A/N: Hello, again... ;-)
From Emily's 'dirty minded mercy' (you're all welcome for that line, and thanks to those who commented on it!), to the continuing woes of Emily's business troubles.
No Cigarette Warning™ but a bit of a Flirt Alert™ towards the end.
On with it, then...
Disclaimer: I do not own skins. Bummer, that. Any and all typos are a total lie, just like the cake.
(Naomi POV)
(The next morning)
We were woken up the next morning by a ringing mobile. In my half asleep haze, I couldn't work out if it was mine or Emily's.
"Is that me?" I groaned, stretching my limbs and feeling a distinct ache run through my shoulders.
"Urgh...no it's me..." Emily mumbled, crawling out of bed and stumbling out into the sitting room naked, looking for her phone. "Ah!" I heard her say softly, before she answered the call. "Hello, Emily speaking...oh, Hi Cath. Mmm? Oh? Did...she say why? Christ. No...that's ok. Uhm... Eleven, you say? Ok. No, I will be in soon. Yes, I know. She's here with me." She laughed. "Ah-huh... Who writes your paychecks again, Cath? Ah, you know I'm joking. Right, see you soon...bye." There was a short pause. "Fuck! Naomi?" She called.
"Yeah?" I replied, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "What's wrong?"
"Uh... We're going to be late."
"What?" I said, looking over at the alarm clock that displayed a time of eight twenty in soft digital lightning. "Oh, shit." I muttered, before groaning as I tried to move. "Ow..."
"Are you ok?" Emily asked, stopping in the doorway and leaning against the frame, concern in her expression.
"Achey." I mumbled, gingerly moving my shoulder.
Emily came into the room and sat down behind me. "Relax, beautiful." I let my arms fall to my sides and felt her warm hands at my shoulders, kneading my sore muscles.
"Oh, that feels good." I murmured.
"I should have done this last night... I told you that you would ache... You know it's important."
"I know." I replied. "It was worth it, though."
"Hey..." Emily said, as her hands stopped moving momentarily. "It's worth more to me that you aren't in any discomfort, ok?" She said softly, as her thumbs grazed the base of my neck.
"I know... I'm sorry."
She leaned forward and kissed the back of my neck, before continuing to manipulate my muscles. "No need to be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong... I should have insisted more, that's all." She said, as her hands slid across my skin with ease. It most certainly was relaxing, that's for certain...
"Ok." I said, softly. "That was Cath on the phone?"
"Hmm? Yeah... Someone's made an appointment to see me at eleven. Though, I'm not sure why."
"Oh?" I replied. "Who is it?" Emily paused, still working over my muscles. She sighed softly, and I could tell there was a hint of annoyance in it. I reached upwards and placed my hand over hers. "Ems?"
Emily slid her arms around me and held me close to her. It was possessive, but somehow like she was holding onto me for security. "My mother."
I turned around to face her. "Oh. Well... what does she want?"
Emily shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to her in months. Not since Wales, actually." Her brow furrowed slightly, and she looked at me with uncertain eyes that tugged at my heart. I pulled her into my arms and held her to me. "Wha... We are late already as it is, beautiful."
"Shut up, and let me hold you." I said, kissing the top of her head.
"I'm ok, really..." She said, half heartedly.
"No, you're not. I can see it in your eyes." I said, softly. "Don't bullshit me when I can see right through it, Ems."
She relaxed into my arms, and sighed deeply. "I have no idea why she wants to see me."
I thought for a brief moment. "Maybe your sister knows?"
"Katie?"
"Yeah... Why don't you call her and ask her... You might get a heads up as to what she wants."
"I guess..." Emily said softly, as she curled her fingers into the ends of my hair.
"Come on, baby... You go take a shower, and I'll make you a coffee, deal?"
She nodded against my chest and slid up off the bed, walking towards the bathroom. She stopped when she got to the doorway, and turned towards me, raising an eyebrow as her eyes met mine. "Perving again?" She smirked.
I shrugged. "Can't exactly blame me when I'm faced with the most gorgeous woman in the world..."
I noticed the blush spreading across her face. "Cheeky."
