Danielle was as good as her word and gave Josh a full makeover that night. She fussed over ‘Josie’ for what seemed like hours until she was happy with her work.

“Ready for this?” ask Danielle as she prepared to remove the towel that she’d used to cover her mirror.

“Get it over with. Then I can see the horror show for real.”

“Hey! Are you saying that all my hard work was for nothing?”

“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all. I know that you have worked really hard but even Picasso could not turn a sow’s ear into a masterpiece.”

Danielle saw the point that Josie was trying to make. She didn’t wait any longer.

As the towel was removed Josie saw herself for the first time. She gasped.

“See! I told you it wasn’t going to be a horror show. You look pretty good even if it was all my own work.”

“That’s only part of it. I don’t walk or act like a woman. I’d be outed in a flash. I see how different the two sexes behave every day in the coffee shop...”

Danielle came over to where Josh was sitting and straddled him effectively pinning him to the chair.

“That will come my darling,” she said quietly.

“I… I don’t know.”

Suddenly the door to her home burst open and George came inside.

“Well, what do we have here then? Two gay lovers caught in the act.”

In his hand was his phone. From the way he was wafting it around, it was obvious that he was filming the whole thing.

A look of sheer terror appeared on Danielle’s face.
“Yes, I’m filming this and it will be all over social media in a few hours. I’ll make sure that your bosses get copies. You know what that means don’t you Danielle? See that fat ass of yours? That’s what you will be out on when Phil finds out.”

“We aren’t doing anything illegal,” muttered Josh.

“But in Danielle’s job, ethics come into it and this is very unethical.”

“Why are you doing this George?” asked Danielle.

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? You showed me up in front of my friends. That simply does not happen to George Monk. I’m getting even big time.”

“How did you get in?” asked Josh.

George laughed.

“I made a copy of her key on our first date. I’ve been here many times alone. It is amazing what you can find, what secrets you can uncover and keep locked away just waiting for the right time to be aired in public.”

Danielle started to cry.

“Cry baby. You didn’t give a second thought to getting rid of your baby… my frigging baby!”

“Yes Danielle, I know all about your abortion. Were you ever going to tell me? Don’t fucking bother to answer. Well, your boss, will know all about it in the morning.”

George stopped recording the scene and put the phone in his pocket.

“Enjoy the rest of your pathetic lives. Danielle, you could have been right by my side but no, you chose this perverted loser.”

George stormed out into the darkness leaving the door wide open.

Josh summoned up all his strength and gently stood up. Danielle clung to him.

“Don’t go!” she said desperately.

“I’m just going to shut the door.”

She relaxed for just long enough to let Josh do just that.

For an awkward moment, neither of them had anything to say. Then both tried to speak at the same time.

“You go ahead,” said Josh.

“George has contacts everywhere. He and his cronies will make me look like a whore.”

“Then we should as they say in westerns, ‘cut them off at the pass’,” said Josh.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” said Josh as he took hold of Danielle’s hand.

“All he has is a video of you giving me a makeover. That’s easy to explain away. How many times did he complain about how long it took you to get ready? Lots I’ll bet. We just have to say that we got into a bit of a row about just that and I let you give me a makeover just to teach me a lesson.”

“What about me sitting on you like that? That isn’t normal is it?”

Josh smiled.

“All we have to do is say that I’d just asked you to marry me and that you had said yes.”

Danielle laughed.

“That won’t last five minutes.”

“Then lets’ mean it. Marry me, Danielle?”

The smile that was on her face disappeared.
“Are you serious?”

“Perfectly. Marry me, Danielle? At least you know that I would never hit you like George or show you up in Public like him. I don’t have even a fraction of the money he has but at least I know that is totally legal. George Monk is a bully and a crook. Everyone knows that and has done for years. I’m not and never will be like him.”

Slowly Danielle relaxed.

“Yes Josh, I will marry you. You are so many things that he could never be.”

Josh kissed Danielle and then held her tight. She’d always been like the element, ‘unobtanium’ to him. Fate and a nasty boyfriend had brought them together properly for the first time.

Danielle arrived at her office very early the next morning. She was happier than she'd been in a long time despite the video that George had shot doing the rounds on social media, she didn't care.

Her immediate boss, Phillip Mace, was the next person to arrive. His face told her that he wasn't happy.

“Danielle, I received a disturbing video by email last night. That is not the sort of behaviour that someone who works for this organisation should engage in. Some of our clients are very, very conservative as you well know.”

“Phil,” began Danielle knowing full well that he hated being called ‘Phil’.

“That video was shot by my old boyfriend. George Monk. He made an illegal copy of the front door key to my flat. Josh and I were about to celebrate when he arrived uninvited and took the video. We were about to celebrate the fact the Josh had just asked me to marry him and I’d said yes.”

“What about all that makeup that was on his face? How can you explain that?”

