Chapter 12: We Could Be Taking Over, Part 2 – Wednesday, September 14th, 2016
The unexpected hits when, in reality, it probably should have been expected all along. Some things are just inevitable. Old selves begin to reemerge. Old habits die hard.
Friday, August 1st, 2014
EJ coolly stood on the pier looking out towards the Salem River. He knew he needed to keep his composure and studied the serene surroundings for inspiration when he suddenly received a text from Sami. She asked: "Where did you go so early this morning?"
EJ replied: "I will see you soon and tell you everything."
Sami's next text came almost immediately: "Be safe! *heart*"
EJ returned his cell to his right pocket and returned his focus on the river. He wondered if things were about to get messy again. He couldn't fail like last time.
Soon after, Peter nonchalantly approached EJ and announced himself by saying, "You called for me?"
Turning to face his step-brother, EJ questioned, "Where is Kristen?"
"She had a business meeting she couldn't afford to miss," Peter adamantly informed EJ.
Showing he was still suspicious, EJ said, "I recall you saying that you had business outside of DiMera Enterprises. What are you two really up to? I don't have time for games or trouble."
Peter placed his hands in his pockets. "Kristen and I did not lie to you. I promise we have a gift for you. All will be revealed soon."
(*)*(*)*(*)
Unusually nervous, Brady walked over to a nearby bench at the Salem Park and took a seat. He glanced at his cell phone before taking in his surroundings because he was expecting his secret admirer to finally reveal herself. He caught his legs shaking and wondered if this would turn out not to be what he expected because he really felt a connection with this mysterious woman he had traded text messages and phone calls with for almost a year.
Kristen arrived to the park and found Brady sitting on a bench alone. Silently standing behind him, she eyed him for a moment. She hoped that by revealing herself now she could strengthen the bond between them before the news broke on the reason she and Peter returned to Salem. Taking a deep breath, she told herself, "This is it."
Composing herself, Kristen walked around the bench. "Brady…"
Hearing his name, the anticipation and excitement came to a head. Brady looked up and immediately stood to greet his secret admirer. He suddenly froze though. He recognized Kristen. "What?"
Kristen defensively raised her hands up and told Brady, "I know this may seem like a setup."
Brady gave Kristen a look to show her that was the obvious deduction. He was in disbelief that the woman he had fallen for was someone from his father's past. "Why? After all this time, why are you finally revealing yourself? Is this some twisted joke?"
Looking deep into Brady's eyes, Kristen disclosed, "I planned to wait longer, but I realized I needed to show my face because of my feelings."
"Your feelings?" Brady questioned with great confusion. "Tell me, do you want something from my father or Marlena? Is that what this is all about?"
Kristen denied it. This had nothing to do with Satan Marlena. "Brady, I am showing you my face because I have fallen in love with you. I figured it would be better now if you decided to reject me before my feelings for you get deeper and stronger."
Lost in Kristen's words and how she delivered them, Brady remembered the moment they shared in Italy at Stefano's last funeral. Though he knew pursuing any kind of cordial relationship with Kristen would bring on so many questions, he knew, deep down, this was something he wanted to explore. Not simply due to how much he enjoyed a challenge, but also due to the fact that he did find Kristen to be rather attractive. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "Even though I know about your past with my father and Marlena, I also know people can change. I really do feel as though I got to know you through our correspondence." Clearing his throat, he shrugged his shoulders as he asked with an intense nervous look, "Would you like to grab a cup of coffee with me?"
Kristen became giddy as she gladly accepted his invitation. "I would love to."
(*)*(*)*(*)
Tuesday, August 12th, 2014
More than a few coffee dates later, Kristen rushed into Brady's Titan office because the news was out that she and her brother, Peter, owned almost half of the shares at Titan. She found Brady staring outside his window and sensed he was upset. He most likely already received word of what she and Peter did. Shaking her head, she couldn't believe Peter went to The Salem Spectator and released the information without telling her. Why did this always happen to her?
"Brady…" she released. When he turned around, Kristen asked, "Are you upset?"
With sadness in his eyes, Brady walked over to Kristen and grabbed her hand. "I just found out that my cousin, Sonny, was admitted to an inpatient facility for treatment. I'm worried he will never be able to live a normal life because this is the second time he's gone in after a huge mental breakdown." Shaking his head, he continued, "I guess I should have seen this coming. He completely went off on my friend, Kai, about a month ago."
Kristen pulled Brady into a hug to comfort him. She was relieved to know she got to him before he read The Salem Spectator. She knew she would have to break the news though if she wanted to keep him. Separating from Brady, she looked into his eyes and spoke, "We have been through so much together, Brady. I hope you never forget that."
