The Axis of Evil
Like a lot of stories some of the legal processes may be wrong, that’s the point as it is a story and nothing else.
I sat at the kitchen table and stared at the divorce papers in front of me. Not less than ten minutes ago my wife Janet dropped them on me and left, not before she reminded me the house was hers and I had until 7pm on Sunday to get out. I felt a mixture of anger and hurt. I was hurt that my wife clearly didn’t love me as much as i loved her, angry that we didn’t discuss this, she just dropped the bombshell on me.
Janet and I met ten years ago, we had both attended the same school but had a different group of friends. After dating for a while Janet fell pregnant, not a big deal in today’s society. It was a big deal to her parent’s, they couldn’t understand how she had allowed a working class oaf to get her pregnant. I knew they didn’t like me, I just wasn’t aware of the level of hatred.
Janet’s parents were upper class and they liked to let everyone know it as well. Daddy, Roland, was a senior partner in a law firm. Mummy, Miranda, was a respected surgeon. At the time Janet fell pregnant she was working for a small law firm as a paralegal. I had worked for an IT service company and just decided to branch out on my own. Not bad for a so-called working class oaf.
So here I was after two kids and nine years of marriage, staring at a divorce. The kids David and Sarah would be upset by the divorce, after all they were only 8 and 6 years old. As I looked over the divorce papers I realised just how pissed off Janet must be with me. Not only did I have to leave the house, she wanted full custody of the kids and my business signed over to JJ Enterprises. I found out later that JJ was short for Janet and James, as in James Whitmore.
James Whitmore had been an old school boyfriend of Janet’s, from what I heard he had recently returned to his hometown. It seems her parents favoured him over me. I didn’t sleep well that night. I started moving out the following day.
I gathered what I wanted and loaded it in my car, if Janet wanted me out then I would get out. As I had nowhere else to go I headed for the office, I figured I could sleep in one of the vacant rooms for a few nights until I got sorted. I employed seven people but most of them worked in an open plan area.
“Hey boss, what’s up?” I turned to see Stacie the office administrator standing there as I unloaded boxes from my car. “Not much Stacie. Just moving a few things around.”
Stacie offered to help and I declined, she wouldn’t take no for an answer and grabbed a box. Spotting it was personal possessions she asked again what was going on.
“If you must know Janet has kicked me out. She served me with divorce papers last night. I have until 7pm tomorrow to get out of her house.”
“Jeez Rob, I’m sorry. I just thought this might be company stuff you were clearing out from home. Please don’t tell me you are planning to sleep here tonight?”
“As I have nowhere else to go, that’s exactly what I was planning to do!”
“Like fuck you will! I have a spare room that you can have rent free. Now get this stuff back into your car and follow me.”
I tried to argue but Stacie was having none of it. Thanks to her kind gesture I now had a room to store stuff and a bed to sleep in. I followed Stacie for a few miles until we reached her place, it was a nice house at the quiet end of a street. Between us we soon had my stuff unloaded and in my new room, it was a fair size with a bed, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers. Stacie left me to unpack and went about cooking a meal for us both.
During dinner we spoke about what was happening, I could see Stacie getting more pissed off by what Janet had done. I offered to wash up and told Stacie to go and sit down, I would join her shortly. I sat and we talked some more until the doorbell rang, Stacie got up to answer it, she returned with a guy about our age.
“Look I’m sorry Stacie. If you and your boyfriend want to be alone, I’ll go out and have a drink at a pub.”
They both stood there and burst out laughing. “Boyfriend my arse! Rob, this is Andrew, my brother. He’s a lawyer and I called him because I figured you will need one pretty soon.” I laughed and thanked Stacie for calling Andrew.
The three of us sat down and looked over the divorce papers.
“What did you do to piss off your wife?” Andrew asked as he looked at the forms.
“Nothing that I know of. I thought we were good until she dropped the papers on me last night.”
“Dropped the papers! Christ, this is more like an execution warrant. She wants the house, okay that’s hers and you can’t really fight that. She wants full custody with no visitation for you, and someone called James Whitmore wants to adopt the children.”
“Like fuck he will!” I exclaimed. At that point I realised I hadn’t read the papers properly and was in deep shit.
“Your wife wants the business signed over plus support for her and the children. Jesus Christ Rob, you are lucky you still have clothes to wear. Now I have immediately spotted one grey area where we might get some leverage. She has asked for the company to be signed over. Whoever wrote this up didn’t mention anything about the company assets, things like computers, desks and the like. If I were you I would find some office space and start up under a different name, you can take the staff and office equipment with you.”
