A/N: OMG! I almost forgot to do shout outs to all my reviewers because I was so excited about publishing this chapter. Thanks to mewkazurinu2004, Lucky Starz, slm38 and ladybrin for your lovely reviews. Again I can't wait to share this chapter with you all. Enjoy :)

Chapter 7-Recognizing Her Feelings

Niles had smoothly checked into his room at the Hampton Inn. He knew he had a big day ahead of him in the morning and planned on getting up at the crack of dawn to begin his quest for a new place, a job, a portion of ownership in a stock and, what the hell, a new wardrobe too. He mine as well look like a millionaire.

It was around 4 pm. Realizing it was still early enough in the day to get something done, he decided to go out for a bit. He wondered if maybe he could find a producer willing to produce his play within the next day or so. He had high expectations for his script. This was greatly due to the fact that Ms. Babcock had shown such a strong liking and support towards it. With this in mind, he figured he mine as well start with more well-known producers and work his way down the totem pole if they didn't work out.

With this in mind, he looked up the address to the office of the first producer he would talk to about his play. He headed out with the script in hand as soon as he knew the location of the office. He figured he mine as well go now. He had a good feeling about this and continued to walk briskly until he could find an open cab to take the rest of the way there.

Finally able to hail a cab, he rode in silence with the cab driver, the whole time with a determined look on his face. He would make sure this producer read his play and he was bound and determined to get it produced. He would deliver it to him personally if he had to.

He arrived at the office momentarily, paid the cab driver and stepped out of the vehicle.

This is it! The script is about to be read and hopefully produced by one of the most well known Broadway producers in the business. There is no turning back now.

With these thoughts in mind, he gained his composure, stood up tall and entered the building, where the secretary greeted him.

"Hello sir, can I help you?"

"Yes, I have an absolutely riveting, just breathtaking piece of writing in my arms at this very moment. I was hoping to give Mr. Weber the opportunity to read it and if he would like to, produce it."

Now normally it was her job to take the play and send him on his way but she had no intention on doing that this moment. She adored the determination and boldness he was showing in a piece that he had clearly written himself. Not to mention, for a slightly older man, she thought he was insanely handsome. Hearing him talk in that baritone British accent was enough to make her stomach do flip-flops.

The fact that this sexy voice was also coming out of a man with dazzling blue eyes, sandy colored hair and broad strong shoulders made it even more difficult to just turn him away with movement of her hand. No she had no intention of that and so she said instead:

"Mr. Webber is in a meeting and should be out shortly. Would you like to wait and give him the script yourself?"

"Sure! I have nowhere to be. Thank you very much!"

He went and sat down in the waiting room of the office. The secretary was still having a hard time stopping herself from checking this man out. He was slightly older than her, for she was just in her early 30s, but she was a pretty woman with dark brown hair, green eyes and slightly tall (shorter than C.C. but taller than the average woman nonetheless). Her hair was long and she had a decent figure, which was curvy in the right places.

Niles thought she was attractive enough, but it was hard to look at any other woman when they only woman he wanted and thought about every minute of everyday was C.C. Babcock. Even those models in the monthly Victoria Secret catalogs had nothing on her.

She had the urge to talk to him and find out a little more about the confident and devilishly sexy man that just walked into the building. Deciding if it went badly, it she wouldn't see him that much anyways, she opened her mouth to speak.

"So did you write that riveting piece of work in your arms?" she asked followed by a wink and a smile.

"Actually, yes I did. Is it that obvious?"

"Well nobody can brag about a play better than the person that wrote it. I am Kat Saxon by the way."

"Niles Brightmore, nice to meet you."

Wow he even has a British name! Truth be told, she was huge Anglophile and she was falling for this man by the second.

She was about to ask him out to dinner for the weekend but was interrupted when none other, then Andrew Lloyd Webber himself walked out to the office lobby.

The secretary opened her mouth to speak as Niles stood up:

"Mr. Webber, we have a poignant piece of writing that we would be honored to get your opinion on."

"Oh really, well let's see it then."

Niles walked over and handed Mr. Webber the script.

"Judging by the fact that my secretary just went to bat for you and you sat here in order to give me this script in person, I can clearly see that you have confidence in your abilities as a writer. Give me tonight and I will notify you in the morning about my thoughts on it. I am a man of my word unlike other producers in this town."

Niles barely managed to suppress a laugh at this remark.

"Thank you Mr. Webber. Pleasure meeting you and I am sure you'll love my script."

"I hope so. Leave your name and number with my secretary before you leave."

Niles left his contact info at the desk and walked out of the building. Kat Saxon had every intention of calling him and the call in question would have nothing to do with his play.

…

Fran had grabbed C.C.'s wrist and essentially dragged her into the house. Of course this conversation would take place in the room in which most everything went down in the Sheffield residence, the kitchen.

"Ms. Babcock would you care to explain to me, what the heck is going on here?"

