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 to my reviewers for the wonderful feedback that I recieve on this fic, I really appreciate it. Mochaddicted79: You wanted to know if Jess knew about Rory's affair with Dean and the answer tothat questionis no. No one has filled Jess in on what happened between Rory and Dean thus far.Yes, Jess did overhear the fightbetweenLindsay and Dean, but in actuality he didn't know any of the reasons for the fight. Jess knewLindsay and Dean hadseparated,but hehad assumed they had broken up because the couple hadmarried young. I hope that answers your question.
Beeno:No, no it's not against the rules to talk about books on this site just certain authors and their books. The book/author you mentioned specifically. Oh! Yesh Rory and Logan will get married during this story, it will probably be the last chapter of this fic.
XxAngelxX911: Thank you for the lovely compliment on my writing and you don't have to beg for the chapter, here it is (lol).
Vivilp182:I kinda went overboard with Finn's last namebut I think I was chanelling his weird mother. She would give him the long name just for the hell of it. I love Finn too.
Lioness-07863: Ta da!The chapter is here and I didn't even have to stay up until three in the morning writingit, no I stayed up until 2 am (LOL). Happy reading.
Ok, I'm gonna shut up now and let you read. Please continue to review.
Chapter 35: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Rory and Logan were sleeping off the alcohol they'd consumed the night before at their engagement party, when the phones started ringing from every major TV network, magazine, and tabloid in the country, heck even the world. The couple had tried to keep their engagement party and their guest list a secret, but some of the usual paparazzi followed the couple to the Huntzberger home and then the cat was out of the bag.
Pictures of the actual engagement party were highly sought after. Some publishers were willing to pay a cool million for a single picture. Logan and Rory weren't aware of the situation at hand until they came down to breakfast and found Mitchum and Elias arguing about something.
"Morning, my dear family," joked Logan as he and Rory took their seats at the dining table.
"Logan this is no time to joke. We have a crisis on our hands," said Mitchum.
Rory looked at the two elder Huntzberger men and realized that there was something wrong. "What happened?"
Elias promptly caught the couple up on the happenings in the media world. The Huntzbergers were worried that pictures from last night's party were going to get into the wrong hands, so Elias was suggesting that they act immediately before some troublesome individual makes a profit off of Rory and Logan's happiness.
"What exactly are you suggesting grandpa?" asked a frustrated Logan.
"I think we should give the public what they want. In a sense we can publish the pictures that we want the public to see and appease their curiosity. Besides we won't make a profit in the selling of those pictures, we'll publish them in Huntzberger papers first then we will give the other papers permission to use them," said Elias.
Mitchum gave his dad a dirty look, "Rory, Logan you don't have to do this. There is no need for your personal pictures of a private event to be public property. We can just let this blow over, which it will," said Mitchum who didn't agree with his father's opinion on the matter.
Logan and Rory looked at each other. The two of them were aware the kind of money that their pictures would sell for. If they chose to share their engagement party pictures with the public then they could control the amount of money being shelled out. The value of rogue pictures would go down if a whole bunch of picture were released to the public. Rory gave Logan a nod and Logan looked at his father and grandfather.
"Publish them."
Luke went to Liz and T.J.'s house first thing the next morning. He knocked on their door at 5 am and didn't stop knocking until Liz pulled open the door and said, "What the hell…Oh Luke? What are you doing here at 5 in the morning?"
Luke didn't answer until he pushed his way into the odd little house and looked at his sister, "Liz, it's about Jess. He's been lying to us this whole time."
"What do you mean he's been lying to us? He's not in trouble is he?" asked an agitated Liz.
The siblings sat at the kitchen table like they used to do when they were children. Luke took his sister's hand and spoke quietly, "Liz, Jess didn't just leave the Peace Corps. He was let go or more correctly he did something that made some very powerful people mad."
"OH GOD, Luke don't tell me he might go to jail for doing something stupid. Did he sell drugs? Is he a drug dealer is that why they kicked him out?" asked Liz.
