by Polly Carter
Marcus rang at eleven o’clock on Sunday morning. “It’s all organised,” he told her. “Marcie is expecting you at ten tomorrow morning for a chat, and you can start Tuesday morning. I’ve found somewhere you can stay, so all you need do is pack and I’ll be there in a couple of hours to pick you up.”
Pearl gasped. “Today? But what about Mum and Dad?”
“I understand, baby. You need to talk to them. Why not do that and I’ll call back in a few minutes.”
“Of course you must go,” Mary said when Pearl told her about Marcus’s phone call. “If that’s what you want, and it is, isn’t it? You’d better get packed and, when Marcus calls, tell him you’ll be ready and waiting. I’ll make some snacks to take with you.”
Pearl was ready and pacing up and down the front verandah when Marcus’s Jaguar drove up.
“He’s here! Mum. He’s here!” she called through the front door.
Mary joined her as the car pulled up, the boot opened, and Marcus got out.
“I’m sorry there wasn’t more notice,” Marcus apologised as he collected Pearl’s bags from the verandah. “I only found out this morning that everything was in place, so I immediately called Pearl, jumped in my car and drove here. It is what you want, isn’t it, Pearl?” he asked gently. “You’re not obliged to if you’ve changed your mind. It’s entirely up to you, but I will help you all I can if you want to give it another go. Do you want to work at Mon Addi again?”
Pearl nodded, her head down, but when she raised it enough to glance up at him, her eyes were shining.
“Don’t worry, Marcus,” Mary assured him. “She does. She’s been fascinated with shiny objects since she was a tiny wee thing, haven’t you, Pearly? I’m not sure if that was because we called you Pearl, or whether somehow we knew that was how you were going to be and it was why we called you Pearl.” She shook her head, as amazed as ever at the coincidence. “Have you time for a quick cuppa and piece of carrot cake before you head off?”
“We have,” Marcus replied with a grin. “There would never not be time for a piece of carrot cake. How did you guess it’s my favourite?”
Pearl could barely keep still while Marcus had a cup of tea and piece of carrot cake with Mary.
Mary, seeing her bouncing around, laughed. “You look like you’ve got ants in your pants. She’s so excited she can’t sit still,” she added to Marcus. “It was such a lovely thing for you to do—get her job back, I mean. You must have been able to pull some strings, but I can still hardly believe Marcie agreed. Or that she could do that to Pearl and get away with it.”
“She’s not quite getting away with it,” Marcus said seriously. “I went in to see her personally at the first opportunity I had, and she was in no doubt about how angry I was. She was surprised. She hadn’t expected any repercussions. It just hadn’t occurred to her that anyone would stand up for Pearl. I told her I knew exactly what she’d done and why, and she didn’t even bother trying to deny it. She was quite mortified at being called out and terrified it was going to cost her her job. She begged me not to get her fired, but to begin with I couldn’t see she deserved anything else. Then I came up with a better punishment because one thing I know for sure about Marcie is that status is extremely important to her.”
“Status?” Mary asked.
“Yes,” Marcus nodded. “She wants to feel important and she gets at least a bit of that by being a manager and having an assistant to boss around, doesn’t she, Pearl?”
Pearl rolled her eyes, pulled a face and nodded. Marcus and Mary laughed. “I think I get the picture,” Mary said.
“Because we are such a big client, I could certainly get Marcie into a whole heap of trouble if I told her boss my company was going elsewhere because of her behavior,” Marcus went on. “She’d be out on her ear in a flash. And she knows she has no more chances, so I pretty much have her over a barrel and she knows it. If she so much as glances at Pearl the wrong way, she’ll be looking for a new job. For someone as naturally bossy as Marcie it is going to be hard and painful for her, firstly apologizing to Pearl and in effect admitting what she did, and then treating her as an equal in the shop and not as a junior. I know Marcie well and so does my mother, and Marcie does not want to upset us any more than she already has. I think Pearl will find it’s quite a different experience this time, and although Marcie is not going to enjoy not being able to boss Pearl around, with a bit of luck she might learn a valuable lesson. We’ll see.”
