She shrugged offhandedly. “Yeah, I guess so.”
I nodded, finishing of the last of my breakfast. “You still want to go to those parties don’t you? Isn’t that what you said to me?”
With a defeated growl she murmured. “Yes.”
“So at the next party you could be sleeping with my boss. Is that right?”
“Jesus, Eddie. Nothing happened, and you said you didn’t want to do it anyway. Don’t let a good opportunity slip through your fingers because of something that never happened.”
“How often do you have lunch with Tony?”
Scowling, she asked, “What… Oh god. Don’t make something out of that. We had lunch while I gave him a brief close out survey about the employment process. We are friends, you know.”
“Oh don’t worry, I know all right. Let’s not forget he wants to sleep with you, as well.”
She sighed. “Oh fuck. I have had enough of this. Have you finished?”
I nodded and she picked up the tray and walked out. I showered and wandered downstairs. Rose was doing dishes.
“Eddie, you have wound yourself in a bloody knot over this thing. I told you that if you don’t want to do the swap thing then we wouldn’t. Tony is a friend and he was just trying to help.”
“He might be your friend, but all he is to me is a guy who wants to bonk my wife.”
She snarled. “Fuck, you frustrate the shit out of me.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
I caught up on the usual jobs. Did my laundry and suggested we go down the pub for lunch before I headed away.
Things were cool between Rose and me for the next week and I couldn’t clear those damn images of Claire from my mind. As the week slipped by I chastised myself. ‘Eddie, you are a dick. She’s bloody right. I could actually be banging Claire. No need to imagine it.”
Towards the week close out I got a couple of job offers. One was in Wales. The other in Southampton. The one in Wales was the best opportunity: project lead on an old parking building demolition. It had the added benefit of having board and lodgings attached. It would mean a chance to add to our home account. We had both been saving like crazy to buy our first home.
I sent back an email with some questions, hoping that I might be able to squeeze a few more quid out of them.
The next bit was the bit I wasn’t looking forward to: telling Rose. She was adamant she wanted me home. There just weren’t that many prospects, none that paid good money, anyway.
That night I had a few beers to stiffen my resolve before calling her. This week our calls had been brief and cool. “Hi, Eddie,” she said.
“Rose, I need to talk if you have a moment.”
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?”
“I have a job offer.”
I picked up her hesitancy. “Yes, okay. Where is it?”
“Cardiff.”
“Oh god no. Please tell me you’re joking.”
“No, sorry, babe. I get a two week break after this one and then start there.”
There was a moment of silence before she asked. “Have you signed anything yet?”
“No, not yet. I’m trying to get them to sweeten the pot.”
“Can you hold off or stall for a week? Give me a chance to find something local?”
“Rose, I have looked around. There are jobs but they pay shit coin.”
“Just give me a chance, Love. All I’m asking for is a week.”
Reluctantly I grumbled, “Yeah, all right. But if they say sign or else, I’m signing.”
“Just give me a chance, Okay?”
“Yeah, so hows thing at home?”
“Busy. I have been flat out actually. Got a couple of big contracts on the go. Babe, since I signed Tony I have had some really big signatures. I can’t believe it.”
“Good for you. Knock em dead.”
“What about you, Hon? Are you still finishing next Friday?”
“Yeah, I will be home on schedule.”
Over the next few days Rose called me incessantly with questions and information about jobs and experience. She was obviously hard at work. I balanced that with continuing emails from Wales. They were getting a bit antsy with me.
They came back with more money to finalise the deal, it was now a very lucrative offer and I got nervous. I didn’t want to lose it. I rang Rose. “Hon, I have just got a really bloody good offer from Wales. I think I’ll sign. It is to good to pass up.”
“Bugger off. You promised me a week. Don’t go weak at the knees now. I have a couple of prospective offers. I am just waiting for an email right at this moment.”
“What’s the money like?”
“Better than the Wales one. Plus, I get a sign on bonus if you take it.”
“Yeah Okay, can you forward it to me ASAP?”
When she didn’t answer I asked. “Who is it with?”
“Thompson’s.”
“What is the job?”
“They’re managing the decommissioning of an old pumping station. Your role would be to oversee the removal of all the usable equipment and the sale of. Then the actual demolition of the structures. It is a 24 month contract with possible extension if both parties are happy.”
“Who is Thompson’s? Can you give me some details so I can Google them. Find out a bit more about them?”
“I can’t do that yet. It is confidential.”
“Don’t be stupid. I’m your bloody husband. Jesus, you will have to send it to me anyway so I can sign.”
“Babe, I can’t reveal the details, not yet. I just have some details to finalise first.”
Peeved, I snapped, “They are a Birmingham company though?”
“Yes, Love.” I hung up without saying goodbye. I was very agitated and irritated. I realised I didn’t like her playing with my career.
I jumped onto Google and started to search for asset management and demolition companies named Thompson’s in Birmingham.
A couple popped up. None of which looked like they would be big enough to take on a job like that.
I did some searches around the pump house. It threw up the job. It was a big job and would be a great project. I did manage to find some tender docs on the Council web site. None of them were tied to a Company named Thompson’s. She had lied to me. Why, that was the question.
I waited till she called later that night. She called sounding upbeat. “Hey, Love. Good news. They promised to send me a contract tomorrow morning. I should have it to you by ten.”
“Who is?” I asked.
There was silence again. I spat out. “There is no Thompson’s in the running for that job. From what I can see in the public documents. There are two companies vying for the job.”
“Yes, the Council is announcing the winner tomorrow. The Company I am in discussions with have more or less already been told they have it, but they’re waiting for confirmation. That’s why I can’t give you their name.”
“Why did you lie to me?”
“I’m not allowed to reveal the contract details. You must understand that?”
“But why lie to me?”
“Because I didn’t want you going off half cocked before I had the contract in my hand.”
“You thought it easier to lie to me than explain.”
“Hon, there are some delicate negotiations going on. I just need you to trust me.”
“You want me to trust you, but you think it’s okay to lie to me. Is that correct?”
“No, okay it was wrong to lie, but you have to realise I couldn’t give you the real details.”
“Jesus, Rose. I am worried. Lies come so easily to you these days. What else are you lying about?”
“Nothing, Hon. It was wrong. I apologise. Look, tomorrow you will have the contract. You will be able to see for yourself what a grand opportunity it is.”
“All I want to do is find out some background about this company. I’m not signing anything until I know who I am signing with. If you can’t give me something, I am signing with the mob from Wales.”
“Oh, shit, don’t be so stubborn. You will have it all tomorrow. Look, I can’t talk now. Claire’s coming over and we’re going out for dinner. I promise tomorrow it will all be ready to go.”
She hung up with an angry retort still hanging unsaid on my lips. “Bitch!” I snarled.
I went back to the web. The two companies in the vying were Patterson’s and another mod named Trimax Engineering. They both had web sites, so it wasn’t difficult to find out a little about them. Patterson’s didn’t offer much. They looked like a solid firm. They had plenty of recent activity and had completed several fairly large contracts. None of the directors names meant anything to me.
One thing that did impress was the list of endorsements. With a little nod to myself I hoped this was the Company Rose was talking to.
Opening up the Trimax web site. I was again impressed. Their website was professional and well laid out. If Patterson’s had a long list of recent projects, this one was huge. Wow, major projects, and their facilities looked first rate. My opinion changed. This was a much better company and now I hoped it was Trimax.
As I was closing out I saw a photo of the CEO and he looked familiar. I dived back in and quickly found the list of senior managers. Carter Jones. I recognised him. He was Tony’s friend from the party. That’s why Rose wouldn’t give me the Company details. She knew I would find out who he was.
Angry and disappointed, I went for a walk in the cool bracing air. What the hell was I going to do? The thought of working from home sat well with me. Not just so Rose and I could spend time together, but because I was sick of living out of dingy digs, living alone and the long drives home just to be with her.
Add the fact that she was still lying to me pissed me off. She was trying to manipulate me. Her underhanded approach really irritated.
How to deal with it?
The next day was the one. I left it, I didn’t ring her. I waited for her to get in touch with me. It came in the form of a phone call. “Hi, Babe. Okay, I have forwarded you a contract. Read your email. All you need to know is in the email. God, I’m so excited, it is going to be so nice having you working from home.”
I sniggered. “You seem pretty confident. Who is the company?”
There was a certain hesitancy in her voice, but she answered. “The Company is called Trimax. They are a major player, Hon. I mean these guys are big and getting bigger. Read the contract. The terms are amazing.”