"No, he's not a drug dealer, nothing like that. He was involved in a relationship with a powerful member of the Peace Corps. Apparently the woman was married with three kids. She and Jess had a six-month adulterous affair and she helped him move up within the ranks quickly. But the two of them were found out and Jess paid the price," said Luke.
Liz stared at her brother. She knew Jess had some problems and rebelled, but she didn't think he would thumb his nose at authority. She couldn't believe he had had an affair with an authority figure when she, herself, knew that was frowned upon in such a situation. "Luke, how do you know about all this?"
"He didn't tell me if that's what you're insinuating. No, I was at Rory and Logan's engagement party when I came out to get some fresh air, then what do I hear but Jess arguing with Elias Huntzberger, Logan's grandfather. Apparently he's been causing trouble for Rory and Logan as well. He's either very naïve or very stupid to go up against the Huntzbergers, Gilmores and Haydens. So there I was eavesdropping on their conversation when low and behold I find out that my nephew has been keeping a big fat secret," ranted Luke.
"I don't know what to do Luke. I'm so worried that he's so far gone we can't help him. Are there any consequences to his affair?"
"The woman, Theresa Cromwell, is in one of the higher up positions that she covered up her mistake. But I would worry that Jess has pushed Elias Huntzberger to take drastic measures. That man is more powerful than this Theresa woman and he could print this scandal in one of his many papers and ruin Jess. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you Liz, but I wanted you to be aware of the situation."
Liz got up and hugged her big brother. "I want to thank you for telling me. Jess came by last night, told me he'd be staying with his dad until my anniversary celebration. Too bad I didn't know about this last night I would've given him a peace of my mind."
"Yeah, we have no choice but to confront him when he gets back since I refuse to go all the way to California just to yell at him and come back. I won't call him because there is always a chance of him hanging up on me. I've got to go Liz, but call me if you need me, alright?" said Luke.
"Thanks again, Luke." Liz sat at her kitchen table long after Luke left and thought of the mess that was her son's life. She couldn't believe Jess had been so reckless and rebellious. She wished things could have been better for him growing up, but alas she couldn't be the perfect mother that she had wanted to be.
Rory was sitting at Logan's desk writing an article for the YDN. She had wanted a few hours of quiet time after the party yesterday and the events of this morning. She couldn't watch TV without seeing her own face on it, so she had decided to put all her energy on her latest article about CEO's and their SAT scores.
That was how Logan found her, hunched over the keyboard mumbling to herself. He couldn't help but chuckle at the picture she presented. She looked so cute when she was concentrating so hard and didn't realize she was talking out loud. He quietly went behind her chair and kissed her softly on the side of her neck.
Rory had known the minute he had entered the room. She couldn't explain how she knew but she always seemed to know where Logan was. With him still bent over she turned her face to the side and kissed him on the lips.
Rory sighed when he deepened the kiss. Logan was really getting into it when she stopped him from heading to its natural conclusion. He growled at her and sat on the bed. "Ace, you can't work a guy up like that and deny him his hearts desire."
Rory laughed, "I gave you your hearts desire many times through the night Huntzberger. Now, how are things going with the engagement party pictures?"
"Well the family, and I mean both of our families, are arguing over which ones to print. I left when Francine said the picture that grandpa wanted to add showed her in the wrong light," said Logan.
Rory laughed, "So everything is going smoothly I see."
"Yeah pretty much. Listen Ace, I wanted to talk to you about our living arrangements next year."
"What about them?"
"We haven't chosen a place yet. I want to look for places within a walking distance from campus, with good security, and we should go apartment hunting as quietly as possible. I don't want our nosy families involved in the process."
"That sounds like a good plan. I'll be happy wherever you are, darling. I can't wait to be married to you."
"Neither can I. I like that we're keeping our wedding date a secret. But we should phone a realtor when we get back to Yale to check out a few places. OH! and let' drag Stephanie, Colin, Paris, Doyle, and Finn with us."
"I thought you wanted to pick an apartment by ourselves? What's with the posse?"
