Alicia's Comeuppance

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Alicia's Comeuppance

Part Four

By Chris

"Smile now slut as you won't be smiling in a minute." Kellie Jo warned her. Then she reached down and Alicia felt Kellie Jo's fingers roughly playing with her pussy.

"Oh god you are a slut, your pussy is already soaking wet from just thinking about me spanking you." Kellie Jo said to her.

"Yes bitch, I'm your slut, now and forever." Alicia said as she arched her back sticking her little ass out even more.

"Oh my slut can't wait for her spanking. I guess I had better get at it." Kellie Jo said as she moved back a little and her hand was now caressing Alicia's ass and that felt wonderful.

"You know I already owe you a couple of spankings so I guess this will be two or three for one." Kellie Jo warned her.

"Your slut knows she has been very bad and deserves a long hard spanking." Alicia said not believing the words coming out of her mouth but knowing she meant each and every one of them.

As the last word came out of her mouth, she felt Kellie Jo's hand hit her ass hard landing with a loud smack that echoed around the room.

"Oh fuck!" Alicia cried out as the sting hurt her yet she felt her pussy getting wetter. But then she felt Kellie Jo backing off and she knew her reaction had scared Kellie Jo into thinking that it was too hard a smack but while it hurt, she liked it. So she knew she had to reassure her so she wouldn't stop.

"Your slut needs a bunch more like that to make her behave... until she decides to be really bad again." Alicia said hoping that Kellie Jo would get the message.

"Oh slut I haven't even started yet and you better not think about being bad like this again or you'll get more of the same." Kellie Jo told her stepping back beside of her.

Alicia waited for the next hard spank however she got surprised when she felt Kellie Jo kissing first her right ass cheek then her left one. Alicia let out a soft moan feeling those sweet lips on her ass cheeks. Kellie Jo kept kissing her and Alicia pushed her ass out more as she loved the feel of those kisses on her ass. However the kisses soon stopped and Alicia waited for the next spank and it came soon thereafter. It wasn't as hard as the first one but it still stung, then next one came immediately thereafter stinging her ass again. Kellie Jo was going from one cheek to the other just giving her spanks in rapid succession. Tears formed in her eyes as Kellie Jo's hand just kept raining down on her ass. Alicia began to wiggle her ass around trying to relieve the pain and get away from Kellie Jo's stinging hand but it always found its mark.

"Fuck bitch, spank me, spank your slut good." Alicia called out to Kellie Jo.

"Cunt you ass is going to be sore for a week!" Kellie Jo told her as she sped up the spanks as well as how hard she was spanking her.

"Ohhhh..." Alicia cried out as she felt a small orgasm go rip through her body just from the spanking. The tears began to fall from her eyes and her knees were shaking from the intensity of the spanking and the way that Kellie Jo was giving it to her. Then Alicia felt Kellie Jo increase the hardness of the spanks one more time sending sharp stings throughout her body.

Then she spanks stopped and she felt Kellie Jo's lips on her red hot sore ass. They were tender kisses that felt so good. Alicia pushed her ass out more as she felt the sharp stinging coming from her ass in contrast to the gentle kisses. Kellie Jo's lips made their way slowly to her pussy that was dripping wet with her juices. Kellie Jo began to lick at her lips causing Alicia to moan from the pleasure she was giving her. Kellie Jo licked up and down her slit getting those juices. Alicia didn't think she could take much more of this, she needed to cum so badly and she felt her pussy almost spasm from the licking that Kellie Jo was giving her. Then as she was about to cum, Kellie Jo's lips left her pussy and she felt Kellie Jo's hands on her sore ass spreading her cheeks out more. This hurt so bad but then Kellie Jo's tongue licking across her asshole felt so great. That tongue went back and forth across her asshole before stopping at the center. Alicia relaxed her asshole as she felt Kellie Jo's tongue pressing against it. The tongue entered her ass and Alicia cried out.

"Fuck my ass bitch!"

Alicia cried out as she felt that tongue go deep into her ass. And then to make it better, two fingers were pushed into her pussy and they began to fuck her.

"Yes bitch, fuck me hard!" Alicia called out to Kellie Jo as she pushed her ass back out. Kellie Jo's fingers and tongue that were sending her through the roof and she felt her pussy clamp down on those fingers just seconds before she pussy sent out her girlcum. She squirted hard as she came splashing her juices against Kellie Jo's chest. Kellie Jo fucked both her holes through her orgasm before she pulled her fingers and tongue out so she could lick up her girlcum.

Alicia laid across the sink until she felt Kellie Jo pull her up holding her up so that she could kiss her. It was a slow tender kiss that Kellie Jo kept going until Alicia was able to stand on her own again.

"That wasn't too much was it?" Kellie Jo asked as she looked into her eyes.

"Hey every slut needs a good spanking every once in a while to keep her straight." Alicia said as she smiled.

"That didn't answer my question." Kellie Jo told her and Alicia realized that Kellie Jo wanted a straight answer.

"I loved it babe and rest assured that I'll let you know if I'm not in the mood for a spanking or if you are going too hard." Alicia said as she gave her a kiss then she added, "Besides you saw how hard I came." She said as she took her fingers and running them up her pussy then she put them to Kellie Jo's chest and smearing in the juices that were on her chest.

"Yes I did but I had to be sure." Kellie Jo said.

"Well when I'm telling you to spank me then rest assured that is what I want." Alicia said smiling at her and giving her another kiss as she pulled Kellie Jo in tight.

Then when the kiss ended, she pulled back taking off her blouse and bra so that they could shower together. Kellie Jo got her under the spray first getting her wet before moving her away from the water so that she could wash her. She took her time as she hands caressed every part of her body. To Alicia it seemed like she was trying to memorize her body so it would forever be in her mind. If Alicia had been thinking clearly she would have realized that was exactly what she was doing. When Kellie Jo got to her sore ass, Kellie Jo was extra tender in her washing making Alicia let out a moan. Kellie Jo was taking her time and by the time she was finished rinsing Alicia, the warm water had run out.

Alicia fussed at her and told her to wait until the water warmed up but Kellie Jo, being the stubborn bitch that she was, went ahead and took her shower though rather quickly. When they stepped out of the shower, Alicia aggressively dried Kellie Jo off, getting the cold water off and warming up her skin. She took her to the bed where she cuddled up close to her. She kissed her lips and face as she hands caressed Kellie Jo cold body warming her up with the heat from her own body. And once they were both warm and comfortable, they held on tightly as they feel asleep.

When the alarm went off, Alicia felt like she had only been asleep for a couple of hours then she looked at the clock and saw that it was three AM. She looked over at Kellie Jo who was already getting out of the bed.

"What you doing, the plane doesn't leave until eight." Alicia complained.

"It's an hour drive to the airport plus we have to go through security. I just don't want us to miss our flight." Kellie Jo said as she went into the bathroom leaving Alicia lying in the bed cursing her friend and wondering why in the hell she cared for the obsessive bitch so much.

"Now get your ass out of bed and put some coffee on." Kellie Jo ordered.

"Yes Mistress Bitch!" Alicia said.

"I heard that, you cunt." Kellie Jo called back from the bathroom.

"I meant for you to bitch." Alicia said as she got out of the bed going to the kitchen to start the coffee.

"The bathroom is all yours." Kellie Jo said a few minutes later as she came to Alicia, giving her a hug and kiss before sending her on to the bathroom.

