Incentive Pay for selling the house? Count me in!

Within the week, Mr. King had received a counter demand. The cover letter reminded me of Chappy, passive-aggressive. She alluded to the fact that I had ambushed them. They had chosen to not "sling mud" and were "highly disappointed in my misrepresentation of fact." I had misconstrued the relationship that Chappy had with Courtney in early 2000. He had not been involved with her and to this day, the relationship was "purely platonic."

I was guessing this meant that they were not intimate? Although I found that hard to believe after reading email exchanges between them.  I was wondering what the man in the big chair would think if he happened to fall upon these exchanges that were shared on the company email? Most companies have policies about personal use and definitely one  could come to the conclusion sexual harassment was being played out here, since he was her superior and it appeared sexual favors were being traded.

He rejected most of my demands.  I expected he would.  That is the art of negotiation, ask for more than you want and negotiate down to what you expected. I read the response in Mr. King's office.  He was explaining how "we" would respond.

At this point, my retainer was being eaten up in non-productive meetings.  I needed him for things that I could not handle myself.  "I will respond directly with his attorney and copy you in on it."  He understood at this point, that I was fully capable of handing this matter. I needed him for legal filings and apparently an address for Chappy's attorney to send documentation.

The house had been on the market since October.  I had a least one showing per day, if not more.  It was a very active piece of property. I was in no hurry to sell it.  As long as the house was on the market, I could live there. I still had not decided where I was headed.  The divorce was not final and we were still in negotiations, my lack of a "real job" made my settlement worth more.

Chappy left the sale of the home in my hands once more.  I had met with the Realtor when the house was put on the market and informed her that I was in no hurry to accept just any offer. I had calculated the price we had paid for it  the year before.  The value of the home had appreciated not only because the subdivision had been completed, but I had made several improvements to the property that would add value to prospective buyers.  I made it clear that I intended on selling the home for full price and I did  not expect to lower the price within a month of listing it.  We were entering a slow season and I would not be reducing the asking price because she couldn't get traffic in the house at the holidays.  In the long run, that had not been an issue, there was plenty of traffic in and out of the home.  There were several offers, but potential buyers had been informed the "couple selling were divorcing." In a normal world, this means they are desperate and willing to take anything offered.  I was offended by most if not all offers.  They would low ball the asking price by fifteen to forty thousand dollars! 

The mediation was in early December 2000, Chappy was spending a considerable amount of time in Boston.  He continued to pay me five thousand a month as we were still negotiating the terms of the divorce. He had to pay rent and utilities on his apartment as well and for the most part, he was not living there. He was living out of a suitcase in Boston. Chappy was anxious to sell the house.  In that first counter offer from his attorney, he offered me an additional five thousand dollars if I sold the house no later than January 30, 2001.  I had incentive now, but I still would not accept any thing lower than the asking price.

Christmas 2000

He had called the agent to find out if there had been offers  made and she informed him that there had been multiple offers on the property, but that I had refused them.  In my defense she did mention the offers were insulting and that the home was showing daily.  That is when he placed the incentive on the table.

My parents came up to Alpharetta for Christmas that year. It was the first Christmas I had spent with them in ten years. I had met my cousin's friend, John.  I had flown home one weekend for the sole purpose of meeting him.

Like Michael, I knew he was a stepping stone.  While I enjoyed spending time with him, I could not envision a lifetime with him. He was a blend of every man I had been with and at the moment, there wasn't one of them that I would have selected to be involved with again.

Russian Mail Order Bride

John worked for the Department of Defense. He spoke several languages fluently and was used in training of foreign diplomats. His oldest son was  in college and his youngest was a senior in high school who had been accepted at West Point.  You would have never guessed  these two boys were the sons of John.  They were night and day.

John was the only man I have ever known to take longer to get ready than a woman. He had a routine and he could not skip one step if we were in a hurry.  He is the only man that I have known who had manicures every other week and wore clear nail polish. Long before the term metro sexual was so widely known, John was the walking example of a high maintenance male.

What I found interesting about him was that he and I had a common bond, divorce and betrayal by our spouses.  He had spent several years in therapy and was still actively attending on a monthly basis when I first met him and then tapered to an as need basis.  When I left, he returned to weekly sessions.

