Cockatoo Pt. 16

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*****

We decided to have a celebration dinner tonight downstairs and Alex disappeared to the restaurant to organise the dinner. Areeya had to go down to Cockatoo to sort out some issues they were having and so I was left to my own devices for a while. We agreed we would all get together at Cockatoo for a drink before dinner.

The first thing I did was to email Sam about how the plan had worked out. I had an email back in seconds saying how pleased she was that things had panned out for me. She told me that my resignation had made the shit hit the fan in a big way back in Cambridge. There were rumours that senior people felt there had been a panicky over reaction to the press story and that it didn't look good to clients that they had handled my situation so badly. Even that they might offer me my job back.

I laughed to myself at the thought of the bloodletting that might be going on back in Cambridge because of me. They had sought to make PR out of my experience and then dropped me at the first sign of trouble. I thought they could stuff their job right where the sun don't shine. I told Sam to pass on a message that I would not want my job back if it was ever raised. I was well out of it.

There were also a load of messages from friends and acquaintances that had read the story and wanted to know if it was true. I just told them that as usual the press had got completely the wrong end of the stick and they should disregard everything they read. I explained that I had fallen in love with Thailand and would be staying out here. I didn't particularly care if they believed me or not, I had burnt my bridges with the UK and there was now only a small number of people that I cared about back there. I did hear from someone that my delightful ex was telling the ever decreasing number of people who would listen to her that she knew I had always been 'that way inclined', and that was why she had left me.

One message did make me pay attention. It was from a good friend in the firm back in Cambridge and whilst he was asking the usual questions about the press story there was something he wrote that intrigued me. He said he had heard a rumour that someone in the company had been leaking stuff to the press about what was happening out in Thailand. He didn't have a name and he stressed that it was only a rumour. I sent him my standard reply about the press story and assured him I was doing fine, but I asked him to keep his ear to the ground and to let me know if he heard anything more.

I sat back and thought about this. There had been a niggling thought in my mind as to how the press had come by the information that had formed the basis of their story. It had seemed to me surprising that they had put together the story so accurately and quickly. OK, the words they used were over the top press hyperbole, but the guts of the story, I had to admit, were accurate. I had forgotten all about this niggle over the past few days as I had been worrying about more important things. I shook my head and dismissed it because it didn't matter anymore.

Alex came up from the restaurant, plonked herself down on my lap for a while, and we kissed and talked quietly about how sorry we both were and how stupid we had both been. We soon found we could laugh with each other again and swore that we should never let a fight like that happen again. More kissing followed until it was time to head off to meet Areeya and we walked hand in hand down to Cockatoo. It turned out to be a busy night and the place was heaving. It was Full Moon Party time on Koh Phangen, another island close to Samui, but there was always an overspill to Samui.

Pao spotted me, shrieked and ran over to jump on me, her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. Alex stood back, grinning all over her face as Pao said, 'Welcome back, James, Pao missed you.'

I looked over to Alex and raised my eyebrows in mock surprise.

Alex said, 'Looks like you have a friend for life.'

I smiled at Pao for I was genuinely fond of her, and said, 'I've missed you too Pao, but can I put you down now please?'

She giggled and let go of my neck, kissed me and ran off.

We had a few drinks and a lot of laughs with both the bar girls and the customers and I felt it was really like coming home. Areeya was bouncing around because she had just heard Sam was flying down from Bangkok for the weekend and they would be staying on the boat. I looked at Alex to see how she felt about this and all I could see on her face was joy that Areeya was so happy.

I shook my head and wondered just how big our hearts had to be in order to make this arrangement work. Finally we decided it was time to head back for dinner and the three of us walked back arm in arm, laughing and joking to the restaurant where Alex had arranged a small private area for us. The chef and the kitchen staff surpassed themselves with the food they prepared and it was late by the time we finished and headed back up to the flat. We sat out on the balcony with a drink, watching the stars and listening to the music from the bars along the strip.

