A Change for the Better

"Bigger than the Salvos?"

"Bigger than the Salvos."

"I didn't know that."

"Not many people do, you see they don't go around begging for money, and they certainly don't brag about their achievements, just get on with it."

"That's enough of church for one day. Do you feel hungry?"

"Not for food I don't." There was that mischievous look on her face again. What began on her sofa ended in her bed by way of the floor. I have never had this much sex at one time before. I began to think that this could be more than just animal passion, and that it could lead to a long term relationship. Dare I hope?

"A penny for them." We lay side by side in her bed, having both experienced an orgasm.

"I was thinking, wishfully, that I might be falling in love with you. I know that I am older than you, a lot older, but you have made me feel much younger than my chronological age. As for my physical age, we'll just have to see how I pull up after this weekend. Dare I dream, or are you going to shoot my dreams down in flames?"

She rolled on top of me and kissed me. "If there is anyone who is going to suffer from exhaustion it will be me. I have never been made love to so perfectly and so often in my entire life. Yes you can dream, we can dream of what is to come, and yes you can take that both ways, but there are some things that I have to do before I can commit myself entirely to you. I am going to have to fly to Sydney tomorrow, but I should be back on Friday. I'll call you when I get in."

In one way I was sort of relieved because I don't know how much of this I could manage. On the other hand I'm sure that I am going to miss her something fierce, and I don't know if I can manage that. "Do you want to drive me home, or should I call for a cab?"

"I'll drive you, and you can drive me to the airport in the morning. Will it be okay if I leave my car at your place until Friday, or if I'm lucky, Saturday, or if I'm really lucky, Sunday or forever?"

"Be still my beating heart, and get down you rampaging cock."

"No, leave him rampant, he'll go down soon enough once we get home." Was this a slip of the tongue, or was she really thinking of moving in with me?

By the time I had kissed her good-bye at the boarding gate, watched her disappear down the air-bridge to the plane, and waved like an idiot as the plane roared down the runway and into the air, I was certain that she was the one that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life. That is what made what I was about to do so much harder. I was about to investigate her, her background, her marital status, her work, everything. I am by nature a careful man, and, over the past three days I had been subjected to pressures that may, or may not, have been designed to alter that and encourage me to make a decision that would have a negative effect on my future.

I talked to her on nightly basis, and all seemed fine. But the information that I was accumulating made it more difficult for me to maintain my side of the conversation. What saved it from total disaster was when the conversation turned to our love. Yes, I could quite honestly say that I loved her, despite what I now knew about her. I was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt. When our conversation reached that point her spirits seemed to lift, and she became so animated, declaring her love for me in the most XXX rated terms, telling me that she could not wait to see me again.

She called on Friday afternoon to tell me her flight arrival time. "Don't bother finding a park. Wait outside the airport and I will call as soon as I have collected my bags and I'll be waiting for you outside the arrivals hall. I'll be the one waving like an idiot, and yes I did see you as the plane taxied out to the runway."

"No, I'll find a park and meet you inside. That way I get to see you minutes sooner. I love you."

"I love you too. Good-bye my lover, I'll be with you soon."

I was waiting at the arrivals gate as she walked up the ramp from the plane. She saw me and her eyes lit up. Un-encumbered by baggage, she launched herself at me, and kissed me as I swept her off her feet in a passionate embrace, that was when I noticed her flinch. "What's the matter darling, did I hurt you?"

"It's nothing. Let's get my bags and get home." She seemed a little subdued as we waited at the carousel for her bags. I got the feeling that her visit to Sydney had not been a pleasant one. How unpleasant it was became obvious as soon as we got home. She flinched again as I hugged her once we were inside. "All right, something is wrong. I want to know what has happened to you."

She removed her jacket and blouse to reveal a body whose beauty was marred by some pretty significant bruising.

"Spare no detail, tell me everything that has happened to you."

