Hello once again!
I hope this chapter finds everyone well. Thanks to all of you who are still reading and I appreciate the time it takes for you to review. You guys make me feel so loved.
Panzie – I am hoping the reader will feel for Sandy throughout the entire debacle of season three. I realize that this might be hard to accomplish.
JennylovesKandy – I am trying to mix in the fluff and I am glad you enjoy it. It can't all be angsty right?
Cheerleader2006 – Capturing their emotions is the hardest part because I felt so sorry for Kirsten throughout this entire thing. Sandy is so much harder to do.
Bronwyn – Thanks for the 4th "I love it".
Andy – I only wish that I could update sooner!
Chicaanglaise – The angst is just beginning so I hope you enjoy every word.
No parent should have to wake up that way. He heard an alarm clock going off and the first thing he felt was annoyance. Was your child that tone deaf and lazy that he cannot simply turn off that annoying sound? He muttered choice words as he made his way up to his son's room. Opening the door, the sound gets louder, hurting his thought-filled head. Concern immediately replaced annoyance as he searched the empty room for his son.
Where was he?
Did he come home last night?
Did something happen to him? Was he so wrapped up in his own professional life that he didn't notice his son?
Relax. Stay calm. Think.
He was probably in the pool house with Ryan.
His heart sinks again for the second time when he noticed that Ryan was the only one occupying the pool house. At least one of his sons was safe.
"Ryan, Ryan!" He tries to keep the concern out of his voice, but he was completely unsuccessful. He gently shakes Ryan's body to wake him up. "Come on, wake up."
Ryan slowly rolls over and sees that Sandy is upset. "Hey. What's wrong?"
"Seth is gone." That was all the words he could formulate.
Ryan sits up and can see the worry in Sandy's eyes. "What? He's gone?" He just repeats Sandy's words, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Yeah! His alarm went off and I went into his room. His bed is empty." He just wanted answers, but unfortunately rambling was something that was uncontrollable at certain times.
Ryan finally registered what Sandy was saying, but knew that the panic his voice was completely unwarranted. "Uhhh, calc exam." Ryan hated lying to Sandy.
"Calc exam?" Sandy raises his eyebrows and questions Ryan's words.
Ryan decided that he had to do better. Sandy was a lawyer and a good one at that. He remembered trying to lie to him last year and ended up grounded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." Stop rambling, Ryan told himself. "Um, he probably just went in early to school, cram for it." He scrunched up his face so Sandy couldn't get a good read on his eyes.
Sandy wasn't completely convinced. "Yeah well I'm going to drive over there to make sure."
Ryan now was the one starting to panic. He knew Seth was fine and that he was probably out smoking somewhere. Sandy and inevitably Kirsten didn't need to know about it. "No-no-no-no-no!" He starts to get out of bed to convince Sandy that he was up and moving. "I'll go. I got to get to school early anyway."
Sandy thought it was strange that Ryan was so willing to get to school early. Something was definitely off, but Sandy couldn't put his finger on it. He was left only once option and that was to throw a little bit of guilt Ryan's way. "If there was anything going on with Seth, anything I should know, you would tell me right?"
Ryan hated when Sandy did that. At that moment he wanted to kill Seth. "Yeah, I'll call you when I find him."
Sandy watched as Ryan excused himself to go shower, leaving Sandy to wonder what could possibly be going on with his two sons. Ryan was definitely covering for Seth. He was a terrible liar. He had to trust Ryan that if something were seriously wrong, he would tell them.
He decided to head back to his bedroom and notify Kirsten to what was going on. He walked through the backyard and entered the bedroom from the two glass doors. He didn't notice until that moment that the blinds were still in the up position. It then crossed his mind that maybe Ryan saw the pathetic show they put on last night. Maybe that was why his behavior was a little abnormal.
He quietly shut the door behind him, the click of the lock stirring Kirsten out of her slumber. "Where were you?" She turned her entire body toward the door.
"I think the boys are keeping some sort of a secret." He said making his way back over to their bed.
She turned her head to glance at the clock. "Sandy, it's ten after seven. How much trouble could they have gotten themselves into?" She nestled herself deeper into her pillow top mattress, not showing any concern.
