Seven Days Ch. 04

And she had looked so beautiful tonight, and almost happy, but he had to go fuck it up by putting her back in her 'place'.

Nic sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He stared at the chair opposite of him and realized that just a few weeks ago, Victoria had sat in that chair to explain her situation to him. She had come to him, probably scared and ashamed, looking for help...and how did he treat her? Like she didn't fucking matter. If he were being truthful, he had just planned to fuck her that night and get rid of her. He was sure she couldn't satisfy him the way he wanted, so he'd just take a few thousand off what her father owed him and call it even. But, when he had gone into his loft, and she hit him and then threatened to cut him, that lit something in him. She wasn't a pushover like he had taken her for during their brief meeting. His stomach turned to think of how she looked at him when he had asked her to remove her clothes in front of him and Jimmy. He knew that if she had any other option...she would have taken it and probably kicked him in the nuts on the way out. But she was desperate and he had taken advantage of that. He'd ripped her cheap black dress, not caring that it might be the only one she had. Fuck, he could be an asshole sometimes. It never bothered him to be called that before, but now...for some reason, he didn't want Victoria to think that of him.

Nic leaned his head against his desk. He knew that their arrangement was something that would end eventually, and she'd go her separate way, and he'd go back to his life. But, in the meantime, he'd try to make it up to her. He would treat her differently. Yeah, starting tomorrow, he'd turn over a new leaf with Victoria. He smiled just thinking about her.

************************ Over the next few days, Nic tried keep his promise to himself to treat Victoria better. But she didn't make it easy on him. At first, she barely said two words to him. He would ask her a question, and a simple "yes" or "no" would be her only answer. And when he tried to ask a question that would require more than those generic replies, she would simply turn to him, plaster on a fake smile and say, "whatever you want is fine". Oh, she got under his skin so bad. But he kept his cool. It was just a part of his nature. Remain cool and calm at all times. But Victoria was seriously trying his nature. But he also realized it was her only defense against him. She couldn't physically beat him, so she would try to mentally overpower him. And fuck, if it wasn't working! And just when he would be ready to snap, her words about 'guilt' would slowly creep back into his mind. He did feel guilty, and he found himself wanting her to be happy.

So, on several occasions, he would show up at the loft and beat her in a game of scrabble, or just sit and watch a TV show or movie with her. She seemed to like those sappy Lifetime movies, and although it was painful for him to watch, he would. And during these times, slowly but surely, she started to warm up to him again and he even caught her smiling a few times.

The other day, he took her to an art museum. He actually never cared much for those types of things, but she seemed fascinated with it. She told him that she had never been to an art museum before. When she was in grade school, they had taken a field trip to a museum, but had to pay for their own entrance into the museum. Her father was so tight with money, that she wasn't able to go, and instead spent that class period reading. That had made Nic feel even worse. But watching her bounce from painting to painting helped to quell some of that negativity. Although he found it all boring, she especially loved the Baroque paintings. She stared at them for several minutes, while he had stared at her. He also couldn't keep his hands off of her, and he kissed her neck or squeezed her ass every few minutes, while she would 'ooh' and 'aah' over each painting.

Victoria didn't know why the change in Nic had happened, but he seemed different towards her. He quit taunting her with the fact that he was using her. At first she had resisted and tried to act like a robot. Only answer yes and no, and lie there in bed as he had his way with her, but no matter how hard she tried not to come, it always happened, and he grinned at her, because he knew she was trying to withhold.

And another new development was the fact that she was able to spend more time at his mansion now. She started meeting more and more people that worked for him, as he openly flaunted her around. He even held her hand as they entered into several places. He still didn't introduce her as anything more than just 'Victoria', but at least he wasn't ignoring her anymore when there were people around. He would actually laugh and have conversations with her about different things. Yes, he had changed ever since Jimmy's party.

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

"Whatever, you don't know anything about me," Victoria stated, as she rolled off Nic, and onto the bed. She was exhausted from their intense sexual workout.

