Iris

"Hi Vienna"

She looked up and was met with a pair of blue orbs. She wondered what he was doing there.

'Um it's his father's hotel duh!' her subconscious replied sassily.

"Hey Easton" she breathed out and handed him his keys.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Well I-"

"Do you want to have lunch?" He cut in.

Vienna opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out. She thought about the meeting still on-going upstairs and how Blake had resurfaced her bad memories.

'Have lunch with Easton. That will teach Blake to think twice before insulting you' her subconscious piped out.

She thought about it. Yes Blake had insulted her, and having lunch with Easton would show him that he couldn't say just anything to her. Having lunch with Easton would be a good revenge, if Blake was Leon or her boyfriend, someone who would feel the pain. She shuddered at the thought of Blake being her boyfriend. This was business so she needed to understand that she couldn't involve her emotions in everything. She had to be serious. Plus having lunch with Easton wouldn't make her boss treat her better.

"I would love too but I have a meeting going on upstairs that I really need to get to" she said to Easton.

"Oh okay, I know about the meeting."

Ofcourse he knew. He owns this place.

"How about dinner after?" He asked again.

Hmm not giving up, are we now?, She thought. "I have plans with my mum" she lied. It was really not necessary, she could have simply said no.

Easton sighed sadly.

"Um I'm moving out soon. I didn't tell you the last time we met cause...you know..." she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh really"

Vee nodded happily.

"So you can finally live on your own? That's nice" Easton smiled.

"Oh no, I'm moving with Leon. Remember him?" Vee chirped. She immediately placed her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said, and the look on Easton's face.

"Oh" he said dryly.

'Awkwaaaarrrrrd!' her subconscious sang out, eyes shifting from side to side.

"Uh I really have to go" Vee said.

"Okay. I guess we'll have lunch some other time"

"We will, promise." and to Vee's surprise, Easton pulled her in for a hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll talk to you later" he released her and left the hotel.

Vee waved at him and headed back to the hall. By the time she got there the meeting was already over. She spotted Blake walking angrily towards her and then Ray waving at her to come over to him.

"You missed the whole meeting." Blake scolded before she could make a move.

"We already missed half of it, what's the big deal?" Vee muttered.

"What did you just say?"

Vee looked up at him, ready to snap. But then she reminded herself that he was her boss and chanted a mantra to herself to calm down.

He's your boss, calm down Vee.

She opened her eyes at stared at him seriously. "It's not like anything they said was any of my business. You told me not to speak remember" she sounded meaner than she expected.

"Remember you're talking to your boss Vienna" he put his hands in his pocket as he looked at her. "Get my bags on the table" he said when she didn't speak. "We'll be leaving soon"

Vee grumbled as she walked over to where Blake's bag was. "Stupid boss giving stupid commands"

"Hey Vee" Ray greeted and picked up the bag before she could.

"Hey" she gave him a warm smile.

"How are you doing? Sorry for Blake's attitude"

Vee smiled at him. He was always so kind and cute, nothing like Blake. "It's alright" she turned to Blake and saw him chatting with the woman she had seen sitting next to Ray during the meeting. "Uh isn't she your girlfriend?" She asked Ray as she gestured at them.

"Tiffany? Oh hell no" Blake laughed. "That's Tiffany, my business partner. We are nothing alike. But she and Blake, they look good together"

"Oh okay"

Vee looked closely at the woman. She did seem like a good fit for her boss. She looked rich and sophisticated with her auburn hair, skin tight dress and expensive jewelry. She was slim and had a shiny light-coloured skin. Guess those were the kind of women Blake was into, definitely his class.

"So what are you doing after you leave here?" Ray asked.

"Probably go home and take a nice long sleep."

"Do you...have plans for dinner?" Ray asked shyly.

"Not really. But I just want to rest once I get home" she answered calmly.

Ray didn't seem devastated by her words and they just continued chatting about random stuff. They eventually left the hall when Blake and Tiffany were taking too long to round up their discussion.

"Let me give you a lift" Ray offered when they were outside the building. It was already getting late but Vienna thought it would please Blake more if she followed him instead and he dropped her off. She was happy that her parents' place wasn't too far from the hotel.

"It's alright. My house is just down the street and Blake came with a car"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll be fine" she smiled confidently and took Blake's bag from him.

"Alright" Ray looked to be battling with himself whether to hug her or not. At the end he just smiled back and walked away.

Vee entered into Blake's car to wait for him. The driver was still inside. She chatted Leon not to pick her up and turned to the young man at the wheel.

"Hey" she greeted.

"Hi. You're the boss' new assistant right?"

"Yes. Vienna"

"John"

They both introduced and shook hands. Blake entered the car and looked at both of them.

"To the office John" he ordered as he sat down.

"It's past work time can you drop me off?" Vee asked as John started the engine.

"No, we're going back to the office"

"My house is just down the road" she argued, gesturing at the street behind them.

"I know that. But the office is down this road" Blake gestured at the street ahead. "Why isn't this car moving?" He spat coldly at John who immediately started to drive, not before glancing apologetically at Vienna.

.

Vee got home very upset. They had driven all the way back to the office, she had even begged Blake to drop her in the middle of the street so she could just take a cab home but he pretended not to listen to her. When the car stopped in the building's parking lot, Blake had gone inside while she angrily took a cab home. Her boss was so mean and annoying!

She paid the cab driver and when she turned, Leon was standing infront of her.

"Blake didn't drop you off?" Leon asked as he took Vee's bag and placed his jacket around her.

Vee gaped at his gesture but she decided not to put much meaning to it. "Let's not talk about him now" she said and walked to the door. Leon rushed ahead of her, blocking her from entering the house.

She looked at him questioningly and then sighed. "I don't have time for this Leon. I need to rest"

"I need to tell you something"

"Do you need a kiss? I'll give you one tomorrow okay, now just get out so I can go inside"

Leon stared at her, fazed.

"Leon" Vee whined and tried to get past him.

"Wait" Leon said, holding her shoulders this time. "Okay what I'm about to say is going to sound crazy but..." Leon breathed in loudly.

Vienna waited expectantly. What was he going to say that was so important. The door suddenly opened behind Leon.

"Iris!" A voice called from behind.

Vee couldn't see the person but she knew who it was. It had been years since she heard that voice but she would never forget it. She stared at Leon in shock but his eyes were already closed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry" he mouthed, opening his eyes and giving her a sad look.

What was his mum doing here?, she asked herself.