by S M Mala
‘And when did you find this out?’ she gasped.
‘Only this morning,’ she honestly replied.
‘But then you needn’t have gone ahead.’
‘I had no choice based on how he made me and other women feel.’ Mabel took a deep breath. ‘Integrity is the key.’
‘Oh, Mabel!’
‘Are you angry at me? What he was doing was wrong. Even with the new commercials, who knows what he would have done to unsuspecting women.’
‘I’m so proud of you.’ Then she frowned. ‘We’ll do as much damage limitation as we can. Have you spoken to Alex?’
Mabel shook her head from side to side.
He looked shocked when she did catch his eye, so she thought it was best to keep her head down and leave with her mother.
Something told her he was going to tell her it was over, again.
And this time, she couldn’t really blame him.
‘Where are my granddaughters today?’
‘With Baba tonight,’ she said quietly. ‘Mum have I made a mistake?’
‘No, you’ve not made a mistake. You could have done it in a far subtler way, but that’s not really you, is it?’
‘Same again, please.’
Mabel sat in her usual pub, this time in the corner, waiting for her refill. It had been four and a half hours since the incident and still no word from the man she desperately loved.
She knew he would be beyond furious with her.
All his good, creative work down the drain. She realised that was going to be hard for him to deal with.
And the rest of the agency would hate her more than usual.
That she could cope with.
Her phone rang.
It was Calum.
‘Hello,’ she said apprehensively.
‘And you forgot to tell me?’ he said, in a tone was pissed off. ‘Just slipped your mind?’
‘I didn’t want to get you involved.’
‘Mabel, it’s my agency. That’s my client. Of course, I’m involved!’
‘If you’re going to get angry with me, you can hang up,’ she replied, ready for a fight. ‘It’s your fault this happened. You should never have volunteered me for this!’
‘Okay, okay,’ he said calmly down the other end. ‘I get your point.’
‘What’s happening there? How bad is it?’
‘Because you told mum, she put it all in hand. It seems, like you, she’s a little underhand on how she does things.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Ask her and Alex.’
‘Alex?’
‘Ah,’ he said, going a little quiet. ‘You’ve not spoken to him, have you?’
‘No.’
‘I’m sure you will. In the meantime…’ He let out a little laugh. ‘Who did you use to edit the commercial if that’s what you call it? It’s very good.’
‘A friend of mine who has started up a side line business as an editor. He followed the style of your creative.’
‘I’m impressed. What’s his name?’
‘Bob Jones.’
Her brother hung up.
She then rang Baba, knowing the girls would be there.
‘Hello!’ Baba said, always answering so loudly; your ear drums would burst.
‘It’s Mabel. Can I speak to them?’
She heard her children’s excited voices in the background.
‘What a wicked girl he married!’ Baba said, sounding upset.
‘We were divorced!’
‘Not you! That giant woman!’ Then she started to cry. ‘Oh, I wish he had stayed married to you! What a mistake!’
Now, Mabel couldn’t believe what was going on and took a deep breath.
‘Are you all right, Baba?’ she asked, hearing the woman wail and groan.
‘My son! He is not barely cold in his grave and that woman takes another man! I will fight her tooth and nail! She will not take any money from my blessed granddaughters.’
‘Granny Baba, can I speak to mum?’ she heard Lottie say sweetly. Jess was in the background laughing. ‘You sit down and I’ll make you a cup of tea in a minute.’
‘What’s going on?’
‘Oh mum! It’s quite funny,’ Lottie said, whispering down the phone and it sounded as if she was leaving the room. ‘She just found something about Tafari and why she might have split with dad.’
‘Because he was ill and she’s a selfish cow?’ said Mabel, hearing Lottie groan.
‘She’s after the vicar from the church. He’s about eighty!’ laughed out Lottie. ‘Apparently, gossips say it started at dad’s funeral though she had her eye on him for a while. It seems Granny Baba had a crush on the same man.’
‘You’re joking?’ Mabel started to laugh.
‘I know! And Granny Baba is mad as hell. Want’s to kill the woman. Jess is trying to tell her different ways to do it.’
‘Get Jess on the phone right now!’ Mabel said, knowing her youngest would get the old lady into trouble. ‘You know she’ll get too much joy out of this.’
‘Jess! Mum wants to talk to you!’
There had been loud footsteps before she heard the usual, ‘Yeah?’
‘Don’t yeah me. Stop winding Baba up. You know she’ll do anything you tell her. Keep her calm. I’ll come and pick you two up tomorrow morning.’
‘Mum, I mean, the miserable brown giant was on the pull at dad’s funeral. I wondered why she was dressed up like a dog’s dinner!’
‘Jess!’
‘Come on, it’s quite funny. She wants to keep dad’s sperm and take our money, but in the meantime she’s with a man who is probably old enough to be Baba’s dad! You oldies, you make me laugh, you really do!’
