The next couple of days, Camilla stayed at the hospital beside her husband's bedside. She wanted to be there just in case he woke up. Her children were spending time with her aunt and uncle, so she didn't need to worry about that. Every day, while at the hospital, Bradford would come and ensure that Camilla had something decent to eat so that she could keep her strength up. He would bring her her salads and chicken or meat, or he would bring her soup. "Thank you for caring so much," Camilla said in a soft, sweet tone. "It's no problem at all," he responded in a soft yet extremely masculine voice. "Why did the sound of this man's voice affect her so? Why did her heart flutter at seeing him? Why does he have such an effect on me?" she wondered silently. Camilla didn't dare to think about it at that point. She needed to focus on Steven and get him better so that she could move on with her life. Three days of sitting
It had been six months since the accident. Steven was recovering nicely. He was back on his feet and looking for a job. Camilla, because she was still legally married, was footing his medical bills, but the whole family chipped in to help her clear the medical account with the hospital. Tamara had started the job at Hemmingway International, working as a secretary to one of the junior clerks in the office. Meanwhile, Camilla was working on the top floor, but she was in the offices near the CEO. Tamara was unaware of the fact that she was working for the same company as Camilla's joint business venture was.Because Tamara and Steven were still together, finances were very tight, Steven's accident and not working had put a financial strain on their relationship. Tamara was getting more and more frustrated with Steven. Having to work, come home, cook, and clean was a lot for her. She couldn't keep her maid as her father had still cut off
After the meeting with Bradford and his grandfather, Camilla spoke to her assistant and said, "Can you organize for someone to drop me off at the school?""Sure," her assistant replied.As the assistant walked away, Bradford said, "I'm taking the old man home. Do you need a lift to the school?""That would be nice," she responded, smiling. "Why did this guy's voice and presence always make my heart flutter and miss twenty beats a second," she wondered as she glared at his back when he walked out the door. "I never felt like this with Steven, so why with Bradford, and we're not even in a relationship?"As they walked to the car, Bradford's hand brushed against hers. This sent electric shocks through her body. "Oh, I'm sorry Camilla, I," he stopped in mid-sentence. He had wanted to touch her intimately all day. The force of his feelings towards her was growing stronger, and he didn't know how much longer he would be able to control himself.Seeing the look on his face, Camilla starte
Tamara left work and went home. She couldn't wait to let Steven know about Camilla. On walking in by the door, she noticed that the place hadn't been tidied up. "Steven," she called, "Steven." There was no answer. She walked straight up the stairs to her bedroom. She noticed that Steven was lying on the bed passed out. Tamara wasn't used to this. Camilla had always dealt with his drunken bouts, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to deal with it. "Steven, where is the money for the groceries?" she asked, shaking him awake.Getting anything out of him would be virtually impossible. She put her hands in his pockets, looking for the money, and all she found was papers."Damn you, Steven, damn you for drinking the money out instead of buying food," she yelled. She stormed out of the room, went downstairs, and made herself something to eat. Later that night, Steven woke up. Tamara was already sleeping. He went to the bathroom, showered, and brushed his teeth. Climbing back into bed, he
You know the old saying: Time flies when you're having fun - It is true. It had been six months since Camilla had submitted the documents to the court for divorce. Marshall turned nine, and Meghan turned seven. Today was the day. It was December, just about time for the courts to close for the end of the year. Camilla walked into the courthouse, wrapped up nicely, and warm in her fur coat and thick woollen slacks with a polar neck jumper and boots. The winter was well setting in, and the snow would start to fall anytime now. Waiting for her name to be called, she spotted Steven. "Hi," she greeted him, friendly. After all, they still had to co-parent their two children. "Hi," he said back, smiling at her, "how are you and the kids doing?" "We are okay," she answered civilly, "and you?" "I'm doing okay, I got another job," he explained, "Camilla, can we stop the divorce. I don't want to do this," he p
The next morning Camilla arrived at the office. Bradford was already waiting for her. "Morning," he greeted her, giving her a hug.Their relationship was growing stronger as friends, and she enjoyed his company. "Are you ready for the interviews today?" he asked, smiling."Do we have some candidates?" she asked, "are you going to sit in on the interviews?""Of course I am, I'm not just going to allow anyone to get this position. That person must be the perfect one to work with you. Oh! Just so you know, we are not accepting male candidates for this position," he laughed.Scratching her head at what she had just heard, she said, "Why Bradford Hemmingway, I think there is a slight bit of jealousy there," she laughed hysterically. Just then, the receptionist on their floor said that the first candidate was outside.Tamara had seen the post on the office noticeboard and had jumped at the opportunity. She had thought that this would
