Well it was good until they didn't raise the prime lending rate and give Brenda and BFF gratis spa stay. The narrator apparantly makes a lot of money , that's a good thing because no way in hell would any woman uphold that bet regardless of notarized wager. He can start anew with Kathy but better keep his wallet handy to smooth over next misunderstanding.
Color this story silly, improbable and a fair amount of escapist fun to read. I wouldn't say it ranks with imhapless's best literary flights of fancy but it ranks right up on top shelf in relation to week's lackluster submissions by other authors either less seasoned, talented or both.
( but do have more courage then I to submit their stories ) . I thank imhapless for sharing.
I agree with LSD. I'll add that the fact that he did go through with the bet showed he was really a prick who had to show that he would get the best of both self-assured women. A real husband who truly loved his wife would not have done it. So the divorce was inevitable anyway.
By the way, that was not a bad criticism of this tale. It is just so preposterous I can't really believe that I was actually bothered at all. In fiction, anything is possible.
I enjoyed reading it. I would have added the twist that Kathy knew all along that the Fed wouldn´t change the rate and that the whole thing was an elaborate plan to snatch Blake from her bff. But that´s just my twisted mind... 5* .
"This was something that I had inside knowledge about – knowledge that I was not going to trade on to make money in the stock market because that would be illegal, but knowledge that I felt no hesitancy using against Kathy."
How does one make money off the inside knowldege that the Fed is NOT going to raise the interest rate?
All four of them were shitheads for making and agreeing to a bet that involved adultery. None of them had any respect for marriage. Even if Brenda agreed to it, it was still adultery. Brenda's response was designed to end the marriage. What future was there for him and Kathy after their mutual involvement with the destruction of his first marriage. It would hang over them forever.
This was a fun, well-written, original story of a guy who is not a victim and won't put up with shit. Humorous and emotionally satisfying.
I think the most perceptive comment was by sdc, he understood them, they didn't understand him.
I don't think I will be living my life by this example, but then, hey! It's an erotic story, not a treatise on how to live a moral life, so why would anyone even consider the protagonist to be an exemplar of anything but one particular, not necessarily admirable, emotional aspect of ourselves?
Lance_spearman asked the question, "How could Blake look to make money in the stock market, based on his knowledge that the Fed was NOT going to raise the interest rate?" Here's the short explanation.
When the Fed raises interest rates, it makes money more expensive to borrow. Most companies finance their growth by BORROWING money from banks, rather than by dipping into corporate profits, because they want to pass dividends on to the shareholders. The more expensive money is, to borrow, the greater the possibility that a company will revise - scale back - its growth plan for the foreseeable future.
The growth of a corporation will eventually increase corporate profits, and thus make the shares of stock in that company more desirable to own - because they will soon be paying off bigger dividends. On the flip side, when a company appears not to be growing, some investors will sell their stock and put the money into shares issued by a company that IS growing.
Most investors know that - if the pervading sense on Wall Street is that the Fed WILL be raising interest rates - companies will automatically scale back their growth plans. This, in turn, will cause some investors to sell some of their shares. When there is more selling, than buying, going on, the value or price of an individual share of stock in a company will begin to drop.
If Blake knows that the pervading sense on the Street is that the Fed is going to raise the prime lending rate - but he has absolutely certain "inside knowledge" that the Fed is going to keep the rate the same - he can be looking for people to start dumping shares of stock, which will sell at lower prices. If the price is good for him, he can buy some of those shares and simply hold them until after the Fed's announcement. Once investors and companies are assured that - for the next X months, interest rates will remain the same, companies will again look to expand, and stock prices will rise.
If Blake then sells those shares that he bought up, and makes ANY sort of profit from this trade, he's guilty of "insider trading" - and just ask Martha Stewart what happens, next!
I understand that this is an erotic website , but that still doesn't excuse a louse of a man in this "supposedly" realistic story.
Quite simply , he was a prick !
I've never liked these " bet gone wrong " story devices , and this is the same tired old canard just re-wrapped. If everyone who comments on this site about " paint by numbers " stories then turn around and praise this old worn out device , then shame on them.
