JC: Ed Biggers
Part 6: Doyen
Chapter 06
By
Lazlo Zalezac
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezac, 2004

Ed stepped into the infirmary and looked at Dan lying in the bed. 
Sarah, naked as always, sat in the chair next to the bed. She looked 
up from the magazine she had been reading. Frowning, she said, 
"He keeps waking up and then fainting. I don't understand."

Looking at the man in bed, he replied, "We're going to go to the 
employment office to find some more staff. You might want to get 
dressed. I'll sit here with Dan until Maria comes over."

Sarah set down the magazine and left the room. Even though she 
had interviewed people every time that they had hired new staff, it 
still seemed weird to her that she had such control over who would 
work there. It was an enormous responsibility and one that she 
took seriously. 

Ed sat down in the chair that she had so recently occupied and 
picked up the magazine. It was a financial magazine with articles 
describing various investment options. He knew that she was very 
careful with her money and wondered what she was planning to do 
with her inheritance.

His musings were interrupted by a groan from Dan. Dan was 
staring at him and asked, "Am I dead?"

"No, you're perfectly healthy. Why would you think you were 
dead?" asked Ed.

"I'm sure that some woman had sex with me. I keep waking up and 
finding a naked woman sitting in that chair," replied Dan confused. 
He added, "I was sure that I had died and gone to heaven."

Ed chuckled as he thought about telling Kelly and Sarah the effect 
they had on their guest. Sarah would be delighted. He said, "Well, 
my wife had sex with you after your accident to cure your broken 
back. We brought you back here and had Sarah watch over you. 
She's a nudist. So you aren't dead and you weren't dreaming."

The idea that he had slept with Ed's wife scared Dan as he had 
visions of the cowboy beating him to a pulp in jealousy. He 
stuttered as he said, "I didn't mean to have sex with your wife. She 
just showed up and I couldn't help myself."

Laughing at the man, Ed said, "Well, I suppose with your broken 
back there wasn't too much that you could do to stop her."

"Right," replied Dan in relief. Then he realized that Ed had just 
said that his back had been broken. He moved his arms and legs, 
finding that everything worked correctly.

"She fixed your back," stated Ed noticing the man's movements. 

"It couldn't have been broken. You can't cure a broken back," 
replied Dan as his engineering background started to raise its head. 
He believed in the laws of physics and knew that it took time for 
bones to heal and that nerves didn't. 

"I can't, but Kelly can. She's a Druid healer," explained Ed. 

"That doesn't explain it."

"The Goddess gave her the gift to heal through sex. It is a very 
powerful gift and can bring someone back from the point of death. 
I'm sure that you won't believe me, but you can ask the Sheriff and 
the Doctor about the state of your back before Kelly had sex with 
you."

Dan didn't believe in supernatural powers, but chose to reserve his 
judgement. He wasn't going to argue the point, particularly when a 
successful argument meant that he would have been able to stop 
the woman from making love to him in the middle of the street. He 
said, "Well, I'm glad to learn that I'm not dead."

Ed sat back in his chair and examined the young man. Finally, he 
said, "I know you're pretty tired. I suggest that you sleep here 
where Maria can watch over you in case you have some problems 
or nightmares about your recent experiences."

The idea that he was supposed to sleep knowing that a woman was 
watching him disturbed Dan. There was no way that he would be 
able to sleep. He countered, "I couldn't sleep around a woman."

"Why not?" asked Ed surprised by the comment.

"I'm not good around women. I get nervous and all tongue-tied 
around them."

Puzzled, Ed said, "They are just people."

"People with breasts, legs, and lips. I just look at a woman and my 
brain shuts down." Even talking about women made Dan blush.

"How about where you work?" asked Ed incredulous that all 
women could have that kind of effect on a man. 

"I can't work with women," answered Dan admitting aloud the fact 
that he couldn't work with women. It was a shame because he 
knew it was keeping him back in his career. His employers kept 
him in a back office where he could do his design work, 
recognizing that he was one of the best at it. The problem was that 
others presented it and often gained the credit for the work that he 
had done.

