Silver City Girl

by Yvonne Beattie

  I finish up in the toilet and just as I am opening the cubicle door someone throws it right back inwards at me and I fall onto the toilet seat confused and dazed as to what just happened. I look up to see Liam sneering down at me and locking the door behind him, and that is when I instantly start to panic.

  “LIAM….what are you doing?” I shout at him, and try to stand back up but there is very limited space in the cubicle. “Let me out, you idiot…”

  “I thought we could do some catching up first, Jen-i-furrrrr,” he leans forwards and lifts up my skirt in a very quick motion. He is beyond drunk.

  I am utterly shocked and seriously petrified at his behaviour. Without even thinking, I forcefully kick my leg up catching him right in the stomach as he was leaning over.

  “You little bitch!” he screeches at me.

  He makes to grab for my hair, but since I’m still sitting on the toilet seat where I fell, I pick up my other leg and kick him square in his manhood with my heel. He instantly falls to the floor cupping himself and I throw myself at the door trying to get the lock open. I hear a commotion outside the cubicle and some women shouting at each other trying to get the door open for me. I scream for help but Liam grabs my arm and hauls me down to the floor. He shoves his hand down the front of my dress grabbing at my chest and I scream for him to stop, but he won’t. I have no idea what happens next but somehow the toilet door bursts open and Jack is on Liam in an instant. He picks him up off the bathroom floor like he’s a rag doll and punches him so hard in the face, he actually goes flying. Some women rush to me and get me up off the floor and away from the guys. I am in shock and am shaking so badly I can’t even see straight.

  As I gather myself, I realise I am crying and visibly shaking and see security guards run past us, one of them shouting into a walkie talkie. Arnie is limping after them on their tail.

  One of the women that helped me has sorted my dress for me and has some wipes she is cleaning my face with. I see red on it and grab her hand to look at it.

  “It’s just a small cut under your eye, hon. I don’t think you’ll need stitches, but let me get it cleaned for you. I’m a nurse, I know what I’m doing,” she pats my hand to reassure me.

  I let go and nod at her, I feel numb.

  “You alright?” she asks me kindly.

  I nod still feeling the adrenaline pumping through me.

  “Do you know that guy?” she asks me.

  “Unfortunately, he is my ex…” I tell her shakily. “But I haven’t seen him in nearly a year. I have no idea what all that was about.”

  She raises her eyebrows unimpressed and says, “He needs to be locked up for that outburst. The police are on their way.”

  Just then Lynne runs over and kneels down in front of me, “Jen, what the hell…?”

  Then Jack rushes over and explains everything to her. He is like a caged animal and seriously looks like he wants to murder Liam. He is pacing back and forth and when the police arrive he makes sure they know all the details and that we will be pressing charges. Once he has cooled down a little, he comes over and sits beside me.

  “Jen, are you ok?” he asks. He’s so filled with rage I can see he is struggling to calm himself down. I’ve never seen him like this before.

  I nod, and lean into him still shaking and feel myself start to cry again. He immediately hugs me tightly to him and I feel the adrenaline still pumping through him too.

  “I didn’t think I was going to get to you in time,” he admits, still breathing hard. “I want to fucking murder that fucking weasel.”

  “Me too,” I whisper. “I don’t know why he did that Jack. I really don’t understand.”

  “Come on, lets get you home,” he helps me stand up but my legs are still shaking so badly I’m forced to sit straight back down again.

  “Just give me a minute,” I tell him, and then the same lady that was cleaning me up comes over with a cup and hands it to me.

  “Here, I got you a cup of tea…with some brandy in it. I thought it might help…” she hands it down to me and I manage to drink some. It does help calm me down a bit and I’m thankful for it.

  After a few more minutes I manage to stand up and as we get to the bottom of the stairs we see Liam being shoved into the back of the police car in handcuffs.

  Jack, Arnie and Lynne get me into our car and as the car pulls away from the curb, Lynne asks if we want to go back to their house for a night cap.

  Jack looks at me and squeezes my hand.

