This time of year, the early morning sunlight streams through my bedroom window, and unfortunately, I forgot to close the heavy drapes before I went to bed. As I walked toward the window to block the rays of sun that awoke me, I heard a car door close outside. I got to the window just in time to see Barry's sedan backing out of the driveway and speeding down the street. What the fuck was he doing here at this time of day on a Monday morning. I slipped on a robe and walked downstairs to investigate. Nothing seemed out of place in the foyer, and everything was as I'd left it the night before in the kitchen.
As I opened the front door, I discovered what Barry had come by for; under the brass door knocker, there was a poster-size sign with the hand-written words "WHORE HOUSE." I was stunned and quickly lifted the knocker, removed the poster, stepped back inside, and closed the door with a resounding thud.
My mind raced. How did Barry discover what I've become, and more importantly, how would that knowledge affect the ongoing negotiations to finalize our divorce? I looked again at the poster, studying the handwriting. Barry has a unique way of printing, and the words on the sign match his style. He had clearly written the words and delivered the message, but for what end, I asked myself.
I thought about calling his cell but decided to talk to Laura first since she had something we needed to discuss face-to-face, and now I had something I needed to show her. I folded the poster in half, then in half again, and slid it into my purse. So much for sleeping in; I was wide awake and made a pot of coffee. In hindsight, it was a stroke of luck that I left the drapes open last night. Had I closed them, the sunlight wouldn't have woken me, and that big poster might have hung on my front door for who knows how long.
With a mug of hot java in hand, I walked to the sliding door to my patio, had my hand on the handle, and was about to open the door when I noticed my neighbor Chuck standing in his backyard. Rather than deal with him first thing this morning, I turned around and walked back to the kitchen. I'd have a ninety-minute wait before I could call Laura at 9:00 A.M.
I hoped she could see me later this morning, so I filled my mug a second time and headed upstairs for a quick shower. The warm shower water, while soothing to my body, did nothing to relieve the anxiety resulting from the events of earlier this morning. I curled my hair and applied modest make-up, then dressed in a classy gray pantsuit and a light blue satin blouse. My gray pumps matched the color of my suit exactly.
It was 8:55 A.M. when I descended the stairs, opening the front door to make sure Barry hadn't returned to replace his placard. Laura's office number rang twice before she answered, "Good morning, Laura speaking."
"Good morning, it's Angel," I answered.
"Angel, I'm glad to hear from you; we need to meet as soon as possible," Laura replied.
"Yes, we do," I quickly answered.
Her voice reflected some concern as she asked, "Can you be here by ten?"
I knew something had happened and was pretty sure it had to do with the placard Barry had hung on my front door, so I replied, "I'm already dressed, so yes, I can be there in an hour."
"Good, I'll see you then," Laura answered before hanging up her phone.
I slipped my cell into my purse and grabbed my car keys. The drive to Laura's office normally takes half an hour, but with heavy traffic, it stretched to nearly forty-five minutes. Her office door was locked, so I lightly knocked, knowing she was inside. A moment later, Laura unlocked the door and opened it, extending her delicate hand toward me. I took her hand in mine and gave it a friendly shake as Laura said, "My assistant hasn't arrived yet this morning, so let me lock the door again." She sidestepped me and turned the deadbolt.
"Let's talk," Laura said as she waved me toward her private office.
I sat down opposite her desk as she slipped into her chair. I would have expected some light conversation, especially since we had a sexual encounter recently, but this morning, Laura was strictly business.
"Margaret, we have a major problem," Laura began. While not totally surprising, her use of my actual name didn't go unnoticed.
I just smiled weakly at her, knowing she was about to continue.
"I've received a call from your husband's attorney," Laura said
"And?" I answered.
She paused momentarily before continuing, "They've found out about your occupation.
"Did he say how they found out?" I asked.
"No, but I'm certain a firm as large as theirs has several private investigators who look into people's lives," Laura suggested.
"I want to show you something," I said as I opened my purse and pulled the folded placard Barry had written.
After handing it to Laura, I sat back while she unfolded it, then said, "Where did this come from?"
"Barry hung it on my front door this morning," I answered.
Laura looked again at the words and asked, "How do you know it was Barry?"
"Does it matter?" I questioned
"Yes, we could threaten a trespass complaint if you can prove he was on your property," Laura suggested.
