Working Girls
Chapter Twelve
"Dude, what are you doing? And why are you making me stop here?" Nate asked as he reluctantly pulled over at a florists.
"I'm sending someone flowers."
"Who? Who are you sending flowers to?" Nate asked with a quirked brow.
"No one," Shane lied.
"Shane," Nate said. "Seriously, who? Because when we both go in there someone will spot us and it will be all over the internet in minutes. People will be asking me about it and I need to know what details I can or can't say."
"Fine," Shane said with a huff. "Mitchie. Okay? I need to apologize for that restaurant incident from a couple of days ago. Tess hasn't brought her back to the studio since, you know. Every time I ask about Mitchie Tess says she's running errands."
"Maybe she's actually running errands," Nate said.
"Oh, I'm sure she is, but I'm also sure she wouldn't be if I hadn't caused some teenage beauty queen to dump a drink all over her," Shane said with a huff. "Sometimes I really hate myself."
Shane didn't wait for Nate's response he just got out of the car and went inside the shop. Nate followed behind him and as they browsed flowers and arrangements Nate nudged Shane's shoulder. "What exactly went down with you and that girl anyway?"
"I danced with her at a club and we kissed maybe once before I realized I'd had one too many beers and got the hell out of there. I, however, didn't get out of there before she could slip her phone number into my pocket which apparently meant I was supposed to call her," Shane told him.
"So, you didn't actually make out?" Nate asked with a smirk.
"She's young and we're famous. I'm sure by the time she got back to her friends that was the story she'd decided to tell them," Shane said as he shook his head. "Somehow no one ever seems to take my side of the story as the truth, though. Or they just never give me a chance to share it."
"Tess still doesn't believe you about her last assistant, huh?" Nate asked as he picked up an arrangement of soft pink roses.
"No, and I doubt she ever will. I've accepted that. The only thing that's bugging me now is that Tess is probably telling Mitchie all kinds of things about me that she thinks is true," Shane said with a sigh. "And I kind of hate that the whole Tess thing gave me this…reputation. I'm not that guy, but I'm the only person who knows that."
Nate gave his brother a reassuring smile. "I know it."
"I'm happy to hear that, bro, but that doesn't help me on the Mitchie front," Shane said with a grin. "Thanks though."
"No problem," Nate said with a chuckle. "You know, while we're here…maybe I'll send Ella some flowers."
"Ah, yes. The lovely Ella," Shane said with a smirk. "When do I get to meet her? Jason has. Caitlyn has. Dana has. She's Mitchie's best friend. Hell, even Tess knows her. She owns Tess's favorite little boutique. I feel out of the loop, man."
"Give her some time to get over the shock of her first meeting with Caitlyn and then you'll get to meet her. Deal?" Nate asked as he put the arrangement of roses back down and turned to face the counter.
Shane nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Have you decided already?"
Nate nodded and rang the bell. "Yes, I have. The pink roses are the winners."
"That took you like two seconds," Shane said with a furrowed brow.
Nate shrugged. "They just remind me of Ella, that's all. She'll like them."
"They remind you of Ella?" Shane asked. "Flowers remind you of Ella? How does that work exactly?"
"Try thinking of Mitchie and what you know of her and just looking, Shane. I'm sure something will jump out at you," Nate said as a woman appeared from the back and Nate placed his order.
Shane sighed and glanced around. What did he know about Mitchie? Her mother was a cook and she was very proud of her. She didn't know what to think of all the hype and fame that surrounded them or Tess. She was honest, even with Tess. She actually cared about Tess which Shane knew from experience was difficult to do. She was friendly and compassionate. Jason had already declared her his friend and Jason was very good at reading people. So if he liked her then it meant she truly deserved to be liked. She was beautiful and funny and expected him to be just as pleasant and human as anyone else.
Okay, so what flower reminded him of all of that?
His eyes landed on an arrangement of colorful daisies. He smiled warmly and nodded. "That's the one."
Daisies were simple, friendly, and beautiful. The bright colors brought to mind the image of Mitchie laughing and smiling from the restaurant and that's what sold it. He joined Nate at the counter and once he was finished Shane ordered his arrangement.
"And where should this be sent?" the woman asked.
"Oh, um, right. Hold on," Shane said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.