“First of all, Phil, what goes on in the privacy of our home is really none of your business as long as that behaviour is legal. If I’m not mistaken, those were your very words when you employed me. We didn’t ask George to come. Since I ended it with him, he’s about the last person I would ever invite him into my home. The previous time he came, he assaulted both of us. The Police are looking for him. But… to return to your original complaint, Josh had complained about how long it took me to get ready that morning to go out when we were nearly late for a family Sunday lunch. I challenged him to let me show him just what looking good entails. I’d just done that and Josh was eating crow when he asked me to marry him. I sat on him like it showed in the video which may I remind you was shot without the approval of either of us, just to make sure that he meant it. He did and I’d just said yes then George arrived.”

Phil didn’t immediately respond so Danielle continued.

“As far as I know, I have not brought the company into disrepute, not engaged in any illegal behaviour nor taken any illegal substances. If you decide to fire me then you will be sued for wrongful dismissal. I can assure you that you will lose. That loss will bring the business into the public eye for all the wrong reasons. It might very well be you that ends up losing their job. May I remind you that I am still an employee here even if I have given notice to quit. As such, I am still protected by all employment law.”

“Why you…” muttered Phil through gritted teeth.

“No Phil, you need to think very carefully about what you do next. First off, read this.”

Danielle shoved a copy of an email into his hand.

“That is a copy of a takedown request for the video. It was shot illegally in private and without a waiver from either party. It is also a clear breach of our image rights and the invasion of my home has been reported to the Police.”

Phillip Mace took the sheet and stormed into his office slamming the door behind him. Danielle had taken control of the situation just like Josh had told her to do. She was thankful that Phil had not mentioned her abortion. George had ranted on about it in the video. Being a man, he could not easily understand her reasons for going through with the termination.

She’d explained it all to Josh the previous evening and he understood perfectly. That was the difference between him and George. The latter would have wanted her to carry the baby to full term even if it represented a huge threat to her life. Ectopic Pregnancies are not nice things to have. Her ex, George would not have understood why she'd had the pregnancy terminated. He'd jump to the conclusion that it was because she didn't want his baby which was far from the truth at the time of the event. Things were all different now.

One by one, Danielle’s colleagues arrived for work. All she’d say was,

“I suggest we wait for everyone to arrive then I’ll only have to explain once and no one will get the wrong end of the stick.”

By 09:30 everyone was present. Phil was still locked away in his office, so Danielle took the opportunity to explain in detail what had happened the previous evening.

She’d only just finished when the two Police Officers who had investigated the assault on her and Josh arrived to speak to her about the incident. Both of them had informed the officers by email what had taken place the previous evening.

Danielle took them into a side office, so that they could speak in relative privacy. She was prepared for this, and thanks to the prompting of Josh, they had gathered the evidence for the police. He'd been there for her when George gave the impression that he was more interested in supporting his beloved football team than holding her hand when she went for the termination. Although Josh hadn't been with her for the procedure, his understanding of the situation was far more comforting to her than George could ever have been. She only wished that she and
Josh had 'connected' sooner.

“We saw the video that has been posted online from last night,” said the lead detective.

“It shows nothing illegal but as your email says, a lot could be taken out of context.”

“Here is written authority to view my medical records. They will show that I had the termination for medical reasons and is clearly nowhere near illegal these days. What is beyond dispute is that George Monk has been into my home without my invitation at least once and that is illegal. My fiancée, is arranging for the locks to be changed today. He is also arranging for a security camera to be installed. I don’t want that man coming near me ever again.”

“We understand the situation and we are doing our best to apprehend him. In the course of our investigations, we have uncovered a lot of new and slightly disturbing facts about Mr Monk. Some of these seem to indicate that he is involved with organised crime on both a domestic and international basis.”

“Didn’t you find him at the football match?”

"Ah yes. The tip off you gave us. It turns out that Mr Monk was once a season ticket holder, but has not been one for several years. It also transpires that he does travel to away matches, but does not attend them. It is all a smokescreen. We can't say more than that at this point in time but rest assured, he remains a person of interest to us and also of the National Crime Agency.”

“But you are no nearer arresting him then?”

“At the moment no. He hasn’t been home for over a week, and he is not using any of the vehicles registered to him.”

The second officer then asked,
“You said fiancée?”

“Yes, George Monk arrived just after I’d said yes to the proposal of marriage. That why I was sitting on Josh’s lap like that. I wanted to make sure that he was really serious. He was and we are going to look for a ring at lunchtime today. George won’t like that one little bit. That’s why we are getting the camera fitted. He may return and try to take it out on us like he did before. That’s why context is so important when looking at a video.”

“Congratulations. I hope things go well for you both,” said the lead detective.

“We hope so too. We are going to get married as soon as possible for no reason other than we both feel that it is the right thing to do. I really do not want to see George Monk again or even hear that name again. He is not a nice man and in hindsight, I wonder what I saw in him in the first place.”

The detectives looked at each other and nodded.

“We’ll be in touch if there are further developments.”

