Chapter 19: The scholarship

"You're sure Juliette hasn't ratted us out?" Dani asked Nico as they once again sat on the sofa in the small private plane four days later. Dani was sitting in her new favorite position: sideways on the couch with her legs on Nico's lap and her head resting against his shoulder. This way she could see his eyes, kiss him and enjoy the way he was running his hand up and down her legs, while the other arm was wrapped around her back; all at the same time.

"Juliette can't rat us out because I haven't told her that you're accompanying me," he replied distractedly. His attention was on her neck and her hair. He had once again ruined her hairdo by taking out all the pins so he could run his fingers through it, while his lips placed random kisses on the exposed skin of her neck. During their first night on the island he had found a particularly sensitive spot right underneath her ear which always made her moan or giggle, depending on the intensity of his attentions.

"I'm a bit scared. I haven't seen Ray Jay since he left," Dani admitted and ran her hand through his hair, stroking it behind his ear and enjoying the feel of the shorter hairs on his neck.

"He'll be happy to see you, I'm sure."

"Does Juliette know about us?"

"Not yet. I thought we'd tell them in person. How did Lindsey react?"

"I only told her we're in Spain together. I want to tell her about the rest when I see her. It wouldn't be a good idea as long as she's with Ray. Who knows what he would say about it."

"You're worried about him?" The thought made Nico lift his head and look at her.

"Not really, but you never know with him. Whenever I think it's done, he pulls some new stunt. First the cheating, then the spousal support and the wish to come back. Then the stalling of the divorce and finally the whole financial mess… I think he will have an opinion on the new man in my life and I am sure we both won't like it."

"What did he say to Matt?"

"He never found out. It wasn't serious enough to open that can of worms."

"What happens if your kids won't like us?" Nico asked and she could see the worry in his eyes.

"Ray Jay lives in Paris which I still don't like, but have to accept. And Lindsey will soon go to College and will probably move out at some point, even if she stays nearby. I think, I have earned the right to be with whom I want to be. And they already know you and I am sure once they really get to know you and see how happy you make me, they won't have a problem with us. And if they do, honestly, tough luck, they just have to suck it up." Dani gave him a reassuring kiss when he still didn't look too convinced. "What about your family? Or Juliette? What will they think?"

"Juliette loves you, so that won't be a problem. As for my family, I honestly have no idea. They don't like me very much, so the most likely scenario is that they will wonder what you're doing with me."

"Then they are idiots," Dani decided and went back to running her fingers through his hair.

"Mr. Careless. Ten minutes to Paris," the pilot let them know through the intercom and they knew they had to get back to their seats and buckle their seatbelts.

This time Nico didn't drive them himself, but they took a cab, because he 'hated the mad traffic in Paris'. Dani laughed about it at first, but once she saw the madness, she understood.

The offices of the Pittman foundation were situated in Montmartre, not too far away from Sacre Coeur. The area looked like a picture on a postcard, but for the moment Dani had no interest in exploring, because she really just wanted to see her son.

"Are you sure he's gonna be there?" Dani asked Nico again as they got out of the car and walked towards the large wooden door of one the old houses.

"I told Juliette, you told me to check on him as well, and that I want to have lunch with them both," Nico explained again, even though he had told her the same thing at least ten times already. "Relax Dani," he added when they were buzzed into the house.

"I just miss him," she said as they started to climb the large old staircase.

"I know you do," Nico replied and gave her hand a squeeze. He held the door open for her when they reached the third floor and greeted the secretary at the reception desk in fluent French. She had just picked up the phone to ring Juliette, when the young woman appeared through a door at the end of the hallway.

"Nico!" she exclaimed happily and hurried towards him, giving him a long hug.

"You're looking well," he told her when she let go of him and he made her step back so he could take a look at her.

"Thank you," she replied with a large smile and noticed Dani then. "Oh my," she exclaimed and yelled "RayJay!" a second later. Another door opened and RayJay stepped out of his office.

"What?" he asked irritated. When he saw his mother standing there the irritation vanished from his face and his eyes widened. "Mom?" he couldn't believe his eyes. Dani just held her arms open, tears already blurring her vision.

"God, I missed you," she said when she finally held her son again, who clung to her just as tightly.

