The General's Wife

I really appreciate the comments and feedback from my first submission. Everyone was much more kind than I expected. There were a lot of great suggestions on how I can improve my writing and I have read every comment. One suggestion was that I proofread before submitting. I actually proofread my first story at least a half-dozed times before submitting. Any yet I still dropped periods in the middle. Of sentences. I have read the following story several times now, and I know that I will have missed many errors. Thankfully, there are commenters who will point them out to me.

Several people pointed out that I introduced children and then dropped them. The sad answer is that those poor kids suffered from Chuck Cunningham Syndrome. They left to play basketball and were never seen or heard from again. But seriously, those comments were very helpful. They reminded me of Chekhov's rule that if a gun appears in the first act, it must be fired in the second. In other words, if it does not add to, or move the story along then drop it. Those comments about those poor missing kids caused me to do an extensive re-edit of this story.

Harddaysknight cautioned me against using tropes such as the husband owning the house and kicking his wife out. Oddly enough, I had never questioned this in any story for the simple reason that I owned my house when I married my wife. I can see now that this is actually an unusual situation and I will be cautious about using it in the future.

I caught a lot of flak for my stance on voting and comments. Some commenters were admitted authors that were posting anonymously. I guess maybe I'm dense (or ignorant as one commenter claimed) but I just do not see how a comment by an anonymous poster on an internet forum can be so fraught with peril that the comment must be deleted. I figure that as long as the comment thread has not triggered Godwin's Law, then I'm not going to take it personally. I will admit that my background has abnormally desensitized me to barbed comments, stinging criticism, and harsh invective; so...

thanks mom!

This story is completely unrealistic, written just for fun and is 180 degrees from my first submission. Please leave feedback so that I can improve. All comments are welcome.

offkilter123

The General's Wife

Executive Offices

Ascendent Entertainment Enterprises

Hollywood, CA

Doug Showalter, CEO of AEE heard the faint "ding" heralding the receipt of a Teams message.

"Your ten-o'clock is here".

At one time, this message would have come across on an intercom. Times had changed since the pandemic. Now everything was Teams, email or Slack. Employees, from the CEO down, were not supposed to use any other form of 1:1 communication so that all communication could be monitored by the courts. No texts, and for sure no Snapchats! Not for the first time Doug silently cursed the name of his predecessor and his legacy of sexual harassment that unwound as part of the same Me-Too movement that had sent Harvey Weinstein to prison. Ascendent was being monitored by the courts to ensure it was a safe working environment for women. Safe yet profitable. Two goals that were frequently in conflict with each other. Fortunately for Doug, he was succeeding in both and sexual harassment, while not completely obliterated, was becoming less and less of an issue, thanks in no small part to creatives like his next visitor.

"Send them in, Jocelyn." Doug stood and walked around his desk. His visitor had become much too important to the success of AEE to not be met at the door. Jocelyn ushered two men through the door and into Doug's spacious, modern brightly lit office with its view of the hills surrounding Los Angeles.

"Tyler! Good to see you brother. Morning Andy," he said to the men. Tyler was Tyler Sherman, creator and show runner of the most successful scripted TV series currently airing on television. Accompanying him was Andy Daniels, Senior VP for streaming for Ascendent. Doug led them to the white leather conversation group in the corner.

"What can I get you guys? Coffee? Cola?" Both men declined a beverage so Jocelyn smiled at everyone telling them to let her know if they needed anything. Despite being beautiful, Jocelyn maintained a very professional and business-like approach to her work. But there was no way to hide the fact that she had an amazing body. Doug noticed that neither Tyler nor Andy turned to watch her rear as she left. Times are definitely changing he thought, not without some sense of satisfaction.

"So, Tyler, how are things on the ranch?" The "ranch" in question was the Straight Flush ranch in Central Texas and the setting for Tyler's most popular TV show, "The Captain." It was a highly fictionalized version of the life of Scottish sea captain Angus McQueen, who had left a sea-faring life to start a Texas ranch. At over 800,000 acres, the McQueen ranch was the largest ranch in the United States and one of the largest in the world, although there were ranches in Argentina and Australia that dwarfed the McQ, as it was popularly known. While some exterior scenes were filmed at the McQueen ranch, most of the filming was done at the Straight Flush ranch, which happened to be owned by Tyler Sherman.

