Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss. (10 page)

Later that night, after he left his loft, Nic stopped by his restaurant. Even though it was closed, he wanted to stay there for some peace and quiet before he had to go back to his house. There always seemed to be people around him there. Truthfully, he'd rather sleep at the loft tonight, but after he and Victoria's angry sex, she rolled over and didn't say another word to him, so he was pretty sure she didn't want him there. 
Nic stared down at the blank sheet of paper. He had a secret passion that only two people knew about, one being Jimmy. When he had tough decisions to make or was just stressed, he would draw free-style designs of buildings. He had actually gone to college for architecture and design, but he knew it was all in vain. He knew he would take over for his father some day, and when he graduated, he did. Even though he wasn't the oldest son in their family, he and his father both knew that he was the only one with the mindset to keep the 'business' afloat. But every now and then he was able to resurrect his private hobby. He had designed his club and the second restaurant. Both had turned out better than he could have imagined, especially his club. 
But tonight, his stress didn't come from his job. It was coming from Victoria. He had promised himself that he wouldn't let her get to him, but he wasn't making too good on that promise. Her words tonight at dinner affected him more than he thought. More than he wanted to admit. 'The power decent people hold over those who aren't, is guilt,' she had told him. He wanted to laugh it off. What power could she possibly hold over him? But...he did feel guilty. There he was trying to tell her not to let other's words affect her so much, but yet her words had touched him. In life, he usually had a take no prisoners, fuck 'em attitude, but with Victoria, she was a better person than he was. And she wasn't as weak as he thought. For a person who has no money or power, to hold her head up high despite feeling humiliated on a daily basis...that took some courage. 

And she had looked so beautiful tonight, and almost happy, but he had to go fuck it up by putting her back in her 'place'. 
Nic sighed as he leaned back in his chair. He stared at the chair opposite of him and realized that just a few weeks ago, Victoria had sat in that chair to explain her situation to him. She had come to him, probably scared and ashamed, looking for help...and how did he treat her? Like she didn't fucking matter. If he were being truthful, he had just planned to fuck her that night and get rid of her. He was sure she couldn't satisfy him the way he wanted, so he'd just take a few thousand off what her father owed him and call it even. But, when he had gone into his loft, and she hit him and then threatened to cut him, that lit something in him. She wasn't a pushover like he had taken her for during their brief meeting. His stomach turned to think of how she looked at him when he had asked her to remove her clothes in front of him and Jimmy. He knew that if she had any other option...she would have taken it and probably kicked him in the nuts on the way out. But she was desperate and he had taken advantage of that. He'd ripped her cheap black dress, not caring that it might be the only one she had. Fuck, he could be an asshole sometimes. It never bothered him to be called that before, but now...for some reason, he didn't want Victoria to think that of him.
Nic leaned his head against his desk. He knew that their arrangement was something that would end eventually, and she'd go her separate way, and he'd go back to his life. But, in the meantime, he'd try to make it up to her. He would treat her differently. Yeah, starting tomorrow, he'd turn over a new leaf with Victoria. He smiled just thinking about her.
Over the next few days, Nic tried keep his promise to himself to treat Victoria better. But she didn't make it easy on him. At first, she barely said two words to him. He would ask her a question, and a simple "yes" or "no" would be her only answer. And when he tried to ask a question that would require more than those generic replies, she would simply turn to him, plaster on a fake smile and say, "whatever you want is fine". Oh, she got under his skin so bad. But he kept his cool. It was just a part of his nature. Remain cool and calm at all times. But Victoria was seriously trying his nature. But he also realized it was her only defense against him. She couldn't physically beat him, so she would try to mentally overpower him. And fuck, if it wasn't working! And just when he would be ready to snap, her words about 'guilt' would slowly creep back into his mind. He did feel guilty, and he found himself wanting her to be happy. 
So, on several occasions, he would show up at the loft and beat her in a game of scrabble, or just sit and watch a TV show or movie with her. She seemed to like those sappy Lifetime movies, and although it was painful for him to watch, he would. And during these times, slowly but surely, she started to warm up to him again and he even caught her smiling a few times. 
The other day, he took her to an art museum. He actually never cared much for those types of things, but she seemed fascinated with it. She told him that she had never been to an art museum before. When she was in grade school, they had taken a field trip to a museum, but had to pay for their own entrance into the museum. Her father was so tight with money, that she wasn't able to go, and instead spent that class period reading. That had made Nic feel even worse. But watching her bounce from painting to painting helped to quell some of that negativity. Although he found it all boring, she especially loved the Baroque paintings. She stared at them for several minutes, while he had stared at her. He also couldn't keep his hands off of her, and he kissed her neck or squeezed her ass every few minutes, while she would 'ooh' and 'aah' over each painting. 
