Author's Note:
In the previous chapter, there were a lot of complaints that I had deliberately misspelled certain words in order to convey the idea of the protagonist's Dutch accent. For that reason, I decided that, since the representation of the accent was no longer integral to the story (as the reader now gets a clear picture), I will dispense with the misspelling and allow the reader to simply imagine the accent henceforth.
*
For Dr. Willem de Graaf, his new life didn't seem too shocking, once he experienced the pleasures of Chelsea Worthington's body. She had a captivatingly elegant and sensual way of conducting everything in her life, from sex to cigarettes to law. Her British accent, very upper-class, was also an inducement to cooperate with her plans for him.
However, there was the particular issue of how to confront his wife Elsa with this news. It wasn't likely to be something that she would meekly accept, right? Her husband would be the stud to an entire law firm full of women, and she had to accept it because of her own crimes? Then again, once she realized the alternative, she would reluctantly accede to the necessity. He could just picture her use of the martyr complex when she finally agreed to tolerate it.
On the other hand, part of Willem looked forward to making his wife face up to the consequences of her kleptomania, and this was one glaring example of a consequence for her. The price of her theft was that she would have to share the man in her life, the father of her children. That alone might sober her up, not that Willem wanted to revert to the past. It was too late for that. He had sampled the carnal pleasures of other women, and fully intended to make use of them.
The scene was still quite dramatic, once Willem arrived at his house from the meeting with Chelsea. He felt quite sated from the encounter with the lovely Brit, but he knew that he would soon have such thoughts temporarily driven from his head by the inevitable argument and tears. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, as he broached the situation with Elsa.
"Honey, I have a matter to discuss with you. It's a pretty serious matter, in fact," Dr. de Graaf announced.
"Yes, dear? What's the issue? Did you find out what's going on at work? I only know that I was sent home early for some reason," Elsa openly wondered, quite worried.
"That's because you've been fired, dear. Not to be too blunt, but you're finished at Maxwell & Worthington. They have proof that you stole from the firm, and they want us to compensate them, too. I have agreed to their terms, since I don't want trouble. On the plus side, their conditions are quite reasonable, not to mention affordable. I'm especially relieved that they're not pressing charges," Willem explained, quite sternly.
"But I didn't steal from anyone, I promise!' Elsa acted indignant for a second, but she swiftly noted the incredulous look on her husband's face and looked red in the face with shame.
