No Respect

Mom said in tear's, "So what the divorce paper says is true. She was cheating, but for how long?"

"Longer than their marriage," Dad said. "Our grandchildren were created by our daughter and Steven. I've seen the copies of the DNA report. My daughter Debra is dead in my eyes. She has turned away from everything our family ever stood for. I can't forget this because of the length of time and the number of lies she has spun. We both see that she is not sorry for anything, not even being discovered. Makes me wonder how many times, did we take the kids, so she was free to screw with her real lover?"

"But they are our grandchildren." Carla cried. "I don't want to lose them."

"Mom If I get custody of them, you'll always have unrestricted access to them. I told that to dad before we even started talking." I said to soothe her concerns. "But I suggest you both file for a court order for unrestricted access to your grandchildren regardless of who wins custody. You'll have to file against all three of us, but I think that is the wisest thing you can do. That way, you can say to Debra that until it's all done, you refuse to take sides. Don't let your emotions force you to close doors that can't be opened afterward."

Carl looked at me and nodded in agreement.

"Dear, our son in law Glenn, will always be family to me. I think his wisdom on this is right on. He's as hurt as we are on this and yet he put our needs first." Carl said. "As far as we know, it looks like she and her lover are not at all concerned about their kids. Our daughter has been lying to us all her adult life. Where did we go wrong?"

"I have to ask when Debra professed her love for Glenn to us, was she speaking the truth?" Mom said.

Monday was a busy day for me. I had driven my three children to school then spent time in the office explaining the situation. If my wife tried to contact the children at school, the police would know. My soon to be ex found herself a costly feminist divorce lawyer and my former employers firm got served.

My father in law served both Debra and me on Wednesday. He told me his daughter was pissed and demanded that he withdraw his suit. He said to her that he and her mom did not know what to believe, but they felt their relationship with their grandchildren needed to be protected. He asked her why she was restricted from access to her kids. She refused to answer. That's when he informed her that I had suggested he take this action after our family dinner Sunday night. We now know why you were not invited. He made us promise that we would sue all of you because he did not want our relationship with our grandchildren affected by the conduct of their parents. He's the one that gave us the address of your penthouse. That is how we knew where to serve you. According to city records, you are co-owners with Glenn's boss, which gives him a lot of credibility to his claims. Debra had lost it, and he had hung up on her. That conversation said a lot to him because of human nature when confronted with the truth most will run.

Thankfully Friday was the last day of school before spring break. So, the in-laws, my three kids my mom and I went to Disney World for a week leaving on Saturday returning a week later. The trip had been planned for weeks, but I could not get a rebate on Debra's ticket. Gordon got Debra and her lawyer to agree to sign off her share of the house instead of her corporation being charged a portion of the household expenses while we were married making her believe that it would not be used as a marital asset during the divorce. She didn't realize that her corporation would be because she ran it from the house, and its legal address had been our residence.

The Walkers human resources department had accepted the terms of my resignation. So, until my sick days were used up and vacation days were exhausted, I would remain an employee of the company. That would give me until the end of June to figure out what I wanted to do.

I learned when I got back from my former assistant Nora that the board was giving me a chance to cool off before trying to work with me. They realized just how valuable I was to the firm and were getting mumblings from clients wondering if I would be returning or not. Although the Walker brothers owned significant shares the way the corporation had been set up, they both could be removed because of cause. They also could be forced by the board to sell all their shares. The brothers, therefore, had hired an outside firm to review their options and for damage control.

Gordon had allowed Debra access to the garage where we had moved all her personal stuff after duplicating everything about her corporations' activities, including all bank records while we were away. He had a forensic accounting team go through all the costs of raising our children to date. Starting with the date of the oldest conception. Using the rate of interest compounded semiannually he divided the cost of each year by three and came up with an estimated cost of Steve Walker's participation in my cuckolding and double it for undue stress and anguish then added in interest to bring it to current values. The second suit against him was for alienation of affection. I was also suing both the brothers for marital interference. I used the ground of adultery against my wife.

The kids had just returned from their first day back to school when there was a knock at our front door. It was a social worker following up on a complaint that I was not looking after the children. I learned that it had come from my soon to be ex's lawyer. My son brought her into the kitchen where she caught my daughters and I working together to prepare dinner. She could smell the roast cooking in the oven. When she explained why she was here, I told her to go through the cupboards, fridge, and freezer as I continued peeling potatoes.

After doing as I asked, I offered her a cup of coffee and got a couple of large mugs out.

"Miss I'm sorry I did not catch your name," I said.

"It's Trisha Marsh, Mr. James "she replied

I asked her to call me Glenn then suggested that if she had the time, she should interview my children now because I figured that the court would be ordering it.

"Since dinner is going to be ready in an hour, we would be pleased to have you join us if you can?" she agreed.

My son Carl led her to the den, and they talked while Tina and Teri helped me. After an enjoyable dinner, Trisha spoke to my daughters for quite a while. Carl and I together did the dishes. None of the kids got their homework done so I had to write them notes as to why in case anyone asked. Finally, Trisha and I got to talk in private. The first thing I did was show her Steven and Debra's chat.

