Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. (C) Copyright 2002. M.C. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of my stories can be downloaded from: </files/Authors/MikeC/> Send all comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net ============= Jules This short story is based on the characters from my series 'James' and runs parallel to the main story, at approximately the same time frame as chapters 44-46. In the cool of the dawn, JulieAnn stirred and slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Amanda, who had been curled up beside her. Celeste was at the far side of the bed, snoring softly. Without looking at the clock, Jules knew it was a bit before seven, her internal timer had never been wrong here at the Eyrie. Something to do with the lighting and bird noises, she was sure. She ran the water for the shower, brushing her teeth while waiting for it to warm. Staying clean was a definite skill when hot water is in such short supply, although with just the three of them there, she could be downright wasteful. She was just scrubbing her blond hair and running the day's schedule through her mind, when a pair of arms hugged her from behind and cupped her breasts. "Mmmm, you're all ready for me!" Amanda murmured as she tweaked her hard nipples. "Am not, you silly ninny!" Jules laughed, "I'm just cold!" "Now I'm hurt!" Amanda kissed her neck, nestling up tightly, "Nobody loves me anymore!" She grabbed the soap and started lathering Jules up. "Mmm, but I could be bribed!" the young blond sighed, as Amanda slipped her hands ever lower in languid circles. "Ah!" JulieAnn had to lean on the wall, her legs suddenly weak. "Mandie, oh, oh..." she shuddered as her friend continued her caresses, then turned and held their bodies close, rubbing softly. She turned back to rinse herself, "Sorry love, you have to finish yourself. I'm going to start breakfast." JulieAnn said with a tender kiss, "Don't be too long." Amanda watched JulieAnn's long lean form climb out of the tub and could not resist a soft caress of a glistening buttock. She turned to the business at hand and quickly finished washing herself, her mind preoccupied by the coolant intake problem on Gyro 2. She dried herself and brushed her teeth with the towel around her hair, then padded softly into the bedroom. Amanda smiled softly at Celeste curled up on the edge of the bed, sleeping like a baby with a thumb in her mouth. She left a soft kiss on her friend's forehead as she turned to slip on her clothes. Jeans and a halter should do it, plus a jacket if she had to take a flight up. "Mmmm, where are my sweethearts?" Celeste groaned as she stretched. Seeing Amanda she opened her arms, "C'mere, don't you dare sneak off without giving me a hug!" They kissed softly, "Honey, may I suggest that you take a shower? Your construction crew is gonna go ape if they smell all this sex on you..." "And whose fault is that? I fought and fought but you two were too strong for me!" Celeste threw her arms to the sides and opened her legs wide, squirming invitingly, "Take me, I'm your sex slave now!" Amanda giggled, "I'd love to dear, except your boys are gonna show up and they'd be lost without their Mama Bear!" "Those idiots!" Celeste grumbled as she dragged herself out of bed, "They need my help going to the bathroom!" "Don't let them hear you say that!" Amanda laughed, "They may take you up on it! See you downstairs love!" She hurried her friend along with a swat on the butt. By the time Amanda finished loading the laundry and started the machine, bowls of steaming hot cereal were waiting on the table, "Mmmm, Jules, you've become positively a gourmet!" "A meticulous reader of instructions, is what I've become!" Jules laughed as she carried a heaping plateful of food out. "Although now I can put 'Can make scrambled eggs without burning or losing more than half on the floor' on my resume." She laughed, "And I can claim an intimate knowledge of the Laws of Thermodynamics!" She waved a bandaged finger. They dug in as broken strains of "We-eeee are the CHAMPIONS-sss, mah fri-ends!" came from the shower, followed by wailing guitar noises, then, as Celeste skipped downstairs in just her panties, boobs flashing, she finished with "-of the Wooo-rld!" with another chorus of inane guitar sounds. "Geez Celeste!" Amanda cried, "You can't flaunt your boobs at us like that! Not when you have to be out of here in fifteen minutes!" "Like them?" Celeste breathed in, eyes glinting, "You'll just have to lust after them like everybody else!" She grinned, "Until tonight anyways... Actually I don't want to mess up my Boss Lady outfit with this yummy food." She shook her towel out and wrapped it decorously around herself. "You're in a good mood!" Jules smiled as she got a kiss from Celeste. "And why shouldn't I be, sister dearest? The sun's out, my Wheel's a-wheelin' and I'm in Love!" "Oh? With whom are you in love?" Amanda asked. "Ah, beggin' your pardon, sweet darlin'! 