Part 20: TRUE FEELINGS
(Tuesday August 25 - 28, 1998)
The rest of the week seemed to go by slowly for both Sean and Elana. Tuesday Elana stayed in her office working on the interview and project schedules she promised to have for Sean by the end of the week. Sean sat in his office and watched just about every move Elana made. He was happy that he suggested she move across from him, because he could always see who was going into her office, and also catch glimpses of her pacing back and forth, whenever she was on the phone. On several occasions, Sean noticed James going into her office and closing the door behind him. To Sean's relief, James always stayed for only a few minutes and he left not looking particularly happy, which gave Sean a clue that Elana was not falling into his trap quickly even though James was no doubt using every bit of his charm to win her over. A few times during the week James had come into Sean's office bragging about the progress he thought he was making with Elana, but Sean only sat in near silence listening to him.
During the next three days whenever Sean arrived at work, Elana was already working diligently at her desk. They really did not see much of each other accept for Sean's regular morning hello's which he made a point to do every morning, if nothing else. He would always try to get close to her, but she would successfully brush him off or something would interrupt him and they would have to abruptly end what had really never gotten started. Sean knew he was making her nervous. He kept telling himself that he was not going to continue getting so close to her and torturing himself, but whenever he came in during the morning and set his eyes upon her, he couldn't help but want to be near her. At night his dreams would be filled with her, and he began to wish that she had awaken beside him every morning, which would allow him the opportunity to express how much he loved and missed her over the years, but his morning visits would have to do for now. He did decide that beginning the following week, he would come in earlier and possibly get the opportunity to sit and talk with her. He was hoping that doing this would help her to stop being so nervous, even though she tried not to show it, and eventually maybe she would want to talk about what happened.
On Friday, when he came in, Sean went about his normal routine, he asked Charlotte for his messages and started for Elana's opened door, but this time Charlotte stopped him.
"She's in your office waiting for you." Charlotte said giving him a suspicious look.
"Thanks Charlotte." He said with a smile forming on his face from thinking that Elana was finally ready for their talk.
Sean enthusiastically walked into the doorway and found Elana standing with her arms crossed in front of her and looking out of his window as if she had something heavy on her mind. She did not notice when Sean came in, and he was glad because he loved watching her when she did not know it. Today she wore navy blue slacks and a cream-colored silk blouse that had a wide-open collar. Her hair was pulled up as always except today there was a single wavy strand that fell down the front right side of her face. He loved the way she looked in slacks because unlike the skirts she had worn all week, the pants gave him a better view of her almost perfect body. He remembered that she wore a size six in college and doubted if she was any bigger now. As he watched her briefly, he bit his bottom lip and an "Umph" escaped his mouth causing Elana to turn around. Sean jumped and started to walk into his office closing the door behind him as he cleared his throat trying to play off what he said.
"This is a great view." Elana uttered as she turned back around to hide the smile on her face from what she heard Sean say. She had found that he liked watching her when she wasn't looking and she enjoyed him doing it.
"Yea, it wa -- is." Sean said catching himself. He sat his case on top of the desk and walked around the left side of it to stand beside her in front of the window, where they both stood for a few seconds and just looked out the window, contemplating who would speak first. Finally Sean broke the silence "What's on your mind?"
"Oh nothing. I was just admiring the New York skyline." Elana could not tell him that she was thinking about him and wondering what he did in the mornings before coming to work.
"Do you see that building all the way out over the horizon of buildings with a blue top on it." He said trying to describe it to her.
"No, which one? What's it close to?" She asked trying to look in the direction that he was pointing to.
"It's over here." He gently put his hand on her right hip and moved her over to the left closer to him. "You can see it past the World Trade Center and slightly to the right about seven or eight buildings over..." He was pointing with one hand and still resting his fingers on her hip with the other.
"No, I still can't see it." Elana said, enjoying his touch.
Seeing this as a sign to get as close as possible to her, Sean now placed his other hand on her hip and gently pulled her closer to stand directly in front of him, then he leaned over her shoulder, pointed with his right hand and spoke softly...
"Right there Elana. Do you see it now?"
Elana remembered how it felt to be near him like this and for that moment she did not want it to end, so she did not try to get away from him. "Yes, I do see it now. What is it?" She asked trying to make her words sound normal, but instead they came out in a low-toned whisper.
Sean answered her in the same soft tone, but this time he lowered his head a little more to the point that when he spoke to her, she could feel his warm breath on the right side of her face. "That's where I live. Maybe one day you can come visit me and tell me what you think of it."
All of a sudden Elana felt Sean begin to move his hands around her small waist and lower his head toward her neck and she realized what he was going to do. 'What was she doing!' She quickly thought, so before he could fully embrace her and place his lips on her neck, she turned to the right and slowly walked away from him toward the edge of his desk. "I guess you could get Sheridan to do that for you." She said turning around to face him and now embarrassed that she had not moved sooner.
