The Halloween Party 27

***Author's note: This one is relatively long at almost 34k words (10 Lit pages). Since your time is valuable and the story is long, I'm going to share a couple of things to let you know what isn't in the story, so you don't waste your time. If you consider those spoilers, just skip to the next paragraph. While the B does suffer, this isn't a true BtB. That isn't the intent. It isn't a RAAC either (I don't really write those). My writing usually is cathartic for me, and while I enjoy most forms of LW stories, I don't usually enjoy writing either of those types. Feedback and comments are appreciated.***

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Knowledge. What was knowledge? For some knowledge is the key to a good life. Others would say knowledge is the best medicine. Hank had even heard things like knowledge is the new currency for the global economy. Really? Or his least favorite; knowledge is the water of the wind. Uhg. Just shoot me.

For Hank Johnson, what was knowledge? Well, it could be a lot of things. He studied hard to acquire knowledge (MS structural engineering) in college versus just hanging around for a useless diploma. What he finds most interesting is the before and after of knowing things.

For example, most people remember when they discovered the truth about Santa Claus. That is knowledge. Remember how you viewed the world before, and how you viewed the world after? How about the knowledge that comes from being sexually intimate with someone for the first time? There is the before, where you wonder, and then there is the after, when you now know.

For Hank, the greatest before and after came from holding his newborn daughter. Looking into those grey-green eyes for the first time, he knew that his world would never be the same. What was his worst before and after? Therein lieth the story.

His project file had just crashed, again, and his shared admin could hear him loudly cursing about his crappy laptop that couldn't do much of anything. He had been working on that file most of the day, and now, mid-afternoon, he feared that much of his work was lost.

Hank worked for one of Texas' leading full-service design firms specializing in mid-to-high rise buildings. He had just turned 30 and was considered one of the more talented engineers amongst his peers. His 4.0 GPA throughout undergrad and grad school were noticeable achievements, but what really set him apart was him memory. While not a full photographic memory, he did have the ability to commit a great deal to memory; especially projects he felt were important. This skill came in handy when trying to commit information about the mid-rise building on which he was currently working to memory.

Unfortunately, his challenge at the moment was trying to get what was in his brain into the file that had crashed so that he could collaborate what he was thinking with others. Hank was in his office with his door cracked, but most people in the little nook of offices could tell what had happened. What most of them really wanted to know was why they were hearing about it, when in the past he had been a fairly reserved person. Most suspected family stress; some didn't care. What they all knew was that Hank was behaving very differently than he was six months ago.

Tina, the admin, who he shared with about six other engineers, stepped in and eased the door to, until it was still slightly cracked. "Hank, are you okay? Can I get you anything?"

He appreciated her trying to help. He feared no one could. Against how he was currently feeling, he smiled at her and asked, "A new computer, maybe?"

"I would if I could. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

He didn't mind talking with Tina. Most men wouldn't mind talking with Tina. She was an attractive, fortyish married woman. He often though her husband, Philip, was a very lucky man.

"No, but thank you, Tina. Just your coming in and asking has brightened my day."

She stood to leave and said, "If you need a friend, Philip and I are here for you."

He appreciated her saying that. She and her husband were two of the nicest people you could hope to meet. Hank was about to reply when there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Hank Johnson? I have a delivery for you. Sign here please."

Tina watched as a large box was placed inside his office. There was no return address, only Hank's name and office information. When the delivery man left, he looked at Tina who raised an eyebrow and said, "were you expecting something today?"

"No. I have no idea."

She said, "let me get something to open it."

When she returned, she began to cut through the tape like she normally would for all of their deliveries. It was what they asked her to do, because she managed their portion of the office and by her handling things, their days were much easier and better organized.

Once the box was open, inside, the first thing they saw was a skull mask like the one Daniel Craig wore in the opening scene of Spectre during the Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. It had been carefully placed on top of a greeting card sized envelope, which rested on top of several other boxes. Hank picked up the mask to look at it, while Tina opened the card that was underneath.

