When We Were Married Ch. 02D

He tapped his fingers on the table, saying, "But, all that said, the question is what are you going to do. I've told you what I'm going to do."

"You're blackmailing me."

"Of course."

She closed her eyes and tried to think. So many thoughts swirling through her head. Her whole world had been turned upside down in less than an hour. Everything had changed.

"I - I need some time, Lew. I can't make a decision like that so quickly."

"You've got until I get up and walk out that door. Five minutes after I'm gone they will be winging their way through the ether and the genie will be out of the bottle and none of us will ever be able to get him back in again."

She just sat there and stared at him and wondered how she could have ever thought he was a nice guy.

"How can you do that, Lew? We were friends. You're willing to destroy me. Take my kids away from me in a very real way. To stop me from getting alimony?"

He shrugged.

"When couples split the friends take sides. I happen to be on his side. As to hurting you, well, Bill said that I know no limits and I know no bounds when it comes to winning. I take no prisoners. I like winning. I won't take any pleasure out of hurting you, despite the fact that you're a stupid, cruel bitch, but I will if I have to."

He looked at her again and grabbed his suitcase and snapped it shut.

"The clock is running, Debbie. Make up your mind. I'm going to be leaving in a few minutes."

Joyce walked back in after Lew had stepped outside for a moment. She looked at Debbie with unease in her eyes.

"Lew said you wanted to draw up a stipulation that you've have given up all rights to maintenance, for all time? That you want it notarized? Is that right, Debbie?"

Debbie just nodded.

Joyce glanced from her reddened eyes to Lew, then said, "What the hell did you do, Lew? It can't be legal. Debbie, can't we talk about this?"

Debbie just shook her head.

"You're wasting time, Joyce," Lew said. "Just draw up the papers. I have an appointment across town in a couple of hours."

Joyce looked at her without words and then stepped out of the office.

Debbie took a handkerchief out of his purse and wiped at her eyes. The tears had wiped away

her mascara and looking at herself in the mirror she thought she resembled a blonde raccoon. She wiped

the smudges off and then looked up at Lew, standing near the doorway.

"I wish he were more like you. You just royally screwed me over, and I wish we were in a hotel

room somewhere and you were doing me. Isn't that crazy?"

He looked her over, his eyes lingering on his breasts, and somehow she knew he was visualizing them together in that room, and deep down he would have liked to have been there.

"The funny thing is, Debbie, that I wish I were more like him."

"Why? You're good looking and young, but it's more than that. You take what you want. If you weren't attached, weren't spoken for, you'd have me in that room and make me scream. You're not a

nice guy, not at all, but then, I never did like nice guys. Before I met Bill."

He came back to the table and sat down across from her.

"You don't know your husband at all, do you?"

"I know him a hell of a lot better than you. I've known him longer."

He shook his head.

"That's probably the reason why you guys are splitting. I think it happens that way sometimes. If I'd had any idea, I'd have talked to him, although I doubt he'd have taken any advice from me. You know what he does, but you have no idea what it's like to live in that world. I think he did it deliberately. Like a cop who never tells his wife what his daily life is like, or a soldier home from the war who can't

talk to his wife about what he went through. And so you have no idea who or what he is."

"He's a fucking lawyer, Lew. He wears a suit and stands up in front of juries, but he's done that for a long time. Don't fit him for a halo."

He stood up suddenly, shoving the chair back and came around the table in one fluid motion. He grabbed her hands in his and yanked her to his feet.

"Listen to me, you stupid bitch. Bill is the best man I know, the best man I've ever known, and he deserves better than a woman who'd throw him over for a flat belly and a big dick.

"You know what makes him special? You know why Edwards picked him to run the State Attorney's Office when he had a dozen lawyers older and more experienced than Bill who wanted the job? It's simple. He does the right thing. Always. No matter what.

"You can't scare him off. You can't buy him off. You can't fuck him off. If you had a gun to his head and he was going to die in the next minute, he'd do the right thing. He could be a millionaire today if he'd taken any of the offers coming his way from big name firms. He's had death threats, none of which I imagine you know anything about.

" The reason Edwards respects him is that he knows if he ordered Bill to do something wrong, Bill would tell him to fuck off and quit a job he loves."

