Waiting on Summer

by Bella Settarra

  Heaven beamed. “I knew he would. He’s the best.” She took a sip of her drink.

  “That’s great,” Summer said with a relieved sigh.

  “Still no news about who tipped them off at the club?” Heaven frowned.

  Nathan shook his head. “Nope. HR has checked through their records, and there’s been no change of address or anything for quite a while. I suppose Cromer could have been lying just to worry you.”

  Summer felt his eyes on her, and she shook her head. “No, that’s not his style. He’d relish worrying me, but he’s not clever enough to make up a story like that.”

  “Well, if you ladies want to gossip for an hour I wouldn’t mind popping down to the club to check on things.” Nathan kissed Summer on the top of her head, and she felt herself glow inside. It was the little things that Nathan did and said that made the world of difference to her.

  “Oh, I think we could manage that,” Heaven told him with a smirk.

  “So how are things at the club?” Summer asked once they were alone.

  “Busy. The sommelier’s still off sick. Dominic thinks he’s found another job and is trying it out for a while before resigning from the club. One of our regulars reckons they’ve seen him at a bar downtown. He’s not sure if he was actually working there or not though.” Heaven sounded conspiratorial, and Summer guessed it wasn’t common knowledge.

  “What’s he going to do?”

  “Check it out, I guess. Those Doms have got contacts all over the place.” Heaven grinned as she took another sip of her drink.

  “Yeah. So I’ve heard. Nathan reckons they even find out who potential staff are friends with before they give them a job.” She looked down at her hands.

  “It’s to protect all of us,” Heaven assured her. “You know how it is with BDSM; you have to be safe. If they let people in who aren’t who they claim to be, or have suspect friends, it could put the whole club in danger.”

  Summer felt a thud in her stomach, and she stared at her friend. “Do they think that’s what I’ve done? Have I brought trouble to the club because of my past? Is that why they won’t let me come back?” She shot to her feet as the realization hit her.

  “No, of course not.” Heaven stood up quickly, a hand on Summer’s arm. “You didn’t bring trouble to anyone. You were a victim, that’s all.”

  Summer stared into her face, studying it for any sign she was lying. There wasn’t any. She still wasn’t happy though. It was starting to add up.

  “I’ve got to go.” Summer rushed to the bedroom and started stuffing her belongings into a bag.

  “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be staying here,” Heaven protested, following her into the room.

  “Why? To keep me out of the way? To save me being a nuisance to everyone? To stop me causing trouble?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “I’m better now. I don’t need Nathan to look after me. And if they don’t want me at the club, that’s fine. I’ll find another job.” Summer threw her things together angrily, shrugging off Heaven’s arms as she tried to stop her. “I’ve had enough of conforming to what someone else wants. I’m not being pushed around anymore. I can look after myself, and I damn well intend to!”

  “Summer, you’re overreacting. You’ve got it all wrong.”

  “Good. In that case there’s no problem, is there?” Her teeth were gritted as she stormed out of the house and hailed a cab.

  Summer didn’t even know where Nathan’s house was, so there was no way she could have negotiated buses to get home. Besides that, her bag was heavy and she wasn’t quite as strong as she had made out.

  As she neared her apartment she felt a dull thud in the pit of her stomach. She was beginning to calm down a little and wondered if she had done the right thing in storming out like that. She really liked Nathan. Heck, she might even love him. She knew she would miss him. But there was no way she could stay there, just being kept out of the way. She wasn’t a child, and she was damned if she was going to be treated like one. OK, so they might not want her to work at Collar and Cuffs because of her past, but that didn’t mean she had to be a prisoner in Nathan’s house.

  Although, it was a beautiful house…

  The cab cost her almost all of her cash, but at least she was home. She opened her door as memories flooded back of how she had left. Slamming the door behind her, she was stunned to hear an odd beeping sound. She turned to the sound and found a touchpad on the wall in the hallway. She stared at it in disbelief. An intruder alarm had been installed. The beeping became more urgent, and her heart raced as she tried to decide what the code would be.

