87 comments/ 91149 views/ 39 favorites Lying Eyes By: StangStar06 Hi folks, sorry for the lack of a story last week. I'm very appreciative of all of you who emailed me to offer suggestions on my ongoing editor search. As of yet I'm still looking, so this story is probably going to be full of punctuation and grammar errors. That was a warning, please take it into consideration. Anyway, a reader suggested this piece almost a year ago, and I rolled it over in my head for a while and almost wrote it a couple of times. I wish I could find the email he sent me where he suggested it so I could give him credit, but hopefully after reading this he'll know who he is and know that I did love the idea, and the song. SS06 * * * * * * Constance As I walked towards the door of the café with my phone held up to my ear in one hand and my purse in the other, I didn't even think about the door. I never even slowed down as I approached it. From the time that I was fifteen years old, men of all ages have constantly been making fools out themselves trying to get my attention. I smiled. The funny thing was that I didn't even smile directly at any of them, but three men jumped up to try to open the door for me. I breezed into the café and looked around to find which table my girlfriends were sitting at. As I scanned the room, all I had to do was look in the same direction all the guys were staring at and I found the three of them. A voluptuous raven haired vixen, a tall lanky redhead with a complexion to die for, and a tawny haired, self-admitted slut all sat together at one table. I smiled again as I joined them. I caught the attention of our waitress and just nodded. She knew what to bring me already. It was especially delicious since our waitress was Jo Anne Hart. Ashley, the brunette, Eva, the redhead, Betty, the slut and I all went to school with Jo Anne. Ever since my parents had moved us down here to Texas, when I was fourteen, we've known Jo Anne. We'd tormented her all through school. Jo Anne was just not like us. There was something wrong with her. She was pretty enough, I suppose, but unlike us, she just didn't have the knack for using what she had to get what she wanted. Jo Anne was also pretty stubborn when it came to certain things. Like in high school, if you wanted to be a cheerleader there were certain things you had to do. In my case, since I was dating the captain of the football team, my making the squad was a foregone conclusion. Even though the head cheerleader at that time didn't like me much, she knew which way the wind was blowing. And Eva and I have been friends ever since. Getting Betty and Ashley on the team was also simple. I just mentioned it to Eva and she handled it. Everyone else on the team knew that they had to kiss a certain amount of ass to get on the team and that was only right. It's the way that life works. People who are beautiful or rich get what they want and everyone else simply fights over what's left. Anyway, Jo Anne showed up at the tryouts and after years of gymnastics and dance classes, she was great at all of those flips and all of that high kicking stuff. On the basis of athletics and dance, she could have been one of the best, if not the best on the team. She probably could have made our squad a lot better from a performance standpoint. Unfortunately, she was terrible at the sucking up and kissing ass portion of the tryout. So in the end, she didn't get on the team. Some of those southern belles are simply too sassy for their own good. I felt sorry for her, so I went over to her, to offer her some words of encouragement. The coach of the team was trying to talk to her too. "Hey, Jo Anne," I said. "I'm sorry you didn't make it. With a little bit of attitude adjustment, I'm sure you'll make it next time." She turned and looked at me and smiled at me very sweetly. "Fuck you, Connie," she snapped. "My name is Constance," I said. The bitch really pissed me off with that. My name actually was Connie. But I'd changed it myself, although not legally. But all of the teachers and even my parents called me Constance. It sounded so much classier than Connie Page. Since we'd arrived here in Texas, I was Constance Pagé. I pronounced my last name "pa jhay," as if I was French. That and the fact that any northern accent just sounds sophisticated in Texas made me more noticeable. My nearly white-blond hair also made me stand out. And the fact that I have a spectacular body also helps. But ever since the days of the cheerleader tryouts, my friends and I have done whatever we could to help Jo Anne. In fact, we sometimes went out of our way to help the poor girl. Like when we had to stay up nearly all night to call or text everyone in the school to make sure that not a single person voted for her to become class president. That job would have been too much for Jo Anne, but she didn't know it at the time. The hardest part was convincing the nerd who was in charge of counting the votes to make sure that the votes from her really close friends weren't accepted. That way, she only received one vote and everyone assumed that she'd voted for herself. That actually drove a wedge between Jo Anne and her friends. She'd disappeared for a while after high school. Then she was working in this café when we started meeting here every morning before work. The other three girls actually have jobs in the shopping mall near the café. I really don't have to work, but I have a job in a daycare center near here to give me something to do with my days. It's also a great way to get time away from the house, while convincing my husband that I'm doing everything I can do to be the best wife and eventually the best mother I can be. He thinks it's great that I want to work with children and in his mind it means I'll be a great mother once we start having babies. What he should be thinking is, IF we have babies. The reality of the situation is that the only way I'll ever have one of those messy, smelly, attention grabbing little brats, is if it's absolutely necessary to ensure that my marriage survives. Having a child would really not be in my best interest. It would totally distort my body for months. Then I'd also be tied to it for years. What the hell would I do with it when I wanted to go on vacation? Then having the thing call me mommy, would just age me in the eyes of everyone who saw me. Nope, having kids was probably not on the menu of my life. Even before I took a sip of the coffee that Jo Anne had set down in front of me, the other girls were smiling and leaning their heads in to see if I planned on doing anything to poor Jo Anne, or just letting her serve us and get off without doing anything to embarrass her or to cause her extra work. I was trying to come up with something, when I heard it. It was a low growl that spoke of powerful mechanical force. I glanced at the window when I heard it, because it was a familiar sound. As I watched, a heavily customized white Mustang pulled up in front of the restaurant. The Mustang had one large blue star proudly emblazoned on its hood and each door. The man who got out of the Mustang strode into the café and every head in the place turned to look at him. The man, Danford Richards, was a decorated Afghan war veteran, a former pro football player, and the third richest man in Texas. He was forty nine years old, six feet tall with graying blond hair and steel blue eyes. Every person he met liked Dan. He wasn't the kind of man to put on airs. He was more comfortable walking around in jeans and cowboy boots than he was in a tux or a suit, so that's what he wore. Dan's the kind of guy who'll sit down with a guy he met on the street and talk about fishing for two hours, but won't spare fifteen minutes for a meeting with the CEO of a fortune 500 company, unless it's an absolute necessity. Even the girls at my table hushed themselves when Dan walked over. "Honey, you left your day bag on the counter again," he says to me. Then he leaned over and kissed me gently. He intended for it to be a polite peck on the cheek, but I turned and locked lips with him. I locked my arms behind his head and pushed my tongue into his mouth. "I'll see you at home tonight," he blushed when I let him go. "Good Lord, that's a man," says Ashley. "You're a fool," says Eva. "I can't believe you'd risk losing that, for Todd Bridges." "Come on Eva," said Betty. "You know Constance has always belonged to Todd. She married Dan for security and probably just to prove that she could get him, but her heart and everything else has always belonged to Todd." "Shut the fuck up Betty," I snapped. I tilted my head towards Jo Anne who was cleaning up the dishes from a table right beside ours. "Everyone doesn't need to know my business," I said. "But that's only Jo Anne," laughed Betty. "She's a nobody. What can she do?" We all laughed very loudly then. "She's probably still pissed at not getting on the cheer squad," gushed Eva, starting another round of laughter. * * * * * Investigator's notes My name is Robert Franklin. I'm a P.I. I was hired to watch Constance Richards. To be perfectly honest, I don't understand her. I've had women on our investigative team approach her and none of them had anything good to say about her. The general consensus is that she's a bitch. On the other hand, I've personally met her husband and he has to be the most likeable guy on the planet. You see a lot of these rich guys who put on that good old boy act, but this guy isn't faking it. We also did some surveillance on him. Even when he didn't realize that anyone was watching him, he stopped and spoke to anyone who approached him. He's the real deal. The guy was a pro football player, who ended up going to Afghanistan. One of the guys he went to college with was over there and when he heard about it, he signed up too. He ended up getting the shit shot out of him and getting a medal or two for some of the things he did over there. He doesn't like to talk about it. When you ask him about it, he just says that he did his job. Anyway, some of the big shooters attached to one of the political parties, I'm not at liberty to say which one, think he'd be a good candidate for Governor in the next election. But before they risk it, they wanted to make sure that he and his wife are squeaky God damned clean. After following him for a couple of months we're sure he might be a good candidate, so now we're on his wife. The notes that follow are my general observations on Mrs. Richards during the course of my investigation. The thing that stood out to me first, other than the age difference between them, he's forty nine and she's twenty nine, is how good they look. Richards is a striking figure of a man, but his wife is centerfold material. Why is she with a guy who is so much older than herself? This morning as usual she's running slightly late as she gets out of her white Cadillac and goes to the café where she has breakfast every morning. I notice a couple of things about her from the beginning. City girls just seem to find out early, how to open doors with just a smile. A rich old man and she won't have to worry. She'll dress up all in lace and go in style. * * * * * * Jo Anne Tanner He came into the café again this morning. Every time I see that man I just swoon. He has to be the nicest man on earth and probably the best looking. I wouldn't expect him to remember it, but he did a lot for me personally. When he came back from the war he started doing whatever he could to help other vets and their families. In a lot of cases he took money from his own pocket to help out. My case was one of those. I loved Sam for most of my life. When he signed up, my heart was in my throat. I just knew something terrible was going to happen. Early in the war things were fine. All of the battles were won with our superior technology and they even had reporters there watching. Sam often laughed when I called or emailed him, to ask if he was in danger. He told me that the biggest danger to him would probably be if he tripped over one of the cables that provided power to the TV cameras or to one of the congressmen's RV's. A lot of the politicians were there because it looked good on their records. Most of those guys had never served themselves, but they could now say that they'd been to war. It made them seem more macho. A couple of months after the initial