The Unreal Estate Business Ch. 02

"I had a little too much to drink. I know that is not an excuse, but I was on a high anyway. Carl was telling me how proud he was of me and then he gave me a little kiss. That turned into a make out session. The combination of it all got to me. Plus Carl is a very smooth talker. It makes him a great salesman. I let him feel me up while we sat there in the restaurant. I was on a euphoric high anyway. I orgasmed right there. Next thing I knew we were in a motel room."

"That was the first time. I was a little guilty afterwards. But thinking about the excitement of doing something naughty kind of took over. We'd have sex after I sold a house. Then if he sold one as well. That was sort of our congratulatory ritual. You and I still had sex all the time and it was great. I was completely satisfied with it. But the little sex after a sale thing got to be a game. After a while we started doing it at least once a week whether we sold a house or not."

"Most of those late showings were just that. No sex involved. We talked about keeping our routines so neither you nor Amelia would catch on. But we had plenty of time to be away from the office so we would have sex during the day, especially after Carl rented an apartment. I always made sure to shower and douche to keep from leaving any evidence and I tried not to have sex with you after Carl."

I interrupted to her to ask about this last Tuesday. Her eyes got wide. "Well, occasionally when you were horny and came on to me even if I said I was a little tired, I went along. I told myself I would never deny you sex. But if you took the hint I was not in the mood and left me alone then that was okay. I want you to know it was never one of those things where the lover gets the wife to cut her husband off. Really Carl told me I should have sex with you as often as possible to keep you happy." And clueless, I said to myself.

Finally, she asked me what I wanted to say. "What can I say?" I replied. "You know where this is going now. Once I found out, we were finished. Twenty two years down the drain. I didn't know it was you Carl was cheating with until Friday. I knew he was cheating with someone but gave you the benefit of the doubt. I have already seen a lawyer and suggest you do the same. You are due to be served shortly. Oh, and I know you are concerned if I will be filing on the grounds of adultery. That is a given. I don't care if you lose your job, you will not get one cent out of me for alimony. You'll get your half of all our shit and that is all. Sam is over eighteen even if he is still in high school, so he can decide where he wants to live. We'll let the lawyers sort the details out."

With that, I got up and walked away. I heard her sob behind me. I didn't care. Her feelings did not bother me in the least. I guess I was turning into a hard ass.

The divorce itself was a little anti-climatic. Neither Sarah nor I had enough cash to buy the other out. So we had to sell the house. She wanted most of the furniture and other stuff. I had no use for fancy china. I planned to buy some cheap pots and pans and dishes later. Tina and Greg's things were put into storage for them and the fees were paid for the next year out of communal funds.

Our main point of contention was my stock option. Sarah's lawyer wanted her to get half. Unfortunately, those options are worthless until activated. I had options for the previous three years as well as the current year. Brad had read Horizon's policy and declared it a 'very sweet deal'. I could buy shares of stock at a discounted price below market value. Not only that, the price I would pay was based on the price of the stock at the time the offer was made, not current price. Horizon Games had done very well in the past year or two. My earlier options were now worth several times their initial value. However they had to be activated and the stock held for three years. Early options would expire soon. Sarah could not bring herself to part with the money. She claimed she could not lock her funds away for three years. She needed her money now.

It turned out she had taken the exam for her broker's license and intended to buy into Proudmore Realty as a full partner. Since she refused to invest, my lawyer got her to sign a quitclaim. To sweeten the deal I gave her all my home furnishings outside of my clothing and personal items. I was happy to do so.

When we left the meeting Brad was ecstatic, congratulating me. I told him I did not see what the big deal was. I could not afford to exercise the stock options with what I had. "Oh, but you can and you WILL!" he said. "Amelia and I are going to provide the money. For that we get 50% of the profit for our trust. Not that we need it but our heirs will be set. And from my calculations, you will be a rich man." At my incredulous look, he corrected himself. "Well, not stupid rich. But you will have few financial worries living a modest life even if you never worked another day."

Amelia and Carl's divorce was far more contentious. Brad had written and insisted his sister and new husband sign a pre nup. They agreed that in the case of adultery, the guilty party would get only 30% of community property. That meant that after Brad got a fair evaluation of the brokerage, Carl had to give Amelia all his equity in the house plus most of his cash reserve. It also wound up including most of the influx of cash Sarah provided when she bought her partnership. Still Sarah and Carl were convinced they could make a go of their new non-sexual, business partnership. I suspected that despite my pointing out what an egotistical and sadistic bastard Carl could be, Sarah was enamored.

I felt I owed her my opinion based on the twenty years we had together. But once I gave it, my obligation was over. She was a big girl and could make her own decisions. One of Proudmore Realty's main income streams was from their sales from the housing development. But their listings were offered one house at a time as the home got close to being finished. But Carl never had an exclusive. He wanted to maintain this relationship. He was very upset to hear Amelia considered bringing the sales back into the company.

Sarah was there as he presented his case to Amelia. I was invited to be present. I was not sure why other than for my own entertainment watching Carl grovel. Amelia smiled and told me to sit and enjoy the show.

Carl presented a good case. He showed how his firm sold each house within a few weeks of completion if not in advance. He pointed out what Amelia's expenses would be if she had to hire her own sales staff, set up an office etc. I was impressed. The man really was a good salesman.

Then Amelia took the floor. She reminded Carl how she wanted to have a baby and how he was too chicken to get his vasectomy reversed. She had offered an alternative and have her egg fertilized by artificial insemination using Dave, her brother in law's sperm. I watched his facial expression. Even now he exhibited his distaste. "You said you did not want to raise the spawn of a 'fudge packer'" Amelia said. "Guess what. Karma is a bitch."

I knew we were in private. Only the four of us were privy to these discussions. She pushed a button on her laptop to replay Carl's comments about taking her up the butt and punishing her. About how he would make sure she hurt for days. "If you want the listings for my properties as I build them, they are yours." Amelia said. "But with a price. For each listing you have to take it up the ass twice and give two blowjobs. I get to find and select the men. I will guarantee they are all disease free. Carl opened his mouth to proclaim his protest. Then he shut it and glared at his ex-wife.

Then she said, "As far as needing to use Dave to provide sperm for me to have a baby. That has been covered. I tested positive yesterday."

She turned to me. "I had intended to tell you privately,but I could not resist this opportunity. You are going to be a Daddy...again." I knew Sarah and Carl were surprised. I could tell without looking but my eyes were only on my woman.

Epilogue:

As Amelia had predicted, Carl just could not bring himself to comply with her conditions to list any more of the houses as they were built.

Tina told me later Sarah had confided in her that until that final meeting, she had no idea Amelia had that much control and was really the property developer. Carl had always complained about Amelia making suggestions, but he never let on she was not only the brains of the outfit but the boss. He also had given her the impression he had a lock on each listing. Losing that revenue stream proved devastating for both their private incomes and the agency itself. They were scrambling to keep the doors open and it looked to be a futile effort.