CORAL - Fallen (A Romance Trilogy, Book 2) (21 page)

Shaking my head at myself and taking
several deep breaths, I square my shoulders and walk over to my desk.

“Good morning Coral.” Tristan winks at me. I
hope Susannah didn’t see him do that.
Besides, he shouldn’t have, we are at
work!

“Good morning Mr Freeman,” I answer
politely keeping my face deadpan. Susannah looks from me to Tristan, her eyes
narrowing.

“Did you have a nice weekend?” he questions
sweetly.
Bastard!
He knows exactly what we did this weekend – Sex lots
of it, exploring each other’s bodies! My heart starts hammering, and my sex
starts throbbing frantically, so I decide to wind him up.

“Very quiet, a little boring actually,” I
say raising my eyebrows at him, then I take a breath and his scent reaches me,
knocking me for six –
Oh, he smells so good
. I take a deep calming
breath and pull my chair out before my legs give way and sit down.

“Oh?” Tristan cocks his head to the side,
his lips twitching as he tries to hide his smile.
Jesus Christ he looks
good!

“Can I get you anything Mr Freeman?” I say,
trying not to sound too stern.

Tristan smiles his dimpled, sexy smile. “No
thank you Coral. Is Joyce free?”

I pick up the handset and dial her. “Mr
Freeman would like to see you.” Joyce tells me to let him come through. I put
the handset down, walk over to the door and open it for Tristan.

“Thank you Coral.” His eyes scream sex as
he walks past me into Joyce’s office. I grit my teeth at him, and quickly pull
the door shut before my knees buckle on me.
God he smells divine
.

As I turn and walk over to my desk, I
notice Susannah is eyeing me suspiciously.
Crap, I hope she didn’t pick up
on anything!

“So how are you feeling about the change
Coral?” She’s probing.

“Let get to work,” I say ignoring her
question completely. Susannah pulls a face, but doesn’t say anything. “You’ll
need to give me half hour to get these urgent letters done for Joyce, and then
we can start the training,” I add, opening up the first document.

“Have I done something wrong?” She asks all
innocently.
What! Besides eye fucking my man? No not at all!

“No.” I answer smartly, trying to
concentrate.

“I think I’ll go get a coffee, would you
like one?” She asks.

“No thanks, I’m good.” Susannah stands and
walks away. The moment she’s gone I release my breath, not realising I’d been
holding it, and stare blankly at my screen –
This week is going to be
hellish!
Right at that moment Tristan comes sauntering out of Joyce’s
office, closing the door behind him.

“You!” I hiss. Tristan’s eyes widen with
apprehension.

“Me?” He asks all innocently, pointing to
his lovely strong chest.

“Yes you!” I squeak rising from my seat to
a standing position.

“What?” He chuckles, obviously amused by my
apparent hissy fit.

“Don't do that!” I scold.

“Do what?” He smiles, his dimples
deepening.

“Wink at me and tease me in front of
Blondie.”
Oops!

“Blondie?” He frowns all traces of humour
gone, his voice low and definitely not amused.

“Yes, she still likes you Tristan!” I cross
my arms in an attempt to be mad at him. “You seemed very comfortable with her,
laughing away together.” I couldn’t drip more sarcasm into my voice if I tried.
“Do you like her Tristan?” I question my voice squeaking a little too much.

Tristan crosses his arms and glares back at
me. “Do I really need to answer that question?” He says his voice full of
disapproval.

“Yes!” I squeak.

He rolls his eyes at me and shakes his
head. “Did I or did I not ask you to marry me?” he questions.

“Yes, but that’s not the point!” I argue.

“Not the point?” He chokes. “I think it
makes it blatantly clear it’s only you I want.”

“You’re still missing the point!” I squeak.

“Am I?” He questions, frowning at me.

“Yes! Look at it from my perspective,
firstly you’ve worked together a long time and you’ve told me she admitted to
you that she likes you’– I close my eyes and pinch my nose – ‘Secondly, you
must have blinkers on or something to not see how much she’s still attracted to
you. What if she finds out? What am I meant to say to her? It could get very
ugly.” Tristan puts his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his
heels, looking every inch the millionaire mogul.

He stares at the floor for a moment. “I see
your point, I’ll go talk to her,” he says, walking past my desk.

“No!” I shriek in a half whisper, stopping
him by touching his chest. It sends an electric shock through my system.

