The Dollmaker

Chapter One

"Violet, come down for breakfast dear."

Violet Manning, twenty-two years old and the heiress to her father's business.

Violet rolled out of bed, and walked to her mirror to inspect herself. Her eyes were still half closed, and her hair needed to be combed. She made her way into her closet, and started to change into the clothes that had been laid out for her.

Growing up in Manning house, Vi had people who helped with almost everything. They had maids, a cook, a gardener and when she was still a little girl, she even had a full time nanny.

Violet has lived in luxury all her life, but she never made it change her as a person. Her family was still kind, and they never flaunted their fortune in other's faces.

When her hair was combed and put in a neat bun, and she'd brushed her teeth, she made her way down the stairs to the kitchen, greeting the cook and the maids along the way. She slipped into the chair next to her mother by the counter, giving her a kiss on the cheek, making her mother giggle in return.

"Good morning mom." Vi leaned forward and grabbed a piece of freshly grilled ham, and some bread and butter. She was about to take a bite when her father walked in, dressed in a black suit, ready to head to the office. He gave her a hug, and kissed his wife before sitting down at the table.

"Henry, make sure you don't work too late tonight. Remember we have guests coming over." Her mother said giving a pointed look towards her father.

"I'll make sure to be here before they arrive, dear." Vi's father playfully rolled his eyes as he looked at his wife, Isla. Violet couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. She loved her parents dearly, and admired them for the way they still loved each other after all these years together.

"Violet, you must come back to the office with me later today. There are new clients I want you to meet. They are very important to the company." Vi nodded her head and finished eating. She excused herself from the table, and went back to her room to get her things for the office. When she turned nineteen her father started showing her the ropes to run the company. She didn't mind taking over for him one day, because she was proud of how he had built up the company.

The drive to the office was quiet. The driver never spoke much, and she herself was a bit too shy to start up a conversation with him. As soon as the car pulled to a stop in the underground parking, the door was opened for her and she was escorted to the elevator. Her father's office was at the top of the building, a real stereotypical skyscraper with lots of floors and windows.

With a ding the doors opened, and she walked into her father's office, greeted by the sight of him standing next to a huge window, waving his free hand about as he was explaining something to someone on the phone. She sat down quietly in the chair in front of his desk, and waited for him to finish the call. When he turned around she could see the stress written all over his face. He sat down in the chair opposite her and sighed, placing down his cellphone.

"Is everything alright, dad?" she was genuinely worried about him sometimes. Her father was a man who would keep working, even if he was very ill. A couple of years back he almost landed in the hospital because he worked too hard, but he brushed it off and always said he was fine. She admired him for being such a hard worker, but sometimes she wanted to kick him in the butt. "Everything is fine, Vi. Just a little bump in one of the deals with Japan" he met her eyes, and smiled. She nodded once and decided not to push him further on the matter. Instead she swiftly changed the subject to why she was there in the first place. "Who am I meeting today?" Henry started sifting through his drawer and pulled out a file, handing it to Violet. She scanned through it, checking all the details, making sure she didn't miss anything important.

"Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Gonzales are two very loyal clients. They have a really big order, and I want you to handle it." Violet felt a flutter in her stomach at those words. Sure she's been doing things to learn how to run the company and she knows how to handle almost everything, but she hasn't had her own deal yet.

"Really dad? You really trust me with this?" her father gave a slight chuckle and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together. "Of course, Vi. You've been learning how to do this for nearly four years, and I think you're ready to take the next step. That is, if you want to..." he trailed off and she nearly jumped out of her chair with excitement.

"Yes! I want to. I'm ready" she couldn't help but sound like a litte girl getting a new barbie doll. Her father stood up and clapped his hands together, walking to the door. "Well alright then, let's go meet them." They made their way to one of the empty boardrooms, Violet's hands shaking the whole time. She couldn't tell if this was excitement or nerves gnawing at her. Nonetheless she was prepared to do her best and make her father proud.

In the car on the way home her father kept appraising her for her good work. She was used to him always exaggerating over things, but even she had to say she did really well today. Not only did the meeting go smoothly, but she made them want to buy even more stocks than they wanted to. She couldn't help but blush at her father's approving words the whole ride home. When they entered the front door, the smell of roast beef and vegetables hit her senses and her stomach growled. Her mother came down the stairs, dressed in a long red gown, her hair and makeup ready to impress. She could imagine that not even a Duchess wore as many jewels as her mother did, but she made it look good.

