Behind The Lies by Mark Beckner (the chimp paradox .txt) 📗

months ago. She is not sure what it was, but King was very charming that night and his flirting created a desire inside of her. She finally gave in by sneaking off with him to his car for some romantic kissing and caressing. After that night, it was not difficult for King to convince her to meet him at a hotel just two weeks later. The affair has continued since.

Naomi has been relentless over the years in keeping her figure and good looks. For Ryan, not so much. He is not in terrible shape, but has put on some weight, and doesn’t have much of his blond hair left. He has a husky look and his belly now slightly protrudes beyond his belt line. Naomi no longer finds herself attracted to her husband like she once did. It is not all due to his increased weight and hair loss, but also because he does not give her the same attention he used to. Naomi had not seriously thought about leaving Ryan until her affair with King. Now, she is thinking about going along with King’s plan to kill Ryan. She’s just not sure yet.

The Following Tuesday

As planned, Cooper is out of town again on business. Naomi drives to Kings condo in Lone Tree after leaving her work at the clinic. For this occasion, Naomi has packed black, lacey lingerie. She arrives at approximately 6:00 pm.

King has ordered out Chinese food for the evening and has the table prepared. The menu consists of vegetable Chow Mein and Kung Pao chicken, and a bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Merlot, one of Naomi’s favorites.

During dinner, Naomi brings up the topic of their plan to kill Cooper. “Justin, I’m not sure I can do this.”

“You won’t have to do anything,” King tells her. “You won’t even be there until after it’s over. I have access to a sedative that will quickly and painlessly put Ryan to sleep for good. And the best part, it’s a drug that is hard to detect unless you are specifically looking for it, and there will be no reason for them to test for this drug.”

“Yes, I know, you’ve told me all this, but I was married to the guy and did love him at one time. I still care about him.”

“Naomi, he’s a good friend of mine as well, and I don’t want to do this either, but it is the only way if we want to have the type of life we both enjoy. Look at me now after my divorce. I went from a beautiful home in the foothills to this two-bit condo. I can’t afford a mortgage right now, nor do some of the things I’d like to be doing. Divorce is something to avoid if you can.”

“Lots of people get divorced, Justin.”

“Yes, and look at how many of them are miserable. Do you want to lose your home?”

“Well, no, of course not.”

“Do you want to travel like we talked about?”

“Yes.”

“Do you still want nice things and nice clothes?”

“Yes.”

“Then this is the only way. I will not be able to provide the things you want unless we get full control of the business. Ryan will never just give that up. And we need to be able to keep your house. Even if you no longer want to live there, we can sell it and buy our own place, or build our dream home.”

It all sounds so good to Naomi, but she just isn’t sure she can go through with it. She also doesn’t want to end up in prison. After all, she has watched the TV drama Orange Is the New Black. That is not the life for her.

“Don’t worry Naomi, I’m taking the risk. If something goes wrong, no one will even know you were involved. Besides, he’s only going to work himself to death anyway. Look at him, he’s out of shape, never exercises anymore, doesn’t sleep. I will just be speeding up the process for him. All I need is for you to find him afterward and play your role.”

“You make it sound so easy and impersonal.”

“That’s because it is! Look, do you want to marry me?”

“Yes, I love you Justin.”

“Then this is the only way. I’m not going to live my life in a constant struggle to have the things I want. I want you and me to have a good life. This is the way to get there. If you file for divorce, it will be messy, your income will at least be cut in half, the business will suffer, and both of us will lose money. You have no kids Naomi; you’re not going to get $3800 a month like my wife gets.”

“I suppose you’re right Justin. Are you sure he will not feel anything?”

“Positive Naomi. Now let’s open another bottle of this Merlot and retire to the bedroom. I can hardly wait to see what you’ve brought to wear for me tonight,” says Justin smiling.

The next morning, Justin fixes breakfast for the two of them. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I could adjust to this type of treatment, thinks Naomi. She hasn’t been pampered like this in a long time.

Before leaving, Justin reminds Naomi not to text him with her phone. “We don’t want text messages between us. It is something that could later be retrieved from our accounts. If you need to get in touch, just call me. Our phones don’t record our conversations.”

“No, I won’t,” smiles Naomi, “you tell me this all the time. When do you plan to set this up?”

“Ryan has a meeting on Thursday in the Springs to go over contract details with a large development company. We need to wait until the contract is signed before doing anything. Once that contract is signed, the company will be in a position to almost double in size over the next year.”

“Okay, bye sweetie,” waves Naomi as she walks out the door. I’m going to be happy, loved, and wealthy, she reminds herself as