Divorced, Free, and Single

by Rosemary Lynch

Chapter Eleven

  “Jane, are you doing anything for lunch?” She looked up, and saw Alex staring back at her. It was Wednesday afternoon, and inundated with work she was busy, but she was thankful, as it stopped her thinking every ten seconds about him.

  “No nothing, why?” she asked.

  “I want to take you shopping and then go and grab a bite of lunch, if that is okay?” he asked.

  “Shopping?” she asked. Why did he want to take her shopping? He perched on the edge of her desk, and glanced at her. She knew from that position he could see straight down her cleavage, so she leaned, to emphasise it more.

  “Erm, well,” he stuttered, obviously taking in said cleavage. “The launch at the weekend, I want to buy you a dress for the dinner party in the evening,” he offered.

  “Oh, that’s okay, I am sure I have something at home I can wear,” she said. She tucked the hair that had come loose from her bun, flirtatiously behind her ear.

  “No I insist, it’s a work commitment, and it calls for something a little special.”

  “Well, okay if you are sure, thank you,” she said, smiling up at him, after all what girl would refuse an offer of a free dress.

  “Jane,” he said, in his sexy, deep husky voice that made her insides tremble.

  “Yes, Alex?” she asked, glancing up at him. The way his eyes wandered over her caused her heart to beat faster. What was it about him, why could she just not see him as her boss? All she thought about every time she looked at his gorgeous lips was having them kissing her, loving her, caressing her – everywhere. She swallowed, and quickly gathering paperwork in her hands, she shuffled them. He moved off her desk.

  “We will go about twelve if that is okay, give you time to finish whatever you are doing,” he said.

  “Sure,” she replied, shuffling the papers again as she watched him go back into his office. She dropped her head onto her desk and banged it a few times to try to knock sense into herself. She spent an hour finishing off the contracts she had been working on, and took them into him.

  “Alex, can you sign these before lunch, if they are okay, I can get them out for today?” she asked, walking straight into his office, without knocking first. She stopped dead. Sunlight poured through the window, hitting the crystals and causing rainbows to dance across his body. She stared at him.

  “Oh, sorry,” he said, “I spilt coffee on my shirt,” he explained, as he took out a clean shirt from the bottom drawer of his desk. She stood looking at him, the sight of him topless sent quivers straight between her thighs. Jane, look away, for god’s sake look way, walk out, walk out, she was saying to herself, but she was unable to move.

  “You okay?” he asked. She took a heavy breath as her eyes wandered over his tattoo, across his chest, and down to the V of his stomach.

  “No, - I mean yes, can you sign these, when you are - dressed,” she asked, and she plopped the contracts onto his desk. Her eyes lifted to his and he smiled at her, his deep, green eyes holding her prisoner. Her heart exploded with a rush of love for him, and her legs refused to move.

  His eyes left hers and he looked passed her. “I spilt coffee on my shirt,” he said. Jane spun around, and Mr Grant stood there, chief editor for non-fiction.

  “Yes, right,” he said, and he looked at Jane. Her cheeks burned.

  “Excuse me, coffee, Mr Grant?” she asked, as she pushed passed him.

  “Yes please,” he replied, looking after her with a smile, as she hurried into the kitchen area.

  “That’s down right mean,” Mr Grant said, as he plonked himself casually into a chair.

  “What is?” Alex asked, as he buttoned up his shirt.

  “Stripping off in front of her, did you see her face?” he chuckled.

  “No what about her face?” Alex asked.

  “God you are an idiot, if she looked at me like that I would be straight in her knickers and fucking her over my desk.”

  “Hey, watch your mouth,” Alex said, pointing his finger at him, as anger ripped through him unexpectedly.

  “Okay, bloody hell Alex I was only messing around,” he retorted, shocked at his sudden outburst, and the angry frown that now creased his forehead. He looked as if he was going to reach across the table and thump him in the face.

