Fountain Park - Downtown Las Vistas
“Have you finally gotten what I've been asking for?” Thad spoke, continuing to look straight ahead as if he didn't know the man sitting next to him. “Yes. Her house is too secluded and the neighborhood is gated. I had to wait for her to go to him.”
Chanel Boutique - Palisades Ave., Downtown Las Vistas
Blake shifted his weight on the hard seat of his chair, so that the left side of his butt wouldn’t fall asleep again and stretched his legs out, fighting for space with the pile of shopping bags at his feet. He pulled out his phone to check his emails; nothing since he had looked ten minutes ago. How long could it take to find one damn dress, he thought to himself. He had left to grab something to eat 30 minutes ago and she still wasn’t finished. It was already quarter to five and he had to pick up Rachel at seven. She was going have to hurry up or he would have to cut this short, an option he didn’t like given that he had yet to be properly rewarded for his patience.
Phoenix Heights, Downtown Las Vistas
“Foul!” Wes shouted as Rider’s shoulder plowed into him sending him to the ground. “Bullshit,” Rider shouted back as the ball left his hands and flew towards the basket, hitting the rim rather than going through the net. “You bumped into me and I’m the one with the ball. If anyone has a foul it’s you.” Wes sat up but remained on the ground, winded from the fall. “Fine, then I call a time out. Take your damn shots.”
DeSantos Bros. Auto Body - Downtown Las Vistas
Nico shot straight up as the loud blast of a car horn echoed in the garage beyond his office and the sharp pain in his neck that resulted sent his hand up to soothe it with a tight massaging grip. The buzz of an air drill and lug nuts clinking on the ground a few seconds later confirmed his assumption that Carlos, his service manager, had arrived at work, it also explained the horn. Groggy and irritated, he slowly turned to look up at the clock on the wall. It was 8:25am. Somewhere between berating himself about his fight with Bianca and going over the week’s profit sheet, now a crumpled heap of papers on the floor, he had managed to doze off.
10:00pm – DeSantos Residence – Sagebrush
Nico slammed the door to his car and stood outside looking up at the window of his daughter’s room. The light was on; she was still awake. He had left the house at the crack of dawn and stayed at the garage until well after dark. He had even taken the long, long way home: the scenic bypass around the city, back up through the foothills and down the coastline. No radio, no CDs, just dead silence and his thoughts. He was strategizing, trying to come up with the right way to handle this, but most of all he was stalling. The few days he had taken to let himself and Bianca calm down hadn’t given way to a solution to his dilemma. No matter how many ways he tried to get around it, he had no other choice but to tell his daughter the truth.
Monacco Desert Cottage - Vista Hills
Nico stood on the familiar stone steps in front of Isabella’s house, sullen and paralyzed with apprehension. He had stood in that same spot not so long ago – his heart in his throat – wondering if she would let him in, hear him out, let him tell her how much he still felt for her. Miraculously, she did let him in and everything in his life after that moment had changed for what he wanted to believe was the better.
South Coast Hwy. - Black Rock Badlands
“It’s about fucking time you showed up!” Rook was already hot and tired and the extra hour he had stood outside waiting hadn’t made things any better. “I told you I would be late. If you were stupid enough to wait out here that’s on you.” Nico shot back as he got out of the car and walked around to the trunk.
Cross Safe House - Spanish Quarter, Downtown Las Vistas
Ivy’s eyes shot open as the piercing sound of sirens jarred her out of her sleep. The blur of flashing lights reflected off the walls of the bedroom briefly illuminating her surroundings and sending a shock wave through her body. It had really happened. She was really back here again. She looked over her shoulder at the half naked man snoring beside her and cringed. How could she have let this happen; let him put his filthy hands on her? Quietly and slowly she eased out of the bed being careful not make any noise. Where were her clothes? They had to be there somewhere. She had to find them fast and make a run for it.
Monacco Desert Cottage – Vista Hills
“Hello daddy.” Isabella reluctantly held the phone to her ear listening to her father’s rough voice. It contained a variation of tenderness mixed with brute as it always had, and as usual, it sent a variation of conflicting emotions charging through her; comfort, fear, love, loathing, confidence, and complete mistrust. She had always been a daddy’s girl and with a man like her father, that title came with a heavy price. Nothing was ever simple when it came to him.
The Court Bar Nightclub - Downtown Las Vistas
Ivy sat alone at the bar; eyes glossed over, headache pounding, and hunched over her drink like a dog protecting its food. Nursing the emotional wounds that Nico had left on her heart had sent her spiraling into a vicious cycle of drinking, crying, and drinking some more. It had gone on for the last few weeks and didn’t show any signs of stopping. She couldn’t say that she had had a lot of love in her life, but she had loved him to a fault and in turn, he had made a fool of her for it. Their violent exchange had been unexpected and she was still at a loss for how any of it began. He had been happy with her, hadn’t he? At least happy enough to take her out occasionally and sleep with her every other night. But there was someone else now. Someone that had come out of nowhere, some other woman that he cared enough about to end things with her for good. That fact had cut the deepest and put her over the edge.
Monacco Desert Cottage - Vista Hills
“Okay, the last thing to cover is the potential acquisition of Whitfield Unlimited. They have a packing plant on the east side of town that MSI could easily leverage as a requisite use facility for all shipping requests over a certain size. Very profitable situation there,” Blair handed Isabella the perspectives on the company and waited for the answer she knew was coming. Isabella gave them a quick scan and slid them back across the table. “I think it’s a great idea Blair. Please draw up an offer and send it to Mr. Whitfield. I’m having dinner with him tomorrow night.”
6:00 AM Bolthouse Beach House - Azura Beach
The morning sun had refused to let him sleep; the one drawback of having picture windows—no sleeping in. And he had wanted to so badly; if for no other reason than to continue the dream he had been having about Isabella. He had replayed his encounter with her in his head a million times and couldn’t shake the urge to kick himself in the ass for being so stupid. The very fact that he had forgotten he was with someone else at the time made him uneasy as it signaled just how preoccupied he was where she was concerned. After he had picked his face up off the floor and managed to convince Rachel to come back to his place, he had spent the better part of the evening making it up to her and now she lay half dressed on his brand new Italian leather sofa; an annoyance he figured he could excuse considering his faux pas at the restaurant.
Le Madeline Bistro - Vista Glenn
"Okay, we've talked about the weather, you've asked me a million questions about work and Cyrus and Zoe, so let's cut the small talk and get to the dirt.” While Eden loved that she and Isabella were back in contact, she knew her friend well enough to know that she hadn't been invited to lunch just to shoot the breeze. Isabella had a certain look in her eye that alluded to more than the pleasantries that they had been exchanging. This cat had definitely swallowed a canary and Eden wouldn't be satisfied until she coughed it up.
