Pride Comes Before a Fall

Petra got up off her chair and sat on my lap, her warmth seemed to comfort me, her arms around me certainly did. She also knew what she was doing. I was on the verge of exploding and her on my lap kept me calm while my thought processes slowly took back control. I had been stabbed in the back by the one person I least expected to do it, Alexander Philips.

Marvin and Jake just sat at their own terminals and watched, saying nothing and only waiting for me to come back to them. Petra on my lap was doing that for sure. I left them a few minutes later, the murder in my eyes down to a level that Petra thought normal for me.

I gave it until nine the next morning before I phoned his company and asked to speak to Tessa. Tessa was his admin girl; she ran the place while Alex was either out or on the boat. Some of us thought that she ran the place even when he was there as well.

"Tessa I'm canceling our contractual agreement and I no longer want anything to do with either your company or companies associated with you."

I heard a gasp almost echo down the phone at me. I continued anyway.

"If you wish, I will supply you with a list of names of private contractors or companies that would welcome your business."

"But not you?"

I was surprised at the firmness in my voice when I said. "Not anymore, no."

"You do know we can tie you up in court? With you not sending what you have or even completing your signed contract, you are in breach."

The business woman in her had come out to play now.

"Tessa, your company is in breach of your own morals code. It's because of that, I can no longer be associated with you."

I had never seen Tessa mad, I got to hear it over the phone though. I will admit she shouted allot, but not once did she swear. When she exhausted even that, she came back to the Tessa I knew and got to hug on the occasions I had visited her office on the way to see Alex.

"Please tell me what's going on."

The pain in her voice didn't match the smiling charismatic face I knew and had stored in my memories.

Had it been anyone but Tessa, I would have put my cell down by now. "I'm sorry Tessa, but as per your own morals codes contract, I can't discuss it with anyone but Alex."

I really did feel like I was losing a close personal friend. Perhaps she would be the first of many before all this was over. I thought I heard a sob, just before she severed the connection between us.

It took Alex an hour to phone me back, he didn't even have the stones to see me in person, but he clearly knew why I was doing what I chose to do. I would sure like to be a fly on the wall when he tells Tessa his version. I was curious to see how this was going to work. He chose a business-like attitude and I chose to follow him, although that quickly stopped when he offered to up the agreed price for the work still outstanding.

We spoke for another ten minutes or so and not once was Kathrine's name even mentioned. In the end even I couldn't stand this farce any longer and told him that his own morals code still stands since we had both signed it. I was walking away from him and wanted even less to do with his company.

Alex once again became all professional, when he said. "According to accounts, we still owe you twenty thousand for the work you have already sent us."

I said so matter of factly. "Why don't you give it to her, I'm sure you'll see her before I will."

I knew he was there; he didn't answer. I would have been more surprised if he had, to be honest. It was me who wanted to slam the phone down, it's just a damn shame that cell phones don't come with that feature on them.

The twenty thousand was deposited into my business account a day later. Perhaps she didn't want it either. I wrote out a check the same day for that amount and posted it to the battered women's shelter in our city.

If either Tessa or Alex had come to my apartment to continue this conversation, I wouldn't have known about it

*******

The text message from the courier company told me that her phone had been delivered, I put my cell back down and went back to work. For two full days I sat with my friends as we collectively learned the lives of Viper or Donna Young and Rich Boy. By the time we had put Donna's life on the wall, Petra had even dug through her social media and printed off a few pictures of her, those also ended up on the wall. I must say, she had one heck of a body on her if the bikini she was wearing was anything to go by.

By the second day we all realized why Alexander Philips brought her in and set her to work on Kathrine. My wife never stood a fucking chance. Donna Young may be part owner of a modeling agency, but it clearly wasn't originally going to be her day job. All four of us sat in awe as we worked our way through her qualifications. Donna set out to be a Psychiatrist, the list of letters after her name she possessed was almost as long as her arm.