  “Yes well do not speak of her like that. She’s not one of your floozies Mark, okay, she is my PA, have some bloody respect,” he said forcefully. If anyone were to fuck Jane over his desk, it would be him and not that slimy arsehole of an editor.

  “Sure, no problem, jeez,” he replied, lifting a hand to him in surrender.

  “I will get these finished by lunch, Jane,” Alex called after her, as he picked up the contracts and moved them to the side of his desk.

  “Yeah, great,” she called back. After she brought in the coffees, she closed the door, and went and sat at her desk. She placed her hand on her forehead, and sighed, not sure what she was going to do. She loved her job, but she loved Alex more, and the more time she spent with him, the worse it was getting. Perhaps she may be able to find another opening within the company, but the thought of not working for Alex, or seeing him every day broke her heart.

  Mr Grant left about an hour later, and he gave Jane a grin as he walked out of the door. Great, she thought, that will be all around the company by the end of the day.

  At twelve prompt he came out of his office, now jacketless, and tieless he was looking a little harassed.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “Yes fine, the Townsend’s contract is giving me grief, I have had to alter it again, sorry,” he apologised as he put it on her desk. “Are you ready?”

  “Yep,” she replied, and she grabbed her bag. She exited the office first, walked over to the lift, and pushed the button. The lift was already there and it opened straight away, they stepped inside. She leaned against the back of the lift, and swallowed; he glanced at her and smiled as he pushed the button for the ground floor. Every time she was in a lift alone with him, she recalled the first night they had met, and she wondered if he did too. She nodded her head in time to the irritating lift music to distract her thoughts.

  “I really must get that rubbish changed,” he said, glancing to her.

  “What?” she asked.

  “The music, it is so annoying,”

  “Yes it is,” she agreed. The door opened, and they exited and walked over to the front desk.

  “Louise, I will be out for a few hours, and so is Jane, can you take any messages and tell whoever we will call them back,” he asked.

  “Of course, Mr Hartley-Stone,” she replied, with a smile.

  He hailed a cab. He opened the door for her, and she climbed inside.

  “Harrods,” he said the driver. She looked at him.

  “Harrods, are you serious, it will cost a fortune in there.”

  “So,” he said giving her a shrug and a smile. “You need to look the part, Jane. It is a company expense.”

  “Isn’t that a little extravagant, I mean, how can you justify putting that through on expenses,” she said. He laughed, he had a lovely laugh, and it made her smile.

  “What?” she asked. “What’s so funny?”

  “Have you not read your pack on this company?” he asked her.

  “Well, no, I haven’t had time yet to read it,” she admitted. He turned sideways and looked at her.

  “Jane, I own this company. I am the one who signs off the expenses,” he said.

  “What!” she replied, her mouth aghast as she stared at him.

  She had worked for him for over a month, and had spent an entire weekend at his home in the country and she did not even know.

  “Oh god, A.H.S Publishing, of course it’s you!” she held her hand to her forehead. “I can’t believe I did not see that. That means you’re ….” She hesitated, not sure whether to say, she had heard other people in work refer to the big boss as god. No wonder they always used to shut up talking about ‘god’ whenever she came near them. />
  “Like what, Jane?” he asked.

  “Well, I mean, you’re the big, boss,” she said.

  “You mean, ‘god’,” he said, smiling at her. She sucked her lower lip, and as she looked into his shining eyes, he laughed.

  “I know what they call me, Jane,” he said.

  “I feel an idiot,” she said. He placed a hand on her knee, and the warmth from his hand flooded through her body like a wave of ecstasy. There he was, breaking that no touching rule, again!

  “You are not an idiot, Jane. I like it that you did not know who I was, and that you liked me, for being me,” he said, and he was being sincere.

  “I spent the whole weekend with you, why didn’t you say?” she asked, as her heart wrenched. Not only was he her boss, but he was the big boss, now what was she going to do. He shrugged.

  “I assumed you knew,” he replied and he removed his hand from her knee as they pulled up outside Harrods.

