"A-ha!" Victor exclaimed smugly. "So he came over then."
"Yes."
"So, I was right!" Victor said, looking very pleased with himself.
"Now, who looks like the cat that ate the canary?" Clarise said with a giggle. "Yes, you were right, darling. And I don't know how to thank you," she added quietly.
"Well, you can have lunch with me today. One o'clock. In fact, why don't we see if Jessa and Faye can join us. We'll have fun extracting all the juicy details from you."
"Victor! You know I won't tell you all the details!"
"We'll see. There'll be three of us breaking you down," he warned. "I'll call them."
Clarise shook her head fondly at Victor's retreating figure and settled herself on her chair.
~~
Phew! I'm glad that's over.
Clarise finished interviewing a client who owned a chain of popular hairdressing salons. She was a lovely woman in her sixties but, boy, could she talk! Clarise had to steer their conversation back to the topic many times and the forty-five minutes she allocated for this meeting turned out to be one hour.
She fished out her phone to call her friends and let them know she was on her way to the restaurant for their lunch meeting. It was 12:55pm and it will take her at least ten minutes to get there if she walked fast enough. She was always on time for meetings and her friends knew this. Well, she'd only be five minutes late.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a missed call message. Will called me! She quickly rang Faye and told her how long she'd be. Then, excitedly, she checked her voicemail for Will's message.
'Hi, baby. Thought I'd call you before I head off to a lunch meeting. I'll be available until one. Call me before then if you can.'
Clarise checked her watch in panic. She only had three minutes left. She quickly called his number.
"Hi, baby," he greeted warmly.
"Hi, honey," she said with a big smile on her face. "Are you in your meeting already?"
"Not yet. I'm just about to walk in the restaurant so you caught me in the nick of time. You sound breathless."
She was power walking. She hated being late. Luckily, she had changed to her flats.
"I'm meeting Faye, Victor and Jessa for lunch. I'm late. I just came out of a meeting. That's why I only just called you now."
"Well I'm glad you were able to catch me. It's good to hear your voice," he said softly.
"Yours, too, hon." Clarise realised how relaxed she felt calling him sweet names.
"Hmmm. All panting and breathless. You remind me of how you sounded last night on the couch and in bed." His tone was salacious and although his voice was low, it was a little too loud for Clarise's comfort.
She gasped. "Will, you're in a restaurant!"
He laughed, delighted at her shocked response. "Not yet. I'm still standing outside. I still have...two minutes to talk to you."
Clarise felt a burst of happiness. She couldn't remember the last time she was this happy. "Are you busy tonight?"
Will inhaled sharply. "I'm afraid so. I need to bury myself in work, uninterrupted, for the next couple of days if I want to spend Wednesday night with you. Can I stay over then?"
"Of course."
"Speaking of Wednesday night, I'm supposed to come over to my parents' for dinner then. I'd like to take you there with me before we go home to your place."
Clarise's heart-rate spiked. He wants me to meet his parents? Already? "Okay. I'd love to meet them".
"Great. I gotta go, baby. I think my new clients are already inside."
"Okay. Have a good meeting."
"I will. You enjoy your lunch. And say 'hello' to your friends for me."
"I will. See you soon."
"Bye, babe."
Clarise floated all the way to the restaurant with a mighty huge grin on her face.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Fantastic! That all sounds really good. Doesn't it, Deb?" Eric Armstrong turned to his wife whose face was flushed with excitement.
"Oh, yes. I really can't wait, Will. I've been thinking about this for five months and have even inquired at other travel agencies but they just offer 'off-the-shelf' stuff that they piece together. I want our five-year anniversary trip to be extra special. I'm so excited," Debra Armstrong gushed, beaming at Will. "And I can't wait to tell our friends. They'll be green with envy. I'm positive you'll have more new clients coming your way soon from our network."
Will smiled at the couple and felt a tinge of pride. This was what his company did best. Being the owner of a very successful property development company, Eric Armstrong was a multi-millionaire and he was willing to pay a premium as long as he got what he wanted. And he wanted to give his wife her perfect, two-month-long holiday as a five-year anniversary gift with their twin two-year-old sons - and nannies - in tow.
"Thank you. I'd really appreciate that," Will said graciously. "And I'm glad you are both looking forward to your trip. We'll make sure everything goes smoothly for you. Samantha Jones, your personal travel manager, will be in touch with you tomorrow to introduce herself. Any questions you have or anything else you want done in relation to your trip, just let her know. She'll look after you very well."
"We're looking forward to her call," Debra responded. "Now, tell me, Will," she continued conspiratorially, leaning closer to him as if to talk about a secret. "Has Karen called you yet?"
"Karen?" Will had no idea who she was talking about.
"Yes, Karen Childs, your former fiancee."
