Victoria released her hands from his, and sat back in her chair, while crossing her arms, and staring at the flowers. She shook her head, and sighed "The thing is, I fell out of love with you months ago. When you lost your job, I knew I had to step up until you found yourself another job, I was willing to help, but... you took advantage of it, and sat here every day drinking, partying with your friends, while I worked my ass off. I begged you to get a job, but apparently your friends were more important than I was."
Feeling defeated, he lowered his head, and groaned "Please don't do this..."
"Do you really think I want to throw six years away? I don't want to, but I am. Nothing is keeping me here with you. And after what happened yesterday, the hurt you made me feel once again, I realized, I just can't do it anymore."
"Victoria... I didn't cheat, if that's what you're still thinking. It was Richard's birthday, and Tucker thought it would be fun to have a couple strippers come over, and to show him a good time. "
"Brayden, I'm done. There's nothing more you can say that'll fix this. I don't wish any ill upon you, and I do wish you the best, going forward..." She looked at the flowers he got her, and pushed them over to him "You can give those flowers to someone else, someone who will appreciate them, I don't want them."
"No, you keep them, they're for you. Besides, I have no one else to give them too, and I'm not giving another woman any flowers." he quietly said. Looking away from her, he knew what he done, and wished he could start over. Not wanting to let her go this easy, he stood up, and rushed over to her, kneeling.
"Marry me." he begged, squeezing her hands, and looking at her with desperate eyes. "I'll change, I swear... please, I beg you... marry me."
She shook her hands away from his, not believing what she was hearing, and mockingly laughed "Dammit Brayden, you're always claiming you'll change, don't be a fool. Asking me to marry you, will not change a thing. If you truly loved me, it wouldn't have taken six years, and a break up, to realize that you want me in your life."
She stood up, and walked into the kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of wine, and a glass, she looked at him while pouring herself a drink "Being that you have no job, and nowhere else to go, I'll give you a month to find a job, and for you to get back on your feet. As for sleeping quarters, you can sleep on the couch, or find some sort of bed to put in the spare bedroom, you're not sleeping with me."
Brayden sat at the table, rested his elbows on the table, and lowered his head in his hands "And what happens if I can't find a job?" he mumbled.
"Then I'll have no choice, but to kick you out onto the streets. A month is long enough, more than what anyone else would do in this type of situation. And if I were someone else, they wouldn't care if you had nowhere to go, and would kick your ass out anyway."
She grabbed her glass of wine, and headed for the bedroom while Brayden sat at the table, thinking of what he needed to do. He wasn't about to let her go this easy, and was willing to do whatever it took, to win her back.
For the next week, he spent all day online applying for jobs, as well as walking in to places that were hiring, and applied for a job. After another week of applying at numerous jobs, he received a phone call, wanting him to come in for an interview. It wasn't the place he had been hoping for, but went in anyway, and was hired on the spot.
Victoria came home, and ignored Brayden when she walked past him. She didn't want to give him any signals that would make him think she was about to take him back, even after hearing he found a job. He followed her to the bedroom, and leaned against the doorway frame, watching her dig through her closet. "Did you hear me? I found a job, and I start tomorrow."
"I heard, and congratulations." about time, she thought to herself. Finding the outfit she wanted to wear, she pulled it out, laid it on the bed, and looked over at him. "Why are you still standing there?"
He looked at the outfit she laid out, and replied somberly "Going out?"
"Yep." she said, quickly.
"On a date?" he asked, looking upset.
"No... and even if I was, I don't have to answer to you." She walked back over to her closet, and dug through her shoes, looking for her black pointed toe pumps. She turned around, and rolled her eyes when she saw he was still standing there watching her, and stood up, sighing "For your information, our new boss is taking us out, and has some things he would like to discuss with us."
"Oh..."
She sat on the bed, and turned her head towards him, giving him an evil glare. "Can I change now?"
Brayden stepped away from the doorway, and shut the door. He was pissed at himself for allowing this to happen, and didn't blame her for the way she was acting, he blamed himself. Sighing, he walked away, and into the kitchen, looking to see what he could make for dinner.
He heard the clicking of her heels as she walked across the room, and stepped out of the kitchen. He was wowed by the way she looked, and couldn't help but stare at her "Wow!" he says, with widened eyes. Her long blonde hair was down, freely flowing for once, and the dress she had on had him drooling.
