Louise
A couple of days after the dinner party at Michael's house, Steve still hadn't heard any news from Michael at all. It was as if he was avoiding him. I felt guilty because I knew it was down to me, but there wasn't much I could do. I couldn't rewind time. We just had to wait it out and see what happened next.
It was early morning, Steve had left for work and I was just about to head out for the gym. As I approached the front door the doorbell rang and I could see the murky shadow of someone through the frosted glass.
I opened the door to be greeted by none other than Michael. Two white vans pulled up across the street behind him.
"Er..hello." I said, trying to inject some warmth into it.
"Louise. May I come in?" He said in his clipped manner of speech.
"Erm I was just on the way out." I motioned to my gym outfit. "To the gym, in case he hadn't quite got the message."
"It won't take moment." he said virtually stepping through the door.
"Well OK, I guess."
I opened the door further and let him into the hallway.
Shutting the door, "What is it? What do you want" I asked as politely as I could.
"Louise, I felt after the other night that we needed to clear the air."
"Yes.."
"Please, just let me speak. Say my thing."
I nodded, afraid to say anything more.
"Steve is a pivotal worker at Crawsons. He could achieve great things. He could earn a lot, and I mean a lot of money. I like him, I like you too. But, and here's the thing, I need my employees and their families to be totally obedient to me. Do you understand. I can't have little tantrums and outbursts like yours the other night. I need everyone to be subserviently loyal. If I ask anything I need it to be done."
I couldn't believe he was saying this, and felt like blurting out 'Tantrum? What the fuck. It's not a tantrum if you say my husband has to fuck me up the ass, and I refuse', but instead I held my tongue.
He continued. "Sometimes I meet someone, - someone like yourself that I can't impose my will on, because maybe they're too strong willed, too stubborn too much like myself even, and then... well then I have to get creative. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate and admire a man or a woman with a strong sense of ethics and what's right and wrong. But in the end, I have to have my way. Do you see?"
I nodded numbly again.
"OK, so outside are a team of mine. You can toddle off to the gym and do some pilates or crunchies or whatever you do there, while my team get work. We'll be here for a few hours at least. They're going to be installing a covert surveillance system in your home. Once it's done yours and Steve's every movement, and I mean every movement will be captured and sent to me..."
My mouth must have opened ready to object
"Hold on, allow me to finish. Yes I know this breaches human rights, yes I know it infringes civil liberties, yes I know it breaks all sorts of rules and regulations but basically I don't give a shit. Steve won't know the cameras are operating. It's imperative he doesn't find out. It's enough that you do... How do I know you won't tell him? Simple. His home computer, his company laptop and his company phone are all connected to the Crawsons network. The IT team at Crawson's are predictably under my jurisdiction. If I wanted say some particularly unsavoury photos planted on his computer, phone blah blah blah... you see where I'm going with this? I call the police - he's arrested, probably imprisoned, loses his job, gets sent to prison where the fellow inmates take a dim view on what he's done. You lose the house, your livelihood yada yada yada."
"Holy fuck you're a monster."
"Yes, I guess I am."
"Oh, and don't think of calling the police either. Why? One, because I happen to know a number of senior officials in the police department, and Two because I can invent a reason that you've installed these cameras yourself and after a bitter dispute with the company you're trying to get some kind of revenge."
"Now, why don't you toddle off to the gym and when you get back you can make my men here a nice cup of tea and treat them to some biscuits."
I grabbed my car keys and drove off with a squeal of tyres.
I couldn't focus and drove round our neighbourhood in circles.
I ended up parking the car in a side street near Edgmont Park. Outside I could see a couple of toddlers playing on the swings with their moms. The sun was breaking through the clouds and for most people it was turning out to be a nice day. For me though. Fuck. What was I going to do? I idly held my phone and then started dialling Steve's number, before Michael's words rung in my head. I shut it off quickly just as I tapped in the last number.
I banged the steering wheel in frustration. I thought about the police, but something told me that Michael hadn't been lying when he warned me about what he could do.
Shit, shit shit.
I could maybe tell my family. I had a sister, but she lived abroad and had kids, so there wasn't anything she could realistically do. I was stuck.
After sitting in the car for half an hour I came to the only conclusion available to me. I had to do what Michael said.
Five hours later I returned home. I'd been to the gym, and worked out some of the aggression I felt toward Michael, and then had gone to kill time in coffee shops and shopping around town before returning. I didn't want to see Michael again but knew he'd be waiting for me however late I left it. Even if I waited until Steve had returned I figured he'd probably make some excuse to see me.
As I drew up, I noticed one of the vans had departed, the front door was open and a couple of the men were carrying tools out of the house. I reluctantly pulled into the driveway and got out. Entering the house I was greeted by the insidious Michael.
"Did you have a nice time at the gym? It's good timing - we're almost finished here now."
He gave me an evil smile.
"I hope you haven't contravened my orders. I will find out you know, and if I find you have, you can kiss goodbye to this house, and this lifestyle. If Steve makes any sudden requests to leave his job and decide to go travelling round the world don't think I won't know you're behind it."
Shit I thought I should have recorded him on my phone. At least then I would have had some evidence.
"Right we're off now. It's been lovely chatting to you. I hope to see a lot more of you." He said this without a trace of irony in his voice but we both knew what he meant.
I tried to put what had happened out of my mind, but I was particularly conscious of being naked in my house. I couldn't detect where all the cameras were hidden but I figured they were in the smoke detectors and burglar alarm detectors.
I undressed under the bed covers and made a point of hastily getting dressed, and revealing as little flesh as possible.
All was well for two days and then in the evening my phone buzzed. It was a text message, I opened it up, there was a picture of me stepping into the shower. Fuck. I figured the bathroom was a safe place because of the steam, but obviously not.
"Who's that honey" asked Steve
"Nothing, just a message from Julie, I answered
The following day in the afternoon, while Steve was at work, my phone buzzed again. Hesitantly I looked. I'd assigned a new tone to the sender of the photo, Michael I presumed. So when the alert came through I knew it was him. I didn't want to open another compromising photo of myself with Steve around.
