Taming the Narcissist

Robert and Lillian had reservations at Dominics for 6:30. Robert arrived promptly at 6:30, and Lillian came at 6:50.

They dined on expensive, overpriced pasta, drank wine, laughed, and overall had a great time. Robert was mildly annoyed at the lateness, but let it slide. They hadn't been dating very long after all, and she was such a polished, articulate and beautiful woman.

When it was over and he was walking her home, Lillian said "I can't remember when I've had so much fun. Probably not since before John's Hopkins." she said, referencing (as she always did) her days in medical school. She was always talking about it. How hard she worked not only to get through medical school, but also to intern and later do a residency at Duke University.

He was a lawyer and didn't know anything about the medical field. In fact, he always got the feeling she didn't want to explain the finer points of medicine to him, which was just as well. He wouldn't admit it, but blood and guts made him squeamish. He did find things like anatomy and brain function fascinating, but stories of patients and their trauma? No thank you.

Besides, Lillian wasn't working right now anyway. She was taking time off to care for her sick mother. "We should have hired a nurse to come in. I know it won't do my career any favors to take time off, but you only have one mother, and I'm her only daughter. It's the right thing to do." She explained.

He got it. 100 percent. Besides, it sounded like she came from money. Her step father was a surgeon, and the fact that she was taking care of her mother instead of hiring someone was sweet, really.

As Robert walked Lillian back to her apartment, he asked "So why were you late tonight?" It was out of curiosity more than anything.

Lillian looked flustered all of a sudden, and her eyes darted around "I wasn't late." she said.

"I was waiting for nearly half an hour," he said uncomfortably.

"The reservation was at 7 o'clock. I was early." she said, starting to get red in the face, as though he were accusing her of armed robbery instead of merely asking what had held her up.

Robert started to get his phone out to prove they were supposed to meet at 6:30, but she stopped him. "I know the text says 6:30, but you told me 7 this morning when you called."

Robert didn't want to ruin their time together. Not over 20 minutes. He must have dropped 400 dollars on their meal together, and while he didn't exactly expect sex as a repayment, they had been dating a few months, slept together twice before, and was reasonably sure it would happen again if he played his cards right, so he said, "I'm sorry. I guess I messed up."

He could see her visibly relax. Her shoulders lost tension, and she looked at him. "Do you want me to come up?"

She shrugged like she didn't care, and he started wondering if maybe he had told her 7. It was possible. He didn't think they had discussed the time they were meeting at all, but it was such a small thing. Maybe he made a mistake, so he followed her up the stairs to her apartment.

Robert, as always, was surprised her apartment was so sparse. She had nice clothing, and certainly looked like she dressed on a doctor's salary, complete with conservative jewelry and designer brand name clothing, but her apartment looked as though everything was second hand. He noticed she had mugs in her cupboard from Johns Hopkins, and some books about anatomy on the shelves he assumed were left over from her college days, but there were no notes, and they looked new. Once when she was in the bathroom, he saw the name "Lillian Jennings" scribbled on the front pages. Well, so much was online now anyway, he figured the books were just to have as props more than anything. Hell, the whole top row of books at his law firm were fake. They were probably a tangible reminder of her time at Johns Hopkins more than anything.

"Oh, I'm hardly ever here," she had said before he could ask her about the furniture and location of the apartment, which wasn't in a bad section of town, but he would have expected a doctor to live somewhere a little more upscale. "I'm almost always at Moms, and haven't had time to decorate. In fact, I rented the place sight unseen since I have the North Carolina house to contend with." she told him.

He understood. She had likely dropped everything when her mother had a stroke, and got the first apartment she saw in Atlanta, not caring about much else other than a place to get away when things at her mother's got too rough or too real.

He didn't have much time to focus on the decor this time, as Lillian stripped off her top in front of him, exposing her large breasts. "Ooh, that's what I like." Robert whispered, coming over to her, cupping her large C cups and kissing her. "You're so fucking hot." he told her, and took her to the bedroom where there was a small double bed, just barely big enough for the both of them.

They kissed for a while, and then he slowly peeled off her skirt and teased her pussy gently with his fingers through her underwear and was pleased to see they were sopping wet.

Once his clothing was off, he entered her slowly, then moved his cock in and out of her in an unhurried rhythm so that he wouldn't cum too quickly.

He focused on her delicious curves. Her long legs, her supple body, and he relished sucking her breasts that seemed to defy gravity as they were large, supple, and jiggled just the right amount in his hand.

After several minutes, they switched positions so that she was on her fours, and he was entering her from behind. He loved seeing the view of her hot, heart shaped butt as he slid into her from this angle.

He could feel how wet she was, and it was almost like putting his cock in a hot, wet Chinese finger trap that drew his cock in and squeeze it harder the more forcefully he entered.

"Oh god!" she moaned, and her pussy clamped down on his cock. The contractions sent him over the edge, and he moaned as he planted his seed deep inside of her.

"Ah, fuck." he said pulling out of her, and gathering her into his arms. He wished it had lasted a bit longer, but he had been so fired up thinking about the evening for two days, he hadn't been able to hold back. Her breasts and ass were just so fucking hot. She was by far the hottest woman he had ever dated, (who were mostly stressed out law lawyers after his long term girlfriend of five years, who was also a lawyer) and he was amazed she had kept her figure, clear skin and healthy looking glow through medical school. Some people could just do everything, he supposed.

As they lay on her cramped bed in the afterglow, he said "You know there is a party at my firm on Saturday."

"Yeah?" Lillian answered.

"Yeah. It's the annual Thanksgiving party. I don't know why the hell McCallister likes to do a Thanksgiving party. Probably not enough people around at Christmas, Either that, or he's too cheap." he said. "Even so, it's catered, and it's a good time. Want to come? Be my date?"

"Yeah. That sounds fun." she said, and fingered Robert's chest hair.

"One of the partners is married to an Internal Medicine Doctor, like you are. I think her name is Carol, so that might be fun for you. It might even lead to a job later when your mom is stable." Robert said, and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"That would be great. I'd love to meet her. It will be nice to talk shop." she said, and Robert felt a little sting from the statement. He recalled how on their first date he'd told her he wouldn't know a scalpel from a stethoscope, and now he wished he hadn't said it. He was sure she knew he was exaggerating, but maybe she thought he meant he wasn't interested at all. Maybe it would help her find someone to talk to in his circle. It was his hope the contact would tether their relationship tighter. Maybe they could go out as couples, bond a little more socially.

That Saturday though, Lillian called Robert saying she had an emergency. "Mom is not doing well. I had to take her to the hospital." she said. "I... I won't be able to go to the party."

"Oh, wow. That's heavy." he said, and then "is there anything I can do? Can I meet you at the hospital?"

"Oh no. You go. Have fun. I'll touch base with you later." she said.

Robert had only dated Lillian for a few months, so maybe it wasn't his place to be an emotional pillar for her. He supposed she would rather be with her family and friends who had known her for a long time than with him right now. He knew she had a step dad, and a half brother, so introducing a new boyfriend at such a time might be awkward.

