Blair stared up at Gretchen Mahoney's SoHo loft late Sunday morning. While she admired the funky boutiques and modern architecture, she had no desire to live anywhere south of Central Park. This was the type of place Serena would love to occupy. Instead, she and Dan stilled lived in the same Brooklyn loft Dan had grown up in.
Blair rang the bell and braced herself to face Chuck's 'friend' who had insisted on a Sunday morning meeting. Despite Blair's questions, Chuck had refused to share any more details about his relationship with the woman. Perhaps she was just a college.
The front door opened, revealing a gorgeous, willowy thirty-something brunette in four-inch heels and a designer suite. She looked Blair up and down with curiosity-filled eyes.
"You must be Chuck's wife. I'm Gretchen. Come in."
Blair's fingers tightened on the strap of her leather handbag as uneasiness swarmed down her spine and buzzed in the pit of her stomach like a hive of angry bees. "Yes, I'm Blair Bass."
"According to Chuck, you are amazing at planing theses little soiree's." Gretchen led Blair through to a seizable table decorated with an expensive looking bouquet.
"Please have a seat." Her hostess flicked a hand toward a chair - a ringless left hand. Not a wife of an acquaintance, then.
Was this women Chuck's lover? Blair sat and tried to focus on the job ahead, but not knowing exactly who Gretchen was or what she was to Chuck, other then an employee, made concentrating difficult.
She opened her planner. "Chuck didn't give me many details. What do you already have in place."
"Getting right to business, are we? No chitchat?
Blair blinked. "Sorry, I know that we are in a bit of a time bind."
"We are. We really need to impress with this event. Chuck was very specific that you would really know how to set the fit mood."
"Great so how about we get down to details and then we can fit that into a budget."
Perfectly arched eyebrows hiked. "Aren't you even a little curious about me? I confess I've been quite curious about you."
Blair didn't know whether to admire the women for her candour or hate her for being beautiful and poised.
"What exactly do you want to know?"
"I only have one question. Do you realise how badly you hurt Chuck when you left?"
Blair stiffened at the personal attack. "Perhaps you could just do an Internet search for some old Gossip Girl posts, if you want to here about my drama."
Radiating protectiveness rather then malice, Gretchen leaned back in her chair and crossed her endlessly long legs. "Did you ever consider the gossip he'd face after you disappeared? The explanations he'd have to make?"
The woman's audacity amazed Blair. But Gretchen did have a point. After Blair fled to Paris, she'd tried not to think about Chuck or the mess she'd left behind. She'd thrown herself into a new job, trying to exhaust herself each day so she could sleep at night - without the booze to help her relax. She'd firmly believed Chuck would be better off without her then with a wife who would become a liability, and she still adhered to that opinion.
"Chuck isn't the make-excuses type." Determined to get this meeting back on a business footing, she clicked her pen. "Do you have a theme picked out?"
"In this city reputation is everything. You damaged Chuck's" Gretchen insisted, ignoring Blair's question.
"Ms. Mahoney, could we please stick with organising the party? Unless the party was only a ruse to get me here and harass me. My personal life is really not relative to planning a business event for your employer."
"If you believe that, then you were gone from this city for way too long. In a competitive market, it's not just what you do, but who you know and who you've pleased or crossed in the past. But we'll play this your way. For now."
She slid an embossed invitation across the table. "We will be holding a silent auction. As you can see the proceeds from the event will go to a local women's shelter run by the Bass Industries Charity. The shelter in a place near and dear to my heart."
"It's a worthy cause."
"My second husband rescued me from there."
Surprised, Blair didn't know what to say. Gretchen didn't look like the typical victim of abuse Blair had in her head.
"Once I found the courage to quit hiding my bruises and admit I had a problem, I escaped from my first marriage. My husband found me at the shelter he worked for Bass Industries, he introduced me to Chuck and helped me get a job. Chuck was a very supportive boss. He's a wonderful man, so understanding. I would have married him in an instant - after my second husband died, that is. But Chuck could never be mine. That part of him still belongs to you."
Blair's heart stalled in and her hand froze, pen clutched above paper. "You're mistaken."
"There are a few things in life that I won't share, but men top the list."
Alarm skitter down Blair's spine. "Are you warning me off?"
"No. I'm advising you not to hurt Chuck again. He deserves better."
"Better meaning you?"
"Better meaning a women who is strong enough to honour her commitment to him and not to run when the going gets tough."
Anger and shame blended inside Blair. By running away without explanation, she'd left the door open for everyone to think badly of her. She'd though it better to let people assume the worst, rather then stay, become a drunk and confirm it. She hadn't considered her departure might cast Chuck in a negative light.
With hindsight she realised what she considered an act of selflessness could be construed as one of selfishness by others. But admitting that to her hostess would be like handing a possible rival ammunition.
"You're judging me based on something of which you have no knowledge."
"I'm not judging you at all, Blair. I'm merely letting you know I'll be watching. And if you hurt him again, you'll find have to deal with me."
After delivering her threat, Gretchen uncrossed her legs and sat forward, the enmity in her eyes changing to excitement. "Now, about the party, it's this Friday and we need New York's wealthiest feeling happy and generous. What do you suggest?"
Head reeling at the about-face, Blair mentally adjusted from defence to offence. She wanted to tell Gretchen to stuff her party right up her behind. But she couldn't. Chuck had asked her to do this and was counting on her.
But her confrontation with Gretchen made one thing very clear. She had two choices. One: give up on the baby and retreat before loving Chuck destroyed her. Two: she could fight her demons, charge ahead and try to win back her husband and the life they'd once dreamed of sharing.
From her perspective either choice could be potentially disastrous, but only one offered a reward.
She studied the women in front of her. If Gretchen had taken back her life and refused to be a victim, could Blair be any less courageous?
No. She'd kept her drinking issue under control since that turning point night, and she would continue to do so. Chuck would never have to know.
AN: Sorry for the delay. My headaches have been horrible. I'm off to have my eyes cheeked on Monday to see if new glasses will help. Hope you all continue to enjoy reading. Xo