New Years 2001

He came down for New Year's to celebrate. I had my partner in crime from high school over, her children, John and the woman I worked with at Penney's who was the Russian Mail Order Bride and her husband.

We had a nice evening. I was trying to return to normal in a world that was far from it.  I was in a battle with Chappy's attorney over the division of property.  She and I were good at writing letters full of wit and sarcasm.

We came to an agreement that I could live with.  I was to be paid five thousand per month until the divorce was settled.  Then my stipend was reduced to forty five hundred a month for the first year.  Four thousand a month for the second year and three thousand per month for the third year and two thousand a month for the first six months of the fourth year. I was going to be around for a long time in Chappy's financial world. He was also to reimburse me the monies I had spent in legal fees.

My move, once the house was sold, would be fully funded by his employer. In previous years, this ran between sixteen thousand to twenty thousand per move.  The last two moves, the government had tacked that on to the employee's annual earnings and taxes had to be paid.  That would be Chappy's responsibility as well. I received half of his stock portfolio, half of his pension, half of the stock options, half of his 401K, half of all points earned on airlines and credit cards. He had to provide health insurance until I found employment providing same. He was to pay the entire tax bill due for 2000 and 2001. I was granted the Bravada.  I would keep all household possessions with the exception of, the ceramic Christmas tree his mother had made for him. The Bose speakers (he had won being in the top 20 of sales). He wanted two more plates, cups, glasses and flatware to round out the two I had previously given him. He wanted the Muhammad Ali framed photo I had bought him for Christmas one year that had been signed by The Greatest himself. In addition to what he had already taken when he moved, he still wanted a television set.  We had four.  I could have given him one, but it was worth a dime or two at the time.

I have a back ground in homeowner claims as well and when there is a homeowner loss, serial numbers and descriptions are essential in identifying property.  The list provided by his attorney stated, Bose speakers. They did not describe them. The list did not note serial numbers, it merely stated Bose speakers.  The speakers he had won were top of the line.  The speakers he was given, were refurbished. I had visited the Bose outlet store and bought a set of the cheapest speakers they had, refurbished.  I boxed and taped them in the box the original speakers were shipped to us in. How I wanted to be a fly on the wall when he opened that box up in Boston!

The ceramic Christmas tree, with little plastic parts that you inserted into the tree itself and appeared to be lights on the tree. Well, I couldn't break it, it was a gift from his mother, but the little bags of "plastic lights" and star that sat on the top of this tree, some how disappeared.  I'm really not sure where those little tiny parts ended up, but they were not in the box with the ceramic tree. Hard little buggers to find as they don't sell those parts or at least they didn't back in 2000. The television set, again, no description, no serial number, just television, didn't even mention what room  it may have been located in, so I grabbed the one in the first bedroom, it was tiny, only thirteen inches.  The big screen is what he wanted, the little screen is what he got.

I sold the house January 30, 2001. I had two bids on the table, both for the asking price.  One offer was returned for $5000 over the asking price.  So, that seemed to work in my favor as well.  I was getting half of the equity. In addition, I was getting twenty thousand of Chappy's cut,  as that is what I had in the first house we sold, that I had bought prior to our marriage. Now, I just made another five thousand for selling the house by January 31 and splitting the additional five thousand for selling it over list. Things were looking pretty good so far.

Divorce drives you to do things that normally you would never do, but that line is drawn in the sand and you refuse to budge.  Material things that you don't even want, you want. Money is not going to buy you happiness, but you are bound and determined that he is not going to buy happiness for himself or his mistress,so you want it all. In the end, it is not about who did what to whom. It is about what you walked away with.  

When Killer and I divorced, I wanted nothing. The clothes on my back.  I walked into that marriage with more than I walked out, but I wanted my dignity back. I wanted to be free of any thing that reminded me of Killer. I wanted a fresh start. Could I have walked away with more"? Yes, but I wanted out. There was nothing in that house that I could  not walk away from to include my husband. There was nothing in that relationship that defined who I was. I was a possession of Killer's. Humans should not be possessions.

I only had to figure out where I was going to work and where I was going to live once the divorce was final,