"Well I watched his car back out of my driveway early this morning, and I know his printing well enough to confirm he wrote those words. He's written me many notes with the same style," I replied.
Laura smiled and said, "I'll keep this; we may want to spring it on them down the road." She folded the poster and slipped it into my file.
"So where do we go from here?" I asked, knowing she had more information for me.
She looked at her notes and began, "I received a call from his attorney last Friday afternoon; he told me that they had discovered that you've taken a job with Elegant Escorts and wanted to know how you'd explain in a deposition that you've become a common whore."
"He actually said that?" I asked.
"Yes, and he also mentioned that they would want to depose Franklin Marshall; who is he?" Laura asked.
"He owns Elegant Escorts," I answered.
"If that happened, would your position be in jeopardy?" Laura asked.
I thought for a moment, then answered, "It could be."
Laura made a note on her legal pad and then looked up at me. Her expression was concerned as she said, "They have the upper hand."
I already knew that and asked, "So what does that son of a bitch want?"
She glanced at her notes again and said, "He wants the house, all the furnishings, and your car."
"And what do I get?" I asked.
"Your personal belongings, fifteen thousand dollars, and his signature on the final divorce papers," Laura said, sounding a little defeated.
I sat back and thought about how much value I'd be giving up; the house and furnishings had to be worth close to a half million, and my Benz, even on the used market, has to sell in the twenty-five to thirty thousand range. I'd also give up any chance of receiving half of our assets and any alimony the court awarded. In addition, I'd have the cost of finding a new place and paying off my attorney fees. I knew absolutely that I didn't want Daddy to get involved, and I'd already stashed enough cash away to handle the expense of a new home; depending on Laura's fees, I could either pay on time or ask Daddy for a loan.
"Make it happen, Laura," I finally said, knowing I needed this ugly chapter in my life over with.
"Okay, I'm going to ask for six weeks to give you time to find a new place," Laura suggested.
I smiled and replied, "That's fine, but I want a signed copy of the final divorce decree delivered to your office before I start looking. Also, please sign off on the deed and the title to my Benz."
"That'll work," Laura said as she noted my demands on her legal pad.
I stood up and stepped toward her, extending my hand. As we shook hands, I said, "Somehow, I knew that prick would get his way."
She just smiled. I had given him everything he needed to rake me over the coals, but I was confident I'd be able to recover and move on.
"Call me when it's a done deal," I said just before leaving her office.
It's funny how your perspective changes; I found myself taking notice of real estate signs on the drive home. While exciting, looking for a new place would undoubtedly cut into my time for appointments Daddy might want me to handle.
As I pulled into the driveway, I took the time to study my, or perhaps I should say Barry's, house. Since I kicked his ass out, the flower beds had become a bit overgrown, and the lawn, while neatly cut, seemed to lack the attention of feeding and other treatments that made it look lush. I thought to myself, maybe this is a good thing; I would have the opportunity to get a place that had less maintenance, and to be honest, a smaller home seemed to be a better fit.
I logged onto my email server and sent Daddy an email letting him know I'd be moving to a new home; I didn't go into all the details, figuring he didn't need to know I'd been threatened with having him get involved in my messy divorce. After sending the email, I decided to look at local real estate listings, first searching for two-bedroom homes. My search mainly returned urban row homes that didn't interest me, as well as condominiums.
My lifestyle certainly fits living in a condo. There'd be no outside maintenance, and since I don't allow clients to visit my home, the second bedroom could serve as a kind of office. I decided to concentrate my efforts on finding a condo. Most were quite generic, with boring finishes and kitchens that didn't hold a candle to my current kitchen, but I was looking for a place to hang my hat, so to speak, not a place to entertain friends and family.
The new email tone interrupted my search, which surprisingly was from Daddy, and read, "Angel, what brought this on? I know you love the house you're living in, and I feel fairly confident your income can support the cost of the home. Please feel free to call me if you need to talk about anything, Daddy."
Daddy rarely offered to speak directly on the phone with one of his employees, which gave me the impression that he had some concerns about my email message. I hadn't stored his number on my phone, so I fumbled through several handwritten notes to find it. I dialed his number, and he answered almost instantly, "Angel, what's up?"