PhD in this and that etc. Hell she had the whole damn alphabet in honors and qualifications. She could open her own private practice, although I doubted she would make as much as she was making at the moment. Just to satisfy her own curiosity, Petra hacked into Mensa's list of members, want to guess who was in the top ten percent?

I picked up my cell and called Kathrine, she answered with a hi, knowing I was the only one with the number. "Question for you. How long was it after you first met Viper that you started getting those headaches?"

Kathrine gasped down the airwaves. "I didn't tell you I was having headaches." I didn't say anything, just waited for an answer. "A month maybe six weeks. Charlotte, or Viper as you call her, started bringing in herbal tea and it helped, along with the relaxation sessions."

My interest peaked. "What did the relaxation sessions entail?"

"Not much. During lunch break Charlotte would have me lay down and listening to soft music or pan pipes, that sort of thing."

"Do you remember much of what was going on, while you had your eyes shut?"

"No, most of the time I fell asleep, and it took Viper to shake me awake, usually minutes before the bell rang for the end of lunch break."

I thanked Kathrine and told her I would be in touch. The four of us looked at each other, all this had been going on under my very own nose and I knew nothing about it. What kind of husband was I?

*******

I was at Alexander Philips office the next morning. His secretary told me he was expecting me so I closed the door once I had entered. Alex didn't move from his chair, merely waved at the one across from him. He picked up the phone and I listened to him tell his secretary to hold all his calls until further notice.

The staring competition lasted a few minutes while we just sat and reevaluated what we really knew about each other.

"I'm sorry Martin. I know I became what you despise in a person."

All I did was nod my head. "I need to talk and you need to listen. I want to make absolutely sure that I have this figured out, and I want you to know that I'm sure I have."

Alex nodded his head and, figuratively speaking, I took a swing at it when I said, "Mom would have been so proud of you, uncle Alex."

He had the decency to wince but I just went on anyway, I really didn't give a shit anymore. In one of our few men bonding moments, my dad told me that he had suspected that Mom and uncle Alex were more than brother and sister. I had dropped the coffee cup I had in my hand when those words exploded like fireworks in my head. Dad looked at me and then smiled when he said that I wasn't to worry, he had discreetly checked and I was his.

As we had set and talked, even for a then eighteen-year-old, I had to wonder what sort of parents was I related too. Even as the dust slowly settled on that statement, I had to ask my father why he was even still married to her if he even suspected what he had divulged so far.

"Love is a powerful emotion son, sooner or later you will have a choice to make with your own life. I'm not talking similar to mine, but one that would be just as powerful and with just as many repercussions, no matter what choice you make."

As I thought back on that one statement from my father, and of that day I realized just how much shit Alex had piled on him and his relationship with my mother.

It was also the crux of why almost the same scenario was planned to play out once again when I introduced Kathrine to Alexander Philips. Someone else had something that he wanted; the trouble was that she was married to his grandson.

Alex went onto the defensive when he said. "You know you played a major part in all this Martin."

Any other time I would have been out of my chair and in attack mode, yet I was talking to the only living relative I had left. As corrupt and bereft of knowing that you just don't do things like he had done to those close to you. Through choice of birth from my grandparents, he was still my uncle.

I held up my hands in mock surrender and agreed with him. "I still rue the day I sat with you and your friends and described the actions of one of the frat houses at college. I still remember the looks that each of you gave the other, and above all I still to this day regret saying yes when you all asked if I would agree to use that same model on them."

*******

The Auction started ten years ago, with some very tight rules and all were non-negotiable. Everyone was medically tested, from those that bid to the ladies who placed themselves on the podium. Each woman was to be vetted by a private company. Free will was the watch word for each and every woman coming to the auction, just as fierce punishments would be handed out to any bidder that harmed either physically or mentally, any of the ladies.

With the guys at the frat house, it was a week, but Uncle Alex's friends wanted to expand that timeline to a year. The percentage awarded to the ladies would go up of course, but because these people were among the richest in the country, it was agreed with nothing more than a shrug of everyone's shoulders. The cynic in me even thought they would look into it as a tax right-off.