Confused at first, Brady stepped back as he tried to clear his head. He wondered if Kristen brought up their relationship to help him see that Sonny could live a normal life and find happiness. "Nobody is perfect…" he said under his breath.
Kristen still heard him. "Yes, Brady. You know how messed up life can be for everyone. I know it as well. I've managed to turn a new leaf to be where I am now, but I am still a work in progress…" She swallowed hard as she continued, "Brady, there's something you need to know."
Before Kristen could confess her actions, Victor suddenly entered Brady's office and didn't hold back once he saw Kristen with his grandson. "What the hell are you doing with this bitch?"
Brady couldn't stand that his grandfather was being so nasty towards Kristen. "There is no reason for you to call her that…"
"Stop being so damn naïve, Brady…" Victor bitterly yelled back. "Kristen is using you to take over the company." He threw a copy of The Salem Spectator on Brady's desk. "It's all there – in the business section."
While Kristen struggled in what to do, Brady walked over to the paper, picked it up, and found the business section to see what Kristen and Peter had done. Turning to his girlfriend, he looked at her feeling betrayed. "What is this?"
Knowing that Brady had realized his mistake, Victor told his grandson, "I trust you to throw the trash out when you're done with her. Come to my office afterwards so we can talk family business."
With Victor gone, Kristen tried to explain herself. "Brady, let me explain…"
"No," Brady interrupted her. "There's no way you can justify anything. You did use me – you never actually loved me."
Kristen didn't let Brady's hurt stop her from trying. "Brady, I do love you, and I know we can work through this."
Brady's frustration only increased. "You can drop the act. I am done with your manipulation."
"This is not an act!" Kristen staunchly maintained.
Unsure of what to make of Kristen's resolve to continue the charade, Brady questioned, "Why all the secrecy then? From the beginning, you have hidden your true intentions."
Kristen argued, "You aren't seeing the bigger picture here, Brady." Taking a deep breath, she shared, "If I had told you from the beginning who I was, you would have never let me see the wonderful man you truly are, and you would have never opened yourself up to allow me to show you who I really am."
Even though Kristen had made a point, Brady claimed, "I can't trust anything you have said to me. I need you to leave because I can't figure you out right now." He headed to his office door and motioned her out.
In defeat, Kristen wiped the tears from her face and exited Brady's office. She was hurt and upset at her brother for torpedoing her relationship with Brady by releasing the news prematurely and without consulting with her first. How could Peter do this to her?
Meanwhile, Peter stood in Victor's office waiting for Victor to return so they could talk business. He remembered telling Delphi, his wife, to stay home in case Victor's rage was too much when his phone began to ring. It was EJ. "Hello…"
EJ skipped the formalities and began to chew Peter out. "What the hell are you and Kristen thinking? Do you realize what you are doing to the family?"
With a calm tone, Peter replied, "We did this for the family to get rid of the competition."
Overhearing Peter's claim to EJ, Victor quickly announced himself by saying, "Over my dead body."
Peter told EJ he had to go and ended the call. Turning to Victor, he smiled and gloated, "I am happy you cleared your schedule for this."
Livid, Victor told Peter, "Get out! You and your family are about to feel my wrath!"
(*)*(*)*(*)
"We need to talk now." After putting out and calming as many fires as possible at Titan Industries, Victor arrived inside Jen's office at The Salem Spectator building without a warning.
Jennifer stood up from her desk and showed she could understand why he would be upset by the frustrated look on her face. "We've been receiving calls all day, so I can…"
"Save it," Victor cut her off. Seeing the surprised look in Jen's face, he knew he had her attention. "Whose side are you on, Jennifer Horton? I know it's your job to tell the public the news, but I am part of that public as well. This is one of the many times I've been screwed over by The Salem Spectator. Tell me, did you approve of this just like you approved Ezra's exposé on me which cost me and my business?"
Rubbing her head, Jen took a moment to show Victor she took her job very seriously. "Victor, I already apologized to you about that story, but as I informed you before, that story ran before I could completely take over this paper. Ezra simply turned in his notes since he left to work for the mayor, and someone must have finished it."
Knowing Ezra's connection to Peter and Delphi, Victor shook his head and pointed out, "And here we are again. Are you still trying to take complete control of the paper you supposedly own?"
