Bit of a long chapter this one. Stick with it...
As always thanks for the really lovely reviews.
It was Wednesday and not a word from him. She was beginning to think it had all been a dream or that he was regretting what had happened over the weekend.
Charlie had kept asking over the last couple of days when Jake would be coming back. How do you explain to a child that you have no clue about what is happening? She was not prepared for this or able to provide any sort of soothing answer to Charlie's questions. He was not impressed the kite sat in the hallway waiting for another outing.
Laura swung her chair to look out the window it was a sunny day and she should be feeling on top of the world. Since the Carmichael wedding had been such a hit she had received five enquires this week for potential events at the hotel. But, she felt the opposite unsure of what was happening trepidation surrounding her.
Truth be told she felt pretty shit right now. Her head was all over the place, she was tired and irritable. Why couldn't she just get a break?
She had seen Chris the night before meeting him in a local restaurant, to say he had taken it badly was an understatement. His parting words had included frigid and bitch. She had sat there quietly as people had stopped their meals to feast on her misery. She wanted to shout out to his speeding departing back she was anything but frigid but held her tongue. Smiling brightly at the waiter when he came over to her table with the bill her humiliation complete. Of course Chris had left that for her it kind of summed him up she had thought as she pulled her wallet out of her bag.
Jules had been triumphant guessing exactly what had happened after the wedding. Laura had tried to remain tight lipped but she was having none of it and practically had her in an arm lock to get all the details. She insisted on coming over Monday evening to continue the discussion and upon seeing Charlie had been filled in on his day out in Jakes big car and his kite flying expertise.
Saying nothing but sitting back with a glass of wine and a self satisfied look on her face it had taken every ounce of Laura's self control to not throw every cushion on her sofa at Jules and wipe the smug smile off her face.
'Playing happy families oh I so would have paid to see that.' Jules gave the impression of being very happy at the turn of events and could not contain her excitement at the possibilities that might occur in the future. Laura had had to push her out of the house at midnight exhausted from the interrogation.
She swung the chair back to her desk and skimmed through the emails in her inbox. Nothing not a bloody dickybird. She looked at her watch nearly 4 pm. Day 3 of the wall of silence this was torture.
She looked up as Jules entered her office carrying a tray. She set it down on the empty desk and poured two cups of tea. Placing one in front of Laura she took a seat opposite her. Starring over the top of her cup as she blew on it to cool the steaming liquid Jules raised the question that held no positive response.
'No word from him?'
Laura looked up and shook her head. 'Nothing, I mean maybe I am reading too much into this. We were consenting adults, we had a one night stand and thats it.' She dropped her head in her hands annoyed with herself for letting him in to her life even for a brief moment. How would she explain to Charlie about this?
Laura finished the tea and shut down her laptop. 'I am going home, had enough of this place today.' Jules had nodded in sympathy and hugged Laura as she had left the office.
Charlie had kept her busy during the evening and she had bathed him and put him to bed. Reading the same stories Jake had read to him she looked at his little face as he gazed up at her entranced in the story of Jack and his beanstalk.
By 9 pm she was in bed still recovering from the weekend but feeling desolate sleep came quickly. She had been asleep for at least an hour when the phone beside her bed had sprung to life. Sleepily she had reached over saying hello as she held it to her ear.
A concerned voice was at the other end of the phone. 'Laura its Jake are you okay?' Not sure if she was dreaming or not she sat up. 'Jake is that really you?'
He laughed quietly on the other end of the phone. 'Err yes its me are you sick?'
'I was asleep it's been a fun packed few days ya know.' She smiled into the phone as she heard him laugh again.
'Yes, I know what you mean. I'm coming back down tomorrow Laura I wondered, well if you like, erm maybe we could go out for dinner tomorrow night. Only if you want to, like you can say no I wont be offended or anything.'
Now it was Laura's turn to laugh and she said quietly. 'I would like that very much.'
She heard him sigh into the phone he sounded as tired as she was. 'Right well I will let you go back to sleep. Night Laura.'
'G'night see you tomorrow.'
She heard the phone click as he ended the call. She put the phone on its cradle sinking back into her bed. He had called and he had asked her out on a date. So maybe today was not too bad after all.
xxxxxxx
Jake dropped the phone on the sofa. How smooth was he? He sounded like a bloody teenager on the phone to Laura. All that erm'ing and stuttering what a bloody idiot. What had come over him? He never normally had this sort of problem asking women out. Of course Laura was not like any other women.
