Family of Lies Read Online Free

that’s about as tacky as a person can be—especially in this case. She told the bookkeeper to mail her last paycheck to a post office box,” Kenneth croaked.
    “And she’s such a pretty young thing,” I allowed. “But she’s also as ghetto as oxtail stew and fried chicken on the same plate. You know how those girls like her are. Most of them have one man coming in the front door and one going out the back door at the same time. I’m sure she attracted a lot of admirers, so maybe she met somebody . . .”
    “Maybe she did meet somebody,” Kenneth grunted. “Oh well. I hope everything is all right with her regardless of why she quit.” A sad look appeared on his face and he shook his head, blinking hard as if to hold back a tear or two. Apparently he had loved that heifer, and her mysterious disappearance had really upset him. But I had no sympathy for her or him. “I’ll miss her,” he admitted, his voice cracking.
    “I’m sure you will miss her,” I said, too low for him to hear. And then I gave him a hug. “Now come to bed so I can give you something that’ll take your mind off your troubles.”
    We had made love that night and I forgot all about Lois Cooper and her baby.

    Now, sixteen years later, my marriage was stronger than ever. Not only was I looking forward to the new millennium coming up in a few days, but I was also looking forward to the day Lois’s child turned eighteen. I had no idea what the child’s name was or if it was a girl or a boy. But none of that mattered to me anyway. All I cared about was that in three more years I’d be off the hook.
    And that child would no longer be part of my life!
    I was in such a good mood I practically raped Kenneth that night.

CHAPTER 2
KENNETH
    I HAD EVERYTHING A MAN COULD WANT. I OWNED L OMAX E LECTRONICS, which consisted of five of the most successful electronic equipment and supplies stores in the state of California. I owned a vacation cabin in the wine country; a spacious condo in downtown Frisco; and a beautiful mansion with a full-service bar in the living room, eight bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a six-car garage.
    I had a beautiful wife, a loyal and dependable staff, lots of friends, and a prestigious position in my community. But that still was not enough. I loved pretty young women. I was a dirty old man and I would probably be one until I was a dead old man.
    Of all the dozens of affairs I’d had since my marriage to Vera, Lois Cooper was the only one who had really meant something to me. She was the one I still thought about from time to time.
    I was convinced that Vera didn’t know I was a serial cheater because she had never given me a reason to think otherwise. One night during my affair with Lois, I had called out Lois’s name while I was making love to Vera. And since she didn’t respond to that, I didn’t know what to think. Either I was married to a damn fool who didn’t care what I did or said, or she was deaf and hadn’t heard my slipup.
    I had done it again a few minutes ago, called out another woman’s name while I was making love to Vera. She had not responded to it this time either so I played it off. “Oh, baby, that was so good,” I told her, rubbing the side of her hip. Being a businessman in what had become a hostile environment, I had to do a lot of damage control, so I was good at it. “If God made a better woman, he kept her for himself.” I rolled over onto my back, which was aching like I had fallen off a horse. The rest of my body parts were giving me some discomfort as well. Vera was already on her back. I reached over and squeezed one of her recently surgically enhanced breasts, a prize that had cost me over seven thousand dollars this time. I was huffing and puffing and wheezing as if I’d just been injured.
    “Now don’t you get too excited and overexert yourself. You’re seventy years old now and you can’t be humping like a bull the way you used to,” Vera scolded.
    “A lot of men my age can