The Second Time Read online

  Chapter Two

  Darcie hadn’t recognised her, which wasn’t surprising. Madison no longer looked like the person Darcie had known ten years ago. The girl with the scarred face. No, that girl no longer existed, she was just a wisp of a memory. And it was all thanks to Madison’s uncle. Soon after taking her into his care, Bryan had arranged an appointment with one of the best plastic surgeons in the UK. After long, careful, but painful surgery the scar that had once marred her face was gone, as if it had never been there to start with. The evidence of her past trauma now invisible to the naked eye but still there inside, even after all these years. It was strange at first. To not have people gawp at her with morbid fascination—that she could go about her day, unnoticed, unpraised, unpitied.

  But today thankfully, was one of those days that Madison was over the moon to have been noticed. It had been a great relief to see that Darcie’s attraction to women remained and she hadn’t ‘grown’ out of it—the glint of attraction in Darcie’s eyes had been enough to tell her this. Not that Madison believed for a second she would have. Even as a teenager Darcie had known what she wanted. Every night Madison would listen enthralled as Darcie told her in great detail how she was going to make a great success of her life. That her life experiences weren’t going to hinder her, they had made her stronger and were going to give her the skills she needed to navigate the business world. If she could survive the conditions in the homes where she was given basic food and shelter, Darcie had told Madison with steely determination, she could cope with anything. That she would make it no matter what.

  And it seemed that Darcie had been true to her word. Her perfectly tailored business suit screamed money. Not to mention that she looked groomed to perfection. Her once mop of curly brown hair was now sleek blonde. And her teenage body, which at one time had been plump, had matured into a slender, well-toned figure. Her beauty was ever fiercer.

  The only thing that remained the same were Darcie’s eyes. They still had a sense of sadness about them. A sign that told Madison, no one had been able to capture Darcie’s heart. Up until now anyway.

  ‘Your order’s ready. Miss?’

  Madison looked up, dragged out of her reverie and back to the present. The woman behind the counter held out her take-away cup of coffee.

  ‘Sorry. Daydreaming.’ Madison took the cup with a smile of thanks and turned away from the counter.

  How the hell did I hold my nerve? Madison pondered as she walked out of the café and into the early morning crisp air. She thought she was ready to meet Darcie again after reading about her in the newspaper. But not this way. Not in a coffee shop surrounded by strangers or with the contents of her bag bouncing randomly across the floor.

  No, Madison had always dreamt of their chance encounter taking place in a far more romantic setting. Maybe a candlelit restaurant, their eyes meeting across the room with neither woman able to look away. Darcie would come to her and take her in her arms, whispering sweet nothings in her ear about how much she had missed her. Still loved her. Then Madison would have said… Her internal dialogue paused for a moment.

  What would I have said? I couldn’t even bring myself to tell her who I was.

  It was the unexpectedness of seeing Darcie in the coffee shop that had rendered Madison speechless, she reasoned. If she had been prepared, nothing would have stopped her from shouting from the roof top. ‘It’s me—Madison— the now grown woman whose heart you stole all of those years ago.’ The woman who had never stopped thinking or loving Darcie no matter how hard she tried to forget and move on. Because to do so would have been like trying not to breathe.

  The cold breeze finally wormed its way into her consciousness. She stopped for a moment, put her steaming cup down on a shop windowsill, and buttoned up her coat.

  So, what now? How did Madison move on knowing her feelings were exactly the same as they had been when they were teenagers? Maybe it would have been better if the attraction had dissipated. That over the years she had blown their brief time together way out of proportion.

  It only took her to remember how paralysed she had been in Darcie’s presence to know that wasn’t true. How in total awe she still felt.

  She glanced down at her hand and noticed the slight tremble. It was a great improvement from a few minutes ago when her hand had literally been shaking due to the adrenaline firing throughout her body.

  Hearing her phone ring, Madison slipped her hand inside her bag and took it out. Seeing the caller ID, she answered straight away.

