Disclaimer: Don't own.
A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are wonderful! Now, a lot of reviewers were telling me that this fic resembled a movie called The Family Man. I had never seen it before, but I decided to watch a bit of it online to see if it was true…and there are some really stunning similarities. (To the point that it creeped me out a bit, since I had never seen it) Anyway, I didn't watch the whole thing because I don't want it to affect what I write, but I'll probably watch it when I'm done with this, since it looked pretty good. So, anyway, I'm guessing if you like what I've written, you'll like the movie... But now to the actual chapter...
Three hours later, Chuck dropped Carter's file on his desk and rubbed his face tiredly. Well, now at least he understood why they all hated the guy so much. Carter seemed to have made appearances in their lives during the worst possible times, and knowing Carter, he had thoroughly enjoyed it.
The first record of Carter beyond what he did to Nate after the Lost Weekend was the Debutante Ball. And it was straight off of Gossip Girl… Nate and Carter had gotten into a fist fight on the dance floor over Blair and both were thrown from the event.
After that, Carter had jumped in and out of their lives, mostly through Serena…who was desperate to find her father. Just from reading the report, Chuck could gather exactly what happened. Serena had become attached to Carter because of that soft spot he presumably had for her. And it was enough for her to disappear when she was engaged to Nate (and Chuck was still reeling from the idea that Nate and Serena gave in to their feelings while Blair still drew breath…and an engagement), forcing him to call the wedding off. It was no surprise that Nate wanted a piece of the action. And now, Dan Humphrey… Serena was throwing herself into something that could take away more than she stood to lose. As was the way of Serena, Chuck supposed.
What Chuck couldn't figure out was the utter lack of Blair in these write-ups. Nate only told him yesterday that Carter had once messed with Blair in order to get to him…but there was nothing that even remotely resembled what Nate was suggesting. Blair was only mentioned twice in the entire file: the incident at the Debutante Ball and a reference to her dealings with Carter the following year. Chuck was pretty sure that those dealings had to be what Nate was talking about, but there was absolutely no detail in them. Chuck, himself, knew that he would never be so vague. There was something going on here, and it was frustrating.
Liliana watched him as he struck open his phone and punched in the same number he had last night. This time, Mike picked up much sooner, sounding much more alert.
"Yeah, Boss?"
"You had the Carter Baizen file sent over here this morning, didn't you?"
Mike hesitated, smart enough to be wary of his employer's tone. "…yeah. Something wrong with them?"
"Largely, the absence of…" Chuck looked down and saw Liliana gazing at him with deep interest. He knew that she was only three years old, but her predilection for repeating things that he did not want repeated was not a desirable trait. He put his hand over the mouthpiece and looked down at the little girl. "Princess?" he said, and it actually felt very natural to say. "Can you go out and bother Linda for a little bit? Daddy needs to have a private talk with someone."
Liliana pouted. "But you tell me all of your secrets, Daddy! I promise I'll be quiet and I won't tell anyone." Her vow was made with the solemnity of an adult and her brown eyes were wide and guileless. He knew, if given time that he could become a real sap for her cuteness factor, but fortunately she wasn't able to affect him to that extent quite yet.
"Sorry, kid…it's a grown-up thing. And you would be very bored listening to it."
"Would not," she retorted, now she was letting her lower lip jut out. "Daddy, I want to stay here with you…" This was most certainly a Blair-tactic, and the child had mastered it at three. In a few seconds, tears would fill those beautiful, dark orbs and even he would have to grant her every whim.
"Hold on a minute," he said into the phone before placing it on the desk and picking Lili up (he realized that he was making a habit of doing so). The kid immediately locked her arms around his neck and held tight.
"Don't make me go," she pleaded.
Chuck looked down at her, stroking her hair back automatically. It was so soft. "Five minutes," he reasoned with her. He made sure to use an expression that he would wear when making a business proposition. "Five minutes and you come right back in. Deal?"
It was helpful that he was taking her seriously; it seemed to endear him to her. So Liliana considered his words, her hand absently pulling at his tie. "Only five minutes?" she said doubtfully.
"Absolutely. You can have Linda keep track if you don't believe me."
She smirked at him and shook her head. "I'll keep track for myself!"
Taking that to be her agreement, Chuck set her down and took her hand. "Whatever you want. Just don't come back until the five minutes are up." He led her to the door and opened it. Liliana calmly dropped his hand and went towards the secretary's desk, and the sight of her walking away from him caused him to shout out on impulse. "Stay right next to Linda…where she can see you." Losing the child was one crisis he didn't need.