He closed his eyes tiredness closing in on him. He had wanted to call her on Monday but, thought he should give her some space and to be honest he was exhausted. He had fallen asleep on the sofa having made the mistake of sitting down when he arrived home. Waking up with a crick in his neck at 4 am had not been what his body needed that night.
He then thought about sending flowers on Tuesday but then thought he couldn't repeat that so soon so did nothing. The day had been full on and with no Lauren in the office this week his temper was short and frayed. He felt for Claire the PA covering she looked as though she was ready to run out the door every time she walked into his office.
By Wednesday he figured he should head back to the hotel and stay out of her way. Truth be told he needed to see Laura. He wanted to hold her, kiss her and fall asleep wrapped around her.
His phone beeped and he picked it up opening the message. It was a photo of Lauren holding a bottle of wine with the message I found the wine cellar. She would try and empty that no doubt. He laughed and replied the honesty box is in the kitchen don't forget!
A few texts batted back and forth and Lauren declared Via Regina the best place she had ever stayed in. He agreed with that statement. He visited as often as he could but had never taken anyone he was dating. For some reason this was not for sharing but, as he lay back on the sofa he wondered if Laura would love it as much as he did. It was not everyone's idea of idyllic. His Mother hated it and wouldn't visit anymore complaining about the lack of civilisation. It was precisely why he loved it. Set on the edge of Lake Como and dating back to the 19th century. He had renovated the wharf himself along with some of the local craftsmen. His investment in the entire estate renovation had not gone unnoticed locally and he had made some friends there having kept so many people employed.
He headed to bed feeling a good mood coming over him. His Mother was ignoring his calls but she would come around at some point. More importantly he was going to see Laura tomorrow and he felt he needed to be honest with her about everything. Tomorrow was going to be a make or break day he had no idea how it would go but he would do his best to ensure she understood everything and that his intentions were honourable regarding Charlie.
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Jake had insisted on coming to the house and picking her up. He had whistled and looked her up and down when she opened the door to him. She had blushed of course and as he brushed his lips over hers to say hello she had felt her legs go to jelly. She had clutched the door as though her life depended on it. Luckily Charlie had rushed at him wanting to show his latest piece of school artwork so she had been able to catch her breath. Jake had dutifully allowed himself to be dragged by the hand into the kitchen and had expressed appreciation and encouraged an in-depth discussion with Charlie on the painting.
Charlie eventually relinquished Jake and they had left the house quickly. Climbing into his Range Rover had not been easy and she silently scolded herself for wearing such a tight dress.
Sitting across from Jake in the restaurant she was once again struck by the sheer handsomeness of him. Women sitting at other tables had stopped and followed him with their eyes as they walked in. Probably wondering why he was with her she thought sadly. The restaurant was not busy but he probably always managed to make an entrance and seemed oblivious to the looks he was getting. He had pulled the chair out for her and once he was sat down he had reached for her hand. Kissing the palm in the same spot as he had done on Sunday morning it was such a sensual place to be kissed and she had felt her body heat up as he held her gaze. Knowing what his touch was doing to her seemed to satisfy him and he had sat back with a smug smile on his face.
Ordering from the menu she had glanced up several times only to be met with him doing the same thing. The waiter came back for a third time and finally they were ready to order. Over dinner Jake had regaled her with funny stories. He was keen to charm and he didn't disappoint. She was beginning to think this was a perfect evening.
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Jake was watching Laura as she spoke in hushed tones about a disastrous party where two families had gotten into fights. She laughed softly as she recounted the highlights of the event. As she finished she had looked up at him as he laughed along with her.
He took a deep breath and took her hand. 'Laura I need to tell you something.' She had stopped talking and was gazing at him her eyes darkening as worry fell over her face. She nodded to him and he began speaking.
'I don't want you to think this is anything to do with you its normal practice for me, for the way I work. But last week when we met I was not completely honest about why I was at the hotel. I was not sent by the group I work for I own the company.'
Laura pulled her hand back and knotted both in her lap. 'What? You own the company? I don't understand. Why is your company buying this hotel, are you like from the Marriott Group or something?'
He shook his head reaching for his glass of water he took a long drink. This was not going how he had planned it. He didn't think she would look so hurt for a start. Her face had the look of an innocent child and he could see Charlie's features so clearly as she starred back at him. He felt worse than he thought he would.
'No, I run a multi media business its changed a lot since I took it over from my father. I decided to buy this hotel and add to our property portfolio.'
'So what are you going to do with it?'
'Nothing to start off with I like the way it runs. Brian is a good manager and with people like you and Jules behind him it's a successful enterprise. Don't get me wrong I will make changes at some point but it wont affect you.'
