Breaking Out Bk. 02 Ch. 07

"Hi Greg ... where are you?" Helen's voice was tentative ... nervous ... maybe even scared?

"In the office working ... where are you?"

"Umm ... on Ray's boat at the Marina ... could you pick me up please?" There was a time when Greg would have rushed to do as she asked but Helen was about to find out that things had changed.

"Are you OK? Have you been drinking?"

"No ... no ... nothing like that."

Greg let his tone of voice become more conspiratorial, "Have you been fucking him?"

Helen giggled, "I might have."

Greg's tone changed in an instant, "Good ... then you can drive yourself home, the truck is in the café carpark where you left it. I'll be here in the office when you get home," and he ended the call."

Ellie chose that exact moment to walk into the office, "Wow ... what just happened there?"

"Greg just grew some balls and a backbone ... that's what happened there," he said tersely.

"Right," she said and turned and walked out. He sighed as he watched her cut ass wiggle out the door. Yet another big fat FAIL for the day and he knew that it was only going to get worse.

Helen pulled up in the driveway and sat thinking. She really didn't know how to deal with what was about to happen ... on the one hand she felt really angry because Greg was obviously angry with her but on the other hand she wanted to cry because she had, yet again, made some bad and irrational decisions that were about to bite her in the ass.

The latest bad decision ... to go back to Ray's boat with him hadn't seemed so bad at the time. She was really upset that Greg had followed her to the coffee shop to mend some fences and Ray had driven him away.

She couldn't believe what was happening and by the time she recovered the ability to speak Greg had gone. Helen knew now that it had been Ray's plan to get her onto his boat all the time. She had wanted to meet him at the café to find out what he knew about Alex and to ask him to start spreading the word about her business.

Ray was that sort of guy, he picked up all sorts of information about all sort of people and, because he knew so many people, he could really give a business a major boost just by mentioning it to some of his contacts.

But after the encounter with Greg she was mess ... and of course, Ray was very concerned and supportive and loving. He held her till she stopped crying, he stroked her hand and showered her with affection and suggested that they go back to his boat where things would be private and she would be able to calm down.

At first, she had resisted his suggestions because she knew what would happen once he had her there. There had been some seriously wild fuck sessions on that boat with Ray ... and sometimes with his friends and she knew that she would not be able to resist the temptation to fuck his brains out ... not once ... oh they never did it just once ... but multiple times.

And of course that was exactly what happened. She had only just stepped through the door into the main cabin and he was kissing her neck and throat and she was searching for his cock. It might have been 8am but the time of day had never bothered them before and it didn't this time either.

Ray could get her naked faster than any guy she knew and he didn't disappoint her this time. Her blouse and bra were gone almost in the blink of an eye and her skirt came off while he was trying to suck her brains out through her nipples

The next time she saw the clock on the cabin wall it was midday, and she was leaking large amounts of cum from her pussy and her ass. Of course Ray was an absolute gentleman and didn't just kick her out ... there was a warm shower in a cosy space that just fitted the two of them and there were thick fluffy towels to enjoy.

So she was feeling more than mellow when she called Greg but in the blink of an eye Greg had turned her warm inner glow into a wave of cold fear when he left her to drive home by herself.

Greg could have made her sit in front of his desk like some low-level employee who was about to be fired but instead he had suggested that they sit out in the living room where they could face each other as equals rather than with a desk between them.

"So, what do we talk about first ... the fact that you're still seeing Alex? The certainty you had that it was me who beat him up? The fact that there is another man ... I presume that's the 'Ray' you have mentioned before who passes himself off as me without a peep from you, or the fact that when we should have talking about these issues you were busy fucking your brains out with him?"

Helen looked at her husband and was scared. She wasn't scared that he would hurt her physically ... he had never done that, and she was sure that he never would ... but this was a different Greg to the husband and lover she had encountered whenever they had a difference of opinion.

