Chapter 28 – 2011 Stephanie and Colin
The college life was really over for the Yale gang now. They were all working now and was it the Ivy League education, the good genes, or high society connections, but they were surprisingly good at it. They were still in their twenties, but pranks were already behind them. Moreover, they were scattered all over the world, they didn't even see each other that much. Sometimes Steph regretted that she hadn't took a year off from college like the guys did to go to Fiji. At that time, she was eager to get out there, be independent, but now that she had been working for five years she sometimes wondered if she hadn't miss something, even if she was pretty proud of what she had already accomplished. She got offered a senior account executive position in her firm. Nevertheless, the consequence to that was that she worked like crazy as much as Colin, which meant that they barely see each other, even though they lived together.
That morning, her boss entered her office handling her a cup of coffee.
"Thanks Beth," Steph said with interrogative eyes. It wasn't that often that her boss came with a peace offering.
"I heard that Semple Brothers are not satisfied with their PR agency and that they are shopping for a new one. It's a huge account. Steven is already in contact with them but I kind of remember that you've got some connections with them, haven't you?"
"Well, Robert Semple is a very good friend of mine, I know him from Yale but he doesn't work for the company, he's at the White House."
"But do you know the family?" Beth pried.
"I met his parents several times, I was his plus one once or twice at the company functions when we were at Yale, just as friends. I'm also familiar with his brother Charles who does work for the company as well as his sister."
"Then would you be interested to work with Steven to land this account?"
"Sure, I guess I can give Charles a call and see what their needs are."
"Okay then, I let you handle this with Steven."
This was again a huge step, but Steph had to be careful. When she was a freshman, Charles was a senior at Yale and hit on her shamelessly. She was glad now she'd never given in, even though she had been tempted and wondered if Charles was dating anyone but he probably wasn't married or she would have known. As usual, she dove into her new task right away and asked her assistant to find his number and called him.
"Stephanie, I have Charles Semple online for you," her assistant told her through the intercom.
She picked up her phone "Hi! Charles, Stephanie Vanderbilt."
"How is the most gorgeous Yale blonde? To what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your voice?" Charles answered with his flirting tone.
"I'm fine Charles, it's always a pleasure to talk to you. So, if you don't mind, I won't beat around the bush, I've heard that Semple Brothers was looking for a new PR agency." She thought keeping it professional would be the smartest way.
"You've heard right Steph, we're reaching the end of our contract with Prosek and we're thinking of changing." Charles had been a player, but he always knew when he needed to keep his head.
"Well how about working with Linn Partners?"
"If that would mean working with you, I'm in," he answered, never missing an opportunity to flirt.
"Seriously Charles, what do you guys are looking for?"
"Okay, let's talk about it over dinner."
"I don't think dinner will be appropriate. I'm with Colin now, we live together."
"McCrae? Good for him, are you free for lunch then?"
"That I can do." Stephanie felt relieved.
"Okay, do you like Japanese?"
"Works for me."
"Okay, 12:30 at Cocoron on Delancey. I'll ask my assistant to make the reservation and she'll confirm with you. See you later, I gotta go I've a meeting," and Charles ended the call.
The lunch went pretty well. Charles behaved very himself, which was a relief for Steph, and gave her all the information she needed to prepare an offer with Steven. When the coffee was served, Steph noticed a change in Charles face.
"Steph, would you mind if we can have a more personal conversation?" he asked with a slightly worried tone.
"Sure, what's on your mind?" she answered slowly, wondering what kind of personal talk she could have with Charles Semple besides flirting.
"Have you been in touch recently with Robert?" He had a concerned look that she had never seen him with.
"Actually, Colin has a conference at Georgetown next week so we're going to spend the weekend there with him."
"Oh perfect, my sisters are pestering me because they're worried about him, and I have to admit that I'm too now. I know he's not naturally outgoing, but I think it takes him way too much time to recover from his heartbreak and…" Charles paused and again gazed at Steph with his concerned look. He hesitated, took a deep breath and kept talking.
"I think you know what happened to him the summer of his graduation?" he raised an eyebrow.
She nodded and knew Charles was seriously worried for his brother.
"And I think that the Yale guys don't, right?" he kept asking.
"No, he made me promise not to talk about it to them. Even if I didn't understand why he wanted to kept that secret, regarding the situation I didn't have much choice."
"What gives me hope is that he's doing a hell of a good job over there. My father came across Jay Jacobs, the chair of the Democratic party in New York, who told him that Robert was considered for running for the House of representatives. Apparently, he has the whole combo, money, the name, the charisma, the academic record blah blah blah."
"He's considering that?" Seph was stunned, it was so not like him.
"Of course not, but my point is that I'm wondering if that… inability to recover isn't an aftermath of his lack of mourning that summer. I've never met the girl and I only have his version, but what's is keeping them from each other? Is it really an ethics thing and the long distance? If he's so hung up on her, why doesn't he do something?"
