Jupiter Construction is a flourishing business. It's central office is normally a hot bed of bustling activity. In the construction industry time is money, so six days a week the work day begins before 7:00 AM and often continues until after 10:00 at night. Sunday is the exception. On Sundays the office is generally deserted. This was a typical Sunday morning.

As I sat at my desk the soothing silence surrounding me provided a welcome respite from the the growing crisis in my personal life. I took a few minutes to enjoy the comforting environment and then I took out my pocket recorder, turned it on, set it on my desk in front of me and listened. Pete Munson's conversation with his friend Mitch had been captured perfectly.

Listening once more to Munson gloating about his recent activities with my wife reinforced my determination to extract a pound of flesh from the vile bastard's slimy hide. As soon as the recording ended I picked up my cell phone, found the number for Dana Munson's cell phone and called her.

Dana Munson and I actually were close business associates. I talked to her about the specifications for parts that Jupiter Construction was ordering Kendall Metal Fabricating at least three or four times a week.

She answered on the third ring. "Frankie Reese, Jupiter must be facing a pretty tough deadline if you're working on Sunday morning." Her caller id had apparently identified me.

"Dana, I'm sorry to bother you on Sunday morning."

"It's okay Frankie, actually I'm in the office right now. This is the height of the road repair season. We have the plant working three shifts. We can't even keep up with the demand for steel expansion plates."

Laughing, she added, "Besides, Jupiter is our best customer. If it's necessary, you can call me in the middle of the night."

There was a pause. I was trying to think of a tactful way to begin an extremely unpleasant discussion.

After a moment Dana said, "So Frankie, what can I do for you?"

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Actually Dana, I'm not calling you about a business issue. This is personal."

"Frankie, I don't understand."

"Dana, yesterday afternoon I found out that your husband is having an affair with my wife."

"Pete and Katie?"

Dana was acquainted with my wife. Katie and I had attended two dinner parties put on by Kendall Metal Fabricating.

"Yes

There was another pause, only this one was much longer. Finally Dana said, "How is that possible? They've never met. Katie has been to a couple of our social functions, but it's been several years since Pete's attended one of them."

"They met at Brady's Saloon. I don't think either of them are aware that you and I have a connection."

"Pete does frequent Brady's and I know that he doesn't talk much about the family business. He generally tries to pass himself off as a big time attorney. It's likely that he's never even mentioned Kendall Metal Fabricating to your wife."

Suddenly Dana asked, "Frankie, why is your wife hanging out at a place like Brady's?"

"She goes there every Friday night with the other secretaries at that insurance office where she works."

"I see."

Dana thought for a moment and then she said, "Frankie, what makes you think Pete and Katie are having an affair? I mean it doesn't surprise me to hear that my husband is involved with another woman. Our marriage has become a sham. I've suspected that he was cheating on me for several years. But Katie, she seems like such a nice girl and the two of you always appeared to be so happy. Are you sure about this?"

"Yes Dana, I'm certain."

"Do you have proof?"

I have some, but I'd like to have more and I have a plan."

"What proof do you have?"

I quickly outlined the events of the past few months. When I told her about Katie coming in at 3:15 Saturday morning and described her disheveled appearance Dana sighed and said, "Oh dear, Frankie that must have been difficult."

I agreed that it was and then I went on to explain that I used to hang out at Brady's before I got married and still knew a number of people who worked there. I told her about yesterday's visit and what I'd learned about my wife's behavior in the bar. Then I finished by telling her about her husband's conversation with his friend Mitch."

When I was done Dana sighed and said, "I'm sorry Frankie, my husband has turned into a real S.O.B.. I sure would have liked to have heard that conversation."

"You can."

"What do you mean?"

"I recorded it."

"You recorded it?"

"Yes. I just listened to it a few minutes ago."

"Could I listen to it?"

"I think you should."

"Where could I meet you?"

"Why don't I come to your office."

"Frankie, would you? That would be wonderful."

"Are you busy right now? I could be there in twenty minutes."

"I'm not doing anything that can't wait. I'll be in my office. The front door is unlocked. You know the way, don't you."

"Yes, I know how to get to your office."

"Frankie, my dad is here. Would you mind if I asked him to join us?"

"No Dana, not at all. In fact, I think it would be a good idea." I knew that Arthur Kendall had the financial and legal resources necessary to mount a serious attack.

"Dana, I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Thank you Frankie, my dad and I will be waiting for you."

