Slight of Hand, Slight of Mind

"We need to talk," Jenna recalled the words spoken to her by her lover, Sebastian Lecroix, some six months before and the pointed discussion that followed. Sebastian was a very wealthy businessman from Alabama that she had met, and seduced, a little more than a year ago. Jenna had implied that, while technically still married, she and her husband Tom were separated and divorce papers were in the process of being filed. A quick investigation by Sebastian's people uncovered the truth. No separation had taken place and, at least Tom, thought the couple was still in a state of marital bliss after almost 25 years. Sebastian also learned that Tom was the owner of a software business and, over the past five years since their last child Tommy went away to college, had lavished Jenna with several vacations and a new top-of-the-line BMW.

Having received the Final Decree officially ending her marriage to Tom, Jenna was in the elevator on her way to Sebastian's penthouse suite to celebrate and, hopefully, to make plans for her future with Sebastian. Traveling upwards, Jenna thought in more ways that one, she reflected on how upset Sebastian was and how she thought that he was going to end their relationship. Now she smiled thinking at how her future was, almost literally, paved with gold.

She recalled his words and their ensuing discussion. "Jenna, you lied to me," Sebastian said with great disappointment in his voice. I never would have started a relationship with you had I known you were happily married. In addition, if it was discovered that I was having an affair with a married woman, not only would my conservative family be disappointed, especially my mother, but several of my conservative clients would leave me and my business would greatly suffer."

"Sebastian," Jenna responded with tears in her eyes, "I never meant to deceive or disappoint you. I no longer love Tom, but I know my leaving him would break his heart. He's a good man and a good father to Tommy and our daughter Sarah... I just didn't want to hurt him. I love you, Sebastian, and I want us to be together, but we haven't really talked about our future and whether you want a permanent relationship with me or if this is just a bit of fun for you. If you tell me that you want us to be together, then I'll gladly tell Tom that I want a divorce, even though I know it will hurt him immensely."

"Of course, I love you Jenna and I do want us to be together, that is why I had my investigators run a background check to make sure that we could move our relationship forward."

At this point Sebastian produced a ring box from the inside pocket of his tailored and obviously expensive suit. He slowly opened the box, revealing a very large and beautiful diamond ring. "I had already purchased this ring from my jeweler in Paris and was going to ask for your hand in marriage. Obviously, I can't do that now since you're still married." Sebastian sadly added, closing the box.

"Sebastian, I know I've disappointed you, and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hurt Tom unless I absolutely had to. As I said, Tom is a good man and we had many good years together until about five years ago when we slowly drifted apart. While I care for Tom, I no longer love him. I love you Sebastian. If you want to break up with me because I had you believe that Tom and I were divorcing, I will understand, although it will break my heart. However, if you give me another chance, I'd happily leave Tom, especially if it meant that you and I could be together. I also promise you to never lie to you or do anything for you to question my love or honesty ever again."

"Jenna, perhaps against my better judgment, I'm willing to give you another chance. However, no more lies. This was your last chance."

"Oh, thank you Sebastian, I love you so much," Jenna cried as she rushed into his arms. After some frantic kissing, the two lovers managed to move to the bedroom of the large suite at the luxury hotel where Sebastian was staying where they engaged in passionate love making. Jenna often marveled at Sebastian's bedroom skills, he seemed like a maestro, professionally playing Jenna's body like a fine instrument.

After both were entirely satiated with their lovemaking, laying naked in each other's arms, Sebastian continued.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to cool down our relationship, at least until you and your husband are truly separated and your divorce has been filed. I'm going to miss our sexual intimacy, but we've been really lucky that no one, especially my many rivals, have discovered our affair. As I said, the fallout with my family and my business would be quite painful to me."

"The investigation my people performed revealed that, while Tom is somewhat successful, a costly divorce would likely ruin his software business. If that happened, I would feel immense guilt from both causing his divorce as well as hurting the business at which he has worked and sacrificed for so long. From my investigation, I know that you two didn't have a pre-nup as Tom started his business after you were married. So, my next request is that you be reasonable in your divorce demands."

