Twelve Days - The Beginning (18 page)

“I’ll just go and get the literature; you can stay here if you like and dig into those biscuits.” He winked and walked out of the room chuckling to himself; no doubt at her expense again.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of activity and Elise found that she and Vaughn worked well together. Her organisational skills complemented his visionary skills and they soon had the display stand up and ready with eye catching posters and advertising material. Although Elise had done many conferences before, they had never taken this much time and care over the presentation of it and she could see now how much difference it made. All of the information was available at their fingertips and they had paperwork to back up pretty much all of the questions that they would be asked by potential clients. He had even managed to screen off a small side section to allow some privacy, should the client require it.

Their conversation during the day had been light-hearted but there was an unmistakable undercurrent in the room. When Vaughn had ordered some sandwiches for lunch, she had been aware of him watching her mouth as she ate and, at one point, he had reached across and collected a spot of mayonnaise from the side of her mouth with his thumb. He had then proceeded to put that thumb in his mouth and suck on it, cleaning all of the mayonnaise off whilst keeping his eyes firmly on hers. She had thought that she would self-combust there and then. Never had she witnessed such an erotic gesture and it was all she could do to get herself back into work mode for the rest of the afternoon.

The others arrived together around 7pm. They were in high spirits and were equally as impressed with the location as Elise had been. Vaughn briefed them before dinner, giving them the same outline that he had given to Elise earlier in the day and then instructed them to go and change for dinner, which was booked for 8pm.

This was the first chance that Elise had got to get her room key and she was surprised to find that she had a room on her own; she had thought she might have been sharing with Celeste. Instead Celeste and Tilly were sharing as were Sam and Roger, but both she and Vaughn had
a room to themselves. Although it struck her as odd, she supposed it made sense in some way as there weren’t enough of them to all share rooms, but she couldn’t help being a little disappointed – a girly night with Celeste would have been a real laugh.

They all headed up to their rooms at the same time, arriving first at the girls’ room on the ground floor first, which was a few doors along from the boys’ room. Elise and Vaughn had rooms on the first floor but, as he had gone on ahead, she was left to find the stairs and her room on her own.

Opening the door, she gasped as she took in the beauty of the room. It was large with an oak four-poster bed on a raised island in the middle. The bed was facing towards the massive picture window which gave a never-ending view of the grounds and the countryside, which was even visible whilst sitting in the bed. Various items of antique furniture provided storage and a small bookcase contained a selection of the latest novels. There was a television with integral DVD player along with a stand up card dictating the myriad of channels available. There were also films; you just had to make your choice and let Reception know and they would arrange for it to be streamed directly into your room. Fresh flowers adorned every surface and on the bed, laid carefully in the middle, were the most luxurious robe and pair of slippers that she had ever seen.

Her bag had been brought up earlier and she couldn’t help thinking how out of place her scruffy duffle was in a room as elegant as this. Circling the bed, she headed towards another door that led to an ensuite bathroom. The centrepiece of this was the amazing old-fashioned freestanding bath with clawed feet, which looked large enough to accommodate at least three people. There was also a double shower to one side that had jets at all levels promising to give you the most amazing shower experience.

Elise left the bathroom and gave over to a fit of girly excitement – this was totally unbelievable. She had
never
been anywhere like this and she couldn’t believe that the company were happy to pay for this amount of luxury.

Thinking of the company reminded her of Cole and glancing at her watch, she decided she had enough time to give him a quick call before taking a shower and getting ready for dinner.

She located the hotel phone to one side of the bed and following the instructions, managed to get a call through to him on his mobile. She had asked the Receptionist how she went about paying for the call but she had been advised that the use of the telephone was included with the room. She couldn’t believe how generous Mr Andrews Snr was being.

Cole answered on the second ring.

“Hello?” he sounded dubious, no doubt wondering who it was since he wouldn’t have recognised the number.

