Chapter 5
Becky arrived after lunch. The morning sickness had taken its toll and she was barely able to drag herself around and raced to the toilets every time someone walked by with coffee or food. Never the less she remained at work and struggled through the morning. By 2 p.m. she could barely sit up at her desk. Still she refused to go home knowing what that would do to the three meetings that were scheduled for that afternoon. At 2.10 p.m. she walked into Grant’s office to discuss the Branson and Henderson files. Grant took one look at her, marched her out of the door and asked her to head home. Her concern about the meetings was totally ignored. Tizzy noted Grants actions with both pride and dismay. Pride at the concern he showed for the welfare of his staff, and dismay at what Becky’s absence would mean for her. Becky had been sick in the past as well, but the meetings had always been postponed or Tina from the sales office had stepped into Becky’s shoes. Tina unfortunately had resigned so that she could join her husband overseas.
As soon as Becky left, Tizzy braced herself for Grant’s call. Instead of a message, Grant came himself. He confirmed that he had given Becky the next couple of days off. In face she was not to come in until she was feeling a hundred percent. Now Grant wanted to familiarise himself with all the urgent files, so they spent the next hour sitting in a corner and going through each project. Tizzy knew every detail of every project. She had anticipated the situation as soon as she saw Becky leave and had made detailed notes for Grant. Tizzy’s conversation remained limited to work. Her speech was fluent and her manner professional. Grant found himself listening to the tone of her voice. He found himself watching her hands as she made notes or amendments. It was only when he found himself hoping that she would take off those hideous dark glasses that he brought himself back to reality. Tizzy was not his type. Hell! If she was not working for his firm he would never have even given her a second glance. What was happening to him? She had been working for T & G Mallaby for all these years and he was used to her, sowhy had he suddenly become more aware of her and her movements?
While Grant fought his thoughts, Tizzy tried best to ignore her feelings. For five years she had worked for the company and had watched everyone swoon over Grant. She even known that despite giving all of his attention to his company he did continue to socialise and enjoy the company of women. She was also aware that he met a model on a regular basis, which was every time she was in town. She had been happy to sit in her little corner and do her work. She told herself, it was her work that was important not who she worked for. Yet after that short drive in her car just a few days ago, everything had changed. Her feelings no longer seemed to be under her control. She remembered the pain she had felt at seeing him rush to leave her both her car and her company. The cruel remarks others had made in the past had only added to her feeling of insecurity but had never made her cry. Grant’s comments on the other hand had caused her so much pain. Why had she cried herself to sleep that night? And the palpitation yesterday! She knew Grant’s presence had caused it. Fear of the impending meeting had only aggravated it. But beyond all these feelings was the sense of disappointment that she felt in herself. She wished dearly that she could take on Becky’s role. But she knew that she could never manage that. She never wanted to be the center of attention again. The thought of everyone looking at her, listening to her, was making her sick in the stomach even now.
“Just the person I’ve been looking for.”
Both Grant and Tizzy looked towards the doorway. They knew who would be standing there for Peter’s voice had announced his arrival.
“I didn’t know we had another meeting today.” Grant remarked, finding Peter’s presence strangely irritating.
“Well actually we don’t. I was just passing by and wondered if Ms McKenzie would like to join me for lunch?” Peter replied Grant but his eyes were focused on Tizzy
Tizzy was taken aback. Everyone knew she never socialised outside of work and morover she had only just met Peter Branson that morning. Why would he want to take her out to lunch? She did not have to think before giving her reply. It was polite, but it was a no.
Grant was pleasantly relieved when she declined, Peter looked visibly disappointed and Tizzy found herself immediately softening the blow.
“Becky has gone home sick. With the additional workload, I won’t be t..taking a lunch break. It was nice of you t..to ask Mr Branson.”
“Please call me Peter.” he clarified and then continued. “I understand. What about dinner then?”
“I wish I could, but I am taking the kkk..kids to the movies tonight.” she answered quickly.
Both men knew thatTizzy was lying. No one took their children to movies on a weeknight but Peter was astute enough to know that if he insisted, he would jeopardise his relationship with both, Tizzy and Grant. He could see Grant getting more annoyed by the minute. ‘I guess he has a right to be’, he thought. With Becky away sick he only had Tizzy to rely on and with her problem it meant Grant would have to take on a greater load.
“I understand again. Maybe another time then By the way Grant, I have asked Wayne Lundy to contact you about the work I mentioned earlier. Guess it is the wrong time with Becky sick but they really want Tizzy to do their job anyway.” Again Peter spoke to Grant yet continued to look at Tizzy.
