The One That Got Away: a Tom Hiddleston romance

Chapter Three

The following morning I was exhausted, after spending most of the night in a restless sleep. I wished I could get that vile ex boyfriend of mine out of my head, but my attempts were fruitless. The thought of having Tom suddenly catapulted back into my life was just too much for me to bear. All the previous heartache I had finally buried after many years of practice had seemingly been brought back to the surface immediately, and I simply did not know how to handle it. Even if Nicola DID handle his financial affairs, I would still probably end up crossing paths with Tom at some point along the line, and that little bastard would undoubtedly know this. Maybe that was his plan; to torment me, to worm his way back into my life for whatever warped reason.

My phone beeped. I pulled back the crumpled duvet and leaned over to the bedside to pick it up. As I switched on the screen, I wondered who could possibly be messaging me at 5am.

Anna, when you've finished acting like a hormonal teenager, I'd like to talk. I'll be waiting in your office at 7am. Don't be late. ~NJB.

I groaned. After only three hours of broken sleep, it was going to be a very long day. I slowly sat up, stretching my legs, and trying desperately to wake myself up. I threw the duvet to the bottom of my king sized bed, and got up. Opening the crisp, white curtains, I frowned. What a miserable sight awaited me. It was clearly going to be a dark, rainy, and oppressive October day. Just like my mood, I thought.

---- 2002 ----

"No, Tom. No!" I shrieked at my lover, as he grabbed my hand, trying to pull me out from the safety of the dry shopping arcade, and into the pouring rain.

"Come on, love. A little rain never hurt anyone," he insisted, his sparkling blue eyes glinting with mischief, and his full white smile beaming down at me. He grabbed my other hand in his, and dodging the other Saturday shoppers who were also taking shelter, dragged me out into the downpour. He ran up the street, me in tow, past the rows of clothes shops which were on both sides of the pedestrian shopping street.

"Tom, please stop being a knob," I screeched, the rain beginning to run down my back. It was already soaking the front of my dark blue jeans, making them stick to my thighs. The heavy droplets ran down our arms, collecting in our hands as he held mine tightly. Ignoring my pleas, he kept on jogging up the street, until we came to the doorway of a pub. Shelter, at last. He stopped, letting go of my hand and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to him.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it darling?" He smirked as he said it, and I lightly slapped his wet arm. His light blue t-shirt clung to his chest, outlining his lean muscles. I placed my hand over his heart, and looked up at him. His dark blonde curls were soaked, the wetness dripping down his forehead and down to his eyelashes. He blinked, his bright eyes narrowing with the invasion of the rain water. Facing me, he raised his free arm, and gently put his hand on my cheek. I looked deeply into his blue pools, and I could see impishness and desire swimming together.

"Thomas, you're a shit. Why can you never take no for an. ." his lips were on mine in a second, stopping my sentence. His long fingers tangled in my wet hair, and drips of rain falling from his nose and into my mouth. I breathed deeply, getting lost as his tongue probed my mouth longingly. Drawing his hand down from my hair, and grabbing my waist, I felt his smile forming as he pulled away from the kiss. Flashing a huge grin, he simply said;

"I do what I want," and with that, his hand was back in mine, hauling me out into the spring showers once again.

---- ----

I shuddered at the memory. The fact he could still invade my thoughts so easily after such a long time, well it perplexed me. A lot. I picked up my watch from my bedside, checking the time before stalking into my en suite. A long shower helped to wake me up properly, and I quickly applied my make up, and grabbed the suit bag which hung on the back of my wardrobe door, fresh from the dry cleaners. My black Armani suit, which could only mean one thing. I meant business. I was not in the mood for playing games, and a certain Miss. Barker was first on my hit list. Grabbing my phone, I dialled the number of my PA.

"Morning Stella. I need you to do something for me as soon as you get to the office. I want you to clear my schedule for today and tomorrow. . . Yes, I know I have the meeting with Marcus Stone tomorrow. I want you to call him and see if he can make it Thursday or Friday instead. . . No Stella, I pay you to do as I ask. Please don't ask questions. Thanks, love. See you soon."

