Falling for Veronica

"What, that's okay?"

"What, donations on my behalf to the Sallies from Western Australia have reached $208,700. Jesus."

"Okay, get your crew to arrange it and I want Veronica to appear on the interview with me."

"Why, because she was the girl from Perth who inspired me to write those eight columns in our newspaper about lonely newcomers adrift in the Big Smoke that have resulted in almost $1 million dollars being sent in donations to my Waif Appeal to the Salvation Army."

"Ah, you authorise me to pay up to $1000 on a gown and the TV studio will look after her hair and make-up. Very good. Well, we'll see you at the presentation tomorrow unless you fail to manage to arrange it. No, you will be successful because the news media doesn't turn away anything big in public interest handed to them on a plate. Bye Chuck."

Brett said to Veronica and her mum, "I guess you got the gist of that conversation between me and the executive chairman of the newspaper that employs me? Something big has come up."

"Yes," Veronica said coldly. "We could only hear your side of the conversation and you have involved me without first seeking my approval."

"Yep babe, I was relying on your cooperation."

"Don't you call me babe!"

"Okay, sweetheart."

Mother and daughter looked at Brett with hostility and he realized they were now doubting his sincerity in the relationship. He scrambled to recover.

"I meant that endearment sincerely."

Veronica stared at him, shoulders hunched while Liz gaped happily.

She said, "Until now, Veronica hasn't gained a clear understanding of what you really think of her."

"What about all the sweet-talk..." he stopped, nodded and said, "Espousing how I feel personally and deeply doesn't come easily or naturally for me but I don't see this as a= formidable barrier within any relationship. Veronica, you must be aware, as I am, that our relationship is progressing nicely."

"Yes, and mother, please ease off as it's not a push and shove situation."

"Very well, I hear you."

"Liz, I'd like you and Sir Keith to consider being my guests and accompanying Veronica and me to the studio for our TV appearance tomorrow evening and the social function to follow... err that is if Veronica chooses to participate"

"Of course, I'll support you in your time of need," Veronica said sweetly. "By the way, you may call me sweetheart whenever you wish, err where appropriate."

Chapter 3

While waiting in the foyer of their building for Veronica's parents to go with them to the network TV company's national studios, Veronica asked Brett, "Excited?"

"Insofar as it's an anticipated career boost in my notoriety and whatever that could produce a jump in readership of my columns including syndication coverage, yes. I have experienced such elevated focus before as I have a shelf-full of state and national awards in journalism amassed over the years.

"Where are they, I haven't seen them?"

"In my basement lockup storage cupboard as no one but my mother is interested in the collection of great dust-collectors."

"I'm interested."

"Correction, only my mother and you."

"And my mother."

"Ah, correction, only my mother, you and your mother. What's up with you, Veronica? You have been in the media spotlight many times in the past over your swimming performances and because of you being rated by the news and recreational media as an outstanding sports personality with the plus of having a brain."

Her reaction to that was swift.

"Barbara Clearwater said that when interviewing me on national TV - omigod, you have been snooping on me with your access as a journalist to sports film, broadcast and print archives."

"And you didn't expect me to do that?"

"I...I... oh, here's dad pulling up now. Please be considerate and bear with his bossy manner. Um, he thinks you are a great example of natural leadership within our generation."

"Are you saying he said that or that is it a perfect example of your creativeness?"

"Oh look, mum is waving to us," Veronica said desperately, and taking Brett by the arm urged that they must hurry.

"I was right, what you just said apparently quoting your father was an invention, wasn't it?"

"Would I lie to you?" she said vaguely and tapping on the front passenger seat window, yelled expansively, "Mum, you're looking gorgeous and dad smile, you're not about to head into one of your boring directors' meetings. I like your new hair shaping. You refer to Nigel as a poofter; I see him as a master male hairdresser."

Brett was impressed, he'd just witnessed Veronica cutting loose skilfully with verbal verve.

He decided to suggest to magazine editor Marlene Duckett, whom he'd already introduced to Veronica on the floating 5-star restaurant, only to find that Marlene was far more familiar with Veronica's background than he was. He believed the 'Western Australian' should assessed Veronica as a potential recruit as a sport feature writer and she may prove to have the potential to become a hard-hitting uncompromising sports mag columnist who could set the magazine's readership alight.

He surprised himself when thinking why would he want to do that?

Climbing into the back seat of the limo after Veronica, she pulled his hand away from climbing between her legs before pulling down her bunched up lower part of her evening dress as he realized he wanted Veronica living with him in Sydney, perhaps permanently.

Wow, he concluded. That was a big revelation.

She pulled his now unoccupied arm around her as if she were unknowingly confirming that was a great idea.

"Hi folk," he called to her parents and as they replied, he impulsively whispered to Veronica, "Could you love me?"

Brett was astonished to see her sun-tanned face turn brick-red.

Eying her with a penetrating gaze, he caught the three barely perceptible rapid nods.

