His Secretary: BBW Romance (Her Second Chance Book 1) (7 page)

The more he thought about it, the more he wanted Helen Draper in his life. And in his bed. Now that brought up the only problem he could see with the whole thing. How the hell was he going to keep his hand off her when they were alone?

“Mommy!” Laura ran towards Helen, delighted to see her mom waiting for her after school.

“Hi, Laura. Let's wait for Jess and then we can get home. Did you have a good day?”

“Yes.”

“What did you do?”

“Play.”

“Did you learn anything?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“No. It’s a secret.”

“A secret. I think you’re allowed to tell me what you learned at school.”

“Sarah Stewart made me promise I wouldn’t tell.”

“Sarah Stewart? Why would she make you promise?”

“Because she said she wasn’t supposed to know her mom was getting them a puppy.”

Helen laughed. “So that’s what you learned?”

“Yes. But I shouldn’t have told you. I promised.”

“It’s OK, Laura. I won't tell. Here’s Jess.”

“Hi Mommy. I thought you were going to be at work. You didn’t get fired did you?”

“No. I didn’t get fired. Thanks for the support, by the way.”

“It’s only because you said you wouldn't be seeing us until dinner time, or maybe even bedtime again.”

“Well, that’s why I’ve been allowed to leave early.”

“So we can have dinner together? You must have the best boss ever.”

“Yes. We can have dinner together, but then my boss wants me to go on a business trip with him.”

“Really. Is that like a school trip? Are you going to the museum?”

“No. Not the museum. The trip is to another country.”

“Wow. Sarah Stewart went to another country for her holiday. Have I ever been to another country?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Have you?”

“Yes, a long time ago when I married your daddy.”

“On your honeybee?”

“Honeymoon.”

“Is there honey on the moon? I didn’t think there was anything on the moon.”

“OK.” Helen opened the front door, letting them in. Trying to understand children was sometimes equally as hard as trying to understand her feelings towards Oliver. “I’ll get you a snack, and then I’ll explain everything.”

Feeling slightly frustrated, Helen went to the kitchen, and poured them drinks. She had already been back and packed her suitcase, but it was upstairs on the bed, waiting for the outcome of this very important conversation. Her confidence was already slipping, the sight of her two daughters made it harder than she had imagined, but she had given Oliver her word she would go, and she wanted to keep her promise to him.

“Can I have a sandwich?”

“It’s too close to dinner. Why not have an apple and a yoghurt?”

“OK. Strawberry please,” Laura asked.

“What about you, Jess?”

“I’m not hungry, thank you. Are you going to finish telling us why you’re home early?”

Helen looked at her oldest daughter, and could see by her expression that she wasn’t happy. Jess had taken the news about her father leaving particularly hard, and had clung to Helen more and more. This was going to have to be handled carefully.

Helen felt torn between her children and her work. Work that was not long term, but important to her. Entwined with this was the realisation that Oliver was important to her too.

She looked at the two children in front of her, and the feeling of guilt at wanting to have something more than the life they already had, was overwhelming.

“My boss wants me to go with him and help him. His uncle is sick and he wants to go and see him before a big business meeting.”

“Why do you have to go?” Jess asked.

“Because I’ve been working with him on it all week.”

“There must be someone else who can go?”

“Not really.” Helen was so tempted to drop it, and simply telephone Oliver and tell him she was sorry she couldn't go. She reminded herself couldn’t spend her whole life tied to her children, no matter how much she loved them. Dan and Max would give them a great time.

“Another country is a long way away.”

There, Jess had set out her concerns. The simple question. When will you be back? Will you come back or disappear like daddy did was written all over her sweet young face.

“Yes. It’s a long way. I’ll have to go on an aeroplane. I’m a bit nervous. But if I do this, then I’ll most probably get a new job, and we’ll be able to have special treats. Mommy would really like that.”

“When will you be back?”

“Friday night, or Saturday morning. I’m not sure yet.”

