Disclaimer: Don't Own, Don't sue. Do review.
A/N: It's official: I love you guys! Thank you sooooo much for all of the reviews. I'm a review junkie and you guys are helping heaps with my addiction. There are too many names to name, but thank you, all of you who reviewed. So I'm keeping my end of the deal and writing the next update quickly. Plus I also can't leave the house at the moment, because there's been heaps of rain and our drain is blocked, so we now have a nice moat around our house. Bad for me, good for you. Hope you like this chapter as much as the others. Sorry about any spelling mistakes, my better reader is my sister and myself and neither of us can spell! Here you go (this is the longest chapter so far!). R&R and Enjoy! Happy Christmas - Bex
Sydney finished applying her make-up and took a step back to look at her self in the mirror. She was wearing a deep red, short dress, which had the bottom lined with fake white fur. She also had a matching red coat, with the bottom and cuffs also lined with fake white fur. To top the outfit off, she was also wearing a Santa hat. The outfit was, as Francie had put it, 'a sexy Miss Claus'. She could feel her hands shaking with nerves. She had forgotten half the words to her song during the rehearsal and almost fell off stage.
'You're a spy for goodness sake. You can have bullets flying past your head and for some reason that doesn't make you as nervous, as you are now. Pull yourself together Syd.' She snapped at herself.
There was a knock at the door.
"Syd are you decent?" Francie called through the door.
"Yeah."
Francie walked in wearing a similar outfit. She was followed by Will.
"WOW!" Will gawped.
"Syd you look fantastic. A million bucks." Francie added.
"Let's just hope that my date pays that much." Syd joked.
Just then, the bar man, Leo walked in. He had jet-black hair, dark brown eyes and naturally tanned skin. He was dressed in a sort of Santa outfit, minus that shirt, and looked incredibly hot. He was carrying a tray, on which were 3 cocktail glasses containing a purple liquid.
"Just half an hour to go." Leo announced, "Here you go."
He handed them each a cocktail glass.
"It's my own invention. It's called a 'purple-ice-lagoon'. Tastes great. Think of it as a nerve calmer." He told them and then walked out.
Sydney smirked as she watched Francie checking Leo out. Francie blushed when she realised that Syd had seen her.
"So tell my why you're not with that fine specimen of a man? Weren't you, not the one who told me to forget company protocol?" Syd teased.
"This is different. You and photo-frame-guy only have a protocol wall, about a metre between you, because your co-workers. I'm his boss. The wall is about 17 metres here." Francie defended herself.
'Trust me Francie. There's a whole country keeping me and Vaughn apart.' Sydney said silently.
"Do you think we should drink this?" Francie asked, looking at her cocktail.
"No guts, no glory." Will shrugged.
Whilst the other two took a sip of theirs, Sydney tipped her glass back and downed it in one.
"Wow!" She coughed, "Strong. Good, but strong."
Francie looked at her slightly worried.
"Are you ok sweetie?"
"Me? I'm great. Super. Wonderful." She lied, then off Francie's look, "Petrified."
"You'll do fine." Francie reassured her.
"Yeah, plus I'm here to bid on either of you if the other bidders are creeps." Will told then, flashing a large pile of cash.
Sydney smiled. Everything was going to go well. She gave Will a hug, as he left to join his sister at their table. Francie grabbed her hand and dragged her behind the stage, along with the other dates.
"Wow, the restaurant is getting really full." Francie gasped.
"That's because we have the best looking staff in L.A." boasted Tina, a blond waitress.
'It's going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine.' Sydney reassured herself.
*****
Vaughn was less hopeful. He was still dressed in his work suit, so was Wiess, because Melissa had insisted that she'd pick them up after work, so that they weren't late. Vaughn had spent the whole day either missing Sydney or trying to work out why he recognised the restaurant name. Melissa linked her arms between Vaughn's and Wiess' and dragged them in.
"Cool." Melissa breathed, "Looked at all the Christmas decorations. This place looks wicked. Oh and look at the stage. I hope that they're auctioning off that really cute bar man."
Wiess smirked at Melissa, whilst Vaughn raised an eyebrow.