"Okay, Daddy."
Chuck closed the door to his office tightly and moved back to his desk, picking up the phone where he had left it. "As I was saying before, I'm a little concerned by the lack of Blair Waldorf's name in this file. I know she had dealings with Baizen beyond what is in here. Why don't I have that?"
Mike was silent for a long moment and Chuck was almost sure that he had lost the connection by the time he spoke. "I don't know what you're looking for, Boss. Unless…you want the stuff you told me to destroy four years ago."
"Destroy? Why would you—what do you…why would I tell you to destroy anything you've gotten?" Chuck sputtered. "Why would I do that?"
"If you're talking about the information concerning Mrs. Bass… Boss, are you sure you don't know what I'm talking about?"
Chuck was struck for a moment when he heard Blair referred to as 'Mrs. Bass' but regained his composure quickly."Please. Refresh my memory," he answered grimly. Mike might think that his lack of knowledge was strange, but Chuck paid him, so he couldn't exactly refuse to impart anything. Blair could play games and yell at him, but where Mike was concerned, Chuck held all of the cards.
"It was four years ago right before your marriage to Mrs. Bass. You ordered me to destroy anything I had gathered on her from the age of seventeen onward, which was 99% of what I had. I was told to leave only the barest minimum of what I needed to."
"What would possess me to—"
"I think you said that it was in your pre-nup, Boss."
"My pre-nup?" Chuck questioned drily.
"There was a stipulation from your wife…that you get rid of your information on her life from the moment of your marriage. And I have to say, that it was a real pain in the ass to get rid of the tons of—"
"Forgive me if I'm not all that sympathetic to your plight," Chuck muttered. "Are you sure that when I said 'destroy everything' I didn't mean, 'make it look like you've destroyed everything but really just keep it in a safe place'?"
"Yeah, I mean, you said that it was a…gesture of trust …or something like that."
"And tell me, Mike. When did I become such a goddamned pussy? And why the hell weren't you stopping it?" Chuck had heard just about all that he could take. He couldn't get over the fact that he had actually eradicated all his information on Blair Waldorf simply so she would agree to marry him…it was sickening and sloppy.
One thing was for sure, he needed to find Other Chuck's balls among his many other chores.
"With all due respect, you were never going to use that stuff anyway, Boss. Mrs. Bass is a good fit for you and you wouldn't need any of it unless you were planning on blackmailing her," Mike let out a laugh, like the very thought was ludicrous. "And since you've been married, your more undesirable operations have been yielding more success than ever before."
"Do I let you work for her?" Chuck asked, horrified. He wasn't even paying notice to the fact that Mike was getting more confused by the minute. But Chuck was too disturbed to tread lightly with what he was asking.
"Uh…no…you don't let me deal with Bl—your wife unless it's cleared by you. And you never let me talk to her directly or anything…"
"That's good to know."
"Mrs. Bass is a beautiful and intelligent woman that I would be happy to work for it she needed it." Mike paused. "Does she?"
Picking up on the hopeful tone in his PI's voice, Chuck started feeling irrationally aggressive. "As much as I would enjoy you slobbering over my wife and singing her praises all day, I actually have legitimate work to do, and my daughter is with me for the day, waiting to come back into my office. I just needed to know whether you could remedy this issue for me, but since you obviously can't—"
"Boss, it was in your pre—"
"Whatever. And I need the stuff I asked you for last night." A thought suddenly occurred to Chuck. "Why didn't you tell me about the pre-nup stuff with Blair last night when I asked you for everything you had?"
"I thought you meant what I had left of—"
Chuck cut across him impatiently. "Just get me what I need. And get it to me by tomorrow or we're done here." Chuck punctuated his words by hanging up the phone.
If he hadn't been aware of it before, he was positive now. The marriage between Chuck and Blair…it wasn't about their mutual desire for manipulation and destruction, or lust, or anything else like that. It wasn't shallow, by any means. Chuck loved Blair.
He had suspected it before, but now it couldn't be more obvious. Chuck wouldn't ever permanently get rid of his files…on anyone. Definitely not because he wanted to marry the person.
But the Other Chuck…he had done two things for Blair Waldorf that Chuck wouldn't have done for any other person on this earth. And Chuck knew that that meant something.
So he had tumbled into a relationship of love—of being in love with his best friend's girlfriend. A woman who, in this reality, expected him to love her back…and in his reality, didn't see him as anything more than a friend.
