Twelve Days - The Beginning (4 page)

Chapter Five

After delivering his argument so effectively, Vaughn stepped back abruptly, relinquishing all hold on Elise and she had to use every ounce of strength in her legs to keep from collapsing in a heap.

Vaughn had by now returned to his position behind his desk and was regarding her with interest as she struggled to get her breathing back under control. Turning, she gave him one last almost helpless look, as she really had no idea what else to say to him. The reasons that he had given were all true and she could see how he had drawn his conclusions based on the evidence. However she was not in the habit of airing her private life in public and he would just have to accept that, despite possible appearances to the contrary, she was in no way available to him or anyone. She was just about to exit the office when the phone on Vaughn’s desk rang, making her jump and momentarily halting her progress.

“Yes Annabel?” he was all businesslike, the seductive tones of only moments ago gone, to be replaced with a brisk and efficient manner.

“I see. Well, yes, she is here, I’ll send her out. Thank you, Annabel.” Vaughn replaced the receiver and glanced at Elise, a guarded expression on his face.

“It would appear there is someone in reception to see you. You have my permission to go but please remember that we do not encourage personal visitors during office hours.” He turned back to the papers on his desk and began to shuffle through them, studiously ignoring her. It was as if the last few minutes had never happened.

Realising that she had been dismissed, Elise headed out of the door and began breathing deeply in a bid to cool the heated blush that she knew was on her face and to calm her temper. His permission! Who did he think he was?? He was arrogant to the extreme and she had never met anyone so self-assured.

He may be her new boss but she was not a child and she did not need anyone’s permission to go to Reception and meet a visitor. She wondered briefly how Annabel had known that she was in Vaughn’s office but decided to file that question away for later.

She skirted around the atrium in the centre of the building and headed out to Reception, wondering who she would find when she arrived. No one ever visited her at work and she began to worry slightly in case there was some family emergency and she was about to be delivered some bad news.

Hastening her steps, she pushed open the doors and stopped in her tracks as she took in the man that was talking to Annabel. From the look on Annabel’s face, she could tell that the man didn’t smell particularly nice and she could see that the other girl was uncomfortable with how closely he was leaning over the desk. As her footsteps echoed on the floor, they both turned towards her and Elise immediately knew that her visitor was drunk – still.

“Dale, what the hell are you doing here?” She dragged him over to the group of couches set aside for visitors to wait and pushed him down, concerned that he would not be able to stand
himself up for much longer. She knew that she was in for a scene and really didn’t want to do this here - particularly in front of Annabel who wasn’t known for her discretion - but given Dale’s state, she had little choice. All she could do was pray that she could diffuse the situation and deal with it later on.

Dale turned bloodshot eyes to her, “I was missing my wife.” he slurred, “When I woke up, you’d gone and you know we have unfinished business from last night.” He hiccupped and slumped further down into the sofa. God, this was worse than she thought. Totally unaware of his surroundings, Dale continued, “You are soooo sexy, baby and you know how much I need you. I was feeling
very
horny and I really needed my wife to help me out so I thought I’d come and see you. I’m sure you must have a stationery cupboard somewhere?”

Elise continued to stare at Dale in absolute shock. This was bad; way bad, way way worse than anything she had ever experienced before. Whilst he wasn’t physically assaulting her, he was completely embarrassing her in her place of work and she could feel herself reddening from head to toe, her anger rising to boiling point. She was totally ashamed. No one apart from Cole knew about Dale and his problems and she had always prided herself on keeping it that way. Andrews & Andrews was her sanctuary and she didn’t need him turning up uninvited and tainting that for her.

At a loss as for what to do, Elise tried to talk some sense into Dale. “Look, I really appreciate you coming to see me - you know I do - but this is really not a good time for me. I have lots on and if I spend time with you, then that will make me later home tonight and you wouldn’t want that, would you?” Maybe a little blackmail would work.

Absently Elise was aware of Annabel making a phone call but she stayed where she was, her eyes riveted to her husband, imploring him to leave without making any more of a scene. She watched as he started to focus and realise where he was and she was sure that when he was sober he would be mortified at what he was doing. He didn’t want anyone knowing their business any more than she did, although he visibly marked her skin on a regular basis. She had become an expert at using cover-up makeup; another skill, like lying, that she had never aspired to achieve.