  He got out and offered her his hand; she took it and let him help her out of the taxi. She had come to realise that Alex was an old-fashioned man who still believed in chivalry, and she loved to be treated as a Lady instead of a punch bag.

  They entered the store, and she looked around in wonder, as she had never been to Harrods.

  “We will find someone to help you,” he said, pushing the button for the lift. She was a little nervous as they walked into the lift, as she had never had someone buy her a dress. Even though it was for work, it was kind-of cool.

  She gazed in silent wonder at all the beautiful designer clothes. As they walked through the store, a young woman who offered to help find her a dress approached them.

  “It needs to be full length,” Alex said, walking with her towards the most amazing ball gowns and evening dresses she had ever seen in her entire life. The sort you ogle over when watching the Oscars.

  She watched Alex as his eyes scoured the dresses; and as he caught her gaze, he smiled at her.

  “What colour do you fancy?” he asked.

  “I don’t mind,” she replied. The young woman looked at her, her eyes going from her bust, to her hips and down.

  “A twelve, yes?” she asked, and she nodded. “I will grab you a selection in different colours and we can see what suits your colouring best,” she announced. The assistant dived into the array of gowns, and came back a few minutes later with an armful.

  “Would you like to follow me, madam,” she said, walking towards the dressing rooms. They both followed her and Alex sat on a chair outside and waited.

  Stripped to her knickers the young woman helped her on with the first dress. It was very pretty, white with short sleeves and a v neckline. It cut in at the waist and flared out from under the breasts. She did not like it. She walked out to show him and he shook his head.

  “Good, I didn’t like it either,” she said, and he smiled. The next was electric blue, thin straps, a ruffled front and it swept back into bow at the back and dropped to the floor. It was quite pretty. Alex shook his head, and she went back inside the changing room. Her seventh dress was red. It was strapless, corseted with tiny diamantes’ emblazoned across the front, it cut in tight to her waist, skimming her hips it flared out a little towards the bottom. It was gorgeous. Her tidy bun now dishevelled left strands of her hair framing her face. She blew her hair out of her eyes, stepped out of the dressing room and looked at him.

  Alex nearly fell off his chair as she walked out in a stunning red dress. He stood up, and his eyes widened as he looked at her. Jane’s heart flipped, she could see that he liked this one.

  “Jane, it looks fabulous, it has to be this one,” he said, having never in his entire life seen a more beautiful looking woman. “Do you like it?” he asked, as he walked up to her. She breathed in deep, inhaling him as he drew near her.

  “I love it,” she replied, and for a moment, they gazed at each other. He swallowed and looked at the woman.

  “We will take it. Can you help her with some shoes and a bag?”

  “Of course, Sir,” she said, with a nod of her head.

  As the woman removed the gown, Jane looked at the label and nearly died, as it was £1,400.

  One dress, a pair of shoes, and a handbag later, they left Harrods and grabbed a taxi. They stopped outside Jamie Oliver’s restaurant.

  “Don’t you need to book here?” she asked as they walked towards the door.

  “I have,” he replied, opening the door for her.

  “Oh,” she said surprised. Shown straight to their table, they sat.

  It was very nice, and she perused the menu. It was hard to keep thinking of him as her boss, as she loved being around him.

  “May I take your order,” a young man asked.

  “Yes, I will have the sirloin, Jane?” Alex asked.

  “Lemon sole, please,” she said, giving the young man a smile.

  “Would you like some wine?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, white, please,” she replied, glancing up to the waiter.

  “Make that a bottle, thanks” Alex said, “the best of whatever you have,” he added. The young man gave him a nod, and took the menus.

  “Thank you, Alex,” she said.

  “You are welcome. So looking forward to the trip?” he asked. She nodded.

  “Yes I am,” she replied. “I have never been to Scotland.”

  “Really?” he remarked. She nodded.

  “I have never been anywhere,” she confessed. “Well, apart from Mallorca to see mum, oh and France, once,” she added.

  “Would you like to travel?” he asked.