Alicia went into the bathroom going first to the toilet then she washed her face and brushed her teeth before brushing out her hair and putting it into a ponytail as she always wore it.

"Leave your hair down when you go for your interview, it shows off your face so much better that way." Kellie Jo said as she entered the bathroom carrying a cup of coffee for both of them.

"But if I get the job, their always going to see it in a ponytail. You're the only one that ever sees when it's not in a ponytail." Alicia told her as she put some lipstick on her lips.

"All the same, leave it down when you go see them." Kellie Jo told her again as she slipped in beside of her as she put a little lip gloss on her lips.

"Yes mother..." Alicia said teasing Kellie Jo a bit.

"Watch that mouth of yours or I'll have to..." Kellie Jo was saying before Alicia butted in.

"Or you'll bust my butt again." Alicia said with a giggle as she turned around and wiggled her ass at Kellie Jo hoping that she wouldn't pop it as it was still just a tad sore from last night.

"You got that right." Kellie Jo said as she gave each cheek a gentle pat.

"So we eating here or getting something on the road?" Alicia asked as she turned back to the mirror putting the finishing touches on her eyes.

"What you want to do?" She asked her.

"Let's grab something on the road, maybe stop and get a biscuit." Alicia replied.

"You already getting tired of my cooking?" Kellie Jo said acting a bit hurt.

"Oh no... you know I love your cooking, I was just thinking about you wanting to get there early." Alicia said trying to quickly backtrack.

"I know you do dear, I was just messing with you and yes I was thinking about stopping along the way too." Kellie Jo said as she left the bathroom to get dressed.

That didn't turn out to be a great idea as they left too early and none of the fast food places that they stopped at were open yet. They were still cooking the biscuits that Alicia was hoping to get as it seemed like years since she had been able to stop and get one. But then that wasn't such a bad thing as when they got to the airport and had paid for their tickets and gone through security, they still had a couple of hours to kill before they could get on the plane. So they found one of the restaurants open and they ate there. Alicia hated that they had to spend so much for breakfast but it was nice to sit down to eat at a nice place.

As the time neared to board the plane, Alicia saw that Kellie Jo was starting to bite her nails, something that she had never see her do before. Alicia took Kellie Jo's right hand in hers giving it a squeeze hoping to reassure her but that made her bite her other nails harder.

"You've never flown before have you?" She asked as the time got close.

"I've never been out of Georgia before." Kellie Jo admitted.

"It's no big deal and besides you got me to take care of you." Alicia said.

"That's not very reassuring; you can't even take care of yourself." Kellie Jo said seriously then she let out a smile.

"Funny," Alicia said as she gave Kellie Jo's hand a squeeze. The she decided to get Kellie Jo back. "You did wear a bright red pair of panties didn't you?" she asked very solemnly.

"No why?" Kellie Jo asked.

"Well in case the plane crashed, they can identify you easier." Alicia said with a straight face then she had to burst out laughing as she looked at Kellie Jo shocked face.

"If we make it to North Dakota alive, I am so going to bust that ass of yours." Kellie Jo told her, then she too had to laugh and Alicia saw that she had eased some of Kellie Jo's nervousness.

However Alicia could see that Kellie Jo's nervousness returned as soon as they started to board the plane so she squeezed the hand that she was holding as she gave her the most reassuring smile that she could.

"This is a good safe plane isn't it?" Kellie Jo asked Alicia just before they entered the plane.

"This is the safest plane that there is." Jessie, the flight attendant said as she gave Alicia a wink which saved Alicia from trying to come up with something to say. Instead she mouthed the "Thank you." to Jessie.

Alicia took Kellie Jo back to their seats on the rear of the plane and she watched as Kellie Jo immediately buckle her seat belt then she gripped the hand rest so hard that her knuckles were turning white.

"Relax honey; everything is going to be alright." Alicia said as she pried Kellie Jo's hands from the arm rests.

"I've never flown before." Kellie Jo told her.

"Yea, I figured that out." Alicia said as she smiled at her and Kellie Jo had to smile back.

"I know I'm acting a fool but I can't help it." Kellie Jo confessed.

"It's cool, but I talked to the flight attendant and she said that not only is this the safest plane that there is but we also have the best pilot there is flying the plane." Alicia told her.

"Good," Kellie Jo said then she thought a minute before saying, "When did you talk to her, you've been with me since we got on the plane."

Alicia knew she was caught but before she could say anything Jessie appeared from nowhere to save her ass again.

"She's not lying to you, Kris is the best there is around and I know because she is the only one that I will fly with. You're lucky in that this isn't our normal route but we had to fill in for another crew, so relax and enjoy the flight and I promise that we'll get you there safely." Jessie told Kellie Jo.

Alicia again had to mouth "Thank you." To Jessie as she went on up the aisle. Then she turned to Kellie Jo to say, "See I told you that we'll be alright now unclench those ass cheeks and relax."

"Okay, but no promises once the plane starts to move." Kellie Jo said letting out a little laugh as she did try to relax.

Alicia changed the subject to the interview hoping to get Kellie Jo back to telling her what to say and not to say again and it worked until the plane was pushed back and they started for toward the runway. Kellie Jo started to grab of the arm rests but Alicia grabbed both her hands first gripping them in her hands. Kellie Jo gave her a smile as Alicia leaned over and began to talk to her about any and everything. They got out to the runway stopping for just a moment before starting down the runway. Kellie Jo had Alicia's hands in a vice grip as the plane began to lift off the runway and into the air. Alicia thought to herself that Jessie wasn't lying as she had been on many planes and that was the smoothest takeoff that she had ever been a part of. When they leveled off she felt Kellie Jo loosen the grip on her hands.

"See I told you that it would be alright." Alicia whispered into her ear.

"Yea you did, I feel foolish acting a baby." Kellie Jo admitted.

"Well I always knew that you were all talk and inside you were just a blubbing baby." Alicia told her smiling at her.

"Watch it cunt, I said that I was acting like one, not that I was one." Kellie Jo whispered back and that caused Alicia to laugh.

"My bitch is back." Alicia told her as she leaned against her.

"And don't you forget it either cunt." Kellie Jo told her then she gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Soon Kellie Jo was looking out the window and pointing out everything that she was seeing. To Alicia it was funny as one minute Kellie Jo was scared to death and the next she was having the time of her life as she enjoyed her first plane ride. While Kellie Jo could never be accused of being a motor mouth, but today she was playing the part to perfection. Alicia was barely getting a word out as Kellie Jo was talking so much and so fast that Alicia wondered how she was breathing. Even when Jessie came back to see how they were doing, she had a hard time getting away from Kellie Jo as she was wearing her ear out. Alicia could see that Jessie was enjoying listening to Kellie Jo talk up a storm however soon she had to leave to check on everyone else and it was Alicia's ear that got worn out.

Since they were going to North Dakota and not someplace like Chicago or New York, there wasn't a direct flight so they ended up changing planes in Dallas which did have a direct flight to Minot, North Dakota. From there they had to take a small plane to Waterville which was a town of about fifty thousand. They didn't get in to Waterville until about six that evening and they were both worn out. They got their bags and headed for the cab stand. The plant turned to be a few miles outside of town and the cabbie had to get directions from them to get there. So Alicia was glad that Mr. Washington had given her good directions as she was clueless as to where they were going.

