The Architect

"Meanwhile I graduated from High School, I was the Valedictorian and first in my class. I got a job that summer in a Department store and was promoted after a few months to Assistant Manager of the Lady's Shoe Department. Two months later the Manager left because her husband was transferred and I was made the acting manager until a replacement was found.

"They never replaced me and finally made me the manager when I turned 18. I did a good job for them and everyone was proud of me. Then at an office Christmas party I was slipped a date-rape drug and was raped. I didn't know who or for that matter, how many had done it but when I found out I was pregnant I was fired. To make a long story short, my uncle wanted me to abort the baby but I couldn't do that so I left home. I had my sweet baby girl and I love her so much I can't believe it.

"I had saved most of what I made at the department store and had a fair sum in savings. I moved in with a more mature woman with a young baby and cared for her baby while she worked. I stayed with her until her husband returned from the Army. By then Dolly was born and I found the little efficiency apartment we are in now. There is a Daycare a block away where I leave her when I work. I am lucky that a nice lady in the apartment next door will watch Dolly when I go to classes, like tonight. That's about it."

I looked at her and patted her small warm hand that was still in mine. "Debbie, if you ever need anything at all just let me know. What are you studying in College?"

"I am studying Business Administration for now, I haven't decided what I want to do. The tuition is rough for me and my savings are running low. I'll make it though, now that I have a good job."

I grinned and said in my best imitation of a lecherous old man, "Sweetie, I have a proposition for you, heh, heh, heh!"

Her eyebrows rose and she stared at me.

"Oh! Don't be silly Debbie! I'm just kidding, the proposition is this. I'll pay your expenses for the rest of your college. You will sign a contract to work for me until you graduate and for five years after you graduate. The pay while you finish your education will be determined by your grades. What grading system do they use?"

"Zero to 4.0."

"OK, What is your GPA now?"

"I run about 3.5 right now, but I have little time to study."

"Right, if you could afford child care would that help?"

"Child care while I am working is what keeps me broke. The only time I have to study is when she takes a nap or after she goes to bed at night, on the weekends or when I don't have a class. And house work cuts into that."

"Listen girl, I'm 99% sure we are going to go with your suggestion on the child care. I am going to give you a small raise when you finish your first 90 days with the company. Starting right now you will get a 20% raise for every tenth of a point your GPA goes up. A GPA of 4.0 will double your pay."

"WOW! Talk about your incentive plans. I love it. I won't disappoint you, Mr. John, I promise."

"Hey, if you call me Mister again while we are not at work the deal is off. Got it?"

"Yes, John, I understand."

"Fine! I had better let you get home now."

"Oh dear! I need to hurry, Good night! She smiled, then she sobered and looked at me, a tear ran down her cheek, she leaned over and kissed my cheek, then ran out the door.

I finished my coffee and as I got up I saw her check and looked at it, she had had a coffee and a grilled cheese sandwich for $2.50. I paid both checks.

The next morning I heard heels clicking down the hall to my private office and looked up to see Debbie pause at the open door. She was wearing an ill-fitting skirt and blouse, they were too tight on her slightly chubby figure. "Good morning Boss!" Her smile brightened the day for me, she was delightfully pretty and cheerful.

"Good mornin' to you too Debbie, come on in." She walked to my desk and carefully placed three one dollar bills on my desk and grinned at me.

"I left early this morning and stopped by the Café on the way to work to pay the check I forgot to pay last night, they said there were no unpaid checks last night. You must have paid mine."

I laughed, "Yeah, I got your check too. This is too much, it was only $2.50."

"You paid a tip too didn't you?"

I nodded, "Yeah! I guess I did." I handed her an envelope and said, "Here is the credit card. The PIN is written inside the flap on the envelope. I want you to get started on the special projects we discussed yesterday. I'll tell Marge you are working on the Child Care project so you can take whatever time you need. Is that OK with you?"

She smiled again as she took the envelope, "Yes Sir, Mr. John. I will report my progress later if I am finished before the end of work."

I had to smile at her, "If you take the whole day you can get some comparative information on the daycare. Do you stop at the Café every evening about the same time?"

"Usually, That is usually my dinner, it's often all I have time for."