"Darling, you look.... ravishing" Henry looked like he was ready to pounce on Isla like a tiger would do its prey and Violet cleared her throat, pulling him out of his trance. She knew her parents still kept up the romance in their relationship, but that doesn't mean she wanted a front row seat to the show. "Oh Henry, stop it. You're making Vi feel uncomfortable" her mother chastised, but even so Isla had a blush creeping up her neck. "Have the Parker's arrived yet?" Henry asked as he handed over his coat to one of the maids at the door.

"They're almost here. Vi, please go change before they arrive" Violet wanted to roll her eyes at what her mother said but instead she walked up the stairs to her room.

Her mother loved being a hostess, and loved hosting dinner parties, no matter how big or small they tended to be. She entered her room to find a black dress on her bed. She quickly showered and put on the dress, putting on a little bit of makeup, and letting her dark waves fall over her shoulders. As she made her way downstairs she heard voices float up towards her. She turned the corner to the dining room and saw her parents sat down with the Parker's. Leon, Olivia and their son Will were old friends of the family, and Violet and Will grew up together. Violet knew that Will had a gigantic crush on her, but she never let anything more happen than just being friends with him, even though it would make her mother ecstatic if they ended up as a couple.

"Good evening everyone" she greeted and they all turned their heads towards her and greeted in return. She took her place at the table, which happens to be "oh so conveniently" next to Will, and she shot her mother a pointed look as she finally sat down. Her mother was smiling from ear to ear, looking worse than the Cheshire cat, but she ignored Violet's look and continued the conversation. Violet's plate was brought to her, and she started slicing her beef into thin strips. From what she gathered, the parents were talking about golfing, and how they wanted to go for a game on the weekend.

She wasn't really interested in sport, so she just politely kept to herself and her dinner. She felt Will's gaze on her and didn't want to turn to look at him, because she knew if she turned she'd find him smiling at her.

"How have you been, Vi?" he asked and she couldn't help but notice how giddy his voice was. It wasn't that she didn't like Will, it's just that he liked her so much it made her unsure of what to do. She was never one to act on things like this, and she didn't always know what to say. She finally decided to look him in the eyes, and when she did, she felt so guilty to see the sparkle in his eyes. She honestly didn't know why he liked her this much. She was just a normal girl, and there wasn't anything particular that made her stand out, but Will obviously saw something in her that she herself didn't.

"I've been good thanks, Will." She gave a small smile and hoped that he would rather join their parents conversation. While growing up, a lot of people didn't like Violet because of her background. They thought of her as a spoiled little brat, that always got everything she wanted. Not all of that was correct, of course she got a lot of stuff from her parents but that was only because they wanted to give it to her. Violet never asked for much as a child, but people still hated her because she was wealthy.

"I'm glad. So are you coming along to the country club this weekend?" Will asked, and she took a sip of her wine, stalling to give an answer. She didn't really want to go along with everyone, but before she could make up an excuse, her mother turned to Will and answered the question.

"Of course she is, Will. Now you know Violet doesn't actually play golf, so would you mind keeping her company while the rest of us play?" Vi wanted to kick her mother in the shin underneath the table, but she knew better than to do that.

"I would love to do that Mrs. Manning. I always have so much fun with Violet." Isla smiled widely and patted Will's hand.

"Such a sweet young man you are, Will"

The rest of the dinner was quite plain, her parents and the Parker's doing most of the talking, and Will jumping in now and then to make a statement, or answer a question directed at him.

After dinner was done and the Parker's had left, Vi went back up to the solitude of her room. She threw herself on her bed, almost knocking her wind out, and gave a hefty sigh, knowing there was no way out of this situation. All she could do for now was hope that somehow she could save herself from going the weekend.

The weekend had rolled by way too quickly in Violet's opinion, and yet she stood at the entrance of the country club, watching the caddy's unload the golf bags, filled with a collection of putters and irons. As she walked through the door, she was met with the Parker's waiting for them. Everyone exchanged greetings, her father and Mr. Parker jumping into another conversation about anything and everything they could come up with. Her mother and Mrs. Parker were already drinking a glass of champagne each, giggling as they teased their husbands. Will came to stand next to Violet, not saying anything at first.

"You look really pretty today, Vi" he said sheepishly, and she smiled up at him. "Thank you, Will." She was wearing a short cream dress, with an open back and some sandals, her hair falling over her shoulders in their natural waves in a half up, half down style. He returned her smile, and kept silent for another minute admiring her standing before him. She started to feel a small blush creep up at the back of her neck from his gaze, and before it could make its way to her face she cleared her throat and looked away. "Shall we go sit outside?" she gestured to the large balcony, decorated with small round tables and umbrellas to block out the scorching sun.

He nodded in agreement, and they made their way outside, being sat down by a young waiter dressed in a white button shirt and a pair of black slacks. When they sat down, Will ordered drinks for them, and the waiter left to go get them. She turned and looked around at the green scenery around her, loving the fresh air that filled her lungs. She was glad that she came after all.

