Abigail

by SK Alastriona

Abigail, a single mother, finds herself on a crossroad in her life. Will she choose to remain in her comfort zone or take that daring opportunity that will gain her more than she anticipated for.. Note: erotic passages. 18

-Abigail- by S.K. Alastriona -

MARCH

-1-

Wednesday.

What an utterly boring event. Abby - short for Abigail - was tired and wanted to go home, but she still needed to be here for another hour. Normally she detested being a host at an event, any event, where it was required to wear a skirt or a dress. She needed the money though, as some of her projects were postponed and rent was due. Unfortunately, this was the only thing the agency had to offer her on such short notice.

She was just in the process of grabbing another box of flyers from behind the stand when a female voice requested her attention, asking if anyone could assist her. Abby sighed, straightened her back and with a professional smile on her face went back to the front of the stand.

"Miss, would you be so kind to direct me to the booth of the ´Glamour Closet´ please. I cannot seem to find it on the floorplan." She spoke with a slight Southern accent and for some reason that annoyed the hell out of Abby.

"Well now Miss, you should go to the reception area at the entrance of the hall. There are hosts who will be happy to accompany you to any company represented at this event." Abby replied swiftly, trying not to let her voice sound too patronising.

A man´s voice coming from her far left replied as well: "I told you Franny. Now can we go there and ask for directions? I am really tired of running after you and being used as your mule."

Abby tried to keep a straight face, nodded to the woman and turned around to let her know that from her point of view this conversation had ended.

"Well this girl obviously works here so I believe she is obligated to escort me to the Glamour Closet" the woman called Franny replied. Abby spun on her heel to look at this Franny and felt a slight warmth crawling up her neck towards her face. Careful now Abs, she told herself. Don´t let this little lady get to you, as it will probably bite you in the ass.

"I represent ´Royal Accessories´ and not the fair Miss," Abby said slowly. "As I said, if you wish to request a host, I strongly suggest you go to the reception area for assistance. You already have your personal mule, I do not think you need a PA too. "She heard a sharp inhalation of air coming from the man as she concluded the sentence and was immediately sorry for her improvident remark. She turned towards him to apologise but she met dark brown eyes that seemed to be on fire. Taken aback she kept quiet and tried to express her regret with her eyes but that didn´t work at all.

"Well Fran, Ms.. " he bent over slightly to read her name tag "A. Fraser would not suit as a PA. She´s far too witty and a redhead. You know what that means…" he didn´t finish but gave her a look that Abby understood perfectly. That little… She didn´t have time to give some smart comment as ´the mule´ -Abby thought that was a pretty good name for him- took Fran´s arm and literally dragged her towards the entrance of the building.

As soon as she came home that night, she kicked off her high heels and unzipped her skirt. Her stockings followed shortly, as well as her blouse and blazer. God, public transportation is hell in LA after 10pm with perverts trying to touch you. She felt sweaty and dirty and needed a shower badly. On her way home she discovered 3 messages from her ex, Martin. He took Skye with him to visit Disney World and would not return for five days. What a blessing that they got along so nicely when it came to raising their daughter, who just turned ten the week before. They had only recently separated, but were always clear in their beliefs, that even if it didn´t work out between them, Skye would always be their priority and clear communication would be key, no matter what.

What a day. The event was a total flop and she'd only had 2 customers all day that wanted to make an appointment at the store. The rest were only interested in gathering brochures or flyers. And it ended with a bang, she thought. Tomorrow she had another day there.

She felt refreshed after her shower and while sitting on her bed blow drying her long red hair, her mind went back to the man with the dark brown eyes with the slight amber flecks. She had never seen eyes like that. She was a graphic designer by profession and her speciality was ´eyes´. She was genuinely intrigued by these eyes. She tried to remember what he looked like, but her mind went back to his eyes every single time. Well chances were that she would never cross paths with him again. Her hair was almost dry and she felt the exhaustion take over. Slipping under her duvet and turning off the lights, her last thoughts were of dark brown / amber eyes.

-2-

Thursday.

"Of course we can make an appointment. Let's sit down and I can write down the details." Abby had a busy morning with potential customers and really longed for a hot cup of coffee. This day went well and she was pleased as she saw the list of names on her calendar. As soon as this couple were registered she grabbed the sign saying "On a little break, will return shortly" and placed it on the reception counter of her booth. This morning she felt a little ´redheaded´ and had chosen flared trousers that looked a bit like a long skirt. She prayed, not being religious at all, they wouldn´t report this to the agency, but at the same time she shrugged her shoulders as she actually didn't care and went to the coffee bar. The barista was absolutely top notch.

"Ms Fraser." a slightly familiar voice said. Abby turned around to locate the person belonging to that voice. ´The mule´ was standing about 10 feet away holding up a cup of coffee. What is HE doing here, she thought. She frowned, hesitated, but then left the queue and walked the distance to accept the offered coffee.

"Thank you, Mister.. " she replied with a question mark in her tone.

"Scott" he said and observed her with his head slightly bent to his left.

"Thank you Mr Scott, but to what do I owe the pleasure of 1) you being here at this fair for the second day in a row, as it clearly annoyed you yesterday and 2) this cup of coffee." She carefully took a sip of the hot coffee and felt it slide down towards her stomach. Aah, just what she needed.

"You Ms Fraser." This blunt and totally unexpected answer startled her and she nearly choked on the second sip of coffee. She coughed loudly to clear her throat which resulted in a number of disapproving looks from several people. She couldn´t care less and gazed at him with tears still in her eyes.

"Shall we go somewhere where it is more private, so I can discuss a proposition with you?" he had already started to walk away, but Abby had no intention of following him.

"Is there a problem Ms Fraser?"

"Let me see Mr Scott. Well yes. I work in a booth here at this event until 6pm, so I can only leave that area for a short coffee or loo break. That´s what they pay me for." Abby looked at her watch. "It is 11am Mr Scott." "Furthermore I do not know you despite the coffee you just offered me and the little encounter we had yesterday. That doesn´t qualify in my book, entice me to run off with you to some place private, whatever that means." She would have crossed her arms in a defensive manner if it weren´t for the coffee.

To her surprise he burst out laughing. It was a very pleasant sounding laughter and she couldn´t help but smile a little bit.

"Well I am glad you find this very amusing, but please excuse me, I have to return to my work." Abby wanted to leave but he gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

"I have arranged a replacement and before you protest, you will get paid for the whole day. The private place is a conference room I booked upstairs. Don´t worry, it´s open plan, with glass cubicles." He paused. "I will also treat you to lunch." He looked at her with his rare coloured eyes and she felt her curiosity increase to know whatever he wanted from her.

"Ok Mr Scott. You got my attention. Please lead the way." Just before he turned, she could see this strange flare turning up in his eyes again and she felt like someone just walked on her grave.

-3-

There were a lot of people using the conference hall and its facilities. They were escorted to a small cubicle where you could sit with 2 people. Refreshments like tea, coffee and water were already displayed on the small cabinet in the room as well as a very extensive lunch. He asked her to take a seat and hooked up his smartphone to the socket available, on the little conference table. Immediately the image of a logo was projected on the only wall in the cubicle. She observed him while he took out some papers from a leather bag and she couldn´t help but appreciate the build of this man. He was rather tall, maybe 6.3" with an exceptionally well proportioned body, as far as she could see. He took off his jacket and now she could see the reasonable sized muscles in his upper arms. He must work out. His hair was dark with some silver streaks in it and was cut short in a fashionable way. Besides the rather unusual coloured eyes, his face had strong, manly features and under other circumstances, she would have thought he was handsome.

"Well Ms Fraser, let me start by introducing myself properly. My name is Hunter Scott and I am the CEO of Scott Global Development. Its legal residence is in Los Angeles, California and there are ten affiliated offices all over the world. We are a company that ensures that land and natural resources are preserved and documented legally so they remain in their current state for many generations to come." All this time Hunter´s eyes concentrated on hers and it seemed his eyes were glowing more than usual. She swallowed. His gaze made her feel not at all at ease (or uneasy).

"Ms Fraser.. " she interrupted him automatically: "Abigail."

"Ok, Abigail. The reason I think you would be perfect for the job.. "

"What job Hunter?" she called him by his first name without thinking and she registered a slight elevation of one side of his mouth.

"Sorry. I am so enthusiastic about this project that I already see you as head of my PR team." She couldn´t have had a more foolish look on her face than at that moment, she was sure of it.

He quickly resumed: "After our little ´encounter´ yesterday you got me intrigued. After shunting Francesca with a host towards the correct booth I made enquiries at reception and heard you were hired by an agency. I called them to ask for your references and learned you have your own company ´Aingeal Graphic Designs´ and have done a number of graphic designs for big companies in this area. Scott Global Development would very much like to hire you to lead our PR team and launch our new global project including coming up with a proper name for it." He sat back and waited for her response.

