Twelve Days - The Beginning (14 page)

Realising that she had been silent for an inordinate amount of time and had not responded, she tried to compose something suitable to say. She felt completely torn; she wanted to support him and believed that it was her duty to do so but she also wanted her freedom back – the kind of freedom that she had experienced over the last couple of days. That wouldn’t happen in the picture that Dale had painted.

“I think that it’s brilliant you’ve been thinking things through,” she said carefully, “and you know that I’ve been nagging you for ages to cut down on your drinking, I’m just not sure if you’re fully committed to this yet. I know you said you’ve taken what the doctors said seriously but I just need to see it to believe it, I guess. This has all been going on for too long for me to just forget everything that has happened and whilst you know that I will support you, I hope, rather than believe, you to be sincere.” She paused. Although Dale seemed to be in an upbeat mood, her negativity might be something that she paid for later and that was not something that she wanted to encourage.

“I hope that you understand I don’t mean to be negative,” she continued, “there’s just so much that’s happened as a result of your drinking that it’s hard for me to completely believe you’ve changed after just a couple of days.” She tried to word it as sensitively as she could and waited quietly for his response.

Putting her feelings out on the line like that was a bit of a gamble but she needed to be honest with both of them if they were ever going to have a chance. Nervously she glanced across at Dale, fully expecting his face to be contorted in anger but was surprised to see him nodding.

“I understand that, Elise, believe it or not” he said. “Things have been rough and I know I’ve not admitted to it before but I am prepared to do that now. I really want our marriage to work and I just feel completely blessed that you’ve not left me long before now. I wouldn’t blame you if you’d at least cheated on me.” he laughed ironically as if the thought of her being attractive to anyone else was completely ridiculous. “I know you’d never do that to me, Elise, would you?”

Elise kept her eyes firmly fixed to the road as she considered what to say or not to say. Dale seemed oblivious to her predicament and was continuing on with his train of thought.

“I mean, the thought of anyone else wanting you in any case – they all know you’re married and you’re getting on a bit now. You and me – we’re all that we need and together we can get through anything. Especially if I keep sober. What do you think?” He seemed to be completely unaware of the hurtful nature of the words coming out of his mouth and Elise was almost tempted to tell him about last night. Make him realise that she was a person, not just
an object and that there were other people out there who valued her in some way. But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

Warming to his theme now Dale carried on, “Pretty-boy makes me laugh – admittedly I can tell that he fancies you but does he really think you’d be interested in him when you have me? I reckon he’s desperate that one. Can’t think of any other reason why he’d be so defensive of you.”

Of course! It was unthinkable that she could be attractive to anyone else! Temper rising to almost boiling point, she gripped the wheel as hard as she could and maintained her concentration on the road. She could feel tears starting to prick at the back of her eyes and for the first time she realised that Dale wasn’t just physically abusing her, he was mentally abusing her as well - almost as if he realised that he would lose control by giving up drinking so he needed to compensate in other ways.

Still he hadn’t finished and seemed completely unaware that she had not uttered one single word.

“So, we going to do this then babe? You and me against the world? ‘Cos that’s the way it should be. We took those vows and now I’m going to get sober and we are going to show everyone how good we are together. And I know you’re never going to cheat on me are you?”

Numbly Elise shook her head but didn’t turn to face him. She couldn’t. Without her realising it Dale had managed to get the upper hand again. He may not be physically touching her but he was still controlling her, reminding her of her duty and subtly warning her from going against his wishes. He was clever – very clever - and as she continued to drive them home, one chilling thought went round and round in her head.

This Dale – this
manipulative
Dale – was way worse than angry Dale. Way, way worse.

Chapter Seventeen

The rest of Sunday passed uneventfully although Elise could tell that Dale was struggling without his usual alcoholic crutch. He was unable to settle and kept walking around the house, huffing and puffing.

