"That was supposed to be me!" Julie shrieked in a low voice from somewhere.
Victoria cleared her throat, shifting her feet uncomfortably. Noticing that Victor was staring at the button and the hair absolutely flabbergasted, she quickly closed her hand and hid it behind her body. As his narrowed eyes now settled upon her, she bit her lip, anxious.
She had ruined his outfit. And the way he looked at her and clenched his fists, he looked pretty pissed off by that.
"You—" Victor began to say indignantly.
But she cut in defensively, "I tore my own hair, too."
Ben walked around her to stand in front of Victor. He intricately examined Victor's shirt where the button earlier was, and now only a thread poked out.
"No need to worry, young man. It's nothing that can't be fixed in two minutes," Ben said with an air of authority. "Bring me a needle and thread, you useless people! How dare you all gawk at a model's disgrace like this? Camera lady," he looked straight at Victoria. "Don't you know how important it is for a model to look absolutely flawless with their skin and attire? You very well know that since you're a photographer, you still did this to him!"
Victoria rolled her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line. "He's a CEO, not a model."
"Exactly, you should have—" suddenly, it clicked into his mind halfway. He looked shocked. "He isn't a model?" Turning around with wide eyes, he asked Victor, "You aren't?"
Victor confirmed, "I'm not."
"Well, then," Ben put his fists on his hips. "Then why are you making such a fuss about a simple button when you're not a model? Go, do your stuff. I've got an important interview. I think I've arrived too early for it in excitement," he commented, looking at the time on his wristwatch.
"Seriously!" Victor dragged a hand down his face as Ben left with a blank look.
Taking the chance as Victor's concentration diverted, Victoria also slid away.
She peeked out from the very end of the line of cubicles. Quietly straightening his coat and that shirt minus a button, he walked into Orland's office.
"Orland is having a meeting with him regarding the advertisement topic that was fixed," Julie's voice behind her suddenly made Victoria jump. She turned around to find Julie crouching like her, too, although she couldn't tell why.
Julie sighed. "What happened back there—"
"Embarrassing, I know," Victoria completed with a groan.
Julie tilted her head. "The end bit, yes. You could have turned into a romantic one. Don't you use conditioner for your hair, girl? Imagine what would have happened had your hair crashed into his face. He would have fallen for you after inhaling the sweet scent of your shampoo."
The jealous curve to her tone didn't go unnoticed by Victoria. But she noticed it was harmless from the corner of her eyes. Julie just had an innocent crush on Victor, she figured. It would surely go away with time.
Wait. Why would the quality or longevity of Julie's crush on Victor matter to her at all?
"I didn't get to shower last night or this morning," Victoria commented, putting a leash on her haywire thoughts and expectations.
Julie scrunched her nose, leaning away from her. "Why? You're at the prime of your youth, and Mr. right would collide with you anytime. Why would you want to risk the first impression you would give him by being so careless like this!"
"Well, Antelmo was washing his turtles with a toothbrush, and I was running late for the office."
"Gosh, that guy!" Julie exclaimed and then huffed, holding her lower back. "Oh, my god. My back is hurting. How are you not batting an eyelid and crouching this way for so long?" She started to stand up.
"I've had the practice of having extended photo walks on difficult roads, sitting around in unpleasant weather for long hours for the best shot, sleeping in my car for multiple nights, and so on," Victoria described with a wink. "Pursuing photography is mostly not a piece of cake. That probably explains how."
Sighing, Julie offered her a hand, gesturing to get up. "In short, you had unofficial military training. Now, you can rise from your reverie since the buttonless CEO is leaving."
Victoria took the hand. She stood up and looked at Victor's back as he walked into the elevator in the distance after looking around, searching for something or someone. Was he looking for her before he left?
But after having a visit with the center of her life's nightmare yesterday, Victoria didn't feel energetic enough to revisit the past today. Every time she had a talk with Victor, he never forgot to take her into the most arduous and dismal time of her life.
She knew she was guilty of many things, but the realization and repetition of delivering that information ate away her very soul bit by bit—every time.
That evening, after work, Victoria drove to the park where, one autumn, she had learned to wish on a falling leaf from someone.
She took a little photo walk in the park and the surrounding area. Discovering that the park lacked the magic from years ago saddened her. But what was she expecting? It was not autumn.
And she was so splendidly foolish, she told herself, standing next to the railing, looking up and circling. The hail and green trees moved with her like silent ballerinas.
Reddish clouds reflected a glorious sunset.
Sitting at the stairs that surrounded the gazebo, she carefully glued the button on a page of her diary, chuckling as she did so while recalling the incident and how she acquired it.
Closing the diary, she looked around. The place was empty, which would drastically change in the fall. People would swarm the place to witness the beauty of nature, shedding its cover.
