A year ago, Caitlin had joined the
District Attorneys’ office fresh out of law school. She was vigorous and
ambitious. She won several cases in the lower courts and had set her targets on
the higher ones. She had drawn the
attention of both the DA and the Attorney General with her erasable calm,
professional demeanor and her quiet focus as she tackled one case after
another. She seemed driven, Paul was attracted to that drive believing that it
would make her formidable in bed, after all it he believed he had that same
drive.
Paul had met her
at a subsequent meeting and asked her out. Apparently
his idea of an aggressive invitation had not been shared. He had placed his
hand on her buttocks as a flirtation. She
had not welcomed his touch nor his suggestion of sexual activity and had
slapped his hand away. Then to confuse everything she had smiled. Maybe Paul
had read it all wrong but to his understanding if a woman slaps your hand then
smiles she wants it even if she is going to play hard to get. Paul had “pressed”
his point harder after that. Then
the next thing he knew, he was being charged with sexual harassment. How did
she dare to charge the Assistant DA with such an act? Caitlin had even gone so far as to suggest attempted rape. It was not
hard for Paul to convince the predominantly male office that she was just
one of those “Militant Feminists” out to destroy men. That she apparently was
out to topple men in high places, like Paul and then claim his job. That this had been her ambition all along
and that any one of their jobs (i.e. the DA or Attorney General) was next. The
case had been thrown out for insufficient evidence (primarily thanks to a call from the DA on behalf of the AG) and
Caitlin summarily dismissed.
Paul smiled at the
thought of this woman, having whored her way to the peak only to fall all the
way down. Oh, he had informed the DA as to her true nature. Had her disgrace
been complete she would have left him alone, but the DA wouldn’t allow him to
sue her for libel. He had fervently wished to pursue it, if only to strike back
like a kid in the schoolyard.
Caitlin had
changed weaponry and came back at him from new directions. She tried to slander
his name to the press- that had failed when the Attorney General had backed
Paul’s defense. She then began to follow him and harass him over the phone.
Paul had a judge put a restraining order against her, but it had only slowed
her down. She began to question his friends, neighbors, and girlfriends.
Fortunately she had never learned of Peggy, and Peggy had no knowledge of
Caitlin. Still Paul could not help the way he felt about Caitlin and now looking
at her like she was a cornered animal; he felt a strange sense of power come
over him. Recalling the excitement of gripping her arm, the feel of her goose
flesh gave him a excitement that he rarely felt. He wanted so much to reach out
and slap her across the face.
“What do you
want?” Caitlin began fiercely.
“What do you
think, I want?” Paul quipped back. “I have a restraining order against you.”
But I…“ She began,
then stopped. “Look, this is just a misunderstanding, I just came to see the
movie.”
“Where’s your
date?”
“Where’s my what?
I came alone.”
“From the West
Side?” Paul shot back, the theater being on the northeast side of Knoxville.
“I was looking for
a change of place- I mean pace and this grand old’ theater came to mind.”
Caitlin smiled. “How could I have known that you were here?“
“How could you
have known? Well, you have been interrogating my neighbors and friends about
where I go, what I eat, and who I see.” He said this with an air of authority,
feeling power in his words.
“No. It’s not like
that.” Caitlin interrupted. “I didn’t interrogate anyone.”
“Shut
up! Look- what we did is over.” Paul said raising his voice, knowing he could
be heard. “You can’t have it back. Get on with your life and leave me alone!”
“What do you mean
what we did?” Caitlin replied, her face going pale.
“If I ever see you
again,” Paul said commanding with his tone. “No- if I ever hear of you again, I
will sue for every dime you have to your name. No- every dime you will ever
have to your name. If that isn’t enough, I will have you charged with
solicitation and prostitution!” Paul realized he was shouting, but the glee of
his manner kept him going.
“And I mean every
word of it you- you clinging, conniving bitch!”
notes: Paul Murray is mostly a split personality, that one finds more often among men then women, there are women like him but few are that much like him, most of those are probably that way because of someone like him ruining their lives at some point. Paul Murray is a predator who has taken the desire and need to dominate women to a level where he cannot fully separate the sexual from the sense of power over dominating them. Peggy represents the woman who feels that this kind of man (and believe me she has no idea of what her "boyfriend" actually is.) She has misinterpreted him to such a degree to believ that somewhere inside of the lust and dominanace that she means more than being an abject. Her relationship is not without reward, Paul does tolerate distractions like romantic movies in order to get what he wants but he is more interested in the ends to the means than in the process. Ironically, many men I have known operate on this principal alone. In fact, most of Pornography and pornographic material cultimates in what those men and thus Paul Murrray want/desire/need- total sexual pleasure through the domination of a person,persons or thing. It's ironic (to me) that the entire industry can be summed up in two words (primarily with a small concession to women). The porn Industry calls this moment the "money shot" and it means the one moment where all their "efforts" are summed up in a single frame of action, the male climax. The reason I am talking about this is to understand what I want you to see in Paul is that this part of his personality has overridden the other side of his persona and is basically getting out of his control.
