Lust, Love and Lies Chapter One

1st chapter of full length novel

Chapter One

August 2000

Nikki Zirmer’s mind wandered from her work. She gazed towards the door. Her desk at the far end of the third floor of the Council office building afforded her a good view of the whole room. Outside the sun shone brightly, but vertical blinds prevented its warmth entering the featureless room. Despite wall-to-wall windows, overhead fluorescent tubes glowed white and cold. She gazed again towards the door and tried to look casual. She didn’t want to appear to be waiting for Kevin’s appearance.

Her phone rang again. It hadn’t stopped ringing all morning. Emails remained unopened. Answering it, her long blonde hair fell across her face. As she searched through the pile of paperwork she flung back the offending locks, deftly securing them behind her ear. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kevin Kelly approaching. She watched him cross the room, stopping at each desk to converse easily with the occupants. She noted, with much irritation, the response he received from females; young and old flushed with pleasure whilst hanging on to his every word. Smooth, self-assured, Kevin oozed sex appeal and knew it. The smile widened on his handsome features as he reached her desk. She determined not to gaze back doe eyed like her colleagues.

“Good Morning, Mr. Kelly, I’m sorry I don’t have your figures yet. As you see, things are a bit chaotic today.”

“That’s all right, Mrs. Zirmer. I just came to ask if you’d like a lift to Bripley High later today. I presume you’re going to the Inauguration? I’m representing the Education Committee.” Their eyes met. He bent over her desk, ostensibly to examine the paperwork, and whispered quietly, “It should be easy for us to slip away afterwards.”

“Thank you,” she nodded, hoping that the pleasurable anticipation that had welled up was not as transparent as it felt.

**

Alan Zirmer struggled to keep his mind on the business in hand. This was a day he had looked forward to all his life; the day he became a Head Teacher. But now that it had arrived, he couldn’t enjoy it. There were other things on his mind; namely Nikki and the deteriorating state of their relationship. Beautiful Nikki, who looked as lovely today as she had the day they’d wed. He looked and felt much older than his forty years, unlike Nikki, who had altered very little. She remained blonde, willowy and effortlessly beautiful. His hair particularly let him down. It had thinned at an alarming rate; a once rich-brown thatch now no more than a faded greying circlet surrounding an ever-widening dome.

Shortly the ceremony of inauguration would begin and he would commence his role as Head Teacher of Bripley High - the newly completed, purpose built, ultra modern, senior school. A daunting task lay ahead, made all the more daunting by his having to begin in the full glare of media attention. He felt anything but up to the occasion. He felt old, miserable and worried.

He knew, even with any unforeseen hiccups, the inauguration would probably go as planned and he felt quite certain of his ability to cope with whatever lay ahead after that. He intended to stamp his personality onto the job from the outset. His ideas would be put into practice, whether popular or opposed by parents or staff. His worries were purely personal. He tried to thrust them from his mind only to find them almost instantly back in focus. Try as he would, there was nothing he could do to rid himself of the problem. For weeks it had occupied his mind, almost to the exclusion of everything else. He had to regain control. He could not allow personal considerations to interfere with the day ahead.

When he had first begun to suspect Nikki of having an affair he had pushed the idea away, dismissed it as a figment of imagination. But as she grew ever more distant, the change in her demeanour convinced him of her infidelity. The identity of her lover began to assume enormous proportions, driving him crazy. Jealousy plagued him; so too did doubts. Maybe he was mistaken, but if he was, then what had gone wrong between him and Nikki? Things had changed. She had changed " or perhaps the fault lay with him. Indecision taunted him. What would he do if he discovered for certain that she was being unfaithful? Could he ignore it and hope that it would play itself out, or would he confront her and bring matters to a head, one way or another? Day and night he got no release from the torment of uncertainty. No solution presented itself. Somehow today he had to relegate his agonising; he could not allow it to intrude upon the Inauguration.

**

The unseasonably cold, though thankfully dry, weather left Nikki shivering. A thin, sleeveless, summer top afforded little protection against the biting wind. She wished they’d get on with it. Everybody seemed to be waiting for someone to begin the proceedings. She wanted to prod them into action. Finally, James Donovan, MP, stepped forward and drew back the curtains from an inaugural plaque. Applause broke out. Alan, lean and angular, stood beside him, his familiar stooping stance belying his six feet two physique. Directly behind the pair Nikki spotted shorter, athletically stocky Kevin Kelly. She stared transfixed at the contrast between them. Alan’s kind yet stern-looking face turned in her direction. She began a hesitant half wave, thought better of it and simply nodded towards him. He gave no indication of having seen her, though she felt sure he had. Cameras flashed. MP and Head Teacher shook hands for the press. Pompously, chain swinging and with exaggerated dignity, the Lord Mayor stepped forward to begin the official speeches. Soon the public part of the proceedings would be over, to be followed by a buffet for invited guests and dignitaries. Later, whilst Alan was occupied meeting School Governors and his full complement of auxiliary, secretarial and academic staff, she and Kevin intended to slip away.