“Well, it’s a lovely thing you’ve done for Pearl, and I’m glad you will be looking out for her,” Mary said when Marcus finished, drank the last of his tea and popped the last bit of cake in his mouth. “I guess you’ll be wanting to get going then.”
“I think we should, if Pearl’s ready,” Marcus agreed, standing up and holding out his hand to Pearl who shyly put hers in it as she stood up as well.
The flat Pearl had rented before had been re-let, but Marcus had found her a much nicer one: brand new, better location, bigger, lighter, and with a lift as well as stairs.
“Oh my. It’s gorgeous! But how could I ever afford something like this?” she asked in a tiny voice a couple of hours later when he opened the front door for her and she saw inside.
“Don’t worry about that for the moment,” he said, brushing aside her concerns. “You do like it, don’t you?”
“I love it!” Pearl answered, gazing in awe out the window. “What a heavenly view! You can even see the river and there’s a park.” She spun around to face him. “And if it’s on the bus route to Mon Addi, it will be so easy to get to and from work. It’s perfect. But…”
“Nuh uh uh,” Marcus interrupted, wagging his finger at her. “No buts. Just unpack and get settled. It’s rather plain and boring right now,” he added, glancing around at the carefully orchestrated neutral décor. “But we can go shopping for some things to brighten it up next weekend. Would you like that? You can choose whatever you want. Come on.” He carried Pearl’s suitcase into the master bedroom and put it on the king-size bed. “You don’t have anywhere else to go, so you may as well stay here for the time being.”
Pearl took some clothes from her case into the walk-in wardrobe. “There’s some clothes already in here,” she said, her nose scrunched in bemusement. “They must belong to whoever was here before—but they’re all new. They all still have their labels.”
“They’re yours,” Marcus told her with a casual shrug. “If you want them. I bought a few things I thought might be nice for you to wear when we are here together. What do you think? Do you like them? You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to. I can return them and you can choose some other things.”
Pearl flicked through the clothes hanging up and thought how they were exactly what she most loved to wear: lots of pretty colours, short skirts, sparkles, hearts and teddy bears.
“Well?” Marcus asked. His voice sounded different, tense.
“I love them,” Pearl whispered. “I love the colours and rainbows and hearts and teddy bears and sparkles and… and everything.”
“Good!” Marcus said, letting out his breath. “Would you like to change into something now? You don’t have to wear them out if you don’t feel comfortable, but I reckon you’ll be cute as a button and, if you want to wear them, who cares what anybody else thinks? Just don’t wear them to work.” He touched the end of her nose with his finger, and she giggled. “I’ll wait out here while you change.”
“Okay.” Pearl nodded, hopping from foot to foot. She chose a short denim skirt with a frayed hem and a rainbow embroidered on the back pocket, and a multi-coloured striped, short-sleeved jumper. She also found some short, white socks with lace around the top and a pair of pink sneakers covered in sparkles. She wriggled and squeaked with delight when the shoes fitted perfectly, and jumped up and down in front of the mirror. She loved the outfit so much, and she felt little and safe because Marcus had bought it for her.
She went out to show him and twirled around
so he could see it from all angles and then stopped in front of him, her hands clasped together under her chin, worried he might not like it.
“Utterly adorable,” he said and kissed her, ruffled her hair and patted her bottom. “Would you like to go to the shops like that?” he asked. She nodded and he grunted with pleasure.
By the time she’d finished unpacking and organising her clothes for the following day and they’d been shopping to stock her fridge for the week, it was already getting dark. It was too late to cook, so Marcus bought take-away pizza for them to share at the flat. When they’d finished, he got ready to leave.
“Are you going?” Pearl made a sad face.
