Queen of Pain (Things YouCan't Tell Mama) (6 page)

“I feel like such a fool. I thought he really loved me and I’ve been telling Ashley everything as a friend so she knows when I at home or out of town. She’s probably been with him in my own house. This is just sickening,” Tara said.

“The only thing Brandon loves is himself and winning, regardless of who else gets hurt. When he took you from your fiancé, he won, when he came after my wife, he won. Winning and risk taking turns him on. After this is over there will be plenty of pain to go around, but I want you and me to be on top. Tara, are you in this with me?” Frazier asked.

“Do you think I can win?” Tara asked.

“I don’t think you can lose?” Frazier said.

“Okay, I’m in,” Tara said.

“Good, my lead attorney will call you. When this is over, Brandon and Ashley can rot in hell together for all I care. I’m done with these young trophy wife types. Look at me I’m in my mid forties, I need a woman my own age or older, maybe I’ll grow up. Here’s our food let’s eat. What’s wrong with that guy when he has a beautiful woman like you that’s crazy about him,” Frazier said.

“Frazier thanks. I needed that,” Tara said.

“Let’s kick some ass,” Frazier said.

11

Brandon tried to freeze Tara out. He never called her while he was in Europe, but he was in for a shock when he landed back in New York. As Brandon walked down the steps and stepped on the airport tarmac he was presented with an envelope with a notice that he was being sued for five hundred million dollars by Tara Wilson Larson.

“What the hell is this all about Tara?!” Brandon said when he got home.

“You sorry piece of shit!
You’ve got the nerve to ask me what something is about after you sent me a text message telling me that you filed for divorce! What, did you think that I would be sitting in a corner in a pool of tears? I’m a lot tougher than that. What kind of man sends his wife a text message to tell her that he’s divorcing her? Who the hell are you? I’m not going to beg you to stay, but I’m your wife and this is my home. You’ll find out what it’s all about, I’ll just see you in court. I’ll stay on one side of the house and you can stay on the other,” Tara said as she walked upstairs.

Brandon was shocked, he thought that Tara would just fold her tent, take her prenuptial payout and disappear, but things weren’t going as he planned. Brandon was furious and began punching numbers on his phone.

“Allen, this is Brandon. I just got served with a fucking half a billion dollar lawsuit for contract fraud by my wife! I’m coming over to your office right now. I don’t give a damn what appointments you have, cancel them. You’re my attorney and I pay you a shitload of money as a retainer. I’m on my way,” Brandon said as he stormed out of the house.

A week later Brandon’s attorney’s met with Tara’s legal team and they presented what they had to support Tara’s case. Brandon met with his lawyers the next day.

“Brandon, who is Ashley Nelson?” Allen Swartz, Brandon’s lead attorney asked.

Brandon’s entire demeanor changed.

“She’s the wife of my friend, Frazier,” Brandon said.

“Is that you kissing her in a hotel hallway in Las Vegas?” Allen asked.

Brandon sat there with his mouth open in disbelief.

“Yes, that’s me. Where did this come from?” Brandon asked.

“Never mind that, do you see this text message and the date? Is that a message from Ashley to you about an encounter you had with her the night before? It reads, “Brandon you were so naughty last night. I can still taste you and feel you inside me. Can’t wait to be with you again.” Now the from phone number is Ashley’s and the to phone number is yours. The date is two months before you got married. This next message is from last week after you were with her again. Now watch this video,” Allen said.

“Do you Brandon Larson take Tara Wilson
to be your wife – to live together after God’s ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?” the minister officiating Brandon’s wedding said.

“I will,” said Brandon and then Allen
paused the video.

“So, Brandon what figure do you propose to settle with your wife or do you want this shown to a jury, because with that ‘I do’ you just fraudulently enticed Tara Wilson, your present wife, into entering into a contract with you because you were already in breach of the terms?” Allen asked.

Brandon sat there as expressionless as a stone.

“What do you suggest,” Brandon said.

“One hundred million, you’re worth two billion now. It’s a drop in the bucket. Get it over and done with as quickly as possible and still pay the terms of the prenuptial agreement that you are in violation of and move on. Hopefully your board of directors doesn’t throw you out on your ass for soiling the reputation of the company. Women aren’t going to like this story and there are a lot of women using freindworld. You could become a corporate liability,” Allen said.

“Draw up the offer,” Brandon said as he left the conference room.

“Asshole, but that was an easy ten million in fees. Drinks on me tonight,” Allen said to his law partners.

Two weeks later Tara signed off on a settlement for one hundred million dollars for Brandon fraudulently enticing her to enter into marriage with him. Tara also would receive the payout on her prenuptial agreement including the ten million dollars for Brandon’s violation of the infidelity clause. Frazier divorced Ashley and she left with three million dollars which was half of her prenuptial payout if she hadn’t been caught cheating. Brandon broke off his relationship with Ashley because he blamed her carelessness with her electronic communications to him for the reason they were discovered to be cheating with each other.

