Restart (The Revival Series)

by Claire Thake

  “Passports?”

  “On the hall table,” Leah answered, and before she had finished speaking, Ryan had turned and was gone again, not even saying goodbye.

  “Hi Ryan, bye Ryan,” Joked Cara, “I guess he’s in a rush tonight,”

  “He’s meeting the lads from work in the pub,”

  “Ahh, that makes sense then. Thanks for the coffee chick, but I really must fly. If you have Oscar for me, I might as well utilize these few hours while I can,” Cara stood up from her chair, and Leah walked her to the door.

  “I will pick Oscar up at seven if that’s okay with you?”

  “Perfect, see you soon,” Leah waved off Cara, before returning to the kitchen and clearing away the mugs they had used before starting to prepare dinner for the kids. She made herself a sandwich once everything was cooking as she wasn’t in the mood to eat and with Ryan out, it felt pointless cooking for just herself.

  As the evening drew to a close, Cara picked up Oscar at seven as planned, and Leah got the kids sorted and to bed by nine, before returning to the kitchen once again and pouring herself a glass of wine.

  Leah grabbed her mobile and walked into the living room, choosing to lie on the sofa with her feet up, and relax. Opening her phone, she smiled as she noticed a few messages received from Greg and unlocked her screen to read them.

  Greg: This afternoon was amazing Leah. I’m so glad you decided not to talk! Gx

  Greg: I can’t stop thinking about you. Gx

  Leah grinned, and once again felt the butterflies take flight in her tummy.

  Leah: I can’t wait to see you tomorrow to carry on where we left off xx

  Locking the phone, Leah grinned to herself. Ryan may not be carrying things on from Devon, but she would be different and she planned to treat Greg to as much of her as she could give him.

  Chapter 13

  The next week went past in a whirlwind of secret dates with Greg, and the usual family life. The only difference was that Leah did everything with a smile on her face, and didn’t let any rejection from Ryan get to her.

  On Friday evening, Leah was in the kitchen preparing dinner and day dreaming about the day she had had with Greg, when Ryan burst into the house, earlier than usually.

  “I’ve just called your mother, she's coming to get the kids and have them for the night, I need you to drop everything and get changed and dolled up, the cab is booked for six,” Ryan said, at the same time as removing his tie and beginning to unbutton his shirt.

  “Sorry, but don’t I get a say in this?” Asked Leah, taken aback by how demanding and abrupt Ryan had been.

  “Please Leah, we don’t have time for this. There’s a last minute dinner function and it's really important we attend, so please get ready, like five minutes ago,”

  Leah wiped her hands on a tea towel and sighed, before accepting her fate and going to get changed. Luckily she had had a shower earlier after returning from seeing Greg, and she had kept up with shaving her legs, so all she needed was to pick an outfit and do her hair and makeup.

  Leah was ready in record time but Ryan was still at the door, looking continuously at his watch and shaking his head at her when she appeared and slipped on her heels. She wore the same outfit she had to the previous work event she attended, the night she had left early and then gone and met Greg.

  They travelled in the cab in silence, and Ryan could hardly sit still. He looked nervous and kept jiggling his right knee up and down and biting his nails. Leah wondered what was making him act so nervous, and she wondered if Melissa would be attending, and if she could refrain from slapping that smarmy face of hers.

  When they arrived, Ryan played the gentleman as always, opening the cab door for Leah, and walking in, guiding her with his hand gently on her lower back. The heat from his hand felt intrusive and repulsive yet at the same time comforting and strangely appealing at the same time.

  They took their seats at a middle table, all decorated in dark red and gold, which reminded Leah of Christmas, and Ryan poured them both a glass of white wine from the bottle in the cooler in the centre of the table. The room had been decorated in corresponding colours and a stage had been erected at the front of the room, with a projector screen.

  Leah took a sip of the wine and tried not to look bored, as Ryan made conversation with his colleagues at the table who she had never met, and trying to smile in the right places. She had been attending these functions for years now and no matter what she always found them boring and tedious.

  It wasn’t long before a long pair of legs approached the table, in one of the shortest black dresses Leah had ever seen. She didn’t need to look up to see who it was. Melissa ran her hand across the back of Ryan’s chair, before putting it on his shoulder and giving it a little squeeze to get his attention.

  Leah’s blood began to boil at the closeness of the woman, and she gritted her teeth to try and stop her from saying anything.

  “Ryan darling, thank god you made it!” Melissa said in a smarmy tone and bent down and gave Ryan a kiss on each cheek.

  “Lovely to see you again as well Leah,”

  “Likewise,” Replied Leah, turning her attention back to her wine and emptying the contents in one go.

  “I better take my seat before everything starts, have a good evening and I will see you later,” Said Melissa as the sauntered off to her table nearer the front of the room. Leah noticed how Ryan’s eyes followed Melissa to her table, and she took in a deep breath trying to calm herself down.

  The evening continued with a three-course meal of soup for starters, a turkey roast dinner for the mains, and raspberry sorbet for afters. The waiters then came around the tables and began filling up the spare glasses on the table with champagne.

