Broken Truth

by Beth Ashworth

  Pulling the plump flesh of her bottom lip into her mouth, Charlie gnawed on it gently as his stare continued to penetrate through to her core. The feel of her breasts beginning to grow full and weighty against the delicate lace fabric of her bra, along with the seeping dampness between her thighs made Charlie’s cheeks bloom warmly with colour.

  “Get a room,” both Amelia and Lucy chimed in looking at them with pure disgust.

  Callum grinned at both girls before extending his hand towards her. Charlie took it willingly, grabbing her handbag from the table in the process. He pulled her body against his before he roughly gripped the back of her head and brought his mouth down to hers.

  The kiss was blistering and forceful causing Charlie to gasp at his ferociousness. Vaguely recognising his other hand beginning to stroke a path along the length her back, she made the appalling decision to pull away before things got too much for them both.

  “Remember we are in the middle of a restaurant,” she whispered, nipping at his bottom lip gently.

  “I don’t give a shit where we are. I’ll fuck you on this table if I want,” he growled as his hand tightened the pressure on the back of her neck.

  As her trembling legs fought to stay upright, Charlie clung to the firmness of Callum’s broad shoulders. A small smirk fluttered on his lips at her reaction. “Let’s go,” she panted.

  Charlie turned towards the booth to find both Amelia and Lucy sat with their jaws open wide and their eyes dancing with pure jealously. “Ummmm, I guess Callum has made other plans for us. I am so sorry we couldn’t stay for lunch,” she spoke hurriedly, feeling embarrassed by their more than public display of affection.

  “Ladies.” Callum bowed his head before briskly directing Charlie towards the door.

  Passing numerous tables on their way out, she saw multiple heads turn their way and smile. Every diner in the restaurant clearly knew that they were leaving to fuck, the realisation left an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

  Glancing over her shoulder at Callum, she knew he would be the complete opposite. Studying his face, she saw his eyes were dark, mysterious and lust filled. Turning them towards her, she felt the familiar tightening in the lower half of her body.

  “The car will have to do until we can get home,” he muttered, as he pushed open the door to the restaurant. “We aren’t leaving the penthouse again this weekend. I’m feeling very greedy and I want you all to myself.”

  Three

  Monday morning was less than welcome in Charlie’s books as her alarm clock continued to rattle noisily on the bedside table. Sleepily thrusting her arm out of the covers, she haphazardly smacked around until she had successfully quietened the noise.

  Rolling onto her side, Charlie pushed her hand across to the opposite side of the bed in search of her man. Disappointed to be greeted by the cold and empty sheets of Callum’s side, she buried her face into her pillow and sighed. Another weekend had flown by at the speed of light which meant that she was now alone and without him again until Friday evening.

  She knew that building some of the UK’s most expensive and uniquely designed skyscrapers came at a price. With the company’s office located in Canary Wharf, London; it was a necessary requirement for him to be based down south for client meetings during the week.

  Reaching for her glasses, Charlie slipped them onto her sleepy eyes before padding across to the en-suite bathroom. Staring at herself in the large vanity mirror, she took in her tired and dishevelled appearance that looked as if she had travelled to hell and back.

  Grabbing a hair bobble off the side, she tried to tame the wild mass of frizzy curls erupting from her head. Finally managing to secure her hair in a low messy bun, it was then that her eyes bulged at the sight before her.

  “Bastard!”

  She cursed into the air as she prodded at the large blue and purple bruise on the side of her neck. Leaning in closer to the mirror she examined the perfect imprint of Callum’s teeth against her skin. The bastard knew how much she hated marks being left on her body, especially in places that were impossible to hide.

  With her hair resembling that of a tumbleweed, the only option available to Charlie was makeup. Frantically dabbing at her skin with concealer, she gave her best attempt at trying to cover up the large hickey Callum had left. Several coats later and a face full of makeup to blend in the pigment, she was finally satisfied that the mark wasn’t visible to the naked eye.

