The morning after

I'm back in the real world already,? she thought, a flicker of disappointment passing through her. She pulled the sheet around herself and sat there momentarily, unsure how she felt. There was no note, no text, just… gone.

But then, her phone buzzed on the bedside table as if on cue.

Alex:

Had to grab a clean shirt and coffee before the office. Didn’t want to wake you — you looked too good asleep. But I’ll be looking at you again soon. x

Jenny exhaled a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding.

The smirk returned to her lips.

She typed back quickly.

Jenny:

I'll pretend to care about system updates while secretly picturing last night. x

He replied a few seconds later.

Alex:

Try not to give yourself away. I’ll be watching. 😉

She had her game face firmly on by the time she arrived at the office, dressed in a sleek navy blouse and trousers she didn't quite remember picking out. Confident. Calm. Normal. Nothing to see here.

Except… Carole.

She was already at her desk, typing with too much intensity, a takeaway coffee in hand and her hair pulled back just a touch tighter than usual. She looked up the second Jenny walked in.

“Morning,” she said, a little too bright. “Long night?”

Jenny gave her a cool, polite smile. “Not really. Slept very well, actually.”

Carole arched a brow. “Interesting. You looked a little flushed coming in. Heatwave in Clapham, was it?”

Jenny placed her bag down slowly, turning her monitor on. “Not quite. Just took my time this morning.”

Carole leaned back in her chair, arms folded. “Funny. Alex came in early. For once. Fresh shirt. Nice tie. Like he didn’t go straight home after the pub.”

Jenny’s fingers hovered over her keyboard. Her heart did a little twist, but she kept her face smooth.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Wouldn’t you?” Carole tilted her head. “He seemed… relaxed.”

Jenny smiled slightly, tapping a key. “Then maybe you should spend more time watching him than watching me."

Carole didn’t flinch. “Maybe I do.”

They held the look a moment longer. Jenny didn't blink. Finally, Carole gave a tiny, knowing smile and turned back to her screen.

But the unspoken question hung between them.

Alex appeared five minutes later, coffee in hand, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and the faint scent of aftershave Jenny now recognised, clinging to the air. Their eyes met as he passed her desk, and just for a second, the tension between them returned—not sexual this time, but personal, Intimate.

She expected a glance, maybe a wink. But instead, he doubled back.

“Morning,” he said softly, resting one hand on her desk.

“Morning,” she replied, still typing.

“You all alright?” he asked

“You left.” She snorted, feigning disappointment

"I did." He glanced around, then leaned a little closer. "But only because if I'd stayed, I wouldn't have made it to work. And I plan to drag you back to bed next time. Not the other way round."

Jenny bit her lip, hiding her smile. “Is that so?”

“Absolutely.” He straightened, voice low. “You’re a distraction. And I’ve never been more okay with it.”

Then he walked away, back to his desk, just as a few heads turned in their direction.

Jenny breathed in slowly and let it out. He might’ve left her bed, but he hadn’t left her.

By mid-morning, the office had slipped into its usual rhythm: emails flying, phones ringing, and Neil complaining about the coffee machine again. Jenny buried herself in a requirements document, trying to keep her mind away from everything but last night's memory.

Carole wasn’t making that easy.

She kept glancing over. Little things — the way Jenny shifted in her chair, the faint mark just visible above the collar of her blouse, the way her eyes followed Alex for a heartbeat too long.

At 11:15, Carole dropped a file onto Jenny’s desk.

“No mention of the Chessington project in this version. You missed it?”

Jenny glanced up, expression neutral. “No. It’s in the appendix.”

“Right.” Carole smiled thinly. “Guess I was just… distracted.”

Jenny didn’t bite.

Carole lingered a second longer. Then, almost too casually, she asked, “You and Alex — everything still strictly professional?”

Jenny met her gaze, lips curving slightly.

“Of course,” she said, voice smooth. “Just like it’s always been.”

Carole's eyes narrowed, just a flicker before she turned and walked away.

Jenny watched her go and smiled.

The afternoon dragged in that way only a Friday could. The buzz from the night before had faded into the steady hum of emails, meetings, and the constant low whirr of the printer no one could figure out how to silence.

Jenny had finally lost herself in the latest sprint report when Carole made her move.

It started innocently enough — a light laugh from the other side of the room. Too loud. Too deliberate. Jenny’s eyes flicked up from her screen just in time to see Carole brush a hand down the front of her blouse and sashay toward Alex’s desk.

Alex looked up, caught off guard.

"Hey," Carole said, voice warm — maybe too warm. "You got a second?"

“Sure,” Alex replied, polite but guarded.

Carole leaned one arm on the side of his desk, posture casual but with that subtle lean that meant she was working angles. "I was thinking of starting a review on the mobile app framework. I thought you might want to review and comment since you’re the only one who doesn’t totally glaze over when I mention backend transitions.”

Alex smiled, and to his credit, it was a genuine one. “That’s generous of you.”

Carole tilted her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “Well, I don’t just offer my backend expertise to anyone.”

Jenny nearly snorted into her coffee.

Alex laughed, awkward and confused, then quickly looked back at his screen.

Jenny didn't need to hear the rest. She turned back to her own monitor, a slow smile on her lips. Carole wasn't bad at flirting — she wasn't comfortable doing it. Not anymore. It felt like watching someone try on heels after years in trainers: the steps were all there, but the confidence hadn’t caught up yet.

And Alex? Bless him, he was too kind to shut it down outright. But even from a distance, Jenny could see the shift in his shoulders, the slightly too quick agreement to "circle back later," and how he glanced toward Jenny's desk when Carole walked away.

She didn’t meet his gaze, not yet.

