Squire Wilson's Saga

But even if I'd disappointed her, even if she wanted out of our marriage, that was no justification for her trying to screw me over so badly. It hurt that she'd found another lover; it burned to learn she'd deceived me for so long. But she wasn't content to divorce me and leave, she had to try to set things up so I'd lose everything. Her infidelity was bad enough, her treachery was unforgivable.

And because of her treachery, my life was about to change dramatically. Whether or not I managed to pull off my little coup tomorrow, my life could never go back to the way it was. I'd be burning my bridges for practicing law; hell, I'd be burning my bridges for working in Houston. Thanks a lot, Rene!

I lay back, closed my eyes and tried not to think about what was happening to my life. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, Maddy was shaking me awake.

"Squire, Squire, is everything ok?"

"Hi, Maddy - yes, everything's fine. I just worked late on our plan, and I guess I fell asleep." I sat up and looked at her curiously. "What are you doing here anyway? It's Saturday - you're not supposed to be at work."

Her face fell, and for a moment I thought she was going to cry. "I know, Squire. I just wanted to come say goodbye to you in person."

I jumped to my feet. "Goodbye? What are you talking about?"

"I have to go back to school; Monday is the first day of classes."

"No, that can't be right!"

She shook her head sorrowfully. "I'm afraid it is."

"But . . . but, you can't go, Maddy. What will I do without you here?"

Now tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "I thought I'd be excited to go back to school. But the thing is, Squire, this has been the best summer of my life. I mean, I've learned so much from you, been involved in so much excitement." A little smile came to her lips. "My classmates are going to be so jealous when they hear about what my summer internship."

I stood up, stunned at the thought of her leaving. In the back of my mind I'd known she'd go back to school, of course. But so much had happened and we'd made such a good team that I'd completely forgotten.

"Maddy, I don't know what to say. I, I'll write you the best recommendation any intern ever got, if it will help. I'd do anything for you. I just wish you didn't have to go."

She launched herself at me and hugged me tightly. "I'll never forget you, Squire." She kissed my cheek, then turned and darted for the door before I could say a word. I could hear her crying and, to be honest, I felt like crying as well.

At that moment my cellphone rang, and I when I checked the display I saw it was Amber. "I hope you're ready," she said in a hushed voice as though others were near. "The meeting's going to break up in the next half hour, so you'd better get here ASAP."

"Thanks, Amber," I said grimly. "I'll be right there."

When I got off the hotel elevator on the 21st floor, Amber darted up to greet me. She was out of breath. "You just made it." She pointed at the double doors behind her. "He ought to be coming out of there any minute."

"Thanks, Amber. Now, you need to make yourself scarce."

"Good luck," she whispered, and gave me a kiss on the cheek before darting away.

I looked back to see the doors to the conference room open and Roger Baker come walking through, accompanied by several aides to whom he was giving orders. This is it. I strode up and blocked his path.

"Hello, Mr. Baker."

He looked up, startled, and his aides shuffled about uncertainly. Then his face lit up in recognition. "I know you. You're Rene Wilson's husband, aren't you?"

I nodded. "You've got a good memory for faces."

He smiled faintly. "What can I do for you, young man?"

"Actually, I just wanted to give you fair warning that on Monday I'm going to file a lawsuit against your firm that will ruin its reputation for years to come."

A collective gasp came from the younger people clustered around, but Baker's face merely twisted into a sneer. "Really, Mr. Wilson? On what grounds can you possibly be suing us?"

"Let's start with conspiracy to defraud, legal malpractice, misuse of client funds, embezzlement, extortion, blackmail, violation of the Texas Bar Association's code of conduct - shall I go on?"

Over the murmurs from his people, Baker shook his head dismissively. "Talk is cheap, young man. If you want to make a fool of yourself, we'll see you in court."

I'm losing him!

"Don't you even want to see the proof of my charges?" I held up the flash drive with a copy of our video. "Do you know what this is?"

His vanity got the better of him. "I'm not as computer-illiterate as you think. I know what a flash drive is."

"Then if one of your people here has a laptop with them, you can see what I have and make your own judgment."