"What really cute bar man?" He asked protectively.
Melissa sighed and rolled her eyes. "The one I saw here yesterday, when I had lunch with Eric. The one I'm planning on winning. I didn't say anything, because I knew you would be over protective, hunt the poor guy down, interrogate him and ruin my chances. You're worse then the bloody Spanish Inquisition!"
Wiess cracked up laughing, whilst Vaughn glared at his sister. Melissa knew that her brother was just trying to look out for her. She was one when their dad died, so Mike helped their mum to raise her. But he was so protective sometimes, that it did her head in. She remembered that he'd scared away the first boyfriend she had, and she then didn't get another for ages, because all the boys were scared of her brother. She wished that he would chill sometimes.
Vaughn scanned the restaurant. He stopped when he saw Will sitting at a table, with a girl, who had brilliant red hair.
"Shit." He swore under his breath, "Eric its Will. I thought that I recognised the name of this place. It's Francie's restaurant."
"Who's Will? Who's Francie?" Melissa asked, she knew something was up.
"Will is a friend. And Francie is Will's friends and she owns the restaurant. So she's kinda a friend of a friend." Vaughn gabbled.
Will spotted them and walked over. He was worried about what Sydney's handler was doing here.
"Mike. Eric. Hi." Will greeted, shaking their hands, "What are you guys doing here?"
'I've been asking myself the same question.' Vaughn thought.
"My sister dragged me along. She thought that it would be fun." Vaughn told him, "Will this is my sister, Melissa. Melissa this is Will."
"Hi."
"Hi."
Vaughn had to stop himself from punching Will, when he realised that he was checking out his sister. Then he realised that so were most of males in the restaurant. His sister was a gorgeous blond, with brilliant green eyes. She was wearing a small black skirt and purple spaghetti-strap top. But it still pissed Vaughn off the way some of the guys were looking at her.
"I'm here with my sister, Amy." Will told them, he then heard her calling him, "I'd better go. I'll see you around."
They each said bye and sat down at a table near by.
"I'm getting a drink. Do you two want anything?" Melissa asked.
"Just a beer, thanks." Wiess replied.
" Same." Vaughn agreed.
Vaughn waited until his sister was out of earshot, before he started talking again.
"I don't think that we should be here Eric."
"Come off it. There's no harm. Ok, so we're at Francie's restaurant, big deal. Sydney isn't here, so it's all right. Just relax and enjoy yourself."
Melissa came back with the drinks, just as a man walked on to the stage.
"Testing. Testing. 1,2,3. Can everyone hear me? Great. Welcome one and all to our Christmas charity auction. I'll be your host and auctioneer, Terry. Sadly ladies, I'm married, but luckily we have lot of eligible singletons. So with out feather a do, we'll start."
****
Sydney waited in anticipation as Terry started. Her hand were shaking more now. Francie looked as nervous as she was.
"Let's give it up for our first date. It's our fabulous restaurant owner, Francie." Terry announced.
"Good luck." Syd wished her, as she gave her a quick hug. The room exploded into cheers, as Francie walked onto the stage and started her song.
**** Wiess won the date with Francie. Melissa won the date with Leo, the bar man and started squealing in delight.
"YES!" She turned to Vaughn, "You better not do a background check on him."
"You have no need to." Wiess whispered to Vaughn, "I did one yesterday, after she chattered him up at lunch. He's clean."
Wiess grinned and Vaughn managed a weak smile. He was trying to enjoy as much as the others, he even made some small bids on some of the dates, but he could stop thinking about Sydney.
It was almost the end of the auction and Vaughn still hadn't won a date. Not that he minded.
"Sadly this is our last date." Terry announced to a chorus of groans.
'Great, finally I can go home.' Vaughn thought.
"But we have saved one of our best till last. Sadly she's not one of ours. She's a friend of the restaurant owner and a banker. Give it up for the gorgeous Miss Sydney Bristow.."
The rest of the room burst in to applause, whilst it took all of Vaughn's strength to stop his mouth from flying opened.
A/N: Dun, dun, da! I know, I know. I'm a very evil author. If you send me loads of reviews, then I'll feel charitable enough to free you from your suspense. Deal?
