When Tammy first met Edmund Durst in the lobby of Binnion’s Casino, she was the manager of the lobby admitting staff, concierge service, and the bellboys. On any given day, she was putting out fires on a regular basis. Many of the fires were just temper tantrums of the rich and famous. Because they had a lot of money, most of them felt that they were better than the average Joe, and as a result should not have to wait or to be inconvenienced in any way. She could see their point to a certain degree because they paid a good amount for the services they wanted, so they expected everything to be perfect. When you pay in excess of a thousand dollars a night for a hotel room, everything should be just right, That was her job to see that they did receive the services they paid for. Even though her job could be a pain in the ass, she enjoyed it, She actually liked to interact with the wealthy and entitled. It made her feel important when she took care of their problems.
That is how she met Edmund Durst, a very wealthy and handsome bachelor. Most of the time, she was treated better by the men than the women because of her looks. She wasn’t oblivious to the fact that she was quite beautiful. It’s not that she was vain because she wasn’t. Tammy just used the tools she was given. Her beauty was a gift from God, so why not take advantage of it. She was married to a wonderful man and had a beautiful boy but she wasn’t happy because she almost never saw him. She knew how to solve that problem and that was to follow him from base to base as he received his transfer orders.
The problem was that if she did this, she would never be able to have a career of her own. She would always be subservient to her husband,and that was something she didn’t want. Unless, of course, he was wealthy. That put a whole new spin on things. Tammy knew that Papa Sam’s father was quite well off but it had taken him years to get there, and besides while Papa Sam was special, he wasn’t his father. He just didn’t have the drive that his father had. What the hell was he thinking by giving up a promising career in football? He had a God-given talent, and he squandered it. What did they have to show for it? They lived in a small apartment and he was only home three weeks a year, and she was raising Peter all by herself. What is worse, Papa Sam wanted more children.
She knew that she was being deceitful by taking the pill but she did not want to raise another kid by herself. Besides each time you had a kid your body got beat up. She knew she was being selfish but if she didn’t look out for number one, who would? So when Mr. Durst started paying special attention to her she took advantage of it. While she never cheated on Papa Sam she did let Mr. Durst takes some liberties with her like caressing her and grabbing her butt once in a while. Because she allowed him these liberties, he gave her big tips and always gave her flowers when he was in town. She knew that if she allowed him he would sleep with her. But first she had to play hard to get and secondly, she had to break it off with her husband because she was not an adulterer.
While it’s true she loved sex, she wasn’t a tramp either. Papa Sam was only her second lover. Her first boyfriend only lasted a short while mainly because Papa Sam overwhelmed her with his boyish good looks and charm, so she broke it off with him. So there was a precedent for her to be on the lookout for something better and frankly in her mind, Edmund Durst was a step in the right direction. While it is true that her Sam was a sexy fighter pilot, Edmund Durst owned his own private jet. How cool would it be to be part of the mile-high club. She never dreamed that she would get a chance to fly in a private jet, and now it was all in her grasp. She just had to play her cards right.
She also had a feeling that to get what she wanted she was going to have to pay a terrible price and that was going to mean giving up Peter. In her conversations with Edmund, she discovered much to her dismay that he did not like children and had no interest in having any of his own. So, if she wanted the kind of lifestyle that he could provide she knew what she would have to do. To cover up the guilt of giving up her baby boy, Tammy told herself that it was about time Papa Sam did his share of the parenting. After all a girl could only do so much.
After much soul searching, Tammy decided that she had enough of sleeping alone and raising Peter by herself, so she called Papa Sam in Saudi Arabia to ask for a divorce. He begged her to wait till he went home for his leave of absence in a couple of weeks. She halfheartedly agreed mainly to get him off the phone. However, she had no intention of changing her mind.
The next day, she went to the closest U-Haul shop and picked up several boxes. It was her day off so she figured it was as good as any time to pack up Papa Sam’s clothes and belongings. Neither of them had very much considering they were living in a furnished apartment. Peter is the only one who had his own furniture. They had opted to buy him a bedroom set geared for little boys. He even had a small desk and dresser. It only took an hour to pack up her husband’s belongings. Once she had everything of his packed up she placed his boxes in a corner of the living room in full view of the front door.
The day before Papa Sam came home, she would have her parents take care of Peter for the night so she could box up his clothes and toys. Tammy did not want him to see her do that. At least she cared enough about him to save him from that trauma.
The next order of business was to get the divorce papers drawn up. She had two copies made up and signed them with a notary witness. All that was left was Papa Sam to do the same and then he could file them with the county. Since she was filing for the divorce she felt that it was only fair that she pay the filing fees. So she purchased a cashier’s check for the required amount and left it with the forms on the kitchen table.
I have already discussed Tammy and Papa Sam’s interactions in Chapter 33, so I won’t regale the reader with the tawdry details all over. Suffice it to say, the divorce went off without a hitch and now Tammy was free to pursue her torrid affair.
Tammy decided that the next time Edmund was in town she would sleep with him if he showed an interest in her. She, after all, had been playing hard to get long enough. There was a fear that if she did it for too much longer he would lose interest in her.
Edmund Durst finally showed up at her lobby with one of his male traveling companions. As previously, he showed a great deal of interest in her. This time, she did not play hard to get and when he invited her out for the evening she acquiesced. They went out to a show and of all restaurants they ate at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. She felt a little funny about eating there but she shrugged the feeling off. Tammy had no way of knowing that this was, in fact, a portent of things to come.
After they were finished, Edmund took her back to her casino. He invited her up for a night cap and since she had the next day off she agreed. One thing led to another and she ended up spending the night with him. Frankly, she was a little underwhelmed. He was nowhere as good in bed as her Papa Sam had been. Hopefully, the sex would get better. She, of course, faked her enjoyment. He was only in town for a couple more days, and on each night, she spent it with him. The sex did not improve as she hoped. He was, in fact, an indifferent lover. Once he was satisfied he stopped. Even if she was close, it didn’t seem to matter. After a while, she got used to it and when he fell asleep she pleasured herself.
