Chapter seven – The date

At the elevator, Lucas asks. "Will the make up survive a kiss?"

"Yes it will, fiancee, gently."

Lucas places his hands on her hips and pulls her close, for a delicate kiss in her mouth. "I love elevators." and, after a pause. "I'm dying to take the power couple thing for a spin."

"Me too, broody." She smiles to herself. "I think I am going to enjoy this too."

"The limo ride is short, so let me run this by you quick. You will spend most of the night by my side. I will introduce you to a hundred people, but there are three people I want to leave with an impression, an older spanish gentleman, a younger brit and a middle aged woman. I will make it clear to you who they are. The guys will probably have women with them, and I want you to distract them. Just give them your usual broody charm, full on, that should leave them swooning. The woman is a bit more complicated, we will have to see how she reacts to you, so the game plan is be nice, but a bit aloof. My biggest problem in this town is to be taken seriously. Everybody thinks I am too young to run a major clothing line, and I have to work hard to convince that this gorgeous nineteen year old has something substantial between her ears. Afterwards, we will go for Lindsay and follow her lead. Then we can just have some discreet fun on the dance floor. Oh, some of my best friends on the circuit are models. They are going to come at you like a pack of hyenas. Treat them kindly, please." Brooke looks at him and sighs. "It had to be you, Lucas. Where else would I find a boy I felt I could trust with a bunch of Victoria's Secret angels?"

Lucas smiles. "No one else for me, pretty girl, ever."

She blinks. "None of that, fiancee. Let's try to avoid spoiling my mascara."

The limo drops them straight into the red carpet. There's a crowd of people behind a rope, and photographers. The crowd is in a good mood, someone yells "Hey, it's Brooke Davis, from Clothes over Bros.". Brooke smiles, twirls around, and flirts with the crowd. Lucas smiles. He whispers in her year. "You were born for this, pretty girl."

When they pose together, the inevitable question arrives. "Who is he, Brooke?" Brooke turns to the crowd of reporters and photographers and introduces Lucas with a wide smile. "This is Lucas Scott. Up and coming novelist, college basketball coach and an old flame from high school." Lucas smiles and plays the crowd. Someone asks "Are you two together?" Lucas and Brooke give a slow look at each other and smile, but ignore the question, leaving the reporters in a frenzy, as they head into the ballroom.

Brooke knows most people in the room, and she introduces Lucas to quite a few of them. Most are in fashion, quite a few are gorgeous and well dressed, but even in this crowd, Brooke stands out quite easily. Even in a crowd that includes several supermodels, her beauty and poise stand out. But that's not it. It's mostly her incredible energy that pulls people in. That magnetic quality she already had in high school, which somehow became more focused, disciplined and intense. Lucas is happy to just stand back a bit and enjoy watching her working the room. If he wasn't already completely head over heels in love with her, just seeing her now would do it all over again. He pulls her close and speaks in her ear. "I love you, pretty girl. So much it freaks me out." That earns him a million dollar smile and a kiss in the cheek.

Brooke stops near to a portly gentleman in his fifties, accompanied by a pretty brunette, a bit younger.. Time to earn his keep. "This is senor Manuel Aranda and his wife Mercedes. Senor Aranda owns a chain of stores in France and Spain. This is Lucas Scott, novelist, basketball coach and a dear friend."

As Brooke starts weaving her magic with senor Aranda, Lucas turns to senora Aranda, looking into her eyes and smiling, and she smiles back. She reminds him a bit of his mother, sweetness and strength, but with happier eyes. "Do you have children, senora Aranda?"

"Call me Mercedes, dear boy. Yes, two boys, both older than you. My eldest, Marco, produces wine in the hills of Andalucia, and my youngest, Antonio, is somewhere in Africa, digging wells in poor villages somewhere." Her eyes brighten at the mention of her boys, specially Antonio, I suspect.

I touch her arm softly. "You must miss them very much, specially Antonio, I guess. He must make you very proud, but it guess it is very hard to have a son in harm's way like that."

She looks a little sad. "Yes, of course dear. What about you, are you close to your parents?"

"I was raised by my mother. My father abandoned us when she got pregnant as a teenager. She is an incredible woman, strong and very kind. She got married recently, and she is living with her new husband and my baby sister on a yacht, I think somewhere on the Mediterranean. She is a pretty brunette, like you and my friend Brooke. You remind me of her a bit."

