Sick Like Me (Sick Like #1)

Chapter 23

TWENTY-THREE

It was coming to the end of August. Some trees were daring to shed some leaves, but for the most part, the scenery remained green while the sun was starting to set earlier and the weather was beginning to cool off.

Stefan drove us in his brand-new-to-himself Audi Q3 through country lanes. We were driving so far, I was sure we were leaving the Hadley borders and had wandered into surrounding towns. The roads wound and bend all which ways, and I felt like it was going to be never ending.

The windows were rolled down, the air rushing in and whipping my hair into every possible direction while “Chasing The Sun” by The Wanted blasted through the speakers. Stefan drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he nodded his head to music, while I just kept my eyes trained on the passing fields in search of the famed King manor.

“You need to loosen up a little!” Stefan yelled over the music, a quieter section before the loudness of the chorus hit once again.

I turned to him and narrowed my eyes. I reached to the radio and grabbed the dial to turn the volume down, then I let loose my feelings. “You want me to ‘loosen up’ when I have to spend my first weekend off in weeks touring the family home of our company owners?”

“Look,” Stefan began, holding one hand up in a motion of peace before he gripped the steering wheel once again, slowing down around a particularly covered bend. “You agreed to cover those weekends for me. It’s not my fault all my friends and family decided to get married this time of year.”

“Two weddings two weeks apart? Come on Stef, have off it and come back to me with a better lie,” I held a little venom behind my voice, but I soon let the anger fade as I let out a breath through pursed lips.

“You’re just mad you had to turn down dick appointments with Mr Land Rover,” Stefan teased.

I narrowed my eyes, about to defend myself but before I could, I felt Stefan slam the brakes on harshly and the car came to a stop. I reached my hands out to steady myself, looking around us for a sign of danger. “What the fuck?” I asked, snapping my head to the man beside me.

Stefan smiled sheepishly as he threw his thumb at the sign beside us on a wooden pole dug into the ground, reading KING in gold lettering. “I was driving to fast to take the turn,” He tried to defend himself as he turned his steering wheel, then he pulled the car off slowly down the gravel road.

A few metres past the entrance to the road, which was covered by green hedges and made the place hard to spot, the gravel road became neater before it turned into cemented road. New and smooth, dark in colour—the wheels soundless as we drove around the bend until a large driveway sat front a huge stone house greeted us.

The driveway was long and ran to the house, but turned into a more circular shape near the house. In the middle of the circle stood what looked like a fountain structure, which had been filled with greenery instead .

To the left of the driveway sat what looked like a garage, four white doors showing that at least four vehicles could fit inside. I let my mouth part in surprise at the sheer size of the place.

The closer we got to the house, I reached out to the radio and shut it off. The car fell into silence before it came to a stop on the far edge of the right side of the drive. As if they had some kind of cameras watching our every move, Malcolm and Carol stepped out of the large dark blue doors of their home.

I turned to Stefan, a silent warning with my eyes that we were here to do our work and not to chat up the middle aged company owner. I then stepped out of the car, picking my bag from the floor. I held the handles of it in a tight grip, making my way to the couple with a forced smile on my face.

I had been in a few meetings with the couple, and while they were extremely friendly and easy to get along with, I still found it intimidating to be around them. They had more power in their pinky fingers than Stefan and I combined. I just hoped I didn’t let them down.

“Mrs—” I began, then caught myself. “Carol, it’s lovely to see you. Your home is beautiful,” I held my hand out to her to shake, but the woman surprised me as she pushed my arm aside and instead she stepped off the stone step to wrap her arms around me in a welcoming hug.

“Ashton, darling, there’s no need for all that formality. You are here as a guest before you are here as my employee. Please, allow yourself to loosen up a little.”

I could feel the ‘I told you so’ smirk behind me from Stefan, and I wanted nothing more than to turn around and slap the stupid smirk off his face. But I kept my composure. I felt his presence beside me as he gave Malcolm a bro-hug of sorts mixed with a handshake.

I had to remind myself the couple were just normal people, like the rest of us. But it was hard to remember that fact when their name was engraved into every aspect of my professional life.

I pulled back from the hug and turned to look at Stefan at my side. Carol sighed softly, almost dreamily, as she looked from me to Stefan. She looked down at my left hand, staring at my fingers a little too long for my liking. “Are the pair of you a couple?” She asked.

I shook my head and opened my mouth to vehemently reject the claim, but Stefan beat me to it. “Actually, Ashton quite fancies herself one of the hired in finance guys.” His response surprised me, as I expected him to dob me and Owen in. Maybe it was worse he had hinted at Dakota, what if it risked his contract with the company? I had no clue if there was a secret ‘no dating KFF staff’ rule implemented.

Carol wiggled her eyebrows with a knowing smirk. “Oh, I know just the one. This tall,” She held her hand out above her head, an exaggeration but not far off. “Brilliant green eyes, bit of a buzz cut going on.”

