“I'm sorry,” Helen stammered quickly.
Carly gave a sad smile as her eyes shimmered with tears and reached out to pat Helen’s hand. “You couldn’t have known. But, no I don’t, and I won’t have any either.” Dead silence filled the room as she took a deep breath to get her emotions under control. “I’ve got Polycystic Ovaries and Endometriosis, and I’m unable to have children.” A small sob escaped her throat as her head fell into her hands. Her shoulders trembled with each cry of anguish.
Stella moved to stand behind her and George, and without thought she leant forward and enfolded them both in a hug. George turned as he realised his new friend was crying and joined his mother in comforting her.
Carly leaned her head against Stella’s arm a minute later and offered her a watery smile. “Thanks.”
They were being watched by her mother and Claudia, and with that realisation Stella stood to her full height and stretched to release the stiffness that had formed from being bent down. “Medical advancements are a miracle these days. Hopefully, with time, there will be something that will allow you to have a child. Have you thought about IVF?”
She moved back to her seat, kept her head down, and refused to acknowledge the beaming grins her mother and best friend were sporting.
“I’ve investigated that option. But it costs a lot of money.” Carly ran her hand through George’s hair.
A small muffled voice came from Carly’s chest. “If you’re sad, you can come and play in my room whenever you want.”
Carly half giggled and sobbed as she kissed George on top of the head.
Stella’s chest swelled with pride at George’s words. He’s going to grow up to be a heartbreaker and a true gentleman.
***
Later that night, Carly sat on her living room floor surrounded by her new work laptop, iPad, and her briefcase. The new software was loading on both, and she was arranging the essentials she’d need for her first day at the office. On the sofa behind her was a collection of clothing store bags. After depositing the cheque from Stella, she’d enlisted Claudia’s help in choosing the new computer, then they had both hit the shops for a spending spree. She now had a new assortment of work and casual clothes.
Her eyes landed on the glinting silver and leather key ring of her new car keys, sitting on the kitchen counter top. When she arrived at the dealership, she and Claudia had been treated like royalty, and within two hours, she’d driven her new Range Rover Evoque from the forecourt. It was the same as Stella’s, but hers was white not black.
The comfortable black leather seats moulded to her body exquisitely, and all the modern features had her mind spinning. Vowing to ask Stella for a quick tutorial on all the extras, she’d eagerly taken it for a spin around the roads of Wandsworth.
Stella—her mind filled with visions of the taller woman with the ebony hair. She was extremely attractive, and there was nothing she’d like to do more than spend the day staring into those beautiful eyes. They were quite hypnotic and alluring. The way she ran her hand through her short locks and bit her bottom lip when she was deep in thought was the cutest thing Carly had seen in a long time. Licking her lips seductively, she realised her breathing was laboured and the ache between her legs indicated how aroused she was. Oh great! I’ve got a crush on my boss.
Chapter Six
Her face was obscured by the large bouquet of red roses and white lilies. Juggling them against her hip, she hooked her index finger through the loop of the small white paper bag. Both were gifts for her new manager. Carly’s first two weeks had gone by without a problem, and the main club was running smoothly, if not better, under her watchful eye.
Climbing the stairs to the walkway she strode confidently to Carly’s office. Instead of finding the beautiful redhead inside, she was met with the sight of a small bald man dancing around with a paintbrush in his hand. Thankfully, the brush appeared to be new, and there were no drips over the walls or floor. When he noticed her tall form filling the door, he immediately stopped, looked up sheepishly, and then turned back to the wall he was supposed to be concentrating on. Stopping herself from allowing a full roar of laughter out, she chuckled. If Carly heard her, then the surprise would be spoiled.
The heady aroma of Carly’s perfume filled the air and made Stella’s stomach roll delightfully as she stood outside Carly’s temporary office door. The light floral scent awakened her senses and had an almost dream like effect on her.