After ending the call, I put my cell phone and the voice recorder into my briefcase and hurried out of the office. Adrenalin was pumping through my veins. I was about to hang Mr. Peter Munson.

The door to the main offices of Kendall Metal Fabricating was unlocked. As I crossed the deserted reception area I could hear voices coming from several offices. While the clerical staff all seemed to be off, it was clear that the managers at this firm were all working on Sunday morning.

When I arrived at Dana Munson's office, I found the door open. She was seated at her desk. Her father, Arthur Kendall was sitting next to her desk. As soon as they saw me come in they both stood up.

Arthur Kendall stepped towards me with his hand extended. "Frank, it's nice to see you again. Thanks for coming over here this morning."

As I shook his hand, I said, "It's nice to see you too Arthur. I wish the circumstances were better."

Nodding, he said, "Yes, Dana has filled me in on the details of your telephone conversation." He gestured towards the chair next to the one he'd been occupying. "Please sit down."

As I was sitting down I glanced over at Dana. Pete Munson was a fool. His wife was a gorgeous woman. She was much older than Katie, maybe mid forties, but like many wealthy women the advantages of beauty spas, health clubs and personal trainers had had their effect. Despite her age she was as desirable and attractive as many women ten to twenty years younger than she was.

Dana was taller than Katie, maybe five foot seven or eight and larger busted too. While my wife wasn't a small breasted woman, Dana Munson was definitely well endowed.

They were both brunettes and wore their hair shoulder length. They both also had a twinkle in their eyes and an endearing smile that I found delightfully attractive.

As soon as I was seated Arthur Kendall and Dana both sat down. Once we were all settled Arthur said, "Dana told me that you had some sort of recording."

"Yes, yesterday at Brady's Saloon I was seated at the bar two stools away from Pete. He was bragging to his friend about his affair with my wife."

Opening my briefcase, I took out the miniature recorder and set it on Dana's desk. "I had this hidden underneath a cocktail napkin. I recorded the entire conversation."

"May we listen to it?"

"That's why I'm here."

I turned on the recorder. It took about five minutes to listen to the entire conversation.

When Munson started talking about his wife and the family business I glanced over at Dana. There was a tear rolling down her cheek. Next to me I noticed that her father was steaming.

The last part of the recording was mostly about Pete's efforts to make a chump out of me. As soon as it ended Arthur Kendall said, "Frank I apologize. My son-in-law is a real asshole.”

Looking at his daughter, he said, "I'm sorry sweetheart, he is. We've both known that for a long time, it's just been hard for you to admit it."

"I know dad. I can't help it, I fell in love with him. I know it was a mistake, a horrible mistake. I've known it for a long time. It's just been so hard to finally acknowledge that I was a colossal fool."

She turned to me. "Frank, my father is absolutely correct. Pete is, as he put it, an asshole. He's mean, vindictive, egotistical and self centered."

She sighed, "But there's something about him that makes him absolutely irresistible. I'm sure you've heard that some women are attracted to bad boys. I'm one of those women and it appears that your wife is too. Pete is the baddest of the bad boys."

Shaking her head, she said, "At least your wife had the good sense to marry a nice guy. She's just playing with the bastard. I stupidly married the son of a bitch."

She pause for a moment and then in a voice tinged with sadness she added, "But I suppose your wife's decision to get involved with Pete has pretty much destroyed your marriage."

Nodding, I said, "Yes, I think it will be hard for me to ever trust her again."

Dana smiled. It wasn't a smile of happiness, it was a smile of resignation. "So what do we do?"

Her father looked at her. "Are you ready to divorce him?"

"Yes, for years I've suspected that he's been cheating on me, but I've never been confronted with proof. That made it easier to ignore it. Now that I know for sure, well when you add infidelity to his other faults there isn't much reason to try to save the marriage."

Dana took a deep breath and sat up in her chair. Staring into her father's eyes, she said, "Now that I do know the truth, I'm angry. Daddy I want to fry the son of a bitch." The vindictiveness in her voice sent a chill up my spine.

Slowly shaking his head, Arthur Kendall said, "All right, how should we do it?"

He picked up my recorder. "This is damning evidence, but you made the recording in a public place without Pete's permission. I'm not sure it's admissible as evidence in a court of law."

Nodding, I answered, "No, I don't think it is either, but I have an idea."

"What's your idea?"

"Your son-in-law wants to humiliate me by having sex with my wife in our bed. I think I should give him the opportunity."

