Finding Alice Read online

  He took another sip of his scotch, and with a sigh seemed to go into a half-conscious state. Casually, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed two little wrens splashing about in the birdbath outside. A blue headed boy and his female companion. Just like him and Munny they were together, enjoying each other’s company and doing their own thing. The boy seemed to be showing off to the girl jumping in first, fluttering about, then hoping onto the edge and watching her copy his lead. Unfortunately, Munny also noticed them and suddenly sat up on his lap making a “ststs” type sound in their direction. Her opinion of the events taking place outside was totally disparate to his. The bond between them had been broken. Yes, although she was a loving cat she still had the innate hunting instincts she was born with. Not unlike a few people he knew, thought John, for instance the buyer’s wife.

  Munny’s sudden demonstration of her survival impulses had intruded on John’s reverie and delivered him back to the present world. The weather was now starting to get warmer. He would soon have to get Munny’s fur cut and groomed for the summer before she started to moult everywhere. Anyway it would have a double advantage, as apart from stopping her dropping fur all around the house, it would keep her cooler during the hot weather.

  He was still patting Munny and admiring his living room, half in and half out of his calm state, when suddenly the front door swung open. It was his daughter Claire with Susie from over the road in tow. They were both chatting to each other and giggling as teenage girls do. Claire was now much taller than Susie, but that Susie wow!

  “Hi Dad.”

  “Hello…. Mr. Mason.”

  There was something about that hello from Susie that was very sexy and provocative.

  Susie like Claire was 16, but not at all gangly. He marveled at her picture perfect face, her long dark brown hair and perfect olive skin. She was standing right in front of him now in her shorty, shorty hot pants. Her breasts were now pretty much full grown and he could see her nipples through her loose thin blouse. She wasn’t wearing a bra and really needed to now.

  “Hello girls, what have you two been up to?” he asked, unconsciously staring at Susie's tits.

  “Just hanging out Dad,” answered Claire.

  John looked away and picked up his scotch. He had suddenly become aware he was staring at Susie’s tits and sensed she was also aware of it.

  “Susie and I are just going up to my room.”

  “OK see you later. Mind my coat and briefcase on the stairs.”

  John observed them carefully as they walked away. He kept staring at Susie’s tight little backside from behind. She had already mastered the art of sexy movement as she walked. Just wiggling it enough to be a turn on. He felt a movement in his groin area.

  Wow, what a sexy piece of crumpet that Susie had become. To think that in a few years time some, smelly, pimply, fumbling teenage twit, was going to be all over that lovely tight little body.

  He patted Munny and took a gulp of his scotch. Yeah, that's one sexy little chick.

  He sat there for a while thinking. He would have to return that rake to Susie’s mother Alice and buy a new one for himself. He had meant to stop at the hardware store on the way home to buy one, but was preoccupied thinking about the sale he had made and had forgotten. Anyway he would have to rake up those pesky leaves before returning it. He was just about to get up when he heard a sexy, almost whispering voice.

  “Mr. Mason, Claire’s yo yo has a knot in it. Can you get it out?” It was Susie who was now standing right in front of him.

  “Well, I’ll see what I can do.”

  Susie handed him the yo yo but as she did, her knee rubbed up against him. She leant over to pat Munny. Did she do that on purpose he wondered?

  As he tried to undo the knot Susie knelt watching him and patting Munny. He could smell her sweet perfume and her breasts looked even larger and more inviting close up.

  “So Susie, what have you been up to lately?” John asked engaging her in conversation.

  “ Not much Mr. Mason, do you like my new locket, my boyfriend gave it to me?”

  With that Susie stopped patting Munny, stood up and leant forward so John could see it. Of course as she did her blouse fell forward, giving him a full view down from her neck.

  John struggled to control his words. He now had a full view of everything including her beautiful erect nipples.

  “That’s..... a lovely locket!..... but aren't you a bit young to be getting gifts from boyfriends?” John managed to blurt out.

  Cool as a cucumber Susie replied,

  “Mr. Mason, I have had boyfriends since I was twelve. I have been going with this one for nearly a year now.”

  I’ll bet you have thought John, just as the knot came out of the yo yo.

  “Got it, that's right now,” stuttered John, handing it back to her.

  “Thanks..... Mr. Mason,” she said slowly in her husky voice and this time as she reached for the yo yo, she rubbed her arm against his shoulder.

  There could be no doubt now, she was definitely doing it on purpose and it seemed like she was totally aware of the effect she was having on him, judging from that provocative look on her face.

  Again, she caught his eye as she turned and left the room, with that same wiggle of her tight little behind. He was really quite turned on now. But suddenly a voice from the kitchen brought him tumbling back to reality.

