Summer Loving

by Spicer, Rivka

  He carried Elise’s cup of tea through to where she was just getting tucked under the covers. “Taylor called to check you were okay.” He told her, handing it over.

  “Did he want me to call him back?” She asked wearily and he shook his head.

  “No. I told him you’d be fine.”

  “Okay.” She snuggled in with her hot cup. “I’m sure he’ll have sent me an email...I’ll reply to it tomorrow.”

  “Will you be okay here for a while? I haven’t eaten yet.”

  “I’ll be fine. There’s sandwich stuff in the fridge.”

  By the time he returned she was fast asleep, empty mug clasped loosely in her hand. Smiling, he rescued it from its precarious position and set it on the bedside table, stripping his clothes off and sliding in beside her. She stirred and he hushed her as she moved into his arms, after which he lay in the darkness listening to her sleep.

  The following morning he hugged her at the door.

  “Call me.” He made her promise. “I’ll keep my phone on. If it’s too much then call me and I’ll come find you.”

  “I will.” She kissed him one last time and he headed out the door. He’d be back after work for them to go to dance class so she wouldn’t be on her own for long. Taking a deep breath she grabbed her laptop and keys and headed out the door. It was time to face the music.

  Chapter 9

  Elise was deliberately not meeting Jim at his home. She didn’t want him to associate any of the sadness or confusion of today with his own personal space so she had arranged for them to have a private office at the magazine headquarters. She asked at reception and was directed to an empty office where she set up her laptop ready to go and then waited for the phone call to say he was in the building.

  When the phone finally did ring her heart skipped several beats and for a moment she was frozen, unwilling to answer it and set the ball rolling. Eventually she forced herself to pick it up and asked them to send him on up to the third floor where she was waiting.

  Jim arrived looking a little grungy in a pair of skinny jeans and an indie T-shirt with leather wristbands on. It was a look that suited him. She greeted him and sat him down in front of the laptop, leaning against the table next to it as she wondered how to start. There wasn’t really any way except honesty so she took a deep breath.

  “Jim, I’ve asked you here today because I think I’ve figured out what the problem is but I think you’re going to struggle with it and probably be a little hurt by it.”

  “Okay.” He looked confused.

  “The problem here is clearly with you so I’ve organised an intervention. I have some videos I need you to watch and I have to be honest with you...they’re brutal. You’re not going to like what you hear but I need you to hear it so that afterwards you’re ready to start from scratch. This is a difficult journey I’m going to take you on and I need to know that you trust me before we start.”

  He looked uneasy. “Well, you got those other guys dates didn’t you?”

  “Yes but their situations were different. I just need you to trust that I will help you through this and that I have everything in place to pick up the pieces.”

  “You’re scaring me now.” He tried to make light of it but Elise could feel her eyes prickling.

  “Good. Because neither of us should undertake this lightly.” She handed him a packet of tissues. “I’m going to be right outside in the hallway okay? I’ve seen them so I don’t need to sit through them again. If it gets too much we can stop at any time.”

  Bewildered, he accepted the tissues and waited for her to start the program.

  “I’ll be right outside.” She repeated as the first video started scrolling and walked for the door. As she left she heard the woman on the screen say ‘Why wouldn’t I contact Jim again? Because he’s the most arrogant individual I’ve ever had the misfortune to speak to...’ The door closing cut her off and Elise leaned against the wall heaving for breath and hoping that she’d done the right thing.

  “Are you okay?” A young woman heading past stopped, her face full of concern, and Elise nodded.

  “I’ll be fine. Really.”

  “Okay.” She didn’t look convinced. “But you sure look like you could use a cup of coffee. Canteen is that way.” She pointed somewhere away down the corridor and tottered off in her skyscraper heels.

  “Thanks.” Elise called to her retreating back and the woman waved a hand in acknowledgement. She wasn’t to know that Elise couldn’t go anywhere. There was almost half an hour’s worth of videos and she didn’t know if Jim could bear to watch them all. Her phone rang and she fished it out of her pocket, seeing with relief that it was Nathan’s face on the display.

  “How’s it going?” He asked quietly.

  “I don’t know.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. “I just started him on the videos. I was just trying to decide if he’s going to watch them all.”

  “I suspect he will.” His voice was so kind it made her throat ache with unshed tears. “Do you have someone to be with you?”

  “I promised him I’d be right outside the door in case it’s too much.” She told him. “I can’t just go wandering off.”

  “Fair point.” He sighed. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.”

  “I hope so.” She checked her watch. “The counsellor is due in a little under an hour so he won’t have long to wait when the videos finish. Help will be right here.”

  “Good.” He sighed. “I have to get back to work. I just wanted to check you were okay.”

  “I’m fine.” She smiled despite the ache in her throat. “I love you.”

  “Not as much as I love you my beautiful senorita.” His voice was full of warmth and her smile widened. Their dance class on Tuesday had been just as much fun as the first one had been.

  “I’m looking forward to dance class tonight.” She murmured and she could hear him chuckling.

  “Me too. I’ll have to go home after work to get my kit so I’ll meet you at the studio. When are you going to be photographed? I thought that was this week sometime.”