"Seth wasn't in his bed this morning."
This got Kirsten's attention as she immediately sat straight up in bed. "What?"
"His alarm was going off and when I went to check on him, he wasn't there."
"Well, did you ask Ryan?"
"Yeah, and he lied to cover for him." Sandy stated as he sat back down on the bed, facing Kirsten.
"How do you know that?" Kirsten was always the one to take Ryan's side.
"Kirsten, come on." He didn't think he needed to explain. He was a public defender. Kids lie to him all the time and he prides himself on knowing when it is happening right to his face. He and Kirsten were just not in sync with each other.
"Okay, let's say he is lying, which I find hard to believe, Ryan would tell us if there was something to worry about."
That was not the response Sandy wanted to hear. "So that makes it okay for them to lie to us?"
Kirsten didn't understand why Sandy was getting so upset. She reached forward, taking his face in her hands. "No, but they're teenagers."
"So? That gives them the right to think we are stupid?"
"They don't think that." Kirsten was hoping not. "They are just going to push the envelope on a constant basis. They are just trying to get away with things that we wouldn't be happy about. That is what being a teenager is all about."
Why was she placating him? He took her hands and removed them from his face. "That doesn't mean I am okay with it." He removed himself from the bed, walking toward the closet to get ready for his day.
"How many times did you lie to your mother?" She called after him.
"This isn't about me."
"Well, let's make it about you."
"Never!" He called back to her from the closet.
This got her attention as she was now heading toward the closet to catch him in a lie. "Never? I don't believe that for a second."
"I didn't." he defended. "Sophie Cohen was just not someone you lied to."
"Oh, that's bullshit and you know it. You used to lie to her all the time. You lied to her for a straight year when we lived together. You made me move all my stuff out when she visited for your graduation."
"That was different."
"How?" She argued.
"I lied about that because I was madly in love with you and she didn't approve. I didn't want to hear from her how wrong you were for me when I knew she was wrong."
Kirsten smiled sweetly, loving when Sandy said romantic things without realizing it. "Well I lied to my parents all the time."
As he picked out a lightly starched shirt, he glanced toward her. "That I know."
"I had to. He never made anything easy for me and he never understood the need for the things I wanted.... including you."
Sandy completely missed the compliment she threw his way. "That's my point. Why do they have a need to lie to us? We are two extremely open minded people who always have their back. I don't get it and I think that is why I am so upset."
"Well I wouldn't think about it too much. You will drive yourself nuts trying to figure out the inner workings of two teenagers."
Later that afternoon, Sandy left for The Newport Group as Kirsten dressed in casual clothes and went downstairs to have a meeting with Julie. She knew they had a lot of work ahead of them, needing to sift through a lot of applications.
Kirsten was hoping they were going to be further along after the first hour passed, but Julie was being no help at all. After her latest quip about one of the applicants dying alone, Kirsten had to snap her out of her trance.
"Julie!" She raised her voice.
Julie sighed loudly. "I'm sorry. I just can't focus on fixing other people's love lives when my own is such a mess."
Kirsten should have known this had to do with Neil. "Dr. Roberts will call you." Then a thought popped into her head. "Or if you want, you could call him." She took a sip of her coffee trying to hide her smile.
At that moment, Julie realized how clueless Kirsten was. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. "I know you've been married for like two hundred years, but you must remember something about dating."
"Well I hope so or I'm in the wrong business." As Julie poured herself more coffee, Kirsten continued. "Maybe that's the answer. Pitch Dr. Roberts the dating service. Set him up." Kirsten thought this was the perfect solution. Take the offensive position and put fate in her own hands.
"Set him up?" Julie couldn't help but keep the look of shock out of her face. "Are you high?"
"No I'm serious. Then you'll be back on his radar and it won't seem like your pursuing him."
Julie started to take the plan into consideration, trying to find its faults. "I like it. I'm aloof but thoughtful."
Kirsten decided to finish off how she sees this going. "And when he's confronted with the idea of dating these Newpsies..."
"Half of whom he's botoxed himself...." She interrupted.
"He will realize that the only woman he wants is you." Julie smiled at Kirsten's finishing thoughts. "And he will call you for dinner."