  “Could you come and cut the roast for me Hon?”

  Chapter 2 In the Beginning

  The home John was sitting in, was a far cry from his origins.

  He had grown up in a two bedroom 1920’s Californian bungalow in a working class suburb. Typical of these homes it had a porch across the front of the house. The front door opened to a hallway with a bedroom on either side, then further along past a small bathroom where it split into a lounge room on one side and dining room on the other. Both these rooms had doorways through to a kitchen and small breakfast area at the rear. There was a driveway down the side of the house and a timber garage with a corrugated iron roof in the small backyard. Very ordinary and with small windows, making it perpetually a bit dark inside. His mother although a caring woman, was not much of a home decorator and as finances were limited, the furniture was old and the carpet worn in places.

  As an only child John had the smaller of the front two bedrooms. He had made it his own by pasting up pictures of his favourite pop stars around the walls. His bed consisted of a mattress on a wooden base that his father had made out of scrap timber. It was sufficient, but the mattress had a dip in the middle and really should have been replaced. His father had also fashioned him a desk out of some old timber and a rickety chair to sit on, where he could do his homework. John was sure the chair was going to collapse one day, especially when he leant back on it.

  At the time his father went bankrupt John had initially asked around the local shopkeepers and other local businesses for a part time job. But times were tough and there were none available. In the end he decided he would have to start his own business. For many years he had been doing most of the gardening around the family home using his father’s lawn mower and other gardening tools. It was natural for him to start a gardening business. One day after school he got on his bicycle and did a letterbox drop putting leaflets all around the neighbourhood. He received three replies and was in business. However this was a working class suburb and people were not prepared to pay much for gardening. John was working hard in the business after school and on the weekends, but was not making much money.

  He had a think about it. He knew that there were some rich suburbs across the river, only a few kilometers away. Not only did people there have larger gardens, but also he reasoned, they would also be prepared to pay more for gardening. He did a letterbox drop and presto he got two hits. He was moving up. To get his equipment there his father helped him build a type of trailer out of some spare plumbing pipes, which he hitched to his bicycle. Off he would go after school and on weekends. He called hi
mself the “lawnmower man.”

  This is how he had first met his wife Audry. She lived in one of the big houses where he was now the gardener. It was a fine double story home, with a pool, tennis court and an orchid house out the back. A mansion compared to John’s parent’s house. Audry had a large bedroom overlooking the tennis court with built in wardrobes an en-suite. She even her own separate sitting room with her own TV. Her father George was pleased with the gardening work John was doing and also gave him a job to clean the pool. This meant John had to go there more frequently and would often talk to Audry as she was coming home from school.

  Audry’s friend Elizabeth told her she shouldn’t get so familiar with John, as he was only a gardener and not like the private school boys they usually hung out with. However Audry found John fascinating. He was very cocky and forward for a gardener. She could sense he was a guy who was going places. He was handsome into the bargain and looked very fit from all his gardening work.

  It wasn’t long before John and Audry were meeting secretly. She would often sneak out at night and meet John at the local shopping centre. By the time John turned 17 he had saved enough to buy an old ute. It was pretty rough and to save money he did most of the work on it himself. He could now pick Audry up from school, but would drop her off around the corner so her parents wouldn’t see them.

  As well as sneaking out, when she was invited Audry started to ask John along to various parties. She told her parents she was going with Elizabeth and sometimes they actually did take Elizabeth with them in the ute, but swore her to secrecy. Other times they went alone. This introduced John into a whole new social scene, but he did not like most of the private school boys who attended these parties. He called them toffs. However, in a number of instances their fathers were working class men, who had worked their way up. John had no trouble getting along with these guys. He actually got some gardening work from a couple of them.

  Eventually it had to happen. Audry's father found out about them and fired John. John protested that he had always done a good job.

  “Stay away from my daughter,” George had threatened.

  But of course he didn’t and they continued to meet secretly.

  One day when he was gardening at one of the large homes, a BMW pulled up and two smartly dressed guys in dark suits got out. An older man and a young guy about John’s age. Both were immaculately dressed. The older man knocked on the door and was ushered inside while the young one waited outside.

  “What's happening?” asked John

  “Nothing much, we’re estate agents, just giving the owners a quote on their house.”

  John looked covertly at this guy about the same age as him, standing there in his dark suit looking all professional, while he was all sweaty and dirty in his old gardening clothes.

  After a while the older guy came out of the house, shook hands with the owner and walked passed John, totally ignoring him, as if he wasn’t even there. For the first time in his life John felt inferior. He was on a lower social level. He was just a hired gardener. A second-class citizen to be ignored.

