Free Strictly My Husband: It's funny, it's romantic and it's got dancing - what's not to love! by Tracy Bloom

directed her way. Sam was waving two fingers at Tom out of Hazel’s eyeline whilst trying to look as though he was listening. Tom gave him a thumbs up and dashed back to his office.
    ‘Good meeting?’ asked Amy, when he banged his notepad on the desk and reached for his coat.
    Tom grinned. ‘Excellent. Hazel gave me a pass-out.’
    ‘What!’ exclaimed Amy. ‘Doesn’t sound like the old bat.’
    ‘She thought I might pass out so she gave me a pass-out. Best meeting ever.’
    ‘Oh,’ Amy grunted, before looking back at her computer. She looked different today but Tom couldn’t work out why. ‘Louise rang,’ she added. ‘She’s refusing to use fishnet stockings for the female sexy zombie costumes. She says it’s sexist and against her feminist principles. And that we as a market leader should be making a stand and not succumbing to traditional stereotypes.’
    Tom stared at Amy, at a loss at what to say. Amy blinked back at him expectantly. When he didn’t reply she put the words in his mouth as she quite often did.
    ‘I told her to put the male zombies in fishnets as well.’
    ‘Genius,’ exclaimed Tom. ‘What did she say?’
    ‘She said that wasn’t the point she was making.’
    ‘What did you say?’
    ‘I said if she had a problem with costume design then perhaps she shouldn’t work in costume?’
    Tom nodded. ‘Again, genius.’
    ‘And perhaps she should therefore consider herself more suited to a position serving hamburgers since there is nothing remotely sexy or sexist about a polo shirt, elasticated trousers and a hairnet.’
    Tom gasped. ‘What did she say to that?’
    ‘She put the phone down on me.’
    ‘Amy,’ declared Tom, putting his hand on her shoulder, ‘an excellent morning’s work.’
    Amy blushed slightly and shrugged, pretending to scrutinise something on her screen.
    ‘Right, seeing as you’ve got it all under control here, I’m going on park,’ Tom told her, grabbing a litter-picker. ‘To, er, go and check out how the Halloween set build is coming along.’
    ‘Say hello to Jerry,’ said Amy, turning to face him.
    ‘How do you know I’m going to see Jerry?’
    ‘Because you only take a litter-picker if you are skiving off somewhere but want to look like you are busy and still willing to muck in with everyone and pick up litter. If you’re really going out to do something you don’t bother.’
    Tom looked down at the metal extended claw in his hand. How come he was so transparent? He carefully put it back in the corner.
    ‘I’m going out to see how the building of the Halloween set is coming along,’ he repeated.
    ‘Say hello to Jerry,’ replied Amy.
    ‘I will,’ he said and left at speed for the second time that morning.
    It took Tom fifteen minutes to walk across the park to a wooded area located next to the Wonderland Hotel. There was six-foot-high hoarding surrounding the area and an intimidating number of men walking around in hard hats and yellow high-visibility jackets. There had been much cause for celebration when Jerry’s firm had secured the contract to build twenty-five woodland lodges for guests who wished to extend their stay on park. Tom was delightedthat he suddenly had a bolt-hole he could disappear to when his work got too depressing and Jerry was very happy to have a project so close to home. He was taking full advantage of being able to legitimately escape the office on the edge of town and avoid any administrative duties that Hannah tried to put in his path.
    As Tom walked through the site-access gate he bent his head low, trying to avoid all eye contact with the hard-hat men scattered everywhere. However many times he visited, he never stopped feeling less of a man when he stepped into the macho environment of the building site. He was so intimidated by those who could do the manly things he couldn’t – like drive an enormous beast of a digger when he could barely work a domestic drill. As they strutted around in their