Julie's mind took it a step further. "I'll suggest Al Fornos, a table by the window." Julie was surprised Kirsten came up with this. "I'm impressed. You're sneakier than I thought, Kirsten Cohen!"
Kirsten couldn't help herself. "Well, being around you all these years, it's rubbed off."
Julie laughed at loud, knowing Kirsten was witness to all of her Newport scheming. She witnessed Julie become head of all the Newpsies, manage to get Caleb to marry her and succeeded in getting pretty much anything she wanted. "Do you really think this is going to work?"
"I don't see why it wouldn't."
"I really want this to work." Julie couldn't help but say that out loud. She always envied Kirsten and Sandy's relationship and could only hope that she could have that with Neil. "How did you and Sandy meet?"
"What?"
"How did you guys initially meet? It's no secret that you guys have, like the perfect relationship. How did it begin? Maybe mine and Neil's story won't differ too much from yours."
Kirsten laughed because she knew no story would ever be like theirs, so she simplified the story. "Our roommates were dating and we were set up."
"That's it?" Julie knew there had to be more to the story.
"Yeah, pretty much. It was a Halloween party and I had a costume, but Sandy's was a half ass attempt. He wore a paper bag over his head pretty much the entire evening."
"Well at least you got to stare at his body all night, huh?"
Kirsten blushed a little bit, but she did remember being impressed with how built and in shape he was. "Something like that." But then she recalled the best part of the night. "But after having a few drinks, he pulled that bag off his head and before I got to see his blue eyes or wonderful smile, he kissed me."
"Wow." Julie was definitely impressed with the story.
"Yeah and still to this day, I can remember how powerful that kiss was. Everything I knew about him up to that point and then that kiss was enough for me to know that I could spend the rest of my life with him. I didn't even need to see his face."
Julie drifted off into space and Kirsten realized she got carried away with her story. "Julie?" She called her attention.
"Oh my God!" Julie made a realization of her own. "What if I set Neil up with the woman of his dreams? What if all this backfires?"
"Here in Newport? Are you the one that is high?" Kirsten threw Julie's joke back at her.
"I guess you're right."
At the Newport Group that same afternoon Sandy and Matt were discussing business as well as personal matters. Matt, always doing his homework was always one step ahead of the game. Now that the Newport Group got the official approval to start on the hospital project, they now had to present it to the hospital board. Matt did his research and found a possible ally, but was reluctant to bring it up to Sandy.
"So we really need to get these guys on board with us. We need them to see our vision." Matt started, wanting to slowly break the ice.
"Right, now we have to ply more people with women and liquor." Sandy said, feeling aggravated. He struggled for days with what he did and thought it was all behind him.
"I don't think that's going to work." Matt wanted to be realistic. "These guys are doctors not businessmen."
Sandy was happy Matt made that clear, not knowing what he had up his sleeve. "Then we got that in common. Call it willful naivety; call it bleary eyed optimism..."
"You think we've got a shot?" Matt question once again if Sandy was cut out to be a successful CEO.
"Yeah, there's over a hundred thousand uninsured that live in Orange County. There's got to be some angle we can find to make that land on these guys." Sandy meant that in the purest way.
"Well there is." Matt quick response got Sandy's attention. "The head of the board Henry Griffin...turns out we have a personal connection."
Sandy didn't like the sound of this, looking at Matt to continue. "Well now there's a shocking turn of events."
"It's his daughter Maya."
"She's a stripper too?" He said it, already starting to get annoyed.
"No, she was a year ahead of me at Kellogg. Now she's one of its most trusted advisors. "And she use to have a thing for me." He thought he said enough, painting a picture for Sandy to where this information could take them.
Sandy saw the picture crystal clear. "Well who could blame her? So now you want to wine and dine her." He used a fatherly tone and Matt looks down to the floor avoiding eye contact. Sandy continued. "Use her affection for you to manipulate her father?"
"Listen, it's no worse than the strippers we got for Bill Merriam." Matt defended.
"Oh, I don't know. I draw the line at family Matt. How about this? How about we find a strategy that doesn't involve liquor or sexual favors?" Sandy hated that he and Matt think in completely different ways.