“Yes,” he answered gently, tipping her face up and kissing the end of her nose. “It’s getting late and I have things I must do. I’ll pick you up at nine-thirty tomorrow and take you to Mon Addi for your meeting with Marcie. And you need to get a good night’s sleep. You’ve had a busy day. I want you in bed by nine.” He glanced at his watch. “That gives you half an hour to get ready. You can read in bed if you’d like, but lights out no later than ten.” He looked sternly at her from under his eyebrows. “I’ll call at nine-thirty to say goodnight and I want you to be in bed. I’ve left some pyjamas under your pillow. Wear them so I can see what an angel you are. Now come here so I can give you a thorough kissing before I go.”
The next morning, she felt very nervous about seeing Marcie. Wearing the pink and white pyjamas with teddy bears kissing on the front that Marcus had left for her, she admired all her new clothes again before dressing in a knee-length black skirt, white blouse and black jacket that she’d worn at the shop before.
“Definitely Mon Addi,” Marcus said approvingly when he arrived, then wrapped his arms around her for a long kiss.
When they arrived at Mon Addi, Marcus went in with her and stood by her side as she faced Marcie.
“Ah, Pearl,” Marcie began, her fists clenched at her side. “Thank you for coming. I wanted the opportunity to tell you in person that I know you had nothing to do with the brooch being temporarily mislaid, and I sincerely regret any hurt or inconvenience caused by our silly misunderstanding. Both myself and the company are exceedingly pleased you have agreed to accept our offer of further employment.”
Behind her placatory words, Pearl could see that Marcie’s eyes were dark and her mouth tight. It made her knees tremble, but Marcus held her hand out of Marcie’s sight and squeezed it to give her courage. He let it go when Marcie finished speaking.
“So, Miss Sinclair,” he said formally. “I trust you are reassured that everyone understands you were in no way to blame for the brooch being misplaced, and I hope you feel able to leave that unpleasantness behind you. I would understand if you felt you might like to take legal action against Mon Addi for wrongful dismissal, but I think Marcie has been given the authority to make you an offer which you might be prepared to accept instead. Go ahead, Marcie.”
“Yes,” Marcie said through gritted teeth. “Management has authorised me to offer you employment with Mon Addi as a…” she paused, having trouble getting the words out, “trainee manager on a salary fifty percent higher than you were getting previously.”
“Oh!” Pearl’s eyes popped open and she flashed a look of confused surprise at Marcus. “Really?” she whispered. He nodded at her, then at Marcie as a sign for Pearl to keep listening as Marcie continued.
“Additionally, on top of the salary increase for your new position, Mon Addi will pay you for the three weeks you have been away plus an extra one month for the inconvenience and mental anguish caused to you. All of this to be calculated at your new salary rate. The lump sum payment will be transferred into your bank at the close of business today if you accept the offer.”
Pearl couldn’t think what to say. This was all completely unexpected. Her eyes sought Marcus’s again, and his crinkled at her even though his expression remained professional and business-like.
“What do you say, Pearl?” he prompted gently. “Would you like to be a trainee manager?”
“Oh, yes. Yes, please,” she replied, clasping her hands together and squirming happily at this completely unexpected promotion. “Thank you, Miss Jones. I would love to be a trainee manager. When can I start?”
“Tomorrow,” Marcie told her, and she did. Marcus had to go away on another business trip until the end of the week, but they talked on the phone every night and she told him all about being a trainee manager, and he made sure she was taking care of herself and eating properly.
Arriving home after work on Friday, Pearl let herself into her flat, kicked off her shoes, grabbed her teddy bear and hugged it to her chest, and threw herself happily onto her bed. Her first week had gone well, and Marcus was coming to pick her up to take her out for dinner. Kissing her teddy and sitting him on the pillow, she jumped up and went into her wardrobe to dress. She had already chosen what she would wear: a mini dress with short, flutter sleeves, made out of lovely, soft material with small, bright pink flowers on a green background, her pink, sparkly sneakers and the white, bobbled cardigan she’d worn the night Marcus visited her at her parents’ farm.
