Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. They belong to Cecily von Zeigesar and The CW.

Blair rushed into the coffee shop where she had agreed to meet Serena. "I'm so sorry I'm late," Blair apologized as she hugged her best friend as she sat down and took a sip of the iced coffee Serena had waiting for her.

"God, B, you look incredible!" Serena exclaimed as she looked over her best friend. The happiness that Blair felt came through every pore in her body, "You're glowing!"

"Sweating," Blair amended, "It's so hot in New York City in late July."

"No glowing," Serena corrected her, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were in love."

Blair's face flushed in response. She had no problem hearing the words from Chuck or saying them in return, but it was still uncomfortable for other people to acknowledge them.

"Things with Chuck still going as perfectly as you said two weeks ago?" Serena inquired.

"Between us, yes," Blair nodded, "But he is so freaked out today. He couldn't even get his tie knotted correctly this morning."

"Taking over the empire is a very big responsibility," Serena stated, "He's taking on a lot of responsibility this summer . . . a girlfriend, a multi-billion dollar corporation. Next thing you know, he'll be buying a home."

"He's casually mentioned it," Blair shrugged, "The suite is outgrowing its charm, but enough about me and Chuck. How did it go in Europe? Did you find your father?"

Serena shook her head. "The trail went cold in Venice," Serena responded, "Carter tried everything he could think of, but it wasn't successful."

"I'm sorry," Blair responded as she took a hold of Serena's hand to comfort her.

"I think I'm ready to completely give up," Serena admitted, "My father doesn't want to be found. He doesn't want to be a part of my life. Why should I want to be a part of his?"

"Because he's your dad," Blair offered, "There is always a bond between us and our parental units, no matter how screwed up the relationship is."

"And boy to we have some messed up relationships," Serena responded, "My dad is AWOL, my mom had me thrown in jail for theft of a bracelet she gave to me as a gift, your father lives in France with his boyfriend, and your mom chose her daughter's best friend over her own daughter for a fashion spread in some stupid magazine."

"My father and I have a good relationship," Blair responded defensively, ". . . when he's around."

"Face it, B," Serena began, "We have all the money that we could ever spend, but our parents will never be what we need."

"We'll break the cycle," Blair responded confidently, "We'll be what we need for our children."

"Children, wow, that seems like such a long way off," Serena remarked, "You and Chuck aren't talking about kids yet, are you?"

"We're barely talking about next week," Blair laughed, "To be honest, I haven't thought that far out."

Serena glared at her. She wasn't buying Blair's response. Blair had been planning her life since she was five.

"Okay, I've thought about it in the totally abstract way that all girls think about it when they start relationships, but I'm certainly not going to tell Chuck that," Blair stated, "The man freaked out enough when I mentioned that we were still in our honeymoon phase of our dating."

"Have you talked to Chuck today?" Serena inquired as she took a sip of her cold beverage.

"I met him for lunch," she nodded, "That's why I was so late getting here. Traffic was a nightmare."

"How's his first day going?" Serena asked.

"He has that deer caught in headlights look," Blair responded with an amused twinkle in her eye, "It would be so cute if he wasn't so freaked out by what is going on. Lily's team of advisers aren't going anywhere for a while. They are his safety net, but he's convinced that one day at the helm is going to sink the ship. He's going to do great. Even Wall Street has confidence in him. The stock prices barely dipped since your mom made the announcement last week."

"Stock prices!" Serena exclaimed, "Since when do you follow the stock market?"

"Since my CEO boyfriend became obsessed with them over the weekend. He had an update added to both our cell phones so that we receive text messages of the stock prices every thirty minutes when the market is open," she explained, "It's really annoying actually, but I don't have the heart to tell Chuck that."

"Have you seen his office yet?" Serena inquired.

"Seen his office and met his assistant, Eugenia," Blair nodded.

"Assistant," Serena stated as her eyebrow raised in curiosity, "What is she like?"

