Chapter 3

Thursday was very hectic. First I had to dash back to my place for some clean clothes, then when I got to work I found quite a pile waiting for me. That's normal for a Thursday. The sales staff are too hung over to do much on Monday but they put a real a real shift in on Tuesday and Wednesday in the hope that sales bonuses would make their way through the system by Friday in time for the weekly payroll run. That meant the contracts tended to hit me on Thursday. I ploughed my way through them as quickly as I could but I also had a steady succession of phone calls to answer, none of them serious but all of them providing a distraction while requiring I maintain strict courtesy.

Most of the contracts had standard boiler-plate wording and I could just nod them through. A few more were a bit trickier and seemed to be okay but one raised alarm bells - there were severe penalty clauses but most of the trigger events were outside our control. I bounced the contract to legal with a note explaining my concerns.

I finished work a bit later than I hoped, feeling tired and a bit tense. I decided to pass on the gym workout, but had a longer swim than usual as partial compensation. On a whim I walked three blocks to a steakhouse where I knew I could get a good steak at a reasonable price. The diner did steaks and they were okay, but these were better than okay.

I hadn't intended to visit Joe's bar, but when I found myself walking past it, I couldn't resist the urge to see if the ice maiden was there again. Railing against her superior attitude, I decided to take her by surprise.

The corridor to the bar's restrooms ends in a fire exit. The door is kept unlocked while anyone is in the bar but it's only supposed to be able to be opened from the inside. Gary had once shown me a trick whereby a firm blow to right place on the outside of the door caused the locking bar to jump. If you simultaneously gave the door a tug, the door would pop open.

The fire door hadn't been fixed and I managed to open it first time. As I emerged into the bar I saw that it was virtually empty, although the ice maiden was again sitting in the same place as the two previous nights. She was reading her e-reader but she seemed to be keeping half an eye on the front entrance. I wondered if she was waiting for anyone in particular. Perhaps she was looking for me, although the way she had rebuffed me, that idea struck me as extremely fanciful.

I crept up behind the ice maiden.

"What are you reading?" I asked, hoping to make her jump, but failing.

She smoothly turned round to face me. "It's something you probably don't encounter very often. It's called a book."

"Well, as Dubya would say, a book is a book. Once you've seen one, you've seen them all."

Surprisingly she laughed at that, the enigmatic grey eyes developing an attractive sparkle.

"So, will you let me buy you a drink?" I pushed my luck.

The smile disappeared, as did the sparkle. "I don't think so. The last two nights you've left with two different women and I haven't seen either again."

Damn, she had noticed!

"All the evidence seems to point to your being a serial killer," she continued. I didn't think she was serious but the delivery was so deadpan I couldn't be certain.

"Gary, am I a serial killer?" I asked the barman.

"No, you're too much of a pussy. You take the women home to your mummy who kills and cooks them for dinner. That's why your brains are scrambled," replied Gary, who had been listening to our conversation.

That elicited a half-smile from the ice maiden.

"Perhaps another time," she said, returning to her e-reader.

It's strange how that rebuttal actually made my heart soar. I wasn't sure what I saw in her because she wasn't exceptional to look at, but there was something about her which had me captivated.

I got a beer from Gary and went over to the widescreen. No one else was watching it so I switched from the ballgame to the news channel. As the evening wore on a few more people filtered in. The pushy working girl came in again and started hassling people. Gary gave her what for then threw her out.

Suddenly a party of very loud and very drunk women burst in. At first I thought they might be a hen party, but hen parties don't usually happen on a Thursday and the women all seemed to be wearing work clothes.

Normally Gary wouldn't serve people who were this drunk, but he was on his own and it was quite a large party. Gary caught my attention and nodded in their direction. I nodded back, discreetly agreeing to help out if there was any trouble. It's a sign of spending too much time in a bar when the staff come to expect you to back them up in the event of trouble.

To avoid the hassle of an argument with a bunch of drunken women, Gary served the women but at glacial pace. Fortunately many of them seemed to realise their state and started to drift away after a couple of drinks. A hard core group stayed for a another drink, then most of them left too leaving only a single, skinny blonde who was so drunk she could hardly stand. She tried to order another drink, but Gary told her she'd had enough and escorted her towards the door. She started fumbling with her car keys.

Suddenly it struck me that her face was familiar. It took a split second or so but then I remembered - she was the sister of one of my co-workers and he had brought her along to a company party in lieu of a partner. That triggered a memory of her name, Donna St James.

I got up and intercepted Gary and the girl.

"I know this girl, she's the sister of a colleague. I'll take care of her."

Gary nodded. "Thanks. I'd feel obliged to confiscate her keys and I don't fancy her chances of getting a taxi in that state."

No sooner had I helped Donna out the door than then she promptly threw up all over herself. I left her propped against a wall while I went back in the bar and helped myself to some damp paper towels. Gary gave a wry smile. He knew what had just happened and was grateful he didn't have to deal with it in the bar. I didn't look, but I could feel the ice maiden's eyes on me.

Back outside I found that Donna was no longer where I had left her. I panicked for a moment until I spotted her, just down the street, trying to use her keys to get in a car. I say trying, because she was missing the lock by quite a margin. I was surprised at how well the car was parked because Donna must have been drunk when she drove here.

I grabbed the keys and took them from her. "No you don't, not in that state." Then I used the damp towels to clean her off as best I could. She would still stink, but hopefully she wouldn't make a mess in my car unless she puked again.

I hadn't been sure what to do with Donna. Gary was right, a taxi wouldn't take her even if she were capable of speaking coherently and giving an address. I couldn't call my colleague because I didn't have his number. I asked myself what I would want him to do if my little sister, if I had one, was in this situation. That's how I found myself driving home with the Donna supine across my back seat, all the windows open to let out the smell.

I managed to haul Donna into my flat where I dumped her on the sofa. She immediately fell asleep, snoring softly. I couldn't just leave her like that because the smell would stink the place out, so I decided to undress her. I reckon I'm reasonably proficient at undressing women, but it's a hell of a lot harder when they're an uncooperative dead weight. When I had her down to bra and panties, I chucked the soiled garments in the washing machine.

I always keep my guest room prepared because that's where I take women who come back to my place. I checked the mattress had a waterproof mattress protector then helped Donna into bed, laying her on her side in the recovery position so she wouldn't choke if she puked again while asleep. I gave her a good look over before pulling up the comforter. Although she was skinny, she had a fine body with nice firm breasts, just the right size for her slender frame, plus a small waist and a flat stomach. A few inches taller and it would have been easy to imagine her as a catwalk model. I was surprised at how tiny her ass was, just like a child's, but her buns were firm and muscular and deliciously squeezable as I found out as I had to grab them while hauling her into the bedroom.

I fetched a sealed bottle of water from the fridge (I'm fine with tap water but my hookups prefer bottled, it seems to be a girl thing). I emptied all but half a dozen tablets from a bottle of painkillers to ensure she couldn't overdose, then put both bottles on the nightstand next to Donna's bed so they were readily available if she needed them. Then I went to my own bed and slept.