It was Complicated

I arranged to be out of the office the next day, and called Lucille to see if we could meet for coffee. She was puzzled, to say the least, but she agreed and we met at a local Starbucks.

We gave each other a friendly hug and a peck on the cheek, got our coffees and sat down.

I was stuck for a way to start our conversation, but Lucille took the bull by the horns.

"All right, Seldon," she said, "You asked for this meeting, just what's on your mind?"

I took a deep breath and blew out a big sigh.

"Lucille," I said, "do you remember March, two years ago, when we had that work function that you weren't able to come to..."

"Well," she said, "that's not exactly true. I could have come, but John told me that it was employees only, no spouses."

There it was, like a two-by-four right between the eyes.

"What is it, Seldon?" she asked, "You look like your best friend just died."

"You may not be that far off, Lucille. You know my wife, Kelly, of course."

"Yes, I was at your wedding, remember? She was a beautiful bride."

"Yes, yes she was. Did I ever tell you how we met?"

Lucille shook her head no.

"She was at that same party. She was on John's arm. He told me that she was there because you were ill. I think we both now know that he was lying."

I didn't tell her my suspicions that Kelly and John might still have something going on. I felt like a total jerk for not telling her, but I didn't want her to confront him before I had my ducks in a row.

I got a copy of Patagonia and cloned Kelly's phone, I would now have access to all of her calls and texts.

It didn't take me long to confirm their affair, but it was the other things that I learned that sent shivers through me.

"Hi, John, it's Kelly."

"Hey, Babe, what's the good word?" John said.

"It's all set on my end, Seldon thinks I'm going out with the girls, and I've got Angela all set to cover for me. Can you get away from the old ball and chain?"

"Not a problem," he said, "I told her that I'm taking some out of town clients out for the evening, and it will be very boring, all business."

"You mean monkey business, don't you, John?" she said giggling.

"I still can't believe how easy it was for me to hook him."

"Are you serious, Kelly?" he asked, "What normal man could resist you?"

"God knows, you couldn't," she said.

If I hadn't already been in a state of disbelief, the next part of their conversation surely would have done it.

"Did you make the trades I told you to make?" he said.

"Yes, of course, but I still don't understand why you want me to use Seldon's computer."

There was a pause; I could almost see him rolling his eyes.

"Because once we make our move, we're going to need a fall guy to take the heat."

"Seldon," she said.

"Yes, Seldon," he said. "Oh, he'll probably be able to get out of it, unless we're really lucky, but by the time they figure it all out we'll be long gone. Have you told your kids yet?"

"Not yet, but they shouldn't be a problem. They hate him for 'breaking up our family'. When I explain that we're taking his ill-gotten gains, and are going to be living the high life on a Caribbean island I don't think they'll be terribly upset."

"Okay, but be careful; kids can be funny when they have to leave their friends and stuff behind."

"Don't worry, I can handle them."

"All right, that's your call. Our usual time and place?"

"Yes, bye for now."

"Good-bye, Kelly."

I turned off the recording and leaned back with my eyes closed.

Christ, what a fucked-up mess!

As much as I suspected the affair, hearing it so openly and coldly discussed, and learning that our whole relationship was a lie shook me to my very core. I know we hadn't known each other all that long, but I loved her with all my heart, and thought that she felt the same about me. Now there was something more, something illegal that they were trying to frame me for? I didn't know what I was going to do, but I definitely needed more information.

If she was involved with this kind of a scheme she had to be hiding the money somewhere; but where? I put a keystroke logger on both my computer and my work computer.

I hit pay dirt almost right away. John was using the early press releases to make insider trades, and was having Kelly execute them from my computer at home, and he would occasionally make some using my work computer. I had no idea why they used both computers; maybe it was to maximize the chance that I would be caught. I wasn't sure if it was their initial intent, but it was obvious that they intended to frame me, and use that as a distraction while they made off with their ill-gotten gains.

Even more disheartening was listening to her conversations with Daniel and Patricia. I knew that they hated me because Kelly had convinced them that I was responsible for breaking up her marriage. Forget the fact that even if it was true, SHE was the one who cheated on their father; and as I now realized, she had already been cheating on him with John.

