Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel and It's A Laugh Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.

REQUITED

Chapter 3

There She Is

London got onto the familiar elevator and headed down to the lobby. This was indeed home. She had stepped on to the elevator countless times headed to exotic and not-so-exotic locales. She would return from those locales usually burdened with arms full of bags and packages from every store imaginable. The private elevator of the Presidential Suite had been London's version of a roller coaster. Whether it was going up or going down, it was sure to be one heck of a ride.

This ride, however, made her more nervous than normal. She was less than a half an hour away from a face-to-face meeting seven years in the making. The love of her life was less than 15 blocks away. As the elevator descended toward the lobby, the knot in her stomach began to tighten. She wondered what kind of shape she was going to be in when she reached Maddie's building, her floor, her office. If only she could see a familiar face to calm her nerves. Esteban and Marion were attending a regional meeting via conference call at Marion's office in the heart of downtown. The rest of the staff was new to her. There was no one left from the "good ol' days".

London sighed as she stepped off the elevator and into the lobby. She couldn't help but glance over at the candy counter where Maddie once worked. It had been remodeled, like the rest of the hotel had been two years earlier, but to her it would always be Maddie's candy counter. She was still looking at the counter as she started walking toward the main entrance. Her journey to that entrance came to an abrupt halt when she ran into a man talking on his cell phone. The force knocked London backwards and turned her around, but didn't knock her off her feet.

"Hold on a second, baby." The man said to the person on the phone. "I'm sorry Miss. Are you all right?"

London turned her head and started to look up. Before her eyes hit his face, she could tell that the man was over six feet tall.

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you… Oh my God! Zack! Is that really you?" London gawked in amazement. For the first time in seven years, she laid eyes on Zack Martin.

"Now what's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" Zack replied. London squealed and jumped into his arms, not caring about the heads that turned in the lobby.

Zack put the phone up to his ear with one arm, still holding London with the other. "Hey Maxie, let me call you back. I just ran into London… Okay. I love you too. Bye." He snapped the phone shut and completed his bear hug on London. "It's so good to see you! When did you get into town?" Zack sat London back on the ground. "Wow! I've seen pictures of you in magazines and interviews on TV but they don't do you justice. You look amazing."

"I got back yesterday. And thank you. I am just… it's good to be back." London said. "I heard you on the phone say Maxie. Is that the same Max I knew?"

"Old habits die hard." Zack joked. "Yeah. That's her. We've been dating off and on for about four years now. I think it's on for good."

"So am I gonna be coming back for another Martin wedding in the near future?" London suggestively asked as she playfully elbowed Zack.

"Can you keep a secret?" Zack asked.

"The old London couldn't but this one can." London said in a whisper. Zack reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a small blue box. He opened it to reveal a 1-carat oval diamond engagement ring. London gasped. "Zack… it's beautiful! When…"

"At the rehearsal dinner." Zack said. "I asked C.J. and Barbara if it would be all right. They said yes. I hope Max does too."

"Oh! You're gonna make me cry!" London reached into her purse for a tissue to dab her eyes. Just then a middle-aged woman who saw the scene walked up to the two of them.

"Congratulations, sweetheart. That is so romantic." The woman said.

"Huh?" London huffed and then looked at the woman, then Zack holding the ring, then remembered that she was crying. "NO! No, ma'am! It's not what you think!"

"No, ma'am!" Zack said. "I was just showing her the ring. It's not hers."

"Oh. So you're just going to tease her with it and then take it away? That is mean and insensitive. You should be ashamed of yourself!" The woman said before walking away.

"But she's just…" Zack tried to reassure the woman as she walked away but it was of no use. London was snickering under her breath before the snicker grew into a full belly laugh. "Very funny." Zack deadpanned. "But…" Zack grabbed London's hand and studied it. "I don't see a rock on your finger."

London gingerly withdrew her hand with a forlorn look. "I haven't found my true love yet."

"Yes you have. I am under the belief that 90 percent of people in the world meet their true love in their lifetime. They just don't connect with them for one reason or another. I think you have already met your true love. I think you've known your true love for years." Zack said.

"Did someone tell you?" London asked.

"No. I just have a sixth sense about these things. I told Mr. Moesby months before he started dating Charlotte that he had already met his future wife. And guess what? She lives in his building." Zack said.

"So let's assume that you do have this gift. Then if I've met my true love already, who is it?" London challenged Zack.

"I have a hunch. But I'm not gonna say. If I'm wrong, you might be angry." Zack said.

"If you're right, I might be angry because I didn't think anyone else knew." London countered then sighed. "Let's just say that I am on my way to see my true love now."

"Fair enough." Zack said. "I'll let you go." Zach hugged her. "How about dinner tomorrow night with Max and me?"

"You trust me around her now that I know about the secret?"

"I trust you." Zack said. "Now go. I am not about to stand in the way of you and your love."

"All right Zack." London started toward the main entrance. "Call me."

"Okay. And London?"

