The Unwanted Swap Ch. 01

I walked in to find Rose on the phone. When her eyes looked up and she saw me she grimaced. I guess we had both been building up for this. I heard her say, "Okay, babe, I'll call later, bye."

She stood up and walked over giving me a kiss on the check. Hmmm Very cold. This would normally be very hot. "Where have you been?"

"Project ran over a couple of days."

"Why didn't you call?"

I shrugged. "Why didn't you?" She flinched and walked into the kitchen. "Cup of tea?" she asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

We sat at the table with our hands nursing the hot cups. Nothing was said for a long time. It was Rose who broke. "Can we talk, Hon?"

"Yeah, I think that would be good."

"What happens now?" she asked.

"I get a two week break, and then it's off to Cardiff. I will use the two weeks to go over the project doc's. I will be getting paid from Monday."

She sighed. "I was more talking about us."

"Okay, go for it. I don't know what you're getting at."

She grimaced, turning her head slightly, unable to hold my stare. "I'm angry. I offered you a great new job, working for a great company and you turned your nose up at it." Our eyes briefly connected as she whispered, "Don't you want to live with me? Do you prefer living away from home?"

I took a long slurp of my tea and replied. "I would love to be here. I love you and I would definitely prefer to work locally. I am sick of hotel rooms and suitcases."

"Then why the hell didn't you take that job with Carter?"

"I already told you my reasons. I made it very clear I didn't want to work for him."

She shook her head in disbelief. "For gods sake. Without sounding big headed. I am an attractive woman. There's probably plenty of men who would be interested."

"Yeah, but he was at that bloody party and you already told me you want to join in sometime in the future. Because of the lies, I don't know you aren't already doing it."

"Eddie, I bloody told you. I would never cheat on you. Yes, I'm interested in the parties, but not unless we are both into it."

"Yeah, well I have to question the guys ethics. If he's into that sort of shit, god knows what he is into."

She finished off her cuppa, before saying, "So we're back to you working away from home again. How long are you going to be locked into this bloody deal?"

"Another year, maybe longer."

"What about our dreams of buying a house, starting a family?"

"Why do you think I'm doing this? I still want all those things."

"Yeah well, I'm sick of living like a single person. I want my husband in my bed every night. I want us to do things, not have to wait for a once a month weekend visit."

"Then what do you want me to do?"

"I wanted you to be sensible and take that damn job."

"Yeah, and I expected you to be honest with me. Tell me the truth. That didn't happen either."

"This thing has got out of control. Can we just admit we both did the wrong thing and move forward? If it helps, I admit I did the wrong thing. I should have trusted you and tried to talk it through."

"Thanks, yes it would have been nice to know you trusted me. I didn't know you doubted me."

"I never used to. I always thought we were so close. I have never questioned you in the past."

"Then why now?"

"When you made that stupid comment about Carter when I first told you about contacting him. I was scared. You seem to have become so insecure, jealous. I've never seen you like that before."

"I guess I am jealous. You seem to be infatuated with Tony. You carry on having meetings with him. You talk about our private business with him. Yes, I'm unhappy."

She flinched, looked guilty. "I'm not infatuated with him. He has been so helpful. He has sort of been mentoring me. Since we met we have become good friends."

"Oh yeah, I know that."

"Not like that; we're just friends."

"He hasn't mentioned coming back to the swinger parties then?"

I saw her face redden as she blushed brightly. "He did ask, but I said you weren't interested and he he's not mentioned it since."

"But you are aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm interested, but only if you want to' otherwise no."

"With him?"

"What?"

"Okay, is it him or swinging?"

She looked confused, "Swinging."

"If I said I was interested, but not with them, would you still be interested?"

Hesitantly, she murmured, "Okay, but why not with Tony and Claire?"

"Because it's too fucked up with them. If you wanted to try it we could try another group, or have a look on the net."

"I don't get it; you say you hate the idea one minute and now you say you want to. Would you just make your mind up?"

"I said I would give it a go if we can find a couple we both like."

"But you liked Claire, you said so yourself."

"Yes, but I don't like him. If you're not interested then we will give it a miss."

She sighed. "Babe, we have more important things to discuss. I want you to get a job locally."

