Hiiii!
As promised, the overdue update of Second Chances! ^_^
Disclaimer: No update to report here. Totally Spies is still not mine. *sigh*
Gabriella Simpson had not been entirely sure before, but seeing her daughter now she was finally at peace that she had indeed noted the correct address that fateful day when she'd found Sam panicking at the bus stop and compelled Shawn to give her a lift.
She'd silently memorized it over and over inside her head that entire car ride and scribbled it down the first chance she'd gotten alone (on a napkin with some lipstick in the bathroom of her brother-in-law's mansion during the party for her niece that she'd been in attendance of) desperately wanting to never lose track of her baby ever again.
Every second since she'd sat on pins and needles for the first chance to arrive that she could get away with visiting her. Now after nearly 48 full hours of anxious waiting, that time had finally come.
Pressing the palm of her hand against the dingy glass pane as she peered in through the open sightline that God had blessed her with into Sam's place, Gabby's eyes filled with an affection that only a mother could have for her child.
Five years, it had been almost five long years since she'd been allowed to be a mother to her. How her soul ached to wrap her Sammie in the biggest bear hug while sobbing as she told her how much she'd missed her and listened to her say the same words back to her while she hugged her back even tighter. What she wouldn't give to hear Sam call her mom again, just once even.
But while she was overjoyed at finding her unknown residence after wanting to for so long at the same time she felt a surge of sadness, a deep sorrow for where she'd ended up at compared to where she once used to be.
This entire place didn't hold a candle to the 15,000 square foot, luxury estate, French Normandy style mansion that she'd grown up in. Gabby cringed with a soft sigh. Let alone the entire mansion, if she were to be brutally honest then it wasn't even a quarter of the size of the bedroom alone that she'd resided in back then.
She'd been gifted the biggest bedroom in the chateau at age five, the same age that her own daughter was now on the horizon of. She'd been provided with the largest master suite, Shawn and her bedroom the exact moment that she'd expressed in her kid voice alongside gasps of wonder and sparkles of excitement in her big innocent eyes that she really loved the windows their room had.
She still recalled her reason for liking it this many years later. It had been because of how the floor-to- ceiling bay panels let in natural light at all points of the day; the vibrant pinks, reds, and orange colours of dawn and the yellows, purples and blues of the dusk. Watching the golden rays of the bright sun in the morning and the silver hues of the luminous moon by night.
Despite having to shift into a smaller room, her husband and herself had had no qualms about giving up the space just because of the sheer happiness they'd seen on their daughter's face when they'd informed her that that it was hers now. It was a joy they'd witnessed time and time again throughout the years whenever either of them poked their head into Sam's room to find her curled up in one of the windows with a book in her lap and a grin on her face which had made the sacrifice more than worth it.
Being their only child Sam had been raised as a princess, their princess and now here she was in this ramshackle, broken down shack amidst a most horrid neighbourhood living the life of—as much as it pained her to say it—a pauper while rearing her own little one. Looking at her now, if you hadn't known her before, you could never ever begin to imagine that she'd once come from such affluence, such privilege, and had once led such a good life.
The scathing words Shawn had said to her, the only words he'd said after she'd foolishly attempted to bring up Sam again to him after they'd returned home from the party taunted her troubled mind.
"My daughter!" He'd seethed venomously as he'd ripped off his silk tie in the process of undressing out of his expensive Versace suit to ready himself for bed.
"To think that MY daughter is living in that-that filthy dump!" Shawn raged with a disgusted snort.
Regardless of not wanting to care, he hadn't been unable to close his eyes to the fact that the child he'd fathered and raised in the lap of luxury with every possible benefit that could be given to a human being once now lived in place he wouldn't even allow his dogs to wander into. It boiled every speck of the blood in his veins into acid.
Had someone predicted that his daughter would wind up in such a pigsty just a few years ago, he'd have ripped out that person's tongue. But now? Now that same indigestible thought was his cruel reality.
His eyes glared embers at his how mum wife who had just moments ago dared to make yet another emblazed appeal for him to let bygones be bygones and invite Samantha back into their lives. Without words he asked her how it was fair for her to ask him to do that after the wrecking ball that the girl in question had taken to his pride, his reputation, his life's work?