He went to the party, and checked in with her later, only she didn't respond. In fact, he didn't hear from her for several days, so he went to her apartment.

He knocked on the door. He knew she was there because he saw her used Volkswagon out front. "Lillian?" he called to her.

He stood outside for a long time until she finally opened the door. When she did, he saw that she was still expertly dressed wearing a blouse and pencil skirt, and had her hair perfectly curled in large ringlets.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I just got back from the funeral home." she reported. "My mom died." she reported. Just like that. LIke dropping a bomb. He could tell her usually perfect mascara was streaked as though she had been crying.

"Wow, I'm so sorry." he said, and took her into his arms. She accepted it.

"What happened?" Robert asked.

"She had a full on TIA stroke. The stroke hit the hippocampus." she said and shrugged.

Robert took a pause. TIA stroke? His great aunt had one of those, and he was pretty sure she recovered in less than 24 hours. In fact, he was pretty sure the T stood for Transient. Of course he was no doctor, and she was distraught. Maybe in her grief she had a momentary lapse and got the letters wrong, so instead of challenging her, he simply said "Do you want me to go with you to the funeral?" Robert asked, cautiously.

"No." she answered a bit too quickly, then added, "We don't do funerals in my family. We just cremate and go on." she explained. "It's too bad. She had a lot of people she would have wanted there. Mom was a harpist with the philharmonic, and I know she touched a lot of people through her playing. I know they would have wanted to be there for her.

................................................................................................

Robert and Lillian continued to date for a few months, and Lillian claimed to be too depressed to go back to work. "It's too stressful for me right now" she would say, and Robert understood. She just lost her mother after all.

He liked her though, and was even starting to love her. She was always so validating. She would tell him what a good lawyer he was, what a great man she thought he could be, and would remember his favorite foods and even stop by the office with his favorite coffee or a croissant. The sex was wild too, and she didn't have problems talking about or watching him with other women. She also openly told him she was bisexual, and was into having a threesome.

That was fun. He had taken her on vacation to Savannah, and after a day of sight seeing went out to dinner at a nice restaurant. She looked over at one of the waitresses and said "you see that woman? The one with the long, straight, dark hair? I think she's hot."

"You do?" He said incredulously. As though it was a trap.

"Should we proposition her?" she said.

He shrugged and said nervously "If you want."

"Ok, give me a few hundred bucks." He handed her his wallet, and she took out five hundred dollar bills. The next time the waitress walked by, Lillian said "We were just wondering when you got off work." and smiled sweetly. He knew the power of that smile, and she handed her the bills. It was about 500 dollars.

"I get off in about 30 minutes." she said smiling, and tucking the money in her pocket.

Robert never knew how Lillian set it up. She must have somehow orchestrated something beforehand or talked to the girl before they even got to the restaurant, but somehow, some way, Robert was back up in their hotel room 45 minutes later with two women sucking his cock. He'd dreamed about such things, but never thought it would really happen. In fact, he never dreamed life could be like this with such an amazing woman. Someone so sexually hungry and open to adventure.

"He likes it this way." Lillian directed the waitress he'd learned was named Jill. She winked up at him and demonstrated how to put his cock deeply in her throat, and then pointed his cock so that Jill could do the same.

Lillian then started sucking his balls, and he couldn't help himself but explode all over their faces.

Lillian laughed, and then kissed Jill and lapped up all the cum from her face, and both girls collapsed next to him in bed.

Robert was afraid that was going to be it, but after a few minutes, Lillian asked Jill if she wanted to get fucked, and she enthusiastically agreed. "You need to use his cock to cum." she whispered. "It's magic." she said, and then kissed Robert full on the mouth, and then migrated down his body to suck his cock.

Once he was hard again, Jill produced a condom from her purse, and put it on. Lillian then said "He's ready. Wanna ride?" and then "Wow, your cock looks amazing going in and out of her pussy, and then she hopped up so she could hover over his mouth, so he could lick her pussy and play with Jill's tits.

Robert had always been afraid that having a threesome would make his partner jealous, and that she might not like it, but Lillian relished it. She seemed to love grinding her pussy into his face, and genuinely enjoy watching as Jill enjoyed his cock.

After Jill had ridden his cock for awhile, he watched the girls kiss for awhile, and then Lilian said, "He loves doggy style, so we'll let him fuck us both that way. She directed, and Lillian bent over, and Robert began to fuck her tight wet hole, switched, and then switched back to Jill.

After he was certain Jill had cum, Robert blew his load, and Jill left 500 dollars richer, and Lillian cuddled next to him, seemingly happy with everything that happened.

"Did you like that? Did you have fun?" she asked.

Robert said he did, and she answered "Well, I'm still not done with you. I want it rough now. Really rough. Make it special for me." she said. He didn't know what she meant, but then said "I want anal. I want your big cock inside my ass so hard and rough. I want you to gag me, and tell me that you want me to be your slut." she said.

Five minutes ago, Robert wouldn't have thought he could get it up again, but his cock sprang to life. Anal was one of those things (much like threesomes) that he thought about, but wasn't sure real people did in real life situations. He certainly didn't think women begged for them. It usually was something his past girlfriend (who he had been with for 5 years and been engaged to) were willing to try, but wouldn't do again. Then he would feel guilty after, thinking he had hurt them or made them uncomfortable.

"Oh Fuck." he said, as she produced some lube from the bedside table and proceeded to put it on his cock.

"Stick it in hard." she'd said. "I want to feel you pulsating inside me.

He did as he was told, and she said "Yes! I fucking love your big cock inside my ass! Fuck me, fuck me! Fuck me with that cock you just fucked Jill with it!" and he was pretty sure they both came from that thought alone.

When they got back to Atlanta though, he noticed she became more guarded than she had been on vacation. It was like he could reach her sexually, but not emotionally. He was hoping that by sharing such a wild sexual experiences with him, she would open up, but she never introduced him to her surgeon step father, or her step brother, and everything about her seemed careful and guarded.

It was like there were barriers to her. Her social media friend's following was very small. She only had around 20, and she was very closely guarded with her phone. Once he had grabbed it just to look at the time, and she had been extremely uncomfortable about it. It didn't bother him too much. By then they had only been dating for 5 months or so, and he supposed she wasn't quite comfortable enough to share everything yet.

Then, sort of expectedly, but still unexpected, Robert became a partner in his law firm. He had helped win some hard cases, and done work for years, and finally, at the age of 39, he would be a partner.

He was so excited about it, he proposed marriage. It seemed like the next logical step. He had wanted to get married four years ago, but his ex wasn't ready. She was hustling, and always working long hours, and though he proposed and she said yes, "someday" was fast becoming never, so they broke up. It seemed she would never be in a place that made her feel stable enough to get married, and he wanted kids before he was too old to enjoy them.

He was happy he didn't end up with his ex though. Lillian was ten times more exciting and more perfect than Cindy ever was. After all, she was smart, beautiful and polished. She had been a doctor, but wasn't into her career at this point. Those days of hustling seemed to be over. Besides, she adored him in every way, and was into kinky sex, which of course wasn't something he required from a wife, but it certainly didn't hurt.