In the past Greg had always been about conciliation ... finding a win / win outcome and never looking to assign blame to either party ... but this time Greg was different and she realised that he wasn't looking for a shared win ... he wanted her to see how responsible she was for where they were now.

He wasn't going to be conciliatory ... he wanted to be victorious and she would have to pay a price that was yet to be determined.

"Before we start talking about this there are two points I want to make. The first is that I understand that you have problems because of your Hashimoto's disease ... it affects you in ways that are hard for you to deal with and hard for me to understand ... but you need to understand that it can't be an excuse for everything.

"At some point you have to step up and take responsibility for your own actions and not blame everything on your illness.

"The second point is that you have pushed me to the point where I've either had to grow some balls and a spine or you were going to walk all over me. And the latest news update is that I'm not Mr Nice Guy anymore.

"I am supposed to be your husband and one of your lovers ... maybe the most important one. I am not your slave to call whenever you need a lift home from some grubby little man's bed. And while my initials make up part of the name of your business it doesn't change a thing ... your business is your business and I'm not going to work myself into the ground to make it a success ... or to continually pull your pussy out of the fire.

"I will help you wherever I can but don't expect me to do your work while you're out fucking some other guy.

"So, now we have those non-negotiable things out of the way, which of those four topics I mentioned earlier, do you want to start with?"

Helen didn't know where to start ... she knew that she was on solid ground when it came to the question of whether she had been seeing Alex while telling Greg that they had broken up but she had no excuse at all for instantly blaming him for the bashing or the stupid idea that she should go and see him.

She also knew she should have said something when Greg turned up and Ray had sent him away ... she couldn't believe that she had done it ... or even gone to see Ray. How could she not see what was going to happen?

"I wasn't seeing Alex behind your back Greg ... things really were as I said they were ... but I should have told you about him calling me and wanting me back because, when he sent me that photo, I instantly thought that you had found out and bashed him while I was away.

"I shouldn't have gone to see Ray by myself either but I thought that he might know what was going on with Alex and that would help me know what to do to keep him away from me.

I was so down and so angry with you for things that I did that when you turned up I just wanted you to go away and then when Ray made that stupid statement I wanted to tell him to shut up ... that you were my husband ... but I couldn't get the words out.

"And I knew that you and the girls would be working hard this morning and that going with him to his boat would only lead to one thing, but I let it happen." She went to give him some details thinking that he would enjoy that but the dismissive wave of his hand and the look on his face told her that she had made a serious mistake

"Now I'm stuck ... I've been a terrible wife ... even by our relaxed standards ... and I have no words to say that will make things better. So what's going to happen now?"

Greg sat looking at her for ages, he felt deflated ... there would be no argument ... no fight ... and now he didn't know what to do. He searched for words to say to her ... to express his anger and frustration but he couldn't find any.

He had plenty of words to say about his revulsion that Helen had sex with Ray ... and he had words to say about why he didn't to touch her ... but he wasn't prepared to say any of them to her unless she asked. He hoped those feelings would fade away and he didn't know what he would do if they didn't.

Finally he pushed himself up out of his chair, went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer and then went and sat in a shaded spot at the edge of the pool with his feet in the water.

Ten minutes later Helen came out of the house and walked up and sat next to him, "I've really fucked things up and I don't know how to fix any of them."

"May I see the photos of our granddaughter please?"

She took her phone out of the hip pocket of her denim skirt and opened the gallery. He had asked to see them in the hope that seeing the baby would change his mood but when he handed the phone back he felt no different.

"What do you want me to do Greg?"

"Tomorrow we should go through the applicants you have received and pick out the best and find someone to do some background checks for you."

He drained his beer and then crumpled the can in his hand.

"AAAGGGHHH," he screamed as he hurled the can as far as he could before jumping up and walking towards the house.

"I'm going for a walk ... I won't be home for dinner."

"That's your last one buddy." Greg wanted to argue that it was only his sixth but the bartender was adamant. "There's no debate ... that is your last one."

