Seven Days Ch. 05

"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 weak 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?

When they reached Nic's loft, Jimmy parked the car into the parking space and turned off the engine. Raymond was waiting for him out on the street. He turned to Victoria and felt ashamed. How could Nic leave her like this and walk away? Her face was tear-streaked and she was still shaking. He shouldn't have let her in the gate. He just didn't know what else to do. Eddie had planned on letting her stay out there, but Jimmy couldn't treat her that way. She was such a sweet person, and he was sick of these games that Nic was playing with her. He knew it was coming. He was going to have his own argument with Nic about all of this before too long.

Victoria finally unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out. She didn't even look back at Jimmy, as she made her way into the building. She got on the elevator, pressed in the code and rode up to the top floor still in shock.

Once inside his loft, she removed her shoes and placed herself into a ball on the couch. Her body felt as though she had run ten miles. Her eyes hurt, her throat was sore. She was actually still a little in shock. The only person she had ever attempted to hit in her life had been Nic. And both times he had deserved it. But tonight she had lowered herself another notch to something she never thought she would do. She had actually tried to fight another woman. And over a man at that! Something she used to laugh about when she saw women do it on shows like Maury Povich and Jerry Springer that her mom still watched. Stupid women, she would call them, while shaking her head. And now in her mind, she was no better. A part of her wanted to walk out of the door right then. She was sick of letting herself get humiliated over and over again. She had thought they were past all of that, but apparently not. But part of her wanted to hear his excuse. She wanted to know what had caused this. So she fought against her need to leave, and stayed to give Nic a chance to explain. Her eyes began to feel so heavy, until she finally closed them and fell into a deep sleep.

*************************

Nic pulled into his parking space at his condo around one fifteen in the morning. He did the impossible...by pulling Anzor away from Sonny and back to his business. He met them for dinner, but he could tell that Anzor had wanted an apology from him for missing their meeting. He definitely didn't know Nic if he thought that might happen. Nic wasn't the apologizing type. He stepped around it and made them feel silly for coming all the way to the U.S. only to work with a two-bit hustler like Sonny, instead of a proven, hardcore businessman like himself. Eddie launched a bunch of figures and deals at Anzor, proving that Nic had an impeccable track record. Anzor seemed impressed. Plus, Anzor kept checking out Kim. Nic silently prayed that Anzor would take her off his hands. She was probably more annoying than his wife.

After dinner, Anzor had shaken his hand and the deal was set in motion. Nic had gotten back into his car with Kim. She had tried to run her fingers through his hair, to get a little action going...but she was completely surprised and pissed when Nic dropped her back off at her place and said goodnight. She just stared at him incredulously with her hands folded across her chest. He hadn't spared another glance at her as she got out and slammed the door.

Nic had raced all the way back to his loft, where he was now sitting in his car. He knew she was up there with a million questions, but he wasn't ready to answer them. Truth was, she made him crazy and he couldn't think half of the time when he was around her. He didn't want this 'thing' that they had to end, but he wasn't sure what to do with her. He agreed with Eddie, in the sense that she was definitely bad for business. He had never had to balance his personal life with his business life before. They were always intertwined. Amber was more a second thought, on most occasions. For that, he had to blame himself. He never gave their marriage a shot. Because he hadn't wanted to marry her. But she seemed to fit with his lifestyle, and most nights she didn't care if he didn't pay her attention.

But with Victoria in his life this way...he was slipping. When dealing with a situation like Mark Hinson...that needed to have been done quickly and efficiently, but his men were stuck waiting on him because he was sitting in a movie theater with his phone turned off. He knew it wasn't Victoria's fault, but he still wanted to blame her. Her words at Jimmy's house had done something to him. They had changed him. And he didn't know if he liked this new change. He prided himself on being the guy you didn't want to fuck with, and now...he felt he was becoming, well...a pussy. And THAT was unacceptable. He exhaled and exited the car.

Victoria opened her eyes when she heard the front door close. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was one thirty-six in the morning. She immediately sat up on the couch and stared toward the door, watching his tall frame lurk there before turning on the light.

Nic found her staring at him as he set his car keys on the counter. "I need you to get dressed. There's an afterparty down the street and I need to make an appearance for a friend."

Victoria just stared at him like he was crazy. "That's it? You're not going to explain why you never called and who that girl was?"

"Victoria, I don't have to explain my actions to you. And I'm not going to discuss it further. Now get dressed. You have fifteen minutes," Nic said, glancing down at his watch.

She just continued to stare at him, her eyes wide and mouth open. Nic sighed and walked to his bedroom. He removed his shirt and searched for something a little more casual. When he turned around, Victoria was waiting by the closet door. She looked so hurt. He glanced back over his clothing and selected another shirt. Anything to avoid staring into her sad face. Fuck, this was harder than he thought it would be.

"I don't understand, Nic. What did I do?" she softly asked, while gripping the door frame.

"You didn't do anything. Just leave it alone, and get dressed."

"But..."

"End of discussion, Victoria," he snapped. He was not going to lose control of this situation. Hell, there shouldn't even BE a situation. She was an arrangement, and that was that. No questions asked, no complications.

"No, it's not the end of the discussion. I thought..."

Nic turned around angrily. He had to get this through her head. "You thought what? That I would want you as my girlfriend? Some slut who fucks me in every way just for money?" he barked out at her, his eyes as cold as a winter's day.

All of the air in Victoria's lungs vanished. She couldn't speak for a few seconds. His words caused her to wince. Smacking her would have probably caused less pain than those nasty words piercing her heart. How could he...? How could he say something so hateful to her?! This wasn't Nic talking. He was different with her. He wasn't as callous about her feelings as he once was. He had changed. No, this wasn't him talking. He would apologize in a minute. In just a few minutes, he would take back those malicious words. She hoped...

Nic stood there staring down at her. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, but he refused to acknowledge it. He knew his words...had hit the mark. Oh, fuck...

"Take that back," Victoria whispered when she could finally catch her breath. Tears were already glassing over her red puffy eyes. "Take that back right now, Nic," she whispered again.

"You know me, Victoria. I always say what I mean."

"You're just saying that because you're hurt or upset for some reason. You don't mean it. Just talk to me and tell me what happened!"

Nic brushed past her as he made his way back into the bedroom. Victoria followed him. "Nic, I'm serious, take it back!"

Nic turned to look at her. "What, are we fucking four years old? Now get dressed, I have to be there in five minutes," he said.