She was perfect, and he found himself acting in ways he never had with any other girl. He would reread her text messages from weeks ago, think about her when he wasn't thoroughly focused on something else, and she was in the passenger seat of his life, even when she wasn't physically there. He felt like a teenager, as he hadn't felt this way since high school. His heart had wings, and all the love songs he heard seemed to hit a little bit differently.

"Oh, yes!" she said after he proposed marriage, and then held out the ring she had just put on her finger to look at it. "It's exactly what I've always wanted." she exclaimed, and he was thrilled he had made her happy with the one and a half carat diamond with baguettes on either side. "Of course I'll marry you!" she said.

The wedding was small. Lillian said she didn't have any family she wanted to invite now that her mom was gone, and the only people she had were a step father and brother and she didn't know very well, so Robert invited his parents and a few people from the office, and afterwards they went out for a nice meal.

He would have preferred a lavish blow out type of wedding, complete with a dinner and dance a with all their friends. After all, now that he'd made partner, he could afford such things, but he respected Lillian enough not to push too hard.

She made no mention of her mom, except during dinner when she said "My mom would love this. She loves lobster and clam chowder." which made Rober's eyebrows raise.

"I thought your mom passed away." he said.

"Yeah. She did." Lillian said and blinked. "I just feel like she's always with me."

Of course Lillian didn't want to sign a prenup, and Robert didn't push it. After all, she had her own assets, and he stood to gain from the inheritance from her mom, the house in North Carolina, and any savings she had from her five years work in Durham, so he assumed she had money of her own. Even so, he plopped down a large down payment on a huge house in a wealthy suburb, and Lillian said she would use her money to decorate the place however she liked it.

He was surprised to learn she had put the house in Durham up for sale, and it had sold. He had been hoping to go see it, but she said she just hadn't mentioned it because she didn't like talking about business.

Soon enough, they were on their honeymoon in St. Barts, and it was all sand, surf and resort style living, which Lillian thrived in. There were long walks on the beach, evenings filled with sex, and lots of massages, and shopping done during the day.

But things took a turn when a man in the far corner of the hotel restaurant they were visiting fell over. Someone yelled "Is there a doctor in the house?"

Lillian looked over at Robert with a slightly strange expression and then went to the ladies room. She didn't even go over to see the man who was flat on the floor with a bunch of what looked like security guards around him trying to work a defibrillator.

Fortunately, the ambulance arrived shortly after.

"Why didn't you go over to that man?" Robert asked when she returned as though nothing had happened.

"What?" Lillian said. "You can't be serious. You thought I should have stepped in? And risk a liability lawsuit?"

"There are good samaritan laws, you know."

"Yeah, well, I'm trained for medicine in an office setting. The people in the ambulance know what they are doing." she explained. "Besides, I'm not about to work for free. Who knows what kind of diseases he has. You know, when I was in medical school, all we talked about were pathogens and I know things that can kill you in no time flat."

Robert must have looked at her like she was crazy because she said "Don't tell me I'm being ridiculous. I know things you'll never have any idea about. I've been to medical school. I know what it's like out there, and I'm on vacation right now, so I don't want to hear from you that I'm not compassionate. I've saved more lives than you can count."

"Ok, ok." Robert said. "It just seemed like maybe you could have helped out, but I can see your point."

"He probably just had too much sun anyway. Older guy, locked in his house all year with no exposure to the heat or the bright sun. He probably spent all day outside and got dehydrated. I'm sure he'll be fine."

It sounded plausible to Robert, so he let it go. Only there was a nagging feeling, like something wasn't right. The more he thought about it though, he could see her point. It probably happened all the time, and she was on vacation. She didn't need to get involved, and once the people at the hotel found out she was a doctor, they might call her all the time.

Still, he couldn't help but think back to when she said her mother had a TIA stroke, and there was also a time when they had been dining out a month before the wedding when he suspected something was off. He saw a medicine pack on someone's arm. "I wonder what that's for." he asked.

Lillian looked over at the man, and said she didn't see it.

"Oh his arm. You think it's a nicotine patch?" he asked. He'd always sort of wondered how those worked, so he asked Lillian.

She looked utterly clueless for a second, as though her mask slipped. She knitted her eyebrows together, caught herself, and then said "Well how should I know. The technology changes so fast, I can't keep up. The medicine goes through the skin and then enters the bloodstream that way."

"But how does that work? Like, it goes through the pores or something?" he pressed.

"Oh God, I don't want to talk about work. You can read up on it if you're so interested. I want to focus on other things. You know, medicine was stressful. Lots of doctors with their inflated egos. Let's talk about something else."

In fact, he realized every time he brought up medicine, she would deflect. Even if they were talking about a paper cut. "I'm not a dermatologist," she would snap, and she even doubled down about how she wasn't getting paid to give out free advice. On one hand, he knew the student with a D minus average who barely graduated medical school and the guy who got the top grades still graduated with the title doctor, but even if she had barely scraped by, there were terms she would know, and certain concepts that would have been familiar.

After the incident with the guy having a heart attack, Robert noticed Lillian texting on her phone more and more. He kept walking in on her looking at her phone and smiling. When he asked her who she was writing to, she said "My friend Monica." and would put her phone away.

He didn't make a big thing of it. They got through the rest of the vacation, and came home, but her behavior got weirder and weirder. More deflection, more weird statements, and more looking at her phone and smiling. So much so that a few months later, he called up a buddy he knew. A private investigator named Silas who he would sometimes use for high stakes cases.

"See what you can dig up on my wife." he said, giving him her name and social security number.

Not even a day passed, and the investigator, a guy who looked like your normal, typical dude with a beard and a bad vaping habit walked into his office and sat down.

"Ok, brace yourself." Silas said, "It's a lot. Just be sure not to shoot the messenger."

"It's ok. I can take it." Robert told Silas.

"Alright dude... here it is. First off, she's never been to medical school." he said. "She has some ties to Duke hospital and worked there as an Administrative Assistant, but yeah. I called both Duke and Johns Hopkins. No record of her attending. " he said.

Robert looked at him and nodded, as though confirming his suspicions. "Yeah. That was becoming very apparent." he said.

Ok, second. Her mom was never in the philharmonic, and her step dad is not a surgeon. They live about an hour south of here. He's a mechanic, and her mom is an assistant at a daycare. Her half brother lives with them."

"Wait, her mom is alive?" he said. "She told me her mother had died."

"Yep. Alive and well. I have pictures if you want." he said and held up his phone to show a dumpy older woman and a guy with a beer belly. Robert thought about how Silas was certainly good at his job. He didn't expect the guy to travel to absolutely nowhere Georgia, but he did. "They have 2,239 dollars in their joint account at Wells Fargo." he continued, and "Knowing what they do for a living, and what this bank account reflects, I declined to check for any Swiss offshore accounts." he said as sort of a sick joke.

Robert shrugged, taking it all in. He should have suspected there was something off about the story with her mother. He had believed she really was dead, and the story about her being a top musician at the philharmonic. He should have suspected that was bullshit when she didn't know jack shit about classical music when he mentioned that a piece playing in a restaurant they were eating at was written by Bach.

