Twelve Days - The Beginning (31 page)

Chapter Thirty

It had only taken Cole a matter of minutes to work out how to use her phone so after a quick ‘training’ session, they had left the safety of the meeting room and Elise had braved her desk and the vastness of the office again.

She could almost feel the eyes boring into her as she walked back but she was getting used to it now and almost felt sorry for most of these people. They clearly didn’t have anything else going on in their lives.

Stephen was on the phone when she returned so she tucked her presents into her bag discreetly and powered up her computer to do some work. Once again, she thanked her lucky stars that the big bosses were on the top floor; otherwise she would have had some serious explaining to do over the last few days with her relatively constant disappearing acts.

She had just started to tackle her in-tray when her phone rang and she picked it up.

“Elise Grayson.”

“Hello? Oh er, Hi. Is that Miss Grayson?” The voice was hesitant and not one that Elise recognised.

“Yes, speaking.” she said, deciding it was probably a new client lead.

“Oh, Miss Grayson...it’s Edwin here, Edwin Dunn, you know – from the...conference.”

Ah. The sleazebag. The cause of Vaughn’s fight and at the end of the day, just an ordinary man needing a bit of luck.

“Oh yes, Mr Dunn – hello, how are you feeling now?” She didn’t particularly care but she had no idea why this man was calling her and so decided to go with pleasantries.

“I’m much better now, thank you.” He replied, “I was just calling to let you know that I’ve come clean with my family and they all know exactly what happened. I wanted to apologise again - my behaviour was uncalled for.”

“Please, Mr Dunn, don’t worry about it. I’ve forgotten about it now and I understand that you were just having a rough day – happens to all of us.” Elise answered, still not really sure where this conversation was going. Mr Dunn had already apologised to her and that was the end of that as far as she was concerned.

“The thing is, Miss Grayson,” he continued, “My son-in-law, he’s one of these lawyers, you know, the ones off the television, and he thinks that I may have grounds to sue your boyfriend for using unreasonable force.” He coughed, as if in embarrassment and then hurriedly continued, “It’s not my style normally you understand but I am in a lot of financial difficulty and, well, we just thought that if we put a case forward......” he trailed off and there was a silence on the end of the line.

Elise sat at her desk unmoving, shock running through her every pore as she tried to process the last couple of sentences. Her palms were starting to sweat and her fist that wasn’t
occupied with the phone was starting to clench. Who the hell did this man think he was? He had been drunk, he had come onto her, he had made inappropriate suggestions and yes, perhaps Vaughn did go a bit over the top, but seriously? This man really thought that he could get some money by suing Vaughn for defending her? He was deluded.

Slowly she inhaled and then just as slowly exhaled. When she spoke again, it was with a calmness that she was far from feeling.

“Mr Dunn. Firstly I need to clarify that the man with whom you had the...altercation is not my boyfriend. Secondly, as you are well aware, you were making exceedingly inappropriate suggestions to me and my colleague was merely defending me from someone who was drunk and not at all in control of their actions. If you really believe that you have grounds for suing then you go ahead but I can assure you that I will pull no punches if this ever comes to court. You may think that you have told your family the truth but have you really?” Elise was tempted to hang up but was stopped by a small sigh from the other end of the line.

“I’m sorry Miss Grayson, I don’t want this to get nasty - really I don’t - but I have lost everything and there is just no way out. I was hoping that you could talk to your...colleague, and maybe agree a settlement with him and that way, no one has to go to court. We can all get on with our lives as if nothing happened.” Edwin Dunn put the suggestion forward as if it was the most reasonable thing in the world. They could have even been chatting about the weather.

“Mr Dunn, over my dead body will you get a settlement. It is neither mine nor my colleague’s fault that you have lost everything and, need I remind you, that if you hadn’t decided to get drunk and make advances towards me, then none of this would have happened. There will be NO settlement and I am thoroughly disgusted that you have the temerity to even suggest it.” Elise’s blood was boiling now and she was struggling to keep her cool. Vaguely she became aware of Stephen having finished his telephone conversation and tuning in, but she kept her gaze trained on her computer monitor. If she moved, she was fairly certain that she would explode.

Mr Dunn had not finished and was definitely not interested in taking a hint.

“Miss Grayson, I didn’t want to have to do this but believe me, if I have to, I will. There are things that I know, things that I saw,
things
that happened in the ballroom after dinner. You thought you were being discreet but I knew. I saw it all – why else do you think I thought you were fair game?” His voice had taken on a nasty edge, the respectability of his tone being replaced by something much darker. “If you won’t consider a settlement then let’s just say that you won’t be the only one not pulling any punches. You have until Friday to make your decision; otherwise a court date will be arranged. I will call you again.” And the line abruptly went dead.

Elise sat shaking, staring at the phone for a long while before carefully replacing the receiver. She couldn’t believe what had just happened and she was hit by the reality of the true ugliness of human nature. Never in a million years would she consider suing someone to make good the mistakes she had made. She believed in taking responsibility for your own actions and your own future, and that included both the good and the bad. The nerve of the
man to think that he could threaten her. Immediately she flushed. Shit. If he had seen her and Vaughn in the ballroom after dinner then although it may not affect the court case, it could make things very uncomfortable for them both, which would likely be the final straw in their personal and professional lives. She could barely comprehend how things had managed to become even more difficult.

“Everything okay, Elise?” Stephen asked, watching her as she replaced the receiver. “You’ve gone pretty white again – you want me to get Cole?”

