Love Walked In Page 2

  “That would be perfect,” replied Jemma. Michael escorted her inside and showed her the reception area and the foyer outside his office.

  “Well, what do you think?”

  “What do I think?” she asked.

  “Yes, about the flowers.”

  “Of course,” she said laughing at her forgetfulness. “I think we can definitely do business together.”

  Michael led her to the boardroom but was surprised to find a couple in a heavy embrace on the table. Thankfully, Jemma wasn’t following too closely behind, so Michael hastily turned to leave, scowling with annoyance at the offending party who were none the wiser to his presence.

  “Let’s go to my office,” he suggested, closing the boardroom door firmly behind him.

  “What an amazing view,” exclaimed Jemma as she gazed through the wall to ceiling windows. “So… Michael Locke of the Locke Corporation. I guess that does makes you an important person.”

  “Important? I don’t know; not as important as maybe a doctor or a teacher or even somebody that makes a bouquet of flowers for a desperate passerby?”

  Jemma laughed as she recalled their first conversation. “Well, from what I’ve heard, the Locke Corporation is making huge changes to the cityscape with a lot of redevelopment projects, so I’d say so. How did you get started in development?”

  “I started in construction and building was a passion for me. I caught a few lucky breaks, moved into development and now here I am.”

  “A few lucky breaks? I bet there’s a story that goes along with that.”

  “There is, but it’s long and uninteresting so I’ll spare you the details. By the way, you look amazing.”

  “Thank you. Although, these shoes are absolutely killing me!”

  “I noticed you seem to like flats.”

  “For sure. They’re a lot more practical in nearly every aspect of life and if a woman tells you that these things don’t hurt her feet, she’s lying to you.”

  “Michael laughed. “For the sake of fashion, right?”

  “Yeah…but what do you do?” Jemma replied with a look of resignation on her face.

  “So, regarding the floral, we can start next week?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  “Well, let’s head back out there and informally have a drink on it and I’ll have Christine contact you in the morning.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Returning to the party, they joined Sherie and Marcus who were enjoying some hors d’oeuvres.

  “Marcus, glad you could join us today. I heard you encountered some unsavoury weather in Denver.”

  “Yes, I did.” Marcus’ attention was distracted by a newcomer to the group. “Mr. Locke. You remember my business partner Nathan?”

  As Nathan turned, Michael recognised him immediately, having just come across him in the boardroom.

  “Mr. Locke, so good to see you again,” he responded, holding his hand out towards Michael. Michael shook it unwillingly. Nathan then turned to Jemma and kissed her on the lips.

  “Mr. Locke, I’m not sure if you’ve met my better half Jemma.”

  Michael was in complete shock as he processed the fact that the person he had just caught getting intimate with another woman on his board room table was in fact Jemma’s boyfriend. As anger filled him, it took all his strength to keep hold of his emotions.

  “We’ve met,” declared Jemma innocently, unaware of Michael’s predicament.

  Michael sought to compose himself quickly. “Yes, I stumbled upon Florentyna last week and was thoroughly impressed by Jemma’s craft, so we’ve just arranged that she will officially be supplying flowers to our offices.”

  “Wonderful news darling,” Nathan responded, wrapping his arm around her waist and placing another kiss on her lips.”

  The man had no sense of shame, thought Michael, feeling sickened by the display of affection toward Jemma. He excused himself quickly before he lost control of the situation.

  Chapter Four

  “Mr. Locke, accounting just dropped off the cheque for Florentyna,” Christine announced as Michael walked out from his office.

  “Perfect,” Michael replied reaching out to take it from her. “I’ll be out for the rest of the morning but back for my meeting with Webster after lunch.”

  It was the perfect excuse to drop in and see Jemma. Generally, when women were spoken for, Michael made it a rule not to pursue them, but in Jemma’s case it was different. It would only be a matter of time before her boyfriend Nathan hurt her and he was determined not to let that happen.

  It had been a busy week with the Locke order as well as two wedding orders for the weekend and Jemma hadn’t had time to keep up with the accounting. As she sat in the small back office, sifting through a pile of papers, she was startled by a loud clattering sound from the front of the store. Jemma went to see what was happening and was alarmed by the appearance of a large man in the doorway to her office. He was tall and thin, wearing a large oversized coat. His mid length hair was dishevelled, and a scrawny beard and sharp features gave him a menacing look. He pulled a knife from his pocket.

