by Edie Baylis
He laughed. “You’re fuck all to me and never will be.”
TWO
ELIZA ADMIRED HER LIPS in the gilt-edged mirror illuminated by several bright bulbs and turned her face from left to right. Pretty nice, pretty nice.
Picking up her dark pink lip pencil, she outlined an exaggerated line around her mouth and then filled it in with a lighter gloss. Smiling to herself she smacked her lips together suggestively and pouted, pleased with the results from the injections she’d had. This cosmetic surgery lark cost a bloody fortune. Good job she wasn’t paying for it.
Standing sideways to admire her inflated chest, she shook her long auburn hair extensions and realised she’d finally fallen on her feet. About bloody time wasn’t it? Still, it wasn’t like she didn’t earn her keep. She was worth every fucking penny.
Pulling her tight low-cut top down over her chest, she winked at herself in the reflection and smugly eyed the marble tops of her sink and bath surround. Yeah, this apartment was a fucking corker. It was worth having Ernie grunt on top of her every night to live in luxury. Besides, compared to half the munters she’d found herself under during the past few years he wasn’t that bad.
Ok, so it had been a hideous mistake marrying Jake. Eliza’s face formed into a grimace recalling the two years she’d wasted with the grovelling little shit. For fuck’s sake, she’d only married him because she’d thought she’d have an easy ride of it once she’d got pregnant.
She’d got it all planned. After she’d popped out a few kids they’d get a bigger council flat than the poxy one-bedroom dump they’d managed to get after getting hitched. But after six months of putting up with him smelling of fish heads from that stupid bloody factory he’d insisting on working at to ‘support her’ and she still hadn’t fallen pregnant, she’d begun to get impatient.
Then he’d expected her to work at Woolworths to help out. Why the fuck should she have done that? He was supposed to be the provider, but he couldn’t even manage that alone. All she wanted was to get pregnant and then not only would they get more benefits and a bigger place, but no one would expect her to work either. She’d have been quite happy sitting watching the box all day whilst the kids played.
But it hadn’t happened had it. The fucking cocksucker had been firing blanks.
She’d had a plan though. She’d gone down the Oak Apple and the Black Eagle and played her game, but none of the six blokes she’d shagged on a regular basis had managed to knock her up either. Admittedly, she’d been a bit upset when she’d had to accept it was her that couldn’t produce, but the final insult was when Jake found out about the other men he’d had the cheek to kick her out and start divorce proceedings.
Undeterred, she’d shoved her clothes into a bin bag and after clearing out their joint account - what there was of it – she’d left town on the next train.
Eliza knew Maggie had moved to the city and for a very short amount of time she’d been tempted to track her down, but thought better of it. The dippy bitch would have only ended up driving her mad and attaching herself to her. This would have achieved absolutely nothing in enabling her to get places with that paranoid cow in tow. The only reason she’d ever put up with her was because of Jane and that certainly hadn’t applied any longer.
No, she’d had to make her own way. She’d bumped into Maggie a few times. Exactly the bloody same she was – still trying to be friendly, but Eliza hadn’t been remotely interested and made it quite clear their association was long gone.
Easily managing to chat her way into some bloke’s flat for a while, she’d got herself a job as a barmaid at Crystals. It was a horrible crap dump of a cheap brothel, masquerading as a strip club, but figured she might at least stand a chance of pulling someone decent.
Again, she’d been wrong. The place was filled with greasy perverts clearly more interested in the hookers than the barmaid.
Realising she needed to change this chain of events she’d ditched the late-night curries, shed a few pounds and invested in some decent makeup and false eyelashes. She’d even dyed her brown hair a deep auburn colour to make herself stand out and it had done the trick. The beady-eyed boss, Ernie Carter, finally noticed she was a contender and suddenly, not only had her wages gone up, but her prospects of pulling someone had drastically improved.
