Pairing: Established relationships for L/L and P/J; R/T eventually
Spoilers: May reference any and all episodes from seasons 1 & 2, up to and including Lost and Found.
Rating: PG
Summary: Future fic. Seven years after graduating from Chilton, Rory and Paris are business partners. What happens when they strike up a joint venture with Tristan DuGrey?
Unholy Alliance
by Grace
Part Two: Someday my prince will come…
At about four o'clock in the afternoon, Rory poked her head into Paris' office. "I'm going to run downstairs to the coffee shop. Do you want anything?"
"No thanks, I already had two cups today."
Rory gave her an incredulous stare. "I will never understand you."
"The feeling's mutual!" Paris yelled as her partner headed for the elevator.
Rory stopped and inhaled deeply when she reached the lobby of the building. Although there was a coffee maker in the G & G offices, Paris always brewed it, and it was really only suitable for emergencies. Rory had the sneaking suspicion that Paris made decaf half the time. Despite her own addiction, Rory had never become an expert coffee maker. After all, that was what Luke was for!
The small Caribou Coffee shop had only been open three months, but every employee knew Rory by name. She didn't even have to order any more—they started fixing her usual as soon as she stepped in the door. Although nothing would ever compare to Luke's coffee, at least these people didn't argue about giving it to her!
A few minutes later, the coffee steaming hot and paid for, Rory turned to leave as she took her first sip. She immediately ran directly into someone, splashing coffee all over his obviously expensive business suit.
"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry!" Rory exclaimed. "Let me help you get cleaned up."
As she fumbled for some napkins, the stranger reached out and placed a steadying hand on her arm. "Don't worry about it. My ex-girlfriend picked out this suit, and I never much cared for it."
Finally glancing up, Rory was mesmerized by a pair of sparkling emerald eyes. "I really am sorry," she murmured.
"Like I said, it's no problem, Ms…"
"Gilmore. Lorelai Gilmore."
"Ryan Salinger. It's nice to meet you, Lorelai."
"Please, call me Rory."
He smiled, causing laugh lines to crinkle around his eyes. "I think I prefer Lorelai, actually. It's a beautiful name for a beautiful woman."
She blushed, suddenly feeling like a teenager again.
"Do you work here in the building, Mr. Salinger? I don't remember seeing you before."
"It's Ryan, and no, my partner and I came in from New York this morning. I take it you work here?"
"Yes, at G & G Publishing," she replied with a touch of pride.
"Really? I always wanted to crack into the literary world, but my mind decided I was more technologically oriented."
She laughed, and his smile widened. "Well, someone has to be."
"I suppose that's true. So tell me, Lorelai Gilmore, would a publishing maven such as yourself be willing to have dinner with a lowly techno geek?"
"That would be nice."
"I know it's short notice, but how about tonight? I have to fly out tomorrow afternoon."
"Okay. Would seven o'clock at Morton's work for you?"
"Sounds perfect."
"Great. I'll meet you there, then."
Suddenly giddy, it took all of Rory's self-control not to skip all the way back to the elevator. Once the doors slid shut, though, she let out an excited squeal, and happily pressed the button for the fourth floor.
Paris was explaining something to Tracy when Rory reentered the office. Her suspicions were immediately aroused by the beatific smile on the other girl's face.
"What happened? Not even you come back looking that happy after getting coffee."
"I have a date tonight!"
Paris rolled her eyes. "You're the only woman I know who goes for coffee and ends up with a date."
Rory's brow furrowed. "Um, I have told you how my mom and Luke got together, right?"
"Good point. It must be a Gilmore thing. So who's it with?"
"His name is Ryan, and he's from New York. I spilled my coffee on him, and then he asked me out."
"New York? I thought you took some sort of vow against long-distance relationships."
A dark cloud seemed to settle over Rory's features. She and Dean had endured a particularly messy break-up during her freshman year at Harvard. When she spoke again, her tone was icy. "I guess some vows are just meant to be broken." She stalked into her office and shut the door loudly, stopping just short of outright slamming it.
* * *
The voice mail light on Rory's phone was blinking, and she quickly dialed into the system.
"Hi Rory, it's Tristan. My flight got changed to tomorrow, but I'd still like to see you again. Give me a call at 212-555-4574."
Jotting down the number, she deleted the message and began to dial.
"DuGrey speaking."
"Hi, Tristan?"
"Rory! I didn't expect to hear back from you so soon."
"Yeah, I just ran downstairs to get some coffee."
"Speaking of coffee…I know it's kind of inconvenient for you, but is there any chance we could meet at Bradley tomorrow? I really won't have time to go anywhere else before my flight."
"The airport? Sure, what time?"
"1:30? I don't think I'll be able to get there any earlier."
"That sounds fine. Where do you want to meet?"
"How about the United first-class check-in counter?"
"Leave it to you to fly first class."
"Well, like you said, some things never change."
"I find that oddly comforting, somehow. I'll see you tomorrow, Tristan."
"Looking forward to it."