As his eyes began to clear and he started to sit up, Elise allowed herself to release the breath that she had been holding, finally beginning to believe that maybe he would leave and that perhaps things would be alright. Behind her, a door slammed and angry footsteps rattled across the floor in their direction. Startled, she turned. Oh God no. Cole. Anyone else approaching them and she could have dealt with it but not Cole. Not the man who knew exactly what her husband did to her. Not the man that picked her up and patched her up. Not the man who knew all of her bruises almost as intimately as she. Not the man that hated Dale with a passion. Not the man who was the last person that needed to see this display from her husband. Shit. Cole.

A feeling of dread coursed through her as she realised that this was probably not going to end well. Why the hell couldn’t it have been anyone other than him approaching?

Seeing Dale still sprawled on the sofa and taking in Elise’s placating position beside him, Cole immediately swerved towards Dale and for a split second, Elise thought that he was
going to punch him. Bracing herself, she waited but instead he stopped just short; anger radiating from his every pore, his hands clenched at his sides, jaw ticking incessantly.

His voice when he spoke was calm, measured and dangerous.

“What the fuck are you doing here? You are not welcome and, I need you to leave.”

When Dale made no comment but merely continued to regard Cole with a somewhat amused expression, Cole continued. His voice low, his threat veiled.

“You are a waste-of-space piece of shit and I do not want you cluttering up my Reception area. Now get out, you bastard, before I throw you out.”

He had spoken relatively quietly and although she was straining to hear as much as she good, Elise was thankful that Cole had judged his tone right and that Annabel had not managed to understand anything.

Dale focused his bleary vision on Cole. “Well, if it isn’t pretty-boy,” he mocked. “You
need
me to leave, do you? Well I know what you
need,”
he was sneering now, “you
need
to get in my wife’s panties don’t you? I’ve seen the way you look at her. You probably get rock-hard every time you’re around her.” He laughed almost humourlessly.

“The thing is ‘pretty-boy’, I do too and I know that it messes with your head to know that she is mine. She is my wife.” He punctuated the last three words and then rudely gestured towards his crotch. Elise flinched.

“And it doesn’t matter how hard you get or how messed up you get, you will never be in her panties. And I know that fucking kills you.” He chuckled loving that, in his mind, he had the upper hand.

“I am not going anywhere, pretty-boy. I came here to fuck my wife and that is exactly what I am going to do!”

Elise looked at Dale in absolute horror. She could not believe that he had spoken to Cole like that and she couldn’t believe that he had come here with the sole intention of having sex with her. This was her workplace, for Christ’s sake. What the hell was he playing at? She knew that he was drunk but he must have had something in mind or he wouldn’t have said anything at all. Frantically trying to work out what to do and noting that Dale was still lounging on the sofa, a huge smug smile on his face; Elise helplessly glanced up at Cole and began to feel the first frission of fear running through her. She could tell that Cole had gone beyond angry now and she didn’t know how much longer he would be able to hold it in. Silently, she willed him to stay calm – nothing would be resolved if he lost his temper.

“I am asking you one last time, asshole. Please leave this building immediately.” Thankfully Cole had remained calm – just – but his words were dripping with ice, the threat now unmistakable.

Dale’s eyes flickered recognition at the menace underlying Cole’s words but in his drunken state, it seemed like he was choosing to ignore it. Elise could feel the situation rapidly getting
out of control but, before she could contemplate how to diffuse it, Dale spoke again, continuing to add fuel to an already well-burning fire.

“I’m good here thanks, pretty-boy.” Sarcasm from a drunken Dale was not good.

“This sofa is really comfy. Maybe I could just do the missus here, you know, get it over and done with. Bit of an audience but I don’t mind if you don’t.” Dale’s smile was sickening as he looked at her and Elise could not prevent the cry of shock from leaving her mouth.

This was beyond disgusting and he had stepped over the line a hell of a long time ago. To suggest that he would have sex with her on the sofa in the main reception area of her workplace, in front of her best friend and the biggest gossip in the office belied belief. She launched at Dale in the hope that she could get him up and out of there before anything else happened and he made the situation any worse than it already was.

Cole moved at the same time though and was quicker, landing a punch square on the side of Dale’s face. He reeled but was seemingly too far-gone to feel any pain and quickly retaliated, standing up on unsteady legs and slinging a punch back to Cole. Elise looked on in disbelief, struggling to believe that the two men in her life were standing in the reception area trading punches like they were going out of fashion. Even though Dale was unstable, he had no fear and was laying into Cole like a deranged animal. Cole was holding his own and managed to land a punch here and there, the two of them continually shouting abuse as months of rage on Cole’s part was vented onto her husband.

