Thanks again for all of the reviews. Now that Bill and Michelle are in the past, let's see what happens next...
Chapter 8: Courtesy Call
Tony stood in front of the mirror adjusting his tie. He was running late and Abby would be here any minute. Washington D.C. traffic on a Friday evening was always horrendous and with a forecast for a beautiful weekend, everyone was trying to get home from work. And Tony was no exception.
When he left for work that morning he promised himself that he would leave a few minutes early. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. He knew that he was going to be particularly busy next week and didn't want any of this week's work hanging around. Monday he would spend most of his day meeting with the new liaison from the CIA. Tony sighed. He was sorry to see the previous liaison go. Chad Peterson had been great to work with and had become a good friend, but Tony couldn't blame him for leaving. Chad had been offered the position of CIA liaison to Interpol; a job he couldn't possibly pass up. So Tony would have to break in a new guy.
Actually, he didn't know her name, but according to what Chad told him a couple of weeks ago at his going away party, the new liaison would be a woman. They had interviewed seven candidates but Chad said that they had narrowed the field down to three and all of them were women. Chad couldn't give him any names. That was confidential information. Chad was single and quite a ladies man, so Tony had joked with him about having to choose between three women.
"Let me guess," Tony teased, "you narrowed it down to a blond, a brunette and a redhead."
Chad laughed. "Actually, if you must know, two blonds and a brunette and they're all attractive. So what do you prefer?"
"Well, I'm marrying a blond, so I guess that's my preference," Tony told him with an amused smile. That couldn't be further from the truth. He may have been engaged to a blond but he had always preferred brunettes.
Tony rushed to get ready. He had showered and shaved in about ten minutes and he was pleased to see that he hadn't nicked himself with the razor. His tie now tied, he shrugged on his suit jacket and made sure that he had the ring. Jack and Audrey were getting married tonight and he was honored to be Jack's best man.
He checked his watch as he heard the knock at the door. "Coming," he called. He was always teasing Abby about being late and now it was he who was late. "Good timing, Honey. I just finished getting dre…" The sentence trailed off as he opened the door.
There was a beautiful woman standing on the other side of the door, but it wasn't Abby. "Michelle?" Tony said shocked that his ex-wife would be standing in his apartment doorway.
"Hi, Tony," she said nervously. "I'm sorry. You're obviously going out. I didn't mean to bother you. I just wanted to stop by and say 'hello'."
Tony got over his initial surprise but still wasn't sure what to say. "I'm surprised to see you," he said. What an understatement, he thought to himself.
"I'm sure you are. Listen, I don't want to make you late for wherever you're going. We can talk some other time. I just wanted you to know that I'm working out of Langley now."
"You are? When were you transferred?"
"Monday will be my first day on the job," she told him.
"Was Bill transferred, too?" he asked.
"No," she shook her head and looked down.
"Kim Bauer said that she heard you and Bill got married."
Michelle smiled in embarrassment. "We did. It just didn't work. I guess I don't have much of a track record with marriages."
They both looked up as the elevator door down the hall opened. Abby stepped out and started walking toward them. She looked beautiful in a midnight blue satin gown. It was strapless and almost skin tight showing off her hourglass figure.
"Hey, Handsome!" she said. "We're going to be late. Do you have the ring?"
"Yeah," he said as she leaned in to kiss him. "It's in my pocket." He looked at Michelle. "Jack and Audrey Raines are getting married this evening."
"That's wonderful. Give them my best," Michelle said. "They both deserve some happiness."
Abby extended her hand to Michelle. "I'm sorry, we haven't met. I'm Abby Clark." She winked at Tony. "Soon to be Abby Almeida, unless watching Jack give up his freedom tonight scares Tony away."
"Nice to meet you, Abby," Michelle said pleasantly trying hard to keep the words from sticking in her throat. She had already taken note of the ruby and diamond ring on Abby's hand. "I'm Michelle Dessler."
"Michelle?" Abby said quite obviously surprised. There were a few awkward moments of silence before Abby could think if something else to say. "Are you in the area for business or pleasure?" she asked demurely trying to determine why Tony's ex-wife was standing in his doorway.
"Actually, I was transferred to CIA Headquarters in Langley. So, I'll be living in the area. I thought it would be a courtesy to let Tony know before he found out at work on Monday."
"What's your position at Langley?" Tony asked her hoping to ease the tension a bit.
