Forgiveness

**

After taking a one bedroom apartment at the Residence Inn just outside of town, Rob had slept poorly through the night and in spite of showering, he felt grubby as he dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before.

He expected to go to his house and pack as much as he could as soon as Sal called to confirm that Tessa was on her way to Blackton.

He was a long way from being able to face her without the hurt and anger overcoming him.

He hoped she would actually go as he needed to change for an impromptu meeting with the representatives of the conglomerate that had bought him out. Although he had been warned by Sally, his friend and lawyer, not to make any significant decisions until the immediate shock and pain had passed, he was considering rethinking one of their offers.

He had initially decided to take their offer of a part-time consulting position after the sale but they had also offered instead, a contract to take a V.P. role at the corporate home office in Los Angeles. It had come with a quarter million a year salary, stock options and a number of additional perks, but he had a foolish romantic notion that with the wealth the sale of his own businesses had brought them, he and Tessa might take a year or so, go on a world tour then settle down and raise a family.

That clearly was no longer the way to go but he had turned them down earlier and now was thinking he would like to reopen that discussion.

**

On her way home from Blackton, Sally had called Tessa to confirm she had been in touch with the lawyer she had just engaged and that she was sure he was someone she could work well with. Sally also warned her that Rob had moved out some of his clothes and personal effects so it wouldn't be too much of a shock when she arrived back home.

Tessa fainted.

**

Rob had found that the prospect of him taking a job with the Deston conglomerate had interested them so much, they were willing to stay on hold while he considered it further.

Over the next few days he buried himself in the work generated by the sale while he came to grips with the sudden change in his personal life.

Tessa called him several times a day, every day. He took the first call but could only reiterate that he was not interested in knowing anything more about her fucking Carl as he already knew more than he cared to; he was not yet ready to discuss a division of their property; they already had an interim agreement that would provide more than adequately for her needs and therefore, there was nothing to discuss.

He refused to take the rest of her calls.

So far, he felt he had not gained enough control to meet with Tessa face to face. Sally had worked out an interim arrangement with Tessa's lawyer that would meet her day to day needs quite comfortably without endangering his position as the offended party in a possible divorce petition.

**

Carl was uncomfortable.

He had ridden out rough times with Sarah before, especially when she had suspected him and Jennie. He had seen her pitiful attempts to follow and observe them and he had played the part well, both of them pretending they didn't get along.

Sarah usually was sulky and sometimes blubbery when upset with him but this time was somehow different and he decided he had better be careful, especially as he had put both of them in a precarious financial position to lock up that land, and he had done so without her knowledge and consent.

Her attitude bothered him too.

She had insisted he move to the guest room, which he had initially refused to do, expecting her to give in, but she hadn't.

She wasn't crying nor sulking all the time either, in fact, every now and then she seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and, he thought, she might have been smiling sometimes too.

**

A week after finding out that Tessa had been fucking Carl, Rob began to get more control over his thinking. The pain of her betrayal was still there but a new thought began creeping into his mind.

It was bad enough that she would do it at all, but with someone like Carl Selworth! Carl was O.K. in "small doses" as he had said before, but for a lover, he thought Tessa had better taste than that. But he also realized that he would never have thought she would cheat on their marriage either.

Having thought through this and, against Sally's advice, he accepted the offer of employment from Deston before calming down enough to deal effectively with his personal issues.

His first assignment as their Operations V.P. brought him an unwelcome surprise.

As he was most familiar with the local area, the businesses he had just sold them and the resources needed for the amalgamation, he was to proceed to purchase the land for the new facilities. Initially, he thought it was a "no brainer". There was a perfect piece of land right in town that he knew was for sale. The only other suitable site was in a, so far undeveloped, industrial park in the north side of town.

He was annoyed, . . . no, angry, when he found out that Carl Selworth was the listing agent for the land and even more so when he found from the listing disclosure that Carl also was holding a valid option on the land.

