45. Victoria
45
VICTORIA
I click through the presentation on my screen, butterflies of excitement swirling in my stomach.
“So if we open this up here, then I think it would be really beautiful,” I say to Griffin, the two of us on a video call, talking through my ideas for the ranch. My sketches are looking good. I have a few more tweaks to make, but my vision is finally coming together.
“I love it. It makes total sense. It is unique, and we should be able to get the materials needed reasonably easy. You have a really good eye for this kind of thing. Ever thought about making it a permanent gig?” Griffin asks, and I smile, my heart racing at what this could mean for me.
“It would be a dream of mine, really. I have loved pulling this together,” I tell him, now knowing that if I can pull off my ideas for this ranch, my portfolio will be kick-started and maybe I can start a new career in the world of interior design.
“Well, I know the owner will approve, and let me tell you, when this project is done, I am sure I will have another one waiting for you. Whispers has a lot of billionaires ready to move there. They already have the land; they are just waiting to build. The work Tanner and Connor have done to that town is astounding. I have even got a plot there,” he says, smiling, and it is contagious. When I first moved here, anytime anyone said Tanner’s name, I tensed. But now I have nothing but pride and joy for the man who makes me smile even when he isn’t here.
“Lock it in, then, because I am ready!” I say excitedly. This is the opportunity I have been waiting for, and hearing Griffin say it cements everything here for me. I won’t be signing those lease forms back in NYC, and I can’t wait to tell Tanner. We were a little distant when we got back. But when he turned up with the love seat on my back porch, I completely melted. Him and Whispers are now my home.
“So the team is on track with the build so far. But as I am sure you know, sometimes there are hiccups, which can derail things. I estimate that we will be ready for interiors in a month or two, so start preparing and shopping. I will need the final paint colors and then the light fittings first. You have the funds now and access to the account. Plus, you can ship everything to the block. I have lockable shipping containers there to hold goods until we are ready for them,” he explains, and I continue to take notes.
“Any further feedback from the owner on the color palette?” I ask, thinking about it. I am going natural, with timber features.
“He said for you to design it how you would like to live in it,” Griffin says, and I snort .
“Yeah, in my dreams,” I say through a laugh, but it’s filled with longing. I can’t imagine living somewhere like that. “If I won the lottery, this ranch would be exactly how I would want to live.”
“Yeah, it is one of the biggest and most expensive builds I have done. The quality of it is amazing. Okay, I’ve got to run. Are you all good with everything else?”
“All good. Thanks, Griffin,” I say before we end the call, and I grab my pen and continue taking notes like a madwoman so I don’t forget anything from our conversation. I then spend the next hour sourcing products online that I know will take a long time to get here, like the soft rugs from Switzerland that I plan to have on the floor in front of the open fireplace and the chandeliers from Austria that I know will sparkle at nighttime, giving both an elegance and a feminine touch to balance out the large spaces.
Hearing a car pull up outside, I lift my arms, stretching out the kinks in my back from sitting for far too long before I get up and go to the front door. I am already smiling as I step out, assuming it is Tanner, but my smile drops and my mouth gapes as soon as I see who it is.
“Josh?” I ask, dumbfounded as he hops out of a black sedan in his suit, holding a large bouquet of red roses. The bunch is large, ostentatious, and months ago, it would have had me breathless at their beauty, but now they just make my skin crawl and I swallow bile.
“Hey, Victoria,” he says with a wide smirk, puffing out his chest .
“What are you doing here?” I ask incredulously. He’s here. In my space. Uninvited.
“I told you the other week I wanted to come and see you.” He looks confused, like he wasn’t expecting a frosty reception.
“But how did you know where my place even was?” I removed all locations from my social media, and I know Fiona wouldn’t have told him.
“I asked around. Pretty easy to find, actually. I just had to ask for Marie’s place,” he says, and I internally curse.
“But what are you doing here? We are over. Have I not made that clear enough?” I state, my shock now giving way to anger.
“I came to beg for you to come back. I miss you. We were good together. I want you back in the city with me.”
I frown as I look at him.
“Why? What happened to Natalie?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest, as I have absolutely no intentions of going back to him or the city. He takes a step closer to me, and instinctively, I take a step back.
