Separate Vacations: Parallel Lives

"Probably. Absolutely. I was in the zone, you know? Nothing mattered but destroying my enemy."

He grinned, and told me he knew exactly how I felt, and gave me a card for a shrink named Teller. "The man is the best, especially with anger management. Most all his clients are cops or somehow associated with the legal profession, and he's very good at what he does. I can get you in if you like. Now, I think you need to apologize to Lew."

He led me to the table, and besides Lew, there sat Judges Holden and Herring, along with his huge bodyguard. Herring grinned at me. "Well, son, you got a roomful of witnesses when it goes to trial. We all met here by accident, and had a ringside seat. You ever think about going pro?"

I shocked them when I told them I'd fought professionally for almost two years under another name, to help pay for college. I had quit the day I reached my goal. "I was good, but I was afraid of what I was capable of, so I never really quite let go. My trainers told me if I could, I would be a champion one day, but I never really liked hurting people."

Lew grunted, grinned, and winced. "Didn't seem to bother you much today. You'll be getting my chiropractic bills."

"I'll pay them. I really am sorry, Lew."

He waved it off. "I know. Now, you need to follow this nice young man to the hospital, to be checked out. As your lawyer of record I insist you do it, for the lawsuit you are obviously going to file."

I never noticed it, but my cheek was still bleeding, and my whole face was a red mask. It took six stitches to close it up.

....................

To make thing worse, a local reporter and his cameraman were in the bar, having a beer at the end of the day. The photographer had his camera sitting on the bar and managed to get some pretty good pictures, one of my foot flattening asshole's nose, another of me under a pile of men as I sent Lew flying, and one more of me, trying to get to Middleton, my face covered with blood.

"Local Businessman Assaulted", read the headline.

The reporter, Cameron something, dug a little, getting the backstory, and trotted it all out again. There was a lot of chatter on local talk radio about it, about seventy per cent in my favor. "Asshole needed his ass kicked" was the general consensus.

Middleton got fired. He was let go on a morals clause without recommendation, and the assault got him disbarred for two years, and ordered into anger management classes. He disappeared during the civil suit, but it didn't matter. He spent his salary as soon as he got it, and was in serious debt. No wonder a rich woman like Tiffany appealed to him. No one, in Florida anyway, ever heard from him again. Rumor had it he moved to the West Coast. Maybe he could hook on with Lew's old partner. We still got a judgement for two hundred fifty grand, but we knew we'd never see that money.

He also got arrested and no one would bail him out. He sat in jail, his body aching, his jaw wired shut, his nose protected by an aluminum strip. They had to move him to the infirmary after the rest of the inmates found out he was a lawyer and heard the whole story. His nose would have been broken again but there wasn't enough cartilige left to make a difference. He was finally tried, forced to use a public defender, four months after the incident. I had to be there and it was hard to believe the hollow shell was once an arrogant lawyer. I think the judge felt bad for the way his face looked. He was found guilty of felony assault, which the judge reduced down to the most minor sentence he could give him. He was sentenced to fourteen months but released for time served and probation.

Four days after the fight Tiffany called. I almost didn't take it, I would have changed my number long ago if it weren't for the girls. I sighed, and answered. "Hello, Tiffany."

I think I surprised her by answering.

"Bruce, is that you?"

"No Tiffany, it's a total stranger answering my phone. What do you want? Are the girls all right?"

"The girls are fine, but you have a lot of explaining to do. They saw the pictures and read the papers. I went to see him, Bruce. He'll never look the same again. I'm sorry, Bruce. I caused all of this, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. I'm fine, by the way. Thanks for your concern, it means a lot to me. The stitches are healing nicely. Look, he still has that big dick thing going. He'll land on his feet. But it's water under the bridge now, and you can't make a river reverse course. I accept your apology. Anything else?"

There was a hint of a smile in her voice. "Maybe he'll be fine, but not for a while. That one shot to the crotch has one ball swelled to the size of a baseball and they almost had to remove it. It's a good thing it wasn't a direct hit or he'd be singing soprano for the rest of his life."

She stopped again. "Glad to hear you were concerned with his equipment. I'll try to have better aim if there's a next time. As stimulating as this conversation is, unless there's something else, I'll be going now."