assault had begun, things got more serious. The joking stopped and all of the congressmen and reporters came home. I also discovered that our last pre-deployment activities were successful. Sam had deployed a baby in my womb. When I told him about it he was overjoyed. He told his entire troop about it and they congratulated us over Skype. Three months later, heavily pregnant and out of my mind, I watched as they lowered a casket containing what was left of Sam into the ground. He was buried with honors, the victim of some mechanical bits and pieces attached to an explosive of some type. They call it an IED, an improvised explosive device and it had wiped Sam off the face of the earth. The reports we got, from the same buddies who congratulated us on the baby, were that Sam never suffered. I'm grateful for that at least. He was just walking back towards the base, smiling and talking about what he was going to do when he went home, when it went off. One minute, he was smiling, and the next, he was gone. His parents and I had a rough time handling it. Even during the funeral it was as if we were still in shock. It was like it was all a joke and we were waiting for the punch line. Even months after the funeral we walked around with a hole in our hearts and in our lives. Sam's dad never recovered. He lost his job and just became a totally different person. He couldn't even look at his wife. It was like seeing each other only caused them to remember what they'd lost, instead of seeing someone that they could share the pain with. And it was just as bad for me. Since Sammy and I were never actually married. I had no status in terms of military benefits or anything else. And our daughter, she doesn't count either. Since she hadn't been born yet when Sammy died, he didn't sign her birth certificate so she gets no benefits either. When I met Danford Richards, I was thinking about moving into a shelter for single mothers. One of the guys who'd served with Sammy, a disabled vet named Paul, had met Richards at the VA and told him about me. Richards cut me a check without ever having met me. He gave me enough money to make it through my pregnancy and the first few months of Samantha's life. It was the greatest exhibition of trust I've ever seen. Paul could have stolen the money or the whole thing could have been a hoax. When I met Richards, I didn't expect him to actually remember my name. He probably helps hundreds of people. But he knew me as soon as I spoke to him and even asked how the pregnancy had gone. When I told him how grateful I was his help, he just shrugged his shoulders and told me that the whole country was honored by Sam's sacrifice, so any small thing he could do was his pleasure. So seeing him again today was great. The bad part of it, of course, was finding out that he was married to that fake bitch, Connie Page. As he walked out, after taking her the fancy briefcase that she'd left at home, he spoke to me. He'd smiled at me and said, "Hi Jo Anne. How's Samantha doing?" It just amazed me, that a man that I'd only met once, could remember me and my daughter and show more concern for us than the four women I'd known for most of my life and went through high school with. Worse than finding out that he was married to Connie, of course, was discovering that she was cheating on him. It didn't come as a huge surprise since Connie wasn't the kind of woman to be faithful to anyone. From what I heard, after we left high school, her life got even more interesting. When she turned twenty apparently Connie defied medical science because she found out some miraculous way to lose her virginity twice. There was even a fight about it, between Todd and some other guy, both of whom claimed her cherry. Somehow, it just seemed terrible that a guy as nice as Danford Richards had ended up with a snake like Connie. The problem for me was deciding whether to let him know what I'd overheard, or just stay out of it. In a lot of cases people who received bad news wanted to shoot the messenger. I decided to give it some serious thought. Maybe there was a way that I could tell him without the information coming from me. And for once, I really did want to do this for the best of reasons. I wanted to do it so that Danford wouldn't continue to be preyed upon by a woman who wasn't worthy of him, not as a way to get back at Connie for things she'd done to me in the past. * * * * * * Connie I was talking to Todd as I drove home. I wanted to see him so badly. He kept blowing me off. He'd tell me that we'd get together and then change his plans at the last minute. He'd done that to me several times in the last week. I always made sure to talk to him on my cell phone and not the house phone. My cell phone was in my name and I actually paid that bill myself. The bill was delivered to Betty's apartment just to make sure that Danford didn't actually look at it and then ask me about some of the numbers that I called or received calls from frequently. Danford was pretty trusting. I'd gotten away with a lot of shit over the years that we'd been married, but I didn't want to push things too far. He'd also paid for a lot of the things I did with my friends. When he had to go to England last summer for business, he'd sent me and my girlfriends to Jamaica. We'd drunk and fucked our way across the islands for seven days. It was supposed to be a ten day trip. After a week there too many of the local men were following us around, expecting money and sex. I flew home early to avoid any embarrassing publicity. When Danford called that evening and found out I was on my way home, he wondered why I was going home early. "I miss you so much, I can't stand it," I said. "I'm going home and then flying to England. I'll sit outside of your meeting rooms and wait for you." "But Constance," he'd said. "By the time you got here, it would be time for me to fly home anyway. Why don't you just wait for me at home and then maybe you and I can take a trip together." I sat at home for two days waiting for him to come home. During that time, I fantasized about all of the guys we'd had in Jamaica, both other tourists and local guys. I was all fucked out for a while after that trip. Ashley, Eva and Betty were already asking me when we could do it again. I told them that trips like that one had to be very few and very far between, because I couldn't do anything that might arouse Danford's suspicion. I guess they really couldn't understand that I really do love Danford. He's the exact man that I'd like to someday settle down and live out my life with. He's caring and kind, he's generous and for his age or really any age, he's very good looking. The problem we have though is that I met him too early my life. I'm not really ready to settle down and commit yet. I'm not ready to be a mommy or a wife or any of that shit. But on the other hand he was too good a guy to let go of. He's kind of like when you go to the mall and they have boots on sale. It's the middle of the summer and you're not going to be wearing any boots anytime soon. But you buy them anyway and hold onto them until winter comes. Danford is my on sale boots. There will be a time when I'll be ready for him and I'll be the best God damned wife that any man ever had. But it isn't that time yet. That day draws ever closer though. I'm really beginning to get tired of Todd's shit. He needs to learn that he can't treat me like he used to while we were in college. I'm important now. My time is far too valuable for me to be waiting around for him. I guess that Todd is still pissed off that I didn't marry him and move into his one bedroom apartment with him. Lying Eyes I guess that he doesn't realize that living in his ground floor efficiency unit and eating pork and beans and tuna wasn't going to be enough for me. I did him a favor actually because we'd have simply grown to resent each other. Even if Todd had enough money to take care of me in the style I deserve, there would have been questions about us being together. Todd is a great boyfriend, but he simply isn't husband material. Danford is a very classy man. The emphasis is on both the classy part and the man. Todd is more of a wild boy. Again the emphasis is on both the wild part and the boy part. Danford is better for my future and for my long range plans. Todd is great for short term satisfaction and to keep me from becoming too bored, while Danford secures that future. They both have their places and their functions. Surprisingly, neither of them is really better at sex. Sure Todd is younger and can keep it up longer. But it's a brutal type of thing where he just pounds me like he really doesn't give a fuck about me at all. Sometimes I guess I crave that pure animalistic coupling frenzy. But when I want to be caressed and stroked and kissed and made love to, Danford is the best. He lifts me to higher places than Todd could ever dream of. Todd finally came back on the line. "Yeah sorry babe," he said. "I really can't get together with you tonight. It's just not in the cards. Try me again tomorrow. By then..." I hung up on him. I was pissed at him beyond my ability to convey it. Why the fuck was I waiting around for that loser when I was married to a man who'd move mountains to make me happy? * * * * * * Todd "Why the fuck are you talking to that bitch again?" Eliza screamed at me. "Didn't you fuck her enough in college?" "We were just talking babe," I said. "Besides, don't act like you're new at this. You know that if we're going to get enough money to get out of this hell hole, I'm probably going to need to stay on good terms with her." "I don't mind you staying on good terms with Miss Moneybags," said Eliza. "But you'd better not be fucking her." "Liz, the only person I'm interested in fucking is you babe," I told her. "Calm down, we've been through a lot of crap together. This is all about us. I just have to do whatever it takes to secure our future. Honey, this is all about survival. If we're going to make it, if we're going to have the kind of lifestyle that we want, we're going to have to get down and get dirty. We're both going to have to put up with and do some things that we don't like. But in the end, we're going to win. So, while I may not personally like Constance; I actually think she's a spoiled little bitch and she always was. But if I have to put up with her to get what we need, I will. If she's the one standing between me and the goal posts, I'll go through her for us." Eliza looked at me suspiciously. "Why do all of your little pep talks sound like you're still playing football?" she asked. "Just make sure you keep your dick away from her goal post." As she turned to walk away, my phone rang again. I answered it. "What do you want Todd?" asked a voice. It was Ernie Marinelli. My blood went cold listening to his voice. I'd been trying to get to talk to him for weeks. This man could make or break my future. "Todd, I ain't got all fucking day. Say something," he spat. "Uhm Mr. Marinelli, I want to set up a buy," I said. He laughed into the phone. "Todd, we don't work with people on your level," he spat again. "Actually, the people we work with don't work with people on your level. All of that nickel and dime shit is childish. There's too much risk for too small a reward." "But I'm looking to raise my level sir," I said. "Look Todd, the minimum order I can take is fifty K," he said. "And you don't have that..." "Okay, I want fifty," I said. "Todd, that's a lot of merchandise," he said slowly. "Your take, after disbursement, would be almost four times that amount." "And I'll double the next order," said Todd. "Let me check on my inventory and make arrangements for delivery," he said. "I'll get back to you. And Todd, if this deal doesn't go through, if you're just yanking my chain..." "I'm not," I said seriously. "It would be the ending of the saga of Todd," he said, then the phone disconnected. Oh boy was I in trouble. I'd been sure that his minimum was going to be twenty grand. Fifty thousand dollars was more than twice what I had coming in through loans from other small time dealers and everything I'd been able to save myself. I needed to come up with thirty thousand dollars quickly. I was sure that it would take between two and three days for Marinelli to put everything together. Even if it didn't, I could stall for that long. Where the