Twelve Days - The Beginning (25 page)

Still being supported by Sam and unable to employ the strength to get in-between the two men writhing around on the floor, she realised that her options were seriously limited. Without thinking, she did the only thing that she really could do and screamed at the absolute top of her voice.

“STOP IT NOW!” and for the first time since arriving on the scene, Vaughn stopped what he was doing and looked up at her.

“Why the hell are you defending this bastard?” he asked enraged and immediately began to lay into the man again who had begun to sit up and fight back.

“I’M NOT!” she screamed, “I AM PROTECTING YOU. STOP IT VAUGHN. RIGHT NOW! JESUS – THINK ABOUT WHERE WE ARE. HE IS NOT WORTH IT. JUST STOP IT! PLEASE....” her voice had raised almost another octave by the time she had finished and Sam had by now released his hold on her, backing off to allow her to get nearer to Vaughn.

Slowly she approached the two men fighting on the floor, kneeling down a short distance away so that she was on the same level as Vaughn.

“Vaughn, listen.” She kept her voice low and even, “You have to stop this. Please. Stop this, baby. Please – for me.”

She moved to within touching distance of him and reached out to connect with his shoulder. He flinched, as if to shake her off but she gently massaged and slowly he began to calm, eventually releasing his hold on the other man and sitting up. He looked up into Elise’s eyes, his still full of anger and gradually released a breath. Their eyes remained locked for endless minutes and then gently Elise took Vaughn’s arm and helped him to stand, freeing the man from underneath him.

Sam had started to move the crowd away to give them some space and she became aware of colleagues helping the other man to get up. She caught his eye, her stomach rolling as she thought about what could possibly have happened. Surprisingly his eyes were now clear, the adrenalin no doubt taking care of the alcohol and he returned her gaze, briefly mouthing “Sorry” before he was helped away. Thankfully he didn’t seem to be carrying too many injuries but she had no idea if he would be pressing charges against Vaughn. He had every right to she supposed, although she could also press charges against him for sexual harassment so maybe one could cancel out the other. She really didn’t know if it worked that way but right now she couldn’t think about that.

She turned back and looked at Vaughn who hadn’t moved. His eyes were filled with fear and he looked like a broken man. His appearance, and the desolation in his eyes terrified her, and she automatically opened her arms to him. He walked into them without hesitation, resting his chin on her shoulder and closing his eyes. He buried his face into her neck breathing in deeply; his shoulders were deeply hunched, exhausted, as if he had nothing left to give.

And then right there, right in the middle of the hotel foyer and cradled in Elise’s arms, he let out a strangled sob and began to cry.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Elise had a feeling of déjà-vu as she watched the police and paramedics carry out their duties. Fortunately, the man had only suffered light bruising and scratches and, despite the officers questioning him for a long time, he had refused to press charges against Vaughn. He had admitted that he had been out of line with his advances towards her and he just wanted to put it behind him.

It transpired that his name was Edwin Dunn and he was the founder of a company that had fallen victim to the recession. He had been trying to re-build it ever since and attending this conference had been his last-ditch attempt to get things back on track. He had been looking to gain some contacts as well as additional skills but unfortunately he had realised early on that he was substantially older than most of the other delegates and hopelessly out of touch with the modern way of doing business. He had grabbed a bottle and gone for a walk, realising that it was time to accept that it was over. His life’s work had come to an end and ultimately amounted to nothing - Elise had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He was now totally sober and had apologised to her again, explaining that he had a wife and children and emphasising that this behaviour was completely out of character for him. Surprisingly, Elise found it easy enough to accept his apology and refused to press any charges herself. He was going to be dealing with the guilt of what he had done every day and he was going to be pretty sore from his injuries for a while. He also had the shame of admitting it to his family and Elise felt that that was more than enough penance. She too just wanted to forget the whole ugly incident.

Vaughn had been given a police warning, and as he had no previous record, that had been the end of the matter. Elise couldn’t believe that in less than a week, all of the men in her life had managed to pick up a police caution. She smiled at the irony, as the old saying about buses arriving all at once, sprang to mind but the fact that she was the root cause of all of their troubles with the law didn’t rest easily with her. If she could go back and relive the last week then she would, in a heartbeat.

Unfortunately Mr Andrews Snr had been contacted by the hotel as a matter of course and Vaughn had been told to return to the office as soon as possible to explain his actions. As the largest shareholder in the company, Elise found it strange that Vaughn was accountable to anyone but she didn’t know the intricacies of the agreement and Mr Andrews Snr did command respect amongst all of the staff.

