Embrace Me (7 page)

“
I know. You must have a guardian angel watching over you.”

“
No, he’s called Charlie.” My mother nodded in agreement as she touched my face.

“
You have made me so proud. You are the daughter I always dreamed of.” I smiled warmly at my mother, touching her hand. It wasn’t very often we got emotional, but it was difficult knowing we had missed so much of each other’s lives already—moments that we would never get back.

“
You are all I dreamed of, too, Mum.” It was the first time I had used that name out loud, but as she held me close in her embrace, I knew it wouldn’t be the last.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that the Downing and Field feud was over a woman and money—some things never really changed. I just couldn’t get my head around how ludicrous it all sounded…to think that this was all about love and power. Why couldn’t the Fields accept defeat? They had lost. They all needed to move on.

Lorna came rushing into my office midmorning on Friday afternoon.

“
Shannon, we got it. Roman marketing has accepted the contract!” she squealed, rushing to place her hands on my desk.

“
Seriously?” I got up, excitement filling my body. I had hoped they would respond, but not this quickly. This was
huge
. My mother was going to be so proud.

“
Yeah, your mom is going to seal the deal this afternoon.”

“
I can’t believe we did it, Lorna,” I said as I hugged her. “You really are the best.”

“
You do realise the Field family is going to go after your blood, right?” Lorna smirked.

“
What else is new? I told Will it was just business.”

“
You, Shannon Downing, are starting to sound like your mother.”

“
I know,” I giggled. “Do you reckon I might get a nickname like the iron dragon one day?”

“
I wouldn’t go
that
far, Shan,” Lorna laughed, rolling her eyes at me.

“
It would be so cool, though,” I mused, still beaming. For the first time since taking over as Senior Marketing Director at Headcom, I felt like I could do this. I could take on Downing International. I was growing stronger as each month passed.

I waited all day for the wrath of the Field family, wondering whether it would be by phone or email, but nothing happened. Perhaps Will had finally gotten the message.

It wasn’t until the end of the day as I walked out of the elevator that I spotted a member of the Field family—the one member I was not completely ready to see…Megan!

I stood motionless, watching her glare at me. I held my head up high and brushed my suit down as I walked over to her. I didn’t have to answer to her anymore. The hold she had on me vanished the moment I realised just how much she’d used me.

“
Hello, Megan,” I replied with a sarcastic smile.

“
I need to speak with you,” Megan demanded with her arms crossed.

“
I don’t really have the time now,” I stated, looking at my watch.

“
Damn you, Shannon! You owe me an explanation!” she screeched. “You have
no
idea what you took from me.”

“
Is this about Charlie?” I growled. “If it is, I am not interested in hearing what you have to say. We fell in love with each other, Megan. There is nothing wrong with that.”

“
You were my best friend! You used me just to get closer to him.”

“
You know that wasn’t true. Charlie was in love with me before I even knew how I felt about him!” I yelled back.

“
I bet the two of you were laughing behind my back the entire time. He wrote you love letters, Shannon. You
must
have encouraged him. He was in love with me and then you stole him from under my nose.”

“
Believe what you want,” I replied as I began to walk off. I didn’t have to listen to this.

“
Don’t you dare!” Megan grabbed my arm, yanking me back roughly. “You are destroying my family. Will is in pieces, and now you take the Roman contract from us, too.”

“
It’s business, Megan,” I snapped, pulling my arm free. “And if you carry on like this, I will call security.”

“
You really think you’ve won, don’t you? You have this company to run, Charlie by your side, and your long lost mother.”

“
After what you and your family did to me, I think I deserve a little happiness,” I spat coldly.

“
I LOVE HIM!” Megan screamed. “I will
always
love him!”

“
I love him more,” I glared, beckoning security. I knew Megan had come here because of Charlie. It must have been eating away at her for months. I had witnessed her fall in love with him and I could still see it in her eyes—she was far from being over him.

“
You took my whole world, Shannon. I will never want anyone the way I want Charlie.”  

“
Megan, move on. After what you have done to me, do you really think I would feel guilty?” I seethed. “Charlie and I love each other, and I will be spending the rest of my life with him.” I pushed past her as security walked towards us. I had heard enough. I didn’t have to stand here and listen to her anymore. That part of my life was over.

Completely frustrated, I walked onto the sidewalk. People rushed around me as it began to lightly rain, so I wrapped my coat tightly around my body and melted into the crowd.

Who did Megan think she was, anyway? Did she actually think she had the right to be angry with me because I was with Charlie. What a joke! If anyone had the right to be angry, it was me. Did she really not care what she had done to me?

When I got back, Charlie was playing gently on his guitar. He knew something was wrong the moment our eyes met.

“
Shan, are you alright?” he asked, putting his guitar down and walking towards me.

“
We got the contract.” I tried to smile; I really didn’t want to talk about Megan. I just wanted all of that behind us. We had moved on, so why did she still keep reappearing?

“
That’s great!” Charlie said before he kissed me. I loved the taste of his lips as they moulded against mine. When he drew his lips back, he looked at me suspiciously. “There is something else. What happened?”

