Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,81

there?”

“Yeah babe, I’m here.” He sighed. “It’s just that there’s stuff I wasn’t supposed to tell you but you know I can’t lie to you. I don’t know what to say.”

“What do you mean? What weren’t you supposed to tell me?”

Another silence and then Cole spoke again.

“The hotel, the rooms – they weren’t organised by the company – Vaughn organised it all.”

“Yeah I know that, babe” she said, surprised that Cole was making such a big deal out of something so unimportant. “He told me that he had a friend who tipped him off about the conference and managed to square things with the manager here.”

“That’s true – but that’s not the whole story” Cole sighed, “Have you seen the rooms that the other’s have, Elise?”

“Yes – all apart from Vaughn’s. Why?”

“And didn’t it strike you how different your room was to theirs?”

“I guess so. But they are on the ground floor and I am on the first so I just assumed that the rooms were different on each floor. Plus, I have a double bed and they have twin beds although they are nowhere near as grand. Their views are the car park, I think – I have the most amazing view of the grounds from up here.” She was rambling again and when she realised, she abruptly came to a stop.

“Elise,” Cole said patiently “The reason that your room is different - better – from the others is not because you are on the first floor. There are all types of different rooms on all of the floors.”

“Ok......so I have a bigger room...maybe that’s all they had available?” she said, not really understanding why there should be any great significance applied to this fact.

“No, Elise – you don’t have a bigger room because that was all they had available. You have a bigger room for one reason only.” He paused and then continued.

“Your room has been upgraded and paid for by Vaughn – personally. Not the company.” He waited a moment as if allowing that little nugget of information to sink its way in. “As far as Mr Andrews Snr is concerned, you have the same accommodation as everyone else. Vaughn went behind his back to arrange that room for you; I’m the only one here who knows about it.” Cole sighed.

“Vaughn Granger is why you have such an ‘amazing’ view - and that is what I wasn’t supposed to tell you.”

Chapter Twenty-One

The conversation with Cole had unsettled her and Elise struggled to make sense of it all whilst she showered and changed.

Why would Vaughn pay extra for her room? She supposed there were lots of possible reasons but it wasn’t as if she was the most senior member of staff there. Both Tilly and Sam had been at the company way longer than she had – surely they deserved the upgrade?

But then why would Vaughn pay for it out of his own pocket? Surely he could have saved himself the money and just gone with the standard accommodation – it was only for one night after all.

Deciding that the only way she was ever going to find out was to ask him, Elise slipped on her heels, took one final look in the mirror and exited her room to head back downstairs to dinner. She was wearing her calf-length oriental-style black dress and she absolutely loved the feel of it as it swished against her legs. She was wearing lacy hold up stockings as she didn’t want there to be any visible lines from her usual tights under the dress and whilst she had been in the shower she had taken the time to have a shave – a luxury she rarely afforded herself, particularly in the winter. She was feeling good and happy with how she looked.

The dress wasn’t tight but it had a fitted bodice which skimmed across and under her breasts emphasising their fullness, and the skirt flared out a little with the material then flowing around her legs. She knew she was no model figure and that she had curves where perhaps she shouldn’t but overall she was generally content with her appearance. To be honest, she rarely had time to consider what she looked like so to have the opportunity to pamper herself a little was like a forbidden luxury.

She had tied her hair up in a loose bun to accommodate the high neck of the dress and fastened in her favourite blue and black jewelled earrings – a birthday present from