As soon as the words leave her mouth Niall looks over at her. Torrie was stuck in a frozen daze. Looking at the older woman in front of her. She walks up to the woman. "Mom?" she says and the woman looks at her. And her jaw drops.
"Oh my god." She says and Torrie looks at her. "Torrie wow look at you. You've grown into quite the beauty." She says with a smile and Torrie's smile falls as a man approaches. "Bec, Who is this?" He says and the woman looks between him and Torrie.
"Oh, Richard this is my friend Torrie. Torrie this is my husband Richard." She says and Torrie's disgusted look was almost noticeable. "Oh, It's nice to meet you, Torrie." He says and she ignores him.
"It was nice to see you again Bec." She says in a taunting voice to her mother and starts to run to the exit. "Torrie!" someone shouts but it was too late she was already on a mission to get out of there.
Blood boiling and tears fighting to escape her eyes she pushed the doors of the Banquet hall open and the cold breeze hit her skin. She realized she was having a panic attack because the second she went outside she began to hyperventilate. Tears streaming down her cheek slowly as she tries to catch her breath. "Torrie!" Someone shouts and then says something to someone else catching up to the woman.
"Jesus it's freezing out here. Hey, you okay?" Niall asks noticing her hyperventilating. She nods her head and spits the words out.
"Yes...I...Just...need...A...second.." She gets out and finally takes a few deep breathes and is fine. Niall takes his coat off and puts it around her. "No it's okay it's cold." She says and he looks at her. "Exactly that's why I gave it to you idiot." He says and they both slightly laugh.
As they sit waiting for the car in the freezing air Niall laughs. "What?" Torrie says and he looks at her. "It's been a shitty night." He says and she looks at him. "You can say that again." And he laughs. "I'm sorry about what happened between that man and me earlier." He says and she looks at him. "Don't be it's none of my business."She says and he nods turning back when the car arrives.
As they get in the car ride back to the manor was silent. Niall's phone went off the entire time and he was ignoring it. It was until one call closer to the manor he answered.
"What!" He answered and Torrie could hear hysterical crying on the other end. "Chantelle I don't want to talk to you right now." He says and then yelling comes from the other line. "Then you shouldn't have cheated on me again!" Niall yells into the phone hanging up and slamming his phone on the seat.
"Everything okay?" She asks and he throws his hand in his hair. "Please don't talk right now Torrie." She shuts up and looks out the window leaving the car in yet another silence. After that, the car was at an awkward silence. When they arrived at the manor she expected Niall to take the car back to his place. Instead, he stormed inside.
Torrie thanked the driver and followed after him. She watched him leave a beer on the counter for her and go sit outside. She walked into the kitchen grabbing the beer and followed him. He was sitting on the side of the pool listening to the waterfall. She sat down next to him. He takes a sip of his beer ignoring her presence.
"What do you mean when you said she cheated again?" She asks and he laughs. "This is the second time." He says and she looks at him. "You asked me earlier why my parents don't approve of her?" He said and she looked back at the pool. "Yeah." She said. He sighed.
"Chantelle and I have been together for about five years. We uh worked together. Well, I proposed to her, and about a month before our wedding I found out she cheated on me with Matt Gunnison. Her ex-husband. So I broke up with her and a week later she was at my door holding a pregnancy test swearing it was mine." He says and he hesitates. "We lost the baby a couple of months later," he says and she looks over at him.
"Ma believed the child wasn't even mine and a little part of me believes that too." He says and Torrie looks over at him. "I'm sorry." She says and he shrugs his shoulders. "It's life I guess." He says and she sighs. After a while, Torrie finishes her beer and stands up. "I guess I should go get some sleep." She says and he nods getting up as well.
"I'll walk you up." He says following her in. As they walk upstairs and stop at her door she looks at him.
"Thank you for tonight." She says and continues. "I'm sorry it sucked so bad. She said to him. He looked at her and got slowly closer. "Your night was worse," he said in a raspy voice.
He said and something in her told her to go closer to him. And she did. He leaned in at the same time their lips brushing "Is it okay if I kiss you right now?" he says and she responds by kissing him.
---------
The next morning she woke up with a pounding headache and her stomach doing somersaults of regret. She rolls out of bed and goes to the bathroom.
She grabs two Advil and pops them in her mouth swallowing while starting the shower. As the hot steamy water hits her skin she falls into the comfort of the shower. She thinks to herself that would any of them matter if she just lived in the shower.
