TouchStone for ever (The Story of Us Trilogy) (14 page)

“You do that, but you
still have a long way to go.” I tuck the panties safely into my bag, fasten it
up and let my mind wander. “Typical! I’m meeting the press and it’s raining.”

He tips his head to
look out of my window. “Is it? I hadn’t noticed.”

At that very moment
there is a break in the clouds. From out of the blue comes a streak of sunlight
so bright and so warm that the droplets of rain evaporate off the glass. When I
catch his eye, he says nothing, merely winks.

“Happy now?”

I’m shaking my head.
“Euphoric.”

“Anything else I can
do for you?” he asks.

I take hold of his
hand. “Keep hold of my hand. I don’t want them to eat me alive.”

He leans in and
kisses my hair. “I wouldn’t allow anyone to do that, darling. Consider this the
preface to our adventure.”

As the Rolls turns
the corner we are confronted by at least 20 men and women with flashing
cameras, shouting and scrambling to get to us. Lester steps from the car and
waits for a signal to open the door.

Ayden draws an
invisible line under my mouth with his forefinger, and circles it beneath my
chin; it’s sensual and familiar. My first instinct is to say, “Don’t!” But it
feels too intimate, too much like Ayden’s touch to show any displeasure.
Instead I smile softly.

“Are you ready for
your debut, Mrs. Stone?” he asks, squeezing my hand.

“No, but let’s get it
over with.”

He taps on the glass
and Lester opens the door. “Keep them away from Beth,” Ayden instructs. “I
don’t want them to manhandle her.”

“Of course, Mr.
Stone.” He nods and holds back, leaving Ayden to face the mob while he protects
me, creating a human shield against the pack of ravenous reporters. Hand in
hand we mount the first step to the building. My jacket catches in the wind and
I pull it tightly, refastening a button that had freed itself in the skirmish.
The last thing I want is to be flashing my breasts in public.

One of the reporters
stumbles backwards, still holding his camera. Ayden immediately picks me up and
places me on the next step up, alert to the possible focus of the lens. For
that I’m eternally grateful.

Having taken time to
freshen up and compose myself, I march into the boardroom at Ayden’s side. His
strides are longer than mine and I have to quicken my steps to keep up.
Thankfully, it’s a short sprint to the top of the table. The gathering stands
and begins to applaud; I’m not sure why.

Ayden smiles wryly at
the ovation. He can’t have experienced many of those in his lifetime. “Please
sit down. As Mark Twain once said, ‘The reports of my death are greatly
exaggerated.’ I am very much alive.”

The applause dies
down.

 Realising I have no
seat he turns to Stephen. “I wonder if you would be so kind as to offer your
seat to my wife?”

He was rude to me
last time I was in here.

“I’m sure you want to
make amends for the rudeness you exhibited the last time you met Beth.”

Taken by surprise,
Stephen rises, stuffs his papers under his left arm and pulls back the seat for
me. “Mrs. Stone.”

Taking care to hold
onto my jacket I sit down, arranging myself into a comfortable position on
Ayden’s right. “Thank you, Stephen.”

Along with the other
Board members I watch him scuttle along to the far end of the enormous table.
In less than a minute Ayden has asserted his authority and no one in the room
has the slightest doubt he’s back with a vengeance. All I can do is offer an
appreciative smile: so far so good.

He unbuttons his
jacket and places his hands down on the polished table, scoping the room. I
know why; he’s picking up on thoughts and pairing names to faces. “So, here we
are: home sweet home.”

His opening gambit
takes me by surprise, so much so I start to giggle. Taken aback, he turns to
me, forcing me to conceal another giggle behind a smile.

Do you mind …

I hear his words in
my head and they are a sobering reminder that he is not, in fact, Ayden but
merely an imposter.

Sorry.

His focus rests upon
a thin-faced man of around 35 named, Lawrence Barber, who is shuffling papers.
“Lawrence, I believe you have a couple of things to share with us today?”

Lawrence raises his
head and clears his throat. “Yes, Ayden, I do. I’ve been keeping a close eye on
operations in Seoul. We are having some issues with one of the single chip
devices.”

“What kind of issues,
specifically?”

“Issues involving the
STB functions, required to operate the standard video decoding circuitry.”

“And is it something
that can be rectified quickly?”

Lawrence is nodding.
“I think so, but we’ve had to hold off on production until it’s resolved.”

“So how long are we
talking? A couple of days?”

“I think so …” He
smiles nervously.

“Right. Get back to
me tomorrow afternoon with an update. I want everything on line by Wednesday at
the latest.”

“Right.”

Ayden is getting into
his stride.

You’re doing great!

He reads my thoughts
and turns to me to offer a cheeky smile. I feel my heart flutter and look away.
He has no right smiling at me that way. I pour out a glass of water and sip it
quietly, hoping he hasn’t noticed.

If you’re warm, why
don’t you remove your jacket?

Still sipping my
water I look up to him with wide eyes.

You know why!

 He smirks but
carries on conversations with everyone in turn, reading their thoughts, tapping
into their concerns and latching onto their secrets. He has an unfair advantage
but it’s working in our favour.

It occurs to me that
there is one person missing.

Where’s Jake?

 He turns to
Charlotte, sitting on the side line, dutifully taking notes. “Won’t Jake be
joining us?”

“He’s on his way, Mr.
Stone. “She checks her watch. “The jet landed at Heathrow half an hour ago and
he’s en route.”

“Thank you,
Charlotte. Let’s hope he arrives before we put the world to rights or he may be
out of a job!” Ayden laughs at his own joke and so does his audience, sitting
silently in awe of his business acumen and intellect.