I shrugged. "I have already committed to the Wales job. I can't back out now."

She stormed out, pulled on her coat and headed for the door. "I bloody hate you right now. Fuck you and fuck that job."

She slammed the front door as she headed out with steam billowing from her ears like a burst boiler.

I was in bed when she got home. I heard the front door open and the cupboards in the kitchen slamming as she hunted for something.

I rolled over to my side of the bed, expecting her to come bustling in. She never arrived. I was awakened in the morning by her banging around getting dressed for work.

There was no goodbye, she slammed the front door hard enough to shake the whole house.

The next day was the same. She slept on the sofa and I stayed out of her way.

It was Wednesday when I got the big shock. I was chilling on the sofa reading the morning paper when there was a knock on the door. Cursing softly, I walked out to see who was disturbing my morning. As I pulled open the door, I was stunned to see Tony. "Morning, Edwin. Could I come in for a chat?"

"What do you want, Tony?"

"Just a chat, old man."

I nervously waved him in. He wandered in, looking all around the tiny flat. "Okay, what do you want?" I asked.

He pointed to the table. "Can we sit down?"

We walked to the table and sat. "Eddie, I wanted to talk to you about the job at Trimax. I want to know why you turned it down?"

"Sorry, Tony, but this is none of your business. I don't know why you have decided to poke your nose in, but let me assure you, it is not welcome."

"I'm here because Rose asked me to try and talk some sense into you. She told me you turned the job down because of the party and my relationship with Carter."

Tightening up I replied, "I said it's none of your bloody business and I meant it."

"Edwin, Rose is concerned about your relationship. She doesn't like living alone most of the time."

"Glad she talked to you about it. Perhaps in the future she could try talking to me."

"My understanding is she has already tried, but you weren't really listening."

"Do you have a degree in counselling?" I snarled.

"Edwin, I am just trying to help a friend. Rose is worried."

"We are not friends, Tony. You want to fuck my wife. That's the only thing I know about you. Oh, apart from the fact you're a fucking pervert."

He scowled deeply. "I didn't come here to be insulted. I don't appreciate it. I haven't said anything offensive to you. You might not consider me a friend, but I am a friend of Rose's and I hoped you and I could talk. We are both adults, Edwin. What say we behave like it."

If he thought his bullshit was working he was wrong, I snarled. "Go on then, spit it out."

"All right. Rose said you turned down the job with Carter because he was at our party and we are friends. Is that part true?"

I nodded.

"Good. Why did you turn down that position. Talk to me."

"Honestly... The reason I turned it down is. I think he offered me the job as a favour to you. You wanted to play the hero for Rose. The shining knight who found me a job. Just so you could shag her."

He shook his head like he was totally bewildered. "Edwin, yes I did ask Carter to look at your resume, but my only motive was to help a friend nothing more."

"Bullshit, I don't buy any of your shit."

Taking a big gulp of air he replied, "Carter has been my friend since we were at school. We stole cars together. We got in fights together and we even shared a couple of birds we picked up. In many ways, he is my best friend."

"Nice to know." I muttered.

"Edwin, Carter has slept with Claire many times and I have slept with his wife Karen just as many. We are still best friends. We even have each other on about it."

"Jesus, you're a twisted bunch of pricks."

He shrugged. "I am friends with every single person who is part of our circle. Claire has slept with a couple of people outside the group. I accept that. We are adults and she is free to do so."

"Jesus, don't you want to smash their faces in?"

He laughed, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Actually, no. When I was younger and I knew guys were trying to chat her up, yes I got jealous. Yes, I wanted to knock their blocks off. Now I realise that is just stupid jealousy."

Shaking my head. "Okay, so you don't care. I don't feel the same way."

Nodding, he said, "I'm not trying to convince you to join our little group. I am trying to explain that just because Carter is my friend, doesn't mean you can't have an adult professional working relationship with him."

"It's too late. The position closed on Monday."

He shook his head. "The position hasn't been filled. When I told him I was going to speak to you he said he would hold it open until tomorrow."

"So I would have you to thank for my wonderful new job, huh? I suppose I could offer you Rose as a payment."

"Fuck, you are an idiot. I don't have to buy sex. If I wanted to just seduce Rose I would have already done so."

