What the hell was going on, was all that Clara could think? The Doctor didn't own an ice cream company, so why on earth was he here? How the hell did he find out where she was working and did he think this would be some clever way to win her back? What kind of twisted game was this?
"Hello," the man said as he extended his hand. "I'm James Smith."
Clara took his hand and shook it, while she continued to stare at him; his voice throwing her off because it almost sounded like he was trying to put on a fake American accent.
"Clara, you okay?" Donna asked worriedly, clearly seeing the shocked look on her face.
"Yeah, sorry," she replied, shaking her head; trying to snap out of it. "It's nice to meet you James."
She shook his hand and then the two sat across from Donna's desk. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on and she really didn't know how she could continue this meeting, but she knew for certain that if he was going to play this game, she had no choice but to go along with it for now. She couldn't blow this opportunity and needed to be as professional as possible in front of Donna, but the second she got him alone she would rip him a new one.
Donna began the meeting and explained that Clara would be James' main point of contact going forward. Clara was trying very hard to focus on what Donna was saying, but it was so difficult, with the Doctor sitting next to her pretending to not know her. She couldn't help but notice that he made an effort to make slight changes to his appearance, his hair was the shortest she had ever seen him wear it, no glasses, and he was wearing what appeared to be an expensive black suit. She turned back to her note book and jotted down some words, to at least make it look like she was paying attention. Luckily, she was with it enough to notice when Donna turned the meeting over to her.
"Thanks, Donna." She said as she turned towards the Doctor and started asking him questions about his business and what he was hoping to achieve in London.
"These are all really great questions Clara, but unfortunately I don't have the time right now to go into the details. Would we be able to schedule another meeting, say in a couple of days?"
Of course he wouldn't be able to answer them because there was no business, but she would continue to go along with him. "Absolutely, I can get in touch with your assistant and set up a time."
"No need," he replied as he took out a business card and handed it to her. "Never liked the idea of an assistant. I'm more of a hands-on kind of guy myself."
"Great. I'll be in touch," Clara replied.
"Perfect," he answered as he stood up and the women in the room did the same. "Donna, it was a pleasure to meet you," he reached across the desk to shake her hand, "and Clara I look forward to working with you."
Clara shook his hand and couldn't help but notice this time that it felt different than usual, stronger, a little rougher, but still the same long fingers.
"You as well," she answered.
He walked out and she couldn't help but watch him leave, feeling the anger boil inside her.
"Clara," Donna said drawing her attention back into the office. "You sure you can do this?"
"Yes, absolutely," she replied. What was she going to do? Should she tell Donna that this was a fake company set up as some elaborate plan to get her back? No, she couldn't say anything to her until she had more information. "Sorry about that, it's just that he looks like someone I know and it kind of threw me."
"Okay, but if at any point think you can't do this, you need to let me know."
"It won't be necessary, Donna. I've got this."
Clara went back to her desk and immediately grabbed her mobile. Without any hesitation she rang the Doctor, wanting answers and wanting them now. The phone continued to ring until his voicemail kicked in, and she hung up, angry that he didn't answer. She needed to get to the bottom of this, but had no way of reaching him if he wasn't going to pick up. She banged her head down on the desk out of complete frustration. Then she got an idea. JD. He might know what the Doctor was up to or at least be able to find out, so she grabbed her mobile again and rang him.
"Hey Clara!" He answered the phone happily.
"JD, when was the last time you spoke to the Doctor?"
"And hello to you too," he replied trying to point out her rudeness, but she didn't have time for pleasantries. "Why?"
"Please just answer the question."
"I don't know, maybe a couple of weeks ago briefly at a faculty meeting. Why?"
"Because he was just here in my office pretending to be the owner of an ice cream business."
"Say what now?" JD replied clearly confused. "Clara, that's ridiculous and impossible. He's in a class right now."
"What? But he was just here," she replied even more confused than she was before.
"Clara I can assure he wasn't and why on Earth would he be pretending to be a businessman?"
"I don't know, but I swear JD, it was him. Well him trying to do an American accent."
"It really doesn't sound like something he would do, Clara. Sure he's desperate to win you back, but not that way."
"I know it sounds mad, but this man looked exactly like him, except for short hair and a nice suit." Clara said, trying to convince JD she wasn't crazy. How could it not be him?
"Are you sure?"
"I have never been so sure. I mean, if he had a twin, I would have sworn it was him."
A twin. Could it be? She really didn't know much about the Doctor's family, so it could be possible, but you'd think at one point in their conversations he would have said he had a twin brother.
"Do you want me to talk to him?"
"Thanks JD, but I think I want to talk to him myself and get to the bottom of this." Clara answered.
"Okay, but when you do please let me know." JD replied.
Clara ended her call and immediately started researching James Smith. Not much was coming up, other than what she had read earlier about his business and she was disappointed she couldn't find any information about his background. She glanced at her clock and saw that it was only four and she still had another couple of hours left of work. Great. There was no way she was getting anything done before six. She picked up her mobile and sent a text to Amy.
Clara: OMG! Huge thing happened at work today!
That would pique Amy's interest. Clara turned back to her computer and started doing some research for the ice cream campaign. If James Smith was indeed who he said he was, then she needed to take this job seriously. She was scanning through images when her mobile dinged.
Amy: Well don't leave me bloody hanging!