fuck would I get the rest of the cash? Then it hit me. Constance could probably pull thirty grand out of her fancy underwear budget and not even think about it. * * * * * * Danford Richards I tried not to let these things get to me but this time I was unsuccessful. I was in my office staring into the screen in front of me. My next meeting was two hours away and I was perplexed. I thought I heard a soft knocking on my door but I couldn't be sure. Besides what I was looking at was a matter of life and death. "So now I know what the third richest man in Texas does all day," said a soft voice behind me. I turned and almost dropped my controller, I was so surprised. "Jo Anne, right?" I said. "Uhm, I'm between meetings," I smiled. "You're playing a video game," she said smiling. "It's uhm, Skyrim," I said. "I'm trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do at this party." "Oh okay," she said dubiously. "It's a party at the Thalmor Embassy," I said trying to explain. "Uhm, it's still a video game," she smirked. "But it's Skyrim," I said. "So how are you doing today?" "Well, I was depressed when I came in here," she said. "Then I caught you playing video games on a TV that's bigger than most of the walls in my house." I shrugged my shoulders. "I waited outside your office for a long time," she said. "Don't you have a receptionist or an assistant?" "She got married last week and today is my first day back," I said. "I haven't gotten around to bringing another one in." "Mr. Richards, you helped me more than I can ever repay you when..." she began. "Don't worry about it, Jo Anne," I interrupted. "But that's what makes this so hard," she said. "I don't want you to hate me but I have some really bad news for you and I don't want you to think I'm telling you this out of vindictiveness or some belated revenge for...." I smiled at her and shook my head. "Jo Anne just come on out and say it," I told her. "Mr. Richards..." she started again. "Call me Dan," I said. "Everyone does. Jo Anne how much do you make at the café?" "Eight fifty an hour," she said. "But I came here to..." "What did you study in college?" I asked. "Are you decent on a computer?" "Liberal arts and I'm great on computers," she said. "Hmm," I said. "Don't know what we'd use the liberal arts for, but how does sixteen an hour, full benefits and free daycare sound?" "Great," she said. "But..." "Good, you can start tomorrow as my new assistant. The first thing I want you to do is get on the internet and find out how the hell I get out of this party or what I have to do to get to the next battle, okay?" I asked. She nodded. "But I..." she said softly. "I know," I said. "You came here to warn me that your old school mate and my current wife, is cheating on me." Her eyes softened and she nodded her head. "Don't worry Jo," I said. "About an hour ago a Private Investigator who was hired by a PAC that I'd never heard of came in and told me that his political action committee wanted to consider me for a run for governor. They'd spent months investigating me and my business and home life and thought I'd make a great candidate. There was only one problem. I have a whore for a wife. I looked at pictures and saw video, the whole nine yards. On one hand I was ready to sue them for unwanted and illegal breach of privacy. On the other I've had them continue the investigation until I figure out how I want to handle this." "What do you mean?" she asked. "Are you thinking of counseling? Or confronting her and making her stop doing it?" "No JoAnne," I said. "I guess I have a flaw. I tend to take people at face value. I trust everyone until they give me a reason not to. And when I fall in love, it's much worse. When I married Constance..." "Her name is Connie," said Jo Anne. "She just calls herself Constance because it sounds classy." "When I married her, I was so smitten by her that all I saw was forever. Against the advice of my financial advisors and my lawyers, I didn't have her sign a pre-nup. I'm worth close to a billion dollars and I don't see giving her half of it. So short of her committing a felony, I'm stuck with her until I can figure out a way to get rid of her. But I'm working on it." I smiled. "And over the next few days if you do happen to run into her, which isn't likely, since she never comes by the office, please don't let her know that I'm on to her." "She won't hear it from me," said Jo Anne. "Hey, I have a new job! I have to go tell Sammy. She'll be thrilled, I think. And free daycare, you did say free day care. And I have to tell my boss at the café that I'm quitting. Can I work there one more day and report to you on Monday? I'd hate to leave her short-handed for tomorrow..." Then suddenly her face fell. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I don't have any clothes to wear for a job like this," she said. I picked up the phone and dialed a number. I said a few things into the phone and handed her a card. "This is a ladies clothing store that the company has part ownership in. We have an account there. They'll get you set up for the workplace. Of course you'll get a substantial discount on the clothing and the cost will be deducted from your paychecks until it's paid off..." I stopped because Jo Anne was looking at me like she wanted to eat me. "See ya Monday, boss," she said. And she left. * * * * * * Constance As I walked into the café that next morning, I knew that something was different. There were still men staring at me as I walked towards our table. I couldn't put my finger on it. I looked across the room and made eye contact with Jo Anne. She looked away from me and continued what she was doing. That would cost her later. I sat down and began talking with my friends. "You don't look like yourself," said Ashley. "Oh, oh," said Betty. "Danford must have fucked the shit out her last night. Maybe she's been rode hard and put away wet." "Betty, you seem to think that everybody gets fucked to death every night," sighed Eva "Well, all I have to judge people by is my own personal experience," said Betty smiling like a Cheshire cat. "I guess that's the problem," I said. "I couldn't hook up with Todd yesterday. He got my so pissed that I ended up hanging the phone up on him. Then when Dan did come home, he didn't want me either. That was the first time since we've been married that we didn't have sex when I wanted to." "Oh shit," said Betty. "Alone and unloved, who'd a thunk it." "Shut up Betty," snapped Eva. "She's upset." I looked around and gestured to Jo Anne. She looked at me and started to come over to our table. "What the fuck is wrong with her today?" I asked. "Good Morning ladies," said Jo Anne. "Where's my coffee?" I asked. "Did you ask for any coffee?" asked Jo Anne. "Jo Anne, don't give me any shit today," I snapped. "I'm not in the mood for it." "Well please let me know when you are in the mood for shit," smiled Jo Anne. "I'll bring you a toilet full of it." "Just get my fucking coffee, now," I said. "You need coffee when you fuck?" she asked. She got the cheesiest smile on her face. I didn't have any idea of what she was talking about or asking about. "Jo Anne, do you want me to have your ass fired?" I snapped. She shrugged her shoulders and looked at me. "You can't do that," she said. "You don't own this restaurant and you don't have any connection to the people who do. But you're welcome to go ahead and try. It's not like I need a reason to beat your ass anyway." She walked away from me and went to take care of other customers. Eva got up and went over to her and spoke to her. Jo Anne nodded her head and wrote something down. "Constance, maybe you shouldn't be trying to please two men," said Ashley. "I mean seriously, when we were in high school and college, Todd was okay. But when you look at him now, he's kind of scuzzy looking. He's not in your league anymore. He's beneath you. It's kind of embarrassing. He doesn't have much of a future. I think that you still see the boy you used to know. Your head is still wrapped up in what he used to be like when we were all eighteen or twenty and our potential was limitless." "Since that time most of us have realized our potential, I mean look at you. You're just as beautiful as everyone always knew you'd be. You're smart, poised and married to one of the richest men in the state, if not the country. People are wondering when he's going to run for office. Shit, Danford might even someday be the president of the United States. He's tall, he's considerate and he loves you like there's no tomorrow, but you're sitting here pinning over a guy with no job, no prospects and no assets who treats you like shit. I'm not getting this." "Maybe I love them both," I said. "I love Danford because I have to if I want to keep the lifestyle I have. Like you said he loves me. He'd do anything for me. There have been times when he's been in the middle of a meeting with dignitaries from other countries that he does business with or the heads of multi-million dollar companies, when he's excused himself in the middle of the meeting so I could text him pictures of shoes I was thinking about buying. Danford is trapped by the fact that he loves me so much and that gives me control over him. Todd on the other hand, is wild and unpredictable. I have no control over Todd. He does whatever the hell he wants to. He tells me that he loves me too. But he's so out there that it makes every second we spend together valuable. When I'm with Todd, I feel the way I used to feel back when I was in college. I feel like I have the whole world ahead of me." "Which sounds really stupid to me," said Ashley. "It's really dumb because that's a fantasy that's left over from when we were barely adults. The reality is that you've grown up and with your husband's money you actually do have the entire world at your feet. And another thing, if Todd loves you so God damned much where is he when you need him? Most of the time he's sitting around in some bar drinking and getting high, but you have to practically beg him to make time for you. Constance, I'm your friend, but I think it's time for you to put away childish things and start working on your marriage." "What are you saying?" I asked her. "When your husband doesn't want sex, especially from someone who looks like you, it may be a sign that something serious is going on. It may be something that doesn't matter, like maybe he was just tired or sick or preoccupied with a business deal. But it could also mean that he's sick or has a health problem. In the worst case scenario for you, he may be getting tired of you and might be getting ready to find someone else." I looked at her like she was crazy. "Constance you're beautiful and all of that. But Honey, there's always someone prettier, even if it's just pretty in a different kind of way. Behind every successful man, there's usually a woman. Behind every beautiful woman there's usually some guy who's bored with fucking her. If sex is the only thing you're giving Danford, he might have had his fill." I knew what she was trying to tell me, but I saw it in a different way. I was thinking about that when Jo Anne came back to the table with the coffee. She put a cup down in front of Ashley. She put one in front of Eva. She put a cup and a donut in front of Betty and then put a second cup in front of Eva. "Jo Anne I know you're stupid," I shrieked. "But, don't you see what's wrong with this picture?" "Fuck you, Connie," she said. I was stunned. "Joe Anne, you're a God damned waitress. Now bring me my fucking coffee right now," I snapped. She picked up the cup and started around the table. Then she stumbled and spilled the coffee all over my new pink dress. I was sure she'd done it on purpose. I stood up and started screaming. The chubby guy who ran the cash register and was in charge of the café ran over to our table. "She spilled that coffee all over my dress," I said. "This dress is an original. It cost over three thousand dollars." "I'm sure it was an accident," he said. "The café will pay the cost to have it cleaned." "This dress can't be cleaned," I said. "And she did it on purpose." "Did you do it on purpose Jo Anne?" he asked. "I can't remember," she said smiling. "She was yelling at me and threatening to have me fired." Jo Anne and the manager were smiling at each other. And I had that same niggling thought