Summer A Marriage In Trouble

Michael sipped his beer thoughtfully. "You are involved in the Power business tender, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," I said hesitantly.

"From that, I gather Ross has brought you into his team." He used air quotes when speaking the word team.

"Yes, how the hell do you know all this?" I asked.

"I will lay my cards on the table, Arthur. I think I know why you are not going to work at the moment."

Confused, I spat out, "What?"

He sniggered. "Don't panic, what we say here today stays here between us. I don't like Ross. I think he is an unconscionable bastard; he uses and abuses his staff. I know because I used to work for him. He's a prick."

Taking a big gulp of my drink I pondered his words as he continued. "Arthur, I want to destroy the bastard. I want to grind his bones into the ground. I want to see him standing outside the dole office."

I couldn't hold back my chuckle. I apologised. "Sorry, Michael, but you seem to hate him a lot. What did he do to you to make you feel that way?"

Unflinching, Michael snarled, "The bastard seduced my wife, wrecked my marriage. I'm not the only one, either. I will be honest. I am talking to a couple of the other engineers as well as you, that's how I know you are not going to work at the moment."

I choked on my drink as I took in his words. "Shit, I'm sorry man, that's terrible."

He stared back at me. "I said I want to be honest, Arthur." His steely eyes stayed locked on mine. "He did the same thing to you Saturday night. Don't bother denying it. I already know what happened. I did say I am talking to others."

Humiliated, I looked away, no longer able to hold his unflinching stare. He nodded curtly. "There's no need to be embarrassed, he did the same thing to me. Like I said, I want to ruin him, and I want your help."

I nodded, swilling back what was left of my beer. He saw mine was empty and ordered another couple.

"Okay, what's in it for me?" I asked.

"I am offering you a Project Manager's role with our company. It will include a very generous salary and some perks."

"When do you want me to start?"

He smiled knowingly as he answered. "Today, right now."

"Sounds good to me, where do I sign?"

As the beers arrived, he smiled, it was a twisted smile. "Arthur, I don't want you to quit just yet. I want you to stay in your current job, but work for us, as well."

"Christ, that's damned unethical. If you already have guys on the inside, what do you need me for?"

"The others are not in the inner circle. Because he is after your wife, he will keep you close until he is sick of her, then you will fall by the wayside. I want you to get as close as possible. I want to know what their plans are before they do. I want to know details, costs, numbers, systems. I am going to take that fucking contract off him."

We started on our meals that had just turned up and I asked enquiringly, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and your wife."

He grimaced. "We are trying to make it work. Still together, going to counselling. What about you?"

I shrugged. "I am filing for divorce. I am looking for somewhere to live so I can move out."

He nodded. "I understand. We could help you. It could be one of the perks we discussed."

"How would that work?"

"We will find you somewhere and pay your lease. None of it would show as income. The company will foot the bill. Would twelve months suffice?"

I spat out my beer as I choked. He laughed at my discomfort. "Arthur, we will start paying you from today. We will pay you in cash. Until you start with us formally, we will meet here every week and I will give you your salary in cold hard cash."

"What happens if you don't win? Do I get the boot?"

He replied quickly, his eyes never moving. "No, unlike Ross, we stick by our employees. If you help us out, but we lose, we will still expect you to quit Revington's and come and work for us."

"How do I know you are being honest? How do I know that I can trust you?"

He chuckled coldly. "The bottom line is, you don't. You'll just have to take a chance. Look, Arthur, I have been straight with you. If he wins and we lose, you can just keep your job with them and tell us to fuck off."

We ate in silence as I let my mind do the sums. As we finished, I said, "Fuck, I don't think I can do it. I can't go back into that office with the smug bastard lording it over me."

"Arthur, think about it. What do you care? Think about it as working under cover. Just try to ignore him. If your marriage is already over, what do you have to lose?"

I flinched. His words did make sense, it was just a matter of whether I could actually front up.

He could see my mind working. Knowing he had been in the same position made it seem easier. He growled, "Okay, I get it, you want to tell him to shove it. Tell him he is an arsehole. That's what I did, and I regret it. I should have stayed and fucked him over from the inside."

"How long do I have to decide?"

He laughed. "I'll give you as much time as you need, but I think from his perspective, today is your last day."

"What if I say no?"