Mr. Kendall smiled. "You're thinking about setting him up."

"That's exactly what I want to do. I'm reasonably certain that anything I record inside my own house can be used in court."

"I think you're right, but I'll check with my lawyers to make sure. What's your plan?"

"You know that bridge we're building in Kansas City."

"Yes of course, were supplying most of the expansion plates, joints and trusses for it."

"This morning I told my wife that we're having problems with that bridge. Right now she thinks I'm in my office trying to work out solutions to the problems."

"I assume that everything with the bridge is actually just fine."

"Yes, everything is right on schedule. We aren't having any problems at all. This is just a ploy."

"And a damned good one too." Mr. Kendall smiled for a moment and then he asked, "what's the rest of the plan?"

"Tomorrow, when I get home from work I'm going to tell Katie that I have to make an emergency trip to Kansas City on Wednesday morning and I won't be back until Thursday afternoon."

Grinning, Mr. Kendall said, "And when your wife tells my sleazeball son-in-law he'll jump at the chance to get her in your bed."

"That's what I'm hoping will happen."

"What about the video recording? We can't afford any mistakes. How do you plan to handle that? Are you going to set it up?"

"No, I don't feel competent with surveillance equipment, but I think I've hired someone who is."

"Who?"

"Wheeler Home Security."

"How did you find them?"

"On the Internet."

"So you really don't know much about them."

"Not really, but I hope they're good. Yesterday afternoon I gave Jeff Wheeler a thousand dollar deposit. I really didn't know what else to do."

Mr. Kendall nodded. "Yes, this is a difficult situation. We're definitely in uncharted waters here. I'll have my attorneys check them out this afternoon. If they're not good, we'll find someone who is. Oh and don't worry, I want to cover all of the expenses. I'll get a check to you tomorrow to reimburse you for the thousand dollars."

"Sir, you don't have to do that."

"I know I don't, but I want to do it. Frank, I can easily afford it and honestly this is even more important to me than it is to you."

I smiled. "Thank you sir."

Mr. Kendall stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to make some phone calls. Frank, we need to stay in close contact over the next few days. I believe that you have Dana's phone number and she has yours."

As I stood up, I answered, "Yes."

He turned to his daughter. "Dana, you're going to be our communication link for this project."

"That's fine dad." There was a look of profound sadness in Dana's eyes.

Turning back to me, Mr. Kendall said, "Frank, I'm sure we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other over the next few days."

"Yes sir, I'm sure we will."

"Thank you for coming to see us."

"I'd like to say it was a pleasure, but..." My voice trailed off."

"I understand." After a short pause followed by a sigh Mr. Kendall said, "Thanks for coming anyway", and then he turned and walked out the door.

As soon as he was gone I turned to Dana. "I'd better be going too."

Her eyes glistening with fresh tears, Dana looked up at me and smiled. It was forced smile. In a tentative voice, she said, "Yes, I suppose so."

It was an awkward situation. Both of us were obviously hurting and had so much that we wanted to say to each other, but it was difficult. While we were friends we weren't close friends. We were business associates who had become friends. Baring our hearts to each other didn't seem appropriate. Still...

For a moment I stood in front of Dana. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know how or what to say. Finally I just smiled at her and turned.

As I started to walk out the door she said, "Frankie, wait. Don't go."

I stopped and turned around again.

"Please, I need to talk and I think you might be the only person who can understand."

Dana stood up and walked around her desk. She really was a beautiful woman.

Standing next to the chair where her father had been sitting, she said, "I'd appreciate it if we could sit together for a few minutes."

I nodded.

She sat down. I followed her lead.

After a few seconds of silence Dana quietly said, "Right now I feel angry and hurt." She paused for a moment and then she added, "But mostly I feel sad, so very very sad."

"Do you still love him?"

After taking a second to consider my question Dana shook her head. "No, I don't. I haven't loved Pete for a very long time. Actually I'm not sure that I ever loved him. Pete's not the kind of man that women love."

"If you never loved him, why did you marry him?"

"Because I was in lust with him. Frankie, I mentioned this earlier. My husband has an animal magnetism that is irresistible to some women. I met him at a party. He was in law school and I was working on my masters degree in business administration. I was immediately drawn to him."

Looking at me, Dana said, "Frankie, please excuse me. I don't mean to shock you or offend you, but if you're going to understand, I need to be candid."

I nodded. "Go ahead, we're both adults."