"Wow, what?" she asked, not thrilled with the way he was looking at her.
"You look smoking hot... are you sure you don't have a fucking date?" he asked, seeing how the blacked laced plunging v neck dress she was wearing, was clearly showing off the roundness, and firmness of her breasts, how the dress was fitting her curves just right, and how the shortness of the dress showed off her long, slim, silky legs. "Or, you have a thing for him, and are trying to impress him?" he asked, sounding salty.
She took another look at herself in the mirror over by the door, and looked over at him through the mirror, with a disgusted look "He's an asshole, I couldn't care less what he thinks of me. I'm only wearing this, because I haven't been able to dress up for a long time. And it feels good to wear something sexy for once."
"Whatever." he groaned, walking back into the kitchen.
She smiled, and shrugged her shoulder, not caring what he was feeling, or thinking, and left. She pulled into the parking lot, and sat there for a few minutes, looking to see if Tiara was already there. She saw what looked like her car, and headed into restaurant.
Upon walking in, she looked around, saw the doctor sitting at the table by himself, and whispered under her breath where is she?
"Do you have a reservation?" The hostess asked, as she walked in.
"I'm here with that table over there." she pointed "Is he the only one here?"
"As of right now, you're the first to show." she says, smiling "You're welcome to go on in."
"Thanks." She walked in, and over to the table, sitting in a chair away from him.
He looked up from the paperwork he was looking at, and grinned "Victoria, nice to see you could make it." His eyes shifted down to her breasts, cleared his throat, and looked back up to her eyes before she caught him ogling her. "You ah, look very nice."
"Yea, well... you don't look so bad yourself." she says, looking away from him, and waving for the waitress to come over as she was walking by. "Can I have a glass of white wine, please? I would also like an ice water with lemon... thank you."
"White wine, huh?" he said, looking at her a bit surprised.
She looked down at the menu in front of her, and opened it "I prefer red, but I'm in the mood for white tonight, why?"
"You take me for a girl who likes Cosmo's, not wine."
"Well, that'll teach you to judge a book by its cover." she mocked.
"Maybe you should listen to your own advice." he quietly growled. He looked away from her, and over to Tiara as she sat next to Victoria. "Thanks for coming."
She smiled, nodded, and looked at Victoria. She leaned into her ear, and whispered "Damn girl, do you have a date after this?"
"No." she says, looking over her way, and smirking "I wore it knowing Brayden would think I was going out on a date... in which he did." she giggled, then frowned when Tiara rolled her eyes, and looked away from her "What? I want him to move on, besides, I felt like being sexy for once in my life, what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing... I'll just throw the part in that, it's your fault for letting the lazy ass stay."
Doctor Jones saw everyone had finally made it, and thanked everyone for coming. "Being we're not at work, I'd like for you all to call me Dalton." He picked up his glass of water, and grinned "Also, dinner is on me, order whatever you would like."
During the meal, Dalton spoke about what he expects out of them, and to treat their patients as their number one priority. While speaking, he couldn't help how his eyes would wander over to Victoria. He thought she was extremely sexy, and was hoping to get her alone after dinner to talk.
"So, Doctor Jones, I mean... Dalton." Tiara begins to say "What was the reason for this dinner?"
He took his napkin, wiped his mouth, and laid it back on his lap. "I asked for everyone to come here for a few reasons, in which some of them I just spoke to you about, but since I took over, I haven't been able to talk to many of you, except for saying a few HI's, here and there. Also, you may, or may not know, I did buy the clinic from Dr. and Mrs. Adams. Since taking over, I have noticed many issues with the building that need to be addressed."
"Here we go..." Victoria said quietly, into Tiara's ear.
"Issues?" Doctor Jensen curiously asked "What kinds of issues?"
"First off, Tiara, and Victoria already know what I think about their office, and what I'd like to see fixed. Secondly, the front desk, and patient waiting area needs a complete makeover, and thirdly, I would like to see the patients examining rooms painted, and wallpapered... I was thinking maybe you would all be interested in helping."
"What's in it for us?" Doctor Johnson asked.