Hank heard, "Ooops. I don't think I was supposed to open this," and she handed him the card.

A puzzled expression crossed Hank's face as he took the card from her. On the outside of the card it said, "Tell no one." Curious he opened it. "Wear this to the party tonight. Come early at 7:30. I will meet you near the entrance, and you will hear what has been going on."

Tina started to back out of his office, "Wait."

She turned back around, and said, "The card said for you not to tell anyone. I was leaving."

He asked "Well, are you going to tell anyone?"

"No. Of course not. I don't want to get you into trouble."

"I can promise you, this isn't from my wife, so I don't see how either of us can get into trouble. Help me open these, please."

Tina wasn't that nosey type, but this was intriguing, so she didn't mind helping.

He sat the mask down on his desk and pulled out a square box approximately 1 foot cubed. When they opened it, a top hat was revealed. They quickly pulled out a much larger box, and upon opening it, they saw a black suit, but it was a costumed suit with the skeleton adornments and matching black shirt. It was also like the one Daniel Craig wore from the opening scene of Spectre.

Tina whistled, "It looks like someone's costume was upgraded... a lot."

This was true. His wife had reluctantly purchased for him a poor fitting and stupid looking batman costume for her company's Halloween party that was tonight. He suspected that she hoped he would be so unhappy with the costume that he would skip the party all together. He wasn't about to let her go alone.

When he asked her what she was wearing, she told him it was just a boring Harley Quinn costume; nothing special. He had looked for it around their apartment but couldn't find it. When he asked her if they were going to meet at home to go together, she said that she had to work late and would just meet him there. She must think him a fool, and he was beyond tired of that.

For a while, he didn't think he was going to the party at all. His wife told him about the party but said it was for employees only this year. That was new. Her company, Wilcox Capital Bankers, one of Austin's larger private equity firms, had been a good family company, which was one of the reasons they had 4 or 5 parties each year for the families. Only the Halloween and Christmas party were adults only, and for the 4 years they had lived in Austin, spouses were always invited. Then one day, the invitation appeared in the mail and the "plus one" was confirmed, much to his wife's displeasure.

The third box was a pair of Ferragamo lace-up oxfords, in black, to match the tux. Next was a small box with a note. "Some colored contact lenses to go with your costume". The final box was almost a yard long, but very skinny. He suspected what was in it, but it still impressed. To complete the ensemble was the matching black cane with sliver skull and red stones as eyes.

Hank showed her the note and replied, "I'll say. I wonder who is the mystery person?"

"I don't know, but based on this note, it looks like he or she wants you to see or hear something."

He sighed, "I may not like what they show me."

Tina put her hand on his arm. "Hank, you used to be very happy. I know you aren't right now. Whatever is going on, you need to know the truth. Maybe tonight will help." Then she smiled at him, "Make sure you have a picture taken of you in this. I'll bet you are going to look great." She gave his arm a gentle squeeze and left the room.

Hank hung the suit on the back of his door and returned to his work. Not thirty minutes later, he received a text from a number he didn't recognize. It said, "I've been instructed to give you some info on your wife's recent activities. Meet me tomorrow night at Terry Black's restaurant across from the Long Center at 7pm. I'll be watching for you."

What was this?! Was it the same person who sent him the suit? He had been trying to figure out what was going on with Jennifer for months, and now on the same day he has been contacted by two different people? Unlikely. Also, who's to say that the person sending him the text even had information about Jennifer.

He didn't reply to the text, still thinking about what it said. A minute later, he received another text. It was a short video of Jennifer on her knees sucking some man's dick. It looked like they were in a hotel room with several other people, who were also, mostly naked. Apparently, someone had been hired to place a hidden camera into that hotel room.

The time and date stamp were from an afternoon before her company's end of summer picnic. With tonight being her company's Halloween party, the video was a couple of months old. As he rewatched the video several times, he could make out what looked like a couple of other girls that worked with his wife. Now he knew what he would be doing tomorrow night.