in the back of my mind that I'd had since I walked in. "She did do it on purpose," I said. "Jo Anne it wasn't on purpose was it?" he asked. "I'm not sure," said Jo Anne. "I don't think so though, because if it was on purpose it would have been more like this." She took the piece of cherry pie off of the plate she was carrying and smashed it in my face and then twisted it." "Now that was on purpose," she said. "So maybe the coffee was an accident, kind of." "Jo Anne, you're fired," said the manager smiling. "Finish your shift and then get out." "Okay," said Jo Anne. She walked away like it didn't really matter. I stood there with pie all over my face and my ruined dress dripping coffee. Eva took one look at me and started laughing. Betty and Ashley had to look away too. Eva stepped away from the table so she could stop laughing. "Well you took care of her," said Ashley. "But Constance, I don't see this as being a good thing. You do know that she has a small child to take care of and you just took away her job. You've probably got ten of those dresses. This was just a case of both of you having a bad day at the same time. You've always bullied her and maybe she just didn't feel like being picked on today." "That's not it," said Eva returning to the table. "Look behind the counter. See that sign? The sign that has "Good luck Jo," printed on it. Today is Jo Anne's last day working here. She got a better job. She just fucked with you to get back at you for all of the shit you've done to her." At that moment my phone rang. I looked at the screen and saw that it was from Todd. I took the call. "Hey Babe, can you get out of work today?" he asked. "Why would I do that?" I asked. "Well, I thought about what you told me yesterday," he said. "And I guess I have to admit that you're right. I've been so busy trying to get a job or a career started that I've lost track of the reason I'm working so hard to do it. The main reason I need to do all of this is because I've always been competitive. And it just burns me up to think about my girl being married to some rich old guy. I guess instead of just wanting to spend time with you, I've been trying to make a shit load of money so I could compete with him and win you back." "Last night after you hung up on me, I realized that the end goal was for us to be together. So while it's still important to me to make enough money to support you in the style you deserve, it's more important that we do things together." "That's the smartest thing you've said in a long time, Todd," I said. Lying Eyes "So why don't you meet me somewhere and we'll spend the entire day together," he said. "I just need to call in and go home and change," I said. I spent the entire day with Todd. We drove around and talked a lot. It was the same kind of thing we used to when we were in college. We ended up in a motel. He fucked me for most of the afternoon. I kept feeling like there was something missing. Then I realized that there was something going on with him. "Spit it out Todd," I said. He looked at me oddly. "What do you mean?" he asked looking away from me. "Todd there's something wrong here," I said. "I feel like there's something you're not telling me." "Well there are two things," he said. "But, I only want to tell you about one of them." I looked at him. "Seriously, Constance, the second thing is my problem not yours." "Well let's start with the first one," I said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring. It had been through better times. There was a small stone in it that was dwarfed in size, color and clarity by the ring I wore on my left hand. "Will you marry me Constance?" he asked. The fire in his eyes was hypnotic. "But Todd..."I began. "I know you're married to Mr. Moneybags," he said. "But, he doesn't love you the way I do. I'm working on an idea that while I won't be as rich as he is, I'll be able to take care of you, Connie. So when I accomplish my dream, will you divorce him and be with me forever?" I looked at the small cheap ring he held out in front of me. It was the answer to all of my problems rolled into one. It would tie Todd to me legally and I'd be with a man who didn't love me so much that I could control him. There was just something about the thought of it that appealed to me. "Yes, I will," I said. "As soon as your idea works out, I'll divorce Danford and marry you." "So you love me more than him?" he asked. I knew that men always needed to hear that they were winning. They needed to know that they were the better lover and had the biggest dick and all of those other stupid things. "Yes, Todd," I said. "I love you more." I really should have been paying more attention to what was going on around me. There were a couple of guys not too far away from us who were taking pictures of a woman in a bathing suit. But they seemed to have camera's aimed at us as well as the ones that were pointing at her. I also should have noticed the smile on Todd's face. I guess I did what I did that afternoon, was only to keep the wheel rolling. The sex with Todd hadn't really been that good. He did last for a long time but it wasn't good. I chalked it up to my residual anger over Jo Anne's shit not allowing me to relax and enjoy the sex. But I guess the guilt also had something to do with it. Ashley's advice kept coming back to haunt me. I wish she was here so I could tell her how wrong she was. Sure Danford loved me, but Todd obviously did too. "So Todd," I said. "What else are you so worried about?" "Like I said, I have a great idea that will eventually make me a fortune," he said. "I've been working my ass off and lining up investors but I'm still just a bit short of having my seed money. I can probably come up with the rest of it. But then I'd have to take on more investors and that wouldn't keep me in control of the project or the company." "How much do you need?" I asked. "Only about thirty thousand dollars," he said. "If I could come up with thirty K, would you give me a share of the company?" I asked. Truthfully the idea appealed to me because it would mean that I'd have my own source of income and I wouldn't be beholding to Todd or Danford for income. I was sure I could get the money from Danford or one of our accounts without too many problems. As a matter of fact, I was sure I had an idea of how to get the money from Danford without his knowledge and then pay it back." "How much time would I have to come up with the money?" I asked. "Oh, a couple of days," he said. Then he rolled me over and started sucking my breasts again. When I got home that night, I was a little bit late. Danford acted as if he hadn't noticed. I was sure that he was just glad I was home. I still couldn't put my finger on it but in the back of my mind I had an itch. There was something different about the way he looked at me. Normally when he looked at me, this is crazy but he gave me the same look that he gave that Lone Star Mustang of his. That night he just looked at me and made polite conversation. It wasn't like he was angry at me. When he got pissed, like if I went out with my friends in an area that he thought was too dangerous, or I wore clothing that he thought was too revealing, Danford usually left the house until he got his temper under control. He'd go out for a drive in that car and when he came back he was usually calmer. He taught me how to dress in an unusual way. I'd worn a skirt that was too short. So he went out for a drive. When he came back he took me by the arm very gently and took me out to a bar a few miles from our house. We sat down at a table. People as I've said are drawn to Danford and when he gestured a couple of guys came over to our table. Dan put two one hundred dollar bills on the table. "One question gents?" he asked. They looked at him and at the bills. "What color are my wife's panties?" "Green with a little pink heart," said one of the men taking a bill. "And she's a natural blonde," said the other as he snatched his. Danford just looked at me and his point had been made. I was very embarrassed and ready to leave but he made me stay there for the rest of the evening with people pointing and staring at me. When we got home it was worse. Danford went to my closet and threw away every skirt I owned. He threw out every dress I had that was shorter than knee length. He also somehow contacted the credit card companies. I don't know how he did it but no one in town would sell me any dresses or skirts. As soon as I walked into my favorite women's clothing stores they started pulling out pant suits. It went on for months until I learned how to pick my clothes. It took me a while but I learned that I can be just as sexy in longer skirts. Now I have a few short skirts but I'd feel like a whore wearing things like I used to. Anyway Danford wasn't treating me like he was angry at me, this was different. As we ate dinner, I told him about my day, the way I always did. He was really interested, but it just seemed like he was interested differently. Normally he listened to see what I'd done and if anyone had done anything to hurt his baby, he'd ask me if I wanted him to do anything about it. When I told him about Jo Anne and what she did to me. His face didn't react at all. In fact, I had the impression that he thought it was funny. "Dan, aren't you going to do something about her?" I asked. "Why?" he asked. "You took care of it yourself. You got her fired." I watched some TV, alone. That was a first. Usually we did things together. Either we went out, or we took drives or we just sat around and talked to each other. Apparently Dan had some things he hadn't accomplished at the office that he needed to look into in his home office. This wasn't really unusual, it had happened a few times when he had a really big deal to consider. There were even a couple of times when he wanted me to sit beside him and hold his hand while he went over the contracts. I thought that was cute. Danford came to bed really late. He also didn't roll over beside me the way he usually did. When I awoke the next morning, he was already gone. It had been the sound of his Mustang starting up, that let me know he was out of the bed. That was another things I didn't understand. Danford had several cars. He had enough money to drive whatever he wanted. He told me that there was just something about Mustangs that he loved. The car just screamed cowboys and freedom and America in a way that no other car did. Muscle cars were a purely American item. There were lots of countries and companies around the world that produced very good sedans and or very good sports cars or economy cars or SUVs. But there was something different about brash, overpowered sporty cars that had way too much horsepower and were only good at going very fast in a straight line. I jumped out of bed and called his cell phone. "Honey, it's Saturday, where are you going?" I asked. "I have some things I need to take care of," he said. "I figured you'd go shopping with your girlfriends or go out to visit your friends." In a way I was grateful for the time. It would make doing what I had to do easier. But something was gnawing away at me too. I showered and dressed. Then I called Andy Summers. He was Dan's financial wiz. He, Stewart Copeland, who was Dan's Attorney and Dan's head of security, Gordon Sumner, took care of everything that had anything to do with our finances. "Andy I know it's a Saturday," I said. "And I know it's early still but I need to talk to you about something." "I'll meet you at my office in twenty minutes," he said. The tone of his voice was one that I was used to. It was that, "I don't want to fucking do it, but since my boss is crazy about you, I have to suck up to you if I want to keep my job," tone. "Thanks Andy," I said. He was already in his office when I walked in. He was dressed in cargo shorts and a polo shirt. He'd obviously had plans for the day when I called. "I hope I'm not taking you away from something," I said. "Just an outing with my kids," he said. "If we start out later, we'll just stay longer." "Well," I said. "I have a plan for a surprise for Danford's birthday. I want to buy him a car. But it's going to be a surprise. As you know Shelby is making a very limited number of one thousand horsepower Mustangs, this year only. And I want to get Dan one of those." "That's a great idea," he