Twelve Days The Beginning

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The rest of the weekend was bizarre - it was the only way to describe it. After their strange truce of Friday night, Saturday and Sunday had passed in a whirl of normality. Household chores had been tackled side by side, shopping had been done and they had talked like they hadn’t talked in a long while.

Elise was pleased to realise that Dale had caught up his hours at work and was now trying to stay on the straight and narrow. There were moments when he talked with passion and she saw glimpses of the old Dale again, reminding her of the man he used to be and the man that she had first fallen in love with all those years ago.

On Sunday they had visited a car boot sale; really an indoor Christmas fair as it was far too cold and out of season for a proper boot sale. There were the usual items of junk for sale as well as some festive decorations and they found themselves buying odds and ends and bartering with the best of them to save fifty pence here and there. By the time they had finished they both had bags full of things that they really didn’t need but they had been swept away by the excitement of it all and had just enjoyed each other’s company.

They finished the day off at a pizza restaurant and then they both retired relatively early to bed in preparation for work the next day. They didn’t make love again and Elise was relieved for that. That one occasion had felt right but she couldn’t have coped with any more than that. Whether or not there was going to be a future for her and Vaughn, it didn’t feel right being with anyone else anymore, not even her husband.

The very same husband, who, unbelievably, throughout the whole entire weekend, hadn’t touched one single drop of alcohol.




Monday was Christmas Eve, traditionally a quiet day on the roads and at work for which Elise was glad. A lot of offices closed over the Christmas period but Andrews & Andrews had always believed in some staff being available on all working days, so there was a rota of skeleton staff who worked a half day on Christmas Eve.

Elise usually always worked it as she hadn’t ever really celebrated Christmas since she had been with the company. Dale was always too busy drinking to do anything anyway and so it had just become another working day to her. In latter years, it had provided a blissful relief from the trauma that was her home life.

Walking into the office, she was surprised to see that it was quite busy. Most staff had obviously elected to work this year. As she hadn’t been in at the end of last week, she had no idea whether Stephen or Olivia would be in but she really hoped that good fortune would be smiling on her as far as Olivia was concerned. The bruise on her cheek had largely worn off but was still just visible if you looked hard enough and she had no idea how the two of them were going to conduct anything approaching a working relationship.



She was aware of several pairs of eyes watching her as she walked through the office but no one said anything and she just kept her head down, putting on foot in front of the other.

When she eventually arrived at her desk, she was pleased to see Stephen and even happier that there was currently no sign of Olivia. Stephen jumped up when he saw her and came around his desk to give her a crushing hug, not caring who saw it would seem.

“Hi babe, it’s so good to see you. Mmm... you smell good...” He began to snuggle into her neck and she pushed against him good-naturedly.

“Stephen! Put me down!” she wriggled out of his hold and laughed at the manufactured hurt that appeared on his face.

“Hey, can’t blame a man for trying – besides, it really is good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

He gave her a mock pout before swatting her lightly on her backside and sitting back down at his desk. Elise removed her coat and hung it on the rack, aware that Stephen was watching her the whole time.

“I heard what happened. You OK?” He asked.

She turned to face him. Which bit was he referring to? The conference, her sleeping with Vaughn, the whole fight incident or the slap from Olivia? Hard to tell really and she wasn’t sure she was OK with any of them.

“I’m fine.” She said, electing not to clarify exactly what he had been referring to, it wouldn’t have made any difference to her answer anyway.

“So, is it just us today?” she asked as she settled at her desk.

“Looks that way. I think Olivia said she had today off and I can’t say I’m sorry – she was in such a bitch of a mood on Friday once she heard about you and Vaughn at the conference. Christ knows what was eating her.” Stephen replied. Elise had a pretty fair idea.

“Thanks for what you did on Friday, Stephen. Cole told me you had been trying to quash some of the rumours. I really appreciate that.” Elise smiled at him, surprised to find that she was starting to build a fondness for this man who up until recently had just been an absolute pain in the backside.

“No worries Elise, I like you. You’re my desk buddy. I don’t want to hear people saying things about you, regardless of whether or not they are true. Besides which, Vaughn and I have known each other forever. He has my back and I have his – simple as that.” Stephen turned to carry on with his work and Elise surprised herself by reaching over to touch his arm and stop him.

“Thank you, Stephen,” she said, “Thank you for caring.” Abruptly she felt tears well in her eyes and hastily went to dash them away.



