BEN AND MELISSA Pt 2 By Matt Moreau
She was coming out of her interview when he spotted her. "Melissa?"
"Jerry. I guess we will be working together," she said
"You're working here? Here at S&D?" he managed to say.
"Yes, in public relations."
"My gawd! I love it. I gotta go. I have a meeting in three minutes, but we're doing lunch and you're gonna be doing a lot of explaining," he said, only half in jest.
She stood there sweating. She hadn't even been able to say yes or no. He just assumed she would go to lunch with him. This was not good. It was too soon. Too not within her ability to control. But, why was she worried; it was only lunch. Besides he hadn't said when, where, anything.
Jerry didn't show up for lunch that day, and she relaxed. She had a dinner or celebration or whatever to get ready for. She wondered what Ben was so excited about.
They'd arrived at seven. The Maitre 'D seated them in the middle of the room; she had no way of knowing, but Ben had arranged it that way. The restaurant was busy, and Ben wanted it that way too. He stood, walked around the table to her chair and knelt in front of her. He opened his hand and held it forth in front of her. The two carat ring he had purchased a few days before glistened in the light of the chandeliers. "Will you marry me, Melissa? Will you be my wife?"
The look on her face was a mix of shock and happiness. The emotions she was dealing with completely overwhelmed her. Jerry was forgotten, everything was forgotten.
"My gawd yes!" she said. Half the place applauded.
They danced for hours and kissed endlessly, and swore undying love, and it was wonderful. The wedding two weeks later was small and nice and in a nearby chapel. Friends from both of their firms were there including Dirk grimes and Alex Harnett. In the middle of the reception, both Dirk Grimes and Alex Harnett got up to make a toast, well, it was more an announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, family, friends: Mr. Harnett and I would like to toast our favorite newlyweds," said Dirk Grimes. "May they live long and prosper and support and love each other every day of their lives." Everyone touched their glasses and sent up the expected chorus of here-here's and yeah-yeah's. Then it was Alex Harnett's turn.
And, I'd like to say a word to the bride, whose big heart has touched my own.
Melissa looked at him and knitted her brow. What was this about, she wondered. She looked at Ben, but he looked innocent.
"I would like you Melissa to pass the word to your coworkers at Hadley and Tudor that all of their jobs are safe. My gift to you on your wedding day."
Melissa jumped up, still in her wedding dress, ran to the front, almost tripping on the way, wrapped her arms around the CEO of the company where she was about to start the second stage of her career with and planted a huge kiss on his shocked lips. Everybody cheered. Ben joined her up front and they all stood for pictures and then settled in for the party.
Everything was hunky-dory. They honeymooned in Cancun at Mr. Grimes' expense. And then, they went home to live the lives of a married couple.
It wasn't until about a year after the wedding that chinks began to develop in the Marriage. I had no idea what was causing Melissa to be ... something. I was only later that I discovered that Jerry had come home to roost, or more accurately to do rut.
Disaster struck on the fifteenth of the month a little over a year after our nuptials. I always had a meeting on the fifteenth; it was clearinghouse day for all of the cases we had completed the research for or had otherwise taken out of our hands?ours meaning the paralegals. Today's meeting had been cancelled.
I got home early. I parked in the driveway and keyed the front door loosening my tie and taking off my sports coat, all in one continuous motion. As I entered the living room and closed the door behind me. I heard laughter. It was coming from Melissa's old room, now the guest room, and the door, as usual was closed. At first I thought she was laughing into the phone. But, then I heard a male voice.
"How long do we have. Can we do it again?" asked the man.
"Yes, I guess so. It's still too early for Ben to be coming home. He always stays till after 4:00 on the fifteenth. You should know that by now," she said.
"Why do you stay with him? Why don't you move in with me?" said the male voice.
"Lover, I am still practically a newlywed, and he is my husband, and I love him?" said Melissa.
"Then why do you fuck me every fifteenth of the month?" he said.
"Because I love you; I love your cock. You do have a nice cock. You're longer than Ben," she said. Then they laughed again.
"Do you feel him inside of you after you've fucked me?" said the man.
"Yes, I guess. He's not that small. He's gentle with me; he's better than you in that way," she said.
They laughed again. "He's a wuss, and you're going to get it for that," he said.
"Promises, promises," she said. "And don't call him names; we've talked about that. Ben's a good guy; don't call him names."
"Okay, okay, but he's still wuss and not nearly enough for you regardless, or you wouldn't be banging me," said the man.
"Yeah, well maybe so, but I still don't want you bringing him up, okay. Now get busy and fuck my ass," I heard her say. That killed me; she had always denied me that particular item, and this really added insult to injury.
"Okay," he said. "And, remember this is for me only, no wusses allowed," and they both laughed.
"Ouch, go slower, big boy, that's my butt not my pussy," she said.
I was sick to my stomach and filled with anger and hurt to an almost unimaginable degree. But, I had been working in a law office far too long to engage in tantrums. I was not going to run in there helter-skelter and ruin my opportunities for revenge by tearing the asshole up and kicking my supposed loving wife out. No, this I had to plan for: I might be a de facto cuckold, but I was not going to be a willing cuckold. Not even. I left in a hurry. I got two blocks down the street and pulled into a taco-tia.
I called Rex, a best friend. Rex Coleman was a PI who worked for Adele Carter, one of our fellow members of the bar. Adele had worked with my Mr. Grimes on several cases and had loaned us Rex on as many occasions. He and I spent a lot of afterhours time hanging one on after a tough case, at least we had in the old days before Melissa and I had gotten ourselves married.
Adele Carter was a specialist. She handled divorce cases only, and only for the offended parties be they the husband or the wife. For my money she got the good guy award when it came to lawyers. The added benefit is that she was very, very good at what she did, and Rex was essentially her hired gun.
"Rex ... yeah Ben ... can you get over to the taco-tia by my place fast, like an hour ago ... yeah it's important. My wife's cheating on me in my own house ... yeah I fucking know it's only been a year ... okay, I'll be waiting." I hung up. Seven minutes later Rex was there.
We headed over to the condo. I let us in as quietly as I could. We heard them inside still getting it on. He put a stethoscope like item up against the still closed door, and punched the button on the recorder. He handed me the camera and told me to go outside and take pics of all of the cars and their license plate numbers.