He was Shawn Alexander Simpson, one of the most successful businessmen in Los Angeles who despite his great achievements, every day had to heap around the heavy load of humiliation his offspring had brought unto his shoulders.
It followed him around like a dark cloud, like a ghost, like his shadow. At work, in social engagements, every second on his head. He was forced to endure the gossip and backbiting for having a failure for a kid and put up with it despite him having—for all intensive purposes—cut all ties to Sam.
Still he received no mercy from the everlasting ridicule. So no, he wasn't going to rescue her from the mess she'd made herself of her existence. That was her cross to bear just as being associated to her was his burden forevermore.
"She CHOSE this life Gabby!" Shawn thundered with nostrils flaring and no note whatsoever of pity in his tone as his wife all but cowered. Because unlike her, he remembered vividly that every part of Sam's dismal present had been handpicked by herself.
She was the one who had forgotten all the morals and principles they'd raised her with to fornicate unprotected and unmarried while they'd trusted her to live away from them on campus. She was the one who had lied to their faces about doing great in school while she'd been piling up failing grades. And she was the one who despite supposedly being cheated on by the guy, had still chosen to bring his child into the world.
"She wanted THIS instead of the life that I, that WE planned for her to have! So let her have it! This is the penance for her sins! She has no one else to blame but herself! No one but HER!"
She'd kept her head down not daring to interrupt his rant with the question that had been on the tip of her tongue. What else had he expected from Sam in her condition? Being a single mother, having no financial support from her relatives, and being cast out of her home at the tender age of just nineteen? For her to be living in a castle surrounded by servants for crying out loud?! There was no way she'd be able to afford it. She was doing the best that she could! If he didn't want to aid her, couldn't he at least cut her some slack?
Did he have to kick her while she was down just like the rest of the world was? Where was his affection for his daughter? His sole child? Didn't his heart hurt to know how much pain she was in and had been for years now like hers did whenever she thought of her? He was her father for God's sake! When she'd been born he'd held her in his arms in that hospital room and sworn to protect her from whatever hardships came her way. Didn't he remember his own promise?! How could he forget? HOW?!
Yet the death threat he'd given her about taking his own life if she pushed him to take Sam back had sewn her lips shut. She didn't want to lose her husband. For all his faults and his temper, she did love him with all her heart and couldn't stand to do anything to risk his well-being. As much as she wanted to just talk and have him listen for once and understand what a bonehead he was being about this, she just couldn't risk it.
But there was that one little thing that kept her sane though it all and that was fact that she knew him better than he wanted to accept and was well aware that beneath his blind wrath towards Sam's life decisions he was a wounded father, just a wounded father and nothing more. Sooner or later, no matter how many more years it took him she knew he'd eventually break down, come to his senses, and go and bring their girl home himself.
But she couldn't wait until he reached his epiphany to see her Sammie again and so here she was, despite all his warnings, standing at her beloved child's doorstep.
"How hard life must be for her," Gabby couldn't help but wonder solemnly. She remembered how challenging motherhood had been for her despite having all the support in the world in her corner from both the family she'd been raised by and her in-laws. Meanwhile Sam was doing it all on her own, facing all the battles that came with becoming a mom head-on with no support from anyone but Clover her one remaining friend.
Yet even with her unwavering commitment to her, how long was Sam going to be able to keep up this charade? With just one look it was evident to her that she was barely getting by. This flat of hers was proof enough that everything was falling apart. She barely had a roof over her head and she wanted so badly to just go in there and do that which she'd wanted to from the start of this entire ordeal.
Be there for her.
The desire to do so built up inside her like a wildfire. She knew all she had to do was knock on the door and the minute that Sam would see her, she'd let her in with no hesitation. They could be mom and daughter again! All she had to do was take the first step.
Unable to bottle up her motherly impulse any longer her hand reached out before she could stop itself and formed into a fist ready to rap its knuckles on the shabby, wooden door and announce her presence—
BRRR. BRRR. BRRR. BRRR!