"Bullshit, this is all part of your ploy. If I accept the job she will be thankful and probably jump into your bed."

"Have you always been this neurotic? I am not trying to seduce Rose. She is my friend and I am just trying to help. I looked through your CV and I know you would be a perfect fit for Carter. He feels the same way."

When I sat viciously biting my lip, he continued, "Look, Edwin. I like Rose, and strangely, I like you. I have been very fortunate in my life. People helped me out and gave me a hand up. I am not ashamed of that."

"I don't want a job because you want to bang my wife."

"I'm not embarrassed to say I am attracted to Rose. The job offer is not related to that. You will be expected to prove Carter and I haven't misjudged you. You got the job offer on merit. Not because we are friends."

"We are not friends."

"Rose is angry and frustrated. She saw an opportunity to help you get a job locally so you could rebuild your relationship. If you walk away from that I really fear for your marriage."

"Too late, I am already thinking our marriage is over. She lied to me, tried to trick me."

He nodded. "Yes, I already gave her a piece of my mind. Lying is never the answer. She made a mistake, Edwin. She apologised. Move on."

"Thanks for coming round, Tony. Let me show you to the door."

He stood and we walked to the door. As I opened it he said. "What do I tell Carter?"

I shrugged. "As I said, I have already accepted a position with Halswells in Wales. I have a signed contract. I have to honour that."

He frowned. "What if I get them to retract their offer?"

Scowling, I snapped, "I have already signed."

"And I said what if that contract was rescinded. Would you take the position with Carter?"

"I don't know." I sighed. "This is so screwed up. I am trying to figure out why you are doing this."

He smiled reassuringly. His face seemed warm. "I am trying to help a friend save her marriage."

He vanished and I flopped back down on the sofa. I was reading, but nothing made sense. I couldn't focus or absorb anything. I really wanted to take the job.

It was only an hour or so later when I got a call from Adam at Hallswell's. "Eddie, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we are retracting our job offer. We have found somebody else."

"What!" I snapped caustically. "I have a contract."

"Yes you do, but we want you to rip it up."

"No fucking way, man. It is signed."

"Mate, there's no sense beating around the bush. I know you have another job offer. We are giving you an out."

"What if I hold you to it?"

"We can't stop you. We will honour it if that's what you want."

"Rip it up." I grumbled.

He said warmly. "Cool, well it's been great not working with you. Good luck for the future. If things change we would be more than happy to work together. Chow, buddy."

I flopped back on the sofa. Now what. No way was I calling that bastard. I jumped on the net and started scrolling through some vacancy ads. I targeted several that were nowhere near as good as the one I just turned down.

I rang a couple of the companies. Two of which were interested and set up interviews for the following day.

Rose arrived home at her usual time. She seemed far less grumpy. She walked over and gave me a kiss. "Hi, Hon."

"Do you want a cuppa?" I asked.

She nodded and I set about making the tea while she changed. Her change in mood was obviously due to Tony's visit, and that annoyed me.

She sat down at the table dressed in her casual clothes. I handed her the cup of tea and sat with her. The cold atmosphere had become almost normal. We both sat there until she gushed. "Hon, I'm sorry for the way things have been lately. I have been a moody bitch. I'm sorry for that."

I shrugged. "Ah, it's okay. I haven't been exactly a ball of sunshine either."

"No it's my fault." She added. "I have been stupid. I am so ashamed about lying to you. I am going to try and put all this behind us. I can get through another year. We have been doing okay haven't we?"

I nodded. "Thanks for that. Yeah, we can get through it."

She tilted her head to the side. "Could we go out for dinner? Even if it's just down the pub."

I nodded. "Yeah let's do it."

We changed quickly and headed down the local. There were a few people we knew at the bar and we had a couple of drinks, falling into happy conversation.

Afterwards we found a table and ordered. As we sat she reached across the table to clutch my hand. "We have two weeks right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, two weeks. Well we would have if I was going."

A confused scowl settled over her face. "What do you mean by that?"

"They called me today to inform me. My contract has been rescinded. Don't panic I have found a couple of local companies. In fact, I have interviews tomorrow."

She looked gobsmacked. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Yeah, afraid so."