'Whom-ses', you mean! Oh, too many to recount! Present company, of course, and, and, some others..." "And...?" "And? Oh yes, and 'He, who shall remain nameless until he returns', yes, him too." Celeste finished. "Yeah, I miss the big lug..." Amanda sighed. "Let's not talk about icky things, then... What are your plans today?" "Well, we have Harry's this afternoon, but not until 3..." Jules said. "I need to be there a little earlier, I want to run up the 447 with the sticking throttle and check the seals and the temperature..." Amanda added, "And I have to spend a hour with Max on Gyro 2. Otherwise, I'm yours." "Mmm," Celeste said between mouthfuls of cereal, "Let's do a flyover today at two, the patio would be finished by then. With MiniMax? I want the gang from Modern Architecture to get a picture of our ultra-modern survey and disportment tool. And let's start looking over the space in the clearing, I was thinking of redrawing the Wheel here at the Eyrie - I've got some ideas. How are we with supplies?" "Off hand, I think we're golden." Jules said, "The new beam-and-truss arrangement is saving about 20% in lumber at about a third less labor. Hmmm, maybe another 24 2x6's and another spool of the 1" 0/20 steel cable..." "That's about what I figured... now here's what I think, the cottage is a bit short of sleeping space and bathroom..." "You can say THAT again!" They chorused. "...but otherwise, cooking and eating is fine. My plan is to put a bedroom and a bathroom with a hottub up in the clearing. Then leave the wedge facing into the lake open, with a simple covering against the elements." "That sound good!" Amanda enthused, "So... that'll give us a patio 26 feet wide, right?" "Yeah, about that." Celeste agreed, "And we'll use it as the entrance to the sleeping area on one side and the hottub on the other." "Why not open up the hottub as well?" "That's a thought, can we use it in the Winter though?" "Maybe a sliding panel?" "Yeah, a sliding Lexan panel would be hardly any weight." Jules started laughing, "Are we putting a Lexan panel for the can too?" "And we KNOW who'll be in it most!" Amanda broke out. Still laughing loudly they cleared up the house and prepared for their day. Although construction was progressing at a good clip, Celeste could not avoid being a bit worried - so much was riding on it. What was a simple, fun thing had snowballed into a major project, and so many people were relying on her to pull off Bertram Mueller's dream. Thank goodness Greg and the building crew, after the fiasco the first day, were shaping up rather well. They even seemed to understand what she wanted done, after the initial two or three seconds of blank stares anyways, Celeste thought, smiling to herself. Then there was the magazine interview in the afternoon, and she had to be ready for THAT one! Imagine, Modern Architecture! Celeste was quite sure Marjorie had a hand in organizing that; wasn't it Modern that just last year had the big splash on the impact of Mueller-ism on modern architecture? Celeste sighed, she owed that dear lady so much... Then last night, just when she was ready to do some supplemental research for today's interview, those two horny bitches had jumped her and... Celeste smiled again at the memories, glancing over at Amanda fondly. Mandie's lovely golden-brown hair was streaming as she drove them to the Marina with her usual amazing competence. She had on a simple halter top and, Celeste knew, there was room to slip her hand down over the smooth flesh there... She could almost hear Mandie's soft moans as she teased and pleasured her - her friend, her lover, her confidant... Then you can multiply it, seven times over... Celeste sighed again, feeling she was the luckiest person on the earth and leaned, nestling against her sister. "Hmmm, thinking loving thoughts? My dear?" Jules murmured against her ear, adding a lick and a kiss. "I'm just so glad to have you all to talk with, love with, and THINK with!" She held her sister's hand and, noticing Amanda's glance, she winked at her, slowly lifting the leg facing Amanda and laughed gleefully as Mandie, blushing hotly, tried to concentrate on the driving but was unable to stop sneaking peeks up her skirt. Max was waiting to help tie up at the dock, with Marjorie by his side. So like a couple, Celeste suddenly realized, and ALWAYS together now! She murmured an absent minded answer to his greetings as she reacted in dazed shock at that revelation, grasping his hand to help herself ashore. "SLUT!" Amanda hissed in her ear, bumping softly up against her and running her hand up her skirt. It was Celeste's turn to gasp and blush as Amanda's hand found its way between her thighs and cupped her hard clitoris and very wet cunt. She had to take a deep breath as she straightened out her outfit and followed Max on shaky legs. The other two followed, buzzing and giggling insanely. "The phone's been ringing since seven this morning!" Marjorie confided, smiling widely, "Is my darling Celeste ready to wow the world today?" "I'm just trying not to disappoint you too much!" Celeste smiled warmly back, leafing quickly through the messages she was handed. "Hmmm, Marj, can you schedule Retail and Merchandising next Tuesday at 10? I want the lighting in place before their crew gets up here... Hmm, then we have to give Marketing Week equal time too - let's slot them for 1:00pm then. Two hours each, OK?" She turned to Amanda, "Hon, can you arrange with the restaurant, lunch for, umm, a dozen? We'll set up on the patio if the weather holds. I liked that menu