You're Gay?

'I can't remember the last time we had sex.'

That thought came out of nowhere as I was crawling into bed for the night. Thinking back, I realized that Jerry had not tried to initiate sex in at least a month. I had stopped initiating sex long before that, as Owen didn't like sharing my body with my husband. So, how long had it been? Fear spiked through me at the thought that he might have discovered my affair. It didn't seem likely after all this time, and I would have expected to have been served by now if he had. Still, I wasn't going to get much sleep until I asked.

"Honey, why haven't you tried to have your way with me recently?"

He grumbled a bit as he woke back up and rolled over to look at me. "I didn't want to say anything that might hurt you because I still love you, but honestly, you just don't excite me anymore. I'm more attracted to my PA than I am to you. Also, they seem more interested in me than you have been in a while."

I flopped onto my back and stared at the ceiling in shock. That was not an answer I was expecting. With how good I still looked at 38, how could I not excite him? I knew I still excited the men at the office, especially my boss who had pursued me until I had agreed to an affair that continued to this day. Then it hit me. Jerry's PA is Donald and Donald is gay. If Jerry is excited by Donald... then Jerry is gay? Oh my god, my husband is gay! How did I never see this? My frown morphed into a smile as I realized that this was perfect. I can keep my family while continuing my affair, completely guilt free.

Not even looking at Jerry, I finally responded, "I understand dear. If you prefer to be intimate with your PA, I just ask that you be discreet. That's not the kind of thing that anybody else needs to know about."

"Are you sure? I just figured we would get divorced."

"No. I mean, yes, I'm sure, but no, I don't want a divorce. I want to support you in this, but we still need to stay together for the twins."

"You're so thoughtful." He kissed my forehead before rolling over and going back to sleep.

I still couldn't sleep, but now it was because of excitement rather than dread.

I couldn't wait for 5 o'clock and our overtime session, so I slipped into Owen's office as soon as everybody else headed out to lunch. I made sure to close and lock the door behind me.

"Guess what? I've got good news."

"Oh? What news is that?"

I made him wait as I slowly unbuttoned my blouse. As I slid it off to reveal my lacy bra, I answered him. "My body is now exclusively yours."

Owen's head jerked up as he raised his eyes from my breasts. Concern was etched on his face as he asked, "You didn't tell Jerry about us, did you?"

"No, it turns out that I am just his beard and he's not interested in my body. Can you believe he's actually gay?"

"Jerry's gay? Well, I guess that would explain why it was so easy to steal you away from him."

He paused to watch me remove my skirt. "It's kind of disappointing, actually."

"Hey now, don't say that," I said as I knelt before him in just my skimpy bra and panties and unzipped his pants. "You know I'm never disappointing."

"It's so quiet in here." After the three-hour return trip, we had just settled in to relax in the living room. With no kids, no electronics blaring, and each of us lost in our own thoughts, it truly was quiet until I spoke. "I can't believe that the kids are off to college already. I haven't cried like that in a long time." In fact, I hadn't managed to stop crying until we were over halfway back home.

"You were far from the only mother crying. Heck, I even saw several fathers with tears in their eyes as we were carrying things in." A bit of movement caused me to look over at him in his recliner, just in time to see him finish wiping a tear from his own eye. He then looked off into the distance with a determined look on his face.

"I've been trying to figure out how to bring this up, but I guess it's best to just rip the bandage off. With the kids off to college, it's time we stop this charade and go our separate ways. Besides, Helen refuses to get pregnant until we're married."

I could feel my blood starting to boil as I screamed, "Helen! Who the hell is Helen?"

I was seething, especially when I saw him start to smile as he calmly answered me. "Helen is my PA. We've been together since you gave us your blessing three years ago."

"What?" I yelled, then had to pause and catch my breath. Trying to calm down, I continued, "But Donald is your PA. I've never even heard of a Helen."

Still unfazed, he chuckled before responding. "No, Donald is my receptionist. Naturally he passes you directly to me, so I guess you've never had a reason to talk to Helen."

Now it was my turn to stare at the ceiling as I collapsed back onto the couch. "But I gave you my blessing because you were gay!"

"What?" He turned to me with an incredulous look on his face. "Why would you think I was gay?"

"Well, you quit trying to have sex with me and then you said you were attracted to Donald," I replied quietly.

