A New Year
by PamP
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this story are property of ABC Daytime/ABC. However, the story is mine.
Jack sat at his desk, puzzling over a complex murder case that his office was prosecuting. Now that the Cambias murder trial was over and Jack had his job back--along with a huge apology from the Acting Chief of Police and the Governor-- things were picking up for him professionally. However, on a personal note, he was still incomplete. He and Erica had not yet made their way back to each other. Perhaps he would just need to learn to live without her. Maybe he and Erica were simply not meant to be together. His thoughts were interrupted by his secretary's voice over the intercom.
"Erica Kane on the line sir. She says it's urgent."
"What isn't urgent with Ms. Kane?", he thought to himself. "Okay, I'll take it. Hello Erica, what can I do for you today?"
"Jack, I'm sorry to bother you and I realize that you are not my personal 'go-to guy', but I really need your help with some legal matters pertaining to Enchantment."
"Erica, Enchantment has a great team of lawyers, why do you need me?"
Erica's voice was level. "Well, Jackson, as you know, Enchantment underwent a great deal of restructuring when it was under the control of Ryan and Kendall. They fired my entire legal team and replaced them with a motley group of men and women who got their legal degrees off the back of a cereal box-and that's being kind. But, if you're too busy for--------"
"Okay, okay. Where do you want to meet?"
"How about my place?" Erica asked sweetly. But, the seduction in her voice was clear to Jack. So, he declined the invitation and suggested that they meet on more neutral territory.
"How about the Valley Inn?"
"Fine. The Valley Inn at seven sharp."
******
Jack sat at a cozy table-for-two at the Valley Inn, waiting for Erica who was already twenty minutes late. He bet against himself on how the evening would turn out. Erica would show up with the most inane, unimportant legal issue ever manufactured. She'd pour on the charm, slather on the sex appeal and mix in a heaping helping of Erica Kane magic. He knew that he was tonight's prey and Erica was the predator. He had played the game before. He almost managed to convince himself that this time would be different.
Erica made her entrance at 7:30. As usual, she was meticulously attired and perfectly made up. The qualities that brought her success in business were the same qualities that had kept Jack in her life for so many years: she could always anticipate his needs and she never hesitated to satisfy them. But satisfaction came at a price. And, as Jack watched Erica saunter into the room, he reminded himself of his need to resist her charm. There were far too many issues in their relationship. Sex was the last thing that they needed. But, did she have to be so damned beautiful?
"Hello Jackson." Erica flashed him the famous Erica Kane smile.
"Erica, please have a seat." Jack stood, circling the table to help her into her seat, inhaling deeply at the smell of her perfume. Jack thought to himself "great, she has done absolutely nothing and already I want her."
After they ordered dinner, Erica brought Jack up to speed about all of Enchantment's legal problems. There were contracts that had not been honored. There was a problem with the patent on Boyd's anti-aging formula. The company was embroiled in a huge age discrimination lawsuit, and some of her best chemists had gone to work for the competition, in breach of their employment contracts. "The lawyers that Kendall and Ryan have hired are novices Jack. There is no way that they can stop the bleeding. I need your help to either offer them direction or to help me find someone who can head up the legal department."
"Wow. You really do have problems." Jack replied, stunned that Erica had actually called this meeting for legitimate purposes.
Erica immediately caught his meaning and shot back at him "No Jack, this meeting is not about you."
"No, no I guess it's not." Jack was feeling embarrassed and somewhat let down. Had a part of him actually wanted Erica to seduce him? Had Erica finally stopped trying to manipulate her way into his heart and his bed? Had a new year brought with it the dawn of a new Erica Kane? God, he hoped not.
Dinner ended as it had begun--all business. Erica hadn't tried to flirt with him. She never once gave him "the look" that told him that she wanted him. Jack had prepared himself to be Erica's prey. But Erica was clearly not interested.
*****
Two days later, they met again in Erica's office to discuss plans for hiring a new corporate counsel for Enchantment. They had narrowed the list to five highly qualified candidates. Each candidate had an extensive dossier prepared by Lena, with Tad's assistance. Each candidate had expressed an interest in working for Enchantment. Jack noticed that Erica was particularly interested in one candidate. His name was Johnathan Reed. He was in his late forties. He had attended Harvard Law School, graduating at the top of his class. His experience included being a partner at a multi-national law firm, heading up the firm's anti-trust department.
