Deceptions Abound

By the time I reached my car, Ted's Bentley was just pulling out of the parking facility. I dropped down behind the truck as Ted roared by. With Ted's pissed attitude, I doubt Dani noticed my truck.

Hopping in, I took off after them but the asshole was so bent, he was long gone before I got up to speed. I decided I would go back to her parent's home and wait. When I arrived, the Bentley was already in the driveway but both Bowman and Dani were not in the car, they must already be inside. No sooner had I thought that, the front door opened and Bowman came out with Olivia in pursuit. I watched as they spoke, Teddy boy nodding as Olivia became animated. After several minutes of this, Olivia smiled and hugged the shithead before he was finally able to break away and get in his car. Olivia stood there frantically waving as the Bentley backed out and left.

Shit Olivia, why don't you marry the fucker, I thought. She probably would, given the chance, but I don't believe Ted would want to have anything to do with that skank and not just because of their considerable age difference.

Olivia turned and walked back to the house, never noticing the truck as I passed.

I followed the Bentley convertible as it drove along the freeway until it reached the off-ramp to Notting Hill Boulevard. Ted was going home. I guess he decided he needed a drink because the Bentley pulled into the parking lot of Dante's Den, a local dive. I strolled into the bar and found Teddy boy sitting in a booth with a busty looking platinum blond sitting on his lap. He had his head buried so far into her cleavage he never noticed as I sat across from him. The double D's did take notice tapping him on the shoulder. When Ted came up for air, his bosom companion pointed in my direction.

"Who the fuck are you, asshole?" he snarled as the meaty blond deftly removed herself from the table.

I calmly said, "Let's start on a friendly beginning shall we? You've already had one fight; you really want to mix it up again?"

He stared at me for a while before answering. "What do you want?"

"That's better. What does Olivia Dreyfuss want from you regarding her daughter, Dani?"

Surprise flashed across his face before he regained his cool exterior. "I don't know what you're talking about and I don't know any Olivia...aaaggh!"

I grabbed him by the throat and wrenched him across the table. "Listen shit for brains, you went out tonight with my wife, Dani O'Flynn." With that statement, his eyes grew enormous. "I know Olivia is behind it and you're going to tell me everything...understand?" I squeezed his neck and watched as his face began to turn a nasty shade of purple.

Releasing him, Ted grabbed his throat and gasped for air. In a whisper he said, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," I growled.

"Mrs. Dreyfuss...Olivia...left a message asking me to call her. When I did, she asked if I remembered her daughter, Dani. I told her of course I remembered her from high school and college. Several times, I tried to get her to go out with me but she was going with some local boy at the time.

Mrs. Dreyfuss told me Dani was seeking a divorce from her husband for cheating on her and that maybe I might be interested in seeing her again. If I was, she could set it up for me. Strange thing was, she wanted me to really put the moves on her daughter, to seduce her. And, she would compensate my time and effort. Of course I agreed. I have always dreamed on getting into Dani's Dreyfuss's panties."

I stared at this lousy excuse for a man and asked, "Why would you need to be compensated? You've already got money."

"No, not really. My father keeps me on a small stipend now. He only gives me enough to survive on. Hell the Bentley's my father's. Any extra cash helps. So, of course I agreed. Who was I to argue against a mother that wanted her daughter to have a good time on her dime. Mrs. Dreyfuss was the one that set up the date tonight."

"What did you put in her wine?"

"Huh?"

I saw the knowing look in his eyes but he was playing dumb. "Listen, shithead, we can do this easy-like or I can kick your nuts so hard you're gonna feel them against the back of your teeth."

"Okay, okay...yeah, I slipped her a little concoction. I don't know what it was. Her mother gave it to me in case I needed to loosen her up a bit. Never did find out if it would have worked. Some asshole drunk..." Ted looked at me, his eyes wide. "You did that, didn't you?"

I smiled but didn't answer.

"Okay, asshole, here's what you're going to do. I want you to keep up the ruse of trying to seduce Dani."

He shook his head and said, "Fuck, this family is whacked! First her mother and now her husband! What is it with you two?"

He stopped jabbering when he saw my face. "Let me finish, dickhead. First, I want you to keep Olivia happy knowing you're going after her daughter. She knows if Dani has an affair with you it will mean the end of our marriage. That is what this is all about.

