John O'Brien inserted the key that would bring his elevator to his penthouse suite in the hotel.  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he activated the elevator.  When he finally did so, he stepped back until he was leaning against the rear wall.  With his eyes closed, John continued to breathe deeply as he mentally prepared himself for the task at hand.  His mind was a maelstrom of emotions and images as the elevator began its rapid decent towards the 33rd floor. 

John estimated he had less than thirty seconds before the elevator reached its destination.  The elevator would soon open its doors to his penthouse suite, and that would mark the point of no return.  Either he was going to walk into the suite, or he was going to turn around and leave.  Before John could make a conscious decision, the elevator slowed down and finally came to a stop.  After a short pause, the doors slid open revealing his suite.

Without thinking, he stepped inside.  He momentarily paused at the marbled foyer wondering what to do next.  The decision was made for him when he heard voices in the bedroom.  John took another deep breath and slowly but quietly walked thru the living and dining area.  As he passed the dining table, he noticed silverware set for two, a half empty bottle of wine, and a bucket of chicken wings.  He picked up the bucket of wings and took a big sniff.  It smelled spicy.  John heard what sounded like giggling in the adjacent room.  With a surge of determination, John pinned the bucket of wings next to his body with his right arm, and marched quickly into the bedroom.

John had suspected that his wife, Danielle, had been cheating on him.  He was not sure with whom, but he noticed all the telltale signs:  brief and quiet phone calls that were terminated whenever he would walk in; extended absences that were attributed to shopping with girlfriends; and the fact that their sex life was in the crapper.  But the biggest clue came during their last vacation to Las Vegas.  John had returned from a long day of golf and discovered a single sock underneath his side of the bed.  It was not a sock that he owned nor did it fit.  When he asked his wife, Danielle suggested that housekeeping might have dropped it while doing their rounds.  John thought this was preposterous, so on their next visit to Las Vegas, this time attending a company conference, John pretended to leave for the conference in the early morning.  His plan was to return to the suite a few hours later to surprise Danielle and her lover.

Despite expecting the worse, when John walked into the bedroom and saw Danielle with another man in various states of undress on the bed, the sight was still a shock to his system.  It took a few moments before Danielle noticed John standing at the doorway.  When she finally noticed him, she gasped.  The man who had been tending to her pleasures also looked up.  John did not know him.  Nor did he care.  To John, that man was the Adulterer.  John's shock gave way to anger as his worst fears were finally realized.  The only visible sign of John's emotional state came from the crinkling noise made by his squeezing the bucket of chicken wings against his body.  The Adulterer stared at John for a long moment.  When John continued to do nothing, the Adulterer stood up and did a strange thing.

He smiled.

He took a step towards John and paused.  John was surprised at the smile, and was not sure how to react.  Danielle's lover continued to walk until he stopped right in front of John.  It was at that point that John noticed his wife's lover was a big boy.  He was a few inches taller than John.  He also had a broader chest and a finely chiseled physique.  He looked down into John's face and flashed that cocky smile.  Like a schoolyard bully, he stuck out his right arm and gave John a push.  The anger that John had for his wife was now directed at her cocky lover.  John flashed him a look of warning and shook his head.  His opponent continued to smile, almost taunting him, and gave John another push, this time driving him thru the door way and into the living area.

John was so surprised that he stumbled backwards onto the floor.  He quickly recovered and was back on his feet.  John quickly realized that he was no physical match for this grinning idiot and began to look for something that he could use as a weapon.  With his back towards the dining area, John looked over his should and remembered the silverware on the table.  He quickly located the knife closest to him and made a lunge for it.

His opponent saw what John was going for.  He stopped smiling and dove for John's feet.  He was able to grab John's ankle long enough to trip him.  John hit the ground with a thud, his right arm still clinging to the bucket of chicken wings.  John was able to scramble free for a moment.  With one strong heave, he threw the bucket of chicken wings at his opponent.  The bucket hit the floor and turned over, emptying out the greasy contents.  When the Adulterer tried to stand up, his footing gave way and fell to the floor.  John grabbed the wine bottle from the dining table, and with one hard swing, hit his opponent on the head.  His opponent grunted and slumped to the floor.  When John finally stood up, he saw Danielle standing in the doorway.  He gave her a pained look and shook his head.  John then dropped the wine bottle and headed towards the elevator, leaving his soon to be ex-wife to clean up the mess she created.