Twelve Days - The Beginning Read online

  “Ladies... may I introduce our newest off site rep, Vaughn Granger. Vaughn, this is Olivia, Celeste, Amelia, Cole and Elise” Stephen brandished his arm around the table dramatically, encompassing them all with his action.

  Vaughn stepped forward and for the first time Elise got a good look at him close up. He was, as she suspected, a little older, but he was in good shape and from what she could tell, his body was pretty good. His face had an edge and he had relatively short dark hair which curled slightly and complemented his almost black eyes. As he leaned forward to shake their hands, Elise caught the waft of alcohol and realised that he had wasted no time in making his acquaintance with the complementary bar. Given her current fragile state, the smell was off-putting and somewhat nauseating and she decided that, despite his obvious charms, she didn’t much care for this new member of staff.

  Without asking, Stephen had edged into the booth next to her, pressing his thigh along hers and seeming to enjoy her resulting discomfort. Vaughn took Stephen’s actions as an invitation and slid in opposite her, next to Olivia. Although Vaughn continued to stare at Elise, she didn’t miss the way he sat just a little too close to Olivia, his eyes flicking over her breasts on a regular basis.

  After their arrival, conversation was stilted. Vaughn had seriously hit the bar and was struggling to string any useful words together. Stephen filled the gaps with ridiculous stories, which Amelia laughed at just a little too loud, and he annoyingly continued to press his thigh closer and closer to hers. Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, Elise excused herself to visit the bathrooms and caught Celeste’s eye, indicating for her to join her. The two escaped from the table and as Celeste climbed over Olivia and Vaughn, Elise noted the way that Vaughn had dropped his mouth to Olivia’s ear and whispered something to her. She repressed a shudder as she considered what he must smell like up close and thanked all that was holy that all she’d had to contend with so far, was Stephen’s thigh.

  “So, what do you think of him?” Celeste demanded as soon as they were out of earshot. Celeste was perpetually single and perpetually on the lookout for her soul mate.

  “Isn’t he a bit old for you?” Elise replied. Celeste was twenty-six, meaning that there must have been something like a ten-year age gap.

  “No, don’t be daft. I like older men, and besides, it’s not as if I have tons of success with men my age. Don’t you just think he’s to die for?!”

  Elise didn’t. However, she didn’t want to crush her friend so she settled for a tactful “He’s OK, I suppose - he seemed to be pretty cosy with Olivia though, Leste; you may have some competition”.

  Celeste blew some hair out of her eyes as she studied her reflection in the mirror. “Nah, I’m not worried about Olivia, she may have bigger boobs than me, but I can beat her on experience any day!” Elise laughed. Her friend was incorrigible and she knew firsthand that Celeste was not short on experience. On one memorable occasion, Elise had gone round to visit Celeste and, finding the flat door open, had pushed inside. Following the sounds coming from the bedroom, she had tiptoed tentatively through the door only to pull up short in complete shock at the sight of Celeste with not one, but two naked men. Although she had run out as fast as her legs would carry her, Elise had never forgotten this incident and had sometimes wondered what it had felt like to have two men in her bed. Or if she would ever have the courage to broach the subject with Dale.

  “Leste, what do you think of Olivia?” Elise asked, keen to change the subject but also to hear if her friend shared her misgivings.

  “I’m not sure really. She seems pleasant enough but there’s something about her that I can’t put my finger on”

  “Me either. Maybe it’s just the whole ‘innocent’ act? I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think she’s as innocent as she makes out,” Celeste intoned, “I know we’ve only just met Vaughn and I do kind of like him but she didn’t seem to be backing away from all his whispering and attentions. When I brushed past them, I’m sure I heard him telling her that she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen”

  Elise rolled her eyes. That old line. “Oh God! Maybe but then he is pretty drunk so I guess it’s kind of hard to take him seriously. Do people really fall for that line these days?”