Nothing further was said following their conversation in the car and they settled into their usual routine with a number of somewhat uneasy silences. As bedtime approached, Elise took herself upstairs for a hot bath and an early night. The last few days had taken their toll and she was relieved to be able to sleep in her own bed without having to keep one eye open for once, as Dale was still sober.

Arriving at the office on Monday morning, the first thing she did was to stop by Cole’s office to see how he was feeling and ask if he fancied having lunch.

Cole wasn’t there so she left him a note, asking him to drop her an e-mail when he got a chance.

Reaching her desk, she was pleased to see both Olivia and Stephen already in which meant they would have sorted the post; her least favourite job. She waved at both of them and then settled down to get on with her work, dropping her bag on the floor and her coat on the hook next to their group of desks.

Stephen was busily concentrating on his computer when she sat down but he turned and smiled at her as she settled in.

“Morning, beautiful – quite a night on Saturday, then?” he said with a knowing wink.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied, “just went out clubbing with the girls. Nothing to report.”

“Ermm.... not the story I heard” he said glancing across at Olivia who was watching their exchange with interest. “Seems you were........unwell......although you were seen leaving the car park with a certain boss of ours!”

“Yes Stephen, very funny.” She said dismissively, and then as an afterthought, “By the way, I didn’t know you had a sister.”

Immediately his face hardened and clouded over with an emotion she couldn’t begin to name. Stephen had always been a joker and a flirt around her; this was a side of him she had never seen before. The coldness in his eyes was almost scary.

“I – do – not – talk – about – Natalie – EVER!” he hissed, his voice low to prevent Olivia from overhearing. “Understand?”

Shocked at his outburst, Elise mumbled an apology and turned back to her own work. Jesus Christ! Definitely not a subject up for discussion with him either. Who was this woman and why did she invoke such emotion in both Stephen and Vaughn?

A few minutes later, just as she had managed to lose herself in a particularly boring spreadsheet, her e-mail pinged and she was surprised to see that it was from Stephen.

Mon Dec 17th. 9.15am

Elise,

Sorry for my outburst – it’s not your fault. Just do me a favour, don’t mention her again.

Your question proves one thing though – you were definitely with a certain boss of ours on Saturday night!!

Gotcha there babe! Soooooo busted!

Elise read and then re-read the e-mail. Shit! She had completely given herself away without thinking. She wasn’t particularly concerned about Stephen - he had the morals of an alley cat - but she didn’t want it to be general knowledge that she had spent time alone with Vaughn. Jesus! Why didn’t she ever learn to think before she spoke?

Before she could formulate a reply her computer pinged again.

Mon Dec 17
^th
. 9.20am

Don’t worry babe, your secret’s safe with me.

I promise.

Stephen x x

She looked across at him and he winked – and just like that, the tension was gone and they were back to their usual relationship. She smiled at him and mouthed ‘thank you’ then carried on with her work, keen to put in a full day after the debacle of Friday.

By lunchtime she had finished everything left over from Friday plus most of Monday’s work so she was feeling good and ready for her catch up with Cole. Oddly, he had not e-mailed her, which she found strange and come to think of it, she’d not heard from Vaughn either. Whilst she hadn’t necessarily expected to after how they’d left things on Sunday morning, she couldn’t help being a little disappointed.

Packing up her desk, she decided to head to Cole’s office again and see if she could catch him and entice him out to lunch. When she got there she was surprised to see that his office was still empty although his jacket and briefcase were there so she knew he must be around somewhere.

“Has anyone seen Mr Andrews today?” she asked in the general direction of the outer office.
“Er.. I think he’s with Mr Granger – he mentioned he had a meeting with him.” replied Roger, one of the new junior’s assigned to Cole’s tutelage.

“Oh ok...thanks Roger” she said.

She hesitated for a moment trying to decide what to do. The fact that Cole had not e-mailed her slightly worried her and she wondered if he had been in a meeting with Vaughn all morning. That would explain the radio silence from both of them but if it was something important then she didn’t want to interrupt.

