Follow up to Wives Club 1, hopefully a little different from many stories in this category.
The three friends arranged to meet at Jane's house following the inaugural night of the wives club. Before exchanging details of the previous night with their new lovers, Susan asked how they each felt and if they wanted to continue.
Their views seemed remarkably similar; each had each enjoyed a night of unbridled passion without the ties of relationships or the drag of daily life. They were surprised by the lack of guilt and how much of a release it had been, it was highly erotic and they were delighted by how turned on the three younger guys were, all three were professional and engaging. The fact they were ripped, hung and seemingly had endless stamina were added bonuses.
The verdict on seeing them again was unanimous. Helen was keen to change partners explaining she didn't want to get too deeply attached to anyone one person. Jane liked Andy but was intrigued by James and Chris and much to her surprise found herself agreeing with Helen. Susan was more hesitant as she didn't really know the other two guys. As a result Jane suggested a double date at a quiet bar where she would introduce Susan to Andy whilst she met James; this would leave Helen to make arrangements with Chris. Susan agreed to the date idea for following Saturday night.
At that point Helen commented that her husband Matt had tried contacting her mobile several times, upon checking Susan and Jane also had multiple calls from their husbands.
"Something is up, they have paid us no attention and were completely focused on the court case, now multiple calls... it's a bit strange don't you think?" commented Jane.
Susan agreed to call her husband Rob and put it on speaker. The call felt cold and strange, he was very apologetic and far more contrite than during his initial confession of infidelity, he was almost too nice to the point of making her feel uneasy. Jane and Helen made similar calls, which both included a degree of pleading for reconciliation.
What followed was the most manic week of Susan's life. The next day the wives each received a call from the law firm representing their husband's company, asking for a meeting, they agreed on the understanding of meeting together.
Attending on the Tuesday morning at the firm's offices, they were surprised to be faced with a team of lawyers. The initial discussions were vague and evasive but suggested other complainants had come forward.
Finally they got to the crux of what they wanted, some indication of if the wives would 'stand by' their husbands through the case, and that it would be 'helpful' if they could corroborate their husbands' whereabouts on certain dates or if they were unsure maybe it would be better to say they couldn't recall.
Susan was furious but didn't react, she knew Jane and Helen also used e-schedulers to organise their busy family and work commitments, including their husbands' trips.
It was all carefully worded legalese, but they had come close to asking them to lie or at least withhold information and the intent was obvious and not subtle!
Jane was the first to react realising this was a chance to establish how extensive their husband's infidelities were, she calmly asked:
"Which dates?"
A slick looking associate slid a folder across the table, Jane opened it.
"Oh my God, there are hundreds of dates here!"
"Yes, well it does cover an extensive period of time and we feel a number of opportunists have come forward falsely."
Susan's mind was racing, the time period made it worse; it had been going on for years, right back to what she would have described as the blissful early years of marriage.
Helen who had until that point been unusually quiet replied for them:
"We will need to check the dates and get back to you of course. In the meantime there is another matter, Matt has started moving our assets, which I'm sure you will agree is wholly inappropriate if not illegal. To reflect the jeopardy they have put us all in financially, we need all assets to be transferred to our sole names immediately. If this were to happen it would mean any consideration of divorce proceedings could potentially be delayed."
A chorus of noise erupted from the lawyers, but Helen dismissed it all declaring:
"Gentleman this meeting is over." and promptly walked out.
Susan and Jane followed, trying not to look too taken aback.
They didn't talk until clear of the building. The first topic of conversation was the dates, in particular just how many there were and how far back. Jane checked the last dozen on her phone, all the dates matched conferences and trips the husbands had attended. They discussed if the infidelities could have possibly been that extensive. Susan had a gut feeling that she wouldn't like the answer and if true it meant all their years of marriage were built on lies.
"They have basically just asked us to lie, so they must be really worried. I wonder if they want us to give evidence or stop us from giving evidence against them. It wouldn't look good if they were all being divorced."
"Where did the asset request come from Helen, is Matt really moving money?"
