“That’s what we’re looking at. From what marketing tells me, we’re already losing business because of our price, our quality, or a combination of both. Furthermore — and this is in your bailiwick — I understand that the magnitude of our sales allowances is increasing alarmingly. The reason for that is that our delivered quality — to be brutally frank — is a long way from great.”Instead of addressing Baxter’s points, Anders retorted, “Where in hell did this cockamamie idea come from, anyway? This airhead you brought to the meeting with you? She can’t know anything about machine tools. She’s just a pretty face, for God’s sake.”“Wait a minute!” Brad interjected. “While I agree that Miss Kane has a lovely face, it happens to be in front of the most powerful brain I’ve ever encountered. ‘Can’t know anything about machine tools’ I think you said? Well, I have a surprise for you: Miss Kane happens to have her Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cal Tech. Her dissertation deals with machin
Kim and Brad were utterly stunned. They were speechless. Kim’s eyes widened, while all Brad could do was to slowly shake his head. “I just don’t understand, George,” he was finally able to say. “Kimberly has been killing herself the last two weeks for AT, and you’re saying we hate you? What’s going on?”“Let’s take it from the top,” Bill Miller said. “First of all, of course, there’s Kim’s court case against us.” He smiled weakly and continued, “Just a few weeks ago, if she won, George and I would have just signed over the company to her. It really wasn’t worth much. But then what happened? Kimberly happened,” answering his own question. “She presents us with the best-designed machine tools the world has ever seen! But there’s more: You two may not even realize it, but because of the integrated computer controls, a product changeover can be managed in a matter of minutes rather than the hours it used to take.“So what? you’re thinking. So it opens enormous new markets to us: companies
“You may,” the judge replied, but then her brow furrowed and she asked, “But didn’t you used to be Candace?”“Yes, Your Honor,” Kim replied with a small grin, “but I got tired of being a piece of candy. While I admit to having a body with all the curves of a candy cane, I still don’t like the name. It’s Kimberly now, or Kim, which I prefer, Your Honor.”“All right, Kim,” Judge Kaplan continued. “What can we do for you?”“Your Honor, I would like to withdraw my complaint and apologize to the court for wasting its time this way—”“You can’t do that!” McCarthy screamed. “This case must continue to trial! It’s far too important to be dropped. Your Honor, please disregard my client’s statement. She doesn’t know what she’s saying.”One of Judge Kaplan’s eyebrows rose at McCarthy’s words. “And why, counselor, may your client not withdraw her complaint? She is the plaintiff; you are not. You merely represent her.”“She cannot because of the contract we have with her,” McCarthy answered smugly
“Ms. McCarthy, a few hours ago I extended greetings to Miss Harris from Judge Helen Carter. In the course of serving her client’s interest, Miss Harris put her career and her very freedom in jeopardy. She acted in the very highest standards of the legal profession and made us all proud. Her client’s interest was paramount regardless of the cost to herself.“You, Ms. McCarthy, are the polar opposite. You disgust me! You are a disgrace to the profession and your behavior demonstrates perfectly all the things that have brought the legal profession into such ill repute with the general public. Instead of working in your clients’ interest, you worked strictly in your own. To you, a client was nothing more than a cat’s-paw. She served your interest; you certainly never served hers!“You and the foundation you represent claim to be working on behalf of all women. But I find it both alarming and disconcerting that you’re willing to destroy the lives of the women who are your clients in the na
Kim stood up straight, returned his grin and extended her hand. “As one kid just out of school to another, will you shake on that?”Suddenly Hopkins’ eyes widened. Almost under his breath he murmured, “Kimberly Kane...” Then, sounding excited, he added in his normal voice, “You just received your Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Cal Tech, didn’t you?”Then he laughed out loud. “Kim, this is really going to be funny. Are you aware of the fact that Cal Tech is selling your dissertation at a hundred bucks a copy? Because they are. No wonder the university-press people are falling all over themselves to get the book out on the streets. They’ll have the second printing going before the initial printing is even off the presses.”Then with another laugh he added, “This is going to be fun. What’s next?”“‘What’s next’ is I would like to get Chester Klem, the plant manager, and the vice president of manufacturing down here right away.”Again Mark laughed. “Klem will be here in a few moment
At that point, Mark Hopkins spoke before Brad had a chance to. “Jack...” he grinned and interjected, “Since I’m no longer on the payroll, I guess I can call you Jack...” Then he continued, “Miss Kane most assuredly has a pretty face, although to be honest, she’s just plain outrageously beautiful. But she’s something else.”Turning to Klem he said, “Chester, I really think you should address Miss Kane by her more appropriate title. She’s Dr. Kane. More specifically, Dr. Kimberly Ann Kane, BE, ME, Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Her dissertation is now being published and is scheduled for use in graduate courses in machine-tool design and engineering at both Cal Tech and MIT, although I’m certain it will be used wherever such courses might be offered.“You see, gentlemen, Dr. Kane is considered the world’s foremost authority in the field. And a new line of machine tools solely designed by her is sweeping the entire industry. Single-handedly, she has virtually obsoleted every machine to