They got very excited when she told them that John had discovered "my" insider-trading scheme.

"That's great," Daniel said, "We can turn him over to the cops and get him out of our lives. Maybe you and Dad can even get back together."

"No, kids," she said, "I'm afraid that ship has sailed. Besides, John and I have a better plan. We're going to steal his loot and then let the cops catch him. It does mean that we'll need to leave the country for a while, but we'll be living on a beautiful island in the Caribbean."

"What about school, what about our friends?"

"We'll work something out, don't worry. We'll have plenty of money, maybe you can invite your friends on vacation, and once your step-father is in prison we should be able to come back."

I couldn't tell if the kids were really buying it, but there were no further objections.

Further tracking showed that they were transferring the proceeds to an account in a Belize bank. Thanks to the keystroke logger, I now had access to the account as well.

I wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen, but I figured that it was a safe bet that I would need a ready source of cash. I started making irregular cash withdrawals from our checking and savings accounts, not large enough to attract attention, not always the same amount. As I accumulated sufficient amounts, I stashed it away in a safe I had in a storage unit.

I had purchased a new laptop. When I knew they were about to make their move, I logged onto her account and had the money moved to another bank in Barbados. I kept moving it around until it wound up in a bank in the Cayman Islands.

Right after I left for the airport, I knew that Kelly and the kids were heading for Belize. John was staying behind, they didn't say, but I presume it was so he could complete my frame-up.

** * * *

. That's when the friendly FBI came calling.

Picking Kelly and the kids up at the airport was another surreal experience. Kelly came running over and threw her arms around my neck, while Daniel and Patricia just stood there with the strangest looks on their faces.

Ever since I spoke to her when she was stuck in Belize, she had never expressed any surprise or concern with my legal problems.

"Oh, Seldon, Seldon," she said, "Thank you so much, I didn't know what I was going to do, I had no money and the credit cards wouldn't work."

"Yes, Kelly," I said, "I understand all that, but what were you doing in Belize? We hadn't talked about any trips; and why didn't you have return tickets? Surely you bought round-trip tickets?"

"Oh, Honey, let's not talk about that now, I just want to get home and decompress."

We all got into my car and headed for home.

"Okay, Kelly, I understand," I said. Little did she realize just how much I understood!

We weren't home fifteen minutes when she called John.

"Oh, John," she cried, "It was horrible. I went to the bank just like you told me, and the money was gone."

"What do you mean, 'gone'?"

"Just what I said. The account had been closed and the money transferred to a bank in Barbados. When I called the bank there, they wouldn't tell me anything because I didn't have the proper access codes. You didn't do anything, did you, John?"

"No, of course not," he said, "Why would I do something like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said, "Maybe so that you could keep it all for yourself?"

"Kelly, come on, after all that we've been through, after all we've meant to each other, surely you know that I could never betray you."

"I suppose not," she said, "But you had better hope that I don't find out that you did." She hung up.

Things were working out even better than I planned. I had succeeded in sowing the seeds of mistrust between them. This could only help my plans.

Kelly came back into the room, looking so innocent and concerned that even I almost believed her.

"So, tell me, Seldon," she said, "What's this about you being arrested? Insider-trading?"

"I wish I knew, Kelly," I said, "I was at the airport waiting for my flight to Nassau, when two FBI agents came up to me and arrested me."

"But why?"

"Apparently, they found some early press releases on my computer, with trades based on the information on them. I have no idea why they were even checking my computer in the first place, let alone how the information got there."

"Did you do it?" she asked.

"What? Come on, Kelly, surely you know me better than that."

"I'm sorry," she said, "I had to ask. So how did the information get on your computer?"

"That's where it really gets interesting," I said, "Most of the activity on the computer happened when I was out of town."

Kelly seemed a little taken aback by that, but recovered quickly.

"So, how do you think they got there?"

"Well," I said, "That's the $64,000 question, isn't it?"

"Wh... what do you mean?"

