Cathy Ch. 02

Cathy put on a sarcastic smile, "Yes Denise, he is really kind isn't he." Cathy said "So what's been happening while I've been away."

"Oh just the usual." Denise smiled "Ted's been in a meeting all day and we've been holding the fort, no problems to report boss." As she said the last words Denise gave a mock salute.

"Ok Denise, I'm not the boss and you know it." Cathy said sharply, then as she realised how sharp she was added "Oh sorry, I know just a joke, forgive me?"

The smile came back to Denise's face "Yes of course and sorry I didn't think, me and my big foot" she said and laughed.

"Catch you later then" Cathy said and headed for her office.

"More time off then Cath" a voice said.

Cathy didn't need to look to know it was Danny Reynolds his voice was unmistakable, as was the inference. "Well if you worked half as hard as you should Danny then you may get some time off as well." Cathy said sharply.

"Or if I was a woman and had a male boss eh" he said and laughed, the inferece was obvious, but then Cathy expected nothing else from Danny.

Cathy and Danny had started working here at the same time, he was certainly more qualified than she was but his attitude was his downfall, he was degrading of any work done by a woman and didn't hide the fact, his comment when Cathy was promoted faster than he was that she used more than work to get where she was, although it annoyed Cathy that he said these thing's she was lucky enough to know that everyone else in the office knew the truth so she ignored him as much as possible.

She felt herself getting angry and was going to say something when she was interrupted by Ted. "Afternoon Cathy," he said, "Feeling better I hope, afternoon Danny busy I hope?"

Danny flushed a bit "You know me Ted," he said "always at it."

"Yes I know you Danny" Ted said and taking Cathy's elbow added "Shall we leave him to his work, Mr Albert will be waiting for us."

Cathy let Ted lead her down the hall, she was even more worried now, he was being gentle, not at all abrasive and worse than that he was quiet, no comment's of any kind but he kept hold of her arm all the way to Mr Arnold's office.

"He's expecting you" Gemma said, "Go straight in, Hope your feeling better Cathy."

"Yes thanks Gem" Cathy said as Ted whisked her through to the other office.

"Good afternoon" Mr Arnold said pointing to the seat's in front of his desk "Sit down while I arrange some tea's."

As he spoke into the intercom Cathy's mind was on a rampage of worry, what was this meeting about, she hadn't been briefed at all and Mr Arnold was in such a good mood and Ted was in such a strange mood it all made her very edgy.

They sat in silence until Gemma handed the teas out and left.

"So Cathy," Mr Arnold said, "Feeling better I hope, Ted said it was a stomach bug or something."

"Yes Mr Arnold," Cathy said, forcing a smile "Much better thank you,"

"Good, now to business. You and Ted have been working together for a while now, how do you feel about your position within the company and most importantly working with Ted, is it working do you think."

The question shocked her, what should she say, was he testing her,? did he know? She decided to be honest, this was a work related question and he would get a work related answer.

"Well I have to admit that I was extremely disappointed when you passed me over for promotion," she said, "but when I reflected on your reasons I had to agree that maybe my performance had dropped slightly, and yes I will admit that I made it a little difficult for Ted when he first started."

She took a deep breath before she continued "However, Ted has put some system's into practice that have improved staff performance and he treats the other staff with courtesy and respect, he is certainly knowledgeable about the people he work's with and our field of expertise. Despite my initial misgiving's, on a professional level I believe that Ted and I make a good team.

"Good, good" Mr Arnold replied excitedly, "Ted how do you feel thing's have gone, I know we have chatted about it but I would like you to give me your thought's while Cathy is here, I like to be open about these thing's"

"Oh yes of course Harold." Ted said, seemingly off guard, "Well as I have said before, Cathy did make thing's very difficult for me in the beginning but I made thing's difficult for her as well. Eventually we seemed to find common ground and started to work together, I find her to be very professional, sometimes a little stuffy although that too is beginning to ware off and she is beginning to relax in her work, but as I said she is very professional, courteous at all time's to staff and clients and very knowledgeable, she has good contacts and make's new client's, or the few we have met, very comfortable and at there ease, and I agree with her that we do make a very good team."