The apartment building was a five story affair and when they knocked on the manager's door, they were relieved that he was expecting them. He was real nice and a bit of a talker as he helped them get their bags to their apartment. This was much nicer that Kellie Jo's efficiency apartment as it had a real bedroom and a bigger kitchen. The furniture was nice but nothing great but at that point neither of them cared. They just wanted to take a shower and hit the bed. And that was pretty much what they did, showering and then slidding under the covers. Alicia moved in close to Kellie Jo giving her a kiss and before the kiss had ended they were both asleep.

"Get up girl; this is the first day of the rest of your life." Kellie Jo told her as she shook her awake.

"What time is it?" Alicia asked as she rolled onto her back and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Time to get up and get ready, you don't want to be late." Kellie Jo told her as she shook her again.

Alicia was about half afraid to look at the clock figuring that Kellie Jo would have her up at five AM for a nine AM appointment that was just across the road. However she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually seven. She then looked up at Kellie Jo who was leaning over her and she wasn't surprised to find her already dressed. She reached up pulling Kellie Jo down to her so that she could give her a kiss then she let Kellie Jo pull her from the bed.

After going to the bathroom, she came into the kitchen where she saw breakfast already fixed. "Did you go shopping this morning?" she asked.

"No, there was food in the pantry and in the fridge. I think they're going all out for you. I bet they even offer you the job today." Kellie Jo said being overly optimistic Alicia thought.

"I doubt that, they probably have the apartment stocked for whoever they may have visiting." Alicia told her.

"Well they let you use the apartment so that means something and I don't want to hear any argument from you about that. Now sit down and eat before you doll yourself up for your interview." Kellie Jo told her and Alicia smiled as she held up her hands to indicate that she was giving into her argument.

Alicia talked about the trip coming up and the plane ride as she didn't want to think about the interview that was about to come as she was finally becoming just a little nervous about it. She knew that is the first chance and maybe the only chance that she would get for a long while to get back into the engineering field. Kellie Jo seemed to sense this and she went along with it and there was no mention about what they would do if the job was to be offered to her.

When she went back to the bathroom to get ready, Kellie Jo followed her in giving her a hand but no advice. And when Alicia put her hair into a ponytail, she saw Kellie Jo frown but she kept quiet about it. Alicia knew that Kellie Jo had to bite her tongue but she did it. Alicia just felt like that was how she always wore her hair and to do something different would make her feel different and not her normal self. So on they went getting ready with Alicia getting more nervous as the minutes grew closer to the interview.

The time finally came and Alicia grabbed her case that held her laptop, why she was taking it she wasn't sure but it was another thing that helped her to feel like this was just a normal workday for her and nothing more important than that. When she got to the door, Kellie Jo took her into her arms and said, "Good luck cunt, I'll be here waiting for you when you get done."

"Thanks bitch, I appreciate that." Alicia said as she couldn't help but to smile at their exchanged of encouragement with insults included.

Kellie Jo then kissed her lightly on the lips and Alicia sank into her arms letting Kellie Jo hold her and give her comfort. It felt so good and it gave her some renewed confidence for what lay ahead of her. She wanted to just let Kellie Jo hold her forever; however the time came that she knew she had to leave if she was going to make it to the plant on time since she was walking. About that time, there was a knock on the door that scared the shit out of both of them.

"Who is that?" Kellie Jo asked.

"How in the hell should I know." Alicia replied as she looked through the peep hole. "It's some gray haired man." She then told her.

"Well open the door and see what he wants." Kellie Jo told her.

Alicia did so, "May I help you?" She asked.

"I'm Josh Washington, are you Alicia Hanes?" he asked as he looked first at her then to Kellie Jo.

"I'm Alicia; this is my friend Kellie Jo Manning. Please come on inside." She told him.

"Thank you, I figured that I would come by and pick you up, I wasn't sure if you had driven or flown up here." He told her.

"We flew in yesterday and I appreciate that, I was going to walk over but you saved me the walk." Alicia said.

"Well I'm glad that I decided to take a chance and come over to get you then. Shall we be on our way; there are a lot of people who want to talk to you today." He told her.

"Then let's not disappoint them by being late." Alicia told her confidently as she felt Kellie Jo's hand on her lower back giving her gentle caresses.

Alicia hated that she wasn't able to give Kellie Jo another kiss but with Mr. Washington there she didn't think that it was appropriate. That day would come soon but it wouldn't be today. They said their goodbyes and Alicia walked down to his car with him. She knew that the interview process had just started so she acted accordingly.

As they talked on the way over to the plant, Alicia would throw in bits and pieces of what she knew of the company as Mr. Washington told her about it. He would smile at her each time she did this and Alicia knew that she was showing him that she had done her homework. When they got to the plant, Mr. Washington or rather Josh as he now insisted Alicia call him, took her on a tour of the plant. Alicia was impressed on how clean and modern it looked thought the plant was several years old. It was also a huge building, much larger than she would have thought from seeing it from the front. It took them over an hour and half to see the plant and there were still parts that Josh hadn't taken her as he was now running late.

They went back to his office where he served her coffee and coffee cakes as they settled down to the main part of the interview. Alicia knew she had to get Josh's approval before she could go any further. Social skills was never one of her strong points but after being with Kellie Jo and having to fuss, argue, and then finally just talk with her, she had picked up some skills that she hoped would serve her now. He first asked her about what she had been doing since she had lost her job and that made Alicia very nervous, afraid that he would not think kindly of her working in a dollar store as a stocking clerk but he seemed okay with that. From there he quickly turned the conversation to what she did at her old job and that gave Alicia a chance to show what she was capable of doing.

The interview went until noon when he brought in Harold Singleton, who was the Director of the Engineering Department. Josh introduced him and then handed her over. Alicia knew that she had passed her first test and now she was going on to the second one. Harold took her to the engineering department and introduced her to the other engineers. There was a total of five ranging for what Alicia estimated was their forties to late sixties. Martin was the one in his late sixties and was the one whom she would be replacing. He made sure that as they sat down at the conference table to eat lunch, he was sitting was beside of her.

He was as friendly as he could be and she began to feel better about being trying to replace him. He told her about all the things that his wife had planned after he retired. With a wiry smile, he told her about how his wife had laid down the law and told him that he was going to retire. She had waited long enough and she wasn't going to wait any longer. He made it seem funny and everyone laughed as he told it but she could see that his wife had put her foot down and wasn't leaving him any option but to retire from what he loved to do. But he did admit that he had been putting her off for a while and he owed it to her to take her on the trips she had always dreamed about. She got a good feeling about them as a group. She thought that she could work with them and this time around she would work with them and not around them as she did on her last job. She only hoped that they thought that she was someone that they as a group could work with.

When they were alone again, Harold began his interview process. Again she had to go over all the things that she had done previously at her old job. As they went along, Alicia got the feeling that Harold seemed to be very familiar with the projects that she was talking about. This stuck in her mind and she wanted to ask him about it but she had to wait for the right time. After talking about what she had done, he started to talk about some of the things that they were working on now, nothing specific as she wasn't employed there yet, but in more general terms. Again a couple of the future projects sounded that sounded vaguely familiar however she couldn't put her finger on what was familiar about them.