Jennifer dropped her hand to her side. She took a deep breath before responding, "I had no say in the story that was published in the business section today. Peter and/or Kristen must have snuck it in." Showing a bit more of her agitation, she complained, "I am tired of them going behind my back as well. I promise you, I will clean house to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. Someone must be on Kristen and Peter's payroll after Kristen left the paper to me."
"An official apology written from you would be nice as well," Victor directed. Seeing that he had said his piece, he decided to take his leave.
Jennifer fell in her chair wanting to scream because the day only seemed to increase in stress. How could she let this happen? How was she going to fix this for good?
When she heard a sudden knock on her door, Jen kept her focus on her desk as she assumed, "Harold, I really hope you have some good news for me or I'm going to need quite a few of your funny Jere stories to make it through the rest of today."
"I'm sorry…"
Jen immediately looked up because the voice she heard was neither Harold's nor did it belong to a male. Kristen was now standing in front of her. "What… You have a lot of gall showing up like this!"
"I'm sorry," Kristen softly repeated. "I… I didn't know Peter was going to do this."
Jen was too upset to notice the sincerity in Kristen or the dried up tears on her face. "How could you let this happen? Did you give me the Spectator, so that I would be your puppet? Did you do this because you wanted to embarrass me and make me look like a complete fool? Tell me why, Kristen. I really want to hear this."
Carefully moving forward, Kristen tried to explain herself. "Jen, I…"
"Never mind," Jen quickly interrupted. "I've changed my mind. I don't want to hear this because I don't have time for this. If you want to do me a favor and help me save some time, just tell me who the mole is, and I will gladly give your employee his or her notice. I am sure you can use them elsewhere."
Wanting to do right by Jen, Kristen conceded. "It's Zed... Zedekiah Pittman." As Jen furiously jotted down the mole's name, Kristen attempted to apologize once more. "I promise you I never meant for this to happen this way."
Jen turned her attention to her computer and began to compose an email. She told Kristen, "You never do." Taking her hands from her keyboard for a second, she looked directly at her one-time friend and wondered, "What happened to the Kristen I used to know – the one who was considerate of others as well?"
A tear fell down Kristen's face. She did not have an answer for Jen; she felt as though she was losing everything so fast. "I… I should go." This was too much for her. She backed out of Jen's office and swiftly exited The Salem Spectator building.
(*)*(*)*(*)
Friday, August 15th, 2014
It had been a few days since the announcement in The Salem Spectator, and EJ hoped Victor had managed to clear his head before a secret and private meeting on the pier. When Victor arrived, EJ decided to set the mood by saying, "Thanks for meeting. I hope to clear the air…"
"I am doing all the talking here while you will be listening," Victor warned EJ before declaring, "The peace between our families has ended. A line has been drawn through the sand, and we are now at war."
"Victor…"
EJ tried to get a word in, but Victor interrupted again and said, "There's nothing you can say that will change the direction things are going. Our families are now enemies. Keep Dario away from my great-nephew because I wouldn't be surprised if you used Dario to destroy Sonny's life completely to distract us from what was happening with Titan."
Before EJ could stop Victor and convince him he and the rest of his family had no idea what Kristen and Peter had up their sleeves, Victor left. He couldn't believe this was happening. This was the last thing he needed.
(*)*(*)*(*)
Monday, August 25th, 2014
After suggesting to EJ that he could talk to Maggie, Will set up a lunch date with his great-aunt at the Brady Pub. After receiving their drinks and ordering food, Will started off with some small talk. "How is business going?"
Maggie took a sip of her tea before sharing, "Things are going extremely well with Chez Rouge since Melissa and Sarah moved back to help me. I don't have to go in as much thankfully, but I do make appearances now and then to check in with my regulars to make sure everything is still up to par."
Will nodded his head as he gulped down most of his drink. He grabbed his neck realizing his nerves were showing. "I'm really thirsty," he tried to excuse himself before asking, "What are you doing on your time off?"
Turning her head to the side, Maggie gave Will a skeptical look. "What's going on, Will? I know you want to discuss something else with me."
Attempting to play coy at first, Will replied, "I just wanted to check in with you since it's been a while. Are you and my dad still going to meetings together?"
Maggie tried to read Will. "Yes, but I don't think you asked to meet with me to discuss your father." Placing her arms flat on top of the table, she leaned in to show Will she knew why he asked to meet with her. "Will, I know this has to do with the issues between Victor and the DiMera family."
Figuring there was no point in dancing around the subject anymore, Will commented, "I'm surprised Victor allowed you to visit with me…"
Maggie almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation they were all in. "I find it funny, and I don't actually mean funny, but Victor tried to stop me from having lunch with you. I told him there is no way he is going to keep me from my family."