Five minutes later he met me behind a dumpster near my garage. "I got what we need for the moment, Ben. You want me to stick around for a while?"
"No. I got it. I want the asshole followed though. I want to know who he is and where he lives, the works."
"You got it. Whaddya you going to do? Nothing stupid I hope."
"No, I'm going to call her and tell her I'll be home in fifteen minutes. That'll breakup their little party and give him a chance to escape."
"Then what?" said Rex.
"Not sure. I'll call you tonight and let you know," I said.
"Okay. I'll be waiting for your call."
We waved our goodbyes and I was on the phone before he was even in his car.
"Hi honey ... yes, it's me ... I'll be home in fifteen minutes ... the meeting got out early ... yes, me too." I closed the cell and waited. The house was only two minutes away.
I decided to have a taco. The taco-tia was on the corner and there was a signal light. I was munching down when I spotted the Beemer. It was one of the cars I'd gotten the plate numbers from. The driver was a man, fortyish, not bad looking but no Brad Pitt: had to be her lover.
I finished eating and decided to head on home. I felt strange. I felt in control; not good, I was still sick at my stomach and white hot angry; but I was under control.
I already had some evidence: enough for an annulment probably, but I wanted more. I wasn't sure why I wanted more. Maybe I just wanted overwhelming justification for how I was going to destroy them.
The irony was that I still loved Melissa. Even after hearing his insults and her the laughter at those insults. The breakup was going to be painful when it came. Did I want to crush her? No, she'd had a shitty life, and even though she was shitting on me, I just couldn't bring myself to hate her that much. What a strange and powerful thing love was; it made no sense.
I pulled in to the garage. I had to decide if I wanted sloppy seconds. I was pretty sure she was going to be nice to me. She'd already be showering and cleaning herself up; I was sure of that. I knew she hadn't had time to clean up the guest room yet. The tableau about to be played out was going to be pretty funny on some level.
I let myself into the house. Sure enough, she was in our room showering. I noticed that the door to the guest room was still closed. I was trepidatious about looking inside; I was afraid of the potential for more hurt, and I was hurting bad already. Opening the door I was surprised to see the bed made. The room looked about the same as it always did: clean and orderly. That is it did except for one thing: it smelled like sex, and the smell was strong. The window was open, and in a few hours it figured to be less obvious, but I was betting that the bed was made with the cum covered sheets still on it. She'd have to get me out of the way for a couple of hours to do laundry. That was going to be interesting since I really did want those sheets.
I went to the dirty clothes hamper and checked it out. Nothing interesting there, there was no reason for there to be; they'd have been naked to have their little tryst.
I went into the kitchenette and got a beer. I popped the cap and tossed it in the trash can under the sink. Bingo! Ripped panties. Well, she'd done what she could to cover herself. To be fair, I hadn't given her a whole lot of time. The panties were covered with cum; he'd obviously wiped himself clean on them, her maybe too. I got a baggie and put the evidence inside; this was getting good, I thought.
I'd heard her tell him that she loved me, small cock and all. I wondered if she really did. I didn't know if it mattered anymore; she'd betrayed me and us, but I really did want to know. I wanted every fucking answer I could get, and I was going to get them.
"Hi hon," she said, coming out of the bedroom drying her hair."
"A shower in the middle of the day?" I said, smiling like a possum.
"Yes, I was feeling gunky," she said. She noticed that the guest room door was open and her face paled, but she recovered in a hurry. She closed the door. "It's mildewy in there. I will have to change the bedclothes more often, I guess. I'll do laundry later."
Slick I thought, very slick. She'd be doing the laundry right under my nose. I had to think of something.
She went back into the master bedroom. She still had to dress. I had an idea, but I had to figure a way to implement it. Maybe if I could get her out of the house for half an hour or more, I could do the laundry for her and take credit for being a good husband. A good husband too stupid to notice the cum stained sheets? That was very iffy. I just made up my mind that I'd have to sell her on it. Then it came to me; I wouldn't have to get her out of the house at all. I just had to make sure that she couldn't do the laundry till I was ready to have her do it.
I went to the stacked washer and dryer in the closet and pulled the front panel off of the washer unit. I reached in and yanked the power wire off of its terminal. No laundry would be done today. In fact, no laundry would be done until I could get a friend of Rex in to fix the wire. Oh well, nailing a cheater was not always convenient.
By the time she reemerged from the bedroom, I had the panel back on and was nervously hoping she wouldn't discover the inoperable machine until it was impractical to do the laundry today. I just needed her to go to work the next day with the sheets still on her adulterous bed.
"You look good," I said. "How about you and I going out and having some fun?"
I could see she didn't want to go. "Honey, I..." She stopped. She could see I was going to be disappointed if she turned me down. I guess the realization that she'd fucked me over just an hour earlier made her change her mind. I suppose she thought that throwing a bone to the cuckold wouldn't kill her. "Honey, I would love to. Where should we go?"
"The Round Tree is our special place," I said. "Let's go there for early drinks and stuff, and then dinner and dancing. I really am in the mood," I lied.
Dinner was good, it always was at the Round Tree. Everything was normal except the state of my stomach. She noticed that I did not use any Tabasco sauce. I used to brag that I could drink Tabasco with a straw. I used it on everything but ice cream, or so it seemed.
"No Tabasco?" she said.
"No, I felt a little queasy earlier today, and I'm not going to push it," I said.
"Are you okay? You wanna go home. I can think of a couple of ways to make you feel better," she said smirking.
I almost threw up right then. The whore was going to allow her wussy, cuckold husband, to have a nice charity fuck. At that moment wanted nothing so much as to send her straight to the seventh pit of hell. The last vestiges of love that I had felt for her vanished. Only a cold, nascent hatred remained. My revenge was going to be total.
I didn't call Rex that night, but at work the next morning I did.
"Rex ... yeah ... sorry I didn't get back to you last night ... not we went out dancing and stuff ... yes ... I want to destroy them ... please get me what I need ... don't worry about the cost ... I especially want his ass ... exactly ... see if he has an ex-wife or something that he screwed over ... yeah, yeah ... who knows. I hung up. The die was cast.
Shakespeare said it best: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a 'husband' scorned." Okay, so I paraphrased him a bit; under the circumstances I didn't think he'd mind.
