Chapter 4

I had a restless night worrying about the new development.

While in the office block, I hadn’t noticed any security cameras in the stairwell so there was no evidence of my ascending to the seventh floor, let alone being walked through a solid door. I couldn’t think of any evidence for what had taken place there unless the receptionist’s chair was checked for cum residue. And the lifts didn’t have security cameras either. The underground car park did, but the dim lighting would inevitably have made it impossible to identify anyone.

I eventually decided that although honesty and disclosure was still my best policy, I would eventually tell Eddie Pargeter about my latest encounter but at a time suitable to me. I decided against calling Eddie immediately for another appointment with such flimsy evidence, especially since he’d probably be calling me in a day or two.

The next few days were uneventful, then I received the call from Eddie Pargeter.

“Hi John, I’ve received and reviewed the video footage and the security manager’s report.”

“How badly screwed am I?”

“Since you told me what to look for, it’s clear that something inexplicable was going on. If the shopping centre’s head office tries to take any further action, I think we’ve got a strong case.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“I’ll get Vanessa to copy the report and video footage. They should be ready by tomorrow. Should she post them to you or would you prefer to collect them in person?”

“I’ll collect them in person,” I decided, preferring not to delay any further. “It’s not as if I have anywhere else to be.”

“I’ll let Vanessa know. And I’ll call you if I hear anything from the head office. The security manager included my contact details in the report.”

After the call, I thought of the most recent encounter with the girl. Should I have told Eddie about it? The longer I delayed, the more likely it was that what little evidence there was would be lost. I decided it would look weird if I phoned him back straight away.

I reached the office block housing Morgan Whitely and Partners late the next morning: I didn’t want to seem too eager to get the video. I was wearing my suit again but as soon as the harsh fluorescent office lights hit it, I noticed the cum stains on my suit trousers were still visible.

As I made my way to the lift, I noticed the seventh floor was still marked ‘to let’ on the building directory.

On the fourth floor, I announced myself to the receptionist. “Good morning, I’m John Pearson. Eddie Pargeter has left something for me to collect.”

The receptionist turned bright pink, which told me that she was Vanessa and she had watched the video footage. She fumbled open a locked cupboard and took out a large, padded envelope.

“Could I see some identification please?” she asked.

A momentary thought crossed my mind that I should whip out my dick to see whether she recognised it, but common sense prevailed and I fumbled the obsolete staff reward card from my wallet. Vanessa quickly eyeballed it then handed me the envelope. I could feel her eyes boring holes in my back as I waited for the lift back to the ground floor. I hoped she hadn’t noticed the cum stains on my trousers.

Back home, I stifled my impatience and got something to eat before opening the envelope. I skimmed through the security manager’s report. It seemed a fair representation of what we’d discussed during our meeting, although the language was cold and anatomical: penis instead of dick, testicles instead of balls.

Then I watched the video footage. Since I’d seen it before, there were no surprises. But it somehow felt unerotic until I used my imagination to insert the girl, and then my dick got hard.

About a week later, Eddie called to say that he’d been contacted by the head office’s legal department. Since no customers had complained, they had decided to take no further action at the current time. I’d have been happier with no action full stop, but Eddie said they were just covering their arses.

The next few days were uneventful, but then I had my next interview at the unemployment benefit office. The clerk was unimpressed with only two rejection letters, but I’d already applied to everyone locally in my line of work. The clerk said it was time to expand my options: look further afield, apply for jobs in other lines of work, or attend one of their laughable retraining courses. If I didn’t take action before the next scheduled meeting, my unemployment benefit could be forfeit.

I knew such an ultimatum would have happened sooner or later; I’d been hoping it was later.

Demoralised, I bought myself a newspaper and a coffee-to-go and headed to the local park, unconsciously navigating to the same seat where I’d first seen the girl. Even the ducks seemed subdued that day. I sipped my coffee while tackling the puzzles. Fortunately my brain seemed to still be working.

Eventually, with my coffee long-since finished, I got up and set off for home. I navigated the route by autopilot, not looking where I was going unless it involved crossing a road. Suddenly strong hands jerked me to a halt and held me in place.

“Have you missed me?” asked the familiar melodious unaccented voice.

I was immediately struck by feelings of both fear and anticipation. My dick’s inflationary response was more Pavlovian.

The girl overtook me. She was wearing the familiar white and yellow sun dress and white Panama sun hat.

“Follow me,” she instructed, although the strong hands gave me no choice. A short walk, involving a right turn, took us to some blocks of flats. One of them had an estate agent’s ‘One bedroom fully furnished flat to let’ sign outside. “This will do,” the girl said.

This time I kept my eyes open as I was walked through the locked wooden door. Somehow I could even see the grain of the wood while experiencing the momentary disorientation of passing through. Inside the flat was small and poky and obviously intended for one of the more independent attendees of the local college as an alternative to dorms.