Boss Next Door

by Mia Ford

  I lean my head forwards and rest it lightly on her chest. It’s reassuring to hear her heart beating, but it still isn’t enough. Until I get that reassurance from her that she is finally going to make her own life better, I won’t be able to relax. There is always going to be that worry of this happening all over again. It’s a very real fear.

  “He will go to jail if you pursue it this time, Mom. There is so much evidence. He admitted to Will what he had done, and basically told the cops as well. The prosecution will have a lot. Plus, I will be on your side, I have seen a lot, and there will be other people as well, I’m sure of it. We can get this done. We can get rid of him… but you have to want it. I can’t do this if you don’t want it, it doesn’t work like that. You need to get away from him.”

  I slide my eyes closed as the tears begin flowing once more. I can’t hold this emotion back anymore. It’s like this situation has opened the flood gates and there is no closing them now. Everything that I have looked back for years and years while I’ve been in survival mode is now free and I can’t stop it coming.

  “This has been hard on me, Mom. Not as hard as it is on you, of course. I know that.” I nod to myself before pulling my head back up once more. “I know that you have struggled with this a lot more than me, but I have struggled as well. Seeing the way that David has treated you has had a terrible impact on me. It’s knocked my self-confidence, it’s made me shy and locked away, it’s transformed me and not in a good way.” I suck in a deep breath. “I mean, I’m trying to climb out from under David’s awful shadow right now, but when something like this happens… well, it makes me see that neither of us will ever be free until he’s locked up for good and he can’t get to you. You will always be a shell of your former self forever and I will never be able to relax. That isn’t a way to live, Mom. If you can’t leave David for yourself, then can you do it for me? Please? I don’t care what it takes, but I need you away from him. I won’t be able handle you going back to him. I just can’t see it. Please, Mom.”

  I break down once more, the pressure of all of this is getting to me. Unfortunately, I have seen the same vicious cycle too many times to believe that my mother will be able to say goodbye to David for good. He always does terrible things, then manages to win her forgiveness afterwards. It’s awful. But this time, if she doesn’t walk away then she will end up dead. He will kill her, there is absolutely no doubt about it. She won’t make it out alive.

  “Se… Serena…” All of a sudden, my mother’s voice stuns me to the core. She sounds groggy as if she is still in pain, but it’s her voice at long last. She is awake, thank goodness. “Serena, you’re here. You came for me.”

  Immediately, as soon as I spot her open eyes, I wrap my arms around her and embrace her with all the love that I feel inside. I have always adored my mother, even when she hasn’t been strong, and finally without David leaning over us I can set that free. I can finally be the daughter that I have always wanted to be.

  “Of course I came for you, Mom. As soon as you called me, I got a ride to see you. That was so scary…”

  “I’m so sorry.” Her tone is cracking, the emotion is getting to her as well, I can hear it. “I’m sorry that I called you, I just didn’t know what else to do. I was stuck. I shouldn’t have brought you into this mess any more than you already have been. I made you grow up in this hell, I shouldn’t have taken you from your escape.”

  “Mom, what are you talking about?” I gasp desperately. “I want you to call me. I want to help you… I just don’t ever want to see you like that again. That was the hardest thing ever. I thought… I thought…”

  I can’t tell her that I thought she was dead, but I think that she reads between the lines and understands it anyway. She nods slowly with a few tears dripping down her cheeks as the impact of this hits her.

  “He has been getting worse, Serena. He has been unbearable. I can’t keep being scared of him, it’s too much for me now. I have spent far too long living in sheer terror and I can’t stand it anymore. I need to get out.”

  “Are you serious?” I stiffen up, too afraid to really accept this answer. “Because I don’t want you to say it now and later go back to him. I can’t hack that, it will be too much for me. I can’t see you with him again, I can’t.”

  “I know, and I won’t make that happen. I won’t allow it. I won’t put you through it anymore.” Mom smiles weakly at me. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough to do it for myself, but for you I will do anything, my girl. I’m more just… just…” I hate seeing her choked up like this. I take her hand in mine. “I feel so bad for everything that I have put you through, Serena.”

  “Mom, I don’t want you to worry about the past now,” I tell her firmly. “If you get lost in guilt then it will derail you. The past has happened, there isn’t anything that we can do about it. But the future we can change. If you can really get yourself away from that man, then everything will be forgiven.” She doesn’t look convinced. “Mom, come and see my life when you get out of here. Come and see how well I’m doing. I honestly don’t need you to worry anymore, it hasn’t affected me so badly that I haven’t been able to grow. I am doing pretty well for myself.”

  “You are?” She clasps her free hand to her mouth. “I have been so worried about you. I wanted to call you so many times but I wasn’t allowed. I have been thinking about you all the time though. Every single day when you were not there.”

  “I’ve been thinking about you as well.” I squeeze her hand. “All the time. I have wanted you with me every single day, and now… well now, maybe you can be. If you want? It might be nice to give you a break.”

