Chapter 35

October 10, 2003 – Pine Valley, Pennsylvania

Zach was given a tour of the refurbished building in downtown Pine Valley. It sat alongside the various corporate office buildings – Enchantment, Chander Enterprises, Fusion – two of which were owned by Cambias. Apparently, the day after Zach visited Alexander in Las Vegas, Ryan traveled to Pine Valley to scout out prospective places to hold the Cambias headquarters. He found this building, empty and run down, and had gone back to Alexander with the idea of giving it a makeover. In full philanthropical mode, Alexander had loved it – saying it would revitalize the downtown area. Ryan completely bought into his benefactor's generous attitude. He had no idea that Alexander loved playing Rockefeller when it suited him. His civic-minded displays were calculated to garner praise and respect. Alexander had been quite successful when it came to Ryan Lavery. The former con artist had been well and truly conned.

Zach looked around at what would be his domain. It was ostentatious and imposing, with the intention of generating awe in anyone walking into it. Alexander to a T. Ryan strolled in. "So, what do you think?"

Zach shrugged. "It's just like the one my father had in New York."

Ryan smiled. "In other words, you hate it."

Zach looked around. A prison cell never looked so sumptuous. "Its perfect for Cambias. I might make a change or two. Maybe get a different frame for that painting…what is it called? Ah, 'Eviscerating Eagle.' I suppose I should be glad it's an abstract. Anyway, the frame has too much gilt, don't you think?"

Ryan turned to look out the window. "Decorating expenses are too small for me to care about. Do what you want. Hey, this is a very nice view of the mountains. My office faces the Fusion building. The one that got away. It's too bad, I would have enjoyed working with Greenlee and Kendall. I suppose I could still work with Kendall if you ever decide that all this isn't your cup of tea."

Zach regarded him with his head cocked. "Didn't your relationship with both of those ladies end badly?"

Ryan shrugged. "There are no hard feelings between Greenlee and I. She went on to marry my best friend, and they were very happy together. Both of us have lost spouses, so we've bonded a lot these past couple of weeks. As for Kendall, well, apparently it didn't end too badly if she is still madly in love with me."

Zach narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. "You believed that declaration at the reading of the will?"

Ryan gave him a smile that told Zach he would believe anything that suited his purposes. "I think it is entirely within the realm of possibility. Before my father died, he told me all about how Kendall would drive him crazy for information about me. Always wanted to know where I was living, what I was doing. She'd bug him for my phone number. It was a good thing Chris wasn't easily harassed, or else she would have been on my doorstep a dozen times."

Zach sat down at the plush armchair behind the desk. "And yet when I told her you were in Vegas with my father, she was so thrilled at that piece of information that she didn't even so much as glance in the direction of the airport."

Ryan's new assistant entered the office, looking worried. "Mr. Lavery, I'm so glad I found you! Derek Frye called. He's issued a warrant for your apartment. He says he'll tear the place apart if you won't give him what you have."

Ryan looked exasperated. "Barbara! What have I told you about giving me private messages in front of others?"

She flushed deeply. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Lavery. I was just so relieved to find you that I didn't realize Mr. Slater was in the room." She turned and hurried out of the office.

Zach gripped the arms of the chair. "What is Chief Frye looking for?"

Ryan shook his head. "That's none of your business."

Zach stood up. "If it has to do with my brother's murder, it is very much my business."

Ryan walked towards the door. "Well, then, as far as you know, it has nothing to do with Michael's murder. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make sure the cops don't damage my tuxedo. I'll need it tonight for the Fusion party. Are you going? I'm not sure whether you've been invited."

Zach went to the window. "I've been invited." Ryan nodded disinterestedly, and walked out the room.

Zach looked at the mountains. He wasn't sure yet whether he should go. Part of him wanted to go and see Kendall. She would be dressed in something fabulous, smiling, laughing, enchanting all her guests. He imagined that on some level she would be feeling just as happy as she appeared. Fusion was very important to her, and their ad campaign was a huge success. On the other hand, she had to be completely stressed out. The police were keeping a close eye on her, searching for evidence that she killed Michael, and that she had never married him. Zach frankly had no idea what was real and what wasn't. Had she married Michael to protect her family? Or had she pretended to in order to cover up the fact that she killed him? Was she still in love with Ryan, or had she said that to cover up something else? For over a month, she had done nothing but toss out red herrings. But, what would she have to gain by making such a statement?

As Ryan said, it was entirely possible that she was still in love with him. She had never given any indication to Zach that he meant more to her than a really good time in bed. True, she had seemed jealous of his connections to Maria and Lena, but that could have just been more about her insecurities than any proprietary feelings towards Zach. He told himself that he shouldn't dwell on it. He may be deeply in love with her, but they could never be together.

Shaking his head, he walked out of the room. He stopped next to his assistant's desk. "Gwen, I'd like you to call a decorator and get my office redone. I'll trust your judgement, just keep in mind that I'm a businessman, not a warlord."

She gave him an amused smile. "Yes sir, right away."

