Chapter 6
1235 Words
Violet
"Hey Vi! Sorry, I am running late. I will be there as soon as I possibly can. Hope you understand love" Leo was running late. Violet Harris was not at all pleased about him ditching her on their dinner date. Every Wednesday night they made plans to have dinner with each other. And catch up gossip in their lives.
"You will be sorry when I am done with you Leo!" grumbles an unhappy Violet as she deletes his voicemail. She throws her phone back in her purse. She waits for a table. She was starving. She had been so busy she nearly did not have time to eat. She wished her parents would get back to the states so that she would not have so much to do on her plate.
"Miss. Harris? Your table is ready! Come this way" a waiter informs her interrupting her thoughts. She nods as she gets up from her bench. She follows the waiter to a nice little table. There was violin music playing in the back ground. It was a nice atmosphere. Not to noisy. Not to quite. It was just right for her. The waiter seated her by the window as she had requested on the phone the night before.
"Thank you" she replies after he holds out the chair for her.
"You’re welcome. Here is our menu. The special is on this piece of paper in the middle printed out for you. Can I start you off with a drink?" he offers.
"Certainly. I would like a white wine. Grape. Nothing to potent please" remarks Violet.
"Only the best for you Madame" replies the waiter.
"Sure, make it snappy" she sighs. It had been a long day.
"Long day Madame?" he asks as though he read her thoughts.
"You have no idea" she sighs.
"Are you ready to order yet?" he wonders hopefully.
"No, come back with my drink and I will let you know" she mumbles. She hated it when they rushed her to order. The man left her alone. Should she wait for her friend before she ordered? She was starving. She really was not sure how much longer she could wait. And everything on the menu sounded wonderful of course.
"An hour late now. Leo, you are in mighty big trouble sir" grumbles Violet as she gets her phone out of her clutch purse. She rang Leo's cell phone. It went right to his voicemail.
"Leo? You had better be here soon! Or you are going to be sorry. You know that? No one stands up Violet Harris for any reason" she begins to ramble on.
"Well, well, someone sure has a temper now don't we?" someone familiar remarks to her. She looks up to see that Ashton Maxford again.
"I will have to let you go Leo. But you better be here. SOON" she snaps before hanging up.
"What are YOU doing here?" she asks Ashton.
"Here for a business meeting. But I am afraid they are a no show. I am starving to" he tells her.
"You are here on business?" she echoes his reply as though she was not quite sure she believed him.
"Yes, is that so hard to believe? Why are you here?" he challenges her.
"Well, I am meeting my dear friend Leo. Not that it is any of your business. I hate eating alone" she grumbles.
"How about I come over and keep you company. Just until Leo arrives" he offers.
"Alright. Sure" she agrees. He grins.
"Once Leo is here you are gone" she reminds him.
"Oh yes" he tells her as he sits down at her table.
"What kind of business were you hoping to conduct today?" she asks him as the waiter brings them drinks.
"Huh?" Ashton asks as he looks over the menu.
"I said what kind of business were you on today?" she asks again. She feels annoyed at his lack of attention on her.
"I am on business for my father really. Not for me. I promised him that I would seal this deal for the family company. But it has been a bit tricky getting this deal for him" he explains. He sips his wine.
"Oh I see. I understand that. My parents are across the globe. They leave business up to me as well" she sighs as she takes a drink of wine.
"Unfortunate huh? I mean we have everything we could want. Yet we can't have it all right? I hardly see my father around most days" he mentions.
"I see. What about your mother?" she asks curiously.
"Never knew her. She took off on my father and I when I was born" he says looking a bit uncomfortable talking about her.
"I am sorry" she says softly. Her heart softens a little for Ashton when she hears this turn of events.
"Don't be. I am not. How can I miss someone I never knew" he replies. "My father is a wonderful man. He has always been there for me. I would do anything for him"
"Noble of you" she remarks. He nods.
"Thank you" he says.
"I would do anything for my parents as well" replies Violet.
"Understandable" he says.
"I don't do business deals though. I leave that up to Daddy" she remarks.
"None? Not even a little?" he teases her.
"No, when it comes to money, Daddy likes to make the choices himself" Violet explains.
"Doesn't your Daddy trust his beautiful little girl to play with the big boys?" he teases.
"No" laughs Violet.
"What do you do then? What does Violet Harries bring to the plate?" he asks her.
"I do helpful things. For the environment. After all someone has to" she replies.
"True. So you are one of those save the world kind of gals" he says.
"Yes" she says.
"Noble" he says. She smiles at that.
"Are you two ready to order?" the waiter asks them as he rejoins the table.
"Oh not yet. I am waiting for one more" she replies. Suddenly her phone buzzes. It was Leo. She reads her text. It reads: Hey Doll! Sorry I can't make it to dinner. We can reschedule. Something came up. Hugs, Leo.
"Damn bastard" she mutters.
"Something wrong?" Ashton asks her. She shakes her head.
"No. We can order now. Leo is a no show" she sighs.
"Darn it" Ashton says as he looks like a cat whom just ate a canary bird.
"I am sure you are sad aren't you?" she remarks.
"What does that mean?" he asks.
"I bet you and Leo had this whole thing planned all along?" she demands suddenly. His eyes grow wide with surprise.
"No how could we?" he laughs nervously.
"Let's see. First you call my phone. When I never gave you my number. Then Leo told me he gave it to you. So I am sure that he set you up to this. Told you we had dinner plans. Let me tell you what Mr. Maxford, I am not a business deal that you want to merge with. I can be a lot more dangerous than those sharks you are dealing with out there. If I were you, I would watch it" she warns him sternly before getting up from the table. She grabs her things and heads out the door. Leaving a stunned Ashton there to dine by himself.
- Writer