A few minutes later, Carole returned to her seat with a coffee in hand and a faint frown creasing her forehead. Not quite disappointed. Just a quiet realisation. She sat in silence, fingers tapping gently on the lid of the takeaway cup.

Jenny let the silence continue.

Then, with an exaggerated sigh, she pushed back from her screen and swivelled slightly in her chair.

“New strategy, Carole?”

Carole didn’t turn around. “What?”

“With Alex,” Jenny said, eyes still on her monitor. “Just wondering if you’d finally decided to play the long game.”

Carole scoffed under her breath. “Hardly. Just testing a theory.”

“Theory, about?” looking at her quizzically, trying not to crack a smile.

Carole turned now, folding her arms, a wry smile forming. “About how quickly a man forgets who used to make him laugh when he was new around here.”

Jenny tilted her head, her voice gentler now. “I don’t think he’s forgotten. I just think... maybe he’s looking for a different kind of laugh.”

Carole looked at her momentarily, studying her, lips pressing together.

Then she nodded. “Yeah. And maybe I waited too long to decide if I wanted to be in on the joke.”

Jenny smiled softly, not smugly. "He doesn't strike me as the type who holds that against anyone."

Carole laughed, the sound small but honest. “No. That’s just me.”

There was a moment of quiet between them. Not awkward. Not sharp. Just a pause where something unspoken passed, something that didn’t need to be said.

Finally, Jenny added, “For what it’s worth… you’re not wrong about him. He’s easy to underestimate.”

Carole’s gaze softened just a little. “So are you.”

And with that, she turned back to her screen, her fingers dancing across the keys again.

It was a kind of peace — or maybe just acceptance.

Jenny sat quietly, the weight of it all just behind her smile. She hadn't won anything, not really. Carole hadn't lost either. But the balance had shifted, and for now, there was calm in the space between them.

Alex passed by a few minutes later, dropping a folder on Jenny’s desk.

“You got time for a quick review?”

She glanced up at him, deliberately unreadable.

“For you?” she said. “Always.”

He gave her that look — the one that said they both knew more than they were letting on — and walked away.

And from her desk, Carole saw it.

Not with bitterness.

But with something closer to understanding.

The meeting room was tucked away at the end of the corridor—one of the few without glass walls. It was originally designed for private calls or confidential sessions. It was quiet, insulated from the buzz of the floor outside. There were no windows and no prying eyes.

Alex held the door open, and Jenny stepped in without hesitation, hips swaying with casual confidence. This kind made his fingers twitch with restraint.

He closed the door gently behind them, the click louder than expected in the room's hush.

“I didn’t mean to leave this morning,” he started, voice low, already a little unsure. “I just... didn’t want it to be weird.”

Jenny turned to face him, arms loosely folded, one eyebrow raised. “Weird?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “You were sleeping. Peacefully. I didn’t want to make it... awkward.”

She stepped closer. "That's why you've got a folder in your hand? Thought I'd be easier to face if you had paperwork?"

Alex chuckled nervously. “I panicked. That’s my coping mechanism — documents and agendas.”

Jenny smiled, amused more than annoyed. “You’re lucky I find it endearing.”

He took a breath, gathering courage. "Truth is... I've been thinking about you since I walked out that door."

“Just the second?” she teased, stepping closer until there was barely a breath between them.

“Maybe a few more.”

She reached for the folder, took it from his hand, and tossed it casually onto the small table behind her. “Then stop talking.”

And she kissed him.

Not softly. Not with permission.

She kissed him like it was her right — like she was reminding him why they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other the night before.

He responded this time with no hesitation. His hands were on her waist, pulling her in and deepening the kiss until it burned. Her fingers were already at his belt, tugging free the buckle with practised ease.

“You came in here to apologise,” she breathed.

“Is that what I’m doing?” he asked, lips brushing her jaw.

“Not very well.”

“Good.”

He spun her around suddenly, backing her into the table. Surprised and delighted, she gasped as his hands slid under her blouse, lifting it over her head smoothly. Her bra followed quickly, discarded like a thought he no longer needed.

She reached for him, but he caught her wrists gently, pushing her back onto the table.

“You always in charge?” he murmured.

“Only because no one else steps up.”

He smiled — then kissed her again, lower now, across her chest, her stomach, kneeling between her legs to drag her trousers down, her knickers with them.

She moaned, her back arching off the cold table.

He stood, dropping his own trousers just enough, and positioned himself between her thighs, one hand cupping the back of her neck, the other guiding himself inside her.

It was instant, Slick, hot, deep.

Jenny cried out softly, her fingers gripping the edge of the table. “Oh, fuck—”

He started to move, slow at first, but the pressure in him was already rising — the tension between them too coiled to stay measured. He picked up the pace, hips slamming against hers with rhythm and purpose. The table creaked beneath them, and Jenny’s head tipped back, eyes fluttering shut.

“This—” she panted. “Is your idea of a review?”

He grinned. “Full evaluation. Performance-based.”

Jenny laughed — breathless, undone. “You’re hired.”

He drove into her harder at that, and her laughter broke into a moan. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper, her body already trembling with the build-up.

He leaned down, mouth at her ear. “You close?”

She nodded, barely coherent. “Don’t stop.”

Her climax hit fast — intense and rolling, her whole body shuddering under him. He followed with a growl, spilling into her with a force he hadn’t expected to lose so quickly.

They stayed tangled momentarily, gasping for breath in the echo of their madness.

Jenny blinked at the ceiling, smiling through the haze.

“Well,” she said, still catching her breath. “You definitely nailed your KPIs.”

Alex leaned over, forehead against hers. “Glad I passed.”

She slid off the table slowly, legs still shaky. “Just wait till the next quarterly.”  

Raising an eyebrow, Jenny looked at Alex, "back to reality", and left………..