I take my time, wanting this to be an experience he will remember. I want him to think of this when he’s with his wife.
There comes a pivotal moment in life where a choice must be made. A choice to go down a dark path or rise above it to follow the light. This is my pivotal moment. Whatever choice is made, I must live with the consequences of that choice. I could walk away now, pretend like this never happened, and go about trying to pick up the shattered pieces of my life. Or I could continue down this dark path, taking the chance of hating myself for the rest of my life.
I am angry. I’m angry at Rich for betraying everything we had together. I’m angry at Victoria and her clique of judgmental bitches that took the worst moment of my life and twisted the knife in deeper. I am angry at fate for waking me up that night, forever changing my path.
The thing with anger is that it is a powerful, all-consuming emotion. Whenever a murderer is caught, the friends and family all say what a wonderful person they were, shocked that the murderer was capable of such an unforgivable crime. Anger can make anyone snap; cause them to commit evil acts. Rich, Todd, Lydia, Rachel, Victoria; they all had a hand in breaking me. I cannot see through the fog of anger. Darkness and light battle it out, light slowly pulling ahead.
But sometimes fate has other plans...
I have a moment where reality hits. What kind of monster am I? I’m no better than Rich right now. And Victoria; does she really deserve this for simply being a bitch? So many thoughts are running through my head as I have his cock inside my mouth. Leaving him with blue balls would be much more humane than continuing this.
I’m about to pull back and stop this madness when I hear voices coming near. Jake looks down at me and freezes. We stay completely still, making no sounds, my mouth still around his shaft. The thought of being caught like this mortifies me, but I can’t take the chance of moving.
As the voices near, I can make out the words, “...I wonder where she went off to?” It’s Victoria.
“Probably ran home to cry about her cheating husband,” Rachel mockingly says with a little laugh. “But that’s not the woman I am thinking about.”
Her voice sounds like it is coming right from behind me, but I can’t turn to look. My heart is pounding in my chest. My mind knows that this spot, hidden deep in the shadows and greenery, can’t be seen from the path, but my heart doesn’t get the message.
I wonder if my ears are deceiving me when I think I hear the sound of kissing. And not the kiss your grandmother on the cheek kind of kiss, but passionate lip-smacking kissing. And there’s a moan of pleasure. Yeah, that’s not the kiss of two friends who are supposed to be so deeply devoted to their religion that they can’t even give their husbands blow jobs. I’m not the religious type, but it is common knowledge that the most devout Mormons believe homosexuality is wrong. I’m not judging their relationship, far from it, just the fact that they are obviously big hypocrites. It makes me hate them a little more.
I can just barely make out Jake’s face in the dark. I can see he is wide eyed, but I don’t know if that is from shock at what he can see or fear of being caught.
I’m pulled out of my thoughts as I hear Victoria’s voice again, “Rachel, you know we can’t do this here. Someone might catch us.”
Sounding disappointed and annoyed, Rachel responds, “It’s the only time we’ve had alone in a week. I’ve been busy planning this and you’ve been obsessed with everything Samantha.”
“I’m not obsessed with Samantha. You are sounding like a jealous housewife right now.”
“You’re the one that pointed out how pretty she is.” Rachel sounds like she’s pouting.
Victoria lets out a frustrated sigh, “We’ve been over this many times, Rachel. You are much more beautiful and sexier than she is.”
“Well, if you would show me, I would be able to let it go.”
Sounding annoyed, Victoria retorts, “How long did I have to live in that awful apartment with you, Elena, and Stuart?” Her voice cracks, “How long did I have watch you play house with Stuart while I couldn’t touch you because Elena was always around? And then watch you walk down the aisle with him… that broke my heart.”
“I know,” Rachel sighs, “But that was your plan. I did that so that we could be together. I keep up this charade of pious Mormon for you. I did all that for you.” She adds softly, “I would do anything for you.”
“I’m sorry. You're right, we both have given up a lot for each other.” Victoria gives in, “Ten minutes in the bathroom. And then we need to get back. We can enjoy each other more fully tomorrow.” I hear their hurried steps fading away.
I take his still hard cock out of my mouth and stand up. Looking at Jake’s face, I ask quietly, “Did you know?”
“No,” he replies, his voice shaky. He wraps his arms around me, “I had no idea.”
My heart goes out to him. I know all too well the betrayal he must be feeling right now. I hold him, trying to give him comfort.
“Rich is cheating on me, too. I saw him last night with two other women and a man.”
Jake hugs me tighter, “I guess we have both been played by our spouses. I just- I just can’t believe this.”
“Well, at least we can both be here for each other,” letting tenderness bleed through my words, “I’m here for you, whatever you need.”
We stay like this for a long time, two broken hearts finding comfort in each other’s embrace, when Jake tentatively says, “Would you think too badly of me if I asked to continue where we left off? I have a bit of an ache between my legs that’s worse than the ache in my chest.”
I giggle, “I could never think badly of you. I was actually thinking the same thing.”
Chapter 12
I took care of Jake’s needs, but refused to let him reciprocate. I promised him that we would have many other opportunities to explore his deprived sexual desires. I really need to hunt down Stuart to set up a meeting to show him the proof I was able to get.
