DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.


John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezak
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 3: Robes of Acumen
Chapter 3

John, Ed, Beth, and Kelly sat on one side of the conference table in 
the library. John, dressed in his robe, held his hands in his head and 
groaned occasionally.  Beth and Kelly, dressed in their work 
clothes, kept looking at each other and giggling. Ed, dressed in his 
normal blue jeans and work shirt, did his best not to look across the 
table.

The staff filled the other side of the table. All of them were naked. 
Cathy was saying, "From my discussions with Marguerite, it was 
my understanding that dress was optional in this house."

The new handyman and assistant security man, Greg, nodded in 
agreement. He echoed, "Hey, that was my understanding when I 
interviewed."

Sarah stated, "I told you I was a nudist when I interviewed."

Cathy stated, "Besides, I don't think Jim was upset. I'm sure that he 
enjoyed the view tremendously. I know I do."

Beth stated, "Well, we can make a new rule. The upstairs and back 
of the house are clothing optional, but the front of the house is 
clothing required."

Sarah pouted, but Cathy stated, "that sounds fair."

John added, "That means real clothing, not just bathrobes."

The staff nodded in agreement. Kelly giggled as she asked, "Is 
there anything else?"

Cathy raised her hand asking, "Can we get the optional benefits 
early?"

John groaned. Kelly and Beth looked at each other with a smile. 
They were enjoying this. Ed shook his head. Kelly stated, "Sure. 
You've been with us for a month. How about at the end of six 
months?"

Cathy and Sarah pouted. Greg shrugged as he stated, "Okay."

Bob raised his hand. At a look from Ed, he asked, "Can we hire 
another man?"

Greg agreed, "Amen to that."

"May I ask why?"

"Cathy is about to wear my dick off."

"Amen to that."

Cathy giggled. John groaned. Ed stated, "We'll take that up at 
another meeting."

John nodded, "If there isn't anything else that is pressing, this 
meeting is over."

All of the staff, with the exception of Ling, got up and left. Ling 
meekly cleared her throat. Kelly looked up at Ling asking, "What's 
the matter honey?"

Ling looked at John and Ed for a moment before she started to cry. 
Sobbing, she asked, "Can I talk to you and Beth privately?"

John and Ed looked at each other with concern and then stood to 
leave the room. John leaned down so that his head was between 
Kelly and Beth. He pulled them each closer. He whispered, "Take 
good care of her. Do what ever it takes to make her happy. If 
there's anything we can do to help her, let her know we'll do our 
best."

John and Ed left the room. They headed over to the swimming 
pool. Ed stated, "I had no idea that would happen when he hired 
Cathy and Sarah."

"Neither did I."

Ed took a couple of steps and then stated, "If any of them upset 
Ling, we're letting them go."

John nodded in agreement. He said, "You bet."

The men reached the pool. They quickly stripped and climbed into 
the pool. They could feel the tension leaving their bodies. They 
swam for a while enjoying the feel of the cool water. Their play 
was interrupted by a dressed Cathy entering the room. She cleared 
her throat and then stated,  "There is an Ann Moore here to see 
you."

John answered, "I'll be right out."

Ed laughed as he teased, "Sorry that you have to work buddy, I'll 
be here swimming and thinking of you."

Cathy interrupted, "She wants to talk to both of you."

John laughed as he teased back. "I'll be sitting in that meeting 
watching you and knowing that you would rather be here."

The men climbed out of the pool and went to the cabinet 
containing the towels. They quickly dried themselves and then 
threw the damp towels in the hamper. As they were dressing, 
Cathy asked, "Where should I take her? The library is currently 
being used."

"We'll meet her in the formal dining room. Have Marguerite fix 
coffee and some sort of snack, please."

"Okay, John." She left to perform her tasks. 

John and Ed finished dressing. Both were curious what could bring 
Ann here. She hadn't been here since the big raid and neither man 
knew what had happened that afternoon to her. John asked, "Do 
you think this is business or personal?"

"I've got no idea."

They entered the formal dining room to find Marguerite setting out 
a carafe of coffee and a plate of her special chocolate chip cookies. 
Ann and Marguerite shared a special look. Marguerite saw them 
enter and nudged Ann. Ann quickly turned around stating, 
"Congratulations boys, you caught another serial killer. I just got 
back from the guys house. We found more than a dozen bodies in 
the yard. He was using the temporary agency to pick his next 
victim."

