Discovery in Charleston

"OK Will, assuming, we learn what we think we're going to learn from Amanda and crew, here is what you are going to do..."

By noon Sunday, Ellie was very worried. She'd called Will five times. Three on Saturday and twice on Sunday morning. All she got back was a polite but curt text response.

"Busy with crisis, will talk Sunday night. Enjoy Lexington."

She showed it to Corey and asked him to call Will to find out what was going on. She assumed it was a problem with the business but in the back of her mind she wondered, "He couldn't know, could he?"

"How can I call him Ellie?" Corey asked. "He hasn't reached out to me to let me know about anything wrong at the office. If I call, what do I say? 'Hey Will, Ellie and I are in Charleston fucking like rabbits, but she thinks we have a problem at work, so she asked me to check in with you.'"

"Shit, you're right, I'm not thinking straight," his lover responded. "It must be work, there's no way he could have figured this out. You told him you were visiting your folks this weekend so maybe he just doesn't want to interrupt that."

"Yeah, that must be it" responded Corey, not sounding very convinced. Grabbing a shower together before they headed for the airport, they tried to make love, but Corey could tell Ellies's attention was back in Charlotte, so he didn't push it. He smirked to himself, "Plenty more pussy from her once we get back and this turns out to be nothing."

Three minutes after they drove away from the cottage an AT&T van pulled up. Two workmen entered the residence to dismantle and collect their gear. Thirty minutes later Amanda and her two associates were reviewing the tapes and recordings. After an hour, one of the men commented, "Damn they have some stamina!"

Corey dropped Ellie at curbside check-in and headed to rental car return. As he did, his phone rang. It was his dad.

"What's up pop?'

"Hey son, just checking in on you. Hope Hilton Head is fun."

"Yep, not hitting the ball very straight, but we've played a ton of golf and had some great seafood. You and mom OK?"

"Sure are. Listen son, I won't keep you, but I got a call from Will on Friday evening looking for you. For some reason he thought you were visiting us this weekend. I reminded him you were in HH but it surprised me because he doesn't make mistakes like that. Is everything OK with him?"

Corey felt his stomach lurch up into his throat and tried desperately to sound normal. "He's had a good deal on his mind lately dad. I think he and Ellie want to start a family and he's a little worried about becoming a dad. I'm sure he just mixed up his dates. I'm still coming down in three weeks for the weekend."

His dad seemed convinced by his answer. They chatted a couple more minutes then hung up. Corey decided not to tell Ellie. "It's probably nothing and I don't want to upset her before her flight home."

They flew separately just to be on the safe side and their flights were on time. Since Ellie only had a carry-on bag, she went straight to her car in long-term parking and headed home. She was still a bundle of nerves, but she calmed herself down and regained her composure as she made the 25-minute drive from the airport.

Traffic was light early Sunday evening, so she made good time. She was anxious to see Will and make sure her charade had not been discovered. She would be the "tired from a long weekend wife" but so happy to see her husband. She would shower and jump his bones. As it turned out, she didn't need to pretend, and she never had the chance to jump his bones.

When she pulled into the driveway and hit the remote on her garage door opener, she received the first clue, although she wasn't paying attention. Her remote didn't work. "Damn dead battery" she thought.

Then she noticed the house was dark. Only the porch light was on. She headed to the front door with her roller bag. As she approached, she saw an envelope taped to the front door with her name typed on it. She tucked it under her arm and put her key in the lock. She tried several times, but her key didn't work. She began to tremble.

She let go of her bag and sat down in one of the Adirondack chairs on their front porch. She tore open the note and a moment later broke down sobbing.

Mrs. Benton,

This note is to inform you that your husband, Will Benton has retained my services as his attorney. It has come to my client's attention that you are conducting an adulterous and illicit sexual relationship with his business partner Corey Parker. He is aware that you were not in Lexington, Kentucky the last few days, but were, in fact, in Charleston, South Carolina with your paramour, the afore mentioned Mr. Parker. To wit.

• Through my office, Mr. Benton will provide proof of his knowledge of your betrayal of him and your marriage with Mr. Parker

• Mr. Benton has changed the locks on his residence and asks you to find elsewhere to stay in the immediate future. As you recall, the mortgage is in his name alone, so you have no legal right to enter without his permission.