Victoria didn't know why the change in Nic had happened, but he seemed different towards her. He quit taunting her with the fact that he was using her. At first she had resisted and tried to act like a robot. Only answer yes and no, and lie there in bed as he had his way with her, but no matter how hard she tried not to come, it always happened, and he grinned at her, because he knew she was trying to withhold. 
And another new development was the fact that she was able to spend more time at his mansion now. She started meeting more and more people that worked for him, as he openly flaunted her around. He even held her hand as they entered into several places. He still didn't introduce her as anything more than just 'Victoria', but at least he wasn't ignoring her anymore when there were people around. He would actually laugh and have conversations with her about different things. Yes, he had changed ever since Jimmy's party. 
"Whatever, you don't know anything about me," Victoria stated, as she rolled off Nic, and onto the bed. She was exhausted from their intense sexual workout.
Nic placed his hands behind his head and nodded. "I know more than you think Victoria Stevie Davis. Born in 1985. Lived here your whole life. You attended North Lincoln High School and one year at Martin Community College. You've been working for your father since you were thirteen, you've had one boyfriend and were pretty much a loner. Oh, and you can't keep away from my dick. Anything else I miss?"
Victoria scoffed. "Please, I can keep away. You can't! And besides, I don't have a criminal record, so how did you pull all of that?"
"I have people who keep me well informed."
"Still doesn't mean you know me though. And what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Tell me something about you."
"Nicolas Andretti and I'm a successful businessmen. End of story."
"How about something I don't already know," Victoria said, wrapping the covers over her naked body.
"I remembered you from when I went to visit your father that day in his restaurant. You were wearing that burgundy shirt and short, tight khaki shorts. Yeah, yeah, I checked you out. You looked like a deer in headlights when I glanced at you."
Victoria didn't believe him. He couldn't have remembered her. She had barely gotten a glimpse of him that day, before he entered the kitchen with her scared father. 
"Was my hair up or down?" Victoria quizzed.
"It was down and you had it pushed away from your face with a headband or whatever they're called," he answered.
Victoria couldn't believe it. How the hell could he remember that? She had remembered him, but it wasn't every day that you got a guy like Nic Andretti walking into your restaurant. But he probably was just really observant, because he had barely spared a glance at her then.
"Okay, now a question for you. Stevie? How did you get that middle name?" Nic asked. 
Victoria laughed thinking about it. She and her mother's own private joke. "Well, it's actually a funny story. Okay, growing up...my mom was obsessed with Steve McQueen. She said if she could have married that man, she'd be the happiest woman alive," Victoria said, laughing about the whole thing. "Well, anyway, my father isn't too keen on the idea of well, interracial relationships. So, my mom could never admit her crush. But when I was born, she wanted to name me after Steve, but she didn't want to make it obvious, so she added an 'I' and told my dad it was for Stevie Wonder."
Nic burst out laughing. That...was funny as hell. He quickly composed himself, but he wasn't expecting anything close to that interesting. "Well, whenever you're ready to rain on your dad's parade, you should tell him that," Nic said, while getting up to pull his boxers back on. 
"Are you leaving tonight?" he heard her ask in a small voice. He looked at her, wrapped in his sheets. He tried not to stay over too often, in order not to give her the wrong impression, but some nights, he'd be so exhausted, he couldn't help it. He thought she didn't care either way, but her look was hopeful. Did she want him to stay? He knew they had been getting along, but he still doubted that she actually wanted his company. He thought she more or less tolerated it.
"Do you want me to?" he asked.
Victoria slid the sheets above her breasts until they reached her chin. She slowly nodded her head. She did want him to spend the night. She watched as he stared at her for a moment, as if deciding what to do. Then he pulled his boxers back down and got back into bed. She knew not to expect any type of cuddling, but just knowing he was there and not running out made her feel less like...well, less of an 'arrangement'. 
"Goodnight," Victoria whispered to him. She hugged her pillow, not really expecting a response. He didn't like anything sentimental. But as she was scooting into her sleeping position, she heard him say it.
"Goodnight, Victoria."
