To have and to Hold

Prologue

Trying to get an appointment with Adam Maxwell was like trying to get an appointment with royalty; in that it seemed an almost impossible feat to accomplish, twenty five year old Rachel Crosby realised in frustration.

But then she supposed sourly, that Adam Maxwell probably did consider himself something of a god, being a big time property developer, and playing with peoples lives.

His all powerful business decisions could either, benefit, or crush ones future, depending on which side of the track you came from.

Unfortunately for Rachel she happen to be on the wrong side. She was not a land owner, or a hotelier; or the owner of some  big company looking for a tower block of offices, that Adam Maxwell could provide.

She just had a part time job working in a supermarket, whilst spending the rest of her time helping out at Haven, a refuge for homeless and battered women, which was now under serious threat of being closed down, thanks to Adam Maxwell.

He had manage to convince Joe Mercer, the owner of the large Victorian house, to sell the place to him for a good price.

Joe  Mercer, a small time cafe owner, had leased the house to the Haven's women's group  cheaply, having sympathy for their cause, and he also knew the women who ran it, fairly well.

 But  as charitable as he was,  Joe could not turn down the huge sum of money Adam Maxwell offered. It would set him and family up comfortably for the rest of their lives.

He had never realised his old run down property left by his grandparents would ever fetch such a fortune. Which was why he had happily leased the place to the women's refuge for the last five years

But Adam Maxwell had been helping buy up several rundown derelict properties in the area, with plans to build a big fancy hotel on the site. As far as he was concerned the money he paid out for the house, would be worth it in the end.

So the women of 'Haven' were dismayed to receive a notice that Adam Maxwell expected them to vacate the building in two months time when the lease would run out.

They had appealed to the local government and councils for aid, but it seemed the councillors wanted the area redeveloped as well, so they showed a reluctance in helping. It would be impossible for the women to find another accommodation so quickly, and they knew they needed more time

Only Adam Maxwell wasn't really interested in giving them any more time, he had his own deadlines to meet and that was all he cared about.

"So far, the women in charge of Haven had only been able to contact Adam Maxwell through writing, but his response had been a curt reply that, while sympathetic to their cause, he could not do anything."

"This cold brush off only infuriated Rachel further. She was determined to meet the man face to face so she could tell him personally what she thought of him and what he could do with his deadline.

When she had  tried phoning him, she had got an answering service; and  when she tried to visit his office, he was always busy in meetings, or away. But she was not going to give up easily.

Rachel continued to pester his phone line and office almost daily, hoping if she made enough fuss, and became a pain in the butt, he would realised she was not the sort of person he could just dismiss.

But finally after a few weeks her chance to meet the 'Big Man' came unexpectedly when one of the women of the Refuge discovered that Adam Maxwell would be discreetly paying a personal visit to check out one of the other properties he had bought nearby.

Rachel planned to be there to greet him when he did, and give him a piece of her mind...