Chapter 5
It had been nearly four weeks of following the home programme when I spied several of my female colleagues huddled together near a cubicle, their eyes quite clearly focused on me.
There had been only brief conversations with Cathy, mostly telling me when to be out of the house so she could collect more things, and the attention of so many women would usually have gotten me a little hot under the collar.
This time there was nothing, not a twitch.
As I cast furtive glances in their direction, trying not to let them know I had noticed them, I couldn’t help but study them in the way they were no doubt studying me: the way they were standing, how they played with their hair or laughed at one another’s comments, the way their clothing fitted so nicely to their soft bodies.
My whole body stiffened as the office queen approached me, five-feet-and-eight-inches of femininity wearing leg-stretching high heels even for a job like this.
Although she may not have been the tallest, with a lithe but curvy figure most women would die for, Evelyn exuded confidence and had the model-like features to match.
Trying my best to look busy, I only turned my head to acknowledge her when she was bent down towards me.
The tanned swell of her breasts and deep cleavage were about eye level, but it was the way she locked eyes with me and pulled her plump lips into a grin that made me shudder and squirm in my seat.
‘Adrian, isn’t it?’
I gave a short nod, unsure of what to say.
Her eyes bore into me and the smile grew wider, a hand resting delicately on my shoulder. The sensation of those digits against my skin – even through my shirt – made my eyes flutter.
‘We, I, just wanted to say that whatever you’re doing is really working.
’ She said warmly, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
‘You look so… put together. So…’ she thought for a moment, running her eyes over me at close range, ‘well, you remind us of some of our close friends. And they’re amazing. ’
‘Oh.’ Was all I could say after a moment. ‘That’s… good then.’
‘If you’d like to meet some of them, we could arrange something.’
Her expression was genuine, but the way she said it made something in me wince.
She must think I’m gay, I said to myself, trying to figure out the best way to tell her.
‘Um, that’s very kind of you Evelyn. I-er-I’m not actually…’
The look of realisation flashed behind her eyes, and a small flush of blood reddened her cheeks. ‘I-I’m so sorry, we thought – the cologne, the grooming, how different you are now. We thought perhaps you’d “found yourself”.’ Evelyn kept smiling, but the hand was withdrawn.
‘What do you mean “different”?’
‘Well, I hate to say it, but you were a bit of a pervert before. Now you barely look at any of us. If anything, you spend more time looking at Mats.’
Jesus, did I really?
‘Huh? Oh, yea. I’m looking at starting a gym membership soon, get pumped, you know?’
Evelyn’s green eyes glittered in the artificial office light, the brunette pushing her face forward until it was inches away from my own.
‘Sure,’ she said, pinching my cheek between two fingers for a moment, ‘you lie to yourself.’
‘But I’m no-’
‘Ssshhh!’ A finger pressed to my lips. ‘You’re going to get pumped, Batts. Just not in the way you’d want.’
The laugh she let out while walking away made me so fucking hard, and I had never been more thankful to have my legs under my desk.