Sangria (BWWM)

Chapter 2- The Tempest

"You know, I'm honestly impressed they're still together with that temper of his. Look how terrifying he looks in this picture! That red eye effect makes him look demonic!"

"Please! You know she's just in it for the money."

"I don't think any amount of money is worth the risk with a man like him... I mean, he probably treats her like an arm piece or a sex object."

"He probably yells at her like in this picture, too."

"Wait, hush! Here they come!"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes as she and Vincent walked past the desk where a couple of employees from the finance department stood conversing about that stupid picture. When the two women saw them approaching, they quickly fell mum until they passed by. She had a feeling that the story that some low rate tabloid magazine published about the night before would not go away any time soon.

When Vincent and Jacques had their disagreement, an opportunistic photographer captured a still of Vincent mid-tirade, his mouth open with rage, finger pointing at his quieted cousin, his stance poised for a physical altercation. The photo went viral in a matter of hours, hundreds of news websites posting articles and speculating what the conversation was about. A rag newspaper company finally added a fictitious story to it not too long after with the headline "Uncharitable Behavior at the Charity Gala: Dragonoffs Clash in Near Violent Exchange."

She would admit, Vincent did appear threatening in the picture, and it surely didn't help that he'd already had a sensationalized reputation for being a ruthless businessman. Who knew what the hell else people thought of him?

Vincent, himself, was unusually silent that morning. In fact, he had barely spoken since the night before. When they left the dinner, they went back to the penthouse. Gabrielle attempted more than once to get him to open up about what happened during the exchange, but Vincent was not in the mood to talk. His answers were curt, one-worded grunts. Eventually, she gave up and allowed him to decompress on his own. She knew that he was extremely upset because he didn't even touch her for the rest of the night.

She'd assumed that he would be all right in the morning, but whatever was plaguing his mind was obviously greater than she'd initially thought. While he did give Gabrielle her good morning kiss, that was where his affections had stopped. She decided not to press it, and to let him come around when he was ready.

Though they walked hand in hand until they had to eventually split, she could tell that his mind wasn't there. Pausing where they usually broke off to leave to their separate offices, Gabrielle stood expectantly as he tried to leave. "Babe," she called, making him pause and turn around to her. It was as if he wasn't mentally there, his eyes appearing distant. His stoic expression worried her, so she decided to open up her mind and listen to his thoughts. It was a vampiric skill that she was still mastering (along with many other basic skills that she forgot she had), and it was still a bit difficult for her.

Vincent's mind was a tempest of whirling thoughts and strong emotion. The background noise resembled the forceful winds of a hurricane! From the rumblings, however, she could make out a few words... words that were like a crack of thunder during a storm. Fuck it all... fuck those people, fuck that place, and FUCK Jacques for speaking about it... I have the right mind to—

"Gabrielle," Vincent called, pulling her back to the outside world.

Startled, she looked at him. He was standing there, awaiting whatever she'd called him for. Unsettled by the emotions she'd felt emanating from him, she simply just puckered her lips slightly for a goodbye kiss, which he did willingly give before immediately stalking off in the direction of his office.