“Trimax, huh. Funny I have never heard of them. Who is the boss?”
The hesitancy was back, I waited for her response, thinking this should be interesting. “I don’t know the CEO’s name. I have been dealing with the Project Coordinator and HR. Please, just read the contract. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Waiting a few seconds I replied. “Now I know who I am dealing with I will do some research. Find out a little about them. I’m not working for cowboys.”
She read out a list of the projects they had completed on. She obviously had their web site open.
“That’s all good and well, but I need to know who they are and where they’re going. I need details.”
She seemed frustrated. “Eddie, trust me. Read the contract. The salary is a 35% increase on what you currently make. It is a two year deal, with rights to renew. Hon, it would mean we could live like husband and wife again. Sleep in the same bed every night.”
“Yeah, I like that idea. I will do my research and get back to you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow!” she screeched. “Hon, we are on a tight time frame. They want you to start immediately. If we muck about we might miss out.”
“Ask them for another 10%.”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding. Eddie, this offer is a good one. It is already a lot more than your current job.”
“Yeah, but it’s less than what’s on offer from Wales. I negotiated with them and got some extras. They are offering more than this.”
I heard her mutter “Shit,” Away from the phone. Before she replied I snapped back curtly. “Remember you are working for me, not them. I want more. If they won’t play ball, at least I have a confirmed back up.”
“For Pete’s sake, Hon. You are not the only horse in this race. There has been a lot of interest. I approached them on your behalf. They aren’t chasing you.”
“Another 10%, Rose.” I hung up. Reading the contract, it was a good one. The money was good and the attraction of sleeping in my own bed was definitely appealing. The only sticking point was her lies and disrespect. I told her I didn’t want to work for this guy. I didn’t want to be beholden in any way to Tony.
I was also worried about how easily she lied. It did braise the issues of what else she lied about.
Ten minutes later she rang again. “Well, what do you think? Great contract isn’t it?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t read it yet. I am just doing my research on the Company. If you had given me the details yesterday, I could have already finished this.”
The phone was silent for a moment before she whispered, “Well, what do you think?”
“Rose, I am busy. I will complete my research before looking at the contract. Did you approach them about the money?”
“No, not yet. Look, babe, I don’t think they will offer more. Remember, we want them, they aren’t falling over themselves to employ you.”
10%, Rose, and I wouldn’t mind a performance bonus as well. See if you can get them to come to the party with that.”
Before she could reply, I hung up. I sat ruminating. I went over the two contracts. The one in Wales paid more, had free board and lodgings, so I could save that. There were some KPIs and they were prepared to pay performance bonuses based on the KPI’s. It just meant committing to being away from home for a very long time. I let Rose stew and finished off the punch list items I was tidying up.
It was late in the afternoon when I received another email from Rose. Attached was a new contract and it did indeed have a salary increase. Although now the salary was going to be performance based with 20% at risk.
About half an hour later she rang. “Have you received your new contract?”
“Yeah, just reading it.”
“What do you think?”
“It’s okay I guess, but they haven’t really addressed the salary. Just made it at risk. I am still researching the Company. Luckily I Know a couple of engineers working there. I am waiting to hear back from them. Find out some dirt about the boss man.”
The phone was again silent when I muttered. “You know, I’m sure I recognise the boss, Jones. I have seen him somewhere. Do you know him?”
The tension was palpable. She hesitated before replying. “No, I haven’t spoken to him. Like I said. I have been dealing with the project guy.”
“Hmm. Okay, but I’m sure I have met him somewhere. Right, I have a response. If they want me to accept that 20% of my salary is going to be at risk. It is going to have to come up another 10%. I have sent you the Wales contract so you can compare. I have to go. Bye.”
The level of her lies seemed to know no bounds. I was convinced she had contacted Jones directly and used Tony as the leverage. There was no way I was accepting working for the guy, knowing what I knew.
It was late that night when Rose rang again. She sounded flustered and uncomfortable. “Okay, Eddie, I got them to raise the salary as you requested. But the higher you push the salary, the higher the risk. They are offering you another 15%, but now 30% of it will be at risk.”
“I can live with that. I will need to see the KPIs though. I will also have to have control over meeting them. I won’t accept KPIs tied to the company success. Just the elements I am in charge of.”
“The KPIs are listed. I haven’t checked them. I don’t know what I am looking for.”
“Send it through and I will check it out. I am just certain I know the CEO. I’m sure I have met him.”
We closed off the conversation and the contract popped up in my email.
It was damn good. The KPIs were all personal, except for the safety one. That was only 5%, anyway. Damn it was tempting.
I went back to work and emailed off my acceptance of the Wales job. Rose called several times during the evening. I let them all go to message bank.
The next day was frenetic, two days to completion and we were all feeling the pressure. Rose rang early in a fluster. “Eddie, where the hell have you been? I tried all night to get in touch.”
“Sorry, Rose. I was talking to Wales. I decided to go with them.”
“What!” she snarled. “Oh fuck, Eddie, no. Why did you do that?”
“I didn’t have an alternative. It was the only one on offer.”
“Oh fuck off, what about the Trimax offer?”
“That wasn’t an option. Once I figured out where I knew the CEO from I went no further.”
The phone was silent for a long moment. “Why didn’t you tell me, Rose?”
“Because I knew what you would say. Listen, Hon. I talked to Tony…”
I cut her off. “You talk to him a lot, don’t you?”
“Don’t be daft. He is helping me out. When I said I was trying to find you a job he suggested he would broker a meeting with Carter. When we met, Carter looked over your CV and was really impressed. He wanted you.”
“That’s funny because when I asked you yesterday you said you didn’t know him.”
“Yeah, okay you busted me. After you said that stupid shit about not working for some guy who might sleep with me. I knew I couldn’t tell you who it was with.”
“So you were hoping I would just blindly sign and then later find out I was working for him, and it would all be too late.”
“No, what I hoped would happen is you would meet Carter and find out that he is a lovely guy. Pleasant and easy to talk to. He genuinely is a nice guy, Eddie.”
“Yeah, A nice guy who is doing a favour for his mate so he can sleep with my wife. No thanks, Rose.”
“Eddie, please, Hon, this is a great opportunity. After meeting and talking to Carter, and to Tony, it’s obvious this company is going to be huge. You could get in now. Honey, please don’t be a fool.”
“Ha, a fool am I? Sorry, Rose. I prefer to work for people with ethics. How long would it be before he was putting the acid on me so he could bonk you?”
“Oh good fucking lord. Eddie, you’re behaving like a bloody child. I haven’t slept with anybody. Carter is a nice man who wants you to work for him.”
“Too late. I have already signed. I’ll be home in a couple of days and we can see where we go. Rose, I have to say. I am increasingly worried about our relationship. I distinctly told you I wouldn’t work for that guy and you went behind my back and tried to trick me. You lied to me and now I am worried whether our whole relationship is based on a lie.”
“Eddie, you have got this all wrong. I only said those things so you could see the contract for what it was: a good prospect.”
“Yeah, and how do I know you aren’t lying now? You see, Rose, once you’ve told one you create this uncertainty. Now I will always be wondering if what you say is the truth.”
“Christ, babe, I am just trying to help. I am sick of living by myself. Sleeping alone, you never being here to help with anything. The car breaks down and you’re off in bloody Scotland. I deal with everything. You are never here. All I wanted was a normal life.”
“If you had been honest and I knew how much this bugged you, the outcome might have been different. Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”
“Because I didn’t want to get in your way. I wanted you to have your adventures, slay your dragon. I kept it bottled up because I knew how important your career was to you.”
The conversation died. The phone was filled with her sniffles. “I’m sorry, Eddie, I fucked up, but all I wanted was you at home.”
“Rose, there are hundreds of companies around town. If I knew how strongly you felt I could have easily found work. Why did you have to go to him?”
“Because Tony said it would be good for you. Carter is a nice guy who looks after his employees. When I did my research I found out he was telling the truth.”
“So you just lied?”
“Yeah okay, I get it. I fucked up and I’m sorry. I should have told you.” Through her sniffles she asked. “Would you reconsider?”
“No, It’s too late for that. I have signed. I can’t go back on that now.”
To say the mood changed would be an understatement. I could sense her dissatisfaction. She was pissed. She hung up not long after that. There were no more phone calls leading up to the contract wind up. It took a couple of days longer than expected, and It was Sunday before I pulled into our driveway.
