by Shaw, Vicki
I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He took hold of my hand, lifted it to his lips and softly kissed my palm. He slowly turned around and put his arms around my shoulders. Looking into my eye’s he said. “I love you and our baby more than anything on this earth Roxie. Please always remember that. Everything I do is out of my love for you both.” He brought his lips to mine for a slow passionate kiss. When he pulled away, it was my turn to tell him how much I loved him. “I love you too. You, Carly and this baby are the only ones I have left in this world. We have a bit to work through as a couple, as a family and as individuals. I know that what is in front of me is going to be hard, getting over everything that has happened is going to take me time. I know I am going to be a bitch at times and withdraw at others, but I know with you standing by my side that I will make it through the challenges. Our baby is very lucky to have you as a father.”
Over the next few months, Martin and I got to know each other a lot more, spending every moment we could together. Martin came to every single one of my doctors appointments. He was so excited to be a father and his excitement was infectious. At first I was worried that I wouldn’t want to keep the baby but the more time I spent with Martin and seeing him talk to my stomach and hearing him talk about being a father the more the worry went away.
I finished my work for Mr. Richards and have been back to Perth a few times for meetings and to do more work for him as well as other resorts and businesses he has referred to me. Martin, of course, had to come with me, but I didn’t mind, it was great for us to get away together even with me working. I am not working full-time; I don’t really want to. I want to do it as a hobby now with the baby on the way and everything that is happening.
The investigation is still ongoing. The Boss, Jayce, Steven and Andrew are still in jail. It is going to be quite some time before the case goes to court. They all were refused bail so as long as they are still behind bars I’m not too worried about how long until it goes to court. Jake is still working with Sinclair and his partner going through the file. Mum was not wrong when she said the organisation is big and spreads wide. They have arrested some of our government officials with more still under investigation. They have also had to call the FBI in to help because of the number of countries that are involved. They are worried about getting too many agencies from other countries involved because they do not know who they can trust.
Sinclair gave me the package Mum left for me. At first, I did not want anything to do with it but then when I saw a couple of the girls they had rescued, I changed my mind. Mum had left a very large sum of money for me to set up a recovery centre for the women and children that were rescued. She did not say where the money came from, but she did say that it has to be used for that purpose and that purpose only. If I did not want to start it myself than I was to find someone who would. I have started to look around for somewhere that would be suitable. It would have to be a very large block of land so I could build little cottages, a big main house with around twenty rooms, a small school and training centre and a treatment centre. These women and children are going to need every bit of support they can get if they are going to live back in society. Some will never make it that far so that is why we need the cottages. My plan for the ones that cannot leave is for them to live and work on the grounds where they still have support when they need it. Martin has been amazing with all his support. He pointed out that even though Mum left a LOT of money by the time we buy the land and build everything a big chunk would be eaten. He has donated money from his company and rallied others to donate even though it is still very early in the planning stages.
I am waiting for the settlement to come through from Bolt Enterprises. Martin had to step away from the whole case due to our relationship so it went to the board. The board was quick in making an offer, which I’m sure Martin had something to do with, and I accepted it. For me, it was never about the money in the first place. It was about them taking responsibility. It is a nice little nest egg, which will allow me to work on the centre without having to work as well. Martin would support me, but I want to be able to keep some of my independence.
I told Martin the morning after we got back from Rocky that I wasn’t going to move in with him until I had sorted myself out a bit first. I don’t know who I was kidding because I spent just about every night at his place or he was at Carly’s with me. I also told him I didn’t want to live in an apartment. I wanted a yard for our child or children to be able to run around and play in.
That is what brings us to today. Today is moving day. I did not expect Martin to go out the following week to find ‘our perfect house’ as he puts it. Within the month, he had found and bought a house that backs onto the Brisbane River. He only told me about it a month ago because he said he wanted it to be perfect before he showed me. He had some renovations done including painting the whole inside. The only room he left untouched was the baby’s room. He wanted us to do it together. The yard is just what I wanted my children to grow up with. It has an in-ground pool, plenty of room for a swing set and still be able to kick a ball around or play cricket. Right at the back is a gate and stairs that lead to our own jetty. Martin can’t wait to take our son fishing off of it. Yes, we also found out we are having a boy.
BONUS CHAPTER
FROM BOOK TWO (unedited)
Chapter One
Carly
Sitting at my desk, the sudden ring of the office phone brings me out of my daydream. I have been having them a lot lately. It must be the boredom of not having anything to do.
“Good morning Max Hall’s office.” I answer the phone as cheery as I can muster. “No sorry Mr Hall is out of the office right now. Can I take a message?” I am sick of telling everyone who rings that Max is not here, and ‘No sorry I don’t know when he will be back’. The last few months Max is never here. I have no idea where he is or how to contact him. Mind you, he is meant to be my boyfriend not just my boss. Once a week he checks in by phone to collect his messages. He must also check his email regularly. When he does ring he is always cold and distant. He never tells me where he is or what he is doing. It’’s always the same thing. ‘Sorry Carly I can’t tell you where I am or what I am doing.’ Every time I bring up our relationship, he has to go.