"I don't think you see this as an opportunity. This could be a huge advantage for us."
"I see this as a corrupt way to run a company I want to build on integrity."
As Matt frowned, Sandy continued. "I don't have a degree in business administration, but I do know how to be a decent human being. I hate that you view everything from a business perspective, but I understand why you do. Screwing with someone's family is not a noble thing to do. I'm not your father so I am not going to continue to lecture you."
Matt looked up at Sandy, like a child being scolded. "Thanks."
"I don't have the chemical make-up that you have. I am still struggling about what we did with Bill Merriam."
"Sandy, you need to relax."
"Don't!" Sandy raised his voice. "I had to lie to Kirsten for probably the first time in, in..." He struggled to think of a time when he was so deceitful. "....in forever." She would be so disappointed of my behavior the other night."
"You didn't do anything wrong. You could have. I heard what that woman offered you that night. If you want to me talk to Kirsten for you..."
Sandy interrupted. "No. It's fine." He didn't think he needed to tell Matt that Kirsten knew nothing about it. "I just don't want to keep things from her and be put in a position to lie. Integrity Matt! Let's focus on that."
Once Matt seemed to be on board, Sandy stayed at the office late, trying to come up with a plan to present to the board that would appeal to them on a professional level. By the time he got home, Kirsten was already sleeping. He loved to watch her sleep. He didn't know how he got so lucky. He would never take any woman up on any offer.
When Kirsten woke up the next morning, Sandy was already gone for the day. She hated living this life. Going to bed alone only to wake up alone, got her thinking about her mother. How did she live her entire life like that, Kirsten thought to herself?
As she got dressed, she thought about how much she missed Sandy. She didn't have too much time to dwell on it because she had a ton of paperwork to do. She decided to make herself a cup of tea and settle herself onto the couch. She was on her third or fourth file when Julie let herself into the Cohen home.
"Well..." Julie started and she walked toward Kirsten. "I finally heard from Dr. Roberts."
"That's great!" Kirsten exclaimed, but when she saw the dirty look Julie gave her, she amended her statement. "Or not?"
"He had me set him up with Laura Cross. They'll be eating at Al Fornos, a table by the window." Julie was clearly pissed.
Kirsten closed her eyes in sympathy. "Oh Julie, I'm sorry."
"Well it's my own fault. I let you do the scheming." As Kirsten looked away from Julie, she continued her speech. "Clearly not your wheel house! From now on, if someone needs to be manipulated, we put me in charge!"
Kirsten hated to be manipulative anyway. "Fair enough. Laura Cross, I don't know her."
"Well she'll probably marry him and enjoy a life of free brow lifts." Kirsten gave her a look like she was crazy, but that didn't stop Julie. "Anyway, I am going to get to know her and find out what I'm up against."
Kirsten couldn't help but laugh at such a preposterous idea. "Don't tell me your going to spy on them?"
"I tried taking your advice Kiki, and quite frankly it sucked. From now on, we do things the Julie Cooper way."
"You do realize you are insane, right?"
"Call it what you may, but how else will I get to see what goes on with the two of them?"
"You can be open and direct and ask him about it? These games always backfire on people."
"Not all people." Julie defended. "You have been living in a completely healthy marriage and these games didn't backfire on you."
"That's because Sandy and I never played games."
"Well that's because the two of you are abnormal." With that, Julie left and Kirsten got to thinking.
Sandy never played games with her. He was always so open about his feeling and where he wanted their relationship to go. She was much more reserved, but it worked. She missed seeing him on a daily basis since they seemed to be working on opposite shifts. She felt distanced and he always seemed so distracted.
She decided to give him a call and see if he was thinking about her as much as she was about him. After two rings, Sandy picked up directly. "Hey you." She said starting the conversation, but all she heard were shuffling papers and background noise.
"May I ask whose calling?" He countered.
Was he kidding, she thought. How did he not realize it was his wife on the phone? Were they that off each other's radar? "Sandy?" She questioned, making sure it was him.
"Oh, hey baby. Sorry, I am swamped here trying to iron some figures out and I can't seem to find the projected numbers. This is so frustrating."