A/N: It's official: I love you guys! Thank you sooooo much for all of the reviews. I'm a review junkie and you guys are helping heaps with my addiction. There are too many names to name, but thank you, all of you who reviewed. So I'm keeping my end of the deal and writing the next update quickly. Plus I also can't leave the house at the moment, because there's been heaps of rain and our drain is blocked, so we now have a nice moat around our house. Bad for me, good for you. Hope you like this chapter as much as the others. Sorry about any spelling mistakes, my better reader is my sister and myself and neither of us can spell! Here you go (this is the longest chapter so far!). R&R and Enjoy! Happy Christmas - Bex
Sydney finished applying her make-up and took a step back to look at her self in the mirror. She was wearing a deep red, short dress, which had the bottom lined with fake white fur. She also had a matching red coat, with the bottom and cuffs also lined with fake white fur. To top the outfit off, she was also wearing a Santa hat. The outfit was, as Francie had put it, 'a sexy Miss Claus'. She could feel her hands shaking with nerves. She had forgotten half the words to her song during the rehearsal and almost fell off stage.
'You're a spy for goodness sake. You can have bullets flying past your head and for some reason that doesn't make you as nervous, as you are now. Pull yourself together Syd.' She snapped at herself.
There was a knock at the door.
"Syd are you decent?" Francie called through the door.
"Yeah."
Francie walked in wearing a similar outfit. She was followed by Will.
"WOW!" Will gawped.
"Syd you look fantastic. A million bucks." Francie added.
"Let's just hope that my date pays that much." Syd joked.
Just then, the bar man, Leo walked in. He had jet-black hair, dark brown eyes and naturally tanned skin. He was dressed in a sort of Santa outfit, minus that shirt, and looked incredibly hot. He was carrying a tray, on which were 3 cocktail glasses containing a purple liquid.
"Just half an hour to go." Leo announced, "Here you go."
He handed them each a cocktail glass.
"It's my own invention. It's called a 'purple-ice-lagoon'. Tastes great. Think of it as a nerve calmer." He told them and then walked out.
Sydney smirked as she watched Francie checking Leo out. Francie blushed when she realised that Syd had seen her.
"So tell my why you're not with that fine specimen of a man? Weren't you, not the one who told me to forget company protocol?" Syd teased.
"This is different. You and photo-frame-guy only have a protocol wall, about a metre between you, because your co-workers. I'm his boss. The wall is about 17 metres here." Francie defended herself.
'Trust me Francie. There's a whole country keeping me and Vaughn apart.' Sydney said silently.
"Do you think we should drink this?" Francie asked, looking at her cocktail.
"No guts, no glory." Will shrugged.
Whilst the other two took a sip of theirs, Sydney tipped her glass back and downed it in one.
"Wow!" She coughed, "Strong. Good, but strong."
Francie looked at her slightly worried.
"Are you ok sweetie?"
"Me? I'm great. Super. Wonderful." She lied, then off Francie's look, "Petrified."
"You'll do fine." Francie reassured her.
"Yeah, plus I'm here to bid on either of you if the other bidders are creeps." Will told then, flashing a large pile of cash.
Sydney smiled. Everything was going to go well. She gave Will a hug, as he left to join his sister at their table. Francie grabbed her hand and dragged her behind the stage, along with the other dates.
"Wow, the restaurant is getting really full." Francie gasped.
"That's because we have the best looking staff in L.A." boasted Tina, a blond waitress.
'It's going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine.' Sydney reassured herself.
*****
Vaughn was less hopeful. He was still dressed in his work suit, so was Wiess, because Melissa had insisted that she'd pick them up after work, so that they weren't late. Vaughn had spent the whole day either missing Sydney or trying to work out why he recognised the restaurant name. Melissa linked her arms between Vaughn's and Wiess' and dragged them in.
"Cool." Melissa breathed, "Looked at all the Christmas decorations. This place looks wicked. Oh and look at the stage. I hope that they're auctioning off that really cute bar man."
Wiess smirked at Melissa, whilst Vaughn raised an eyebrow.
"What really cute bar man?" He asked protectively.
