A/N: hey folks! Awayyyy we go. I just want you to know we aren't entirely at Thanksgiving but this is leading up to some classic GG dramatics. Shout out to S3 aka the most dramatic thanksgiving of them all.
Thank you to all my readers and viewers and visitors! I've been in a bit of a slump creatively, emotionally, mentally but I'm happy to have you along for the ride. I'm coming out strong on the other side - thanks to a wonderful friend for giving me so many encouraging words recently. You da best, B.
Thank you to Guest, Gingerandspice1, geminibbyy and tragical for reviewing! It truly means a lot to me when you share your thoughts along the way. Even if you aren't sure what to say after you read, trust me when I say writers appreciate any comments :) I write this for myself because I enjoy it but it makes a huge difference to have an audience rooting for our couple, too!
So, without further rambling, dive into Chapter 15!
"So, what really brings you down to Lower Manhattan?" Mackenzie offered her brother a smirk as she paused to take a sip of her latte. "Not that I don't mind a break from the office."
Dan rolled his eyes and matched her smirk, adjusting to unbutton his coat as he sat across from his sister. It was Monday afternoon and he had just dropped by her office - offering her a breath of fresh air and a coffee. "I have an interview with The New Yorker in a few hours. And what, am I not allowed to just want to have a catch up with my sister?"
Mackenzie's face softened at his sentiment. After her weekend away with Nate, she had started her workweek headstrong and tried to stay relaxed. Even with only days to wait for her testing results and a family dinner approaching. She knew she didn't have to be worried all the time. Well, of course she knew that. Admittedly,
what was helping the most was an increase on her medication dosage. It was a trial, really. Simone thought it might help. And so far, everything seemed to feel okay. Although Mackenzie's biggest fear was losing her feelings all together.
"How was the big fancy gala at The White House?" Dan continued on, raising an eyebrow at Mackenzie. "A glimpse into the future?"
Mackenzie let out a laugh. "I feel like I was a bit unprepared, really. Tons of important people who all look the same or similar with greying hair and pretty wives. But Nate really shines when he's talking about The Spectator and his plans for its growth. It was really the best part of it."
Dan smiled at her honesty, then swallowed hard. Mackenzie saw his face fall.
"What's that face for?" Mackenzie raised her eyebrows at him, letting out a long breath. Was she ready for a Daniel Humphrey lecture? Never. Was it coming to her anyway? Probably.
"I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing with all this," Dan said slowly, as if choosing his words delicately. He waved his hands around as if trying to motion to something big, like the universe as a whole.
Mackenzie didn't reply to him on purpose. She hoped her confused face was enough to bait him to continue rambling about whatever was on his mind. She took another sip of her coffee, gently placing it back on the table and running her fingers up and down the side of the ceramic mug.
"I know your relationship with Nate is going well and I'm so happy for you two. And I know this whole world you've been wrapped into with him isn't new but Mack, is this what you want? I guess what I'm trying to do is check in and make sure you're not ignoring anything for Nate and his future." Dan paused and ran a hand through his hair. "Nate is one of my best friends but that doesn't mean I don't see his focus and work ethic. I don't want you to be pushed to the side for Nate's career and political goals."
Mackenzie just swallowed hard as she took in Dan's words. Frankly, she hadn't really considered her own goals lately. Not beyond some serious short term things like getting her brain under control. She liked that she worked for a charity that was doing good work. She still got to flex her mind and challenge herself with financial analytics and get involved in the community. But Dan had a point - she could speak years into the future about what Nate was going to do but she wasn't really sure what Mackenzie was going to be doing in five or ten years.
But she didn't really have a problem with that. She didn't need to have a plan beyond next week if she didn't want to.
"Dan, I appreciate your concern, really. But where is this coming from?"
Dan just shrugged, then tilted his head slightly. "I don't know. Serena and I have been talking a lot about our new little family and the future and how we grew up. And I remember this version of you when we were kids and I just hope this path you're on now is what little Mackenzie wanted, too." His face finally broke into a small smile. "Sorry, I really didn't want to pull you into a bad mood. I know you and Nate are still fresh again and figuring it all out. But I saw that picture of you in that gown and jewelry and I just had this urge to make sure you were okay. You didn't get thrust into this world the same way me and Jen did with dad. It can be a huge shift from the Brooklyn life into high society and I just want you to know you're not alone in all this."
Mackenzie felt like this was a lot for her brother to be digging into after just seeing a picture of her and Nate from their weekend in Washington. But she also knew her brother was also going through a transitional time in his life - newly married, first child on the way. It was fair for him to be projecting his concerns and really, while it was teetering on the edge of annoying and preachy, she did appreciate how he cared.