"Shit, they can't do that. You had a signed contract didn't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Look it's probably for the best. I want us to try and reconnect, move forward."

She squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry, Hon. Did they give you a reason?"

"Not exactly. Let's forget about Wales and I will focus on my interviews tomorrow."

She gritted her teeth and whispered almost inaudibly. "What about the job at Trimax?"

"That closed on Monday didn't it?"

She sighed. "Yeah, but if you called they might change their mind."

"Assuming you were telling the truth. You said they were keen to move forward. So I have to figure they have filled it already."

She nodded. "Yes, they were in a hurry. Oh well." The food turned up and we started to eat.

"Eddie, could we try again. Let me help you find a job. I stopped looking after I contacted Trimax. Once I saw they were interested, I didn't look any further."

I laughed with my mouth full of pork chop. "Yeah, I would like that."

The mood at the table changed immediately. We laughed. We joked about our behaviour and how things had happened. It became apparent that she didn't know about Tony's visit.

At home that night our re-connection extended to the bedroom and we made love with a burning intensity.

Afterwards, she lay with her head on my shoulder. "Do you think there would be any harm in me ringing Trimax, just on the off chance?" She asked.

Giving her a kiss, I replied. "Can we please forget about Trimax, and start afresh. I already have two interviews lined up."

She sighed. "Yes, all right. We will start all over."

The interviews went well, although the projects were small and the terms were pretty poor. At the back of my mind was our desire to buy our own home. I watched the housing market closely and it was depressing to watch the continuing rise in house prices. To take one of these positions would put us on the back foot and extend our time frame.

I left both interviews thinking "They went well." They both said they would be in touch.

Maybe the price we would have to pay for wanting a more normal life would be putting off the house search.

I had dinner ready to serve by the time Rose arrived home. She couldn't hide her smile when her nose twitched at the smell of cooking chicken. We greeted with a warm sweet kiss and she tittered. "Oh god yes. I could get used to this."

She got changed and we sat down to eat. "How did your interviews go?" She asked.

"They were pretty good, but the money's shit and they are short term. Only casual, as well, so no sick leave." She frowned a little. "I started sifting through our files and I have found a couple of possibilities. I did forward them to your email."

I nodded. "I'll check after dinner. What are they?"

"Nothing special, first one is a supermarket parking building. The second is some sewer pipe refurbishments."

She gave me a sideways glance. "I don't want you to get mad, but I called Carter and that job is still available."

I gave her an angry stare. "I thought we agreed to leave that."

She flinched. "Eddie, it is a good job, A job with a future."

Digging my toes in, I grumbled. "No thanks. Rose, We talked about it. I want to do this myself. I want to get jobs on merit. Not because my new boss wants to shag my wife."

She scowled. "Can we stop saying that? He offered you that job based on Tony's recommendation."

"Exactly what I meant. Your boyfriend's recommendation is no better."

"Can we drop that please? He is not my fucking boyfriend. We are just friends."

"Whatever, lets focus our search on finding something else."

With a consolatory soft lilt, she added. "Babe, it's a good job. If you would stop being so stubborn and look at it for what it is... A great prospect, with an actual future."

Trying to hide my snarl, I griped. "Forget it. Just do your job or don't, but forget that shit."

"Fine, be an arse. If you end up working for some second rate company, with poor conditions, it will be your own fault."

I sneered back. "Sounds good. Let's just do that. If that's the way it turns out then you can take great joy in saying, "Told you so"."

She said wistfully. "Oh don't worry, I will."

"Yeah, I know."

It sort of ruined our quiet fun dinner and an uncomfortable silence seeped into the room.

There was no lovemaking that night, but she did snuggle warmly up to my back.

The morning found me back at the computer searching through situation vacant ads. I stumbled upon one that interested me. Doing some research on the company, it was obvious they were a new company who specialised in inner-city renovation. Their brief was based on providing cheap housing for impoverished families.

The job on offer was interesting: project managing the refurbishment of an old factory into apartment-style living. It didn't scream out huge salary, but it did sound interesting.

I jumped, filling in an application immediately. In for a penny, in for a pound. If I couldn't find a high paying job at least I would find something I liked.