TITLE    : Like a Phoenix
STORYID  : like-a-phoenix
SUMMARY  : Like a phoenix he rose again, after the divorce.
AUTHOR   : AnAverageGuy61@lit
DATE     : 2023-07-28
CATEGORY : loving-wives
FLAGS    : 
TAGS     : |wife|husband|cheating|revenge|


British English language and spelling. In some stories the legal process will be different to what readers from the USA are used to, over here we have laws that apply nationally, not state by state. Where possible I try to research facts in the hope I can be accurate in what I write.

I write for my enjoyment, and hopefully that of others. I welcome feedback and constructive criticism, hateful or pointless comments will be deleted.

To those of you who favourite my stories or follow me, thank you, it means a lot.

************************************************************

<em>Like a phoenix he rose from the ashes of a divorce.</em>

After gaining my degree in electronic engineering I set up my company, things were tough at first then I got my big break. I was asked to design a component for an automobile safety system by a large European manufacturer, after that success I found a niche market and spent the next twenty years designing and making parts for cars. One large German manufacturer was our largest customer. My company employed 50 people, there were three shareholders. Myself Rob Harris, my business partner Tony Hartman and my wife Rachel. Tony and I each owned 45% with Rachel owning the remaining 10%.

As I thought Rachel and I would be married for life I didn't see anything wrong with that decision. That turned out to be a major mistake on my part. The only other mistake I made was genuine, I registered the first patent in my name and so all subsequent patents were also registered to me. Like I said this was a genuine error on my part that turned out to be my saviour, anything we designed was patented with companies using the design on a lease basis for the first five years, after at we renewed the patent and the money rolled in.

We couldn't lose really, customers paid us to design and build whatever component they wanted. If they accepted our design, then we used to get paid a small amount for each car fitted with said component. I can't say what, but we designed a major part for the new line of cars manufactured in Munich. The customer paid us to design and build it, then paid us 10 Euros for every car fitted with the component. This might not sound a lot but add up their worldwide sales and we were making money hand over fist.

Rachel and I had been married for 16 years when she announced she wanted a divorce. I arrived home one night to find her sitting in the dining room.

"Sit down Rob. We need to talk!" she stated.

I sat down and listened as she talked, she went on about how our marriage had become stale and she wanted more. I did manage to ask if she had met someone else.

"Yes Rob there is someone else, we have been secretly seeing each other for almost a year."

Almost a year and I never suspected a thing, Christ I was either blind or dumb. When Rachel told me the other person was my business partner I lost it.

"How did it start?"

"I bumped into Tony one evening when I was out with a few friends. We talked and he asked me to meet up again, I agreed thinking it would be just drinks. After a while we started meeting regularly, it was then that I realised I had feelings for Tony. I'm sorry Rob, please don't take it out on Tony."

"You have got to be joking? You have been screwing around with Hartman and now you want me to say nothing. Well you can have your divorce but do not expect me to go quietly Rachel, as far as I am concerned you two have stabbed me in the back! I stormed upstairs to get changed, and I slept in the spare room that night.

I moved out of the house the following day into a hotel, at the end of the week I found a small one bedroom apartment close to work. The next time I was at work I stormed into Tony's office.

"Fuck you Hartman! Almost a year screwing my wife and treating me like a best friend! You slimy cunt, I'd kill you if I thought I could get away with it. You are not worth time in prison."

For my own wellbeing I decided to stay away from the office whenever possible, most of the staff knew what was going on and a lot of them sympathised with me. Rachel had me served with divorce papers and that was when it got nasty, she asked for the house, custody of the kids and child support. The bitch also wanted spousal support and 40% of our savings.

My lawyer advised that she would probably get everything she wanted, he was right and I ended up being a part time father to my kids.

Rachel got the house and a large amount of financial support every month, as I looked after the family finances I was able to hide a lot of our savings, she got 40% of a smaller amount, it was nowhere near what she should have got.

Tony married Rachel within months of our divorce becoming final. He moved into what was my family home, much to the chagrin of my kids. It suited me as my spousal maintenance payments stopped when she remarried. My kids, Richard and Kim hated Tony and they made no secret of it.

The final straw was when they brought me out of the company, the same company I started and worked my arse off to keep going. Tony told Rachel it was for the best as I had lost interest and they needed the company to survive to maintain their lifestyle. Rachel told me they had a bank loan to finance the buyout. I accepted their offer for my shares and left them to get on with it.

I spent the next few months living in the small one roomed apartment, I kept in touch with some of my old employees. They told me it was clear that Tony really wasn't the businessman he claimed to be, nor did he possess the people skills. He spoke to the staff as if they were slaves and took a large salary from the company each month.