I walked in to find Rose on the phone. When her eyes looked up and she saw me she grimaced. I guess we had both been building up for this. I heard her say, “Okay, babe, I’ll call later, bye.”
She stood up and walked over giving me a kiss on the check. Hmmm Very cold. This would normally be very hot. “Where have you been?”
“Project ran over a couple of days.”
“Why didn’t you call?”
I shrugged. “Why didn’t you?” She flinched and walked into the kitchen. “Cup of tea?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’d be great.”
We sat at the table with our hands nursing the hot cups. Nothing was said for a long time. It was Rose who broke. “Can we talk, Hon?”
“Yeah, I think that would be good.”
“What happens now?” she asked.
“I get a two week break, and then it’s off to Cardiff. I will use the two weeks to go over the project doc’s. I will be getting paid from Monday.”
She sighed. “I was more talking about us.”
“Okay, go for it. I don’t know what you’re getting at.”
She grimaced, turning her head slightly, unable to hold my stare. “I’m angry. I offered you a great new job, working for a great company and you turned your nose up at it.” Our eyes briefly connected as she whispered, “Don’t you want to live with me? Do you prefer living away from home?”
I took a long slurp of my tea and replied. “I would love to be here. I love you and I would definitely prefer to work locally. I am sick of hotel rooms and suitcases.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you take that job with Carter?”
“I already told you my reasons. I made it very clear I didn’t want to work for him.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “For gods sake. Without sounding big headed. I am an attractive woman. There’s probably plenty of men who would be interested.”
“Yeah, but he was at that bloody party and you already told me you want to join in sometime in the future. Because of the lies, I don’t know you aren’t already doing it.”
“Eddie, I bloody told you. I would never cheat on you. Yes, I’m interested in the parties, but not unless we are both into it.”
“Yeah, well I have to question the guys ethics. If he’s into that sort of shit, god knows what he is into.”
She finished off her cuppa, before saying, “So we’re back to you working away from home again. How long are you going to be locked into this bloody deal?”
“Another year, maybe longer.”
“What about our dreams of buying a house, starting a family?”
“Why do you think I’m doing this? I still want all those things.”
“Yeah well, I’m sick of living like a single person. I want my husband in my bed every night. I want us to do things, not have to wait for a once a month weekend visit.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“I wanted you to be sensible and take that damn job.”
“Yeah, and I expected you to be honest with me. Tell me the truth. That didn’t happen either.”
“This thing has got out of control. Can we just admit we both did the wrong thing and move forward? If it helps, I admit I did the wrong thing. I should have trusted you and tried to talk it through.”
“Thanks, yes it would have been nice to know you trusted me. I didn’t know you doubted me.”
“I never used to. I always thought we were so close. I have never questioned you in the past.”
“Then why now?”
“When you made that stupid comment about Carter when I first told you about contacting him. I was scared. You seem to have become so insecure, jealous. I’ve never seen you like that before.”
“I guess I am jealous. You seem to be infatuated with Tony. You carry on having meetings with him. You talk about our private business with him. Yes, I’m unhappy.”
She flinched, looked guilty. “I’m not infatuated with him. He has been so helpful. He has sort of been mentoring me. Since we met we have become good friends.”
“Oh yeah, I know that.”
“Not like that; we’re just friends.”
“He hasn’t mentioned coming back to the swinger parties then?”
I saw her face redden as she blushed brightly. “He did ask, but I said you weren’t interested and he he’s not mentioned it since.”
“But you are aren’t you?”
“Yes, I’m interested, but only if you want to’ otherwise no.”
“With him?”
“What?”
“Okay, is it him or swinging?”
She looked confused, “Swinging.”
“If I said I was interested, but not with them, would you still be interested?”
Hesitantly, she murmured, “Okay, but why not with Tony and Claire?”
“Because it’s too fucked up with them. If you wanted to try it we could try another group, or have a look on the net.”
“I don’t get it; you say you hate the idea one minute and now you say you want to. Would you just make your mind up?”
“I said I would give it a go if we can find a couple we both like.”
“But you liked Claire, you said so yourself.”
“Yes, but I don’t like him. If you’re not interested then we will give it a miss.”
She sighed. “Babe, we have more important things to discuss. I want you to get a job locally.”
I shrugged. “I have already committed to the Wales job. I can’t back out now.”
She stormed out, pulled on her coat and headed for the door. “I bloody hate you right now. Fuck you and fuck that job.”
She slammed the front door as she headed out with steam billowing from her ears like a burst boiler.
I was in bed when she got home. I heard the front door open and the cupboards in the kitchen slamming as she hunted for something.
I rolled over to my side of the bed, expecting her to come bustling in. She never arrived. I was awakened in the morning by her banging around getting dressed for work.
There was no goodbye, she slammed the front door hard enough to shake the whole house.
The next day was the same. She slept on the sofa and I stayed out of her way.
It was Wednesday when I got the big shock. I was chilling on the sofa reading the morning paper when there was a knock on the door. Cursing softly, I walked out to see who was disturbing my morning. As I pulled open the door, I was stunned to see Tony. “Morning, Edwin. Could I come in for a chat?”
“What do you want, Tony?”
“Just a chat, old man.”
I nervously waved him in. He wandered in, looking all around the tiny flat. “Okay, what do you want?” I asked.
He pointed to the table. “Can we sit down?”
We walked to the table and sat. “Eddie, I wanted to talk to you about the job at Trimax. I want to know why you turned it down?”
“Sorry, Tony, but this is none of your business. I don’t know why you have decided to poke your nose in, but let me assure you, it is not welcome.”
“I’m here because Rose asked me to try and talk some sense into you. She told me you turned the job down because of the party and my relationship with Carter.”
Tightening up I replied, “I said it’s none of your bloody business and I meant it.”
“Edwin, Rose is concerned about your relationship. She doesn’t like living alone most of the time.”
“Glad she talked to you about it. Perhaps in the future she could try talking to me.”
“My understanding is she has already tried, but you weren’t really listening.”
“Do you have a degree in counselling?” I snarled.
“Edwin, I am just trying to help a friend. Rose is worried.”
“We are not friends, Tony. You want to fuck my wife. That’s the only thing I know about you. Oh, apart from the fact you’re a fucking pervert.”
He scowled deeply. “I didn’t come here to be insulted. I don’t appreciate it. I haven’t said anything offensive to you. You might not consider me a friend, but I am a friend of Rose’s and I hoped you and I could talk. We are both adults, Edwin. What say we behave like it.”
If he thought his bullshit was working he was wrong, I snarled. “Go on then, spit it out.”
“All right. Rose said you turned down the job with Carter because he was at our party and we are friends. Is that part true?”
I nodded.
“Good. Why did you turn down that position. Talk to me.”
“Honestly… The reason I turned it down is. I think he offered me the job as a favour to you. You wanted to play the hero for Rose. The shining knight who found me a job. Just so you could shag her.”
He shook his head like he was totally bewildered. “Edwin, yes I did ask Carter to look at your resume, but my only motive was to help a friend nothing more.”
“Bullshit, I don’t buy any of your shit.”
Taking a big gulp of air he replied, “Carter has been my friend since we were at school. We stole cars together. We got in fights together and we even shared a couple of birds we picked up. In many ways, he is my best friend.”
“Nice to know.” I muttered.
“Edwin, Carter has slept with Claire many times and I have slept with his wife Karen just as many. We are still best friends. We even have each other on about it.”
“Jesus, you’re a twisted bunch of pricks.”
He shrugged. “I am friends with every single person who is part of our circle. Claire has slept with a couple of people outside the group. I accept that. We are adults and she is free to do so.”
“Jesus, don’t you want to smash their faces in?”
He laughed, before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Actually, no. When I was younger and I knew guys were trying to chat her up, yes I got jealous. Yes, I wanted to knock their blocks off. Now I realise that is just stupid jealousy.”
Shaking my head. “Okay, so you don’t care. I don’t feel the same way.”
Nodding, he said, “I’m not trying to convince you to join our little group. I am trying to explain that just because Carter is my friend, doesn’t mean you can’t have an adult professional working relationship with him.”
“It’s too late. The position closed on Monday.”
He shook his head. “The position hasn’t been filled. When I told him I was going to speak to you he said he would hold it open until tomorrow.”
“So I would have you to thank for my wonderful new job, huh? I suppose I could offer you Rose as a payment.”
