AS209 Much Ado About Something Chapter Four, a dark angel fanfic

AS2.09 Much Ado About Something by Star24 and Lelu2

Chapter Four

"What do you mean, you have a week to turn me into a princess?" Max asked as she put her hand on her hip and glared at Logan.

"Max, you have to admit you're a little rough around the edges. But I doubt that Manticore had many classes in deportment," Logan said blithely, not knowing he was walking into a minefield.

"I'm not good enough to be seen with you in public? I'm good enough to do grunt-work, come over for dinner and maybe a friendly screw, but I have to be fixed up to go out in public with the great and rich Logan Cale? No thanks! Maybe Bling will reconsider," Max said, anger and hurt evident in her words. She attempted to banish the tears that welled up in her eyes. She turned so Logan wouldn't see, grabbed her backpack and headed for the door.

"Max! What did I say?" Alarmed, he grabbed her arm as she went by. He turned her to look at him, and seeing the tears, was immediately contrite. "Max, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it the way it sounded." He put his hand under her chin, tilted her head up and smiled.

Max, infuriated, pushed him away. "You are such an arrogant bastard! You think that all you have to do is smile and everything is all right. Well it might work with your high-class peeps, but it's not working with me," she spat, not wanting Logan to know how close she came to melting at that smile.

Logan ran his hand through his hair and gave an exasperated sigh. "Max, you know nothing about these people. Some of them are decent people, but many of them are vultures just waiting to see a mistake so they can pick you apart. You may have been made in a lab, but you're not the only one that came from a specialized breeding program. Look at me; I'm the product of four hundred years of selective breeding. The Cales have been in the Social Register for that long," Logan sighed. "It's all a game, marry the right family, have the right money, look at the 'stud book' to see if you have the requisite breeding. I hated it then. I hate it now. Going back means we're both going to be scrutinized. I just wanted to be sure that no one would look down at you because you used a shrimp fork instead of a fish fork. These people would jump at the chance.

"For me, it doesn't matter; I'd be seen with you if you were wearing sackcloth and filth. You are and will always be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. It would be my honor to have you accompany me" Logan finished softly, almost defeated. He turned away quickly so she couldn't see how raw his emotions were.

Max stared at his back, her mouth open. He'd never shared this much of himself with her. She went to him and touched his arm. When he turned to look at her, she said, "Logan, I'd be honored to go with you." She wasn't ready to face Logan when he was so vulnerable, so she said, "I've got to go back to work today or I won't have a job. I'll catch you later, 'kay?" She flashed a brilliant smile.

Logan tried to say something, but Max was already gone. He looked at the door bemusedly, shook his head and went back to his computer to continue his research.

After he broke his third pencil, he gave up and got up to stretch his legs. He made a fresh pot of coffee and wandered aimlessly through the apartment, cup in hand, thinking. Something had happened between the two of them. He just wasn't sure what. Taking a sip of the now-cold coffee he grimaced. He walked back to the kitchen to dump the coffee and get a fresh cup. He smiled as he formulated a plan. Going to his desk, he pulled out an old phone list and began to make calls.

~~~

Max went through the rest of the day in a daze; even Normal's constant razzing didn't faze her. Occasionally she just smiled for no apparent reason. By the end of the day, Original Cindy couldn't stand it anymore. "Boo, what's up with you and your man? You look like the cat that ate the canary."

"Nothing!" Max squeaked. "Well, Logan did ask me to go to a big weekend charity thingy," she finished lamely.

Original Cindy grinned. "Boy's got it bad, Max. Mr. Ivory Tower is coming down and taking his Cinderella to the ball.

Yeah, I've got it bad too, but what am I going to do with it? What are we going to do? Max glanced up to see Original Cindy with a huge grin on her face. "Girl, it's about time you stepped to the real," was all she said. She grabbed Max and hugged her tightly.

Max's pager began to go off. She smiled when she saw the number. Original Cindy rolled her eyes. "Guess we won't be seeing you at Crash tonight," she said as she wandered away, leaving Max to pick up her call.

Max walked over to the phone and dialed a number she knew by heart, ignoring Normal's futile bips. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," Logan said in return. "Could you be at my place at 10 A.M. tomorrow?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"It's a surprise. See you then?" She could hear the hopeful tone in his voice.

"See you then," she said and hung up the phone. She drifted out of Jam Pony to the sound of Normal squeaking, "Hot run" in the background.

~~~

Max pulled up to Logan's building at 9:55 A.M. She wasn't about to be late. She noticed a limousine parked outside the entrance, but paid it no attention. She hopped in the elevator and glanced in the burnished finish, taking in her reflection. She'd taken some time this morning, putting on lip-gloss, and her best sweater and jeans.