  “Damn it!” Elise had totally forgotten. “It’s tomorrow afternoon. I’m so glad you reminded me. I’ll have to go after I’ve been to the office to get the outfit.”

  “Well that’s okay. You’ll have plenty of time. Why don’t you come and stay over with me tonight after dance class. We’ll get a takeaway and relax some.”

  “Sounds perfect.” She smiled. “See you later.”

  They hung up and she slipped the phone back into her pocket, checking the time again. He’d only been in there five minutes. It was going to be a really long half hour.

  Ten minutes later she was pacing up and down the hallway when Taylor appeared from the direction of the lifts carrying a couple of take-out cups of coffee.

  “Ella said I might find you here.” He greeted, kissing her cheek. “I didn’t believe her but then here you are. What are you doing?”

  “Carrying out an intervention.” She responded drily. “Behind that door is a man listening to some extremely unpleasant things about himself. I was too chicken to watch. Who’s Ella?”

  “One of my secretaries. She said she saw you down here a few minutes ago.”

  “Ah.” Elise nodded. “Young woman, tall shoes?”

  He laughed. “Sounds about right. She said you looked in need of coffee.” He offered her one of the cardboard cups and Elise accepted it gratefully, savouring the rich dark aroma that took her away from her worries for a few short moments.

  “Thanks. Thank Ella for me too.”

  “I will.” He leaned against the wall opposite her. “So how brutal is this intervention exactly? Do I need to worry about a lawsuit?”

  “Depends.” Elise rubbed the back of her neck. “How would you take to being told by several women over the course of half an hour that you were arrogant, judgemental, unpleasant to be around and generally unlikeable?”

&
nbsp; “Wow...that is harsh.” He looked a little worried. “Is he really that bad?”

  Elise nodded. “After an hour with him I wanted to slap him.”

  “That’s totally not like you.” He seemed surprised. “He must be bad.”

  Elise shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it’s a defence mechanism. There’s a good guy somewhere underneath all the arrogance and vanity, I just know it. But until he can accept he has a problem he can’t fix it.”

  “Hence the intervention...?”

  “Yeah.” She started pacing again. “But I’ve got a counsellor coming straight afterwards to help him work through his feelings on it.”

  “That’s good.” He watched her pace in silence for a while. “Can you come up to the office when you’re done here?” He asked suddenly. “It’d be nice to sit down and have a proper chat with you.”

  “Sure.” It seemed he was going to be friendly again today and Elise risked a cautious smile. “I’ll come up while he’s in with the counsellor. It’ll be an hour long session and it’s private so I can’t sit in on it unless he specifically asks me to.”

  “Okay.” He flashed her one of his dazzling smiles. “I’ll get back to work but I’ll see you in a little while. Just take the lift to the twelfth floor and you can’t miss my office. It’s got my name on the door.”

  “Will do.” She held up her cup. “Thanks for the coffee.”

  “You’re welcome.” She watched him stride away down the hallway admiring the cut of his suit. It really was beautiful and probably cost more than she earned in a year. The thought was entirely depressing.

  When the half hour was up and she’d given him a good ten minutes to compose himself, Elise went back into the office. Jim was sat staring at the empty screen, his face pale and his eyes red.

  “Are you okay?” She asked softly and he turned to her slowly as though rousing from sleep.

  “I had no idea.” His voice was gravelly and he cleared his throat as he really looked at her. “I thought I was being clever. And manly.” Suddenly he looked lost and his face seemed to crumple in on itself. “Am I really that bad?”

  She didn’t want to hurt him but lying would have made it even worse. “I wouldn’t have come for a second date.” She tried to be diplomatic about it. “It’s a little hard to find someone attractive when they keep putting you down all the time.”

  “I had no idea.” He repeated as his eyes wandered back to the screen. “I really didn’t know.” And then he started crying. Elise rushed to him and hugged him as he let it all out. When the phone rang it startled both of them and he plucked a tissue to dry his eyes as Elise answered it.

  The counsellor had arrived slightly early and Elise asked them to send him straight on up. “I booked a counsellor for you.” She told Jim gently. “I figured that after the videos you’d need someone to talk it through with. He’ll be here for an hour today but I’ve booked you in for ten sessions so before he goes you can organise times with him. It’s all paid for by the magazine.”

  He was too emotional to answer so Elise just squeezed his shoulder and waited with him for the counsellor to arrive. When the guy got there, he set himself up with a notepad and pen and introduced himself to Elise and Jim and then Elise left them to it, noting the time on her watch so she knew when to come back down.

  Following Taylor’s instructions she took the lift to the twelfth floor and looked around. To the left was a small ante room with two desks in it, one of which Ella was sat behind, clacking away at her keyboard, and beyond it was an oak door with Taylor’s name on it.

  Catching her eye, Ella stopped typing. “Go right on through.” She said with a smile. “He’s expecting you.”

  “Thanks.” Smiling awkwardly at her and feeling a bit rumpled in her jeans and blouse, Elise knocked on Taylor’s door and pushed through when he answered.

  “Hey.” His smile really was dazzling, all perfectly even teeth and brilliance. “Take a seat. You want another coffee?”

