A Long Flight Home

There is little sex in this story, it centers on a husband who is focused on his company and almost loses his wife.

I hate JFK on Fridays; it's always congested with people scrambling to get out of town. That's exactly why I contracted a limo service to drive me from my westside NYC apartment each and every Friday at 1:30 to catch the 3:00 direct flight to LAX. A twenty minute ride in the morning is at least an hour or more during rush hour, so I would plan to leave mid day to avoid the traffic. Besides, no respectable investment firm is working on Friday afternoon from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend.

I am Mark Collins, CEO and Chairman of ComNet, a growing telecom security system provider for the government and local telephone networks. Our headquarters is in Irvine, Ca. So one might ask; why I am I commuting to NYC once a week? Capital. The company needs operating capital for expansion; I am the pitch man to the investors. I average two- three pitches per week to the top investment firms in the city.

It was a pleasant, clear day and the air was fresh from the northerly winds. I relaxed in the back of the limo and I thought about my performance for the week.

Stark capital was hot on doing a deal, they were a boutique firm, with about 15 million to invest, they wanted to take control of the board for their money and go public for liquidity, not surprising but undervalued, you see ComNet was valued on the market based upon last money in at $100M, so to get control for $15M is a sweetheart deal for their investors. This is an investment fund of last resort.

Then there was Capital Corp starring the Prince of Darkness, Harold Gold a distinguished looking man of 45, with thick salt and pepper hair, a runners body and very tanned, he was somewhat abrupt and even more rude, but he was loaded with cash, they had over $150M to invest in network security systems, they knew our technology, so it made my presentation on our projected market share easier to connect the dots. Even though he wore a poker face throughout the presentation, his interest in our technology was unquestionable.

My last meeting was the most interesting, it was with J. D. Withers, one on one in his Park Avenue office, his net worth was one –billion dollars, he liked the deal, but it was " too small" he seemed truly to be sorry. But, " I have some friends who could take advantage of this, who else have you talked with." I told him about my ventures trying to raise capital; he perked up when he heard Capital Corp.

"Who are you pitching at Capital" he inquired?

"Harold Gold, the man known as the Prince of Darkness, he did not seem to like me much."

My thoughts were interrupted as the limo approached the American Airline Terminal by my cell phone.

"Hello, this is Mark Collins."

"Yes Hello Mr. Collins, we have a package that just arrived for you at the JFK American Airlines terminal, you can pick it up at the Ambassadors club at the front desk". "I am Judy, you can ask for me please."

It seemed strange to me that Claire, my personal assistant, never told me about a package when I called over an hour ago. I wonder what this package is all about. I will find out soon enough I thought.

After going through security, I proceed to check-in at the Ambassador Club, I was in first class, the flight was on time, I asked the clerk if Judy could be paged, she smiled and said. "Good taste, I will get her for you."

As I was waiting for the arrival of the package, I noticed a rather attractive blonde, about 5 feet 6 inches in height, in a black business suit, smiling while approaching me.

"Mr. Collins, I am Judy Smith, an associate in the law firm of Greene, Kaplan, and Stein. Our firm represents the investment firm of Capital Corp International and they would like for you to read their preliminary letter of intent for funding ComNet to the tune of .......$50M in both debt instruments and equity, subject to satisfactorily passing our due diligence questions about ComNet and its key personnel."

"In other words this letter is a notice of intent, therefore it is non- binding until you receive the results of our due diligence is that correct Mrs. Smith?

"Yes, that is correct "she looked concerned.

" So I assume Capital Corp will not have a problem with me continuing to pursue other sources of funding while you are making your decision, is that correct also Mrs. Smith?"

"If you pass the initial preliminary audits on back ground checks and financial statements we will provide a penalty of $500K for not proceeding with funding as specified in our letter of intent."

"Plus our legal and accounting expense of course, isn't that right Mrs. Smith?" I negotiated.

"Ms. Smith, I am not married," she continued, " I am authorized to agree to those terms but there will be a full blown audit, performed by an independent accounting firm of course and we will check your corporation papers, taxes, etc. but our initial request is that you response to our questionnaire about the key personnel in the company. Unless fraud is involved, we will pay the penalty if we recant." She answered.