They hung up, and Rory returned to her work. Tristan pocketed his cell phone, and glanced up to see his partner entering the hotel lobby.
"Hey RJ. Did you have a productive day?"
"More than you can imagine buddy. You don't need me at all tonight, do you?"
"Nope. Go out, have fun, paint the town red."
"Gee, thanks, dad. What are you going to do? It's a big city, Tristan—I'm sure you could find one clueless woman to put up with you."
"Not interested."
"You know, once upon a time, you were quite the ladies' man. What the hell happened?"
"What always happens? There was a girl…"
"Save me the sob story. I have to go get ready."
"Suit yourself. Just don't call me at 2:30 in the morning needing bail."
* * *
Rory gave herself one last look in the mirror. Morton's was pretty dressy, but she was trying to balance that with the fact that she had only met Ryan today. Finally, she had settled on a sleeveless blue sweater-dress. Smoothing out a nonexistent wrinkle, she sprayed on a bit of perfume and headed out.
The Hartford summer night was warm and breezy, and she had no trouble hailing a cab. The car from Dean had wheezed its last breath several years earlier, and she had never bothered to replace it.
The cab pulled up to the restaurant at five minutes to seven, and she was pleased to see that Ryan was already there, waiting outside for her. He smiled when he saw her approach.
"I hope you haven't been waiting long," she began.
"Only a few minutes. My mother taught me to never keep a beautiful lady waiting, so I was a little early."
"You'll have to thank your mother for me."
He held out his arm. "Shall we?"
"We shall."
Being a Tuesday night, the restaurant wasn't too crowded, and they were seated almost immediately. As they perused their menus, Ryan asked, "So what exactly do you do at G & G?"
Rory took a sip of wine before responding. "A little bit of everything, really. I'm one of the firm's founding partners, but I do a lot of writing and editing for the Harbinger."
"Is that so? I have a subscription, but I don't remember seeing your name."
She chuckled softly. "I publish under the name L.L. Hayden. I figured since the company bears my mother's last name, my father deserved some credit as well."
"You're L.L. Hayden? I've been an avid fan since the magazine first started. I particularly enjoyed your piece on the Internet taking over the world."
She smiled at his praise. "That was one of my favorites too. One day, as I was ordering something online, I realized that I could comfortably live my life without ever leaving my apartment. I suppose that's been true for years, but it got me thinking what would happen if everyone actually did that."
"Well I, for one, loved what you had to say. It was a perfect balance between outrageously funny and utterly terrifying."
She blushed. "Well, I appreciate that. Now, tell me a little bit about you."
"It's not particularly exciting, really. I grew up in Chicago, but I absolutely fell in love with the East when I went to Yale. I majored in computer engineering, and after graduation I went to work for Ernst & Young back in Illinois. About two years ago, I decided that a big corporation wasn't where I wanted to be. I started looking, and that's how I ended up at a much smaller company in New York."
"What's the name of it?"
"ILRG, Inc. I doubt you've heard of it, but we've managed to wrestle some great contracts away from the Big 4."
"Sounds exciting."
He shrugged. "Sometimes. It's still just a job, though. So are you originally from around here?"
"From a small town outside the city, actually. I do have family in Hartford, though, and I went to high school here."
"Do you ever think about leaving?"
"Not really. Going to Massachusetts for college was far enough. My mom and I are really close, and I can't imagine being halfway across the country."
"Any brothers or sisters?"
"Two half brothers and three half sisters," Rory grinned. "My dad has an eight-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son, and my mom has a five-year-old son and twin two-year-old daughters."
"Wow, that sounds like quite a family."
"Oh, it is. Quite a switch from being an only child for eighteen years, too."
"I'll bet."
Their food arrived a few minutes later, and conversation lulled. They primarily made small talk, chatting about the economy and politics. As they waited for coffee and dessert to arrive, the discussion resumed a more personal slant.
"So tell me, Lorelai, how is it that someone like you is still single?"
Rory shrugged. "Well, the magazine takes up a lot of my time. Plus, I guess I've just never felt like I was with the right person—the one that causes that special spark, who you don't just imagine being able to live with, but rather can't imagine living without."
He smiled indulgently. "That's rather idealistic, don't you think?"
"Maybe. Even now, though, I still believe in fairy tales."
The coffee had arrived, and Ryan raised his cup in a mock toast. "Well, here's to finding your Prince Charming. It just might happen sooner than you think."
She laughed softly and nodded, returning the salute.
When dinner was finally over, Ryan insisted on driving her home.
"I had a really nice time tonight, Lorelai. I'd like to see you again."
"I had fun, too, Ryan. But don't you think it will be hard, with you in New York?"
He reached out and brushed a finger lightly across her cheek. "I believe it's worth the effort." He leaned in and kissed her softly, pulling back before it could intensify. "What do you think?"
"I think it's worth a try."
He smiled, and they exchanged numbers, then shared one more kiss before Rory exited the car.
As she unlocked the door to her apartment building, she thought, Maybe it will happen sooner than I think.
To be continued…