Read Jethro: First to Fight for Free Online

competition too. She'd made him aware of all her machinations when he'd
pulled ahead in the polls. She'd also made it clear to him that if he didn't
play ball with her she and her supporters would yank their support in an
instant and he'd be in free fall, or at worst, dead.
    He didn't want that. He resented her
influence and arrogance, but he'd respected her abilities. He'd planned on
finding ways to work around her when needed, but she'd slipped so neatly into
her role and gathered up the reins of power so easily it had been almost
impossible not to go along with the group. She'd kept such a tight rein on him
for so long he'd thought she'd have taken him as a lover to permanently cement
her hold over him. He was relieved that had never happened, he didn't like
being some woman's round bottom boy. He much preferred the top.
    He glanced at Tracy, his blonde
secretary mistress. She was stacked, she knew she had good looks and dressed
the part, conservative in public or when he had to deal with people who were
more... sensitive, and slutty in private. Or not at all when the whim struck him.
He smiled slightly.
    She had just the right submissive streak
going, she knew her place and didn't try to change it. She didn't rock the boat
with his wife, being deferential to her as well. He was still training Tracy to
do the job right, fear was a powerful motivator, as was just a little taste of
power and ambition. She knew if she didn't toe the line exactly as he wanted
she'd follow his last secretary out the lock. Nagging Nancy had gotten too cute
in her games anyway, and her last trick of getting pregnant in order to
blackmail him had sealed her fate. He didn't need nor want a scandal. Miss
Persephone had been ever the professional, making sure the stupid slut suffered
for a while before she met her fate. He still treasured the video, and watched
it weekly.
    His wife however resented Tracy, no
matter how much he'd tried to get her to use the girl too. That was annoying,
Tracy wasn't a lover, she was a relief valve. Someone to get his rocks off
whenever he was in the mood... and his wife wasn't around. She unfortunately
didn't see it that way and was growing ever snippy about it.
    “Sir, um...”
    “Hmm?” he looked at Nelson. “Sorry,
thinking of something else,” he said, shooting a glance at the secretary's open
front. Trace blushed ever so slightly and squirmed, but made no effort to
button up. She'd had her knuckles rapped the last time she had done that.
    “The economic downturn sir...” Nelson
supplied.
    “What about it?” he demanded. “There isn't
much we can do about it, not with things the way they are,” he growled.
    “There may be a few things we can do to
offset it sir. Tax incentives to the proper parties, perhaps a tax holiday to
investors? A repeal of the tax on the upper income brackets...”
    Walker scowled. He knew where that was
going, someone somewhere wanted more change in their pockets. He didn't
disagree with them, but there were enough charities in the system now to use as
tax write offs. And they said there was corruption and graft in government! One
charity ball and a couple eye opening discussions with Nelson had been enough
to convince Walker that all the charities were schemes pure and simple. 90
percent of the charity ball, where it cost over 50,000 credits a plate to
attend had gone to the people organizing the event, not to the charity it had
been arranged for. And the damn thing had to be attended by Walker and his
wife, they had to put in an appearance to rub elbows with the true movers and
shakers in the system. That had been an annoying evening.
    “The admiral's apparent survival is good
sir. If he came back, things would turn around again right?” Nelson asked.
    “Damn right they would! And once I had
the key's I'd kick him out the nearest airlock!” Walker growled.
    Tracy winced and bit her lip but didn't
say anything. Instead she tapped her stylus against her bottom lip