Chapter 1

My name is Kathy Alpin and I was twenty-nine years old when my fall began.

I had felt that 2002 was going to be our year. My Husband Fred and I were having our dream home built and in spite of the problems we were having with the building inspectors I was excited about the prospect of moving into our new house that summer. Fred was handling the frustrating business of dealing with the inspector and our contractor without much help from me. I was preoccupied with events taking place at DC&H where I worked.

At that time I had been manager of the accounting department at DC&H for two years and had twenty accountants reporting to me. DC&H was coming off two years of record growth in the mergers and acquisitions business, which had provided me with very generous year-end bonuses. The problems arose in January when some severe management problems were uncovered at the DC&H offices in Indianapolis. It was an internal audit run by my department that had uncovered irregularities in the revenue claimed by the sales department. The fourth quarter sales numbers had been overstated in order to justify commission bonuses paid to the sales manager, the office manager and a few others. I wasn't sure if the fact that I led the audit team would help protect me from the coming purge.

The proverbial crap hit the fan on the third of February. A team from corporate headquarters in New York, consisting of a company vice president, the head of corporate security, and a team of auditors came to our office. I spent the day with the corporate auditors going over the results of my audit and by the end of the day the office manager; the sales manager and two other lower level managers had been escorted from the building by the head of corporate security.

I felt bad for those that were fired but I was more concerned with what would happen to me. I was told that when I finished meeting with the corporate audit team that I was to meet with the vice president that was leading the team investigating the problems in our office. I was afraid that all of the managers in the office had been tainted by the actions of a few people and I fully expected that my meeting with the VP would be the end of my career at DC&H.

I finished with the auditors at six o'clock that evening and was then escorted to the conference room where Jack Hanson, Vice President of Corporate Sales, was waiting for me.

"Please come in Mrs. Alpin," Mr. Hanson said. "Get yourself a cup of coffee or a soda if you like and have a seat. This won't take very long. It's been a long day and I am sure you are anxious to get home."

Jack Hanson was very distinguished looking forty-six year old man. He was six feel tall, slender and appeared to be in excellent physical condition. His steel gray eyes penetrated me as I sat down across the table from him. I could feel my heart pounding as I waited to hear what he had to say to me.

"I guess this has been a pretty traumatic experience for you," he said. "To have four people fired and know that it was your audit that was responsible. It should put your mind at ease to know that the corporate auditors were already suspicious of the fourth quarter report. If you hadn't found the problem in your audit they would have. The difference is that if it had been corporate that found it you would have been let go with the others."

I felt like I should say something but I couldn't think of anything so I kept silent.

"What I am trying to say is that you are not responsible for what happened. Those men were going to lose their jobs anyway the only thing your audit did was save your job," he said. "By the way, the four that were let go were told that it was corporate accounting that caught them, so you don't have to worry about them being angry with you."

"Thank you. I was worried about that," I said.

I was starting to feel a little better. I wasn't going to lose my job and that was a relief but I was still a little uncomfortable sitting alone with Mr. Hanson.

"Mrs. Alpin, may I call you Kathy?"

"Yes."

"Good. Kathy, in preparation for today I spent the last two weeks going over the personnel files of every employee in this office. First, I needed to determine who and how many were involved in the false reporting of the sales figures. Second, I had to make decisions on which employees to keep after the reorganization. I have to say that I was very impressed with your personnel file. You have an excellent work record and an impressive resume. I have to say that I am a bit surprised to find an MBA from the Wharton School at Penn working as a first level accounting manager."

"When I just finished my degree six years ago, there weren't any good jobs for an MBA in Indianapolis," I said. "I worked for a couple of other companies before I got this job two years ago."

"Why didn't you go somewhere else? I am sure with a degree from Wharton you could have gotten a lot better job somewhere else," he said.

"My husband was working for Independent Investigations Corporation (IIC) in Indianapolis before we got married," I said. "He was doing well and didn't want to leave Indianapolis. I thought that I would eventually get a good job here."

"What is IIC?"

"IIC provides investigative services to large insurance companies. They investigate insurance claims for fraud, retrieve stolen property and that sort of thing," I said.

"Interesting. Do you and your husband expect to be staying in this area for a while?" he asked.

"Yes. We are in the process of building a house and plan to stay in Indianapolis," I said.

"Good. I plan on moving my office from New York to Indianapolis and I will be looking for people I can count on to help get this office back on track. If you are a member of my team I can promise you will be rewarded for your efforts," he said.

"Can I ask what kind of rewards you are talking about?"

"Think high level position in the corporation, big salary, bonuses and stock options," he said. "I think you can begin to get the picture."

