The Neighbour

Chapter 1

*Unedited*

Brianna ended her conference call with a satisfied smile on her face as she leaned back and twirled her chair. She was happy to finally close that deal because it was starting to take over her life. Being the owner of the number one fashion magazine in Europe was not at all easy. She had built her magazine from the bottom up with her own two hands and of course the help of her trusty employees.

Her family had been her main drive, knowing her father had left her mother to fend for herself and she had three siblings, her brother, Brian, who was 3 years younger than her, her sister, Bailey, who was five years younger and the baby of the family, Brittany. She had of course wanted the best for them and so she worked hard so that she could provide everything they needed and more. Her hard work had earned her millions so that her family back home was more than comfortable. She was able to pay for Bailey to attend Harvard law school of which she graduated, an event she had fortunately managed to attend which was rare. She also had more than enough money to pay for Brittany to go to med school after her high school graduation this year. Brian, not being much younger than her had managed to get a sports scholarship and a student loan to attend university which she had long paid off and he now worked as an engineer.

But with her hard work, there came sacrifice and she often had to put work before family. She hadn't seen her relatives in a little over a year. She was of course a family person but her job never allowed her free time to fly out and visit them. Brianna sighed as she thought about how her sister Brittany was probably causing all the boys in school trouble. She knew for a fact that Bailey was killing it in the court room and that Brian was still breaking hearts. Her family had good genes.

Brianna stood at 5ft 6 and had a slender body with curves in the right places. She often visited the gym in her building and ate healthy most days. Her blue eyes complimented her light skin tone and black hair which fell past her shoulders. Most of the women in her family resembled her except they had blonde hair. Brian and Brianna were the ones who unluckily inherited their father's hair colour.

A ring erupted in the room jolting Brianna from her thoughts and she dug through the paperwork on her table as she searched for her cell phone. Finally finding the device she grabbed it as it was on the last ring and quickly answered the call.

"Brianna Jaxton speaking."

"Are you ever out of work mode?" it was the voice of her sister, Bailey.

"Yes, but it is currently working hours," she teased.

"Bree its after six," Bailey pointed out and Brianna gasped and checked her watch.

"Really? I totally lost track of time. I have a fashion show to attend at 7," she jumped out of her seat and gathered her bags and coat.

"See you're still talking work. Bree you need a break. You need to take some time off and come home. Brittany misses you and she's developing some type of dislike for you since you always bail and never come through. It hurts and she's still a teen, she's emotional."

"Look, I know and I miss you all like crazy but I'm busy out here. The magazine doesn't run itself," Brianna told her sister while she left the building waving to the employees who were still working. She moved towards her car and climbed in.

"Listen, fly home next weekend."

"What? I can't."

"Brianna Jaxton you will bring your ass home next weekend. Our brother has asked mom to prepare some big family dinner and hinted at a huge surprise so you must be there. He didn't even bother inviting you because he knows you won't come but I still have hope in you obviously," Bailey told her.

"Surprise? What do you think it is?" she gasped shocked and a little excited.

"I don't know...maybe he's engaged or maybe his girlfriend is pregnant."

"Brian has a girlfriend?"

"See you are so out of the know. This is your family. Please come home for dinner and it would be nice if you could find time to stay because Brittany's graduation will be two weeks after. I'm sure you can find someone to take over while you're MIA and deal with anything else from here," Bailey was laying it on hard and she felt bad.

"I'll try. I can't say for sure that I will be able to make it but I will try my best. Don't tell anyone. If I do come then I want it to be a surprise," she informed her sister who agreed and they said their farewells before hanging up.

Brianna sighed and started her car as she sped home so that she could have a decent amount of time to dress herself appropriately for the fashion show she had completely forgotten about it.

The following day she was drowning in paper work and too busy to think about how she would find the time to take off and visit her family. Her assistant and her had been in the office all morning sorting through the mile-high stack of paperwork on her desk.

"Don't you ever take time to yourself Brianna?" her assistant, Jasmine asked her.

"Well when I go home after work, I give in to a little Netflix and ice cream," Brianna joked.

"No like time-off? You have never taken one vacation since I have started working here and some workers who have been here from day one say that you have never done so at all," Jasmine explained and Brianna shrugged.

"Well if I'm not here, who makes the decisions?"

"You can still make decisions from home and the workers carry on. Everybody needs a break now and again," she informed her.

"Have my sister put you up to this?" Brianna asked chucking.

"No but I know you must miss your family. You should go home for a while and visit. We can take care of the business. I'll keep you updated and you can sign off and give the go ahead on projects from home. You deserve this Bree and I won't let you down. Plus this could be a learning experience for me," Jasmine spoke further and Brianna listened. She was definitely considering it.

She was tired of having to deal with paper work and attending shows, photoshoots and approving models. She could take the time-off. Her vacation days had built up and she was the boss so she could do what she wanted. Her staff was more than capable of managing on their own. She grinned and decided that she was going home to see her family. Not only was she staying for Brittany's graduation but she would take two whole months off to spend with her family. She had earned it and the magazine would be fine.

"I'll do it!" she exclaimed already excited, "I'm going home to see my family. You'll oversee the magazine and all important decisions and I know you can handle it."

"What?! Bree you're serious?!"

"Yes. My family is right, I work too much and because of that I've lost sight of what truly matters and that's them," Brianna smiled happy that she was really doing this.