Her eyes were holding his gaze now she was furious and suspicious in equal measure. He began to feel uncomfortable this was like sitting across a boardroom doing a billion dollar deal. Her gaze was steely and her voice when she spoke was stiff and cold.
'Right so you want me to believe that even though you live in London and had probably never been to this area before you decided to buy this hotel?'
Come on Jake just tell her his head was spinning. He knew he should come clean and explain exactly what was going on but right now she looked like she was ready to throw something at him and then walk away. He couldn't chance it he didn't want her leaving him he wanted her, he needed her. He had to think quickly.
'My team produce lists on a monthly basis of small businesses I might be interested in this was one of them. I can introduce you to my right hand man well actually Lauren is a woman but she, well she would tell you.' His words tailed off as Laura was standing up her chair scraping over the wooden floor.
'Jake thank you for dinner. But, this all sounds a bit suspect and to be honest I am not interested in being some plaything for a what was it; multi media mogul.'
She turned on her heel and walked away from him. He pulled his wallet out throwing a wad of notes onto the table. He reached Laura as she was pulling her coat on.
'At least let me drive you home.'
She stood huffily in front of him looking down at her shoes. Her voice muffled as she replied to him. 'Fine but no funny stuff.' He smiled down at her head and took her arm to guide her out of the restaurant.
She sat in the car looking out of the window not speaking. So that had not gone as well as he hoped and he had basically told her nothing. He had wanted to talk about Will, finding Charlie and how he wanted to be part of his life and hers hoping she would be happy about that.
But, his words had come out wrong obviously and right now the atmosphere in the car was as intense as it could get.
He parked the car outside her house. Lights were on downstairs but it was obvious Ellie and Charlie had gone to bed.
She went to unclick her seatbelt and was having trouble so he reached across to release it his fingers entwining with hers for a split second before she pulled away. At the briefest contact his body begun heating up and if she would look at him he might know if she was feeling the same thing.
She turned her head towards him her eyes darkening as she was met with Jakes intense stare.
'Thank you for dinner.' She reached for the door but he pulled her free hand back and as she spun around to speak he crushed his lips onto hers. Her body quickly picking up the tempo of what he was feeling she dropped her bag as her hands reached across the car towards him.
The kiss was everything he remembered about her sweet, passionate and enticing. His fingers wound themselves into her hair and he thought of nothing at that moment but the delicious feelings that were coursing through his body.
Laura suddenly pulled back pushing him away from her. She ran her hands through her hair smoothing it back into place. Her breathing was ragged, uneven and she was struggling to catch her breath.
'Laura.'
'No don't say anything, I need to think about this. You lied to me, to my friends at the hotel. Kissing me does not change that.'
He released his grip on her and sat back in his seat. He ran his hands through his hair wishing their lives could be simpler.
His voice a mere whisper. 'I admit I omitted some elements of the reason I came. But, I didn't expect to walk in there and find a beautiful woman who would invade me thoughts the first day I met her. If you don't want to see me again fine. But I said it before and I'll say it again. I like you, I like you very much. I don't need complication to be honest I don't want it.'
Her head jerked up as if to speak. His hands gripped the steering wheel as he focused on this moment. How he got this across would determine what happened tomorrow. 'Let me finish Laura please.' She nodded and dropped her head again. 'What I am trying to say obviously very badly is that I think if you would let me, if you wanted to see me again I could handle complication. I think I want complication.'
Laura raised her head slowly her face searched his she continued to eye him suspiciously. She had gotten out of the car quickly but, before closing the door had looked over at him and said. 'I'll think about it.'
She walked away from him her head held proud not looking back and let herself into her house. He sat in the car and watched the various lights going on and off as she got ready for bed and then only one light was on.
He swung the car into drive and headed towards the hotel. He had told her nothing he wanted to share. She had taken this part badly how on earth would she take the Charlie angle.
Far from going well this could not have gone worse. What the hell was he going to do now?
xxxxxxx
'Bloody insufferable man.' Laura was stomping around the house getting ready for bed. She finally stood still in her tiny ensuite. As she caught her reflection in the mirror she could see her face was a mass of emotions. Trying to rationalise what he had said.
Climbing into bed she took her laptop with her and typed in Jake Harrison. 'Right Jake lets see what you actually do.'
Her face freezing in shock as the laptop brought pages and pages of Jake to her. Jake as a child, with his parents, his brother. Scores of photos with super models, celebrities she was stunned to see some of her favourite actresses on his arm in photos.
