composure.
“You’re welcome. Sorry if I disturbed your breakfast,” Lewis said.
“Oh, not at all. I’m done anyway. Gotta get to work.”
He took a large gulp of coffee and let out a satisfied belch.
“I’ve seen you in here before, I think. Perhaps you’ll let me buy you a drink later. You know, for not letting me choke to death.”
“Thanks. Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll be in here.”
“Rob Thornton. I’m the site manager over at Fosse Rise, the new development.” His handshake wasn’t as firm as Lewis expected.
“Lewis Carrington. Good to meet you, Rob. I won’t keep you if you want to get off.”
“Sure, yeah, well, I’ll see you later then.”
He grabbed his newspaper and shouted his thanks up the stairs before hurrying out into the overcast morning.
Pete came tumbling down the stairs, rolling a T-shirt over his large beer gut, only just restrained by an optimistically-sized pair of jeans.
“Lewis! Perfect day for it, mate. I’ve got some debris needs shifting into the skip out back if that’s OK? Gardening can be done when the weather’s better, eh? I wanna get the function room finished before the summer kicks off in earnest. You all right for fetching and carrying today?”
“Sure, no problems,” Lewis replied. “Just point me in the general direction.”
***
The rain had stopped but the heavy clouds meant that the humidity was high and the threat of further downpours was never far away.
Lewis stopped for a moment and mopped the sweat from his brow. How had his life come to this?
A painful memory resurfaced in his head. Annabelle, horizontal with her legs in the air, her skirt hitched up and around her waist and his father fucking her on his large, imposing leather-bound desk.
Acidic spittle gathered in his throat and he spat it out onto the ground. Whore! She had been broke when he persuaded his father to take her on as his PA. Freshly arrived into the UK from South Carolina, she needed a job to support her silicone-implants and cocktail-fuelled lifestyle and she found the Carrington family just to her liking. She and Lewis started dating in a matter of days, but Lewis didn’t have the head for business that his father expected and Annabelle clicked that his future was uncertain. It was the senior Carrington she really wanted; that was where the money lay.
Having said that, he had wondered why the previous assistant had left in such a hurry. Now he knew. His father had never cared about either him or his poor mother. As far as he knew, neither his father nor his spiteful sister Catherine ever visited Mrs Carrington. It was just as well. She didn’t know what was going on half the time and she needed calm and collected people around her. Lewis knew just how to sit with her, hold her hand and tell her stories. She would have wanted him to settle down with someone better than Annabelle. Despite her mental state, she would still have seen straight through her, he was certain.
Without warning, Emma’s face sprang to mind again. Now there was someone who was utterly grounded. She had her own share of problems, sure, but she wasn’t pretentious like Annabelle. She wasn’t expecting her Prince Charming to turn up with a fat bank balance and an expensive sports car. She wasn’t even looking for a Prince Charming right now.
A pang of regret stabbed his heart; she was emotionally vulnerable right now. He had allowed his sex drive to get the better of him while under the influence of alcohol. Hopefully, she wouldn’t hold it against him. She wasn’t exactly innocent though. Those beautiful sad eyes and her sensitivity were all part of her charm, and once he started taking off her clothes, she had just melted into him.
“Maybe I should paint Emma,” he said out loud, then shook his head and snorted. As if. After what happened last night, she probably wouldn’t want to see him again.
Chapter Thirteen
It was well after dark when Emma returned home. The moon was
“You’re welcome. Sorry if I disturbed your breakfast,” Lewis said.
“Oh, not at all. I’m done anyway. Gotta get to work.”
He took a large gulp of coffee and let out a satisfied belch.
“I’ve seen you in here before, I think. Perhaps you’ll let me buy you a drink later. You know, for not letting me choke to death.”
“Thanks. Yeah, that’d be great. I’ll be in here.”
“Rob Thornton. I’m the site manager over at Fosse Rise, the new development.” His handshake wasn’t as firm as Lewis expected.
“Lewis Carrington. Good to meet you, Rob. I won’t keep you if you want to get off.”
“Sure, yeah, well, I’ll see you later then.”
He grabbed his newspaper and shouted his thanks up the stairs before hurrying out into the overcast morning.
Pete came tumbling down the stairs, rolling a T-shirt over his large beer gut, only just restrained by an optimistically-sized pair of jeans.
“Lewis! Perfect day for it, mate. I’ve got some debris needs shifting into the skip out back if that’s OK? Gardening can be done when the weather’s better, eh? I wanna get the function room finished before the summer kicks off in earnest. You all right for fetching and carrying today?”
“Sure, no problems,” Lewis replied. “Just point me in the general direction.”
***
The rain had stopped but the heavy clouds meant that the humidity was high and the threat of further downpours was never far away.
Lewis stopped for a moment and mopped the sweat from his brow. How had his life come to this?
A painful memory resurfaced in his head. Annabelle, horizontal with her legs in the air, her skirt hitched up and around her waist and his father fucking her on his large, imposing leather-bound desk.
Acidic spittle gathered in his throat and he spat it out onto the ground. Whore! She had been broke when he persuaded his father to take her on as his PA. Freshly arrived into the UK from South Carolina, she needed a job to support her silicone-implants and cocktail-fuelled lifestyle and she found the Carrington family just to her liking. She and Lewis started dating in a matter of days, but Lewis didn’t have the head for business that his father expected and Annabelle clicked that his future was uncertain. It was the senior Carrington she really wanted; that was where the money lay.
Having said that, he had wondered why the previous assistant had left in such a hurry. Now he knew. His father had never cared about either him or his poor mother. As far as he knew, neither his father nor his spiteful sister Catherine ever visited Mrs Carrington. It was just as well. She didn’t know what was going on half the time and she needed calm and collected people around her. Lewis knew just how to sit with her, hold her hand and tell her stories. She would have wanted him to settle down with someone better than Annabelle. Despite her mental state, she would still have seen straight through her, he was certain.
Without warning, Emma’s face sprang to mind again. Now there was someone who was utterly grounded. She had her own share of problems, sure, but she wasn’t pretentious like Annabelle. She wasn’t expecting her Prince Charming to turn up with a fat bank balance and an expensive sports car. She wasn’t even looking for a Prince Charming right now.
A pang of regret stabbed his heart; she was emotionally vulnerable right now. He had allowed his sex drive to get the better of him while under the influence of alcohol. Hopefully, she wouldn’t hold it against him. She wasn’t exactly innocent though. Those beautiful sad eyes and her sensitivity were all part of her charm, and once he started taking off her clothes, she had just melted into him.
“Maybe I should paint Emma,” he said out loud, then shook his head and snorted. As if. After what happened last night, she probably wouldn’t want to see him again.
Chapter Thirteen
It was well after dark when Emma returned home. The moon was
Similar Books
