He was pulled in all directions.

He was not glad it was his birthday.

It made him bitter.
He got to work at eight o'clock.

Most of the clerks had not turned up.
The girls were not due till 8.30.As he was changing his coat, he heard a voice behind him say: "Paul, Paul, I want you." It was Fanny, the hunchback, standing at the top of her stairs, her face radiant with a secret.

Paul looked at her in astonishment.
"I want you," she said.
He stood, at a loss.
"Come on," she coaxed.