He instinctively looped his arm around her and squeezed a boob rather firmly.

Emitting a soft sob, Veronica pulled his head to her and kissed Brett fully on the mouth lushy.

"Omigod, you two. Don't look Keith, they're at it again, so soon after a night of lust."

"Can you remember when I only had to drop my pants and we'd be at it?" Keith said, fondly.

His wife, embarrassed, muttered, "Yes, I'm still capable of recalling distant memories, darling."

"Keep your attention on driving dad, I was only kissing Brett so he doesn't forget my existence."

"Oh, so you two are actually not conjoined," Liz said cheekily.

Smiling at that, Brett whispered to Veronica, "Seriously, does this mean that we are a number?"

"Omigod yes. I've been waiting for this moment ever since I finished high school."

Brett asked curiously, "Exactly how old are you?"

"Guess."

He decided to go low and said twenty-four and she said great guess, that she would turn twenty-five in two months, adding that she knew he was thirty-four.

He said that meant an age difference of ...

"Brett, I desired a mature partner and you tick every box I had mentally listed."

"Crudely speaking, how did I score on the requirement of filling your box more than adequately?"

"Shut up Brett," she whispered, blushing.

Liz called, "Are you two talking dirty?"

"No mother. I'm coaching Brett on few words he wishes to deliver om TV when invited to say a few words."

"Ah, very impressive."

"I think they were talking dirty," said Keith, earning a powerful rebuke from his wife for disbelieving his daughter.

Their daughter giggled and hugging her confirmed beau, fluttered her extended eyelashes down his cheek, signalling her high degree of happiness.

Brett tapped Veronica's hip, where his hand was at rest, in muted intimate feedback, assuming that she would intelligently decode his part to that unspoken exchange and asked, "Didn't you have a real boyfriend during all those years of training and competing in a competitive sports environment to win-win, from which you have now emerged?"

"That's a hugely perceptive question, but then you have been an investigatory journalist."

Brett thought that was the only answer he'd be getting - an implied 'correct' wrapped in that compliment.

Wrong.

Veronica stroked his cheek and said, "Opportunities for sex surrounded as my success grew, but I only rarely became involved with females. But usually it was a guy cheating on his girlfriend or wanting to bang me because of who I was rather than me as a person, if you get what I mean."

"I do and believe you are beginning to recognise me as your first real boyfriend although we are only newly acquainted."

"And are you happy about that?"

Brett licked her ear wetly and whispered, "And that's partly because you fuck so dynamically."

Keith interrupted the bird-like billing and cooing by announcing, "We are here," as he drove into the entrance of the studios.

"Just a tip, Brett. Word at the Club is to watch that bitch Rhonda who usually does the news hour studio interviews. She'll be out to grab any weakness or anything potentially controversial she can find. She'll begin by pouting her lush lips at you, breathing her big tits up bigger and tapping her gut as if signalling something and then, with you half mesmerized, will strike, repeatedly."

"Thanks for that tip, Keith. But no worries. I have only eyes for your daughter's tits these days and she will be beside me during the interview. Besides, the interview will run for less than two and a half minutes max as it's a news program.

Wrong.

The interview slot began with a brief newsroom-prepared film clip explaining the enormous triggering effect of columnist Brett Chambers' series of newspaper columns on the plight that young women face within the first few days on arriving in any Australian large town or city as a complete stranger with usually only the Salvation Army to turn to for comfort/support.

The clip stated that Australia had enthusiastically supported the associated Sister Anna Carries the Banner Fundraising Appeal organized by the newspaper that employed Brett following huge feedback from the public on his articles. The narrator said, "Rhonda Starikova, in our networks' studio in Perth, now adds to this amazing story that erupted from one man's pen, err keyboard, that has taken the nation by storm."

"Good evening from Perth, Australia. I'm Rhona Starikova," the glamorous interviewer smiled. Breathing in heavily to further inflate her magnificent chest, she theatrically, "Right opposite me is our man of the hour: Hi Brett Chambers."

"Good early evening Miss Starikova."

"Brett, how much do you think the appeal based on your successions of heart-felt stories has raised for the Sister Anna appeal for the Salvation Army?"

"Dunno, but the donations have been flooding in. The cash total could be approaching two mil by now."

"Fifteen minutes ago, when we checked, the official total was $3,229,320."

BLEEP.

"Sorry."

Laughing, Rhonda said, "Your amazed blurting of the F-word is understandable. Who is the sweet lass beside you?"

"Veronica Lees."

"And she's your sweetheart?"

"Yes, she is now. The reason why I insisted she be seated beside me for this interview is this. In Sydney I was waiting to meet Veronica from Perth who had arrived as a temporary new neighbour. I was about to write my column for publication and began imaging Veronica being a waif from Perth 2000 air miles away from home adrift in the vastness of Sydney..."

Rhonda, obviously shocked, "Omigod, you created your inspiring stories on a real person although you'd never had met her?"