"What's that?" Nate asked.
"The address to Connie's Café. Tess doesn't have an office and I don't know where Mitchie lives so I had to look up the address to her mom's café online," Shane told him. He handed the paper to the clerk and smiled. "Send them there, please."
"And what would you like the card to say?"
Shane stared at the small card thoughtfully. "Um, thank goodness she was underage. She could have had wine." Nate chuckled and shook his head and the florist gave him a strange look as she wrote it down. Shane gave her a sheepish smile and shrugged. "Inside joke."
Mitchie sighed as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She leaned against her kitchen counter and glared at her planner as it sat open on her kitchen table. Tess didn't need her for another few hours. Mitchie had no idea what was going on with Tess lately, but she'd practically banished Mitchie from the studio. She hadn't said it in so many words, but she'd sent Mitchie out with a long list of errands for two days straight and now she'd given her the morning off. There were no other errands Tess needed done so she had no excuse to keep Mitchie out of the studio anymore and now she was just delaying the inevitable. The results of that lunch Mitchie hadn't had with Shane and Nate had gotten to Tess for some reason. Mitchie had a feeling she'd find out why today.
Her cell phone rang and her face fell a little when she saw that it wasn't Tess. Mitchie had had a taste of the studio and now it was the only place she wanted to be, even if she was just observing. She sighed and answered on the second ring. "Hey, mom, what's up?"
"I just got a delivery for you."
"For me? To the café?"
"Oh yes, it's an arrangement of daisies. It's quite large."
Mitchie could hear the smile in her mother's voice. "Flowers? I haven't gotten flowers since we moved here."
"Well, obviously someone likes you," Connie said with a chuckle. "I haven't looked at the card. I thought I'd let you have that honor."
"You sure they're not for you?" Mitchie asked in confusion.
"Honey, I haven't dated since the divorce. Besides, your name is above the address on the envelope," Connie told her. "They're for you. Trust me."
"Okay, um, I guess I'll come by and get them. I still have about three hours before I have to be at work," Mitchie told her. "See you in a few."
"See you, sweetie. Love you," Connie said brightly as she hung up the phone.
Who would send her flowers? She hadn't been on any dates recently. And why would someone send flowers for her to the Café instead of her apartment?
She grabbed her keys and quickly grabbed a cab to her mom's café. Her mom saw her coming and waved through the window. Mitchie walked through the door and smiled brightly at the large arrangement of colorful daisies.
"Wow," Mitchie said happily. "They're gorgeous."
Connie handed her the small envelope that held the card and Mitchie quickly ripped it open.
"Read it aloud," Connie told her. "I have to know what it says."
Mitchie chuckled and nodded as she glanced down at the card. She grinned and laughed softly as she read it to herself. She bit her bottom lip and then smiled as she read it to her mother. "Thank goodness she was underage. She could have had wine. Apologies, Shane Gray."
Connie quirked a brow at her daughter and smirked. "Is this the boy that caused that girl to dump her drink on you?"
Mitchie nodded. "One and the same."
"Well, his apology's off to a good start, isn't it?" Connie asked with a chuckle.
"It would appear so," Mitchie said as she smiled warmly at the arrangement. "I'm going to go show these to Ella. Thanks for giving me a call, mom."
"No problem, sweetie. Come over when you're done. I have Mr. Cesario's lunch order and I have a lunch packed for you as well. I was hoping I could save my delivery boy the trouble and let you take it over there," Connie said with a hopeful smile.
Mitchie nodded. "Sounds good. I'll be back."
Ella sighed contentedly as she stared at her roses. They were beautiful. The vase was a light transparent blue and it held 24 baby pink long stem roses. It had been a very long time since anyone had sent her flowers and even longer since she'd been sent flowers with romantic intentions.
She turned the note over in her hand again. She couldn't seem to put it down. By now she had it memorized, but it was just too perfect. Nate was too perfect.
The bell above the door rang and Ella looked up to see Mitchie walking through with her own arrangement of flowers in hand.
Ella stood up straight and beamed at her. "You got flowers too!"
Mitchie nodded. "Shane sent them. As an apology."
Ella motioned to her roses and sighed softly. "From Nate." She held up the card and smiled as she read it aloud. "I can't get your smile out of my mind. I think about your eyes all the time."