“And what’s going on? he asks stupidly,” Jack said with a wry grin. “Pamela Canfield, who is the father? It looks like you’re about to deliver any minute.”“Not till next week, Dad,” she replied insouciantly. “And the father is my husband. Who else would it be?” Then with a look that was as phony as a three-dollar bill she added, “Oops! Maybe I forgot to tell you that I’m now Mrs. Mark Hopkins? And have been for quite a few months now ... almost a year, in fact.”Jack took his daughter into his arms and kissed her lovingly. Then he took Mark’s hand in a congratulatory grip.Trying to change the subject, Pam said, “You asked Mark what he’s doing now, Dad. The answer is he’s looking for a job. And I came in to talk to you about severance arrangements, particularly medical coverage since I’ll be delivering in about a week or less.”“Severance?” Jack asked, baffled. This was news to him.“Mark was fired first thing this morning,” Pam replied.“What happened?” Jack asked Mark.“I got too i
“And I haven’t, so what’s your problem?” Pam retorted. “But you still haven’t answered my question. What brings you in here?” Then to Kim and Brad, she said, “As you’ve probably gathered, this is Betsy Smith, Dad’s secretary. Oh, yeah, that reminds me...” she added. “This ... thing ... who just came barging in is my mother, Diana Canfield. Although,” she added, “her surname wasn’t Canfield when I was either conceived or born. Her maiden name is Chambers, and I wish to hell she would go back to it. Why she and Dad are still married is a puzzle to me.”Kim looked at the three other women with growing amazement. All were about five feet eight with wavy brown hair and green eyes. Aside from Pam’s pregnancy, the only differences were that Diana appeared much softer than the other two — they appeared to be as muscular as Kim herself — and the fact that Betsy Smith did not appear to have yet filled out. Kim wondered how old the girl was.“I ... I have the information you asked me to get,” th
“I became Brian’s mistress, and the other three — Joan, Cammy and Lois — enslaved themselves to the others.” She paused and then continued slowly, “I guess the Russians changed us permanently. You see, we’re now all more than a bit masochistic.” Rising from her chair, she turned and showed the girls recent whip marks on her back and buns. “This is the way we’re forced to complete our assigned exercises.”Then Janet Cox changed the subject slightly. She pressed a button and a moment later a girl of about 15 appeared. She, too, was naked and very obviously pregnant. “Chris,” she said to the girl, “please check to ensure that the gym is ready for our exercise period.”“Yes, mistress,” the girl replied and then left.“That’s the other major change,” Janet explained. “Although we didn’t make much noise about it, many of the girls who were with us before the war — including you, Kelly — were sent here because of our severe discipline. This place has always looked like a prison, and given the
Kim shrugged. “My husband runs sales and marketing, but that sounds about right. Why?”“Because we’re going to buy 10,000 of them,” Solov replied with a smile. “That’s about a billion-dollar order.” Then with a broad grin he added, “And for an order that size, you two are going to have to buy me my dinner tonight.”Turning to Brad, Kim said, “Sweetie, do think your expense account could handle the price of a dinner tonight for President Solov? He’s only talking about a billion-dollar order, though.”“Sure it can,” Brad replied. “Assuming we don’t eat anyplace too good and he doesn’t order dessert, that is.”Solov howled with laughter. “No wonder you Americans own the world! You’re cheap.”“Waste not, want not, Mr. President,” Brad responded with a grin.That set Solov off again.Turning to Kelly he said, “I really never had a chance to tell you how truly thrilled I am — and my countrymen are — that this film is going to be made of some of your exploits.”To Kim he said, “It’s impossib
Then Müller began to laugh. And his laughter just grew in volume. Finally, he controlled himself and said, “This is so incredibly funny! We came to meet a screen actress. Instead we meet one of the world’s foremost mechanical engineers — your book is even now being translated for immediate publication in German — and a woman who speaks our language better than we do!” Then with his eyes sparkling he feigned a frown and asked, “What other surprises do you have in store for us?”Kim just shrugged again and shook her head.To Brad, Müller asked, “What about you, Captain Kramer? Do you speak any German?”“Oh, sure,” Brad replied airily. “Enough to get by over here.”“And that is... ?” Müller prompted.“Ein bier, bitte!” Brad replied with a grin.“But that’s just ordering a single beer,” Müller protested. “You aren’t even specifying a brand.”“And in Germany, does it really matter? You have something like two-thirds of the world’s operating breweries, and almost all of their beers are good