Sean would not give up so he walked toward her and used his forefinger to move the dangling strand of hair out of her eye as he replied. "Maybe I want a second opinion." He said in a more serious tone as he stared directly into her eyes.
Turning her head to face the window Elana asked in an emotional voice, "Sean why do you keep doing this?"
Sean moved in closer to her and again rested his hands on her hips. "Isn't it obvious Elana that just like before I can't keep my hands off of you whenever we're near each other. So if you plan to sue me for sexual harassment, I'll understand, but I'll plead insanity because you have definitely been driving me crazy this past week."
Elana moved his hands away from her and stepped back. "Sean, don't play around with me."
Sean leaned back against his desk and folded his arms in front of him. He was annoyed that she wouldn't admit to the obvious attraction between them. "Who's playing around, Elana? It's definitely not me. But I could accuse you of doing that!"
"What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? Well it's more than obvious that we're still attracted to each other if nothing else, but instead of coming to me so that we can settle what happened between us, you choose to go frumping around with James Payton. When that game is over I'll still be here waiting to hear your explanation of why you wrote me off nine years ago, because the reason you gave then doesn't add up today."
Now the whole situation was getting to be too much for her. Sean had been subtly trying to break her resolve all week and even though she had done her best to not let him know how he was affecting her, she now couldn't pretend in front of him, so with light tears in her eyes she spoke. "Sean. I can't talk about this now. I just can't."
Sean stood erect as he responded to her statement. "Well when Elana? When are we going talk about this? I hope you don't think you are going to be sashaying around here for eight months and try to avoid the subject?"
"What do you mean sashaying around?"
Sean was angry. He was angry at Elana for distancing herself from him the whole week and pretending that they never meant anything to each other so his words came out loud and without thought. "You know what the hell I'm talking about! You come in here to help the company and on the first day you're making moves on my employees, meeting with James privately in your office when you have no reason to be talking to him in this stage of your analysis and going out for extravagant lunches and fancy dinners with him!"
Elana was getting angrier by the second and clenched her fists beside her as she asked loudly, "What are you implying, Sean?"
Sean continued his angry outburst. "I'm not implying anything Elana! I'm flat out saying that you're doing everything you can to avoid me and that includes entertaining my employees! Before this thing is over you may go through my whole damned executive staff! I'm sure you know that most of them are lined up outside of James' office waiting their turn with you!"
Suddenly, Elana's reflexes took over and before she knew it she had smacked him as hard as she could across the side of his face. She was shocked at Sean's insinuations and it reminded her of the same accusations his father had laid on her years earlier, but after her reaction there was a brief silence between them as Sean held his face from the shock of her slap. Realizing what she had done Elana now felt sorry and moved closer to console him.
"Oh God, Sean are you alright. I didn't mean ...."
Before she could finish, Sean grabbed her effortlessly by her waist with both hands and pressed her lower body into his as he kidnapped her lips with his own. His enraged kiss was torrid, but purposeful and meant to shock her as much as her slap had shocked him. As she fervently tried to break free from him, Sean just held her tighter refusing to release her body or her lips, and forcing her to feel the power she had over his masculinity. He was determined to not let her go, until he achieved what he sought in his attack and after several seconds his goal was achieved. Elana's resistance faded, and she instinctively put her arms around his neck and kissed him just as vigorously as he was doing to her. Initially, they both lost themselves in their heated embrace, but just as soon as it began, Sean pulled back leaving her stunned from his sudden retreat.
Releasing her from his strong grip, he moved back, took a deep breath and spoke. "Now that we both know what's really going on here, it's obvious that neither of us can avoid the unfinished business between us Elana too much longer, so I suggest you take care of whatever you need to, so that we can have that talk."
"Damn you!!!" Elana shouted wiping her mouth off with her hand and still trying to catch her breath. Elana was furious at everybody at that moment; furious at Sean for forcing himself on her, furious at Sheridan and James for standing in their way; furious at their fathers for trying to keep them apart and most of all she was furious at herself for falling into Sean's trap.
Sean hadn't wanted to let her go, but he knew if he didn't stop at the moment they mutually reacted positively to each other that he would not have stopped, and he would have had her right then and there while she was willing, but he did not want that. He wanted her to admit that she still loved him and he wanted her to come to him because when she did he would not let her get away from him ever again.
Trying to be demure and not let Elana know that her kiss had made him almost faint. He tried to change the subject. "Now we can go over those schedules that you came in here to discuss." He said.
"You can go over them yourself!" She shouted as she quickly headed to the door opened it and slammed it behind her, leaving Sean alone to wallow in his accomplishment. She said nothing as she passed Charlotte, but went straight through her own door and slammed it as hard as she could also.