"The moment I met him my pussy started to tingle." Dana watched me to see how I reacted to her graphic statement.

While I was surprised, I managed to quell my initial disquiet and smile at her.

She smiled back.

"Pete likes it when I talk dirty. He taught me to do it. That's how he is. He likes sex to be dirty and nasty. That's why I can say that I never loved him. With Pete there isn't any love. There isn't any romance. There's only lust, raw, base, animal lust."

Closing her eyes, she whispered, "He made me do things, things that I'd never dreamed of doing for any other man."

Suddenly she stopped. Shaking her head, she said, "No that isn't true. Pete never made me do anything. That isn't the way he works. There was never any force or coercion. He never grabbed me or held me. He never tied me up. He certainly never hit me. No, it's much more accurate to say that Pete enticed me to do things. He made me want to do them, sometimes he even made me beg to do them.

I nodded. I wasn't sure what else to do.

"Frankie, I've always enjoyed sex. I was never a prude. Before I met Pete I'd had a number of lovers, some of them were even casual one night stands, but I was always a little reserved in bed. I tried to be a nice girl who liked sex. Pete changed me."

She smiled. "No he didn't change me, I think I was always a slut. He just drew it out of me. With Pete sex became an adventure. The night we met he took me back to my apartment. Frankie, I danced naked for him and then I sucked his cock. I'd never even imagined dancing naked for a man and while I used to give the guys I dated an occasional blow job, this was different. That night I got down on my knees and worshiped Pete's cock."

I looked at Dana. Her face was flushed, she was short of breath. It was obvious that she was excited. I asked her, "Are you going to stay with him?"

"No, I've stayed with Pete because the sex with him is addicting, it's almost like a drug." Dana shook her head. "But it's become increasingly obvious that he no longer cares about me. The callousness, indifference and hostility that I get from him have made me hate him. I also now understand that he's robbed me of something, something very important to me."

"What's that?"

"Love and romance, with Pete there has never been love or romance just lust and debauchery." Slowly shaking her head, Dana said, "Lust and debauchery are fun, but they should be the spice in relationship. Love, romance and friendship need to be the staples. I want to find a man who can play kinky games in the bedroom but will still love me, respect me and enjoy my company."

“That doesn't seem like too much to ask for."

"I don't think so either, but Pete was never able or willing to provide it and now even the bedroom part is nearly nonexistent. When we do have sex it feels like he's just doing me a favor and that is so very demeaning."

Dana sighed, "Frankie a moment ago you asked me if I loved Pete. I don't, I don't even lust after him anymore. Now I just want to be rid of him."

Leaning over, she put her hand on my thigh. "But before I get rid of him I want to hurt him. He stole some good years from me and I want revenge. Frankie, how would you like to help me get back at him?"

"How can I help you? He's bigger than I am. If we fought he'd probably beat me up."

Laughing, Dana said, "Frankie honey, I don't want you to do anything like that. I'm thinking of a much better way to get revenge."

"I don't understand."

"Pete has always prided himself on his ability to get women to do things for him that they wouldn't do for other men. Frankie, I want to be your slut, I want to do some of the nasty things for you that I used to do for Pete and when all of this blows up I'm going to tell him about it and describe every seamy little detail."

Speechless, I stared at Dana.

She grinned at me. "What do you say big guy? Are you up to the task?"

Not waiting for me to answer, Dana stood up and walked over to the door. After locking it, she turned around and slowly walked back over to me. Smiling seductively she reached down, grasped my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

"Come on Frankie, let's move over to the couch. My husband and your wife have been having a good time with each other. Don't you think it's time for the two of us to enjoy ourselves too."

I understood exactly what Dana was suggesting and I really couldn't think of any reason that we shouldn't do it. Still, I was nervous. Even though I used to hang out at Brady's Saloon, when it came to sex and love affairs I wasn't actually very sophisticated. Prior to Katie I'd only had sex with two other women and both of them were college girlfriends.

Now a gorgeous married woman fifteen years older than me was leading me over to the couch in her office for an afternoon of hot sex. Damn right I was nervous.

"Frankie, help me move the coffee table. We'll be needing a little space."

Together Dana and I pulled the coffee table away from the couch. As soon as that was done she said, "Now sit down, I'm going to undress for you."

I sat on the couch.

"Frankie, my husband loves having me strip for him. Usually I dance while I'm doing it. Knowing Pete, I'm sure he has your wife do a strip tease for him every time they get together."