Second, I want Dani to decide how important our marriage is to her. If you are able to seduce my wife, I will divorce her. You will not tell a soul about what I've said. As far as you're concerned, Olivia thinks she's hired you to fuck her daughter and our family. Got it?"

Ted Bowman gazed at me for a long time before replying, "Yeah, I got it...I understand. You realize I will fuck her, your wife. I've never failed yet. You sure you want this?"

Glaring at him, I nodded and said, "Yep...do your best but don't let on I know what's going on."

Now, Ted had a huge grin on his face. "Okay...it's a deal. I can't believe this shit. Dani gets laid, I get paid and hubby becomes history. That about it?"

Nodding, I said, "That's about it."

Ted asked one more thing. "When I fuck your wife, and I will, you're not going to take any action against me?"

"No...you're safe. But, you will be named in the divorce should it come to that. And, you will tell me where and when you try and seduce her. " I held out my hand and said, "Take this, keep it with you. When you take her out, turn it on and I'll hear everything the two of you say and do." In my palm was a tiny transmitter.

Taking the small device, he said, "That's cool, you need confirmation. Well, unless you got anything else to say, I'm out of here." Ted stood and walked to the entrance, stopped and turn to stare at me. A smile spread across his mug and he laughed as he stepped out. Shit, I hope I knew what I was doing!

What Bowman didn't know was I taped our entire conversation. Before this was over, Olivia Dreyfuss was going down for good.

I stopped off at my local watering hole, The Hole in the Wall Gang, and sucked down a few beers before heading home. It was going to be pretty lonely in that house tonight but I'd better get used to it. I hit the switch for the garage and the door began to roll up. Already, the emptiness hit me hard, Dani's Toyota was missing. I sat there for several minutes, tears running down my face before I mustered up the courage to pull in.

I grabbed another beer from the frig and sat down in my Lazy Boy staring at a blank screen on my fifty-five inch widescreen. I must have dozed off sitting there because the next thing I knew, the sun was in my face. The house was silent as I slowly pushed myself out of the chair and shuffled into the kitchen. The clock on the microwave displayed 6:00AM as I switched on the coffee maker. In a matter of seconds, I could hear the water begin to percolate and my life giving juice start to pour into the pot. I could see myself in the reflection of the microwave door; I would scare vultures off road kill just by my looks alone.

I sat at the kitchen table sipping my brew and thought through my check list. I've dealt with the bitch, Crystal, took care of the shithead, Bowman and I have recordings of both of them, I've got film of Olivia with Bowman, and I managed to get a couple of stills of Dani and Bowman in the booth. I even got a shot of Bowman's hand hovering over Dani's wine glass and one with his pinkie stirring the wine.

Now, all I had to do is sit back and wait for Bowman's call. I know you'd think I'd call Dani and try to get her to talk to me but I'm following her wishes. She didn't want to see me or talk to me. Fine, I won't. It was hard not to let her know what I have found out, to show her how her mother set me up.

Well, fuck her. She wouldn't even give a chance to talk to her. Fine with me. Even when she does discover the truth, our marriage is over. If her love for me is so tenuous she wouldn't give me a chance to explain then why bother. Everything I've done so far was for that bitch of a mother-in-law. She may win in getting rid of me but before I'm done she's going to lose a hell of lot more.

Finishing my coffee, I hopped into the shower shivering beneath the cold water. I always took a cold shower, always made me feel fresh and alive afterwards. After a shave and dental hygiene, I felt a lot better. Time to head off to work. Just as I was walking out the door, my cell phone began to play the theme music from an old private eye TV program called Peter Gunn.

"Dad! Where are you?"

"Hey Ash, just heading out the door."

"Where are you going?"

"Uh...I do go to work, darling or did you forget?"

"Sorry Dad but I'm kinda distressed right now. I talked to Mom last night and she said the two of you had separated and would be getting a divorce, is that true? What happened? What did you do? She started crying on the phone, Dad. She's really upset and angry with you! Why?"

"Ashlin, your mother thinks I cheated on her." I said it as simple as I could.

"Did you?"

"Baby girl, what do you think?"

"No way, Dad, you love Mom too much. Why does she think you cheated?"

Now, I had a dilemma. Should I tell my daughter what's been going on or just feign ignorance. "Ash, I...I don't know. Your mother won't talk to me."

"Grandmother has something to do with this, doesn't she?"