"If I don't see you this afternoon I'll try to meet you tonight then."

She was back in the office by noon and handed me an envelope. She smiled, "Here are the estimates for everything you requested. Let me know if they are satisfactory. On the audit I will have to have an answer by tomorrow evening to get it all set up for this weekend. I guess I will have to be here with them. Can I bring Dolly with me? On the surveillance project, I have it all set up. I need to call them with the information listed in the envelope. Should I stop back in an hour?"

I told her that I would have the answers for her then. I just couldn't help smiling back at her.

I buzzed Sally's intercom, she answered right away. "Hi! Honey, what's going on?"

"Oh, not much, I guess you didn't go out for lunch today."

"No, Dear, I am too busy today and I have a workout scheduled for tomorrow at noon. I have to get the payroll ready early because we are leaving out early Friday for Hotlanta. Giggle!"

"Do you have everything coordinated with Dave and Mary?"

"Yes, are you feeling better this morning. You acted so weird last night. I don't understand what is going on with you."

"Don't worry about it, I feel much better today. Oh. That girl, what's her name, you know, the one with the daycare plan."

"That's Debbie, Honey."

"Yeah, Debby. She dropped off some figures she got from other companies that provide Daycare. She is a sharp little cookie."

"Yes she is. She is as cute as a fat little bug too. Do I have to keep an eye on her with you?"

"Why, you have never worried about that sort of thing before, besides I am way too old for her. She looks like a teeny bopper! However, if I was twenty years younger you might have to worry. She sure is pretty. Smart too!"

"Well, she is old enough to have a baby. I guess she hasn't lost weight after her pregnancy. She showed me a picture of her daughter, now there is a real cutie. That made me jealous as hell! I want one too!"

"We'll see! I need to get to work on the Baker project, I want that ready to send out Friday too. I may have to work late tonight to get caught up. I'll let you know later."

Debbie picked up the information and left work early to give it to the investigators. Later that afternoon Dave stopped by my office. I asked if he was ready to go to Atlanta for the weekend. He said he was. He said, "Sally said you were sick last night, ya doin' alright today?"

"Yeah David, ol' buddy, It must have been someone I ate." I grinned at him."

"Yes! Like you could ever cheat on Sally. She would kill you if she caught you."

"Maybe!" I grinned and laughed, "How about if I caught her?"

I thought he flinched. He grinned, "Fat chance, the girl loves you, she would never cheat on you."

I looked at him carefully, "You may be right about that, I have heard that if the conditions are right, any woman may or may not cheat. She has a big gang of admirers."

"I agree with you on the guys lusting after her. She belongs to you though."

"Yeah!"

The Conference went well and we enjoyed ourselves. I managed to call Debbie every day and she reported Sunday morning that she had all the information I wanted. She would have it on my desk Monday morning. I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I was very uneasy the whole time we were there, luckily we were unending activities day and night. We were exhausted at night when we went to bed. Sally didn't seem too disappointed when we went right to sheep. One night it was a show that lasted until midnight. The next night we did Atlanta Underground. We staggered into our suite at 2 AM. There was a breakfast buffet meeting and we were through. We got on I-75 and headed South. We each drove for an hour and a half and we were home about six that evening. While Mary and I were in the back seat and Sally and David thought we were both asleep I noticed that when Sally drove she was constantly pushing his hands away from her. Then she looked back at us, I was watching from under the bill of my ball cap. I don't think she could see my eyes. I saw her motion to Dave and as he turned around to check on us I closed my eyes for a few moments, when I opened then he was sitting closer to Sally. She moaned softly several times so I guessed he had a hand in her panties. I groaned and sat up, "Where are we now?" I asked. They both jumped.

Sally said, "Go back to sleep, we just entered Florida, and we are looking for some where to stop and have a pit stop while Dave takes over." When we got back on the road Sally was leaning against the door but her bottom was near Dave. I guessed his hand was back at work because Sally was squirming every now and then. I knew my marriage was over.

Sally and I hardly spoke on the drive from Dave and Mary's place to our house. We did go through the drive-through at the local hamburger emporium. When we were home we unloaded, ate our burgers and crawled in bed. She snuggled up to me and was gently snoring in a few minutes.

