Broken Truth (8 page)

“I didn’t plan on it, but I have to work this morning,” he apologised. “Jared called me earlier. There have been some new developments on the Black Hawk project that he can’t handle. He needs me on a conference call with the clients at nine.”

 “What time is it?” she asked, hoping for at least another hour with him before he disappeared for the morning.

He sighed as he backed off of the bed and reached for his phone. “Sorry, Baby, but it’s almost nine - I’ve got to go.”

Hiding her instant disappointment from view, Charlie forced a smile and tried to make light of the situation by reminding him of their later engagements. “Don’t forget we are going out tonight, so you need to pick-up your dry cleaning.”

“Thanks. I’ll send John out to get it in a bit,” he called over his shoulder as he headed out of the bedroom towards his office.

With his back to her, Charlie let her guard down, allowing the hurtful feelings to bubble to the surface. She knew better than to think they could ever have a weekend without the interruptions of work. It was a large part of who Callum was and Charlie knew that she would always play second fiddle to that aspect of his life.

Watching Callum’s shadow disappear along the hallway, she whispered three words that no one but her and the lonely room could hear.

“I love you.”

Seven

Charlie’s feelings were starting to eat away at her from the inside. Having not spoken to Callum at all since his conference call which impressively managed to last all day, she was still feeling quite delicate and sensitive about his clear lack of thought for her. She wasn’t usually the type to hold a grudge against anyone, but today Callum was ranking pretty low in her list of priorities.

 As they pulled up outside of Zachary’s Bar and Lounge in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Callum dutifully paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi. Bracing a hand on the open door, he stretched his other hand inside towards Charlie.

“Let me help you,” he offered.

As much as she wanted to ignore him and purposely exit from the other door, Charlie reluctantly held onto her clutch and accepted his help. She figured that it wasn’t worth causing a scene in front of an innocent taxi driver. The world didn’t need to be involved in their relationship as it was better kept behind closed doors. For now she would act polite and make sure to play the doting girlfriend in public, no matter how hurt and upset she was feeling.

Gripping her hand firmly, Callum helped her to her feet. “Thank you,” she muttered, smoothing out the creases in her outfit.

Tonight she had opted for a fitted black cocktail dress that fell around mid-thigh. Completing the ensemble with a pair of golden skyscraper heels with the signature red Christian Louboutin sole and a matching clutch, her look screamed upmarket party girl, which was exactly the image she wanted to portray.

“I’m going to have trouble tonight,” Callum growled as he placed a protective hand on her lower back. “You always look absolutely stunning. Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you with me.”

Charlie rolled her eyes as they approached the large bouncer guarding the doorway.

“Mr Ellis, Miss Harris.”

“Jeremy.” Callum dipped his head curtly as the burly man opened the door for them to pass.

Walking into Zachary’s was like coming home for Charlie. The chic, modern bar was a local favourite for her and the girls during the working week. She could recall plenty of nights over the past year where one or two drinks after work had turned into early morning drunken adventures.

Split across two levels, the bar held a contemporary and sophisticated vibe which appealed to the younger business professionals around the area. On a busy night, the lower floor was cleared of tables and the space made for dancing and socialising, whereas the upper floor was strictly for VIPs only.

Centred around a crystal chandelier that cascaded in a waterfall from ceiling to floor, the large glass bar area was one of the dominating features in the room. Built entirely from clear glass, the colourful mood lights around the room reflected brightly off its surface, helping to create an intimate and ambient atmosphere.

Weaving through the large crowds of Saturday night drinkers, she headed straight towards the far side of the bar where the glass staircase would take her to the upper floor.

“Name?” A young hostess guarding the stairwell huffed rudely at a rather drunken woman in front of them. Clearly not amused by the answer given, she waved the woman away impatiently with a flick of her wrist before her eyes turned to settle on both Charlie and Callum behind.

 “Mr Ellis, Miss Harris,” she greeted before hurrying to unhook the velvet rope behind her. “Your guests are already seated upstairs in your usual suite. Amanda shall be serving you tonight. Please let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Callum replied with a smile as he ushered Charlie towards the stairs.

She watched as his charmingly perfect smile melted the insides of the young hostess. Her face had flushed a slight shade of pink and her lips had parted marginally. Charlie coughed discreetly as she continued to make her way up the stairs.