**

As Nikki let herself into her lover’s car to await his arrival, she felt a sudden pang of guilt, remembering how that morning, although not certain of Kevin’s availability, but simply on the off chance, she had made arrangements with her mother to keep the children for a longer period than usual. She’d lied and told her that, as Alan would be tied up until late, she wanted to take the opportunity of putting in a few extra hours herself. When the affair had first begun Nikki had found it difficult to lie to family and friends but now, after practically six months of deception, untruths tripped casually and easily off her tongue.

**

Alan Zirmer stood at an upper storey window and watched Nikki and her lover drive away. He had been occupied with the School Governors when she had left the reception; he hadn’t seen her go but he realised now that she must have waited in the car for Kevin Kelly. He hadn’t seen him slip away either. One moment he’d been chatting to the Lord Mayor, the next he’d disappeared. Alan shook his head and tried to convince himself that the man was simply giving Nikki a lift back to the office; he remembered her saying at breakfast that she intended working over. He tried to force his mind back on to school business. But as he watched the pair drive off together, the certainty of her betrayal pressed itself on him like a physical force. Their body language alone had spoken volumes. He could kid himself no longer.

Alan had never met Kelly before today; he had heard of him of course.  In school circles, the man was known as that rare commodity, a financial administrator who was always at least willing to consider requests for equipment, within the limits of the Authority’s budget. He also knew that Kelly enjoyed a widespread reputation as something of a ladies’ man. Having observed him today, he could see why. Although they were approximately the same age, Kelly looked a good ten years his junior. Athletically bronzed and fit, he also enjoyed the benefit of an affable personality. He effortlessly exuded an air of confidence.

Whilst caught up in his musings Alan suddenly became aware that Miss Hurst, the new school secretary, was trying to attract his attention.

“I’ve put sandwiches and fresh tea in Conference Room B, Mr. Zirmer. I thought that the teachers’ staff room might be a bit claustrophobic for the full team. I’m afraid not everyone has arrived yet. I did tell them to be here before the end of the reception, but of course, I didn’t have an actual time to give them.”

“That’s quite alright, thank you, Miss Hurst.” Alan pulled himself back to the present, forcibly thrusting thoughts of Nikki’s affair onto a back burner, if only for the moment.

**

Kevin and Nikki sped through the back streets of Bripley, “Anything wrong?” He asked, “if the timing’s not right, Nikki….”

“No, no.  It’s just that I feel guilty I suppose, seeing you and Alan together.”

“That’s what I mean. We could leave it for another time, if you’d rather go straight back to the office?”

“No, of course I wouldn’t. I’ll be fine, Kev, honest.” She didn’t want to put him off. Despite the guilt, she ached for them to make love.

They drew up at the back entrance to the Council owned apartment block. Kevin let her out and drove round to the front of the building. She slipped in the back door and hurried up the stone steps to Apartment 4H, which was situated on the top floor. She was hot, sweaty and out of breath, long before she got there. She didn’t take the lift but knew that Kevin would. He’d first pass pleasantries with the Security Man and the girls in Reception, telling them a VIP was to occupy the flat in a day or two, which was quite true. Say he needed to make sure everything was in order; fridge filled, rooms aired, and such " his usual ruse. Kevin had used it so often that the apartment staff now accepted his frequent appearances as part of his general duties. He stepped from the lift, fresh and relaxed, as Nikki waited, flushed and panting, outside the door of the apartment. He unlocked it and held it open for her to enter.

“Drink? Want to talk for a bit? No rush.”

Kevin never rushed her. Even when they were short of time, he always allowed her to set the pace. She slipped off her skirt and top and heard the quickening of his breath, as he took in her suspender belt and stockings. He loved her to wear them. She had worn them today just in case.

“You’re beautiful… let me do that.”

He made her feel sensual and alluring. His every touch made her tingle. It had never been like that with Alan, not even in the early days of their marriage, before the children were born. She’d never even experienced an orgasm before Kevin. He made love to her slowly, gently and sensuously. She knew he didn’t love her. She didn’t love him. It was purely physical between them. They had agreed from the very beginning that there would be no strings, no recriminations; they would simply enjoy each other for as long as it lasted. And it had lasted, for almost half a year and she saw no sign on either side of its cooling off.

After they’d made love they lay together fulfilled and satisfied. He watched her admiringly as she dressed. She always left first, taking the same route by which she’d arrived; down the stairs and out through the back entrance. Their usual routine had her long gone before Kevin ever left the building, today however, she had to go back to the office to make up for the hours missed by attending the Inauguration. Nikki waited inside the back door until Kevin brought the car around. Standing there in the shadows made her feel sullied and guilty: it somewhat took the edge off her enjoyment. She felt a sudden, unreasonable surge of anger towards her lover. As a single man, he took all and risked nothing. For all she knew, he could have a string of girls that he regularly shuffled: getting his pleasure first with one, then with another. He really did have it made. Deep down she despised him for what he was, but she despised herself even more for wanting him. For the sake of a few brief interludes of sexual satisfaction she was willing to betray the love of a loyal, devoted, if rather boring, husband. She knew also that she risked the happiness of her children. As the consequence of discovery thrust itself to the forefront of her mind a shudder shook her. But even though she knew the risks incurred by continuing to see Kevin, she also knew, as she slipped quickly out of the building and into the front seat of his car, that she would be back, as and when the occasion presented itself again.