We were just far enough away for it not to be a real problem and we could enjoy chilling out together. Alex cuddled up to me on one side and Areeya on the other and I thought about just how lucky I had been to have redeemed myself today, and what an enormous fool I had been to put myself in such danger of losing Alex and Areeya. I had been given something few people ever get: a second chance at life after the pirate attack and yet I had been stupid enough to so nearly throw that chance away through being so blind and pig headed.

I had gone inside to fetch myself a scotch and some beers for the girls when Alex asked me to sit down as she and Areeya wanted to talk to me about something.

Alex started, 'Firstly, do you have any plans about what you want to do next?'

'You sound like my mother,' I said.

That earned me a thump on the arm from Alex and a stifled laugh from Areeya. Alex thumped her for good measure as well.

'No, I don't. I'm going to call Kritsada tomorrow with your decision and I will ask him then if he is still willing to help me. Your decision may have changed his mind on that.'

Areeya jumped in, 'No James, you are mistaken, my father, whatever his other faults, will keep his word to you.'

I nodded to Areeya, I was sure she was right.

Alex went on, 'Listen, we have an offer for you, no, two offers actually, that we would like you to think about. The first is that we need someone to help us with our technology for the business. We are getting bigger and we need to invest in some technology to help us grow. Ordering, stock control, invoicing, accounts, it's all being done by hand at the moment and we need to do something about it or it will swamp us soon. Is that something you could help us with?'

I nodded, 'Yes, that's right up my street. I normally deal with bigger companies but the system and process design is no different, the solutions may be smaller but that's just detail.'

Alex looked at Areeya and said, 'Areeya said that would be the case, I think she had a long talk with you one day?'

I remembered the conversation Areeya and I had the day before the boat trip.

'Yes, and I would be delighted to help you. It wouldn't take too long to design something that would be able to help you be more efficient, reduce overhead and grow with your business.' Alex shared a glance with Areeya and they both smiled. 'Thank you James, we had hoped you would say yes.'

I smiled back and said, 'I'd be happy to help. What's the second thing you mentioned?'

I caught another glance between them, and I suddenly felt that this would be more interesting than the first and was the one they really wanted to talk about.

'James,' Alex began, 'you remember we told you that we were planning a new venture?'

'Yes, you mentioned it the first night we met. You didn't say what it was, though.'

'Well, we weren't absolutely sure that it would get approved but it has just passed the final hurdle, or should I say we've just paid off the last person we needed to.' She looked at Areeya, who nodded confirmation. Alex went straight on, 'Western tourists, male and female, have an insatiable curiosity for Ladyboys, for one reason or another. Our idea is to bring a high quality Ladyboy cabaret show to Samui. There are one or two small revues here in Chaweng but they aren't very good and we want to do a show that will have local performers as well as top names from Bangkok.'

I nodded and said, 'That sounds like a great idea, the shows I've seen in Bangkok are fabulous, it would be great to have something here.'

It was true; some of the Ladyboy shows in Bangkok are big productions and are packed out with mainly tourists drawn in by the Ladyboy mystique. I had been taken to the Calypso cabaret at Asiatique on the Chao Praya and it was a great show, with the beautiful Ladyboys lip syncing and dancing to beautifully produced routines.

Alex went on, 'I'm glad you say that because Areeya and I are fully stretched with what we are running at the moment and we're looking for someone to help us run it.'

'OK, and who do you have in mind?' I asked, not seeing what was coming.

Alex looked at Areeya, who said, 'It's you, James.'

'Me? Are you both mad? Why me?' I was astounded.

'Wait a bit and hear us out,' said Alex.

'But I don't know anything about Ladyboys.' I protested.

Alex paused and looked at me, 'James, that's not strictly true because we know you have some personal experience in that area.' She couldn't keep a straight face and broke into a laugh. I had the sudden and uncomfortable feeling she somehow knew or guessed about what had happened in Nana Plaza. I knew I would have to confess to that sooner or later, but now didn't seem the right moment.

'Yes, well, alright, but that's nothing to do with running Ladyboy shows.'