As the new week began, Tamara bought some muffins and a cup of coffee for the esteemed Bradford Hemmingway. "Good morning, Mr Hemmingway," she greeted him with a smile."Morning," he reacted dispassionately."Mr Hemmingway, I'm not sure if you have eaten yet, so I took the liberty of bringing you muffins and coffee from the shop around the corner," she responded, walking behind him to his office.Bradford looked at her and said, "Ms Jones, I am not interested, perhaps you can enjoy them at your desk!" His tone was firm and steadfast.Dissatisfied with the negative response from the CEO, she turned around and started walking back to her desk, which was sectioned off from the reception area on the top floor. She was sharing an office with Bradford's personal assistant.As she turned around, she bumped straight into Camilla. "Cam.., she stopped, sorry, I mean Ms. Middleton. Morning." She stopped herself, remembering the warning she
The day had finally arrived. All the staff at Hemmingway International had been invited to the Gala Event, so the offices were closed. They would all have the day off from work to prepare for the event. The Palace Hotel in Buxton had been reserved for the whole night, and the rooms booked for employees to stay over so that no one travelled back to their place too late.Tamara had informed Steven that he was her plus one for the function that evening and that she needed to go to the salon to have her hair done. Steven sighed, "Why do you need to waste so much money? Camilla never did things like that!""First, Steven, this is a big event. There will be a lot of very influential people attending tonight. Our international business partners will be attending. Who knows, this could be a good benefit for you. A chance for you to network with others and maybe grow if you play your cards right.Tamara was ushering Steven to network so that she could move forward without him. "Will Camilla be
Just two days were left before the wedding day. Michelle and Camilla had been very busy with the finer details. Camilla had taken James' mom and Aunt Joyce to the boutique to get their dresses for the wedding, and Michelle was at the beauty salon doing pre-bridal test runs of makeup before the day. That afternoon, Bradford and James treated all the women, Michelle's mom, James' mom, Aunt Joyce, Michelle, and Camilla, to a spa afternoon with massages. Enjoying the two hours, the ladies discussed a lot of the ideas for the reception. "Where's Tamara?" Michelle asked. "She's coming down with Frederick tomorrow morning," Aunt Ruby said, "Apparently she has something planned for you and Camilla." Camilla's eyebrows rose, "I hope she's going to behave." They all laughed. In the past, this may have been something of a warning, but Tamara had changed, and she was more placid than before. The morning before the wedding. Tamara and Frederick arrived at her parents' place around 7 that mo
Tamara and Frederick started attending the University of Bolton. Both were studying as per the specifications from Bradford. It was nearing the wedding of Tamara's brother, James, and his fiancé, Michelle. James had given his sister permission to bring a plus one to the wedding. One Friday afternoon, after lectures had ended, Frederick had invited Tamara out for dinner and drinks. "This could be the perfect time to invite him to my brother's wedding with me!" she thought. "I'll swing by your place. Be ready by 6 p.m.," Frederick informed her. Smiling, she said, "Anything specific?" she asked. "Nothing major," he responded. By 6 that evening, Tamara was ready and nervous. They'd been out with friends in a crowd, but this was their first official date. "Wow, you look beautiful," Frederick said as she opened the front door. Tamara was wearing a long, black pencil skirt with a white, long-sleeved blouse and a black jacket. "Thank you," she smiled coyly. She was blushing at the att
For the next three days, Bradford was forced to stay in hospital despite the fact that he wanted to get back home. Camilla remained at the hospital with him while they had frequent guests in and out. While lying on the bed, Bradford asked, "Can you please continue the audiobook. I want to hear what Desmond has in store for Theresa next."Camilla laughed, "Bradford, you really are something else I tell you. So do you want to listen for the sake of listening, or is it to conjure up something in that devious mind of yours for when you get home?"A devilish smile grew across his lips at the thought of what he would plan for his wife. Camilla saw that smile, and she knew what he was up to. Shaking her head, she responded, "I have no words for you, my husband." Camilla continued to play the book as they sat snuggled together on the hospital bed. Some of the scenes were excellent, and Bradford said, "Just imagine that this was us and Desmond was me," he smiled. His manhood getting a high-r