last time - scaloppini; both seafood and veal?" "What about today's lunch? The Modern people? Split up the cameras and the writers again?" "Yeah, that worked well with Neodesigns, then you and Jules can take the camera crew on another tour. I'm sure we're good for another 2 more pages that way!" "Now that we have MiniMax, maybe we can invite one of them to go up on the flyover, could be good PR..." Jules mused. "Keep that in mind, OK babe? But I gotta run! Gotta check the Nikkei before the markets open..." Jules blew them kisses and headed into the marina and the telephone modem. Amanda headed into the workshop, already going a hundred miles an hour with Max on their bleeder bypass and bi-stacked headers. Celeste stood and watched until her friend's pert little ass disappeared, then she shook her head and smiled, "They're like two kittens in a field of catnip!" "They're more, they're like this," Marjorie held up crossed fingers, "First time in his life, Max has found someone who understands him completely. A soulmate." "And you...?" Marjorie blushed, but looked Celeste steadily in the eye, "I'll never know that part of Max, but I will try and provide for him elsewhere! And I know he'll do the same for me." Marjorie paused, "It's like what I share with you... nobody can ever replace it. Because it's here..." Marjorie tapped her heart, "Right next to Bert..." They touched hands and smiled. Marjorie left to make the arrangements with the interviews, as Greg and the crew drove up and began assembling the cedar planking for the patio covering the Wheel. Although the beam-and-truss assembly was arguably her design, it WAS based on concepts and components invented by Mueller. But the patio was hers, through and through; a surface that provided air-insulation for an R-factor of almost 200 for the display area underneath and, after consulting with Amanda and Sara, she'd added a simple hyperbolic form to the roof surface which aligned, and strengthened the structure. Simulation and careful monitoring appeared to bear out her expectations. Although the structure was already over-designed for gale-force winds, this knowledge would be invaluable for the next generation of Wheels. Another idea she had been toying with was of a SHAPED surface between the roof and patio, spiraling the wind energy into turbines. Her preliminary calculations indicated a possible 550KW from a 20" generator from 15mph wind once it could be channeled... But LATER! She warned herself, lots of time to work on it, AFTER this one was finished. Did Bertram Mueller KNOW what was possible with the circular structure? She wondered. Probably, and probably much more that had not occurred to her yet! The roof structure had taken valuable time - not just fabricating it, but CONVINCING Greg and his band of Merry Men that it COULD and SHOULD be done. She had used the 'Look' until she had a blistering headache, but she had prevailed. Now the boys call her "Mama Bear", mostly behind her back, but they MOVED when she needed things done. It was looking more and more like she would be able to pull it off. And it would not do if things were left unfinished, at least superficially, when James returned. She hugged herself, aware that she was grinning and blushing most unprofessionally. He affected her in ways she could not explain. With the girls, it was fun, and close, and loving. But James was all that, and more, and different, like he was part of her being. She missed him, his presence... more, his touch, she decided, and he was never far from her thoughts. She sighed. "Miss? Excuse me?" A voice woke Celeste from her reverie. "I'm Terry from ATComm," The young man waved a photo-ID at her, "Can you tell me who I should talk to about setting up the ADSL?" He looked earnestly at her, "Internet? Computer?" "Oh! Sure! This way!" She led him into the Wheel and up to the large rec room. Jules was curled up in the sofa with the laptop and about a mile of wires going into the wall. "JulieAnn will help you and I'll be outside if you need me!" Celeste said as a worker waved her out to the patio with a patented "I-told-you-it-couldn't-be-done-but-you-insisted!" look. As he shook hands with the new blonde Terry couldn't help but feel this was his lucky day. TWO gorgeous babes, hmmm, maybe they'll ask him to stay and help out... Especially THIS one, all soft and friendly, not like the other one... Too bossy, Terry decided, while this one is so... approachable! And she doesn't seem to be wearing any bra, either! "Er, Terry?" The living dream smiled, with dimples even, "You can let go my hand now..." Guiltily he dropped it and flustered, turned to prepare the cables. Terry could not shake the image of the hottie inside as he ran the wire from the Sub through a junction box into the room. He could have piggybacked on the existing Telco wiring but decided to give them the best signal he could - he had heard stories from the other guys in the office just how grateful some of the female customers get... He had to call the office to tweak the balun and loop-back equalization a few times and by the time the db meter showed a good strong carrier signal and he got the handshaking he wanted from the modem, the blond had disappeared. He wandered outside to look for her. He had to duck