She pleaded loudly for both of them to stop but her voice fell on deaf ears. Neither of them looked to be ending this fight any time soon and the large open area resounded with the echoes of the punches being thrown.

Belatedly, she became aware of Annabel screaming and then suddenly a huge shout came from the door leading back to the main office area.

“Stop! Now! What the hell is going on here?!”

It was Vaughn, striding out of the door and down the reception area towards them a look of absolute murder on his face. He grabbed Cole from behind and hauled him back, pinning his arms to his sides and rendering him helpless. Dale continued to sway, his face starting to swell where Cole had landed some of his punches.

“And who the hell might you be?” Dale slurred, finally finding some semblance of balance, and squaring up to Vaughn.

“Can’t believe pretty-boy needed someone to rescue him!” He laughed. He was the only one finding anything remotely funny in the whole situation.

“Well, this has really made my day. I knew pretty-boy was sweet on my girl, but you, whoever the hell you are, you come out here all macho like you own the place. What is it? Do you want to fuck my wife too?” Dale continued his manic ramblings and Elise could barely watch as Vaughn took in and considered her husband’s words. She could see him stiffening,
anger beginning to radiate from him and she wondered which of the men she should now be more afraid of.

Taking a measured breath, Vaughn slowly released his grip on Cole who was in another stratosphere of anger and he immediately moved forwards; ready to launch at Dale again and to pick up where he left off.

He was too slow though and Elise watched in horror as Vaughn straightened himself up, uncoiling almost like a viper about to attack its prey. With a look of complete murder, he pushed Cole to the side and landed one last final blow himself - straight to Dale’s jaw.

The whole room was suddenly deathly quiet and everything began to happen in slow motion as Elise watched Dale stumble, momentarily stunned. His eyes briefly connected with hers and then he lost any pretence at balance and fell backwards to the floor, landing with a sickening thud.

Chapter Six

It felt like there were police and ambulance crew everywhere. Anyone would think there had been a major riot, not just a couple of angry men having a punch up. Elise stood to the side watching the action unfold feeling completely numb. Somewhere along the line, she had started shivering and a blanket had been folded over her. She hugged into it now, waiting to see if she would wake up from the nightmare and struggling to believe how much her life had changed in less than twenty-four hours.

Both Dale and Cole had been arrested for assault and the police were currently taking statements from everyone else. Elise couldn’t believe that both men could end up with a criminal record; however, the police officer that interviewed her assured her that it was likely they would only end up with a caution as neither of them had any previous convictions.

Dale was being loaded into an ambulance. The paramedics thought he was probably just concussed but wanted to take him into hospital for observation. Cole was also on his way to hospital. His wounds were superficial but because he had received some blows to the head, Vaughn had insisted that he go and be properly checked out too.

No one so far had mentioned Vaughn’s part in the whole debacle and for that, Elise was glad. Not that she had any particular feelings for him but she already felt bad enough for Cole and Dale, without adding a third criminal record to her tally.

Eventually the reception area cleared and staff continued to go about their business, the office humming with the gossip of what had just occurred. Elise was still stood frozen to the spot, unaware of anything other than the fact that she had just watched her husband and best friend being arrested and then escorted to hospital. She almost felt like she needed to pinch herself to wake herself up.

A light touch to her arm brought her to her senses and she turned to see Vaughn quietly studying her.

“Come on, Elise.” he said simply, “Let’s go somewhere a bit quieter”.

Without thinking, she let him take her arm and followed him upstairs to the first floor and the director’s offices. Vaughn pushed open the door of one of the empty offices and settled her on the couch on the corner. Distractedly she wondered why an empty office would have a couch but it didn’t seem important enough to worry about at this particular time.

“I’ve asked Annabel to bring you some tea.” Vaughn said, dropping down onto his knees in front of her. She could feel his eyes on her face, searching for heaven-knew-what, but she didn’t feel ready to meet his gaze. Her mind was a jumble. She couldn’t think of anything that she needed to say right now, especially to this man hunched down in front of her.

The door opened and Annabel brought in a tray with a cup of tea, sugar and a cup of coffee for Vaughn. She looked like she was about to say something but clearly seeing the state of Elise, she thought better of it and left the office as quietly as she had come.

Vaughn busied himself with the drinks, adding plenty of sugar to Elise’s tea as an antidote to the shock. “Here,” he said, “try to drink this.”

