The Perfect Wife Ch. 02

Speaking of Trey. He brought a date, Anita. I was dancing with her and asked her what was going on. She reminded me of my discussion with those girls at Casa the night I met Rebecca.

"Robert, I put Trey in the friend zone myself. I never romantically thought about him. One night we were the only ones that showed up at the Casa', and we danced a few times. As we danced, he told me he wanted to see the movie, 'The Terminator.'

"I had seen the previews. I wanted to see it, too. So, we started doing things as friends. He was a lot of fun. I found out how funny and witty he is. He is a master at the dry comeback one-liners, and he is really smart.

As time went on, we went everywhere together. To tell you the truth, I put him in the friend zone. But the more I got to him, that was slowly changing.

"One night, we went out to Ruth Chris Steakhouse for dinner. Robert, it's so nice to go out and not have to worry about the prices on the menu.

"When I told him I couldn't afford it, he told me not to worry. I was better than the dates he's had had lately, and he would have spent that money anyway. Robert, you know me, I would never use anyone for their money and certainly not a friend. Most of the time, we went Dutch unless he knew I couldn't afford it.

"He was on call that evening when an emergency call came. He apologized and said he would give me a ride to the hospital, get me a cab, and go home.

"We got to the Emergency Room just as the ambulance arrived. He was magnificent, Robert. He took charge of the situation and started ordering people around. He was totally calm, and he never panicked. He was precise with instructions, and everyone jumped to follow his commands.

"I saw him disappear with the child, and I sat stunned. I never thought of him as an Alpha male. I knew I liked him, but that night, given his situation, he was. I started to fall in love with him at that moment.

"I looked over and saw a couple crying and supporting each other. Their son was hit in the heart by a fastball, which stopped his heart. They kept him alive with CPR until Trey took over.

"I wasn't going home that night. I just had to see how it turned out. It was around 8 o'clock the following day before he walked out in his surgical robe. I watched him head toward the parents of the child. He gave them a slight grin as he spoke.

"I was too far away to hear what he said, but the woman burst out crying as she wrapped her arms around him. The father grabbed his hand and started shaking it uncontrollably with the biggest smile saying, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"He ordered the nurses to escort the couple back to their son. He looked up to see me with a 'What was I doing still here' look.

"He walked over to me and informed me, "I'm off now. I'll take you home." He was exhausted. I took his keys away from him and drove him home.

"After helping him undress and putting him in bed, I'm ashamed of myself. I removed mine, crawled under the covers, and held him tight. I think he went out before his head hit the pillow."

Smirking, "It took me the next three days in his bed to convince him he was out of the friend zone."

After that night, he became the most handsome man I'd ever seen."

"Heh!" I said, "I thought I was the best-looking man you'd ever seen."

"She smiled at me and said, "Not anymore. Sorry, you're not in his league.

"Robert, you were so right. I just had to look beside me to find a great guy and a husband. Well, husband when he asks. And do you know what? I didn't even have to lower my standards. Also, being a kept woman and driving a Mercedes is pretty nice," she chuckled.

I was happy for them. I wished her luck. And guess who caught the bouquet?

The only problem occurred during the ceremony when her ring would go on her finger. She later explained she fell and landed on it and jammed it. I finally forced it on, to her chagrin.

That evening, I received some great news from John during the reception: "Robert, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure," I replied, "What's up?"

"Listen, I know this is bad timing for you with what is going on, and the county commissioners can wait until you get back from Tahiti for an answer. The county has a building over in the Bald Eagle Industrial Park that has been vacant for about five years. It has approximately 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, including an overhead twenty-ton crane, offices, and a loading dock.

"They'll lease it to you for a dollar a month for five years. The catch is you will need to hire county locals when you can. You know wages are cheaper in the county than in Cobb County, and there will be no local taxes.

"You'll have easy access to the freeway for shipping and receiving. However, you would be required to pay for utilities and maintenance on the building. I think you could eventually become one of the largest employers in the county.

"As a side note, I would appreciate it as a personal favor if you would consider it. Our county could use the jobs." I took them up on their offer when we returned from our honeymoon.

During our honeymoon, we walked up on the nude beach in Tahiti. Rebecca grabbed my hand and insisted we leave.

I teased her a little. "What's the matter? Are you afraid of getting sunburned?"

She snarled at me and said, "Those bitches. I saw them drooling at you. If they saw that thing hanging between your legs, I'd have to kill someone defending your honor."

I smiled inwardly and thought, she's jealous.

Xxxx

Life was incredible until my father-in-law had to bail my ass out of the Cobb County jail. I seemed to have had a slight difference of opinion with Dexter Cromwell, an outside linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons.

Rebecca and I were attending North Georgia Young Businessmen Association's annual fundraiser for the United Way. We had guest speakers, including my hero Hank Arron and Governor Zel Miller.

At $500 per plate dinner, it was a pathetic meal. The meat was overcooked, and the potatoes were cold. But it was for a good cause.

Later they moved the tables, and the band came out and played. Rebecca wore a long sequined red cocktail gown. And yes, she showed plenty of cleavage. I have to admit I was slightly jealous of the attention she was receiving.

