“OK, can I give those details to my Dad for you?”
“Sure,” she said as he pushed a button on the center console. She heard a phone ringing and smiled. “Cool!”
“Nice eh? Bluetooth to my iPhone,” he said.
“Right,” responded Holly, unable to add much to that.
“Dad? I’ve got Holly here in the car, we’re heading up towards Forge Drive.”
“Hi Holly, how are you?” asked Sam’s father.
“Fine!” shouted Holly. Sam grinned at her and made a calming hand gesture. “Thanks for helping out” she said in a normal voice, smiling at Sam.
“So did you decide how much you can afford each month?”
“Yeah, nor more than three hundred.”
“Great, hang on a minute and I’ll give you some numbers,” he said, drifting away from the phone. Holly grabbed a notebook from her backpack and waited for the details. “Ok, Holly, what deposit do you want to put down?”
“No more than five thousand I think,” she replied, wondering if that was too small.
“That’s a good number, should give you some decent equity in the vehicle and cut down those payments to within your range. So hang on a min.” They took a left turn and joined traffic which crawled along.
“Motoring is great, right?” said Sam. Holly laughed, nodding at the four lanes of bumper-to-bumper cars.
“Holly?” said the voice in the speaker phone. “With five thousand down and three hundred a month, look for a vehicle that is under fifteen thousand total sale value and make sure that the interest rate charged on the loan is no more than 3.11 percent, OK?”
“OK, thanks, got it!”
“Also, don’t test drive any car until you are sure you want to buy it. Once you’re in the car you will think it’s everything you want, it’s a human reaction.” She scribbled it down and underlined it, understanding the urge to drive away immediately when someone was in control of a new car that could be theirs. “Once the dealer confirms all the pricing, tell him the sale is contingent on a professional inspection, mention our garage if you wish. If they won’t agree to the pricing or inspection then you walk away, OK? There are thousands of cars out there to choose from.”
“OK, got it.”
“Oh and don’t take extended warranty, don’t pay delivery fees or anything else they try to tack on after you’ve agreed the sale numbers. Also ask for a full tank but don’t be surprised if they don’t give it to you. If there are any scratches or little dents ask for them to be taken care of, and say the deal depends on the car having that work done.”
Holly thanked Sam’s father and after they rang off it was only about five minutes to the first dealer. The used car area had about fifty vehicles and, based on pricing, they reduced the sample to two, made notes and left after a very short conversation with the dealer who had followed them around while trying to look casual. The second dealer, almost next door to the first, had less of a selection and they didn’t bother to even walk around once they had noticed that most cars started around the twenty thousand mark. They drove on, Holly increasingly appreciative of Sam’s time but feeling as though she was imposing on him.
“Hey, Holly. If you’re staying at your house then where are you going to work?”
“Ah ha, I’m not sure yet. Just that there’s no point in moving anywhere until I find a job.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Something with people, marketing, events, conferences and shows. Something that will get me some travel and meet different industry professionals and speakers.”
“Oh, I know. A company like Millsum?”
“Who are they?” she asked, curious since she had never heard of them.
“You got electricity at that house of yours?” he asked, laughing with good humour. She slapped his hand, realising too late that she had actually touched him. He laughed again and shook his head. “Millsum Cavendish, they’re huge, around five thousand employees worldwide. I interned for them two summers ago in their Finance department, worked directly with their CFO.”
“Really? My internships weren’t as grand as that.”
“Yeah, he was a really good guy, still there. Want me to hook you up with their CEO?”
“What?” she shrieked, “You could do that? For me?”
“Definitely for you, course! Send me your resume and I’ll forward it to him. He likes students from this University, his son went here, graduated last year.”
“Yeah, yeah, I would really like that, that’s so kind,” she said, thinking about how major life-changing events in the past two weeks had simply piled up against each other when compared to the steady hum of term time or even the past few years. “Thanks Sam” she said quietly, wanting to touch his arm but simply gripping her backpack tighter instead.
The third dealer was far more helpful, trustworthy and had a larger selection than the first two combined. He listened to Holly’s criteria, nodded, made a couple of suggestions then left them to it. In twenty minutes they had identified four candidates and Holly really liked the light blue colour of one of them but told Sam that it seemed to be the best fit for the criteria she was using.
Half an hour later, and after a very sedate test drive, Holly presented the sales rep with a check for five thousand dollars and obtained a receipt from the garage showing that she had placed the deposit against the car of her choice. She would have to arrange insurance, while the garage would deal with registration for a small fee which she agreed to despite the previous warning. The garage agreed to touch up the paintwork but only after her mechanic had appraised it. They scheduled the collection tentatively for 5 days later, Monday morning.
Holly and Sam chatted animatedly on the way back to town, and she was delighted when he offered to take her all the way back to Foley Road. He pulled up outside her door and switched off the engine but kept his hands on the wheel.
“Thanks again Sam, this has been so kind of you!” she said, daring at last to briefly touch his arm.
