The Geary Series Boxed Set (33 page)

Lilly sat at the end of the bar on one of the tall wooden stools. It was a quiet part of the day and she spent her time doodling on a napkin. She was lost in her own thoughts as she kept drawing, there were dozens of napkins scattered around as she picked up a new one to draw on. After coming downstairs a few hours ago and eating breakfast and drinking copious amount of coffee she felt compelled to stay.

“By the looks of things my cash flow today it going to look bad.” Elijah said from behind her “and I will need to buy some more napkins.”

Lilly spun around on the stool and nearly fell off as she overbalanced at the sound of his voice. He caught her before she fell and placed her back on the stool. His hands lingered a little too long on her waist. She wriggled to get him to drop his hands, they were at work and she didn’t want to draw any attention.

“Oh, I’m sorry it seems a force of habit that I come in here once a day, now that I don’t have work to escape from I am at a loss at what I can do.” Lilly said.

“It’s ok sweetheart, I was just teasing, but by looking at these drawings you may be the answer to my current nightmare.” Elijah said.

“Oh?” she said “how can I help?”

“It doesn’t matter, it’s a silly notion, I’ll have to figure this out myself.” Elijah said.

“Just tell me Elijah, you’re not on your own, let me help if I can.” Lilly argued.

“Let me think it through and I’ll let you know later on, what are your plans tonight?” Elijah asked.

She didn’t want to tell him that she had no plans. She led a solitary life and up until she’d met Elijah she thought that it was enough. The truth was that she felt instantly lonely, the moment she left his company. Elijah had a large circle of friends, a family he spent a lot of time with and a social life within his work. All she had was her job and her art and that was it. Her brother only wanted to see her when he needed something and at the moment her parents weren’t even speaking to her. She felt lost and alone and didn’t know how she was going to get around this problem. Looking over her shoulder she looked up at Elijah.

“I don’t have much planned, are you working here tonight?”

“Yes, it’ll probably be busy and we’re still short staffed.”

“I could work if you want? I don’t mind doing a shift, I would need to go home and change but would be happy to.” Lilly said, even though she wanted to tell him that she didn’t want to do another shift.  He had helped her so much, she could do another shift for him.

“Really? Would you do that?” Elijah asked and beamed.

“Of course, what time would you want me here? Is 6pm too early?”

“That would be perfect but you don’t have to, I am sure we’ll cope.” Elijah said.

“Great, I’ll see you later on, I’ll get going.”

“Oh,” Elijah said feeling disappointed she was leaving so soon, “I’ll see you at six.”

Elijah wanted to talk more to Lilly but couldn’t think of a thing to say, he wasn’t ready to let her go. His mind went blank and he blurted out the first thing he thought about.

“On second thoughts, I don’t need you tonight, I’ve just remembered we have a small private party and won’t need as many staff.” Elijah said. He watched the disappointment wash over her face. She really did want to work tonight but he had a better idea.

“Will you come to dinner tonight?” Elijah said, “Since Olivia has come into Jack’s life she insists on dinner every Thursday evening. Will you come with me, you’ve met her now and it will be just the four of us.”

“Ok, that sounds great, where shall I meet you and what time?” Lilly said, relieved that she didn’t have to work at Blue’s, she was still so tired.

“I’ll pick you up and seven and we can walk around to their place, you two don’t live that far away from each other.” Elijah offered.

“Ok, sounds great, see you later on.” Lilly said. She lifted herself off the stool and left Elijah to it.

Even though he would have to make do with not seeing her for the next few hours, he was content that she accepted his dinner date with no hesitation. Jack and Olivia could be full on at the best of times but bringing a date with him would be headline news. He would have to let them know that there would be one extra for dinner. Elijah opted for text message and then he could avoid the grilling that would more than likely follow.

Elijah’s day was getting worse and worse, he wanted to spend some time with Lilly but kept being interrupted. He loved running the bar and it was only now that it irritated him that all of his time was taken up with problem solving. He wanted to take her to lunch, or better still make lunch for her.