  “Can I have everyone's attention please, and can I ask you all not to drink the champagne just yet, however tempting,”

  A graying, distinguished looking man took to the stage and was addressing the room. Leah had not seen this man before but guessed he must be important.

  “Thank you all for coming tonight at such short notice, It really does mean the world to me to see you all, you see I have made the decision this is the right time for me to take retirement and hand over the reins. Consequently, I also have some announcements I would like to make.”

  Leah listened to the man's speech, but without knowing who he was referring to most of the time, she zoned out and fidgeted with the clasp of her bag.

  “…..And so I will be handing the reins jointly to my beautiful daughter Melissa, and my right-hand man, Lucas Standing.” The whole room clapped, and Melissa and another man, whom Leah assumed was Lucas, took the man's place on the stage, Lucas stepping forward to the microphone.

  “As I am sure everyone will agree, Duncan will be very missed and the company will feel the loss of such a wonderful individual, but we must continue to strive for the future and that is why Melissa and I have some special announcements in regards to positions this year. Since I will be stepping up along with Melissa, we will be requiring others to take our places. Firstly, I would like to say big congratulations to Melissa’s right-hand man, who has proved himself over and over this year that he is the right man for the job. RYAN MALONE!”

  Leah sat stunned, as Ryan leant over and kissed her, before getting up and walking to the stage, the whole room applauding, as he shook hands with Duncan, Lucas and lastly hugged Melissa, before standing to the side.

  Melissa took Lucas’s place at the front of the stage and waited for the room to quieten down.

  “Well, I can’t deny that Ryan most definitely deserves the promotion, especially after the amount he's had to put up with from me this year. But now to who will be working side by side with Ryan, now he is taking my place. This person is very deserving of this role, and has proved himself over and over again, and I can't think of anyone who would be better at the job….HENRY LINTON.”

  Leah felt the breath catch in her throat, Henry – Greg’s brother, the only person in
the world who knew about her and Greg, and who disapproved of them, was going to be working side by side with Ryan! It all suddenly seemed so clear and explained Henry’s anger to them both…he was working with Ryan!

  The evening continued with Leah drinking as much wine as she could, and putting on a smile to everyone who spoke to her. Ryan was hot property and everyone wanted to congratulate him. Leah had been on edge ever since she had heard Henry’s name and wished she could disappear and call Greg. Did Greg know his brother was working with her husband? And if he did why didn’t he say anything?

  “Leah?”

  Leah jumped at the sound of the voice over her shoulder, and Melissa appeared at her side and sat in Ryan’s chair.

  “Leah, I know me and you have not always been friendly, and I totally get that, I have worked Ryan really hard this year and I know it's affected his home life drastically, in fact, I’m shocked you have put up with it all like you have, and I admire you for that, but I just wanted to say what a wonderful husband you have, he truly deserves this promotion,” Melissa, took a sip of champagne from the glass in her hand before continuing.

  “I know he has done it so he can give you and the kids a good life. It's obvious that he loves you all so much, and well you are a very lucky lady, I just wanted to say sorry really, sorry for taking up so much of his time and working him so hard, and I hope you understand that unless I had he wouldn’t have been standing on that stage today.”

  Leah was taken aback by Melissa’s words, had she gotten the situation between Ryan and Melissa so wrong?

  “Thank you, I know he has worked very hard this year and I appreciate the kind words, I am very proud of him,”

  “As you should well be, he’s an amazing individual. You are a very lucky woman Leah. Enjoy the evening,”

  Melissa got up from the chair and went back to mingling with the crowd.

  Leah sat in stunned silence and didn’t really know how to put things together. Her life felt like a total puzzle she couldn’t solve, and her head was swimming with uncertainty.

  Ryan appeared behind Leah, and thread his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the head.

  “Things will be different now Lee, no more working weekends, or staying up till all hours, I can delegate now and things will be much calmer, not only that but I get a pretty substantial raise with it.”

  Leah smiled and leaned her head back into his chest, confusion clouding her thoughts and she didn’t know what to say to him. She was also majorly panicking about the Henry issue, which was at the forefront of her thoughts.

  “So was it a good surprise? I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure, and then I found out just before I came to Devon, but then I decided to wait and surprise you when it was announced.”

  “Oh yes, I’m very surprised, I wasn’t expecting that at all.”

  “I know things have been tough recently Leah, but I promise now I will make it up to you. This is our year baby.” After giving Leah a kiss on the cheek, he was gone again, pulled away by another man from the masses in suits.

  Leah sighed and slumped back into her chair, and felt her phone vibrate in her bag against her thigh. Opening her bag, and retrieving her phone, her pulse started racing seeing messages from Greg.

  Greg: Hi beautiful, I have a surprise for you on Monday, unless you can get away over the weekend?

  Leah: I don’t think I can, but I will try. I need to talk to you.

  Greg: Talk ay? Sounds interesting. Let me know I’m free whenever you need me x

  Sliding the phone back into her bag, she wondered what Greg’s surprise was, what was it with the men in her life and surprises? She hated surprises!

  After a busy evening, Leah and Greg finally arrived home just after one in the morning, both of them full of champagne, and Ryan high off the news of his promotion couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

  Taking Leah in his arms, he pulled her close, and kissed her deeply, his hands wandering all over her back.