Dan was telling the truth. Ed's truth sense was screaming at him 
that the guy was being totally honest. This wasn't the normal kind 
of bashfulness around women. It was a phobia of them that was 
just as crippling as Agoraphobia, Arachnophobia, and 
Claustrophobia. He didn't know what a fear of the opposite sex 
was called, but this guy had it. Ed said, "I'll tell Maria not to come 
in here unless you are screaming, but I must insist that you stay 
here. You've been through a lot this morning."

Dan could see the sense behind Ed's suggestion. With great 
reluctance, he said, "Okay."

"She'll probably spend her time in the swimming pool."

"Who is Maria?" asked Dan curious if she was another staff 
member.

Ed answered, "Your neighbor, two doors down."

Dan wasn't sure which woman Ed was talking about. There was a 
young one and an older one that lived two houses down from him. 
He hoped that it wasn't the younger woman, she was really pretty. 
The other was almost old enough that she wouldn't affect him that 
strongly. "Oh."

Ed said, "I have to go now. Get some sleep."

The family was gathered along one side of a long table. Betsy sat 
at the end farthest away from the door. Next to her sat Ling and 
Leroy. Ed sat between Kelly and Leroy. There were empty seats 
where Linda and the other kids would have been sitting. Ed didn't 
feel right about hiring someone without the whole family present, 
but they needed staff.

They weren't there five minutes before Betsy started wiggling 
around in her chair. Ling turned to the child and said, "Practice 
your Tai Chi."

Happy at the suggestion, Betsy stood and walked to the front of the 
room where she would have the space necessary for her exercise. 
Ling watched with a critical eye as her daughter started going 
through the movements. After a minute, she said, "Slower. Make 
your motions slower and smoother."

Betsy didn't say anything, but her motions slowed down and 
became smoother. At the slow speed, little bobbles became more 
pronounced. Every time she made an error, Ling called her on it 
and had her repeat the move until it was perfect. 

Ed watched as Betsy performed the exercises, amazed at the self-
discipline that the child demonstrated. It was strange for a child her 
age to be so in touch with her body. Other kids her age were still 
stumbling around, awkward and unable to catch a ball. Thinking 
about it, he realized that he had never seen her stumble. 

A knock on the door interrupted the exercise. Betsy ran to the door 
and looked back at her father for permission to let the person in the 
room. When Ed nodded, she opened the door and skipped back to 
her chair. Cathy entered the room and closed the door behind her 
looking around anxiously. Ed said, "You already work for us."

Cathy laughed and said, "We just wanted to clarify something. The 
candidate that we like is a single mother with a child that is a year 
and a half old. Is that a problem?"

Immediately assessing what it meant to her, Betsy shouted, "Oh 
boy. A playmate!"

As everyone chuckled at the comment, Ed looked around the room. 
Everyone basically shrugged as if to say that they didn't know what 
to say. Ed commented, "I expect with Sarah and you getting 
married, that we can expect you to become pregnant before long. 
Am I wrong?"

Cathy smiled as she answered, "I'm looking forward to becoming a 
mother."

"I don't see a problem." Ed looked around the room and saw that 
everyone was nodding their heads in agreement with him. He 
looked over at Cathy and said, "Send her in."

Cathy smiled and went out of the room. A minute later, there was a 
timid knock on the door. Ed was about to call out, but Betsy 
appeared beside the door and opened it. She looked up at the 
woman and said, "Wow! You look like an owl."

In a sharp voice, Ling said a few words in Chinese that were 
clearly a rebuke for her comment. Ed didn't know if Betsy 
understood what Ling had said, but she returned to her chair in a 
very subdued manner. He looked up at the little woman at the door 
and realized that she did look like an owl. She wore huge round 
glasses and had her hair cut short. It dawned on him that the 
woman looked familiar, but he couldn't place her. 