I struggled to get to sleep for an hour or so. No luck. I got up and called Debbie's cell phone. She answered and sounded wide awake. I asked how things had gone. "Smooth as clockwork." She replied, "Things are pretty dull around here with you gone. I suspect things will go crazy tomorrow though."

"That bad hunh?"

"I think so."

"Can you just put everything in the center drawer of my desk?"

"It will be there."

"Thanks, good night!"

"Goodnight, I'm glad you are back."

"Me too!"

Monday morning was typical, I left for work well before Sally was up. David would arrive there ten minutes after I did. I thought about it. There was no way he could stop by and do Sally and not be much later, Sally is not a quickie type person in her sex. She has to have plenty of foreplay and loves to draw out the act as long as she can, savoring every moment."

I read the report from Atkinson and Jenkins, Accountants. Everything was fine except that one person was abusing his expense accounts. It was Dave. It was only a matter of a couple hundred dollars a month. I didn't care if no one noticed it, it did set a bad example for the employees though.

Everything brightened when I heard the heels clicking down the hall. Debbie stuck her head around the corner of my door. She was early, she smiled and things were suddenly way better. "Hi! Boss, how are you today?"

"I don't know yet, I haven't got to the investigator's report yet. Did you read it?"

She looked away from me, then looked back and nodded.

"That bad Deb?"

She nodded again. I saw a tear course down her cheek. I sat down and removed the brown envelope from the center drawer. I removed the report and read it quickly. What I had suspected was true. There was massive evidence. I picked up the DVD and inserted it.

A title said the day, date, and time. The scene was from Tuesday. Boy the investigators were fast. The first thing I saw was Sally enter the Motel room and kiss Dave. They kissed for a long time. The parted and started undressing, Sally was spectacular as usual. Dave looked a bit thick through the middle, Sally motioned him to her. She got a condom from her purse and took his cock in her hand and skillfully slipped it over his long, long cock. She slipped her mouth over his cock then rolled onto her back, he was on her in a minute. She guided his long cock into her wet vagina and grinned at him, "Fuck me Dave, give it to me hard." I watched him fuck her like a machine.

He paused and lifted her legs up over his shoulders. He entered her again from a higher angle, shoving his cock straight down deep inside her. She clutched at his hips, trying to pull him deeper in her belly. Her head flipped from side to side in her orgasm. Her moans and screams were loud and shrill. She was never like this when we made love. Damn, I must be a real dud as a lover. I watched until I thought I might get sick. I fast forwarded to the next scene.

The next scene was from Thursday at 12:16. Same room. Dave was waiting for her. Sally entered and said, "Dave, this is the end, I think we got too careless, I think they both suspect something. We can never do it again." The quality of the video wasn't going to win any awards, but it was clearly adequate.

Dave pulled back, "I think you are right, it has been a wonderful five years. Do you think we can get in one last fuck?"

"Hell no! I am going to the gym. Watch yourself this coming weedend, don't screw it up now. I can't lose my John, that would kill me."

"Yeah, I am the same way about Mary, I really do love her."

They kissed again and both left the room. Dave dropped the room key on the table by the door and left. I looked at Debbie with tears running down my cheeks, she shut the door and hurried to me. She said, "John, are you alright. They are both supposed to meet you here in twenty minutes. Do you want me to delay it a while?"

"No! Give me a minute to wash my face and I will be alright. When do you expect Mrs. Forester to be here?"

"Five or ten minutes after Miss Sally and Mr. Forester arrive. Can you stall that long."

"Buzz me when she is here, then escort her in here and you stay here too. It won't hurt to have a witness. You have control of the hidden cameras in here don't you?"

"Yes, the control is on my desk."

"Good, turn it on when the first person enters this room. And the quicker you can get Mrs. Forester in after they are inside the better it will be for me, OK?"

"Yes Mr. Nelson. You are going to do just fine. I guess you noticed the boxes of tissues I put our around the room." She looked up at the clock. "Yipes! I have to get out at my desk. She opened the door, she looked outside, then she turned and looked at me. She blew me a kiss, "Be strong Boss." The door closed behind her.