Greg sighed and took a few sips. He knew that he would have to go home sometime but after only six beers? Life was such a bitter disappointment.

"Say, aren't you the guy who was here with a rather hot looking babe who came out of the Ladies and gave you her panties?"

Greg looked at the waitress who was grinning at him and decided that it was time to find another bar. He had been about to take another sip of his beer but instead he put it down on the bar and turned and walked out.

He had only just got through the door when he felt a hand on his arm, "Greg ... oh Greg ... come on, let me take you home. Helen is worried sick about you."

Greg looked at Ellie and noticed that Carrie was standing just behind her, "Ladies," he said quietly, "I'll go home when I'm good and ready and not before."

"No Greg," Ellie pleaded, "you have had too much to drink ... you need to come home with us."

Carrie moved in on his other side and looped her arm through his. The two women then gently guided him towards ... was that his truck? He hadn't driven here so how did his truck get here?

He must have muttered something about it because Carrie chuckled, "I drove it Greg and I promised Helen that I wouldn't hit anything."

Greg surrendered quietly and didn't fight the women as they helped him into the back seat. He thought that he should have said something ... offered some explanation ... maybe an apology ... but he couldn't. He just felt numb ... and he had felt numb all night.

When they got to his place they helped him out of the truck, but he walked unaided into the house with them following behind. Helen was waiting and went to rush forward and embrace him but he held up his hand.

"No Helen ... please ... don't touch me ... just don't touch me." He staggered slightly and had to use the wall as support as he headed for the main bedroom. Once through the door he made his way to the bathroom and almost fell into the shower.

He stood for at least five minutes with the cold water pouring down on him and that helped to clear his head a little ... at least enough that he didn't fall over when he towelled himself dry ... and he made it to his side of the bed without falling over too.

He fell into bed and settled himself on his side right on the edge of his side of the bed. Before going to sleep he pulled a pillow over and positioned it between him and the rest of the bed in that hope that Helen would see it for the barrier he meant it to be ... and then he slept.

He woke early with a headache that wasn't as bad as he was expecting. Helen was still sound asleep well over on her side of the bed and she didn't stir when he climbed out, took some clothes out to the kitchen and left them there while he did some laps.

Helen had still not put in an appearance when he got back to the kitchen, dressed and took a bowl of cereal up to the main office over the garage.

Greg hardly spoke through the day. He asked Diane to confirm some figures in a table she had used as part of an analysis, he and Helen went through the applications that had come in from consultants who wanted to work for them and picked three that looked promising.

She undertook to find a business that would do some background reports and left him to get on with reviewing various reports before they were sent to Helen's clients. He had stayed up in the main office because he knew that Helen wouldn't try to engage him in any personal conversation around the other staff and just before they finished for the day he slipped away, down the stairs and off to a bar that was three blocks from home.

No one engaged him in conversation there and he was free to drink without interruption. A few of the regulars looked at him but he already had the look of someone who wasn't interested in ... anything.

Greg was well into his fifth beer when he sensed that someone had climbed onto the bar stool next to him, "I'll have what he's having thanks," made him grimace.

"Go home Ellie, I don't want company," and even before he had finished speaking he knew that he was wasting his breath so he slid off his stool and walked out of the bar. He saw Carrie moving in on his right and Ellie was already looping her arm through his left arm and a few minutes later he was walking into his house and heading for the bathroom.

The next morning Helen was waiting for him when he pulled himself out of the pool. The only thing she was wearing was a string bikini bottom and he knew that she looked stunning, but she had no effect on him at all.

She noticed that there wasn't the slightest hint of arousal anywhere on his body, "What's happened Greg ... why won't you at least touch me?"

He stepped around her and went over to where he had left his clothes and started to get dressed. After a moment's hesitation she followed Greg and stood in front of him again.

"What have I done that was so bad you won't even touch me anymore?" Greg didn't trust himself to even open his mouth.

