In Over My Head Ch. 02

This story is in five parts. Only part four can be considered a standalone story. So if you haven't read part one I would suggest you do so first. What sex there is comes in part three, but it is in no way a stroke story. With any luck this time the parts should be posted on consecutive days. Oh and if you haven't liked my other stuff don't waste your time.

My thanks go to Techscan and LadyCibelle for their kind assistance with the editing of this story and correcting the usual clangers that keep my critics so happily amused. But I'm sure you'll find something you don't like in the story somewhere.

I would like to point out that my editors do not necessarily agree with my interpretation of the characters or the events portrayed. Any flack should be directed at me. This is a work of fiction and comes solely from my somewhat demented mind.

Part 2. An Interesting Idea.

The following morning I sat in my kitchen drinking coffee and tried to think how I was going to get to Dawn and what I was going to do about the two lechers that were after her. I didn't know this Dawn or her husband Kevin so a little inside knowledge would be helpful.

After digging around in the bureau for a while, I found one of my wife Anita's old address books. Thumbing through it I found the number I was looking for. Now it was all down to nerve; could I call a friend of Anita's and ask her for some information? Well, why the hell not? If I tell her what I'm up to, with any luck she'll understand why I'm doing it and help me. But then again she could tell me to piss-off. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I dialled the number.

"Kara, it's Martin Shaw."

"Oh, hello, Martin, how are you keeping? I haven't seen Anita for months, you know."

As I feared Kara had gone straight onto the defensive, and it was what I expected. Either that or she would tell me to F-off, but at least she was being civil.

"No, Kara, I'm not calling about Anita. I saw her the other week and she says she's fine, I only wish I were! She is looking a lot better, now she's not with him anymore."

I'd run into Anita in the supermarket one day a few weeks back. It had been one of those embarrassing meetings where we didn't really know what to say to each other. You know it's very hard to know how to behave when you meet someone you are in love with but can't be with anymore. I know I found it painful and will not use that store again as I think that's where Anita must be working. She must have a job as she has never taken any money from our bank accounts.

"It broke my heart when you two split up; I really don't know what she saw in that creep."

"Sorry, Kara, but I didn't call you to talk about Anita and me. It's someone else's marriage that I'm worried about at the moment. I don't want to see another couple go the way Anita and I did. I think I'm in on the ground floor and might be able to put a stop to things before they get out of hand. But I need some information and you're the only person I can think of to get it for me."

"I'll help you if I can. What is it you want to know?"

"I'm right in remembering you're the personnel manager for "Archers, aren't I?"

"Yes and no. I'm the assistant personnel manager, but you know that the files there are confidential. I can't tell you anything about the people who work for Archers."

"Look, this is important. Can I come around and tell you what is going on. I think it's in Archers' interests for you to give me the information I need."

"Sure, you can come around if you like. But you're going to need a good reason to get anything out of me on Archers' staff."

"Great. Is Reg there now?"

"Yes, but what has Reg got to do with it? Oh, of course, you don't want any misunderstandings. Really, Martin, I think you have gotten a little paranoid. I'll tell Reg you're coming. I don't think he has plans to go out; so you're safe. He will act as our chaperone."

"Thanks, I'll be around in half an hour."

Being that I was in all but name a single man, I didn't want Kara's husband Reg, or any husband come to that, to get the wrong idea.

"Look, Kara, when you find the woman you have trusted for ten years is running around on you, you get a whole different prospective on finding a wife alone with another man. I have no intention of ever getting into a compromising situation myself."

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Less than half an hour later Kara and I were sitting in her kitchen drinking coffee, as she listened to the recording. Well, parts of it; I jumped it about a bit and with a little difficulty located most of the relevant passages. With a four hour recording, that wasn't quite as easy as it sounds.

Then Kara literally took over, I hadn't expected her to jump straight in as an ally.

"The bloody bastard!" Kara exclaimed, "He'll get the bleeding sack for this if I have anything to do with it. Thanks, Martin, can I have a copy of that recording for my boss to listen to?"

"Hold your horses, Kara, don't go off half cocked! He hasn't actually done anything yet. Could you swear it is his voice on that recording? They only used Christian names. Try throwing that at him and you could well finish up on the wrong end of an industrial tribunal."

