Business: Phoenix #1 (15 page)

~~~~~

Casey

I am so happy and I don't think life can get much better
than it is right now.

I am in love with the man of my dreams and he treats me
like a princess at every opportunity.

I am currently in a spa drinking a glass of champagne with
my best friend after being pampered - a present from the said man of my dreams.

What can I say? I am the luckiest woman alive.

~~~~~

Matt

One of Casey's personal assistants comes in to the office,
wearing a black dress that clings to her curves; it reminds me of the one Casey
wore the first time we met.  I can’t wait to see Casey.  The assistant,
Michelle I believe is a good looking girl, but of course, she doesn’t compare
to Casey.

She bats her eyelashes at me and walks to the desk where I
am.  She bends down and places a piece of paper on the desk, over exaggerating
the bend to try and stick her tits in my face.  I stifle a laugh at her obvious
attempt.

A few months back my cock would’ve been instantly hard.
Then I would’ve given her what she wanted.   I would’ve bent her over the desk
and been balls deep inside her.

But not now.  I’m aware of what she wants, I’m just not
interested.  Casey has changed me, without even trying.  Other women had tried
to tame me or change me.  Casey did both without even realizing how she was
thawing my heart.  "There’s the number you requested, Mr. Jackson."
She flashes me a flirty smile.

"Thanks Megan?" The look on her face when I
intentionally get her name wrong is comical.

"It's Michelle." Is all she says.

"Thanks Michelle."  I turn my attention back to
the monitor but she makes no effort to leave.

"Mr. Jackson... I hope you don't mind me asking, but
the word on the street is that you and Casey are an item...Is that true?"

My jaw tenses as I turn to face her. "Yes, it is."
My voice is tight and she quickly straightens and turns away.

"That's a shame" She mutters to herself but it
is still loud enough for me to hear.

I stand. "Excuse me?"

She spins on her heel and looks at me. Her cheeks burning
red. "Nothing, Mr. Jackson."

"What did you say?" I demand.

She lets out a huge sigh "I said it's a shame that
you two are together."

"Would you care to elaborate?" I urge.

"Well, you are a really, really good looking man, Mr.
Jackson."  She says in a husky voice.

"I'm sure Miss Phoenix would be interested in your
unwanted advances." I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Please, please don't, she would go crazy; she could
even fire me--"

"Yes, sexual harassment is not tolerated in our
companies.  It is grounds for immediate dismissal.” I cut her off and nod
towards the door.

She rushes out of the door and shuts it behind her. I
laugh and shake my head before sitting back down. Back stabbing bitch, I wonder
if Casey realizes this? 

I pull the slip of paper with the number I requested in
front of me. I look at it for a few moments before getting the confidence I
need to make the call.

Once the successful call has ended, my eyes flit to the
computer and I see there is a new unread email. Expecting it to be James
replying to the reports I had sent him earlier, I see the made up email address
that had been emailing Casey and Hannah.

I open the message and there are two photo attachments so
I open the first and then the second.

