"Well that was something." Raine said as she followed Xavier back into his cabin. Although the meeting had gone roughly, Xavier's mood was back to normal and Raine's couldn't be more thankful for that.
"You bet it was." Xavier said, pushing his chair out, and taking a seat.
Raine, tucked her hair back as she sat down in front of Xavier, propping up her iPad on his desk. "What would you like me to do with the notes? Shall I keep them for company records?"
"Not that they would be of much use, but save a copy of them and place them in the file with the documents you printed out earlier for the meeting. Here at Thorn Inc, paperwork is a crucial part of the job and I would like to have everything my company is associated with, in our records."
"Sounds good. I'll save all of these papers for you. Anything else?"
"What else have I got on my schedule?" He said, raking his fingers through his hair.
"Apart from working on the annual profit report, you don't have anything else." Raine assured.
Xavier let out a deep breath before rubbing his face with both of his hands. Raine couldn't miss the stressed expression nor exhaustion that was evident in his form.
"Tired?" Raine asked gently.
"No, just pissed. Ethan is such a pain in the ass."
"I can tell." Raine laughed, before something caught her mind. "You knew his father?"
"Edward?" Xavier asked to which Raine nodded. "Yeah, of course I knew him. Our companies used to be on great terms. Edward was a savage when it came to business and having him as a guide helped me immensely when I took control over Thorn Inc."
"Really?" Raine asked with interest.
A subtle smile appeared on his face as he began speaking again. "Yeah. In fact, most of the things I know today when it comes to running a company, I've learned from him. He plays a major role in my personal success as well as the success of Thorn Inc. Interestingly enough, Edward always wanted to teach Ethan his business tactics, but Ethan never gave a damn. He was never interested in the company nor business in general." Xavier said shaking his head.
"It's such a shame. He doesn't realize how lucky his is, to have had a father who not only cared about him, but also made such an amazing company to secure his future." Raine said with a hint of sadness.
Here she was trying to make ends meet without any support or help. And Ethan, who had everything laid out for him on a silver platter, couldn't even respect the man responsible for his wellbeing.
"A part of me doesn't blame him though. He was dragged into this business without wanting in." Xavier spoke, staring into oblivion. "And he's not the only one."Â He muttered ever so silently.
A frown formed on Raine's face as she heard Xavier's silent words. "What do you mean? Did you not want to do this?" Raine asked with curiosity. "I mean, run this company?"
"I don't know." Xavier let out a deep breath. "Ever since I was a kid, I was always interested in business. It was something I was good at. You know, numbers and all.... But as I grew older, I began to hate it. Not business in general, but this company. Thorn Inc. That's all my father ever cared about." He said with a bitter voice that didn't go unnoticed by Raine.
"You want to know what the difference between Edward and my father is?" Xavier asked, looking at Raine with a sad smile. "Edward created E&E for his son. He left this world, giving E&E to Ethan hoping that he'd be able to use the company to find himself and secure his own future. But my father? He didn't create this company for me. In fact, I believe he created me for this company. So he'd have a heir for his beloved throne that he would one day, leave behind."
"Xavier..." Raine whispered softly. Her heart dropped as she took in Xavier's icy blue eyes. There were so many emotions looming around in those blue orbs, but the one that took dominance, was pain.
"Didn't you ever wonder why it was Edward that taught me everything I know and not my own father?" He continued."That's because he never had time, Raine. He never had time for me and that sad part is, he never even tried. He'd much rather be here, sit in this vary desk, and work instead of come watch my football games or attend my award assemblies.... I was that one kid who never had anyone to cheer me on. That one kid who was all alone. And even if people did approach me, it wasn't cause they wanted anything to do with me. With Xavier. All they cared about or were interested in was my name, Xavier THORN, son of Zander Thorn, and heir to Thorn Inc."
"I'm sorry Xavier, I can understand how you feel, but I'm sure your father had a perfectly good reason for----" Raine began, only to be cut off by Xavier's harsh voice.
"Don't." Xavier interrupted. "Don't try to justify his actions, Raine. He had a choice and he chose the company over me. Not once or twice, every single goddamn time." He gritted out.