“Cole! It’s me.” She squealed “You’ll never believe what this hotel is like and you should see the room they have me staying in. It’s ridiculous, I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“Hey, baby – I take it you arrived safely then!” She could hear the laughter in his voice at her childish enthusiasm. “How has your day and your road trip with our esteemed MD been?”

“It’s been brilliant – this place is amazing and we’ve had a real laugh. Gotta get changed for dinner soon but I really wanted to talk to you – I miss you, babe. I so wish you could be here to see this. I’ve got my own gown and slippers too.” She bounced up and down on the bed, fingering the luxurious softness around the lapel of the robe.

“Miss you too sweet-cheeks – wish I could wangle a trip like that every now and again.” She heard only a slight note of envy in his voice; she knew that Cole didn’t really enjoy the frontline part of their business and preferred to be the genius in the background. She personally considered that to be a travesty; his looks alone would attract many accounts, of that she was certain.

“Well, you’ll just have to pull a few well-placed strings then, won’t you?” she said teasingly.

“Mmmm...” he replied unconvincingly. “So, how come you’ve been having so much fun then? I thought the others weren’t arriving ‘til later on?”

“They weren’t, they’ve only just arrived. Vaughn and I have spent the day getting the display ready for tomorrow and that guy has a wicked sense of humour. You’d never know it though, he always seems so serious. We’re all in our rooms getting ready for dinner now but honestly Cole, I’ve not laughed so much in ages. He just has a way of making me relax. Of course it helps that he’s fairly easy on the eye and we....”

“Elise...slow down...” Cole broke into her endless rant “You do realise what you sound like, don’t you?”

Elise took a moment to think through her last few sentences and then groaned.

“Oh God, I sound like a bitch on heat, don’t I?”

“Yep! ‘Fraid so!”

“Aaaargghhh.......” she said.

“Hey, babe – don’t worry” he laughed “You have no argument from me where Vaughn’s concerned and it’s great to hear you happy – really great. You deserve this time, Elise – grab it with both hands and enjoy it.”

“Cole....” she warned, “You know it’s not like that – it’s just been such a fabulous day, I guess I got carried away with the moment.” She glanced around quickly for something else to focus on and was once again struck by the luxury of the accommodation she had been given.

“You should see this room though, Cole, it’s like something out of a film! How on earth did you ever get Mr Andrews Snr to pay for all of this?”

Cole didn’t reply and when the silence lengthened, Elise began to get concerned that he had been cut off.

“Cole..? Can you hear me? You still there?”

“Yeah babe, I’m here.” He sighed. “It’s just that there’s stuff I wasn’t supposed to tell you but you know I can’t lie to you. I don’t know what to say.”

“What do you mean? What weren’t you supposed to tell me?”

Another silence and then Cole spoke again.

“The hotel, the rooms – they weren’t organised by the company – Vaughn organised it all.”

“Yeah I know that, babe” she said, surprised that Cole was making such a big deal out of something so unimportant. “He told me that he had a friend who tipped him off about the conference and managed to square things with the manager here.”

“That’s true – but that’s not the whole story” Cole sighed, “Have you seen the rooms that the other’s have, Elise?”

“Yes – all apart from Vaughn’s. Why?”

“And didn’t it strike you how different your room was to theirs?”

“I guess so. But they are on the ground floor and I am on the first so I just assumed that the rooms were different on each floor. Plus, I have a double bed and they have twin beds although they are nowhere near as grand. Their views are the car park, I think – I have the most amazing view of the grounds from up here.” She was rambling again and when she realised, she abruptly came to a stop.

“Elise,” Cole said patiently “The reason that your room is different - better – from the others is not because you are on the first floor. There are all types of different rooms on all of the floors.”

“Ok......so I have a bigger room...maybe that’s all they had available?” she said, not really understanding why there should be any great significance applied to this fact.

“No, Elise – you don’t have a bigger room because that was all they had available. You have a bigger room for one reason only.” He paused and then continued.

