The Plan 21

Quick writer's note:

Tags for this story: Cheating Wives, Cheating, Divorce, Affair,

This story follows a fairly standard theme in the LW category and is as close to a BTB story as I will come.

I want to thank my editors for their collaboration and input in this story. I love to collaborate with people and so I look forward to expanding this editing team. If you are interested in being a part of this collaboration team, please send me your email address through private messaging and I'll shoot you my stories.

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I stood in the darkened corner of the ballroom, watching the couple sway across the dance floor. Their eyes were locked on one another. The woman's breasts rose and fell as her partner pulled her even closer than one thought possible. Her petite body molded itself against his large frame. They were elegance in motion: he moved with the grace of an athlete, and she followed his lead well. All eyes were upon them. There was an emotional bond between them, perhaps not love, but the connection was stronger than friendship. Her honey-blonde hair moved with the gentleness of the tide, swaying as she kept her body plastered against his, not that she had much choice, as tightly as the handsome man was holding her.

I would have been envious of their connection if the woman hadn't been my wife of eleven years, in the arms of her boss. Instead, I felt anger and humiliation. This wasn't our first time at her company's annual awards and appreciation banquet, we had logged eight others over the years and everyone with any tenure in the company knew she was my wife. I could see people searching for me as we all watched the spectacle being played out in front of us. They were all waiting for the explosion.

After three dances, they walked off the floor together, joining other colleagues at a round table in the middle of the room. I watched as she gazed at him with those bedroom eyes that were once just mine. Not that I had seen them recently; but that didn't diminish the disgust that swelled inside of me.

The only thing that came to mind was,

'It won't be long now!'

. This kettle would need to boil over soon; I just needed to hold on a little bit longer. I was struggling with reconciling my fear, hate, and resentment of this scene before me with the love, respect, and trust I once held for my beautiful wife. It's a battle I was losing, try as I might to overcome these feelings but now, I was falling into despair and self-pity.

I hung my head in defeat. I'd worked so hard over the past months to try and win her back, to repair the damage in our marriage. I had scheduled date nights, picked up household chores, turned the TV off, and tried to start conversations only to have her walk away. I left flowers, notes, and cards with loving sentiments, just to find them in the garbage. I sent flowers to her work and never even heard if she got them or not.

'What else can I do now but wait'

I thought to myself.

I shook the thoughts from my head as I made my way back to the temporary bar in the corner of the room and stood behind Maryanne, one of Kelsey's long-time work friends.

"Having any fun?" I asked, trying to keep up a nonchalant appearance.

"I always enjoy these yearly parties ... Harold loves the free booze," she answered. I smiled with a nod, raising my empty glass.

"Me too. Hey, I haven't seen Jason's wife tonight. Did she make it?" I hoped my eagerness wasn't showing. "She always dresses so elegantly and is a joy to chat with."

"Oh, didn't Kels mention? Jason served her with divorce papers today. I guess she had been neglecting her wifely duties."

I'd caught Maryanne at just the right stage of drunkenness to not give much thought about the words coming out of her mouth. I wasn't disappointed with the results. "No, I guess not, being a Friday night and all. We came here right after I got home from work and we haven't had a chance to gossip." I'd covered my bases, but it was a direct lie. We had taken the afternoon off to go home and prepare for the evening. She'd had plenty of time to mention it but chose not to.

I refilled my Captain and Diet, retrieved a glass of white wine for Kelsey, and headed over to the table where she and Jason were standing. Neither saw me approach, they were too engrossed in each other.

"Kels, I got you a glass of wine," I extended the glass toward her. She jumped a little as I spoke.

"Oh, you startled me," she squeaked and accepted the glass, "Thank you, hon."

The others became more uncomfortable the longer we all stood there. Most found something remarkably interesting in the stained tablecloth or across the room and wouldn't look directly at me. Others stared, probably wondering what I was thinking and how blind could I be. A younger man, about twenty-five, even smirked as he watched me observe the table. He and I locked eyes; he held out for a couple of seconds then his smirk disappeared, and he too found the tablecloth to be interesting. We were coming up onto one AM and many of the guests had already filed out of the hotel's ballroom, headed for home. But I could tell Kelsey wasn't ready to break from her dance partner.

