Twelve Days - The Beginning

by Reyner, Jade

  “I love you too baby” he replied and they held each other tightly in the darkness of the room, holding on as if their lives depended on it - afraid to ever let go.

  It was just past five o’clock when Elise and Cole returned to the main office. As it was Friday, most people had gone home and it was blissfully quiet for which Elise was thankful. Cole headed off in the direction of his office to finish up and Elise walked over to the other side of the office to her desk area. She was hoping that Stephen would still be there as she wanted to thank him for all that he had done, and also to check if he had spoken to Dale. She thought it unlikely that Dale would have called as he wasn’t expecting her back until this evening but her husband was nothing if not unpredictable.

  Most of the lights had been switched out but she was relieved to see that one still shone in her section and she hastened her steps to make sure that she caught Stephen before he left. Rounding the corner she almost stopped in her tracks as she realised that it wasn’t Stephen still in their section but Olivia - probably the last person in the world she wanted to see right now.

  She hesitated for a moment and then decided that she would just go to her desk, check that all was in order and then leave again. If Olivia chose to speak to her then so be it, but given the rumours that the girl had been spreading, Elise wasn’t going to waste any breath on pleasantries with her. It didn’t matter that the rumours were true, that was beside the point. Elise hated gossiping and in particular people that knew half a story and then made up the rest. She was of the opinion that people should live their own lives rather than everyone else’s and unless you knew the full facts, you should not judge, preach, gloat or revel in other people’s misfortunes.

  As she approached her desk, Olivia turned and Elise drew in a sharp breath at the pure hatred that crossed the younger girl’s face as she registered who it was.

  Slowly Olivia stood from where she had been crouched at the filing cabinet. “YOU....” she said, pure venom dripping from the single word.

  Elise opted to ignore her and went to her desk where she opened the drawer, collected a couple of personal items, and checked for any important messages that may have been left. She had no need to get into this - whatever this was - with Olivia, and anything else, was just none of the girl’s business.

  As if realising that she was being ignored, Olivia rounded the group of desks and started to walk up to Elise, clearly determined to have her say. Elise contemplated walking away; knowing that that would be the smart thing to do but she also knew that if Olivia didn’t get this off her chest, the atmosphere would rumble on and on and that would not be good for anyone at work. Perhaps the girl would just say what she needed to and then they could part, agree to disagree and leave it at that.

  By now Olivia had reached her and was standing directly in front of her, eye to eye, as the women were of a similar height. Up close, Elise registered again how pretty Olivia was but her face was contorted by pure loathing and for the first time Elise realised how much the girl really did hate her.

  “You bitch...” she hissed between gritted teeth, her voice low and deadly, “You fucking bitch. You knew he was mine. How dare you think that you can have what is mine?”

  Elise blinked, momentarily stunned and not immediately following Olivia’s train of thought.

  “Did you fuck him? I bet you did, you dirty bitch. Is it not enough to have one man waiting at home that you have to take someone else’s as well?”

  Vaughn. She was talking about Vaughn.

  “Even if you did fuck him,” she continued, “you know he’ll be coming back to me. What we share is way beyond anything you can ever give him. Who knows what he saw in a dirty whore like you but I know he’ll be back. I have everything that he needs and that night that we were together was the best night of his life. Why would he want someone that’s old and tainted, when he can have me?”

  Elise didn’t reply, her brain was still trying to comprehend all that Olivia was saying. In those few sentences she had confirmed what Elise had always suspected, that Vaughn had slept with Olivia that night but she was also suggesting that there was more to it than that and that there was some kind of relationship going on.

  She understood that the girl was angry and quite possibly a little deluded but she had no reason to disbelieve what she was saying. Surely you wouldn’t get this worked up over a man if you didn’t think there was something going on between you? What kind of promises had Vaughn made her? All the time that he had been with her had he been thinking about Olivia? She knew that he had never openly given the girl any encouragement at work but then that didn’t mean anything. He could have just been trying to keep his relationship with her under wraps. Ultimately she knew so little about this man that she didn’t know what his usual MO was. Did he have lots of girls at his beck and call, to choose as he wanted and dump when he was done? Maybe that was why he wasn’t married; he preferred to keep his options open. He had the looks and the money so surely getting new girls on a regular basis was easy enough – hell, she had fallen for his charms with very little effort on his part.

  But then part of her believed him – believed in him and trusted him and the depth of feelings for her that he claimed to have. As far as she could tell he had no reason to lie either but it was obvious that one of them was and at this point in time she had absolutely no idea which one it was.

  “Nothing to say, Miss Perfect Grayson? Oh sorry, I mean Mrs Breedon.”

  What the...? How the hell did Olivia know her married name? She never used it – ever. Shit. What the hell was this girl’s problem?

  Recognising the need to reply at least on some level, Elise decided to go for an abridged version of the truth and hope that she could diffuse the situation. Olivia clearly had a problem and it needed to be sorted out in a mature and sensible way. She opted to leave the issue of her married name to one side – for now.

