The Seven Deadly Sins: Greed

"Then you have answered your own question, Lis. Another guy isn't going to happen either."

Lisa heard in his tone the end of her plans. There was no way she was going to compromise, so Dave wasn't even going to think about it. What the hell was she going to tell John tomorrow?

As expected, John was not a happy camper. He criticized Lisa for not trying hard enough, then snubbed her for the rest of the week. As usual, Lisa took out her frustrations on Dave.

Monday, John asked her to stay behind so they could talk. He seemed genuinely sad when he told Lisa he could no longer stand being around such a beautiful woman who was sexually unavailable to him. Her husband had forced her into a position where she had to choose between them and she had chosen her loser husband. He respected that, even though it hurt. He kissed her goodbye, asked her to remember him fondly, and knew she would understand their relationship had to return to a professional one. He then turned to walk away.

"Wait!"

John stopped and turned.

"Give me another week, please."

"What do you have in mind, Lisa?"

"I don't know, John. Just give me a week to plan something."

With another kiss, they parted. Dave noted Lisa was back to her old, distracted self again that weekend. He thought about her hot and cold mood swings over the last few weeks and about her recent obsession with threesomes. Now he had another thing to worry about. Why had her lipstick been smeared when she came home late on Friday? Time to do some digging.

Not having participated in any family activities over the weekend, giving her more time to think, Lisa excitedly cornered John after work on Monday. His eyes lit up as she explained her plan. Half way through he interrupted.

"You know, Lisa. He may want something in return for this."

"Well, there are things I'm willing to give him and things that are not negotiable. We'll have to see. Just remember, sweetheart, if at the end of the day he says no, I will give up our plans all together. I'm sorry, John. That's just how it has to be."

John said he did understand and if she needed someone to do a dry run on, he was always available. With his tacit approval, Lisa pretty much spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday at work planning her speech. She started with the basic premise that whatever she did had to be risk free. It couldn't possibly endanger her marriage and family. She likened it to playing poker. She'd won a $1,000 pot and didn't want to risk it. She wanted to lock that in a time delayed safe so even she couldn't access it. Then she could continue playing knowing she could win another $1,000, but even if she lost, she still had the original.

On Wednesday night, John took her to dinner for a full-dress rehearsal. After the main course, he told her to give him her best shot.

"Well, John, I've decided to hit him hard and fast tomorrow night. I'll start by reminding him how much I love him. Lay it on thick about the kids, you know, how I look forward to their graduations, attending their weddings, and grandkids christenings. Then remind him about the plans we've talked about for our retirement."

John's mind drifted at this point. Typical woman. She launched straight into the emotive bullshit that would work brilliantly with another woman. They never seemed to realise men were far less emotive and more rational.

"Are you listening, John?"

"Of course, Lisa."

"Well, after that I'll remind him that I gave him an opportunity to participate in me having some harmless fun, but he rejected it. I'll tell him he forced my hand and I intend taking a lover Friday night. Before he has a chance to process this, I'll lay it on thick about it being just sex, a bit of unemotional fun. I'm sorry, John, I'll have to lie a bit there. If he wants to prove his love for me, he'll let me do it. I reckon I have a 70/30 chance of him saying yes right there and then. What do you think so far?"

John silently put the odds much lower than this but wasn't about to say it. He put his odds of scoring this MILF way less than 50 percent but what the hell. It was the thrill of the chase that mattered. He reckoned he could bed her once with zero risk. Many more times and the risk of discovery and being sacked for having sex with a subordinate, would rise exponentially. Why do it more than once? He'd done this before and realised he'd already had 90 percent of the fun. But by maximising the chances of Lisa succeeding, he might get the last 10 percent.

"If I was your husband, at this point, I would at least demand an open marriage."

"Well, he can forget that. I don't share. If he insists, I will back down straight away. Him taking another woman would end our marriage. That can't happen."

"You know you have the ultimate weapon to stop him, don't you?"

"What weapon?"

"Threaten divorce and him living in the poor house with no access to the kids if he insists on retaliation."

"No, I couldn't hurt him like that. Not even as a threat I have no intention of following through with."