“Fuck, you are an idiot. I don’t have to buy sex. If I wanted to just seduce Rose I would have already done so.”
“Bullshit, this is all part of your ploy. If I accept the job she will be thankful and probably jump into your bed.”
“Have you always been this neurotic? I am not trying to seduce Rose. She is my friend and I am just trying to help. I looked through your CV and I know you would be a perfect fit for Carter. He feels the same way.”
When I sat viciously biting my lip, he continued, “Look, Edwin. I like Rose, and strangely, I like you. I have been very fortunate in my life. People helped me out and gave me a hand up. I am not ashamed of that.”
“I don’t want a job because you want to bang my wife.”
“I’m not embarrassed to say I am attracted to Rose. The job offer is not related to that. You will be expected to prove Carter and I haven’t misjudged you. You got the job offer on merit. Not because we are friends.”
“We are not friends.”
“Rose is angry and frustrated. She saw an opportunity to help you get a job locally so you could rebuild your relationship. If you walk away from that I really fear for your marriage.”
“Too late, I am already thinking our marriage is over. She lied to me, tried to trick me.”
He nodded. “Yes, I already gave her a piece of my mind. Lying is never the answer. She made a mistake, Edwin. She apologised. Move on.”
“Thanks for coming round, Tony. Let me show you to the door.”
He stood and we walked to the door. As I opened it he said. “What do I tell Carter?”
I shrugged. “As I said, I have already accepted a position with Halswells in Wales. I have a signed contract. I have to honour that.”
He frowned. “What if I get them to retract their offer?”
Scowling, I snapped, “I have already signed.”
“And I said what if that contract was rescinded. Would you take the position with Carter?”
“I don’t know.” I sighed. “This is so screwed up. I am trying to figure out why you are doing this.”
He smiled reassuringly. His face seemed warm. “I am trying to help a friend save her marriage.”
He vanished and I flopped back down on the sofa. I was reading, but nothing made sense. I couldn’t focus or absorb anything. I really wanted to take the job.
It was only an hour or so later when I got a call from Adam at Hallswell’s. “Eddie, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we are retracting our job offer. We have found somebody else.”
“What!” I snapped caustically. “I have a contract.”
“Yes you do, but we want you to rip it up.”
“No fucking way, man. It is signed.”
“Mate, there’s no sense beating around the bush. I know you have another job offer. We are giving you an out.”
“What if I hold you to it?”
“We can’t stop you. We will honour it if that’s what you want.”
“Rip it up.” I grumbled.
He said warmly. “Cool, well it’s been great not working with you. Good luck for the future. If things change we would be more than happy to work together. Chow, buddy.”
I flopped back on the sofa. Now what. No way was I calling that bastard. I jumped on the net and started scrolling through some vacancy ads. I targeted several that were nowhere near as good as the one I just turned down.
I rang a couple of the companies. Two of which were interested and set up interviews for the following day.
Rose arrived home at her usual time. She seemed far less grumpy. She walked over and gave me a kiss. “Hi, Hon.”
“Do you want a cuppa?” I asked.
She nodded and I set about making the tea while she changed. Her change in mood was obviously due to Tony’s visit, and that annoyed me.
She sat down at the table dressed in her casual clothes. I handed her the cup of tea and sat with her. The cold atmosphere had become almost normal. We both sat there until she gushed. “Hon, I’m sorry for the way things have been lately. I have been a moody bitch. I’m sorry for that.”
I shrugged. “Ah, it’s okay. I haven’t been exactly a ball of sunshine either.”
“No it’s my fault.” She added. “I have been stupid. I am so ashamed about lying to you. I am going to try and put all this behind us. I can get through another year. We have been doing okay haven’t we?”
I nodded. “Thanks for that. Yeah, we can get through it.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Could we go out for dinner? Even if it’s just down the pub.”
I nodded. “Yeah let’s do it.”
We changed quickly and headed down the local. There were a few people we knew at the bar and we had a couple of drinks, falling into happy conversation.
Afterwards we found a table and ordered. As we sat she reached across the table to clutch my hand. “We have two weeks right?”
I nodded, “Yeah, two weeks. Well we would have if I was going.”
A confused scowl settled over her face. “What do you mean by that?”
“They called me today to inform me. My contract has been rescinded. Don’t panic I have found a couple of local companies. In fact, I have interviews tomorrow.”
She looked gobsmacked. “You’re serious aren’t you?”
“Yeah, afraid so.”
“Shit, they can’t do that. You had a signed contract didn’t you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Look it’s probably for the best. I want us to try and reconnect, move forward.”
She squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry, Hon. Did they give you a reason?”
“Not exactly. Let’s forget about Wales and I will focus on my interviews tomorrow.”
She gritted her teeth and whispered almost inaudibly. “What about the job at Trimax?”
“That closed on Monday didn’t it?”
She sighed. “Yeah, but if you called they might change their mind.”
“Assuming you were telling the truth. You said they were keen to move forward. So I have to figure they have filled it already.”
She nodded. “Yes, they were in a hurry. Oh well.” The food turned up and we started to eat.
“Eddie, could we try again. Let me help you find a job. I stopped looking after I contacted Trimax. Once I saw they were interested, I didn’t look any further.”
I laughed with my mouth full of pork chop. “Yeah, I would like that.”
The mood at the table changed immediately. We laughed. We joked about our behaviour and how things had happened. It became apparent that she didn’t know about Tony’s visit.
At home that night our re-connection extended to the bedroom and we made love with a burning intensity.
Afterwards, she lay with her head on my shoulder. “Do you think there would be any harm in me ringing Trimax, just on the off chance?” She asked.
Giving her a kiss, I replied. “Can we please forget about Trimax, and start afresh. I already have two interviews lined up.”
She sighed. “Yes, all right. We will start all over.”
The interviews went well, although the projects were small and the terms were pretty poor. At the back of my mind was our desire to buy our own home. I watched the housing market closely and it was depressing to watch the continuing rise in house prices. To take one of these positions would put us on the back foot and extend our time frame.
I left both interviews thinking “They went well.” They both said they would be in touch.
Maybe the price we would have to pay for wanting a more normal life would be putting off the house search.
I had dinner ready to serve by the time Rose arrived home. She couldn’t hide her smile when her nose twitched at the smell of cooking chicken. We greeted with a warm sweet kiss and she tittered. “Oh god yes. I could get used to this.”
She got changed and we sat down to eat. “How did your interviews go?” She asked.
“They were pretty good, but the money’s shit and they are short term. Only casual, as well, so no sick leave.” She frowned a little. “I started sifting through our files and I have found a couple of possibilities. I did forward them to your email.”
I nodded. “I’ll check after dinner. What are they?”
“Nothing special, first one is a supermarket parking building. The second is some sewer pipe refurbishments.”
She gave me a sideways glance. “I don’t want you to get mad, but I called Carter and that job is still available.”
I gave her an angry stare. “I thought we agreed to leave that.”
She flinched. “Eddie, it is a good job, A job with a future.”
Digging my toes in, I grumbled. “No thanks. Rose, We talked about it. I want to do this myself. I want to get jobs on merit. Not because my new boss wants to shag my wife.”
She scowled. “Can we stop saying that? He offered you that job based on Tony’s recommendation.”
“Exactly what I meant. Your boyfriend’s recommendation is no better.”
“Can we drop that please? He is not my fucking boyfriend. We are just friends.”
“Whatever, lets focus our search on finding something else.”
With a consolatory soft lilt, she added. “Babe, it’s a good job. If you would stop being so stubborn and look at it for what it is… A great prospect, with an actual future.”
Trying to hide my snarl, I griped. “Forget it. Just do your job or don’t, but forget that shit.”
“Fine, be an arse. If you end up working for some second rate company, with poor conditions, it will be your own fault.”
I sneered back. “Sounds good. Let’s just do that. If that’s the way it turns out then you can take great joy in saying, “Told you so”.”
She said wistfully. “Oh don’t worry, I will.”
“Yeah, I know.”
It sort of ruined our quiet fun dinner and an uncomfortable silence seeped into the room.
There was no lovemaking that night, but she did snuggle warmly up to my back.
The morning found me back at the computer searching through situation vacant ads. I stumbled upon one that interested me. Doing some research on the company, it was obvious they were a new company who specialised in inner-city renovation. Their brief was based on providing cheap housing for impoverished families.