As long as she got to live the lifestyle she wanted, she could live with the less than stellar sex. She told herself, “You can’t have everything.” After a while he asked her to move in with him. Finally the moment she had been waiting for had arrived. She was going to get the lifestyle she felt that she deserved. Of course, it meant leaving her career behind. That was OK with her, she really only worked there to meet a rich guy and now that it happened there was no need for it any longer.
Over the next five years life was like a whirlwind. She flew only by private jet or at the very least first class. They ate at only the best restaurants and stayed at the best hotels. With the exception of the sex everything was just like she had dreamed it would be. Until one night everything changed.
Usually they spent their evenings together but on this particular night, Edmund invited another couple to go out with them. It surprised Tammy a little but the couple was quite friendly and besides, it was a nice change of pace. Alarm bells still did not go off when he invited them up to their penthouse suite. Tammy was actually feeling pretty good mainly, because she had drank more than usual and her inhibitions were lessened. So when Edmund suggested that they swap partners, she was OK with it. Maybe the new guy was a better lover than he was. As it turned out he was a whole lot better in bed and she climaxed several times. She thought to herself, “My God, I could get used to this.”
Over the next few years, the couple swapping became a regular thing. Frankly, Tammy was really enjoying herself. The one thing missing in her life…great sex was now taken care of.
Tammy should have realized that things could not remain this way because something always has to happen. Well, it did because Edmund started to become indifferent and somewhat morose. He wasn’t as much fun to be around. Alarm bells should have started going off, but they didn’t. Tammy had become too complacent.
Life took a turn for the worst when the couple that he invited to dinner was not a male and female but two guys. Tammy did not think much about it until they all went up to their hotel room. Now the alarms started going off for her, but it was just too late. This time there was no swapping. It was all three of them on her. She had to perform oral sex on Edmund, and the other two men took her from the front and the back. She didn’t know what had gotten into him. Frankly, she was quite frightened. She had never taken it in the backside before. At least he had used lubricant, but it still really hurt. After they were all finished, they changed positions and started all over. Before the night was over they had each made a complete round on her. After they were done, the two guys just left and Edmund took a shower and went to sleep in another room. Tammy was too sore and tired to even move. She was terrified of what might happen. None of them had worn protection.
In the morning when Tammy woke up, she filled a bathtub with hot water and soaked in it for an hour. The whole while she soaked in the tub she cried. What had happened to her life? What had gotten into Edmund? Why was he treating her like this? When Tammy finally started feeling like a human being again she had made up her mind to go and talk to Edmund and find out what was going on.
When she found him she asked him, “What the hell was last night all about?”
He jumped and started screaming at her and then he did something he had never done before. He slapped her across the face. He said that she was nothing but a cheap whore and that he owned her and would do any damned thing he wanted to her. “If you don’t like it, you can leave”, and for emphasis, he pointed to the door. He then stomped out of the room leaving Tammy totally speechless. What had just happened to her life?
After their fight, no more couples of any type went out to dinner with them. Edmund who had always been an indifferent lover now became very calloused and hurtful in bed. He seemed to take pleasure in punishing her. He also started on a regular basis taking her from behind. He never asked. He just did it. Seldom did he even use lubricant. It didn’t seem to matter that it hurt her when he did it that way.
Tammy lost track of how long this went on. She no longer went on every trip with him. For the most part, she remained at their home base in Paris. She knew he must be taking someone else with him, well, that was OK with her. She needed a break from his shit anyway. Over the years, Tammy had lost track of time. Now that she had all the time in the world, she finally took stock of where her life was headed. She was quite shocked that she had been with Edmund for almost eleven years. While she was not young anymore, she was far from being over the hill at 38. She still had a nice body and was still quite beautiful, though small crows feet were starting to show around her eyes. Now that it had been a few months since Edmund had slept with her, all of her sex related bruises had healed and she looked quite good naked. So why in the hell had he turned on her?
Over the last 10 years they had spent just about every waking hour together maybe being apart for a little while would do their relationship some good. Maybe absence does make the heart grow fonder. It seemed to be working because every couple of months. When he came by to see her he was his same old sweet self. He was even tender in bed. This went on for quite some time. Tammy had almost gotten used to this lifestyle. She told herself that it wasn’t so bad being a kept woman.
Then it happened, she will always remember the date on the calendar, June 12, 2006. Edmund came into town all excited and smiling and told her they were going to Turkey on a trip. He had never been there, and he wanted her to share the experience with him. Tammy couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She was so elated.
They spent the next two weeks exploring Turkey. Edmund was kind, attentive and generous. They had a great time together. It was just like old times. Then one night her life changed forever. They had just finished a nice meal and were strolling down a slightly darkened street when two unbelievably strong men came up behind and grabbed her. One clamped his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t make any noise. The whole time, Edmund just stood there and looked on impassively. When they had her subdued, he gave them a thick envelope and walked away.
Tammy had just been sold into slavery. She would spend the next six years in one of the many back street brothels in Istanbul. At first, she would be either tied down or chemically sedated to prevent her from escaping, then after a while when her spirit was totally broken and she was numb, it no longer became necessary to do either of these things. On any given night she would service half a dozen or more nameless and faceless men. Finally after her looks were gone, her body was wornout and disease-ridden. She was thrown out onto the streets to fend for herself.
Tammy wondered the streets for days with little to eat, and when she finally hit rock bottom, she picked up a shard of glass from a broken bottle lying in the gutter, slit her wrist and quietly bled out in a back street alley.