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The two men converged on him, their combined bulk making him shrink and cower.ôYou want to help your employer, donÆt you, Eric?ö said Mr. Karat. ôBe a loyal company man?ö

ôWell, of course, butàö

ôStock options,ö said the G-man with a cold smile as his eyes bored into EricÆs.

ôYes, weÆll give you stock options,ö said Mr. Karat. ôStock options that will make you a very rich man indeed, Mr. Blandine. Stock options that will ensure a future for you and for your family. An unencumbered future for you and your loved ones. How does that sound?ö

ôGood,ö he admitted as he wondered if heÆd ever be able to go to the bathroom again.

ôThis is not a negotiation, Blandine,ö said Norm, as he also got up from behind his desk and joined the browbeating exercise. ôThis is an order. You will pretend to be Cotton Karat from now on, and you will not mention this to anyone. Is that clear?!ö

He meekly nodded. It was perfectly clear. The only problem was: how was he ever going to explain all this to Maisie?

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ôI donÆt get it,ö said Maisie as she used a cotton pad to remove the makeup from her face. ôWhy do you have to go on a training weekend?ö

ôNot a weekend,ö Eric patiently explained, seated on the bed. ôItÆs a training month.ö

ôIÆve never heard such nonsense in my entire life. Why does a warehouse worker have to go train for a month? What are they going to teach you? How to print labels?ö

ôItÆs because of my promotion, Maisie,ö said Eric. ôI already explained this to you.ö

ôAnd IÆm telling you I donÆt believe a word youÆre telling me. So try again, and this time please donÆt insult me and tell me the truth for a change.ö

ôIt is the truth, sweetheart. Norm called me into his office today and said IÆm being promoted. From now on IÆm going to be team leader. And all team leaders have to train for a month in Garden City. ItÆs standard company policy.ö

Maisie made a skeptical noise as she studied her face in the mirror. She was a large woman, with coarse features and a square doughy face. But even though she wasnÆt exactly pretty, she was the apple of EricÆs eye, and had been since the day they met in high school. It wasnÆt so much that theyÆd fallen in love at first sight and had become high school sweethearts, but more that one day Maisie decided Eric would make a suitable husband and father to her kids and told him that from now on she was his girlfriend. And Eric, meek as usual, had simply accepted her dictum. Not that he had a lot of choice in the matter. When Maisie made a decision, that was the way it was, no back talk allowed.

She now fixed her husband with a curious look.ôYouÆre lying to me, Eric.ö

ôNo, IÆm not,ö he said weakly.

ôI can tell from the way your nose is twitching. ItÆs your tell.ö

ôMy nose isnÆt twitching,ö he said quietly, as his hand surreptitiously traveled to the traitorous appendage and took a firm hold of his schnoz.

Maisie planted both hands on her hips, a clear sign she was fed up with this nonsense.ôEnough of this, Blandine. You better start telling me the truth in oneùtwoùthreeàö

ôAll right, all right!ö he finally cried. ôMr. Karat and his lawyer were in the office today, and they told me I have to pretend to be Cotton Karat for a couple of weeks, while Cotton is off to some clinic somewhere to get cured of his sex addiction. They donÆt want anyone to find out aboutit since it might sink the stock price even further than itÆs already sunk and because I look so much like Cotton they chose me to be his double.ö

Whatever Maisie had expected, it clearly wasnÆt this. But the story was so unlikely, so outrageous, so crazy, that it simply had to be true. ôWell, IÆll be damned,ö she finally said.

ôTheyÆre giving me stock options,ö Eric said, not meeting his wifeÆs gaze. ôA lot of stock options. And if I manage to pull this off, and make the stock go up again, IÆll be a rich man. Or so they said.ö

ôHow much?ö said Maisie curtly. She wasnÆt the kind of woman to hem and haw, but as usual went straight to the heart of the matter.

ôTen stock options at five hundred dollars a share. If the stock starts trading at last weekÆs price again, theyÆll be worth ten thousand.ö

ôAnd if they keep sinking, theyÆll be worth zilch.ö She thought for a moment. ôWhat about Ebony Pilay?ö

ôSheÆs out of the picture. They bought her off.ö

Maisie uttered an incredulous laugh.ôOf course they did. And IÆll bet they offered her a lot more than ten measly stock options.ö

Eric shrugged.ôIt wasnÆt a negotiation, sweetheart. It was either this or I wasnÆt going to have a job anymore. Plus theyÆd blackball me. Make sure I wonÆt find a job elsewhere.ö