“Your room has been upgraded and paid for by Vaughn – personally. Not the company.” He waited a moment as if allowing that little nugget of information to sink its way in. “As far as Mr Andrews Snr is concerned, you have the same accommodation as everyone else. Vaughn went behind his back to arrange that room for you; I’m the only one here who knows about it.” Cole sighed.

“Vaughn Granger is why you have such an ‘amazing’ view - and
that
is what I wasn’t supposed to tell you.”

Chapter Twenty-One

The conversation with Cole had unsettled her and Elise struggled to make sense of it all whilst she showered and changed.

Why would Vaughn pay extra for her room? She supposed there were lots of possible reasons but it wasn’t as if she was the most senior member of staff there. Both Tilly and Sam had been at the company way longer than she had – surely they deserved the upgrade?

But then why would Vaughn pay for it out of his own pocket? Surely he could have saved himself the money and just gone with the standard accommodation – it was only for one night after all.

Deciding that the only way she was ever going to find out was to ask him, Elise slipped on her heels, took one final look in the mirror and exited her room to head back downstairs to dinner. She was wearing her calf-length oriental-style black dress and she absolutely loved the feel of it as it swished against her legs. She was wearing lacy hold up stockings as she didn’t want there to be any visible lines from her usual tights under the dress and whilst she had been in the shower she had taken the time to have a shave – a luxury she rarely afforded herself, particularly in the winter. She was feeling good and happy with how she looked.

The dress wasn’t tight but it had a fitted bodice which skimmed across and under her breasts emphasising their fullness, and the skirt flared out a little with the material then flowing around her legs. She knew she was no model figure and that she had curves where perhaps she shouldn’t but overall she was generally content with her appearance. To be honest, she rarely had time to consider what she looked like so to have the opportunity to pamper herself a little was like a forbidden luxury.

She had tied her hair up in a loose bun to accommodate the high neck of the dress and fastened in her favourite blue and black jewelled earrings – a birthday present from her parents – which picked out the blue in her eyes and the black of the dress. She had no idea what the others would be wearing to dinner as she’d not had chance to ask them but she hoped that she had judged the dress code right.

Entering the bar, she scanned the tables, wishing that she had taken the trouble to arrange to walk down with Celeste and Tilly rather than having to walk in completely alone. A few heads turned as she entered, the bar at this pre-dinner time being quite full. Presumably many of the conference attendees had also travelled down the night before and she pushed past numerous smartly suited men before she finally spotted her group huddled together over in one corner. Relieved, she headed in their direction.

Celeste and Tilly were also wearing black dresses and Roger and Sam had on the uniform suits. Most of the men in the office wore suits daily so they didn’t look all that much different but both Tilly and Celeste looked stunning, a fact which it appeared had not gone unnoticed by the two men. Roger eyes rarely strayed from Celeste and Sam was blatantly eyeing up Tilly who in turn, wasn’t totally oblivious to his attentions.

Celeste had opted for a short, fitted black dress which emphasised her figure to perfection. She had left her brunette hair down, just securing a couple of clips in the side to hold it off her face, and minimal make up.

Tilly, a beautiful petite girl with exquisite features, had on a stunning floor-length gown. She had a paler complexion as a natural redhead but she had emphasised her eyes with clever make up to create a really dramatic look.

Reaching the small group, she was grateful when Celeste enveloped her in a bear hug and whispered in her ear, “Looking good, hon!”

Elise hugged her in return and then stepped back to take in her friend’s full appearance.

“You too – you look amazing! I’m only sorry that we can’t be in the same room to share make up and swap tips.”

“Yeah...” said Celeste “Where is your room anyway? - I can’t imagine why they decided to split us up like that.”

“Er...I’m on the first floor – I think it’s something to do with numbers and availability. At least that’s what Cole said when I called him.” Elise lied easily and immediately felt guilty. She really wanted to confide in her friend but the time was never right so the lies just kept on coming. She was starting to worry that the line between truth and lies would become so blurred that one day she would forget which her real life was, and which her fantasy one was. Not that either of her ‘lives’ were that much of a fantasy.