"Good!" Harold said, "Now then, Cathy, I have had discussions with Ted and with the board of directors and we are all agreed that your position is no longer viable."

Cathy was utterly stunned, "Wha...." she started. But Harold raised his hand and gave her a steely glare.

"Listen to what I have to say Cathy don't worry your not getting the sack," Harold said with a smile, "just listen.

"I'm sorry Mr Albert" Cathy said, head bowed.

"Due to your new position I think it only right that you call me Harold," he said "Now then as of tomorrow you will be Ted's PA and his second in command, no change there I know but you will, for the most part, have the same authority as he doe's, he has the final word but you have the authority. We will need an office manager as well because you and Ted will be spending a lot of time out of the office cultivating new custom, yes I know it sound's like a salesman's job but believe me you will be travelling all over the place and meeting a whole load of prospective clients and the directors and I believe that you two together will be an irresistible force. Are you with me so far"

Cathy was flabbergasted, "Promotion?" she said, "I'm being promoted, what travelling."

"One thing at a time," Harold said, "Firstly you will have a considerable increase in salary and a wonderful bonus scheme, if you two bring in the work I believe you can you stand to make over £100,000 a year in bonus's alone. Secondly a company car of course, there's the key's it's the Jag in my spot at the moment, had to give it a try didn't I, Thirdly, as you will be travelling a lot you will need a new wardrobe, lot's of summer clothes and all that and you get a large expense account as well, here is a clothing card for your clothes, it doe's Harrods, Debenhams and all those other places and this visa card is your expense account it has a £10,000 limit but it gets paid off each month by the account's department, I think that's it isn't it Ted?"

"Yes I think so, except the office manager but I think Cathy and I can deal with that, any question's Cathy" Ted said with a smile

Cathy was sitting with her mouth open, "Urm, urm.... Well, you said travelling" Cathy said just to fill in time and not look so stupid.

"Yes Ted will give you the details," Harold said, "but I think the first trip is next week, Belgium isn't it Ted or is it Japan next week?"

"Belgium Harold, Japan is next month, "Ted said, "I think we better let Cathy acclimatise to thing's for a while and then I can give her the details and answer any questions that will undoubtedly arise."

"Yes I think you may be right." Harold said looking at Cathy over the top of his glasses. He stood up and held his hand out towards her, "Congratulation's Cathy and well deserved."

Cathy stood up and shook his hand and then Ted's, "Well done Cathy, I'm pleased for you" Ted said "Sorry I couldn't pre-warn you but I was sworn to secrecy."

He had steered her towards the door and down the hall before she realised she had left the office, "God I need a drink." She said

"Yes well the day is over anyway, let's go over the road and I will get you a brandy to calm your nerves" Ted said.

He led her over to the local bar where she flopped into a seat while he got the drink's, "There we are" Ted said, "I got you a double I don't think you will be driving your new car home tonight anyway will you?"

"Errr no, I don't think so" she said and then tipped her glass and took a drink of the brandy, shaking as it hit the spot shaking the cobwebs away, she took a deep breath "So what just happened Ted, what's been going on?"

"Never mind that right now, just get used to it," Ted said "And by the way dinner is on your expense account tonight, I will pick you up at 7.30 you can ask all your questions then, ok"

Still in a state of shock she agreed and finished her drink, "I think I have to go, I'm all mixed up." she said

"Ok!" Ted said, and followed her outside, hailing a cab and putting her into it, "I'll call later, bye."

Cathy couldn't go straight home, she needed to talk to someone so she went to her mother's. "Cathy!" Jane gasped "What on earth is the matter"

As soon as Cathy had knocked on her mum's door she burst into tears, she felt like the little girl she used to be when she had a fight at school or something, "Oh mum" she said and fell into her mother's arms, uncontrollable tears streaming down her face.

Jane slowly led her into the kitchen, arms wrapped around this frail child, close to tears herself she said nothing, just let her daughter cry herself out. As the tears started to subside she said, "You sit there and I'll make you a nice cup of tea."

Cathy burst out laughing, tears still trickling down her face, "Oh mum, you and your wonder cure" she said, "I'd love a cup of tea."

Jane made the tea in silence, she knew her daughter would talk when she was ready, she put the steaming cup on the table and sat down, waiting.

