New Chapter! Sorry about the delay, between finals week, the start of my counselor job, getting a PS2, and various other events, I got killed for a while in writing. I'm back and raring to go however. I think this story is going to hit about 7 or 8 chapters, 6 minimum. For now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
AnonyMiss- Thanks for all your reviews so far! As for the whole thing about Karen being quiet, I know it's not completely in her character, but I figure she needs quiet time every once in a while, and I needed a way to segway into Grace's thought process. No shopping scene, sorry, maybe in another one. And as for long conversations, I'm hopefully going to get one in at the end of this, they can't exactly have long, drawn out conversations while two of them are stranded in the middle of a deserted island :D
The branches were lined up perpendicularly on the sand, waiting to be set up in a cone like fashion on the white beach shore. The hut would be set up under a shady area of palm trees on the island, and covered by palm leaves to keep out the rain. The sand would serve as a semi-soft mattress.
Will stepped back and surveyed the work he'd done so far, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He'd found a large knife in one of the compartments on the small boat a while ago, and rather than questioning why it was there, had gotten to work on the hut he planned to build. In about an hour he'd gathered enough large branches and small logs to form the base parts of the structure. He accredited his survival abilities to watching too many episodes of Survivor. While he'd mainly watched the show to ogle at Jeff Probst, he'd actually picked up a few survival tips. However, there was still something missing.
Will looked around, searching the beach for his boyfriend. He'd sent Jack deeper into the jungle-like trees about a half hour before to get palm tree leaves, and the man hadn't come back. "Probably snuck a People Magazine with him" Will muttered, frowning slightly. He tucked the knife into his pocket gently and headed into the mess of trunks to find the missing man.
The thinly layered outer mass of trees turned into a dense, Amazonian forest as Will walked farther in. He could hear different native bird noises and could sometimes see flashes of them in the sky. Odd plants and animals covered the floor of the place, jutting in and out and tripping up the human invader on a few occasions. Will had just slid off the trunk of an overturned tree when he heard giggling a little to his right. He headed that way to uncover a bizarre sight.
Jack was sitting against the trunk of a tree, having a staring contest with what seemed to be some type of African primate. It was a small monkey, no larger than a house cat, with tan fur and big, inquisitive black eyes. Its head was tilted slightly to the right, as if to imitate the quizzical look a dog sometimes gives its owner. Jack's head was tilted the opposite way, and his face was plastered with both fascination and puzzlement. Will wanted a camera at that moment, if only to finally prove to Grace that Jack was closer on the evolutionary scale to apes than the average human.
"Is he a cousin of yours?" Will asked, walking forwards. Jack turned his head and stuck his tongue out at Will before returning his gaze to the simian. The older man walked over slowly to as not frighten the animal, and sat next to Jack. "How long have you two been conversing?"
"Bout ten minutes" said Jack, moving slightly to lean against Will. "Watch this." He slowly put his hand out with only his index finger extended out of the fist. The monkey quickly reached out with his own fist and touched a singular outstretched finger to Jack's.
"ET phone home" said Will, whistling. Jack turned to grin at him, and then Will remembered why he'd come out here. "Have you collected the leaves yet?" Jack's face immediately fell.
"I was going to…"
"Oh come on Jack!" Will said, the leaping of his voice making the monkey cringe slightly. "I sent you out ages ago, you should've at least gotten something instead of playing zoo!"
"Oh come on Will, stop getting so uptight, this is an adventure!"
"Jack, this is not a game, we need to be prepared just in case something goes wrong!"
"But Will, I- wait, Will, how-"
"Why can't you act adultish for once in your life-"
"Will-"
"-totally irresponsible-"
"WILL!"
"What!" said Will, raising his arms up in frustration. Jack, now frowning in annoyance, pointed at the monkey.
"I'm no scientist, but how did a monkey get on a deserted tropical island all by itself?"
Will shut his mouth and turned to stare at the monkey. The animal had been frightened by the two men arguing and was now on a branch a ways away, watching them intently. When it saw that both men were staring at it, it became even more nervous and instinct told it that they were getting ready to attack.
"Did you see a collar?"
"No, but maybe it could lead us to its owner. Get it before it- Hey!"
The monkey had taken off into the trees, and the two men raced after it. "If you make one joke about monkey business, I will throw a hissy fit!" Jack called out through haphazard breaths, racing slightly ahead of Will through the undergrowth.
"Too much going on now, I'll save it for later."
---------------
The wall clock chimed quietly through the Manhattan office, but with the lack of noise it sounded like a gong going off. It sent Grace shooting up into a standing position out of her seat, her face going from one of tired boredom to surprised confusion. It took her a few seconds to realize what the noise was, and when she had, she settled back with a yawn into her seat and poured her eyes over the drawings in front of her.