"Naturally." I grinned, getting up off the bed, stopping to kiss her as I went on my way into the kitchen to make coffee.
It was almost ten when we made it into the office, and Cath greeted the pair of us as we entered, with a knowing look. It turned into more of a smirk as she noticed the bruise that still graced my neck.
"Good morning, ladies..." She said, a slight amount of sneakiness in her tone.
"Morning, Cath. Any messages?" I said.
"None for you, but there's a couple for Emily." She replied, handing a small sheaf of papers to Emily. Her desk phone rang and she reached for it, giving us both an apologetic smile. "Good morning, Fitch Holdings, Catherine speaking, how can I be of assistance?" She listened for a brief moment. "Yes, detective, I'll put you through to her office immediately, hold the line a moment." She pressed a button on her phone and looked at me. "Naomi, it's Detective Smith on the phone."
"Oh, right. Thanks. Just transfer it and I'll pick it up." I said, turning to walk to my office. When I opened the door the phone was already ringing, so I placed my satchel on the desk and sat down, picking up the phone. "Naomi Campbell speaking."
"Miss Campbell, John Smith, London police. I'm calling with an update on the theft case."
"Yes, Detective. I faxed over the court order yesterday once I'd received it via email..."
"Yes, we received it ourselves. We've sent it through to the bank along with the account details, and the account has been frozen."
"Excellent." I said, making some notes on my notepad.
"However, I have some other news that is not so satisfactory, I'm afraid."
My heart quickened, as my pen stopped. "I see. And?"
"A good portion of the money has already been withdrawn from the account. Approximately thirty thousand."
Oh, fucking hell.
"Right. So Richard has scarpered with it, then?"
"Well, not exactly. We have him in custody now and have been questioning him, Detective Constable Singh is in with him now. He has told us that he didn't transfer the money into his own account." Detective Smith explained. "He transferred it into for account for a Frederick McClair."
"So, what next?" I asked, still scribbling notes.
"Well, obviously we need to find McClair, however Richard will not give us any details as to his whereabouts. He refuses to give us his contact information."
"Have you tried getting in contact with Bailey Beverages? They were his previous employer, they-"
"We have tried that avenue, yes." Detective Smith said, cutting me off. "However the address they have for him is no longer current. Apparently he's not lived there in four or five months."
"Jesus. So, what now?"
"McClair may be hard to find."
"Can't the bank that the money was transferred from give you account details of where it was transferred into?" I asked.
"We asked, and they did." The Detective said, pausing.
"But...?"
"The account was under a false name. He appears to be slippery, this McClair."
I growled under my breath, and cleared my throat. "That's a bit of an understatement. And Richard won't say anything more?"
"Well, we have the information from the Swiss bank about the account the money was transferred into, so we are getting a court order to freeze that account and recover the money that way. Though, I'm afraid tracking McClair down may take some time."
"I see. And the remaining money in the Swiss account?"
"They have advised that if you get in contact with them again, they can organise to have the money transferred back to your company within twenty four hours."
"Right, I'll get onto them straight away. Thank you for the call, Detective."
"You're welcome, I'm sorry I didn't have better news. I will, of course, update you as soon as I can."
"I understand, and I appreciate the update." I said. "I look forward to hearing you soon."
"Goodbye, Miss Campbell." He said, ending the call.
I put my phone down and sat back in my chair, pulling the hair the out of my hair and shaking it out around my shoulders. "Fuck's sake." I muttered.
I called the Swiss bank, spending a good half hour on hold listening to the recording that touted the secure, trouble free aspect of their banking services. Finally, I got to speak to someone, and after explaining the situation, I arranged to have the remaining money in the account, which amounted to twelve thousand pounds, transferred back to Fitch Holdings. Once I got off the phone with them, I stood up and picked up my pad, opening the door and leaving my office.
I knocked on the door of Emily's office, and opened it. "Emily, I've just got off the- Oh, sorry." I said, noting that Emily had company.
Emily's eyes met mine. "It's no trouble, Naomi... I won't be much longer, please, come in."
I nodded, and entered her office, making my way to the sofa and sitting down, going over the notes I had made.
"So, let me get this right, you want my company to do the marketing for yours." Emily said to the woman who sat opposite her.
