A/N: As always, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! Based on the reviews for the last chapter, I got the distinct impression that you all don't like Carmen. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. :-) This update picks up where the last one left off. There's no way I would forward past Marissa meeting the reporter! Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Krystal had been keeping an eye on the blonde talking with Bianca. It wasn't because she didn't trust her daughter's partner because she did. Krystal knew without a single doubt that Bianca would never hurt Marissa and that she loved her with all of her heart. No, Krystal was watching them for other reasons. The blonde had caught her eye from the moment she had walked in. It was evident the woman had spotted the couple immediately. While they were oblivious to her presence, she'd been staring at them, almost studying them, and it had Krystal concerned. That feeling only intensified when the woman got up and walked over to the couple's table the instant Marissa had left to head to the ladies room. Krystal watched as the blonde took her daughter's seat and made a mental note. Remember to get that cleaned. Krystal couldn't tell what was being said between the two, but she could tell that Bianca was not pleased at all and was somewhat uncomfortable or maybe distressed was the better word to describe the brunette.

It seemed to Krystal that this other woman had some sort of hidden agenda because she was clearly flirting with Bianca even though she had to have known Marissa and Bianca were a couple. It was as plain as day with how the couple held hands and exchanged a quick kiss every now and then. Krystal remembered her daughter's reaction to that woman Sienna almost two years ago when she was only just starting to realize her feelings for Bianca. Now that the two were together in every way and a true couple, she could only wonder how Marissa would react to this other woman's blatant flirting. Out of the corner of her eye, Krystal caught sight of her daughter just as the other woman reached across the table to grab Bianca's arm. A red blur flashed by entirely too quickly to be stopped.

/

Marissa exited the ladies room and was heading back to the table when she spotted a woman sitting in her seat talking animatedly with Bianca. That, by itself, would've been fine, but the redhead could tell immediately that Bianca wasn't pleased about whatever the other woman was saying. Marissa knew that Bianca was more than able to handle whatever the situation was so she saw no immediate threat or need to increase her pace back to the table. That was until she sensed something else at play. She had the distinct impression that the woman was flirting with Bianca. Again, she knew her partner could handle that, and she trusted her implicitly. It just didn't sit well with Marissa. The other woman would simply need to go after Marissa made abundantly clear that Bianca was off the market. If the woman didn't understand that, the redhead was more than happy to make that fact crystal clear to her.

The redhead took a deep breath and began to make her way back to the table. All reason flew out the door, however, when she saw the other woman laugh and grab Bianca's arm. Marissa only saw red as Bianca tried to remove the woman's hand. No one and I mean no one touches her. If you don't move that hand, I'm going to remove it for you, and it's not going to be pretty. I will slap you so hard that you'll be feeling it until next year. No, I'll slap you so hard that your mother will feel it! You're going down, and I'm going to be the one to put you there!

/

Bianca ripped her arm from the reporter's grip and was about to respond, telling the woman there was not a snowball's chance in hell she would ever consider her offer, when Marissa suddenly appeared. Hazel eyes flashed and shot daggers at the other woman before focusing on Bianca and softening her gaze. The redhead wrapped one arm around her partner while she took the hand of the arm that had been freed and kissed it gently as she gazed at Bianca.

"Hey, sorry it took me so long. Is everything alright?"

A wave of relief swept over Bianca as she smiled at Marissa. "It is now. She was just leaving."

The reporter plastered on a fake smile as she eyed the redhead thinking she wasn't anything special and saw no reason why someone would choose the redhead over her. No competition. "Hello, I'm Carmen Diaz with Pine Valley Now, and you are?"

Did you seriously ask me that? I'm the woman whose seat you're in. I'm the woman who's going to kick your sorry ass if you ever lay one finger on Bianca again. "I'm Marissa Tasker."

You know damn well who she is. "Marissa is my partner, the one I've told you about repeatedly."

"Oh, Ms. Tasker. Of course. You're CJ's adopted mother."