However soon she was able to figure it all out and that was when Harold took her through the engineering department and their lab like area where they could try different things to see if they would work. Martin was talking to two of the other engineers about one of the projects that they were trying to get to work. It was a physical therapy machine that was to be used for patients that had knee replacement done. As they came up to the machine, which was obviously not working properly, Alicia saw that it was something that she had spent the weekend working on before the plant was shut down. She had been able to solve the problem, she thought, but never got the chance to try it out. The plant had been closed and the solution stayed on her computer not touched since then.

"That won't work." Alicia said to Martin before she could stop herself.

"Why not?" he asked and Alicia saw that everyone was now staring at her. She knew she had no choice but to tell them why.

"Because of the way you have the wiring done. You got it too close to the power source, plus it will cause you lots of problems when you put it into production and the assembly lines gets to it. You know they are going to find the easiest way to get it through the line and they will fuss that you are making it too hard and time consuming. You need to move it before it gets to production unless you like doing recalls and have the FDA down on your backs." She said then she turned to Harold and said with a little bit of anger, "What's going on here? I thought you seemed to know as much about what I had done as I did. Was it your company that shut us down?"

"Yes and no. I didn't know anything about how the change occurred until after Josh had showed me your resume and I knew who you were. I then went to our owner, Ben Davis to get his approval to interview you as he was thinking of not hiring a replacement. And to get to know more about your old company, I asked him about the how he came to buy the company and that was when I heard about how the owner had closed the doors on you all. It was up to him as to how he did it but he could have told you all long before he did and he could have given everyone some type of severance pay and Mr. Davis did include that in the selling price. I guess he thought that it was a severance pay for him. I am sorry about how it all went down but it wasn't all of Mr. Davis's fault. He saw a company that would be a great addition to our products." He told her.

"Okay I accept that, our owner was a bastard and was more than capable of doing that. But do you want me because what I know about some of the things that we were working on when you bought us out." Alicia asked.

"Again yes and no," He said and Alicia waited for him to finish.

"We want your knowledge of the projects that were in the works but that was the lesser of the two reasons we wanted you." He told her and he had this funny smile on his face.

"And the other being..." Alicia asked.

"Well that would be because we have been telling him in no uncertain term that he needed to hire this Alicia Hanes lady, wherever she was and whatever she was doing." Dennis, one of the other engineers said.

"Every time that we looked in the design books that we received from your company, your name seemed to be in it, even when you weren't the lead engineer." Martin added.

"It took me a while to start to listen to them and when I did I was impressed by the detail that you put into those books. I had and have no doubt that there isn't a FDA or ISO Inspector that wouldn't be as impressed as we were and would be hard pressed to find an I or T that wasn't dotted or crossed." Harold told her.

"Thank you, I worked hard to get those design books as they should be and also make the projects workable for both the patient and Doctor that used them but I also worked to make them easy to manufacture by the people who have to do that." Alicia told them.

"I just needed to meet you and see what you were made of and if you were as smart as you seemed on paper." Harold told her.

"And...?" Alicia asked putting him on the spot in front of his other employees.

"I believe that we all like you and I believe that you would be a good fit but I can't offer you the job yet. That must come from the owner, Mr. Davis. He will be the one who will make the offer and the one you can discuss your salary with. I have no doubt that you will impress him as much as you have impressed us. Unfortunately he had to go out of town Friday and won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. Can you stay over until Wednesday morning and meet with him?" he asked her.

"I would love to but I'm scheduled to fly back home tomorrow afternoon and to tell you the truth, I don't have the money to change the date of departure." Alicia hated to admit but she had to.

Alicia noticed that all the other engineers were looking at Harold and she liked that they were putting him on the spot for her benefit. She too turned her eyes to him and she waited to see just how much he wanted her to work there.

"I think we can take care of that when we get back to the office. I'll get the travel department to move the tickets back a couple of days." He said and she saw that was met with approval from everyone there including herself. It was only then that he was able to go on with the tour of the department.

"I had a friend come with me and I know I can't ask you to pay for the change for her too but if you could, we'll be more than happy to reimburse you once we get back home." Alicia told him once they were away from the others.

"No that'll be fine; this was something that we didn't tell you about beforehand. Normally we don't pay for nonemployee's travel but this is the exception to the rule." He told her.

"I do appreciate that. It helps us out a bunch." Alicia told him.

"Hey it's no problem." He said as they went on with the tour.

When they got back to his office, he had Alicia call Kellie Jo at the apartment to get the ticket numbers. Kellie Jo was asking all these questions and Alicia just kept saying, "Have you found the tickets yet? or You might look in my bag." until Kellie Jo finally got the message that she wasn't able to talk right then and she gave her the numbers that Alicia needed. Harold then made his call and told the travel department to change the tickets to Thursday.

"I figure that would give you time to think about things and decide if you would like to join us here." He told her.

"I appreciate that, when would you like me to start if you did make an offer?" Alicia asked as they were down to nitty gritty now.

"If it was up to Martin's wife, yesterday." Harold said with a laugh and Alicia had to join in.

"I would have to think it over. I do want the job but it is a big move for me and I have other people to consider." Alicia told him.

"I understand, but we would like for you to start as soon as possible. We do need you up here." He let slip out. "How about the place that you are working now, how much of a notice would you have to give?"

"Since it is my boss that I came up here with, I don't think that she will have a problem, with me leaving as soon as I need to." Alicia admitted to him.

"Well that does make it easier to leave; it's not like she doesn't know what you're doing." He said with a little laugh. "Though, I hope that you don't expect me to go with you when you interview for another job if you decide to leave here." He added laughing a little harder.

"No, I think this is a onetime thing." Alicia said laughing with him.

"Good, glad we got that resolved." He said as she smiled at her.

"Can I ask you a direct question?" Alicia asked getting back to the matters at hand.

"Sure, I like to be up front with everything that I can be." He told her.

"When I meet with Mr. Davis on Wednesday morning, will he be offering me the job?" Alicia asked him as she looked directly into his eyes.

He leaned back in his chair and appeared to be thinking over his response. Alicia could feel his eyes studying her carefully as she held his gaze then after a couple of long minutes, he said, "If he likes you and I'm sure that he will, there'll be a offer presented to you."

"Thank you for letting me know now, that gives me a day to think things over." She told him and then to herself she said, "And work on Kellie Jo"

"Not to sway you too much but we have a good group here and I think that you'll enjoy it. Its hard work but we try to have fun with it too." He told her with a big smile.

"I believe you and I like what I have seen. I think I could find a home here but I do have another question." She told him.

"Shoot," He said.

"Just how cold does it get here and how much snow do you get?" Alicia asked.

"Don't believe all that crap they say on the Weather Channel, it really doesn't get cold here; the weather is just like what you would see in Hawaii." He said with a straight face causing Alicia to burst out laughing.

"Yea right," She said as she laughed with him now that he had started to laugh at his own bad joke.

"It does get cold and we get snow but after the first winter then you'll be like a native." He told her.

"How do you ship when you start getting the snow?" she asked him.

He then went on to explain about how they did keep the roads clear there and when they did get snowed in, then they would fly out things that their customers needed in a hurry. Plus that they had several distribution centers around the US that they kept stocked so the weather really wasn't a problem.

They talked for a few more minutes before Josh, came by to take her back to the apartment complex. He was friendly as always and asked her how it went and whether she liked what she saw. She knew that he was feeling her out to see which way she was leaning. She knew that they brought her up her to hire her unless she turned out to be a real wacko which they obviously didn't think she was, since they were still feeling her out on whether she wanted to work there.