Like the character, the story was straight forward. The point was that women love to scheme and plot, often based on how they feel or think about something, not based on reality. He was truthful with them and gave plenty of escape opportunities. Often these stories talk about men's egos but in this case the WOMEN'S egos were on display, as often they are but are excused or ignored. Why? Are women expected to be flakey so it's OK when they are?
Why did they make the bet? Karen out of pure EGO. Brenda to get a spa trip. She valued a spa trip more than putting her marriage at risk. Wow!
Lots of people are foolish. But often they pay a price for their foolishness. Why should these women be excused? Obviously he could afford to pay off his side of the bet. Also obviously, from the beginning, the ladies had no intention of paying off their debt. If they took out a car loan and never intended to pay, would that be OK? Should the bank not repossess their car? If they bet $5000 they couldn't afford to lose at a casino and lost, would they expect the casino to give their money back? Hey, we are just stupid women, we were only playing for fun.
Also, the way the FED operates, it almost always signals it's intent long before its meetings to limit the shock factor on markets. The women, if they bothered to check or care, probably had fair warning the day before that there would likely be no change in rates. Again, he gave them an out from the bet. Again, their EGOS prevented them from using it. He TOLD them he would NOT hesitate to collect.
So WHY is he an asshole and two egotistical, arrogant, foolish women are not?
I have known these sociopaths. Believe me he is a sociopath, his behavior and conviction of his certainty shows he has a complete lack of emotional connection with other people. The idea that somehow this bet was not cheating or that his response was not over reaction based on his own cheating is ridiculous.
I have had to deal with these sorts of people in business for years. I have fired several of them because although they appear relatively normal they are acidic to organizations and to all relationships that surround them.
The author did a good job showing how completely f*ed up they are. He will never be able to maintain a normal relationship woman. He was oblivious to the fact that the the other woman was essentially setting him up as well as her "bff". He played into her trap and was dumb enough to destroy his own marriage to "win a bet". What a fool. The lucky one was his first wife.
Finally something worth reading this week in the LW section. Not the best story by this author, but good enough. Some of the negative feedback for the story seems to come from females (is it any wonder?), nonetheless; some of the responses are just to show you the prevalent mentality: I am never to be held responsible for my actions. It is always somebody's foult.
He gave plenty of warnings to all involved that he was serious about going through with the bet. Personally, I would not have gone through it, but heck, that was the main character mind frame, so whose foult is it then if he was not taken seriously by anyone?
Only a slut would make such a bet. But then, he's a bastard for going through with the bet as well. His marriage vows were more important than his bet and when he screwed Kathy, he cheated on Brenda. The bet was irrelevant.
Hi; imhapless here. I don't normally comment on comments to my story but I have to in this case.
First, thank you Ciguardin for explaining --more eloquently than I could -- how Blake could make money by acting on his inside information, and how it would have been illegal for him to do so. Once he had the inside information he would have been crazy to make any stock market trades at all until well after the Fed's announcement..
As far as stev2244's comment is concerned, if Blake understood women he probably would have figured that out -- just like you did (ha, ha)!
Cheers
How I see this story...Exactly as @stev2244: a funny story trying to satirize the too many stories about bets going wrong. And as @stev2244 I was expecting the same twist in the end...A good and light read...3*
In spite of not having a single likable character, it was still fun. Probably tons of people out there this stupid. I can't imagine what seemed like a good idea to anyone about this bet. This was the mother of all bad ideas. Every one of them was an imbecile.
This is my boss fault. I heard his voice in the area and I started to accept words from the spell check.
On my previous comment I meant to type fault not foult.
And so was Phil. But he was a douche for not just going with her idea of the fling. They could have opened up their marriage and had a four-way swap fest for the next thirty or forty or fifty years. BFFs with benefits all the way. What a waste!
Even so, funny as hell in a way and I'm glad to see that Kathy and he got along so well afterward. Maybe they were just more compatible than Brenda and he.
Wedding vows are between a couple. Not between them and their invisible sky fairy. If they grant a release or permission or whatever from said vows, it's by agreement and thus not infidelity.
