Lunch Date

If you do not like stories of temptation, human frailty, and redemption, please do not read this story. You will not enjoy it. But, if you take solace that there are husbands who fight to save their marriages I bid thee read on.

Today's story comes from southeastern Wisconsin. As always, I am a mere scribe, presenting a story which was told to me by those who lived it. They swear their story is true. I will leave that to the reader to decide. All names and places have been changed.

Constructive criticism is always welcome. Ad hominem attacks will, of course, be deleted.

If you enjoy this missive I encourage you to read my earlier works. Thank you.

*****

Friday morning, make that casual Friday morning, my wife Becky dressed to the nines; a knee length red dress with sheer black pantyhose. A pair of high heels completed the ensemble.

"Damn, you look incredible." I feigned ignorance when I asked, "What are you all dolled up for?"

"Nothing special, I just felt like dressing up."

Now you have to know my wife to know how truly bizarre that statement was. This was a woman who lived for denim. Monday through Thursday she had to wear nice clothes to work but on Friday her uniform was designer jeans tucked into a pair of black leather boots with a blouse or sweater. Never in the five years we were married did it vary. And she certainly did not dress this nice Monday through Thursday.

"If you're going to dress this fine I'm taking you out dancing tonight. I'll make dinner reservations for six."

"Okay." That's all she said; okay. Not where. Just okay.

I wanted to press the issue but had to make a business call to the east coast before I left for the office. I will admit my mind was distracted by how hot my wife looked...knowing why bothered me even more.

She gave me a cursory kiss before leaving for work.

Becky was one of twelve Tech Assistants at a major automotive tool supplier. Their job was to be a liaison between the forty plus sales reps and the warehouse, entering their orders into the system and sending confirmation e-mails to the customers.

For the last few weeks Becky had been acting a little strange. Nothing big but rather a slew of little things. The one that really stood out was she kept mentioning one of the new sales reps, Vince Davis. She often came home frustrated by how clueless some of the reps were but it seemed every day she had some amusing anecdote about Vince. He could do no wrong.

This grabbed my attention and I decided to do a little detective work. Becky always sleeps in on Saturdays; I got up at my usual six AM, poured a cup of coffee, and began reading her e-mails. Most of them were dribble, of no interest to anyone. Undaunted, I kept looking and struck pay dirt when I checked the trash. My wife had dutifully deleted each e-mail from Vince as well as her responses but never bothered to empty the trash can.

I copied everything they exchanged on a thumb drive for safe keeping then started reading them. I found it odd he would be sending business messages to her personal account but their tone soon changed to flirtatious. Then they got very personal with him commenting on what she wore and speculating on what kind of lingerie was under it. Becky responded like a love sick fourteen year old girl, teasing him right back. I found it very difficult to control my rage as the electronic messages approached the present date. He cranked up the bullshit and she ate it up.

I almost smashed her laptop when I read how the bastard shifted to high weasel and tried talking her into going commando to work. When she said she only did that for her husband he whined like a sick puppy trying to get her to agree to at least wear a shear pair of panties to work. I smiled when she shut him down.

That didn't stop him. The next night he tried to talk her into sending a naked selfie but thankfully she turned him down flat. But it was obvious he was comfortable enough to escalate his virtual seduction.

I was tempted to confront her the moment she woke up but realized I needed to cool off or I might kill her. I left a note on the table that I had some errands to run. I conveniently forgot my cell phone on the counter. I spent a lot of time talking to myself, trying to decide my next move. It was dark when I returned. Becky threw her arms around me and said she was worried something happened to me.

"I called your mom and your friends but nobody had seen you. Where were you? Why didn't you call?"

I bit my tongue and didn't say what my mind was screaming. Instead I said, "I had a lot to think about."

On Sunday Becky surprised me with wake up sex. She was an absolute vixen in bed; knowing what she was hiding sucked all the romance out of her performance. She noticed my lack of enthusiasm and asked, "Are you feeling alright?" I ignored her question and avoided her the rest of my day.

On Monday morning I checked her trash can again and found over two dozen messages exchanged while she was so worried about me. There wasn't a single message to anyone asking if they had seen her wayward husband.

