When God Closes a Door

"Again, Kimberly, I am so sorry that you had to put up with that garbage. I can see that you're upset. If you'd like to take the rest of the day off, I'll see to it that it isn't charged against your personal days or your sick time."

"Thank you, Mr. Arnold, but I'd rather be here at work."

After that day, it seemed that Kimberly couldn't do enough for me. I tried to tell her that I was just doing my job. And I continued to make the point that I hadn't done my job very well because of what she had suffered.

Of course, I got summoned to Jacob's office as soon as he learned that I had forced his programmers to resign.

"I want those programmers rehired," he demanded as soon as I stepped into his office.

"That's not going to happen," I said forcefully. "I have proof that those four assholes sexually assaulted and abused our department's administrative assistant. If you want to hire them back, go ahead. But I can guarantee that there will be a lawsuit against all four of them, the parent company, and you. I don't think your bosses would think too highly of that."

Jacob glared at me but then smiled and caved. He tried to pretend that he didn't know all the details. But I realized that night that he was lying. Carol came home and laced into me for being an asshole to Jacob. She thought I was a jerk for threatening our boss. I should have known at that point what Jacob was up to as my gut was screaming, "DANGER." But when things at home went back to normal, I dismissed the incident. After all, I still believed that Carol loved me and only me.

If I had listened to my gut, I might not be sitting in jail right now. But I was stupid, and I let Jacob and my wife lull me into a false sense of wellbeing. And for the two months of the merger, nothing really changed between Carol and me. I learned that the company that had acquired us was called Unity Software. They were about the same size as us but had mostly government contracts. Zabba gave them an entrée into the commercial market. And no, Jacob's dad didn't own the company. His family's fortune was made manufacturing pipe and wiring. However, Jacob's father had sold out the business when Jacob was still in college.

I could say many nasty things about Jacob, but I couldn't say he was incompetent. He actually was doing an excellent job combining the two companies. In fact, he had convinced the board to keep the Zabba name because it had a better reputation. What I didn't know was that Jacob had finished his work of combining the two companies in eight weeks. After that, he had put the seduction of my gullible wife in high gear. Just like Sandy in high school, Jacob was able to win over Carol. Despite my warnings about him, Carol seemed enchanted by the asshole and constantly commented on what a great job he was doing. I kept warning her about Jacob, but she just told me I was jealous. By the fourth month of the transition, Carol announced she was pregnant. I was over the moon with happiness. However, our sex life had been faltering. It had gone from three times a week to once every other week. I put that down to Carol being pregnant. Then our lunches together stopped, and finally, Carol stopped riding to work with me. All this culminated with the "talk."

Carol stopped me one morning before I left for work. I was a little surprised to find her still at home as she had lately been leaving at least an hour before me.

"Michael, we need to talk," she said while motioning for me to take a seat on the couch.

I sat down as requested, confused as to what was so important that we had to have a discussion this early in the morning. However, what Carol told me, blew up my entire world.

"I'm so sorry to have to tell you this," Carol said with a hardness in her eyes, "but I've fallen in love with Jacob, and he has fallen in love with me."

I just stared at her for a long time. I studied her face, and what I realized was that she wasn't sorry about anything. Finally, I exploded. "Are you out of your fucking mind? I told you that Jacob is an asshole, and he would try to drive a wedge between us. I can't believe you're buying into his total bullshit?"

"He's not an asshole!" Carol flared. "He's a kind and loving man. He understands me, which is something that you never have."

I could feel my soul being crushed with each word that Carol said. I was desperate at this point, so I went with something that I hoped would bring her to her senses.

"What about our unborn child," I said softly. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"The child isn't yours," Carol said with a tight smile.

I was stunned by her statement. "That's a lie."

"No, it isn't," she said. "We hadn't had sex for two weeks when I got pregnant."

Now I was beyond furious. "You cheating slut! You've been fucking that piece of shit."

"It's my body, and I can do what I want with it!" she screamed at me. "You don't own me."

Devastated doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. But my father had once counseled me to never show a woman that she had wounded you. Keeping my composure was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But I was able to hold it together and smirk at her.