He shrugged. "We finish our lunch, shake hands and walk away. No harm, no foul."

"But no job for me, I take it?"

He shook his head. "Nope, sorry, Arthur, I feel for you but if I say I have a job for you there is no compunction for you to do what I ask, is there?"

"No, I suppose not. "Okay, you've got a deal."

His smile beamed. "Good, on Monday I will pay you in cash, one month's pay in advance. In the meantime, I will find you an apartment as close to your place as I can. We will pay the bond and get you in ASAP."

As we parted, we shook hands and he whispered conspiratorially, "Arthur, help me fuck him up. You won't regret it."

I drove home with a smile on my face. At home, Summer seemed angry. "Arthur, you god damned idiot. Ross has been on the phone to me trying to find out if you are going to work or not. He said if you're not in the office in the morning, then don't bother going in at all."

I laughed snidely. "Oh well, never mind. It is just a job."

She scowled angrily. "What about us? What about the girls. You might hate me at the moment, but I know you love them."

"I do, I will look after them, don't worry.

In bed that night I tried to figure out what to do. There was no easy way around it. I was going to have to go in to work and she would know. I could just picture the look of joy on her patronising face as I tortured myself by not only going in to work, but facing up to that arsehole.

The morning came quickly, and I would have slept in again if my alarm hadn't gone off.

I was up and showered before she woke up. As I walked out of the shower and started dressing, she cheered. "Oh, thank god you've come too your senses."

She jumped out of bed and hugged me before I knew what was going on. "Thank you, Hon. This is the right thing to do. I am so proud of you."

She rushed out and I could hear her making my breakfast.

We ate in silence; I could see she wanted to say something but focused on her coffee. As I got up to leave, she jumped up and came in for a cuddle. I pushed my briefcase between us.

She sulked sullenly. "You'll see, Babe, it will be all right. It won't be as bad as you thought. It will be all over and we can move forward."

At work I went into my office, now I had to face that smug prick. I went to my desk as normal. I had been there about twenty minutes when Reynolds walked in.

"Decided to grace us with your presence today, have you?"

I was about to say something but he cut me off. "Don't bother with excuses. Summer told me what was happening."

I bit my tongue and gritted my teeth as he continued. "I understand you might have some misgivings, some concerns, but let's get this sorted right here right now."

I nodded, as he continued. "All right, I slept with your wife. I make no apologies for it, apart from perhaps we should have talked earlier."

I said nothing, so he carried on. "I just hope there are no hard feelings. I know it must have been a difficult moment for you. It is gone now, it is history. I am asking you to let it go. You are a very valuable member of my team and I don't want what happened to get between us and business."

I nodded.

"Good man," he chirped. "Good, I expect certain things from my team. I need to know you are either with me or against me. Which is it going to be for you, Arthur?"

Biting back the poisonous venom boiling within, I replied, "No hard feelings." I tried to make it less of a hiss, but it was difficult. I had to hang on as long as I could and help Michael win.

He stuck out his hand and we shook. He smirked. "You're a lucky bastard, Arthur. That is one hell of a woman. She wore me out that's for sure. She is a sexual dynamo, isn't she?"

I swallowed hard and I had to restrain myself from crushing his hand in mine.

He left as I muttered, "What a fucking prick. What a complete and utter arsehole; the gall of the man."

When we went in for the morning meeting, I received some funny stares before Reynolds walked in. Nobody said anything, but it was impossible to miss a couple of sniggers.

That night at home things seemed calmer. When I walked in, Summer greeted me with a mischievous grin. "How was your day Hon?"

She didn't even try to hide her smirk. "Did you talk with Ross? Sort out things?"

The girls rushed over, intervening by screaming, "Daddy!" They were all giggly, and dinner came and went easily.

Summer seemed miffed that she didn't get a hug or kiss, but the girls dragged me away to show me their toys.

After dinner, Summer picked up all the jobs. She bathed the girls and prepared them for bed. She even read the stories until they fell asleep. Normally, that was my job.

I think she was hoping I would wait up and talk, but I was already in bed by the time she finished with the girls.

I heard her shuffling around in the kitchen, finishing up the cleaning.

I had the lights off and was lying on my side of the bed when she walked in. I heard her grumble as she stumbled around the room.