She bets they could afford to just stay there forever. But she knew she couldn't avoid life and got out before her mind traveled to the unknown. As she got out and walked to her room she was startled and almost dropped her towel.
James was sitting on her. "James!" She shouts and he looks up laughing as he does. "Uh, what are you doing in here?" She asks and he looks at her.
"Waiting for your sloth ass to get ready for the day. Besides you left the party early." He looks at her and she sighs.
"It's a long story." She says and he shrugs his shoulders. "Now can you get out so I can get dressed?" She asks and he laughs. "Don't flatter yourself Torrie I won't look, Besides It's nothing I haven't seen before I am a man with needs you know." A rush of disgust coursed through Torrie's body.
"Get out so I can change!" She yells at him. He throws his hands up in defense. "Alright, Alright, Crazy woman chill out." He says and she smiles. "Come downstairs when you are ready your coffee will be down there." He says and she smiles warmly. "Thank you now out." She says as she closes her door.
As she finished getting ready and headed downstairs James was in the kitchen waiting with coffees in front of him. "So I work too much and you are always on your phone." She says and he laughs turning it off. As she sits down next to him he hands her a coffee. "A vanilla latte for you." He says and she smiles. "why thank you." She says
And as the click of shoes entering the house and the front door closing Torrie's heart beats faster.
It was also the smell of his cologne and his jet black hair that made her realize who it was. Their eyes met but he looked away leaving Torrie staring at him. "Morning." He says with no expression. Grabbing his coffee and pulling out his phone.
"Torrie, You and I will be going to some of my businesses until noon. Then you will be on your own to look at places with Nate one of my assistants." He says not looking up from his phone.
"Why won't you be there the whole time?" She asks him. He still doesn't bother to look up at her.
"Because I have work to do and run. You are an adult I don't need to babysit you." He says and she looks over at James. She started to feel the anger build up inside her. "We leave soon!" He shouts heading up the stairs. James turns to her. "What did you do to him?" He asks and Torrie remembers what happened last night.
As her lips touched his they melted into each other. His hand went around her waist and her arms around his neck. She almost lost herself and lost control until she realized what was happening.
She pushed Niall away softly. "I cant." She says in a near whisper. His ocean blue eyes making contact with her were almost grey. "Why not." He asked and she almost melted into his words.
"Because you just broke up with Chantelle, And you are my boss." She says and watches him let out an aggravated huff. He steps away and looks at her. "Alright. If that's what you want. Goodnight Torrie." He says softly and exits the room before she could reply.
Realizing that James was now starring at her. She turned to him picking up her coffee. "Sorry, I don't know what his deal is," She says and looks at him and he shrugs.
They both sit and chat in the kitchen waiting for Niall to come back down. Torrie waited at the entrance of the Manor for a while waiting for Niall. She checked her watch for the fourth time and he was running late.
It wasn't until he was fifteen minutes late that she heard the clicking of his shoes against the marble floor in the entryway. She couldn't help but look at him. His hair wasn't gelled today he let it loose. His suit shirt was buttoned up but he didn't have a jacket on. The ink on his arm was showing through his sleeve.
He knocked her out of her thoughts by opening the door and leaving her standing alone in the entryway. She followed out behind him into the car. Sitting in the car hadn't been so awkward for her before. As they headed out of the driveway the driver asked Torrie where they were going. As she said the address she couldn't help but feel Niall tense next to her.
The whole way she tried talking to him. Making small conversations about business and work but he only gave small remarks or didn't give her the light of day to talk.
As he was on his phone he let out an aggravated breath. "Looks like I won't be with you at all today. And Nate won't be available for another hour." And he motions the driver. "Drop me off at Clearwater and then take her home." He says and Torrie looks at him.
"No, I am going to work today." She says and he replies. "Torrie now is not the time to argue." He says and she shakes her head. "You don't get to do this, You can't ignore me and stop me from doing my job. I have a year to do what I have to do and if I don't finish you will be screwed now take me to the address."
She says and Niall finally looks at her.
She watches as his jaw clenches and his tongue glides across his cheek. And turns to the driver. "Alright, Driver take us to her address." He says and the driver nods changing route.
She smiles to herself at the fact that it worked. She watches out of the corner of her eye as he sits back he doesn't go back on his phone he looks out the window instead almost debating something.
When the car comes to a stop she looks out the window. And they were outside a small building. She looks at the address written down and around the area, this is the right idea right? She asks herself. "A bakery?" she says and he looks at her. "Nate and another car will pick you up from here at eleven." Ignoring what she says and she nods.
