by Iris Deorre
Fallen (Beautiful)
Published by Iris Deorre
Copyright November 2014 Iris Deorre
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
Chapter One
The alarm went off at six that morning. Faith opened her eyes, and without hesitation, she slipped out of bed. It was a good morning, most mornings were. Her life was everything she imagined, and there was no slowing her down. Faith stretched and then quickly headed for the on-suite bathroom.
Sleepily she reached for the toothbrush on the left, but it wasn’t there. She could’ve sworn it had been there the night before. She looked to her right, and there it was.
‘Late nights are messing you up.’ She giggled. ‘But there is no defeating you, young lady.’ She spoke to herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth.
A few minutes later she stepped into the shower, and soon after that she headed back to the bedroom.
‘What to wear?’ She stepped into the walk in closet and headed for the chest of draws.
Faith loved organisation, and wouldn’t let the cleaners into her bedroom. The bedroom and walk in closet was her private space, and she wanted to keep it that way. She opened the top draw, and her heart stopped a moment.
‘What the hell?’
The first and second draw usually had the bras, and the next two draws down, had her knickers. But Faith noticed that her panties were in the top draw. She shut and closed it again as if that would magically make them disappear, and her bras would appear, but that didn’t happen. ‘I will have to fire those cleaners!’ She pulled the panties from the draw and the bras from the bottom draws in a panic. She sat down a moment, to take a moment. None of it made sense. Why would the cleaners do this? When she felt calm, she stood up and left the bras and panties scattered, she’d have to deal with it when she got home.
‘Okay, black suit, or blue suit?’ She gazed at the rail of clothing. ‘White shirt…Black says, Power, and blue…’ She thought a moment, and decided to go with the black. ‘I’ll break it up with a pair of red Louboutins.’ She smiled as she pulled the suit from the rail.
Soon enough, she was dressed. Faith walked into the next room that had her shoes.
‘God dam it!’ She hissed once she noticed the shoes had been mixed up. Faith loved the reds on the top shelf, the blacks next, then blues next, and then every other colour after that. But blacks and reds had been mixed. ‘What the hell is going on?!’ she fumed. She would definitely fire the cleaners. She was certain of it.
She spotted the Louboutin’s. She pulled them off the shelf and headed back for the bedroom where she would do her make up. Faith was beautiful and she knew it. She’d spent the majority of her life being told so, and now she expected it. She was born to a white mother and black father. She’d taken her mothers green eyes and her father’s curly locks that she straightened everyday. She had the perfect body, the perfect life, but she’d also worked for it.
‘Right! Ready to kick another day in the butt!’ She picked up her briefcase and handbag, and headed downstairs. She popped into the kitchen and pulled out the fruit salad from the fridge. She’d eat it during the meeting. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the keys to the front door.
‘Ah, just the people I want to see,’ she said as the cleaners walked in. ‘I specifically asked that you not to go into my room.’
‘We haven’t, Miss Hutton,’ said one of the ladies.
‘Then why on earth have my things been moved around?’
‘I’m not sure, but none of us have gone into your room. We respect your privacy, and wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise that.’
‘I see.’ She felt a cold shiver down her spine. ‘I must be losing it then.’ She couldn’t find any other explanation. ‘Okay, erm…if that’s the case, then I apologise.’
Faith watched them a moment, not sure whether to believe them or not, but there wasn’t any time to dwell on it. She stepped out into the early morning and headed for the office.
‘Morning, Miss Hutton,’ said Charlie, the receptionist. ‘Everyone is waiting for you in the conference room.’
‘Excellent, just want I want to hear. Could you bring me a coffee, please?’
‘Yes, Miss Hutton.’
Faith walked past her office and headed straight for the meeting room. The moment she stepped inside, there was a loud cheer. She laughed and took a bow.
‘Thank you everyone, you really should give yourselves a round of applause too. You’ve done an excellent job!’ She sat at the head of the table. ‘It looks like everyone will get a bonus this Christmas!’
There were happy sounds all around the room.
‘I just want to say thank you to all of you. Without you, Hutton’s would not exist. So it’s lunch on me today!’
There were more cheers.
‘Anyway, let’s get down to business. This is the beginning guys.’ She looked around the room. ‘The work has just begun.’
They nodded.
‘We’ve landed ourselves the biggest contract yet in West Yorkshire. We’ll be building one of the biggest shopping centres in this county.’ Goosebumps patterned her arm as she said it. ‘Yes, this is huge. We’ve won this contract and we have to kick ass.’
They nodded.
‘Okay team, let’s get started. We know our deadlines, we know who’s doing what. It’s work, work work! Noah, give us the run down of the steps forward.’
Noah her right hand man stood up, the lights dimmed and he started the PowerPoint. Everyone concentrated in front of them. There were the plans, the builders, the management of contracts. There were teams of architects, designers, business managers, accountants, admin staff and many more. Faith looked around the room a moment and took it all in. Every single person worked for her company. She’d built it from scratch, hard work and guts! Nothing had been handed to her, and she was proud of it, even if some people claimed that her good looks had contributed to her success. Faith knew that wasn’t true!