I’m filled with relief when I don’t see Victoria or Rachel anywhere around. As wrong as it is, I’m riding on the high that comes from a steamy sexual encounter. Jake had loved every minute of it, the act taking away our combined pain. The last thing I needed was to have those bitches ruin my little bit of bliss.
I spot Stuart standing a bit off from the crowd, talking on his cell phone. I stop a few feet away, as to not be rude, and wait patiently for him to finish. I certainly don’t want to overhear anymore conversations today. It’s going to be hard to look him in the eyes after what I witnessed earlier. But, I’m not the right person to break the bad news to him. Jake is one of his best friends, so I’m happy to leave that task up to him.
When he hangs up, I get his attention. “I’m sorry to bring up work on a weekend, but I need to set up an appointment with you to go over my options. I-I got proof that he’s cheating”
“Oh Samantha, I’m so sorry to hear that,” he sounds truly concerned, “I was hoping that it would be just mixed signals or something like that.”
I lower my eyes to the ground, “I was hoping that, too.”
He taps his chin, “Do you have all of your combined financial information readily accessible? With the timeline you gave me, I’m going to need about six months’ worth.”
“Rich takes care of all that stuff,” I admit. “But I do know where the book is with all the accounts and passwords. He’s not supposed to be coming home until late, so I should be able to get it all together tomorrow.”
“How about this,” he suggests, “you get the financials together tomorrow and I’ll have my secretary reschedule my meetings for Monday. I can come over to your house after he leaves for work.”
Taken aback by the kindness, I exclaim, “You don’t have to do all that for me! I can make an appointment to come to your office.”
Stuart shrugs, “It will save me the commute to the city. Besides, there’s no point in both of us going downtown when you live right down the street.”
∞∞∞
Despite the late night, I get up early on Sunday. I want to print as much as I can before Rich gets home. I haven’t gotten around to unpacking his office yet. And honestly, I’m not even going to do it for him.
I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to have a Type A personality than I am at this moment. I know exactly what box his book of financial information is in. I’m just not positive where it was put. I takes me about twenty minutes to locate it. I whoop with joy when I also see the box of 401K statements sitting underneath it.
I take great care in removing the tape. I want to put the book back in the box when I’m done. Stuart had reminded me to make sure I continue to keep my knowledge quiet. I manage to peel the tape off without too much damage to the box. The big blue journal is right on top.
“Printer paper!” I exclaim. I go back to Rich’s office and find the box with the paper, grabbing the backup ink cartridges for good measure. Then I head back to my command center in the kitchen and get everything set up for my long day of printing.
Rich’s “flight” is supposed to arrive around eight PM. Now that I know what his mind is capable of, I assume he has added extra time to his plan for “picking up baggage” and the drive home. That puts him at arriving around ten PM. I look at the clock and see that it’s now seven thirty-five AM. I think I have plenty of time to get everything printed out, hidden, and the items put back away.
Sipping my coffee, I go through the tedious process of going down the list and printing out financial statements. When I get to particularly long prints, I work on pulling out the 401K statements from the box. I pay attention to the numbers on the accounts, even though it’s not only boring, but a little disheartening. Due to the difference in our salaries, Rich had quite a bit more in his retirement savings. While I might be able to retire when I’m in my eighties, he could retire comfortably very young. “If karma were real, it would be the other way around,” I mutter.
A couple of hours in and I’m ready to pull my hair out. I can handle the search for information and the printing, but the numbers are driving me crazy. I can find a debtor that takes off to another country, but put a set of numbers in front of me and I’m lost. This is why Rich handles the finances.
Ding Dong.
At this point, I’d welcome a visit from anyone, even Victoria, as long as I can take a few minutes away from these numbers.
“Hi Samantha!” Elena greets cheerily when I open the door. “Robert went to a baseball game with the boys and their wives. I just couldn’t handle sitting through a game, so Robert was nice enough to give me a sick note. I was bored and got a little crazy baking, so I thought I’d pop by and bring you some cinnamon rolls.”
“That is so sweet of you.” I frown, “But I’ve got a ton of financial paperwork that I have to get through before Rich gets home tonight. I’m struggling to understand any of it, so it’s going to take me a while. I could use a small break, though.”
“Oh?” Elena perks up even more, “Well, you are in luck! I happen to be an accountant. I help Robert when he gets swamped during tax season. I’ve done the financials of every family in this neighborhood, so you don’t have to worry about my judging your financials.”
“Seriously?” I ask a bit hesitantly.
“Oh yes. When we moved away from Utah, I enrolled in college. I’ve always been good with numbers and I felt I would need a good career to support myself. I actually freelance for a few companies online,” she assures me.
I excitedly grab her and pull her into a hug, almost knocking the food from her hands. “You really are the greatest friend I’ve ever had, Elena. Come in, come in.”
As she follows me to my makeshift workstation, she admits that she didn’t want to go because she was feeling even more set apart from Victoria and Rachel. “Those two have always been very close, but I feel like they just don’t like me very much anymore.” Sadness fill her voice.