Mitchie smiled brightly at Ella and let out a soft squeal. "Are you serious? That's way better than mine."
"What does yours say?" Ella asked curiously.
"Thank goodness she was underage. She could've had wine."
Ella laughed. "I love that, though. It's cute! I don't think you can compare the two. Shane's still trying to win you over, and Nate has already successfully won me over. Of course Nate's will be sweeter. He's knows that I like him."
"You know what I can't get over though?" Mitchie asked Ella thoughtfully.
"What?" Ella asked.
"Daisies," Mitchie said as she squinted her eyes. "He sent me daisies. Given what I've been told about him from other people I would have thought he'd go for something more…extravagant."
"Then maybe that's proof," Ella told her.
"Proof of what?"
"Proof that he's not who those other people think he is," Ella said with a soft smile. "Just because people say it doesn't mean it's true, Mitch."
"It's definitely something to think about," Mitchie said to herself. "Alright, well, I should get these flowers back to my apartment. I just wanted to come by and show them to you. It's amazing how much flowers actually do for an apology."
Ella chuckled and nodded. "My father was very adept at using flowers against my mother. Believe me I know."
"I thought you said you never really knew him?" Mitchie asked.
Ella shrugged. "I never did, really, but my mother did. She never really stopped loving him. It was obvious. He sent her flowers every Valentine's and anniversary, even after the divorce. So I know the power that those pretty little plants hold."
"Here's a question," Mitchie said hesitantly as she cleared her throat. "Are you going to tell Mr. Perfect about Daddy Dearest?"
Ella groaned pathetically and turned to stare at her flowers. "I really don't want to. I just…don't like how that news changes perceptions of me. Almost everyone who's found out has reacted badly."
"Hey! I didn't!" Mitchie said defensively.
"I said almost everyone," Ella said with a grateful smile.
"He'll find out sooner or later, and I think…if he's going to react badly you should know now. Before you're in so deep that it scars," Mitchie told her honestly.
Ella brought her thumbnail to her mouth and nibbled on it nervously. She nodded and sighed. "You're right. You're right. I know you're right."
"So you'll tell him?" Mitchie asked.
"I'll try," Ella answered quietly. "I can't make any promises, though."
"Ella," Mitchie said sternly as she gave her a pointed look.
Ella huffed. "Fine, I promise. Happy?"
Mitchie grinned and nodded. "Very. You won't regret it." She smiled at Ella and glanced at her watch. "I don't suppose you have time for a lunch break?"
Ella pulled her protein bar out from behind the counter. "Sadly, no. I have fittings for the rest of the day and alterations to work on until then. Plus, I just got a new shipment of stock that needs to go out so no time for anything larger than this pathetic meal replacement bar. Sorry, bestie."
Mitchie sighed and smiled weakly. "I figured. Alright, then, I'll pick something up at mom's on my way back home. I'll see you later, Ella. I'll call you after work. I'm sure I'll have new drama to report."
"Looking forward to it," Ella said with a light laugh.
When Mitchie arrived at the studio a couple of hours later she'd pulled her hair half up and stuck a single yellow daisy inside of her hair clip. She smiled at Shane as she passed him and then handed Brown the lunch her mother had made for him.
"She threw in a salad," Mitchie told him with a chuckle. "She says you need the greens."
Brown made a face before he forced a thankful smile. "I, um, appreciate that."
Caitlyn laughed. "Brown's 'allergic' to vegetables. It's where Jason gets it from."
"Mitchie!" Jason exclaimed as he hugged her. "I've missed you."
She laughed and reluctantly hugged him in return. "I've missed you too, Jason."
"What's with the flower?" Tess asked in a bored tone as she looked at her watch. "And you're late. By ten minutes."
"Someone sent me daisies this morning," Mitchie told her vaguely. "And they were so pretty that I wanted to wear one around today. And I tried to call you and tell you I'd be late, but you didn't pick up."
Shane grinned at her. "Where've you been, Torres? Avoiding us already?"
Mitchie smiled at him and they shared a secretive look before she answered. "Well, as an assistant I can't be here every day, Shane. Tess has other things that need to be done. And since the last time I saw you resulted in a drink being thrown in my face I thought it was as good a time as any to do them. It's easier to stay dry that way." He chuckled as Mitchie winked at him and turned her back on him to talk to Tess. "Do you have time to go over your schedule for the rest of the day? The label e-mailed me some changes earlier."
