Contamination

"Thank you, Mr. Chesterfield. Simply stated, my client, asserts that she was sexually harassed by Mr. Henley for approximately 6 months, whereby he gradually seduced her and insinuated himself into her life both emotionally and intimately."

"That's a load of garbage!" Shouted Thomas.

"Please Mr. Henley," urged Warren. "You will have your say, fully and completely. Please allow them the same courtesy that you will be afforded."

"As I said, continued Scott, "We believe Mrs. Mansfield was victimized by Mr. Henley during that time and succumbed to his authority and perverted desires. He took unfair advantage of his position over her as her employer, and there is, as you know, an anti-fraternization policy on record with your HR department."

"We understand our policies all too well, Mr. Lindley, however, in light of Mr. Henley's similar allegations, how can we come to any definitive conclusion regarding your allegations? I feel certain that Mr. Henley will be alleging the same thing."

"You're damn right I will!" Croaked Thomas.

"Please Mr. Henley. With all due respect, I admonish you to let them have their say uninterrupted."

"Hmmmph!" Vexed Thomas.

"Thank you, Mr. Chesterfield."

"Please, call me Warren."

"Thank you, Warren. Before we continue, I want to give Mr. Henley ample opportunity to withdraw from these proceedings and allow my client to collect remuneration in the amount of $500,000.00, payable to my office. Failing that, I'm afraid that once we offer our evidence, Mr. Henley will have no cover, because all will be licentiously exposed for everyone to see, and will then become part of your permanent HR record."

"You have nothing on me, you feckless hillbillies. I'm not backing down from ANYTHING! You hear me? Hit me with your best shot!"

Brad Franklin, Thomas' attorney grabbed Thomas' arm endeavoring to silence him in vain. Thomas shrugged his arm away from him.

"Let the record show that I offered Mr. Henley every opportunity to reconsider his position," stated Scott. "Failing that, I'm afraid my client has no choice but to substantiate her claim. Warren, would you please begin playing the first of these two discs? The DVD, please. Once play has begun, let me warn you against stopping the presentation of our evidence before my client's allegations have been accepted as fact."

I leaned over and whispered into Leslie's ear, "I want you to trust me again right now. Get up please, and go wait outside in the corridor. I'll be along shortly." To say that Leslie was shocked would be an understatement. She was unaware of any DVD video or audio recordings and was confused about how I may have come by them. Did I hire a P.I? Yet without hesitation she promptly followed my instruction.

"We understand. We will play your DVD in its entirety provided it is not overly lengthy," quipped Warren.

"No, sir. It is about 7 minutes' duration, a compilation of a much larger file compressed for the sake of everyone's time."

"Very well. Sonya, would you please play this on our system please?"

The crystal clear video showed a naked Leslie performing oral sex on Thomas. Brad Franklin immediately objected saying, "Look, Mr. Henley does not deny being intimately blackmailed by Mrs. Mansfield. I don't see the relevance of showing video of any of their encounters, except as a ploy to try to further embarrass my client."

Thomas spat through clenched teeth, "You asshole, you recorded it? Why? So you could jerk off to it as often as you like and watch your wife suck off a REAL man's cock?" I simply smiled. My confident controlled silence unnerved Thomas.

"Sonya," asserted Scott, would you mind turning up the sound, please? It is the combination of audio incorporated with the video that gives this evidence its relevance." Thomas tilted his head into one hand, feigning a headache. He knew what was coming. As the audio volume was raised, the conversation became clear.

"That's it my little slut. Suck daddy's dick. Suck it harder. Thaaaat's right, yes, just like that. Now just bob your pretty little head on the tip of your master's man-meat. Gooood girl. I've trained you well. I'm almost ready to allow you to offer your new talents to that limp-dick wimp husband of yours. Would you like to do this for him?"

"Yes, master. Whatever you say, master."

"Good girl. Now then, show me what you've got girl. Deep throat me all the way down to my nut-sack and lick my balls when you get there." Leslie easily deep-throated Thomas' cock without even gagging. There were several skipped passages along the way showcasing the statements Thomas was making to Leslie as she serviced him. I had a difficult time and turned my head, having seen it all before.

Scott said, "Thank you, Sonya, that should be enough, though Mr. Henley's climax is also included if you need further proof. As everyone in this room can clearly see, Mr. Henley is definitely in charge of the relationship he established with my client. He was her 'master' in the context of their sessions of intimacy and she was his submissive. His disdain for Mr. Mansfield is also patently evident. Had Mrs. Mansfield been a blackmailer, the tables would have been turned. If further evidence is warranted in the eyes of this panel, we have the full unedited session available in addition to improperly recorded audio recordings between my client and Mr. Henley. Would you like to hear more?"