I reached under the bed, and grabbed my hand luggage case. Pulling it out, I threw it onto my bed and opened it. I quickly began grabbing some clothes from my wardrobe, and folded them into the case. My toilet bag and make up case went in after them, along with my phone charger, and I zipped the bag shut. I took my handbag from the bedside, and pulled on my shoes. Throwing my phone and purse inside my handbag, I scanned the bedroom to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything.

Arriving at my office, my assistant was already waiting at her desk for me. Stella was slightly younger than myself, a pretty girl with short platinum blonde hair. I had chosen her for the position because she reminded me of myself. Her no nonsense attitude and the ability to get on with things and get the job done made my professional life a lot easier. When she saw me, she smiled, her shiny scarlet lipstick glinting.

"Morning, boss. If you don't mind me saying so, you look knackered, Anna", she said, her eyes full of concern. Although we didn't really socialise outside of the office, I still regarded her as a friend and we got on well.

"Yeah, I had a bad night last night. Listen, I need you to do something for me, urgently. Please can you look at flights to Heathrow or Gatwick and book me on one of them, and try and get me a returning flight for either tomorrow night, or Thursday morning. Don't worry if you can't, I can always get the train. Oh, and did you cancel my meeting with Stone?" Stella frowned at me.

"Yes, I emailed him just now. He hasn't replied yet though. Can I ask why you're going to London?" Her puzzled eyes bore into mine, questioning me.

"I have some business I need to attend to", I answered, as I began to walk to towards my own office door.

I sat down at my desk, spinning my chair around to face the window. At least it had stopped raining, finally. I looked down from my seat on the first floor, at the bench on the park square. The bench where I had pondered my thoughts the night before. I knew what I had to do, but it wouldn't be easy. Just as nerves began to take hold, and I wondered if I was starting to go a little bit crazy, my office door opened. I spun my chair back round towards my desk, and found Nicola. She looked down at me, with a half smile.

"Morning, I brought you coffee." She placed the peace offering on my desk, and the rich aroma was already filling my nostrils.

"Nicola, as much as I really want to kick off at you right now, I realise it wasn't your intention to piss me off. . ."

"Anna, I'm sorry I  . . . "

"Please don't interrupt me right now Nic!" I shouted at her, making her jump back a little. "As I was saying, I don't WANT to get into a huge argument with you, but I will if I have to. My main concern right now is to find out what the fuck is going on here. I mean, come on. If your ex suddenly wanted to use you to handle his financial affairs, wouldn't you be just a tiny bit suspicious?" I raised my eyebrow at her, and she nodded. Pulling up the other chair from across my office, she sat down to face me. Straightening her dark grey trousers, Nic's bright green eyes stared at me.

"Anna, I understand that, but do you not think you're overreacting a bit? Tom isn't stupid, he knows we're bloody good at our jobs. Maybe he just wants reliable representation?" She said, shrugging her shoulders. That was a lie, and she knew it. She was just wanting to fob me off, to soften the blow..

"Nicola! Listen to yourself. There are plenty of other accountants and lawyers in this country, so he should have bloody well hired them, not us!" Nicola looked to the floor, not really knowing what to say to me. At that same moment, the door opened. A head poked out from behind the door. It was Stella.

"Sorry to interrupt, Anna, but I just wanted to let you know I've booked you onto the 11:15 to Heathrow. I've also asked Richard to bring the car round, he'll be here at 8 to pick you up and take you to the airport."

Nicola scowled at Stella, then turned her attentions back to me. As she turned, she finally noticed the small case which sat by my desk.

"Anna, why the fuck are you going to London?" Nicola was livid, her whole body was tensed up in anger. Standing up, I grabbed the coffee from my desk and took a sip, my eyes keeping contact with hers. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. I swallowed the coffee, and picked up the black case.

"I have business to attend to."