Will's eyebrows shot up as he looked at his new client in complete bafflement. He hadn't spoken nor heard from Karen since she walked out ten months ago.
"Err, no. I don't see any reason why she would." He frowned. "You know Karen?"
"Yes. We met at the gym and we've become very good friends. In fact," Debra continued with a mysterious smile, "she was the one who referred you to us."
Will was stunned for a moment, lost for words. "I thought you found our website on the internet," he said when he recovered.
"Well, that's what I originally said only because Karen didn't want me to tell you then. Anyway, I've convinced her that she should call you. You know, for old times' sake. She's been wanting to for a while now. She hasn't found the courage yet, by the looks of it."
Will didn't know what to say so he stayed silent and tried to hide his discomfort.
"Sweetheart, you're making Will feel uncomfortable," Eric gently scolded his wife.
"Oh, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Will. But seriously," Debra persisted, "it couldn't hurt if you guys caught up for old times' sake, could it?"
"Uh, I guess not," Will answered. There was really no other satisfactory answer he could think of right at that moment for the woman who just added thousands to his bank account.
"Excellent," Debra uttered delightedly. She patted his hand then turned to her husband. "I think we're ready to go now."
~~
Will journeyed back to his office, feeling disconcerted. What was that all about?
He was surprised that his ex-fiancee referred new clients to him without him wanting to know about it. He was even more surprised that Debra Armstrong seemed to be determined for him and Karen to catch up. But what for? He felt no need nor desire for that to happen.
He decided to push it to the back of his mind. It wasn't important to him. He had more important things to think about - like Clarise. Will smiled at the thought of Clarise and shook his head in amusement. Damn, I have it bad for her.
It occurred to him that he was head over heels in love for the first time in his life. He didn't feel anything like this for Karen. He didn't have the same kind of intense longing and tenderness for her that he now felt for Clarise. And he didn't feel anywhere near as devastated when Karen walked out on him as he did when he thought he and Clarise were over.
He sighed contentedly, his heart swelling, as he determined he would have to tell Clarise soon how he felt about her. He just knew it would drive h
im mad if he continued to keep it to himself.
~~
Will let himself relax on his chair as another important task got done. He was very surprised that Liz, his very efficient PA, was able to finalise the lease negotiations for the Melbourne office without him having to be in the meeting. It was a pleasant surprise that made him think that perhaps, he wasn't fully recognising the abilities of his staff. He had made a conscious decision to let go of some control and give his staff more responsibilities, especially Liz. He could promote her. That would mean he would have more time to spend with Clarise.
While the thought of handing control of his work over to someone else was abhorrent to him in the past, he was welcoming it now with open arms. At that moment, he suddenly became aware that his values had shifted. Without knowing how it happened, Clarise was high up there on his list of priorities. And he realised he didn't mind it one bit.
An internal call from Liz was coming through. "Yes, Liz."
"Will, Karen is at reception to see you. Are you available at the moment?"
"Karen? Karen Childs?" he responded with evident shock.
"Yes. I can tell her you're in an important phone call or something if you like." Liz knew who Karen was and was prepared to cover for Will. She knew they didn't exactly have a friendly break-up.
Will was silent for a moment. "No, send her in. Thanks, Liz." Will had a feeling his new client Debra would be a pain in the neck if he didn't see Karen. Besides, he was kind of curious as to the reason why she came today.
"Okay."
Karen walked in the door wearing a tight-fitting designer dress that showed off her great figure, and fashionable high heels. She looked expensive and glamorous, just like the Karen he used to know. Will stood up to greet her.
"Hi, Karen. This is a surprise."
"Hi, Will," Karen replied with an uncertain smile on her face. She looked a little nervous, quite unlike the Karen he used to know who was full of self-confidence.
Will motioned for her to sit on the comfortable visitor's lounge chair near the window and sat opposite her.
"Wow, this is definitely a step up from your old office," she said appraisingly. "You have done really well in the last few months, Will. When did you move here?"
"About six months ago."
Karen nodded. Will looked at her, waiting for her to state the reason for her visit.
"Debra told me they met with you today. She was really impressed and couldn't contain her excitement."
"Yes. Thank you for the referral, by the way. It was a... Well, I wasn't expecting it, but, thank you," Will said genuinely.
Karen beamed at him. "It was my pleasure." She looked down at her hands that were sitting on her lap and looked back up at him. "I've been sort of following your success and I know you've now established your reputation as servicing the high-end clientele. I'm really proud of you, Will," she said in a quiet voice.
"Thank you."
There was silence for a long moment while Karen stared at Will with a look close to adoration that made him feel uncomfortable.
"Karen, is there any particular reason why you're here today?"