"I think this one looks really good" Erica said, pointing to Johnathan's picture and resume. Johnathan was handsome. He appeared to be in good physical shape. He was deeply tanned and well groomed. Life clearly agreed with him. If Erica had a "type", he'd be it.
"I don't know" Jack replied, peering over her shoulder. "He seems pretty 'blah' to me."
"Oh really?" Erica questioned, turning to face Jack, seemingly unmoved by his physical closeness. "Then which candidate gets your vote?"
Jack stood staring at her for a moment. Their bodies were tantalizingly close, yet she made no attempt to touch him. There was no suggestion in her voice. Had he lost his charm? How he wanted to kiss her.
"Jack?"
"What, I'm sorry, what was the question?"
"I asked you which candidate gets your vote?"
"Oh, well, I like this one." Jack pulled out the resume of an attractive young woman named Jennifer Sperling. He handed it to Erica and waited for the fireworks.
"Hmmm. She does seem qualified, doesn't she? Top 10 at Northwestern Law School. Not too much experience, but a lot of raw potential. Maybe we should take a chance on her? And, look at her, she's beautiful. What better way to appeal to Enchantment's demographic than by having a corporate counsel who is both beautiful and intelligent. Jack, I think you're absolutely right about this!"
Jack was shell shocked. Had Erica, his Erica, just stood before him commending him on selecting a beautiful woman to head up Enchantment's legal team? The surprise had evidently registered on his face, because Erica immediately noticed it.
"What? Are you surprised that I would hire a beautiful, young woman to work in my company? Did you think I'd turn green with envy? That's it, isn't it? Well, Jackson, welcome to 2004. Those days are behind me. I resolve that 2004 will see a new and improved Erica Kane. I am no longer making decisions based upon emotion. From now on, I will think with my head, not my heart. My reactions will be measured and cautious, not impulsive and extreme. I've had time to reflect, Jack, on my past, on my decisions. I've shown poor judgment----and I've paid dearly for that. I've gone to extremes to have keep you in my life and to keep you to myself.. I realize that I was wrong. So, from now on, I will take the same approach to both my professional and personal lives."
"Which is?" Jack asked cautiously, afraid of her response. He wasn't at all sure whether he would like this New and Improved Erica.
"Complete openness, honesty and fair dealing. No tricks, no traps, no games."
"No Fun." Jack thought to himself. "Well, that certainly sounds----"
"Like exactly what you've been asking for all of these years. I've just been too foolish to listen. But, I'm listening now, Jackson."
"Uh, huh. Well, okay then. So, where do we go from here?" Jack questioned, moving towards her and lowering his voice to a more intimate level.
"Well, Jack" Erica responded, ignoring his attempt at seduction and moving away to sit at her desk. "I think we should call her and make her an offer. Do you think low to mid six figures would be enough to attract her?"
"Damn it, Erica!" Jack shouted, leaning across her desk and coming nose-to-nose with the unflappable businesswoman. "You know what I meant. I don't care about Buffy the Barrister. I'm talking about us, you and me!"
Erica sat back in her chair. "Well, Jack, I am sorry! And, you don't have to get so excited. We have a lot of issues to iron out before there's an 'us' to talk about. And now simply isn't the time." Her words were matter-of-fact.
Jack stood up straight. Was this really happening? "Okay, well, I need to make a call. I'll be right back."
*****
When Jack returned to Erica's office ten minutes later, he was much calmer. He apologized for his outburst and agreed that they should continue their business and talk about the problems in their relationship later.
They went over a few more resumes and Erica took a few calls from clients while Jack sat, watching her admiringly, the line between business and pleasure blurring with each passing thought. He couldn't wait to touch her. The "issues" could wait. His desire for her could not.
Erica was in the middle of looking over one last resume when the lights went out.
"What the-?" She buzzed Val. But, the intercom was not working. "Jack?" No answer.
She felt her way towards the door and was surprised when it swung open before she reached it. It was Val.
"Ms. Kane, are you alright? It seems as if we are having a temporary power outage in the building. I have been in touch with the electric company. They've assured me that they are working on the issue and that power should be restored to our building within a matter of minutes--no more than one hour for sure. Apparently the outage is only affecting our building, and a few others. I've been assured that none of your manufacturing plants have been affected."