Her phone buzzed inside the folds of her coat leaving her to jump nearly half a foot in the air. Gasping Gabby held a hand to her heart to calm it before fumbling around in her pocket for the device. Thankfully it was on vibrate preventing her ring tone from going off and getting her caught but her blood ran as cold as ice when she saw the caller ID of the incoming call.
It was Shawn.
"Oh God, does he know I'm here?!" Was the first frenzied thought that hammed through her while whether he was watching her or not was the second. Biting her lip apprehensively she glanced around in a panic scanning the street and the cars lining it for an expensive one that stuck out like a sore thumb because Shawn would never drive anything but one of his own luxury automobiles. After a long moment of doing so, she didn't see any but kept her guard up as she finally spoke to him.
"Hi Sha—"
She wasn't even able to finish getting out that polite greeting before he cut her off sounding annoyed.
"Where are you?" He demanded to know leaving her to gulp down a suddenly dry throat. Various options as to how to answer that question inconspicuously came to mind—
"I'm taking a spa day."
"I'm meeting up with an old college girlfriend."
"I decided to take a stroll around the neighbourhood."
—But none would leave her mouth for fear that he'd call her bluff. She was a terrible liar who always got nervous when she lied about even the smallest thing and Shawn, unfortunately for her could always read her like an open book.
"But you never go to the spa alone, you usually go with Stella. Where are you really?" He'd say for the first one.
"Which college friend? What's her name? Don't I know all of your school friends?" Would dismantle the second when she'd fluster and fail to come up with a name.
"If you've just gone for a stroll around the block then why did you take a car? I know you've taken a car along Gabby, what's going on?!"
And then he'd get her to spill her guts about the whole thing. Shawn knew her and despite her not saying anything about planning to do this, he knew how much she missed her daughter. She knew that her suddenly taking off just over a day or so after running into Sam on some mystery errand he wasn't allowed to know anything about was highly suspicious to him.
She felt trapped, unable to string together any words to get out of this situation and anticipated his angry scream of "you've gone to see her, haven't you?!" any second now bursting through her phone's speaker when suddenly he surprised her by saying something entirely different in a calm yet still irked tone.
"We're having the Chamberlains over today, remember? For lunch? They'll be here any minute."
Oh right, Shawn's main business partner and close personal friend. In her excitement of visiting Sam, she'd forgotten all about that appointment. Luckily Shawn hadn't and was too wrapped up in preparing for that and making sure everything was perfect to spare too much thought into figuring out what she was really up to right now.
Grateful that she'd been saved, Gabby quickly assured him that she'd be right home before she ended the call. Moving to go she couldn't help but let out a depressed little sigh that she hadn't been able to talk to Sam after all. And who knew when she'd get to slip out again and make another attempt.
Despite her dwindling hopes of them ever being a real family again anytime soon, Gabriella prayed for a miracle as she pulled herself away with heavy reluctance and got into her car, taking off for home just as Clover Ewing arrived at the scene.
"Remember Clover, just be cool. Keep it short and sweet," Clover advised herself about the lie she was going to tell Sam to obtain her portfolio before she drew in a deep breath to prepare herself as she tapped her knuckles softly on the door.
On the other end, Sam's ears perked up and an eyebrow rose in alarm. Had the pervert who'd been leering at her for hours on end worked up the nerve to actually try and get into her flat? Her mamma bear instincts kicking in, she moved quickly and ushered Josie into another room with a sudden declaration of them now playing a flash round of Hide-and-seek.
It was a trick that she used to get Josie to readily conceal herself without wasting time asking any questions, time that could be critical in an emergency situation like a break-in or some other prowler invading their home.
She sadly did live in a shady area after all where neither she nor her baby were ever truly safe but she did her best not to endanger any of them further by at least doing her best to be prepared.
One again it worked like a charm as Josie gasped and darted off quick like a bunny to take cover somewhere deeper in the flat where she would not be found with ease.
With that done Sam grabbed the first thing she could find to use as a weapon (the pair of scissors she'd just used to cut out Josie's dress pattern) and stealthily moved towards to door with the sharp object held like a knife in her hand.