"Sure, let's head to the hallway," Tess said as she walked away and motioned for her to follow.
The door closed and then Jason pulled Caitlyn down on the couch next to him. "Did you finish with Luke's track?"
She nodded. "Yes, I did. And I think it sounds awesome. But we're still waiting for Axel's opinion."
"So, you'll be here with us today?" Jason asked with a bright smile.
"Yep."
"And we can talk about the terms of our bet?" Jason asked as he quirked a brow at her. "You owe me a night of whatever I want to do."
"I'm sort of afraid to ask what a night like that would entail," Caitlyn said skeptically.
"Don't worry, I'm going to keep it simple," Jason told her. "Just you and me at my house."
Caitlyn gulped. They couldn't be more alone than that, could they? "And what are we going to do?"
"Well, I want you to cook dinner for us," Jason said with a smirk. "Dinner and dessert, and then I was thinking we could spend the night watching my favorite movies and playing Guitar Hero. Is that okay with you?"
She chuckled. "It's whatever you want to do, Jase. It doesn't have to be okay with me. And what would you like for dinner?"
"A really good hamburger," Jason told her with a nod.
Caitlyn smiled at him in amusement. "You realize you could have whatever meal you wanted right? Your options are wide open. I could make something a little more involved. I don't mind."
Jason shrugged and smiled warmly at her. "I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy, Caity. I like ordinary and simple. I don't have a lot of that in my life so I take it where I can get it."
"What about dessert?" Caitlyn asked with a soft smile.
"You know that recipe you e-mailed me the other day?" Jason asked.
"The Red Velvet Crepes?" Caitlyn asked.
"Yes, those. They looked delicious," Jason said eagerly.
Caitlyn nodded. "And what would you like to eat with your burger?"
Jason shrugged. "Surprise me." He glared playfully and wagged his finger at her. "But no vegetables. At least not the green ones."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous. Greens are good."
"No, they're gross," Jason said with a scoff.
"You ate that asparagus I made at Nate's the other night," Caitlyn pointed out.
"It was wrapped in bacon so it was an exception," Jason said with a smirk.
"What if I wrapped broccoli in bacon? Would you eat that?"
Jason made a face and shook his head. "No, I'm not going to eat tiny trees. That's not appealing no matter what kind of meat you wrap it in."
"Anything else you want for your night?" Caitlyn asked with a chuckle.
Jason nodded and smirked at her. "Oh yes. Bring your bathing suit," Jason said with a wink. "My hot tub was installed yesterday."
Caitlyn froze and blushed as Jason stood up from the couch and joined Shane and Nate at the control panel. Her bathing suit? Oh God, that meant she'd be half naked…and so would he. She probably wouldn't survive the night. At least not without attacking him.
Did he really just do that? Jason ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. He'd told Caitlyn to bring her bathing suit and winked. Why did he do that? And what did he mean? If he didn't know then how could he know how she'd take it. That might have been the most impulsive thing he'd ever done. What if he'd freaked her out? Well, he wasn't going to back out on it now. He'd said it and he was sticking by it. Even if it meant he'd have to deal with seeing Caitlyn nearly naked.
Yep, he'd probably just done something very stupid.
"Okay, so after recording you'll need to head straight to ABC. Somebody backed out of Jimmy Kimmel and they need you to fill in, and then they also want you on Craig Fergu—"
Mitchie stopped short when the front desk secretary suddenly appeared beside of them.
Tess quirked a brow at the women and gave her a blank look. "Um, can we help you?"
"Yes, actually, is there a Mitchie Torries in Studio B?" She asked.
"No," Mitchie told her. "But there's a Mitchie Torres right here."
"Oh good!" The woman said brightly as she handed Mitchie a large red box. "This came to the front desk for you."
Mitchie took the box from her hands and stared after her as she left. "Um, thanks?"
"What is it?" Tess asked suspiciously.
Mitchie read the back of the box and smiled brightly. "It's a box of chocolates."
"From who?"
"Oh, no one," Mitchie lied. "Just some guy."