"That's correct." A Scottish accent replied. "We're in a bit of a pickle, the company doing our marketing closed up shop."
"What a shame." Emily replied, flatly. There was a strange air between them, and Emily sat in the chair behind her desk, looking rather unimpressed, almost angry. I looked at my watch and realised it was just after eleven. I looked between the two women, the Scottish one looking considerably older than Emily, but yet... Strangely similar to her. Eleven o'clock...
"Oh, shit." I muttered.
The older woman looked over at me, and then back at Emily. "I'm sorry, is it necessary for..."
"Naomi." Emily said.
The older woman swallowed. "Naomi?"
"Yes, Naomi Campbell." I said, with a polite smile.
"That Naomi?" The woman asked, looking at Emily.
Emily stiffened. "And that is your business, how?"
"What is she doing in your office?"
"She works here." Emily replied. "Part of the legal department."
"I see." She said, looking at me up and down with distaste. "Honestly..." She said, shaking her head.
"What?" Emily said, glaring at the woman who I now knew to be Jenna Fitch. "Do you have something to say?"
"Employing your...your..."
"I think the word you're looking for is 'girlfriend'?" I offered.
"Is it necessary that she be in here? I thought this was a business meeting?" Jenna said, tersely.
"Actually, the meeting is over." Emily said, flatly. "The answer is no."
"No?" Jenna said, shock in her tone. "Not even for family?"
Emily laughed, but it was hollow. "Don't preach to me about family, when you clearly don't know the meaning of the word." She said, her eyes squarely on her mother. "You asked for my help, and I'm declining to give it. Find someone else to do your publicity."
"Well, I..." Jenna said, the rest of her sentence falling on her lips. She stood up and smoothed out her suit. "I can see this was a bad idea, and as usual I'm wasting my time..."
"Quite right. Give my love to dad, won't you? At least I know he appreciates me more than you do."
"Emily, you know that isn't true..."
"Oh, isn't it? How's that river of denial going for you? Still present in your blood, or has it gone back to Egypt where it belongs?"
"Emily!"
"I'm surprised you even asked, Jenna. Imagine how it's going to look when people discover your publicity is done by a company run by your openly gay daughter? That'll get the neighbours talking, won't it?" Emily said, with an air of sarcasm and disgust. "You are wasting your time, and mine. So kindly get out of my office, because my lawyer obviously has something important to discuss with me."
Jenna looked at me, then back at Emily in anger, before turning on her heel and walking out of the office, closing the door behind her. I looked at Emily, who was leaning back against the headrest of her chair with her eyes closed. She sighed, deeply, and reached up with both hands to rub her face, as a noise of discontentment left her lips. "Damn her." She muttered.
"Uhm... Should I come back at another time? Would you like to be alone for a few minutes?" I asked, quietly.
"What? Oh...no..." Emily replied. "I'm ok..."
"No you're not."
Emily huffed. "Alright, I'm not. I just can't believe the nerve of her." She said. "Katie said it was something to do with business, but she has some nerve asking for what she just did!"
"Oh, you called Katie?"
"Yeah, while you were in the shower. Jenna wants us to represent her and do her marketing. Her PR firm went bust or something, and thought I'd do it as a favour to her."
"What, because your family?"
"As a Fitch, I'm supposed to help out automatically. Sorry, but that doesn't gel well, considering my lifestyle and principles, and the fact that my mother is a bigot who can't accept me for who I am. She would have an absolute fit if it got out that I was gay and I was doing her PR. She even had the nerve to ask me not to flaunt myself!"
"Flaunt?!" I almost laughed. "Oh, fuck's sake, Emily... You're the last person to flaunt it."
"I know that, and you know that... But where Jenna Fitch is concerned, I only have to take you on a date somewhere and that's flaunting myself. We don't even have to be kissing to do it, either."
"Jesus." I muttered, shaking my head.
Emily stood up and took off her jacket, joining me on the sofa. "Anyway, enough about the dragon lady... What did you need to see me about?"
"Huh? Oh... Uh..." I pondered for a few moments. I could see Emily was upset, and didn't want to make it worse with the news I had. "It can wait, I suppose..."
