Chapter 4

 

Henry

 

What was happening? I’d heard friendly chatter coming from the usually quiet kitchen. Usually in a morning, once she’d served me my coffee and toast, Mary left me to my laptop, cell or the morning news. But today, the kitchen seemed more, well, alive. I took in how happy Mary was when Amelia had thanked her for her breakfast and then here I was, forced to eat one myself.

And I had to admit, it was delicious.

Ashley, my main assistant, would have no doubt alerted my team that I’d been kidnapped or had had a mental breakdown, as I never failed to show for a meeting, never rearranged anything.

When Amelia had said she might not stick around long, I had thrown caution to the wind. I didn’t remember the last time I’d had a vacation. Maybe I could open a few windows in my schedule so I could spend some time catching up on what had happened with Vee’s family.

Amelia sat on a stool with her hair tied back, looking fresh-faced and comfortable, like she’d lived here her whole life, not arrived the evening before. With a guest robe from her bathroom wrapped over what appeared to be pajamas, she seemed in no rush to go anywhere or do anything.

“So what are your plans for the day, Amelia?” I asked her.

“Well, I have an interview this afternoon.”

“Really? Where?”

She tapped the side of her nose. “I’ll tell you if I get it. So, this morning I’m trying to keep zen about the whole thing. If it’s meant to be I’ll get it, right?” She accepted another cup of coffee from Mary. “And after that, I have no plans, so I’ll probably come back here and annoy Mary while she fixes dinner.”

“Anything in particular you’d like?” Mary asked her.

“Hey, you’re mine, not hers.” I laughed.

“Can we have steak and fries?” Amelia asked.

“Okay, listen to the girl.” I said, “steak and fries and some of that gorgeous tasting re-fried beans thing you do, oh and salsa.”

“You like my re-fried beans and the salsa?” Mary asked.

“Beautiful.”

“Mary didn’t know you liked anything she cooked you. Did you never tell her?” said Amelia.

I noticed Mary hung her head low, no doubt embarrassed by Amelia’s brashness.

I sat back and thought about it. “Do you know, probably not. I’m either home after Mary’s left, which is ninety-five percent of the time, or I’m still thinking about work.”

“Henry Carter, you’re a jerk. Apologize to Mary immediately.”

I got down off my stool and stood, head bowed, next to my red-faced housekeeper who was shaking her head at Amelia. I grabbed her hand. “Mary, I apologize wholeheartedly for my ignorance. Your food is amazing and I especially love your re-fried beans and salsa. Would you do me the honor of preparing these tonight?”

“Oh, God, I think I liked quiet H, better.” Joked Mary.

“H?” Amelia asked.

“That’s what everybody calls me.” I told her.

“Why?”

I shrugged. “A nickname. To keep things professional.”

“Well, I’m not calling you that. Your name’s always been Henry to me.” She said, and I saw tears threatening her eyes.

I placed down my cutlery.

“Mary, that was exquisite, but I really must leave now.” I hopped off the stool. “Good luck with the interview, Amelia.” I shouted back into the room.

I drove to the office cursing. I was letting this girl, this woman, get to me. Why? Because of her connection to my past? She was already changing things, blurring the lines. My God, I’d breakfasted with my housekeeper this morning. The traffic lights changed to red, and I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel. Amelia was already starting to bring Henry back, but hadn’t he left a long time ago, along with his wife?

Having driven to the headquarters of Carter Property Enterprises, I threw my keys at the valet and headed up to the twenty-third floor. Situated a floor below Club S, it was easy to keep an eye on both businesses from here. Only a privileged few knew what happened on the floor above.

“What’s my schedule, Ashley?” I asked as I walked in. She picked up her iPad and rushed into the office after me.

“Macy’s bringing your coffee, Mr Carter, as I wasn’t sure what time you’d be in.”

“That’s fine. Now remind me of what fun is in store today. Please tell me I’m buying property. I’m in a spending mood.”

Ashley looked at me warily, and I realized I’d probably never joked around with her before in the slightest. In fact I would never have asked her about my schedule because I always knew exactly what I was doing from day to day. I was going to find a four o’clock appointment booked with a shrink if I didn’t explain myself.

“I have family over. Kinda family anyway. It’s caused some disruption to my usual discipline.”

“Right.” There’s no mistaking the relief on Ashley’s face that I’m not having a breakdown or been abducted by aliens.

“Well, you are seeing Aidan at eleven and then from one pm it’s the interviews for your Deputy position.”

“That’s today? Shoot. Let me see the files as soon as possible please.”

“Yes, Sir. Anything else?”