"And by some guy you mean Shane, don't you?" Tess asked with a critical glare.
Mitchie sighed and tucked the box under her arm. "So what if it was?"
"Mitchie," Tess said in with a huff. "I think it's time I tell you the full story of what happened with Shane."
Mitchie's eyes widened. "Why would you do that?"
"To save you the trouble of experiencing the same thing for yourself," Tess said as she glared at the box tucked under Mitchie's arm.
"Really," Mitchie said. "You don't have to do that. I've heard all the warnings, but I think…I think I have to find out for myself."
Tess rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what I thought too. He's a cheater, Mitchie. Haven't you ever wondered what happened to my last assistant?"
"It, um, it had to do with Shane?" Mitchie asked hesitantly.
"They had an affair. He cheated on me with my assistant, Mitchie. My assistant."
Mitchie's brow furrowed. "I don't believe that. Maybe you misunderstood or—or—"
"She was laying on top him on a studio couch and they were going at it," Tess said through gritted teeth. "What's to misunderstand? I saw it with my own eyes."
"But he just doesn't seem like that kind of guy. I mean he's flirty, sure, but…it's harmless," Mitchie said softly.
Tess rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Look, do what you want, but I'm telling you given the chance he'll cheat on you too. And don't you dare come crying to me when he does."
Tess suddenly turned and marched back into the studio. The door slammed behind her and caused Mitchie to jump at the sound. She knew Shane and Tess hadn't ended well but she'd never imagined…that. She bit her bottom lip and studied the box of chocolates. Suddenly it looked different. It didn't seem so sweet anymore. It seemed…cheap. Not in price but in intentions. She had no idea what to think. Was he trying to win her over or trying to play her? She groaned and threw the box in the trashcan next to her. There's no way she could enjoy it now.
If only there were a way to find out what kind of guy Shane really was. She kept hearing conflicting opinions and all it was doing was confusing her. She needed a way to find out for herself without the risk of getting hurt. Was that even possible? Suddenly an idea struck her. If she could just date him and enlist a friend to help her by "tempting" him to see if he would stray, she'd be set. She'd seen enough romantic comedies to know it wasn't an uncommon plot, and art imitates life, right? After a moment what she was saying came back to her and she shook her head. Was she insane? She could never do that. For starters she doubted she had a friend that would be willing to help her with it and for another it just felt…wrong. She couldn't do that.
Could she?
No, she couldn't. No way. She was going to forget this plan ever occurred to her. It was mean and ridiculous and she was neither of those things.
She opened the door to the studio and hesitantly stepped inside. Tess was recording inside the booth and Mitchie stepped up behind Shane and Nate so she could hear how it was going. They were really doing wonderful things with her song and it was amazing to see how Connect Three's creative process meshed with Tess's.
"I still can't believe she won't arrange for us to meet this Devonne person," Shane grumbled to Nate. "I mean I think we have that right, don't you? And since when does a songwriter not want to meet us? That's never happened. It's just…sketchy. Don't you think?"
Mitchie's eyes widened. The guys wanted to meet Devonne? Tess had never mentioned this to her. Well, that couldn't happen. Mitchie and Devonne were supposed to be two separate people or at least appear to be separate people—
Devonne. Why hadn't she seen that before? Devonne could be her temptress.
"If you really want to talk to her, Shane, then I could give you her e-mail," Mitchie said quietly. Thank God Tess had made her set up one for her alter ego. It was going to come in handy for the very first time.
"I don't know if Tess would be okay with that," Shane said.
Mitchie shrugged. "Who says she has to know?"
Shane smirked at her. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her, right?"
Mitchie nodded and pulled out a pen. "Exactly." She reached inside her bag and pulled out one of Tess's business cards and scribbled Devonne's e-mail on the back of it. She placed it in the palm of his hand before she could chicken out and smiled at him. "I'm sure Devonne would love to hear from you. She's a little shy, but once you get her talking she doesn't shut up."
"You've met her?" Shane asked.
"A few times," Mitchie lied. "She's a very private person."
That's good, she thought. The more challenging it is then the more intrigued he'll be.
"Oh, really?" Shane asked. "Good to know. Thanks, Mitchie."
"No problem," Mitchie said quietly as she gulped and looked away from him.
Oh God, what did she just do?
