few years ago that they started talking; he was one of a few regular customers. It never really picked up speed. Cat thought the previous owner—and the one before that and before that—didn’t have much business sense or a decent business plan. But she was struggling, as well.
He told her he’d come up with a plan. Cat had been so grateful.
That’s what really started everything. His ideas, his plan. From there they became closer, and he realized that’s what had been missing in his marriage. Cat was a woman who really admired his intelligence. He hadn’t even realized how lonely he was until he began talking with Cat. Just talking. They had so much in common. The obvious was their view of exercise and athletics; naturally a woman who would buy a kayak business was into sports and the outdoors.
Scott used to engage in these outdoor events with guys he knew. Of course in these groups of weekend athletes there were some women. But now there was one woman, and he was in love with her. She excited him, and he hadn’t been excited in a long time. Before he even began discussions of divorce, he signed a lease on a sexy little beachfront bungalow. Cat had been having issues with living with her brother and his friend, so it made sense. Besides, they needed a place they could be alone. Nights in hotels became expensive. And Cat needed a place she could call home. A beautiful place.
“Not quite as nice as your house, but better than my brother’s pad.”
“But what a great view we have,” he pointed out to her.
“If you like taking in the view alone most of the time,” she said. “It’s such a waste, you living in San Jose with her where you get no moral support.”
“Soon we’ll be together, but we have to be patient.”
It was much sooner than he thought it would be. He hadn’t expected Justine to find out about his affair and demand they split. The truth was, he wasn’t entirely ready to divorce; Justine had a good job so their income was steady, their equity was growing, their investments were stable...
“If I don’t get some help with that kayak shack, I’m going to lose it and lose my investment. Honestly, I can’t sleep at night,” Cat said, crying.
“I’m helping,” he said. “I’ve given you the new business plan and I’m working around the shop for free...”
“What am I going to do when my loan is called and I can’t afford to pay it off?”
“Maybe I’ll help you get another loan? Let’s worry about that later. You know I’m in this with you.”
“But not really,” she said. “Because you’re married. At least I’m separated.”
They had talked about the state of his marriage. Cat made him realize that he wasn’t happy, he had to admit. Not that much had changed in his marriage; he was just sensing this mood of discontent. Fighting it, but still it was there. But he had two daughters, and it was only going to be a couple of years and they’d be out of the house. He was kicking around the idea of asking for a divorce when the girls were gone. He’d planned to spend those last couple of years putting away money so that when he left, there’d be a healthy pot.
Then Justine discovered Cat. They separated, worked out a settlement that gave him plenty of money, with support payments to follow, and it was over so quickly.
But Justine screwed him over by changing jobs.
“You should take her back to court,” Cat said. “She misled you into thinking she’d have a regular high income!”
“There’s no going back to court because we didn’t go to court. We both signed the paperwork, turned it in and it was uncontested.”
“She tricked you!” Cat said. “She’s a lawyer and you’re not! She manipulated the whole thing. You didn’t know what she was planning.”
“I don’t think she planned for her company to cut jobs,” he said. “I’ve known for years she was burned out on corporate law and would have liked to make a change, but she couldn’t while the kids