"Okay," She says getting out of the black escalade and onto the street. As she watches the car turn the corner she looks back at the building. It reads 'Lydia's Bakery' on a sign in the front of the building.
When she walks in the smell of fresh baked goods hits her nose. She breathes it in enjoying the pleasure hitting her nose. A chipper woman says something from the counter. "Hello! What can I get for you?" She asks and Torrie turns to her. "Hello, I am Torrie Matthews I am a patent attorney for Mr. Niall Veneti." And as she barely finishes the woman lets out an excited gasp.
"Oh! Niall sent you in! What a surprise he hasn't been here in a long time!" She says and Torrie looks at her. "Here, Sit I can tell you everything you need to know about the bakery." She says pointing Torrie in the direction of a table. She looks around and notices that the place isn't insanely busy. In fact, it's a weird part of town that she didn't even know if it got customers. The woman walks out from behind the counter the apron she is wearing was covered in flour.
She sits across from Torrie and smiles. "So what can I do for you?" The woman asks and Torrie looks down at her pile of papers. "Do you guys get a good steady flow of customers?" She asks and the woman frowns slightly. "Not in a good couple of years if I'm honest." She says and Torrie nods her head. She sighs and pushes her pile of papers to the side and looks at her.
"Why would Niall invest in this, if you don't mind me asking." She says and the woman shuffles in her seat. "My brother worked for Niall's business." She hesitates looking nervous. "They grew up together. Went to high school together. When my brother died my mom's health got worse. And the bakery started to go under."
She says and a frown comes across her face. "Niall bought the bakery. So that my mom can afford her hospital bills as well as keeping her bakery. He bought the bakery without asking for even an ounce of profit back." She says looking at Torrie who is looking down at her hands that are fiddling with each other.
Torrie feels herself look between the pages and at the woman before she hears running from above. The woman looks up and sighs standing up and before she turns around two kids are there behind her. "What did I say about running during business hours." She says to the two kids.
"Not to do it." They both say in unison. "The woman ushered the kids towards the stairs and looks at me with a tired expression. "I'll be back it will just take a second." She says and Torrie shakes her head. "No rush, I am going outside to make a quick call," Torrie says with a smile and the woman smiles heading back upstairs with the kids.
She left the warmth of the bakery getting hit with the bitter cold wind. She picks up her hand and dials a number listening to the rings.
"Hey, What's up?" A familiar voice says on the other end. "I can't do this." She says on the phone. "Your crazy..are you on the verge of death?... I'm talking to Torrie hold on...Franklin says 'hello and that he misses you." Margaret says on the other end of the phone.
"Tell him I said hello and I miss him too." She says and before Torrie can say anything else Margaret replies. "So why can't you do this?" She says and Torrie sighs. "He owns thousands of businesses and corporations and I thought this would be simple. But it's harder I've only ever done small businesses. He bought an old lady bakery to help her financially." She says and hears Margaret judge her through the phone.
"So you are telling me that you want to quit because this rich billionaire has a lot of businesses which is why he's rich?" She says and Torrie laughs. "It's silly I know." She says and Margaret speaks up again. "Also you are telling me he bought a bakery from an old woman who can't afford it?" She says and laughs
"Torrie, have you consumed anything in the past twenty-four hours?" She asks and Margaret laughs causing Torrie to roll her eyes. "I promise you I have not. But I'm serious." She says and Margret sighs. "So is he like some sweet guy cover-up. Because looking more into his family he used to be a big player and partier." She says and Torrie rubs her temples.
"He's actually nice?" she says in more of a questioning tone. Margaret gasps on the other side of the phone. "Tell me you didn't sleep with him, Torrie." She says and Torrie lets out a silent and awkward laugh. "I didn't sleep with him...." She says and Margaret continues.
"Did you kiss him or something fess up Torrie." She says and Torrie rubs her head feeling a headache coming upon her. "We uh..We" she says and Margret huffs on the other end. "We kissed...But I backed up and he left and he barely talked to me all day so it doesn't matter." She says and hears both Margaret and Franklin laugh on the other end.
"Sorry but it's too easy to laugh at you. You thinking that That is nothing is hilarious." Margaret says while laughing and Torrie hears Franklin on the other end. "Fifty bucks says they are sleeping together by December." He says and Margaret laughs. "You're on," she says and Torrie shakes her head laughing. Thinking about how this is why she is still single.