  Not even knowing who had installed the contraption, she had no idea what combination they might have used. She tried the obvious one: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. No luck. She tried 0, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5. Still no luck. She punched numbers in to make different patterns across the board, a square, a letter Z. The beeping was becoming manic now, and she panicked at the thought of the alarm going off. In desperation she punched in her date of birth. Relief! Whoever had had it put in obviously knew that much about her.

  She slumped on the couch with a sigh. The house looked empty. All of her ornaments and photographs had gone. The walls were bare of all pictures. And she noticed the smell of paint. Seething, she went into the bedroom. All the furniture had been moved to the middle of the room and dust covers had been used to cover it and the carpet. Cans of paint had been placed in one corner, ready for use, and a small patch of pale pink had been painted onto the wall under the window.

  In a fury she checked out the rest of the apartment. Every wall had been stripped and most of the curtains had been removed. Someone had decided to redecorate her home. If it wasn’t for the fact that her furniture and a few of her knickknacks were still there, she would have worried that she had been evicted. She’d only been gone a few days!

  She went back to the lounge and slumped angrily onto the sofa. How dare they? How dare anyone take over her home like this? Hot tears poured down her cheeks at the audacity of it all. She had got this place looking as nice as she could, and she was proud of it. How dare someone come in and decide to change it all?

  A knock at the door made her jump, and she wiped her face angrily. She strode over to open it and gaped as she noticed all the bolts and heavy-duty locks that had been attached to her front door. Clenching her teeth in anger she swung it open to see Nathan standing there. She glared at him.

  “May I come in?” He looked angry. How dare he look angry?

  “No.” She flung the door to close it, but his foot barred the way.

  “Don’t be childish, Summer. I need to talk to you.” His voice was clipped, which irked her even more.

  “Well, you didn’t need to talk to me before wrecking my home. Or was that nothing to do with you?” She spat the words at him accusingly.

  He sighed and strode across the threshold. “You need to put the chain on before you open the door,” he told her, sliding it across the door as he closed it.

  “I don’t use chains on my door. Neither do I use intruder alarms,” she told him coldly.

  “You do now.”

  She shot him a black look and was astonished to receive an even darker one in return. She folded her arms defiantly.

  “Heaven rang me. She was upset.”

  Summer felt herself go hot. She hadn’t meant to upset her friend but was damned if she was going to be berated for it by Nathan.

  “I’m upset too. I’ve come back to my home to find that someone’s taken it over and done all this.” She waved her arm at the room. “The last time I was here I was hurt and kidnapped. Now I’ve come back to find this mess. Do you know who would do such a cruel thing?” Her teeth were clenched as she glared at him.

  Nathan sighed and sat on the sofa. “It was going to be a surprise for you if you decided to come back to live here. Otherwise at least it would be a nice, secure home for someone else to live in.”

  “If I decided to come back t
o live here? As opposed to what? Letting the fuckers scare me out of my own home? Do you really think I’m that pathetic? You really don’t know me at all, do you?” she screamed at him as anger boiled in her veins.

  “As opposed to living with me. I was hoping you might have wanted to stay with me, that’s all. I can see I was wrong. I obviously misunderstood what we had between us. I’m sorry. I’ll get someone around first thing tomorrow to put everything back as it was.” He spoke quietly as he got up and went to leave.

  Summer felt a wrench in her gut. He was so handsome and had tried to do something to help her, but she was too angry to appreciate it. She just felt furious that he was now making her feel guilty because of it.

  “Good. I want that damn alarm taken out too and my door returned to normal, without any holes.” She spat the words, just as angry with herself as she was with him.

  She couldn’t bear to look at his face as he left. She just heard the door slam and collapsed on the sofa in a heap of tears. His words rang in her ears as she sobbed herself to sleep. I obviously misunderstood what we had between us.