  John could not get the estate agents out of his mind. That night he had a good think about it. Here he was all dirty and sweaty slaving his guts out for peanuts, while these guys were all dressed up driving around in a BMW, just for talking to people. It was no contest, he had the gift of the gab. He was going to become an estate agent.

  The next day he gathered what little money he had saved and bought a suit and tie, just like the guys he had seen wearing. He then went door to door calling on the local estate agents. The first four said they didn’t have anything available, but at the fifth one he struck gold. A woman who the staff called “Boss Lady” ran it. She happened to be at the front desk when John walked in. She liked to have good-looking young men around the place and invited him in to her office. John’s cockiness and self-confidence impressed her and by the time he left, he was the new Property Manager. I’m a manager thought John. It appealed to his ego. Of course at the time he didn’t realize that next to the receptionist, this was the lowest job in the agency. In some agencies the receptionist also doubles as the “Property Manager,” or what it really involves, looking after the rent roll. This includes letting out rental properties, finding tenants, making sure they don’t get behind with their rent and attending to repairs and maintenance.

  John was a fast learner and he thrived in the job. On one particular day he was conducting an open house, or in this case an open home unit, whereby during a one-hour period potential tenants inspect the property. Being a unit, quite a number of young couples had been through, when a guy walked up to him and asked:

  “How Much?”

  “$400 per week,” John replied.

  “No, not the rent how much to buy it?”

  “We are not selling this, only renting it,” said John.

  The guy was about to go when John ever alert, sensed an opportunity.

  “Are you looking to buy a unit?” John asked him.

  “No,” said the guy. “I’m actually looking to sell. I saw your sign outside and noticed people going through, so I thought this unit was for sale. I own the one next door, it’s very similar to this and I was just trying to get an idea of what my unit might be worth.”

  “I can help you with that,” bluffed John,

  “Why don’t I call around after I close up here and I can give you an idea of what your property is worth?” The guy nodded and agreed.

  John in fact had no idea what the property would be worth, but that wasn’t going to stop him. As soon as the guy left, he rang “Boss Lady” and asked her what the unit he was trying to rent out, might be worth. She gave him a figure and wanted to know why he was asking.

  “ I’ll tell you when I get back to the office,” he said

  John finished the open house and closed up. He knocked on the unit next door and an attractive woman, a few years older than him, answered

  “Hi, my name’s John. I met your husband next door and he said to call round.”

  “You must be the estate agent, come in. My partner has just gone down to the shops to get a packet of cigarettes. He said you may call round.”

  “Nice place you have here,” said John. “And I like the way you have decorated it.” He immediately started to work his charm on her.

  “Much nicer than next door and I love your decor.” That was always a good one to throw in. Everyone likes to think their property is better than their neighbour’s and that they have better taste. Of course it was pretty much the same as next door. John had seen some very nice homes via Audry’s friends and this could hardly compare. However the woman was already impressed. A good-looking young man had turned up on her doorstep and complemented her on her taste in decor.

  “Would you like a coffee?” she asked.

  “Love one,“ said John,

  “Mind if I take a look at the view from your balcony?” He stepped outside.

  “I like this view better than next door,” he called back to her. It was really about the same.

  John next looked over the rest of the unit and gave her a valuation, that was somewhat more than Boss Lady had said. He was already practicing one of the golden rules of real estate... give them a high valuation to get an exclusive agency agreement. You can always tell them later that the “market” was only prepared to pay somewhat less for it after prospective buyers had been through and given their opinions.

  By the time her partner came back, she had already decided John was going to be their agent.

  “And you won’t believe the price he thinks we can get,” she crowed.

  John told them he would get some paperwork and come back later in the afternoon. He then went back to the office to negotiate with Boss Lady.

  “If I can get a listing would you be prepared to let me sell it?” asked John

  “OK,” said Boss Lady, handing him a blank contract. She was always ready to take on new listings.

  “Get them to sign th
is. Lets see how you go. I want you to get a three-month exclusive agreement. Charge them 3% commission and allow plenty of money for advertising,” she paused,

  “You will only get 1% on this one, as I am already paying you a salary to do the rent roll.”

  “OK,” said John, “but if I get more of these we are going to have to re-negotiate.”

  John sold the property, not surprisingly for somewhat less than the original quote as potential buyers said they thought it was worth less than the vendor’s were asking, even though it had been John who set the original price. Following the sale John and Boss Lady re-negotiated. He managed to get a base salary plus half of the commission on each property he sold. He was now a fully-fledged Real Estate Agent and he had an edge. Through Audry, he had met a lot of rich people. He was moving in their social circles and even if he didn’t like the private school boys, at least he got on well with some of their fathers, especially the self made men.