Fallen Down Under (Down Under #2) (15 page)

"Oh is that coffee?" Tim asks as I step further into the office.

"You bet'cha." I look around to see if Amelia has made an appearance but surprise, surprise, she isn't here. I really need to remember to try and call her again later.

"Any news on Heath?" I ask Max as I pass him his flat white.

"Not yet but hopefully soon. Hey, I've been thinking things over with this. Did you see anyone in the office or hanging about looking suspicious when I wasn't around?"

"No. That's impossible isn't it? I thought only us two and the PA's had access to that floor?"

"It is or at least it should be. Have you noticed anything strange going on here recently Tom?"

"It's Tim." I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow as he smiles playfully and pulls me down into his lap. Oh how I love playful Max.

"Not that I've noticed. There's only been me here most of the time anyway to tell you the truth mate."

"Why? Do you think this was done deliberately by someone we know, trust even?"

"I'm not too sure but I'll try my goddamed hardest to find out. That phone call you received Tim, do you remember if it was male of female?"

"Oh yes I remember. The caller was definitely female. That's what got my suspicions on high alert as I thought she might have been a reporter or something trying to dig for dirt. That's when I knew I needed to call Jess."

"Did she have an accent at all...?" Max asks, but cuts off all of a sudden when a commotion breaks out in reception.

"Why are you following me? Do you not listen? I told you to fuck off." I hear Amelia's voice before I step out of the office. What's happened now? Another row with the boyfriend? Well at least she's here. She still has her back to me as she continues to hurl insults to whoever it is that’s following her.

"You can't do this to me. How the fuck could you have been so stupid? You do realise that you've ruined everything that I ever had don't you." I freeze instantly on the spot as I hear that all too familiar voice. This can't be happening. It's all got to be one fucked up dream.

"Excuse me?" She shouts unaware of the audience she now has behind her. "Don't you dare blame me for this. Just because you weren't getting any at home and needed to stick it elsewhere."

"I'm warning you Amelia. Do not push me on this, you know how I feel about it. There's no way you can possibly go through with it."

"Just sit back and pissing watch me you arsehole."

"How deluded can you be? Do you really think I'm going to father a child with a pyscho bitch like you?"

Everything suddenly turns into slow motion. I couldn't possibly have heard that right. A noise of some sort must escape me because Josh suddenly turns to face me as I stand outside Mal's door with my mouth hanging wide open. Amelia's notices a change is his face and turns to see what's suddenly caught his attention and when she sees me, she pales instantly.

After what feels like forever I finally manage to speak. "You're pregnant? With him?" I whisper pointing my finger in Josh's direction. Oh my god I feel sick, I'm actually going to be sick right in front of everyone.

"Jess..." Josh says as he starts to walk towards me but Max suddenly stands by side and he stops in his tracks instantly.

"When? How do you two even know each other?" I begin and then suddenly everything clicks into place. "How could I have been so fucking stupid? You're
mike?
All this time and I have been worried about some arse hole that's been upsetting you and all along it was
him.
How long have you two been laughing at me. Fuck I bet you've been having a whale of a time at my expense."

Amelia holds her hands up and steps towards me. "Jess I didn't know..."

"Don't." I cut her off. "You better thank your lucky fucking stars that you're pregnant, and you." I turn on Josh. "You can go and play with traffic you twat." I feel Max move closer to me but it's taking everything I have not to break down and cry in front of everyone. How could they do this to me?

Max

I try to hold her, let her know that I am here but she quickly storms out of the office without a backwards glance. It's pointless trying to stop her. Nothing I say now is going to make her feel any better. All I can do is be there for her when she needs me and I'll fucking make sure that she doesn't need anyone else for the rest of her life.

With my fists clenched at my sides and my jaw working overtime I look at the self-centred prick stood before me and all I want do is rip his fucking throat out. I didn't like him the first time I saw him and I sure as hell don't like him any better now.

"I think it's best that you leave while you still can." He looks at me as if noticing me for the first time since he arrived here.

"This has got fuck all to do with you pal so how about you back the fuck off to where you came from?"

"That's where you're wrong. It's got every goddamn fucking thing to do with me. You might have hurt and fucked her over in the past, but I sure as hell won't stand back and watch you hurt her again. I'll give you one more chance, which is more than what you deserve. You either leave now while you still can or I'll personally make sure that you won't be using your legs, or anything else for that matter for a very fucking long time,
pal.
Am I making myself clear yet? And you," I look at Amelia, Jess' so called friend in utter disgust. "I’ll see you in my office. Now!" I order.

Josh doesn't wait around for long. The little prick shouldn't even be able to father a child the ball less bastard. "Don't even think about contacting her either." I growl after him.

