CHAPTER 4
It was just after 6am as Joyce awoke just as she had done for so many years previously, but now she looked forward to the day without the fear of any type of abuse being thrust upon her. She got up and put on her dressing gown and then made her way to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee and she took a cup through to David.
“Come on sleepy head, it’s time to move your backside”.
“What time is it”? He asked.
“It’s after 6”.
“You daft cow, that’s the middle of the night”.
“No, come on get up, I want to go for a run”.
David took very little notice of her as he pulled the sheets over his head, but Joyce just continued to nag him until he finally gave in and got out of bed.
“Have you got any running gear”?
“Yes, Carol gave me some, so come on get dressed”.
“Are all younger sisters as bossy as you”? And they both smiled at each other.
David finished his drink and finally got dressed, and now ready they made their way downstairs and out on to the rather damp streets of Chiswick.
“Which is the best way to go”? She asked.
“Back upstairs to bed I would suggest”. Came the reply.
Joyce placed her hands on her hips and gave him a look of frustration at his reluctance to see this run as an adventure and also fun.
“Alright, alright, there’s a nice park that way, so we will go there”. He said.
And the pair set off down the road and into the park where they past several other early morning joggers and dog walkers. Joyce realised for the first time how happy she felt and also what a good friend David was turning out to be, plus the sex was pretty good as well, but that was a bonus. She was for the first time in many years finding herself starting to trust a man, which was something she thought she would never be able to do again.
After about 20 minutes of running David looked At Joyce.
“Sod this, I am knackered, I want my breakfast and some more coffee”.
“Come on Mr Misery guts, let’s get you back”. Replied Joyce.
They turned round and started to head back, the weather was now a little improved with a very low winter sun making an appearance through the clouds. Suddenly running towards them she recognised the couple she had observed having sex the previous evening and who in turn had observed herself and David.
“Good morning”. They said to David and Joyce as they stopped to chat.
“Great show you two last night, we really enjoyed it”. Quick as a flash Joyce replied.
“We enjoyed watching you also”.
The man went on to introduce himself and his wife.
“My name is Peter and this is my Wife Dawn, and if you ever fancy watching at close quarters we live in apartment 104, please take my card with our number”. He said.
“Thank you, I very much look forward to seeing more of you again, my name is Joyce and this is David”.
They said their goodbyes and David turned to Joyce with an obvious glint in his eye.
“Well that’s something you don’t get invited to every day of the week is it, a free sex show, maybe we should think about it, to be fair it was much more than just good fun”.
“I don’t know if I could, I mean last night was brilliant and I really did enjoy it but”.
“Oh Joyce stop being so provincial, remember you are in the big city now and many things happen here, but that’s all that’s for another day, let’s get back, we have got work to do”.
They arrived back at David’s apartment and the time was still only 7.30 and just to get his own back for that early morning call he quizzed Joyce on things she should have spotted on their run, and to be fair it was very clear that she had indeed taken a great deal of notice and much more than David had expected and as such she got most of his questions correct.
“What time are we meeting Graham and Carol”? She asked.
“I said we would be there about 10, O’clock, so let’s have breakfast and get ready, what would you like”? Asked David.
“Oh, just a bowel of cornflakes for me please”.
“I think I will have the same”. He replied.
They sat at the breakfast bar in this beautifully fitted kitchen as Joyce looked around before she told David. “All I had in my house was a little table with a plastic cloth on it, I think I prefer this”. She said with a smile of satisfaction on her pretty face.
With breakfast now over they both showered and dressed.
“Are we going in the car”?
“No, we will take the underground, it’s much quicker at this time of day”.
Joyce turned and looked at herself in the mirror, and for the first time the reflection she saw confirmed that she really was becoming a very sophisticated lady just as she had been before she married. But now she had the experience of a few more years on her shoulders and the chance of a lifetime to make a real future for herself and she was not prepared to lose that chance no matter what was involved.
They finally left David’s apartment and made their way to Chiswick Park tube station and into the city. Now with her heels on she was very close to 6 feet tall and she was receiving many admiring glances from the city gents on their way to their offices to start a new day. But she was also well aware that the onus would now be on her to prove what she was actually capable of and that she could handle any situation. Even the simple act of travelling through London dressed for business with her head held high only served to increase her confidence level to new heights. Eventually after a short walk from the underground they arrived at a very recent apartment building overlooking one of the original docks.
“What a beautiful spot”. Said Joyce.
“Wait until you see their gaff”. Said David
David pressed the bell and spoke to Carol on the entry system and she released the door, they went through the lobby and over to the lift which on the inside was mirrored on all around. David inserted a special key and turned it, and then seconds later the door opened and they emerged at a private suite on the top floor.