And I still don't understand women. Then again, despite what Cosmo and other magazines claim, women don't understand men, either. They don't get that for a man, you got to say what you mean and mean what you say. It's so fucking basic.
But the way to make money is to short the bond market in a rising interest rate scenario. The market will reprice bonds lower to raise the interest rate returns to investors. By shorting the market you sell into the interest rate trend and buy back when the bond prices fall, fulfilling your short.
with imhapless. I love how his heroes get into untenable situations and pulls out of them better off. His stories are not cucky and he does write situations that are fair to men. I never liked stories that have the man let his wife have other men, but, Hubby gets no one. Humiliation stories are even worst. Thank you imhapless for writing stories that men can enjoy. *****
She willing to take eleven thousand out of his pocket to give support of her girl friend?
Really I do not understand this Brenda. I guess she never played poker with real money.
Sorry, man, I know we're usually on the same page, but I'm with this guy 100%!
THEY'RE the ones who made the bet, so sure that they couldn't lose, and sure that he wouldn't try to collect if he did, despite REPEATED statements by him that he WOULD collect.
They then refused MULTIPLE offers to cancel the bet, and when he did win and collected Brenda went back on her word for "no revenge" and "no quid pro quo".
You can bet that they would have insisted on collecting if THEY won!
Great little read. So tidy and compact, yet full of lush content. It also appeals to my Germanic, male logic and satisfies my desire for happy endings. Thx.
The reason the split shoulda been worse for Sweetie is that she STOLE $500 from Hubby, without permission, as a non-refundable deposit for a 3-day visit to the spa neither she nor Kathy BFF could afford to take.
Kathy did it on purpose was my thought too. What a clever way for a clever girl to steal a cluless one's husband. Maybe she DID know all along, and the joke is on Brenda, Blake, and the reader. She actually won big.
But Blake's a smart guy . . . maybe he knew too. I mean after all, he could have made his point by just accepting the $100 bet, which any gentleman would've done . . . but no, he wanted an excuse to screw around on Brenda with Kathy. So he made a bet Kathy couldn't cover. Oh, I know, Brenda had okay'ed it. But he could have given HER the option of figuring out a way for her and Kathy to pay him back one way or another.
He tries to make himself look good by saying he didn't want to do it, tried to get them to call it off, etc., but he's very intelligent . . . it was obvious from the beginning he knew they wouldn't. He and Kathy maybe even worked it together to find an easy way to divorce his wife. Really . . . if that wasn't the case, all he really had to do was accept the $100 bet.
I enjoyed it. The protagonist would have to be unbelievably connected to know weeks in advance what the Fed would do. On the other hand he could make a good estimate of which way it would got, and be willing to bet money (which was of relatively little value to him) on a bet with long odds in his favor.
However realism is lightly valued in LE. I also agree with others, his marriage was weak to start, and the stupidity of his wife probably pushed it over the edge.
Blake didn't raise the ante on that bet because he wanted an excuse to screw Kathy, he wanted to make her shut up and stop talking about betting. It was Brenda who came up with the idea of betting sex with Kathy, and that put him in a place where if he didn't agree the both of them would never shut up about it.
So yeah, he made a mistake in not just taking the original piddling bet, but as his wife, Brenda should have known what kind of financial info he had access to and that he was the sort of man who wouldn't stand for someone welching on a bet. So as I said, he's not the one who didn't understand women; the women - or at least Brenda - were the ones who didn't understand him.
How could Blake not know how this was going to turn out. A dumb bet with foolish people can have only one outcome. He should have cancelled the bet himself. Still worth 4* because it was put together pretty well and as Richard Nixon said (and I paraphrase): "The dumb people have to be represented by someone". (Nixon was talking about the mediocre people in the country have to have a mediocre Supreme Court Justice to represent them on the Court and so he nominated an admittedly mediocre judge.) Foolish people need stories written about them and we have a boatload here.
Which was why he insisted that all the terms be in writing. There really isn't any point in the story where anything that happened seemed to take him by surprise.
This was a fun albeit predictable story. He wrote the wife's character quite well. All is well that ends well- five stars from me - good entertainment.