She shook her head. “No – thank you. Just a difficult phone call.”

She needed to talk to Vaughn and warn him. To give him some time to think this through and decide what the best course of action would be. Maybe he could talk to Edwin Dunn and diffuse the situation, but then again, the man was only interested in money and it didn’t seem that any amount of talking would change that. And how could she tell Vaughn when he was god-knew-where at his sister’s house? It was Christmas Day tomorrow and she didn’t want to ruin that family time for him. Perhaps it would be best if she kept it to herself for now, at least until she could talk to him in person. They would be back at work on Thursday so he would have twenty-four hours left before the deadline to think things through – would that be long enough?

It would have to be. Neither of them could deal with this now, there was so much more going on. As difficult as this situation could potentially be, it would need to take a backseat for a few days – at least until Thursday. They had until Friday to decide and she was hoping that Mr Dunn would come to his senses before then. Maybe she wouldn’t even need to talk to Vaughn. She couldn’t believe that Edwin seriously thought he had a case but clearly his sonin-law did. It made her wonder if his family really knew the full story or just a more favourable abridged version of it.

Just before 1pm, Elise was about to shut down her computer and leave the office when her new phone chirped in her bag. Unaccustomed to having such a gadget, it took her a moment to work out where the sound was coming from but when she did, she reached into her handbag and retrieved it, checking the screen to see that she had a text message from Vaughn. No one else knew the number anyway.

Have been thinking about you all day Angel. I wish you were here with me – that would be the best Christmas present ever.

What are you up to?

x x x

Quickly Elise pulled up the keyboard as Cole had shown her to do and typed in a response.

Just about to leave the office and head home. Pretty quiet here now, only a few dozen daggers to remove from my back before I can drive my car! Lol.

Looking forward to seeing you too. Have a good Christmas. X

Elise opted for a fairly safe reply and only one kiss at the end. As much as she loved his gifts and the fact that they brought them somewhat closer, she still wasn’t totally sure that he hadn’t been with Olivia at the weekend and she couldn’t let her guard down until she knew for certain.

Almost instantly, a reply arrived.

Only one kiss Miss Grayson? I am mortally wounded.

If you were with me I can assure you that there would be a hell of a lot more than one kiss going on. Especially as I am already imagining you wearing my gift for me.

Shit! Now I am going to have to stay in the bathroom for a hell of a lot longer!

x x x x x x (no shortage of kisses this end!)

Elise giggled, instantly picturing Vaughn sat in some bathroom somewhere, discreetly texting her and struggling with his libido. From the one night that she had spent with him, she knew that he was highly sexed and, unaccustomed to such a man, she was finding that she loved his obvious desire for her. It made a refreshing change and she immediately felt the dampness between her legs as her arousal responded to the mental image.

She typed another reply.

I am just about to head home but I hate to think that I am leaving you in such an – awkward – situation.

Is there any way that I can make things more – comfortable – for you?

x x

She had upped the ante with that text so she furtively glanced around the office, checking to see if anyone else was still about and was relieved to find it virtually empty. Stephen had left a short time earlier so there was no one else nearby.

Her phone pinged a reply.

This could be a dangerous game Elise – are you sure you want to play?

If you do, then go to the ladies room and lock the door.

x x x x

A thrill rushed through Elise as she contemplated what could be about to happen. She had read about so-called ‘sexting’ in the gossip magazines but had never considered that she would be taking part in it. Another first - and she had absolutely no idea what she was going to be expected to do.

Knowing that in reality there was no way she wasn’t going to follow his instructions, she picked up her bag and coat, made sure everything was put away and then walked out towards the toilets in the foyer. Annabel had gone home so there was no one on Reception but she was fairly certain that the management were still upstairs so she needed to be quick and discreet.

Looking at the facilities available to her, she opted to use the Disabled Room instead of the Ladies; that way she could lock the door without worrying that anyone else would want to come in. Also it was set a little bit away from the main area and offered a tiny bit more privacy.

Once inside, she locked the door and retrieved her phone from her bag.

She typed in another reply.

I want to play.

I’m in the disabled room. There is no one outside.

Game on.

x x x

Whilst she was waiting for Vaughn to respond, she looked around the room and saw that there was a chair and footstool situated in the corner. Taking off her coat, she sat on the chair and put her legs up on the stool to make herself more comfortable. The lighting in the room was harsh and she had to admit that she felt a bit silly just sitting here, aroused and waiting for a text from someone who was a good hundred miles away. The situation was in some ways laughable but the thrill seeker in her that Vaughn seemed to have uncovered, needed to find out where this would go. He had unlocked this side to her and she needed to explore it, to allow herself to feel and experience and Jesus – just live!

Her phone chirped in her hand.

Game on indeed.

I need to call you. I’m just going somewhere more private.

x x x

Elise released the breath she didn’t realise that she had been holding and stared inanely at the phone. He was going to call – shit! They were going to talk; they were going to have phone sex, right here in the disabled toilet at work. She would never be able to look at this room in the same way again. Absently, she hoped that the cleaners had finished for the day.

Abruptly, her phone starting singing – ‘Tainted Love’ by Soft Cell – and she let it play a moment, the irony of Vaughn’s ringtone choice not lost on her. Their ‘love’ was tainted? Yes, she supposed in a way it was. It certainly wasn’t pure right now.

“Hello?” She heard the nerves in her voice as she answered.

“Christ, your voice is sexy on the phone. I just got even harder.” Vaughn’s deep voice rumbled in her ear and she closed her eyes to allow her to focus on it.