Eventually, she slid into bed. She wasted no time in snuggling up against me. "Why are you still wearing these damn pyjamas?" she moaned.

I replied shortly, "I like them, they keep me warm."

She sighed, a deep breath billowing across me. Her arms circled my chest and she tweaked my nipples. "Artie, make love with me. I miss you. I hate us being like this."

Her naked flesh squirmed and wriggled behind me. Her hand dropped and she curled her fingers around my cock.

Damn it felt so good, I was horny, as well. Cutting her off also cut me off.

"Please, Artie." Her hand slowly stroked my shaft. "Please," she whimpered as her mouth nibbled on my ear. Her mound pressed against my arse, our bodies damp.

Sucking in a deep breath I said loudly, "No." I brushed aside her hand and turned to face her. "Summer, it's over."

She snorted. "You are being silly, Artie. I can see you want me; I can feel it." Her hand reached out to cradle my swollen balls. "Why should we torture ourselves. Let's just reconnect. Make love, enjoy our life."

I pushed her away. "I said no and I meant it. We can move forward after the divorce. You can have as much sex as you want. As many men as you can fit through the door."

She sighed. "Stop being so cruel. You have this all mixed up. We could actually explore this. It could work; there are hundreds of thousands of couples around the world who enjoy open marriages."

"But this isn't an open marriage, is it? It's just you fucking my boss, humiliating me, expecting me to just bend over and take it. Well, fuck that."

In a huff she rolled away. "You're being silly. This whole thing is silly. I had sex with him. I didn't kill anyone. Why do we have to fight? It's not the end of the world. If you would just open your mind, we could share the experience."

When I woke in the morning, she was snuggled up behind me. Her arm draped over me and her hand wrapped around my throbbing morning wood.

I eased her hand off and she whimpered, "No, stay for a while, don't go."

I removed her hand and went into work. With Michaels offer still firmly in my head, I decided to try and get inside. Find out as much as possible. It was tough cosying up to Reynolds, but as I wedged myself in, they freed up with his encouragement. Suddenly, I had access to all of the new tender docs. Luckily, I had my personal computer. I used it to download everything to which I could get access. Some of it was encrypted. I would need to get closer to get access to those.

Work was hard. The sight of him glaring smugly at me pissed me off. There was another side to it though. Ross seemed to be promoting me. He asked me to take a bigger role. He invited me into his office. "Sit down, Arthur, we need to talk."

I sat in a small chair staring across his huge teak desk. "Arthur, I like you, your work is excellent. You are conscientious, thoughtful and I thought, loyal."

I nodded offering a thanks for the compliment. Straight away he shot me down. "The problem, Arthur, is you have no god damned drive. Everybody pushes you around."

He stared back at me, his steely eyes drilling into me. "I want you in my inner sanctum, I am offering you a chance to shine. Guys who play the game well get opportunities. Work with me, Arthur, and the world will be your oyster."

I nodded. "Yes I will try."

"Good," he answered. "I want to see a little more go-get-em from you. Show me I haven't misplaced my confidence."

I nodded again and as he was walking out, he casually threw in, "By the way, I am having a diner party Saturday night. I would like you and Summer to come along. It starts at eight, don't be late."

I frowned. "I can't promise anything. We will have to find a babysitter."

He frowned dismissively. "Yeah, well make sure they can stay later than eleven for god's sake. Stand up man, stop being a pushover, don't let some snotty-nosed teenager tell you what to do. You're paying her, for god's sake."

I walked out thinking that was rich coming from him. The only reason we got the invite was so he could sleep with Summer again. Well fuck that.

I had no intention of going to his damned party. I never mentioned it to Summer. Things sort of calmed down at home and I'm sure she thought I was giving in, like I always had. What I was really doing was preparing to get out.

Saturday, I worked all day in my study. I built up copies of all the docs. If I decided to jump ship, this should outline Reynolds costs. With them exposed, it would be easy for Michael to adjust their price to come in under Revington's.

That night we were cleaning up from dinner, I was on dishes and Summer was on clearing down the table when her phone went. "Hello," she whispered, glancing guiltily at me. "What... no, I didn't know, he never even mentioned it."

Her gaze changed from guilty to irritated. "No, sorry, it's too late now. We would never be able to get a sitter."