  “Yes, that would be lovely,” I reply for us. I don’t quite feel ready to go home.

  It’s not far and before I know it we are sitting around their fireplace enjoying some bailey’s on ice and some coffee, the boys have a nip of whisky.

  “Are you ok, Jen?” Arnie asks. “I’ve made arrangements for us to go to the police station tomorrow morning and give a proper statement.”

  I nod, “OK. I’m ok, just shaken up and maybe a little bruised. I have no idea what has gotten into that idiot.”

  Arnie grunts, “He was always a spoilt little shit, his father isn’t much better.”

  I remember Arnie not being overly impressed with him when I introduced them. Liam’s dad had gone to school with Arnie and there was no love lost between them all those years ago. I later discovered that Liam’s parents were divorced as his dad used to beat his mum. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

  “You did an awesome job tonight, Lynne. That’s one of the best nights I’ve ever had at a charity event – barr the eventful ending. Here is hoping you made your target,” Jack says to Lynne.

  “Thanks, but we couldn’t have done it without the likes of you sponsoring us, Jack. I’m so grateful, and I am more than sure we have outdone our target. Some of those prizes were fabulous too,” Lynne replies.

  “I know,” I add, “Flights to Florida, a 60 inch Sony television, a 10 night cruise around the Bahamas, to name but a few. I didn’t realise they would be quite so extravagant!”

  “Yeah, Jack has helped us up our game a bit with his generosity, and hence forth other tycoons have donated on par with him. It’s been great, and I’m so glad as it is for such a great cause,” Lynne replies. “All proceeds go to local children’s charities.”

  We all smile at Lynne, and when I glance at Arnie, I see his head has fallen back against his chair, and he appears to be sound asleep.

  “I think we had better be off,” I lay my glass down and motion towards Arnie.

  “Ah, showing his age,” Lynne scoffs and lightly pats Arnie’s knee though doesn’t waken him. “Poor sod is still getting over his own ordeal.”

  I hug Lynne goodnight, “Thanks for everything today, you’re the best.”

  “You’re more than welcome, my sweet girl,” she says as she kisses my head. “You take care of my girl, Jack,” she pats him on the arm. “I’m dreadfully sorry the pair of you had to endure that tonight.”

  “I will take care of her,” he smiles. “No need to worry about that.”

  Jack kisses her on the cheek and then we head out to the car waiting for us to take us home.

  Chapter 37

  “Oooooh.... shhhhhiiiit,” Jack is checking his phone, just as we pull up outside our apartment.

  “What’s up?” I ask, alarmed, through mid-yawn. My eye is starting to feel sore, and quite frankly, I’ve had enough excitement for one day.

  “Looks like we’ve got a problem,” he looks at me worriedly. “Let’s quickly get upstairs.”

  As we enter his apartment he throws his Prince Charlie kilt jacket over a chair and sits down heavily on the sofa, running a hand through his hair and back over his face.

  “Jack, you’re worrying me, what’s wrong? Tonight has been eventful enough,” I ask, sitting tentatively down beside him and pulling my gorgeous heels off. I am exhausted.

  He hands me his phone which is open on some media website. There is a photograph of Jack and I holding hands and smiling together at Kemah Boardwalk, a
nd beside it, there is a photograph of us earlier tonight, kissing. The headline reads:

  ‘SER’ Silent Chairman, Not So Silent About Scot’.

  “Oh my God,” I read it in shock.

  “Yeah, it’s going to be all over the press by morning, if it isn’t already,” he looks at me.

  “What are we going to do?” I ask him while my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest.

  Jack studies me for a long moment, clenching and unclenching his jaw muscles.

  Eventually, he replies, “Nothing.”

  Then he smiles at me, “Absolutely, nothing.” Then, he starts laughing.

  “Jack, I really don’t think this is funny at all,” I cannot believe this. “What are we going to do about work? About us?” I feel tears sting my eyes.