Elise took the cup from his hands, grateful of the warmth on her frozen fingers. Taking a sip, she looked at her surroundings and realised that they were at the far end of the first floor, away from most of the other offices and secretaries. She was suddenly struck by how private this all was.

“I’m surprised you didn’t take this as your office?” she found herself saying, “More privacy.”

Vaughn chuckled, no doubt taken aback that she should choose this moment to comment on the position of his office. “Maybe you’re right.” he replied and then they both fell silent again, the only sound in the room the gentle slurping of their drinks.

Eventually Vaughn spoke, his voice loud and echoing in the empty room.

“Elise, do you mind if I ask you something?”

Not having a clue as to what he could possibly want to know, Elise nodded her head in acceptance. He was her boss anyway so there wasn’t much he didn’t know or couldn’t find out if he wanted to.

“Why do you not use your married name?”

Elise gaped at him in shock. That was probably one of the last questions that she had expected him to ask. She had been thinking more along the lines of “Why did your drunken husband turn up here and why was one of the senior partners involved in a brawl with him?”. The question that he had selected to ask had not been on her radar at all.

Realising that he was waiting for her answer, she considered and then looked down at him, propped as he was against the sofa on his knees.

“I don’t know really.” she replied “Just never got around to changing everything, I suppose.”

That wasn’t entirely true. When they had first got married, she had had every intention of changing her name but when she found out precisely how many forms she would need to fill in, she had kept putting it off and putting it off until neither of them really thought about it anymore. She still had all the forms and had intended to sort things out once and for all when they started a family. However, once that had been taken from them and Dale had become the person that he now was, she found herself less and less inclined to take that step; feeling that by changing her name, she would maybe in some way be condoning the way that he treated her.

Maybe that wasn’t the right decision, particularly if it caused certain
men
to question the state of her marriage - but it really just hadn’t seemed important. If she was honest, she liked still having her own identity and she had always thought that using Breedon ruined the natural acronym of her initials; Elise Geraldine Grayson, EGG. Her parents had come up with the idea after their first ante-natal scan. Elise’s mother had taken one look at the blob on the
screen, decided it looked like an egg and so it had been decided; boy or girl, they would forevermore be branded an EGG.

Vaughn was shifting on the floor, trying to get more comfortable. He had obviously listened to her answer but looked like he didn’t believe her and Elise braced herself for the inevitable questions that would follow. Instead he surprised her for the second time in the space of a few minutes by changing the subject.

“So,” he said evenly, “that was your husband. Interesting character. Is that his usual behaviour or are we particularly honoured today?”

She bristled. Despite Dale’s actions he was her husband and she still felt some loyalty to him.

“He isn’t normally like that” she defended “he had just had a bit too much to drink and didn’t know what he was doing.”

Again she braced herself for further questioning but surprisingly Vaughn let the matter drop for which she was relieved. She didn’t believe that he was completely satisfied with her answer but as long as he left it for now, she was happy.

She felt sure that he would question her at a later date as to why her ‘wonderful’ husband was completely and utterly trashed at such an early hour. She could see the cogs working in his brain but was grateful that he hadn’t pressed the issue. She supposed - given his performance last night - that he really couldn’t say too much about other people’s relationship with alcohol.

The shock of the incident had now begun to wear off; Elise was starting to feel more human again and wanted to get back to work. She was worried about Dale and Cole but she was still mad, spitting-mad at the pair of them. Whilst she appreciated that Cole had only been defending her, part of her wished that he had just stayed out of it and let her handle the situation. She was sure that she would have been able to get Dale out of the office without either of them being arrested, but Cole never allowed her to fight her own battles.

Without thinking she sighed, huffing out the events of the morning and inadvertently drawing Vaughn’s eyes back to her face. In an instant their eyes caught and locked and suddenly the atmosphere in the room shifted and changed; becoming something much heavier - and altogether different.

Recognising the change, Elise tried to drag her gaze away but it wouldn’t budge, locked on his of its own volition, caught up with eyes an intriguing colour, somewhere between black and brown – big dark pools that you could easily lose yourself in. As their eyes continued to hold, Elise was aware that her breathing was becoming more rapid and uneven and, although she knew that this was wrong and shouldn’t be happening, lost in the deep wells of his eyes, she was powerless to stop. She couldn’t drag her eyes away. She didn’t want to drag her eyes away. She needed this power, this connection. She needed his strength.

Vaughn reached forward and carefully tucked a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. She shivered as his fingers lightly brushed the side of her face, lingering slightly above her collarbone before withdrawing. She immediately wished that he had left his hand there and
held the touch for just a little bit longer. Instinctively she lifted her hand to cover the place where his had been and, as if reading her thoughts, Vaughn rose up and leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear.