I always said my kids were smart. "Can't say, baby. Not yet, anyway. Have you said anything to Katy?"

"Not yet but I'm going to call her after I'm done talking with you. She deserves to know. You do realize Katy's going to blame Grandmother. Katy hates her more than me, and I loathe the old hag."

"Ashlin! I may not get along with Dani's mother but I won't be having you talk like that. She is still your maternal grandmother and it would devastate your mother to hear you talk like that."

My heart broke when I heard my youngest daughter begin to cry and I said, "Baby girl, don't worry, it will be alright...trust me."

"Daddy, are you sure or are you just saying that?"

"Trust me Ash, everything will be okay. Make sure you tell Katy that...alright?"

Between sniffles, Ashlin said she would.

"Love ya, Dad!"

"Love you too, Ash...now don't worry."

"Okay, Dad."

I grimaced as she disconnected. I lied to her, I didn't have a clue everything would be fine. In fact, the way I feel right now, Dani could take a flying leap.

When I got into work, I my secretary, Marybeth, said Mr. Ralls wanted to see me the moment I came in. Terrific, now what?

"Anything I should know about, Marybeth?"

"No Pat, not that I know of. Mr. Ralls called personally and sounded okay to me. Actually, he sounded kind of excited."

Hmmm...another project? Maybe just the thing for me. Get me out of here for awhile. All these thoughts were running through my head when Marybeth finally broke through.

"Pat...hello, earth to Pat!"

"Uh...sorry about that Marybeth, my mind kinda wandered there for a moment."

"Everything alright, Pat? The girls okay, Dani?"

"Um, yeah...everything's fine." I knew I didn't sound very convincing and Marybeth has an uncanny knack for reading people.

"Would you tell me if it wasn't?"

I smiled at her and said, "Marybeth, you're the ethics committee of my conscience. You would be the first to know if anything was wrong, even before I knew."

She giggled and told me to stop procrastinating and see Mr. Ralls.

A few moments later, I was standing before the queen, Mrs. Delaney, David Ralls' secretary, or as he likes to say, his boss.

"Please go on in Pat, they're expecting you." "They?"

"Of course, Mr. McKenzie, Mr. Forest and David."

"All three?"

Mrs. Delaney smiled and just shrugged.

As I opened and stepped into David Ralls's office I was immediately bombarded by greetings from all three. I've been employed by these men as long as I've been married and couldn't have worked for a nicer bunch of guys.

"Pat! About time you came in. Sit down; we've got some things we need to discuss with you. Please, take a seat." David pointed to an empty chair next to him. They were all seated around a coffee table, resting in leather chairs.

As I sat, John McKenzie began saying, "Pat, we've, all three of us, have been very pleased with you performance the past twenty years. I can't tell you how many times you've pulled our asses out of the fire on those overseas projects."

Bill Forest was beaming as he stared at me. "Yes, you've been a tremendous benefit for this company. Every man and woman working for us has had nothing but praise for you. I think they would all quit if you ever left, god forbid."

David picked up a folder from the coffee table and handed it to me. I opened the packet and stared at the top sheet. As I read the first paragraph, I discovered I was holding my breath. I started getting a little dizzy and gasped for air.

My eyes ready to pop out of my skull, I stared at the three men and said, "Are you sure about this? There's got to another that is better qualified!"

All three laughed, Bill Forest saying, "Pay up!"

Smiling, John McKenzie reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill handing it to Bill. Chuckling, David said, "Bill bet that you would say that. John foolishly took the bet but I think it mostly for show. Again, all three laughed. Finally David said, "Pat, without a doubt, you have proven to be the most valuable member of this company since we first hired you. As John said, you have saved this company from disaster on numerous occasions. Everyone looks up to you. Actually, this is overdue...we should have made you partner a long time ago. Will you accept?"

I was speechless! They were making me a full partner in the firm. I just stared at them. I didn't know what to say.

"Pat?" asked David. "You going to be okay? I know this was a lot to handle at once but we really want you as a partner. You have the respect and admiration of all our clients and our competitors. You didn't know we knew about all the offers you turned down?"

I shook my head and croaked, "I didn't think you knew. When I told them I wasn't interested in leaving, I thought that was the end of it."

David smiled and said, "Hell, they called us asking if we could loan you out. Of course we refused. You had enough on your plate with us. Your work, reputation and especially your loyalty to this company is what convinced us to offer you a partnership. I hope you will seriously consider it."