Mackenzie smiled at her brother and squeezed his hand for a moment across the table. "I think there are a lot of discussions Nate and I are going to have to have before the spring. I will say that. But Dan, I've never really known what my plan was for the future. Things just seemed to happen as I went along. I don't know, things would be different if I hadn't stayed in London or if I didn't decide to live in Australia for a year before college. But here I am now and I'm figuring it out. I don't know if I want to work for The Bass Foundation forever but for the time being, I'm enjoying it. And I want to support Nate and I know he would support me in whatever I wanted to do in the future, too. Plus, c'mon, I think you know me well enough - the last thing I would do is let a boy dismiss my own goals for his. Nate and I are a team, you know."
Before Dan could reply, Mackenzie's phone started to ring. It was Chuck.
"Sorry, it's the boss," she smirked at her brother as she took the call. "Hey Chuck."
"Miss Humphrey," Chuck said warmly on the line. "Are you available for a meeting this afternoon? Say in about an hour. I can send a car."
Mackenzie knew last minute meetings with Chuck weren't something to dismiss. Chuck asking if she was available was more of a request to make herself available if she wasn't.
"Sure. Anything I need to know ahead of time?" She glanced down at her watch to see what kind of timeline she was working with. Her coffee date with Dan was definitely going to be cut short.
"Bass Industries is having some bad press in Australia. You'll hear more soon. But we need to do some -
"Damage control?" Mackenzie finished his sentence, letting out a sigh.
"Precisely. I'll see you soon."
Mackenzie tucked her phone away and grabbed her coffee to finish it quickly. "Sorry, I've gotta go."
Dan nodded his head, understanding. "All good. Mack, just one more thing."
Mackenzie paused as she stood. "Yeah?"
"Just be careful, okay? This life can be dramatic, it's easy to get lost and hurt."
"Dan, Nate and I -
"I don't just mean with Nate."
Mackenzie just gave her brother one more grateful smile and waved as she left the coffee shop, hurrying back to the office. She barely had time to process everything Dan has just spewed out at her as she wrapped up a few tasks, getting ready to head over to Bass Industries. She wasn't sure why she was being asked to meet about something happening with the Bass Australia team, whatever mess was happening would really need to be handled by their PR division. But when Chuck requested her by personal phone call, she went.
She nervously swept her hair over her shoulder as she stepped out of the car, thanking the driver and hurrying into the Bass Industries building. Even though it was years ago, Mackenzie still got a shiver of bad memories at times when she entered the office. She had grown immensely since she was doing her internship hours at BI, but it wasn't always easy to shake off.
She met Chuck and a few others in one of the board rooms upstairs, shaking off her coat and throwing it over her chair. She looked down the long wooden table at Chuck who was messaging frantically on his phone. She gazed at the other faces in the room - an unusually stoic Jack Bass, Lydia from the finance team and a few others Mackenzie could only assume were from Human Resources and Marketing. Clearly something needed fixing.
"Mackenzie, thanks for getting here so quickly," Chuck started, offering her a small smile. For the first time in a while, she saw a tense stressful look on Chuck's face. "Jack, want to get everyone up to speed?"
Mackenzie's eyes moved over to Jack Bass, who was leaning back in his chair, looking much more casual than his nephew. "So, one of our subsidiary companies in Sydney made a big mistake last week and it only came to our attention today." He outlined what exactly happened - a team of construction workers broke land on a protected park, caused significant damage to a wildlife ecosystem and in the midst of it, started a small brush fire. And the entire situation was being shared around various news and social outlets across Australia. It was a bad look for Bass Australia, there was no denying it.
The entire team broke into plans for saving the situation - ranging from reprimanding the team from the construction company to a public apology.
"And of course, we're donating a significant chunk of change to whatever wildlife conservation group willing to help fix the environmental damage," Jack concluded, shrugging. "They just take their greenery so seriously so it may be hard to bounce back."
Mackenzie finally spoke up once Jack finished. "I mean, it is in the Bass Industries mission statement to strive for eco-friendly business practices so I think we should be taking their greenery seriously, too."
"Precisely why I wanted you here, Miss Humphrey," Chuck said after her, pointing down the table. "I've been considering it for some time but maybe now it's more important than ever. I want to expand the Foundation to Australia."
Before Mackenzie could reply, Chuck continued. "I know it's a big undertaking and to get the charitable licensing and all the information sorted will not be easy from this hemisphere but I hope you're up for the challenge. We may need you to spend a few weeks there in January to help organize staff and make sure things are operating but that's a conversation we can have on our own."
Mackenzie just nodded as he continued to talk to the group. Sure, okay. Like she could just jump on a plane and spend a few weeks on the other side of the globe. Although she did dream of returning to Australia one day, she hoped it would be for pleasure and maybe with Nate by her side. Not to fix a work crisis alongside Jack Bass.