His first reaction was to review all the information in the hope that he could justify the industrial park as his choice but, try as he did, he found nothing and he knew he could not let a personal issue effect a corporate decision of this magnitude so he marshaled all of his control and called Carl.

**

Carl was about to refuse to take the call when the receptionist told him who it was, but when she added that it was about the land listing, he decided he had to take it.

"Rob." he started, much more loudly than he intended. "I'm real sorry about what happened. I should have resisted more I know and I'm ashamed that I didn't." he added, keeping with the story that Tessa had instigated it. "It was just sex Rob, no more than that. We were sure you and Sarah were headed in the same direction. I hope you and Tessa are going to be O.K.!"

Rob found himself beginning to choke. He hadn't thought that Tessa had started it but now that he remembered her line, "Do you want to watch me fuck Carl?" it seemed logical.

He struggled but managed to regain control of his emotions and he went on, his voice no indication of his anger and hurt, "This is business Carl. I'm representing the Deston Conglomerate. We're interested in the Riddick land you have listed in town. When can we get together to discuss it?"

**

Rob once more closed his office door as he recovered from the strain it took to complete his call to Carl Selworth but he was interrupted by Carrie who told him Sally was on the line.

She apologized for bothering him but needed to let him know that, in the event that this matter had to go to court, she had asked for and got a warrant to examine the records at the Airport Marriott.

She had copies of Carl Selworth's credit card in payment for the room and a print out of a record of a call made from the room to Tessa at their home early in the day, a rather long call that might indicate there was no quick agreement between them to meet.

After pondering the information from Sally, Rob realized that even knowing Tessa did not appear to be the aggressor, it made little or no difference. She still went and fucked that asshole.

What it did do was expose Carl Selworth for the liar he was and that made Rob once again, re-examine the available land choices, unfortunately with the same result.

He finally decided to call Al Biller, Executive Assistant to the C.E.O. at Deston to update him on the land acquisition process.

It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened, short of wiping out all that had happened over the last week or so.

**

"Rob I was just about to call you! What can I do for you?" Biller said.

Rob explained that he had examined and re-examined all of the parameters and had determined that the in-town Riddick site was the best choice, that it was listed at 7 million but that he was sure he could get that down by as much as a half or even three quarters of a million and that he might have a deal by this time tomorrow.

"I'm glad you called Rob." Billing began. "Listen, John and I were reviewing the material around our new holdings along with Al Ralston, our CFO and we're looking at an even more aggressive expansion than we originally discussed with you.

We now believe that the companies you sold us have put us in an even stronger position than we originally thought and we're thinking we should re-build this new facility with a view to expanding it again in somewhere between 2 and 4 years instead of the 7 to 10 we originally anticipated.

We think you had better check with the town officials on the utilities capacities at the in-town site to be sure they will handle the new facility and an expansion in the near future as well. If they won't, we're wondering what you think about taking the land at the industrial park and putting in the larger utility capacities in the first place. It would delay the project and increase the initial costs but we believe we would more than make that up on the back end. What do you think?"

"Al, I need to bring you up to date on a personal matter that has a bearing on all this."

Rob briefly but dispassionately as he could, outlined the personal events that would lead him to try to avoid the purchase of Carl Selworth's land. He was relieved and pleased that Al Billing realized he was prepared to proceed in what he believed were the best interests of the corporation in spite of his personal feelings but now he was given the "green light" to proceed to negotiate for the industrial park land.

Before he delighted in calling Carl, he felt there was another call he should make.

** When the phone rang, Sarah assumed it was Carl again. He had taken to calling to see if she would like to go out for dinner and so far she had been turning him down. She wavered between answering and giving in and letting him think she was out.

When she looked at the caller screen she picked up immediately.

"Hello."

"Hi Sarah, it's Rob. How are you doing?"

"I'm O.K. Rob. Thanks. I'm so sorry this has happened to you. Are you and Tessa going to be O.K.?"

