Joyce nods in satisfaction when she sees bags of clothes for both of them being removed from the truck.

"Was there anybody there when you drove past?"

"Yes, there was a few cars at the restaurant and more at the megaplex. . .I expect to see more tomorrow night as people are off work."

"That would have made more sense than having them open on a Wednesday." Xander snorts.

"The government? Make sense? Ewww, how wrongidy wrong wrong." Cordelia shudders as she walks past. Everybody snickers.

"Have you heard about your business plans?"

"Yes, they were accepted and we've got appointments next month to present them. Mr. Sampson doesn't see any problems. ..after all it's what we're already doing, not like kids just out of school." Rupert nods in satisfaction. "Too many of them would pull a stunt like that moron here and since it's the government they got the money to try to fix their mistakes."

"But we have to be getting more customers than that." dumbass wails in DC when he gets the ticket sales from the megaplex after the first two weeks it's open.

"What the hell were you expecting? Sold out theaters for weeks ahead of time? It doesn't work that way boy. Not in that location."

"But this was supposed to be my big shot." he whines.

"And now it's your big flop." His boss snorts. "You're the laughingstock of the government and this whole mess is going to be going down in history as what not to do in business." He walks off to the moron's wailing.

"What, the moron thought people would be standing in line for hours to get in the building? It's a fucking movie theater, not the latest apple product." One of the others snorts.

"Yeeeesssss, fucking moron was hoping that this would magically make everything turn around and he could crow 'seee! I did know what I was doing'. That's good ticket sales for that area, but it's not good enough to suit him."

Cordelia sighs after she finishes her midterms. Xander is still typing but Jessy is giving the computer a level two death glare.

"Have you been talking to your advisor? About . . ." she makes a hand wave in the general direction of the mall, megaplex, and whatnot.

"Yes, this whole situation is a prime example of what not to do in business. If that moron had come up with that for a business plan he'd have been tossed out of the room on his useless little ass." Cordy sniggers softly in deference to Xander who finishes typing and puts his hands up in the air.

"Done?"

"Yep." Looking at the time they head off, it will be a couple days before their tests are graded and they can do with a break. Larry chuckles when they walk into the main house, he knows that look from the others. At least they're not guzzling coffee like Willow while cramming for tests.

Mail is checked and for the most part dropped into the recycling. The table of trade journals and papers is looked over and Jessy snags one to read after lunch.

"Has anybody seen if there's more cars at the megaplex?" Rupert asks.

"No, it seems to be steady. .. at least during the week. Why? Is dumbass complaining that we can't possibly be telling him the truth about ticket sales?" Jessy drawls.

"Yes, the fool demanded he be allowed to fly out and find out the truth and got his ass handed to him by his superiors. This is the same moron who was positive people were getting rid of responses from stores wanting spots in the mall."

"Because the little shit couldn't possibly have been wrong about stores flocking to the mall." Jesse snorts. "Hopefully the warehouse store will bring in more customers."

"That's the only thing they could have used in town, the megaplex is too damn big, same with the mall. And I don't think the bank still has any business."

"No, that's not true. I saw one car there the other day." Illyana calls out across the room. The others laugh.

Jessy takes a deep breath and gets behind the wheel of her van a few days later, passing the mall, megaplex, warehouse store, and bank on the way into town to the dollar store. There's a few more cars in the parking lots for matinees but it's early yet. Parking her car in the dollar general parking lot she grabs a cart and starts wandering the aisles. The Christmas decorations are already out and she looks at artificial trees for a while before sighing and putting two in her cart. Sniggering behind her has her swatting at Xander as he picks up one of his own.

"You've got the room for them." They grab boxes of lights and a couple totes before checking out.

"Any idea how they're handling the pay and rents?" Xander asks as he puts the containers in the back of the van.

"According to Rupert the government created a fund, supposedly it's got a billion plus in it after the construction. The bank just gets their rent paid but the others let somebody know how much they're paying their employees, how many employees they have, supplies and bills, how much they're giving us, and the fund gives them money monthly."

"Makes sense. Which the government usually doesn't."