Wow, is all she thought. She was overwhelmed by all this information and needed to process it. A number of emotions went through her and clearly showed on her face. Hunter sat there without expression, just his eyes scanning her face with an intensity she felt in her toes.

"I don´t know what to say Hunter. I need to think about this. I also want more input on the kind of project your company wants to enrol? Be involved in…" the last sentence ended with a sigh.

"Of course," he retorted and handed her a portfolio from his bag.

"Our former head of PR resigned recently to join another company. So you can imagine our rush to hire a capable person to start this project. We need to launch in 3 months." He leaned forward. "I don´t want to pressure you, but I need an answer by tomorrow morning so I can introduce you to the Board of Directors or go ahead with the interviews scheduled for tomorrow afternoon."

He stood up and automatically she followed his example. He handed her his business card.

"Please call me on my private cell phone number." He smiled at her for the first time. His face transformed completely and she didn´t feel intimidated anymore.

"I will give you a call not later than 10 tomorrow morning if that´s ok. " she replied and answered his smile.

-4-

After the meeting she had gone to the booth and found another girl manning it. So he had kept his word. She said "Hi "and apologised for not being there at the moment she took over the job. The girl was understanding and told her that it was fine and that she found everything quickly. Relieved Abby had decided to go to Manhattan Beach to try and clear her head. It was still a bit chilly, even for March, but she had enjoyed the walk immensely, and the feel of her bare feet in the sand.

She had come home in the late afternoon, ate the macaroni cheese dish she had bought from her local food store around the corner.

Now, Abby was sitting on her bed after she took a bath.

Karma. She thought about the recent developments. Only just the last couple of days she'd felt she needed a new challenge, a change in her life. She had been doing the same thing for such a long time already, maybe this was the new direction that would give her the energy to enjoy her work again. She loved doing graphic design but recent commissions were all the same and she felt her artistic input was not appreciated. Hunter had assured her she would have total freedom in leading this project as long as it would embody the company´s mission statement and within budget. The budget was more than enough, but then the project entailed a lot of details and needed to be launched globally. Was she capable enough to lead such a comprehensive project?

She looked at the portfolio without reading it. Why was she so reluctant? This would be a great opportunity to show her capabilities and would maybe grant her international commissions in the future.

It was Hunter Scott. She couldn´t put a finger on it, but her gut told her something was not right. Or maybe that was not it. Perhaps she felt attracted to him. Abby immediately shook her head as if she thought the notion was too silly to even think about.

Man, why is this so hard? She thought. Abby looked at her watch and decided to call Martin for his advice, he would probably still be awake at their time zone. The new job would also mean more traveling and she needed to consult with him regarding Skye.

"Hi babe" he always called her that and that hadn´t changed after their separation.

"Hi Martin." she replied and felt a slight irritation about the pet name. "Sorry to bother you at this late hour." That´s ok babe. It´s still early for me." She could hear the laugh in his voice as she knew he never went to bed before two in the morning. He was one of those people who could go with only four hours sleep per night. In her case she really needed the full eight.

Abby heard a female voice in the background and couldn´t determine if it was Skye who was still up. Martin was never that irresponsible. She asked him.

"Oh sorry babe, but that´s probably the TV. Please hold.. " the phone went mute and Abby frowned. She was convinced he was lying. He was never good at telling a lie.

As he returned she shook off her doubt and told him about today´s events and particularly the part that she would have to be flexible in her working hours and the travelling involved.

"Is the money any good?" he asked. Why would that be the most important priority? she thought.

"I suppose so, but that is not my main reason for accepting or not, Martin and you know that." she felt stupid as she totally forgot to ask Hunter what her salary would be. But truth was that it really didn´t matter. She knew it would be more than she was making now on her commissions.

"Well rest assured babe, Skye can live with me for the duration of the project as her school is nearer to my house anyway." Abby heard a slight criticism in his voice. They had debated this issue for a long time, because that was true. Abby´s house was further away from the school as she left the house where they lived together before the split. The argument that she could mainly work from home and therefore could be there for her during the week, was decisive for Skye to live with her mother during 3 weeks of the month. The other week she would live at the house of her dad. As his mom lives next door, there would always be someone there as Skye came back from school. Martin did have a job that kept him busy for at least 60 hours a week.

That being settled, she made her decision. She would call Hunter first thing in the morning.

-5-

Friday.

Abby´s introduction to the Board and to her team, consisting of 6 people including a Personal Assistant, went without incident and they all welcomed her with great enthusiasm. She told the Board she didn´t have a Project Plan yet as it was such short notice. But she would definitely present that during their next meeting, which would happen within the week. She had read all the profiles of the people in her team and she was sure they were qualified enough to do the job.

Abby was nervous when she received word from her PA, Mara, that Hunter had requested her presence in his office for a conference call with their offices in Australia. Being Friday, that meant it was already Saturday in Sydney. After her call to Hunter, she spent the rest of her morning calling her clients to postpone any commissions that would fall within the time frame of the project at SGD. Some were understanding, but some couldn´t postpone and she had given them the phone number of a graphic designer she knew who was up to the task.

Her arrival that afternoon at the offices, situated in the Figueroa Courtyard building, was met with a friendly welcome by Jillian, Hunter's secretary. Jillian assured her that he had been called away to sort out an emergency at one of the offices and that he was terribly sorry. Abby was slightly disappointed.

"Please come in Abigail" Hunter gestured to her. He seemed agitated, pacing behind his desk and appeared to be on speaker phone with someone.

"No Ryan! That is not the way to go here! "Abby could see that Hunter almost lost his temper but kept his voice dangerously low. His eyes treacherously flickering almost yellow. Jillian also came in and placed refreshments on the small coffee table in the corner of the office. Abby nodded and smiled. Jillian returned her smile and left silently. Abby sat down on the small sofa at the coffee table, poured herself a cup of coffee and secretly observed Hunter as he threw his arms in the air and shook his head at apparently so much ignorance.

"We will discuss this after the weekend Ryan. You better come up with a better way to resolve this issue and I expect this in my mailbox by the end of YOUR Sunday!" he pushed the button on the phone to disconnect and walked towards the coffee area. Abby wanted to stand up but he shook his head and sat down on the chair across the sofa.

"Sorry about that." his apology sounded genuine. "I really needed to tackle this problem now as we have a deadline on a matter in the New York area. My brother is of the opinion that he could solve it in a day, but didn´t do his homework and now we are running out of time and are in the process of losing a case." Hunter sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

His brother! Abby never would have pictured Hunter with a brother. Why not? Silly. She shook these thoughts away and tried to concentrate on Hunter asking her a question.

The following hour they worked out a couple of details that needed to be cleared for Abby to start doing the outline on the PR campaign and had that conference call with Sydney. The head of that office, Marylinn Grady, seemed a capable woman in her mid-fifties who had been with the company for 20 years, she told Abby. She gave some information that had been lacking on the venue, where the global launch would take place.

Hunter looked relaxed and was totally professional, but never smiled during their meeting. She learned a lot about the background of the company, founded by Hunter and Ryan´s father, Bradley Scott, in the late fifties as more and more companies were buying up land for their projects. He felt these companies were only money driven and in 100 years or so, all land would be developed for other purposes and more natural habitat would be lost.

"Abigail Fraser.." she absently answered the company cell phone she'd received that afternoon.

"Well hello Abigail Fraser. Could I speak to Fran please?" a man's voice on the other end with a very pleasant raspy and low timbre was in a very good mood.

"Sorry, I do not know a Fran sir. Who is calling please?" Abby was slightly curious.

"Oh.." a pause. "Who are you then?" Abby laughed. "Sorry sir, I cannot help you unless you tell me your name."

"Terribly sorry, my name is Ryan Scott. You know, the head of the New York branch. I really need to locate Fran." Aha! So this was Hunter's brother. "Fran McKenney, head of PR..?" Ryan reminded her. "Apparently I am the new head of PR, Ryan." Abby's statement was met with silence, then

"That fucking idiot!" Ryan yelled and to Abby's horror, the line was disconnected.

-6-

Saturday.

Abby woke up with a shock. What the hell?! The company phone rang loudly. She had forgotten to turn it off. Still dazed she answered it with a "Hello?" She had no notion what time it was, but she could see it was still dark outside.

"Sorry…"

Abby was confused and tried to do her utmost to wake up properly. Then it hit her that it was Ryan Scott on the phone.

"You should be, Ryan, it's the middle of the night here AND a Saturday." She was pretty much awake now that she realised who was at the other end. She sat up and checked her watch. Damn, it was only 5am.

