by E V Daymuir
Natasha thought about waiting for Pauline and Basil to return, but decided they could be sometime. Walking from the lift to Barrie’s office she wondered who told Sally that Barrie was taking her job. As he pushed open the door she heard something behind Barrie’s desk. His large black leather chair was facing away from the door, which was unusual. It slowly swung around to reveal a smiling Penny Betts, who had one leg tucked under the other, exposing a large expanse of inner thigh. She was wearing stockings and suspenders and looked incredibly sexy. Natasha groaned to herself, willing Barrie’s ’old boy’ to behave. No favours for old time sake today, she was sure that even Barrie would not be able to manage it – then she felt the familiar twitch. Penny saw it and raised an eyebrow. ’You really must control yourself Mr Billingsgate; you are ogling the Managing Director’s fuck buddy.’
Barrie would have been surprised, but Natasha had retained her female intuition. ‘Thank heavens for that. I hope you’re getting enough of what you want?’
‘Well, it’s never more than enough, Barrie, as you well know, but let us just say that it is on the plus side of sufficient, so I won’t be calling on my old friend anymore.’
She made a deliberate point of looking at the bulge in Barrie’s trousers as she stood-up and adjusted her short skirt. ‘Anyway, down to business. Duggie has dismissed Sally.’
‘Yes, I know, he told me he was going to yesterday. I saw her as I arrived. She gave me a bit of a mouthful.’
Penny laughed. ‘No more than you deserve, you’ve given many a girl a bit of one in your time.’ Natasha ignored the innuendo. ‘How did she know I’d been offered her job?’
‘Duggie must have told her, unless it was Pauline, but I doubt it. There was only the three of you who knew. Duggie didn’t mention it to me, not that I would expect him to.’ Natasha picked up on the defensive tone. It was something they would have to face if they became a permanent item. ‘Anyway, the message I have for you is can you do as he asked and let him know the answer as soon as possible. An extraordinary board meeting has been convened for 11am.’
Natasha nodded Barrie’s understanding. ‘I’ll get onto it right away.’ Penny paused by the door. ‘When you’re ready come to the office. By the way, we have some interesting information for you regarding the Dynamic business. I’ll type up my notes for you and Sam.’ She smirked and waggled her rear, leaving Natasha to wonder if she really knew more than she was letting on.
If Samantha was surprised to be offered the position of sales director, she did not show it, although she expressed a degree of reluctance. They both knew she earned more than Barrie. Natasha looked at her. She was poised, confident and beautiful. It was very difficult to keep the meeting in Barrie’s office on a strictly business basis. Sam read her thoughts.
‘The answer Barrie is yes, I will consider a threesome, but only if the proposition comes from Natasha. I want to be very sure she knows what she’s getting into. As for accepting the Sales Director’s position, presumably I would discuss terms with Duggie?’
‘You mean you’ll accept the offer?’
‘I don’t mind earning less; it’s just a matter of how much less. It would look good on my CV, providing I can do the job; would be able to help me?’
The blind leading the blind came to mind, but Natasha nodded and gave one of Barrie’s encouraging smiles. She felt Barrie’s body positively tingle at the prospect of a threesome with Sam, but could hardly say it had already been agreed as a condition to last night’s activities, so simply said. ‘Sure, Duggie’s expecting us and according to Penny, he has some information on Dynamic.’
Duggie was looking down on the smouldering Meltcon factory when Penny showed them into his office, he beckoned them over and pointed. ‘Not as bad as it could have been, they managed to confine the fire to just one section of the factory.’ Natasha looked down at the blackened section. The roof had collapsed in several places. Fire crews were still actively damping down. ‘Must have been quite a blaze while it lasted.’
‘Short and sweet.’ Duggie chuckled at his own little joke, and then put his hand on Barrie’s broad shoulder. ‘You seem to be walking better Barrie, hamstring better?’ With so many other things on her mind, Natasha had forgotten to strap Barrie’s leg, and to limp. ‘I still get the occasional twinge, Duggie, but maybe I could start some light training next week?’