"Please, if they'd just put a foot down on that fool's neck in the first place they wouldn't need the fund in the first place. Though I'd have put my foot down a lot further down, keep his stupidity from being passed on to a new generation." Xander sniggers as he puts his stuff away in one of the house's trucks he'd parked next to Jessy's van.

"Are you going anywhere else?"

"No, I'll order the rest online. K-mart has better Christmas decorations but we don't have any stores around here."

Jessy gets online when they return to the house, putting in her order before heading to the cafeteria.

"Any word on when they're going to open the warehouse store? I see they're getting in supplies." Xander asks Larry.

"According to all the publicity next Sunday. They're going to have free food, giveaways, all that . . ." Larry's voice trails off as a loudly cussing Jessy waves an envelope. "Oh this time I am destroying the fucking morons. No more nice girl."

"The casino. . .again?" Rupert snickers from the door of his office.

"Yep, this time they're sure they're going to get all our money."

"Are they stupid?" Joyce asks as she reads everything, handing it to Rupert. "Trying to force you to attend or you'll be arrested for theft? You didn't ask for the morons to pay for anything for you. if they try pressing charges they'll be laughed out of the police department."

"Yes, yes they are. This means I'm going to have to finish my classes early, I leave the day after we're supposed to be presenting our business plans. You know how long the damn things run so we'll have to stay in Miami overnight."

"It won't be that big a hardship, you can stay at the motel, Xander can take you to the airport, then bring the car back home." Jenny says calmly. "Xander, are the trees that were taken down for the construction nearly ready for you to work with?"

"No, they need another year to dry in the building but the wood from the trees that were knocked down in the storm are ready. The teachers at the school was out looking at everything a couple weeks ago."

"Are you going to be taking another degree?"

"Myeah." He waves a hand. "Like Jessy the teachers want to work with me on other projects. Once I'm done with the MBA. . .and no, you're not talking either of us into a doctorate. . ." he waggles a finger at Rupert who just chuckles.

"A-fucking-men." Jessy mutters.

"I'll be back to working with them summers."

"Are you fucking stupid? No, you can't fucking threaten them with arrest for theft if they don't go on the cruise." the casino's lawyers sigh.

"But why not?" the man who's still trying to be somebody with the cruises and knows this is his last chance whines.

"You sent all that shit out to them, they didn't ask for any of it." The lawyers snorts. "They don't have to come out to the cruise."

Jessy sighs as she finishes her last class, stretching in her chair and rubbing the back of her neck.

"Done?" Jenny asks quietly so she doesn't disturb Cordy or Xander.

"Yes, thank you god." Jessy walks out of the library, she can take care of everything later.

Jenny takes her to her home, checking her clothes for the cruise and to present her thesis.

Jessy mutters rude comments as she gets off the shuttle from the airport to the dock, walking on the cruise ship and demanding a different room when she finds out where she'd been placed. They try to claim there's no room but since there's not a whole lot of people checking in they finally cave and put her in a good stateroom.

"Move her back." the head of the gambling cruise orders when he finds out what's been done.

"Fuck you asswipe, there's room and she can have a better room. I don't give a shit if you don't like it. Aren't you supposed to be making them want to be on the ship?" One of the others snorts. He walks off wailing and sends off a complaint to the casino via ship to shore, being told to grow the fuck up. The other man was right.

"How was the cruise?" Dexter asks as she walks out of the airport.

"Oh god, if that moron trying to make somebody out of himself with the cruises doesn't have a nervous breakdown it's because he's drunk himself to death The first thing I did was demand a better stateroom since the ship was less than half-full. He had a fit about one of the other employees doing it, called the casino to complain and was told to grow up. Bastard watched me like a hawk, tried claiming my cane had to be hiding electronics, had it x-rayed and found it was plain wood. Had me scanned with an x-ray machine and found nothing. By then the other guests were loudly booing him and he scurried off with his tail between his legs. And that was just the first night before dinner."

"Good lord." Dexter murmurs as they make it out of the airport.

"Yeah, the bastard routinely accused me of cheating but found nothing and realized I could sue the fucker for millions for slander. He was sobbing as I played the slots and won money, went to the gaming rooms and added more money. . .everybody was cheering me on by the time the cruise was over."

