Starr Destined (Starr Series) (23 page)

“I'm still toying with getting rid of her,” he scowled.  “But for now, I decided to teach her a lesson.  I made her go through every single line of the SCV anti bullying policy, and asked her to tell me which points she considered most relevant in our office.  Then I asked how she would expect me to deal with a member of staff who continued to gossip and malign another member of staff.”

“You didn't mention me at all, did you?”  I knew that would only make things worse, and I certainly didn't want Liam caught up in petty office politics.

“Of course not.  Joy seems oblivious anyway, because she told me I should sack anyone caught bu
llying another member of staff.”

“Her sort don’t see a bit of what they consider harmless gossip as bullying,” I sighed.

“Well, I do, because I know it upset you, even though you’re a pretty strong minded individual.  By law, it’s my responsibility as an employer to prevent bullying and harassment in the workplace, so I regret that I've been so caught up in work that all I cared about was the fact that my life was made easier by having a very efficient PA.  I’ve let that blind me to the fact that Joy has a nasty bitchy side to her character, which I've chosen to ignore up till now.  It’s made me look at what kind of a company I run, the way we do things, and to be honest, I don't like what I see very much.”

“Don't blow this all out of proportion, Liam.  Trust me; practically every company has a character like Joy.  It’s just the way things are, and it’s not your fault,” I tried to reassure him.

“Yes, it is, because the buck stops with me.  I’ve told you before that you’ve made me realise I need to change, and now I see that includes my business dealings as well as my personal ones.  I’m not happy about the narrow minded man I was before, and I'm still ashamed of how badly I behaved towards you, how I made assumptions and judged you so unfairly when I didn't even know you.  You’re such an important influence in my life now, so that’s why I’m trying harder to see things from your point of view, and Christ, it suddenly hit me what an idiot I've been.  Of course you wouldn’t want to move into my apartment while I’ve still got a fuck pad instead of a guest bedroom, constantly reminding you about my sordid past.  We both know it’s still there, even if I keep it locked up.  So I’ve called Andrew in, and told him I want that bedroom totally gutted and completely refurbished, with nothing whatsoever left in there from before.  And I want you to choose all the new décor and furnishings.  Whatever you want, it’ll be totally down to you.”

“What?  But why…”

“That room, the fuck pad, and everything in it, reminds me of how I used to live my life, and quite frankly it disgusts me now.  I’m ashamed of the fact that I used to mix with Scott Franklin socially, and that I used his connections when it suited my purposes.  I’m ashamed of how I just turned a blind eye to his depravity, although in my defence I had no idea just how depraved he truly was.”  Liam scrubbed his hands over his face.  “Jesus, Sera, when you look at the cold facts, I wasn’t much better than him was I?”

“No!  Don't say that.  You’re nothing like Scott whatsoever,” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  “You never drugged anyone, or forced them to do anything against their will, did you?  Anything that happened was always fully consensual.”

“Yes, of course, but I was just using those women for sex.”

“As they were also using you, Liam.  It cuts both ways.  Maybe some of them hoped for more from you, but I believe you were totally honest and upfront about what you were offering them, so it was their choice.”

“I suppose so, but it still doesn't sit well with me anymore.  Compared to what I have with you now, sex was cold, empty, and shallow.  It was just so meaningless and why I got bored so quickly, why I felt the need to try different things, because it always became so mundane so quickly.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing.  What we share… at least you have something to compare to your pr
evious relationships...”

“There is no comparison.  There were no previous relationship
s, nothing in any way equal to what we have, Sera.  And another thing - this redecoration will be just a temporary fix.  The long-term solution is to find a proper house for us to share, rather than just having a bland investment property that I happen to live in,” Liam stated firmly, as my jaw dropped.

“Liam…
don't you think you’re getting ahead of yourself somewhat?  I’m still struggling to get my head around the idea of us maybe living together at some point, and here you are, already about ten steps ahead of me.”