Another version of the story where the wife is warned repeatedly and goes ahead and blows up the marriage. A fun read, but it makes me wonder if there are wives that dense out there...
Good read and a pretty good writing concerning the wife's character.
To me the floor in the plot was love !
If the husband really loved his wife he would have bailout at the last minute at Kathy's home.
As his wife knew him too well to cheat, even though he was potentially in a loss, loss position.
The girls really did hold all the aces.
If he lost the bet ( even though he knew he would win ) the girls would win, if he won the bet he still should not have fucked Kathy, if he does well he loses.
So really the wife was alwsys going to win.
The bet was really a matter of principles than money or bounty reward .
The of course would take fucking another woman as an act of betrayal. ......
English
I think the title is backwards
He saw from the start that the bet was going to go south. It was everybody else who didn't understand him.
The Darn Fed Done Hoiked Another Good Marriage
Well it was good until they didn't raise the prime lending rate and give Brenda and BFF gratis spa stay. The narrator apparantly makes a lot of money , that's a good thing because no way in hell would any woman uphold that bet regardless of notarized wager. He can start anew with Kathy but better keep his wallet handy to smooth over next misunderstanding.
Color this story silly, improbable and a fair amount of escapist fun to read. I wouldn't say it ranks with imhapless's best literary flights of fancy but it ranks right up on top shelf in relation to week's lackluster submissions by other authors either less seasoned, talented or both.
( but do have more courage then I to submit their stories ) . I thank imhapless for sharing.
Hmmm...
I agree with LSD. I'll add that the fact that he did go through with the bet showed he was really a prick who had to show that he would get the best of both self-assured women. A real husband who truly loved his wife would not have done it. So the divorce was inevitable anyway.
By the way, that was not a bad criticism of this tale. It is just so preposterous I can't really believe that I was actually bothered at all. In fiction, anything is possible.
Fun Story
I enjoyed reading it. I would have added the twist that Kathy knew all along that the Fed wouldn´t change the rate and that the whole thing was an elaborate plan to snatch Blake from her bff. But that´s just my twisted mind... 5* .
Pity about the divorce
The two assholes were a good match and deserving of each other.
Cute, but obvious and silly
"This was something that I had inside knowledge about – knowledge that I was not going to trade on to make money in the stock market because that would be illegal, but knowledge that I felt no hesitancy using against Kathy."
How does one make money off the inside knowldege that the Fed is NOT going to raise the interest rate?
Four Shitheads
All four of them were shitheads for making and agreeing to a bet that involved adultery. None of them had any respect for marriage. Even if Brenda agreed to it, it was still adultery. Brenda's response was designed to end the marriage. What future was there for him and Kathy after their mutual involvement with the destruction of his first marriage. It would hang over them forever.
*****
Nice! An interesting read.
Fun tale
This was a fun, well-written, original story of a guy who is not a victim and won't put up with shit. Humorous and emotionally satisfying.
I think the most perceptive comment was by sdc, he understood them, they didn't understand him.
I don't think I will be living my life by this example, but then, hey! It's an erotic story, not a treatise on how to live a moral life, so why would anyone even consider the protagonist to be an exemplar of anything but one particular, not necessarily admirable, emotional aspect of ourselves?
Seriously?
If these people had dynamite for brains they wouldn't have enough to blow the top of their heads off.
Stock and Trade
Lance_spearman asked the question, "How could Blake look to make money in the stock market, based on his knowledge that the Fed was NOT going to raise the interest rate?" Here's the short explanation.
When the Fed raises interest rates, it makes money more expensive to borrow. Most companies finance their growth by BORROWING money from banks, rather than by dipping into corporate profits, because they want to pass dividends on to the shareholders. The more expensive money is, to borrow, the greater the possibility that a company will revise - scale back - its growth plan for the foreseeable future.
The growth of a corporation will eventually increase corporate profits, and thus make the shares of stock in that company more desirable to own - because they will soon be paying off bigger dividends. On the flip side, when a company appears not to be growing, some investors will sell their stock and put the money into shares issued by a company that IS growing.