For some reason, he hadn't connected the dots at the time. Probably because he had completely forgotten she had told him her mother worked as a harpist, but now he remembered clearly. They were standing there in her apartment, and she wistfully told him her mother had died, and played with the philharmonic prior to having a stroke. He even remembered how she had probably run in the bathroom to smudge her makeup as he stood at the door knocking, so she could tell him she hadn't gone to the Thanksgiving party because her mom died. Fuck. She had lied so she didn't have to talk to an actual medical doctor.

He let out his breath and didn't say anything for a few minutes taking it all in.

So, she was a liar. Well, maybe he could live with it. Maybe he would talk to her, tell her gently how he knew she didn't have a high-powered degree and that it was ok. He made plenty of money for both of them. After all, he stood to make half a million dollars this year, especially after the Miller vs McCormick case, and he wanted to make things work. Besides, getting divorced after being married for such a short stint was a bad look, not only personally, but for his career as well.

"I'm sure she told you she's been married twice before." he continued. Robert didn't, but he continued to sit, stone faced. He had been trained not to react from years of sitting in court rooms. "She had a house with a guy named Peter Jennings in North Carolina. It sold for 225K a few years back, so I suppose they split the money after the divorce, and she's been living on that for awhile. She has about 25 grand left in her bank account. Before that, she married a guy named William Pratt." he said. Her maiden name is Lillian Daxton. I guess she never bothered to change her name back after her second divorce."

Robert didn't say anything, and sat in silence.

Silas actually looked uncomfortable for a few moments, then said "God Robert, I hate to have to tell you this." he said, and laid out pages and pages of printed documents of Lillian sexting with different men. One named Dan, one named Allan, and one named Shawn.

Robert leafed through the hard copies of text, and read basically the same script over and over mostly about how awful he was, and how she wished she was in St. Barts with whoever she was texting instead.

"He is so judgemental. He just doesn't get me the way you do." he read, and then proceeded to read about times they could meet up. She met a guy named Shawn at the gym a lot it seemed. Further down, he saw exactly how she saw him. "He acts so superior, and as though just because I don't know something, I'm stupid. There was a poor man who fell over at the restaurant we went to on our honeymoon, and Robert literally acted like it was my fault. He sneered at me and demeaned me for the rest of the meal. He's just a miserable guy. Horrible really. I don't think I can live with him a minute longer." He looked at the date 6/18. They were on their honeymoon when she wrote that. Then, a week after they got back "The ring he got me is an absolute eye sore. You've never seen such an embarrassing setting. It's like his mom picked it out, or he thinks it's 1960."

"Oh that Bitch." Robert thought. "That bitch is going to pay. She has no clue who she married."

Part 2

Robert said absolutely nothing when he arrived home that evening. Lillian had made dinner. Enchiladas and salad. It wasn't great, but he didn't hate it, and he said very little.

"Wine?" she asked him, but he declined.

"I don't want to get in the habit." he said, and they continued to eat in silence.

Finally, as they sat in silence for a while, she said "don't you like it?"

"Yes. Thank you." he said and smiled tightly.

He thought about divorce. Maybe he should just lay it all out. Her lies, and her cheating. He would even admit he had a hand in it too. After all, it takes two to tango, and he was a partner in this mess.

Of course he had been angry when he first found out, but had calmed down considerably. Maybe he should just pay her off and make her go away. That would be the smart thing to do. The responsible thing. Even if he did know every judge in the state personally, he was ethical enough to play by the rules. Considering he'd just gotten married, he could file the paper work tomorrow, and be out of it in 30 days. He'd bought the house with her before they were married, so he wouldn't have to split anything there. All he'd really have to do would be to

split what was in their joint bank account and let that be that.

He went upstairs, not bothering to take his dishes to the sink, turned on the TV, scrolled his phone, then went to bed early before Lillian even entered the room.

The next day at work, he saw there was a new intern. She was blonde, attractive, and slender. Basically a younger version of Lillian, who was (if she wasn't lying about her age too, 35). Cynically he thought "I bet she hasn't been married three times." but out loud said "New to the office?" and smiled.

"First day." she said and smiled back.

"Well, if there is anything I can do to make things more comfortable, let me know." he said. "I'm Robert Murphy," and though he hadn't meant to be flirty, the woman in her mid 20's flushed a little.

The day was boring. He certainly had time to file for divorce, but he didn't do it. Not yet. He wanted to be able to think clearly and take his time. He didn't want to do anything in haste. He couldn't afford to make silly mistakes.

Instead he kept busy, filed some depositions, did some research, and attended a brief hearing. He learned the intern's name was Lauren, and noticed that she did not have a ring on her finger.

When he returned home that evening, he had every intention of bringing up divorce, but when he walked into his home from the office, Lillian greeted him wearing a sheer nightgown and heels. Ha, she was Lillian Jennings when he met her, he thought with a cynical laugh. She hadn't even bothered to change her last name after her second marriage, the bitch.

The nightgown was baby doll blue, which set off her blonde hair, and her heels were stilettos, which she knew he liked. Her lipstick too was a darker, bolder shade than her usual, and her nails were done, and her hair was set to perfection.

"Don't you like it?" she asked, knowing how good her breasts looked cupped in the lingerie that created a massive amount of cleavage.

Clearly she knew something was off and she was trying to fix it. Right now she was fishing to see if he had just been tired from work yesterday or if he had found something out. He could almost feel her nervousness as she knit her brows together, and he crossed the room towards her.

"Yeah, baby." he said, getting closer to her and sticking his tongue down her throat. "You want it, don't you. You want my big hard cock?" he said.

"Yeah." She whispered in his ear, though he realized it sounded tentative. He had never come on so strong before.

"Bend over right now then. You slut." he said.

She let out a little yelp, but he didn't stop. He grabbed her hands and maneuvered her body so that she was bent over the dining room table, and felt her squirm.

"You want this big, fat dick?" he said, flipping the nightgown up and pulling the thong underwear down. He then teased her opening with the tip of his cock. "Tell me you want it." he said.

"Oh yes. Yes. I want it!" she said. He was pretty sure she was trying to manipulate him, but it wouldn't work.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, you little slut." You want it I can tell you do. "He wanted to tell her how big of a slut she really was. That this was probably her third cock of the day after Shawn and whoever else she was fucking, but he stopped himself.

"Yes!! YES!" she screamed.

"You want me, right? You want me big, fucking, dick!"

"Oh yes! Give it to me baby!"

"That's right, you're gonna take it he said, pumped his cock once into her pussy to lube it up, and then thrust it hard in her ass.

He thrust, and she seemed to like it too. "I know you like it rough!" he said, "You like it rough you little hick town Georgia slut!" he said, pumped for a little while, then came, hard inside her ass.

When he finally let go of her, he saw her lipstick was smudged from where he had clasp his hand over her mouth and he said, "Now that's the way I like to be greeted when I come home. Thanks honey. What a great way to relax from a hard day." he said. He was biting and sarcastic, but he wasn't sure she got it. "I'm glad you thought of it." he said, though he doubted she wanted to be fucked quite so rough and in the ass with no warning.

