Banquet Two

The entire dinner seemed more toward normal than anything had been for some days.

The day ended with the kids up in their rooms and Mel and Will clearing up.

Will turned to her and said, "Sex is nice. But not enough. I understand that the jerk was...hot. In your life you've been hit on by lots of hot guys. Some probably much sexier than he is. Why now?"

"I worked with him for months. He worked on me for months. It....it built up. He wasn't subtle at the end there, and I was weak for him by then."

"I'm surprised you didn't sneak off with him."

She paused. She said, "Me, too. I wanted it bad, Will. But...."

"It's jarring to me. Makes me feel like second best. If that...."

Mel smiled at him. "You're a wonderful husband. A fantastic father. You're not second best."

"That could mean a couple of things."

"You're tops, Will."

"Just not tops when it comes to sex."

"Will, I mean, Gina would have rocked your world. It's not like we're each the single most desirable people in the world."

"Thing is....you ARE the most desirable woman in the world to me."

She seemed to puff up when he said that. But she sagged when he added, "But I'm not that for you. I'm your long-haul choice. And that jerk was your short-term choice."

She didn't deny it. She said, "Well, I'll never know about him. Maybe he would've been a dud. I'll never know about any guy but you."

Will nodded. He turned and walked up to the bedroom. Mel realized that she had her work cut out for her. What Will had said was undeniable. She wanted Robert more than she wanted Will...the night of the party at least. Maybe a few nights surrounding that. Maybe right at that very moment.

Over the next several months, Mel made a concerted effort to convince Will that he was her one and only. In the end, it didn't work out as she hoped. They had sex. Sometimes really good sex. Sometimes he seemed distracted. And, lately, Mel was increasingly frustrated by that.

The relationship had not returned to the way it was before the night of the swap proposal.

Mel knew it. Will knew it.

Will sat one evening, when he was by himself at the house. He tried to analyze what was wrong. Looked at from a distance, what Mel had done was not all that bad. She'd lusted after a guy who was, realistically, hot. She hadn't simply cheated. But she'd wanted the guy so much that she was willing to risk her family to get him.

No matter how he looked at it, that simple fact - that his wife wanted another man more than she wanted him - was maybe a deal breaker. What he had told her was true. There wasn't some other woman who could make him feel that way. Not one he'd met, anyway. And he'd met a few really attractive women. Such as the blond divorcee down the block. But he had never been close to straying. He was as solid as a rock in that.

But he felt like he was, forever, second best. In her mind, at least. That thought worked on him. More and more he was bothered by it. He wondered if she thought about Robert when the two of them had sex. He assumed that she did.

He put it away, though. He decided that he had to stay with her, because his kids would be wounded, even though they were older. He had to stick it out for a while. And he was still getting regular sex, and companionship from Mel. Sorta...

About eight months after that evening at the banquet, Robert was set to visit again. He was again involved in a legal controversy. It was a challenge, to one of his chemical patents. Mel had majored in chemistry in college. The case was right in her wheelhouse, and she had a prior relationship with the principal.

The three main partners called her in one morning, and there was Robert. Right away she thought - 'Just what I don't need.'

The three honchos from her firm were Abe Allenson, Bart Banson, and Caleb Carlton - the ABC's.

Of the three Abe was the one who knew her best and knew about the problems she'd had with Robert and Will from the prior case.

After some greetings - tense greetings - Abe said, "Mel, we're all aware of some possible difficulties for you. But Robert has a serious case here, and he's asked that you handle it. That's not unreasonable. It's a chemical patent challenge. You have the technical expertise, and he knows you."

Mel said, "Abe, I just cannot do this. Perhaps you know why. I have a family. I want to keep it."

Robert spoke up. "Mel, what happened before will not happen again. I assure you it won't."

Mel shook her head. She said, "Even if I believed that, Will would see it a different way."

Bart spoke. "Mel, this is a big deal for the firm and for Robert. Millions at stake. You need to stand up. Be strong. I'm sure Will will understand."

Mel looked at him. She said, "No. It's too much to risk for me."

Caleb said, "It's a huge risk to turn us down. Your job, really. Will will simply have to have some trust. We're all adults, and Robert has assured us that he will refrain from any...."

Mel said, "Will and I don't need my money. Not really. However, I will ask him about this."