She supposed she could just walk round to Vaughn’s office and look through the window and see whether or not they looked like they were about to finish up. She really did want to talk to Cole and didn’t think she could wait another day.

Rounding the corner to the kitchen, she was surprised to see the door of Vaughn’s office open and the room empty of all furniture. As she got closer she saw that the nameplate had also been removed and frowned at it in confusion. Obviously Vaughn was no longer occupying this office but she had no idea where he could be and why - after only a couple of days – why had he arranged to move elsewhere?

Deciding to ask Stephen as she felt sure that he would know the answer, Elise walked back to her desk. He was on the phone so she sat and waited patiently until he had finished.

“Hey,” he said after hanging up “I thought you’d gone to lunch.”

“Yeah, I did,” she said, “but I was hoping to catch Cole and he’s not in his office. Apparently he’s with Vaughn but
he
doesn’t appear to live in his office anymore, I wondered if you had any idea what was going on?”

“Oh right, yeah” replied Stephen “Vaughn moved upstairs this morning – something about more privacy – you’ll find him in one of the offices at the far end. Are you sure you want to go bursting in though?”

“What do you mean?” she asked “I only want to speak to Cole; Vaughn can think what he likes – it’s not as if it matters to him what I do.”

“Ok, Elise – you tell yourself whatever works.” Stephen laughed and picked up the phone to make another call.

Sighing and rolling her eyes, Elise headed up the stairs to the Directors’ floor. She had only ever been here once before, and as she climbed the stairs she had to fight the urge to run back down again, telling herself she was going to see Cole – that was all.

Taking Stephen’s advice, she headed to the offices at the far end of the floor and was unsurprised to find Vaughn’s nameplate now adorning the room that they had shared their first kiss in on Friday. Figured. She didn’t know whether to be flattered or insulted.

She opted for neither emotion and instead decided to focus on Cole and seeing him again.
Hesitantly she knocked on the door as she was unable to see in, the blinds being drawn across all the windows. Momentarily, the command to ‘enter’ was issued and she pushed open the door, frowning at her nervousness and trying to quell the shake in her legs. This was utterly ridiculous!

Vaughn was seated at his desk and looked up as she entered, a guarded smile on his face when he realised it was her. Cole was sitting opposite him and swivelled around, his face lighting up when he set eyes on her. Although he looked a lot better, he still bore some of the scars from Friday and she wanted to go over and touch them and kiss them better for him.

“Miss Grayson – what can we do for you?” the voice was its usual deeply sexy rumble and she struggled to maintain her focus. Cole looked across at Vaughn questioningly as if wondering why he used the formal version of her name.

“I......I....” she stuttered – For God’s sake Elise, pull yourself together! She admonished. Taking a deep breath she tried again. “I wanted to see if Cole, I mean Mr Andrews, was free for lunch but I can see that he is busy – I’m sorry to have troubled you.” She started backing out of the door, mentally cursing herself for even putting herself in this position.

“Hey Elise – wait,” it was Cole, “I’m sure we can take a break for a while?” He looked enquiringly at Vaughn.

Vaughn paused and seemed to consider, his eyes raking over her appearance. Today she was wearing her light beige dress suit made of a warm wool mix which was both comfortable and flattering, especially at this time of year. The dress finished just above her knees and she was wearing her usual sheer tights along with beige heels. In respect of office wear she was more than properly dressed; however by the time Vaughn had finished his perusal of her, she had never felt more naked.

Vaughn finally lifted his eyes as if coming to a decision. “What an excellent idea,” he said, “I could do with a break too. Why don’t we all go down to that pizza place? They do a buffet lunch if I remember?”

Elise groaned inwardly – great. How awkward was this going to be? Her self-professed protector, her ridiculously attractive nemesis and her, all in the same place at the same time. Great. This had the potential to be a very long hour.