Moving away from Celeste, she waved at Roger who was still throwing lustful looks at her friend and smiled warmly at Tilly and Sam. As if Elise’s arrival provided some sort of cue, Tilly almost immediately moved across to stand next to Sam and the two of them were soon engrossed in conversation.

Having not taken much notice of Roger up until now, Elise looked him over surreptitiously and realised that in a Clark Kent geek kind of way, he was actually quite handsome. He had light brown hair which was neatly trimmed and wore fashionable spectacles over the most arresting green eyes that she had ever seen. At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking he was a little scrawny but up close, Elise could see that he filled out his suit very nicely and if she wasn’t much mistaken, there were some serious abs hiding under his shirt. Nudging Celeste in the ribs, she turned to whisper in her ear.

“Have you noticed the looks that Roger’s been throwing you? Seems to me like someone has a bit of a crush.”

To her surprise, Celeste immediately blushed and Elise slapped her hand over her mouth to hold in her gasp of surprise.

“Oh no! Don’t tell me it’s not only him with the crush?!”

Celeste nodded warily and turned to whisper back. “I think I really like him Elise – I mean
really
like him. I’ve never taken much notice of him before but we were sat in the back of the
car together on the way up here and there was just
something
there – you know? Since then I’ve been thinking about him constantly and I know he’s watching me too. Every time I look up, I find him looking back at me – what do you think I should do?”

“Jesus – don’t ask me, ‘Leste. If anyone knows nothing about romance then it’s me.”

“But you’ve got Dale and you’ve been married forever – surely you must be able to give me some advice? I’ve never felt this tongue-tied around a guy before.”

Deciding that she really had to come clean with Celeste, at least on some level, she steered her friend a little away from their group to an alcove adjoining the main ballroom and restaurant area.

“’Leste,” she began “There’s something you need to know – something that I’ve been meaning to tell you for ages but the time has never been right.” She swallowed and then carried on.

“Dale and I – it’s not all as rosy as you may think. Things between us are strained, have been for some time now and I honestly don’t know what the future holds for us. There is more – much more that you need to know but now is not the time or the place. Suffice to say that my marriage is not all that it seems and I will tell you more when I can. For the record, apart from yourself, there are only two other people that know the truth – Cole and Vaughn. I would really like to keep it that way.” She glanced up to see her friend’s eyes wide with shock.

“Shit, Elise – I never would have known. Why the hell didn’t you tell me before? Are you OK? Can I do anything?”

Elise held up a hand to stop her friend’s questions. “I am fine, honestly. This isn’t anything new, things have been falling apart for a long time. It’s only now that I’m beginning to think they may be irreparable.”

“This has something to do with last week, doesn’t it? The fight with Cole and Dale? I knew there was something off then but you just seemed to suggest it was all fine and like the fool that I am, I believed you.”

“’Leste – you were meant to believe me, that’s the point. I’ve been lying to you just like I’ve been lying to everyone else and I am truly sorry. When you know the full story, you’ll understand why it is so hard for me to talk about it but I really want you to know – it’s just that we can’t do it here, now. I’m fine, honestly, and when I can, I will tell you everything – I promise.”

“Ok – if you’re sure?”

Elise nodded “I’m sure – and thank you, Celeste. You don’t know how much of a relief it is to have finally told you.”

Celeste hugged her again. “I am always here for you, Elise, I promise. And I swear on my life that I will never tell a soul. If you need me, you know where I am.”

With one more quick squeeze, she headed away from the alcove and back to the group, leaving Elise alone to gather her thoughts.

“I can’t tell you how much I wished it was me giving you that hug,” whispered an unmistakably sexy voice in her ear, “especially the squeeze at the end. I got hard just thinking about how that would feel.”