“June re-engineered the line to take its level of precision back toward the old levels. Now they’re only five times as precise as others instead of 10 times. And in the process, she was able to reduce the parts count in each unit significantly. So now we’re being killed with export business, too.” Turning to Jenny he said, “And I hope you’re happy, bitch!”“Very happy, thank you,” Jenny replied with a grin while sticking out the tip of her tongue.Then to Kim Jenny said, “I have a big favor to ask.”“What’s that?”“Bill Christian has told me about the gorgeous house you’re building next to his,” Jenny said. “I know you’re planning on having a large family, Kim, but you’re needed here, too.” The girl paused and then blurted, “Could I live with you? Please? I can pay, and I can cook,” the girl rushed on. “And I could help with the babies...” When she said that, Jenny began to cry.“What’s wrong, honey?” Kim asked, taking the crying woman into her arms.“You know I can never have childre
Then George came into the discussion. “You both know that from the first day Jenny’s girls referred to themselves as the Leper Colony.” He chuckled, shook his head and continued, “Well, about ten days ago one of the girls made a little sign that said ‘Leper Colony’ and hung it beside their door. Let’s see what’s going on now.”With that he rose and led the way down the hall to the girls’ office. Brad and Kim were puzzled, but clearly George and Bill were amused by the whole thing. When they got close, they could see a large white board about two feet by three feet hanging on the wall beside the door.George stopped to fill them in. “Well, shortly after the girl put up the sign, it was replaced with a larger one, lettered in red, that said ‘The Beauty Queens’. It’s been going on ever since at the rate of a change or two a day. Yesterday’s Beauty Queens sign was done on a steel panel that was painted and then treated with a very expensive material that sheds everything. And I mean every
On Monday morning the two went into the plant together. They expected they would be seeing George Harrison and Bill Miller, but they wanted to have a chance to look around first so they arrived early. They found their new offices side by side and adjacent to George and Bill’s. They also found brand new hardhats — they were in management white — with the AT logo and neatly lettered K KRAMER and B KRAMER.“Now we’re really married!” Kim said giving Brad a warm kiss. As usual, it was intended to be a quick peck but also, as usual, that’s not the way it ended up. She just melted into his arms and realized as she did that it was truly where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. But she continued, “Just think! His and Her hardhats! How incredibly romantic.”Then she changed her tone and said, “Darling, know what?”“What?”“I never gave you anything for a wedding present, so...”“So?”“You’ve owned my meager tits for months, so now I’m giving you my pussy and my asshole. They’re yours, m
The effect on the patrons was electrifying. Many of the younger ones had never seen ballroom dancing. They loved it, particularly the very romantic tangos Kim and Brad did. But the wildest applause was reserved for their jitterbugging. It was a dance that the older patrons remembered but which the younger guests had never seen.That dance truly featured Kim’s grace and athleticism. Moreover, Brad noted, since the wedding, Kim had truly blossomed. She had said she was a bit of an exhibitionist and it proved to be true. The guests often gasped at the things she did, the moves she made and the incredible beauty of her body that was so often revealed.Working with The Swing Band, the couple found that they and the band members seemed to feed on each other the way they had started to do the first night. It just got better. The band members found themselves truly opening up in ways they hadn’t done in years, and as they worked together, in ways they had never done before. By Tuesday of the
Finishing their round, Kim invited the Conroys to join them for lunch, but Hank begged off. A neighbor was watching their youngest and she had to get back. So instead, the Kramers joined them for lunch at their place.There they met 6-year-old Kenneth Carlson Conroy and 3-year-old Kathy Carlson Conroy. The two were gorgeous little dolls. Kenny had a working excavator that never left his hands, while Kathy had a lovely white stuffed animal in her arms. Hank explained that they had been Christmas presents from the Taylors. “Never in my life have I encountered two more perfect gifts,” Hank said. “The kids haven’t let go of them since the day they got them.”Kim realized that the two youngest were six and three. Looking at Hank, she put her hand flat against her own abdomen and looked at Hank with a question in her eyes.Hank tried to look disgusted as she just rolled her eyes. Then she just shrugged and nodded her head.“When?” Kim asked.“Probably next week,” Hank replied, obviously bor
“And... ?”“And? And you’ve been fucking me for over 150 minutes and you’re not through yet. And I’m pretty sure there are other scenes in the film besides us fucking. So how can we possibly do it? Furthermore, while I love it, I’m sure the patrons will get a bit bored after the first 30 minutes or so...” While still moving up and down on his raging cock she tried to look thoughtful. Then she added, “Of course, if we were more experienced, maybe there are some interesting variations I could use to try to maintain interest...”Then Kim turned to Lisa and said, “I’m afraid I’ve been monopolizing the only man here, Lise. How about taking your turn now?”“Only you, Kimberly Kane Kramer!” Lisa said warmly. “You have to be the only woman alive who would offer to share her husband on her wedding night!” She smiled warmly but shook her head. “Besides, I just can’t. The only way Mother would allow me to come out here with you was to swear that I would not fuck Brad.”“That’s all?” Kim inquired