The job on offer was interesting: project managing the refurbishment of an old factory into apartment-style living. It didn’t scream out huge salary, but it did sound interesting.
I jumped, filling in an application immediately. In for a penny, in for a pound. If I couldn’t find a high paying job at least I would find something I liked.
There were a couple of others I applied for as well, just in case.
As I was scrolling through some local news feeds, Rose called. “Hon, could we meet for lunch? Don’t bullshit me about being busy. You’re probably watching porn.”
I laughed at her attempt at humour. “No porn, but not busy. Just filled in a couple of job applications. Yeah, where do you want to meet?”
“What about KP’s, it’s close to my office, and you could have a drink if you want?”
“Okay, meet you there at twelve.”
I changed into some tidy clothes and caught a bus into town.
I arrived a bit early, so found a table and ordered a pint.
There were newspapers on the tables and I picked one up and started leafing through the news.
I didn’t see Rose come in. The first thing I knew was she leaned over my shoulder and kissed my cheek. I turned up to return the kiss and was shocked to see Tony and Carter standing behind her.
My heart fell, realising I had been hoodwinked. I complained, “What the fuck, Rose?”
She grimaced. “Don’t overreact. They just want a chance to talk.”
Tony stuck his hand out. “Hello, Edwin. How are you?”
I shook his hand. “Fine.”
Carted followed suit. They all sat down. “All right, what is this supposed to be? An intervention?”
Tony leapt in before Rose could speak. “Edwin, we came here today to try and talk some sense into you. After I talked to you I gave him a call. He agreed to keep the position open for you. He was expecting you to call.”
Rose was about to speak but I cut her off with a curt response. “I didn’t call because I’m not interested. I already have a couple of good offers.”
Carter slid into the conversation. “Edwin, I would like you to work with us at Trimax. After talking to Tony and he gave you a very glowing recommendation, I read your CV. Then talking to Rose I realised you would be the perfect fit for our company. For a young man you have gained a lot of experience, I must say I was impressed. We want you.”
Taking a long gulp out of my pint I growled in response, “I am not interested in working at Trimax. If I was, I would have applied. I didn’t, so end of story.”
Rose spluttered. “Eddie, please, be reasonable. Stop acting like a crazy man. It is a good offer.”
“Stop worrying about your fee, Rose. I said no.”
“Why would you turn your nose up at a good offer, Edwin?” Tony interjected.
“I like to earn my jobs. I work hard. I have a good reputation. I want the job for those reasons. Not because you want to get into Rose’s knickers.”
He scowled, his teeth gnashing as he swallowed what I expect was going to be a nasty response. “Edwin, we talked about this. The offer is not based on some nefarious motive.”
“Really, then why did you feel it necessary to recommend me to Carter?”
“Because when I spoke to Rose she said you were in the market for a job. She sent me your CV and I forwarded it to Carter.”
“Why?” I snapped back.
Scowling, he said, “Because Rose and I are friends. That is what friends do.”
I checked out the menu the waiter dropped off. “I’m having the steak pie. What do you want, Rose?”
Totally frustrated, she grumbled. “I’m not hungry.”
“Then why are we here?”
“Because when I told Tony you were turning down Carter’s offer he thought a meeting might be the best way to deal with it.”
“And you decided not to mention that we would be having company.”
“I didn’t tell you because I knew how you would be. Look, if you would put away your silly jealousy and insecurity and see this for what it is. You would realise it is the right call. It is a good job.”
I finished my pint and stood up. “I’m going to get a refill. Anybody else want something?”
Tony gave me a slow head shake as he glanced at Carter who was rolling his eyes. I wandered over to the bar. I picked up my beer and took a sip as I glanced back at the table. They were all in deep discussion, leaning close together, like spies plotting.
I wandered back slowly, timing my arrival with my food turning up.
As I sat down and picked up my utensils, Carter looked me in the eye. “I think I may as well go. You aren’t interested, are you?”
When I shook my head he growled. “It would have been better if you didn’t waste my time.”
I replied caustically, “I didn’t. I did not invite you here. I never applied for a job with your company.”
He turned to Rose and sniped. “I am losing faith, Rose. In future do not waste my time.” He walked off and Tony gave me an angry glare. “You have burned a bridge there, old man. Not a good way to establish a reputation.”
“I didn’t do anything. I came here to have lunch with my wife. Not to meet with you or him. Not my fault.”
“You could have been polite, actually considered it. You had already made your mind up and that is the sign of a very narrow minded individual. Perhaps I over estimated your potential.”
Taking a long sip of my pint I shot back, “Perhaps you did. You weren’t invited here by me and your attendance is not appreciated. Rose may think you’re something, but I don’t see it.”
He leaned towards me. “Edwin, I could help you if you gave me a chance. There is no need for animosity.”
“While you’re interfering in my marriage I maintain my right to be polite or not. I would much rather you stayed away from my wife. I don’t appreciate your stalking her.”
“Eddie!” Rose snarled contemptuously. “Stop it, you’re behaving like a mad man.”
“Yeah, whatever. Rose, consider yourself sacked. I will find my own job. If you can’t do as your clients ask, I wonder how you get by.”
Her face dropped and she gasped. Tony shook his head. “I think I will take my leave. Good luck, Edwin. I wish you well.” He stuck his hand out but I looked away.
As he walked away, Rose snarled, “You rude thoughtless bastard. You were so disrespectful. They were trying to help you.”
“They were trying to win your favour. It had nothing to do with me. They don’t even know me. This is all about them wanting to shag you.”
She threw back her chair and leaned across the table. Our faces barely inches apart. “You are a fucking idiot. Jesus, Eddie. You jealous insecure idiot.”
As she went to walk away she touched my shoulder lightly. “I am so ashamed of you. That was humiliating. They are successful business men who were going out of their way to help you.”
As she leaned her weight on me I muttered. “Did you ever give one seconds thought to why they would offer to help a man they have met only once in their whole life? I spoke less than two words to Carter. He doesn’t know me from a bar of soap.”
“They were doing it as a favour to me.”
“Finally you have got it. They weren’t interested in me. By giving me a job they got one step closer to shagging you. Favour paid.”
“Oh for fucks sake, how insecure are you?” She stormed off with a crowd of startled customers staring at her.
I finished my lunch and had another pint.
Rose arrived home late. I hadn’t prepared any dinner, but she didn’t seem to care. She didn’t even say hello. She went straight upstairs, ran a bath and stayed their till bedtime.
I watched a couple of movies and went to bed late.
She was gone when I got up. That was to become our nightly ritual. Friday she walked in and snapped. “Trimax filled that position,” threw her bag down and stormed up the stairs.
She returned later dressed to go out and flippantly said. “I’m going out for dinner with Claire.”
I didn’t even look up. She was gone with nothing more than a slam of the front door.
I decided I was sick of sitting around the house and went down the pub. Luckily, there were some people I knew, and a pint led to another and another. Before I really knew what was happening I was drunk. I chatted to a couple of birds, not seriously trying to pick them up, but we flirted and it was a lot of fun. One of the birds, Colleen, seemed interested and she got handsy and in my face. It got serious quickly.
I escaped by going to the loo. When I came back she had her back to me and I snuck out. The walk home certainly woke me up. It gave me time to drunkenly consider what was going on in my marriage. Since Rose met Tony she had become a different person. She had always been a smart intelligent person, but since meeting him she was obsessed with him. It was always Tony this, tony that. Add Claire into the mix and it was all I heard.
In my opinion she was infatuated with him. I doubted she was with Claire. I guessed she was probably with him now. She had probably already shagged him. It pissed me off.
When I got home it was in darkness. Probably off fucking the slimy fucking arsehole. I staggered up the stairs, turned on the light in the bedroom. Rose groaned. “Turn the lights off.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”
“Where else would I be?”
“Oh I don’t know, fucking Tony, or maybe getting double teamed with Carter. Got to pay back your debt somehow.”
“Fuck, you are an idiot. I never realised how paranoid, and neurotic you are. For your information, I was with Claire. We went to dinner.”
“Why should I believe you?”
“I just fucking told you.”
“Yeah you’ve told me lots of shit lately and most of it is lies or trickery.”
“Trickery… What the fuck?”
“You conned me into going to lunch with you, because you knew fucking well I didn’t want to talk to those two arseholes.”
She rolled over in the bed pulling the blankets over her. “Fuck you, Eddie, I give up.”
I staggered around and stripped off before climbing in.