said. "Dan is Mustang crazy." "So I need you to give me thirty thousand dollars for the down payment," I said. "But you can't let Danford know about it." "When do you need the money?" he asked. "I'll move up the limits on your credit card temporarily but it will take a few hours for the changes to go through. I may not be able to do it until Monday." "Andy," I crooned leaning over him and making sure that he got a good view of my breasts. "You know that Danford goes over my credit card statements and checks them online to make sure I'm not going over budget." What Andy didn't know was that if I did go over budget, Danford just used it as an excuse to spank me and then gave me more money. It was just a game." "So what do we do?" he asked. "Give me the money in cash," I said. He looked dubious. So I pouted. "It'll take a few hours Monday morning," he said. "I should be able to swing it by ten a.m. Come back here then." "Thanks Andy," I said. "It's going to take them a few months to make the car depending on where we are on the list, but we should have it by Dan's birthday. Have fun with your kids." I left the office and headed for the mall to meet Ashley and Eva. No one knew where Betty had slept last night. "So did you get your daily dose of dick?" asked Ashley. "You seem happier." "In a way," I said. "Todd and I had some motel time yesterday." "Todd?" said Ashley loudly. "I thought we decided that you were going to concentrate on your marriage instead of giving free pussy to losers. It's a nice thing to help out the homeless, Constance, but if you're fucking them you're going to wind up homeless yourself when Danford kicks you out." "How was it?" asked Eva. "It was okay," I said. "But the important thing is that Todd has an idea that can make us a lot of money. I'm tired of depending on men for my income. It's time I made some money on my own." "So what's the idea?" asked Ashley. I looked at her sheepishly. "I don't exactly know," I said. "But he said that it would make us a lot of money over a short period of time." "Constance, the two of you never change," said Ashley. "I thought you'd grown up and got smarter." "What Ash?" I asked. "I thought you were supposed to be my friend." "I am your friend," she said. "I love you Honey, like a sister. But even in the old days you were known for planning things out and forgetting most of the details. Remember the cheerleader's party we had where you rented the site, hired the band, printed up the tickets, sold the tickets and then discovered five minutes after the people arrived, that we had no food or liquor? And Todd was known for his get rich quick schemes where he never actually got rich or quick. Working with Todd was like throwing money down the toilet, except you didn't get splashed and you didn't even get to hear that cool flushing sound." "I'm just saying that you may not be seeing the big picture here," she said. "Then Ashley, please enlighten me," I said. "Well you're trading a known future with a man who loves you and treats you well, for one that's uncertain with a guy who treats you like shit, because you like the way he used to make you feel back when we were too young to know what was good for us," said Ashley. "I just don't think it's smart." "Don't forget that the sex wasn't great," threw in Eva. The rest of the weekend was uneventful. Danford spent Sunday washing his Mustang and I was sure that something was wrong. * * * * * * Danford Richards Sunday, I washed my car. Sundays were usually my favorite days of the week. More often than not, Constance and I would lie around in bed together and not actually get up until after lunch time. We'd do a brunch at one of our favorite restaurants and just enjoy being together without thinking about work or any other responsibilities. It was just an "us," day. This Sunday though, I was up and out of bed early. I drove out and went to a restaurant and had breakfast. The restaurant turned out to be the same café that Constance ate in every morning. I wondered why I picked that place for a while and then it hit me. I guess I was looking for a friendly face. Then I remembered that Joe Anne no longer worked here. She worked for me now and I'd be seeing her tomorrow. I decided that I'd call her later on that day to see how she was doing and if she had everything she needed to start working tomorrow. After breakfast, I drove back home and luckily Constance wasn't awake yet. I left my car outside of the garage and got the water hose, my Rigid shop vac, and everything else I needed to wash my car ready. I farted around the house for a while waiting for Constance to wake up. The idea was that as soon as I heard her get up, I'd go out and wash the car. That way I had something to do so I didn't have to spend any time with her. Over the past few days I'd gone from totally crazy about her to just crazy. I hadn't gotten as far as I had in life by crying over spilled milk. I knew that I'd loved Constance and I now know that my feelings most likely, weren't reciprocated. I was in fact almost twice her age and I was sure the money was a big factor. In the modern world even when you're talking about love, money is always a factor. And as much as I hated to admit it, the money was a factor for me now as well. As much as I wanted to run up the stairs and grab Constance by her hair and drag her ass down the stairs and kick her out of my house, I couldn't. As much as I wanted to make her tell me who the fuck she was sleeping with, I couldn't. The PI's the PAC had hired had turned over all of the information from their investigation to me. I had hired them to continue gathering evidence for me that I could use to retain the majority of my assets in the divorce. So I actually knew who she was sleeping with. I actually knew that he wasn't the first, or the only one, but he did seem to be the one she couldn't get enough of. Some of the news had hurt me badly. In the end it really didn't matter how many there had been or how long she stayed with them. The only thing that mattered was extricating my-self from the situation, with as much of my net worth intact as possible. Revenge could be taken care of at my leisure. My cell phone rang then. I answered it and spoke into it quietly. I didn't want the sound of my voice inside the house to wake her. The longer she stayed in bed the better. "Dan, are you alone?" asked Andy Summers. "Yeah Andy, what's up?" I said. "Okay, I have a problem of a sensitive nature," he said. "You and I have always been friends besides our working relationship and my loyalty first and foremost is to the trust you've put in me. Your wife has asked me to do something on her behalf for you and not tell you. She wants to buy you something expensive for your birthday and not tell you about the money." "Constance has a Visa Black card with no spending limit," I said. "Why did she even bother to ask you?" "Because she needs the money in cash and by tomorrow," he said. "How much is it?" I asked. "Thirty thousand dollars," he said. I smiled. It sounded to me like Constance was planning on running away with her boy toy. If she did it would make the whole thing easier. As soon as she left I could file for divorce for abandonment and then change the locks and revoke her security access so even if she did change her mind or try to run that I was confused bullshit she wouldn't be able to get back in. "Give it to her," I said cheerfully. "But make sure you give her marked sequential bills that can easily be tracked." "Yes sir," he said. "Please don't let Mrs. Richards know that I've told you. It's supposed to be a surprise for your birthday." "Mum's the word," I said. Even as I hung the phone up, I smiled. Things were getting better by the minute. It was starting to look like I might be getting rid of the cheating whore sooner than I thought. If I couldn't get her for abandonment maybe I could get her for embezzling or theft. Even in a marriage, one partner couldn't just take money out of their spouse's accounts without permission. It was still considered theft. I could either embarrass her into giving me a quick divorce under the threat of pressing charges against her and destroying her name and her family's, or in the worse-case scenario, I could actually have her prosecuted and put in prison. "Stealing that much money would make it a felony, so her being imprisoned would get me divorced from her and I'd get to keep everything. My mood was considerably lighter. I called the PI and let him know what was going on. He asked for a meeting with me because he was sure that Constance wasn't doing what I thought she was doing. He had tapes of her tryst with her old college lover and he was sure that he knew what was going on. He wanted to sit down and compare notes later this afternoon. If we put all of our information together, he was sure that we could come up with a better plan. I could hardly wait. I started cleaning out the inside of my car. I lost myself in the joy of applying the different cleaning and protecting agents to the interior's multiple surfaces. I used Turtle wax products for everything from leather cleaner to carpet cleaner and even for the UV protectants. Then I got my handy little Rigid shop vac, that I'd bought at Home Depot strictly for cleaning my car out, and used it to suck out every particle of dust I could find. After a few minutes, Constance showed up leaning in the doorway and softly calling my name. "Danford, when did you get out of bed?" she asked. "I woke up and I was alone." "Uhm, I got out of bed hours ago," I said. I have a meeting to go to later on with a gentleman from a company I'm working with. "Do you want to have breakfast together?" she asked leaning forward and making it fairly obvious that the thin, short baby-doll nightie she was almost wearing, was her only item of clothing. Since she hadn't slept in it, she'd obviously put it on purely to tease me or to seduce me. Lying Eyes "Sorry, I already ate," I said. "I went over to the café. Your friend Jo Anne is no longer working there." "You drove all of that way to check up on her for me?" she smiled. "Actually, I was just hungry," I said. "So, would you like me to go to your meeting with you? I could just sit there and look pretty for you until you got done and then maybe we could spend some time together," she said. I'd been in business for long enough to know when someone is trying to get something from me, or disguise their agenda. I decided to punt. "I tried to spend some time with you on Friday," I said. Her eyes got as big as saucers. "Yep, I came by the daycare center and looked for you all over the place but you weren't there. I was sure that you'd gone to work. You told me all about it at dinner." You could almost hear the intake of air coming from her. Of course I was bluffing. But I knew from talking to the PI's that she hadn't been to work on Friday, so she wouldn't know whether I'd been there or not. "Did you talk to anyone there?" she asked. It wasn't the time to push this yet. I had to wait for her to take the money or leave, so I backed down. If I confronted her now, all I'd get is a normal divorce and the joy of watching half of everything I'd busted my ass working for sashay out of my life. So I gave her an opening she could use. "No, I didn't talk to anyone," I said. "I was so disappointed at not seeing you that I just left. Usually, if I look through all of the rooms, I find you. My favorite thing, is seeing you sitting on that mat with all of the kids gathered around you, while you read to them. I always imagine that someday we'll have kids and you'll read to them the same way. You'd be the most beautiful, most special mother in the world. Our kids would have your beauty and my drive and they'd love you almost as much as I do. She was taken aback. She didn't know what to say. She just stared at me and I think I saw a tear starting to form in the corner of her eye. I kept my expression neutral. It was really hard fighting the temptation to do a fist pump. I was really proud of myself, because obviously I could spread the bullshit as thickly as she could. "I love you too, Danford," she said quietly. "Next time you come to the center looking for me, just ask one of e the ladies where I am. Friday, I had to do a supply run. We needed diapers and formula for the babies. Believe it or not I'm one of the few