"I always manage to screw up, don't I? I'm sorry Bruce. I really am glad he's alive, though. I'd have hated to bring the girls to see you in jail."

" I..well..um, that is..." She started crying. When she finally calmed, she sniffled a bit and then asked me a question. "Do you ever miss me, miss us?"

"Truthfully? Every day. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what we had and lost. But time passes, and now that asshole is out of the picture, maybe we can move on."

"I was a fool, Bruce. I knew what he was doing and let him. Can we.. is there any chance...do you think we.."

I stopped her. "Tiffany?"

"Yes, Bruce?"

"Still have a pair of running shoes under the bed?"

She hung up on me.

...........

I though a lot about Vik's offer. I read the trade magazines, and when I saw the articles on little red boxes spitting movies out without any overhead to speak of, the ever enroaching cable market, and about a company getting ready to go online in a couple of years that offered whole catalogs for one cheap subscription price, I knew the writing was on the wall. I talked to all my managers, told them what I thought was going to happen, and left.

I shocked Vik when I wasn't interested in part time, but I'd come on board full time if the ownership clause would stay in place. I thought the man was going to kiss me. My salary, counting bonuses, could be as high as one hundred fifty a year, a minimum of eighty grand on bad years.

I didn't tell the girls. They would have told Tiffany, and I didn't want to deal with her any more for a while. As far as they knew, I still worked at Blockbuster.

The kids told me Mom started going out again after a couple of months. I ran into her, at a high end restaurant about six months later. She was with an older looking guy whose clothes and attitude screamed "money!', dressed in a tight little black dress that must have had a built in shelf bra, the way her breasts stood out. She saw me alone and came over to say hi, and no doubt rub her date in my face.

"Hi, Bruce. It's nice to see you. It's been a while. Nice suit."

I knew what she was saying. The only time I wore suits of this quality when we were married was if she bought me one to wear to a company function. She'd be shocked to look in my closet now and see a dozen of them.

I grinned. "Oh, I splurge once in a while. I wanted to look especially nice tonight."

"What's so special about tonight?"

"Hot date," I grinned, as she joined us. Maggie was a spectacular redhead, a hospitality manager on a cruise boat, The Bonne Chance. Her best friend, a Frenchwoman, was seeing Bill Maitland. Oddly, she was married, but it wasn't my business. Rumor had it her and her husband had an arrangement. Each was free to fuck anyone they fancied while they were apart. I know Maitland was plain smitten with her. We even double dated a few times when they were in port. I only said hot date to get a rise out of her, but truer words had never been spoken.

She was in green silk which really set off her flaming red hair, with a neckline that let you know that was all her under the dress. 38B, I found out later. Maggie was Irish, and I could listen to her talk for hours. I saw Tiff tighten up, and grinned. Pure anger shot out of her eyes, but she had to maintain for her date. Wouldn't do to let him see that hot temper too early. Then again, I'd gotten a glimpse of the wild Irish temper Maggie possessed. It would be a hell of a cat fight if they went at it. My money would have been on Tiff, though. The girl had only one fear, full committment.

I nearly laughed out loud at the mental image.

Maggie made it sweeter by offering to share a table, but Tiff grabbed the man's arm possesively, saying she wanted private time with her date.

"Aye, as do I, but a different kind of private time. He almost forced me here. I would have much rather spent the time in his condo, but he insisted. Oh well, they say anticipation heightens the feeling, you know?"

Tiffany had an expression on her face that looked like she had just chewed up and swallowed a bucket of lemons. I loved it. We parted, and I would look up once in a while, to her eyes staring daggers at us.

"She's your ex, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"She still loves you, you know? I thought she was going to jump me when I took your arm. Then again, the look you were giving her wasn't exactly hate."

I sighed. "Look, it's too complicated to explain. We loved each other, we were just mismatched from the go."

She smiled and rubbed my arm. "She's staring again. Look, this is our last weekend together for quite a while, maybe ever. We're leaving Monday for an around the world cruise that will last eleven months. Even then, the final berth is in Europe. I plan to spend some time at home, maybe see some of the continent. Maybe I'll call, see if you can take some time and spend it with me. It'll be the vacation of a lifetime."