"Bugger! Of course you're right. What can we do then?"

"I figured I'd talk to Dawn. I was only going to warn her off. But if you want to make it official, with any luck when this Doug puts the squeeze on her, she can make a complaint of sexual harassment."

"With us, Oh I'm sorry! You. I've got no right to interfere in what goes on inside your company. Anyway, if you are keeping close tabs on things and can get a recording of his actual propositioning her, you've got him!"

"And what do we do if Dawn doesn't play ball. She might want that promotion and I can't promise it to her."

"Simple. I had that worked out already. I'll quietly let her old man know what's going on. I should imagine he'll soon put a bloody stop to it. But then we have the problem that it could get very messy. You should see the blighter. He's a bloody man mountain."

"Yeah, Kevin is on the large size. I've met him a few times. But I think he's more likely to kill Douglas. Kevin's supposed to have a terrible temper."

"Then let's hope Dawn plays ball."

We talked for another hour or so before I went home. Kara said she was going to try and set up a meeting during lunchtime the following week between the two of us and Dawn. She wanted me there, as I had actually witnessed the guys discussing Dawn's seduction.

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Kara called me in my office about ten-thirty on the Monday morning and asked me if I could meet with her and Dawn at lunch time. We arranged to meet in the "Plough". (No, I don't spend my whole life in there.)

Shortly after Kara rang, her boss called me and thanked me for letting them know what was going on. Typical company man, he was more worried about the firm getting into trouble for sexual harassment than he was about what the consequences were likely to be for Dawn and Kevin's marriage. That was to come back and bite him, but that story comes later.

At twelve o'clock I was waiting in the Plough when Kara and Dawn came in. I brought them both a drink and we ordered lunch.

Poor old George the barman was very confused. Since I had broken up with my wife he had never seen me in the bar with any female company. Now I was sitting there, having lunch with two very beautiful young ladies and what with me staying late on the Friday night he was dying to know what was going on.

For those of you that aren't regular pub goers, on quiet nights a good barman will get quite an insight into his regular customers' lives. Now poor old George was trying to understand why I was doing things that he thought were completely out of character for me.

The three of us had settled at a quiet table, then Kara put the ball in my court when she turned to Dawn and said, "Dawn, this is Mr Shaw, the gentleman I told you about. As I told you he called me over the weekend as he was very perturbed about what he overheard being discussed in here on Friday evening. Would you like to tell her Martin?"

I hadn't been prepared for this, but luckily I had edited the recording that I had made on Friday evening. I pulled the recorder out my pocket.

"I suggest you listen to this yourself, Dawn, and I would suggest you put these earphones on. We don't want everyone in the place to hear it."

Dawn, with a somewhat confused look on her face, put the earphones on and I pressed the play button. The confused look promptly disappeared and Dawn's face went through a wide range of different colours and expressions as she listened to the conversation. Involuntary comments came from her mouth at intervals as she listened, I don't think she was aware she made them.

"The bastard. --- How dare he say that. --- You bloody sod. --- That's what you bloody think."

Dawn went on and on. Kara and I just sat and smiled at one another. Dawn was going to play our game.

It only took about fifteen minutes for Dawn to listen to the edited highlights and when the recording ended, she was after someone's blood. It was all Kara and I could do to stop her going back to the office right then and confronting Doug. But in the end we did manage to persuade her to do things our way.

After we told her that Kara's plan was to get a recording of Doug propositioning her, she was all for it. So I introduced her to a digital recorder I had purchased for the purpose and showed her how to use it.

I must say she was very ingenious as to where she was going to hide it. I don't think I would have thought of that, or maybe I would but I would have had an embarrassing moment while I suggested it. She did have the most impressive pair of Bristol's, the little recorder just disappeared down between them quite nicely. Oh yes, we did a quick test record to make sure the microphone would still pick up. Oh, to be a digital recorder!

Kara instructed Dawn exactly how to handle Doug and told her she was available on the office phone any time Dawn thought she needed assistance. She also told Dawn she was to let her know if anyone in the office invited her for a drink after work.

Then Dawn turned to me. "Mr Shaw, if you don't mind me asking, why did you want to get involved with my problems?"