“That’s what I do, Sera.  That’s how I keep my business growing rather than stagnating.  I plan ahead, looking for opportunities.  So that’s what I’m doing for us, because the kind of house I have in mind won’t be that easy to find.  It’ll probably take quite a while, because I’m looking for som
ething special and unique, somewhere we could settle and put roots down.  Our forever home.  So it makes sense to start searching now, especially as foreign investors have been snapping up anything decent recently, while property prices in London have slumped.  But that’s all set to change in the next couple of years, so now is the time to act,” Liam explained his thinking, as he held my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles.

“Fine.  You do whatever you think best.  It’s your money, and you’re the expert in investment o
pportunities,” I sighed, not wanting to get into a row about this, already resigned to the fact that whatever I said, Liam would go ahead and do whatever he wanted anyway.

“But Sera, it’s not just about what I want any more.  I want you to help choose a house for us, b
ecause I want it to be somewhere you’ll be happy to live, somewhere you could put your mark on,” he insisted.  “Don't you think that could be fun?  So maybe look on refurbishing the spare bedroom in my apartment as an experiment, in preparation for future much larger projects.”

“Liam, I’m really pretty content where I am right now, because I love the apartment you provided for me.  It’s more than enough, far more than I ever dreamed I'd have.  Don't you think you’re g
oing just a little over the top here, with all this talk of a ‘forever’ house?”

“No, not at all.  I’m just really pissed off with myself for being such a selfish prick that it never o
ccurred to me you’d feel uncomfortable in my place, considering its past history.  So now I want to make amends by looking for a fresh start for us.”

“You really don't need to…
there’s absolutely no need for you to think about moving,” I kept protesting.

“I disagree.  I think there’s every need.  You deserve far better, and that’s what I intend to provide.  But to get it right, it’s going to take a little time, so I guess maybe it’s good that you’re not in any great rush, because you don't need to worry about any of it right now.  I'm just giving you a heads up that if I found something, I'd want your opinion about it.”

“Whatever.”  Resistance was futile.  Just like the Borg, I knew Liam was unstoppable once he put his mind to something.  So I decided to steer the conversation onto a new topic instead.  “Are you taking Jamie to the airport when he leaves for Australia?”

“No, it’s a very early morning flight, so it makes sense to get Greg to drop him at Heathrow.  I know he won’t mind an early drop off, because it means he’ll get paid a higher rate.”

“Ah, right - a nice little earner for him.  So when are you going to see Jamie to say goodbye?” 

“I’m not sure really.  Maybe the day before, if he’s not too busy packing, although knowing my brother, he’s bound to leave all that to the last minute,” he sighed.

“How about you invite him over on Sunday, and I’ll do you both a proper roast with all the trimmings?”  I suggested.

“Would you?  Are you sure it wouldn’t be too much for you?”

“No, of course not.  You know I like cooking.”

“And you’ll be there too?  You’ll join us?”

“Sorry, I can't - I’ve promised I’ll see Abbey, so I’ll just get the lunch all prepared and then head off to meet up with her.  She won’t admit it, but I know she’s going to be really sad after she’s said goodbye to Toby.  He’s heading off to his parents for a few days before he leaves, and they’re dropping him at the airport.”

“Surely Abbey will be fine without you - it’s not as if she and Toby were serious, is it?”  Liam scowled.  “Please, can't you stay and have lunch with us?”

“I’ll stay long enough to see Jamie and wish him bon voyage, but then I think it’s best if I leave you two to have some time together, without me getting in the way.  Don't forget, it’ll be the last time you’ll see him for quite a while.”

“I suppose, although I don't doubt he’ll be Skyping me at some point before too long to get him out of one of his inevitable scrapes,” Liam shook his head as he smiled wryly.

“Go on, admit it, you’re going to miss your baby brother, aren’t you?”  I leaned over to nudge him.

“I guess maybe I will.  I’ve always kept Jamie nearby so I could keep an eye on him, but I suppose he’s right when he tells me he’s all grown up now.  He certainly proved himself this weekend an
yway, didn't he?”

