Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

They awoke early the next morning. Lola had a busy day planned fulfilling her commitments to the Ballyvalley News. She left Aibgrene at Arthur’s house with Cuchulain for protection and set off. A million thoughts were running through her mind after last night’s discussion. She intended to do a bit of research on the Hell Fire Club to see what she could come up with. However, she spent most of the morning interviewing Vikki Jones’s father. It was one of the toughest interviews she’d ever had to do and, as with all sad stories, it really touched her.

She felt emotionally and physically drained when she reached the Ballyvalley News office. Lola often found it difficult to be impartial as a journalist and to suppress emotional responses to such articles, but she knew that if she ever wanted to make it in this field she’d have to be more detached. It was almost one thirty when she lifted her head to check the old clock on the wall.

She was transcribing the interview with Mr Jones, the pain and aching in his voice on the recording sounded even more tangible than when she’d been sitting next to him. Removing her earphones she paused the Dictaphone and re-read her notes.

It struck Lola how Vikki’s family refused to accept that she may have run away or taken her own life. This was something that the police had been trying to prepare them for, but Vikki’s father remained adamant that his daughter had been happy, and would never have put her family through such an ordeal. The more Lola learned about Vikki Jones, the more she felt that her parents were right. But, she also knew that no matter how close this girl was to her family, like all families, they wouldn’t have known everything about their daughter. For that she would have to speak to a close friend, so she was delighted when Mr Jones handed her a number for his daughter’s best friend. Searching through the shards of note paper strewn across her desk, Lola found the number. She was hopeful as she rang, but there was no answer, so when the answering machine beeped she left a message.

‘Hello, this is a message for Sarah Byrne. My name is Lola Paige and I work for the Ballyvalley News. I spoke to Vikki’s parents this morning and they passed on your number. I would appreciate it if you could give me a call when you get this. Thanks.’

Tidying her messy desk, Lola searched for the picture of the missing girl, given to her by Vikki’s parents earlier that morning. It was important because it was taken on the night she had disappeared. Finally, she located it under a pile of redundant press releases. Lifting it up she examined the pretty face that smiled out at her. She studied the red dress and shoes. Vikki wore no jewellery, save for an intricate silver charm bracelet, with a heart, a bow, a, shoe and little owl hanging from it. The owl caught Lola’s eyes because it was not made of silver but of fine crystal. Staring at the picture, Lola wasn’t sure what she was looking for, it was almost as if she was expecting this beautiful stranger to speak to her.

Lola finally lifted her head when she heard her editor come into the office. Bryce greeted Abbey, who had worked in silence all afternoon, and then Lola, as he came by. Lola was convinced that he could sense the tension between her and Abbey, as the room always seemed to have an atmosphere anytime they were there together.

‘Are you girls still hard at it?’ laughed Bryce. ‘That’s what I like to see.’

Turning around Lola was momentarily taken back when she realised that her boss was not alone. Standing beside him was a familiar face wearing a now familiar smug expression.

‘Ladies this is Alex Stein. He’s going to be the architect in charge of the much needed renovations here at the Ballyvalley News. He’ll be here for the next few days taking measurements for his drawings. So make sure you help him if he gets lost.’

Alex stared at Lola.

‘Hello, Lola, nice to see you again,’ he said eloquently.

He was completely different to the first night she had met him, and he continued to smile at her, waiting on some sort of response, until Bryce spoke.

‘You two know each other? Good! You’ll be able to keep Alex right, Lola, if he needs any help finding his way around the place.’

Lola didn’t care that she might seem rude in front of her new boss, there was no way she would be speaking to, or having anything to do with, Alex Stein.

‘I wouldn’t really be the best person for that, sir, I’m still getting lost myself,’ smiled Lola innocently. ‘Abbey would be your best bet. Wouldn’t you, Abbey?’ Abbey, was practically drooling as she gazed at Alex in awe, twisting her hair around her fingers playfully. ‘Isn’t that right, Abbey?’ repeated Lola.

‘Oh, yes. Of course, if you need any help, with anything, just ask me,’ said Abbey after a momentary silence.

‘Thank you, Abbey, I’ll make sure I do,’ agreed Alex, flashing a flirtatious smile back at her.

‘Well, Alex, you have a few measurements to get around the office and reception area, so I’ll leave you to it.’

