Tempted By Their Promises

6 - Rumours and Accusations

“I warned you, Joyce,” Toby snapped, racing out the door and pushing the elevator button, in the hope he could catch Amanda before she left. He reached the footpath at the front of the building and was relieved to see Amanda, waiting for a nearby taxi to do a U-turn. “Where do you think you are going?” he murmured, wrapping his arms around Amanda’s shoulders.

Amanda looked into his chocolate eyes, releasing the tears she was holding back. “I don’t want your f*****g money and your future wife? We barely know each other. This was a mistake coming here; I will see you in the office tomorrow, Mr Sommerville,” Amanda said, pulling out of his grasp and climbing into the taxi before Toby could make her change her mind.

Toby turned back to the elevator; seething. If he didn’t know any better, he would swear there was red smoke coming out of his ears, he was that upset.

“I’m sorry, Toby. How was I supposed to know how you two met?” Joyce said as Toby walked back into the penthouse. Henry explained how the two of the met, not that she cared because she stood by her argument; she just didn’t want Toby punishing her for thinking with his d**k.

“By f*****g asking and not assuming. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll regret ever saying one f*****g bad word against Amanda. Watch all your cards being cancelled; one at a time. Oh, and your shares; I’m revoking them,” Toby spat, through gritted teeth while Joyce started to realise she may have overstepped her boundaries.

“You can’t do that over a misunderstanding,” Joyce begged, looking into her brother’s eyes and saw something she thought she would never see; pure rage towards her.

“WATCH ME. I SAID GET OUT. SO, HELP ME GOD, I’VE NEVER HIT A WOMAN BEFORE, BUT I WILL START IF YOU DON’T GET THE f**k OUT OF HERE,” Toby screamed as Joyce ran to the door of the apartment and down to the third floor to see Ramirez. “AND DON’T COME BACK.”

Walking over to the bar Toby keeps for his guests, he grabbed a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a drink. “Do you think that’s wise?” Henry asked, looking at the glass of bourbon. He had seen Toby at his best and he’s also seen him at his worst and knows why he stopped drinking. He honestly didn’t think Amanda leaving had affected him that much for him to want to drink himself into a stupor.

“Probably not,” Toby said, downing the glass in one go and pouring himself another one. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he started typing a message to Amanda. ‘Joyce has left; can you please come back?’ When no reply came back, Toby downed the second glass and headed to his bedroom with the whole bottle. “You can show yourself out,” Toby yelled over his shoulder.

He called Amanda’s phone only to have it go to voicemail. “f**k!” Toby screamed before throwing his phone across the room, causing it to smash against the wall, leaving a mark. He picked up the phone and pulled out the sim card, walking out of the room to see Henry as he was heading out the door. “Before you go, text Amanda to tell her she needs to pick up a new phone tonight; you can give her my company card. And she needs to be in the office by 6am. I’ve given Sarah her vacation time as of tomorrow. I was going to tell Amanda after dinner,” Toby spat as Henry nodded before heading out the door.

Henry pushed the down button on the elevator and pulled his phone out of his pocket. ‘Toby needs you to get him a new phone. Text me your address so I can give you a company card to buy one. Also, he has an early start. You need to be at the office by 6am. He is getting you to learn on the job.’

Henry barely sent the text through and Amanda called his phone. “What do you mean, he is getting me to learn on the job?” she yelled down the receiver as Henry noted her shock had subsided and was replaced by anger.

“Well, hello to you too,” Henry chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

“Stop f*****g with me, Henry. What do you mean? I was supposed to have two weeks' training before Sarah went on vacation. Cancel her vacation,” Amanda yelled as Henry brushed his fingers through his sandy blonde hair.

“That, I can’t do. Only Toby is authorized to cancel it and, since you can’t get hold of him unless you go back and see him, you are on your own. Look, I know you overheard some things in the heat of Joyce’s ranting and raving, but Toby…" “I know what you are going to say, Henry. I think I need to keep things professional. I’ve had enough rumours flying around about me because of my ex and I don’t want to add to them. Tell Toby thanks for the position, but I don’t think it’s for me,” Amanda said, cutting Henry off as he closed his eyes sucking in a deep breath, knowing Toby won’t be happy with the news if she quits.

“You can’t quit,” Henry murmured, putting his hand through his sandy blonde hair again. “It’s in your contract you need to give a month’s notice, even on probation. And I don’t want to do the financial paperwork regarding your dismissal. It will get messy,” Henry continued, hoping she agrees for both their sakes because Toby will be unbearable. “Mandy; you need to text me your address so I can drop off the company card,”

“Fine; but Mr Sommerville needs to keep things professional between us,” Amanda spat, hanging up the phone, sending him a quick text with her address.

Henry sighed inwardly to himself and got into his Trans Am to head to Amanda’s apartment. It took him 20 minutes to get to the address Amanda messaged, and he walked to the apartment building and pushed the number 8 button on the door entry system.

“Hello,” a female voice sounded through the intercom.