Malcolm gave his wife a narrowed stare in warning, to which she giggled and waved her hand dismissively. “Didn’t you hear honey, he’s taken goods. Ashton has a little claim on him.”

“Enough chit chat,” Malcolm clapped his hands together, a smile forming on his lips at the sound of his wife’s laughter. “Shall we show you around? We’re currently staying in the hotel in town, so the place is pretty empty and so you can let your imaginations run wild.”

“All I know is with how much land we have, I want a swimming pool! I think the kids may agree,” Carol turned from us and walked inside, her strut powerful and commanding. She was all the woman I aspired to be.

Malcolm threw his hand in after his wife, motioning for Stefan and I to follow after her. We did so, hurried to ensure we kept up with the woman and didn’t risk getting lost in the vance manor—which basically looked like a historic mansion .

As we entered through the large wooden doors, we were greeted with a large entryway with stone flooring and beige walls. On either side of the square foyer to the house sat two sets of stone stairs that led to what looked like an open walkway. The foyer seemed to have high ceilings—high enough they reached those of the second floor.

“This space is beautiful, I can imagine weddings being hosted here,” I mumbled, to which Carol turned to me and slapped her hands together with a wide smile on her face.

“Is that an invitation for us to host yours?” She asked, pointing her chin downwards as she stared at me with mischievous eyes.

I shook my head, my body flushing. I had no doubt my cheeks were bright red. “I’m not in a relationship, so I don’t know if or when I will get married,” I replied, my voice smaller than I intended for it to be.

Carol let out a laugh and waved her hand dramatically, dismissing me. “Just say the word and I’ll set you up with that green eyed hunk, got it?”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Malcolm saved the day as he walked through the foyer an wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist. “Now that’s enough darling. We aren’t here to play matchmaker, they’re here to check out our house and decorate it how you want it.”

Carol rolled her eyes, but the smile she kept on her lips revealed she didn’t mean the minor attitude towards her husband. “Fine, let’s show you guys where we want the kitchen and entertaining room.”

And with that, Carol made her way through the foyer, through an archway which led to a hallway that made a sharp right. There were two archways, one on either side of us. I liked the fact the house kept it’s elements from it’s history, but a part of me wanted to add modern frosted glass doors to ensure the rooms kept their heat .

Carol led us to the end of the hallway which opened up to a large room. On one side of the space sat counters of dark wood, the countertops a black marble. I walked over to the island, admiring the sheer size of it. It could fit at least six seats along the length of it.

My hand ghosted over the countertop as my eyes scanned the space. The kitchen looked dated and lacked modernity, the element the King family were known for. I walked around the counter and placed myself between the island and the side cabinets attached to the wall. I turned to face the large open space opposite.

“So from what I can gauge of this,” I began, waving my hands around the space as if trying to highlight my point. “You watch the kitchen to remain on this side with updating, and you want to install a bathroom and walk in pantry over there,” I threw my hand to the left of us where it looked as if a wall had been knocked down, wooden beams the remaining skeleton.

Carol nodded as she placed her car keys on the countertop. Her keys revealed she drove a Jaguar, and the key looked sparkling so I half suspected it was brand new as of their arrival back in Wales. “We would like the space to feel light, with white cabinets and countertops, and then maybe a paler colour wood as an accent in the space.”

Stefan jotted notes down on a pad of paper I hadn’t seen him take out. He had nominated himself as the note taker, so I was thankful he kept to his word. Other times when we worked on site in other clients’ homes, he often left me to make the notes.

I pointed to the empt space before me, my eyes glazing over the empty canvas without a direction. “And here is where I assume you want the entertaining room?” I asked, to which the woman gave a curt nod. I continued, “So would you like it to be more of a dining area, or would you like there to be sofas and maybe even storage that could hide away board games for game nights in the future? ”

Carol hummed as she leant her elbows on the counter, then she bent her back as she looked up and considered the options. “How about in the middle we have a breakfast table of sorts. A circular table that we could have our quick lunches on, large enough for six maximum so it doesn’t take up much space. We could put that closer to where we plan to make a wall of window doors.” Carol nodded her head to the right, where I could already see the former windows had been removed from their frames leaving the spaces empty and open to the elements.

“Then behind us we can have two large sofas, and three arm chairs. We could have the sofas one on each side, then the arm chairs could face the wall. We plan to add an electric fire there and a large TV.”

I nodded, trying my best to imagine the vision. It would be better when we were back in work, so we could use the modelling software to imagine not only the space, but the sizes of the items and how they would look in certain layouts.

“I can work with that,” I stated, then smiled to break the seriousness the room had fallen into. “Mr King, any requests?”

He nodded quickly. “Add a second garage I can use as a gym, please and thank you! If Carol and the kids get a pool, I get a space to work out alone.”

I gave a small laugh and smiled before nodding my head, feeling the loose bun which contained my hair bounce against the skin on the top of my neck.