Those words hit me hard, and she saw me frown. "Then again, lover, maybe not. You're the perfect man for marriage, loyal, loving, taking care of your partner's needs selflessly. Maybe too selflessly. I, myself, am not marriage materail. Maybe someday, but not now. I wasn't kidding though, when I said I wished we'd have spent the time at your condo instead of here. By my estimate, you're two and a half orgasms behind right now, and I intend for you to catch up before the night is out. Are we clear here?"

I grinned. "Like to skip coffee and dessert?"

"I'd rather serve you your dessert back at the condo. It's the perfect dish, you can eat all you want and it contains no calories. Settle the bill love, while I visit the loo."

By the time I'd settled the bill she was back, and took my hand. We got level with Tiffany's table when she stopped. "Opps! Hold on love, I dropped something." She bent over from the waist, and the bottom of that delicious ass was almost showing. She straightened, looked into Tiff's dinner partners' eyes, grinning at his gaping mouth.

"Here you go love. I thought this would save us some time, later."

I looked down at my hand. It held a very, very small thong, almost dripping wet. I grinned and slid it into my breast pocket, and told her it was so I could enjoy her scent. I looked over at the couple, wished them a good night, and left, my hand firmly on Maggie's ass. I felt Tiffany's eyes all the way out the door.

Maggie wore me out, gave me a tearful goodbye Sunday night, and was gone from my life. I never saw her again, although she did email me for a while. Tiffany called me Monday.

"Was that necessary?"

"No, it was my date's idea. Why, did it bother you? We've been divorced for almost two years. I could have called you Saturday night and let you listen to Maggie's atempts to get me up for the fifth time in seven hours, but I'd been there, done that, and still have the scars. Anything else?"

She hung up on me, again. Why bother calling if she didn't want to talk?

Five weeks later I saw her engagement announcement in the paper. It was to the guy we saw at the restaurant. He was an executive vice president of a major chain restaurant, pretty high up the ladder. They had relocated him to corporate headquarters to help launch a new chain of Thai restaurants. That stood to reason. Thai was Tiffany's favorite.

...................

Seven months later Vik Fleming looked up as the woman entered his office. He was sitting behind a massive desk that was custom made and he'd caried through every move as he became more successful. It was one of his favorite things in life. The woman was obviously a professional, but a very attractive well dressed professional. Her skirt was demure, but had a dangerously high slit in it. She turned to shut the door, and he couldn't see any panty lines. He almost instantly got an erection and sat back down. He thought it rude not to stand, but it would have been ruder still to show her the obvious effect she had on him.

She smirked a little, sitting down and crossing her legs slowly. Vik hoped he was right about the panties, but was disappointed when she tugged her skirt a little, covering everything. "Mr. Fleming, I'm Tiffany Hampton. I believe I have an appointment."

"Yes, Miss Hampton, I have you right here on the schedule. Please let me apologize for not standing, but I have a condition that makes standing difficult."

She had a tight little grin, and he knew she was aware of what exactly the condition was. She was a hottie, but wifey number four was entering a jealous, bitchy phase, so he behaved. Besides it was late 2010, and the Great Recession, as it came to be called, was just getting into full swing. Everyone was starting to feel the pinch, and they couldn't afford to lose what could well be a lucrative contract.

"It's Mrs. Hampton, Mr. Fleming. I'm keeping my married name until the divorce comes through. Mr. Fleming, my company has had the same ad agency for years, and to be honest, we think they've gone stale. We cannot afford that in this economy. Your company was recommended to our CEO, he checked on your work, and here I am."

She bent down to her briefcase, and Vik got a shot of her high firm breasts, encased in a silky looking bra. His erection returned. "What we're specifically interested, sir, is the ones responsible for this work."

He glanced at the first few and grinned. "These are all done by the same man, our newest hire. He worked for us part time at first because he liked his old job. He's fast, has great imagination, and to quote a cliche, can think out of the box."

"Wow, all that from a part timer. I'm surprised someone else didn't snap him up."

"Believe me, my partner and I had a few sleepless nights over just that scenario. We even offered him ten per cent of the company in two per cent per year increments, to keep him with us."