“Thanks. Becky’s is only a short-term problem. We should be fine soon. Thanks for that. I’ll look forward to his call.” Grant answered. Any other time he would have been really grateful for the additional business, but in his heart he knew that Tizzy would not be able to do it on her own, and Becky’s problem may not be short term. Roger had already hinted that some women go through months of morning sickness. He should have foreseen this problem and had more staff working in this department. It was after all, the pivot on which his company revolved.
They shook hands and said their goodbyes. After Peter left Grant and Tizzy got back to work. Though she continued in the same professional manner he could sense that Tizzy was now tense. Neither spoke of Peter’s invitation but it pricked like a thorn in each of their sides.
After the briefing session, Grant went in to the first meeting. With the help of her notes everything went like clockwork. The second followed in the like manner. It was the third that he ran into trouble with. The directors questioned everything and wanted the minor changes to be done straight away. Running in and out of the meetings was neither professional nor appropriate. This was not how Grant worked. He hated doing it to Tizzy but he had to finally call her into the meeting. He could tell she was nervous as hell, her hands would not stop shaking, her voice was almost a whisper and her stutter was worse than ever. He explained the situation with Becky and luckily the directors were gentle in their questioning. After the initial horrific moments of spilled cups, broken nibs, disastrous sketches, Tizzy seemed to settle down. She listened carefully and spoke only a few words, but her artwork spoke for her and won the respect and awe of the directors. Satisfied at the outcome, they left praising Tizzy’s efforts. They parted shaking hands, praising her and complimenting him on the good fortune of having such a valuable employee.
For the first time, Grant realised that this plain and simple woman, in her old fashioned clothes and her hooded eyes, had made him very proud. She had made him far prouder than any other woman in the past. That pride must have been expressed by his eyes, for Tizzy quickly looked down and began to collect her things.
“Tizzy, I am sorry, I just could not avoid calling you in. They wanted too many changes and asked too many questions. I needed you here.” Grant felt compelled to explain his action.
“That’s ok Mr Mallaby. Things worked out better than I expected. If there is nothing else, I better get back and complete this.”
“Tizzy, as we are going to be working together a lot now, maybe calling me Grant would be better.”
Tizzy looked in his direction and smiled. It was the first time that he had actually seen her really smile at him. ‘It’s a pity she do
esn’t use any make up for she could make herself look quite nice’ he thought.
“I will try Grrant but I find it easier to say Mallaby.” With that she collected her things and walked out. She left Grant with a smile on his lips.
Grant went back to his desk and from the second he sat down, he did not have a moment to spare. It was phone call after phone call, punctuated by meetings. Tizzy did not see Grant at all that afternoon but she was aware of his presence more than ever.
At 1 pm Roger walked passed her desk and left a lunch time pizza on it.
“Roger, I think you have the wrong desk. I did not ask for one.”
“Grant did. He said you were not going to take a lunch break and asked me to drop it off for him as he was running late for his meeting.”
Tizzy had the most wonderful sensation in her heart. He cared. And then she remembered his kindness to Becky and admonished herself for getting carried away with her fantasy. She removed her glassed, stretched her legs out and sank her teeth into the cheesy delicacy.
At 5 pm when the phone calls stopped, Grant had a quick look at his emails. He worked through them in order. When he came to the one Tizzy had sent, he opened it with a strange eagerness, only to be disappointed with the contents. He told himself he was being foolish. She was just another employee, possibly a married one. Grant had one rule he never broke. He never got involved with another man’s woman. He decided the email did not warrant a reply. But he could not help remember the pride he had felt when the directors had praised Tizzy and her work. Becky too had received many compliments but none had given him such gratification. Once again he told himself it was because he felt sorry for Tizzy. Then he saw the email thanking him for the pizza. No he no longer felt sorry for her, his feelings were now very different. Hell! He even liked the way she had said Grrant.
He worked on for another couple of hours. At 8 p.m. his phone rang. It was Becky ringing to apologise and to ask if things were running smoothly. She had asked Roger to take some of her ‘non-urgent’ work home and promised to bring them back when she returned. Grant reminded her to take it easy but he was grateful when she insisted on finish some of her tasks at home.
“What’s this I hear about Branson wanting to take Tizzy out to lunch?” Becky asked out of the blue.
“Who told you that?” Grant expressed his surprised.
“Roger. He heard it along the grapevine. Is it true?” Becky knew the grapevine had a habit of being the carrier of the truth.
“Yes he did.” Grant was short in his reply
“He seems to have developed a sudden interest in Tizzy. Grant just keep an eye on him. He’ll scare her off, if he goes after her.”
Becky had said too much and shut up but Grant on the other hand was intrigued. “Is that what happened with the husband?” Grant has asked the question before he could stop himself.
