Hello, again! Just wanted to say Thank You to the folks who have followed, favorited or reviewed the first chapter. It has been a good while since I had the opportunity to write and get feedback on it, so I deeply and genuinely appreciate it. Just have to hope I keep up the style/parts y'all enjoy! Haha.
And in case anyone wondered, I'm sort of modeling it after how the point of view shifts between characters in different scenes, so I hope it isn't distracting or anything? I'm curious to know!
Here we go:
The next few days, Fallon was nowhere to be found within the offices of Carrington Atlantic, and Michael was thoroughly relieved by it. For all her faults, interfering and scheming were talents even he could not deny. It just so happened that those talents were completely unhelpful for him, now. When Fallon didn't rear her head before the end of the work week, he started to believe he would actually get off scot free. But about as soon as he'd had that thought, who else would've walked through his door but Liam Ridley himself.
Just when he was starting to think that Fallon and her family were the worst of his problems, Michael knew instantly he had zero interest in discussing those very people with Fallon's ex-something. Because what else could the guy want, right?
"Culhane, we need you to attend a meeting Monday morning for our new hires. I would've emailed you, but I was stopping by to print off some documents, anyway."
Oh. Perhaps mercy really did exist. Michael nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Sure. First thing?"
"Around nine-fifteen, ideally. Just to make sure everybody can find the main conference room and everything." Liam cracked a smile, seemingly attempting to play nice.
"Understood." Although, it did raise a question. "You're... running the meeting?"
Liam shook his head, obviously glad to be saying, "No. My aunt and the board will be involved with that. I'm just here to pass along the news."
His aunt? Michael couldn't help the way his mind jumped to Liam's Uncle Max. To what he had demanded, and what Fallon's decisions had caused. A chain reaction from hell. But he had no desire to bring that up, regardless of the fact that Liam believed Fallon. Michael still didn't see why she hadn't told him from the beginning, though her complicated feelings towards the other man likely had a great deal to do with that.
No. Enough of that. Quite enough. "Got it," Michael said after a moment, hoping Liam would just leave. But he lingered, looking around the newly-redecorated office before finally speaking up.
"Listen, I don't plan on sticking around CA for very long. So I just want to make sure that we're... maybe not good, but at least accepting of the fact that what happened is in the past."
There it was. But the man had a point. Michael didn't want every meeting or passing in the hallway to turn into a standoff or awkward silence. God help them if they got stuck in the elevator together. "Yeah, well it seems like we're both free of the Carringtons now."
Liam nodded, but something about the slight downward tilt of his mouth suggested that he wasn't sure he agreed. "Well... as free as one can be while working in a building they purchased, and working for a company under their name. Right?"
Michael grimaced. No one could leave that alone, could they? And as much as he wanted to contradict the observation, there wasn't much of a point in pretending. "Well. I've gotta start in something I know before I pretend I can do something I don't know."
"That's fair. As far as I've heard, you're more than qualified for your role. And it seems this company could've used a new Communications and Outreach Specialist a long time ago." Liam took a step back, heading for the door. "I'd better go get those papers. See you around."
As Liam left, Michael reached up to rub at the back of his neck, still feeling uncomfortable. This whole situation would have been more distressing if he didn't have a serious determination to see his plans through. After checking that the hallway was clear, he pulled his phone from his pocket and placed a call, walking over to the window behind his desk to gaze outside as he waited for the answer to come through.
"I didn't think I'd hear from you again," the slow, amused and sultry voice said in place of a greeting.
Michael could practically see the smirk growing across her face, and something about it made him crack a smile, too. "Yeah, well something's come up. A new... opportunity."
"Yes," she drawled. "I heard about that. Can't say I expected it of you, though. Or that I expected you to call. Especially after what happened to your friend."
"A lot happened because of what you caused. So I'd say it's high time for you to make up for it." He paused, and upon hearing her wary hum of consideration, he decided to push harder. "He nearly died because of you, Ada. It destroyed everything with Fallon-"
"Well that was never going to last, now was it?"
Michael frowned deeply. "I'm trying to tell you that my opportunity could be an opportunity for both of us. But this time, I'm running the show."
Kirby, despite her unbelievably rocky return to the Carrington manor, actually felt like she was starting to fit in. Things were a little different around Sam, now, since he had Steven back. But on the plus side, Fallon had talked (as in, forced) her brother into letting her take on the role of event planning and fundraising for the Steven Carrington Foundation. That, evidently, Fallon didn't think she could mess up. And to be entirely fair, Kirby had to admit that if anybody knew how to plan a party, it was her.
However, Fallon had always been an assistant-wanting kind of girl, and this time it was Kirby that wanted something to do. Now that she and Fallon were sort of friends, it seemed like the right time to both offer and beg to help. Beg, that is, when Fallon said she wanted to do it on her own. All things considered, the woman definitely could. But Kirby had done lesser jobs than being someone's assistant, and Fallon had eventually decided to give her a shot.
For now.
