Erogenous Zones: Monica's Secret (15 page)

Holly was more serious. “I say you are afraid of being hurt. I can understand that.”

Holly’s expression was too knowing. There was a raw nerve there as well.

Monica covered her eyes with her hands for a moment, because something in her chest had knotted. She felt ashamed of the way she had let this thing get away from her so quickly. She wanted them, yes, and her emotions were now tangled up in this. “It’s just because I’ve never been able to let go, not the way I can with them, that’s all it is.”

Their paninis arrived. Normally the chargrilled vegetables and goat’s chèvre would have her mouth watering. The food did look and smell delicious but Monica’s appetite was gone.

“That sounded like an excuse,” Holly commented as she picked up her panini.

“You’ve fallen for them, haven’t you?”

Monica stared at the table. Eventually, she nodded. “Maybe.”

Her sisters knew it, and deep down she knew it too.

She had to pull back and quickly, or she would get badly hurt.

* * * *

An hour later Monica was back at Cumbernauld’s. When she got there she went straight to Flynn Elwood’s office in order to request someone else take over the duty of being the go-to person for Owen and Alec. It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but she knew it was the right thing to do if she was to maintain the necessary structure, boundaries and routine that she needed in her life—in order to survive.

Arabella flicked through Flynn’s paper diary. In that respect—as in many others—he was old fashioned, and the paper dairy was the place to look. “He should be here in the office.” Arabella glanced up at her. “If it’s important you can wait.”

125

“It’s important.” Monica paced up and down, one hand on her hip the other plucking at the buttons on her jacket.

“Is it anything I can help with?” Whether it was curiosity or concern, Arabella looked genuine.

“Thank you, but I don’t think you can. It’s a permission thing.”

Arabella stepped out from behind his desk. “Okay. Go in and take a seat. I’m going to go pick up some lunch in a minute but I’m sure he’ll turn up before long.”

Monica took the seat, but once Arabella had gone she fidgeted restlessly then got up and paced about again. She ran over her thoughts, ordering them into a statement.
I hate to be
unprofessional, but I’m going to have to ask to be relieved of my obligation to liaise with the bods from
HQ.

She pressed her fingers to her temples. Once she’d made the decision, back there at the coffeehouse, she’d started retreating, internally. It was about self-protection. She was in too deep, and their motivation was completely different to hers. They’d all gone in to it on level ground, for the thrill, for the good sex. That was fair enough. But now her emotions had been involved—she was in danger of being hurt, while they would be able to walk away.
It already
hurts.
Oh god, I’ll miss them so much.

Apart from anything else, they had each other. They probably seduced a woman everywhere they went, for fun. The whole thing had been a mistake for her, of course it had.

For her it had stimulated impossible dreams. How in the hell could she even think about a relationship with men like that? Her secret skill was a barrier to deep commitment, and it always would be. Some people would give their right arm for what she could experience.

How ironic. One way or another it had ruined her life. Much more of this and she would grow bitter, and that’s what she had tried to avoid by being independent, by being alone.

Taking on two men, lovers, was at complete cross-purposes with the basic rules she’d established for her life.

As she thought it through, her emotional state grew acute. Every time she heard voices passing in the corridor she attempted to ready herself to speak with Flynn, but he didn’t appear. Where was he anyway? It wasn’t going to be an easy meeting. He’d be annoyed that she was dumping them back at his door.

What would he think about the fraud angle, if she mentioned that?

126

Without full consciousness, she picked up a paperweight from his desk, a glass globe with a flat bottom. Inside was a miniature of the hotel. Peering at it with unseeing eyes—her thoughts far away—she swore aloud when the glass globe warmed in her hands and began to pump images into her mind, fast and furious. Aghast, Monica’s breath caught as a scenario opened in her mind.

The globe had been sitting on the desk and it had been nudged over by two bodies entwined—two people having sex. It was Flynn, and a woman. Monica held the globe a moment longer, and she saw the red hair and she knew that it was Sheila Trent.

Flynn and Sheila had an affair
.

Quickly, she put the object down and stepped away.

Her mind raced. Alec thought that there was something amiss in the accounts department. She’d figured he was leaning towards Jane Mooney as the culprit, but this shone a different light on things. She paced up and down. What the hell would she say to Flynn, now? If he walked in right at that moment she feared she would be speechless. It was time to make a hasty retreat.

She headed towards the door but when she got to it, she heard a voice outside. With one ear against the door, she quickly realised it was Sheila, and by the sounds of it Flynn was with her.

Bloody hell, I’m trapped in here.
She glanced around the room. There was another door.

It led on to a closed meeting room, a small boardroom where Flynn gathered the management staff once a month. There was no way in or out of it other than through his office, but if she was lucky she could hide out in there until they were gone.

She darted into that room, pushing the door shut behind her. It was just in the nick of time by the sounds of it. Sheila and Flynn her entered his office. Monica stood behind the door with her heart hammering, unable to risk pushing it completely shut.

Sheila and Flynn commenced a heated discussion, and at first they made some attempt to hush their voices. Monica strained to hear, and when she did she was astonished.

“Why in hell did you do it?” Flynn demanded. “I had that Clifford bloke in here threatening me with the Board of Directors, because you sent that note.”

That puzzled her. Owen had received a note and hadn’t told her? Then Sheila responded, and Monica’s level of astonishment rose.

“Because the longer they look at my accounting system, the bigger the problem.”

127

“Why is that, Sheila?” Flynn replied tersely. “You know that I have been going through hell trying to work out why profits are down, and you kept reassuring me that everything was fine.”

“That’s because I care about you, more fool me!” Sheila sounded incredibly bitter.

Monica wrapped her hand around the back of her neck. The skin there was damp. She felt physically sick, because her whole world was falling apart. Cumbernauld’s was her life, her safe place.
Not anymore.