Areeya smiled, 'Yes, you're right, but there's nothing to say you can't learn. Besides it's not that you would be on your own. The whole operation is planned and almost ready to go. We need someone smart and sharp to get it off the ground and to make sure it's running smoothly. Think of it as setting up a new system. How would handle a new project? Analyse it, break it down into its component processes and make them work together. It's no different. We have someone in Bangkok to handle that end of things and the venue here is sorted. The vital thing for us is to have someone here who we can trust. There are too many people here who would want to rip us off. We have a good lawyer but it's someone on the spot we need, a problem solver and fixer. We know you, James. You can think on your feet, not many people would have been smart enough or brave enough to take on my father in the way you did.'

Alex chipped in, 'You said you wanted to do something different, have new experiences, this would let you do that.'

I was speechless, I had never in my life expected to be asked to do this kind of thing. The oddest thing was I began to think about how it might work, and then of course, immediately why it wouldn't work.

'I don't speak Thai,' I said, that to me was a clincher.

Areeya replied, 'No problem, we'll get you an assistant who can translate for you. In fact, I have the perfect person in mind.'

'I don't know,' I stared to whine a little.

'Look, we don't expect you to answer today, think about it. We do need an answer soon though, and if you have questions then we'll be here to answer them.'

I shook my head; I still couldn't believe what they were offering me, but there was one question I needed an answer to straight away.

'Does Kritsada have any hand in this?'

'Does it matter?' said Alex warily and I knew the answer straightaway, but I wanted them to tell me.

'It matters to me and if I am going to be involved, then I need to know everything.'

Alex and Areeya exchanged looks and there was an almost imperceptible nod from Areeya to Alex.

'Yes,' said Alex, 'Kritsada has some money in the venture, but it's not that much, we needed a top up over what we could get secured against the two existing businesses.'

'How much?' I asked.

Areeya answered this time. 'It's about 100,000 US dollars.'

'Thank you for sharing that, and there are no other conditions in the contract?'

Areeya and Alex both looked away, and Alex looked back first and said softly, 'No, there's nothing else, James, that's it.'

'I'm sorry, I just had to ask,' I said. Neither Alex nor Areeya responded. 'Look, let me think about it. It still sounds crazy to me but you two seem to think I could do it, so I should consider it and give you my answer in a couple of days.'

Alex said, 'Ok and if it helps there are a couple of shows in Chaweng, why don't you go up there tomorrow night and have a look at the competition.'

She went on, 'There is one condition though, that you should be aware of before you make your decision.'

I was puzzled, 'What sort of condition?'

Alex put a small box on the table, opened the lid and took out a small clear plastic device resembling a fat thumb which had what looked like a padlock attached. She held it in her fingertips and said, 'Do you know what this is, James?'

I shook my head, 'No. What is it?'

'It's called a chastity cage, and it's fitted over a penis and locked with a key so that it's impossible for the wearer to have an erection.' Alex spun the thing on her finger to demonstrate it. 'Ugh, but why are you showing it to me?'

'The condition for you taking the job is that if I catch you playing around with any of the girls in the show I will lock your cock into it and swallow the key, is that clear?'

I looked from her to Areeya and I couldn't tell if Alex was joking. I decided to play it safe, 'Well that won't be necessary as I wouldn't be doing anything with them at all.'

Alex smiled and said, 'Good, that's the right answer.' She looked thoughtful for a moment, spun the cage around on her fingers again, 'Thinking about it though, it might be fun to make you wear it anyway.'

She saw the horrified look on my face and said, 'Don't wet yourself. I would unlock it once a week,' she paused, 'if you're good that is.'

Areeya could not keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing.

Alex followed suit and through her laughter said, 'You should have seen your face, I have never seen anyone quite as scared as that in my whole life.'

I scowled as I looked from one to the other, both now crying with laughter. I grabbed it from Alex and had a good look at it and I shuddered as I thought about having my cock locked into it. It truly looked like an instrument of torture. Alex and Areeya were still howling with laughter and eventually I couldn't stop myself joining in. Funny thing is, I wouldn't put it past Alex to actually do it.