  “Where do you keep the money?” he asked holding it toward her.

  Jemma moved back quickly behind the desk to keep some distance between her and the intruder.

  “I don’t keep any money in the store,” she answered nervously.

  “Give me everything you have.” he demanded, moving closer toward her. “Now!” he bellowed. Jemma instinctively grabbed her bag and fiddled with the zipper, trying to get it open. The intruder took two strides forward and grabbed the bag from her impatiently. After getting the zipper open, he shook out the contents onto the desk. He opened her wallet and found a couple of twenty-dollar bills and some loose change.

  “That’s all you have,” he queried, cocking his head and holding the knife to her face as she retreated further behind the desk.

  “Do you think I’m fucking stupid? Do you?” he yelled. Jemma was shaking uncontrollably and grabbing her by the arms he yanked her out from behind the desk like a rag doll.

  “Where’s the fucking money?”

  Frustrated by her lack of response, he threw her aside and as he turned, he was startled by the full force of a fist in his face. As he fell to the floor, Michael leapt on top of him and threw one punch after another until the intruder lay unconscious beneath him. Jemma lay in a corner of the room, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” said Michael reassuringly as he scooped her up off the floor. Michael called the police, while Jemma looked over at the intruder and shuddered, trying to hold back the tears.

  “I don’t suppose you’ve got a bottle of whiskey in one those drawers?” asked Michael, removing his jacket and wrapping it around Jemma’s shoulders. She managed to let out a small laugh through the sobs.

  “I’m afraid not.”

  Michael desperately wanted to hold her and make the pain disappear, but he felt helpless.

  “Nathan,” she whispered, “Can you call Nathan.”

  Nathan. That snake didn’t deserve to be anywhere near Jemma and if she knew about his indiscretions, she’d probably break even more that she already had. Michael grudgingly reached for the cell phone on her desk and gave it to her. She could barely get a word out coherently, so Michael took the phone from her and alerted Nathan to the situation.

  The police arrived and removed the intruder from the scene. According to the officers, they’d dealt with him before, as he was known as a violent junkie with a criminal record. Nathan arrived shortly afterward, and Michael backed away, making room for him. Nathan crouched down in front of Jemma and she broke down in his arms.

  “It’s okay baby. I’m here. I’m here,” he said soothingly, caressing her hair and face. A police officer entered the room, pen and paper in hand.

  “Excuse me, ma’am. Do you think you could answer a few questions?”

  Jemma could barely lift her head to look at him. Her neck
was sore, her head was throbbing and she could barely get a word out. Seeing her discomfort, Michael interjected.

  “Officer, could this wait. She’s pretty shaken up and I think we need to get her to a hospital first. She fell and had a pretty bad blow to the head. Maybe she could come and give a statement tomorrow?” Michael looked at Nathan for a response.

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll bring her by the station tomorrow.”

  The ambulance arrived and Jemma left for the hospital accompanied by Nathan. As the commotion died down, Michael sat on the chair in the small office and as he slumped back, closing his eyes, he became aware of the pain in his right hand from the beating he’d given. After seeing that animal shaking Jemma violently and throwing her on the floor like that, it was all he could do. He likely threw more punches than was necessary, but he couldn’t control his rage. The room was a mess and he didn’t want Jemma coming back to the place looking like this; in fact, he didn’t want her coming back to this place at all. It wasn’t the best part of town and knowing she would have to return, he knew she needed more protection. He pulled out his cellphone and started to make calls.

  Chapter Five

  A few days had gone by since the incident and Michael hadn’t heard anything from Jemma. Nathan called and informed him that Jemma was doing well and recovering from a concussion. She had a few cuts and bruises but was fine. Monday morning arrived and a new selection of flowers arrived at the office, this time delivered by Daphne. It was absolute agony, not being able to see Jemma in person but Michael consoled himself with the fact that Nathan was taking care of her. He didn’t deserve to be anywhere near her, but she needed him, so he had to live with that. Michael was interrupted by a knock at the door.

  “Christine, what is it?”

  “Mr. Locke, shall I arrange a car for the meeting at two?”

  “What meeting?” he asked.

  “Your meeting with Cross Construction at the Waterford.”

  Cross Construction he thought. Maybe both partners would be there.

  “Do you know if both Nathan and Marcus are going to be there?”

  “I believe so sir. I called and confirmed with Mr. Cross this morning.”