The temptation was to dump all these problems onto Pete but that would be unfair and inappropriate. He had gotten himself into this mess and he would get himself out of it too. He had said he would help Elaine and he wanted to keep his word. He hadn’t thought through what he would do when the relationship ended. She was another woman who wanted more than he could offer. Elijah had yet to figure out how he managed to attract the wrong kind of woman. He wanted a secure partner that saw his interactions at the bar as just business. He tried to explain it was all part of the business he was in and that it was harmless, it was just chatting at the end of the day. He spent as much time with the men as the women. Elaine couldn’t cope with it every time she saw or heard him be what she referred to as his overfriendliness. She only ever seemed to see him talking to women.

Remaining friends while she continued to paint the mural on his bar wall may turn out to be too much drama for him. He assumed that she liked him enough to remain friendly and professional while she completed her job at the bar. He’d wanted to transform one of the walls in the bar, it was the back wall near the fire exit. It was a dark area of the premises and he wanted to brighten it up without using too many lights. He should have just fitted some lights and had done with it.

One evening after he and Elaine had already had a few meetings to throw around some ideas, they shared a bottle of wine after the bar had closed. He hadn’t remembered who had kissed who first but they ended up in his apartment. Half undressed on his sofa when Elaine had asked him to wrap his hands around her throat when he was deep inside her, it had freaked him out. He had never done that kind of thing before and had no idea what he was doing. She had a kink that he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. He was relieved if he was honest, when she ended it. That night on the sofa ended quite quickly when she revealed what she wanted, Elijah pretended that the alcohol had made him sleepy and called her a taxi to take her home.  He hadn’t intended to have sex with her that night and when she revealed what she wanted he knew he never would have sex with her.

Getting a woman to orgasm without having to resort to kink was something he craved. He craved that type of connection with a woman that he could read the signs and build her up to frenzy until she begged for release. Just the touch of his hand or a thrust of his cock would set her off, that is what he desired most.

His relationship with Elaine hadn’t worked out because of Lilly. Elijah didn’t want to be an arsehole about the project she was working on. Elaine was due here any minute to discuss the next stage of the wall.

Leaning back in his leather chair he thought about ways he could get out of the arrangement, she had the capacity to be difficult and he wanted out. Searching through the mountain of paperwork he smiled at the conversation he had with Lilly about the state of his office. It was chaotic, but he knew where everything was, except now, he needed to take a look at the contract before she got here to see if there was something he could do.

Flicking through the papers on the right-hand side of the desk, he lifted out her agreement and read through it again. It was half way down on page four that he saw some hope, he had found his get out jail free card and he was going to exploit it. He no longer wanted to work with her and now he had a chance to end it.

“Elijah, Elaine is here to see you, shall I send her through?” Pete said. He was filling the door frame and smirking at him. Pete knew exactly how thrilled he would be to see her but knew not let her come back to his office to chat.

“I’ll come out Pete, get her a drink while she waits, I won’t be long.”

“Ok, but don’t keep her waiting too long, she doesn’t look very happy about the fire damage, I couldn’t stop her from seeing it. She will probably chew your balls off as soon as she sees you.” Pete warned.

“Fucking marvellous, hopefully after this meeting I won’t have to see her again.” he said and picked up the contract. “I need to make a quick call and I’ll be out.”

“No problem, I’ll sweet talk her until you come out, your brother is also here but didn’t ask for you.” Pete said.

Pete left Elijah alone, and once Pete was out of earshot, Elijah picked up his mobile and dialled Doug’s number. Doug used to be in the fire service and would be able to give me the answer Elijah needed.  It was Elijah’s chance to thank him for making him put in the sprinkler system.

Finishing up the call with Doug, the old fire chief, and getting the answer he hoped for, Elijah left his office and entered the bar. This time of day was quiet, the lunchtime crowd had gone back to work and there were just a few stragglers talking in groups. Looking around to find Elaine, Elijah couldn’t see her anywhere. He gestured to Pete and he nodded to the restrooms and Elijah sat on the stool nearest to him and waited for her to return.

He spied Jack coming over to see him, Jack had left a group of men at the bar drinking pints and laughing at something they were all looking at on the TV. He adored his brother, it didn’t make any difference that they were not blood related. He loved him all the same. They couldn’t be any different in temperament, possibly why they got on so well and had each other’s backs.

“Good to see you brother,” Jack said to Elijah as he gave him a hug in greeting and squeezed his cheek for good measure.

“Good to see you too, what brings you here in the middle of the day?” Elijah said rubbing his cheek to remove the pinch he felt.