  “Yes, I would love to see everything,” she replied, looking at him. He was so handsome, Josh was cute, and had his own boyish charm, but she knew he had been a bit of fun. Alex was different he had more of the old-fashioned kind of ruggedness about him, which she found irresistibly attractive.

  “Look, I was thinking. As it is a bank holiday weekend, do you fancy staying an extra night?” he asked. She looked at him surprised.

  “I could show you the sites?” he added. She thought about for about a millisecond, and nodded.

  “Yes, Alex, that would be nice thank you,” she replied. He nodded.

  “Good, can you change the flight, ring the hotel, and extend our rooms for another night?”

  “Yes, I’ll do it when we get back to the office.” She looked up as their waiter placed their lunch in front of them. It looked and smelt wonderful.

  “Thank you,” they both said, in unison. Alex poured the wine.

  “So why did your last PA leave, you never did say?” she asked. He took a sip of his wine.

  “She retired. Mary was sixty last month, she and her husband sold up and moved to Devon, to be near their grandchildren,” he said. “She was with me from day one, twenty odd years. That is why I did not interview you, as I knew it would be hard to find someone to replace Mary, so I left it to personnel.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said, sipping her wine.

  “They made a great choice,” he said. Her cheeks burned, and she quickly shovelled some sole into her mouth.

  “So,” she said, trying to distract herself from his eyes. “Did you mean what you said, about wanting to go off around the world and do something different? If you started this company it must be hard to think about leaving it?”

  “Yes, I did mean it. I have spent too much of my life working, and not much time enjoying it. I want to travel, and see the world.”

  “Did you never want a family?” she asked, she thought perhaps that had been too personal as he went quiet for a moment.

  “Jane, work has been my family for the last twenty years. I have never taken the time to find someone, yet alone consider having children. All I wanted was success, and I got it, but….” he stopped, and took a sip of his wine.

  “But what?” she asked.

  “But hitting my forties I realised how lonely I was, how fast my life has gone. What is it all for if I have no one to share it with, no time to enjoy the fin
ancial reward?”

  “Was there ever anyone?” she asked. He shook his head, and his eyes penetrated her as he stared.

  “No.”

  “So,” she said, still holding his gaze. “If you found the right person, would you give it up?” He nodded, still gazing at her.

  “Yes, I would sell it all.”

  “Wow,” she said, and they fell quiet for a moment.

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “Me?” she questioned.

  “Yes, your marriage children. Would you ever do it again?”

  “What, children or marriage?” she asked. He shrugged.

  “Both,” he replied. She wiped her mouth with a napkin.

  “Maybe, if I found the right person. My marriage to Sam wasn’t great, so I guess I am a little nervous about it being like that again.”

  “Why, what was it like?” he asked, he put down his fork. “I am sorry, that was too personal.” She shook her head.

  “No it’s fine,” she said, with a smile. She was ready to tell him. “I was sixteen when I met Sam, young and stupid I guess. It was after my father died so maybe subconsciously I was looking for someone to replace him. Sam is nine years older than I am, and well, before I knew what was happening, I was married, with twin boys.

  I suppose it is similar to your mum and dad. I put up with Sam and his violent, domineering ways because of the boys, although he never laid a finger on them.” Alex frowned at her.

  “You?” he asked, anger rising within him at the thought of anyone ever hurting her. She nodded and lowering her eyes from him, she stared at her plate.

  “Yes, he did hit me, and now I am out of that situation I feel so ashamed that I had put up with it all those years. When you are stuck in it so deep, so trapped there is nothing you can do.” She looked back at him. “My mum moved to Spain, when the boys were five, and I have no one else. No matter what, I could not risk losing my boys, and if I had left, Sam would have taken them from me. When they left school, I got a part-time job at the bank, Sam did not like, and I guess he felt his grip on me waning. He started going out more, clubbing, parties, and so on.

  Of course, I would like to have gone out. I had spent eighteen years stuck at home, but it never occurred to him to ask me or take me out.” She stopped for a moment, and took a drink.