Simon thought little of it when his Secretary reminded him she was taking her annual leave from Monday, distractedly answering her by asking if she had managed to organise a temporary replacement.
"Yes," she replied, slightly testily, "she'll be here on Monday."
"Good" he replied, feeling slightly irritated by her tone, "I hope it's not somebody straight from school who hasn't the faintest idea how to answer a telephone"
"No," came the answer, "the agency is sending a very experienced person as it happens. A 58 year old lady. So you should be alright."
And that was the extent of the conversation and the limit of Simon's interest.
On Monday, in fact, he had completely forgotten about it and was somewhat surprised to find a middle aged lady waiting outside the door for him on his arrival. Remembering just in time as she looked at him expectantly he offered his hand.
"Hi, I'm Simon" he smiled " you must be..."
"Rose," she replied "nice to meet you."
Introductions over, Simon unlocked the door to the office and held it open for her. He showed her to her workstation and offered her a cup of tea. Shortly afterwards the telephone rang with the first call of the day and soon Simon was once again immersed in his work.
It was only at lunchtime, when Rose asked him if it was ok to take her break that he realised he hadn't spoken to her since delivering her tea, so, upon her return, he thought he had better be more polite and show some interest in her.
Small talk followed, during which time Simon established that Rose was a divorcee, lived locally and was currently between jobs. She had a daughter and a small grand-daughter whom she liked to take swimming.
It was only then it struck Simon that there was something quite...alluring, he supposed, about Rose, and once back at his desk he found himself taking the occasional peek at her when he thought she wouldn't notice.
He tried to stop himself, telling himself inwardly that she was exactly double his age and thinking how offended she would be if she knew what he was thinking. Such thoughts were futile however and he took another glance, this time noticing that she was very smartly dressed in a crisp, white cotton blouse which he couldn't help but notice was stretched fairly tightly across a fairly substantial bosom.
He also noticed, appreciatively, that she was approximately 5'4,"" had a very stylish hair cut, kind smiling eyes and very shapely legs leading down to a pair of very proper shoes for a smart, middle aged lady. He smiled to himself and shook his head slightly. They did not seem like the shoes of a woman who could in any way appreciate the thoughts he was having about her.
Again, he tried to concentrate on his work and, apart from several brief conversations throughout the rest of the day, he actually managed to block her out once again.
At 5pm Rose rose, stating that it was time to leave. Simon agreed and, as she walked past him to retrieve her coat, his eyes once again wandered, this time to her legs. Taking advantage of the fact that she was facing away from him, he had a really good look at her and as his eyes travelled upwards he noticed that she had a smallish but well rounded bottom encased in a tight black skirt.
They said goodnight and Simon rose to begin the process of locking up. As he did so, he noticed for the first time that he was partially aroused and he laughed out loud, looking down at himself and saying in a murmur "behave yourself, its not going to happen."
That night he found himself thinking more and more about Rose and, over the following days, he instigated more and more conversations with her. Each time, he concluded, she was a very nice lady but not one who would be happy to receive his attentions.
On the final day of Rose's assignment Simon took the opportunity of standing close to her so that he could smell her perfume. He could tell immediately that it was expensive perfume and once again he found himself aroused. This time he found that standing next to her chatting casually whilst his member hardened in his trousers was in itself arousing. He allowed himself to revel in the feeling, knowing that his slightly below average sized member was not likely to be noticed unless she looked directly at it. Something he was sure she wouldn't do but in a strange way hoped she might.
The feeling of being so aroused whilst standing so close made him feel bold, and although he also felt a slight moment of regret, he determined to try to flirt with her and hoped she might pick up on the electricity he felt sure was being generated.
He moved slowly and sat on the corner of her desk, all the time holding eye contact.
"Are you doing anything nice this weekend?" he asked
"Not really" she replied, "are you?"
"No" he said blandly, quickly adding as inspiration hit him "I was thinking of going to the cinema but I can't really face it on my own"
"I know what you mean" she said "it shouldn't make any difference in the dark, but somehow you always feel that people are looking at you if you are on your own"
And there it was: an opportunity. The like of which he had failed to notice with so many women on so many different occasions. This time, however, he had not only noticed it but was determined to take it.
"Erm.."he stammered, inwardly cursing at his loss of confidence " I don't suppose you'd like to go with me?"
Rose didn't answer immediately. Instead she looked at him intensely and, for a split second, he thought her eyes sparked. Then she spoke, suddenly seeming shy and lowering her eyes a fraction
"That would be lovely Simon. What a nice idea."
The following day Simon called for her as arranged and once again found her beautifully dressed. This time in a blue blouse with pearl earrings and necklace, a grey tweed skirt and a pair of expensive looking high heeled shoes.
During the movie Simon found he couldn't concentrate and told himself off for feeling like a teenager. Fortunately he managed to resist trying to put his arm around her, but he did briefly touch her arm as she leaned into him during a scary moment in the movie.
After the film it seemed natural to go for a drink and he was amazed at how the conversation flowed. She had really enjoyed the movie and clearly relished the opportunity to discuss it. He was, therefore, disappointed to see that the bar had closed without him noticing after only one drink.