"Oh.." the voice sounded sheepish at the other end. "Sorry for that too."

"It's ok, on both counts." Abby responded. "But I really need to get back to sleep as I've had a busy couple of days.."

He sounded relieved and pretty upbeat when saying "I will be in LA next week for the monthly Board meeting. We can meet properly then. Sorry again and enjoy the rest of your weekend." Beep.. beep.. beep…

Abby looked at the phone as it if was from another planet. The brothers couldn't be more different in character, at all.

She had missed her daily run the last couple of days and was really happy to do her 15 miles again. She would have to squeeze them in somehow during the next months as she was afraid the schedule would not leave a lot of room for her daily exercise. Maybe she could do 5 miles every day.

She couldn't sleep any more after that strange phone call and decided to do some housework instead. Piles of laundry and dishes had built up; it was a bit of a mess. She was glad Skye wasn't around, otherwise she would have needed a pole stick to get to the other side of the living room. She smiled thinking about her daughter. Abby had spoken with her last night and told her the news. Martin already mentioned something, but left the 'big announcement' to her. To her surprise, Skye wasn't that happy about the news. She moaned that now she would hardly see her mom. Abby told her she could call her anytime of the day and that they would work out a schedule. That was sort of accepted.

Chores done, she relaxed for the rest of her Saturday and finished reading a book she had started a week earlier.

Sunday.

She had taken the project outline home. Mara had made her a DVD, so she could work on it this weekend. She didn't have other plans anyway.

Abby had two ideas she wanted to introduce. She made two mood boards in her trusted Photoshop for her team to work on the next week to get them ready to present during the Board meeting. She just finished them and was storing them on the DVD as her personal cell phone rang. She checked to see who it was. 'Unknown number' was displayed.

"Hello?" No answer. "Hellooo!" Well that's what she really needed. She broke off the connection.

The phone rang again almost instantly. Again it was an 'Unknown number'. Abby hesitated but then pushed the button with the little green phone on it.

"Yes?" Silence again. "If you have nothing better to do than dial random cell phone numbers! Go F yourself then!" she yelled in her phone. Beep.. beep.. beep…

The phone kept quiet the rest of the day but for a text message from Hunter that he couldn't reach her on her work phone. How did he know her private number? She'd never given it to him…

-7-

Monday.

At 8 am she waited impatiently for her bus to arrive. Luckily the bus stop was just around the corner from her building.

"Ms Fraser?" a young man running down the street yelled her name. Now what! Abby felt her cheeks getting red and impatiently waved at the guy. As he reached her, out of breath, he stuttered: "Ms Fraser, I have a delivery for you. But you need to come back to your residence."

"Can't it wait?" she protested. "I have a bus to catch to work."

"No, really. I can't take it back. Your boss insisted it should be delivered this morning before 7:30 am." He was still panting. "But traffic was hell and now I am late. I am so sorry." He looked at her with puppy eyes.

Shit. She wanted to be in the office before nine. Oh well. Better see what Hunter had sent her.

As they reached her building, the guy crossed the street and gestured her to follow him to a brand new black Prius.

"What's this!? " Abby exclaimed.

"Your new car Miss." You could tell the young man felt a little taken aback with Abby turning red and clearly not happy with the car.

"Wait here." She said firmly and walked across the street to call Hunter.

"Hunter Scott."

"Mr Scott! I do not like nor appreciate gestures of that magnitude on a Monday morning. Any morning for that matter! If I needed a car, I would have bought one myself. You can tell your delivery boy to take it back where it came from!" Abby was fuming at that moment.

Silence.

Then: "Abby… I tried to call you yesterday about the car, but you were unavailable. The car is a practical tool for you to get around. Public transport is too time consuming if you have more than one appointment on a day. This is a pool car, so it's not a gift or anything. It's just one you can use during your assignment." Hunter said this in a very low, articulate tone. Abby could almost see his eyes burning with fire.

"You really are a natural redhead."

Abby wanted to react, but felt the uncontrollable need to burst out laughing. Which she did.

"I am glad that is sorted. Please collect the keys and come to the office. I want to have a staff meeting at 10. Be there." She couldn't say thank you as the line went dead.

The delivery guy was still waiting by the car and was very relieved he could hand her the keys and car papers.

The staff meeting was short. It was mainly to introduce her to all the other staff as the new head of the PR department. Hunter emphasised that this project was of great importance and he expected the full cooperation of all his personnel. She could feel eyes burning holes in her back as she left the conference room together with Hunter. She guessed that many were female.

"I like both." Hunter said in reaction to her mood boards. "I want you and your team to work it out in more detail to present at the Board meeting on Thursday. They will have the final say. Have you come up with a name yet?" He asked that question while searching in a humongous pile of paper on his desk.

"Yes." That got his attention and his eyes went to her. He sat down behind his desk and waited.

"Global Habitat." Abby said. She waited for his response in anxious anticipation. He placed his elbows on the armrests of his chair and placed his fingertips against each other.

"Hmmm… Global Habitat.. Global Habitat.." he repeated the name out loud. "It's not used already for any other project?" he asked.

"No. I asked Mara to verify this morning."

"Ok. Let's go with that name for now. We will also present this Thursday. You now have to excuse me, I need to call Ryan on that other matter." He was already busy again with the papers on his desk.

Abby was slightly disappointed that he wasn't totally enthusiastic about the project name or so it seemed. She had totally forgotten to ask him how he knew her private cell phone number.

-8-

Thursday.

Abby had chosen a very formal blue dress with little red flowers on the bottom. She accessorised with red high heels and a red floral print scarf. She so hated to dress up. She had managed to get her long hair into a braid.

You look good. You can do this. She told herself, inspecting the result in the mirror.

Getting into the Prius, she felt like a successful business woman on her way to work. She smiled. At the moment she actually was.

Traffic was hell on Thursdays and made her jittery. She was so not used to driving and was totally tense by the time she parked her car in the garage under the office.

As soon as she reached her office she called Mara in to check the progress on the presentation. It was ready for her. Mara was a total life saver. She knew everyone and everything and had a big network of suppliers available. Her team worked hard and for long hours the last couple of days. Abby herself left the office the night before, at about 11 pm and she was grateful she had the car available to drive home as it would only take half the time it took travelling on public transport.

The only downside this week was her lack of availability to be there for Skye. Numerous complaining texts were sent by her daughter every half hour. She managed to talk to Skye on the phone during dinner last night, for about half an hour, but that didn't stop Skye from texting her.

Abby made her a promise that she would be available the whole weekend and that they would do something nice, just the two of them.

Noon. It was time.

Sixteen people. No biggie. There were only 7 people in the room with the rest connected via video conference. She walked to the front of the room with Mara just behind her. She would make sure the Powerpoint slides would match Abby's presentation. Her eyes searched for Hunter's and he gave her a little nod that she could start. His eyes were warm with the amber hardly visible and that gave her the strength to put on her most professional smile, welcoming the board to her presentation.

They all liked her ideas and voted "yes" for the name and "yes" for idea number 1. She was pleased, as that idea had her slight preference as well. Mara and Jillian came in to bring lunch.

Suddenly she felt a hand under her right elbow and she turned around. She looked into the bluest eyes she ever came across. They belonged to a handsome young man that slightly resembled Hunter. This must be Ryan, she thought.

"I see you have met." Hunter joined them. "May I formally introduce you to each other. Ryan Scott - Abigail Fraser and vice versa." He turned to Abby blocking Ryan's view. "I must congratulate you. That was a really good presentation. The Board was quick and unanimous in their voting. Normally they would take hours to come to their decision on a matter." His eyes had that warmth again and she could feel her cheeks glow.

"Indeed Abby, that was really good. Pity that Fran isn't here to join in this small victory as it was her project to begin with." Ryan added to the conversation.

Hunter spun quickly on his heels and snapped at his brother "Yes, but it was her choice to leave Ryan as you know damn well. For me that is the end of the matter." Abby froze at this outburst.

Ryan looked trapped and bent his head. Mumbling he excused himself and went for the refreshments.

"I am truly sorry that you had to witness that. Ryan is my brother, but sometimes he can really act immaturely." Hunter looked troubled and Abby felt sorry for him. She touched his arm. Hunter reacted in a manner she didn't expect. He took her hand in his and placed it palm first, on his chest, covering it with his. What the hell?! She looked up to meet his eyes. They were almost yellow and she could feel the intensity burn a hole in her skin. She swiftly removed her hand and the moment passed. Abby was confused and her heart was racing. She quickly mumbled an excuse as she rushed out the door.

This was bad. This was real bad.

APRIL

-9-

Thursday.

Sitting in her office, staring out the window, Abby felt sad. This was the day she and Martin met so many years ago. She rotated her chair and picked up the photo of Skye that was prominently placed on her desk. "At least we did one thing really well."

