Chapter 48

Stan watched as the two women started away from each other. Anne looked guilty, Denise surprised. “Okay, what are you two hatching?” he asked.

Anne recovered first. She looked back to Denise and then returned her gaze back to Stan.

“We were talking about love, and commitment. We – well, I, was checking up about property, nearer to the office.”

“Thinking of moving, Anne?” he asked, then, as the implication hit him, he added, “Moving away from us, Anne?”

Anne threw her hands palms upward, looking heavenwards in evident disgust. “Why do these two think I would do that?” she asked. Evidently displeased, she returned her gaze to Stan, only this time it wasn’t calm. Anne was angry.

“No I damn well wasn’t looking to move away from you!” she cried, but then innate honesty compelled her to add, “Well. Actually, I did start off looking for a place I could buy myself, but I quashed that idea quickly.”

Anne looked from her lover to her co-lover and back. “Look, it makes sense this way. You’ll soon find out that spending hours travelling to and from work is not fun, especially when you add it to the workload you’ll be under. If we can get a place inside the M25 we’ll greatly reduce that. It’ll also have another effect, it’ll bind us together. It’ll be a show of commitment to each other, almost like a marriage.”

“I think it’s a great idea, Stan,” added Denise. “Come and look at what Anne’s been looking at.”

Stan duly went and looked. His expression was wooden, his body language closed. “It’s a nice house. When, exactly, were you going to tell me about this decision?”

His voice was cold. Denise looked anxiously at Anne. This had begun badly.

Anne stood her ground. “Stan, we hadn’t actually done anything yet. We’re looking –”

“Huh! Just looking! It sounded like you’d decided, to me when I walked in!”

Anne bit a bitter retort back behind her teeth. She had indeed made a decision, but Stan had intruded…

Stan misinterpreted her hesitation and ploughed on, though.

“Well I don’t know that I want to move. I’m comfortable in my own home, the home I built together with my wife – you remember her?”

“Oh, that’s so unfair Stan! Of course I remember your wife!”

Denise decided it was time she took a hand.

“Stan, love, please calm down and think for a minute? Please?”

“Calm down!?”

“Yes, Stan, we all need to take a breather here,” Denise told him. She rounded on Anne and told her “You too, Anne! We need a time out before someone says or does something we’ll all regret!”

Denise drew a deep breath. “Look Stan, my love, calm down and think about things for a moment. It’s all very simple. We all want to be together, don’t we? Aren’t there mornings when you wake up and wish we were all here with you?”

She then looked at Anne. “You, on the other hand, think too quickly, and don’t consider other people enough. This was typical Anne ‘take charge’, wasn’t it, really?” Her tone softened. “But then, I agreed with you. I still  agree with you.”

Facing Stan again, who glowered back at her, Denise went on, “We, Anne and I, felt that buying a house together would represent a commitment – one from each to the others, that we’ll be in this relationship for the long haul. That’s what we were talking about when you came in. Stan, don’t you see that we can buy a really nice house together, that we can all live together – and that way we can demonstrate our love and commitment to each other in a really concrete way?”

Stan felt Denise’s words like cooling rain on the fiery temper he’d been in. The two ladies watched anxiously as his expression slowly cleared.

“All right. I concede that it would be a good idea, in theory. I’ll think about it, all right?”

- - - - - - - - - -

His two lovers were right about one thing, Stan couldn’t hold out against both of them together. He went and looked at the details of the property as displayed on the screen again, and was appropriately impressed. It was a nice house, in a pretty sought-after area. It would save a lot of time and stress to live closer in to the office. While he and Denise hadn’t been commuting to the office day in, day out like Anne, they both knew it wouldn’t be good.

Denise, for her part, was happy that her fears about Stan’s dedication to his own house were unfounded.

Anne was, however, both pleased and frustrated. Pleased by Stan’s reaction, but oh my goodness his timing had been poor! ‘If only he’d waited a couple of minutes, I’d have done it,’ she thought, ‘and then it would have been all out in the open. Now I have to start again, and I’m scared.’

That realization, that it was fear she was feeling, stayed with her through the next few days. She knew she should say something as Denise and Stan started their work at Boundless Waves. But she found herself as tongue-tied as a teenager, unable to actually say anything. Of course, she made excuses to herself. ‘I can’t say anything at work, in case I’m overheard,’ she thought, and again later, ‘I can’t say anything while Stan’s around. It would be too embarrassing.’

- - - - - - - - - -

The next week would see birthdays for first Stan and then Denise.

