Chapter 10

He took his time saying goodbye to her, having spent the weekend with her.

“When will I see you again?” she asked huskily as they stood at the front door together.

Dean sighed and rubbed lightly at his stubbled cheek. “I have a mother of a week this week ... lots of appointments and meetings; and I have to go away on Thursday and probably won’t get back until Monday – If I am lucky.”

Shelly swallowed down the disappointment and smiled up at him. “So much responsibility – I do hope that your boss appreciates you.”

He gave a short laugh. “Not enough I am beginning to think!”

He sighed again as he draped his arms loosely around her. “This is my most busy week, but after this, things are starting to slow down, and I shall definitely not make any more new appointments until the New Year.”

“I hope that you can do that. I would hate to think you were doing this just for me?” Shelly asked worriedly.

He smiled in reassurance. “No, I’ve put in the work and then some; no one will argue with me if I decide to slow down a bit.”

She smiled back with relief, and he realised that her concern for him was genuine – something he’d not had for a long time.

“I can’t see you for a little while, but I will call you each and every evening until I can see you again.”

He leaned down to kiss her again and Shelly felt that her whole world was exactly as it should be. She was right where she needed to be, and for the first time she silently thanked her ex for his infidelity.

Where ever he was – good luck and good riddance to him.

Dean was as good as he promised, as every single evening he called at seven o’clock dead on and they sat and talked for an hour or so.

They talked about where he was at that moment, or who he had dealt with that day, they talked about her mother who also phoned Shelly on a regular basis and, he always ended their conversation with a husky. “I miss you.”

The week limped on and the weekend dragged by, and finally it was Monday again, and yesterday Dean had told her that he would call around to see her this evening.

She got up early and showered and then dressed carefully – as she thought about Dean, and his first sight of her again after a week.

She smiled as she dressed; she remembered their lovemaking, and the things he had said to her. And the one thing she could not seem to forget was his flippant threat. It has excited her more than anything for a long time now, and she could not seem to forget it. She forced her erotic thoughts to order; she had to go to work first and she needed her mind to be on her job.

Shelly had a very good Monday at work. She was pulled in to assist Mrs Cynthia Baker, one of the firm’s senior accountants on a large job, and during their lunch break they chatted together amicably.

“You are very good at getting to the details of a job,” Cynthia smiled across at her. “And you are very quick on the keyboard, as well as being deadly accurate – which is perhaps more important.”

“Thank you,” Shelly murmured self-consciously.

“Now, I know that you cover a lot of the bookkeeping at the moment, but I am also aware that you are studying for your accountancy as well.”

She had never made any secret of her studies and so she simply nodded her head in agreement.

Cynthia fixed her eyes on her suddenly.

“Can I ask ... what is your ultimate goal?”

Shelly hesitated for a moment, but then decided on honesty. “I hope to eventually set up on my own,” she said simply.

Cynthia smiled and nodded her head in approval. “Yes, I can see you doing that – and making a success of it.”

They finished their lunch in silence, and then went back to the job on hand, Cynthia looked at her again. “Now then if you can get the supplier invoices folder for e to f, and vouch them and tick them off against the supplier ledger...

They worked companionably all afternoon and it was with a sense of satisfaction that Cynthia said. “Great that’s that job complete, thank you Shelly for your assistance, you’ve halved the time it would have taken me on my own.”

She smiled at her warmly. “Now, if there is anything that I can do to assist you with your coursework – just come and let me know.”

“Thank you!” Shelly’s smile was surprised but just as warm, and the older woman thought just how pretty Shelly was.

She gave an envious little sigh as she watched Shelly pull on her coat ready to leave for the day.

‘Ah to be so young and so lovely – with everything in front of her!’

Shelly had everything to look forward to, whereas Cynthia whilst she wasn’t on the brink of retirement, she was not exactly a spring chicken either.

As she thought of her husband waiting at home for her, she smiled softly.

Her life had been good too, so she couldn’t grumble and she certainly would not begrudge Shelly anything – the younger woman was a hard and conscientious worker, and would earn everything she achieved. She was well liked by everyone at the firm and would be missed when she moved on – as she inevitably would, one day.

The parking where Shelly worked was all but non-existent with just enough spaces for the senior partners and a couple more for clients. However, there was a bus stop situated conveniently at the end of the road, which took her into the city centre, where she could hop on to another bus to get her home, or she could pop into any shops if she felt like it. And so, Shelly was happy to catch the buses morning and evening for work and home, even though it made her journey each way an hour or so long.

The day was almost at an end and the sun had pretty much given up for the day as she walked quickly down her quiet street.

Dean had been there for nearly ten minutes and he sat in his car watching as she walked towards him.

She was wearing a fitted little skirt today, with practical kitten heeled shoes that showed of her dainty feet.

She was wearing a thick parker coat on this chilly day but he could see her hair was scraped back into a no-nonsense French plait.

She looked so prim and proper as she came towards him that he could hardly believe it was the same woman, and try as he might he still could not forget her face when he made that thoughtless comment.