She wasn't upset though. She simply sat down at the table and proceeded to eat. She had made, or (more accurately ordered) rack of lamb, potato wedges, vegetables and salad with a fine 2006 Bordeaux. He knew she wouldn't have been able to stand getting the kitchen or herself dirty in order to cook such a nice meal. When she cooked, it was usually something easy like spaghetti, or enchiladas, or soup from a can.

"I bought a new couch today." she said, "with my own money, not from the joint account." she said, trying to appease him. When they had bought the house, he'd hoped she would spend her money to decorate it, and she had enthusiastically agreed, though months had gone by and she hadn't bought anything at all despite having nothing to do all day. All they had was the sad Ikea furniture from her apartment, and the nice, run of the mill efficient furniture he'd acquired when he landed his first job 10 years ago.

Oh, she would buy things for herself, like getting her hair done, or clothes from upscale department stores, but would use the joint account. Probably because the money from the sale of the house from her former marriage was running low.

"Hmm." he said, disinterested. She pulled up a picture on her phone with the price tag strategically displayed. The website said the couch cost 7,000 dollars. "I'll believe it when I see it." he said, and continued to eat. The food was good. Excellent even, but he could hardly taste it.

"Well, it's on order." she said. "It should be here soon. I think it will look nice in the living room."

"Well, like I said, do what you want." he said.

They ate in silence for a while, when he she asked, "Why were you saying I was from Hicktown, Georgia?" Robert was surprised by how calm she was. Clearly she was feeling him out. Seeing how much he knew and how much she needed to worry.

"Just dirty talk." Robert answered. "Don't worry. I know you're from Atlanta. Your mom was a harpist with the philharmonic and your stepdad is a Surgeon. Nobody would ever mistake you for, say, the daughter of a mechanic." he said. Maybe he shouldn't have said that, not so early, but he couldn't help himself.

She looked uneasy. Very uncomfortable and the words hung in the air for a while. "So it was just... dirty talk?" she asked. She was hanging by a thread, just hoping the words he'd chosen were an unlucky coincidence.

"That's right." Robert said and stayed quiet for a few moments before his logical brain took over, and he realized he needed to cover his tracks. He couldn't let her know he'd found her out. Not before he completely ruined her. "Nobody would think you were the daughter of a ditch digger, or a coal miner, or a mechanic, or any other working class job. I know your parents are wealthy. Hell, you're probably worth millions, considering you come from money and have a medical degree.

Lillian looked at him, and relaxed. He knew he had played innocent well. He did it all the time in court, sometimes knowing full well the client was guilty as sin. Still, he worried if his acting skills were that great since this wasn't a client, it was his own real life. He was having trouble holding back and he knew it. He would have to watch himself, and make sure he didn't reveal his cards again. Not to that extent. Not yet.

"So are you having any luck getting a job?" he asked. "Are you getting your CV out there?" he asked, and tried hard not to sound sarcastic.

"I was thinking I might want to work at the gym. You know, I could teach a few aerobics classes while I wait for an interview." she said, and immediately he thought of the guy named Shawn she was fucking. Hell, she'd probably fucked him this morning. "You know how stressful medicine is. People are suing all the time, and it's so depressing. Even one or two days a week sounds horrible at this point." she said.

He smiled tightly and was sure Shawn would be hearing about how awful and judgemental he was, not realizing she was a lying, cheating bitch.

Over the next few weeks, Lillian was much more attentive though. She dressed sexy, greeting him when he came home with sex. She begged for it in the ass, and even hinted at more threesomes.

No, the couch never came. It was on backorder, she said, and she didn't want to order a new one because she really liked this particular couch. He knew from Silas, she was still keeping in touch with Shawn and Allan, but had quit talking to Dan, and that she had never ordered a couch. At least not with any bank account in her name anyway.

She did get a job at the same gym where Shawn worked full time, and continued to tell him how miserable she was. Everything that was wrong with her life was Robert's fault according to her, she couldn't understand why he was so distant. "Like a calm before the storm or something," which to be fair, he probably did come off like that.

Then one night, after she had relaxed a little and was back to making sloppy joes with sides of slaw with way too much mayo, he said "I met with my financial advisor today."

She looked at him quizzically. "You did?"

"It looks like I'm in even better fiscal shape than I realized. "So much so that I don't think you should have to worry about money. I think you should just relax. Keep your gym job if you want, but don't worry about anything financial. He was full of shit of course. He had money, but nothing earth shattering. All said and done he might be worth three quarters of million dollars at this point in his career. "I don't know if I ever told you, but my parents put in a 5 million dollar trust for me, and I'll get it when I turn 40 in a few months." Again, a complete fabrication. His Dad was an engineer, and had made a decent living when he grew up, but he was no multi multimillionaire. "I also have a few investment accounts that are doing quite nicely. I will continue to work since I will only be worth 10 million or so, but I think you should just do whatever you like. Enjoy yourself." he said. "Work on your beach body since we'll have to celebrate in a huge way when I get my trust.

"Really?" she said happily. "I never really liked medicine anyway. Just too stressful, really." she said.

The next week, the office was buzzing with excitement. George Sutherland, the billionaire, was coming in for legal counsel. George was a good looking, older man in his late 50's that Robert had met several times. Robert had worked on research for George's cases, though never directly with him, but this was a turning point. Today he was going to meet with George for actual work on a patent for a new app coming out that stood to make him a billionaire several times over. In fact, just representing him and being on his team stood to make Robert an actual millionaire, or close to it if things went the direction he hoped they would.

Lauren, the intern came up to Robert and said "Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous. Does he like coffee?" she asked. "Or should I go out and get more herbal teas?" she asked. They were friendly by then, and talked for several minutes every day. Just topical stuff, really, but Robert really liked her, and from what he could tell, she liked him too.

"He's not that fancy." Robert told her. "He's not full of himself, and has a reasonable grasp on reality." he said. "That's why he's so wealthy." he said.

"Well, I just want to make sure that you look good for him." she said, and then "I mean we, the firm." she said, then looked at him strangely, blushed, looked down and scurried away. He smiled a little to himself.

George Southerland came into the office with little fanfare. He even sat and waited on the couch until the front desk person noticed him, assuming he was a walk in, until she finished chatting with another employee.

When she finally acknowledged him, and figured out who he was, her face turned white. "Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Sutherland." she said. "There is a meeting room all set up for you." she said, and led him to the most comfortable conference room in the building.

The meeting went well. They talked about the launch of the new app, and made sure everything was covered legally. George asked questions, and had great ideas, and by the end he said "Good. Great. Oh, by the way, there is a party tonight. A party at the Atlanta art Gallery, Saturday, and you all are invited." he said to the team, and smiled revealing his almost too white teeth. "I'll be attending with my girlfriend, Isabella and I'd be happy to see you there."

Jackpot. It was just what Robert was hoping would happen.

When he got home, he approached the subject with Lillian. She had an uncanny ability to say she would do something then back out at the last minute, so he wanted to make damn sure she was at that art gallery.