The woman walked forward and set her resume on the desk in 
front of him while looking directly at him the entire time. He 
picked it up and read down the page seeing her name, Mary Gold. 
It suggested that he had met her, but he still couldn't place her. It 
was disturbing to see that she had a long history of temp jobs, 
apparently unable to get a full time job. Turning over to the next 
page, he saw that she had a letter of recommendation from Lynn, 
his secretary at the business. He smiled as he realized that this was 
the woman with the sexy voice. 

He didn't say a word, but handed the resume to Kelly. She skipped 
the resume and read the recommendation letter. Looking over at 
Ed, she raised an eyebrow as she handed the resume back to him. 
He handed it over to Leroy without saying a word. Kelly nudged 
him to get his attention. He asked, "What?"

"Why didn't you say you knew her?" asked Kelly. She looked over 
at the small woman as she asked her question trying to see what 
her reaction would be. 

Ling bent forward, not having had a chance to see the resume, and 
asked, "You know her, Ed?"

"Yes, I know her," replied Ed.

"So?" asked Ling.

"I'd rather have your opinion before I say more," replied Ed. As he 
spoke, Mary shifted nervously from foot to foot, as she didn't 
understand the dynamics of the situation. She suspected that Ed 
would be for her, but the wives would argue against. He said, "In 
fact, I'll excuse myself from this decision."

Leroy looked at Ed and said, "Please explain why."

"Nope," replied Ed. He sat back and wondered how the family 
would react to her voice. 

Ling asked, "Mary, how is it that you know Ed?"

Clearing her throat, Mary answered, "I was a temp in his office for 
three weeks. I only met him one time, but he was very kind."

Staring at Mary with an incredulous look on her face, Ling turned 
and looked at Ed. With a voice like that, she had no doubts that Ed 
would sleep with her in a minute. For that matter, that voice was so 
sexy that it made her want to sleep with Mary. She asked, "What 
did Ed do that was so kind?"

"I was eight and a half months pregnant. He was a little upset that I 
was working that late in my pregnancy. Lynn said that he would 
pay me even if I stayed at home because he didn't think that 
pregnant women should work."

Betsy said, "Your voice is so soft and gentle. I like it."

Glancing at Ling, Leroy could see that Mary's voice was having an 
effect on her, too. He had an erection just from listening and 
wondered how he could work with her. Kelly was the only one that 
seemed unaffected by the voice. She asked, "Why so many temp 
jobs and nothing permanent?" 

Mary answered, "My voice doesn't give me a very professional 
presence. The people I work for tend to get teased about hiring a 
fluff girl instead of a secretary. I could make a great living doing 
phone sex, but I'm actually not a very sexual person."

Kelly could believe it, but she looked to Ed for confirmation. He 
nodded his head to let her know that the woman was speaking the 
truth. Ed looked around at everyone trying to assess what they 
thought, but each one gave a sign of indecision. The voice was a 
drawback, but he couldn't see that being a major problem. He was 
about to ask her to leave the room, when he recalled that she had 
been expecting twins, but Cathy had mentioned that she had a 
child. He said, "I thought you were expecting twins."

"I had twins. The smaller one died of Sudden Infant Death 
Syndrome," replied Mary with tears in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," replied Ed feeling the irony of his gift 
from the Two-Sided One. One of the problems with his gift was 
that bad news told truthfully had a sweet ring to it. 

Kelly and Ling felt for the young woman. They understood the 
anguish that she must have felt on finding her child dead in its crib. 
Wondering if that was the reason why she was a single mother, 
Kelly asked, "What about the father?"

"He died in a car accident shortly after I became pregnant. Killed 
by a drunk driver," answered Mary in a flat tone of voice that still 
sounded sexy.

"I'm sorry to hear that," replied Leroy. He didn't know what to else 
to say.

Ed looked around the table and then said, "Mary, would you mind 
stepping out the door for a few minutes?"

Convinced that this meant she wasn't going to get the job, she 
stepped out the door. Once she had closed the door, she broke 
down and started crying. The receptionist came over and tried to 
comfort her knowing how many people reacted when they weren't 
hired.

