Fallout 10: The Office Wife

They said he could start moving in on Monday after the place was cleaned. After that, he went to the bank and withdrew half of their checking and savings account, then opened a new account at another bank.

From there, he went to the 15^th floor of the Parker Building. He had been there many times before to see Sylvia, so it wouldn't be that odd for anyone to see him there. He managed to get to Sylvia's office without anyone seeing him, which was his plan. When he got there, he pulled out a lock-pick kit from his pocket and easily opened the top drawer of her desk.

Sure enough, her rings sat there in one of the partitioned slots of the drawer. He slipped the rings into his pocket and closed the drawer, locking it back up. He looked through her other drawers and saw the picture she used to keep on her desk, face down, underneath some folders. It was a picture of the two of them on vacation, taken several years earlier. Fighting back tears, he closed the drawer and walked out of the office.

From there, he went home, grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and sat down on the back deck with a fresh pack of cigarettes. He was on his fourth cigarette when he heard Sylvia open the door and step outside.

"Denny, are you alright?" she asked. "How many of those have you had?"

"Not enough, apparently," he said. "I'm still alive."

"Dennis Brown, don't even joke like that," she said as she sat down in one of the deck chairs. "It's not funny." He looked at her fingers for a moment and wondered what she would say about her rings.

"Where are your rings?" he asked. She looked guilty for a moment, but recovered quickly.

"I, uh, took them down to the jewelers to have them cleaned," she said. Dennis noticed she looked down and to the side when she spoke. She always did that when she lied. He nodded his head.

"I see," he said. "I didn't know they were dirty." He took a drag off his cigarette before speaking again. "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of getting us a reservation at Mangiacotti's for next Wednesday." Mangiacotti's was a fairly expensive Italian restaurant they sometimes frequented for special events like anniversaries or birthdays.

"Next Wednesday?" she asked. "What's happening next Wednesday?"

"Our 30^th anniversary," he said calmly, not surprised that she forgot about it. "We always go out to eat on our anniversary. Is that a problem? Do you have something else going on that day?" Besides fucking Jack Fucking Wellstone, that is, he thought to himself.

"Uh, no, that's okay, I guess," she stammered. "Do you think that maybe we can change things up a bit this year? Maybe celebrate over the weekend? That way we'll have more time to spend together."

"Yeah, but it won't be our anniversary," he said. "But if you've got something more important to do and don't want to celebrate it, I can call and cancel."

"No, no, don't do that," she said. "I'd love to go out."

"Are you sure?" Denny asked. "I certainly don't want to put you out or make you feel like it's something you're being forced to do."

"Of course I want to go out with you on our anniversary," she said. "Denny, what's gotten into you lately? Is it that cheating wife case you're working on with Mac? You haven't been yourself at all lately. I'm really starting to get worried."

"Sorry, I've just had a lot on my mind, that's all," Denny said, putting out his cigarette.

"Well, you're starting to scare me," she said, standing up. "I've never seen you like this. You've been out of sorts all week long. If you don't mind, I'm going to change clothes and start dinner. You do know that I love you, don't you?"

"Yeah, sure," he said. She waited a few moments for him to tell her he loved her, but when he didn't, she kissed him on the cheek and headed upstairs. He knows, she thought to herself. That's the only thing can can explain his behavior. Oh, God, what have I done, she asked herself. And can I ever fix it? She changed clothes and went back downstairs to fix their dinner.

They ate mostly in silence. When they finished eating, Denny excused himself and went into his home office. He closed and locked the door, then went on his computer to find out everything he could about Jack Fucking Wellstone. Sylvia tapped on the door once.

"Are you okay, Denny?" she asked.

"Fine," he said. "Just catching up on some work."

"Okay, well, I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too long," she said.

"I won't," he said. "Good night."

"Good night," she responded. "I love you."

"Okay," he said. Stunned by his answer, Sylvia backed away from the door and went upstairs. She was asleep by the time her husband to bed.

The next day, Denny listened to the latest audio from the device planted in Sylvia's purse. Tears fell down his face as he listened to his wife let Jack fuck her in the ass. He was never into that, and as far as he knew, neither was she. But here she was, eagerly letting her boss take her last virginity. He felt like strangling her when he heard her tell him her ass was his, exclusively. He had to get out of the house before he said or did something stupid.