"So what did they say? How did the interview go? What was that phone call about the tickets about? Whom all did you interview with?..." Kellie Jo hit her with all these questions as she entered the door while not letting her answer any of them until she came up to her giving her a kiss and even then she kept trying to ask her questions but her kiss finally shut her up and Kellie just kissed her back.

"If you'll let me pee first, I'll tell you all about it and answer all your questions. Otherwise I will make a puddle in the floor of their apartment and then I know they won't hire me." Alicia told her as she let Kellie Jo go. She could see that Kellie Jo was dying to ask her more questions but she allowed Alicia to go to the bathroom.

She did need to pee but she needed a moment to compose herself. She knew she had to make a good argument to keep Kellie Jo here with her. Otherwise she would have to turn down their offer and that wasn't something she wanted to do. This job was made for her and she had to take it as there would never be a job like this to come her way again. She sat down to pee and she sort of formed a plan on how to tell Kellie Jo that they were going to offer her the job.

"So start talking." Kellie Jo told her as soon as she came out of the bathroom.

"God you are one impatient bitch aren't you." Alicia said but with a smile.

"You weren't the one pacing the floor all day wondering what they hell you were doing. I mean who gives a six hour interview?" Kellie Jo stated.

"They obviously do." Alicia replied.

"Smarty pants!" Kellie Jo said as she stuck her tongue out at her and then gave her the finger as an added measure.

"Come on and let's sit on the couch and talk." Alicia said as she took Kellie Jo's hand to lead her to the couch where they sat down.

"Now don't leave out any details." Kellie Jo warned her.

"I won't I promise." Alicia said as she gave Kellie Jo's hand a squeeze.

Alicia started with the ride to the plant with Josh and slowly continued with the tour describing everything in the plant. Alicia had first started to skip over that but Kellie Jo made her go back and tell her about it too. Then to meeting Harold and the rest of the engineering group. She also told her about how he seemed to know so much about her previous projects but didn't tell her why until she got to the point that she herself found out. Kellie Jo had a bunch of questions to ask at this point and one of them being that they only wanted her until she had finished the projects that she had started but was never allowed to finish. Alicia said she was wondering the same thing at the time but they were also impressed with how her design books looked and how complete they were, so that might be something else that they wanted and needed. Then she explained about the tickets and how she had to interview with the owner on Wednesday morning and so they had to have their departure date moved back. She told Kellie Jo everything that she could think of except for on one thing and that she would save for later.

By the time she had finished, they were both ready for something to eat, so they went to the kitchen and as Kellie Jo cooked them some dinner, she asked the questions that were still nagging at her. Alicia was patient in answering the questions as they gave her time to rethink about the whole day and what was said and what wasn't said. Kellie Jo seemed excited about the whole process but Alicia could also sense that there was some sadness there too. They talked into the evening then when Alicia was out of words, they sat close together and watched some TV until it was time for a shower and bed.

This time they had a larger tub in which to shower and the hot water lasted for much longer. They were able to caress as they washed each other and do lots of kissing under the warm spray of the water. Alicia snuggled in close to Kellie Jo as they let the water run down their bodies. They stayed there until the hot water did begin to run out. So they turned it off and after another kiss, they stepped from the shower to towel dry and then blow dry their hair. Alicia waited until they were under the warm covers and they had kissed for a few minutes before she told Kellie Jo the only detail that she had left out.

"Mr. Davis is going to offer me the job on Wednesday when I interview with him." Alicia told her in a low whisper.

"I figured that he was. They wouldn't have you talk to him unless they wanted you bad." Kellie Jo said so sadly that Alicia could see that Kellie Jo was about to cry. But then she forced a smile onto her face as she said cheerfully, "This is the job that you've been waiting for; this is your way back to the top." Then she gave Alicia a kiss but on the cheek this time.

"This is the job that we've been waiting for," Alicia corrected her.

"Oh no you don't, don't you start that shit with me. This is for you and not me. You're home is here now, mine will always be back in Georgia, that's my home." Kellie Jo said as she sat up in the bed.

"If you don't stay then neither will I, I'll call Harold tomorrow and have him cancel the interview." Alicia said

"That trick only works once girly and you've already used it. You're going to take the job and make your life here and I'm going to go back to Georgia on Wednesday. That's all there is to it." Kellie Jo said and Alicia could see that Kellie Jo wasn't going to give in easily.

"I need you here with me; you know how I can't seem to manage my money. I'll just buy some house and a car that I can't afford. You have to be here with me." Alicia Jo pleaded with her.

"No, and this conversation is over. You stay here and I will go back to where I belong." Kellie Jo said as she slid back down in the bed, turning onto her side with her back to Alicia.

So Alicia lay down spooning up against Kellie Jo and she whispered into her ear, "You belong with me bitch, I'm you're fucking cunt slut." Then she kissed her on the cheek.

Alicia knew that Kellie Jo wasn't going to be easy to convince to stay here with her and this only proved her right. However she loved the stubborn bitch too much to give up this easy. She still had lots of fight left in her.

The next morning when Alicia awoke, she saw that she was alone in the bed. She started to call out to Kellie Jo fearing that she had left sometime in the night going back to Georgia but something inside of her told that she hadn't, so she didn't say anything. She got on up going out of the bedroom and when she didn't see Kellie Jo in the living room, she went on into the bathroom. Kellie Jo wasn't there either and she started to leave but decided to go ahead and pee first and brush her teeth. Again she did these things without quite knowing why. She left the bathroom going toward the kitchen. The carpet soaked up the sound of her walking so she made no sound.

She came around the corner and she saw Kellie Jo sitting at the kitchen table with her coffee cup in front of her. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Kellie Jo move her right hand to her face and she wiped something from her cheeks. It took Alicia but a moment to realize that Kellie Jo was silently weeping. Alicia stood there for a moment watching Kellie Jo and soon she felt her own hot tears coming down her cheeks. Seeing Kellie Jo crying made her realize just how hard this all had been on her. Alicia thought about how she had just been thinking about herself since she had gotten news of her interview. She had wanted Kellie Jo to come with her and she played dirty to get her to come. And now she wanted to take Kellie Jo from the only home that she had ever known and bring her to a place that was so foreign to both of them. Alicia had no problem moving around so where she lived wasn't that important but to Kellie Jo, where she lived define her life. She watched Kellie Jo cry as she herself cried, she began to reconsider her thought of doing whatever she had to do to get Kellie Jo to pick up and move up here with her. She had to try but she wasn't going to push and she wasn't going to do anymore arm twisting.

She took a couple of steps back so she could no longer see Kellie Jo. She took in a deep breath hoping that she was making the right decision then she called out to Kellie Jo, "Hey bitch where are you?"

"I'm in the kitchen you stupid cunt!" Kellie Jo hollered back and Alicia heard the kitchen chair moving and then water running.

Alicia waited for a moment giving Kellie Jo a chance to get herself back together and also giving herself time to stop the waterworks. "I may be a cunt but I'm not stupid." Alicia yelled back as she came into the kitchen.

"That's debatable," Kellie Jo said as she turned from the sink to face her. Alicia could see that Kellie Jo's eyes were still red and she figured that she hadn't gotten much sleep.

"Just keep that up and you won't get a morning kiss." Alicia said as she came up close but didn't hug her as she would normally do.

