Thanks for that, and I admire you for your solution. This may seem like a cop-out, but women are perceived very differently than men. Men can be heavy drinkers and still be quite respected. People tend to have far less respect for a drunken "sloppy" woman. I kind of figured I would be opening myself up to criticism from the forum, but this is my own life, my own truth, and I'm okay with it.
Incidentally, these are my husband's clients, and he is a commercial contractor. The competition is brutal. I don't know if he would lose clients or not, but after practically killing him with my many years of drama/humiliation/lies/despair/insanity/money down the drain/shrinks/verbal and emotional abuse/worry/etc...I'm going to bend over backwards to do right by him. I adore this man, and I am so grateful that I didn't lose him.