I want so much to tell her that I know why those two shut her out, but I can’t. It’s not my secret to tell. Instead, I try to use wisdom to make her feel better. Considering her background, I think she’s lived a very sheltered life. “You know, a lot of childhood friends grow up into different people. They stop having things in common and drift apart. They make new friends bring them more joy.”
It’s good to see her bright smile come back. “Samantha, I think you are right. You know, I tried to show Rachel a dress I wanted to buy, and she told me I would look like a hussy!”
“I think we’ve passed the point of formal names. You can call me Sam and let me see that dress.” Elena is truly an exceptional person. I do honestly feel lucky to have her as a friend.
I get out some plates for the rolls and make us some coffee as she pulls up the picture of the dress. I look over at it and it’s lovely. It’s still a bit modest for my taste, but for her it is quite the hot number. “I think Robert is going to lock you away in the bedroom when he sees you in that.”
We chat as we finish our coffee and cinnamon rolls and then get down to work. It’s so much easier with her help. I start with printing out the account statements while she goes through them and looks for anything out of the ordinary.
“Not being nosy, but there’s quite a few large deposits in varying amounts that don’t match up with his paychecks. Do you know what those are?” Elena asks.
“I’m pretty sure those are his bonus checks. He gets a commission on accounts when the contract is signed.”
“Okay, just making sure I’m highlighting the right things.” She pauses, “There seems to be a transfer to an account for $3,000 each time there is a bonus check, but I can’t seem to find the account that it goes to.”
I look at the list of accounts that I’m almost done going through. I only have two left to pull up. One is labeled Joint Savings, Rich and Samantha. The one below is labeled Investment Savings for Transfer. Even though I don’t handle the finances, I do have some idea of the different savings and investments we have together. Not only does the second one not sound familiar, the label doesn’t seem to match the meticulous way he has labeled every other account with names of the account owners on it. I share my thoughts with Elena, and she agrees with my logic.
I decide to look into the account in question first. Entering the user ID and password, I hold my breath as I hit enter. “Oh shit! No, no, no!” I exclaim. “This is not good. Elena, what do I do? It’s giving me the choice to have an authentication code to either Rich’s phone or his email, which is on his phone.”
Calmly she tells me, “You aren’t going to be able to get around that to log onto the account without alerting him. Hit cancel and close out the window.”
I do as she says and let out a frustrated breath. “Now what?”
“Wait until he is sleeping and then grab his phone. Sneak down and you can print it out in the middle of the night.”
I’m truly shocked that such a deceptive idea could come out of Elena’s mouth. There certainly is a lot more to her than I first thought. I have to admit; I was completely wrong about her during that first day she showed up at my door. I’m happy to have her as my friend.
With a plan in place, we finish up the rest of our work just in time for Elena to get back home before her husband returns. She even helps me organize and hide all the paperwork. After she leaves, I grab my phone and pull up the dress she was eying. I want to do something special to thank her for her help and her friendship. I splurge on a few jewelry pieces that would be perfect with the dress and have it express shipped to her house.
I’m exhausted, but I need to stay awake. I chug down another cup of coffee, something I would normally not do so late at night. When I hear Rich’s car pull up, I get into bed and slow my breathing to mimic sleeping. I try not to stiffen when he climbs into bed, but luckily, he doesn’t try to cuddle up to me. Moments later I hear his light snoring. It’s showtime.
I get everything printed and start looking through it, using the methods that El
ena was nice enough to show me. It only takes a short time for me to confirm that this is the mystery account he is transferring large amounts of money to.
The first five months, there are no deductions. When I get to the final month, I spot a large deduction of twenty thousand dollars. It says it was a check. I go back on the computer and bring up an image of the check. It’s made out to La Petite Mort. I have no idea what that is, except that it looks like it may be either French or Spanish.
I don’t know what type of business it is, but I’m upset that he would spend so much without telling me. We have a deal, any irregular expenses over a certain threshold are to be discussed first. I guess it’s to be expected from this man that I’m learning I don’t really know. I’m going to have to do a search to find out more information. A yawn escapes, so I decide to just print out an image of the check and shut everything down for the night. I need to get some rest before Stuart comes over.
Chapter 13
“Morning baby,” Rich says as he wraps his arms around me and kisses my neck. “You looked so peaceful when I came in last night, I didn’t want to wake you. I missed you.”
Leaning back into him, I wonder how long I have to keep up this charade. Spinning around I kiss him passionately, the image of Jake helping to stoke my desire. I push down the feeling of guilt that accompanies my thoughts.
Once I’ve put my game face back on, I pull away from the kiss. “I missed you, too. I tried to wait up for you, but I think I exhausted myself with the party and unpacking.” I change the direction of the conversation by asking how the retreat was.
“It was great!” His excitement clear in his voice, “The presentation went off without a hitch. They haven’t signed on, but I have a good feeling about it.”
As he drones on about the activities with the “clients”, I amuse myself by providing internal dialogue. I’m sure you were getting hitched, in the ass. I bet it felt good. I don’t think it was golf balls you were hitting hard. It’s doing wonders for keeping up the appearance that I’m happy for him. I don’t think it was an electric blanket that kept your bed warm.
Secrets in Suburbia Page 6