“Yeah. Can you arrange for a selection of donuts to be here along with a good strong coffee for when Mr Hall arrives. He has a sweet tooth.”

“Already done, Mr Carter.”

“Thank you, Ashley.” I told her, wondering now if I’ve ever thanked her for what she does either. “I’m very grateful for everything you do to keep me in order. Get yourself a coffee and donut too, okay?”

“Yes, Sir,”

“And please call me H when there’s no one else around, just Mr. Carter in front of other people in a professional capacity.”

“Yes, Sir, I mean, H.” She rushed from the room.

I sat back and let out a hearty laugh. I had to admit that watching the bemused faces of my staff as I acted a little human around them was kind of entertaining. Then I realized that up until now I must have seemed like some kind of robot and suddenly it was not as funny as before.

I searched through the three applications of the interviewees. They all had merit. All three had no identifiable information, so that there was no bias before interview. I had asked Aidan to sit in on the interviews along with Katy, a member of my human resources department so that I had an extra business opinion. Ultimately, if this person was going to be my second-in-command I’d need to be able to trust them and also get along with them, albeit on a professional level.

I walked into the interview room with Aidan and Katy and the first two interviews went fine although a gut feeling told me neither was suitable. As a businessman, gut feeling went a long way, you seemed to develop an inbuilt suspicion of people. “Okay,” said Katy, “I’ll go and fetch Lia.”

And then there she was in front of me, wearing a navy suit and looking the height of professionalism. Her blonde hair tied up in a bun, Amelia had on a white blouse, simple jewelry and carried herself with confidence. She walked over and shook all three of our hands and thanked us for interviewing her before she took her seat. The only hint at nerves came from her taking a sip of water from the glass placed in front of her by Aidan.

I looked over her application again. She’d worked for an estate agents for the last few years, selling exclusive properties in the Hampton’s. She’d taken a business degree at University. Clever girl. I had severely underestimated Amelia, imagining her to be the spoiled daughter of overprotective parents.

Her interview was flawless and then she was asked to leave and that we would let her know our decision later that day.

I told Katy I’d be in touch, and Aidan followed me back to my office where I poured us both a scotch before I sat behind my desk.

“Well,” Aidan loosened his tie. “I know which one I’d be choosing, though I’d be distracted wondering what she looked like with that hair swinging while she sucked my dick.”

“Amelia is Vee’s younger sister. Well, half-sister.” I told him.

His jaw dropped. Aidan was rarely speechless, but this time it took him a good couple minutes before he found his voice again.

“Holy fucking shit. Did you know?”

I sighed. “Not one clue and she arrived at my house last night. Mary put her in the spare room. I had breakfast with her this morning. She asked if I’d take some time to show her around Manhattan this week. Said she’d come to look for a job. Said she had an interview this afternoon. Failed to mention it was for my company.”

“Sly. I like it.” He said.

“You keep away from Amelia.” I shot back.

He held his hands up in surrender. “Dude. Heard loud and clear. How old is she anyway?”

I sat and thought about it. “Twenty-three I think. She was nine when Vee passed.”

“Well, H. Wake the fuck up, man. She’s going to be dating or doing dirty stuff with men by this age so maybe you can cut me some slack and maybe let me take your sister-in-law out one night, for just dinner of course.”

For some reason my neck stiffened. I didn’t want to imagine Amelia like that. Like how Aidan and I viewed the women at the club. Of course at twenty-three she wouldn’t be the innocent I seemed to picture her as.

“No. At least not right now. Let her get settled. So, what do you think? Do I give her the job?”

“You’d be a fool not to. She has all the right qualifications and you know her. You know you can trust her?”

I nodded. “I think so.”

“Then that goes a hell of a long way. You need someone assisting as soon as possible unless you’re finally going to see sense and hand over that club to me.”

I gave him a wry look.

“Can’t fault a man for trying, and I’m going to keep trying.” Aidan sat back, his hands behind his head. “I want to be the King of the sex world. I want clubs. There’s my movie business now. I’m setting up my publishing company for books like Fifty Shades, capitalizing on Mummy Porn. Going to make movies for women. I’d have a women’s fantasy night at the club.”

“You have it all worked out.” I smiled.

“Yeah, I just need the club.” He whined.

“Maybe soon Aidan. Just leave it with me. I have a lot to think about.”

“Seriously?” Once again Aidan looked speechless. “I didn’t honestly think you’d ever give up that club.”

“Me neither, but I’m having some kind of midlife crisis this week. Pondering the meaning of life and what I want to do with the rest of it. I’m wondering if Amelia’s been sent as some kind of sign from the universe that I need to get my shit together.”

I noticed Aidan bit his lip.

“Out with it. What are you wanting to say?”