"I'm sorry mum." Cathy said, "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Well you failed miserably" Jane said with a laugh. "Is it something I can help with."

"I've been promoted." Cathy said, "Out of the blue, I've been promoted."

"Well that's good isn't it?" Jane asked

"It's wonderful" Cathy said, "It was just a total shock after being passed over not so long ago that's all"

Cathy went on to tell her mum what the new job entailed, her worries about being away so much and missing Jordan growing up. The benefit's of the increase in salary and the possibility of the excellent bonus, the car, the whole package.

Two hour's later Cathy said she had to leave as she was going on a business dinner, Jane walked her to the door and said, "You know that your father and I love you dearly, Jordan is no problem at all in fact he has made such a difference to our lives, we go for walk's together and even go for a drink in the country now and then, thing's that we would never have done without him, so please don't think your taking advantage of us, because if the truth were known it is us who take advantage, you love your work, now you can enjoy it even more" and with that she gave Cathy a kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too, and dad, I'll call you ok" Cathy said

Jane smiled, "By darling, take care" and watched as her daughter walked away. It had been a long time since she had been this close to her daughter, and for the first time in a long time she felt really happy with her life.

As Cathy got to her front door she could hear her phone ringing, she dashed in and grabbed it, putting it to her ear, "Hello!"

"Hi Cathy" Ted said "You sound a lot better, just ringing to make sure you hadn't forgotten our dinner date tonight"

"Oh god" Cathy gasped "What's the time?"

"Don't worry it's only 5.30 but I thought you may have forgotten" Ted said with a laugh, "You seemed a little bit out of it at the office."

"Yes sorry Ted" Cathy said, "It was all a bit of a shock, but I just had a long chat with my mum and she calmed me down, I'm feeling much better thank you."

"Good then I will see you at 7.30 sharp" Ted said and hung up

Suddenly it dawned on Cathy that she had been calling him Ted, not Mr Heron, and he hadn't said a word, no reprimand, no order's nothing, just normal, even worse than that he was still normal, why?

Deciding that whatever the reason was she would soon find out she put it to the back of her mind and went for a long soak in the bath, she spent the whole two hour's getting ready and as this was supposed to be a business dinner she put her new suit on, with the blouse.

He arrived just after 7.30 in a taxi which took them out into the countryside. For most of the journey Ted gave Cathy the details about her new post, she would accompany Ted on business trip's both in the UK and abroad and at time's she would have to go to meeting's on her own, she carried the full weight of the board with her so any agreement's she made to get clients signed up had to be viable, blah blah blah. Most of it was lost in a cloud of confusion, not business confusion but NICE Ted confusion, but she had to admit the prospect of her new roll excited her.

The taxi stopped outside what must at sometime have been a country house. Ted paid the man and led Cathy up the stone steps to the main entrance, as the doorman let them in another man approached and asked for there coats, then pointed them towards the Maitre De', "Good evening Sir, Madam," he said with a nod of his head, "Have you booked a table."

Ted smiled back at him "Yes we have, in the name of Ms Winter's." as he gave the name he squeezed Cathy's arm.

Cathy was shocked that the booking was in her name but even more shocked that it was booked in her maiden name, but she said nothing just smiled at the Maitre' De, who snapped his finger's for a waiter.

The waiter led them to a table at the back of the restaurant and handed them the wine list. "Shall I order the wine?" Ted asked.

"Yes please." Cathy replied, still a little dazed at her surrounding's.

Once the waiter had brought there wine and taken there order Cathy suddenly felt vulnerable, "What's going on here Ted, why are you being nice to me, Mr Heron Sir!" she said pointedly.

Ted laughed "I have to admit that I have been deliberately nice to you Cathy, but thing's haven't changed, well not very much, let me explain."

"I wish you would," Cathy said sharply, "because this has been one hell of a confusing day for me, and exhausting as well."

"Ok!" Ted said, "Well first off I realise the other day after the builder that I may have gone a little too far, don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it and if the need arises I will do it again, but I needed to know just how far you would go when ordered."

"So you've brought me here to pay for my apology I take it" Cathy said.