"You said that Jacob understands you like I never have," I said with a tight laugh. "You're right; he does. He understands that you're a stupid, gullible cunt. God, you are so stupid. But you know what? You deserve each other. He's a fucking asshole, and you're a fucking whore."

"Fuck you, Michael!" Carol stormed.

"No, that's never going to happen again," I said calmly. "But just so you know, I'm not moving out of this house. You can go live with Jacob in his apartment."

"We'll see about that," Carol turned and headed for the bedroom.

What a fucking nightmare I had fallen into. Learning that my loving wife had been screwing Jacob all this time was too much to process. I wanted to beat the shit out of the cunt, but I just didn't have it in me to hit a woman. Jacob, on the other hand, I had no reservations about.

I cried all the way to work but finally got myself under some sort of control. Well, that's an out and out lie. I was running of pure rage. On the way over, I had decided that I would resign and beat the shit out of Jacob, but not necessarily in that order.

I ran into Jacob as he was entering the company's front door. He didn't seem at all alarmed to see me and even flashed a smirk at me. A thought sprung up in my mind that it would be so like Carol to take it upon herself to drop her little bomb on me without consulting Jacob. She was very independent. Jacob, on the other hand, I suspected, had no intention of telling me about the baby until after it was born. Then he would take both my wife and newly born child away at the same time. It would be his ultimate win over me.

Rage filled me as I walked up to him. He just continued smirking. At that moment, I exploded and punched him in the nose and then in his mouth. Blood immediately began to pour down his face, but I wasn't through. I hit him two hard shots to his balls, and as he began to crumble, I hit him with an uppercut. I left him curled up in front of the door as the guards raced to help. Later, I would learn, he lost three teeth in addition to a broken nose. He also had a ruptured testicle. I didn't come out completely unscathed as I had broken two fingers on my left hand.

I headed to the bullpen and started boxing up all my personal possessions and papers. Kimberly saw me, and I could see concern and fear on her face.

"What's happened?" she asked with genuine concern.

"Jacob has been fucking my wife behind my back, and now she is leaving me for him. I just beat the shit out of him, so I guess I'm terminated. And even if they don't fire me, I quit."

The rest of my staff was shocked to hear what had transpired. My team was not only upset for me but was also very worried about their own individual jobs. I assured them that what I did would have no effect on their continued employment.

Once the staff was calmed and assured that they wouldn't suffer for my stupidity, I went back to packing up my stuff. But I never finished as the police arrived, and I was arrested. I expected that that would be my fate, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. As they handcuffed me, I asked Kimberly if she would gather up the rest of my stuff and take it home with her.

After I had my mugshot taken, was fingerprinted, and given paper towels to clean my fingers, I was allowed to make my phone call. But I didn't know who to call. My parents were away on a cruise. They also lived two thousand miles away in San Diego while I lived in Nashville. I certainly wasn't going to call Carol.

Finally, I decided to call Kimberly. Maybe she could find me a lawyer? However, when I called Zabba, the receptionist told me that Kimberly had left for the day. After that, I didn't know what to do, so I just sat in my cell, alternating between being angry as hell and wondering how I could win my wife back. One thought kept raging in my head. How could Carol betray me in such a cold and heartless way? Then the thought of getting revenge clouded out everything else.

As the day wore on and I languished in jail, I began to realize that Jacob already had a plan in place. My troubles were just beginning. I know that Jacob wasn't expecting the beating that he got today. However, I was convinced that Jacob expected me to attack him once I discovered his treachery. Only he figured that he could do it at his own time and place of choosing. I guess I ruined that part of his plan.

About four that afternoon, I was brought before a judge to be arraigned. I had been assigned a public defender since I didn't have an attorney. To my horror, he looked like a teenager with a bad complexion. Not only did my attorney look like a kid, but he didn't seem to know anything about me or my case. He was quickly trying to read through the file when the judge got annoyed with him.

"Counselor," the judge barked, "it's really simple. Does your client plead guilty or not guilty?"

The "kid" glanced over at me like a deer staring into the headlights. So, I jumped in and announced firmly, "Not guilty."

"Thank God," the judge sighed. "Bail is set at twenty-five hundred dollars -- cash or check."