By lunchtime, the furore had largely died down and the conference had resumed as normal. Vaughn had not spoken to Elise since he had broken down in her arms; instead he had concentrated on dealing with the police and apologising to Sam and the others. It had been agreed that they would stay on and finish the conference but Elise and Vaughn were going to leave and return to the office. There were bridges that needed building, and after Vaughn had straightened as much out as he could with the hotel management, Elise found herself back in his car, bag packed and heading towards Eastwood, ready to face the inevitable music.

The journey was silent for a while with both lost in their thoughts. Elise couldn’t begin to comprehend why Vaughn had reacted so strongly to what had happened and she had no idea how to broach the subject. There were so many levels to this man that she was beginning to uncover, and it just reinforced her concerns of the night before that she really knew hardly anything about him at all. She knew that he had money but she had no idea where it had come from. She knew that he had bought a controlling stake in Andrews & Andrews yet he still seemed to answer to Mr Andrews Snr. She knew that he wasn’t married – at least she hoped that he wasn’t - and she knew that he had been hopelessly drunk the first night she had met him. She had also gleaned some connection to Stephen’s sister Natalie, who, until a few days ago, Elise didn’t even know existed. She remembered him saying that he had a happy home life with parents and a sister living some distance away. And she also knew that he had slept with Olivia.

That was the sum total of her knowledge of Mr Vaughn Granger.

Unable to bear the silence any longer she decided to try to talk and see if she could make sense of things. They had shared a connection last night and his reaction to Edwin Dunn had suggested that he must have some feelings for her if he was willing to fight her corner like that. She just hoped that there was still something there for them to salvage out of all of this mess and was beyond understanding how on earth things had suddenly become even more complicated.

“Vaughn – I need to know.” She began quietly, hesitantly. “What the hell happened back there?”

Vaughn looked across at her, his eyes dark and empty, and she had the distinct feeling that he had almost forgotten that she was there. Lost in his own world, lost in his past or perhaps even his present. Wherever he was, it was a place that was clearly the origin of heartache and a place that had caused this beautiful, strong man to break down in her arms.

“I....” he began, hesitantly, reluctantly, “I saw him - Edwin Dunn - when I came out of the conference room. He had his hand on your arm, you were trying to get away and bloody Sam was just stood there, totally oblivious. I could see you were scared, Elise, and I couldn’t bear it – I just saw red and lost control. I needed to get to you and to get him away from you and things got out of hand. No one touches you like that – ever. No one.”

His defence of her honour was one thing and his desire to protect her had been overwhelming. She had never had anyone look out for her before and the fact that he had cared enough to put his career and health on the line touched her deep down, somewhere near her heart. In places that he had no business residing.

But that didn’t change the fact that she had been really scared of what he would do – scared that he would seriously hurt the man. He didn’t seem to know when to stop. That had been a side to Vaughn that she hadn’t known existed and a side that she would rather not have seen. She shivered involuntarily as the shock started to kick in.

“I thought you were going to kill him, Vaughn. I was so scared.” She whispered. “He really didn’t do anything to me and I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t have carried through with his
threats. You saw him afterwards; he was a decent bloke just down on his luck. If I hadn’t managed to stop you, I dread to think what would have happened.” Elise shivered again, the reality at last hitting home.

“I was always in control, Elise. He was never in any danger. I just needed him to get the message and leave you the hell alone. You are mine. No one messes with what is mine.” He glanced across at her in the dusk light of the car, his voice controlled and dark and not for the first time she realised what a commanding force this man could be. She needed to make him understand that she was not anybody’s property and moreover, realise how close to Dale tendencies he was sailing, with his current attitude. She would not enter another relationship based on violence, regardless of how well intentioned it was.

“I’ve never seen anyone so angry. Even Dale after a drink would be no match for what I’ve just witnessed.”

Vaughn flinched, no doubt at the comparison with her husband but he needed to understand that he had overstepped the mark. Violence was a daily part of her life and if there was to be any hope for them, he had to understand that she wanted rid of it from her life altogether. She was not going to go from the proverbial frying pan into the fire.