women there who has a dependable car. So I get to go on the supply runs a lot. Danny maybe when you're finished putting this deal together we should take some time off. Maybe we could just go on a long vacation somewhere." "It sounds like a plan," I said. "I know I've been abnormally busy lately, so taking some time off would be good. But, what will you do about your job, Constance? You don't have very much vacation time left and I thought you were saving it for another excursion with the girls." "Honey, maybe it's time for me to stop taking care of other people's kids and start making our own," she said. "Deal," I replied. The funny thing about it is that she got to me when she said that. I'd been waiting to hear her say it for so long that it got to me. "What about a cruise?" she suggested. Maybe I was pissed because she'd gotten to me, but I almost gave it away. My acting skills were simply not up to the challenge, because I almost blew it. "That would be great," I said. "I'll book a ticket tomorrow." She looked at me for a second and then asked, "Won't we both need tickets, Honey?" "You know what I mean," I said. "On a cruise there are no tickets you book a cabin and just let them know how many people will be there." She nodded her head and went back inside the house. I finished washing and waxing my car and drove off to go and meet with the PI. We had an interesting conversation. I was amazed at the wealth of information they'd collected. The PI, whose name was Abner Yokam, suggested that we share some of the information we'd gotten, with some friends of his. He swore to me that I'd be very happy with the results. He told me that I needed to be very sure of what I wanted because once they got started there'd be no turning back. His friends turned out to be DEA agents. Some of the things he said made me wonder whether or not he'd been where I was. In fact, by the end of our conversation, I was sure he was reliving his own situation. He'd gradually shifted away from using terms like "terminate the situation with your wife." By the end of our talk he was saying, "fry that bitch good," and referring to a "scorched earth," policy for her and everyone who sided with her. Since I had only a vague idea of how to handle things, I was glad to have his help. But I was hoping for his sake that he'd get some kind of counseling when this was over. Revenge hadn't really been on my plate, all I really wanted was to walk away from her and shield most of my assets. But as I drove home I couldn't help but smile a little bit at the thought of giving a bit of pain back to the people who'd hurt me. I guess I really had nothing against Todd. Shit, Constance is a beautiful woman. If I was in his shoes I'd probably go after her myself. In fact I did. Todd had actually known Constance long before I did. But when I met her she'd told me that she wasn't with anyone. I guess theirs was an on and off relationship and when we met it had been off. Perhaps the real reason that I wasn't as angry as I could have been, was that she had never brought the bastard to my house. That would have been insulting. In fact, if she'd simply come to me and said, "Dan, I've discovered that I still have feelings for my long time boyfriend Todd." I'd have wished them well. We could have parted as friends and I'd have let her keep all of the clothes and jewelry that she'd accrued during our marriage and maybe even a token amount of cash. But her decision to be dishonest and play games with my feelings, hurt me. Her further decision to sneak around with him and steal my money to give to him, crossed the line. It would take me a while to get over her. Maybe I'd never love anyone the way I loved her again during my lifetime, but I'd also never be that naive again either. In fact, I wasn't really sure I'd ever want another person in my life after her. Monday morning I followed my usual pattern. I got out of bed and took a shower. I woke Constance so she could start her day too. She came in and kissed me after she dressed. I sat in the kitchen eating a light breakfast of fruit and a cup of coffee. She sat down across from me and smiled. "Have good day Constance," I said. "I'm not leaving yet," she smiled. "I thought I'd have breakfast with you instead of going to the café. "Great thought," I said. "Bad timing though. I'm leaving in just a few minutes. I have to pick out my new assistant." "You have lots of secretaries in your steno pool," she smiled. "Make sure you pick one who's old and ugly. It would be good if she's fat too." She leaned over and kissed me again then she headed out the door. My day at work was exciting. I had several deals in process and just the day to day running of my various businesses and concerns was taxing. There were always decisions to be made and meetings to schedule. The most exciting part was seeing Jo Anne walk into the office holding onto her daughter's hand. Samantha is a real charmer. She walked up to me and stuck out her four year old hand and thanked me for making her mommy happy again. For most of the day all I remembered were those puffy little cheeks and that tiny hand. Jo Anne cleaned up well and looked like a combination of classy business woman and girl next door all rolled into one. By the mid-point of the day she was scheduling my meetings like she'd been doing it all of her life. She tried to talk to me several times to express how grateful she was for the job and I just nodded my head and told her she was already doing a great job. When it was time to go home, I wasn't ready to. I knew the script for the next few hours and it wasn't going to be pleasant. * * * * * * Constance. When Dan got home, I'd already changed into some jeans and a shirt that showed off my boobs. I decided that instead of having our cook make us dinner, we should just go out in the back and grill something, just the two of us. Then I could convince him to take me to bed. It had been days since we'd made love. I needed to get us back on track, business deal or not. Ashley was going to call me later. Her call would be my excuse for leaving. Maybe I wanted to have sex with Dan before I went to Todd because I was feeling guilty. Maybe I wanted to compare them, to see which one of them I enjoyed the most. They both had their attributes and their weaknesses. Todd had the Stamina of youth but he had all of the finesse of a freight train. He was also a very selfish lover. He loved to do sixty eights. That's where I suck him off and he owes me one. Once he got on top of me he usually huffed and puffed until he got off though; whether I did or not. The way he slammed me was great, but sometimes it felt demeaning. But for some reason I just couldn't get enough of him. I knew that he was bad for me, but I just couldn't control it. Danford, on the other hand, loves me. There are no two ways about it. He always makes sure that I cum, no matter what it takes. He actually likes giving me oral. His pace is slower, but he makes it feel so good. Instead of slamming me he caresses each and every part of my body until I cry out with passion. There have been a couple of times when if I wasn't on the pill, I'd be sure Danford would have knocked me up. So I wanted Danford to go first because he was my husband for now. And maybe if I screwed him all he wanted, I wouldn't feel so guilty about giving Todd some pussy too. It would be as if Danford was letting someone else play with his toys when he was done with them. Well, that was the plan, but it didn't go the way I wanted it to. Dan came in and went right into his study. He opened up his briefcase and sat down in front of the computer in his home office. He pulled out several sheaves of papers and started going over them immediately. I walked in and reminded him of our rule about no working at home. He reluctantly looked away from the screen. He went out with me and lit the grill, then sat there while turning the steaks. I was really sure that something was off. My woman's intuition was screaming. I felt like that barrel shaped robot from "Lost in Space" was trapped in my head screaming, "Danger Will Robinson!" I'd gotten used to being stared at by men for most of my life. I got nervous when they didn't stare at me. Danford stared at me all the time too. Usually his eyes stroked me and he smiled while he looked at me. It was as if he was looking at something he loved and wanted to appreciate. It was the way a famous art critic looks at a painting. Perhaps he's seen it a thousand times, but he loves looking at it and he sees different nuances every time he looks at it. No, it's more like the way Danford looks at that car of his. Anyway tonight he was staring at me like I was a bug that was slowly crawling across the floor in front of him. As soon as I got within range of his foot, he was going to squish me. And there were other things that didn't add up. I could buy Danford being preoccupied or maybe physically tired out from working on the new deal, so we hadn't had sex, but he hadn't even kissed me in days. He'd allowed me to kiss him, but he hadn't kissed me in a long time. Anyway my plan for guilt sex wasn't even necessary. After dinner we sat there staring at each other. I grabbed his hands in mine to warm them up. Danford suffered some nerve damage when he was hurt during the war. Everything on his body worked well. But there were some issues with blood flow to his upper extremities. As a result Danford's hands were nowhere near ninety eight point six degrees. One of the signal's I used to let Danford know that I wanted him, was to take his hands in mine and by doing so warm then up. Next I'd warm them up even further by putting them between my legs. Usually, by that time, we were off to the races. But this time it was awkward. It was like both of us were waiting for Ashley to call me. When the phone rang we both jumped. I answered it. "Oh, I'm really sorry to hear that," I said. "Are you okay?" I looked at Danford and shrugged my shoulders. I held up one finger to let him know that I'd only be a minute. "Take your time," he said walking back into the house and out of sight. I'd hoped that he'd stay there and listen to my conversation but that part of the plan fell through too. I pretended to talk for a while and then went to find him in the house. I found him in the office looking over his papers again. "Dan, I have to go out for the evening," I said. "To comfort an old friend who's feeling down." "Alrighty then," he said cheerfully. I didn't realize it then, but what he said and the expression on his face just didn't match up. His voice and his words were cheerful almost to the point of sarcasm. But the expression on his face was sad. It was as if he really didn't want me to go." "It's only one evening, Honey," I said. "And we'll have plenty of them. We have the rest of our lives to be together. Besides you need to get this deal done so we can go on our cruise." He nodded his head and looked away from me as I stood over him. I might be wrong but, I swear I saw a tear forming in the corner of his eye. I changed and headed out to my car. After driving off of our property, I stopped and got out of the car. I checked the trunk of my car and the briefcase that contained the money was still there. I opened it and looked at it. When I was growing up thirty thousand dollars seemed like a lot of money. The idea of it is actually bigger than it looks. It didn't come close to filling up the briefcase. There were three hundred, crisp new one hundred dollar bills. It was a pittance to Danford, who was worth almost a billion dollars. But to Todd, it was enough money to secure his or perhaps our future. As I looked at the money, I realized that I was at a crossroads. When I was with Danford, I was sure that I loved him. I was even more assured that he loved me. But, when I was away from Dan, my life seemed unfulfilled and boring. Todd was exciting and uncontrolled. Being around him made me feel young again. I guess lately I'd been wondering why I was even involved with Todd since the sex wasn't really great. Now I had my answer. Sure I'm not an old woman yet by any stroke of the imagination, but being with Todd makes me feel the way I used to feel. Danford once told me that in business sometimes you had to take a risk to get what you wanted. Todd wasn't really a risk for my marriage. I realized that there