"I should think that it's obvious. Do you have any idea how they got there?"

"Of course not, Seldon," she said, "Where would I even get that information, let alone know what to do with it."

"Okay, Kelly, I believe you," I said, "I guess we'll just have to wait until the investigators finish their job." 'Yeah, sure,' I thought, 'I believe you about as far as I can throw you.'

Her eyes were darting around nervously, and I could smell the flop sweat as I left the room, reaching into my pocket for my phone as I did.

Almost immediately, I got the signal that she was making a call, and it came as no surprise that it was to John Sinclair.

"John, John," she said as soon as he answered. "He knows, Seldon knows. I don't know how he knows, but he does."

"Calm down, Kelly," he said, "There's no way that he can know anything; if he did he would have already sicced the cops on us."

"I guess you're right," she said, "but there's something strange going on; and just where did the money go? If you didn't take it and if I didn't take it, then who did?"

"I wish I knew, Kelly, I wish I knew."

My next meeting with Ms. Atkins was quite interesting. She had met with the prosecutors, and while they agreed that the evidence appeared to clear me, they still weren't sure that I wasn't somehow involved. That wasn't exactly unreasonable, given that the transactions were done on my computer.

Things were further complicated by my growing attraction to Ms. Atkins. I obviously thought she was gorgeous the first time I saw her, but as I worked more and more with her on my case, her sheer sensuality was over-powering my senses, and she had a personality and mind to match.

She gently brushed aside all my efforts to move us beyond a professional relationship, and when I came on a little too strong, she reminded me that I was her client and it wasn't ethical for her to have a personal relationship with me. I tried to argue that it would only make her work that much harder for me, but she just gave that wonderful laugh and shook her head.

I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I was going to have this woman!

Kelly was called in for questioning, and I heard through the grapevine that she was still trying to throw me under the bus.

She would then come crying to me.

"Seldon, please, you have to know that I'm innocent. I certainly would never try to frame you. I love you."

It was all I could do to not laugh in her face.

"I know, Kelly, I know. Don't worry, everything will be all right. Is there any way that someone else could have been on my computer? Has anybody else been in the house?"

I didn't know if John had screwed her in our house, but I couldn't see why not.

"N... no, Seldon," she said, "of course not."

God, I felt so evil, but it felt so right; she certainly deserved everything that was coming to her.

"Maybe it was the kids. They've always hated me, blaming me for breaking up your marriage."

Kelly was so shocked it took her a couple of minutes to respond.

"That's ridiculous, Seldon," she said, "Even if they hate you as much as you say, where could they get the information?"

"Well, if it wasn't them, and nobody else has been here, then it must have been..."

Kelly clasped her hand over her mouth and ran from the room.

The police kept calling Kelly in for more questioning, but they simply didn't have any proof beyond the transactions being made on my computer, and no evidence that she had made them.

When the investigators figured out that the press releases had all crossed John's desk he was also called in for questioning, but he stonewalled them.

An "anonymous" tip clued them in to his relationship with Kelly, and a phone records search confirmed it. Her one-way trip to Belize and the bank records there sealed their fate.

It didn't take much for them to get Kelly to roll over on John.

Their trials were little more than formalities; the evidence was overwhelming with Kelly's admission of her part in the scheme. Kelly threw herself at my feet.

"Please, Seldon," she said, "You've got to believe me. I never wanted to do it, John was forcing me."

"Give it a rest, Kelly," I said, "I know everything. I know that you were cheating on your first husband with John, and you and John were still involved when you seduced me. I don't know if you were already planning to use me as a dupe in your scheme, but it doesn't really matter.

"It's over, Kelly, and it looks like Daniel and Patricia will get their wish of being with their father, although it won't be with you. I don't think he'll have any trouble getting custody when their mother is a convicted felon, do you?"

Kelly just broke down in tears as the bailiff came to take her away. Since neither she nor John were willing (or able) to return the money, they weren't eligible for reduced sentences; she was going to have to serve five years, and John would be doing ten.

The kids still refused to speak to me before leaving with their father. They still blamed me for their parents' break-up, and I think that they blamed me for Kelly's arrest.