“Look Grant, just keep an eye out for her. And don’t force her into attending any meetings. I have never told you but she suffers from panic attacks. They can get pretty bad.”
“I know about them now. She had one this morning when I asked her to come into the Branson meeting. And it’s too late not to call her into meetings. I had to get her to come into the Wallis one this afternoon as well. She seemed to have coped pretty well.” Grant said casually
“Blast, I am sorry to do this to both of you. I’ll try and ring her at home again. I tried to ring her earlier but the work phone has been switched onto the answering machine and so is the one at her home. Listen, if there is problem don’t hesitate to ring me tomorrow. And Grant, I am sorry. I really mean it. You did not need my problem as well at this busy time.” Becky expressed the guilt she had been feeling the whole day.
“Look kiddo, just take care of yourself and that little one inside. We’ll manage. Luckily we could borrow the two new recruits from sales. For the moment I’ve asked them to assist Tizzy.” Grant reassured her.
“Thanks, you are wonderful. Roger and I are very lucky. And keep that Branson away from my friend.” Becky continued
“I am only her boss; get her husband to do that if you are that worried.” Grant replied.
“Grant, Tizzy has no husband. She has no one else in this world to protect her, that is, besides the three of us.” Becky’s words stunned Grant
“But the man and the children?”
“How do you know about them?” Becky queried
“I was driving past her home and happened to see them together. And she has a photo of the kids on her desk.” He replied
“Grant, she has no husband.” Becky repeated.
“What about the children? The wedding ring?” he asked
“I’ll tell you everything when I come back. Just keep an eye on things OK.” Becky pleaded
“You should be thinking of yourself and your kid at this moment. Stop worrying. Tizzy is a grown woman and from what I saw of her with Branson, can look after herself too.”
Becky was not as sure of the situation as him but she said her goodbye and tried to ring Tizzy again, only to meet with the same result
Grant could not explain the momentary joy that he felt on finding out that Tizzy did not have a husband. But this was soon replaced by the sobering thought of knowing that her loneliness was probably the reason why she had made her work her life. He could not wait to find out why she wore a wedding ring and who the children were.
At the end of this thought, he looked at his watch. It was 9 p.m. That explained his gnawing hunger. He decided to call it a day. Picking up his briefcase, he switched off the lights and walked out. He took the lift down, bid goodnight to the security man and walked out of the building. He felt exhausted and decided he would pick up a Chinese take-away on his way home. He no longer had the energy to prepare a meal for himself. After that he was going to hit the bed. Getting into the car he began driving out of the car park. It was dark outside but as he took the bend he spotted ‘that thing’ again. The mini was parked in the car park facing the side entrance. There was only one other car there and it belonged to their security company.
On impulse he turned the car around and drove back to the entrance. Parking his car beside Tizzy’s he took the lift up. The security guard was surprised to see Mallaby back so soon but accepted his explanation that he had forgotten his mobile phone. Grant prayed that it would not ring until he was in the lift and out of hearing range for he could feel it lying in the safety of his coat pocket.
The light was on in Tizzy’s office. He walked towards it. Tizzy was standing barefooted packing her things away. Her weary shoulders arched for relief. Her dark glasses were lying on the table. He must have made a sound for she reached for the glasses and put them on before turning to look towards him.
“I thought you were security.” she began. Then she noticed his weariness. He looked drained and she felt even guiltier. If Becky had been here, she would have taken over the meetings. She on the other hand was letting everyone down. “I thought ev..eryone ha..d left.”
“You look tired. You are going to kill yourself if you go on like this. I must get down to advertising for another person. I should have done it today.” Grant surprised himself with his reply. He paid his staff well and for that he expected them to complete their task. If that meant working overtime, then it simply meant that. He knew Becky and Tizzy often worked back. It had never bothered him in the past.
“You look tired yourself, maybe we should advertise for another d...irector.” And then she smiled.
Grant laughed. This was the first time, Tizzy has ever joked with him. In his heart, he knew how true the words were. Tom and he had been good together. Now he was one partner short and with two times the volume of work. No, three times. Maybe another director was not such a bad idea after all. But this was a family concern and must always remain a family concern. That was Tom’s dream. It was his too. And it would be impossible to find someone who had his views and his goal and more importantly had his vision. But she was right in that t
hey definitely needed more help.
“Touché! Are you having any problems?” Grant asked
“Not really. I was actually jjj..ust about to leave.” With that she slipped her feet into her shoes and picked up her shoulder bag.
They walked out together and took the elevator down
“Have you eaten yet? I am famished. If you haven’t, would you like to join me?” he asked
Tizzy thought of lying but just then her tummy growled. ‘Well there goes my excuse’ she thought.