My stomach started to do flips and I could feel my face flush. Was he just teasing me or could that really happen. I decided to believe it could really happen.

"What do I have to do to become a member of your team?"

"Nothing right now. First we have to get the office through this transition and then we can focus on other things," he said. "I have to ask you not to tell anyone about this conversation. I wouldn't want anyone else to know what I am telling you. Let me just say that I have big plans for myself in this corporation and this office is going to be a key to my success. If you work with me to help me attain my goals, I will take you up with me."

We talked a little more about personal stuff. I told him more about Fred and the house we were building but he didn't say much about himself. By the time I left to go home I felt very comfortable with Mr. Hanson.

I was so excited on the way home I barely remembered the drive. It seemed as though I was just suddenly home. I couldn't wait to get into the house to tell Fred what had happened at work and about the meeting I had with Mr. Hanson.

When I walked in Fred was in the kitchen preparing dinner, which meant I would have clean up duties afterward but I was so happy that I didn't care.

"So, how did it go today?" Fred asked.

"Not too bad," I said.

I tried not to smile but Fred saw through me.

"I'd say from the expression on your face that things must have gone pretty well," he said.

I spent the next ten minutes telling Fred about the firings and my all day meeting with the corporate auditors.

"After my meeting with the auditors, I had a meeting with Jack Hanson. He was the VP that came in with the auditors to handle the investigation," I said. "I was sure he was going to fire me but instead he told me that he thought I was doing a good job. He told me that if I stay with the company that I could move up pretty quickly."

I didn't know why but I left out the part about needing to be on Mr. Hanson's team or any of his comments on how high up I could go. I thought at the time it was because Mr. Hanson told me not to tell anyone what he told me but Fred was my husband and I should have told him.

"That's great, Kathy," Fred said. "I am very proud of you and I always knew that your talent and hard work would get noticed. What do you say we bag this dinner and go out to celebrate?"

"Celebrate what? That I didn't get fired?" I said.

"For starters and then we can celebrate that a company VP has recognized your talents and has hinted that you could move up in the company. Mostly I am just proud of you. You did the right thing by reporting what your audit turned up and now you will be rewarded for your work."

That was my Fred, always supportive. He knew that I needed a lift after the rough few weeks leading up to the meeting with Mr. Hanson and he was using what Mr. Hanson told me about my career as an excuse to go out to dinner to help me unwind from the ordeal I had been through.

Before I go farther into my story I would like to tell you a little about Fred and the relationship we had.

Fred was twenty-two when I met him. It was the summer of 1994 and I was in Indianapolis visiting Connie Bradshaw, my college roommate. The second day I was there Connie informed me that she had fixed me up with a date for that night. I was a little upset with her because I don't like blind dates but I figured that since I was only in town for a few days it wouldn't hurt me to go out with this guy. After all, we would be with Connie and her boyfriend.

Connie told me his name was Fred Alpin. She said he was a friend of her boyfriend's but she didn't know him very well. She said that he worked for some kind of private investigation company. That sounded like it might be BS to me. He's a private detective? Sounds like the guy who tries to pick up girls by saying he's a CIA agent. I decided to hold judgment until after I met him.

I asked Connie what he looked like.

"He's over six feet tall, maybe 180 to 190 pounds. He has brown hair. His nose is a little crooked, " Connie said.

"Is he handsome," I asked, "or does he have a great personality?"

Connie laughed. "Don't worry, he is not a dog."

"What would you call him?" I asked.

"Confident," Connie said.

"Confident? What do you mean by confident?" I asked.

"You'll see when you meet him," she said.

That evening Connie's boyfriend picked us up at Connie's house and when I didn't see anyone else in the car I assumed that I had been stood up. I was pissed.

"John, Where's Fred?" Connie asked her boyfriend.

"He's gong to meet us at the restaurant," John said. "He got hung up on a case and said that he had to finish up some paper work and should only be a few minutes late."

Working on a case?

"John, is this friend of yours really a private eye?" I asked.

"Not exactly a private eye. I'll let him explain that when he joins us," he answered.

Connie, John and I had just ordered drinks when Fred came in. I had forgotten Connie's describing him as being confident. All I knew was that when he introduced himself to me before Connie or John thought to do it I immediately felt a warm connection between us. Later that evening I told Connie that I thought he was a dreamboat.

Fred sat down next to me and immediately apologized for being late.

"Great first impression," he said. "Late for our first date."

I found it interesting that upon first meeting me he referred to this as our 'first date' implying that there would be a second but how could he already know that.

"I'll accept your apology if you tell me what kind of private detective you are," I said.

