Title: Life and Times of a Socialite
Author: Lady Eliza
Characters: All Characters
Rating: T
Summary: Total AU Rory and Logan Spoiler Warning
Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of its characters.
AN: Thank you so much to my reviewers, you don't know how much I appreciate your feedback. I would like to say a special thanks to BrwnEyez- I'm honoured that my story was the first story you have submitted a review for. Please keep reading. Thank you to eighty9octance who pointed out that my link did not show up. If you guys are curious about what the Winter Castle looks like I'll add the linkto my profile and you can check it out. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please keep reviewing.
Chapter 14: It's A Small World After All
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Crissy whose review gave me the idea for this chapter title. Thank You Crissy.
Jess looked out the window of the private jet that had been chartered for the construction crew and the rest of the help that was being flown in for the special occasion. He couldn't believe that someone would pay to fly in help from one part of the state to another instead of hiring them locally. He guessed that was what people did when they had money.
He looked around at the people who were around him. Tom was fast asleep the minute that the plane was up in the air and the rest of the guys were amusing themselves playing cards or watching TV.
The only downside on this whole trip had been the individual that was sitting two seats behind him. He had been surprised that Tom had brought Dean Forrester with them. Last thing he heard was that Dean had divorced and had moved in with a pal of his. Jess didn't realize that Dean was working construction for Tom but apparently he was one of the best since he was asked to come on this trip.
Jess couldn't wait to check out the house that resembled the Winter Palace and they were finally going to meet the man that had hired them. The guys had grumbled when they were forced to sign the confidentiality agreement, some went so far as to ask if Prince William and Harry of England were going to attend this bash and would they be able to ask for their autographs. Jess was curious himself who would be attending the party and the need for legal documents. It must be a lot of well-known people if the host was making the entire staff sign the agreements.
The plane was a hubbub of activity with everyone talking about various things. He overheard the maids discussing the grumpy old man who owned the house and was curious to know if said grumpy man was the host or if someone in his family was throwing the bash.
They were notified they would be landing soon and would all the passengers buckle their seat belts. Jess woke Tom up from his nap then did what he was instructed to do. When they landed the help was supposed to be carted onto a bus then driven to the unidentified location where the house was located. Jess was pretty excited to be out of Stars Hollow for a while and there was no way he would run into Rory or her pretty boy boyfriend on this job. Or so he thought.
Dean Forrester was pretty peeved, he didn't like the fact that Jess was back in town and he hadn't as yet had the pleasure of talking him. But to have to work with him was going to be a hostile situation. He hadn't even known that Jess was working for Tom. Dean had been on leave to visit his sister and her family in Chicago and had just gotten back in town a few days ago. The first piece of town gossip, which he had heard about, was that Jess was back in town followed, in a close second, by Rory's interview with Oprah.
Dean still loved Rory Gilmore, but he was a realist and knew she was now out of his league. The moment he had had this epiphany was when Rory had walked out of her grandparent's house laughing with a bunch of rich boys dripping in diamonds. His assumption had been correct because she and her friends are in all the gossip columns and her and her boyfriend have graced all the major magazine covers.
It seemed, to him anyways, that Jess wanted to get back together with Rory. He hadn't realized how dense the boy could be. Apparently he didn't see a lost cause when it was right in front of him. Dean didn't think that Jess could get back together with Rory but she always did have a soft spot for Jess so maybe he shouldn't be underestimating the jerk. But Dean vowed to himself that he would do all that is in his power to dissuade Jess from getting Rory back, he couldn't have her so Jess shouldn't have her either. This job was going to be Rory free so he would have his chance to get Jess to second-guess himself.
Logan, Finn, Colin, Robert, and Seth were enjoying breakfast as their helpers were being bundled into a bus for transportation. The five men had flown in the night before to settle in so they could dictate from the actual location of the event or as Finn had dubbed it 'LDB headquarters'. The girls, Rory and Stephanie, were going to fly in from Paris later today, where they had gone shopping for their dresses and diamonds.
"When does the help get here Logan? And do I have to do anything?" asked Finn.
"No Finn you don't have to do anything you can start getting drunk now," replied Logan.
"Great mate. I can test the liquor for the party," stated Finn.
"Finn, one does not need to test liquor. By the way, isn't this an early time of the day for you to be up?" asked Robert.
"Technically I'm not outside where the sun can bother me…and Logan set an alarm clock in my room. Actually he set several alarm clocks including Gilmore's oinking one," said an annoyed Finn.
Colin and Seth tried to cough to cover their laughter but then gave up and dissolved into a fit of giggles. Robert looked quite amused and Logan just looked sheepish. "Rory actually gave me the idea from a story she told me about her mom," said Logan.
"When does the rest of the LDB get here," this from Colin who finally stopped laughing at Finn's predicament.
"They will be here a week from today so we've got to get the construction people to work right away," said Seth.