Stan was surprised to get a card from Elaine and Susan, and happy to get one from Elizabeth too. He really wasn’t expecting one from Bob and his wife, but the truly unexpected one was from Ken, Sid and all three ladies at Boundless Waves.

Of course, he had individual cards from Anne and Denise. Denise’s was typical of her, a funny card but with a handwritten haiku poem at the bottom, expressing her love for him:

 “To Stan, who
Brings Love to my Heart,
Brings Happiness to my Days,
Brings Joy to my Soul.”

Anne sent him a simple card, Plain white with a simple pencil-style drawing of a traditional Valentine’s heart with an arrow through it, and inside it simply said, “To my lover. Happy Birthday.” For presents he got clothes, as both of his ladies seemed certain he needed a wider wardrobe.

“I’m going to call you two Trinny and Susannah,” he grumbled, naming the two fashion queens of British television.

“Good idea, Stan,” Denise told him, “You need a good makeover!” Stan looked appealingly at Anne, who stood, arms folded, by Denise’s side. 

“Hmm. What do think he’d look like in leather trousers?” Anne asked Denise.

“Devastating!” Denise replied, but then she couldn’t keep a straight face at Stan’s expression. Leather trousers!?

- - - - - - - - - -

That Tuesday evening he spent cuddled up with both of his princesses. There was no sex, just a lot of cuddles and kisses, and the sheer enjoyment of cuddling up together. They watched “The Fellowship of the Ring” on DVD, enjoyed a couple of good bottles of Chablis that Anne had found, and they talked.

The conversation came around to the house that Anne had located on the internet. A slightly tipsy Anne pulled Stan to his feet and insisted that they all go and look at it again to make sure it hadn’t been sold. Denise, with a Cheshire-cat smile, came with Anne and helped her to pull Stan up the stairs. The listing was still there; none of the details had changed. For a moment Stan was afraid that Anne would pick up the phone and try to put in an offer then and there, but, thankfully, her innate caution overcame the alcohol.

- - - - - - - - - -

That first week at Boundless Waves created some new work experiences for Stan. He dived into his new project with enthusiasm. Now that he didn’t have Bob to lean on, he found that when he had to, he could be just as good a ‘people person’ on the telephone as his former boss. Before the first week was through he’d secured some very useful information for Anne from Shucor, which delighted Sid.

Of course, Friday was Denise’s birthday, and much the same happened as on Stan’s. This time they all watched a film of her choice, “Dirty Dancing”, which Anne said sounded right up Denise’s alley! She bought Denise a red and gold Chinese-style silk dress, while Stan gave her some Chanel perfume.

“Stick to the classics, Stan, you can’t go too far wrong with those,” Anne had told him when he sought advice.

“I don’t want to seem too old fashioned,” he’d objected.

“Don’t be silly. Besides, you could buy her an abacus and she’d love it.” Anne had replied.

So, of course, he’d done ‘just that’ – Anne’s suggestion starting out as a joke present, but then turning into an even better idea. Denise really did love the miniature gold abacus on a fine gold chain necklace, and when he gave her the perfume her eyes softened, showing that she loved him even more. 

That night, Anne went up to bed soon after the film finished, and not long afterwards Denise dragged Stan upstairs to show him just how much she appreciated his thoughtfulness. Stan wasn’t at all reluctant…

- - - - - - - - - -

At work, Ken was watching Denise. Well, she was, of course, well worth watching. But it didn’t need someone as astute as he to tell that she, Stan and Anne all shared a common bond, even if Anne hadn’t already told both Sid and himself.

What really drew his attention was the competence and growing confidence she showed in quietly, without fuss or fanfare, setting about the task of rebuilding Boundless Waves’ computer set up. Cables were laid, a new server bought (cheaply but well, he was pleased to note), and software installed. She dealt with the questions that he came up with quickly and easily, without apparent annoyance. She also began contributing to Anne’s test and debug work.

Ken liked to know about people. He drew Denise out, carefully, until she told him that she, Anne and Stan were thinking of buying a property together. Ken was already determined to ensure that these three were kept both happy and productive. Besides, if they owed him a favour, and he was able to steer some business in the direction of a friend of his, he considered it a good investment.

Ken popped his head out of his office door that Friday afternoon, just before he was due to leave.

“Denise? Anne? Stan? Do you all have a minute, please?”

There was some grumbling from Anne, but all three joined him a few moments later.

“What’s this about, Ken? I’m still trying to sort out that stack you licensed. I might as well have written my own, you know,” Anne said.