“I’m here to drop off a card for Amanda,” Henry replied to the female voice before hearing the click of the door unlocking, as he pushed his way into the building and pressed the elevator button to head to the 2nd floor.

Knocking on the door, Henry waited patiently for Amanda to open it, only to have someone else open the door. “Can I help you?” a woman with mousy brown hair answered the door.

“I’m Henry, is Amanda in?” Henry replied, looking over the lady’s head to see if he could spot Amanda when recognition came on his face, he had seen the lady in the bar at Bay’s Beach. “You were with Amanda at the bar in Bay’s Beach.”

“I’m Chelsea. Amanda is upset, and she won’t tell me why. I’ll let her know you came by,” Chelsea said before trying to shut the door as Henry shoved foot in the gap to stop her.

“I need to give her this,” Henry said, pulling an envelope from his pocket. “I must give it directly to her, she knows I’m coming with it. Can you please let her know I am here?” He added, knowing he didn’t need to give it to her directly, but he wanted to make sure she was alright, because she had grown on him as much as Toby.

Chelsea nodded her head and opened the door to let Henry in. “Make yourself at home,” Chelsea exclaimed, heading to a room at the side of the living area, before knocking lightly on the door. “Mandy, someone is here to see you. He says he has something he needs to give you and only you.”

“What did that fuckwit do? She has had enough heartbreak to last her a lifetime. I swear, I don’t give a s**t about how rich you are or if I go away for a hundred years. I will kneecap him for hurting her,” Chelsea sneered, walking back into the living area and sitting on the couch.

Henry stifled a laugh. ‘I like this one’, he said to himself. “Toby did nothing. His sister, on the other hand, is… how do I put it?” “A b***h,” Amanda said, coming out of her room and sitting down next to Chelsea while Henry gently nodded his head in agreement. “What happened with Penelope?” Amanda asked, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

“That’s something you need to ask Toby,” Henry sighed, not realising Joyce had hashed up Toby’s past.

“If I am to be his personal assistant, I need to know everything about him, including what happened. There was nothing in the bible. If it wasn’t important, Joyce would never have mentioned it, nor would she be throwing it in Toby’s face. What happened?” Amanda responded, raising her voice slightly and shaking her head. She was over being spoken about and if she was going to be compared to someone she didn’t know, she figured she had a right to know.

“I’m sorry, Mandy. You will need to ask Toby,” Henry sighed, giving her an apologetic smile while a tear ran down Amanda’s cheek.

“Please, Henry? I need to know. I am being compared to this person,” Amanda whispered her last pitch to find out the truth as another tear fell down her cheek.

“OK; but you didn’t hear it from me. I would suggest you still ask Toby,” Henry replied, pausing and letting out a long breath to figure out how much of the story he should disclose. “He was out drinking with her and got into a car accident. Although nobody was injured, the car was a ride off, and he vowed to stop drinking there and then because he didn’t want to cause harm to others; something his father tried getting him to do for years,” Henry started, looking between the pair to see if they were going to use this information against him.

Working out they wouldn’t, Henry continued; “She used his sobriety to tell everyone he was abusing her when he was drunk and that’s why he became sober. Many people believed her and some still do. He called off the relationship, and she threatened to wreck him by going to the police for the ‘alleged abuse’. His parents got involved and proved his innocence, paid off the tabloids, the whole shebang; but not before Toby’s reputation was tarnished. I’m not surprised people believed her, especially with the nickname Oscar the Grouch in the office. When he gets angry and loses his s**t, he throws things at the walls and there are a lot of destroyed phones, glassware, laptops, you name it; but I know Toby and he has never hit anyone in anger to my knowledge. He’s hit people before, but more out of self-defence or defending others. Anyway, someone overheard Sarah calling Toby that one day at work and the name stuck, which didn’t help his cause.”

“If they proved his innocence, why would they need to pay off the tabloids?” Chelsea asked, a little dumbfounded by the accusation which surprised Amanda since she knew what she had gone through.

“Because, even speculation can have devastating effects. I have been on the receiving end of speculation; people tell me it was my fault and how I pushed Peter and Veronica together and deserved everything I got, because they believed his lies,” Amanda answered for Henry as another tear trickled down her cheek, reminding Chelsea what she already knew about the speculation and rumours going around Bay’s Beach. Amanda also wanted to answer, to show Henry she understood what Toby went through.

“That’s why I’m here, I heard the crash before I left. Hence, why he needed a new phone. You really hurt him by leaving,” Henry said, putting his hands up to defend himself from the onslaught that he was about to receive. “I understand why you did, and I would have too, but I thought you should know. I’ll see myself out, and I’ll see you at the office.”

“What are you going to do?” Chelsea asked Amanda the moment the front door shut behind Henry.

“I don’t know. I can’t quit, not yet anyway. And I can’t be his girlfriend; at least not around the office,” Amanda frowned, conflicted with the feelings she had spiralling in her chest.

“Since Jamie’s no longer coming over; yet again. Let’s go get Oscar a new phone,” Chelsea laughed, picking up her jacket while Amanda shook her head and grabbed her handbag as the pair walked out of the apartment together.