Lone Wolves

Chapter seven

They barely noticed the lift stop a few floors lower, with Jenny Wilkinson coughing to disturb them both as she stood with her husband and their children. "Oh! Mrs Wilkinson. Mr Wilkinson. George, Lizzie." Jaime pulled away from Mack slightly. "Sorry. I didn't quite see you there. I was just expressing my gratitude to...sorry? I never got your name?" Jaime teased Mack, keen to embarrass The Wilkinsons who had been so uptight since she first moved into the building. "Oh for heaven's sake." Jenny muttered, as Mack lowered Jaime so she stood next to him. "Oh well, it's Mackenzie. But remember you still need to pay me?" He said, teasing Jaime by taking it a bit further. "So it was the whole night, plus extras that you weren't quoted for, so we could probably call it £500?" Jaime held back her laugh as she watched the Wilkinsons hurry out of the lift on the next floor, Jenny turning and sneering at her. "£500?" Jaime swatted him. "I did not get my money's worth for £500." "Look if you're unhappy with the service, you can submit your complaint in writing." "Hmm I suppose it's my fault for not reading the online reviews in the first place." Mack laughed, holding his arms around her as they went down to the basement car park. "Where would you find reviews about me d'yer think?" "ScottishStuds.com." She replied. "You said that too quickly. You've got a fetish haven't yer? I bet if I'd gone on that laptop of yours, I would have just found pages and pages of fellas in kilts?" Jaime laughed, enjoying how easy it felt with Mack, as she pressed the unlock button on her key fob.

"What is this? A TVR? Blimey...haven't seen one of these since like 90s Top Gear?" Mack sounded surprised. "Ahhh yes. It's a bit of a personal thing. My dad, Steve, step-dad...yeah anyway. My dad had one when I was little. And I loved it. It was the coolest car to me. Then when he got into money trouble, he had to sell it. Was always determined that I'd get my own. So..." she gestured. "Sorry...you probably think that's dead naff." She looked a bit embarrassed as he listened. "Norrr. It's cute. You're a proper daddy's girl then?" "Hmm it's complicated. I'll fill you in sometime, if you want. Look, do you want a lift? To wherever it is you go? I've got time, can be a bit late for work." She said casually, eager to spend more time with him. "Aye that'd be good. Means I can improve my review of you on IcyBlondes.com." He grinned, getting in the car, his long legs squashed. "Yeah? Might need to put the seat back?" She started the engine as he did so. "Can I choose music?" "Yeah sure, go for it." He set it up, scrolling through her recently listened to, "We are not listening to Taylor Swift hen." He scrolled through before deciding to put on some 90s indie Brit pop playlist which they both began singing along to. He kept glancing at her as she drove, surprised by how much he wanted to keep seeing her, keep speaking to her, keep being with her. It scared him slightly. The idea of getting close to her, and losing her. But he tried to ignore that voice in his head that told him she'd lose interest eventually.

***
"We can't start the meeting without Jaime." Jessica, Jaime's deputy head of brand, advised Steve and Chloe. Steve nodded matter of fact whereas Chloe looked furious. Together they were Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer of their drinks distribution business, Marchant/Travers. It was a small outfit but impressive in results. Steve had jumped on the idea of a drinks business whilst in prison; and saw the public desire for a 'natural' energy drink before anyone else did, meaning their brand Enerdew was known across the country. The years since he left prison in 2006 had been a whirlwind. In the 7 years he'd been in prison, apart from his monthly visits from his dad, he'd not had any visitors. The occasional letter from acquaintances from uni or even Tara Thornfield were the only other bits of communication he got. The isolation left him hardened, more driven than ever to leave prison and make a name for himself. So when he was offered early release due to good behaviour, he was determined to succeed. He scrimped and saved from his jobs out of prison, working to get his reputation back and in 2012, he'd launched his business. It was a small affair at first, which meant he needed to dip into the odd spot of criminal activity using the vans but by doing that, he was able to expand after a couple of years. It also meant he was able to hire a private investigator to track down Jaime who was living alone in London, aged 22, surrounded by false friends that followed the money she had inherited from Frank, in a PR job that she hated and ultimately, lonely. She'd turned to drink and the odd illegal substance in order to feel like she fit in with the scene. With her mum in prison, it felt like Steve swooped in and rescued her at just the right time by asking her to move back to Hotten with him. And she was able to rescue him by investing in the business. It was perfect, until two years later Steve met Chloe Travers at a conference. She was confident, driven and blonde. And Steve was hooked. Despite protestations from Jaime that it was too fast, he married her after 9 months and made her a full partner in the business. Now after five years together, on the surface they seemed strong but there were cracks in their foundations.

