The call came whilst Holly was in the bath. Jumping out, she ran, still naked, dripping water all over the floor, to pick up the phone and see who would be calling so late at night.
"Hello?" she queried her mystery caller.
"Hello there, is that Ms. Thornley?"
"Yes."
"It's Mr. Pointer," the caller revealed.
Mr. Pointer. Her lawyer. Or rather, Simon's lawyer. The man who held one million pounds in a special bank account, hers to take and spend as she wished, but only if she completed a series of five mystery tasks set by Simon -- one with each of her ex-boyfriends.
"Sorry to call so late, but it's been a long day in the office. Are you available tomorrow?"
Tomorrow was Sunday. Holly had been hoping to have a nice relaxing day doing nothing.
"Well... yes," she said, tentatively.
"OK, well, I've arranged your second task. Remember James Black?"
Of course she did. James had been her previous boyfriend before Ryan -- she had cheated on James with Ryan. It had been rather awkward -- James was a chef, and he worked in the kitchens at the canteen for the office where Holly worked. She still worked there and would still see James occasionally. He had ignored her since he found out about the affair.
Mr. Pointer gave her James' address, and asked her to be at his house for 9am sharp in the morning.
Holly bade Mr. Pointer goodbye and then returned to her bath, wondering what she would have to do for James. This, she realised, could make things between James and her even more awkward than before.
***
The next morning she was at James' home, a relatively modest house not far from hers. She knocked on the door, and James answered. His usual scowl upon seeing her was not in evidence today -- instead she received her first smile from him since he had caught her cheating.
He led her into the kitchen, asking her if she wanted a drink. Before she could answer, her eyes caught the pictures that had been stuck all around the kitchen. They were photos of her in various states of undress -- chest thrust forward, legs wide open, showering. She knew that he must have been sent them by Matt, but wondered how.
"But... but... you don't know Matt?!" she stuttered.
"Matt asked your lawyer for my details and forwarded the photos on by E-mail," James explained.
Holly was horrified. She wondered who else had seen the photos. All her other ex-boyfriends, almost certainly. But who else?
"That one is my particular favourite," James said, pointing to one of her mid-orgasm in Matt's hot tub.
Holly wanted to rip down all of the photos, but knew it was pointless. James had already seen them, and quite possibly would be seeing her body for himself very soon.
"So it looks like you enjoyed your last task?" James asked, smiling.
"Well..." Holly said, not wanting to admit it, but knowing that the evidence was set out explicitly in front of her.
The moment was interrupted by the arrival of Mr. Pointer at the door.
He too was shown into the kitchen, and took a good look round at the photos.
"Ah, so I see Matt sent you the photos then?" he asked.
"Yes, thanks for passing my details on to him," James said.
James noticed the envelope that Mr. Pointer was carrying and, curiosity getting the better of him, asked to have a look.
Mr. Pointer passed over the envelope. James opened it, read, then passed the contents over to Mr. Pointer. Mr. Pointer also read, then folded the paper and put it in his pocket.
Holly looked at him. Was she not going to get to know what was in store for her?
"The instructions say that we should not show them to you," explained James. "Simon wants the task to be a surprise."
Holly protested to Mr. Pointer that this was not fair; she had to be told what Simon had said. Mr. Pointer waived away her protests. He had read the instructions, he told her, and he wouldn't allow James to ask her to do anything that was not within them. He was, after all, an impartial observer -- he had been appointed by Simon to carry out exactly this task.
***
The first element of the task, James explained, was that he was to give her a cookery lesson. This was obviously Simon's sense of humour, she thought. Though she thought herself a reasonable cook, Simon had never agreed, and had refused to eat any food she prepared, saying that he would rather not be a victim of food poisoning.
There was to be a slight twist to this cookery lesson, however. Holly was to be naked throughout it. Upon imparting this piece of information, James looked at her expectantly, clearly expecting her to start undressing.
It was not nearly as bad as undressing for Matt, she told herself. For a start, unlike Matt, James had seen Holly naked plenty of times. Unlike with Matt, Holly had been sexual attracted to James and they had slept together throughout their relationship. It was embarrassing knowing that Mr. Pointer would see her naked, but then, after the previous task, it would not be the first time he had seen her undressed either.
She pulled her top off quickly, folding it, placing it down on the unit, then relieved herself of her jeans. She reached behind her back and unclasped the bra. She paused for a couple of seconds to pluck up the courage then let this fall from her body too. Finally she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her knickers and lowered these, leaving her once more completely naked in front of an ex-boyfriend. Placing this final item of clothing on the pile, she stood facing James, hands by her side, letting him see her body.
"If nothing else, you have a fantastic body," James said, appraising it appreciatively. "It's just a shame you don't have the personality to match."
Holly could only scowl at James, knowing it was best not to anger him by getting into an argument.
James began his cookery lesson, deliberately treating Holly as if she knew absolutely nothing about cookery. He made her get all the ingredients out of various cupboards, and made sure to appreciate her body from all angles as she reached up high or bent down to access the cupboards.
He set about teaching her to make a basic cake. Of course, she thought, this isn't really about the cookery lesson. He knows that I have more cookery ability than this! He was just taking the opportunity to make fun of her, knowing that, unlike normal, she would be unable to retaliate.
After the cake was made, James had Holly begin to melt some chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water. As the chocolate started to melt, he dipped his finger in, then rubbed some of the warm melted chocolate onto Holly's left nipple.
She jumped back in surprise. It wasn't so much the temperature of the chocolate, which was warm but not excessively hot. It was the feeling of being touched by James. Up until now, like Matt, James had looked but he hadn't touched. But now he had broken through that invisible barrier.
She looked from the smear of chocolate on her nipple to Mr. Pointer, who seemed entirely unconcerned by this violation.
"But... he can't..." she stammered.
"It's in the rules," Mr. Pointer explained. "Simon said that James could do it. Of course, you can stop at any point and forfeit the money, but if you want to get the money, you have to let him do it."
At this point she felt James' fingers make contact with her other nipple, smearing more of the melted chocolate on to her. She hated the fact that she had to let him do this, but she knew what was at stake. A million pounds, she thought. One million pounds. That's what this was all about.
Now James returned for more chocolate, dipping three of his fingers into the bowl. He returned to when Holly was standing then slowly, deliberately, enjoying every second, ran the fingers down her left breast, making three brown lines, the middle one culminating at her already covered nipple.
It was strange being touched by James now. Once upon a time she would have loved having his hands on her body, especially on her breasts, but now it was different. Whatever affection had existed between them when they had been together was gone now, replaced by animosity.
A fourth dip in the bowl and now James was marking her right breast, this time drawing a large "J" on it, marking her with his initial.
Holly wondered how much longer this was going to continue for, but it was clear that James now had something else in mind. He gestured to the already completed bottom half of the cake, covered in thick cream, which was to form the filling.
"In cookery, presentation is very important," he said, delivering the line in the manner of continuing his cookery lesson.