“I thought I’d entertain these young sales lads as a reward for reaching their quarterly targets.” Jack said.

“Oh, well right now I wish I were one of your sales reps, I’m about to have an uncomfortable conversation with Elaine.” Elijah said and grimaced.

"Well she’s on her way over. Does she still like to be choked?” Jack asked.

"How the hell do you know that? Please tell me you haven't fucked her?” Elijah said and sighed.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course I haven't. She can't resist telling me every time we bump into each other here. She makes my skin crawl, sorry brother, I should’ve said that more sensitively.” Jack said.

"Seriously, why is it that I am last to know these things? Plus, I’m not dating her anymore, so you can say anything you like.” Elijah said gleefully.

"That’s because you don't listen to gossip and you don't fuck around either.” Jack stated proudly. "I’m going to leave you to it, I don't want to get caught talking to her. See you at dinner tonight with your date, just so you know Olivia is beyond excited that you are bringing her.”

“Oh hell, really? Well, I’ll see you tonight.”

Jack walked away as Elaine walked towards Elijah, as soon as Jack had passed her he turned on his heel and made a choking mime behind her back. Elijah burst out laughing just as Elaine approached.

"What's so funny Elijah, we have things to discuss, and I need you to be serious.” Elaine said.

"Oh lighten up Elaine, I was laughing at Jack.” Elijah said.

"Oh him, he doesn't like me, I have no idea why, it’s not like I’ve turned him down.” Elaine said.

Elijah raised an eyebrow at Elaine in question "What do you mean?”

"It’s well-known that your brother is the biggest tart in Edinburgh but he’s never made a move on me.” Elaine reported.

"I think that has a lot to do with the fact that you were dating me and that he is attached.” Elijah said.

"When did that ever stop Jack? Can we stop talking about your brother please and talk about the wall.” Elaine said.

"Hold on a second, are you angry that he didn't make a move on you?”

"No, of course not, and don't be so paranoid.” Elaine said and patted his arm.

"Why would I be paranoid?” Elijah said.

Elaine shifted on the spot and looked decidedly uncomfortable. She looked over to where Jack was but couldn’t get his attention.

"Who knows, can we move this along.” Elaine asked.

"No, we can't, why would I be paranoid Elaine? Tell me. Jack has been with Olivia for quite some time, so your tart remark is uncalled for.”

"No reason sweetie, I told you.” Elaine said.

"Oh, I’m so stupid,” Elijah said and looked at the ceiling and laughed humourlessly, “You were dating me because you couldn't date him. How could I be so stupid, for fuck sake Elaine, we had been dating all that time for you to get close to Jack?”

"Well it didn't work did it, so let's move on. You both fell for weak women, neither of you could handle a woman like me.” Elijah stared into space but Elaine thought that Elijah was looking at her. "Get over it Elijah, we're history, so what's the problem.”

"No problem Elaine, but I’m not going to discuss business with you, make an appointment for later in the week.” Elijah said.

Elijah walked away from an open-mouthed Elaine. He was beyond angry and well on his way to livid, he needed to get away from her contrite face. Elaine was not giving up so easily.

“Oh come on Elijah, I didn’t think you were ever going to come out of that office of yours. You should get out more and not immerse yourself in your job you might stand some chance of finding a girlfriend.” She said and sat down on the stool and beckoned him to sit next to her.

She was still bitter and there was nothing Elijah could do about it, if she needed to vent that way, he could take it, he had heard far worse and probably deserved it. Elaine was correct, he did immerse himself in his work, it was the only thing he found he could rely on. With Lilly being more than his lunch break fix, he planned on changing his ways. He decided to remove the anger from his mind and play her at her own game. The quicker he had this conversation the quicker he could be rid of her.

“It's lovely to see you Elaine, please forgive my quick temper, you look ravishing as always.” He said as a reply to her acidity.

Noticing the faint blush form on her cheeks and she combed her fingers through her hair, preening, he smiled. She still wanted him, which could work in his favour, she might be reasonable to what he was going to say.

“Thank you Elijah but I’m not here for your compliments, I need you to sign off on the final painting and give me a date when I can finish the damn thing. Obviously it’s going to take longer now that the fire has damaged the base coat.” She said.