Yet as she tiptoed closer she focused on the knocking sound and asked herself if a creep would actually be courteous enough knock and ask permission to be let in? Wouldn't that be being too ... gentlemanly? Instead something a certain someone would do if he were making yet another valiant attempt to get her to let him into her life?
And then her eyes widened and heart skipped a beat when she remembered that stalking her was also something that that same someone might do because he'd also done that before. That entire day he'd followed her everywhere before he'd finally made his move on her.
He was back.
"It's him ... " Her brain told her over and over while her heartbeat got louder and louder inside her ears. "Oh my God ... it's Scam!"
Even if he hadn't dare return since that day that she'd chased him away, anticipation built up inside her and she found herself absentmindedly glancing at her reflection in the metal of the shears she held. With her other hand she neatened her hair and found herself glad that she'd very recently applied lip gloss to her lips. Then she grasped the doorknob and counted to five before unlocking it to reveal—
"Oh hi Sammie!" Clover waved at her cheerfully.
Sam froze in place with her hand still on her door and did her best to not let her face crumble. She wasn't letdown at all, she tried to convince herself that she wasn't even a little bummed out to find no Tim Scam before her.
Really she wasn't. It wasn't like she wanted him to come back for her. No man ever did after all, so what made him—her once hated and sworn enemy—any different from every other guy who'd disappointed her?
Nothing.
Bottling up her conflicted emotions for the man that always seemed to get under her skin for reasons unknown, she focused her attention on her bestie who had walked past her while she'd been zoned out and was now moving around her home with purpose. It looked as though she was on a mission to find something.
"Looking for something?" Sam asked as she watched Clover move back and forth. Had she forgotten something of hers behind the last time she'd been here? But her place was so small that she was pretty confident she'd have noticed by now if something was out of place.
"Hmm? No…" Clover confirmed that that wasn't it. Yet she continued looking around anyway leaving Sam's curiosity to mount.
Eventually she was unable to take it and marched over placing her hand on Clover's shoulder to stop her.
"Clover, what's going on?" She asked getting straight to the point. It wasn't just her on the hunt for some mystery object in her home that had provoked that question, Clover had been acting more than a little "off" for a good while now.
Just where had she run off to earlier while she'd gone to wake Josie from her nap so that she could spend time with her? The last thing she remembered was leaving her drinking coffee in the kitchen only to return with Josie to find no sight of Clover. She hadn't even messaged her once since to explain her odd disappearance, simply showing up now after several hours like nothing had even happened.
Realizing Clover hadn't said anything in reply despite it having been a full minute, Sam continued to pry with a more suggestive comment this time in the hopes that that would stimulate a response.
"You're very mysterious these days Clover," she accused. "You've barely even been around. What's up with you?"
All the colour drained from Clover's face at those words as sweat began to form across her pale forehead. Apparently keeping this secret wasn't going as well as she'd thought it was going. Sam had noticed something was amiss, what that thing was she may not know still but her being suspicious was bad enough. She had to fix this now before she caught on.
A nervous laugh left her as she squirmed out of Sam's hold and waved an airy hand in the air as if to say it was nothing that needed worrying about.
"I just uh ... " She cleared her throat and pulled herself together before continuing. "I just landed a HUGE modelling contract and I don't want to let him-it get away!"
Although she'd corrected herself Sam had heard the word "him" before she'd turned it to "it" and now began wondering if perhaps a guy was involved. Was Clover secretly seeing someone? But then why wasn't she telling her about him? It wasn't like she'd banned Clover from guys or something just because her own heart had been brutally crushed at the hands of one. Clover never concealed her dating life from her, they were like sisters to whom every aspect of the other's existence was an open book to.
Besides if Clover had bagged a big work project, wouldn't she have already asked her and Josie to celebrate with her? Just like always? Instead of sheepishly tell her about it after she mentioned that she'd been missing a lot as of late?
"What's his name Clover?" Sam put her on the spot with a knowing look on her face because she was now almost 99.9% certain this was about a man judging by how red and flustered Clover looked.
But Clover denied it flatly.
"What name? There's no name! There's no guy!" Clover assured Sam with ease because that part was completely true. There was a man involved but he wasn't for her.