"Does this mean no more cruises?"

"Yes, rumor was this was his last chance and he effed it up big time."

Jessy looks at the megaplex and restaurant when they drive past. "Oh, rumor is one store on board on the mall."

Jessy claps her hands in a 'golly gee willikers' gesture. Dexter smiles despite himself. "The cynic in me says I expect them to come running when they realize they won't be out anything for five years."

At the house Jenny takes her bag to do laundry as Joyce walks her to the cafeteria.

"The slayer of gambling cruise ships has arrived.* Jessy makes crowd roaring noises. Everybody snickers.

"Okay, Jessy is back. Tell us how your presentations went." Rupert looks at Xander. Both of them laugh and give thumbs up, getting hugs from everybody.

"Is that the end of the cruises?" Joyce asks after Jessy has eaten and told her story. Jenny had sniggered at Jessy making them give her a good stateroom.

"I think so, dumbass was the only person who really wanted them, the cruise line was losing money on these trips. Nobody else at the casino wanted them. . .they realized to get high rollers you have to have something they want. Not just dump them on a ship in the middle of the ocean and expect them to start gambling. That's why casinos and hotels have other stuff."

"And even the cheap hotels in Vegas don't offer much but you can sightsee."

"Amen. So Dexter says there's a store possibly on board at the mall?"

"Yes." The others look at Rupert. "I got the news just before Dexter left to pick Jessy up."

"Cynic in me says they come crawling out of the woodwork when they learn they're getting paid for everything for five years."

"The cynic in me agrees with the cynic in you." Rupert sighs as everybody nods.

"Or hire employees they don't need for the same five years then fire them once they have to pay for them."

"Hell, close the stores the second the five years is up."

"The government will have to put in clauses in the contracts to keep that from happening." Joyce says. "They're already out all this money thanks to that fool, they'll make sure something like this doesn't happen."

"The damn mess shouldn't have happened in the first place if the government had sense." Jessy snorts.

"How much money did you win?"

"Enough." Jessy smirks. Rupert just looks at her and she shows him a copy of the check. "Enough indeed." He drawls. "Already deposited?"

"Damn straight, I'm not leaving that kind of check in my purse."

In her house after putting away her laundry she updates her money program, puts the receipt with everything for the house's accounts for her taxes, and heads directly to bed.

Jessy stumbles into the cafeteria the next morning. The cooks laugh and put a tray in front of her.

"So what are your plans?" Xander and Cordy are taking their finals.

"Finals and take care of everything I left in the library before I left. Tomorrow I'm going into town with Andrew. After Thanksgiving and putting up decorations the three of us gotta sign up for next semester's classes, get our books, and Xander and I will be sign up for graduation."

"Did you get out your order?"

"Faith took care of it since I had to cram in the classes for that damn cruise." Jessy covers her mouth and belches. "We're spoiled by you guys, the food on the ship was absolute crap. . .and yes, it wasn't just my opinion."

"Did you eat at the captain's table?"

"No, I was banned from that honor for daring to demand a better room out of them."

"Ooohhh la la." One of them drawls. "I guess that shows you."

"Oh yes, I should have been gutted. Like I gave a shit about the 'honor' of sitting at that table. I could tell when somebody looked into my background and realized how much I was worth, the smug asshat's face absolutely fell and the captain's face turned pure white. Since that was the morning we were pulling back into dock, there went the option of trying to suck up to me. I smirked evilly at them and walked away."

The cooks chuckle. Good on her.

Opening the library door quietly Jessy finds Cordy and Xander tapping on the keyboards. Her books are in bags and she quietly turns on her computer, signing in and taking her tests. Joyce taps her shoulder and she holds up a hand in a five minute gesture, finishing that final before breaking for lunch.

Her story about the captain of the ship and moron is laughed at by everybody at lunch, the general concensus is serves the morons right.

"Are you done?" Larry asks when she comes into the main house, grabbing her mail and leafing through it. Most of it goes in the recycling bin with the rest being slid in her bags with her textbooks.

"Yes, thank god. I hate having to rush my tests but with that fucking cruise it couldn't be helped."