Her tone had softened slightly but she was still all business. She wouldn’t take this next bit well.

“I’m afraid that I’m going to cancel the rest of it Elaine and not go any further ahead.”

“You can’t do that Elijah, you signed the contract for me to do the painting. You gave me the job, you can’t just dismiss me half way through.”

“I did give you the job and I can take the job away too. I cannot meet your criteria so the deal is off.”

“What criteria?” she asked hesitantly.

“The health and safety part of your terms and conditions. The area that you are painting in is not cordoned off enough for it to be safe. For you to do the painting safely I am going to have to shut the place for a week and I cannot afford to do that. You have taken a lot longer than originally discussed and now that the damage has been done you are going to take even longer than you said you would to complete it. So as it says in your agreement that I have to ensure complete fire safety while you are here. I cannot do that so the deal is off.” Elijah concluded.

“I don’t believe you, you will have to pay for my time and loss of earnings Elijah, and you can’t just walk away. I have turned other work away to take this project on.” Elaine said.

“That was your choice Elaine not my fault. You can ask any independent but I have asked an ex Fire Chief his opinion. He is very familiar with this property, he oversaw the fire safety here when I first opened and he said that it wouldn’t be safe to my customers to have you here at the same time. Your contract says that I will not suffer any loss of earnings while you are here. So you see that I have to walk away from your services.” Elijah said.

“You can’t do this Elijah, you will regret it if you do this.” Elaine said.

“Are you threatening me Elaine?”

“I’ll make you pay for breaking the contract, one way or another.” She said.

Elaine hopped off the stool and grabbed her handbag from the bar top and walked out of Blue’s. He sat there in silence until Pete came over.

“What did you say to her? She looked angry.” Pete asked.

“I told her that I couldn’t carry on with her here, she was taking too long and I was losing money. She threatened to make me pay I thought it went better than expected. She didn’t slap me which was a bonus.”

“You only get slapped when you’re breaking their hearts not their bank balance. I’d keep a close eye on her, she looks like spiteful one.” Pete warned.

“Maybe, but I think she’s all bark and no bite, she’ll realise that she hasn’t a leg to stand on and we won’t see her again.” Elijah said.

Pete grunted and walked back up the galley to the other end of the bar and served one of the customers. Pete made a good point, she wouldn’t let this go but he had to get on with finding a new painter. His mind instantly flew to Lilly again, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. Mixing business with pleasure always backfired.

Elijah needed to speak with her brother about his drug dealing and see what he had to say for himself. When he saw him again he would give him a good talking to, with his fists preferably. He was vehemently anti-drug and distanced himself from anyone taking drugs let alone dealing them. The Police came to Blue’s during their time off and it surprised him that any dealer would come within fifty feet of the place. From what he understood about Lilly’s brother he was intelligent but not very smart, not the best combination.

Finding him creeping about in his sister’s apartment was weird, if he was welcome why did he feel the need to hide? All these questions would have to wait for another day. One fight per day was his general rule of thumb and the discussion with Elaine counted as one.

He needed to get to Lilly’s place in a few hours and he wanted to get ready for this evening’s shift. He hadn’t lied about the private party, it was a hen night and a stag night in separate rooms and for different weddings. Weddings seemed to be surrounding him at the moment and he couldn’t escape from them. Lilly had only done one shift for him and he didn’t like the idea of her working behind the bar when she wasn’t fully recovered. If he were honest he still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of dating her and her working there.

He would raise the subject at dinner this evening about her future work plans. He knew that he had offered her a safe job while she worked out what she wanted and felt responsible that he already wanted to fire her for selfish reasons. She wasn’t well enough to do full shifts and he wanted her all to himself. He was beginning to understand what the other women were referring to when they saw him flirting with other women. When he saw the customers slip her their phone number he wanted to snatch it out of her hands and rip it into tiny pieces. It was a childish reaction but he couldn’t help how he felt. Lilly was the one for him and he would do all he could to make sure they were a couple and stayed that way until they were old and incontinent.

He hadn’t quite worked out how to tell her about his secret. Mickey knew about it as did Jack which probably meant Olivia did too. Aside from those few people he hadn’t shared it with anyone else. It didn’t affect anyone else apart from him and the woman he would spend the rest of his life with. He didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but society would argue the point.