"I'm not so sure, Sebastian. I was a good wife to Tom for almost 25 years, so I do deserve a fair settlement. I'm not sure Tom has the funds to give me a fair settlement without me taking a part of his business. I do need to be taken care of and I will be single for a while until you and I marry. What assurances do I have that you will marry me? Maybe you'll change your mind, and then I'll be left with nothing."

"Of course, Jenna, I understand how you feel. Maybe we can do something that will financially protect you regardless. Would you be interested in something like that? For example, I would be happy to have a contract with you that gives you a certain amount of money, say $1 million, upon filing the divorce paperwork and another $1 million when your divorce is final. From my investigation, $2 million would be far more than you would receive if you battled out a divorce with Tom. You know I'm very wealthy man. I have the means to make you quite comfortable now and even more comfortable after we're married."

During a previous encounter, Jenna recalled seeing a printed report from Sebastian's financial advisors that was laying on a desk in one of his hotel suites. The two had been seeing each other for about a month and Jenna's curiosity was piqued, so she quickly scanned though the report and was stunned that his investment portfolio was worth almost $100 million. Wow. His wealth, coupled with his incredibly good looks made him an irresistible catch. Her husband was simply poor and drab by comparison.

She first met Sebastian at the lounge of a very upscale hotel when she was out on the town with some girlfriends. She recalled thinking that he looked like he stepped out of the pages of a GQ magazine. His impeccable grooming and tailored appearance made her initially wonder if he might be gay. Having her wedding rings conveniently stashed in her purse, Jenna struck up a conversation with the intriguing gentlemen, finally winding up with an explosive sexual encounter in his suite at the same hotel. Of course, he was staying in the Presidential Suite, the nicest suite in the very posh hotel. Tom was out of town on a business trip, so Jenna spent the night in Sebastian's bed. Sebastian traveled extensively for business, often traveling to Austin, Texas where Jenna and Tom had lived for the past 25 years after graduating from U.T. Austin where the couple had met as undergrads. When Sebastian was in town, Jenna would make up reasons to Tom as to why she needed to be out -- comforting a old friend, visiting a relative, a trip with her girlfriends, etc.

Continuing the conversation, Jenna asked, "What would I do after I file for divorce? Should I ask Tom to leave or could I move in with you?"

"I'd love to live with you, Jenna, but until your divorce is final its just too risky as my rivals would take advantage and my conservative base would turn against me. I hate to see Tom get kicked out of his home, especially when you and I plan to be together once your divorce is final. If you're interested in my contract idea, how about I add in that I'll pay up to $5 thousand a month for your apartment and living costs until your divorce is final. Tom doesn't even have to know that our contract is why you're being so reasonable with him on the divorce. Having an amicable divorce would probably also keep your kids happier with you too. I'd hate to have them overly mad at you for divorcing their father."

"That sounds acceptable. You mentioned Tom and I not having a pre-nup, and you're right. I suppose you would want us to have a pre-nup before we get married?"

"Unfortunately, yes I'm afraid the Board of my company would insist on us having a pre-nup. Actually, a pre-nup is required for all members of the Board as well as upper management. However, I can pull up the draft of the pre-nup that my lawyers were drafting for me when I thought I might be proposing to you this weekend. I think you'll find it is extremely generous."

The next day, after a nice room-service breakfast, Sebastian pulled up the draft pre-nup agreement on his computer and, indeed, it was quite generous. The pre-nup called for Jenna to receive $10 million if the couple divorced for any reason, and an additional $1 million added for each year they remained married. So, if they were married for 5 years, she would receive $15 million.

Jenna noticed that the pre-nup didn't include any harsh provisions that applied if she was caught having an affair on Sebastian. While she didn't plan on stepping out on her hunky Sebastian, she hadn't exactly been faithful to Tom.

