The Rejected Brides Holiday Romance

Chapter One – Caught. “How long till your wedding?” Lucy the boss at Maxwell Publishing asked with a smile, her big hazel eyes warm and sincere. “Six weeks.” Sienna smiled, as she picked up her telephone to make another sales call.  “How is Kev in his new job? Has he settled into this one?” Lucy asked, a small frown on her brow. “Erm, no, he left after two days.” Sienna reluctantly admitted, trying not to cry at the text she had received earlier in the day.   For all she loved her fiancé of three years, she hated the fact that he could not seem to hold down a job. There was always some reason why he was ‘forced’ to leave his employment, never reaching past the two-week mark, at the most. He had promised her faithfully that this time would be different, but as usual, he had either left, or was sacked. He never accepted responsibility for why he could not hold down permanent employment. Sienna moved a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear, as she dialed the number of the client she had pitched, hoping they committed to the deal which would secure her commission for the month. Sienna needed to hit her target. She had the rent to pay, all the bills, plus make final payments on the wedding, that, she had covered the cost of herself, with no help from her future groom. The only plus side was the honeymoon Kev’s parents had insisted on paying for. It was nice of them to send the ridiculous cost of the first class, fully inclusive, three-week holiday to Hawaii directly to her bank account, the day Kev and her booked it, even they understood not to send the money to their son. This extravagance was something that Kev had insisted they needed to celebrate their up-coming nuptials. Personally, Sienna could have put the nearly £20,000 pounds to better use. Like clearing some of Kev’s increasing debt, or paying off the cost of the wedding, leaving a little bit spare for a week in Spain as a small honeymoon. But, neither Kev, nor his parents, for that matter, were sensitive about money. For them it was a show of wealth, rather than having the actual funds to pay for the lifestyle they sought. They were, as her father had often said, ‘all fur coat and no knickers.’ Sienna sighed, wondering, not for the first time, if she was doing the right thing by marrying him. They had been together for ten years, engaged for three of those, getting together when they were both just 16, the ‘it’ couple of their comprehensive school. Kev was the much sort after, good-looking, boy of the class, with his short blonde hair, and panty-melting smile. She could not believe her luck when he had asked her out on a date one day in her English class. But for the past five years, since leaving university, Kev had worked less than a whole month, in total. She knew her parents were not impressed by Kev, and his lack of work ethic. Her best friend Cara had told her many times to postpone the wedding. She had never supported the relationship, even at school, and her annoyance at Kev’s lack of work ethic had only increased since the day he proposed. But Cara was Sienna’s lifelong friend, they were as close as sister’s, so they agreed to disagree despite her utter hatred of Sienna’s fiancé.   Sienna and Kev had been together forever, and when things were good, they really were good, so once more she pushed all her doubts and those of her parents and best friend to the back of her mind. “Hi, this is Sienna Lloyd from Maxwell Publishing, on behalf of the chamber of commerce, is Jen available at all please?” Sienna asked, forcing her voice to sound cheerful despite her gloomy mood. Sienna tapped her foot nervously as she waited to be put through the head of marketing for a large hotel chain in the area. This deal would save the day. She had taken a leaf from her boss Lucy’s playbook and pitched a very large campaign, to include, online, social media, magazine advertising over a full year, with a 10% discount if paid in full, in a bid to gain the much-needed extra cash in her pay in the middle of the month, just four weeks before her wedding. “Hi Sienna, its Jen. How are you?” Jen asked. She had built up a good rapport with the potential client over the weeks she had been speaking with her. “I am good Jen, thank you. How about you?” She politely asked. “I am great, especially as I have some good news for you,” Jen said. Sienna held her breath, not wanting to get her hopes up that they had gone for the full package, with a pre-payment option. She glanced up at Lucy, her eyes wide in anticipation, as she took a small inhale of breath. “That sounds interesting.” Sienna answered, trying not to sound too desperate. Lucy smiled at Sienna, then made a show of crossing her fingers for her. “It is, we have decided to go for the full package, and our finance team asked when the payment would have to be made in order to get the full 10% off?” Jen asked. “Can I just pop you on hold for two minutes, whilst I ask my director,” Sienna asked. It was a game she played, she already knew what she would do in order to get the payment by the end of the day. Placing Jen on hold, she blew out a nervous breath. “They are asking for the payment time to get the 10%.” Sienna informed Lucy. “Okay, well, tell them by the end of the month, but if they can do it by close of play today, I can give them 20% off, as I am busy doing the figures, and we have had a good week. You will not lose the extra 10% from your target, we will cover that for you.” Lucy smiled, then excitedly waited. Today was the last day for Lucy’s team to hit their respective targets, and she understood Sienna needed the full commission to pay for her wedding. She had been a business development manager