Most investors know that - if the pervading sense on Wall Street is that the Fed WILL be raising interest rates - companies will automatically scale back their growth plans. This, in turn, will cause some investors to sell some of their shares. When there is more selling, than buying, going on, the value or price of an individual share of stock in a company will begin to drop.
If Blake knows that the pervading sense on the Street is that the Fed is going to raise the prime lending rate - but he has absolutely certain "inside knowledge" that the Fed is going to keep the rate the same - he can be looking for people to start dumping shares of stock, which will sell at lower prices. If the price is good for him, he can buy some of those shares and simply hold them until after the Fed's announcement. Once investors and companies are assured that - for the next X months, interest rates will remain the same, companies will again look to expand, and stock prices will rise.
If Blake then sells those shares that he bought up, and makes ANY sort of profit from this trade, he's guilty of "insider trading" - and just ask Martha Stewart what happens, next!
Nope !
I understand that this is an erotic website , but that still doesn't excuse a louse of a man in this "supposedly" realistic story.
Quite simply , he was a prick !
I've never liked these " bet gone wrong " story devices , and this is the same tired old canard just re-wrapped. If everyone who comments on this site about " paint by numbers " stories then turn around and praise this old worn out device , then shame on them.
Straight forward
Like the character, the story was straight forward. The point was that women love to scheme and plot, often based on how they feel or think about something, not based on reality. He was truthful with them and gave plenty of escape opportunities. Often these stories talk about men's egos but in this case the WOMEN'S egos were on display, as often they are but are excused or ignored. Why? Are women expected to be flakey so it's OK when they are?
Why did they make the bet? Karen out of pure EGO. Brenda to get a spa trip. She valued a spa trip more than putting her marriage at risk. Wow!
Lots of people are foolish. But often they pay a price for their foolishness. Why should these women be excused? Obviously he could afford to pay off his side of the bet. Also obviously, from the beginning, the ladies had no intention of paying off their debt. If they took out a car loan and never intended to pay, would that be OK? Should the bank not repossess their car? If they bet $5000 they couldn't afford to lose at a casino and lost, would they expect the casino to give their money back? Hey, we are just stupid women, we were only playing for fun.
Also, the way the FED operates, it almost always signals it's intent long before its meetings to limit the shock factor on markets. The women, if they bothered to check or care, probably had fair warning the day before that there would likely be no change in rates. Again, he gave them an out from the bet. Again, their EGOS prevented them from using it. He TOLD them he would NOT hesitate to collect.
So WHY is he an asshole and two egotistical, arrogant, foolish women are not?
An interesting, 5* read
It was well-written and does indeed show that Men and Women do not always understand each other.
But wait! Brenda didn't understand Kathy either, did she?
What a douche bag prick
I have known these sociopaths. Believe me he is a sociopath, his behavior and conviction of his certainty shows he has a complete lack of emotional connection with other people. The idea that somehow this bet was not cheating or that his response was not over reaction based on his own cheating is ridiculous.
I have had to deal with these sorts of people in business for years. I have fired several of them because although they appear relatively normal they are acidic to organizations and to all relationships that surround them.
The author did a good job showing how completely f*ed up they are. He will never be able to maintain a normal relationship woman. He was oblivious to the fact that the the other woman was essentially setting him up as well as her "bff". He played into her trap and was dumb enough to destroy his own marriage to "win a bet". What a fool. The lucky one was his first wife.
Thanks god!!
Finally something worth reading this week in the LW section. Not the best story by this author, but good enough. Some of the negative feedback for the story seems to come from females (is it any wonder?), nonetheless; some of the responses are just to show you the prevalent mentality: I am never to be held responsible for my actions. It is always somebody's foult.
He gave plenty of warnings to all involved that he was serious about going through with the bet. Personally, I would not have gone through it, but heck, that was the main character mind frame, so whose foult is it then if he was not taken seriously by anyone?
Well, he's marrying another slut.....
Only a slut would make such a bet. But then, he's a bastard for going through with the bet as well. His marriage vows were more important than his bet and when he screwed Kathy, he cheated on Brenda. The bet was irrelevant.
