A little over 24 hours 'til the newest Gossip Girl. Hopefully this one won't want to make Chair fans vomit. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. 28's in the process of being finished. My Beta is awesome. Give me replies!
Ch 27
Blair pushed open the door to the hotel's lobby and looked around. She could see how great it probably was at one point and how great it could be given the right amount of work.
"This place reminds me of the hotel in that Muppet movie," Nate said as he came in behind Blair.
"Archibald, you have no vision," Chuck told him.
"It's quaint," Dan said. He walked over to the café and peered in. "This could be a good space."
"If this is decorated right, it could be amazing," Serena smiled.
"This is going to be a classy establishment," Blair told her, "We'll have none of that revealing cleavage motif that you call style."
"Okay, but I think I could help decorate the restaurant," Serena motioned to the door that said closed on it. "Is it ever open?"
"Not for a few years," Chuck stated as he looked at the real estate listing in his leather portfolio he was carrying.
"We'll have to fix that," Blair announced. "I'm thinking elegant and classy. Gourmet cuisine with a grand piano in the center with a classically trained pianist."
"We'll scour Julliard," Chuck smirked.
"I think there is a piano," Dan said squinting through the window of the restaurant that could be accessed from the lobby.
"Are you going to set the café up in the same way you have Thayer's," Nate asked.
"Probably. It works, so why not? And we're near Columbia."
"I don't want this to be a college hangout, Beautiful," Chuck told her.
"The café can be," Blair said. "And if word of mouth spreads, the teachers will start coming for the coffee and books and see the restaurant. Proximity is a good thing."
"At least it's Columbia and not NYU."
"Hey," Dan said insulted as he finally got the café door open. "Serena, did you bring that flashlight like I said to?"
"I forgot," Serena frowned.
"I expected as much," Dan replied as he pulled a flashlight out of his backpack.
"Hey Dan, why don't you go check out the café with your flashlight, Nate, and Serena," Blair asked. "I have a pen light and one on my keys for Chuck and me, so we can check out the restaurant. I want to know what kind of repairs we're going to have to make to the café kitchen and you'll know what has to be done as well as I do."
"After all the books you made me read on code violations, I think I could pass a city inspector test," Dan nodded. "Sure, we'll check it out."
"And you, Mister Bass, are coming with me into the restaurant," Blair told him as she grabbed a hold of his lapel and backed towards the restaurant's locked doors.
"Okay," Chuck followed her and unlocked the doors with the keys he'd gotten from the realtor. "Well, it has some potential."
Blair moved her light around, "It must've been beautiful at one point. The bar's going to need replacing though. The wood's rotted."
"If we can lower that chandelier without breaking it to remove the inches of dust and cobwebs it could be the centerpiece of the entire restaurant," Chuck stated as he redirected Blair's light to the center of the dining room.
"That's where the grand piano should go," Blair stated.
"Kind of like that Michelle Pfeiffer movie," Chuck smirked.
"I can't believe you've seen The Fabulous Baker Boys."
"And you?"
"Never had the urge," she shrugged.
"We'll have to watch it."
Blair nodded, "I am curious about something though."
"And that is?"
"Have you ever done it on top of a piano?"
"Are you referring to sex, Waldorf?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"No," he shook his head, "Never had the urge."
"I find that hard to believe," Blair said running a hand over a table top. "Either way, I think we'll have to rectify that."
"Back to the restaurant," he coughed in an attempt to change the subject. There was entirely too much talk about an action he couldn't take until the doctors cleared Blair, and their discussions weren't helping any. "Marble floor."
"Which is nice but we'll have to be careful when it rains. Marble gets slippery. I remember the time my mom went flying across the foyer after Dorota washed the floor and didn't tell her."
"Noted," he nodded as he jotted down their thoughts on the notebook he'd brought with them.
"Satin table clothes," Blair stated as she closed her eyes and tried to envision their restaurant.
"What color?" he inquired.
"Burgundy," Blair smiled. "More practical than white." She wandered behind the bar. "Most of these glasses are still in good shape."
"We have to wait until we find our chef to determine the menu, cuisine and plates," Chuck continued with the notes.
"Fresh flowers on every table and elaborate bouquets around the entire restaurant," Blair chimed in.
"Peonies?" he grinned devilishly.
"Roses," she shook her head. "Keep the peonies between us."
"Done," Chuck smiled with a nod.
"White roses," she added.
"Sounds good to me."
