chapter 1

Paul was a tall chap with piercing blue eyes and dark hair that fell into soft curls down to his shoulders. He knew he had reasonable good looks and cultivated his attractiveness by keeping some length on his hair and keeping his body in shape by visiting the gym regularly.
Since leaving school, unless he was at the gym, he had always dressed smartly in a suit and tie. He would rather risk ruining one of his second-best shirts when doing potentially dirty jobs around the house than change him image and wear a tee shirt and jeans.
No matter what he did, he always looked immaculate... with a hint of rebelliousness. His tie might match the lining of his jacket, which contrasted with the sombreness of the rest of his suit. If he wore a patterned tie, the pattern would be very small, but if you studied it carefully you may notice a depiction of a cartoon figure or superhero.
He'd always had a girlfriend. He could not remember a time when he'd not had one. They would fight each other to get close to him. Paul had never had to chase the girls, they had always followed him.
As a consequence, he picked them up, used them, then threw them away without a thought.
He charmed his way into a well-paid executive job by the time he was twenty-four.

Susannah had been one of Paul's cast offs when he was still at school. She had been a tubby mousey blonde with low self-esteem. Paul had been one of the boys that everyone wanted to be with. He had the popularity and physicality that ensured he was always the first to be chosen in team games. He had the intelligence that ensured he was always in the top stream for all of his subjects. He had the handsome good looks and wit that ensured that all the girls wanted to be his girlfriend.

He had made her feel so special when he had chosen her to be his date. She's felt the admiring glances people gave her when she walked down the street with her hand in his hand. She had almost felt their jealousy. She was proud of herself for managing to have him as her boyfriend. He had prestige that rubbed off on her. Girls she barely knew now wanted to be with her and become her friend, just because she was going out with Paul.
Of course, she had to keep up appearances to make sure she kept up to his standard. She went on a drastic diet almost immediately. She updated her wardrobe from tired and dowdy to bright and colourful. Her whole way of thinking changed. Instead of being negative all the time, always thinking the worst, she became more positive, thinking that with Paul by her side, she could conquer the world!
All that happened in a week. She's only had two actual dates with him, but she saw him at school, often. They would meet for lunch, sit together, snog and talk. Most of it was snogging. There was a lot of snogging, not much talking. He was such a good kisser. He aroused feelings inside her that had remained dormant until that point.

But it was not to last, she had been utterly devastated less than a week later when his publicly dumped her in favour of a buxom brunette with no brains.
Since then, Susannah had watched him from afar. He picked up and dumped girls all the time. He seemed to have no remorse. Girls (and boys) were just so grateful to be with him that they would do anything for him. He was like royalty, surrounded by a host of servants who would do anything for him. If he wanted something from the tuck shop, he would send someone to go and get it. If he wanted to see someone at the other side of the yard, but did not want to break off his present conversation, he would send someone over to go and fetch them. If he'd forgotten to do his homework, one of his lackeys would do it for him.

Susannah had other boyfriends, but none of them made her feel the way Paul had. Paul had the ability to turn heads and be noticed just by walking down the street. Just by walking next to him, she had attracted the same attention.
For years, she had wanted to exact her revenge. For years, she had dreamed up plans, then redrawn and refined them. All those plans had been put to one side when she'd met and married her husband, who, on reflection was second best. He had been a Paul replacement. He had looked similar, his character was similar, but, no matter how had she tried, she could not turn him into Paul. Indeed, he would never match up to her high ideals. By then, the only person who would be suitable for her was Paul.
The divorce from her husband was bitter. It dragged on for years through the courts with accusations flying all over the place as the solicitor's costs soared. At least no children were involved.

It was all Paul's fault. She had married the wrong man because Paul had dumped her. She had turned to a lookalike, but he did not have the same style and grace. He did not have the same charisma. Her husband had wanted her to take the traditional female role, remaining in the house as his housewife. Her husband had wanted to have children. Susannah had rebelled. She wanted to keep her career. Being an office worker might not earn a lot of money. It might not be especially prestigious. She did not save lives every day. But it was her job. She wanted to save money and travel all over the world. She did not want to have children who would drain all the money she had worked so hard for.
It was Paul's fault that the divorce was so drawn out and expensive. Her husband had not understood her.

Now, she HAD to get her revenge upon Paul who had ruined her life! She was going to ruin his now. She was going for the long game. She had to be stealthy. She had to be cunning.

She had lost contact with Paul directly when he had gone to university. However, she knew where he had gone through a friend who was a neighbour to his parents. When he finished university, she knew which company he was working for and what job he had.

For her plan to work, she had to spy on him from a closer position.

As soon as her divorce was finalised, she started to change her appearance. She had to make herself stunningly beautiful for Paul to notice her. She had to act quickly too, otherwise someone else would move in and nab him before her plan could reach fruition.

She slimmed down and hired a personal trainer first of all. She started attending the hairdressers and beauticians regularly. Her fair hair was lightened and exquisitely styled. She had false nails applied and kept then neatly manicured instead of having her own short, bitten and split ones. Her eyebrows were now neatly groomed. She started to wear 'barely there' make up to enhance her own natural features without looking 'overdone'. Then she hired a stylist to find the best clothing to compliment Paul's style. It was expensive and she could barely afford it, but it would be worth it in the long run.
In the meantime, she learned the skills she needed to enter the corporate world.
She kept track of him in and out of work. She knew his entire routine inside and out. She knew when he went to the gym, where he played golf, who he was friendly with. She found out what he liked to eat, where he liked to go. She watched and stalked him for a least a year then skilfully wriggled her way into his company. Once she had achieved this, she worked on wriggling her way into his department.
Now all she had to do was get herself noticed. If he entered the office, she would find a reason to stand up. It might mean a walk to the photocopier or the water cooler. Or maybe she had to ask her colleague to go over something she already knew how to do.
Eventually, she knew Paul was watching her. She kept her cool, pretended not to notice her stares.

After a week or two Paul asked her out on a date. It was difficult for her to keep her head, but she played hard to get and turned him down.
Her coolness only added to Paul's attraction to her. She waited until he was pleading for her to go out with him.

Then she knew she had him in her net! He was completely besotted with her, totally in love. In return, she made him feel incredibly special.

She contrived to marry him within three months.

That was the first stage of her plan complete.