by Lacey Legend
“You have my word,” promised Yvonne.
Tabitha took the steps out to head homeward to the comfort of her flat in Notting Hill.
Chapter 14
Freddie was not thrilled with the appearance of his father during his tete-a-tete with Tabitha. He’d traveled for hours only to find himself being constantly divided from his girlfriend.
“What’s the problem?”
His father’s steely blue eyes assessed his son.
“You’re back early.”
“The deal’s done, Roger. There was no point in staying.”
Mr. Hastings flinched as his son referred to him by his Christian name. It was a habit Freddie got into during his and his first wife’s separation and he’d refused to refer to him as Dad since. It irked him that Freddie persisted in winding him in such an insignificant way. He’d thought his son would grow out of his disapproval for his father’s lifestyle choices, but it seemed Freddie remained as unforgiving as an adult, as he was as an angry teen.
“When you left the deal wasn’t complete was it, Frederick?”
“I’d signed off on it and the lawyers were waiting on signatures from the other parties which were due the following morning. There were no potential problems pending. Everything had been ironed out. The one thing outstanding was a signature on paperwork from a firm of solicitors in South Africa on the lease. I didn’t feel that warranted my being there any longer. I’ve since been informed that the paperwork was signed off and everything’s tickety-boo,” explained Freddie with a smile.
“Don’t try and make light of something that’s actually a big step forward for Hastings-Bass. Your job was to organize the launch of the label’s first premise over there.”
“And that’s what I did.”
“Perhaps not in the most professional of ways.”
“Excuse me.”
Freddie’s tone was sharp and his eyes narrowed as he considered his father.
“On a venture that important, you should’ve been there when the ink dried on all the contracts and everything was sealed. What if something had cropped up and prevented the other parties from signing?”
“If I’d thought for a second that might occur, of course I wouldn’t have flown out. This is not the first time I’ve done this, Roger, and I doubt it’ll be the last. My instinct was that the final signature was a formality and I had no real cause to linger.”
“Would staying the extra night till the last contract was signed have been such an imposition on you?” barked Roger Hastings.
“Actually yes it would’ve. You dragging me here for a conversation of this nature when we’re attending the office Christmas party is also an imposition on me.”
“And my son broadcasting to my esteemed board of directors that he returned home early to please his girlfriend and accompany her to a trivial Christmas party is an imposition on me. Your unprofessionalism disgraces me as well. It looks as though I favor you and that I have no control over you in the office.”
“You don’t control me, father. We work side-by-side in the office.”
“I’m still your superior,” snapped Roger.
“Yes you are, but if it wasn’t for me the company wouldn’t be as financially successful as it currently is. I’ve been instrumental in increasing the profitability of Hastings-Bass. In case you forgot, it was me who spotted the sharp increase in sales in New York and it was me who investigated and discovered Tabitha was responsible.”
“You were supposed to bring her over here to raise our turnover, not your libido.”
Freddie’s hands clenched into fists. His normally full lips formed a thin line as he breathed deeply and counted to ten in his head.
“Tabitha has promoted the label and is responsible for the soaring profits from this year’s winter collection. I’d not met the woman before she started here. She was hired because she was good on paper. I’d no idea I’d develop feelings for her.”
“You do have feelings for her?”
“What do you care?” sneered Freddie.
“You make a fool out of yourself; you make a fool out of the company. You were in South Africa as an ambassador for Hastings-Bass. I’d like to think that your impulsive decision to make it to the Christmas party was founded on something a little deeper than lust.”
Freddie wasn’t quite sure how the conversation had turned around to his private life. He couldn’t remember ever discussing his feelings with his father and was taken aback by the verbal intrusion. What shocked him more than anything was that he detected a note of kindness in his father’s tone.
A silence settled between them.
“You might’ve at least greeted Tabitha. Ignoring her like that was unforgivable. I bet you wouldn’t have done that if I’d been speaking to any other member of the staff.”
“Probably not,” admitted his father. “I was cross at you, not Tabitha.”
Freddie ran his hands through his thick, dark blonde hair.
“I don’t understand why you’re cross at me. I’ve successfully engineered the opening of a Hastings-Bass branch in South Africa without a hitch. I came back early and yes, I did come to surprise Tabitha, but it’s not as if I’m the kind of man that flaunts his relationship in front of employees – as well you know.”
“True, but there are others aware of your history, Frederick. It doesn’t look good with you bed hopping from one female director to the next.”
“That’s not how things are, and you know that.”
“I do know that, but what you and I know is irrelevant - it’s what you’re projecting that’s relevant. A bed-hopping lothario whose personal life is discussed more than his workplace accomplishments is not an image you want to be courting.”
“I don’t court it and I don’t believe people do question my abilities as financial director.”
“I hate to burst your bubble, son, but I’ve had directors in my ear the entire afternoon. Each one feeling obligated to tell me you were declaring your love for Tabitha and boasting you’d abandoned the South African enterprise to get home to her.”
“That isn’t what I said and it isn’t what happened.”
“It doesn’t matter what happened, what matters is what’s being said. If people don’t respect you, Frederick, you’ll find it very hard to exert any authority or have your ideas taken seriously.”