"Thank you. I can hardly think I deserve that compliment. What about this beautiful girl by your side? You love her very much."

I laugh. "Is it that obvious?"

"To a mother of two boys, yes. Unfortunately, neither of my boys have found true love yet. I hope she is kind to you."

"I don't really deserve her, Mercedes. She has the biggest heart I know, and I haven't always been true to her. Now, I just wish I can spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

She puts her hand in my face and gives me a kiss in the cheek. "That sounds like a very good plan. She said you are a novelist and a basketball coach. How old are you? "

"Nineteen. I'll be twenty in a month."

She laughs. "Very accomplished for one so young."

It's my turn to laugh. "She is the same age, and she is a famous designer, creator and owner of a well-known clothing line. I'm just trying to keep up."

"The two of you are going to change the world. I can just see it. Is your novel already published?"

"I'm working on the revisions. It should be done in a few months. Can I send you a copy? It's a bit autobiographical, and our story is a central part of the plot."

"I would love to read it, dear. And I'll keep an eye on you two. I hope to see you again. Maybe if you come to Spain, you can come with us to visit the winery."

"I would love that." This time, I give her a kiss in the cheek. "It was very nice to meet you, Mercedes."

By then, Brooke was done with senor Aranda, and was watching Lucas with senora Aranda.

"I am hoping for a contract to sell Clothes over Bros in senor Aranda's chain. I think you did my job for me. From what I understood, she is the decision maker, and you totally charmed her. Good job, broody."

"She charmed me too. She reminded me a bit of my mother. And, by the way, we are invited to spend some time in their winery is Spain."

Brooke looks at me and laughs. "I fell for your charming ways at sixteen, Luke, and I am used to you. I don't think I fully realized until now the effect your broody ways have in other women. We make a formidable team, my love, and we are only getting started."

"As you know, anything for you. But if you keep calling me "my love", I'll probably be just following you around the rest of the night like a puppy..."

"You will get used to it, my love. By the way, it freaks me out too."

The brit was the owner of an exclusive modeling agency that Brooke was intending to use. He was a handsome man in his mid thirties and completely taken by Brooke. His companion was a thin, very pretty blonde in her early twenties, looking a bit high strung. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Katya. I am from the Czech Republic."

"You speak very good english. Did you learn it over there?"

"Yes, I attended an american school in Prague. I won an international modeling competition when I was sixteen and moved to the States."

"And do you enjoy modeling?"

"It's a job. I don't know anything else."

"But what do you like doing?"

"She gives me a coy smile. I like boys. You know, with modeling, you cannot eat, you don't really have a home, and you don't have a family. What is left? Boys."

She flirts aggressively with Lucas, but her huge blue eyes seem dead and empty, which touches Lucas heart. He gently holds her arm, "You don't need to be this way, sweety. Look for a good boy, give him your heart."

"There are no good boys."

"You are probably not looking in the right places. Don't give up." He steals a sideways glance to Brooke. "It's never too late."

She turns around, an angry look in her pretty face. "You are wrong, Lucas, all boys are the same."

Lucas sighs. "Bye, Katya."

"I can't do business with this guy."

"He hates women."

Brooke startles. "Yes. How do you know?"

"The girl with him, Katya, she is dead inside. A decent man couldn't keep her around for long."

"There is a lot of girls like that in this business. The fashion industry just uses up pretty, skinny little girls like her, and throws them away when they are not quite as pretty anymore."

"Are there any charities, or organizations, that help protect models, or other employees of the fashion industry from this kind of victimization?"

"I don't think so, but that is not a bad idea. One girl that is very close to my heart, which has suffered a lot with this is Rachel. I try to keep an eye on her, but she has been popping pills, and I don't know what else to do to help her. I had hoped that Mouth would do for her what you did for me, teach her to love herself. Unfortunately, it never really worked out."

"You only needed a nudge."

"No my love. I needed to fall for a guy who saw me as a person, not just an easy lay. You cheated on me, broke my heart, but even when you didn't know me at all, when I got naked in the back of your jeep, you never treated me like a slut. You saw bravery and a big heart where everybody saw a brainless nothing. You saved me. I owe you myself, broody, and I will gladly spend the rest of my life thanking you for it, and also Karen and Keith, for raising you to be the man you are.",

Fortunately, Lucas didn't use make up, so Brooke was the only one to see the single tear rolling down his face.