"There is a party on Saturday to celebrate the launch of a new app, and I really want you to go and be my date." he said. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but he went on before she could. "George Southerland is going to be there."

"I think I know that name." she said and paused.

"Of course you do. He's a big deal." Robert went on. "A billionaire in the tech industry, and I think he has a girlfriend, but was recently divorced." he said, knowing that anything short of getting her legs cut off couldn't keep her away from an opportunity to level up with a guy like George. "Well, maybe on second thought, you shouldn't..." he said.

She looked annoyed. "Ok, fine. I'll go. But only because I'm sure the food will be good." she said, and smiled, but she wasn't fooling him.

"Don't wear anything too sexy, now." he teased, knowing that would completely ensure that she wore the sexiest outfit that would be in good taste she could find from the most expensive store.

When Saturday arrived, Lillian spent all day at the gym, hair and nail salons, and by the time she was done, she literally did look like a billion dollars. She dressed in a long dress with a slit up the side, and reminded Robert a little bit of the famous Happy Birthday Mr. President dress that Marilyn monrow wore to JFK's birthday party, except a bit more modern, and a tad less revealing.

"Wow, you look fantastic." Robert said admiringly as they walked out the door to his BMW.

"I wanted to make my man look good." she said, but he highly doubted it had anything to do with him, and everything to do with the billionaire she was about to meet.

The Gala was amazing. Everything sparkled. There were fresh flowers everywhere, and gift bags worth thousands for all the guests. There was champaign, horderves, and logos of the app everywhere. In fact, you'd never know that the man responsible was such a humble, down to earth guy who didn't command attention.

Lillian tried not to look impressed, but Robert could tell she was. Then, when Robert was finally able to introduce Lillian to George, he was pleasant and charming.

"Robert." he said, "I suppose this is your lovely wife."

Lillian positively glowed, and said "It's nice to meet you."

They talked a little about the launch, the location, and then George turned to Lillian and Robert held his breath. He hoped George wouldn't talk about his girlfriend, but even if he did, he'd find a way around it. Instead, he said nothing about being paired up, and said "Well, again, great to meet you." and sauntered off towards a magnificent blonde who he was fairly certain he'd seen on covers of magazines.

He hoped the fact that his George's girlfriend was extremely attractive, and even more attractive than Lillian (thanks to money, plastic surgery and expensive makeup) wouldn't ruin things.

By the time the party was over and they went home, Lillian was agitated. "Those people were so stuffy." she said. "Snobs. I can't believe how judgemental they are." she said. "Why do people in such places have such big egos?" she said, and plopped down on the bed.

"Just because they know their stuff doesn't mean they are egomaniacs." Robert said, but Lilian wasn't having it. He privately thought she mostly was upset George didn't pay more attention to her, and that his girlfriend was a knockout on par with any of the top models in Paris.

Robert did nothing on Sunday. He wanted to, but he knew taking his time would pay off. On Monday, he couldn't delay any longer and purchased a new Iphone. After that was done, he spent a few hours making a fake profile and account for one George Sutherland. He posted a picture of a Yacht, and called himself George S so as not to arouse too much suspicion, and sent a message to his wife.

"It was such a pleasure meeting you Saturday night. You made quite the impression." he wrote, and then put a winky face. He regretted it immediately. Would George put a winky face? Was that billionaire like?

She didn't respond right away, and he felt defeated. Maybe his plan wouldn't work at all. Maybe she somehow knew the account was fake, or had turned over a new leaf and decided to be faithful for a change, but an hour later, Lillian responded.

"Likewise!" and added another winky face.

It was working. Fuck yes! He thought. He waited an hour. Did a few depositions, and had coffee with Lauren in the break room, and responded. After all, he didn't want to seem too eager. George was a busy guy after all. Busy and wealthy, and he couldn't sit around texting all day.

When he finally did sit down to write, he didn't think too much about what he said, but typed.

"Do you like Italy?" Robert knew the real George Sutherland was Italy right now, so if she were to somehow Google him and see that he was in Italy, it would check out. It was also insurance for Robert that if Lillian decided to come to the office, there was no chance he would be there.

She then sent a heart emoji back. Three dots appeared as if she was writing, but then changed her mind, and no written text appeared. After 10 minutes when she hadn't responded, he wrote.

"What about Yachting, or private jets?" he wrote, and actually laughed out loud at the absurdity of it. Of course George Sutherland could afford such things, but it seemed almost ridiculous to type out, and ridiculous that she would fall for such absurdity. George Sutherland, offering the world to her on a silver platter after barely meeting her one time at a party. Especially when his own girlfriend was a knockout, and very accomplished philanthropist in her own right.

"I've never been on a Yacht!" she responded. "But I've always wanted to."

"You would love the Caspian sea." he said, not even really sure where that was or if it was anywhere near Italy, but quickly Googling it, and said something about the Baku coast line, that was bullshit. He had no idea if it was cold, or warm there, and hoped Lillian wouldn't look too deeply into it.

"Oh that sounds wonderful."

"It's like none other." he said "lots of ancient relics from the past." he said, and literally cut and paste a link from Google.

"So I hear. I've always wanted to go." she wrote, but he was fairly certain she didn't have any clue about the Caspian sea either.

He chatted with her for a while, and asked her questions about her life. Some of which she deflected, and others that she lied about. She kept the lie about her stepfather being a surgeon, and her mother being a harpist with the philharmonic, but said she was a bored housewife and made no mention of being a doctor.

"He won't let me work." she explained. "Robert says he wants me to stay at home. I think he's threatened by my wanting to have a real income." she explained, and then "I teach aerobics a few days a week." she said, and he nearly guffawed at his desk.

"So that's what you do to keep such an attractive look." he typed, but then deleted it before he could hit send. He wasn't sure if he should go right into her physical appearance. That put women off, he knew.

Then she surprised him with the words "I would like to get to know. If you weren't in Italy, I would want to meet you somewhere. Have dinner and talk. Then, see where things lead." appeared on the screen.

"Absolutely." he responded as George. "Let's chat until I get back in a few weeks."

He let that be it for the time being.

When he got home, he noticed that Lillian was in a lot better mood than she had been that morning. She smiled when she saw him, and even hugged him tighter than she had in a long time when he got home.

"Oh, I'm so glad I went to that Gala last weekend." she said.

"Why's that?" he asked. "I knew you'd change your mind when you saw the gift bags had spa coupons in them."

"Oh, I'll have to check those out." she said. "No, I just met some really nice people. You know, medical people. I finally met that friend of your co-worker. The one who was a doctor?" she said.

"What was her name again?" he pressed, wondering if she even knew.

"Cheryl." she said.

"Carol, you mean?" he asked.

"That's what I said. Carol."

"Hmm." he answered. "Yeah, well I'm glad you finally got to chat."

"She's really interesting."

"I'm sure." he said. He knew she didn't speak to Carol, and had in fact avoided her all evening. Had he cared, he would have asked when she managed to speak to Carol since he was pretty much by her side all evening, but he didn't bother pressing her. She'd be embarrassed soon enough.