was no way I'd ever leave Danford for Todd. That was the part that Ashley was wrong about. I think Ashley really believed that I'd just run out on Danford for Todd. Maybe the things I'd said made her feel that way. What I had with Danford was a forever kind of thing. Eventually, I'd settle down and we'd have kids and all of those other things that people do. Danford would be a great father. Todd would probably be the worst, most selfish father ever. But for now this was all in fun and maybe I wasn't in love with Todd, but I was addicted to the way he made me feel. I got back into my car and headed for Todd's apartment. * * * * * * Investigator's notes Late at night, a big old house gets lonely. I guess every point of refuge as its price. And it breaks her heart to think her love is only, given to a man with hands as cold as ice. So she tells him she must go out for the evening. To comfort an old friend who's feeling down. But he knows where she's going as she's leaving. She's headed for the cheating side of town. * * * * * * Danford Richards I watched as my wife's car's tail lights disappeared in the darkness. I pulled out my phone and punched in a number. "Yeah, she's on her way," I said. I turned the phone off and got out of the chair I'd been sitting in. I wiped the last tear I hoped that I'd ever cry over Constance and headed towards my garage. This wasn't a night for being seen or making a lot of noise so I decided to drive my Volt. I'd picked the car up purely for the novelty of having a mostly electric car. And until Ford made one, or I could get a Tesla, this one would have to do. Even though I'd left a few moments after Constance did, I knew I'd get to the location before she did. She was terrible with directions and she also drives like an old lady. For Constance to be as young as she is, she has a lot of the traits of older women. Her slow driving is only one of them. Her forgetfulness is legendary. I often had to take her things that she'd forgotten on her way to work. As I pulled up and went into the rear of the building, the agents inside the apartment down the hall from Todd waved me in. "Hey, you're just in time, listen to this," said one. "God damn it Todd, I knew you just wanted to fuck that bitch," said a woman. "That's what this whole thing is about isn't it? You must really think I'm stupid." "Baby, I don't even like fucking her," whined Todd. "I'm doing it for you. Her pussy isn't nice and tight like yours." "That's because her husband probably has a bigger dick than you do," screamed the woman. "I'm only doing this for the money," said Todd. "I was tired of that bitch from the first time she cheated on me when we were in college. I got into a fight with some gorilla because he was going around telling everybody on campus that he'd been the first guy to fuck her. She'd told me that I was her first. We both got suspended for fighting and it turned out that neither one of us got her cherry. The only thing special about her is those tits, and they're starting to sag." "So why did you invite her over here?" said the woman. "Because baby, I need that money," said Todd. "We need it. I'm tired of being small time and us barely scrapping by. I stole and saved up everything I could so I could buy twenty K worth of product from Marinelli. I finally got a hold of him a few days ago and he told me that the minimum buy in he would take is fifty grand. That gave me two or three days to come up with more than double what I had." "The only person I know who could just give me thirty grand in a couple of days is Constance. Her husband probably blows more than that on lunches, so he wouldn't even notice it. In order to make our lives better, I have to make this deal. And since I've ordered the product from Marinelli, if I don't come through with the cash, I'm a dead man. He is not the kind of man you fuck around with. Sometimes, if you cross him, your family pays the price. In other cases, he just smears you all over the streets as an example to others that he is not someone you want to fuck with." "So why can't you just borrow the money from her as a loan?" asked Eliza. "Baby, I can't help it if the bitch is fascinated with me," said Todd. "I'm actually hoping that she doesn't want to have sex. But if she does, I'll just have to do it for you and for us. It's not like I'm going to enjoy it." All of the investigators were laughing. "Can you believe this guy?" one of the DEA guys asked. "His line of bullshit is longer than the street he lives on." "Yeah and his girlfriend must be one of the stupidest women, I've ever met," said another. "Hey Dan, apparently your old lady is too stretched out for poor old Todd. What were you doing to her?" he asked. "Whoa, sorry man. I keep forgetting that this is your first time. I've been divorced three times. After a while you just don't care anymore. At least you get to have a little bit of payback." Lying Eyes I nodded. It actually didn't bother me as much as I'd have thought it would. I'd already known that Todd wasn't the first guy that Constance had cheated on me with. In fact she'd apparently cheated on him too from what he was saying to his woman. Well for me it would all be over soon. We settled down to watch over the hidden cameras they'd placed in Todd's apartment. Apparently from what Todd was telling Eliza, Connie was due to be at his place by nine thirty and the product was supposed to be delivered by eleven p.m. At least they wouldn't have very much time for their fuck session. We settled down to watch. Eliza was stomping around the apartment cursing in Spanish, while Todd looked out the window every few minutes. When Constance finally arrived, Todd kissed Eliza and hustled her out of the apartment before buzzing Constance in. From the cameras in the hallway, we could see that Constance and Eliza actually passed each other in the hall without knowing it. Constance walked into Todd's apartment and looked around. Todd immediately wrapped his arms around her. He seemed to be the one who was doing all of the touching and hugging despite what he'd told Eliza. His touching and stroking morphed into kissing and Constance, though she didn't initiate it, went with it. The investigators were kind enough to refrain from commenting on Constance's body while I was there. "Hey, Dan you don't have to watch this," one of them told me. "We'll call you when it's over." I went into the next room. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn't bear to watch it. On the screen the agents watched as the last of Constance's clothing was piled on the floor. She stood naked in front of Todd. He pushed her back onto the bed and spread her legs. He dropped his pants and roughly entered her. He just started humping away at her. At first the agents were talking, but apparently watching Todd fuck Constance was somehow not as exciting as watching Constance strip. "Man he's pounding the shit out of her," said one agent. "But she's just lying there taking it." "It's almost like consensual rape," said another. Finally Todd grunted and screwed up his face and then stopped. He squeezed one of Constance's breasts and asked her, "Did you bring it?" I walked back into the room in time to hear him ask her. It took her longer than we expected to answer him. It was almost as if she was considering that she should do. "Babe we really don't have time to bask in the afterglow," he said. "How do I know that I'll get my share of the money?" she asked. All of the agents in the room started nodding their heads. "What are..." I began. "She just asked him about her share of the profits," said the first agent. "While not an admission of guilt, it does indicate that she is expecting to make money from this. That is enough to charge her in some capacity and probably enough to get her jail time instead of probation." "You can trust me Constance," said Todd. "You know me. I've been in love with you since college. You know I'd never run out on you. We're getting married after all of this is over. You're wearing my Grandmother's ring. All of this is so we can be together. Why would I try to steal from you if the whole point of this was so we could get married and be together?" He looked at her. "Constance where's the ring?" "I can't wear that ring when I'm at home," she said. "Danford would know about us." "So what if he finds out," said Todd. "He's going to find out soon anyway." "So how much of a percentage do I get?" asked Constance changing the subject. "Uhm, forty percent," said Todd. "So you're investing fifty grand yourself?" asked Constance. "Well, not me alone," said Todd. "I have other investors." "The money is outside," said Constance. "I'll give it to you when I leave in a few minutes." Todd looked shocked. "What are you talking about Connie?" he asked. "What do you mean when you leave in a few minutes? I thought you were going to stay with me." "Todd, you know that isn't possible right now," said Constance as she began pulling her clothes on. "You know that I'm married. I'm married to a very rich, very powerful man. But I promise you, someday soon I'll be coming back forever." She pulled herself away from him and smiled. Todd followed her out to her car. He couldn't take his eyes off of the car but Constance seemed to treat it the way she treated everything else. She opened the trunk and gave him the slim briefcase. She turned away from him and started to get into the car. Todd grabbed her arm and pulled her against himself. He kissed her really hard and wrapped his arms around her. "I have to go Todd," said Constance. For the second time that evening, I watched Constance drive away from me. I saw Todd pump his fist and leap into the air. He looked like a teenager instead of a man nearing thirty. Todd ran back inside the building and we watched as Eliza came from one of the other apartments where she'd been visiting. As soon as they saw each other in the hallway, they began arguing again. "I got the money, babe," said Todd. "We're gonna be rich." "Did you fuck her?" asked Eliza. Todd just looked at the floor. "I had to, babe," he said. "She was all over me. She wouldn't take no for an answer." "I'll bet," spat Eliza." "Oh babe, don't act like that. It didn't mean anything to me," said Todd. "That bitch has rocks in her head." "What do you mean?" asked Eliza. "Just that she's going to be pretty fucking miserable soon," said Todd. "No, tell me Todd," said Eliza. "She's so stupid it's not even funny," laughed Todd. "Remember when I rolled that drunk guy a couple of weeks ago?" Eliza nodded her head. "Besides forty bucks, I got that chintzy ring that the pawn shop wouldn't even give us five bucks for..." laughed Todd. "I told her it was my grandmother's ring and I wanted her to marry me. She bought the whole thing. When she tries to find me, we'll have moved out and be living somewhere else. So she ain't getting a dime from us," spat Todd. "But what if her husband hires someone to get his money back?" asked Eliza. "That's just it. She's going to be so busy trying to cover up what she did, that she won't be able to even think about looking for us. And she won't want him to find us. Because if he does find us and finds out that she GAVE us the money, her ass is grass," said Todd. We all watched as Todd and Eliza started dancing. * * * * * * Investigator's notes On the other side of town a boy is waiting with fiery eyes and dreams no one could steal She drives on through the night anticipating 'Cause he makes her feel the way she used to feel She rushes to his arms, They fall together She whispers that it's only for awhile She swears that soon she'll be comin' back forever She pulls away and leaves him with a smile * * * * * * Danford Richards Todd's dancing was interrupted by a hard knock at his door. Strangely when he opened the door he saw a UPS driver. "You Todd?" asked the driver. "Uhm Yeah," said Todd suspiciously. "I got a package for you from Mr. M. Are you ready to accept delivery?" asked the driver. "Yeah hold on I need to consolidate my assets," said Todd. As we watched on the camera Todd ran around the apartment pulling bills out of all sorts of hiding places. "Amateurs," sighed the driver. He looked around the room and shook his head as he watched Todd pulling bills from under sofa cushions and out of boxes. Finally Todd ran over to him and handed him the briefcase. On