"I'm the new liaison to NSA. I'm sorry, Tony. I probably should have called you first, but I didn't know how to tell you over the phone, so I decided to stop by and tell you in person. I realize now that I should have thought this out a little better. I guess I'll see you at our meeting on Monday." She paused for a moment. "Abby, please don't worry. I promise I won't interfere." She looked at her watch as if she also had someplace to go. "I won't keep you. I don't want you to be late. Have a good time this evening," she said as she started to walk toward the elevator.
Tony watched, stunned as Michelle got into the elevator.
"Your ex-wife is the new liaison to NSA?" Abby said incredulously. "How did that happen?"
"I had nothing to do with hiring her. I'm as surprised as you are," Tony said shaking his head slowly as if that would clear it. "Come on. Let's get going. We're going to be late."
Michelle got into the elevator feeling as though she had been punched in the stomach. When she was preparing to move to the Washington area she told herself over and over that this might happen. She knew that Tony could be engaged or even married and even if he was neither, he might have no desire to reconcile with her. She had convinced herself that she could live with that possibility, but now that it happened it was harder than she had ever imagined.
Tony and Abby got into the car and headed south toward Washington. They were both quiet for a while but Abby's emotions finally bubbled to the surface.
"I don't get it Tony. What is Michelle trying to prove? Why would she apply for a job that would put her in such close contact with you?"
"Abby, I have no idea. She's highly qualified for the job. Listen, I really don't want to talk about this right now. Let's just go to the wedding and have a good time." His mind was spinning and he needed to think. At the moment he couldn't try and figure out Michelle's motives and sooth Abby's concerns at the same time.
"Tony, it's so obvious. She wants you back."
"She dumped me, Abby. She walked out on me. Why would she want me back now?"
"Because she realized that she made a mistake," she said emphatically. "She knows now that it was a mistake to leave you and she came here to get back together with you."
"This is nuts, Abby! She has no desire to reconcile with me."
"How do you know that? Why else would she have shown up at your doorstep?"
"She told you; it was a courtesy so that Monday morning wasn't the first time that I saw her."
"Tony, that's such bullshit! How can anyone as intelligent as you be so naïve? If she just wanted to give you the courtesy of letting you know ahead of time, she could have called you on the telephone."
"If she wanted me back, don't you think she would have called me at least once since I left LA?" He reached over and took Abby's hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it. "Abby, we've spent way too much time on this subject. Stop worrying about Michelle. You look beautiful and it messes up your look when you worry," he teased.
Abby smiled back and tried to act as if he had reassured her. She settled back in silence and hoped that Tony was right.
Michelle pushed open the door to her small apartment. She rented the tiny place on a month-to-month basis assuming that either she would reconcile with Tony and move in with him or, if they didn't reconcile, she would buy a townhouse of her own. She made her way into the kitchen and poured herself a generous glass of wine. She had driven home in such a haze that it was a wonder she made it home safely. She couldn't remember the route she had driven or ever seeing the other cars on the road.
Michelle looked down as Lily, her new cat, rubbed against her legs and purred. She had adopted Lily from an animal shelter the day after she arrived in Washington. Although she would have preferred a dog, her tiny apartment and the long hours she would put in at work made having a dog impractical.
"Hi Lil," she said as she picked up the white cat and nuzzled her against her neck. She carried the cat and her glass of wine to the sofa and sat down. "Well Lily, I just made an incredible fool of myself. You're lucky that you're a cat. You can't do some of the stupid things we humans do."
Lily cocked her head to one side and looked at Michelle with wide green eyes. Michelle stoked her soft fur and began describing her encounter with Tony and Abby to the cat as if she understood. "Tony must think I've lost my mind showing up at his apartment like that. What was I thinking, Lily? And you should see his fiancé. She's gorgeous. She's sophisticated and easy-going and I could tell she had a great sense of humor. She complimented Tony perfectly. I really blew it this time. I'll never get him back now."
Tears started to form in her eyes as she took a drink of wine. "Tony looked great; he hasn't changed a bit. He's still so handsome. And those eyes! Why do his eyes make me melt? Why can't I stop loving him, Lily?" She pressed her face against Lily's fur as she cried. "Why can't I just stop loving him?"
Lily, being a typical cat, had had enough for the moment and struggled to get down. Michelle let her go and the cat jumped gracefully to the floor. She found a spot near the window where the last rays of late day sun were streaking the carpet. She sat on the floor fastidiously grooming; washing the fur that Michelle's tears had dampened. She kept her eye on Michelle who was now lying on the sofa sobbing quietly. The cat seemed to sense that her new owner needed her and she made her way back to the sofa and jumped up next to Michelle.