"Take a seat." I signal to the chair opposite me and wait for Amelia to sit down. She's gone a perfect shade of green and I don't know if that's the crazy hormones that women have when they're pregnant or if she's actually sickened at what she's done. Either way at this moment in time I couldn't give a toss.

"I just want to apologise for my outburst. It was completely unprofessional and it won't happen again." She says, practically on the verge of tears.

"You bet it won't. I don't think it's me that you need to be apologising to either do you? That's not the reason why I called you in here. I think it's about time we had a little chat about your absent and lateness issues."

"I've had a couple of days..."

"That's to be expected given your, erm, situation. However every business has a policy in place for sickness and so on and it needs to be followed at all times. The first being that you contact your employer to let them know if you won't be coming into work. I'm not sure how Mal deals with his HR stuff but I've had a look at your file and you've never been absent while he's been here.

"I tried to call, numerous times but no one picked up."

"There are other methods that you could have used Amelia. You have Tim's mobile or the works email address? Being AWOL is gross misconduct and a sack able offence."

"You're firing me? Does Mal even know about this?"

"Not yet and no he doesn't, but I can promise you that if he knew how you had been treating your job he most likely would have fired you ages ago. I understand that you're not well at the moment and you've got some personal issues going on so what I suggest is that you take some time out. I think it's unwise that you and Jess should be working together at the minute." She looks at me and mouths a silent "Thank you." to me.

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for my benefit. Between me and you, if you weren't pregnant then I would have fired you, but fortunately for you the ball isn't in my court. That power right now lies with Jess. Go home and think about what you want and how seriously you take this job."

She stands to leave but pauses as if she wants to say something to me but thinks better of it.

"We'll be in touch soon. Oh and Amelia, keep Josh away from Stanton's. I won't have another scene like that in here, because next time I won't be so lenient." My blood is pounding as she leaves and all I want to do is get to Jess. I have no idea where she is and her bloody phone isn't on again.

"Tim." I call out. "I'm going to see if I can find Jess. Will you be okay here?"

"Sure. Let her know I'm here if she needs me."

"I will." I pat him on the back, thankful that at least one of her colleagues is still looking out for her. I have no idea where she will be. Jens at work as I remember her saying something this morning about catching up with her tonight and I doubt she would have gone home with her mum there. The impression that I'm getting is that there not the closest mother and daughter in the world. The only other place I can think of is the coffee house where George works. I hope to god I'm right. I could be out looking for her for hours otherwise.  The look on her face as she witnessed what those dicks had done back at Stanton's is still imprinted in my mind. How I refrained from snapping that twats neck is beyond me. He had a lucky escape but if I see him anytime soon I can't guarantee that he'll have the same outcome.

I spot George as soon as I enter Joe's and he tilts his head towards the alcoves next to the window. My perfect angel looks completely lifeless as she sits with her legs curled beneath her and an extra-large coffee cup in her hands.

"Hey." I whisper as I approach, worried that if I speak any louder then I'll break what's left of her. She lifts her head up and she looks at me, her eyes swollen from crying a stream of constant tears and her cheeks all blotchy from where she must have been rubbing them. I want to reach out and make it all better, fuck I want to erase the whole goddamn day and erase what those two spineless pricks have done to my baby, but I can't. Instead I crouch down before her and cup her face between my hands.

"I'm so sorry angel."

"Don't you dare apologise for something that isn't your fault. I should have seen it coming a mile off. How could I have been so stupid Max? I feel like a fucking laughing stock."

Jess

Having Max beside me makes it a bit more bearable but I'm still struggling to breathe. Every time I try to get a lung full of air my chest fights against me. I've been sat at Joe's for god knows how long with my mind full of questions that won't go away. Ones that I can't face or prepare myself to get the answers to. George has been amazing, giving me time to myself while keeping me in a warm supply of fresh coffee. It took me a while to stop him from marching out of here to confront Josh but in the end I think he could see he was causing me more pain. I don't even want to think about Jens reaction. This time I reckon she will definitely try to rip his balls off. Max lifts me up and positions me in his lap once he sits back down. I lean into him really close, worried that if I don't he'll up and disappear out of my life and then I'll be left on my own. I don't want to think about being alone right now. I just want to sit like this, feeling the heat of Max beneath me while he silently soothes me by stroking my hair all while asking nothing of me.

"Are you ready to go home angel? I think George wants to close up." I lift my head and look into those piercing blue eyes and wonder why I got so lucky. He could have lost his shit seeing me crying over my cheating ex's baby news but instead he has comforted me and allowed me head space. I don't ever want to lose him. I don't ever want to have to wake up without him by my side. Today has taught me one thing and that's to fight and protect what you truly want in life and with Max sat by my side I know now, no matter how much it hurts right now, I'm thankful that Josh did what he did because if he didn't there is no way on earth that I would be sat in his arms right now.

"What time is it?" My voice is croaky from my tears and I probably look like no one owns me right now too.

