Thank you to the 5 that reviewed the first chapter and to those who've added this to their alert list! Here's the second chapter where Logan and Rory actually meet for the first time.
As per usual, not mine, and let me know what you think at the end!
Rory hated planning fundraisers, but she got the biggest thrill of success when they came together like this one had. Within the week, she and Honour, with help from Huntzberger Media, had managed to put together a magical night of Alice in Wonderland-themed beauty. The suggestion had actually come from some of the children of the foundation, some of whom were milling around with their parents and the guests. Rory hated having the children there just to play to the emotions of those who would possibly donate money, but knew it was a good tactic to use.
"Rory? I'm going to go with Melissa to see the fountains in the courtyard, okay?"
Rory looked down into Sophie's grey eyes and smiled. "Of course, sweetheart. I'll get you some punch for when you get back, okay?" She grinned as Sophie nodded and she made her way to the punch bowl at once side of the room. Pouring the punch she took a moment to look around.
The place was packed and Rory had to hand it to Honour, she certainly knew how to plan a society fundraiser. Brought up by her rich parents but removed from high society, Rory would have been in a bind to plan something like this without a hitch. Honour, however, managed to do it with grace and patience Rory wasn't aware the woman possessed.
She looked down at the cup in her hand and sipped at it, sighing as the taste burned through her mouth. She could vividly remember Honour threatening bodily harm to the catering staff if anything happened to the punch. It was supposed to be reserved for the children. She set the cup down in disgust.
"Something wrong with the punch?"
Rory spun, meeting the chocolate eyes of the blond man that had addressed her. "The alcohol," she answered bluntly, though with a smile. To her surprise the man sighed in resignation.
"I told Honour not to invite Finn and I told him no spiking the punch. I apologize."
Instead of jumping down his throat and inquiring who she had to kill, Rory chuckled. "I don't think it would be a good idea to tell Honour. Unless you're feeling chivalrous enough to save the catering staff a verbal lashing."
He laughed with her. "You know Honour well."
Rory shrugged. "She's my business partner. By this point I would hope so." She couldn't help but feel a thrill of satisfaction as surprise flitted over his admittedly handsome features.
"You're Lorelai Hayden."
It was a statement, but Rory nodded anyway. "The one and only."
He looked over her form leisurely. "Indeed. Honour speaks very highly of you. Calls you the brains behind the foundation."
Rory blushed pink and resisted the shudder she could feel in her skin, both at his visual appraisal and verbal compliment. "She can and has been known to exaggerate."
He laughed heartily. "You've got her pegged."
"How do you know her?" Rory asked curiously. Something about the man hit her as familiar and she couldn't put her finger on what.
"She's my sister."
Logan had been watching her all night. She played a wonderful society woman, expertly manoeuvring her way around the others in the room, talking politely, and always with a smile. He was surprised to find out she was the Lorelai Hayden that had been avoiding him for ages. If he had known she was this beautiful he would have made more of an effort to meet her.
They'd said few words to each other, yet Logan could still tell this one was different. Most of the women here were superficial with very little intelligence they were willing to show. Lorelai Hayden, on the other hand, didn't seem to play to society the same way the others did. And apparently, had very little clue as to who he was. It was refreshing, to say the least.
For all of thirty seconds after she had asked him how he knew Honour he had entertained concocting a lie to feed her. Then, before he could really register what he was saying, his mouth was spitting out the truth. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by Honour – quite the opposite, actually, he was insanely proud of her accomplishments – but something about the woman in front of him screamed that his normal charm wouldn't work.
"Your sister?"
Logan nodded.
"You're Logan."
He almost laughed. She'd essentially repeated to him what he'd said earlier, complete with surprise and that slight hint of curiosity.
"I never wanted to meet you."
That shocked him almost as much as his own blunt honesty about his relationship to Honour. "You didn't?"
She shook her head. "Sorry, but no," she answered, sounding less than apologetic. "I've heard stories from Honour…"
"You said it yourself, Miss Hayden. Honour can and has been known to exaggerate." She snorted in amusement and Logan found himself captivated by the sparkle in her bluer than blue eyes.
"So you're aren't a cocky, egotistical, womanizing ass?"
The sugary sweetness in her voice had him grinning despite himself and the harsh words. "Every rumour has a shred of truth to it," he admitted, floored by her blunt honesty. "That doesn't mean it hasn't been blown epically out of proportion."
He wanted to slap himself because of this sudden need for straight honesty. It bothered him that Honour had been spreading rumours about his love and sex life to her business partner. Granted, this woman was Honour's absolutely gorgeous business partner that Logan knew he technically had no right in being anything beyond friends with. For the first time in his life, Logan was not only offended that someone knew of his reputation but felt marginally ashamed by it.
