Sarah asked if I wanted a coffee and when I said yes she made it and bought it over to my desk. It was fun to watch her as she walked towards me; the almost transparent white blouse covered but emphasised her small, nicely formed tits in their white lace bra. The very short, split mini skirt she wore flaunted her legs which were quite chunky but incredibly sexy, for all to see.

Sarah had just turned thirty and it had worried her for some reason that I couldn't understand. She was still as sexy as ever to me, in fact probably more so. She had long blond hair that had a life of its own and she couldn't decide whether it looked better worn up or down. She had a giggly nature that made her seem much younger than she actually was. She was also a flirt.

When she and my coffee got to my desk she perched herself on the edge of it and said "There you are Keith, something hot and sweet to keep you going."

Well I'm willing to admit that it did keep me going, she let out a giggle and popped the coffee on my desk and wiggled off, back to her own office. I watched happily as her bum wiggled and jiggled before disappearing around the corner.

In keeping with many other offices we had a syndicate in the National Lottery and the potential jackpot of nine or ten million every week had us all hoping for early retirement. Our syndicate consisted of Sarah and her assistant Gina, the Materials Manager Brynn and me. I, being greedy, had two shares on the ticket so we had five chances of winning.

Every week Sarah used to come around and take our stake money off us, she'd then purchase our ticket when she went shopping on the Saturday. I must admit that I didn't pay a lot of attention to the draw, trusting Sarah to tell me if we won. So far we'd only had three or four number wins, I think the most we'd received had been a hundred pounds which when shared out meant that I'd received forty pounds.

When Sarah came to work one Monday she was really despondent, she obviously had a problem but she wasn't talking to anyone. She spent the whole day just doing her job, or as Gina said when I asked, "She's going through the motions. I don't think she's actually finished anything she's started today."

We all watched and wondered, as this was so unlike her.

She came to work the following day in exactly the same mood and by lunchtime my curiosity had got the better of me. I bullied her into going for a drink with me, and once she had her drink in front of her I asked what was the problem. It didn't come out straight away but eventually she told me that her husband was going to be losing his job as the company he was working for was being taken over and their factory was being closed. As he had only been there for just over a year he wasn't going to get a lot of redundancy money, and she didn't think he was going to be able to find another job, so she was worried.

Well there wasn't really a lot I could do about this was there, I offered what comfort I could but she didn't seem any happier when we went back to work. As time went by his redundancy was confirmed and then happened, the next month was spent with stories of all the jobs he applied for and then the depression when he didn't get them.

This had been going on for a while when it came round to the time that Brynn was retiring, he was sixty-five and decided that he'd had enough, despite me telling him that we wouldn't survive without him and shouldn't he feel guilty about leaving us? We all had a laugh when he said we were only getting what we deserved. We had a party for him and wished him well.

That Friday when Sarah came around she said that the lottery syndicate was folding as Brynn had left and she couldn't afford to play anymore. I wasn't surprised at the announcement as she hadn't seemed so enthusiastic about the draw for the last couple of weeks, so I reckoned that Brynn leaving was just a good excuse for her to give it a miss.

On the way home that night I decided to put my two lines on, I'd bought the money for them to work so it wasn't as if I was spending anything extra. I stopped at my local garage and after I'd filled up with fuel I went over to the lottery machine and got my ticket.

I went out that evening with a few of the lads and had a right skinfull. Sunday morning was not a pleasant experience for me. I felt sick and everything was throbbing - no not like that - and I didn't want to do anything. Eventually the need to relieve myself took over and I staggered out of bed and once up I found that I could still move so I had a shower and wandered downstairs. There I took plenty of orange juice as I'd heard that it was good for a hangover. The rest of the day passed in a haze, relaxing and slowly recovering, of course I promised that I would never do it again. Well not till next time anyway.

Monday arrived in due course and I went to work expecting another week of engineering design and problem solving. Boy was I in for a shock.

As I made my first coffee of the day I head Sarah talking to Gina. She sounded very upset, "I'm sorry Gina, I shouldn't have stopped us doing it, I'm sure Keith will kill me when he realises what I've done, I mean it was his line that would have won..."

Now I may not be the quickest guy in the world but even I managed to grasp what they were talking about. We would have won the lottery if we'd kept doing it and Sarah had made us stop, I could have been rich!

Talk about a downer.

As I drifted back to my desk shell shocked at the revelation my brain kicked back in.

Come on Keith, remember what Sarah had just said - it was your line that would have won - and you had put your lines on at the garage hadn't you?

Where was that ticket?

Come on find it!

I emptied my pockets and wallet on to the desk. A quick rummage and there was the pink lottery ticket.

Now how did I find out what the winning numbers were?

The net! The lottery had to have a web site. I fired up the computer and logged on before pointing the browser at Yahoo.

Two minutes later the Lottery site was loading with this weeks winning numbers displayed for all to see. I checked them against the ticket in my hand and yes the numbers were the same.

I WAS A WINNER!!!