She almost jumped out of her chair as a soft voice said: "Sorry to bother you Ms Fraser, Mara totally refused to call her by her first name, but Mr Scott requests your presence in 10 minutes."

Abby nodded that she had heard Mara and sighed. After that incident she had only seen him twice, briefly, in the hallway. He was away most of the time on business trips. She thought of 'the incident' as she would call it, many times a day and would hate herself for it as it distracted her in such a bad way. It has been almost a month Abs, forget it. It didn't mean anything.

With this always in the back of her mind and Skye giving her a hard time, she really was considering telling Hunter that it would be best if he looked for someone else to finish the project. Coward. No, she never walked away from unfinished business. Not in her professional life nor in her private life.

"Glad you could schedule an hour in your busy calendar Abby." Abby tried to avoid looking in his eyes. "We need to talk." These words were spoken softly and with a question.

"No we do not." She replied. "If you want to discuss the progress of the project, fine. The rest is irrelevant." Abby still didn't want to look at him and stood uncomfortably in the middle of his office.

She more heard than saw him moving around the room and suddenly she felt him placing his hands on her upper arms. She had no choice but to look up. His eyes were dark brown with amber specks, like a tiger just woken up from its sleep. A deep frown in his forehead as if he was in deep thought. She felt a slight shiver.

"I believe we do." He let go of her arms and stepped back, a look of loss on his face.

Abby felt torn. She wanted to console him, which was odd and those feelings frightened her for some reason.

"I am sorry Hunter. I cannot. I mean work and personal involvement can only end badly." She was incoherent in her speech and knew she was blabbering. Get it together Abs.

"Francesca tried to blackmail me, you know." Hunter faced the window. Abby couldn't respond, she was too confused to understand what he was trying to say.

"She knew. She somehow found out that our father is not MY biological father." His shoulders were tightening.

"I have to come to accept that, as I have known since I turned 18. But Ryan doesn't know. And I have no idea how he will react." He paused.

"He worshipped our mother." He spoke so softly that Abby had trouble hearing him. Reluctantly she neared him, but remained a few feet at a distance, waiting.

"The woman I was with the first day we met, that was her, Fran. We were, well, lovers." You could hear the trouble he had to speak these words as if he could barely constrain himself from anger. Abby felt her stomach tighten.

"She confronted me with her 'knowledge' "he spat out the word, "that afternoon as a last resort to get back at me. I wanted to end our 'agreement' and had told her the weekend before." He sighed. "Why I ever agreed on going to that bridal event, beats me. Maybe as a last nice gesture before I ended things." She licked her lips as the air seemed suddenly dry.

"I fired her on the spot and told her if she ever approached Ryan or tried to go public with it, I would surely make her fight for her life." He turned around, facing her, but it seemed as if he didn't see her really. "I never meant that literally, I was so infuriated with the fact that she had deceived me in that way, that my words were ill chosen…"

Her confusion grew by the second. She didn't know him other than from the work floor. Did she lead him on? Did she somehow give him signals that she was interested in him other than being her boss? She was also angry with herself. Why didn't she put two and two together? What blinded her? What did she care? All these thoughts tumbled through her mind, incoherently.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Abby formulated the words carefully as to not alarm him as it looked as if he still spoke to himself.

"Because of Ryan. I want to warn you about him." Hunter snapped out of his cocoon and observed her reaction with those distinct dark brown / amber eyes as might a tiger, looking at its prey.

-10-

Ryan? She thought. What about Ryan?

"He's interested in you. He kept blathering about you during that conference call on the Monday after I hired you. And he was all over you during the Board meeting and after." He crossed his arms and watched her facial reactions.

"So what? I am not interested in him or any other man for that matter." Abby was getting annoyed with the direction this whole conversation was going. She didn't like his assumption that she needed advice on that level and certainly not from HIM, her boss. She was not a little girl. She had been in a relationship for over fifteen years and did know damn well how to handle herself around men or in a relationship if it ever would come to that again. Why was she so defensive?

"He slept with Fran too you know. He's a collector Abby. He is my brother and I love him but I do not condone his ways on a 'romantic' level." Hunter shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you are a grown woman and I can tell you're not amused and you feel I overstepped a boundary. But I thought I'd give you a heads up. He can be very persistent when it comes to getting what he wants. And the more they resist, the more tenacious he becomes." She turned her back on him, but could feel his eyes burn in the back of her head.

"As I said Hunter, I cannot for the life of me think of why you told me what you did. I am a professional and want to keep work and private matters separate." She made her way to the door as she wanted to leave this office badly. She felt the air was smothering and was in desperate need of fresh air. Abby looked at the clock in his office and saw she had only been in here for maybe half an hour, but it felt like she'd been in a meeting for 5 or 6 hours. She left him with a pensive look on his face.

She told Mara she was taking a break and would be back in half an hour. She went outside and inhaled the fresh air. It was a lovely spring day and the sun's rays were already strong enough to warm her skin. Abby tried to clear her mind. She didn't want all this. No, she couldn't handle all this. It was not what she signed up for. There were too many complications. She just wanted to finish the project. Roll it out and that would be it.

But you are attracted to him. A little voice in the back of her mind was nagging her.

Martin had never had this effect on her. Their relationship started out of friendship and respect.

But you are a sensual woman who has needs. The voice kept irritating her. Abby decided to block all these thoughts, for now; she needed to, if she wanted to stay sane.

As she returned to the office, she learned Hunter had left on an urgent business trip. She sighed but couldn't decide whether it was out of relief or disappointment. She wasn't ready to answer her own questions.

Monday.

Abby had a lovely weekend. She spent the two days with Skye, camping out in Yosemite Park. Her daughter had been all over the place in her enthusiasm last Friday when her mother told her what their plans were for the weekend. Abby desperately needed to spend a couple of days outside in nature to get fresh air and she knew how much Skye loved camping. Fishing, hiking, eating by the campfire and of course staying up late, reading books by flashlight. She hadn't seen the little sprout this happy the past few of weeks. She deserved it and so did Abby.

This morning she had several meetings planned with suppliers and distributors. Her team worked hard and they were ahead of the project schedule. The first A0 poster would be in and she was keen on seeing the result later in the day. She jumped in her Prius which she steadily but surely began to appreciate and drove herself to work.

As soon as she entered the offices, Jillian came running to her.

"Ms Fraser, please come quick. Francesca McKenney is in Mr Scott's office demanding to speak to him and he's not back yet. I cannot reach him, either. There is no one else, would you please, please speak with her? I already called security." Jillian added hastily as to emphasise the gravity of the situation.

Abby took a deep breath before entering Hunter's office. As soon as she opened the door she saw the woman called Fran, the same one she met at the bridal event, sitting in Hunter's chair with papers in her hand that were clearly not hers.

"Please put those down. You are trespassing Ms McKenney and if you do not want us to press charges, I strongly suggest you leave this office, now." Abby tried to keep her voice steady, but could hear a slight tremble. "We have alerted security."

Fran's head jerked up and her eyes became as cold as ice as she saw Abby in the doorway.

"Well, well, well. Look who we've got here." Francesca McKenney gave Abigail a vicious smile. "You do have a way to work your way up, don't you?"

-11-

Francesca had apparently no intention of complying with Abby's demand as she sat back in Hunter's chair. Abby wanted to give her a snarky reply on the subject sleeping around, but bit her tongue. No need for her to know how intimate her relationship was with Hunter or the lack of.

Instead she said: "I repeat Ms McKenney, please leave these premises immediately or we WILL press charges."

"I would strongly suggest you listen to Ms Fraser, Fran or I will single handily drag your butt out of my office!" Both women jumped up by the sound of Hunter's thunderous voice. In four big steps he had reached his desk, glanced at the papers on there and turned to Francesca with an enraged look on his face. His eyes glowed dangerously.

She, however, did not budge, but Abby could see the fear in her eyes.

As it seemed Hunter had got everything under control, Abby turned to leave the office.

"I would rather that you stay Abigail as I need a witness in case Ms McKenney here wants to sophisticate this 'issue' in her favour." The way he pronounced her name would suggest that Francesca earned her living in a brothel. "Please use your smartphone to film the following." Abby obeyed him immediately.

Hunter stated on camera that Francesca had entered the premises without permission, was caught doing so, and read papers belonging to the company that she had no right to do so etc. etc. Finally he demanded that she confirm his assertion. Statement? All was said in a totally calm voice with no hint of physical force. Francesca confirmed reluctantly and was red in the face with anger. Her eyes shifted towards Abby and if it was possible, she would have gone up in flames.

