Abandoned Rage

I moved into a short-term apartment. Actually, it was a good thing, as I couldn't be in the house. Colleen worked with the clean-up crews and builders to clean out the house of broken furniture and appliances and then repair the damage.

Despite her initial statement saying she wanted a clean split, Jillian ended up wanting to fight over a lot. First of all, it was our bank accounts. We only had twenty thousand split between three accounts, and she was claiming over fifteen of that was hers. Next was the house and investment properties. When we got married, I already had the place we were living in, having just over-leveraged myself for the business.

Over the years we found it was a smart move, we quickly paid back the extra loan, and we also made some investments to purchase two additional properties. She had contributed to some of the improvements over the years, but all three houses belonged to a trust for which neither of us was a direct beneficiary. She tried to fight it with lawyers I assumed were paid for by her lover, but it was useless, all of the properties were out of reach to her, I did smile that she had lost the ability to get any return on those investments.

Next, it was furniture and jewellery. I noted through my lawyer that all of her belongings were packed in boxes that were delivered to her. I provided a list including shoes, earrings and necklaces that were provided in the boxes I packed for her.

My last thought was that Jillian made the claim on half my business citing that she believed she was due to half since we had been together right after I started the business. Sally viciously outlined the terms of the prenup and even got a chance to give Jillian a moral lecture stating she got nothing of Other Accounting.

In the end, she got ten thousand dollars I would say she spent most of that on lawyers. I wasn't happy, but it did give me some satisfaction that she walked away with so little while I got to keep my houses and my business, which were worth substantially more. Sally also put some icing on the cake by somehow getting Jillian to give up both her wedding and engagement rings. The restraining order was dropped since Jillian had no claim to the house. She couldn't get in anyways as the locks were changed and I had a security company pass by the house a couple of times each week before I moved back in.

With the final terms set, we had a couple of months to wait for the divorce to be final. I didn't hear much from Jillian. However, James and Sherri got a lot of questions from those from the reunion that they were still speaking to and they both firmly asked everyone to back off. James did learn that Jillian and her lover were residing in an apartment in town provided by the company he works for. He had a six-month lease and then either had to pay for it himself or find another place. Putting two and two together, it appeared he thought that by getting together with Jillian, he would have a ready-made house. Too bad asshole!

The next surprise came in August. It was a couple of weeks from the divorce being final, and it was now into tax season here in Australia. There are a few busy times for accountants throughout the year. For small businesses, August and September are the busiest as they want to get their taxes done and refunds sorted out as quickly as possible. We didn't do a lot of small business tax, but over the years we had done some favours for friends. I was surprised when one of those businesses was waiting for me on Tuesday morning. I never thought I would see their faces.

"Gregory, c'mon man, you gotta help me out." Mark was pleading, sitting across the table in one of our meeting rooms. Lina was sitting beside him, eyes downcast. With just one glance I could tell their relationship was quite strained, which I assumed was a result of our last meeting.

"Why?" I asked, enjoying their discomfort. Beside me sat James. For the past few years, both James and I had done the taxes for Mark's import/export business. It was a complex setup making sure that the correct filings were done, offsets and revenue reductions worked through.

We got paid well for it, and sure Mark could go somewhere else, but it would cost him a lot more, and it would take a few years for another accountancy to get to know his business.

"Really, you're really going to make me beg Greg... ory?" Mark said, his voice pleading.

I laughed, James smiled, "Well begging would be a nice touch but ultimately useless. What I am curious about is why you're here. I mean all of you planned to humiliate me. You made excuses and cared nothing for my feelings while you all cooed and made lovey-dovey noises at Jillian and asswipe telling me to get over myself.

"Well, I have gotten over myself, and I decided that I want nothing to do with any of you. Can you not believe that choice?"

No one said anything for a minute.

"You were right you know," Lina said quietly when no one said anything. I raised an eyebrow at her statement.

"Meaning?" I asked.

For a moment Lina looked at Mark, a shadow passing across her face, I was surprised at the anger, but then it passed to be replaced by sorrow. Mark looked down at his hands saying nothing.