"In fact, I may go to a medical conference with her in a few weeks." she said, and he suspected she was already planting the seeds for an alibi to get away from him when "George" came back from Italy.

"Well, that sounds great honey." he said, trying not to sound sarcastic and pissed off. He was pretty sure he missed the mark. "I think I may need to go to the office for a little while myself tonight." he said, fully intending to leave the house so he could text as George. He'd text her for maybe 20 minutes, then send her a delayed text message to go out at 11 pm, just as she was going to bed. That way he would be there, in bed beside her when the message went through.

He went to the car, and drove to the grocery store to sit in the parking lot with the heater running, and texted her for a while. She spun all kinds of lies. She claimed Robert was emotionally abusive, an egomaniac, and was basically keeping her like an exotic and beautiful bird in a cardboard box.

He listened, and spun tales of his own. He talked about sailing around the world, a trip on his private plane to an inn in Vermont he knew of, a private island getaway he owned in the South Pacific. He promised her vacations and more, though part of him wondered if George, the real George would have put up with such nonsense and had to admit the real George was too smart to get together with such a manipulative crazy bitch. As he signed off he said "sweet dreams, and Ciao, Bella."

By the time he got home, Lillian was smiling ear to ear.

"What are you so happy about?" he asked.

"I just feel like things are working out for me." she said.

"Why? You got a job interview or something?" he asked.

"Something like that." she said, and smiled. "I just feel like everything is going to be ok in the end."

"Yeah, I get that feeling too." Robert said, and went to take a shower.

By the time he got out, dried off, bruised his teeth, plugged in his phone for the night and lay down, her phone dinged. She looked at it and she chuckled slightly, receiving the "Goodnight" with a heart message beside it.

Over the next few weeks, Robert texted as George, and started calling her "Bella," regularly since George was supposedly in Italy. Not long after, Lilllian started sexting George.

When it started, Robert was in the restroom, pretending to be sore and soaking in the bathroom spa when she wrote.

"I wish your hard cock was inside me right now."

Robert nearly laughed. Yes. Proof of cheating. Not that he really needed further material to blackmail her with, but he'd take everything he could get his hands on.

"I'm so hard right now," he said. "You get me so hot, Bella." Looking at your profile picture. Send me a nude." he asked. The door was tightly locked, and in the far corner of the bedroom, so he couldn't see her, but very soon two pictures arrived on "George's" Iphone.

She must have had them ready to go. They were perfect. She looked almost airbrushed, and he wondered how long it had taken her to photoshop such a perfect version of herself.

"Fuck you're hot." he said, though he was pretty sure the real George Sutherland would scoff at the edited version of the pictures. Being a computer guy, and a smart one, he could spot a fake from a mile away. "I want you to touch yourself, Bella." he wrote. "Touch yourself and think about my cock." he directed, and smiled when he heard her moan in the other room.

"Oh God!" she wrote. "You're making me feel so good!" she typed.

"Me too." he wrote

"Send me a picture of your cock!" she typed.

Robert wasn't sure what to do for a few minutes, and stayed silent. He even Googled cock pictures, but then realized George Southerland wouldn't send a dic pic. He was too smart for that.

"Can't risk leaving a digital fingerprint." he typed. She sent back a frowny face emoji, and he heard her sigh from the other room, but he quickly wrote "But don't worry, you'll see it in person soon enough. Right now, my cock hard for you. I wish I could lick you up and down your slit, and then thrust myself into you."

Robert listened to her moan, clearly enjoying herself as she typed with one hand, and masterbated her pussy with the other. He then became bold. "Can I call you?" he asked, knowing she would say no. How could she? With Robert in the bathroom?

"You can tomorrow. It's just that my soon to be ex husband is here, and I can't really talk while he's around."

"Alright. Tomorrow then." he typed, and then he finished up with a heart and his signature "Ciao Bella." Oh, Robert had no idea how soon he was going to be her ex husband.

Robert finished his bath quickly, and Lillian was smiling. He wondered if she had cum yet or not.

"Come here, baby." she said.

"You're frisky." Robert said, coming closer. "I haven't seen you this frisky in months." And to be honest, those nudes she sent were pretty hot, and he felt his cock respond. He dropped his towel, and revealed his hard on, which she promptly stuck in her mouth, and put her hand down to her pussy to rub. "What's gotten into you?" he asked. He was pissed, but he was going to enjoy himself. Why not?

After a few minutes, he got on top of her, slipped himself inside of her and thrust. Less than a minute later, he came. He didn't care if she did or not.

..................................................

"You know, I could really see myself with you, long term." Robert wrote as George. "I don't know. Maybe it's the star's aligning, but I think we were made for each other." he typed.

He hoped it wasn't too much, too soon. After all, they had only been texting a few weeks, but she swallowed his bullshit hook, line and sinker. And why wouldn't she? He had been sending her money steadily.

At first it just just 100 dollars for a spa day, or 150 "just because," but every day he would send her something.

To be honest, she did seem a little skeptical when handing over her cash app at first, and even seemed confused as to how easily he was able to transfer money overseas saying "Aren't there more taxes and fees and whatnot?"

He recovered quickly saying "well, I have someone in the states who handles that, and made sure the memo said the money was from "George Sutherland LLC," when it was really from gift cards he himself had bought from the local grocery store.

Of course he would try to call her as George all the time, but each time he did, something would happen. The connection from the airplane wasn't good, even with state of the art technology, the best communication on the Yacht couldn't compete when there might be storms between them. It was a lie of course. He himself could have contacted George at any time as his lawyer and he would have answered and sounded as though he were sitting across from him, but she didn't know that.

With the money he was sending, she was buying new clothes, and even did buy a modest amount of furniture. Hell, she had even bought Robert a nice 40th birthday watch. It wasn't a rolex, but seeing as though "George" had sent her around 1000 dollars or more, he supposed she was feeling generous.

Robert was glad it was about to be over. He was tired of the whole thing, and wanted her out of his life.

Thank God, the real George Sutherland would be coming home next week, and would be back in the office. He was supposed to host another party too, and while Robert wasn't sure how he was going to do it, he was going to have to finagle an invitation and get one for Lillian too.

Even so, he wrote to Lillian. "I don't know what it is with you, but I'm drawn to you, Bella." he said.

"Oh yes! I feel it too!" she wrote. "We were meant to be together!"

"When will your divorce be final?" he asked.

"Probably in a month? Right now we're still living together, but as roommates." she said. "I can't wait to be with you. I can't wait to see you, feel you, and have your cock inside of me! This divorce has gone on too long" she said as though she hadn't gotten married less than a year ago. "You're my hero. Truly. Saving me from this mess of a relationship. You don't know what it's like to be judged all the time."

"Well, when you're with me you can kiss all that unpleasantness goodbye," he wrote. "I'm sending you money for a nice dress for Saturday." he wrote, "and I'll make sure your ex keeps his distance." Of course Robert knew he would need to contact George himself to get an invitation to the party, but he'd do it, no matter the cost.

"Oh thank you! She typed. I can't wait to be in your arms!" she said.

"Yes." he answered. "Just a few more days! Ciao, Bella!"