"She's really very nice," Blair responded sincerely, "She's in her mid-thirties. She has two boys that are six and four. She showed me pictures of them. They both have bright red hair like their father. They are so cute, and her husband is gorgeous. He kind of has that Prince Harry look about him."

"Which I'm betting you made sure to mention in front of Chuck," Blair laughed.

"Naturally," she chuckled, "And he glared at me devilishly for that."

"And Chuck's office?" Serena inquired.

"It's Bart's old office," Blair explained, "It still looks virtually the same as it did when he ran things. There is even still the picture of Chuck's mother on the bookshelf. I added a picture of me right next to it when he wasn't looking."

"So you're the girlfriend of a CEO," Serena stated, "We never even thought to dream that high when we were little."

"I know," Blair laughed.

"We should get to shopping," Serena stated, "We've got a lot of damage to do, and I'm sure you'll want to make it back to Chuck's suite before he gets home."

"He probably won't be home until late," Blair shrugged, "But you're right. I do have a special evening planned for him. I made Eugenia promise to notify me when he leaves so that I have the necessary time to prepare."


"How's it going, Buddy?" Nate inquired as he stepped into Chuck's office later that afternoon. Chuck was sitting behind his desk trying to make sense of the business proposal that had been laid in front of him. He looked up at Nate with a grateful smile on his face because he now had something to distract him.

"Nathaniel, I thought you were still in Europe," Chuck stated as he stood up and hugged him.

"I heard a crazy rumor about my best friend becoming CEO, and I had to see it for myself," Nate responded as he admired the office, "Looks like it did when Bart was here."

"Nobody has used it since," Chuck shrugged, "I feel a little strange sitting in his chair. This all felt like a dream until I did that this morning."

"I see Blair's been here," Nate responded as he picked up the picture that she had left earlier.

"She thinks that I didn't see her leave it, but naturally I did," Chuck laughed as he took a moment to admire the photo. His heart sped up just a bit at the sight.

"I didn't know Bart kept a picture of your mom here," Nate replied as he exchanged photos.

"It was on his desk when I walked in this morning. I had to relocate it to the shelf, or I wouldn't have gotten much work done. I can't believe I never noticed it before," Chuck responded.

"Well, you never had a chance to sit on that side of the desk before," Nate concluded.

"What can I do for you today, Nathaniel?" Chuck inquired as he allowed Nate to sit in his chair to try it on for size, "Do you want a summer internship before you head off to Columbia?"

"God, no!" Nate laughed as he tried to relax and get comfortable in the plush brown leather chair, "I'll enjoy the carefree summer lifestyle for as long as it lasts. But I was thinking about dinner tonight after you finish with work. We've got to celebrate."

"Not tonight," Chuck shook his head, "Blair and I are having a quiet dinner together to celebrate if I make it through my first day."

"Speaking of Blair, how's it going between you two?" Nate asked curiously.

"I won't bore you with details, but it's going really good," Chuck responded with a bright smile, "She's a lot easier to be with than you made her out to be when you were together."

"Why don't I believe that?" Nate asked as he shook his head in disbelief.

"It's true," Chuck reiterated, "We still have our arguments, but that's because we are who we are. I think she picks fights with me just so that we have a reason to make up."

"Spare me the details," Nate requested with a roll of his eyes, "I should let you get back to work. We need to have dinner one day this week. We can get Serena and Blair to join us."

Chuck nodded in agreement, "I'll talk to Blair tonight and find out what will work out."

"Take care, Man, and don't let them work you too hard. You are still Chuck Bass after all. You need to have some fun," Nate smirked.

"Blair will take care of that for me later," Chuck grinned wickedly.

"I don't even want to know," Nate responded with a roll of his eyes.

"Mister Bass, Ms. Waldorf is on line 2," Eugenia stated into his intercom.

"I'll let you go. Say hi to her for me," Nate stated as he turned to leave.

