Unbreak Me (rewritten)

Chapter Five

"It's so good to see you again, man." Russell shook his hand and pulled him in for a quick hug.

"It's been awhile," Oliver stated as they pulled back.

"We'll have to go out for drinks sometime and catch up." Russell smiled. "I may even bring Avery." His eyes were mischievous as he sent a wink Oliver's way.

Oliver nodded, ignoring his implications and said a quick goodbye without much more conversation. He sent Clara back to the office while he went to the café to wait for his parents' arrival.

Russell watched him leave before he walked to his beloved sister's office. He smiled as he watched her work diligently, but frowned at her pallor, remembering how tired she was throughout the meeting.

"How have you been Avery?" Russell asked, from the doorway of her office.

"I've been well, just a bit tired at the moment." She smiled weakly.

"No shit, Avery," he laughed, but it was strained, "you looked as though you were going to fall asleep any minute."

Avery chuckled along with him, feeling a small amount of embarrassment. "I'm fine, I was just up late trying to fix Leah's mess."

Russell frowned. "What did she do now?"

"Drunk, strange man, hotel and photographs." Avery summed it up.

Russell brushed his dark brown hair back and sighed as he slumped in the chair in front of her desk. His grey eyes studied her for a moment. "You've lost heaps of weight, Ave." His tone was serious and not at all complimentary.

She smiled up at him. "Thanks for noticing."

"Seriously, you're too thin and pale. What's going on?"

"I've just been busy and skipping meals as of late," she reassured. "Once everything's calmed down, I'll be able to pay more attention to my health."

"Do it soon or I'll do it for you," he threatened jokingly.

"Yes Sir!" she mocked. "Have you heard about the marriage between Leah and Oliver Black."

Russell roared with laughter. "Yeah," he wiped a tear from his eye, "I have. That man is the least patient man I know, aside from Dad," he rolled his eyes. "It's going to be a disaster."

Avery chuckled at his reaction. "Do you and Mr Black know each other?"

"Yeah, we actually went to the same college. He was a bit more carefree then, but essentially the same."

"Avery!" Jeremiah's voice called through the intercom, "my office now!"

"You should get back to work too, Russell." She smiled and made her way to Jeremiah's office after Russell pecked her cheek and returned to his office with a sigh. He hated how his Dad spoke to her.

"Sir?" Avery asked after she entered and closed the door.

"Your report needs to be redone. It was supposed to be completed by nine am!" his loud angry voice made her flinch. Files flew at her face and fell to the floor. "You stupid idiot can't even do that right!" Jeremiah's hands itched to lay into her. "Hurry up and clean this mess up. We have to meet with the Blacks."

Avery did as told and hurried to clean the mess. She felt tired and dizzy but took a breath and shook it off.

━━❖❖❖━━

Oliver met up with his mother and father. Vivienne was smiling at the thought of her son getting married. At first, she was wary and worried that they were sentencing their son to an unhappy life, but both Maxwell and Oliver eased her concerns.