Sold #3 - A Haunting Hope

Chapter 2

By the time dessert arrived and Victoria tucked into her chocolate syrup covered ice cream, she couldn't remember having enjoyed working so much or could have imagined a better environment to get her proverbial juices going. Not only had she had a blast, going through the case notes in intricate detail with Travis but she wasn't against admitting that it was his company that really made the night. Of course it had been his suggestion to go out of the office for dinner, but after having worked three straight days together in that boarding room on the top floor of the building, the scenery had worn off and there was little to inspire them but the hope of finishing the case and going back to having regular, boring work days when they could barely drag themselves out of bed, albeit for the single reason of not wanting to go to work and not because they had literally worked themselves ragged. It was a treat, but a treat she felt they well deserved. They hadn't gone far in their solving of the puzzle the case had become, but they had started the wheels turning and in the morning, once they had both rested their brains and their weary bodies, they would start all over again and see if they either felt any differently about their suspicions or felt strongly enough to follow them through. If they were lucky they may actually be able to look at it with fresh eyes and find something new, some major clue that they had missed in their exhaustion. Victoria had to admit though that after Travis had paid for dinner, not allowing her to make a contribution of any sort, his offer to walk her home was welcomed and very sweet of him to even consider, as he lived on the other side of town.

"So listen, Tai and I are doing a little recon for Antony, though he doesn't know it..." Travis began hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck in an uncertainty that screamed he was making the wrong move by even suggesting what he was contemplating. But he liked her, he liked her a lot and he only felt it was right that they should stop the stupid flirtations which had been going on for months, not to mention having exploded in the past few days together, and finally make a commitment as to whether they were friends or something more. He hated indecision and although he was known for it when it came to the personal, everyday things this was no small thing and he wanted to know where he stood. Just because he couldn't decide whether to get the all round toothpaste that prevented acid erosion so nothing ruined his 'winning smile' or the fresh breathe toothpaste for his close contact with work clients, or whether to buy the six-pack bottles of beer in case the boys came over or just to buy the individual bottles since it was just himself, it didn't mean that he was entirely incapable of making a decision. He just didn't see what importance beer or toothpaste had to his life...if he couldn't make a decision he could just grab the first one at hand and see how it went, but he couldn't do that with Victoria, she wasn't an item on a shelf and he needed her to know that, in a round about way. "His ex, Arena's back in town, the one he was engaged to and he's tried calling her but she's out of town and we don't know how to tell him since it was Tai's big mouth that has him calling her in the first place." He explained, unsure of how she was going to take his suggestion and whether she would just turn him down flat or worse...whether she'd laugh at him.

"Do you want me to talk to him for you? Maybe pretend I'm friends with her?" She wondered, not quite getting where he was going with his chosen topic of conversation, but glad that he had switched his brain off from work almost immediately after leaving the restaurant.

"No actually. She comes back the day after tomorrow and we thought, if we kept him busy enough until then, we could get her sister to go in and delete the silly buggers forty thousand messages and we'll set them up to meet ourselves." Travis hoped that she would quickly agree with his idea, knowing it would make Antony unexplainable happy to have his ex-fiancée back in his life after having admitted himself that breaking up with her, putting his work before her and even considering to date Amanda had all been part of the biggest mistake of his life. Without having made that first almighty mistake of putting his work first, he truly believed that none of the other things that he hated having done, would ever have happened. "The thing is, we thought it would be best if we took them to a club so if they wanted to swan off together they could but Tai and me don't exactly want to be left sitting there like lost little boys, wondering if they're coming back or not, so we thought we'd make it worth the effort and go all out. He's going to bring some friends and I thought I'd ask you." He shrugged, finally getting to the point without stuttering or having to start over due to his apprehension over asking, still wondering what her unreadable expression meant for what vocal reaction she would give him. Just as long as she didn't laugh, she'd been playing with him all night that was the last thing he needed. He waited patiently for any kind of answer as they finally reached her apartment, stalling at the front door as he shuffled his feet uncertainly.