"For over sixteen years you had no clue," Trisha said. "They had it all planned. It seems she wanted kids and he didn't, so they picked you to raise his children for him."

"That's about how I see it." I said, "Makes me wonder if I ever knew the woman I was married to."

"I'm adding in my notes that the marriage itself has been a lifetime of lies on her part. The fact that the two of them planned it out makes it very questionable if either had any love for the kids at all." Trisha explained. "It seems to appear to them that the kids and you are nothing but an inconvenience that they had to workaround. Your wife's lawyer is trying to set up the notion that you're not looking after your kids. Everything I have seen and heard these last few hours disproves that fact. I was surprised to learn you disclosed that Steve was their biological father to them. It is nice to see that all three have made it clear they want to stay with you. Are you listed as their father on their birth certificates?"

"Yes," I replied. "Is that going to be important?"

"Very much so. It proves that you did not know and had been acting all along as if the children were yours. That will weigh heavy in the court's eye's when custody is being decided." Trisha said. "I'll give you my email so you can send that clip to me because it's something that the judge will need to see. Seeing situations like yours reinforces why I never got married."

"I can't change the past." I said with a smile, "besides, I love my kids regardless of who created them. They may not have my genes, but everything else about them is me."

"I love the way you're looking at it," Trisha said. "I will have to investigate your soon to be ex's place and interview the two of them, but right now the deck is stacked towards you. The Judge will consider this point I have written in my notes for my report. I wrote Glenn Allen James was chosen by Debra because he was good enough to be a father to her children as they were raised but not good enough for her to have allowed him to father them. Mr. James has obtained legal proof that Mrs. James has been in a common-law relationship with Mr. Steven Walker before and during their actual marriage."

We chatted for a couple more hours while keeping it light and promised we would stay connected so we gave each other our cell phone numbers. She had been surprised that since the day of serving her, Debra had not contacted the children. She recorded that fact in her notes. I would learn later that she had called a detective friend of hers on her way home to ask him if there had been a crime committed. He said there was, but he thought he should contact the DA's office to see if they would be willing to prosecute. I was lucky next year would be an election year, and the DA would be running. I didn't realize then how big of a storm cloud my situation was creating.

I awoke Tuesday morning and busied myself getting the kids off to school. I was surprised to read that Trisha wanted me to send the video clip I had showed her to an Assistant District Attorney. I did better than that. I sent him all the clips in an email and said I would send anything else that came in. It took about three hours to get a response from him. I was surprised when he called to explain that he had a court order issued last night for wire taping etc. so what he had obtained from me could be used in criminal court legally without exposing my name. It was a critical point that all the clips I had come from an email address. It made it appear as if this was coming from a third party. He was going to build a case so he could charge them both with extortion, one charge for each year they had been pulling their fraud on my kids and me. I said I hoped the charges were made before I had to go to divorce court.

When the kids got home, we ordered pizza and had supper early because I wanted to catch the local evening news. The local CBS affiliate had caught it all. Debra and Steven were taken in for questioning just as they left the restaurant after lunch. For the next hour, I answered calls and explained that I had no clue as to what was going on. The rest of the week went by quietly, so I thought. I would learn later that I was wrong.

On Wednesday, I was seen entering the office building of the soon to be former employers' competition. No one knew I was meeting a friend for lunch. On the gossip pages the next day in the morning paper, it was mentioned that I was in talks with the upper management about accepting a position. I called the lady who authored the article to tell her that if she went back into the files that she might have miss named the twin who my wife was with when she was at the theatre. Keep in mind when looking at them the words date night. She asked me how my meeting went. I replied at this time I have been recommended by my lawyer to say no comment. That's when things started getting interesting.

I dropped the kids off at school and had just returned to our family home Friday morning when Debra got out of her car as I prepared to go in from the street curb. She was dressed in a t-shirt and blue jeans. Her face looked sad and drawn. She was not wearing makeup, and that was a surprise. She never went anywhere without her eyes. Seeing her that way reminded me that I should check my new computer to see what the cams had sent me. I walked to the curb.

"Glenn" Debra said. "My parents won't even talk to me. They told me not to contact them until the mess I've created for myself has been resolved. My siblings have told me the same thing. I want to be able to see the kids."

"Why?" I asked. "As far as I know you haven't even called them?"

"I called them that first Sunday. They all told me they didn't want to talk to me and hung up. I figure by now they may have cooled down." Debra said. "I've got a lot of explaining to do."

"I will have my lawyer talk to the judge to arrange supervised visits. Nothing more!" I said with coldness. 'I will also inform him about you violating the court order."

"Thank you," Debra responded. "You and I will have to sit down and talk this out."

"There's nothing to talk about. We can prove beyond a doubt that the only reason you married me was that Steven did not want to step up, take responsibility as a man to raise his own children. As a result, you needed to find a sucker to fill that spot. That's why the two of you chose me." I said sternly. "Our whole marriage was a lie. It had to be. No human would ever do what you did out of love. How much did the two of you laugh about me? I guess congratulation is in order since I hear Steve and you are getting married as soon as we're divorced."

