely failed to deliver. Even after ten minutes of Candy's oral skills, Jerry could not rise to the occasion. And he refused to eat pussy, leaving Candy high and dry.

Less than a week later, Jerry was wished the best of luck on his future endeavors. The glib salesperson had failed to meet his quota during his probationary period.

Candy did not have time to lament the loss of a lackluster salesman and lover; Denise Overton had come into O'Neil's, decorating a new home for a client. Denise was far too professional to disclose the name of her client, but kept referring to a Ms. Durmonte whenever she was unsure of a particular piece of furniture. Tracking backward, Candy was able to work out that Ms. Durmonte was in fact working for William Carter of Tri-Carter. Candy paid close attention to the scheduled delivery date and the Friday evening after O'Neil's Furniture & Appliances delivered all furniture and washing machine, dryer, refrigerator and dishwasher, Candy let Jimmy know she was delivering a rubber plant. She smiled widely as she held the plant up.

The smile faltered from her lips as Jimmy coolly regarded her with unreadable eyes. Then he returned to studying his manual on a new routing system PC Nation was implementing for large-scale installations.

<<>>..<<>>

**..**

The fishing boat bobbed lazily in the early morning heat. The two fishermen, cousins, bickered back and forth about American football. The dark haired man was from Miami and was very vocal about the Miami Dolphins' winning record. The red haired cousin was from Aitchel, Ohio and lauded the prowess of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Claiming a need to check their depth readings, the captain stepped into the cabin. Jose, one of the crew adjusted his penis in his snug swimsuit and smiled self-consciously at the captain. The captain smiled an indulgent smile.

"Their money is good," he told the handsome eighteen year old boy as the boy picked up his tray of snacks.

While Jose was graciously tolerating the fawning words and wandering hands of the two Americans, the captain studied the screen. He studied it for several moments but could see no ship in the vicinity of the oil rig.

"Sometimes they are delayed," he told himself.

Three hours had passed; a drunken Jose was sitting on the lap of the red headed Bengals fan while the Dolphins fan toyed with Jose's nipples. The captain angrily picked up the cell phone, looked at the electronic screen one more time, then and pressed the numeral six twice, then paused and pressed the numeral six three times more. He waited for several long moments, tuning out the squeals, gasps and giggles coming from the two customers and Jose.

"Eh, sometimes? The fish, they are not biting," the captain said, coming back onto the deck.

"Oh, that's all right," the dark haired man smiled.

"If you are ready?" the captain plastered a smile on his face and started the boat's powerful engine.

"How 'bout it, Jose? You ready?" the red headed man asked, cupping Jose's swollen cock through skimpy swimsuit.

**..**

<<>>..<<>>

William Carter did not even look up when he heard the front door open and close. He wiped the sweat from his forehead as he again typed in the passcode for his National Bank of St. Genevieve bank account. Again, the message flashed that the account was inaccessible.

"I, oh God, please," William begged the inanimate computer screen.

"Hi Baby," Candy Walsh said, coming up behind William and giving his shoulder an affectionate rub.

"Not now, God damn it," William snarled, again typing in the passcode.

Candy felt the hot sting of tears. She flounced out of the office and marched to the front door of the beautifully decorated house. She paused when she reached for the doorknob.

She'd told her husband she was delivering a rubber plant to the house of a big client. Her husband had not even said 'Congratulations' when she'd mentioned the amount of money Denise Overton, William Carter had spent. And, upon meeting William Carter, bending to put the plant in the corner of his home office, Candy had smiled her bewitching smile at the slightly older man.

That first fuck had been electric for both Candy and William. Usually Candy only fucked them once or twice; she honestly couldn't remember ever fucking any of the numerous cocks more than twice. But William and William's money was addictive and soon became a full-blown affair.

Last night, this morning, she'd fucked up and now Jimmy knew she was fucking around. When she'd tried to concoct some sales meeting, some excuse for slipping away for a few hours, Jimmy had just looked at her. After a long and uncomfortable moment, Candy reached the kitchen door that led to the garage.

"I am sure your Daddy is so proud of his little girl," Jimmy had said, returning his attention to the sales invoices and the schedule for the following day.

Candy had sat in her car in their garage and sobbed. How dare he, how dare her husband, her loving husband throw her deceased father in her face like that?