  “Olivia, I don’t know what you think happened between Vaughn and me but I can assure you that you are wrong – completely. We are co-workers, colleagues and yes; there was an incident today at the conference which Vaughn – dealt - with. His actions were a little over the top but I know that he is a good man and he would have stepped into the breach for any of his employees, exactly the same.”

  That was all true, maybe except for the last part, but how did she know he wouldn’t defend everyone like that? It may well be the way he worked.

  “Jesus Elise, you must think I’m a complete idiot. I heard what happened at the hotel, I know that he beat that man to within an inch of his life. Do you seriously expect me to believe that he would react like that if he’d not spent the night before fucking you? I know you left Indigo together too – I was getting some air and I saw you. Saw him running across the car park to you like some lovesick puppy. But that’s ok – I figure he likes the challenge of a married woman but now that’s he’s had you and realises that you’re just a dirty, shrivelled up old hag, I know whose door he’s going to be knocking on tonight. Why else do you think I’m still here? He asked me to wait for him – seems he’s done with you already.”

  Elise’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Vaughn had spoken to Olivia? When? He had left the car park and headed straight upstairs as far as she was aware. She had passed out immediately afterwards though and had not seen him since so she supposed it was entirely possible that he had stopped by Olivia’s desk first.

  Suddenly she felt an overwhelming urge to cry as sorrow unlike anything she had ever experienced before engulfed her. Maybe Olivia was telling the truth; it was certainly unusual for her to be here past five on a Friday, and Vaughn had left Elise in the car park. He had just walked away without a backward glance, not even trying to argue with her at all or salvage anything, and the worst part was that she had let him. Despite all the hurtful things she had thrown at him, part of her had hoped that he would still fight for her somehow but maybe he really had given up. Cole seemed to think that Vaughn had feelings for her but wha
t did he know? He barely knew what his own feelings were these days, how could he possibly be the judge of anyone else’s?

  Resignedly Elise realised that it actually didn’t matter what anyone’s feelings were. This girl in front of her seemed to think that she had some claim on Vaughn and it would be far easier for all of them if that were the case. Perhaps as Olivia said, he had just been after the challenge and although Elise had allowed herself to believe in love like never before, that didn’t mean that he felt the same way. And in the cold light of day, she knew she had no right to allow herself to want another man – she was still a married woman.

  Despite everything, her loyalty had to be to Dale. She was going to end their marriage but she owed it to him to do it right - to talk to him properly and sort everything out. Not by going through the back door. That had been wrong and she felt ashamed at her actions. She had to let Vaughn go – but in reality, perhaps he had already gone.

  Elise rolled her shoulders back and took a deep breath, facing Olivia for what she hoped was the final time. She needed this conversation over.

  “There is – was – nothing going on between Vaughn and I. Nor will there ever be. If you think that you have a future with him then you go for it. It is none of my business and I will most certainly not be standing in your way. Rumours are just that – rumours - and I would appreciate it if you didn’t spread any more untruths about me or Mr Granger. I have no interest in him other than on a professional level. I have no claim on him, nor does he have any claim on me. He is just my boss and that is all that he will ever be.”

  She turned away from Olivia, afraid that the other girl would see the tears in her eyes and realise that she was a fraud. Those words had cost her more than she could ever have imagined and she was completely and utterly drained.

  Elise collected her keys from where she had dropped them on her desk and began to leave, picking up her bag and her coat.

  “Elise?” she turned back at the sound of her name, hoping that Olivia wasn’t going to launch at her again as she just didn’t have the energy left. Without warning, Olivia drew her right hand back and slapped Elise hard across the side of her face and she felt her head snap back reflexively, her neck muscles groaning at the sudden movement.

  Elise grabbed at her cheek, speechless and watched as the expression on Olivia’s face turned vile. “You are a bitch - a dirty bitch and don’t think that your pathetic little speech makes any difference because it doesn’t. I know who you are and what you are and this will never end between you and I. Never. I hope I’ve made myself clear.”

  There was nothing left to say. Shaking, Elise grabbed what dignity she had left and began to walk away, tears already coursing down her cheeks.

  “Oh, and Elise?” This time she didn’t turn back, she just carried on walking. “Thought I’d let you know.......Dale called.”

  And as the implication of those two final words sunk in, Elise slowly and wearily left the building, accompanied by the sound of an ugly laugh coming from someone who just a few short days ago, she had considered to be a friend.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The drive home was torture, traffic was heavy as it was a Friday night, and Elise’s mood swung from one of absolute fear and dread, to panic and then through to hope that perhaps Olivia had not said anything to Dale. The girl hated her - that had become obvious in the last half an hour - but with the exception of Elise’s relationship with Vaughn which she really didn’t feel warranted such a level of hatred, she had absolutely no idea why.