"Yeah?" London stopped and turned to Zack.

Zack delivered his next line with a warm, knowing smile. "Tell Maddie I said hi."

London stood frozen for a moment, shocked that Zack hit the nail on the head. She then shook her head slowly as a smile crept across her face.

"You bet I will." London said with a wink as she turned and headed out of the exit. She handed the valet her stub. Moments later, her car pulled up. After tipping the valet, she hopped in. Just before pulling away, her cell phone rang. It was her secretary Sandrine with some information she requested. She sat there for a moment, taking down the information.

Maddie wheeled her silver 2014 Lexus SC600 convertible in front of the main entrance to the Tipton. Damn, that new Benz is gorgeous! She thought to herself looking at the gleaming German automobile parked in front of her. She slid out of the driver's seat and handed her valet key to the attendant. She took her ticket and was about to enter the hotel when she stopped and listened to the smooth rumble of the Mercedes engine as the car in front of her pulled away. That looks like London's type of car. Who am I kidding? She probably has a Bentley.

She stepped inside the hotel and walked straight over to the front desk. There was no wide-eyed sentimentality involved with Maddie and the Tipton. She had three to five meetings a month there. As she confidently strode to the front desk, a familiar voice called out to her.

"Maddie?" Maddie turned to find the source of the voice. She scanned the lobby until she saw him.

"Hey Zack! How's it going?" Maddie said. She ran into Zack every now and then. He worked two blocks from her office for an entertainment company and would run into her at restaurants or coffee shops in the area.

"Let me take a wild guess…" Zack said as he walked over to Maddie. "You came to see London."

"Well I haven't seen her in seven years." Maddie said flatly.

"Well you've got a little longer to wait." Zack said. "You just missed her."

"WHAT?" Maddie exclaimed.

"I just talked to her. She's on her way to see you." Zack said with a raised eyebrow, anticipating a profane outburst from the volatile attorney.

"Sonofabitch!" Maddie spat. "When did she leave?"

"Couple of minutes ago." Zack said. "I'm surprised you didn't see her on your way in."

Then it clicked in Maddie's head. "The Benz. I'll be damned! That was her! Zack, it was good seein' ya but…"

"You gotta go. I know. Just be careful."

"I will. Bye." Maddie turned and started running back to the main entrance.

Zack watched her as she ran out and started shaking his head and laughing. "Oh yeah. This week is gonna be fun."

Maddie impatiently waited for the valet to retrieve her car. I just came in! What the hell is taking so long? When her car arrived, she hopped in and peeled out onto the street. She flew down the city street toward her building. I can catch her as she's going up. She thought to herself. I can't wait to see her! Her enthusiasm came to a grinding halt at the sight of red and blue lights in her rear view mirror. "Aww, come on! Not now! Shit!" Maddie slowly brought her car to rest three blocks from her building.

Eight minutes, an explanation and two impassioned pleas later, Maddie pulled away with a $175 ticket. Who cares? She thought. I'm almost there. Maddie hurtled her car down the ramp of the parking garage and wheeled around the corner seconds before a black blur came into her peripheral view. "FUCK!" Maddie slammed on brakes at the same instant the driver of the black vehicle did. After the teeth grinding screeching of tires, the two cars came to rest inches from one another. Maddie unbuckled her seat belt loaded for bear. She was pissed. She missed London at the hotel, got pulled over for speeding on the way back to her office to see her, now this. Hell hath no fury…

Maddie's car door flew open at the same time the other driver's door opened. The two drivers words were on top of each other.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?" "THIS IS A GARAGE, NOT A GODDAMNED RACE TRACK!" "WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE FROM, TARGET?" "CONTROL THAT PIECE OF SHIT!" "YOU ARE THE WORST FUCKING DRIVER, LONDON!" "KISS MY ASS, MADDIE!"

And then there was silence.

"London?"

"Maddie?"

"I was coming to…" Maddie sputtered.

"I was on my way to…" London started.

"Nice car." Maddie said.

"I like yours too." London said.

"Are we going to hug or are we gonna trade car compliments all day?" Maddie said.

London smile lit up the underground structure. "I vote for the hug."

The two best friends stepped forward. For the first time in seven years, they made physical contact with each other. They held each other tightly as they rocked back and forth. Tears began flowing. No words were spoken. The middle of an underground parking garage was not the ideal place for a reunion, but it would have to do. Their sobs of joy echoed in the cavernous garage. They would have stayed there and hugged all day if it wasn't for the car horn that began to blare.

"Hey! You two wanna get a room! I'd like to get to my parking space!" A man in a cobalt blue BMW bellowed. Through their tears, London and Maddie began laughing. They slowly broke the embrace.

"Come on, let's park and go up to my office." Maddie said.

"Okay." London responded.

"A little faster please!" The man called out again. Maddie was about to pounce but was beaten to the punch by London.

"Hey! We're having a tender moment here, Assclown!" London fired back. "Don't worry! Your secretary is under your desk waiting for you like she always is! Now sit there and wait like a good little adulterer!"