Then my evil side kicked in. I was going to tease Sarah, I wouldn't tell her about me winning. I'd wait and see what she said to me.

Yes I know it's cruel but some of the tricks she'd pulled on me were just as wicked.

Okay, if I'd thought about it more I'd have realised that with all her money worries at the time this was a pretty sick trick to play, but I didn't think of it. To me it was just a continuation of our usual playing.

I didn't say a word to anybody and that was hard, believe me. I think I was in shock, after all I'd just won nine million pounds and I was tingling all over, but the thought of teasing Sarah kept me quiet. I phoned the lottery at lunchtime to stake my claim and was told that I had to go to them and claim it, in person. When I got back to work I told the boss that something personal had come up and booked the next day off, I then went back to my office and day-dreamed the rest of the afternoon.

Sarah didn't speak to me, in fact she didn't come anywhere near me all day, so I never got the chance to tell her that I had won, which, as you will see was a good thing for me.

For me that Tuesday was truly memorable.

I went to the regional centre to make my claim and opted for no publicity. I was congratulated and then given several lectures on investment and savings and the best ways to look after - and increase - my fortune. For once in my life I actually listened to what was being said to me and decided to follow the advice I was given.

One of the first things I was told was that it was a good idea to stay at work, just for a short time, until I was used to having that much money and for my investments to start showing a return. Talking of return I asked how much did they think I could earn?

Well without any risk I would be getting quarter of a million pounds a year, after tax, if I took a little risk and invested in the stock market then I would be getting at least 7% on my investment, again after tax. So if I invested all of my winnings I would be getting six hundred and thirty thousand ponds a year.

To me that would be twelve thousand pounds a week!

The rest of the week passed in a haze just thinking about the numbers involved. I'd even forgotten that I was supposed to be teasing Sarah who eventually told me all about it. I just smiled and said something bland like "Its just one of those things, maybe we should start again".

That weekend a new bank account was opened, cheques were written to clear my debts, you know, mortgage; credit cards and all those sort of things. I booked a two week holiday in the Caribbean and decided that I was going to split the money, a third into good, safe investments and the rest to the stock market. I placed the phone calls to the people the lottery had suggested and made the necessary arrangements.

All I had to do now was wait for the money to start to roll in.

I enjoyed my holiday immensely. I now realised that I was a millionaire and though I had felt very nervous when I arrived most of the people in the resort had been rich for an awfully long time and they were used to having this much money. At first I tried to copy the way they acted but gave up, all that posturing was too much like hard work.

In the end I just enjoyed myself and had a good time, it was the flight over Angel Falls that finally convinced me that I was well off, it cost a couple of hundred pounds and I hadn't even flinch when I'd booked it. I'd wanted to go so I went - no worries - and an excellent trip it was as well.

Once I was back at work I knew that I could get up and leave at anytime I wanted and this removed a great deal of stress I'd been feeling. I sneaked in a couple of things to help me with my job, things that the company had thought about buying but had decided that the cost out weighed the advantages that it would bring. I'd had no such qualms so my job became easier and more enjoyable. I figured that I would stick with it for another six months and then jack it all in. Well, that was the plan.

Once again time passed. I settled down to an enjoyable new lifestyle, as far as the people at work were concerned nothing much had changed. I'd moved into an old farm where I'd told them that it had very little land but in fact it had two hundred and fifty acres. That didn't make me a farmer, just a landowner. I was renting it out to the real farmers who lived around me at little more than the cost of administering the deal. I'd always wanted a Porsche 911 so I'd bought a second hand black convertible. Yes I know I could afford a new one but when I bought it I still hadn't got totally used to having that amount of money available and once I'd got it I found I was happy with the thing.

One thing I did notice as time went by was that Sarah started to become slightly worn in appearance, her clothes started to be tired in appearance were before they had always been immaculate. She had stopped going out with the girls; in fact the only reason she still came to the pub with us on a Friday was because I bullied her into it. Gina was still her shy self and capable of being a lot of fun once you'd bought her out of her shell.

One day it all came to a head. Gina had called in sick leaving Sarah all alone in the accounts office. It was just before lunch and I had a question for Sarah so I wandered along to her office rather than use the telephone. When I entered Sarah had her head in her hands and her shoulders where gently shaking.

I realised that she was crying softly to herself and hadn't even noticed when I entered her office. I moved silently behind her and placed my hand on her shoulder. She sat up suddenly with a gasp, surprised by my touch. The crying had left her face red and you could see the tracks the tears had made running down her face.

"Talk to me Sarah," was all I said and she let it all pour out.

Her hubby hadn't been able to find a new job and money was getting tight. No matter how she tried she could never save enough to do all the things that needed doing and the to top it all off her daughter had come home from school last night crying. It appeared that she was the only kid in her class who wasn't going on the school trip and it was all down to the fact that they didn't have ten pounds to spare for the trip. I didn't think, I just pulled out my wallet and gave her a twenty pound note.