........................................

That afternoon, there was no dinner on the table. Only Lillian, sitting there in the dining room at the too small table that had been in his bachelors apartment with some papers in front of her.

"I don't think it's working out." she said. "I'm sorry." She looked a little wistful.

"Oh well, you win some, you lose some." Robert said. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction of being upset. Besides, he would win the long game. He looked through the documents. "Looks fair to me," he said. "Of course I'll be in touch after really giving it the once over, and we'll work out the details."

"Well." she said. "I think it says we'll split everything. 50/50." she said.

"We'll get into the nitty gritty of it later." he said, noting how she had strategically waited until after his fictitious trust came through to file for divorce at all, and he signed the papers, knowing she was only entitled to about half of what was in his bank account and whatever he'd earned on his IRA in the past 6 months since they got married. It was a far cry from the several million she likely expected. He wondered if she would even care though, thinking she was on the cusp of marrying a billionaire.

He noticed she had a suitcase packed. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Oh, I thought I'd stay at the four seasons." she said, and then "It's been nice knowing you, Robert."

When he didn't react, didn't resist, and even offered to help her with the suitcase when the taxi arrived, she looked confused, but accepted it.

"Have you been cheating on me?" she asked. "You don't seem upset at all." she said.

"No. I just think we can handle this civilly like adults." he said, though he did look forward to taking her down and finally being free to date Lauren out in the open. The poor girl certainly wanted him, that much was becoming more and more evident as time went on. In fact, he had told her a little about Lillian, and how divorce was coming..

When George did come back to Atlanta, Robert gave him a call.

"Robert. Good to hear from you." he said.

"How was Italy?"

"It was Italy." he said, "Still jet lagged. What's going on?" Robert felt bad immediately. George was probably expecting some real life legal issue. Something that was worthy of his time, and Robert was contacting him about something pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things.

"You know, my wife won't stop talking about your party she attended about a month ago. She got wind of the party on Saturday. Some girl at the office clued her in. I know it's a more intimate affair, but it would mean a lot for her to go. Could we?"

"Done." he said, and "While I've got you here, have you heard back from the manufacturer?" he said, and they talked for a while about logistics for the patent on the app that had just launched.

When the day of the party came, Robert arrived early so as to make sure Lillian was on the guest list, and that she wouldn't have any trouble getting in.

When she did arrive, she came at 7:45, which was 45 minutes later than what was printed on the invitation, and she looked stunning. Robert had reassured her as George that he couldn't wait to see her, and that he would make the after party worth it.

She positively glowed as she stepped out of the car that took her from the hotel to the dinner party. She was wearing a fire engine red dress with sequins that was reminiscent of some old time Hollywood movie actor. Nobody would miss her in an outfit like that. She was like a firecracker in a dark night sky.

She walked slowly through the doors, and up the steps. She was so focused on finding George, that she neglected to see Robert smiling in the corner, clear across the room.

When she did find her billionaire, he was talking to an elderly man and his wife about investments, and she stood there, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

"You'll have to excuse me." George said to the elderly couple and looked at Lillian as though asking what she wanted.

"George?" she said. "Don't you recognize me?" she asked, and blinked rapidly.

"Oh. Oh yes." he said and paused. "You're from the gallery." he said confidently, but it was put on confidence. He was merely hoping he had guessed right.

"You don't remember? All the texts?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you. We decided on shrimp and caviar. Looks lovely." he said. "Did Isabella contact you about the campaign? Did those come in? The 20 bottles of Louis Roederer Cristal."

Lillian's eyes flashed, but she smiled. "I'm sorry. I think I thought you were someone else." she said, and while nobody else would have noticed it, Robert noticed her jaw clench, and white horror flooded her face.

She took off to the ladies room shortly after, and clutched the sink so hard her fingers turned white. After a few minutes, she let out her breath and looked in the mirror. "I can still bag him yet." she said to herself, almost audibly. She wasn't going to give Robert the satisfaction of seeing her crack, and she'd seen that little spineless lizard in the corner when she arrived

She spent a few more minutes in the restroom giving herself a pep talk, and then came back into the hall more charming and effervescent than ever. She chatted with everyone, and tried to be charming, hoping George would notice her.

Then, at dinner Lillian was forced to sit by Robert. After all, George thought they were a couple, so she endured it while making eyes at him and trying to act as though she were captivated by him. This even though the most beautiful woman in the room by far was seated to his left.

Then, when the baklava and cheesecake was brought out, there was a tap on a glass, and George himself stood up. "Thank you all for being here today," he said. "This occasion is not just special because we're returning to America and the app is doing well. It's not just good for work, but Isabella and I wanted to share something special with you tonight."

Robert could feel the tension in Lillian's body as George spoke. "Last night, for the second time in my life, I proposed marriage." he said, Robert looked at Lillian and saw she was smiling. Maybe she was thinking that George hadn't forgotten her after all. Maybe she was thinking that this time tomorrow, she really would be in some exotic location, on a yacht or private plane.

"It's going to be this lady right here." George said. "Isabella, will you stand up here and give me a kiss." he said, and they pecked lips together. "Not only is this woman the most loving, selfless caring woman I've ever met, she is a real find. She's a Wharton graduate, author, philanthropist, and animal care activist. She's also on the board of Children's Hospital, and raising money for a cure for cancer. She's the real deal, folks." he said.

By then, the waiters had filled everyone's glasses with champagne, and George said "here here!" before everyone drank.

Lillian seethed in her chair. Of course with all the money in the world Isabella could do all of those things. All she would have to do was throw money at something, and make it so. She probably didn't do anything but laze around the pool all day working on her tan and going to the spa. She was just an entitled snob.

Robert watched as the clapped her hands along with everyone else, and made a show of support. What else could she do? She would have to save face.

Later, as everyone was leaving, Lillian saw Robert at the bar. "Hi Robert." she smiled.

"Lillian." he said, raising his glass of scotch on the rocks to her.

He wasn't sure how she was going to react. With venom, anger. He wanted her to yell, make a scene, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction "You know, we were good together. I'm not really sure we should divorce." she said.

Robert was incredulous. Could she seriously not see that he had played her?

"I'm seeing someone else," he said.

"But it's been two days!" She countered. "And we loved each other. I was just... scared. Because things were so good. That's why I moved out."

"Sure, Lillian." he said. "Sorry, I think I really want to start over. Get the paperwork through the system and be done with it."

"It's that assistant, isn't it?" she asked, and he shrugged. "Well, you know... you could still have her. It would be hot. The three of us?" she said.

Robert considered saying "Ciao Bella" just to twist the knife and watch the last sliver of doubt be washed away. So she would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was posing as George. But what would be the point? She knew. Just like she knew he knew the truth about where she came from, she just didn't want to believe it. Oh, he'd destroy her. Tell her he didn't have any money. That he wasn't a trust fund baby, didn't have investment accounts, and that half of everything he owned didn't amount to much, especially since he was house poor. In fact, she wouldn't get anything from the sale of the house at all.

He'd tell her. He really would, but maybe after just one more roll in the hay....