Jason Gibson was anxious to get home and spend some quality time with his wife. No matter how badly his day at work went, Beth always managed to raise his spirits. They had been married only seven months, and the honeymoon was far from over.

He was employed by Beth’s father, so complaining about his job was a non-starter. Beth knew he was often frustrated, but she seemed confident her father would be more receptive to his ideas and suggestions as time went on.

As Jason pulled into his parking place in front of their rented condo unit, he again promised himself that he and Beth would be buying a house and starting a family before long. Spending a small fortune every month on rent for a place he didn’t particularly like seemed the height of foolishness to his analytical mind. Beth was making a good salary with her job as an attorney at a large law firm. Her father paid him fairly well, so they would soon have a decent down payment and able to afford a reasonable mortgage.

Jason heard Beth rummaging in her closet when he entered the unit. He decided to take advantage of the proximity of the closet to the bed and began unbuttoning his shirt as he moved into the bedroom. Beth was bent over looking in her closet with only her panty clad ass and her long toned legs visible. Jason gently ran a hand over his wife’s firm ass while reaching around her to cup a full breast in his other hand.

“Jason, I don’t have time for that,” Beth warned. “I have to be packed and ready to go in half an hour. Marci’s picking me up and I don’t want to make her wait.”

“It’s Thursday. Tomorrow’s a work day,” Jason pointed out. “Where are you going and why do you need to pack?”

“Marci and I have been invited to the company retreat for a long weekend. It’s a great chance for us to get noticed by the partners and move up the ladder.”

Marci was also a lawyer at Beth’s firm, Martin and Martin. She was also young and very attractive. Jason found it interesting that the two women felt the need to spend the weekend at a company retreat to get noticed. Both of them were very sharp lawyers. Combined with their beauty, they could never go unnoticed.

“Why didn’t you tell me about this? What about work tomorrow? Who’s going to be at this ‘retreat’ and what’s it supposed to be about?” Jason asked with more patience than he felt.

“We were just told about it this afternoon. All four senior partners will be there. We were asked to go when two of the junior partners suddenly couldn’t make it,” Beth explained with pride. “This could put me on the fast track. We’ll be able to buy a house of our own that much sooner.”

Jason glanced at Beth’s open suitcase and frowned. “Why are you packing bikinis and lingerie? I know for a fact that isn’t normal work attire. What’s really going on here?”

Beth blushed as she turned to face Jason. “It’s the partners, Jason. They’re all successful, virile men who take advantage of their success. You knew I wasn’t a virgin when we met and you were fine with it. I may have to hook up with a partner or two, but only this weekend. I’ll come back home Monday to be with you for the rest of our lives. The only difference will be that we’ll be able to afford a nice home a lot sooner. You understand I’m doing this for us, don’t you?”

Jason kept his composure as he considered what Beth was telling him. She was willing to whore herself out for a long weekend with the hope of increasing her income. She was trying to sell him on how she was making a sacrifice for him, as if she were taking a bullet to guarantee their future happiness.

Beth knew the look on Jason’s face. He was upset and trying to conceal it, but doing a rather poor job. Like a good lawyer, she presented her case.

“Jason, is it really any different than you working for my father? You hate the job. We both know that. Dad doesn’t show the respect and consideration your ideas deserve. You still go to work every day because you’re a good man and want to support your wife and prepare for your future children.

“I’m doing pretty much the same thing this weekend. I’ll endure the advances of the partners even though they’re as old as our parents. I’m doing this for us, just like you’re doing when you go into work every day, even though you hate it.”

“Do you hate your job, Beth? I never got that impression from you,” Jason asked softly.

“No, I love my job. I didn’t mean it was exactly like your situation. I’m just saying that I’ll spend the weekend doing what I have to do in order to get ahead at the firm. It’ll be to our benefit. We’ll be able to start a family. I don’t like this part of my job, but I’ll do it, just like you go to work every day and put up with Dad’s criticisms and complaints.”

“You’re telling me that me working at a job where I feel I’m not properly respected or valued is the same as you sleeping with three or four of your bosses now and then to improve your standing in the firm?”