Duggie looked pleased. ‘That’s excellent news. Perhaps we should to visit our new coach in hospital later and ask his opinion.’
‘In hospital?’
‘Haven’t you heard? Peter Bunford is a bit of a hero, he rescued someone in the fire. Ran out through the flames carrying a woman wrapped in wet overalls, as if running for touch. I’ve been speaking to Des Partridge at the Bugle. They have a fantastic photograph which will appear in the national newspapers and on television; should get some excellent publicity for the club.’
‘Is he badly hurt?’
‘No, that’s the fantastic news. Peter had the presence of mind to put on his bike leathers. They were badly scorched but other than some burns to his hands and both of them being treated for smoke inhalation, they came through unscathed. Des has what he calls a great follow-up story. Wouldn’t give me any details, but said he had photographic evidence to support it.` Duggie turned away from the window. ‘So, we‘ll have to see where that takes us, but it‘s good that Peter’s OK. ` He reached out and shook Sam’s hand. We have some important things to discuss. Thanks for coming along Sam, now, let’s get down to business.’
*****
Dudley Wink was running late with his round, so by the time he arrived outside Holly Tree Cottage in Lippinston, he was not surprised to see that both cars had gone. He only had a few circulars and the semen stained letter to deliver. Watching her open it with her slender fingers was becoming something of an obsession with him, so he was determined to hold onto it for as long as possible. Trouble was that from now on, Saturday’s would be the only days when his delivery would coincide with her being at home. True, he had gone off her a bit after seeing her with her husband over the kitchen table, but, last night, when he looked closely at some of the action on his computer, he fell madly in love with her all over again. He decided to keep the letter and deliver it tomorrow. He walked quickly back to the van, anxious to get his camera back from the Bugle and to find out if they had managed to syndicate any of his photographs.
*****
Sam joined Natasha in Barrie’s office following her confidential discussion with Duggie.
‘Get what you wanted Sam?’
‘Yes, Duggie’s been very fair, but I do feel a bit nervous about answering questions at the board meeting. Duggie told me not to worry.’
‘He’s very good like that. He’ll jump in and answer any awkward questions for you. John Toddleigh the chairman is also very good. You’ll know all the directors apart from the non-execs. Lady MacDonald is lovely, but Sir Ken Allerby is a nasty piece of work.’
‘Won’t the board have to ratify my appointment?’
‘It’s a done deal. Travel Plan is Duggie’s baby and he wants you as sales director because he recognises talent and doesn’t want to lose you. On the other hand, he can be quite ruthless; Sally was trying to rock the boat. Duggie doesn’t like that.’
‘So, you don’t think it was anything to do with the Dynamic leak?’
‘Don’t think so. Let’s go and see Pauline and see what she’s been able to dig-up.’
At 11.35am, Phil Stammers began to type the minutes of the Travel Plan Extraordinary Board Meeting on his battered old Imperial typewriter.
“Attending: J L Toddleigh – Chairman: D B Lummox – Managing Director: B J Main – Finance Director: B R Billingsgate – Sales Director: P A Sykes – Personnel Director: Non Executive Directors: Sir Kenneth Allerby: Lady Sophie MacDonald. Company Secretary: P G Stammers. Absent: S V Barnard – Marketing Director.
The Chairman opened the meeting promptly at 11am, thanking everyone for attending at such s
hort notice. The reason for the meeting being that Sally Barnard the Marketing Director had tendered her resignation. Managing Director, Douglas Lummox informed the meeting it had come to light that Sally Barnard had defrauded a company she had previously worked for and lied on her CV. When confronted with the evidence she tendered her resignation which was accepted. Sir Kenneth Allerby questioned why the board had not been informed before the resignation was accepted. A note detailing the extent of the fraud was passed to Sir Ken, who, on reading it, agreed that the right course of action had been taken.
The note was subsequently read by all members of The Board, who concurred.
