Chapter 44

Anne woke up at a quarter past five in the morning. 'Oh, God I must be mad!' she thought, as she picked her way foggily through her early morning routine.

Downstairs she found Denise, wearing a bathrobe, with coffee ready to pour.

"Good morning, Anne," she said quietly. "Stan's gone back to sleep. He'll wait up for you tonight. I'll sleep in the spare room, but I'll stay up as well — I want to hear how your first day went!"

Anne almost fell into a chair at the table. "Monday, the 15th of January, 2007. The day I fell apart." Elbows on the table, she held her head in her hands.

"A day that will live in infamy!" Denise giggled. Anne looked at her through her fingers like a child for a moment, then couldn't help but follow her by dissolving into laughter herself.

"I take myself too seriously, don't I?" she said, through the fits.

"Sometimes, Anne," Denise answered, then, more soberly, "But you are doing something that needs you to be serious sometimes, you know."

Anne ducked her head, acknowledging that point. "Actually, while I'm working on it I'll need to be serious all the time, Denise."

"That's all the more reason to blow off steam every once in a while, I guess!" came back the answer, but Anne stood and told her, "Not now, Denise. Now, I've got to get moving. I'll talk to you later."

Anne took the train into London, joining the army of commuters heading into London every weekday. Driving in was, she'd been told, "Very inadvisable" by Maggie, and "Well nigh bloody impossible!" by Sid.

In all, including her driving and parking at her local railway station, and waiting times, the journey to Southgate tube station took almost two hours. It was almost eight a.m. by the time Anne walked into the office of Boundless Waves for the first time.

She took in the room at a glance. Apple-green walls, light-oak reception desk. Four desks over to her left, currently unoccupied. There was a closed office door behind the receptionist, and another on the far left.

Anne moved to the reception desk and introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Anne and I'm supposed to be starting here this morning. Anyone else about?"

"Good morning, Ms Berkely. I was told to expect you. Doctor Thoroughgood will be in shortly. He telephoned this morning to say he'd be in at around ten o'clock. I'm Valerie, by the way, Valerie Shoemaker. In the meantime, may I offer you a cup of coffee, or a tea, perhaps?"

Valerie was a lady in her early thirties at Anne's guess, with dark brown curly hair and similar coloured eyes. There was, perhaps, a hint of an oriental slant to them that gave her face a slightly exotic look. Her accent was pure upper-class Kensington. She spoke with a formality that belied the liveliness in her eyes and the smile on her lips.

Anne and Valerie chatted away while they were drinking their tea and waiting. Valerie handled a couple of calls, dealing with them with an easy competence.

"How did you come to take a job with Sid and Ken?" asked Anne.

"Oh, I've known Kenneth for quite a while. We met at a party, and when Sydney approached Kenneth with his idea for a company, Ken asked if I would like to come in as well. I wasn't doing anything else, as I'd left my last job several months ago." She leaned forward and said in a lower voice, "Personality clash." In a normal tone she resumed, "So I said 'Of course!' and here I am. Perhaps now we'll really get things moving!"

The two chatted until Sid arrived, looking hot and harassed.

"Hello, Anne! Welcome aboard, my dear. Sorry I wasn't here when you arrived, I was meeting with some potential backers. Sadly, I think they'll remain potential ones, but one has to try. Come on, let's get you set up ready to get going. Your workstation only arrived yesterday, we haven't had time to install everything yet."

The rest of the day was spent with Sid setting up her machine ready for use. There was a lot of trial and error in his approach to this, and Anne was getting frustrated before the end of the day. But progress was made, and by eight PM she appeared to have an operational system, with all the necessary software installed and registered. Satisfied, Sid leant back in the chair he'd pulled up next to the machine.

"It always seems to be so much more work than necessary to setup a computer. Still, that's done. We can get started in earnest tomorrow."

Anne arrived at Stan's house a little after half past ten that evening, tired, and the more she thought about it, frustrated as well. She'd spent the whole day and achieved absolutely nothing.

'Well, not nothing I suppose, ' she thought. 'Sid doesn't change. Always has to do things himself, even if he's figuring things out as he goes along. Now, at least, I have an operating system to do some work on. Perhaps I can make a proper start tomorrow.'

Anne opened the door and hung up her coat. As promised, Stan and Denise were waiting up for her. There were hugs and kisses from both. Denise snorted when Anne described her day...

"Setting up one of those systems can take a while, but it shouldn't have taken that long! Still, I can understand if you've got your boss doing it — unless he's used to that sort of thing it's likely he'd have trouble."

Anne was enjoying simply being with Stan, unwinding. It was good to share the experience of the day with Denise, too. With Stan's arms around her for comfort, and Denise laughing with her at some of the missteps Sid had made, Anne relaxed more and more.

Finally, Denise stood up, saying, "You eyes are drooping, Anne. Time Stan took you to bed. I'll see you in the morning." She bent and gave Stan a kiss goodnight. "I'll see you later in the morning, lover!"

Before the end of the week a pattern had already emerged in Anne's life at Boundless Waves. She would arrive to find Valerie comfortably and competently in place. Anne would begin by doing some design work, when Sid would arrive and begin making suggestions to her. These suggestions would be good ones, but contrary to the ideas Anne believed appropriate, and she would have to spend time defending her ideas.