"Why not inflict a little pain, Lisa? It's his fault, after all. If he'd gone along with the threesome idea, we wouldn't be here now, would we?"

At this point, John grabbed Lisa's hands and looked lovingly into her eyes.

"Come on, Lisa. You deserve this. After seventeen years as a dutiful wife and slave to an ungrateful husband and needy kids, you've earned it."

Lisa looked into those eyes and felt the warm tingle in her groin.

"I suppose so."

"That's my girl."

"Well, don't get too excited, John. If, at the end of this conversation, I even suspect Dave is not on board, then I give in completely. Fair enough? So, can you see any flaws? Can you see how I can possibly lose?"

John was firmly thinking about himself as he replied.

"No, Lisa. It's definitely a no-lose situation."

He shook his head at the depth of this woman's delusions.

While they were waiting for dessert, Lisa added a few notes to her outline. When the meal was over, John walked her out to her car and kissed her goodnight. This time she didn't resist as he cupped and squeezed her breast but responded by pushing her leg into his crotch. She felt the twitching of his manhood through his trousers and almost swooned. John briefly thought about pressing his advantage, but that would spoil the fun.

"Okay, lover. I'll book us a room for Friday night."

"Can't we go to your place? I've never even seen it."

"No way. The walls are way too thin, and you'll be screaming way too much; I can assure you of that."

On trembling legs, Lisa went home to her family. She was even more distracted than normal. At one point, she realised she was alone, and everyone had gone to bed. Consequently, she slept in the next day and only woke just in time to see the kids off. She reminded them she had arranged for Dave's parents to pick them up for a sleepover that night and checked they had all they needed. She'd arranged the day off. She had to call John at least five times to maintain her courage during the day.

She knew her major Achilles heel was her inability to lie convincingly. The obvious question Dave would raise, when given her ultimatum, was, did she already have someone in mind? In front of a mirror, she practiced saying no. She intended going out and allowing herself to be seduced. Anything else would spur questions she wasn't at all comfortable with. She convinced herself that by remaining cool, calm, and collected, she could pull it off.

SO, HERE SHE was, sitting at the kitchen table waiting to bushwhack her husband who was due any minute. It was Thursday night, twenty-four hours short of a much-anticipated event. The kids were overnighting at their grandparents. Lisa was totally ready. She just kept repeating to herself.

"Shock and awe."

"Be firm."

"Can't lose."

"I deserve this."

Dave walked in at 5:30p.m. An hour and a half after his new usual time of 4:00p.m. Lisa figured he did that because he knew she had the day off. He saw Lisa sitting at the kitchen table with a three-quarter empty bottle of wine. She rarely had more than one glass, so Dave not only knew this was a very special occasion but that her defences would be weak.

"Hiya, Lis. What are we celebrating? Did you get that promotion?"

"We aren't celebrating, darling, at least, not yet. Please sit down. We have to talk, Dave."

Lisa was surprised at herself. Even with the Dutch courage she'd drunk, she was more nervous than she expected. She silently repeated her mantra.

"Shock and awe."

"Be firm."

"Can't lose."

"I deserve this."

Dave beat her to it.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with the fact you have been so distracted for a long time now. Something to do with the fact you've almost totally ignored your family for the last half year. Something to do with the fact that, apart from two glorious weeks, we haven't had sex for five months."

"Dave, I..."

"No, don't tell me, Lisa, let me guess. You really love me. You are looking forward to sharing the kid's graduations, weddings, etcetera with me. You can't wait until we attend our grandchildren's christenings and retire to live a life of love and luxury together. Despite all that, because I didn't go along with your plan of sharing you in a sneaky threesome, you intend cuckolding me with your lover. When? Tonight? Tomorrow night?"

Dave paused at this point. Alarm bells were screaming in Lisa's head. Dave had just covered the first page and a half of her notes with stunning accuracy. If she'd been thinking rationally, she would have realised her husband thought much better in a crisis than she did. He'd proved it the two times he'd saved one of their children's lives while she just stood there like a stunned mullet. She was well and truly rattled. In a panic, she reverted to what she knew. Her memorised and re-memorised speech.