With that Bryce left the room, leaving Alex behind with Lola, who was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. Trying to ignore him, she immediately turned back to her work, but couldn’t concentrate. It seemed as if the room was closing in on her as her stomach erupted with butterflies. No matter how much she tried to focus on the screen in front of her all she could sense was Alex’s every move as he went about his business.

‘He’s divine,’ proclaimed Abbey, as Alex disappeared into the reception area. ‘I’ve never seen anyone so gorgeous in my life. He’s like some Greek god!’

Lola was growing more and more irritated by Abbey, who now appeared doe-eyed, like most women seemed to be around Alex Stein.

‘He may look gorgeous, but he’s not a nice person, Abbey, you’d be well advised to stay clear,’ warned Lola, as Abbey rolled her eyes, quickly turning back to her desk as Alex came back into the room.

‘Well, Lola, how are things? Fancy seeing you here!’ chirped Alex, as if he’d known her all his life.

This only compounded Lola’s bad mood. Who did he think he was? After the way he had spoken to her at the party, and now acting as if they were best friends. Up until a couple of weeks ago she’d had no idea that Alex Stein even existed, and now all of a sudden he was everywhere. First he turned up at Arthur’s funeral, which she found extremely odd, and now here at the paper.

His voice spoke volumes about how different their backgrounds were. Lola was proud of her working-class background, and confident that she could engage and talk to anyone. But there was something about Alex Stein that made her feel uncomfortable, that made her feel inferior and she despised it. Yet, she couldn’t deny that she was drawn to him, not just because of his astounding beauty, but because he challenged her in ways she’d never been challenged before.

For some reason she felt like she had to prove herself to him. Though he’d had a privileged life, and had grown up with the arrogance that accompanied it, deep down she knew that he was attracted to her. They were from distinctly different backgrounds, with contrasting personalities, all of which seemed to pull them towards each other. The reality was that, like Abbey, Lola also found Alex hugely attractive, and that upset her more than anything. Even standing in the dark hallway the first night they met, she knew there was a spark between them.

‘I’m fine, Alex,’ replied Lola congenially. ‘Fancy seeing you here too! It’s beginning to become a bit of a habit. If I didn’t know better I’d say you were following me.’

He was right beside her desk now, and she could smell his aftershave – a fresh sharp scent – as he bent down and whispered into her ear.

‘Maybe I am.’

Lola’s heartbeat began to accelerate slightly, as she tried to force herself to concentrate.

‘I have to say though, you look a lot better than the first time I saw you,’ jibed Alex smoothly.

‘And you’re a lot more composed than when I first met you,’ retorted Lola with a smile. ‘Actually, I think I still have the bruise you gave me as a memento.’

There was a sudden change in Alex’s demeanour as he stiffened at the thought of their first encounter. He had been under a lot of stress, but it had been so unlike him to lose his temper. It embarrassed him, made him feel weak for not having been in full control. But when it came to Lola, he sensed that he would never be in control, and the attraction he felt towards her didn’t make sense to him. Lola was different from all the other girls, appearing impervious to his charm and wealth. She also had that unexpected connection with Arthur Delphian, what a bonus that could prove, and it made him all the more determined to unravel her.

‘You got me on a bad day, Lola,’ replied Alex, trying to disguise his obvious discomfort.

The way he said her name knocked Lola off-guard. She was sure he could tell that she was attracted to him, so she worked harder on being petulant towards him.

‘Did you have a difficult decision on what pair of designer shoes to wear or something?’ she countered. Abbey almost stopped breathing she was listening so intently to their exchange. Alex didn’t seem to mind the low blows, instead he played along.

‘Don’t be ludicrous; I’ve someone to make those decisions for me,’ he replied.

Despite herself, Lola smiled; she needed to get out of there, and quick. Ignoring Alex, she told Abbey that she was taking her lunch break, and grabbing her bag she left the office. Relieved that she was no longer under his scrutiny, she sat down to her soup, just as her phone beeped with a message. It was Ruby. Lola spent the remainder of her lunch break exchanging messages with her best friend, filling her in on Alex-gate. When she returned to the office Abbey and Alex were both gone, replaced by Sebastian and Drew.