"Uh...do I have to stay in an office?"

"Pay up!" repeated Forest.

"Damn it! Pat, you're costing me money!" growled McKenzie good-naturedly.

"No, we want you to be our eyes, ears and hands. We figured you would want to keep your hands dirty so...yes, you'll have your own office but, no, you don't have to always be there. But, you will have your own executive assistant. Have anyone in mind?"

I saw the sly looks each one of these men gave one another. "Yeah, I do have someone in mind. Marybeth Winters!"

David yelled out, "Mrs. Delaney, is Pat's personal assistant here yet?"

"Yes, Mr. Ralls."

"Please send her in."

The door opened and in walked Marybeth wearing a huge smile.

"Congratulations Pat, I wanted to tell you so bad but it would have spoiled the surprise. Plus, I wasn't really sure you would want me as your personal assistant. Thank you."

I stood and embraced Marybeth and said, "There is no one here that could put up with me like you. I should thank you for your support."

She beamed as I turned to the three ambushers, now standing and said, "Thank you. I've loved this company since the first day I started here. What you have done here is way beyond what I deserve or expected. I am proud to be your newest partner!"

By this time, Mrs. Delaney had entered with a young man who was carrying six glasses and a bottle of Dom. Unbelievably; Mrs. Delaney stepped over and hugged me. "It's about time these three bozos made you partner, Pat. Congratulations!"

The three bozos laughed as the glasses were passed around. David Ralls raised the glass and said, "To new partnerships, a long time coming!" McKenzie, Ralls and Forest, Marybeth and Mrs. Delaney raised their glasses and sipped. Then, Mrs. Delaney held her glass high and toasted, "To McKenzie, Ralls, Forest and O'Flynn!" This time we all raised our glasses and drank.

All three men shook my hand and patted me on the back as everyone began filing out of the office. "Pat, why don't you take some time off, like a month. Get away with Dani on some exotic isle to celebrate. Marybeth will have everything ready for you on your return."

I thought I hid my misery when suddenly reminded of Dani but Marybeth saw right through me. She moved over to me leaning in and whispered, "Later?" I nodded and she smiled as she touched my shoulder.

"Sounds like a plan David, I think I'll do just that."

John McKenzie said, "Good, we don't want to hear from you for at least a month. Oh and when you return we just got another project for the company. You'll need to find your replacement." I nodded, again shaking everyone's hand before leaving. Marybeth caught up to me and, grabbing my arm, yanked me into my new office. Shutting the door, she turned and stared.

"Okay, out with it. What's going on between you and Dani?"

I told her. I told her everything. It was as if a damn had burst and all the pent up water rushed out. By the time I was done, I was nearly in tears. She held me tight as I let everything out.

"Damn it, Pat! Why won't you tell her what you already know?" asked Marybeth. "Dani didn't cause this, her mother did! She's punishing you for her mother's hatred for you. She needs to know."

"No! Dani jumped to her conclusions without confronting me. She already wrote me off without any defense. Now, I discover she went out with another man, with her mother's blessing! No, God damn it...NO!"

"Pat, you know her mother probably forced her to go out with him."

"That's the problem, Marybeth. She won't stand up to her mother. I'm surprised she ever married me! Well, she's going to find out just how much her dear mother loves her and our family."

"Okay, Pat...okay. Just remember, she loves you." I nodded but didn't reply. Marybeth leaned up and kissed me on the cheek and whispered, "Don't worry, everything will be okay, trust me."

I just smiled. Those were the very words I said to Ashlin.

"Now, get out of here and take care of your family. I'll make sure everything is ready for you when you return."

I hugged Marybeth until she pushed me away saying, "Patrick, I can't breathe. Now go!"

Go where? I thought to myself. Suddenly, I thought of Katy.

"Thanks Marybeth. I'm out of here. Take good care of yourself, I need you more than ever now."

Marybeth waived as I quickly strolled out of the office and out of the building. Running to my truck, I tore off for Los Angeles and Katy.

It didn't take long to make L.A. at noon time. Soon, I was looking up at the tall skyline of the design company my Katy worked for. Once I found a parking garage, I marched into the lobby and asked for Stellar Winds Design Studio and was directed to the fifth floor. Now, I'm standing in front of an exceptionally gorgeous receptionist asking if Katy O'Flynn was available.