We have been seeing each other for about 12 months, just after I moved here from Rockhampton. We met by accident one day in a coffee shop when I ran into him, spilling my coffee all down the front of his expansive shirt and jacket. As usual, I was too busy sending a text to my best friend Roxie, to be paying attention to where I was going.
“Shit I am so sorry.” I say, not even looking up to see whom I just ran into. I was trying to juggle my cup, phone, and the folders I was carrying. Of course, the folders flip out of my arm,s spilling papers all over the coffee shop floor. As I’m picking them up a set of male hands come into my line of sight, helping to gather the scattered papers. My eyes slowly run up his arms, over his wide shoulders, thick neck and to his face to make contact with his green eyes. He is somehow familiar, but I just can’t place where I have seen him before.
“I am so sorry I ran into you. I was too busy on my phone to pay attention to where I was going.” I shake my head and bite my bottom lip with a blush I couldn’t stop.
“Thank you for helping me pick this mess up. I am going to be in so much trouble when I get back to work.” I say the last part softly, not thinking it was loud enough for him to hear me.
“It’s fine. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going either. I’m sure you will not get into too much trouble at work.” I meet his eyes and can see the humor swimming in them. “You don’t know my boss.” I say with another shake of my head.
“Well not so much my boss because I have never met him, but the bitch I work under is a nightmare. Shit sorry. I shouldn’t be talking like this to a complete stranger.” I can’t stop the wave of words that just keep falling from my mouth. It is one of my trademarks. All my friends tel
l me I don’t have a brain to mouth filter. The more uncomfortable I am the worse it gets. I hear him chuckle as we both stand up. He hands me another few pages but stops and reads the name off the cover page of the report.
“So you work at The Hindmarsh Corporation Ms?” He extends his hand for me to shake. “Sorry, I’m Carly Owen. Yes I work there but I have only been there a couple weeks,” I say as I shake his hand.
“Well Ms Owen it was a pleaser to meet you. I do business there all the time so I may see you there sometime,” He turned and walked away not even giving me a chance to ask his name, leaving me standing there dumbstruck.
The following weeks were more of the same, nothing I do was good enough for the bitch I am working under. The only thing stopping me from telling her to shove the job is that I have been seeing the mystery man around the office. He comes by my desk with coffees from the coffee shop, leaving them on my desk with little notes attached but he never said a thing. He seems to spend a lot of time in this building considering he only does business here. I still don’t know the name of this mystery man. I haven’t even really spoken to him since the coffee shop.
“Why is Max Hall leaving you coffees and coming by your desk so often? Don’t think you can sleep yourself to a promotion.” The bitchy voice of my supervisor comes from behind me. I don’t know what the hell she is talking about. Max has never been to my desk, I haven’t even meet the guy.
“Lisa what are you talking about? If he has come to my desk it has been while I haven’t been here because I have never meet our boss.” I dismiss her and turn back to my work.
“He just left here not five minutes ago and you were sitting right here so why are you trying to hide it?” The venom is evident in her voice.
I turn back around and say, “That’s not Max Hall that’s.. aaammm. that’s.” My voice starts to waver the more I speak. I can’t tell her who it is because I don’t even know. She lifts her brow while crossing her arms over her more than ample chest. “Aw this is gold. You have no idea who he is do you?” I would love to jump up and wipe that smirk off her face and the snigger out of her voice. Taking a deep calming breath, I slowly stand so she doesn’t have the advantage of standing over me. “As a matter of fact, no I don’t know his name or who he is, but he has been bringing me coffee just about every day for the last 3 weeks.” The smirk slowly slides off her face with that information.
“Is everything alright here Ms Owen?” A deep masculine voice asks from our side. We both whip our heads around to see who, I now know as Max Hall, my boss, standing there. Lisa straightens and runs her hands down her very short, very tight skirt, and plasters a seductive smile on her face.
“Mr Hall I was just explaining to Carly who you were.” Her voice took on a husky, smoky sound. Martin gives me a questioning look.
“Yes that’s right. She was just making sure I wasn’t sleeping with you to get a promotion.” I deadpan. I hear Lisa gasp and Martin shook his head trying not to laugh, however he couldn’t hide the grin on his face.
“Well than Ms Owen if you are going to sleep with me to get a promotion I should really take you on a date first. How about tonight? I’ll pick you up at 6.” With that, he turns and walks away in his usual style, with no goodbye or any other information. I turn to Lisa shrug my shoulders and sit back at my desk with a smirk I just couldn’t hide feeling pretty smug. She turns on her heel with a huff and stomps back to her office.
A couple of months later I got promoted to be Max’s personal assistant and Lisa got fired. Severs herself right. At every turn, she was undermining my work. Blaming me for her incompetence and mistakes. Lucky for me there were others she had done this to and the management were already watching her.
