EXTRACT FOR
Olivia - Part Nine
(Kelly Addams)

Why am I taking him with me?

It was breakfast time again and Olivia surreptitiously studied Jeff across the table. On one hand it's going to be an embarrassment because I'm sure all the girls have done much better than me.

In a few cases that was a fact beyond question. Diana had married a stockbroker, probably the most boring man to have ever walked the Earth, but tedious company or not, the man was an earning machine, he was a living, breathing ATM with no withdrawal limit. Diana had been quite banal herself as a teen, a real plain Jane, but money can certainly help a dull girl shine.

And Laura she reminded herself, she'd been the prettiest girl in class, not the brightest soul ever born but genuine, and overly sweet in an innocent sort of way. Laura had been the quintessential bimbo, the very definition of a trophy wife. She'd landed herself a cosmetic surgeon, and before their wedding he had gifted her possibly the most realistic-looking fake boobs that Olivia had ever seen. She'd never needed, nor considered, any alterations herself, but she knew if she ever did, he was the man to talk to.

So that is the competition that I know of for sure, a multi-million-dollar broker, and the best boob-job surgeon in the country... and I'm turning up with a fat, bald, used car salesman!

She wondered if any of the other girls from her year were considering turning up without their partner, possibly claiming that he was away, on important business, somewhere exotic and exclusive. Rather than admitting that they had left him sprawled on the couch, in one hand a beer, the other hand tucked into the waistband of his pants as he watched the game.

Probably more than a few she thought, not everyone would be looking forward to the high school reunion. But it does mark twenty years, and even if I can't boast about having a dynamic husband there is no one who can doubt that I haven't succeeded in life myself.

She had reached the very top of her profession, and she had no interest in using her position to enter politics or big business as many others had. Olivia, even before meeting Russell, had been contented to maintain her 'Super Lawyer' status within the firm. She had decided long before that she would work for as long as the job still inspired her, and the moment that she felt jaded she would hand over her client list to her favourite junior partners, then retire, and maybe build a comfortable home on the wilderness land that she had bought as a small investment.

I'm as wealthy as almost everyone who will be there, so what does it matter that I'm dragging a useless slug behind me.

"You had better get a haircut before tomorrow." she said coldly.

Jeff looked up, and as was his habit, ran his fingers through his thinning locks. "Yes, I'll get a trim." he nodded. "It is getting a bit long."

"You'll get it cut properly if you're coming with me," she snapped, "You're

 

starting to look like some dirty hippie!"

Of course she was being grossly unfair, but she liked to watch him squirm. He was right, his hair wasn't that untidy and really didn't need more than a trim and a little shaping, and Jeff may have had his faults but a lack of personal hygiene wasn't one of them, he was never dirty and far from being a hippie.

"Listen love," he said quietly, he didn't want to appear confrontational, "Do you really want me to come tomorrow? I really won't know anyone there, I'll be like a fifth wheel just hanging around with no one to talk to."

"Of course you have to come with me, do you honestly expect me to turn up on my own. That is for the women who say that their husbands are working away, when everyone there knows that they are really divorced, or separated, and a few might even be covering up the fact that their husbands are serving time in a state penitentiary. You may not be the finest example of manhood, but at least you are real, and not in jail."

And that has to be one of the most hurtful things that I have ever said to him she thought, then grinned as she saw the pain in his eyes.

"Oh don't look at me like a whipped puppy," she snapped, "Just face facts, you're not the same man that I married, now you're fat and bald, and any ambition that you may have harboured certainly gave up and died very quickly when I started earning the big bucks. So, you are going to get smartened up, get a proper haircut. Buy yourself a new suit, one that fits properly... and, just to prove that my low estimation of you isn't entirely correct, you are going to take me shopping this afternoon. Dress shopping. I want something designer, from Paris or Milan, and it is going to be expensive Jeff, very expensive. And don't think for a second that you're going to dip into the family pot to pay for it... oh no, because I know all about the cash you've been hiding away to buy that new fishing skiff so you and your cronies can disappear every weekend chasing bass, or whatever it is you try to catch. That is the money you are going to use, the spare money that comes from the car lot... your personal savings. Then perhaps you'll understand how it feels to have your hard-earned money thrown away on frivolous things."

Jeff swallowed hard, then lowered his eyes and nodded. Confusion surrounded him, his world was almost completely upside down... and if he didn't want to make things worse than they already were, then he would have to bite the bullet and comply with her demands.

"I'll do what you say." he said quietly, then slowly pushed his coffee cup away and folded his newspaper, suddenly he'd lost his appetite, breakfast under her judgemental gaze had lost all of its appeal.

That's it Jeff, you do as you're told she thought as he walked slowly from the breakfast room, his shoulders down, his back bent as though bearing a heavy load. Olivia could see that she was wearing him down, but he only sticks with it because of the money she reminded herself. Any man with a spine would have stood up to me by now. A real man would have stamped his authority on the situation rather than letting it spiral out of control. I can see that he's depressed, and tired, and probably a little frustrated, but still he refuses to act. Don't tell me he stays because of love, because he doesn't, he stays because of necessity, and apathy. Life would be pretty tough for

 

him if he didn't have me... That's why he stays.

And I'm sure that he has heard about the party, I know people, especially people with a spiteful streak who have dropped on a juicy piece of gossip. And it isn't really gossip if it's confirmed. Someone will tell him out of pity, not wanting him to make a fool of himself, but there are plenty who will tell him just so they can sit back and enjoy watching the aftermath... it's just human nature.

He's been told, I'm sure of it. There must have been thirty or forty people that watched me kiss Russell as he was groping me. Thirty or forty of them who saw my pussy as he shoved his fingers in me. Oh yeah, someone has spoken out...

So why hasn't he?

Just more evidence that he's trying to maintain the status quo. He could confront me and learn that what he probably already suspects is true, and that would leave him in a very difficult position. Demand a divorce and try to throw me out. He knows that he'd lose big time if he tried either.

"Or forgive me!" she laughed aloud at the very thought of it. The only reason to forgive me is if I wanted to go back to how we were, and he's not stupid, he knows that if what he's been told is true then there is no way I'll ever want to come back.

"So he's doing the only thing that he can, in an effort to maintain his way of life, and his way of finance. He's ignoring the situation... and hoping that if he doesn't rock the boat, that it might go away all on its own."

I could have taken Russell with me tomorrow, but that is an event that he couldn't ignore and gloss over as innocent. And anyway, let him squirm for a while longer...

I'm not ready for the big reveal... just yet.