Six months after being bought out I decided to start again, I moved away and started another company. I managed to purchase a unit and all the assembly line stuff I needed from a company that used to make the guts for fruit machines. Phil, one of my former engineers, joined me. I promised him the same salary and promotion when the company was established. We had to reprogram the machinery, eventually we got it all working as we wanted it to.

Unethically I approached several of my old clients, they were going elsewhere anyway. Soon I was working like I hadn't been away, as business grew I needed staff. I had no guilt about offering jobs to the people who used to work for me, most of them were glad to get away from Tony. The strange thing was that Tony took so little notice of the business he didn't realise I was working again, as well as stealing clients and staff from him. Phil was promoted to Operations Director.

Now back to my genuine business error when I registered my first patent. As I had used my name and not the company. I got paid every year from all of the clients, this money was paid into an offshore account to avoid tax. Yes. It was completely legal and I admit I paid tax on my salary but not on the royalty payments. The following patents were in the company name.

I continued to see my kids whenever I was allowed, I always made sure that they knew I would always be there for them. Kim regularly said that Tony was a pig and she couldn't understand why her Mum took up with him. I assured them it was water under the bridge and I couldn't care about Tony or Rachel.

My new company was going from strength to strength, I was the sole owner with ten people working for me. Every year I paid all of my staff a generous bonus as well as a decent salary for their skills.

Richard was at university studying for his electronics degree, he wanted to work for me when he graduated. His mother said he would have a job working for Tony, it stunned her when he revealed he had an existing job offer. It pissed her off when he refused to disclose who he was planning to work for, all the same I doubt she considered it was me. As far as she and Tony were concerned, I had left with my tail between my legs. I got the impression from my kids that Rachel and Tony thought I was living cheaply and sulking.

The cat got let out of the bag just before Kim's 16<sup>th</sup> birthday. Rachel had promised her a spectacular party, then had to cancel it through lack of funds. God knows what she and Tony did with their money but she had more than enough to live on in my opinion.

Naturally I agreed to cover the cost of Kim's party, this pissed Rachel off as she had no idea of how much I was worth. She thought I was a pauper living on my meagre savings. One week before the party I was at work when Rachel called my mobile phone, it was the only number she had for me.

"Rob. Kim tells me you are paying for her birthday party. I hope you are good for the money as I don't want her let down at the last minute!"

"Rachel, I am more than good for the money. Unlike you I won't promise my daughter something then say she can't have it." There was silence for a few seconds. "Just make sure you don't let my daughter down." She hung up.

"Your daughter. Your daughter." I muttered. "Fucking cheeky bitch."

The party was a great evening. I spent time with my kids and their friends, I avoided talking to Rachel or fuckface as I now referred to Tony. I decided to leave the party about 10pm, as I made my way out Rachel approached me.

"Thank you for covering the cost Rob. Things are a bit tight at the moment, Tony has had to lay off some staff due to a decline in business."

"Really! I don't know what dear old fuckface is doing wrong, but I have never been so busy. Thank him for laying off the staff as it made my job of employing good people a lot easier." I knew Tony hadn't laid them off as they all told me they resigned after I offered them a job. "Maybe you had better ask fuckface what he is doing wrong. Goodnight Rachel."

I walked out leaving my ex-wife stunned and standing with her mouth open like a fish gasping for air. Now the cat was out of the bag, I decided to start making it known how well I was doing. I purchased a decent sized house with four bedrooms.

Throughout my life my one extravagance had always been my car, for years I drove a top of the range Mercedes or something of a similar quality. Now I treated myself to an AMG Mercedes S65.

It made me feel good to know Rachel didn't have the big money she liked everyone to think she had. I still needed to get some revenge on Hartman, I didn't want to go to prison for it though. The answer to my problem appeared one night as I was driving home.

Lenny Walsh was one of the guys I went to school with. Lenny didn't have a regular job, he was a bit of a fixer with his fingers in many pies. I stopped to chat with him. I reckoned if he couldn't help me, he might know someone who could. I approached Lenny in the pub.

"Hi Lenny, long time no see."

He looked at me for a few seconds, then he realised who I was. "Rob Harris, well I'll be damned. How are you?"

We sat and drank a beer as I told Lenny how i was doing, his ears pricked up when i asked if he could help me out.

"How bad do you want him hurt, Rob?"

"Bad enough so that he remembers it. Leave the bastard with a limp and knock his pretty face about."

Lenny said he could help out, the cost was ten grand, in cash. That seemed like a bargain to me, I met with Lenny and handed over the cash two nights later.

Two weeks later I was having dinner with a client when Tony was mugged. The police questioned me, they let me go when my alibi held up. Rachel was upset, she told several people that it was me. When she heard about my alibi she stopped publicly blaming me, privately I think she still blamed me for arranging it. I didn't give a shit.