I was dragged from the deepest sleep by clanging and banging. I prised open my eyes and peeked out to find Rose sorting through dresser drawers and flinging shit around.
“Aw fuck,” I moaned, as I pulled the blankets over my head. She eventually went downstairs and I took the time to adjust my eyes to the light streaming in. I stretched out with a yawn. “What the fuck was going on? How did we get to this?”
I showered and went downstairs. It was about ten-thirty, and the place was empty. There was a note on the table from Rose. “Gone shopping.”
I made a cup of tea and went for a walk. I stopped off at the bakery and brought a coffee and croissant.
Grabbing a newspaper from the newsagent, I wandered back home. Rose had returned. She was busy doing laundry and shit. Ignoring her, I flopped on the sofa with my newspaper. She came and went, flitting around busily she made all sorts of noise.
By dinnertime, we still hadn’t spoken to each other. Things had exploded and now we couldn’t even look at each other, let alone actually communicate.
Sick of the silence, I pulled on a jacket and announced, “I’m going down the pub.”
“Yeah, go on, fuck off,” she snarled as I slammed the door behind me. The walk down the pub was terrible. I felt bad for the way things had gone, but I didn’t know what to do. After a couple of pints, my friends from the other night arrived and we fell into conversation. That turned into laughter and more drinks.
Coleen, the woman I chatted up announced, “There’s a DJ playing up the road. Who’s coming?” She gave me a pleading look. Fuck it. “Yeah, I’m in,” I yelled.
The whole crowd staggered up the road to the King’s Arms where the DJ was.
We burst in and Colleen fell into my arms as we danced. Soon her lips were on mine and we kissed passionately. Her body writhed against me and my cock swelled at the contact. I was feeling annoyed and ignored by Rose. Suddenly this woman was all over me, and my testosterone raged.
Don’t get me wrong. Colleen was no raving beauty, but she was young, buxom and there. We danced, we kissed and I was quickly reaching the point of no return. She purred in my ear. “Do you want to come back to my place?”
“Oh, fuck yes,” I moaned in response. We stepped out into the cool night air and my world exploded. Her boyfriend had me by the arms and shook me like a rag doll. “I should break your fucking neck you dirty bastard.”
“Hey man, chill. I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”
He gave me a hard shove. “Fuck off before I knock your fucking block off.”
She was in his arms crying. “Sorry, babe, we were just dancing.”
I staggered away before it escalated any further. I am no fighter, that’s for sure.
I staggered in at home, and like the previous night the place was in darkness.
She was in bed, this time I took my time, left the lights off and snuck between the sheets.
“Oh my god, where have you been?” Rose snarled.
“Just down the pub, nothing special.”
She leaned over pressing her nose up against my neck. “Yeah, well who was the cheap skank?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
She flicked the light on and flung the blankets off as I yelped. “Hey, it’s cold.” I reached for the blankets as she squealed. “You fucking prick. Who was she?”
“What are you talking about? I was just down the pub.”
“Yeah, then that barman needs a kick up the arse for giving you these fucking lovebites. Since when have you been gay?”
I jumped out of bed and staggered into the bathroom to pee. As I spilled a few fluid ounces into the porcelain, I stared in the mirror. Oh fuck. My neck was covered. Jesus, I didn’t even know.
I slumped down onto the toilet, the cold porcelain cooling my arse cheeks.
I tried to gather my senses to put up some sort of defence, but there was no coming back from this. “Damn, what a fool,” I muttered.
Rose was sitting up in bed waiting. “Okay, Eddie, no lies. Who was she?”
“I’m sorry, this looks worse than it is. We went down to the King’s Arms and there was a DJ. We danced and this bird sort of got her hooks into me. There was nothing in it.”
“You hypocritical bastard. You lambaste me for doing nothing and all the time you’re out there fucking around. You are a fucking wanker, you know.”
“I’m sorry, but nothing happened. She just got carried away.”
“Oh yeah, and if I came home covered in fucking love bites what would you say? Christ I have lunch with a friend and you accuse me of having sex with him.”
I went to climb back into bed and she snarled. “Like hell, you can sleep on the sofa. I am not smelling that skanks cheap perfume all night.”
It made sense. My head was throbbing and I didn’t feel like a fight. I wandered down to the lounge and crashed.
The next day exploded as could be expected. The fight was cataclysmic and it was hard to see any way back. I accused her of being in no position to comment on my position, seeing as how she was shagging Tony.
She accused me of hypocrisy, seeing as how I was obviously banging some bird.
In the end, I packed up my laptop and some papers and my clothes, well, as many as I could fit in a couple of suitcases. As I drove away with no clue of where I was going, I wished like hell I had taken that job in Wales.
I found a cheap hotel on the outskirts of town and settled in for the night. I was exhausted. It’s amazing how tiring fighting can be. I crashed and woke about four in the morning.
Monday finally brought some good news. The job I had applied for wanted me to go in for an interview.
I heard nothing from Rose. I got dressed and headed off. Their offices were set up at the site. Mark the boss. No CEO here. It was Mark’s company and there was no HR; this was his gig. We chatted for a while about the role and what it encompassed. He talked a little about his vision and how he wanted to do something positive for the people. He was an idealist and he was passionate, man he was so passionate, about this project.
I was sold and after a brief look over the contract I signed and agreed to start ASAP. I tried to give Rose a call that night, but she was not prepared to talk. I paced around the little hotel room getting more and more agitated.
There was no way I could stay there, it was driving me crazy. I went for a walk. This was a bad part of town and not really safe. That was obvious as I walked out of the complex. People yelling and screaming. Domestics going on everywhere. Luckily, I found a pub. Had something to eat and a pint. I started at site the very next day. It was better than hanging around the hotel room.
The job was amazing: a small team that Mark had put together. He was the architect, the designer and he needed me for the civils. We worked through a plan for demolition. As we walked around, Mark commented, “What annoys me is these old timbers and materials are too good. I have advertised to sell them, but no buyers. It takes too much time and we don’t have storage room.”
I suggested we hire a yard to store it. “No, too much money. Then any money we make goes to storage and transport. Cheaper to just dump it.”
As the day wore on I could see what he meant. There were some incredible building materials, far too good to dump. I started to formulate a plan.
A year or so earlier I met a guy who had a small life style block out of town. After a brief conversation, he said I could store stuff out there at his place if I could do some work for him.
Next was Mark. I caught him in the office. “What if I take all the old rubbish for nothing. No dump fees, no transportation fees. I take it all?”
He smiled. “That would be perfect, but it mustn’t stall the project. It would just be nice to see them go to good use.”
As we talked he asked, “What are you going to do with them.”
“A few years ago I had a vision for building my own house. It was a dream and I never really got my wife on board. Now I’m not sure it’s going to be an issue. Working here, that dream has started to grow again.”
He gave me a hug. “It sounds fabulous.”
We made a pretty good team and it was good to be valued and listened to. By the end of the week I had cleared away the old bricks and large timber beams. I scheduled to remove the old roof slates over the next week.
My life suddenly had meaning. I enjoyed going to work. The only killer was the hotel. I hated it, and it was expensive.
It was time to tackle Rose. She still didn’t answer my calls, so it was time to go home and face the music.
Walking in at home felt weird. Rose was there and she was curled up on the sofa. When she saw me she scowled. “What do you want?”
“I want to talk, to see if we can find some common ground. Get past the anger.”
She sat up and I sat beside her. “I’m sorry for what happened, Rose. I never slept with that girl. It was just some dirty dancing and snogging.”
“Why should I believe you?” she snapped.
“For the same reason you expect me to believe you.”
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you. I told you I never slept with Tony, but you kept throwing it back in my face.”
“That’s because you kept telling me lies. You set me up. Dragged me off to a swingers party. Told me you had the hots for him, then go off on lunch dates with him and expect me to just go with it.”
She started to cry, soft little tears. She wiped her hand across her eyes. “I know I fucked up, but I promise I never did anything.”
“Neither did I.”
She nodded. “Okay then, where do we go from here. How do we fix this?”
“From my perspective, it’s easy. I want you to stop seeing Tony. No lunches, no business meetings, nothing. Then hopefully we can get back to having a normal life.”
“Why the hell should I have to stop seeing Tony? He is my friend and he has become my mentor. He is amazing. The things he has taught me about people, body language, reading people. He is really good. Plus, Claire is my friend.”
Swallowing hard I replied. “Will you be happy with me seeing Colleen then?”
