Security footage of you vandalizing his car. Maybe some evidence of stalking, harassment, intimidation. My pulse quickened. You're bluffing. Am I?
She pulled out her phone and showed me a video. It was grainy security footage from Nathan's parking garage clearly showing me keying his car and leaving the note. This is just the beginning, Jack. They have more. They Megan and Nathan.
You think your wife is some innocent victim in all this? She's been planning this for months, maybe longer. The dating profiles, the affairs, the public humiliation, it's all designed to make you snap. To push you into doing something stupid so she can divorce you and take everything. The rooms seem to tilt slightly.
That's insane. Is it? Think about it. She flaunts the affair in front of you. Practically dares you to react.
When you do, she plays the victim, claims you're abusive, unstable, dangerous, gets a restraining order, takes the house, gets custody of Emily, and walks away with half your business. I stared at the security footage, my mind racing. It made a sick kind of sense. Megan was smart, calculating, ambitious. If she wanted out of our marriage, she'd want to do it in a way that maximized her advantage.
Why are you telling me this? I asked. Because I don't like bullies. And because you remind me of my ex-husband, decent guy who got railroaded by a woman who was smarter and more ruthless than he was. What happened to him?
He's living in a studio apartment in Cleveland, working as a night security guard and seeing his kids every other weekend if he's lucky. The jukebox switched to something by Paty Klene. All heartbreak and regret. A couple at the bar was arguing in low, intense voices about money or infidelity or whatever it was that destroyed relationships one conversation at a time. "So, what do you suggest I do?" I asked.
Walk away. File for divorce. Hire a good lawyer and try to salvage what you can. Don't give them the ammunition they need to destroy you completely and let them win. Sometimes not losing is the same as winning.
I finished my beer and signaled for another. The alcohol wasn't helping with the confusion, but it was taking the edge off the anger that had been building in my chest for days. There's something else, Lisa said. Something you need to know about Nathan. What?
He's not just some random coworker Megan decided to have an affair with. They have history. My stomach clenched. What kind of history? College.
They dated senior year before she met you. It was serious. Living together. Talking about marriage. Serious.
Then Nathan got a job offer in California and decided his career was more important than the relationship. Broke her heart pretty thoroughly. The pieces started falling into place with sickening clarity. So when he transferred to Hartwell last year, old flames, unfinished business, revenge against the husband who got the girl he threw away. It's like a soap opera except the consequences are real.
I thought about Megan's reaction when Nathan started at her company. How excited she'd been about the new talent in the HR department, how she'd started working late, going to more company events, buying new clothes. "How long have you known?" I asked. "I figured it out about 3 months ago when I was doing routine background checks on new employees. Nathan's social media history was full of photos from college, including several with your wife.
I started paying attention after that." and you didn't think to warn me, would you have believed me? A stranger calling to tell you your wife was planning to cheat with her ex-boyfriend? You'd have thought I was crazy. She was right. I would have dismissed her as some jealous coworker or corporate troublemaker.
Besides, Lisa continued, "I thought maybe I was wrong. Maybe they were just old friends reconnecting. People do grow up, move on, learn from their mistakes. But they didn't. No, they didn't.
We sat in silence for a while, listening to the bar's soundtrack of broken dreams and bad decisions. The couple at the bar had stopped arguing and were now making out like teenagers. Their fight forgotten or postponed until the next round. There's one more thing, Lisa said finally. Something that might change your mind about walking away.
What? She pulled out a manila envelope and slid it across the table. Nathan's not just after your wife, he's after your business. I opened the envelope and found a stack of printouts, emails, financial documents, what looked like a business plan. My name was all over them along with details about Milbrook Tech Solutions that should have been private.
He's been using Megan to gather intelligence about your client list, your contracts, your financial situation. Planning to start a competing firm and poach your biggest accounts. The betrayal hit me like a physical blow. It was one thing for Megan to cheat on me emotionally or physically. It was another thing entirely for her to help someone destroy the business I'd built from nothing.
She gave him all this. Pillow Talk is a powerful intelligence gathering tool. Nathan's been pumping her for information and she's been happy to provide it. Probably thinks she's helping her future husband get a head start on his new venture. I stared at the documents, seeing 15 years of hard work and sacrifice reduced to data points in someone else's business plan.