Sean sat down on the edge of his desk and took out a handkerchief to wipe the lipstick off of his mouth and recover from the boiling passion which Elana's response had ignited in him. A few seconds later there was a knock at his door.
"Come in!" He shouted.
Charlotte slowly opened the door and stuck her head in. "Uh, Is everything alright here?"
"Yeah Charlotte. What do you want?" Sean said putting the handkerchief back in his pocket and rubbing his cheek.
Charlotte opened the door wider and stepped in. "I was just worried about the commotion. You guys were making a lot of noise and a few of the employees wanted to know what was going on."
Sean turned and walked around his desk to his chair and sat down as he said..."Well everybody said she was a tough one to deal with. I guess those female executives are a little more moody than the male ones, huh?"
"If you ask me she's a black person who thinks too much of herself. She's always walking around here like she's better than everybody else is. She never says more than two words to me. If I were you I'd get rid of her and deal with a white company. These black people can be so unpredictable. You never know what they'll do and I'd hate to see you go down the tubes because of someone like her..."
"Well, I didn't ask you Charlotte and I certainly don't need your business advice. You can go back to your desk now. Everything is fine."
Charlotte left, but couldn't help remember how red the side of Sean's face was. She thought she had heard someone get slapped, but couldn't quite make it out. She wondered why Elana would hit Sean so hard as to leave a bruise and concluded after seeing him wiping his mouth that he had tried to make a pass at Ms. Powers, who evidently refused him. Charlotte could not imagine her boss doing such a thing because he had never made one move on her, and even when Sheridan came to visit they never even kissed each other hello. So her first impression was to rule that possibility out, especially since Elana was black and surely her handsome boss would have nothing to do with a black woman, but there was no way to get around what she saw and it all added up to the same conclusion: Sean had tried to kiss Elana and she slapped him then stormed out of the office.
Charlotte did not know what this said about her boss. She had always viewed him as a little too unemotional and detached and had suspected him of being a closet homosexual seeing how he reacted with his girlfriend and never reacted to her, but now she was confused. What she wanted to figure out was how could she use this new knowledge to get him to notice her. She decided she would have to think about it a little more.
Meanwhile Elana went into her office and sat down at her desk. She put her head down and sobbed quietly. Sean had finally made her react and she never wanted him to know that she still had any feelings for him. Now she could not turn back and they would have to discuss what happened even sooner than she had anticipated. She thought to herself how could she have let her guard down? All of these years she had been able to resist men's advances and now with just the slightest touch or the briefest look, Sean could send such a flood of emotions rushing throughout her body that her trained mind could not even begin to control them. She did not know what she was going to do now and began to wish that she could just leave the whole project, but contracts had been signed and she had promised to do a job. Her only solution was to continue her work on the organization and to resolve the 'unfinished business' between her and Sean. As she sat there she began to contemplate when she would meet with him and what she would say.
At the end of the day, the office cleared out early because it was Friday and eventually Sean decided to leave also. He had received a phone call earlier in the week from his African-American, college roommate and close friend Samuel Justice, who was an entertainment lawyer in Orange County, New Jersey. Sam had asked Sean to come and have dinner with him and his German wife, Nicollette, to celebrate the birth of their third child. Sean looked forward to getting out of town especially after what had happened earlier that day between him and Elana. On his way to the elevators, he noticed that Elana was still in her office. So he walked toward her door, thinking that he should apologize to her for what he had said, which sparked their argument, but he had no intentions of apologizing for kissing her because he could tell she had wanted it just as much as he did. As he approached her door he heard her talking to James...
"So why can't you go out tonight Elana, I already bought these tickets and they cost me a fortune and besides I was looking forward to spending some time with you away from work." James pleaded.
"I told you that I just don't feel like it James. I'm tired and I have a lot on my mind. I'm not in the mood to be around a lot of people tonight." She said as she slowly paced in front of him.
"Well we could just go to my place and cool out." James moved nearer to her and stopped her pacing as he rubbed the side of her face and tried to persuade her. "I have a huge Jacuzzi that you can relax in, and I may even be able to help you in other ways to get some of what's bothering you off your mind."
Moving away from his touch, Elana continued to try and get out of their scheduled date. "Look James, I keep telling you that I will not be hopping into bed with you any time soon and the truth is, I don't want to be bothered with YOU or anybody else!"
"Elana I don't know what's gotten into you all of a sudden, but I can assure you that I will be the perfect gentleman..."
Listening to James grovel made Sean sick to his stomach, he suddenly felt a need to intervene, so he walked into the doorway and addressed James.
"Begging doesn't become you James. Why don't you give the lady a break and leave her alone."
Turning around to face Sean James replied, "Sean, this is none of your business and what are you doing listening to our conversation anyway? This is between Elana and me, so would you kindly leave us alone."