Stacie and I looked at each other, she gave a sly grin.
“Now as far as full custody goes that’s bullshit, we can get you access to the kids although they might insist on supervised visits.” I nodded and Andrew continued. “The matter of James Whitmore adopting the children is another sticking point, he can only do this if you agree to it. When and if he adopts they can then stop any rights you have to see the children again.”
I discussed a few options with Andrew and we agreed to meet again. As it was getting late he left for home, Stacie said she would look after stuff at the office if I needed time away for whatever reason. I was tired and headed off to bed, surprisingly I slept well, given all that was going on in my life.
A knock on the door announcing breakfast woke me the following morning, dressed in joggers and a tee shirt I joined Stacie in the kitchen. I told Stacie that I would get everyone together tomorrow and let them know what was happening, if it all went sour they would either be unemployed or working for my soon to be ex-wife.
On Monday morning I told everyone who worked for me what was happening. I also told them I was going to start up again, and I hoped they would all come with me. They all agreed as none of them wanted to work for Janet, I guess they figured if she could treat me like shit, what chance did they have. One idea we had was for the guys to buy their pc’s from me for a paltry sum. We agreed and everyone paid me five pounds for their computer, screen etc. Two of the guys clubbed together and bought the servers from me.
I left Stacie running the office as I went out in search of new premises. While I was out Stacie called our clients and informed them of what was happening, all but one of them said they would continue to use my company whatever name we traded under. I got lucky looking for new office space, a small company had just gone bust and the landlord wanted the space filled urgently. The place was furnished and already had a fast internet connection and everything else I would need, I signed the lease the same afternoon.
On my way back to the office I decided to stop and see Janet. I was shocked when they told me she resigned three months ago. One person told me she was working for her father. Now it is starting to make sense, an old boyfriend comes back into her life and she starts working for Daddy. When I told my staff I had found somewhere to run the business, we worked on a plan to move into the new space at the weekend. With the help of two guys and a van we could move everything in one trip. I had just sat down at my desk when Janet called.
“Yes!” I answered tersely
“Just calling to say thank you for getting out of the house quickly. Don’t forget the other conditions for the divorce Rob.”
“Such as?” I replied.
“You have to sign your business over to JJ Enterprises and then there is the matter of financial support.”
“As I am signing the business over to you and your lover I can’t see me paying support of any kind. The problem is I will be unemployed as I cannot work for you two arseholes, no work no money. It’s as simple as that Janet. Oh and while I have your attention you two bastards can go to hell if you think I am signing over my kids.” I slammed the phone down.
Stacie informed me Andrew was waiting to talk to me, I picked up the phone as she closed my office door. I informed Andrew I had new premises to move into at the weekend, he advised that after we move that I do no more without consulting him. Andrew also suggested I record any conversations with Janet or her side of the family.
After Janet’s call I decided to move some money around, I put 70% of our savings into an account that only I had access to. She didn’t need the money, if she wanted anything all she had to do was ask Daddy for it.
That night Stacie sat with me again and we discussed my pending divorce.
“I can’t believe Janet is being this much of a bitch Rob, I mean a divorce is one thing but she is trying to ruin you!”
“To be honest Stacie I don’t think it is Janet, or at least it wasn’t to start with. She quit her job and never told me, all of those demands and everything. No, this is her father’s doing. Her parents never liked me because I was what they called working class, not good enough for their daughter. I suppose James is a lawyer or some big shot financial whizz, whatever they think him more suitable than me.”
“Yeah well they are wrong. You are a nice guy Rob and it’s not only me that thinks so, surely the fact everyone is coming with you tells you something?”
“Stacie. It really does. I will find a way to repay everyone once this mess is over.”
I spent the rest of the week getting things ready for the office move at the weekend, Stacie seemed to have everything else running smoothly. I hadn’t heard from Janet, surprising really as I told her she was pretty much getting fuck all from me. Andrew had agreed to represent me in the divorce, one thing he found out was we would be dealing with one of Daddy’s best people. The other thing that caught my attention was how quiet Jants mum was, she never called or tried to persuade me to sign over the kids.
That weekend everyone chipped in and the move to our new office went without a hitch. I left the money the guys paid me for the computers on my desk with a note for the new owners. The guy’s set up their desk areas as in the previous office. Stacie set up my desk while I concentrated on getting our systems up and running, at the end of the day we all left for a local restaurant. Dinner was on me that night.
Around lunchtime on Monday Janet’s father Roland stormed into the new office.
