My wife's little assistant had been blowing money on my card like it was nothing, and at a French restaurant no less, he'd called me a kept man—a useless freeloader.
I got pissed and froze his card, leaving him unable to pay the bill. Not only did he lose face in front of everyone, but the manager held him there overnight.
When my wife found out, she just tapped me on the nose playfully.
"Oh, you! A grown man getting jealous over a boy? And now he's a laughingstock because of you."
She didn't seem mad. In fact, she acted like nothing had happened—right up until my birthday, when she took me out for French cuisine.
She ordered dozens of expensive dishes and bottles of wine, saying some friends of hers would be joining us later.
"Honey, I need to step out for a bit. I'll be right back to celebrate your birthday with you."
But I waited until the restaurant was about to close. She never came back. Her friends never showed.
When I pulled out my card to pay, the manager said, "Mr. Dickerson, this card has been frozen."
——
"Frozen?"
This was the card Leila Galloway had given me. Before we left the house, she'd taken my own card, insisting that since it was my birthday, the bill should be on her.
I'd been so touched at the time. I'd even congratulated myself on finding such a thoughtful, reasonable wife.
But now she was nowhere to be found. I'd called her dozens of times—no answer.
If this card didn't work, I was going to have a problem.
The manager's expression shifted from polite to impatient.
"Mr. Dickerson, do you have another card you can use?"
"Just so we're clear—we don't do tabs here. You knew that after what happened last month, right?"
Of course I remembered. Last month, Leila's assistant had gone on a spending spree with the card she gave him, then called me a kept man, a useless live-in husband.
Could it be...
A bad feeling crept over me. Was this Leila's way of getting revenge for what I'd done to her assistant?
Just as the thought crossed my mind, the click of heels echoed from the entrance. I spun around—and there was Leila Galloway walking in with her arm around Jacob Delgado, whose face was twisted with hatred as he looked at me.
Behind them trailed a group of her friends, every single one watching me like I was the evening's entertainment.
"Rick Dickerson, you love humiliating people who can't pay their bills, don't you? Well, now you get to experience it yourself. Let's see how you handle it."
The room erupted.
"I heard this Rick guy married into the Galloway family. And now his wife shows up with her new man to watch him squirm?"
"Ha! This is what happens when you're a kept husband with nothing to offer."
"Exactly. How long did he think his looks would last? The second a rich woman finds a younger, prettier face, his cushy life is over."
My fists clenched slowly. The humiliation burned through me like fire.
Just as I'd suspected—Leila had set this whole thing up to get back at me for her precious assistant.
Leila walked Jacob over to a table and pulled out a chair.
"Don't worry, sweetie," she said. "However Rick humiliated you that day, I'll make sure he gets it all back tonight."
Jacob's face lit up. Without thinking, he leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you, Leila."
Then he turned to me, eyes full of spite. "Rick, you're just a useless kept man. What gave you the right to freeze my card?"
He grabbed an expensive bottle of wine from the table and smashed it at my feet.
Crash!
Wine splashed across my face, adding to my humiliation.
"Ha! Pathetic loser. Now I've got Leila to cover my tab. I can smash as many bottles as I want and she'll pay for it. But you?" He grinned. "You're finished."