“Susannah won’t say anything even if she
did find out,” he says trying to assure me, subtly entwining his fingertips
with mine. I sigh heavily, closing my eyes to the feel of his fingers wrapped
around mine. “Give her a chance Coral, she’s a nice girl. I think you two will
really get on with each other.” I narrow my eyes at him. “She’s happily married,”
he states.

How do I tell him I know she’s got it
really, really bad for him?

“She’s not!” I retort. “She’d dump her
husband in a heartbeat if she knew she could have you.”

Tristan sighs and runs his hand through his
hair. “So maybe she still holds a torch for me, I don’t know, and quite frankly
I don’t care. It’s her problem not mine,” he snaps.

“But she wants you,” I quiver. The very thought
of him with another woman is unbearable.

“But she’s not going to get me, is she?” he
softly says, his eyes going all warm.

“Damn right she’s not!” I say, crossing my
arms.

Tristan chuckles at me. “Am I detecting a
little jealousy?”

“No!” My voice does not hide anything for
me.

“Relax Coral, she holds nothing for me,
there’s no interest there at all.” I look up into his eyes I see no
contradiction, still not going to be very comfortable though.

I decide to implement my plan today,
shopping can wait till tomorrow. I will bombard her with questions until she
admits it, then I can warn her to stay away from my man, and stop eye-fucking
him.

“Ok?” Tristan asks in that sexy, husky
voice of his.

I look up into those deep, chocolate eyes
of his. “Yes,” I whisper incoherently. “What are you doing here anyway?” I add.

“Meeting got delayed, I'm leaving now
though.” He softly says.

I look down at my desk, my heart
constricting – A whole day without him, I feel sick. I close my eyes and try to
push the nauseous feeling away. I feel his fingertip start to trace a line from
my temple, across my cheek and down to my lips. I exhale loudly, and look up
meeting his deep brown eyes. We’ve been saying our goodbyes since five o’clock
this morning, neither of us able to sleep. So why does this feel so hard, why
do I feel like my soul is cracking in two?

“I feel the same,” he whispers, leaning
down he gently kisses the edge of my lips. I place my hand on his cheek,
savouring
the feel of his skin. I take a mental picture of his face,
trying to imprint every curve, every line. I run my thumb across his bottom lip,
trying to get the feel of it etched into my brain, so I can call upon it
whenever I want him.

I gaze up into his eyes,
memorising
the deep chocolate
colour
, the hazel flecks,
the perfect large round shape. His thick eyelashes, remembering how they rest
on his lower lids as he sleeps – Tristan suddenly pulls back and stands
upright, hearing someone coming down the stairs.

It’s one of the other secretaries, she half
smiles at me as she reaches the bottom of the stairs, then stops and dashes a
full blown smile at Tristan.

“Good morning,” she says; all breathless
and pink cheeked.

Tristan nods to her with a stony face.
“Good morning.” She blinks several times, her smile fading then turns and walks
down the hallway, turning back twice to ogle at Tristan.

“See,” I whisper, crossing my arms.

“I couldn’t give a fuck!” He snarls,
surprising me. “What any other woman thinks about me. It’s only you.” He adds.

My mouth pops open –
Oh Tristan!

“I know,” I whisper. “Me too, only you
baby.”

He leans down once more and caresses my
cheek. “I have to go. See you soon baby,” he whispers. I swallow hard and fight
the urge to cry, I must be strong. I know Tristan can see that I’m upset. A
whole week, a whole week without his lovely face, his strong body, his loving
words –
Don’t crumble Coral!

I take a deep steadying breath and smile up
at him. “See you soon,” I whisper back.

He hesitates for a moment, just as
reluctant to leave as I am to see him leaving. I square my shoulders purposely,
so he can see I'm ok. I'm handling it, well sort of...

“Tristan go…I don’t want you rushing in
your car and…” The thought of him having an accident because he’s late grips me
–
Stop!

“I won’t, I’ll be careful,” he assures me.

“Ok. Call me when you get there?” I
whisper.

“I will. Bye baby,” he whispers.

“Bye…” I croak back unable to say anymore.

Tristan gazes down at me looking totally
lost. Then he takes a step back and stares at the floor a moment, before
marching off without looking back at me –
Ouch that hurt!

I stare at his retreating figure, stepping
around my desk, I run down the hallway so I can see him one last time. I watch
his tall, manly figure cross reception and walk through the glass doors. “Bye
Tristan,” I whisper, trying to tell him telepathically that I love him.