All the wives raised extra money by dancing with the men when asked. The only catch was the husband had to approve.

At the end of the night, I had asked Zell Miller's wife to dance when I looked up at Rebecca dancing with Cromwell. I heard a slap as Cromwell stuck his hand inside her dress, grabbing her boob. Rebecca was trying to me push him away from her, but he pulled her closer.

The next thing I remembered, they were pulling me off Cromwell. He was a big son-of-a-bitch, but I had three things in my favor. One, he was drunk. Two, I was pissed. Three, I cheap-shot him. He did recover enough to get in a few good hits in, but by then, it was over.

It was embarrassing when John showed up with my brothers-in-law at the county lockup to bail me out. Rebecca had called them for help as I was being hauled off to the pokey. I was sure they would give me all kinds of hell, but they thanked me for protecting Rebecca.

John threatened Cromwell. If he didn't drop his charges against me, Rebecca would file sexual assault charges against him.

Usually, as a man protecting his wife, I would have pleaded not guilty if he were attacking my wife. But I kept hitting him after he was out, which is a no-no. Who makes these fucking rules.

Atlanta traded him to Cleveland after that. John seemed to be good friends with Rankin Smith, the club owner.

Everything went smoothly for the next two and a half years. Rebecca had quit Coke to work for us at the full-time office. She was sitting crying at my desk when I came in one day. I asked her what was wrong. She was upset because we were tight on money at the time, and we couldn't afford the gift she wanted to get me. I reminded her that employees get paid first. After that, I don't even remember what she wanted to buy me.

We had a couple of large projects going on at the time, and we were waiting to get paid. So, I made her get up and sit on my lap, and I hugged her.

I chuckled and said, "Let me see. What could my wife, whom I love more than anything else, give me for my birthday? MMMMMMM." I glanced down at my crotch.

She glanced down and back to my face and slapped my shoulder. I said, "I'm going to report you to the sheriff for spousal abuse one of these days.

She sneered and said, "I gave you one yesterday, and anytime you ask. That's not a special gift."

I waggled my eyelids and replied, "To me, it is. I promise I won't regift it."

She laughed and replied, "I'll give you a hall pass for that one. And besides, you got one for your birthday last year."

"Yeah, I did, but not one for this year."

She gave me a wicked smile. "Wait until you get home, mister. I'll have a special birthday present for you you'll never forget."

Anal. What a night. She gave me her virgin ass. God, I love that woman.

She always had a great sense of humor. One day she walked into my office and asked what I was designing for a new fan.

She asked to see it, and I refused. I told her it was a super-duper secret, and if I told her, I'd have to fuck her to death.

She returned to the door, locked it, and said, "I don't have time for that. Just put me in a coma for a few hours. After that, I have to pick up Constance from pre-K."

It was a running joke in my company. If the door was locked, I was not to be disturbed.

I forgot to mention why she was so emotional about my present. It was because she was 12 weeks pregnant.

Life moved on, and we had another child, a boy we named Richard the Monster Baby, the spawn of the Devil himself with ADHD to the max.

Time passed, and Rebecca became pregnant with our third when the first tragedy hit our family. I was heading down to Hartsfield International Airport to meet the President of AIRIAL manufacturing, Mr. Jason Long. We were meeting up to sign the final papers for Essex to take control of his company.

He had recently turned 70, and without an heir, he decided to sell so he and his wife could spend their golden years traveling and living off the fruit of their labors.

I had run into him at a few of the HVAC Industry Shows, and we started a friendship. He was like me. He started his company many years ago in the back of his garage. His company manufactures huge, bladed fans up to 24 ft wide that would complement our warehouse products.

Rebecca went through all of the reports on his company and found that with just a few adjustments to manufacturing techniques, we could cut production costs and pay back the purchase amount we financed in three years, not seven. In addition, the company had a significant cash flow and no debt.

He didn't want a conglomerate to buy him out because he wanted to ensure his long-time employees would keep their jobs. With the new NAFTA treaty, he had been worried whoever bought it would move production to Mexico and it would destroy the local community.

I promised him I would expect no more from his people than mine. And the deal was struck. Unfortunately, that is when everything went sideways.

I remember nothing beyond kissing Rebecca goodbye and telling her I would be home late. The next thing I remember was waking up to the sounds of beeps and a blinding light shining in my eye.

"Mr. Bradshaw, glad to have you back. My name is Dr. Horowitz. It will be a few days before you fully know your surroundings. If you can hear me blink your eyes."

I slowly blinked at them, mainly to block that damn light. Then, I heard crying from a woman in the room. I recognized the sobs and the perfume. It was my wife, Rebecca's.

I regained consciousness over the next four days. I awakened to see my mother holding my hand, explaining what had happened that night. Damn, a car landed on me.

I asked her to get Rebecca and my lawyer and get them down here. I also wanted a Notary to come with him. Two hours later, I was signing the Power of Attorney, giving complete control of the company to Rebecca.

Yea, I was under the influence of powerful pain drugs, but I answered questions from the doctor to prove my mental stability would pass legal mustard. Rebecca was now the President of Essex Manufacturing.