He nodded, smiling at her, and she once again felt that genuine warmth, radiating at her. She exhaled slowly, knowing now that he wasn’t going to ask to come inside and while she would have agreed just to share a cup of coffee it would have been an awkward end to a great afternoon and she knew that Sam sensed it too.
“It’s been fun, you’re great company Holly. It’s good to be able to talk about things other than beer, or last week’s parties.”
“Oh, I would no idea about either, sorry!”
“I know. After a while it’s very dull but you really brightened my week up!” he said, leaning over to her. He kissed her cheek and smiled again. “Let me know if you need anything else, won’t you? Any time.”
Holly grabbed the door handle, smiled, nodded then made her way to her front door. They waved to each other as he turned the car round and she went inside. Leaning on the wall by the door she replayed his words, feeling her confidence build with each sentence they had exchanged. She hadn’t become lost for words, or said anything stupid, giggled at the wrong time. He hadn’t made smutty innuendos, or talked about subjects that made her uncomfortable, or driven like a lunatic to impress her. She bounded up the stairs, convinced she had grown up - but not aged - two years that afternoon.
On Thursday, Holly worked all day at the restaurant and managed to earn herself almost two hundred dollars, of which three-quarters went into her savings account while the remainder stocked up the food cupboards. She received an email from John Millsum, the CEO of Millsum’s who thanked her for resume and said that someone from the firm would be in touch to discuss. There was no contact from Rob and she was thankful that, in Addie’s words, he had gone quietly. But it was Saturday morning as she was lying in bed with her coffee that the wheels of fortune turned once again with a phone call. She had crept back to bed and was smiling to herself, her hand wrapped around her pussy as she squeezed with delight and ran through thoughts of Mike the dominating bartender when it trilled in her ea
r. The caller ID said ‘unknown’ and she was about to let it go to voice mail when she decided to pick it up and complain to whoever was on the end about the fact that she was on the ‘Do Not Call’ list – or at least she thought she was.
“Hello?” she said, expecting the lady who would inform her that there was nothing wrong with her credit.
“Holly Craig?” asked a man, his voice deep, firm yet warm.
“Yes?”
“Holly, good morning, I hope I’m not waking you?”
“Uh, no, I just got up” she replied, taking her hand from between her legs. Her fingers smelled of her arousal and she regretted answering the call. She felt certain that the guy was going to turn out to be the credit card lady’s stupid husband and that would put a damper on her thoughts of being tied across the bar by Mike.
“Good. My name is Jeff Tanner”
“Uh, OK?”
“You looked after my daughter, Jane, last week when she was ill.”
“Oh wow, how is she?” asked Holly, sitting up and very pleased to hear from him. She had wanted some closure on the episode and was pleased in an unfulfilled way that there had been no reports of any deaths or emergencies from her dormitory on the University website.
“She’s fine. She remembers nothing about that Monday evening when you found her, but told us that you cleaned her up and put her to bed, plus you washed her clothes,” he said, pausing for a deep breath.
“I’m so glad that she’s fine Mr. Tanner, really, it was awful what they did to her! Those brambles were very thick and she was jammed very deep inside”
“Holly, there’s a good chance that if you hadn’t stepped in to help her she might have died, or at the very least injured herself even more in those bushes.”
“It’s fine, sir, anyone would have done the same.”
“Ah, now that’s where you’re wrong, Holly. Many people would have either left her, crossed to the other side of the path, robbed her or even worse. Jane, my wife and I will be eternally grateful that you came along.”
Holly smiled, pleased that her efforts had been recognised. She was about to sign off when he made a sound like he had been crying, or struggling to control his emotions. “Holly, we as a family would like to send something to you. Can you let me have your address?
“It’s 45, Foley Road, but it’s not necessary. Knowing that she’s fine is all that matters.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, but there will be a small package for you arriving later today with a gift from the Tanner family and a gift from my company. All will be clear when it arrives.”
“Oh that’s so kind of you, really. Please give my best wishes to Jane, won’t you?”
“I will, and our heartfelt thanks again Holly, bye for now!” he said and rang off.
She slipped her phone onto her bedside table and smiled at the ceiling, pleased to know that Jane was safe and that her family had called with their thanks. She rolled over onto her stomach and slipped her hand between her legs, closed her eyes and began the gentle, soft circular motion that would take her to the land of orgasm. Before the fifth circuit though she opened her eyes and stated at the wall. How did Mr. Tanner know it was her? She cursed, knowing that with that thought in her head she was never going to be able to orchestrate Mike’s ropes and restraints properly. She exhaled loudly, trying to count the days since her last orgasm. It was probably seven or eight but it felt like a year. She really needed to do it that day and hoped that the afternoon sun might make an appearance.
She collected her dirty laundry and went downstairs, tipping the clothes into the washer and adding some powder before she set it to a light wash. Toast and coffee followed and she was scrolling through the news on her laptop when her phone rang. It was Marko from her Marketing class, the nerd with the most amazing command of foreign languages that she had ever encountered.
“Holly?
“Hey Marko, happy Saturday!”
“Happy Saturday to you too. You know you’re famous, right?”
“What, why do you say that?”