His face turned serious again at my answer. "I quit trying to have sex with you when I found out that you had been fucking somebody else. I wasn't interested in sharing whatever you might bring home."

I sat back up quickly. "You knew?"

"Yeah, for a little over three years now." I just stared at him in shock after that reveal.

He looked at me, then sighed. "We're both exhausted here. Let's call it a day and finish this tomorrow. I'll grab my things and crash in the guest room tonight."

After cleaning up from breakfast, we sat back down at the table. He slid a thick envelope over to me. I knew what was in it, but I still dreaded opening it.

"I was hoping that we could do this peacefully, so I filed under irreconcilable differences and split everything evenly. Well, you come out a bit ahead because you have more money invested in clothes than I do, and my tools are worth less than your jewelry. Look everything over, but please sign it. If you decide to fight for a bigger share, the lawyer will cost you more than you will gain."

I looked at the papers, but it didn't make any sense. "Why doesn't this list your share of the company? Where are the rest of our savings? There should be a lot more money than this."

He leaned back with a bit of a smirk on his face. "Oh, I sold my share of the company years ago, right after you talked me out of getting a divorce, in fact. I used the money to set up college trust funds for the twins. I wasn't exactly sure that we were going to make it until they graduated, so I put our savings in as well. Those accounts belong to the kids, not us, so they aren't included in the marital assets."

As I continued reading, it got even worse. "How are we upside down on the house?"

"Remember when we refinanced the house a couple of years ago? Well, I still wasn't sure I had set aside enough for the kids' education, so that included a second mortgage to finish funding them. Didn't you read the papers before signing?"

He leaned forward and schooled his face before he continued. "I know that this will make things a little tougher on both of us going forward, but the kids shouldn't have to suffer just because we couldn't make it as a couple. There's enough left in savings to cover the gap after selling the house and we both have good jobs making similar money, so we just walk away and start our new lives.

Irate, I stood up and glared down at him. "This is fraud! I'll sue you and get my share back."

He allowed himself a small smile as he leaned back in his chair again, completely relaxed. "You won't win. Everything was done years ago, not only while we were married, but right after we agreed to not get divorced. I didn't talk to an attorney about a divorce until earlier this year."

"Fuck you!" I shouted in frustration, only to see his smirk return.

"Sorry, but you gave up that privilege a long time ago."

I wrangled a free consultation from every lawyer that I could, but they all told me the same thing. What Jerry did was underhanded but, since it benefited the kids while harming both of us equally, it was all perfectly legal. With no other viable option, I signed the papers.

Moving from our nice house to a small apartment was depressing, but I thought it would make it easier for Owen to drop by. Unfortunately, he dumped me as soon as he heard that Jerry had filed for divorce. It turns out that it was his wife who owned the company rather than him. He knew he would get almost nothing and lose his job if they divorced, so he only targeted married women who wanted to stay married. I knew if I exposed our affair, I would get nothing, so I sold my silence for a pay raise and continued employment.

Thus, six months later I was sitting at my desk staring at the final decree that said I was single again. I barely noticed the well-dressed gentleman that entered Owen's office, but everybody clearly heard the loud "What the fuck!" echoing around the office as the gentleman left. Owen came to the door with a very red face and shouted, "Pamela! Get your ass in my office! Now!" I was shocked as he had never spoken to me, or any other employee for that matter, in such a tone. I hurried into his office and closed the door.

"What the fuck is this?" He tossed a stack of papers on the desk in front of me. I picked them up, but he didn't wait for me to read them. "Why didn't you tell me the twins were mine? Now he's fucking suing me for back child support. He wants his half of the cost of raising them, all the way from your first Lamaze class through some stupid education accounts he set up for them. Who the fuck saves the receipts from a Lamaze class for 20 years?"

I was shaking as I stuttered out my reply. "I-I-I didn't know. I didn't want to know. Everything was safer if nobody knew." I hesitated, then added, "They could be his."

"The DNA results are in there. I don't know how he got my sample, but it says they're mine."

At that, we both sank back in our chairs and just stared at each other until the silence was broken by his phone ringing.

"Mr. Garfield, your presence is required in HR. Ms. Simons isn't answering her phone. Please find her and bring her with you."

"Shit!" He yelled as he slammed the phone back on the cradle. "How the fuck did they find out so fast? That damn process server just left."