I explained the entire situation to him from beginning to end and told him that rather than risk putting the company and him at risk of involvement in my personal matters; I felt it best to acquiesce to Barry's demands.
"That's why I'm in the market for different living accommodations," I said.
"I thank you for your concern, Angel, but we could have fought him. Many of the partners in his firm are clients as well as the managing partner. I could have made one phone call, and he would have been forced to back off," Daddy explained.
I replied, "I appreciate that, but I've thought about this for a while, and to be honest, I really don't need a four-bedroom place, and the maintenance on that big a house isn't something I care to do myself or pay to have done."
"Have you contacted a realtor?" Daddy asked.
"Not yet; I only decided to let Barry take the house this morning," I answered.
"I will connect you with a young friend of mine who is a real tough negotiator. He'll get you the best price on whatever you decide on," Daddy suggested.
"That would be great; I don't know any realtors," I replied.
Daddy answered, "Expect a call from Rhys in the next day or two."
"Thanks, I will," I answered.
Daddy paused momentarily, then suggested, "I'm going to hold off on any appointments for you until you let me know."
"That'd be great; thanks so much for helping me and caring so much," I said.
I felt good knowing that Daddy would be willing to do anything beyond telling me to take care of all this, so I could return to making money for him. I should have asked if he knew of any car salesmen since I would soon be turning the title and keys to my Benz over to Barry. I wondered how long it would be before his little slut Connie would be cruising around town in my car.
Sitting in the kitchen, I thought about all the details of moving to another home. I'd have to pack all my clothes and arrange for a mover to haul my stuff to that home. Since it was only a little past 2:00 PM, I ran out and got some supplies. An hour later, I left a local U-Haul store with a half dozen wardrobe boxes and two dozen medium boxes. I spent the remainder of the afternoon packing clothing I knew I wouldn't need before moving.
As I had a light dinner, I thought about a new car; I hated giving up my cute little Mercedes and knew that getting another would be out of the question until my nest egg grew considerably. I'd have to settle on something less expensive and, along with that, less flashy.
I turned in early, knowing that Tuesday would be another busy day, but I couldn't fall asleep because of all the things on my mind. I finally gave in and took a mild sleeping pill to settle my mind and let me get some much-needed rest.
I woke up feeling a bit groggy, the effects of the sleeping pill and a restless night of sleep. I slipped on my favorite fluffy bathrobe and headed downstairs for some java. Once the coffee maker had brewed enough to fill my mug I poured myself a much-needed mug of coffee and decided to head out back and enjoy the fresh air and morning sunlight.
Once I'd settled on one of the chaise lounges, my elderly neighbor Chuck peered over the fence and said, "Morning Margaret."
Oh, shit, I thought; I wasn't in the mood to deal with him first thing today, but being the friendly neighbor, I replied, "Morning, Chuck."
"Having your morning coffee?" He asked the silly question.
"Uh-huh," I replied.
He began walking toward the gate that led to his front yard and, as he opened it, said, "Have a cup for a friendly neighbor?"
What a lecherous old fuck I thought; he's going to just invite himself so he can stare at my tits. As he approached, I waved my hand toward the house and said, "Help yourself."
A few minutes later, he pulled up a chair and sat beside me. "Where's the little woman this morning?" I asked.
"Visiting her sister," he answered.
I hadn't bothered to close my robe completely, and as he answered, his eyes dropped to my succulent cleavage.
"Really, Chuck," I commented, letting him know I caught him staring at my tits.
His eyes returned to mine as he asked, "Didn't see you this weekend. Were you out of town again?"
I thought about giving him some of the juicy details of my weekend fucking and sucking Ken and his son but decided not to encourage him and just replied, "Yes."
His eyes again moved down to enjoy the view of my tits, and I scolded him, saying, "What makes you think you can just come over here and stare at my tits like that?"
He didn't look up as he replied, "Well, we did have a thing."
His remark enraged me, and I snapped back, "You call having me suck your cock a thing!" As I spoke the word thing, I raised my hands and formed quotation marks with my fingers.
He continued staring at my chest, which further angered me, and as I spoke, I ran one hand down the front of my robe and exposed everything he wanted to stare at as I said, "Well, get a real good look, Chuck, cause it'll most likely be the last time you get to see this sexy body."