I didn't have nearly enough cash on me, and I didn't carry blank checks with me. So, I looked up at the judge. "Excuse me, your honor, but I don't have that much cash, and I don't carry blank checks with me. Is there some way I could contact a bail bondsman?"

"My clerk will help you with that, and she'll let you know when your court date will be," he said. But before he could call the next case, I heard a voice from behind me. "I'll post his bail."

I spun around and found Kimberly waving her checkbook. I was stunned to see her in the courtroom and very touched that she cared enough to come and help me.

"I'll repay you as soon as I can get to an ATM," I assured Kimberly.

"I'm not worried about that," she said softly as she looked at my swollen hand. "Does it hurt a lot?"

"In the overall scheme of things, it doesn't even register compared to the pain of Carol's betrayal."

"For what it's worth, boss," Kimberly said, looking up into my eyes, "I think your wife is a very stupid bitch. She's made a huge mistake, trading you for Jacob."

I smiled at my administrative assistant. "Thanks, that's very kind of you to say."

At that point, a young man stepped in front of me. "Are you Michael Arnold?"

When I said, "yeah," he handed me an envelope and said, "You've been served."

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but the speed at which the papers had been served upon me left no doubt that Jacob and Carol had been planning this for some time. It was just another cut into my heart.

"Let's get something to eat after I get some cash out of the ATM," I said despondently.

However, when I tried to access my account, I was denied. I called the bank and was told there was a freeze on all of my accounts. This would remain in effect until the court lifted it. Yes, I know now that you can petition the court for relief from having your assets totally frozen. But I didn't know it back then. I also found out that my other savings account had been frozen, and my credit cards had been canceled. A quick check of my wallet showed that I had a hundred and twenty-six dollars, plus a hundred-dollar bill tucked in one of the creases.

"Apparently, Carol and Jacob have frozen all of my money," I informed Kimberly. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but at least I can buy you dinner."

"No, you're not," Kimberly protested. "You're coming to my apartment, and I'll cook dinner for us."

I had to admit that Kimberly's suggestion appealed to me. It didn't make sense for me to spend what little cash I had on dining out. We stopped by Zabba and picked up my car, and I followed Kimberly to her apartment. I couldn't believe how helpful this woman was to me. I mean, she was just a fellow worker. I was so going to pay her back every cent and much more as soon as I could sort my finances out.

Over dinner, I was really down in the dumps. Not only that, but my two fingers hurt like hell. I had put ice on them as soon as I got to Kimberly's place, but they still hurt. After watching me grimace with pain, Kimberly finally pulled out a bottle of Percocet that she had gotten for a root canal. I took one of those, and after a half-hour, the pain faded considerably. Still, I was not good company.

"They really did a number on me," I lamented. "I am totally screwed, glued, and tattooed. I can't even think about getting any revenge against Jacob or Carol right now because it would totally come boomeranging back on me. But someday, I'm going to pay those two fuckers back in spades."

"Mr. Arnold," Kimberly said in a soft voice.

"Please, call me Michael," I insisted. "I'm not your boss anymore. Besides, what you've done for me today makes you a very good friend."

Kimberly smiled and continued. "Michael, my mother cheated on my father and left him for another man. I had to go live with her, and I hated every minute of it. Her lover was an asshole, just like Jacob. He never married my mother, but they lived together for ten years before he found someone younger to run off with. My father was bitter and tried to get revenge on my mother for years. He wound up in jail several times and finally died a broken man. Don't waste your life trying to get revenge. In the end, my dad told me that he truly regretted letting my mother's betrayal ruin him. He wished he had just moved on and forgotten the bitch. Today, my mother lives alone in an assisted living facility where she struggles with respiratory problems from years of smoking. I visit her once a week even though I still don't like her very much. And every week, I have to listen to her lament on what a mistake she made leaving my father. So, please don't waste your life trying to get revenge."

I told her that she was probably right. Still, at that moment, I had no intention of letting those backstabbing motherfuckers off the hook. The anger was still bubbling just below the surface, and I wanted my pound of flesh.