  “Yes please.” She did as she was told and took a seat in one of the plush chairs across from his desk, taking a moment to admire the palatial office. “Guess being an editor entitles you to an office the size of a football field huh?” She joked and he grinned.

  “You should see it the night before we go to press. It’s packed in here with everyone shouting. That’s why I need a big office.”

  “Fair enough.” She accepted the coffee he made her, in a proper mug this time, and relaxed into the seat.

  “So how did the intervention go?” He asked and she slumped.

  “About as expected.” She tried to pull herself together. “He was pretty devastated, kept telling me he had no idea. He cried. A lot.”

  “But he’s with the counsellor now?” He prompted and she nodded.

  “Yeah. Fingers crossed this will be a breakthrough for him.”

  “I’m sure it will.” He smiled encouragingly and for a few moments they sat in silence, sipping their coffee and waiting for the other to speak. He spoke first, setting his mug on his desk. “Elise, I have to know before we go to the ball tomorrow night...why didn’t you reply to any of my emails?”

  “Which emails?” Elise stared at him. “I’ve replied to every email you sent me.”

  “No, the ones I sent after we met in Aviemore.” He frowned. “I must have sent you at least ten and you never replied to any of them.”

  Elise was floored. “I didn’t get any emails from you after Aviemore. I thought you were ignoring me and then I came here and you gave me the cold shoulder.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” He stared at her. “You have the same email address. I’m sure I’ve used your personal address at least once since you started working here. I know I typed it in right. I was cold towards you because I thought you’d ignored me but then you were so friendly when you started submitting the blogs and I got confused... But even if you didn’t get my emails, why didn’t you return any of my calls?”

  Her jaw dropped. “You never called me Taylor. I swear on my life I never had a single call or missed call from you.”

  “But I...” His gaze suddenly went blank as whatever he was about to say caught up with him. “Oh my God.” Blinking, he turned to his computer for several minutes and then his face turned thunderous. “They were all recalled.” Icy didn’t even begin to describe his voice. He pressed the intercom. “Ella, get in here now.”

  “Right away Mr Stone.”

  Elise heard her footsteps and then the door opened. Ella looked nervous and Elise could totally understand why. Taylor looked fit to be tied.

  “On whose orders did you cut off contact between me and Elise?” He demanded.

  She flushed beet red. “It wasn’t-“

  “I know you all had to be in on it. These emails were sent at all times of the day so all four of you must have been checking and recalling them. And I know you’ve all been on duty when I asked you to get Elise on the phone and every one of you has lied and told me she wasn’t answering her phone when in actual fact you weren’t calling her at all.”

  It all suddenly made a horrible kind of sense, why she’d had no emails or missed calls, and Elise felt sick as she watched Ella start to cry. “It was your brother.” Ella confessed shakily. “He told us if we didn’t he’d make sure we got sacked.”

  “Anton did this?” Taylor seemed shocked but Ella nodded meekly.

  “I’m so sorry Mr Stone. I didn’t want to. She seemed so nice.” The tears were flowing freely now. “I didn’t know what to do but he was adamant and then I saw her in the corridor today and I thought maybe if I told you she was there you could meet up and Anton couldn’t say it was my fault and everything would work out okay.”

  She paused to snatch a breath and for the first time Taylor’s features softened slightly. “It’s okay. He should never have threatened you. But you are my secretary and I wouldn’t have let him sack you.” He told her sternly. “I’ll forgive you for the service you did Elise this morn
ing but don’t ever lie to me again.”

  “No sir, I won’t. I swear. I’m so sorry. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had.” She fled the office weeping and Taylor got up to pace around like a caged lion.

  “I don’t get it.” He muttered to himself. “I just don’t get it.” Finally he stopped and picked up the phone, stabbing a number in with angry hands. He didn’t even give the person at the other end a chance to say hello. “Get Anton down here now.” He demanded. “He’s got some explaining to do.” He slammed the phone back in its cradle and it almost slid off the edge of the desk.

  “Your brother works here as well?” Elise asked, more to try and break up the tension before a fight broke out than anything else, and Taylor nodded as he continued to pace.

  “Our father owns the company that owns the magazine. We’ve both worked in the journalism industry since we were teenagers.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “Most people don’t.” A flash of bitter amusement twitched across his lips. “We both got to where we are today through hard graft and harder work. But when daddy owns the company there are plenty who assume it’s nepotism at its worst.”

  “You’re great at your job.” Elise pointed out. “Surely no-one can doubt that?”

  A genuine smile this time. “Bless you...your heart is so innocent.”

  She was about to respond when his office door opened again, this time without a knock, and a man stepped through who was clearly his brother. The family resemblance was striking. “Taylor what’s this ab-...” He caught sight of Elise. “Oh.”

  “Well you might say ‘oh’.” In an instant all of Taylor’s rage had come flooding to the fore again. “What on earth were you thinking?”

  Anton sighed. “Taylor, you came back from your skiing trip and you wouldn’t shut up about this damn woman. It was Elise this and Elise that constantly. I’m your brother. I know you better than anyone else and I knew that if I didn’t step in and divert this disaster there was a very real chance you’d fall for this woman.”