  Celeste laughed, “I doubt it but if he was staring into my eyes and telling me I was the most beautiful girl in the world, I wouldn’t still be sitting at this lame party, I can tell you that for nothing!”

  Giving her friend a light punch on the arm, Elise exited the bathroom and they returned to their table to find the status quo as it was when they left. Stephen shuffled along to allow Elise to sit on the end of the bench and watched with interest as her eyes automatically went to Vaughn and Olivia.

  Never one to be slow on the uptake, Stephen leaned over and whispered in her ear, “What’s up, cupcake? You want a piece of that ass but you’re all jealous ‘cos Olivia’s got it covered?”

  “Shut up you idiot, of course not.” She hissed back. ”Have you forgotten that I am a married woman? And in any case, I really can’t imagine wanting to have anything to do with someone who still uses the ‘you’re the most beautiful girl in the world’ chat up line.”

  Stephen just grinned and turned back to his conversation with Cole; apparently having rapidly developed a huge interest in cricket, Cole’s sport of choice.

  Left with no one to talk to, Elise suddenly became aware of her surroundings and the fact that the lights had dimmed indicating that the night was drawing to a close and that the slow dances were on their way. In her younger years Elise had loved this part of the evening; the guessing games as to who would dance with who and the hope for a surreptitious grope with the current object of her desire. Once she had met and married Dale, that had all changed and now, having been married for 10 years, she found the whole spectacle tedious. She refused to consider why that might be, concerned that she would realise that she was jealous that she no longer had the freedom to enjoy this part of the night.

  As if sensing her unease, Cole extricated himself from both Amelia and Stephen and took Elise’s arm, gently leading her to the floor. ‘I will always love you’ by Whitney Houston was playing and Cole sang along in a low voice, taking care to ensure his hands never touched her sore hips. It was at times like these that Elise realised how much she loved Cole and although she knew that there would never be anything more between them, it made her sad in a way that she really didn’t want to analyse.

  “Hey,” said Cole, “looks like we’re both off the hook tonight.”

  Elise followed his gaze to see Stephen and Amelia glued to each other, their mouths duelling as if their lives depended on it.

  “Ugh! Seriously, why would anyone go near that?”

  “I guess it depends how desperate you are,” replied Cole “and it makes me inordinately happy to know that I finally have ammunition to rid myself of that bitch.”

  Hearing Cole speak so strongly about Amelia brought Elise up short. She knew that things had not ended pleasantly but didn’t realise that he had such negative feelings. She was about to question him further when the music finished and the lights were raised, indicating that the show was over and it was time to go home.

  Negotiating their way off the dance floor, Elise watched as Vaughn, Stephen, Amelia and Olivia all headed out of the door together and tried to quash some ugly visuals that had just popped into her head. Celeste was sitting forlornly in the booth, also having watched the foursome leave and raised her eyes heavenwards as they approached.

  “What is wrong with me, guys?” she asked, her voice laced with desperation. “Apart from the obvious, what does that Olivia chick have that I don’t? Why can’t I get lucky just once?”

  “Ah bella,” said Cole in his worst Italian accent, “why don’t - a we go a - to a - McDonalds and a – drown a - your sorrows in a - chocolate a - milk?”

  Celeste and Elise both burst out laughing and the pensive mood passed. Linking arms they headed out th
e door for the 24 hour drive-thru’ and just as they were leaving, Elise realised that none of them had seen Bobby for the remainder of the night.

  Chapter Three

  “You bitch!” Dale screamed at her. “I did not give you permission to go to McDonalds. I told you to go the party and come straight home. Who the hell do you think you are to ignore my wishes?”

  Dale had been drinking. A lot. This had been immediately apparent when Elise had returned home after their impromptu visit to McDonalds. Expecting her home an hour earlier, Dale had been livid when she had told him that they had stopped for a bite to eat.

