The Merger: Part 2
by M.C.
Helen Warner: The making of a superwoman


When Helen Warner walked into the main entrance of the country club all heads
suddenly turned in her direction; for she was indeed a sight to behold.
Whether it was her perfectly sculpted, five foot-ten inch, 175 pound body, or
her physical beauty with her long brown hair reaching almost to her waist, or
the air of supreme confidence that she seemed to have in herself, the
beautiful brunette commanded attention; and got it. Helen was well aware of
the effect she had on most of the people who saw her. She was not just used to
being the center of attention, she thrived on it.

Very early in her life the precocious and extremely talented female realized
that there was something very special about her; that she possessed qualities
few other people had. Helen was, for starters, more intelligent than most of
other students - it took her much less time to learn things and she was always
at the top of her class; regardless of the subject. She was also stronger,
faster and a much better athlete than all of the other girls as well as
practically all of the boys. The toughest kid in her elementary school, Helen
enjoyed beating up tough bullies and making them cry. Grounding her opponents
to dust was a practice that would serve her well later on in the business
world.

Throughout her school years, the female super athlete usually competed on
boy's athletic teams; the girl's teams being much too easy for her. A natural
competitor, Helen drove herself to be the best in everything she tried. She
thrived on competition and especially relished her victories over the
*stronger sex*. Whether it was in tennis, golf, one-on-one basketball, karate
or even wrestling (in an unofficial match, she challenged - and defeated - the
heavyweight champion wrestler of her high school even though he outweighed her
by nearly 100 pounds) the amazing girl always pushed herself to be number one;
an endevour in which she rarely failed.

Success followed her through college where she led the women's university
basketball and softball teams to league championships in both her junior and
senior years. A scratch golfer, Helen even found time to win the women's
individual golf title twice. It was in her university years that she also took
up a new sport for fitness - boxing. Oh yes, and she also finished her
undergraduate degree summa cum laude. No doubt about it, Helen Warner was
special.

She carried her competitive drive and ambition into the business world. In
just a few short years Helen turned a relatively small software company into a
major player. The hard driving executive overwhelmed her opposition in the
boardrooms as easily as she had on the athletic field and, like on the
athletic field, she loved doing it. Nothing gave the powerful woman greater
satisfaction than to see the look of total resignation on a competitor's face
after she pounded him into the ground; figuratively speaking...most of the
time. Every once in a while though, when negotiations got tough and the men
Helen was negotiating with thought they could pressure her into doing what
they wanted her to, or when Helen felt she needed to discipline a male
employee who acted in an inappropriate manner towards the females in her firm,
she would resort to *unladylike* methods to make her point; which she always
did. Throughout her life, the powerful woman seemed to have a aura of
invincibility about her...and she knew it.

Helen looked around the main hall of the country club but couldn't see any
sign of her counterpart. She then approached one of the club members - Micheal
Resnick, an accountant that she occasionally plays golf with. "Excuse me Mike
but have you seen Bradly Wilson around by any chance? I was supposed to meet
him here at eight."

"I saw him and a couple of his *associates* over at the driving range about
ten minutes ago Ms. Warner," the handsome man replied; showing her the respect
she commanded.

"Thank you...and you can call me Helen from now on. By-the-way, I'm sorry
about last Sunday (snicker). If you ask me nicely maybe I'll give you a chance
to win back some of your money."

"I think I'll pass Helen. I'd be crazy to bet against you again; you beat me
by seven strokes."

"What? A big, tough macho man like you afraid of a little girl like me? Why
you big baby; tee, hee, hee. (Helen loved teasing the men she dominiated, she
always did. It was her way of asserting her female superiority over them). How
about if I give you a seven stroke handicap next time?"

"Seven strokes? Hmmm... I'll have to think about it."

"Well you think about it then Mike. In the meantime I have some business to
discuss with Mr. Wilson. But I want your answer by the time I'm through
with...err, that is to say by the time Bradly and I have finished our
negotiations." When she saw the confused look on Mike's face, Helen reached
over and playfully pinched him on the cheek."Tell you what good looking, I'll
even give you eight strokes and let you tee off from the *girl's* tees." The
beautiful woman winked at him and then walked off in the direction of the
driving range.

It didn't take Helen long to find what she was looking for. A quick glance
down the driving range and she spotted the three men - Bradley and, she
assumed, his two bodyguards. Although they had never met face-to-face, Helen
knew what Bradly Wilson looked like; in fact she knew quite a bit about him.
The 33 year-old CEO was quite famous (or infamous) for his flamboyance and
ego. Although he inherited the company from his late father, Bradly was much
more interested in fast cars and fast women than in running a successful
corporation. Consequently, their fortunes had been on a steady decline ever
since he took over the running of it. That made it a very attractive target
for Helen's merger which, in reality, was more like a takeover bid.

She knew that with the acquisition of Wilson Enterprises,'Warner Enterprises'
- as her company was now called - would become a power to be reckoned with.
All Helen had to do was convince this irresponsible playboy to go along. She
boldly walked up to the group of men and, in a strong, firm tone of voice
said," Mr. Wilson, my name is Helen Warner. It's a quarter after eight and I
believe you and I have some business to discuss."

Bradly Wilson didn't respond, he just sent another ball sailing down the
fairway, hooking it slightly to the left. Without even looking up, the large
man bent down and placed another ball on the tee. Helen knew the snub was
deliberate, he definiately wasn't hard of hearing. In her company, as well as
practically everywhere else, people pay attention to her. The beautiful,
powerful corporate executive is rarely - if ever - ignored; and if she is,
it's never more than once. The question for her now was, what should she do in
this situation? Helen watched as Bradly stroked another ball. "240 yards,
that's not too bad I guess. If you ever learn to straighten them out you might
have a halfway decent drive there."

For the first time, her rival looked at her."And I suppose you can do better,
Miss know-it-all?"

"We won't know for sure until I try; will we Mr. Bradly?"

He straightened up, took a step back and stared at her for a few moments; then
he smiled. "O.K. Miss Warner, let's see if you can do better."

Helen took his driver and placed a ball on the tee; then she addressed it.

"Aren't you going to remove your high heels?" a surprised Bradly asked.

"Why? To beat those drives of yours? I don't believe that will be necessary."
She pulled the driver back and "WHACK!" sent the ball 250 yards straight ahead
- a full 10 yards further than Bradly's drive. Without missing a beat, the
strong, athletic woman replaced the ball and sent out another perfect drive;
255 yards this time."The trick Mr. Wilson is in the wrists and clubspeed, the
faster the club 'SWAT!' the further the drive." The three men watched in awe
as Helen's third drive sailed over the 260 yard sign."There," she said calmly
said as she handed the club back to the stunned man,"can we get down to
business now? You're delaying tactics are beginning to annoy me."

Helen smiled to herself when she saw the look of anger on his face...he had
taken the bait. "Men," she thought,"they're so easy to dominiate; always have
been. He doesn't even realize he's been made. I almost feel sorry for the
pathetic man. But he deserves what he has coming to him. I will have to do
something about these bodyguards of his first though. How fortutitous to have
left the gloves in my purse. Just look at them - three tough, confident men;
thinking, no doubt, that they can easily get their way with me. I hate to say
this but I'm really going to enjoy what I'm about to do..."

Together, the beautiful woman and the three large, strong men headed for a
private meeting room in the country club where the fates of their corporations
would be decided.

End of part 2