On that note, Mabel couldn’t help but smile.
It was just then her heart went into her mouth.
Alex was sitting a few tables away from her, staring over. He was slouched in a chair and seemed to be nursing a large measure of spirit.
Mabel wasn’t sure what to do and smiled.
The response from him was to shake his head from side to side.
She gulped.
Things looked bad.
‘I know you’re mad.’
Mabel watched him get up and slowly walk to her table, before pulling out a chair then sitting down. ‘I didn’t want to tell you. Drag you into the confusion.’
He sat back and looked at her, taking a sip of his drink before placing the glass down. She could smell it was Cointreau.
‘I had no choice. I managed to do some research and got the information I needed. Iona helped with the background check. She spoke to some of the women, as did I.’
Still, his eyes were looking down.
‘Alex, it was horrible. Imagine having this sort of secret hanging over you. He didn’t film everyone, but he got enough information to make their lives hell. And I wasn’t standing for it! That man abused the trust of people wanting to find love. He manipulated it so he could have sex.’
He let out a massive sigh, still shaking his head.
‘And yes, I filmed them after your shoot and it was really upsetting. Some of them cried because they felt lost on what to do. I was targeted mainly down to the fact someone recommended he found me. And that person also knew who he was.’
That’s when his eyes diverted up to her.
‘He didn’t know I worked for the agency, but that doesn’t matter. It must have been a shock for him when he found out, hence he mentioned the filming. It was destroyed, which I only found out about this morning. Looking back, I’m not convinced he could have done anything. It was pretty dark unless he had night vision and-.’
‘I said no more secrets,’ he whispered, leaning closer. ‘And this was a big secret. How long have you known?’
‘Someone gave me the information from the inside weeks ago. I thought I’d show the other side when it’s not love; just domineering and manipulative lust.’ Mabel looked straight at him. ‘I wasn’t going to take that shit lying down!’<
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‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘I know you worked hard. I had no choice.’
‘But you did.’ Alex stood up, and Mabel’s heart sunk, knowing he wouldn’t forgive her. ‘Do you want another drink?’
She shook her head from side to side and got up.
‘I’m going home,’ she mumbled, realising he was going to do one better than last time and give her the push to her face.
Right now, she would have preferred not to hear.
‘How’s it at work?’ Mabel looked at him, finishing off his drink.
‘It has confused people knowing Joanna is your step mother and Calum, your brother. We might have kept a lid on it about Lee, but the news you are the secret shareholder got out far too quickly.’
‘And resignations?’ she asked, half-heartedly and noticed his frown.
‘Let’s see what happens on Monday.’ Then he smiled which unnerved her. ‘Shall I walk you home?’
‘If you want.’
Mabel left as he followed and then strode beside her.
‘I don’t know where this leaves us,’ he said and she frowned, knowing exactly what was going to come next. ‘How did you discover Lauren knew Lee?’
‘She was on his files. And there were a lot of women on there.’
Mabel knew she was going to have to broach the subject but was scared.
‘Alex, if you don’t want to see me anymore, that’s okay. I know you probably feel a sense of betrayal and disappointment. My option was to say nothing and see what Lee wanted. We both know it was sex. If I had agreed, then the worst betrayal I could have done was to you.’ Mabel felt herself choking up. ‘I wouldn’t change what I did. He was wrong.’
‘Oh God!’ Alex groaned and she realised that wasn’t what she was supposed to say.
They got to her front door, and she took out her keys.
This was the goodbye.
Mabel turned and noticed his grumpy face.
‘I’ll see you when I see you, I guess,’ she said, trying hard to force a smile.
‘I need to tell you something.’
‘It’s okay, you don’t have to say.’
‘Can I just come in?’
‘Firstly, here’s a letter.’
He handed it over when they got to the living room. ‘You’re suspended again, mainly for procedure purposes. Joanna wanted me to hand it to you personally.’
Mabel gulped and opened it. The usual paragraphs where there, then she noticed what was written at the bottom.
‘Mabel, fuck them all! I’m so terribly proud of you. Love mum x.’
‘Ah!’ She tried to stop the tears. ‘That told me then.’
Alex unlocked the patio doors, before sitting on a chair outside.
‘Will I need a drink?’ she asked, as he looked over his shoulder and nodded.
Mabel grabbed a bottle of Cointreau and two glasses, placing them in front of him.
He opened the bottle slowly and poured out two large measures.
‘Sit,’ he asked, looking at the chair next to him.
She did as she was told. Then he handed her a glass as she sipped it, feeling the vapour hit her throat and nose. Alex got up and went into the kitchen, coming back with an orange.
Mabel had no idea what was coming next.
Sitting down, he moved his chair closer.