Steph sighed. "I wish I knew how to help them but you have to add to that his fear of hurting Logan and that is actually what could be related to what you're mentioning."
"What does Logan have to do with that?" Charles was shaking his head wondering why at over thirty he was there talking about his brother's love life instead of trying to charm the pants of this blonde.
"You didn't know? Logan proposed to Rory four years ago and obviously she declined."
"Oh… The bro-code…"
"Not you too!" Steph hated this supposed guys rule like girls were their propriety.
"Well at least now I understand why he's not making a move."
Steph shook her head. She hated that both her friends were struggling and that the odds were against them. She also loathed having to keep that secret from her boyfriend and reassured herself that it was a promise she made to Robert before dating Colin.
"Thanks Steph. Hug Rob for me, will you? And tell him he should come home more often."
"Will do Charles. Regarding work, I'll send you our proposition ASAP."
Step went back to her office seriously worried for Robert. She actually had forgotten that effing secret, but now that Charles had mentioned it, Robert's concern about Logan totally made sense. Clearly, the only way to get out of this mess was in Rory's hands.
# # #
Colin started to work in the media law department of Latham & Watkins but was slowly shifting to patent law for tech companies. He had found himself several times in the courtroom second chair of one of the senior partners who became his mentor. He had been able to identify key trial issues early and avoid wasteful litigation and therefore earned his colleagues' trust.
"Why don't you call Rory and ask her out? Try to get back with her." Colin asked. They were having dinner with Steph at ENO. He wanted his friend to enjoy a nice night out with his favorite elixir, but he was clearly failing. Charles was right, Robert wasn't himself. Maybe people here in DC couldn't see that, but his college friends could perfectly identify an out of character Semple. He seemed even worse than last time they saw him.
Robert sighed. "So many reasons, the main one is maybe because I'm scared that she won't be interested anymore but also, I can't be involved with someone from the press. In this administration, they really make a point that we should be independent and I think it's totally fair."
"So, you mean that you're considering never giving a try with Rory?" Steph asked in disbelief.
Robert exhaled again, pondering if he should say out loud what he was cogitating for some time now. Maybe it was an opportunity to test this idea, after all they were two of his closest friends.
"I'm studying going back to research. Franck, my former thesis advisor, has already offered me a junior lecturer position at Harvard."
"Wow, it's a huge decision. But you like what you're doing in the White House right? Charles said that you were considered for the House of Representatives?" Steph asked, stunned by Robert's change of mind.
"I'm not running, it's really not for me, they keep bugging me but it's really not the life I want to get into. Let's face it, I'm too much of an idealist or not enough. It's not dedicating my life to public service that is bothering me, it's just not what I want to do on an everyday basis. You're supposed to work on laws that would help people, but instead you're dealing only with emergencies, how to handle people and mostly your enemies. At the White House, I'm there to think for the executive people not because they're dumb, but because they have to handle so much crap that they don't have time left for doing their actual work. I'm not sure I would do that for another president, though. Also, I miss being able to focus on the same subject for a long time. Here, I have to switch subjects all the time, I'm not sure I can work like that all my life."
"So are you doing it for a way to go back to Rory?" Steph asked.
"No, I just don't see myself doing political strategy all my life. I know now that I want to go back to what I left, research and teaching. I need to be able to think on the same subject for more than a few months, to write about it for more than two thousand words."
Colin smiled because he wasn't worried for his friend anymore. He knew Robert was not in such a bad place after all. It will take time, but he had his goal in his mind and he wasn't the kind of guy that would be derailed. Sure, the love issue wasn't tackled yet, but he was confident it would be the next step when he'll be ready because they were so much alike, fast as a hare in their professional life, but slow as a turtle concerning relationships.
# # #
Colin had a meeting at the Broad Institute in Cambridge. Since he'd handled their last patent without a hitch, he had been asked to be their main outside legal counselor. He usually never stayed overnight, but they fast had become his main client and therefore a single day wasn't enough anymore. Steph and him hadn't heard from Rory for a long time so he decided to see if he could see her when he would be there.
Hi Ror, I'll be in the Boston area on the 15th will you be there?
Yes will you have some time for me?
Do you still have a guestroom?" Rory actually never got a roommate since Robert left.
Sure, come crash at my place so we can catch up
It's a date, I'll take you out for dinner, pick your restaurant
Rory was glad that Colin had called. She was immersed in a new investigation about judicial leniency for Operating Under the Influence cases. With her team, they were monitoring trials in district courts across Massachusetts, pouring over thousands of pages of police and court records, and listening to scores of recordings of trials from the past two years. She definitely could use a distraction. She still loved her job, and was kind of surprised that she didn't miss the traveling but the writing. She was a deputy-editor, but she felt she was doing more managing and organizing than actually editing. Nevertheless, she had to admit that rummaging court records was a very good way to have Robert out of her brain.