During my whole rant, there was no change of expression on her face. Her response to my comments said a lot.

"We're not together. Steve had to find a new place to live. We were both served with a court order forcing us to have no contact with each other when we were being interviewed by detectives until whatever they're investigating is completed. For now, he has had to book into a hotel." Debra said. "My lawyer blew it when she filed a complaint against you with child services. They interviewed us. The condo management is requesting we sell."

"The kids and I were all interviewed on Monday," I explained. "The interviewer had a private discussion with us all, so I have no clue as to what they said to her. The kids are at the age the court will allow them to decide who they want to live with. This weekend they will be with your parents."

Without saying goodbye, I turned and walked back into my house. Grabbing my laptop, I went into the kitchen. After making a new pot of coffee, I opened it up. I learned a lot of things had happened since Monday. A Human resources representative had used Rodgers office to interview one by one the management team from top to bottom. It was sad to learn how many had laughed about me behind my back. Quite a few had been let go with a cause. For both my lawyer and the DA's office, it would be a gold mine. It seemed that Steven quite often used bribes, promotions, and blackmail to keep their relationship hidden. All were chargeable crimes.

The board of directors' and the CEO met late Thursday afternoon after most employees had left for the day. The board got the full details of who knew what when and why things were done. Even former employees were interviewed. They discussed what should be done to Steven and Robert. Steven was finished as President of the firm and Rodger would be pushed out. The HR director informed the CEO that I had been seen entering the commercial building and that she had it verified by reliable sources (the gossip lady) that I had been reached out to by the competition.

The CEO smiled and said, "but can they offer him the President's position?"

The Human resources lady picked up the phone, explaining she was going to see if Nora was still working. The CEO asked why? Nora was Glenn's assistant; she knows him better than anyone. Thus, she might have insight into what he's thinking.

Glenn...

That's when it hit me. State law recognized a common-law relationship of over a year as being the same as being married. I picked up my cell and called the DA's office. I explained my thinking, and he loved it. The way the law was written, Debra could be charged with being a bigamist right away when they could prove their relationship. I gave them Gordon's office number and told him to ask him to fax copies of all we had.

Two hours later, Gordon called. "Dam it Glenn! I didn't see it, but I should have. It's brilliant. Your divorce is a grand slam dunk, and Debra will be charged within hours. George Davidson, who is handling the district attorney investigation into those two, said you raised the question. I'm withdrawing your divorce case; instead, we're now going for an annulment because in the eyes of the law she was already considered married.

"All that's left on my side is working out the details," I said.

"Even that should be easy if Debra is sitting in jail." Gordon laughed. "It's funny with all the scheming and planning they did to get away with what they did for so long. Their own behavior is what's taking them down and makes our other suits that much stronger."

"Speaking of that wait till I email the rest of the stuff I'm going through. Call the DA's office back to find out if the approval for wiretapping can be expanded for you. If it can it will save me thousands in billable time, "I said. "Point out that the next email from me will show proof of criminal crimes."

"Maybe not, I'm asking for her to be ordered to pay your legal bill," Gordon replied. "Glenn, are you serious?"

"I got copies of employee and former employees admitting to what Steve did to keep his common law marriage secret. I will send them to you to." I said.

I went back to the laptop and opened a clip that had the CEO CFO and the head of human resources talking. The consensus was that I had an unfightable case. They could try to defend against it, but the publicity and interest in it would destroy their credibility. They agreed that they should try to settle it for as little as possible.

Within five minutes, the district attorney's office and my lawyer had all the emails I had received sent to them.

My cell phone rang. It was Nora.

"Hi Stranger, it's been a while, how's it going," I said.

"Glenn it's a mess. There hasn't been a division that's not touched. Human resources have been going through everyone with a one on one interview. They had a notary come in to witness and verify. We lost a few good people. Some were fired others quit." Nora said. "Steve and Robert were called in. After a meeting with the CEO, security allowed Steven to clean out his desk before they escorted him out. Robert was told he was stripped of all his responsibilities until they decided his future."

"Is your job safe?" I asked, "In my resignation; letter, I said you were the most qualified to take over my position."

"They told me that. Right now, I'm the acting. No final decision will be made until the board finds a new President. The only thing I have been told is that the person they are interested in has a situation that must be resolved. My gut is telling me it's you. After all, Steven or Robert never did anything unless they had bounced it off you first."

"Well, they learned the hard way with a lot of expense that half of the time they heard but did not listen. I streamlined things, focusing on the important things ignoring the bells and whistles our clients often thought important. When presented with the final product, they were pleased with our results." I said. "Since I've been off, my phone has been busy, but for now, I am not committing to anything."

"Thanks, Glenn. You told me what I needed to know without really telling me a thing. You're still open to coming back then?" Nora said.

"Depends." I laughed. "Can you email the gossip ladies email address if you have it from your personal account."

"No problem but I will text you it from my cell phone," Nora replied.