“Who the fuck is Colleen?”
“She’s the one who gave me the hickeys.”
“Oh, hell no. There’s no bloody way I am putting up with that shit.”
“So you can see your boyfriend, but I can’t see mine?”
She snarled viciously. “He’s not my boyfriend, you imbecile. Why can’t you understand.”
“He kissed you that night at the party, he danced with you like lovers. Just Like Colleen did with me. I hate the fact he is meddling in our affairs. I hate the fact you listen to him over me.”
She grabbed my hand. “That’s silly, I don’t do that.”
“Yes, you do. You let him con you into going to that swingers party. He convinced you that job was what I needed. Even though I told you I wasn’t interested.”
She huffed. “Believe it or not, that job was the right call. You were just to insecure to see it.”
“It might have been a good job, but I told you I didn’t want it. That should have been enough, but no, you listened to him. You set up that bloody meeting.”
“I’m sorry, babe, but I was doing the right thing. You asked me to find you a job. That job was perfect for you.”
“Okay, we are just going round in circles. Can we move forward. Try again?”
She sighed. “I want to, I really do, but you have to learn to trust me.”
“I do trust you. I don’t trust him, but I do trust you.”
“So long as you trust me, it doesn’t matter.”
We leaned in and our arms circled one another and we kissed. A soft juicy succulent kiss.
“Where have you been staying?”
“A poxy hotel. It’s bloody awful.”
“Well go and get your things. I’ll get some dinner while you are gone.”
As I stood up, she sighed. “Then I guess we better see about finding you a job.”
When I returned, she had dinner on the table. As we ate I stated rather proudly. “No need to look for a job, I started with a firm.”
She asked who, and I went on to explain the project. The look on her face was pure disdain. “God, you turned down a great job to work for some fly-by-night cowboys. I will never understand you.”
“Why do you think they’re cowboys?”
“Just from what you said: this is their first project, small team, shit money, no offices. Sounds like trouble.”
“I like it. I am really enjoying it.”
“Oh well, to each their own. You could have been working for a top notch firm, large projects. Everything you ever talked about.”
Our life together kick started. For the most part it was better. We talked a little more and I think there was a certain honesty that wasn’t there before. The fly in the ointment was Tony; if anything, his influence over Rose had grown. We couldn’t have a conversation without his name coming up.
It drove me crazy and after putting up with it for a month I blew up.
“Shut up!” I screamed. “I am sick of hearing his fucking name. I don’t want to know what Tony is doing, saying, or what he thinks. From now on, leave his name out of our conversation.”
She looked confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how he is part of every conversation we have. I want to have a week or a month where I never hear his name. What I am asking is that he disappear from our conversations.”
That irritated her and I could see she was unhappy.
Over the next few weeks things got tense. Every time his name popped up, I said, “Stop.” It always drew a look of complete confusion and a “What?”
It certainly exposed the number of times his name appeared in our conversation. I hoped it would make her aware, because she seemed completely oblivious to it.
It irritated her, that’s for sure.
Life goes on, as they say. We see-sawed from loving to hating each other. The good days were amazing, like old times, but when they were bad, well, look out, our world exploded in nasty accusation filled arguments. We both said some pretty horrible things to each other. I regretted it immediately when some nasty retort spewed from my out of control mouth.
I’m sure she felt the same way. Of course we apologised, but in many ways once those words are out, there’s no going back.
I was apparently a neurotic, insecure, jealous and controlling man, who had trust issues. Fair enough, I suppose. Some of that was true. I was jealous, and perhaps even the insecure bit was right.
We rollercoastered along, fighting like belligerent antagonists, We fought with the passion of the severest combatants.
My only escape was work. I worked hard, totally immersed in the project. Mark’s passion rubbed off on me. I began to understand him better. He grew up in areas just like this, and his family suffered ill health from damp mould-ridden old houses. This was his attempt at providing cost effective accommodation for poor needy families.
Rose seemed to be heading in the opposite direction and our lines of communication suffered. We appeared to be drifting in opposite directions. She spent hours out shopping with Claire. Her tastes now seemed to be tied to labels and fashionable brands.
Evenings, she immersed herself in her computer. I wasn’t sure what she was doing, but she spent hours on her laptop. Whatever she was doing had her attention. She was totally absorbed in it.
Whenever I tried to peek, she turned or shut down the screen so I couldn’t see. It made me nervous. It got to me and irritated me to the extent one night I exploded. “What the hell are you doing on that damn computer?”
She glared at me angrily. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m not allowed to use Tony’s name. That’s why.”
“What’s he got to do with it?”
“He is teaching me how to do it.”
“Do what?”
“Okay, I will tell you, but don’t bite my head off if his name comes up.”
“Yeah, go on then.” I sighed.
She turned the laptop so I could see the screen. “Tony has been teaching me the ins and outs of day trading on the stock market.”
Didn’t take long for her to squeeze his name in. I sat beside her and she started to explain how it worked, and how Tony had set up her account. Tony was tutoring and mentoring her. Tony was a whizz at it.
It made me anxious. “How much money have you got tied up in it?”
She peeked at me. “None, this is a training program. All the money and shares you see here are make-believe. Tony suggested I learn to use the program before I risk any money.”
Concerned, I asked, “So when were you going to start trading for real?”
“When I am comfortable with the full operation of the program.”
“How often do you see or talk to him about this stuff?”
With a slightly guilty expression she replied, “Every day. Sometimes it’s just over the phone, or via messenger. But every day. I am still a novice.”
I couldn’t hide my dissatisfaction. “I asked you to try and get some sort of separation between you two, and if anything, you have decided to do the opposite. How is this right?”
“Eddie, I can’t help your stupid insecurities, petty jealousy issues. You are so lacking in trust in me that I don’t know how to deal with it. Your resentment and continued suspicious possessiveness is driving me to distraction.”
I could see no way to counter without starting world war three, so I just shut my mouth tightly.
She tried to soften her approach. “Babe, if you could put away all this petty shit you would see how amazingly generous Tony has been. He is trying to show me how to grow our wealth.”
I swallowed my angry retort. She added softly. “Look, hon, with you taking that job our income is down nearly 30%, and if we do want to buy that house we have always talked about then we need to increase earnings.”
It was a slap in the face and her taking another pot shot at me for not taking that job with Trimax. I decided to take a conciliatory path. “Well we need to talk before you commit any money into that. I remember reading that you should only invest what you can afford to lose.”
She nodded. “I was going to talk to you. I would like to start off small, maybe ten thousand pounds. What do you think?”
I coughed, choking on my disbelief. “Ten thousand… shit, how about one thousand?”
She sighed deeply. “You don’t have any faith in me at all, do you?”
“Look at it from my perspective. Today is the first time I have heard any of this and now you want to put a third of our savings at risk.”
She turned back to the screen. “Okay, fair enough. Let me show you how I have been doing.”
I leaned over and she led me through her make believe account. She had indeed been doing well. In her little make-believe world she had turned ten million into nearly twenty mill.
I was impressed, but nervous. “I would prefer you start with a thousand. Turn that into twelve hundred. When that happens we will talk again.”
She smirked. “Is that a challenge?”
With a snigger, I answered nervously. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”
“Done,” she snapped. “I will transfer one thousand tonight. I will get Tony to set up a real account for me.”
That was Rose’s introduction into the world of high finance and the stock market. Every night she was wrapped up in building her portfolio. I didn’t know much about it, but she took such deep pride in how well she was doing, it became her passion.
Our biggest problem was Rose wanted her friendship with Tony and Claire to be an inclusive thing. Our lives were filled with invitations to dinner parties and charity balls at their house. I refused to go. I tried to reaffirm how I considered him to be at the root of all our problems. She thought I was just being petty. That created a rift between us.
I threw myself even deeper into work. Not only that, but salvaging usable materials from work and storing them at my friends property. Within two months, I had stock piled enough material to actually build something.
Mark and I became great friends, more than just colleagues. We, surprisingly, shared many interests. It was during one of our many heart-to-heart chats that we delved into my dreams of building a house. He quickly whipped out his pencil and started to sketch some of my ideas. We made lists of what was required, developed property requirements.
With the development of the list came a search plan. I wanted a rural property, not a residential one. I wanted to be close enough to town to allow an easy commute, but far enough out that we could escape the problems and high costs of a nice suburb.