He waved his hand and an aide quickly handed him a laptop. He held his hand out to me for the drive. "Well?"

I glanced around at his entourage. "With all due respect to your colleagues, I think you'll want to view this in private."

He stared at me coldly, then made up his mind. "Find me a vacant room," he ordered to no one in particular, and the group scurried away like cockroaches caught in the light. A moment or two later, one of them held open a door and beckoned to his boss. The white-haired attorney strode imperiously in that direction, and I hurried to follow.

"If this is some kind of joke, sir, you'll wish . . ." But I had already inserted the drive and clicked on the icon. As the image filled the screen and began to play, his threat was halted in mid-sentence by the sight of my wife's near nude figure on the hotel bed.

I let the video play until Vance had ripped off Rene's thong. Then I reached over and paused it. "I think you've recognized my wife, Rene Wilson, although I hope you haven't seen her like that before."

He said nothing, but he didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"The man, of course, is one of your junior partners, Vance Hofmeister. As you can see, he and my wife are on quite close terms."

Still nothing from Baker.

"I feel I should point out a couple of things about Mr. Hofmeister. The first is that he is Rene's supervisor in your firm, clearly a violation of BNV's code of conduct. The second is that, if I've done my research, Mr. Hofmeister is also the husband of your niece."

The old man couldn't hide his disgust. "That cheating bastard!"

"Mr. Baker, unless you'd prefer otherwise, I'll spare you the next half-hour of events on this video. If you have any doubts, however, I can assure you they're included in all their carnal detail."

He shook his head. "I know what sex looks like."

"Then let's go on to the - excuse the expression - real meat of what you need to see. Before I do, however, let me just point out that your two attorneys are disporting themselves in a room your firm booked in this very hotel."

I reached over to restart the video, and the scene jumped ahead to the two lovers lying sated on the bed. As we watched and listened, they began their discussion of the scheme to entrap me into adultery. I saw Baker scowl, then he suddenly looked up at me.

"What was that bit about 'embezzlement'?"

I stopped the playback. "I regret to inform you that Amber Thompkins, a member of your administrative staff, managed to embezzle almost $50,000 from an escrow account your firm manages. These two found out about it and blackmailed her into trying to seduce me."

Watching Baker's face, I couldn't tell if he was more disgusted by the blackmail or the embezzlement.

I reached over to the keyboard again. "There's just one more segment I think you're going to want to see."

On the screen, my wife was staring at her lover. "What about you? How soon can you get rid of that prissy little wife of yours?"

"We've talked about that, Rene. I can't do anything until Baker is gone. But I have it on good authority the old fart has told the senior partners he's going to retire after Christmas. I just have to wait till the new year - then I can file too.

"The timing will be perfect, babe. By then your marriage will be ancient history, and once I've filed we'll be free to see each other in public. We'll have a whirlwind romance and be married in no time, you'll see."

"Alright," she sighed, "but it's so hard waiting." A devilish smile flickered over her lips, and she reached down to uncover Vance's cock. "And speaking of hard . . ."

I stopped the video. "That's quite a pair of employees you've got there, sir. And what I find particularly intriguing about that last segment is that I understand your niece is pregnant. It looks like your sister's grandchild will grow up without her father present in her life."

As he stared at the screen, he was visibly angry. After a minute or two, he regained his composure and turned to me.

"You know this video isn't admissible in court."

I smiled at him. "That's for a judge to decide, isn't it? But he'll see it, and others will see it, and the word will spread, just the same. For that matter, we live in an age when privacy is dead. You know it's only a matter of time before this gets on the internet."

I gave a sigh of mock compassion. "Just think what it will do to your firm's reputation to have its attorneys conspiring to commit blackmail. Consider how your clients will feel, knowing that an admin can loot their escrow accounts at will. For that matter, think about how your niece will feel, especially in that vital last trimester of her pregnancy."

He leaned against a desk and folded his arms across his chest. "How much do you want?"

"Sir?"

"How much do you want to make all this go away?"

I opened the envelope I'd been carrying, pulled out two copies of the contract I'd prepared, and handed them to him. "I think you'll find this covers it."