It was crowded in the office with all four of them there. Ken held up his hand and told them, “I shan’t keep you a minute. I just wanted to give you these.” He handed each of them an identical business card, and said, “He’s a friend of mine, a top-notch barrister specialising in partnership law. You can meet him at Daley’s wine bar, on the Strand, tonight around seven, and he’ll run through what you must do, what you can do, what you can’t do and what you really mustn’t do when you’re buying a property together. Tonight, it’ll only cost you a round or two of drinks. Have fun, listen well and don’t ignore him. Now, I’m off for the weekend, and I’ll see you Monday.”

With that, he had his briefcase in hand, grabbed his coat from behind Stan and was gone.

- - - - - - - - - -

Daley’s was full. Everyone there seemed to have been outfitted at the same place with pinstriped suits, white shirts and wingtip shoes. The few ladies present wore dark jackets and skirts. It was a warm evening despite the fact that it was still early spring, but nevertheless the tables outside were mainly left empty except for one gentleman seated there. Anne put two and two together.

“Excuse me. Mr. Hart?”

“That’s me,” he answered, and stood. “Walter Hart, at your service.”

Walter Hart was a tall, distinguished man of about fifty, with iron-grey hair at the temples shading to black as coal elsewhere. He looked really sharp, his suit was obviously expensive and hand tailored to fit his lean body. He indicated to Stan and the girls to sit, and as they did Stan noticed that the table was set with four glasses. The barrister picked up the bottle from the table and poured a small glass for each, after giving each in turn a chance to refuse.

Introductions were made, and everyone settled down. He put the bottle down and spoke in a precise, rich, quintessentially English voice, “Ken McKuan gave me a rough idea of what you were looking for, earlier. It seems simple enough, but all three of you need to be aware of what you’re doing. This is not a carefree, simple step, this will be a legally binding commitment you’ll be making. You each will have a share of the property to pay for, by one means or another. Have you considered how you will divide the responsibilities?”

“Each of us will take a third,” Stan said. Anne and Denise both nodded their agreement.

“Fine.” Walter Hart then proceeded to give the three lovers a short but simple class in buying property together. He used simple language, rather than trying to impress them with lawyerspeak – and this impressed Anne a great deal. He didn’t just lecture, he asked questions – pointed ones -  particularly about the financing, and made sure that each of the three knew what the other two would be putting in to the deal, and how. He finished up by saying, “Well. You all seem to have done your homework. You have realistic goals and have got your finance sorted. I wish you luck in your venture.”

“Thanks,” said Stan. “Thanks you for the useful advice, and for taking the time out to speak to us at all.”

Walter waved a hand, dismissively. “No matter. You’ve a good friend in Mr. McKuan, I know because he’s a good friend of mine. We’ve known each other for years.” He stood, and all three followed him. “It’s been good to talk to you. You have my number if you need any further assistance, but now I must bid you good night.”

With that, he was quickly gone. Stan sat back down, followed by Anne and Denise.

“Notice something?” Anne asked. “Not once did he say or ask anything about our domestic arrangements.”

“Well, for one, he’s discreet by profession and also he may not know we share Stan between us,” replied Denise.

Stan jumped in. “I’d think he must know. Didn’t you notice how he kept banging on about being sure of the other two partners?”

“I think that was just him being professional, Stan,” Anne replied. “He’d give that advice to anyone. I mean, even banks sometimes advise against joint accounts. That sort of thing.”

“True. I remember being told that by my bank once, actually. I gave them a flea in their ear.”

“Nobody got cold feet?” asked Denise, with a grin.

“No!” came a pair of answers.

- - - - - - - - - -

In the event Denise sold her small house first, and Anne received an offer for hers next. It was a couple of weeks before Stan heard anything for his house, and just over a month before he had an offer made. It was Sid’s wife Maggie who provided the vital contact. One of her friends wanted to move away from London into a quieter area, and so, seven weeks after putting their houses on the market, they had all accepted offers for them.

Needless to say, the original property that Anne had found had been sold by then. But she’d found another, similar one, and now it was time for the three of them to pay a visit to look at it.

On Sunday, the third of June, Stan drove the three of them around to see the place.

As they approached the house, Anne looked up from the printout in her hand and said, “That fourth bedroom’s really quite small, but it’ll do for an office. The other rooms are all right, though.”

“Given where it is, it’s good value for the money. I hope it’s as good as described,” Denise answered.

“We’ll find out now, I think. It’s here,” Stan commented as he turned right into the driveway.