"That's a fair exchange," he said. "Actually we don't call ourselves private detectives. We are referred to as investigators. We contract out to large insurance companies. We investigate insurance claims for fraud, retrieve stolen property or in any way possible mitigate our client's losses. It's not as romantic as private detective work. After all, what could be more romantic than sitting in a tree taking pictures of a man cheating on his wife?"

After that Fred spent most of the rest of the evening asking me questions. He said he was very impressed when I told him I was in working on my master's degree in business administration at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Fred laughed and said, "I'm not smart enough to be on a date with you."

"As long as you realize that I'll let you stay," I said.

"I like you," he said. "Are there any good hotels near the Penn campus I can stay at when I come to visit you?"

The question surprised me but my answer surprised me even more.

"There are several hotels in the area. When are you coming to visit?" I asked.

I had a great time that night and ended up going out with Fred four more times during my one-week visit. I was really falling for him but I decided not to have sex with him no matter how excited he got me. I wasn't sure if I would ever see him again after I returned to school so I didn't want to complicate things by having sex with him. I didn't want to be a one-week romance.

I got back to my apartment in Philadelphia Sunday afternoon and that evening Fred called to ask if he could come see me the following weekend. I was surprised that he called me so soon and happy to tell him that I would love to see him the following weekend.

By the middle of the week I had decided I was going to have sex with him that weekend and not worry about it. I was falling in love with this guy and I wanted to make love to him so when he called me Thursday night and asked me where he should stay for the weekend I told him I wanted him to stay with me at my apartment.

We had a lot of fun that weekend. Fred had never been to Philadelphia before so we did some touristy stuff. We went to Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell, visited the Franklin Institute and went to a Phillies game. We also walked along the Schuykill and watched the eight man crews rowing on the river. It was a wonderful weekend but the best thing of all was the first time we made love.

Fred had arrived Friday evening and we didn't get into a restaurant for dinner until almost 8:30 PM. By then there weren't many diners and we were able to sit and enjoy or meal and each other for almost two hours before we started getting hints that we should leave.

On the walk back to my apartment I think we both were thinking about what was going to happen when we got there. Fred put his arm around me and I leaned in close to him as we walked. I enjoyed the way his strong body felt against me. With his arm around me I felt safe and very comfortable. Most of all I felt happy.

When we got back to the apartment I asked Fred to opened a bottle of wine while I put on some music. For the next hour we sat on the sofa, sipped wine and kissed each other. My nipples were hard and my panties wet before Fred ever even touched me below the neck.

When Fred started to massage my breasts through my top I couldn't sit still. Fred thought I was uncomfortable and wanted him to stop.

"I am sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" He asked.

"No. Not at all," I said, "but maybe we should go to bed now."

I got up and took Fred's hand and led him to my bedroom and there things began to speed up. Fred immediately pulled my top up over my head and removed it. Then he began kissing me as he unhooked my bra and pulled if off me. By then my nipples were so hard they were beginning to hurt. Fred was kissing my neck and gently squeezing my breasts but I couldn't wait any longer so I grabbed his head with both hands and guided his mouth to my right breast and pressed my nipple against his lips. Fred flicked his tongue across my nipple and it felt like electricity shooting through my body.

Fred was now driving me crazy the way he was sucking on my breasts while at the same time he opened my skirt and pushed it down and let it drop to the floor. Soon Fred had his hand inside my panties and was fingering me to my first orgasm of the night. Then Fred slipped his hand down inside my panties in back and I was enjoying the sensation as his hands massaged my cheeks until he tried to slip a finger between them and touch my rectum.

It was not that I have any problem with the idea of him touching me there it was just a reflex. I am very sensitive there so as soon as her tried to get his finger between my cheeks my muscles clenched tightly, making it impossible for him to get his finger in there.

Fred apologized but I told him it was all right.

"It's a reflex. I am just very sensitive there. I have always been that way. When I was about eight years old I snapped a rectal thermometer when my mother was trying to take my temperature," I said.

Fred put both hands inside me panties and massage my cheeks as we kissed. He lifted me onto the bed and then began to remove his clothes. I almost laughed when he pulled his jockey shorts down and his erection popped up. I hadn't realized it until that moment that I had never seen a man's cock do that before. I don't mean that I was a virgin because I wasn't but I had only had two lovers before Fred. I had never seen either of my previous lovers getting undressed like that. It was usually done in the dark or while we were on the bed rolling around. I had never sat and watched them undress like I had just watched Fred.

To see him standing there with this big erection bouncing around in front of him struck me as funny but I knew better than to laugh. I certainly didn't want to give him the impression that I was laughing at him.

