Something sticky

Richard had a hard time deciding whether to tell Angela about Jack and Marguerite. His sister would want to know that her husband had an affair with their neighbor across the street ... and that she was pregnant with Jack's child, already 3 months along. Angela didn't know that's why Marguerite had flown to the Cayman Islands last Friday. It would after all be only a few weeks before she began to show -- and before the whole world would know, including her estranged husband Carlo. Carlo would know instantly that the baby wasn't his and so would the whole world. It was common knowledge that Carlo and Marguerite hadn't had sex in ages. Everyone would want to know who Marguerite's accomplice had been. And since Richard had taken Marguerite and Jack on a fishing trip off the Carolina coast in June, they'd quickly figure out that either Richard or Jack was the culprit.

Trouble was, Jack worked for Richard's venture capital firm on Peachtree Street. They'd made millions over the years, financing startups in Atlanta but also as far away as Houston, even Denver and San Francisco a few times. If Jack pinned the blame on Richard, Angela would divorce him and, as Angela's big brother, he'd have no choice but to resign from the job where he'd made a bucketload of money -- and financed the renovation of his Ansley Park mansion. If he lost the job, he'd have to give up the house. And if he gave up the house, Laura would leave him and go back to her parents in Mobile.

Laura would also leave him if he took responsibility for Marguerite's baby. But he wasn't the father -- he'd only fucked her once and it hadn't been that weekend. Jack had spent the whole weekend in Marguerite's room -- all while Richard remained silent. So either way you looked at it, Laura would leave him.

A third way? Perhaps Marguerite could be bought off. Hell, he and Jack could take a few million out of the company and set her up in the Cayman Islands ... permanently. Maybe she'd stay quiet then and everyone would simply think she'd fallen in love with the Tropics. Trouble would be, though, Carlo wanted a divorce -- so he could go after Angela. He'd been in love with her for months (it's why he left Marguerite) and Jack didn't know anything about it. Angela had told him, but in the strictest confidence.

Looked like a sticky situation to Richard.