‘I’m not listening to you, I…’
‘Don’t be taken in by him like I was.’ She warned her, her words desperate.
Amberley hurried out before the woman said anymore.
***
Little by little, she noticed a change in Steve. He began calling her at the office and at her home all the time, constantly checking on her whereabouts and asking her who she was with. He continually texted and left messages on her answer machine at home.
‘I want you round here by seven tonight and I won’t accept any excuses.’
Amberley gritted her teeth. ‘Listen, Steve, I have an important meeting with a client tonight. It’s big business so I have to be there.’
‘Can’t that brother of yours go instead?’
‘No, he has another meeting to attend.’
‘I don’t think you love me as much as you say you do. You’re not showing me any signs of how much you love me!’
Amberley closed her eyes and sucked in her breath. His possessiveness was beginning to take its toll on her. Coupled with the endless text and phone messages, it was all becoming extremely difficult to deal with.
‘Steve, you know I love you. I’m sorry, but I really do have to go to this meal.’
‘If you go, you’ll be sorry!’ he said, his tone quietly menacing.
She rested her elbows on the desk, putting her head in her hands. She sighed deeply.
‘Are you okay, Amberley?’
She looked up wearily to see Simon sitting on the edge of her desk.
‘Oh, it’s just Steve in a strop because I can’t see him tonight.’
‘How are things with you two? It all seems a little bit strained recently.’
‘It’ll blow over; guess it’s one of those phases.’
Amberley had not told Simon about how possessive Steve was being. She wanted this relationship to be successful and was positive it would be something she and Steve could work through together. She arrived at the restaurant to meet her client with plenty of time to spare. This was an important deal, she could not afford for anything to go wrong.
‘Mr Sanderson,’ she said, rising from her seat to shake his hand. ‘It’s good to see you.’
The meeting was going well and by the time the coffee arrived, she was very optimistic that she would seal the deal. It was then she spotted Steve stalking across the room towards her.
‘As I said earlier, we have dealt with a campaign similar to yours…’
‘Business meeting, what a liar you are! You make me sick. You are coming home with me now! And you,’ he said, pointing to Sanderson, ‘may as well go home. She won’t be sleeping with you tonight!’
The blood drained from her face and her chest became tight. She stood up.
‘Please excuse me for one moment, Mr Sanderson.’ She let Steve guide her to the lobby, aware of everyone watching her.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m in the middle of trying to clinch an important deal. How dare you! Ouch, let go, you’re hurting me.’
Steve had dug his fingers so hard into her arm that the pain made her flinch.
‘Finish up what you’re doing, I’ll be waiting outside.’
‘Don’t bother,’ she said, freeing her arm from his grasp, ‘I am not going anywhere with you!’
She walked back to her table, hoping she could placate Sanderson.
‘I am so sorry about that, Mr Sanderson, it was a misunderstanding.’
‘I have to say, Miss Masterson, that wasn’t very professional. Does this normally happen when you take clients out?’
Amberley felt embarrassed, this was not going to go well at all.
‘I can assure you this will not happen again. The company, and I, are totally committed to our clients and all receive first class service.’
Sanderson did not appear to be very impressed by her assurances. She knew she would be hard pressed to gain his trust after Steve’s outburst. Later that evening, she sat in the back of a taxi mulling over the night’s events. Her biggest fear now was that Simon would find out. Arriving at her home, she stopped dead in her tracks. Steve was sitting on the steps outside. At first she was angry, until she realised he was sobbing.
‘I am so sorry, Amberley. I didn’t mean to do it. I can change; I promise I’ll never do it again. I love you, don’t leave me I beg you.’
Looking at him made her feel pity. Maybe it was a one off. They had been together a long time and she couldn’t just walk away. Even though her arm was incredibly sore from the way he had gripped her, she ignored it and went to him.
‘It will be all right, I love you too. But you have to promise you will never do that to me again.’
‘I swear I won’t and I’ll never hurt you like that again.’
She held him close, although at the back of her mind alarm bells were sounding.
***
Amberley had been stuck in meetings all morning. On reaching her office, she found Simon waiting for her.
‘Was there something you wanted?’ she asked him.
‘When were you going to tell me, Amberley?’
‘Tell you what?’ She hid her face from him. Even as a child, she had never been able to lie to him.
She busied herself putting files away. Simon shut the drawer and turned to face her. Looking down at her feet, she stared at the shiny patent leather of her shoes. He took hold of her arm where Steve had hurt her. She winced.
‘What’s the matter has Steve hurt you?’
‘It’s nothing,’ she replied.
Rubbing absently at the bruises, she pulled her arm away from him and walked back to her desk. He followed her.
‘Sanderson told me about last night’s incident. I think it’s a little more than nothing.’
She looked apologetically at him. ‘I guess we lost the contract then.’
‘No, I don’t think so. To be honest, he was more concerned about your safety. Now let me see your arm.’
‘No,’ she said, her hand instinctively going to her arm.
‘Amberley,’ he said, moving towards her, ‘I am not leaving until you show me.’
She shook her jacket off and angrily rolled up the sleeve of her blouse. There were an array of varying coloured bruises on her skin.