He let go of her hands and she fell back into her chair.

"You are hotter than hell, Debbie, and that's the truth. But he could fuck around on you every day if that's what he wanted. I don't have that much power, and I have clients and the wives and daughters of clients offer me pussy -- maybe not every day -- but it's a slow week when I don't have it waived in my face.

"He holds people's lives in his hands, their fates. If he was a two-headed dwarf, he'd have women offering to blow him. It's not legal, but anybody will tell you desperate wives meet prosecutors before deals are made and grateful wives of clients make arrangements to see prosecutors after their husbands get a good deal. Nothing you can prove, but everybody knows it happens.

"You see him as a fat, soft guy and it's obvious you don't respect him. But the people in his world, the women in his world, see him as the man who runs that office. The Big Man is a politician who likes getting his picture in the papers. Bill is the guy who makes executive decisions, who decides who moves up and who doesn't. He's the spine of that place. Any smart woman knows you get him in bed and

you've got a straight shot to the top.

"Care to guess how many woman have climbed out of his bed to a higher position in the last five years? There's a reason why his nickname among women that work there is the Iceman."

She just shook her head. The vision of Bill, poor soft pudgy Bill, romping in bed with some younger woman, or even an older woman, wouldn't come into focus. She watched Doug flirt at the college and felt twinges of jealousy even if theirs was a strictly sexual relationship, but she had never worried about Bill at all. And maybe that was part of the problem.

Lew must have read her expression.

"I know he's hurting, but sometimes divorce can be a good thing. He's a good man with a great career, good earning potential. He could have kept sleepwalking through a life with you for another few decades but if you hadn't jumped into bed with Doug, you'd have been cheating on him with somebody."

Again he read her face and said, "I'm not accusing you of cheating, Debbie. In your mind you're probably not right now. I'm just saying he obviously doesn't meet your needs and you'd never have been able to stay straight. You're too hot and you obviously need more sex than you're getting. This is going to be painful for him, but he's already changing. He needed a good kick in the ass and you gave it to him. He's going to be better off without you."

Joyce came back in with the paperwork and a secretary. Lew read it, nodded at Joyce and passed it on to Debbie.

"Last chance, Debbie, "Joyce said, casting a hard glance at Lew. "Please don't sign it like this. Whatever Lew said, or whatever he used to make you do this, we could deal with it. You can always go back to a judge months or years from now and try to modify it. But, it's not like child support. Child support is like Play- Doh. It's very flexible. This isn't.

"You're making a statement, without any apparent coercion that you're voluntarily relinquishing any claim to maintenance --for the rest of your life, no matter how your circumstances or your needs change. It's to all intents and purposes, irrevocable. Unless you can prove that Lew here did something illegal or legally reprehensible or just plain unethical, a judge isn't likely to throw this away. Please think about it. At least give yourself a day to consider it."

Debbie glanced up at Lew. She didn't have any choices.

She took the paper and glanced over it, then signed. The secretary signed and notarized it with her personal Notary stamp. She left the room with it.

"We'll keep the copy and you'll have the original," Joyce said to Lew. She looked at him with an expression made up of equal parts of anger and admiration.

"You earned your fee today, Lew. I hope you can sleep with yourself tonight."

"Won't have to," he said with a slight smile. "Mona's home."

A glance between the two of them made Debbie smile. He might be a one-man woman, but he liked the vibes Joyce was sending out. As for her, if she hadn't been in the room, Debbie was sure Joyce would have been doing everything but rubbing his dick. At least she had good taste.

After another long, meaningful glance, Joyce sighed and said, "Well, if you see him, would you give that good looking partner of yours a hello from me?"

Lew nodded and said, "Sure. Just..."

He gestured to her and they walked together to the side of the conference room, but Debbie could hear them.

"I'll tell him hello, Joyce. He's dating a few girls right now but he might surprise you and call. It's just-"

"I'm a big girl, Lew. I'd rather it was you, but you're off the market. I'd just like to have a little fun."

"Joyce, I love the guy, but be careful. He's catnip, but...he chews women up and spits them out. He's not a long term guy, never has been. And you're a nice lady."

"Who's going to be home alone watching a Cinemax after dark sex movie that will just depress me, or going to a meat market, which will depress me even more. He is so...gorgeous. I wouldn't mind being treated like a sex object...once in a while."