“
God, why do you have to read me so well?” I complained, gently hitting his chest.

“
Sorry,” he chuckled. “So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“
It’s…Megan,” I sighed, watching Charlie raise his eyebrows.

“
What has she done now?” he questioned, pulling me over to the couch.

“
She came to see me today at the office.”

“
She did what?!”

“
Calm down,” I smiled, touching his face gently.

“
Megan shouldn’t be doing that.” He put his hands through his ruffled hair. “Didn’t your mother make it clear to them? Maybe I should pay them a visit and tell them to stay the hell away from you.”

“
Charlie, relax. This is why I didn’t want to say anything.”

“
What did she want, anyway?”

“
She wanted to have it out with me about you.” I kissed his lips and ran my hand across the back of his neck.

“
Are you being serious?”

“
You have no idea of the effect you have on the opposite sex, do you, Mr. Collins?” I giggled.

“
All I care about is the effect I have on you,” Charlie grinned, pushing me against the couch. His hands ran over my body, pulling at my clothes. My nails dug into his back as I felt him take over my body. I would never want more than this. Charlie was everything. He made all the pain and hurt disappear with just one touch.

“
So what did Megan actually say?” Charlie asked as we straightened our clothes an hour later.

“
She still loves you,” I sighed. I couldn’t really blame her. Charlie was the sort of guy you would find hard to get over.

“
Impossible,” Charlie muttered.

“
But true,” I added.

“
She shouldn’t be coming to your work, threatening you like that. I think we should tell your mother.”

“
No…please,” I begged, grabbing his shirt. “I don’t want any more aggravation.”

“
It’s for your safety, Shan,” Charlie whispered, stroking my face.

“
If Megan turns up again, you can tell her. Please, Charlie?” He looked at me and I took the chance to plant kisses up his neck. “Please?” I whispered against his jaw.

“
You really don’t play fair,” he muttered against my lips. “But if any other member of the Field family shows up, I
will
tell your mother.”

“
Okay,” I sighed, running my hands through his hair. I had only just gotten my fill of him. How was it even possible that I craved more?

“
I love you, Shannon,” Charlie whispered as he pulled me up from the couch and carried me into our bedroom. We were so in tune with each other; it was surreal.

The weeks drifted by, and luckily I had no further visits from any of the Field family. The contract with Roman Marketing was going really well, too. I was attending a meeting with the managing director and my mother this weekend in LA.

“
Shannon, how is my boy?” Rachel asked as she sat next to me on the private jet. “I hardly see him these days.”

“
He’s good,” I smiled. “His Canadian client is really impressed with him and has extended his contract for another six months.”

“
I’m so glad he decided to freelance. Sir Straton really set him up well.”

“
Charlie is an amazing photographer. Everyone wants him to take their picture,” I beamed.

“
You’re his muse, you know,” Rachel said as she nudged me. “I never thought my boy could fall so hard.”

“
Trust me, Rachel, I am totally besotted with him, too,” I blushed.

“
You two are lucky. Some people spend their whole lives and never find half of what you have.”

“
You sound just like my mother,” I laughed.

“
We are both happy for the two of you. Jennet is happy because, without Charlie, she would never have found you, and I am happy because you have made my boy complete.”

“
What are you two talking about?” my mother asked, rushing in. “Rachel, do you have the figures? I need to be prepared when we see Harry Mac.”

“
Jennet, relax, it’s all here.” Rachel rolled her eyes, holding up her folder. “This is what you pay me for, remember?”

“
Sorry, I didn’t sleep very well last night.” My mother put her hands through her long brown hair.

“
Is everything okay?” I asked as she sat opposite me.

“
Yes, Darling.” She smiled, but I could still see the worry behind her eyes. I didn’t push it, though. Hopefully she would tell me in time.

We reached LA and were quickly whisked to the head office at Roman Marketing. I knew our figures were looking strong, and I couldn’t wait to see how much we were expected to turn over in the forthcoming year.

“
I think this meeting will be a good experience for you. Harry isn’t that much older than you, and he took over Roman Marketing a few years ago. You could learn a lot from him,” my mother mused as we walked to the boardroom. “His parents died in a plane crash three years ago.”

“
That’s awful,” I whispered.

“
He is a bit of a player, too,” Rachel muttered from behind me. “Just to let you know.” She winked as I turned to smirk at her.

“
It doesn’t affect business being a player. Sometimes it helps,” my mother replied, glaring at Rachel.

“
I thought Shannon should know, Jennet. No harm was done.”

“
Are you telling her to protect your son’s back?” my mother spat. What was going on?

“
What does
that
mean?” Rachel asked irately.

“
Well, he has already put his claim on Shannon. I wouldn’t be surprised if he told you to keep her away from any male attention as an extra precaution.”

I was getting really confused. “What are you talking about?” I asked towards my mother.

“
It’s nothing. Come on, we need to get into the boardroom.” My mother tried to brush me off but I wasn’t having that.