"If I wanted a kiss then I would just take one." Kellie Jo said inching in closer to Alicia so they were as close as they could get to each other without actually touching.

"And you think you're woman enough to take what you want." Alicia said presenting Kellie Jo with a challenge that she hoped she would take up.

"Damn right I am." Kellie Jo said wrapping her arms around Alicia to give her a kiss.

Alicia tried to kiss her back but she got a case of the giggles as Kellie Jo was trying to give her big fat wet kisses and soon Kellie Jo got a case of giggles and they both ended up just hugging each other and laughing. Alicia was glad that they could laugh together when just moments they were both crying alone. As their laughing and giggling died down, Alicia lean back in putting her hand behind Kellie Jo's head and she gave her a real kiss.

"So what you want to do today." She asked as their lips parted.

"First I want something to eat. I'm getting very, very hungry." Kellie Jo replied.

"Then fix me some breakfast woman, I'm hungry too." Alicia said as she gave Kellie Jo a smile.

"Oh you are full of it today aren't you?" Kellie Jo stated as she pecked Alicia on the cheek then she made her help find something to cook up.

"Aren't I always?" Alicia replied.

"Yea, you are." Kellie Jo said smiling.

Then they set about making some pancakes and Kellie Jo made some maple syrup just like her Grandmother had taught her to do. It was very sweet but also very good. As they ate, they talked about the limited options of things available for them to do. They didn't have a car to get around and they were too far from Waterville to walk there. Kellie Jo had been stuck inside all of the previous day and she was ready to get out of the apartment, even if was just to walk around the apartment building all day. Alicia wanted to be able to have them do more than that as she wanted Kellie Jo to like this place even if she was never able to get her to live here. They went to the bathroom and got ready to go out and were almost out the door when the phone rang. They both looked at each and Alicia could see Kellie Jo start to frown but then she turned it into a smile. Alicia hoped that it wasn't from the company as she wanted to spend this day with Kellie Jo, they needed this time together, she thought as she picked up the phone.

It turned out to be Martin's wife, Silvia, and she was offering to show them the town since they were stuck here for another day. Alicia was letting Kellie Jo listen in with her and she looked to Kellie Jo wanting her to make the decision. She saw her thinking it over then she nodded her approval. So she told Silvia that they would love to have her show them around.

"I'm sorry about that; I wanted to spend the day with just you." Alicia said as she hung up the phone.

"It's cool; I want to meet the people that you'll be working with." Kellie Jo told her.

"Well if you remember, I'm replacing her husband Martin." Alicia reminded her.

"Even better, she won't have any reason to keep any dark secrets from you; her husband will no longer be working there." Kellie Jo said.

"Ah... but she is the one wanting him to retire so she has every reason to keep any dark secrets just where they are. I'm the last one she wants to scare away from working there." Alicia reminded her.

"True but she hasn't faced the charm that a bitch and a cunt are about to give her." Kellie Jo said with a wink.

"Ah... I see, but do you think either one of us is capable of the charm that you speak of. From what I had seen of you, charm is the last thing oozing from your pores." Alicia replied.

"That's because I don't waste my charm on cunts, I only use it on old women and children as they are the ones worth putting forth the effort." Kellie Jo told her.

Alicia gave her the finger as she pouted but then Kellie Jo burst out laughing as she grabbed Alicia up wrapping her in her warm arms. Alicia tried to keep pouting but she couldn't in the face of such warmth and it was even harder when Kellie Jo kissed her. That was when she gave into her and she encircled her arms around Kellie Jo. Alicia let herself be swept up in Kellie Jo's kisses and she wanted nothing more than to drag her over to the bed and make love to her for the rest of the day. However, the fact that Silvia was already on the way over meant that the lovemaking would have to wait for another time. They continued to kiss as their fingers and hands roamed across each other's body. They let their lips touch and come apart and when they came back together, their tongues got into the kissing. Neither wanted to stop and they didn't, that is, until they heard a knock on the door. They quickly separated, straightening themselves up before Kellie Jo went to the door and opened it.

"Alicia?" the rather large gray haired woman asked.

"No, I'm Kellie Jo, I'm Alicia's friend. This is Alicia." Kellie Jo said as she opened the door revealing Alicia who was trying desperately to stuff her blouse back into her jeans where Kellie Jo had pulled it out to get to her bare back.

"Hi I'm Alicia, are you Silvia?" Alicia said as she came out the door to shake her hand.

"Oh I'm so happy to see you." Silvia said wrapping Alicia into her arms and giving her a big hug. "You are going to allow my Martin and I to do things I have always wanted us to do before we are too old to do them."

"Well now I haven't been offered the job nor have I said that I will take it." Alicia warned her as she extracted herself from the woman's arms.

"But you will, I'm just sure of it and after I get through with you then I know you will take the job. It is such a great place to work, it really is." She said as she gave Alicia another big hug. Alicia looked over at Kellie Jo who seemed amused by it all so Alicia threw her another bird since that was about all that she could do at the moment.

"Actually we were hoping that you will tell us all the things that they don't want us to know, you know what their secrets are and where the bones are buried." Kellie Jo told her and Alicia could only look at her with a shocked expression.

Silvia finally released Alicia then she went to Kellie Jo to give her a hug too and Alicia gave Kellie Jo a big smile as she was getting the same treatment as she got. Though the hug wasn't as long as the two that Alicia got.

"Oh I plan on telling you those too. I want you to know everything before you make your decision. Martin has been there for over thirty years, and he never kept anything from me so what he knows I know. Plus I know most of the women there either through their husbands or from company picnics. I know it all and after today so will you." She told them and she gave them a motherly wink.

"Then let's get going." Kellie Jo said.

Silvia started back toward her car and as Alicia turned to lock the door. But first she leaned close to Kellie Jo and whispered, "What happened to laying on the charm?"

"Okay so I'm better at the direct approach than oozing out the charm, so sue me." Kellie Jo stated and Alicia had to let out a laugh.

They caught back up with Silvia who was already in her car waiting for them. Kellie Jo got into the back seat allowing Alicia to sit up front with Silvia. Alicia knew why she did that as Kellie Jo wanted her to get close to Silvia as she would be her lifeline until she got used to the new environment. Silvia first took them through the town showing them where the small mall was and the grocery stores then on to where her favorite restaurants were, and it was at one of those that they stopped for lunch. There the conversation turned to Silvia getting to know about Alicia and Kellie Jo. Alicia told her about how she had lost everything when she lost her job and she went into detail about how she had met Kellie Jo. She kept on talking through most of the lunch telling her most everything but obviously leaving out how she and Kellie Jo had become lovers. She didn't leave much time for Kellie Jo to tell much about herself and Kellie Jo seemed to be grateful for that. Since Kellie Jo hadn't told even her much about her life, she knew that she wouldn't want to tell Silvia much more than that.

When they got back on the road, Silvia went back to talking about the company and she didn't lie when she said that she would tell them both the good and the bad about the company. The good was pretty good as Silvia liked most of the people that worked there though there was a bad apple or two. She then went onto the bad parts of the company but they weren't any worse than what Alicia had seen at her last company. The pay was pretty good but as Silvia said, you were never going to get rich working there. Alicia didn't mind that as she had already given up on being rich and famous. She had found something more important than that when Kellie Jo took over her life. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to live without what she had found and as she thought these thoughts, she looked back at Kellie Jo making her heart ache. Kellie Jo looked at her giving her a questioning look and all Alicia wanted to do was to jump into the back seat and hug her and make her stay there with her but she couldn't do that so she just gave her a big smile and turned her attention back to Silvia.