There had been fictionalized stories of the McQueen Ranch filmed previously, but in the case of "The Captain,", the TV series was filmed with the complete cooperation of the McQueen family. McQ branded merchandise was flying off retail shelves and as part of their contract with Ascendent, the McQueen family had retained all merchandising rights. They were very happy with their deal and Ascendent had the most popular show on TV. Tyler had created spin-offs from the "The Captain" that had aired on Ascendents streaming service to great acclaim. They had jump-started AEE's streaming plans and gave them a major boost over the competition in the streaming wars.

"Well, we just wrapped," Tyler drawled. Despite having worked in Hollywood for twenty years, Tyler retained the speech and mannerisms of the ranch kid he was. Tall and rangy in his early forties, with square-jawed good looks, he had tried acting and despite some bit parts in movies and recurring roles in a couple of series, his acting career had never gained traction. It was when he tried his hand at screenwriting that he struck gold. Out of his first three screenplays, two were nominated for Academy Awards for best original screenplay. The screenplay that was not nominated was a film that Tyler also directed. It performed modestly at the box office but had gained a passionate following on streaming. That led to a production deal with AEE. "We just have to finish cutting the last three episodes," he said, referring to the editing process.

"So, we're on target for the premier of the first episode?" Andy asked.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Tyler ran a tight ship and everyone knew it.

"I can't wait for it to start," Doug said. "I'm as big a fan as anyone out there." He sat back in his chair and studied Tyler, who seemed to have a slight smirk on his face.

"Now what's really on your mind Tyler?" he asked.

Tyler flashed him a grin. "I'm going to need two-hundred million from you boys. Give or take."

Andy's mouth dropped open in shock. "Two-hundred million?" He squeaked. "Dollars?"

"Give or take," Tyler confirmed.

"That's a big number, even for you," Doug said. Tyler was good, but he was expensive. Most of his series were filmed on his Texas ranch, for which he charged a daily fee. Every cow and horse that was used in production had a daily rate charged against production costs as well. Every wrangler, veterinarian, and cowboy extra were employed by Tyler's ranch and their pay was also charged against their production cost. Even the guy who shoed the horses (a farrier as the accountants at AEE had learned) was billed against production cost. Tyler was making money hand over fist but with the results he was giving AEE, no one was complaining. That's why he was not as shocked as his VP of streaming. "What do you have in mind."

Tyler reached into the leather messenger back he had placed on the floor as he had taken his seat. He pulled out two trade paperback books and handed one each to Doug and Andy.

"The Lawyers?" Doug read the book title aloud.

"Two-hundred million for a TV show about lawyers?" Andy groaned in dismay. He firmly believed in kissing the ass of their biggest talent, but

fucking lawyers?

"Not just lawyers. A specific bunch of lawyers. You guys ever heard of Bonham-McLeod-Garcia?"

"No," said Andy.

"Yes" said Doug. Andy looked him in surprise. Doug just smiled. "B-Mc-G. We've used them down in Texas when we needed local representation. They're big and they're good. And Expensive. God are they expensive." Doug shook his head as he remembered his dealings with B-Mc-G. They had first declined to represent AEE in a wrongful death suit filed by the family of an extra that was killed on the set of a movie that had been filmed in Dallas. It was only when AEE was able to convince the partners of their innocence by showing that the death was due to the film extra being intoxicated on the set that they agreed to take the case.

"They're the oldest law firm in Texas and one of the oldest in the United States. Congressmen, senators, supreme court justices and one vice-president came out of B-Mc-G. Not to mention a whole slew of circuit court and appeals court judges. They have a reputation for honesty and integrity that is unmatched by any law firm anywhere," Tyler explained.

Doug nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, but how does that make compelling TV? Why are people going to tune in every week to watch a show about a bunch of Texas lawyers?"

Tyler pointed to the books he had handed them. "That's my source material. And it's good."

Doug thumbed through the thick novel. "Give me the elevator pitch."

