ME, Inc.

Despite some small reservations about some of ME, Inc.'s philosophy, Pres supported the organization one hundred percent. He had been a pro bono case himself when his cheating first wife tried to clean him out. Without their help, Pres knew he would be living a worse lifestyle than Ben had.

The following day, Pres was up early, as he had set up a breakfast meeting with a rare assignment. Today, he'd be meeting with Janet Arnold. Yes, he was going to be meeting with a woman. This didn't happen often, but when the situation arose, ME, Inc. was fully prepared to act.

Pres saw the woman sitting in one of the back booths. Her two children were sitting on the inside of the bench next to their mother. The boy who Pres estimated to be about seven, was by the window, and the girl who looked about five was by her mother. They both had sandy-colored hair and were using the crayons to color their placemats. Both had mismatched bits and pieces of clothing to shield them from the freezing cold. For the moment, they looked content, but they would occasionally glance at their mother as if to ensure she was still there.

Janet had dirty blonde hair that she had tried brush into some semblance of order. She wore no makeup and looked worn out. At one time, Pres could see that Janet must have been quite pretty. But now she was slightly overweight, and her eyes seemed dull. And even from across the room, he could see that Mrs. Arnold was at least six months pregnant. But Pres took comfort that he was about to ease some of her sufferings.

The first time Pres had been sent out on a case like this, it had totally surprised him. So much so that he asked why he was helping a woman. He thought that ME, Inc.'s mission was to help men. Mr. Wagner, a senior vice president, had overheard the question and stepped in immediately to set the new field representative straight.

"Mr. Fulton," he said briskly, "I think you should reread your training manual. We are seeking true equality of the sexes, not the one-sided policies that the feminists push. It is true that we primarily help men, but when one of our members cheats on their spouse, we will help the woman if we can."

The longer Pres had been with the organization, the more he came to appreciate ME, Inc. It wasn't trying to bring back the old times when women were virtually their husband's property. Instead, ME, Inc. wanted the laws to be fair, not favoring one sex over the other. The organization wanted to restore the sanctity of marriage and punish as many cheaters as possible. The organization's belief was that if cheaters believed that they would pay a heavy price for their infidelity, they might think twice before engaging in an affair.

"Mrs. Arnold, thank you for meeting me," Pres said as he slid into the booth opposite her.

"I hope you don't mind, Mr. Fulton," she asked, looking nervously at her children, "but my mother couldn't watch the kids."

"Not at all," he said with a smile as he turned to the two children. "I hope you guys are hungry because I hear that the pancakes here are awesome. They put whipped cream and sprinkles on them."

The two children's heads snapped up at the mention of food. Pres felt a little ache in his heart as he could see that they were hungry. The thought of his kids going hungry filled him with sadness.

"You don't have to do that, Mr. Fulton," Janet protested. "You told me that you had found a small account of my husband's, and you knew how I could access the money. Since Tad ran out on us, money has been tight. If you tell me how to do that, we'll get out of your hair."

"Nonsense," Pres said as he signaled for the waitress. "Actually, I have quite a lot to share with you, and I would like to talk to you about some of it in private. But for right now, I think we should order breakfast, and I'll tell you everything that I think is fit for younger ears."

It was obvious that Janet didn't want to impose, but Pres wasn't going to be deterred. Finally, after looking over at the pleading eyes of her children, she relented. With Janet's approval, Pres ordered pancakes with whipped cream and sprinkles for the kids. He also ordered bacon, hash browns, and a glass of chocolate milk for each child. Janet ordered scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee while Pres went with a western omelet and coffee.

After the coffee and chocolate milk was served, Janet introduced her two children. The boy was named Michael, and his sister was called Terry, which was a nickname for Teresa. They were, in fact, seven and five years old. In very simple terms, Janet explained that her husband Simon had run off with his secretary, Tammy. He left behind a pile of bills, the children, and no money. Simon had disappeared, and Janet had no idea where he was.

When the food was delivered, and the kids were concentrating on their pancakes, Pres began. "I assume you knew that your husband was married before?"

Janet nodded. "He told me she was a witch, and she tried to take him to the cleaners."