Michelle smiled as she petted Lily. "Let's look at the bright side. We can start looking for a house where you'll have plenty of room to play." It was finally sinking in. Tony wasn't hers any more. She had made that choice when she left him. She would now have to work with him regularly but not be able to touch him and kiss him. He wouldn't wrap his arms around her and make her feel like she was the only person in the world who mattered. Michelle suddenly felt cold and empty inside; more so than at any time since the day that Tony was arrested.
Jack and Audrey's wedding reception was in full swing at an elegant restaurant in Georgetown. They had exchanged vows in a brief ceremony at a nearby church and then the small wedding party and about thirty guests made the short trip to the restaurant. Dinner was over and the dishes cleared away, but the wedding cake hadn't been cut yet. The guests mingled with each other and wandered to and from the bar. Tony stood at the bar waiting behind a couple of other guests. Jack spotted him and moved toward him. He had noticed that Tony seemed more serious than usual. He had expected his best man to make some kind of sincere but humorous toast before dinner. Instead, the toast was beautiful but so serious as to be out of character for Tony.
"Everything okay?" Jack asked quietly.
"Yeah, fine. Why?" Tony replied not even realizing that he wasn't himself.
"You're kind of quiet, that's all. I wanted to make sure everything was okay."
Tony stepped up and gave the bartender his order. "Tonic water with a twist of lime and a sour apple martini, please. Jack, did you need anything?"
Jack held up his glass slightly to show that it was nearly full. "No, I'm fine," he said.
The two watched in silence as the bartender got Tony's order together. As they stepped away from the bar Tony walked toward a secluded corner. Jack followed him.
"So, tell me what's going on," Jack said.
"You'll never guess who showed up at my apartment before the wedding," Tony paused a moment to give Jack a chance to guess. Jack shrugged and shook his head so Tony continued. "Michelle."
"Michelle? Your Michelle?"
"She's not my Michelle, Jack. She left me and filed for divorce, remember?"
"What was she doing at your apartment?"
Tony went on to tell Jack about Michelle's new position at Langley and Abby's reaction to it. "I wish I knew what Michelle was thinking. I know her well enough to know that she took this position for a reason. Is she just trying to make me miserable? Is she trying to keep tabs on me for some reason? I don't get it Jack."
"I don't know, Tony. You may be reading more into this than there is. This position can be used as a stepping stone to higher positions within the Agency. Look at Chad Peterson. He's liaison to Interpol now. I'll bet he's running one of the CIA offices in Europe within the next couple of years. I could see Michelle being interested in something like that. She was Deputy Director at Division for a couple of years. I've thought for the last year or two that they were grooming her for higher management."
Tony sighed, "Maybe you're right." He turned and faced the window. "I just can't believe that there weren't any other positions that she could have taken besides this one. I thought I was finally over her and there she is again."
"There you are. I was looking all over for you," Audrey said as she came over to them. "They want us to cut the cake, Jack."
"Okay, I'm coming," Jack told her with a smile. "You going to be okay, Tony?"
Tony nodded and winked at Audrey. "I just need some cake. That's my favorite part of a wedding."
Jack and Audrey stepped away leaving Tony where he and Jack had been standing. "You guys looked so serious. What were you talking about?"
"Nothing really. I'll tell you later."
"Not a chance," Audrey said seductively, "I've got plans for later."
The reception ended around 11 o'clock and Tony and Abby headed home. Tony escorted Abby into her apartment which was just two floors below his own.
"I could use a cup of coffee," Audrey said. "How about you?"
What Tony really wanted was to go upstairs to his own place and go to bed. He knew that he wouldn't sleep, but he wanted to think over the day and try to make some sense of Michelle's sudden reappearance in his life. On the other hand, he knew that Abby was equally concerned about his ex-wife and he really should stay close for a while to reassure her.
"Sure," he told her. "Do you have any whipped cream? I'll make that Mexican coffee that you like with the cinnamon and chocolate."
"Oooh, I'd love that but I don't have any whipped cream or chocolate syrup."
"I have some at my place. You start the coffee and I'll go get it."
"Deal," she said as she gave him a light kiss. "Don't be too long."
Tony took the stairs up to his apartment. He took off his tie and jacket and threw them over a kitchen chair. Then he took out his cell phone which he had turned off for the wedding. He turned it back on and saw that he had a message. It was probably from his brother. Luis usually went to see the Cubs every Friday evening when they were playing at Wrigley Field in Chicago. He always called Tony from the ballpark to rub it in. Tony punched in his access code to play the message.
