Before Jimmy could say anything further, Nic hopped up the stairs, entered his office and closed the door. He sighed as he thought of Victoria. He wished she had come with him. He should have just kept her by his side today, since he'd be back over there in a few hours anyway. But they never could have any peace at his house. Too many fucking people always around. He walked over to his desk to check his messages.
"Hello, Nic."
Nic swung around to find Eddie sitting casually on the couch. What the fuck? Why the hell was he in his office?
"Eddie, what the fuck are you—," then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Eddie's expression and reason for being in his office. The nagging feeling he had in the car. No, no, no. Now Nic remembered...the Russians.
"Fuck!!!!" he shouted. Goddamn it! How the hell could he forget the most important meeting? That wasn't him...he didn't make mistakes like that! Shit!!
Eddie sat calmly on the couch with his briefcase open. "Yes, the Russians. Want to know the update?"
Nic really didn't. He could only imagine. He had wanted that fucking deal with Ensor and he had just blown it. Not Eddie, or Jimmy or anyone else that worked for him. Just him. It was his fault.
Nic sighed and leaned against his desk.
Eddie pushed his glasses further onto his face. "They waited for an hour, and when you looked to be a no-show, Ensor said they were meeting with Sonny instead."
"Shit," Nic mumbled to himself. How in the hell could he forget a meeting like that? THE most important one to date. They literally had flown all the way from Russia to meet with him. And in the underground crime world, first impressions are usually all you get. No second chances. It was one thing to be late...which he never was. But to not show up at all...out of the question. What the fuck was wrong with him?
Eddie cleared his throat. "Can I say something, Nic?" Nic nodded. "Look, we're friends, so I'm saying this with the utmost respect for you. I think you're an incredible businessman and that's one of the reasons I left my comfy legit job to come work for you. You always have your shit together...and I've admired that over the past couple of years. But, for the past few weeks, you haven't really been paying close attention to the business. I mean, I have documents that you haven't sat down to read because you've been spending most of your time with Vict—at your loft. Things are slipping, and they have been for a while now. I tried calling you several times last night, practically begging Ensor to stay, but he was pretty pissed that he wasted his time. He's like you...only Russian."
Nic sat there thinking about what Eddie had just said. Nic also had a lot of respect for him. Unlike Jimmy, Eddie kept in business mode all the time. No family, no friends...just numbers and business. Most people never sacrificed relationships to excel and become the best at something, at any cost. But Eddie had...and for most of his life, so had Nic. Until Victoria. Nic felt like a fool.
"I mean, please correct me if I'm wrong Nic," Eddie continued, "but I thought this deal with her was strictly sex. Nothing more. I mean, is she your girlfriend now?"
Nic cut his eyes toward Eddie and narrowed them. "No, she's not." Nic knew right then what he had to do. He needed to cut this bullshit and get his business back on track. He had worked ten damn years getting what his father had left off the ground and really making something of it, and he almost destroyed part of that in a few days all because of Victoria. She wasn't his girlfriend...she was...just a girl. She didn't matter. What was important was that he didn't let down the people who had worked for him and been loyal to him over the years. They depended on him to keep it together and make the right decisions. Not some girl who was only supposed to have been in his life for seven days.
Yeah, it was time for the old Nic Andretti to step the fuck up.
"Get me Ensor's contact information," Nic commanded as he went to sit behind his desk.
"Nic, they said that was it. They're going with Sonny now," Eddie said.
"That's not what I asked you," Nic stated coolly. "Do your job."
Eddie sighed and handed him Ensor's number.
Victoria was so excited about her date tonight with Nic. She was beaming from ear to ear. Mr. Big Bad
Mob Boss was going to cook her an authentic Italian meal. Just the thought of him manoeuvring around the kitchen made her laugh. Nic didn't seem like the domestic kind. But she believed it was the thought that counted so when he got there, she would let him off the hook, and cook something for him instead. Her little surprise. Her mother was an amazing cook, and had taught her some tricks of the trade. She couldn't wait to show them off.
Victoria browsed through her now full closet, and slipped into a cute, short dark pink dress with loose straps and sexy heels. She figured Nic would like what she was wearing. Hell, dinner might not get cooked tonight she thought with a smile.
Around seven forty-five, she grabbed a bottle of champagne, opened it and started celebrating their mini break-through from the night before. She sipped the glass and sat down on the couch.
Around eight fifteen, Victoria had still not heard from Nic. He was usually very punctual...so being even fifteen minutes late wasn't like him. She grabbed the phone and dialed his cell. It rang a few times and then went to voicemail. She left him a quick message and then poured herself another glass of champagne.
Around nine and still no Nic, Victoria called his cell again. No answer. She then looked in her purse and found his house number that he had written down for her. She dialed it.
"Hello?"
Victoria didn't recognize the man's voice. "Um, hello. Is Nic there?"
"May I ask who's calling?"
"Victoria."
There was a brief pause and then the person on the other line said, "Sorry, he's not here. I can take a message." "Um, okay. Can you just tell him Victoria called and for him to call me as soon as he can? That I'm worried about him."