“Not now and then, Jason. This will be the only time,” Beth declared.

“If we have a big mortgage and one of the kids gets sick and the medical bills get out of hand, would you sleep with a boss or two if enough money was involved?”

“Lawyers don’t usually answer hypothetical questions,” Beth explained. “I can’t see that situation ever coming up, but I’m certain we’d both do whatever we had to do for our children. That’s why you’ll make such a good father. You’ll always place your family first.”

Jason had an epiphany. He hadn’t known Beth nearly as well as he should have when he asked her to marry him. She obviously didn’t know him at all. Regardless of how the weekend played out, he knew his marriage was over. The enormity of the situation was clear to him. He was going to be divorced and jobless in the very near future. Half an hour before, he would have bet his life Beth would never betray him, yet she was doing so quite casually. The part that stung the most was how she believed he would accept her decision, as well as the reasoning behind it. She had no respect for him.

She had made her decision without discussing it with him. Beth either assumed he would be fine with it, or she simply didn’t care if he was or not. How could they have gotten married while knowing so little about each other?

Seeking an excuse to remove himself from the uncomfortable reality his life had become, Jason drummed up a reason to leave. He realized there was really nothing left to say. Even if he talked Beth out of going, his marriage was broken. His reason to leave was weak, but his mind wasn’t working all that well, plus it simply didn’t matter anymore.

“I promised Bill that I’d drop my drill off at his place after work today. He’s doing some wiring in his basement. Have a good weekend.”

He saw Beth’s jaw drop as she listened to him. “Now? You’ll have the next three days to loan him your damn drill. I’m going to be leaving in a few minutes. I’d think you’d want to spend that time with me.”

“It seems we’ve both been laboring under false expectations,” Jason replied. “Enjoy your weekend. I told Bill I’d drop off the drill this afternoon. I, for one, always keep my promises.”

Jason stalked out the door while Beth babbled on in response to his declaration. She soon realized that he was no longer interested in anything she had to say. She was concerned about his attitude, but still determined to advance at the firm.

As Jason drove, he formulated a plan. He was a mechanical engineer by profession, so his mind immediately began to assess his situation and consider possible solutions. His first action was to turn his cell phone off.

He pulled into a business that rented small enclosed trailers. He selected a trailer he could easily pull with his SUV and filled out the paperwork to rent it. By the time he completed his task, he had been gone from his condo for an hour. Beth should have left for her fuck-fest by then, so he decided to drive back to the condo.

He spent the evening deciding what he would take with him and what he would leave behind. As he carried the last of the items he was taking to the rented trailer, Jason realized he would have never needed the trailer if it weren’t for the tools and other stuff Bill had let him store in a shed behind his house. After a poor night’s sleep, Jason walked into his office the next morning with a decided chip on his shoulder.

“Jason, you’re half an hour late! Just because you married the boss’s daughter, it doesn’t mean you can slack off around here,” Keith Jones, Jason’s immediately superior, proclaimed loudly enough for most of the office to hear.

“Fuck you, too, Keith,” Jason replied with an easy grin. “I won’t be holding your creative mind back any longer. Assholes like you and Henderson are ruining this company. Neither of you would know a good idea if it bit you on the ass. Now shut the hell up. I’m trying to get something done here.”

Keith Jones was surprised that Jason had spoken to him so harshly, but it was Jason’s disdain for his father-in-law, Jack Henderson, that really shocked him. His face turned red at Jason’s words. He was about to make another threat when he realized Jason was boxing up his belongings. Jones spun around and hurried down the hall to Henderson’s office.

“What’s this all about?” Jack Henderson asked as he watched Jason place a few remaining items into the box on his desk. “Let me guess. You and Beth had a spat and you’re getting back at her by giving me a ration of shit?

“It won’t work with me, Boy. I don’t give a fuck if you stay or leave. In fact, the only reason I keep you around is because my daughter needs a roof over her head,” Henderson stated flatly. “What did you argue about? Did you cry about how mean I am? How I don’t appreciate your fucking genius?”