  She doesn’t get a chance to give me an answer because someone must have alerted the police to my mother being awake. They want to get a fresh statement from her as soon as she comes back to life and now they have a chance. I stare at Mom, wondering if this is what she wants to do right now, but she nods and indicates for me to leave.

  “I just need to think this through,” she tells me quietly. “I need no distractions so I can get it all out.”

  I have a feeling that she actually wants me gone because she’s finally going to be honest with everything and she doesn’t want me to hear how bad it is. I’m trusting her now, believing that she isn’t going to turn her back on me and let David run free because she has finally opened up to me and let me see the truth of her. Well, a bit of it anyway.

  “I will just be outside,” I inform her, reassuringly and a little bit as a warning as well. “Call me when you are done.”

  It almost kills me to slide out of the room, but I do it because I know that it’s what my mother wants. I stand close to the door to see what I can hear, but unfortunately the doors are too thick. I suppose it is to keep patients’ lives private, so I can’t get anything. Instead, I will just have to hope and pray that finally my mother has come to her senses.

  “Hey.” A soft voice makes me jump. A chocolaty smooth voice that lures me in. I’m shocked to turn and see Will sitting in the hallway just waiting for me. I thought that he had gone back home. “How are things?”

  His soft smile is so sweet, I can really feel how much he cares about me here. It’s almost overwhelming. As I look at him right now, I can’t help but wonder why the hell I ever turned my back on him. How could I put my career over love? Especially with a man as incredible as Will. A man who offered me his everything.

  “Erm, Mom is good,” I reply quietly. “She’s awake now and talking to the police. I think that this time she is telling the truth. I’m hoping that it will be enough for him to be locked away behind bars for long.”

  His eyes widen in surprise. He’s shocked and he’s only been in this mess for a few hours. He hasn’t experienced all the back and forth for years. Will seems to get it far more than I thought he ever could, having not been through it himself. “Wow, that’s really good news. I hope she does because with our statements and what the police saw, there is plenty of evidence to get him l
ocked away. You might never have to see him again.”

  That sounds too good for words. I love the idea. I want David out of my existence forever. Life without David isn’t something that I have ever been through before, that I can remember anyway, but it’s something that I look forward to. But it all hinges on my mother’s strength and I really hope that it’s there.

  “We can only hope.” I move and sit beside Will because I don’t know what else to do while I wait. “Anyway, why are you still here? You don’t need to be here now. You have done more than enough for my family.”

  “I am not leaving you, Serena. I don’t think you understand how much I care for you.” He throws his arm causally around my shoulder. It isn’t a romantic gesture, more just a sweet friendly one, but my heart races like crazy. “I will be there with you no matter what. You might not need me anymore, but you may want me.”

  I do kinda want him here actually, this is really nice of him, and it’s also pretty crazy that none of this has scared him away. Without putting too much thought into how it might be perceived because I don’t think that Will is too focused on that either, I rest my head on his shoulder and lean on him for just a moment. He is always there for me, isn’t he? When I need him the most, Will Brent never lets me down. There has to be something in that, it makes him even more important to me… but now isn’t the time or place to get myself all worked up in knots about it. There will be plenty of time for that.

  “Thank you,” I whisper quietly, smiling ever so slightly to myself. “I appreciate it, Will. You have no idea.”

  Chapter 18 – William

  “Are you sure this is okay?” Serena whispers to me for what feels like the hundredth time. “I don’t want to put you through all of this. You have already done so much for us, we don’t want to take anymore from you, Will…”

  “Serena, I want you here.” I step out of the car and wrap my arms comfortingly around her when she does the same thing. I don’t know exactly what we are at the moment, there isn’t exactly anything solid between us, but we have become a lot more comfortable with slight physical contact with one another these days. “By the way, this is only my weekend house anyway.” I point towards the mansion and her eyes pop wide in surprise. “I don’t spend a lot of time here because it’s much too big for one person so it will be nice to have some noise in the place.”

  “Wow, this is something else.” She rests her hands on her hips and stares at the building in awe. “I can’t believe that you have this incredible place, yet you spend most of the time at the apartment. I mean, I guess I get it because of the distance, it’s much easier to get to work when it’s just around the corner, but this is incredible.”

  “I won’t be going back to the apartment this week when you are here,” I reassure her. “Like I said to you, the distance has always been a bit of a bitch, but I want to be around for you and your mom.”

  We both look at Maria in the car to see her fiddling with her brand new cell phone, trying her hardest to get used to it. I feel sorry for her past but everything is new for her now, she is about to try and get used to a new life without the man who has been around her for years, even if he is a scum bag. It will be different for her without him. I’m sure she will struggle with it for a while but eventually she will see that life is so much better without him around.

  “David might be in jail,” Serena sighs. “But she’s still afraid. She might not be saying it to me out loud, but I can tell. She has become a wreck because of him and I think it’s going to take her a while to recognize that she doesn’t have to be afraid anymore. So, I am so grateful for you letting us stay with you. This is a house that David doesn’t know, it’s far away from everything that Mom is used to, and it has good security as well.”

