It had been a hard road, because once she had outstripped those that had previously been her boss, jealousy reared its ugly head and to protect herself from the backbiting, and unfaIr accusations, she had had to ensure that she had the protection of her superiors. Even now she knew that all the men were waiting for her to make a mistake, and fall from grace. She was in a position of some power herelf now, and she was hoping that she would, perhaps, be headhunted by one of their competitors, so that she could start with a clean sheet.

As it was at the moment, she lived for her work, and had very little time to play. She usually worked a 13 or14 hour day, Mondays to Fridays, and sometimes even Saturdays. Even when she had the weekends free she was too tired to expend energy on enjoying herself, and would mooch around her house, pottering about and wondering why, when she had done so little, that the time had gone so fast.

She had an almost zero social life, and had not been out with a man other than as part of her job for years, and as to having a love life, she could forget it.

'Yes,' she thought bitterly 'I am the perfect example of the girl that has sacrificed everything to my career.'

She hadn't had a man making love to her since just after she started here after leaving university. He had been her steady, at college and they had explored the delights of each other's bodies, learning and teaching how to give and recieve the pleasure that comes with lovemaking. It hadn't lasted long after she had started work. She became a slave to ambition and, much as she wanted him, she either did not have the time, or was too tired. They drifted apart slowly, and what hurt most of all was that he had married one of her best friends.

Putting her glasses back on, she stood up and put the papers on which she had been working, into her drawer and locked it. Time for home, a shower, a chinese take-away, a bottle of wine and bed.

Standing there, one realised that she was taller than she looked seated. One would also say that she was pretty rather than beautiful, with her long brown/blonde hair down to her shoulders. She would never tread the catwalk as a model to top designers, having those few extra pounds that gave her a rubenesque figure. At that moment with the jacket of her pinstriped suit off, the low cut blouse showed off the cleft between her large breasts, which because they were held close together only gave a hint of the deep valley which lay there when they were free. Although she had those few extra pounds, she still had a figure that went in and out in the right places, and gave her face a rather appealing babyish look, which may have been why she was so good at her job. Her legs encased in black were shapely, and they together with her thighs gave an hint of strength. In fact, all round, although not beautiful in what was the accepted media sense, she was very attractive indeed.

Locking in the other drawer, she stepped out from behind the desk, and was about to get her jacket, when the door to her office opened, and the chief executive entered.

'Have you got a few minutes Anneja?' he asked, which she knew was purely rhetorical.

'I was just----'

Her voice trailed off and her heart sank. He had shut the door, which as it had a combination lock on the outside meant he wanted privacy, and she in turn knew what that meant.

He came to her, a short man, maybe 5ft 4". He was handsome, with silver grey hair, and a body kept fit by workouts which belied his 60 plus years. He was smiling-- At least his lips were smiling, but his bright blue eyes were hard. The eyes of a man used to having power, and with that power, used to getting his own way

'It has been a while since we had one of our little talks.' he said as he came to stand in front of her. Lifting one hand he placed it on her shoulder and applied pressure.

Anneja slowly dropped to her knees.------

To be continued @