She pulled up the images and went though each one. But, she realised as she analysed them that even though he was smiling it never quite reached his eyes. He looked good in every photo damn him for being so photogenic. There were photos of him in a suit, in black tie and casual photos out running along the embankment, at some big old house in cut off shorts and topless. She stared at that one for quite a while. He seemed to be building a wall but he looked so happy and it seemed to be the only photo he appeared genuinely happy. She realised these were paparazzi photos and in some of them where he had seen the photographer his face was thunderous as he looked straight at the lens.
She read through his bio how he had taken over the company from his ailing father, how he turned it around and made it the powerhouse and big player it was today. His arrogance in business deals but his kindness towards people close to him. An article in the Daily Mail had been run after his PA Lauren was married and it showed the two of them climbing out of a limo just before he walked her down the aisle. It detailed the costs and that he had picked up the bill.
She lay back on the pillows she was in a quandry there was something that didn't add up. Why would this very arrogant rich man buy the hotel and more importantly when he was someone who dated super models and oscar winning actresses what on earth was he doing with her?
These were questions she could not figure out answers to and decided there was only person who would be able to decipher this. She looked at her watch it was 1 am. Hmmm definitely too late to call Jules. She closed the laptop and switched off the light. Sleep came quickly she was exhausted but she dreamt of beautiful women surrounding Jake and her trying to call to him but he didn't hear her.
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Jules sat back from the PC in her office. 'Jake bloody Harrison you crafty beautiful bastard.'
'Jules focus please. What does this mean?'
Jules pondered the question. 'Okay lets start from the beginning. Jake is born butterflies float above his cot as the world stops on its axel to appreciate the gorgeous baby before them.' She swung her arms out for dramatic effect.
'Oh my God stop! Lets leave the early stuff out okay. I don't understand why he would lie about the hotel. Why would he do that?'
'Hmmm I guess if he had arrived here last week as the big boss we might of been thrown off kilter and everyone would have been on edge. The wedding would have been a complete disaster you and I would have been sacked on Monday. So actually lucky he said nothing.'
'You aren't really helping. Look at the women he dates. Now look at me?'
'Laura dont compare yourself to them. What do they have that you don't. Well yes they are like 6 feet tall and you my dear are a short arse.' Jules laughed as she carried on speaking. 'Look don't think about them. So he dated celebrities. Surely the fact he wants to go out with you should tell you he is looking for something meaningful now.'
Laura rolled her eyes. 'But why this hotel, why us.'
'Seriously Laura you are thinking about this way too deeply. Take if for what it is. Some rich guy has bought this hotel now maybe he will spend some money and sort the heating out. Maybe he will close it and we will all be out of a job. But, don't think about it until something actually happens. I have a good feeling about Jake I think he might come good.'
Jules stood up. 'Now I really must go and do my rounds the girls will be wondering where I am.'
Laura nodded not moving. What should she do now? She had pretty much told him where to go yesterday and he had not been seen this morning his car was not in the car park. Why oh why was everything so confusing and muddled…..
Jules patted Laura's shoulder as she left the office. She stepped outside and saw Jake leaning against the wall his arms folded head down. He looked up his face confused as he tried to gauge the situation. She closed the office door and stepped towards him.
'So after everything I told you, you still managed to make a hash of it. How much did you hear?'
He smiled weakly at her. 'Enough. She hates me now, I didn't think she would take it this badly.'
'Men. See the thing is Jake she is kinda special. I told you that, she is fragile she cant handle anymore secrets. The stuff with her sister well it was tough and she was nearly bankrupted by everything. She took on two jobs to save for her deposit pay off Emma's debts and then Charlie arrived so that added to her pressure. But, she was in a pretty good place until you came along.'
'I like her Jules. I have no idea why I am telling you this its probably because Lauren is away and.'
'Lauren?'
'Oh she is my PA, I guess you could say she is my best friend. She talks to me like I am five years old and makes my life hell generally.'
'Well is that so, I really want to meet her. Think we could have a lot in common.' Jules laughed and stood in front of him. 'Anymore secrets we need to know about?'
He shook his head. 'Nothing scouts honour.'
Jules raised an eyebrow. 'You were a scout?'
'God no I left after a week I hate camping.' Jake laughed as Jules poked him the shoulder. 'You two are made for each other. Get in there and apologise. I cant stand watching her mope around the place any longer its bad for business.'
Jake placed his hand on the door handle. 'Thanks Jules.'
'Yeah, yeah whatever go and sort out the mess you created.'
She watched him take a breath and open the door. 'Laura can we talk.'