He cleared his throat. “Look, man, I never had a wife. Had a couple serious relationships but never took them anywhere near that level. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to lose someone you love that suddenly.”

I looked at my desk, the paperwork had become more interesting.

“I know we don’t speak like this, but H, I’m in agreement with fate here and I don’t even admit to believing in that shit, but if you have a second-in-command, you should have more time available to you once she’s trained, to either take the business further or to take more of a backseat, and if she’s hanging around for a while, it’s a bit of company rather than you sitting in that apartment all on your lonesome all the time.”

I nodded.

“Does she know about the club?”

“No. Let’s keep it that way for now.”

Aidan sighed. “Do you think that’s a good idea? Someone is bound to mention it to her.”

I sat for a while with my chin in my hand while I thought things through. “I’ll tell her this week. We need to get to know each other better, and I need to explain the property side of the business to her. But the club side can wait. For a few days at least.”

“Okay, man. You’re the boss.”

“Thanks for sitting in with me, Aidan. As it turned out I didn’t need the extra opinion but I appreciate it just the same.”

“Anytime. Will you be at the club later?”

“No. I’m going to keep it on the down low the next couple days. Until I get Amelia settled in. Now she has a job she might want to get her own place. I’ll see if there’s anything I have that could be suitable. Then I promised to show her around Manhattan. It’s going to be a busy few days.”

“Well, I’ll keep an eye on my potential future business for you.” He winked.

“Go for it. Organize that women’s night if you want.”

“Not a chance. Not until that baby is in my name.”

I laughed.

“Right. Thanks for the drink.” Aidan got to his feet, reached over and shook my hand. “You try to relax a little over the next few days and why not take note of the fact you have an attractive young blonde to spend time with? Things are looking up, bro.”

“She’s my wife’s younger sister.”

“Half-sister, right? And looking isn’t a crime. Hell, not looking at her is a crime.”

“Okay, you’ve outstayed your welcome. Out you go.”

“Gorgeous breasts,” he mouthed in the doorway, while miming running his hands over them. As the door closed behind him I gulped down the rest of my scotch and poured another.

Too much was happening, my brain felt like it was on a waltzer, and I needed an hour or so to get my head together. However, I also needed to call Katy to let her know Amelia was our choice, and then I had back-to-back meetings all afternoon.

Like I’d done with so much of my life, I had to shut my thoughts down and hide them inside of me for another time.

 

When my working day was over, I felt like hitting the gym. However, I needed to head home for steak, fries, re-fried beans and salsa.

I was pleased to find out that Amelia was seated in the kitchen. I hated the formality of the dining room and rarely ever used it. Amelia was still dressed in her interview clothes, her hair still up.

“Miss Porter.”

“Sorry about that, Henry. I didn’t know how to play it, but I wanted to be interviewed and accepted on my own merits, hence I put a different surname on my application and called myself Lia.”

“Yes, when you’re expecting a Lia Porter, it’s a bit of a shock when Amelia Wilson walks in for an interview.”

She smiled, a wide, face engulfing smile. She didn’t give a damn. “Your face.” Then she laughed, heartily.

She hopped off her stool and added steaks to the pan.

“That’s Mary’s job.” I told her.

“Mary did everything else. These needed cooking fresh. I wasn’t making her stay to do that when I’m perfectly capable of cooking them myself.”

I looked through some post while she cooked. She put a plate of food in front of me. I stood and got some water for the table.

“No wine tonight?” She asked.

“I’ll be going to the gym later.”

“Oh yes, I remember now. I’ll come too.”

I started to feel annoyed. It was only her second day here and now Amelia was in my apartment, at my place of work and now she wanted to accompany me to the gym. It was like a noose tightening around my neck. I needed space.

“So, can I now ask you the interview questions I wanted to ask but human resources would never have let me?” I stated.

“Sure.” Amelia started to cut her steak.

“Question number one. Why do you want to work in property and work for me?”

Amelia finished chewing and swallowing the food in her mouth and then she placed her fork down.

“My sister loved property, and she loved you. I didn’t know what to do with my life. I had/have no real interest in a career to be truthful. I did my business degree and then decided to try working with property. To see if I could discover what Vee had found so amazing. I enjoyed working at the realtor’s, but I wouldn’t say it was a passion. I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those. So, I decided I’d come and work where she worked, for the company she foundered. I’ve followed you on the internet for years. I saw the job advert. Decided it was like fate. I was meant to come here. I’ll be brilliant at it. You won’t regret hiring me.”

“But you don’t love it. Property?”

“Well that’s yet to be seen because I’ve not worked for you before, but I’ve never been all consumed by a career before, no.”

