Following our trip to Zurich, Daphne and I had no further physical contact other than a lingering hug at her leaving drinks. Even without our one-night tryst, I would have missed her as a colleague. The energy she brought to the team was going to be difficult to replace. As the weeks wore on, we all adjusted. There was no choice, as the first quarter of the new year was surprisingly busy. So busy in fact, that it was comm...

“Don’t dip your pen in company ink,” is just one of many, and by no means the most vulgar, phrases warning of the danger of becoming romantically or sexually involved with work colleagues. I’ve managed to heed this sensible advice most of my career. Though to be honest, as a straight man working in engineering, the temptations have been relatively few. The international consultancy where I spent many years was no exceptio...

There are a few days every June when the weather is so fine that one can forgive the UK for whatever the climate brings the rest of the year. With bright blue skies and the sun’s intensity at “bask” rather than “scorch”, there is no finer place in the world to be than a well-manicured garden in England. Having impeccable timing, my sister-in-law chose just such a perfect day to hold one of her “get togethers”. Abby is an...

“You’re having me on… this has to be a parody account. How many fucking Christmas trees does a person need?” Dave asked with an air of disbelief as he handed me back my mobile phone. “Honestly, I couldn’t make this up. She really does put a tree in every room, including the cinema room in the basement,” I replied. “Facebook is made for someone like her.” “Of course, you can’t forget the fucking cinema room. You Americans...

As the years passed by, I saw less and less of Rachel and Georgie. I lost contact with Harpreet altogether after she moved away following her divorce. I barely even bumped into my former friends once my wife and I relocated to Putney. Although Charlotte hadn't yet been made a Partner, successive promotions and accompanying pay rises meant we could afford a larger house. The move corresponded with the arrival of our second...

It was fair to say that my attempt to clear the air with Rachel and Georgie did not go as planned. Playing the role of a sex toy in a steamy lesbian affair was about the last thing I would have expected when stopping by Rachel’s for "coffee”. In the days following, my head was reeling, and I was desperate to talk to someone about the situation I found myself in. Of course, my wife was not a candidate, and most of my frien...

The first few days of the new year brought with them a mixed bag of emotions. On one hand, I felt a huge sense of sexual release and happily re-lived the scene on Rachel's sofa many times over (often while alone and stroking a raging hard-on). On the other hand, I was worried that I may have ruined things in terms of the friendships I'd developed with Rachel, Georgie, and Harpreet, as well as Rachel’s and my marriages. I...

As every parent knows, having your first child turns the world upside down. The cliche that nothing prepares you for it certainly held for Charlotte and me. Although we were fairly worldly professionals in our early thirties, the arrival of our son, Ben, had a profound impact on our lives. One of the biggest changes was that I stepped away from my job to look after the baby. I'm an engineer and had been put on the managem...