He felt her breasts pushing into his back and smelled the heavy perfume she had sprayed liberally over her neck and arms. Glancing at Janice, he saw her pick up the internal phone and guessed she was now speaking to Graham Baine's secretary, Betty, and telling her of his ‘outrageous behaviour'.
The story Mary heard was that Beryl was going to put their cheeks together, or even kiss him; and she and Janice would then accuse Cyril of disgusting misbehaviour towards his staff – hopefully in full view of the Department Head, if Graham arrived in time.
His plan was more complicated than that, and when she pressed her breasts into him again and started to lower her head, he put the first phase into action. His right hand reached out and slipped between her legs and slowly ran up her thigh. He felt Beryl stiffen, and she stopped lowering her head.
He let his fingers caress the soft flesh of her thighs above her stocking, and then continue upwards towards her underwear. It was suddenly his turn to be shocked, when his fingers brushed against the soft hair around her vagina.
Beryl was not wearing any underwear!
She was still frozen to the spot, unable to speak or move, so he rubbed his fingers across her pussy and was further surprised to find it moist. It was so moist, that without realising it, two of his fingers slid effortlessly inside her hot pussy. This was not part of his plan, but was in fact a great improvement upon it, so with great energy he moved his fingers around her vagina, feeling the moisture increase with every stroke.
Another glance at the unfortunate Janice saw her staring at the still figure of Beryl with a confused expression. He noticed she kept looking towards the door, but there was no sign of Graham, so he kept up the now frenzied action of his fingers, knowing that from where she sat at her desk, Janice could not see a thing.
Beryl gave a long and loud moan, and then grasped his head, clutching it to her bosom. Cyril felt her go weak at the knees, and if her arms were not around his neck, she would have collapsed to the floor.
"Cyril, what on earth is going on?" roared Graham as he entered the room to see the arm of his senior manager deep inside the dress of Miss Bainbridge, who was holding Cyril's head with the earnest look of a rugby player about to try for a touchdown.
Cyril turned with a smile of glee, and grabbing Beryl's dress with his hand, he pulled it high above her waist. "Look," he cried aloud, "Beryl's not wearing any knickers!"
Beryl fainted, Janice screamed, and at the sight of Beryl's scrawny bottom, Graham collapsed into the nearest chair, muttering, "Oh my God," time after time.
Mary came into the room and said, "What's happened?"
"Miss Bainbridge has fainted. Perhaps you and Janice can help her, while Graham and I have a chat in his office. The two of you bring her to Graham's office the moment she comes to," said Cyril, standing up with a look of total unconcern on his face as he slipped on his jacket.
He straightened his tie and taking Graham by the arm he said in a soft voice, "Come on, old chap let us leave the girls to sort it out."
Cyril led him from the room, and saw him give a dazed look over his shoulder as the two younger women tried to rouse Beryl.
CHAPTER 20
Beryl had been plotting against Cyril since the day she started work in his department, taking an instant dislike to the man. This increased when she became an officer on the local council, and he refused to allow her to use the title at work, or even acknowledge her achievement.
She was a tall, narrow-hipped, skinny woman with a long tapered face and thin lips to match. She'd celebrated her 39th birthday alone in the tawdry mid-terrace house behind Stockport Railway Station that she'd inherited from her parents when they died within months of each other a couple of years earlier. Beryl was a virgin spinster, who last had a boyfriend in Stockport Primary School, and had never had a kiss.
When she saw Cyril's friendly behaviour with the other female members of his staff, she was consumed with jealousy, which quickly fermented into passionate anger. It didn't matter if the woman was young or old, Cyril would give them a squeeze around the waist, or a pat on the shoulder in passing. On the odd occasion he might grab a leg or knee with a comment like, "Now there's something I'd like to see more of…"
While his attitude towards Beryl was the exact opposite; he acted as if she wasn't even in the room and never acknowledged her presence, unless forced to by a greeting from Beryl. He was also most casual towards his work-load, and this really annoyed her, because she took the work most seriously and couldn't understand why others didn't.
What she failed to realise was that Cyril was a fast and accurate worker, who was completely on top of every case in his department. He was also good at delegating the right job to the right employee, who could close the case down in days.
Beryl thought she could do a much better job of managing the section. She'd soon bring the girls into line, with better time keeping, longer hours, and of course, more discipline and better respect for her, when she became their superior. She'd often hinted as much to the Graham Baines, the department head, who would only nod and suggest she was next in line.
But that wasn't good enough for Beryl, because Cyril was years away from retirement and there was no other department he could be promoted into. A worse scenario was Graham's early retirement and Cyril's promotion to the job – this would be worse than death for Beryl, and was a living nightmare for her each day.
She took to Janice at first sight, and hired her during the interview. She considered Janice to be similarly minded and an able ally, but what really clinched her decision was when Janice nodded towards Cyril passing through the outer office and said, "Who is that dreadful man, I really hate him. He was so rude to me in the lift…"
She took Janice home for tea that day, and many times afterwards, and together they crafted the plot. When they were alone with Cyril, Beryl would make advances; and perhaps even sit upon his lap, while Janice alerted Graham. They would then tell Graham that Cyril had forced himself on Beryl, pulling her onto his lap and abusing her.