  “You have no idea what you do to me when you don’t tell me where you are,” he continued, “I knew it was a mistake to let you go. You are mine, no one else’s. YOU don’t get to decide where you go and who you see. I decide that. I guess you were with pretty-boy, weren’t you? I knew it! All he’s ever wanted is in your panties and you hang on to his every word; encouraging him, using your puppy dog eyes. God, how could I have been so stupid as to let you go!”

  Dale had worked himself into a rage and Elise knew better than to respond. It hadn’t always been like this. The first few years had been bliss and although they had married young, they were both comfortable with their decision and wanted to show the world that they had been right and that they could make a go of things.

  After they had been married a couple of years, they had decided to try for a baby but three years and more tests than a lab rat later, they had had to resign themselves to the fact that it wasn’t going to happen. Whilst Elise had tried to be positive and considered fostering or adoption, Dale had turned to drink to blot it out. The problem, it would seem, lay with him, and he couldn’t handle the fact that he wasn’t a ‘proper’ man. The drinking became heavier and her cosy life as she had known it had started to fall apart.

  She had lived in this limbo for five years now; each year resolving that this would be the year she left, as his rages and accusations ratcheted up notch after notch. But she just couldn’t do it. The final straw had come when she had started her job with Andrews & Andrews, hoping for a fresh start. For a while, things had calmed down as they both enjoyed talking about the new challenges she was facing as Dale was in a similar field. Thinking that the bad times had passed, Elise decided to introduce Dale to Cole, inviting him to a BBQ lunch one day. She felt sure that the two men would have plenty in common and hoped that they could go on to be friends.

  That had been the day that she had unknowingly lit the blue touch-paper and now Dale’s possessiveness, jealousy and violence knew no bounds. Cole had told her to call the police on more than one occasion. He had seen her at her worst, her face bloated from the beating and the crying and she knew that it broke his heart to see her like this. Elise understood that he was right but she was trapped. She could see no way to leave Dale. He monitored her every move and a small part of her heart still loved him - still loved the man she had married and had just gotten lost along the way somewhere.

  Dale was continuing to rage, his fist now connecting with the wall and Elise watched and sighed, mentally making a note to call the plasterer in the morning.....again.

  Tentatively she took a step past him, heading towards the stairs and the relative sanctuary of sleep. She fully expected him to grab her arm and push her roughly against the wall as she passed - it wouldn’t be the first time. Unusually he didn’t and that surprised her. She turned back to face him to see him watching her, nursing his hand. His eyes were cold with no hint of emotion and she could see little of the handsome man who had swept her away all those years ago. He was turned on - the bulge in his jeans a dead giveaway - and that always worried Elise. No matter how drunk and how angry Dale got, he was always turned on and that scared her.

  Watching her line of sight, Dale sniggered and blatantly grabbed his crotch with his good hand. “See something you like, beautiful?” His demeanour had changed; he had gone from angry to calm and menacing and from past experience Elise knew that that only meant one thing.

  Drawing on all the strength she could muster, she continued to head towards the stairs praying that he wouldn’t follow her. She had still not spoken one word in all the time that he had been raging.

  Fortunately the gods were on her side tonight and Dale headed off into the lounge as she climbed the stairs. She knew sleep would be hard to come by but she had become an expert at coping on little or no sleep over the years; always needing to be on alert to cope with whatever mood Dale happened to be in.

  After what felt like an eternity she fell into a troubled sleep, waking up to the chirpy alarm at 7am and relieved to see that Dale wasn’t in the bed. After having a shower and getting dressed, she headed downstairs to find him passed out on the sofa. With a resigned sigh she picked up the phone and called his work, telling them that he was unwell. It worried her how easily she had learned to lie. With the exception of Cole, everyone considered her to be happily married and when out in public, Dale turned on the charm with the best of them, adeptly hiding any evidence of what went on behind closed doors. She had no idea why she continued to keep up the pretence and protect him - particularly from her family - but protect him she did and at the moment, she could see no time when that would change.