“I have dinner prepared at home. Ttthanks anyway. I am already indebted to you for one meal today.”
Grant smiled. He really looked so tired. Unable to stop herself she said, “You are welcome to join me if you like. It w..won’t be anything elaborate, just yesterday’s rice and Thai curry and the company won’t be w..wonderful either.”
Grant was exhausted and just wanted to head home but he knew how difficult that invitation had been for Tizzy to make.
“I’d love that if you are sure you have enough.” then before she changed her mind he said. “I’ll follow you”
They reached her house in fifteen minutes. She parked in the garage and as he could not find another spot, he parked in her driveway. Once inside, Tizzy made him a drink, put on a CD and disappeared into the kitchen refusing his offer to help. In five minutes she had their dinner heated and served. They talked about work during their meal and he informed her that Becky had been trying to contact her. Dinner turned into a relaxed occasion. They were often silent yet neither felt the need to rush into constant conversation. Grant in particular felt peace around him. It was oddly comforting to know that nothing was expected of him.
After dinner, Tizzy washed up and then she checked the messages. Becky had left ten messages for her. The last one was more of a curse. Tizzy rang her back, and took a good five minutes to calm her down. During the entire conversation, Grant noticed that Tizzy had not stuttered once. Then he heard a frantic note in her voice as she remarked “You told him! Oh Becky I wish you hadn’t.” Grant knew she was referring to his conversation with Becky earlier that day.
Tizzy put down the receiver, paused a moment, and then hesitantly walked toward the lounge room where she had asked Grant to relax.
“Gg grant, about what Becky told you”...she started.
“Tizzy the day you want to talk about it you can count on me being there to listen, but let’s not talk about it now. I can tell you are not ready.”
Tizzy was relieved. She had not known where to begin. Her loyal glasses once again hid her worried eyes.
She offered coffee and he accepted. Minutes later she walked in armed with two mugs and a plate of her favourite mint chocolates. In the lounge room, stretched across the sofa, Grant had fallen fast asleep. So deep a sleep, that even when she placed a pillow beneath his head and covered him with a quilt, he did not wake.
Tizzy sat in the chair opposite him and had her coffee. She was free to observe Grant. Not a quick glance, here and there, but really look at him. Suddenly she knew the answer to all her questions. The palpitation when he was around, her eagerness to hear the sound of his voice, the reason why she worked so hard. It was him. It had always been him. She hadn’t realised the feelings she had as love, but she knew now, she loved him with every breath in her body. But they lived in different worlds. It was not fair to expect him to come down to her world and she would never be able to reach up to his. She could never bring herself to go out of her secure universe. The chains of her past were too strongly bound around her to let her do that!
She finished her coffee and went into her room. After she changed, she got into bed. She had locked the dogs in the guest room for the night just in case Grant and the dogs frightened each other.
She feared that she would not be able to sleep after her mammoth ‘discovery’, but the moment her head hit the pillow she fell off to sleep. But it was not a dream that she had, it was a nightmare. It was happening again and she did what she always did. She woke up screaming. The next minute Grant had raced into her room. He switched on the light and found Tizzy in a daze. He called out to her several times. Finally she looked up and he stared at a terrorised pair of cobalt blue eyes. With her hair hanging loose and her pale pink nightie, she looked so young and so very afraid. He took a step forward but she shrunk further back. “Tizzy, it’s me. Grant. It is Grant.” His words continued to meet a blank dazed look.
Finally Tizzy seemed to recognise him. A second later, she rushed out of the bed and flew into his arms. Grant held her tightly until her sobbing subsided. Then he led her back to the bed. He went into the kitchen and got her a glass of water. After she had drunk it, he lay down beside her and held her until she fell asleep again. He could not get the cobalt blue eyes out of his head. He had never seen eyes that shade before. They were hypnotic; mesmerising. He looked at her face. Why would anyone with those magical eyes and such beautiful hair, deliberately make themselves look so ugly. He gently supported her face against his shoulder and found himself caressing her soft hair.
Tizzy’s breathing had settled into a steady pace but still he could not bring himself to let her go. He scanned her face once again. She really had quite a nice face. Each feature being evenly placed. Finally his eyes rested on her lips and then his own followed in the path of his eyes. He thought he felt her respond. But then put it down to his imagination for Tizzy had gone into deeper sleep.
Holding her in his arms, Grant closed his eyes. His last thought was, “Grant Mallaby, you would be wise to leave now. Leave before it is too late. You are used to dealing with confident beauties. You know nothing about Tizzy or the baggage she has surrounded herself with. Leave before you can’t. But instead of leaving, he too fell asleep, still holding her in his arms.