herself once, before arriving here a few years ago, and taking over as sales director, so she always tried to help her staff, if she could. “Hi Jen, I have just spoken to Lucy. If you can make the payment by the end of the month, then you will get a 10% discount. However, she is just putting this week’s figures through, and she said we have had a good week. If they can make a payment by close of play today, she will give you a further 10% off, so you would save £4,000 off the deal.” Sienna informed her, crossing her fingers, and closing her eyes. “Wow, that is amazing. If they agree to that, I can book a smaller campaign that I was looking at with a radio company as well. Give me two minutes, to confirm finance will authorise it.” Jen answered. Sienna bit her bottom lip, making the soft natural pink shade turn red, as she waited, her short, neat fingernails nervously tapping the desk. “Yes, we can do that now. Can I pay by card?” Jen asked. “That is wonderful, welcome on board, and I look forward to working with you during the campaign. I am going to pass you through to Lucy, my director, who will facilitate the payment for you. Whilst you do that, I will send you the contract over. If you can sign and return it to me, please. I will get the positions and social media adverts scheduled whilst you speak with Lucy.” Sienna said, sheer relief and excitement washing over her. Lucy smiled and fist pumped the air before heading to her office. Sienna transferred the call, then hit send on the email’s she had already written making sure everything was booked in, and the confirmation of booking complete. “Well done! Sienna.” Her work colleagues all congratulated her, as she let out a squeal of joy, before standing up and heading over to the sales board, and writing £20,000 in her box, her target not just met, but smashed to smithereens, giving her a very healthy pay cheque right when she needed it most. Sienna walked to the bathroom, holding the edge of the sink with her shaking hands, and stared at the mirror to regain her composure. Her pale skin was flushed due to the excitement, her big bright smile, for the first time, in what felt like forever, reaching her sapphire blue eyes. Gathering herself, Sienna smoothed down her royal blue pencil skirt, making sure the soft satin of her white blouse was tucked in at the back, then with a shout of glee, she made her way back to the sales floor. “That is all paid Sienna, well done. Now, I am sure you could do with the afternoon off work to sort out your wedding, so you can take the rest of the day if you like?” Lucy kindly offered. “Are you sure?” Sienna asked her boss. The extra afternoon would be a blessing. She had the final touches to the table plan, and with so many divorces, and family members not speaking to each other on Kev’s side, it was not an easy task. “Certainly, I remember planning my wedding. It takes a lot more work than people think.” Lucy smiled wistfully. Sienna wondered if her boss had the same misgivings she was having, when marrying her firefighter husband. Although given the look of pure love they both had when they were together, she doubted it. Waving goodbye to the team, Sienna picked up her jacket and bag, heading out the door, and down the staircase, practically running to the train station, to catch the train that ran only once an hour, from Sunderland to the small village of Wylam in Northumberland. She let out a sigh of relief, as she saw the blue ‘Northern’ train sitting on the platform, and jumped on board, settling herself in a seat at a table for the forty-five-minute journey, taking out her new book she had bought from sss, she began to read, about a Headmaster Alpha’s Mate. Sienna rolled her shoulders, placing her book back in her bag, she stood up as the train pulled into the small station. She made the shortish walk through the sleepy village that had more gossip than anywhere else in the world, none more so than Grace, the elderly lady who knew everyone’s business, and had spearheaded a campaign to free a soldier wrongly arrested who was part of a hit reality TV program. He was best friends with Grace's old neighbours. According to the gossip train, Grace was not well at the moment, and for all it was annoying having everyone know your business, Sienna hoped the elderly lady would be okay, but if the rumours were to be believed, it did not look good for her. Passing the local ‘Spar’ shop, Sienna made her way past the church, to the far side of the village, then turned the corner to enter the small council house estate where she lived. Digging in her bag for her keys, Sienna opened the door, kicking off her work shoes as she entered her home. It was not much, but she had a secure tenancy in her name, and so long as she paid the rent on time, she would never need to leave the three-bedroom, mid-link 1960’s house, which she would have the right to purchase in just two more years for a reduced cost. Hanging her coat on the banister, she took a left, and headed into her lounge, expecting to find Kev watching day-time TV on the sofa. Not there, Sienna, frowned, wondering where he was, when she heard soft moans coming from upstairs. Sienna froze, as every drain of blood felt like it had left her. Holding her breath, she quietly walked to the staircase, where the soft moans turned into loud cries. “KEV, HARDER!” she heard, and instantly a tear fell onto her cheek. Biting her bottom lip once more, she hovered at the door to her bedroom, before gaining the courage to open it. With a deep inhale of breath, she threw opened the door, and glared at the face of her best friend Cara, her black hair stuck to her head with sweat, on all fours, as Kev, pounded into her from behind.