When Fred got on the bed and climbed between my legs and pressed the head of his cock against my opening there was nothing funny about it. The pure sexual joy I felt as his cock spread my labia and moved inside me, opening my sex as he slowly penetrated me was greater than any sexual experience I had ever had. This wasn't about size, shape or sexual talent it was purely a function of how I felt about Fred.

When he had buried himself all the way inside me and started to pump his shaft in and out all I could do was wrap my arms and legs around him and hang on as I trembled through what felt like one long orgasm.

When it was over it took me longer to recover from that orgasm than it took him.

We tried to make love a second time that night but my body was tingling all over from the first time and that made me to ticklish to let him touch me anywhere. Instead, we just held each other until we fell asleep.

In the morning we had a quickie before breakfast and then went sight seeing.

After that weekend I think we both knew we were supposed to be together. Fred was spending at least one weekend a month with me and I traveled to Indianapolis whenever I could.

Fred came to my commencement ceremony and sat with my parents and that night after dinner he asked me to marry him. His proposal was totally unexpected but I was ready with my answer. "Yes." I had known for a few months already what my answer would be if he asked.

My parents didn't have much money and Fred didn't want to wait a year while we planned a wedding so we decided to get married that summer. We got married on the beach in Florida with just our immediate families and a few close friends in attendance.

Fred already had a small house in Indianapolis that we lived in right up until our new house was build. Fred continued working for IIC and I began looking for jobs. I had no problem finding jobs but I was over qualified for them. I worked in retail for a year as a management trainee but I really didn't like the work so I took another job as an assistant manager at a small branch of a large chain of banks. This didn't last long because the bank chain was taken over by a larger bank chain and I got laid off. For the next two years I was a substitute teacher for the Indianapolis school district. This kept me reasonably busy but didn't pay well. I did however enjoy teaching.

Finally I heard about the opening for a manager at DC&H. Luckily I had taken some accounting courses in college. That along with my MBA landed me the job as manager of the accounting department.

I knew there were better jobs for a Wharton graduate but I was happy being the accounting manager at DC&H as long as I had Fred.

That's what makes the rest of my story so hard to understand. I don't fully understand it myself. My hope is that by putting this on paper it will help bring some clarity to me. Help me understand what I did to Fred and to myself.

Things happened quickly after my initial meeting with Jack Hanson. The following Monday the new office manager arrived. His name was Greg Bartlett. Greg was a bald chubby guy about five and a half feet tall. He was friendly but he was all business in his activities around the office. Mr. Bartlett was a good manager and knew how an office like ours was supposed to run and he started instituting changes immediately and the operation of the office seemed to respond to his changes.

Two weeks after Mr. Bartlett took over as office manager Jack Hanson moved into the former sales manager's office while his permanent office on the floor above our offices was being constructed.

Mr. Hanson stopped by my desk that day and asked me to come to his office that afternoon at three o'clock to talk over some issues.

His demeanor when he spoke to me made me comfortable. He was smiling and seemed very relaxed. So, at three o'clock I walked into his office and accepted his invitation to sit down.

"Your look very nice today Kathy," he said, "and certainly less stressed out than the last time we talked."

"Thank you. I am feeling better now."

"I wanted to meet with you to ask if you had thought about our last conversation," he said.

"About being on your team?" I asked. "I have given it a lot of thought. I would like to think that I could be helpful to you with your plans for this company and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in the kind of career opportunities you alluded to."

"I am glad to hear it, Kathy. I really want you on my team but I must tell you now that I will demand complete loyalty. I have to know that my team members are going to be in lock-step with me," he said.

I couldn't read anything from the expression on his face.

"I have some tasks I will have to ask you to perform in order to get my plans rolling."

"What kind of tasks?" I asked.

"It's too early to tell you that yet. Before I can lay my plans out to you I am going to have to be absolutely positive that I can count on you. You are going to have to prove yourself to me first," he said.

I felt a signal go off in my head. I didn't like the direction the conversation had taken. Prove myself to him? How? What would he expect me to do to prove myself?

"I am not sure I understand, Mr. Hanson," I said. "How can I prove myself to you? What exactly are you getting at?"

Mr. Hanson got up from his desk and started to pace around the office. Then he sat in the chair next to me.

"Kathy, I find you to be a very attractive woman," he said.

I thought to myself "Oh shit, here it comes."

"I don't want you to think that I do this sort of thing all the time," he continued. "The fact is I have never done anything like this before. It's just that I need you to prove your absolute loyalty to me and I have this overwhelming desire to have you. I am hoping that I can persuade you to help me satisfy both of my needs," he said.