Ed shuddered as he stated, "That guy was pure evil."

John added, "I'm so glad that we didn't hire him."

Ann said, "Well, he's not going anywhere for a long time. Thanks a 
lot. I feel good when I help lock someone like that away."

John stated, "So do I."

Ann was quiet for a moment. She looked to the door of the kitchen. 
Marguerite peeked out and nodded to her. Ann stated, "My 
husband and I would like to invite you two and your wives over for 
dinner."

"Sure, we can come whenever you want so long as Beth and Kelly 
are free from work," John stated. He turned and looked toward the 
back of the house. He added, "They should be done soon. Would 
you like to make the arrangements with them directly?"

"No, that's okay. I will call and ask Cathy. Just let her know that 
you've accepted the invitation"

 Ed nodded, "Sure, no problem. However, the first thing they are 
going to ask us is what kind of clothes they should wear."

Ann looked over at the door again. Marguerite smiled at her. 
"None would be best."

John did his best not to look flustered as he said, "Okay. We'll let 
them know that."

Ann stood up stating, "Well, I had better get back to the office."

She abruptly turned around and left the house. Ed and John 
watched her go and then stared at each other. John asked, "Has the 
whole world gone crazy today?"

"I think so."

John reached over and poured himself a cup of coffee. He grabbed 
a cookie and took a bite out of it. Puzzled, he asked, "She was here 
for five minutes?"

Marguerite came out of the kitchen. She answered, "No. She's been 
here since the meeting was over."

"Why didn't someone get us earlier?"

She answered, "She was talking to me."

"Oh, I didn't know that you knew her."

Marguerite smiled as she thought back to that evening she had 
spent with Ann. Ann had earned to play. She answered, "We are 
very good friends."

John nodded, "Good. She can use a good friend like you."

Ed remembered that Ann had not known Marguerite the day of the 
big operation. He looked speculatively at Marguerite and decided 
they had a major clue as to what happened to Ann. He hadn't 
thought Ann was like that. Of course, he was wrong in his 
deduction. 

Ed poured himself some coffee and took a sip. He changed the 
discussion to the problem that his wives were sorting out with 
Ling. He asked, "Are the new people causing any problems?"

Marguerite surprised at the change in subject answered, "no. 
Why?"

Ed heard the truth in her words. He shrugged, "Just curious."

She left the room. Ed looked at John, "Well, I think we know 
where Ann disappeared to that evening."

John looked at Ed in surprise as the pieces fell into place.  
"Really?"

"Really."

"Wow, I would never have thought Ann was like that."

Ed added, "I don't think the staff are the reason why Ling is upset."

John asked, "She was telling the truth that she wasn't aware of any 
problems from the new staff?"

"Yes."

"Drat. This must really be serious."

Cathy entered the room. Ed noticed her entrance and stated, "Ann 
has invited us to dinner one night. She will call you and arrange a 
night when everyone is free."

"Okay, I've got everyone's schedules."

"Good."

Cathy looked at them for a second. She said, "Kelly and Beth 
would like to talk to you in the library. They look quite upset."

John and Ed ran out of the room to the library. Kelly and Beth 
were sitting there with tears in their eyes. John asked, "What's the 
matter?"

Beth stated, "Ling wants to leave."

John's jaw dropped, "What? Why?"

Kelly answered, "She's fallen in love with a married man."

Ed asked, "Why would that make her want to leave?"

Angrily John asked, "Who is it? How dare he play with her 
feelings like that!"

Beth answered, "She didn't say, but we know who it is."

Kelly burst out in tears. She cried, "There's got to be something we 
can do."

Beth hugged Kelly and comforted her by saying, "I know. I don't 
want her to go either. I love her too."

John and Ed went over to the women and put their arms around 
them in a group hug. Ed stated, "None of us want her to go."

Kelly pulled out of the group hug. She left the room for a couple of 
minutes and returned with a box of tissues. She gave a couple to 
Beth and took some herself. She turned to John requesting, "Could 
you go get Jim?"

"Sure, I'll call him right now."

"No, go get him personally."

John shrugged as he answered, "Okay, I'll go shortly."

"Please, John. Could you go now?"

John nodded and stated his agreement, "sure Kelly. Anything you 
want."

