Chapter 26: Job Hunting

As part of his job search, Derek was combing the internet for opportunities, and one which met his criteria was an advertisement through an agency for an Arabic speaking management consultant. It was soon apparent that these were few and far between, as the agency was overjoyed to hear from him. An all day interview was arranged at the agency's offices, and the agency promised to give him name of the company who had the vacancy after his first interview, if he got as far as the second which would be the same afternoon.

The first interview turned out to be little more than a language test with a lecturer from a local University which happened to have a Department of Oriental Languages. They chatted in Arabic for half an hour about Middle Eastern affairs. It transpired that the interviewer also didn't know the name of the client, but assured Derek that he would be told at the second interview.

The second interview was scheduled for the same afternoon, and it was hard for the agency representative to say which was the more surprised to see the other, Derek or Bob Hunt. Obviously the agency man had not even read Derek's CV beyond his command of Arabic, or he would have known that Derek had previously worked for THMA. After a few slightly embarrassed moments, it transpired that THMA were looking to open a Gulf States office and needed a Consultant at Partner level to head it up. Rather than hire a local, they had been trawling for some months for an Arabic speaking Brit with lots of contacts in the Gulf.

Of course, Derek fitted the bill perfectly. It took less than an hour for he and Bob to agree broad terms and they parted with an undertaking that the draft agreement would be sent to Derek within a couple of days. Among the concessions he had got from Bob was the right to site the new office in Kobek, instead of Riyadh which had been THMA's original plan. As Derek pointed out, his best contacts were there and it made sense. Privately, he wanted to go back to the social environment he had learned to love over the last couple of years.

Helen was not mentioned.

Derek returned to Shulah and the house he was beginning to get used to with a sudden lift in his spirits which was because he was returning to Kobekistan. He had not understood how happy he had been there, and had not known how discontented he was in England, with its uncertainties. He also realised that in the long run he would have had trouble with Molly and her husband.

He didn't see Molly again during the hectic three days it took to pack up their belongings for the trip back to Kobekistan. It wasn't so much the packing itself, the removers helped with that. The problem was the inventory for customs purposes, and deciding what to leave in the house by way of furniture, since Derek intended to let it. Shulah didn't help because she had no concept of the value of some of the items. Derek had bought himself a beautiful eighteenth century secretaire which she thought of no consequence, but which Derek was certainly not going to leave to the tender mercies of tenants. At the other extreme, there was some unbreakable plastic crockery which she wanted to take with them because she had never seen plates which did not break if they were dropped, and she thought that if they used these wonderful items, she would be beaten less.

It was on the fourth day, when the pantechnicon had left taking much of Derek's furniture into store. Molly came round and scratched at the kitchen door.

"Yes," asked Derek, not opening it wide enough for her to enter the house.

"Master," Molly started, and Derek's heart sank.

Here was trouble if ever he had seen it coming.

"Molly," he said, "You do know we are leaving, don't you?"

"Yes Master," she said, the questions tumbling out without any break for Derek to answer, "You are returning to Shulah's country, aren't you? Is it because of her? Why are you leaving me? Can I come with you?"

"Molly, I'm going back to Kobekistan because I've got an excellent job there. Shulah goes where I go. I'm not 'leaving you' as you put it. I'm just moving house to be in the same city, country and continent as my job. You must stay here with George; after all you are married to him."

"Can't I come to Arabia and be your slave all the time? I'll be very good to you."

"No, you can't. It would make far too much trouble. In any case I doubt you could stand the life; sitting about on cushions all day eating honeyed cakes and waiting for me to want you in bed may sound fine, but after a month you would be tearing your hair out from sheer boredom. As to being very good to me, you would be competing for a place in my bed against women whose entire life had been devoted to training them how to please a man."

Molly stared at him as the thought went through her head that this man was rejecting her in favour of some native woman. She would show him. She knelt quickly and unzipped his trousers. Taking his prick out she swiftly engulfed it in her mouth, opening her throat as it inevitably grew.