“Lucky for me my achievements support my credibility.”
“This is a friendly warning, Freddie, that there are folk in this company who would love to see my golden boy fall.”
His father’s brutal honesty hit home. Freddie was flummoxed. He’d known Samantha was against his romance with Tabitha. It was common knowledge that a lot of the old boy network afraid of Tabitha’s radical marketing strategies were desperate to see her fail at work. It hadn’t occurred to him that there were others at Hastings-Bass hoping to see him crash, too.
What confused him most was his father’s apparent concern. He’d never divorced himself completely from his father, but they’d never been close.
When Freddie’s parents split his mother was a raging alcoholic and his father was having an affair with another woman. Roger Hastings was smitten by his new mistress and had no interest in his two children, despite the fact he ended up with custody of them both. Although his father maintained their magnificent town house in London, he made an executive decision to change Freddie’s and his younger sister, Isabella’s, schooling arrangements. They both attended a private school in London as day students. Roger decided to transfer them to full-time boarders at the same school so that he only had to manage his two children during the holidays.
His mother had fought hard for a chunk of his father’s wealth and moved to Spain, where she bought a bar and married the manager, who was twenty years her junior. Again Roger took control of his children’s lives by sending the two teens to Spain on their holidays to spend quality time with their mother.
Freddie abhorred his mother’s alcoholism. Her new husb
and was a few years older than Freddie and the two hated each other on sight. They endured the enforced holidays until Freddie turned eighteen. He insisted he wouldn’t return to Spain again, nor would his sister. The two men reached an agreement that Freddie would take his sister overseas and travel on holidays. Thereby, Roger wouldn’t have to care for his children, but Freddie and Isabella weren’t in an unbearable environment to spoil their breaks.
The eventual introduction of step siblings wasn’t unexpected for Freddie or Isabella. What hurt the siblings was their father’s devotion to the twin girls. Freddie and Isabella made the effort to integrate with the little girls and adored them, but the rejection by their father wasn’t forgotten.
“I can’t remember the last time you called me Freddie,” he blurted, “and I hadn’t a clue you thought of me as your golden boy.”
His father turned his head away. Roger bit his bottom lip to gain control of his emotions. He knew he’d hurt Freddie and been an awful father first time round, but he’d always loved his children.
“Of course you’re my golden boy. You’re my only son.”
“You know what’s really sad?”
Roger raised his eyebrows quizzically.
“That it counts. I have a place in your heart because I’m your sole male heir. The twins, Lily and Poppy, have a place in your heart because their mother is the supposed love of your life. Izzy doesn’t get a look in. You’re worried about me and my reputation in Hastings-Bass, but when did you last ask after your eldest daughter. When did you last ring her?”
“I spoke to her this week as it goes.”
“And tell me, father, did you call her or did she phone you?”
They both knew the unspoken answer that it was Isabella who initiated contact.
“Freddie. She doesn’t work for Hastings-Bass.”
“No and that makes her even less relevant in the family, does it not?”
“That’s not what I meant,” growled his father. “I love you all the same. I’m merely concerned for you because I can see the repercussions of your behavior on Hastings-Bass.”
“And that’s what you care about most. Not me, Izzy or the twins. It’s always been the label at the top of your list of priorities.”
Roger sighed, knowing there was no talking to Freddie in this mood.
“We’ve gained nothing from this conversation. You’ve occupied my time and spoiled the party for me; thanks for that, Roger. It certainly wasn’t worth me making the effort to come to the Christmas party because you’ve killed my mood with your poisonous talk. Given I’ve been gone for nearly ninety minutes I don’t even know if Tabitha is still waiting for me.”
Freddie stalked off, leaving his father frustrated by his son’s permanent necessity to remind him that he was his own man and nobodies golden boy.
Chapter 15
It took Freddie seconds to realize Tabitha was gone. Anger flashed through him to the point where he wanted to punch the wall.
“How dare my father think it appropriate to give me advice about my relationship,” he thought. “What on Earth went through his head? He dropped Izzy and I like hotcakes the instant a pretty young PA crossed his path at Hastings-Bass. The moment he decided to send us to boarding school was the moment he severed his ties and lost the right playing Daddy to me and my sister.”
Freddie assumed he was fuming inwardly, but the look of thunder on his face didn’t fail to go unnoticed by those passing him,
“Has Cinderella left the ball?”
Spinning on his heel, Freddie saw a tipsy Samantha making eyes at him.
“It appears she has.”
“Fancy taking this ugly sister for a spin on the dance floor,” slurred Samantha pathetically, steadying herself on Freddie’s arm.
“If I remember correctly, in the fairytale Prince Charming chased after Cinderella and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
He shook Samantha’s grip from his arm and walked straight out of the bustling club without collecting his jacket. Flagging a black cab, he was fortunate enough to catch one without too much trouble. Unthinkingly he gave the driver Tabitha’s home address.
Checking his phone, he scrolled through numerous texts from Tabitha. Deep in conversation with his father, he wasn’t aware just how long he’d left her unattended. As the text alerts sounded, he realized he’d had no signal in the venue, thus his attention hadn’t been diverted to respond to Tabitha’s attempts to make contact with him. Guilt washed over him.