I looked at Kara. She was slightly embarrassed I think, I don't know how much Anita had told her. They were good friends, but not what you might call bosom buddies.

"Well, to by honest with you, Dawn. My wife was seduced by a real sod. I mean it, she was seduced. I'm sure she wouldn't have set out to cheat on me. As far as I can make out he had her spell bound. I think they only had proper sex together once and she swore to me that she wouldn't do it again."

Kara was listening just as closely as Dawn was, so I gathered that Anita had not told her the story.

"My wife begged me to forgive her and said she loved me. I wanted to and tried my hardest to, but I couldn't get over it. Every time I didn't know were she was I would be wondering what she was doing. My trust for her was gone."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"So am I. I loved Anita and I still do. I don't know if I will ever get over the heartache. People tell me to move on and start again. But I can't, I will never be able to love another woman like I loved Anita."

"After the way she treated you, you must be bloody mad." Kara took me by surprise. "She went and shacked up with the bastard."

"I don't think Anita's mind was all that well balanced when she moved in with him. You've got to remember we had been trying to make a go of it for months and I wasn't the easiest person to live then. I think the strain was really showing by the time she moved out. That's one of the reasons I didn't try to talk her out of leaving me. We really should have seen a counsellor in the beginning. By the time she left I think she was very near to having a breakdown."

"Martin, there you go again. You're blaming yourself for what Anita did."

"I don't think I am. I'm saying we should have seen a counsellor. Maybe I could have gotten over it."

Dawn, who had gone quiet, suddenly said, "Your wife was a lucky woman. I should think a lot of men wouldn't have tried to forgive her."

"I know she was a victim of a wolf who preyed on naïve women. He beat her up in the end and nearly killed her."

The conversation was upsetting me now so I pulled the subject back to the matter in hand.

"So, young lady, when I heard them talking on Friday and discussing the bet, I decided that I didn't want your marriage to go the same way as mine. Forewarned is forearmed."

"What bet?"

"Didn't you hear them? There is £100 to the first of them to bring your knickers into the office."

"Oh, god, no! I heard them discussing a bet but I didn't realise that is what they meant. How could they do that? They were laughing at me."

"And that is why I called Kara. Although I wasn't thinking along the lines she has."

"Thank you. Mr Shaw, you are a nice man. I think your wife was very silly to mess around on you."

"You're welcome. Anita fell under the influence of an evil man. I don't think she had a chance of outwitting him. Just make sure you don't get caught in the same trap."

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Well, for the next week or so nothing much happened. But I was still angry at what Doug had planned. Getting him the sack was one thing but an arsehole like him would probably soon get over it. Surely I could do something else.

I had learned his address from Kara so I staked out the place a couple of evenings. One night he came out with a woman I assumed was his wife. She was a very good looking young lady. Why do all these arseholes cheat on their lovely wives? I think I could understand the bastards if they were married to a dog.

I followed them to a nearby restaurant and after sitting outside for a while decided to go in and have a meal as well. To be honest at the time I didn't know what I was doing there. But this guy had really gotten under my skin.

I sat quite close to them. Luckily Doug had his back to me but I don't think it would have made any difference. He was so into himself that he would never have noticed me. I was a little worried that he might have remembered me from the pub on Friday night. But I wasn't wearing a skirt, was I. The Pratt most likely only had eyes for the ladies.

I could just about hear the conversation between him and his wife, and it only re-affirmed my opinion of him. He was talking down to his wife all evening. I don't think I have ever heard someone talk to his wife like that in public and she hardly ever smiled. Not a proper smile anyway. Well, that is until her eyes met mine, I smiled at her and for a brief moment I saw a little light in those eyes.

It struck me, as Doug had a reputation as a lady's man, he must have his wife right under his thumb. You know he had her on the back-foot, so to speak, I doubt she would dare question what he got up to when he wasn't at home and I somehow had the feeling she was happier when he wasn't about.

Then a wicked idea began to form in my head. I'm not a bad looking bloke. Why don't I see whether I can beat Doug at his own game? That hint of a smile she gave me was all the encouragement I needed.

I was going to try and steal Doug's wife.

End of part two