Jessica: Lust Prevails Ch. 01

I interrupted him. "There's a problem I should mention, Mel. Money. Any money, other than my rather meager wages from the clothing store, and the household allowance that Walter gives me is tied up in retirement investments, I can't get at it. Walter insisted that's the only way to do it. Any suggestions?"

"Don't worry about it," Mel stated. "Jeff Eccles, he's the lawyer, will take a percentage of any settlement you get. Bobby, the private eye, Bob James is his name, well, Bobby owes me a few. I'll make sure you get the super discount rate. He'll probably ask you to do a few things to help him out. His is a one man operation, and he often works on several cases at once, so extra ears and eyes are valuable to him. I'll give him a call Monday morning and ask him to get in touch with you. And if worse come to worse, I'll be glad to help you out. What's family for? By the way, Jess, how are you coping with this emotionally? Are you OK?"

I assured him that I was OK, but to be truthful, I'm not sure that I was. I was dealing with it at the moment, and I had a pretty clear idea of what I had to do, but the reality of Walter's deceit hadn't hit home yet.

I passed the afternoon working in the yard. My flower beds in the rear of the house had been in full bloom for a few weeks now and looked great, but did need some weeding. It was a good thing to work at while I thought about the past week. I wondered to myself if I was a bit of a hypocrite, letting Chris fuck me at the Tyler's party, but then, I thought, if Walter had been taking care of me as he should have been, there was no way I would have done what I did. And if it turned out that Walter was avoiding sex with me because he was dicking his blonde sweetie, then, well...

After broiling a chicken breast, and tossing a salad, I sat down with the newspaper and had an unhurried supper. A glass of white wine went down nicely with my meal. So nicely that another was called for. I stretched out on the couch with the TV on and dozed.

About eight o'clock the phone rang. Walter? Nope, it was one of his partners, and he wanted to know it I expected to hear from my husband before Monday evening, when he was scheduled to return home. I told him that Walter would be calling that evening, so if there was a message, I could pass it along. He asked me to have Walter to call him the very first thing on Monday morning, that the success of a large deal they had been working on hinged on Walter's agreement to a minor change in the purchase agreement. I told him I would let Walter know.

An hour later, I had just gotten interested in a TV movie when the phone rang again. It was Walter this time. We chatted a while, he was somewhat gabbier than usual and seemed to be in a bubbly mood, while I was not. He told me how the first day of the conference had gone, and how he had had a dinner meeting earlier with some people from the industry association. He told me he missed me, as he always did during these business trip phone calls. I used to believe him, but now...

"Well, sweetheart, I'm going to relax and watch a bit of TV, then go to bed early. I've been invited for an early game of golf, so I should get some rest. Good night, sweet dreams." And we hung up.

About five minutes later, I realized I hadn't given him the message I had promised I would pass along. "Shit!" I said to myself. I retrieved the hotel phone number and dialed. The hotel operator answered and I asked for Walter's room. I let it ring a dozen times before I hung up. "Probably in the shower," I thought. I tried again fifteen minutes later. Same result. I waited another fifteen. Again, no answer. "What the hell?" Then it struck me... She's there too! He's gone to her room, or they've gone off dancing or whatever. I stopped for a second. "You're jumping to conclusions here, Jess. Get a grip! There are probably a dozen reasonable explanations as to why he isn't answering the phone." I told myself. "What if I were to phone the hotel and ask if she's there? How? Hmm" I thought about it.

A few minutes later I was back on the phone talking with the same woman I had spoken to several times so far. She recognized my voice right away and asked if she should put me through to room 619, Walter's room. I said no, and explained that I had a rather important business message for him, and hadn't been able to get hold of him. I asked if she could try to put me through to my husband's assistant, who was with him there for the conference. "I can try," she said. "What's the name?"

"Well, that's the problem." I replied, "She's new with the company, and although I've heard it mentioned, I can't remember her name. The only thing I have," injecting some truth into the conversation, "is her address, which my husband made a note of before he picked her up on the way to the airport on Friday. Could you have a look through your Friday evening registrations and see if you can find her. I'm sure my husband would appreciate the service very much. This message seems to be very important." I told her, trying to sound as earnest as possible. I gave her the address.

"I'll have a quick look right now, but if I can't find it, I'll have to call you back." She put me on hold. Surprisingly, it was only thirty seconds before she was back on the line. "I found her. It's Holly Bernard, Apartment 822 - 110 West Fourth. She's in 620"

"Yes," I exclaimed. "Holly! Of course."

"Would you like me to put you through to her room?" the woman at the hotel asked. What could I say. After all this, I would have to let her, but I certainly didn't want to speak to Ms Holly Bernard, at least not yet.

I let it ring twice before putting the receiver back into its cradle. "That son of a bitch!" I thought. "Watch a little TV indeed!. He was probably between her thighs five minutes after we said good bye. Well, Mr. Smart Ass, I've got one bit of information I didn't have before, and an important one at that. The name of the tart you're fucking."

I had another glass of wine and went to bed. A strange dream woke me in the middle of the night. In it, I was standing in a bedroom doorway, watching Walter screw Holly Bernard, who looked and sounded just like my friend and neighbor Marie,. I was extremely aroused, and had to masturbate before I could even think about going back to sleep.

I awoke later than usual, feeling awful. The extra glass of wine just before falling asleep, in addition to having been awakened by my erotic dream, added up to a less than restful sleep. After slicing some fruit and buttering a couple of pieces of toast, I plopped myself down at the kitchen table. From where I sat beside the window, I was able to see much of what went on next door and further on down the street as well. The usual Sunday things were happening. Many of the neighbors, at least those who weren't off at church, were mowing their lawns and working in their gardens. In the middle of my breakfast, Chris's car turned into the driveway next door. He got out of the car, took his golf clubs out of the trunk and went into the house. "What the heck?" I wondered. Chris always went with Marie to visit her Mom.

In our next installment, Jess finds out that Chris really is a better lover than she first thought, and learns what Marie has told her husband to do to satisfy his lustful urges. Stay tuned for Chapter 2.