They faced a white-painted house, with an integral garage set to the left as they saw it. The front door was in the middle, and a large picture window was in the right side on the ground floor. Above, there appeared to be rooms on each side, and a small window that was probably in a corridor. There was space for at least three cars on the hardstanding in front of the garage, and also a well-kept front garden.
 
Stan got out and opened the doors for Denise and Anne. They stood for a moment, savouring the quiet. “I think I like it already,” he told the others.

The oak coloured front door opened, and a well-dressed middle aged woman appeared. “Mr Hinch?” she asked.

“That’s me,” he answered, “You’d be Mrs Brookman?”

Mrs Brookman showed them all around the house. It was well, if conservatively decorated, and the rooms were generally of a good size. Anne was amused to see that the fourth bedroom was, indeed, being used as an office. She was delighted by the relatively large garden in the rear of the property, while Denise pointed out the privacy it offered.

The redhead was also delighted by the kitchen, which was large, had all the appliances she could think of, and was clean and bright. After a short while and a short question-and-answer session with Mrs Brookman, they departed to find the nearby village centre and a cup of coffee.

“Well, what do you think?” asked Stan of his two partners.

“I loved it. Let’s do it,” replied Anne in a decisive tone.

Denise nodded enthusiastically. “The kitchen’s lovely, it’s got plenty of room, the garden’s nice and large and not overlooked.”

“I liked the garden too, plus the house is in a good state – we wouldn’t have to spend anything on it, bar some redecorating,” Anne finished.

“Let’s not be too hasty. How about the local facilities? Shops, parks, that kind’ve thing?” cautioned Stan.

“Schools, nurseries, libraries, restaurants, pubs… yes, there are a lot of things to look for,” agreed Anne, “I’ve checked up on most of that. We’ll have to actually look at them in person, of course, but this area seems to have most of the facilities we’ll need.”

“Schools, nurseries?” queried Stan, raising an eyebrow.

“It pays to look ahead, Stan,” answered Anne. Denise looked at her, but Anne merely said, “Well, my clock’s ticking, you know. Never say never!”

After very little more discussion, they agreed to go ahead and make an offer.

- - - - - - - - - -

One Saturday afternoon in the latter half of May, Stan heard a ring at his door. He wondered who it was likely to be, and hurried to look.

There, standing at his door, was Anne. She was wearing a short, plain white shift-style dress, high heels and… her choker.

Her eyes downcast, she told Stan, “I’m ready to play, if you’ll have me, sir.”

Stan gaped for a moment, then collected himself and ordered, “Step in!”

Anne walked into Stan’s house, her demeanour quiet, subservient. Stan led the way to his front room. His mind was doing at least a thousand miles an hour, trying to process what was happening. Oh, he’d fantasised about having Anne as a little slave girl before, that’s why he’d given her the collar. That, and what he’d thought had been a need in her. But now, the time was here, and he wasn’t sure what to do.

What Stan was certain of was that he mustn’t show hesitation to Anne. It would ruin the scene for her, and completely negate what she was offering him. But first, he had to be sure what exactly she was offering.

“Sit down, Anne,” he commanded. Anne did as she was bid, still looking down.

“Anne, you may look at me and talk freely for the moment. You say you’re ready to play. I need some idea of your limits and a safeword from you.”

“No pain, or not much, sir. I’ll do as you command, but I don’t want to be exhibited, please, not yet anyway, perhaps another time. Just between us. And safeword: How about ‘Mustard’? Is that all right, sir?”

“All right. Any other limits, or desires?”

“No scat or water-sports. I just want you to be in charge of me, sir. I’ll do as I’m told, I promise. Otherwise you’ll have to punish me.”

“I thought you didn’t want pain?”

“I don’t, but a spanking if I’m disobedient won’t make me use my safeword. I think.” Stan saw Anne blush, she looked down and hesitated. “I have as much experience in this as you do, sir. If I may make a small suggestion, we ought to take it slowly.”

“I think that’s an excellent suggestion. You can start, then, by making me a cup of tea.”

Anne looked up at Stan again for a moment, then answered, “Yes, sir,” and rose to walk into the kitchen.

This gave Stan time to think. What should he do, and how far should he, could he, take this?

A few minutes later, Anne returned with the tea. She found Stan sitting in his recliner, a long black strap in his hand.

“Recognise this?” he asked her.

“Retaining strap off some component trays,” she told him.

“Correct. Velcro, quick-release, cushioned and static-conductive, though that last is of little importance here. I liberated some from The Firm before we left; I thought they’d come in useful. Now, they will. Come; sit with your back to me, hands behind you.”

