Unsurprisingly,Dec didn't get much sleep that night,the events of the day playing on his mind over and over again,resulting in him getting tearful constantly.

He felt so stupid,he was a middle aged man,crying over being picked on by some cowardly bully.

He'd been through much worse than this,he'd lived on the streets for months after all,he wanted to pull himself together,but just couldn't.

He'd always been so sensitive and some people took advantage of that,namely Ali.

His mind was in turmoil.

He had no idea what to do for the best,he knew he didn't want to go back to that job,but how could he not after everything that Ant had done for him?He'd given him so much and this job was a golden opportunity to get his life back on track,he couldn't throw in the towel after just one day could he?

Of course he couldn't,he sighed to himself,even though he was beginning to think being homeless might be preferable to being treated the way he had been at work,at least on the streets,most people just ignored him,which he was now realising wasn't such a bad thing.

"Fuck you Nick" he said aloud as he turned over in bed.

He'd come across bullies like Nick before throughout his life,his small size and sensitivity making him an easy target.

But growing up he had six older siblings to protect him and as soon as the bullies had a taste of their revenge for bothering their 'little Decky' they soon left him alone.

But now he was totally on his own,everything would be his word against Nick's and Nick was obviously really popular at work.

Dec was laying on his back,staring blankly at the ceiling,when the alarm ringing from the bedside clock startled him out of his thoughts.

Having barely slept a wink the entire night,he dragged himself out of bed and into the shower,having decided to go into work,he didn't have any choice really,or so he thought,it had only been one day and he couldn't bear the thought of letting Ant down so soon.

Maybe Nick would see the error of his ways and leave him alone today,although Dec knew that was unlikely.

"Once a bully,always a bully" he said to himself.

And he was right!

Nick's attitude towards him hadn't changed,in fact it had worsened considerably,still whispering nasty comments into Dec's ear,whenever no one else was around and deliberately shoving him whenever he got the chance.

It was playground bullying behaviour and Dec still couldn't believe it was happening to him,from a senior partner in a law firm of all people,it was just so ridiculous.

Ant of course,was still totally oblivious to what was going on and Dec wished he could tell him,or even better,Ant could see it for himself,but Nick was sly and made sure he never said or did anything to Dec while Ant or anyone else was around.

"Got an important meeting soon Dec" Ant smiled after saying good morning.

"Oh yeah?" Dec replied,feigning interest,he still found all this law stuff incredibly boring.

"Yeah" Ant nodded "if you don't mind setting up the boardroom for us,that will be great?"

"What boardroom?" Dec frowned.

"That room down the end of the corridor" Ant smiled "it's where all our meetings are held"

"Ok" Dec replied obligingly "what do you need?"

"Just refreshments" Ant said "tea,coffee,water,biscuits,that kind of thing,there'll only be six of us altogether"

"I'm onto it" Dec smiled confidently "I'll set up a tea tray ready"

"You do that" Ant grinned,happy that Dec seemed to be settling into his new job quickly.

A short while later,Ant,Nick and four other smartly dressed men made their way into the boardroom and Ant nodded towards Dec to indicate to bring the refreshments in.

He carefully laid a variety of biscuits out onto a large plate while he waited for the kettle to boil.

Once everything was ready,he picked up the tray and carried it into the boardroom.

Ant had left the door open for him,but it was Nick who was sat nearest to the entrance.

Dec ignored him,choosing to focus his attention on Ant instead,but unfortunately that also meant that he didn't see the foot that Nick had discretely stuck out from under the table.

"Here we are Mr McPartlin...AAAAAAAHHHHHH" Dec yelled out as he stumbled over Nick's foot,which was quickly snatched back under the table.

The tray of boiling hot drinks flew forward as the various businessmen sitting around the table scattered to avoid the hot liquids landing on them.

"Fuck" Dec muttered,as he landed in a crumpled heap on the floor,cups,saucers and broken biscuits all around him.

