Marriage Under Attack

I noted that Lisa was searching for something during the weekend but she didn't mention anything to me. Two more text-messages came to her phone during the weekend. The first during Saturday,

"My love, I'm sorry for the after work debacle. He got me by surprise. Your faithful admirer A."

I resisted my temptation to reply and a new message came on Sunday, "My beloved Elisabeth, I'm sorry and hope you'll forgive me for Friday. Looking forward to seeing your bright eyes and your sweet smile tomorrow. A."

Peterson didn't see her smile neither on Monday nor Tuesday because he spent the most of the day at the hospital. He used to

rush out early in the morning to the mailbox for the newspaper. On this Monday morning he fell so badly that he broke his right arm. He had yelled about trip-wire between the railings at the stairs but his wife could not see anything when she investigated the steps. He made a short visit to the job on the Wednesday. Lisa didn't say a word to me about it but as usual the other sources kept me informed.

I rang Lisa's boss and told him that I was free between two jobs during the week Number 47 and asked him if Lisa had anything important booked for that week. I wanted to surprise her with a holiday week. He rang me back one hour later and told me that it was OK with him that she took that week off.

During our family fun on Friday evening I told Lisa and the kids about the week at Mauritius. The kids got very happy and Lisa agreed that it was a good idea and promised that it would be OK for her to take that week off. Obviously she had no connection with Peterson during the weekend because her expected objections to the holiday didn't come until Monday when she got back from work.

Lisa told me we had to change the holiday trip from week 47 to 48 because she had an important meeting on Wednesday of week 47.

I replied, "Is that meeting really so important? You know that week 47 is the only possible week for me and I know those trips are sold out for a long time in advance. I'm lucky to get our tickets by a friend at the travel agency who phoned me when she got four tickets back. Don't you think the kids will be disappointed if we cancel the trip?"

"Let me talk to the kids and explain everything. I'm sure they will accept the trip some other time if we take a weekend trip to Euro-Disney during the weekend of your week off."

"Isn't it better you begin explaining your problems to me? Dear Elisabeth, I talked with your boss before I booked the trip and it was OK for him you took the week off. According to him, you had nothing very important booked that week."

I don't think I had called her Elisabeth since the wedding vows in the church and I never used to talk about her job with her boss. She understood that we had gotten into much more serious problems than we used to have and a feared look came over her face when she replied with a soft voice, "He didn't check with me."

"No, but he did it with your secretary. The only unusual matter that week is Peterson's birthday on Wednesday. He told me that he would get the usual birthday celebration at work, which is to give him flowers and have a birthday-cake during the eleven o'clock coffee break. No exceptions will be made for Peterson."

Now I looked her straight in her eyes before I continued, "My dear Elisabeth, if this Peterson means so much to you that a half hour long coffee break with him is more important than a holiday week with your family at Mauritius I have to accept your choice, but I doubt that I will be able to continue with our relationship after such a serious humiliation."

Now she knew that she had lost all control over the situation and began to sob, "No, no, no, you got a wrong impression. I didn't mean what you think. Of course my family is always my first choice. We are going to Mauritius at week 47."

I wanted to clear up all crap once and for all and continued, "I'm happy you changed your mind but your first choice of the coffee break with Peterson before one week with the family at Mauritius

sounded totally weird, even if you've got some warm feelings for him. You must even have something more important else that week. My dear Elisabeth, please tell me what? Isn't it high time for you to tell me what's going on between you and that Peterson?"

Now she had gone ash gray in her face when she continued sobbing, "I felt sorry for him because he doesn't have many friends on the job and he was hurt in an accident."

I wasn't supposed to know much about Peterson's problems so I replied, "Accident? He got a bleeding nose at bar quarrel. Your fellow workers have told me that he poured his beer on your lap and some other guest hit his nose. The fellow workers didn't care because Peterson and you were alone as love birds in a necking booth instead of with the others."

"Peterson has broken his arm in an accident."

"But that doesn't stop you to be involved in something serious with him. What? Do you love him? I know about your romantic lunches. How far have you gone with him? Please tell me the truth."

" I love you, only you. I like him as a good friend but no, no, no, I don't love him and I can swear that I have never fucked neither him nor anybody else since I met you."

Now I had enough and shouted, "Please tell what was so damn important that damn week 47? Had you promised to fuck him as a birthday gift?"

Lisa understood that her fellow workers had kept me informed about what Peterson bragged about on the job. She stared me right in my eyes before she decided to give up and tell me the truth, "Yes."

She noted the disgust in my eyes and continued before I found out something to say, "Yes, I have promised to have sex with him on his birthday. But I don't love him and my promise was not as a gift. The reason was that he won a competition and that was his prize. I was so sure to win that I accepted his suggestion and staked a onetime sex session against his 500 Volvo stocks. But please believe me that was the only reason for my promise. I love you, only you. Please don't do anything stupid before you know the whole truth."

"Don't love him? I didn't get that impression during the company dinner and the Monday after that when you brought his crap with you at home and almost got me out of the house."

"I was attracted by him because the great deal of kind attention he paid me after I thought it was me who had turned him from arrogant asshole to loving friend. Today I know him better."

"And keeping your promise to him was more important than your marriage? You can't be so stupid that you really thought I would stay married to you after you fucked that asshole?"

"You would never have known. And the contract says that if I lose the competition and don't keep my promise of paying his prize in domestic pleasures I owe him 5000 Volvo stocks. No problem, I'll give him the stocks because my marriage is worth more than that."

"It's amazing how love can turn a bright minded girl into a naïve bitch. First, I had been the first one to know your cheating so he got rid of me. I can bet that your fucking would have been very well documented and be sure he would send copies to me. Second, once in his web, you would be his slut until he threw you out. Third, he doesn't have any 500 Volvo stocks so the competition is not valid. Fourth, It's found out that he's been cheating during the competition. Fifth, he would have your next top job and fired you after soiling your pussy, destroying your marriage and swindling large amounts of your money. He is a clever man in many ways and no doubt he might have succeeded if you had been alone. But you were happy to be supported by people in the background who really love you. You don't have to pay anything to him."

"Oh my God, how much have you known?"

"Enough to save you from this mess. He was fired from his last job but they played the game of losing a top power for saving their good will. His faked competition transactions have caused some serious problems for your company and he will be fired tomorrow without any benefits at all. I'm sure he will never harass you about the competition."

EPILOGUE

We had a pleasant holiday at Mauritius and felt as newlyweds again. When Lisa's boss was hired for a top job in a multinational company, Lisa was the first woman to get his old job. It was the 97th year in business for her company and most comments said it was high time for a woman at the top. I sold my own business and took a job for Lisa's dad, which he had persuaded me to take after our successful co-operation saving Lisa from Peterson's trap. I had made the suggestions, we did the plans together, he knew people who had connections to people who could do the job and he insisted on taking care of the payments. All three operations were successful. We regretted sending the briefcase back to Peterson but found out it was the best thing to do. I gave up my doubts about Lisa's father's job when Lisa told me, "Dad needs a good man for the job and you been suggested by several people. Please take it."

Peterson's wife left him well cleaned and after a long time of unemployment he left the town and took a job as traveling insurance salesman. The latest rumors say he is already one of their best men both in sales and seduction of married women during his business trips.