Hoyt reached for the antacids again. Great, he thought. Well he could give him a summary, just not the details. "He planned to have C.J. killed just before he left for his big network job in New York. We found a journal in his apartment. He even wrote about how he would grieve properly in front of the camera when he was 'told' of her death. Told us he we couldn't read it when we found it, something about his memoirs or something, wanted to be famous."
Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing and he blinked more than once. "You mean he never planned to marry her. She was just a pawn for him!" Matt was really starting to lose it now and he rubbed his brow. All that time, he was playing with her, no using her. And then he planned to have someone take her life away so he could play the grieving fiancée. Matt knew what that felt like and it just fed the anger he held already for this slimy lowlife that toyed with his best friend and then planned to kill her to further his own career. Then his thoughts shifted to how C.J. must have felt when she found out. She didn't tell him, why not? They shared everything, always had.
Matt tried to calm himself down as he asked Hoyt his next question, one he almost feared the answer to, "How did C.J. take that? I mean she knows, right?" Hoyt nodded slightly and Matt continued, "How bad was it? She was embarrassed wasn't she? Probably thought she was a fool or something along those lines?" His heart broke for her as he thought all this through.
"Yea, you could say that. She didn't want you to know Houston because she knows how much you care about her and she really needed you then. By that time Tyler was already arrested and you couldn't have beat him up even if you wanted to. Although I did put him in a tank with a couple of guys I didn't think would be all that civil to him. He may or may not have come out of that holding cell with a few more bruises than he went in with." Hoyt confessed hoping it would show Houston they were still on the same team here and that he cared for C.J. too.
Matt didn't exactly try to fake a smile, but he did nod to Hoyt in a gesture of thanks that at least Robert got something coming to him after what he did.
"Now get out of here and let me get some work done." Hoyt said in that irritated voice of his. "I need to prepare myself for tomorrow morning so I don't get knocked down to meter maid or lower, and I have 3 homicides, 7 robberies and 18 B&Es to deal with."
Matt turned and left, back to the office. As he left his phone in his convertible rang. "This is Houston" he answered.
"Hey Houston, its Chris, you have a delivery here and the man won't leave until you officially sign for it."
"On my way Chris, should be there in 10 minutes. Where's C.J.? She still in her office?" Matt asked.
Chris answered, "No she left, but said she would be back. She wants you to dress in your most comfortable jeans and flannel shirt. She didn't say why, just told me to relay the message."
"Ok….well, like I said I'll be back in a minute, see ya then." Matt said as he replaced the phone. What did she have up her sleeve. He figured she might want to take him out to dinner, they usually did that for each other when one of them got their heart broken, but he never asked her to wear anything specific when he did that for her. It was usually the best restaurant he could find, or fly her to one if need be when she had her heart broken. He merely wanted to her to see that she deserved the best, that she was an amazing woman who should be treated like she was the only person in the world. She certainly made him feel that way when it was his turn to have his heart mended. Her arms around him gave him strength he didn't know he had.
He couldn't believe Robert. How could he have a woman as amazing as C.J. right there in front of him and then plan to take her life away from her, away from him. Matt slammed his fist into the seat beside him. He could just kill Robert.
Matt knew he had arrived too late when he got back after spending that time with his uncle. He had flirted with the idea that he and C.J. could try at least to see where a romantic relationship would lead them. He knew she was beautiful, but he had really thought it best to keep the relationship platonic, and he didn't know how she would feel if he ever did broach the subject. He couldn't lose her, not her. So when she told him she did love him, he was shocked and didn't know exactly how he should respond. How could act on her declaration anyway with bullets flying around them and then discovering she had been shot. Afterward, while waiting in that little room praying she would make it, all he could think of over and over again were those words and the look on her face. The one he stroked just before he threw himself through a window to get her out of there. He didn't want to try to start a relationship on the run.
The timing just wasn't right, he told himself, but he had to know for sure if this thing with Robert was true. So he asked her when he got her alone, "Do you love him?" He couldn't even look at her when he asked. Her response seemed less than certain "I think so" but she covered by saying that she felt that way about most people in her life, since her father died. Matt remembered that too, how forlorn she looked when she came to his school. He found out later that week that she had lost both parents. Come to think of it, he still didn't know exactly what happened to them. C.J. always clams up when they get mentioned and he's never wanted to push her to relive something so tragic that profoundly impacted who she became later in life.
As far as trying again, well, when she broke up with someone, he was dating and vice versa. He thought maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
He made his way up to the penthouse, signed for this package he didn't recognize and changed as instructed. His uncle poured him a drink as he came back up the stairs.
"C.J. here yet?" Matt asked.