When a knock sounded at the door that Friday afternoon, Kirby was sat opposite Fallon on the couches in the living room. It had been weeks, but somehow Kirby still missed the giant Christmas tree that had stood before the windows. In its place sat a pile of boxes, each containing a variety of decorations that they were going to use at Steven's return party. Not that Steven was looking forward to something like that, obviously. He'd gotten into one too many strange scrapes while abroad, but Fallon was adamant that he had to make an appearance to ensure the charitable donors wouldn't direct their funds elsewhere.
Kirby turned her head and leaned forward a little to watch her father answer the front door. But when she saw who it was, her jaw dropped. "Uhhh..."
Fallon didn't respond straight away, instead focused and tapping away on her laptop.
"Um. Fallon?"
"What?"
Kirby looked over at her, but Fallon hadn't lifted her head. "You're going to want to look at the door. Like, now."
Fallon's brow furrowed, but she looked up at Kirby right as Anders stepped forward to speak to her.
"You have a visitor. Shall I tell them you're busy?"
"No, that's alright." Fallon shut her laptop, stood, and turned towards Anders as she brushed down her skirt. But behind him, she saw the most surprising thing she could think of. She cleared her throat quietly. "Excuse me."
Stepping around Anders, Fallon walked towards the front door as calmly as she could. And when she got there, she stepped right through the door, shutting it behind her so Kirby would be less capable of overhearing.
"Liam, what are you doing here?"
"I think you're right about Culhane."
Fallon turned her head slightly, taken aback. "I don't know what you mean," she lied, feeling quite sure that she hadn't told him enough to give him an inkling as to what she meant.
"I.. I overheard your argument with him," Liam explained. His apologetic look only deepened as she crossed her arms. "Look, I'm sorry, all right? But he called Ada today."
Fallon closed her eyes as a sudden sigh escaped. "Of course he did." In truth, she was a little more impressed with his willingness to be sneaky than she was annoyed with him. "And I'm assuming you know that because of your new eavesdropping hobby?"
"The second time wasn't intentional. I was walking past and he was talking to her."
Even though it proved to some extent that she was right, Fallon was struggling to understand why Liam was actually standing in front of her. "So.. You came to warn me or something?"
Liam shrugged, but shook his head slightly. "Not exactly. You know him better than anyone, Fallon." Her skeptical expression made him backtrack. "Well, better than me. And I know you're usually the one with the plans, but I had an idea. One that I think could help protect both of our families."
"You're getting really on board with this whole family business thing, aren't you? What happened to your manuscript? What happened to the crazy family you changed your name to avoid?"
They fell into a momentarily stony silence, standing off in the doorway. Until Liam shook his head, muttering a, "never mind," before turning away to head towards his car. And that was enough for Fallon to rush forward, catching his arm. They both froze until she tore her hand away, trying to pretend she wasn't actually blushing.
"Just... I'm sorry. Okay? As usual," she muttered, feeling entirely unlike herself. It wasn't fair at all that he could affect her like this now, when she used to have everything together. Clearly he was right. She had changed. So maybe that meant it was time for her to repay him for everything he'd done. "What's your plan?"
He took a breath, seemingly needing a moment to convince himself that his idea was the right one. But then he looked her in the eye, deeply serious. "I need you to come back to CA."
Kirby jumped back from the door when Fallon opened it several minutes later. Liam was driving off as Fallon stepped inside, stopping short to stare at Kirby. "What are you doing?"
Kirby frowned at her. "Are you kidding? You think I wouldn't try to listen in when he shows up? What's going on?"
"Nothing, really," Fallon replied. But even Kirby could read that one as a lie.
"Yeah, right. He wouldn't have driven over here for nothing." A guess came to mind and she gasped almost too loudly. "Did the stuff at the resort actually work?" If it had, Kirby was going to forever lord that over everybody's heads. But based on the grimace she received, she realized that wasn't the answer. "Fine. Then, what?"
The brunette shifted her weight, but shrugged. "He offered me a job. So I guess that means I won't have as much time to help with the foundation."
"It's a good thing you've got a killer assistant, then," Kirby chirped, pretending to be distracted despite already scheming ways to get her new friend to tell her more. When it came to Liam, it was clear that Fallon couldn't quite keep her head on straight. So presumably, Kirby would find out sooner or later. It was best not to make Fallon angry with her before that happened.
"Yes, well... We'll see. If this masquerade is a disaster, don't think I'm going to take the fall for it if I also have to be in the office all day."
"Don't worry, Fallon! Don't forget, I've been to loads of parties, too. Even ones thrown by you and your family. I know what's expected." Kirby reached out, taking hold of Fallon's upper arms. "You just focus on Liam. And let me know if you need more scheming. I'm sure I could get Sam on board."
Fallon stepped back, holding up a hand to force Kirby to let go of her. "Okay... Well, let's not tell anybody about the job just yet. I'm not sure how it's gonna go."
Kirby shrugged, happy enough to be on the inside of whatever this new adventure was going to entail. But then Fallon was stepping around her and returning to the couch, so Kirby scurried after her to assist with details on the meal for their party.