John left the room. He was confused by Kelly's insistence that he 
get Jim now. If she really needed Jim quickly, a telephone call 
would be faster than driving there and picking him up. He went to 
his room and got dressed to leave the house. He grabbed his 
walking stick and headed to the garage. He caught sight of Ling, 
just as she disappeared into her room. She was still crying.

John returned with Jim in tow. Jim kept asking why he had been 
summoned, but John was unable to tell him except there was a 
problem with Ling. Of course, Jim thought John was being his 
normal secretive self. They entered the room to find Beth, Kelly, 
and Ed talking quietly with smiles on their faces. Ed turned to Jim 
and then requested, "We need a ruling on a point of order. Can a 
majority of stock holders in the family hold a vote in the absence 
of another stock holder and have their decision stand?"

Jim thought about it for a second. He answered, "If they own a 
majority of the stock, what they decide goes."

Kelly looked at John and stated, "While you were out, we held a 
vote and the motion passed."

John sat down and looked around the room. He had a queasy 
feeling in his stomach, almost as if he had been cheated on. He 
looked around the room before asking, "So what did you decide?"

"We decided to sell shares for the Carter clan to Ling."

John stared at them in shock. "Why?"

Kelly came over to him and held his hand. "Sometimes you are a 
fool. Don't you know that the married man she fell in love with 
was you?"

John slowly sank to the floor as the enormity of what she had said 
sunk in. He looked around the room from his position on the floor. 
Everyone that he looked at nodded his or her agreement. He 
realized that he was the cad that had played with her feelings. He 
numbly nodded while saying, "I vote with the majority."

Beth smiled at John knowing the he would have spent an hour 
denying that Ling was in love with him, but with the decision 
made he would go along with it. She said, "I guess one of us 
should go tell her."

John decided that she meant he should be the one that goes. He 
took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'll go."

Beth shook her head as she countered. "No, I'll go. It needs to be 
one of the women in the family."

Jim stood there looking around wondering what he was supposed 
to do. Beth left and Kelly turned to Jim. "Jim, are there papers that 
have to be signed or anything?"

Jim answered, "no. She just has to buy the stocks. I can record the 
sale."

Beth turned to John, "John, you can take Jim back to the office 
now."

Ed told Jim, "I'm sorry you got dragged out here. Kelly decided 
that it was necessary to get John out of the house so that we could 
talk."

Jim smiled, as he understood the dynamics of this family. He said, 
"I understand."

Beth stated, "I also saw that you had submitted the extended family 
contracts. Any time you and Sherry want to come over is fine with 
us."

Ed stared at Beth. In a stated of shock, he asked, "Huh?"

Beth smiled, "Yes, they requested to be extended family 
members."

Ed looked at Jim in disbelief. He asked, "Does Sherry know?"

"It was her idea. I think she's interested in sleeping with you, Ed."

Ed was thunderstruck by the revelation that Sherry would want 
that. He slowly walked over to John and sank down to the floor 
with him. He wondered how she could have forgiven him enough 
for that.

Beth looked at the two men sitting on the floor. Neither one of 
them would be in any state of mind to function any time soon. She 
turned to Jim and stated, "I think I had better drive you back to the 
office."

John and Ed sat on the floor for quite a while. Finally, John turned 
to Ed declaring, "Everyone went crazy today."

"Yeah. We still have almost the whole day to go yet."

"What time is it?"

Ed looked at the clock and stated, "The clock says ten thirty."

John felt a strong urge to leave the house and go to the bar. He 
nodded. "If we walk slow, we can reach the bar in time for the 
lunch crowd."

Ed laughed as he joked, "I'll buy you one of them sissy drinks!"

The two men got up and headed out of the house. They walked 
slowly; stopping to talk to everyone they encountered. Maria was 
outside the house and waved to them. They ambled over and 
chatted for half an hour. She was excited with some news that had 
only arrived the day before. Her son was going to college on one of 
John's scholarships. John wished him luck in his school activities.

The men went on down the street. Although it was now 
approaching noon, many people were walking around the 
downtown area. The day was looking up. They entered the bar and 
found a seat at the counter. Shirley looked over at them and smiled. 
John held up two fingers. "Wimp drinks over here."

She laughed as she replied, "Cokes coming right up."