The worst part of it was the cold, flat delivery of his hurtful words. Jimmy knew how deeply those words would cut and yet he had delivered them in a completely disinterested tone of voice.

Now, standing in William's home, hand reaching for the gleaming ornate brass doorknob, Candy realized she could not go home. She did not have a home to return to. Yes, she had every right to return to the house she shared with her husband but simply could not bring herself to do so.

While Candy was sitting on his green tweed loveseat in his front sitting room, wiping away fresh tears, William was staring at his computer screen, wondering what he could do. There was ninety four million dollars sitting in his account with the National Bank of St. Genevieve but he could not access it.

William checked his First Union bank account and saw that his last paycheck had been deposited. Forty three thousand dollars would not last long and William had burned several bridges in the oil field so his job prospects were not good.

While William feverishly tried to think of a plan of action, Francoise Poincarécalled William on his regular cell phone; something that had never happened before. The man coldly stated that William had a message waiting for him then disconnected.

Pulling the burner phone from the desk drawer, William stared at the simple message that the Tri-Carter boat had not been where it was supposed to be.

Per their agreement, William pulled the SIM Card from the burner cell phone and pounded it with a hammer in his garage. He grabbed his own cell phone, the damaged SIM Card and left his home. The SIM Card went into the dumpster behind Casa Ole Mexican Restaurant and the now smashed burner cell phone went into a dumpster behind a Chinese Buffet restaurant in Flowers, Louisiana. Then William called his sister Natalie from his own cell phone.

"Oh dear God, why?" William moaned when Natalie cheerfully relayed the message that Rick Blanchard had rerouted all of the schedules for the Tri-Carter ships.

"A whole lot more efficient; he leased them out to GHL Caterers, Kendricks' Engineering and who's that mudlogging company?" Natalie happily prattled.

"But, but I set those up; it was in the sales contracts with Pilot Petroleum," William said, sweating heavily now.

"Yeah, Pilot; that was it. Rick's going over that with that Chris Dumas guy; he's got a daughter same age as Elizabeth. Did you know that?" Natalie continued with her happy prattle.

"Jesus Christ! Who, who gives a fuck about that?" William screamed. "Those boats, I, we need them to be back on the schedule I set up."

"Why? We're just about back in the black," Natalie said, losing her happy mood. "Will, William, what's going on?"

"Aw, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," William moaned and ended the call.

Returning to his home, William ignored Candy. Locking himself in his office, he tried one more futile attempt to access his secret bank account then ferreted the second burner phone out of his desk drawer. He sent a brief text message to Francoise, informing the St. Genevieve contact know of the changes with Tri-Carter's shipping practices.

'Our friends will not be happy,' Francoise responded.

Still ignoring Candy, William marched into the garage. He again went through the steps of destroying the evidence of any contact with the drug cartel's point man in the small South American country of St. Genevieve. The SIM card went into a dry cleaner's dumpster and the smashed cell phone went into the very foul smelling dumpster behind Backyard Barbeque. He used his cell phone to order a meal for himself from Jade Garden Chinese Restaurant and drove there to pick it up.

"What? Where, where's mine?" Candy asked when William plopped down at the breakfast bar in his kitchen and began eating his supper from the Styrofoam container.

"Shit, here, go get you something," William spat, digging a hundred dollar bill from his money clip.

Candy decided that William's food had looked good and went to Jade Garden. She didn't order it to go and instead enjoyed a leisurely meal.

"You got maybe something smaller?" the surly waitress snapped when Candy put the one hundred dollar bill onto the tray with the receipt.

"Maybe if you'd been a little nicer I might have," Candy snapped. "But since you went out of your way to be a total bitch? Guess I'm going have to be a bitch too."

For a long moment, Candy debated with herself. She could return to her home and be with her cold, unresponsive husband. Or she could go back to William Carter's house and be with a cold, unresponsive William.

"I am sure your Daddy is so proud of his little girl," Jimmy had said just that night.

"I, asshole. Fucking asshole," Candy screamed as she twisted the steering wheel to the left and returned to William's house.

"Fuck, took your sweet ass time, huh?" William snapped when Candy flounced into the house.

"Oh. Now he wants to talk to me," Candy said to no one.

"Talk? Since when do we talk?" William scoffed, grabbing her quite roughly and dragging her to the bedroom.

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