Sheets of paper were piled in front of Isabel as she continued to read them over and over again. A pen was perched in her mouth, earphones in her ears as she continued to scribble and rewrite notes. A half eaten sandwich was on her left, and a cold cup of coffee sat on her right. The train carriage was rather quiet, but she supposed that was perks of being in first class. Richard had kindly paid for them to go first class and even got Isabel an open return ticket. After all, he did promise that she could leave as soon as the event was over-unless stated otherwise.
A hand gently slammed on top of Isabel's piles of paper, sliding them away from her as she raised her head to Richard who read them. A gentle smile rested on his face, as he towered over her. Phil was sat opposite Isabel at their table, though he was originally going through the finances and marketing growth, he quickly fell asleep.
Richard was sat a smaller table opposite them in the aisle of the train, with his own laptop and pile of papers. Despite tonight being more of a business gala, there were still opportunities to talk to potential investors and Richard wanted to be on top of that.
"Impressive as always Isabel, but I suggest you start packing up," he spoke, leaning over to giving Phil a hard nudge, as the man jolted awake and yawned.
"We here yet?" Their boss only rolled his eyes in amusement, as he pointed out of the window, before heading to his own seat to pack up. After all they had a very tight schedule ahead of them. Checking into the hotel, going out for lunch before sitting down and sorting out their game plan. Then the actual event this evening.
Isabel dragged her eyes to look out of the window, and gulped upon looking at the skyline of London come into view. She shifted in her seat before sighing, as it went black due to them entering a tunnel.
"We will now be arriving at London Euston, where this train terminates. Make sure you have all of your belongings and tickets upon entry. Thank you for riding with Virgin Trains."
Standing up, Isabel grabbed her shoulder bag before reaching to grab the small suitcase. Her eyes winced upon the sudden flood of light, from them entering the station at a slower pace. Her palms became increasingly sweaty, as she took a deep breath and looked up towards Phil who only seemed to smile at her with a wiggle of his brows. He had been excited since they found out.
Following Richard and Phil onto the platform, she scanned her ticket through the barrier before chuckling seeing a town car with Richard's name on it. Of course, though Richard was a very down to earth man, he was also incredibly posh and enjoyed the finer things in life. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with that. After all, Isabel also once enjoyed some finer things as well.
"So we have a few change of plans," Richard spoke, getting his phone from his pocket as Isabel slid into the back seat. Her eyes scanned the busy streets of London, and found herself wondering back to her life in the city before she ran away. Though it seemed every brick and corner had become familiar, that every single bit of concrete held a memory to Isabel.
Turning her attention to Richard, she slumped into her seat and sighed. The hairband that sat on her wrist, suddenly began to snap against her skin. Her anxiety creeping up inside, as Isabel continued to ping the elastic against her left wrist. It was something that she did when she was nervous or felt a weigh of anxiety on her. Though she hadn't done it in ages, the sudden realisation that she was back in the city that caused her so pain, frightened her.
"Everything is as normal, though the event has been changed to the Savoy hotel instead of the Ritz Hotel," Richard spoke, continuing to read off the email. Isabel parted her lips, as she stared out of the window her eyes closing briefly as she sighed softly.
Four years ago
The silk blindfold sat perfectly around Isabel's eyes, her hand gripped tightly in his own. Her knee's bounced with anticipation, as her breathing quickened. Though she want to so desperately yank the material off her eyes, she knew he wouldn't be pleased.
"Where are we going?" Her light voice carried out, though she was only greeted with silence. However, there was a gentle kiss placed on her head, as Isabel sat back into the seat of the car before it came to a holt.
Listening carefully, she stayed sat on the seat of the car before hands guided her out. Stumbling a little in her heels, she felt herself being propped up by familiar arms and that familiar smell of cologne. Her breathing slowed, feeling his lips press against her neck. Trails of small kisses went up to her ear, as Isabel melted into his embrace.
"A little something just for you, and because it's your birthday. So consider this the first gift of many others to come, angel."
Isabel giggled a little, before feeling his hands untie the knot that held the blindfold. The soft silk trailed down her face, draping around her neck as Isabel blinked a few times adjusting to the light. She squinted before fully opening her brown eyes. Her lips parted into a gape, as she stared at the white building. The bold silver letters of the famous name.
The Savoy.
Snapping her eyes open, upon feeling a nudge against her thigh, she looked up to see Phil staring at her with an amused expression. Richard only shook his head, before looking at Isabel. "As someone decided to drift into dream world, I'll tell you again," he spoke with a serious tone, however the smile on his face alerted Isabel that she wasn't in trouble.
"I have received an email from Candice and it seems that we already have a potential investor," Richard spoke, as Isabel grinned in excitement. "He typically deals with investing in smaller business, mostly around real estate, though has recently invested in a chain of bakery's, called Lola's cupcakes," Richard spoke.
"I use to eat at those bakeries almost everyday," Isabel interjected before muttering an apology for Richard to continue.
"-anyway, he wants to invest up to half a million," he spoke, as Phil only clapped again. "However, if we can convince his company that we are worth it, then he will think about investing more into the publication," Richard finally ended as Isabel nodded, as they reached their hotel. No way near as grand as the Savoy but still rather nice.
"Who is this mysterious person?" Isabel asked, grabbing her bag as the bell boy loaded up their luggage, while looking up at her boss.
"Candice doesn't say, only that he will make his presence known tonight but we would have heard of him," Richard shrugged. "Something about not wanting to ruin the surprise," he continued, as Isabel only nodded and hummed walking into the hotel lobby to retrieve her key for her room.
"How odd," Phil spoke next to her, as Richard went to take a phone call, ushering the two to their hotel rooms. "I suppose this big shot doesn't want his name leaked to the press. Theresa Bishop did that like three years ago. She invested in Young Mind's charity, but kept her identity hidden until the evening," Phil rambled. "Didn't want the press to find out."
Isabel only parted her lips into an 'o' shape, as they rode the lift up to their hotel rooms. "Well rest up girl, we need to go over our speech if you will, plan of action," Phil spoke, scrolling on his phone. "Then we need to go out and sway people to invest into Vance Publication," he spoke as Isabel smiled.
"Right then, I guess I'll see you in a bit," she spoke slipping into her hotel room. Placing her bag down, she noted that her luggage sat perfectly in the centre of the room, before she grabbed herself a cup of water. Staring out of the window, she only felt the sudden pressure rise in her chest again.
"It's only twenty four hours Isabel, then you can go home."
i think he may make an appearance next chapter . . .
thank you for the support !
belle
unedited