  “Oh, for sure.” I cock my head to one side and smile. “You guys will be very safe here. Nothing to worry about.”

  “That’s why this is so great.” She takes my hand in hers. “And, I can’t thank you enough.”

  There is something sizzling and burning in the air between us, the elements of our intense chemistry is coming back, but I need to be careful because I’m the one who still want her and she is the one who put a downer on us. She wanted to put us on hold because of the work situation, so if anything is going to happen between us it has to be up to her. I turn away and open the door so Maria can come out and join us, so the tension dissipates.

  “Shall we go inside?” I ask with a smile. “So, I can show you to your rooms and you can get to know the house.”

  “This is very kind of you,” Maria declares as I take her inside. “I appreciate it a lot. I will do whatever I can to make it up to you for this. I will clean and cook, I will… I don’t know, I will thank you somehow though.”

  I chuckle and let her know that I don’t expect anything of the sort from her. I did overhear them talking in the hospital about what they were going to do next. Serena asked her mom to come and stay with her, but Maria freaked out and said that David might be able to find her there because he knows the address. Plus, there wouldn’t be enough room in the apartment for the pair of them, which is why it immediately came to me to offer them place to stay at my weekend mansion. I didn’t even need to consider it, it was immediately perfect, they were shocked initially but agreed.

  I certainly don’t want anything from Serena and Maria. I just want to help them as much as I can.

  Now, as I take them inside the house I couldn’t be happier. They already bring a warmth into the house that hasn’t ever been here before. I didn’t even know that they were missing, but now I realize that my house won’t be the same without them in it again. Especially Serena, I knew from the very first moment that I saw her, she was special, but the more time that I spend with her and in all kinds of situations, I like her more and more.

  I might even be falling for her. In fact, I’m definitely falling for her, which is wild, especially when she hasn’t shown me any sign that she feels the same way. That doesn’t mean I can stop my feelings though.

  “Here is the living room,” I say as we walk through the house. “Feel free to use whatever you want in here. The TV remotes are all there, and they are easy to get the hang of, so whatever you want to watch, you can. Then this is the kitchen… oh, and the takeout food is here, I’m sure that you guys must be hungry so we can eat that whenever we are done here.” Serena’s eyes almost pop out of her head as we go through all of the other rooms downstairs, especially when she sees the size of my office and library. I don’t think she knew how wealthy I truly was. I hope that this doesn’t change the way that she sees me. “Now, let’s go up the stairs so I can show you the bedrooms.”

  Maria waits in her room for a while as she unpacks some of her things and settles in. I would love to be taking Serena to my bedroom, to know that me and her will have the chance to share a bed once more, but instead I have her in the room next to me. It might be torture, but I’m used to living next door. So close but yet so far.

  “Okay, so I will wait downstairs for you.” I point backwards and edge away from her, but I keep my eyes fixed on Serena’s the whole time. I can’t seem to stop myself. “I will get the food sorted out, come and join me when you’re ready. And if you need anything, please let me know. I will do whatever I can for you…”

  “Thank you, this is all so lovely.” Her eyes well up. “Me and Mom couldn’t be happier.”

  There is a giant smile on my face as I walk down the stairs, the happiest expression that I have managed in a very long time. I like being close with Serena once more, I prefer it when those barriers of hers are down, it gives me hope all over again. Hope that me and her could maybe get things back on track.

  As I plate up the food, I get some messages from the office, asking for my advice on certain things. I haven’t been in to work for a while, and to be honest I really do need to get back there. I trust all of my staff and everything, but I haven’t left things to run on their own accord for such a long period of time
and I would feel much better if I could just check in on everything to make sure that all is good. I think that it might be a good idea to give Maria and Serena some time to get adjusted to this anyway. It might be a bit weird with me hanging over them.

  But I wait until after lunch because I’m utterly ravenous after the last few days and the long drive that I’ve just had and also because I don’t want to seem like I’m just driving them in and ditching. I’m enjoying spending time with Serena and her mother anyway, they are such sweet and lovely people.

  “I need to pop in to office for a little bit,” I say discretely to Serena once we are all done. “But please, I want you and your mom to make yourselves at home here. After everything that Maria has been through…”

  “Do you need me to come to work as well? It’s been a long time. I know that you said about me having time off, but I don’t want to neglect the job even more. I shouldn’t when I have only just started.”

  “Actually, I was thinking that I would get you a laptop and you could work from here. If that works for you?” I know that she needs the work experience and the money as well. Plus, I want to keep her working for me because she is such a great employee, but she needs to be around for her mother. Also, if she doesn’t have to work in the office then maybe she will calm down when it comes to me and her… maybe. “Then you can be around for your mom?”

  “You would do that for me? Seriously?” she gasps in surprise at me. “That would be amazing, because I don’t want to leave my mother alone right now. I don’t know if she will be able to handle it. She seems like she’s doing okay, but I can tell that she’s panicked as well. I’m worried that this will all be too much for her if I go…”

  “Exactly. So, that’s what we will do. I will go now, but come back with a computer.”