"My plan was, whoever stayed after closing this Friday, and stayed until finished, I would pay them triple pay." he smiled, knowing they would like hearing that. "My thoughts were, if we all worked together, we could get it done in one night, or day." He looked around at everyone, and clapped his hands together, with a smile "Who's in?"
All said they were in, except Victoria. Tiara gave her a nudge, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Please tell me you're going to help."
"Don't worry, I'll help. It'll give me more time away from home anyway." she says, thinking about Brayden. She looked over at Dalton, noticed him staring at her, and sighed "I'm in."
After dinner, Victoria wasn't ready to go home quite yet, and pulled Tiara with her over to the bar. "Stay, and have a couple drinks with me."
"I'll stay for one, then I have to go."
Tiara ended up staying for a couple more than planned, and called her husband to come get her. "Teagan is on his way, would you like us to give you a ride home?"
"No thanks, I'll be fine." She stared at her glass of wine, and felt like changing it up.
"If you change your mind, let me know."
"I'm good, thanks for staying, and having a couple drinks with me... it was much needed." After Tiara left her, she remembered Dalton talking about Cosmo's, and wanted to try one. She got the bartenders attention, and asked for one when he approached her.
"What flavor?" he asked.
"Oh, I guess I didn't know there were different flavors. "
He grinned, and walked away after realizing she didn't know what one was, and made her one he thought she would like, then set it down in front of her. "Try this, it's the original flavor."
She brought the glass up to her lips, took a sip, then felt a hand rest on her back. "That's on me."
She turned her head, saw it was Dalton, rolled her eyes, and quickly turned away from him. "I thought you left."
"And I thought you don't drink Cosmo's."
"I don't, figured I would try one." she says, taking another sip. "Not that I want to give you any credit for it, but it's pretty good "
He smiled, and quietly chuckled while turning his back, and leaned against the bar. He folded his hands, and studied her face. He saw sadness, emptiness, and at the same time, he thought she was beautiful, and was curious to know more about her. He reached his hand out, and tilted her head up with his finger, wanting to look in her eyes. "For such a beautiful girl, you have quite an attitude, why?"
"You ask a lot of questions..." she says, rolling her eyes down towards her drink, not wanting to look at him any longer. He was showing sincerity, and a side of him that she didn't think he was capable of doing.
"I'm only asking, because behind those big blue eyes of yours, I see a completely different person. You're holding in a lot of anger for some reason, and I'm trying to figure out why."
She removed his hand from her chin, and picked up her drink, "I have my reasons, and I don't believe it's any concern of yours." She finished her drink, grabbed her purse off the bar, and stood up. "Thanks for the drink."
He laid cash down on the bar, and smiled at the bartender "Thanks, have a good night."
He left the restaurant in a hurry, wanting to catch up to her. As he stepped outside, he saw her walking toward her car, and ran over to her. Grabbing a hold of her hand, stopping her "Will you quit running away from me?"
"Would you quit following me?" she retorted, rolling her eyes.
He squeezed her hand tighter, while stepping closer to her, and leaned into her ear "For one, you're not driving."
"Why?" she snapped, turning around fast, while shaking her hand out of his grip.
"You've been drinking, hand me your keys." he insisted, holding out his hand.
She furrowed her eyebrows while looking at his hand, and turned around "I'm not giving you my keys, and I'm not leaving my car here." She started walking, and groaned when his arm reached around her, grabbing her keys from her hand.
"I'll drive you to wherever you want to go, and I will get a ride back to my car, sound good?"
She huffed knowing she wasn't going to win, and turned around. "Fine..."
"Thank you, now where are you heading?" he asked, opening the door for her.
"Home... I'm not homeless like you think I am." she hissed.
He shut her door, and ran his hand through his hair knowing he never should have asked her that. He walked around the car, got in, and placed the keys in the ignition, then looked over at her before starting the car "I didn't mean to ask if you were homeless, and I'm sorry that I did... I just wanted to make sure you weren't is all."
"Why would you care anyway?" she asked, while looking away from him, and looked out the window. She didn't know if it was the alcohol, his good looks, or the way he was looking at her, but she suddenly felt the urge to want to kiss him, and felt she couldn't be around him any longer. "Well I'm not, so would you please bring me home."
"My home, or yours?"
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!🤞🤞
Is she being hard headed, cautious, or still have feelings for Brayden?🤔🤔