I was out for nine months. Then, finally, Rebecca gave birth to Allison and was back to work three days later. My woman is made for having babies.

Essex ran like a top after I signed the Power of Attorney to give her complete control of my company. I began to feel that I was the one not needed in my own company anymore.

The only thing that happened while I was out was when my Sales Manager just up and left without notice. After that, I never heard from him again. To this day, no one knows why he just upped and left or where he went.

To tell you the truth, I was going to fire him anyway. I received complaints from my customers. He was hitting on and making lewd remarks to the married women who worked for them. I never tolerated that kind of behavior from my vendors, nor would I allow it from my own.

It was a grueling nine months. My job was strictly physical rehabilitation. Rebecca's job was to run the company.

I felt terrible for Rebecca. She would get up before the kids and come home late every night. Then, she would stop off at the gym and work out with Rico on her way home. I noticed she was losing weight, and it scared me. I was afraid she would drop from exhaustion.

She would get home in sweats and run upstairs to shower first. After that, she would come downstairs and talk about her day, and then we would retire to cuddle.

Unfortunately, one of the side effects of the painkillers was my inability to get hard. She assured me she would be fine until the doctor released me. He assured me I would return to normal when the drugs worked out of my system. Everybody was sure except me.

As time went on, I could tell she was becoming more distant. Finally, we talked, and she said the job pressure was getting to her. She told me she wondered how in the hell I handled it for these many years. I told her it was for her, and she gave me a weak smile.

I started pushing her for oral sex, but she said she was not in the mood or too tired. But she was ready to return the reins to me and go back to being a mom.

Just before Christmas, the doctor released me and started backing down the dose of my pain medicines. And can you believe it? I began to inflate again. Not enough to fuck, but I could feel it stir.

I started heading into the office for half a day to take some load off, Rebecca. And I saw a change in her mood, and she was actually smiling again.

I talked to Mr. Long, and he held the company for me. He was pissed off when I didn't show up that night, but after discovering what happened, he promised me to wait until I recovered to redress the sale. And we agreed I would drive up to Lenoir, TN, to finish the purchase in February.

Over the next month or so, I returned to full-time and gave Rebecca a much-needed break. She was unhappy with the workload and was about at her breaking point when I gave her a special gift.

For Rebecca's birthday, I handed her back the prenuptial we signed that protected my company from divorce. It was into two pieces. I told her we would have lost everything without her anyway, and she saved it. I continued to explain I trusted her with my life. She sat and cried. Women.

I pushed myself to try to recover faster and wean myself off the oxycontin. It was becoming partially rigid but not enough for intercourse. I knew she had to be horny as hell. After all, she wasn't the one that had been injured.

She came home exhausted every night. Rico was relentless with his workout regimen. At least she felt up to cuddling. I wanted more, but she then asked me a favor.

"Honey, I want to wait until Valentine's Day to make love to you. I hope by then you'll be back to normal because I have a special surprise for you. I think you'll love it. Can you do that for me? Please!"

"Yeah, I can, but aren't you horny? My God, woman, it's been nine months since we did it. My mind has been ready to go for weeks, but my little friend was not quite up to speed yet. So, I can only imagine how you're feeling."

"Trust me," she said, "It will be well worth it." She kissed me on the cheek, rolled over, and fell fast asleep.

....

This morning I was scheduled to go to Lenoir, TN, to sign the contract for Airial Products. I almost had a heart attack. I was brushing Constance's hair when she floored me.

"Daddy, can I kiss my cousins on the lips when I grow up?"

"What do you mean?" I replied in shock.

I saw Aunt Beth's daughter, Anika, kissing Uncle James's boy Chad."

Holy shit, I thought, they had just turned 18. I had better tell John what Constance saw. I'll leave Rebecca out of it just in case it was a mistake and Constance misunderstood what she saw.

As I started to leave, Rebecca walked up and kissed me. She whispered, "Your Valentine's present is ready; I can't wait for Saturday night. You'll never forget it." I noticed she was still wearing her sweatsuit.

"I'll be ready, Honey," I kissed her passionately. Then, I smiled and said, "You know you're the reason because there are only 20 letters in the alphabet."

"I'll bite," she said with a smile a smirked. "Why is that?"

"Because," I said, holding up my fist. Starting with my thumb, I said, "U-R-A-Q-T." I finished with my five fingers out.

She looked at me and said, "Wait, that adds up to 25 letters.

I replied, "Yep, you'll get the 'D' this weekend."

She chuckled and said, "You be a good boy. "Don't bring home anything I can't cook or wear."

She looked at my face with concern, "Honey, are you ok? You don't look good."

"Oh, It's this damn Oxy. I pushed myself hard to get off the shit, and sometimes it hits me a little hard. But its effects are becoming less noticeable each time. I'll be ok. Oh, by the I had hard-on this morning."

Rebecca gave me a devilish grin.

I settled the deal early and went home early Thursday afternoon. I was now a conglomerate. I decided to swing by John's and Morgan's place to talk to them about what Constance had told me earlier. I thought it would be best if they brought it up to my in-laws.

That's when my world fell apart.

TO BE CONTINUED