"I missed you, too, mom," he said and Dani thought she could detect tears in his voice. She really didn't want to let him go and held him for a long time. He did not seem to mind. "What are you doing here?" he asked when they finally let go of one another.

"What? Can't a mother visit her runaway son?" she asked and wiped the tears away.

"Of course, you can. I'm glad you're here. You just didn't say anything."

"It was kind of a spur of the moment decision because we were in Europe anyway," Dani shrugged and only then did RayJay notice that his mother hadn't come alone.

"Mr. Careles," he greeted him and shook his hand.

"Nico, please."

"Ok, Nico," RayJay nodded and exchanged a look with Juliette.

"I didn't know you took clients in Europe now, mom," RayJay wondered.

"I'm not. This isn't a business trip," Dani told him and locked eyes with Nico for a second, who stepped closer to her, but didn't touch her. The message was still clear though.

"Oh," RayJay said and his eyes widened comically as he looked from his mother to Nico and back.

"Finally," Juliette exclaimed and hugged Nico again, who only laughed and he held her.

"What are we celebrating?" a voice came from another doorway and Dani couldn't help but flinch when she saw Gabrielle Pittman standing there.

"Sorry, she found out you were coming and invited herself," Juliette told Nico quietly, but Dani still heard it.

"Hello Gabrielle," Nico greeted her like he had expected her. When Dani looked at him closely she was suddenly sure that he had actually expected her to be there.

"Common sense?" she muttered, so only he could hear.

"Something like that," he confirmed with a wink. Gabrielle reached them and kissed Nico on both cheeks before turning to Dani.

"Dr. Santino, what a surprise. I didn't know you would join us."

"Same here," Dani replied as she shook the taller woman's hand.

"Nico, you should have said something about bringing your colleague. We only reserved four seats at Martin's and you know it's basically impossible to add a chair. It is always so packed there," Gabrielle went on, and Dani only shook her head at the excuse. Mrs. Pittman didn't even try to conceal that she didn't want Dani with them at lunch.

When Nico wrapped one arm around her waist and gave her an amused look, Dani knew that she was squinting again. Had they been alone, he would have placed a kiss on her forehead to stop her from doing so. "Not a problem. We can just take the kids and grab something over at the brasserie. The four of us will have dinner tonight and can go crazy then," he told Gabrielle instead and Dani couldn't help but smirk at her as she let her left hand glide into the back pocket of Nico's trousers.

"Sounds great," RayJay nodded before Gabrielle could speak up.

"I'll just get my purse," Juliette hurried off towards her office.

"Is it the brasserie with the Tuna baguettes you have been raving about for days?" Dani turned her attention to Nico.

"Yes," Nico confirmed. "They even beat the bocadillos Augusto made us in Barcelona."

"Ah, come on, now you're exaggerating," Dani shook her head.

"Do I ever lie, doctor?" Nico smirked, clearly flirting with her.

"Lie? No. Exaggerate? Sometimes," Dani grinned, baiting him.

"When have I ever exaggerated?" he protested, but Dani just laughed and pecked his lips.

"Just teasing, you big baby."

"We can leave when you're done," Juliette interrupted their banter with a grin. RayJay looked more curious at their interactions as they all left, while Gabrielle didn't seem amused at all.

It surprised Dani, but lunch was actually nice, even with Gabrielle Pittman there. Once she had got over her hostile behaviour towards Dani, she was actually able to see glimpses of what she thought had once attracted Nico to her. Gabrielle was charming when she wanted to be, witty and what she had to say was never boring. Also, she was a lot more intelligent than Dani had given her credit for after meeting her the last time. This was no typical trophy wife and being one must have been incredibly trying for her. Dani knew that they would never be friends, especially because she didn't trust the other woman, but she still kind of liked her, in a strange, weary way. What a tragic figure, Dani thought while she listened to Gabrielle talking about some fundraiser that had gone wrong.

"You're ok?" Nico asked her quietly and covered her hand with his underneath the table. "You're quiet."

"Yes, I am. Just thinking," she nodded with a small smile and laced her fingers through his.

"About?"

"I'll tell you later," she whispered back, aware of the sudden lull of conversation at their table.

"So, uncle Nico, do I really have to be the adult here and approach the elephant in the room or are you gonna do it?" Juliette asked out of the blue.