“You have to understand,” she continued “that if this thing between us is going to happen, it has to represent something new; something beautiful and pure. I’ve seen enough violence and experienced enough violence to last me a lifetime and I can’t put myself into another situation where scores are settled using fists. I refuse to do it.” She knew that she was making everything black and white with her attitude but she could not afford for there to be any misunderstandings. It would hurt enough now but weeks and months down the road, violence as a regular feature would break her completely and she knew without a doubt that she would not be strong enough to rebuild again.

This time when Vaughn looked across at her she saw the regret in his eyes and he lowered them momentarily, almost in shame, before turning back to the road.

“I understand, Elise, and I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath. “I saw that man with his hands on you and my heart stopped. I thought he was going to hurt you. I thought that I was going to lose you. I thought......it doesn’t matter. I know that we’ve only just met but last night...” he paused, “...last night meant so much to me, more than you can ever begin to understand. This has to happen, and I am terrified of it being taken away. I know I said I would settle for one night, for whatever part of you I could have, but I was only ever fooling myself. I can’t let you go now – I won’t let you go and I won’t apologise for that.”

Elise watched as a single tear rolled down his cheek, his eyes glued to the road, and she was reminded of him sobbing on her shoulder a short while earlier. The depth of his emotion was intense and she was smart enough to realise that she wasn’t the full story. For someone to experience such highs and lows there had to be more to it and she knew that he was holding out on her. Something had happened for those emotions to be out there, especially for a man and whilst she didn’t doubt the sincerity of his words, she began to wonder if she was merely the trigger to a much bigger issue. She sighed at the irony of ending up with this unforgiving
attraction to a man who, in his own way, appeared to be just as bruised and battered as she was.

Accepting that there really wasn’t much more for either of them to say on the subject for the moment, she let the silence extend a while and then decided to change the focus, and ask him about something else that had been bothering her.

“Vaughn, when we were at the hotel...well, I was wondering why I had a different room to everyone else?” She asked and he looked across at her in surprise, clearly perplexed at her abrupt change of subject.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I saw the room that the girls and guys’ shared and mine was so different – like yours. I thought it was a bit strange, that was all.”

“I don’t know,” he replied somewhat unconvincingly, “We were an odd number and perhaps they had to split us up – maybe that was the only accommodation they had available.” He shrugged, a little too innocently, and she noted that his eyes never once strayed from the road as if he was afraid to look at her.

She let it ride for a moment and then carried on.

“Don’t you think it’s strange though? I mean I can understand you having a better room but Tilly is way more senior than me; I would have thought Mr Andrews Snr would have given her the upgrade.” She smiled and watched as a slightly panicked expression crossed his face when he realised that she wasn’t going to give this one up.

“I don’t know Elise...honestly I don’t.” He replied, but the little tic in his jaw was a dead giveaway. He was lying and he knew that she knew that he was lying. She debated dropping a few more hints and slowly reeling him in but in the end she decided to just go for broke and ask him outright.

“Vaughn, why did you pay for my room upgrade?”

The shock on his face was priceless.

“How the hell did you..??? Oh - Cole.” He said as understanding dawned. “Bastard. He was supposed to keep that to himself.”

She laughed. “You need to learn that Cole is a rubbish liar and even worse when it comes to keeping anything from me. You never stood a chance.”

He looked at her and growled. “I’ll have to remember that.”

She smiled, “Anyway, you’ve still not answered the question. Why did you pay for my room?”

He glanced across at her briefly and then pulled the car over to a lay-by a few yards ahead. Switching off the engine he turned to face her and took both of her hands into his.

“Lots of reasons,” he said and she sat patiently while she waited for him to continue.

“I paid for it because I could; I paid for it because I wanted you near me; I paid for it so that you would be comfortable and I paid for it so that you could have a beautiful view but ultimately, I paid for it so that you could enjoy your one night away from your hellish life in complete and utter luxury. You deserve the best, Elise, and I want to be the one to give it to you.”

She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes as she took in his words and their meaning. This man who she had known just over a week had seen through her, seen the truth of her situation, understood what she needed and had gone out of his way to make sure she experienced something different to the life that she was used to. It didn’t matter that it was only for one night and that she was at this very moment headed back to reality. What mattered was that this man had cared enough to think about it and she had never experienced anything like it before. Cole reached her on a level unlike anyone else but this man in front of her now - this beautiful, strong, wonderful man; was digging deeper even than she could go and she realised he was stripping her bare, running through her defences and breaking down her walls. Even if she had the heart to stop him, she didn’t think that she could.