"We should probably head home honey; I still have to run the babysitter home and we promised her we wouldn't be past two tonight," I mentioned, aware that I was interrupting her time with Jason.

"Yeah. Okay. Guess we have to go; I'll see you Monday." She smiled. There was visible relief from all around us, that the awkwardness was almost at an end.

"Jason, good to see you." I reached my hand out and we shook. He was a powerful man, and he did his best to demonstrate it with his tightening grip. He had three inches on my six feet, but I outweighed him by about fifteen pounds, me with a small pouch to my gut. I applied a little more pressure than normal, looking straight into his eyes and seeing deception and smugness reflected there. He finally dropped the shake and bid us good night. I waved at the others as we made our way from the room towards the car.

We didn't speak on the ride home though she had a smile that made her look radiant. Once we were home Kelsey went to check on Caitlin, our nine-year-old daughter, as I paid Britney and prepared to take her home.

Upon my return, I went to the bedroom to find Kelsey already in bed and asleep. I checked on Caitlin, used the bathroom, and went to sleep in spare room. I knew there was no chance of sex tonight. I could hardly remember that last time we were together.

My eyes closed with the last view being of the ceiling as I fell into a fitful sleep running through my internal checklist for tomorrow.

I was up early Saturday morning, Caitlin was already in the family room watching her shows, and I gave her a little wave as I stopped in the doorway. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yep," she stated as she waved her milk-drenched spoon in the air, sloshing milk drops onto the carpet.

"Ok, be quiet, mom's still asleep and I have work to do in my office ... ok?"

"Ok Dad," she said a little too loud and I chuckled,

'Well that didn't work!'

.

About 8:30 I called my lawyer's cell, knowing he worked from home on Saturday mornings.

"Morning Bill ... Matthew Franks here."

"Good morning Matt ... guess this isn't a joyous call?" he responded, already knowing the answer.

"That's correct, time to put the plan in motion ... found out that Jason served his wife yesterday. Do we know if Kels has seen a lawyer yet?"

"I don't think so, but I'll give 'the Sleaze' a call and make sure." He continued, "I'll meet you in a half-hour at the coffee house, have you sign and date the forms along with my assistant to notarize, we'll file first thing Monday morning and have her served at lunch."

"Sounds good to me. See you shortly."

I arrived early at the coffee shop. Smiling weakly at the cutie behind the counter, I picked up my order and found a comfortable chair next to the fireplace. My mind drifted, I never thought I would be divorcing the one true love of my life.

It's hard to pick the exact moment when you realize your comfortable life was coming to an end, but I can come pretty close. It was a traffic ticket, you know, one of those automatic red-light camera deals. When you run a red light and they take a picture of the driver, the car's license plate along with the date and time stamp.

That was it.

I found the ticket when I got the mail. I laughed and knew it was Kelsey's right off; she always pushed those lights when she was in a hurry. I opened it, figuring I would just pay it and not say a word. Nothing good could come from confronting her with it.

There captured in the picture of the driver was Kelsey and to the right of her was the shoulder and arm of an obvious man. It didn't show his face, but I knew who it was. No big deal, she could have been at lunch or going to a meeting. Could have been anything. I checked the date and time stamp: March fifth @1439. Something about that date didn't sit well with me, it hadn't been that long ago, I started looking back through my phone; I found our text messages from the fifth.

[Kelsey at 11:19] Dropping by Mary's after work to pick up clothes for Cait.

I remember thinkingThis wasn't anything unusual, Mary's daughter was a couple of years older and we got cute hand-me-downs from them, though I thought Mary usually brought them to work. But still, my radar didn't ping.

[Matt at 12:03] No worries, want me to make dinner?

[Kelsey at 12:10] Yeah 😉

[Matt at 12:11] What time should we expect you?

[Kelsey at 12:12] 6ish, we might chat for a minute.

[Matt at 12:42] Ok, have fun.

[Kelsey at 2:10] Thanks, we will!

'That bitch,'

I thought as I checked the intersection on Google Maps, it was on the opposite end of town from where Maryanne lived. But still, it could be innocent.

Right?