"About the strip club, the back room, you were right," she said sadly.

The surprise must have shown on my face. When Mark bragged about it, I thought it was just him over-exaggerating the story, being a storyteller. When I told Lina about what Mark had said, I did it to cause them some pain. I didn't think it was real.

"Wow, really, so Mark you were telling the truth?" I asked a little incredulously to my former friend.

He looked up at me for a moment before popping his head back down and nodding. I looked to Lina an eyebrow raised.

"You were right Gregory, and not just about Mark's behaviour," she told James and me while Mark kept his head down. "You were right about it all. We got so caught up in the romance that Troy and Jillian were selling us on, that we never really thought about you." I went to reply and Lina shook her head. For the first time I held my tongue.

"That day, when you told us about Mark, for a few seconds, I thought you were just trying to upset us, but then I saw the look in his eyes, and I knew you were telling the truth. But you didn't know it was true, did you?" Lina asked me.

I shook my head and snorted.

"Figures." She paused then looked at me, I was surprised to see sadness there, and that it was aimed at me. "I think we all knew you would hurt Gregory. When he came back and then a few others brought it to us, we all knew that it was wrong and buried ourselves in the illusion that it was true love and lied to ourselves that it was right. It turns out that some of the more vocal people, like my husband," She said ruefully. "They were easing their own guilty conscience by telling the rest of us you would be all right to hide their own cheating."

I looked at the broken couple. Mark couldn't look any of us in the eyes and Lina was on the verge of breaking down.

"And now?" I asked simply.

Lina gave a bitter chuckle. "Now, well let's just say our crows are coming home to roost. We have hurt someone badly that we loved and my own marriage is hanging by a thread. I don't know if it will survive."

I looked to Mark who said nothing, I knew he was listening, but he couldn't lift his head. If it was guilt they were trying to use to make me feel that I would be sorry for them, they were mistaken.

"I can't say that I am not pleased to hear you're both hurting," I said softly. "However, the fact remains that as the managing partner of Other Accounting I have made the decision based on activities in the last few months that it is not in the interest of this business to continue looking after your company."

I watched Mark's shoulders slump.

"However," I said. Mark looked up at me with something akin to hope, "I am not without a degree of mercy. While you don't deserve it, I can recommend three firms that would be willing to take on your account. James here has a list of their details."

James slid a piece of paper across the table.

"If you're interested, just let James know, and we can send your previous years' financials to any of them."

The sudden hope in Mark's eyes became a dull stare.

"That's it?" Mark asked. "A recommendation. You really are done with us?"

"Yes," I replied shrugging my shoulders. "You chose to fuck my marriage over by supporting Jillian and the asshole, using terms such as 'true love' and 'meant to be together' without remorse. You were even smiling, laughing and joking as you did so. This is causality, cause and effect. You fuck with my life, I fuck with yours."

With that, I got up and walked out of the room without bidding a farewell. A little later James came in and let me know they had chosen someone, and he would hand over the details in a couple of days once Mark and Lina sign the required forms.

The same scene was repeated about three times over the next month to another three clients who were classmates of Jillian's that supported her in her infidelity and came to understand I would no longer do business with them. Surprisingly, though I lost four clients, I picked up another six. Other people from the class who in no way supported what happened and wanted to do me a good turn by bringing work my way. It's not like Other Accounting needed the work, however, I didn't say no.

August turned into September, and the final divorce decree came through. By this time I had moved back into the refurbished house. My arms fully healed and no longer itching. I could admit to myself I did miss looking like a boxer, but I would not miss the itchy feeling of the bandages.

The day I got the paperwork, I also missed a call from Jillian that I never returned, as well as a text message that I did read. It simply read:

[ Goodbye Gregory, I'm sorry ]

I wasn't sure how to feel. Did she feel remorse for what she had done? The pain of betrayal had eased somewhat over the months since the incident at the club. Sure I was still angry and upset. But I had a logical mind, and if Jillian could so casually have an affair and leave me, then she wasn't the one for me.