“We didn’t argue at all, Jack. She told me that she was going to whore her ass out this weekend. I told her to enjoy herself. No one even raised their voice. It was all quite civil,” Jason responded.

“Don’t you ever speak about my daughter like that,” Jack snarled. “Pack your shit and get the hell out. You’re fired!”

“Sorry, Jack. I’ve already quit. I just finished filling out the paperwork with HR. I had two weeks’ vacation time coming, so I used it for my notice. Tell your daughter I said goodbye.”

Beth was furious at Jason over the way he had left her. He was obviously upset, but evidently he wasn’t man enough to tell her how he felt. If he didn’t want her to go to the retreat, he should have mentioned it to her, not that it would have made any difference. It simply would have given her more opportunity to explain how well things would work out for them and to bring him around to her point of view. She tried calling him shortly after he left so she could give him a piece of her mind, but his phone had been turned off. He was sulking like a little boy.

Marci picked her up right on time. The first few minutes of the drive were quiet as the two women mulled over their situation. Beth finally broke the silence.

“How did Brett take your news about spending the weekend at the retreat?”

“Like a whining little bitch,” Marci spat. “All he could talk about was how it would affect him. His fragile ego couldn’t handle it. He demanded I stay home. I insisted he go straight to hell. I want to make partner someday, and if fucking a few old bastards will help make it happen, then that’s what I’m going to do.

“He doesn’t own me. We’re only engaged, or at least we were. I don’t know if I even want to marry him after his childish, misogynist rant. He thinks that when I accepted his ring, I gave him ownership of my pussy.”

“Did he really say that?” Beth asked in surprise.

“No, but it’s pretty much what he meant. A good, devoted fiancée would never give up a piece of her ass to some old fucker just to get a promotion. That would make her a whore. What an asshole. I’m glad I found out what a controlling prick he really is before we got married,” Marci added. “How did it go with Jason? You’re riding to the retreat with me, so I guess he didn’t go all caveman on you.”

“No, he didn’t. He simply told me he promised to loan his drill to a friend. He left to drop it off.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Marci exclaimed. “That was it? No tears. No threats? No pounding his chest and hurling insults?”

“Yeah. I thought it was kind of strange, too. Do think he was upset?”

“Upset? Are you kidding? When a man yells and screams, he’s upset. When he’s quiet and leaves as fast as he can, he’s furious beyond reason,” Marci replied. “We’ve left a couple of angry men in our wake. I hope this weekend is worth it.”

“Jason works for Dad. He won’t dare complain too much to me about the retreat. He knows he’ll be out of a job if he says anything nasty to me, or about me, and I tell Dad.”

Marci glanced at Beth before replying. “Does he love his job so much that he won’t want to piss off the boss? Are he and your father close? Does Jason enjoy his work?”

“Well, no. Dad has been kind of miserable to him. Jason thinks it’s because he married Dad’s “princess.” He isn’t that bad to the other employees,” Beth admitted.

“So keeping his job isn’t going to be much of an incentive, is it?”

“He needs a job, and Dad pays him pretty well. I don’t know where he’d find another one that’s comparable, at least in this area,” Beth insisted. “He doesn’t have many options.”

“So, you have him by the balls? Good for you, Beth. I wish my father owned the company where Brett worked. He’d stop his whining pretty damn quick. My pussy won’t be worn out in one weekend. There’ll be plenty left for him, if he plays his cards right and gets his head out of his ass.”

Marci’s fiancé, Brett Carson, worked for a cyber security firm. His work mostly involved companies paying his firm to hack into their computer systems. Brett’s firm would then make recommendations on how the hacked company could improve its security. He was very good at what he did.

Brett was far more than merely pissed-off at Marci’s stated intention to spend the weekend fucking the senior partners in her law firm. Shortly after Marci left to pick up Beth, he sat down at his desk and fired up his powerful desktop computer.

Marci was trying to figure out what happened as she was driving Beth home Friday afternoon. “Do you have any idea what the hell happened this morning? Both Martins were getting ready to make me a Marci sandwich when Roberts started swearing and yelling at them to get their asses out to the living room.”