‘Happy now,’ she said, fighting back the tears.
Simon drew in his breath and let out a long slow hiss.
‘It was a misunderstanding. He’s promised never to do it again.’ She tried to assure him.
‘I’ve a good mind to go and see him myself to discuss this misunderstanding.’
‘Please don’t, Simon, it will all be okay.’ She looked at him pleadingly. ‘Let me sort this out…please.’
‘Okay, for now I’ll keep out of it but if he hurts you again, I swear I’ll be after him.’
‘He won’t, I’m positive.’
‘Well, we’ll see. You are my sister and I care about you. Plus we can’t have him jeopardising our business.’
***
For a few weeks, Amberley kept all of the problems to herself, hoping that Steve would change and go back to being the man she had first met. Nevertheless, he became more aggressive and she realised he had the potential to become violent towards her. She felt stifled and a little afraid by the change in his whole behaviour.
She woke in the middle of the night with a start, the intercom was buzzing loudly. She turned to look at the clock; it was three in the morning. She got up and made her way to the intercom.
‘Hello’ she said in a sleep-filled voice.
‘It’s Steve, are you on your own? I tried to call you on your home phone and your mobile but you didn’t reply. What is going on?’ His voice was angry.
‘Steve, it’s three in the morning, couldn’t this have waited? My mobile is on charge and my landline is out of order. Please go home. I’m really tired we can talk about this later.’
‘You have your lover in there with you, I know it. You are nothing more than a whore. Now,
let me in!’
‘Steve, don’t be so bloody stupid. I am here on my own. How dare you speak to me like that?’
‘If you’re on your own, let me in so I can see for myself.’
Amberley was in no mood to play mind games. She realised she should have told him to go but she was furious now and would let him in to prove she was not lying.
‘Come up if you have to, the door is open.’
He appeared in her apartment in record time. Before she could retaliate, he pushed her against the wall; her head hit it with such force that she saw stars. Both his hands were around her neck, squeezing tightly.
‘You belong to me, bitch, you will learn to treat me with respect. Don’t even think about talking to me like that again or I’ll kill you, do you understand me?’
Amberley tried desperately to prise his fingers from her throat, her breathing was ragged and she felt light headed. She looked fearfully into his eyes and saw someone deranged staring back at her. He dropped his hands from her neck, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her from room to room, checking for interlopers.
When he found no one, he began to cry like a baby. He curled up on the floor and sobbed. Amberley was appalled by his behaviour and felt pity for him rather than fear. She held him in her arms and allowed him to cry.
‘I am so sorry, baby. I don’t want to lose you. When I didn’t hear from you, I thought you’d left me for someone else.’
He sounded so sincere that Amberley’s heart went out to him and so she relented once more.
***
Later that morning, Amberley looked at the welts on her neck and knew she had to cover them up. If Simon saw them, he would go mad. It was a hot day but she put a silk scarf around her neck to hide the bruises. She had a meeting with Simon, going over figures for a new contract. Unfortunately, the air conditioning had broken down and it was stifling.
‘Why are you wearing that scarf? It’s baking in here. Take it off.’
‘No it’s okay, I’m fine, honestly,’ she replied. Pulling the scarf tighter around her neck, she grimaced.
‘Is there something wrong with your neck?’
‘N…no, there’s nothing wrong.’
‘He’s done it again hasn’t he?’
She had never seen her brother look so angry. Gingerly Amberley unravelled the scarf. Simon breathed in deeply and then exhaled. His face was a mask of fury.
‘My God, what has the bastard done to you?’
Amberley felt hot, angry tears roll down her cheeks, unable to think of a single thing to say.
‘Right, I’m photographing these marks. We are going to take this further, he has to be stopped.’
‘I’ll deal with this on my own. You have enough on your plate and I don’t want to get you involved.’ She protested.
He took her by the shoulders and said softly, ‘You are my sister – my family. We are in this together and as a family we will deal with this.’
Simon pulled a digital camera from his desk and took pictures from all angles. Amberley sat in silence, she felt numb.
‘Right, go home; pack a bag and go straight round to our flat. I will call the police.’
Amberley nodded mutely and went to go to the door. ‘Come with me, Simon, I don’t want to be on my own. He might be watching me.’
‘Of course I will.’ He followed her out.
***
Back home, she packed robotically and then flopped down on her bed. Simon came to sit by her and put an arm around her shoulder.
‘Have you still got the texts and phone messages on the answer phone that he’s left you?’
‘I’ve kept all the messages on the tape and as many of the texts as I could on my mobile.’
‘Good, we are going to call the police when we get back to mine and get some legal advice on how best to proceed with this.’
The police came and Amberley dutifully told them everything that had occurred, gave them her mobile, recordings from her answer machine and pictures of her bruising. She decided not to press charges about the assault but wanted something done so he could not come anywhere near her. Simon had not been happy about the attack but let Amberley make the decisions.
Her solicitor advised her to go to a civil court and take out an injunction against Steve preventing him from contacting her, or coming near her. In most cases, this was usually enough to deter an offender. If not, and he became more aggressive, she could have him arrested and dealt with by the police.