  It was pitch black when she awoke with a crick in her neck from her awkward position on the small sofa. She felt cold and miserable. She was also alone and vulnerable. She shivered as she went straight over to the front door and locked it, using every bolt. She sighed, feeling a modicum of safety.

  Pulling the dust cover off her bed, she noticed it had a change of bedding on it. The bloodstained coverlet was gone and in its place was her spare bedspread. Someone had been thoughtful enough to change it for her. She felt an ache in her heart.

  With everything moved to the center of the room, it didn’t look like her bedroom at all. She was grateful for it. Lying on her bed in the semi-darkness, she wasn’t haunted with the visions of that dreadful attack. The smell of paint made it seem like a new room, even though very little of it had made it onto the walls yet. Without curtains at the windows the moon was allowed to shine in, affording a dim glow to the whole room.

  She watched the moon winking at her and wondered whether Nathan was watching it too. His words were still churning around and around inside her head, and she wondered what he had meant. Did he really think there was something between them? Did he really want her to move in with him? He must have cared about her to get her apartment secured and redecorated for her. What was she to do now? Should she go back and ask him to take her back? Should she stay here and decorate the place herself?

  Did she really want to carry on living here? Alone?

  She felt a cold chill run down her back. She wished she was in Nathan’s bed, snuggling up to his warmth, his scent, his safety. She could relax when she was with him. He seemed to take her worries away from her. She felt tears trickle down her face again as her heavy eyes gradually closed.

  * * *

  Summer was awakened the next morning by the sound of a telephone ringing. Jumping from the bed, she bemoaned the fact that she hadn’t even bothered to get undressed last night and was now uncomfortable and ill-rested. She was also shocked because she didn’t own a phone.

  She looked all around and saw a sleek cell sitting on her nightstand.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi Miss Marsden. My name’s Cerys Simpson, and I’m calling from the finance office at Collar and Cuffs.” The lady on the other end sounded very friendly and cheerful. Summer felt a lurch in her stomach, suddenly recalling the job she was hoping to get there.

  “Oh, good morning.”

  “I understand that you might be interested in the vacancy for a part-time finance clerk here and am calling to ask if you would be free to come for an interview today.”

  Summer felt a sudden feeling of dread. She wasn’t sure whether Nathan and Dominic would approve of her still going for the position, after all. It did look very much as though they didn’t want her at the club. However, she needed a job. And this job would be suitably well paid.

  “Miss Marsden?”

  “Um…oh yes. Yes please. What time should I come?” she stammered.

  “Can you make it at eleven thirty?”

  Excitement welled inside her. “Yes, of course.”

  “Great. Just come to reception and ask for Cerys Simpson. I’ll see you then.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  Summer bit her lip as she clicked the phone off and replaced it on the stand.

  She hummed as she dived into the shower and relished the hot water. She pulled out her gray shift dress, which she teamed with red pumps and a matching clutch. Her makeup was immaculate, and even her hair behaved itself today. She felt like a million dollars as she raced out of the house to catch the bus. She was surprised to find that she was actually early, and, rather than wait in line, she popped into a small café and ordered a coffee. Checking her change she realized that she even had enough left for a couple of rounds of toast, which she enjoyed before setting off back to the bus stop.

  She arrived at Collar and Cuffs with ten minutes to spare, so she went straight to the powder room before reporting to reception. She was touching up her lipstick when a familiar face entered the room.

  “Hi Mandy.” She smiled, remembering the girl who helped her with her uniform and locker when she had first started there.

  Mandy gaped at her. “Wh-what are you doing here?” She looked as though she had just seen a ghost.

  “I’ve got an interview for the finance clerk’s job,” Summer told her with a grin.

  Another girl came in just afterward. Summer thought she recognized her as the girl who was on the reception desk on her first day at the club. The girl looked surprised to see her, but Summer just smiled.

  “Wish me luck,” she said as she made her way to the door.

