Love Lost and Found

By Catherine Carson

Following the death of her father, Jenna Harkness Yorke finds her career in accounting no longer an option after discovering her father had embezzled money from Babington Financial Industries. She soon realises it is necessary to drop Yorke from her name if she wishes to find employment.
Kaid Babington has had a strict code of honesty drilled into him by his Grandfather and exacts his revenge on the Yorke family by demanding repayment of the money stolen from his company.
From their first meeting Kaid and Jenna are drawn to each other but, Jenna leaves it too late to reveal her true identity. When Kaid discovers who she is he offers to reduce the debt each time she comes to his bed……

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781326186982

Book preview

Love Lost and Found

Love Lost and Found

By Catherine Carson

Standard Copyright © Catherine Carson 2015

ISBN 978-1-326-18686-9 paperback

ISBN 978-1-326-18698-2 ebook

About the author

I live in the North West of England and have been married to the same man (whom I left my native Scotland to be with) for some considerable time. We have three grown up children who between them have given us six grandchildren who are the light of our lives.

Writing was always something I enjoyed but confined it to letters, but over the years the recipients of those missives used to say I could write a book, to which my set answer was ‘I daresay I could but who would want to read it’.

Thanks to my very good friend Lisa who convinced me to have a go I found the courage to release the stories which had always been in my mind.

I hope anyone who reads my stories will enjoy them, and the characters I have created as much as I loved writing them.

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www.facebook.com/catherinecarsonbooks.uk

www.catherinerenacarson.jimdo.com

This book is dedicated to my very good friend Lisa Schmidt who agreed to by the guinea pig for my stories.  Without her encouragement I would not have had the courage to publish this story.

The characters in this book are completely fictional and bear no resemblance to any living person.

Other books by this author

The Mouse in the Library

~~~~~

Design Plot (Book 1)                

Island Escape (Book 2)             

Linked by Love (Book 3)

Speculative Risk (Book 4)       

Accounting for Peace (Book 5)

~~~~~

Tapestry of Love (Book 1)        

Twins Exchanged (Book 2) 

Highland Feud (Book 3)         

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Overall Construction

Wounded Wolf

Coffee and Cakes

Memories Rekindled

Wholesale Love

Hope’s Conflict

Estates of the Heart

Sibling Rivalry

Fighting for Custody

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Soil, Seed & Betrayal (Book 1)

Desert Prince, Exiled Princess (Book 2

Body Language (Book 3)

White Knight Black Knight

Through the Garden Gate or The Girl Next Door

An Open Book (Book 1)

Afraid to Love (Book 2)

A Second Chance (Book 1)

Chapter One

When Harold Yorke died suddenly, it was revealed he had been borrowing money from the company where he held the position of Accounts Director, to repay large loans he incurred keeping his wife and family in a life style he thought they deserved.

Kaid Babington, the CEO of Babington Investment Industries, had given her mother the option of selling the large country house, the apartment in the Algarve and taking her siblings from their private school, or face prosecution for aiding and abetting her husband.

No matter how much Sybil Yorke pleaded her ignorance of the situation it soon became apparent that no-one believed her.  The people who had been considered close friends slowly distanced themselves, until their contact became non-existent.

After the sale of the house, Sybil moved into a cottage in the centre of Long Howe which she had inherited from her parents, refusing to allow her changed circumstances to break her spirit. Her younger daughter Mary at fifteen, attended the local secondary school and her seventeen year old son Adam, reluctantly joined the sixth form college, after her eldest daughter Jenna, convinced him that he would be able to achieve a much better position in the working world if he had decent exam results.

Kaid Babington and his auditors had calculated after the sale of the country house and the Algarve apartment, her mother would still be liable for one hundred thousand pounds.  Jenna had hoped that this sum would soon be depleted when she took up one of the job offers which had been promised when she finished university.  Unfortunately when the news of her father’s embezzlement came to light those doors were slammed firmly in her face.

Now six months later Jenna was working on the Customer Service Counter of a large supermarket chain by day and cleaning offices by night.  Any monies left over at the end of each week after paying rent on her bedsit, buying staff discounted food from the supermarket and any personal items she required, was put into a separate account to help her mother pay off the debt.

***

Will you start in the CEO’s office, Jenna?  The supervisor was consulting her work schedule and therefore did not see Jenna close her eyes or hear her sigh deeply.

The last place Jenna Yorke wanted to be cleaning was the office of Kaid Babington the head of Babington Investment Industries.  It was not part of her normal duty to work on this floor; but one of the cleaning staff had called in sick and Jenna had been seconded to fill her place.

Pushing the trolley, which contained the small vacuum cleaner and various polishes and dusters, along the corridor she wondered which of these offices had been her father’s.  She remembered how he used to say having his name on the door was the final accolade of his achievements.

Checking each nameplate she eventually stopped in front of the double doors which displayed the name ‘Kaid Babington, Chief Executive Officer’.  Turning the handle she pushed the door open with her bottom and pulled the trolley into the room.

Do you always barge into a room without knocking, young lady?  A deep angry voice boomed across the room causing Jenna to cry out in shock.

