Vivienne's hands wrapped around the steering wheel and with every second that passed, her grip tightened. The air around her reduced and it became difficult to breathe.
"What did you say?" She asked when she could find her voice.
"He is in town, Vee," Amelia repeated. "I didn't want to scare you. Where are you now?" She asked.
"On my way to a lunch meeting with Mr. Leyva. I'm on Interstate Five and I happened to get here at the wrong time."
Amelia heaved a sigh of relief. "Are you going to be okay?" She asked.
"Yes," Vivienne replied and turned off the engine. "I'll just sit here and wait for this to be over. I don't know if there's anything you can do to prevent me from seeing him, but please-" She started to beg.
"I've got you," Amelia cut in. "I'll get in touch with Mira and find out what else she knows about his visit."
"Great," Vivienne heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Amelia. I don't know what I'll do without you," she placed her head on the steering wheel this time.
A tear slipped from her eyes and she hurriedly wiped it off. "I'll get back to you when I hear something. Drive safely. I love you!" She kissed her through the phone and Vivienne could only nod in response.
The line began to move and she started the car. She sped, honked, and weaved her way through cars to get to the restaurant on time.
It was already one hour past noon and the restaurant was still half full. Lunchers were still littering the environment like it was a holiday and Vivienne was silently grateful for the lunch policies she had put in place at Vier. It didn't give her staff the privilege to roam around town during work hours.
She greeted the people she could recognize and said more than a few words with one of her biggest distributors. He must have noticed her mood because he ran off earlier than he usually would.
"Miss Chavez," a waiter walked up to her. "Mr. Leyva is in the exclusive lounge and he asked that I give this to you." He said and handed a reservation receipt. It was in both their names.
"Thank you," she replied and followed him.
This was one of the classiest places in town, a place she used to love coming to. She still does, but she hates the memories attached to it.
Gavin lifted his head from the menu he had been looking at. He watched with undivided attention as Vivienne climbed the stairs leading up to the exclusive lounge. He rubbed his tongue in the side of his mouth like there was something he wanted to say.
"Go ahead," Vivienne said and dropped her bag on the table.
He chuckled and carelessly dropped the menu on the table. "I can remember telling you not to take your time," he said, making her laugh.
"I can't remember saying I'll obey," she replied harshly.
"I warned you, Vivienne. I tried my best," he said and picked the menu again.
She tried to start a conversation with him but didn't know what they could talk about without getting personal. Then she suddenly remembered the reason she had to meet him at lunch, business.
"What did you want to see me for?" She asked, breaking the silence.
"Business," he said in a low tone, without lifting his head. "Business," he traced his stubble with his index finger and smiled.
"Okay," she replied, weirded out by his mixed expressions. "I'll be here for one hour max. Make the most of it." She said and gestured to a waiter that stood beside her. She made an order off her memories and smiled sadly when the waiter walked away.
"You don't seem to be at your best," he commented.
"Neither do you," she smiled curtly. "I need to use the restroom." She excused herself and left with her purse. He looked around the room for the first time since he got there and he saw a few people he could recognize by heart. This place was like a rowdy market, but for the elite class, he thought.
"Um, waiter," he called out. "I'll have this and a bottle of champagne." He nodded and handed the little paper his order was on.
It was one of the few perks of coming here. They had great customer service and you got to write your order to avoid any mistakes.
A few minutes went by and Vivienne had still not returned. It bothered him to check up on her, but he didn't.
He fiddled with his wristwatch until he couldn't take the suspense anymore.
"What are you talking about?" Vivienne's voice rang through the stairway. "I know I didn't mean a thing to you, Antonio! Please get out of my way." She roared. There was a small crowd gathering around both of them. Vivienne searched for Gavin through the crowd and when her eyes landed on him, she teared up.
Unsure of what to do, Gavin nodded and moved from his position. "Excuse me," he said as he made his way through the crowd.
"I don't think a day had passed when you don't think about me, Vivienne," Antonio tried to soothe her. If he came two weeks ago, he might have succeeded. Vivienne was still healing and although it wasn't complete, she had gotten past that stage.
"I wish I could say you're right," she spat. "I have moved on, Antonio!"
Gavin searched for the crowd to see if anyone had their phones out, and for once, he was grateful for the privacy policy they had here.
You had no right to take a picture of or make a video without the permission of a customer.
Vivienne looked at Gavin pleadingly, and it wasn't long before he understood what he had to do.
"You'd better let her go, man, she's with me." Antonio gasped as his eyes met Gavin's. They said no words but shared a knowing smile.