Nic placed his hands behind his head and nodded. "I know more than you think Victoria Stevie Davis. Born in 1985. Lived here your whole life. You attended North Lincoln High School and one year at Martin Community College. You've been working for your father since you were thirteen, you've had one boyfriend and were pretty much a loner. Oh, and you can't keep away from my dick. Anything else I miss?"

Victoria scoffed. "Please, I can keep away. You can't! And besides, I don't have a criminal record, so how did you pull all of that?"

"I have people who keep me well informed."

"Still doesn't mean you know me though. And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Tell me something about you."

"Nicolas Andretti and I'm a successful businessmen. End of story."

"How about something I don't already know," Victoria said, wrapping the covers over her naked body.

"I remembered you from when I went to visit your father that day in his restaurant. You were wearing that burgundy shirt and short, tight khaki shorts. Yeah, yeah, I checked you out. You looked like a deer in headlights when I glanced at you."

Victoria didn't believe him. He couldn't have remembered her. She had barely gotten a glimpse of him that day, before he entered the kitchen with her scared father.

"Was my hair up or down?" Victoria quizzed.

"It was down and you had it pushed away from your face with a headband or whatever they're called," he answered.

Victoria couldn't believe it. How the hell could he remember that? She had remembered him, but it wasn't every day that you got a guy like Nic Andretti walking into your restaurant. But he probably was just really observant, because he had barely spared a glance at her then.

"Okay, now a question for you. Stevie? How did you get that middle name?" Nic asked.

Victoria laughed thinking about it. She and her mother's own private joke. "Well, it's actually a funny story. Okay, growing up...my mom was obsessed with Steve McQueen. She said if she could have married that man, she'd be the happiest woman alive," Victoria said, laughing about the whole thing. "Well, anyway, my father isn't too keen on the idea of well, interracial relationships. So, my mom could never admit her crush. But when I was born, she wanted to name me after Steve, but she didn't want to make it obvious, so she added an 'i' and told my dad it was for Stevie Wonder."

Nic burst out laughing. That...was funny as hell. He quickly composed himself, but he wasn't expecting anything close to that interesting. "Well, whenever you're ready to rain on your dad's parade, you should tell him that," Nic said, while getting up to pull his boxers back on.

"Are you leaving tonight?" he heard her ask in a small voice. He looked at her, wrapped in his sheets. He tried not to stay over too often, in order not to give her the wrong impression, but some nights, he'd be so exhausted, he couldn't help it. He thought she didn't care either way, but her look was hopeful. Did she want him to stay? He knew they had been getting along, but he still doubted that she actually wanted his company. He thought she more or less tolerated it.

"Do you want me to?" he asked.

Victoria slid the sheets above her breasts until they reached her chin. She slowly nodded her head. She did want him to spend the night. She watched as he stared at her for a moment, as if deciding what to do. Then he pulled his boxers back down and got back into bed. She knew not to expect any type of cuddling, but just knowing he was there and not running out made her feel less like...well, less of an 'arrangement'.

"Goodnight," Victoria whispered to him. She hugged her pillow, not really expecting a response. He didn't like anything sentimental. But as she was scooting into her sleeping position, she heard him say it.

"Goodnight, Victoria."

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

Victoria was still on cloud nine from meeting one of her favorite actors. She had seen most of his movies, and when Nic had told her he was throwing the actor's thirty-third birthday party, Victoria flipped. She was so excited! Nic had shut his club down for the private event. Apparently Nic had grown up with Mr. Big Time actor, and the two had stayed close throughout the years. And even during Mr. Big Time's speech, he thanked Nic, because for one of his best roles as a tough, street-smart kid, he had copied Nic's behavior from when they were kids. He then imitated Nic's cool demeanor and Northern accent, and everyone laughed. It was a pretty good impersonation. And when Nic finally introduced Victoria to the birthday boy, she was smiling from ear to ear. She tried to shake his hand, but he pushed it aside, and grabbed her for a big bear hug. But after about five seconds, Nic jokingly started to pull her away...but he also didn't remove his arm from her waist until after the conversation had wrapped.

The music was amazing, and Victoria danced with groups of strangers most of the night. She had tried to call Nic over to dance with her, but he waved her off and continued to conduct a meeting in a dark corner of the club. 'He can't even have fun for one night without doing business,' Victoria thought.