  “Um…yeah.” Mandy still looked shocked, and Summer wondered if it was because she looked so different from the last time they had met. She was really pleased with her look, and she straightened her hem as she went back out into the foyer. Taking a deep breath, she was about to approach the front desk when she realized she had left her lipstick on the vanity. She quickly turned and went back into the ladies’ room.

  A voice came from one of the stalls. “I thought you said she’d left.”

  “Something must have gone wrong. She’s not supposed to be here. They were going to scare her off at least. Ross wants her dead. I’ll have to ask Darren what the hell’s going on.” Mandy’s voice came from the other stall, and Summer’s blood ran cold.

  She quickly retrieved her lipstick, just as she heard the flush from one of the stalls, and rushed out into reception.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Miss Marsden? I’m Cerys. Do come through.” A really elegant-looking lady with a stern black bob and a navy suit came to meet her at the front desk.

  Summer’s mind was reeling. “Yes, hi.” She shook the lady’s hand and was pleased to receive a warm smile.

  “Come on through. I’ll show you the department before you see the director.”

  Summer was relieved. She felt so tense she wasn’t sure she could face some hoity-toity finance director right at this minute. Cerys seemed really friendly though, and she began to relax a little as they chatted.

  The department wasn’t very large. It seemed that Cerys did almost everything herself there and was glad of an extra pair of hands. The department itself comprised a large room with several locked filing cabinets and numerous shelves with files on them, all plain black with neat white labels. A small desk sat by the window, which Cerys informed her would be hers, should she take the job. There would be plenty of filing to do, and she was to take all the calls before putting them through to Cerys or the FD. Cerys had a small office just off the main one and a small corridor lead down to the FD’s.

  “Let’s have some coffee,” Cerys offered after showing her where everything was kept. She led her into her office, which was small but immaculate.

  Summer took the opportunity to study her would-be boss a little closer. Cerys must have been i
n her late twenties or early thirties and was nothing short of beautiful. Her hair was sleek and perfect, and her makeup was flawless. Her bright red lipstick made her smile shine, and her big dark eyes twinkled, hinting at a sense of humor under her austere appearance. She was enviably slender, and her legs looked long and lithe in her heels, which must have been at least four inches high.

  “Have you worked in finance before?” Cerys asked as they sipped their coffee.

  “No. But I’ve worked in stores and offices.”

  “That should help you,” Cerys said with a smile. “Are you used to answering the phone and fielding calls? The FD can be hard to get hold of at times, so you might need to take messages or put his calls through to me.”

  Summer felt a jolt in her stomach. The FD sounded like a bit of a tyrant, and she wasn’t looking forward to meeting him. “I can do that.” She tried to sound confident.

  “The FD can also be a little awkward at times. Are you used to dealing with people like that?”

  “Yes, all the time.” Summer giggled.

  “Good. You need the patience of a saint sometimes, but what can I say? He’s a man, after all.” Cerys winked at her and they both laughed.

  “What sort of hours would I be working?” Summer asked as she sipped her coffee.

  “We’ll work out the specifics later, but it will be during the day. We don’t open the office at night. I understand that you’ll be working in the restaurant too, so we’ll have to accommodate that. It’s three nights a week at the moment, isn’t it?” Cerys consulted a sheet of paper written in shorthand, so Summer wasn’t able to understand it.

  “That’s right. I only started last week, and Dominic…er…Mr. Ray said he would let me know which nights would be my regular ones.”

  “Dominic’s very pleased with your work,” Cerys said with a smile, putting the paper back on her desk. “He thinks you’ll fit in well here.”

  Summer felt herself blush. It was evident that they had been talking about her already, and she found Dominic so difficult to read that she hadn’t been sure what he thought of her. “I hope so. I like it here.” She smiled and finished her coffee. She thought about how Dominic must really want her to stay working here, or else he wouldn’t have put in such a good word for her. Her stomach lurched a little at the thought that she might have got things totally wrong last night, and now she’d upset Heaven and lost Nathan.