He shut down his computer, grabbed his keys and left without saying a word to Sylvia. He heard her calling out to him as he left, but he didn't respond. He just slammed the door and went to his old truck. He saw her standing in the front window as he pulled out and hoped she didn't see the tears falling down his face.

He drove to a park and sat in the parking lot for a while, letting the tears fall. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take without exploding. Thirty years of wedded bliss, and this is how it ends, he thought. Someone has to pay for this. He had to talk to someone, so he called Alicia. After all, what was about to happen on Wednesday would affect her as well and she had a right to know. She picked up on the first ring.

"Dad," she said. "This is a surprise. Is everything alright?"

"No, sweetheart, it isn't," he said. "Can you spare a few minutes for your old man?"

"Of course, Dad," she said. "You want to come over? I can put some coffee on for you."

"That sounds great," he said. "I'll be right over. Just do me a favor, please?"

"What's that?" she asked.

"If your mother calls, don't tell her you talked to me, okay?"

"Okay, Dad," she said. "Is everything alright between you two?"

"No, it's not," he said.

"Alright," she said. "Come on over. I'll see you in a few." He got to her apartment complex and walked up the stairs to her second-story apartment. She saw him come up the stairs and opened the door before he had a chance to knock. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek when she invited him inside.

"Coffee's ready," she said. "Have a seat and I'll get you a cup."

"Thanks," he said, sitting down on the couch. She handed him a cup of coffee -- black and hot, just the way he liked it -- then sat down across from him.

"What's going on, Dad?" she asked. He took a sip of coffee and set his cup down before responding.

"You're mother's cheating on me," he said quietly.

"What?" she asked, shocked. "Are you sure about that?" He nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm sure. I've got audio, video, pictures. It's a full-blown love affair with her boss. Excuse me, her 'work husband.' Been going on for several months."

"Oh my God," Alicia said. "What are you going to do?"

"I have no choice," he said. "I'm divorcing her."

"There's no way you can work through this?" she asked. "I mean, you guys have been married, like, forever."

"No, dear, there's no way I can get past this," he said. "Maybe if it had been just a one-time drunken indiscretion but not this. I mean, she doesn't even wear my rings at work anymore. He even bought her clothes to wear at the office. She changes when she gets there, has sex at the end of her day, takes a shower, puts her old clothes back on then comes home and acts like nothing happened."

"Can't her company do something about that?" she asked. "That almost sounds like sexual harassment."

"Actually, her company not only encourages this, they require it from their executives," he told her.

"That's just not right," she said.

"No, it's not," he told her. "But they're paying her to have sex with him. That's how she was able to afford that new pickup."

"So, she's a company prostitute?" Alicia asked, shocked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," he said.

"I hope you plan to do something about that," she said.

"My lawyer is working something up," he said. "Unfortunately, in this state you can't sue for Alienation of Affection anymore."

"That sucks," she told him.

"Yes, it does," he answered. "You wanna know what's even worse? She's had him over at the house. He's eaten at my table, pretended to be my friend. All the while, he's... you know."

"That's alright, Dad," she said. "I'm a big girl now. I've heard all the bad words before." That prompted a laugh from him, something he hadn't done in a while.

"The hardest part of all this is that she says she loves me," he said. "And you know, a part of me believes she does, at least to a point."

"Do you still love her?" she asked.

"Strangely enough, yes," he said. "That's why this hurts so damn bad."

"But it's not enough to keep her, is it?" she asked. He shook his head.

"No, it's not," Denny told her. "I can't trust her anymore. I've caught her in too many lies. Even if this Jack Wellstone goes away, what's to stop her from hooking up with another youngster? You know, he's not that much older than you."

"How old is he?" Alicia asked.

"Thirty, according to his bio on the company website," he said. "And it turns out your mother's not the first older woman he's seduced."

"I've heard about guys like that," she said. "Maybe he's one of those guys who had a thing for his mother when he was younger."

"You mean, like an Oedipus complex?" Denny asked.