"I'm sorry to hear that." She said, wishing he didn't sound so stressed out. "I was actually calling to see if you were free for dinner tonight."
At that moment, Kirsten heard all the shuffling around stop. "Are you asking me out?" He joked.
"Maybe. Is that a yes?"
"Definitely."
They decided to go to the yacht club, taking separate cars, which was fitting since she felt like they led separate lives anyway. He gave her a bigger kiss than normal when she arrived. She was surprised, but his kind words pleased her. "You look beautiful, as always." He whispered in her ear. She missed this Sandy.
Once they sat, Sandy still had that distracted look on his face.
"You could have a drink tonight." Kirsten told him, as she folded her napkin on her lap. She hated that he was hesitant to order what he wanted because of her.
"Are you sure?" Normally he would never, but he really could use a drink.
"Well, you've had a tough day." She wanted him to know she understood, hoping he would open up to her about it.
Sandy noded his head, but his attention moved from Kirsten and to the bar. "So has Matt!" Sandy motioned to the bar where Matt arrived. "Looks like he's come here to drown his sorrows."
Kirsten wanted her husband all to herself, but at heart she was a Newpsie and always portrayed proper etiquette. "Oh, well you should ask him to join us if he's all by himself."
As Sandy went to get his attention, he quickly stopped when he noticed a woman meeting him for a drink. "Or not!"
Kirsten had no idea of the significance, but she was the one who filled Sandy in. "Oh, that's Maya Griffin." As she spoke, Sandy couldn't help but keep the look of shock off his face. Didn't he just have this conversation with Matt earlier today? "OC Weekly just did a profile on her. Apparently she is an up and coming Newpsie. Wow I have too much time on my hands."
Sandy was so pissed at Matt and couldn't help but spill out the next statement. "Well if she's the new queen, she still has got a lot to learn." Did she have any idea what Matt's intentions were?
Kirsten didn't understand. "Well why wouldn't she date him? He's young and attractive."
Sandy filled in the last piece of the puzzle. "He's using her. Her father is the head of the board."
Kirsten understood what this meant better than anyone. She used to be the Maya of The Newport Group. People used her all the time. "Are you going to talk to him?"
Sandy wanted to pull him out of that bar right then and there. What good would that do? He would embarrass Matt and ultimately it would get back to Henry. "Tomorrow. Tonight I'm out with my lovely, beautiful, morally uncompromised wife." He didn't want to be there anymore.
Kirsten was always able to read his mind. "We could go to the Crab Shack, pick up something to go."
"Sand dabs are in season. Genius."
Once they arrived home, Sandy opened up a little bit to Kirsten. "I'm worried about Matt. I don't understand what he is thinking."
"What do you mean?"
"We just had this conversation today. He completely ignored what I said."
"Did you forbid him to date her?"
"I made it clear I didn't want him to use her to get to her father."
"Unfortunately that is how business works." She simply stated.
"So you think what he is doing is okay?" Sandy couldn't believe her.
"No, I don't. I hated when people did that to me. I hated when men, who didn't know I was married, asked me out just to get a meeting with my father."
Sandy always pretended that he had no idea that Kirsten was put in these positions. "When?"
"When what?"
"When were you asked out by a colleague?" Sandy couldn't help but keep the anger and jealousy out of his voice.
"It was a long time ago, but my point is that it does happen. You are a good man Sandy and unlike my father, you see there is a lot of wrong in this. You are a husband and father and view things in a way Matt could never begin to understand."
That night Sandy wasn't comforted by Kirsten's words. He hated that she has been exposed to all these things her whole life. He tried to accept that she was probably right. He embraced her in their bed that night, holding on to the hope that Kirsten might just be wrong.
The next morning, Kirsten couldn't help but feel like everything was right in the world. Her whole family present for breakfast was not something that happened often anymore. She sipped her coffee, enjoying the banter. Summer waltzed in, asking to speak to Seth upstairs alone. Although she saw the look of worry on Sandy's face, Kirsten couldn't help but smile at the girl.
Once they disappeared, Kirsten spoke out loud. "Thank God Summer is in his life. She helps keep him in line."
"Do you think he's okay?" Sandy asked.
At that moment, Ryan excused himself, not wanting to hear where this conversation was going. Once he was half way through the backyard, Sandy continued. "See?"