"Daddy," a voice called, muffled by the door. "The five minutes is up!"
"Come in, Ms. Bass," Chuck responded, continuing the play-acting with her. Moments later, Liliana had entered the room and approached the desk. "Did you have fun with Linda?"
The child shook her head. "I counted the whole time!" She reached up her hands to him, expecting him to pick her up, and he couldn't disappoint her. He lifted her and set her on his lap comfortably.
"You're a real Daddy's girl, aren't you?" Clearly, a sucker for the mother was a sucker for the daughter as well.
Lili reached for her markers on the other side of the desk and resumed her coloring. "Mommy always says that. But I'm her girl too!"
"No doubt about that," Chuck grumbled. "What are you drawing anyway?"
He never understood that whole weird thing where a kid would draw a bunch of shapeless lumps that didn't remotely look like anything aesthetically pleasing and parents would put big, dumb smiles on their faces and ramble on about how beautiful it was. And Liliana definitely wasn't much of an artist. The drawing was meticulous, but beyond her ability to make nice shapes and color in the lines, he didn't know what she was going for.
"It's all the hotels you're going to buy…you like hotels." Lili held up the drawing to showing him. "And you're right there!" She pointed to an odd-looking shape off to the side.
"I…see," Chuck said tactfully, praying to God that she wouldn't ask if he liked it. She would be smart enough to see that he hated it. "It's very colorful and…and special."
That seemed to be sufficient praise, because she placed it back on the desk and chose a purple marker from the bunch to use next. "Thank you."
She was finally quiet, and Chuck felt full relief for the first time that day. He had already done all that he could to find out more about this life he was supposed to lead. Now all there was to do was… wait for results. He looked at the spread on his desk, ignoring the Carter Baizen file that was hanging haphazardly off the side. There were so many things that he didn't recognize and they all glared at him with expectation. He had only gotten small instruction in business before all of this crap happened, so he only knew the very basics of what he was doing, and he was hoping that it would survive him as long as he needed.
He saw a number scribbled in red ink right by his phone and figured that it was important. The only problem was that he didn't know what to say once he dialed the number or who would even be on the other end. He reached for the phone so he could contact his secretary to ask her about it, when it rang while his hand was hovering over it. It surprised him so much that he jumped a little, jostling Liliana in his lap.
"Daddy, be careful. My purple almost went into the sky!"
"Sorry," he muttered, as he picked up the phone. "Chuck Bass."
"Mr. Bass, your wife is here to pick up—" As Linda spoke, Blair came through the door with her purse in hand.
"Forget it," he told Linda, not taking his eyes off of Blair. "I've got the message."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bass," she said smarmily. And Chuck tried to comprehend her tone of voice as he put down the phone slowly and Lili hopped off of Chuck's lap and ran into her mother's arms.
"Mommy!"
Blair lifted the little girl with a smile. "My little ragamuffin! Have you been working with Daddy all morning?"
Lili nodded her head furiously and pointed over to the desk. "My picture is over there."
They approached the desk, and Chuck could think of nothing to say to her, especially since they weren't alone. "You're early."
Blair met his gaze with an intent one of her own. "I am." Then she smiled at her daughter. "Show me your picture, darling."
"Well, all of these are the buildings…the hotels that Daddy and Grandpa buy. And they really big 'cause they are all in the city. And then, there is the grass that's around the hotels and Daddy is over here. He's making sure that all of the hotels are nice and ready for people…"
As Liliana chattered on, Blair's eyes grazed the Carter Baizen file on the corner of the desk and then her eyes were back on him, hard and heated.
"It's beautiful, baby. Can you go wait for me outside? I need to talk to Daddy alone."
"But I always have to go out there…"
"Lili, wait for me outside," Blair said more firmly when her daughter began to complain.
To Chuck's great astonishment, Liliana gave no protest, with the exception of a small frown when her mother set her down and guided her to the door. "I'll be out in a minute, darling."
Once, she was over the threshold, Lili looked between her parents with a tentative look, one that clearly said Behave yourselves. Chuck had to bite back a smile at her expression, and it was more imperative once the door closed and he was left alone with the formidable brunette.
Blair turned back to Chuck, her eyebrows creased as she strode back to his desk and lifted the Carter Baizen file off of it before dropping it back down. "Care to explain?"
But Chuck was not about to be cowed by her, feeling more and more like he was participating in some big competition with her. He locked eyes with her and straightened his tie. "It's business."