"Are you telling me that we are going to be stuck on Cape Cod for a week with nothing to do?" asked a shocked Finn.
"Buck up soldier, it'll be worth it for the party that will happen next week," said Logan.
"I don't know if I can handle a week in the Cape with nothing to do. Can I be naked at least?" asked Finn who looked quite serious.
"Finn, I beg you, don't get naked. Something always happens when your naked, well something always happens when you're up to something, but you always get hurt when your naked. What if this time the doctor tells you that you won't be able to have kids? Your mother will be quite upset and your father will be furious that there will be no Rothschild heirs," said Colin logically.
"Don't worry mate I have that covered. I have some of my little men frozen away just in case that situation occurs," replied Finn.
There was a pregnant pause. "Finn are you telling us that you have sperm put away in case you get into an accident that might impair you from having kids?" Seth asked cautiously.
"Yeah," Finn replied.
"You sure are an original Finn," replied Colin.
"It was my father's idea after Logan sank the yacht. He believes that I am accident prone and doesn't want to risk the next generation of Rothschild's," said Finn in a blasé manner.
"Your father is the only one that would go this far to protect his family legacy Finn," said Robert.
"Yeah he's quite the original like me. So what shall we do to am-"
There was a noise of some kind that interrupted Finn before he could finish his sentence. Logan knew that sound and it meant that someone was at the door. He hoped that it was the help that he had flown in because they really needed to get to work preparing this place to house the entire Life and Death Brigade. Logan went to disengage the alarm that would open the wrought iron gate and the guys continued chatting until he returned.
"Logan who was at the door?" asked Colin.
"Guys, the help have arrived. You all know what to do so when they get here I'll introduce ourselves and then we can all get to work. Finn you can get one of the cooks to let you sample the menu therefore you can drink to your hearts content," replied Logan.
"Thank you Logan," said Finn and all the other guys grumbled.
The five boys set out to meet the staff on the front lawn. They all looked the part of the debonair gentlemen so when Jeffers, the butler, opened the massive front door for them they were quite the sight for sore eyes.
Jess couldn't stop gawking at the house. It was the most gorgeous home he had ever seen in his entire life. He couldn't believe someone actually lived there, it looked liked it belonged in a fairytale. Jess hadn't noticed the five men coming out until the blond man caught his attention. To say he was shocked was an understatement; Jess had no idea why Logan Huntzberger could be at this house until he spoke.
"Ladies and Gentlemen. Hello my name is Logan Huntzberger and this is Colin DuPont-Rockefeller, Finn Rothschild, Seth Carnegie, and Robert Bergdorf, my associates. I'm glad to welcome you to the Huntzberger Compound here on Cape Cod. The reason for the secrecy is that many of the media have made it their mission to find out what goes on at events such as these. We would like your full co-operation in not letting them succeed in getting any pictures, footages or interviews," said Logan.
Seth continued where Logan had stopped, "We have a week to get all the preparations in order. The five us have a list of things that we would like accomplished before the guests start arriving a week from today. Finn will be testing the food and any drinks, Robert is in charge of the linen, guestrooms and such, Colin is in charge of décor, and finally Logan and myself are going to be overseeing the construction as well as miscellaneous items that I haven't mentioned. We hope that we can work together to accomplish these goals."
"All right then let's get to work. The house has not been in use for a while so it needs to be cleaned from top to bottom. The construction is to commence immediately since that is the major part of the festivities. I would like to thank you in advance and I hope the accommodations that have been provided for you are very satisfactory. Thank you very much. Oh one more thing, if the maids can report to Jeffers, our head butler here at the compound, they will get their duties. That's all," said Logan.
Everyone dispersed to go about his or her business. Logan and Seth went over to the area where the construction crew was located. Logan paused for a second to see if it was actually Jess who was giving him the evil eye. And it was. Now when did Jess Mariano start working for Tom, the construction guy?
Jess had listened to the speech that Logan gave with a sour look on his face. Now he understood the reason for the confidentiality agreement. When Logan had said all his associates' names Jess could see why the press would be so interested in what was going on in this house. DuPont-Rockefeller, Rothschild, Carnegie, Bergdorf, and Huntzberger were well known names and they all had serious money. The paparazzi would be in heaven with names like that in one place.
Dean had recognized Rory's boyfriend the minute he had walked out onto the lawn but he hadn't recognized his friends. He hadn't recognized the faces but he sure as hell recognized the last names. They sure were a powerful bunch, weren't they? He turned to Jess and realized that he, Jess, didn't like the turns of events and smiled. Maybe he didn't have to say anything to Jess if Rory's boyfriend was going to be here and remind Jess of her current life.
Logan cleared his throat and said, "Jess, hello didn't realize that you worked in construction."
"Yeah it was a recent development. You got a nice place here," Jess said looking back at the house.
"Thank you. All right Tom, hello. I would like to get started right away, if that's possible. I don't want to waste a minute," said Logan.