Raine remained silent as she watched Xavier avert his eyes from her and focus on an empty corner in the office. His hands were fisted on top of the table and Raine could see his knuckles turning white. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was just a boy who spent an entire lifetime trying to get love and attention from his father. Years of neglect had turned him into the coldhearted man that the world saw him as. And his poor relations with his father had caused him to build tall walls around his heart. But Raine could see past these walls that he so cautiously built up in order to protect his heart.
Xavier's tense body seemingly relaxed when a soft, warm hand rested on his clenched fists. He lifted his gaze only to see a pair of doe brown eyes, staring back at him. But unlike all of the other stares Xavier had recieved all his life, Raine's gaze was different. It reached past his blue iris and looked beyond the facade that he was so used to putting up for the world.
Her eyes never judged, instead they understood.
"He doesn't know what he missed out on, Xavier." Raine whispered so softly.
Xavier remained silent, seeking comfort under the coffee colored orbs that shined brightly at him, observing his silence and providing him with the warmth that he had been searching for all his life.
"What about you?" Xavier finally said, breaking the tranquil silence that was softly dancing around in the room.
"Me?" Raine asked, scrunching her eyes in confusion.
"What about your past? Why is it that you know so much about my past, yet I know nothing about your's. You're still a mystery to me Raine."
A cold shiver ran down her spine at the mention of her past. Instantly, she retracted her hand away from Xavier. Her eyes dilated and her body stiffened as Xavier looked back at her, expecting her to answer."M-my p-past?" She let out, in a voice barely audio.
A frown formed on Xavier's face at Raine's unusual reaction. But just as he was about to question her change of demeanor, the door to his office burst open with a loud sound.
"I am extremely sorry Mr. Thorn, but this is urgent." Jordon said, huffing.
"Jordon?! What the hell?! You know very well that I do not appreciate when people barge into my cabin without notice!" Xavier declared harshly as he shot out of his seat.
"It's an emergency." Jordan justified, his gaze constantly moving back and forth from Xavier to Raine.
"And what is this emergency?!" Xavier demanded.
"There's been an incident at Cathy's Cakes & Coffee." Jordon revealed, looking at Raine. "I just got a call from a man named Mike who is supposedly an employee there."
"Mike?" Raine asked in confusion.
"Raine, he's been trying to get a hold of you for the past hour. He called the company's main phone line in hopes of getting to you."
"Shoot!" Raine whispered, digging through her bag to look for her phone. "I left my phone on silent for the meeting. But what happened? Is everything alright at Cathy's?"
"Mike said to call Daisy urgently."
"Uh...Ok, I'll call her right away." Raine said, quickly dialing her number and pressing it up against her ears as Xavier and Jordan watched anxiously.
The phone rang for a couple of seconds before someone picked up. "Hello? Daisy?"
"RAINE!!" Daisy shouted with panic causing Raine's heart to beat loudly against her ribcage.
"Daisy?! What happened?!" She asked in desperation, only to hear sniffles coming from the other line. "Daisy are you crying?! Say something!?"
A series of sobs were heard through the line before her voice interrupted. "The cafe..." She let out, only to be drowned by another sob.
"What happened to the cafe?" Raine questioned with worry. "Daisy, stay right where you are, I'm coming there right now."
Not waiting for a reply, Raine ended the phone call, stuffing it back into her pocket as she packed her belongs.
"What happened?" Xavier asked with concern.
"I don't know. It was Daisy and she was crying. I think something happened at the cafe." Raine said, trying hard to keep herself calm. "I'm sorry Xavier but I really have to go and make sure she's ok."Â She said with guilt. It was only her first day at work and she was leaving it behind.
"Let's go." Xavier said, inserting his phone into his pocket, and buttoning up his suit. "Jordan, get the car ready."
"I can go by myself Xavier, I don't want to be a bother and plus, you have enough work to get through."
"Don't be ridiculous Raine. You may be my PA, but nothing changes the fact that we're friends. And by the looks of it, whatever happened seems serious. I won't allow you to go alone." Xavier spoke with a stern voice, leaving no room for arguments. "Now let's get going."
Nodding, Raine followed Xavier as he strode out of the office and towards the elevator with Jordon leading the way. It wasn't long before they trio was buckled up in Xavier's posh black sedan and driving down the street, to Cathy's.