Admittedly, it had taken her a while of sifting through the men who acted the ‘Big-I-Am’. More than several episodes of falling for promises of paid extras and luxuries meant she’d got ripped off to say the least. She’d had her fill of putting up with shitty existences with Jake and all the others beforehand and wouldn’t settle anymore for anything less than a kosher rich guy.
Just when she’d given up of finding anyone with a decent amount of wedge frequenting a cheap back-street joint such as Crystals, she’d struck gold and couldn’t work out why she hadn’t thought of it before.
“ELIZA? YOU IN THERE?”
Eliza quickly slicked on another layer of lip gloss as the gruff voice boomed down the hallway. After one last admiring glance at herself in the mirror’s reflection, she span on her heels and daintily walked across the thickly carpeted corridor towards the man who had turned her life around.
Taking in Ernie Carter’s balding head and paunch as he stood in front of the drinks cabinet in the lounge, Eliza frowned and instead concentrated on his expensive tailored suit and designer leather shoes. Money and possessions were a lot more important than a handsome face and fit body, everybody knew that! Not that she’d ever had a man with those either.
She could have done though if it hadn’t been for Jane. She’d have had Seth like a shot if she hadn’t been so loyal to her best mate. If Jane hadn’t wanted him, then she should have just let him go. Ok, so Seth had been hard core, but fuck – he was hot! But it was too late now because he was dead.
Forcing memories from her mind that she didn’t want to recall, Eliza plastered on a wide smile exposing her whitened straightened teeth and rushed up to Ernie. She threw her arms around his neck. “Hi gorgeous,” she purred.
Ernie smiled and gestured towards the drinks cabinet, hinting he was waiting for his customary whisky.
Eliza quickly moved to the cabinet. Taking a crystal tumbler from the shelf she poured a large Johnnie Walker from the heavy decanter. Feeling Ernie’s eyes on her shapely behind, she pushed it backwards, knowing the tight pencil skirt accentuated her curves.
Handing Ernie the tumbler, Eliza smiled and loosened his tie. It was better than looking at the myriad of wrinkles on his face and nicotine-stained teeth. “Had a good day?”
Ernie took a sip of the whisky and ran his hands over Eliza’s breasts, his thick fingers lingering on her nipples. “It was interesting,” he drawled.
Eliza tried to picture something arousing that might make her nipples hard. She couldn’t afford to break the illusion. Running her false-nailed fingertips teasingly over Ernie’s crotch and feeling the beginnings of an erection, she looked up coquettishly. “Tell me all about it while we relax,” she smiled.
Taking his hand, she led him down the hallway towards their bedroom.
THREE
BEN SAT BEHIND HIS desk pretending to be interested in the sheaf of paper in his hand. He found if he stared at it in just the right way, he could watch Marie Sutherland through the glass partition without making it obvious. Shifting slightly on his swivel chair, he straightened the front of his navy pin-striped suit.
He picked up the mug of tea on his desk and sighed realising it had gone cold in the time he’d been off with the fairies. Clearing his throat he picked up the top piece in the pile and studied it. Another complaint.
He needed to do something quickly about this to turn this around. He hadn’t spent all this time working for a promotion only to fuck it up. Plus he’d been given a shiny new red Mondeo as a company car.
Realising he’d have to prioritise this complaint as urgent he stared back through the glass partition separating his desk from the main part of the office
. Deciding on a plan he confidently strutted across the room, smiling at various women, knowing his suit sat nicely on his tall frame.
Approaching Marie’s desk he eyed her long dark hair tied with a bright red ribbon in a loose pony-tail at the back of her neck. Two wavy tendrils of hair hung around her heart-shaped face and her dark eyes with impossibly long lashes glanced up at him.
Ben’s eyes roamed over her shapely figure encased in a tight black suit and could just make out the traces of stocking-tops as she crossed her legs. He smiled as he explained the details. She was a tasty one alright. He’d had his eye on her from the minute she’d started working here, but she’d seemed content keeping herself to herself.
Some of the other girls had asked her several times to join them at lunch or after work, but after countless refusals they’d given up. Only yesterday he’d heard them in the canteen discussing Marie, saying what a stuck up bitch she was.