  “Jennifer, it was going to come out at some point. Someone was bound to get this story and jump on it, this is just a little sooner than we were prepared for, on both accounts. I mean, you and me obviously, but also SER and the fact I’ll be stepping forward as CEO. In a way, whoever has done this, has really done me a PR favour,” he laughs, while shaking his head.

  “But, Jack...” I falter.

  “Jen, I couldn’t be happier for the world to know you’re mine. Aren’t you?” he turns and looks at me square on, “Jen...?”

  “Of course, but...”

  “No buts then. It’s out, we will deal with it. We will figure it out,” he shrugs.

  Jack loosens his bow tie and opens his sporran looking for something.

  “This little man bag sure has its uses, I could get used to wearing one of these,” he jokes, and I smile, amused. “I was going to save this until Christmas, Jen, but now seems as good a time as any, especially given the events of the press. Let’s really give them something to talk about.”

  “What do you mean? What are you talking about?” I stand up to take my shawl off my shoulders, and as I turn around, I see Jack kneeling on one knee. “Jack...wh… what are you doing?” I demand, and impulsively cover my mouth with my hand.

  “Jennifer Steen. From the moment I laid eyes on you, and I’m speaking about a couple of years ago, before we had even talked, I knew there was something special about you. I didn’t know what it was then, but it is why I wanted you in Geology, it is why I wanted to be near to you, to get to know you. I was right. You’re one in a million. Yes, we’ve only been seeing each other for a short time, but the way I feel about you, I am sure isn’t going to change any time soon, or ever for that matter. You’re beautiful, smart, kind, you get me in a way that others just don’t, my life feels complete when you’re with me. I could just leave it as us moving in together, but I want more. I want you to officially be mine. All mine. I want to give you the world, if you’ll let me. Jen, Jenny, my little Jenny-bean, will you do me the honour of marrying me? Will you be my wife?”

  My whole body is trembling, he cannot be serious? I feel a tear run down my cheek.

  “Are you serious, Jack?” I whisper.

  “More serious than I have ever been,” he holds up an engagement ring for me to see. All I can make out is a rock on a white gold band through my tears.

  I don’t need to think twice about my answer.

  “Yes....yes!!” I answer him, “Oh my God, YES!”

  He jumps up and slides the ring on my left ring finger, it’s a perfect fit (obviously), then he wraps me in a tight embrace.

  “You really are my very own silver city girl,” he pulls back and kisses me. “I love you!”

  “And I love you, my very own Texan cowboy!”

  He laughs heartily kissing my neck and squeezing my waist.

  “This is just the beginning.”

  THE END

  EPILOGUE

  Five months later…

  JACK

  “So you all set for the big move back to H-Town?” Mike asks as he indicates for the car to turn right.

  “What?” asks his five year old daughter, Kris.

  “Nothing sweetheart, I’m talking to Uncle Jack,” he answers her and looks at me before turning his eyes back to the road.

  “Yeah, I think….” I start and am interupted again by Kris.

  “What?” Kris asks again.

  “Nothing Kris, I’m talking to Uncle Jack, just you listen to the music,” Mike answers her again.

  I smile and open my mouth to finish what I was saying…

  “WHAT?” Kris asks again a bit louder.

  “Nothing, I’m….” he’s interrupted again.

  “WHAT?” Kris asks again in more of a shout.

  Mike takes a deep breath and I start sniggering under my breath ensuring to keep my head forward so Kris can’t see me.

  “I said, I am…”

  “WHAT DID YOU SAY?” Kris shouts out.

  “I said….”

  “WHAT? I - CAN’T – HEAR - YOU?”

  I’ll give it to this kid, she is fucking hysterical, I hear a laugh and realise it is my own.

  Mike whips his head round to look at me as he slams the breaks on at a red light. His face is bright red as he turns to glare at Kris, and I try, hard as it is, to stop laughing but it is a futile attempt. Before I know it I am wiping tears from my eyes while Kristina sits in the back asking innocently, “What? What’s wrong daddy?”

  I can hear the humour in her voice and Mike has started laughing and shaking his head at her.