They averaged a couple of messages a day for the rest of the week. The weasel was worming his way deep into her mind.

Then, in the immortal words of Alice in Wonderland, things got curiouser and curiouser. On Friday evening Davis announced he had saved Becky's job. I read with great curiosity his claim to have found an error in pricing a nationwide contract so big that she would have been fired for sure.

That sounded like a crock as Becky was a mathematical genius who balanced our checkbook every month without even using a calculator.

When I read his next message I knew he was setting her up. He kept reminding Becky that she said she owed him big time. For his big time reward he wanted to take her someplace special for a lunch date, just the two of them. He used several double entendres to make it clear what he expected to nibble on.

Becky seemed oblivious to what he was saying.

The last message was dated Wednesday. He reminded her he took a big risk covering her error and he would probably lose his job if his supervisor learned what he had done.

Becky wanted him to assure her it was just two friends going to lunch together. His reply got my blood boiling, "Yeah, just two friends...who are going to become much closer friends."

Then he gave specific instructions on what she was to wear to their private lunch date.

When I saw what she was wearing that morning I knew I had to move fast to save my marriage.

Becky had lunch every day from 11:30-12:30. At 11:25 I showed up unannounced to take my wife to lunch. I got the strangest looks from several of the women I passed, as though they shared a dirty secret.

When I presented myself at Becky's work station she damn near screamed, "What are you doing here!" This drew even more attention.

"Do I need a reason for taking my beautiful wife on a lunch date?"

Becky's eyes opened wide as she stammered, "Uh, I can't. Did you forget we're going out to dinner tonight...besides I'm going to lunch with Mary Beth and Irene." Both gave her a look which I interpreted as don't suck me into your cess pool.

Irene spoke first, "Girl, ain't nothin' more important than you going to lunch with your husband."

Mary Beth shook her head, "You know I always bring my lunch."

"Looks like you're stuck with me." I gave my best Cheshire cat grin.

Becky looked as nervous as a whore in church as I extended my hand to her. Just then a smarmy looking man in a cheap suit strode in. He was a typical sleazy salesman, always on and full of shit. He started to say, "Who's ready to go to..." but didn't finish the sentence.

He froze when he saw me holding my wife's hand. I could hear the other Tech Assistants giggling behind me. I was glad I wore my brand new tailored suit. I looked like success; he looked like a used car salesman.

"Uh Alex, this is Vince Davis." He extended his hand. I ignored it and said, "My wife and I will be back in one hour." He just stood there shifting his weight from foot to foot and looking stupid before finally asking one of the ladies a lame question regarding an out of stock item.

I had taken the liberty of stopping at a deli and had a very nice lunch waiting in my car. I spread it out on one of the picnic tables the company provided. Becky was talking a mile a minute about work but somehow never mentioned Davis. So I did.

"If I didn't know better I would have thought that pompous ass was under the impression he was taking you to lunch."

Becky started choking on her roast beef sandwich. I handed her something to drink and asked, "Honey, is there something you want to tell me?"

Her silence lasted for well over a minute. She didn't look me in the eye when she finally began speaking. "I really screwed up a big order. I priced the product so low I probably would have been fired. Vince caught the error and corrected it. I told him I owed him big time. It's just an expression people say all the time."

"Vince said he wanted to go on a lunch date to repay him for saving my job."

"So this morning when you said, 'I just felt like dressing up' you weren't being truthful with me."

"Uhhh, well he said he wanted me to look nice."

"You let that piece of shit tell you what to wear!"

"It's, I mean, he like asked...well...uh...yeah, I guess he told me to wear a red dress."

"You do know every woman you work with thinks you're having an affair with him."

Becky screamed, "Who told you that!"

"I could see it on their faces as I walked by."

"I...I...I..." she stammered.

"Let me guess, he's been hovering around you, bringing you coffee, telling jokes."

"No, I mean yes. I mean he was just being friendly."

"Friendly? Did he bring coffee for any of the other eleven women who do the same exact job for him as you?"

"No, but...but..."

"Your co-workers aren't blind. They saw him grooming you just like they noticed you wearing a dress on casual Friday."

