Note: this chapter starts slow, with a background story, if that doesn't interest you, skip to the stars.
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Hi. My name is Olivia. This is the story of how I went from secretary to slave to wife.
It all started about ten years ago, when I graduated from business school, and went to work for my fiancΓ©e Jimmy, and his partner Bill. The company was small, and they couldn't pay me much, but I was in love with Jimmy, and figured once we were married, I would profit from the success of the company.
Shortly after that, Bill met and married Mary, the widow of a successful business man. His children from a previous marriage had inherited his business. Mary received an allowance from the estate to take care of living expenses. While she didn't have much money, she was still friends with some of her husband's business contacts, whom she introduced to Jimmy and Bill. Through them, the business received some much needed advice, and access to cash for growth.
As the business grew, Mary seemed to be more interested in Bill's money than in him. Jimmy enjoyed travelling more than Bill, and would often be away meeting with customers, and business contacts across the country. I became the office manager, in charge of all clerical staff and reported directly to Bill.
Bill was very smart with his investments, and soon had several homes. Jimmy always seemed to spend more than he made, and was becoming enamored with gambling. Jimmy kept avoiding the issue of setting a date, claiming that we couldn't afford it.
About 5 years ago, things started to fall apart. When I look back now, it all seemed to happen at once, but I'll try to put it in some sort of order. As I already stated, Mary seemed to love money more than Bill, and around this time she began spending more time at the beach house, and less at home. But my world started to crash when I had a girl's night out.
Some of my friends from college were in town for a business trip, and I took Friday afternoon off to spend some time with them before they left. Since Jimmy was out of town on a business trip, I decided to accompany them back to their hotel after dinner. As we waited for the elevator, the doors opened to reveal Jimmy locked in a passionate kiss with a little waif that was barely legal. He was so into her, he didn't even notice me as I ran off in shame.
I realized that I couldn't work for Jimmy anymore, and went to the office to get my things. Despite the late hour, Bill was there pouring over the books, and I could tell he was extremely upset. He could also see how upset I was, and he got the question out first. Through my tears, I told him what had happened at the hotel. I apologized for leaving him shorthanded, but said I hoped he understood why I couldn't stay.
Then Bill told me what had him there so late. He had just discovered that Jimmy had been embezzling, and there might not be a company for me to work for any longer. He assured me that Jimmy would not be a part of the company going forward, and asked me to stay. He needed someone that knew the company, and that he could trust to help him figure things out.
We spent all day Saturday documenting everything that Jimmy took. We contacted a forensic accountant, and a lawyer. On Friday, when Jimmy returned from his "business trip", we confronted him with our evidence. I told him we were through, and I was keeping the ring for "pain and suffering". The lawyer had drawn up a contract for Bill to buy Jimmy out of his share of the business, for a fair price, less what we could prove he stole. If Jimmy didn't sign it, we were prepared to send our evidence to the police.