She wanted to be out of there. She wanted to be a long way away, where she could slowly pull herself together. There was no way out of the room she was in, but she had got to the point where she had to be done with it, even if it meant saying goodbye to her lovers. If only she could reach Owen. That’s when she recalled that he had put his telephone number on her phone. She crept further away from the door, and unclipped her phone from her belt.

A moment later she had scrawled to his name. Quickly she sent him a text message:
Flynn’s office. Now!

How long would it take him to get there? As she fumbled to get the phone back on her waistband clip, the phone bleeped. Monica stared down at it in horror. On the screen a message stated that the memory was full and her sent message couldn’t be saved.

“What was that?” It was Flynn’s voice.

Bloody hell
. Quickly, she skirted the table and darted to the far end of the room.

A moment later the door sprang open and Sheila Trent stood there. “What the hell are you doing in here?” Her cheeks flushed, her eyes narrowing. “How much did you hear?”

Flynn was behind her and he grimaced as he realised it was Monica was in there.

A sudden sense of clarity came over her. After all that had happened Monica felt a steely sense of calm, because she was angry. She wanted her boundaries back. As she looked at Sheila, she knew that she had three options. She could deny she’d heard anything, she could attempt to leave, or she could confront them.

With a deep breath, she gave her response. “I heard it all, but they are already on to you, Sheila. Something is wrong with the accounting system isn’t it? Something you knew about and you are trying to cover up.”

Sheila looked even more annoyed, and closed on her quickly.

128

“Shut your mouth, you silly bitch.” She delivered a sound slap to Monica’s face.

Astonished, Monica staggered then straightened her spine, one hand going to her cheek to stem the sting. “Exactly what I’d expect from a bully!”

Sheila didn’t like that.

Monica built on it. “I know how you treated Jane. It’s all going to come out now.”

For a moment she regretted saying that, because Sheila looked absolutely furious. Her hands fisted and Monica had the awful feeling she was going to be punched. Mercifully, there was shouting in the office beyond and Arabella and Owen walked into the room.

Immediately—and as per usual—Owen took charge.

The sense of relief Monica felt was so great that she had to bite her lip to stop from laughing when he took over with his customary ease.

“Oh, this is good…this is nice. This works for me.” He glanced around at the three of them. “Everybody in one place that I want to speak to this afternoon, I couldn’t be happier.”

He didn’t sound happy, he sounded angry, but he also sounded focused. Monica noticed that his tie was half undone and his hair a mess, as if he’d been stressed or rushing.

Sheila went to push past Owen.

Owen blocked her path and pushed her back into the room. “Oh no, you’re the star guest, Sheila. We’ve been looking into your database and we know that you’ve been creaming off some of the profits for yourself, haven’t you?”

Sheila stared at him in silence, shocked.

“Oh, didn’t your loyal assistant tell you that we made a copy of your system? Maybe you should have been nicer to her and she would have informed you of that.” He glanced quickly at Monica.

Flynn had stood by, as if in shock, and he mustered a plea. “I only found out about this today. The note…”

“You don’t know what I’ve had to put up with,” Sheila snapped, viciously. “Years ago he promised he would leave his wife for me, but he’s too much of a gutless wonder to do it.

If I have to spend my retirement years alone, he’s going to pay for it.”

“I’m sorry,” Flynn said, directing his comment at Owen. “I will present myself to the Board and explain the situation.”

“In this situation I would be grateful if you consider me the Board. Jack Monroe is my father.”

129

Flynn staggered then reached for a nearby chair and slumped on to it, elbows on his knees and head in hands. Monica realised that he must have been clinging to the one last hope that he could talk Owen round and present a good case. That chance had gone.

Alec had arrived, with his laptop under his arm. When he saw the gathering, he flicked open his phone and began to make calls.

“As for you, madam,” Owen said to Sheila, “the police will need a statement from you.”

“No!” Sheila wailed. She broke down in violent tears, gulping for air, and had to be seated and brought a glass of water.

It was then that Monica took her chance to flit past the gathering and out of the door.

She made it through Flynn’s office, through Arabella’s office, and out into the corridor, but she didn’t make it much further down the corridor before Owen was on her heels.

“Monica, where are you going?”

She turned to face him. “It’s over now.”

When he noticed the mark on her face, rage flitted through his expression. “Did that bastard hit you?”

“No. Sheila slapped me when I confronted her. It’s okay.”

He ran his thumb around the edge of the mark on her cheek, tenderly.

She wavered and had to pull it together quick or be lost under his touch. “Your work is done and you will soon be gone. Goodbye, Owen.”

Disbelief marred his expression. “Goodbye? You can’t mean that.”

She went to turn away but he grabbed her wrist. “It’s not over, we’re not over.” His expression looked wild. “How can you think that?”

Monica shook her head. Beyond him, she saw that Alec stood in the doorway to Arabella’s office, gripping onto the frame with one hand, his free hand on his hip as he watched them with concern. He would be there for Owen. Alec would always be there.

Emotion welled inside her, threatening to leave her as much a wreck as Sheila currently was.

There was nothing she wanted more than to walk into his arms and accept his comfort, but for what—one more night before they were gone?

She stared up at him and shook her head. “I need my boundaries, and now they are gone. I trusted these people. That has been destroyed.”

130

“I’m sorry.”

“It had to be done. It’s not your fault, but I need to make
me
strong again.” She put her fist to her chest, swallowing down the emotion.

Her world had been taken apart, everything that was solid and sure that she could build her days around without fear or discovery had turned out to be feeble in the face of a brief affair with two men who would be gone soon. How would she cope when that happened? She needed to rebuild her walls, find the way and make her routine solid again.