I was married to my business partner and best friend Axel Monroe for three years but we had been together since junior high. We had went to business school together, we had founded a company together, we had become rich and powerful together.
When we started the company he was in charge I had insisted, "As we get larger I want to be able to stay out of the limelight. Plus when we start a family it will be easier for me to step back."
He was touched and readily agreed, "Already thinking about our children, how could I say no."
When our company went public he became thee CEO and I a well paid consultant. I stayed at open keeping the house in order and teleconferenced on a weekly bases. I over saw acquisitions and handled paper work remotely. As a consultant my name didn't appear on any documents. This had been Axel's idea. Saying, "If you want to be able to avoid attention then let's leave no trail for them to follow."
I was so moved that I never considered what it meant to not be on any documentation. One day that all changed, I found the IPO paperwork and found all the retained shares were held solely in Axel's name. When I asked about it he coyly replied, "We discussed this babe. No trail remember. Man for someone so smart you can be so absent minded sometimes."
Then stung a bit and I couldn't place why what he said felt like betrayal. Still we had said that and I choose to believe he meant well. Everything seemed fine, but one night he brought a woman to the house. A new executive assistant to shadow me. He said, "We want to have kids. You do so much for the company some one is going to have to take some of that burden at least while your pregnant."
I had never needed help before. Even when I was sick, even when my parents had died, even when our work load had tripled because of a major expansion. Now even if I got pregnant most of my work could be done while lying in bed. I couldn't understand why I would need to train someone to take over for me. However it we be rude to rebuke my husband for caring so I graciously extended a hand to her and started diligently training her on my various duties. I warned her not to get too attached to the position or addicted to the power as I would continue to do most of the work and I would keep the position even threw my pregnancy. She seemed to understand and was grateful to have the opportunity.
My schedule was crazy and with international paper work I could be in meetings and any hour of the day. My husband never attended these late night meetings he said, "As the CEO I have to be well rested and presentable every day. If you need I can hire a manager."
I had declined right away. This was our company and I wouldn't risk a leach latching on and screwing up million dollar deals. Of course my husband had nodded in support and we never talked about it again. However now he insisted that April my assistant move in so she could learn how to handle these matters. At this point I grew curious and decided to research my assistant. She had when to the same business school as me and Axel had done quite well in our program. Launched her own start-up after graduating as most of our class did. She sold it six months in and was living off the interest. Now I was curious why she had sold and why she would agree to be my assistant? The answer to the first question came a week later from a financial journal she had made a shrewd business move hiding terms of credit in her contracts that made her company's value inflated. She had dumped the company on some sucker that didn't do his research and now the company was imploding.
This was the woman my husband wanted me to intrust our company to. I tried to confront him and he said, "She got great value for the people that worked for her and now she'll get great value for us. What's the problem?" I felt in that moment like we had grown up in two different worlds instead of side by side. My Father had committed suicide after being caught in an insider trading scandal. No one knew that better then Axel, but no the ethics of it all just seemed petty to him. I swallowed hard and decided to talk to April about it.
"Mrs. Monroe, I did what was best for my company. Had they done their research and been prepared for those clauses they would have still made a handsome profit. Why should I have assumed they didn't know."
I couldn't argue the logic and I decided to just keep a close eye on her going forward. That's when I started to notice little things. Like how Axel and April would disappear at the same time and how the stories of their days didn't quite line up. So one day I hugged Axel as he was leaving for urgent work and grabbed his phone. He was heading out the door when I rushed up to hand him his phone. While I had it I had dialed myself and now I had a chance to find out what Axel was up too.
It only took a few moments before Axel's voice came through, "April, baby, your so brilliant I'm so lucky I found you. Everyone of my buddies has at least one mistress. Meanwhile I've been treated like a kept man. Aren't I as good as them? I have my own company. I have millions in the bank. I was even smart enough to put all the company's assets in my name. She has nothing without me. I would say I'm better than those stuck up pretty boys with their generational wealth. I clawed my way up from nothing."
"And you chose me as your mistress, aren't I the luckiest. You even convinced her to let me live with you. You're too wicked," as she said that I could hear a smacking sound, she was clearly flirting.
I mean while was enraged and disgusted. He had let his pride get the better of him. We had built this company together, but I had handled every deal. My fingerprints were on every dollar we made. However it had been years since anyone had seen me make a deal and most the company didn't even know I existed. Now I had to decide what came next. He was right if I just got up and left I would have nothing. My parents were dead and my assets were all in his name.
"Of course baby, you sought me out and brought millions in contracts with you. Nancy has grown complicit. In the old days she would have never let you see how she did things and she would have torn apart every contract she didn't write. If she's lost her spark as her husband it's my duty to keep the fire burning. Whatever it takes," he said and I heard something that sounded like a kiss. I hung up I didn't need details that bad I had an idea what they were playing at now. I couldn't believe he thought he would just take another woman and I wouldn't notice. Worst of all he was letting her make questionable deals and trade on our good name.