Nate felt like he was still riding on a wave of positivity when he was back in the office on Monday. Despite his awful hangover on Saturday, his time in Washington had been exactly what he needed. He got to spend time with his DC staff, dress up with his girlfriend, meet tons of promising new connections and have sex while thousands of feet up in the air.
Well, that last part was just an added bonus but it was awesome nonetheless.
But back in the New York office, things were busy. He knew that once they were into January, his campaign planning would ramp up again. In fact, he knew he owed content to Kenneth about some of his platform goals and he had been putting it off.
And he had to finish his next few weekly columns, too.
He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head, glancing from his computer screen to his phone. Despite his workload and busy weekend, he was still patiently waiting for information from Chuck's investigator about Maya Peron. Mackenzie managed to skirt around the topic all weekend and a part of Nate was relieved they could ignore it for a few days. But he still remained sceptical and guarded about the situation.
"Hey Nate?"
Nate turned his head to see Taylor knocking on his door.
"We're going to review a few of those new recap reels Gio was putting together, if you wanted to join us in the boardroom."
Nate thought for a moment then nodded, standing up at his desk and shaking off his suit jacket. "Anything to avoid this blank screen." He smirked at Taylor and followed her out of the office.
"Hey, I officially met your cousin this weekend," Nate said to her as they made their way past the bullpen of cubicles.
"Graham?" Taylor turned her head to him, rolling her eyes behind her glasses. "Lucky for you."
"Yeah, he was a bit of a dick, if I'm being honest," Nate said frankly, getting a laugh out of her. "And he also told me you're a Red Sox fan and I've gotta be honest, it made me rethink our decision to hire you."
Taylor's mouth dropped open, quickly realizing Nate was simply joking. "Listen, the Red Sox have an incredible team. You're loyal to the Yankees on the sole basis that -
"They have the best track record in MLB history?" He cut her off as he slid into a chair at the end of the table in the boardroom.
"Oh my god," Taylor laughed and rolled her eyes. "Are you going to spout to me about their 26 World Series championships now, too?"
Nate gave her a half smile. "27."
"Can we get back to politics?" Taylor gave him another smile and slid into the chair beside him, motioning towards the TV at the end of the room.
Nate was intensely proud of The Spectator and it's growth over the past five years. From a dozen staff to nearly sixty between the two offices, the news outlet had really grown from its original tabloid roots to being authentic and honest in its reporting. After the election closed off, people were lining up to advertise on their website and their biweekly print edition was selling out after each print. Nate was being lauded for his determination and passion for the honest integrity of news reporting and he was eager for more. He and Leo had big plans for the next ten years - expanding to Chicago and Seattle, growing the website, increased staffing, specialists and overseas reporting. Of course, his run for Mayor was derailing some timelines but he knew he couldn't be at the helm of the ship forever.
But he was passionate about politics - more than he ever dreamed. Growing up, Nate knew his grandfather had plenty of important relationships as with politicians. He spent many Easter's on the White House lawn, running around with the other political children and grandchildren. And as he became more educated on the things that mattered, he really hoped he could make a difference.
"Hey boss, a bunch of us are going out for Happy Hour - you in?"
Nate closed his laptop and glanced at his watch. It was well past happy hour now and he was grateful for his hard working staff. But, he was also exhausted.
"I'll pass! Have fun." The group of reporters shuffled away, pulling on their jackets as they headed out of the office.
It had been a long Monday and he was looking forward to changing out of his suit. He wanted to have dinner with Mackenzie but she said she was working late and might have a busy week at work. With Thanksgiving approaching, he wanted to finalize all their final family plans and figure out the best way to prepare her for a holiday with the Vanderbilts. It was another topic they had been avoiding.
He tapped his hands on his desk and let out a long breath, conceding that maybe it was just best to venture home and order a pizza. He had just spent the weekend with Mackenzie but he truly missed her on the days when he didn't see her.
He was looking forward to the days when going home meant going home to her. Although that was yet another conversation they had yet to broach.
He shut off his office lights and grabbed his bag as he headed out, buttoning up his coat and messaging John to see if he was nearby. As he headed towards the elevator, he paused to look around the quiet office. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard a door fly open, followed by the sound of someone sniffling, crying. He turned his head down the hall and saw Taylor emerging from the washroom, eyes wide, trying to wipe her tears.
"Oh my god, Nate," she mumbled out, pointing her head down to avoid looking at him. "Sorry, I was just leaving."
"Are you okay?" Nate turned toward where she was standing, a cautious frown on her face.
"No, I've just had a really shitty afternoon, but I'll be fine," she replied, trying to plaster a smile on her face.