"Two brothers came to Texas from South Carolina in 1834. Their names were James and Robert Bonham. They opened their law office in what is now Austin, Texas. They quickly aligned themselves with the group pushing for Texas independence. Eventually they separated and continued fighting. Robert joined General Sam Houston and was appointed a lieutenant. James joined their cousin Colonel William Travis where he was commissioned as a major."

Doug raised his right index finger, pausing Tyler. "Travis was the commander of the Alamo with Bowie and Crockett, right?"

Tyler nodded his head. "Bonham actually left the Alamo on a mission for Travis. He snuck through the Mexican army and delivered a message to Sam Houston. He then rode back to the Alamo, through the Mexican army to fight and die with his comrades. After the war and Texas independence, Robert went back to practicing law. He married, and had kids. His oldest daughter married a Scottish immigrant named Alexander McLeod. He learned the law and eventually became a partner."

"And the G? Garcia was it," Gary asked.

"Tomas Antonio Garcia. His father had saved Robert's life at the battle of San Jacinto, where the Texans defeated Mexican general Santa Anna. Tomas' father was killed in the battle. Robert took it upon himself to pay for school for Tomas and his sister Angelica who were teenagers at the time of their father's death. Tomas was taught the law and joined Bonham-McLeod, eventually becoming B-Mc-G. Robert was only ten years older than Angelica. When his first wife died in childbirth, he married Angelica."

"Quite the incestuous law firm, isn't it?" Andy snarked.

Tyler quirked an eyebrow at him and Doug looked at Andy slightly annoyed. Andy raised his hands. He realized that this was a passion project for Tyler and he had better rein in his usual Hollywood sarcasm.

"The book follows the firm through the growth of Texas as a republic, and then statehood. Then it goes into the issue of slavery, the civil war, reconstruction, the growth of the cattle empires, the growth of the oil and gas industry and into the space race and the 1960's. They're just as powerful, if not more so, than they were fifty years ago. Their story is about as Texan as it gets. Can you think of another law firm in which the attorneys were involved in gunfights with bandits, rustlers and Comancheros?"

"Wow," Andy said. That sounded a hell of a lot more exciting than watching some Wall Street lawyer talk about arbitrage.

"Any surprise casting choices?" Doug asked. Tyler had shocked Hollywood with who he had cast in one of the spin-offs from "The Captain." He had chosen retired two-time Superbowl champion quarterback Kyle Kinzler and Kyle's wife Megan Bond-Kinzler, the gorgeous, also retired, former captain of the U.S. women's soccer team. The two had appeared in commercials and guest starred on TV sitcoms (generally playing some version of themselves) and so had received their SAG cards. Even so, they were not actors nor did they claim to be. They had agreed to the roles thinking it would be an adventure. More fool them. Tyler had put them through a six-month acting class and one-month cowboy college to prepare them for their roles in the 19

th

century saga. The critics had agreed that they both did a more than adequate acting job (Kyle more believable that Megan) but that their on-screen chemistry was electric and jumped off the screen.

Tyler gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Mark Tibbs has signed on to play James Bonham. He appears in the first two episodes."

"Tibbs? You got Mark Tibbs?" Andy asked excitedly. Mark Tibbs had recently won the best supporting actor Academy Award. "Can you extend his role for more episodes?"

"Since he dies at the Alamo, no. Once he's dead he's dead. There's no Alamo zombies planned," Tyler said with a deadpan tone.

"Who do you have for Robert?" Doug asked.

"I have a couple of ideas on who I want to cast as a young Robert. That decision is going to depend on who gets cast as the older Robert. I have an idea that I've been bouncing around in my head for who I want. If that plays out like I hope, then I'll make a decision on who gets cast for young Robert." Tyler sat back and casually examined his fingernails before dropping his big bombshell.

"Maria Elena Montoya has signed on to play Robert's wife, Angelica."

Both Doug and Andy gaped at Tyler in open-mouthed astonishment.

"How?" they asked in unison.

"She supposedly retired from acting when her husband died. Hasn't she been in seclusion with her family?" Doug asked.