"That's exactly right," Pres said as he pulled a folder from his briefcase. "They were only married for two years, but his first wife, Mary, had gotten all of his passwords and had stolen all of his money. Then she even planted drugs in his car and in his house. Your husband was looking at years in jail before we stepped in."

"I don't understand," Janet said as she put her fork down. "Who do you represent, and how did you help Simon?"

"I think the simplest way to put it is that we're like an insurance company, and your husband bought a policy to protect himself against getting cheated. And Mary wasn't as smart as she thought she was. First of all, she left her fingerprint on one bag of drugs. Also, we had her supplier arrested, and he gave her up. Then we located where Simon's money had been transferred to and had it restored."

This explanation seemed to satisfy Janet, and she went back to eating.

"When I first called you," Pres said as he opened his folder, "I had just begun my investigation. Normally, I wouldn't have contacted you so soon, but I knew how desperate you were for money. Anyway, since last we talked, I have been able to locate considerably more of your husband's assets. He's really quite well to do. Did you know that?"

Janet shook her head. "Tad took care of all the money. I took care of the children and the house."

"So far, I've determined that he ran off with about two million dollars in liquid assets," Pres explained. "Also, he had a partnership interests in three businesses where he is a silent partner. He receives about a hundred thousand dollars a year in income from the three businesses. Mrs. Arnold, there is a strong case that you are entitled to half of your husband's interest in those partnerships."

Janet sat back in her seat with her mouth open. Then after thinking about it, she leaned forward, and with deep sadness in her eyes, she said, "That may be true, but I don't have any money to fight my husband. I can't even afford a divorce lawyer, so I haven't been able to do anything."

"Mrs. Arnold, I don't want you to worry about that anymore," Pres said as he patted her hand. "We have arranged for an excellent attorney to handle your case. He'll be contacting you later today. As for paying him, we already have a court order stipulating that your husband will be responsible for his bills. Also, we've located your husband. He went to Costa Rica with his girlfriend, but he has been served divorce papers and is in custody awaiting extradition. All of his assets have now been frozen. That is, except for modest amounts, court ordered, to be paid to both you and Tad for living expenses."

Tears began to run down Mrs. Arnold's face, and she began to shake slightly. "This isn't some cruel joke, is it?"

"I assure you that everything I've told you is true, and I have all the documents to support what I'm saying in this envelope that you can take with you and read later. Before you go, I'm going to give you access to the first account. You can transfer the money or just go draw it out. But right now, I'd like to talk to you privately. Would you mind if we moved over to the empty table right there? You'll be able to keep an eye on your children, but they won't hear what I have to say next."

Janet looked at Pres strangely but moved to the next table after telling her kids to behave. They were still totally engrossed in their pancakes and chocolate milk.

Once Janet was seated, Pres began to discuss the delicate part. "Your husband, as it turns out, is not a nice person. But I guess you already figured that out. I don't know when he turned into the creep he is now, but he's made a very bad mistake. In our "insurance policies," there is a clause that spells out penalties if he should break any of the rules. Not cheating on your wife is the very first rule."

A look of confusion spread over Janet's face. "Penalties? What kind of penalties? I don't understand."

"Well, most of the wealth that your husband will have after you get your fair share will be taken to pay his fines to ME, Inc. He won't be broke, but his standard of living is going to be substantially reduced after he gets out of prison."

"Prison!" Janet said louder than she meant to. "What's he going to prison for?"

"He is going to be convicted of tax evasion and currency violations. I can't say how much time he'll get, but I'm confident that he will spend at least six months in jail. And I'm sure that you could care less about his secretary, Tammy. But just for your information, she is currently stuck in Costa Rica with no money. All the research I've done so far convinces me that she is nothing more than a gold digger. She's going to have a very hard time getting back to the United States, seeing as Tad put their passports in a safe deposit box, and Tammy doesn't have access."

A smile lit up Janet's face, and then she started to laugh.

After having Janet sign several legal documents, Pres said as he stood, "Well, I have to get going." But before he put his winter coat on, he pulled an envelope from his pocket. "There are five hundred dollars in here. I want you and the kids to get some proper winter clothes. Then I want you to have a great life."