"I must admit, I am surprised to find you all by yourself, without the harem."
Logan snorted. "And have Honour breathe down my neck, not to mention my parents? No thanks. I wasn't in the mood to die tonight."
Rory let out a bark of laughter before regaining her composure. She met his eyes dead on. "So I'm going to skip through the pleasant small talk and jump right to the big questions," she said, her eyes shining with guarded curiosity. "This fundraiser, this sponsoring thing, was it just a way to get Honour to agree to letting you do your news arc?"
"Sponsoring was Honour's suggestion," he responded. "I called to ask if I could do the article and she mentioned Colin had dropped out at the last minute because of his father. She was the one that suggested I sponsor this in return for allowing access to the foundation's children." He could tell she was shocked by this revelation.
"She requested it?" she asked, snagging a champagne flute from a passing waiter.
"She proposed the idea."
Rory was going to have to add Honour to the list of people she was going to kill, along with the catering staff and quite possibly the Finn character Logan had referred to earlier. Making a deal like Honour had with her brother – and that relationship between them aside – undermined the majority of the confidentiality agreements with the families of the children they helped. Not to mention the fact that Honour had gone and said yes without talking to Rory and knowing Rory was uncomfortable with the situation.
She took a moment to both formulate a reply and take in the man in front of her. She'd expected Logan to try and charm her, to flirt with her and attempt to get her into his bed. Honour had painted her brother to be a sly Casanova, but he seemed much different than she expected. He hadn't made a direct pass at her once and seemed to have a brain between his ears.
"If its okay with you, I'd like to pick your brain about what exactly you're planning for this article."
Logan made a show of looking around. "Here? Now?"
"No," Rory decided. "If I have to play nice with the politicians and society elite, I don't want to have to talk any more business than necessary."
He laughed. "Understandable. If one more person asks me how the business is going and what paper we're looking to acquire next I might be forced to throttle them."
Rory grinned, thankful someone else shared her annoyance with too much stuffy business talk.
"Honour tells me you have an unhealthy addiction to coffee. Why don't we sit down on Monday morning and discuss my plans over breakfast? I'll even let you, as the coffee connoisseur, pick the place."
Rory's grin, if possible, widened, knowing there was no way she would be able to turn down coffee. "You have yourself a deal Huntzberger." She felt herself blush at the grin he responded with.
"Hand me your phone." At her confused look he continued, "Communication is key to any business arrangement."
Rory laughed in understanding and handed over her phone in exchange for his. They passed the devices back wordlessly when they were done. "9:30 sound good? I think Honour and I have a lunch meeting about a patient in Miami, so that should give us plenty of time."
Logan nodded and Rory knew he was doing calculations in his head. "I'll call you around 9 and we'll finalize location?"
"Sounds reasonable. Now, if you'll excuse me, my business partner seems to have been cornered. I look forward to your call, Mr Huntzberger," she said with a grin. Then, with a polite 'excuse me' she headed for Honour.
Rory had just situated herself in her large office in the foundation's New York headquarters when her cell phone rang cheerfully. She groaned as she checked the caller ID. Honour usually knew better than to call her before her morning coffee.
"This had better be good. Benny broke down this morning."
"The poor coffee maker! I'll buy you a new one," Honour responded easily. "Are you in the office yet?"
"Just sat down. I should be leaving in about half an hour though for coffee."
"You can wait that long?"
"I'm going to talk to your brother about his article over coffee. I figure I can probably manipulate him into buying at least my first cup."
Honour was silent for a minute. "You and he looked rather chummy at the benefit on Saturday."
Rory rolled her eyes. "We talked for five minutes, Honour. I wanted to pick his brain about the article so he suggested coffee, that's all."
"Just be careful."
"We're barely even friends!" Rory defended. "He wasn't even the egotistical ass you made him out to be."
"He didn't flirt with you?"
"Didn't even hit on me once. It is possible for men and women to not flirt."
"He always flirts with hot girls and you, my dear, are drop dead gorgeous."
Rory blushed. She didn't usually take compliments that well. "That deserves a thank you… I think? Anyway, he's supposed to be calling so I can let him know where to meet me."
"Sure, you do. I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be late. Apparently there's some sort of crisis at home and my mother needs me immediately. You know Shira."
Rory laughed lightly. "Of her, of course I do. Okay, I won't look for you until this afternoon. Are you still going to make it for the meeting with the board about taking on that Miami kid?"
Honour groaned. "I'll try. I'll call if I won't be able to make it. Oh, and did you ask your mom about taking Sophie for a weekend so we can head to the Vineyard and relax for a change?"