That weekend, Colleen and several of the members of the team from work banded together and came around to my place unbidden for a friends and family barbeque. I was surprised, to say the least, but I must have hugged over two dozen people over the course of that Saturday afternoon, and I only got to meet with about a third of the people there.

All afternoon, I was never alone. There was always someone there, be it Colleen, James, Sherri or any of a dozen of my staff. At one point I was sitting with a drink in one hand as James manned the Barbeque. Sherri sat with me and I was just about crying watching a group of small kids playing a game of touch footy in my backyard. I knew now that Jillian and I would not have the kids we talked about for the last few years and watching them hit me hard.

I felt a soft pair of lips on my cheek and gave Sherri a surprised stare as she sat back down beside me. She grabbed my hand and touched my cheek.

"I understand Greg, but there will be life again, you'll see. Don't close yourself off. This afternoon you have a lot of people whom you know and some whom you don't here to support you. Friends, work colleagues, family, and everyone here knows we are here to support you. It wasn't fair what they did to you. They hurt James and me as well, but that was only splashback, so we need you to know we are here for you."

Sherri hugged me for a few minutes, as I know I was crying. A moment later I felt a hand on my shoulder and James was there as well, a look of compassion on his face. This was followed by another hug from Colleen and several other staff. A few times I felt eyes on me or soft touches letting me know I had support, however, I was pretty much a wreck for most of the afternoon, but I never once felt awkward.

The following week at work I felt a lot better. Staff noticed me smiling and even exchanging a joke or two, which hadn't occurred for quite a while. In the weekly staff meeting, I thanked everyone for coming and helping me calling out both James and Colleen, with a special mention to Sherri for showing me there is life after betrayal.

That week we also had three new clients, two of them very large corporations. It appeared that we had been recommended by one of our older clients. The corporations needed some external deep financial analysis, and we got recommended.

We assigned workloads, and for the first time since Jillian left me, I decided to jump in on the forensic audit for one of the companies. It was good work, we had a three-month window to produce results, so we got to it.

In the evenings I got myself into a routine of cooking dinner and keeping fit. I knew I could throw myself into work or worse, into booze. But I wanted to rise above betrayal and find life again. Thanks to Colleen and the staff, I had hope to be more than just another divorce statistic.

It was Thursday evening, two weeks after the barbeque. I was making myself a quiet dinner of Lamb cutlets and gnocchi with an apple mustard reduction when the doorbell rang. Having just finished cooking I threw the tea towel I was using on the table walking to the front door.

Opening the door I was stunned, a beautiful blonde woman was standing there, a little over five foot, she looked nervous, but before I could greet her and ask how I could help she stepped into me, pulled me down by my shirt and kissed me.

For a moment I was shocked, but her lips were soft and supple. I could taste mint on her breath, and before I knew it, I was kissing her back. Her arms went around my waist and without thinking I pulled her to me, our lips never parting.

It may have been thirty seconds or thirty minutes, I had no idea how long we kissed, but I know it felt amazing. As we parted, I looked into the face of the stranger whom I had just been kissing and was surprised to find a trace of tears in her eyes.

However, again, before I could say hello, she stood back and slapped me.

Not hard, it was more of a gesture, but it was a slap nonetheless.

I stood there shocked, and I know it showed on my face. The woman's face was sorrowful but also full of compassion.

"I'm sorry Gregory, that wasn't a great way to say hello," the woman said. Her voice had a sultry sound but was also firm and demanding, kind of like a young Helen Mirren.

I cocked my head to the side looking at her, wondering who she was.

"Uh, sure..." I said leaving the question unsaid.

The woman smiled.

"Rebecca," she said simply.

"Rebecca," I repeated.

For a moment neither of us said anything.

"So, Rebecca..." I said looking at her questioningly. "Um, what brings you to my door this evening?"

She smiled coyly, "You," she said simply.

"I suppose I should gather that based upon your greeting, but why are you here to see me?" I asked, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. She was like a little kitten playing with a new toy.