"No, not exactly." Ted said, "Your promotion is a good business move, we do make a good team and I have a lot of contact's in this business that would succumb more to a woman of your skills than if I just approached them on my own, and I don't mean just with your body either, so your promotion is dual purpose, one you get your clothing allowance so you can treat both yourself and me and secondly I get you as a travelling and business companion. And thirdly I suppose you get to keep your new home and your family together."

Cathy was bursting to say something but the thought of what Ted might do, or worse still make her do stopped her, she just sat in red faced silence.

"Look I'm sorry this isn't the way this evening was supposed to go." Ted said

"No!" Cathy blurted, "And just how was Ms Winter's supposed to act this evening then Mr Heron Sir."

"The Ms Winter's was a clerical error," Ted said, "Although we knew you were married you hadn't changed your name in your file and we decided that your details could remain as Ms Winter's for expense account's and the other thing's. Look, I chose this restaurant for one simple reason, it's secluded yes but it is also very discrete, this place is neutral ground, No Mr Heron sir or slut, just you and me and people speaking our mind's and being honest, neutral ground Cathy, somewhere you can relax and even have a go at me and I will not hold it against you, somewhere we can talk business or personal, somewhere you can relax as well as me, ok"

Cathy thought for a moment and decided she had nothing to lose by believing him, after all he could do anything he wanted with her. After a second she took a deep breath and let forth such a tirade of abuse that even she was surprised. How he had devastated her life and torn her apart, how she felt so ill having done what she had and how frightened she had been of him destroying her life, the trauma he had put her through. The tirade only stopped when the waiter arrived with there starter.

Ted had said nothing, he had let her say whatever she wanted letting her anger out would at least get her to relax a little, he hoped. They ate the starter in complete silence.

Cathy spent the time calming down, she had to admit that she felt a whole lot better for getting thing's off her chest, but she was still afraid of what he might do.

They were half way through there main course, "Fell better now?" Ted asked

"Yes, and no" Cathy said, "I'm waiting for you to insult me or worse."

"Not here." Ted said with a smile, "I knew you needed to get thing's off your chest, and sooner or later you would have exploded, so I thought that a neutral place made sense if we were to be working closer together in the future, especially as we will be spending a lot of time living together in hotels and foreign clime's."

"I hate what you've done to me" Cathy said, "I hate what you've made me do, I hate the fact that I have been made to remember what I used to be like, it makes me ill."

"Was it all so bad" Ted said, "was there not even a moment that the old you came to the fore."

Cathy almost choked, the very question she had asked herself was being put to her by the very man who would use her and who wanted to awaken the old Cathy. "No!" Cathy lied, "I will never let the old me take control again."

"So it's trying then." Ted said

Cathy could have kicked herself, "You wont win Ted, ok I can accept this place as neutral ground but you wont let me go will you, you will still abuse me and...."

"Oh yes Cathy" Ted said bluntly, "I will still fuck you and use you, and if I need you to fuck a client so we get our bonus at the end of the year then you will fuck him, I didn't get you this post just for your benefit or the companies, I intend to make good use of you, but here in this place you will always be safe, I promise, and I would much rather we got onto some sort of friendly term's instead of constantly fighting."

"Friendly terms." Cathy said shocked, "You as good as rape me and then you want to be friends."

"Come on Cathy, be honest," Ted said, "you could have stopped it at anytime, you never put up any real fight, and anyway you started being the nasty one as soon as I started working with you, I had to get control somehow didn't I."

"Ok so I wasn't very nice, but why like that, you could have sacked me or gone to Harold, but no you had to rape me."

"As soon as I saw you in Harold's office I knew your face, it bugged me for ages as to where I knew you from, added to that was the way you treated me and how you put every possible objection in my way. You're a good looking woman Cathy, look at you, look how you've changed since that first time, you look great, you look really sexy and you cant say you don't feel a lot more like a woman than you did before, every time I see you I just want to fuck you, even here when I know I cant, and the more you change the more I want you, I'm not letting that go, the mere knowledge that I own you is a turn on, you were a snooty stuck up bitch that done her best to make my life hell, I just turned the tables, now your mine."

Cathy couldn't reply, she couldn't admit that she felt more feminine now than she had ever done, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. "You will never own my mind however much you abuse my body."