It took several minutes but Becky finally admitted the attention stroked her ego and she developed a stupid school girl crush on him, "It was exciting sneaking around, teasing each other...but we were just playing. He knew I would never do anything with him."

"Either you're an idiot or you think I'm an idiot. Becky, I read the e-mails. Why do you think he blackmailed you into going on a private lunch date? The man was going to have sex with you, whether you wanted it or not."

"No he's...I mean, no...he wouldn't... he knows I'm married. I would never cheat on you."

"Maybe not physically, "I touched my index finger to her forehead, "but you did in here. And that's every bit as bad."

Becky started crying. I wrapped my arm around her and said, "You betrayed me...you betrayed our wedding vows. And actions have consequences. Give me one good reason why I should stay married to a woman I can't trust."

She began sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath. She finally managed to squeak out, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry. You're sorry!" I screamed. "That's not a reason. That's something a cheating wife says when she gets caught. If I hadn't showed up when I did he would be fucking you right now." I took my arm off her shoulder and got up to leave.

That slammed her back to reality. She screamed "No!" and lunged forward to grab my leg.

"Let go. I'm leaving."

She sounded like an asthmatic sucking for a breath as she choked out, "Don't go. I've got a bunch of reasons. You saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life." She paused to compose herself. "You, you're the only man I ever loved. You're the only man I ever wanted." There were long pauses as she struggled to breathe. Tears and snot rolled down her face. "From the day I met you I wanted you. Without you I don't want to live. Please forgive me... I'm such an idiot...Tell me what I have to do to make things right and I'll do it. Anything. Please don't leave me." She collapsed to her knees and began sobbing.

I waited for a couple of minutes before I lifted her face in my hands and said, "I love you too much not to forgive you...but we will talk a lot more about this when we get home." I handed her my handkerchief. "Now wipe your face you look like hell."

Becky jumped up and shouted for joy, "I love you so much!" She threw her arms around me and gave me the best kiss ever. We sat in silence for several minutes, my arms wrapped around my wife, squeezing tight.

I checked the time then asked, "Are you ready to face your co-workers?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Then the hour is nigh at hand to set things right."

I cleaned up the table then escorted my wife back to her work station. I looked around for Davis but he was smart enough to stay out of sight. Two of her co-workers came over and introduced themselves. Becky sat down and hung her head in shame.

In a loud voice I asked them to keep an eye on my wife because I was afraid her red dress would attract human scum. Just because I forgave her didn't mean I would forget her indiscretion.

You should have seen the shit eating grins on their faces; both asked for my business card so they could keep me in the loop. I wrote my cell phone number on the back.

Becky's face was as red as her dress.

My last stop was Human Relations where I introduced myself to Ms. Gladys Whyte, Director of Personnel. Ms. Whyte looked like a refugee from a 1950's black and white movie. I could even detect a hint of witch hazel and mothballs hovering over her silver hair.

I introduced myself and asked for a few minutes of her time.

"How may I help you Mr. Niles?"

"I believe we can help each other. My wife, Becky, Rebecca to you, is a Tech Assistant."

"Ah, the legendary scarlet lady. I take it you are here to defend her honor." Ms. Whyte may have been ancient but she had a keen sense of irony. "You are not the first person to seek an audience with me regarding the situation. Unfortunately, your wife has become quite the topic of conversation."

I reached in my suit coat pocket and took out an envelope. "This may seem a bit unorthodox but I would like to file a sexual harassment complaint against one of your sales reps."

"Let me guess. Vince Davis." A thin smile cracked her weathered face. "You are correct Mr. Niles, this is highly unusual. But you have my curiosity piqued. Please proceed."

"My wife is the most dedicated employee you have but at 5:00 PM she switches identities and forgets her job until 8 the next morning. However, for the last few weeks she seems to be unable to carry on a dinner conversation without mentioning Davis. What he did, what he said...ad nauseam."

"This did not escape my attention. So I began doing a little detective work. I get up a half hour before my wife and used that time to search her computer every morning.

"It took all of my self control to not scream when I read the Davis' e-mails. The first couple were work related. Then he started flirting with her. He even tried to talk her into going to work without panties."

