"You're kidding right?" said an alarmed Alex.
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" asked Tabitha whose face betrayed no trace of humour whatsoever. She pulled at the foreskin of Alex's limp penis as it trailed over his thigh. "This thing is
absolutely
disgusting! If we were to stay together, I'd have to insist you did something about it. And it's not a religious thing, either. It's just commonsense hygiene."
"Is it?" asked Alex, who nevertheless wondered why, if that was so, that no one had ever mentioned it to him before.
Although Alex didn't know it at the time, this exchange was to be the highpoint of his relationship with Tabitha. Over the subsequent weeks, he became increasingly aware that Tabitha's attitude towards him had begun to cool. It was no longer Tabitha who would make arrangements for them to meet at a restaurant, wine bar or West End show, but Alex who would remind her that they should do so.
At the same time, Alex became aware that he was no longer the only man on the Executive Board who attracted Tabitha's wandering gaze.
Tom wasn't divorced, separated or single. As far as Alex could see, he'd been happily married for many years now. He was also no more Jewish than Alex. Furthermore, he was some ten years older than Alex and the years had taken a visible toll. He was almost entirely bald, his stomach strained at shirt buttons that were often too tight and the bags under his eyes had become a permanent feature. No one could say that Tom was a better physical catch than Alex, but Tabitha had quite clearly fixed her attention on him.
Alex could see why Tom might be an attractive proposition for Tabitha, despite being non-Jewish, middle-aged and already married. He'd been on the Executive Board for rather longer than anyone else and he actually knew something about the products that Talpha Apps sold to the world. He was one of the few executives whose opinion the company's technical and professional staff paid any attention to, although he was visibly more at ease in the company of those who knew better how to regurgitate clichés and buzz words than express anything of insight or meaning. He was demonstrably more senior than Alex in status, competence and usefulness to the company although his salary was pretty much the same. Alex could see that if Tabitha could prise him away from his wife, he might well be a better stepping stone for her than Alex could ever be.
The inevitable break-up with Alex didn't come without pain. It was one of the facts of life to which Alex had become well accustomed over the years that the more someone drew away from you the more desperately you wanted things to stay much the same. Tabitha's visits to Alex's bed became less frequent whilst Alex was no longer invited back to Tabitha's Docklands apartment with its delightful view of the newly reinforced flood barriers. In contrast, the sex they had together was becoming more fervent and passionate. This was also a familiar pattern known to Alex.
"What about Mrs Turner?" asked Alex as if it mattered to Tabitha when she at last broke the news that her relationship with Tom had reached the stage where it was no longer appropriate that she should continue to have sex with Alex (not that her passion in the last hour or so had noticeably declined).
"It's Tom's decision what he does with his life," said Tabitha baldly. "If he wants to move on, that's his choice. His wife will just have to accept that society's movers and the shakers sometimes just have to move on to greener pastures. Tom isn't a man who's content to stand still. He has a passion to succeed and get ahead."
It was difficult for Alex to reconcile his image of Tom with Tabitha's depiction of him as a dynamic manager. Alex knew him as a man who he'd only ever seen get agitated when a waiter in the restaurant was slow in serving him or when a taxi was late to arrive. Generally, he was avuncular, unhurried and imperturbable. His value in Executive Board meetings was mostly on those few occasions when it was necessary that someone who understood the business should venture an opinion. On such rare occasions, he manifestly enjoyed milking the other executives' anticipation while he slowly elaborated why something might or might not be a good decision (although he never once ruled against the expert opinion of his technical advisors).
And so Alex was left on the shelf. His relationship with Tabitha had never been made public knowledge, unlike hers with Tom. She soon consolidated her status as his new fiancée while also expecting and receiving the congratulations and good wishes of the other board members.
It was Alex who was now in the more junior position. His longer sojourn on the board counted for nothing in comparison with the charisma of a woman of drive and ambition. It was obvious she was now a very likely candidate for the position of Chief Executive Officer if the current one should move on.
Alex's main hope now was that his past relationship would remain an asset and never become a liability. But that could only happen if he maintained a very high level of discretion.
And so this was one relationship that neither he nor Tabitha could ever acknowledge had ever happened.