“Roberts made me pull off his cock so he could answer the house phone,” Beth replied. “You know how we all had our cells turned off at Bill Martin’s insistence. He didn’t want any distractions while they were having their way with us. Roberts was annoyed when he first answered the phone, but he changed his tone quickly. He hurried out of the room to call for Bill and Tim Martin. Apparently, they abandoned their Marci sandwich to see what Roberts wanted.

“Then Jack Stevens hustled out of his bedroom to see what the ruckus was about. Janice and Nicci were curious and followed him. The three of us stood there naked while the four partners went into the den to talk where we wouldn’t hear them. That’s when you walked out and asked what was going on.

“That’s some hickey on your left breast, by the way. You may want to cover it up before Brett sees it,” Beth advised.

“This is all fucked up,” Marci stated with concern. “We gave up some pussy to get promoted, but things went to hell before we could find out about any promotions. The partners were pretty pissed when they told us to go home and keep our mouths shut. Some kind of shit hit the fan and I’m worried it’ll splatter all over us.”

“I’ll have to spend some time getting Jason to calm down and get over my going to that so-called retreat. I won’t lie to him, but I have to make him realize it wasn’t as bad as he thinks it was,” Beth stated with concern.

“You’re going to tell your husband you were triple teamed and made air tight last night while you’re trying to convince him it wasn’t all that bad?” Marci asked. “I’d love to hear that conversation.”

“Unless he asks me point blank if I had three partners at once, I won’t mention that part. I will tell him what pigs those men are and how they treated us like paid whores. It was the worst sexual experience of my life, by far.”

“I don’t know if telling Jason we were treated like whores would be a good idea, since that’s what he and Brett already think we are. In fact, with the four partners and our significant others all thinking we’re whores, it makes any argument against us being whores rather weak, wouldn’t you say?”

“We’re not whores; we’re lawyers, female lawyers in a man’s world. We have to use every possible advantage we have to get where we want to be,” Beth insisted.

“That’s true, but I’m afraid what you described is almost the actual definition of whore. I guess that’s irony or something,” Marci replied.

“We had our phones off since yesterday afternoon,” Beth mentioned as she picked up her cell. “I’m going to see if Jason tried calling me. That’ll help me determine how angry he is.

“I’ve got six messages from my mom, but nothing from Jason. He might still be upset with me. I’ll listen to Mom’s messages. I hope he didn’t say anything to her. That would be a little awkward,” Beth admitted.

Marci heard Beth gasp as she listened to her messages. She saw Beth scowl and then quickly begin sobbing. Marci pulled off the highway to console her friend.

“Mom said Jason quit his job this morning. He told Dad I was ‘whoring my ass out.’ She asked what Jason meant by that and if I’ve been in contact with him. He just packed up everything on his desk at work and left. Mom tried calling him, and it went to voicemail. Mom’s last message was asking me why my phone was turned off.”

As Beth finished speaking, her phone rang. “It’s my brother, Dan. He’s probably pissed at me. He and Jason are best buds.”

Beth reluctantly accepted the call, only to have her brother start in on her immediately. “What in hell have you done? Jason just called me and said he’s divorcing you. He told me you were trying to fuck your way to success at that fucking law firm. Tell me he had it all wrong!”

“It wasn’t like that,” Beth protested. “I was doing it for us. We want to buy a house and start a family. I was just trying to facilitate everything. He understood why I was doing it. He didn’t tell me not to go!”

“Are you that damn dumb, Sis? Jason doesn’t want his wife fucking other men to help provide food and shelter for the family. He’d rather live under a damn bridge! Most men would. Did you fuck anybody last night? Maybe you can get Jason to forgive you if you didn’t sleep with any of those bastards. Are you still with them?”

“I’m on my way home now,” Beth replied between sobs. “The partners expected us to put out last night. We didn’t have much choice.”

“Partners?” Dan repeated. “You slept with more than one of those bastards?”

“They’re our bosses and have the power to advance our careers, as well as to end them. I did what I needed to do to get ahead and help our future family.”