The rich men of Uncles Alex's circle had to have it drilled into them, that if they wanted The Auction to have any longevity, then they needed to respect the ladies they bid on.

Michele Brody came to The Auction for a somewhat different reason, she wanted the money to be banked and would be used as payment for IVF when she finished her year. Marsha Armstrong heard about The Auction, applied and left a verbally abusive father to do The Auction. She was another that wanted her money put into an account ready for her to start her own life at the end of her year.

Carol-Ann Western knew her parents couldn't afford to send her to college. When a friend whispered in her ear about The Auction, she left a note telling her folks that she was taking a yearlong contract as a nanny. When she returned not only did she go to college, but two years later she paid for her brother to go as well.

I personally interviewed each and every one of those ladies while I was in charge of The Auction. My emphasis was on free will, I made sure that each lady went into it with their eyes wide open.

So, while I was still at college and watching my relationship with Kathrine grow, I was writing and wording the rules that each of these men had to abide by. Making it binding was important. From the conversations I was having with these men individually, they all looked on The Auction as a long-term investment and long term to these people meant twenty to thirty years.

My mind paused in remembering the history lesson of The Auction.

Alex took the bait and said. "From the second I saw her; it was lust at first sight."

He was telling the truth, my father and I had long ago figured out that other than my mother, his own sister, he simply wasn't capable of loving anyone.

Viper or Donna was brought in for her talents. She needed time, because you don't just go trampling around in someone's head and plant these sorts of suggestions. Kathrine had a morals code that was unique to her. No, Viper had to take her time and plants seeds, suggestions that would take hold and grow in my wife's thoughts. By the end of that year, it was Kathrine that thought of going to The Auction, and no one else.

I was also trapped in my own agreement, in my eyes. Kathrine had shown free will when she applied to do The Auction. I took my eyes so far off the ball that I could scream. Had I checked on Viper before all this, then it would never have happened. Hindsight is such a powerful thing when it all plays itself out.

"Your scheme went wrong because you mentioned it to the Rich Boy, didn't you?"

Even now I still can't bring myself to say his name.

Alex nodded his head. "In a way, he reminds me of me when I was his age. Up until that point I thought we got on well. It also turns out he had his own agenda; he had his people research Kathrine and he made sure he outbid me."

Alex let out a sigh, I knew his mannerism's and to him, this conversation was reaching its conclusion. He moved to sit more comfortably and leant on his desk to do it.

"When the rest of the group figured out what we had done between us, they held an emergency meeting of the whole group, minus two members of course."

I figured out really quickly why these men are rich and stay rich that afternoon. None of them wanted The Auction to end, but what Rich Boy and my uncle had done, went against the agreement signed by them all. Alex pushed today's newspaper across his desk at me and leant back on his chair. The headlines said it all, Rich Boy's plane went down over the Indian ocean. Although the search for any debris was extensive, there were no survivors.

When I looked at Alex, he was waiting for me. "There was no collateral damage, the people they hired to do this flew the plane. None of his usual crew even knew they were supposed to fly him that day.

I pushed the newspaper back towards him, I did wonder at the last lose end and hoped against hope that I was wrong in my thinking.

"Where is the baby, Alex?"

He could see my worry and placed his hand up to stop my thoughts from traveling any further into the darkness.

"When you cut all ties with me and this company, Tessa demanded to know why. When I told her, she screamed at me that she was resigning immediately and that I was to fix this and get the child back. Since she was, after all, the innocent in all this."

*******

I knocked on the door to her apartment, she knew it was me since she had buzzed the main door open. Tessa took a step back and I entered. She pointed down the corridor to an open door, the child was on the floor surrounded by cushions and asleep.

"We need to hurry; those people have messed with this child enough. I hope your car is warm since you're driving."

"Where are we going?"

Tessa looked at me like I had two heads, let out a groan of frustration and turned to pick up the child and wrapped her in her baby blanket. "To give her back to her mother, stupid. Honestly, I do wish you had told me this when I asked you on the phone. Instead you just couldn't wait to go all John Wayne, could you."

