by West, Jade
And there she was, Naomi.
She was staring my way at every opportunity through the morning, clearly uptight with whatever business bullshit she felt she needed to discuss with me, but I didn’t give two shits for that either.
I had a ping from Maisie at lunchtime, apologising for her silent night having fallen asleep next to Freddie, and I was grinning away quite happily, sending a very warm response when I heard Naomi clear her throat behind me.
I dropped my phone back in my jacket pocket before I turned to face her.
“What?” I asked. “What’s so important you need to discuss it? I thought you claimed to have a handle on business dealings?”
She held up her hands like I was some kind of unreadable stranger. “I don’t get it,” she said. “I really don’t get any of this. I don’t get you.”
She could join the club on that score, I definitely was changing significantly in a short space of time.
“Does it matter a toss?” I asked. “Maybe you’re finally realising that we really are incompatible in this business and it’s me that’s more suited to it going forward.”
Her sigh was loaded with spite, as per usual. “Here we go again. We own more shares than you do. It makes sense that we keep it running, surely you realise that?”
For once in months I didn’t succumb to any urge to battle with her. I didn’t feel any rush of betrayal, or disgust, or craving to destroy the pair of them.
I felt nothing whatsoever but the thrum of potential in my future.
Her next sigh wasn’t spiteful, it sounded empty. Jaded.
“Are you coming to the engineering tech awards meal?” she asked. “Sean got invited, and we were thinking about it… but if you come they’ll expect us at the same table, all three of us, so we were wondering if you are planning on it…”
I’d barely given a thought to the engineering tech awards in a few weeks’ time, but I should do.
It wasn’t just a bunch of our clients who’d be there, but industry experts and associates too, all putting in a decent appearance and enjoying a drink.
I should be there.
“I’ll be attending,” I said. “I haven’t missed one in ten.”
“Neither have I,” she hissed. “Neither has Sean.”
“Then I guess we really will all be there at the same fucking table,” I said, and smirked.
“Like that’s going to be easy,” she snapped, but shook her head. “Fuck, Ollie, how did we ever get like this? We can barely share a fucking sentence these days.”
I could have answered.
Me being focused on growing the business to its maximum, regardless of how much of my waking life it consumed. Her being more interested in making our house the exact pinup of an exclusive home, regardless of how much time we actually enjoyed spending in it together.
Us giving up on spending time together. Not really caring when we didn’t.
Us never really being enough together, not underneath the business drivers.
Her falling into bed with my technical sales director.
With my friend.
Me realising I’d been in love with Maisie Moore the whole entire time, underneath it all.
I didn’t say a word, just stared at her, and she stared right back. She was flustered and I was cold as ice, oblivious to everything but how soulless this connected business of ours was turning out to be.
“I can’t believe we ever ended up like this,” she repeated, but her stare dropped.
“I can,” I told her. “I can absolutely believe we ended up like this, because there was nothing there of real worth under the ambitions we shared. It was business and nothing, that was all.”
“You really think that?” she asked, and I nodded.
“I don’t think that, Naomi. I know it. It’s always been true.”
A couple of members of the Hadley’s team walked on in and took their seats at the meeting room table, but that didn’t stop her leaning in, her voice down low.
“It wasn’t worth nothing to me,” she said. “You weren’t worth nothing to me.”
But I wasn’t listening, not to the real tone in her words. I was already clearing my throat ready to engage with the next meeting.
She shook her head as I brushed on past her and took my seat alongside the others.
Her professional smile was at full volume as she sat herself down next to me. Conversation over. Just like always.
Fuck, it felt really fucking good not to care.
I pulled out my phone to ping Maisie back before the meeting got into full flow.
Two weeks’ time, I messaged. Business event I need to attend down here in London. I’d love you along with me, on my arm, if you can make it. Please, beautiful. I’ll show you my world. It’ll be your taster.
There was no reply before the discussion got started, but that didn’t stop me looking continually at my phone for the green flash of a message. It was yet another shift in me, the ability to get distracted from the work at hand. It would never have happened without Maisie back in my world.
It was school kicking-out time at gone three p.m. by the time my phone back buzzed with a message.
My breath stalled as I saw her name. Hoping. Really fucking hoping she could be there.
She didn’t disappoint me. I couldn’t imagine she ever would, not this side of forever.
I’ll be there, she said. I can’t wait to see your world.
I only hoped she’d be ready for it.
My smirk was at full fucking radiance as I signed myself up for two event tickets and clicked back through to the estate agents’ listings.
I’d damn well make sure this world of mine was ready for her.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Maisie
Everyone in the Much Arlock populous wanted to catch up with me. Monday was gossip central with people popping along to my checkout queue and asking after my weekend.
I kept my answers vague. As vague as I could do with a polite smile, caring little for people’s nosey grins as they questioned time after time how Oliver Kent was doing.
That and more.
How was the Three Feathers? I’ve heard they do a great lasagne.
Wasn’t the weather lovely on Saturday afternoon? Must have been a great day to enjoy the recreation ground.