Anne complied, and he used the strap to fasten her wrists together. He used a scrunchy to pull Anne’s hair into a ponytail.

“Stand up!”

Anne stood, gracefully, and he lifted the back of her short dress. No panties. He goosed her, and she involuntarily moved away. “Ah-ah-ahh!” he told her, and pulled her back lightly by the hair.

“Now, I’m going to take my pleasure with you. You’ll do as I tell you, and make sure that I enjoy it. For now, sit at my feet while I drink my tea.”

Anne sat by his feet for several minutes, during which time he completely ignored her. Finishing his tea, he stood and said, “Come.”
 
Stan walked up the stairs to his room. On the way, he stopped off in the bathroom and picked up a washcloth, dampening it in the sink. He led Anne into his bedroom, where he stood her next to his bed. Removing the strap, he told her, “Strip.” Anne complied, unsuccessfully hiding a slight smile.

“You’re a good cocksucker, something you’ll have a chance to show in a moment. Your cunt’s not bad, I suppose, too. But today I’m going up your ass. Have anything to say?”

Anne’s smile disappeared, but she shook her head. “No, sir. Um, I’m not sure I’m clean.”

“Then you’ll have to wash me off afterwards. Think about that next time!”

“Yes, sir.”

Stan sat on the edge of the bed, and simply said, “Suck.”

Anne complied. She enjoyed doing this with Stan anyway, he knew. He wasn’t sure she’d enjoy the next part quite so much, but that was the point, wasn’t it? Anne was giving herself for his pleasure, and would, he hoped, be deriving pleasure from that, if not from the actual acts involved.

Stan felt his climax getting near, and didn’t want to go too soon, so he commanded her to stop. He stood.

“Remove my clothes, and get me ready to use your ass for my pleasure,” he ordered.

She stood gracefully and removed his clothes, eyes lowered. She looked up at him occasionally through her lashes. It was intended to be seductive, and it worked on Stan very well indeed. As she undressed him she missed no opportunity to touch and caress him, though Stan was careful not to let her take him too far. Nonetheless, by the time he was naked, Anne had worked them both into a state of throbbing, dripping readiness for more.

Stan pushed her, fairly roughly, over to the bed and used two of the Velcro straps interlocked to tie her wrists to the head of he bed, face down. “Kneel, legs wide apart, ass up in the air!” he told her.

Stan got on the bed and knee walked behind her. He reached over to his bedside drawer and got out the lube he’d used with Denise, months before. Stan had really enjoyed taking her ass, and both had enjoyed it again a couple of times since.

Stan spread her cheeks with one hand and squeezed some lube onto the dark wrinkled roundel of her anus. He massaged it around a little, then inserted a finger. “Has anyone been here before, Anne?” he asked, in a rough tone.

“Only a finger, sir. Nothing more,” she replied, a nervous tinge to her voice.

“My cock’s a bit bigger than a finger, girl.” Not that much bigger, he noted, ruefully. That was probably a good thing, now. He continued to work his lubed finger in Anne’s tight puckered hole, and as she relaxed a little he added a second finger, with more lube on it.

Stan withdrew his fingers and wiped them on the washcloth. Squeezing more lube onto his hand, he greased his cock liberally, getting himself ready to enter her, to take her last virginity. The thought made him even stiffer.

With one hand on her hip, he used the other to place the tip of his erection at the entrance, and pushed slightly. Anne flinched a little and involuntarily squeezed to prevent him. “Relax, Anne,” he said, soothingly, and after a moment or two felt her do so.

Stan had taken his ‘lessons’ with Denise to heart, and went very slowly, taking well over a minute to insert just the head of his erection into Anne’s tight, hot ass. He just kept up a slow but steady pressure, letting Anne’s body get used to the invader gradually.

Finally, he could wait no longer. “Are you ready for me, Anne, ready to be my anal-slave? Or do you want to say something else?”

Anne’s breath was coming in short pants, but she just said, “Go on, sir. Take my ass.”

Stan increased the pressure and felt his prick slowly slide deeper and deeper into Anne’s rectum, past the inner ring and deeper into her body. It was exquisite, hot and tight and he knew he wouldn’t be lasting long. Eventually he felt his groin pressed tightly against the round buttocks of his lover/slave, and halted there.

“Is it all in?” Anne asked him, voice tight.

“Yes, my love, you have all of me. Are you ready?”

Anne paused and then, getting back into character, said, “Could you give your slave a moment, please, sir?”