He replied back, "I'll be there."

Knowledge! He had been wondering. Searching. Even doing a little snooping of his own. It looked like he didn't need to do that anymore. He didn't know everything, but it looked like he knew enough. Apparently, what he had feared had been happening. Now he needed to know why. As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

4:30pm. He still had three hours until he was supposed to meet his mystery guest at the party. Depressed to the point of distraction, he packed up everything and left for the day. It took him two trips to get everything to his SUV.

Traffic was heavy for a Thursday evening. Actual Halloween wasn't for a couple of more nights, but he guessed people were leaving for their own company parties or just for their usual Thursday night dinner with friends.

He briefly considered staying at his office, fearing that Jennifer might come home and see him in his new costume. That was a very brief, and he realized, foolish thought. The only time he saw Jennifer now was a few hours each weekend. Just over a year ago, the only time they were apart was when they were at work. Now they hardly spent any time together. For a couple that used to share everything, including their most intimate thoughts, together, they no longer shared much of anything.

They still had sex a couple of times a week, but they didn't make love anymore. They basically just masturbated using the other person's body. It was pitiful.

Although, he expected some food at the party, if he wanted to remain incognito, he would need to leave his mask in place, so he ate a quick bite and prepared to get ready. After showering and carefully shaving for a second time that day, he tried on the costume. He couldn't believe it when he tried it on. On his six-foot frame, he looked really good. It wasn't a perfect fit, but it fit much better than he would have expected coming from a stranger. Unless....

Other than his wife, who would know him well enough to buy him that costume, and shoes? Tina? She might could do it, but he was doubtful.

He remembered her request and in Jennifer's full-length mirror, he took a picture of himself and sent it to Tina.

He had a few minutes before he needed to leave. He looked again at the short video of Jennifer on her knees sucking some man's cock. Whereas earlier he had been sad, he could feel a slow boil beginning to simmer in him.

He had been taught to be slow to anger since his childhood. Some people thought he just didn't get angry, but he had learned to control it fairly well. Wondering how well he would be able to control it after, or even during, the party, he took a few minutes to put together an overnight bag in case he needed to get away to a hotel so he wouldn't hurt anyone, and land in jail.

He looked at the video one more time but tried to watch the other people to see if he could put names with those he saw earlier. The only other person her recognized was Bud Foster's wife, Oliviette, or Olive. Like Jennifer, she was young and lithe and blonde. He couldn't believe she was in the hotel room, also. A year ago, she had been the most timid little mouse when he met her and her husband at the parties. Well the mouse was roaring, or moaning, now.

That explained a lot. Hank only knew Bud enough to carry a conversation at the parties. The ladies in Jennifer's department weren't friends outside of work. Remembering the end-of-summer family picnic, he had just arrived when he and Mr. Wilcox, the owner and CEO had to physically stop Bud, a rather large fireman, from beating the shit out of Richard, Jennifer's newish department manager. Richard was hired to replace Jennifer's previous manager, Gail, who hired her. Gail was a very striking and forceful female, who was eventually let go for poor performance.

Since Richard had been hired, business had really picked up. Jennifer's department had closed more deals in the past year than in the previous three. Her bonus this past spring had been eyewatering, and next year's promised to be even larger. Now, he idly wondered if those were prospects in the hotel room. Oh, God. He couldn't believe he was having those thoughts. Was his wife now a whore? No way would Mr. Wilcox allow something like that to go on. He seemed like too good a man.

After pulling Bud away from Richard, and everyone else, Mr. Wilcox wanted to know what that was all about. Bud said, "that prick Richard was implying that he and Olive had been doing something here at the picnic they shouldn't have been doing."

Mr. Wilcox, in his thick Texas accent, said, "Boy, I'm too old for you to sugar coat it. If you want me to look into this, you had better tell me what you heard."

