Disclaimer: I do not own GG or any of its characters.
8:43 am, Blair notes.
Tabitha is officially thirteen minutes late to work.
In the two years that Blair has worked for Tabitha Hutton, she has never witnessed the woman be late. The Cat is a machine, and of fucking course she's late this morning.
The morning after her date with Dan.
Grinding her teeth, Blair decides to busy her mind.
She checks her email, even though she's checked four times since arriving to work and already knows it's empty. She refills her coffee, even though half of her first serving is still in its mug. She listens to the voice messages again, even though she's already made a note about getting the nail polish samples back from Wardrobe. She rearranges her desk supplies, because her pens should be here and her files should be over there.
She glances at the clock again.
8:50 am.
Fuck.
All last night, she couldn't get Dan out of her mind. Once she'd left the store, she had called Greer to meet her back at her apartment with a bottle of wine and a box of tissues. She hates the entire situation. She hates that she still needs him. She hates that she still wants him.
She hates that she still loves him.
She hates that Tabitha could have kissed him. Or worse...have sex with him. The thought makes her want to throw up her breakfast.
Just as she refills her third cup of coffee, she hears Tabitha walk through the door.
"Blair," she barks out, strolling quickly into her office. "Please come in here."
Once Blair enters her office, Tabitha fires questions immediately. "Any messages from David? I'm waiting on one. And have you written your piece yet? I need to see that as soon as possible. Tell Greer the same thing about the photographs. They must be on my desk by this afternoon."
Crossing her arms, she leans against her desk and looks at Blair expectantly.
Formulating a response as fast as possible, Blair replies, "No messages from David, but I'll give his office a call once I'm back at my desk. As for the piece I'm writing...are you referring to the one from yesterday? About Dan?"
Tabitha purses her lips, clearly frustrated by the question. "That would be the one."
"Right," Blair says. "Well, I've just finished sorting through my notes, so I'll begin writing it this morning. I already have a vision of how I want it to read, so it shouldn't take long." Tabitha looks content with that answer, so she lets out a breath. It's now or never. "So...how was your evening?"
Tabitha raises her eyebrows and cocks her head to the side, the tell-tale sign that she's annoyed. "I'm not going to discuss my date with you, Blair. What are we, in sixth grade? My private life is my private life."
Taken back, and a little embarrassed, Blair shakes her head. "Oh, of course. I didn't mean to pry, Tabitha. You just seemed excited about Dan last night, so I wanted to see how it went." She inspects her nail polish, so she doesn't have to look at her boss. "I'll just...go tell Greer you need the pictures right away."
She's almost out of the room when she hears Tabitha's voice. "Blair?"
"Yes?" she answers, before turning back around.
"Before you do anything..." A blush makes its way to Tabitha's cheeks as she takes off her jacket.
Blair feels like the wind is knocked out of her. Her boss is wearing the same clothes she wore the day before.
Tabitha's voice lowers; she's clearly embarrassed. "Could you run by wardrobe and grab me an outfit? You know my size." She eyes the door warily. "And do not mention one word about what it's for."
It takes Blair a moment to regain her voice. "Of course."
Backing out of her office, Blair shuts the door and races to wardrobe. She barely looks Tabitha in the eyes when she hands over a new outfit, still in complete shock, before bee-lining it down to the photo department. She spots her Aussie friend immediately. "Greer! Thank god you're here."
"Well hello to you too," Greer says in a snarky tone, before taking a seat at her desk. "And of course I'm here. We came to work together not even an hour ago."
Her eyes flash an impatient glare. "Please...stop your mouth from moving."
Greer raises a brow, clearly understanding Blair's mood. "What's your problem?"
"The date." Her voice breaks.
"What date?"
Tapping her heels in frustration, Blair gives Greer an Are you kidding me? look.
"Ohh. Right. That date" she replies, hoping Blair detects the sarcasm.
Blair takes a breath. "They slept together."
Greer's eyes widen. "That fucking Cat."
"Or...I think they did."
"Wait," Greer says, suddenly confused. "What do you mean you 'think?'"
Sighing, Blair throws up her arms. "I don't know! She came into work and was especially frosty to me, which is...confusing, since she was so happy that I," she gestures air quotes, "set them up last night."
"Okay..."
"But she also—" Her voice falters.
Greer's eyes soften. "What, Blair?"
She clears her throat, hoping it'll stop the ache. "She was wearing the same outfit she had on yesterday," Her eyes meet Greer's, "and last night."
Slowly, Greer asks, "Are you telling me that Tabitha Hutton, editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine, exercised the Walk of Shame...to work?"
Blair just closes her eyes.
"Not only is that completely unprofessional, but...are you fucking kidding me?! I mean...that she'd have the nerve to rub it in your face!" She shakes her head. "I'm sorry Blair. That's just...wow."