  ‘Where are you?’ the male voice was sharp.

  ‘Not far. Is everything OK?’

  ‘We won’t know that until you get here.’ The line went dead.

  Madison picked up her cup and took a couple of warming sips through the plastic lid. She always felt a bit like a toddler using a sippy-cup with these things but today time was of the essence. There’d be no sitting in a comfortable warm coffee shop with a ceramic cup and a slice of toasted fruit bread.

  Putting her phone back in her bag, her thoughts remained on her uncle. To someone who wasn’t personally acquainted with Bryan, they would have assumed his dismissive tone was downright rudeness, but knowing him as well as she did now, Madison knew her uncle’s bluntness was down to one thing—he didn’t believe in pleasantries. He got straight to the point, no faffing around. It was one of the many reasons he had been able to build a multi-million-pound company despite not having any formal education.

  He trusted his gut instinct to steer him in the right direction and when he reached seventy and his mind was no longer as sharp as it had once been, he put his trust in Madison to make the right decisions for the company.

  All in all, she had a lot to be grateful to Bryan for. But it didn’t stop her still feeling an itch of annoyance at the way he spoke to her.

  Her thoughts slipped effortlessly back to Darcie. She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she headed along the road, unconsciously avoiding the apparently random direction changes of the hordes of people in front of her.

  She also ignored the odd looks she got from people coming the other way, at least from those people who weren’t solely concentrating on their phones. It was as if the early morning commuters thought she had no right to be smiling at that time of the day.

  If only they knew, she thought wistfully. If only they knew.

  Chapter Three

  The urge to pace the floor was almost overwhelming. As was the adrenaline rush Darcie was experiencing, which served to make her both nervous and irritated at the same time.

  If—no—when her company, Silver Lining, was awarded the lucrative contract they would receive a much-needed cash injection. Then the mayhem with an ex-employee, the one who had been responsible for putting her business in this mess… Darcie pushed the memory away. It was something she could no longer bare to think about. She wanted to keep all of those negative feelings at bay. All she knew was that winning this contract would put all of that right, end the nightmare. It wasn’t as if they were up against hundreds of competitors, she reminded herself. Only four companies were vying for the contract.

  Mr Willis, sat on the opposite side of the oval table. Big in stature, his presence was a force to be reckoned with. A self-made millionaire who had started off as a pool cleaner in a hotel, he was, after years of grafting, the owner of four international hotels.

  Unfortunately, after an undercover reporter exposed harsh working conditions for migrants in their Thailand hotel, such was the outcry, the Oasis hotel had been closed temporarily, citing refurbishment, when in truth they were probably busy trying to limit damage to their brand.

  That was why all the work Darcie had put into the pitch was so important. Mr Willis was on the hunt for a company that could reverse his company’s tarnished reputation and Darcie hoped, no, knew, she could do a fantastic job for them.

  Darcie’s eyes swept across the table. All seats were filled, except for one. That was to be filled by Mr Willis’ second in command and w
as the source of the irritation Darcie was feeling. The missing person was the one Darcie would have to convince that her rebranding ideas would resurrect their company’s reputation. But they were late. Not a good sign in Darcie’s book. In fact, it was one of her pet hates. Not only was it unprofessional, but it showed a lack of respect for the people who had managed to get there on time.

  ‘Can I get you gentlemen another coffee?’ Darcie said, trying to fill the deafening silence.

  A chorus of no sounded around the table. Darcie’s butterflies fluttered even more as she smiled at Mr Willis across the table.

  She discreetly glanced down at her watch. 9.20 a.m. The meeting had been tabled for 9.15a.m. At a loss what to do, Darcie slid a side on look at Emma, who was sitting to her right. If she was as anxious as Darcie, she wasn’t showing it.

  Looking just like the successful partner, Emma was as cool as a cucumber. Their eyes met and Darcie hoped Emma could read the frantic message she was trying to convey.