  “Right. Let’s get dressed shall we?” Charlie spoke to her reflection in the mirror.

  Bustling through the doors of I&L at eight thirty sharp, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. She had made it to work on time.

  Just.

  Hurrying into the back room without being seen, Charlie placed her handbag under the desk in the office. Running her hands over her fitted grey pencil skirt and matching jacket, she hoped that she still looked presentable. Even living five minutes away from her place of work, she always managed to just make it through the door in the nick of time.

  “Is Charlie here yet?” She heard the nails on chalk board sound of Annabelle’s voice ringing throughout the building. Plastering on the biggest and fakest smile she could muster, Charlie stepped out of the back and onto the shop floor. “Oh there you are, Darling!” Annabelle teetered over in her impossibly high heels.

  Kissing the air on either side of her face, Charlie continued to push her false smile. “Good morning, Annabelle. You are certainly starting early today aren’t you?” she replied through gritted teeth.

  “Yes, well, I have a charity function to attend tonight and I need to look fabulous!” she replied, looking down at her freshly manicured nails.

  Out of all the clients Charlie dealt with regularly, Annabelle Carter was by far the worst. Without fail, the woman would appear on the first Monday of each month and stamp her feet around the shop in her excessively priced heels like she owned the joint. With overly tanned skin that hung to her bones like a sheet of dull, cracked leather and bleached hair that aged her appearance by roughly twenty years, she was the epitome of what Charlie would call false.

  “We don’t actually open for another thirty minutes, Annabelle, but I guess we could start early.” Charlie tried extremely hard to stop the annoyance in her tone at that moment in time.

  Clapping her hands together, Annabelle smiled widely. “Marvellous. Off you go then,” she shooed.

  Turning her back on Annabelle, Charlie started towards the evening gowns that were hung up in the corner of the shop. Sifting through a couple of garments, she snagged a fitted floor length black number that was covered in lace and sequins. It was a classic and safe choice which she hoped Annabelle would love.

  Normally, she was more than happy for a client to take their time and try on the multiple choices she pulled for them, but with Annabelle things were different. It was all about getting her in and then getting her out as soon as possible. Picking one garment that fitted her specific criteria was all that mattered.

  “What about this?” Charlie asked, holding up the gown for her approval.

  Crossing her fingers and toes, Charlie watched for Annabelle’s expression and signs of a positive choice.

  She looked the dress up and down for a few moments before she began to tap her foot animatedly – a sign that she liked what she saw.

  “It’s absolutely perfect,” she exclaimed, teetering across to where Charlie stood. She ran her hands enchantingly over the lace covered bodice. “Put it in the dressing room for me,” she demanded.

  With a brief nod, Charlie headed over to the fitting rooms with Annabelle following closely behind. “I hope you like the fit,” she said, unzipping the side of the dress and passing it through for her to try on.

  “I’m sure I will. Anyway, enough about the dress,” Annabelle demanded behind the fitting room door. “I want to hear about you and your weekend,” she said, stunning Charlie beyond words.

  Having been Annabelle’s stylist for just over a year now, Charlie cou
ldn’t recall one occasion during their entire working relationship where she had taken the time to talk about anything other than herself. “My weekend was fine, thank you,” Charlie replied, keeping things short and sweet. She figured the less Annabelle knew about her personal life the better.

  “Don’t be so coy, Darling. I have my ways of finding out these things you know,” she stated flatly.

  Now this caught Charlie’s attention. “I’m not sure what you mean?” she replied.

  “Well...” Annabelle began as she poked her head around the door of the fitting room. “A little bird told me that you are being courted by a devilishly handsome and very rich young man,” she stated, her eyes practically glowing in satisfaction at the growing astonishment on Charlie’s face.

  How this news had filtered to Annabelle she wasn’t entirely sure as Callum was a very private person when it came to discussing his personal life. So much so that only his very close and trusted friends were aware of his career and the fortune he had amassed over the past ten years since he began trading.