“You really are incredibly beautiful, Elise.” His voice was velvet, his breath sending shivers down her spine that almost robbed her of her own. Before she could think her actions through she turned her face to the side, searching for his eyes wanting that connection again but he was closer than she had realised and as she turned, his lips brushed along her cheek.

Swallowing against the intense sensation of his mouth touching her face, she watched as the heat collected in the depths of his eyes, saw as they flicked down to her mouth and nervously she darted her tongue out to moisten her lips. At the slight movement, his breathing became more erratic and the moment was suspended in time, neither willing to break the contact or make the next move. Eventually Vaughn spoke, his voice gravelly and rough.

“Elise, I really need to kiss you right now - more than I need my next breath. I am right at the end of my control and if you don’t stop me, then I can’t promise that I can.”

The desperation in his words pulled at Elise’s soul and she gazed deeper into his eyes, hearing his deep and sexy voice; almost feeling the pounding of his heart as he shifted closer to her and leaned in towards her. Somewhere in her head Elise knew that this was wrong, that she needed to stop this – her husband and her best friend were in hospital for Christ’s sake. Those thoughts should have been sobering, should have registered, should have shamed her and should have made her tell him to stop but she couldn’t seem to form the words. She didn’t want to form the words. Her mouth had dried up and all she knew was that if this beautiful man didn’t kiss her now, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

As if seeing the submission in her eyes, Vaughn closed the remainder of the distance between them and gently pressed his lips onto hers cautiously. Seeking reassurance. Instinctively Elise closed her eyes and shut off her mind, allowing herself to feel - only to feel. Vaughn was moving his hands onto her shoulders, down her back and then up into her hair, pulling her closer as he began to deepen the kiss. He was tentative at first - no doubt expecting her to pull away - but as the seconds became minutes he became more insistent, running his tongue along the seam of her lips, begging for entrance.

Elise heard a sigh and was alarmed to realise that it had come from her. In answer to his now-insistent begging, she opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to enter. He swept inside, tongue gently duelling with hers, running over the roof of her mouth and around and inside her lips. At first he was gentle, calm even and controlled. But as the minutes ticked by, Elise became aware of Vaughn groaning, the sound echoing in the empty room and vibrating through her all the way to her toes. He deepened the kiss, pushed more, demanded more, shifting to get as close to her as he possibly could. He was still on the floor and she was leaning down towards him but the position was awkward. Somehow, Vaughn scooted up onto the sofa beside her without breaking contact and pulled her into his lap. He handled her as if she weighed almost nothing and she marvelled at his hidden strength.

In this new position, she could feel his erection pressing against her thigh and felt her body respond, become aroused and wet with her panties providing little protection. Even though
this was all totally wrong, it couldn’t have felt more right and before she could think it through, she began to trace her hands under his jacket and across his chest - enjoying the feel of his abs flexing as he moved. Her fingers came into contact with his nipples and she couldn’t resist the urge to tweak them, feeling them instantly hardening under her touch. Vaughn shuddered as the tips responded and became hard nubs and she realised suddenly that she had the power to turn this man on. Their kiss continued; timeless, endless. Teeth clashed and tongues fought as they pressed their mouths ever closer together - the sensation of just their lips being connected soon not enough for Elise. She continued her assault on his body and smiled against his mouth as she felt him still and draw an unsteady breath as her hands reached lower and brushed across the buckle of his belt.

Who would have thought, that less than twenty four hours ago, she was certain that she would never speak to this man again. And now look at her.

Elise knew that there were a million reasons why she shouldn’t be doing this but under the demands of this man’s mouth, she couldn’t think of a single one; all coherent thought having long since left her. He was still kissing her deeply; running his fingers through her hair, tracing her cheeks with his fingers. Everywhere he touched she tingled, and she couldn’t remember ever feeling this safe – this complete. She didn’t ever want the sensations to end and she squirmed in his lap, trying to get more purchase against his burgeoning arousal.

Abruptly, Elise felt Vaughn stiffen and then begin to gently remove her from his lap. She dragged her mouth away from his reluctantly as she became aware that he was trying to separate them and she looked up at him in confusion. What had she done? Or had he come to his senses? Remembered who she was and all of the complications that went along with it? She tried to push the unwelcome hurt of that thought to the back of her mind as she struggled to get her emotions under control.