  The door opened and as Darcie turned to welcome the latecomer with an internal sigh of relief, she involuntarily let out an inaudible gasp instead. What the hell is she doing here?

  Standing in the doorway was the blonde woman from the coffee shop. Darcie’s mind raced. How had she found her? Did Trace tell the woman where she worked? If so why would the woman just waltz into her conference room, unannounced? Uninvited?

  Just as Darcie was getting to her feet ready to usher the woman outside, she watched in shock as the woman walked over to Mr Willis and whisper something in his ear. Whatever she had said made Mr Willis’s expressionless face become animated, and for the first time that morning he actually looked human. It always amazed her what a difference a smile could make to someone’s features.

  The woman took the unoccupied seat. Darcie’s gaze flew sideways to Emma who was now sitting erect in her chair, looking excited and ready to get going.

  ‘Sorry I’m late, I went to the wrong building.’ The woman met Darcie’s gaze and she stared back at her speechless.

  Darcie felt a sharp kick on her ankle which brought her back to the present. She adjusted the collar on her shirt and addressed Mr Willis. ‘Now we’re all here, shall we begin?’

  ‘Go for it. But it’s my niece that needs convincing,’ Mr Willis nodded towards the woman next to him.

  ‘I’m sure the first thing you want to know is, why use Silver Lining to rebuild your reputation? Good question. By the end of our presentation you’ll know exactly why we are the best people to deliver exactly what you need.’

  The woman raised her eyebrows. ‘And what do we need, Ms Williams?’

  ‘To change the way people here think about Oasis Hotels in less fortunate countries. Your brand needs to reflect fairness, so when people see your name,’ Darcie pointed to the logo on the screen, ‘they have a feel-good factor about being associated with it. That hotels under the Clover Ltd umbrella stand for community and unity, not exploitation.’

  ‘And how are you going to achieve that?’ The woman looked up and held Darcie’s gaze.

  ‘That’s what I’ll explain next.’

  Darcie took a quick glance at Emma. A small smile played on Darcie’s lips when Emma gave her a discreet thumbs up.

  She glanced back over at the woman she had helped and hindered in equal measure in the coffee shop, and just for a second, couldn’t tear her eyes, or thoughts away.

  Chapter Four

  Madison picked up the folder in front of her and started reading. At least pretended to. Her fingers trembled as she leafed through the pages.

  ‘I’d like to hear more about the locals and the challenges we might face getting them on board.’

  Darcie flashed Madison an easy smile.

  She hasn’t changed one bit, Madison smiled back.

  ‘I’m glad you asked, because locals will play an integral role in making the Oasis Hotel the number one place holidaymakers want to stay,’ Darcie said smoothly as she began the PowerPoint presentation on the projector screen. ‘And this is how we’re going to do it.’

  Madison sank back in her chair and watched in awe as Darcie gave an impassioned pitch on the values, mission and vision she thought were essential to change a negative to a positive perception of the Oasis Hotel.

  An hour later, Darcie was back in her seat looking extremely pleased with herself.

  Madison had to admit that the pitch was a good one. In fact, it had been the best of the two they had seen so far, but there were still two more companies to see and she didn’t want to give Darcie false hope. She had to be as hard on her as she was going to be on the other companies.

  After all, this was business. She could not, and would not let sentimentality blur the lines.

  ‘Our deadline for re-opening the hotel is December. Why are you suggesting May?’ Madison said hoping Darcie had a good reason for ignoring such an important spec of their brief. Bryan didn’t like mavericks. And if Darcie wasn’t careful she would find herself out of the game before they even got started.

  ‘Ms—’

  ‘You can call me Maddie.’