A strange melancholy washes over me. I
wince at the feeling and hug myself tightly, I feel like I’m breaking in two. I
squeeze even tighter, almost as though I’m trying to hold myself together. I
feel sick, the very thought of having to wait so long to see him again is
unbearable. I'm sure that’s not normal
behaviour
, I'm
sure you’re supposed to feel elated, and all dreamy and loved up when you’re
not together. So why am I suddenly feeling so low?
See, this is the very
reason why you didn’t want to get involved with someone, cause they just get
you feeling all fucked up inside!
– I find myself nodding in agreement,
this it too much, it’s too scary.

Maybe I should talk to Tristan when he’s
back, face to face, tell him the whole marriage thing has got me all twisted up
inside. I hear my mobile buzz in my bag.
I dash over to my desk, pick up
my bag and yank my mobile out. I'm about to switch it to silent when I notice I
have a message, I haven’t actually started work yet, so I allow myself to check
it out, I close my eyes for a second hoping it’s Rob with some sort of news.

*Be Good Wife – I Miss You Already - Tristan Xxx*

I cover my mouth
with my hand to stop the sob that wants to escape me, and fall into my chair. I
sit staring blankly at the message, feeling totally lost and withdrawn.
Fuck!

One minute I feel like it’s too much and I
want to run a million miles away then I'm instantly pulled back, not wanting to
be apart from him for a single second. So my ego is telling me to run, and my
soul is whispering to stay! Can I be that brave, can I take a huge step like
this?

I already know the answer to that question,
it’s simple I love him, I adore him. I clutch my stomach. Is it really possible
to feel this much love for another person, to have it run so deep it feels as
though they reside in every cell of your being? I fight the urge to run after
him and kiss him just one last time, feel his arms around me, his breath on my
cheek. I decide to text him back tell him how I feel.

*Nearly ran after you for one last kiss – This is
crazy, scary. I love you so deeply it hurts, this day is going to suck big
time! – I miss you too - Hurry home Hubby Xxx*

I press send, and check
the clock on the wall, its nine o’clock, time for work. I put my mobile onto
silent, place it in the top drawer of my desk and get on with the letters that
Joyce has sent across. At least if I can concentrate on that, I don't have to
think about the hollow feeling in my chest.

THANKFULLY, THE MORNING FLIES BY
. I thought it would drag like crazy, but there are a lot of new
programmes
I need to learn. In all fairness Susannah has been pretty
good, friendly, a little over-friendly if anything. As elevenses rolls around,
we both go for a coffee in the chill out room.

“Mr Freeman’s a fantastic boss Coral, I'm
sure you’re going to get along just fine, everybody likes him. He really is one
of the nicest people I have ever met.” Susannah says –  
Jeez, she’s simply
gushing about him.

“Yeah…he seems like he really looks after
his staff. Joyce said he really cares which is pretty unusual,” I reply.
Play
it cool Coral!

“Of course, you wouldn’t know why?” She says
with a smug smile on her face.
Grrrrr!

“Sorry?” I act bewildered.

“It’s not common knowledge.” She says
flicking her long blonde, perfectly straightened, shiny hair.

“What isn’t?” Susannah looks around her to
make sure no one is within hearing distance.
So she’s a gossip too, I hate
gossipers!

“The suicide?” She whispers her eyes
sparkling. That’s weird? Why would someone’s eyes sparkle about that?

“Suicide?” I whisper frowning at her.

“Yes, ten years ago, an employee killed
himself. The cleaners found him, he’d…well you don’t need to know the gory
details. Point is, after that happened Tristan changed. I think he felt guilty
that he didn’t know that the guy was having so many problems. Anyway, after
that he pulled everyone in individually, some people left, some stayed.
Rumours
flew around that he was helping some people out financially, but no
names were ever mentioned.”

“Why did the guy kill himself? Did they
find out?” I whisper.

“Apparently he was a secret gambler. Had a
wife and kids, but was buried up to his ass in debt.” She really seems to be
enjoying herself, who thinks that giving news out like that is fun. Ok the guy
had an addiction, but that’s no reason to think it’s cool to gossip about his
death. The guy died for goodness sake, left a wife and kids.

“Do you think Tr –
Mr
Freeman would have paid off the debt?” I think about what Tristan
told me about his other P.A, what was her name?

“Probably, want another?” She asks,
pointing to my cup.

“No, no thanks,” I say, trying not to
frown. Susannah walks away which gives me a moment to take in what she’s said. Now
it all makes sense, Tristan did feel guilty for what happened, that’s why he
helps others out so much, he doesn’t want the same thing happening again, which
of course is understandable. But I don’t understand why he thinks it’s his
responsibility to be like that, he runs a business not a charity.