"Yes, my thoughts imaging her as a waif in Australia's super-city became my inspiration and in turn that allowed me to write from the heart. I also imagined how I would feel if I had a daughter of 18 who had sneaked off to the mining city of Kalgoorlie to earn big bucks for several months before entering university. I thought in horror, omigod, my precious waif could end up in desperate situations and eventually return home in a box or perhaps would never be seen again."

"And then I took the other creative line, recalling from harbour and blue water sailing times since I was a teen how creative, sensible, resourceful and courageous females under stress could be. That imbued into my story-telling too."

Rhonda said, "And Veronica, that is how Brett explained your connection to his articles that had swept across Australia that were also being picked up by the international news media?"

"You have to be joking, Miss Starikova. You know what men are like. Until just now, I was only aware of the connection from what he grunted to me at our initial discussion of the first couple of articles..."

'Excuse me Veronica, I'm taking a directive from the network news director," Rhonda said, clutching at her ear-piece.

"Fantastic, our time of three minutes max has been extended to 15 minutes. Please continue."

"Brett grunted he'd gotten the idea for the story while waiting to meet me and had a strange recall of when a kid, of often hearing his half-drunk father and ex-military cobbers on the back lawn singing the ditty, as they often did, about Sister Anna Carrying the Banner for the Sally Annie (Salvation Army) band."

"So that alone attracted your him?" Rhonda asked skilfully, sensing there was more to come.

"Oh no," Veronica said. "Someone at our serviced apartments told me he'd apparently inherited several million dollars from his parents and he secretly owned the apartments building we were in. However, for a millionaire, I could see that his hair was untidy, his chin supported stubble and his jeans appeared to have a year late from being laundered. I'd expected him to drive perhaps the latest top-of-the-line Lamborghini and yet found his beloved weekend car is Mercedes Cabriolet from the1960s."

"Then there's more."

"Such as?" encouraged Rhonda.

"He doesn't act like a toff. But he's far from ordinary and is rather charming. He looks athletic and is hugely athletic and here's an example of that. We went out running. I consider myself fit and a great runner but he unknowingly, ran me into near-exhaustion. He disappeared, saying he wouldn't be long, leaving me on a bench under a tree, sipping chilled mineral water and thinking I'd cope getting back to the car about three miles away providing I could walk rather than run."

"A little Brett called from a few metres away and there he was, holding open the passenger of his car that he'd run off to fetch."

"He said because that day was very humid, he thought the conditions may have sapped my strength and so he'd decided to save me a long walk. Omigod, I thought, disbelievingly that a young guy in this age could think so heroically."

"Thanks, Veronica - that account really has told us a lot about the kind of guy Brett is."

Rhonda asked, "Brett, are you a millionaire?"

"That's an improper question to asked, akin to me asking how old are you."

"Okay, how old am I, Brett?"

He replied without hesitation, thirty-five but I really think thirty-eight.

"Omigod, how gallant of you and yes, I turn thirty-eight next week. That is a remarkable guess, but we are not here to talk about me. We now welcome Donald Goldsmith, chairman of the company that publishes Metro News to join us."

"Welcome Donald, Brett is a contract columnist for your Metro News."

"Correct Rhonda, and he has the reputation of writing left of centre that gives him such a huge following."

"And why did you arrange this interview, Donald?"

"Brett, and that huge audience of viewers watching this news bulletin, I wish to announce that Metro News is donating $250,000 to the Sister Anna Carries the Banner Fundraising Appeal dedicated to funding the Salvation Army's street work assisting waifs, particularly females, in our Australian communities, large and small."

"I strongly urge other companies to follow our example and donate to this noteworthy public appeal to assist the splendid work of the Sallies. Thank you."

"Thank you enormously Donald," Rhonda said smiling hugely. May I ask why did you choose to travel by aircraft 2000 miles here to make the announcement instead of accepting our offer to do it from Sydney by video link?"

"I wished to see Brett's face in person when I announced our donation, and I was not disappointed. Brett, as just one person, has through his columns made a great contribution in establishing the humanitarian face to our newspaper and his series on raising the plight of many young woman arriving as total strangers in new locations to settle is adding hugely to the humanitarian face of Sydney's Metro News newspaper."

Brett strode over to the company chairman and they hugged, hugely.

Rhoda said, "Well that's it folk and my, that's a real Man Hug that we are witnessing. We have staff at every TV station on this network waiting right now to take details of companies and individuals wishing to make donations of $5000 or more to the Sallies Appeal initiated by Brett Chambers."

When the call came, "That's a wrap" from the assistant producer, Brett hugged and kissed Veronica and said, "I invite you to live with me, permanently, when we return to Sydney."

"Okay," Veronica said, kissing him while her mother, standing beside her, was far more verbose and gasped, "Omigod, how amazing and what an offer. I'm losing a daughter but she's gaining an exceptionally kind man. I'm so happy."

The End