She's baiting you, Tasker. Don't fall for it. Marissa felt Bianca slip an arm around her waist, reassuring her and calming her at the same time. "I'm AJ's mother."

"You're also a wonderful mother to Miranda and Gabby." Bianca added proudly.

"Just like you are with AJ." Marissa smiled at Bianca knowing the message both were sending to the reporter. "If you'll excuse me, Ms. Diaz …"

"Please call me Carmen."

"If you'll excuse me, Ms. Diaz, you're in my seat."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Bianca rolled her eyes at the woman's obvious lack of sincerity. "I'm going to have to stop you on that one because you did know. I told you when you first came over here that the seat was taken and asked you to leave."

"I'm sorry. I must have misunderstood you. Well, I suppose I should go. I look forward to interviewing you, Bianca." The reporter smiled as she got up.

"It's Ms. Montgomery, and I didn't agree to an interview. As to your other question, that's never going to happen. Hell will freeze over first, and it wouldn't happen even then."

Marissa had heard what Bianca had said. She wasn't sure what the reporter had asked but knew that her partner would tell her later. For now, there was a more pressing concern. Marissa had moved to the other side of the table prepared to reclaim her seat. She found herself eye to eye with the reporter who was wearing her fake smile as she waited for the redhead to move. Marissa didn't budge an inch as she glared at the other woman, daring her to contradict Bianca before speaking quietly to her. "I'm not sure what you're game is, but if you know what's good for you, you'll leave Bianca alone."

Carmen flinched slightly before recovering quickly. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, I'm sure you do."

"I do believe I detected a threat, Ms. Tasker."

Marissa smiled coldly. "There was no threat, Ms. Diaz. It was a promise."

The reporter cleared her throat and stepped around the redhead before making her way out of the restaurant.

Bianca reached across and took Marissa's hand as soon as the redhead was seated again. "Are you okay?"

Marissa released a deep sigh. "Yeah, I am. You?"

"I am too. Thank you."

Marissa was confused. "For what?"

"Being there when I needed you, defending my honor, believing me, trusting me, not losing it and kicking that woman's ass like I know you wanted to." Bianca smirked.

A hearty laugh escaped from Marissa. "The first ones were easy to do. It was that last one that was a real bitch."

"Kind of like 'please call me Carmen'." Bianca added dryly which caused the couple to bust out laughing.

Krystal had walked up to check on things and had no idea what the couple was laughing about. "Is everything alright?"

Marissa had managed to collect herself somewhat before losing it again when Bianca snorted. After a few more seconds, the redhead was finally able to speak as she wiped tears from her eyes. "Everything's fine."

Bianca nodded. "Rissa's right. We're good. I hate to say it, but we should get going. Work is calling. We'll see you later, Krystal."

Marissa held out her hand which the brunette happily took, and they slowly walked outside.

Krystal could hear Bianca laughing again as they made their way to the door.

"You know, my Mom would be very impressed with that bitch, please look you gave 'please call me Carmen'. I have to admit that I really liked it myself."

"You did, huh? Well, I aim to please!"

Bianca flashed a salacious grin. "Oh trust me, that is something you definitely do, over and over and over again. To be completely honest with you, I found it really hot."

Marissa laughed. "And you say I'm not right! Think you might be up for some pleasing tonight?"

"Oh yeah, I definitely will be."

/

The following week

Carmen was stumped. She'd tried everything could think of to get Bianca Montgomery to agree to an interview, but the woman had steadfastly refused every request. No matter how hard the reporter tried, Bianca wouldn't budge on her position concerning her relationship status and therefore wouldn't cooperate regarding the article. Carmen just couldn't understand what the big deal was. The woman wasn't married to the redhead so why the fuss?