Ed asked, "Kelly, should we hire her?"

"Yes," answered Kelly without the least sign of hesitation.

"Leroy?"

Leroy shifted in his seat, uncomfortable due to the swelling of his 
cock, and answered, "I don't know."

"Ling?"

Ling, very embarrassed, looked away as she answered, "Her voice 
makes me want to perform obscene acts with her. I don't know." 

"Betsy?"

"I like her. She has a neat voice and looks like an Owl," answered 
Betsy as though that was enough of a reason to hire her.

Ed wondered if Mary didn't try to look like an owl rather than a 
sexy young woman because of her voice. Ed commented, "I 
wonder if she realizes that our lifestyle tends to be a little more 
liberal than most."

Leroy said, "She'll know something is up if she comes into the 
pool and every time she says something to me, I get an erection."

"She's going to think that I have permanently stiff nipples," replied 
Ling.

The discussion went on for another five minutes, as everyone was 
in agreement that it was their problems and not the candidate's 
problem that was an issue. He thought about how John would 
handle this situation. Undoubtedly, he would say some single line 
of wisdom and everyone would know how to act. Finally, Ed said, 
"We are afraid of hiring her because of our reactions to her voice. 
An interview is a two-way street. Not only are we to make sure 
that we can work with her, but she has to make sure that she can 
work with us. I suggest that we present our problem to her and let 
her decide."

Leroy looked at Ed with a funny look on his face for a moment and 
then said, "You sounded just like John there for a moment. You're 
right."

"You're right, Ed. We should let her decide," said Ling.

Ed looked over at Betsy and saw that she was ready to move. He 
said, "Betsy, why don't you go get Mary."

Betsy was out of her chair in a flash. She ran to the door and 
opened it. Looking out the door, she couldn't find Mary. She 
stepped out a few steps until she saw Mary crying in a chair. Going 
over to her, Betsy asked, "Why are you crying?"

"Because they aren't going to hire me," answered Mary.

"They sent me out here to take you back in," countered Betsy. She 
added, "Don't cry."

Not wanting to look weak in front of a child, Mary dried her tears. 
She took a moment to collect her thoughts and regain control. She 
said, "Lead the way."

She followed Betsy in to the conference room and closed the door 
behind her. Returning to her position in front of everyone, she said, 
"Betsy told me that you wanted me back here."

Ed nodded and looked around the room wondering if the family 
was going to leave this chore to him. By the looks on their faces, 
he knew his answer. With a sigh, he said, "I have to tell you that 
we debated a long time about extending an offer to you. I'm sure 
that you want to know what we discussed. We agreed that you had 
the qualifications for the job. Our discussion, though, was about us 
rather than you."

"I don't understand," said Mary unsure of what Ed was trying to 
tell her.

"What did the staff tell you about our lifestyle?"

Her stomach sank as she realized where he was taking the 
discussion. She answered, "I know that you spend a lot of time in 
the house undressed and that occasionally I might encounter you 
doing private things. I know that I'm allowed to go naked in the 
back of the house, if I wish."

"Is that all the staff told you?"

"No. After I've worked for you for a time, I can request anyone of 
you to join me in bed." She looked around the room and blushed as 
she realized that she might end up sleeping with Ed or Leroy. 

"That borders on our problem. After you left the room, Ling said 
that listening to your voice made her want to do obscene things 
with you. Leroy is sitting here with an erection just from listening 
to your voice. I will admit that I'm rather turned on myself."

"Oh," replied Mary. People had hinted at that over the years. Her 
late husband used to say that to her all the time. However, she had 
never had it told to her in such a straight out manner, particularly 
in an interview. She wondered why Ed told her this. Looking at 
everyone, she realized that he hadn't said what Kelly had thought. 
She turned to Kelly and asked, "What about you?"

"I'd love to bury my head between your legs," replied Kelly. She 
looked over at Ling who was irritated that she hadn't said anything 
like that before. Kelly, sensing disbelief on the part of Ling, 
shrugged her shoulders defensively and said, "It's true."