Security arrived and they escorted Francesca out of the building. Meanwhile Abby returned to her own workplace and was brought a cup of coffee by Mara. She gave her phone to her PA so she could upload the file to the company network for safe keeping. Abby had just taken a sip as Hunter entered her office.

"Are you ok?" He had a very worried look on his face. He was at her desk in no time and pulled her out of her chair to take her into his arms. He took a step back, searched her face and repeated "Are you ok Abby?"

Abby was gobsmacked. She nodded sheepishly. Then she regained her senses and pulled herself away from his arms. Her heart raced like a high speed train and she was panting as if she had been running her daily five miles.

"I am fine Hunter. No need to stress." Her voice sounded little, more due to his physical nearness as anything else.

He seemed to realise his actions as his demeanour changed into 'the old Hunter'. "Good. If you need anything, I will be here the whole day. Thank you, Abigail." She knew what he meant by the latter.

The rest of the day went according to schedule without any disturbances. She was pleased with the result of the poster and gave the green light to produce them in a large amount to be shipped to Australia.

The launch would be in less than two months. What would her life look like as soon as this assignment was finished? She didn't want to think about that. Even Martin seemed to like it that she was hardly available. He really enjoyed having Skye at his house all the time. Skye seemed happy too. She texted her mom less and less and Abby felt a sudden sense of loss. What if her daughter didn't want to return to the old schedule?

She felt a tear running down her cheek.

JUNE

-12-

Friday.

Abby yelled at one of her team members. She was totally stressed out. The week before she got word that the print shop responsible for producing all PR material like flyers, the A0 posters etc. had a big fire and all of their finished material was lost. All the material for project 'Global Habitat' included that was ready to being shipped out. She urgently needed a replacement, but a week had passed and their team hadn't found a price worthy supplier. She had been on the phone with Marylinn, but she couldn't help either. All of her contacts were fully booked and couldn't take on another big order until the end of July. And that was obviously way too late.

"Abby, can I speak with you for a minute?" Hunter stood in her doorway. Why did he have to be so damn attractive. Abby shook her head to get these thoughts out of her head.

"Sure, but I am pressed for time so I'd appreciate it if you can make it brief." She bent over to look at a photo more closely. The door closed. Abby looked up as she heard that and found him looking at her with a mystified expression on his face. She raised her eyebrows. She also noticed that her breathing accelerated.

"I have an even better idea," he said. "Get your bag." As he saw that she was about to protest he retorted "I phoned our offices in London and they found a reputable print shop in Edinburgh that is willing to take up our order. They could promise us that everything shall be finished by the end of next week and shipped out to Australia the next day. I personally okayed the final estimate as it was a little over budget." She frowned as it was her job to take care of this but then relaxed. It was a team effort after all.

"Why do I need to get my bag?"

"We are going on a boat trip." That was pretty cryptic but she welcomed the distraction. She was obviously ignoring her earlier resolution to keep him at a distance and not wanting to mix business with pleasure. She grabbed her bag and followed him out the door.

The weather was sticky today. Even though it was early in June, the weather was warm and humid. Abby had been working in the well air-conditioned offices from 7am till 8 or 9pm, making her forget that summer started early in LA.

They arrived at Marina del Rey in Hunter's burgundy Tesla S and he parked his car in a private parking space. He grabbed a bag from the backseat and gestured at her to follow him. They walked towards Blue Water Sailing boat rentals and she waited outside as he went in. Before long he returned and they walked all the way to the end of Bali Way. A beautiful 54 foot sailing boat with the name "Ocean Breeze" was moored there and her skipper was expecting them.

"Why don't you see what's in the bag?" Hunter suggested. He had changed into white Bermuda shorts and a white T-shirt. No shoes.

Abby went downstairs and found two sets of comfortable clothing. One pair of white shorts and a white T-shirt. The other was a white bikini. The sizes were correct. Well that's very presumptuous of our Mr Scott. She thought as she looked at the bikini again. Abby chose the safer outfit. There was also sunscreen and new sunglasses. He had thought of everything. Why didn't that surprise her?

As she returned on deck he gave her a warm smile and looked her over but also he raised his eyebrow as if to say 'Why not the bikini?'. Abby ignored that and joined him in the comfortable seats. She accepted the drink he offered her and enjoyed the breeze, the sun and the salty air.

"I am glad you joined me Abs." Abby was struck by the soft, hoarse tone in his voice and ignored his casual shortening of her name. She felt a tingle in her stomach.

He took hold of her hand and moved next to her. Hunter brushed her hair behind one ear as it escaped her braid.

"Natural redhead." He said and bent to kiss her, as light as a feather. Abby couldn't speak nor did she move.

As he leaned back to look at her, she answered his gaze.

"I like you Abby, I like you a lot. However, I wouldn't do anything to compromise our working relationship and if you still think we should leave it at that, I will respect your decision." He waited patiently on her answer, his eyes shining amber/yellow.

-13-

Saturday.

Abby felt a light rocking. Why did it feel as if she was on a boat? With a shock she remembered what happened yesterday and she sat up, pulling the sheets up to her chin. She looked out the porthole. They were back in the harbour.

Her thoughts went back to the day before and she felt all flushy again. She had silently accepted his 'challenge' and they ended up below deck. A huge bed with soft, white sheets was their playground. And boy did he play well. He had been an excellent lover and they had fallen asleep in each other's arms with the stars twinkling / shimmering in a clear night sky.

She was rudely awakened from her daydream.

"Good morning, Sunshine." Hunter appeared on the stairs from the deck with a boyish smile on his face. He hadn't shaved and the beginnings of stubble for some reason made him even sexier. He looked like a pirate with his hair all tousled.

"I have some breakfast for you. Croissants, orange juice, coffee and toast. What would you like?" he appeared in the best of moods and that annoyed her for some reason. She was naked under the sheets and anxiously wanted to put some clothes on.

"I want to get dressed first if you don't mind."

He didn't look at her but she could hear the laughter in his voice. "Well you may of course, but it's not that I haven't seen your beautiful curves already." A pillow hit his head accompanied by her laughter.

"I could get naked again if that would make you happy." Another pillow followed.

He quickly got on the bed, grabbed her arms and pushed her back in the remaining pillows. His lips tasted salty, his tongue warm. The sheets slid down as she went backwards and she felt her nipples getting hard as a rock as soon as his warm body touched hers. With one hand he quickly took off his shirt. He kissed her neck and sucked on her skin. She curved her back to remain in contact with his chest.

"Oh my God, Abby, you have no idea how long I have desired you." He groaned with a deep, husky voice, followed by an overwhelming kiss. Their tongues fighting a battle that neither wanted to win. She bit his lip, he sucked her tongue. His hands followed her curves. Resting on her breasts first, but then massaging them, pulling her nipples and then further down to her waist, her hips, to her butt, pulling her closer to his manhood. She could feel his hard flesh throbbing through his shorts against her thighs. It aroused her even more.

Abby wanted to touch him, badly. Her hands followed all his muscles, from his biceps, to his chest and down to his abs. God, he feels like steel. Her hands went down and she unbuttoned his shorts. Her hand went in and yes she could feel his throbbing flesh ready to enter her. He grunted at her touch. With haste he took off the last garment and she could admire him .. what a glorious piece of a man.

Abby sat up and took him in her hand. He growled loudly. She bent over to take him in her mouth. She could hear Hunter inhale sharply and feels his shivers as she began to suck him, slowly, using her tongue to make circles. She used both her hands to massage his shaft and his testicles. He was panting, grabbing her hair and mumbling loving words. She grabbed his butt and started to move faster till he pulled her away by her hair. He looked down on her, all shiny with sweat and his eyes burning yellow and with a tormented look on his face.

"Get on your knees." He whispers.

Abby slowly moved to get on her hands and knees. His hands grabbed her hips and she could feel his teeth sink in one of her cheeks. She groaned deep in her throat.

"You like that, hmm?" followed by another bite in the other cheek. His hands moved to her breasts and massaged them, then returned to her hips.

Suddenly she felt his tongue touching her womanhood, followed by two fingers as he moved his tongue lower to get to her swollen bud. He started sucking and circling it. All the time his fingers were moving in and out of her, slowly. She could feel the waves of her orgasm building and building. Suddenly he stopped.

He pushed himself into her, hard, followed by a thrust and another... faster, deeper. She encouraged him by saying she needs him deeper in her. Waves came thundering in, louder and louder to a point she thinks she will be swallowed by them, then release. They come at the same time and Hunter produces a loud, earthly groan. Abby joins him by yelling his name.

Together they sank on the bed, Hunter's member still in Abby. He pulled her tight in a spoon position and reaches for the sheets to cover them. Oblivion takes over.

-14-

Monday.

Ryan walked into Abby's office, finding her sitting behind her desk. He sat down on one of the corners. She looked up, annoyed at the impertinence, to come in without knocking as well as putting his behind on her desk.

