by A B Turner
REVEALED
By
A. B Turner
(Final part of the 'Within' trilogy)
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places are products of the author’s imagination and as such, are not to be misconstrued as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events are entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. Text copyright © 2018 A.B. Turner All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written consent from the publisher, except in the instance of quotes for reviews. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded, or distributed via the Internet without the publisher’s permission and is a violation of the International copyright law, which subjects the violator to severe fines and imprisonment. This book is licensed for personal enjoyment. Ebook copies may not be resold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
DEDICATION
My love and thanks to those who can be known to the world and to those who can only ever be known to me, without all of you, there would be no story.
This is for you SJ
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For the constant support of my family, who during the time of writing this book, managed to cope with the extremes of human emotion with enormous patience, and still, find just the right words of support and maintain a seemingly boundless
patience.
To all those amazing friends who supported me with advice, good wishes and love.
Finally, to the characters in this book, your journey is over, thank you for letting me share your story.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter 1
I paused outside towering glass building in front of me, as I glanced skywards, it seemed to slice elegantly through the dark, rain- threatening clouds above. Almost immediately, I felt the light touch of a raindrop land on my cheek, so there was no more time for hesitation, if I wanted to look anything like decent for this interview, I needed to push through the revolving doors, especially as another, slightly larger drop, splashed heavily on to my face. I took a deep breath and went inside, the lobby was huge and had the appearance of some kind of vast greenhouse, with the huge glass windows and carefully placed groups of towering pot plants. Consciously wanting to appear as if I belonged, I took another deep breath and strode confidently towards the reception area.
When I arrived, the young woman behind the long, polished desk, barely acknowledged me, but, it was obvious she was on the phone, so when she finally glanced up, I smiled, hoping she would see this as a gesture of understanding. She half-nodded, before looking down again and returned to her call, as I was so close by, I could hardly avoid over-hearing, which made me feel slightly awkward, after all, I reasoned, she could be discussing some private company information. I was about to take a step back, when she let out a piercing scream of laughter,
"No way! Oh my God!" she cackled, "That must have been like so embarrassing!"
I glanced around, there were a few other people milling about, on hearing the woman's screech, they had obviously paused and looked over to the desk where I was standing. I felt I had to do something, in case they assumed I was the source of the disturbance, so I shrugged slightly and nodded in the direction of the receptionist, who was still completely oblivious to the attention she had drawn. Some of the passers-by nodded back to me, whereas others just hurried on their way, clearly annoyed by the temporary distraction. After several more moments, I looked around, aside from the young woman, I was alone, and she was still talking, only now in a more hushed voice,
"...Oh you can't let him get away with that, babe, that's just wrong on like so many levels."
I looked up at the clock which was somehow invisibly suspended above the desk, it was now only ten minutes to my interview and I still had no real idea just how long it would take for me to find the right room, or, in fact, even the right floor. Finally after a couple more minutes of her mmmming and aaaahing, I coughed loudly and, as I had hoped, she looked up at me, barely able to conceal her annoyance, she quickly ended her call.
"Good morning, can I help you?" she asked, "Interview, is it?"
"Yes, I am here to see..."
But before I had a chance to finish, her phone rang again,
"Seventh floor, as you come out of the lift, turn left and it's the third door," she rattled, as she was obviously itching to answer the call, it seemed pointless to ask anything else, so I thanked her and started walking towards the lifts.
As soon as the doors closed, I checked my reflection in the mirrored walls, my hair was neatly tied back, the grey skirt was fitted but smart and my crisp, white blouse literally gleamed under the harsh lights. But when my eyes met my own, I looked ridiculously nervous,
"Come on, Carrie, get a grip, you can do this," I muttered, extremely grateful I was alone, after all, it probably wouldn't create a good first impression, if I was found talking to myself. As my current job was mind-numbingly dull, the possibility of leaving to do something better had been on my mind for months. But since Lainie had decided to stay in Rome for another year, I had felt increasingly as if I needed to make some kind of positive step in my own life. After all, she was safe and well, she knew I would obviously always be there for her, after all I was her mother, but my role in her life had now permanently changed. At first, I had found this very hard to accept but recently it had become slightly easier, since we both made a concerted effort to stay in touch, thanks largely to Facebook. Fortunately, just when my job searching had felt hopeless, Kat had phoned,
"Hello stranger, how are you?"