They got to Silvia's house about mid afternoon, where Silvia sat them down in the living room as she got them something to drink. They talked about North Dakota and what life was like there. Silvia described the winters and how cold it did get but she did love living there. She had come from New Mexico originally and she had some adjustment to the winters but after the first couple of them, she began to love them and it made her appreciate the summers even more. About four, her daughter dropped in with her two boys, one age two and the other four. They were shy at first clinging to Silvia and their mother but soon Kellie Jo had enticed them over to her and before anyone knew it the three of them were in the middle of the living room rough housing around. Alicia was worried that someone would get hurt with the way that Kellie Jo was playing with them but the little boys were eating it up. As she talked to Silvia and her daughter, she began to understand Kellie Jo a little more. She had seen her with children before but never up close like this. She saw how she was a natural born mother. That gave her a clue as to what was keeping her in Georgia and how it may never let her leave there.

A little after five, Martin showed up from work and their son-in-law arrived shortly thereafter. Silvia, her daughter, and Alicia went to the kitchen to make some tacos, the boy's favorite food in the entire world. The boys of course stayed with Kellie Jo, Martin, and their father whom they had convinced to join in on the games. When the tacos were ready, they all crowded around the table to feast. After dinner, the adults talked for a while as they boys began to slow down. So it wasn't long before they were packed up and taken home for baths and bed. That left Martin, Silvia, Kellie Jo and Alicia alone to talk. Alicia figured that it was now or never so she asked Martin directly what he thought of the company he worked for and the one that wanted Alicia to work there. He, like his wife, was honest with her and told her everything she wanted to know. In the end, Alicia came away with the idea that while it wasn't perfect there, it was a good place to work and where they would allow her some freedom to do her projects as she saw fit. That part she liked and she could see that Kellie Jo was also approving of the company. They stayed there until about nine, when Martin took them back to the apartment.

As Kellie Jo got out going on to the apartment, Martin kept Alicia in the car, "So are you going to take the job?" Martin asked.

"I don't know, it depends on how tonight goes." Alicia said being honest with him as he and his wife had been to her.

"That's what I figured." Martin said as she paused for a moment. "May I give you a piece of grandfatherly advice?"

"Sure," Alicia said turning toward him.

"Don't push too hard, sometimes it is better to back off and see what happens. She just might discover where she belongs on her own." He told her.

"I think your right but it's so fucking hard not to just grab her and make her stay." She told him as she felt the tears come to her eyes.

"You hold on too tight and she'll slip right through your fingers." Martin said as he pulled her to him giving her a kiss on the forehead before letting go of her.

"I know, thanks Martin, you're a good soul." She told him giving him a kiss on the cheek before starting to get out of the car.

"Mind if I quote you on that the next time I piss Silvia off?" He asked.

Alicia laughed, "Sure but I doubt that you would piss her off too many times."

"Well I don't but when I do, I go for the gold." He said laughing out loud then he gave Alicia a wave and he started to back out of the parking space.

When she got back to the apartment Kellie Jo was waiting for her, "What did Martin say to you?" She asked.

"Oh he was just making a last pitch to get me to take the job." Alicia said walking past her hoping that Kellie Jo did press her about the lie she just told and she was relieved that she didn't.

After their showers, they were lying in bed facing each other and Alicia could feel the tension that was in the bed. There was so much that Alicia wanted to say and she didn't know if she should say anything at all. It appeared that Kellie Jo was having the same problem but she being direct as always, she was the first to speak.

"I think you should take the job." She said simply.

"Will you stay here with me?" Alicia asked.

"I can't." Kellie Jo said before adding, "Please don't ask me to." And that was said with more than a little desperation in her voice.

Alicia wanted to reach out to her but she didn't, they needed to talk this out without too much emotion though emotion was all she was feeling at the moment. "Can I ask you why you can't, what is there in Georgia that you can't find here? I know it can't be the store, I mean it is a good place to work but it just a place to work, just like the job I'm interviewing for, in the end it is just a job."

"It's not the store, that's not it. There's something more to it than that, it goes much deeper." Kellie Jo replied and Alicia could see that they were getting closer to the truth.

"Is it because that is where your mother and grandmother were raised and where they are buried? You can't leave them?" Alicia asked and she saw that Kellie Jo reacted to this so she was even closer to the truth but she hadn't gotten there yet. So before Kellie Jo could answer she went on with, "Or is it because that is where Billy Joe is buried and you can never leave him."

Kellie Jo jumped up out of the bed quickly and Alicia could see the fire in her eyes, "Who told you about him. They had no business doing that. That is personal and none of your god damn business!" She then walked / ran into the living room.

Alicia got up, following her into the living room where she saw Kellie Jo crying with her hands covering her face. Alicia went to her, putting her arms around her, holding her tightly as Kellie Jo tensed up though she didn't move from her arms. Alicia held her for a few moments before she said anything.

"You told me about him, no one else did."Alicia said not mentioning Bella for now.

"I did not!" Kellie Jo said as she pulled back from Alicia daring her to deny that fact.

"You remember that night when you hit me?" Alicia asked.

"Yea, you called me southern trash or something like that." Kellie Jo said not apologizing.

"Well before you hit me you talked about women that had lost a child had a right to feel sorry for themselves and someone that had lost their best friend had a right to feel sorry for themselves but not someone like me who had only lost material things." Alicia said and she saw Kellie Jo start to put the picture together.

"So..." Kellie Jo said wanting more.

"Well later that night I began to think about what you said and more importantly the look in your eyes when you said it. It was like you were talking from experience, you were talking about yourself. So I had to find out and I started to do some research which I'm very good at. I kept looking until I finally found something about him. I eventually ended up going to the hospital and I saw a picture of a young woman and the cutest little boy sitting on her lap. That young woman was you and the little boy was Billy Joe. A nice nurse came by at that moment and she told me about the mother and son that were in the picture. As she told me a little about the little boy and the more he reminded me of his mother. A little boy who liked to be a little mischievous but also who was so full of life and ...love." Alicia told her.

"So did Bella told you about Wilson too?" She asked her and Alicia sensed that Kellie Jo was more than a little pissed off at Bella.

"What makes you think that it was Bella that I talked to?" Alicia asked.

"Because she loved Billie Joe as much as I did and she would be the only one to describe him so clearly, and you didn't answer my question, did she tell you about Wilson too?"

"No she didn't, she just talked about Billie Joe for a while, the rest she said I would have to get from you." Alicia said, "And please don't be mad at her, be mad at me but not her."

"Why didn't you ask me about him before now?" Kellie Jo asked.

"Because I wanted you to be the one to choose to tell me about him, I was hoping that one day you would trust me enough to open up that place in your heart that you held for only yourself." Alicia told her.

"Then why bring it up now, to use it against me?" Kellie Jo accused her.

"No honey, only to know if that was what was holding you there, so I will know if I have a right to ask you to come here and now I know that I don't." Alicia said as she felt her heart sink.