“Brandon, you didn’t have to do this to me. If you never loved me, why didn’t you just leave me alone instead of dragging me through the mud like this?” Tara said as she was leaving the house for the final time.

“Tara, I’m sorry. I did love you. It’s just something in me to always want something else. I never seem to be satisfied with what another man would kill to have. You were the best wife I could have imagined.  I just wasn’t a decent husband or man. I stabbed my friend in the back by sleeping with his wife. Ashley didn’t come after me. I enticed her just like I did with you, so I’ve ruined three lives, not counting my own,

“Bye Brandon,” Tara said as she walked out of the door for the last time.

Tara thought about what she would do next, but for the time being she went home to Texas so she could relax. While Tara never went public with the sordid details of what led up to her marriage falling apart, Frazier was not as discreet. Frazier was a wounded man, his pride and his heart were torn to shreds and he wanted Brandon to pay the ultimate price. With his money and connections Frazier made sure that the world knew what Brandon did to him and Tara. Every tabloid and gossip news outlet in the nation and worldwide picked up the story and Brandon became reviled as the symbol and very embodiment of the immoral rot of excessive wealth. The stench of Brandon’s battered reputation was casting a shadow over
friendworld which was now a publicly traded company and large investors were considering divesting themselves of their holdings in the firm. In a bold move during a late night meeting of the board of directors a vote was taken to oust Brandon Larson, the founder of friendworld, from any operational role with the firm. Brandon was fired from the company he founded.

Tara flew to Dallas and moved into a hotel for a while until she found a more permanent residence. After a couple of days a car carrier arrived with Tara’s red
Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible and she turned in the rental car she had been driving. Tara went to visit Shannon and learned that she was engaged to Gary. Gary just happened to stop by Shannon’s place while Tara was there.

“Shannon, can I ask you a big favor and this is going to sound strange. Could I talk to Gary along for a few minutes,” Tara said.

“Well, sure. I’ll go check on lunch,” Shannon said.

“Gary, I want to apologize to you for what I did after I met Brandon. The magnitude of what I did to you never really hit me until it happened to me with Brandon. I was blindsided and felt like I fell over a cliff. Now I understand that I did the same thing to you, I’m sorry that I was ever a person that could do that to someone that loved me. I was horrible and went behind your back with
another man while I was still acting like nothing had changed. I’ve been running from something all my life trying to prove that I was a worthwhile person. I thought if a man like Brandon wanted me, a nobody, then I really would be somebody with him. You know what I completely missed was that I was still allowing another person to determine my value as an individual. It was no different than being called white trash when I was young, so why should it matter if that wealthy man said I was good enough to be his wife. I was still accepting someone else’s valuation of my importance instead of having that inside me where no one else could take it away. Anyway, I‘m happy for you and Shannon and think that you guys make a great couple,” Tara said.

“Tara, thank you. You didn’t deserve what Brandon did to you, that
was so low, but thank you for understanding. I was in bad shape for a long time. I think I almost hated you, but I don’t anymore. Shannon helped put me back together,” Gary said.

“Can I come back in now?” Shannon called from the kitchen.

“Of course,” Tara said.

“What was that about?” Shannon asked.

“I just wanted to bury the hatchet from the past. We all know that I did something I’m not very proud of so I had to tell Gary personally how I felt about that and move on. Now, my next question is who are going to get to be the bridesmaids in your wedding? I’m not tied up or anything?” Tara asked.

“I think I can find an ugly bridesmaid dress that would fit you,” Shannon said laughing.

“Just let me know and I’ll be there. It was good to see you guys,” Tara said as she left.

Tara decided that there were two more people she needed to speak to. Through some investigation Tara found her old college boyfriend Adam on
friendworld and that gave her his location. Adam had listed his workplace and the next day Tara called him. Adam was shocked to hear from Tara. Tara apologized for running out on him like she did. Adam said that he had made peace with what happened a long time ago, but was surprised to read about her on the gossip websites. Tara then decided to go home to east Texas and visit her parents.

11

“Tara, come here baby,” June said as she hugged her daughter.

“Hi, mama,” Tara said as they walked inside.

“Tara, I’m sorry. He didn’t seem like he was the kind of man that would do that to you. I guess you never really know someone,” Caitlin said as she hugged Tara.

“Well, I guess the first clue was that he was willing to break up my relationship with Gary when we were engaged to be married,” Tara said.

“Well, at least you got paid! You took a chuck out of his ass!” Caitlin said.

“I can’t complain about that, but a lot of women get left high and dry when something like this happens,” Tara said.

“What are you going to do now?” June asked.