“Bullshit! No wonder Jason left. You’re willing to spread your legs for any man with power and money. You expect Jason to be okay with that? How many bosses did you fuck? Three? Four? Never mind. It doesn’t matter. The fact you even considered going to that fucking place meant Jason had to divorce you. Having a damn gangbang only solidifies his decision. I doubt he’ll ever speak to you again.”

“I’ll be home in an hour. I’ll make it up to him as soon as I get there,” Beth stated with more certainty than she felt. “He’ll forget about divorce and apologize to me for involving my brother and parents in our personal life.”

“You’re delusional, Beth. You’ll be better off single. You don’t have what it takes to be a wife and mother.”

“That’s a cruel thing to say to a woman, never mind your sister. Jason loves me and I love him,” Beth insisted.

“You and Jason will both be happier away from each other. I never should have introduced him to you. I feel partly responsible for this mess. I didn’t realize how important success was to you. Neither did he, obviously.”

At the same time Beth was speaking to her brother, Jason was taking a seat in the office of Brent Williams. “Your cousin, Bill, recommended you to me. Thanks for giving me an appointment on such short notice.”

“I know you and Bill go way back. I’m glad to help. I understand you want to divorce your wife. You’ve been married less than a year.”

“That pretty well sums it up,” Jason agreed. “I want to give you power of attorney for the divorce. I’m leaving the area as soon as we’re done here. You can reach me by email or phone if you have any questions about the divorce. I don’t want a damn thing from her, so it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“Is you vehicle in your name and did you own it before you married her?” When Jason nodded, Brent continued. “Since you have no kids and aren’t asking for anything, it should proceed through the courts quite quickly. I’ll just need you to sign some documents in front of my secretary. She’ll notarize everything.”

Jason was 50 miles away by the time Beth made it to their condo. She rushed to the closet, only to find nothing but empty hangars on his side. Stunned, she threw herself onto the bed as huge sobs racked her body.

It was early June, so Jason drove north. He had never been to New England and decided to rectify that shortcoming. Three days after Beth announced to him that she was going to the retreat, he was in northern Maine. He had stopped to fill his gas tank and take a bathroom break when he noticed a sign tacked on a bulletin board advertising for laborers, mechanics and truck drivers. His father had been a very good mechanic. Jason felt it had been a factor in his decision to become a mechanical engineer. While his profession was a bit more detailed and complicated, it still involved understanding how machines worked and various methods to improve or repair them.

He decided some hard manual labor might be just what the doctor ordered. It might help him forget Beth’s betrayal. He wanted his mind occupied with thoughts other than Beth sharing her bed with some old lecher. Beth’s betrayal had hurt him more than he cared to admit. With those thoughts bouncing around in his head, he called the number listed on the ad.

Jason was surprised when the man answering the phone asked him to come in for an interview that afternoon. Apparently, the company needed people badly. Jason got the address and agreed to an interview in an hour.

He walked into a dingy office next to a huge metal building inside a large fenced-in area. A man sitting at a desk introduced himself as Joe Duffy. The wiry, older man got right to the point.

“We need laborers, drivers and mechanics, but, to be honest, you don’t look like you’re any of those.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Jason agreed with a smile. “I don’t look like a man who works hard for a day’s pay. I kind of got away from that once I took a desk job. For most of the past year, I sat around on my ass.”

“You seem bright enough, but I have to question your skills and work ethic,” Duffy explained. “You’d be working with rough men and expected to produce results. Some of the drivers, as well as a few others, are paid incentives if they exceed their quotas for a month. They can become a bit ... irrational if they feel they’re going to lose their bonus because of someone else’s incompetence.”

“My father was a damn good mechanic. He worked on heavy equipment for Jonas Brothers in West Virginia for almost thirty years,” Jason replied. “I worked with him during my summer breaks, so I know which end of a wrench to use. He taught me a lot.”

“I probably wouldn’t take you on if we weren’t so short on help, but I’m willing to give you a shot,” Duffy responded. “Can you start tomorrow?”

“I’ll need to find a motel for the night, but yeah, I can start tomorrow,” Jason agreed. “Do I report here?”