Ok maybe I'm just too cold hearted about
people, and Tristan is the opposite, maybe it comes from his folks, caring
about others, helping them out. I feel sick to my stomach. Why didn’t he tell
me? I hate that Susannah knows and I don’t -
Boy we’ve got some talking to
do!

I feel a little dazed as we head back to my
desk, but I'm soon pre-occupied with these stupid ass new programmes –
Grrr
I hate this, I hate change!
There’s no way I'm going to remember all of
this, not with Tristan buzzing round my head and little miss prissy sitting
next to me.

I decide to ditch my plans for lunching
with her, I really feel like I need a break from her. There’s something I can’t
quite put my finger on, something strange and unnerving about her, she’s too
friendly and I don’t like the way I can feel her watching me.

I shrug it off deciding it’s probably my
own petty jealously and the fact that she’s another new person I have to deal
with, either way, I'm lunching on my own. When I look up at the clock for the
fifth time since our break, it finally says 12.30pm.

“Well, I’m off for lunch,” I say to
Susannah.

“Oh, ok.” She seems surprised.

I shrug it off, and head for the ladies,
thinking about last night and what Tristan said to me about dresses, he can be
so sweet and romantic.
Oh Tristan!.....

WE ARE SAT ON THE SOFA,
in
the cinema room, I’m trying to concentrate on what Tristan’s telling me, but I
just keep going back to eating out and what the hell I’m going to wear? I
decide in that moment to be brave, get my arse out there tomorrow on lunch and
buy a god damn cocktail dress –
Be confident Coral, you can do this! –
I
have to agree with myself, but before I attempt to do this, I have to ask the
question.

“So hopefully, once that plan is put into
action, I should only have to go up to Leeds once a month. You can come with me
if you like, meet Karen.” Tristan has thrown me from my question.

“Um...sure, that would be nice,” I say
picking at the blanket Tristan draped over us.

“What? You’ve gone serious?” He says.

“Tristan are you...do you like dresses? You
know cocktail dresses, and heels and all that kind of stuff?” I exhale loudly,
glad I got it all out in one go.

“Why do you ask?” His face falls as he
frowns back at me.

“Just curious,” I say trying to act casual,
I take a big glug of my wine hoping it will give me some
Dutch
Courage –
I think I need it!

Tristan is watching me, his eyes narrowing.
“Coral as far as I'm concerned you would look sexy in a bin-bag. Wear what you
want darling, what you feel comfortable in.”
Damn it! How does he do that?

“So you don’t like’ –“I'm not saying that,”
he interrupts staring at his wine glass.

“Then please answer the question,” I plead.

Tristan sighs then looks across at me. “Yes,
yes I do.”

“And stocking and suspenders and all that
lingerie kind of thing?” I squeak.

Tristan’s eyes dilate. “How did we go from
dresses to’ – “I just want to know,” I interrupt batting my lashes at him for
optimal effect. Tristan shakes his head slightly as though he’s been stunned,
picks up my hand and kisses the back of it. Leaning forward he moves in so we
are almost nose to nose.

“Baby you are the sexiest woman I have ever
met… the most attractive woman I have ever seen in my life. I really meant it
when I said you could make a bin-bag look good. So please, if you want to wear
that kind of thing then do it for yourself, not for me. Ok?”
Wow, he sure
knows how to melt my heart with words.

“Ok,” I squeak in reply, but it still
hasn’t answered my question. So I'm going for a yes, I mean, what man doesn’t
right? So tomorrow, I will also be lingerie shopping too…

THE DOOR TO THE LADIES
swings open pulling me from my musing. I look up and see it’s one of the other
secretaries, she smiles awkwardly at me and goes into one of the stalls. I look
down and see I still have soapy hand-wash dripping between my fingers.
Good
God Coral get a grip!

Frantically washing and drying my hands, so
I don’t have to make conversation, I quickly exit the ladies. Returning to my
desk, I see Susannah is sitting in
my
seat and is already on the internet.

“Well I'm off,” I say, picking up my
handbag and my mobile from my desk drawer. Knocking on Joyce’s door, I walk in
and check if she needs anything.

“No darling you go on ahead.” Joyce tells
me. As I'm stood in her office I think about the dress I'm about to purchase,
and the fact that I don't have Rob or Carlos to call on to help me choose the
right one. So maybe Joyce is my best bet?

“Um...Joyce,” I look up at her.

“Hmm?” She’s concentrating hard on whatever
she’s reading.