There is a single
person who has not spoken; a petite Asian lady sits silently, waiting to be
selected. Her eyes are darting from left to right, seeming as if a single
glance at Ayden will turn her to stone.

He directs a question
at her and she is forced to do just that. “So, Miss Liu, what have you to share
with us today?”

I watch as she takes
a deep breath; Ayden is intimidating the hell out of her. I catch her eye and
give her a smile; she smiles back, nervously.

“Mr. Stone, I have
been undertaking a review of marketing and distribution strategies in the Pan
Pacific Region and it is my belief that we are not focusing on ways to take
advantage of growth opportunities. We need to leverage our brand and use data
more effectively. The enabling technology is there but we are not building it
into our business model.”

The more she speaks
the greater her confidence; she’s young, smart and ambitious. Ayden would do
well to let her continue with her proposal, but he’s growing impatient.

Let her finish,
Ayden.

He turns to me and
smiles softly.

“Please continue,
Miss Lui.”

Feeling the heat
rising in the room, he removes his jacket and makes a point of arranging it on
the back of his chair. I hear her but I can’t take my eyes off him. What is it
about a fitted white shirt and a tie…

Are you assessing me,
Beth?

Caught, I avert my
eyes.

Or are you enjoying?

I find his words
unsettling. It’s getting so hot in here, even the men are wiggling their ties
and undoing the top button on their shirts. I look across to Charlotte and
she’s fanning herself with her pad. I shake my head.

What have you done
with the heating?

I get no reply.
Instead, Ayden begins to walk around the table; he’s nodding at Miss Lui’s
comments, taking it all in, refusing to look at me as I dissolve into a puddle
of perspiration. He knows I cannot remove my jacket!

Bastard!

He conceals his
amusement with his hand, leaving me to liquefy as, one after the other, the
gentlemen remove their jackets.

As she brings her
proposal to a close, he positions himself behind me. All eyes are on him, on
me.

“So what do you think
of that, Beth?” he asks, putting me the spot. What can I say? I was barely even
listening. “I think Miss. Lui has given this a great deal of thought, and you
should at least have a look at her proposal.”

He kisses my head.
“Quite right. I’ll do just that.”

Leaving me to stew,
he heads over to the enormous plate glass window overlooking the Thames; it
winds its way through London as far as the eye can see, cutting through the
metropolis like a black anaconda.

He’s positively regal
in his stance; hands in his pockets, head held high; a perfect profile set
against the clear blue sky. As hard as I try not to think of him with a craving
that causes me to squirm in my seat, I can’t help myself. My thoughts betray me
as they form and leave me weak at the knees like a schoolgirl. I try to think
of anything except him but I’m so overheated all I can do is lick my lips and
content myself with another glass of water. Even my breathing is laboured and
my panties are sticky with a combination of perspiration and arousal.

The door swings open
and Jake enters carrying a Starbucks coffee and a leather documents case.
Thankfully he brings a cool gust of air in with him. He places down the coffee
and the case on the table. “What the hell! It’s like a sauna in here. Is there
something wrong with the heating or are we hatching chicks?” Immediately he
loosens his tie and removes his jacket. It lands on a chair as he bounds over
in Ayden’s direction. His smile lights up the already sweltering room.

“Well, if it ain’t
Ayden Stone back from the dead!”

Without even
acknowledging me he heads for the window. “You look awesome! No scars or
anything. Did you have plastic surgery?”

Ayden is less
animated. “No, just good skin, I suppose.”

“No shit!” He reaches
out to shake Ayden’s hand and pulls him close so he can pat him on the back.
“You nearly gave me a fucking heart attack,” he whispers. He’s continues to pat
Ayden’s arm. “So what did I miss? Have you been playing catch-up?”

If only he knew… more
leading than catching-up here.

Ayden is unsure of
how to act around Jake; I actually believe he’s uncomfortable with his
brotherly behaviour. Jake will be the first to notice a change.

You grew up together.
He’s the only man you’re close to and you trust.

Ayden immediately
becomes less abrasive. He pats Jake on the back. “We thought you weren’t going
to make it so we started without you.”

“No worries. I’ve got
Grace typing up my report. I dictated it on the flight back. Looks like you’ve
got everything under control here.”

He scans the room and
his gaze rest on me. “Beth! I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

As he comes over to
me, I stand to greet him and in my excitement I forget to hold onto my jacket;
the button comes undone and I approach him looking like I’m taking part in a
wet T-shirt competition. It’s only when he lowers his eyes and leaves them
there, focusing on my sweat soaked blouse that I realise it. Thankfully, I have
my back to the Board members.

He’s grinning. ”Did
you get dressed in a hurry?” he asks, punching Ayden in the arm. “Looks like
you two’ve started your honeymoon already. Up to your old tricks I see.”

Crimson-faced, I
quickly button up my jacket. I turn to Ayden preparing to be met by a grin but,
instead, he is simply staring at me. There is not a trace of humour, merely an
expression that I cannot fathom.

Ayden! Snap out of
it!!

I take Ayden’s arm
and lead him back to his place at the head of the table. “We have some catching
up to do,” I remind Jake light-heartedly. “We’re going out to lunch. You’re
welcome to join us.”

Returning to the here
and now, Ayden pulls back my seat for me and takes his place, leaving Jake to
make the walk back to his seat.

“Before we close this
meeting, is there anything else?” He scans the room and passes Stephen then
sweeps back to him. “Yes Stephen …”

He starts to mumble.
“It’s a delicate matter, Ayden, one that would be better discussed privately.”

With the room
cooling, Ayden reaches for his jacket. “Will it affect ASMI?” he asks
impatiently.