Chapter Two

When he made it back to his desk he sent his secretary home as he didn't want to be observed. There was something about this Sue, she exuded confidence and he needed to know why and how to knock her to her knees where she belonged.

An hour later he had found out her full name, her date of birth, her old address back in Australia and her address now.

She hadn't gone to university but she had worked hard to get to where she was now and although he looked hard for it he had been unable to find any dirt on her at all. She hadn't slept her way to promotions but had relied on good old fashioned elbow grease and had taken the slow path.

In fact if he had been one of those men who believed in the equality of the sexes he might be impressed with her. Her Mother had become sick and after her Father had abandoned her Sue had moved back home and nursed her Mother until she had passed away.

He steepled his fingers together, her Father had abandoned her. That was an anathema to him; that a man should have walked away when his woman needed him and left another woman to do his job. Perhaps that was why she had reacted the way she had when he had spilled coffee on her. He smiled remembering the swell of her breasts clearly visible through the wet material and then she had held the scalding material away from her skin and flashed those angry blue eyes at him. NO! He tore his mind away from those thoughts. He wanted to humiliate her not bed her.

He was a man and she was just a woman. A woman he intended to humiliate at his first opportunity. The banking records had been easy to access and he had discovered she was PA to a Mr Alan Durie who handled the investment portfolios of the banks wealthier cliental. Well nothing could be simpler, he would pretend to be looking to move some of his own assets to the bank and check out hers again while he was there. NO! God Damn, that wench was getting under his skin.

He lifted the phone and dialled the number, he wasn't used to making his own appointments but this encounter called for discretion and subtlety. She hadn't known who he was which meant she was a rare creature indeed. Weren't all women empty headed bimbos who followed the gossip columns? Seems she didn't or she'd have recognised him immediately.

He got through to some lackey on the front desk who informed him he could be seen the next day at three o clock. He accepted the appointment and began to imagine what he was going to do to Sue. The image of her on her knees in front of him and apologising for her rudeness was suddenly replaced by an image of her sucking on him as he gazed adoringly at her.

What the hell was this? Jesus man, get a grip on yourself. She was nothing more than a jumped up secretary. A rude foul mouthed jumped up secretary. A rude foul mouthed jumped up secretary who would learn her place tomorrow afternoon.

Back at her desk Sue hadn't given the fool in Starbucks another thought but had continued to plough through her days work. She was wishing that today was Friday but that was tomorrow. One more days slog before she could go to the stables and ride Arthur until she was hot, sore and sweaty. She smiled wryly to herself. He was the only male she'd be riding any time soon. What she had seen of men lately was that they were best only tolerated as dumb animals. That wasn't to say that if the right man happened along she would knock him back but she just didn't believe there was a right man out there.

Her Mother had believed she had found the right man but at the first whiff of trouble he had left her alone forcing Sue, an only child, to move back home and do her best for her Mother for the time she had left. Well she wasn't going to make that mistake. If a man came along, and showed interest, and if she returned that interest, any relationship would be on her terms.

Finally it was 5 o'clock and Sue shot out the office as fast as she could. She wanted to take her blouse to the dry cleaners on her way to the tube. It was a favourite and she didn't trust her machine to get the coffee stain out of it properly.

He glanced at the clock on the wall of his ostentatious office. 10 minutes to 5. If he left right now he would be able to follow her home. He refused to acknowledge why he felt the need to see her again, preferring instead to see it as a way to get ammunition to use against her tomorrow. He patted his breast pocket to check his Oyster card was in there and locked his desk and office behind him before walking briskly to the HSBC bank.

He scanned quickly. The throng of workers leaving the building was hard to sift through but it also provided him with cover so as not to be seen. There she was; her long dark hair falling straight down her back. He followed her at a discreet distance and was amused when she stopped off at a dry cleaner. Good God it was only coffee why all the fuss over a coffee stain? He waited and followed her again. She ducked into a nearby Tesco to grab a few groceries. He watched her surreptitiously from the canned goods aisle as she grabbed bread and milk and a few fresh vegetables. Her only vice seemed to be a weakness for Minstrels; and she added a small bag to her basket as she headed for the checkout. He slipped out after her and followed her once more as she went down and into the bustling under city that was the London Underground system.

She was obviously well practised at this and he found himself hard pressed to keep up. So many people how did she abide this crush of humanity pressing in on her? She hopped in to an already over stuffed carriage and he squeezed in to the same carriage by a different door.

Keeping his eyes on her he ignored the looks he was receiving. Yes it was him, now bugger off and stop staring. This was why he didn't use public transport; he only had an Oyster card to flash at business functions so he would look like one of the people to the simpering fools who believed everything they read in their women's magazines.

She was getting ready to get off. He did the same and followed her out of the stifling heat and back in to the open fresh air above. She walked briskly and he found himself looking at her stiletto boots and wondering how she walked so fast in them. They hugged her calves and her skirt just skimmed the top of the black leather. She ducked down some side alleys until she came to a smart block of apartments. He held back as she swiped her entry card and disappeared from view.

He stood for a moment looking at the block; it was impressive looking without being over ornate and fiddly. He approved of her choice and wondered how hard her life would have to be to fund such a mortgage without a man to help her. Shaking his head he turned and walked back on to the main road and hailed a black taxi to take him home.