"Hi Tony," the soft voice took him by surprise. "Look, I'm sorry about showing up at your place the way I did. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time but obviously, I was wrong. I'll never do that again, I promise. Please apologize to Abby for me. I want you both to know that, as I said earlier, I have no intention of interfering with your relationship. I'm happy to see that you've found someone and that you're happy. I know I caused you a lot of unhappiness and I glad that you've been able to move on. You and I need to have a professional relationship, Tony and I hope we're both adult enough to do that. I'll see you on Monday. Good night."
Tony listened to the message again. He loved hearing her voice. It was soft and sexy and reminded him how he used to call her station at CTU just to say "hi" and see how her day was going. How could he ever have a "professional relationship" with her when all he wanted was to lock his arms around her and kiss her? From the moment he saw her at the door he wanted to pick her up and carry her to his bed and make love to her. He ached inside and he knew that the only person who could ever make that ache go away was Michelle.
Tony's phone rang and he answered it hoping that it might be Michelle. "Hey, what's taking so long?" Abby asked.
"I decided to change clothes," he lied. "I'll be down in a minute."
"Oh well if you're changing, I'll put on something more comfortable, too. Don't be too long. The coffee's almost done."
He hung up hoping that Abby wasn't planning to put on anything too "comfortable". He really wasn't in the mood for sex. Actually, to be correct about it, he wasn't in the mood for sex with Abby.
Tony returned to Abby's apartment with the whipped cream and chocolate syrup. He put on a pair of sweat pants and a tee shirt hoping that Abby wouldn't find the combination particularly sexy. She, on the other hand, put on a short, lacy piece of lingerie covered by a matching robe. The combination showed off her long, shapely legs and her cleavage. It usually sent Tony off the deep end. If he recalled correctly, the last time she wore it, they didn't even make it to the bedroom before Tony stripped it off of her and they made love.
"I'm more comfortable now. How about you?" Abby asked seductively.
Tony kissed her gently without saying anything. "I'll make the coffee."
They sat on the sofa in the living room and drank coffee. Neither said much and Abby noticed immediately that, although Tony had his arm around her, he wasn't himself. She was wearing his favorite lingerie and he had barely touched her. She feared that this had something to do with Michelle and she needed to take his mind off of that subject.
Abby set down her coffee and took Tony's away from him. Then she climbed on him straddling his lap. "I've wanted to do this all evening," she said in a sexy voice, her mouth just millimeters from his. She pressed her open mouth against Tony's and slipped her tongue between his lips. He put his arms around her and returned her kiss. Abby groaned quietly into his mouth and moved her body against his. In the process she made sure that her low cut negligee was pushed off to one side "accidentally" exposing one of her breasts. She pushed herself into a kneeling position so that the bare breast was in front of Tony's face. She brushed it against his lips and he kissed it tenderly and sucked lightly on her nipple. Abby groaned louder this time. She lowered herself back into his lap and undulated her hips against him. He was just barely becoming aroused. She had made love with Tony enough times to know that he should be hard by now. He should be tearing off her clothes or pushing them out of the way.
"What's the matter?" she asked as she pressed her pelvis to his. "Don't I excite you any more?"
"Of course you excite me," he said defensively. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day. Why don't we just go to sleep and save this for tomorrow night?"
"I'm not going to be here tomorrow night. Remember? I'm leaving tomorrow morning for New York with Amanda and Janie. I won't be back until late Sunday night. Tony, why don't you want to make love to me?"
"I told you, Abby, I'm tired."
"That's never stopped you before. This is about Michelle, isn't it?" Abby adjusted the nightgown to cover her breast and got up off of his lap.
Tony followed her and pulled her into his arms. "This has nothing to do with Michelle, Honey. Let's go to bed. Maybe I'm not so tired after all," he said as he kissed her. He let his hands drift slowly up her body until they reached her breasts. He wished it were Michelle's body and that he was fondling her breasts. The thought was enough to arouse him. He and Abby worked their way to her bedroom where they made love. It was nice but there was something different about it tonight. There were moments when Tony was very attentive and then others when he seemed to be somewhere else. Abby sighed softly as she drifted off to sleep. She hoped that she was imagining things. Tony had only seen Michelle for few minutes and already Abby feared that she was coming between them.
Tony lay wide awake next to Abby. What he had just done was wrong and he knew it. He had sex with Abby while fantasizing about his ex-wife. In his mind it was Michelle he was kissing and caressing. He could only stay excited when he was thinking about Michelle. As soon as he tried to focus on Abby, he lost interest. He had to stop this. He had asked Abby to spend the rest of her life with him. They were talking about a wedding date early next spring and had decided to start looking for a house in the next couple of weeks. He was committed to Abby and he couldn't continue to fantasize about someone else every time they were in bed together. He had to get over Michelle. He just had to.