“Come in”. Said Graham very cheerfully. And everyone shared a hug and a kiss.
“Well what do you think”? Joyce?
“I have never seen anything like it, I think it is beautiful”.
“Come on let me show you around”.
The apartment took her breath away, especially the roof terrace, you could see for miles, but it was far too cold to go out there today, but Joyce was here today on business and that was her main concern. “Right what do I need to do”? She asked, and over coffee Graham gave her cover story a bit of a polish up.
“You are working at the bank as temporary cover for someone who is on maternity leave and you are taking over her accounts. They are not the most complex, but you are very ambitious and you are really not bothered whose feet you tread on, and so that should rile a few people”.
“We are going to put you in on Monday, and so we have only got a few days to get you up to speed so let’s get you started. The accounts you will be dealing with are only small numbers, so at first you will get very little attention from the others, but we will soon change that”.
“At the end of each day’s trading they throw a child’s teddy bear at the trader who has the best figures for the day, and so for a few days we want you to just settle in and do exactly as Carol tells you. The only person at the bank who knows about you is the Chairman who originally brought the information of money laundering to the security services attention. But he realises that if this operation goes tits up he could have very serious problems and the government can’t allow another bank to fail with all the shit that comes with it”.
Joyce spent the rest of the day with Carol practising trading in many different forms and it soon became apparent what a quick learner she was. David asked her what she had remembered of the contents of each room on her tour and she scored over 90% correct including which side the door handles were
fitted, and so everyone was very impressed.
The day past very quickly and it was now 6pm, and by now everyone had had enough for one day. “Do you want to stay for dinner”? Asked Carol.
David stepped forward. “If you don’t mind I would like to take Joyce out for a meal, we were too exhausted last night”.
“That’s not a problem, Oh, I meant to ask you if you got your watch back Joyce”.
There was a few seconds of silence before she burst into fits of laughter closely followed by David. They both stood there with tears in their eyes, and Joyce had to hold her side as David explained the circumstances of the spontaneous laughter.
“You mean he was actually shagging his Sister”? Said Graham.
“Well sort of, he was doing something with her arse, but I don’t quite know if they were playing Doctors and Nurses or shagging, it was very difficult to tell as it was very hairy down there, you know, like a jungle but there were no wild animals, well none that I could see anyway”.
This remark finally drew them all to fall about laughing and each had to rely on a handkerchief to dry their eyes.
“I told you he was a bastard, and now he is a Sister shagging bastard, no wonder he never wanted sex with me, come on let’s go”. Said Joyce.
David and Joyce said their goodbyes and made their way out of the apartment and returned to the city before finally getting off the tube at Piccadilly Circus and walking the rest of the way, and all around the area it was thronged with tourists taking photographs and generally milling about. “Leicester was never like this”. She thought.
“Where are we actually going”? She asked David.
“Do you like Chinese food Joyce”?
“Yes I do. She replied. Are we having a takeaway”?
“No we are not, we are having real Chinese food, and I have a favourite place I go to when I am in town”. He told her.
It soon again became very apparent to Joyce that David knew many of the side streets of the city and they very soon arrived at the restaurant in China Town, and as they entered it was very clear that the staff recognised him immediately and rushed over to greet him.
“Mr David, Mr David, it so good to see you, please come with me, sit at this table please Mr. David”.
Joyce very quickly realised just how well David was liked by different people wherever he went and she found herself starting to like him a great deal too.
“The food here is delicious, you will love it”.
“I don’t know what to order, I have only ever had takeaways”.
“Well in that case let’s make it easy and have “dim sun”.
“What’s that”? She asked.
“It’s all different kinds of things served in baskets and you eat with chop sticks”.
“Oh go on then, let’s give it a go”.
She had so much fun that evening, laughing at herself learning how to use the sticks and David also enjoyed it a great deal. Joyce loved her new life and the excitement of all these new things only served to increase her confidence, and she felt that this was her time and she was now ready to go to work. Eventually with their meal now finished the staff came over and said their goodbye’s as David and Joyce left the restaurant and went out into the cold night air. For Joyce, this evening had been the highlight of the decade and now for her the only way was up.
“So this is Soho”. She said.
“Yes it is, but it can be a little seedy at times around here, so stay close”. Replied David.
She didn’t need telling twice as she held David’s hand as they walked along some of the dimly lit streets, and he was right, it could indeed be a strange area to be in if you were a little unsure of yourself. As they walked along hand in hand just like many other couples they past a Sex Shop that was called.
“Just For Women”.
And she stopped and looked in the window.
“David, what do you use those things for”? She asked him.
“I am not quite sure, but it looks very painful”. He replied.
