Vivian's Table Novels & Stories

I saw Ivory in the corner of the room, smiling with the Stiles, our biggest rivals yet while acting like they were the best of friends. “Snake,” I hissed under my breath, and I turned away from her. “I’m the one whose girlfriend is currently in Madagascar, yet you’re the one looking like your world is about to end,” Vivian said as he walked over to me with two glasses of wine. Unlike most men here tonight, Vivian wore a white long-sleeve tucked into plain trousers. His curly hair appeared to be locking up, and he didn't care. He looked casual, but at least his presence was welcomed.

MASON~ "Vivian," I whispered her name and she looked at my direction. Her lips moved to the side as she tapped on my desk with her natural along nails. Reynolds overpassed me and sat at her usual freaky chair as she called it, to record the meeting and jot down the important points. They had another person with them, a girl too. Vivian and the other guy, I stared at his face properly and I figured he looked exactly like the person she introduced me to as her best friend. I felt a strong wave of heat on my throat to my jaw and I placed my hands on my head.

By the time Samuel gave me a call after realizing that both mother and son were gone, I was already seated in a cafe opposite Patrick's office. I was sitting in the exact same spot by the window where I had sat when I had met Lucille months ago. It gave me a clear view of the office's entrance. Shania sat across from me and took a sip of her coffee. Then, something caught her eye, making her nearly spit her coffee out. She pulled me closer to the window to take a better look outside. "Your timing is impeccable! Lucille's here!" I turned and saw Lucille looking up at the building with the baby in her arms.

He pulled out, breathing hard, and lifted Tessa off the ladder because her legs were done. Vivian stood, kissed the corner of Tessa’s dirty mouth, then looked at the clock. “Lunch is at noon. You’re eating with us. No uniform jacket. I want that stain showing at my table.” Tessa stared. “Your friends—” “No friends today.” Vivian’s thumb brushed Tessa’s nipple through the mess. “Just us. You’re going to sit on his lap under the tablecloth and keep him hard through the soup. If you come, you come quiet.”

Alexander Vivian was already at the dining table when Alexander walked in. She’d set it up like a meeting. The chandelier was on. The long table was cleared except for a stack of paperwork at one end and two glasses of water sweating onto coasters. Her lawyer sat to her right in a charcoal suit with a leather portfolio open in front of him. Vivian sat at the head of the table where Alexander used to sit on the nights they had guests. She looked up when he came in and didn’t smile.

They followed her to the room, and when they got there, it was spacious and elegant, with a long table which was covered with a transparent table cloth. Looking at the other table that was empty, they knew it meant for another group. Walking towards the table, they all sat down, while Alexa let out a deep breath and said with a sigh. “Finally babes”. Seeing they were looking at her, she chuckled and added, “My legs are sore.” Laughing softly, Vivian leaned back in her chair and couldn’t help but say while touching her stomach. “I’m starving.”

She appeared from the dining room with a big smile, looking radiant—a painful contrast to the storm raging inside me. We sat at a long dining table filled with luxurious dishes. I sat next to Vivian, while Davian was directly across from me. On the surface, we looked like a harmonious family. My father-in-law was busy talking about business expansion, while Vivian occasionally rested her head on my shoulder. However, under the table, a dangerous game began.

Vivian might be married, middle-aged, and have been around me for a couple of years, but I still wasn't comfortable showing her too much of my skin. “Is there a problem?” I asked as she entered, for I had made it quite clear that I was not to be disturbed until it was time for my flight. “I apologize for intruding, but there’s a situation online that I think you ought to see.” With half-lidded eyes, I found my way to the sofa and took a seat before asking, “Oh? What’s it about?” Vivian tapped the screen of the tablet in her hand twice and then stepped forward to hand it to me, “Please take a look, sir.”

It was Daniel’s firm grip on my arm that kept me rooted to my seat. I turned to see two waiters with trays in their hands headed in our direction and I jerked Daniel’s hands off my arm. Vivian glanced at me at my sudden movement and I faked a smile before turning to the foods the waiters were putting on the table. Within a few seconds, our table was filled with different platters of food ranging from roast chicken, pasta, grilled fishes to even bread rolls. All in all, it looked like Heaven laid on the table, but I couldn’t focus on them. The tension at the table was so thick, it felt like it could be cut with a knife. Vivian cleared her throat and leaned closer to the table. “This looks del

The room does something. It doesn't make a sound. Nothing breaks, nothing falls. But there is a quality of stillness that settles over the table like a held breath — David keeping his eyes carefully on his food, Lisa's spoon going motionless over a serving dish, the housekeeper choosing this exact moment to become very interested in the far wall. Vivian's face goes from anticipation to white to something between shame and fury in approximately four seconds. "Of course," she says. Teeth together. Smile maintained by sheer structural force. "Brother-in-law."