"I doubt it Sarah, but the wounds are still fresh. I'll need more time before I can answer that but I do need to share something with you if you don't mind."

Sarah could feel the excitement building in her. Her thoughts drifted to that night when they had danced and he had held her so tenderly, his hand gently stroking her bare back.

There was no doubt in her mind at all now! If he asked to meet, she would. If he asked her to fuck, she would.

No. It wouldn't be fucking. It would be much more like making love and she would do it in an instant if he asked.

"Sarah, I've just sold my businesses and accepted a job with the new corporation that bought me out. My first task is to buy some land and up until a few moments ago it looked like I was going to have to buy it from Carl.

The corporate head office just gave me some new information that will lead us to buy elsewhere and Carl will not be the listing or selling agent."

"Go right ahead. He deserves what he gets and he'll just have to do without the commission." She answered forcefully.

"I think there's more to it than that." Rob responded. "He's also holding a valid option on the land that he didn't get for peanuts. I don't know for sure, but he may actually lose more than just the commissions.

Sarah, I don't give a damn how badly he gets hurt. Actually, that's not true. I'm going to enjoy sticking it to him, but I'm concerned about how much you may be hurt by it."

Sarah, although at first disappointed that he hadn't suggested getting together, felt a warmth flow through her when she recognized that this very special man would be concerned about her well being even after what her husband had done.

"I'll be O.K. Rob, I'm sure. Carl will be pissed about missing out on the commissions and maybe he'll even take a loss of some kind but I'll be O.K. Thank you."

"Sarah, I want you to promise me that if there is any serious issue for you that comes out of all this, you'll call me and let me be of whatever help I can be. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell Carl about this conversation."

The only thing that could have made Sarah feel any better at that moment was if he had asked her to come to him and make love with him. What an incredible man he was!

**

As she put down the phone, Sarah heard Carl come in through the garage door and not wanting to let him spoil the moment for her, she locked their bedroom door and went back to re-living the conversation she had just finished.

Rob seemed to think that the loss of this deal might mean more than just a loss of some potentially large commissions and somewhere in the recesses of her mind, it began to bother her. That however, was soon buried by a return to her on-going fantasy of having sex with Rob.

Once again her hands found their way to her breasts and her now very wet pussy and as her mind replayed some of the more exciting scenarios she had envisioned in earlier sessions, her excitement level heightened. Then, as she added some new fantasies, she lost control and as she had a number of other times recently, she cried out loudly as her orgasm overtook her.

**

Carl heard her wailing once more but realized he was no longer concerned. Obviously she was still very upset about his liaison with Tessa but that wimp Jacobs had admitted he needed the land.

It was a little flattering that she was still crying over him fucking Tessa but now Carl didn't really care too much what Sarah did.

Soon he was going to be quite a bit richer.

**

April Adams was disgusted with what her sister had done. No doubt she loved Tessa but she was flabbergasted that she would do something so foolish as to possibly lose her marriage over it.

April adored her brother-in-law, as did her parents, and the idea that he may cease to be a part of their family was very upsetting.

She had initially shouted at her sister demanding to know how she could be so stupid and what could she have been thinking, but Tessa was so obviously devastated by what she had done, the additional criticism was wasted.

Tessa appeared to have been crying since this all came out over 2 weeks ago. She was pale and thin and her face reflected the terror she felt.

Finally, she gave in to Tessa's repeated requests and called her brother-in-law. She was taken back by his apparent cheerfulness when he first answered his cell as she had expected him too to be devastated.

After a brief conversation with her that took away his delight at not having to buy Carl's land, he came back down to his former sad level.

In response to her request he said, "April, I have no idea what we would talk about. Sally and Rick Jammison are working on the property settlement. Tessa has all she needs to get by in the interim. What's left to talk about?"

April felt a sense of personal loss when he mentioned "property settlement" but recovered enough to say, "Rob couldn't you just come over and let Tessa say what she needs to?"

