by D Gourlay
I order myself a latte and a slice of cake, before sitting by the window, to do a spot of people watching. When my cake arrives, I find myself poking at it, I just don’t seem to have much of an appetite at the moment. I’ve been feeling off for a while, but hoped once the trial was finally over I’d start feeling better.
I sigh, dropping my fork and look back out of the window. Opposite the coffee shop is a little wedding dress boutique, in the window is the most stunning dress I have ever seen in my life. Pure white, lace fitted body with beautiful lace sleeves, the skirt is poufy, but not so poufy it looks like a giant marshmallow.
I finish my drink and wander over to the window to have a look. I can’t help but picture myself wearing this dress, walking down the aisle to my perfect Tad. I catch sight of my smile in the reflection in the window. Quickly, I snap a picture of the dress on my phone and make a mental note to show it to Celine when I next see her.
Tad’s office is a few minutes’ walk from Waterloo station, and I get there just before midday. I say office, but it’s an entire building, a great big, giant building overlooking the Thames. I look up in awe, I’ve seen photos of it before, but it didn’t look quite as big.
I walk through a set of glass revolving doors into a huge foyer. It’s quiet in here, there are a couple of people talking over by some lifts, and there is a little reception where a blonde woman is staring at me. Her eyes are cold, and her lips set into a stern line, she has far too much make up on, which appears to age her. I make my way over to her.
“Can I help you?” She says, rather curtly.
“Um, yes. I’m here to see Tad- Uh Thaddeus Turner.” The look she is giving me is making me nervous.
“And you are?” She looks me up and down and I start to get a bit pissed off.
“I’m Rachel Bennett, he is expecting me.”
She starts typing away on her computer. “I can’t see an appointment with your name on it. Sorry.”
“Oh, I don’t have an appointment exactly, I’m his-”
“Look, if you don’t have an appointment then I can’t let you in. Sorry.” She is half smirking at me and can feel my frustration rising rapidly.
“Look, I am his fiancée, and he is expecting me for lunch.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Fiancée or not, if your name is not on his list of appointments, I am not letting you in.” She folds her arms and I can feel my cheeks going red as I try to keep my anger contained.
I take a step back and get my phone out to call Tad.
“Hey beautiful, where are you?” He answers.
“Hey, I’m here actually, but there’s a lovely receptionist here telling me I’m not allowed in to see you.” I make sure I smirk at her as I’m talking to Tad.
I hear him sigh. “Bloody hell, give me a minute, I’ll be right down.”
“He’s just on his way down.” I say to the snotty cow as I put my phone back in my bag. Her smile disappears pretty quickly and she sits down and starts doing something on her computer.
The lift doors open and out walks my gorgeous Tad. He smiles, walks up to me and kisses me gently on the lips.
“Hey baby.” My stomach flutters at his words. He turns to the woman behind the desk. “Hazel, this is my fiancée Rachel Bennet. Please can you get her a building pass with all access granted?”
Hazel grits her teeth and forces a smile. “Of course Sir. Apologies for the misunderstanding.”
“Let’s go.” Tad turns back to me and grabs my hand.
“Bye Hazel, it was lovely meeting you.” I smile at her. “What is her problem?” I whisper to Tad when we are far enough away she won’t hear me.
“Oh, um, she’s harmless.” He says, scratching his head nervously.
“Tad…?”
“Well, she used to work upstairs with me. She was Susan’s assistant. Things got a bit, awkward, so I had her moved downstairs.”
“Awkward?” I ask.
“Well, she asked me out one day. I explained that I have a strict no dating the employees policy so I couldn’t.” He catches sight of my face. “Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t interested at all. Totally not my type, but I didn’t want to be horrible!” He laughs.
“So you rejected her and then demoted her? Ouch!”
“It wasn’t a demotion, I just moved her. And that wasn’t the whole story.”
“Oh?”
“Well things kept appearing on my desk. One day it was a rose, another a poem, then there was a slightly odd drawing of me, with not many clothes on…”
“Oh my God! And you let her keep working there?!” I laugh.
“Well there was never any proof it was her, although the gifts did stop once she moved downstairs.” He shrugs and we both laugh.
Tad
Once we have finished lunch, we grab a coffee and head towards the Southbank. It’s one of my favourite places in London. I’ve lost count of the amount of evenings I have spent here, just watching the people, the boats along the Thames, listening to Big Ben ring out.
We walk through the crowds of people milling in front of the attractions.
“I’ve never been to the London dungeons.” Rachel says.
“I’ll take you one day.” I smile at her.
We walk under the London Eye and my mind rushes back to New Year’s Eve, where I proposed to Rachel inside one of the capsules. That really was a magical night. Until of course it all went tits up and I got shot in my own home. A chill runs down my spine at the memory of it. Even now, months later, I still can’t quite believe what happened. I can’t shake the fear that it could have been Rachel that ended up in that hospital bed instead of me, that she may not have made it. All because of my business. I give myself a little shake and remind myself for the hundredth time that we are both here, alive and so happy. I look at Rachel who is staring at the giant wheel with a huge smile on her face.
