Rebecca Goes Job Hunting

The third instalment of the continuing adventures of Rebecca. This is set in 1980 Birmingham so no social media, no internet, no smartphones so characters can be more confident about not being found out. I have deliberately chosen to have long introductions, including back story and development of the underlying story and some flirtation before sexual activity takes place. That reflects my own preference in stories, but YMMV.

Apologies for the typos in Strangers in a Bar. I tried changing too much in review mode and as I found them knocking me out of the story on rereading, I have no doubt it did for others.

I am a new writer so constructive criticism and suggestions as to which category my stories should go in are gratefully received.

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Rebecca cooked dinner for herself and Marion. While Marion was not actually her aunt, both had agreed that Rebecca should call her aunt or auntie. She had been Rebecca's mother's best friend and confidant and had stayed in contact after the accident in which her husband, mom and dad's best friend died.

She had opened a bottle of wine to celebrate Rebecca's news that she had been offered a place at Oxford. "Your mother would be so proud. She always said she should have gone to college, but her parents said that it was not for the likes of us and made her leave school at 15."

Rebecca smiled. She recalled mom lamenting this but making it amusing by quoting Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront and saying, "I could have been a contender." She had always encouraged her children to do well at school. Dad had originally gone along with this and had continued to support her brother. Unfortunately, he had took out his anger about the accident on Rebecca.

She had left home just before she had started at the school. Even dad had agreed that it was for the best. If anyone queried the arrangement explaining that Marion lived nearer the school, and it saved Rebecca having to take two buses to get from Ward End to Edgbaston and back again every morning and evening normally satisfied the enquirer.

Marion had opened another bottle of wine as she told her about having sex on the train with the American businessman. She laughed hysterically at the thought that Rebecca had been paid a few hundred pounds for having sex. "Even allowing for inflation, I don't think any of your mother's admirers ever gave her that much money."

Next day was Friday. She was a little superstitious and wanted to see the offer from the college in writing before saying anything. The people who asked were told that the interviews had gone well and that they had made encouraging noises, she was waiting for the official response as they would have had other candidates to see. She was a little more open with Mr Hampton, her history teacher, and he was happy for her, but promised to keep it quiet for the moment. She felt that he had come close to embracing her but had thought better of it.

On Saturday she walked into Birmingham and went to the central library. She read up about anal sex and decide that in future she would insist on a durex being used at least by anyone doing it for the first time with her. While part of her suspected the books were written by people trying to scare off people from having sex at all, some of the reasons for caution made sense.

She had put on the blonde wig again. She believed that shops preferred to hire blondes than dark haired girls. She went round three stores who said nothing doing at the moment. They had already hired their Christmas and sale staff and the Saturday jobs had been taken back in August.

She then went shopping and bought a new pair of stockings, some lingerie, and some thigh high tights with the £10 earmarked for replacing the ones ripped yesterday. She recognised the shop assistant, Janet, as someone who had been two years above her at her previous school and asked about Saturday jobs. The girl stared at her for a moment and went to ask the manager. He looked at Rebecca, talked to Janet again, shrugged his shoulders and came over to her.

"Mademoiselle, we have no vacancies currently but expect to have one in early January. I have asked Janet to explain to you the special duties the job involves to make sure that we do not waste each other's time. If you are still interested come back in the new year."

Janet had been allowed to take her lunch break plus an extra twenty minutes and in a nearby pub explained the vacancy that the management were looking to fill. Apparently the fact that Rebecca was blonde and had bought the fishnet stockings had persuaded the supervisor to let Janet sound her out. Rebecca decided that while the potential commissions she could earn were tempting, the risks involved were too much. However, she found the images arousing and was sure Marion would be amused as well.

She went to a bank to change the foreign currency from yesterday. She paid some of the cash in and then went to another bank to open a new account. She instinctively wanted to hide how much money she had earned yesterday. She kept about £50 back and went to M&S to buy some smart clothes.

