Victoria excitedly ran out of my office after making it known that I would stonewall any attempts after she asked. I knew that she was going to go have her body melt under Gabby's fingers, and I relaxed. To be honest with myself, I was also thrilled to be going on a date with her myself.
It was a new experience to plan something out for someone and not know how they will react. I was firm that Victoria would be excited. Jacob also knew to keep his mouth shut; otherwise, the bridge would be burnt between us. This would have more devastating effects for him than any reputation I would lose. Still, I trusted him for this, and I was hoping to have an amazing evening with Victoria in a couple of days.
With the planning of the Date out of the way, I started to look into the financial investigation that was going on. The separate investigators were going through piles of paperwork, though, but one of the things looked troubling. It seemed that things might be better than I thought or much worse. I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be at this point. Everyone in the positions they are in I trusted. This hurt that I had to investigate when I gave them so much. The fact that financial investigators started to find things was a sign of bad things to come.
Still, I solidified my heart, and I continued as the only things found could technically be mistakes or computer errors. Still, I hoped that the people I put there remained honest. If it was my CEO's, though, I knew I would feel hurt. I helped them become the people they are today and gave them opportunities that they would never have had otherwise. They paid back that trust and helped me make my companies successful.
I ultimately hoped that anything went wrong; it would be lower down the chain around the CIO's or CFO's. It would mean that I didn't place my trust in someone that broke it. I don't know if that was selfish of me, but I had confidence in those I trusted. That was why I didn't want to start a witch hunt and tell them. This would spark issues among my people, and I wanted that even less.
After some time, I heard another knock on the door, and Victoria peeked in. "Dinner is ready," She told me, the smile splitting her face as she showed her happiness without restraint. I smiled back, knowing that I was the reason for that happiness. I knew that she would love what I had planned. I smirked and got up, sleeping my computer as I left.
We all gathered around as Li finished placing the table, and we all sat down. We all began to feast on the healthy meal without thought. It was delicious, and Li was happy that we were all eating happily. It wasn't until mid-meal that Li brought up what she asked earlier.
"Hey, Victoria, I brought this up with Rick, but I was wondering your input as well. I was wondering if we could do some things altogether." Li began, "I think, at this point, we are all a bunch of strangers living together, and I think it would be beneficial to make this place feel more at home for all of us. We can all take turns planning out an evening or something once a week so that we can all learn more about each other." Li finished by leaving it open, and Victoria was still smiling.
"Okay, But Rick and I are going on a date two nights from now, so let's plan it for after that. I will allow nothing to interrupt whatever Rick has planned for me!" Victoria declared openly, showing her excitement.
I turned to Gabby, "This is fine with you too?" I asked her not wanting to make a decision without it being unanimous.
"Yeah, it sounds like it could be fun like the club we went to the other week. I enjoyed dancing with you and Victoria. I would love to do some more things together so we can learn more about each other." Gabby gladly agreed.
"Awesome! Other than two days from now, when do we want to do it?" Li asked, looking for input, "I am thinking Thursday or Friday, but those are both busier days anywhere we want to go." She added.
"I think It depends on where we are going that evening. If someone plans something for a bar, Friday would be better unless we want to spend more time learning more about each other." I added in myself.
"I agree with Rick, and We need to plan around what we want to be doing. Although I am thinking it would be fun to do something like laser tag!" Victoria shouted, bringing up an old memory of mine from college.
"Oh, that sounds fun!" Gabby chimed in, and Li joined in the agreement all around.
"The question is when do we want to go? Do we want to be playing with kids or what?" Li asked.
Plans started to circulate the table as we ate and enjoyed conversation planning an outing together. The conversation flowed easily as everyone soon discovered that they didn't care if kids were playing with us. We all started to talk about old escapades when we were younger to Laser tag, and I got a smirk.
"Yes, Victoria, Remember that time in College when you suggested much the same thing?" I asked her, the grin on my face growing, and she turned to me smiling.
"No regrets, that was a fun evening that we all enjoyed together. It has been years, and we should have done it more when we all graduated!" Victori exclaimed with a matching smirk at the old memory.
"Yeah, the reason I brought it up is; do we want to be that competitive?" I asked her, making her eyes narrow.
"We should be that competitive! I think putting something on the line makes it more fun!" She shot back and leaving both Gabby and Li confused.
I turned to them to fill them in, "Victoria here likes to up the ante with things like laser tag. In college, we had a bet the last time we went where the loser would have to do something the winner tells them to. The bet has limits on anything your uncomfortable doing, but Victoria is glad to find out that border." I said, turning to her.
"To be fair, I wasn't expecting Alex, who has terrible aim, by the way. I literally couldn't believe how bad he was, To be willing to do that. Megan was a loose woman, but none of us truly knew how bad it would be for him. You even told him not to do it!" Victoria exclaimed.
"Look, this isn't an argument. I am just saying that we will not do punishments that far that it affects their lives." I told Victoria firmly on this one.
"I didn't know!" She exclaimed, looking like I was unjustly accusing her. "I didn't know that her headcount on sexual encounters was probably over the triple digits. I wasn't even expecting Alex to be able to get with her that easily. At first, I felt furious at how easy she was for him." She crossed her arms, and I knew I couldn't change this side of Victoria.
"I am not accusing, nor am I trying to punish you for it. I even agree that it would be fun to add in a bet like this. I think it can bring us closer. I am saying don't go overboard, okay?" I stood my ground, and Victoria pouted her lips.
"Personally, I like to add the bet too," Gabby chimed in, "I think competitiveness will add an edge, so we all enjoy it more. It takes away that 'oh, it doesn't matter' stuff that I have noticed with my friends sometimes."
"I agree to," Li added in. "I think we all agree that Victoria shouldn't take it too far if she schools us in Laser tag either." Li finished with.
"You turned them against me!" Victoria exclaimed, but her smile returned as it all sounded like a lot of fun to be had.
Soon dinner was over, and Victoria and I went to her room. I smiled as we kissed just outside before heading in. I didn't really want to provide sexual attention tonight as I wanted just to cuddle. It was a weird feeling to me as I just wanted companionship.
"Hey, Victoria, I just want to cuddle tonight. With the demon hanging over my head, I really just want companionship tonight." I told her truthfully, surprising her.
"That's perfectly fine," Victoria replied, "You want to snuggle up under the blankets tonight?"
"Yeah, I just want to be held and to hold you." I blushed somewhat as it was the first time I was in this sort of mood, and it was weird to me. In the end, we both stripped and climbed under the covers together, and I laid on the pillow beside her. Her breasts pressed up against my chest. We were inches apart, but nothing sexual happened as we started to talk to each other lightly as the lights turned off on their own.
Deep into the night, we held each other, our eyelids slowly closing. I didn't know who fell asleep first, but I never felt companionship more than I did that night.