Jumping out of the car hurriedly, he threw the driver a substantial tip when the vehicle finally arrived at Tabitha’s residence. Taking the steps two at a time, he rapped hard on Tabitha’s front door.
She opened it. Without hesitation Freddie’s lips landed on hers. His mouth crushed hers hungrily. Needily, his tongue pushed into her mouth to taste her sweetness. Tabitha was startled by the heat in Freddie’s approach. Breaking the kiss, she was able to catch her breath.
“Did you want to come in?”
Freddie strode to her fridge. She thought his arrogance and confidence arousing, rather than irritating. An out and out alpha male, Tabitha was unable to recall a time when Freddie felt the need to exert his dominance and masculinity. She found herself drawing close to him.
Purposefully Freddie retrieved a bottle of white wine from her fridge. Familiar with the layout, he grabbed a corkscrew from a drawer, opened the bottle and poured two glasses. Taking her glass, Tabitha watched him knock back his drink in seconds.
“Your turn,” he insisted.
Ingesting the wine was easier than she thought. When she looked to Freddie, his wolfish smile was enhanced by tiny laughter lines around his eyes.
“Sexy,” he stated.
It was only one word, but it was all that was needed. The next thing Tabitha knew he had an arm round her waist and was kissing her passionately. The force was of lust rather than love, but having been deprived of him for six weeks she had no complaints as to how he took her.
His grip on her was unbreakable. Tabitha struggled momentarily against his strength, but she couldn't remove herself from his embrace, nor did she want to. His lips melded with hers. This time when his tongue delved in, Tabitha caught herself moaning in his mouth in response. Freddie tasted as good as he looked; sexy and virile. Tabitha tried to slow proceedings by allowing her tongue to explore his mouth. As they became one, she knew they had both succumbed to the sexually charged atmosphere.
His hand went to the back of her neck, raking through her dark weave. Twisting it between his fingers he tugged her head back. Studying her face, Freddie's cock went hard. Her feline brown eyes were a mixture of confusion and longing. Freddie had had his fair share of women over the years, but Tabitha was the one girl that always took his breath away. That his heart skipped a beat whenever he was with her made him desire her even more. Tabitha stood out as a woman with independence and compassion, and that was what Freddie found most alluring.
He bought her face nearer to his. Tabitha could feel his hot raspy breath. Another millimeter closer and the stubble of his five o'clock shadow would graze her flawless skin.
“I’ve waited too long to get you alone. Drop to your knees, now,” he demanded.
His voice was firm, but not unkind. From the stormy blue eyes she could see Freddie was troubled and seeking solace in sex. Tabitha wanted to be dominated by him. Having been left for over an hour by herself at the Christmas party and with Freddie seemingly always prioritizing work over their relationship, she was keen to know that his passion for her was as strong as ever.
Gracefully, she took to her knees. Tabitha possessed enough calm to efficiently undo the belt and fly of his trousers. Her hands went straight to his boxers to release his erection from the designer underwear. Freddie was physically perfect. Tabitha's plump lips were desperate to take him. Relaxing her jaw and throat, she inched his cock downward. He was firm and filled her mouth. She swallowed deliberately to massage his shaft while she inched him in.
She could’ve been methodical and mechanical in the act, but Tabitha lavished attention on his prick in an unfamiliar way. It was as if she adored having his hard-on in her mouth. She wasn't focused purely on taking the ample shaft deep in her throat. Her tongue worked his helmet as she varied the licking and sucking. Tabitha's hands cupped his testicles, kneading them with enough strength to have him grit his teeth and enjoy the sensation. She dealt with his cock as if it were designed specifically for her.
Taking him continually to the brink, she exercised impeccable timing by stopping at the pivotal moment to prevent him climaxing. When his hands went to her head to thrust and control the pace, she made no complaint, but chose to accommodate his sexual demands.
To guide him so that the interaction remained playful and enjoyable, Tabitha’s hands squeezed his buttocks and her fingernails dug into the cheeks of his ass when he verged on becoming rough. Freddie heard her inhale his scent and then pulled out of her mouth.
“Get on all fours,” he panted.
Sex with Tabitha had always been spectacular, but she was taking things to a new level that night. If she was this amazing with his dick, using her mouth and hands after a six week stay of abstinence, Freddie was keen to discover Tabitha’s reaction when he penetrated her.
Tabitha did as he asked. Casting his eyes down, he admired her curvy feminine frame in the black lingerie she wore.
Kneeling behind her, he ran his hands over her back, then her arms and finished by stroking her toned thighs. Tracing every delicious curve had him groaning aloud. His original intention had been to take her mindlessly; focusing purely on a physical release. Just by touching her Freddie was reminded how precious this woman was to him.
Tabitha could feel a subtle change in the pace. Freddie's hands pushed the satin teddy up her back. His fingers were adept as he pulled the straps over her shoulders. To assist him undressing her, Tabitha slipped the lingerie over her head and threw it across the living room floor.