"How many key employees are on the questionnaire Ms Smith, may I ask? Meanwhile, I heard my flight was being called for last boarding.

"Mr. Collins, it is all explained in the package, Mr. Gold handled it himself "for his eyes only". You can reach me at this number 24 hours a day, it's my company cell phone number, I mean anytime, and I am here to make this deal work. Have a great flight; we look forward to your answers on Monday so we can proceed with a formal offer. Good Bye Mr. Collins."

"Good bye Ms. Smith, I sure we will see each other again."

On the plane, the stewardess had prepared a well drink of Bombay Sapphire gin with green olives, (on the rocks of course), along with some heated pistachio nuts to get me started. I had placed the package into my briefcase which I stowed under my seat for takeoff.

I rang the bell for the stewardess.

"Yes, Mr. Collins how can I help you" with a broad smile.

"I am going to be on the phone with my attorney most of this flight, please respect my need for privacy, so skip the pleasantries and I will pre order my food, and I will ring you when I need refills, deal? I will not be upset if you just leave me alone."

"Sure, I can do that Mr. Collins, here is the menu and I will place your dinner order for you, do want refills when you are finished or when you call me"

"When I am finished, thanks, and I will have the filet mignon dinner. Thank you" she maybe vanilla looking but she is efficient and thoughtful, no wonder she is in first class. I thought I was a little curt, but she understood it was not personal and acted professional, I will make it up to her later.

The pilot said over the speaker, "prepare the cabin for departure, seat backs up, seat belts on and buckled, turn off all electrical devices, stewards take your seats."

The noise of the engines roared and the next thing I knew, I was viewing the New York City skyline out my window, several minutes later we had reached the desired altitude.

"You are now free to roam about the cabin, please keep your seatbelt on when seated. This flight is scheduled for six hours, with favorable head winds we plan to gain one hour, so arrival time is 5:15pm in LALA land relax and enjoy the flight"

Time for action, I dialed my personal lawyer Rob Burns.

The Package-

"Rob, John here, I am flying back from NY and I just received a letter of intent from Capital Corp. Yeah, I know, the fucking Prince of Darkness himself. Remember the due diligence package we did for the line of credit with the bank, yes send a copy to Judy Smith at, Greene, Kaplan and Stein via computer."

I am going to scan the documents and email them to you shortly and call you back in about one hour"

I reached below my seat and found the package, I opened the sealed envelope carefully and withdrew its contents and placed them on my food tray to Study.

There were actual three separate documents, the cover letter summarizing the offer, the second was a legal due diligence boiler plate terms sheet, the third was the key personnel and that was sealed.

I opened the envelope and inside was a DVD with a post it saying "play first". I installed the disk into my laptop and plugged in my ear plugs, the image on the screen displayed Harold Gold sitting in my living room in Newport Beach Coast. "What the fuck?" "When was he at my house? " Click!

"We meet again Mr. Collins; you probably noticed that I am enjoying your lovely Italian villa home, how quaint. I always say, if you want to learn about a man, you go talk to his woman. Your lovely wife Ann has been more than gracious, attending to my every need, so to speak. I told her I thought you were neglecting her flying to NY every week and probably way too exhausted recharging the batteries on the weekends to make up for lost time so I am here to help her with this problem."

"So let me cut to the chase, I want your company and I want you out, being the majority share holder you control the board, but your wife owns half of your shares and I think I can persuade her how to vote."

"So Mr. Collins I will buy you out for say $10M, plus a cushiony $250K job for 20 years let's say."

"Now for the personal, (a crooked smile came over his face) I fucked your wife the whole three days I was in California; she even drove up to LA to fuck me before I got on the company jet. She cuckold you, and she is expecting to get half of that offer I made to you so do not look for any sympathy there. If you doubt my word ask your wife, she rather enjoyed it, does she do that tongue trick on you too?"