He leaned over and gave her a brotherly peck on the cheek, saying, "I'll give him your number tomorrow. Just don't get your hopes up and...be careful."

He walked back over to Debbie and opened his briefcase, putting the signed statement inside.

"With this taken care of, there shouldn't be any reason why we couldn't get the divorce papers finalized and ready to go in the next month or so, right?

She nodded.

"And joint custody with you primary is okay?"

"He's their father, Lew. Even if we really hated each other I could never keep him away from them."

"I guess we're done then. I'll see you, Debbie."

Before he got out the door she said, "Lew."

He stopped and looked back at her.

"Two things. First, when you see him, tell him 'sometimes the rats win.' I shouldn't have underestimated him."

He looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"He'll understand. A private joke. And...just a little warning. You told Joyce to be careful. You be careful too."

"What?"

"You leave Mona alone too much. With Norman."

He stared at her.

"The guy is a machine. He moved in on me once, until I told him that if I told Bill there'd be an accident or an assault by unknown assailants and he'd lose his balls and be singing soprano. He's left me alone ever since. I think he's really afraid of Bill. But, he hits on everything. And from what I hear, he connects more than he misses. I'm probably cutting my own throat, because like Joyce, I'd kind of like you back on the market. But-"

"Thanks for the warning, Debbie. Really. I know the kind of guy Norm is. I wouldn't trust him around anyone else. But he's been my friend since 8th grade. We went to UF together. He's had my back in some bad situations and I've saved his ass from beatings and worse. I wasn't always an alter boy. We got into some bad things growing up. But I'd trust my life to him, and I trust him with my wife. He would never go behind my back, even if Mona was willing. And she never will be."

He walked out and Debbie shook her head. Amazing how men could be so smart about some things and so dumb about others. Norm was tall, dark and gorgeous and had a huge cock judging by the way he'd rubbed it all over her at a few events where dancing was on the agenda. She had been committed to Bill then, and it was still the hardest thing she'd ever done to push him away and finally drive him away with the threat of Bill's vengeance. How the hell could Mona be around him year in and year out and never give in?

She shook her head and got up and prepared to leave.

It wasn't her problem. And if it happened, then maybe...

"Shit, I'm not even divorced yet. Get control of yourself, girl."

################

Thursday July 7, 2005 -- 3:45 p.m.

I was waiting outside Ed White High School when the bell rang at 3:35 p.m. Summer school classes were held until the same time regular school let out. Kelly had done well enough not to need the credits, but by acting as a peer student guide and helping others, she was racking up credits for the next school year.

I knew what direction she'd be coming from and I kept my eyes out. I saw her finally with a knot of four girls and two boys walking out toward the parking lot. One of them looked like a tall basketball player named Gary Anderson who was her current heartthrob.

I slid out of my Escalade and stood up, waving at her. She noticed me and stopped. The rest of the group with her stared at me. Finally she said something to them and walked toward me. Two of her girlfriends walked with her.

"What are you doing here, dad?" she asked when she got close enough.

"I just want to talk for a minute. I'll drop you off the house. Tell your friends them they can pick you up there."

"We were going...Okay."

She called the two girls over. One of them looked at me and said, "You're Mr. Maitland?"

"That's me. You guys are peer guides with Kelly."

"Yes."

She looked at me strangely and I couldn't help asking, "Am I growing horns?"

She giggled, then said, "No, I just thought you were ...younger. I've seen Mrs. Maitland and I thought you guys were the same age."

"Brooke," Kelly said sharply. "Stop fooling around."

And then to me: "Forget her dad, she's an idiot."

I just smiled at the girls and said, "It's an easy mistake to make. I robbed the cradle when I married her mother."

Then I slid into the car and said goodbye to her friends. Then she slid into the passenger seat, put her books beside her and said, "Okay Dad, what's going on?"

I smiled and said, "I have to have a reason to pick my daughter up?

"Usually, yeah."

"Sadly, that's true. Look, Kelly, I meant to do this before, but...Your mother told me something recently."

She took one look and then dropped her eyes to the upholstery.

"No, no, tell me she didn't."

"She didn't mean to, she just let it slip."