"This is Pamela Roselli, senior fashion editor for Vogue. Lucas Scott, novelist, basketball coach and an old friend." This was a sharp faced woman in her early forties, tall, short platinum blonde hair, very elegant and poised. She looked at Brooke with a patronizing air that rubbed Lucas the wrong way. Lucas stretched to full the full advantage of his six feet, and gave Ms. Roselli a serious penetrating stare eye to eye. He tried to channel Whitey.

"Hello, Ms. Roselli. It is a pleasure to meet you. This is a very nice party, which I understand your magazine is the host. I really know very little about the fashion world. What is the occasion?"

Lucas has a very imposing physical presence, and with the authority of a full year of college level coaching in his voice, he makes Ms. Roselli lose a bit of her poise and forget his youth. Brooke just stares at the sudden change in her usually sweet, unassuming fiancee. She thinks to herself that her boy is getting lucky the moment she can lay her hands on him.

"Hi Lucas, you can call me Pamela. Every year Vogue and a couple other fashion publications choose a couple of personalities from the fashion world to honor, and Vogue does a special profile piece. This year we are honoring designers Micheal Kors and Kate Spade."

"I remember buying Brooke a Kors handbag for her birthday when we were in high school." Lucas gives a broad smile and places his hand across Brooke's shoulders, pulling her in. "It went very well, as I recall. But I have no idea who Kate Spade is."

Brooke replies. "A Kate Spade handbag would have gone just as well, love, but set you back a bit less. While Kors is trendy, she is known for sensible and stylish. Our accessory line at Clothes over Bros certainly owes some of its inspiration to her."

Pamela frowns, looking at Brooke a little differently. "You see Clothes over Bros as following a mid market comfort with style design philosophy, Brooke?"

"I started the line three years ago, aiming at teenagers and young adults, looking for an informal, sexy style that I was not finding in the existing lines. Somehow, at the time, the teen and young adult lines had lost themselves in niche marketing, loosing its mainstream appeal. Given my market niche, I couldn't go for trendy, so borrowing inspiration from midmarket designers like Kate and recasting it for a younger crowd seemed appropriate. Of course, since then we have expanded to a much broader audience, keeping the informal and sexy direction, while the more traditional teenager lines reinvented themselves following the Clothes over Bros direction."

"I see. I certainly didn't realize Clothes over Bros had quietly led a market realignment from the teen and young adult segment. Looking back, I think you are exactly right. You began moving the teen designing away from niche, and a season or two later, the other lines were following you. Very nice. I may actually write a piece expanding this observation of yours. Let me pitch this to the staff and I'll get back to you, maybe do an interview piece. It was very nice meeting you, Lucas, and nice seeing you, Brooke."

After she left, Brooke pulled Lucas to one side and whispered.

"Oh my god, broody! You are so getting lucky tonight! Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get that bitch to take me seriously? Thank you, thank you."

"It was all you, my love. I may have kicked in the door, but the amazing competence is all you."

"I should put you on the payroll. Between the spaniards and Pamela, you probably made me at least a million in sales and marketing tonight."

"Glad to be useful, my love. Hm, I am beginning to really like this "my love" thing. By the way, I think I have to drop the "cheerie" nickname. I don't think it fits you anymore."

Brooke pouts. "I'm not sure I like that, but you may be right. I think I changed my cheerie into something else. You're still broody though, at least for now. Shall we look for Lindsay?"

"Let's first stop by the reception here and see if they have a room for tonight. I heard a rumor about someone getting lucky..."

After they picked up their room key, they went back to the ballroom to look for Lindsay, and quickly found her and her father Sean standing a bit away from the crowd.

"Hi Lindsay, Sean, this is Brooke Davis, fashion designer, owner of Clothes over Bros and my date for tonight. These are Lindsay Strauss, my editor and Sean Strauss, her father and owner of the publishing company."

Both Lindsay and Sean take a moment to stare at my secret fiancee. Sean gives Brooke a broad smile. "So you are Brooke Davis. I knew you were gorgeous from the book, but words cannot really do you justice. And you were supposed to change the world. I think Lucas got that one right. Your fashion line is one hell of an achievement."