Sir Ken expressed concern that this now left the company without a Marketing Director at a very important point in the business cycle. The MD agreed, which is why he proposed that Barrie Billingsgate should be promoted to fill the vacant position of Marketing Director. Pauline Sykes seconded the proposal which was carried unanimously. The MD then proposed that due to her excellent record in Dynamic telesales, Samantha Derby should be promoted to Sales Director. Following a general discussion as to her suitability for the post, Basil Main seconded the proposal which was carried with one abstention. Samantha Derby was immediately called into the meeting to take her place on the board.
Any Other Business: Pauline Sykes told the meeting that thanks to some detective work by Samantha Derby and Barrie Billingsgate, substantiated by the chance overhearing of a conversation in a local restaurant, the data theft from Dynamic was almost certainly carried out by someone from ProClean, the company responsible for the daily cleaning of the Travel Plan offices. ProClean was recommended to the company by Sir Ken. Sir Ken told the meeting that he had known Lucinda Lovebrace for many years and that she owned a group of very successful companies. He was sure there must be some mistake. Pauline replied that she had positively identified two other companies owned by Lucinda Lovebrace. – Lovebrace Property and Lovebrace Antiques, both Limited Companies with a non executive director by the name of Helen Benningham-Smythe, who is also on the board of several other companies, including a travel company called Top Dynamic Travel Limited, where she is Managing Director.
Sir Ken interjected to say that the Benningham-Smythe name is well regarded in Private Banking and it is not unusual for a member of the family to hold board positions with several different companies. Was Lucinda Lovebrace on the board of Top Dynamic Travel Ltd? Pauline replied that she was not, but Top Dynamic Travel Limited shared an office with Curzen Travel, which is owned by Lucinda Lovebrace. Lady MacDonald asked if they should call in the police to investigate. The MD proposed that to save any adverse publicity, the best course of action would be to contact Lucinda Lovebrace and attempt to recoup their losses privately. Sir Kenneth Allerby volunteered his services. The MD suggested that under the circumstances it might be better to make an informal approach by someone in the company who understood sales and the loss suffered by the Company. He proposed Barrie Billingsgate. The proposal was seconded by Basil Main and passed unanimously.
Douglas Lummox informed the board that a personal relationship had developed between himself and Penny Betts his Personal Assistant. The Chairman suggested that he should leave the meeting whilst they discussed the implications. In his absence it was decided that this new relationship would not be detrimental for the Company and it was unanimously agreed that the services of Penny Betts as PA to the MD should continue. When Douglas Lummox returned to the meeting he thanked the meeting for their decision.
There being no other business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 11.29am.”
Traffic into London moved well, allowing Lucy and Julie to make up for some of the time lost in their unscheduled lovemaking. Lucy played her Billy Holliday CD’s all the way, so when she parked the Mercedes in her reserved space behind Lovebrace Antiques in Chelsea, they were still unaware of the Meltcon fire. Lucy called through the door to tell Sophie, her old school chum, that they would be back later.
The black cab pulled up outside Coutts in Cavendish Square, with two minutes to spare. They were shown into a large oak panelled room; Julie was impressed. Lucy was treated like royalty by the Coutts manager who said he was delighted that Miss Lovebrace had found someone she could trust to help run her business empire. Well managed, significant turnover and extremely profitable were phrases he used throughout his discussion with Lucy, as Julie signed document after document, including one which made her a signatory on all Lovebrace company cheques.
They left the bank at midday to walk the short distance to Lucy’s travel business in Mayfair. In Bond Street she took her into a jeweller and bought her a diamond encrusted watch to mark the occasion. As they left the shop she whispered. ‘If we had walked via Soho it could have been a diamond encrusted dildo.’ Julie giggled. ‘Now, that really would make my eyes water.’ They giggled like naughty schoolgirls as they sauntered arm in arm, pausing occasionally to look in a shop window. Julie felt very happy all her doubts blown away. Having decided that she would never get involved in that other side of Lucy’s life again, the disturbing image of her lover enjoying anal sex with Mervyn Turner no longer played on her mind, she would explain her decision to Lucy later, she was sure to understand. As for Suzy, well, it wouldn’t hurt to have her own gorgeous little bit on the side whilst Lucy was indulging her need for men.