A "chuckle" from the author
Hi; imhapless here. I don't normally comment on comments to my story but I have to in this case.
First, thank you Ciguardin for explaining --more eloquently than I could -- how Blake could make money by acting on his inside information, and how it would have been illegal for him to do so. Once he had the inside information he would have been crazy to make any stock market trades at all until well after the Fed's announcement..
As far as stev2244's comment is concerned, if Blake understood women he probably would have figured that out -- just like you did (ha, ha)!
Cheers
Obvious but fun
The story was telegraphed almost from the get go but entertaining, and I do love seeing someone get their comeuppance.
5/5
How I see this story...
How I see this story...Exactly as @stev2244: a funny story trying to satirize the too many stories about bets going wrong. And as @stev2244 I was expecting the same twist in the end...A good and light read...3*
I don't generally like stories about morons
But these morons are somehow not unbearable. Probably because the one with the big knockers enjoys a good screw.
What the fuck is the "Halleluiah Course"? Is it anything like the Hallelujah Chorus? Or do you mean Hialeah race course?
That was fun.
In spite of not having a single likable character, it was still fun. Probably tons of people out there this stupid. I can't imagine what seemed like a good idea to anyone about this bet. This was the mother of all bad ideas. Every one of them was an imbecile.
damned typo twice
This is my boss fault. I heard his voice in the area and I started to accept words from the spell check.
On my previous comment I meant to type fault not foult.
Wrong title
Should have been titled Four A**holes.
Hes got it right, You cant trust what a woman tells you to be what she means. I think its because we men cant read minds yet
He'll suffer in the end
He's going to marry a woman after effectively telling her he thinks a roll in the hay with her is worth $10,000.
Yes, Brenda was a cunt for not keeping her word.
And so was Phil. But he was a douche for not just going with her idea of the fling. They could have opened up their marriage and had a four-way swap fest for the next thirty or forty or fifty years. BFFs with benefits all the way. What a waste!
Even so, funny as hell in a way and I'm glad to see that Kathy and he got along so well afterward. Maybe they were just more compatible than Brenda and he.
And no, he didn't cheat.
Wedding vows are between a couple. Not between them and their invisible sky fairy. If they grant a release or permission or whatever from said vows, it's by agreement and thus not infidelity.
Oh, and I've been married before, separated now.
And I still don't understand women. Then again, despite what Cosmo and other magazines claim, women don't understand men, either. They don't get that for a man, you got to say what you mean and mean what you say. It's so fucking basic.
Preaching to the choir :-) 4*
The only line you missed is the usual " I don't remember saying that" or "I don't remember doing that."
Women, bahhh humbug!!!
Not to disagree about the stock explanation
But the way to make money is to short the bond market in a rising interest rate scenario. The market will reprice bonds lower to raise the interest rate returns to investors. By shorting the market you sell into the interest rate trend and buy back when the bond prices fall, fulfilling your short.
Always a great read
with imhapless. I love how his heroes get into untenable situations and pulls out of them better off. His stories are not cucky and he does write situations that are fair to men. I never liked stories that have the man let his wife have other men, but, Hubby gets no one. Humiliation stories are even worst. Thank you imhapless for writing stories that men can enjoy. *****
Unless you already hate your spouse
NO ONE EVER means it when they agree that their spouse can screw somebody else and it's OK.
He's right. He doesn't understand women or he would have known that she would be hurt when he screwed her friend.
Her revenge was predictable.
Moral?
Be faithful. Or get a divorce. Don't fuck around thinking it will be OK.
The crazy Thing here is Brenda backing the bet--
She willing to take eleven thousand out of his pocket to give support of her girl friend?
Really I do not understand this Brenda. I guess she never played poker with real money.
@crkcppr
Sorry, man, I know we're usually on the same page, but I'm with this guy 100%!
THEY'RE the ones who made the bet, so sure that they couldn't lose, and sure that he wouldn't try to collect if he did, despite REPEATED statements by him that he WOULD collect.
They then refused MULTIPLE offers to cancel the bet, and when he did win and collected Brenda went back on her word for "no revenge" and "no quid pro quo".