"Fucker!" My fist slams down on to the desk and
I pick up my cell and try to call Casey she doesn't answer the first time, so
hit redial.

~~~~~

Casey

"Hi Matt, you okay?" I have been waiting to
speak to him all day.

"Where are you now Case?" He sounds panicked and
I instantly start to worry.

"I have just got home, what’s happened?" I ask.

"I'll be right there…” He ends the call.

I am waiting for him when he walks through the door. His
shoulders tense, face pained. He paces towards me and pulls me into his arms.

"Tell me what's wrong, Matt." I demand.

"I got an email today." He lifts his phone from
his pocket with his spare hand whilst the other arm is wrapped firmly around my
shoulders. He searches through messages and clicks the one he wants and passes
me the phone.

I look at the pictures and my hands start to tremble. The
stalker was at the spa today watching us.

The first picture is of us in my new car ready to get out
and go into the spa. The second picture is of us coming out of the spa.

"I didn't see anybody though!" I cry.

"The fucker is hiding Case. Following your every movement."

"But who is it Matt? And when will he stop?" The
tears start to fall now.

"I don't know Case." Matt replies, sorrow in his
eyes, he scoops me up in his arms and I wrap mine around his neck and he kisses
my forehead. "But you're safe with me."

He carries me to bed and lies down beside me watching me,
his eyes pained and full of worry.

I don't know what is going to happen next, how far the
stalker will go before they stop. What does he want from me? If it’s money that
will make him go away and let me get on with my life then he can have it all.

"I'm going to grab a quick shower, sweetheart, I'll
be back soon." Matt kisses my cheek and disappears into the en-suite
bathroom.

That night I fall to sleep wrapped in his arms and I feel
safe.

Casey

I've been on edge all day.

Waiting for the next email, next call and sure enough they
came.

The police say they can't do anything about it because
they aren't death threats and I haven’t been assaulted. They will only act if
anyone is put in immediate danger or if I’m actually harmed.

Matt went crazy when the police officer said that and he
asked how far things would need to go before they actually did their job. When
they didn't answer Matt said it could end up resulting in a death if they
didn’t act now.

He didn't say whose death but I know that it would more
than likely be mine. That thought alone makes me shudder.

I have given Hannah a few days off work and she has gone
home for four days or so. However, I told her to take as long as she wanted,
she deserves it after the few weeks she has had. She seems a lot calmer than
she was last week; the stalker hasn’t contacted her recently and seems to have
turned his attention back to me.

I have been neglecting poor Matt too. We haven’t been intimate
for days; he hasn’t said anything and has been acting completely normal.  He
holds me tight as we fall asleep.  He wants me to feel safe, but I know deep
down it will be driving him crazy.

It’s
certainly driving me crazy.

~~~~~~

Matt

"Come on Case, we haven't got all day!" I walk
into the bedroom and find her picking numerous outfits and packing them neatly
in her weekend case.  She looks most sexy when she is like this, hair tied
back, and no makeup. Her round ass in those jeans makes my cock take notice.  I
know she’s scared, and I’m trying my best to make sure she feels safe and
protected.  I just hold her at night until she falls asleep.  It’s what she
needs.  Last night was so damn hard. She came to bed in a black silk nightie
and when she fell asleep all I could focus on was her nipples, which were
clearly visible.

Watching her now, I’d like nothing more than to peel those
jeans off and bend her over that bed.   Just the thought of it is making my
cock throb.  Casey glances over her shoulder and gives a small smile.  She
seems fragile.  I will make her feel safe; my needs can wait.

"Are you going to tell me where we are going
yet?" She stands and looks at me, her hands on her hips. Lips tightly
pressed together.

"Nope, it's a surprise sweetheart." I smirk at
her and she crosses her arms across her chest and raises an eyebrow at me.

"Matthew Jackson. You're up to something and I want
you to know I’m onto you." I can't help it; her stern voice always makes
me laugh.

"I wish you were on...to me or on top of me, hell
even beneath me.  I’m not a picky man." I wink and she throws a cushion
off the bed at me and misses by miles.

When she eventually finishes packing we load Casey’s Merc
up.  It’s a good thing we took the more spacious car.  She’s packed enough for
a small family.  I open the door for her to climb in and once she is in, I walk
round to the driver’s side.  I glance around, slide my Maui Jim sunglasses on
and start on our journey.

I checked Google maps last night and again before the
journey so I knew exactly where to go. It's not too far and should only take
around two hours.

~~~~~

Casey

I have no idea where Matt is taking me, he told me to pack
a case for a long romantic weekend.

A mixture of emotions are currently running through me,
happiness, anxiety, excitement but all of them are over ruled with the love I
feel for Matt. It gets stronger and stronger every day.

I'm watching the road whilst softly singing to the radio,
one of my favorite songs is currently playing, Lifehouse - falling even more in
love with you. The song is perfect for me and Matt right now.

"I'm falling even more in love with you, letting go
of all I've held onto." I sing and I notice Matt glance at me sideways
before smiling.

~~~~~

Matt

Hearing her sing is the best thing that has happened in the
past few days, she is smiling and she finally seems to be happy. She is
everything. .