“And what about us? We can’t stay here on our own.” Laura asked. “What about Jeremy and Sparkle?” Laura’s bottom lip trembled as she stroked her young cat. Purring and rubbing against Laura, Sparkle rolled on the floor waiting to be played with.

“Max and Dan are going to look after you? And I’m sure they’ll look after these two troublemakers too.”

“Max and Dan,” Jess gasped, her earlier worries erased at the thought of all that time with her favourite uncle. “We could have the longest tea party ever.”

“Yes.” Laura’s eyes lit up at that thought, she asked Helen, “Can we dress up now for dinner?”

“If you want to.”

The two girls were off up the stairs before Helen had a chance to say another comforting word. Just like that, the fact that she was going away had been forgotten, replaced by the excitement of time spent with someone else. Someone fun. She leaned on the kitchen counter, her face in her hands.

Sometimes all she felt was taken for granted. The girls loved her, and depended on her always being there, and that was as how should be. She was their mom. Yet Helen felt there was nothing else to her any more, no other part of her existed. A one dimensional person instead of the multifaceted woman she used to be.

Over the next few days she had a chance to reclaim herself. Max was right, this was a good idea. She might even come back refreshed, and not feel like a drudge every day of her life. The monotony of getting them all out of the door in the morning, of doing the shopping, the washing, and every other little thing that needed doing suffocated her. But it was her lot as a single parent. This small break was a little treat to herself. With the girls so happy there was no need for her to feel guilty for one more moment.

Pulling out a saucepan, she began to make dinner, and by the time she put the pasta on to cook, she found herself humming happily. A feeling of having a weight lifted off her shoulders was incredibly strong. When the girls came breezing in, dressed up like two princesses, she didn’t even nag them not to get sauce on their pretty dresses. Everything was so much easier now she had something to look forward to. The fact that it involved Oliver was only part of the excitement. For once she was going to spend a few days as an adult, in the sole company of adults.

While they sat eating, Helen reminded her daughters of what Dan and Max needed to do to get them ready for school on time. Everything was slotting into place when the phone rang.

“Hi Dan.” A brief conversation later, and it was decided that the two girls would be better off in their own home. Max and Dan would come and stay.

“Are you sure, Dan?” Was she looking for one final last way out of this?

“Yes. It’ll get Max and I in training for when we have kids.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t tell Max I said that. The thought of the wedding is quite enough without thinking of kids. But really, we would love to, if that’s OK with Laura and Jess.”

“Uncle Dan wants to know if it’s OK for them to come and stay here while I’m away?”

The loud shout in her ear could be heard down the phone too. “I think I have my answer,” Dan said. “I’ll come around in time for you to leave, I’d like to meet this Oliver Pierceson before you go off with him.”

“Dan,” she warned. “He’s my boss.”

“So. You’re my sister, and I want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I will be quite safe. What’s the worst that could happen?” Her mind filled with what she’d like to happen. If only this was a romantic break with Oliver, not business. Dan’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“I’m not sure if I should be more worried about you, or me and Max. Those daughters of yours have a way of wrapping us around their little fingers.”

“They are already insisting on one of your famous tea parties.” Helen tried to concentrate on Dan’s voice, not on the thoughts that were still trying to invade her head. As she looked at the two girls in front of her she suddenly felt as if her body and soul were being torn in two.

Was this how it felt when a parent had to choose between her kids and something else? The ache of betrayal at wanting something other than your children. For wanting there to be more to your life than the daily routine.

“Helen?” Dan prompted.

“Sorry, what did you say Dan.”

“We’ll take good care of them. You go and enjoy this opportunity.”

Had her read her mind? “Thanks, Dan. I’m really nervous that it’s the wrong thing to do.”

“Max doesn’t think so. And you know she’s always right.” There was a pause. “Ouch. I was joking.”

Helen heard Max’s voice in the background, and smiled to herself. “I know Jess and Laura will have fun with you both. I only hope they’ll miss me.”