C.C. trying with all her power to hide her feelings replied with a simple quick:

"Nothing Nanny Fine, I simply don't know what you are talking about."

"Meanwhile I just saw you about drink your water weight percentage in alcohol and your mascara has run all down your face on the same day that my soon to be husband and your supposed enemy get in an argument over his play and how he treated him. Oh and to top it all off, you were on your enemy's side. Now tell me there ain't something going on here!"

"Oh Nanny Fine, it was strictly business, I happen to think Niles' play would be a big hit but Maxwell disagrees. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Speaking goes beyond the words that come out of our mouths and clearly Ms. Babcock your feelings for Niles are more then you let on. I can see it in your eyes. Are you in love with him?"

"No!" she responded quick and anxiously.

But the truth was C.C. didn't really know the exact answer to this question.

What is love really? I mean do I love the person if I want to kill them one minute and kiss them the next? Is it love if for 20 years we did nothing but make each others' lives a living hell but now that he is gone, I feel completely lost. Does the fact that I gave him a million dollar inheritance so he could start his own life mean that I love him? Does the fact that every time we touch I feel as if I am going to explode from the butterflies flip flopping up and down in my stomach, trying to get out mean that I love him? Does the fact that I have been using every excuse to be near him mean that I love him? Does the fact that I live for the daily banter we share everyday mean that I love him?

C.C. wasn't sure. She had never experienced love from her family or any of the other guys she been involved with. Without these experiences, how was she supposed to know what these emotions going on in her mind meant? They continued to circle in her mind before she softly whispered her answer:

"I don't know. I just don't know."

Fran knew that C.C. was fighting 2 different sides of thinking in her mind. She wanted to get Ms. Babcock to open up to her, tell her everything or this problem could not be solved. She knew she was treading very dangerous waters and one wrong move could send Ms. Babcock running away, not willing to tell her anything else. Fran couldn't let that happen because as interesting as the past between these 2 women was, Fran believed that C.C. deserved to be as happy. She was such a closed off person and Fran understood that. But it was time for the truth to come out and Fran would carefully pry it out from C.C. Babcock's lips.

"What do you mean, Ms. Babcock?"

As much as C.C. tried to hide her true feelings from the world and pretend that she was this emotionless stoic, cutthroat businesswomen, she could hide behind this façade no longer. And so everything started pouring out of her mouth one by one.

"Oh Nanny Fine. I just don't know. I thought I hated this man for 20 years, but now that he is gone, I just feel lost. I have been taught to live by a certain set of ideals and marrying someone of my own social class was a big part of what my family told me had to happen. They even told me working wasn't in the cards for me. But I see you with Maxwell and I guess one of the reasons I hated you for so long was not because I was in love with Maxwell, truth be told I don't think I have ever really loved him. I just hated the fact that you were living proof that these principles that I have been told to live my life by all these years were just pure wrong. Truth be told, this was one of the reasons I went to the place. And now I have done something totally impulsive, something which under any normal circumstances I would have never even considered doing. I guess the decision has been good for the person in question but it has turned my life upside down. "

"Ms. Babcock, what are you saying?"

And C.C. could hide it no longer; as long as she was telling Fran everything in her very insipid personal life, she mine as well reveal the truth about the inheritance.

"Nanny Fine…Fran, I figure I mine as well tell you the truth. Niles inheritance was not exactly an inheritance. I sort of gave him the money and made it look like it was from his family."

"Oh Ms. Babcock…."

"You mine as well call me C.C., I am confiding in you with my problems after all."

"Ok, C.C. Have you told Niles? Surely he would want to know all this. That the inheritance wasn't his, your feelings, he deserves to know."

"Oh, I can't tell him all that. He seems like he is doing so well with the inheritance. He deserves the chance to live a normal life, even if I am not a part of it."

"Well what if he wants you in it? C.C. you need to tell him how you feel. And just between us girls, I think he feels the same way."

"Really?"

And the happiness was clearly evident on C.C.'s face upon hearing that Niles may have these feelings too. She was glowing and Fran knew that her feelings for Niles were beyond just a crush, but deep and true love.

Just as Fran was about to continue reassuring C.C. of Niles true feelings, Maxwell walked into the room. He opened his mouth to speak.

"Oh there you are, C.C. I have been looking for you. I have picked a wonderful play from the stack I gave you to read last night and we must start getting investors immediately. Could you make some calls?"

C.C. was still in a slight daze from her conversation with Fran, so it took a minute for her to realize that Maxwell was speaking to her.

"C.C.? You there?"

"Oh, yes of course, Maxwell what were you saying?"

"C'mon back to the office C.C. and get back to work"

And with that they both walked out of the kitchen and headed back to the office to get back to work. Meanwhile, Fran just sat there that with a big smile on her face in awe at the sudden realization that this supposedly cold-hearted and cutthroat businesswoman was actually in love with their ex-butler.