She's happy.

She's healthy.

She's here.

She's with me.

And I'm complete.

That’s all that matters.

If somebody told me this time last year that I would end
up soft and  committed to a woman I would of laughed at them and called them an
ass.

But it's true, I've gone soft. But she is worth it.

~~~~~

Casey

I see the sign for Saltburn by the Sea and it takes me a
few moments to realize. I look at Matt and he is waiting for my reaction.

"Oh my God!" I shout. I can't control the
excitement. "How did you know where to come?"

"Andrew helped me." He says as he pulls onto the
driveway and parks up. He switches off the ignition and turns to look at me.

"You spoke to Andrew? How?"

"I've told you before, I'm a millionaire and I can do
anything I want.  And what I want is to see you smile, sweetheart." I love
the playful tone in his voice and his cocky grin.

I'm overwhelmed and the tears flood down my cheeks. I
can't believe he has arranged for us to come to my parents and he hasn't even
met them.

"Thank you so much Matt. I love you." I kiss his
cheek and jump when I hear somebody knocking on the passenger side window.
"Mum!"

I open the door and throw my arms around her. It has been
so long since I have seen her and I have missed her dearly. "Hi Case, it's
lovely to finally see you!"

My dad is standing behind her and I make my way over to
him and hug him. I didn't notice Matt get out of the car but he is introducing
himself to my mum and she seems to be impressed. He kisses her on the cheek and
I notice her get flushed. Yep, he has the same effect on me too mum.

"About blooming time and all!" Hannah appears
with Andrew closely behind her.

"You! You were in on this weren't you?" I laugh
and she shakes her head.

"Nope, I only found out the other day. Jackson organized
this one all on his own." She nods and smiles at Matt before looking
directly at me.

We carry our bags to one of the guest rooms and finally
get a few moments alone before lunch. I place my bag on the double four poster
bed and turn and wrap my arms around Matt.

"Thank you so much. You don't realize how happy I am
right now."

A small smile spreads across Matt's lips. "That's all
that matters to me."

I know for a fact, that I am going to spend the rest of my
life with this man.

After dinner Hannah and I share a bottle of wine with my
mum on the patio.  The men have a few glasses of whiskey and beer whilst
watching the football in the lounge.

"Well he definitely gets on with Andrew and your
father." Mum smiles, obviously speaking about Matt.

"See, he fits right in to our family!" Hannah
winks at me. "He's a keeper Case."

My cheeks are starting to hurt from the smile that has
been plastered across my face since we arrived here earlier.

"So, is it serious?" Mum takes a sip from her
glass.

"They're going to get married." Hannah and mum
laugh together and I shake my head. Although, that does sound a good idea....

"Well, we've told each other that we love each other...”
I tell her.

Mums smile matches mine - big and wide stretched across
her face.

"I'm glad honey; dad and I were starting to think
that you were a lesbian." She jokes.

"Oh ha ha, very funny." I raise my eyebrow
playfully. "We just need to get Andrew a nice girlfriend now." I say
as I turn to face Hannah. Her cheeks flush pink.

"I thought he had a girlfriend?" She asks.

"Oh, they finished a while back. I only met her once
or twice; there was nothing serious going on between them." Mum explains.

"It's because he has his eye on somebody else."
I like watching Hannah squirm; she does it to me plenty so it's interesting to
see her reaction when the shoe is on the other foot.

Mum realizes what I am up to. "Oh, he definitely
does." She looks at Hannah and I wiggle my eye brows.

"Oh shut up! That's old news." She laughs.

"You knew?" I ask, surprised.

"Yep. All along." Hannah winks.

"You're quite intelligent for a blonde Hannah."
I joke.

Once we finish the first bottle of wine mum grabs another
from the cooler and we join the men in the lounge. Mum sits beside dad and
passes him another beer she grabbed him from the fridge.

Hannah sits next to Andrew and I notice the look they
exchange.

I take a seat beside Matt and he puts his arm around me.

I look at all six of us sitting here and it is a perfect
family night in.