Rose and I started talking about properties. I explained my dream. Funny, when I talked to Mark he was so supportive. Rose, on the other hand, seemed to like the idea of something rural but she wanted an already established property. She shook her head derisively when I outlined my plans to build something.
She also threw in a comment that Tony advised against building. He suggested we would be better off buying something cheap in a nice area and renovating. That way we would at least be on the property ladder. He actually started sending her some property lists. Realtor names, people he was friends with. It pissed me off that she put such high value on his opinions, but swept aside my dreams.
That created another level of tension between us. She didn’t understand how she disrespected me. Her take on it was: it’s silly to ignore advice from somebody with experience and knowledge. She started to show me properties around local suburbs. Look at this one, or isn’t this one nice.
I, of course, found fault with all of them. It certainly didn’t fit with my dream.
Rose hated my continual refusal to go to dinner parties at Tony’s. It came to a head when their 25th wedding anniversary arrived. Tony had organised a huge party.
The invitation appeared in our mail. Rose threw it on the table before dinner one night. Not knowing what it was, I opened it. As I read it she stated rather loudly. “I want to go.”
Looking her in the eye, I replied, “Then go. I won’t stop you.”
“Eddie, I want us to go as a couple. Please, don’t turn this into a fight.”
Her impassioned plea got to me and after much discussion, read arguing, I gave in and agreed to go.
That meant shopping for a gift, a new dress, shoes, the whole works.
Arriving at the party was mind-blowing. He certainly spared no expense. Spread across the back of their lawn was an enormous marquee. It was bloody huge. There were lights everywhere, caterers and a band. When we arrived, the place was already full to overflowing with people. The driveway looked like a prestigious car sales yard. There were makes of every expensive car known to mankind.
We were met at the door by security, who escorted us around the back. When Claire saw us arrive she ran over and wrapped Rose in a tight embrace. When they unfolded from their embrace, Claire turned to me. “Hello, Edwin.”
I responded with a curt. “Hello.”
We had been not exactly at war, but things had been cold between us, I did my best to ignore her. That had created a big divide between us. This was as cordial as we had been for sometime.
She grabbed Rose’s hand and led us through to the marquee. The crowd was huge. Tony spotted our arrival and walked over. He and Rose fell into a tight embrace and a kiss. Nothing sexual, just a light peck.
After they finished, he stretched out his hand. “Hello, Edwin. Nice to see you again.” I wanted to ignore it, but that was obviously going to create a scene. I shook his hand. “Thanks, Anthony.”
We moved inside and Claire led Rose off to mingle with her friends. That left Tony and I standing together. He glanced at me as silence surrounded us like a cloak. He soon got sick of it and disappeared to talk to his friends.
I wandered around aimlessly. Most of the men were wearing tuxedos, the women in flowing formal gowns.
I spotted Carter in a group talking. The moment he spotted me he turned away. That bridge obviously burnt.
I found one guy who looked untidy, standing by himself. He looked as uncomfortable as I did. I wandered over and said hello. Turns out he was a local farmer.
He was a nice bloke and we easily fell into conversation. He talked about his farm, which was pleasant. He had a broad Brummy accent. Very working class. No snobby raised nose there. He walked me over and introduced me to his wife Beth.
As we talked I explained what I did for a living and he nodded along. Somehow we ended up talking about my dream to build my own house, and I was searching for something rural. He gave me a frown. “Are you serious, laddie?”
“Yes, that’s my dream.”
He leaned in a little closer as we both walked to the bar for fresh beers. “Come and see me tomorrow. I just might have something that would interest you.”
I copied down his number and address.
Just then, Rose came bustling up, “Where the hell have you been?”
“Talking to Gordon here,” I said.
He stuck out his hand and said, “Hello young lady.”
Rose smiled sweetly at him before grabbing my hand and dragging me away. “Come on, I want to introduce you to some people,” she said. The ‘people’ all turned out to be high-rolling friends of Tony’s who Rose was trying to impress. I didn’t really fit in. That was obvious right from the outset. “What do you do, Edwin?”
“Engineering.”
“Do you own your own company?”
“Na, just working for a friend.”
There was the inevitable silence until the group picked up where they left off. Rose tried to get me to join in, but it was too difficult. They were talking stocks, shares, sales and stuff that went over my head. I stood on the outer for a few minutes until I got sick of being an extra.
I patted Rose on the arm to get her attention. “I’m going to the bar. Do you want something?”
She sighed. “Champagne, please.”
I stayed over at the bar for a while. A couple of young guys turned up. One was from the band. We slipped into a conversation. Music and the industry. It was entertaining, and at least he wasn’t a snooty prick.”
Rose turned up by my side looking peeved. “What happened to my champagne?”
“Sorry, I got talking to Jake.”
She ordered her drink and Jake wandered away to get ready for their set.
“Eddie, why did you walk away. I was hoping you might try to at least join in.”
“Rose, you and I both know I don’t fit in here.”
“Babe, you could if you tried. There are several guys here from Trimax. Why don’t you try to get to know them?”
“Yeah, if we bump into them, at least we would share something in common.”
She wandered off and I was left wandering around by myself.
Claire must have felt sorry for me. She wandered over to stand beside me. “Wonderful party isn’t it, Edwin?”
“Yeah, very cool.”
Sipping her champagne, she sighed. “Why are you so sad? You look like a lost puppy, like you don’t have a friend in the world.”
“I am a fish out of water here.”
“Why don’t you go over and talk to Tony. He would love to chat.”
“I don’t think he is any more interested in talking to me, than I am in talking to him,” I said.
“Why are you so antagonistic and belligerent towards him?”
“Because he is meddling in my marriage. Bloody Rose is infatuated with him.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration. I think she appreciates the fact he is prepared to help her.”
“Let’s not bullshit each other, Claire. She has the hots for him and him for her. He is only helping so he can get her into bed.”
“Edwin, that is a particularly loathsome accusation. He is trying to help out a friend.”
I took a gulp of my beer. “You don’t have to try and soft sell me, Claire. It’s obvious to anybody who sees them together. Look at them over there, he can’t keep his bloody hands off her.”
“Edwin, there is nothing going on. I think there is an obvious connection, but I know my husband very well and he has never cheated or induced anybody into cheating in his life. We all know your stance. You made that abundantly clear at the party.”
“Oh, he is far sneakier than you think. He wedged himself between Rose and myself by pretending to do me a big favour. Getting me a job with his mate. The reason? Just so he could prove to her how important he is, how influential. No guesses what the price would be.”
She pulled on my arm twisting me to look into her eyes. “Is that why you turned down the job with Carter?”
I nodded. “Absolutely. I do not want to ever owe that man anything.”
“Good Lord, Edwin. That is a repulsive thing to say. He has done nothing to make you think that. He has been nothing but helpful to Rose, and to you, if you had been clever enough to see it.”
I finished my beer and announced, “I’m going to the bar.”
Standing with my back to the crowd, I ordered another beer. As I stood there trying to clear my mind Claire appeared beside me again. “Edwin, can we talk?”
We walked over to a quiet corner. “Edwin, you have to let this anger towards the world go. You are endangering your marriage. Rose and I have become very dear friends, and as friends do we talk.”
She rubbed my arm vigorously as she said. “Edwin, she is running out of patience waiting for you to get past this.”
“Get past what?”
“All these insecurities, the lack of trust, the suspicion. You are so antagonistic towards Tony. They have formed a strong bond and you having this resentment, and rancour towards him is going to destroy your relationship.”
“Claire, can’t you see that it is him interfering in my life that is driving the wedge between us?”
“You can be an insufferable bugger, Edwin. I am trying to help.”
The band started up and Claire wandered away shaking her head. It pissed me off that nobody could see my perspective.
I watched as people started to filter onto the dance floor. Soon the place was swelled with dancers swishing their way around the makeshift dance floor.
I wandered outside to get a little fresh air. I heard some giggling and laughter from around the corner of the marquee away from where the porter loos were situated. I was shocked to see Rose clustered together tightly with Tony, Carter and another couple of guys.
They were very tightly huddled together, and as they leaned in closer, the acrid aroma of marijuana wafted across. They were smoking pot. I watched as the blunt was passed from hand to hand.
Bloody hell. I stood spying on them for a few minutes before they broke up and returned inside.
As I walked over to the bar, I felt arms wrap around my waist. I turned and Rose gave me a sloppy kiss. “Hey, stranger, where have you been?”
I sniggered, “More importantly, where have you been?”
She giggled in a girlish tone. “Outside.”