Blair's face registered faint, mocking amusement. "Really? And what kind of business would you categorize this as? Legitimate? Illicit? Violent?"
Chuck tilted his head to one side as he watched her. For some reason, he was really feeling on his game at the moment. Something about her, and this, was heightening his senses. "Don't be so dramatic, Blair. It's just an old file."
"Mike keeps all of your old files, Chuck. As I'm well aware…but you know that, don't you? You yourself told me that, just like you've told me thousands of other things that you all of the sudden can't seem to remember. So, tell me this. Why have you been acting like we're both idiots?"
Chuck hadn't thought that she would get into this; that she had even caught on so fast shocked him. But he should have known that Blair Waldorf could obtain an Olympic medal for the amount of times she surprised him within the last twenty-four hours. His heart was suddenly jumping in his chest.
"I haven't been…" he trailed off, unsure of what to say. "You don't get it."
Blair flushed and her hand came down on his desk fleetingly. "There's nothing to get! You haven't told me anything!"
"That's the point!" Chuck retorted, frustrated quicker than he anticipated. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you!"
Blair didn't respond, but stood there and straightened, her eyes expressing something he didn't recognize. Her arms were stiffly at her sides and she blinked at him. "But I would," she whispered. "I would believe you."
Chuck tried to ignore the feeling of shame that was making an unsavory appearance. This wasn't real. This wasn't real.
"What happened? Why don't you trust me anymore?" The sadness in those words drove him insane with the need to fix it. This wasn't fair.
"It's not about my trust. It's about you…" He wanted to tell her the truth right there. He wanted to so badly that his hands were shaking. "God, I trust you, Blair." He had to stop himself, because he was lingering on the precipice of saying, 'You're the only person I trust.' And he knew that he wasn't talking about here…but about his own time, where Blair was the person that got him when his father was too disapproving and Nate was too oblivious. But as long as he didn't say it out loud then he could pretend that it wasn't true. He could pretend that it wasn't about Blair, even before all of this happened.
He could pretend. Because he was afraid.
"The point is, that you've been working on Carter behind my back." Blair said, moving them back on track.
"Wrong on that count."
"Then what is it, Chuck? Can you give me an answer I might actually believe?"
Chuck moved around the side of the desk towards her, his eyes narrowing. "Why are you so suspicious? What the hell did I do to you that you're so sure that I'm lying to you?"
"Oh, shall I count the ways!" Blair shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm and her face flushed.
"What are you talking about?"
Blair shook her head. "Are you really interested in bringing up ancient history? Because I have no interest in doing so."
"That's fine for you. Yes, believe the worst of me and walk away from the fight." Chuck felt the need to move closer to her, but as he took a step forward, she deftly moved back. He was overwhelmed by that feeling again…the burning, ice-fire feeling. "Typical Blair. Things not going perfect? Pretend it doesn't exist!"
"You should talk!" Chuck was only dimly aware of advancing on her, but it only took seconds for her back to be against a wall. "I'm not the one who ran every time things got a little bit difficult." Chuck had her pinned to the wall next to the door, his hands sliding onto the wall on either side of her. But Blair wouldn't back down and he couldn't tear his eyes away from her heaving chest under her white blouse; he couldn't take it. "If I'm delusional, at least I'm not a coward," she hissed, looking into the darkness of his eyes, the only thing she could see.
He didn't know why he was reacting this way, and maybe on some level it disturbed him, but it didn't stop his hand from reaching up and grasping her chin of its own accord, forcing her face up to his. He was incensed by her and he marveled at it. "Then I guess we're a match made in Hell."
He leaned in, intending to kiss her into oblivion, but with a gasp, she turned her head and pressed herself further against the wall. "Don't do this to me," she muttered.
His mouth was against her ear. "Do what?" he breathed. She was far too attractive to him. It shouldn't have been this way…they were arguing but he wanted her so bad. He didn't understand…
She pushed him away as hard as she could and went for the door. But his hand was holding it closed before she reached the handle and she went still. "Stay," he growled. "Come on, don't leave me."
He was only half-surprised when she stopped and didn't move, allowing his body to mold with hers. Pulling her back up against him, his head on her shoulder. She shivered. "Chuck…"
He could feel her reaction to him. The desire was completely mutual and Chuck even wondered why they were delaying the inevitable. He wanted to take her here, over and over. The instinct was immediate and powerful. And he didn't need to convince her any further.
