Chapter One

 

Carol Penter heard her computer terminal beep which signified a message had been sent to her via the company's private network mailing system. She took no notice and continued to stare out of the window.  Her office, being on the forty-fifth floor, provided her with a majestic view over the city and, in the crisp clear light of a winter's afternoon, she could even make out the snow on the distant hills.

But instead of enjoying the view, she was consumed by a chilling mixture of guilt and fear. She was a senior partner in Bently International Investments and, in order to prevent her parents from being made bankrupt as a result of the Lloyd's 'names' fiasco, had knowingly committed the crime of insider trading.

On their behalf and using privileged and confidential information, she had discreetly purchased, using several shell companies and nominees, thousands of shares in a company which was about to be acquired by a huge American multi-national.  Following the take-over, the value of the shares rocketed, giving her parents a clear profit of over four hundred and fifty thousand pounds which enabled them to clear their liabilities.

Bently International had handled the take-over and considered the heavy buying of shares immediately prior to the event highly suspicious and it was not long before the investigations started.

Bently had engaged the Piers Deveraux security organisation to carry out the investigation. Every member of the Bently staff had been interviewed, even those who had not been associated with the take-over. 

Carol smiled briefly to herself. She had not been directly involved and had only learned of the take-over by chance. Even so, as a result of wanting to help, she had risked everything; her career; her financial security; her future and her reputation.  She was fairly sure she had got away with it but had solemnly vowed to herself never to do anything like it again.

Even so, she shuddered when she remembered how relieved she'd been that Deveraux himself had not interviewed her.  Instead a Ms Castle, another director who was over confident and too full of herself by half, had spent some ten minutes or so confirming she had not been involved with the take-over.

Although she had only met Deveraux briefly a year or so ago, she knew all about his reputation. Had he interviewed her, she feared his piercing blue eyes would have stripped away her defences, read her innermost thoughts and easily discovered her guilty secret. At the time of their only meeting, she recalled being acutely aware of the magnetic power of his eyes which she found very disturbing yet strangely exciting.  She'd even found herself hoping perhaps he would be interested enough to ask her out but he hadn't.

She blushed when she remembered how, from time to time, she included him in her fantasies while she masturbated.  When that happened, her orgasms were always fantastic.

No-one knew anything about his private life but he was acknowledged to be one of the best in the business and an expert on hi-tech computer systems, software and surveillance. He kept himself to himself and usually only appeared when there was trouble and now everyone knew he was hunting his prey down with a vengeance. Still at least he wasn't after her.

Carol took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then expelled the air in her lungs as hard as she could. She turned away from the window and padded into her en-suite rest room. She always took off her footwear in the office and today, her black ankle boots with their petite two inch heels, were under her desk.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror and the way her long straight black hair cascaded over her shoulders. When she pulled her shoulders back, the crisp white blouse strained to restrain her breasts, clearly showing the outline of the lacy bra. Her regulation navy skirt finished some four inches below the knee and she silently cursed her tan tights which were making her feel hot and sticky.

"Pull yourself together, Carol Penter. You've got to hold your nerve if you want to pull this off. Nobody suspects you and you know Deveraux has no idea."

Her words cheered her up, making her green eyes sparkle as she smiled at her reflection. She knew she was attractive and sexy for men seemed to fancy her even though most of them were intimidated by her status and high salary. She had even, on occasions, overheard other female colleagues speak enviously of her looks and figure.  They didn't take into account the careful dietary control and regular work-outs she did every week.  Her 36 - 23 - 35 figure and long, shapely legs which were mainly responsible for her height of 5' 8", were only achieved and maintained by taking good care of herself.

Satisfied her make-up was acceptable, she walked back into her office and sat at her desk.

Her office was large and expensively furnished, indicating her senior position within the company.  She was highly paid, had a large apartment in a converted warehouse by the river and a cottage in the country where she retreated to most weekends. She enjoyed a large circle of friends but for the last two years, there had been no-one special in her life, mainly as a result of totally committing herself to work.

Cindy Miles, her PA just about controlled everything to do with her working environment. She organised her diary, made and cancelled appointments and meetings and was the link between her boss and the clients. Her desk was in the outer office and, when she was not working, she was forever urging her boss to get herself a man.

"Carol, it's a real shame no-one is enjoying any of the many delights you've got on offer!" was one of her more common statements for they enjoyed a close working friendship, one which never allowed rank or status to get in the way.

Some six months ago, Cindy had come 'out' and told her she only had relationships with other women and that her current partner was very domineering. Knowing Cindy was a lesbian had not bothered her and, if anything, their working relationship seemed to have improved even more. Every once in a while, Cindy would recount to her the intimate details of some special event which would usually make her very wet.

Rubbing her thighs together, she cursed the tights which were making her so uncomfortable.  She had overslept and, getting dressed, had laddered two pairs of stockings with her long nails.  In her rush, the only things she could lay her hands on were tights.

Undoing two of the buttons running up the front of her skirt, she slipped a hand inside and pulled on her panties to ease the pressure.  Not being able to grip the gusset of her tights, she then slipped her hand down inside the elasticated waistband of her skirt and tights.  Curving her fingers, she pushed the gusset down and breathed a sigh of relief. She let her fingers rest on her labia and immediately felt herself twitch in anticipation. She pressed harder and felt her clitoris harden.