I smiled, just the sound of her voice was a welcome relief from the endless silence of the house,
"I'm fine, how's married life?" I asked,"I hope you're a domestic goddess by now."
Kat laughed,
"Oh sweetheart, I've always been good in the kitchen, but these days I actually cook in there."
As she launched into telling me about the new house she and Matt had bought, I sat back on the sofa and just listened, it was so good to hear her happy, I had wanted this for her and, even though my own life was pretty solitary, I didn't feel even the slightest trace of envy. She was my dearest friend, it was that simple. After several minutes, I heard her pause,
"Oh fuck, Carrie, I'm sorry, I'm just talking about myself, what kind of selfish bitch am I?"
I shook my head, even though she obviously couldn't see me,
"You're a happy one, and as your oldest friend, it's so lovely to hear it's all working out for you," I assured her. She thanked me and quickly asked if I was still as bored as ever in my job, when I explained the highlight of one afternoon had been stapling sheets of paper together, I was momentarily surprised to hear her say she was glad to hear it. Before I could protest, she went on to explain, one of the women she worked with was leaving, so there was going to be a job with the same company,
"So what
do you think? Can you stand the idea of us being in the same place?"
I had not been able to get the words out fast enough, not only would I love to work with her again, but thank her for thinking of me, I heard her sigh,
"Oh sweetheart, who else would I think of? Let's face it, it’s pretty much down to you, I am with Matt and married."
I was about to argue that point, when I heard her gasp,
"Are you ok?" I asked.
"I've just remembered I put the dinner on before I called you and I think I can smell something burning.."she replied anxiously.
I couldn't help but laugh,
"Don't panic, if it is burnt, just say it's meant to look like that, call it chargrilled."
Despite herself, I heard her laugh, we had hurriedly said our goodbyes, having decided when the fire service inevitably arrived, Matt might not be entirely convinced it was all part of the recipe.
As I thought about them, I smiled and when the lift doors slipped silently open, I was relieved to see in my reflection, less panic and, in fact, perhaps a slight hint of confidence. After smoothing down my skirt once more, I stepped out of the lift and into the corridor, unlike the lobby, this was a bustling hive of activity, I could hear phones ringing, people bundled past me without even a glance in my direction, their faces etched with deep concentration, unwilling or unable to acknowledge anything other than where they were headed. Remembering the receptionist's directions, I started to walk towards the third door, I could see it was closed, but the gleaming nameplate announced I was in the right place,
'Diana Golding.'
After one last deep breath, I had raised my hand to knock, when suddenly the door swung open and I was face to face with a tall, smartly-dressed woman, her tanned face framed by a mass of black curls, her large, almost black eyes, instantly narrowed behind her large glasses, when she obviously found herself confronted with an unfamiliar face,
"Jacquie! Can you find me the Holbrook file?" She called, a disembodied voice called back with a yes, satisfied with this response, her face relaxed slightly,
"You must be Carrie Sullivan, you're on time.. good, I can't stand people being late," she stretched out her hand, took mine and shook it firmly,
"I'm Diana Golding, come in."
I followed her into the office, half-expecting it to mirror the chaos of the other side of the door, but instead it was an oasis of calm precision. A vast bookcase covered the wall behind her desk, all the books perfectly straight and positioned in height order. The desk itself was large, neat rows of papers lined the top edge, and an open laptop rested at a perfect 45 degree angle to the black leather chair. One of the walls was almost entirely glass, the city was spread before her, stretching way out towards the misty horizon. She indicated for me to sit opposite her, sat down behind her desk, removed her glasses and carefully looked at me. I felt as if I should probably start to say something about myself or, at the very least, present her with my freshly-typed resume. Almost as soon as I moved to open my bag to retrieve it, she shook her head,
"If that's your resume, please don't worry about it, everyone lies on those things, they are rarely worth the paper they're written on..unless of course you consider the entertainment value..." She paused, I wasn't absolutely sure what she meant, which clearly registered with her,
"For example, a month ago, I had one which declared the owner to be an accomplished horsewoman, as we had an event coming up at a prestigious stables, she seemed ideal, so I took her on, temporarily, thank God. So the day before, we visit the venue, where it quickly became apparent, our horsewoman's experience with the actual animal extended no further than a seaside donkey ride and multiple viewings of 'Black Beauty' .. needless to say, she doesn't work for me anymore."