I had lunch with a client and two secretaries that day. Margaret and Sonia were the best. After the client had left and was satisfied that his legal needs had been met; the two women sandbagged me.
"Ben, we've been together how long?" said Sonia.
"I don't know. Maybe fifteen years?" I said.
"Yes, and Ben I know you. We both do?" said Sonia. Margaret nodded. I wondered where this was going.
"Ben, you're not yourself, and I think, we think, we know why," said Margaret.
"What are you talking about?" I said growing impatient with the two of them.
"You're having problems with Mel aren't you?"
"What?" I was getting really antsy. How could they possibly know anything. It had only been for the last couple of days that "I" knew anything. Then it hit me. They knew before I did. But then if that was so, why did they not tell me. They were my assistants, not my wife's.
I looked from one to the other. I was about to become hopping mad. "Lay it on me," I said. They could see I was in no mood for riddles.
Sonia took up the flag. "She has a visitor for lunch no less than three times a week, Ben. It's always the same guy, and always at the same place: the Round Tree."
"May I ask how you know this?" I said.
"We eat lunch there almost every day. They don't really know us even though we've met Melissa a number of times at our firm's do's. When they're there, they only have eyes for each other," said Sonia.
"We've wanted to tell you, Ben, but we've been nervous about it. They never really did anything, and they never left together. So what did we really know," said Margaret. "But, seeing you the past couple of days; well, a woman can tell."
"I see," I said.
For the next two weeks, I played it cool. I was amazed at how cool and calm I was able to remain. I even fucked her a couple of times without having to give up my lunch. And there was the plus that Rex was on the job and evidently collecting all kinds of dirt on Mr. Cummings.
"Yeah, it turns out that our mister big dick just missed spending ten years in the slam for embezzling funds. That's why he's here. He was run off from his old job, but avoided jail when he returned most of the money. That got him a suspended sentence ala nolo contendere," said Rex.
"Nice," I said.
"There's more. I snooped around. He may be doing it again. I mean with the company he's with now. A friend of mine is an accountant. He's independent, but he does work for S&D sometimes. There are some irregularities in accounts that our loverboy is responsible for. But, it'll take an all out audit to find out for sure, he told me."
"Anything else" I said. He knew I meant in regards to my wife.
"Her call log at the company has him calling her almost every day; usually, in the late morning. And, on the fourteenth of every month he reserves a room for the fifteenth at the Round Tree. At least they did every month until last month," he said. Well, we both knew why that was the case didn't we, I thought: it was because they were at my house. "Ben, it's been going on for a year. They're as predictable as the sunrise." It turned out later that the reason that they had been at my house was because of a convention at the Round Tree, and there had been no rooms available. I wondered whose genius idea it was to use the condo; it was that mistake that was going to sink their ship.
I had sworn my assistants to secrecy and they'd been happy to cooperate.
There was more from Rex: emails, bar tabs, the usual; but what I'd heard so far was enough. There was just one final act to play out before I went for the jugular. The fifteenth was now only a week away. I bided my time.
Rex was able to get the room number for the dynamic duo's little fun day without any trouble. The room was bugged, and a video set up to capture all of the thrilling scenes to be acted out. I decided to let them have the full time. Let them have their thrills; the afterglow, I was certain, would not be what I'm sure they'd been used to.
They arrived, they checked in, and went directly to the room; we waited. At about 3:00PM they came down. I saw them kissing as they exited the Otis. They did look like they were in love. Even though I was over my white hot anger by then, it hurt me to see her and him together; it hurt a lot.
Rex walked right by them as they came into the restaurant. He had some collecting of evidence to do in the room that they had so recently occupied.
As they neared where I was sitting, she saw me. She went white as a sheet and dropped the hand that she had been holding.
"Ben!"
"Yeah it's me. Glad to see me?" I said as affably as I could manage. "Have a seat; we can have some lunch. I know you must be hungry. Sex does that to people."
"Ben, I?"
"No, no, really, have a seat," I said. I signaled the waiter to come over.
"Menus, please," I said when he got there.
All this time Jerry was rooted to the ground and very quiet. Melissa started to sit down and he was about to follow her example. A look from me stopped him.
"Whaddya think you're doing, asshole, can't I at least have lunch with my wife without you hanging around like some pussywhipped puppy dog!"
He was startled. "Hey, wait a minute. You can't..."
"Asshole, you really don't want to piss me off more than I already am. I've got you by the balls six ways to Sunday, and I am about to castrate your high school ass, so get the hell outta here, and I mean immediamente!"
He glanced over at Melissa whose eyes were tearing up something awful. She nodded for him to obey me, and he left muttering to himself. I watched him go.
"Like a drink," I said.
She nodded. She didn't seem like talking too much. Well, I could hardly blame her; seeing me there had to be traumatic for her.
"Ben, I'm sorry. I am so sorry."
I laughed. I just couldn't help myself. Being in the legal profession for so many years, I couldn't count how many times I had heard that asinine refrain.
"Remember how we met, Mel? Remember that day some six years ago? Remember how cold it was? How we got ourselves some coffee and donuts? I even remember how good those damn donuts tasted."
"Ben, why are you doing this? What I did was bad, very bad, but it was only this once; I swear to you," she said. "Please forgive me, I beg of you."
My face must have betrayed my rage at hearing such a bald faced lie.
She tried to recover. "We have lunch a lot and stuff, that's all," she said.
I began to enjoy myself. Watching and listening to her digging her own grave was almost worth the hurt?almost. The food came, and I chowed down. "Eat," I said. "This is our favorite place, our special place. She toyed with her food.
You know, your cheating was one thing. But, was it necessary to insult me behind my back. He may have a bigger cock than me, but mine ain't that small is it? I mean, I have some pride; it really hurt to hear you laughing at me and my sexual prowess. What did I ever do to deserve that level of humiliation? I'd really like to know. In fact I insist you tell me."
She was clearly shattered by my words. She must have been desperately trying to figure out how I knew so much. "Ben, I never meant to hurt you. This was just a one time fling. I didn't say anything about your cock or laugh at you. It was just a fling," I swear.
I saw Rex coming toward us. I motioned him over to a chair. "Good stuff?" I said.
"Yeah, very good. I watched a portion of it. I don't think you should though," he said talking to me.
I felt my face darken; I actually felt it.
Melissa was confused. I decided to enlighten her.