On the short walk to the pizza restaurant, Elise found herself a couple of paces behind, walking on her own. The two men continued an in-depth conversation taking no notice of her at all and she began to wonder if this thing with Vaughn had all been a figment of her imagination. Whilst she knew that Cole would always be in her life, she decided to re-think Vaughn’s position as he had made no effort whatsoever to secure time alone with her since Sunday morning and now he was blatantly ignoring her. All good in respect of her marriage but she couldn’t believe how hurt she felt at being brushed aside by him and began to berate herself for believing everything that he had said to her. Perhaps Dale was right after all – why would anyone else find her attractive?

Although it was lunchtime, the restaurant was surprisingly quiet and they were seated immediately at a table set for four. Elise hesitated as she pondered the seating arrangements and then decided to just sit down and let the men sort it out. Cole went to take the seat next to her but Vaughn got there first and sat down smoothly on her left leaving Cole to take the seat opposite her.

The waitress arrived to take their drinks order and once she had showed them the buffet and given them plates and cutlery, she left them to it.

“Christ, I’m ravenous,” Cole said, “I can’t believe we’ve been holed up in your office all morning, Granger.”

Vaughn laughed and then turned to Elise.

“I see you found my new office then.” He said with just a tiny hint of sarcasm, “Someone informed me that it had more privacy than the one downstairs plus it holds rather special memories for me. I hope it didn’t inconvenience you too much to have to come upstairs.”

Elise glared at him and said nothing, hoping that the blush she could feel creeping up her cheeks was not visible. Completely oblivious to their exchange, Cole excused himself to go and get some food, leaving the two of them alone. Realising that this was not good, Elise began to get up to follow Cole but Vaughn stopped her with a hand on her leg underneath the table. His fingers started to stroke distracting circles on the sensitive underside of her knee and she had to struggle to keep still.

“I’ve not stopped thinking about you, Elise” he whispered in her ear, “I know we parted on bad terms on Sunday and I
was
angry with you; angry that you were rubbishing something that for me had been infinitely precious. But when I calmed down, I realised how difficult all this must be for you and reminded myself that you wouldn’t have responded to me the way that you did if Saturday night had meant nothing to you.” he stopped, his voice getting deeper and sexier still. “By the time I went to bed, I was rock hard with needing you and decided that I would have to move my office or I would never be able to walk around the building again - you really have no idea how much you turn me on.”

He leaned back and away from her just as Cole returned to the table, assuming a completely neutral expression that outwardly suggested they had been discussing nothing more than the weather.

Elise had still not managed to get her brain to function and instead was watching Cole hungrily digging into his food, wondering how on earth she was going to fake any kind of appetite. Presently Vaughn left the table too and Elise managed to breathe again, somehow managing to get most of her shaking body under control. OK, focus Elise...you’re here to talk to Cole.

“Cole,” she said, addressing her best friend, “I’m sorry I’ve not been in touch over the last couple of days. I had to go and pick Dale up from hospital yesterday and it was just a bit mad trying to get everything organised. I really wanted to call and see how you were though –
especially after Saturday night. I’ve been worried about you.” She added softly “I really want to help you sort all this out; you do know that don’t you?”

“Yes, of course I do sweet-cheeks” he grinned as she raised her eyebrows at his infuriating nickname for her.

“Look,” he said, “I’ve got some thinking to do and lots to try to work through. I need you there to help me but I also need you healthy – you need to take care of yourself. First and foremost. You know what I mean.”

“I know, baby,” she said, “believe me, I know. But since he’s been out of hospital he’s made a real effort and said that he’s going to try to stop drinking. If he could just do that then maybe we’d have a chance to get back on track.”

“That’s bullshit, Elise, and you know it.” said Cole angrily. “He’s only been out of hospital one day - I’d hardly call that making an effort. There is no way in this world that he deserves you to be there to pick up the pieces or take the punches, any longer. You are done, Elise and you need to get out of there.”

She hated when Cole got like this. He made sense - of course he did - but it was very different to be on the outside of a situation doling out advice than it was to be on the inside, trying to sort everything out. She just wished everyone would stop telling her what she needed to do and let her sort it out in her own way in her own time.