"No, thank you, Scott. I believe we have a clear picture of the nature of this unfortunate relationship." Without a word, Thomas got up and left the room, followed by his attorney.

"Further evidence is unwarranted," stated Warren. "But we do have a problem with the dollar amount of the damages you are seeking."

"Excuse me Warren. Vernon? Would you mind stepping out in the hall for a bit, please? Your presence is not required during these negotiations. I'll call you back in if needed, so please remain nearby." I nodded, joining Leslie out in the corridor, and closed the door.

Anxious and concerned, Leslie asked, "You have DVD and audio recordings of us? When did you come by all that? Why didn't you say something about it?"

"If you knew that you were being recorded, you wouldn't have been as candid now, would you? We'll discuss this later. Right now, I am hoping Scott is earning his money producing the outcome I am hoping for." As we sat on a wooden bench against the wall, Leslie put her arm through mine and sat in silence pondering everything that was taking place inside.

"Yes, Scott. We have a problem with the amount you are requesting for redress. $500K is a sticking point for us, I'm afraid. Even a dollar less, might be acceptable, but not a penny more," indicated Warren.

"Oh? And why is that, Warren?"

"Because any settlement amounts of $500K or higher require a recommendation from this HR department to the board of directors for immediate dismissal, even of a CEO such as Mr. Henley. Do you see my point, Scott?"

"I do," retorted Scott. "You misunderstand the amount I am requesting on behalf of my client. As her representative, my fee is 20%. I intend for the Mansfields to receive the full $500K after I deduct my 20% fee. Therefore the full amount I am seeking is $625,000.00.

"I'm afraid we can't accommodate such an amount, Mr. Lindley. After all, it is our job as HR representatives for this firm to protect Mr. Henley to the best of our ability."

Leslie and I wondered how the negotiations were going inside. Scott came highly recommended as a shark. I hoped he lived up to his reputation. Fifteen minutes later Scott came bustling out of the room abruptly.

"Well?" I inquired.

"Not here," Scott implored. "Let's go grab a bite to eat and I'll explain everything there. Shall we meet at O'Malley's?"

"Of course", I quipped. Leslie rode with me to O'Malley's, a popular restaurant nearby and we met Scott there for lunch.

Immediately after placing our order, "Okay, what gives?" I anxiously inquired.

"Well, you two. I know you're wondering how this all shook out. They balked at the $500K amount we were initially asking because that amount was the tipping point that calls for Thomas' termination. I told them that I was well aware of that fact. The mysterious text you received that night was from a fellow board member who despised Thomas' shenanigans and wanted him gone. I explained about my fee, which meant nothing to them of course. But I intended for you two to get the full $500K and upped the ante to $625K to accommodate that goal. They initially refused and their attorney became involved and a lot of, shall we say, 'mudslinging' ensued. He suggested that our evidence had been obtained illegally and without Thomas' knowledge."

Scott elucidated, "They made a huge mistake. That angered me. I informed them that Thomas' business cell phone was used in the Skype session direct to yours, and all parties involved were aware of the other. I explained also that North Carolina is a one-party consent state. In North Carolina, it is a criminal offense to use any device to record or share communications, whether they are wire, oral or electronic, without the consent of at least one person taking part in the communication. This means that you were legally allowed to record your Skype conversation with Thomas per N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-287 (West 2012)."

Scott was on a roll and excitedly continued, "I was going to get my pound of flesh from them and advised them that a jury would easily award a million dollars or more since most of the trysts took place in Thomas' own office on company property. Once that information became public in a case like this, the press would have a free-for-all, and the company would want to avoid any negative publicity. So I upped the ante to $750K just for spite and was prepared to take this case public. They tried to fall back to the original $500K amount when I told them that the stakes would be raised to $900K in 30 seconds. They looked at each other. When their attorney nodded, I knew they had conceded. So not only will you receive your $600,000.00 before taxes after my fee is deducted, the esteemed Thomas Henley will be terminated from his position as CEO and will soon be out of a job. I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement silencing us, and indicating that we would not sue the company or Thomas in court civilly over this matter, so I'm afraid this is all the money you can expect to receive."

I responded, "To be honest, I didn't care if we received a dime from them. I just wanted the asshole to pay for his debauchery with his job."

Leslie was astonished at the decisive manner in which her so-called 'wimp' husband had just taken down one of the most powerful men she had ever met. Suddenly she realized that her husband had been fighting for his family tooth and nail every single second, while she had seemingly doing everything in her power to destroy it.

"I'm so sorry, Vernon, for causing all this mess. I was incredibly reckless. After 11 years together, I thought nothing could hurt us. I was disastrously wrong. Can you ever forgive me?"