Robert said, "If he bucks, I can talk to him. Last time was nice, but nothing really happened. I WILL NOT PUSH IT. I'm in trouble here."

That evening Mel was a bundle of nerves. She knew she had to wait until late to discuss the matter with Will.

Will could see that. When they were alone in the TV room, he asked, "What's with you?"

Mel said, "Robert has a new case. They want me to do it. It's a chemical patent."

"And you said?"

"I said no. But they pushed. It could mean my job if I decline."

Will said, "You know a BS in chemistry doesn't mean that much. You'll have to get experts, right? They'll advise all of you."

"Yes. But Robert is also trained in chemistry. And I believe he's insisted on me leading the team, because he won't have to pay for someone else who would have to train up in order to understand him."

"He insisted on you because you're unfinished business for him. His ego was damaged. He'll come after you."

"No. I mean, maybe. But he has a very good reason, unrelated to sex, for me to lead our team. He says he won't move on me like before. He has a lot at stake."

"And I do not believe him, Mel."

"You have no faith in me? No matter, if he does try for me, I won't let it happen."

Will sat and said nothing for some time. Then he shrugged. He said, "How much contact with him will the case involve?"

"He and Gloria have rented a condo near the office. They'll be mostly here for at least six weeks."

Will simply looked at her. Then he said, "I leave it to you. Maybe it's a chance to show me who really is number one. You know what's at stake."

Mel nodded. "I do."

Will went up to bed. Mel followed him in a few minutes. They settled into bed and Mel stroked Will's belly. She said, "I need a shot of love."

He gave her one. It was a slow starting event, but it ramped up quickly and ended very well. After, they both lay there next to each other. Mel said, "Thanks."

"No need to thank me. That was nice." They slept well.

The next day, Mel accepted the lead role in Robert's case. He and Gloria came for a series of all-day meetings. Mel had two associates assigned to the case, but neither had any chemistry training. The next day was also a series of fairly intense meetings. They ended by hiring two experts to evaluate the situation.

The two meetings ran late, and dinner was catered into the law office. Each night Mel got home between nine-thirty and ten. And she was exhausted when she did.

As they were in bed after the second night work evening, Will asked, "Has there been any problem?"

"No. Too much to do. And he has Gloria. Her husband doesn't mind, I guess."

Will said, "She told me that he gets off on it. She was trying to convince me about you and Robert. I set her straight. I don't really understand that shit."

"Gloria owns him. That's what she told me. No way I'd want that sort of marriage. You don't have to worry."

"Hah! That isn't what worries me."

"Will, if I feel any inkling of a problem, I'll tell you and we can talk. But I don't see it happening."

"Okay."

The late work tapered off after the first two days. Mel got her team doing their assigned tasks - basic legal research. Robert and Mel then had various discussions with their experts.

After two weeks, Mel was pretty sure that Robert was not going to be a problem. She told Will that. He wasn't reassured. Each evening when she came home, he observed her closely. And, in bed, Mel - the two of them - were getting along better. More intensity from her called forth more from him.

But Will was still not reassured. If anything, Mel's ramp up caused him some doubts. She was spending more time with Robert than with her husband. But he was certain that she was not sexually involved with Robert - yet. He thought that it would come, at some point. She'd want it again. There was something about the close working together that had evoked her response the last time. There was also some kind of idiosyncratic attraction between the two. Now she was warned. He thought, though, that it might sneak up on her. And that would be such a shame.

One evening about four weeks into the case work, after Robert had been away for a few days tending to business in Pittsburgh and only that day had returned, Mel came home in heat. The kids were both out to dinner across the street.

Mel took one look at Will and dragged him to the bedroom. She was out of her work clothes, down to her panties before Will could get his shirt off. He could see that her panties were soaked. He dropped trou fast, shoved her onto the bed. He pushed her panties aside and fucked her hard. She was like a volcano. Hot and viscous.

It lasted a while, because Will made it last a while. That was a truly difficult task, but worthwhile. He erupted with his own volcanic force.

The two of them, spent, lay there recovering. Will turned to Mel, "I take it that I can thank Robert for that."

Mel sighed, "Yes."

"What are you going to do? What have you done?"