I pull her to the side next to the wall looking out to the Thames and lift her hand to my lips, I gently kiss the ring on her finger and she giggles at me.
“So I have some news.” I say to her and she looks intrigued. “Now that Kevin has been sentenced it will be much easier to serve him the divorce papers. I have hired a specialist divorce lawyer, who deals with spouses in prison, and have had all the paperwork drawn up. I’ve arranged a meeting to see him this week to go over what happens next.”
“Tad, you’re amazing, thank you.” She beams at me.
“I just didn’t want you to have to deal with the stress of it, so thought I’d do what I can to help.” She buries her head into my chest and I wrap my arms around her. “I can’t promise that he will make it easy, to be honest I am expecting him to make it as hard as he possibly can, but I promise, I will do everything in my power to get you divorced and married to me as fast as possible.”
“I can’t wait to be Mrs Turner.” She smiles at me. “I actually saw a wedding dress this morning that I fell in love with a little.”
“You did?”
“It was gorgeous! I’ve taken a photo to show Celine when we get back.”
“You should get an appointment booked in, shops in London can be booked up months in advance.” I say.
“Let’s get the divorce ball rolling first. I don’t want to jinx anything.” She says almost nervously.
“Oh come on Rach, with all we’ve been through I think we have had our fair share of bad luck! What more could possibly go wr-”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” She says as she quickly throws her hands in front of my mouth. “Ever heard of tempting fate Tad! Jeez!” She rolls her eyes at me and I laugh as I lean in and kiss her.
♦ ♦ ♦
I’ve headed back in to work to get some things finished off and am currently sitting watching Suze and Scott having a standoff.
“It’s just not right Scott. You wouldn’t catch Tad doing anything like that.”
“Hey, leave me out of this!” I shout through my office door hearing the mention of my name.
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“Maybe not anymore, but Tad used to be worse than me, and you know it!” Scott laughs and winks at me from the corridor.
“I said leave me out of this!”
“At least Tad was always careful, always making sure that his antics wouldn’t affect the business. You are being careless. All it takes is for one of these women to go to the press and before you know it, the can is open and the worms are everywhere.”
“Oh Suze, come on, I’m a young man, with burnin’ loins! I can’t help it if I attract many, many women!”
“There’s a fire extinguisher over there, sort out those burning loins and start focusing more on your work, rather than how you can pull off relationships with two separate women at the same time.”
Susan storms off into her office and Scott walks in to mine.
“Jeez, what’s up with her today?” He scoffs as he sits in front of me.
“Don’t you think she has a point thought?” I say as I close my laptop.
“Oh fuck not you as well!” He rolls his eyes at me and sighs. “Just because you’ve settled down and are playing happy families doesn’t mean we all have to.”
“I’m not saying you have to settle down any time soon, just maybe make more of an effort to find one person, instead of one person every couple of days!” I laugh.
“You’re hardly one to talk!”
“Look, we both know I was no angel, but we also both know I had a fucked up view of relationships thanks to my Mum. I look back now and at how I used to be, and I’m so grateful I found Rachel.” My eyes flick over to the photo of her I have on my desk and I catch myself smiling softly. I look back and see Scott rolling his eyes so far back I can only see the whites of his eyes. “Take the piss all you want mate, but I’m happy now. Much happier than I ever was back then.”
“Really though? You’ve been with the same woman for a year, hasn’t it gone a bit, well stale?”
“Not even a little bit. She’s just amazing. She constantly surprises me and honestly there’s nothing better than knowing I get to go home to her every night.”
“Yeah, but the sex…?” He almost whispers.
“What about it?!”
“It’s gotta be boring after a while? Same person, same old shit?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Ah mate! Same person yes, but like I said, she constantly surprises me.”
“What does that mean?!”
“Look, I’m not going into private details of our sex life. But I can say without a doubt, that A. she is the best I have ever had, and B. we have had to soundproof the basement.” I wink at him and laugh. “I’m going to meet her for a drink in about an hour, want to come with and keep me company before she gets there?”
“Go on then, can see if I can pick someone up for a bit of fun later.” He winks back at me and I sigh.
“Did you not listen to a word I just said?”
I pick up my jacket and head towards Suze’s office. I knock gently.
“We’re going for a drink Suze, want to join us?”
“Not tonight thank you Tad, see you tomorrow.” She shouts through the door.
“Okay, see you tomorrow then.”
Chapter Five
Rachel
“S
o I will have this sent off to the courts first thing tomorrow, as soon as I hear back I will have someone book in with the prison to deliver the papers to Kevin. He will have seven days to give a response, and then we will see where we need to go from there. I have included in the petition that you wish him to dissolve all parental responsibilities, so we can also look into the adoption process for Amelia once this is all settled.”
My brain is spinning with everything that has been discussed over the last hour and I’m not quite sure I have any idea what the solicitor has said.
But I stand and shake his hand with Tad who thanks him and we leave his office.
“That was easier than I thought.” Tad says to me.
“Easier? I had no idea what he was talking about half the time!”
“Oh Rach!” He laughs softly at me. “You have done all you need to do for now. We just need to wait on Kevin from this point.”
