Author's Note - This was another cut scene that I had originally intended to delete. Here it is anyway.

Chapter 5 - Why Did I Come Here?

Brandon got up pretty early that Friday morning. He had gotten over the photos that Kelly had showed him on Wednesday. He decided not to let the past bother him and look forward to the future. After all, he was going to take the next big step in his career today. Who would've thought that he would become a vice president of a major metropolitan company (or any company)? Not him. He even recalled the time he was rejected by the L.A. Times after graduating from CU. However, this time was different. This time he had over ten years of professional experience, including several award winning articles under his belt. For once, he admitted to himself that moving to D.C. ten years ago was the right decision.

To Brandon's surprise, the L.A. office of the New York Chronicle was in complete disarray. There was paper everywhere. Old articles were torn up. The computers were spray painted. There was also a stench that reeks of rotten food. The worst part of all was that he couldn't find anybody that work there. At first he thought he was in the wrong place. This couldn't be the place, could it? From the looks of things, this place looked worse than The Beverly Beat when Steve first inherited it. He continued to look around until he finally found somebody sleeping on one of the chairs in the conference room.

"Hey, excuse me?" said Brandon as he tried to wake the guy who is sleeping.

"Oh, are you Brandon?" asked the guy waking up.

"Yeah, this is the New York Chronicle, right?" asked Brandon.

"It sure is. I'm Tony. I'm supposed to show you around," said Tony.

'Thanks," said Brandon who is still in shock.

"Sorry about the mess; it was done mostly by the people who were laid off," said Tony.

"Everyone was let go?" asked Brandon.

"Pretty much...We had numerous budget cuts. After we cut half of the staff, the other half went on strike, and that was the beginning of the end," explained Tony.

"Looks like I just inherited a bunch of problems," said Brandon.

"It sure looks that way," said Tony.

A lot of thoughts were going through Brandon's mind as Tony showed him the rest of the office. He began to have second thoughts about moving to L.A. He thought he was here to run an office, not start it from scratch. Brandon had remembered reading about the bad press about the L.A. office in D.C. But never could he have imagined that things were this bad. Tony showed Brandon some of the old articles by the writers who were recently laid off. They weren't great but decent enough for most readers. If he thought leaving D.C. would mean leaving his problems, he was dead wrong.

Once the tour was over, Brandon and Tony locked up the office and walked outside.

"Here," said Tony as he handed Brandon the keys to the office.

"What's this?" asked Brandon, accepting the keys.

"The keys, boss," said Tony.

"Thanks but I haven't accepted the job yet," said Brandon.

"I don't care. I'm done with the company. I got a job with the L.A. Times. Good luck to you," said Tony has he walked away.

"Thanks, I guess," said Brandon was he just stood there.

Brandon continued to stand there as he glanced at the building. He always wanted to be in control, just not damage control. Basically, if he took the job, he would have to do all the work himself in a very small amount of time. He knew the CEO and president of the company would have their eyes and ears on him the entire time. One false move and his career would be over. He knew that this was a hard decision to make.

When Brandon got back to this hotel room, he considered his options. He could reject the job offer and stay in D.C. and continue his career as a writer. Of course, by not accepting the job, he felt that his chances of being considered for future promotions are unlikely. But by accepting the job, the entire fate of the L.A. Office would depend on his success or failure. Fortunately, Brandon loved the challenge. If he chooses to accept the job and was successful, he knew that the praise that he would get would be an absolute reward to him.

He went back and forth for while on his options when he realized his decision ultimately depended on one person. To Brandon, Kelly was the tiebreaker. Even though Brandon their dinner went well, he didn't know where their relationship was going. Of course, their current relationship was nothing more than a mere friendship. Even though, he was in a hurry to find out, he knew that Kelly was not a person who can be rushed. She would need lots of time to consider her options. After making Kelly choose between him and Dylan for several years, Brandon didn't want to give Kelly more than she can handle. Brandon knew that Dylan was still a part of Kelly's life. And by putting himself with Kelly, it may even complicated things with Sammy; not to mention, ruined his friendship with Dylan. Brandon decided to have dinner with Kelly again the following week and see where that would take them.

Brandon arrived at the Peach Pit for lunch and possibly get some advice from Nat on his decision. When Brandon walked in, he saw Kelly at the counter by herself. He wouldn't consider this as a sign to stay but it was definitely a start. He walked over and sat next to her.

"Hi, is this seat taken?" asked Brandon smiling.

"It is now," said Kelly smiling back.

"Seriously, is this seat taken?" asked Brandon.

"No, it's all yours," laughed Kelly at Brandon who obviously didn't get her joke.

"Thanks. What are you doing here all by yourself?" asked Brandon.

"I could ask you the same thing," replied Kelly.

"I had a rough morning at the office. I need a good meal," said Brandon.

"Yeah, me too. I don't usually go this far out for lunch but I just need to be alone," said Kelly.

"Oh sorry. I didn't know you wanted to be alone," apologized Brandon.

"No, don't be silly. I wouldn't mind being alone with you," said Kelly.

"Thanks. I enjoy your company as well," said Brandon smiling to Kelly.