"Wow. I've worked for my company since I got out of college, and never in a million years would they offer something like that to any of their employees, let alone a part timer. I'll always be a hired hand, but I'm a very, very well paid hired hand, so I'll stick to them."

"Yes, well, we got lucky. He decided to go full time with us, giving up his other job. Here's been here less than a year, and we're getting so much business because of him we're having to add people. With this economy we're able to pick up some really good people. There was a guy we were after, but his boss offered him almost the same deal to stay in North Carolina. Plus, he married a local girl and didn't want to move. They would have made a killer combination."

"I'd like to meet the man, bounce a few ideas our firm has off him. If we can come to agreement, it could be very beneficial to both companies."

"I'll have to schedule something. He's out of the office right now, working for a charity. You might remember it, the ones for adoption based on the milk ads? Our man has a martial arts background, and even worked with the trainer for Betty "Bang Bang" Burke. Actually, she's married now, to her financial advisor. I guess he wanted all her money."

It was meant as a joke, but Tiffany winced and quickly responded. "Yes, I've heard of it. They're tied up with that adoption telethon that airs just before Christmas every year, aren't they? Miss Burke better be careful who she trusts with her money."

"Apparently, he was already rich when they met, and married her without a prenupt before she really got big. She probably makes four to five times what he does a year now. She's doing ads, you should probably recognize her from the Maybelline mascara work. I hear she's branched out into acting now."

"That sounds wonderful, Mr. Fleming. Tell me, when do you think you could make your man available?"

"How about tonight, a dinner meeting? I'll call him, make sure he's available."

He dialed, and soon was talking. "Bruce, I have a new client here, and she wants to meet you specifically, to bounce some ideas around. It could be a very good thing for the company. Her name is Tiffany Hampton. Why are you laughing? All right, I'll have the directions for you when you get back. Eight o'clock doable? Fine, fine. Be on your best behavior, Bruce. This one could be important to us."

He hung up, looking at the phone. "Eight O'clock, and you pick the restaurant. Is that satisfactory?"

"It will be just fine. If you don't mind me asking, why was your man laughing?"

"With Bruce, who knows? One of the things that helps him work is his sense of humor, even if most of us can't understand it most of the time."

Little alarm bells had been ringing in Tiffany's head for the last few minutes. "The Palace of Siam, eight sharp then. It's just around the corner and I'm a big fan of Thai food, and the reviews are very good. For the record, what is your man's full name?"

"Bruce Davis, Mrs. Hampton. He says he knows you."

................

I stood at the entrance, watching her. She had that little frown I'd always loved while she worked her tablet. The girl did like her gadgets. She must have felt me watching her, and looked up, breaking into a grin at the sight of me.

"Hello, Bruce. Come on in, I won't bite. In fact I can assure you with utmost confidence that my mouth will never touch any of your body parts again in this lifetime."

I just stood there, and it started to bother her. "Are you waiting on something?"

"Yes. I'm waiting to see if this is a legitmate deal or just an opportunity to hurt me one more time."

She actually laughed. "Bruce, get over yourself, and get over us. It's a done deal. I hurt you a little, and you hurt me a lot. You know, right up until the divorce became final, I would have taken you back, and worked to find a way to work out our problems."

"I could say the same to you. I would have given us every chance, right up until the time you called to give me a blow by blow, pun intended, description of your fuckfests. What possibly could have made you that hateful, or think it was a good idea? When was I ever that cruel to you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I just told you, moron, you hurt me a lot. So I retaliated. Would I have done it if I had been in my right mind? Not a chance in hell. But deep down, as hurt as I was, I knew if I did it, it would sever us forever. So I did it, to teach you..."

She stopped suddenly, realizing it was too late.

"Ah yes, another Tiffany object lesson. It worked about as well as the last one, didn't it? I have to thank you, though, because I did learn some things. I finally learned to let you go, because there was nothing of the woman I had loved so deeply left. I have to admit that I haven't managed to find your replacement, but then again, I'm in no hurry. There's someone out there for me, I just haven't found the energy to look for her. Let's just say I'm a little gunshy and leave it there."