“But then what happens? It’s not like he is actually going to agree to the divorce is he? Then what do we do? We can’t take him to court while he is in prison, can we?”
“Let’s just see what happens next. You never know, maybe he will sign it. He might have had a change of heart since being locked up, maybe realise what an arsehole he is and want to try to make things right.”
I look at tad and raise my eyebrows. “Yeah maybe, and maybe world peace is about to be announced by that flying pig over there!”
♦ ♦ ♦
This week has flown by. Tad has left early for work, leaving me to have a lay in. I don’t know how he has managed to get up this morning, we didn’t get to sleep until stupidly late. We made sure to make the most of our last night alone before we head home this afternoon and Ami gets back.
It’s been such a lovely week, but I can’t wait to see her. She’s called loads, and sent a ton of photos, but it hasn’t stopped how much I miss her. She even asked to speak to Tad on the phone a few times. I can’t believe how much they love each other. Tad and I decided it was probably too much to start discussing adoption with her now, so once the divorce has gone through, if the divorce goes through, and he gives up his rights, then we can discuss it with her. She has been so incredibly strong throughout this last year, I honestly couldn’t be more proud of her if I tried.
My phone rings next to me and I see Celine’s name on the screen.
“Hey you! How are you?” I say enthusiastically.
“Rach! It feels like forever! I’m good, really good!” I hear her smile down the phone. “How are you?”
“I’m really good too. So what’s new?” I ask while getting up to make myself a cup of coffee.
“Oh not much, when are we meeting up?”
“Um, I’m not sure. I wanted to spend some time with Ami this weekend, but can maybe do an evening? You and Danny could come to us or I could come to yours?”
“What about tonight?” She asks eagerly.
“Well, we only get back this afternoon, then I’m going to pick Ami up.”
“Oh come on, it’s been ages. I’ll just pop round to you for a coffee.”
I really wanted to just have a chill out at home once we are all back and settled, but she seems almost desperate to see me. “Okay babe, say eight?”
“Eight is great.” She laughs. “Anyway I have to run, but I’ll see you later okay?”
“Okay, have a good day.”
Puzzled, I pocket my phone and wonder why she seems so desperate to see me.
I look at the time and it’s almost 11am. It feels as though I’ve done all the lone sightseeing I can this week and I don’t fancy staying in here waiting for Tad to finish. So, I decide to get ready and go to meet Tad at his office. Mostly because I’m bored, but also I wouldn’t mind wiping that smug look from Hazel’s face.
Meow!
I stride through the foyer at Tad’s building and walk straight up to Hazel behind the reception desk. Her face twists into some sort of lop sided smile as she catches sight of me.
“Hi Hazel, how are you?” I give her my toothiest grin.
“I’m fine thank you, I’d just like to apologise for the other day.” She looks anything but apologetic. “I didn’t realise Mr. Turner even had a girlfriend, let alone a fiancée.”
“Well, water under the bridge now.” I say. “Can I grab the pass that he asked you to get for me? I want to go and surprise him.” Her eyes narrow slightly before she bends down and opens a drawer under her desk.
“Here you go.” She hands me a card. “If you scan this as you get into the lift and then press the top floor, it will take you directly to his office.”
“Thank you Hazel.”
“No problem.” I start to turn towards the lifts. “Oh, and congratulations.”
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I turn back, looking a little puzzled.
“You know on the, uh-” she is staring at my stomach and making a bump gesture with her hand.
“I’m not pregnant.” I say, all smiles gone from my face.
“Oh, well, I uh-” she tilts her head slightly to the side as if to get a better look of my stomach. “My mistake.” Her lips curve into a cold smile and I feel my cheeks redden. I turn on my heel and storm off towards the lifts. God that woman is a total bitch.
I’m still livid when the lift doors open on the top floor, I storm out and almost walk straight into Susan.
“Oh! Where’s the fire?!” She exclaims.
“Oh God, sorry Susan, I was in a world of my own. Um, Hi. Is Tad around?”
“Uh, yes, he is in his office, at the end of the corridor. He didn’t mention you were coming in today.”
“Yes, well I wanted to surprise him.” I say quite sharply.
“Is everything okay?” She asks looking at me over her little glasses.
“Oh yes, I just had a run in with a bit of an idiot.” I decide not to tell her the exact words spinning around my head.
“Ah, London is full of them I’m afraid. I’ll see you soon.” She gets into the lift and the doors close. I turn and look down the corridor and see a door slightly ajar.
I hear his voice as I walk towards the door, and his sexy, bossy work tone, seems to flow me, easing my anger. That voice just does something to me, and fast rising in place of my frustration at Hazel, is frustration of a totally different kind.
I knock gently on the door.
“Yes.” He snaps, sounding annoyed at being interrupted.
I push the door and see his face immediately soften as I walk in.
“Could you just hang on for a moment?” He says into the phone and then places the call on mute. “Rach, I didn’t know you were coming today?”
“Thought I’d surprise you.” God seeing him in his suit, sitting behind his desk, his hair slightly messy where it looks like he has ran his firings through it, it’s sending all sorts of images through my head.