I am pulled out of my trip down memory lane when my phone started to ring. “Hi Roxie. How are you feeling?” I say trying to keep up beat. I don’t want Roxie worrying about me. Roxie is like a sister to me, she has been ever since we were little and grew up together. She has been to hell and back and is finally happy with an amazing boyfriend and a baby on the way.
“Do you know what time you’re going to be home? Martin has a meeting till late so I thought I could cook and have a girl’s night catch up.” She sounds hopeful. We haven’t really had a lot of time together since before she started to get stalked and kidnapped.
“Sounds great. I can leave at any time. Since Max has been away there hasn’t really been a great deal for me to do. I’ll stay for another hour than redirect the office phone to my mobile. So I’ll be there at around 4. What are you thinking of cooking.” I’m being as enthusiastic as I can be. I know what tonight will bring. It will bring questions about Max, which, I don’t have any answers to myself let alone trying to explain to Roxie.
“I am thinking of some steaks on the BBQ, potato bake and salad. Is that okay?”
“Sounds fantastic. I haven’t had a steak for ages. I’ll see you when I get home.” We say our goodbyes and hang up.
What to do for an hour? I look around the office and see everything is in its place. I have answered all the incoming emails and forwarded on the ones that need Max’s attention to him. Paid all the bills and filed them all away with the other incoming paperwork. I remember that there was an email that came in asking for some account information that wasn’t urgent but looking for it should waste at least ten or twenty minutes. Walking into Max’s office I start in the obvious places first. His desk, incoming file and the filing cabinet. It wasn’t in any of them so I look in his desk draws. The top draw didn’t have much in it, just some pens, stapler and that sort of thing but when I open the second draw and started to look through the papers in there I was shocked at what I found. There has to be some explanation for what is contained in here.
The first file I picked up had Roxie’s name on it. Inside were photos from when we were teenagers’ right up to not long ago. Bank details, drivers license, employment details, all her addresses and even her relationship status. Why would Max have all this information on Roxie? I place that one next to me and pick up the next one in the draw. All the blood rushes from my face when I read my own name on the front. I slowly open the file and see all the same information on me. There are even photos that have been taken while I have been at home. There are photos of me when I have had to host company dinners, (A perk of living in one of the company houses), and photos when I have had friends over. I quickly flip through the remaining photos to make sure there are not any of me in the bathroom. To my relief there aren’t but it still hasn’t stopped my panic. I pull out my phone and ring the only person I could think of.
“Matt thank god you answered I’m in Max’s office and came across all these files on me and Roxie and it has freaked me out and I don’t know what it means and I don’t know what to do or if I should ring Jake or if I should just put them away and forget I ever saw them.”
“Carly, Carly stop.” I hear Matt yell down the line. “What the hell are you talking about? Slow own and start again so I can understand you this time.” Matt said in a calming voice. I take a deep breath and start slowly. “Okay well I was in Max’s office looking for some information I needed to send to a client and couldn’t find it. So I looked in his desk draws. I really don’t know what made me look there because they are normally locked. Anyway, when I was going through the bottom draw I found a file with Roxie’s name on it. It has all kinds of information and photos of her. When I looked at the next one, it had all the same information but this time on me. Matt, I don’t know what it means or what to do.” My mind is racing with all the things Roxie has been through because her mother stumbled onto a file she was never meant to see or have. Her mother was killed and Roxie was stalked and kidnapped by the people looking for it. They have caught most of the people that were involved. However, there are still a number of very wealthy people and government officials from a number of country’s that are still out there and the investigation is still on going.
“It’s okay Carly. Take some photos of w
hat you can and I will ring Jake and get him to meet us at your place.” He said.
“Matt I don’t know if it is a good idea to meet at my place. There are photos here of me at different times when I didn’t know photos were being taken. I think there might be cameras around the house.” I have calmed down enough so my voice has lost the shaking in it.
“I’ll ring Martin, get him to pick Roxie up and meet at his house than. Make sure you only get the important photos and don’t tell anyone at the office what is going on. Not until we talk to Jake. I’ll see you at Martins. No more than thirty minutes Carly or I will come looking for you.” The last bit was a demand and a promise, not a threat; I could hear it in the tone he used. I don’t want to stick around here any longer than I have to anyway. This place now gives me the creeps.
I take photos of all the things I think are important as fast as I can and make sure I put the files back where I found them. As I walk past the reception desk I tell Michelle that I am not feeling well so I’m going home. I let her know I have transfered Max’s office phone to my mobile. My heart has been beating out of my chest ever since I found the files and only slows when I finally pull up to Martin’s building.
When I enter Martins penthouse (of course it’s the penthouse, where else would the CEO of one of Brisbane’s biggest firms live), Roxie is sitting at the dining room table while Matt, Martin and Jake are all standing and talking quietly in the kitchen drinking coffee.