quickly out of the way of a couple of photographers who were taking pictures of the round building he was in. The other blond was busy talking with another man as he walked up. From their conversation, he figured the man was from a magazine and she was quite an important designer and the round building was some sort of major accomplishment. Terry looked at it but decided the blond was much easier on the eyes. He waited patiently, enjoying the view and the sound of her sultry voice. "Did you want to speak with me?" The hot blonde had turned her attention on him. Terry felt a shiver go through him, "Um, I, er, would like t-to talk to J-J-Julie..." "JulieAnn," The young woman supplied and smiled, and Terry sagged in her sudden warmth. "Ah, yes, JulieAnn," He sighed, gazing in her eyes, "About the computer..." Was all he could manage, he had completely forgotten what he wanted to say next. The blond lady pointed up, "That's her, you can ask her after she lands." To his amazement, an airplane flew slowly overhead and, based on the excited chatter, he was not the only one impressed by the sight. The photographers were pointing and laughing and snapping pictures as the big bird drifted by, made a loop and returned. A flash of light from the cockpit made him realize that someone else was taking pictures FROM the plane as well. He followed the aircraft's passage as it turned again and went out to the center of the lake, did a loopy kind of pirouette and glided to a landing on the water, drifting in and rolling up a ramp to the parking lot. JulieAnn jumped down and tied the plane down to the ground and walked over. She was accompanied by another young girl, darker and shorter, but every bit as mouth watering. Terry decided this was not a bad place to spend time at at all. "Did you want me?" JulieAnn smiled at him. "Yes! Yes! I WANT you!" Terry's mind gibbered, but outwardly, "Umm, just wanted to tell you the connection is up, and, and..." "Show me..." JulieAnn turned and led them back inside. He pointed out the "Network" light on the modem, "This says the link is online and active." "But the computers? Are they working yet?" "I wouldn't know, I'm only here to connect the adsl." "Oh, someone else is coming out to connect the computers?" "I don't think so, I'm here to connect you to the Internet..." He faded as the girl LOOKED at him and Terry felt the same cold shiver he had felt before. Suddenly she smiled, "But we don't REALLY know it works until we can get online with the computer, right?" She blinked at him and Terry found himself nodding frantically. "Oh, that's so GOOD!" She lit up the room with another smile and went and curled up with her laptop. Terry scurried to work on the computer and soon had Explorer browsing to MSN. He turned and the blond was looking frustrated at her screen, maybe this was his chance, he decided, after he impressed her with his MSWord... "Do you need help with the computer, Miss?" "Er, no. Thank you." She smiled, somewhat expectantly, he felt. Oh, playing coy, eh? He dusted himself off and sauntered over, "Maybe if you SHOWED me..." Ah, Excel, he realized immediately, a BRAINY blonde! Probably stuck with a formula or Data Sorting. Then his eyes goggled. The screen was filled with tiny numbers and calculations. He realized it must be a financial report of some sort, he could make out a few names of major companies on the left column. There were even little charts on the page which updated itself every few seconds. The girl pointed to one of the flickering charts on the corner, "THIS company here. It has a good strong core business, room to expand, decent growth, and yet its shares are in the doldrums!" "Er, what sector is it in?" Terry said, trying hard to appear knowledgeable. "Telecommunications; a 3-city cellular license, plus the corridors, good tech background, nice little side as an ISP..." "Hmmm, that's interesting. I feel I SHOULD know that company. I mean I work in that field!" "You SHOULD!" The lovely face looked up at him, "It's YOUR company! Are you guys incompetent, or..." Terry's face grew hot, "Er, it's not that, the guys in the office are good guys, fair with us and good with the customers. Just that we had problems - we bought into the Iridium technology and then they folded, and by that time we had committed customers and no bandwidth." He sighed, for a while he too had been worried about being laid off, "But things are turning around, we just signed the Duo-Phase contract and we'll be announcing a few more big customers." His voice dropped, "You're lucky, yours is the last small installation we'll be doing for a while. Eight new buildings starting next month!" Terry glowed, with his 1/10 of 1 percent share, he would be living it up! The girl, JulieAnn, stabbed a key on the keyboard, and sighed, "So things are on the up and up, you say?" At Terry's eager nod she continued, "That's good, 'cuz I own 22% of your company now." Somehow it did not seem at all inappropriate for Terry to bow and say, "Thank you very much Ma'am!" as he turned to leave. ============= (C) Copyright 2002. M.C. All Rights Reserved. All Reproduction for fee or profit forbidden. Copies of my stories can be downloaded from: </files/Authors/MikeC/> Send all comments and suggestions to MikeC@NSpace.net