Finally, she went to Hudsons to see if there were any books she wanted to buy. She was wandering round when she saw Julian from her history and English classes busily skimming books in the English history section. She was her best male friend at school and was in a relationship. She went up and lightly smacked his bum.

He jumped, looked round and then looked at her for a few seconds before seeing past the wig. "Rebecca, sorry, the hair confused me. Actually, you are just the woman I need."

She laughed, "You'd better not let Claire hear that."

He blushed. It was quite endearing that he was so easy to embarrass.

He said, "Do you have to be anywhere tonight?"

"No and again I'm not certain that this is what a man going out with Claire should be asking me?"

He lapsed into a Kenneth Williams impression and said, "Stop messing about. Let's go to MacDonalds."

He led her there past Thorntons (she was tempted to get Marion some toffee) and the Railway Tavern (sweet memories) to MacDonalds. He had a burger, and she had a milkshake for which he paid.

"My brother called me at three. He is meeting this afternoon with a potential new client."

She raised an eyebrow. It was still not entirely clear to her what made her the woman Julian needed.

He blushed again. "James called me saying that he needed someone to talk about the Wars of the Roses and in particular Richard III with the man. I'm making a mess of this. The man lost his wife six months ago and she was a history obsessive and asked him to fund a Richard III permanent exhibition space at a reputable museum. He apparently needs to talk about Richard III with someone intelligent. He has insisted on dragging James off for a drink after the meeting to discuss Richard III and I am to meet them there, accidentally on purpose."

"You have listened to me, and George argue about that enough to wing it."

"The problem is that my brother needs to land this client, but it is his wedding anniversary this evening, so he wants me to take over from him in the wine bar."

"And you are going to the party this evening with Claire?"

"Yes, of course, but I also want to support James. But being honest, I don't have your knowledge of the detail."

"Fine, I am happy to help you and your brother out. I owe him anyway after last year. I will discuss Dickon with his potential client. Will the client want me to say yes to anything he says or to push back when he is talking nonsense?"

"James says that he is a straight talker, but I would say polite contradiction rather than how you take down George is called for."

"I can do that."

Julian looked uncertain for a moment. She looked at him and said, "What else?"

"My brother said he thought the man was playing with him, but he did ask if my brother knew a Jane Shore. My brother said that he knew no one of that name and the man smiled at him. The name rang a bell with me, and I was trying to look it up when you goosed me."

Rebecca burst into laughter, "Are you offering to be my pimp or has your brother turned procurer?"

"What?"

"Jane Shore was the mistress of Edward IV, his best friend Lord Hastings and Edward's stepson. The man asked your brother to find him a mistress he could share with his friends."

He blushed harder, "Fuck. Sorry about that, I really didn't know. You do believe me, don't you?"

"Fine, I was only yanking your chain. I know you well enough to believe that you did not read beyond the basic textbooks. I think you recall the name from the Shakespeare play. Probably best you don't explain it to your brother."

"I won't. He would not find it funny. He is a bit Dudley Do Right. Seriously, my brother said the man protects his reputation and was known to be faithful to his wife. Maybe he actually knows a real Jane Shore. Are you still OK to join us?"

"Of course, I will help out. He was probably just winding your brother up. Even if he did mean the second bit then I will flirt with him as pleasantly and harmlessly as I can. What do I need to know about him and how important is he to your brother?"

"William Johnson. Self-made multi-millionaire from Brum. Now his wife is dead he is throwing himself into the business and apparently wants to buy and sell companies. He wants to upgrade all his advisers and wants a firm of lawyers to implement the transactions and double check the accountants tax advice. That's my brother's in. He analyses the advice and then makes certain the corporate lawyers implement it properly. If he can be client partner then he will be a shoe in for equity partner next year."

"Fine. By the way have you heard from Bristol yet?"

"Three Bs. I should manage that. Otherwise, there is always Aberystwyth with three Cs. You were rather non-committal on Friday. Have you got in and are just not telling us?"