Emily looked at me curiously. "No, it can't, if it's business related. Come on...tell me."
"You know Detective Smith phoned?"
"Oh, yes... Any progress?"
"Sort of. Most of it isn't good news I'm afraid."
"Well, my day has already been darkened by the presence of my mother, it can't get much worse, so tell me."
I swallowed briefly, and then began to speak. "Smith called the bank with the court order. They froze the account, but..."
"But what?" Emily asked, leaning against the back of the sofa and closing her eyes.
"Most of the money has already been transferred out of the account. They have Richard in custody. I hate to tell you, but your hunch about McClair is right. It seems he had Richard transfer the money into another account."
"FUCK!" Emily exclaimed, her brow furrowing in anger. Her eyes opened and met my own. She gazed at me and then spoke in a quieter tone. "There's more... Isn't there?" I nodded slowly. "Alright...tell me."
"The account Richard transferred into isn't in McClair's name. It's in a false name. The Detective called Bailey to get McClair's address details, but said they went to arrest him and he hasn't lived there in months." I explained. "Richard won't talk any further, and the Detective is working to put a freeze on the account that the money was transferred into."
"Fucking bastard!" Emily grimaced. "Is there any good news?"
"Actually, there is. Only thirty thousand was transferred out of the Swiss account. The remaining twelve thousand was still there, and I've got in contact with the Bank of Switzerland and arranged for it to be transferred back to us. It should be in the account tomorrow."
"Well, that's a start."
"Yes. The bad news is, Richard might be the only person who knows where McClair is, and he's not talking."
Emily laughed, but again, it was hollow. "Oh, that's perfect."
"I'm sorry, I wish I had better news." I said.
"That slippery cunt!"
"That's almost what the Detective said. Minus using the word 'cunt', of course." I said. "Look, Emily... How much of a problem is this missing money? I mean..."
"You mean are we not going to be able to pay our bills because of it? No..." She said. "It's just the principle of the thing. Financial ruin isn't the issue, here. We've got enough paying business to be stable for a while."
"So..."
"I'm angry because this happened right under my nose, and I missed it, Naomi. I didn't even see it was happening."
"I see." I said, thinking for a few moments. "Can I make a suggestion?"
"Of course."
"I suggest you hire an outside accountant. One not employed by the company. Go with a reputable corporate accounting firm. That way there's less chance of the company funds being at risk from someone who wants to try and fuck you over."
Emily nodded. "I'd been thinking about that. Good to see I wasn't the only one."
"Yeah, well... It makes me as angry as it does you that this has happened. I know it's stressful for you, and that bothers me a little."
"A little?" Emily asked.
"Ok, a lot." I said. "But, can you blame me? I love you, Emily. I don't wish this on you at all, you don't deserve it."
Emily looked at me and smiled, taking my hand in her own and kissing the back of it softly. "Oh, my beautiful girl... I'm so lucky to have you." She said, quietly.
I felt myself blushing and a goofy grin crossed my lips. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Emily replied. "Although... There are other ways I could thank you... but that'll just have to wait..."
"Oh?"
"We're still at work..." Emily said, her tone sly as she looked me up and down.
"Oh. OH." I said, blushing again. "Well...yeah..."
"I'd hate to have to make you break the rule again..." She sighed.
"Rules are made to be broken..." I smirked.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah..." I said, leaning close and kissing her slowly. I caught her hand as she reached for my top button. Her lips pulled away from mine and she looked at me with curious eyes. "But...not today..." I smirked, standing up and making my way to the door.
Emily groaned. "Your denying me your gorgeous treasures?" She said, disappointment in her tone.
I turned toward her and reached for my skirt, lifting it up. "You mean this?" I asked, with a devious grin as I showed her my bare centre. "If it means you fuck my brains out like you mean it later, then... yes."
"You tease!" She laughed.
I grinned, blew her a kiss and left her office, closing the door behind me.
A/N#2: So, Freddie is an arsehole... And Jenna is still a leopard that hasn't changed her spots.
More soon... Perhaps Naomi may make good on teasing Emily...you never know.
Review if you wish! They make me all tingly inside...
Not like that...PERVES...lol
:-D
Until next time...
~GN~ xo