A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading and for the reviews. I might start working on something off-line for a bit which could delay the posts to this story. But I will get it finished eventually.

Chapter 10

Liz lay with her head on the pillow, mouth slightly ajar, and soft little snoring sounds escaping her at predictable intervals. Her blankets were strewn about as if she had just had a fitful night's sleep, but currently her body seems so rooted in place it would require a crane to move it. Or… as her sister would soon demonstrate… a very loud sound.

"Holy cow!" Mary's voice shot through her room and quite possibly all the rooms of their neighbor's home located at the end of the block.

Liz's eyes flew open and her body seemed to jump. The formerly unconscious life form was now standing beside her bed, looking about wildly, trying to find the source of the threat.

"Liz, you have got to see this," Mary called in a loud, but no longer unnaturally loud, voice.

Liz took a few deep breaths, willing her heart rate to slow down a bit, and walked into the living room. "You scared me half to death!" she said to her sister. The rush of adrenaline was wearing off and was getting replaced with the grogginess of the recently awoken. "Why did you make that sound?"

"Liz," Mary said holding out a newspaper and frantically waiving it, "Look! You're in the paper!"

Liz took the paper. Right there, in the middle of the page, was a photo of her kissing Bill Weston. Her eyes grew wide.

"It's yesterday's edition," Mary explained. "Mom called me. She said you weren't returning her messages. So, is it actually serious with you and this billionaire? Did you know he is an actual billionaire? Did he agreed to take you and your whole family off to Paris on a vacation because you two are madly in love? Is he going to propose to you there?" Mary was talking a mile a minute. "Oh, and Mom wants you to call her."

"You're making my head spin," Liz said dropping onto the couch still clutching the paper in her hands. "This must be what Mom called me about, yesterday in the theater. I turned my phone off." Liz reached over and grabbed her purse off the coffee table. She rummaged through and pulled out her cell phone. "She left eight voicemails, four texts, and…" she touched a few icons, "two e-mails. Dear God. Do we have to bring her with us to Paris? She is going to be insufferable."

"Yes, she has to go! She is my sole reason for getting invited!" Mary said as she climbed over the back of the couch and took up the area not already occupied by Liz. "Now, dish. What is going on with you and Bill. How serious is it?"

"You heard him yourself. I'm just helping him shake that horrible Caren."

"I don't think so. I heard you will be helping him shake Caren. But I don't see no Caren in this picture. Why exactly is he kissing you, here in Vegas? How is that supposed to keep the gold diggers at bay? Do a lot of the New York socialites get subscriptions to the Las Vegas Review – Journal?"

Liz sighed. "I don't know. A lot of people visit this city and the paparazzi discovered he was here. He saw the reporter and just reacted. Maybe there are some other women he needed to discourage. I am not really sure. We didn't talk about it."

"Excuse me? Didn't talk about it? Why the hell not? That is not a normal response when coming across the press, Liz. Celebrities don't just grab the nearest person and start kissing them. He may really like you."

"I'm not his type. That much I know. The kiss was for show. It was just an act."

"And this is based on that airport meeting, I take it?" Mary asked.

"No. He has since made it even more definite that I'm not what he's looking for."

"Hump," Mary was clearly not convinced, but Liz had said all she felt she was able to. "I guess I will get an opportunity to witness some of this myself in a few weeks when we jet over the pond." Mary said in her poshest accent. She sprung from the couch and squealed. "I think I need to go shopping and get a few things. Oh, and my passport. I've gotta dig that out. Does France require Visas?"

(break)

Chad walked back to Gate 14B. Thanks to Bill, they had arrived two hours before departure and quite frankly, the Las Vegas airport was not as exciting as it sounded. Bill was typing on his laptop. Chad looked around. "Where is Grey?" he asked.

"I assume he is off dropping the last of his money into some machine while consuming as much alcohol as his liver can handle," Bill said not looking up from his computer screen.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Chad said sitting down next to Bill. "We haven't even boarded the plane, and you're already back to work, huh?"