“Babe – don’t you dare blub on me,” he said, “I am a modern man and I cope with most things but blubbing women are so not my scene.” He laughed. “You carry on like this and I’ll feed you to the office rumour mill myself!”

Elise laughed back, “And for a minute there I almost liked you. I always knew I had poor judgement!”

Stephen punched her lightly on the arm. “You don’t have poor judgement, Elise – you’ve made my man Vaughn very happy. That, as far as I am concerned is excellent judgement.”

“Ha. I don’t know about that,” Elise replied, “He wasn’t exactly singing from the rooftops when we got back here on Friday after all the rumours had started. We had words and he left without so much as a backward glance. According to Olivia,” she spat the other girl’s name out with barely concealed venom, “he had asked her to stay behind and wait for him so if anyone’s making him happy, I can assure you it’s not me.”

Stephen looked at her with an odd expression on his face. “When did you last speak to Vaughn, Elise?”

“Friday, when we got back here after the conference. I left to go home before him but Olivia was still here waiting for him. Why?” Subconsciously she touched her cheek where Olivia had slapped her, the memories momentarily flooding back.

“I think you should open your e-mails Elise.” Stephen said, a serious expression crossing his handsome features.

“I don’t understand – why do I need to open my e-mails?”

“Just do it, Elise,” replied Stephen, an almost commanding edge to his tone, “and then we’ll talk.”

Elise hadn’t checked her inbox for several days so wasn’t surprised to find it overflowing with all the usual company memos. Quickly she skimmed through those, mentally noting any that seemed to be important enough to warrant further reading. There was one reporting on the conference that they had attended at the end of last week and Elise left that one for later too – Christ knows what that would contain and Elise couldn’t bear to see Vaughn’s name shamed in print. There was also her usual morning welcome from Cole and one from Stephen on Friday which simply said “Missing you babe.” When she read that one she glanced across at Stephen and he merely smiled innocently. “Well I was.” She rolled her eyes and returned to the rest of her inbox.

Finally she reached the last two and was alarmed to see that one was from Olivia and the final one was from Vaughn. She opted to open the one from Olivia first.

Friday 21st Dec. 18:30

Elise,

I am sorry that I slapped you today. That was beneath me.

You are a bitch and always will be. I do not regret anything I said.



You have stolen from me one too many times and you will get your comeuppance. Your time will come.

For now though, Happy Christmas, Olivia.

Elise shivered; the hatred poured from the page and whilst she didn’t wish to give it any mileage, she couldn’t help but be a little fearful of what the girl meant. She read and re-read the e-mail countless times trying to make sense of the few simple lines. What did the girl mean that she had stolen from her one too many times? And why the hell was Olivia threatening her in any case? None of it made any sense and she looked across at Stephen to see him watching her.

“What does any of this mean, Stephen? I don’t understand.”

Stephen leaned across Elise’s desk to read the e-mail and when he had finished, he just shrugged. “I have no idea. She’s always had a screw loose if you ask me – beautiful but seriously damaged.”

“How can you find someone who writes an e-mail like that ‘beautiful’?” Elise asked incredulously.

“Hey babe – I can’t help it if I’m a slave to my baser instincts.” And he gestured rudely at his crotch before leaning back across to his own desk.

Elise just shook her head at him in exasperation. “How on earth you have a fiancée is beyond me.” She said, looking away and reading the e-mail again.

Did she reply? If she did, what did she reply? Did it deserve a reply?

Absently she tapped her fingers over the keys of her keyboard lightly as she pondered what would be the correct thing to do. It actually didn’t matter either way she supposed, it wasn’t as if they were going to be friends whether she replied or not.

In the end she decided that she wanted Olivia to know that she would not be bullied, regardless of whatever issues the girl had with her, so she quickly typed a response.

Monday 24th Dec. 9.21am

Olivia,

I very much appreciate your apology with regards to physically injuring me although as far as I am concerned, every aspect of your behaviour on Friday was completely out of order.

I have no idea what your issues with me are but I will continue to put any differences we may have aside whilst we are in the workplace. I would appreciate it if you could offer me the same courtesy.

Hope you too had an enjoyable Christmas.

Regards,

Elise.

Probably more than the girl deserved but hopefully it would show her that Elise was not affected by her threats. She knew from past painful experience that the only way to deal with bullies was to stand up to them and although Olivia clearly thought she had grounds for her grievances, the workplace was not the place to air them. Perhaps, one day, they could talk things through but for now, Elise was prepared to work with the girl and that was all.