“Go to the big steel building next door. Be there by 6 AM. We service our truck fleet. A lot of them have mounted cherry pickers which always seem to be breaking hydraulic hoses. Now and then you’ll be expected to service dozers, skidders or even a feller-buncher. You’ll have plenty to do. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

Jason spent an hour filling out the paperwork. He was back at the logging company headquarters at 5:30 the next morning. He was introduced to his immediate superior and three other men working as mechanics. He could tell the men were a bit skeptical of his abilities. They looked at his hands when they shook with him. The others had broken fingers, calluses, cuts and scars. Jason’s hands were soft and pasty-looking by comparison.

The next few months flew by for Jason. The first two weeks were tough because the work was quite physical. He worked on transmissions, changed huge tires and even swapped out a couple of truck engines. As time went on, his strength and stamina improved to the point where he would often work a few hours overtime.

Once his boss determined Jason was a capable mechanic, his pay was bumped up substantially. He checked his bank account after a sixty hour-work week. He was surprised to see that he was banking more than he had been when he was working for Beth’s father as a professional.

Two months after Jason had been hired; he received an email from his lawyer, Brent Williams. Beth was not fighting the divorce, so it would go through quickly. The part of the missive that surprised Jason was that she had given his lawyer $25,000 dollars to be forwarded to Jason.

Jason called Brent for an explanation of the money. Their savings account only had a few thousand dollars in it when he had decided to leave. He had taken exactly half of it out of the bank to carry with him.

“Brent, what’s with the money Beth’s sending me? We didn’t have that kind of money in any accounts.”

“I’ve only heard bits and pieces of the story, but I’ll tell you what I know,” Brent explained. “Beth was terminated the week after that ill-advised weekend. Apparently, her firm settled with her for unspecified workplace misconduct, so she walked with a $50,000 settlement. She feels half of it belongs to you, since you were her husband at the time and were also a wronged party. I’ll wire the money to your account. Just give my secretary the necessary information and you’ll have it almost immediately.”

The news caught Jason by surprise. Beth had expected to make partner by sleeping her way to the top. He wondered why she had been terminated after her bosses had the opportunity to sample her charms at the so-called retreat. Obviously, something hadn’t gone as planned.

“Beth wanted me to ask you if you would call her, or unblock her number so she can call you,” added Brent.

“Tell her that if she can swear that she has not had sex with anyone other than me since we were married, I’ll be willing to speak with her,” Jason responded after some thought.

Jason had mixed emotions about accepting money gained in that manner, but he didn’t feel bad enough to turn it down. The money did come with a great deal of disappointment and pain. He decided to just bank it for the time being. Oddly enough, he received a phone call from his old college roommate a week later.

Art was a great guy who’d give you the shirt off his back. The only problem was that his shirt was usually stained and wrinkled. He was casual to a fault, as well as a financial wizard, in his own mind. For as long as Jason had known him, Art had always been involved in get rich quick schemes.

“Jason, I’ve stumbled onto a great opportunity to make some serious cash,” Art announced excitedly. “I have a chance to buy 400 acres next to Interstate 77. It’s in an estate and the family’s only asking 200 grand. My sources tell me that the biggest retailer in the world is looking for a location to build a huge distribution center in the area. The property will be worth millions when they decide to build.”

“Wow,” Jason responded drily. “Why doesn’t this company just buy the land before you do? How do you know it’ll want to locate on that chunk of real estate? Where are you going to get all the money? I don’t have that kind of capital.”

“That’s the beauty of it. All I need is $20,000 to put down to make an offer. I’ll have it written so we close after due diligence, which I will expect to take about six months. By that time, I’ll have the buyer lined up. We’ll sell the contract for millions with no further investment. It’s the most likely location for the distribution center, but you know how big companies work. They’ll fart around looking to see if some frog will be displaced or some such bullshit before they buy a property. They’ll look at dozen other options before finally settling on the one we’ll own.”

“How much do you need from me?” Jason asked as he thought about the money Beth had sent to him. It was money he could afford to lose and would probably be happier if he did.

“I’ll need the full $20,000 dollars, Bro. I’ve had a couple of setbacks this year. Once we sell the contract, we’ll be worth millions. I’ll split the profits down the middle with you.”