"Are you sure? Did something happen here? Because you can tell me if -
"No, no, it's fine," she continued on, cutting me off. "It's just a dumb personal thing, not work."
Nate glanced down at his phone, getting a delayed message from John saying he was a few blocks away.
"I'm really sorry to distract you on your way out. Trust me, I'm fine. I prefer not to break down and cry at work so let's forget this happened, okay?" Taylor smiled at him and slipped away, hurrying back to her desk, disappearing from Nate's sight. He let out a breath and shook his head. Before he could think about turning around and trying to talk to her, if that was even appropriate or helpful, his phone started to ring. He sighed when he saw his mother on his caller ID.
"Mom, hi," Nate brought his phone up to his ear as he stepped into the elevator, already rolling his eyes as Anne spoke. "No, no. We haven't even finalized Thanksgiving yet, let alone talked about Christmas."
Tuesday was a long day. Mackenzie was working late again, this time in another meeting with Jack and Chuck, plus a team of executives from Bass Australia via video conference. The time difference was the biggest issue they were running into - evening in New York was early morning in Sydney the next day, so they were struggling to get plans into motion.
Chuck sent Mackenzie home in one of the company cars after their meeting finally let out and she was grateful for the quick transportation home. On the one hand, she could appreciate having a busy day at work because it kept her mind off of everything else: Maya, upcoming family dinners, the holidays, her mom's birthday, everything. But busy days also kept her from Nate - their correspondence had dropped off and even though they both had the best intentions to get dinner or grab a drink after work that Tuesday night, meetings just got in the way.
Mackenzie thanked the driver as he opened her door, pulling her coat tightly as the November wind howled. She hurried inside and climbed her way up to the loft, slowly scrolling through emails and her social media feeds. She paused when she reached the door, quickly keying in her door code. The lock mechanism flashed red and she tried again. Red.
"Shit," she said under her breath. She figured she must have keyed in the wrong number in her distracted state. She fished through her bag for the key, the easiest way to override the fancy lock system and finally got inside.
But when she did, something felt off.
Admittedly, it had been a long day and Mackenzie didn't entirely remember what everything looked like when she left that morning. But between a few scuff marks on the floor near the door and the couch pillows being piled on the floor, something felt wrong.
Mackenzie took a deep breath, waiting for her mind to over react and freak out but she managed to remain calm. Maybe her medication was helping her more than she thought. She walked around to explore the loft and finally called Nate. She wasn't sure what to do next but there was an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Hey you," she heard his voice on the other side of the phone, as he broke away from laughter about something.
"Hi," she said quietly in response. "Is this a bad time?"
"Never a bad time," Nate replied. "Are you okay?"
Mackenzie was always impressed when he could read a simple shift in her mood, even after only one sentence.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got to the loft and something is wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, really. Like this might sound crazy but it feels like someone has been in here? I'm just getting a really uncomfortable vibe and I'm not sure what to do."
"Can you wait there for me? I'm on my way right now."
Nate ended the call and tucked his phone into his pocket, suddenly feeling worried. He glanced across his desk to Leo, who was typing something out on his phone as they caught up about their weekend in Washington.
"Everything okay?" Leo asked, watching as Nate collected his things to leave.
"I hope so," Nate replied. "Sorry to cut this short."
"All good, boss," Leo said with a smirk. "Just to keep you updated they sent the plane in for an inspection, by the way - normal for our mileage the past six months."
"Thanks." Nate nodded as he headed out, placing a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Oh and to answer your question from earlier, Rufus Humphrey prefers red wine but try not to kiss his ass, especially if you've only just started to date his daughter."
"I don't even know if we're dating, man! But a family dinner invite is serious, right?" Nate just chuckled as he let Leo spiral behind him.
He was climbing the stairs to the loft half an hour later. He pushed the door open and found Mackenzie pacing around with her phone up to her ear.
"He just got here now, I'll let you know what happens. And yes, I'll let dad know, too," Mackenzie rolled her eyes as she hung up the phone.
"Hey," Nate said as he approached her, planting a quick kiss on her lips.
She smiled for a moment, already comforted just by the sight of him. Then her face fell. "So, I talked to Jen and Dan and they both didn't come by here at all today. And Rufus is still in LA for a few days. Maybe I'm overreacting. But Dan did say he stopped by Saturday morning to grab some books but he's certain he locked the door so I don't know."
"Is there anything missing?" Nate started to wander around, looking at the windows as he moved from room to room.
"Not that I can tell. I keep all my important stuff in a lock box under my bed and that was exactly where I left it." Mackenzie sighed and dropped down onto the couch. "I just got a weird vibe when I walked in."