Clara chuckled at her friend's response.
Clara: How about I come over after work and tell you about it.
Amy: This better be good if you're making me wait that long.
Clara: It is. I promise. See you in a few.
Clara went back to her task, jotting down some notes as she went and even sketching out a few ideas. She wasn't much of an artist, but she could at least draw well enough to get her ideas across. Just before it was almost time for her to go, she decided to send James an email to reschedule their meeting for Thursday afternoon. If she couldn't talk to the Doctor before then, then maybe she might be able to get some information from James.
"Bloody hell, Clara!" Amy exclaimed, her face in complete awe. "Why do you always get yourself into these situations?"
"I don't get myself into them!" Clara responded defensively. "They find me. I mean, he's the one who walked into my office with the Doctor's face."
"Still. What are you going to do?"
"What can I do, Amy? I can't refuse this campaign. It's a huge opportunity to prove myself to Donna."
"But who is he, if he's not the Doctor? You need to find out if the Doctor has a twin." Amy said as she turned towards the kitchen door, seeing Rory walk in with Charlotte.
"The Doctor has a twin?" Rory said as he passed the baby to Clara.
"Clara doesn't know for sure, but met a new client today who looks exactly like him."
"No way." He replied as he grabbed plates out of the cupboard to set the table.
"Look, obviously he's his twin. JD already confirmed he couldn't be the Doctor and it's not like he's a clone for crying out loud. Not to mention, they have the same last name."
"But don't you want to know why the Doctor never mentioned he has a brother, let alone a twin?" Amy said as she started dishing out food.
Clara put Charlotte in her high chair and took a seat at the table. "Of course I want to know, but the only way I can find out is to talk to the Doctor."
"Well you can't do that." Amy said. Clara knew Amy hated him for what he did to her two friends and hoped he would be out of their lives forever.
"So Clara, are you going to have to see this man very much?" Rory asked.
"Afraid so."
"And how is that going to be for you? He's going to be a constant reminder of the Doctor." Rory stated.
"Well he doesn't sound like the Doctor. Not completely." Amy gave her a perplexed look. "He has this weird half American, half Scottish accent."
"Okay, but aside from that, he's identical?" Rory questioned. All Clara did was nod. "I hate to say it Clara, but you need to talk to the Doctor."
"Rory! She can't do that!" Amy yelled at him. "The man lied to her about his fiancée, who is our other friend Rose, if I must remind you?"
"You don't need to remind me, Amy. I'm well aware of what happened, but she's not going to be able to focus on her job until she knows the truth. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't need to project any feelings she has for the Doctor onto her client."
Amy continued to glare at her husband. "Why do you have to be so bloody clever?"
"It's why you married me." Rory smiled at his wife.
Rory made a valid point. She had this weird mix of emotions when it came to John Smith and she really didn't need to be mixing that up with James.
"Look Clara, no one is saying that you need to be friends with him, but maybe just try and talk to him to find out what's going on." Rory said.
"What's to say he would even tell me the truth?" Clara replied.
"There's only one way to find out." Amy added.
Clara got home from dinner and decided to listen to some music, while she did a little more research on ice cream advertising. She scanned through her vinyl collection and stopped when she saw the Frank Sinatra album the Doctor gave her the last time she saw him. She hadn't actually listened to it and thought that it might be good background music, so she took it out and put it on her turn table. The crooning, warm voice of Frank hit her ears and she felt transported to a time that she could only imagine was simpler. She changed into yoga pants and an old Rolling Stones t-shirt before she settled into her couch with her laptop and a notebook. However, despite being ready to work, it just wasn't happening, not once she started focusing on the lyrics that were blasting out of her stereo.
I'd tried so, not to give in
And I said to myself this affair it never will go so well
But why should I try to resist when baby I know so well
That I've got you under my skin
"Oh bloody hell!" She said out loud and threw her head back against her couch. He had told her that this album meant a lot to him, which she had assumed was because of the memories it brought back of his parents, but now she knew it was because of her too. The man was shite at talking about his feelings, but boy did he have a way of communicating through songs.
Strangers in the night
Exchanging glances
Wondering in the night
What were the chances
We'd be sharing love
Before the night was through?
Something in your eyes
Was so inviting
Something in your smile
Was so exciting
Something in my heart told me I must have you
That song made her think back to the first time she and the Doctor met and the amazing sex they had in his hotel room. The way his hands felt as they ran over her hot flesh. The way his lips felt as he marked her body with kisses. She could feel herself getting turned on by the memories and needed to change the music fast. As she was about to get up and take the album off, her mobile chimed, indicating she had an email from her work account. It was a message from James...
Dear Clara,
It was lovely meeting you today and I look forward to working with you. I can meet with you on Thursday, but the only time I'm free is at lunch. Would we be able to meet then? I'm afraid that it's been some time since I've been in London and I'm still trying to get oriented, so I'm unable to recommend a restaurant. I'll leave that decision with you.
I look forward to your response.
James
A lunch meeting, she had been to a couple with Donna, but never one on her own. She wasn't entirely sure she could do that and would need to check on what the protocol was on this sort of thing. However, the idea of having lunch with James intrigued her and she now knew that she needed to talk to the Doctor because she needed to stop these two men from blending into the same man in her mind. The last thing she needed was to be falling for a client just because he looked like the man she was once falling in love with.