Questions were asked, problems were solved. Teams came together and agreed and sometimes disagreed on the way forward. The cups of coffee multiplied. She’d missed breakfast because she’d been so engrossed in the discussion. She knew that once they’d won this contract, it would be non stop work from that point forward. It was something she enjoyed, there was a buzz to it all, and it made her feel on top of the world.
Five hours later the meeting was over. It had been a long, but productive meeting that would take them to greater heights.
‘Okay people, this is it, go and kick ass.’
They cheered and the group dispersed.
‘Daniella, could you stay behind a moment,’ she told the young assistant.
‘Yes, of course.’ She waited until everyone had shuffled out.
‘Shut the door please.’ Faith stayed where she was.
Daniella shut the door.
‘Please, have a seat,’ said Faith.
She took a seat.
‘When I hired you, I saw something in you that I saw in myself when I started this company.’
Daniella nodded.
‘You’ve disappointed me.’
Daniella was taken aback.
‘I hired you to work your way to the top, not fuck your way to the top.’
Her face flushed.
‘I know everything that goes on in my company. You can’t fuck my senior staff and expect me not to know about it.’
Her white face turned strawberry red.
‘This isn’t a game, Daniella. I hired you because you h
ad the brains, not because you were a pretty face.’ She leaned forward and looked the girl in the eye. ‘You’re smart, you were goal orientated when I first hired you, but now…’ She leaned back. ‘You want to work your way to the top sleeping around.’
‘No, Miss Hutton.’
‘I like you,’ she said. ‘You’re smart. This is a mans world, you need to play by their rules, just harder. Do you understand that?’
‘Yes, yes I do.’
‘You can only skate on your good looks for so long, but soon, you’ll lose the respect. Don’t be that girl! Be the woman I hired you to be. Use your mind to break down walls and to climb to the top, not your pussy.’
Daniella sat back as if she’d been slapped in the face.
‘Take this as a formal warning.’
‘Yes, Miss Hutton.’
‘That’s all.’
She scrambled from her seat and out the door. Just then Faith’s mobile rang. She stared at the screen and smiled.
‘Jacob,’ she sounded like she was singing.
‘I’m just ringing to remind you we have dinner tonight, seven thirty.’
‘Is that today?’ She pulled on her laptop and checked the calendar.
‘Seriously?’
‘I’m only kidding, of course I remember.’ She smiled.
‘How’s it going?’
‘Really well, thanks for asking. What about you? You okay?’
There was a knock on the door.
‘Could you hold on for just a second, honey?’
‘Sure.’
‘Come in.’
Charlie put her head round the door. ‘Isaac is here, he’s your one o’clock.’
‘It’s that time already? Shit! Okay. Could you order lunch for the team? I’ll have my usual, basil with lemon salad on a toasted Ciabatta. And give Isaac a menu, he might want something too.’
‘Yes Miss Hutton.’ She stepped out.
‘Sorry about that, I’ll have to speak to you tonight. Important meeting.’
‘Okay. I love you.’
‘I love you too.’
Isaac stepped into the meeting room; she hung up and stood up.
‘Isaac, nice to see you again.’ She proffered her hand.
‘It’s always a pleasure, Faith.’
‘You don’t mind us doing this over lunch, do you? I haven’t had a chance to eat a thing today.’
‘Of course not, I’m starving myself. I gave the nice lady my order.’
‘Perfect. Make yourself comfortable, I just need to nip out for two seconds.’
‘Yes, okay.’
She rushed for the door and sped to the restroom. The moment she shut the door behind her, she leaned into it and took a few deep breaths. Isaac was the big fish and he intimidated her. Even though she didn’t show it, she was frightened. He’d been on her side every step of the way when they had bided for the contract for the shopping centre. He’d wanted her on board, and now that she was, she had to prove to him that they’d made the right decision.
Her racing heart slowed down, she relieved her bursting bladder, and then stepped out.
‘You can do this.’ She told herself in the mirror. ‘You earned this. You worked for it. You’re the woman for the job.’ She washed her hands.
She pulled on the paper towel and wiped her hands dry. She stood tall, nodded at herself and then headed back for the meeting room.
‘Sorry about that, Isaac.’
‘Oh don’t worry. I’m more than comfortable.’
The meeting began. Faith eased into her role, and soon she was back to her old self, taking charge like she always did. Lunch arrived and they took time to work, eat and also talk about things outside work. It had been a productive afternoon, and when she stood up to shake his hand to bid him farewell, she knew he was extremely impressed with her.
Faith gathered her things from the conference room and headed for her office. It was four o’clock when she finally got the chance to sit at her desk. The phone hadn’t stopped ringing the moment she sat down. But Lilly, her PA had everything under control. Only important calls where put through, and that was the same for her emails. Every email was vetted before it went through to her, by Lilly. Lilly spent the majority of her time being a shield between Faith and the outside world. They spoke when it was for a briefing and updates, which was usually in the mornings. But her mornings had become so busy lately, she only saw Lilly when it was absolutely crucial.