"It's just past nine angel."

"I'm so sorry Max. I know you had stuff that you needed to do. You should have gone back."

"Don't be silly. I'm not going to leave you angel." Leaning down to press a soft kiss in her hair, he pulls back and looks her straight into my eyes. "I need you to know one thing. I'm never, ever going to leave you. No matter what the cost, no matter what the sacrifice. It's about time that I acted like a man and admitted that you come first. You'll always come first to me. I need you in my life and I'll keep you in my life whichever way I can get you."

I have no words to say to him. I'm filled with mixed emotions from today and there is so much that I want to say to him, but I can't find the words to say to him so instead I push forwards and pull his face down to mine, slowly yet desperately taking his lips in mine. Our kiss speaks so much more than our words ever could and I try to tell him how thankful I am for him and how he has cared for me today. My loveable rogue giving up everything just so that I could be comforted by his presence and that means more to me than he will ever know.

By the time we pull up outside my house all the lights are off. Either my mums in bed or she's gone out to only god knows where. Hopefully if it's the latter, she doesn't come back to make a scene because I don't think I could deal with that right now.

"How you holding up angel?" Max asks as his warm hand gives my thigh a reassuring squeeze. It's the first time he's asked me. I'm not sure if it's because he's been worried about my reaction but his words are comforting to me.

"Better with you here." I smile a genuine smile at him to let him know that I'm telling him the truth. "Thank you for today."

"There isn't anything that I wouldn't do for you angel. You need to make sure you remember that and I'll tell you every day for the rest of our lives if I have too." He whispers as he leans over the console and kisses my forehead tenderly. I’m so glad he’s here with me. We’ve been through so much since he came into my life and I don’t think I will ever be able to express how much safer he makes me feel.

I notice my mum’s shoes as we walk through the door. Good, at least she's still here and not causing mayhem somewhere else.

"Have you eaten today?" Max asks as we make our way further into the house. Come to think of it I haven't and I don't think I could stomach anything right now either.

"I've not been hungry. I'm  sure I’ll be okay until tomorrow."

"You sure? I can always make you something before we go up if you want?"

"Honestly I'm fine." My fingers find their way into his hair as I look at him. "All I need right now is you." I'm scooped up into his strong arms and he wastes no time in carrying me up the stairs. Something has definitely changed between us today and I can only hope it's for the better.

I'm instantly pinned against the bedroom wall as soon as we enter the bedroom and in one swift motion Max kicks the door closed with his foot.

"Are you sure you want this Jess?" Max asks with a seriousness to his voice. He looks at me intently as he waits for my answer.

"Definitely. I've wanted nothing else for weeks Max. I'm fed up of pushing you away. I want us to go back to how we were before that cow wormed her way in and ruined it for us."

"No one has ruined anything Jess. You, you're all that I want. You're all that I need. Every goddamn fucking day." That's all I needed to hear as I pull him closer to me so I can feel him where I need him to be. My leg is pulled from underneath me as he wraps it firmly around his waist. I feel all the tension leave my body from his touch as he roams his magical fingers from my thigh all the way up to my neck. "I've missed this, I’ve missed us. I won't let anything keep you from me again."

A soft whimper escapes my lips as his hand works its way over the peak of my nipple. This is pure torture and he fucking knows it. Pressing my leg against him he smiles against my lips and says, "I'm not rushing this Jess, I've waited far too long."

It's pointless fighting it. I know he'll just drag it out just work me up more and more so I let him take full control of my body, desperate for the release that I know he will give me. I don't let go of him as he carries me to the bed and he lays me down gently, acting as if a single touch would break me. I pull him down with me, not wanting the connection between us to be disturbed. Unable to hold back much longer, my hands sneak down to his shirt as I try in desperation to open the buttons. Without a moment’s hesitation, I grab the material in my both of my hands and rip his shirt open and slide it away from him revealing that perfectly toned torso that I like to admire. Max takes his sweet time removing the clothes from my body and when I'm finally just in my underwear he goes even slower.

"Max..." I moan. What is he trying to do to me? "Don't do this to me. I need you; please don't make me wait any longer." I can't help but plead to him. I feel like I'm about to combust at any moment. Both of my hands suddenly get entwined within his wrists as he pins them above my head.

"You're so fucking beautiful. I want to admire every goddamn part of you."

"Mmm. Why don't you explore every party of me instead?"

He pulls back and looks at me with one eyebrows raised. "Every part?"

"Every part but that part." I say suddenly realising what I asked him and he laughs. Deciding enough is enough I push myself up now that his hands have relaxed against my wrists and push him back so that he's now the one lying down. I make quick work of removing his pants much to the growl that rumbles from his chest. I take him in my hands and slide up and down his length while leaning in to tease him with my mouth. He buckles his hips at my touch, pleading for more and I feel a sudden urge of power course through me.