"Knuckles can be used for purposes like knocking on a door, Ryan and you can get your behind off my desk. There is more suitable furniture for that, called chairs." She paused to give him the space to do so. As he sat down across from her she resumed: "What can I do for you?" Abby raised one eyebrow.

"It's more what I can do for you my beautiful Abigail." He glanced at her with a sardonic smile. Her face didn't move a muscle but she could feel that her anger building.

"I cannot think of one single thing that couldn't be done by my team Ryan. Aren't you supposed to be in your office in New York? I believe you have a case in court tomorrow?" she sat back in her chair.

He observed her and the look on his face changed into one of disbelief. "I cannot believe you fell for the oldest trick in the book," and answering her question, "That one is postponed till next week."

She ignored the former and reacted to the latter as she well knew what he meant by that. "I'm still curious as to what you are doing here in LA." She hated it that he'd obviously seen what her PA saw this morning too. She had commented "You evidently had a wonderful weekend Ms Fraser. You are glowing." Embarrassed she had accepted her morning coffee and quickly disappeared in her office, muttering she didn't want anyone to disturb her for the next hour.

He glanced at her with a scheming? look in his blue eyes. "I have some appointments here. I wanted to see you, as you are not answering any of my emails, asking you to join me for dinner. You are a very beautiful woman Abigail and you deserve a real man in your life, one who will treat you right." He waited with the same secretive expression on his face.

"Well I'm flattered, but I'm really not interested. I have a deadline to meet, as you are well aware off and simply do not have the time right now to explore any romantic adventure." She gave him a sharp look as to say 'don't you dare to go there my friend'.

Ryan shrugged his shoulders. "Well if you can bang your boss…."

Abby suddenly stood up and turned red, not out of embarrassment but because she was furious. "IF.." she said firmly with a light elevated pitch in her tone "that was the case, then it is obviously none of your darn business! Let me be more specific: I do not have the time nor am I interested in a romantic endeavour with YOU!" her eyes flashing green. "I would strongly suggest you leave my office NOW! Good day Ryan." She turned away from him to face her office window and heard him leave. She could just hear a soft 'hmpfff' before he slammed the door shut.

Friday.

She was in the middle of a conference call with Marylinn when her private phone rang. 'Unknown number' She was on alert, immediately . Lately, it had happened several times during the day that she received calls from an 'unknown number' and every time she answered, the line went dead or there was no response to her asking who was on the phone. She decided to ignore it as she was on the other phone anyway. The ringing stopped.

After the call, she checked for messages. She was supposed to pick up Skye from school today as her former mother-in-law was unavailable and Martin was away on a business trip. Skye would spend this weekend with her anyway.

Abby saw a text message starting with 'Does he know..' She opened it to read the full text. It read:

'Does he know you have a 10 year old daughter? He doesn't want any you know. He is also not interested in a real relationship. Just the NO STRINGS ATTACHED kind. Wait till he gets bored. He will throw you away like the next disposable item'. Abby was baffled. She checked the sender: no caller ID..

-15-

That night, when Skye was in bed and after taking a shower, she sat on her bed to spread body lotion on her skin. She thought of the events of the day. As much as she hated the confrontation with Ryan, it did get her thinking. The text message only enhanced the slight uneasiness she felt over her choice to sleep with Hunter. They had hardly spoken after the weekend, other than business related matters. They also hadn't seen each other in a private setting.

Abby's personal phone rang. A number appeared that she recognized as Hunter's.

"Hello?"

"Hello Sunshine." His husky voice gave her goose bumps. "I miss you. Can we see each other tomorrow?"

"I can't, I have plans." She was slightly disappointed that Skye was here this weekend.

"Oh.." he sounded displeased. "Sunday then?"

"Sorry, but I am not available the whole weekend." She could kick herself for using the word 'available'.

"Not even for dinner?" she had to admit, he was tenacious.

"No, Hunter. First available time I have is Monday night. Dinner, I mean." What on earth was wrong with her? She sounded like a colleague, an employee.

"What's wrong Abs. Are you having second thoughts?"

She sighed. Abby was reluctant to tell him about Ryan and the disturbing message. If it was only sex to him, she didn't want to get too involved. The emotional roller coaster of rejection was too much for her to handle right now. Wait! Was she in love with him?

"I will be there in 20 minutes." And before she could tell him she didn't want him over, he broke off the connection. She tried calling him back, but he didn't answer his phone. Damn.

The doorbell rang. Abby looked at her clock: 10:00pm. Rhat was quick. It had taken him 15 minutes. She opened the door and he took her breath away. She had changed into comfortable 'I-am-alone-at-night-and-a-mom' clothes, but he looked smoking hot in tight fitting jeans, a white t-shirt and cowboy boots. She hadn't seen him dressed like this before.

"Can I come in, or do you need time to enjoy the view a bit more." His face was all smiles and his eyes glowing with amber. He gave her a little kiss.

"Sorry. Please." She gestured him to enter, with a blush. Abby felt like a school girl and a bit intimidated.

He sat on the sofa and Abby gave him the beer he wanted, then she sat across from him in her chair. He frowned, but didn't say anything about it.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" he sat back, prepared it seemed to hear whatever she wanted to tell him. She decided to give their fresh relationship a shot by believing in it and not listening to her first instincts.

"My daughter is here for the weekend and as I do not see her that often these days, I am planning to give her my full attention and not make plans with other people." So there, she said it.

He sat still for a minute, a number of emotions ran over his face. "That, I can understand. Skye is your daughter, after all and children do need attention from their parents from time to time."

Before she could even react to the fact that he apparently knew she had a daughter AND what her name was, a drowsy little voice came from behind her.

"Mom? Who is that?" She turned around and saw her sleepy daughter rubbing her eyes with one hand and pointing to Hunter with the other.

-16-

Saturday.

She felt a hand slowly sliding from her thigh up to her hip where it lingered for a minute, then started to stroke her skin. She arched her back and she could feel something very hard press against her butt.

"So you are awake, hmm?" he said hoarsely and buried his face in her hair.

"Hmmm " was all she could utter. She felt like a cat lying in the sun. His hand moved to cup one of her breasts. His thumb found a nipple and he stroked it gently. She pulled her hair up and draped it above her head so she could feel his lips better when he started to kiss and nibble on her neck. His hand went to her belly button and then towards her womanhood. She shifted her legs a bit to let him gain access.

"Oh yes." he said in a raspy voice full of desire as he felt her knob throbbing and hard for him. He moved his hips, slowly went inside her and started to thrust in an almost lazy manner.

"My sexy redhead." He muttered under his beard and buried his face in her neck. On the rhythm of their heartbeats he led them both over the hill to ecstasy.

Breakfast felt funny for Abby. It had been only 6 months since she and Martin officially got divorced. Okay, they lived apart for 8 months prior to the official document, but she had never taken a man home in that period of time. She did have a couple of dates, but always a dinner or a movie, nothing serious.

Last night she asked him how he knew certain things (phone number, home address) and he reminded her that he made enquiries at the agency the first day they met. The photo on her office desk made him ask Mara if she knew who that was, but he already had guessed 'the daughter part' as Skye inherited her mom's red hair. Mara merely added information like on the name. Abby was reassured. Not that she was really suspicious, but she just wanted it to make it transparent for herself.

Skye thought Hunter's eyes were really interesting and she told him so repeatedly.

"Mom, you should make a painting of him!"

Abby felt embarrassed. She hadn't painted in years. Only one painting hanging in her living room was by her hand, and it was a portrait of Skye as a two year old. Hunter had been admiring the piece and asked if Abby was the artist. Skye had taken that opportunity to bring up the idea of her mom starting to paint again.

"My little critter, you know I haven't done anything on a canvas in years. I probably don't even know how to do that anymore." Skye knew by the tone of Abby's voice that she really didn't want to discuss the matter.

After breakfast, Hunter brought them to the nearest movie theatre as Skye really wanted to see a new Disney movie.

As soon as the car touched the curb, Skye jumped out. "Cool car Mr Scott! Thank you for the lift!" and ran to a kid she knew from the neighbourhood.

"Stay in sight Skye!" Abby yelled getting out of the car herself. Her daughter nodded quickly to verify she had heard her.

Hunter came out from behind the wheel and walked around to her side of his Tesla.

"Thank you, Sunshine." He said softly taking her hands in his. He looked down on her with tender eyes and kissed her gently.

"What for?" she asked, puzzled.

"For trusting me enough to let me spend the night and have breakfast with you and your daughter." He kissed her more intensely and reluctantly let her go. Getting into his car he blew her a kiss and drove off.