"Well, there's a bit more to it than that, but in a nutshell, yeah," she said. "What do you plan to do about him?"

"I can't sue him, unfortunately, but I have no intention of letting him walk away unscathed," Denny said.

"Just don't do anything stupid," she said.

"Damn," Denny said. "Does everyone think I'm an idiot or something? You know how many times I've heard that?"

"I'm sure you've heard it more than once," Alicia said, smiling. "All joking aside, Dad, I just don't want you ending up in jail. I still love you, and always will. I just can't believe Mom would be so stupid as to fall for some younger guy like that."

"Yeah, well, she did," he said. "And after Wednesday, she's probably going to need all the support she can get."

"I'll do what I can, Dad, but that doesn't mean I won't be pissed off at her," she said. "Trust me, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind." They talked for a bit longer and after a while, Denny began to feel better. He looked at his watch and realized he had been gone for over two hours.

"I guess I'd better get back before your mother calls out the National Guard," he said.

"Are you gonna be okay, Dad?" Alicia asked.

"I'll manage," he said. "I really appreciate you letting me vent. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," she said. "I'm just glad I could help. Thank you for being honest with me about this. It really means a lot that you could trust me."

"Well, I do feel much better now that I've been able to get it out," he said.

"If there's anything I can do for you, Dad, let me know," she said.

"Thanks, sweetheart, I appreciate that," he said. After exchanging another hug, Denny left and drove home. He wasn't sure what to expect when he got there. He almost expected to see Wellstone's car in his driveway, but fortunately, it wasn't.

He walked in the house and looked around. Thirty years of memories -- the last ten or more right here between these walls -- were everywhere. He nearly broke down crying when he looked around. He saw Sylvia out in the back yard, tending to her flowers as if nothing was wrong. How could she do it, he wondered. How could she fuck around on him, then come home and pretend everything was just fine.

Shaking his head, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and went out back. Sitting down, he opened his beer and lit a cigarette. Sylvia looked up when she heard the back door open and saw her husband lighting up. She got up and walked to the deck.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Just fine," he said.

"Where were you?" she asked. "You took off out of here like a bat out of hell."

"Something came to my attention," he said. "While I was out, I stopped off to see Alicia."

"How is she?" Sylvia asked.

"She's doing okay," he told her. Sylvia sat down and looked at her husband, concerned.

"Dennis, we really need to talk," she said.

"Oh? About what?" he asked.

"You. Us. Everything," she said. "You've been short, snippy, out of sorts all week long. You haven't told me once that you love me. You haven't even touched your new truck. Have I done something to upset you?" He looked at her funny when she asked that. What, has Jack fucked her stupid or something, he asked himself.

"You tell me," he said. "Have you done something that would upset me?"

"Not that I know of," she said, looking down and to the side. He felt like jumping up and wringing her neck. "But if I have, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Please, Dennis, talk to me. I hate seeing you like this. I feel like I'm losing you." That's because you are losing me, you stupid bitch, he thought to himself. After a few moments, she continued.

"I know you're working on that case with Mac, and that's got you upset," she said. "Maybe you shouldn't work with Mac if it's going to bother you like this. I've never known you to get so worked up over a case before."

"The case is just about resolved," he said. "It'll all be over soon."

"I hope so," she said. "Because I hate to see you like this. It's killing me. Listen, why don't you let me help take your mind off of things tonight? It's been a while since we've done anything. What do you think?"

Denny thought it over before answering. She had a point. It's been a while since they've had sex and after Wednesday, there was no telling when he would get laid again. Maybe, he thought, he could remind her of what she's about to lose. He smiled at her before responding.

"Sure, that sounds like a wonderful idea," he said. She smiled and gave her husband a kiss.

"I'll make it a night you'll never forget," she said.

And it was a night that neither one of them would forget any time soon. Dennis pounded his soon-to-be ex-wife into the mattress several times with a vigor he hadn't shown in the bed for quite a while. Sylvia was shocked at the number of orgasms her husband gave her, first with his tongue, then with his cock, which seemed to have gotten bigger since she last felt it inside her. Of course, it hadn't but it felt that way to her.