Brooke beams at Sean, utterly charmed. "Thank you Mr. Strauss. I understand your publishing company was also something you build yourself. I am a designer, not a business manager, and I could probably learn a lot from you." Brooke pulls Sean a bit to the side, as they discuss the issues of running your own multimilion dollar company. I pull Lindsay to my side, as she is looking a little lost.

"Hi Linds. You are looking fabulous today."

She takes another look at Brooke and visibly wilts a bit.

"Thanks Luke. You are looking incredible. My god, Luke, you know I like you. But who can compete with that? You have this incredible romantic history with that stunning girl. Be honest Luke, I know you broke up with Peyton less than two weeks ago. Are you with Brooke now?"

"Yes, just for a couple of days now. Sorry. We are keeping it quiet, for a reason which I'll explain in a bit."

"You have nothing to apologize. It's actually pretty incredible, given your story with these girls. I am happy for you, Luke. I hope it works out."

"The reason for discretion is that Peyton is in New York, actually babysitting Jamie tonight, Nathan and Haley's son at Brooke's penthouse. I've been staying there since Wednesday."

Lindsay starts laughing. "It's incredible. You brought Tree Hill to New York City. Your ex-girlfriend is babysitting your nephew while you go on a date with your ex-ex and current girlfriend, which happens to be your ex-girlfriends best friend, and you are all staying at ex-ex and current girlfriend's place for the last couple of days. You certainly lead an interesting life, Lucas Scott."

"We are going on a picnic on Central Park tomorrow morning. Would you like to join us? That way, you get to meet Peyton and Jamie too. Next week I'll fill you in on the whole background of this slightly screwy situation, which may very well serve as plotline for my next novel." At that Lindsay perks up. "Ah, that caught your interest. Come by half past ten to the penthouse." He gives her the address.

"I'll be there. Thanks for inviting me Luke. There are a couple of people I'd like you to meet..."

Searching for Brooke, Lucas finally spots her with a group of five models. He recognizes a couple of the girls from Victoria's Secret ads, and the others are just as beautiful. Lucas just watches from a distance, realizing that in that circle of girls, Brooke and five supermodels, she still stands out. He approaches the group, standing behind Brooke with a hand in her shoulder. Brooke notices him, and introduces the girls by name, which he immediately forgets, and introduces him to the girls just as her date. The girls ask Brooke where she found him, if he a model or an actor, or a professional athlete. They flirt with him mercilessly, and Lucas flirts right back. One of them, a blonde with short hair and gorgeous green eyes catches his attention, as she seems a to be hiding something. He pulls her aside and holds one of her hands.

"What is it, sweetie? What is wrong?" The girl starts crying, and Lucas hugs her. "It's going to be OK, sweetie, you'll be fine." Lucas lifts his head and looks at Brooke, hoping for some help, but Brooke just looks back at him, smiling kindly. Suddenly, the girl gets out of his embrace, mumbles something about going to the lady's room and leaves. Brooke whispers something at one of the other girls, who follows her. Lucas just looks at Brooke, waiting for an explanation.

"Your protective instincts are impeccable, broody. That girl is Zoe. She is fourteen years old, making a high six figures income. She is sexually active, a coke and sleeping pill junkie, and, well, she hasn't seen her family in months. You're probably the first man to be kind to her in quite a while, and that was perhaps a bit too much for her." Lucas looks very angry in the direction the girl disappeared.

"Can we call child protective services?"

Brooke sighs. "It doesn't help much, broody. They come, they place her with a foster family or a group home. She goes into withdrawal, gets abusive and mean, and then gets shuffled around. Meanwhile her parents, who have been living high on their little girl's money, get some high priced attorney to take her back and start the cash flowing again. All with the help of her agency, which was supposed to protect her in the first place. It's all abuse, and Zoe, like many others, has nobody in her corner, except me and some of the older models, and there is only so much we can do. You made me think about starting some kind of organization to protect and support girls like Zoe, but I would like you to be involved in it somehow, maybe even run it. Channel some of your knight in shining armor instincts into it. What do you think?"

"I'd love to help, although I don't really know how, or when I'll be able to do it."

"We're nineteen, Luke. There will be plenty of time for us and our projects. Right now, let's get out of here. I really, really need you inside me."