She laughed and produced the letter from Oxford. He looked genuinely delighted for her and gave her a hug. "Fantastic news. I presume you would prefer I said nothing tonight at the party."

"That would be good of you. I want to watch George when he hears the news. The longer he thinks that I am hiding the fact that I was rejected the sweeter it will be when he learns the truth."

Julian nodded, "I still find it hard to forgive how he and his friends treated Elizabeth. Perhaps I am a little like my brother."

"Only in the best ways." She patted his leg and continued, "How were you thinking of rescuing your brother if I had not turned up? Wander in by yourself and say hi, did not expect to see you here, I've come in to get plastered before the party, by the way your wife expects you at home and can we talk about Richard III before you go."

He shrugged, "That was one of the reasons I was delaying joining them."

She said, "The things I do for friendship." She outlined an alternative plan and then went and got changed in the toilets. The uniform for potential shop assistant was different from that of intelligent but sexually attractive lady.

She decided to assume that the man had meant the historical Jane Shore and flirt with him. The stories about the arrangements for special male (and some female) customers in the lingerie department of the store had turned her on. Besides which she had never flirted with a millionaire before.

She erred on the side of demure, the glasses were worn and while the dress was just above the knee, she had not undone any of the side buttons. While the black jumper was tight enough to accentuate her assets, she did not think that the bra could be seen. She was wearing stockings, silk knickers and a black bra. Her heels were about two inches. She tossed a mental coin on the wig and left it on.

As they walked in the wine bar and James called over Julian, she looked at the older man with James. He looked to be in about his mid-fifties, but he was in good physical shape and the salt and pepper hair made him look distinguished. The two of them were in a booth with a table which was covered by a red tablecloth which hung halfway down to the floor. She decided that she would not mind flirting with him.

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Bill Johnson was sitting in a wine bar entertaining himself by seeing how desperate the man in front of him was to win his business. He knew from a phone call he had overheard that the man had a date with his wife at 7.30 to celebrate their anniversary and it was past six now. He wondered how the man was going to deal with this quandary. The thought distracted him from his preoccupations, which were focused on how he fulfilled his wife's last wishes and how to ensure that he had a business that he could either leave to his children or sell for enough money that they need never worry about money again.

He had loved his wife deeply and the last six months of her life had been traumatic for both of them. Anne had asked two things of him during the final days she was really with him. One was to endow a room in a respectable museum about Richard III which put his side fairly and the other was to find someone new to love. She told him that he had been a good companion and it would be waste of a good man not to let someone else have the benefit of it and that she wanted him to be happy again. She also said not to rush into things and that he should not marry the first person he fancied.

He had two problems. While lots of history museums would love to have a new permanent exhibition room funded by him, the curators all stood firm on not saying that Richard had definitely not murdered his nephews. Some up north had offered to laud his work in the north of England under Edward IV but that was the most they would concede. Until he had found a solution to this problem, he felt that he could not move on.

Secondly, he did not feel ready in any event to start courting someone seriously. Friends had started introducing him to perfectly pleasant women and, while he had not disliked them, could not contemplate making loving love to them as he had loved Anne. Trouble was that for the moment he wanted to have sex more than he wanted to be married and for those women sex would have to be linked to an engagement. The alternative of having sex with someone he had no respect or liking for did not appeal to him. That's why he had jokingly referred to Jane Shore to James earlier today. He liked the idea of someone who would be happy for an affectionate relationship with no expectation of marriage, even if it involved gifts of cash and clothes from him.

Just then a young man and woman walked into the wine bar. The young man looked as though he could be related to James. He found it harder to place the woman. She looked like someone trying to make the best of themselves but did not have the budget or the good taste. The wig was certainly a bad move. Not too obvious, but his wife told - had used to tell -- him that one should always look at the eyebrows. The glasses were about as cheap NHS as you could get. Still the legs were good, and the jumper accentuated her breasts. It was a sign of how long it had been since he had sex that he mentally undressed her and imagined himself between her legs.

