AN: I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter – I really enjoyed writing kick-ass Liza! You're comments were once again, amazing, and they really give me the motivation to keep up the daily postings! Thank you :) Hope you continue to enjoy the ride!
Oh, and BenoightLangson – I'm working on it ;) Also, to my latest guest reviewer - thanks for the suggestion :) I was already going to include that so I hope it lives up to your expectations!
CHARLES
It had been two weeks since Liza had barged into his office, thrown the rockstar's manuscript down on his desk and left him staring after her in stunned silence. In those two weeks though he'd barely seen her – she'd been working out of the office a lot with said rockstar, who'd requested that she personally edit and with a proposed Spring release date, there was a lot of work to do. On the few times he had seen her around the office, she was always busy with someone or something, and when they did interact for a few seconds, she was professionalism incarnate – it was beginning to get to him and he was grumpier than usual, something that had not been lost on his colleagues. The holiday season was in full swing with it being almost Christmas – the office looked like a grotto and carols rang out wherever he went, but Charles was feeling decidedly un-festive at the moment. The office would be closing down tomorrow for the holidays and there was no way he could go all the way until the New Year without talking to her – it would drive him crazy. He got why she might be a little annoyed with him, after all he did kiss her and then run off, leaving her alone on Shelter Island. The thing was, he was scared – really scared, but they needed to talk, really talk, and sort this out.
He hadn't spent these past two weeks moping over Liza, well he had, but he'd also been stressing himself out over the L.L. Moore situation. That dirty old man was a real piece of work – he was threatening to go public with all of the 'discrediting' information he'd gathered on his accusers, including Liza, if Charles didn't relent and publish the PamPam series. There was no way he could do that, not after everything Moore had done. Charles had been in daily talks with Bob to try and find some way to prevent Moore from going through with his threat. Whatever Liza had done, she didn't deserve to be dragged through the mud, and he was doing everything in his power to protect her.
The unmistakable sound of her laugh pulled him from his thoughts and he looked up from his stack of papers to see her talking animatedly to Kelsey outside of the copy room. Seeing that this might be his only chance to speak to her before the holidays he put on an air of confidence he didn't feel and strode over to them. They were still engaged in their conversation so Charles cleared his throat softly to alert them to his presence. Liza looked up at him then averted her gaze and Kelsey regarded them curiously. "Erm Liza, could I speak to you in my office for a minute please?".
"Sure". Liza gave him a tight smile before turning to Kelsey and telling her that she'd speak to her later. He stepped aside and gestured for her to lead the way.
Once inside the office, Charles shut the door behind them and took a few moments just to look at her. This was the first time they'd been alone together since Shelter Island and he'd missed her company. He hadn't realised until everything blew up, just how much he looked forward to their interactions to brighten up his day. He realised he was staring and shook his head to snap himself out of it. She was stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, looking at him expectantly. "Erm…please, sit" he finally uttered, gesturing to the couch. She looked hesitant but complied and sat down. He followed her and sat on the end, giving her some space.
"I-" "I-" they said in unison. They both smiled and laughed nervously.
"Please, you go first" Charles offered.
"I was just going to say that I can't be too long – I have a working lunch with the woman from Hello Sunshine about the Marriage Vacation movie, then I'm meeting our rockstar to go over the final draft of his first chapter."
Charles's heart sank a little – she was in a hurry to get away from him. "That's okay, I won't keep you long." Charles sighed and held her gaze as he continued. "Liza, I just wanted to apologise for what happened on Shelter Island". Seeing her confusion he rushed to clarify, realising that could be misinterpreted. "Not the kiss part – I…I don't regret that...I meant the running away after part – I'm sorry for that. You know when things get emotionally intense for me I have a tendency to shut down, but I could have handled it better. I really did have a work emergency in the morning – I still do, but I'm sorry I left you to travel back alone."
Liza gave him a small smile. "I appreciate that".
"I haven't seen you much these past two weeks" Charles mentally kicked himself for sounding so needy.
"You said you needed some time, I was just giving it to you."
Charles winced – he had said that, but he hadn't imagined she'd take it quite so literally. "Look Liza, I'd really like for us to talk – properly talk. Would you meet me for dinner tonight?" He felt as nervous waiting for her response as he had done asking a girl out for the first time as a teenager.
Liza looked at him apologetically, "I can't tonight, I'm sorry – I've got to go to a Christmas party tonight. Caitlin – my daughter, is forcing me to go. She's at her Dad's for Christmas so I'm spending some time with her before she leaves."