Feeling a headache coming on, Blair massages her temples and takes a deep breath. "I need to talk to him. Because for some reason...I'm not convinced."
"What do you mean?"
"She was a completely different person than she was yesterday. She was practically biting my head off." When Greer opens her mouth to respond, she cuts her off. "And I know that's not totally uncharacteristic of Tabitha, but she was acting like whatever happened last night was...my fault. In a bad way. She didn't have that post-coital glow that I've seen on her some mornings after she's had sex." She worries her bottom lip between her teeth; thinking. Frowning, she continues, "And if she slept with Dan...she would have never stopped smiling from the time she woke up, so her behavior makes no sense. Trust me."
Drumming her fingers against her desk, Greer contemplates everything. "So...what are you going to do?" she asks.
"Write my article." With a decisive nod, Blair stands and straightens her skirt. "The first thing I'm going to do is write my article. Then I'm going to do everything Tabitha asks me to do and then meet Serena after work."
Surprised at her answer, Greer looks at her warily. "O...kay..."
Sliding the vacant chair back into place, Blair feels the tension leave her shoulders. "I'm going to make myself crazy if I think about it all day, Greer, so I'm going to force myself not to. I'm going to write the best piece Elle has ever seen and then go have a mock-tail with my best friend."
"And Dan?"
"And then I'll talk to Dan."
Feeling more confident about the entire situation, she starts to head back to her desk. At the doorway, she turns. "Oh, I almost forgot. Tabitha needs the photos of Dan by this afternoon," she says with a loving smile, knowing full well it'll do nothing to stop the expletives that'll be thrown at her by Greer. "Can't wait to see them!"
.
.
.
"Hey B!" Serena says as she opens the door.
At the sight of her friend, Blair stifles a gasp. Not only because she's just the person Blair wants to see after the day she's had, but...her friend is literally radiant.
Serena Archibald is the expectant mother every pregnant woman aches to be. She looks exactly the same, save for the tiny swell in her midsection, and is absolutely glowing. Everything about her—from her hair to her skin—is positively lustrous.
"My god S! You look stunning!" Blair remarks, eyes studying her friend's form. "Please tell me you're considering becoming a maternity model, because you'd be a fool not to."
Serena lets out an embarrassed laugh. "Stop, B! I'm perfectly fine with my career as a realtor," she replies, before pausing. "But I'll keep my options open," she jokes. Her smile softens and she leans in to embrace Blair. "Thank you."
"How do you feel?" Blair asks as she pulls away to take off her coat.
Leading Blair into the kitchen, Serena lets out a happy sigh. "I feel wonderful! Since passing the five-month mark, I'm no longer exhausted, my energy's back, and I'm not as hormonal. Nate was up to here with me," she says, bringing her hand up above her head.
"Please," Blair scoffs. "He's never been more in love with you than he is right now. Not only do you look more gorgeous than normal—which is totally unfair by the way—but you're carrying his child. Believe me...he's loving this. He can barely keep his hands off you." And then, as if an inner lightbulb has gone off, she huffs out a laugh. "Oh my gosh! This explains your behavior at the dinner with Dan and Adelaide!"
"What do you mean?" Serena asks coyly, taking a sip of the mock-tail she'd made for them.
"You two were insatiable that night, remember? You left early..."
Serena just shrugs, but her smile is wide as ever. "Whatever. The point is...I'm feeling great."
"Obviously," Blair laughs, rolling her eyes. "But I'm so excited for you both! I haven't asked yet...are you finding out what you're having?"
Serena shakes her head. "Nope. I wanted to, but Nate wants to be surprised. But oh my gosh, B. You should see what he got for the baby." She gestures Blair to follow her, and leads the way up the stairs and down the hall. "He went to his grandfather's house and brought it back. He had it waiting for me in the nursery as a surprise."
Opening the door slowly, Serena steps aside for Blair to walk in. Immediately, her eyes fill with tears. Nestled in the corner of the nursery is a white rod-iron crib. It looks vintage and absolutely darling.
"Isn't it sweet? It was his when he was a baby." She traces her fingers along the edge, her eyes watering at the thought of her husband. "I had someone from the baby store come by and inspect it, because it's so old, and she said we could definitely use it. I love it."
"It's perfect, S," Blair replies softly, wiping her eyes to get a better look at the room. "Is it bad that I really hope you have a girl?"
Serena lets out a watery laugh and presses her hand gently to her stomach. "Is it bad that I hope I have a girl?"
Wrapping her arm around Blair's shoulders, she leads them back downstairs to the kitchen. "So..." she begins, once she's settled on one of the counter stools, "What's the latest with you and Dan?"
Groaning, Blair buries her face in her hands. "There's a fifty percent chance he slept with my boss."
Serena's eyes widen. "What?!"
"But..." Blair interrupts, "there's a fifty percent chance he didn't!"