He shook his head sourly and began reading. "Five million dollars!"

"If you'll keep reading, you'll see that it's 'five million, net of taxes.'"

"That's outrageous!"

"I don't think so at all. Clearly, after all this is over, I'm not going to be able to practice law in Houston any more. You're simply covering the present value of the potential earnings I'll have to forego. Besides, from what I hear, that amount is not far from what a senior partner at your firm makes in a year."

He "humphed" but went on reading. A minute later he looked up with a puzzled expression. "You don't want your money for three months?"

"I want to make damned sure it's not part of any divorce settlement."

He said nothing, but I thought I saw a smile flit across his face.

The next paragraph caught his attention. "Amnesty for Thompkins? Why do you want to protect her?"

"She only took those funds because her sister needed an operation. Moreover, she completely replaced them before Rene and Vance discovered her embezzlement. I think she deserves a little compassion."

He sighed, shook his head and continued reading. Finally he looked up at me again. "You know I can't sign anything now - I'll need to have another attorney look this over."

I laughed in his face. "The best-known attorney in Houston, the head of Baker, Norton and Vinson, can't review a simple contract? Listen, you can either sign now or I take that video to the offices of the Houston Chronicle."

"That's blackmail, young man!"

"No sir, that's negotiations."

He glowered at me for a moment, then reached for his pen. "If you breach this non-disclosure agreement, there'll be hell to pay," he snapped.

"Keeping quiet about all this is in my best interests too, sir."

He shook his head in disgust, then signed and dated both copies. When he was done, he handed me my copy. To my surprise, he gave me a nod. "You know, I'd have done the same thing if I were in your shoes."

Wow, I didn't expect that!

Then a cunning look came over his face. "I believe it's time for me to have a little chat with Rene and Vance. Want to stick around and watch? I believe you've earned it."

"I would like that very much," I said in a grim voice.

He went to the door and yanked it open, startling the people hovering around outside. "I want to see Hofmeister and Wilson in here now!" The little crowd scattered again.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and then Rene and Vance let themselves in. "You wanted to see us, Mr. Baker?" Rene asked. Then she spotted me. "Robert! What are you doing here?"

Baker interrupted. "Ms. Wilson, I've been watching you during the negotiations this week, and I must say you've done some good work for us."

She beamed at the compliment. "Well, thank you, sir, I . . ."

But he hadn't finished. "So you can appreciate my disappointment in having to discharge you for cause."

"What!" she gasped. "Why?"

Baker gestured at me. "Your husband here has been telling me some interesting things about your marriage."

I could see her thinking on her feet. "Sir, anything he's told you is a lie. Robert and I are in the process of getting a divorce - he'd say anything to put me in a bad light."

Baker smiled cunningly. "It's not his words I'm relying on, Ms. Wilson, it's your own." With that he swiveled the laptop around and clicked the icon.

When the image of the two lovers began to play, both Rene and Vance gasped. "How in the hell . . ." Vance swore, while Rene reached out to shut the laptop. But Baker's gesture stopped here cold. "Let's just watch and listen a little longer, shall we?"

As the guilty pair watched in horror, Baker allowed my edited version to play out in its entirety, including their discussion of their extortion scheme. When her screen image reached down for Hofmeister's cock, Baker slapped the laptop closed. "I said you were a good attorney, Ms. Wilson. Would you like to tell me how many laws, regulations, codes and ethical standards you confessed to violating on that video?"

"But Mr. Baker . . ."

"That's enough," he snapped. Then he stalked over and opened the door. "Mr. Rosen," he called, gesturing at one of his aides, "accompany Ms. Wilson back to the office and remain with her while she empties her desk. She is allowed to remove only personal items - no files, no electronic equipment, no papers. Inspect everything, then escort her out of the building. Do you understand?"

The man quivered. "Yes sir."

Rene had time for one shell-shocked glance over her shoulder at Vance before she disappeared from sight.

During this whole time, Hofmeister had backed into a corner of the room, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. It wasn't sufficient; Baker turned his attention to the cowering man. "Under any other circumstances, Hofmeister, you'd be out the door with your paramour. But I love my sister and her daughter, and I'm not going to dismiss the father of her unborn child, no matter what a piece of crap you are.

