"And fairthermore, my leetle cabbage, thees Xylotropic Industries, eet controls the market and research into sperm bank operation. Eeef our not-so-good friend, Meester McClain, someday controls the sexual activities of the whole world, well surely you can see thait he weel be able to control who is born and who is not, he weel control the whole earth. Eeef he does not like babies with black hair, he simply doesn't allow any babies with black hair to be born. It is most distressing."
Lenny gazed at them for a moment, trying to weigh the full impact of their words in her mind. It was a frightening concept, there could be no doubt about that.
"But where do I fit into all of this? I'd be glad to help you."
"The fact is…" Lyle took up the conversation, "that there is nothing legal that we can do to stop the production of this fiendish machine. We've tried everything, lawyers, doctors, unions, even the CIA. There is only one way left to stop him."
"You…" a horrid thought flashed across Lenny's overburdened mind, "you mean, you're going to kill him?" The beautiful young woman's eyes were as big and round as saucers.
Boss Carl's thunderous laugh echoed in the small office like a caged tiger roaring triumph over its kill. "Of course not, dumb chickie," he tried to control his terrifying mirth long enough to cough out the words, "we thought of that long ago, but it simply wouldn't work. Oh, there's no question that I could put out a contract on his life. I could have him killed quietly and without any suspicion, but the work on the Xylotrope would still go on without him. Someone else, someone just as bad as McClain would take over the operation, that's all."
"But what then?" Lenny could not make any sense out of this conversation at all. Surely, she thought to herself in consternation, surely these men were powerful enough to crush such dangerous opposition.
Boss Carl stood and flipped a switch on the short side of the "L" of his desk. "You see, Lenny baby, we thought of everything. We couldn't get anywhere by killing him so we considered blowing up his whole plant. You know, industrial sabotage. But that would be sure to bring the law down on our necks, and we would either go to jail or make full reparations, or probably both. No, that wasn't any good either. It's a sad fact that the authorities watch every move Carl Industries makes. They watch us like damn buzzards!" To punctuate this last remark, Boss Carl brought his fist down violently on the desk. Lenny was amazed that he did not hurt his hand. It seemed that this peculiar man was made of iron.
"So," he went on, "what to do? We thought and thought and argued and reargued. Finally, my pretty little slash, we came up with a brilliant plan."
Leaning forward eagerly, Lenny asked, "Plan? What was it?"
"Simple, chickie," Boss Carl gloated, "the whole basis of McClain's plan was the sensational appeal of his product, right? Nobody could resist total stimulation. Nobody could resist instant orgasm. Well, I got to thinking one day, and I came up with an idea. You see, most of my work has been in the erotic field, and I got some pretty good ideas about what excites people and what doesn't."
As he spoke, Boss Carl began to pace rapidly up and down behind his desk.
"The trick is this… the idea of an instant orgasm might catch on real good, especially if everybody thinks his neighbor's got one. Nobody wants to think that his next door neighbor has more orgasms than he does, but if the idea doesn't catch on right away, then it'll fall down dead. It's my belief, and you have to realize that I'm what they call a humanist, that women and men would rather have exotic sex than efficient sex. Excitement, as you well know Lenny, is not just in the genitals, it's in the mind. That's where you come in."
Lenny stared at the big, burly man with a dazed expression. What was in store for her now? she wondered.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The headquarters of Xylotopic Industries was a large and lavish office building in the other end of the city. Lenny journeyed there in a cab. Her assignment was clear – and yet the theme of the advertisement that attracted her interest was one placed by Masters McClain. It read: "AN EXOTIC DANCER WANTED, FOR PROMOTION OF SENSATIONAL NEW PRODUCT, APPLY AT XYLOTROPIC INDUSTRIES INC."
As the cab swerved and jounced through the jungles of lights and traffic, Lenny thought back to Boss Carl's stern instructions. He had said that she must get this job, the chance to model the first market version of the Xylotrope.
"But," Boss Carl had thundered triumphantly, "when the time comes, you are going to put on a very different show than they expect from you."
It had taken Lenny Morgan quite awhile to understand the strange and complicated assignment that Boss Carl had given her. Now, riding inexorably toward the towering buildings that housed the Xylotropic Industries, she was totally committed. She hoped desperately that she had every detail straight in her mind.
The luscious blonde was ushered into a large and expensively furnished waiting room. Here she sat for several minutes and read the fashion magazines that she had found on the glass coffee table.
A short, fat man in a blue blazer energetically bounced through the door and announced that Mister McClain was ready to see her.
"Thank you." Lenny tried to sound as deferential as possible.
She followed the little fat man into the large office of the executive president of Xylotropic Industries.
This office was somehow less impressive than that of Boss Carl. There was something overly mechanical in the furnishings and decor.
The lights were made of bare metal rods and frames that extended from the wall like insectoidal appendages. The desk itself was constructed from some kind of aluminum alloy, and the entire large piece of furniture did not appear to weigh more than twenty pounds.
As though to demonstrate this fact, Masters McClain placed one ring-covered hand beneath the desk and lifted it easily from the floor.
"Another one of our marvelous inventions," he bragged in eunuchoid tones, "it's so light that a seven year old child can carry it around with complete ease."
Masters McClain was a short fellow with pale, fleshy features. He had, however, none of the hard, animal-like musculature of Boss Carl. His general appearance was that of a sexually underdeveloped stock-accountant.
Nevertheless, Lenny knew for a fact that the peculiar and somewhat repulsive man that sat before her was one of the most powerful and avaricious businessmen in the world. His company, Xylotropic Industries, had interests in business from electric toothbrush equipment to sperm bank research.
That was where Lenny came into his life.
She knew that she had to convince this odd fellow that she alone was capable of introducing the fiendish little Xylotrope machine. He must not fail to leave the room convinced that Lenny Morgan – and Lenny Morgan alone – could sell the male sex substitutor with the sensational appeal that would be needed.
She settled back into a soft chair and spread her lovely thighs. Her mini skirt snuggled up higher on her legs, giving the businessman a clear view up into the blonde thatch in her soft crotch.
"Well, Miss Morgan," Masters McClain began the interview in a high, cold voice, "I suppose that you are here in response to my advertisement."
"That's right, Mister McClain," Lenny answered seductively, "I'm very interested in modeling any new products you might have."
"Yes," the fat man allowed himself another peek up under the blonde dancer's dress. "Yes, I suppose you are. But the point is, I need someone very special to model a very special product. I have to be very certain of your qualifications."
Lenny stood abruptly and ripped open her blouse. The magnificent and flawless breasts fell free. She stood there in haughty silence for several moments, her legs spread wide and her hands on her hips.