Her affairs started about the time that Tommy went away to school. Jenna was sad and bored and joined the local upscale gym. Always an attractive woman with good genes from her Austrian-German ancestry, her dedication to working out and attention to her appearance soon elevated her into a stone-cold fox. Her first affair was with a really hot, and much younger, personal trainer from the gym. However, she found that he was bragging to his friends about his conquest of her, including details of their bedroom antics, so she abruptly broke off the affair and decided to be more careful in the future.

At the gym, Jenna met some younger, single women who enjoyed going to fancy lounges at upscale hotels in town to meet men. She and Tom didn't have friends that frequented such upscale places, so she was confident that none of their friends would see her flirting and dancing with rich, sexy businessmen. She and her friends mostly had one-night stands, sometimes seeing a particularly hot guy for a repeat performance. The men were almost always from out of town, so no real worry about running into them when she was out with Tom. Then she met Sebastian and he, almost literally, swept her off her feet.

As she predicted, Tom was hurt when Jenna announced that she wanted a divorce. He went through the classic stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Jenna was happy that Tom reached acceptance after a short time, realizing that his marriage was indeed over and that his wife no longer wanted him. He was grateful that Jenna didn't try to take a large chunk of his software company. Over the years, Jenna hardly paid any attention to Tom's business and didn't really even know what kinds of software Tom's business provided.

They agreed on Jenna taking all of her personal effects, clothing, a few pieces of furniture, her BMW, and $100 thousand in cash. Jenna explained that she had fallen in love with a very wealthy man, and that neither she nor her lover wanted to hurt Tom financially. Tom said that his attorney had advised him to agree to the extremely generous settlement offer. As an uncontested divorce, the case rather quickly traveled through the court system

The elevator dinged signaling her arrival at the top floor of the 50-story lux hotel. There were only two suites on the top floor, the Presidential Suite and the Lone Star Suite. Sebastian had left her a key card at the front desk that she used to open the door, soon to be reunited with her true love.

Entering the suite, Jenna saw Sebastian and another man sitting on large, ornate couches that were in the living area of the suite. The other man was every bit as handsome as Sebastian. Sebastian rose and came over to greet her, "welcome, darling, I want you to meet my partner Julian. We've already opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate your Final Divorce Decree," Sebastian said with a flourish.

Jenna said hello to Julian and accepted the glass, clinking her glass with Sebastian's and Julian's.

Sebastian toasted, "To future adventures," with Jenna and Julian repeating the phrase.

Having taken a drink, Jenna asked, "Julian, are you one of Sebastian's business partners? I'm afraid he hasn't mentioned you to me yet."

"Well... I guess you could say we were somewhat 'business' partners," Julian joked, "except our business was on the set of a seedy gay porno where we first fell in lust and then later we fell in love."

Jenna almost dropped her glass. "What in the hell is he talking about Sebastian? Is this some sort of a joke? It certainly isn't funny."

"Well, I'm afraid its no joke. Just like you lied to me, I also lied to you. Julian and I moved to Austin from San Francisco a few years ago. We were both gay porn stars and that is how we met. However, we were both unhappy with that lifestyle and wanted something different, so we moved here for a fresh start. Unfortunately, when we came to Austin, we were pretty much broke so that didn't leave us many options."

"Wait!" Jenna almost shouted, "you're really GAY? How is that possible? You and I were together so many times and you were a fantastic lover, I can't believe this."

"Yes, Jenna, I knew I was gay from the time I was 11 years old. When we moved to Austin, I was doing some contract temp work for Tom's company and we got to know one another, he really is a great guy."

Jenna had a sinking feeling. "You knew Tom before we met?"

"Well of course I did. I couldn't have afforded these luxury suites without Tom paying for them. Tom and I got to know each other. I confided to him that Julian and I had been adult film stars and appeared in many hardcore gay movies. Later, Tom confided in us that he knew you were being unfaithful to him, something that broke his heart."

