Ashe - targetted by a security robot

Ashe knew she should not feel dissatisfied with her life - she had been blessed with exceptional good looks, and a figure which remained stunning even though she could eat anything. She could have been a model or an actress, except that she was also very shy and modest, blushing easily, and not liking to expose too much skin. She was popular with her office mates, as she had a kind nature which meant it was impossible to be jealous of her, even if she could scoff a burger and chips and stay slim, while - as Janice, one of the work colleagues (and housemates) said 'I just have to look at a donut and it goes straight to my hips'

She looked round the office - Janice and Mary - she shared a flat with them in central Manchester, and Lisa and Rose - Lisa lived with her mother and Rose still lived with her parents. Accommodation in the city was so expensive and Ashe could not have taken the job if Janice and Mary had not been so nice as to offer her a room in their flat at an affordable rent, even if it meant them sharing the other bedroom.

They has all bonded as a team, handling administrative work for a small company,which had just installed the latest IT office system, which Ashe had trained on. They also used two older, mutually incompatible computer systems, and much of the most important paperwork was still in filing cabinets. The resulting need for them to chat and work together had made the office a friendly social environment, but did not give a great sense of achievement. Ashe could not see herself doing that forever.

It was Friday afternoon, and the others were looking forward to going out on the town in Manchester's vibrant night life. It was all a bit noisy for Ashe but they were her friends and they were keen for her to go with them. It did not hurt that the bouncers on the clubs would let them skip the queues to enter when they were with Ashe. The door staff would admit the modestly dressed Ashe, and, on her insistence, her plainer friends, and all they received in return was a polite 'Thank you' and a smile that made them feel warm inside - even when the charms of barely dressed young women openly flirting with them would not get them to the head of the queue.

When the day finally ended the girls had a bit together at their usual nearby cafe, at their usual table, in front of it's big glass window. Ashe would have preferred somewhere more discreet but the cafe owner knew what she was doing, as the sight of the six chatting and enjoying themselves brought in other punters.

When they had eaten they all went to the gym - one of the perks of their job was free gym membership and unlike most the other employees they did not want to waste it. After their workout they showered - this was a good reason to go to the gym, since as Mary had put it 'The electric in the flat is shockingly expensive' Ashe had thought she was joking until she saw the bill, then she quite agreed.

Dressed in their glad rags the gang hit the clubs, where the others formed a protective huddle around Ashe, scowling at unsuitable blokes who approached their table and did not meet the impossibly high standards they had set for Ashe. They did drag her onto the floor for a few dances with them, which she found she did enjoy, but Ashe was ready to go when they called it a night and went home.

Ashe read a little in her room to unwind from the noise and adrenaline of the club. It was a trashy romance novel featuring two women, one quiet and nice, from a modest background, the other more aggressive, from the same area, but had made herself wealthy and powerful, even owner her own tropical island. Both were competing for the same man - some aristocrat, with no apparent personality, whose only role seemed to be to give the main characters something to fight over.

The illustration on the front cover showed a black haired beauty kneeling on top of a busty blonde, holding both of the blonde's hands pinned over the blonde's head with one hand, while the other appears to be free to do something to her rival. Several buttons on the blonde's blouse are undone to show quite a lot of cleavage. No such catfight occurs in the book.

The book ended quite suddenly with object of their affections suddenly choosing the blonde heroine and whisking her away to some glamorous castle in an exotic location. It all seemed most unlikely to Ashe - if anyone was going to do something decisive it was far more likely to be the brunette.

'I wish someone would whisk me away somewhere exotic though' Ashe said to herself, as she turned off the light and settled down to sleep.