Verity [ON HOLD]

Chapter 6

V E R I T Y

"Mr Bishop," my arm extended outwards in a gesture to shake his hand and my palm was unhesitatingly enveloped in warmth seconds later. "Hi. How are you?"

Nolan Bishop hadn't aged at all, and whilst that was completely expected considering his age and the fact that we'd only last seen each other two months ago, it was almost like introducing yourself to an entirely different person. I didn't have to be prim and proper, well-mannered and etiquette in hopes of impressing the man who fathered my boyfriend- sorry, ex-boyfriend, but instead responsible and mature considering my role change from girlfriend to distant work associate.

"Ivy," he smiled, and nothing but fatherly warmth radiated from the eyes identical to the ones of his son, "I've been well. Busy with work, of course, but nothing out of the ordinary. And you? How've you been?" The comfort in his eyes stayed, and I knew instantly of his ability to remain knowingly oblivious to the implied. I liked to presume he had a fair inkling on just how well I've been coping along, or was able to brew up a logical answer himself given my sudden move and even more sudden breakup.

"Good," I opted to say, smiling softly because my heated mix of emotions wasn't directed towards him at all, "I couldn't of asked for a better mentor with Pamela. It's been amazing living in here, too."

Mr. Bishop exchanged a glance to his son that only lasted the shortest of seconds, but was a long enough distance for me to catch onto. I hadn't yet moved the direction of my eyes in fear that the instant I would, any grasp I had onto strength and self love would fall from my grip as if I hadn't been trying at all. Kade had the stupid, greedy ability to capture the entirety of your attention without even trying and what made it so horribly stupid and greedy was the unfair truth that it was never even his intention.

"I'll bet. It's always a pleasure to visit whenever I have the opportunity to do so." His cheekbones rise carefully with his smile and I find myself instinctively nodding along. "I take it you've settled in nicely?"

I nod slowly, "Definitely. I'm always surrounded by really welcoming people so I'm very grateful it's been a smooth sail so far." Liar. Half the people weren't welcoming at all, especially because of their automated emphasis on my social standings and blasted internet drama. Finding friends and people I deemed trustworthy was a whole other field I had to tackle alongside settling into my home and work life but I'd rather sell my soul then mention my lack of good fortune around Kade. For all he knew, I was living it in London. I wanted to keep it that way.

"I'm really happy to hear that." He doesn't say anything further, instead opting towards a prolonged glance at my appearance and finally into my eyes. His falter for a moment at the way I'm unable to keep eye contact and I was certain he'd recognise that, at this point, I wasn't even sparing his son a fleeting look.

"Mr. Bishop's son here, Kade, was just telling me all about your work," Pamela chimes in after having natural intel that our limited checkin had come to a momentary end. My eyes bounce up to hers and I smile hesitatingly, nodding as firmly as I could in hopes she hadn't taken account of my angst, and listened as she continued, "do you two know each other? Wait, you both live in New York, don't you? Well, lived."

The width my eyes grew to had to be one far gone from explainable and comparable to the norm. They were wide and had my eyebrows raised in similar fashion, and after a quick turn of the head to the two men to my left, I realised I wasn't the only one staring at my boss with an incredulous expression.