Ken would arrive around mid-day, immediately hit the phones and be on them almost non-stop for a couple of hours. Then he'd be out for a long lunch with someone or another, buttering them up. Valerie would leave at five o'clock each afternoon. Ken would pop back into the office, collect his messages and hit the phones again for an hour or so, then leave at about six or half-past.

Sid would work on, 'helping' Anne. Anne wasn't secure enough in her position yet to tell him to leave well enough alone, but by Friday morning she found herself grinding her teeth. Still, she was making slow but steady progress.

"The worst part of the old-boy network is having to speak to some of them. Crashing bores, you know!" Ken confided to Anne on Friday afternoon, before leaving for another lunch date.

It was about 4:30 pm that same Friday afternoon that Ken called out of his office door, "Anyone know how to fix this damn computer?"

Sid entered and took a look, but he emerged a minute or so later, a worried look upon his face. "Anne, could you take a look at Ken's PC please? It's refusing to do as it's told again, and I've got a meeting with a potential customer in about five minutes. Ken's got to attend too, so you'll have a clear field."

Anne was deep into her design mindset, and did not appreciate being pulled out of it. But she was still 'the new girl', and it was clearly something she'd have to put up with. Everyone must 'Pay their dues... '

"Um. Okay, Sid. Give me a moment here, and I'll go in and see what I can do."

A couple of hours later and suddenly Anne realised she'd still not been into Ken's office. After saving her work, she scurried in and took a look.

Ken was trying to print a document and it wasn't looking right, according to the scribbled note he'd left. Anne spent a couple of hours checking out font and driver versions and such before finally fixing it. Relieved, she went back to her workstation, to find herself alone in the office once more.

Anne sat back in her chair, gazing into infinity for a moment. She wondered how Stan and Denise were getting on, what they were doing.

Denise had taken her own car that morning, as she'd be dropping into her house later to pick up some clothes, do some laundry and a little housework. She got home, completed her chores and in no time at all it was already half past six. Denise was tired, hungry and feeling in need of a shower.

Her shower over and feeling more relaxed, she phoned Stan to see if he was interested in getting some food delivered or had already fixed himself something.

"Come on around, Denise, I'll get some pizza delivered." Scant minutes later she was hanging up her coat in Stan's hallway. Stan greeted her with a kiss and an embrace that left no doubt as to his intentions.

"Hmm, feeling frisky tonight, Stan?" she murmured into his ear.

"Mmmm. If that's okay — I mean, I don't mean to take you for granted."

Denise kissed him quickly and whispered in his ear, "Tonight you're in luck, sailor!" Leaning back, she put her hands on her hips, slowly licked her lips and challenged, "If you're up for it, that is!"

She reached forward to Stan's crotch. He wasn't fully hard... yet.

Stan pulled back, embarrassed, but then shrugged slightly as she pulled him into her arms again. "Brazen wench!" she heard faintly in her ear as she ground herself against him. Stan pulled back for a moment, adjusting himself. "Getting better!" she said, grinning now.

"Ooh! I know how to get you really going!" she told him, and grabbed Stan's hand. She drew him with her into the bathroom, shut the door after them and pushed him against the wall. Then, to Stan's amazement, she reached under her white skirt and pulled off her panties.

She sat on the toilet seat and beckoned Stan forward in front of her. Denise began to pee and, as they heard the pattering into the bowl, she saw Stan's eyes flickering between his feet and the front of the bowl, where, she knew, he was watching everything. Denise finished, wiped and stood, reaching for him. Stan came to her, his cheeks bright red with embarrassment but now obviously very aroused. Denise was a little startled when he took her by the hips and moved her to the bath, turning her so she was bent over into it. She heard his zip and moistened her lips in anticipation.

She heard Stan move, then felt him as he entered her in one smooth movement. It was a good job that Denise was turned on by what she'd done. Stan didn't give her time to get used to him but plunged deeply in. They quickly established a rhythm and Denise felt herself becoming even more aroused.

Suddenly Stan was no longer inside her. "No!" she heard, and realised it was her own voice as Stan pulled her up and turned her around. They kissed briefly before Denise reached down. "I want to suck you, Stan," she practically growled as she sank to her knees on the rug in the centre of the bathroom floor. Her mouth watered as she luxuriously licked the underside of his cock, tasting herself on him before fastening her lips around the deep purple bulb.

Denise sucked Stan slowly, carefully, lovingly for several minutes. She knew Stan's control was hanging by a thread, so she held the base of his cock tightly for a minute. "Do you want to come inside me, Stan, or would you like to decorate my face?" she asked, and felt Stan's eagerness. "I guess I'm going to get a creamy facial!" she smiled.

Stan put one of his hands on his cock; she felt him take over jacking himself. She closed her eyes and rested the palms of her hands on her thighs. She wondered what she looked like, still dressed, hair dishevelled and face flushed, just waiting for Stan's cum.

Then she felt it, hot and wet on her cheek. She almost felt scalded for a moment and then felt another rope of cum across her nose and mouth. Further drops fell across her face and left eye, which she screwed solidly shut. Finally she felt and heard Stan move, dropping to the rug with her.

Carefully Denise opened her right eye. Stan was on his knees, resting on his heels. His softening, glistening penis was still in his right hand, but his eyes were fixed firmly on Denise's face. She winked her good eye at him, and he smiled back, still in the thrall of his orgasm.

"Wait there, Stan. I want to see!" she told him. She felt the cum drifting down her face and wanted to see what it looked like before it really dripped, so she stood and went to the mirror.