He pulled up outside feeling as nervous, worse than on a first date in high school. Somehow he seriously needed to get a grip on himself, After all this was business, not pleasure. As he got out of the car, and went to her front door, the slight tightness in his pants told him he would have to remind himself of this fact over and over again throughout their time together.

Raising his hand to knock, he was beaten to it by the appearance of a man, who opened the door with a certain hostility. He had seen that look before, but usually on the face of a woman’s father, not her brother.

“Hi. You must be Dan.”

“And you must be my sisters boss.”

“Nice to meet you.” He looked at his watch, and then added, “Is Helen ready? I don’t want to be late.”

“She’s just saying goodbye to her children.” He took a step towards Oliver, pulling the door closed behind him so that only a sliver of light escaped the house. “I hope I can trust you to look after her. I know Max encouraged her to go with you, that it would do her some good. But if anything happens to her...”

“We’re going to Monaco, not a war zone.”

“I was thinking more in the broken heart department.”

Oliver smiled evenly, putting on his best authoritative expression, hoping his words sounded truer than they felt. “Dan, I can assure you Helen’s honour is perfectly safe. I make it my one unbreakable rule. I never date employees.”

Dan straightened up, and looked satisfied. “Thank you. I know it might sound draconian, a brother watching out for his grown up sister. But she’s been through a lot in the last few months. Sometimes I wonder how she manages to hold it all together. But she does, and I would hate for this to end badly.”

“You have my word, I have no intention of taking advantage of your sister. This is a very important business trip.”

“Dan, what are you up to?” Helen appeared, pulling the door open, and the light spilled out. “Oh, I didn’t know you were here. Dan?”

“We were just having a chat. Man to man.”

Helen slapped Dan across the arm. “Stay out of it, Dan.”

“What? I was just checking what time you were due back.”

“Of course you were.” Helen pulled Dan back into the house, and held the door open fully. “Oliver, do you want to step in? I just have to grab my suitcase.”

Oliver looked at his watch again, not wanting to linger over Helen’s family life. But he stepped in all the same, and was assaulted by her home. Pictures of two beautiful girls, coats hung up and shoes neatly placed. Drawings done by little hands, and the smell of home cooked food. It was warm, and begged him to linger, to forget all about business and enjoy the here and now with a woman he could love. A woman who knew how to love the simple things life had to offer.

“We really need to go,” he said, and turned abruptly, walking out of the house to wait in the safety of the dark night.

He made her nervous. By his behaviour she already assumed he thought he’d made the wrong decision asking her to go with him. With no real experience, she would have to admit he has right. It was either that or Dan had said something inappropriate. Perhaps he had insinuated that Helen saw this as more than a business trip.

Thoughts whirled through her head like confetti in the air. All mixed up, jumbled and nonsensical. She would be absolutely no use to him at all if she didn't get her head together. With that thought held firmly in the forefront of her mind she decided to set the tone of the trip herself. Tell him she knew this was purely business.

“When we land are we going straight to the hospital?”

“No. I thought we’d get an early night, and then go to see him in the morning. So far he has no idea I’m invading the business meeting.”

“How do you think he will take it?”

“Hard to say. I spoke with my aunt at some length, she agrees it’s the right thing to do. But she’s not going to tell him, he had some tests this afternoon, and she didn’t want him upset before those. She’s worried about him though, apparently he’s not eating. He blames the food, but my aunt says it’s more than that.”

“I’m sorry. This couldn't have come at a worse time for him, with the Clarkson deal and everything.”

“He’s a busy man, no time would be a good time. But I do feel sorry for my aunt. This trip was supposed to be a complete getaway for them, swapping the damp grey weather of London in the spring for the sunshine and glamour of Monte Carlo.”

“I guess the last thing they expected was to end up spending it in a hospital.”

“I always thought the old man was as strong as an ox, he’s certainly as stubborn as one.”

“Is that a trait that runs in the family?”

“Stubbornness?”

“Yes, you said your mom wouldn’t accept help. And you seem determined to succeed. That must take a certain amount of stubbornness.”