"It can't have been seeing Alex behind your back ... because I wasn't. And it ... it ..." her eyes hadn't quite glazed over but Greg could tell that she was looking inwards rather than at him.

"Oh shit," she wailed. "It was Ray wasn't it? You ... you were humiliated in front of other people at the café ... you were my husband ... not him ... and yet I never said a word ... and then I went and spent hours fucking him ... oh God how do I fix that?"

Greg had no idea how she could fix that and he just felt too numb to even provide a possible solution ... if there was one.

Amy rang Greg later that day, "What's the matter with Mom? She was crying and almost in hysterics when I rang her ... she said something about you, but I couldn't understand what she was trying to say."

"Ask your Mom ... I don't want to talk about it."

"But Dad ..." Greg ended the call and blocked Amy's number.

Ten minutes later Serge rang Greg, "For god's sake call Amy back and tell her what happened otherwise she is going to get in the car and drive down there with the baby ... and that's the last thing she should be doing right now."

"Serge, when Helen and I were talking about me coming back to LA I told her that there was one dealbreaker for me ... she went and did it in front of a bunch of people in a café. Tell Amy that I would love to see her but she won't solve anything by coming down ... and she just might make it a whole lot worse."

Greg gave Serge a few more details that he could pass on to Amy and Serge thought that he might be able to get Amy to wait until their scheduled trip south and they left it there.

After a week Ellie and Carrie gave up coming to wherever he was drinking to take him home and Ellie stopped dropping in to see him through the day when he asked her for some time out.

He was still not in any sort of a good head space when Serge called him to let him know that they were on their way down and would probably arrive around 3pm. At 2pm Greg slipped out of the office, packed a bag along with his laptop and took a cab to a motel that had a bar right across the street.

Once he was in his room he emailed Helen and told her that he would be staying away till Amy went home and he would work remotely and then he headed across the street to the bar to drink himself into oblivion.

They corresponded about work related matters via email and Helen tried every day to try and get him to talk to her about their relationship, but he simply trashed those emails as soon as he could tell that there were no business-related matters in them.

On the fourth day he looked in the mirror and was shocked at how haggard he looked. He knew that he needed to start getting his head together but he couldn't get himself to think about their relationship without wanting to cry ... or vomit ... or both.

He knew that Amy was going home that day but he was very tempted to stay away another day or two and, in the end, the only thing that made him go home was the fact that he had run out of clean clothes.

Helen saw the Greg's cab pull up and she rushed out the office to greet him but he walked right by her and into the house ... she followed him but kept her distance.

"Greg, you look terrible and smell of stale beer ... we have got to talk about this before you kill yourself."

Greg dropped his bag and put his laptop down next to it, "Helen ... 'we' don't have to do anything ... it's me who has to do something ... it's me who has to come to terms with what happened and right now I'm not doing so well with that."

He took his dirty clothes off to the laundry, had a quick shave and then walked out the door, "Don't expect me home for dinner."

That weekend Carrie and Shanti confronted him and threatened to move out unless his attitude changed so he told them to let him know when they were going so he could help them with their bags.

While Greg had been working from the motel room Helen had been interviewing the potential candidates for the vacancies with her business and they started the following Monday.

Brad Orrocks was a 15-year veteran who had run his own consultancy business until he caught his wife with her tennis coach. Unfortunately, he had served a few aces with the coach's balls and lost his wife and a shit load of money in the divorce and the civil action that followed.

Dom Pocet had spent a lot of time working with companies in and around Los Angeles and this would be the first time he would be spending time on the road away from home. His specialty was training and staff development and Helen had several companies that belonged to The Syndicate who were clamouring for a visit from him.

Craig Rasburn was the third hire and he was a marketing guru. He had come burdened down with praise from a number of companies that he had helped out of the doldrums and into streams of money with his marketing skills. He would be traveling far and wide and seeing clients in a wide range of industries.