"Liquor license. Good bartenders," Blair said.
"Nothing flashy though," Chuck added. "Capable mixologists, not performers."
"No Brian Flannagan wanna-be's," Blair agreed.
"Okay, now I'm lost. Who's Brian Flannagan?"
"Cocktail," Blair smiled. "Tom Cruise."
"I call that we keep all future Tom Cruise references out of our everyday conversations," Chuck stated.
"Okay," Blair nodded with a slight hint of a smirk. "We'll need good cooks and experienced waiters and waitresses. I'll hire the college kids for the café."
"I think we can agree that college kids can stay with the café. We'll hire professional waiters for the restaurant."
Blair nodded as she turned around and faced him again. She looked under the bar, "I found a menu and oh my God."
"What?" he turned towards her quickly, praying she hadn't spotted a rodent that she'd want him to take care of. He didn't do rodents.
"Want a drink," she pulled out a bottle of wine.
"Depends on what's on the label," Chuck stated as he squinted to try to read what was on the bottle.
"Here," Blair handed it over. "You're the wine expert."
"I'm the alcohol expert," he clarified.
"We'll let you take care of the bar then," she replied as she patted his chest affectionately.
"Not bad," Chuck stated as he read the bottle she handed him. "We'll save this for a special occasion."
"Opening night, perhaps," Blair suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Chuck smiled. "So, you think the place can be salvaged?"
"I think there's something here."
"If we hire the right chef, I think we'll have the must see dining establishment in all of New York City. I see six month waiting lists and people selling their souls for a table."
Blair smiled at him, "You know the restaurant's only part of it. We have to decide what kind of look we want the rooms to have."
"Classic elegance, like their owner and namesake."
"You want to name the hotel after me?" Blair gasped in surprise.
"Absolutely," Chuck nodded. "This was your idea. Why not honor you?"
Blair carefully leaned across the counter and kissed Chuck slowly.
"And we should name the restaurant and the café after the children," Chuck added.
"What about you?"
"The storage closest in the basement," he told her with a devilish half smirk.
"You're bad," Blair giggled. "But that's why I love you."
"I'm pretty sure you two are violating a health code by molesting each other at the bar," Nate's voice said from the door.
"You have bad timing, Nate."
"Sorry, I just thought you'd want to know that Serena's planning table decorations that consist of cow creamers at the café."
"Not in this life time," Blair growled.
"She's your best friend," Chuck shook his head, "But Serena's taste has always been suspect. Clothes, decor, boyfriends."
"Hey," Nate exclaimed, "I'm the boyfriend, remember."
"Making my point clear," Chuck laughed jovially.
"C'mon, I have to stop Serena from doing any permanent damage," Blair said as she came out from behind the bar. "Nate, get me a copy of Columbia's paper. I have to find out what's involved in placing a want ad."
"For an interior designer?" Nate frowned in confusion.
"Waiters," Blair scowled.
"Oh. Hey, I could-"
"No."
"But-"
"No," Blair shook her head this time.
"You hired Dan."
"He knows what he's doing."
"Sort of," Chuck chimed in.
"Don't worry. I learned my lesson. Nothing math related besides tallying up a bill and even then he gets a calculator," Blair said walking across the lobby.
"So, Blair, I'm thinking we have these really cute cow creamers on the tables in the café," Serena stated cheerfully as she saw Blair enter the café.
"She's your sister," Blair said to Chuck.
"She's your best friend."
Blair turned to Nate, "She's your girlfriend."
"You won't hire me to work in the café but you want me to tell Serena to forget the cow creamer idea?"
"Yes."
"Hey!" Serena squealed, "That is an adorable idea."
"What are you, van der Woodsen, twelve," Chuck shook his head as he laughed.
"It is an adorable idea Serena."
"See?"
"But only if I were opening a tea house that catered to women sixty five and older or men seeking men," Blair added.
"Or a world full of Serenas'," Chuck added.
"Frightening thought," Nate shivered.
"Hey," Serena frowned at her brother and her boyfriend. "I can hear you, you know?"
"Which is amazing sometimes considering how much blonde hair is on the top of your head," Chuck laughed.
"Be nice," Blair stated as she slapped his shoulder.
"Thank you," Serena said to her friend.
"You're welcome. Where's Humphrey?"
"Kitchen. He was muttering to himself about lighting."
"So, what do you think, Bass?" Nate inquired, "Is this investment worth exploring?"