“He most certainly did, but then I always knew he was one of the good guys really, despite all the crappy stuff that happened between us.  I just hope his face heals properly, and his good looks aren’t ruined, all because of me.  And while he’s away, I really hope he doesn't drink too much and r
emembers to eat properly - he’s a hopeless cook, isn’t he?”  I worried, as Liam turned to stare at me.  “What?  You don't think…I didn't mean…”

“It’s not that I'
m jealous, actually.  It’s just… well, I really love the way you worry about Jamie, and always try to bring us together, no matter what, even when we behave badly.”

“He’s your brother, and he’s all the family you’ve got.  So you have to be there for each other, even when you stuff up.  That’s just the way it is,” I shrugged, as Liam put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me.

“One day, he’ll be your brother too, when you marry me,” he murmured and kissed the top of my head.

“Hell, that’s yet another reason for us not to get married,” I joked, as I jumped up, brushed the crumbs off the black dress I was wearing, and picked up my handbag.  I didn’t want to start the whole getting married debate all over again.  “Anyway, we’d better get back to the office.  Haven’t you got a meeting at two?”

“Yes,” sighed Liam as he stood up and reached over to take my hand in his.  “Back to the real world I guess.  But I'm taking you home straight after my meeting, because I don't want you overdoing things when you’re probably still suffering from the after effects…”

“Liam, give it a rest will you?  I keep telling you I'm fine.  I have stacks of work to get through, so I don't want to leave early.  And I’m going back to my place tonight,” I said firmly, as we started wal
king back to the office.

“Oh.  Well okay, I’m happy to stay at yours.”

“That’s not what I meant, Liam.  I meant I should go back by myself.  You’ve been really great, but now I need to get back to normal, stand on my own two feet again.”  I tried to sound confident and ignore the worry gnawing at me.  I was sure that it was only going to get harder the longer I left getting used to not having Liam beside me when I woke up, so I might as well just get on with it.

“Angel, don't you think it’s a bit soon for that?  There’s really no need to rush
back to your place is there?” He tried to cajole me.  “And it’d be easier if you were there at my place this evening to talk through the redecorating project with Andrew.”

“I suppose I could come back to see Andrew first,” I agreed, very curious about this room that Liam had always kept locked up.  “But after that, I’m going back to mine.”

“No need to make up your mind right now,” Liam wheedled.  “See how you feel later.”

I had no doubt that he thought he’d find some way to get me to stay, and the truth was he was most probably right.  Well, at least I was finally going to see inside this intriguing fuck pad of Liam’s.

We got to Liam's apartment just in time to see Andrew supervising two young guys manoeuvring some sort of unusual curvy shaped white leather chaise longue out of the front door.

“Sorry,  I expected to have everything shifted before you got back, but they’ll be out of your way in just a jiffy,” Andrew apologised in his gruff Scottish accent.  “Mind the paintwork, Stuart.  Peter, can you just lift that end up a wee fraction more… that’s it… ease it through… you’ve got it now, lads.”

Andrew turned and smiled at me as the two guys placed the piece of furniture onto a small trolley and then wheeled it off in the direction of the service lift.  The few times I'd met Liam’s facilitator guy before, he’d seemed like a nice man.  Andrew MacDonald was a rather stocky man, with thick, reddish brown, wavy hair streaked with grey, in his late forties or early fifties maybe.  He was always dressed in a smart casual way - shirt but no tie, trousers not jeans. Professional but practical.

“There, that was the final thing to be moved out so, as instructed, the bedroom is clear for you to have a look at now, Miss Jones.  Have you decided on the colour scheme yet, or would you like me to get in touch with one of the interior designers we use to see what they can come up with?”

“Please, call me Sera,” I said, as I followed him into the apartment.  “Seeing as I only heard about this plan to redecorate the bedroom at lunchtime, and I haven’t even seen inside it yet, I haven’t a clue about things like colour schemes,” I explained, as I frowned at Liam.