Two minutes later the buzzer went off and I watched the door open and Dave held the door for Sally. I pretended to be talking to someone on the phone. I motioned for them to sit down. I said, "Right George, that is just what I have in mind. I will call you back if there is any change, I just want to get it over with as fast as possible. Right. I'll let you know how it goes. Bye." The buzzer went off again. I heard Debbie say Mrs. Forester is here."

"Show her in." The door opened and Mary and Debbie entered then sat down. I smiled at Mary. I said, "Mary I thought you should be here too because what is going on here today affects you too."

Sally and Dave looked at each other, they were not smiling. I looked around the room. "I think you all have met Miss Sommers, she is my temporary secretary while Marge is having her baby. She is here to take notes. To get started I would like all of you to watch the TV monitor over there." I clicked a button on my desk and the TV showed the scene when Sally joined Dave in the Motel. They stared silently at the screen.

Then Sally stood and screamed, "NO, OH NO! And she crumbled to a heap on the floor.

Dave looked at me, "You Son of a Bitch."

Mary said, "You are the SON OF A BITCH DAVID. SHUT UP! I want to hear this."

After a few minutes of sex I stopped the show. "I think we have seen enough of that garbage. I want Mary to see another segment." I rolled ahead to the scene when they decided they had to stop cheating on Mary and I after five years." Sally was still sobbing on the floor. I said loudly, "Stop it Sally, it is too late for that. You need to listen to what I have to say. It is about your future. She looked up at me, I wanted to run and comfort her. I heard a voice in my head say, 'Be strong Boss!'

I looked around the room, then shut off the DVD after the two lovers declared their love for their spouses. I said, "Sally, look at me." Her head slowly lifted. "Sally I will love you for ever. However I can never live with or trust you again. You will be served with divorce papers as you leave this office." I looked at Mary, "Mary, Honey I hated to spring this on you this way but I think you had an idea this was going on, didn't you?"

"Yes, I was sure it was. I smelled Sally's perfume on Dave all the time. Some of his stories didn't add up. I forgive you John. I too have a lawyer lined up for this contingency." I looked at Sally. Then at Dave. "Well, that part is out of the way. Now for the matter of our business together. I feel that cheating on your spouse is tantamount to stealing. In our wedding vows we vow to forsake all others and pledge that our bodies belong to the person we are marrying. If you give your body or any part of it to someone else you are stealing from your spouse. You are a thief. You can not be trusted.

"Business partnerships are a lot like marriages, they are based on trust. I DO NOT trust either of you anymore. I propose that I buy the two of you out. I am not sure I have the cash available at this time to do that. So I propose that I run the business until I have the cash ready. The other option is to sell the business and share the profits according to your shares. I propose a ten day waiting period to give each of us a chance to examine his or her options." I looked at each of them. "Does anyone want to say anything.

Mary said, "Yes, the money David invested in this company belongs to me. I would like to remain your silent partner. David is fired as of now. He no longer has a home either." She glared at Dave and sat down.

I smiled at Mary, "Honey, that makes it easier on me. I'll have papers drawn up to that effect." I saw Sally raise her hand. I nodded to her. She looked sorrowfully at me, "John, let me retain my share too, I will also be a silent partner. Just send me my share of the dividends when you pay Mary hers. Mary, Please forgive me, I never meant for this to happen, it is all because I am a weak woman. I threw away the best Man in the world. I have nothing left to live for. Nothing, my life is over. I was stupid, so damned stupid."

I said, "Sally, You can have the house, I could never live there. I will get my stuff out as soon as I find a place to live. I'll call and leave a message." Sally walked out the door. I heard a voice say, "Mrs. Sally Nelson?"

"Yes."

"Ma'am, you are served." I heard her heels click slowly down the hall. I walked over to the window and stared at nothing. My eyes were filled with tears. I thought the hurt I felt was the worst of this whole week. After a few minutes I felt a pressure trying to turn me from the window. I turned and saw Debbie pulling on my arm. She looked very concerned. "Mr. John, are you alright?" She gently dabbed at my eyes with a tissue.

I smiled and thanked her. I said, "It is hard to slam a door shut on 14 years of what I thought was a perfect marriage. I have to start a new life now. At least I am going to keep the business, I was afraid I would lose it."

She smiled, "I am so happy for both of us about that, now I can hold you to your promise."