“I love you, Vic. It's always been you. You are the one for me.” He says the right words, yet the way they fall from his mouth sounds deceiving.
“Not when you fuck someone else, I’m not,” I tell him straight, not falling for his bullshit.
“I’m sorry. It was one time, a stupid mistake. Everyone is asking when you are coming home.”
I tilt my head in confusion.
“Everyone?” Fiona is the only person I am still in contact with back in the city and she hasn’t said anything.
“George, Trevor. The guys.” His bosses .
“Oh yeah, what are they saying?” I ask, trying to understand what is happening here because I know there is an ulterior motive. He doesn’t love me. He doesn’t take care of me. He has never put my needs first, never looked after me when I was sick, never supported my dreams of design. He never took an interest in me at all.
“They just want to see you again, that's all.” Weird . I met them a few times, but we are not friends.
“I’m not coming back, Josh,” I tell him calmly. After Griffin saying there could be other jobs, I am excited to have Whispers as my home now.
“Fuck it, Victoria!” he yells, jolting me as he throws the flowers down on the ground, his pleasant fa?ade now all gone. This is a new side to him I haven’t seen before. “You need to come home. Now,” he grits out to me, and my eyes thin.
“Why?” I push him, knowing something is not right. I want to know his motive.
“I might miss that promotion,” he says, seething.
“Promotion?” The penny drops. “Ah, so your bosses want to see me before you get your promotion?”
He remains silent, his teeth grinding together almost comically.
“I’m right, aren’t I? They won’t give you a promotion unless you showcase that you are on your way to happily married bliss. Shit, why didn’t I see this earlier,” I say, chuckling to myself. I am such an idiot. “That is why you proposed New Year’s Eve, isn’t it? In front of all your bosses. Not because you loved me, but because you need to portray a happily married life in order to get your VP status at work. ”
He may work on Wall Street, but the company he works for is very family oriented and they have a clean public image that I suspect they want to keep.
“I’ll pay you,” he says, and I huff another laugh before extreme anger overtakes me. The nerve of this man.
“You need to leave.” My hands settle on my hips as I straighten my back, my tone not one that leaves any confusion.
“I am not leaving without—” he starts, but I don’t let him finish. We. Are. Done.
“Get off my property before I call the sheriff.” I threaten the words that never in a million years did I ever think I would say. But I will. I will have him arrested for trespassing and email his bosses directly.
“Stop being so stubborn and get in the goddamn car.” Walking toward me swiftly, he snatches my wrist.
“Let go of me!” I yell as I try to pull away. He is such an asshole.
Then I hear it. Tanner’s truck screeches into my property, coming to a skid, stopping abruptly where we stand. Gravel and dust flies out from his sharp braking, and the truck looks even bigger this close, the black gloss now menacing. Tanner jumps out and is on us quicker than I can take a breath.
“Get your fucking hand off my fucking woman!” he roars, and I rip my hand free of Josh’s hard grip as Tanner paces toward us.
“Now you are in trouble,” I murmur to Josh under my breath, rubbing my wrist that is throbbing from his grip. He looks at me, having no idea what is about to happen. Idiot .
Tanner’s eyes flick over me quickly to ensure I’m okay before he focuses on Josh. He is livid, and if I didn’t know him like I do, I would be fearful.
“Oh shit,” Josh whispers, just before Tanner's fist connects with his face.
“Tanner!” I scream, grabbing his arm. “Stop!”
Josh has no hope against a man like Tanner, and I don’t want him getting himself in trouble over me like this. Josh’s body slams against the ground, blood already dripping from his nose. Tanner ignores me and grabs Josh by the collar, lifting him entirely off the ground one-handed, so high his feet are dangling.
“Call the sheriff, baby girl,” he says in his sweet voice that I know is reserved just for me, and I calm down a little.
Josh looks between Tanner and me. “Baby girl?” he questions, blood continuing to drip from his nose that is now red and swollen as he tries to stand, but Tanner has him tightly by the scruff of his neck.
“Yeah, my girl. Now let's see what the sheriff has to say about you. Maybe you have the same tools in the trunk that you used on her truck?”