“I hope that isn’t very long officers. I really do. The sooner he is locked up the better I’ll sleep at night.”

Danielle showed the officers out. Then she returned to the room where they’d spoken and sat down. She was visibly shaking for the first time since George had appeared in her home the night before. It took one of her colleagues armed with a cup of tea to calm her down.

“Phil is still in a fug,” said Philippa, the marketing assistant at the Agency.

“Did you say something to him?”

“I did. I gave him both barrels.”

“Whatever it was, worked he’s gone home for the day.”

Danielle drank some more tea while she thought of an answer.

“He wanted to fire me over the video. He said that it was not what should be expected for employees of an organisation such as ours given the business of some of our clients.”

“Bollocks! You did nothing wrong. I never liked that George character. Too much of a smart alec if you ask me.”

“I know that now. I didn’t then.”

“You seem to be very much at home with your new fella!”

“That’s Josh. He’s asked me to marry him,” said Danielle calmly.

“Looking like that? Brave man.”

For half a second, Danielle almost told Philippa about Josh’s desire to become a woman but one surprise was more than enough for one day.

“He was moaning about how long it took me to get looking fabulous so I challenged him to let me show him. I’d not long finished when George burst in. That’s when he took the video.”

“You didn’t invite him in?”

“No chance. He admitted that he’d made a copy of my front door key without my knowledge.”

“Bummer.”

“Yeah!”

[The following Friday – At Danielle’s workplace]

Danielle’s phone rang. She stopped typing a report into her computer and answered it.

“Hello?”

“Oh hello, detective Sergeant. What can I do for you?”

“Oh. You did! When?”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“What happens next?”

“Ok. When will that happen and more importantly, do I or Josh need to be there?”

“Ok. Thanks for letting me know.”

She hung up the phone and did a small ‘Yes’ gesture.

Philippa, who had the next desk to her, noticed her reaction.
“Good news, I see?”

“Yes. George was arrested as he tried to get onto a flight to Frankfurt. He will be charged with assault by the end of Sunday. He’ll be up before the magistrate on Monday for remand. The Police will oppose bail as he is a clear flight risk given where he was arrested.”

“That’s very welcome news, isn’t it?”

“It is. Josh and I can get on with planning our wedding. Nothing large as we are having it done at the Registry Office in Bedford. Then off to the pub for a meal. You and your husband will be invited but we have not set a date yet. It all depends upon availability.”

“Good for you. At least then, you can put George behind you.”

“That’s what we hope but until he is locked up, you never really know what he’s going to do.”

“Any idea when his trial will be?”

Danielle shook her head.
“His lawyers are arguing that our video was illegally shot. Bollocks to that. We can shoot a video inside our own home and not have to worry about it showing a crime being committed being ruled out because the criminal didn’t sign a bloody waiver. They forfeited that right by committing a crime. The Law Lords ruled on that in the 1980’s. If they manage to get this overturned a few million other cases will have to be reviewed and probably thrown out. It is all just a delaying tactic. Then there are the other charges that are being prepared relating to his business. Those are far more serious but, I fully expect George to have vanished by the time it eventually goes to trial.”

“Do you mean vanished as in dead or what?”

“Vanished as in no longer in the country. His contacts can easily smuggle him out. It is not that difficult if you know how.”

Philippa knew that to be true. One of their clients had been a Charity that helps illegal immigrants get proper legal assistance. Several of their clients had vanished only to turn up back in their home countries and they hadn’t been officially deported.

It turned out that several employees of the charity were helping the regimes get their ‘persons of interest’ returned home. After that, the company was far more circumspect about what organisations they dealt with.

“That’s it,” said Josh.

“We are all set for Saturday the 25th of next month.”

He put the phone down and gave Danielle a brief kiss.

“10:30 at the Registry Office and then we decamp to a pub in Woburn for lunch.”

“And then?”

“What do you mean ‘and then?’”

“Doh! Our Honeymoon silly.”

“I can run to a couple of nights in Margate but the kitty is a bit bare. It would have been nice if your parents had helped out but they didn’t. Have they at least said that they are coming?”

“Not a sound. They loved George or rather, he had them wrapped around his little finger. They haven’t totally forgiven me for warning them off investing in one of his ‘Get George Rich’ schemes even though their bank was telling them the same story.”

Josh looked sad.
“Will we ever get him out of our lives?”

Danielle hugged Josh.
“Not if we stay around here, we won’t. He knows too many people and many of them owe him big time.”

Danielle smiled.
“Why don’t we look for suitable places to move to and go there on our honeymoon? We can see what they are like from a relatively detached viewpoint can’t we?”

“That sounds like a plan. Did you decide on a dress yet?”

“Nearly. I spent another lunchtime in the rental shop but could make up my mind. I did manage to get a few little things for the big day though.”

“What sort of little things?”

“Something old, borrowed and blue.”
Danielle wouldn’t say much more than that. She had a few surprises up her sleeve for Josh.

[to be continued]