Chapter Four
As the weeks progressed Niles and Emily grew cozier and their relationship got a bit more serious. Niles knew she could never live up to all of his expectations but he enjoyed spending time with the actress and they always had a lot of fun together. It was his first stable relationship with a woman and even though Emily was much younger, she was quite mature and very intelligent. They discussed theatre and books and found much in common. Niles was confident his mother would approve of his girlfriend, even though Emily assured him she would not be expecting him to give her the rings since they were still in the beginning stages of their newfound coupledom.
Meanwhile C.C. managed to keep it together around Niles after her initial mini-breakdown following the first encounter with his new relationship. After entering the office that day all the producer could manage to do was stare blankly at scripts she was supposed to be revising. Max had decided to approach her about the lack of work getting done…
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"C.C. is everything alright?" the handsome producer questioned, lowering his glasses to look his partner in the eyes. He saw a look of utter despair on her face and was not used to it.
"Yes, of course, I'm just trying to think of a way to . . . make this soliloquy less schmaltzy. Is there anything you needed?" the blonde tried to keep her tone contrite but found herself on the brink of tears.
Her use of a Yiddish term brought a smile to Maxwell's face but he could still see the pain written all over the woman. "No, it's just that you seem a bit distracted, I was wondering if anything was on your mind."
"No I'm fine."
"Is Niles pestering you more than usual? I know he has been rather preoccupied with Emily lately so I can't imagine that would be it," and with that statement Maxwell's insights were confirmed, as he noticed the socialite clearly grimace at the mere mention of Emily's name. He watched as she just sat idly on the green sofa, completely at a loss for words, which was so unlike his right arm woman. "I heard they decided to start dating so if that's bothering you we can always talk about it," he offered, truly concerned for her well being.
"Maxwell. I. Am. Fine," C.C. was growing annoyed and trying hard to keep her voice from shaking. But the emotions were running high and so much was running through her head.
How dare that woman maul Niles in his employer's home, has she no sense of professionalism at all? And why does Niles need to spend every second with her at this mansion, can't they go elsewhere so that skank is out of my sight for longer than a passing minute? Not to mention, she's like, what, twelve, tops?
And so after excusing herself and heading into the bathroom for a quick but proper cry, C.C. decided she would no longer give Niles the decency of her tears. After all, it was just an infatuation, not love. They were not in a relationship, and never would be, so she would learn to get over it.
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Which is why C.C. now confidently breezed though the mansion each morning, ignoring Niles to the best of her abilities and barely acknowledging him if he dared approach her. This morning she was enjoying a leisurely breakfast with Fran — who was always tolerable during meals because the nanny rarely spoke while stuffing her face with food — when Niles entered the room, alone for once. She took a second to glance over his handsome features, admiring his reddish-blonde hair and wishing she could rub her hands through it, before scolding herself for thinking such things. Good Lord C.C., please try to abstain from throwing yourself at the man.
"Morning Ni-yules, can I pour you some cereal?" Fran asked her best friend politely, as C.C. rolled her eyes at the kindness.
"No, I'll pass Miss Fine; on my way to see a movie with Emily. Only five more days until we head for England," Niles tried to contain his excitement but was eagerly anticipating getting the rings, and introducing his girlfriend to his of course. He also stole a glance at his nemesis, although now she seemed more like a stranger, as they barely spoke more than a few curt sentences these days. Flawless as always. Damn.
Feeling brave, he decided to risk a conversation with the blonde.
"Miss Babcock, I hope you are enjoying those Frosted Flakes. Now we can finally put 'you' and 'Gr-r-reat' in the same sentence without appearing insane," he gave her a weak one, knowing she'd likely not be in the mood. As usual.
"Haha, that's hilarious Niles. Tell me, what does Elaine eat for breakfast these days? Cocoa Puffs, or is she more of a Lucky Charms kind of girl? I hear that brand puts little toys in the bottom of the box so she probably gets a real thrill out of that," the beauty responded with a smirk. She found it invigorating to insult the actress to Niles every chance she got, and had been doing so ever since catching the brunette and butler kissing. It also kept her from physically mauling the woman still getting paid with her company's money since Niles insisted Emily receive compensation to assure his precious girlfriend he wasn't just using her to save the producers some cash.
Niles however, had not grown to appreciate the petty attacks on his new lady. He could not believe every time he tried approaching Miss Babcock she bypassed any chances of conversation and instead went straight to remarking on Emily. As crazy as it sounded, Niles was a bit jealous of all the attention C.C. was giving the woman instead of him.
Why doesn't she insult ME anymore, I'm supposed to be her go-to enemy. However these days the butler was thrilled to be free of the witch's wrath because unlike her usual antagonizing ways that came with the sweet and sparkly look in her eyes to tell him she was only joking, her comments were now joined with a stone-like hardness in the producer's eyes which revealed her true hatefulness towards the actress. Why she felt that way Niles could never figure out, but he just assumed it was because she naturally despised seeing even the help with someone while she was still alone.
"We've gone over this multiple times, Babcock. Emily- not Elaine- is twenty-eight, now I know that's difficult for you to remember because at your age amnesia is probably kicking in, but please try alright?" Niles answered in a tired tone.
"I'll try as long as you try to keep that unsuccessful Holly Golightly rip-off out of my sight," C.C. continued her insults.
"Oh, come on, Miss Babcock, I like Emily," Fran managed to finally get a word in, which was always an accomplishment when Niles and C.C. were in the middle of an argument. "She taught me how to cry just the right amount when asking for an extension on my credit card bill," the nanny enthused while spreading more jam on her toast. "What's so bad about her?"