"So, how long have you known Nic?" Mr. Big Time asked, sneaking up behind her. He handed her a drink. Gosh, he was beautiful, Victoria thought.

"Um, not long. We're just friends," Victoria said, sipping her drink.

"So, since you're just friends, does that mean you're open to 'other' friends?"

Victoria couldn't believe he was hitting on her. He was gorgeous and could probably have any girl in this club. "Um, I g-guess," Victoria stuttered, and then quickly took another sip. She didn't know what to say to him, and he was eyeing her up and down.

"Good, here's my number. You should call me sometime, beautiful," he said as he jotted his number down on the back of some card. He handed it to her, right as she felt arms wrap around her waist.

"Hey," she heard Nic say behind her. But he wasn't talking to her, he was talking to Mr. Big Time.

"Hey Nic, mio fratello! Thanks for the party, I enjoyed."

"Glad you did," Nic answered, but Victoria could feel his arms tighten around her and his voice sounded distant. Then she felt his cool lips against her skin, and he lightly bit and kissed her neck. Victoria couldn't help it, before she could even think, she closed her eyes, loving the feel of his hard body against her back. But then she quickly opened her eyes to see Mr. Big Time, sipping his drink, looking really uncomfortable.

"Nice to meet you," Victoria said to him, before Nic pulled her away. "Nic, that was rude," she whispered to him. Nic yanked the piece of paper from her, ripped it up and deposited it in the trash can before he took her hand and led her outside, where a limo was waiting on them.

"I have a surprise for you," he said, when they got inside. Victoria kept asking what it was, but he just told her to be patient. But it was about a thirty minute drive away, so to keep her mind from wandering, she decided to teach him a game.

"Okay, you place your hands on top of mine and you have to look me in the face. When you think I'm going to hit your hands, you remove them, okay?"

"Alright."

Victoria waited two seconds and then smacked his hands.

"Ow, what the hell?" Nic asked, looking at her.

"Nic! You're supposed to move your hands. Okay, you try to hit mine instead," Victoria offered, placing her hands on top of his.

Nic still looked puzzled, but he stared her in the face.

"Ow!!" Victoria screamed, as Nic's hands smacked hers before she could even blink. "That hurt!"

"Hey, you're the one that picked this pointless game," Nic said as he smacked her hands again.

"Oww! Stop hitting me so hard," Victoria pouted as she shook off the sting on the back of her hands. "Besides, this is my secret way of getting all of my aggression out on you," she smiled.

"Yeah...how's that working for you," Nic smirked as he smacked her hands again.

"Shit! Stop it!" Victoria shouted as she tried to land a punch to his shoulder. But before it could connect, the limo shifted and she fell on him, straddling one of his legs in her extremely short and skimpy deep orange dress. She tried to quickly push off of him, but he grabbed her hair in one hand and her ass in the other.

"Now, if you had told me this was the endgame, I would have played it a long time ago," Nic joked, as he kissed a trail from her earlobe and down her neck. Victoria tried to move, but his grip tightened in her hair as he smacked her ass.

"Aah!" she squealed, but her body involuntarily started dry humping his leg.

"Damn, I want to be inside of you right now," he whispered, while he removed his hand from her butt and gently placed it underneath her dress to rub her wet slit. He had asked her not to wear panties, so he had all the access he wanted. "Mmm," she moaned into his ear.

"We're here, sir," Raymond said through the speakers. Nic gently pushed her back and pulled her out of the limo, before they got too carried away and forgot why they were here.

Victoria searched around to see if anything looked familiar. But they were parked in a back alley. Nic grabbed her hand and led her inside a building and through the back hallways. Everything was so dark, but when they reached a set of double doors, Nic whispered for her to close her eyes. She shut them tight and followed closely behind him into the room.

Underneath her eyelids she could see the room getting lighter. She waited for his signal, and she felt him get behind her and nip her earlobe as he whispered for her to open her eyes.

When Victoria looked around, she couldn't believe it. She sucked in a breath. Was this Tiffany's? She was surrounded by so many diamonds she couldn't believe it. She had never walked into this store before because she knew she could never afford anything in it. The paper they print their receipts on was probably worth more than she had in her purse at the moment.

