AN: Thanks for all the reviews!
I know Finn's times of the day are off in this story - his morning is the evening in the US, but I'm just letting it slide.
A little bit of a shorter chapter today - have a crazy week ahead, so be warned.
The short 10-minute drive towards Fortitude Valley passed almost too quickly. Finn had put the address of the apartment she'd rented into his phone and according to Google Maps they were about 3 minutes out when Charlie's phone rang, playing the ever so classic Grande Valse ringtone, that filled him with nostalgia. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard it.
"Hello?" she answered.
Finn continued to drive, keeping his eye on the map, yet being a little curious to what type of call she was getting.
"That's right," Charlie replied.
"It was Scotts Road, yes," she confirmed.
"I have the keys right here, I can just mail them later today, if that's alright?" she added.
Finn had begun to connect the dots already - she must've been on the phone with the car rental company.
"Could I speak to the manager?" she insisted suddenly. Apparently the conversation had taken a sudden turn. "I'll wait," she added.
"Everything okay?" Finn asked, as the pause lingered for sometime, even Finn hearing the on-hold music through her phone.
She looked a little upset, but focused at the same time, and she nodded briefly in return as if not wanting to lose that focus.
"Hello," she began. "Could you repeat your name again?" she asked, waiting for the manager's response.
"Right, Mr. John Weever, what I would really like you to do is to put everything your colleague just said in writing and send it to my e-mail which you have along with the rest of my information. Because what it sounds like to me is that you're actually insisting that I purposefully damaged your vehicle so I could sit for hours by the side of the road, in the dark, and wait for your mechanic, risking my health, potentially my life," Charlie spoke with perfect composure.
The manager replied something but Finn couldn't quite catch it.
"Well if I would've waited around for him to arrive I would've been scorched too and I wouldn't be around talking to you right now, would I? So technically I could say that your company is the one that put me in a life threatening situation, so it really would be me suing your company for providing me with a damaged vehicle and faulty GPS system that led to endangering my life as the mechanic didn't arrive soon enough even though I paid for additional coverage. And I would guarantee the press would have a field day with this. I know you have insurances that cover these things so why don't you just think about that for a moment and if you still feel like it's somehow my fault that the car ent up burnt on the side of the road, then I suggest you just put everything in writing and add the number of your company lawyer along with it," Charlie added, confidently.
Finn had pulled up by the side of the road now, in front of the address she'd given him. The building was no more than 10 years old, hence definitely not the cheapest accommodation in town but anything terribly fancy either, but it seemed to have at least some perks - each of it's apartments having a small balcony and a common pool. As little details added up Finn was truly beginning to piece together that Charlie wasn't just some backpacker whose goal was to scrape by and see as much as possible for as little as possible. She clearly knew how to fight for her rights for one thing - based on what he was hearing now from the way she was speaking on the phone. Based on her gear she was travelling with she was definitely about quality over quantity, and it seemed she rather looked for experiences that might resemble that of a local's than just worked to save up, ulike many foreign workers did - if he were to draw any conclusion from the apartment building they were parked out in front of at that moment.
"Well, you do that," Charlie suggested. "And yes, I'll happily post the key today," she added, holding back her laughter. What on earth were they going to do with a key belonging to a car that no longer ran?
"Oh my god," she exhaled, running her hand through the loose part of her hair. "I'm so not ever using Barker's again," she chuckled, shaking her head, but the laughter seemed forced somehow.
"The car got caught in the fire?" Finn asked, having picked that up from her conversation, knowing already what that essentially meant.
"Yeah," she sighed, the thought still registering.
Finn didn't need a 'thank you' - it hadn't really been a decision that had taken great effort from him. It had been pure chance and being a decent human being. And by that chance, which was influenced by his timing and route selection, he'd ended up saving not one but two lives.
"We're here," Finn pointed out after half a minute of silence.
"Right, thanks," she replied, and gathered up her things, while Finn helped her get her backpack from the back.
"Alright, you take care, okay?" Finn said, almost wanting to hug her goodbye right there. She was bound to have plenty to process after hearing what she just had.