Victoria was still on cloud nine from meeting one of her favorite actors. She had seen most of his movies, and when Nic had told her he was throwing the actor's thirty-third birthday party, Victoria flipped. She was so excited! Nic had shut his club down for the private event. Apparently Nic had grown up with Mr. Big Time actor, and the two had stayed close throughout the years. And even during Mr. Big Time's speech, he thanked Nic, because for one of his best roles as a tough, street-smart kid, he had copied Nic's behavior from when they were kids. He then imitated Nic's cool demeanor and Northern accent, and everyone laughed. It was a pretty good impersonation. And when Nic finally introduced Victoria to the birthday boy, she was smiling from ear to ear. She tried to shake his hand, but he pushed it aside, and grabbed her for a big bear hug. But after about five seconds, Nic jokingly started to pull her away...but he also didn't remove his arm from her waist until after the conversation had wrapped. 
The music was amazing, and Victoria danced with groups of strangers most of the night. She had tried to call Nic over to dance with her, but he waved her off and continued to conduct a meeting in a dark corner of the club. 'He can't even have fun for one night without doing business,' Victoria thought. 
"So, how long have you known Nic?" Mr. Big Time asked, sneaking up behind her. He handed her a drink. Gosh, he was beautiful, Victoria thought.
"Um, not long. We're just friends," Victoria said, sipping her drink.
"So, since you're just friends, does that mean you're open to 'other' friends?"
Victoria couldn't believe he was hitting on her. He was gorgeous and could probably have any girl in this club. "Um, I g-guess," Victoria stuttered, and then quickly took another sip. She didn't know what to say to him, and he was eyeing her up and down. 
"Good, here's my number. You should call me sometime, beautiful," he said as he jotted his number down on the back of some card. He handed it to her, right as she felt arms wrap around her waist.
"Hey," she heard Nic say behind her. But he wasn't talking to her, he was talking to Mr. Big Time.
"Hey Nic, mio fratello! Thanks for the party, I enjoyed."
"Glad you did," Nic answered, but Victoria could feel his arms tighten around her and his voice sounded distant. Then she felt his cool lips against her skin, and he lightly bit and kissed her neck. Victoria couldn't help it, before she could even think, she closed her eyes, loving the feel of his hard body against her back. But then she quickly opened her eyes to see Mr. Big Time, sipping his drink, looking really uncomfortable. 
"Nice to meet you," Victoria said to him, before Nic pulled her away. "Nic, that was rude," she whispered to him. Nic yanked the piece of paper from her, ripped it up and deposited it in the trash can before he took her hand and led her outside, where a limo was waiting on them.
"I have a surprise for you," he said, when they got inside. Victoria kept asking what it was, but he just told her to be patient. But it was about a thirty minute drive away, so to keep her mind from wandering, she decided to teach him a game.
"Okay, you place your hands on top of mine and you have to look me in the face. When you think I'm going to hit your hands, you remove them, okay?"
"Alright."
Victoria waited two seconds and then smacked his hands. 
"Ow, what the hell?" Nic asked, looking at her.
"Nic! You're supposed to move your hands. Okay, you try to hit mine instead," Victoria offered, placing her hands on top of his.
Nic still looked puzzled, but he stared her in the face. 
"Ow!!" Victoria screamed, as Nic's hands smacked hers before she could even blink. "That hurt!"
"Hey, you're the one that picked this pointless game," Nic said as he smacked her hands again.
"Oww! Stop hitting me so hard," Victoria pouted as she shook off the sting on the back of her hands. "Besides, this is my secret way of getting all of my aggression out on you," she smiled.
"Yeah...how's that working for you," Nic smirked as he smacked her hands again.
"Shit! Stop it!" Victoria shouted as she tried to land a punch to his shoulder. But before it could connect, the limo shifted and she fell on him, straddling one of his legs in her extremely short and skimpy deep orange dress. She tried to quickly push off of him, but he grabbed her hair in one hand and her ass in the other.
"Now, if you had told me this was the endgame, I would have played it a long time ago," Nic joked, as he kissed a trail from her earlobe and down her neck. Victoria tried to move, but his grip tightened in her hair as he smacked her ass.
"Aah!" she squealed, but her body involuntarily started dry humping his leg.
"Damn, I want to be inside of you right now," he whispered, while he removed his hand from her butt and gently placed it underneath her dress to rub her wet slit. He had asked her not to wear panties, so he had all the access he wanted. "Mmm," she moaned into his ear.
"We're here, sir," Raymond said through the speakers. Nic gently pushed her back and pulled her out of the limo, before they got too carried away and forgot why they were here.
Victoria searched around to see if anything looked familiar. But they were parked in a back alley. Nic grabbed her hand and led her inside a building and through the back hallways. Everything was so dark, but when they reached a set of double doors, Nic whispered for her to close her eyes. She shut them tight and followed closely behind him into the room.