Will could see Maggie was disappointed in all of this, but he still asked, "So are you on Victor's side of this issue then?"
Leaning back, Maggie answered, "I plan to stand by my husband, but I will also make sure that he does not do anything that could make things worse for anyone. Are you doing okay?"
Will allowed his nerves to show more as he admitted, "I'm worried for Chad and the family because I don't know what Victor will pull to retaliate. I already know he's keeping Dario and Sonny apart. He did something similar to me and Sonny a while back by making sure we couldn't call or text each other."
Maggie tilted her head as she said, "I don't think Victor is keeping Sonny away from Dario. Sonny is still in treatment, and from what I understand, Sonny is keeping his distance from everyone. I talked to Justin and Adrienne about him the other day, and they informed me that he doesn't want visitors. He only wants letters, and even wants those to be limited. Justin and Adrienne are trying to respect his wishes and have decided to focus on rebranding The Cheatin' Heart because of the struggles Sonny has been through with his own heart."
Even though this information was coming from Maggie, Will found it hard to believe. "I don't know. Has Sonny written anyone back?" So far, Will hadn't received anything back from Sonny.
Maggie denied it. "Like I just said, Sonny did talk to his parents on the phone once, and that's when he told them he wanted some time away from everyone and everything while he is in treatment and possibly after he gets out."
Will looked down in defeat. This just didn't make sense, but he didn't know why Justin, Adrienne, or Maggie would lie about this. "I'm so worried…"
Hoping to alleviate Will's concerns, Maggie patted Will's hand and promised, "I will try to talk to Victor to make sure he doesn't do anything drastic. I don't want a war between families either."
Will exhaled deeply and audibly. He hoped Maggie would be able to get Victor to stand down in case Peter and Kristen made things worse.
(*)*(*)*(*)
Sunday, September 28th, 2014
Sami walked into the main room of the DiMera mansion in time to see EJ throw his phone across the room. He was clearly upset. "What's going on?" she asked as she approached him hoping she could calm him with her presence.
EJ took a few deep breaths before turning to face his wife. Even with the attempt to calm himself down, his facial expression revealed that things were not good. "I've heard rumblings Victor has met with the family heads secretly to discuss our family because of what Peter and Kristen have done. I made a few calls and unfortunately… things are not looking good. I've also reached out to Justin, but I doubt he will be able to help talk sense into his uncle at this point as well."
Sami hated seeing and hearing the negativity in EJ. Trying to process this news, she recounted, "I know you distanced yourself somewhat from the families to keep business at DiMera Enterprises legitimate…" She took his hand and suggested, "…but we should meet with the families to keep the peace."
"I'm unsure if they will listen at this point," EJ sighed. "We had an in with the Vitali family, but with their matriarch in such a weakened state, it's only a matter of time before her grandson takes charge of the family."
The hostage situation in the basement of their home replayed in Sami's mind. She remembered the Vitali grandson well and knew if he took over the Vitali family, they were definitely screwed. Squeezing EJ's hand to make him look into her eyes, Sami countered, "We will make them listen to us. The family must stick together and fix this!"
EJ kissed Sami's forehead feeling a lot better. He knew that this would be a battle they would not lose no matter what.
(*)*(*)*(*)
Monday, October 14th, 2014
"Where are Lexie and Will?" Sami asked as Chad entered EJ's office at DiMera Enterprises.
Chad glanced over to his brother as he replied, "They are on their way back from a meeting with Pastor Carlson. Any news?"
EJ stood up from his desk and moved toward the front of it. "I've managed to set up a meeting with the families. Do you think you and Will could watch the kids while Samantha and I are gone? I know Lexie will help."
Before Chad could answer, Dario rushed into EJ's office with Manny and Arianna. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I told my brother and sister about what's going on with Victor."
Confused, Sami crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?" She was worried because Manny used to work for Victor and Arianna was a known ally of his as well.
Manny lowered his head somewhat and explained, "As you are aware, me and my siblings discovered we have a connection with the Toscano family at Stefano's funeral in Urbino."
"And?" EJ released with some impatience.
"And… we think we may be able to help you," Arianna assertively shared showing EJ that they came here as a favor. "We recently uncovered some information connected with the Toscano family."
EJ and Sami traded looks with the others in the room while Chad looked to Dario. "What information?"
Dario put his focus to his siblings to answer. Arianna claimed, "We believe Gustavo is still alive, and we may know where he is. He could possibly help resolve things between you and the families – between you and Victor."