"I couldn't help but overhear you and besides she's told you more than twice that she doesn't want to be bothered, so I think it's best that we both leave her alone."
"Who are you to come in here interrupting our private conversation and demanding that I leave?"
Sean and James went back and forth for a few minutes and then finally Elana, frustrated with both of them, shouted...
"GET OUT!!! GET OUT BOTH OF YOU!!! JUST LEAVE, NOW!!!'
Sean and James stood there looking at her and then they looked at each other with disdain. James was the first to relent so he turned to leave. Brushing past Sean he said, "Thanks a lot buddy!" Sean watched him storm out of the office and to the elevators where he got on and disappeared. Then Sean turned back to Elana, who was visibly upset and confused. He had never seen her like this and he doubted if she had any of these moments in the past few years. So feeling that he was the ultimate cause of her condition, he tried to make up for it by showing some concern for her.
"Are you going to be ok?"
"Yes, Sean. I'm fine."
"You don't look, fine. In fact you look like you've just been really affected by something and you don't know what to do about it." Sean stood there in the doorway and waited for her to engage him, but she said nothing. He noticed the small cup on her desk that was usually filled with lollipops now had only two left and he smiled to himself remembering why she always sought some solace in those things. After a minute or so of him standing in the doorway and Elana ignoring him Sean spoke again.
"Can I walk you to your car?"
Elana gave him an evil look and turned around to walk back to her desk then sat down to gather her paperwork and place it in her attaché case.
After waiting a few seconds for her to respond Sean asked, "Sooo, should I take your silence to mean yes you want me to walk you to your car or that you just aren't talking to me?"
"You never give up do you?" Elana said, stopping what she was doing and looking up at him.
"After this morning. No I won't." He said without so much as blinking as he looked directly at her and maintained his place inside her door.
Elana sighed knowing that she was defeated and that whatever she said Sean would turn it into a conversation about their past, so she elected to say nothing. She closed her case and picked up her navy blue jacket from her chair and put it on. Then she picked up her case and walked out her door past Sean who closed the door behind him and followed her to the elevator. While they waited Elana reached in her case for her dark sunglasses and put them on. When the elevator stopped Sean allowed Elana to get on first and he went in behind her. The elevator was empty as the two of them stood in the back on either side in silence. Sean watched Elana, as she stood in the corner staring at nothing in particular in front of her.
The kiss they shared earlier that day was now etched in his mind just as vividly as the last night he had seen her years ago and he felt an overwhelming feeling inside him as he realized that she still had strong feelings for him. As the floors descended, Sean knew that just as they were getting closer to the bottom floor, they were also getting closer to one another and now all he had to do was to take care of business with Sheridan and then nothing would stand in his way of pursuing Elana. He knew it wouldn't be long before he and Elana would rekindle their love for each other, which had obviously never died but had only been smoldering under years of misunderstanding. He did not care what his father would think about him and Elana being together. Sean surmised that his father would just have to accept it or else risk loosing him because he knew what it was like to live without real love and he did not like it. Hearing all of grandpa's stories about how much his great, great grandparents loved each other made him feel that he deserved the same type of happiness of which he knew now he could only have with Elana.
The elevator bell rang signaling their arrival in the parking area. The doors opened and again Sean let Elana go out first and he followed her. Elana was just looking forward to getting into her car and going home. She would have the entire weekend to recover and rethink this whole situation. She wished that Sean was not following her, but she dared not say anything for fear that he would start talking about what happened earlier, which was something she did not want to get into. He had practically insulted her professionalism and she resented him for not apologizing because she knew he had said it in frustration. It was obvious that he still wanted her despite having a long-term 'girlfriend'. Elana thought about the things that Gail had said and now she knew her friend was right all along. The question now was what would she do about it? When they reached their cars that were parked beside each other, they unlocked their doors and before Sean sat down he turned around and addressed her...
"Elana?"
"Yes?" She said as she stopped and looked at him through her sunglasses.
Sean slowly walked around her car to where she stood and said, "Um -- I'm sorry about what I said. I really didn't mean it. You've always been a good person and I couldn't imagine you every doing anything like I accused you of this morning."
"I know you didn't mean it Sean, and thank you for the apology. I really appreciate it."
Sean smiled at her and turned around to go back to his car, but before he got in she stopped him when she called his name. "Sean,"
He turned around. "Yes, Elana."
Taking off her sunglasses she looked up to speak to him. "Is that all you're sorry for?"
He thought for a second and realized that she was referring to his forceful kiss, which had told him that she still had feelings for him, so he answered her "Yeah, that's all I'm sorry for. Nothing else." With that he got into his car and started up the engine.
Elana knew exactly what he meant, and knew she shouldn't pursue it, so she put her sunglasses back on and got into her car then they both exited the garage and went their separate ways.
