Chapter 3: The Tables Turn

Right, I had decided to try to steal the arsehole's wife. Surely that can't be too hard to do? Christ, an arsehole had managed to get my wife to betray me, when I treated her as a queen and she loved me. Now there's no question about that, so don't all you 'know it all's' try telling me she didn't. Anita got caught up in the moment.

This Doug appeared to me to treat his wife with contempt, he ran around shagging every bird he could get his hands on. Very shortly he was going to be out of a job. No matter what he told his wife; someone was going to let her know exactly why he did get fired. I wonder who that was going to be?

OK, having made my decision. All I had to do is find out how to go about doing it. I already had one instruction manual in my wife's written confession to me as to how that arsehole had seduced her and what they had done. I hoped it was as detailed as I had asked. You know, I had never read the bloody thing, but I did now.

Now! That was not a good idea! I love Anita and reading how that Pratt conned her really upset me.

Still I had put my emotions aside. I was intending to take another man's wife away from him. You do get that, don't you? I wasn't looking to have an affair with her; I was going to steal her from him completely.

That was the difference between him and me, you see. If I had an affair with her, I would be the same kind of arsehole as he is. I was intending to break-up his marriage and offer her the opportunity to come and live with me, permanently.

That's not too bad an offer, you know. I've got plenty of money, a nice house and I'm not a bad looking bloke, even if I do say so myself. I guess I was five or six years older than her, but that's not an uncommon age difference. I do know how a lady should be treated and to really clinch it, I have been bloody lonely since my wife left me.

Now from reading what had gone on with Anita, it appeared to me that the trick was not to put the lady on her guard when you first got to know them. So I had to engineer a meeting with her that wouldn't make her suspicious, then slowly and quietly get closer to her.

No, wait just a minute. If I could catch her when her defences were down? Now that was going to call for timing. I would need to get to know her before the shit hits the fan over Dawn. Then when Doug gets the push and his wife finds out it was because he was trying to get into Dawn's pants, she should be feeling very low.

A nice new friend, who boosts her self-esteem, I should be at least half-way there. Then if I can somehow show her what her so-called loving husband has been up to in the past, the job might be done. Well, I hoped it would. I was on new territory here.

Kara was happy to tell me that Doug's wife's name was Leanne. They had been married for ten years and there were no children in the marriage. That was one thing I didn't have to worry about. Kids could have been a complication.

Kara had done some snooping around and had come up with the names of three women whom Doug was reputed to have had a fling with in the past. Apparently they had all left the company and Kara thought there could be some connection between their leaving and their affairs with Doug. There were two women still on the payroll whom Kara had reason to believe had also had a thing going with Doug at one time or another. But we couldn't approach them as we didn't know if they were still what you might call 'active'.

I hadn't told Kara what I was planning to try to do with Leanne. I don't think she would have approved somehow.

Now having money came in handy. I called a private investigator that we have used at the office on occasions. I got him to put some staff on tracking down the women who had left Archers and to get me a full profile on Leanne. Where she went and what she liked, everything, with daily reports on Leanne. Time was short so I had to get to know Leanne in a hurry before Doug made his play for Dawn.

They came up trumps on the staff who had left. One of them claimed that she had a thing going with Doug until he tried to make her have sex with his boss so he could have a lever on him. Christ, the bugger wanted to blackmail his boss. That report went straight to Kara and we both wondered whether he had succeeded in getting any of his other conquests to acquiesce.

Kara went through the yearly appraisals in Doug's records and came to the conclusion that he probably had. According to his records he had been the model employee for the last three years and never put a foot wrong, whereas his older appraisals were not what you would call glowing. Kara didn't go into details.

Leanne, to my regret, was into the fitness thing and went to the gym for a couple of hours every morning before going on to her part-time job at a children's nursery. Then she would go to the library for an hour or so before going home. She was apparently into reading romance novels. This I took to be a good thing, perhaps she wanted some romance in her life. I was hoping to be just the man to put it there.

But the only place I could see to break the ice with her was at that bloody gym. No, I'm not into the fitness thing. Bugger, I'd have to put on a bloody good show and hopefully not kill myself in the process.

A quick phone call got me membership and an immediate appointment with a personal trainer. I wasn't looking forward to this but somehow I managed to fall on my feet again. The trainer turned out to be the daughter of an old friend. I had known Abigail since she was a baby (she was the result of a tryst behind the bike sheds at school). Her parents and I had always been friends.

"Uncle Marty!" Abigail cried as I walked through the door. "What are you doing here?"

Abigail was no fool; she had known me all her life. She knew I wasn't there to get fit. As she was showing me around the place and how to use the equipment, she was pumping me for all she was worth. In the end I told her that I wanted to get acquainted with someone.

"Uncle Marty, you randy old man. Who are you after? I'm sure I can help you to arrange something."

"Abigail."

"Oh, come on, uncle Marty, you need someone in your life now that auntie Ann has gone. Sorry, should I have mentioned her?"

"Abbie, Anita was part of your growing up. Never be afraid to talk about her to me."

"Thanks, but come on, tell me, who's the lucky lady you're after? I can put you together on machines next to each other."

"She's a married woman, Abbie. I don't want you to get into trouble for being involved."

"Hey, I'm not a child any more and there's so much hanky panky going on around here, no one will ever notice. I caught a bank manager and a local counsellor's wife at it in the sauna last week. No names though; my lips are sealed and I got a loan for my new car out of it, at very low interest."

"Christ, you're worse than your father. He's always been a wheeler dealer!"

"Like father, like daughter. I've still got my student loans to pay off yet."

"I've told you before, if you ever need money..."

"Uncle Martin, like I said before, while I can, I'll stand on my own two feet, but I really appreciate the offer. Now who's this woman you're after?"

"All right, Leanne Mitchell."

"Leanne, that's marvellous. Her husbands a right Prick.

"Abbie!"

"Well, he is. He used to come here and had the cheek to try it on with me. He got short shift, I'll tell you. He stopped coming after Leanne started; clipped his wings a bit having the wife about. I wonder if she did it on purpose? You know, to stop him chatting up the other ladies."

After that I let Abbie get on with it. She showed me the machines and how to use them. Then she told me to be there just before nine in the morning; she was Leanne's personal trainer as well and she planned to put us on machines next to each other. But she wanted me settled before Leanne came in. She said until I got to know Leanne a little, it was best if she brought Leanne over to me. Abigail also warned me not to look too interested; Leanne was pretty adept at handling wolves.

With more than a little trepidation, I presented myself for Abbie's inspection the following morning, dressed in my new track suite and trainers. Christ, those things make your bloody feet sweat.

Abbie put me on a training cycle and after playing with the controls, told me to watch the door in the mirror wall. I was to sit there and wait, then when I saw the door open I was to start pedalling and keep the meter reading five, no more or I wouldn't last the course. She was going to put Leanne on the cycle next to me.

I thought it strange that there was no one else in the gym as there were half a dozen or so men in the changing room. Abbie told me she had put all the others in the other gym. It was a big place.

About five minutes later I saw the door start to open and began to pedal for all I was worth. Big mistake, the meter went up to fifteen and Abbie told me to slow down the moment she came into the room. She came over with Leanne and promptly turned my mistake into an advantage.

"Mr. Shaw!" Abbie scolded me, "Take it easy, this is only your first day. You must work up to things slowly or you could do yourself some injury. Leanne, would you mind keeping an eye on Mr. Shaw for me? I've got to go and check something in the office."

"Of course I will, Abigail, you've always been so helpful to me."