After I helped clean up the dishes, I told Kimberly that I should get going and find a cheap motel. Her response was immediate. "No, you're not doing that. You'll spend the night here. I have a spare bedroom, and you're welcome to it."

"Kimberly, you have been the only ray of sunshine in the pit that is now my life. I can't impose on you anymore."

"First of all, it isn't an imposition," she insisted. "Second, if you sleep here, I can go to work tomorrow and find out what's going on."

Again, Kimberly was making a lot more sense than me, so I accepted her invitation. About midmorning the following day, Kimberly called me to let me know that I had, indeed, been fired. She then told me to fire up her computer and type up a letter instructing HR to send my final check to her address. Shirley, the head of Human Resources, wasn't sure whether the company was obligated to pay my vacation time and sick leave. But she felt that should be put in the letter anyway.

"But the courts have frozen all my money," I pointed out.

"Shirley told me that the court's order is just for the bank accounts. So, get the letter in as quickly as possible before Jacob or Carol realize what you're doing."

I did as Kimberly suggested and got a fax back stating that I would be receiving a check for $4,925.57 in a couple of days. The fax also stated that they had to check state law to determine if the company had to pay vacation time or sick pay. As it turned out, they didn't. Still, getting almost five grand was a big shot in the arm.

When Kimberly got home, she told me that Jacob hadn't been in that day, but Carol had been, and she was spitting mad at me for messing up her boyfriend. Somehow, that amused both Kimberly and me.

I decided to stay at Kimberly's place until I got my check. During that time, I put together a resume and began actively looking for a job. I discovered very quickly that Jacob and Carol had blackballed me. Since I worked in cybersecurity, no one would take a chance on me with a felony conviction hanging over my head.

When my check arrived, I endorsed it over to Kimberly, and she deposited it into her account. I didn't want to take a chance of opening a new account only to have that one frozen also. Again, when I told Kimberly that I would get out of her hair and rent my own apartment, she was upset. Kimberly pointed out that I probably couldn't even rent a dog house without a checking account. Plus, if they checked my credit rating right now, it would probably show my financial difficulty.

"Look, please just stay here until you have a new job," she urged me. "In the meantime, you can find a lawyer." I finally agreed.

The lawyer I retained took me on when I paid him a two-thousand-dollar retainer. However, it was money well spent because he immediately petitioned the courts to allow me access to a reasonable amount of money from our checking and savings accounts. The courts allowed me to spend a sufficient amount to provide a minimum lifestyle. This, of course, included paying my lawyer.

I had been at Kimberly's apartment for eight days now and thought it was time to go. So, I found an apartment in her complex and put the necessary deposit on it. That Saturday, Kimberly helped me buy the minimum furnishings for my new abode. I also took her out for the dinner that I promised her.

Kimberly wanted to go to the Olive Garden, which I like also. During the meal, I studied her more closely. She had the face of an angel, but the extra fifty pounds she carried detracted from this beauty. And I could tell that Kimberly was very self-conscious about the weight. Then I had an idea that I hoped she wouldn't find insulting. I turned it over in my head, deciding how best to present the suggestion.

"I just discovered that our complex has a gym," I said casually. "I'd like to make use of it, but I'd really like to have someone to go with. Would you be interested?"

"You really want to be seen with me?" she asked as she moved her hands up and down her sides, indicating her excess weight.

"Yeah, I would," I said eagerly, "unless you'd rather not be seen with a potential felon."

My comment had the exact reaction that I wanted. Kimberly really didn't want to go to the gym because she didn't want anyone to see her body. However, Kimberly absolutely didn't want to offend me. So, she agreed.

We settled into a schedule of going four times a week at six in the morning because there was never anyone there. After the first week, Kimberly realized that she didn't have to worry about being embarrassed and started to enjoy the sessions.

I continued to look for work, but no one in the security software business was interested in me. At least not until my case was adjudicated. And in talking to my lawyer, I found out that there was a good probability I would be found guilty of assault. Yet, he was cagey. He never told me what to say or to lie. Still, he did tell me that if I had flown into a blind rage over my boss and wife's infidelity, that might be a mitigating factor. And if I couldn't remember what actually happened, the court would certainly have to consider that also.