"Look, it's no big deal. It was no big deal."

"Being raped is no big deal? I know things have changed since your mother and I were in high school, but somehow I don't think they've changed that much."

"It's not...yeah. It was a big deal. But everything ended all right. I --didn't' come down with anything. Mom talked to.....the boy."

"He shouldn't have gotten away-"

"What were you going to do, dad? Send him to Raiford? He was a juvenile. We got drunk. He had sex with me. Nothing was going to happen to him."

"But-"

"It might have made you feel better, but all it would have done if you'd done anything to him is made sure everybody knew what happened. I've have to live with it the rest of my life. I'm sorry, but I made Mom promise not to tell you. You always make a big deal out of everything."

We were silent together.

"Has it been that rough, having me as a father?"

"No, no. It's just that, your job is always there. I can't get drunk, can't get stoned, can't do any of the stupid things other kids do, because I'm your daughter. It would be a big scandal. And everybody is afraid of you. I mean, they always feel like they have to be -- careful -- around you."

"Has it been that way for everybody?"

"I guess. BJ likes to go to other guys' houses because -- they're looser. And his friends are nervous around here too."

"I guess I never thought about it. But-"

'It's alright, dad. We know you have an important job. Mom always told us that. It's just that..."

"What?"

"I came in from a date one night -- I think it was when you were in the middle of that toddler kidnapping and torture case and you were downstairs doing something involving documents. I was going to my room when I passed your bedroom and I saw mom lying on the bed. She was crying. I thought you guys had been fighting. So I got on the bed with her. I asked her what was wrong.

"She just hugged me and told me there was nothing wrong. And then she said, 'even when he's here, he's not here.' And I knew what she meant. But, it's not your fault."

###############

Thursday July 7, 2005 -- 9 p.m.

Finally at 9 p.m. Doug hadn't called or returned her four calls. Bill hadn't called or returned her six calls. Bill Jr. as was usual was spending the night at a friend's house. Kelly was out on a date. She was pretty good about getting in by midnight on school nights and at least she made an effort to stay within the timetable Debbie had set for her. Not like some of her friends who had gone completely wild by the 10th grade. Kelly had just passed out of the 11th grade and she was a good girl.

At least she was a hell of a lot more of a good girl than her mother had been at her age. Thinking back, Debbie felt simultaneous embarrassment and a burning deep inside her pussy. She had been completely a woman physically at 17 and had the judgment and good sense of a middle-schooler. It was only by the grace of God she hadn't wound up pregnant, hooked on serious drugs, or some Biker Mama in a hovel in the middle of nowhere. God, she had tested her parents. She couldn't complain about Kelly.

She tried to watch television. Tried to listen to music on her IPOD that Kelly had finally convinced her to buy. Tried to grade essays on "The Optimum Corporate Organization Chart for the Post-Internet Age."

Went back and read and re-read the folder of e-mails. Found her eyes misting every time she thought about Bill's finding and reading them the first time.

Even though there was no one around, she felt herself blushing. How stupid could she have been? And the answer was no woman ever born could have been that stupid. She had known deep down what Doug was after, which was why his confession hadn't shocked her.

It was like kissing and petting in the 7th and 8th grades. You started with closed lips and then you opened your mouth and played tonsil hockey and then you let a boy touch your breasts outside your blouse and let him squeeze your nipples and rub that hard, mysterious rod of male flesh over your confined pussy. And then if you really liked him and he'd been working for it, you let him slip his hand in and under your bra and for the first time you felt male fingers milking you and felt a mysterious wetness between your legs.

But back then, it had been innocent, relatively. Sure, there were books and older girls to explain exactly what was going on, but you didn't KNOW. Not of your own personal knowledge. But she hadn't been an innocent virgin when Doug started to flatter her and move his body closer to hers during their lunches and she started telling him secrets that she had never told her husband.

She hadn't been ignorant when they started talking about the sex habits of UNF students and had gotten around to talking about the trend to shaved pussies. And when Doug had made the first joking suggestions that the only way she could be hotter than she was now was to shave down there she hadn't been offended. No, she'd been excited by the thought. And the vision of his fingers stroking her down there, and his tongue delving deep inside her and that hard huge cock of his sliding in there.