"Dec are you ok?" Ant rushed forward to help him up.

"Yeah,I'm fine" Dec blushed crimson as everyone stared at him.

"Everyone else ok?" Ant asked,concerned that someone might have got burnt.

"Got a bit of a splash from the tea" Malcolm,one of the men stated "but don't think its soaked through"

"You should take your shirt off just in case" Nick suggested "can't be too careful"

"Haven't got anything else to change into" Malcolm frowned "honestly,it's fine"

"We can always postpone the meeting" Ant mused.

"Don't be ridiculous" Malcolm laughed "I won't hear of it,I'm absolutely fine and as long as you are too?"

He aimed his question towards Dec.

"Umm...yeah,I'm fine" Dec nodded.

"Got two left feet there Declan" Nick grinned "better take it slow in future"

Dec glared at Nick then started cleaning up the mess,quietly seething to himself at what Nick had done.

Dec was absolutely fuming,someone could have been seriously burnt through Nick's stupidity,but he felt like he didn't have any choice but to keep quiet.

"I'll give you a hand Dec" Ant smiled and got down on his knees and started scooping the biscuits back onto the tray.

"I'm so sorry" Dec whispered quietly as Ant knelt next to him.

"No harm done" Ant replied kindly "accidents happen"

"Yeah" Dec sighed.

Eventually everything was cleared up and Dec offered to make fresh drinks for everyone,but the offer was declined,it was pretty obvious to everyone how upset Dec was about the incident,so they gave him the chance to go and pull himself together and take a breather.

"You ok?" Denise asked concerned as she followed Dec into the kitchen "that was a hell of a clatter"

"Yeah,I'm fine" Dec replied without looking at her.

"Good" she smiled and left the kitchen,completely oblivious to what Dec was actually going through.

The tears were stinging the back of his eyes like hell as he fought to hold them in,he was embarrassed enough by what had just happened without anyone seeing him crying too.

He didn't hear Nick enter the kitchen as he was too focussed on cleaning up and holding back the tears and was suddenly startled out of his thoughts.

"That was quite a performance in there" Nick grinned as he stood menacingly behind Dec.

Dec refused to look at his tormentor,but still said what was on his mind.

"You could have seriously injured someone" he snapped.

"Not me" Nick grinned "you're the one who dropped the tray"

"Yeah,because you tripped me up" Dec stated.

"Hmm" Nick mused "I think you must be mistaken,my feet were firmly under the table at all times and anyway,why would I have done such a thing?"

"You tell me?" Dec demanded to know in a much louder voice than he had intended.

"You tell me Nick" he repeated in a much softer voice "you tell me why you think it's ok to bully me and do and say the things that you have and make my life a misery?"

Dec's stomach was doing somersaults and he felt like his heart would burst out of his chest as he stood up to his bully,but at least he was doing it,he wasn't going to stand for Nick's shit any longer,although he knew he may not have any choice.

Nick leant in close to Decs face threateningly.

"You know exactly why" he snarled "and this ain't over,not by a long way"

With that,Nick turned around and made his way back to the boardroom as if nothing had happened,leaving Dec in utter despair once again.

What else could Nick to do make him even more miserable,Dec wondered to himself,he had no idea how to get out of the mess that he'd got himself into.

The obvious answer to that was to leave the job and as much as he wanted to do that,the thought of letting Ant down so soon broke his heart,so he decided to give it until the end of the week,then make a decision.

Nick's attitude towards him didn't change at all throughout the week and Dec felt like his heart fell through the floor when Ant announced that they'd all be going for a boy's night out on the Friday night.

How the hell would Dec be able to get out of that?

Feign illness?Tell them he just didn't want to go?That wasn't an option though as Ant made it clear that it was a celebration to welcome Dec to the company,so he didn't have any choice but to go.

All Dec could do was stay glued to Ant's side for the entire evening and hope for the best!