  “I love you, Mrs Malone,” Ryan whispered, “I have one more surprise for you.” Ryan grabbed Leah’s hand and pulled her upstairs, into their room and pushed Leah gently so she was sitting on the bed,

  “Wait here, two secs,” Ryan left the room and Leah heard the sound of the door to his office opening. Leah kicked off her shoes, and flopped backwards onto the bed, she was sick of surprises now and just wanted to sleep, the alcohol in her system beginning to make the room spin.

  Ryan returned a few minutes later, with a mischievous grin on his face, and a white envelope in the other. Leah sat up, and he sat beside her on the bed.

  “I waited until I knew about the promotion to do this, and it's been the hardest thing to keep a secret, but here open it.” Ryan passed Leah the envelope and she twisted and turned it over in her hands wondering what on earth could be inside.

  With shaky hands Leah undone the envelope and pulled out the papers that were inside, and gasped.

  “Oh my god Ryan, what on earth,”

  “It's just for me and you, I have arranged for the kids to stay with your parents for two weeks, we fly next Saturday.”

  In Leah’s hands were two first-class flights and a hotel booking for a two-week stay in the Maldives.

  “We never managed to have a proper honeymoon, so hitting ten years married; I thought we deserved one, especially with everything you’ve had to put up with, with me and work.”

  Leah couldn’t stop staring at the papers in her hands, and everything began to click into place.

  “That’s why you wanted the passports?”

  “Yep, I had to make sure the names were identical on the booking as well as making sure they were still valid.”

  However much she tried, Leah couldn’t hold in the tears that began to fall down her cheeks, and the sobbing that followed soon after. What had she done to her marriage? How had she read things so badly that it had pushed her into the arms of another man.

  Ryan pulled her into his arms and took her tears as happiness rather than sorrow.

  “We deserve this Leah, now is the time to make the time for us.”

  Chapter 14

  Leah woke the next morning, shocked that Ryan was still in their bed, his heavy, muscular arm draped over her waist. She suddenly recalled the events of the previous night, and she felt sick. Well, she wasn’t sure if it was actually the events that took place or the alcohol.

  Sliding out from Ryan’s arm, she grabbed her robe, and tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs, grabbing herself a glass of water and some painkillers from the kitchen.

  Curling up on the sofa, she grabbed her phone from her bag which had ended up discarded on the floor, and breathed a sigh of relief that there were no messages from Greg, however, she knew she had to see him, and she knew she had to see him as soon as she could.

  Leah: I’m free to meet in an hour, where do you want to meet, and what's the surprise?

  Greg: Great, come to Henry’s and I can take you from here.

  Leah: I can’t come to Henry’s please just let me know where to go?

  Greg: Chester Road, by the alleyway.

  Leah: Okay I will be there.

  Leah put the phone back in her bag and went upstairs for a shower to wake up. Ryan was sitting up in bed, rubbing his face and looking worse for wear from all the alcohol.

  “Good morning gorgeous, going for a shower?” Leah nodded and retrieved a clean towel from the cupboard before making her way to the en-suite.

  “Mind if I join you?” Ryan asked just before she closed the door.

  “Would you mind if I said no? My head is pounding and I said I would meet Cara for a chat in an hour,” Leah thought on the spot and scolded herself for using Cara as an alibi, she should never have brought a friend into her lies, even one that wasn’t aware of it.

  “No problem, since the kids aren't here I might actually grab some more sleep if that okay with you?”

  “That’s fine; mum said there was no rush to pic
k them up so I will get them later on.”

  After having a hot shower and getting dressed Leah felt much more human, although she went without the usual makeup as she didn’t want to make an effort when she knew what she had to do.

  Jumping in the car, Leah drove the short distance across town to Chester Road, hoping she wouldn’t get pulled over as she wasn’t sure if she still had any alcohol in her system from last night. Although she was sure she was okay, without a breathalyser she was never a hundred percent sure and she normally made a rule of not driving the next day after excessive alcohol.

  Once she pulled into Chester Road, she spotted Greg sitting against a small red brick wall. She pulled the car up near him and jumped out.

  “Eventful night?” He asked and Leah took it that she must look awful, for him to assume that.

  “I guess you could say that, so why are we here?” Greg dangled a pair of keys in front of him. “I finally have my flat, come on let me show you.”

  Leah followed Greg, up a set of steps on the side of a house and Greg unlocked the door and let Leah in.

  “It's not much yet, I still need to get some furniture and bits and bobs, but it's better than being at Henry’s all the time.”

  Henry! The thought of seeing Henry at the dinner last night flashed to the front of Leah’s memory.

  “I’m really pleased for you Greg, but please can we talk?”

  Greg showed Leah through to the lounge, which was newly decorated, with a worn, two seater, leather sofa as the only furniture.

  “I erm, I don’t really know how to say this, and well let me just tell you I never meant for any of this to happen this way, but I feel I may have read things wrong and well erm, I’m sorry Greg but I can't do this anymore.”

  Leah felt a strange relief as the words left her mouth, although seeing the pain and shock in Greg’s face, stung and made Leah want to cry.