Tyler was able to get my arrest record expunged and my trader's license restored, although there was no way I would be going back to my old company.

Tyler invited me out for drinks to celebrate our win, and I was only too happy to accept.

After our drinks were served, I got right to the point.

"So," I asked, "Does this mean that we are finished, the case is all over?"

"Yep," she said, "You're a free man."

"Good," I said, "You're fired."

She almost spit her drink all over the table.

"What? Why?"

"Well, you told me you have some ethics rules about dating clients."

"Yes, I do, but I don't see how..."

A light seemed to turn on behind her eyes.

"I must be the most clueless woman on the planet," she said, "Especially for a lawyer; I simply had no idea."

"Now that you do have a clue, what do you think? Do I... do we... have a chance?"

"There's always a chance," she said, "It's just that I honestly haven't thought of you that way."

"You wound me, Madame," I said, dramatically clutching my heart.

"Oh, no," she said hurriedly, "I didn't mean it like that. You're a very attractive man, and if we had met under different circumstances I would definitely have considered going out with you."

"I sense a 'but'," I said.

"Yes, 'but'," she said, "We didn't meet under different circumstances. We met as 'lawyer/client,' with you charged with a serious crime."

"But I was innocent," I protested.

"I don't mean to split legal hairs," she said, "the police decided that they didn't have sufficient evidence to continue the charges against you, plus they had more evidence against John and Kelly. That's not really the same as you being innocent."

"To quote Dickens, 'The law is an arse'," I said.

Tyler laughed her delightful laugh,

"That's not the first time I've heard that, and I'm not saying it's not true, but it is what it is."

"You still haven't actually answered my question. Will you go out with me?"

"My, but you are persistent," she said, "All right, I'll go out with you, but I'm telling you upfront that things aren't going very far until we have some very serious conversations.

"My Spidey Sense is telling me that you aren't exactly telling me the whole story, and I will get it out of you, one way or the other."

My ears pricked up at this. Just what did she know, or think that she knew?

"You're certainly welcome to try," I said, "I'm sure that you can be very persuasive."

She just gave me a knowing smile and a wink as we made arrangements for dinner that Friday, and parted with a warm handshake and cheek kisses.

Friday night came and we had a very nice dinner and conversation, but there was an underlying tension throughout the evening. Tyler had her suspicions about me, and I was worried about her suspicions. I got a much warmer goodnight kiss, but that was it.

We had a second and a third date, and our good night kisses grew more and more passionate, but there was still a barrier between us.

I was torn. I knew I was in love with Tyler, and I believed that she loved me, too; but she wasn't able to give herself over to me completely while I was hiding a part of myself from her, and I was afraid that if I opened myself up to her that I might lose her.

We continued to see each other on a regular basis, but there was always the elephant in the room during our conversations. Sometimes I felt like I was under cross-examination.

It was putting a real crimp in our relationship. Tyler refused to get more serious because she wasn't sure about me, and felt that trust was critical in any relationship. Given my experience with Kelly, I could certainly understand her concerns, but I just couldn't get up the nerve to totally open up to her.

Things finally came to a head when we were making out on her sofa, getting hot and heavy, when for the umpteenth time, she put on the brakes. However, this time was going to be far, far different.

"Seldon," she said, "I can't keep doing this."

"Wh... what, are you breaking up with me?"

"I... I don't want to, Seldon, I'm really falling hard for you, but I simply can't be with someone that I can't trust."

"Why? What have I done to make you mistrust me?"

"Come on, Seldon," she said, "You can't be that naïve. You obviously know more about your case than you have told anyone. That 'anonymous' phone call was just too convenient, not to mention the missing money."

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I didn't come clean, we were likely finished; but if I told her everything, we were still quite likely through, and I had no idea what kind legal trouble I might be getting myself into.

I took a deep breath and decided to tell her the truth and let the chips fall where they may. One thing I knew for sure, was that I didn't want to lose her and this was my only hope.

"Okay, Tyler, I'm going to tell you everything, and I hope and pray that you will still want to be with me."