I remembered the strip tease Katie had done for me the previous night. At the time I'd suspected that it was something she was doing for Munson.

"I'd dance for you, but I'm afraid that if I turn the radio on, we might make people curious about what's going on in here."

Suddenly I thought about Arthur Kendall. "Dana what if your father comes back? This could be kind of embarrassing and I really don't want to make him mad at me."

Smiling, Dana said, “Don't worry, the doors locked and anyway after you leave I plan to tell him what we did."

"What?"

"Frankie, my dad's been encouraging me to take a lover. He wants me to be happy. He knows that Pete's been neglecting me and we've both suspected that he's been cheating on me for a long time. Actually my dad's not all that upset about the cheating. He's been having an affair with his secretary for years."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What about your mom?"

"She knows about it."

"And it doesn't bother her?"

"No, unlike Pete, my dad doesn't neglect my mom. They not only love each other, they like each other. They spend lots of time together. My mom also has an occasional fling."

"And your dad doesn't get upset about that?"

"No, both he and my mom know that their trysts are just sex. There's never any emotional entanglements. They never let their affairs become a threat to their marriage."

"So why haven't you taken a lover?"

Dana thought for a moment and then she sighed and said, "That's complicated. First of all, I've never really known how to go about meeting someone. I mean I can't just go to bed with any guy off the street. Playing around with someone at work is risky. I'm an officer and part owner of the company."

"Your dad plays with his secretary."

"Yes, but he and Darlene worked together for years before they started their affair. They already had an established friendship and they trusted each other. Also, Darlene is married and has two teenaged girls. She's just as concerned about discretion as my dad."

"What about bars and nightclubs?"

"I can't go to a bar by myself, that's just not my style."

"Don't you have friends who would go with you?"

"I have two girlfriends, but they're both married and have families. I wouldn't feel right about trying to drag them out to pick up bars."

She paused for a moment and then she said, "Frankie, your wife works in a secretarial pool. She has a cadre of women that she sees every day. I'm a vice president in a large manufacturing firm owned by my family. I'm not in a position where I can go clubbing with the other women who work here."

I nodded.

"Also, I've never wanted to cheat on Pete."

"I don't understand."

"This is really complicated." She thought for a moment and then she said, "Remember that I told you that Pete can get women to do things that they wouldn't even consider doing for another man? That there's something about him that makes some women want to submit to his will."

"Yes."

"For a long time Pete was callous, arrogant and demanding, but he always paid attention to me. Even at the beginning of our marriage I suspected that he was cheating on me, but he never threw it in my face. He always made it clear that I was his woman, the only woman who mattered to him. That made it easier to ignore the evidence of his cheating."

Dana smiled at me. "Frankie, I have a little submissive streak." She laughed. "Who am I kidding, I have a huge submissive streak. As long as Pete made me feel loved and important, I got a thrill out of his rough, demanding treatment. I even got a thrill out of the possibility that he might be seeing other women. Does that make any sense to you?"

I thought back to the night before and how I'd felt while I was licking Katie's asshole. Smiling, I said, "Yes Dana, I think I do understand."

"It's only been during the past few years that he's started neglecting me and treating me with disdain."

"Why didn't you just divorce him when he started acting like that?"

Shrugging, Dana said, "I don't know Frankie. It's hard to give up on someone, especially someone as strong willed as Pete. I guess I just needed a little shove."

She smiled at me. "And this morning, you gave it to me."

At that moment my cell phone rang.

"I'd better take this." I Pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly checked the screen. It was Katie. Looking at Dana, I said, "It's my wife." And then I pushed the answer button. "Hi Katie."

"Hi Frankie, how is your day going? Will you be coming home very soon?"

"No sweetheart, I'm afraid I'm going to have to be here for most of the afternoon. I probably won't be home until 5:00 or 6:00 o'clock."

"Andrea just called. She and a couple of the other girls from work are planning to meet at the mall for lunch. As long as you're not going to be home this afternoon, I think I'll join them. Is that all right with you?"

"Sure, that's a good idea. It will give you something to do this afternoon."

"After lunch, I'm sure we'll go shopping so I probably won't be home until 5:00 or 6:00 either. I'll pick up some chicken on my way home. That will be an easy dinner for us."

"That sounds good."

"Frankie, if I'm going to get to lunch on time I'd better get going. I'll see you around 5:00 or 6:00."

"Goodbye Katie."

"Goodbye Frankie, I love you."