Max breezed into the apartment and stopped suddenly. Logan was at the kitchen counter pouring coffee. He was dressed in a charcoal suit. He turned around and handed her a cup of coffee. He smiled appreciatively at her. "You look good," he said.

"So do you. So what's the occasion?" She eyed Logan. His suit was impeccably tailored; the blue shirt and dark gray tie with a hint of burgundy fit his form perfectly.

Logan grinned at her. "Since we're going to have an entire weekend to do surveillance, I thought that you would need some new clothes... you know, so you could move around without being noticed," Logan finished is a rush. Like that would happen. God, Cale, you are so smooth.

Max took a sip of coffee and peeked at Logan over the cup. Seeing the discomfort in his face, she relented. "I could use a few new things," she said.

Relieved, Logan held out his arm. "Shall we go, then?" Max put down her coffee cup, took his arm and allowed him to lead her from the apartment. Logan pushed the elevator button for the ground floor instead of the parking garage. Max looked at him curiously, but asked no questions. Logan led her out the limousine, where Bling was standing in a chauffeur's uniform. Bling grinned at Max and opened the door. Logan helped her in and then climbed in beside her. Bling shut the door behind them. He got in the drivers seat, put the screen down and as he pulled away from the curb, asked, "Where to?"

"Bling, what are you doing?" Max asked, looking from him, to Logan.

"Max," Bling said with gravity. "Logan is standing me up for you. I was his first choice, but now I'm just the chauffeur." He winked into the rear-view mirror and grinned.

Max laughed delightedly. "Sure, Bling, I believe that...not." She glanced sideways at Logan. "What's the dealio?"

"Bling has agreed to be our back up and this seemed the best plan. We'll be able to talk in the car without any problem. I'll be able sleep better this way." Logan glanced over at Max, his eyes twinkling.

In the front seat, Bling snorted, "Like you two will do any sleeping."

Logan rolled his eyes and put up the screen, saying, "You just can't get good help these days." He grinned as he heard Bling laughing.

Max and Logan sat in companionable silence as they rode. After a short while they stopped in front of an elegant old storefront on one of Seattle's most upscale streets. The store spoke money, with its polished wood exterior and glass door bearing a single word, Vanessa.

Bling hopped out and assisted Max from the car, then Logan. Logan turned to Bling and said, "I'll call when we're ready."

"Sure thing, man." Bling looked over at Max and said, "Have fun and let him spoil you. Otherwise he'll pout for a month." Grinning, Bling got back in the car and pulled away from the curb before Logan could make a scathing reply.

Max giggled as Logan escorted her into the building. The receptionist met him there. "May I help you, sir?"

I'm Logan Cale. Claire Townsend is expecting us," Logan replied smoothly.

"Of course, Mr. Cale." She picked up the phone and after a moment said, "Claire, Mr. Cale is here." She turned back to Logan. "She will be right down, sir."

"Thank you...Elizabeth," he said pointedly after looking at her nametag. "I was remiss; this is my friend, Max Guevara."

Elizabeth, quickly realizing her mistake, said, "I'm delighted to meet you, Miss Guevara. Welcome to Vanessa." She was rescued from further embarrassment by the approach of Claire Townsend.

Max just stared at Logan. She'd never seen him this way. He had an easy arrogance that came from his social caste, and put the receptionist in her place with one sentence. She wasn't sure she liked it but she didn't have time to mull it over, as Claire Townsend overwhelmed them.

"Mr. Cale, it's been so long. I'm delighted to see you again." She stood on tiptoe and gave Logan a peck on the cheek, which he returned, smiling.

"It's good to see you too, Claire, and please call me Logan."

Dismissing Logan she turned to Max. "You must be Miss Guevara. Logan didn't do justice to you when we spoke on the phone yesterday." She took Max's arm and led her away, talking all the while. "I already have some things laid out for you. I hope you'll like them.

"Elizabeth, find Mr. Cale an appropriate place to wait and close the shop. This is a private fitting." She took Max and disappeared

Elizabeth scurried over to Logan. "Mr. Cale, if you will come this way..." She took him to a secluded alcove with inviting leather chairs. "May I get you anything?"

"Coffee would be fine, and would you call 'Ciao' and have them deliver lunch? This may take a while," Logan said smiling up at Elizabeth.

She melted at that smile, as most women did, and hurried away.

"No, that's not right; it doesn't make you light up. Tina, bring me the red jacket." Claire was standing in a pile of discarded clothing. She looked up at Max. "Turn around, my dear."