• Further, please do not attempt to contact my client. He will reach out to you through my office in the next week for an initial conversation regarding separation and divorce.

• Mr. Benton will give you fair opportunity to enter the residence, under appropriate supervision, and collect your personal belongings as early as tomorrow morning. Again, please contact me, not Mr. Benton, to make these arrangements.

• I encourage you to seek legal counsel in this matter. When you do, please give them my name and contact information.

• Mr. Benton has assured me there are ample funds in your joint account to cover any immediate expenses such as a lodging, should you need. Please use your Bank of America debit card as all joint credit cards have been paid off and cancelled. He asked me to pass on to you, it may be in your best financial interests to ask Mr. Parker if you can stay with him.

Sincerely,

Edward M. Simmons

Attorney at Law

Simmons, Simmons & Wycoff

It took Ellie several minutes to collect herself. She began trying to reach Will by phone, either ignoring or forgetting the instructions she had just read. Within five minutes she received a text from Ed Simmons.

"Mrs. Benton, I must insist you respect my client's wishes that you not try to contact him directly."

Ellie sat and stared at the screen message.

Across town Corey Parker's keys worked on his condo but he was also the recipient of a note from Simmons, Simmons & Wycoff.

To: Mr. Corey Parker

From: Edward Simmons, Attorney at Law

Simmons, Simmons & Wycoff

It has come to the attention of my client, your business partner, Mr. William J Benton, that you are engaged in an illicit sexual affair with his wife, resulting in her being guilty of adultery.

It has also become evident to my client via an initial financial audit conducted by Randolph Michaels CPA, CFI, MAFF that company funds have been fraudulently used to finance at least eight liaisons between yourself and Mrs. Elleanor Benton.

To avoid both criminal and civil prosecution, my client, Mr. Benton wishes to discuss termination of the partnership and his purchase of your 50% of the company.

You should obtain both legal and financial counsel in this matter. Please do not attempt to contact my client directly. Send any desired communications to my attention at EDS@SSW.com. Any beach of this request will be seen as a violation of the terms set forth in paragraph three above, and will result in immediate legal and civil action against you.

Corey Parker began to curse himself. "Damn, how many times did I take Ellie out and expense it as "client business entertainment?" He then realized he'd already electronically sent in about $1,000 from the past weekend to their bookkeeper for reimbursement. He knew Will rarely looked closely at line-item expenses and Diana the bookkeeper had no reason to suspect he was doing anything fraudulent. The annual independent audit had been completed two weeks ago and they had found no discrepancies. He had thought since it was such a small amount nobody would notice.

"The total couldn't be more than a few thousand bucks, but there was definitely a pattern that a son-of-a- bitch like Michaels could find. Fuck me!" He spent the rest of the night drinking bourbon and trying to figure out how to begin to circle his proverbial wagons. He had more success with the bourbon than determining next steps.

Ellie had called and texted him over a dozen times throughout the evening. He ignored all of them. "Dammit bitch, I have giant problems of my own. Deal with your own shit and leave me the hell alone," he thought. How quickly the shaky foundation of a relationship built on lust crumbles.

Ellie sat on her porch (or former porch depending on how you perceive outcomes) numb from shock. Somehow her husband knew a hell of a lot more than she had given him credit for. Her "lover," she now used the term loosely, was ignoring her calls and texts.

"I guess I know where I stand with him, the bastard."

Had Ellie ever thought it through, she would have known Corey may have been good at the business, and was an OK fair-weather friend, but he'd never put himself at risk for her. "I betrayed a guy who would die for me for an asshole who couldn't give a shit about me." The tears came again.

Meanwhile, in the guest cottage off the heated pool at the Ed Simmons residence Will and Ed were putting the final touches on next steps. As Will looked around he realized he'd hired the right guy. There was no question Ed Simmons, attorney at law, was a master of his craft. He'd pulled in one other senior partner, two juniors and a paralegal on a Sunday night for the council of war. The other thought that crossed Will's mind was, "This is going to cost me a shitload of cash!" That revelation, however, made him smile. "That much less for the cheating bitch!"