‘I’ll tell you what has happened since your little announcement this morning,’ he began, leaning back in the chair. ‘Are you ready?’
‘I’m not sure.’
‘After the shock, I find that you told your mother in advance. Is that right?’ She nodded in response. ‘And she put the wheels in motion to protect the company and you, first and foremost. Do you know what she did?’
‘Not a clue.’
‘She took a copy of the folder you had and the footage to her solicitor, who has written to Leegate Limited. On the premise that the site is being used for personal gain, and the information is not safe, she has requested a reimbursement for loss of earnings, due to being unable to work on the account.’
‘Blimey!’
‘And she is threatening legal action to get the site closed down. Of course, Wyatt Haynes will take credit for the discovery though your name won’t be mentioned.’
‘She has been busy.’
‘It gets better,’ he said, starting to squirm. ‘Joanna made sure that Lee’s wife got hold of the information and, therefore, the web of lies he wove regarding his monogamy. Your details were omitted for obvious reasons.’ Alex sipped his drink while fondling the orange. ‘You’re still in trouble as they’ll want to know where you got the information.’
‘I can’t reveal my source.’
‘And something we’ve just heard is that Lee has been forced to resign while the other shareholders investigate. They know how serious this is, and based on your information, he’s in big shit.’ Alex cleared his throat. ‘Your mother also handed that information over to them and clearly stated if they don’t take action, she will go to the police.’
‘My mother is as deceitful as they come when it is about shafting her business.’ Mabel smiled in awe.
‘And shafting her kids. Which brings me to your brother. Calum was a little angry, especially when you told him that Bob Jones helped with the editing.’ Alex smiled. ‘It was very good; I admit, though upsetting.’
‘The fact that Bob did it or the footage?’
‘The footage.’
‘And you?’ she whispered. ‘What do you think?’
‘Secrets, May Day, you have secrets.’
‘If I’d told you, what would you have done?’
He rolled the orange on the table and looked at her.
‘When you do this, more juice comes out of the fruit. Did you know that? And it seems the more I care and caress you, the more you give to me. The more I love you; then you’ll love me more.’ Alex glanced at her. ‘Lauren told me what she did; she had to. And you never thought to tell me?’
‘She felt bad about it.’
‘I was really pissed off.’
‘Don’t be angry. She liked you and thought you were taking too much of an interest in me. I did suspect that fat ugly bastard Keith, but I was wrong.’
‘And there you go, whispering sweet nothings.’ Alex moved forward, pulling her chair closer. ‘You’re very hard to love, do you know that? With your anger spats when you're mean, just because you want to.’
‘I don’t intentionally go out of my way to do it. It’s because I was hurt, that’s all. Do I have further reason to be hurt?’ Her heart sunk as he looked away then back at her, placing the orange in her hand.
‘And you love to love, I know that. What you did was an amazing thing.’
‘You’re not angry with me?’
‘This is my heart, sort of.’ He looked down at the orange. ‘I’ve given it to you so you can squash and suck the dear life out of it. Does that answer your question?’
‘You’re using your favourite fruit to demonstrate I need more vitamin C even though you know it gives me ulcers.’
‘No, I’m telling you that I love you.’ He looked straight into her eyes. ‘I’m totally and utterly in love with you. Now you’re stuck with me.’
She stopped breathing.
‘Mabel, you can stop holding your breath,’ he said, kissing her nose. ‘You’ll choke.’
‘You love me?’
‘I do.’
‘Really?’
‘I might find it hard to love, and that’s been my problem. But with you, it comes easy, give or take.’
‘I’m going to cry,’ she said, holding it all in. ‘I used to be good at not shedding tears, but I can’t seem to stop since I met you.’
‘And that’s a good thing. Stop bottling it all up and let it go, anything to stop you having an anxiety attack.’ Then he kissed her very gently on the lips and grinned. ‘It’s hard not to love you May Day, that’s the real thing I’ve had a problem with.’
‘A
nd I love you. I really do,’ she said, lunging for the poor man who simply didn’t have a chance to get away.
Because it was hard not to love Alex Chambers because he loved her.
At last.
Published by S M Mala
Copyright © S M Mala 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication is to be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any forms or by any means, including photocopying, recording or any other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher/author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
All characters in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
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ISBN: 978-0-9928364-7-4
Books to look out for by S M Mala:
My Mother in Law’s Lover
What he did to her
The problem of getting Rich Quik … part one
The problem of getting Rich Quik … part two
Relative Strangers
The Secret History of Hatty Ha Ha … begins
The Secret History of Hatty Ha Ha … ends
Pushing over 40
Good Vibration
Bad Advice
Hot Flush
Trust Me
Happy Now?
Love’s Foolish Punch
Bless this Love
To Love Thy Neighbour
Her Bleeding Heart
Hard to Love