Tony was left with a broken nose and a permanent limp. Whatever happened his right knee would be fucked for life, he was also having issues with his cock getting hard, or staying hard.

Several of my old friends saw me when I was out and took great pleasure in telling Rachel how well I seemed to be doing for myself. Once I started going out again it was amazing how many women I attracted, some were obvious gold diggers and some were just after a decent night out.

I met Janet through some friends, we were introduced at a party. Janet was two years younger than me, a widow whose husband died of a heart attack. Straight away we clicked, it was clear to me that Janet had no idea what I did for a living or how much money I was worth.

Although I had money and a decent lifestyle Janet always insisted on paying her way if we went out, eventually we talked and she was shocked when she realised my financial worth.

"But you don't dress like a millionaire. I know you have a nice car, but a car is a car to me Rob. Your clothes are nice but hardly what you call top of the range designer label, I never knew you had that much money."

"I don't dress like a millionaire as I prefer comfort to a fancy label Janet."

I dated Janet for the next year, whenever we went out she was a pleasure to be with. On several occasions we encountered Rachel and Tony, Janet was polite but didn't engage in a conversation unless they spoke first.

Janet was a very attractive woman who caught the eye of many male admirers, when we went out as a couple we held hands or linked arms. Janet wanted people to know she was with me and we were both off limits.

My kids thought Janet was great, she was like a best friend to both of them. She was always ready to listen and dispense advice if I wasn't able to. Kim said it was like having an older sister to talk to, Richard asked when she was going to become his stepmother.

Six months later I proposed and Janet said yes, we were married with my kids and a few close friends in attendance. After the wedding we honeymooned in Jamaica, when we returned home Richard met us at the airport.

During my first week back in the office I heard that Tony was closing the old company, he had lost so many clients it was costing him to keep it running, I took on most of the staff he laid off as my company was so busy I needed the extra people. To rub salt into the wounds I ended up buying the premises and moving back in there.

Richard was now working for me, while Kim was studying at university. I got a shock one evening when I answered the door to find Rachel standing there. She looked upset and asked if we could talk.

"Rob I am telling you this myself so it's not second hand news. Tony and I are moving to a smaller house across town, the old place is too big and too expensive to run for just the two of us." I knew the reality was they had almost no money and were looking to save wherever they could.

"Thank you for letting me know, although I don't know why you felt the need to inform me Rachel. What you and fuckface do is none of my business."

"Please Rob. Can we at least keep this civil if nothing else" Rachel pleaded.

"Sorry Rachel I can't be civil where that arsehole is concerned. I wish you both all the unhappiness in the world after what you did to me!" Rachel said goodnight and left in silence.

EPILOGUE

Rachel and Tony moved to a smaller three bedroomed house, he left her a year later when their money finally ran out. Rachel sold the house and paid off several debts, she moved into a small apartment on her own. The kids visited her whenever they were close by, Janet and I were happy and I spent quite a lot of time working from home.

Kim came home one weekend and announced that she was getting married. I liked her boyfriend Gary, he was a decent guy. One Saturday before the wedding Janet and I were shopping for a dress for her, she wanted something nice but nothing that would take the attention from the bride. We were looking at several dresses when a voice spoke behind me.

"May I help you?" I turned to see Rachel standing there wearing a shop assistants badge. The look on Rachel's face was classic, she was having to serve her ex-husbands wife. I just smiled politely.

Janet tried on two dresses and finally settled on one, we paid and left the shop holding hands. I didn't look back, but I caught a glimpse of Rachel in a mirror. The look on her face told me that she was jealous. On the wedding day Kim looked gorgeous, I had a tear in my eye as I walked her down the aisle. Janet sat beside me in the church with Rachel sitting just behind us.

I couldn't help noticing the dress Rachel was wearing, it was one I had bought for her years ago. I guess times were hard if she couldn't afford a new dress for her daughter's wedding.

At the end of the evening as Janet and I left to go home, I saw Rachel waiting for a taxi, she was clearly crying. Janet asked if I wanted to see if she was okay?

"Not really. She made her bed so let her lie in it." Janet asked me to wait while she spoke to Rachel. I watched as they spoke quietly until Rachel's taxi arrived, Janet and I didn't discuss her talk with Rachel. As long as I wasn't going to have to spend time with her or give her money, I couldn't have cared what they spoke about.

Occasionally I throw a party for the family and I tell the kids to invite their mother, i feel as their mother she should be there. It also gives me a chance to let her see what she threw away when she traded me in for Tony. Janet doesn't get bitchy and is always polite to Rachel, as for me I only talk to her if I have to.