Putting Olivia to one side, she turned her attention to the e-mail from Vaughn, her hand hovering over the mouse as she decided whether to open it or to delete it unread. She was tempted to do just that, given the mess that things were already in but curiosity got the better of her – particularly as Stephen had told her to read her e-mails – and so she opened it, her fingers shaking slightly as she clicked the button.

Monday 24th Dec. 07.40am

Dear Elise,

I am sorry that I didn’t see you again on Friday – things took longer to sort out than I had hoped.

I decided to start my break a little earlier than planned so will be on my way to my sister’s by the time you read this.

I need you to know that I regret how we parted on Friday and wish that we could go back to that beautiful evening at the conference when it was just the two of us together. I have never experienced a night like that and I have thought of nothing else since we parted. Somehow you have got inside of me, right down deep inside and I feel like I am drowning in emotion. I need time to work out what that means for me and how the hell I cope with my feelings, when the rest of the world becomes involved.

I can’t deal with what your bastard of a husband does to you and the thought of any other man touching you completely destroys me. It is not an emotion that I am used to.

You need to understand that I am not running away but the way I reacted to Edwin Dunn at the conference was a wake-up call for me. Shit, I was in control then Elise but despite what I said to you afterwards, it was only just. The more I see you, the more I need you and the more that I need you, the further from me my control slips. My cock is hard every time I think about you and I feel like I can’t see straight any more.

I can’t stop thinking about you, Elise – you are so f*cking beautiful and even just typing this to you now is driving me insane. You are there, in my head, every minute of every day. There are so many things I want to do to you and with you and I can’t bear that I have no right to feel like that.

I have left you two presents in your drawer, both of which I have given to you selfishly for my gain. Please read the notes.

I need to be with you Elise, my body needs to be with you and in my head I need to be with you; I guess I just need a little time to catch up.

Open your presents for me now, my beautiful angel – I am imagining your face as you do. Yours as always,

Vaughn.

By the time Elise got to the end of the e-mail, the words had become blurry through the tears running down her cheeks. Never before had anyone sent her anything so heartfelt and beautiful and it touched her right down to her core. She had been the one to push him away on Friday with her harsh words but still here he was apologising for needing some space. She had blamed him for everything going wrong in her life, which was completely unfair. She had been awful to him and he had gone and bought her presents. The reality of how much this man had put himself on the line for her over the last few days began to sink in and she sobbed even louder, no longer caring that her life was continuing to play out in full view of the office.

To her right, she heard Stephen pick up the phone and speak into it and suddenly she was engulfed in a pair of arms – arms that felt so good, like coming home - and she clung onto Cole for dear life as he steered her to one of the small meeting rooms, sitting her down and locking the door behind him.

Cole pulled up a chair adjacent to her and pulled her tight into his side, allowing her to cry, whilst silently holding her and comforting her as he had done so many times before. Eventually she cleared her throat and began to talk; letting all of the frustration and confusion of the last few days out to the only person in the world she trusted with all her heart.

“What the hell have I done, Cole? I have made such a bloody mess of everything. I was mad at Vaughn, I was horrible to him and he left. I thought that was it – who would want to get involved with me anyway? I didn’t speak to him again and then that bitch Olivia told me she was waiting for him so I thought he was with her this weekend. Shit, maybe he was. But then Dale - he was weird this weekend - good weird - and we had a weekend like the old days. It threw me totally and my brain was so messed up with Vaughn and Olivia and I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I let Dale make love to me, Cole, and I hated every moment but I also knew it was right, knew it was how it should be. But the whole time, the whole time I was thinking of Vaughn and how I felt that I had betrayed him. I told Vaughn that I wouldn’t sleep with Dale but I thought that he was with Olivia and that that made it OK. But now I’ve just opened this e-mail Cole, a beautiful, wonderful e-mail and he has bought me presents and I just don’t know what the hell is going on anymore. I don’t know who I am betraying with who and all I know is that I have feelings for Vaughn yet I slept with Dale. My marriage is over but how can I tell Vaughn that I slept with Dale willingly and what if he has been with Olivia? Where does that leave me? Us? Christ, this is all such a mess.”

“Sshh... Elise, it’s OK. It’ll all be OK, I promise.” Cole murmured soothingly as he rubbed her back in endless circles. “It feels bad now but I’m sure it can all be sorted out.”