The way the light sparkled off of each piece of jewelry, lit up the entire room very brightly. When she finally came to her senses, she realized there was another man standing in the room. A short, tiny man with thick black rim glasses.

"Hi Mr. Andretti. Always a pleasure," he said, while shaking Nic's hand.

"Thank you, David, likewise. This is Victoria," Nic said, placing his arm around her waist. "Victoria, this is David."

"Nice to meet you," Victoria whispered, still a little in shock.

David smiled at her and turned to Nic. "May I, sir?" he asked, while reaching for Victoria's arm.

"Sure. Victoria...pick out anything you want. I'll be over here," Nic said, while he stepped to the side and pulled out his cell phone.

Victoria looked at Nic, then at the jewel cases. This was too overwhelming.

"It can be overwhelming," David said, as if reading her thoughts. "Let's start with this," he suggested, while placing a thin rope with a sparkling diamond heart around her neck. Victoria looked in the mirror at the beautiful necklace wrapped around her neck. How many women would kill to be in her shoes tonight. In the reflection of the mirror, she saw Nic leaning against the wall on his cell phone. He was dressed in his signature long black coat. He was so tall and good looking that at the moment, this all seemed like a dream. Victoria focused back on herself in the mirror. She stared at her reflection for a while, as she tuned out David's voice. Who was this girl looking back at her?

"Eddie, I'll be there. Aren't I always? Just make sure our figures are straight. And tell Jimmy--," Nic started, but stopped when he noticed David standing in front of him. "Hold on, Eddie. Yes?" he said to David.

"Um, sorry to interrupt Mr. Andretti, but she said she doesn't want anything."

"Come again?"

David wiped his brow. "She said she doesn't want anything," he repeated.

Nic looked towards Victoria and found her standing by the door, looking at him. "Eddie, I'll call you back," he said as he clicked off his phone.

Victoria watched as Nic walked toward her. She braced herself. She knew that he was probably so pissed at her throwing his gift back in his face. But she just couldn't accept it. Not this time.

"What's wrong," Nic asked.

"Nothing. I just don't want anything," she whispered back to him. He stood there staring at her for a few seconds. Then he turned and walked back over to David. "Thank you. And sorry for wasting your time," Nic said as he shook the tiny man's hand.

"Not a problem at all, Mr. Andretti. And please let me know if there's ever anything else I can do for you."

"I will, thanks," Nic said as he walked back over to Victoria. He held the door open for her, and they walked back down the hallway. Raymond opened the doors to the limo and they got in. Nic sat leaning against one door, while Victoria sat leaning against the other. Both were deep in thought and neither said a word the entire trip back to his loft.

When they entered, Nic removed his coat and turned to Victoria. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go lie down for a few minutes before I have to go." She nodded her head, and he turned and walk to the bedroom.

Victoria stood by the bar, just thinking about the night. What a strange night. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't have cared...she'd actually probably be glad...but now, she felt like shit that she had hurt his feelings. She should have just taken something small, but something was keeping her from doing it. Pride? Or something stronger than pride that was telling her that this isn't the way. Stand your ground and in the end you'll get what it is you really want from him. And what was that? His...love? Victoria shook the thought from her head. She had too much nervous energy to go to sleep. So she crept into the bedroom and saw him lying on his back with one arm covering his face. His shoes were still on. She wanted to take them off so bad so he could be more comfortable, but she resisted. She wasn't his girlfriend. She walked into the closet and grabbed her bathrobe. She tiptoed out and shut the door.

Victoria turned on the faucet and removed her clothes. She stepped into the large shower and immediately exhaled. The hot water massaged her body and she leaned against the cool tile, loving the contrast to the water. She closed her eyes and started humming 'In My Life' by the Beatles. She had heard the tune while waiting on the subway one day, and instantly fell in love with it. She was in the middle of humming the second verse when she heard the shower door slam. She jumped and turned around to find Nic staring down at her. He looked pissed.

She looked up at him while the water rained down on her neck and back. She pushed her hair out of her face and waited for him to speak.