Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Gilmore Girls, Richard Gere or Hugh Grant.
Summary: To all appearances Tristan DuGrey is a man with luck on his side, with a healthy inheritance and a beautiful fiancée. But soon after a few bad choices have been made, fists are flying, his love life is in ruins and his once perfect existence is spiraling out of control.
Warning: This story is AU, as you will soon find out. If you do not like AU, turn back now. However although it is AU I do not wish to change any of the character's personality traits from Gilmore Girls, so (if at all) it will be mildly OOC.
A/N: Wow I'm so surprised that I got so many reviews for this story, I wasn't sure if anyone would like this idea. I'd just like to thank: spinaround, mamashirl (all will be revealed in due time, suspense I love it!), LoVe23, soccerroxmysox, blazergrl17, kcmmp13, maggymoo21, RoxyRoo, finnlover, IloveJoeL., princetongirl, whyshouldicare1, nascarisalejr (hope this chapter arouses your curiosity as well!), Emily and yourlastkiss. And thanks to all those lurkers out there, who don't review but add this to their story alerts, please review if you get a chance! Reviews make me want to update sooner! Enjoy!
Thanks to Kelly, for her review and for being my wonderful beta!
Let Me Hold You
Chapter 2: If Only You Knew
I pull into my work parking lot in my BMW M3 Convertible. I make my way over to the the parking lot elevator, and once inside I carefully straighten my tie. Looking down at my Hugo Boss suit, I sigh in discontent. I hate work, but considering I only come to work 3 days a week, I can't complain too much.
Once the elevator dings to signal my stop, I make my way through the crowds of people clutching cups of coffee and into my office. I got to work on the 200 e-mails I had received overnight. Once I had deleted all the unnecessary junk, I only had 130 important e-mails to read, fantastic. The e-mails I usually receive are from clients who are wishing to see how their cases are going. I'm a lawyer, which makes me the bearer of either good or bad news.
"I'm sorry ma'am there's nothing I can do about your son committing theft for the 5th time."
Or
"Congratulations, thank you for choosing D & E Lawyers."
That was how my morning usually went. It consisted of calls from worried mothers who had encountered a 'bad egg' of a son, or people who were so happy to have won their case that they believed a celebratory phone call was in hand. I look down at the flashing light on my answering machine and groan; no doubt it was my boss. I hit the red button and am greeted with his stern voice.
"DuGrey, staff meeting at 9:00."
I look at the clock at the bottom of my computer screen and rolled my eyes as I saw it was 10:00. I wasn't going to hear the end of this.
I hoist myself out of the leather chair and make my way down the carpeted hall way to one of the many meeting rooms in the complex. Inside are 10 other lawyers, and as I enter all their eyes look me up and down.
"Morning Tristan." Jake says crisply.
"Sorry I'm late." I reply, taking a seat towards the end of the table.
Jake looks around the table and looks me in the eye. I knew this look well and was not looking forward to the speech that I almost had memorized by now.
"These people are your colleagues Tristan and they are very busy people. We are all busy people in this law firm. Yet, amazingly they manage to be here every day on time. We have taken too much time out of the day already waiting for you to join us. They deserve an apology." Once finished, he pulled out a handkerchief from his trouser pocket and wipes his forehead, as if he had just completed a 70 mile run.
"Hence, my opening statement of 'sorry I'm late'." I reply, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Jake looks down the table at me and grunts, then turns back to the projection screen and begins pointing at figures. I quickly zone out; numbers were never my forte.
Jake is the type of guy that everyone has met at some point in their life. He's the guy that wears a blue striped suit, red tie and matching red suspenders. On planes, he is the guy that you can hear from the end of the plane talking about the state of the stock market to the poor guy who was unfortunate to have been seated beside him. And then in the back of your mind you think to yourself If you're that knowledgeable and think you're that good, why are sitting at the back of the plane with the rest of us?. He's in his mid 40's with a rapidly receding hairline, and he boasts a gruff voice that always sounds like he's yelling at you or giving you a lecture. He's the type of guy who believes that any business problem can be solved with a quick glance at a chart of figures.
Jake came to be the head honcho around here just after Dad left. This is why the firm title still carries the DuGrey surname. At the age of 31, I will inherit this business, which may be thought of as a strange number by some, but it was a strategic plan implemented by dear old Dad. He figured that because he was 25 years older than me, when he reached the age of 56 he would happily retire and begin to enjoy life. That was until he got a new secretary. I never thought scandals like that actually happened in real life, only in movies with actors like Richard Gere or Hugh Grant. If that was the case, then my life will soon be the next Hugh Grant blockbuster.
After the mind-numbing meeting, I find myself sitting back at my desk and staring at the computer screen until it becomes pixilated. I'm useless here today; I'm not going to get any work done.
I pick up my cell and hit one on the speed dial to call Jayla's number.
"Hey babe." She answers happily, obviously recognizing my number on Caller ID.
"Hey, what are you up to?"
"Not much, just watching some TV." She replies in a calm relaxed voice. Today is Jayla's day off work and she was obviously bored.
"Do you mind if I come around?" I ask, already standing up from my desk.
"Tristan, aren't you working today?"
"Yeah they don't need me." I lie, but she won't know any better.
"Then yeah ok sure, I'll see you soon?"
"I'll see you soon." I hang up the phone and leave a note on my desk.
Family emergency. See you Wednesday.
As I start the car, a Greenday song fills the speakers and I'm flooded with memories.
"I'm getting married man."
"Who's the unlucky girl?" Logan asks jokingly, while raising his beer to his mouth.
"Jayla, you remember her?"
"Oh no." Logan rolls his eyes at me.
"Come on, she's not that bad." I reply in a feeble attempt to try and defend her.
"She's like your mom 20 years ago. Snotty and after your money." Logan smiles back at me knowingly.
"Whatever." Not all of us can have Rory I think and then lifted my beer to my mouth.
The time I told him I was finally getting married, Greenday was playing. Come to think of it, almost every time I was at their place Greenday was playing, he was obsessed. I look down at my cell and re-dial Jayla's number. She doesn't answer, so I leave a message on voice-mail.
"Babe, something just came up and they're going to need me here after all. You know what they're like. Call you when I get home, love you."
I then take the mechanical turns to the familiar house in Star Hollow.
I knock on the door gently and after a few moments, Rory answers the door. Before I can say a word, she places her index finger to her mouth and ushers me outside. Once outside, we take a seat on the porch swing.
"I just got her to sleep." Rory tells me, answering the obvious silent question.
"I figured."
"So Tristan, to what do I owe this pleasure?" She looks me in the eyes and smiles.
"Just thought I would come over and see the little girl." I tried my best to sound casual and normal.
"Nice try, you only visit on Sunday's and Thursday's. It's Monday." She replies, looking at me suspiciously.
"I can't come see my best friend?"
After a few moments of silence, Rory lifts her head and looks at me; really looks at me. I see sadness in her eyes, a sadness that is mirrored in my own.
"Do you miss him Tristan?"
I place my arm around her shoulders and pull her in closer.
"Of course I do, where did that come from?"
"I just find it hard sometimes. You know Bella isn't always the best listener." She's always trying to make light of things.
I chuckle softly before replying, "Yeah I know." I move the hair out of her eyes and look down at the small figure in my arms and smile guiltily.
She has no idea, and if Logan knew he would have killed me.
A/N: Hope this gives you and idea of Tristan's life at the moment, and the events that have played out in his life. If you like what you just read, press the review button please!