Ed assured Will that both Ellie and Corey would come around to reality by tomorrow and hire lawyers. He knew the first few salvos would be either denial, easily handled by the small mountain of evidence they'd already acquired, or low-ball efforts to limit the damage and salvage reputations.

He urged Will to go about his normal work routine and be patient. "I doubt I'll have much for you before mid-week, so go to work, lay low, don't talk to strangers. And no matter what, never take candy from anybody driving a shady van!" Simmons laughed heartedly at his own joke, grabbed Will by the shoulders in a bear hug and said, "Don't' worry son. You're in the loving arms of Simmons, Simmons and Wycoff!"

Will wasn't sure if he could go home or not. He was worried Ellie would be stubbornly sitting on his front porch waiting to ambush him with,

"It's not what it seems."

"It meant nothing, just sex"

"Please baby, I'm sure we can work this out, I love only you!"

Ed was two steps ahead of him. He was on his cell phone for a moment and then turned to his new favorite client and grinned. "One of my boys just went by and encouraged her to depart the premises since she was trespassing. She tried the indignant, 'I'm waiting here at my home for my husband!'" He then began to laugh. "My guy suggested if it was her home, she should let herself in with her key, at which point she flew into a rage. He pretended to call the cops to report a potentially violent trespasser, speaking loud enough for her to hear him. She left quickly." Will smiled at that, but Ed noticed it was a sad smile. "Dumb bitch" he thought.

Over the next few days Will did as he was told, following counsel's directives to the letter. By Tuesday afternoon he changed his cell phone number because Ellie just couldn't get it through her head, he had no desire to talk to her.

The office situation was tough. Corey steered clear, working from home, under the advice of his lawyer. "You don't want to be seen being pushy or abandoning the business as if admitting your partner is right," was the advice he'd received.

Will prized honesty. He told the small staff he and Corey had some disagreements that were being worked out. For the time being, they should treat him as the partner he was. He assured everyone the challenges would be short-lived and everything should be settled soon. Whether he believed what he was saying or not was up for grabs.

Ellie continued to work at the stables but was distracted to the point her employer asked what was wrong. She explained she and Will were struggling without giving any details. Her boss, Stephanie, gave her a hug and told her to hang in there.

Ellie was also having trouble finding competent legal counsel. Lawyers want to know the facts up front. Since it was clear after she explained the truth, there was little hope for any kind of significant payday, the first two attorneys turned her down. She ended up with an ambulance chaser named Seth Moore. He assured her he'd handled tougher cases than this and would get her a boatload of money in the settlement. His unspoken wish was she'd have enough to give him a retainer that would cover this month's office rent with a little left over for an evening at his favorite strip joint.

"Maybe if she's desperate enough in a few weeks she'll fuck me in return for services rendered."

Neither Mr. Moore nor Corey's attorney, James Abernathy had time on their side. Ed Simmons was a highly successful litigator with an impeccable reputation. He was tied in deeply to the powers that be in the legal halls of Charlotte. He pushed hard for a quick hearing once Ellie had been served two days after she returned home.

Abernathy was a tougher nut to crack than Ellie's incompetent lawyer, but even he knew he wasn't playing a winning hand. He understood dragging this out for months or a year or two was outside his client's ability to pay. By the end of the second week, he was advising his client to offer to sell his part of the business at a bargain price that would allow Corey time to land on his feet AND pay his legal fees. Corey authorized Abernathy to make an offer to sell at eighty cents on the dollar.

Simmons received the sale proposal and advised Will to offer ten cents on the dollar. "We'll probably end up somewhere around thirty. I know Abernathy well and while he sees the situation for what it is, he will still be a tough negotiator."

Will wanted to make Corey feel his pain. Ten cents on the dollar would come close to putting his ex-friend back to square one financially. That would be just. But Will also knew he needed to listen to his attorney. If they got thirty cents on the dollar, that would certainly put a hard pinch on Corey. He'd leave the rest to fate or a later date, whichever came first.

Three days later, true to his word Ed struck a deal on Will's behalf. "Twenty-eight cents on the dollar." He conveyed to Will over the phone. "Not burning him as bad as you hoped, but it's a pretty major win for you nonetheless."