"Speaking of company, did I do something to upset you Wednesday night?" asked Kelly.

"No, why do you ask?" replied Brandon.

"It seems one moment you we were fine and the next you were in a rush to leave," said Kelly.

"It wasn't anything. I was just tired," said Brandon.

"Ok, I just want to make sure it wasn't me," said Kelly.

"Don't worry it's not," said Brandon as he tried to change the subject.

"Brando," yelled Nat coming from the backroom.

"Hey Nat, can I get a megaburger?" said Brandon.

"Sure," said Nat as he leaves to get Brandon's food.

"So, how's your day at the office so far?" asked Kelly.

"Awful, the place is a mess," replied Brandon.

"How are the writers?" asked Kelly.

"Good, they definitely have a lot of potential," lied Brandon as he doesn't want Kelly to know that there are no writers.

"Well, you're just the guy to bring the potential out in them," said Kelly sweetly.

"Thanks, I hope so," said Brandon who smiled back at Kelly.

"Enough about me, anything new going on with you?" asked Brandon.

"Not much, just work and Sammy. Oh, that reminds me; he asked about you," replied Kelly.

"Really? What did my little buddy say?" asked Brandon cutely.

"Your little buddy told me that you need to improve on your building block skills," replied Kelly laughing at Brandon.

"What? I thought he was impressed with my 'Leaning Tower of Pisa"," asked Brandon sarcastically.

"Oh, he was just being nice. He's very honest with me," said Kelly smiling at Brandon.

"But he's not with me?" asked Brandon playfully shocked at what Kelly said.

"No, I'm just teasing you. He probably just doesn't want to lose you as a friend," laughed Kelly.

"Well, you tell him that I'll always be his friend," said Brandon.

"Seriously Brandon. It may not be a good idea for me to tell him that," said Kelly.

"Why not?" asked Brandon.

"Because you're leaving in a week. I don't want him to go through what he went through with Dylan," said Kelly.

"I understand," said Brandon disappointed.

"I'm sorry," said Kelly.

"No, it's fine. I guess things would be different if I were to move to L.A.," said Brandon looking at Kelly.

"For Sammy? Nah, he'll get over you in time; just like he did with Dylan," said Kelly.

"Well, I wouldn't be moving just for Sammy," said Brandon.

"Why? What else is here?" asked Kelly.

"Oh, I dunno...old memories, good friends," replied Brandon looking at Kelly.

"You'll still be my phone friend, right?" asked Kelly.

"Right," replied Brandon who was disappointed that Kelly didn't show any emotion of him possibly moving to L.A.

Nat comes back with Brandon's food.

"Brandon, I'm sorry for the wait. The meat was more frozen than I thought," said Nat.

"No, problem," said Brandon.

"Well Brandon, it was nice talking to you again. But I gotta get back to work," said Kelly.

"Ok...do you still want to have dinner sometime next week?" asked Brandon.

"Yeah, what day?" asked Kelly.

"How about Sunday night?" asked Brandon.

"Oh, Sunday's no good. Dylan's flying in Sunday night," said Kelly.

"Ok. How about Monday?" asked Brandon disappointed after hearing about Dylan.

"Perfect. Can you come by the house? I'm sure Dylan would love to see you too," said Kelly.

"Yeah, that'll be nice," said Brandon still sad.

"Great. I'll see you then...bye Brandon; bye Nat," said Kelly.

"Bye Kelly," said Brandon.

"See ya, Kel," said Nat.

Kelly leaves and Nat notices that Brandon is bothered by what Kelly said.

"You ok, pal?" asked Nat.

"I guess," said Brandon.

"Why don't you just tell her that you're moving back?" asked Nat.

"Because I'm not sure if I'm going am moving back," said Brandon.

"What about the job?" asked Nat.

"Nat, the place was a mess and there's no staff. This guy gave me the keys and took off," explained Brandon.

"So, what are you gonna do?" asked Nat.

"I don't know. I was considering just staying in Washington," said Brandon.

"You sure that's what you want?" asked Nat.

"I really don't know. There's really nothing keeping me here except...you know," said Brandon.

"Kelly?" asked Nat.

"Yeah. And what hurts is that every time I talk to her, it seems like she looks at me only as a friend," said Brandon.

"Maybe that's all it is," said Nat.

"I thought so too but whenever we talk, it always seems as if we're more than just friends," said Brandon.

"Maybe she's not being honest with herself...just like you," said Nat.

"A part of me really wants to be with her, while another part of me thinks that this is so complicated that I should be in Washington where I belong," said Brandon.

"Brando, nobody belongs to just one place. You go wherever makes you happy," said Nat.

"Thanks Nat; I'm just not sure where that place is," said Brandon.

"If it helps, I think you should stay in Washington UNLESS you got a really good reason to be here," said Nat.

"I can always count on you to state the obvious, Nat," said Brandon.

"Hey, I'm just calling it like I see it," said Nat.

Nat leaves and Brandon sits there and continues to eat his meal.

Coming Next: Brandon gets Kelly out of a drunken situation.

You don't want to miss it; it's really funny!