Melissa sighed and rolled her eyes. "The one I saw here yesterday, when I had lunch with Eric. The one I'm planning on winning. I didn't say anything, because I knew you would be over protective, hunt the poor guy down, interrogate him and ruin my chances. You're worse then the bloody Spanish Inquisition!"
Wiess cracked up laughing, whilst Vaughn glared at his sister. Melissa knew that her brother was just trying to look out for her. She was one when their dad died, so Mike helped their mum to raise her. But he was so protective sometimes, that it did her head in. She remembered that he'd scared away the first boyfriend she had, and she then didn't get another for ages, because all the boys were scared of her brother. She wished that he would chill sometimes.
Vaughn scanned the restaurant. He stopped when he saw Will sitting at a table, with a girl, who had brilliant red hair.
"Shit." He swore under his breath, "Eric its Will. I thought that I recognised the name of this place. It's Francie's restaurant."
"Who's Will? Who's Francie?" Melissa asked, she knew something was up.
"Will is a friend. And Francie is Will's friends and she owns the restaurant. So she's kinda a friend of a friend." Vaughn gabbled.
Will spotted them and walked over. He was worried about what Sydney's handler was doing here.
"Mike. Eric. Hi." Will greeted, shaking their hands, "What are you guys doing here?"
'I've been asking myself the same question.' Vaughn thought.
"My sister dragged me along. She thought that it would be fun." Vaughn told him, "Will this is my sister, Melissa. Melissa this is Will."
"Hi."
"Hi."
Vaughn had to stop himself from punching Will, when he realised that he was checking out his sister. Then he realised that so were most of males in the restaurant. His sister was a gorgeous blond, with brilliant green eyes. She was wearing a small black skirt and purple spaghetti-strap top. But it still pissed Vaughn off the way some of the guys were looking at her.
"I'm here with my sister, Amy." Will told them, he then heard her calling him, "I'd better go. I'll see you around."
They each said bye and sat down at a table near by.
"I'm getting a drink. Do you two want anything?" Melissa asked.
"Just a beer, thanks." Wiess replied.
" Same." Vaughn agreed.
Vaughn waited until his sister was out of earshot, before he started talking again.
"I don't think that we should be here Eric."
"Come off it. There's no harm. Ok, so we're at Francie's restaurant, big deal. Sydney isn't here, so it's all right. Just relax and enjoy yourself."
Melissa came back with the drinks, just as a man walked on to the stage.
"Testing. Testing. 1,2,3. Can everyone hear me? Great. Welcome one and all to our Christmas charity auction. I'll be your host and auctioneer, Terry. Sadly ladies, I'm married, but luckily we have lot of eligible singletons. So with out feather a do, we'll start."
****
Sydney waited in anticipation as Terry started. Her hand were shaking more now. Francie looked as nervous as she was.
"Let's give it up for our first date. It's our fabulous restaurant owner, Francie." Terry announced.
"Good luck." Syd wished her, as she gave her a quick hug. The room exploded into cheers, as Francie walked onto the stage and started her song.
**** Wiess won the date with Francie. Melissa won the date with Leo, the bar man and started squealing in delight.
"YES!" She turned to Vaughn, "You better not do a background check on him."
"You have no need to." Wiess whispered to Vaughn, "I did one yesterday, after she chattered him up at lunch. He's clean."
Wiess grinned and Vaughn managed a weak smile. He was trying to enjoy as much as the others, he even made some small bids on some of the dates, but he could stop thinking about Sydney.
It was almost the end of the auction and Vaughn still hadn't won a date. Not that he minded.
"Sadly this is our last date." Terry announced to a chorus of groans.
'Great, finally I can go home.' Vaughn thought.
"But we have saved one of our best till last. Sadly she's not one of ours. She's a friend of the restaurant owner and a banker. Give it up for the gorgeous Miss Sydney Bristow.."
The rest of the room burst in to applause, whilst it took all of Vaughn's strength to stop his mouth from flying opened.
A/N: Dun, dun, da! I know, I know. I'm a very evil author. If you send me loads of reviews, then I'll feel charitable enough to free you from your suspense. Deal?