I felt like a death row inmate being led to the execution chamber as I followed him to the HR office.

"My name is Kelly. Please come in and sit down." She closed the door to the conference room and moved around to the other side of the table.

"We just had a visitor with some troubling news regarding the two of you," she said. Picking up a manila envelope, she waved it for emphasis. "According to this lawsuit that the company was just served with, Mr. Garfield, you violated the company's sexual harassment policy by having a sexual relationship with an employee who reports directly to you. As the petition included a set of DNA results showing you to be the father of Ms. Simons two children, I think we can skip the part where you deny it. Security is waiting outside to escort you back to your office. Do not even touch your computer. Pack only your personal items and they will drive you home so they can return your company car.

"I believe that your wife is there waiting for you. Good luck with that."

Kelly laid down the envelope and selected a folder. She took out a single piece of paper and slid it in front of Owen along with a pen. "This is just an acknowledgement that we had this conversation. It is not an admission or agreement of any kind. Please read and sign it, then you are dismissed."

Owen opened his mouth several times, but no words came out. Finally, he scribbled his name on the paper and left the office.

Kelly calmly collected the paper and returned it to the folder before she laid it down and picked up another one.

"Now, Ms. Simons, as the subordinate in this situation, we recognize the possibility of coercion so it's not a termination offense. However, as it puts the company at risk of lawsuits such as the one that we received today, you are still obligated to report it to HR whether you refuse or succumb to the advances. For failing that, you are suspended without pay for one week. We can understand that it might be too uncomfortable for you to return to work here, so we are willing to forego the normal two-week notice. Security is waiting outside and will escort you back to your desk. You can either pack up your personal items or you can just grab your purse, in which case we'll see you next week."

She then took two pieces of paper out of the folder and slid them in front of me. "The first form is the same acknowledgement as Owen signed, saying we had this conversation. Once again, it is not an admission or agreement of any kind, so please read and sign it.

"The second form is a termination agreement. If you do not wish to continue your employment here, please sign that one as well."

I couldn't bear to see the looks on my coworkers' faces, so I just stared at the floor as I followed security back to my desk. I quickly grabbed my purse and then hurried out the door.

EPILOGUE

Jerry and Helen got married within a month of the final decree being issued. With Helen being 32 to Jerry's 42, she had no problem bearing them four children. He never treated the twins any differently and they never stopped calling him Dad. On the other hand, they refused to even acknowledge Owen. At least they remained close with me, but I could see the disappointment in their eyes when they had to plan around having their two moms at their weddings. Jerry and I remained civil to each other, so at least it was just logistical challenges.

The court ordered DNA testing through their approved labs, but nobody was surprised when the results came back the same and the court ruled in Jerry's favor. As there was no proof that Jerry even suspected the kids weren't his prior to creating the education trusts, the court included half of those values in the judgement. The final number was a bit smaller than what Jerry had asked for, but he seemed happy with it. It was more than Owen would get out of his divorce, thanks to the prenup, but Jerry's lawsuit took priority and was paid out of the joint assets prior to the divorce settlement.

The company chose to settle quietly with Jerry, so I never heard how much he got from them. I do know that Irene was extremely upset with how much Owen cost her with those two payouts. She even offered to stop the divorce if he would agree to be her permanent sex slave, so she could get her money's worth out of him. He declined when she explained that he would be wearing a cock cage while she would be wearing a strap-on. A very large strap-on.

As for me, I had hoped to salvage something by reuniting with my longtime lover after his divorce, but Owen brushed me off and started chasing rich widows instead. Ironically, he got scammed by one that was just pretending to be rich. Instead of living large on her money, he ended up unemployed, broke, and living in a homeless shelter.

I'm still living alone in the same one-bedroom apartment, but I haven't broken down and got a cat. Yet. I date a fair amount, but so far, it's just about the physical as I don't expect to find another Jerry and I haven't even had much luck finding another Owen. Mr. Right Now at least scratches the itch for a while.

I do still have my job. I expected Irene to have it out for me, but I never felt anything but welcome. The pay isn't quite as nice without all of the overtime in Owen's office, but it's enough to pay my bills and leave me some to live a bit. It's definitely not the lifestyle I had with Jerry, but I have nobody to blame for that but myself.