I heard you were dressed up very nicely for town, you know. And how about Oliver? He was dressed up nicely too, wasn’t he?
He was around for the full weekend?
Did he have a lovely time?
And how about you? How about you? How about you?
I felt fried to hell when I finished for the day and went to pick Freddie up. I felt a whole load better when I saw Ollie’s message flashing on my phone once I arrived at the gate.
Two weeks’ time. Business event I need to attend down here in London. I’d love you along with me, on my arm, if you can make it. Please, beautiful. I’ll show you my world. It’ll be your taster.
My nerves flared up tenfold, my fingers dithery as I even thought about replying.
I needed to be there. Wanted to be there. Needed to weigh up how every aspect of a whole new world could be looking as it stretched ahead, and it had to begin somewhere.
A weekend in London. I could do that. I was rarely busy at weekends, not beyond my regular routine, and it was just for a day or two. I was sure Rob or his parents would love to have Freddie overnight that weekend, or my parents instead if they couldn’t make it.
It would be fine.
Absolutely fine.
More than fine.
My response came easily.
I’ll be there. I can’t wait to see your world.
I only hoped his world would be compatible with some version of mine down the road, because if it couldn’t?
I didn’t even want to imagine how I’d begin to adjust if it couldn’t.
I loved him – utterly loved him – and always had done. The thought of losing my heart to him all over again then h
aving it smashed into pieces was more than my brain could fathom.
“Hey, superstar,” I said as Freddie arrived in front of me at the school gates.
He was swaying with his usual boyish swagger all the way across the recreation ground, telling me how he needed a whole load more football lessons with his dad. He was full of gusto, announcing it all – how he had to be the best in his team and how he was trying out for the county league the week after.
“I need to be the striker,” he told me, and his eyes were fierce. “I really, really need to be the striker. I wanna be the best. Like Dad was.”
I nodded all the way, biting my tongue as to telling him about the pompous, smug team captain his dad was back in high school. The thought made me chuckle, picturing him stomping around the sports field like the big I am.
Shit, how did I ever find that big ego attractive?
“I’m sure your dad will help you loads with your training,” I told him. “I’m sure he’ll be as excited as you are about you going for the county league.”
“Can you call him?” he asked. “Call him up and get him over for tea? I wanna talk to him about it right now.”
My heart did its usual drop at the thought of having Robbie Sawyer at the dining table, but I always made it my duty not to turn down a request.
Robbie answered the call in a few rings, his voice barely more than a grunt as he gave me a what?
“Your gorgeous son,” I told him, holding back the hiss. “He wants to speak with you about his football. He’s asked if you can please come to dinner.”
“Tonight?” he asked.
“Yes, tonight,” I responded. “I’m cooking stew.”
“I’ll be there,” he said. “That cunty Kent better fucking not be though. We need to talk our-fucking-selves.”
I was so glad Freddie was grinning away, out of earshot of the other end of the call.
“Yes,” I snapped, with my smile bright for Freddie’s benefit. “We really do need to talk our-damn-bloody-selves.”
I hung up in a flash, heart pounding at how fucking crap this dynamic was, even after such a long time of us being separated. I’d smiled through him getting it on with the entire town female populous, keeping my chin up high enough to put up with his utter crap for Freddie’s benefit, without any backlash.
Now, all it took was me having a potential new relationship. A genuine new relationship, with someone half decent, and he was every bit the idiotic asshole prick he’d always been.
I should have known better than to want a future with him in the first place.
But I wasn’t going to take it. Not anymore. Not with so much at stake for both me and Freddie and our bright new future. Not for the sake of an idiot jackass who did barely more than curse and guzzle down the beer and throw his weight around the town at night.
“Is he coming?” Freddie asked, and I nodded bright.
“He’s coming,” I confirmed. “Just you make sure he knows how much help you’re going to need on the football.”
“I will,” he said. “Gonna show him the big wheel too. Can’t wait until he sees it.”
My heart froze.
Oh, the joy of it. I couldn’t wait to see how well that little gem of sharing went down.
Freddie was playing with the big wheel all over again as I began to put the stew on. He was building additional attachments on the floor next to it as the stew rose to the boil, and I couldn’t help but wish I really was a little further along this road already, where Ollie and Fred were much better acquainted and he could share some more of the pride along with me.
More than Robbie had ever yet managed to be onboard with me, regardless of how much he’d always promised.
He rocked on up as I was about to serve up dinner. He sat himself down at the dining room table in his leather jacket, with no move whatsoever to take it off, glaring across at me like I was some kind of slut he’d heard had been taking a football team all weekend long.
“Three fucking Feathers,” he snapped under his breath while Fred went to the bathroom to wash his hands. “Didn’t take you fucking long to spread your legs for him.”
My scowl back was everything it should be. The weekend ping from Amy still pulsing hard. I hadn’t given it much thought, not even slightly, well and truly occupied with my own activities.