He looked at her face and saw that she was fascinated by what she was seeing.
“Would you like to go in and have a look around”?
“I don’t know if I would be too embarrassed”.
“Well you didn’t think that yesterday when we were having sex in the window, come on let’s go and have a look”. He said.
Joyce expected it to be some dingy low life who was running the business, but instead it was a well-dressed lady who welcomed them in to this ultra-modern and very bright shop with many people buying very different things.
“Hello, are you interested in anything particular”? The assistant enquired.
“Err, nothing in particular, but can we look around please”?
“Yes of course, please help yourself and if you want any advice or help please call me”. Said the woman.
The shop didn’t feel threatening in any way, in fact totally the opposite and the atmosphere was really friendly, Joyce watched as several women purchased vibrators and one even bought a whip. She heard the girl behind the counter say to one of the customers.
“That vibrator is one of my favourites, it always gets me going”.
By now the new Joyce was feeling her feet and went over to one of the shelves and picked one up.
“Can you show me what this one does please”? She enquired.
“Well this particular model is our best seller, it has variable speeds and the end also looks like a penis and also moves in a circular motion”.
The girl pressed the button on the end and it started to buzz and turn, Joyce had never seen anything like it before or as big.
“Good God, if that was inside me, it could melt my pussy, I think on second thoughts I will stick to the real thing, but thanks for showing me anyway”.
They left the shop and Joyce was giggling uncontrollably as was David.
“I think it’s time to go home”. He said. As they made their way to the underground.
“You know David, I have had so much fun this evening, but I am desperate for a cup of tea and I am so ready for bed, do you know I am so looking forward to tomorrow”.
They eventually arrive back at David’s apartment about 11pm and Joyce put on the kettle. Suddenly David’s mobile bleeped.
“I have just got a text from Graham, we are moving up the op to Friday, and so you have only got tomorrow to finish your training before you go in, but he says he feels that you are more than ready. He also wants us to bring out clothes as we are staying there overnight tomorrow and then going straight to the bank on Friday”.
Now for the first time Joyce realised that now she had to prove herself to everyone after only one more day of training, but she was more concerned about letting anyone down.
“I hope I am ready for this”. She thought to herself as they sat and had their drinks by the window with the lights off, and in the block opposite they could see that the apartments that had their lights on now formed a pattern, something like a smiley face, but their friends who they had watched making love were all in darkness, they had already gone to bed.
“David would you mind if I slept with you tonight, I don’t mean for sex or anything, I just want to be held, do you know what I mean”?
“Of course I do and it would be my pleasure”. He replied as he put his arm around her to offer her some understandable support for what she was about to get involved with.
They finished their drinks before undressing and getting into bed where Joyce just lay in David’s arms, it was a form of complete reassurance for this young lady just to be wanted for who she really was, and the fact that she now had someone she could trust just made it feel even more special.
As usual Joyce was the first up on this particular day, and then suddenly the enormity of Graham’s text to David finally sunk in. This was to be her last day of training and tomorrow she would have to put it all in to practise, and at that moment suddenly doubt set in her mind. Had all the things she had done
in the last few days been just bravado or was she really a different person, all the doubts of the past flooded into her mind and her confidence level dropped. As David finally joined her in the kitchen she was starting to tremble, it was the same type of fear she used to experience every day waiting for the next piece of intimidation or a smack from her bastard of a Husband or his Sister.
“Good morning young lady, how are you today”?
But David received no answer and he sensed the fear and apprehension cursing through her body, he walked up to her and put his large arms around her and held her tight.
“I don’t think I can do this, I thought I had changed, but I now realise that I am still that same frightened little girl from Leicester”.
“No you are not, you have found yourself and you are definitely not the same person who I was introduced to only a few days ago, I was exactly the same when I went on my first op, but you have to overcome it or you will never be able to move on. Every time an actor walks out on the stage they experience the same feeling and that’s all it is, stage fright, in a sense that is what we are, actors. Every mission is different and you have to change rolls, you have to play another part and become another person”.
“Just look at yourself compared to only a few days ago, you are now a very sophisticated lady who is in charge of her own destiny and her direction in life. But if you want you can run back to that fucking shit hole of a terraced house and remain dead for the rest of your life, or you can hold your head high and tell that previous life of yours to fuck off, the choice is yours, let me know which way you want to go, to docklands or back up the fucking M1”.
Joyce didn’t cry at David’s statement or his anger, for she knew deep down that he was right, and she certainly didn’t want any sympathy. This had to be the turning point in her life, the crossroads where she had to finally decide whether to either cross over the road and be the person she knew she could be, or to go in reverse and remain dead forever and let her bastard Husband win.
Dark Secrets Page 7