It was that woman. What was her name? Oh right, Marissa Tasker. That name was familiar for some reason, but Carmen couldn't place it. After their encounter at Krystal's, it had taken the reporter awhile to gather herself again. The redhead had managed to get under her skin. Carmen had thought if she could get the redhead jealous or upset enough that she could somehow manipulate the situation and get Bianca to agree to the interview by having the redhead become unreasonable and ordering her not to participate. That didn't happen though because Marissa refused to take the bait. While the woman didn't know exactly what Carmen was up to, she knew the reporter was up to something and had called her on it. She would never admit this to anyone, but the reporter was definitely unnerved by Marissa's promise.

As much as what the redhead had said concerned her, there was another issue that was more pressing. It had been Carmen's idea to pursue the 'singles' theme this year along with tapping Bianca as the most fascinating. Her editor had been somewhat reluctant but had finally agreed. Now that the deadline was fast approaching, her editor was pressuring her to either get Bianca to cooperate or choose someone else. To Carmen, that would mean failure and that was something she refused to accept. Well, if the mountain won't come to me, I'll go to the mountain.

/

Marissa was working on a brief when a knock on her office door interrupted her. She glanced up to see a former client standing in the doorway. "Paul, it's good to see you again. Come on in and have a seat. How have you been?"

The man smiled and shook the lawyer's hand before taking a seat. "Marissa, it's good to see you too. I've been doing good. How about you? Are you and Bianca still going strong?"

Marissa smiled. "I've never been better, and yes, we are. She's the best. I'm a very lucky woman."

"Well, you're not so bad yourself."

"Thank you. What brings you by here? You and Sherry aren't having problems again, are you?"

Paul shook his head. "No, we're fine, thanks to you."

"I didn't do anything."

"No, you're wrong. You really did so much for us. There are a lot of lawyers who wouldn't have done what you did. They would've just taken the money and pushed through the divorce. You took the time to listen and help. Without you, Sherry and I wouldn't have made it. We'd be divorced and miserable. Our family would've been broken instead of thriving like it is now."

"It was easy to see that you both still loved each other. There had just been a breakdown in communication, and you needed to learn to talk with each other and trust each other again. You needed a different kind of counselor, not the kind that practices law."

"I still can't believe we let things get that bad. Of course, that reporter didn't help. She's actually why I'm here."

Marissa remembered the incident Paul was talking about. He had agreed to be interviewed by the Pine Valley Examiner for what was supposed to be a puff piece on his new position at Cortlandt Electronics. The reporter assigned to the story, however, had other ideas. She had wanted something more in-depth. When Paul tried to back out, the reporter produced incriminating photos of the two of them and threatened to send them to his wife. Paul didn't think she would follow through on her threat and continued to refuse her demands for greater access. The reporter was true to her word though and sent them to his wife. He tried to explain what was going on to Sherry and that nothing had happened between him and the reporter, but she had been too hurt at the time and filed for divorce. Paul had been given Marissa's name by a co-worker. The two met, and she agreed to represent him. Something about him told her that he hadn't cheated on his wife and wanted to save his marriage. To prove this, Marissa put one of the firm's investigators on the case. During meetings with Sherry and her lawyer, the redhead realized the woman was still in love with her husband. When the investigator found evidence that the incriminating photos had in fact been doctored, Paul and Sherry agreed to put the divorce on hold and give marriage counseling a try. As for the reporter, another attorney at the firm was handling that case.

Marissa could see several pieces of the puzzle suddenly falling into place. "What about her? What was her name again?"

"Her name was Carmen Navarro. I've heard through the grapevine that she's going by a different name now as well as working for a magazine."

"Carmen Diaz." How the hell did I miss that?

"That would be her. I hear that she wants to interview Bianca but hasn't had any luck with that."

"No, she hasn't. Bianca disagrees with the angle she's chosen."

Paul shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that. Look, I know that you and Bianca are in a much better place in your relationship than Sherry and I were when Ms. Navarro walked into our lives, but I owe you. I'll never be able to thank you enough for everything that you've done for us. I just felt that I needed to warn you about her. If it's possible for you to somehow avoid what we went through, I'll do whatever I can to help you and Bianca."