After Pres told the kids goodbye, Janet kissed him on the cheek. "I really don't know what's going on. But from the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Pres paid the bill on the way out and headed for Akron. That was where the extra project was going to come together.

The following day, Pres made his way to the conference room in the offices of Moreland, Connor, and Stiles. They were the attorneys representing Beverly Bracken in her divorce action. Gloria Connor was the lawyer that was actually handling the filing and negotiations. This particular firm had a reputation of winning almost all the time. In divorces, they were especially brutal on the spouses. But today was not going to be one of those days. In fact, today was going to be the worst loss in the history of the firm.

Paul Bracken was represented by a rather non-descript middle-aged man, Elliott Chalmers. He looked more like a poor British civil servant than a lawyer. Paul, Elliott, and Pres all sat on one side of the table with Paul between the other two men. On the other side were Mrs. Bracken, Gloria Connor, four legal aides, a court stenographer, and a secretary who was just putting down her elaborate notary seal.

Pres studied both Paul and Beverly. Paul was definitely better looking than the average guy with black hair and a winning personality. He had kept Pres and Elliott amused with stories about working in Hollywood. Beverly was a startlingly beautiful woman. Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and dynamite figure caused instant awe. But after the initial reaction, you began to realize that there was something off about her. Perhaps it was her smile that never seemed to reach her eyes. She just didn't seem quite genuine. Despite that, Beverly was a stunner, and it was obvious why Paul had married her.

"Before we get started," Pres stood and put his camera bag on the table, "I'd like to get my camera set up to record this meeting."

"That won't be possible," Gloria said with a wave of her hand. "We don't permit others to film in our offices unless it is a court-sanctioned deposition. So, I'm sorry you'll have to put your camera away."

Pres looked over at Elliott, who immediately spoke up. "If we can't film this proceeding, then we're leaving. And the deal we negotiated is off the table. We'll have to start from scratch."

"You can't do that," Beverly said with great alarm.

At that moment, Kirk Southern stuck his head in, nodded to everyone, and looked at Beverly. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm here."

Pres looked around at the women in the room, and they had a dreamy look on their faces, even Gloria. He chuckled to himself.

Beverly looked pleadingly at Gloria, who finally nodded her head.

"Okay, Mr. Fulton, you can set up your camera," Gloria said as she snorted in annoyance. "I guess we can make an exception."

Once the camera was in place and running, they began going over the details of the divorce. The house was to be sold and the proceeds split. But Pres knew that there was very little equity because of the current real estate market. The money was likewise to be split 50/50. However, there wasn't much of that because Paul had been mostly writing, and they were living off the royalties from the last television series he had created. And as to the royalties, Paul had agreed to turn them over to Beverly in lieu of alimony.

"Beverly, just so we're clear," Paul interrupted Gloria. "You're getting the royalties from the television series, the Gobbler Twins. Since I'm giving you all the rights to that, you are waving any claims on my stamp or comic book collection. Also, you're giving up any rights to any work I've been doing or will do in the future."

"I don't want your stupid comic books," Beverly said with disdain. "I'm getting everything I want."

One of the last items to be covered with the child support to be paid for Sarah Bracken who was almost one year old. Gloria objected to the language that said Paul would pay fifteen hundred dollars a month in support for any children he and Beverly had.

"I would prefer that Sarah be named directly," Gloria pressed.

"Look," Paul said angrily, "I don't want to have anything more to do with that bitch who is soon to be my ex-wife. She's a fucking slut who will spread her legs for anyone. I know that's true because Beverly fucked me right before she gave me the divorce papers. For all I know, she has a bun in the oven right now. I don't want to come back and do this again. The agreement stays as written unless you want to renegotiate the whole thing."

"Mr. Bracken, I won't tolerate that kind of profanity," Gloria's face flashed anger. "And I think the language in this agreement needs to be changed."

"I'll go with the language as written," Beverly said immediately. Gloria tried to dissuade her, but it was clear that Beverly wanted this divorce completed.