(Tuesday August 25 - 28, 1998)
The rest of the week seemed to go by slowly for both Sean and Elana. Tuesday Elana stayed in her office working on the interview and project schedules she promised to have for Sean by the end of the week. Sean sat in his office and watched just about every move Elana made. He was happy that he suggested she move across from him, because he could always see who was going into her office, and also catch glimpses of her pacing back and forth, whenever she was on the phone. On several occasions, Sean noticed James going into her office and closing the door behind him. To Sean's relief, James always stayed for only a few minutes and he left not looking particularly happy, which gave Sean a clue that Elana was not falling into his trap quickly even though James was no doubt using every bit of his charm to win her over. A few times during the week James had come into Sean's office bragging about the progress he thought he was making with Elana, but Sean only sat in near silence listening to him.
During the next three days whenever Sean arrived at work, Elana was already working diligently at her desk. They really did not see much of each other accept for Sean's regular morning hello's which he made a point to do every morning, if nothing else. He would always try to get close to her, but she would successfully brush him off or something would interrupt him and they would have to abruptly end what had really never gotten started. Sean knew he was making her nervous. He kept telling himself that he was not going to continue getting so close to her and torturing himself, but whenever he came in during the morning and set his eyes upon her, he couldn't help but want to be near her. At night his dreams would be filled with her, and he began to wish that she had awaken beside him every morning, which would allow him the opportunity to express how much he loved and missed her over the years, but his morning visits would have to do for now. He did decide that beginning the following week, he would come in earlier and possibly get the opportunity to sit and talk with her. He was hoping that doing this would help her to stop being so nervous, even though she tried not to show it, and eventually maybe she would want to talk about what happened.
On Friday, when he came in, Sean went about his normal routine, he asked Charlotte for his messages and started for Elana's opened door, but this time Charlotte stopped him.
"She's in your office waiting for you." Charlotte said giving him a suspicious look.
"Thanks Charlotte." He said with a smile forming on his face from thinking that Elana was finally ready for their talk.
Sean enthusiastically walked into the doorway and found Elana standing with her arms crossed in front of her and looking out of his window as if she had something heavy on her mind. She did not notice when Sean came in, and he was glad because he loved watching her when she did not know it. Today she wore navy blue slacks and a cream-colored silk blouse that had a wide-open collar. Her hair was pulled up as always except today there was a single wavy strand that fell down the front right side of her face. He loved the way she looked in slacks because unlike the skirts she had worn all week, the pants gave him a better view of her almost perfect body. He remembered that she wore a size six in college and doubted if she was any bigger now. As he watched her briefly, he bit his bottom lip and an "Umph" escaped his mouth causing Elana to turn around. Sean jumped and started to walk into his office closing the door behind him as he cleared his throat trying to play off what he said.
"This is a great view." Elana uttered as she turned back around to hide the smile on her face from what she heard Sean say. She had found that he liked watching her when she wasn't looking and she enjoyed him doing it.
"Yea, it wa -- is." Sean said catching himself. He sat his case on top of the desk and walked around the left side of it to stand beside her in front of the window, where they both stood for a few seconds and just looked out the window, contemplating who would speak first. Finally Sean broke the silence "What's on your mind?"
"Oh nothing. I was just admiring the New York skyline." Elana could not tell him that she was thinking about him and wondering what he did in the mornings before coming to work.
"Do you see that building all the way out over the horizon of buildings with a blue top on it." He said trying to describe it to her.
"No, which one? What's it close to?" She asked trying to look in the direction that he was pointing to.
"It's over here." He gently put his hand on her right hip and moved her over to the left closer to him. "You can see it past the World Trade Center and slightly to the right about seven or eight buildings over..." He was pointing with one hand and still resting his fingers on her hip with the other.
"No, I still can't see it." Elana said, enjoying his touch.
Seeing this as a sign to get as close as possible to her, Sean now placed his other hand on her hip and gently pulled her closer to stand directly in front of him, then he leaned over her shoulder, pointed with his right hand and spoke softly...
"Right there Elana. Do you see it now?"
Elana remembered how it felt to be near him like this and for that moment she did not want it to end, so she did not try to get away from him. "Yes, I do see it now. What is it?" She asked trying to make her words sound normal, but instead they came out in a low-toned whisper.
Sean answered her in the same soft tone, but this time he lowered his head a little more to the point that when he spoke to her, she could feel his warm breath on the right side of her face. "That's where I live. Maybe one day you can come visit me and tell me what you think of it."
All of a sudden Elana felt Sean begin to move his hands around her small waist and lower his head toward her neck and she realized what he was going to do. 'What was she doing!' She quickly thought, so before he could fully embrace her and place his lips on her neck, she turned to the right and slowly walked away from him toward the edge of his desk. "I guess you could get Sheridan to do that for you." She said turning around to face him and now embarrassed that she had not moved sooner.