Tessa sat in the back, holding Kathrine's baby while I drove us back to the house in silence. I let Tessa in and closed the door behind her. She paused while I got in front of her and then led the way into the day room. Kathrine was sitting on the couch, her hands wrapped around a cup and a vacant look about her. Even when she looked over at who had just entered, it took her a moment for her mind to relay that information.

Tessa came from behind me, the baby still sound asleep in her arms. Looking directly at Kathrine, she said, "Get undressed", and then took a step towards her. When she saw that Kathrine hadn't moved, her voice now carried an edge to it when she said. "Quickly."

Almost robotically Kathrine pulled her blouse and bra off, her arms then reached out for the child. Tessa seemed to tense and the baby, although asleep, had somehow sensed something and started to wake up.

"All of it, get naked now and quickly."

As Kathrine placed her thumbs into her waistband, she leant forward and pushed both her pants and undies to the floor.

Tessa turned to me and said. "We're going to need towels, a couple at least."

As I headed for the bathroom I asked if I needed to start boiling water?

"Sarcasm isn't helping Martin. I suggest you concentrate, and hurry up."

It only took seconds to grab the towels and be back in the room as Tessa was directing Kathrine back to the couch. I placed both towels on the couch and she sat on them. Her legs swung around and rested full length of the couch. Only then would Tessa lean down and place the now naked baby into the arms of her mother.

Gurgling noises were heard from the baby and soft cooing noises were coming from the mother. Her head came up and looked at us both, her tears in full unchecked flow down her cheeks and she mouthed the words 'thank you' before she once again turned her total attention to her little girl.

The baby's eyes opened and both mother and child finally got a good look at each other. Tessa and I watched as recognition came to both. The baby went to cry and Kathrine's fingers gently brushed her daughter's forehead and her cry died in the throat. Her hand came away from her child, lifted her breast and placed her nipple within lip distance of her little girl. We all heard the suck and slurp from the baby, a tiny hand then came to her breast and squeezed the pliable flesh, the groan was from Kathrine. Her own eyes closed, and her smile lit up the room.

It was about then that I looked more closely at my wife and noticed why I needed to get towels. When I looked at Tessa that smug look of hers reigned supreme.

"Women's' plumbing Martin, such a wonderful, yet totally erratic thing."

Tessa reminded me to turn the heating up a little in the house and we left mother and daughter to bond.

*******

We could have sat around and watched them both. But privacy as they bonded for the first time that would carry through life and both of those two desperately needed that bond. I took Tessa to the country club, we ordered lunch and I bribed the waiter for a private table so we could talk. The smile as she palmed the hundred, and the look at Tessa, gave her all the wrong ideas, but I didn't care.

We got to look out the window at the well-manicured lawns and we both poked at our lunch.

"I know for a fact that you don't remember me Martin. I even checked with Alex and he agreed with me."

I had known this woman for some years now and only now I looked longer and harder at her, she just sat and smiled back at me. Tessa Alicia Fulton was one of the first ladies of the very first auction.

"I was just about to take my last exams at Berkeley and most of my sorority sisters knew of my ambition to run my own company. They even sat through hours of me bemoaning that to do that I needed to get together startup money to do it, so that meant working for someone else for years to come. One of my sorority sisters pulled me to one side and whispered in my ear about The Auction."

Tessa was an entrepreneurial business student so she thought about The Auction and re-checked with her sorority sister. She handed her a phone number and told Tessa to her face that no such thing existed and promptly walk away from her. That phone call led to an initial interview and then one by me as well a few days later.

"I was left alone to finish my exams and then you turned up and handed me forms that may have well been a book. You wanted to know everything about me Martin. When I laughed and flicked through the questionnaire, I told you, you could half the size of this since some of the questions were irrelevant. You took that on board. I know because I've seen the questionnaire they use now. The useless questions are gone."