"We'll see, Leslie. We'll see. It may take some time."

"Well, I, for one, am not going anywhere. I'll wait for you if it takes forever, as long as I can be near you, and with our family that I nearly decimated."

"There's something else I need you to do for me, Leslie."

"Anything, name it," she urgently offered.

"I want you to go shopping at Walmart. Take this envelope containing a thousand dollars in cash. I want you to purchase a whole new wardrobe from scratch. Get underwear, tops, slacks, socks, jeans, and even dresses if they have something you feel comfortable wearing."

"Of course, I'll do as you say but why? Why would you want me to do that?" She quizzed.

"Your clothing. I have no idea nor do you exactly what that asshole has touched of yours. This weekend I will provide enough boxes and bags for you to pack every article of clothing that you own into. Then I'll haul it all to Goodwill and donate it. My first instinct was to burn it all but others do not have the same aversion that I do to him having touched your clothing. Everything goes, EVERYTHING, you understand?" She looked down and nodded yes.

"Good. This is just a start. Of course, I'll let you purchase new clothing from other stores over time. This is part of the new beginning for us."

"Thank you, Vern. I know I don't deserve it but I'm grateful for this second chance. I won't let you down ever again," she swore.

I just nodded and we finished our lunch.

The next day, I found myself face to face with my old college roommate. "It's good to see you again Ethan. How are things with you and your family?"

"Great Vern. My wife's driving me crazy, and my kids are driving me insane," Ethan said with a chuckle.

"Oh, so it's the same old, same old, huh?" I said back grinning.

"I get the feeling that you have more to meet with me about than just the regular catching up, am I right?" Ethan inquired.

"You are perceptive as usual, Ethan. I have been giving some serious thought to your offer of employment in the engineering department. Is the opportunity you spoke of with me the last time we met, still available?"

"You bet it is. All I have to do is make one phone call and you're in. Are you for real? Are we finally going to be able to work together again?"

"If you'll have me. I think I'm ready for the change."

"If you don't mind my asking, what prompted you to jump ship? The last time we spoke you were extolling the virtues of your perfect life."

"Well, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, I'm afraid, and some things have happened at work with management that I found unacceptable. I'd rather leave it at that for now if you don't mind."

"Of course, Vernon. I understand. Whatever the reason is, I'm glad it happened. Their loss is going to be our gain. I'm looking forward to getting the dynamic duo back together again. Say, why don't you come in next Monday and meet with our HR people? You can seal the deal then. I'll have everything ready to go for you in your new office, and company car before you arrive. Would that be okay buddy?"

"More than okay, Ethan. I'm excited about it too."

"As I mentioned before, we will match your old salary to start, but there's nowhere to go but up from there."

"I'll be there Monday morning. Thanks again for your friendship." We shook on the deal.

For the next three months, Leslie and I played house. I still slept separately from her but we both were very involved parents to our children, which provided a sense of normalcy in our eyes. Somehow, copies of the DVD and audio recordings mysteriously made their way to Louise Henley, Thomas' wife. In addition to the trysts, she was immeasurably displeased at the many disparaging remarks he had made about her to Leslie as they intimately talked. Needless to say, she took him to the cleaners.

I never revealed to Leslie how I came by my knowledge of their private conversations. She suspected a P.I. but never saw any reports or invoices for their services. I still checked her purse recording from time to time to make sure there was no further contact between her and the asshole. Someone said that Tom had left town. Well, good riddance, I thought.

After three months of Leslie being the consummate wife and mother, I began to thaw from freezing her out intimately. We were very tentative at first, just mechanically going through the motions. Leslie didn't care about herself but made damn sure that my bell was rung every time, and we eventually mellowed into a merged couple once more.

However, one thing still stuck in my craw, and I just couldn't shake it, perhaps due to the video. I told her NEVER to mention deep-throating to me again. She agreed but she slipped, ONCE. Immediately afterward, I ass-fucked her roughly, and after cumming in her unprepared and unwashed asshole, I made her thoroughly clean my smelly cock with her mouth. She never mentioned it again. Although we did incorporate blowjobs as part of our love life, I never once permitted her to deep-throat me. Although she desperately wanted to show me her new skills, I stubbornly denied myself that one pleasure as a permanent punishment of sorts for us both. Other men may disagree with my deprivation decision but it's the way I'm wired. I don't expect everyone to agree with me.

Upon reflection, realizing she had been drugged made it easier to forgive her. I had tentatively considered living a loveless life with Leslie in the same house with her, as my sacrifice for the sake of my children, even if she continued cheating, as advocated by Irene in that dance hall and my pastor but I wound up regaining a loving wife who I honestly believed would never stray again.

Life was good. Not perfect, but good.