Elise turned and came face to face with Vaughn - his dark eyes, deep enough to drown in were on fire - and she had to swallow to formulate any conscious thought. He was standing close to her, almost indecently close, and she could smell his usual musky scent, which always turned her legs to jelly. He was wearing a dinner suit and she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Whilst Sam and Roger had stuck with the traditional suit, Vaughn had gone for a full dinner jacket with bow tie and tapered trousers that hugged the lines of his legs to perfection. Elise felt her mouth begin to water. The affect this man had on her was out of this world and judging from the looks that some of the other women were giving him, she wasn’t the only one afflicted.

“Hell Elise,” he continued, “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen – you do things to me that I never knew were possible. That dress........” His eyes began a lazy inspection taking in the detail of the high collar all the way down to her calves and then coming back to rest on her face again, holding her gaze for a few minutes longer than necessary.

Lightly, he coughed. “There’s something I have to know.....do you mind if I..?”

Elise looked at him puzzled, wondering what on earth he meant and then stiffened slightly as he reached out his hand and pulled her closer to him, his palm coming into contact with her bottom.

“Relax, Elise,” he whispered in her ear, “I’m not going to hurt you – I just have to know something...please....”

Elise tried to relax as she moved in closer, allowing his hand to begin a leisurely journey across her bottom, over the curve and then lower to the crease where her bottom met her thighs and lower still to the tops of her thighs. His other hand joined in, mirroring. What the hell was he doing?

When he reached her thighs he paused and locked his eyes onto hers, slowly massaging the tops of her thighs with both of his hands and continually pulling her closer and closer to him. The massaging was driving her insane and she knew that she was helplessly wet and aroused, certain that that was reflected back in her eyes.

Without breaking contact, he began to move his hands lower still until he reached the lacy tops of her hold ups at which point he abruptly stopped moving and slammed her forcefully the rest of the way into his body, almost knocking her off balance in the process. This close there was no mistaking his erection and she bit her lip to hold in her involuntary gasp.

“Fuck.... Elise” he growled “Jesus...what you do to me. I thought you might have been wearing stockings but this.....” he rubbed his hands against the lacy tops again “these...these
are something else. Shit.” He drew in a ragged breath as he clearly tried to regain some control. “We have to have dinner but for your information......I am going to be sat next to you with the mother of all hard-ons for the entire meal. Bloody hell, Elise...lacy hold-ups... Jesus Christ!”

Taken aback by his outburst after finally realising what he had been looking for, Elise was momentarily stunned; her senses going into overdrive at the physical closeness she currently shared with this man along with the force of his desire. She watched as his jaw began to tick and realising just how close he was to losing control, the devil in her began to rear its head and she blatantly fluttered her eyelashes at him, regaining some of her equilibrium and intentionally playing with the power he had unwittingly given.

“You like, Sir?” she mimicked in her best subservient voice, dropping her eyes in an attempt to appear coy.

Roughly, he grabbed her right hand and pressed it in-between their bodies, fitting it over his hard length, rubbing it briefly up and down.

“I think you’ll find ‘Sir’ likes them very much.” And he bucked further into her hand as if to emphasise the point, making them both draw in a ragged breath

Reluctantly, Vaughn removed her hand from his groin, stepping back and putting a discreet distance between them.

“We have to go into dinner,” he ground out, slowly emphasising each word, “although I am fairly certain that it will be one of the longest and most tortuous experiences of my life.”

The six of them were seated at one of the many round tables in the main ballroom and, as they weren’t conference guests as such, they were at the furthest end away from the dance floor and partially tucked into a corner.

Vaughn had morphed back into boss mode and had seated everyone in a boy – girl arrangement which meant that she had Vaughn to her right, Roger to her left with Celeste followed by Sam and then Tilly on the other side of Vaughn. As soon as they were seated, Vaughn surreptitiously moved his chair closer to hers and she watched with some amusement as both Sam and Roger did the same thing, moving closer to Tilly and Celeste respectively.