Chapter 30

Zach opened his eyes and stared down at a head full of curly hair. He smiled and inhaled her scent. He was in Kendall's bed again. This time going to bed with her had been much more fun. He was also glad that this time he didn't wake up to see Ryan staring him down. He sighed contentedly. This mattress really was comfortable. Too comfortable, actually. Along with the jet lag, it had made him fall asleep too quickly last night. He wanted to talk to Kendall after they made love. Oh well, maybe they would have time this morning.

Zach was startled by the radio blaring to life. A pair of DJs were rambling on about the grand opening of another Glamourama. Kendall's hand slapped at the snooze button. She groaned slightly and stretched. When her arm brushed against Zach, she paused. Glancing over at Zach, she gave him a slow smile. "Since I'm not a morning person, I wouldn't usually say this, but…good morning!" Zach smiled too. "I hate to ask, since the answer will probably depress me, but do you have someplace you have to be? Because you set your alarm."

Kendall sighed. "My testimony in court is this morning. Hopefully I can get out of there quickly because I have to be at Fusion to finalize our ad campaign for the fall. I'm the only one around to do it. Greenlee is too busy playing casino with Ryan. Mia is occupied with the west coast. Simone is the only one who consistently shows up, but she is heading out on vacation with Ethan. I think. Ethan was with you, last I saw. Did he come back with you, or was he still in Paris?" Zach nodded. "He stayed behind in Paris to spend time with Miranda. I believe he planned to meet Simone at the ship for their Mediterranean cruise." Kendall caressed Zach's face. "I really want to ask you how it went with Ethan, but I have to get ready. It takes work to make myself look like a credible witness."

Zach laughed. "Well, at least you won't have to strap on a pregnancy belly for this one." She stuck her tongue out at him, then got out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Zach called after her, "I hope you don't mind, but I don't think I want to hang around the custody hearing. Too many of the principals make my stomach churn." Kendall poked her head out and shrugged. "You'd probably cause too much of a distraction anyway, popping up after a six month absence." She turned the shower on and got inside. "What are you going to do today?" Zach went and leaned in the bathroom doorway. "I have a plan, but it is something that I want to wait and tell you about later, when there are no distractions. It's related to what I was doing with Ethan in Paris." Kendall moved the shower curtain slightly so she could peek out. "Oooh, cryptic." She grinned at him. He smiled slowly, then divested himself of his boxers and joined her in the shower.

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Kendall headed for the door, a piece of toast in her hand. "There's an extra key on the table. I'll see you later. By the way, the woman who bought your condo is a regular Mrs. Kravitz. Be sure to give her a friendly wave when you leave." Kendall demonstrated by waggling her fingers at the window of the condo across the way. A curtain flickered suspiciously. Zach almost spit out his coffee. When Kendall was gone, Zach took out his cell phone and dialed a number. A person answered and confirmed that he was calling the Miranda Montgomery Center. He made an appointment to see the director.

Kendall approached the courtroom doors. They opened and Erica walked out. "Oh, hello mother." Erica looked perturbed. "Kendall, JR just told me about Zach Slater showing up at his house last night. He said that Zach kissed you and announced that he was your lover. Then the two of you left together. Do you mind telling me what is going on?" Kendall rolled her eyes. "Zach is my lover. He came to see me. We went back to my place and made love. Want to know what we did this morning?" Erica sighed and held up her hands. "Spare me. I just want to know how this all started. And I want to know if Zach is the reason you refused to marry JR." Kendall shook her head. "That will take more time than I've got right now. How about we have lunch and talk? I'll even spring for it if you promise to keep your opinions to yourself." Erica threw up her hands. "Then I guess it will be my treat. I'll see you later. Good luck with your testimony."

Amazed that she had escaped for the time being, Kendall went into the courtroom and approached JR. "Do you have any Prozac? Because I'm going to need it." JR looked confused. "You've gone up on the witness stand numerous times." Kendall shook her head. "Not for my testimony, you idiot. For the lunch I'm going to have with my mother. You had to blab to her about Zach." Before he could respond, the judge's arrival was announced. An hour later, Kendall was walking out of the courtroom. Well, she thought, she had JR's undying love now. Her testimony had been outstanding. Babe's attorney tried to crack her, but failed miserably. Kendall's smile faded when Erica accosted her. "Wonderful testimony, sweetheart. Now let's go to lunch." Kill me now, thought Kendall.

At the Miranda Montgomery Center, Zach was briefing the director about his day with Ethan at the homeless shelter in Paris. Ethan had been so impressed by the organized, well-run shelter that he had asked Zach to give the director of MMC some ideas he could work with. The director, Hal Jamison, nodded his head. "The French have some innovative ideas and we'd be glad to incorporate some of them. Would you like a tour of the center?" Zach nodded. During the tour, his heart swelled that Bianca's dream was coming true. She had managed to take her heartache over losing her child (so she thought) and turn it into something beautiful. He asked the director about volunteering at the center. The director suggested the possibility of mentoring some of the children with absentee or abusive fathers. Zach agreed.

Kendall flopped down in her desk chair at Fusion. She could not believe she actually made it through lunch alive. Although she did feel like she had indigestion. Somehow she had managed to explain what happened in Paris, and then told her mother that there would be no further discussion on the matter. Flames must have been shooting out of her eyes, because for some reason Erica backed down. Kendall shook her head as she realized that it could not have been the strength of her demand. If Erica backed down, it was only because she had something up her sleeve. Well, on to ad campaigns. As she flipped through the various ideas that had been presented to her, she began to realize that she was sick to death of Fusion. The company had been a labor of love, but as Kendall knew all too well, love could turn sour. When it had been the four of them, Fusion was a delight to come to every day. Now she was here all alone.

Maybe she was channelling her mother. Erica has reinvented herself countless times. Much as she had hated to give up on getting Enchantment back, she had finally moved on to a new project. A new television show. Kendall was reminded that her mother still wanted her to be executive producer. The pace at Fusion was often frenetic, but that would be nothing compared with producing a television show. Then there was the aspect of working with her mother every day. It probably wouldn't be a good idea. But if she gave up Fusion, and didn't go to work with her mother, what would she do?