Kirsten was oblivious. "What?"
"Something is going on. I can feel it. Summer dragging him upstairs, Ryan leaving the room."
Kirsten made her way over to him. She hasn't seen him this tense in a really long time. She knew it was the stress of The Newport Group, but she was pretty certain that the lull in their sex life wasn't helping. "You have to trust them." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck. She leaned in slowly, giving him soft kiss.
He wrapped his arms around her; feeling like it had been forever since he had her like this. "I miss you, just so you know." He kissed her again.
"Me too." She said sadly. "Go easy on Matt today. Hear him out, okay?"
He kissed her one more time. "Okay."
It wasn't long before Sandy found himself waiting for Matt to come into his office. He hated working on the weekends. He remembered a time when he used to scold Kirsten for doing weekend work. He was trying to remain calm and take Kirsten's advice.
"Hey, I didn't know we were working this weekend. I thought maybe you and I would go hit the links." Matt said, unaware of the real reason Sandy called him in.
"What? And ruin a sport I love?" Sandy joked, trying to remain calm "It's the weekend so I'm going to make this brief as I know how. I was at dinner last night with Kirsten at the Yacht Club. I saw you there with Maya." Sandy held his stare, getting his point across that he was not happy.
"Henry Griffin told Maya about meeting with me, so she decided to get in touch." He explained.
How was Sandy supposed to believe that? "She asked you to dinner?" He questioned.
"She did. Why? Is it illegal to take a girl out to dinner?" He defended.
Sandy didn't know how to get through to Matt. You know when Kirsten use to run this place, I saw a lot of creeps in nice suits that used to try to use her to get to her father. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now." He knew it went on, but hearing Kirsten mention it last night made it a reality.
"We're trying to build a hospital that could service a hundred thousand uninsured!" Matt figured that was enough to back up his actions. Maya is gorgeous and this was for a good cause. Not to mention, this would be a great addition to The Newport Group's portfolio.
"You're trying to use a daughter to manipulate her father." Sandy hated to think he had to point that out. "And you're comfortable with that!"
Although Matt had only been in corporate America for a few years, he knew so much more how the world worked. "Look Sandy you're a great guy, but maybe you don't have the stomach for this. All I'm saying is that we're going to have to bend the rules if we want to win the game." Sandy needed to hear this.
Sarcasm was Sandy's strong suit. "That'll look great on a bumper sticker." Sandy needed to remind him that he was running this company. I want to see you on Monday with a real game plan.
"Alright." Matt replied, defeated. He started to walk out, knowing that courting Maya was only one rule that needed to be bent.
"Matt, I'm serious."
"I know you are."
"If you screw up with Maya, we are done and I am not willing to put your romantic skills to the test."
"So this isn't about your morals? This is about you trusting me."
"It's about both. Do you know who Jayse Hackett is?" Sandy asked, already knowing his answer.
"No."
"Do you want to know why you don't know who he is? Because he was a sleaze-bag contractor that Kirsten felt uncomfortable around. He did whatever he thought Kirsten needed to eventually get to Caleb. And when I say needed, I mean in every way. He was completely disrespectful to Kirsten and to our marriage. So you've never heard of him because Caleb made sure no one ever hired him. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"Got it boss!"
With all this reminiscing, Sandy gave Kirsten a call. He had to remind himself how lucky he really was. After three rings, she picked up. "Hello?"
"Hey baby." He said.
She couldn't resist but play a joke on him. "May I ask whose calling?" She was doing her best to suppress her laughter.
Sandy was taken back. How did she know it wasn't him? "Kirsten? It's me." He clarified.
"I know it's you." She laughed. "I just wanted you to know how it felt. You did that to me yesterday."
He laughed. "I'm sorry. That's just mean."
"It was mean yesterday too."
"Are you free for dinner?"
"Sure. What time are you coming home?" She asked, hoping it was soon.
"In an hour or so."
Right then, Kirsten got a beep, indicating someone was on the other line. Once she checked the caller ID, she told Sandy she had to go. "Let me go, it's Julie on the other line."
"See you later."