There was a long wait till Bradford was wheeled out into the ICU. "Doctor, how is my husband?" Camilla asked, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We will have to see. We managed to remove the bullet," the doctor said. Judith's father arrived at the hospital. "Tell me, is Bradford okay?" He asked, sincerely concerned about the young man. "He's still unconscious, Mr Brown," James said. "Please keep me updated on his progress," the elder gentleman said and left the hospital. Camilla went into the room, "Babe, please wake up, I need you," she said, crying as she sat beside his bed. The family popped in briefly, one at a time, to see him. "Thank you all for coming," Camilla said, "you can all go home. I will keep everyone updated on the family chat group." Nodding, they said goodbye and left.Later that evening, James and Michelle took the children in to see him. "Dad Brad, you need to be okay. We all need you, but mom and Morgan need you more," Meghan said, holding his hand. Marshall w
After finally settling on moving to Alderley Edge, Camilla and Bradford discussed attending the funeral for Jessica. Camilla had suggested that Bradford go alone, but Bradford wasn't having anything of it. "No, my love, where I go, you go. You are my wife. I'm proud of you being next to me," he uttered, putting an arm around her waist.In the past, when Camilla was married to Steven, he would definitely not have encouraged this. He would have left her behind and gone alone, but this was Bradford Hemmingway, the CEO and heir to the Hemmingway fortune. Plus, he was a different type of person altogether. He loved his wife.Meanwhile, the wedding for Michelle and James was coming quickly, and there were many preparations to be made.That Monday Camilla decided to go to the office late. Michelle had asked her to accompany her to the bridal shop for a dress. "Okay, honey, I will see you later in the office," Bradford said as he left, kissing his wife goodbye. When Michelle arrived, they wen
The next morning, James awoke with the news playing on the television. Michelle had gotten up slightly earlier to prepare breakfast for them. The news report said, "Breaking News MHP Styal Prisoner found dead in her cell. Investigations are underway, but it looks like suicide." Michelle looked up and saw a picture of the woman who had passed away. James came down the stairs at this notable point, and Michelle gasped in shock. "James, isn't that, doesn't that look like, Jessica. Bradford's ex?" she stammered in disbelief. Looking at the picture on the television, he said, "it may be." James picked up the phone and called Bradford. "Hey man, listen, have you seen the news yet?" Still half asleep after the long night, Bradford said, "Brother, it's still away too early, man. What's up?" James responded, "Bradford, go turn on the tele man. There's a picture of a lady on the news from Styal. She looks like Jessica." Realizing what James was on about, he said, "James, it is Jessica. W
December had approached pretty quickly. Tamara had sold her place, bought a new place, and moved to Bolton. The nights were getting darker earlier, as was the norm in England. James and Michelle were preparing for James' wedding. While Bradford and James were looking into selling their place and buying a bigger place for themselves and all before the new year would arrive. Meanwhile, at Style Prison, Jessica was having a terrible time adjusting to life in prison, under the strict watch of the prison guards. Many heated arguments had broken out between Jessica and a few of the inmates. Jessica was not one to back down and often came up against some of the most cruel women on her block. Randy, another female prisoner, with black, braided hair and tattoos on her body, had been locked up for the murder of her mother, her sister and her sister's little baby, all because the sister's husband refused to leave the sister for her. Randy was facing life in prison without the possibility
The next day, Camilla and Bradford were in the office having coffee. Bradford said, "Babe, the family are coming around 10 they want to discuss something with us." Camilla looked at her husband and asked, "Did they say what for? And who is coming?" Bradford smiled, "it's Uncle Chris, James, and probably Michelle and I will gather Tamara as well. I suspect it has to do with Tamara and studying further, but I'm not sure what else," he said.Thinking about it, Camilla responded, "I think I do. The house Tamara owns is in Poynton." With that Judith knocked on the door, Mrs Hemmingway, Mr Buyson is on the phone," she announced. Camilla stood up and went to take the call. While Camilla was speaking to the client, Chris and Tamara walked into the offices. "Dad, I'm going to Camilla quick," she said. Chris nodded and greeted Judith. "Morning, Sir," Judith greeted him. "Morning, can you let Mister..." Just then, the office door opened, and Bradford stepped out. "Uncle Chris, it's good
While love antics are found at Hemmingway International and at Jones & Co., things between Tamara and Frederick are warming up. Bradford and Frank had spoken to Tamara's parents and Frederick's parents, respectively, regarding the idea that they had for the two of them. However, they both felt that for them to prosper within Hemingway International, they would need to both take courses at the University of Bolton. Fortunately, Frederick lived in Bolton, so it was not a problem for him. Frederick was twenty nine and single. He'd had a few women in his life, but none were serious. Not until Tamara came along. Something about her captivated him. He was drawn to her wild nature and zest for life. Frederick was average height for a male. He had sandy blonde hair with green eyes. Tamara was shorter than Frederick, not that this stopped her. On the other hand, Tamara lived in Knutsford, so for her, it would be at least a forty-minute drive each day to and from Bolton. Tamara had decided t