Eventually we all stopped laughing and Areeya said, 'I'm off to my room. I think you two need some time together tonight.'

She stood and kissed Alex and then me and headed off to her room leaving Alex and I on the balcony. We lay together on one the loungers, Alex's head on my shoulder and I realised just how good that made me feel. We talked quietly about how lucky we had been to meet again after all the years apart and how none of us know what will be around the next corner. We kissed softly and sweetly and I felt like I never wanted to leave her side. We drifted off to sleep holding each other in the warm night air.

I woke up a little later and thought we would be more comfortable in bed. So I woke Alex and she went off to the bathroom and I decided that I should unpack my suitcase at long last. I took out what few clothes I had brought. I thought I do need to get myself some new stuff, although shorts and t-shirts were pretty easy to come by. I found the Thai Boxing shorts that Alex had bought me what seemed months ago, but was just a couple of weeks. I held them up and they made me giggle and I thought, why not? I'll put them on tonight as a laugh for Alex, she did say wear them to bed after all.

I put my feet into them and pulled them up my legs and found they were probably a size too small for me which meant they cradled my cock and my bum quite tightly. I was about to take them off when Alex walked back in and said, 'Ohhh, babe, you decided to wear them for me, you look so cute in them.'

She ran her hand across my bum which felt very sensuous through the material and she kissed me passionately at the same time. My cock started to grow and poked Alex. She looked down and noticed it, grabbed my cock through the shorts and started to rub it.

'Mmm, looks like someone likes the feel of these shorts,' she murmured before kissing me again. It was true; the touch of her fingers on my cock through the silky material was extremely arousing. It seemed to add something to the feeling of her playing with my cock. Alex had put on a short nightdress and as we stood kissing I put my hands up inside the material and stroked her breasts, the nipples already hard. Her fingers continued to rub my cock and I was already tenting out the shorts.

I squeezed her nipples between my fingers and she moaned in her throat. Still kissing she edged me backwards until the back of my legs touched the bed and I fell on my back onto the bed. She stood by the bed and hooked her hands beneath the nightdress and pulled it off over her head to leave her clad only in a small pair of knickers. Her cock was already poking up above the top of the knickers and I reached out and gently traced its shape through the material.

Alex giggled and I just hooked the top of the knickers and slowly pulled them down just enough to allow her cock to pop out. It stood straight out and I don't think I will ever get tired of looking at her, a perfectly formed female form with a cock jutting out from her groin. I found it hard to accept that this beautiful woman was in love with me.

I pulled her towards me and kissed the head of her cock, making it twitch and jump. Caressing the tip with my tongue I then poked it into the slit as I heard Alex moan quietly above me. She bent slightly and put her hand down and rubbed my cock through the shorts, the eroticism enhanced by the feel of the material. I instinctively started to move my hips to increase the pressure from her fingers.

Pushing her cock up against her tummy I ran my tongue up her shaft from her balls to the head and repeated this a few times. I heard her moan again and her legs buckled a little. I looked up and saw her looking down at me and I felt like I was being hypnotised by her eyes. I couldn't break my gaze away from hers and as I took her cock into my mouth I felt calm and submissive to her. I felt my sole focus was her pleasure and I would do anything to make sure she was being fulfilled.

I started to suck her deep into my mouth and I gagged a couple of times but managed to keep going. Alex was still stroking me and I was getting very excited by this time. Using my hand as well on Alex's cock I felt her grow even larger in my mouth. She said with her voice thick with excitement, 'Fuck, I'm getting close,' and she pulled out of my mouth and quickly lay down over me in a 69 position so that her cock was right above my face.

As I took her cock into my mouth I felt her push down my shorts and her soft, warm mouth enveloped my cock. We both began to suck hard on each other's cock, and Alex began to push hers deeper into my mouth. I felt it hit the back of my throat and felt my reflex kick in and she eased back a bit and then pushed again. This time I had it under control and took her shaft all the way in. She was using her tongue around my cock, driving me crazy as she took me deep into her throat and her hand was busy stroking it as well to keep me in a total state of arousal.