“I suppose you think you are being funny? You knew you had to sign the company over to my daughter, instead you moved it to different premises. You are in deep shit now, you prick!” His face was red from yelling at me.
“Actually Roland if you check, you will see that I have signed the company over. This is a new company that I work for.”
“What about all the assets from the old company? Where did they go?”
“They came here, I sold everything to my staff. I own the company name and nothing else. Janet only asked for me to sign the company over to her, the claim never mentioned the assets as well. Sorry about that, but my lawyer says it is all legal and above board.”
“Legal and above board my arse. You knew what the demand was about. Stop acting like a prick and do as you are told Parsons. Give everything you have to Janet or this will get very messy.”
“Sorry Roland, no can do. Now if you don’t mind I have work to do. Any further contact will be through my lawyer.” I passed him Andrew’s business card. Roland cursed at me and stormed out of the office.
“Wow! Who pissed on his cornflakes?” One of my technicians, Richard asked. We all laughed then got back to work.
The following day Janet called me. “Stop being a smartarse Rob. You knew what I meant when I asked for the company to be signed over to me, I really wouldn’t piss my father off if I was you.”
“Well you are not me Janet. I will tell you the same as I told your father yesterday, any further contact goes through my lawyer. Your Dad has his details, goodbye.”
Stacie stood in the doorway and smiled. “Good for you Rob. Don’t give in to them, we are all behind you.”
Andrew called on Friday to tell me he had received a revised divorce petition. “What the hell are they asking for now?” I asked.
“They are offering you all the savings if you agree to a quick divorce and the adoption of the children. It doesn’t say as much but I suspect that if you refuse they might start playing nasty.”
“They can do what they want Andrew, I am okay for money and I will never sign my kids over to them for adoption. If they want a war they have got one.”
“I will reply and say that you are interested in their revised offer, but you will not sign the children over for adoption. I’ll get back to you with any news Rob.”
For the next few weeks the lawyers battled it out, I refused to give an inch and they tried turning up the heat. The petition got changed from irreconcilable differences to mental cruelty and an allegation of physical and verbal abuse towards Janet and the kids. I fucking lost it when I found out, luckily Stacie calmed me down. Andrew advised me to avoid talking to Janet or her parent’s, he didn’t want me saying anything they could twist and use against me.
I stayed in the house that weekend, not out of guilt. I just didn’t want a confrontation with Janet if our paths crossed. As it turned out staying home was a wise move on my part, Stacie bumped into Janet when she was out shopping. When she returned Stacie told me she had spoken to Janet.
“Rather you than me.” I replied
“It was an interesting chat, here have a listen.” Stacie had the sense to record the conversation on her phone. I listened as she played it back to me.
“Hello Stacie, how are you?” Janet asked as if she was her best friend.
“Fine thanks Janet. I’m sorry to hear about you and Rob splitting up.”
“It’s one of those things I’m afraid. Rob is a nice guy but James was my first love. James has a better future ahead of him in the financial world. I just wish Rob could see it and give me the children, James can offer them a better start in life than Rob ever could.” Stacie looked relaxed, inside she was fuming.
“Well now you have said Rob is a violent man, you will probably get the kids anyway.”
“I had to say that, he just won’t see sense and sign them over for adoption.” Janet smiled.
“You mean he didn’t do anything to the kids?”
“No, of course he didn’t. I just said that so he will never get a visit let alone custody!” Stacie nodded and said goodbye, she couldn’t stand there much longer for fear of punching Janet in the face.
“Before you ask, I have already sent it to Andrew.”
“Stacie I could kiss you for this.”
“Really. Go on then if you must.” Stacie puckered her lips up and I gave her a kiss, it didn’t take long before the peck turned into a full blown kiss with tongues involved.
“Stacie, we shouldn’t do this. I mean what with my situation and you working for me, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Who cares Rob. Nobody has to know. Besides, I know two of the guys already think there is something between us anyway.”
“Really. Oh Christ what have they said to you?”
“They haven’t said anything, Rob. You know what offices are like for rumours and stuff. I denied it and said I was just helping you out with a place to stay.”
I nodded and stepped back a little. I would have liked to have taken things further but the way my life is right now I didn’t want Stacie in the firing line. I could see Janet’s lawyers painting her as the slut who came between us. Stacie saw my point and agreed with me, even though she pouted her displeasure.
Over the next few weeks Stacie and I tried to keep our relationship purely as friends, I knew she wanted more and honestly so did i. Eventually I sat down and explained that I would be prepared to go forward once the mess with Janet was sorted out. Going by what Andrew told me, it would be sooner rather than later.
