Lustly(15)
“Good. Keep it that way. No matter how hard it is, Lily, it’s important that you keep it under lock and key. Then of course, you’ll need to find some source of income. I recommend getting a day job where you can work around anyone knowing and bank all of the money. I get that you’re inexperienced, but there are jobs out there for anyone, if you look hard enough. Push comes to shove I could probably offer you something here to pay for my time.”
“Like what?” My eyes lit up with excitement to be offered a job.
“Filing and organizing. I share this place with several other attorneys and we aren’t that neat. Our front desk girls are good, but they don’t have the time to do it. I can talk to the guys and see if something like that will work for you, then we can make up a schedule, if you’re interested of course.”
“You do realize that I’d have to work a month to pay for one hour of your time?” I wasn’t an idiot. Attorneys were expensive.
He smiled. “I don’t do this for the money, Mrs. Ross. I get that you’re in a hard place. To be perfectly honest, I do well for myself. I’m to a point where my plate is full. Helping out a few clients won’t hurt me. Besides, you’re not the first woman to come in here with nothing to go on.” I couldn’t help but wonder if he ever slept with a client. Obviously women would have noticed how handsome he was. I was only natural to assume. “I get how hard it is. I see firsthand what women and even some men have to go through.”
“I don’t want a handout. I can work.”
He put up his hand. “Before you get too excited keep in mind that working here will only pay for my services. You’re still going to need to figure out a way to secure a place for you and your children to live.” Way to be professional and make me feel like every other hard up wife that walked through the door.
He was right. Working for him only paid for me to have a lawyer. How in the hell was I going to be able to work off my attorney fees and have a job to save up for a place, without anyone finding out?
“I understand.” I knew how hard this was all going to get, but I wasn’t willing to live my life with a liar and cheater. I had to find a way to make all of this happen for me.
For the next forty minutes we discussed the process of divorce, and how legally everything worked. Eli convinced me that getting proof of the affair would only protect me in the long run. He told me that he’d talk to his associates and get back to me on when I could start helping him. In the meantime, I had other things to worry about, like finding a job.
For the next seven days I spent my time split between being a mother and wife, and desperately trying to find a means to an income. On the first day I visited the local outlets and put in an application at every single shop that allowed me to. The second and third day I went to the local doctors offices, and grocery stores, minus the one that I’d embarrassed myself in. By the fourth and fifth day I’d stopped at every little restaurant around in hopes of maybe being able to waitress. My last two days were hard. Since I’d heard nothing from any of the places, I went to the fast food establishments and filled out applications. Then I sat in my vehicle and cried, because I was in such a tough situation.
I was so sick of crying. It got me nowhere, and made my eyes puffy.
Charlie seemed to be even hornier than usual, or maybe I’d just never noticed it before. Aside from trying to get me into the sack, he also went out of his way to cater to the kids, buying them gifts for no reason, and over compensating for being the lying son of a bitch that he really was.
Ironically, after pretending that I was going through some kind of hormonal changes, I started to feel bad. I’d made an appointment to see my doctor when I got the call back from one of the places that I’d applied to. I was offered a position being a hostess at a local diner. The pay was seven dollars an hour. Reflecting on the fact that my husband made a healthy six digit salary, the idea of starting so low was not very appeasing, yet I had no other choice, or did I?
It had been quite some time since I’d thought about Ms. Cybil and the offer to make me a high-dollar whore. Of course, each time I imagined it, my stomach churned and I hated myself for considering. There was no way I’d ever be able to sleep with a stranger and live with my actions. It was wrong and I knew better.
Sure, there had always been a secretly kinky side to me, where I imagined doing dirty things and being great at it, but that’s all it was.
My imagination.
So I took the job as hostess, working the morning and afternoon hours so that my family wouldn’t know. I clipped double the amount of coupons and bought Visa gift cards at the store so that I could save the cash that I was stealing from the grocery funds. My husband didn’t have a clue about either, and staying busy was helping me deal with the constant reminder of his indiscretions.
After almost two months passed, I’d saved over eight-hundred dollars and worked plenty of hours at the attorney’s office. I no longer needed to schedule appointments with him since I saw him a few times a week. Eli was very kind. He’d order us food and we’d chat while we ate in his office. Doing so gave us time to get to know each other on a more personal level. In those two months we became fast friends, and it never hurt that he was so easy on the eyes.
Eli wasn’t just my attorney. He had become my only friend during this time, the only one I could trust with my secret agenda to rid myself of Charles Ross, aka Mr. Shit Stains, the lying, cheating, piece of shit that he was.