Will thanked him. Ed now brought up the real pain. "Will, you're going to have to sit down with Ellie and have a conversation. A judge will want to know what you've done to reach out and speak with her even if you intention is divorce. Having answers before a judge asks you questions is always the best way to go."

"We've drawn the honorable Kim Landis in our divorce petition. Could be better, could be a lot worse, so all in all we're good. However, she's a stickler for trying to work things out so she'll have questions about counseling, maybe even require it. I won't bore you with more details now, but I will tell you it is time to talk. I'll set it all up. We'll start out with counsel in the room but then I think you would be wise to just sit and talk with her privately. Prove you can have a calm and cordial conversation even though you've been deeply wounded. It will help our case to show you are a reasonable guy."

Will hung his head, knowing Ed was right, but dreading this moment. "OK, Ed. You're right. Set it up." Ed looked at his young client and was sad for him. Ed Simmons had been young once and had his heart broken by his first sweetheart. Ed had paid for college through an ROTC scholarship and was serving as a first lieutenant when the first Gulf War broke out. He was attached to the 1st infantry division (mechanized) better known as The Big Red One. He'd served under Brigadier General Andrew C. Gainey and they'd kicked some serious ass.

However, back home his love Becky decided not to wait for her man. Ed was devastated but, with the help of friends and loved ones, he made it through. He knew in the long run Will would be fine. Truth be told, he knew he'd be better off without his cheating wife, but now was not the time for that message. Will would learn that as time unfolded. Now was the time to sit with him and let him know he wasn't alone. Ed could be one tough son-of-a-bitch, but he had a big heart and it hurt for his client.

The meeting was set for midafternoon that coming Friday. Ed wanted Will to have the weekend to recuperate from what would be a tough couple of hours. Both parties had agreed they'd spend the first thirty minutes or so with counsel and then Will and Ellie would have time alone.

Ellie and Seth Moore arrived on time. Seth wore a suite off the rack, probably J.C. Penny. Ellie was dressed in a modest light blue sundress that fell below her knees and a Burgundy sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore her Michael Kors glasses.

Ed and Will stood when they entered the most private conference room at Simmons, Simmons and Wycoff which meant the other side had to traverse a couple of lobbies and hallways. Ed wanted to make sure Moore appreciated what he was up against. He knew Seth's office was fifteen feet off his three-chair seating area behind an Ikea desk, home to his assistant / part time stripper Molly, when he could afford to pay her.

Will had always be smitten with Ellie and seeing her now gave him a lump in his throat. Even with her betrayal, she was still beautiful in his eyes. He managed to smile politely but avoided looking at her with anything that could be perceived as loving.

"It is good to see you Will," she said studying him intently, perhaps trying to discern if there was any affection in his heart for her.

Will nodded, "Ellie, thank you for coming."

Ed was wearing his poker face, but inside he thought to himself, "Atta boy young man, don't let her see shit!"

"Shall we begin?" he said out loud motioning for everyone to be seated.

"Yes, thank you" Seth jumped in, perhaps thinking he'd like to get some momentum going in his direction. "My client has agreed to this meeting in order to determine what her husband is offering by way of working hard to save their marriage."

Ed cut him off by pulling a six-inch-thick file from the end of the table, He slid it across to opposing counsel.

"What is this?" queried his counterpart. "I'm not sure we're prepared to accept any documents today."

"Counselor" Ed started in, wanting to get away from this slimeball as quickly as possible. "This is about fifty percent of our file demonstrating adultery and betrayal of marriage vows on the part of your client. For the sake of avoiding redundancy, we have not included anything repetitive. You will find recordings and photos of her adulterous sexual activity in Charleston, South Carolina three weeks ago. Along with this, we have hotel staff eyewitnesses from around our region who will testify to seeing your client with her paramour Mr. Corey Parker, checking in under assumed names as husband and wife. These liaisons took place over a six-month period. Our team of investigators have been very thorough to make our claim clear. There is no ambiguity here or heresy, only cold, hard, verifiable data. Due to the graphic nature of the enclosed photographs, may I suggest you wait to review them after this meeting has adjourned."