"Tell her happy birthday from me," I said. Corny I know but I couldn't leave Sarah crying like that when I could help so easily.

Her eyes lit up as she looked at the note and then her whole face clouded over, "No I can't take it. I'll never be able to pay you back," she said.

I replied, "That's OK, you can give me a kiss at Christmas," which raised a smile.

Sarah and I had a long running joke which was that come her birthday, my birthday or Christmas, I was going to get a proper kiss from her, and not just a quick peck on the cheek. It had never happened but we'd kept the joke running and I'd just added to it. Before she had time to say anything more I asked her the question I had originally gone in there to ask. She seemed much happier that afternoon.

About a week later I was informed that her daughter had been on the trip and it had been wonderful, she and Sarah thanked me very much, and I would get my kiss at Christmas. I smiled at that and, I admit it, I blushed as I wasn't used to such praise.

More time passed and I stayed with the company, I'm not sure why, I think I was enjoying work now that I didn't have to do it. It was a challenge and fun at the same time and I got a few things changed because I didn't have to worry about being shown the door. This meant that I said what I thought rather than what they expected to hear.

One day I received a phone call from Sarah, her car wouldn't start and could I go and pick her up. I cleared it with the big boss and off I went in the Porsche.

She was stood outside her house waiting for me when I arrived. She was wearing a short red mini dress that showed her body off nicely.

I pulled up in next to her and called out, "Come on. In you get. I know you just want to pose in a sports car!"

She slid into the leather bucket seat giving me a wonderful view of her legs as she did so.

"No, its not that," she said, "Its that heap of junk of mine, its falling apart."

I looked at her old Rover and noticed that it was a bit past its sell by date.

That's when I realised that she probably couldn't afford to have it serviced, let alone replace it. I had a sudden thought and without thinking to hard about it I said, "Its nearly your birthday and I've got a mate who runs his own garage, why don't you let me get it serviced for you?"

She looked a bit stunned at that, I suppose it wasn't very subtle on my part was it but it wasn't meant to be nasty, it just seemed like a good idea and so I acted upon it.

Eventually she replied, "No, it's all right, I'm sure he will be able to sort it out without to much trouble."

What an idiot I am! Her husband would be servicing the car and I'd just put my foot in it again!

I kept quiet for the rest of the journey, as I didn't want to get myself in any more trouble. I concentrated on the road ahead and Sarah's legs, which were well exposed, with the hood down the breeze was improving the view all the way to work. The rest of the day was uneventful and Sarah's husband had managed to get the car sorted because he came to pick her up from work.

Unfortunately for Sarah it wasn't a permanent fix. Two days later I got another call asking me to pick her up again. When I got there she was almost in tears but I didn't say a word.

Half way to work she looked over and said, "Keith, is that offer still good."

I tried to raise a smile, "Which of my many offers are you referring to?" It was meant to be a light hearted comment but she didn't seem to think it was that funny.

She looked slightly pained as she said, "The offer to get my car serviced for my birthday."

I looked at her and felt my heart give a thump, "Of course it is."

"Thanks" she said then she smiled as she added, "I'll give you a kiss at Christmas for it."

I had a giggling fit, which wasn't so good as I was driving. When I recovered I made a silent promise to myself that her car would be as good as it could get after this service.

It cost quite a bit to get the car sorted. It really was an old wreck and my mate Graham, who ran the garage, said it would be better to get a new one but once I'd pointed out to him that this wasn't practical he set about the car with a vengeance. He'd stripped the engine down completely, they'd already renewed most of the brake system and just to finish everything off they'd had the car valeted. It really looked good when we went to collect it I just hoped Sarah would be happy with it.

One thing that happened at the garage also got me thinking. Graham was complaining that his storeroom was a complete disaster, he knew he had a lot of the bits that he needed to do jobs but he couldn't find them easily. He was buying new parts because it was quicker than rummaging through the storeroom and that was tying up cash. Sarah's husband had worked in a stores before he was made redundant and I wondered if the two of them could help each other out. I asked Graham what he thought and he told me to get the guy to give him a call. I passed the message on to Sarah at the same time as I gave her the car back.

A couple of days later I was informed by Sarah that her husband was going to sort Graham's store out for him, not a permanent job, but work none the less. Oh and her car was absolutely brilliant, thanks for both.

If I kept this up I'd end up as a do-gooder and we couldn't have that now could we...

So how were things going in my life away from work?

I hadn't got a long-term girlfriend although I did chase a few girls when I went out with the lads into Manchester or Liverpool for a fun night out. The farm was being renovated slowly and I'd had a pool dug and ready for next summer. One of the barns had been converted into a garage downstairs and the upper floor had been split between a photo studio and a small workshop to house my hobbies.

Moneywise my investments had given me a steadily increasing income and so far I had received just over two hundred thousand ponds after all taxes and fee's had been taken out. When you consider that I had already spent about a million pounds on the farm and my car and a few other things I was just about spent out for now.