"Oh, um, well, I just really wanted to see you again. And also, to say don't be surprised if my name gets mentioned by some of your new clients. I've mentioned you to a few people already."
"Karen, I really appreciate that but you really don't have to do that." Will didn't want to feel beholden to her for anything.
"Will, I want to," she said emphatically. "And, it's my way of saying I'm sorry for being a bitch to you back then when we... when I..." she sighed. "I really want us to be friends again," she smiled at him hopefully.
Will gave her a stunned look.
"Don't look so shocked," she chuckled. "I know people who need and want your services. And you know me, I'm Little Miss Networker. I love introducing people to each other so you can't stop me doing this."
"Karen...I..." Will was lost for words. He didn't want to have anything to do with her anymore. Even as just a friend, he knew how high-maintenance she could be. She would expect him to attend events she organised or participate in some sort of friendly gathering or something. He didn't care about her anymore, even on a friendly basis.
Just then, Jody, the office junior came in with coffee for them. It was the usual visitor's set-up with whatever hot drink they preferred, a bottle of mineral water, two empty glasses and 6 chocolate balls.
"Wow. Do you do this for all your visitors?"
"Yes."
"I'm impressed. Definitely a step up from just plain coffee or tea."
When Jody left the room, Will had gathered his thoughts. "Karen, I appreciate that you hold my business in a high enough esteem to mention it to your friends but there really is no need for you to do that. You don't need to feel guilty about the past that you feel you need to pay for it by referring people to me. We've both moved on. I don't see any reason why we need to have anything more to do with each other." Seeing her wince at his words, he continued, "I didn't mean to sound harsh. I meant that in a nice way."
Karen looked out the window unseeingly. Will said he had moved on, but from what Gina had told her, he wasn't seeing anyone and have put his full focus on his business. She had no reason to believe Gina was wrong. After all, she was married to Chris, one of Will's tennis buddies, the guy who introduced him to the rest of the group he now played tennis with regularly. Chris had told Gina about Rick's and his fiancee's matchmaking plans that Will rejected, saying he wasn't looking for a relationship because he was too busy. So, armed with that information, Karen had decided to make her move to get back in Will's life again. She hadn't moved on. She wanted him back. And she would do whatever she had to do to get him back. His business was now stable and successful and, from what she had heard, his parents had recovered well. So, the major reasons that made him ignore her before - the reasons that made her walk out on him - seemed to have gone.
She looked back at him with a sweet smile. "Come on, Will. Surely, there's no reason why we couldn't be friends again. It's not as if we need to hang out with each other. I just want us to be civil and not avoid each other when our paths cross." She wouldn't push him too far this time. There was plenty of time to work her way back into his life.
Will took in her words. If all she wanted was to be civil and not avoid each other when their paths cross, then there really was no good reason for him to say they couldn't be friends. He didn't hate her or anything like that. In fact, he was glad she walked out on him. If she hadn't, he could well be married to her by now and he wouldn't be with Clarise. The thought of missing out on being with Clarise made him shudder and softened his view of Karen.
"Okay, I guess that's fair enough." He knew there was little chance of their paths crossing anyway. Their only remaining mutual friends were Chris and Gina, and like the other wives and girlfriends of his friends, Gina hardly ever went to the tennis matches or hang around with the boys.
"Good! Well, I better leave you to it." Karen stood up and smoothed down her dress. She had hoped Will would notice how she looked today. She was disappointed that her sexy and very expensive dress didn't seem to have much of an effect on him. Patience, Karen.
"Thanks for coffee, Will. And the chocolates. See you around."
"Bye, Karen."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Clarise paced her living room as she waited for Will to pick her up. She was meeting his parents tonight and she was nervous. She hoped they'd like the tiramisu she made for dessert. She left work an hour early today, having more than made up for it in the last couple of days by working back, so she would have enough time to make it. It was a dish she had perfected and the only one she felt confident enough to bring to dinner tonight.
She took a deep breath, willing herself to relax. She focused her mind on how she planned to greet Will tonight. She missed him and, as much as she was looking forward to meeting his parents, she couldn't wait until they were alone together after dinner.
&
nbsp; She heard the buzzer and told Will she'd meet him downstairs.
She wore a short-sleeved dress that zipped all the way down the front. Feeling playful, she had exposed a great deal of her cleavage, with a hint of her lacy bra showing, for Will's benefit. She prayed she wouldn't bump into anyone on her way out of her building.
Will gawked at her as he watched her walk towards him. She has got to be kidding!
"Hi, honey," Clarise said and gave him a peck on his lips.
"Baby..." Will said breathlessly with mouth agape. Clarise was now standing in front of him and he had the best view of those perfect tits covered by pink, lacy bra. His breathing quickened and his cock stirred.
Will to Love Page 16