"Oh, Val, you're amazing. Thank you. Please send the staff home for the evening. Oh, and Val, have you seen Mr. Montgomery?"
"Not since the blackout, Ms. Kane. If there's nothing more, I'll go now."
"Yes, of course, Val."
When Val left, Erica stood at the window of her office, looking down on all of the high rise buildings that still had power.
"Even in the dark you're beautiful" came a low, throaty voice from behind her. Despite the cloak of darkness, the voice was unmistakable.
"Jack, where were you?" Erica asked, turning towards the direction of the voice.
"I left to go to the restroom. I'm back." He moved through the darkness to find her. He located her, rested his hands on her waist, and pulled her in towards him gently.
"Well, I'm glad you're back." She moved away from him as she spoke. "Perhaps you should go home. It doesn't look like we're going to get any more work in. I'm fine. I can take the stairs up to the penthouse."
"May I at least escort you?"
"Jack, that won't be necessary."
Jack followed her voice and found her again beside her desk. He moved in close. "I know it's not necessary. But, I want to make sure you're safe."
She tried to move away again, but he held her by the arms. "It's dark. I don't want you feeling your way around without me."
Erica blushed. "Jack----"
"And when it comes to you, Ms. Kane, I don't need any light to find my way." He moved his hands down her arms, caressing them slowly and finally stopping to take her hands in his, kissing each finger gently. "So, what do you say?"
"You're making it difficult for me to say anything, Jack" Erica sighed, her heart leaping with each kiss.
"Then let's stop talking." Jack rested Erica's hands on his chest and lifted her gently off the floor, sitting her on top of her desk. "Let's just use our senses."
"Our senses?"
"Yes, well, we can forget about the sense of sight....but we still have the sense of taste." He took her top lip into his mouth, pulling and kissing it gently. When he felt her begin to reciprocate, he stopped. "And let's not forget the sense of touch" he said next, allowing his fingers to gently graze her wet lips, then the smooth skin outlining her jaw. Though he could not be certain of it, he sensed that her eyes were closed. He allowed his hands to trail down the front of her neck, and as Erica's head rolled back, he could feel the quickening thump of her pulse under his fingers. He knew it would not be much longer... "And of smell" he whispered as his face nuzzled her neck. He inhaled deeply, tickling her skin and causing her to squirm beneath him. "Mmmm...you smell absolutely delicious..."
When Erica caught her breath, she asked, "What about the sense of sound?"
Jack moved his mouth to her ear. He was close enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath against her ear, his lips coming achingly close but falling short of actually touching her ear. His voice was low, slow and deep. "Ahhh...I saved the best sense for last. There is a moment in time, when we are making love. You are soaring to the stars, beginning your free fall onto that cloud. Even when you are not saying a word, I can hear you. You are singing my name. And whether it's a whisper or a shout, I know that it's a song sung from the depths of your soul, and it echoes in my heart. I can feel every pulsating rhythm of it. The song never sounds the same, no matter how many times you sing it and it sounds even more beautiful when we sing it together." He nibbled her ear suggestively when he was done speaking. She was putty in his hands.
"Mmmm....Jack?" Erica moved her ear away from his lips, holding his broad handsome face in her hands. She kissed him softly and pulled back to "see" him.
"Yes, sweetheart. What is it?"
"I feel a song coming on." She smiled sweetly and went in for another kiss.
******
Later, when the power was restored, Jack leaned down to kiss Erica , who could only smile at him. "How about an encore upstairs?" Jack asked.
"That sounds like a marvelous plan counselor. But, I'll need to meet you up there. I have just one quick call to make."
"Okay sweetheart. But don't take too long. I'll be waiting." Jack left her office and headed upstairs to Erica's penthouse. When he got there, he called Tad. "Yeah, thanks buddy. Operation Blackout worked like a charm. I'm glad you were there when I called. And Val came through like a trooper, just like you said he would. Thanks again."
Downstairs, Erica called Opal. "Yes, Opal, it was flawless. Didn't I tell you that he'd think that it was all his idea? Be sure to thank Tad for me." She hung up the phone and smiled all the way up the elevator to her penthouse. Yes, 2004 would be a good year. A very good year.
THE END