Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,135
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