"To be honest I don't know for sure, but it's the sort of thing he would do, he hasn't tried to move anything from the main accounts or change the house from my name; but I know he has at least two other accounts. I walked out to give us time to think, we all need to track the money and possibly hire lawyers."
An animated discussion followed before they agree to sleep on their options and meet at Jane's the following day. Events took an even more surprising turn when a representative for the complainants contacted Helen and asked to meet. A series of convoluted calls ensued which resulted in the wives agreeing to meet both the representative and the original complainant, Michelle.
They met at a town centre hotel; the representative was already there and stated he had arranged for Michelle to join them 30 minutes later. He was at pains to stress he was working independently and it would be one off meeting which might help answer some of their questions at the same time 'allowing him to understand their position'. He outlined that over 18 victims had come and they were expecting more. The case was very strong and they should be aware that they had evidence to confirm dates and whereabouts. It was clear he was testing if the wives were standing by their husbands and were willing to give evidence; in addition the comments provided a subtle warning about potential implications of any false statements.
The conversation was continuing when an attractive brunette approached the table in a professional navy skirt suit. Jane guessed she was maybe 23 years old; she looked slightly nervous but held her composure well through the somewhat strained introductions. To Susan's surprise she didn't attempt to outline her storey, she asked if they had any questions, they did... lots of them. Initially the conversation was stuttering and confrontational, but as Michelle provided further details it became more conversational. What followed provided a sobering account of her time with the firm, leaving no doubt how coercive and pressurised their husbands actions had been with the young female interns.
It was the subtle details and recognising phrases their husbands used in every-day life which were so convincing. The fact it was so difficult for woman to build a career in engineering compounded the power they had. Resigning hadn't been the obvious solution it might have been, given the emphasis on references and extent of close contacts with other firms; potentially it was career ending, wasting years of college and training. This was supported by the fact Michelle was no longer working within Engineering. In the end she had raised a complaint but had been dismissed the following week due to 'poor performance'. She confirmed she had worked with several other victims who all had similar stories.
The wives exchanged glances as Michelle continued at length; each becoming more convinced her storey was true.
Helen was struck by how rational and composed she was, thinking it would take someone of that nature to come forward and see through a complaint against multiple senior colleagues.
The wives initial plan to say nothing evaporated, Susan thanked her for speaking to them and all three reiterated that they had no idea that anything like this was happening. They asked about what was next for her, but she hadn't made any plans beyond the case other than going back to her home town.
The thought of what they had been going through made Jane particularly angry, struggling with the fact that safeguards and policies were supposed to prevent such cases decades ago and that the whole senior team at the firm seemed complicit.
The representative concluded by saying he wanted to ensure they were aware of some of the facts of the case, other than telling the truth he didn't ask them to take any specific action.
After a fraught week, Susan had the luxury of time to prepare for her double date with Jane. She enjoyed her makeup and hair being styled at a salon, after some retail therapy. Taking her time to get ready, she felt good in the open bottomed criss cross girdle and matching black bustier, the girdle included suspenders which she attached to seamed stockings with a Cuban heel. She loved the way the structured retro lingerie accentuated her figure through her satin skirt. After some indecision she plucked up the courage to wear the sheer and semi- transparent black blouse she had bought earlier that day. Some Coco Mademoiselle perfume finished her preparations.
Susan entered the bar James had suggested on the outskirts of town at 7pm, James and Andy were already there chatting, they both commented on how stunning she looked and repeated it when she removed her jacket. She noticed them both checking her top which she found to be a nice ego boost.
Andy bought her a vodka and tonic and they all took a seat at a booth to wait for Jane. They chatted easily, dispelling her concerns about meeting them properly.
it wasn't until they were considering cocktails for the second drinks that Susan tried to call Jane, she finally got an answer on the third attempt from a very apologetic Jane saying she couldn't make it. The gist of the explanation was her husband upsetting the kids and blaming her for him not living at home, it was clearly going to take some time to sort out and she couldn't make tonight.