"Oh, my," replied Mary as she thought about what Kelly had said. 
It was then that she realized what the staff had meant when they 
said she would be able to ask any member of the family. How was 
she to know that it included the women of the family? She didn't 
know what to make of that.

Ed said, "We have two rules in the house. If it harms none, then do 
it. Protect the weak from the strong. That means that we will never 
pressure you into anything that you don't want to do. It also means 
that our bodies may react to your presence at times when you can 
see the reaction. We don't know the full consequences on you of 
working for us knowing that we are interested in having sex with 
you. We do not want to create a hostile work environment, as that 
would harm you."

Mary listened to what Ed was saying. She still had no idea if they 
were offering her the job. Kelly was getting irritated at the delay 
and said, "What my husband is saying is very simple. The job is 
yours only on the condition that it would not harm you. You are 
the one who has to judge that and you have to tell us that straight 
out. I suggest you think about it for a few minutes before giving us 
an answer."

The job was hers if she was willing to accept that all of them 
wanted to sleep with her. Knowing that was a great relief. The 
question was, did their open sexual interest in her bother her? She 
knew the answer was yes, but it didn't mean anything. She would 
get that anywhere she worked. Fully a fourth of her time was spent 
fending off the advances of other employees. Deciding that it didn't 
matter, she said, "I'll take the job."

Shaking his head, Ed said, "That's not the question. Will working 
for us when you know how we feel harm you?"

"It doesn't matter."

There was a sense of truth in her answer. He knew that she 
believed that it didn't matter, but that wasn't the point. He said, "It 
does matter."

Confused, she said, "Whether I get hurt or not is very important to 
you, isn't it?"

"The most important thing possible," answered Ed.

"It's going to happen on any job I get," replied Mary.

Again her belief in her words was true, but Ed knew better. Ed 
said, "Not so. I assure you that we can find you a job where your 
voice will not matter. I happen to know that the school for the deaf 
in town needs a secretary. The special qualities of your voice will 
not be an issue there."

The reply shocked her. As she thought of it, she wondered how 
people that held the harm none rule so seriously could possibly 
harm her. They were admitting their weaknesses to her with such 
openness that it seemed impossible. She answered, "I don't believe 
I will be harmed by any of you."

Her voice had the ring of truth to it, making her words sound 
doubly sweet. As everyone started to relax, he held up a hand to let 
everyone know that the questioning wasn't over. He asked, "Do 
you think it will harm your daughter to see the things in the house 
that she might see?"

The question shocked her. She hadn't thought about the impact on 
her daughter of seeing adults walking around naked or even having 
sex with each other. She looked over at Betsy, seeing the child 
looking expectantly at her. She asked, "Your name is Betsy, isn't 
it"?

"Yes," answered Betsy pleased to be included in the discussion by 
the Owl lady.

"What do you think about everyone walking around undressed at 
home?"

"Nothing. The first years at our other home are always undressed," 
answered Betsy confused by the question. She turned to her mother 
and asked, "Am I supposed to think something when everyone is 
undressed?"

Smiling, Ling answered, "No. She wants to know if you are 
harmed because of it."

"What's the difference between when people are dressed and 
undressed? They are the same except they have no clothes on."

Mary smiled and said, "I don't think it will harm Lucy."

"Will you work for us?"

"Yes, I will," answered Mary confident that all was going to 
change for the better. 

Ed said, "Go join the rest of the staff to interview the next 
candidates."

Mary left the room and joined the rest of the staff. It was almost an 
hour later before there was another knock on the door. The time 
had passed quickly since everyone was watching Ling train Betsy 
in the martial arts. Betsy went to the door while Ling returned to 
her seat. When Ed nodded, Betsy opened the door. 

A very attractive black woman entered the room. She was five foot 
six inches tall, but she carried herself like she was ten feet tall. 
Marching into the room, she stopped and looked around the table. 
Her eyebrow rose when she saw Leroy, but she didn't say anything. 
After a few seconds, she put her resume on the table in front of 
Leroy. 