"Well, you shouldn't ignore your gut feelings," Nate replied to her as he came back into the living room. He knew Mackenzie had a lot on her plate and even though she didn't like to talk about it, she still had some lingering fears after the break in a few months ago. There could be nothing wrong or different about the loft but it may not be easy to convince her anxiety of that fact.
"What do you think I should do?"
"Well, reset everyone's door codes. And then pack a bag and come home with me." Nate extended his hand to help her stand up off the couch. "It's only a quick fix to your worries but I know you won't sleep if you stay here tonight. And I won't either. So." Once she was on her feet he pulled her into her arms, planting a kiss on the top of her head as she held onto him.
"You know, I didn't even hyperventilate once during this whole situation," Mackenzie said proudly as she pulled away from him, a small half smile on her face.
Nate smiled down at her, running his hands up and down her back. "Way to go, Humphrey."
—
Nate always considered his bedroom a sanctuary. Even though he grew up as an only child and never really had to fight for alone time or his own space, his bedroom was the only place he was actually allowed to exist as himself. And that had carried onto his own apartment, too. While he didn't have much of an eye for design nor did he care really for which curtains best complimented his living room rug, his bedroom was his own.
Upgrading to a king size bed was unnecessary as a bachelor but he was always grateful for it when it came to sharing a bed. During the gap of time between Mackenzie staying in London and her return, Nate had a lot of temporary nights with dates and he didn't often encourage them to stay over. To him, waking up beside someone, taking them in during a raw, vulnerable morning, hair messy and unkempt, was personal. It was real. And after he lost having Mackenzie on the other side of the bed, none of it was real anymore.
But now, laying in bed with Mackenzie laying on his chest, he still had to convince himself it wasn't a dream again.
They had gone from the loft, to eating in at Thai Kitchen and back to his apartment. And now, as it was dark and cold with the wind howling outside, his bedroom was quiet and warm. There was a soft glow coming from his bedside lamps and his open curtains allowed a view over his balcony, with towering buildings shining light in. Max was curled up at their feet and everything was calm.
It was nice. It was the way Nate always wanted to end his nights.
Mackenzie was lying curled up onto his shoulder, humming softly and running her hands across his bare chest. Nate had his arms circled around her, still managing to reply to emails and scroll through his phone with her resting halfway on top of him.
"Hey, I finally got all the shots back from my campaign photo shoot. Wanna see?" Nate leaned down and kissed her forehead as she adjusted to look at his phone with him. He held his phone in one hand and kept the other wrapped around her, scrolling through the pictures.
"I still think you should have gone with the charcoal suit," Mackenzie commented as he swiped through the pictures.
"Ken and Miranda said navy is more democratic," he replied to her. "Whatever that means."
"Oh, that one." Mackenzie reached up to point at his phone. "I like that one." She pulled his phone down to get a closer look. The picture was probably just an outtake, since Nate wasn't even looking at the camera. But his smile was so genuine, the small creases around his eyes turned up and his eyes themselves were so very blue. "I want a copy of this, please."
"Only because you said please," Nate replied, saving the picture to send to her.
"You look great in all of these though," Mackenzie commented as he kept scrolling. "Not to inflate your ego or anything."
"Listen, I'm well aware of the effect my chiseled jawline has on you," Nate smirked, squeezing her tightly.
"Okay, forget I said anything. Every single picture is terrible," she joked back, dramatically rolling her eyes as he looked through them. Suddenly as they were both watching his screen a text from Chuck popped up: 'Andrew just dropped off an envelope at my house for you. Call me.'
Nate quickly dismissed the message.
"Who's Andrew?" Mackenzie asked curiously. She thought she had heard Chuck mention the name before but she wasn't sure.
"Just someone Chuck knows. He's helping me find some information about the warehouse accident last month," Nate said quickly. He hated to lie to her but it's not like he could explain he was investigating her maybe sister Maya.
"Oh, I didn't realize that was anything beyond an accident," Mackenzie said with a shrug. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, definitely no cause for concern," Nate continued, moving his phone to the side table and wrapping his arms around her tightly, leaning in to kiss her neck. It was an attempt to change the topic or distract her, at least.
He pulled away from her as her laughter filled his ears and he couldn't help but stop and watch her.
"You're staring, Archibald," she said as her cheeks turned red, burying her face into his shoulder again.
"Mack, I want you to move in with me," he said quietly, running his hands up and down her back. "Seriously."
"Nate." Mackenzie lifted her head up and turned to look at him.
"I'm not saying this because of what happened tonight or because of the break in," he continued on, trying to combat the doubts he assumed were creeping into her mind. "Although, I'm still worried about all that."