"I'm so ashamed for what I have done to you, what I was being paid to do to you. Before you say anything, let me tell you that these bruises are because I have failed miserably in my job, and that is because I fell in love with you. That first night in my apartment, actually it wasn't mine, but one used by the company, while you were in the toilet, I switched off the CCTV cameras and the microphones. I knew something of your past life, they had a complete dossier on you, but that wasn't the real you, just some clinical information about how you had lost the plot following the death of your family. As I talked to you I got to see the man inside, the real you, and I just couldn't go ahead with what they had planned for you. I was to seduce you and under the influence of that seduction, keep you in a state of emotional turmoil, so that when I suggested to you that it would be a good time to buy back your old company, you would agree to the sale. They were desperate for you to take it back because they were in deep financial shit, their suppliers had refused to provide materials and the contractors had refused to carry out any further work until they had been paid for the previous work."

"I know."

"You know, you knew?"

"What that dossier wouldn't have told you is that I never made a business decision unless I had all of the facts at my disposal. Over the past week I have been digging, looking at all that I could find out about you and the financial status of that company. Finding out about you was a little difficult because you are not Sacha Miller. The real Sacha Miller is on assignment in London. "Before you say anything, I don't care what you call yourself, I have not fallen in love with a name, or a reputation, I have fallen deeply in love with a person." She tried hard, but still flinched as she hugged me. "I did a search on your apartment and found that it was owned by a building company that shall remain nameless, and it was used at various times as a love nest by one or both of the company's directors while they were in Adelaide. I don't know whether you were involved in any of this, and I don't want to know. What is your real name by the way?"

"Promise not to laugh. My real name is Jane Smith."

"Well Jane Smith, how would you like to be Jane Harrington?"

"Are you, after what I have told you, actually proposing to me?"

"Yes. You don't have to answer straight away, I'll give you all the time you want, I'm not rushing you into anything here . . . That's long enough, what's your answer?"

"Please . . . "She looked sadly into my eyes. "Please don't hug me, but it's yes."

"Okay, now that we've got that out of the way, I think that we should have you wounds looked at."

"No, I'm fine."

"You are not fine. I have only to touch your ribcage and you flinch. I suspect that you have a cracked rib."

"No, if we go to a hospital they will insist on getting the police involved."

"I think that the police should be involved. This man should not be allowed to get away with this."

"Darling man, listen to me and when I've finished, if you still want me, I'll think about it. Shortly after I started working for them, James, one of the Directors and I had an affair."

"This affair, was it about love and respect, or was it just sex?"

She thought for a moment. "I thought I was in love, but for him it was just sex."

"So, he used his position to force you to have sex with him?"

"He didn't actually force me."

"What would have happened if you hadn't allowed him to have sex with you?"

"I don't know, but speaking to other girls in the office, I probably would have been fired."

"So, by inference he coerced you into having sex with him?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"And if push came to shove, he could claim that sex was consensual?"

"Yes."

"And this resulted in a daughter."

She looked at me in shock, how did I know that? "It didn't last long because he was not about to leave his wife, mainly because she was the money behind the company. And yes, as a result I have a daughter. I was told by both Directors that they would pay for me to have an abortion but I refused. Both made it clear to me that, if I decided to keep her, after she was born I would lose my job if I do not do as they ask. I was not to reveal the affair to anyone, I was not to tell anyone in the office who the father of my child was, just that the un-named father would not accept responsibility for his child, and the affair was terminated. They will continue to pay me as long as I do anything and everything that they ask of me."

"And that is why you were sent to entice me to agree to buy them out?"

"Yes, they thought that, if it were to be a private arrangement, one not reported to the Stock Exchange, they are a publicly listed company and any buyout would have to be reported, that they could get away with it. They did not want the authorities looking into their financial situation."

"Because they have been trading while insolvent for the past year."

"You knew about this?"