"I love you too Katie. Have a good time this afternoon."

"Thanks I will."

Katie ended the call.

I put my phone back in my pocket and looked at Dana. "I wonder if she really is going to meet her coworkers at the mall or if that was just a lie so she can get together with your husband?"

Dana said, "Sorry Frankie, but I suspect it was a lie."

Suddenly overwhelmed with sadness, I whispered, "So do I."

Dana sat down next to me on the couch, picked up my hand and held it between both of hers. "Frankie, are you going to be all right?"

"Yes, I just need a moment."

"I think this is harder for you than it is for me."

"What makes you say that?"

"I've had years to get used to the idea that Pete was cheating on me. You just found out about Katie. It also sounds like she still loves you. That makes it even more complicated."

Suddenly Dana's cell phone rang. It was sitting on her desk. She stood up and quickly walked over to it. Picking it up, she took a look at the screen and said, "It's Pete."

I nodded.

She pressed answer and said, "Hello Pete, what do you want?" There was a coldness in her voice. It was a tone that you wouldn't normally expect to hear from a wife talking to her husband.

"I'll probably be here for most of the afternoon. We have several rush orders that I have to set up so that the factory can start working on them tomorrow morning."

"No, go ahead, I won't be at home. You might as well meet Mitch at Brady's. That will give you something to do this afternoon."

"What time will the game be over?"

"Around five, that's fine. I doubt very much that I'll be home before that."

"No that's okay, I'll stop at the grocery store and pick up something for dinner."

"I love you too. Have a good time at Brady's."

Dana ended the call, set her phone down on her desk and looked at me. "I guess that answers the question about whether or not your wife is really meeting her coworkers at the mall."

"Yes, it appears that as soon as Katie got off the phone with me she called Pete to tell him that she had the afternoon free."

Dana said, "I'm sure that as we speak, both of them are racing over to the Kings Motor Inn."

"Yup, I do believe you're correct." I said the words with a resigned sigh.

Dana walked back over to the couch and stood in front of me. "What do you say big guy, wanna do me while my husband is doing your wife?"

"We do have some justification, don't we." I smiled at Dana.

"Yes we do." But then Dana quietly added, "I guess." A note of uncertainty had crept into her voice.

We stared at each other. After a moment I said, "But maybe it's not enough justification."

"It sort of brings us down to their level, doesn't it."

"Yes, I think it does. I'm also not sure that revenge is a very good reason for two people to have sex."

Dana smiled at me. "You're a pretty old fashioned guy, aren't you Frankie."

"You never cheated on Pete." It was a statement, not a question.

Chuckling, Dana said, "Yeah, that's true. I guess I'm pretty old fashioned girl."

I patted the spot next to me in the couch. "Wanna sit down by me."

"I'd like that very much."

Dana sat down. I put my arm around her. She laid her head on my shoulder.

We were both quiet for a moment and then Dana said, "I really do like sex."

"So do I. Maybe after we're divorced we could try again."

"I'd like that."

"Right now, I just can't bring myself to cheat on Katie."

"She's cheating on you."

"I know. It doesn't make sense, I guess it's just the..."

"You don't have to explain it, I understand." Dana laughed. "Hell, even after everything he's done to me, the neglect, the disdain, the lies, I still don't feel comfortable about cheating on Pete."

"He's your husband."

"Yes, he is." Dana was quiet for a second and then she laughed and added, "But not for very much longer. When the divorce becomes final I'll be free of him and I intend to have some serious fun."

"You sound like a woman with a mission."

"I think I am. Does that make me a bad person?"

"No, it makes you a person who has finally decided to start worrying about her own needs."

Dana pressed her cheek against my chest. I responded by holding her tightly to me.

After a few seconds she whispered, "Thank you for understanding and being patient with me."

"It's okay. Right now, I think both of us are in the exact same place."

We sat on the couch and cuddled together for several minutes. Neither of us said anything. We didn't have to. Finally, I gently kissed Dana's forehead and sat up. "I'd better get going. I'm sure you have work to do."

That broke the spell. Dana awkwardly answered, "Yes, I have a busy afternoon. You must have things you need to do too."

"I do." I stood and gave Dana a hand up.

Once she was standing Dana began self consciously straightening her blouse. "Frankie, thank you for coming over here. I'll call you in the morning." Her voice was now stiff and formal. She was back to being a business woman.

I nodded and then I turned, opened the door to Dana's office and left.