"Yes," Chuck nodded as Blair crossed to the kitchen. "It's going to happen. But you two are never going to be employees."
"Hey!" the blonde duo exclaimed.
-c-c-c-c-c-
Chuck loosened his tie as he walked off the elevator and into the penthouse. He smiled at the scene in front of him. Blair was sitting on the couch looking through what looked like drawings while Sabrina and Sebastian slept on a blanket on the floor.
Blair looked up, "Hey. Are you early, or am I late?"
"Early," he smiled, "I just couldn't stay away any longer."
Blair smiled back at him as he put his briefcase down and kissed her before he sat down on the couch with her.
"So, what are these?"
"I found a big binder in my mom's office that had a lot of designs for rooms. Apparently on top of fashion, she also dabbled in interior design. I wanted to see if any of them would work for the hotel."
"And what is the verdict?" he inquired as he massaged her shoulders gently.
"I like this one for the regular rooms," Blair showed him a simple bedroom drawing. "The color scheme needs some tweaking but the materials are good."
"Agreed," he nodded, "What about the suites? Anything jump out at you for those?"
"This one," Blair reached over his lap and pulled the pile over to give him a better look. "I think this would work nicely for the suites. I haven't gotten through them all so I don't know if any of them are penthouse worthy, but I figure if they aren't we can ask Lily for her opinion."
Chuck nodded as he pushed the drawings away completely. Since they'd agreed to go into business together, the hotel, café and restaurant is all they had been talking about.
"Tell me something about your day that doesn't involve our business venture," he requested.
"Well, I had lunch with Serena, and then she watched the twins while I visited my doctor."
"Are you okay?" he asked automatically. He hadn't known she had an appointment. He feared that something might have been wrong.
"Yes," Blair smiled. "I'm more than okay. People would say I got really lucky."
"I was thinking that I was the lucky one," Chuck stated.
"You could get lucky, if you wanted to."
"The restrictions?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Officially lifted."
"And why wasn't that the first thing out of your mouth when I came home?"
"I wanted to work up to it," Blair giggled. "I was going to wait until later and then just tie you to the bed, but I decided that wouldn't be very nice."
"Should I get the limo detailed?" he inquired.
"I was thinking maybe tomorrow night, Lily could baby-sit and we could turn off the phones, lock the elevator down, and have a lot of fun."
"Tomorrow," Chuck frowned, "Do you actually think we'll make to tomorrow?"
"I just want to be completely alone, and Lily has plans for the night."
Chuck clamped his eyes shut as he processed the thought of waiting one more night to have her. "I can wait," he said through gritted teeth.
"If you want, I could call Dorota in, and we can go somewhere else tonight."
"I'll wait until tomorrow," Chuck assured her.
"You sure?"
"Yes," he nodded, "I want the night to be special. It's about more than just sex. We're recommitting ourselves to each other. I want you to be sure that is what you want."
"Of course it's what I want," she responded automatically. "Look at those two adorable children on the floor. We did that. We created them out of our love for each other."
"But I don't want them to be the only reason for you to commit to me," Chuck stated.
"They're not," Blair tried to assure him.
"You sure?"
"The time was coming, Chuck. Before I was shot, the time was coming where I was going to pick up the phone and tell you where I was and that I wanted to see you."
"But would you ever have truly forgiven me if those two did not exist?" Chuck pressed.
"Yes," Blair nodded. "Because as much as I tried to and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't stop loving you. You were who I thought of when I woke up in Paris every morning and you were there every night and this was before I even suspected being pregnant."
"I'd just hate for you to be settling," Chuck sighed.
"Are you settling?" Blair shot his words back at him.
"Never," Chuck shook his head.
"Are you with me because of those two?" she pressed as she pointed towards their children.
"No," he responded quickly.
"Good," Blair smiled. "If I tell you something, can you promise not to say anything to him?"
"Who?"
"Nate."
"Okay."
"Nate was settling. He was safe and the plan for years. You scared the hell out of me because you weren't in my life's plan. But my life's plan sucked."
"Yes, it did," he agreed.
"I'm not planning anymore," Blair stated, "I'm just allowing myself to be in the moment now. To enjoy the moment, enjoy being together with you and our children."
"Good," Chuck smiled. "But if you don't mind, I think I'll plan something."
"Really? What's that?"
"You, me, and a lot of time alone."
"Tomorrow evening," she nodded.
"Deal," Chuck nodded with a smile.