  Arriving at work Elise turned on her computer, surprised to find two e-mails waiting for her. One from Stephen and one from Vaughn Granger – the new drunk guy from last night. Frowning at how he had gotten hold of her e-mail address and, wondering what on earth he could possibly want, she opened the one from Stephen first.

  Fri Dec.14th 8.40 am

  Hey babe, had a fab night. Bet you’re sorry you missed out!

  Why Stephen e-mailed her was beyond her. He sat next to her for Christ’s sake and, considering his e-mails only ever consisted of smut, she really wished he wouldn’t bother. Turning her head she pinned him with a glare and watched as he chuckled. Deleting his e-mail, she opened the one from Mr Vaughn Granger.

  Fri Dec. 14th 8.42am

  Hi Elise, I know we didn’t really get properly introduced last night, but I just wanted to apologise for my behaviour. I was out of line. Would love to get to know you better, how about lunch to make up for it?

  Vaughn.

  What the..??? OK, think Elise, think. What behaviour? What was he talking about? What happened last night? As far as she could remember they had barely exchanged more than two words and he had spent the night in a drunken stupor wrapped around Olivia. Speaking of which, where was she today? She typed in a response.

  Fri Dec. 14th 9.04am

  Mr Granger,

  Whilst flattered that you have taken the trouble to e-mail me, I have to plead complete ignorance as to what you are referring to. You have not upset me in any way and lunch is completely unnecessary.

  I look forward to working with you in a professional capacity in the future and am sure that, once sober, you have many qualities to commend you.

  In the meantime, thank you for your needless apology and please refrain from using Company messaging systems for personal conversations in the future.

  Elise Grayson.

  OK, maybe the last line was a bit strong, but seriously, who did he think he was? Before she had time to close it down, her e-mail pinged again.

  Fri Dec. 14th 9.06am

  Elise,

  I understand that you found my erm...chat-up technique somewhat offensive and I wished to apologise. I was, as you put it, far from sober and believe me, my head is making me pay this morning.

  Re: use of company e-mail system, I wasn’t aware that they were monitored?

  Yours, Vaughn.

  He had her there, the e-mail system wasn’t monitored. Mr Andrews Snr. believed in trusting his staff and felt that installing a big-brother style of monitoring system would have a detrimental impact on staff morale. She knew that other staff used it for ‘flirtatious’ purposes from time to time but that didn’t mean that she was comfortable with things being less than professional herself. She need
ed to put this to bed.

  Fri Dec. 14th 9.10am

  Mr Granger,

  Firstly, you are not ‘mine’.

  Secondly, I have no problem with your chat-up technique as it was not aimed at me. I am pleased that you find the ‘most beautiful girl in the world’ routine still effective. For me however, it lacks imagination.

  And finally, you are correct that the company e-mail system is not monitored. That does not mean however that I wish to abuse the system and continue this conversation in any way.

  Elise.

  PS. Where is Olivia today, by the way?

  That should do it. Hopefully he would get the message that she was in no way upset or offended and leave her alone. Perhaps he could crawl along to wherever he had left Olivia and carry on where they left off. Honestly, men! As if she didn’t have enough going on with Dale. Just as that thought popped into her head, she wondered if Vaughn knew that she was married and also how the hell he knew that she found his chat up technique a bit ropey? Against her better judgement she typed out another e-mail.

  Fri Dec. 14th 9.13am

  PS.FYI I am married, so please don’t waste your lunch money on me.

  PPS. How the hell did you know I was talking about your chat up lines anyway?

  Deciding that enough was enough now, Elise closed down her e-mails and began tackling her in-tray pile, all the while studiously ignoring the endless pinging coming from her messaging programme. After counting ten pings in a row, she gave up all pretence of working and opened her e-mails again.

  Fri Dec. 14th 9.15am

  Elise,

  FYI I am well aware that you are married.

  That does not mean you are not mine.

  I have absolutely no idea where Olivia is.

  YOURS Vaughn,