"I'll call her later today and ask," Rory promised. "Now I really need to get off the phone."
Honour laughed. "Impatient much. Okay, I'll see you later."
"Bye Honour." She was just settling back in her seat after starting up her computer when the phone rang again. She glanced at the ID. Master and commander? "Hello?"
"I'm looking for Lorelai Hayden?"
"Logan?"
"Good morning."
Rory suddenly laughed. "Master and commander?" she questioned in amusement. Her grin grew as she heard him laugh on the other end.
"Rather appropriate, don't you think?" he asked, and she could hear the smirk in his voice.
"A little long though and butt-faced miscreant has a better ring to it." She took pleasure in the bark of surprised laughter he emitted.
"Point to you, Ace."
Rory let the nickname slide. "Coffee?"
"That was the deal."
"Has to be close to HQ. Benny broke this morning."
"Benny?"
"My coffee maker. I haven't had a cup yet."
"Poor deprived junkie." The words were said in a voice that conveyed mock seriousness.
"It's a Gilmore Girl Rule, Huntzberger. Thou shalt never stand between a Gilmore Girl and her elixir of life."
Logan laughed. "I'll file that one away."
"It'll do you good if we're going to have to be interacting for you to do this thing of yours. There's a cute little café just around the corner from HQ…"
"I know the one. Honour's always ranting about their cookies."
"They also make a brilliant black coffee. Nowhere close to the calibre of Luke's but unfortunately the world isn't perfect and Luke didn't franchise the diner like my grandfather suggested. I'll see you there?"
"I'll meet you downstairs."
"Logan, the coffee shop's around the corner form the office I don't see the reason for me to wait for you…"
"I'm in the lobby, Ace. Come on, you were the one that said you needed coffee. Get going!"
Rory laughed, snatching up her purse as she headed back towards the elevators. "Okay, okay, I'm gettin' I'm goin'!"
"Huntzberger," Logan answered his phone, only seconds after hanging up with his breakfast buddy.
"Breakfast? Coffee? You're trying to worm your way into her pants!"
"Good morning to you too, Honour."
"Don't play innocent with me, Logan, I know you. Why are you buttering her up?"
"You honestly wouldn't believe me if I told you I just wanted to spend time with her?"
"I'm not stupid. You don't do things like that. What do you want with her?"
Logan sighed. "Look, Honour, she's one of the few women I've met that can carry an actual conversation. So I repeat, is it so bad that I want to spend some time with her?"
"Don't mess with her, Logan. I swear to God if you so much as hit on her once, and you bet I'll hear about it, I'm going to hunt you down and—"
Logan was so thankful to see the elevator doors open on the brunette woman he was waiting for. "I love you too, Honour, but she's here so I have to go. I'll call you later."
He grinned as she approached. "Shall we, Miss Hayden?" he inquired, holding out his arm.
She grinned back, linking her arm with his. "We shall, Mr Huntzberger. On to coffee before I'm forced to do something drastic."
Rory almost fell off her chair from laughing as Logan regaled her with another one of his adventures with his friends. They had been a rowdy bunch. Her father would have been proud and she told him that.
"Your father?" Logan asked intrigued.
"Christopher Hayden," Rory responded.
"Ah. And your mother?" Logan asked. He was surprised at how easy conversation came with her. They hadn't talked about the article yet and here they were, he on his last cup before being forced to switch to decaf and she on what he was sure was her seventh cup.
"Lorelai Gilmore the second," she answered. She noticed Logan's eyes close and he leaned back in his seat. "What?"
"Rory."
"Yes?"
"You're Lorelai Hayden and Rory, my sister's best friend and her business partner."
Rory looked at him strangely. "I thought you knew that," she said.
"I never knew the two were one and the same," Logan revealed. "No wonder Honour yelled at me this morning and told me to stay away from you."
That caught Rory's attention. "I beg your pardon?"
"Honour called when I got off the phone with you. Apparently I need to stay away from you because you're her best friend and she doesn't want to see you hurt." Much to his surprise, Rory laughed.
"I mentioned going to breakfast with you this morning and she jumped down my throat about being careful and you hitting on hot women. She was surprised you didn't hit on me Saturday night."
Logan shrugged. "Honour hears the stories from second-hand sources," he told her. "She loves me, but she doesn't love my lifestyle."
"And what sister would?" Rory asked logically. "But it's not like we're doing anything other than talking. She's jumping the gun and assuming things that aren't true."
"So you aren't attracted to me?"
Rory laughed, thankful for the lightening of the mood. "It's all about the money, Huntzberger. It's always about the money."