Maria Elena Montoya was the oldest daughter of the youngest sister of King Juan Tomas Vega Montoya of Spain. After college, she had modelled in Paris and London before being approached about an acting role. She found that she loved acting more than she loved modelling. She had taken who her new craft seriously, attending drama classes and gaining experience by going to casting calls for off Broadway plays. It had paid off. Nominated for Academy Awards on two separate occasions, she had yet to win, although everyone knew it was a matter of time. Until the accident.

Maria had been pregnant with her first child with husband F1 driver Jean Pierre Degas when he lost control of his car at the Bahrain Grand Prix and slammed into a wall. He was killed on impact. Maria had been in attendance watching from a suite and saw the impact and resulting fireball. She knew immediately that her husband was dead. She miscarried that night. She had been flown back to Spain on a chartered jet and heavily sedated. She had been in seclusion for three years and until recently had made no public appearances. Her agent and manager had declined everyone who reached out to her. On Christmas, she was photographed going to mass with the Spanish royal family. This was her first appearance in public since the memorial service for her husband. The fact that Tyler casually threw out that she was making her return to acting by way of his TV series left Doug and Andy dumbstruck.

"Wow. Okay. I think we're good with proceeding. And your source material...it's solid?" Doug asked. He picked up the book and looked at the cover. "Who is this author? Jack McLeod. I take it he's related to the McLeod of B-Mc-G?

Tyler nodded his head. "He is related. All the family members either go into the law or join the military."

Doug read the brief author biography on the back cover.

After retiring from the Army, General Jack McLeod began teaching history at Central Texas State University. This is his first novel.

"Not much of a bio is it?" Doug asked.

"He's got a Wikipedia entry. You should read it." Tyler said.

Doug reached into the breast pocket of his suit coat, extracted his iPhone and began tapping. He read for a few seconds and his eyebrows arched up.

Doug chuckled, "This guy is the real deal, isn't he?"

Tyler just nodded his head.

Jack and Kathy McLeod Home

Round Rock, TX

Jack McLeod (Brigadier General, USA, Retired) was excited and could not wait to give his wife the news. Unless you knew him well, you might not have been able to detect his excitement. If you did know him well, the giveaway was the half-grin that quirked into a split-second half smile. Throughout his military career, McLeod had always been able to maintain a tight grip on his emotions and for him, this brief flicker of a grin was the equivalent of unbridled glee.

'A TV series,' he thought to himself. 'They actually want to turn my book into a TV series.' And not just anyone; it was Tyler Sherman. You could not pick up a newspaper or read a magazine; print or on-line without reading about Sherman's mega-success as a prolific TV producer. Jack didn't watch much television but he did watch, "The Captain." Sure, it was a bit of a sagebrush soap opera, but it was riveting nonetheless. And this was who was going to turn his book into a TV show.

The phone call from Alex Cordell, his agent/attorney had led to McLeod cancelling his classes for the day, an unheard-of event that had the faculty of the history department of Central Texas State University (the other Austin university) speculating about what could have happened. Was it military related? Was it personal? Why did the general cancel his morning classes? Faculty was curious and students were just happy for a suddenly free hour. Meanwhile, Jack sped home to share his good news with his wife.

The red Corvette in his driveway created a knot his Jack's stomach. The personalized license plate reading "DaBull" created the sort of anxiety that he had not experienced since the last time he was in combat. Having to park in the street in front of his own home created an additional annoyance and led Jack to do what he did best; confront the situation head on.

He opened the front door and entered his house. Seeing no one in the living area, he paused and turned, listening for sounds; which he soon heard coming from the area of the master bedroom. Jack could hear the wet slapping sounds as he approached the bedroom and by the time he was at the door, there was no doubt what he would find. Kathy was on all fours facing the foot of the bed as a strange male thrust himself into her. One hand held her brunette hair like a brood mare while the other slapped her ass as she cried out, "fuck me harder!" The bedroom smelled like a whorehouse.

His wife looked up at him in shock as she finally noticed Jack standing in the doorway, a furious look on his face. The piece of shit didn't so much as pause. He kept thrusting into Kathy while smirking at Jack. Kathy scrambled to her knees and said, "Danny, stop it!" She at least had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed. She got off the bed and began putting on her robe. Jack had seen her naked a thousand times and yet she was hiding her nakedness from her husband and not her lover?