As she lay on the floor, gradually coming to from her fainting attack, all kinds of thoughts flooded her mind. Foremost was the touch and feel of Cyril's fingers in her pussy and the emotions they aroused. She pressed her thighs together as that memory stirred her emotions, and her body began to writhe on the ground.
"I think she's coming," she heard a voice say, and thought how close to the truth that statement was.
"Her eyes are opening," cried Janice, rubbing Beryl's shoulders with her hands.
Beryl came to with a jolt, and realised exactly where she was and what had happened. She had to take control, so she scrambled to her feet looking at the two young women helping her. "You both saw what happened to me. You saw Cyril remove my underwear…" She tailed off as she saw Janice shaking her head, and nod towards the desk where the knickers still lay in the draw where Beryl left them.
She realised that Janice had let her down, and failed to slip them into Cyril's pocket when Graham entered the room, so she looked towards Mary for help.
"It's no use lying, Beryl, it's too late. Graham wants us all in his office, right now," said Mary, walking over to the door and holding it open.
"Good," said Beryl, gaining confidence with each step, "Graham will soon sort this out and give Cyril his come-uppance." She strode towards his office with her anger growing each step of the way, and pushed the door open so fast it banged against the wall.
"Ah, risen from the dead, I see," said Graham, with a stern frown on his face. "Come and sit down, the three of you."
"What that man did back there is…"
"That is enough, Beryl," said Graham, speaking over her and gesturing for her to be quiet. "You will remain silent, while I tell you what I and these two young women from your department saw, and what is going to happen next."
"But, I think…"
"No, don't think, just listen." Graham sat back in his reclining leather chair, made a steeple of his fingers and said, "Cyril h
as told me of your attraction to him, and how he's had to fend off your amorous advances, and…"
"That's not true!"
"Beryl, if you cannot be quiet, you will be asked to leave. Not just this office, but the building; permanently."
She slumped down into her chair, hardly believing the nightmare happening right before her eyes. She glanced at Cyril, but his gaze had not stirred from looking across the desk at Graham, and she noticed the calm look on his face. "What has that damn man cooked up, now?" was the primary thought in her mind, as she waited for Graham to continue.
"As I was saying, Beryl, …your amorous advances…why, when I came into the office I saw you clasping Cyril's head to your bosom with the look on your face of a woman in love. You cannot deny it, because these young ladies must have also seen you."
Beryl glowered as both Janice and Mary nodded; Janice somewhat hesitantly, but still nodding. "But his hand; his hand was up my skirt," said Beryl, unable to bring herself to say exactly where the hand was up her skirt, nor what it was doing there.
"I saw his hand around your waist, holding you in a tight embrace," said Graham, "And, I expect these young ladies saw the same. However, that is not the issue. This is what I want you all to understand. The affair between Beryl and Cyril, and the unfortunate occurrence in his office today, did not happen."
Beryl looked up in shock at his words. She was being hung up to dry, but what could she do. She glowered at Cyril in pure hatred as Graham continued.
"If I hear one word of the affair again, from any person in, or outside of this building, you three woman will be given your P45's and asked to resign. Do you each understand – there is to be not mention of it to anybody at any time?"
"Yes sir, I understand and agree," said Mary in a loud and clear voice.
"Yes sir, I also understand and agree," said Janice in a soft voice after a nervous glance towards Beryl.
There was nothing she could do but comply, so in a bitter, strangled voice she said, "I understand, and I agree to remain silent."
"Good, well let me finish off by informing you ladies that it is with regret that I have accepted Cyril's resignation, effective forthwith. He feels unable to work here any longer, and I'm afraid I have to agree with him."
Graham turned to Mary and said, "Mary, I want you to work with Cyril this afternoon, updating yourself on all open cases, and run his department until I select a successor."
Beryl felt close to fainting again at this ‘slap in the face' from Graham. She was the natural person to become manager of the section, not Mary, even if she did know most of Cyril's work-load and open cases. She turned to look at Graham, but he was avoiding her gaze.
Graham stood up and said, "Right, Cyril, if you and Mary will sort out your workload, and then pop in to see me before you leave."
Cyril nodded and ushered the two young women out of the door ahead of him, turning before he left to lift two fingers to his nose and then lick them with an evil grin on his face.
"That damn man, how can he humiliate me like this – I hate him!"
She stood up to leave, but Graham said, "Sit down, Beryl, I wish to speak with you alone." His tone did not sound promising, and she worried what was coming next.
"Your behaviour here has been totally irresponsible, and I have no option but to make some comment about it on your employment record. You have been accusing Mr. Worthington of all sorts of misbehaviour for many months now, while all the time it was you leading him on."
He raised his hand, as Beryl opened her mouth to speak. "No, I know what I saw in that office, and between the two of us, I must confess I also saw that you were wearing no undergarment. Proof enough that you have been the guilty party with your amorous and seductive approaches to an officer of this department I am most sorry to see forced to leave."
He paused to blow his nose, showing how upsetting this affair was to him, but Beryl sat frozen in her chair, stunned with what she was hearing. Everything was collapsing around her, and there seemed nothing she could do about it.