You can bet that they would have insisted on collecting if THEY won!
That was wonderful
Great little read. So tidy and compact, yet full of lush content. It also appeals to my Germanic, male logic and satisfies my desire for happy endings. Thx.
Brenda didn't just back the bet
It was HER idea.
Split Shoulda Been 39-61
The reason the split shoulda been worse for Sweetie is that she STOLE $500 from Hubby, without permission, as a non-refundable deposit for a 3-day visit to the spa neither she nor Kathy BFF could afford to take.
5* but Hubby WAS clueless!
I agree with stev2244
Kathy did it on purpose was my thought too. What a clever way for a clever girl to steal a cluless one's husband. Maybe she DID know all along, and the joke is on Brenda, Blake, and the reader. She actually won big.
But Blake's a smart guy . . . maybe he knew too. I mean after all, he could have made his point by just accepting the $100 bet, which any gentleman would've done . . . but no, he wanted an excuse to screw around on Brenda with Kathy. So he made a bet Kathy couldn't cover. Oh, I know, Brenda had okay'ed it. But he could have given HER the option of figuring out a way for her and Kathy to pay him back one way or another.
He tries to make himself look good by saying he didn't want to do it, tried to get them to call it off, etc., but he's very intelligent . . . it was obvious from the beginning he knew they wouldn't. He and Kathy maybe even worked it together to find an easy way to divorce his wife. Really . . . if that wasn't the case, all he really had to do was accept the $100 bet.
Cute and silly, I'll go with that
I enjoyed it. The protagonist would have to be unbelievably connected to know weeks in advance what the Fed would do. On the other hand he could make a good estimate of which way it would got, and be willing to bet money (which was of relatively little value to him) on a bet with long odds in his favor.
However realism is lightly valued in LE. I also agree with others, his marriage was weak to start, and the stupidity of his wife probably pushed it over the edge.
Chilley
c24j
Blake didn't raise the ante on that bet because he wanted an excuse to screw Kathy, he wanted to make her shut up and stop talking about betting. It was Brenda who came up with the idea of betting sex with Kathy, and that put him in a place where if he didn't agree the both of them would never shut up about it.
So yeah, he made a mistake in not just taking the original piddling bet, but as his wife, Brenda should have known what kind of financial info he had access to and that he was the sort of man who wouldn't stand for someone welching on a bet. So as I said, he's not the one who didn't understand women; the women - or at least Brenda - were the ones who didn't understand him.
If one wants to dance, one has to pay the piper.
Truly a Quartet of Idiots
How could Blake not know how this was going to turn out. A dumb bet with foolish people can have only one outcome. He should have cancelled the bet himself. Still worth 4* because it was put together pretty well and as Richard Nixon said (and I paraphrase): "The dumb people have to be represented by someone". (Nixon was talking about the mediocre people in the country have to have a mediocre Supreme Court Justice to represent them on the Court and so he nominated an admittedly mediocre judge.) Foolish people need stories written about them and we have a boatload here.
Blake obviously did know
Which was why he insisted that all the terms be in writing. There really isn't any point in the story where anything that happened seemed to take him by surprise.
Chilley Willey said it
This was a fun albeit predictable story. He wrote the wife's character quite well. All is well that ends well- five stars from me - good entertainment.
Clueless wife
Another version of the story where the wife is warned repeatedly and goes ahead and blows up the marriage. A fun read, but it makes me wonder if there are wives that dense out there...
Good Read Predictable Plot Though
Good read and a pretty good writing concerning the wife's character.
To me the floor in the plot was love !
If the husband really loved his wife he would have bailout at the last minute at Kathy's home.
As his wife knew him too well to cheat, even though he was potentially in a loss, loss position.
The girls really did hold all the aces.
If he lost the bet ( even though he knew he would win ) the girls would win, if he won the bet he still should not have fucked Kathy, if he does well he loses.
So really the wife was alwsys going to win.
The bet was really a matter of principles than money or bounty reward .
The of course would take fucking another woman as an act of betrayal. ......
Nicely Done....
Well done, fun and appropriate.....
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