"Thanks for stopping by," Chuck responded sincerely, "It's good to know that I'll still have friends while I'm at the top."

"We're brothers, you know that," Nate stated as he left.

Chuck smiled as he picked up his telephone receiver and hit the appropriate button.

"Bass, which color do you prefer . . . black or red?" Blair inquired.

"Well, hello to you too," he chuckled.

"I'm sorry, how is your afternoon going?" she sighed happily.

"Better now that I hear your voice," he mused.

"Black or red?" she repeated.

"That depends," he responded, "Are we talking lingerie colors or suit ties?"

"You'll have to make your pick to find out," she teased.

Chuck groaned at the prospect. Her in red lingerie was a sight to behold, but black brought out a completely different side of him an edgier side.

"Clock is ticking," she teased as the phone line was filled with silence as he weighed his two options.

"Red . . . no black," he stated.

"Are you sure?" she purred.

"Yes," he hesitated.

"Then I'll see you later tonight back at your place," she cooed seductively.

"Blair, that's not fair," he practically whined, "You can't call me up with such a vague question and not give me a hint."

"I'm just making sure that you make it home at a reasonable time," she laughed.

"I can be home in ten minutes," he groaned, the lust becoming evident in his tone, "If you promise to make it worth my while."

"I always make it worth your while," she smirked. She could hear the passion in his voice. She loved that she was getting to him.

"Seriously, Blair, ten minutes," he groaned as he shifted a little bit in his chair to get more comfortable.

"That would be pretty silly considering I won't be home for a least a couple of hours," she chuckled.

"If looks could kill through the phone, Waldorf, you'd be dead right now," her growled.

"I'll see you at home later tonight," Blair laughed, "Be good. I love you."

"I love you too," he responded. He smiled at the realization that she had called his place home. It had never felt that way until they became what they currently were. Before it was just a place to come back to when he needed to escape, now it was a place to come home to . . . home to her. A thought suddenly occurred to him so he called Eugenia into his office.

"Yes, Mister Bass," she responded as she held out a PDA, ready to take notes for whatever request he made.

"I said it was Chuck," he groaned. She'd been referring to him as Mister Bass all day and it caused him to always look over his shoulder to see if his father was standing behind him. It was a little strange to know that if he did look behind him at the moment, he would see an oil painted picture of his father, the only new addition made to the office since his father past away.

"What can I do for you, Mister Bass?" she inquired yet again. The twinkle in her eyes told him that she was now playing with him.

"I need to know the names of all the top real estate agents in New York City," he replied.

"Mister Bass, all of the top real estate people work in this building for you," she reminded him.

"I'm not looking for a development to invest in. I'm looking for a home of my own, one away from the Palace," he explained.

"I'll see what I can do for you," she responded.

"Thank you, Eugenia," he replied as he smiled at her.

"Anything else, Mister Bass?" Eugenia asked playfully.

"I'll give you a three percent raise if you stop calling me that," he chuckled.

"But where would the fun be in that," she replied, not taking him as seriously as she probably should have.

"That's all for now," he laughed.

"Ms. Waldorf requested that I notify her of when you were leaving. Do you have an estimate as to when that might be?" Eugenia inquired.

"I've got a few more business proposals to get through today before I can even think about leaving. I've got at least three more hours," he replied as he eyed the stack of papers on one side of his desk.

"I'll let her know," Eugenia nodded.

"You don't by any chance know what she's planning for this evening do you?" he asked just as his assistant was turning to leave.

"I do," she nodded, "But I cannot tell you."

"You forget who pays your salary," he laughed lightly.

"But we both know who the boss of you is these days, and it's not the Board of Directors," she smirked.

"She's going to get it when I get home tonight," Chuck grinned devilishly as he began to attack the proposals on his desk with a renewed interest. He could hear Eugenia laughing all the way back to her desk.

TBC . . .