"April, if it's that important to you I'll come over, but I'm laying down some ground rules and if Tessa crosses the line just once, I'm leaving. Is that understood?"

**

"I'm sure we will be able to quickly agree on a deal for the land." Carl had begun. "As you are aware, I'm sure, I hold the option so I don't need to consult with anyone else. We will come to a quick agreement."

"Actually Carl," Rob responded, "I've just been in touch with the city works department and we're concerned about the utilities capacities for a future expansion. We may have to go to the industrial park."

Carl knew what Rob was doing. He needed that land and was just angling for a better deal.

"I can let you have it for 6.85 million." Carl offered.

Rob appeared concerned. "That's more than we're ready to pay, Carl. It's not even close. We'll have to have another look at the industrial park. I'll get back to you if we need to deal." He said as he left.

"Rob." Carl called out, "My offer is only good until noon tomorrow." he added, knowing full well he would be back.

Carl was beginning to enjoy this.

**

Rob felt only a very little guilt about playing this game. He had checked and he had reported back to Billing that there would have to be serious upgrades made to the in-town system to handle the expansion in two years and they had already agreed to go to the industrial park.

By letting Carl think he was negotiating, Rob was now forcing Carl to extend any financing he had done to get the option.

**

It took Rob quite a while to steel himself to be ready to talk to Tessa. He was pleased that April had agreed to stay and "referee" in accordance with the conditions he had set for the talk.

He felt he was ready but he was not prepared for how he found Tessa. She was thin, pale and very exhausted looking and looked barely strong enough to stand upright.

After a few preliminaries, Rob got to the point. "You wanted to talk Tessa. This is your chance."

"Rob, I'm sorry for what I did. It was selfish of me to want to satisfy my curiosity that way and I sorry I hurt you. I'm sorry I assumed you and Sarah were probably up to the same thing. I should have known better! I am asking you to give me the chance to earn your forgiveness. I love you Rob and I've too late realized how much."

"Thank you Tessa. I'm hurting from what you did to us, but realistically, I know I'll survive. I'm sure time will heal some of this and I certainly want to get to a time where I can sincerely wish you well too. I'm just not there yet and this is far too soon for me." He said harshly.

"Well couldn't you move back here and let me start earning your trust and forgiveness. There's nothing I won't do for you and for us." Tessa added.

"Tessa, I'm sorry if you've got the wrong idea. I want to get to a time when we can put this behind us and go on with our lives, a time where I would sincerely offer forgiveness but I'm not coming back here. I have no intention of doing that!"

Tessa looked shocked. "But surely you're not going to throw away all our years together over this?"

"I didn't throw anything away Tessa." He answered in a soft and gentle voice. "You did that when you chose to fuck Carl. Don't put this on me!"

"But that was a mistake." She argued. "It was a stupid, selfish thing to do but it didn't mean anything!"

"It meant a great deal to me Tessa. It meant a great deal to me that my wife would meet and fuck another man, breaking our marriage vows. It meant a great deal to me that my wife assumed I was ready to fuck another man's wife. I'm sorry it doesn't mean anything to you."

Now desperate, Tessa's voice rose, "It was just sex and lousy sex at that. It wasn't love like I have with you."

"What kind of love is it that you have with me, when you go out and fuck another guy while I'm at work? It doesn't sound like the kind of love I have for you. I have been and will continue to be, until we are divorced, prepared to forsake all others because that's the kind of love I have for you and that's the kind of love I want in return. As you have demonstrated that you don't feel the same way, it makes no sense for us to remain married."

Tessa was visibly shaken and did not respond for quite a while then finally said, "So . . . so you're never going to forgive me?"

Rob smiled a terribly sad smile and said, "Somewhere deep down I know I've loved you too much and too long not to forgive you Tessa, but I'm just not there yet."

**

Late the following night Rob's cell phone began to ring incessantly. It was clear Carl was becoming concerned. Rob had let Carl's deadline pass.