  It had begun to rain and Elise absently turned on the radio, wondering whether or not this would turn to snow in the coming days and if they would be blessed with a white Christmas. Despite all of the horror that her life represented, she still smiled childlike at the prospect of waking up on Christmas morning to a pure blanket of whiteness. She remembered that it had snowed one year when she had been little and her Mum and Dad had wrapped her up warm and they had all gone sledging. She wished that she had bottled those times and kept them safe so that she could open them up and draw on them and remember how innocent life used to be before she became a grown up and made her own rather messy way in the world.

  Dale’s car was already in the driveway when she pulled in and she had to force herself to cut the engine, get out and walk to the door. She had no idea what she would be faced with when she entered and she was absolutely terrified. If Dale even had a hint of a thought that she had been unfaithful then she wasn’t sure she would have the strength or resolve to live through his punishment. As she had left the office Cole had begged her to wait for him, to come home with him and leave Dale once and for all but she couldn’t do that. Even though she knew that things were over, she felt she owed it to Dale to be honest and up front rather than to run away and hide leaving everyone else to sort out the mess.

  She had not seen Vaughn at all since he had left her in the car park. His car had still been there when she had left so she assumed that he was either still upstairs or in his office, waiting for the time when he could be with Olivia? Who knew what the truth was there but if he had cared about her at all, she would have thought he would have made some effort to contact her before she left and not left it to his ‘mistress’ to deliver the happy news of their assignation. Despite the hole that it left in her heart at the thought of him meeting Olivia, she recognised that it was probably for the best. She could get on with sorting out her life without worrying about his feelings and she knew that in reality she needed to focus single-mindedly on that.

  The front door opened just as she was about to put her key in the lock and Dale stood there with a huge welcoming smile on his face and Elise immediately noted that he was sober.

  “Hi, gorgeous!” he pulled her into an all-enveloping hug before closing the door behind her and relieving her of her coat and bag. “I’ve missed you so much. I couldn’t believe it when I called your office and they said you would be home early. I’ve been working so many hours recently that I managed to swing it to leave early tonight, thought we could have a cosy night together – catch up on the gossip, that sort of thing.”

  Tentatively, Elise looked at Dale. She wasn’t used to him being this friendly and reasonable and although she knew that the lack of drink helped, part of her was nervous about what this sudden change in mood could mean. He had referred to calling her office but only in passing so she could only hope that, despite the other girl’s hatred, Olivia had not given out any details of the circumstances of her early return. Immediately she felt a wave of relief wash over her that she wasn’t going to have to deal with that particular battle tonight and she hugged Dale back, albeit a little half-heartedly.

  He released her and manoeuvred her towards the lounge and as he did so, she became aware of a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. Dale had cooked? He never cooked – ever.

  “It’s only one of those two-person bags of Chinese.” He said as he obviously noted her glance towards the kitchen. “Thought you could do with a break from the cooking after your busy couple of days.”

  Elise searched his words for any hint of sarcasm or irony but found none and began to finally relax, relieved that she didn’t have to cook and could just rest her weary legs and begin to make sense of everything that had happened.

  As she entered the lounge though she stopped short shocked, unable to comprehend the transformation that had occurred since she had left on Thursday morning. Dale had moved some of the furniture around to allow space for a large artificial Christmas tree in the corner, which he had fully decorated with lights and baubles. He had even put some tinsel around the picture frames on the walls. Elise gasped, unable to formulate any words as she stared at the scene and then belatedly, she began to consider its implication.

  Like cooking, Dale didn’t do Christmas. Last time she had bought a tree he had hastily removed it to the garden and it had ended its life at the local landfill site. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend what on earth had possessed him to get
a Christmas tree this year, especially when he must have realised that things were so finely balanced between them.

  Dale was watching her as she took in his handiwork and his grin became even broader.

  “Thought we could celebrate it properly this year – maybe like a new start? I got the tree and bits this afternoon after I had spoken to Olivia and realised that you would be back early. Thought I would surprise you. What do you think?”

  Olivia? Hang on a minute, first of all he had spoken to her ‘office’ and now he was referring to Olivia on first name terms, just dropped in there casually, as if they were old friends. Her radar was beginning to warn her that something was off but she just couldn’t seem to put her finger on it.

  “It’s beautiful,” she replied, “So nice to have some festive cheer this year – I think we both need it.”

  “That’s what I thought.” said Dale, “I’ve even got you presents but you’ll have to wait until Christmas Day for those.”

  Those? Plural? Dale had bought her something other than the usual perfume? She almost felt like she had walked into an alternate universe and just about stopped herself from pinching her arm to make sure that she was still alive.

  “So, what’s prompted all of this?” she asked as Dale continued to steer her into the lounge and towards the sofa. “You have to admit this is all seriously out of character.”

  Dale looked at her almost regretfully. “I know it is and that’s why. I’ve had time to think and things have become clearer over the last couple of days. We need to put some work into this, and I know that I haven’t been the easiest person to be around for a while.”

  Elise looked up at Dale as she sat down on the sofa and registered the sincerity in his eyes but there was also an edge there, something that she couldn’t decipher and unbidden a shiver ran down her spine.

  Dale was watching her and as she settled herself, he dropped down to join her, running his hand gently across her face where Olivia had slapped her.