Ping! Her phone signalled the arrival of a message. It was from Marcus. Be there in 15. She was dying to see him, but she was also feeling apprehensive. Although, it was a month since they’d first met, and they had talked and texted quite a lot on the phone so he didn’t seem like a stranger, she hadn’t spent a lot of time with him in person. He’d kissed her quite a few times, and his kisses were delicious, but they hadn’t done anything other than that. She couldn’t wait for more kisses, and couldn’t stop thinking about whether he would go further tonight. Would he want to make love to her? Would he want to stay the night? She hoped he wanted all those things. Although it felt quite scary, she did, and she hoped with all her heart he did too.
Chapter 8
Marcus
Marcus parked his car and caught the lift up to Pearl’s apartment. He couldn’t get her out of his mind and was longing to see her. Miss Perfect. He grinned to himself. That was what he’d taken to calling her when he thought about her. She did seem to be perfect in every way. As fetching and dainty as a doll, warm-hearted, easy-going, and willing to defer to him and allow him to take charge. But she was also clearly smart and self-sufficient when she needed to be, but she didn’t mind if he decided he wanted to take care of her instead. She was independent, but not fiercely so. And that was precisely what he wanted: his own Little girl to love, spoil and protect and be a Daddy to. He was trembling with anticipation and hope that Pearl was the Little girl for whom he’d been searching.
God, she was so perfect, Marcus thought when she opened the door to him. He’d been eager to see how she would dress for their date. It had been another small test – seeing which clothes she chose – and another she had passed with flying colours. She was wearing some of the cute, little girl clothes he’d bought for her, and she looked utterly enchanting. He nodded appreciatively as he took her hands.
“You’re wearing your new dress.”
“Yes,” she cried gaily, freeing her hands, and twirling around so he could see how the skirt spun out as she did. “Isn’t it pretty?”
“It is indeed,” he replied, talking about the whole package. “Right then, little girl, shall we go and eat? What would you like?”
“Can I have anything at all?” she asked, very seriously.
“Anything you want. I spoke to Marcie and she said you’ve been an extra good girl at work, so you deserve a treat. What would you like?”
“Pancakes!” she cried, clapping her hands and giving a gleeful hop.
“Then pancakes it is,” he said with a tut-tut as he ruffled her hair.
Marcus found a cafe with booths that served pancakes, and fed Pearl most of her dinner without anyone noticing. She obediently opened her mouth when he raised her fork to it, and he used a napkin to wipe away any mess on her face.
“Would you like to feed yourself?” he asked
, handing her the fork. “Can you manage?” He knew she could.
Instead of barking Of course I can, she squirmed, nodded and stabbed some pancake onto her fork.
“Good girl, then Da… I can eat my dinner too. Shall I?”
She had her head to one side as she watched him take his knife and fork and cut some of his pancake and eat it. She giggled as he put it in his mouth and he grinned at her. While they ate, he asked her about her first four days as a trainee manager, enjoying her unbridled enthusiasm as she told him about everything she’d learned and the sales she’d made. He was charmed by her talking about each piece of jewellery as though it were a pet, and by how rapt she was when they went to someone who clearly loved them.
He thought about the diamond collar in his safe and imagined how it would fit around her milky throat. There was no hurry, though. The time, place, and occasion had to be as perfect as she was, and he had to be sure she was ready and certain it was what she wanted. He wasn’t going to rush; he was going to enjoy each new experience with her, and savour each new discovery as she was slowly revealed to him like an oyster opening to reveal its own precious pearl, and he planned to continue his exploration of his delectable treasure trove that night.
“Shall we go back to your place?” he asked as soon as they’d finished eating.
Pearl nodded. “I’ll make you a cup of tea, shall I?”
“That would be lovely.”
When they got home, Marcus watched her busying herself in the kitchen. She was so precious, like a little girl playing house.
“Would you like a biscuit with it?”
Marcus patted his belly. “No, thanks. I’m full of pancakes.”
She giggled as she brought their mugs of tea to the coffee table, sat on the couch next to him, took her shoes and socks off and wriggled her toes.
“Do you like your flat?” he asked.