"You don't think it's too soon?" She squeezed her eyes shut as she leaned onto his chest, continuing to graze her fingers along it. "We've really only been dating for a few months."
"I know but I don't see it that way. Like, I know we weren't together for two years but there was still something between us, Mack. So getting back together in September was new again but it wasn't really, in a way."
Mackenzie pursed her lips together then let out a breath. "I know what you're saying but…" She paused, then pulled herself off of him, shifting to sit cross legged facing him instead. "The last time I lived with a boyfriend was so long ago. And it didn't work out very well." She took a deep breath as her brain flashed back to her time in Australia. "Although Luke was just an awful person in the first place and I know living with you would not be like how it was with him - a waking nightmare."
"Mack, hey, slow down." Nate sat up and mirrored her position, reaching out to grab her hands. "I want to wake up beside you every morning and have coffee and kiss you goodbye. And I want to come home and complain about our days together and enjoy the hot tub and cook and have you steal my blankets all night." He paused again. "And honestly, I've never done this before. The closest thing I've ever had to living with a girlfriend was when I lived in the penthouse suite at The Empire with Chuck. But I think it's safe to say I'll enjoy sharing a shower with you more than him."
Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh at his last statement.
"That came out wrong," Nate laughed with her, relaxing his shoulders. "It doesn't have to be tomorrow or next week or anything, but if Rufus is going to sell the loft in the spring anyway, I think we should make a plan."
Mackenzie closed her eyes then squeezed Nate's hands. "Okay. Let's do this." She opened her eyes again and saw his bright eyes sparkling with excitement.
Everything Nate said from waking up to crawling into bed together was enough to squash most of Mackenzie's fears. In reality, they were two years behind in moving in together. As much as she wished she could go back and do things differently, she had to focus on this. She had to focus on now. She had to focus on the next steps.
Like moving in with Nate Archibald.
"But you know we're going to have to do something about your closet, right? I mean, it is your fault I'm so obsessed with adding to my Louboutin collection now."
Nate smirked then leaped towards her, gently tackling her onto her back, sending her into a fit of laughter as he grabbed at her hips. "Okay. New apartment rule: we're wrestling for closet space."
Nate stopped by the Bass Industries office first thing Wednesday morning. He was feeling conflicted about involving Andrew to find out more about Maya - especially since doing so meant he kept it from Mackenzie. They were usually so good about talking about the uncomfortable things
But there was something about the entire situation that still didn't sit comfortably.
He made his way to the upper floors and headed into Chuck's office.
"Hey," Nate announced himself as he walked in, taking a seat in one of the chairs across from Chuck's desk. "Sorry I didn't call you last night about this. Mackenzie was over and -
"Say no more," Chuck said with a smirk, reaching into one of the drawers on the side of the desk.
Nate just rolled his eyes. "I just don't want her to know about this, especially if there is nothing to know. If that makes sense."
"Well, I didn't open it so I'm not sure what's in store," Chuck replied, handing the envelope across to Nate. "But you know well enough that sometimes things like this can really make things worse. I would tread carefully."
Nate just nodded, clutching the envelope in his hand. "Thank you. And send me Andrew's invoice."
Chuck just waved his hand, shaking his head. "Don't be silly. The man is on a retainer, I'll cover this." He paused. "The well being of Miss Kenzie is important to me, too, you know."
Nate smiled at his friend across the desk and let out a breath. He glanced down at the envelope and flipped it over in his hands a few times, contemplating.
"Will you be suffering through the big Thanksgiving dinner at the Van Der Woodsen's next week?" Chuck asked as Nate stood up to leave. "I thought we would be off to Paris but somehow Blair rearranged our holiday plans. As much as I care for Lily, I find these big holiday dinners to be a bit too dramatic for my liking."
Nate tilted his head, letting out a laugh. "I think our plan is Vanderbilts for brunch then Lily's for dinner. So, at least we'll have each other, man."
Chuck gave him a small grateful smile.
Nate gave him another nod and lifted up the envelope in his hand. "And thanks again, Chuck. Really."
Despite the long days at work and the uncertainty about the loft, Mackenzie was feeling incredibly well rested on Wednesday. She was surprised at herself - her chat with Nate about moving in was so easy and she didn't feel like freaking out just yet. She felt perfectly okay about it all. The idea made the most sense, really. Even if Rufus wasn't going to sell his Brooklyn real estate, she spent half of her nights at Nate's and he spent half of his at the loft. It made more sense to live together.
She glanced away from her computer screen as her phone buzzed. It was a message from Viv: 'can we get a drink after work, please? I'm having a big Drew problem and I need your advice. And a strong martini.'
Mackenzie sighed. She owed it to her friend to finally get together. And if the topic was Drew, it was more than likely it would only be the two of them for the evening anyway, which was her preference. Mackenzie texted her back right away: 'I'm in. Let's do Attaboy for 7?"