"Sure Logan, is it? We can get right to work," said Tom.
Logan nodded then turned to walk to the back lawn. He was frozen in mid step as he finally saw Dean, "Oh I'm sorry I've seen you somewhere," said Logan cautiously.
"Oh…umm…I'm Dean Forrester we were never introduced," said Dean lamely.
"Right…of course, I didn't realized construction was a popular occupation," replied Logan, tongue in cheek.
"Yeah, neither did I," said Dean thinking about Jess getting into construction.
"Right, let's all head towards that south lawn where the construction will take place. There is a small cottage where you will all be residing for the remainder of this job. Anything you will need is provided for you there and a chef is there to cook your meals, three meals a day," said Seth.
Seth walked up to Logan who seemed to be speed walking and said, "What was that all about?"
"Well Jess and Dean are Rory's ex-boyfriends and she is going to freak when she hears about this turn of events," whispered Logan.
"EX-BOYFRIENDS, Wow, I feel sorry for you. Would you like to me to ask them to be removed from the construction crew? We can replace them if necessary?" Seth said trying to be helpful.
"No that won't be necessary. Tom brought them for a reason. Rory and I will have to deal with it," said Logan
With that the two men went over to where the blue print was and started explaining some of the adjustments they had made. Tom listened very carefully and crosschecked it with the adjustments he had made with the original copy. Tom wasn't dense he knew it had to be an awkward situation for Logan with Jess and Dean being here. He just hoped that Rory wouldn't show up to make the situation even more uncomfortable.
Rory and Stephanie stepped out of the limo that had been at the airport to pick them up. They had just arrived at the Huntzberger Compound and already they could hear the sounds of construction on the south lawn. The girls had had a successful shopping trip to Paris and were having their goods shipped to Cape Cod within two days.
The girls headed up the stairs to freshen up in their respective rooms. They didn't see any of the boys so they assumed they were busy supervising the help. Stephanie told Rory that she was going to nap before she went looking for the boys so Rory was on her own to see what kind of progress the guys had made.
As she was coming down the staircase that was being replicated on the south lawn, Robert happened to pass by and caught her attention. "Did you miss me Berty?"
Robert was going out to inspect how the work had been going along thus far when Rory deterred him from his goal. He gave her a genuine smile and said, "Well hello there darling, I missed you so much I started calling out your name in my sleep."
"Is that so? I sorry but I didn't miss you that much," joked Rory. When she got to the bottom of the stairs he swept her up and gave her a smacking kiss on the lips.
"Hah! You know you missed me. So how was Paris? Did you and Stephanie leave anything in the stores for other people?" joked Robert.
Rory described the wonderful time that she and Stephanie had shopping in Paris. As they were talking they headed over to the south lawn to see Logan. When they got there many things were happening all at once but they spotted Logan and Seth sitting on chairs in the shade with a piece of paper between them.
Jess just happened to look up when Rory and Robert walked out onto the lawn and wondered if there was a place where he could get away from her and her new friends. It seemed that everywhere he went she was there, showing him a part of her life that he would never be able to fit in to. He couldn't believe that Rory was even talking to Robert who seemed like such a jerk.
Dean noticed Jess staring and he looked in that particular direction. He should have known that wherever Rory's boyfriend was Rory would be as well. It seemed that she was close to the Robert guy who she was chatting with.
Rory walked up behind Logan and said, "Hello Handsome."
"Honey, why didn't you call me when you got to the airport? I would have come to meet you in front of the house or something," replied Logan lamely.
"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to see how the const-" she stopped talking the minute she recognized both Jess and Dean. She turned Logan and he had a nervous look on his face.
"Sweetie, I didn't know they were a part of the construction crew. I was just as shocked as you when they got here. But I can't just let them go, Tom brought them here for a reason," said Logan.
Rory just sat down on the empty chair to Logan's right and stared at her two ex-boyfriends who were trying not to make eye contact with her. She knew that Emily and Shira would get a kick out of this scenario. She also knew that they had no part in this since neither of them was privy to the location of the event.
"Rory…" Logan began.
Rory cut him off by saying, "I'm fine Logan. I just wish that I wouldn't have to see either of them. But I guess one does not get what they wish for all the time. I'm going to be okay…but I need to get away from here, so can I borrow one of you cars? I promised my grandparent's I would check up on Gran's house when I was here. I might as well kill two birds with one stone."
"Yeah sure you can borrow any car you like, you know where the keys are. Would you like for me to accompany you?" asked Logan even though he couldn't afford to take any time off but he would if Rory asked him to.
"No that won't be necessary, you're needed here. But I will ask Seth to join me on my little adventure if he wants, that way Robert can help you out with the construction," replied Rory.
"I'd love to accompany you Rory," said Seth.
Logan nodded his head and Rory and Seth took off in the direction of the garage where the cars would be located. All Rory could think of was 'It's a small world after all.'
AN: Please, Please, Please, Review.