"Did you go through your mail last night?" Rupert asks as she walks into the cafeteria.

"Nope, I went right to bed. Even in a better stateroom the damn beds weren't comfortable. I knew if there was anything important you'd have told me."

"That was probably their point, if you can't sleep because of an uncomfortable bed. . .you'll gamble instead." Joyce snorts. Everybody laughs and nods.

In her house Jessy sorts through her mail, tossing most of it into the recycling bin unopened.

"But I didn't know she was rich." Dumbass wails in Vegas the day after the cruise as the casino employees who'd been on the cruise complain about how he'd treated that one passenger. "If I'd known. . ."

"You'd have given her a good room in the first place and been her personal assistant the entire cruise." One of the others snorts. He'd done that for another 'bigshot'. He ducks his head and finally nods.

"What the hell were you doing doing a background check on her anyway?"

"I was trying to prove she was a professional gambler and have her removed from the cruise." he finally says. "She was only invited because she won that big jackpot last year."

"MORON!! Gamblers are our bread and butter, we don't toss tbem out the door."

"But she got a better room and I didn't want her to have it. They," he hisses at the others. "Wouldn't pack her up while she was at dinner the first night and move her back with the others." His boss rounds on him again and the others shake their heads as they leave the meeting room.

"Is the gambling cruise line dead?"

"Yeah, and so will that moron if the boss gets his way. Stupid fucker hated this young woman the entire trip, accusing her of cheating and trying to get her removed from the better room she'd requested."

"Why?"

"Because he's an asshat." One of the others drawls. "Little fucker tried getting me in trouble with the bosses for giving it to her. Moron banned her from the captain's table for getting a better room. .. then had the ship's purser do a background check on her, trying to find she was a professional gambler and have her removed from the cruise ship, moron was gutted when he found out she's a billionaire."

"Serves the moron right, I still don't believe you were passed over for that promotion in favor of him. All he's done is screw up."

"Yeeessss, but then he's the son of a big shot and I work for a living." he drawls. The man who'd chosen the other guy for the job winces as they walk away. Maybe he shouldn't have bowed to pressure and gave the job to the man who deserved it after all. Going into his office he looks over the other man's file, silently handing it over when dumbass goes wailing past.

"How the hell did he get the job?" His boss asks after looking over the file.

"His father caused a fuss and I had to give it to him instead."

"Well call him in and tell him the job is his. He's packing up his office and will be gone by the end of the day. I'm sure his daddy will complain but he's a fucking moron too. And I'll tell him that when he comes blustering into the casino."

"Banders, come to my office." He says as he tracks him down. His boss hurries up. "Is he in trouble?"

"Nope, he's getting that promotion he should have got last year. I apologize for giving it to that moron instead of you, his Daddy. . ." his voice trails off as he comes rushing into the casino. "Insisted his loser son get the job instead and all he's done is screw up."

"He being demoted?"

"He's been fired. You know the fool wouldn't settle for a lesser job. Do you have anybody who can take over for him?"

"Yep." He turns to his assistant. "Get me Cyndi."

"Tell her to come to my office after lunch to make out the paperwork." The moron's father grabs his shoulder and he brings back a fist, making the other man gulp. "Don't ever put your hands on me again." He quickly backs up as security hustles over, along with his boss who starts telling him just why his precious son got the sack.

Thanksgiving is noisy at the House, people talking across the tables. Jessy had gotten a call and letter apologizing for the actions of the casino's former employee and she's preening in het seat. Rupert is torn between laughing and feeling like he should be chiding her. But the moron had brought it on himself by treating her like garbage, he'd just targeted the wrong person. Moron had tried suing her but had been laughed out of the lawyer's office, being told it was his own damn fault for being a bullying asshole. He'd run off wailing when he found out he couldn't sue the casino for wrongful termination either and was gutted, absolutely gutted because he couldn't make people do what he wanted anymore.

The day after Thanksgiving the Christmas decorations start going up and Jessy waves a hand at the boxes for the new Christmas trees, they fly out of the boxes and assemble themselves, They look better than the photo on the boxes that real human beings can never reproduce she thinks as she walks out the door.