Lola began to follow up some leads on the Jones story. Vikki’s father had told her that according to the police report his daughter was seen leaving Chateau Bacchus at around four in the morning by the Stein’s cleaners. Lola was just about to make a phone call when he and Abbey returned. Abbey was beaming from head to toe, motioning towards Alex with her eyes. ‘Thanks Alex that was a lovely lunch. It was so nice of you,’ said Abbey in a raised voice, as Lola pretended not to hear.

‘You’re welcome, Abbey,’ replied Alex, clearly playing along.

Lola caught Sebastian’s eye as he mouthed ‘Who’s he?’ nodding towards Alex. Much to Lola’s relief, Alex finally left the room, as he continued taking measurements on his way around the building.

‘Well, Abbey, dish the dirt, who’s your new boyfriend?’ teased Sebastian, much to Abbey’s delight.

‘We were only out to lunch, Sebastian. His name is Alex Stein and he’s an architect, or training to be an architect and his dad’s company is handling the renovations here. He’s so hot, isn’t he?’ gushed Abbey. ‘So how do you know him, Lola?’ asked Abbey in a rather pointed manner.

There was a bit too much emphasis on the words ‘you’ and ‘him’ for Lola. Clearly Abbey was intrigued as to how someone as ordinary as her would know Alex, but she suspected that her colleague already knew the answer to that question.

‘I wouldn’t say I know him,’ replied Lola. ‘We had a brief altercation at a party a couple of weeks ago.’ Lola thought about adding that she didn’t want to know him either, but not wanting it to sound like sour grapes, she left it at that.

‘I think he said something about that. He said it was quite funny that someone had spilt a drink all over your dress and hair,’ laughed Abbey, as Lola’s temper began to bubble.

Abbey was enjoying every minute of this. But there was no way Lola was going to give her the satisfaction of seeing that it annoyed her. The fact that Abbey knew about their altercation didn’t bother Lola, what annoyed her was the fact that Alex had been making fun of her. Lola didn’t offer a reply, instead she refocused her attention on her work. Eventually Alex came back into the room. Lola did her best to ignore him but much to her annoyance, he directed most of his conversation to Abbey.

‘Aren’t you a dark horse, Lola?’ said Sebastian, looking at an email that he had been sent from the Ballyvalley Six-a-Side Summer Football League.

Lola had played football since she was a child. Being an only girl in a house full of boys meant she had little choice. But the truth was she loved the game. Ballyvalley didn’t have a ladies’ team, so she always played football with the boys, and even now at nineteen she was still playing. Lola and her three older brothers Brendan, Michael and Christopher, along with two of their friends, had been playing in the six-a-side league for a couple of years. It was a very competitive league, and Lola was their top goal scorer with fourteen goals so far this season.

‘Top goal scorer in the summer league! I didn’t know you played,’ continued Sebastian, seeming to be really impressed. Lola’s face turned a light pink.

‘I’ve always played. It’s one of the joys of having four brothers. I suppose someone needs to show you boys how it’s done!’ said Lola casually, in an attempt to play down Sebastian’s praise. She wasn’t used to him being serious with her, as he was usually ribbing her about something.

‘Your team is in the cup final this Friday night! We’ll have to get a photographer down, and of course, we want a back-page lead!’

‘You’ve no chance,’ laughed Lola. ‘I almost forgot the final was this Friday. We’re up against a good side. They’ve won the cup the last four years in a row, so it’s going to be a tight game.’

Looking up Lola could see a grin spreading across Alex’s face. He had obviously been listening to their conversation, which only exacerbated her embarrassment.

‘And what do you find so amusing?’ hissed Lola in his direction.

‘Nothing,’ smiled Alex, holding his hands up in mock surrender. ‘I find it very interesting that you play soccer, but somehow, I can’t say it’s a surprise.’

‘What do you mean by that? I suppose it’s too working class for you, Alex, you’d probably prefer a good game of polo or something? And it’s football, by the way. Not soccer. You Yanks haven’t a clue!’ Perhaps she had been a bit over zealous in her rebuke especially with the others watching. But he needed to be brought down a peg or two, reasoned Lola, feeling slightly self-conscious.

‘Actually, that’s not what I meant,’ replied Alex. ‘You seem to have a chip on your shoulder, Lola. It’s not my fault that you’re intimidated by me.’

He was fully aware of the reaction his comment might provoke, and was enjoying the exchange, though Lola quickly realised this. Composing herself she turned back to her computer, grateful when her phone rang.