Realizing they were getting way off track here, Clover attempted to steer the conversation back to where it needed to be. Scam wasn't going to wait forever for her to get back to him.
"Hey Sam? You think I can borrow your work portfolio for a little bit?"
The redhead blinked at the question because it appeared to come out of nowhere.
"Uh ... what for?" Sam questioned seconds later.
"The job I told you about, it's a shoot for a big jewellery designer," Clover explained. "They're doing a bridal line and the photographer I'm working with wants something super original for the showstopper necklace. Well I told him about you and he thinks that you just might be the right person to provide a wedding gown for that snapshot!"
At once Sam forgot about the many questions she'd had for Clover and gasped in surprise with her eyes wide with excitement.
"Oh my God, seriously?! For real?! They want me to do it?!"
This was incredible news! The exposure she could get for her work from this could be monumental in turning things around for her.
"Yea they do!" Clover responded enthusiastically not really feeling bad for lying because she trusted that whatever reason Scam had asked to see her work would be equally as enticing as the one she'd made up. If not better.
"Not go get that file!" Clover pointed at Sam and grinned. Sam dashed away into her bedroom and returned just five minutes later with the body of her work. She hugged it to her chest with affection for a long moment before finally surrendering it over.
"Please take good care of this Clover," she made the blonde promise who told her not to worry because it was in good hands before she tucked it under her arm and made her way towards the door.
"Wait … you're leaving already?" Sam called out behind her sounding bummed.
This wasn't right; Clover had done so much for her and she wasn't even going to allow her to get her a cup of coffee or something as a small thank you? Surely she could spare a minute to let her do at least that much for her.
But Clover nodded to tell her she really could not stay. "Yea sorry, they're waiting for me Sammie. I have to go."
Both women jumped when the sound of a very grumpy voice whined from nearby them accompanied by the stomping of tiny shoes on the tiled floor.
"AWWW! NO FAIR!" Josie cried out who'd come running after hearing her beloved auntie's voice, thinking whatever game she'd been playing with her mommy to be over now that she was here to finally spend some much needed quality time with her. And she wasn't going to stay? Not even for a wittle bit?
"I WANNA PWAY WITH AUNTIE CLOVER!" Josie demanded, pouting sadly up at both her mama and her aunt.
"Josie honey... " Sam knelt to be at her daughter's level and tried to hug her to calm her down while the tiny one fussed in her hold and kept reaching out her little arms longingly for Clover instead.
Sam could sense that she was about to enter full breakdown mode. Not that she could blame her, there was only so much she could take when it came to missing out on spending time with her favourite person in the whole world. At this point she wasn't even sure giving her a big bowl of her favourite ice cream would do any good.
Watching Sam struggle with Josie, Clover frowned sadly. It broke her heart to see that she was so upset and to know that she had caused it.
But everything she was doing was for her. All for her. Thankfully she knew just how to get her to understand that.
"I'm sorry sweetheart but ... I really have to go." As she said that with emphasis, Clover raised her hand and very subtly tapped the tip of her nose once and then once more again.
All of a sudden Josie stopped thrashing and put a big smile on her face as she stated calmly. "It okay, auntie can go."
"Huh?!" Sam said confused, almost feeling whip lashed at this turn of events. Sure Josie was a well behaved child but to go from temper tantrum to sweet, little angel in a literal flash was unbelievable.
"I'm gonna be five years old mommy, I'm a gwon up and gwon ups are patient." Josie added as though she desperately wanted to convince her that she was really okay with Clover leaving.
As Josie's smile turned into a wide toothed grin, Sam's eyebrow rose in suspicion. Whatever it was that Clover was truly up to here, it seemed that Josie was in on it. And when the door closed indicating that Clover had left, Sam wondered if she should bribe Josie with some ice cream to tell her everything. She did have some stocked in the freezer.
Temptation swept over her for a moment but then she let it go with a smile. She knew how tight Josie's bond was with Clover and she didn't want to intrude on that in any way. If this was their little secret then they were more than entitled to keep it so.
Deciding to get Josie some ice cream anyway, Sam patted her head and ruffled her red hair affectionately before walking to the kitchen.