"I will, however, remove you as a partner, effective immediately. Instead, I'm making you my personal assistant on special assignment. I'm going to send you somewhere where you'll be less likely to be tempted by the next slut who walks across your field of vision. Now, get out of my sight and go home to your wife. And Vance, treat her like a queen - understood?"

"Yes sir," he squeaked, and scurried from the room.

Baker slumped down in the chair and turned to me. "Well, Mr. Wilson, are you satisfied?"

"Yes, sir, I am," I told him.

"Good. Then get the hell out of here. I need to call my partners and un-retire. It's obvious that this place has gone to the dogs and I need to clean up the dogshit."

He cocked his head and looked at me appraisingly. "You know, I may have hired the wrong Wilson." Then his face hardened and he stared balefully at me. "That said, I would still prefer never to see your face again."

I grinned and started for the door. "Likewise, I'm sure." Then I left with my copy of the contract clutched tightly in my hand.

The Monday after the big confrontation at the Alessandra, I filed for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Baker surprised me by arranging for me to get a quick hearing before a sympathetic judge. I guess he didn't want things to drag out and risk anything becoming public.

Rene didn't contest the divorce. She'd seen the video I'd taken of Vance and her; she didn't want that shown in court. Of course, I was bound by the non-disclosure agreement not to do that, but she didn't know about my deal with Baker. I didn't enlighten her.

Early on after I'd filed, she did call me to ask if there was any way I could forgive her. "Even if I could forget your adultery, I could never forgive your treachery," I told her. She didn't try to argue any further.

It probably helped that I offered her a straightforward property settlement: you take yours, I'll take mine, anything jointly owned we split. I could have tried to punish her, but I didn't want her to fight me and discover I couldn't use the video against her. She opted to take my deal and cut her losses. Good riddance.

We put our house on the market and priced it to sell quickly. It did, and although we didn't make any money on the sale, at least it was off our hands. One more task completed, one more link between us severed.

While I was waiting for the divorce to become final, I spent my time winding up my legal practice. Some of my clients I could handle in the time I had left; the others I referred to another attorney I knew who was trying to make it on his own.

While all that was going on, I spent a lot of time thinking about my life and my future. There was no realistic chance I could practice law again in Houston. Having an enemy as powerful as Roger Baker made me anathema to every other firm in the city. Trying to revive my own law practice was also a non-starter. Likewise, returning to the petroleum industry wasn't an option. Like I'd told Rene, the business had evolved, my experience was out of date, and my contacts had moved on.

The good news was that, thanks to my settlement with Baker, I wouldn't have to worry about a job for the foreseeable future. So I opted to get out of hot, humid Houston and take a long vacation on a beach cooled by ocean breezes. After a little research I picked the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Why not loll on a beach, contemplating my future at leisure?

Those plans should have made me happy; instead, I found myself depressed. In fact, now that I thought about it, I'd been blue ever since the big showdown with Baker. Most people would love to be in your shoes. Why the hell aren't you?

Part of the problem, I knew, was the end of my marriage. I didn't miss Rene; she'd very effectively shredded any feelings I'd once had for her. But I'd always seen myself having a wife and family, and I couldn't help mourning the loss of that lifestyle.

And that wasn't all I'd lost. After working my butt off to get through law school and then starting my own firm, I found having to forget about practicing law painful. Likewise, I'd also be leaving the city where I'd spent the last decade of my life, and the odds were good I'd never come back. With all those big life changes, I had valid reasons for feeling down.

But I knew there was more to it than that. Something else was missing.

I looked at the photos of Costa Rica again. It's so beautiful, so much to enjoy. I just wish I had someone to share it with. Then it hit me: And it's not just Costa Rica - I don't want to start my new life alone; I want to share it with someone special.

The moment I realized that, I knew exactly who I wanted - and immediately began to get cold feet. What if she doesn't want me? Why would she drop everything and go away with me? What am I going to do if she says turns me down?

I sat there arguing with myself, one minute trying to work up the courage to ask, the next trying to talk myself out of it.