"Your work has been very good and I shall be able to give you a fine reference, so I'm pretty sure you will soon find another position. And of course, if you win the election in a couple of months you will soon be Mayor of Stockport. All the more reason we all keep this affair and your uncontrollable attraction to a senior member of my staff very quiet. Don't you agree?"
Beryl nodded her head, and then the import of his words sunk into her dazed brain. "Reference? Does this mean you're asking me to leave?"
"No, my dear," said Graham, with his sternest glare, "It means that I am very close to accepting your letter of resignation. Now go to your desk, write it, but don't date it and then bring it straight back here. I shall keep it handy in the event of any continuance of your ill-advised behaviour."
CHAPTER 21
That night over dinner, Cyril gave April and Joyce some of the details of what happened in the office that day, and why he felt forced to resign.
"Graham came into the room while Beryl had her arms around my neck, and her mouthpiece, Janice, confirmed that I'd made the advances."
"But what about Mary, what did she say?" asked Joyce, red with anger at this horrible turn of events.
"Sadly, she was out of the room, only returning seconds after Graham arrived."
"Did Graham ask you to leave?"
"Not at all, he understood exactly what happened when I told him, but agreed with me, that if I stayed employed in the department, Beryl could stir up all sorts of problems."
"This is dreadful, what is going to happen now?" said Joyce, collapsing back into her chair with a loud wail.
"Well, I have resigned and Graham is arranging to commute my pension to a lump sum. As we've been planning this past few months, April and I will start our insurance brokerage in Stockport. Mary and one or two others will join us in due course. I am leaving with full honours, and nobody is going to hear any whispers or bad news."
"I hate the thought of that Beryl still working there, perhaps even at your job, and knowing she has won," said April, sipping at her sherry. "I just wish there was something we could do about her…"
Cyril looked at her and his love for her increased tenfold at that moment. She loved him, and was concerned for him, and did not like the idea of somebody ‘besting him' at all. He glanced over at Joyce and said, "Well, I do have a small germ of a plan in mind that you can put into action, Joyce."
The two women stared at him with hope in their eyes. Joyce nodded and waited for him to continue, but instead he went over to April and put his arms around her before saying, "My darling, what I have in mind is to benefit both you and I, but it will be better if you're not part of it at all. I ask you to trust me, and leave me and Joyce to work it out together."
She did not hesitate, but stood up and kissed his forehead. "Of course, my darling, but remember, it is not just you and I, there's also a third person to take care of…" she smiled and left the room rubbing her slightly extended stomach.
When she'd left the room, Cyril turned to Joyce and said, "I'd forgotten all about her pregnancy, I do hope I didn't upset her."
"Of course not, she loves you so much it almost hurts, and nothing you could say or do would upset her at the moment."
"Thank you; that's important to me."
"Well, go on, what is your plan?"
"I want this Bainbridge woman to be taken down a peg or two, because she's blight to humanity. Mary tells me she's bossing all the staff in the department as if she's in control, despite Graham asking Mary to look after things."
"Well, it won't be easy, what with the Mayor retiring, Bainbridge is gaining popularity every day, and it could even be a walkover…"
"I have to stop it, and here's where you can help. Beryl is a frustrated female at a dangerous age, and she would be most susceptible to a romantic approach from an unscrupulous man, right now."
"I have long thought the same, but where can we find…?" she broke off with a smile
on her face.
"Yes, Grant. He's the perfect man to sweep her right off her feet."
Joyce was reluctant for her new beau to be used like this, but his frequent and prolonged visits to Yorkshire, where she was in no doubt that he was seeing April's mother, had soured their relationship to the extent she'd asked him to leave her room and return to the single bedroom. The mirrored doorway was now securely locked.
"I'm not sure he'd help, right now," she said, thoughtfully.
"Well, how about you tell him about your cottage in Peacehaven, encouraging him to believe you and he will leave the area and settle down together…"
"You're incorrigible, Cyril. He is failing miserably with selling pensions, since making that first sale, and I know he would like to leave, so perhaps your plan has merit."
"Good, well, here's what I want you to tell him."
CHAPTER 22
Ten days later, Grant lay in his bed in the Royal Oak Hotel wondering what was happening to his life. In the last couple of months his beautiful 22-year old wife had been exchanged for the attractive, but domineering 47-year old Joyce. To make matters worse, after telling him she was too young to start a family, he learned only last week that his wife was now pregnant with Cyril's baby and that she had filed for divorce.
His new promotion was on the rocks, and he'd been told to improve by the end of the month, or return to Leeds. While the thought of failure was a dismal one, leaving Stockport with its unhappy memories was becoming a more attractive idea every day. He could stay with Edna until he found a place of his own; she'd be more than happy to have him there. His weekly trips to her bedroom had become a pleasant habit, because not only was she most active between the sheets, she made no demands or requests of him at all.
Thanks to this new activity forced on him by Joyce, he'd missed seeing Edna for the past two Wednesdays and found he was missing her company. Especially living in the hotel room alone and miserable, with nothing to do but stare at an old television all evening.
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