Carly’s voice was loud, and she didn’t sound very happy. The phone was slammed down, and Carly sighed heavily. Stella kicked the door lightly with her foot and shuffled into the room.
“All deliveries need to be made down―” Carly stopped when she saw the strong fingers on the hand of the person holding the flowers. The expensive Rolex glittering on her wrist gave Stella away. “Stella, what are you doing here?”
As she giggled, the flowers shook. “Damn, I’m going to have to work better on my disguises from now on.” She moved to stand in front of the desk and handed the flowers to Carly. “Those are a present from me to say thank you for doing a great job so far, and getting everything here under control so quickly.”
Carly took the large bouquet and inhaled their delightful aroma. There was a water bubble at the bottom of the stems, so she could just place them on her desk, and not worry about them for a couple of days.
“Oh wow, thank you, I wasn’t expecting this.” Stella watched as she placed the flowers down and fiddled with them. Carly couldn’t stop sniffing them. “I can’t remember the last time I was given flowers. They’re gorgeous.”
“That’s a real shame. A woman as beautiful as you should be inundated with flowers at least once a week.”
Carly’s head jerked up at the compliment and mild flirtation; her face reddened. “You’re too kind. So, who brings you flowers?”
Stella sat in the visitor’s chair and shrugged her shoulders. “George sometimes brings me a bunch when he’s been shopping with either of my parents. Apart from that, I don’t get them. I haven’t dated anyone since Jen died.” Returning to her seat, Carly sat and listened intently. “I’ve never found anyone interesting enough, and I have George to think of, too. There are not many women who’d want to take on someone else’s kids these days.”
“That’s true, but there are also a lot of women who would. It’s a crime for such a stunning person to be alone.”
A scarlet hue raced over the skin on Stella’s throat and covered her face. Her hand clasped the small rope handle of the paper bag she had in her left hand.
“These are for you, too.” She sat it on the desk in front of Carly.
Carly eyed the bag and noticed the name of a printing company on the side. Opening it, she pulled out a white cardboard box. On top was the design of a new black business card for Misfits, and her name as well as the company’s was embossed in gold on the front of it. “Wow, thank you. In all the hype going on, I forgot to get some printed.”
She dug around in the bag and found a small flat, royal blue box. She lifted the lid carefully to reveal a silver patterned card case. One side had a flat surface and had been engraved. Congratulations on your new job. Love your new friends Stella & George. Xx
“Oh, it’s lovely, thank you. I’ll treasure it always.”
Stella opened her mouth to reply, but her mobile phone interrupted her. A frown fell upon her face, and her eyebrows drew together as she glanced at the screen to see who was calling. “It’s Claudia.” Tapping the screen, she accepted the call. “Hey, you never call me during the day. What’s wrong?”
“Stel, where are you? I need to talk to you as soon as I can.”
The small line in between her eyebrows grew deeper at the hurried question. Shit! This can’t be good. “I’m at the club with Carly.”
“Stay put. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
The line went dead at her ear. When she pulled it away her eyes met the concerned ones of Carly. “Hmm, that’s strange.”
&n
bsp; Standing, Carly unplugged her laptop and picked it up. “I’ll leave, and you can have the office for as long as you like.”
Stella gently grasped her arm stopping any movement.
“No, please stay.” For some reason, she wanted Carly with her while she spoke to Claudia. “While we wait, tell me about this database you’re creating and what function it will serve us.”
Carly sagged back into her chair and laid her laptop back down. “I’ll need at least an hour to explain and demonstrate it to you.”
“Come to dinner then. I’m sure George will be pleased to see you.” It had only been two weeks, yet her son had already fallen madly in love with Carly. Whenever she was at the house, he would ask her to play, and then read a story to him when bedtime came. “Oh, and no more Lego, he’s spoilt enough as it is,” she said teasingly, knowing Carly would dismiss her comment.
A playful grin spread across her face. “Too late, I’ve already got one for him, but it’ll take us a couple of months to build, so he won’t be getting anymore for a little while.”