“So why do you think that is? Maybe you should pick out your own career rather than trying to emulate your sisters footsteps.” I snapped, irritated by her answers.

“Are you angry I’ve copied her, Henry?”

“I know you’re not Vee.”

“Ouch. I’ve certainly been made aware of that many times in my life, H. Thanks very much for the reminder.”

She called me H, no doubt an insult to the years post-Vee. She hopped down off the stool. As she walked past me I grabbed her shoulder.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Amelia. What I meant was, what is the point of trying to see if you like the career path Vee liked? Why not do what you want to do? You must have a passion of your own.”

“Yes. I want to be a mom. I want to have babies. That’s my passion.”

I flinched.

“But you kind of need a man in your life for families, and I’ve only ever met complete jerks.” She stared me directly in the eyes. “I know you’re not ready to talk about Vee, Henry. But I’m trying to gain some closure on what happened to my sister. I’m sick of living under a dark cloud about it all. I’m not dead. Everyone wants me to live half a life. I’m going to give this job my utter attention and professionalism. I owe it to my sister to carry on her dream, just like you’ve been doing. No more holding that burden all on your own, Henry. I’m here whether you like it or not.”

“Please sit back down, Amelia, and finish your meal.”

She reversed and sat back on her stool. “I don’t know how long I’ll stay in the post, but I’ll make a difference while I’m there, and I’ll stay to fully train someone else if I leave.”

“You start tomorrow. There’ll be no cooked breakfast. You’ll meet me in my office at eight am sharp. I won’t go lightly on you because you’re family. You’ve a job to do. I need an assistant. I’m too busy. There’ll be early starts and late finishes. I’m a workaholic. It’s what’s kept me going over the years. I kept the property business going as it was what Vee and I developed together. But I’m considering my future and whether I’m staying in business. So we turn up, do our best work then go home and take one day at a time. If there’s one thing I learned from what happened with Vee, there’s no guarantee of the future, so I live in the moment.”

“Don’t you want to remarry, Henry? Have a family someday?”

“And risk it happening all over again?”

“The chances of a future wife having a brain tumor must be the same as those of a lottery win, surely?”

“Leave it, Amelia.”

“Don’t you want children?” She repeated.

“Yes I wanted children.” I finally exploded. “But when you lose a son in the womb, along with your wife, that kind of fucks things up a little. It’s better to be who I am. Dead inside. I can’t get hurt again that way.”

“Wh-what do you mean, Henry? When did you lose a child?”

I looked at Amelia in horror. Her face was pale and her lips trembled.”

“Vee was pregnant. Surely you knew that? She was four and a half months along.”

Amelia shook her head. “I don’t remember that, Henry. Did she tell me that? Did I know? Have I blocked it out?”

I shook my head. “I can’t answer that. I don’t know.”

“She would have told me she was having a baby, wouldn’t she? I’d have been so excited to get a baby niece or nephew. There has to be some explanation. There has to be.” She let out a squeal of anguish. “You lost your wife and a son. Your future. I’m so sorry, Henry. So, so sorry.”

I got down from my stool and wrapped my arms around her as she cried on my shoulder. She cried for me and what I’d lost as well as for the confusion she’d grown up with.

At that point I wished she’d never come here, but I held on to her just the same until she stopped.

I backed away from her.

“I’m not going to the gym, Amelia. I’m going to head off to a bar for an hour. It’s been a bit heavy. Why don’t you go lie down in your room and we’ll talk some more tomorrow? I’ll see you in the office at eight.”

“Okay.” She sniffed and left the room.

I changed my shirt, which was wet from her tears, and I drove to the club.

At the bar I downed three scotches in quick succession, and then I looked in all the rooms. I found one where a woman was in the room alone wearing a mask. Her bracelet was black with silver stars meaning she wanted to play. I guessed someone had just left her. She was lying on the bed, her legs open while her own hand strummed her clit. I went over to the bed and took over. I played with her pussy until she was on the brink of orgasm and then I turned her over onto all fours and I plunged my cock deep inside her. She groaned, whether with passion or faking it, I didn’t give a damn. I thrust into her, pent up rage making me rough. I pinched her nipples hard with one hand while my other fisted in her hair, holding her in place as I thrust into her again and again until she climaxed around my cock. I turned her over again to face me and pulled her mask up until her mouth was uncovered and then I jerked off until my hot sticky cum spurted and hit her mouth and chin. I didn’t stay to help her clean up. I felt both satisfied and unsatisfied as I moved away from the bed. I cleaned myself up and went back to the bar.

Sometimes I felt it was so much easier for those who died than those left behind. My oblivion was short lived. Alcohol wore off.