"Oh excuse my manners," I said. "Mel, this is my friend Rex. He's a PI. Rex, this is my faithful wife, Mel."
"Pleased to meet you," said Rex, without a trace of sarcasm.
Melissa just stared.
"That bad huh?" I said to Rex.
"Yeah, 'fraid so," he said.
"Mel, this is the way it's going to be. I know how tight you are with Mr. Cummings. And, I want all of the dirt and evidence you can possibly give me and Rex here, and I want it now. It will be the difference between his spending five years in the pen or twenty; his old age is in your hands. He is going to prison, and that's a fact. Now, what have you got for me, for us? If you have nothing, he goes down for the count, and I mean big time. If you have a lot, we'll see to it that years are peeled off his sentence."
"Ben, what are you doing? He's not a criminal. An adulterer, yes, but not a criminal! For gawd's sake have some mercy!"
"You know I would have. Mercy I mean. But the insults you and the asshole shared at my expense and all of the laughing at me like that, kinda drained me of any sense of mercy. You had none for me. None!"
"Ben, it was just once, a fling, just a fling!"
"You know I really thought you were smarter than that. I know everything, I mean everything," I said.
Looking at Rex, I said, "Show her."
He produced the audio tape and two separate DVDs. "Those are your entire matinee," I said. "Every word every act every insult?there are some insults in there right, Rex?"
"You really don't want to know," he said, too quietly for me to miss the gravity of it.
She caught her breath. "Ben, please I am begging you as I have never before begged you for anything. Dump me if that's your decision, but do not watch those things. Please, my husband, please, I beg of you."
Geezsus, maybe I wouldn't watch them. I expected sex and insults and laughter, what else could there be that was so bad. I would have Rex tell me later; then, I would make my decision. "Stop the baloney," I said. "What have you got on the shithead that will make me happy? I deserve at least that much don't I, a little revenge?"
"He's stolen some money. I don't know how much, but he said it was for us, so we could move to Latin America or some such. But I told him no. I told him to forget it and to return the money before it was too late."
"She did that," said Rex. "It's on the tape."
"Would you have gone south with him if he were not a criminal and about to be incarcerated?"
"I don't know. Maybe," she said.
"That's on the tape too," said Rex.
"Well, your plans are on hold," I said. "I am going to divorce you. You get nothing. I know you've been fucking him on the fifteenth for the past year. I know you use a room here every month. Except, that is, last month, while I stood outside the guest room door and listened while you crucified me verbally to him. Oh, and we have that recorded too."
"Ben, I am sorry. I don't..."
"Don't come home. You really don't get anything, not even most your clothes. I will send a suitcase with the bare necessities and some clothes you will need for work.
"I will have you served at work. Do not call me, do not write me, just stay the hell away from me or you will regret it."
With that I walked out. Rex and I went to his office made all of the necessary copies and then went out and got plastered.
The divorce was final in six months. I kept my word and set it up so that big dick was given but three to six years in the pen.
She didn't contest the divorce, and she moved away soon after it was final. And, I thought that it was final, all behind me. But, as Robert Burns once wrote: "The well laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
Ben and Melissa: part three
It's been four years to the day now since I have heard anything of either of the two lovers. I am fifty-two years young and feeling good. I have thought about Melissa from time to time over the period, how could I not. She had been the soul of my life and my partner in everything for over six years. But, she had betrayed me in the worst of all possible ways: she had laughed at me like I was nothing. The coldness I felt as a result of that humiliation has not left me. Cheating, that is the sex per se, I could have forgiven maybe even the multiple instances of her cheating; yes, I could have. But not the contempt and the humiliating laughter that she shared with Jerry Cummings at my expense. So you can imagine my surprise this morning when my assistant, Sonia Keating, announced that I had a visitor.
"Who is it Sonia?" I asked over the intercom.
"Ben, it's Jerry Cummings," she said.
"What!"
"I'm not kidding, Ben."
"Call security," I said.
"Ben. See him. He's different. I think you should see him."
"Sonia, he could have a gun..."
"No Ben, He's wearing shorts and a t-shirt; he doesn't have any weapons."
I was momentarily silent. "Okay, but I want security camping in your office until he leaves. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, send him in."
It had been near four years on, but he was pretty much as I remembered him: tall, reasonably good looking, maybe a little thinner. But, Sonia had been right; there was a difference in him. I guessed prison had caused the changes I saw.
"Thank you for seeing me Mr. Holden," said the man who had helped destroy my marriage?and my life if it came to that. I was amazed at myself for being able to maintain a relative calm seeing him.
"Whaddya want, Mr. Cummings? I'm a busy man," I said about as coldly as I ever said anything.
"I understand. I got out about three months ago. Three years, three months, and sixteen days behind bars Mr. Holden. And I want to thank you for them; they weren't fun, but they straightened me out."
I covered my surprise at his words pretty well, I thought. "I'm glad for you. And, you're welcome. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Mr. Holden, first I want to apologize, from the bottom of my heart, for coming between you and your wife. It was a rotten thing to do to any man, but especially to you. Believe it or not, I learned a lot about you from Melissa during those months that we were cheating on you. She really loved you. For the record, I think she loved me too, but in a different way: for her and me it was a case of nostalgia. But, where you were concerned; well, you were the love of her life."
"Yeah, I could tell by the way you were both laughing at me that day in my condo. You remember the day, that day, dontcha Jerry. It's the day my life fell apart. You were calling me a wuss and you and she laughed your asses off about it," I said.
"Yeah we did laugh; I admit it. I am fully aware how much that must have stung you. I did call you a wuss. And, I know that I insulted you and called you a wuss and worse, and that many times over the course of the months, because I was jealous of you. I was jealous of the love she held for you."
"Yeah, that's why she fucked you behind my back," I said, not quite actually sneering at his remarks.
"Yes, she did, and I did. We fucked and it was pleasant, but it was never really comfortable for either of us. She felt guilty as hell. I think the laughter on her side was a kind of a way to cover the guilt she felt. I don't know, maybe it was for me too.
"You may find this hard to believe, but I have a conscience too, even then I had a conscience. But, I loved her as much as you did, and that love blinded me and filled me with envy and hurt, because I knew that I could never really possess her. Even if we had fucked a thousand times, I could never really possess her; she was yours."
