EIGHT - RICH

IT WAS ONLY WHEN I got to the office after dropping Joy off that I realised what I’d done. I’d left my phone in the lighthouse. I made a mental note to return to collect it that evening before calling the team into the boardroom. We needed to talk.

The meeting lasted the rest of the day but by the end of it, I had the next month planned out. Ed was going to submit the grant proposal to the National Park people, Mary was on top of the council assessment and I had the list of new starters to take home with me. Everyone else was ready to hit the ground running when they came in.

We’d only recently received enough of a cash injection to take on new people and expand, something I’d been itching to do for years.

I spent the last part of the working day trying to catch up with my to do list, finally leaving at eight with the hope of catching Larry in time. I got to the bay at nine but there was no sign of him. The boat was locked up tight in the shed and I didn’t have a key. I’d have to wait until the next day to get my phone back. I just hoped Joy hadn’t tried to phone yet. I had no way of finding out her number so having the office phone next to me most of the day was no help.

I thought about going back to her house but reasoned against it. There was interested and then there was appearing like a stalker. I’d speak to her on Sunday.

But it wasn’t to be. I was called out to the forest first thing on Sunday as one of the fences between a sheep field and the edge of the trees had fallen over in the night. The farmer wasn’t happy.

Technically, the fence was our responsibility and with his sheep straying into the forest, it needed sorting as quickly as possible. I stayed on site until the contractors got there but they were down one man so I had no choice but to give them a hand. That meant the entire day was spent rebuilding, the last hour spent working by the light of their van. I was worn out by the time I drove home and any thought of getting to the island was gone. The rain began as I was driving and by the time I got home, a hell of a storm meant the waves would be too much to risk for the sake of getting my phone, even if I could track down Larry.

At least the lighthouse was still up and running, I had no desire to be called out there again any time soon.

I lay on my back on the sofa for a little while when I got in, listening to the wind howling My mind filled with thoughts of Joy. I’d thought about her a lot that day, I’d thought about her a lot since dropping her off.

I knew she wanted me. I knew she wanted to be with me. What I didn’t know was why she didn’t admit it, why she’d tried to pretend to be indifferent, not to be as excited as I was.

She’d been hurt by people in her past, that much was obvious. But I wouldn’t do that to her. If she’d give me a chance, I’d show her just how well I would treat her, like the princess she was. Though if I had my way, she’d be a princess who didn’t wear panties too often.

I thought about the timeframe for Monday. Go in, get the new starters settled, show them the type of place I ran, then head over to the bay. Get my phone back and hopefully see a call from her. I could then ring her back and then, what then?

Then I would see her that night. Then I’d see that body of hers again and then, then we’d have the first of what would be many nights of love making. I had no intention of giving up on love, not when she made me feel things I’d never felt before. It was strange to think we’d been together for such a short space of time, she’d been in my head longer than I’d actually seen her in person.

My muscles ached as I climbed into bed with the last of the paperwork I needed for Monday. I didn’t want to run through it but it had to be done, the pressures of being in charge, I guessed.

It was when I was running my eye down the list of new starters that I smiled for the first time that day. We were meant to be together after all. I wasn’t a big believer in fate but the fact that her name was there told me everything I needed to know.

All of a sudden there was no rush to get my phone back. Instead, I just needed to wait until tomorrow. Then I could get what I needed more than anything, a chance to speak to her, to see that perfect smile of hers, feel those soft lips. She was going to be mine. She had to be mine. I needed her more than I’d ever needed anything.

It had happened suddenly, the need for her. I didn’t care about the suddenness. All that mattered was that it had happened. If we weren’t destined to be together, why would the universe have made sure she was given the job of admin assistant at the Trust? She’d be working directly under me.

The thought made my cock twitch as I pictured just how hot she would look under me, her pencil skirt raised above her hips, me sliding into her as she asked if this was how I greeted all the new staff. It was a daydream that kept me up long after I should have gone to sleep. It was still with me in my slumber, only dissolving when I fell into a deeper sleep, knowing that tomorrow we would be together. We had to be together.