"Yes, I have known about their financial problems for some time now. Depressing as it was, the contractors that worked for me kept in contact, and they told me all. Let me tell you that, beautiful, and gorgeous, and sexy," I kissed her to emphasise each point, "and loving, and did I mention beautiful? Person that you are, none of those things would ever have enticed me to buy back my company. That company is in my past, and I am committed to the future, with, I hope, you."

It was her turn to kiss me, she held her face against mine, and I could feel a tear coursing its way down her cheek "I can take any beating that I get from them," she whispered, "Just as long as they leave Stephany alone."

"Where is she now?"

"With my mother and father."

"Is she safe with them?"

"Yes. They have left on a trip up the Queensland coast, and have taken her with them, why?"

"I don't mean to frighten you, but knowing them I wouldn't be so sure. The way that I look at it, we should play them at their own game."

"What do you mean?"

"You were supposed to attach yourself to me and keep me in a state of confusion so that I would be susceptible to the suggestion that it would be in my best interest to buy them out, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, we confuse them. We go to the police and make a statement to the effect that you had been assaulted by your boss James, not only that but he raped you. I know that it is difficult to prove that, but coercive sex is the same as non-consensual sex, and that is rape in the eyes of the law. We also let it slip that they have been trading while insolvent, in the eyes of the law that is fraud. The police will want to interview him and then hopefully, charge him with multiple offences. In your statement you mention the fact that he is the father of your child. If he challenges that, you demand a DNA test to establish paternity. Now his wife is going to hear about this and will, in all probability, over-react. More confusion for him. Meanwhile I make enquiries through the Stock Exchange as to the profitability or otherwise of the company. This will reveal the fact what we already know, that they have been trading insolvent. As part of their company strategy, they offered shares to contractors on the premise that, as shareholders they would make a greater effort.

"There are four major shareholders, actually only three, because to support his lifestyle, James has sold most of his shares to his wife. When the news gets out that there are problems with the company, the ASX will announce that trading has been suspended, not that there has been any trading, and the shares will take a huge nose-dive on the strength of the announcement, panicking the other shareholders, who, in turn will demand payment for work done and threaten to have the company wound up. The values of the shares will disappear down the gurgler. James' wife will probably divorce him and take him to the cleaners in the process. The Fraud Squad will move in and the directors will be charged, and life as they know it will come to a screeching halt. The best part is, that the contractors are prepared to form a company to take over the building company, but not the debt. As there are very few assets, they should get it for a song."

"Remind me to never get on your wrong side. What I have been thinking over the past few days has nothing on what you have planned."

"But you haven't had the person that you love most in the whole wide world beaten to a pulp, have you?"

Her reaction was not what I had planned. With her arms around me and her head next to mine she said in something just north of a whisper. "You are such an amazing man, and I don't deserve you, so I want you to step back and think about this, about us. Can you say with certainty that you want me, given that I will bring you nothing but grief caused by my life decisions? I have seen these guys and the way that they operate. They use threats and intimidation to get their way, and if that doesn't work they have been known to hire heavies to persuade others to comply. I do not want to see you have to face that because of me. Ask yourself, do you know me well enough to commit to me for the long haul? I want you to be really sure before we go any further. I do not want to hurt you, I do not want to see you hurt. I should go now and let you think about this." She turned from me and headed for the door.

She had only taken one step before I caught her. "You are going nowhere. Now you listen to me, I have done nothing other than think about us since I discovered that you weren't Sacha Miller. I have analysed my feelings for you so many times that I know exactly how I want this, want us to play out. I know that we've only known each other for a few days, and many well-meaning people will try to tell us that we are rushing into something that we simply cannot be prepared for, but," I held her at arm's length so I could look into her eyes, into her soul, "I know something that they could never comprehend. I fell in love with you the first night that we spent together. Don't get me wrong, at first I was sceptical, after all why would a gorgeous young woman want to latch onto me, of all men? I figured an ulterior motive, not that you found me attractive."