"Didn't do shit. He hasn't really tried for me. Not overtly."

"Explain."

"I mean he hasn't...you know, pressed it. But...the small touches, the slyly suggestive comments."

Will said, "The kisses and hugs..."

"No. Dammit!"

"I suppose I should be grateful you brought it home."

"Yeah. Yeah!"

"For how long?"

"I admit it's becoming a risk. I have to finish this part of the case - expert prep."

"I don't really understand what's happening in this whole thing. He's no more....other guys who hit on you are sexier."

"No for me, Will. Him and you." A pause. "I mean, you and him."

Will turned over, tried to sleep. Not so easy. Mel dropped off right away.

In the morning, Will stopped Mel on the way out the door to work. He said, "If you give in...if he tries and wins...he's a dead man. Won't make a difference how rich he is. Tell him."

Mel was shocked. Will said it with a hard stare at her. She was speechless.

He patted her on the cheek. He said, "So you both know what's at stake. I'll do the time if I have to." Then he turned back inside the door.

He sat back down at breakfast and finished his eggs. He saw the teens off to school and sat and did some research. He had a plan of sorts. He hoped he didn't have to use it.

Mel drove to work in a low state of shock. She tried to rationalize Will's threat. She tried to believe that he didn't mean it, or that he wouldn't do it. But she'd seen him and heard him. She had to complete the next two weeks with Robert before she could turn the case over to other litigators. And she had to do it with no hanky-panky at all.

When she got to the office, she had some coffee and went over the latest material from the experts. Robert and Gloria arrived at ten, and brought Jonathan Crisp, one of the expert chemists. He brought his Apple laptop. (There could be more. I'm resisting.) The four met in a large conference room that had been assigned to them for the case. The meeting had been going on for about an hour when they took a break. Mel walked to her office, but Robert followed her and closed the door behind him.

He said, "What's going on with you?"

She said, "Will is very bothered by this situation. I've tried to deemphasize, you know. I told him you weren't making a play for me."

"Well, mainly true."

"Not true at all, Robert. You're only puttering around the edges. But I know your goal."

Robert smiled. He said, "You and I have chemistry."

She chuckled. But it wasn't funny. She said, "Don't I know it. Yesterday I almost killed poor Will, as soon as I got home."

"He should be grateful. Better sex through chemistry." He had a grin.

Mel said, "He won't kill me, Robert. Just you. Is it worth dying for?"

Robert paused. He said, "Maybe it is."

Mel said, "I want to emphasize that Will has....he's got some inner demons. Rage, slow but sure. He absolutely meant what he said. And, more, he's capable of getting away with it."

At that point Gloria knocked, and they went back to the meeting.

Will didn't know if his threat would do the trick. He meant it, in an abstract way. He knew that, sooner or later, if Robert fucked Mel, he'd hurt him, and maybe divorce her. He thought about their conversations about Robert. He was puzzled by her vulnerability to Robert. She made it clear that in her life she had never had such a sexual crush on anyone else but Robert. Probably not even her husband.

Was that really her fault? She seemed astonished by the intense desire she had for the guy. It was as if she had met the man she was meant to be with - at least sexually.

Will decided that if his threat didn't work, he probably wouldn't kill or main Robert (subject to reconsideration). But he also decided that he was through being second choice for his own wife. If they finished the work on the case without further incident, and Robert went back home, Will was unsure if he could continue the marriage. If Mel fell, he'd never touch her again.

When Mel got home on time that evening the family had a nice dinner, cooked by Will. Mel was relieved that Will seemed at ease.

They watched a basketball game and went up to bed. Will asked Mel, "How was your day? Did you speak to Robert?"

"I did. I conveyed your...your attitude to him. Thereafter no problems."

"Okay. All this is on you, though. It's up to you to put an end to it. No matter what I say, he'll likely continue. Once he goes home, we can see."

"What do you mean...'we can see'? If he's not around me, he's not a problem."

Will gave her an earnest look. He said, "I feel like warmed up leftovers and he's a four-star meal."

She laughed at him. She said, "I'm no gourmet. I like your cooking. Even if it is leftovers." She lunged at him and sat on his chest.

Mel then simply overwhelmed Will, sat on his face and then took him from the top. He tried to put up some small resistance. It was like a sandcastle in a tidal wave. It felt good, though - being swept away by her.