"But I deserve this, Dave, I... I... It would just be sex, Dave. A bit of unemotional fun. Something to spice things up for us."

With no interruption from her husband and in her panic, Lisa simply rolled into the next part of her speech, completely forgetting it was contingent on Dave's expected responses. It was the latest addition to the script, being John's suggestion of last night and she hadn't memorised it as well as the rest.

"You can't sleep with other women. I'll divorce you. I could make it so you never see the kids. The courts will take all your salary for house payments, alimony, and child support..."

Lisa stopped as the expression on Dave's face finally registered on her befuddled mind. It wasn't the look of hurt she'd been steeling herself to resist. It definitely wasn't the look of resigned acceptance she'd dreamt about. It was a look of thunder personified.

"I... I..."

"What's his name, Lisa?"

"Wh... whose name, Dave?"

"The name of the stealing fuck who played on the paranoia of a worried, middle-aged housewife. A woman terrified of her fading looks. A woman who gave in to a lowlife prick that played up to her genetic drive to procreate one last time before it's too late. WHAT IS HIS NAME, LISA?"

This was so far off all Lisa's preparations for this conversation she was totally incapable of rational thought. She simply responded to her husband's order.

"John, but he's not like that. Not at all..."

"How long have you been fucking him, Lisa?"

"I never... we haven't. Dave, I would never cheat on you."

"Bullshit, Lisa. You've been coming home late every single day for six months. Going out on weekends and just about totally ignoring your family. Cutting me off emotionally and physically. Was it his idea that you stopped fucking me as soon as he started? His idea to invite me for an intimate threesome just so he could cuckold me in person?"

Lisa was suffering from a combination of being offended and horrified at the same time. How could she prove Dave was wrong?

"No, you've got it all wrong, Dave. The late nights and weekends were just he and I talking, just going to dinner together and talking."

"I'm calling bullshit, Lisa. What about last night when you came in with your dress all creased and your lipstick all over the place? I know what you look like after you've just had a quickie, Lisa. I've had eighteen years to learn, remember."

Lisa was yelling now, desperate to get him to understand.

"NO, NO, NO! I haven't cheated, Dave. I would never cheat. It was just talking, dinners, and kissing. You have to believe me. I would never cheat."

Dave stopped and rested his face in his hands. Lisa had never seen him cry and she wasn't about to now. They both sat there stunned for several minutes. Dave finally looked up when he thought his face was no longer giving anything away. He was wrong. Lisa was a perceptive woman and knew eyes close to tears when she saw them. She was horrified she'd caused this amount of pain. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't lose. Desperately marshalling her thoughts, she remembered her script. Last page. The ultimate get-out-of-jail-free clause. That's it. She would give up her plans with John. She would capitulate completely. No harm, no foul, right? The situation was salvageable. Unfortunately, once again Dave beat her to it.

"Well done, Lisa, your cheating has killed our marriage and our family. Shit, it has killed me. I can't believe you threatened to take my kids away from me."

Dave rose and slowly shuffled towards the door. Something about the way he said, 'killed me', sent an extra alarm bell ringing. It sounded so dead and final. Dave made it out the door and almost to his car before she recovered enough to chase after him. He hadn't given her a chance to play her get-out-of-jail-free card. He had his hand on the door handle of his car before she was close enough to cry out.

"But I didn't cheat!"

Dave stopped dead. Without turning around, he spoke in a deadpan voice.

"Staying away from your family to spend time with another man, while lying to us about the reason. Going to dinner with him. Kissing him. If that's not cheating, I don't know what is, Lisa? It's over, Lisa."

Lisa sank to her knees, too shocked and awed to support herself. She watched her husband drive off, too stunned to even cry. Can't lose? She reflexively thought back to her preparations for their confrontation. The only time the dissolution of their marriage should have been discussed, was when she issued her hollow threat. It had never occurred to her Dave could dissolve it as well.