They hadn't changed numbers or anything, but Finn knew that technically as she had his name, he wasn't too hard to find on social media. He didn't want her to go looking him up particularly, but after their earlier discussion he was a little hesitant to push again by offering her his number.
"Yeah," she sighed, still seeming a little shocked. She walked up the curb and towards the main entrance, her phone in hand, but then turned. "Finn? Are you free for dinner tomorrow? My shout," she called out. She didn't need to explain that this was essentially a 'thank you' dinner - the least she felt she could do.
It really wasn't necessary - but it was a chance to see her again.
"I'll pick you up here at 7?" Finn suggested, the corners of his mouth curving upwards.
Thanks to Finny's schedule being haywire that day, Rory really didn't get around to calling Celeste back and talking to G until all of the kids had gone to bed.
Now Roy and G sat in G's apartment upstairs, positioning her tablet to face them, so they could make a video call to Celeste.
"Hey, finally," Rory exhaled apologetically.
"It's fine," Celeste replied. "Hey G!" she added, not really knowing where to begin.
"Hey," G replied. She'd been feeling like they were treating her like a child in this situation. Clearly this was some kind of a semi-public secret which most of their families were in on, if this was true. But yet, they'd decided to keep this from her, now hesitating about what she could and should know.
"I guess it was a little naive of me to just hand you those dresses and think like someone as smart as you wouldn't get questions, but I've just been a little distracted to be honest. I didn't really think…," Celeste admitted.
"Fine, it is true then - even if neither of you can really confirm it as I've understood, but what's the big deal? Why the need for this formal sit-down?" G asked, sounding a little impatient.
"Should I just start from the beginning?" Celeste asked Rory.
Rory shrugged. It was not like she had a better idea. But she hoped Celeste would casually skip over some of the more painful aspects.
After about 20 minutes that it took for Celeste to sum up the story, the two of them looked at G expectantly, waiting for her reaction.
"So let me get this straight," G began. "You lived with Logan, pretended to marry him and then took the blame for the marriage splitting apart, only so you could change your name and disappear? You did that but then your family still forced you out of your inheritage?" she asked.
How she'd gotten a new name and citizenship was a story Celeste wasn't going to explain.
"Well, there was Rory to consider - she was expecting Finny when I announced the 'divorce'" Celeste replied using air quotes. "And in many ways I wanted to just do anything to cut me off from them," she added.
The former in some form answered G's next question she'd been musing over concerning Celeste's and Rory's friendship considering Logan in all of this. It didn't exactly seem to her like the most likely scenario, but understanding that both of them had in fact made sacrifices for each other in the midst of all of this, which probably couldn't have happened if Rory and Celeste hadn't liked each other and had a mutual understanding.
Celeste hadn't truly had to explain this to anyone in such detail before - but she'd felt like G would just feel like they were hiding things from her if she didn't. She'd talked about the NDA and emphasized the importance of keeping all of this to herself. And technically she hadn't confirmed the fact not once during the talk, only insinuating some aspects between the lines.
"Assholes," G muttered.
"Hear-hear," Rory commented playfully.
"But what should I do with the dresses? I mean they'll probably sell much quicker and at a higher price if I add your name there," she asked practically.
"It feels a little like playing with fire," Celeste replied worriedly, feeling stupid for not thinking these things through.
"Well technically if it is Georgia Hayden who just pretends she stumbled upon them at some vintage store and had done her research and just happens to have found out that there are pictures of Odette wearing them online, she can mention she was the one that has worn them in the past. She can't say anything about how many times they've been worn or anything specific, but I bet that's something, right?" Rory discussed.
"I did donate a bunch of dresses before I had Evie, technically that's how they could've ended up anywhere…," Celeste recalled.
"There you go," Rory concurred.
"So I prep the text and let you get a preview before posting them?" she asked.
"Okay," Celeste replied approvingly, feeling a little relieved for having gotten through with this conversation she had been a little apprehensive about earlier.