‘NO!’ Stan’s body screamed, he desperately wanted to just start sawing in and out of her, to achieve his release, but he held back.

He felt Anne’s body spasming against him as she fought to get used to the feeling of him deep inside where no one had been before. Denise had told him that it was a feeling that she couldn’t describe, but that her body simply had to take time to get used to. Finally, Anne grunted, “Okay sir. Slowly, though, please!”

Stan began to move, slowly at first as his slave had requested, but then he began to pick up the pace. In truth he couldn’t really control himself. Soon he was forcing himself into Anne, then pulling out, long, hard strokes that had him rapidly building to the climax he’d denied himself earlier. He pulled almost all of the way out of Anne’s body, then slammed himself deep into her as he grunted with the force of his ejaculation.

Controlling himself once more, he withdrew gradually from Anne, kissing the back of her neck, running butterfly kisses along her spine. “Are you okay, love?” he asked, tenderly.

“Oh, God, that hurts! Er, I mean, yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

Stan reached up and undid Anne’s restraints.

“Slave, you’ve been wonderful. But I want Anne back, now, if you don’t mind.” Anne rolled to her side, facing him, her eyes bright with tears, and he kissed her. She nodded, and he undid her collar. “My love, I don’t want you to be my slave now, I want you to be my loving partner. I’ll clean you up and pamper you.”

So pamper her he did, taking her to the bathroom and washing himself and Anne and then, running her a bath. He poured in some of the scented bath oil that Anne had left in his bathroom. He helped her to get in, and when she was nice and relaxed, washed her hair. He rinsed her off and told her to relax, that he’d be back in a few minutes.

He reappeared some time later with a bottle of white wine and two glasses on a tray. Then he gently attended to her needs, with lips and tongue and teeth and fingers, until Anne too shuddered, cried and came.

- - - - - - - - - -

Later, relaxing, cuddled up to her, he heard Anne say, “I think I can see why some people like that, Stan. It’s incredibly intense, and for me, at least, quite submissive.”

“Mmm. I could see that. You were wonderful, Anne.”

“I’m not saying you have to tie me up to do that. Just that it’s good for me to be submissive, sometimes. I suppose I’m in charge so much, sometimes I feel the need for someone else to take charge. Maybe we can try anal again, sometime, without the restraints?

Stan paused to think for a minute. “You sound a bit confused, Anne.”

It was her turn to hesitate. “I think I am confused, Stan. That’s why I want to try it without the collar, with me being Anne, not your little slave girl. And we can do it the other way around, as well, you can tie me up and play with me, with my collar on, but not take me there. What do you think?”

“I think it’s good to experiment, love. We’ll try it, then, sometime. Or, perhaps, sometimes. But now, I want to sleep with my wonderful, experimental, lover.”

- - - - - - - - - -

The intervening time at Boundless Waves had been full, for all three. Anne had been waiting for the initial prototype devices to come back, and had a test ready to run at an outside company. Denise had been helping her with setting up and running simulations and then analysing them, as well as the running of the internal network of PC’s. Stan had his hands full being a combination of buyer, engineer and progress chaser, as well as trying to ensure that all the reliability and regulatory issues were covered.

The Pacific office of their end-customer was running eight hours behind GMT. This made scheduling meetings with the engineers and line managers interesting, to say the least. But Stan needed to know how the prototypes and testing set-ups were coming along. This Friday, June the twenty-second, was going to be even worse, as the earliest Stan could arrange a meeting was for ten o’clock in the evening, his time. Sid and Ken would also be at this teleconference. Anne and Denise had had their own late, late night meeting the night before, after which Anne had triumphantly declared, “It works as advertised!”

Now Stan, Ken and Sid would be negotiating the best price and delivery combination to meet what promised to be a very lucrative contract. At the same time, there had already been feelers for buying them out from Shucor themselves, and others were now showing interest. But it could all fall down if the contract didn’t get signed, or if the delivery of the devices was too late. 

Sid went to Anne and Denise and told them, “You two may as well push off early today. We’ll see you tomorrow morning. Well done to the both of you!” Sid had been beaming all day, but now, Anne could see, he was on tenterhooks. She stood, kissed him and said, “It’ll all go well, Sid. Don’t worry.”

Anne and Denise gratefully left the office just after lunchtime. They both gave Stan a big kiss. “That’s to tide you over until we see you tomorrow, Stan,” Denise told him.

The two ladies left together, and Stan, Sid and Ken waited to find out if they’d become a business, as well as a technical, success.

- - - - - - -