He held a hand to his heart. "You sting, Ace."
She shook her head. "Alright, we've chatted long enough. What are your plans with this article?"
Logan sighed, unwilling to let go of the light hearted mood they'd created by avoiding business. He'd been having a lot of fun bantering with her over the course of the meal. "There's a lot of charities out there and this one holds a special place in my heart. I want people to know that there are charities out there that do work for the kids and not just for the publicity, you know?"
Rory was surprised. "You're doing this for the charity?"
Logan nodded. "Catherine's Foundation has helped tonnes of kids since it was first founded and instead of doing a general exposé on the charity I want to focus on the kids and families that the charity's been able to help. Look at it from a different side of the coin, if you will."
"Hence the reason you want to talk to the kids and families, not just us," Rory filled in.
"Right," Logan agreed, impressed with her ability to follow his train of thought. "Don't get me wrong, interviewing you and Honour is going to be a huge part of this, but the charity's really about the kids you help, not about the people who run it."
Rory nodded.
"Catherine's Foundation is one of the charities that does what it says it will," Logan continued, trying to ensure that she saw the benefits of the positive light he was planning on showing the charity in. "With all of the fraudulent charities out there, I'm pretty sure this article is really only going to help you guys by giving you free and positive publicity."
Rory gulped down the last bit of her coffee. "I'm impressed, Mac."
"Mac?"
"M-A-C, master and commander," she supplied. "Ace?"
Logan shrugged. "Smart, witty, quick… you're an Ace, what can I say? And I knew master and commander would stick."
"BFM doesn't make a cool word like Mac," Rory defended.
"Well, Ace? Does the article work for you?" he asked, bringing the conversation back from the tangent they'd created.
Rory thought about it for a minute, twirling the empty coffee cup in her hand. "I'll go along with it so long as you let me or Honour take a look at any articles before they're published. And you have to get written permission from anyone you interview minus Honour and I. There's confidentiality issues at stake here too, Logan."
"I know," he said seriously. They paused for a moment. "You know, it's nice to know there's someone with the same passion for what this charity represents as Honour."
"Our meeting was a fluke," Rory revealed. "We literally ran into each other one day and just started talking. Three years later, with a business degree from Yale in hand, Honour asked me to help her start and run a charity."
"You were at Yale?"
Rory nodded. "Grandparents' legacy and all."
"So was Princeton, if I remember correctly," Logan countered.
Rory nodded, very much aware they'd segued into yet another topic. It had been the general pace of their entire morning. "Yale had the most pros."
"Sorry?"
Rory laughed. "I make pro-con lists for every major decision in my life. And I mean every major decision. Yale had more pros than the rest of the places."
"Emily and Richard must have been proud."
"You know my grandparents?" Rory asked in surprise.
"All of Hartford society knows your grandparents, Ace. They're friends of my parents," he replied with a smile. "It seems you're well-loved."
"By my grandparents?"
Logan shrugged. "By everyone. Honour gushes about your business knowledge all the time and your grandparents… you could do no wrong in their eyes."
Rory blushed. "High praise."
"You make a startling first impression."
"And second impressions?" she asked, only a slight hesitation and worry in her voice.
"Even better," he reassured her. "We're going to have to do this again, Ace."
Rory grinned. "I agree. And on that note, I have to get back to the office and call Honour. Apparently she got roped into some crisis with your mother."
Logan groaned. "Make sure you have some sort of comfort food if she's had to deal with Mother. Honour can get pretty stressed out."
Rory laughed and stood, tossing her paper cup in the garbage as they passed. "That she can."
They made the walk back to Rory's office with careful, measured steps.
"I had fun this morning," Logan admitted before she stepped into the building.
Rory paused. "I did too," she responded with a smile. "We'll have to do it again."
Logan nodded, thrilled that she had been the one to suggest it. "You have my number."
"And you have mine. I'll have my people call your people." And then she was in the building.
Before he realized what he was doing, he was calling her name. She stopped and turned, curiosity on her face. "Come to dinner with me."
Rory didn't do dinners. With Sophie, she felt that dinners took away their mother-daughter time. "I can't do dinner."
Logan felt disappointment well up in his chest. "Some other time then."
Rory panicked as he turned. "How about lunch?"
He paused before turning to raise an eyebrow. "Lunch?"
Wracking her brain quickly for a day she had free she blurted, "Thursday."
He felt a smile creep up on him and slowly nodded. "I'll have my people call your people?"
Rory's smile was full and genuine. "You do that. Bye Mac."
"Bye Ace." Logan grinned as he stepped onto the street and hailed a cab. Lorelai Hayden was a very, very, interesting woman.