She grinned at me,
"I can see why," I replied, returning her smile, as I allowed my bag to silently slip back down on to the carpeted floor, leaving my own resume untouched.
"So tell me why I should hire you?" she asked abruptly, despite being slightly taken aback at first, I started to talk, surprising myself with my confidence. I knew I needed to sound sure of myself, there was just too much at stake, I knew I wanted to work with Kat, it was clear, just from the atmosphere, this would be a real challenge, and even more importantly, I just had to get away from the job I was in, which only really guaranteed slow stagnation. Diana rested back in her chair and listened attentively, nodding every so often and even smiling slightly, after several minutes, when I felt I could add nothing more, I rested back in my own chair,
"So that's why you should employ me," I concluded, she sat forward, pausing only to replace her glasses,
"You seriously hate your current job, don't you Carrie?" A knowing smile crossed her otherwise stern expression,
"More than you can imagine," I replied simply, feeling the truth was all she would accept, as obviously she could spot any kind of lie from a mile away. We sat in silence, she seemed to be lost in thought, a slight ripple of panic started to rise inside me, had I made a terrible mistake? Should I have been quite so blunt about my job? As the seconds became minutes, I was almost convinced I had blown my one chance of escape. Suddenly she picked up a pen and started to scrawl down a note, then she passed it across the desk,
"There, take that to Jacquie next door, so she can get the paperwork started," I took the sheet of a paper, still not entirely sure of what had just happened,
"Oh and hand in your resignation, Carrie, you are clearly wasted there, don't you think?"
Again, I felt as if she was thinking infinitely faster than I was, leaving me struggling to keep up,
"So are you saying I've got the job?" I stammered, she roared with laughter,
"Yes, you have," she stood up, walked round her desk to the door, and turned to face me,
"I had a good feeling about you when you walked in, I think you're going to be fine, so don't look so surprised, Carrie."
Still feeling overwhelmed at just how simple this had seemed to be, she opened the door, I was about to leave when I suddenly remembered I hadn't actually thanked her, as I did, she shook her head slightly.
"Let's just see if you're still grateful, after a painfully, long day, standing in towering heels, being asked stupid questions by sweaty, overweight men who, once the promotional launch is over, think they've got some right to have you as an optional extra in their hotel room."
My mind suddenly filled with the faces of some of the men I worked with, who saw nothing more worthwhile in most women than her bust size,
"Oh believe me, Mrs Golding, I can handle them," I replied firmly.
"Good, oh and Carrie, never Mrs Golding, that title rests with my mother who had all the charm and patience of a severely-irritated rattlesnake with a skin condition, so call me, Diana," she insisted. We shook hands again, and after dropping the paper into the neighbouring office, I headed back down in the lift. Unfortunately, there were a few other people traveling with me, so I couldn't show just how deliriously happy I was, I wanted to jump, to squeal and punch the air triumphantly, but instead I stood quietly, just trying hard not to beam like an idiot. I walked back through the lobby, amazingly, the receptionist was still on the phone,she briefly looked up at me and returned to her conversation. As soon as I was a safe distance from the building, I abandoned any semblance of professionalism and almost skipped to the train station. Thankfully, the rain had passed and the wet pavement now glittered in the weak sunlight. The same thoughts joyfully danced around my mind, I was free! Finally, I could ditch the uniform that had never really fitted, I would never have to spend hours in the freezing warehouse waiting for deliveries that never came on time and, best of all, every day from now on, I would feel as if I was actually doing something genuinely worthwhile, instead of the monotony only being broken by spending a day, once every couple of months, doing pointless health and safety courses, which wouldn't challenge the average primate.
As I rode home on the train, I could barely stop smiling, I looked
out of the window at the landscape speeding past, and for the first time, in such a long time, I felt my life was moving too.
I woke up early the next morning and quietly composed the letter I had waited so long to write, my resignation, I had long dreamt of this day and now, as I heard the familiar sounds of the world waking up through the open window, I felt both excitement and an unexpected tinge of sadness. Although it was true, the job had never proved to mean anything more than a means to earn money, it had been, where I had met and made good friends. But, it was now time for me to move forward and so, as I sealed the envelope, it was as if I was closing a chapter for good.
A couple of hours later, I was standing in Brian's office, he had always been a fair boss, although seemingly blissfully unaware of the actions of his workforce most of the time. He carefully read my words and glanced up at me,