"That wasn't . . ."

"Maybe it was because I hadn't had a relationship since Robyn died, maybe it was my curiosity, but I decided to see where it went, fully intending to pull out if it got too weird. Something happened between us that night, and I think that you felt it as well, because there was a subtle change in our love making, it had become less mechanical and more personal, spiritual even."

"So you felt it too?"

"Yes. It was a real, honest to god love. It wasn't lust, although I have to admit that you are the sexiest woman that I have ever met, and I include my wife in that assessment. But what I think that we have, is something that is meant to be, and the speed that we have become as one with each other has nothing whatever to do with anyone else. Now that I have got that off my chest, I will hold my breath until either you tell me that you feel the same way, or I die. It's up to you, my life as I know it is entirely in your hands."

I didn't breathe for some time, not because she didn't answer me straight away, on the contrary, her answer was instantaneous, her lips clashed with mine with such force that my teeth hurt. Her arms around my neck held me to her with such force that she must be hurting something fierce, but she didn't hold back. Forever later she released my lips and I gasped for breath. "Does that answer you?"

"You . . . could . . . not . . . have . . . said . . . it . . . any . . . better." I managed to pant out as I regained my breath. I took her hand and led her to our bed. I lay down and pulled her down beside me. Actually I didn't pull her down, she fell down beside me. "I don't think that sex is necessary for this occasion, I just want to lay here and have you beside me so that I can feel you, touch you, hear you breathing. We do not need to speak, our contact will speak loudly enough for the time being."

"If you say so." She whispered to my neck, her lips merely brushing me and her breath sending tingles down my spine. I didn't know how long I could stand this before capitulating and making love to her.

My resolve lasted around five minutes, give or take, but it collapsed as soon as her hand had found its way into my pants and her fingers wrapped themselves around my rapidly hardening cock. She pulled her jeans down, but not her panties, because she wasn't wearing any, and straddled me, feeding him into her pussy. "Don't move a muscle." She began rocking back and forth on him, sending sensation after sensation coursing through my body. She seemed to know when I was about to come, because she stopped moving. That wicked smile of hers told me that this was going to go on forever. Forever was about thirty minutes, she pushed hard down on me, forcing him as far as possible into her. After he had ceased unloading into her she collapsed on top of me.

"I have something to tell you."

"Oh yes, and what would that be?"

"I was so sure of us that I have stopped taking the pill. I want your baby."

"Wow! And I want you to have him or her. One of the things that I missed most of all in my after-life was kids, and I just could not see me ever having that opportunity ever again. Over the past few days I have been living in hope that you would feel the same way about me as I did about you, and that we could think about this step. I'm scared to say this, because it's the most banal statement that I have ever heard, but Jane Smith, soon to be Harrington, you complete me."

"Please, don't ever say that to me again. Don't get me wrong, the sentiment is great, just find another way of expressing it."

"How about this. Without you I'm nothing."

"That's so much better. Can you believe that some screen writer was paid good money to write that crap?"

"I never thought I would hear myself say this, not with my beautiful love laying here next to me, but come on, out of bed and get your gear on, we have places to go to and people to see."

"Spoilsport, can't we leave it until morning?"

"No, if we wait, you will be asked why you waited and didn't report it immediately. It will be bad enough that you waited until you got here."

"Because I was scared to report it while I was in Sydney, and before Mum and Dad had left on their holiday with Stephany. That's why I didn't report it straight away."

"Let me get this straight, you say that you, even though you were being paid to do this, that you were forced under duress by your employer, to come to Adelaide to seduce this man, Bryce Harrington, and entice him to buy back the company that he sold to your employer?" The police constable was finding the story hard to follow.

"That's pretty much it."

"And that when you failed to achieve the result for which you were being paid, your employer beat you, inflicting severe bruising and fracturing a rib, yet you waited until you returned to Adelaide before you reported this matter. Have I got that right?"