It was Julie who spotted the dramatic headline ‘BLAZE AT MELTCON FACTORY’ on a newspaper stand as they walked past Green Park Underground Station. She bought the midday edition of the London Evening Standard and gasped in astonishment when she saw the picture of her husband running out from the blazing Meltcon factory. The bundle he was carrying, a female colleague wrapped in wet overall. Peter Bunford was hailed as a hero. The caption over the picture read. ‘RUGBY STAR IN DRAMATIC RESCUE.’ Further coverage of the story appeared on page 6, with a picture of Peter scoring a try during his rugby playing days, set alongside a repeat of the front page picture. The woman he rescued was named as Lydia Baxter, both had been admitted to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and Peter Bunford was receiving treatment for burns. The paper did not say how serious they were. Lucy suggested they carry on walking to her travel company, which was only a couple of hundred yards where she would get someone to contact the hospital.
Curzen Travel, on the north side of Curzen Street, had a small but smart shop front; a discreet brass plate on the wall next to the door was the only indication that another travel company shared the premises. A petite young brunette smiled and came out from behind her desk as they entered. ‘Lucy, how nice to see you, Helen is in, shall I let her know you’ve arrived?’
‘That’s okay; I’ll show myself in thanks Alison.’ Lucy kissed her on the cheek. ‘This is my new partner, Julie.’ Julie wanted to tell the girl how pretty her hazel brown eyes were and how soft and kissable her mouth, but had to content herself with a business like handshake. She felt the beginnings of that flickering pulse between her legs. Now the genie had been let out of the bottle, was she always going to think of attractive women as possible sex partners? Could young women like Suzy and Alison tell she was a lesbian? Could Lucy tell what she was thinking from the way she was looking at Alison? She glanced at Lucy, but her attention was on Alison as she showed her the front page of the Evening Standard and asked her to get Hamsworth Hospital on the telephone for Julie and bring her through to the back office when she had finished the call…
Julie eventually spoke to someone in the burns unit. Her husband had second-degree burns to the back of his hands, had received initial treatment and was comfortable, but sedated. He should be able to receive visitors after 6pm, but it would be a good idea to call to confirm.
Alison took her through to the back office which was a babble of activity, an unexpectedly large area after entering through a narrow shop front. They walked through between rows of desks, all occupied by people either talking on the telephone, or working on computers. It was open plan save for a glass box of an office, where Lucy was chatting with a
tall, slim, dark haired woman, who she saw them approaching and waved them in. Julie thanked Alison for her help, kissing her on the cheek and as she pulled away, Alison’s pretty eyes held hers for a split second and she smiled. Julie’s sexual orientation had been recognised.
Lucy introduced Julie to Helen. She would have known they were sisters. Helen was older, but the shape of the face and the large brown eyes were almost exactly the same, they could have been taken for twins. It would be rather nice to see them both with no clothes on to make a proper comparison. Lucy had mentioned that Helen was lesbian and the thought of giving pleasure to both of them excited her. Helen looked her up and down before hugging her and kissing both cheeks.
‘How lovely to meet you at last Julie, I’ve heard so much about you.’ Her hands moved to rest lightly on Julie’s shoulders, retaining possession. She smiled at her sister. ‘Absolutely delightful, Lu, and I thought you were only interest in men.’ Lucy smiled back. ‘With Julie I have the best of both worlds, so hands off!’
Although she knew it was all a joke, the prospect of the glorious siblings fighting over her sent the pulse between Julie’s legs racing to the point where she desperately wanted to touch herself. She imagined both of them naked on Lucy’s oversized bed. She was kneeling between them, with busy fingers on each. She wondered if Helen’s clitoris was as big as her younger sisters. It really would be fun to find out.
‘How is he? Do we need to go back?’ Lucy’s question interrupted her train of thought.
‘No big problem. Second degree burns on the back of his hands. He’s sedated at the moment – so no visitors until this evening – if then.’
Her mobile buzzed. A text had arrived. MISSING U! SUZY XXX. She switched off. ‘Sorry about that. It was Becky; I’ll text her back later.’