* * *
"What happened here?!" Raine screamed in horror as she flew out of the car before Jordon could even put it on park.
The entire side of the block was surrounded by police cars and an ambulance causing panic to surge through Raine's body as she attempted to jump over the yellow caution tape, only to be stopped by a police officer.
"I'm sorry Miss, you're cannot enter the crime scene." The officer said as he held a firm grip on Raine which was instantly released when his eyes followed the figure behind her.
Raine turned her head around, following the gaze of the police officer to find a furious Xavier glaring at the him. As soon as the officer released Raine, Xavier reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her to his side.
"Mr. Thorn?" The officer asked, gulping as Xavier continued to glare at him.
"Get out of my way." Xavier seethed, his hands firmly holding onto Raine's arms.
"I'm sorry Mr. Thorn but----"
"RAINE!!" Daisy screamed, pushing free from Mike's embrace and running towards her. "Officer, they're with me." She said, noticing Raine and Xavier being blocked away. The officer nodded, removing the caution tape and allowing the two of them to enter.
Just as Raine took a step closer, Daisy slung her arms around Raine, pulling her into a hug as she cried. Mike walked over to where they were standing, rubbing Daisy's back in attempt to calm her down.
"Daisy, what's going on? What happened? Why are you crying?" Raine asked, confused by the events taking place.
"They destroyed everything..." She mumbled, sobs raking through she body as she managed to get the sentence out.
Only then did Raine realize the location at which they were standing. Raine's eyes trailed up to the place where once, there were huge glass windows that gave the perfect amount of sunlight to illuminate the entire cafe. However, when Raine looked up ahead, she saw none.
All of the glass was shattered on the sidewalk. Every window that covered the cafe walls, was smashed into little pieces of crumbled up glass. The heavy glass doors were beat up and shattered, along with the sign to Cathy's Cakes & Coffee, which was being held up to the building by a couple of wires. And if this wasn't bad enough, the inside of the cafe was even worse. All of the tables and chairs had been knocked over and the glass display shelves where beaten up and now laying cracked up on the tiled floors.
Raine was left speechless at the sight. It was as if as a tornado as gone through the entire cafe, leaving it an abandoned mess. But as she looked around the block, only the cafe seemed to be wiped out by this tornado. All of the other building were left untouched.
Mike pulled Daisy out of Raine's embrace, wrapping his arms around her and ushering her to quiet down. Meanwhile, Raine was in a loss of words as she to a step backwards, overwhelmed with the sight before her, only to run into Xavier who held onto her firmly as he spoke with the officers, inquiring about the incident.
"Hey." Xavier said with worry, looking down at Raine who was now trembling. "It's gunna by alright , ok?" Xavier said softly, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Raine nodded softly, leaning into Xavier's touch as she watched of police officers scatter around the cafe, investigating. Mike continued to comfort Daisy, while Xavier had Raine pressed against his side the entire time. After a long wait of unbearable silence and Daisy's soft sobs, the police officer in charged approached them.
"Excuse me Miss, we're gunna need to ask you some questions here. Who's the owner of this cafe?"
"M-me....." Daisy said, wiping away her tears as she stepped forward, weakly.
"Miss?"
"Daisy." She stated.
The police officer nodded before continuing. "Miss Daisy, it appears to be that someone vandalized the entire cafe. Originally we thought that it would be a robbery case, but after inspecting the cafe, none of the items seem to be missing and the cash register was left untouched. I believe there is still about $400 inside of it. Does that sound correct?"
"Um....I don't think I left anything more then $400 in there, so the cafe definitely hasn't been robbed." Daisy said with a scratchy voice. "But if they weren't here for money then why else would they do all of this?"
"The motive of this vandalism is still unclear Miss. Daisy, and we are still investigating."
"There has to be some reason all of this occurred." Xavier spoke. "I'm not buying this bullshit! Why would anyone go around trashing a cafe?"
"Mr. Thorn, like I mentioned before, we will do our better to investigate and provide you will the answers you need." The officer said with his lips pressed together.
"Well I am not satisfied. I'd like Officer James to investigate this case for me."