James had stood up and said clearly, "Julian. Is that you?" The boy had turned, waved, nudged the girl and the pair wandered over. The boy called Julian said, "James. You remember Rebecca? She's just heard that she got into Oxford, and we came in to celebrate."

James said, "Of course, Rebecca, I'm delighted to see you again."

Bill looked her up and down and then smiled, "Congratulations, Rebecca. My name is William Johnson. This calls for champagne." He signalled at the man serving who came straight over and said "Mr Johnson, what can I get you?"

"A bottle of Dom Perignon with four glasses."

He invited Rebecca to sit next to him and she accepted. "What subject will you be doing?"

"Jurisprudence -- law really, but they use a fancy name. I did history papers for my entrance exams."

"My wife was fascinated by history, especially the fifteen and sixteenth centuries."

"Oh, that's the period Julian and I are studying for A levels. One of my Oxford entrance questions was on the reign of Richard III."

"I would like to discuss that period with you."

He re-evaluated James. He did not believe for a minute that this was an accidental meeting but found it hard to believe that he was trying so hard to satisfy a potential client.

The champagne arrived and he started talking about the Wars of the Roses to Rebecca and Julian. He knew the subject. On Richard III it he had heard all the theories about why Richard III had not killed his nephews but did not really believe them. He liked the way she countered the arguments. It was respectful rather than pushing back aggressively or calling him a fool. He looked her in the eyes and realised that she was enjoying the debate as much as he was (or at least was good at faking it).

After fifteen minutes, the girl put her hand to her head and grimaced, "I had forgotten about the wig. Just give me five minutes to take it off. It is part of my job-hunting uniform."

As she hurried off to the toilets, he turned to the two brothers and asked, "Your girlfriend is clever and good company, Julian."

The man blushed, "She's not my girlfriend although she is my best female friend after Claire. Even if I were not going out with Claire, it would not happen."

"Why not?"

Julian said "There are four boys to every girl in the sixth form. She was hassled a lot last year especially as she is not that well off." There was clearly more behind it.

Julian trailed off, "Look, it's not my story to tell. She has been a good friend to me and Claire and I am delighted for her."

The girl returned and she looked more attractive with black hair. He decided that he wanted to get to know her better and that involved getting rid of the brothers.

He turned to James and said, "You should be with your wife. I heard the call. Mine would have had my guts for garters if I had been late for an anniversary meal."

James looked relieved at his dismissal, but also a little perturbed. William looked at him and said, "You found me a Richard III expert within four hours. I respect speedy service." At the same time, he patted Rebecca's leg under the tablecloth. She did not object to the touch and indeed she patted his hand with hers. James and he dealt with the necessary pleasantries and the married man left.

After another ten minutes Rebecca released Julian who, apart from a few sentences early on, had been left out of the discussion of why Hastings was executed, the histories of Polydore Vergil and Thomas More, why Margaret of Burgundy acted as she did, and the importance of the treatment of the Duke of Warwick by Henry Tudor. She said to him, "Jules, aren't you due to meet Claire at the party in thirty minutes? I am enjoying the conversation and I am certain Mr Johnson will be happy to continue it with just me."

Julian clearly wanted to go but was uneasy about leaving his friend alone. "Are you certain, Rebecca?"

"I'm certain. I don't think I need a chaperone to protect my honour." Her hand squeezed Bill's knee at that point.

Julian did not need much convincing and waiting only to thank William for the champagne, left for the party. William sat back down next to her after shaking the boy's hand as another bottle of champagne arrived. It was opened and he poured her a glass. His hand brushed her right breast as he did so, and she did not pull away.

He was starting to be impressed by James. He had shown no indications of knowing who Jane Shore was when he had mentioned the name. Less than four hours later he had produced a Richard III expert who also happened to be an attractive woman who was happily flirting with him and making him feel intelligent.