"Besides the fact that she's completely unprofessional, I'd have to say the continuous ramblings about how 'delightful' and 'lovely' everything is from the weather outside to Niles' choice of cleaning products and meals. Plus the woman refuses to wear anything diverting from the color of tomatoes for some strange reason," C.C. tried her best to formulate a case with the little she had to work with.
"Yeah, Niles, what's with all the red?" Fran questioned.
"It's just her favorite color, and as for always being positive, I can see why that would throw you off, Miss Babcock, considering you'd find a way to be negative even if you were squared," the butler spoke while clearing off some of dishes the women were finishing.
C.C. ran her hands through her hair at the comment, which had oddly turned her on. Did that man just give me an algebra metaphor? Is there any subject he isn't an expert at? Taking a few seconds to clear her thoughts, the blonde eventually came around to a reply.
"Well all I know is she is extremely annoying and I for one should not have to deal with another senseless floozy in this house."
"Hey!" Fran interjected with a stern look.
"Nanny Fine, I wasn't referring to you, I was talking about Val," C.C. assured her with what only Niles recognized as a fake smile.
"Oh! Well I guess you are entitled to an opinion" Fran smiled back, not realizing the producer had perfected acting skills of her own in college.
"But seriously Niles, if I knew what a nuisance she'd be I'd have offered to buy those rings off your mother myself for you. I still can if Emma is starting to drive you crazy yet. Imagine you can get the rings without having to babysit along the way," C.C. was only half joking, part of her thinking the genius plot could actually work and Niles could be alone, just like her, once again. And everything can go back to normal.
Niles could not believe the little trollop's proposition. How dare she insinuate my mother's rings can just be bought off like that?
"Miss Babcock, believe it or not, to some people money is not everything," looking deep into her eyes as he spoke, hoping to convince her to drop the misconceptions she had been raised with, yet knowing it was likely futile to even try. "Anyways, I have to get going so I'll see you two later," and with that he was gone.
Little did he know C.C. was beginning to grasp just how insignificant wealth really was, as it was becoming clear she could not buy her way out of her pain.
To make matters worse, she had a forced encounter with the little maggot later that night after finishing up a late evening at the office. Max had already retired to bed, and Niles had returned from his date hours earlier but was still shuffling around the house, catching up on chores he missed out on throughout the day, the sound of water streaming in the kitchen and dishes lightly clanking reminding her of his presence. Determined to ignore him, she grabbed her briefcase, put her coat on, and opened the front door swiftly, only to come face to face with the enemy.
"Oh Miss Babcock, I didn't expect you to open that door, you gave me a fright," Emily held her heart to her chest, a bit shaken at the sudden swerve just as she was walking up to the porch, clad in a red trench coat and black boots. She had been hoping to surprise Niles tonight by lightly knocking on the door and seducing him senseless when he answered. For some reason he was a bit reserved when it came to taking things to the next level, so she decided to take the initiative. Now standing across from who was technically her boss, the actress went into improvisational mode, scanning her brain for reasonable excuses for arriving so late.
C.C. inwardly groaned, having been able to avoid a conversation with this creature thus far, a surprise attack was not what she had in mind before heading home for some much-needed sleep. "Erin I was just heading out, is there anything I can help you with?" she kept her tone professional, unwilling to lose her cool in front of the woman.
"Oh, I was returning Niles' sunglasses, he left them in my car earlier," Emily fished into her purse and grabbed her own sunglasses, hoping the darkness outside would obscure the tiny rhinestones on the frames. She noticed the incorrect name but chalked it up to the producer's visible tiredness which she hoped would work to her advantage.
"Wearing that?" C.C. eyed the coat, suspecting nothing underneath the thin material.
"Yes, I was in a hurry and wanted to get these back to him immediately, they're his favorite and he goes jogging in the mornings so I know he'll want them. Actually, I think I can hear him in the kitchen, so if you don't mind, I'll just sneak in while you head out," she tried valiantly to step around the blonde but instead C.C. quickly shut the door behind her, tightly clutching the knob as if prepared to fight off any attempts to come near it.
"That's not Niles you hear it's Nanny Fine," she breezily lied, determined to keep the troll away from Niles if just for this night. "She's getting a midnight snack, it's kind of a nightly ritual. Ben and Jerry's with a side of cheesecake."
"Really?" Emily didn't believe the story for a second, even though most days that's just exactly what Fran found herself doing. "How does she manage to keep her gorgeous figure with such a diet?" she asked light-heartedly, wanting to see how far C.C. would take her story.
"Well she does spend most of her work days chasing after three children, so I imagine an excellent exercise regimen naturally comes into play. Anyways, Niles went to sleep already, so I'm afraid you've arrived a bit too late to give those to him," she pointed to the shades, clearly recognizing the small stones on the sides in the moonlight. That liar! Acting on impulse, C.C. roughly grabbed them from the brunette's hand. "But don't worry, I'll be sure to give them to him for you since I'm coming in early tomorrow," she promised with a sugary sweet voice.
Emily admitted defeat and knew there was no way she was getting into that house with C.C. guarding it like a patrol dog all night. "Alright, that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow," she conceded before getting into her car and driving off disappointedly.
"Looking forward to it!" C.C. called out before making sure the rat was safely out of view. Walking over to her car, she stuffed her briefcase into her trunk, dropping the expensive Chanel dark-tinted lenses onto the ground behind her. Then she hopped into her seat, revved up the engine, and promptly backed up and pulled forward until the continuous crushing sound made her feel better before speeding home to bed.
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Review plz! Btw C.C. speaking Yiddish was kind of an homage to the old story challenges at runhp where that always seemed to be a requirement ha. oh and 'you gave me a fright' is a line from the newer version of 'the parent trap' since that's my fave movie and it fit so well with emily's personality :) we will be getting a major turning point next chapter, which will be tomorrow, so stay tuned!