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She was coming out of her interview when he spotted her. "Melissa?"
"Jerry. I guess we will be working together," she said
"You're working here? Here at S&D?" he managed to say.
"Yes, in public relations."
"My gawd! I love it. I gotta go. I have a meeting in three minutes, but we're doing lunch and you're gonna be doing a lot of explaining," he said, only half in jest.
She stood there sweating. She hadn't even been able to say yes or no. He just assumed she would go to lunch with him. This was not good. It was too soon. Too not within her ability to control. But, why was she worried; it was only lunch. Besides he hadn't said when, where, anything.
Jerry didn't show up for lunch that day, and she relaxed. She had a dinner or celebration or whatever to get ready for. She wondered what Ben was so excited about.
They'd arrived at seven. The Maitre 'D seated them in the middle of the room; she had no way of knowing, but Ben had arranged it that way. The restaurant was busy, and Ben wanted it that way too. He stood, walked around the table to her chair and knelt in front of her. He opened his hand and held it forth in front of her. The two carat ring he had purchased a few days before glistened in the light of the chandeliers. "Will you marry me, Melissa? Will you be my wife?"
The look on her face was a mix of shock and happiness. The emotions she was dealing with completely overwhelmed her. Jerry was forgotten, everything was forgotten.
"My gawd yes!" she said. Half the place applauded.
They danced for hours and kissed endlessly, and swore undying love, and it was wonderful. The wedding two weeks later was small and nice and in a nearby chapel. Friends from both of their firms were there including Dirk grimes and Alex Harnett. In the middle of the reception, both Dirk Grimes and Alex Harnett got up to make a toast, well, it was more an announcement.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, family, friends: Mr. Harnett and I would like to toast our favorite newlyweds," said Dirk Grimes. "May they live long and prosper and support and love each other every day of their lives." Everyone touched their glasses and sent up the expected chorus of here-here's and yeah-yeah's. Then it was Alex Harnett's turn.
And, I'd like to say a word to the bride, whose big heart has touched my own.
Melissa looked at him and knitted her brow. What was this about, she wondered. She looked at Ben, but he looked innocent.
"I would like you Melissa to pass the word to your coworkers at Hadley and Tudor that all of their jobs are safe. My gift to you on your wedding day."
Melissa jumped up, still in her wedding dress, ran to the front, almost tripping on the way, wrapped her arms around the CEO of the company where she was about to start the second stage of her career with and planted a huge kiss on his shocked lips. Everybody cheered. Ben joined her up front and they all stood for pictures and then settled in for the party.
Everything was hunky-dory. They honeymooned in Cancun at Mr. Grimes' expense. And then, they went home to live the lives of a married couple.
It wasn't until about a year after the wedding that chinks began to develop in the Marriage. I had no idea what was causing Melissa to be ... something. I was only later that I discovered that Jerry had come home to roost, or more accurately to do rut.
Disaster struck on the fifteenth of the month a little over a year after our nuptials. I always had a meeting on the fifteenth; it was clearinghouse day for all of the cases we had completed the research for or had otherwise taken out of our hands?ours meaning the paralegals. Today's meeting had been cancelled.
I got home early. I parked in the driveway and keyed the front door loosening my tie and taking off my sports coat, all in one continuous motion. As I entered the living room and closed the door behind me. I heard laughter. It was coming from Melissa's old room, now the guest room, and the door, as usual was closed. At first I thought she was laughing into the phone. But, then I heard a male voice.
"How long do we have. Can we do it again?" asked the man.
"Yes, I guess so. It's still too early for Ben to be coming home. He always stays till after 4:00 on the fifteenth. You should know that by now," she said.
"Why do you stay with him? Why don't you move in with me?" said the male voice.
"Lover, I am still practically a newlywed, and he is my husband, and I love him?" said Melissa.
"Then why do you fuck me every fifteenth of the month?" he said.
"Because I love you; I love your cock. You do have a nice cock. You're longer than Ben," she said. Then they laughed again.
"Do you feel him inside of you after you've fucked me?" said the man.
"Yes, I guess. He's not that small. He's gentle with me; he's better than you in that way," she said.
They laughed again. "He's a wuss, and you're going to get it for that," he said.
"Promises, promises," she said. "And don't call him names; we've talked about that. Ben's a good guy; don't call him names."
"Okay, okay, but he's still wuss and not nearly enough for you regardless, or you wouldn't be banging me," said the man.
"Yeah, well maybe so, but I still don't want you bringing him up, okay. Now get busy and fuck my ass," I heard her say. That killed me; she had always denied me that particular item, and this really added insult to injury.
"Okay," he said. "And, remember this is for me only, no wusses allowed," and they both laughed.
"Ouch, go slower, big boy, that's my butt not my pussy," she said.
I was sick to my stomach and filled with anger and hurt to an almost unimaginable degree. But, I had been working in a law office far too long to engage in tantrums. I was not going to run in there helter-skelter and ruin my opportunities for revenge by tearing the asshole up and kicking my supposed loving wife out. No, this I had to plan for: I might be a de facto cuckold, but I was not going to be a willing cuckold. Not even. I left in a hurry. I got two blocks down the street and pulled into a taco-tia.
I called Rex, a best friend. Rex Coleman was a PI who worked for Adele Carter, one of our fellow members of the bar. Adele had worked with my Mr. Grimes on several cases and had loaned us Rex on as many occasions. He and I spent a lot of afterhours time hanging one on after a tough case, at least we had in the old days before Melissa and I had gotten ourselves married.
Adele Carter was a specialist. She handled divorce cases only, and only for the offended parties be they the husband or the wife. For my money she got the good guy award when it came to lawyers. The added benefit is that she was very, very good at what she did, and Rex was essentially her hired gun.
"Rex ... yeah Ben ... can you get over to the taco-tia by my place fast, like an hour ago ... yeah it's important. My wife's cheating on me in my own house ... yeah I fucking know it's only been a year ... okay, I'll be waiting." I hung up. Seven minutes later Rex was there.
We headed over to the condo. I let us in as quietly as I could. We heard them inside still getting it on. He put a stethoscope like item up against the still closed door, and punched the button on the recorder. He handed me the camera and told me to go outside and take pics of all of the cars and their license plate numbers.
Five minutes later he met me behind a dumpster near my garage. "I got what we need for the moment, Ben. You want me to stick around for a while?"
