chapter 1

Tim jones was handsome, slim and fit the day he got married. If he walked into a room, he turned heads and made hearts flutter. He was proud of his tall athletic frame. He knew he attracted attention from both female and male. He spent a lot of money to look this good. He paid for expensive haircuts rather than just visiting the barber. He shaved every other day, knowing that his stubbly chin looked just as good as his clean shaven one. He used expensive moisturising balms to keep his skin soft and sprayed himself with cologne from the beauty counters, not the supermarket shelves.
He wore the latest male fashion to hug his body snugly.
Tim enjoyed the attention that his looks gave him. He adored the admiring looks he received, but he admired himself most of all!
Of course, he had plenty of relationships. Even in school, he found he could pick whoever he wanted. He was always in control. His relationships never lasted very long, but the next one was always just around the corner. He did not have to try hard to attract a new girlfreind. The next one would be standing in a queue, waiting for him.
His male friends enjoyed his company too, but not for his arrogance. His handsome presence attracted female attention and if Tim was already occupied, the female attention would rub off on them. Often a girl would court one of them, thinking she would get closer to Tim. Once she was in his circle of friends, maybe he would notice her and she would be his next girlfreind.
Tim knew he could get away with all kinds of things in a relationship that others couldn't. He could lie and cheat, but all would be forgiven. His girlfriends knew their relationship with him would be short. They knew they were always in competition with others. They knew they had to tolerate his bad behaviour just to stay close to him. If they showed any signs of disappointment, they would be heading for his large scrap heap of discarded girlfriends.
A girl felt priveledged to be with him. They had to look good at all times, or they would be discarded for a better model. They had to go along with him, do what he wanted, or he would find someone else who would.
As a consequence, Tim's sex life was extremely active and 'experimental'. No one ever said 'no' to him. No one dared. Tim considered himself to he at the top of the hierarchy of relationships. No girl would find anyone better... or boy, for that matter! He was in control. He could do whatever he liked.

It was the same when he started working. His had the girls in the office running around after him. He never had to make a cup of tea or wash his own cup. He progressed up the professional ladder, not because he was good at his job, but because he looked good doing it and he could manipulate people into doing things for him so that it made him look even better.
By the time he was twenty three, he had his own office, with a fabulous view over the city. He had his own PA and several glamorous secretaries. He had his own prestigious apartment and plenty of money. He could be seen at all the best events in the city's social calendar. He had his photo in society magazines, which sold more copies, just because he was in them, so he got invited out more often.
His evenings were filled with parties and night clubs, his weekends were filled with weddings and sporting events. Things could not be better.
...or could they. Despite all the attention he received, he was lonely. He was often so tired from his social whirl that he needed a little snort of cocaine to see him through. He needed to rest, but he didn't know how to.
He would get up in the morning, get dressed and go to work. Sometimes, he was so hungover that all he wanted to do was to close his office blinds and go to sleep in his reclining leather office chair. But he had endless meetings to attend to. The minute his blinds were closed, he would have some female knocking on his door, inviting themselves in, flashing their boobs to him, inviting him to have sex on his office couch. He did not like to disappoint, no matter how tired he was. He passed any real work on to others. He was simply a figurehead.
After work, he'd have a quick session in the gym and get ready for his night out. First stop would be a restaurant with some girl on his arm, next would be some socialite 'do'. A charity auction, a party, an awards ceremony, something like that. Then he would go on to a club after that, getting home between two and three in the morning, ready to start it all again the next day.
At weekends, he would often get a lie in until lunchtime, but often his morning would be spend having rampant sex.
Once he was showered and ready, he was off out to watch go to the races, the golf, the tennis or polo. Sometimes the journey involved an overnight stay, but he never needed to book into a hotel. His girlfreind's parents would often put him up, attempting to matchmake on behalf of their daughter.
Some thought Tim was the sort who never settled down. He was getting a label as a perpetual batchelor. Live fast, die young. He was certainly living in the fast lane. The problem was, he couldn't find a sliproad to get off and take him into the slow lane. He wanted to take a more scenic route though life, he just didn't know how to do it.