31 Days of Winter by C. J. Fallowfield Read Free Book Online

he can’t
hear.’
    ‘Shit, how are you going to get out without him
knowing?’
    ‘I’ll figure something out.’
    ‘I need my clothes and the new laptop, too.’
    ‘Don’t worry, stealth is my middle name. I’ll be
there as soon as I can, ok?’
    I reminded her of my room number and hung up. This
was all a bit much, Zac had driven her home and was waiting in her house? What
had I got her mixed up in? I pulled on a t-shirt and climbed into the bed
feeling tired and shivery. As soon as my head hit the pillow I started to cry,
gut wrenching sobs. I cried for the life I’d lost and the life I’d dreamed of having,
but now never would. I cried until my eyes felt dry and gritty as the Sahara
desert and when my breathing calmed down, pulled the duvet over my head and
fell asleep.
     
    ‘O babe,’ I heard as I felt a hand sweep over my
hair.
    ‘Brooke?’ I mumbled as I opened my eyes to see her
smiling down at me.
    ‘I’m here, Zac free. You couldn’t wait for me to
arrive before you had a melt down?’
    ‘I’m sorry, it just happened. How did you get
away?’
    ‘Got your case and bags ready and snuck them in
the kitchen, booked a taxi and then told him I couldn’t find my mobile and that
I must have dropped it in his car. When he went out to check, I locked him out
and legged it out the back. And I looked to make sure he hadn’t followed the
taxi too, he has no idea where we are, though he’s left a few annoyed messages
on my phone.’
    ‘You’re amazing,’ I smiled as I sat up and gave
her a big hug. ‘Give me your phone and I’ll block him.’
    ‘You can do that?’ she exclaimed.
    ‘Ermmm, yes.’
    ‘God, I’ll give you a whole list of names to
block, that’ll make my life a lot easier.’
    I laughed and took the phone and told her to go and
unpack and charge my new laptop, and then ring room service again and order us
some food while I blocked the long list of callers she wanted to avoid.

Day Four

    Ellie
    Brooke dropped me off
outside the office at seven-thirty and earned herself a raised eyebrow from me
as she wheel spun away and headed off in Maisie to fetch the cases from Mike’s
to take back to hers. I stood on the pavement outside and looked up at the tall
building in front of me and closed my eyes trying to find my centre of calm
before walking in and nodding to security. Four years I’d worked here, every
time I came in I’d nod to him, and did I ever get a nod back? I wondered if he
was related to the Captain. The only thing that had cheered me up this morning,
other than the exquisite croissants I’d had for breakfast, was the fact that by
the end of the day I’d be able to put a face to the sexy voice that had me in a
tizz for hours after I spoke to him on Saturday. I looked down at myself as I
went up in the lift. I’d dressed in a pair of heels, black skinny jeans, a
sheer emerald blouse and a black jacket, and had taken a bit more time with my
hair and makeup than normal. Brooke had laughed at the effort I was making.
    ‘Don’t know why you’re bothering,’ she’d said.
‘He’ll be like one of those sex line people. They sound incredibly sexy on the
phone, when in reality they’re some fat sweating bald guy with no teeth, who’s
probably taking a shit while reading off a script.’ She was probably right, but
a not so tiny portion of me really hoped that she wasn’t.
    I stepped out into the lobby of our publishing
firm and smiled sadly when I looked at the reception desk and realised I wasn’t
going to see Natasha to say goodbye. I sat at her desk and ran my hand over the
smooth polished wood, taking a second for the enormity of the moment to catch
up with me, then wrote her an apology letter, sealed it in an envelope and
propped it up on her keyboard. I stood and mentally psyched myself up for the
battle of my life, and walked through to the Captain’s Office.
    ‘You’re early,’ he commented without even looking
up. I looked at my watch, I was an hour and