But then I started to put the pieces together. Since late November, Kelsey had been standoffish. I noticed all through the holidays how we fought over the little things. By January, she didn't like to hold my hand while shopping or walking. Our general conversation topics became limited to work or Caitlin. We didn't talk about our dreams anymore; we didn't talk about family vacations or our future.

I have had a trust fund since I was little, my great grandfather purchased a lot of undeveloped land in the Pacific Northwest, he logged much of it off and made a killing. Then as the local city grew, he sold parcels of land back to the city. When He died, I benefited from those purchases with a few 100K going to this trust. It grew again when my Grandfather died, again letting the trust grow. I never needed to get into it since my family was self-supported. The balance stabilized and even grew a little since it was set up in a way to accrue interest. After my father passed, and with my mother already deceased, I inherited his whole estate. I simply rolled his trust into mine.

With the accumulated wealth, the three of us were close to being set for life, but Kelsey and I continued to work and grow our capital in preparation for our retirement. I was encouraged to, and obtained, a prenuptial to protect the fund when Kelsey and I got married. Every few years we updated the prenup and our wills. One item that always remained the same was the standard

What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours

divorce clause, we did add a clause in for Caitlin to receive an education in the event of my death or if we divorced. Of course, there were provisions concerning the mechanism and circumstances surrounding my death, obviously, Kelsey would not see anything if she had a hand in my demise.

Because of this, I had access to a family lawyer and accounting services for years. I contacted my lawyer and got the name of the best local divorce attorney. I set up a meeting with him by the end of the week to see my options. Since we had a solid prenup, he wasn't worried about any financial issues. I explained that I wasn't ready to take any drastic actions at this point, just wanted to know what steps to take next.

"Well Matt, we could have a PI look into what's going on and see if there is anything to worry about. Unfortunately, all my investigators are busy right now. It would be several weeks before they could invest any time in your case." Bill Manson explained.

"I really don't want to wait; I'm already losing sleep over this. Are there any other options?" I asked.

"Well, there is one. He's trying to get things started but few really trust him ... we call him 'Larry the Sleaze'." Bill went to explain, "He's an ex-cop who was 'retired' due to a history of complaints and some questionable activity. He could get started right away, but I don't know if I would recommend a lasting relationship with him."

"Why do you call him 'the Sleaze'?" I asked laughing. "I want things legal, so if we do find something, we'll be on solid ground if we have to move forward."

"Totally, he's legal. He has a habit of getting information such as detailed pictures and videos along with emails and phone conversations that, let's just say, walk a fine line of being allowed in court. But I'm told, what he finds is solid proof of infidelity one way or the other."

"Ok, as long as he's legal. We could always pay him off and switch to a more reputable PI in a couple of weeks," I paused "Do you think he can he start today?"

"I'll give him a call and find out; I'll be your go-between here at the office. I'll let you know later today."

"Sounds good, thank you." I filled out a bunch of documents for both the lawyer and 'The Sleaze', connected him with my accountant, and left a retainer from my personal account. Kelsey didn't have access to it, so she wouldn't know what I was up to. I didn't want to startle her, especially if I was wrong and it's just a rough patch in our marriage.

While this was going on, I had decided to try to repair my relationship with my wife. My life experiences have told me that people don't just change and do uncharacteristic things unless there is a catalyst. Since I didn't know what that was for my wife, and I didn't know if we were past the point of no return, I decided to make sure I was taking care of business as a husband. I picked up my game and did my best to make sure she felt loved and valued as an equal partner in our relationship. I doted on her and made it my goal to be the husband that all her friends were jealous of.

I was refuted at every turn and it became obvious that we had already passed the point of no return. One Thursday afternoon I was invited back to my Bill's office to receive what 'The Sleaze' had found. I was shown hours of footage of them dating, fucking, and playing the 'Happy Couple'. There were photos, phone call recordings, and both of their personal email messages. I was both impressed and disgusted with 'The Sleaze' but agreed that his nickname was well earned.

I sat there devastated; never would I think that she would have had an affair with Jason Stanton.

I guess I could see how she would be attracted to Jason; he was tall, handsome, and well built. He was cultured and on an upward trajectory in both his work and personal life. He had taken over Kelsey's department, about a year ago. As his personal assistant, Kelsey would work closely with Jason, it offered him an endless amount of time to get to know and work his way into Kelsey's life. Jason was a college baseball star and the only thing that prevented him from going to the majors was a shoulder injury in his senior year. I mean, who wouldn't be impressed with this guy. I just never thought Kelsey would allow him in between us.