"Sure," the voice said, and then hung up.
Victoria just stared at the phone. He's not at his house, and he hadn't called her. What the hell was going on? She was really starting to worry. She knew that Nic wasn't in the friendliest of businesses, so she hoped nothing bad had happened.
After her third glass, Victoria kept switching back and forth from worry to anger. Surely he could have reached a phone to let her know he wasn't coming? Or that something had happened? God, she wished she knew Jimmy's cell phone number. After pacing back and forth for a few hours, off and on, Victoria laid down on the couch. She thought of last night and this morning with Nic. He was such a different person than when she had met him several weeks ago. Then, he had been cold and distant. But now, he was so different, and she knew...even though she was scared to admit it, she was falling in love with him. Maybe it was Stockholm syndrome or something like that, Victoria thought. She laughed at the idea and then quickly fell asleep.
When Victoria woke the next morning, for a brief moment she didn't know where she was. Damn those sneaky three glasses of champagne. She rubbed her face, smearing last night's eyeliner into her eyes. She yawned and then sprinted over to the cordless phone to see if there were any messages. Zero. She dialed Nic's cell phone again. No answer. Then she tried the house phone again, but this time it only rang and then went to voicemail.
Victoria paced back and forth again, trying to figure out what to do. She was tired of being stuck in this condo with no explanations, and she was scared that something had happened to Nic. Was he okay? She tried not to be irrational, so she took a shower and changed into a cute outfit with a skirt and low cut top. She tried to sit down and think about this reasonably, but she couldn't come up with any answers. Nic hadn't been apart from her for more than a few hours since the first night she came to his loft.
Victoria tried to keep her mind off of Nic. She tried to watch some movies, but that didn't work. She tried to play Scrabble, but her mind kept drifting to him. It was now late in the afternoon, going on almost a day and a half that she hadn't seen Nic. Something was definitely wrong.
That's
it, she thought. She grabbed her purse, his keys and went downstairs. Sam helped her find his parking space and she pulled the Large Silver SUV out onto the street. She wasn't familiar with driving to his place, so she missed a turn and got confused, but she eventually found the road she needed. For some reason she had butterflies in her stomach. Would he be mad at her for taking his car? What reason would he give her for his absence?
It was already dark by the time Victoria reached the iron gates leading up to house. She pressed the intercom button.
"Yes?" a voice said.
"Hi, I'm Victoria. I'm here to see Nic," she said, looking up at the several security cameras that were turning in her direction.
The voice paused and then she heard some muffled sounds, and then a voice she did recognize finally answered.
"Hey Vicky, it's Jimmy," he said in his usual warm manner.
She smiled. "Hey Jimmy, can I come in?"
She could have sworn he hesitated for a moment, but then the gate opened. Victoria drove up to the house as she saw Jimmy coming out to greet her. She noticed that he had quickly shut the door behind him. She got out and walked up to him.
"Hey, Vicky!" Jimmy said, while wrapping her in a bear hug. She laughed and hugged him back.
"Hey Jimmy, how are you?"
"I'm alright. Can't complain. So, what brings you here?" he asked, but Victoria could tell he looked uncomfortable. And what an odd question. What was going on?
"Well, I'm just worried about Nic. He hasn't contacted me since yesterday afternoon. Is he okay? Is he here?"
Victoria watched Jimmy's face closely. "He's, um...well, Vicky, he was bombarded with so many meetings. I mean, they've been back to back to back, you know."
Victoria wasn't buying it. Something was definitely wrong. Even if Nic were in back to back meetings he would have called her. Or stopped by after they were done. But she hadn't received anything from him.
"Is he here?" she asked again, walking towards the door.
"Uh, no. He's gone," Jimmy said, a little too quickly for Victoria's liking.
Victoria walked around him and up to the door, before Jimmy could grab her. She was about to enter when she heard Jimmy's plea. "Vicky, please don't go in there," he said softly. Immediately she felt her stomach twist into knots and her breath quicken. Her head was hurting and she was getting nervous for some reason. But she ignored her feelings and his warning, and pushed the front door open.
Inside, everything looked normal. Nothing was out of place, no blood splattered on the wall, no wild stripper party. Why was Jimmy worried?
She glanced to the side and noticed a small guy with glasses walking towards her. She hadn't seen him before. He walked up to her and extended his hand.
"Hi, Victoria, right? I'm Eddie," he said.
Victoria shook his hand, but his eyes looked cold. Almost as cold as Nic's could look at times. And then she realized she recognized his voice. He was the one on the phone when she had called...and the first voice on the intercom. Victoria immediately tensed. Something about the way he was looking at her put her off.
"Yes. Nice to meet you," she lied as Eddie tightly gripped her hand. Jimmy walked over to Victoria.
"Vicky, I think it's best if you go back to the loft. I'm sure Nic will come see you when he gets a chance," Jimmy said.
"Yeah, that probably is the best thing," Eddie chimed in.
"Jimmy, what the hell is going on? Just be honest with me!" Victoria said, ignoring Eddie's comment. She then looked back and forth between both men, waiting on someone to clarify where Nic was.