When following Hunter's car with her eyes, she registered Ryan across the street, leaning with his arms crossed, against the side of a black Porsche, looking straight at her. And she recognized the woman sitting on the passenger seat or so she thought. Yes, she was sure of it: it was Francesca McKenney.

JULY

-17-

Tuesday.

It was an almost tropical day for the beginning of July. The launch was a little over 3 weeks away and Abby and her team were almost ready. Just the dots on the " i " so to speak. She was praying that the weather would improve in Australia as it had rained for a week now and was pretty cold, even for their winter. She looked out her window and tried to think of something else than her blouse sticking to her back and front. The air conditioning at their side of the office building had crashed that night due to a power overload. With every step she took, she could feel the sweat between her legs as she was for once, wearing a skirt. The fans that Mara had arranged couldn't bring enough relief either. It was quite uncomfortable.

Her office door was open to let the air circulate as much as possible, so she could see Hunter walking up to her work place. She thought she couldn't feel any hotter, but looking at him, walking like a jaguar in his light grey suit, made her heart race and her blood pressure rise to an unprecedented level.

"You're looking flushed Ms Fraser." He said standing in the doorway. "But absolutely adorable." His eyes were focussed on her breasts. Her bra was of a very thin, see-through lace and you could see her nipples and areola clearly.

Abby stood up, walked to the door, checked if no one could have overheard him, pulled him inside and closed the door.

"You know I do not like it when you act like that in the office." She hissed and her eyes turned dark green. "I thought I made that quite clear last week."

The week before, he had pulled almost the same stunt when he grabbed her by the hips and pulled her against him as they were about to have a meeting in his office. Jillian found them in this compromising situation as he was just about to kiss Abby. His PA placed the coffee on the table and rapidly excused herself. Abby couldn't have been more embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Sunshine, you are right. But in my defence I am totally craving for some one on one. It's been three weeks Abs. Three Fucking long weeks." He never used obscene language and she raised her eye brows. He sighed.

"Ok, the reason I want to talk to you is that I followed up on your request to check on Francesca. I hired a private investigator." He sat down in the other chair across the table.

"It appears she has no job at the moment, but does spend a remarkable amount of money on a daily basis. She has bought a condo recently and paid the total amount in cash. I found that very suspicious and therefor have requested her bank statements. That was difficult as I do not have a law suit or anything against her to support that request. But we did manage to get those. I cashed in on an outstanding favour someone owed me." He paused and eyes darkened to almost black.

"She received $ 10,000 every Friday for the last two months in one of her saving accounts. The transfer is made in New York, but sometimes here in LA, done by cashier cheque. My PI hasn't discovered who her benefactor is yet but he expected to have feedback today." His eyes shifted just above her shoulder as to look at something outside her window.

"And Ryan?" Abby asked softly. She'd told him they were together at the cinema.

"I tried phoning him, but he doesn't answer my calls. His secretary says she hasn't seen him for two weeks and apparently only communicates with her by email and nothing work related. It's like he's AWOL. I've appointed Harry Combes, he's the location manager of our Miami branch, as the subsidiary Head of the New York offices. We have this dragging law suit and someone needs to take care of other business as well." Hunter had an anguished look on his face.

"Ryan was never this irresponsible. I have no idea what has gotten into him lately."

Hunter's phone made a bleeping sound as he received a message. He looked at it and a surprised expression appeared on his face. He stood up, walked to the window and stared at something in the distance.

"What is it Hunter? Did you receive feedback from the PI?"

"Bingo." He said with a very angry voice. He turned to her and his eyes were glowing amber/yellow again. "Someone is really out to get us, Sunshine." His tone dark with contained rage. "Apparently Ms McKenney's benefactor is a person called Ms Abigail Fraser."

-18-

Wednesday.

Two weeks until the launch. The a/c worked again. Abby and her team were ready. Everything checked and double checked. They would fly out next Monday to work from the Sydney offices for the last week.

Hunter had been away for a couple of days to have meetings with Harry in New York but would return today. They stayed in touch by phone and email on the project status but moreover on any news from the PI. The latter hadn't had any luck to trace back the paper trail and needed to work from a different angle. Hunter had reluctantly requested Ryan's bank statements. He couldn't believe his brother would have anything to do with this matter. A womaniser, yes, a swindler, no. But Hunter wanted to be objective since being the CEO he had the responsibility to the board and employees to uncover any financial irregularities and/or fraud. He hadn´t received them yet.

"Abigail!" Hunter's voice thundered through the hallway. Alarmed she ran out of her team's offices, where she was discussing a minor change in the program, to see him standing at the reception desk. He looked very cross.

As she reached him she responded "Why on earth are you yelling like that? What is the matter?"

"Get your stuff. We are going to have lunch. At the marina. I'll wait in the car upfront." He didn't wait for her answer but walked away like a man on a mission. She looked at the big clock above the reception and saw it was already noon. She smiled regretfully to Sally, the receptionist, to apologise for such behaviour and got her bag.

"What´s this?" Hunter had arranged a boat again, a small one, but still a boat. A lavish lunch was laid out on the deck. Hunter didn´t answer but assisted her onto the boat. He kicked off his shoes and started to take off his clothes.

"What are you doing?" her voice squeaked.

He glanced at her with an amber twinkle in his eyes but didn´t respond. There he stood, butt-naked. Abby didn´t know where to look and glanced around if there were people on the other boats who could see the magnificent Adonis that stood in front of her. But apparently everyone had disappeared.

"It has been 4 weeks, Abby. I feel like I am drowning. I really am in desperate need to feel you, taste you, be part of you." He looked tortured, indeed. "I so want to make love to you Abigail…"

She woke up as Hunter moved cautiously to the end of the bed. Her stomach made a very loud sound.

"You need food my dear. Love is apparently not enough." Hunter laughed. "And so do I. Food I mean." He looked at his watch. "It´s 3pm. I will phone Jillian and tell her that we won´t be back until tomorrow. We can spend the rest of the day and the night here if you want." She shook her head.

"No, I need to be home tonight. I have some phone calls to make and it´s easier to do that from home." She paused and gave him a cheeky look. "But you are welcome to join me."

Hunter´s face lit up like a ray of sunlight.

Abby made a simple supper of macaroni and cheese after she and Hunter had taken a shower together. Well, what started out as just a shower ended in having a passionate and steamy lovemaking shower.

He was standing in her living room, looking at the family photos on the wall. He pointed at a picture of her, Martin and Skye in better and happier days.

"Your ex-husband I gather?" Abby felt a knot in her stomach. She was always unwilling to discuss painful, private matters with anyone. But she felt Hunter deserved some of her life´s background as he had been very open about his.

"Yes. Martin and I were a couple in high school. We lost track of each other as we went to different Universities but we met again when a joint friend got married."

"From a wedding, comes a wedding." Hunter mumbled.

They enjoyed their mac and cheese in comfortable silence.

At 8:30pm she phoned Martin to confirm the latest details on her flight, hotel and other matters of importance. Abby was sitting at her kitchen table and could feel Hunter´s eyes in the back of her neck. The TV was on, but she was certain he wasn´t watching. She thought of making her calls in the bedroom, but considered that would be strange due to their level of intimacy. She spoke with Skye for a short while. As it was at the end of the school year, most of her chatter was about the coming vacation period and that her dad wanted to take her for a four week trip to Italy. Abby frowned. She had to take this up with her ex after her return from Australia. She felt that Skye was way too young to be traveling to Europe already.
After she made two other calls, Abby joined Hunter in the living room. She snuggled up against him and they watched a movie together, like two people who didn´t have a care in the world.

-19-

Monday/Tuesday.

Tired from the long flight and the time difference, Abby threw herself on the big bed that was to be at her disposal for the coming week. Her hotel room was very comfortable with a separate living area, a large bathroom and bedroom. Hunter wanted to share a hotel room, but Abby insisted on separate ones. She reminded him that this was a business trip and members of her team were staying in the same hotel. Half-heartedly, Hunter agreed but did arrange that their rooms were next to each other and had a dividing door.

She was hungry. A knock on the door and a woman saying ´Room service´ startled her. Ha, the Gods are in my favour. Abby opened the door to let the hotel employee in. A full tray of scones, sandwiches, croissants, fruits and a large pot of coffee was placed on the small dining table. After the woman left, the dividing door opened and Hunter entered her room.

"Ah, I see they brought our food. I am famished." He rubbed his hands against each other. She could see Hunter had taken a quick shower as he was only wearing trackpants. Water droplets glistened in his hair and some forgotten ones on his chest. She felt an uncontrollable need to touch his skin.

Instead she said: "I am going to take a quick shower too; be back in 5."

"Can I watch?" he asked, mumbling as he had just taken a bite from a scone. He glanced her way and threw her an irresistible smile.