Ed looked at Shirley noticing the happy expression on her face. He 
said, "You're positively glowing. What's up?"

She leaned over and set the cokes on the counter. In a quiet voice, 
she answered him, "My boyfriends and girlfriend are coming to 
town."

John looked at her in surprise while Ed asked, "Can you give me a 
hint who they are?"

She whispered, "One was burned, one is blind, and one argued 
with John."

John sat back in shock. "You don't mean?"

She nodded with a smile. "Exactly."

Ed looked puzzled at Shirley, "I never thought you were the type to 
go for a group marriage."

She stated, "Hey, if the bigoted and bully Ed Biggers can do it, 
then so can pretty and caring Shirley."

"That's formerly bigoted and bully Ed Biggers, if you don't mind," 
replied Ed with a laugh. 

Shirley smiled at his retort. She told them, "Actually, watching you 
gave me the nerve to try it."

Ed looked at her in shock. He asked, "I gave you the nerve to try 
it?"

Shirley laughed as she said, "Yes. Imagine that, Ed Biggers is a 
role model."

John cried out, "Oh no, the world is stopping!"

Ed was silent in thought. He was actually shocked that he had 
influenced anyone. He looked at Shirley and replied, "Thank you 
for the compliment. I'm overwhelmed."

John realized that Ed's tone was serious and that he had been 
deeply touched by her statements. He turned to Ed to explain. "Ed, 
you did a very brave thing by forming such an unconventional 
relationship in front of a town that has known you your whole life. 
Your previous reputation and your transformation into a nice guy 
at the same time that you entered our lifestyle have fueled a lot of 
thought. I'm not surprised that many people have looked at you and 
seen the beneficial changes that entered your life. I'm sure some 
people wonder if they couldn't have the same benefits in their own 
lives. Let's face it, you are a role model of a man that has made a 
change for the better."

Shirley added, "You bet."

Ed stated, "You give me too much importance."

Shirley laughed as she said, "Now you sound just like John!"

Mary came into the bar and stepped behind the counter to stand 
beside Shirley. John greeted her, "Hello Mary. I heard you got 
yourself two boyfriends and a girlfriend."

Mary grinned and answered, "Yes. You heard right. Little ugly me 
has got it all."

John laughed. "Good for you."

The four of them chatted about the pros and cons of the kind of 
family structure of the Carter Clan. Their conversation was 
interrupted by one of the troublemakers in town. He had given Ed 
a lot of trouble about his so-called conversion to a faggot, despite 
the fact that Ed had two wives. He bullied his way to the bar, 
stating, "With a face that ugly behind the counter, this bar is going 
to lose lots of customers."

Shirley's face turned white with fury and she almost climbed over 
the counter to get at the man. Ed almost took off the guys head, but 
he was stopped with a glance from John. Mary used to such 
comments replied, "I may be ugly on the outside, but you are 
putrid mass of ugliness on the inside. I'd rather be me."

The man was about to say something back, but John stepped in 
front of him. He stated, "Sir, you are at a crossroad in your life. 
You have three choices, continue to say what you were going to 
say, go over to the table and sit there, or apologize to the lady. 
Depending on the choice you take, you have different futures. I 
want you to visualize your future, thirty years from now, based on 
what choice you make today."

"You're going to tell me that if I insult the lady you are going to 
kill me, right?"

John shook his head and stared into the man's eyes. His gaze was 
level and calm. He answered, "No matter what choice you make, 
Ed and I will do nothing. You are selecting your future. What kind 
of woman will go for a man that repeatedly insults women because 
they don't measure up to his criteria of beauty? What kind of 
woman will go for a man that takes a cheap shot and then walks 
away? What kind of woman will go for a man that apologizes 
when he makes a stupid mistake and learns from the lesson? Then 
ask yourself, which kind of woman do you want in your life."

The man stood there staring at John. He was about to talk back to 
him, but the words John had uttered echoed in his mind. He looked 
around and saw the futures looming large in front of him. Only one 
of them was bright. He turned to Mary, "I'm sorry. That was an 
incredibly mean thing for me to say. You are right, there is an 
ugliness in me."

Mary was shocked at the transformation in the man's behavior. She 
responded, "I understand. Thank you for your nice words."

He shook his head and requested, "If you will excuse me, I have 
some thinking to do."

Mary replied, "Thank you."