“I started something when I was in New York to help girls that need role models and hopefully help change their lives for the better. I got a lot of support from sponsors in New York. There are girls all over the country that need to see that they can become successful women capable of supporting themselves, even if they made an early mistake like getting in trouble or got pregnant,” Tara said.

“That’s a good idea. That sounds like something I would like to be involved in. Look at what happened to me,” Caitlin said.

“Caitlin, would you go to school if I paid for it?” Tara asked.

“You mean college?” Caitlin said.

“Yeah, I know it wouldn’t be easy, but would you?” Tara asked.

“Yes, I would. I felt like I had just cut all of that off when I got pregnant. You would do that for me after the way I acted when Brandon came here?” Caitlin said.

“Of course, you’re my sister. I love you,” Tara said.

“Who’s calling me? Hello,” Tara said.

“Opal, is that you,” Tara said.

“You want me to come to Hawaii for an interview, really?”
Uh, huh. Sure I can do that. Okay, I’ll look for your information. Thank you. Bye,” Tara said.

“Who was that?” June asked.

“Opal Jeffrey. She wants to interview me,” Tara said.

“Opal Jeffrey, from the Opal Jeffrey Show,” June asked.

“Yes,” Tara said still sounding stunned.

“I love her! I watch her every day. I can’t believe that Opal wants to talk to a Wilson. Oh my God. Wait until I tell that nose in the air Sally
Ferguson that my daughter is going to be on Opal,” June said with a laugh.

“We’re all going to Hawaii, Caitlin, you and David too. I met Opal when I was there years ago at a party. She gave me some advice that I followed. She told me to never use the same lawyer as my husband when it came to a prenuptial agreement or divorce. She wants to interview me to find out what it’s like to be in a high profile marriage that ends in scandal,” Tara said.

“You don’t mind talking about that?” Caitlin said.

“No, plus it will give me a chance to talk about my outreach to girls. I need to get busy and come up with a name and contact my sponsors. Hey, there’s an errand I need to run. I’ll be back,” Tara said.

“Where’s she going? What kind of errand could she have down here,” June said.

Fifteen minutes later Tara drove her Bentley into the driveway of a modest brick veneer exterior home and a man and boy came outside.

“Ma’am may I help you?” the man said.

“You don’t recognize me do you?” Tara said.

The man narrowed his eyes.

“Tara, is that you?” the man said.

“Yes Billy, it’s me. Is this your son?” Tara asked.

“Yes, this is BJ,” Billy said.

“Come on in,” Billy said.

“Tara, do you remember Becky, she my wife,” Billy said.

“Billy you married one of the cool girls, of course I remember Becky,” Tara said.

“Tara, how are you doing? I don’t know about being one of the cool girls,” Becky said.

That’s what Chad said. He said if I went with him then Becky Sadlin and the other cool girls would let me hang out with them,” Tara said.

“What, Chad was using me to try and get girls. That sounds about like him. You know they fell on hard times. The construction business went down and Chad is in prison for cooking meth,” Becky said.

“You’re kidding!” Tara said.

“Yeah, it was a sad deal,” Billy said.

“How have you been? That’s a fancy car you’re driving,” Billy said.

“I’m doing okay. I recently got divorced, so I needed something to drive,” Tara said.

“Everybody has been talking about that. I would have killed him. Don’t ever try that Billy,” Becky said.

“How did I get dragged into this? I don’t even know what’s going on,” Billy said.

“Well the reason I stopped by, old neighbor, is to apologize,” Tara said.

“What are you apologizing to me for?” Billy asked.

“I’m apologizing for dumping you for Chad in the eighth grade. It was a mean thing to do even if I didn’t know it was at the time,” Tara said.

“Girl, you are crazy,” Becky said.

“Apology accepted. Becky, I still remember that. Tara walked up to me and said, Chad asked me to be his girlfriend and I told him I would, and that was it. I was kicked to the curb,” Billy said.

“Oh my God, you just dropped him like a hot potato,” Becky said laughing.

“It was the eighth grade. I didn’t know anything about beating around the bush, so that’s how I said it. Hey, have you been back down by where we used to live lately?” Tara said.

“It’s been a while. It’s all grown up with weeds everywhere. I don’t like going down there. Those were some hard times,” Billy said.

“Well guys thanks for just letting me drop in on you like this. You have a cute little boy. He’s into that video game isn’t he?” Tara said.

“Yes he is. We played outside most of the time when we were his age, but not these young kids now,” Billy said.

“It was good seeing you guys. Ya’ll have a good day,” Tara said as she left the house.

Billy and Becky watched Tara drive off.

“She got one hundred million dollars out of that guy’s cheating ass,” Becky said.

“One hundred million dollars!
Goddamn, that other woman he was with, that was the most expensive piece of ass he ever got. It had better been good,” Billy said.

“You got that right,” Becky replied.