"You are an adult, Juliette, even if you sometimes forget. So, go ahead," Nico smiled and didn't seem worried. Dani wondered which elephant Juliette meant, because there was not one in the room, but a whole herd.

"Dr. Dani and you? How long has this been going on?" Juliette didn't shy away from the question and Dani glanced at Gabrielle, who seemed interested in her napkin for a split second.

"Some time," Nico replied, vague as always.

"And what are your intentions?"

"They are none of your business." Dani snorted with laughter when she heard his reply. It was just so Nico.

"If you cheat on her or hurt her, I will kick your butt," RayJay spoke up and surprised both Dani and Nico.

"Deal," Nico said then, even though they all knew RayJay would never stand a chance against Nico. He would have him in a choke hold before Ray Jay knew what hit him.

"Hey mom, how about I show you my apartment before we go back to the office?" Dani exchanged a look with Nico, understanding this as RayJay's wish to talk to her alone. She just needed to make sure that Nico was ok with. He didn't seem offended and gave them both a small smile.

"I'll take our bags to the hotel in the meantime. They're still at the office." Dani gave his hand a squeeze in a silent thank you.

"Ok, then. Just know that if your apartment is nicer than my house, I am moving in," she playfully threatened her son.

"Sure, if you're willing to sleep in the bathtub," RayJay teased her and Dani tussled his hair in revenge.

After RayJay had shown her everything there was to see in his one room apartment, Dani sat down on the small couch and patted the spot beside her. She knew there was something he wanted to say but so far he had chattered away about every but.

"Spill it," she encouraged him. "You know you can talk to me." RayJay remained silent. "Is it about my relationship with Nico?" She hadn't really been worried about it, but now that her son acted so strange, she started to worry.

"No," he shook his head. "I mean, part of it is, but…" he took a deep breath. "I want to come home, mom," he finally let the cat out of the bag. "Going to Paris was the right decision and I learned a lot here." He stopped again. "I know now what I want to do with my life and I want to go to College. I saved some money while working here, but it won't be enough to pay the tuition and for an apartment. Juliette offered to give me the money, but I don't want that. I know that you have Lindsey to worry about and dad being dad, he won't pay for anything, especially with you now working for V3."

"I don't know if that job is still there when I get back. There have been some things going on at V3 that led to the arrest of my boss. I am not sure V3 New York will survive the scandal," Dani told him honestly.

"Oh," RayJay was silent for a moment, then started talking again. "I'm sorry for you mom. I know you loved that job."

"It'll be ok." Dani assured him.

"As for my college money… Juliette also told me that the Pittman group offers scholarships for the kids of their employees. I know that technically you're not working for them anymore, but Juliette said that she would write me a letter of recommendation and of maybe Nico could talk to them…" he trailed off.

Dani didn't really know how to react. Before, she would have simply agreed to talk to Nico. However now that she knew that Nico basically owned the Pittman group, she wasn't really sure what to do. She knew that the second she would bring it up, Nico would simply hand over the money, which was completely unacceptable. Still, this was her son and he wanted to come home. "I'll talk to him," she said finally. "But even if it won't work with the scholarship you can always come home. We'll find a way, RayJay. It might not be the easiest way, but we'll get you two troublemakers through college somehow, ok?"

"Thank you, mom," he seemed relieved and hugged her again. "And now we should go back, before Gabrielle pulls some crazy shit again," he said once he pulled back.

"Language," Dani couldn't help but lecture.

"Sorry, but she is driving us all crazy. You never know what you get with her. One time I'm pretty sure she tried to seduce me, when she thought me and Juliette were a couple. Then, when she found out we weren't, she treated me like a servant. Last week, I am sure she was high when she came to the office and just yesterday she poured a whole bottle of whiskey over a client's head. Completely nuts, I'm telling you!" he ranted. "And who has to clean up her messes? Me," he huffed.

"So, she might play a part in you wanting to come home?" Dani asked.

"Yeah. If I have to work with her any longer I might just lose it," he confirmed.

"Remind me to buy her a large and expensive new bottle of whiskey," Dani grinned and placed a noisy kiss on her son's cheek.