Ben didn’t care whether she was stuck up or not. She was beautiful and he’d love to wrap her legs around his neck and show her a good time. Maybe that’s what she needed? A damn good ride.
Puffing his chest out as far as he could muster, Ben plastered on what he affectionately called his ‘play-boy’ grin. It seemed to work with the ladies and he knew he was popular in the department. “Are you happy to take on this complaint?”
Marie smiled. “Of course. I’ll just go for a cigarette first because from what you’ve said about this woman, it sounds like I’ll need one!”
“I’ll come with you if you don’t mind. It’s time for a break,” Ben grinned, pulling himself up from the desk. He waited as Marie reached for her handbag and watched when she pulled her cigarettes out from the bag, trying not to make it obvious he was looking down her top.
“Oh, you dropped this,” he smiled, picking up an envelope which had fallen out from Marie’s bag. Another Brownie point for him there.
A fleeting expression of panic passed over Marie’s face as she snatched the brown envelope from Ben’s hand. “Thanks,” she muttered, forcing a smile.
“What’s that then? Something important? A love letter perhaps?” Ben joked, jumping back in shock when Marie slammed her bag down on the floor and cut him a look that was cold as ice.
“It’s none of your fucking business,” Marie snapped and stalked off in the direction of the door.
What the fuck was that about? Ben wondered, slightly unnerved. She just flipped quicker than a bloody pancake!
Noticing the questioning glances from the women on the surrounding desks, he tried to act nonchalantly even though Marie’s strange outburst had surprised him.
Well aware that all eyes were on him, he plastered on his trademark grin and sauntered back across the room.
GLAD TO BE OUT OF THE office, Jane Ellerton sat on one of the plastic chairs in the wooden smoking shed placed in the far corner of the car park.
She breathed in deeply, pleased for once there was no one else in there, which meant she’d have chance to collect her thoughts without fending off probing questions from dickheads, or listening to pathetic gossip from makeup-obsessed bitches.
The one thing all of them shared regardless of whether they were male or female was the desperate need to grill her about everything and anything. However, after several months of getting evasive responses, at least most of them had given up making conversation or attempting to delve further into the mysterious girl who’d shown up from nowhere.
Jane lit a cigarette and took a long drag, hoping it would help quell the adrenaline racing through her veins. She leant her head back against the damp wood of the shed and sighed, mentally berating herself for reacting to Ben’s comment.
That man was a smarmy fucker at the best of times - always undressing her with his eyes, but his comment had been harmless. It was her who’d overreacted. She must remember to keep a lid on that because it only drew more attention which was the last thing she wanted.
She knew in all respects she’d been quite fortunate. Having gained early release after serving five years from her seven year stretch, the only down side was the remainder of her term was on licence, meaning she had to report to the probation service regularly.
Jane pushed a couple of loose strands of hair back behind her ear and stared at the glowing embers of the end of her cigarette. As her release date had grown nearer she’d been completely unsure of what to do. She’d already made the decision there was no way she could return back from where she’d come. There were far too many memories there she wouldn’t be able to cope with being reminded of on a daily basis, so she’d had no choice but to start afresh.
After her release she’d put things into motion rapidly. It hadn’t been difficult to get set up with a new identity and obtain paperwork stating credentials she’d never had. A few more quid had secured believable references which matched her manufactured CV and everything had pulled together well.
It had been six months since she’d moved, landed this job and started anew. Not that she’d had a lot of choice. She’d had to start again somewhere and it had to be where no one knew her. Where more anonymous than a city?
The hard part was remembering she was no longer Jane and was now Marie. Marie Sutherland. Marie Sutherland with a perfectly tailored checkable history which was as far removed from Jane Ellerton’s as possible.
The really difficult part for Jane was having to change her demeanour, way of thinking and everything that came with it. The only way she could pull that off was to ensure she didn’t get involved with anyone or anything. She had to ensure she kept her nose clean and out of trouble - which was easier said than done.