"No. I'm sending a message to my cousin. I'm asking him to fill my Paris apartment with thirsty plants, drop a few weeks worth of unopened mail through the slot, and make sure Mrs. Reynolds goes away before my house guests arrive." Bill stopped and turned to Chad, "I assume you understand you are not to say anything that would contradict my claims that the apartment will be benefiting from the Bennets' temporary care and attention?"

"I wouldn't even think of contradicting your story." Bill nodded and refocused his attentions on his computer. "Although," Chad continued, "I am curious."

After a moment's silence Bill looked back to his friend, "About?"

"It is not unusual for you to paint a picture that is different from reality to get what you want. It's made you successful in business, and I know it is part of the game of negotiating. But once the deal is sealed, you rarely go to such lengths to try to alter reality to give the illusion that you were being truthful." Chad looked down at his hands. "Once the Bennets arrive, you will have managed to reach your goal. Why do you care if they then discover you were just trying to help them out with a place to stay and not expecting anything in return?"

Bill pondered this question. He knew he had gone to great lengths to avoid seeing or speaking of Liz Bennet after the night at the movies. But as he began to consider why he had done so and why he wished her to view him as honest, he did not like the conclusion he was forming. "You told me yourself that you have paired me off with Liz Bennet during that week and I need to fly back to the States with them. Do you believe Miss Bennet would take kindly to being manipulated?"

"No, I suppose not. It's just," Chad stopped speaking.

"What?" Bill asked, growing a bit annoyed. "Say what you were hoping to say."

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you don't have any special feelings for her."

"I will view her as nothing more than a younger sister," Bill said convincingly.

(break)

"Hey," Mary said walking into Liz's room. "We're leaving tomorrow and I wanted to get some compression socks. Will you go to the mall with me?"

"Have you ever heard of the word knock?" Liz said giving her sister a glare.

Mary walked back to the bedroom door, pounded on the door with her knuckles a few times, then turned back and asked, "Now will you go?"

Liz got off her bed and went to the closet. She dug around for a minutes and came back with her shoes. "You and I both know I don't really have a choice, now don't we?"

"Someone needs to ensure you don't turn into a full-blown hermit. It's for your own good," Mary said as she left Liz's bedroom. "I'll be in the car waiting," she called as she grabbed her purse and went out the front door.

Liz had spent the last few days in a funk. She had made several attempts to get together with Josh after the night at the movies, but was repeatedly sabotaged by either her mother or her sister. Each had a different motive. The daily assault of questions over her relationship status with Mr. Weston led Liz believe her mother was hoping to force her to try to hold out for a wealthier boyfriend. Mary just seemed to harbor a strong dislike of Josh.

A few days ago, Liz had received a call from her friend, Charlotte. Apparently, Charlotte had encountered Josh at a Starbucks and he had asked her out on a date. Of course she was repulsed and turned him down flat, but this news had a marked impact on Liz's affection for Mr. Adams and had caused her to become rather glum. As she thought it over, she decided it probably was a good idea to visit the mall. Cinna Bunz always cheered her up.

After they arrived, Mary left to go search for compression socks, while Liz made a bee line for the food court. When she was nearly at the top of the escalator, she noticed something that made her want to scream. There was Josh, ogling a Brandy clone in the line for Cinna Bunz!

Liz refrained from screaming and instead turned away from Josh and his date. She would get her Cinna Bunz later.

"Welcome to Hot Dog On A Stick," some chipper little teenager said as Liz moved to the edge of the foodcourt. "Would you like to try a sample of our cherry lemonade?"

"No," Liz replied. "I've had it before. I'll take a large." She paid for her drink. As soon as it was in her hand, she walked across the court, dumped it on Josh's head and walked away to find her sister. Mary had a point. All those years she had spent in that relationship really were just sunk costs.