Before Rory had called, she'd for the first time since before the confrontation with Henri years ago, googled her family and her old name, wondering what people wrote about them. Henri and his wife had divorced in the summer, followed by a big messy divorce, their kids thrown in the midst of things. It hadn't been pretty. While didn't feel sorry for him, if he was anything like he'd been with her in his other relationships, he deserved all the bad karma, but she did feel for the kids. She also caught sight of a few photos that had been shot of her mother at some gallery opening, who didn't even look like herself anymore - all skinny, frail and feeble, despite the vibrant Vivianne Westwood outfit she had been wearing. While money could buy a lot of things, including excellent health care, people still got old. And while her mother had faults - always taking her father's side in things, and not really being around when it mattered - Celeste was pretty sure at least in part that that too was her father's fault.
She wasn't even sure if she would post it, but that night, she hand wrote a letter to her mother. Maybe this whole thing with the dresses, retelling her story and writing this was something she needed to do - something to help her get past those issues for good.
"Dad, I wasn't expecting you," Logan said, as he saw Mitchum walk into his temporary - at least that what he truly hoped that it was - office, having only gotten a few minutes in warning from the receptionist.
"I was in town, I thought I'd come check how things are going," he added casually. Again - seeing his father not dressed in a full suit as he'd been used to seeing him in this office just wasn't something he seemed to get used to.
It really wasn't a huge surprise to Logan that his father occasionally travelled for leisure - whether it was to catch up with some old friends, concerts or some of his side ventures.
"I saw you in Portland," Logan noted. He didn't mean anything bad by it - it wasn't like it showed his upper hand, but he just wanted him to know that he knew.
Mitchum didn't reply, simply walked across the room.
"I think it's good that you came," Logan added.
"I didn't exactly feel like I was expected to stick around," Mitchum replied truthfully.
Logan nodded, getting his point.
"So, how's Jensen - has he been any help?" Mitchum asked, diverting the subject.
"He's helped with some aspects," Logan replied and went on explaining the inner workings to Mitchum in more detail.
"And the CEO position?" Mitchum asked after a few casual comments.
"Bobby will be out of the scene for a year at least, and honestly my gut feeling doesn't really trust anyone else in the current management enough to give them this opportunity," Logan sighed.
"You know what they say about gut feelings, don't you?" Mitchum stated, glancing out the window of the office that used to be his.
"Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice?" Logan suggested, quoting Steve Jobs.
"Pretty much," Mitchum replied. "Basically what this means is that we need fresh blood, a people person but someone who's loyal - maybe someone from the New York office?" he suggested.
Logan had already gotten that far in his strategy, but with himself being in London right now, it wasn't easy to discuss these things and really make accurate estimates on people he didn't know as well.
"Lachlan Sharp knows the company and all the legal aspects, but he's not really a people person," Logan replied. He had plenty of good employees in New York, some of whom have even wanted this chance for years, but there wasn't that one perfect person.
"I know what you mean," Mitchum agreed.
"I got one idea, but I'm not sure how you'd feel about it, and it's very raw still," Logan began. He hadn't even talked about this to Rory yet.
Mitchum raised his eyebrows at him expectantly.
"Owen might have mentioned something in passing that he's not enjoying his job as much as he used to, and he's definitely the people person. He's even taken some basic business classes in college, but nothing too detailed," Logan suggested. Teaching was essentially about leadership - he had the ability to make teenagers, who didn't want to be there, learn and behave, and as much as he'd heard from Rory and Owen's friend Mike, he was excellent at it. Besides, if Charlotte also had itchy feet, and clearly the two had a certain love for London, the solution with both Bobby available for consults, Lachlan and perhaps someone else from the New York office to act as advisors along with himself, maybe that was the solution they were looking for. But he wasn't as naive to expect this to be easy - this also meant that Mitchum needed to publicly admit to Owen being his own, as that was the only way he could move to the top of the business without sceptical questions from stakeholders.
But to Logan's surprise, Mitchum didn't shut down his idea, instead replying, "I guess it's time I have a talk with him," as he tucked his hands into his pockets.