Bud told him, "Richard was there with most of his employees, including Olive. I couldn't find her earlier, and then once I joined the group, he licked his fingers and said, 'mmm. That's some mighty good olive oil being served here today.' He was smirking and looking right at me. Olive looked like she was going to faint. I'm sure there is olive oil on the table over there, but I don't think that was what he was talking about. Besides, Olive has been acting really weird lately, with long hours and a lot of late nights and weekend meetings. When Gail managed the department, it wasn't like that. You need to watch him, or I'm going to kill him."

Wilcox replied, "Well, Gail wasn't getting the job done, but Richard and his team have been killing it, so I'm not surprised by the long hours. If your wife works in this industry, I think you should expect some of that. I'll let you and your wife figure out how to best handle her schedule."

Bud was about to say something, but Wilcox held up his hand.

"Hang on. As you know, I run a family-friendly company, or at least I try to, so I'm not insensitive to what you are saying. Let me look into this and see what I find. I absolutely will not put up with one of my employees going after or harassing a colleague, especially a married one.

"Also, it won't do you any good to get into a fight here in front of everyone; too many lawyers around. If you, either of you, find evidence that Richard is doing something with Olive, Jennifer, or any of my other employees, let me know. He will be fired that day, and then we can discuss how to get a little bit of Texas justice on his ass. I don't put up with that shit, but nothing has been brought to my attention, so far, except new clients. Now gentlemen, if you'll excuse me."

Bud still wasn't happy, but at least Wilcox 'seemed' sincere while hearing him out. Even though he had been there less than an hour, Bud decided that he had had enough for the day and would leave. Hank watched him walk over to Olive and tell her he was leaving, and she could join him, or not. Olive followed Bud to their car, and when Bud was about to get in, Hank could see, but not hear, her pleading with him. There was a lot of head shaking going on by both of them. In the end, Olive stormed away, and Bud would have squealed the tires, if he had been on pavement as he left.

Now it was Hank's turn to look for his wife. As he approached the group, he could see Olive whispering to Patricia, another one of the girls. He knew them all now, since he had been meeting them at these types of parties over the years. One thing you had to say about Gail was that she had hired smart, attractive women, including his Jennifer.

They all had been less than three years out of grad school when Gail hired them and were all eager to prove that there was more to them than just their looks. Each of them had just that tiny bit of a chip on their shoulder, including Jennifer, and wanted to prove they could succeed in the world of high finance. After three years, only moderate success, and Gail's firing, they had all been brought down a peg or two; except for one of them, Abigail Velazquez.

If the others were considered attractive, Abigail was easily the uber-female of the group. She was hired by the manager before Gail, and was composed, confident and drop-dead gorgeous. She may not have been the most attractive woman in Austin, but you would have to at least include her in the conversation. She had worked very closely with Gail, and Jennifer related that much of the success the group did have was because of her.

She was probably about five seven and had a traffic stopping figure. What stood out on her, though, was her gorgeous curly black hair, emerald green eyes, and beautiful face with lips that seemed to draw every man's attention. However, if you were really, really lucky, you would get to see her smile, which was such a beautiful sight that he wondered if an angel would get its wings when she did so. He had been really lucky lately, because at the last several parties, she had been spending more time with them, and sometimes just him, during which times, she seemed to relax and lose some of the air of cockiness she could sometimes exude. Hank figured when you were as attractive as she was, in that industry, if you didn't portray extreme competence, you would be dismissed as a bimbo. She was no bimbo.

Today she was wearing a pair of blue jean shorts and a sleeveless top. Compared to some of the others in the group, she was conservatively dressed, but then he always thought she was a classy and refined lady. He guessed she was a few years older than his 30 years, but she carried herself with a grace and refinement of someone much older.

When he first met her, she had such a commanding presence that it could be a little off putting. He assumed it was because someone as attractive as her probably got hit on a lot and it was her defense mechanism. She was the senior member of the group and was already known for being a bright but tough negotiator. Recently, she had mellowed toward him and Bud.