“But how? How can this be sorted out? I want to be with Vaughn, more than I have ever wanted anything in my life but I can’t pretend that I didn’t betray his trust. I told him I wouldn’t sleep with Dale and I did. It happened and I can’t lie to him Cole, I will not build my future on lies. And for all that I know, he has spent the whole weekend with bloody Olivia anyway. Shit. This is so messed up.”

Cole was prevented from replying by a discreet knock at the door. Getting up to unlock it, he opened the door to reveal Stephen who entered carrying two small but beautifully wrapped parcels.

“I got these out of your drawer.” He said, handing them to Elise. “Vaughn told me he had put them there and he wanted me to make sure you got them. I know that now might not be the time but I thought maybe you should open them; perhaps it might help.” He shrugged and then patted Cole on the back before heading out the door.



“Thanks, mate,” he said to Cole, “you are so much better at this shit than me!”

Cole laughed and then locked the door again as Stephen went back to the office.

“Baby...you really need to stop doing this to yourself, you know.” Cole said as he returned to where Elise was sat and hunkered down in front of her. “Maybe you should just be on your own for a while? If you’ve decided to leave Dale then that is going to take all of your energy so perhaps you should just try to forget about Vaughn for a while. Let him make his own mistakes with Olivia, if that is what he is doing, and then when you’re all sorted out, maybe you two can get things back on track.”

Elise listened and looked down at her best friend, thinking how much easier things would be if he was the man she had fallen in love with. His advice made sense, and the rational part of her brain registered that she needed to take a step back from everything and just concentrate on one thing at a time. The problem was that Vaughn was in her heart now and she was being stabbed with jealousy at the thought of him being with anyone else – especially Olivia. She couldn’t stand back and let that happen – no way in the world would she do that. Perhaps she could forgive him for this weekend if he had been with Olivia but then, if he had, how could she ever trust him again? She would be right back to where she started.

Elise looked down at Cole and grabbed onto his hands. “I love him, Cole,” she said simply, “I don’t think I can let him go.”

“But maybe you’re going to have to. As difficult as that is going to be, you have to think about everything else as well. I mean, if you leave Dale, where are you going to live? Have you thought about that? Then there is the whole issue of a divorce - what are you going to do about that? Are you going to go for separation or straight for divorce for unreasonable behaviour? If you do that, then the whole sordid truth will come out and that will have a direct impact on Vaughn and anyone else that’s in your life. You also don’t know how Dale will react – what’s to say he’ll just let you go? He might decide that the relationship isn’t over for him and make it very difficult for you to move on. You need to think about all of these things, Elise, and you can’t do that when you’re worrying about someone else that you may or may not be in love with.”

“I am in love with him Cole.” She said fervently, “There are no ifs, buts or maybe’s. I’ve never felt like this, not even in the early days with Dale. I know it’s sudden but I know that it’s the real thing.”

“Okay, Elise,” Cole said calmly, “I understand that you say you are in love with him and I understand that you want to be with him but don’t you see – you have to think about everything else too. You can’t just expect to pick up with someone totally new without sorting out all the other things first. I would be the first person to help you leave Dale, you know that and you know I’ve wanted you to leave him for a long time but you can’t just pin all your hopes on someone who you’ve only just met, of whose feelings you are unsure and who you don’t even totally trust. For heaven’s sake, Elise, you’re not even sure he’s being ‘faithful’ to you!”

“I know Cole, I know. That’s why it’s all so bloody hopeless!”



She huffed out a sigh and put her head in her hands; this was all so completely messed up it was almost laughable. She wished that Vaughn was here now so that she could ask him about the weekend. She would know if he was lying. That way she could decide if they had a future and whilst that wasn’t relevant to what was going on with Dale, she would at least have one of her ducks in a row and then she could hope that the rest would follow.

But he wasn’t here and she had no way of contacting him. Suddenly she remembered the presents that she had set on the table after Stephen had given them to her. Maybe like he said, it would help to open those.

She went to pick up the smaller of the two packages but was stopped by Cole’s hand on her arm.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Elise? You’re messed up enough as it is – these may make things a whole lot worse.”

“They might do but they might make it better. Either way, I don’t want to die wondering and as things can’t get any more messed up. I may as well just open them and see which way the dice roll.” She reached forward and picked up the first package.

“Do you want me to stay, babe?” Cole asked and she nodded at him. Whatever these packages contained, she and Cole had no secrets. Also she couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t end up having another blubber fest.

The first parcel was really small and soft and Elise couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be. Slowly she opened one end and then the other before finally slipping her finger under the tape in the middle. As she pulled the wrapping apart, a folded piece of paper fell out and she opened it to reveal the note that Vaughn had referred to in his e-mail. It was hand written, the letters bold and strong.