A light knock on the door brought her back to the real world.
‘Shit.’ She realised the time the moment he stepped in. ‘I didn’t forget, I promise.’ She stood up and fiddled for her jacket on the back of the chair.
‘Relax, I booked a table for eight fifteen because I know how bad you are with time.’ He walked towards her and embraced her.
‘You are an amazing man, Jacob Sparks.’ She kissed the tall gorgeous looking man with the dark blond locks.
‘I know, and I have an amazing woman to prove it.’ He kissed her and then pulled back. ‘God, you’re gorgeous.’ He put his hands to her face and studied her. ‘You take my breath away every time.’
She smiled up at him and enjoyed the admiration. He was a fine looking man himself, six foot four, beautiful blue eyes and a body to die for. He was a successful business man, but not as successful as she was, but that didn’t matter to them. They were both independent and respectful of each other, and he just couldn’t get over how gorgeous she was.
They’d met over a year ago at a private members country club in London. Faith had been invited to an important meeting. It had been an awkward situation, being among men in their territory, but she’d shown each and every one of them who was boss. Later that day, she’d taken a breather to get a drink at the bar, when a tall handsome gentleman sat beside her. He’d offered to get her a drink, and although she was flattered, she informed him that she bought her own drinks.
That didn’t put him off, it only intrigued him further. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and his friends had to agree, but she wasn’t the easiest. She’d made him work for her, and finally his perseverance had paid off. They hit it off, and they soon became a couple.
‘Shall we?’ he asked.
She nodded, and they left for the evening. They headed for the restaurant and were shown to their table. He admired her, the candlelight lit up her face.
‘Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?’
‘All the time.’ she giggled. ‘And thank you for telling me.’
‘I love you.’ His pupils dilated as he said that.
‘I love you too.’
He put his hand across the table and took her hand.
‘Are you okay? Is everything going okay at work?’
‘Everything is good. Not as great as you of course.’
‘Well, we can’t all be Faith’s.’ She teased.
He loved that about her. Her confidence, the way she didn’t apologise for who she was. He’d stand by her, she was too pretty to leave anyway, and his ego wouldn’t let him. In a way he loved showing her off to the world.
‘So this big business deal, how’s it going?’ he asked.
‘It’s amazing. This it is Jacob, this is my Everest.’
‘I’m happy for you, you deserve it.’
‘Thank you.’ She beamed and looked at the menu. ‘Should we order a bottle?’
‘I think so. We can toast to your success.’
She laughed. He was such a charmer, and she loved it. Every time she was with him, the more she loved him.
‘What do you fancy?’ he asked.
‘How about a Vose Romanee Les Hautees?’ she winked. ‘Vintage 2011? We are celebrating, aren’t we?’ She laughed.
‘Why not!’
He ordered the five hundred pound bottle of wine.
‘So, we still on for Friday evening?’ he asked.
She wrecked her brain. What was on Friday evening? Without her calendar, she was a speed train heading for a c
ollision.’
‘Date – ’
‘Night.’ She gasped.
‘You’d forgotten hadn’t you?’
‘No… of course not.’
‘So I’m still coming over for that dish you promised?’
‘Yes, it was a promise, remember.’ She laughed lightly without a clue in the world what she had promised. ‘It’s at my house isn’t it?’ She had to make sure.
‘Yes.’ He watched her a moment.
‘Yes. Ha ha!’ She had totally forgotten, but she would check her calendar as soon as she got home.
The wine arrived. Jacob took a moment to savour it. It was perfect, and the waiter filled their glasses.
‘To your new venture.’ He lifted his glass.
‘Yes, to my new venture.’
They decided on the food and then he looked up at her and smiled.
‘What?’
‘You’re just so perfect.’
‘Oh stop it, no one’s perfect.’
‘But you are.’
She laughed.
‘Talking about perfection, I think I’m losing it a little,’ she said.
‘Why would you say that?’
‘You know how I like my room a certain way.’
‘Yes, I do. That’s why you don’t let the cleaners in your room.’
‘Exactly! That’s the one room I want to sort out myself. But lately I think they’ve been going into my room.’
‘They wouldn’t do that, would they?’
‘It’s either that, or I’m loosing my mind.’
‘Why, what’s happened?’
‘This morning my toothbrush cup had been moved. I could’ve sworn it was on my left before I went to bed.’
‘But your cleaners wouldn’t have come in, in the middle of the night.’
‘I know, that’s why I think I’m losing it.’ She took a sip of the wine.
‘You could’ve unconsciously put the cup to the right. It happens. You’re so swamped with work, you could just be tired.’
‘True, but my chest of draws had been rearranged.’
‘Rearranged how?’
‘I like my bras in the top and second draw, and my panties at the bottom. This morning, everything had changed. My panties were in the first two draws, and my bras in the bottom draws.’