"Do you remember the TV show Mission Impossible Mr. Collins?" he hums the theme song "This DVD erases after one play and there is no traceable memory of it being played on your computer, I await your answer on Monday."

This is not an offer to fund ComNet it's an offer to take over the company from me and my loving wife seems to be right in the middle of this fiasco. He provided no proof he was fucking my wife, but a man like that does not have to bluff.

But the Prince was wrong on one count, I instructed Rob to get Ann to wave her voting rights to me, it was hidden in the ton of incorporation papers initialed and signed, she has no legal voting rights unless she divorces me, and then even then, I have the right to buy her out at current market value. I know Ann does not realize that.

So now my gut is tied into a knot, I guess the proof is in the pudding, I dialed my wife on her cell phone.

Another clicking noise in the background.

"Ann", but before I can say anything she burst out.

" John congratulations! We did it together we are rich; he did make the offer right? We never have to worry about you chasing money again and leaving me alone like you have been. I am so happy for us!

"First of all, I am not accepting this pricks offer to buy me out, I exclaimed! More importantly Ann, he said some incredible things about you and him during his trip to California. Since you have already admitted meeting Mr. Gold, please tell me how and when you first met."

Shit, did Harold tell John about us, shit why would he do that? It was supposed to be my secret to help close the deal, shit, shit and more shit! Anne worried.

There was a pregnant pause, before she spoke. " He called and told me last Monday he was interested in the company and he understood I owned 27.5% of the voting shares and wanted to discuss the deal he was proposing to you and he wanted my help and he would explain how when he got to our home on Tuesday."

"Harold arrived around mid-day, he was alone and dressed very professional, he looked distinguished and I prepared him lunch on the patio and he explained how to make the deal work he needed his guys running the company in exchange we get all this upfront money and you no longer have to manage the company and be away from me. He said if you played hard ball, I could combine my vote with the minority share holder s to overrule your majority position, but first he wanted to make a generous offer so we do not have to come to that. He showed me how the money could be invested in his firm and how he could exceed our current already good life style and triple our money in five years."

"And you never felt it was important to discuss this meeting and offer with me or even Rob our Attorney?" I responded.

"Harold said it would muddy the waters if I was to tell you and it was only till next week, so I honored his request to keep the deal under wraps, I was busting all last weekend to tell you!" She said.

"When did the sex start Ann" I put it out there.

No sense in lying, she thought, Harold let the cat out of the bag

"We went to dinner at Antonio's, he was a gentleman and bought an expense bottle of wine, then another, he offered to drive me home since I was slightly drunk from celebrating our good fortune. When we arrived I let him inside to have coffee and he just grabbed me and kissed me. I pushed him away at first, and then he whispered ever so gently in my ear."

"After all you know John has his bimbos in NYC, why deny yourself some pleasure, it's not love Ann, just sex." I was mad as hell that you were cheating on me! So I undid my dress, let it fall to the floor, and then I removed my bra and then my panties. I told him he could have me until he left and never again, this was my revenge on you for cheating and his reward for helping me, I mean us." I am sorry he told you, I thought it was supposed to be our secret, I do not know why he told you. I did not want to hurt you and I want this deal to go through for us."

" Ann, listen to me, he is lying through his teeth and you know it when he says I have women in NY, the worst I have done is go out to some strip clubs for some lap dances, I been a faithful husband and I always invite you to come to NY, you choose to stay in Newport. Fucking you Ann was the Prince of Darkness way of telling me, I own you, your woman and pretty soon your company! Are you telling me you still believe this guy's line of shit?"

" John, are you trying to tell me he set me up, got me drunk ,lied about your affairs all to get in my pants I doubt it. It was spontaneous." she responded.

"Ann I will never take this man's money under any circumstances it would be like accepting a pimp payment for your services for Christ sakes. No the Prince of Darkness is going down and then I will deal with you for cuckolding me, bitch."

"But John I..." I hung up on her.

Let us recap, my wife cheated on me to help close a deal under the assumption I was cheating in NY, the Prince is confident that he has me over a barrel on the stock vote and I have to respond by Monday. I dialed Rob's number again.