top of the neatly stacked bills he'd received from Constance he'd stuffed his wrinkled and crumpled mixed denominations. "Here," he said proudly. The driver just looked at him and at the brief case with the corners and edges of bills sticking out of the sides. "Count it," said Todd. "It's all there. Every penny of it is there." The driver shook the briefcase and listened. "What are you doing?" asked Todd. "I wanted to see if there really were pennies in here. You kind of seem like the type who'd raid his kid's piggy bank to get money. Anyway, here ya go." He handed Todd the box he'd been holding. "Aren't you going to count it?" asked Todd. He was disappointed that the man hadn't verified that he'd come up with the full amount. It was as if he needed to have someone certify that he'd actually managed to amass fifty thousand dollars." "Nah," said the driver. "That's not my job. Each one of us has his or her specialties and we don't mix them up. The man on the other side has a whole team of specialists who each do his or her own job. Mine is only to deliver the products, whatever they may be and to accept payment. I don't know the contents of the boxes or what they cost. I only deliver them, both ways. There are others who tally the cost and count the contents. If you are lacking by even a penny, there are other specialists who will come and hold you to account for your errors. I should want you though that failure to render payment in full has been the cause of termination of several accounts during my association with the company." "You mean, if I as a customer, was short with my payment by only a few dollars, they'd never give me another delivery, that's bogus," said Todd. "It's even more bogus than you think," said the driver. "When I said they terminated the accounts, I meant they TERMINATED the accounts and their holders too." Todd's face got as white as a sheet. The driver turned and started to walk away and Todd closed the door. Back in the apartment where the agents were watching, the agent in charge got a big smile on his face. "Fuck the plan," he screamed. "Hit them now." All of the agents around him and even I wondered why the change. "Don't you see?" he screamed. "Catching Todd and getting the drugs before they hit the street is a nice little catch, but that driver is a direct tie in to Marinelli. If we could get him to turn we could get Marinelli and keep most of the drugs on this side of the country from hitting the streets. Get him now. And make sure you get that driver." I watched as the agents left the room and other agents who were scattered around the outside of the building all converged on Todd's apartment. With the multiple cameras and multiple monitors I could see both what was going on inside of the room and outside of it. Inside the room Todd was opening the box and pulling out over a hundred small packets of a white substance. He was grinning from ear to ear and showing one of the packs to Eliza. Outside there were at least eight men gathered outside of the door to Todd's apartment waiting for the order the breach the door. Two men who were each the size of pro football linemen, held onto the handles of a battering ram. They were poised to throw all of their massive size and strength into knocking the door down. There was no other exit from the apartment, but there were men outside covering all of the windows just in case. "Go," said the agent in charge and the door splintered and fell inwards. Todd's eyes opened to the limits of their elasticity and his mouth formed a large "O" as the agents burst into his room. He followed the orders the agents were yelling at him and got down on the floor with his hands behind his head. I shook hands with the agent in charge. He thanked me for providing the agency with the evidence my PI's had discovered, and I headed home. They never did catch the UPS driver though. He seemingly disappeared and there was no UPS truck outside. the guy was a pro whoever he was. * * * * * * PI notes She gets up and pours herself a strong one And stares out at the stars up in the sky Another night, it's gonna be a long one She draws the shade and hangs her head to cry She wonders how it ever got this crazy She thinks about a boy she knew in school Did she get tired or did she just get lazy? She's so far gone she feels just like a fool My, oh my, you sure know how to arrange things You set it up so well, so carefully Ain't it funny how your new life didn't change things You're still the same old girl you used to be * * * * * * Constance I got out of bed again and wondered where the hell Danford was. He should be home with me. I'd called his office several times looking for him. He hadn't said a word about going out. He usually told me where he was going and when he'd be home. This night had already been a night mare and it was just going to get longer and longer. I really needed Danford. I didn't need any excitement right now, what I needed was to have the arms of the man who loved me wrap themselves around me and make me feel better. Ashley had been right all along. First she realized that Todd was the biggest mistake I'd ever made. After I drove off I'd watched Todd go back into his apartment building. I'd thought of a question I wanted to ask him. He hadn't told me when I'd have my money, so I drove back and followed him inside. I guess I'd been in such a hurry to get away from him after the awful sex, that I'd just stopped asking questions. I'd realized then that I'd made a really big mistake. I got back just in time to see Todd and a pretty Mexican girl start arguing. From the things Todd had said I realized just how big a fool I'd been. It was just like Ashley had told me. Todd was only after me for the money. He'd fucked me and jeopardized my marriage, just so he could get me to steal money from a man who really did love me. Even the things he told me about how much he loved me and wanted to marry me had all been lies. The ring that was supposedly his grandmother's had been the clincher. It was so corny that I'd actually started to have feelings for Todd all over again. I'd never really considered leaving Danford for Todd but she'd been conflicted enough to give it some thought. I guess I was just the kind of girl who wanted to be the center of attraction and have everyone love me and want me. Todd had used that against me. The worst part of all is the fact that Todd had really just used me. He never intended to pay the money back. When Danford found out about the money, he'd have to know where it went. If I didn't come up with a pretty good scam I might end up being put on some kind of restrictions as to how much I could spend. In the worst case scenario, Danford might even find out about Todd and I might actually lose him. Sure I'd get a big settlement in the divorce, but what I'd done would probably get out and I'd be the laughing stock of Texas. Just like back in college, they'd be calling me, "Dumb Pussy," all over again. I just couldn't believe it. I'd been sure that I'd arranged things perfectly. I set everything up so well. It had been perfect. I'd been able to have Danford and Todd too. I'd been able to eat my cake and have it at the same time. But it had all blown up in my face. My dream world was now in jeopardy. My new perfect life with Danford might be taken from me. It was really funny in some ways because I'd spent years trying to get away from the stigma of that nickname, "Dumb Pussy." I'd become the beautiful wife of one of the richest and most successful men in the country. But my actions had only revealed that my new life hadn't really changed things. I'm still the same old girl I used to be. I'm still, "Dumb Pussy." No matter how much money we have. No matter how important my husband is, I'm still that same petty girl who tried to play hard and fast with the rules and usually ended up getting caught and laughed at. I'm just not much of a drinker, but I downed the glass of Danford's Scotch in one gulp. The liquor burned as it worked its way down my throat causing me to have a coughing fit and wonder why Danford ever drank it. I got down on my knees and prayed to whatever force in the universe controlled fate. I implored that deity to give me one more chance to change my life and do things the right way. I swore that I would become the best wife any man had ever had in the history of the institution of marriage. Even as I thought it, I realized that I'd had the opportunity to do that from the beginning and that was what Danford had tried to be with me. He'd never denied me anything, no matter how stupid or unreasonable the request. If I wanted it, I had it. I also realized then that it went beyond money. Danford was attractive enough to have gone after my friends if he'd wanted to, but he never had. Danford had enough money to buy or sway almost any woman he wanted, but he'd stayed faithful to me. It just made me feel worse. I fell asleep thinking about it. When I woke up the next morning, Danford was there in bed beside me. I wished with all my heart that what had happened before had been a nightmare, but I knew that it was all too real. I threw an arm and a leg over Dan's sleeping form. He groaned and rolled towards me. "You would try that now," he smirked. "Teasing me like that when you know that neither one of us has time for even a quickly, let alone what you really deserve." "Danford, we have all the time in the world," I said. "Fuck my job. Fuck your job. We have more money than we'll ever need." "I thought that was going to be our theme after this deal," he said. "Remember, our cruise, our retirement, our settling down to make babies. Although, it's going to be a crime, to stretch this body all out of shape." "Whatever shape it's in, it's always going to love you," I said. And I noticed that he looked at me funny then. His expression was unreadable. But if I had to take a guess at it, I've had thought that it was regret. I guess he really did want to stay home and stay in bed with me after all. Maybe things were going to be alright anyway. Sure I'd fucked up with Todd, but in the grand scheme of my life, Todd really didn't matter. He was just a tiny blip on the radar screen of my life and he wasn't even that over the course of my marriage. Ten years from now, I wouldn't even remember the bastard. I got out of the bed and joined Danford in the shower. He wrapped his arms around me and he hugged there as the water cascaded down our entwined bodies. I ran my hand down his flank and brought it to the front. I grasped his penis and found it already hardening. I started to rub it and found myself getting wetter by the second. I didn't care if I was late, or if Danford was either. I wanted some and I was going to have it. But Danford gently pushed me away. "Honey, there are things we need to do," he said. "And I know I've been very busy lately, but I want to take care of you without having to rush through it. I want to be able to relax and enjoy every second we spend together. In just a few hours, we'll have nothing but time on our hands. I want to make love to you, not just throw a quick fuck at you. You're supposed to be the woman I love, not some tramp meeting a guy at the Motel Six." He left me in the shower with me still thinking that everything was fine. There was a nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that simply wouldn't leave though. Danford left before I did. I don't remember him ever leaving that early, but at least I knew that things between us were still fine. I'd find a way to make things up to him if it took me the rest of my life. I stepped out of the shower and dressed. I was running a few minutes late. As I got to the bottom of the staircase, I noticed that our caretaker was talking to another man who was working on our front door. "Hiram, what is he doing?" I asked. "It's nothing for you to worry about Mrs. Richards. Your husband wanted the locks on all of the doors changed. It's going to take a while. Have a good day," he said. Dan hadn't mentioned changing the locks to me at all. I drove over to the café. I wanted to have breakfast with my friends and then I was going to go to work and quit my job. I'd come up with something I'd rather do anyway. Dan hadn't had his new assistant for more than a few days. Maybe I could get him to give her something else to do and let me be his assistant.