She tried to remember the last time she'd masturbated. It must have been four, no five days ago.  God, her fingers felt good as she began rubbing herself. The wetness seemed to come instantly and her labia lips opened, allowing a finger to slip between them into the warm, silky softness. Her tongue pushed between her lips, wetting them, tasting her lipstick. Her thighs opened as wide as her skirt would permit and began thrusting her sex against her fingers.

Her nipples hardened and pushed against the inside of her bra, both demanding attention. The thought struck her, she had never had an orgasm in her office. She glanced at the digital clock in the top corner of her monitor. It was 15:48. She also saw the flashing message indicator and remembered the earlier bleep.

"You'll have to wait!" she told her terminal. "I need this right now."

Closing her eyes she saw him standing over her, the whip in his hand. He had an arrogant smile on his face for her knew she could never resist him. Of course, it had to be Deveraux.

"You know how to please me or do you want my whip?"

Her heart pumped harder as she pushed first one, two then three fingers into herself and began frigging herself while rubbing her thumb against her hard clitoris. Her other hand went to her breasts and began squeezing them. Her orgasm came from nowhere and hit her without warning. Moaning loudly, she pushed her fingers in as far as she could, her hips bucking against them as she seemed to come forever.

She sat slumped in her chair until the last mini shocks had past then, carefully removing her fingers, pulled her hand out of her skirt. Opening her eyes, she saw her fingers glistening with juice and, without hesitation, sucked them clean one by one.

Buttoning her skirt up, she straightened herself and turned to the terminal, smiling to herself.

"God, I needed that," she said to herself.  "I must remember to check my batteries are OK. I'll also get some spares. I've an idea my little vibe is going to be awfully busy this weekend."

She tapped in her personal code then, once it had been verified, used the mouse to collect her mail.

There was only one message and, as she read it, her earlier fears and feelings of guilt instantly returned to overwhelm her. The message on the screen was terrifyingly accurate.

'CAROL PENTER! YOU HAVE BEEN VERY NAUGHTY. FANCY THINKING YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH IT. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN COMPUTERS REMEMBER EVERYTHING? YOU USED FOUR COMPANIES AND FIVE NOMINEES TO BUY THIRTY-FIVE THOUSAND SHARES IN LASERSTORE. YOUR PARENTS MADE A TOTAL OF FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHT-EIGHT POUNDS WHICH ENABLED THEM TO CLEAR THEIR LLOYD'S LIABILITY. WHILE I CONSIDER WHAT IS TO HAPPEN TO YOU AND IF I SHOULD REPORT THIS MATTER TO SECURITY, YOU WILL NOT DISCUSS IT WITH ANYONE, YOU WILL CARRY ON AS USUAL AND WAIT FOR MY NEXT CONTACT. THIS MESSAGE WILL NOW ERASE."

The message stayed long enough for her to read it twice before the screen went blank and returned to its standby mode.

She remained staring at it, unable to move, her thoughts a jumble of fear and panic.

After a few moments, the buzz of the phone finally registered. She picked up the handset and punched a button.

"Carol, your four o'clock has cancelled. They're stuck in some enormous jam on the M1 and send their apologies. I've re-scheduled them for next Wednesday. You've nothing else for today."

Fighting to control her thoughts and steady her voice, she replied,  "Thanks Cindy. While you're on, have there been any messages on the system for me? I've been doing some confidential work and I'm currently logged-out on the network."

"Just a moment, I'll check.  No, nothing's come in since this morning and you've acknowledged that one. Are you OK? You sound a little tense."

"Yes, I'm fine. My head's full of statistics but I've done as much as I can for now and, as I'm free, I'm off home. See you in a minute."

She replaced the handset and leaned back in her chair. How could the message have got onto her terminal without being logged by Cindy's? It was impossible for her to figure out as her knowledge of networks was very limited.  All she wanted to do now was go home and hide.

Having cleared her desk and switched off the terminal, she put on her boots, collected her bag and jacket and went into the outer office.

Cindy was sat at her desk, checking the diary. Her red hair, cut into an urchin bob was in sharp contrast to the charcoal coloured jersey dress she was wearing. Cindy always wore clothes which clung to her figure.  She never wore a bra and her nipples were clearly visible. They seemed to be very hard.

She stood in front of her PA.

"I'm off. If anything breaks, leave a message on my home terminal, Cindy. I'll see you Monday. Have a good weekend."

Cindy was looking at her closely.

"Are you sure you're OK, Carol? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

"Yes, I'm fine. Things were getting hectic in there that's all."

Cindy smiled a knowing smile.

"Yes, I heard the moans.  As you can see, they made my nipples stand up. Was it good?"

She blushed at the question.

"Put an ad out for me. PA wanted who can mind their own business. Goodbye!"

In the lift taking her to the underground car park, she felt strangely excited by the fact that Cindy had known she had been masturbating in her office.

Then she remembered the message and the chilling fears returned.