The VIP level wasn’t as large in Zachary’s as some of the other lounges and bars they visited. Holding only five moderately sized private suites that could each seat up to six people comfortably, the VIP area of Zachary’s was more sought after than any other lounge in the Northern Quarter. Stylish sofas and glass coffee tables littered each private balcony that overlooked the busy conversations and dancing below.

Charlie reached the top of the stairs and looked over to where her friends were sat behind the partition of their private suite. Having texted her a few hours ago to say that they were going to start early, she knew that they were bound to be very tipsy by now.

Lighting up her mobile phone, she guiltily saw that it was almost nine thirty. They had arranged to originally meet around eight, but an unexpected call from her sister had thrown them slightly out of sync.

“And what time do you call this?” Lucy slurred as Charlie and Callum scooted onto the empty sofa opposite Jack, Ollie and the girls.

“Yeah, we started without you,” Amelia scolded as she lifted a rather large glass of champagne to her lips.

Judging by the size of each person’s glass and the large ice filled bucket on the table that held several bottles of bubbly, the group were clearly out to party tonight.

“I’m sorry,” she replied. “I had to deal with my sister on the phone before we came out.”

Amelia’s eyes immediately softened with sympathy. “Was she alright with you?”

“Surprisingly so,” Charlie said. “She wants me to go to Ben’s birthday party next Saturday.”

“And... Are you?” Lucy asked.

Charlie sighed. “I guess I have to. I mean, I love that little guy to pieces, but the thought of being in the same room with my sister and Dr Prick is already starting to make my skin crawl.”

“Our Cal will go with you,” Jack winked in his direction. “I’m sure he couldn’t think of anything better to do than spend a Saturday afternoon with a bunch of five year olds.”

“No fucking chance,” Callum laughed.

Charlie cocked her head to one side and gave him her best ‘are you shitting me’ look.

“What do you mean not a chance? Don’t you even think for one minute that I’m going into that hell hole on my own. There is no way that I am going to handle both of them
and
my mother on top. You can definitely come and help me take the heat a little.”

“But...”

Charlie fixed Callum with a glare that screamed she meant business. There was no way for him to find an excuse to back out of this one. At least with Callum by her side she knew that things couldn’t get as ugly as they could if she were going alone.

Conscious that all eyes around the table were now fixed firmly on their little display, Charlie leant a little to the side so that she could whisper into his ear. “Believe me when I say that you have a lot of making up to do to me at the moment. We will just call this a small portion towards you attempting to redeem yourself.”

Pulling back in confusion, Callum furrowed his brow. “Have I done something?” he asked.

“Forget it,” she dismissed, reaching for a bottle of champagne to fill her glass. She needed to get some alcohol into her blood stream before she absolutely lost it. Of course she should have known that he would assume his behaviour this morning to have been acceptable. Clearly he thought it normal for boyfriends or husbands to leave on a Sunday night and return the following Friday evening having had barely any contact with their partners all week.

In Charlie’s world this was not normal. Relationships were about giving your mind, body and soul to the person that you love. It was about sharing your deepest and darkest secrets to the person who could find and connect all of the loose pieces in the dangerous puzzle within our hearts.

Never in her wildest dreams did Charlie imagine falling in love with a multi-millionaire property developer. Stumbling into her life at just the right time, Callum unknowingly became the knight in shining armour that she had been searching for.

“So, who wants to hear a joke?” Jack casually interrupted, attempting to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

“I need to get back on the happy train. Those two mood wreckers just put a downer on the party,” Lucy grumbled, throwing back at least half of the champagne in her glass. “C’mon little Jacky, hit us with a joke.”

Charlie eventually pulled her stare away from Callum whose face looked more annoyed than confused. “I’m all ears,” she smiled in Jack’s direction.

“Okay,” he replied, clearing his throat. “What did the egg say to the pot of boiling water?”

“What?”

“It's going to take me a minute to get hard; I just got laid this morning,” Jack answered before cackling at his own joke.

Amelia scoffed as she lightly hit Jack on his chest. “Wow, Baby. That joke was the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard!”

“I’ve got to agree, Mate. That was pretty bad,” Ollie said, shaking his head.

“But look,” Jack said, gesturing around the table. “Everyone has a smile on their face.”

“Whatever,” Amelia dismissed as she drunkenly got to her feet. “Girls, let’s go and dance.”