Finally, they went over the last clause, and Paul and Beverly signed the document. Then the witnesses signed, and finally, the notary affixed her seal. Then one copy was given to Beverly, one to Paul, and each attorney retained a copy.

"Is everything done?" Paul asked. When everyone nodded, he stood up and announced loudly, "Thank God that's over with, and I'm not married to that fucking whore."

Beverly and Gloria bristled at the language. But it was Gloria who spoke. "I told you before that I won't tolerate that kind of language. I think you should leave before I have a guard throw you out."

Before Paul could respond, the door opened, and Kirk stepped in. Beverly went around the table and kissed him. Then she put her arm around his waist and smirked at her ex-husband.

But to the surprise of most of the people in the room, Kirk extended his hand to Paul. "Hey, Paul, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing great, Kirk," Paul pumped the movie star's hand. "I'm no longer married to that cheating slut with her arm around you."

"I heard that was her reputation in Hollywood, but I didn't believe it," Kirk said as he removed Beverly's arm from his waist and held her hand. "But apparently, you're right about that. Still, I win the bet."

"Yeah, you do," Paul laughed. "But it was worth it."

"What are you two talking about?" Beverly asked in confusion. "Do you know each other."

Kirk smiled down at her and released her hand. "I've known Paul since college."

"What's this about a bet?"

Paul and Kirk laughed together. Now Gloria and her associates were equally as confused as Beverly.

"Well, Beverly dear," Paul said with a smirk. "I bet Kirk that he couldn't seduce my loyal, loving wife. I lost."

"But Kirk, you said you loved me," Beverly said with tears building in her eyes. "You said you were going to marry me as soon as I was divorced."

"Beverly, when you married Paul, you promised to forsake all others," Kirk said while shaking his head and smirking. "When I learned about all the other men you've slept with after you were married, that was a deal-breaker."

Now Beverly burst into full-on sobs. It took five minutes before Gloria could calm her client down. When Beverly was more or less calmed, Paul sat down next to her.

"Beverly, I'm a little slow, but I truly thought you loved me," he said, taking her hand. "But I have to admit that you were good. I didn't know anything until about a year ago. I was so angry that I wanted to just divorce you immediately. Then I thought about Sarah and decided to tough it out. However, when I had a DNA test done and discovered she wasn't mine, I decided that you needed to be taught a lesson."

Beverly went white when Paul mentioned the DNA test.

"That's why you insisted on that language," Gloria said through gritted teeth. "You set us up. This whole thing was a shame. This was done to defraud my client. I'm going to have the entire divorce petition thrown out."

"Good luck with that, counselor," Elliott said with a tight smile. "My client hasn't attempted to defraud anyone. In your client's own words, she got everything she wanted. If there has been any fraud perpetrated here, it was by your client, trying to pass off her child as being that of Mr. Bracken. If you think you've got a case, take your best shot. As for me, I like the evidence we have in that camera."

A silence fell over the room, save for Beverly's sobbing. Then Paul spoke. "Beverly, look at me." His soon to be ex-wife lifted her head.

Paul sighed. "I'll be honest with you. I thought that sticking it to you and humiliating you would give me pleasure. It didn't. I loved you with all my heart, and even after I discovered your betrayal, a little part of me still loved you. Kirk is right about your reputation. Every producer and every director know you will spread your legs to get a part. It seems I was the only one who was ignorant of your true character."

Beverly was breathing in gasps, and Pres couldn't help but notice Beverly's breasts as they rose up and then retreated with each breath. As Pres watched, it was apparent that Paul still had feelings for Beverly.

"Do you remember the day that you got the part on my series, the Gobbler Twins?"

Beverly nodded. "I was so happy that all my hard work had finally paid off. You hadn't lifted a finger to help me."

"That's where you're wrong," Paul said as he shook his head. "It is true that I told you that you had to make it on your own. But as I watched try and try again only to fail, I finally did help you. I never told you that I interceded on your behalf for the part you got."

"You're lying," Beverly snapped. "I earned that part on my own."

"That's what I wanted you to believe. The truth is, I had to cut a deal with the studio for you to get that part. I had to limit the number of years I'd get royalties. That's why they're going to run out in approximately two and a half years."