Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,127

didn’t need but they had been swept away by the excitement of it all and had just enjoyed each other’s company.

They finished the day off at a pizza restaurant and then they both retired relatively early to bed in preparation for work the next day. They didn’t make love again and Elise was relieved for that. That one occasion had felt right but she couldn’t have coped with any more than that. Whether or not there was going to be a future for her and Vaughn, it didn’t feel right being with anyone else anymore, not even her husband.

The very same husband, who, unbelievably, throughout the whole entire weekend, hadn’t touched one single drop of alcohol.

Monday was Christmas Eve, traditionally a quiet day on the roads and at work for which Elise was glad. A lot of offices closed over the Christmas period but Andrews & Andrews had always believed in some staff being available on all working days, so there was a rota of skeleton staff who worked a half day on Christmas Eve.

Elise usually always worked it as she hadn’t ever really celebrated Christmas since she had been with the company. Dale was always too busy drinking to do anything anyway and so it had just become another working day to her. In latter years, it had provided a blissful relief from the trauma that was her home life.

Walking into the office, she was surprised to see that it was quite busy. Most staff had obviously elected to work this year. As she hadn’t been in at the end of last week, she had no idea whether Stephen or Olivia would be in but she really hoped that good fortune would be smiling on her as far as Olivia was concerned. The bruise on her cheek had largely worn off but was still just visible if you looked hard enough and she had no idea how the two of them were going to conduct anything approaching a working relationship.

She was aware of several pairs of eyes watching her as she walked through the office but no one said anything and she just kept her head down, putting on foot in front of the other.

When she eventually arrived at her desk, she was pleased to see Stephen and even happier that there was currently no sign of Olivia. Stephen jumped up when he saw her and came around his desk to give her a crushing hug, not caring who saw it would seem.

“Hi babe, it’s so good to see you. Mmm... you smell good...” He began to snuggle into her neck and she pushed against him good-naturedly.

“Stephen! Put me down!” she wriggled out of his hold and laughed at the manufactured hurt that appeared on his face.

“Hey, can’t blame a man for trying – besides, it really is good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

He gave her a mock pout before swatting her lightly on her backside and sitting back down at his desk. Elise removed her coat and hung it on the rack, aware that Stephen was watching her the whole time.

“I heard what happened. You OK?” He asked.

She turned to face him. Which bit was he referring to? The conference, her sleeping with Vaughn, the whole fight incident or the slap from Olivia? Hard to tell really and she wasn’t sure she was OK with any of them.

“I’m fine.” She said, electing not to clarify exactly what he had been referring to, it wouldn’t have made any difference to her answer anyway.

“So, is it just us today?” she asked as she settled at her desk.

“Looks that way. I think Olivia said she had today off and I can’t say I’m sorry – she was in such a bitch of a mood on Friday once she heard about you and Vaughn at the conference. Christ knows what was eating her.” Stephen replied. Elise had a pretty fair idea.

“Thanks for what you did on Friday, Stephen. Cole told me you had been trying to quash some of the rumours. I really appreciate that.” Elise smiled at him, surprised to find that she was starting to build a fondness for this man who up until recently had just been an absolute pain in the backside.

“No worries Elise, I like you. You’re my desk buddy. I don’t want to hear people saying things about you, regardless of whether or not they are true. Besides which, Vaughn and I have known each other forever. He has my back and I have his