She wandered away up the hallway so I wouldn't be able to hear, but I walked out of the kitchen and leaned against the hallway door. I heard her giggle. "What... no I couldn't do that. Things are tense enough here as it is."

There was quiet as she listened to whatever he was saying. "I'm sorry, Ross, I would love to, but I can't. I am trying to save my marriage."

He was obviously trying to get her to go without me. "No, Ross, please don't say that, I would love to come, but I can't, not tonight."

I heard her say, "Good night, lover."

I quickly slipped back into the kitchen and she stomped in behind me. "Why didn't you tell me about the invite to Ross's party tonight?"

I shrugged. "Because I didn't want to go. End of story."

She snapped back bitterly. "But the invite was for me, as well. Why didn't you at least tell me?"

"Because I didn't want to go. Okay?" I snarled.

She sneered, "Why not? What did you think was going to happen?"

I spat out angrily, "The same as last time probably, and I didn't want to go through that again."

Her stance softened and she folded her arms across her chest. "Babe, it was just a dinner party. Ross said he wanted you to get better acquainted with the other managers. Don't you understand, he's trying to help you."

"He doesn't care about me. All he wants is to get into your fucking knickers. Oh, and let's not forget, to rub my face in it. He's a sick fuck, Summer, he loves to do that. Fuck his employee's wives. You're not the first. He's done it to lots of guys. He is a fucking sicko, a god damned twisted psycho."

She seemed genuinely shocked by my vitriolic response. "Hon, he is a powerful man. So, what if he slept with some of the wives. Their husbands obviously don't mind. It could be the same for us."

"Oh, fuck off, he's a fucking sadist. He doesn't do it because he wants them. Not because they're beautiful. He does it so he can lord it over us at the office. Ha-ha, I fucked your wife."

She shook her head, "No, you have him all wrong. Okay, he is a very powerful man, very dominant, and he likes women. But he is not like that."

"Yeah, then why did he just ring you and not me?"

"He was just checking to see if we were going to make it. There was nothing sinister in it."

"Bullshit."

She sighed. "Have it your way, but I would have liked to have gone. It would have been fun."

"Want another fuck, did you?" I snarled.

She sneered. "Yes, actually, sex would have been nice. Because I'm not getting any here, that's for damn sure." The bitterness in her voice dripped with contempt.

The rest of the weekend passed slowly. It was cold around our pace. Very cold.

Monday morning, Reynolds burst into my office, slamming the door behind him. "Where the hell were you on Saturday? I specifically told you to be there."

I shrugged lightly, feigning confusion. "Sorry, I didn't realise it was a big deal. I couldn't organise a babysitter."

He leaned over my desk, his face inches from mine. "Artur, that is a damn lie. Summer didn't even know."

"I didn't tell her because I wanted it to be a surprise, but the sitter pulled out at the last minute and I couldn't get another."

He stood back up and paced around my office, his hands clasped behind his back. "Arthur, I thought we had an understanding, that you were in my corner."

He glared at me and I nodded in agreement. "We do, I am. Sorry, I didn't realise."

He shook his head. "When I tell you to do something Arthur, I mean it. If you don't want to be on my team and all the benefits that includes, then say so. I will organise somebody to clean out your desk. Do I make myself clear?"

I nodded again. "Yes sir."

"Good, then let's put this little difference of opinion behind us. Move on. Next weekend, I am taking my yacht for a sail. I would like you and Summer to accompany us. It will be an overnighter, so make the proper arrangements this time, all right?"

With a resigned sigh, I muttered, "Yes sir."

I met Michael that day to give him my updates and data.

As we ate lunch, he presented me with a contract. I had a quick read and it was for a senior project manager. The salary was twenty grand a year more than I was currently getting. There were other perks, as well.

As we sat, he slipped me some money over the table. It was one month's salary in cash as a sign-on bonus.

As we talked, he said. "I have found you a flat. I can have the keys and it can be ready for you to move in by the end of the week."

As I walked back to the office, I couldn't help but shiver. Sheesh, this was so unethical. It went against everything I believed in. I swallowed it down. Fuck him, he deserved it.

At home that night, Summer seemed uneasy. The girls were boisterous and running around crazily, but Summer seemed very subdued. It came out later as we stood together clearing up after dinner. "Artie, Ross called me today. He said he wanted us to go out on his boat next weekend."