Not even Jack could keep up with what Denny was doing to her, she thought to herself. Then her husband surprised her when he turned her over on her stomach and had her get on her hands and knees.

"What are you going to do, Denny?" she asked.

"It's a surprise," he said, coating his cock with their combined juices. He also used it as a lubricant on her rear end. When she realized what he intended to do, she tried to get away from him, but he stopped her.

"No, Dennis, please," she begged. "We've never done that before."

"Then I say after 30 years, it's about time," he said. "I'll go slow, promise." He slowly worked his way inside her ass and was amazed at how tight she felt. They should've done this a long time ago, he thought to himself.

Sylvia, meanwhile, was mortified. This was supposed to be Jack's exclusive domain. What made Denny decide to do this all of a sudden? She knew she couldn't very well tell her husband to get out of what was supposed to be Jack's territory, so she relaxed and gave in to what Denny was doing. Oh my God, she thought as her husband inched deeper inside her.

After their final orgasm, Dennis pulled out and went into the bathroom to get a couple warm washcloths, one for himself and the other for Sylvia. He handed one to her as he cleaned himself. For a moment, he thought she was about to start crying.

"Why did you do that?" she asked. "You've never expressed an interest in that before."

"Your ass looked so good I couldn't help myself," he said. "I didn't hurt you, did I? I'm sorry if I did."

"No, you didn't hurt me, you just surprised me, that's all," she said. "You were an animal. What got into you?"

"You did," he told her. "You looked so enticing I just couldn't help myself." She smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you, Dennis Brown," she said. "I hope you never forget that."

"And I love you too," he said. They fell asleep in each other's arms, content. Denny wondered if this would give her the wake-up call she needed. They slept in late on Sunday, and Denny walked down to a bacon-and-egg breakfast.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Sylvia said. "I hope you slept well last night. I know I sure did. I'm still tingling from what you did last night." He smiled, hoping to mask the pain he felt.

"I'm glad," he said. "Guess the old man still has some moves left in him. Yes, I slept better than I have in some time." After they ate, he went out to the back yard and fired up his lawn mower, perhaps for the last time. He mowed the yard and put the lawn mower away, looking out over his work, perhaps for the very last time. He would miss this yard, he thought to himself.

They made love again that night, but Dennis stayed clear of Sylvia's rear end as she was still a bit sore from the previous night's pummeling. That was fine as far as Dennis was concerned. Just knowing that it was no longer Jack Wellstone's exclusive territory was satisfaction enough for him. When they finished, Sylvia laid her head on Dennis' shoulder.

"Please don't forget that I really do love you," she said. "I'd be totally lost without you."

"I love you too," he said. Which was true -- he still loved her, which is why her betrayal hurt him so much. He made a decision that night before he went to bed, and put the audio device in her purse, hoping that she would tell Jack their relationship was over.

...

Monday -- D-Day-2:

Sylvia felt like a new woman when she left for work that morning. After consuming a nice breakfast for her and Denny, she gave her husband a kiss and practically skipped out of the house, a big smile on her face. Watching her leave the house, Denny hoped she would do the right thing.

When she got to work, she waltzed into Jack's office, selected a nice dress for the day and changed, putting on the necklace her boss gave her when they became "office spouses." She gave Jack a big hug and a kiss.

"You're in a good mood this morning," Jack said. "I take it you had a good weekend."

"The best," she said. "Denny and I reconnected this weekend and it was wonderful."

"I see," he said. "Did he leave anything for me?" She laughed.

"Oh, there's plenty here for you, my office husband," she said.

"Things going well at home, I take it?" he asked.

"Yes, they are now," she said. "But I think we do need to be extra careful."

"Oh? Why?" Jack asked.

"I think he's getting suspicious," she said. "He was in a foul mood all week last week. He said he was dealing with a cheating wife case and it was really getting to him. He didn't even drive his new truck at all last week."

"You don't think he would get violent, do you? I mean, he did serve in the Marines, and he was a cop for over 10 years," Jack said.

"Of course not," she said. "Denny's a pussycat. Don't let that gruff exterior fool you. By the way, I'm going to have to forego PA's hours on Wednesday."

"How come?" Jack asked. "That's our time, you know."