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was pretty abysmal, but if she dieted a bit more and cadged a few meals from male admirers, she’d manage. The rent on her flat was paid up for another six months, thanks to help from her parents. Besides, with her future plans she needed to look especially good on Friday.
    ‘I’ll take it,’ she said giving another twirl in front of the mirror. She knew she looked stunning.
    Walking back along the high street towards the theatre, Linda gave some more thought to her plan. She’d decided a couple of weeks ago that Friday was to be the day she’d pull it off.
    Linda couldn’t really say when she’d resolved to sleep her way to the top. What had begun as a tiny germ of an idea had taken hold until it festered within her. She found that the more she thought about it, the more intense it became. Catching a glance of herself in the plate-glass shop window she just knew she had to succeed.
    Reaching her teens, Linda was struck by the admiration she received from her fellow classmates. This admiration had served her well and she’d used it throughout her time at school and later in college. Linda enjoyed male attention, and when some of the plainer girls showed their jealousy, she ignored them. Females didn’t figure in Linda’s scheme and approaching her late twenties she thought the time was ripe for putting her plan into action.
    Linda believed she was a good judge of character and trusted the reactions she received from her dates. She took care in choosing men who could afford to take her out to nice places and buy her expensive dinners and good wine. She rarely had to pay for her own drinks, even amongst the lower paid members of her group. Occasionally there was some poor fool who thought he’d scored for that evening. Enjoying sex, Linda would often reward them, but usually she was careful. She was particular whom she allowed into her bed. They always had to be good looking and successful.
    This latest job in the Rialto theatre had got her thinking. It was when she’d first started working here that she clearly saw her pathway to success. She knew she had the facial looks and body to promote her career. She was hard working and ambitious, and a damn fine actress. She had no designs to stay assistant stage manager for longer than could be helped, but realising that hard work alone didn’t always pay dividends, she had to maximise her assets .
    Friday was the cast Christmas party and being relatively new to the company, this was her first with them. A ritzy, glitzy party, where she’d stun the company with her looks, seemed the perfect occasion to execute her plan. Really she only needed to stun one person, and this person had been playing nicely into her hands, showing his interest for the last couple of weeks.
    Rupert was the theatre director and her boss. She admired his stage direction, the way he assembled his cast and with a few well-chosen words managed to get complete and utter dedication from them. His plays stood out from a hundred others, his directing magnificent, and Linda desperately wanted to stand on his stage as principal girl, starring in his productions. Assistant stage manager she felt was the lowest of the low.
    Rupert was always good to her and showed great support and understanding. He was friendly and often included her in his meetings, even though sometimes Linda wondered why she was there. But Linda was clever and streetwise. She knew exactly why he was so friendly, talking about his future productions, telling her which female actresses he’d given a helping hand to boost their careers, mentioning his wife and family. He was slowly forcing down her fences, making her feel comfortable and relaxed, and an easy target. Looking back, she’d known men (and women) like him before, confident in their position, well liked, successful, experienced and way over forty. Men such as he ignored their receding hairline, the beginnings of a paunch and greying at the temples.
    Because she understood