By the end of her workday, Mackenzie needed a drink, too. Dealing with business licenses and charitable applications in another country was more challenging than she anticipated. Chuck was continuing to apply some pressure about possible travel plans to help get things launched in the new year and she didn't want to think about it just yet.
She found Viv tucked into a side booth sipping a heavily armed martini, staring at a string of long messages on her phone.
"Oh god Mack, this is a mess," Viv cried out quietly as Mackenzie slid into the seat across from her. She quickly ordered her own drink while Viv filled her in on what was going on - Drew's girlfriend found out about what was going on and had given him an ultimatum.
"If he stays with her, we can't even be friends anymore," Viv carried on, brushing her straight blonde locks out of her face. "That's like losing my best friend."
"Have you told him how you felt?" Mackenzie prodded. "What makes you think he doesn't feel the same way?"
"I don't know. Carter thinks it's a bad move. That I'll scare him off."
"Carter's an idiot, Viv." Mackenzie rolled her eyes, thanking the waiter as he dropped off her cocktail. She took a long sip and shook her head. "That's garbage advice. To me, Drew doesn't love that girl anymore. Not the way he once did. Whatever this is between you two has been more than just sleeping together. Sounds like he has to make a hard decision and he doesn't want to."
Mackenzie watched as her friend poured the rest of her drink down her throat.
"Carter also said I should just date someone else, make Drew jealous. Get him on my side."
"You need to stop listening to Carter Baizen," Mackenzie replied, rolling her eyes. "Viv, you're such a catch. You're smart, employed, super hot, incredibly fun to be around - if Drew is really having such a struggle, it's his loss."
Viv finally smiled and Mackenzie was so grateful for it.
"Speaking of Carter," Viv continued, sitting up straight and motioning to a nearby waiter she wanted another drink. "As previously stated, the guy is into you."
Mackenzie sighed. "I don't believe that and it doesn't make a difference to my life. I'm honestly hardly even friends with the guy. I don't know why his interest in me peaked and I don't want to hurt his feelings -
"That boy does not have feelings," Viv interjected.
"Then he doesn't really have an interest in me. I think he just likes the thrill of a chase, like he wants what he can't have." Mackenzie just shrugged. "He and I will remain casual acquaintances and that's it. Nate does not even like the idea of our friendship anyway, so I'm okay if it just fizzles out."
"I never took you as the type to let a boyfriend tell you who you can be friends with," Viv responded to her.
"Nate didn't tell me I can't be his friend. It's just a decision I'm making on my own and that's okay."
"Well, if there's no more Drew, there's no more Carter anyway," Viv concluded, slowly nodding. She raised her martini to Mackenzie. "Thanks for being a friend, Mack."
'Dinner at the loft at six! You may as well remind Leo, too.'
Nate smiled at the message from Mackenzie as it popped up on his phone. He quickly replied: 'We'll be on time, don't worry. Also, Humphrey! Make sure you remove those handcuffs from your bed frame before your dad shows up.'
He knew that message would send her into a small spiral but he just laughed picturing her panicked face. He glanced down at his desk and ran his hand over the mysterious Maya envelope. He still couldn't bring himself to open it.
"Hey Nate?" He looked up as he heard a knock at the door.
"Hey Wheeler, what's up?"
Taylor walked in and handed off a stack of papers to him. "This is the rest of the hard copies of that pile of research you wanted, about the election statistics."
"Thank you." He grabbed the pile and flipped through it quickly.
"Nate, sorry, this is awkward. I just wanted to apologize about the other night. I try really hard to leave my personal baggage at home and not let it affect my work and the last thing I want is you to think I break down and cry here and -
"Taylor, hey, take it easy," Nate cut her off, motioning for her to take a seat across from his desk. He could tell she was getting worked up. "It's okay. I wanted to check in yesterday and see how you were, so I'm sorry."
"Oh," Taylor was quiet in her response, and taken aback. She let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "That's nice of you. I mean, thank you. I'm fine. It's just some stupid relationship stuff."
"Well, dating in this city is a real nightmare," Nate replied to her with a smile. "But I'm glad you're feeling better."
Taylor smiled back at him. "Thank you, Nate." She paused. "Can I ask you about that envelope you've been staring at all day? Potential for bad news?"
Nate glanced from her to the envelope on his desk, grabbing it and quickly tucking it away into a drawer.
"Oh I'm sorry, that was overstepping. I just.. Sorry."
"No, no. It's okay. It's been distracting me. Just avoiding finding out some information." Nate sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm just stuck fighting off my morals. Just opening that envelope could help put myself at ease but it could also hurt someone I care about. But if I don't open it, I'll just never know."