"No. I got it. I want the asshole followed though. I want to know who he is and where he lives, the works."
"You got it. Whaddya you going to do? Nothing stupid I hope."
"No, I'm going to call her and tell her I'll be home in fifteen minutes. That'll breakup their little party and give him a chance to escape."
"Then what?" said Rex.
"Not sure. I'll call you tonight and let you know," I said.
"Okay. I'll be waiting for your call."
We waved our goodbyes and I was on the phone before he was even in his car.
"Hi honey ... yes, it's me ... I'll be home in fifteen minutes ... the meeting got out early ... yes, me too." I closed the cell and waited. The house was only two minutes away.
I decided to have a taco. The taco-tia was on the corner and there was a signal light. I was munching down when I spotted the Beemer. It was one of the cars I'd gotten the plate numbers from. The driver was a man, fortyish, not bad looking but no Brad Pitt: had to be her lover.
I finished eating and decided to head on home. I felt strange. I felt in control; not good, I was still sick at my stomach and white hot angry; but I was under control.
I already had some evidence: enough for an annulment probably, but I wanted more. I wasn't sure why I wanted more. Maybe I just wanted overwhelming justification for how I was going to destroy them.
The irony was that I still loved Melissa. Even after hearing his insults and her the laughter at those insults. The breakup was going to be painful when it came. Did I want to crush her? No, she'd had a shitty life, and even though she was shitting on me, I just couldn't bring myself to hate her that much. What a strange and powerful thing love was; it made no sense.
I pulled in to the garage. I had to decide if I wanted sloppy seconds. I was pretty sure she was going to be nice to me. She'd already be showering and cleaning herself up; I was sure of that. I knew she hadn't had time to clean up the guest room yet. The tableau about to be played out was going to be pretty funny on some level.
I let myself into the house. Sure enough, she was in our room showering. I noticed that the door to the guest room was still closed. I was trepidatious about looking inside; I was afraid of the potential for more hurt, and I was hurting bad already. Opening the door I was surprised to see the bed made. The room looked about the same as it always did: clean and orderly. That is it did except for one thing: it smelled like sex, and the smell was strong. The window was open, and in a few hours it figured to be less obvious, but I was betting that the bed was made with the cum covered sheets still on it. She'd have to get me out of the way for a couple of hours to do laundry. That was going to be interesting since I really did want those sheets.
I went to the dirty clothes hamper and checked it out. Nothing interesting there, there was no reason for there to be; they'd have been naked to have their little tryst.
I went into the kitchenette and got a beer. I popped the cap and tossed it in the trash can under the sink. Bingo! Ripped panties. Well, she'd done what she could to cover herself. To be fair, I hadn't given her a whole lot of time. The panties were covered with cum; he'd obviously wiped himself clean on them, her maybe too. I got a baggie and put the evidence inside; this was getting good, I thought.
I'd heard her tell him that she loved me, small cock and all. I wondered if she really did. I didn't know if it mattered anymore; she'd betrayed me and us, but I really did want to know. I wanted every fucking answer I could get, and I was going to get them.
"Hi hon," she said, coming out of the bedroom drying her hair."
"A shower in the middle of the day?" I said, smiling like a possum.
"Yes, I was feeling gunky," she said. She noticed that the guest room door was open and her face paled, but she recovered in a hurry. She closed the door. "It's mildewy in there. I will have to change the bedclothes more often, I guess. I'll do laundry later."
Slick I thought, very slick. She'd be doing the laundry right under my nose. I had to think of something.
She went back into the master bedroom. She still had to dress. I had an idea, but I had to figure a way to implement it. Maybe if I could get her out of the house for half an hour or more, I could do the laundry for her and take credit for being a good husband. A good husband too stupid to notice the cum stained sheets? That was very iffy. I just made up my mind that I'd have to sell her on it. Then it came to me; I wouldn't have to get her out of the house at all. I just had to make sure that she couldn't do the laundry till I was ready to have her do it.
I went to the stacked washer and dryer in the closet and pulled the front panel off of the washer unit. I reached in and yanked the power wire off of its terminal. No laundry would be done today. In fact, no laundry would be done until I could get a friend of Rex in to fix the wire. Oh well, nailing a cheater was not always convenient.
By the time she reemerged from the bedroom, I had the panel back on and was nervously hoping she wouldn't discover the inoperable machine until it was impractical to do the laundry today. I just needed her to go to work the next day with the sheets still on her adulterous bed.
"You look good," I said. "How about you and I going out and having some fun?"
I could see she didn't want to go. "Honey, I..." She stopped. She could see I was going to be disappointed if she turned me down. I guess the realization that she'd fucked me over just an hour earlier made her change her mind. I suppose she thought that throwing a bone to the cuckold wouldn't kill her. "Honey, I would love to. Where should we go?"
"The Round Tree is our special place," I said. "Let's go there for early drinks and stuff, and then dinner and dancing. I really am in the mood," I lied.
Dinner was good, it always was at the Round Tree. Everything was normal except the state of my stomach. She noticed that I did not use any Tabasco sauce. I used to brag that I could drink Tabasco with a straw. I used it on everything but ice cream, or so it seemed.
"No Tabasco?" she said.
"No, I felt a little queasy earlier today, and I'm not going to push it," I said.
"Are you okay? You wanna go home. I can think of a couple of ways to make you feel better," she said smirking.
I almost threw up right then. The whore was going to allow her wussy, cuckold husband, to have a nice charity fuck. At that moment wanted nothing so much as to send her straight to the seventh pit of hell. The last vestiges of love that I had felt for her vanished. Only a cold, nascent hatred remained. My revenge was going to be total.
I didn't call Rex that night, but at work the next morning I did.
"Rex ... yeah ... sorry I didn't get back to you last night ... not we went out dancing and stuff ... yes ... I want to destroy them ... please get me what I need ... don't worry about the cost ... I especially want his ass ... exactly ... see if he has an ex-wife or something that he screwed over ... yeah, yeah ... who knows. I hung up. The die was cast.
Shakespeare said it best: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a 'husband' scorned." Okay, so I paraphrased him a bit; under the circumstances I didn't think he'd mind.
I had lunch with a client and two secretaries that day. Margaret and Sonia were the best. After the client had left and was satisfied that his legal needs had been met; the two women sandbagged me.