Lisa gave herself the luxury of feeling sorry for herself for a little over an hour. The knowledge she had perhaps terminally fucked up a really good thing, was just too big a deal to handle and she shoved it forcibly into the background. This left another big worry in her heart. Dave's words as he left, but more importantly, his demeanour, had set off all sorts of alarm bells in her head. For the first time she worried about the effect her, well, let's not mince words, ultimatum, really had on her husband. A man she knew lived for her and his family. She was terrified he may harm himself. Would he? She'd stated plainly what they both knew. In the event of a divorce, he would lose custody of the children and lose most of his pay and assets. They both knew of couples where the ex-wife refused to let the husband see his kids, supported by the pro-feminist court system. Would he contemplate harming himself? Shit, yeah.

Panic set in. There was no answer on Dave's cell. She rang her in-laws to see if Dave was there. He had been but was now gone. They were confused. Dave had only stayed a little while, then left after hugging all three of the children. Lisa jumped in her car and drove around to every bar she could think of in the area, looking for his car. She was so distracted she ran out of fuel and had to call her dad to bring a jerry can. He saw she was in no fit state to drive, so he took her home. Once there, she broke down and told her parents Dave had left her. She could see the hurt in her mother's eyes. Her father's words left nothing to the imagination on what he thought of his son-in-law. Eventually, her mother conceded the logic of Lisa waiting at home and dropped her back to her car. Lisa went home and in the wee small hours, fell asleep on the couch.

The nightmares finally woke her at 7:00a.m. Before she could recover from the grogginess, the panic hit again. She feverishly checked her phone for messages; there were none. She dialled Dave's cell. It went straight to message bank, like it was turned off or flat. After all, his charger was right next to hers on the kitchen counter. She rang his work, only to be told he hadn't shown. She rang the police but when she told them why her husband had left, they said she was on her own. By this time, it was 8:00a.m., so she got Dave's address book and phoned every friend she could find a number for. Everyone said they hadn't seen him.

She then literally spent all day driving to every possible place she could think of, returning to the house every two hours or so to see if Dave's car was there. It never was, and his cell continually went to message bank.

The only time reality impinged on her frantic, but pointless activity, was when a message arrived on her phone. It was a simple one from John. 'Hyatt, room 707, 6PM'. You know how you cringe when someone runs their fingernails down a blackboard? That's what Lisa's soul did when she read that message. She buried that deep as well. The next phone call was from Dave's parents. They still hadn't heard anything and wanted to know what to do with the kids. Lisa asked them to look after them until further notice.

Returning home, Lisa sat on the couch and cried and cried. She must have slept on the couch again as she woke with a start at 3:30a.m. She wept again, as the now familiar hopelessness washed over her. She tried to picture Dave's face but couldn't. She knew then with an illogical certainty, David was dead. She felt insanity beckoning. NO, she thought, I can't face that. With practiced ease, that thought was buried deep as well.

With dread, Lisa got back in her car. As she did, she noticed her cell on the passenger seat where she'd left it. There was one message from her eldest and six from John. She listened to the single one, just saying she missed her mum, but ignored the six. Lisa then spent the time till about 10:00a.m. driving around the possible local suicide spots, looking for Dave's car. Bridges, ravines, any place out of the way where he could have parked his car and put a hose on the tail pipe. Nothing.

Desperate, Lisa rang his folks again and with still no news from them, all his friends again. This time, the call to Dave's oldest friend, actually an old boss of his, gave her the suspicion he wasn't being totally honest. She looked up his address and decided to drive past his house to see if she could see Dave's car. He lived in quite an affluent neighbourhood. She found the house, but there was no sign of Dave.

As she drove away, her eyes were drawn to a distinctive Lexus, three doors down. It was John's car. It was parked outside another flash looking house, along with many others. Suddenly, the idea of getting some comfort from a man who was, above everything else, her friend, appealed to her. She parked and went up the path to the front door. The sounds of muted revelry inside, told her a Saturday afternoon party was going on. Beside the door was a panel, flush with the wall, with a security keypad, bell push, and intercom button. She pressed a button. The door was answered by the general manager of her company.

"Hello, Lisa, isn't it?"

"Yes, Mr. Goldsmith, I saw John Stanhope's car outside. Could I speak to him please?"

"Of course, Lisa. Would you like to come in?"