Jenna interrupted, "Wait a minute, you're not broke, you're rich! I saw the report from your investment advisors that you left beside your computer one time we were together, that report said you were worth almost $100 million, that report looked real, was it a fake?"

"No, that report isn't a fake, but it's not mine. Its Tom's. Tom had one of his software design guys make a fake first page with my information, otherwise the report was legit'"

"Wait just a minute, are you saying that my EX-husband is worth over $100 million dollars and all I got was the $2 million and some living expense money that you gave me, my car and the pittance from Tom in my divorce settlement?"

"Well, I didn't exactly give you anything, Tom actually paid the money. Julian and I don't have that kind of money."

"But why did you do this to me, I thought you loved me!" Jenna exclaimed, feeling her world falling down around her. "How could you make love to me like you did when you don't even like women?"

"Remember, I was a porn star, so I'm pretty good at acting - especially during sex. Tom agreed to partner with Julian and I to set up our own art gallery here in town with Tom as a silent partner, financially bankrolling the endeavor. Tom has been so generous and kind to us, we figured that helping him end his marriage from a cheating wife was the least we could do. If it's any consolation, I do feel kind of guilty for leading you along and lying to you."

"How did Tom find out that I was unfaithful? I was so careful. He never said anything or indicated that he knew. He's usually so direct, I'm shocked he didn't confront me if he actually knew what I was doing."

"Tom told us that a personal trainer from your gym told him about your affair after you broke it off with him. I guess the guy was pretty upset with you. Tom didn't believe him at first, but your trainer buddy had taken some video of the two of you that he shared with Tom. After that, Tom had you watched when you went on the prowl for men with your girlfriends, so he knew what you were after. He figured if you fell for me and thought I was rich to boot, you'd divorce him and maybe he could make the financial fallout a lot less painful and save his business."

Julian then chimed in, "we've been working together on Tom's marriage project as well as on our art gallery for some time now. Sebastian and I were both in the bar that night when you approached and seduced him. Don't worry, I wasn't hurt that you didn't pick me. I also wasn't jealous of the time you spent with Sebastian. I knew Sebastian would never leave me for a woman. To us, this was just a job, a business transaction. I knew that Sebastian's love-making and acting talents from his years in porn were superb. Some straight guys do gay porn because it pays better and they call it 'gay for pay,' I like to tease Sebastian that his being with you should be called 'straight for pay'."

Sebastian then continued, "After the divorce, Tom told us that he ended up shelling out less than $3 million between expenses and settlement costs - way, way less than he would have paid in a contested divorce. Maybe you should have paid more attention to Tom and his business. He really is a great guy, I don't understand why any wife would ever wanted to leave him."

Jenna noticed that Sebastian had been gently guiding her to the door. In a daze, she walked along and he carefully extracted the suite's key card that was still in her hand.

"I'd love to talk longer, but Julian and I have dinner plans with Tom and his girlfriend Clare to celebrate the Final Decree. He hinted that he might be proposing to her tonight."

"Clare? Clare Murphy? She used to be one of my close friends until she divorced her husband when she caught him cheating and then she moved out of the neighborhood. I didn't even know Tom was seeing anyone," Jenna said confusingly, remembering her strikingly beautiful former neighbor. Jenna recalled Clare being one of the prettiest and nicest women in the neighborhood.

"Tom told us that he ran into Clare at a coffee shop shortly after he learned that you were being unfaithful. Clare was a shoulder for Tom to cry on and really helped him through a difficult time. Things just progressed from there. She really is a wonderful person, and absolutely beautiful. Julian and I really love her. Well, I really need to get going, we don't want to be late for our dinner engagement," Sebastian said, somewhat emphasizing the last word as he opened the door inviting Jenna to leave.

"Goodbye Jenna, I actually didn't hate our times together, even though I'm not into women. I really do hope that you find what you are looking for," he said as she heard the door to the suite quietly close behind her.

"Straight for pay," Jenna muttered to herself. "I'm such a fucking idiot."

FINITO