Jack was having a Hard Day. Every day was a Hard Day for Jack because he thrived on stress and if the day wasn't Hard, it wasn't a good day. Nothing irked him so much as relaxation. Whatever he did, he did full-force, with every ounce of energy he possessed. He was thirty-six and, if he had been able to see into the future, he would know that he was destined to die at 42 of a fatal heart attack which would strike him as he was driving home and eyeing some sexy brunette in the slightly-better sports car opposite him. That, however, was all in the future, and he wouldn't thank you if you told him, busy as he was with Work and Things of that Nature.
The office was quiet. Too quiet. Jack hated quiet as much as he hated calm. If he didn't hear a buzzing of people outside his open office door, he got agitated. He stood up, his tall, toned, gym-flexed body moving to the door and sticking his gelled-black, jet-topped head around the corner, his angry eyes glancing around. He saw people working, for sure. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Work is good. Well done to them. But they were so QUIET about it. Realising that he had no reason to chide them, he grunted, annoyed at his lack of justification for being annoyed, and stepped back into his office, loosening his tie, simply so he could straighten it again.
Jack was Successful. Jack wasn't a Bad Guy; he was just highly-strung - passionate, if you want to look charitably upon him, which few people did, except his wife. Ah, his wife. Bless her. No kids, not yet. No time for kids, he always said, and Marie agreed, which was what Marie did. She agreed.
Or at least, she usually agreed. On this particular day, at this particular time, as Jack fumbled about his office looking for things to be annoyed about, Marie was standing in the elevator, her buxom, blonde figure clad in short pleated skirt, a soft black sweater and black heels, her blue eyes smouldering with determined rage. She'd not seen him for days. He had a "Big meeting" or a "Big dinner" or a "Big conference" and he had no time to come home. Marie could take a lot. In fact, there wasn't much she couldn't take, but she believed in Karma and she believed in Fate and she believed that her husband was due to get some.
She stepped out of the elevator, nodding to the few people in the office that she knew, smiling at the rest and stalking, rather unsteadily, towards her husband's office. She entered and closed the door, smiling brightly as he looked up, feeling a flash of rage as Jack looked at her - for the briefest moment until recognition struck - like he had no idea who she was.
"Marie. U..hi there."
"Jack..uh..hi there," Marie sneered.
Jack blinked. True, he almost didn't recognise her at first. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, he hadn't seen her for a while. Secondly, she looked good. No wait, Jack, that's not fair. She never looked bad. True, but she never looked THIS good. She had done something to her hair. And that skirt. Wow. Ummm..
"Wow..ummmm. You've done something to your skirt."
"I've done nothing, Jack. Just bought a new one. Do you like it?"
Jack nodded, dimly aware that the silence outside was now even more intense, looking over his wife's shoulder at the closed door.
"You closed the door," Jack muttered.
"Yes, Jack. I did. I need to talk to you. There's something you should know. Sit down."