A/N: Oh my god, just got a review from The Cliffhanger girl. My life is complete! I love your stories! Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 8

" Mr. Goldsworthy! We need a shot in front of the building." yelled one of the photographers at the groundbreaking of the new Rush offices. Eli smiled and shook hands with the architect. Clare watched by the road, glad this event did not include a cheesy Eli speech. Once the photographers were done, Eli walked over to Clare.

" We have a bit of time before the meeting, want to grab a bite?" he offered.

" Actually..." Clare hesitated.

" Clarebear!" yelled a voice from behind them. The two turned to see a properly dressed older woman with straight brown hair, smiling and waving wildly. Clare groaned softly as the woman approached.

" Hello mother." she said giving a quick kiss on the cheek.

" You must be Mrs. Martin!" said Eli with a picture perfect smile. " How nice to meet you." Clare's mother looked over at Eli and glared.

" You must be Eli, or should I call you Mr. Goldsworthy?"

" Eli's fine. I hate formalities." he replied smiling.

" I bet you do." muttered Mrs. Martin

" My mom and I were going to have lunch." Clare said awkwardly.

" I suppose it would be rude not to invite you." sighed Mrs. Martin, still glaring at Eli.

" I would love to come. Haven't had a home cooked meal in ages." grinned Eli.

" It's the maid's day off." replied Mrs. Martin dryly.


After a lunch filled with evil glares and intense interrogation, Clare invited Eli to the deck, at the Sailing Club only a block away.
" Does your family own a boat?" asked Eli as they sat looking out on the marina.

" God no!" smiled Clare " It was my dad's dream but we only went to the shows."

" Your dad still around?"

" He's still alive but he moved out-of-town so, not really." Clare looked out onto the beautiful water of Lake Ontario. " You know I had my first job here." she smiled.

" Really?" smiled Eli, turning to see her grinning expression.

" Yeah, as a waitress. It was during university to help pay tuition. I had a scholarship that covered my books but it was still pretty tight."

" Is that why your mother doesn't like me?" asked Eli.

" She's just had to do a lot of things on her own. She thinks you've had everything handed to you."

" She's right." said Eli somberly. He didn't think Clare was poor but he never realized how much more money he had until now. It obviously never came up as a topic of discussion between them, since he was born into money and she never really cared about it. Eli had always sensed that material things meant very little to Clare, but now it seemed that wasn't a choice but a product of her lifestyle. Eli had never felt like apologizing for being well off until now.

" No, you work hard. You may have gotten this job because of your family but you kept it because of you."

" So that's the only reason she hates me?" Clare laughed.

" Well, you're an atheist, you're a millionaire, you're a womanizer..."

" Hey, that's a slight exaggeration." smirked Eli. It grated on his nerves a bit that Clare thought so lowly of him. Wasn't he a little less predictable than that? She had seen her fair share of women coming in and out of his life, usually only for one night, so she had a reasonably cynical view of him. Eli wished she saw him as a bit more than that, but it was no fault but his own.

" What part of that statement is untrue?" cried Clare. Eli smiled and decided to move on.

" So why did you come here?"

" I would come here when my parents fought, you know, to get away from it all."

" I had a panic room." smiled Eli. His parents had installed a 'safe room' for him, whenever he got tense.

" I guess everyone needs something." laughed Clare. " Must have been hard growing up in such tough times."

" We didn't have much, but we were happy." joked Eli. Clare laughed.

" You must have been so spoiled."

" Yeah." smiled Eli. Clare sat back in her chair. Eli felt a compulsion to apologize. Clare had to know she wasn't like everyone. That she was different. She acted as if completely unaware of how precious her spirit was. But like always, Eli said nothing.

" So are you and Adam really enemies?" asked Clare trying to break the silence.

" No, we're good friends, I just like to give a hard time." Eli said thankful for the change in subject.

" He's a great guy." said Clare.

" So, have you found any prospects for your replacement?" asked Eli.

" Why don't you want to talk about Adam?" questioned Clare

" Why don't you want to talk about your replacement?" countered Eli. Clare sighed.

" Fine, I'm interviewing three candidates tomorrow."

" Names?" Eli asked, avoiding eye contact.

" Gavin Mason..." Clare started

" No, it has to be a woman."

" Of course, should I get her measurements as well?" scoffed Clare. Eli turned to her.

" I have an image to maintain." Clare sighed and shook her head.

" Well, then I guess I'm only interviewing one, Imogen Moreno."

" Maybe I'll stop in." suggested Eli. Clare snorted. She wanted to do the interviews herself so the next assistant was competent, not just pretty. If it were up to Eli, he'd go to the 50th floor and offer a model a job. Clare felt a pang of jealousy and tried to push the feelings to the pit of her stomach. Bury them where all other unrealistic feelings lay. She turned back to Eli and watched his emerald eyes scan the shoreline. Suddenly he turned to her and smiled.

" Tell me another perfect day." Clare looked shocked.

" Pardon?"

" You said your first concert was a perfect day, tell me another."

" No, I already told you one. Tell me a perfect day as Elijah Goldsworthy." smiled Clare. Eli smirked.

" I had a date with this girl but she had just been dumped." Eli started.

" Is this a story about how you seduced a vulnerable girl?" Eli just smirked.

" We went to my boat and she got really drunk. She said some very funny things." Clare sighed.

" What did I say?"

" You said rabbits were sexual animals." smiled Eli.

" Oh God!" groaned Clare " We talked about sex?"

" Briefly." said Eli.

" Oh my god!" moaned Clare. " Look, it's almost three, you need to get back to the office." Clare said, attempting to hide her blush. Eli obliged, very happy that Clare had not noticed his description of that night.