I...I...I’m sorry, I had no idea anyone would be here.  The offices I normally clean are always empty and I expected it would be the same here.  Perhaps it would be better if I come back later when you have finished whatever it is you need to do.  Jenna knew she was babbling nervously but the last person she had expected to see was the forbidding figure of Kaid Babington sitting behind his huge desk glaring at her.

For pity sake girl stop dithering and get on with whatever you would be doing if I was not here.  Kaid knew he had frightened the girl but when he had looked up from the documents he was reading and saw a very delectable jean clad bottom reversing into his office he had been intrigued.  At least until he saw the trolley she was dragging through the door and realised she was a member of the cleaning staff.

Sending him a nervous smile Jenna lifted the small vacuum cleaner from the trolley and looked around the room for an electric socket to plug it into.  Aware that he was watching every move she made Jenna was trying her best to look efficient; but in the end she had to admit to being baffled as to where she could plug the cleaner in.

The socket you are looking for is behind the leather sofa but I would appreciate if you left the vacuuming until you have finished your other tasks, as I have some important papers to read and would prefer not to be distracted by the noise of that machine.  He pointed to the small machine with its attached tube looking rather like an elongated elephant’s trunk under the eyes painted on its domed body.

Taking the bottle of spray cleaner and a cloth from the trolley Jenna walked towards what she hoped would be the executive washroom attached to the office.  As she was about to open the door a cough from the direction of the desk had her turning to look over her shoulder.

Hm I think you will find the washroom is at the other side of the room, unless of course, you intend cleaning the shelves of the stock cupboard.  Kaid waited for her to turn round and move towards the room he indicated; but when she did he was fascinated to see her cheeks burning bright red.

Oh, for goodness sake, why don’t you finish whatever you are doing and leave, then I can get on with my job and get out of here before the supervisor comes to find out why I am taking so long.  Jenna wanted the floor to open up and swallow her as she saw the look of surprise on the face of this very handsome man, who was obviously not used to people talking to him in such a manner.

You know I think that is exactly what I will do because there is no way I can work with your disruptive presence invading my concentration. A word of warning young woman, it would bode well for you to remember who you are talking to in future.  Gathering the papers he opened his briefcase and flung everything in before closing it with a decisive snap.

Over the years Jenna had been the only member of the family never to meet Kaid Babington as her college and university studies had kept her from the social functions attended by the rest of the family.

"Dad always said you were a good looking guy but I think my father was guilty of understating the matter." Jenna said as she carried on with cleaning the domain of the man who had been so unyielding towards her mother and her plight of trying to cope with the sudden death of her husband and the fact that he had been embezzling money from his employer.

Chapter Two

Opening his briefcase and removing the papers he had unceremoniously dumped into it, Kaid poured himself a large whisky and settled in his favourite chair to peruse the documents the auditors had presented to him earlier that day.

The sale of the Yorke apartment in the Algarve was now complete and the monies deposited; but until the full amount had been recouped, Kaid had no intentions of releasing the money back into the company and for the time being he had arranged for it to be paid into a separate account.  Each month a statement of that account was sent to Sybil Yorke as a reminder of what she still owed.

As he replaced the document in his briefcase his eyes were drawn to the envelope he had received from the private enquiry agency he had contacted regarding Jenna Yorke. A satisfied smile curved his lips as he read how each tentative offer made to this, would be, young executive, had been withdrawn and she was no longer applying for positions within the large financial houses.  

"Well young lady I hope you have learned a salutary lesson, that only through hard work and honesty can you hope to achieve anything in this world.  Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from that young woman who was cleaning my office."  He said tossing the remainder of his whisky back and heading for the shower to change ready to meet his latest girlfriend Celeste Du Pont.

Thanks for stepping in tonight, Jenna.  Conchita will be back tomorrow and you can return to your usual floor.  Did you have a problem?  I thought I saw a man entering the lift when I was coming out of the Service Room.  Josie Prentice the supervisor of Office Cleaners Inc. was checking that all the offices had been cleaned before calling for the lift to take them down to the underground car park. 

There wasn’t a problem, but Mr Babington was still working in his office when I went in.  He may complain because I didn’t knock, but I honestly never thought there would be anyone inside when I backed into his office with the trolley.  Jenna had every intention of telling Josie about her encounter and thought it best to convey his displeasure at her mode of entry.

Don’t worry; he should be grateful it was you and not Conchita, because she would probably have opened both doors and sailed in like a Spanish galleon with all guns blazing. Josie laughed and ushered everyone into the lift.

The minibus was waiting for them as they emerged from the lift and Jenna joined the other members of the cleaning staff feeling relieved that her working day was over and she would soon be in her bedsit and able to prepare her modest meal.

***

Like many others in the area where Jenna lived the house had been split into a number of bedsit apartments.  Apartment was really the wrong word to use because, although each room contained a sink unit, a cooker and a fridge, there was no bathroom or toilet.  Those facilities could be found on each floor of the four storey building. A bathroom consisting of a wash-hand basin and bath with a shower operated from the taps and a long hose which had to be handheld and was virtually useless.  The toilet was in a separate room and had no washbasin. 

Jenna lived on the first floor and presumed the facilities on the other storeys were of similar proportions to those on her floor.  There were three rooms on each floor and she was fortunate to have the front facing room; but it meant each time she