“So,” Stefan began, a mischievous smirk on his lips as he placed the plastic straw between his lips. He sucked the thick liquid of his milkshake for a few seconds, then wiggled his eyebrows after he swallowed. “When shall I expect the wedding.”

Peyton, sat beside him, let out a gaps and slammed her hands on the table. “What wedding? What did I miss?” She asked, looking from Stefan to me and back again.

On our way home, we decided we should get some food and Peyton happened to be free, so we thought why not to invite her.

“She’s marrying Kota, of course. She found his playlists on that music app like some stalking sleuth just so she can woo him with the idea that she likes the same music as him,” Stefan exposed the secret I had told him in the car that morning against my will.

“You fucking traitor!” I yelled as I picked up a handful of paper napkins and threw them in his face. “I told you that in confidence! Plus, Pey knew I had done that weeks ago.”

Stefan sat straight so his back touched the red leather booth, his hand coming to rest over his chest as his lips parted in a dramatic gasp. “You left me out of one of your psycho moments? How could you.”

“Trust me, I called her a stalker for it too,” Peyton spoke with a single shrug of her shoulder, as if she had decided me a lost cause, before she sipped her cola in the same manner Stefan had just drank his vanilla milkshake.

“Look, I searched his name on it by change and he just so happened to be, like, the only person on the app with his name. It’s not my fault, okay?” I tries to defend myself weakly. I had the full understanding what I had done was creepy, but what person didn’t search social media for the person they liked?

His music taste was wank anyway. It was a little breath of fresh air that I needed from the simmering anger flowing through me from his lack of contact once again. I felt used and abandoned, but I chose to embrace that I had agreed to the predicament and I was also to blame.

“Can we not talk about him, please? Thanks,” I stated a little harsher than I intended, then I threw myself back against the leather behind me as I even dared to slide down the seat slightly.

I picked up my drink, a cherry and coke flavoured cocktail with sherbet around the rim. I sipped the drink through the tiny black straw as I kept my eyes on my phone case. I placed my phone screen down on the table, and the bright pink and purple swirls of the case was taunting me, as if begging for me to turn the device around the keep eye out on his every response.

I heard Stefan gasp, his eyes trained on the front door behind me. His eyes widened, and when Peyton followed his gaze, her own lips parted in surprise. “No fucking way.”

I frowned and began to turn in my seat, “What is it guys?” But I was cut off when Stefan reached across the table, almost tipping his drink over in the process. He grabbed my shoulders and pinned me in place.

“Don’t turn around, just keep your eyes on us. Shall we leave?” He asked turning his head to Peyton who shook her head.

“No, he hasn’t seen us here but if we get up we may call attention to ourselves.”

I rolled my eyes. “Why are you both acting so mysterious?” I asked, the compulsion to turn around overwhelming since they had deemed it was something I should not do. The only human in the world I let command me, as of recent that was, was Dakota Vernon. And even his commands fell on arguments. Guaranteed they were sexual demands over text, but they were still demands nonetheless.

“Babe, your little boyfriend is here with another woman,” Peyton rushed out.

Stefan let out a noise of annoyance between gritted teeth at Peyton, but decided to let my shoulders go. I rushed to turn in my seat, and I found that Dakota Vernon was being seated at a table for two with the woman from the night of the work event.

She smiled at something he said, and she looked radiant. He smiled back in response, and I felt my stomach drop. Sure, he had told me there was nothing going on between the two of them, but the way they smiled at one another showed they were close. Closer than I probably ever would be to him.

I turned back to my friends and forced a smile. I shrugged, then sipped my drink until the contents were gone. “Why are you both looking like something bad has happened. He doesn’t own me and I don’t own him. We’re not together.” My voice sounded calm, much calmer than I felt. I almost didn’t even sound like myself.

“What do you guys think about a night out at Club Temptation tonight?” I asked as I placed my then empty glass down. I pushed my wavy hair off my shoulders and smirked.

I stood, grabbing my bag. I didn’t bother to wait for my friends or their responses, as I knew they would agree regardless of if they wanted to or not.

I stepped out of the booth and turned, making my way in the direction of Dakota and the woman I remembered to be called Olivia, or something like that. I kept my eyes on him, turning at the last second towards the door.

I didn’t look at the image of them for too long, however it was still engraved into my eyes like a prediction whenever I blinked. She sat opposite him with her hands in the middle of the table, as if reaching out to him. She laughed, her smile bright. And he laughed in response, rubbing the side of his neck with a slight awkwardness to him.

He looked as if he had feelings for the woman before him, and that fucking pissed me off. It added to the growing irritation that was booming worse with every second I remembered he existed, and that he couldn’t care less about my existence in his life.

Once I got to the door, I stormed my way through it and the cold air hit me as a rude awakening. He looked like he was having a very cozy meal with a very beautiful woman. That likely meant one thing, and one thing only.

He was on a date with her.