  “Here,” he passes her a chocolate bar, which she takes greedily and carries on kicking the back of my chair. “This kid is going to be the end of me,” he smiles, as he pulls away from the lights. I can tell he is proud as punch of her, and rightly so.

  I turn to look at Kris and she smiles at me innocently. I turn my body around enough to reach over for her to give me a high-five and she does so cheekily.

  “She is so like you sometimes, Mike,” I pat him on the shoulder as I turn back to look forward out of the windscreen.

  “I know, that’s what scares me!” he smiles widely and looks at me for a blink before trying to stop smiling.

  We have all fallen head over heels in love with his beautiful daughter. It’s all been such a hectic few months for him and Susie but they are proving to be amazing parents and little Kris has taken it all in her stride. They’ve recently moved back to Aberdeen from Copenhagen taking Kris with them so she can start school here and although she has been through so much, she has proved extremely resilient and has taken all the change in her stride. Give Susie her due, she has lots of photos of Kristina’s mom up for her. I figure that takes strength, but we are all so proud of how they have dealt with the whole situation. It kind of makes me want to be a proper grown up too.

  “So, as I was saying, you guys all set for Houston?” Mike tries again.

  I wait a moment to see if our little friend in the back wants to add anything. When she doesn’t, I reply, “Yeah, I think so. We are all packed and ready to play house stateside.”

  “We’re so happy for you both, you know,” Mike says seriously. “I’ve learned a lot these last few months and you really need to grab happiness with both hands when you’ve got the chance.”

  He looks at me and smirks.

  “Deep man, that was deep,” I lightly punch him on the shoulder. We have fast become good friends which I know makes life easier for our girls.

  “I know, I think I’ve gone soft,” he laughs as he pulls up to Riverside Drive. “Home sweet home,” he says, as Jen whips open the door and all but smothers Kris in kisses and cuddles.

  “Just for one more sleep!” she exclaims. “Hello my little snuggle bum!” she unclips Kris from her car seat and swings her up and around in her arms.

  “Aunt Jen!” Kris squeals while hanging onto Jennifer’s neck.

  They both laugh and then give each other an eskimo kiss.

  God, I love my wife.

  Kris sees Susie come out the door laiden with bags and runs over to see her.

  “Hey, wife,” I pull Jen into me and kiss her hard on the
mouth.

  “Woah there, hubster,” she laughs, but kisses me back.

  We’ve been married for a week. After much planning, discussions and deliberations, we decided to make a visit to Gretna Green and get hitched. It’s possibly the best decision I’ve ever made. Jen’s dad and family met us there and my mom and dad flew over to witness the occasion, but it was low-key and intimate, and more to the point, exactly what we wanted.

  After it got out that I was dating an intern from work, the press went slightly crazy. Turns out Britney, an admin girl from the Houston office, ratted us out after taking photographs at my sister’s Halloween party. I am so sick of that girl, its not even funny. I knew she had been hounding my brother-in-law for info on me but I truly didn’t think she would be that much of a bitch. Some of the other things that came out along with the photographs proved her to be more in the stalker category than I dared to have realised. It also came out that Tim, or ‘Torturous Tim’ as the girls in the Aberdeen office call him (rumours never lie), overheard Jen and I in my office that day that she made the discovery about our land ownership. When Britney’s photos hit press he jumped on a quick bonus offering up his tuppens worth and even a mug shot. I mean, who does that? Needless to say, neither of them are now employed by SER.

  Things were a little tough in the beginning, probably more so for Jen, but she is a tough cookie and stuck by me. Since I’ve been named CEO my work schedule has been a little over chaotic and so we are finally taking the plunge and moving to Houston. Jen stuck by her word and seems really excited to make the move with me. I thought she would be hung up on her new job, but since we have a mini-Samson on the way, she told me she is happy to wait it out and see how things go.

  So, it’s been one heck of a year. I thought my ear-drums were going to burst when we told our folks last weekend that Jen is pregnant. It’s certainly been a whirlwind, but it’s been the best tornado I could ever have hoped to be swept up in.

  Note from Author