"Phew!" Josie breathed out a huge sigh of relief and wiped her forehead once her mommy was gone. That had been a close one! Her mommy had almost found out that her auntie Clover was going to see her daddy!
Two taps on the nose was the secret code they'd come up with for him and the second she'd see her do that, her heart had leapt with joy.
"My daddy!" She thought wanting to jump up and down in joy. She hoped today was finally going to be the big day when her aunt would be able to convince him to come home. If she could make that happen—
Josie's stomach did happy flip-flops at the very thought of him coming through the door.
—That would be the bestest birthday gift ever! Grinning from ear to ear she giggled joyously as she skipped her way to the kitchen to go have her ice cream.
Even more special than anything Money's dumb face could get with all the money in the world.
Clover Ewing had never held her breath this hard in her entire life as she was right now while standing in Tim Scam's office. To say that she was nervous right now would be a massive understatement, she almost felt like biting her nails as a release and very well would have done so if she didn't care so much about her manicure.
Her blue eyes watched vigilantly as he sat there in his large, leather chair saying nothing as he slowly sifted through the pages of the binder she'd brought him with a look of keen concentration on his handsome features. He seemed to take at least two minutes to scan over every inch of the photograph before moving onto the next.
And although she still had zero idea as to why he'd asked to see her work nor why he was surveying it with so much detail, her intuition told her that this was a most critical moment in what could be Sam's new future.
"They're a lot more impressive in person..." Clover commented afraid that his quietness meant that he wasn't liking what he was seeing even though Scam was and always had been, a man of very few words.
"These pictures weren't taken by the best quality camera so the colours could be a bit off."
Unfortunately Sam couldn't afford a high-tech camera and whenever she offered to pitch in for her to get one, the answer was always an appreciate but polite no. Sam rarely ever accepted money from her and much preferred to have her time instead which was something she always said she was grateful she gave her and Josie so much of.
But she'd hate it if that refusal ended up being the reason why Sam's work didn't get the response that it deserved. Although brilliance could be seen even in a black and white and blurry snapshot if the eye of a true appraiser was looking at it; something she believed Timothy Scam was.
Yet in the place of assurance, a soft hum of "mmhmm" was all she got out of him as he just kept studying the images without telling her why.
Clover sighed being left her agitated. Why on earth did Scam enjoy being such a mysterious, little tease about freaking everything?! Was it his hobby?
And just when she was about to reach the end of her rope, rip out her hair, and scream out loud, he put down the portfolio and instead picked up his phone. He dialled a number and mumbled something into the receiver that she couldn't quite catch before ending the call. Then not five minutes later, a new man waltzed into his office.
"You asked to see me?" The guy said as he elegantly strolled his way over towards Scam not even appearing to notice her as she stood just off to the side gawking at him.
"Yea," Scam smiled rather charmingly at the man if she were honest. "There's something I wanted to show you."
As he said that, he ushered the nameless male closer and when he reached his side, he pushed Sam's folder into his view.
And then the room went dead silent again save for anything but the occasional whispering of the two men and the turning of glossed pages as they conversed amongst each other while pointing and peering at the pictures before them.
Bored and feeling like a fly on the wall, Clover did the only thing she could think of to pass the time and took in the guy she hadn't met yet.
He was thin, had gray hair that made him look to be about in his eighties, and on the short side for a dude. He had crinkles either from laughter or stress that encased the corners of his light blue eyes and lips and was dressed in a black suit with gray pinstripes paired with a set of tinted, fashionable aviators.
If she had to choose a single word to describe him, she'd go with stylish. Especially for an old timer. Like the average senior walking on the street would never look this fabulous. Did he work in fashion or something?
For some reason that she couldn't place, she felt as though she'd seen him somewhere. Like he looked vaguely familiar to her but wasn't exactly the guy she had stored in her memory. She found that odd but brushed it off with a shrug concluding that whoever he was, he seemed loaded and it was unlikely she'd ever met him in person.
Unless it had been years ago while she'd been a super spy who just happened to bump into the rich and famous from time to time while saving the world. A nice perk of the job she'd once held.