  ‘OK … Maddie.’ Madison noticed a flicker of something pass across Darcie’s face. Recognition? Confusion? ‘According to my research, there are six hotels opening in that region in December, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but these hotels are major players in this business. I would strongly suggest re-opening the Oasis with a fierce growl that will grab attention, rather than trying to get your message over at the same time as these other six companies whose marketing teams are going to be blitzing publicity left, right, and centre. May is the low season. The publicity around the new openings will have died down. We use December to May to sow the seeds that your company has taken on board the findings that were exposed and management are doing their upmost to correct any wrong doings. For instance, I think opening a community centre and a crèche for the staff’s kids—’

  ‘You want to dwindle our profits away on the staff? What kind of outfit are you running here? A charity?’ Bryan slid his chair away from the table with a mini-screech and was on his feet fast, belying his advancing age.

  ‘Please let me explain—’

  ‘I think we’ve heard enough.’

  ‘Mr Willis—’

  He held up a hand, palm out. ‘I said enough.’

  He strode towards the door; his minions scurrying close behind him.

  Madison remained seated for a moment before she too stood up. It was unfortunate the meeting had come to such an abrupt end. She liked Darcie’s ideas and was keen to hear more.

  ‘Maddie, let’s go,’ Mr Willis said. He had stopped abruptly by the door, his underlings barely managing to halt before running into him, although they did somehow manage to get tangled up with each other, drawing a look of undisguised contempt from the old man.

  ‘I’m coming.’ Madison picked up the folder and walked around the table to where Darcie was seated. Looking shell-shocked, Darcie could barely meet her eyes.

  ‘It was a great presentation.’

  ‘Obviously wasn’t good enough though was it,’ Darcie said as her gaze drifted to the now empty doorway.

  ‘I didn’t think you’d give up that easy,’ Madison said.

  Darcie’s eyes flickered. ‘Are you sure we haven’t met before?—’

  ‘Maddie,’ a voice from the hallway called. ‘Mr Willis is waiting.’

  ‘I’d better go. Thanks for this,’ Maddie said holding the pitch folder in the air as she rushed out of the room.

  As Madison left the building with her uncle and his entourage, she couldn’t help but think how well Darcie had taken her uncle’s rejection. The Darcie she knew would have fought tooth and nail for what she wanted. Madison hoped the struggles Darcie had been through hadn’t knocked that fight out of her.

  Madison waited until they were in the privacy of their car before she spoke to her uncle about the meeting.

  ‘Don’t you think you were a little abrupt.’


  Bryan looked at her. ‘A little?’

  Maddie raised both eyebrows. ‘OK then, a lot. But why? I thought she had some really good ideas.’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Such as helping the staff. We have the opportunity to do some serious damage control if we implement Darcie’s ideas. Like she said, we need to look as if we are listening. That we can tackle exploitation—’

  ‘By spending our profits on making our staff comfortable?’

  ‘It’s your staff that make it possible for you to run a hotel. That’s something we should never forget.’

  Bryan snorted. ‘It’s business, Maddie. The bottom line is all that matters. You should know that by now.’

  ‘All I know,’ Madison said crossing her arms over her chest, ‘is that companies live and die by their reputations, and the problem with our reputation means the Oasis is closed now and costing us money in bookings across the board. That is the bottom line. That’s why I think you should reconsider before ruling her out.’

  ‘Her, as in Darcie? I thought she was part of a team?’

  ‘You know what I mean, Bryan.’ Madison’s voice was light, but the response was quick and sharp and accompanied by Madison looking out of the car window.

  Bryan frowned at the use of his first name, something Madison only did when he had pissed her off. Today was one of those days.

  ‘You need to learn to think with your head not with your heart.’

  Madison stared at the grey concrete buildings as they drove past them, not wanting to look back at her uncle while Bryan was alluding to her personal life. Although he knew she was gay, she still didn’t feel comfortable talking about such things to him. ‘I am and that’s why I think we’re making a big mistake not listening to her reasoning.’

  Bryan tutted. ‘If you weren’t my niece…’

  ‘If you weren’t my uncle…’ Madison tutted back.

  They both laughed at the same time.

  ‘You’ll be the death of me.’

  ‘Nah, you’ve got at least another thirty years,’ Madison said, finally turning back to look at him.