"Ben, we've been together how long?" said Sonia.
"I don't know. Maybe fifteen years?" I said.
"Yes, and Ben I know you. We both do?" said Sonia. Margaret nodded. I wondered where this was going.
"Ben, you're not yourself, and I think, we think, we know why," said Margaret.
"What are you talking about?" I said growing impatient with the two of them.
"You're having problems with Mel aren't you?"
"What?" I was getting really antsy. How could they possibly know anything. It had only been for the last couple of days that "I" knew anything. Then it hit me. They knew before I did. But then if that was so, why did they not tell me. They were my assistants, not my wife's.
I looked from one to the other. I was about to become hopping mad. "Lay it on me," I said. They could see I was in no mood for riddles.
Sonia took up the flag. "She has a visitor for lunch no less than three times a week, Ben. It's always the same guy, and always at the same place: the Round Tree."
"May I ask how you know this?" I said.
"We eat lunch there almost every day. They don't really know us even though we've met Melissa a number of times at our firm's do's. When they're there, they only have eyes for each other," said Sonia.
"We've wanted to tell you, Ben, but we've been nervous about it. They never really did anything, and they never left together. So what did we really know," said Margaret. "But, seeing you the past couple of days; well, a woman can tell."
"I see," I said.
For the next two weeks, I played it cool. I was amazed at how cool and calm I was able to remain. I even fucked her a couple of times without having to give up my lunch. And there was the plus that Rex was on the job and evidently collecting all kinds of dirt on Mr. Cummings.
"Yeah, it turns out that our mister big dick just missed spending ten years in the slam for embezzling funds. That's why he's here. He was run off from his old job, but avoided jail when he returned most of the money. That got him a suspended sentence ala nolo contendere," said Rex.
"Nice," I said.
"There's more. I snooped around. He may be doing it again. I mean with the company he's with now. A friend of mine is an accountant. He's independent, but he does work for S&D sometimes. There are some irregularities in accounts that our loverboy is responsible for. But, it'll take an all out audit to find out for sure, he told me."
"Anything else" I said. He knew I meant in regards to my wife.
"Her call log at the company has him calling her almost every day; usually, in the late morning. And, on the fourteenth of every month he reserves a room for the fifteenth at the Round Tree. At least they did every month until last month," he said. Well, we both knew why that was the case didn't we, I thought: it was because they were at my house. "Ben, it's been going on for a year. They're as predictable as the sunrise." It turned out later that the reason that they had been at my house was because of a convention at the Round Tree, and there had been no rooms available. I wondered whose genius idea it was to use the condo; it was that mistake that was going to sink their ship.
I had sworn my assistants to secrecy and they'd been happy to cooperate.
There was more from Rex: emails, bar tabs, the usual; but what I'd heard so far was enough. There was just one final act to play out before I went for the jugular. The fifteenth was now only a week away. I bided my time.
Rex was able to get the room number for the dynamic duo's little fun day without any trouble. The room was bugged, and a video set up to capture all of the thrilling scenes to be acted out. I decided to let them have the full time. Let them have their thrills; the afterglow, I was certain, would not be what I'm sure they'd been used to.
They arrived, they checked in, and went directly to the room; we waited. At about 3:00PM they came down. I saw them kissing as they exited the Otis. They did look like they were in love. Even though I was over my white hot anger by then, it hurt me to see her and him together; it hurt a lot.
Rex walked right by them as they came into the restaurant. He had some collecting of evidence to do in the room that they had so recently occupied.
As they neared where I was sitting, she saw me. She went white as a sheet and dropped the hand that she had been holding.
"Ben!"
"Yeah it's me. Glad to see me?" I said as affably as I could manage. "Have a seat; we can have some lunch. I know you must be hungry. Sex does that to people."
"Ben, I?"
"No, no, really, have a seat," I said. I signaled the waiter to come over.
"Menus, please," I said when he got there.
All this time Jerry was rooted to the ground and very quiet. Melissa started to sit down and he was about to follow her example. A look from me stopped him.
"Whaddya think you're doing, asshole, can't I at least have lunch with my wife without you hanging around like some pussywhipped puppy dog!"
He was startled. "Hey, wait a minute. You can't..."
"Asshole, you really don't want to piss me off more than I already am. I've got you by the balls six ways to Sunday, and I am about to castrate your high school ass, so get the hell outta here, and I mean immediamente!"
He glanced over at Melissa whose eyes were tearing up something awful. She nodded for him to obey me, and he left muttering to himself. I watched him go.
"Like a drink," I said.
She nodded. She didn't seem like talking too much. Well, I could hardly blame her; seeing me there had to be traumatic for her.
"Ben, I'm sorry. I am so sorry."
I laughed. I just couldn't help myself. Being in the legal profession for so many years, I couldn't count how many times I had heard that asinine refrain.
"Remember how we met, Mel? Remember that day some six years ago? Remember how cold it was? How we got ourselves some coffee and donuts? I even remember how good those damn donuts tasted."
"Ben, why are you doing this? What I did was bad, very bad, but it was only this once; I swear to you," she said. "Please forgive me, I beg of you."
My face must have betrayed my rage at hearing such a bald faced lie.
She tried to recover. "We have lunch a lot and stuff, that's all," she said.
I began to enjoy myself. Watching and listening to her digging her own grave was almost worth the hurt?almost. The food came, and I chowed down. "Eat," I said. "This is our favorite place, our special place. She toyed with her food.
You know, your cheating was one thing. But, was it necessary to insult me behind my back. He may have a bigger cock than me, but mine ain't that small is it? I mean, I have some pride; it really hurt to hear you laughing at me and my sexual prowess. What did I ever do to deserve that level of humiliation? I'd really like to know. In fact I insist you tell me."
She was clearly shattered by my words. She must have been desperately trying to figure out how I knew so much. "Ben, I never meant to hurt you. This was just a one time fling. I didn't say anything about your cock or laugh at you. It was just a fling," I swear.
I saw Rex coming toward us. I motioned him over to a chair. "Good stuff?" I said.
"Yeah, very good. I watched a portion of it. I don't think you should though," he said talking to me.
I felt my face darken; I actually felt it.
Melissa was confused. I decided to enlighten her.
