It took Tina weeks to come to terms with her second encounter with Rob. God, what had she been thinking!
To let herself be fucked by him once was one thing. Okay, she could justify that she was heavily under the influence of alcohol on that occasion but to let him have a second bite at the cherry; well that was unforgivable. There was just no excuse for her actions. She hadn't been drunk, she'd gone willingly with him to his hotel room and even if that hadn't been her intention she had betrayed her marriage vows again. She was racked with remorse and self pity and chastised herself for being a stupid bitch. Was she that naive to think he wouldn't try to fuck her again. And she had given him the perfect opportunity.
As a result of her misery she felt awkward being around Jim. Fortunately for her he was so wrapped up with his job that he seemed oblivious to her general mood and never asked if anything was wrong. For this small mercy she was grateful and mightily relieved.
But there was still the problem of Rob. Obviously he would continue to come into the store and she would have to see him. It was after all his job. She didn't know how she would cope with that. What she did know was that she didn't want to leave her department. She also knew that he wouldn't want to give up the Brompton account. Why would he. He was fucking the sales assistant who gave him the fantastic sales figures that led to his massive bonus. It was win, win for Rob!
Luckily for Tina however, fate took a hand. Over the Christmas holiday period Rob suffered dreadful pains in his abdomen, and after being rushed into hospital was diagnosed with pancreatitis. He was going to be out of action for quite a while it seemed.
* * * * * * * *
A couple of months later and Tina had all but forgotten about her double indiscretion with Rob. He had not yet returned to work so she hadn't had that bridge to cross yet.
This particular morning found Tina in her department and even though it was early she was already hard at work. She loved her job.
"Morning Tina, have you heard the news that David's leaving?"
Hearing the voice, Tina turned to see her work colleague and friend Mandy approaching.
"You're kidding, no, really, where's he going?" Tina asked her surprise clearly evident.
"Don't know," Mandy replied as she hurried past. "Sorry haven't got time to fill you in on the details now so I'll speak to you later at break. Okay?"
"Okay." Tina turned back to her work but then paused to contemplate the unwelcome news. David had worked at Bromptons as an under manager for about seven years and had become a valued work colleague and friend to Tina. He had helped her when she'd first come to Bromptons about three years ago, helping her adjust to the workings of a large department store. He was going to be difficult to replace and definitely a hard act to follow.
When David came in to start his working day, he sought Tina out.
"Hi Tina, I guess you've heard the news then?"
"Yes, morning David, I have. I can't believe it. So why are you leaving us and where are you going?" she asked.
"Well," David said, "as you know, Nadine and I have been going out now for some time and you know she works in London so that in itself makes things rather difficult. Long distance relationships are always a problem. Anyway, things have been getting more serious recently and we've decided that we want to make a go of it together. So we've discussed it and come to the conclusion that it will be easier for me to move down there than for her move up here. In fact, I've already got a new job lined up and I leave at the end of the month."
"Oh, I see," Tina replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. She knew that David was besotted with Nadine and having met her a couple of times she could understand why. Not only was she gorgeous but she was a nice person as well. Tina really liked her.
"Anyway," David continued, "we're organising a leaving do. It'll be this Saturday. I assume you'll be coming?"
"Of course I will, you know that," Tina replied. She was always ready for a good night out. "Is it work people only or partners as well?"
David looked at her quizzically. "I think after the last works do when partners were invited, I think not, don't you?"
Tina thought back to the last Christmas party the store had arranged for their staff, which had rapidly descended into chaos. Fuelled by drink from the free bar, a couple of spouses got into a massive row which ended up with fists being thrown and one person being taken away in an ambulance.
"You'll still be able to come though, won't you?" David asked, "Jim won't mind will he?"
"Oh God no," Tina replied, "the one thing about Jim is he never stops me going out when I want to, you know he's not the jealous type."
He ought to be, thought David as he looked at Tina. She was medium height, about 5'6" tall and had what people would refer to as a full figure but she curved in all the right places. The work's uniform, which was very unflattering hid most of her charms but you could still make out the swell of her 38D breasts and the fullness of her shapely but firm ass especially when she bent over and her trousers pulled tight across her ass cheeks. Many a man had felt their cocks pulse when seeing that!
And he knew she looked great in her party clothes. But he had never felt the slightest desire to go after her. She wasn't what he wanted in a partner. Whilst attractive she wasn't beautiful, not like Nadine but she certainly had something about her; an inner sexiness that attracted certain types of men. Not that Tina was really aware of that, after all she was married and had been for nearly three years and as far as anyone knew she had never strayed from her marriage vows.
"So," Tina said, snapping David out of his thoughts. "Where's the party starting."
"I thought we'd kick it off at the Hardwicke Arms," David replied.
"Okay, but won't it be a bit packed on a Saturday night?" Tina said, knowing it to be the starting point for many night clubbers.
"I suppose so, but it's where most people suggested we go and then we're close to the clubs for anyone wanting to party on further into the night," David said.
"Yeah, I suppose it's a good idea. So what time is everyone meeting then?" Tina asked.
"Anytime after 8.30pm. Is that okay for you?"
"Sounds good," Tina replied. "Right, got to go and get on with some work, I'll see you later."
* * * * *
On the night of the party, Tina arrived at the Hardwicke Arms just after 8.30pm, not wanting to be the first to arrive. She needn't have worried about that as the place was already pretty full and she had to squeeze her way to the bar to get her drink.
"Hey Tina, over here." Tina turned to see Mandy waving frantically to her. As she started to make her way over to the group she looked around and realising that she might never get back to the bar again any time soon, turned back and ordered two more double vodka and tonics and poured them both into a tall glass.
Across on the other side of the bar, up on a slightly elevated part, David had seen Tina enter. He turned to his friend, Mark Bailey.
"There's Tina," he said, pointing her out.
Mark turned. He looked over to where Tina was struggling to push past people to meet up with her work colleagues.
"Mmm, she looks hot," he said to David.