Once she clicked over and realized where Julie was, she decided to stay on the phone with her. She couldn't believe she was spying on Neil, like some sort of a child. Julie ended the conversation and Kirsten realized that she had now been waiting for Sandy for over an hour.
She knew better. He wasn't coming home any time soon. She wanted to be mad, but how could she? She must have done this to him a million times. She decided to pick up some food and bring it there. It wouldn't be the first time they had dinner at the Newport Group.
As she walked those familiar halls, she realized that it was just something about that place that sucks you in. You try to escape or leave at a certain time and you somehow are incapable. When she got to Sandy's office, she saw him sitting on the couch in deep thought. She remembered countless nights she found herself in this same position.
"Hungry?" Kirsten called, gaining his attention.
Seeing her there, looking so beautiful made him feel terrible. "Oh I'm sorry baby." He glanced down at his watch to check just how late he really was. "I should have called."
Kirsten walked into his office taking a seat next to him on the couch. "Oh that's ok. I figured you were here." She started unloading the bags of takeout she brought with her.
"Who would have thought the Newport Group would be where I go to for a moment of Zen?" He asked, jokingly.
"Sometimes this job makes you do a lot of hard thinking." She sighed, knowing how many things must be running through his mind.
Sandy decided to share his thoughts. Shaking his head, he continued. "I want this hospital more than I have wanted anything in a long time."
Kirsten knew this had to do with the hospital. It was nice to see Sandy so passionate about something. His professional life was such a mundane existence over the past year, she knew it was important to support him. "Then you can't let Matt's relationship with Maya Griffin stand in your way." She knew how torn he was about what Matt did. She knew there was a serious temptation deep down that he hated himself for experiencing. "For all you know she could be using him too, or they could live happily ever after. The point is if you want this as bad as I think you do, you have to go for it."
Sandy loved that she was being so supportive, but did she really have a clue to what he would have to do to go for it? "So where's the line?"
Kirsten never thought Sandy would have this sort of a question. He is usually so confident with every decision he makes. Why was he so worried about this now? "I'm not worried about you knowing where the line is. You always do. It's who you are!" She complimented.
Sandy looked down, having a hard time believing her words. "I'm just having a really hard time with all of this right now." He revealed. "I knew your father did his share of shady business, but I didn't know that this was how the entire industry worked."
"It doesn't have to be that way all the time."
"That's the part I'm trying to figure out." He thought about what he wanted to say next, but was little afraid to dig up the past. "Do you remember Jayse Hackett?"
Kirsten gave a small chuckle. "How could I ever forget that character?" Then it hit her. "Wait, how do you know Jayse Hackett?"
Sandy let out a chuckle of his own. "I know many things you might be unaware of, but I hated that guy from the moment I found out what his antics were all about."
"I still don't...." Kirsten said more to herself, trying to place how Sandy would know him.
"Of course, I hated him because he did things that involved you, but I hated him more for the man he was. And now, I am contemplating allowing Matt to be that person and involve Maya in this whole thing?"
"My dad." Kirsten realized. "He must have told you about him. Why?"
"It was more like threatening, but that's not the point. You're dad kept him away from you and the business. The realization that Caleb had more morals than I do right now does not sit well with me."
"Do you really want to tally the negative things my father has done with this company?" She countered.
"I guess you're right."
"I know I'm right." She said confidently. "I love you Sandy. Don't doubt your ability to be a good man. That's all you know how to be."
"Thank you."
Once they arrived home, they were met with a very odd sight. Seth was sitting in the living room staring at a blue input screen on the television, mesmerized.
"What is going on with him?" Sandy whispered. "Something is definitely up."
Kirsten thought Seth looked a little out of it and his eyes were bloodshot, but she didn't want to mention that to Sandy. It was hard to separate herself as a parent in this town when she was once a teenager in this town. Sandy didn't need to extra stress right now anyway. "We'll talk to him tomorrow." She whispered back. "Let's go to bed."
As they made their way down the long familiar hallway, Sandy watched his wife walk ahead of him. He couldn't held but reach out and grab her hand. When she felt his touch, she spun around to face him. "I love you, Kirsten. I want to make you proud of me."
She leaned into give him a reassuring kiss. "I already am."
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