Nathan's body tightened with tension- being forced to stand here with Haley and Lisa in the same room was quickly draining all the energy he could muster this early in the morning.

His past and (at least he hoped) his future were colliding and not making for a nice situation.

"The Bentley's wanted to have Lisa sit in on some of the campaign meetings," Lucas explained to Nathan.

"I didn't know myself until about thirty seconds ago or I would have given you more warning," Lucas said quietly so only Nathan could hear him.

What the hell is this? Nathan thought. She's a potential model for the shoot. What need does she have to be in the meeting? Are they going to give her creative control too?

Nathan said nothing. He merely nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. At that moment, he was at a loss for words and that didn't happen very often to Nathan Scott. He looked timid and uncomfortable and in that moment his transformation had surprised Haley. She had only ever seen the suave Nathan Scott with his wise-ass humor and arrogant bravado.

"Well, well...I knew it was only a matter of time before we collaborated again...though it was certainly sooner than I had expected," Lisa said, her accent flourishing along with her smile.

Haley looked at her and began to feel sick. She had seen pictures of Lisa in magazines but to see her in person -- she was striking. She had beautiful golden hair that flowed perfectly around her shoulders and down her back. Her chic style made for a very well put together look, making Haley feel like a frump in her simple blouse and pencil skirt.

Nathan gave a wry and insincere smile. We will never collaborate on anything ever again, he thought to himself.

"Let's proceed with the meeting, shall we?" Lucas asked. He wanted to get things going as soon as possible. He didn't want the Bentley's to suspect that there could be any trouble here.

"You look good," Lisa said with a smile, sidling past Nathan.

Nathan just looked at her as she walked past him, not speaking a word.

It was actually a pleasant surprise for Nathan -- he'd been worried how he may feel if he were to see her again. Now, he knew that those old feelings were gone - completely vanished. He couldn't even find her attractive...from his perspective, she'd lost everything she had going for her after what she did to him. The way she was, the way she treated people - it all disgusted him.

He turned to look at Haley as the rest of them were filing into the Conference room and Melissa was busy scrambling to get coffee for all of them.

"Can I take you to lunch? I think we need to talk," Nathan asked her.

Haley was quiet for a moment and then nodded that she would go to lunch with him.

Nathan nodded, gave a small smile and disappeared into the conference room.

~~~

"I apologize that we're a bit early," Terrie Bentley spoke up as the group found seats around the conference table.

"It's really not a problem," Lucas said as Melissa was passing cups of coffee and a tray of bagels.

"We had wanted Lisa to come in because we wanted to discuss some options for the image campaign for the commercial," Terrie Bentley spoke up.

"I know there have been several screen tests already, who did you have in mind?" Lucas asked.

"Nathan," Terrie said, smiling at Nathan.

Nathan gave a weak smile and wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm not exactly an actor," Nathan spoke up.

"This is about the Headley image – the brand went through a tough year last year and we were raked over the coals for it. This is a chance to re-invent ourselves and bringing Lisa in will attract a younger demographic," Terrie said.

"Where does Nathan fit into all of this?" Lucas asked. Clearly, he was just as confused as Nathan.

"It's what Lisa wants," Terrie stated simply.

Lucas looked at Nathan who was rendered speechless.

"I don't have any training for camera work, it just wouldn't be feasible. I'm not an actor or a model. I'm a public relations professional," Nathan stated firmly.

Lisa looked at Nathan but he wouldn't make eye contact with her. Lucas looked from Roger to Lisa and back to Nathan.

"I hope you will at least consider this opportunity," Terrie said. "Lisa has emphatically stated that she wanted to work with Nathan again – that was one of the deciding factors in choosing your PR firm to handle our campaign."

Lucas closed his eyes. This was going to get bad, he could already see it. Lisa somehow managed to hold a lot of power with the Bentley's and now it seemed as though they were willing to give in to her every whim – including her trying to get the opportunity to get close to Nathan again.

"Well, that's something we can talk about...give Nathan some time to think it over as well," Lucas said.

For the first time, Nathan looked over at Lisa who was gazing at him with a sultry smile.

He looked back down at the table.

Somehow, she always had the power to intimidate him, every time...and he hated it.

~~~

The meeting ended shortly thereafter.

Nathan shook hands with the Bentley's and snuck away to get some fresh air.
Lisa followed him out to the back of the building.

Nathan glanced at her, taking a sip from his water bottle and looked out over the expanse behind the building.

"What are you doing?" he asked, not looking at her.

"What ever do you mean?" Lisa said, a sexy laugh in her tone.

Nathan rolled his eyes, "It's clear that you have an ulterior motive here..."

"I thought it would be good to work together again. Remember, that's how we got together. I was modeling for one of the campaigns when you were just starting out in PR – good times," Lisa stated simply.

"A time that I would rather forget," Nathan said. "Where's Thomas?"

"We broke up...."

"…Yeah, I remember hearing that before...right before I caught you back in bed with him," Nathan said, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"It's true...this time is completely permanent," Lisa said.

"Well good for you," Nathan said sarcastically. "...but if you're here looking for a warm body, you're barking up the wrong tree."

Lisa just looked at him.

"...I'm serious, Lisa...I'm not getting into all of this with you again...."

He walked back into the building. He had to talk to Haley.

Lucas caught him by the arm, "hey, I think we should talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Nathan asked. "I'm not doing it, simple as that."

"You don't want to do the commercial? or you don't want to do the movie because Lisa is there?" Lucas asked.

Nathan looked at him, "I'm not an actor, Lucas. You and I both know damn well that I wouldn't even be offered this if Lisa wasn't involved – it's a manipulation and I resent it. I can't believe you're even considering this…talk about selling out."

Lucas rolled his eyes, "...sell out?! Are you kidding? This campaign could make or break our reputation as a firm! I'm willing to comply with their demands to ensure we keep the account. Please little brother, put your personal feelings aside here and think about doing what's best for the company. The company we worked hard to build. Despite whatever reasons they have for letting Lisa have so much control or why she wants you in this, just forget it and stay focused on the well being of the company. The people who have the money have the power, you know that. Look at how Dan manipulates everyone."

"Yes and if I didn't know better, I would say he's involved in this. This sort of sick game has Dan Scott's name written all over it," Nathan replied grimly.

Lucas sighed, "we just have to suck it up and accept what they want. It's their campaign – we are working for them. Okay? Work with me on this."

"I don't know...I'll think about it, alright?"

Lucas shook his head. "Think hard, this may be a bigger deal than we had ever imagined."

Nathan shook his head, walking back toward the front office.

Nathan stopped in front of Haley's desk. "Are you ready for lunch?"

Haley looked over at Melissa who had noticed the scene with much curiosity. "Go ahead, its fine," Melissa said.

Haley grabbed her purse and followed Nathan out the door.