"You're stuck in a weird grey area," Taylor concluded for him, nodding. "I get it. Like you might cross a line and the risk may not be worth it."
"Yeah, that's exactly it." Nate just shook his head. "But nevermind. Thanks for these reports, I appreciate it." He motioned to the papers she brought in, then his eyes darted back to his computer screen.
"For what it's worth, Nate," Taylor said as she stood up, "You probably already know what you need to do with that envelope."
"Well, that went better than I expected," Jenny mumbled to her sister as she cleared up dishes in the sink. Mackenzie couldn't help but laugh. It was a fair sentiment. She turned her head to look back towards the table where Rufus, Leo, Nate, Dan and Serena were still sitting, caught up in conversation.
"It definitely helps that Leo is so passionate about music. Dad seems much more engaged about that then hearing about what we're doing with the Foundation." Mackenzie replied, turning back to Jenny. She didn't expect any less from Rufus but it was still annoying. "Is this serious? With Leo?"
"What does serious even mean?" Jenny replied with a smirk. "I have no clue. But he's incredibly kind and I like spending time with him, so. We'll see. As much as I like the idea of being single and able to date whoever I want, I feel really comfortable with Leo even though it's been so quick. So maybe I don't need to be single."
Mackenzie just smiled again and carried on clearing up in the kitchen with her sister. As far as family dinners went, this one was smooth. Admittedly it was nice to catch up with everyone at once. It wasn't often all three kids and their partners would be available to have dinner with Rufus, who was in town without Lisa for a few days. But he would be back for Thanksgiving. Mackenzie was opting to stay with Nate for the weekend to let Rufus stay at the loft solo.
"Hey, when do you hear back?"
"About the test results?" Mackenzie paused and turned to her sister again. Suddenly, Dan showed up beside them with more dishes.
"What test results?" Dan asked as he stood between them, starting to rinse off the dishes. He glanced from Mackenzie to Jenny. "Are one of you pregnant?"
"Oh my god," Jenny groaned out, rolling her eyes.
"You can't just ask people stuff like that, you goon," Mackenzie said, swatting him on the arm.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" All three of the Humphrey siblings turned back towards the sound of their dad's voice.
Mackenzie shared a glance with her sister.
"Just Dan being Dan," Jenny responded with a half smile. They turned back to the sink and turned to each other again.
"It was a fair question - you didn't have any wine at dinner and you had a decaf latte the other day and -
Mackenzie swatted his arm again. "I went to get that genetic testing done," Mackenzie filled Dan in on what test results she was waiting for. Mainly to see her DNA breakdown to compare to Jenny's but she planned on telling Dan about all that when this Maya stuff was dealt with. She lowered her voice. "I get the results on Monday."
"Oh. That's good. I'm glad you're figuring all that out. But why are we whispering about it?"
"Because I don't need the whole world to know all these details about my life, Daniel."
"Ouch. I hate when you hit with me the full name, Mackenzie." She just smirked and nudged him in the arm.
"You three should just leave the dishes. C'mon. We haven't had this many people available for board games in a while. How do we feel about Pictionary? Or Balderdash?"
"Oh, I'm down for Pictionary," Leo jumped in, rubbing his hands together.
"Dude, don't," Nate said to him, shaking his head. He stood up from the table and went to meet Mackenzie near the island.
"Nate, you have to let him experience this Humphrey tradition," Serena said with a smile, moving from the table towards the couch. "Or he'll never learn."
Rufus carried on with Leo about something or other. Mackenzie wasn't listening really, distracted by Nate appearing at her side.
"Well, that wasn't too bad," Nate snaked his arm around her back as they stood side by side. He was comfortable with the Humphrey family but he was still worried about how these events may play out. Maybe it was because he was used to volatile dramatics with his own family or he knew there was lingering animosity with Mackenzie and her dad. But it has been pretty pleasant.
Mackenzie nodded in agreement with him. As the time she spent waiting for her testing results was coming to a close, she knew soon she would have to deal with whatever that testing told her. And likely have a difficult conversation with her dad. At least she had a few days of a buffer still before she really had to cross that bridge. "Luckily you've been a part of this family for a long time, in a way," she said to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Now we just have to tackle Thanksgiving with my family."
Mackenzie had talked with Nate about his family and what she needed to know before meeting most of them. He was treating it pretty casually but she was still feeling pretty anxious overall. Especially to see his grandfather again. To meet him, officially.
Nate leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Don't look so nervous, Humphrey. They're going to love you."
A brunch with the Archibalds. Dinner with the Van Der Humphreys. It's a walk in the park, right? What's Thanksgiving without secrets spilling out and hysteric crying?