She answered his smile in a cheeky way "No." walking towards the shower with her hips moving side to side, taking off her blouse in the process. Hunter chased her into the bathroom.

Last week before launch.

The days went by fast. Interviews were planned and Abby hardly saw Hunter. She finally met Marylinn in person and they hit it off from the start. Together they visited the venue on Wednesday to inspect its status. The main location had been perfectly chosen via SUVA and was at the Australian Technology Park, one of Sydney's unique and heritage listed locations.

All working fields of SGD were being built, old buildings, natural habitats etc. in one of the halls. Abby was quite enthralled with the company, hired by Marylinn.

"Pretty impressive, Marylinn. I saw the pictures, but I can breathe the history here."

On Sunday Abby and Hunter were sitting in Kingsley's Steak And Seafood House enjoying each other's company over a meal. The weather was holding up, luckily and it was a clear, bright evening.

"Don't forget, we have to be at the venue at 10am to do a test run." Abby reminded Hunter.

"I won't. I think it's best if we drive together so we can spend some private time afterwards."

"Not possible honey, I have a meeting at 4pm at the factory with the caterer and you have a meeting at the same time at the office." Hunter jerked his head up to look at her in surprise, his eyes glowing amber.

"Honey? You have never called me anything else than Hunter. Not even when we are intimate."

Abby blushed. "Uh.. oh well, it's just an expression." She mumbled quickly.

"Well I love you too." He said casually. Now it was her time to look at him in disbelief. She felt as if she was hit by a truck.

"What did you say?" her voice sounded odd, squeaky.

"You heard me perfectly well, but like you said. It's just an expression." He said when finishing his espresso. "Finished? I want to go back to the hotel." No emotion on his face whatsoever except for his lips, pressed tight together. He stood up, after leaving money on the table and waited patiently for her to gather her things.

No words were spoken during their drive back to the hotel.

Abby couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned but their conversation during dinner came crashing back, time after time. I am an utter fool. The little voice inside her head answered 'Yes, you are Abigail Fraser'.

His silence in the hotel when walking up to their rooms worked on her nerves. He gave her a little peck on the cheek before entering his own room. At least he didn't slam the door. She wished he would have. Abby was confused. Could it be that he did love her? Then why hadn't he said so before? Truth was, she was scared. Scared to open up. This was safe, this was her protection, just in case, that after the launch, she would never see him again. And yes she did love him. With all the cells in her body and more.

-20-

Thursday.

'Global Habitat'. Launch. Press. Invitees. Flashlights. Interviews. Laughter. Drinks. More drinks.

The day went by in a haze. She smiled when she needed to. She shook hands when required. She posed if requested. But her mind wasn't there. All went on automatic pilot.

It was a great success. Then why did it feel as if she had lost everything? Hunter had hardly spoken a word the last couple of days other than those necessary for the launch. He also didn't use the dividing door. He even locked it.

She had cried herself to sleep last night. She had never allowed herself to cry during her divorce period with Martin. Maybe these were tears for that too, tears of letting go of the old. She didn't know, she actually wasn't ready to know.

Packing her bags she thought of Martin and their marriage. They had a wonderful and beautiful daughter, but if she was really honest with herself they never experienced the passion and the total, consuming love she felt for Hunter. She had fallen for him deeper than she ever would have believed possible. Abby sighed. And now what she was afraid would happen, had.

Marylinn waited in the lobby to say goodbye to her. Her hug was tight and Abby felt a kindness that warmed her heart.

"Hunter already left." Was all that Marylinn said as she saw Abby searching the lobby.

"Oh…"

"He took an earlier flight."

"Oh… ok." Abby could feel her tears and quickly turned her head.

"Thank.. thank you Marylinn for everything. I don't know if Hunter believes there is still room for me in the PR team. If not, it was such a pleasure working with you." Spontaneously Abby hugged Marylinn again.

"You two will be all right dear."

"What do you mean?" Abby asked with a little voice and looked at the other woman with red, teary eyes.

Marylinn just patted her on the shoulder and said cryptically: "You'll see. Have faith."

Abby fell asleep on the flight back to LA. She took a cab to her apartment and was glad she was home again. It was still early in the morning and after she dropped off her bags in the bedroom to unpack later, she changed into her running gear. Maybe a good run would clear her mind a bit. She would take that shower afterwards.

It was a beautiful summer morning and not too much traffic. She decided to run to Griffith Park.

"Excuse me Miss, I'm looking for S Alexandria Avenue. Could you give me directions?" A boy on a bike, a messenger Abby presumed, looked at her when she stopped for him. They were on that same avenue as she just left her house at the Cleo Residence. "You are on the correct avenue." She answered,

"Thank you Miss."

As she wanted to resume her run, she saw a familiar face across the street leaning against a burgundy Tesla. He pushed himself off the car when he saw she had spotted him and crossed the street towards her. She literally froze.

"Hi Sunshine." He said as soon as he reached her. He didn't try to touch her but gazed at her with sincerity. "Can we talk?"

She felt uncomfortable sitting across him at the kitchen table. She had taken a quick shower as soon as they arrived at her apartment and felt refreshed. Hunter had a grim look on his face.

"I have news regarding Francesca and also Ryan. But I am afraid you are not going to like what I am about to tell you." He paused as to gauge her reaction. Then he resumed "Did you know that Francesca and Martin are in a relationship Abby? And for quite some time, if my information is correct." He waited again to give her time to comprehend what he was telling her. "Do you want to know?"

-21-

Abby sat there, dumbfounded. Hunter just told her that Martin had cheated on her during their marriage. She had always thought that the separation was a joint decision.

The other information was even more shocking. Apparently Martin and Francesca had won big time at the casinos in Vegas and were using that money to incriminate Abigail, so Martin could gain full custody of Skye. Francesca would testify that Abby had paid her to leave SGD so she could get the position herself. Francesca thought up the whole idea as she was angry with Hunter for dumping her. As soon as she had seen that Hunter had hired Abby she made up this devious plan to get back at him and in the same process, Abby. That she had a relationship with Martin as well as being lovers with Hunter and Ryan was even more surprising. Apparently this woman had no scruples whatsoever.

Ryan was mad at Hunter for letting Francesca go and so he kept in touch with her. In the two months that had Abby worked for Hunter, he slowly saw her true colours. She had told Ryan about the fact that his father wasn't Ryan's and therefore he should be the rightful CEO. Problem was, Ryan already knew, as Hunter had told him the week after he told Abby. Ryan had no problem with it as he had more time for 'the ladies' in his position in New York than he would if he was CEO. Ryan helped her to incriminate herself by wearing a wire and recording a conversation he had with her where she said on tape more or less what she had been doing. She was arrested in her own new condo the night before, on charges of fraud.

Hunter had spoken with Martin as well and the latter sees now what a fool he was to fall for Francesca's lies. He was totally in love with this woman. Martin was never really out to hurt Abby, but was talked into the idea that it was best for Skye to live with him permanently. Abby shook her head at this notion. What a foolish and gullible man, but she was also pretty much disappointed in his judging capability. As it turned out, Francesca also accompanied Martin and Skye to Disney World. So it was her voice she heard in the back.
Martin sure needed a long time to apologise to show that this would never, ever happen again.

The 'unknown number' phone calls were also Francesca's work as was the text message. But Abby had already guessed that by now.

"Are you ok, Sunshine?" he looked at her, worried. "I know it is a lot to take in right now. I am here." He walked around the table and took her in his arms. She started to cry, uncontrollably.

"I am not going anywhere. I love you, redhead, for real." He whispered softly into her hair. She arched her back to look at him with red eyes. He had the most tender expression on his face, his eyes were dark amber. "I love you Abigail Fraser." He repeated. She smiled through her tears.

"I love you too Hunter Scott, for real."

"Good.. because I want you to marry me next week."

-Epilogue-

They married in the garden at his house on Corona del Mar with a beautiful view of Santa Monica Beach and the ocean. Abby wore a long plain, ivory dress, with white flowers in her long red hair and Hunter was in a light grey suit. Everyone from the office as well as Marylinn and Ryan were there. Ryan had given her a brotherly kiss and hug and was genuinely happy for her and his brother.

Her daughter was the ring bearer. Wearing white, she couldn't have looked more adorable and was smiling all day long.

The ring itself consisted of a beautiful amber stone with a dozen tiny emeralds surrounding it

in a plain, round platinum setting.

Martin gave her away. They had a long and hard talk about what had happened and Abby had forgiven him for most of it.

"Are you happy Mrs Abigail Fraser Scott?" he looked at her with loving, amber eyes.

"Never could be happier, Mr Hunter Scott." she answered before she pulled his head down to kiss him passionately.

- Abigail by S.K. Alastriona -