It had been two months after I was served divorce papers that we were in court, I sat with Andrew and Janet sat with her lawyer. I noticed Roland sitting a few rows behind his daughter, Stacie was a few rows behind me.
Janet’s lawyer started the proceedings, he very quickly labelled me as an abusive husband and father.
We sat and listened as he alleged that I had treated Janet cruelly, not just verbally but physically as well. When he sat down I was under no illusion that the judge thought of me as some kind of bastard.
Andrew stood and cleared his throat with a quiet cough. “Your honour, my client denies all of the allegations of abuse, physical and otherwise. Until his estranged wife served him with divorce papers he had no idea that she wanted out of the marriage. As there are no medical records or any claims by social services to back up the claims I am asking for them to be dismissed as lies.”
The judge looked at Andrew for a few seconds. “Do you have any proof that the claims are false?”
“Actually your honour we do.” I looked at Janet’s father, suddenly the smirk was wiped from his face.
Andrew asked for the court to listen to a recording of a conversation between Janet and my friend Stacie, he clicked play and there was silence apart from the recording. Andrew stood quietly until the recording stopped.
“There you have it your honour. Mrs Parsons has stated that her estranged husband did not abuse or assault the children as she claims.
It was purely a ploy to get him to agree to her current partner adopting them. If she is prepared to lie about that, we can only assume the other allegations are false as well. That is why I am asking for them to be dismissed, your honour.”
The judge called both lawyers to the bench, and a whispered conversation took place. Andrew returned with a smile.
“After hearing that recording and having no substantial proof of abuse by Mr Parson I am dismissing the charges. This case will be heard in the family court as there is no evidence of criminal behaviour. Case dismissed.” The gavel slammed down and we stood as the judge returned to his chambers.
Andrew, Stacie and myself left the court, Janet was sitting there taking a verbal assault from her father. I looked over and smiled at them.
With the criminal charges dismissed I could afford to relax a little, I knew the divorce was still going to be heard in court but I wasn’t worried about that. As Janet earned more than I did, she had little chance of spousal support. I was prepared to pay child support and nothing else.
Now that the criminal charges were dealt with I wanted to see how things would be between Stacie and myself, that night I took her out to dinner.
Dinner turned out to be a quiet affair, Stacie and I talked like a couple of old friends. I sort of expected Stacie to make a play for me, or at least throw a few sexually charged comments into the conversation. She didn’t and I started to think that maybe I had ruined my chances with Stacie.
As it turned out I couldn’t have been more wrong, as soon as we stepped in the house later that night Stacie pretty much attacked me. Within minutes we were both naked and writhing around on the bed. I have no idea how long we spent having sex before we both fell asleep totally exhausted, I woke the following morning to find Stacie sucking my cock. After another bout of torrid sex, we showered and went downstairs for breakfast, Stacie was cooking as I made us some coffee.
“About last night Stacie?”
“What about last night Rob? We had sex and we both enjoyed it. You did enjoy it, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did but………….”
“Well then what is there to talk about? Look Rob I have wanted to do that for god knows how long. The only reason I never bothered before was Janet, you were married and I wasn’t about to come between you.”
“I am still married Stacie.”
“Yeah but only on paper Rob. Janet asking for a divorce killed that. Now let’s sit down and eat, and no more talk about last night. Mention it again and you can go back to sleeping in the spare room.” Stacie giggled and I knew I was fighting a losing battle.
Wrongly I assumed with the criminal charges against me being dismissed the divorce would be plain sailing, it appears that Janet’s father had other ideas. They were still pushing for Whitmore to adopt my kids, if I didn’t concede that there would be ridiculous amounts of child support to pay. Andrew put my mind at rest to some extent.
“Rob the amount of child support is fixed by the courts. Janet can ask for as much as she likes, it doesn’t mean she will get anywhere near what she is demanding.”
“I’ll pay reasonable child support Andrew, as for signing my kids over they can all go to hell!”
Back in the office I was chatting to the guys and Stacie about how things were going, they weren’t being nosey, just concerned for my well-being.
“They sound like a right evil bunch Rob.” John stated as he shook his head.
“They are John, they really are. I think of them as the axis of evil.”
Stacie laughed. “More like the three arseholes!”
My relationship with Stacie was known to all in the office, everyone agreed to say nothing and deny it if asked about us. Two of my clients called to let me know they had been approached by a new start-up company, the calls were to reassure me I would still have their business. The new company turned out to be JJ Solutions. I decided to check them out, even though I knew who was behind the company.