She wondered if she would be in Asthel until then.
If only she could watch the beauty of autumn with Victor one more time—one last time.
However, after this project, Rollan would perhaps call her back to South-hills. Also, she had that overseas tour.
Besides, why would Victor want to watch anything with her?
Also, with her father now getting ready to go for her throat in the name of marriage, it would be better for her that she run—run like hell this time and never, bloody, come back and keep running for the rest of her life.
She wandered around the streets for a long time after that to clear her head and clicked some night photos—an owl, a dead tree, homeless people standing around a fire they lit, and an old man buying ice cream for his wife.
There are wonders in all things. There is a story in every little thing.
Three and a half days later, the advertisement script was finally ready. And, of course, it was finalized with Victor's presence in their conference room.
Well, the whole time, that almost namesake of hers royally ignored her, which she checked every few minutes until she realized what she was doing.
Drat it!
Do you have any decency, self-respect, or any similar things left for yourself? She scolded herself mentally.
That night, Antelmo took Victoria, Julie, and two other colleagues close to him to dinner—his treat. He wanted to celebrate because of his success in convincing the team head to let him slip an animal into the script. Although Antelmo had initially wanted to debut his eldest turtle, he was not upset that the team head wanted a dog.
Another great thing happened, Ben passed the interview. It had much to do with Victoria's good words about the guy and his passionate but thankfully calm replies to the questioning. Despite acting crazy sometimes, the guy could give his life for who or what he held dear. Victoria had seen that back in South-hills during the project she was involved in directly.
The best people on earth are mostly the weird ones.
Soon, the models for the advertisement were selected and signed. Victoria became busy conducting photoshoots of them for billboards and the Wishing Star's storefront. The ultimatum her father had bound her with gradually slipped to the back of her mind. She let herself remain calm.
Plenty of times, she had run away from his clutch and volatile threats. She had a career that demanded her to travel to different parts of the world where her father's influence couldn't reach. Even this time, she was hopeful she could slip away safely or at least with minimal damage.
The only regret she would have, however, was to miss the chance of yet again relishing the magic of autumn in Asthel with a certain someone.
--
"Kate!" Victoria watched in amazement as her small world proved to get even smaller with yet another face from her past resurfacing.
Was it indeed her?
The woman with the most innocent face and the softest of hearts walked closer, changing her direction with a gaped mouth, looking as surprised as Victoria was. Yes, it was indeed her.
"Victoria! Is it truly you? My goodness! What're you doing here?"
Victoria laughed, seeing a thunderstruck Kate getting all over the place.
Tapping the camera set on the stand and gesturing toward the storefront around which men were busy setting lights, Victoria replied, "Working on Chimera's current project."
Hearing that, Kate gaped again. "Aren't you working at the headquarters at South Hills?"
"Rollan sent me here temporarily to work on a few projects before I leave for my next tour," Victoria explained.
"You're still the same free spirit, I see," and Kate took a few steps closer to give her a hug.
But Kate looked different, she observed. The woman was thinner, there were shadows underneath her eyes, and when Victoria hugged her, she felt how fragile she was.
There were talks—colorful and over-extended ones in South-hills regarding the mysterious separation of Alex and his wife and then about the Ashworths facing court sentences after their unlawful involvement and criminal acts behind their separation were proved.
It was a massacre.
And she resisted despite wanting to know precisely what happened to Kate because other people's gossip-generated versions were hardly ever entirely accurate. Besides, she didn't want to hurt the wonderful woman in any way.
"Kate!" A male voice boomed from the store's entrance.
Along with Kate, Victoria turned to find Victor galloping down the stairs outside the entrance. He stopped right in front of Kate and stared at her with worry.
"Kate! I clearly told you to take the day off. You have got a fever," he said.
Kate huffed and clarified, " I had a fever. I'm quite alright today. So, there's no need to take any more days offs. Now chill!"
"But you do look weak," Victor pointed out.
Victoria had noticed that as well. She agreed on that with Victor. But it seemed a little weird—how he was being all hyper about it to such an extent. Then she recalled how similarly he behaved regarding Ellie when she was not picking up his calls.
He was just being his usual hyper-friendly self.
But never with you.
Not that she craved it anyway.
Victoria shook her head and took steps back.
Kate gave her an apologetic look. Victoria noticed how she attempted to stop and turn around, perhaps to talk to her before parting. But placing a large hand over that tiny lower back of hers, Victor steered her away.
Victoria stared at their backs for as long as they were visible.
~
Word Count: 1894
~
A/N:
Hello everyone,
So, Victoria met Kate! They have a great bond between them, but will it always be this way?
Do you like how Ben handled the Victor and Victoria crash situation?
Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share! Fan/follow to get instant notifications!
Love,
Lara.