“Don’t even begin to tell me how my weekend was an easy ride,” I told him. “Not when you went back home with Eleanor Mitchell half an hour after professing your undying love for me on Friday night.”
“You sent me away for the night,” he snapped. “I’ll go back home with who I fucking want after that shit.”
Both of us shut up about it as our boy came bounding back down the stairs. He was with us in a flash, chatting away quite happily to his dad about football while I served up dinner.
We both listened to news about the league, smiles in place as we asked all the relevant questions, but there was more crap simmering between us, bubbling deep.
I was at least slightly impressed with Robbie once we’d finished up dinner and Fred had dragged him through to the living room to show off his big wheel. He managed to hold his utter rage in check through Freddie’s description of whizz sticks events, avoiding the hatred of Oliver Kent until we were at least done with the bedtime routine and were standing back in the kitchen, Freddie sleeping upstairs.
“So you’re fucking together now, are you?” he spat. “You and Kent are fucking together? Together enough that he’s playing fucking dad to my fucking boy?”
I shook my head at that, hissing that he should keep his voice down.
“He’s not playing dad,” I told him. “He’s barely playing friends actually, they only just met. The days are beyond early, we’re just damn well starting off!”
I started as he slammed his palm into the kitchen door frame.
“You shouldn’t be starting off with fucking anything!” he snarled. “You should be with me! Both you and fucking Freddie are mine! My fucking life in my fucking town! No fucking chance for that smarmy fucking piece of shit or anything he fucking stands for!”
I stood mute, hating the way his eyes scalded.
“I mean it,” he blustered on. “There’s no fucking way I’ll stand for this. His time here will be a fucking disaster, for good. There’s no way I’m going to let him enjoy this fucking place. Not for a fucking heartbeat, just you wait and fucking see.”
I didn’t doubt it.
I didn’t doubt for a second Robbie would use his asshole mates in this town to make life a bag of shit here for Ollie and me.
“You can get out of here now,” I said. “I’ve got nothing else to say to you.”
“You never fucking have anymore,” he barked. “You’re all for fucking Kent and his cunty fucking smarm.”
I flinched as he slammed the door behind him, praying that Freddie wouldn’t stir and come down to find my lip trembling.
Because it did tremble. It trembled along with my dithery fingers as the full scale of this craziness hit home.
My road ahead really did need looking at. It needed looking at hard. Hard enough that I could be absolutely sure what the best future ahead looked like for Freddie and me, and Ollie too.
It took me a good long hour before I was ready to answer Ollie’s call. The tears brimming up were scared. Vulnerable. Nervous. Just like I was feeling.
I was a girl wanting so much. Wanting shifts in a world she’d accepted as running along like easy clockwork, a mute little tune for years upon years. No drama or crazy big dreams in sight.
I had a face full of makeup by the time I pressed the answer button, just to disguise my puffy eyes.
Luckily the Oliver Kent effect was just what was needed.
“Good evening, my beautiful girl,” he said. “I’ve been missing you already.”
Oh hell, how I’d missed him too.
Chapter Thirty
Oliver
There was something about her on the call that night. Some
thing raw. Something burning.
Something that made my gut tighten and twist and want her here, right alongside me.
She didn’t want to talk about it, whatever it was. There was an intensity to her. A need that had her shifting on screen, her whole body seeming to twitch and shuffle. She didn’t want to talk about her day even, nothing that could help me pin down the change in her. She just wanted to talk about me. About us. About how much she wanted to feel me.
Feel me inside her.
I could appreciate that. I very much wanted to feel me inside her too.
“You’ve set my soul on fucking fire,” I whispered in response to her prompts and pulls. “Believe me, Maisie, you’ve set me alight.”
Her whimper was instinctive. Her breaths ragged.
My hand was in my pants, gripping my cock tight as mine turned ragged right back.
“Touch yourself for me,” I said. “Touch yourself and show me. Prop that phone up and fucking show me. I want to see it all.”
And so she did. My good little dirty girl really did prop that phone up and fucking show me.
She was in her bedroom, the door closed tight with Freddie asleep. I knew to be quiet, so fucking quiet for fear of disturbing him, but we could still do it. Still fucking dare it.
Sure, we were under control and pushed to the limit of restraint, both of us fighting the urge to blow and scream, both of us battling, But fuck, it felt so good.
She had the phone propped up just perfectly at the bottom of her bed and she spread those legs up wide. She tugged her knickers to the side and rubbed that gorgeous little clit of hers, circling wide and making me pulse for her.
How I wished I could see fucking more of her. I wanted the taste of that juicy cunt on my tongue, my fingers buried deep inside that tight little asshole.
I wanted everything.
“I’m gonna stretch you so fucking wide next time I’m with you,” I told her. “Believe me, we’ll be on whole new territory. I’m gonna make you fucking scream the fucking place down. Begging. You’ll be begging as much as straining. Begging for so much more.”
“I want you to take my ass,” she whispered. “I want you to fuck my ass so hard I beg you to stop.”