Crap. Once again, that's what this room was turning into. Grace had tried a new direction for the mansion bedroom, but it still looked horrible, as gaudy as Bjork's swan outfit.
Total Karen joke she thought to herself, smiling slightly. It was then that she realized something, and turned her head to look at her assistant's desk. Karen was over an hour late of being late. It was almost one, and Grace had been spending most of the morning drooling on papers during little naps and sharpening over-sharpened pencils. Usually by this time, Karen was on her 3rd drink of the work day, and her 5th of the overall day. They'd be making their usual conversation; Grace would chide Karen about alcohol, and Karen would fix herself another drink and spot a new fashion disaster joke to shut up her boss.
As if by magic, Karen strode in the office a moment after Grace's last though. Her eyes were swimming with alcohol as usual, and she greeted Grace in her cheery, high pitched voice. It's like she doesn't remember what happened last night Grace thought, speaking back her own usual response to the woman. The normal conversations began to play out once more, and the office returned to its average pace.
Karen's cell phone rang in the middle of her afternoon martini break. She flipped it open to take the call, with Grace watching the woman out of the corner of her eye. To her surprise, she watched her assistant's face go from cheery and sly to angry and spiteful in a matter of seconds; obviously the caller was not a favorite of the woman's.
"Is Drunky on the line, or is this the husky voiced man holding her vomit bag?" chimed the grating British accent over the phone line. Karen's brow creased into an expression of annoyed anger. Lorraine Finster she thought, growling slightly at the insult, the noise loud enough to be picked up on the phone. The voice on the other end gave a chuckle and continued. "I guess the former was the correct guess. You might want to take something for that throat problem you seem to be having, I'm betting that you've already got something for it in your private pharmacy anyways."
"Tell me, did you become a whore through need or did you have enough STDs already to acquire the position?" responded Karen, glaring down at the desk and imagining Lorraine's face. She proceeded to pick up a pencil and stab it into the eye socket of the ghost profile, imagining the after effects with glee. "What do you want?"
"Your money" the mistress said, her voice staying ever so cheery. "But anyways, I've got a proposition for you. Do you remember that cheery little boat ride we took back after Stan's funeral?"
Karen responded to the question with an annoyed grunt. "Well good. I happen to have here some very interesting footage from that boat ride that I picked up before I left, namely two of your little male friends." Karen's brain perked up when she heard the words male friends.
"Will and Jack?" she asked, her interest growing. A light bulb suddenly went off in her head, and her eyes widened in shock. That bitch stole the tape! Damnit, I told Rosie to destroy it! That's it, she's getting a shock collar so I can discipline her properly.
"Ah yes, that's what their names were" she said. "And these two lads are, shall we say, 'getting jiggy wit-"
"I swear to God, Lorraine Finster, I'd better get that tape back before the day is through, or you won't have a vagina left to whore out" she said angrily. Grace, who had been listening, jumped in surprise at Karen's raging turn. What's going on in that phone call? she thought, trying not to show that she was listening.
"Now, Karen, what's the fun of having a sex tape if you can't make any money off of it? Of course, I'm in a bit of a bind here. On one hand I could market it, sell it to the eager masses, and make a decent amount of money. It would embarrass the 'stars' of the show and probably ruin their relationship as a couple. It would also probably ruin the relationship they have with you, since you lied to them and allowed the tape to get into the public. On the other hand, I could demand ransom and make millions, as well as get you to become virtually, my 'bitch'. So which option will it be, Karen? I'll let you decide. Give me a response by tomorrow night, or I pull out Ron Jeremy's phone number and get started on production." There was a click, and the shocked Karen was left to a dial tone in her ear.
Grace watched Karen place the phone back in the receiver and stare at the desk for a few moments before going for the martini to her right. "What's wrong?" she asked, wondering what had happened on the call. Karen put on the façade of her old smile.
"Rosie and I were practicing lines from Jack's new play, 'The Whore of Manhattan" she chimed, pretending that nothing had happened. Grace, however, was smarter than to be fooled by Karen's faux expression. Something's definitely up she thought, staring intently at Karen for a few moments. The woman's eyes pleaded with Grace to drop the subject, and Grace gave a little sigh before complying and returning to her work. Soon the office was once again back to its normal routine. However, there was a little more shake in Karen's hand as she held her martini glass, and it wasn't from the alcohol.
That's all for now, the next chapter will be up as soon as possible! At this rate, it looks like we'll be hitting about 7 chapters, but don't' quote me on it. Comments and feedback appreciated!
Also, I've got a question, does Karen know Lyle Finster as of yet? I'm not sure if she met him before Stan's death, but it'd be nice to know. It's not imperative to the story, but I don't want to have any mention of that relationship if it hasn't started yet!
I'll try to respond to all questions that are left on the review page, in my next chapter.