Marissa smiled. "Thank you, Paul. I appreciate you coming to me on this. There was something that had been bothering me about her and now, I know why. I think you can help me."

/

Carmen breezed into the Miranda Center. She didn't have an appointment but had no doubt that she could bluff her way past any assistant to get to Bianca. It was something she had done many times before for numerous interviews. The reporter easily located Bianca's office and headed straight for it.

"Excuse me. Is there something I can help you with?"

The reporter flashed a winning smile. "Good afternoon, Ms.?"

"I'm Pam, and I work here. And you are?"

"My name is Carmen Diaz with Pine Valley Now. I'm doing a feature story on Ms. Montgomery. She had asked me to meet her here."

"Oh, let me get her assistant, and I'm sure she'll be able to help you. Please have a seat." Pam directed the reporter to the waiting area before she wandered off in search of Jan.

Carmen sat still for all of 30 seconds before looking around. Seeing that the coast was clear, she snuck into Bianca's office. The reporter walked to the desk and checked it out. It was neat and organized, nothing really surprising there. There was a small and tasteful crystal vase holding a single red rose. Several picture frames were on the desk as well. One was a digital frame that displayed a variety of shots of the family at various stages in their lives. Another frame contained a picture of all five of them at what looked to be a fair of some sort. Carmen picked up the last picture frame. Constructed of popsicle sticks and clearly homemade, it held a picture of Bianca and Marissa that had been taken outside. The couple was gazing at each other lovingly and smiling. The reporter rolled her eyes and set it down.

She opened a desk drawer and found nothing of interest inside. Her eyes fell upon Bianca's planner. That looks promising. The reporter started to open it when a girl's voice stopped her.

"Excuse me, but what are doing in here?" Sam was eyeing the woman suspiciously. The girl had been passing by the office when she noticed someone inside. Only a limited number of people were allowed in Bianca's office when she wasn't there, and this woman definitely wasn't one of them. She certainly had no right to be standing behind Bianca's desk.

"Oh, Pam said I could wait in here for Bianca. My name's Carmen, and I'm with Pine Valley Now. I'm doing an article on her."

Something was telling Sam that the woman was lying, but she had no proof. "I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside. No one is allowed inside her office without Bianca being present."

"I don't see what the issue is."

"It's a matter of privacy for the Center's clients. The waiting area is pretty comfortable, and you can get something to drink while you wait for her."

Carmen could tell the girl wasn't going to leave her alone. "Fine, please lead the way." As soon as Sam's back was turned, the reporter quickly tucked the planner into her bag.

Sam guided the woman to the waiting area while the girl took a seat behind Jan's desk.

After a few minutes, the reporter made a show of checking the time. "I'm going to be late for a meeting. I'll have to catch up with Bianca later." Before the girl could say anything, Carmen hurried out of the building.

Bianca's assistant showed up less than a minute later. "Hey, Sam. I heard there was someone here looking for Bianca."

"Yeah, she's a reporter. I found her alone in Bianca's office. She said Pam told her to wait in there. I didn't buy it though, Jan, and took her to the waiting area. She just left. She said something about catching up with Bianca later."

"Well, there's no way that Pam would've done that. What was her name?"

"She said it was Carmen."

Jan's head snapped up hearing the name. "Bianca's mentioned her and doesn't want anything to do with her. I'm glad you got her out of the office."

"Something just seemed off with her. I'll put these papers on Bianca's desk and get back to helping Aya." Sam went into the office. That's when she noticed something missing. Son of a … She poked her head out the door and called to the assistant. "Jan, she took Bianca's planner."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Bianca left it on her desk like she always does when she's going to meet a client. It's not there now, and I know I saw it when that woman was in here."

"That's not good at all. I need to let Bianca know right away."

"Let me know what?" Bianca asked as she joined the two.

/

A/N: I'm not done with reporter just yet, don't worry. Marissa and Bianca will have the opportunity to take their shots at her. See you soon!