Stella shook her head she knew in an instant what Carly had bought him. He’d been badgering her for the Star Wars Death Star kit.
“You’re as bad as him!” Moving her chair around the desk to sit next to her and be able to see the computer screen, she tapped the wooden top. “Start telling me about the database, we can finish off the conversation after dinner.”
“Okay…” Carly opened up the database and walked Stella through the idea of the programme to keep track of all employee records and monitor everyone’s activity, holidays, sick-days and personnel files.
Stella found it insanely difficult to concentrate. Being so close to Carly was making her head spin. Leaning forward to get a closer look at the screen, she nearly fell forward and snapped her hand out to grasp onto the back of the high-back office chair Carly was sat in. When Carly shuffled a little closer, their heads almost touched, she felt the smaller woman’s body fit into her arm.
When Carly brushed against her, she turned to look at her to offer an apology, but something stopped her. Their eyes locked and held for several long seconds, neither of them willing to break that contact. It was intense and made Stella’s heart pound erratically in her chest.
A loud booming sound echoed from down the hallway. It was quickly followed by another, indicating someone was walking quickly along the metal gangway, but they didn’t care. Stella reached out with her hand to stroke the impossibly soft looking cheek. Carly leant in to accept the caress. As they were about to come into contact, there was a loud knock on the open door, breaking the trance and their fixation on each other.
“Bloody hell! I’m sorry!” Claudia blushed horribly and turned to leave.
Carly’s face was the colour of a strawberry, and Stella’s hand was shaking slightly.
“Claudia, get in here.” Stella took a couple of deep breaths and calmed herself. “It’s obviously something important if you rushed over.”
Poking her head back into the room, Claudia sighed when she saw them looking at the door intently. She strode into the room and dropped her heavy briefcase on the floor, shrugged her jacket off, and hung it on the back of the other visitor’s chair before sitting down.
“I had a call from a private investigator I’ve been using to…” she looked from Carly to Stella. When she received a small bob of the head from Stella to continue, she took a deep calming breath. “I hired him to search for Jen’s adoptive parents—her aunt, in this case.”
Stella’s shoulders rose, and her posture became rigid at the news. She was not used to hearing stuff like this, up until the moment Jen died and the seven years afterwards, life had been relatively quiet. “What did he find?”
Flipping open her briefcase Claudia pulled out a file and placed it in front of her. “Jen’s Aunt Josie and her partner, Sophia, raised Jen from the age of fourteen up until she left their house at eighteen. Acting as your lawyer, I called and spoke to Josie this morning, and I’ve just come from having coffee with her and Sophia at their home. I informed them of Jen’s passing as I thought they had a right to know. I also left George’s name out of the conversation. I just told her I was representing you as Jen’s wife. It’s up to you now. How do you wish to proceed?”
Stella sighed and ran her fingers through her hair and bit her lip. She turned in her seat when she thought she heard a squeak from Carly, but the other woman was sat there staring intently at Claudia.
“Well, I suppose they should know about Little Man.” Silence filled the air as she sat looking at the desk for a couple of minutes, thinking about what to do. “What were they like, Claudia? I’m not going to let them meet George without knowing more about them or at least speaking to them on the phone first. I won’t let him be hurt.”
“I have only spent a little time with them. My investigator did learn they have fostered a lot of children over the years. Their house is clean and tidy, and the front yard is well-kept. There were a lot of family portraits over the living room area, and their kitchen was a proper family one, not that different than the ones we grew up in. I don’t think they will be horrible to George or be nasty to him.” Claudia took her phone out and swiped her thumb against the screen.
“Hmm, it’s tricky.” Stella rubbed her chin with her thumb and index finger and paced the short space in front of Carly’s desk. A minute later she held her finger up. “How about we ask them to dinner tonight so I can meet and talk to them? Carly and I already have plans for tonight so she will be there. Can you call and invite my parents? I also want you there, in case anything of a legal matter comes up. I will set George up with his computer and keep him out of the way until I can ascertain what kind of people they are. Once I’m satisfied, we’ll call him down.”