Blair turned in his arms and looked at him, lust and reluctance and wanting all clouding her eyes. Her hands were resting lightly on his shoulders and Chuck had his hands on her, pushing her back against the wall. "Was there ever a time when it wasn't like this?" he asked her quietly, keeping his yearning for her at bay. He couldn't help but ask, because he had never felt such physical longing for one person and it was strange to think that he and Blair had even been able to coexist without this feeling.
There was never a time before or after it. And she was the only woman in the world.
"Chuck," she said, and her voice spoke it so comfortably that he moved closer to her, his lips by her temple. She seemed to be struggling with something, and he understood as soon as she spoke. "I'm so mad at you!"
He thought he would surprise her when he kissed her then, but she was ready for him, meeting his kiss with equal force. He lost whatever control he possessed in that moment. His lips were everywhere as he slammed her against the wall. She moaned into his mouth as he hands grasped her skirt, pushing it further up her thighs and lifting her. Blair's legs went around his hips and she threw her head back as he trailed his lips down her neck to her collarbone, tasting her.
He felt her hands on his shirt, trembling on the buttons, trying to tear them away. And he began backing up, needed his desk…needing a flat surface.
Their tongues insistently clashed as he pushed her down on the desk, most of the things in their way clattering to the floor loudly. She was moaning as his hands went up her skirt, toying with her.
"Chuck," she gasped.
"Jesus Christ!" he groaned against her mouth, amazed at the utter need that she was making him feel. "Only you…" He pulled her as close as he could, hovering over her and looking at her. She was so beautiful…she always had been. And he couldn't remember anything else except her, not Nate or Carter or Bart, or any of the reasons that he should run as fast as he could away from her. This was bigger than him.
His hands pulled open her blouse and he buried his face in her flat stomach below her breast, feeling her hands gripping his hair and pulling him up so she could command him with her mouth again. His hands went to his belt, tired of the games and more than ready for this, and she seemed to have the same idea as her hands went for his belt too. But as their hands collided with each other's, a cell phone began blaring loudly.
"Ugh, what?" he cursed, as Blair released him and, pulling down her skirt, went for her phone. Her blouse was held tightly in one hand.
"Hello?" she asked. She was trying in vain to control her breathing and Chuck kept a white-knuckled hold on his desk so he wouldn't attack her where she stood. She looked oh-so fuckable, with her swollen lips and hair slightly mussed….and it didn't help that she looked slightly punch-drunk after their encounter. "Oh, yes, Evan, I'm sorry. I'll be there as soon as possible."
She closed her phone and looked at him briefly. "I have to go."
Chuck wanted to punch something. "Why?" He moved towards her, but she flung out a hand in warning.
"Don't do that! I really need to go, and you're making it so difficult! Just stay where you are!"
He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay…I won't move."
"I'll see you at home," she told him as she adjusted herself as best as she could. "We'll discuss this later…I'm still mad at you."
Chuck smirked, because she didn't sound very mad, despite how serious she was. He was feeling a little light-headed. "We will discuss this later."
"We will!" she snapped, straightening herself out for the final time. Then, wordlessly, she turned to go, but Chuck reflexively caught her hand. "What?" she groaned, wanting to stay away from his touch as much as possible. Still, she held still and waited for him.
Not really sure what he was doing, Chuck raised her hand to his lips, leaving them burning there for a few long seconds. "I'll see you at home," he whispered, allowing her to pull away and delighting in the effect that he had on her. She shakily glanced at him one last time.
"I'll tell Lili that you said good-bye."
Then, she was gone, her scent still tortuously hanging in the room. And once Chuck had a few seconds to collect himself; he began reeling from what had just happened.
He now had a way to bend Blair to his will…but it was just as dangerous for him as it was for her. This natural, chemical reaction between them…it turned out that the Other Chuck wasn't the only one that was a slave to her sexual prowess, apparently no Chuck was safe.
But how could that be? How could they be so frighteningly good together? All he knew was that he had never wanted to kill someone to be with them, and Blair had just made him murderously lustful. And this wasn't because he loved her, and it wasn't because he was Other Chuck. It was because they were Chuck and Blair.
He had forgotten everything else in this realization…because he was beginning to suspect something. And it wasn't a good thing. He was beginning to suspect that if he actually had sex with this woman…with Blair…then he would never recover.
A/N: Kind of a long chapter, but I hope you like it! It sort of went different than what I had planned, but oh well! I think I'm still recovering from finals…Please review and tell me what you think!