“There’s a screenshot of you stuck on the Student’s Union noticeboard!”
“Oh god no. Why?” It would take her half an hour to get down there and longer to find someone to unlock the glass cabinet that protected the notices. She thought of Rob and wondered if he had posted something mean about her, then dismissed the idea.
“It shows you with a drunk girl, a few days ago. They asked me yesterday to go through the security footage and get grabs of everyone who had entered around midnight on Monday. Guess who I saw?”
“Oh no, you mean me with Jane Tanner?”
“Yup, the Dean asked me to do it, he’d been asked by her family to find out who helped her. Now he knows”
“Oh shit, so who suggested putting my picture up there for everyone to see?”
“The Dean.”
“Damn, that’s stupid. Can you take it down?”
“No, I can’t, maybe you should ask him, but he said he was very humbled by what you did.” Holly grimaced, thinking about who might see her picture with her arm around the semi-comatose girl.
“I think I will. But thanks Marko, thanks for letting me know,” said Holly.
“Hol, there aren’t many people in the world who would have done what you did, take it as a complement which is how it was intended, you know?”
“I know. Thanks.”
“No probs, just looking out for you Hol. Bye.”
She finished her breakfast, put the washing into the drier, tidied the kitchen and started to change into her restaurant clothes. With her black bra, panties and stockings on she was just pulling out a white blouse from her wardrobe when a motorbike rumbled to a stop outside her house. It had the words “Flash Couriers” on the panniers and she assumed that the guy in the steel grey helmet who had opened their little gate must be from the Tanner family. She pulled on her dressing gown and went downstairs, opening the door just as he knocked.
“Package for a Miss Holly Craig,” he said, handing her a small tablet. “Initial here please Miss.”
Holly scratched a nail across the box indicated and exchanged the tablet for a small padded mailer. She thanked the man and went back upstairs, dropping the envelope on her desk and her dressing gown on the floor as she once again chose the best-looking blouse. She slipped it from the hanger then draped it over her chair but her curiosity got the better of her as she eyed the mailer. Sitting on the side of her bed she tore the strip at the end and pulled out three small envelopes.
The first, which looked like personalized stationery, contained a handwritten note, signed by each of the Tanner family. She read the message:
Dear Holly, It was very good to talk to you this morning, and once again, we thank you most sincerely for your courage, your kindness and the selfless assistance you gave to Jane earlier this week. We are convinced that without your help she would not be with us, safe and sound, as she is today. We enclose a voucher from Tanner Lines for a cabin on any of our liners, valid for any time convenient to you, for two people. We hope that you find time in the months ahead to enjoy a relaxing holiday with us. We have also enclosed something to help you more immediately and again, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being there that night. Sincerely, the Tanner family.
Holly smiled at the signatures of Jeff, Molly and Jane Tanner. She exhaled, touched by their kindness and in awe of the cruise gift. Opening the second envelope she read the details, which contained the words ‘State Cabin”, “All Expenses Paid”, “Airfare Paid” and “All Excursions Paid”.
“Oh jeeze,” she said, sliding down onto the floor. She couldn’t begin to calculate what the gift was worth and while she understood it was a corporate gift it was still a magnificent thought. She looked at the brochure, noting that the cruise line seemed to have destination in most parts of the world, then re-read the words, confirming that if they really meant what they said she could cruise for free anywhere she wanted and fly there
at their expense. She wanted to cry at the generosity and felt that it was overboard compared to what she had done. She would nonetheless accept it and wait for the right time, and the right companion, before taking the holiday. She thumbed through the brochure one more time, noting the huge, elegant liners, the cabins, the dancing and food, the excursions. Her head flopped back against the bed and she breathed out, her heart thumping at the kindness and the way everything seemed to have worked out well for everyone involved. She sniffed, wiped her nose and put the brochure on the floor. The third envelope was stuck down and she slid her finger along the top to open it. A check fell out onto the floor and she pulled the note which had been around it: “Again, with our heartfelt thanks, even though no sum could ever equal the value of a life. The Tanner family.” She picked up the check, turned it over and screamed.
Heavy footsteps rumbled along the hallway as Holly slumped to the floor. Her door crashed in and Addie slid to her side, her dressing gown loosely hanging from her body and her naked body clearly visible.
“Hol, what happened, are you OK?” shouted Addie, looking around the room for people, syringes, knives, anything that could have caused such a scream. A man appeared behind her in just underpants, someone she had never seen before. He too knelt beside her and tried to pull her up. “Hol. What the hell?” said Addie, now sure that there was nobody else involved. He pulled Holly to a sitting position against the bed and Addie moved to cradle her in her arms.
Holly pointed to the handwritten note on the floor, and the man picked it up and read it out loud. Holly sighed as the words flowed, both from the thought of the money as well as the man’s cock which poked out of the side his underwear. She saw that Addie was naked underneath the dressing gown, her nipples hard and crowning what looked like close-to-perfect breasts. It was a fair assumption that they had been making love when she screamed.
Holly gets a ride (Holly Craig Series) Page 6
