Chapter 43

The first day back to work at The Firm was Wednesday, the 3^rd of January. Anne immediately went to see Percy and handed in her notice.

"I'm very sorry, but I really have to leave on the twelfth," she told her manager.

"But that's only just over a week away!" he exclaimed, obviously annoyed.

"My new firm, Boundless Waves, will pay compensation for the short notice. But I'm really very sorry, the date's non-negotiable, it's either then or no deal. In the meantime I'll get my project as tidy as I can make it, and brief who ever you set to take over," she told him.

Percy was not pleased.

"I'm inclined to fight you on this, Anne, but I expect that would be counter-productive to us all. I'll telephone your new employers about the compensation."

Slightly frostily he then instructed her, "Go on, Anne. Better get on with it."

The news spread through The Firm as quickly as such juicy gossip will. Stan, passing through Sales later that morning, overheard Ewan telling one of his coterie in a loud voice that was intended to be overheard, "I understand we'll be losing the Ice Queen. No big loss, I've been saying for ages we should get someone who'll concentrate on working, not screwing!" Stan's blood rose as he heard the sycophantic chuckles that followed.

As he passed in to reception he asked Elaine, "How the hell does that Ewan keep his job? He's got the manners of a pig — a chauvinistic one. I thought they'd been banished!"

"Mouthing off again, is he?" answered Elaine. "Trouble is, he's actually a good salesman. I get a lot of sales enquiries come in for him. He makes my skin crawl, but he's good at what he does."

"I don't suppose his daddy being who he is hurts, either!" growled Stan, sourly.

"No, but it's probably not what you think. He's got contacts, Stan. He uses them." Elaine gave Stan a careful look. "Don't create trouble for yourself, Stan. You won't change anything, anyway. Now, I hear Anne's leaving us, and soon?"

"Yes, she is," Stan told the short blonde. "She's going to work for a start-up firm. And I mean she's going to work, too."

"Oooh. Harder than she does now? That's difficult to imagine!"

"I know!" Stan told her. Elaine had to take a call, so Stan walked through and sat at his desk. Elizabeth was there, and had also heard the news, of course. They'd spoken of it as a possibility before, but now it was a definite. Anne had said that if it happened, it would mean long, long hours.

"I guess this means you'll be seeing more of Denise?"

"Yes."

Elizabeth leaned forward. "Be careful, Stan. Don't neglect Anne. She'll need your help if she's working that hard."

"I know, Elizabeth. So does Denise, and Anne of course. We want to help each other, not break apart."

"Well... Watch out. You're all going to be under a lot of strain, and tempers can fray. Also, people react to such things in different ways. Be alert for one trying to split you away from the other, Stan. I can see you don't believe it could happen, but human nature is human nature."

Stan began to protest, but his heart was overruled by his head. "I know Elizabeth, I know," he told her with a sigh. "I don't want to believe it could happen but I know it could. I guess I'll just have to try to recognise it and snuff it out if it happens."

Elizabeth looked at him for a long moment. Then she told him, quietly, "Or, you might be forced into making a decision, Stan. I hope it doesn't come to that. But what's holding this all together is you, and you'll have to look out for any antipathy between the two of them. All the time you're the sole anchor, your relationship will be vulnerable if one of your ladies falls out with the other."

Stan glumly nodded. He didn't want to have to think about it, but knew he would anyway.

Just then, however, Denise came to see him, smiling brightly, her hair cascading over her shoulders like a bronze waterfall, her tight white blouse emphasising her bust. All thought of conflict flew from Stan's mind as she gave him a kiss on the cheek before sweeping by on her way into the Production area. 'You're a very lucky man, Stan!' he told himself.

While at home or going out at night, both Denise and Anne made a point of wearing the special jewellery given to them by Stan, but neither wore them at the office. As Anne said, "There are quite enough wagging tongues as it is without feeding them unnecessarily." Denise just snarled, "Oh, screw 'em!" - but in the end she'd agreed to go along with Anne.

Stan was with Anne a lot during her last week at The Firm, especially after she'd worked late, long beyond her normal work hours. Denise had made herself scarce on two of what should have been 'her' nights to allow Anne to have some more time with Stan. While this was good for Anne, by Wednesday evening she was both excited by the prospect of the new challenge and becoming worried about how it would affect their relationships.

On Thursday night the three had a quiet drink in the Mitre, then went to Stan's house. They loafed around just talking about things.

Denise said to Anne, "Look. We all know what's going to happen next week and for the foreseeable future. You'll be getting up and leaving before Stan and I wake, then you'll be working flat out before arriving home late and wanting nothing more than to go to bed... to sleep! So we'll have to make the most of what time you can spend with us."

"Yes," continued Stan, "so with that in mind, Denise and I have decided to ask you something."

Stan stopped. He looked at Denise, who looked excitedly back.

"What!? What!?" Anne blurted, when Stan left that hook dangling, deliciously.

"How do you feel about sleeping at my place, Anne? I mean, all the time?" he asked. "You see, if you did that, and Denise did as well, one of us could get up with you every morning, and we could arrange it so one of us was always there to welcome you home as well. I know it's not perfect, but it would be better than getting up alone, coming home and going to bed alone, and seldom seeing either of us."

Denise added, "Yes, and Stan's got the room for it to work. Oh, please do it, Anne. You know you'd hate going to bed by yourself all the time, waking up alone and seldom seeing us."

"Hmm." Anne leant back in her seat. "It sounds like a good idea, but there are times when I just want my privacy. You know that, Denise. You do too, Stan. Come to that, there will be times when I'm tired and irritable and snappy and bitchy... You'll be glad I'm not with you all the time. So if it's going to work, I'll sometimes escape back to my own place, I think."

"That's fine, Anne," Stan told her, before Denise could speak. "We didn't want to crowd you or anything." He gave Denise the merest flicker of a warning, but it was enough to stop her trying to browbeat Anne — as if that could ever work!

"The other thing is, I can give you your own room, if you like," he went on. But Anne demurred.

"No, that's not going to work. Where will Denise stay? You can't go re-jigging your office as a bedroom, Stan, and you've only got the one spare room. No, we won't go dedicating a room for me, I think. I have a home, and the offer of a bed any time I want it with you — either alone in the spare or with you, my darling man. So I'll spend as much time as I can with you both, and I'll let you cuddle up to a sleeping zombie if that's what you want. Okay?"

"That's fine, Anne. As for you being a zombie, I think even like that you'll have more life in you than most people!"

Anne turned to Denise and pretended to gag, "Yech!"

Then she looked Stan directly in the eye. "I'll show you just exactly how much of a zombie I am, Stanley Hinch!" She stood and swayed over towards Stan, who drank in the sight of her.

Denise smiled and stood as well. "I think I'd better leave you two lovebirds to it! I'll see you tomorrow, Anne, Stan. Don't do anything I wouldn't!"

Anne called out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes never leaving Stan, "As if that is any restraint!" She heard a chuckle, then the living room door closed. By the time they heard the front door opening and Denise's cheery "Goodnight, both of you!", Anne was half undressed already and Stan was trying to catch up.

Stan was surprised by Anne's ferocity. She attacked him, kissing hungrily, almost tearing off his clothes. Stan was given no time to think, no time to really react, he was simply overwhelmed.

His body knew what Anne wanted though. Anne reached for his erection with one hand while thrusting him down onto the sofa with the other. She swung a leg over him and knelt astride, lowering herself onto him, merely pulling her panties aside. Stan was in his underwear, his prick standing proud through the fly, and entering Anne as she groaned her need before his mind had a chance to catch up.