From what I was able to find out JJ Solutions was staffed by young people who barely knew what they were doing, the manager was a guy I knew from several years ago. I laughed when I saw his name, he was useless back then and I had no reason to believe he was any better now.
The campaign by JJ Solutions had no adverse effect on my business, in fact we picked up several new customers.
The day of the court hearing arrived. Stacie wanted to accompany me, but I asked her to stay and run the office. I was sure Andrew and I could handle whatever they were going to throw at us. Janet’s lawyer stood and read out why the marriage had broken down, along with a list of demands from Janet. I noticed the judge raise his eyebrows a few times in surprise.
Andrew stood and stated that I was prepared to pay reasonable child support, particularly as I had already complied with most of Janet’s wishes. “On the subject of Mr Whitmore legally adopting the two Parsons children, my client has stated that hell will freeze over before he agrees to that demand.” Andrew sat down and whispered that we had to wait and see what the judge did now.
The judge looked over some papers before looking across at myself, then across the courtroom at Janet.
“Mrs Parsons, you are complaining that your husband signed over his business but not the assets. I am telling you now that he complied with the document he was given. I don’t think it is his fault if your legal counsel cannot write in a concise manner. I see you are still living in the family home, as it is rightly yours. Tell me is Mr Whitmore living there as well?” Janet nodded to confirm he was.
“In that case you must be quite comfortable for money, given the amounts you both declared as salaries. It is therefore my decision that Mr Parsons will pay two hundred pounds per month for both children. Mr Parsons, are you agreeable to this amount?”
“Yes, your honour.” I replied.
“Very well I will set child support at the agreed amount. There will be no spousal maintenance as Mrs Parsons earns a sufficient salary and has Mr Whitmore to rely on for financial support as well.”
“With regard to custody of the children, I award Mrs Parsons custody.” I saw Janet smirk out of the corner of my eye. “Mr Parsons will have unlimited access to his children. Now to Mr Whitmore wanting to adopt the children, I have to say I have never heard such a ridiculous demand.
There is no statute in law that says Mr Parsons has to agree. Mrs Parson I suggest you might want to seek alternative legal counsel in future, any decent lawyer could have told you that your demands were outrageous.”
The judge banged his gavel and announced our divorce would be final in sixty days. Andrew sat there smiling like that cat that got the cream. “What’s up?” I asked.
“As soon as we walked into court I knew this would probably go in our favour. That judge hates cheaters with a passion, and the fact he despises Janet’s father for the way he operates. They lost before we even said a word.”
Janet looked pissed off, as Andrew and I stood to leave she approached us. “No hard feelings Rob.” she smiled.
“Fuck off Janet. You tried to ruin me with allegations of abuse, then you stand here and say no hard feelings. You ca go fuck yourself and tell Whitmore and Daddy that I told them to do the same!” I turned and walked away in disgust. Andrew shook my hand and wished me luck. I told him he was expected to attend a celebratory dinner tonight. That night I took all of the staff out to dinner, Andrew did join us after I told Stacie to convince him.
EPILOGUE
I would like to say that everything went well after the divorce was granted, sadly it didn’t. Whitmore and Janet’s father still tried to drag my name through the mud, it wasn’t until I got a court order that they stopped. I started to see my kids every weekend, they both got on well with Stacie. Now that the divorce was sorted I set about finding a house to live in. Stacie seemed pissed off that I was going to move out, that was until I told her she was coming with me. Four months later we had a house, Stacie had an engagement ring. Yes I proposed once I knew the house was mine.
I went to collect the kids one weekend so they could see the new house I had bought. Janet was in bed feeling unwell. Whitmore took her absence as a chance to make some snide remarks about me while I waited for the kids to get ready. I ignored them all until he made a comment about Stacie, that earned him a punch in the mouth. Whenever I was there after that he stayed out of my way.
Stacie and I married that summer, it was a small ceremony with a few friends and family. When we returned from our honeymoon Janet asked if I could have the kids for a few days, her father had suffered a stroke. I took the kids willingly, despite the fact Janet never thanked me for helping her out at a difficult time.
Her father never recovered from the stroke and had to retire early. Janet did eventually marry Whitmore, the marriage lasted three years before she caught him cheating. Around the same time Janet’s father passed away, I didn’t mourn his loss. Janet sunk into a depression that ended up with her suffering a breakdown and me getting custody of the kids. Miranda, her mother said it was best as Janet clearly could not cope. Janet see’s the kids once a month now, that was her choice due to her health issues. I feel a twinge of sadness, more for the kids than myself although does a great job with them.