"Oh excuse my manners," I said. "Mel, this is my friend Rex. He's a PI. Rex, this is my faithful wife, Mel."
"Pleased to meet you," said Rex, without a trace of sarcasm.
Melissa just stared.
"That bad huh?" I said to Rex.
"Yeah, 'fraid so," he said.
"Mel, this is the way it's going to be. I know how tight you are with Mr. Cummings. And, I want all of the dirt and evidence you can possibly give me and Rex here, and I want it now. It will be the difference between his spending five years in the pen or twenty; his old age is in your hands. He is going to prison, and that's a fact. Now, what have you got for me, for us? If you have nothing, he goes down for the count, and I mean big time. If you have a lot, we'll see to it that years are peeled off his sentence."
"Ben, what are you doing? He's not a criminal. An adulterer, yes, but not a criminal! For gawd's sake have some mercy!"
"You know I would have. Mercy I mean. But the insults you and the asshole shared at my expense and all of the laughing at me like that, kinda drained me of any sense of mercy. You had none for me. None!"
"Ben, it was just once, a fling, just a fling!"
"You know I really thought you were smarter than that. I know everything, I mean everything," I said.
Looking at Rex, I said, "Show her."
He produced the audio tape and two separate DVDs. "Those are your entire matinee," I said. "Every word every act every insult?there are some insults in there right, Rex?"
"You really don't want to know," he said, too quietly for me to miss the gravity of it.
She caught her breath. "Ben, please I am begging you as I have never before begged you for anything. Dump me if that's your decision, but do not watch those things. Please, my husband, please, I beg of you."
Geezsus, maybe I wouldn't watch them. I expected sex and insults and laughter, what else could there be that was so bad. I would have Rex tell me later; then, I would make my decision. "Stop the baloney," I said. "What have you got on the shithead that will make me happy? I deserve at least that much don't I, a little revenge?"
"He's stolen some money. I don't know how much, but he said it was for us, so we could move to Latin America or some such. But I told him no. I told him to forget it and to return the money before it was too late."
"She did that," said Rex. "It's on the tape."
"Would you have gone south with him if he were not a criminal and about to be incarcerated?"
"I don't know. Maybe," she said.
"That's on the tape too," said Rex.
"Well, your plans are on hold," I said. "I am going to divorce you. You get nothing. I know you've been fucking him on the fifteenth for the past year. I know you use a room here every month. Except, that is, last month, while I stood outside the guest room door and listened while you crucified me verbally to him. Oh, and we have that recorded too."
"Ben, I am sorry. I don't..."
"Don't come home. You really don't get anything, not even most your clothes. I will send a suitcase with the bare necessities and some clothes you will need for work.
"I will have you served at work. Do not call me, do not write me, just stay the hell away from me or you will regret it."
With that I walked out. Rex and I went to his office made all of the necessary copies and then went out and got plastered.
The divorce was final in six months. I kept my word and set it up so that big dick was given but three to six years in the pen.
She didn't contest the divorce, and she moved away soon after it was final. And, I thought that it was final, all behind me. But, as Robert Burns once wrote: "The well laid plans of mice and men often go awry."
Ben and Melissa: part three
It's been four years to the day now since I have heard anything of either of the two lovers. I am fifty-two years young and feeling good. I have thought about Melissa from time to time over the period, how could I not. She had been the soul of my life and my partner in everything for over six years. But, she had betrayed me in the worst of all possible ways: she had laughed at me like I was nothing. The coldness I felt as a result of that humiliation has not left me. Cheating, that is the sex per se, I could have forgiven maybe even the multiple instances of her cheating; yes, I could have. But not the contempt and the humiliating laughter that she shared with Jerry Cummings at my expense. So you can imagine my surprise this morning when my assistant, Sonia Keating, announced that I had a visitor.
"Who is it Sonia?" I asked over the intercom.
"Ben, it's Jerry Cummings," she said.
"What!"
"I'm not kidding, Ben."
"Call security," I said.
"Ben. See him. He's different. I think you should see him."
"Sonia, he could have a gun..."
"No Ben, He's wearing shorts and a t-shirt; he doesn't have any weapons."
I was momentarily silent. "Okay, but I want security camping in your office until he leaves. Got it?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, send him in."
It had been near four years on, but he was pretty much as I remembered him: tall, reasonably good looking, maybe a little thinner. But, Sonia had been right; there was a difference in him. I guessed prison had caused the changes I saw.
"Thank you for seeing me Mr. Holden," said the man who had helped destroy my marriage?and my life if it came to that. I was amazed at myself for being able to maintain a relative calm seeing him.
"Whaddya want, Mr. Cummings? I'm a busy man," I said about as coldly as I ever said anything.
"I understand. I got out about three months ago. Three years, three months, and sixteen days behind bars Mr. Holden. And I want to thank you for them; they weren't fun, but they straightened me out."
I covered my surprise at his words pretty well, I thought. "I'm glad for you. And, you're welcome. Now, what can I do for you?"
"Mr. Holden, first I want to apologize, from the bottom of my heart, for coming between you and your wife. It was a rotten thing to do to any man, but especially to you. Believe it or not, I learned a lot about you from Melissa during those months that we were cheating on you. She really loved you. For the record, I think she loved me too, but in a different way: for her and me it was a case of nostalgia. But, where you were concerned; well, you were the love of her life."
"Yeah, I could tell by the way you were both laughing at me that day in my condo. You remember the day, that day, dontcha Jerry. It's the day my life fell apart. You were calling me a wuss and you and she laughed your asses off about it," I said.
"Yeah we did laugh; I admit it. I am fully aware how much that must have stung you. I did call you a wuss. And, I know that I insulted you and called you a wuss and worse, and that many times over the course of the months, because I was jealous of you. I was jealous of the love she held for you."
"Yeah, that's why she fucked you behind my back," I said, not quite actually sneering at his remarks.
"Yes, she did, and I did. We fucked and it was pleasant, but it was never really comfortable for either of us. She felt guilty as hell. I think the laughter on her side was a kind of a way to cover the guilt she felt. I don't know, maybe it was for me too.
"You may find this hard to believe, but I have a conscience too, even then I had a conscience. But, I loved her as much as you did, and that love blinded me and filled me with envy and hurt, because I knew that I could never really possess her. Even if we had fucked a thousand times, I could never really possess her; she was yours."
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