Just as she reached the end of her assessment of him, she noticed the change in expression on the unknown man's face. His eyes were wide like he was almost ... excited and he'd picked up Sam's binder and was turning the captures within it every which way as if to scrutinize every square inch.
If it was even possible, her curiosity blared even higher as many questions floated around inside her frenzied mind.
Who was this guy? Why was Scam showing him Sam's work? And most of all, what was going to happen next?
"Thanks for your opinion Rafe, I really appreciate it," Clover heard Scam say as he shook the guy's hand who smiled and told him that it was his pleasure before promptly leaving.
When the door closed and Scam and her were alone again, she could take no more of this torture of waiting and opened her mouth to break her silence.
"Okay, what was that all abo—"
"These are incredible." Scam interrupted while gesturing at Sam's work file.
"You ... mean that?" Clover forgot her earlier query and breathed out in astonishment knowing how hard this man was to impress; a next to impossible feat. "Wait like ... for real?"
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it," Scam stated bluntly as he smirked back at her. Clover didn't know this but in the course of running his business empire he'd worked with designers aplenty, many of them top tier. And based on the expert opinion of one at the very top of the pyramid, his suspicions had just been confirmed that not only did Samantha Simpson have the talent to be a designer but to be a spectacular one.
A strong sense of pride he rarely felt for anyone but himself filled him as he thought about her. She never ceased to amaze him. Sure he'd always known she had tremendous skill and talent but this? This was cutting edge. Simply avant-garde.
And to think that she'd created this while managing her hectic life. What would her work be like if she had lot less stress on her head and lot more support in her corner? He'd wager it'd be groundbreaking. The possibilities with Sam appeared to be literally endless.
"And that seems to be a unanimous decision," Scam murmured piquing Clover's interest even more.
"What ... what do you mean by that?" She asked and he sat up straighter in his chair beginning to reveal all to her.
"That man that was just in here?" Scam stated pointing towards the door where he'd exited. "That was none other than Raphael Laurent (1)."
Clover did her best to swallow back her gasp at that revelation and regardless of her trying so hard not to, an sharp squeak of shock still emitted from her. A hand flew to her heart and her mouth unhinged itself nearly falling off and to the black carpeted floor.
"I didn't recognize him off the bat because he's balding! He must wear a wig for photos!" Clover realized that that was why her head had been screaming at her that she knew that guy from somewhere but she hadn't figured out where.
Now she knew exactly where; all the hundreds and millions of fashion magazines she'd read throughout her life.
"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Her mind repeated over and over like a broken record. still in disbelief as she hyperventilated. Was Scam for real?! That was really, honest-to-God Raphael Laurent in the flesh?
To answer her with a yes, Scam shrugged his broad shoulders in his sleek suit nonchalantly, as if to say that to him freaking Raphael Laurent, American fashion mogul and billionaire businessman with a global multibillion-dollar enterprise who'd been ranked by Forbes as one of the richest people in the country was just some average Joe.
Like it really was just that commonplace, that ordinary for him to be mingling with the rich and famous day in and out that it didn't even phase him anymore. But she knew that was because Tim Scam was presently one of those very people, if not the one above them all. And it had to be quite a different view looking down from the very top of the hierarchy instead of from the bottom up.
She wasn't going to lie it quite simply thrilled her to know that he was in Sam's corner now, on the side of a girl that for so long had had almost no one beside her in the trenches to help fight her battles.
And that was why she just had to know what his angle was here. What was his next move? Why had he shown her art to Raphael Laurent and what did that have to do with his marrying Sam? Was he even still planning to propose to Sam? What exactly did he have planned for Sam in that brilliant brain of his?
With too many questions brewing inside her that desperately needed answering and longing for some clarity, Clover put Scam on the spot.
"Hold up..." she said raising her hand for a time out. When she had his attention, she looked him straight in the eye and asked curtly, eyebrow raised. "Where are you going with this Tim? Tell me what's on your mind."
But although she'd hoped for some direction from him, he gave her none simply regarding her with one of his infamously infuriating cryptic smirks. You know the one, those which made his sea green eyes flash with the warning of an impending storm.