"Nope, not yet. I haven't seen her or her two bodyguards since our debate this morning." Roy said as he sipped his juice.
"Debate? You two debated?" Matt said as he sat down with a little smirk on his face, "I know better than to debate with her. What was the issue?"
"You, well actually, you two and why you aren't together, as a couple." Roy said in a very matter of fact way.
Matt almost choked on his drink. "What are you talking about? I just broke off my engagement to Elizabeth, don't you think jumping into another relationship would be a bit rash? And besides, we have never had a relationship like that. You talked to her about this?"
"Yes I did, and don't even act like you don't want to know how she responded either." Roy said as he looked his nephew over good. He knew Matt might get angry, but he was ready for that.
"Well of course I care how she responded. I care about her, but that doesn't mean she or I have a relationship to discuss, at least not in that way." Matt looked more than a little weary now. "And if we did, it would be our business, no one else's" and he looked directly at his uncle when he said that last bit. Then he turned to go to the couch.
"Fine, be just like your Daddy, stubborn as a mule." Roy put his drink down and made his way to the lobby, Matt's eyes following him.
"What do you mean, Uncle Roy? How exactly am I being like Daddy?" Matt inquired.
Roy stopped, "When Bill met Beth he was only 16 years old. She was beautiful, I even made a play for her for a while, but she would have none of it. They were friends for 10 years before he finally got a clue. It was only 1 year after they finally married and declared their love for each other that she was killed in a car accident."
Matt looked down for a minute and then back at Roy who finished his story with what he considered to the morale to it, "all that time wasted when they were in love, such a shame."
With that Roy got in the elevator and headed down. Matt looked back at that package he signed for. It was nothing more than a big envelope with a postmark from Germany. He opened it and his eyes widened when he read it.
Elizabeth had a prenup agreement drawn up before the wedding. He read through it and although some of it was that legalese gibberish he hated so much, he got the gist of it. Elizabeth wanted to make sure none of her family's money went into any charitable foundation. Meaning Houston's charitable foundation. Was he really that blind? Were their values really that different? He supposed so now, how….well, did it matter? She was gone. He closed his eyes and put it down for now. He heard the elevator ding and knew she must be back so he tucked it away by Baby and got up to meet her halfway.
"Good, just like I ordered." She said with a cheery smile on her face. She was wearing her own favorite pair of blue jeans and flannel shirt with her cowboy boots. "Let's go."
He took her by the hand, glad to see her in such good spirits, and said "so where are we off to Mz. Parsons? Or am I being kidnapped?" he said playfully as they made their way to the elevator.
She laughed and he was glad to hear that sound again. "No, you aren't being kidnapped. I just found the perfect place for us to spend a night thinking about nothing but horses and barbeque."
That piqued his interest so he followed right along with her. They got in her car and they talked about the case on the ride over. "So, what did you learn from Eastmen?" she asked.
"Not much, he claims Zoyer went over his head and hired a different electrical company to install the wiring for the Hope Building, some ABC Electrical. We should see if Baby can track that down tomorrow morning." Matt informed her.
C.J. cringed a bit, "I can't do it in the morning Houston, I have a meeting at the courthouse, its about Robert."
Matt still hadn't quite decided if he should tell her right away that he knew about Robert's plan to have her killed. More important, though, was that she knew he was there for her so he replied, "I know, I saw Hoyt earlier and he told me about the meeting. He said you could be disciplined for our sting against Robert. What type of discipline are they talking about? What could he do?"
She sighed…she had hoped they could forget Robert for tonight, but she understood his concern. There was no point in lying anyway, it could be all too real in the morning. "It depends" she said as she pulled into a parking spot at this barbeque place, "if the judge decides I wasn't in my right mind at the time, under undo and excessive stress, then maybe nothing. In fact, if we can convince him that I feared for my own safety at the time and that he is a clear threat now, we might be able to get the judge to deem the evidence from his apartment admissible. If the judge goes the other way, Robert will not only be free, but could go after me, you, and Hoyt for civil damages…"
"He could sue you? For what, setting a trap he willingly walked into?" Matt asked, "what else? I mean legally, what else could the judge do?"
C.J. bit her lip for a second and then looked down, "I could get disbarred. Then I guess I would be no good to you as a legal eagle huh."
Matt reached over to her, putting his hand on her face and tilting it up toward him. He stroked the side of it for a second, brushing away one lone tear off her cheek, and then leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips, and this time he stayed there for more than one second. He only pulled away slightly from her face while he continued to stroke her cheek and said, ever so softly, "You are more to me than my legal eagle, and we will get through this, I promise." She smiled as they broke their embrace. "Come on, let's go see what this place calls 'Texas' barbeque." Matt said as they left the car to go inside.