Carly leant back in her chair and folded her hands in her lap. “If it helps, I can stay with him and keep him quiet until you’re ready for him to come down.”
“No, I want you downstairs with me…I mean us.” Stella quickly changed her former reply. Claudia doesn’t need any more ammunition to wind me up. “Once I’ve told them about him, there is one thing I’m going to make crystal clear to them, and that George is my son and I’ll fight tooth and nail and to the death to protect him. They’ll never be able to take him away from me.”
Her stomach clenched unpleasantly at the thought of losing him, she covered her mouth with the back of her hand to fight the nausea and fell back into the brown tub chair.
Carly leapt from her seat and wrapped the taller woman in her arms, resting her head against the unsurprisingly baby soft hair. “We won’t let that happen!”
Claudia realised Stella was in good hands. She stood and collected her things. “I’m on it. I’ll meet you at your house at seven, I’ll tell Josie and Sophia to arrive for half past seven.” With that she ran out of the door, her mobile phone already raised up to her ear.
“Whenever she finds that special someone to settle down with, she’s going to need to be superwoman if she wants to keep up with her,” Carly stated.
Stella’s tear filled eyes twinkled in the light as she pulled back from the embrace, their eyes locked again, but this time they both burst out laughing.
Carly knelt in front of the chair Stella was sitting in and took both of her hands. “Claudia has your best interests at heart. You have nothing to fret about. You know she’ll look out for both you and George.”
Chapter Seven
A warring flock of birds in Stella’s stomach had been swirling and fluttering around all night. The reflection in the bedroom mirror showed that. Her eyes were sunken and had dark rings circling them. The slightest noise in the house made her twitch, and the nausea she’d been feeling for the last twelve hours dissolved her appetite into nothingness. It wasn’t helped by the wafting smell of the chicken parmesan she had baking in the oven, her favourite meal, yet she suspected she wouldn’t be able to eat a morsel until after the meeting with Jennifer’s aunts. The sound of a car door made
her jump.
“Carly’s here, Mum!” George bounded across the landing and jumped down each step.
Stella cringed and rubbed her temples as the screech made her brain rattle in her head. “I’ll be right down.”
She straightened her T-shirt as she stood and ran her sweaty palms down her coarse denim jeans.
Her shoulders sagged with what felt like a ten-tonne heaviness, and her feet barely moved as she shuffled her way from the bedroom and down the stairs.
The front door stood open, and the sight before her eased some of the weight. Carly had George in her arms hugging him as he clung to her neck. Resting against Carly’s leg was a large box, and on seeing the large Lego emblem, she rolled her eyes as one side of her mouth twitched upwards.
“Look what Carly got for us!” George untangled his arms from around Carly’s neck and ran to his mother. He clasped onto one of her legs and swung around it. “We’re going to work on it together!”
Breaking eye contact with Carly, Stella placed a loving hand on her son’s head and tried to calm him down. “I can see that, but we’re going to busy tonight.” A thought came to her. It’d be a good way for us to spend some more time with Carly. “Perhaps Carly would like to come over on the weekend and you master builders can work together on it.”
Finally reaching the front door, a stunning smile spread across Carly’s lips. “I’d like that.” Reaching out she snagged Stella’s arm and pulled her closer, placing her arms around her. “Breathe, Stella. Your body is as tight as a violin string. Try to calm down, otherwise you’ll be on edge the minute they arrive, and it will put you straight on the defensive.”
Snuggling the smaller body closer and inhaling the tantalising sandalwood scent coming from Carly’s hair, Stella’s body released more of its tightness. A soft moan passed her lips before she could stop it, and she prayed Carly hadn’t heard. Before she could say anything to cover herself, the sound of gravel crunching under a set of tyres pulled them apart.
Absolute Betrayal Page 6