"I'm not holding the meeting up any further to wait for our head of brand." Chloe snipped, looking at one of the interns expectantly for her coffee. The meekest of them, Libby, ran off. "Chlo...it's been ten minutes. It's fine." He sighed, looking out of the glass window to see Jaime hurrying to the meeting room. She'd changed and showered after the gym, her hair had a light natural curl to it, dressed in a white tailored shirt and jeans she looked casually chic as she swept in. "Hi! I am so so sorry! Mad morning honestly." She was offered a chair up at the head of the table, where the executive team sat but she shook her head, deciding instead to sit in a chair next to a shy looking Libby. "Have I missed anything?" She asked her quietly, like they were friends at the back of class which made Libby feel special, she shook her head at Jaime, smiling shyly. She was refreshing compared to the other members of the senior team, happy to muck in with the whole organisation and chat to anyone regardless of their status. It irked Chloe, seeing how well regarded Jaime was by the staff. Even more so when she'd hear chat in the pub about how Jaime was actually a major investor, whereas even though Chloe was a partner, she had invested nothing in the business.

"Ahhh our prodigal head of brand. We're so lucky you've spared the time for us this morning. Now we're all sorted. We can begin the monthly meeting." Chloe commanded the attention of the room. One by one the teams reported on recent activity, how their plans were progressing. Then Steve presented his update as the Chief Executive. He spoke eloquently about his pride over the company, and how plans were already under way for the tenth anniversary next year. He looked at Jaime as he said that, smiling as he thought about how much they had been through together to get the company to where it is now. Chloe noticed and decided to stand with him, her hand on his shoulder, "Yes, we are both very impressed with the results this year. But you know my motto, unless we're striving...we're merely surviving. So let's not rest on our laurels hmm? Which brings me onto tonight. This event at...Home Farm, Emmerdale." Chloe's eyes flashed at Jaime. "We've been a supplier to them for the past three months, but not really made ourselves known. And in my opinion, it's the sort of account that could do with senior leadership expertise. No offence Adrian." She looked over at the account manager as Jaime looked confused at Steve who shrugged back. "I've been looking over their account and see potential. So...I'll be going tonight. To show them just who Marchant/Travers is. And...I think if Travers is going, Marchant should be there too." She smirked, looking at Steve who looked furious. "So Adrian, Jessica...we'll be using your tickets." "Chloe! You can't!" Jaime interrupted, surprising the meeting. "It's all been arranged. Adrian and Jessica are going. You can't disrupt them on the day of the event. Mu...Kim Tate won't be happy." Jaime tried to regain her composure, irritated by Chloe's wry smile. Chloe knew that Jaime tried as much as possible to talk about Kim at work, she'd always worked to be hands off when it came to the HOP account even though she was the one who secured it. She didn't want anyone to accuse her of benefitting from further nepotism. "Jaime, I think Kim Tate will be fine. She's a professional. I'm quite looking forward to meeting her I must say. Now if there's not any other business?" Nobody piped up. "Wonderful. Off you go." She dismissed them with a little wave. Jaime stormed up to Chloe and Steve as everyone left. "You can't be serious? Mum made a strict stipulation, she'd work with us but only if you both had no involvement in her account." "I won't be dictated to by you or her, Jaime. I want to take control of this account and I will. So, Steve and I will be there this evening. I've got the perfect dress in mind." "Chloe, I don't want to go there." Steve said firmly. "You know that is just going to cause more upset than is needed? And might risk the account?" "Oh don't be silly. It'll be a fun evening, I'm quite curious to meet your mother Jaime. And see this mythical Home Farm... Now, I'm late for meeting with George. I'll see you both later." Chloe kissed Steve as she swept out of the meeting room, leaving Steve and Jaime.

"Dad... you can't seriously let her go tonight?" "Jaime, it'll be fine. She's not a loose canon, she just wants to make herself known to Kim. Especially with you getting close to her again recently..." "'Close to her'? Dad, you talk about her like she's not my mum. I've always been close to her, even when we've not been speaking. Just, please don't let her ruin tonight for mum. We've just been getting to a good place again." She kissed Steve's cheek. "I have to go to a meeting about the anniversary. See you later."