The man left the bar. Shirley turned to John and stated, in a voice 
filled with awe, "It was like you hit him with a baseball bat. I've 
never seen anything like it."

John shrugged as he answered, "Most people are blind to some 
flaw inside them. It takes just the right words to wake them up. If 
they see it, then there is hope they can change it."

Mary laughed and said, "He should know that you never win when 
you argue with John Carter."

Ed said, "You never win when you fight with John either."

Mary stated, "By the way, Sidney said that was a great call on the 
serial killer the other day. He called me this morning and said they 
nailed him."

John stated, "Ed really didn't like that guy. Said the evil just 
dripped off him."

Ed finished his drink and nudged John. "Hey, if you never want to 
loose an argument, we had better head home. I bet our three wives 
are about to go crazy on us!"

Shirley asked, "Three wives? Who's the third?"

"Ling. Beth, Kelly, and I decided to make her the offer today while 
John was out."

Mary looked puzzled, "You did it while John was out? Why on 
earth would you do that?"

Ed smirked, "Yeah, she's in love with the big guy and he was blind 
to it. We had to intercede on her behalf."

 John shrugged. He explained, "I'm the first to admit that there are 
a lot of things that I'm pretty stupid about."

Shirley said with a smile, "The only time you are unaware of how 
people feel is when you are the subject. Women love you and you 
act as if they were your sister. Men admire you and you shake their 
hand while complementing them on their superior qualities. You 
have no idea how you affect people."

John shook his head in denial. He retorted, "You're exaggerating."

Mary burst out laughing, "You are too modest. I know at least a 
dozen women that would sleep with you in a second. Ed has 
almost as big a following."

Now it was Ed's turn to react in denial. He blurted, "You're 
exaggerating."

"I know of at least ten women here in town that would sleep with 
you in a minute. Some of them are even married. There are going 
to be a lot of women that will be very jealous of Ling."

John and Ed looked at each other. They both knew what the other 
was thinking; they didn't believe what the women had said. 
However, Ed's truth sense told him that she believed what she was 
saying and that bothered him. John stated, "Well, we better get 
back to the house."

They entered the house quietly hoping to avoid notice. Their hopes 
were immediately dashed when Cathy came around the corner, 
"Shirley said you'd be here about now. Your wives want you in the 
informal living room."

John and Ed looked at each other as if they were two boys caught 
with their hands in the cookie jar. They hurried to the living room. 
They entered to find Kelly, Beth, and Ling talking while pausing 
occasionally to sip their iced tea. Kelly looked up, "Oh, there you 
are. We were waiting for you."

John stated, "I had an urge to go to the bar."

"So what happened at the bar?"

"Well, we ran into Mary there. I didn't even know she was in the 
area."

"Which Mary?"

"The one with the burn on her face." Ed answered with her most 
distinguishing characteristic. He added, "She, Shirley, Sidney 
Fitzpatrick, and Edward are an item now."

Ling stated, "I know all about that."

John asked, "How do you know about that?"

"Until today, I was a member of a woman's club that used to meet 
at the bar. Shirley quit a couple of weeks ago because she decided 
that she was happy with her current situation."

Kelly asked, "Why didn't Beth or I know about a woman's club?"

Ling blushed. "I'd rather not say."

Beth asked, "So what else happened at the bar?"

Ed stated, "Some guy insulted Mary. John set him straight. It was 
actually an amazing thing to watch."

John shrugged his shoulders. "I just asked him what kind of 
woman would want a man that did what he did."

Beth made a groan as she said, "That's a very cutting thing to say 
to someone."

Kelly asked, "So did anything else happen there?"

John thought for a minute, "Oh, we let Shirley know about Ling."

Ling knew the answer to the logical question, but asked it anyway. 
"What did she say about that?"

John stated, "She started exaggerating about the number of women 
that would love to sleep with Ed and me. She said that a lot of 
women will be very jealous of Ling."

Ed added, "It was strange. She was telling the truth as she knew it, 
but we both know that neither one of us is as popular as she 
stated."

Beth and Kelly smiled knowingly at each other. They knew the 
truth and still had a hard time believing that John and Ed were so 
oblivious about the effect they had on people. They just strolled 
through life being nice to everyone. Ling burst out laughing so 
hard that she had to hold her side. She had just imagined John 
married to the entire town.