Max slowly turned in a circle. Her eyes were slightly glazed over. She was completely out of her element. Max shuddered as she glanced at the pile of clothing on the floor.

Claire noticed and said, "Come sit beside me for a few minutes. I know it can be very disconcerting when you aren't used to this sort of thing. We'll slow down for a few minutes to give you a rest." Claire got up and went to the door. "Elizabeth, bring Miss Guevara a glass of wine."

Logan looked up from where he was engrossed in his laptop and raised his eyebrow. Claire signaled that everything was fine and he went back to his computer.

Max began to relax a little after the glass of wine. "So how long have you known Logan? Has he brought a lot of girls to you?" Max asked disingenuously.

Claire smiled. "My dear, you are the first woman Logan has ever brought to me. You must be very important to him. I've known Logan since he was a child, but I haven't seen him since he was sixteen. I worked for many years for his mother as her personal secretary."

"How did you end up here?"

"Before she died, Mrs. Cale purchased this shop for me. She wanted to make sure my family and I were cared for. She was a very generous woman, as is her son...Shall we get back to shopping?" Claire said brightly, effectively closing the conversation.

"You have wonderful cleavage, Max. Let's show it off a bit, shall we?" Claire pulled out an ivory silk shawl-style blouse. It draped to perfection showing a hint of cleavage. It perfectly matched the loose-fitting silk shantung navy blue trousers Max was wearing. "Now for the pièce de résistance." Claire handed Max a fitted red leather jacket. It fit like a glove, nipped in at the waist and flared at the hip.

"Perfect! It is a bit trendy but you can pull it off so well. It would work wonderfully with an upswept hairdo. Logan told me about your tattoo; we could hide that easily." Claire was pleased; things were coming together. She was getting a feel for what Max was comfortable wearing.

They spent the next few hours shopping. Max was having fun. The pile of clothes she'd chosen grew bigger and bigger. She was wearing a peach dress. It had an empire waist, a scoop neck, and a short bolero jacket. She stared at the sophisticated woman in the mirror and gasped. She had to show Logan.

"Wait, my dear!" Claire cried as Max started toward the door. "Shoes we need shoes. One moment." Claire rushed out and brought back a pair of peach polka-dot sling back pumps with four-inch heels and an open toe.

Max slipped them on her feet and in that instant became a shoe person. She felt like Dorothy in her ruby slippers.

"Now you can show Logan," Claire said contentedly.

Max stepped out of the dressing area and walked over to Logan. He was still engrossed in the laptop and didn't look up immediately. When he did, his mouth flew open and he nearly dropped the computer in his haste to stand.

"Max!" he said, at a loss for words. He raised his eyebrows and smiled delightedly.

"I think we're on the right track, Max," opined Claire. "Logan, we only have a couple of things left; and we'll be done."

"Take your time," he said distractedly never taking his eyes off Max, his smile lighting up his face.

Max and Claire retreated to the dressing room. "We need two more things: a cocktail dress and a ball gown. I have the perfect dresses for you," Claire said.

Tina walked in with two dresses. Max gasped, as totally speechless. She tried the cocktail dress first. It was a beautiful dark blue and strapless. It fell straight to the skirt, which ballooned around her knees, showing off her perfect legs.

The ball gown was a deep chocolate brown. It, too, was strapless. The bodice twisted across her chest, accentuating her breasts, and then it fell away to a bias skirt that hugged her every curve. The dress had a high back and was demure in every way except cut. It had a slight train and a sheer wrap.

Max smiled slowly and turned to look at herself. It was perfect.

Claire, knowing what Max was thinking, said, "It's perfect. Logan will be speechless. Promise me one thing. Don't show him this dress until the night of the ball. Make it a surprise."

Max turned to Claire and smiled, then began to giggle. "He'll be walking on his tongue."

"Yes, my dear, he will."

Max walked out of the dressing room a sophisticated, polished woman. She chose to wear the navy blue ensemble, because she loved the red jacket.

Logan was more prepared this time, but he still couldn't keep the smile off his face as he looked at her. He held out his arm, and then pulled it back. "Guess I should call for the car," he said sheepishly. He took out his phone, called Bling and left a message, without ever taking his eyes off Max.

Claire smiled at them. I think she's the one. It's about time. You deserve some happiness in your life. She cleared her throat. "Logan, now that Max has the appropriate wardrobe, you should also update your wardrobe as well. If you will excuse me, I'll call Harvey's."

Before Logan could protest, she was gone.

"This will be fun," Max said grinning at him.

End of Chapter Four