"Honey, imagine how it would look if just the two of us went apartment hunting. Your grandmothers' and my mother would be on the phone with us within minutes of our stepping foot into the first apartment. You know how the grapevine works. No, we will take the gang with us so it looks like any one of us could be looking for an apartment."
"You think of everything don't you?"
"Of course, Ace. Now will you give me my hearts desire?" asked Logan with a smirk on his face.
Rory laughed and stood up from the computer chair. She walked over to Logan who was now standing in front of the bed instead of sitting on it like he was a few minutes ago.
Rory stood in front of him and pushed him onto the bed. He was taken by surprise but couldn't express it since she was crawling up his body. She straddled his stomach and bent down to give him a kiss on the lips. Logan was really getting into the kiss since he had his tongue in her mouth and was coaxing a response from her.
Rory's fingers were unbuttoning Logan's shirt and he had no way of reciprocating the gesture. She seemed to be in a playful mood and to Logan that meant she was going to torture him until he begged her for release.
Rory and Logan continued on with their activities until they were too tired to think or move. They were in each other's arms and that was all that mattered.
Jess was looking out at the ocean and thinking about how he had totally screwed up. When he had been asked to leave the Peace Corps he hadn't been happy, but he had no choice in the matter. Theresa had told him that it would be easier if he could just leave well enough alone and have a fresh start somewhere else.
Jess had met Theresa Cromwell during his recruitment appointment. She held a whole lot of power within the organization and seemed to see some potential in him to do good for others. He had flirted with her since, who the hell wouldn't, with a woman like that. He had left that day with a smile on his face and a plane ticket in hand, destination: middle of nowhere.
The next time he would see the older woman was two months after their first official meeting. It seemed she had come to see how things were going and to check up on the new recruits. She and Jess had had their flirting relationship until things changed a few weeks later, when she had come on to him in a strong way.
Jess didn't know what else to do but go with the flow. He knew she was married from the get go and asked her what her husband would think of the two of them sleeping together. She had replied 'what he didn't know couldn't hurt him'. Jess hadn't asked the question again.
He had no feelings for the woman besides lust. He knew she felt the same way. They had a mutual agreement to please one another and that was it. A few months into their sordid affair Jess asked her to promote him to a better position within the organization, he hadn't felt guilty about asking such a question since he knew she would do as he asked.
Jess hadn't loved Theresa since they hadn't gotten to know each other in terms of soul mates. They had a good thing going and to this day he believed they would still have a physical relationship had that stupid rookie not seen them and reported them to the superiors.
Jess had no shame in admitting that he had been her lover. He was also aware that many of the accusations that the panel of his peers had accused him of, during the investigation against him were true. Jess had been accused of a number of things from money laundering to illegal activity. Well the accusations were true to an extent. Jess hadn't been there when those activities took place, but he had been present when the plans were being hatched out. Theresa had been the mastermind behind many of those schemes since no one would look twice at her because of her position and influence.
Theresa had been the one to put a stop to the investigation about Jess from going any further since she would've been exposed had the whole story come out. Theresa was aware that Jess wouldn't say a word about her extra-curricular activities since he would be an accessory to the crime. She had advised the investigators to let Jess go and told Jess it was for the best. Theresa also gave Jess a parting gift of several thousand dollars as a thank you for not saying anything that would've implicated her since he had many chances to do so.
So here Jess was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had to give up the woman he loved due to a stupid mistake of getting caught sleeping with a powerful woman. He knew that should Elias Huntzberger wish it, the whole story could be public knowledge. Elias was a more powerful than Theresa or her husband.
Jess would've thought twice of having a fling with the woman had he known the identity of her husband. He was Preston Cromwell II, Governor and prospect for the 2012 presidential election. He sure knew how to pick'em didn't he?
AN1: Please, Please, Please Review.
AN2: I can't upload the picture of the tiara onto my blogspot so if you would like to see it go to google, press images, then type in Princess Louise Tiara and it will be the first picture you see. I hope it works. I'm crossing my fingers.