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Listeners' Fantasies |
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Working Girl
By Sheila Soviet Song
 This story, from the Fantasy Archers topic of The Archers message board takes Tom "Sausage King" Archer beyond perhaps even his grandest ambitions. And as for Susan ...
"Susie - just come in could you?" said Tom Archer. Known to the entrepreneurs on Wall Street simply as "TA", the CEO of Archers Inc was the hottest guy in town. His empire had grown swift and steady, and now there was scarcely a citizen either side of the Atlantic who didn't chew on a Archerburger, snap up a Cheesy Mankwold Cheesebar or even taste one of the original "homeboy" sausage products. His latest venture, the Archerville Pleasure Park, was also going great guns.
Susie entered the room, and Tom admired her new navy DKNY suit and stilletoed Manolos, which showed off her slim ankles to perfection. She might not be as youthful as some CEO's PAs, but most men still went for a classy mature woman like Susan Carter. And anyway, the two of them went way back, to when they were both small town.
"Susie, I want you to send some flowers to Jodie - and a bracelet - with a note saying "Sorry I couldn't make last night - here's diamonds for a real gem," or is that too lame?" Susie laughed and nodded "Well, whatever you think on the note ... and flowers to Kate saying "Last night was heaven. Let's go there again."
Susie made some notes on her PDA. "That's it?"
"All for now Susie, thanks" Tom watched her leave. She looked as good from behind; that personal trainer was worth the money. When he'd first employed Susie as his PA she'd been plain, dowdy Susan Carter. As his business had grown he'd been surprised at how she'd grown with it. She'd used her first bonus to fix her face, her second to get a voice coach, and her wardrobe had grown along with her salary. By the time the company had floated on the stock market (with a handsome stake for her) he'd come to rely on her shrewd advice, her faultless memory and ruthlessly efficient way with business associates.
Now and then he felt a bit uncomfortable. She knew enough to cause serious trouble with the law, if she let on about some of the tricks he'd used to become the pork giant of the Western hemisphere. But he knew her secrets too. The criminal record, the petty hoodlum brother, the forgotten husband, who'd been oh-so-conveniently crippled whilst roofing their new home, and who was now tucked away in long-term care back in little England. Susie could use Neil Carter as a reason for slipping out of some relationship she'd got bored with, without ever having to see him. She'd got her son Chris his gold-plated job as farrier on the polo circuit. Her daughter Emma, stuck back home with three children and a dull husband, was no trouble.
For TA himself, life was good. Yes, sometimes when he woke in the night and tried to remember whether it was Jodie, Kate, Cindy or Naomi next to him under the silk sheets, he suddenly missed Kirsty - Kirsty his first, and only, real love. When he started out he thought they would be in this together. But there were more and more rows about his ethics, his shady deals, his obsession with the business. In the end she had simply walked out on him. Sometimes he wondered what had happened to her. But that was another life.
TA glanced at his Rolex, got up and slipped on the jacket of his Roberto Canelli suit. Time for his lunch appointment. Yes, this was now, and life was going well.
***
Kirsty Tucker put the final touches to the window display. On one side, an artistically arranged willow basket spilling out tempting organic goodies. On the other, a tree grown in sustainable forests, sparkling with fair-trade fairy lights and hand-tied corn dollies.
Kirsty stepped back and sighed with satisfaction. The shop - her shop - was ready for action. Getting ready in time had been a challenge, but Kirsty was used to challenges. Leaving Tom had been the hardest thing ever - only she knew how hard. He was still the only man who had ever thrilled her to her deepest core. But Roy had been a good husband. When Kirsty had finally broken with Tom, Roy had been coming to terms with the fact that Hayley had simply disappeared out of his life forever.
Roy and Kirsty had grown a good marriage on mutual respect and understanding. When he had been killed in a freak lightning accident whilst adjusting the new satellite dish at Grey Gables, Kirsty had grieved and had to rebuild her life again. But she had her two fine sons, and little Phoebe, everyone's quiet sunshine. When she was older Phebes might join her mother, but for now she liked being part of the family.
The shop bell tinkled, but it wasn't a customer. "New batch of yoghurt," smiled Pat "I think you'll like it." She turned to admire the window. "It's so festive, you've got a real talent, you know." Kirsty smiled back. Tom's mother was still her friend. Pat and Tony had watched their son's rise - first with pride and then with anxiety. Kirsty knew that Pat hadn't talked to Tom in a long while now. There'd been an argument - was it over the Kyoto agreement? Use of growth hormones? Or the fact that Tom had persuaded his grandma Woolley to leave everything to him in her will? - Kirsty wasn't sure.
"How's Helen" asked Kirsty, and Pat's smile dimmed a little. "I think she's still in New York - we got a text message ..." Tom hadn't really expected much when he'd made his sister Helen Cheese Director of Archers Inc, but the Mankwold line had proved a runaway success. Slimmers loved it. Whether it was Cheesy Mankwold Chunks, Mankwold Lasagna, Mankwold Crisps or Boysenberry and Mankwold Cheesecake, people found that after just one bite they were magically and inexplicably full. Helen's slim physique was a perfect advert for the line and she travelled the globe as the Face of Mankwold.
Pat still worried though. "I wish she had your healthy figure. It's a wonder you haven't been snapped up again." Kirsty blushed. "I'm OK Pat. I've got the boys, I've got my business. Life is fine." And, if Kirsty's heart still missed a beat when she saw Tom's photo on the front cover of some business magazine, that was her affair.
***
Susan Carter pressed SEND with the tip of her perfectly manicured finger, sat back and smiled. Everything was in place. She'd started cancelling Tom's appointments, making it sound as if she was covering up for some problem. She'd built up her allies over the years, and her store of company shares. She had information that colleagues wouldn't want broadcast, and knew who she could put pressure on. She knew more about the business than Tom, and she was certainly more "intimate" - Susan gave a throaty laugh - with key shareholders. And then there was Clive. Tom thought of him as a petty thief, but a chance prison encounter with someone called Yoda, had made Clive work hard and discover his true vocation - as a high-up in the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. Now that Archers Inc was strong in the Japanese market, the Yakuza were taking an interest - and she could help them.
Susan smiled again. "It's all downhill from now on, Mr Tom Superior Archer,", she purred "better get ready for a bumpy ride."
Working Girl continues on the Fantasy Archers .
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