These are for Christmas Day.

Remember what I said at the hotel.

Pretend you are with me.

I will be with you.

I need to know that you are with me too.

Elise swallowed and slowly opened the package to reveal the most exquisite pair of black, sheer silk stockings; intricately embroidered lace curved around the elasticated tops, and they were gossamer-soft. So delicate, so beautiful and so totally perfect.

To anyone else these were just stockings but to her they were everything. Vaughn had told her only to ever wear them for him and now he had bought these for her to wear on Christmas Day. They wouldn’t be together but by asking her to wear these, he was ensuring that they would be in each other’s thoughts. He was trusting her to carry out his wishes and wear these; he would be imagining her wearing them, what she looked like, how they made her feel, perhaps imagining himself removing them - and that was unbelievably erotic. She felt the beginnings of arousal as she ran her fingers over the delicate lace and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would be wearing these for him. She wanted to put them on right now and never take them off.

A slight cough made her look up and for the first time she remembered that Cole was still in the room, his gaze caught by the object that she had just opened.

“Erm, Elise – can I just say that I have no idea what the significance of that present is but watching you caress them and imagining them on your beautiful legs is kind of having an effect. Perhaps we could move onto the second present now?”

Laughing, she shot a look down at his crotch, grinning mischievously when she noted the beginning of his arousal.

Hastily, Cole crossed his legs. “Blatantly looking at it, young lady, is only going to make it worse.” He admonished, “I strongly suggest we move onto the second present before I completely embarrass myself!”

Still giggling, she reached for the second package; secretly loving that she had this effect on Cole and knowing that it would never go anywhere. There had been times when he had seriously affected her too and she guessed there would always been this undertone of attraction between them. She wondered if he had come to any further conclusions following his revelation but decided that now wasn’t the time to ask him. Perhaps after Christmas they could have a good heart to heart and maybe she would be the one doling out the advice for a change.

The second present was larger, also beautifully wrapped and solid. Intrigued, Elise slowly opened it and peeled away the packaging, only to be confronted by a plain white box. Turning it around she found a small sticky tab which was holding the box together, and slipped her fingernail underneath it to open it. Gently, she eased the tab out and opened the flap of the box, lifting it clear so that she could examine the contents. Instantly, she sucked in a breath as she recognised the object in the box – it was the latest smart phone that they had all been chatting about over dinner at the hotel. On top of the phone was another folded note which she removed and opened out to read.

This is for us. I have programmed my number into it and I have yours.

The bill is all taken care of.

I don’t expect you to call me and I will obviously not call you.

But I just want to know that we can reach each other.

Whenever, wherever.

Merry Christmas my beautiful angel.



Tears pricking at her eyes, Elise removed the phone from the box and powered it up as Cole looked across and whistled.

“Whew! That’s some serious phone hardware there. He’s got taste, I’ll give him that.”

Elise looked at the phone in awe; she had never had anything so high tech before and she wasn’t even convinced she would know how to use it. Checking out the rest of the box, she found the charger unit and various connecting leads along with a stunning lime green diamante cover for the phone – her favourite colour – she had no idea how he knew that.

The phone began to chirp and she hastily looked at the screen, pleased to see that it was displaying a text message with a ‘click here to view’ button so she didn’t have to work out how to read it.

Opening the message she saw that it was from Vaughn. The message was timed first thing that morning so he must have sent it before he headed off to his sister’s house. It was short and to the point:-

Just checking. Text me back if you can. I miss you. x x

Helplessly she looked over at Cole who was busily reading the instruction manual and almost salivating over the various features and apps. She showed him the text message.

“Any idea on how I reply?” she asked.

Cole shook his head at her mystified. “You really don’t do technology, do you?”

“Shut up. I can’t help that I’m a sweet and innocent that’s lead a sheltered life.”

“Ha ha – as if, Elise Grayson. Give it here – let me have a look.”

Elise handed the phone over to Cole and took a moment to consider the gifts that Vaughn had given her. Polar opposites of each other but equally symbolic in their own way and both allowed the two of them to have some form of contact with each other whilst they were apart. No one had ever given her anything so beautiful and she found herself falling deeper and deeper into this man. Apart from what Olivia had said, he had given her no reason to doubt his intentions towards her - to the contrary in fact. She just hoped that Olivia had been lying; otherwise she really didn’t know how she was going to recover from this one.