Before either could answer, Victoria noticed Jimmy's eyes dart behind her. She turned to see what he had glanced at, when she saw her.
A thin, brunette woman in a skimpy black dress came walking toward them while texting something on her phone. The girl looked up at Jimmy.
"What the hell is taking him so long?" she asked in a lazy, high pitched voice. She placed her skinny elbow into her side and stared at Victoria before turning to Jimmy. "Is she coming with us?"
"Kim, why don't you go wait back over there, okay?" Jimmy said, irritated.
Who the fuck was Kim? And why was she here?! Victoria prayed to God that this girl was here for Eddie. She couldn't even speak. She just stared at the girl, who was completely ignoring her. As Victoria's mind was busy twirling, she heard a door shut upstairs and she glanced toward the sound. She saw Nic coming around the corner dressed in a nice suit. He stopped at the top of the stairs when their eyes connected. For a second, she could have sworn he looked surprised, but that was quickly replaced with his nonchalant mask. He quickly descended the steps and walked up to the small group.
"They're meeting us in fifteen minutes, right?" Nic asked, not bothering to turn to Victoria.
"Correct," Eddie said.
Nic then settled his cold glare on Victoria. "Victoria," was all he said with a nod, before he grabbed Kim around the waist and escorted her out the front door.
Victoria just stood there, still trying to make sure what she was seeing...she was REALLY seeing. "How...what the fuck?" she mindlessly muttered to herself as she followed the couple out. Jimmy tried to grab her, but she jerked her arm away from him.
"Nic, what the hell...?!" Victoria shouted, walking up behind him. She tried to grab his arm and swing him around to face her, but he caught her arm instead.
"Get in the car," he barked at Kim, and she quickly obeyed. Nic turned around and stared down at Victoria.
"I'll talk to you later at the loft," he said, as he released her arm and walked over to the driver's side of his Aston Martin.
Victoria glanced through the windshield at the other woman, who was trying her best to stare her down. Victoria looked back at Nic shaking her head. This wasn't right. Something had happened. She grabbed the back of his jacket as he was opening his car door.
"No! I want to know what the fuck is going on. Who is she?!" Victoria said, pointing at the skinny brunette.
"Victoria, let go," Nic growled out, while turning to face her.
Victoria pulled on his jacket even harder. "Why are you ignoring me?! What the hell happened?! I just—I just don't understand!" By this point, Victoria was becoming hysterical and she hated herself for it. To let this asshole know how much he was hurting her. But fuck if she could help it. She couldn't understand what had happened in such a short period of time. Why was he with another woman? Why had she not received a phone call?
Nic tried to push her hands away, but Victoria held on tighter. Jimmy started walking towards them, while Eddie ignored the scene unfolding and got into his car.
"What the hell?" Kim said, as she got out of the car. She rushed over to Nic and tried to pull him from Victoria's grasp. "Let go of him!" she shouted in her nasally voice.
That was it, the last straw. Raw emotion came over Victoria and she snapped. She launched at the girl, just barely missing her face before Nic grabbed her and swung her around to the opposite side, placing his body between the two of them. Victoria was crying so hard at this point, she couldn't even really see through her blurry swollen eyes. She was completely embarrassed and humiliated...again.
"You almost hit me, you stupid bitch!" Kim screamed. Victoria tried to wiggle out of Nic's hold to get to that annoying twit again, but he gripped her tighter.
"Shut the fuck up and get in the car," Nic snarled over his shoulder at Kim. Kim hesitated for a second, but then hopped back into the car. He was still struggling to keep Victoria from breaking free as he spoke calmly to Jimmy. "Take her back to the loft in my car so I can have it there, have Raymond follow behind you so he can then drop you off at dinner."
Jimmy stared a Nic for a few seconds, then sighed, "Alright."
Victoria went limp against his body. She felt completely drained. And confused. "Why did you not call me or come to see me? What happened?" Victoria whispered in a soft sob, completely horrified that she had broken down this bad in front of everyone.
"Go back to the loft
, Victoria," Nic ordered again, staring at her with cold eyes. "I will come by later."
Nic released her as Jimmy grabbed her shoulders and gently guided her back to Nic's SUV. He felt her shaking and she kept looking over her shoulder at Nic. Jimmy turned to see Nic getting into his car with his date. He pulled away without another glance at Victoria, while Eddie followed behind.
Jimmy walked over to the passenger side door and opened it. Victoria stood there a moment watching as the car disappeared down the driveway. She just didn't understand.
In the car ride on the way back to the loft, Jimmy tried to talk to her.
"Vicky, he's under a lot of stress, you know. He's just—"
"Don't try to defend him, Jimmy!" Victoria said, quickly cutting him off. "You're twice the man he is." She was still trying to quiet her sobs, which had turned into dry heaves. She hated she appeared this week in front of all of them, but it had caught her off guard. She wasn't prepared. His attitude and lack of...caring had completely blindsided her. That wasn't the Nic who had just left her a day ago. What had happened in such a short break to make him treat her this way?
Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss. Page 13