"Because you need me to be here," she replied, a smile also being there.

"Really," I replied, "So tell me, why do I need you? I mean, I like kissing a beautiful woman as much as the next man, but to follow that up with a slap when I have no idea how I offended such a gorgeous creature after such a wonderful kiss that I am perplexed."

Now I saw merriment in her eyes.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she questioned me.

I nodded, "and gorgeous," I added, repeating my words. Rebecca's smile broke upon her face and I was smitten with a woman I had known less than five minutes.

"Thank you, Gregory." She said then she blushed and looked down. She was wearing a dark blue sundress that contrasted beautifully with her blonde hair. I caught a glimpse of some well-toned calves that went with a classically beautiful face, high cheekbones, large blue eyes and a cute nose. She would make any man turn his head as she walked by.

"Something smells nice?" she asked sniffing the air.

I sighed contently with the game and opened the door inviting the strange woman that appeared to be here for me into the house. I was pretty sure that she was harmless, and I was curious about what she wanted.

We talked about nothing for a moment as I escorted her into the kitchen, retrieved a glass, looked at her for a moment and then poured her a nice Shiraz I had been drinking recently. I placed the glass down in front of her as her neatly manicured eyebrow raised and stepped back into the kitchen and finished preparing dinner.

Fortunately, I was preparing leftovers for lunch the next day in the office, so I quickly got a second plate putting together a meal for Rebecca.

She watched me as I prepared, just holding the wine but not sipping it. I placed a plate down in front of her, one in the seat beside her and returned with cutlery and my own glass of wine, but only after dimming the kitchen lights.

Rebecca giggled as the luminosity of the room went lower.

"Our first date and you ordered for me?" she positioned casually.

"Well, a woman likes a man who knows what she wants," I replied.

Rebecca then threw her head back and laughed. She then looked me in the eyes and raised her glass.

"To Gregory Other, showing that even wounded, he still knows how to treat a lady," she said toasting me.

We clicked glasses and sipped our wine smiling. I let Rebecca taste the meal first and as she cut off a decent chunk of meat and dipping into the sauce reduction, I watched her eyes go wide.

"Gregory, this is amazing, thank you."

I nodded and did the same. It was good. I got the sweet and acidic nature of the sauce just right for my tastes, and it sounded like Rebecca's.

"So Rebecca, no more games, please. Who are you and what's happening here?" I asked.

She took another bite and another sip of wine before turning nervous.

"First off, thank you Gregory. There are many ways you could have handled what I did there, and you did so with absolute grace. I was standing outside your door for almost twenty minutes before I knocked."

I nodded sipping my own wine.

"As for who I am, we've met a couple of times before. I'm Colleen's niece."

She let that sink in for a moment and the lightbulb went off in my head.

"Ah Rebecca, yes, sorry but you look so different than last time we met," I replied.

She smiled, there was sorrow there, but it was an old pain. I had indeed met Rebecca before, but she had looked very different. At the time she was in a Goth phase, following some boy around that Colleen had told me was no good. The first time we met, she had dyed her hair jet black, had several piercings in her nose and ears. She also had a ton of pale makeup on and clothes and boots that would make any Goth proud.

"I was coming out of a self-destructive time," she told me, but was smiling. "It was about a month after I broke up with my boyfriend. I hadn't figured out who I was and was just lost. Aunt Colleen brought me into the office after talking with my mother to try and get me a change of pace."

I nodded taking another sip of wine, recalling the meeting as she described herself. She had come into the office about five times over a month, each time dressed in absolute black. As I recalled, her now beautiful blonde hair was coloured jet black. She also had black lipstick and eyeliner along with a range of piercings in a number of places on her face that were no longer there.

"He was cheating on me with three people, two girls and a guy." She told me plainly, bringing me out of the memory.

I just about snorted my wine.

"What?" I said incredulously.

"Yeah," she said now looking into her wine as she recalled the memories. "We had been at a club; we were high and had gone back to the other guy's place. I went to the bathroom and when I returned he was sucking the guy's cock with one of the girls."