  Apart from the financial side of things, to their friends, Callum and Charlie were just your typical average couple. They didn’t attend high society galas and charity dinners like most. Instead, they would always opt for a quiet meal in a local restaurant with good food and company.

  Charlie was aware that even in London, Callum kept himself to himself. Working long excruciating hours at the office, she knew that at the end of each working day he could be found by himself collapsed in front of the television with a beer in his hand.

  Usually in Callum’s field, developers and architects were all about publicising their work to the world. In Callum’s case he owned his own company, but had someone else pose for the photos and give the interviews instead of him. Jared Wharves had been an asset to Callum since the day he hired him. With Callum wanting as little attention as possible, Jared was more than happy to front the face of the company on his behalf. It was this carefully planned move that allowed Callum to be as private as he wanted to be with his personal life.

  “Well?” Annabelle prompted. “What is his name and what does he do?”

  Charlie couldn’t believe the gall of the woman stood before her. “My boyfriend is a very private person, so I would prefer not to discuss my relationship,” she said, dismissing the intrusive questions.

  Grabbing hold of the dressing room door, Charlie pulled it open to look at the dress Annabelle was wearing. “Oh! That dress looks absolutely amazing on you,” she replied, hastily changing the subject.

  Turning to admire herself in the mirror, Annabelle placed her right hand against her hip and posed. “I do look good, don’t I?”

  Smiling widely and nodding in her direction, Charlie lied through her teeth. “You look amazing. I think Mr Thomas will be very pleased to have you on his arm tonight.”

  “It isn’t James tonight, Darling. That age gap between us started to get too much for me, so we called it a day,” Annabelle replied adjusting her cleavage.

  “Well I am sorry to hear that,” Charlie said, although she didn’t feel an ounce of sadness for the horrible shrew of a woman in front of her.

  Listening to the many stories she had heard over the past twelve months, she had learnt that at the age of thirty one, Annabelle had slept with more men than Charlie had encountered in her entire lifetime. She was nothing but a social climbing gold digger and she couldn’t bear to be around her any longer.

  Glancing at her watch, she thankfully noticed that her next appointment was due in shortly. “Right, Annabelle. I’ll take this out to Xavier to be packaged for you. I’m sorry to run off, but my next appointment is due in shortly.”

  Annabelle wiggled her fingers dismissively towards Charlie. “See you soon, Darling. And I hope to hear more about this man of yours next time.”

  “Not a chance,” Charlie mumbled as she walked into the backroom.

  Four

  Walking towards the cackling laughter in the living room, Charlie placed the bottle of wine and three glasses on the coffee table. Having had an exhausting few days at work, she was more than looking forward to a couple glasses of wine and a good gossip with her girls.

  Pouring herself a large glass of white wine, she waited for both Amelia and Lucy to grab their glasses before raising a toast. “To the best friends I could ever ask for and to our awesome Thursday night sleepovers. I love you girls! Cheers,” she smiled, toasting each girl’s glass.

  “Phew, I am so glad its Friday tomorrow,” Lucy exhaled, flopping back onto the white leather sectional sofa. “I am so knackered it is unbelievable.”

  “Count yourselves lucky,” Amelia moaned, taking a large gulp of wine. “I have to work tomorrow and Saturday, all because some stupid cow went into labour early before they hired anyone to cover her shift.”

  Charlie smiled. “That sucks. I guess I am quite lucky that I was only hired for midweek appointments. Could you imagine my life with Callum if I had to work all weekend? I’d never see the poor guy.”

  Pulling her feet up so that she could tuck her legs under her bum, Lucy angled herself towards Charlie. “Speaking of the God that is Callum Ellis, have you heard from him much this week?”

  Charlie shook her head as she brought her wine glass up to her lips. “He has only called twice and both times from the office,” she said with a little disappointment. “He works really late most nights, so he says that by the time he gets home I’ll probably be asleep.”