“Where...” I sound croaky so I clear my
throat. “Where would I go to get a cocktail dress?” Joyce cocks her head to the
side, looks over the rim of her glasses and smiles at me.

“Shopping on lunch?” I nod vigorously,
hoping and praying she won’t ask me what it’s all about. “No time then, I’d say
Coast. It’s down on East Street.”
God I'm going to miss her.
“They have
some lovely dresses, and their sizing is good, none of this ‘it’s half the size
it says it is’ nonsense.” I chuckle knowing exactly what she means.

“Thank you Joyce.” I walk over to her desk
and kiss her lightly on the cheek. “You’re a life saver.” She beams up at me.

“Don’t worry if you run over a little bit,
I’ll keep Susannah busy.” Joyce adds.

“Oh, ok thanks.” I walk out of her office
with renewed enthusiasm.
I am going to buy a dress!

“Hey Coral,” I stop just as I'm walking
past my desk and look down at Susannah.

“Yes?”
Maybe she wants me to pick
something up for her?

“Are you free tonight? I thought it might
be nice for us to get to know each other a little more.” She smiles sweetly at
me, but her eyes are hiding something.
There really is something weird
there!

“Actually, I have a gym class Mondays and
Thursdays, so I can’t, sorry.” I go to walk off but she stops me again.

“And tomorrow?” she shouts. I turn back and
stare at her, she has her legs crossed, her eyes narrowed, and she’s tapping
her pen on the paper pad. Is she trying to work out where I go and what I do?

“I have a regular spa appointment.” I lie
and go to walk off again.

“And Wednesday?” I turn around
again
and see she’s trying to hide the fact that she’s gritting her teeth. I feel a
strange warning sensation start at the back of my neck and trickle down the
length of my spine – She knows! I swear to god she knows about me and Tristan!
Shit!

“My mother invited me this morning to have
tea with her Wednesday,” I answer. Trying to work out what it is about her that
I
recognise
, something that I’ve seen before?

“Well as you’re
so
busy in the week,
how about Friday?” she bites. I glare back at her. Why do I get the feeling the
answer to this question is pivotal?

“Can’t, out with friends,” I answer
artlessly. She glares at me for another moment then turns back to the screen. I
frown deeply at the very odd conversation that just ensued and scuttle out of
the office, down the stairs, through reception and into the bright sunlit day.
That
was weird, she’s weird!

Finding my sunglasses out my bag, I pop
them on. Mobile in hand I go to call Tristan when I notice I have another
message, please be Rob...

*I have arrived safely gorgeous and I love
you that deeply too darling, keep your chin up, don’
t think the worst. I
’
ll try and reschedule some meetings see if I can get
back to you sooner, but I can
’
t say for
sure. I like the sound of Hubby
. Wifey – Stay safe, I’
ll call you tonight. T x
*

I close my eyes and
hug my mobile. The melancholy feeling from this morning seems to have
dissipated –
Thank God!
I don't want to walk around feeling like that
all week. I hear several voices and open my eyes, the other receptionists are
out for lunch. I hear one of them make a snide comment about me, the other
women laugh along with her joke – So they do think I’m weird
. Figures I am!

I try calling Tristan, but it goes straight
to voicemail, hanging up I decide to try him again once I’ve finished my
shopping spree...

WHEN I HEAD BACK TO WORK,
I march straight past my desk, ignoring Susannah completely and head into
Joyce’s office, hoping she’ll give me her honest opinion on the dress of choice.
If she hates it I'm taking it back. Locking the door, I strip out of my blouse,
then my trousers, take the dress out of the bag and carefully slip it over my
head.

“So what do you think?” I ask a little
hesitantly. At £135, I think it’s a little over-priced but it seems the more
you pay, the better the fit. Besides, Tristan paid for this and the lingerie
with the card he gave me, I hope he likes it all.

“Coral, you look lovely darling. It really
suits you.” Joyce says.

I have chosen a stunning halter-neck dress
in Royal Blue. It has a pleated bodice with vertical pleats heading down to the
knees and a wide waistband for a flattering, draping fit. I liked the red one
too but I thought it was a little Christmassy, but I may go back and get that
colour if Tristan likes this one. But most of all, I liked this dress because
it’s called The Goddess Short Dress, I giggled out loud when I read the label.

“You really think so?” I ask ignoring my
trembling legs, my shaking hands.

“Yes, any special occasion?” Joyce asks
patting her hair in place.

“Tristan’s taking me out Friday night,” I
whisper not wanting Blondie to hear.