Sean would not give up so he walked toward her and used his forefinger to move the dangling strand of hair out of her eye as he replied. "Maybe I want a second opinion." He said in a more serious tone as he stared directly into her eyes.
Turning her head to face the window Elana asked in an emotional voice, "Sean why do you keep doing this?"
Sean moved in closer to her and again rested his hands on her hips. "Isn't it obvious Elana that just like before I can't keep my hands off of you whenever we're near each other. So if you plan to sue me for sexual harassment, I'll understand, but I'll plead insanity because you have definitely been driving me crazy this past week."
Elana moved his hands away from her and stepped back. "Sean, don't play around with me."
Sean leaned back against his desk and folded his arms in front of him. He was annoyed that she wouldn't admit to the obvious attraction between them. "Who's playing around, Elana? It's definitely not me. But I could accuse you of doing that!"
"What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? Well it's more than obvious that we're still attracted to each other if nothing else, but instead of coming to me so that we can settle what happened between us, you choose to go frumping around with James Payton. When that game is over I'll still be here waiting to hear your explanation of why you wrote me off nine years ago, because the reason you gave then doesn't add up today."
Now the whole situation was getting to be too much for her. Sean had been subtly trying to break her resolve all week and even though she had done her best to not let him know how he was affecting her, she now couldn't pretend in front of him, so with light tears in her eyes she spoke. "Sean. I can't talk about this now. I just can't."
Sean stood erect as he responded to her statement. "Well when Elana? When are we going talk about this? I hope you don't think you are going to be sashaying around here for eight months and try to avoid the subject?"
"What do you mean sashaying around?"
Sean was angry. He was angry at Elana for distancing herself from him the whole week and pretending that they never meant anything to each other so his words came out loud and without thought. "You know what the hell I'm talking about! You come in here to help the company and on the first day you're making moves on my employees, meeting with James privately in your office when you have no reason to be talking to him in this stage of your analysis and going out for extravagant lunches and fancy dinners with him!"
Elana was getting angrier by the second and clenched her fists beside her as she asked loudly, "What are you implying, Sean?"
Sean continued his angry outburst. "I'm not implying anything Elana! I'm flat out saying that you're doing everything you can to avoid me and that includes entertaining my employees! Before this thing is over you may go through my whole damned executive staff! I'm sure you know that most of them are lined up outside of James' office waiting their turn with you!"
Suddenly, Elana's reflexes took over and before she knew it she had smacked him as hard as she could across the side of his face. She was shocked at Sean's insinuations and it reminded her of the same accusations his father had laid on her years earlier, but after her reaction there was a brief silence between them as Sean held his face from the shock of her slap. Realizing what she had done Elana now felt sorry and moved closer to console him.
"Oh God, Sean are you alright. I didn't mean ...."
Before she could finish, Sean grabbed her effortlessly by her waist with both hands and pressed her lower body into his as he kidnapped her lips with his own. His enraged kiss was torrid, but purposeful and meant to shock her as much as her slap had shocked him. As she fervently tried to break free from him, Sean just held her tighter refusing to release her body or her lips, and forcing her to feel the power she had over his masculinity. He was determined to not let her go, until he achieved what he sought in his attack and after several seconds his goal was achieved. Elana's resistance faded, and she instinctively put her arms around his neck and kissed him just as vigorously as he was doing to her. Initially, they both lost themselves in their heated embrace, but just as soon as it began, Sean pulled back leaving her stunned from his sudden retreat.
Releasing her from his strong grip, he moved back, took a deep breath and spoke. "Now that we both know what's really going on here, it's obvious that neither of us can avoid the unfinished business between us Elana too much longer, so I suggest you take care of whatever you need to, so that we can have that talk."
"Damn you!!!" Elana shouted wiping her mouth off with her hand and still trying to catch her breath. Elana was furious at everybody at that moment; furious at Sean for forcing himself on her, furious at Sheridan and James for standing in their way; furious at their fathers for trying to keep them apart and most of all she was furious at herself for falling into Sean's trap.
Sean hadn't wanted to let her go, but he knew if he didn't stop at the moment they mutually reacted positively to each other that he would not have stopped, and he would have had her right then and there while she was willing, but he did not want that. He wanted her to admit that she still loved him and he wanted her to come to him because when she did he would not let her get away from him ever again.
Trying to be demure and not let Elana know that her kiss had made him almost faint. He tried to change the subject. "Now we can go over those schedules that you came in here to discuss." He said.
"You can go over them yourself!" She shouted as she quickly headed to the door opened it and slammed it behind her, leaving Sean alone to wallow in his accomplishment. She said nothing as she passed Charlotte, but went straight through her own door and slammed it as hard as she could also.