"Alicia you deserve someone better than an old southern trash bitch like me, you'll find someone sweeter and nicer than me here. This is where you belong and I belong in Georgia." Kellie Jo said as she pulled Alicia to her giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"I love the poor southern trash bitch that you are; you are the best one for me." Alicia said as she began to cry as she was coming to the realization that that come tomorrow that she might never have Kellie Jo as her own.

"I know you do but it doesn't change anything." Kellie Jo told her as she gave her a reassuring squeeze that didn't reassure her very much.

Alicia stayed against Kellie Jo for a few minutes before pulling away, "I guess we are at the jumping off point, the only decision left is whether I take the job or not." Alicia said not liking either of the consequences from that decision.

"You have to take the job." Kellie Jo told her as a matter of fact.

"No I don't, I could go back with you and work at the store, I was happy there." Alicia told her.

"No you weren't happy there, you were happy that I was there." Kellie Jo said and Alicia started to tell her that was the point but Kellie Jo didn't allow her to say anything.

"Alicia, I don't want you a year from now or two years from now looking back and regretting not taking this job, and you will. You can deny it all you want right now but you know as well as I do that you were born to be an engineer and you won't be happy doing anything else. The way the job market is now it may be two or three years before an opening as good as this one opens back up and you will have been out of the business for so long then that they may not want you. Now is the time to act and act you must. Be honest with yourself and be honest with me, you want this job don't you?" Kellie Jo asked her.

"Yes I do, I want it bad but I want you even worse." Alicia said.

"Then tomorrow when Mr. Davis offers you the job, you'll thank him and accept it. Then tell him that you are willing to start on Thursday." Kellie Jo told her firmly.

"I can't start on Thursday; I need the rest of my clothes and some money until I get paid." Alicia said wanting to spend some more time with Kellie Jo down in Georgia.

"My bag is filled mostly with your clothes and I took out extra money for you to get started, so you see there is no need for you to return to Georgia with me. Anything you need, I can send to you later." She said.

"You had this all planned didn't you. I didn't even notice that you put my clothes into your bag." Alicia replied.

"Why do you think that I repacked our bags so many times? Each packing more of my clothes came out and more of yours went in. Do you think I'm that anal?" Kellie Jo said with a proud smile.

"Yea I do but still I don't like leaving..." Alicia said when Kellie Jo put her fingers to her lips.

"I know and I don't like it either but we've come to a fork in the road and our destinies are leading us down different roads. That's just the way it is. Now let's get back to bed, you need to be rested for tomorrow's interview." She said.

Alicia started to go with her then she stopped turning Kellie Jo toward her. "Can I say one more thing and please don't think that this is the low blow I am using to get you to stay but it is something I truly believe and I think you need to hear it." She said looking into Kellie Jo's eyes.

"Go ahead," Kellie Jo replied wearily.

"I know that everyone you loved is buried down in Georgia but that's not where their living now. It's here and here..." Alicia said as she pointed first to Kellie Jo head and then her heart, "...that is where they now live. Billie Joe is alive and well, deep inside of your heart and no matter where you are, he will be there too." She then kissed Kellie Jo lightly on the lips. She took her hand leading her back to the bed. She didn't want Kellie Jo to argue with her but she did want her to think about it.

They got into bed and they moved in close to each other. Alicia wanted to say lots more to her but yet she knew they had both said all that they could say. Kellie Jo was determined for her to take the job and if she didn't then she would be so mad at her, she would risk losing her. And if she took the job, the distance between them would eventually take its toll and she would lose her. So no matter what she did, she was going to lose the best thing that ever happened to her. So tonight she just wanted to be as close to her as she could. She didn't sleep any and she could tell by Kellie Jo's breathing that she wasn't sleeping either. The night seemed to go on forever yet before she knew it, morning had come.

They both tried to find things to talk about that morning but it was difficult to find something that didn't bring them back to what was about to happen. So they stuck to the weather and mundane things such as that. Kellie Jo helped her to get dressed for her most important of interviews. Alicia tried to appear excited about the interview but it was so hard, so fucking hard.

"Now you be strong, you can do this." Kellie Jo told her as she started to open the door to leave. Then she pulled her back kissing her tenderly and it filled Alicia with love. "Now go and don't keep Mr. Washington waiting." Kellie Jo said as the kiss ended and she pushed Alicia out the door closing it behind of her.

Alicia wanted to turn around and bang on the door begging Kellie Jo to let her back in but she saw Mr. Washington start to get out of his car so she waved for him to stay there and she made her way down to him. As she talked to him on the way to the plant, her thoughts were on Kellie Jo as they would be for the rest of the day.

She had to wait for an hour to see Mr. Davis and she spent it with talking to Mr. Washington. She was getting a bit more nervous as each minute passed. But the time did pass and she was ushered into the owner's office. It wasn't as fancy as she figured that it would be but more simplistic in design and she saw that there wasn't a paper on his desk. He did come from behind his desk to greet her then he led her over to a small conference table that was in the office. First he just talked about his company and how he had gotten it started. Then he went through the whole history of the company and where he wanted the company to go in the future. Alicia began to like this man as he was direct in how he talked and in what he wanted. He didn't ask her much about what she had done but rather asked more about how she liked to work and what things she felt she could give to his company.

She thought of Kellie Jo and she knew not to start with her I am the best engineer there is speech, but instead she talked about what she felt her strong points were and how she liked to make things simple for the manufacturing people to produce, making a complex item into a simple one. She said she knew that manufacturing would always find way to speed up the process and make it easier so she wanted to do that at the beginning of the project thus helping them and the company to make money. He seemed to like that philosophy and when she was done, he said the words that she so wanted to hear and so hated to hear. He offered her the job and at a much better salary than she was expecting. Like Martin had said, she wouldn't get rich there but they did pay well. It was lots more than she was making at her old company and Alicia thought about how this money would have help her and Kellie Jo get started in their new life only it would be just her now. When he asked when she could start, Alicia only paused for a second before telling him what Kellie Jo had told her to say, she would start the next day if he liked. He smiled, thanked her, and then sent her to see Mr. Washington to get things started.

She filled out the paperwork then Josh took her for her drug test, before dropping her off at the apartment on the way back from the clinic. As she got out, he welcomed her to the company and that he would see her bright and early the next morning.

She got home a little before three leaving her just enough time to see Kellie Jo off and maybe try one last time to convince her to stay. She rushed into the apartment calling out to Kellie Jo, however she got no response. She ran into the bedroom then the bathroom but still there was no Kellie Jo. Her heart was beating wildly and she felt like she was going to pass out if she didn't find her. She ran into the kitchen last and no one was there. Her eyes went around the room searching for something then she saw a sheet of paper on the table. A gasp escaped from her lips and the tears began to flow. She walked slowly to the table picking up the paper. She was crying so hard that she couldn't make out the words. She fell down into a chair holding onto the paper with shaking hands. She cried for a few minutes then she got up on weak legs going to the kitchen sink to splash cold water on her face. She dried her face off before going back to the table and picking up the paper. She saw Kellie Jo clear neat writing and she began to read.

My love,

I changed my flight to early morning so when you read this I will already be on my way back home. I know I have hurt you by doing this but it was something that I had to do. If I had let you come with me to the airport then I know that you would have wanted to come back with me and I don't know if I would have the strength to stop you. So this is the way it had to be. You will be happy there and soon I will just be a warm spot in your heart and that will have to be enough for both of us.

With all my love,

Kelly Jo...

End of Part Four.

To be continued...

Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com