  “Interesting,” he replied under his breath.

  “Christine, I won’t be able to attend, but the meeting should go on as planned. Send Webster in my place. I’ll need the car for one o’clock.”

  That was perfect, he thought. With Nathan at the meeting, it was the perfect opportunity to drop in on Jemma as he couldn’t last much longer without seeing her.

  He left the office and dropped by Florentyna to pick up a bouquet of flowers. Since the incident, he had interacted with Daphne regularly, checking to see if she was okay, so he had no problem in getting Jemma’s home address.

  The house was a fifteen-minute drive from town and Michael pulled up to a row of modern three storey townhouses. As he approached the door, he could see Jemma sitting at the kitchen counter with her laptop and bundles of files laid out in front of her.

  “Michael. What a surprise,” exclaimed Jemma, as she opened the door. Michael had no idea what to expect but she was clearly happy to see him.

  “Come in.”

  “It’s good to see you Jemma. You’re looking well,” he replied, handing her the bouquet.

  “Tulips! They’re beautiful.”

  “Actually, I did a bit of research and found out that yellow tulips symbolize cheerful thoughts and sunshine so I thought they might be appropriate at this time.”

  Jemma laughed. “That’s impressive for someone who was a complete novice only a few weeks ago.”

  It was good to see her laugh, thought Michael, taking a seat at the counter, while Jemma unwrapped the bouquet.

  “Nathan said you had a concussion.”

  “Yeah, my head was pounding, and I was so sensitive to light. I had to keep the blinds closed for the first few days and pretty much stayed in bed the entire time. I got Daphne to bring some work home, but I can only manage an hour at a time before I start getting a headache. The doctor says this is to be expected but it should wear off within a few weeks.”

  As Jemma spoke, she cut the stems and placed the flowers in the vase like she was on auto pilot. Flower arranging was obviously second nature to her. She wore a pair of grey leggings and a black sweater that fell casually off her shoulder. Her hair was tied up loosely in a bun and even without a hint of make up on her face, she was beautiful.

  “So, Daphne did an amazing job with the order this week.”

  “Daphne’s great, isn’t she? I’m not sure what I would do without her. And she says you’ve been pretty helpful too.”

  “Oh, just checking in on her and fixing the place up.” Michael paused. “Any idea when you might be going back?”

  “I don’t know,” she replied hesitantly.

  Michael watched Jemma closely as she cleared away the stem ends off the counter and turned to the garbage can. She seemed uneasy and was probably suffering from PTSD.

  “You know, it probably won’t be easy going back after what happened,” he said softly.

  She turned to look at him, her face looking pale. “At first, I had nightmares about him, and I would see his face so clearly in my mind. It’s getting easier with time, but I haven’t found the courage to go back yet.”

  “You do want to go back, don’t you?”

  “I do… I really do. I can’t let him take away what I love doing. It’s just hard. Whenever I think about going back, I see him.”

  “You know, it might be a good idea to just go in briefly a few times. You don’t need to think about spending the whole day there. Just go and see how you feel. If you don’t feel comfortable, you can always leave.”

  Jemma came out from behind the counter and placed the flowers on the coffee table. As she returned and walked towards him, Michael swiveled fully on the stool to meet her gaze. Jemma felt her heart start to beat rapidly as she contemplated the thought. “I don’t know if I can,” she replied, struggling to catch her breath. Noticing her demeanor, Michael slipped off the stool and protectively pulled her close and hugged her tightly. He kissed her forehead reassuringly.

  “Hey. There’s no rush. We’ll go when you’re ready.” Michael held onto her and rocked her in his arms.

  “When did you last get out of the house?”

  “I went to the police station and then to see the doctor last week. Why?”

  “Let’s go and get some ice cream.”

  “Ice cream?” asked Jemma, looking puzzled.

  “Ice cream,” repeated Michael decidedly. “And I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

  Jemma looked up at Michael and smiled. “Okay. Give me a minute to get changed.”

  Michael walked around the living room. It was set up in a modern minimalist style which seemed like it might be more Nathan’s style than hers. Stepping towards the fireplace, he picked up a photo frame with a picture of her and Nathan. It looked like they were on holiday. They looked happy. How could he cheat on her, he wondered.

  “So, Mr. Locke. Is this your solution to the woes of the world,” asked Jemma biting into the softness of her ice cream.