"Nico?" Dani asked quietly when they lay in bed that night. She wasn't sure if he was already asleep, because his chest was moving slowly up and down against her cheek and his hands had stopped playing with her hair a while ago.

"Mmh?"

"I need to talk to you about something," she admitted, her voice still barely above a whisper.

"Aaah, I was wondering when it would burst out of you," he laughed quietly and sounded suspiciously awake all of a sudden.

"You knew I needed to talk." She closed her eyes in resignation. "Of course, you did."

"Ever since you got back from RayJay's apartment," he confirmed. "What is it?"

Dani opened her mouth a couple of times, but then decided that she couldn't talk about it while she was lying in Nico's arms in the dark bedroom. It felt wrong somehow. She leaned over and switched on the lamp on the bedside table, before untangling from him and sitting crosslegged on the bed. Nico blinked against the light, but then pushed himself up in a sitting position, an amused look on his face.

"You don't seem worried," Dani observed.

"If it was something really serious you'd have taken me aside as soon as you came back," he shrugged.

"It's not really serious, but more uncomfortable. And I need you to promise me that you will let me finish and not do anything on your own, ok?"

"Now, you're starting to worry me," he commented and sighed when she threw him a look. "Fine, I promise."

"RayJay wants to come back home and go to College. He knows that there is no way I can afford to send both him and Lindsey off to some fancy school, so he saved some money, but knows that it's still not enough. Juliette told him that there's a scholarship program offered by the Pittman group and he wants to apply."

"It is only for the kids of employees and you're no longer working there," Nico pointed out, knowing she would want the honesty, even if she didn't like the content.

"I know and so does he. Juliette offered to write him a letter of recommendation as he is actually an employee of the Pittman group and he wanted me to ask you to put in a good word for him," she finished.

"Ok, do you want me to pretend that I don't own the Pittman group and just say yes, or do you want the truth?" he asked her.

"The truth, please," she decided, but wasn't too sure about it.

"The Pittman scholarship is for the children of employees, not for the employees themselves. We have in house training opportunities for that, but they don't include a full ride to College. Also, they are only for the kids of employees who make less than 60.000 a year. While you were working at the Hawks, you made more, so even then he wouldn't have qualified. Especially because your ex-husband also makes a lot more, leaving aside the fact that he cheated on taxes because he's an idiot." Nico stated. "So, sadly there is no way he will get the scholarship by the Pittman group, no matter how many letters Juliette writes him. To be quite honest, it might do him more harm than good."

"Oh, ok," Dani said disappointedly. She knew she wanted the truth, but it was still hard to hear that RayJay wouldn't be able to go to a good school, even though he had come around.

"There is another way, however," Nico let her know and covered both of her hands with one of his in her lap.

"You are not paying for his college," she shook her head, knowing immediately what he was getting at.

"Who would have paid for his scholarship?" he asked her.

"The Pittman group," she replied stubbornly, already knowing where this was going.

"And who owns the Pittman group?"

"You," she said, "but this is different! How would I explain to RayJay that after a week of dating my boyfriend is paying for his College?"

"By telling him the truth?" Nico shrugged.

"Nico, you know I honour honesty and I don't ever want to lie to my kids. But telling them how loaded you are would do more harm than good at this point."

He nodded, understanding what she was saying. "Then how about this: You let him apply for the scholarship and I will come up with some new scholarship, he will actually be eligible for. There will be some requirements as well, and he can choose if he wants to take it or not. That way the Pittman group will still pay for his school, he gets an official scholarship and we get to keep the secret of the ownership of my company," he offered. "Also, maybe it's not a bad idea to have this new scholarship. There might be other families in my company facing the same obstacles," he mused. Dani could see that he was already mapping out the scholarship and the steps to take to put his plan into action. She was sure that even if she refused this opportunity for RayJay, he would still set his plan in motion for others.

"So, Mr. Careles, what are some of the requirements you are thinking about?" she asked him, leaning forward and lying down on top of him.

"Oh, you know, the usual," he shrugged and let his hands glide up her things and underneath her nightgown. "They have to work hard, do internships at the different offices of the company and one chosen mother gets to seduce the boss," he smiled.

"Seduce the boss, huh? When have I ever done that?" she played innocent, her lips hovering over his.

"All the time, Dani, all the time," he replied and she decided to do just that.

TBC