# # #
"How are the guys doing? I have to admit that I miss them, as friends," Rory asked while perusing the menu.
She didn't mention it, but she chose Robert's favorite restaurant, a French bistro that they often used to go to. Rory had stop going there since her roommate left, but she felt it would be fine to eat there again with Colin.
"You know, friends only lose touch if you let them. Are you dating anyone?" Colin went straight to the fact.
"Nope," she answered her eyes not leaving the menu.
"Why not?"
"Is he dating anyone?"
"Who?" he raised an eyebrow to her. That at least made her to glance back at him.
"Don't play dumb with me, Colin, or I'm kicking you out," she looked at him sternly.
"No, I don't think so. At least he'd never say anything about it. He works too much to have time for that. Right now, he's preparing the G8 summit in France and the trip to Europe for Obama."
"He's doing well, isn't he?" she closed her eyelids for a second to picture him. It was that easy because no matter how hard she tried, in the evening when she was letting her guard down, he was always back in her mind.
"Yes, I guess he is. His security clearance has even been upgraded for him to get involved at higher levels. He's now considered as Axelrod's right arm and even refused to run for the House of Representatives. He's thinking about leaving the White House though, he got offers from universities."
"Do you talk to him often?" She needed to know how he was doing. She still missed him and wondered if it would ever stop.
"It depends. Almost every week or two weeks. You could call him you know, he would be happy to hear from you."
"How is it going with Steph?" Rory asked casually, sitting back in her chair, her eyes studying the man that caught her blonde friend's heart. He hadn't had time to change so he was still in his corporate tailored suit but he'd lost his necktie and left the first two buttons of his shirt opened. She thought he looked good, better than when he was in college. He still had his sweet gaze and his soft smile, but he had lost his stuck-up demeanor for a confident one that suited him.
Colin stared at Rory with frowned eyebrows. "So, we are changing subject?"
"I love how perceptive you are Colin," she smirked. "You have to make another move toward her Colin. Do you love her, I mean are you in love with her?"
"Of course, I am, how can you doubt that?" he stared at her in disbelief.
"I don't, but she's is starting to wonder where you two are going. You've been dating for years now."
"But I moved in with her, what more can I do?"
"Sure, but you see each other less than when you were in law school. She didn't say anything but I know she feels like you're in a dead-end routine. You guys have to think about your workaholic way of life. Just make a nice gesture once in a while. Nothing big, just a little thing showing that you care."
"You're giving me advice but you can't even talk to Robert." Colin shook his head.
"Touché. It's different. And I want you two to be happy, you two have to show us that we can be in love and work it through."
"You know that since I didn't join my father's practice I have to prove I'm good at what I'm doing, maybe harder than a random guy. Everywhere people look at my name and challenge me. Same thing for Finn and Logan, there are two sides. Sometimes I wish I would have been in engineering or a nurse, never have to be compared to my father." He gazed at Rory and decided to move the conversation back to her.
"Rory, maybe I'll overstep my boundaries and you'll think that we're not close enough to answer my question. Are you happy? Because… you don't look happy."
Rory sighed and looked at him. She noticed his warm caring blue gaze and realized he wasn't even a friend now but more like a concerned brother.
"You're right. I work all the time. I rarely see anyone who matters. I have superficial friends who I spend superficial time with. I don't have any friends here anymore since Paris left. The only close people are my father and my eight year old sister. Even if my relationship with my father has never been better, my life is all about the next story, then the other next story. That's it. And I am unhappy. I'm not even sure I love my job that much anymore. I'm in a weird limbo phase personally and professionally."
"Wow, and then I thought you wouldn't answer me. Paris left?"
"She's at John Hopkins now for her residency."
"Impressive, Yale, Harvard, John Hopkins. Nothing can stop her. What about you, why don't you look for a job in New York? Then you'll have Rose, Steph and me. It could be great."
"You might be right. I'll think about it."
On the plane back to New-York, Colin felt surprisingly happy of his interaction with Rory. He never had such a long one-on-one time with her. Even if he had never doubted that she was an amazing girl, he now understood why his three friends got hooked. She had this unique quality, a remarkable human being. Nevertheless, something dimmed in her but he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had really changed. He had caught her lost gaze several times and he found a little less spark than usual. He remembered that he had noticed the same wistfulness in Robert's eyes last time they'd met. He still couldn't understand why she had distanced herself from Finn and Robert. She looked so happy when the three of them were living in Boston. Maybe she was becoming an adult just like they were all and that all the excitement and the fun they used to encounter was just fading.
A/N: Sorry for the late update but I got distracted writing for the #NewYearsEveChallenge.
I always love to have your feedback so don't be shy and comment.
I'm glad that anonymousgg16 had time again to edit this chapter.