Sean sat down on the edge of his desk and took out a handkerchief to wipe the lipstick off of his mouth and recover from the boiling passion which Elana's response had ignited in him. A few seconds later there was a knock at his door.
"Come in!" He shouted.
Charlotte slowly opened the door and stuck her head in. "Uh, Is everything alright here?"
"Yeah Charlotte. What do you want?" Sean said putting the handkerchief back in his pocket and rubbing his cheek.
Charlotte opened the door wider and stepped in. "I was just worried about the commotion. You guys were making a lot of noise and a few of the employees wanted to know what was going on."
Sean turned and walked around his desk to his chair and sat down as he said..."Well everybody said she was a tough one to deal with. I guess those female executives are a little more moody than the male ones, huh?"
"If you ask me she's a black person who thinks too much of herself. She's always walking around here like she's better than everybody else is. She never says more than two words to me. If I were you I'd get rid of her and deal with a white company. These black people can be so unpredictable. You never know what they'll do and I'd hate to see you go down the tubes because of someone like her..."
"Well, I didn't ask you Charlotte and I certainly don't need your business advice. You can go back to your desk now. Everything is fine."
Charlotte left, but couldn't help remember how red the side of Sean's face was. She thought she had heard someone get slapped, but couldn't quite make it out. She wondered why Elana would hit Sean so hard as to leave a bruise and concluded after seeing him wiping his mouth that he had tried to make a pass at Ms. Powers, who evidently refused him. Charlotte could not imagine her boss doing such a thing because he had never made one move on her, and even when Sheridan came to visit they never even kissed each other hello. So her first impression was to rule that possibility out, especially since Elana was black and surely her handsome boss would have nothing to do with a black woman, but there was no way to get around what she saw and it all added up to the same conclusion: Sean had tried to kiss Elana and she slapped him then stormed out of the office.
Charlotte did not know what this said about her boss. She had always viewed him as a little too unemotional and detached and had suspected him of being a closet homosexual seeing how he reacted with his girlfriend and never reacted to her, but now she was confused. What she wanted to figure out was how could she use this new knowledge to get him to notice her. She decided she would have to think about it a little more.
Meanwhile Elana went into her office and sat down at her desk. She put her head down and sobbed quietly. Sean had finally made her react and she never wanted him to know that she still had any feelings for him. Now she could not turn back and they would have to discuss what happened even sooner than she had anticipated. She thought to herself how could she have let her guard down? All of these years she had been able to resist men's advances and now with just the slightest touch or the briefest look, Sean could send such a flood of emotions rushing throughout her body that her trained mind could not even begin to control them. She did not know what she was going to do now and began to wish that she could just leave the whole project, but contracts had been signed and she had promised to do a job. Her only solution was to continue her work on the organization and to resolve the 'unfinished business' between her and Sean. As she sat there she began to contemplate when she would meet with him and what she would say.
At the end of the day, the office cleared out early because it was Friday and eventually Sean decided to leave also. He had received a phone call earlier in the week from his African-American, college roommate and close friend Samuel Justice, who was an entertainment lawyer in Orange County, New Jersey. Sam had asked Sean to come and have dinner with him and his German wife, Nicollette, to celebrate the birth of their third child. Sean looked forward to getting out of town especially after what had happened earlier that day between him and Elana. On his way to the elevators, he noticed that Elana was still in her office. So he walked toward her door, thinking that he should apologize to her for what he had said, which sparked their argument, but he had no intentions of apologizing for kissing her because he could tell she had wanted it just as much as he did. As he approached her door he heard her talking to James...
"So why can't you go out tonight Elana, I already bought these tickets and they cost me a fortune and besides I was looking forward to spending some time with you away from work." James pleaded.
"I told you that I just don't feel like it James. I'm tired and I have a lot on my mind. I'm not in the mood to be around a lot of people tonight." She said as she slowly paced in front of him.
"Well we could just go to my place and cool out." James moved nearer to her and stopped her pacing as he rubbed the side of her face and tried to persuade her. "I have a huge Jacuzzi that you can relax in, and I may even be able to help you in other ways to get some of what's bothering you off your mind."
Moving away from his touch, Elana continued to try and get out of their scheduled date. "Look James, I keep telling you that I will not be hopping into bed with you any time soon and the truth is, I don't want to be bothered with YOU or anybody else!"
"Elana I don't know what's gotten into you all of a sudden, but I can assure you that I will be the perfect gentleman..."
Listening to James grovel made Sean sick to his stomach, he suddenly felt a need to intervene, so he walked into the doorway and addressed James.
"Begging doesn't become you James. Why don't you give the lady a break and leave her alone."
Turning around to face Sean James replied, "Sean, this is none of your business and what are you doing listening to our conversation anyway? This is between Elana and me, so would you kindly leave us alone."
