'Sand to the Egyptians', by J P S Yates

James is at a speed dating event, and Natalie has just made it to his table. He's easy to talk to and she's soon telling him a great deal, but then, he's a Police negotiator, so that's not really surprising, is it?

'When I Snap My Fingers', by Bruce Adam
Simon and Maria Moffat agree to undergo hypnosis as part of performer Sven Gali’s act, when a fire alarm sounds before Sven has had a chance to remove the effect of certain trigger words. The following day, Simon has invited his boss Dan, and Dan’s wife Dolly, round for dinner in the hope of salvaging his foundering accountancy career. With both Simon and Maria still susceptible to the key words however, some very odd behaviour in the presence of their guests makes Simon’s future look more vulnerable than ever.