Contracted To Love

“Yes, property records show that she transferred the funds from her personal account. But what’s even more interesting is the fact that for Jean-Phillippe, marrying Michelle was like a lottery. He quit his accounting job and set up a small private accounting firm where on paper he’s the CEO and sole shareholder. He has a small work force, around fifteen people, but he’s hardly ever in the office. Matter of fact, if it weren’t for his photo on the company web page, his workers wouldn’t have been able to pick him out of a lineup.”

David shook his head.

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Why not? A lot of people do that now, you know.”

David shook his head.

“It’s not the way he runs his business I’m questioning; it’s the fact that he has a business at all to start with. A business that he hardly frequents, yet over years he’s often used the excuse of working out of state to prevent Michelle from seeing her daughter.”

“Well, he might have kept the secret because at the time they were divorcing he was just a junior accountant making around twenty-five to thirty grand a year. His lawyers argued that his income was hardly enough to support the lifestyle Michelle had gotten Andrea accustomed to. After all, the private school alone costs around thirty-five to forty grand a year. Michelle’s legal team argued that she could comfortably provide for her daughter but Jean’s team had a tighter strategy, painting Michelle as the silver spoon child who’d lost touch with reality. The judge was also not a big fan of… you know, people like you. The one-percenters.”

David nodded. He knew about people like that only too well.

“I believe that Jean didn’t declare his new income because child support would have stopped and he was already used to a certain lifestyle,” Alfred went on. “As far as getting out of state for work… unless his work has a lot to do with a certain blonde in a Las Vegas s*x club…” He trailed off and it was at this point that David plugged in the thumb drive and began scrolling the photos on it.

It didn’t take long to find the wildly incriminating pictures. The blonde woman. The s*x club… he knew that club. He’d actually attended that club once. It disgusted him that Jean, that piece of scum, had mingled in the same circles as he had. He felt his anger rising and rising as he looked at those photographs. Looking at a man gallivanting around like he had no care in the world. His actions causing so much pain to Michelle month after month, year after year, and now he finally had him exactly where he wanted. There weren’t going to be any judges involved. At least not unless they were appointed by David himself.

“So basically, he’s using my wife’s hard-earned money to finance his lifestyle?” David asked and Alfred nodded.

“Yeah, pretty much. I have a copy of his finances in there as well. Everything’s in order as far as the IRS is concerned, but he can comfortably take care of his daughter without an infusion of cash from Michelle,” Alfred explained.

“Including the tuition fees?” David asked.

“Yeah, since he has no financial responsibilities, you know, mortgage, health insurance… his money is pretty much being blown on luxury cars and holidays. He’s been to Bali, Cuba and Thailand with the blonde and that’s just in this past year.” Alfred got up and walked around to David’s side of the desk. “He put up his parents in a luxury condo in Manhattan. Also within the first year of his marriage to Michelle.”

David slammed the laptop shut and leaned back angrily. He couldn’t understand himself. He knew for a fact that he hadn’t married for love, yet seeing the evidence of how Jean had used his wife made him sick to the stomach. All he could think about was getting his way with Jean. Perhaps in a ring. Or maybe just do it Viking style. Get him in a clearing and pummel his face into the ground. Could it be possible, he wondered, that he was falling for her? Was it possible that his mother had been right? That arranged marriages could be the beginning of a beautiful story?

His heart was racing as he made a fist so hard his knuckles turned white.

“You should also know that the penthouse that the blonde, Tiffany Moran, lives in was bought exactly two months before Michelle filed for divorce.”

The anger in David was rising and rising. There was no way Jean could have afforded that penthouse on what he made. It was clear that he’d stolen the money from Michelle. He knew that she could afford that property four times over but he definitely wouldn’t have expected her to pay for a property for her husband’s mistress. David took a long, deep breath to calm himself. He’d never imagined that he could be so protective over Michelle.

“Thank you for this, Alfred. I know it wasn’t the easiest assignment.”

Alfred laughed.

“On the contrary. Jean-Phillippe is amateur hour compared to the other assignments I’ve carried out for you.”

David grabbed his checkbook and scribbled on it quickly before he tore off a leaf and handed it to Alfred.

“Thank you. Perhaps I can finally take Zoe to Bali myself.”

David forced a smile.

“Well, pass my love to the wife and son, will you?”

Alfred smiled as he got up.

“Always a pleasure,” he said before walking out, leaving David deep in thought.

David knew exactly what he was going to do next. There was no going back. He had exactly what he needed to make his next move… and his next move was going to be delivering the delayed justice to and for Michelle and Andrea. It was finally time.

            *****

Michelle was already wishing for the weekend by Monday morning. She’d made plans to meet with Vickie after work but it was already so hard for her to make her way around town without causing pandemonium. She’d grown up with the press all around her but it was different this time around. She was older. She had so much more to lose if the press misrepresented her as they seemed to do so many times. She had to remain a good example to her daughter, even though she didn’t see much of her. It didn’t mean that she could escape the vile writers who looked to make their living by using click bait. So, instead of meeting at a coffee shop or at least one of her favorite spots, Michelle and Vickie met at The Cheyenne, a five-star restaurant that only a select few had ever seen the inside of. She’d only been at the restaurant twice in her life. The first time was during the establishment’s grand opening. The next was when David had taken her there a few weeks into their marriage, the first real romantic gesture he’d shown her. It wasn’t an easy place to get into. The restaurant had a waiting list weeks, maybe even months, long. Apart from that was the strict code of the customer always coming first. Photography wasn’t allowed indoors and all the attendees were thoroughly vetted. The Cheyenne was like a private club.

Michelle’s table was right by the window, giving them a great view of the New York skyline. As usual, she looked impeccable in a blue pencil skirt, a loose fitting black chiffon long sleeved blouse tucked into the skirt and a pair of nude-colored stilettos. Her tresses were held in a high bun, making her look even more sophisticated than ever.

“Something’s different about you,” Vickie said when she sat down. “You’re glowing.”

Michelle shook her head.

“What are you talking about? It’s the same old me.”

It was Vickie’s turn to shake her head.

“No, there’s something else. You’re either pregnant, getting some seriously good s*x from someone, or using one of those banned face creams from Asia.”