CHAPTER FOUR
Present Day
Greg’s friends were still teasing him about asking the gorgeous redhead out on a date. He knew they meant well, but he didn’t really want to discuss her with them.
‘Okay guys that’s enough, you’ve had your fun. Yes, I agree with you she looks hot but I have too much on to go asking strange women out on dates.’
After a while, he made his excuses and headed home. If it was Amberley then his mum would know. When he walked through the door, she looked up and smiled at him.
‘Am I going crazy, or was Amberley Masterson just in here?’
‘Yes, dear, she was. She’s come here for a break, looked run down if you ask me. Would you mind dropping her groceries round a bit later? She ordered so much, there was no way she could carry it all back.’
He decided it would be good to catch up. So much had happened since they’d last met. Greg thought back to the remark Keith had made outside the pub. He hoped that she hadn’t been offended by his comments. If she had been, then he’d apologise on Keith’s behalf.
‘Greg?’
Greg focused on his mother and smiled. ‘Of course I don’t mind. I’ll take them round about six. That should give her time to unpack and have a rest.’
****
At five-thirty Greg picked up the large box and made his way towards the cottage. He put the groceries down by the front door and rapped loudly on it, there was no response. He tried again, still nothing. Perhaps she was still sleeping. She could be in the kitchen or the bathroom and not heard him. He decided to go round the back. He was impressed by the flash, blue BMW that was parked near to the gate. It was an expensive make of car. Advertising must be a lucrative business he mused.
Silently, he opened the gate and the sight that met his eyes made him falter. She was kneeling down cupping a flower gently in her hands; she smelled it and smiled closing her eyes. There was so much joy and pleasure in her expression. Gradually her hair fell across her face like a wall of fire. He wished he could capture the way she looked at that moment on canvas.
***
Amberley felt a presence in the garden; her immediate thought was Steve had tracked her down. Slowly she stood up and turned around to see the attractive man from outside the pub watching her. She was not frightened, more intrigued as to why this sexy looking guy was in her garden.
He was about six foot three, athletic build with shoulder length black hair, a small silver earring in his left ear and the most incredible sea blue eyes she had ever seen. He looked great in his tight, faded denims and T-shirt as well. Then it clicked. She’d seen that smile before… on his mother’s face.
‘Greg?’ she said, her voice barely audible.
‘Yes, the one and only.’
‘Oh my goodness.’ She walked over to him. ‘I cannot believe it. How are you?’
Before she could say anymore, he hugged her tightly. Then he held her at arms length, looking at her with a big smile on his face.
I’m good thanks. You look fantastic, Flame.’
She was taken aback by his use of her old nickname. He carried on as if it was the most natural thing in the world to call her.
‘Not so sure about fantastic. I’ve come here for a rest because I’m burnt out. Work has been manic.’
‘Sorry if I startled you. I tried the front door but got no reply. Mum sent me with your groceries,’ he explained, breaking the silence.
As an artist, he made a study of human behaviour and different facial express
ions. He noted she had a haunted and tired expression. Although she said work had done this, to him it appeared the problem went deeper than that.
‘It’s okay. I was enjoying the fragrance of these beautiful flowers; I just didn’t expect to see anyone appear in the garden.’ Not a good-looking guy anyway, she thought to herself.
‘I’ve left the box at your front door. If you open it for me I’ll take them straight through to the kitchen.
‘Sure. Just give me a minute. I guess you’ll be wanting a tip for acting as grocery boy… or maybe a chat like one of your friends was going on about,’ she teased, looking over her shoulder and winking impishly at him.
He said something she couldn’t quite catch about his loud mates and how he would pay them back. She watched him as he left the garden and noted his bottom looked great in his tight jeans. She shook herself; the last thing she wanted was to be thinking about men after her most recent relationship.
Effortlessly, he heaved the large box of groceries onto the worktop. She watched as the muscles flexed in his arms, he noticed her watching and she looked away, embarrassed to have been caught staring at him.
‘It’s great to see you again, Amberley. I realised it was you as soon as I saw you walk past the pub.’
‘If you knew it was me why on earth didn’t you say something?’
Greg shrugged his shoulders. ‘After the way my mates were behaving I thought it was better to save you any further embarrassment. Knowing Paul and Keith they would be asking you all kinds of very embarrassing questions.’
Amberley laughed. ‘I’m sure they’re harmless,’ she said, and added, ‘I’m sorry about what I said just now in the garden. I was attempting to get my own back for the comments outside the pub, but I guess you’re the innocent party in all this.’
Greg grinned. ‘Don’t worry about it; Keith was the loud one by the way. He’s supposed to be my best mate.’
‘I’d better put these things away. Would you like a drink?’ she asked.
‘A tea would be great thanks if it’s not too much trouble.’
‘It will be great to catch up and it’s not any trouble. You can help me put these things away while the kettle boils.’
As they took the groceries from the box, Greg dropped a tin on the floor. They both bent down at the same time to pick it up and clashed heads. The collision brought tears to their eyes and as Amberley looked at him, she began to laugh.
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