"Oh my," Ms. Whyte said.

"Then last week he sent an e-mail claiming he caught a significant error on a large order she input, an error that would have priced the product below production costs. He said he corrected the pricing and reentered the order with no one being the wiser. She foolishly said she 'owed him big time' for saving her job."

"Davis started pressuring her to going on a private lunch date so she could properly thank him. He was harassing her at work in addition to the e-mails."

"Becky kept reminding him she was happily married and hoped she didn't give him the wrong impression. He finally wore her down and she agreed to have lunch in a restaurant but that was all. As you can see his idea of her 'owing him big time' had nothing to do with buying her a burger and fries."

I handed her the printed out e-mails.

"One moment Mr. Niles. Our sales reps do not have access to the billing portion of our program. He could not have done what he claims."

She picked up her phone and punched in a few numbers. "Fortunately we have a keystroke logging program. We'll know in a few minutes what actually happened."

"William I need your wizardry." She explained what Davis claimed to have done then looked at the last e-mail. "Check Rebecca Niles' computer for last week. Hmmm. You're certain of that. Every order. I am sorry to have doubted you. Thank you very much William.

"Well Mr. Niles, it appears your wife has been sold a bill of goods. Every order she entered was 100% accurate with no changes made. From what her supervisor said at her last performance review I would be very surprised to have heard otherwise."

"Unfortunately my wife believed him."

"That is indeed most unfortunate."

"There were no e-mails the last two mornings but when I saw how she was dressed I knew that bastard had blackmailing her into going on their lunch date.

"That brings u an interesting question. I can not understand why he would have your wife call so much attention to herself with that dress? One would have thought discretion would have been of primary importance."

"I would bet Davis is a misogynist and was more interested in flaunting his control over her...making her his trophy as it were. It didn't matter whether he had sex with her as long as his buddies thought he had."

I believe you are correct Mr. Niles."

After I left Ms. Whyte I had the distinct impression Davis would need to update his resume.

I had a bad feeling the bastard would be waiting to confront my wife in the parking lot after work. Fortunately I had a good friend on the police department who was glad to cruise through the parking lot at quitting time. Officer Celik even found a place to park where his dash cam had a clear shot of Becky's car.

The hardest thing I did was to heed his admonition to 'not be within five miles in case something went down.'

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you wife."

Davis was lying in wait for Becky, hiding behind a van. When she hit the remote to open her door he pounced. He threw her against the trunk and started screaming, "You fucking bitch! You're going to pay for what you did!"

Now in Davis' defense there was no way he could have known the man who pulled him off my wife was a police officer. Too bad he swung before he looked. His fist connected with Officer Celik's jaw causing him to stagger but not fall. He responded with several baton blows to Davis' head until he released Becky. By then blood was gushing out of his nose and mouth. He swung blindly and was rewarded with a taser shot to the chest. This knocked his legs out from under him. He collapsed face first to the asphalt and soiled himself. Celik knelt down and handcuffed his wrists behind his back.

By now a large crowd had formed to see what was happening. A few minutes later two backup squad cars arrived. He was still twitching when they loaded him into the back of a car.

Mary Beth and Irene led the crowd in applauding the police as they hustled Davis away.

Becky looked mortified. Officer Celik told her he would drive her to the station to take her report.

I was driving to my next customer when my phone rang. It was Irene. "Thought you might like to know, Davis was giving your wife grief in the stock room for not going to lunch with him when he got paged to Personnel. I saw him about a half hour later getting escorted out by a guard. Next thing I knew he was getting his ass whopped by a police man for bothering your wife. And oh, his face don't look too pretty anymore."

"Irene, I can't thank you enough. Becky is lucky to have you as a friend."

"Shoot, after what I saw happen to Davis I never want you to be my enemy." We both laughed.

Epilogue

We didn't go out to dinner and dancing that night. Instead we ordered a pizza and spent the evening sitting in front of the fireplace drinking wine and talking. Becky was embarrassed at how naïve and trusting she was. She called me her hero and said I was like a knight in shining armor protecting her virtue. A lot of tears were shed but we are now closer than ever. Then we went upstairs for a couple rounds of forgiveness sex.