He continued out into the hallway and pushed the button for the elevator. He decided to go back to his new place and get ready for the party. He was renting a loft in the same building where Jackson Montgomery and Greenlee du Pres lived. He had decided against staying at Michael's condo. Living across from Kendall would have been torture. After the reading of the will, he decided not to try and question her about Michael's death. For one, he was pretty sure she wouldn't tell him a damn thing. For another, he wasn't sure he could keep his hands off her. Living just a few feet from her would shred his self-control quite effectively. Going to the Fusion party was different. He felt relatively confident that he could behave in a roomful of people.

Kendall looked around at the crowd, hoping to see Zach somewhere. She had invited him to the party, giving the excuse to the other Fusion ladies that he was now a prominent local businessman, and, after all, he had saved their asses from belonging to Michael Cambias. She didn't know why she wanted him there so badly. It wasn't like they could be together. The cops were already breathing down her neck with a long list of reasons why she would want to kill Michael. The last thing she needed was to give them a trump card in the form of Zach. Conspiracy theories would be dancing in front of their eyes. She suddenly found herself hoping Zach wasn't coming after all. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stay away from him, and the assistant DA, Justin McCoy, was walking around with a perpetually narrowed gaze.

Kendall spotted Ryan walking in. He was a few feet away from Justin. She made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ryan! I'm so glad you're here!" She planted a kiss on his lips.

When she pulled back, Ryan had an amused gleam in his eyes. "Hollywood producers must be sorely disappointed that you decided to become a cosmetics queen. I'm very impressed with your performance."

Greenlee appeared next to them. "I'm not! You know as well as I do, Kendall, that you aren't still in love with Ryan, so cut the act."

Kendall clenched her jaw, hoping that Justin hadn't overheard her. "Zip it, you little twerp! Why should you care about what I do with Ryan? You have Juan Pablo Blahdiblah Blah eating his overheated Latin heart out over you."

Greenlee laid a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Ryan is a friend. I don't want him to get hurt because you have this twisted need to play games."

Ryan covered Greenlee's hand with his. "Ladies, ladies! Enough. Greenlee, I can take care of myself. Kendall…" Removing his hand from Greenlee's, he reached out and ran a finger down Kendall's cheek. "Don't you have other guests to mingle with?"

Aware that Justin was watching, Kendall gritted her teeth and put her hand over Ryan's. "I'm not giving up on us. Now that you're in town to stay, I have the chance to make you mine again." She shifted her face and kissed his fingers. Then she turned and walked away, amused at Greenlee's furious expression. The amusement died when she saw that Zach was standing there. What had he seen? She swallowed, telling herself it didn't matter. She turned in yet another direction, and blindly made her way over to where Simone and Mia were chatting with a reporter. Pasting a smile on her face, she said, "Its time to announce the winner of the Sexiest Man contest."

Zach watched as Kendall, Simone and Mia went over and grabbed Greenlee, then walked up to the stage. They announced the finalists of the contest, cheering and catcalling as the men came up on stage. The whole thing was ridiculous, but the girls were working it for all it was worth and the crowd was eating it up. He found himself smiling as he watched Kendall shine. He felt some of the tension that had taken hold of him earlier seep out. He had come in the door just in time to see Kendall practically brand Ryan as belonging to her in front of Greenlee. Ryan had mentioned earlier that he was bonding with Greenlee. Was Kendall jealous, and therefore anxious to stake her claim? He told himself it didn't matter.

After the winner was announced, Zach watched as Kendall exited the stage. A man came up to her that Zach recognized as the assistant DA who had taken a personal interest in Michael's murder investigation. The enchanting smile faded from Kendall's face, replaced by anger as McCoy said something to her. She angrily responded. Smirking, he said something back to her, then walked away. For a few moments, she looked panicked. Then she schooled her features into one of unconcern and walked out of the room.

Zach started to follow her, but was detained by Adam Chandler. Wearing a phony jovial expression on his face, Adam clapped Zach on the shoulder. "Congratulations on your inheritance, Slater. As a long time citizen of this town, I am pleased that our economy will receive a boost from the relocation of your company. I must say that I admire what you did for Fusion. It was quite reprehensible of your brother to trick those fine ladies, and you were a true gentleman to undo the damage."

Zach knew where this was going, and he was not in the mood. He wanted to go see Kendall. He saw Ryan extract himself from Greenlee and go in the direction where Kendall had disappeared. Hell. "Adam, how about I head you off at the pass? You want me to do the same with Chandler. I'm in agreement with your desire, but it is entirely up to Ryan Lavery whether you get your company back. Do you think he will be amenable to that?"

Adam's jovial mask slipped. "Ryan Lavery hates me. He's probably looking forward to dangling my company in front of me. If you have any integrity, Slater, you won't let him get away with it."

Zach shrugged. "Integrity, eh? I guess you're shit out of luck." He circled around Chandler and went in the direction that Kendall and Ryan had gone. He was unable to find them. He turned and went back into the party, and threaded his way through the crowd to the elevator. He was unable to banish from his mind the idea of Ryan comforting Kendall, and the two of them eventually succumbing to passion.