For her part, Mel loved their sex since the Robert thing cropped up. That night she took Will while imagining that she was being ravished by Robert. Or, that she was ravishing him.

Both of them knew what she really wanted. And both were bothered by it, in different ways. Will felt dissed. Mel felt some fear for her future. She and Will had not truly come all the way out of the funk caused by the swap proposal. Maybe they never would.

She had never lied to Will about his claim to be only second in her desires. That would have been useless. She simply reassured him by fucking him when he seemed down about it.

The next few days at work for Mel were quite intense. They were doing prep on the experts, now that they had expert reports from the opposition. Mel had to work all of Saturday that weekend, since Jonathan Crisp had trial prep the next week - in Stayman, Washington. He had to fly to Spokane on Sunday. He had a room in nearby Winesap, on the Columbia River.

The chemistry expert team finished up the next Thursday morning. From that point until trial in Pittsburgh Mel and Robert could work by phone or Skype, if necessary.

During the week Robert had subtly ramped up his seduction campaign, despite Mel's warning. But Mel was onto his techniques. That didn't mean that she was home free. The techniques got her hot for him. And she took that home.

Will was, obviously well aware of Mel's increasing lust. So were the kids. At breakfast one morning, Sherrie said, "You two are keeping us awake to all hours."

Mel said, "We'll get you some noise suppressors."

Mark added, "I've been using those, but they're cumbersome."

Mel said, "Earplugs. It's not our fault, really."

They left the matter at that.

Robert invited Mel out to lunch that Thursday. He was returning to Pittsburgh Friday morning. There was a status hearing in the U.S. District Court the week after. Mel didn't have to attend.

Robert took Mel to a pleasant restaurant near his condo. Neither Gloria nor anyone else from the team was there. Mel expected this. She knew Robert would try a full court press. Normally, she would have put discretion ahead of risk. But she knew that she'd have to be involved in the trial in Pittsburgh. No trial date had been set, but one would be set at the hearing. The trial was all about the patent, and mostly involved expert testimony. She'd have to be in Pittsburgh for two weeks, and maybe weekends.

So, she needed to decide whether to do it or resign. She saw the lunch as a test.

The lunch was mostly pleasant. Robert made it plain that he wanted to eat and then go to the condo for 'dessert.' Mel declined, politely. They ate. The food was good, and Mel had a glass of wine. Just one. Toward the end, Robert slid around the circular booth and put his arm around Mel. Mel didn't move away. Robert ran his hand down her cheek. Mel was looking directly into his eyes. Never in her life had she wanted something so much and turned away.

So, this was a first. She slid out of the booth, breathing hard. She said, "I WILL NOT!"

Robert was disappointed. He said, "Not yet." Then he signaled for the check. Mel went home.

She came into the house and found Will. She said, "He's gone. I need you."

She and Will spent the afternoon in bed, among other places. Until the kids came in just after four.

Mel felt like she'd dodged a bullet - or some similarly shaped object.

The next week saw the judge in Pittsburgh set trial for mid-June, five months away.

Mel thought about it all. She had a meeting with the three partners - the ABCs - about the case.

She opened by saying that she wouldn't be going to Pittsburgh for the trial.

Abe asked, "Why? You managed the prep fine. I assume this is about your husband's qualms. But nothing happened, right?"

"Right. But this was here, when I went home every night. In Pittsburgh I'd be on Robert's home turf, and Will would be here."

Caleb said, "Why don't you simply....you know, do it? I mean if you were in Pennsylvania, who would know?"

"I would. So, Will would also. Maybe not right away. But soon enough."

Abe said, "We sympathize. But I believe we have to insist."

Mel smiled. She said, "See if you can get someone." She rose and left the room.

When she was gone, Abe said, "She has us over a barrel. At least we have some time. Maybe we can arrange for her to supervise....maybe advise...from here."

Caleb said, "She's weak. I don't like weak. Let's see if we can get a lateral hire."

That's what they tried to do. Over the next weeks they interviewed four people. None were acceptable. They made an offer to a fellow from a big NYC firm. He would have been able to do it. He declined. Mel had been training one of her assistants - Martin Blaine - so he might be able to cross the plaintiff's experts and present their own.