"It's not that easy----"
"Make it happen." Xavier demanded. "Whatever you have to do, do it." His gaze was cold and his voice spine chilling, causing the officer's eyes to widen.
"We'll see what we can do." The officer said before another man ran up to him. The two of them whispered with each other before walking off into the cafe.
"Are you alright Daisy?" Raine asked softly, walking over to her and holding her hand.
She nodded subtly before looking at Raine. "When I got here this morning, everything was destroyed." She said, holding back a sob. "I....I can't even believe this..It's just so....." She burst into another series of tears and Mike didn't waste a second, enveloping her in a hug.
"Thank god you weren't here when all of this happened." Mike said, cradling her in his warmth.
The police officer returned back to Daisy. "Miss. Daisy, would you possibly suspect anyone?"
"No. Why would anyone even do something like this? I mean, it doesn't make sense." Daisy replied.
"Are you sure? Do you have any possibly enemies. It can be anyone. Personal or professional."
"No, I don't have any enemies. I own a coffee shop for god's sake! Not a multibillion dollar corporation where I have enemies out to get me!" Daisy shouted with annoyance.
"It's ok." Mike said, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry officer." He continued, to which the officer simply nodded. "Why do you ask though?"
"Well, we've found an important piece of evidence that I think you guys might want to see." He said cautiously."Follow me inside and please be careful, there is glass everywhere."
Daisy and Mike were the first to go into the cafe followed by Raine and Xavier who were trailing just behind them.
The officer wasn't lying when he said there would be glass everywhere. Everything on the inside was ruined. From the walls to the windows, the display shelves to the table tops. Everything was tarnished.
Raine's eyes fell on the shattered vase that laid on the ground next to one of the tables that were turned over. Memories of her assault flashed before her eyes and Raine felt a shiver go down her spine as she walked over the glass, gripping tightly onto Xavier's hands.
"I've got you." Xavier whispered in a gentle calming voice, holding Raine's hand protectively as they walked past the door that led into the kitchen.
"You might want to take a look at that." The officer said, pointing to one of the walls.
Everyone's expressions turned into frowns, as their eyes landed on the red graffitied words that covered the entire back wall.
"DON'T FORGET"
"Someone left a message for you." The officer continued. "I'm not sure what it means but by the looks of it, it appears that this vandalism was done as some form of revenge."
"Don't forget." Daisy whispered. "Don't forget what?! This makes no sense!"
"Does it ring a bell to you?" He pondered once more, focusing on Daisy's reaction.
"No. I'm so confused. I....What on earth is going on!?" Daisy said in frustratration.
"Well, if you have no ideas, then that will make this process a whole lot harder for us. But nonetheless, we will do our best to get to the root of this. The security camera you had installed were damaged and the footage was lost but we are trying our best to retrieve it from nearby buildings."
"My company can provide you with our footage from the parking building as well as the main entrance to Thorn Inc which faces the street." Xavier suggested.
"That will be very helpful Mr. Thorn, I'll send a representative over to retrieve that shortly." The officer said as they walked back outside.
"Thank you Officer." Daisy said.
"Not a problem Miss. Daisy."
* * *
The words "don't forget," kept repeating over and over again in her head. Something seemed off about it but Raine couldn't figure out what. It was awfully weird for Daisy to get such a message. She was a ray of sunshine and could never attract any enemies. But then who was this person and why did he vandalize the cafe? Raine just couldn't get it out of her mind.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Xavier asked, as he stared at Raine who had been sitting quietly in the car for a while now.
"I don't know." Raine said honestly. "I'm just confused with everything that's going on I guess."
Xavier nodded, observing her before taking hold of one of her hands, and encasing it in the warmth of his own.
"I'll have it taken care of Raine. You have no reason to be worry."
Raine relaxed significantly, allowing her body to give into Xavier's comfort. She gave him a soft smile, turning her attention back to the moonroof of his car. The sky had turned into a midnight blue and the stars that were hanging high in the sky, just waiting to fall so that a wish could be made upon them.
If only one of them would fall out of the sky, giving Raine a chance to wish away all of her sorrow.
______________________
Question of the day: What is your favorite song of the moment?
Mine is Perfect by Ed Sheeran cause that song is literally PERFECT!
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Breathe