"Beautiful day isn't it?" she heard Will asking and she hummed back in agreement. Their drinks arrived shortly, and Violet looked at her's with a curious expression. "What is this, Will?" she asked, not sure what he had gotten for her because she had zoned out when he was ordering. "Just have a sip and you'll see" he had a boyish smile on his face, a playful sparkle in his eyes. She leaned in closer and put the straw in her mouth, and took a very slow sip, scared of what she was going to taste. An overwhelming strawberry flavour hit her tastebuds, and when she swallowed she felt the burn of strong liquor warm her chest. Her eyes widened and she looked at Will in shock. "You remember this?!" he gave a small chuckle at her bewildered expression and nodded his head. "Of course. We used to sneak out your dad's whiskey in the middle of the night and mix it with whatever we could find, only to realise that this was the best concoction" she smiled at the memory of when they seventeen, and got up to so much mischief. "I can't believe we never got caught for that. Everytime the bottle got more empty my dad would start to question himself. He really thought he had a problem, you know" they both burst out laughing as they took a trip down memory lane together. They kept talking like that for a while, and Violet was having so much fun, her cheeks were actually hurting from all the smiling.

"I'll be right back, I just need to go to the ladies room" she stood up and walked back into the building, making her way to the restrooms. She was rounding a corner, and suddenly bumbped into someone, nearly falling down. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Are you alright?" when she looked up she was face to face with a guy about the same age as her. He started to smile, nodding his head and then looked her up and down. "I'm just fine lovely, no need to worry" He reached up and touched a strand of hair next to her face, his hand lingering over her shoulder.

Violet was quite shocked at his behaviour, and felt a strange energy radiating from him. He kept smiling at her, not saying anything and it made her way too uncomfortable. She quickly took a step back and gave another quick apology, and then sped off into the bathroom. She slammed the stall door shut behind her, and leaned against it with her back. She could feel her heart thumping, her breathing a little rugged. After she was done using the bathroom she lingered in there for a while longer, not wanting to run into that guy again. After about ten more minutes, she made her way back to the table where Will was waiting for her. When he saw her walking towards him, he jumped up from his seat with a worried expression on his face. "Vi, there you are. What took you so long?" she was about to tell him of her run in with the guy, but she decided against it. She was probably overreacting again, and he was probably just a little bit drunk. She looked at him when he grabbed her shoulders, giving a reassuring smile.

"Sorry, it was really busy in there" he didn't seem to believe her, but he shook his head and led her back to the table.

For the rest of the time they sat there, Violet felt like somone was watching her. She constantly kept looking around trying to see if she could spot the culprit, but she never saw anything. Maybe the whiskey has gone to her head already. By the time their parents got finished with the game Violet was ready to leave, not wanting to feel stay any longer than she has to. They made their way home, and she was hoping that she'll feel fine when she got to the security of her house, but she was wrong. The entire night she tossed and turned, a feeling of unease settled in her chest. Why did it bother her this much? What was with that guy she ran into?

Question after question filled her head, and she was restless until the sun came up.

The next morning she was expected to meet her father at the office again, and she slowly got ready to start the day. She decided to ignore the encounter with the man from the country club, and focus on her work instead.

It was a busy day at the office, her father making sure she didn't make any mistakes as she handled the deal, but hardly ever interfering with her. With her lack of sleep, and all the paper work she's been doing, she needed some fresh air to clear her head, and decided to go for a walk. There was a coffee shop a few blocks from the office, and she always liked their coffee more than what the office had to offer her. She rode the elevator to bottom floor, exiting the big building and taking a deep breath. She started making her way down the street, enjoying the cool breeze grazing her skin.

Then it hit her, the feeling of being watched. Her chest tightened, and her breathing became shallow. She didn't make a move to look around, instead she kept moving forward, walking faster and faster until she was nearly sprinting. As soon as she entered the shop she took a deep gasp for air, her lungs burning and her knees weak.

She scanned outside the building, trying to see if she could find anyone looking her way, but everyone was too busy minding their own business to pay attention to her. She didn't want to walk back to the office, so she called her driver and asked to be taken home instead.

She walked through the front door in a haze, not sure if she should tell someone about what happened. After all she couldv'e been hallucinating from the lack of sleep. She was probably just paranoid, and needed to sleep it off. She made her way upstairs, getting ready for bed. She opened the drawer on her nightstand and took out a sleeping pill, gulping it down with a big swig of water. After a while she couldn't fight the deep sleep crawling over her, and when her head hit the pillow she was out like a candle.