  Immediately Lucy’s eyes softened with sympathy. “That’s the trouble when your boyfriend owns a multi-million pound company, babe. You both knew what you were signing up for when you started seeing each other.”

  Charlie took a long sip of wine and let out a frustrated groan. She knew that Lucy was completely right. They had both talked about his crazy work schedule before they were properly involved.

  Callum had laid everything out for her so that she was aware of everything before making her choice. Having explained where his work was based and that he was mostly not contactable during and after work because of long hours, Charlie had still succumbed to his charm and agreed to give their relationship a go even if it meant only seeing him two nights a week.

  Now a year down the line, she was very much in love and wanting to spend as much time with her boyfriend as possible. Their heartbreaking goodbyes on a Sunday night were starting to get harder and harder for them both.

  During the working week, Charlie found herself just existing without a real purpose. She wasn’t complete and didn’t feel herself until the magical moment on a Friday evening when Callum walked through the front door and came back into her life.

  After several hours and three full bottles of wine, it was safe to say that the girls were feeling more than a little tipsy. With the sound of Rihanna’s - Only Girl (in the World) blasting through the apartments built in speaker system, the three of them continued to dance crazily on a pretend stage they had erected by pushing the large white gloss coffee table up to the corner of the sofa.

  “I’ll make you!” – Amelia pointed directly at Charlie – “Feel like you’re the only girl in the world!” she screeched in time with the music.

  Laughing, Charlie pranced around on top of the coffee table. “There is only one man that can make me feel like the only girl in his world!”

  “Damn! I totallyyyy get that,” Lucy squealed as she jumped off of the sofa and ran into the kitchen. Reappearing a few minutes later with Charlie’s mobile phone in her hand, she leisurely started to flick through the photos stored. “Boo, your phone is so lame. I thought you’d at least have a picture of his dick for me to look at,” she pouted with a hand on her hip.

  “I have an idea,” Amelia piped up. “Charlie, send him a boob shot and see what you get back.”

  Charlie’s eyes widened before she too caught on to Amelia’s infectious smirk. “He will totally freak out,” she laughed

  Taking the phone out of Lucy’s hand, Charlie lifted her pyjama
vest over her head. She wasn’t comfortable with sending a fully nude picture of her breasts to his phone, but instead settled with an over exaggerated cleavage shot in her bra.

  “Sassy,” Lucy grinned, “He is going to love it.”

  Attaching the image to a multimedia message, Charlie typed out a brief accompanying text. Pausing with her finger just over the send button, she bit her lip. “Are you sure he is going to see the funny side? I don’t usually text him during the week because of work. I always wait for him to contact me.”

  Thrusting another glass of wine at her, Amelia laughed. “Grow some balls and hit send for God’s sake!”

  Taking a large mouthful of wine, Charlie found a little dare devil courage and pressed her thumb firmly over the send button. “It’s gone,” she screeched, feeling extremely proud of what she had done.

  She had to admit, she wasn’t even completely sure if he would see the text message. Looking at the clock on the wall behind her she saw that it was almost pushing eleven. From what she knew of his evening routine, he was most likely either driving home from the office after a late night or he was already asleep in front of the television. His life in London seemed to consist of the same routine day in and day out until the weekend when he came home.

  “Has he texted you back yet?” Lucy yelled over the thumping bass in the living room.

  Lighting up the screen in her hand, Charlie shook her head. “Nope, I bet he’s already gone to sleep.”

  “Typical. I only wanted to tease Mr Tall, Dark and Fuckable for some entertainment,” Lucy complained, swaying a little from side to side. Charlie could clearly see that the alcohol was beginning to overwhelm her body.

  “I think it may be the right time for bed,” she suggested, pulling the sound system remote out of the pocket on her pyjama bottoms. She pointed it straight at the control panel on the wall and the music came to an abrupt stop.