Leroy picked it up and examined it for a minute before handing it 
to Ling. Shocked, she saw that the woman had trained in Karate 
with Sonny. Ling looked at it and asked, "Claire, it says here that 
you have studied the martial arts."

"Yes, I have," replied the black woman.

"Who was your sensei?"

"My Sensei is Sonny Timewell," answered the woman knowing 
that the information was in the resume. She added, "I'm still in 
training."

"It's funny that I've never seen you training with him," replied Ling 
wondering how she could claim to be trained under Sonny and, 
yet, she had never seen the woman in the Dojo.

"Not funny at all. You've been away for almost six years," replied 
the woman letting Ling know that she knew all about her. 

Leroy took the resume out of Ling's hand and passed it to Ed. Ed 
glanced down at it and read that she had been through police 
training. He handed the resume to Kelly and said, "I see that you 
have police training and served on the Tucson police force. Why 
did you leave them?"

She looked over at Ed and said, "They had me writing parking 
tickets all day long. I didn't join the police to be a meter maid."

"So you would be happy being a private security guard?" asked Ed.

"I'm not sure," replied the woman with blunt honesty. 

"You would take a job not knowing if you would be happy with 
it?" asked Kelly.

"I won't know until I do it." She stood there like a force of nature.

Leroy had slumped back in his chair looking at the woman trying 
to figure her out. Her answers were delivered like rifle shots. There 
was a violent timber to her words that suggested an undercurrent of 
anger in her words. He leaned forward and asked, "Why are you 
angry?"

She looked at him and for a moment her composure cracked as she 
considered answering. Once she regained her control, she 
answered, "That is my problem and I would rather not discuss it."

Leroy turned to Ed and said, "I want the truth."

It wasn't the first time that day that Ed wished John was with them 
and he was sure that it wouldn't be the last. Ed said, "Will it affect 
your ability to do the job?"

"No."

There was enough of a lie in that statement for Ed to feel 
uncomfortable. He said, "You just lied to me. Your problem will 
affect your ability to do the job."

Kelly said, "You can't lie to him without him knowing it. He's a 
human lie detector."

Claire thought about it for a minute and then said, "Suppose I don't 
want to answer the question."

"We don't hire you," answered Ed.

"It might affect my ability to do my job," replied Claire.

"Are you jealous of Ling?" asked Ed seeing out of the corner of his 
eye Ling's surprised reaction to his question.

"No."

"Do you have a problem with our lifestyle?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that."

Having encountered the problem before, Leroy said, "You don't 
like that a black man is married to a white woman, an oriental 
woman, and a Native American."

"That does bother me," replied the black woman not aware of the 
fact that one of the wives was a Native American. After seeing the 
shocked look on Kelly's face, she decided to tell them exactly what 
she thought. She said, "A successful black woman doesn't have too 
many choices for a husband. He should have married one of his 
own."

Betsy's forehead wrinkled as she frowned. She tried to decide what 
the woman meant. After a few seconds of thought, she asked, "Are 
you saying bad things about Daddy Leroy?"

Claire turned to answer Betsy and then took a closer look at the 
girl. Her eyes flitted to focus on Ling and then on Leroy. It was 
obvious that Betsy was the product of their union. She sighed 
before she answered. "I was just explaining my problem."

Ed's cell phone rang and curious, he pulled it out of his pocket and 
looked at the caller id. It was a call from Linda. He opened the cell 
phone and was about to say hello, when the voice at the other end 
said, "Hire her."

"Is that you, William?"

"Yes, I have to go to class, now," replied the young man before he 
hung up. 

Ed looked up to find the rest of the family looking at him, 
assuming that something bad had happened. Ed shrugged his 
shoulders and put the cell phone back in his pocket. Finally, Kelly 
asked, "Was that William?"

"Yes, it was," replied Ed.

"Well, what did he say?" asked Kelly, frustrated at the lack of 
information. 

"Hire her," answered the cowboy as he stared at Claire.

