"Down boy", murmured Sarah, pecking him on the nose with a daughterly kiss. "Your time will come. You just have to be patient."

There it was she thought to herself as he wrapped his arms around her and gazed down at her with glasses gleaming with affection. The die is cast. Did you ever really think the outcome would be anything different. The knot in her stomach grew; her legs felt weak.

"I suppose we're sort of even at the moment", she said, defensively as she helped them both to a glass of wine from the decanter in the wine cabinet. However, I've not checked up on him for a few nights and goodness knows what he's been getting up to now."

Sam looked thoughtful. "I could probably rig up a machine I've got upstairs that I use for video conferencing with clients to access your machine if you want. You'll have to be good girl and not touch anything on the other machine up there. Too much sensitive stuff on it to do with my clients, I'm afraid.



"I'll cook us up a meal and a few more glasses of this stuff will prepare the way for whatever we find", smiled Sarah, carefully not reacting to his mention of clients. With a smile curving her lips she toasted her glass against his.

There seemed to be two of her again. One operating according to a preconceived plan and the other that looked on and was totally appalled at what she did, said and saw.

He kissed her again nestling his lips down her neck sending icy shivers down her spine. Sarah in control smiled engagingly and the Sarah that wanted to leave felt like throwing up.

"Let's get that meal underway and you can tell me about artificial intelligence as I cook if you like", said Sarah, disengaging gently from his bear hug grasp.

Briefly he looked petulant but then cheered up again as the cooking smells became more interesting.

Time passed. The traffic quietened outside and dusk began to fall leaving

Sam's kitchen a tiny island of light floating above a sea of tall silent offices.

The banter continued. Sam had placed a vase in the kitchen wrapped in clear kitchen film with a single red rose in it.

That brought a chuckle from the Sarah that was in control and the desire to retch by the Sarah that wasn't.

She noticed her glass frequently refilled. Sam was leaving nothing to chance on this occasion, she thought ruefully. Whenever she came near, his hands wandered ever more freely making her skin crawl.

At last the chicken was cooked, the cheese was eaten and the door to the upstairs study opened to reveal a very business like work area with few furnishings in stark contrast to the clutter of downstairs.

"So this is where the master of my monster plays his games", cooed the Sarah in control, her arms wrapped around his ample waist and her handbag over her shoulder. She had patted her handbag as they started to climb the stairs.

"Just in case of need and you not being prepared again", she said, giving him a knowing look. The look of anticipation on his face could have brightened surrounded offices for miles.

With a few key strokes, with a large yawn, Sam logged onto the Internet and a few more keystrokes under Sarah's direction brought the spare room in her home into view. The time was 10.30pm as they settled down to watch.

Sam's yawn was the first sign that Beth's potion was working.

"It's a very old concoction and will leave him with a headache in the morning but he'll probably put that down to the wine or whatever", Beth had said. "The big advantage is that you can time the knockout almost to the minute".