This was all too overwhelming; I couldn't breathe, my chest tightened, my vision blurred, and I felt like I was going to pass out. I scooted my chair back and placed my head between my knees and tried to concentrate on my breathing. In, out, in, and out till my head cleared.

The feeling of loss and emptiness can't be described; I had just lost my best friend, my confidant, my lover, and the mother to my child. At that moment I couldn't see a way out of this and then 'The Sleaze' piled on more. He played a recording from the day before and was why he wanted to get us all together.

Kelsey: "Really? You lo ... love me?" I could hear the excitement in her voice.

Jason: "Yes my darling, you are the most perfect woman. I love you and I want us to be a family!"

Kelsey: "You mean ... you, me, and Caitlin?"

Jason: "Of course."

Kelsey: "What about Matt, and, ahh - Shannon?"

Jason: "We'll divorce them, you'll get Caitlin, and we'll live as a happy family!

There was a gap in the conversation, I assumed that Kelsey was digesting the bomb her lover just dropped on her.

"You do love me ... don't you Kels?"

Kelsey: "Yes, of course, I do. I never gave much thought to leaving Matt ... is all"

Jason: "Well, give it some thought. He could never give you what I can. You will be the belle of every ball, be part of high society. Go places and see things that loser could never afford."

I could hear the contempt in his voice and imagined the expressions his face made as he spoke.

Kelsey: "It would kill him to lose Cait, we are his world."

Jason: "I'll be ten times the father than that loser ever could be, in a year she won't even want to go and see him."

Kelsey: "Why do you hate him so much ... what has he done to you?" Her voice had a tint of concern in it.

To be honest, I wanted to know as well!

Jason: "He doesn't deserve you Kels! That loser has no ambition and no drive to be anything more than what he is today ... a drone, making someone else rich!"

Kelsey: "You do know he is a plant manager, right? He has 400 people in his plant, and they have the highest production rates and the largest revenue per square foot of any of the plants!"

I was a little proud that Kelsey knew that, even though I would have preferred this conversation to happen in their lunchroom and not in a hotel room.

Jason: "He's a pussy, a weak beta that had no drive or ambition in school and he hasn't even earned his MBA! He's served his purpose hon; I can beat his dick into the dirt any day of the week!"

Kelsey: "Jason, don't ever think you are that much better than Matt. He's not a pussy. You don't know about his younger days ... he ran with some bad guys and is very good with guns. He almost went down a bad path himself until he decided to go to school. That's why he didn't go to college for a few years after high school." It sounded like she was bragging now.

Kelsey: "He's stronger and tougher than you give him credit for, please promise me you won't get physical with him. I wouldn't want either of you hurt, him for Cait's sake and you for mine!"

"But I'm not in love with him anymore; I wish I were, but you have replaced him as my man, my love." She paused as if she was thinking, "How would this work, and when?"

Jason: "We'll divorce them at the same time, I've got a few things to get in order before I serve Shannon ... but with her psychiatric issues and the fact we haven't had sex in a year, it won't be an issue to get it done. I'll split everything 50/50, she'll hardly contest."

Kelsey: "Ok, but you have to file on Shannon before I'll even see a lawyer!" she was defiant.

I guessed she wanted to hedge her bets and not lose her comfortable life at the moment, even for her true love, her man.

Jason: "Deal, now come here woman ... your man needs his dick sucked."

I asked for the tape to be turned off at this point, I didn't need to hear anymore. I looked over at Bill and said, "How do I deal with this?"

"You strike first Matt."

"But what if she changes her mind?"

"They rarely do, Mr. Franks. I'm afraid they are to the point where nothing you do or say will cause them to stop or repent." I got my first good look at 'The Sleaze', he was in his 30's, clean-cut, athletically built, and his suit fit him well, nothing like I had imagined. He was respectful and probably right I thought. I started to see him as Larry and not 'The Sleaze'. I got the feeling this guy was really on my side, even if I was paying, he cared and was disgusted by what he had seen and heard from these two.