"Start at the beginning B."
Blair tells her about the entire day before: from meeting Dan at his apartment, to what happened in each store, to their heated moment in the dressing room.
"And then he just left with her?" Serena asks in disbelief, stirring her drink.
"Yeah. Her tone made it pretty clear that she'd make my life hell if I didn't let them go."
"Gosh. So what are you going to do?"
Flattening both palms on the counter, Blair thinks for a moment. "I'm going to ask him what happened."
Unconvinced, Serena questions, "Seriously? You're just going to go over there and ask him straight up?"
"Yes. What is the big deal—"
"Hello?" a voice interrupts before Nate appears in the doorway. His face brightens at the sight of both women. "Evening, ladies," he says before walking over to his wife.
"Hi Nate."
"Hi babe," Serena says, leaning up to kiss him. "How was your day?"
"Good. Better now." He winks and kisses her again, before lifting the bag in his hands. "I brought home dinner."
When she catches the logo, she nearly squeals. "From Parm?! Oh, I love you!"
"B, are you staying for dinner?" Nate asks, holding up a third plate. "I brought home plenty."
The smell of fresh Italian wafts through the kitchen, and as much as she wants to stay, she knows she needs to talk to Dan before she changes her mind. "I wish I could, but I'm going to have to take a rain check. Besides, I don't think you'll need me to help you finish all this food," she says, eyeing Serena.
"Your loss, B." Serena says, standing to hug her friend goodbye. "You sure about this?"
Blair nods. "Yeah."
"Okay. Then call me to let me know how it goes."
"Of course," Blair promises, before walking with Nate to the front door. "She showed me the crib, Nate. It's...perfect."
He smiles in gratitude, before saying, "Well...so is she." She hugs him for that, because how could she not? And with a wave goodbye, she's out the door and in the elevator.
Her evening is far from over.
.
.
.
After her incessant knocking, he finally opens the door.
She doesn't give him time to greet her. "We need to talk."
Previously frozen in place, he takes a second to catch up. "Right now, Blair? It's late, it's..." He glances at his watch. "...only seven-thirty? God, I'm getting old."
"You and me both," she smiles. "Can I come in?"
He steps aside and gestures her in. "What did you want to talk about?"
She stops in the middle of his living room and faces him. "You're going to be annoyed that I'm asking this, since we've already sort of had this conversation when Addie was in town, and it's none of my business..." It's obvious she's stalling and rambling, so she just cuts to the chase. "Did you—"
"Have sex with Tabitha?"
Her eyes whip to his. "What? I wasn't going to—why would you assume I was asking—"
His expression shows that he can read right through her.
"Fine! That's what I wanted to know. But in my defense, I think you'd want to know if I was sleeping with your boss," she retorts smartly, crossing her arms.
"Yes...I would. Because he's seventy-three and I'd be a little concerned for you."
She narrows her eyes in warning.
"I actually don't mind that you asked, surprisingly," he says, making his way over to the couch. "I didn't have sex with her."
Even though she knew there was a chance of this outcome, she still sighs in relief. "Oh. Okay." She clears her throat. "But she just...slept here?"
He looks at her, and his confusion is obvious. "What? No. Why would you think that?"
"She came into work wearing the same outfit she was wearing yesterday."
His jaw drops slightly. "Wow. She actually went home with that guy?"
"What guy?"
Chuckling, he rubs his chin. "She was making passes at the bartender all night, and when I called her out on it, she freaked. It was pretty bad."
Laughing, Blair takes a seat next to him on the couch. "Unbelievable."
"Yeah. I left after one drink."
Going over it all in her mind, she shakes her head. "And here I spent my whole day worrying about—" She stops, catching herself.
"Worrying about what?" He shifts in his seat, and suddenly they're much closer than before. He smells so good, her eyes drift closed. "Blair."
She opens them. "I just...I didn't want you to sleep with her. That's all."
"Oh." He continues to stare at her, and swallows when she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Her neck was always his weakness. "Well...now you won't have to worry about it. I won't be sleeping with her."
In a daze, she somehow makes herself nod and answer, "Good."
When her phone makes a sound, they're brought back to reality. The screen tells her it's an email from Tabitha. How ironic.
"I should go," she says, before making her way to the door. "I'm finishing the article tomorrow, so I'll email it to you once it's done. You can read over it before I send it to print."
"Okay, great."
Feeling a sudden rush of confidence, she walks over to him and kisses his cheek. "Goodnight Dan."
"Goodnight Blair."
She smiles all the way home.
.
.
.
tbc
A/N: Any readers still there? I have a million reasons why it took me so long to update. I feel awful about the wait. But for those who keep asking: NO, I won't leave this unfinished.
This story is winding down! Next chapter will set the stage for the truth: what really happened all those years ago.
I would so appreciate reviews! I hope everyone is well :)