"Rob, john, what did you think of the offer sheet" I inquired.

" It's a fantastic deal for the current shareholders, I do not know why they are taking so little in stock delusion and putting more in debt then they have to or even should. What is the catch?"

"He wants to buy me out in advance of the financing by Capital Corp for less than 20Cents on the dollar, with him in charge as CEO with his management team Capital Corp can invest in debt instruments and keep his equity. Its worst than that Rob, he used Ann to leverage me with her 27.5% of voting share, please tell me, I own her voting rights as I instructed during the incorporation process." I almost was begging at that point.

"We are cool there, she has only the rights in case of divorce and even then the company can buy her shares back at fair market value if we chose."

"So she cannot over rule my 55%. Ok here is the plan Rob..............

After explaining the plan to deal with Gold with Rob I addressed the issue of my wife.

"Now we need to deal with Ann, I have a pre-nub agreement with Ann; look up the dissolution of assets agreement surrounding infidelity and or adultery and I will call you back in an hour. As an officer of the company, I need to know if she violated any of our bylaws on executive malfeasance. I need to talk to Judy Smith and get the ball rolling."

After 10 minutes on the phone with Ms. Smith, actually its Judy now, she was setting up a conference call with Rob.

I carry an old school Dictaphone for my secretary when I fly across country, Harold did not assume I could record his self destructing disk, real high tech, but by luck I clicked the record button on right before his little speech, it's all recorded and so is Ann confession.. Why do villains always have to tell the victims how they intend to kill them allowing time for them to escape, his ego maybe his downfall this time.

The captain came on the speaker, "we are passing over St. Louis, we are on schedule for early arrival, diner will be served, one dollar for earphones for the in flight movie in the cabin."

Meanwhile......

Ann was in deep thought about what she did not tell John, how she enjoyed fucking Harold's big cock for three days, how she went to LA for one last good bye fuck on her own. That she agreed to Harold's backup plan to get her cut if John decided not to play ball. She had never cheated on John before, but this man had the power of confidence, influence and money!

Ann never went with John to NYC because she felt inferior to the people he associated with in New York and rather than be embarrassed, she stayed within her comfort zone. Yes she is the prototype of an Orange County house wife, shopping at the South Coast Plaza, fine lunches with girlfriends at expensive restaurants and weekly trips to the spa and the Spectrum gym was typical.

Ann knew he was getting her drunk that night and she did not care. She knew inviting Harold in for coffee was not a good idea for a married women, she knew once she stripped naked for this man she would fuck him.

She doubted Harold's story about John for one reason and one reason only, she trusted John, but trust and verify was her motto. The NY agency she hired reported he goes to strip clubs every now and then, but nothing else. So I lied to John why I let Harold get in my pants and I pretended I believed that lie to justify fucking him, how sick was that. But it was all I had.

Harold was a totally different lover than John. John can be gentle and sensual and then crescendo into animal love making over a period of time. I always have tons of orgasms.

Sex with Harold was almost like consensual rape; he pounds you with his dick, treats you like a whore and makes you want more of his 9 inch man meat. I am ashamed to admit I actually had to beg him for more! Now it's over, John and I can live our rich lifestyle, I will make it up to him when he gets home tonight! He will forgive me, he loves me and I love him, Harold was a mistake, a good one but a mistake none the less.

John had finished his meal and was on the phone with Rob.

"How did the conference call go with Capitals ethics VP and Judy" I asked?

" Believe it or not this is the third complaint against the Price of Darkness business ethics this year alone, they never stick, as far as buying stock in advance of the corporate deal, he does it all the time, it between the shareholder and him. The Board thinks it's a good deal for their investors, especially if his team is running the show.

"So they still think this is a go deal subject to me selling out right? I asked.

" Essentially yes and they do not care (off the record of course) if he fucks your wife to get the other 27.5% because you cannot prove it."

" This was a great idea John, the conference is a matter of record on our phone system we record all conversations at the firm and they are advised in advance of those recordings before each conference call."

"How about the pre-nup with Ann and her corporate responsibilities etc." I asked.