Providing she didn’t rise to any bait or overreact, she’d give people no reason to suspect her. It was just unfortunate most people were as nosy as fuck.
The other big factor was responding to ‘Marie’. She didn’t even like the bloody name and constantly asked herself why the hell she’d picked it. It had been difficult to start with, but was now almost second nature.
She knew she should perhaps go and see Maggie and Eliza, but didn’t even know if they were still in town or whether they had moved on. It wasn’t like she could go back, or enquire without raking up memories. Some things were just best left alone and she’d had to accept that her life, as she’d known it, had all but been deleted.
Hearing footsteps approaching Jane scowled. She’d been about to spark up a second cigarette, but now she’d got company it wasn’t an option.
Standing up and straightening her tailored suit, she stepped from the shed just in time to avoid anything but a token smile as she hurried back to the office.
FOUR
“FANCY ANOTHER SMOKE BABE, or would you rather have some more beer?” Maggie purred, pushing her ample breasts into Ben’s face. It had been three weeks since she’d last seen him and after finally getting his attention, she’d hit the jackpot.
Her plan of playing hard to get had done the trick because he’d been eager to take up her offer of coming back to hers for a smoke and a few more beers. He’d been stressed when he’d arrived in the Traveller’s Arms earlier, but hadn’t said much about what had rattled his cage. All she’d managed to get out of him was it was to do with work. Maggie had no clue how anyone stood working in an office. It would drive her insane.
She eyed Ben slouching on the sofa next to her, his shirt collar open as he greedily pulled on the joint. He’d been sinking beers at the pub like no one’s business and was already fairly drunk. Now he was on the dope, she knew she needed to get some attention from him before he got too far gone to perform.
“Aren’t you too hot in that suit jacket?” Maggie asked, gently laying her hand on Ben’s arm. “Why don’t you take it off?” Come on, come on – how much more obvious could she be?
Ben opened his eyes and grinned. He may as well put the evening to good use and it seemed this one was up for some fun. Drunkenly reaching out, he brazenly ran his fingers over the nipples straining against Maggie’s top. Hearin
g her intake of breath he smiled. “Come here, sweetheart.”
Maggie was quite breathless after Ben had pulled her over to him and kissed her passionately.
“Lie down,” he slurred, unbuttoning his shirt and slipping it from his shoulders.
Maggie lay back on the sofa quivering with anticipation as he knelt in front of her and unzipped his trousers, his bare torso taut and toned. “Shall I take my knickers off?” she gasped.
Ben freed his cock and began running his hand up the throbbing, heavily-veined length. “If you want...”
Maggie looked at him confused. “Won’t I need to?”
Swaying unsteadily, Ben leant against the sofa for support and continued pumping with his hand, his eyes closed.
“Ben?”
Opening one bloodshot eye, he glanced down at Maggie. “Yeah, yeah, take them off. I want to see you play with yourself.”
Maggie stared at him. She felt a little uncomfortable as she pulled her knickers off and gingerly put her hand between her legs. She didn’t like doing this in front of anyone. She liked it on her own when she could pretend someone who loved her was making her come.
“Open your legs wide,” Ben growled, pushing Maggie’s thighs apart. “I want to see you.”
Maggie sulkily moved her hand away from herself in protest. She felt like a spare part lying spread-eagled and didn’t like it.
Ben reached forward and Maggie thought he was going to start pleasuring her, but instead he spread her with his hand. She glanced up seeing he wasn’t even looking at her. His eyes were closed, abject concentration on his face whilst his hand pulled down his length harder and harder.
“I said play with yourself!” Ben growled, pulling Maggie’s hand back into position.
She didn’t want to and any hope she may have had of getting any form of pleasure diminished at the speed of light.
“Come on!” Ben panted, his hand getting even more urgent, the veins on his rigid cock pulsing. He groaned, the picture in his mind vivid as he imagined fucking Marie. The way she’d been today had bothered him and he couldn’t get it out of his head. Not that he’d been able to get her out of his head for a while.