It widened considerably on his lips when she started to visibly squirm before him from curiosity reminding her of one of those times way back when, when on missions they'd manage to track him down as the culprit but he still had a surprise coming for them that they were yet unaware of.
It was his I've still got the upper hand look that she had memorized to this day.
"I CAN'T TAKE THE CURIOSITY OKAY!" She finally screamed out in exasperation drawing a soft chuckle of amusement from him. He was definitely enjoying tormenting her.
"YOU GOTTA GIVE ME SOMETHING HERE!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Scam tried to say with an innocent look leaving her snorting and rolling her blue eyes swiftly like the hands of a broken wall clock.
"Um hello! If it was, I wouldn't be asking you! Now spill!"
Placing his elbows on his desk and clasping his hands together, Tim pondered for a moment if he should comply with her request before ultimately deciding to give in. Clover had done more than enough for him as of late to be privy to this information.
Slowly he spoke with eyes glimmering with determination and promise.
"So Lucas Sharpe thinks that Sam having a baby means that she's no good for him anymore, does he? He thinks she's useless? That her life is over? All her dreams and goals are nonexistent? Well, he's wrong," Scam declared boldly. "And soon he'll see just how wrong he is."
What could be more of a slap in the face? A sobering wake up call that he'd lost something precious and irreplaceable? Nothing more than him having to witness the same girl that he'd thoughtlessly discarded aside like garbage shine bright like a diamond with the burning knowledge that no matter how hard he wished for it, he couldn't get her back?
In his mind that was the most satisfying revenge that Sam or any woman could take from a scumbag like him. The perfect payback.
"But ... how?" He heard Clover whisper and just by the tone of her voice alone he could tell that she felt making Lucas pay was not possible after all this time.
But with what he had planned, no matter where in the world that bastard was right now, he'd hear of Sam's success. He'd make sure of it.
"... I'm going to offer Sam a job."
"A ... job?" Clover repeated slowly.
"Her dream job," Scam clarified.
"Right ... " Clover mumbled, biting her lower lip to try and hold back a disheartened sigh.
While it was super generous of him to be affected enough by Sam's story to offer to better Sam's financial situation by giving her a job (a job that she'd no doubt enjoy because it'd be in fashion since he'd stated it would be her dream career) that wasn't really why she'd been chasing after him all this time.
Clover frowned knowing she'd had a much different hope in mind regarding Sam when it came to him. She'd wanted him to marry her, become her husband and Josie's father. Was that now officially off the table? Had Scam also decided that pursuing Sam's love was too much effort just like every other guy?
But then he said something that changed everything and made her realize that while everyone else had in the past, Tim Scam was not going to let her down.
"I can see it now so clearly…" Scam mused. "The exact same moment that she lost faith in all men because of what Luke did, she also lost faith in herself. She started to believe that she just wasn't worth it."
That was the only reason why a girl like Sam would settle for what her life had become now and not fight for more. That was it, the missing piece of the puzzle and the thing that he hadn't been able to put his finger on until now. She was missing the hope that she once used to have in spades. Hope that had to be restored.
"We have to show her that it's okay for her to demand more from life, that it's safe for her to have bigger dreams and believe that they can and will come true."
"And when she does ..." Clover spoke, a smile spreading across her face as she understood where Scam was going now at last.
This was about getting Sam to forgive herself, forget the past and finally turn the page from this sad chapter where harsh lessons had been learned to a happier one which was one step closer to an eventual happy ending for her and her baby girl.
"When Sammie actually sees that things can be better for her then—"
Scam finished her thought with a nod of his head and a little smile of his own that told her she'd read him correctly and hit bingo.
"Then Sam, her daughter, and I ... can become a family."
(1) Reference to Ralph Lauren. I felt the name "Raphael Laurent" was Totally Spies style parody enough lol.
Sorry for the eons this took to get up! x_x
Anyway, what did you guys think about Gabby's invisible visit to her daughter? How about Scam's plan? Is this a smarter way to Sam's heart than just trying to romance her? And more importantly, if Scam offers her a job, do you think Sam will even go for it?
So many questions lol!
Till the next!
Love Always,
Cresenta :)