"I couldn't help but overhear you and besides she's told you more than twice that she doesn't want to be bothered, so I think it's best that we both leave her alone."
"Who are you to come in here interrupting our private conversation and demanding that I leave?"
Sean and James went back and forth for a few minutes and then finally Elana, frustrated with both of them, shouted...
"GET OUT!!! GET OUT BOTH OF YOU!!! JUST LEAVE, NOW!!!'
Sean and James stood there looking at her and then they looked at each other with disdain. James was the first to relent so he turned to leave. Brushing past Sean he said, "Thanks a lot buddy!" Sean watched him storm out of the office and to the elevators where he got on and disappeared. Then Sean turned back to Elana, who was visibly upset and confused. He had never seen her like this and he doubted if she had any of these moments in the past few years. So feeling that he was the ultimate cause of her condition, he tried to make up for it by showing some concern for her.
"Are you going to be ok?"
"Yes, Sean. I'm fine."
"You don't look, fine. In fact you look like you've just been really affected by something and you don't know what to do about it." Sean stood there in the doorway and waited for her to engage him, but she said nothing. He noticed the small cup on her desk that was usually filled with lollipops now had only two left and he smiled to himself remembering why she always sought some solace in those things. After a minute or so of him standing in the doorway and Elana ignoring him Sean spoke again.
"Can I walk you to your car?"
Elana gave him an evil look and turned around to walk back to her desk then sat down to gather her paperwork and place it in her attaché case.
After waiting a few seconds for her to respond Sean asked, "Sooo, should I take your silence to mean yes you want me to walk you to your car or that you just aren't talking to me?"
"You never give up do you?" Elana said, stopping what she was doing and looking up at him.
"After this morning. No I won't." He said without so much as blinking as he looked directly at her and maintained his place inside her door.
Elana sighed knowing that she was defeated and that whatever she said Sean would turn it into a conversation about their past, so she elected to say nothing. She closed her case and picked up her navy blue jacket from her chair and put it on. Then she picked up her case and walked out her door past Sean who closed the door behind him and followed her to the elevator. While they waited Elana reached in her case for her dark sunglasses and put them on. When the elevator stopped Sean allowed Elana to get on first and he went in behind her. The elevator was empty as the two of them stood in the back on either side in silence. Sean watched Elana, as she stood in the corner staring at nothing in particular in front of her.
The kiss they shared earlier that day was now etched in his mind just as vividly as the last night he had seen her years ago and he felt an overwhelming feeling inside him as he realized that she still had strong feelings for him. As the floors descended, Sean knew that just as they were getting closer to the bottom floor, they were also getting closer to one another and now all he had to do was to take care of business with Sheridan and then nothing would stand in his way of pursuing Elana. He knew it wouldn't be long before he and Elana would rekindle their love for each other, which had obviously never died but had only been smoldering under years of misunderstanding. He did not care what his father would think about him and Elana being together. Sean surmised that his father would just have to accept it or else risk loosing him because he knew what it was like to live without real love and he did not like it. Hearing all of grandpa's stories about how much his great, great grandparents loved each other made him feel that he deserved the same type of happiness of which he knew now he could only have with Elana.
The elevator bell rang signaling their arrival in the parking area. The doors opened and again Sean let Elana go out first and he followed her. Elana was just looking forward to getting into her car and going home. She would have the entire weekend to recover and rethink this whole situation. She wished that Sean was not following her, but she dared not say anything for fear that he would start talking about what happened earlier, which was something she did not want to get into. He had practically insulted her professionalism and she resented him for not apologizing because she knew he had said it in frustration. It was obvious that he still wanted her despite having a long-term 'girlfriend'. Elana thought about the things that Gail had said and now she knew her friend was right all along. The question now was what would she do about it? When they reached their cars that were parked beside each other, they unlocked their doors and before Sean sat down he turned around and addressed her...
"Elana?"
"Yes?" She said as she stopped and looked at him through her sunglasses.
Sean slowly walked around her car to where she stood and said, "Um -- I'm sorry about what I said. I really didn't mean it. You've always been a good person and I couldn't imagine you every doing anything like I accused you of this morning."
"I know you didn't mean it Sean, and thank you for the apology. I really appreciate it."
Sean smiled at her and turned around to go back to his car, but before he got in she stopped him when she called his name. "Sean,"
He turned around. "Yes, Elana."
Taking off her sunglasses she looked up to speak to him. "Is that all you're sorry for?"
He thought for a second and realized that she was referring to his forceful kiss, which had told him that she still had feelings for him, so he answered her "Yeah, that's all I'm sorry for. Nothing else." With that he got into his car and started up the engine.
Elana knew exactly what he meant, and knew she shouldn't pursue it, so she put her sunglasses back on and got into her car then they both exited the garage and went their separate ways.