Charles deflated somewhat but understood. "Yeah the girls are spending Christmas Day with Pauline this year too – it'll be kinda strange not having them there." Charles sighed in frustration when he remembered something. "Damn, I just remembered I have to go to a party tonight too."
Liza giggled at the expression on his face. "I take it you're not looking forward to it?"
"Not really, no – I'm not feeling particularly festive right now." Charles definitely wasn't in the mood for Bob and Julia's annual Christmas party and having to smile and make small talk with people he didn't really know, but they'd been good to him since Pauline left and he felt he owed it to them to at least make an appearance.
"Well maybe the party will help get you in the holiday spirit."
Charles chuckled, "I doubt it, but we'll see." He fiddled nervously with his fingers then looked back up at her. "Are you free on Christmas Eve? I don't want to impinge on your time with your daughter beforehand."
Liza seemed to sense his nervousness and smiled reassuringly at him. "Caitlin's leaving for her Dad's at lunch time so I'm free after then."
Charles beamed at her in relief. "Great, well I'll pick you up and we can go to dinner or something."
"Okay, it's a date." Liza blushed and stumbled over her words. "I erm…I didn't mean it's a date as in it's a date-date, I meant-"
Charles laughed at her ramblings. "I know what you meant."
The awkwardness returned and Liza stood back up. "Well I'd better get going – can't leave Reese's people waiting. I'll erm…I'll see you on Christmas Eve?"
Charles smiled, "You will."
"Goodbye Charles"
"Goodbye Liza"
After about half an hour of being at the party, Charles was ready to make his excuses and leave. He'd shown his face and chatted to Bob and Julia and there was no one else here he had any interest in talking to. That was until he spotted Liza standing in the conservatory. At first he thought he was hallucinating, but there was no mistaking those wavy chestnut locks and that infectious smile. She was taking to a dark haired woman who looked to be about the age he now knew Liza to be, and a blonde college aged looking girl. That's when Charles realised who she was – the hair and eyes were different but there was no mistaking the resemblance – she was Liza's daughter.
As Liza hadn't noticed his presence, he had the opportunity to just watch her in her world. This was a side of her he'd never seen before – Liza the mother, and it suited her. He'd always known she was great with kids, he'd seen that with how she interacted with his girls – they loved her and they were notoriously hard to please. But seeing her with her own daughter, seeing them laugh together and the obviously strong bond they had, it gave him a better understanding of why she'd gone through with this charade – Caitlin had needed help and Liza, being the loving mother that she clearly was, did whatever she had to to provide for her. Even if the lie had hurt him, he reasoned that there was no better reason for doing something so crazy than that.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by Bob clapping him on the shoulder. "See something you like?" Bob teased, smirking at him.
Charles blushed, having been caught staring. "What? No, I was just people watching."
"Uh-huh" Bob was not convinced. "That's Liza Miller – I've been wanting to introduce you to her for a while, she'd be perfect for you. She's single, smart, loves books – and she's beautiful."
Charles didn't tell him that he already knew this, and her. "How do you know her?" he asked, perplexed as to how his worlds could have intersected without him realising.
"Her daughter Caitlin is Rose's best friend at college, and her roommate. From what Rose has said, Caitlin's Dad cheated and left them high and dry, but Liza's always been there for her and made sure she never wanted for anything. She seems like a pretty incredible woman."
"Yeah" Charles agreed, not taking his eyes off Liza.
"You should talk to her – it might take your mind off of your pseudo twenty-something."
Charles opened his mouth but no sound came out. He didn't think he'd ever heard anything more ironic in his life. "Erm…Liza is actually-"
"Oh, hold that thought - I've just seen Rose trying to sneak some alcohol into her soda".
Charles watched in amusement as Bob retrieved Rose's drink from her and poured it down the sink – he had all of this to come with his girls. As he turned back around he blinked a couple of times as he came face to face with a sheepish looking Liza and a beaming Julia.
"Charles, I'd like you to meet Liza Miller – Liza's daughter Caitlin is Rose's roommate at college" Julia introduced. "Liza, this is Charles Brooks - he's Bob's best friend." Charles glanced at Julia who was looking expectantly between the two of them and smiling, waiting for them to greet each other.
Charles almost found the uncomfortable look on Liza's face comical but he was equally unsure how to handle this situation himself. He did what he thought would raise the least questions and held his hand out to Liza, keeping his gaze firmly locked with hers. "It's nice to meet you Liza"
After a moment's hesitation, Liza grasped his hand and held it firmly. "You too"
AN: I actually wrote the Bob and Julia part about previously having wanted to set Charles and Liza up BEFORE I saw last night's new promo, so I'm feeling pretty crystal-bally right now lol! Thanks for reading :)