"Bitch." The man muttered under his breath as he stuck his head back inside his car.

Maddie exploded in laughter as she went back to her car. She is funnier than ever.

They stepped into the elevator in the garage. Maddie swiped her key card and pressed the button for the 27th floor.

"I still can't believe you called him an assclown!" Maddie exclaimed.

"Well, he was! I swear guys like that make me wish I still wore those sparkly boots. That way I could kick them in the butt and leave glitter all over the seat of their pants." London said with a degree of seriousness. Maddie cracked up in laughter again. London allowed a smile to creep across her lips. I missed seeing her laugh. She thought.

"So how long are you in town?" Maddie asked. Long enough for me to tell you that I'm in love with you, I hope.

"Maddie. I am the de facto head of all things Tipton. I can stay as long as I want." London proclaimed. Forever if you'll have me.

"Do I hear a little bit of the old London trying to slip out?" Maddie suggested.

"Princess is still in there. I just have her handcuffed in a dark room." London said.

Mental… note… Maddie said to herself as if she were writing it down. She… likes… handcuffs. She then unconsciously smiled a devilish smile.

"What was that for?" London asked.

"What?" Maddie asked honestly, not realizing London saw her smile.

"That look." London shot back. The elevator chime sounded signaling their arrival on the 27th floor.

"What look?" Maddie asked incredulously as the doors opened and she stepped off.

"Playing hard to get, I see. Okay." London said. Nice choice of words, Numbnut.

They reached the edge of Chloe's desk when Chloe came out of Maddie's office.

"I'm glad you're back. London Tipton called for you just before you left." Chloe said this not realizing that London was standing behind Maddie.

"You mean this London Tipton?" Maddie stepped aside. London gave Chloe her old signature princess wave and pulled another oldie-but-goodie out of her bag.

"Yay me!" London said, bouncing up and down and clapping her hands vigorously. Maddie nearly choked as she began laughing again. "Wow! I haven't done that in years. Haven't lost my touch."

"Get in here, assclown!" Maddie said laughing as she walked into her office. London followed her laughing. When London stepped in, Maddie stuck her head out and addressed Chloe. "Hold all my calls. Collier, Beckett, Levesque. That's it. Thanks." Maddie then closed the door.

"Maddie Fitzpatrick laughing and joking?" Chloe said to herself out loud. "For her sake, I hope London Tipton sticks around."

Maddie placed her purse in her desk drawer then came back around in front of the desk. She gave London a good once over from head to toe.

"If Paris does this to people, then I need to hop on the first plane out of Logan. You look…" Careful Madeline. She decided to censor herself. "Incredible."

The 27-year old London Tipton was a far cry from the London Tipton that left Boston nearly a decade earlier. London had trimmed ten pounds of fat from her diminutive frame and had replaced it with ten pounds of muscle. When nature had finished filling out the young Miss Tipton, her curves were the envy of millions of women worldwide. Two years earlier, she found herself on People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People list, just a couple of page turns from her good friends, Ivanka Trump, Raven Baxter and that edition's cover girl, Abigail Breslin.

Her hair was meticulously done, flat iron straight, slightly longer than chin length, razor cut ends that framed her delicate, round face. Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled with just the right amount of eyeliner, the natural blush of her cheeks rendered artificial aid in that area useless.

Dark business suits were her outfits of choice. She still wore garments from the top designers in the world; Versace, Wang, Gucci and her personal favorite, Ravenesque by Raven. A low murmur could be heard in any board room she walked into thanks to the tailoring of her skirts which usually hit her mid-thigh, accentuating her toned legs and the four-inch stiletto heels she always wore. And if they weren't Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik or Raven's signature Chelsea line of shoes, then they weren't in London's closet.

"You look pretty incredible yourself there, Blondie." London replied, calling Maddie by an old nickname.

"You are the only one that I would let call me that." Maddie said warmly.

"What, incredible or blonde?" London joked. Maddie smiled. That smile. That body! London thought. She hadn't seen Maddie in seven years. She changed in appearance as well.

Madeline Fitzpatrick also provided a striking presence that turned many a head wherever she went. She resisted the urge to follow the trend of the day by keeping all of the length of her sun-kissed golden blonde mane. Her crowning glory extended four inches past her shoulders although she always kept it back in a tasteful ponytail at work.

She always kept makeup to a minimum. Eyeliner, mascara and lip gloss were usually all that she had time for, but was more than enough to make her one of the most eligible bachelorettes in Boston, according to a recent issue of Boston, a magazine highlighting all that is great about the city.

Despite the long hours that she put in at the office, she had a natural glow, emanating from her porcelain skin, that was a beacon to men, and women that came into contact with her. Lighter, brighter colors could always be found on Maddie. This was in stark contrast to the dark, bombastic personality she displayed on the job.

However, the thing that caught London's attention was Maddie's figure. London discovered where the ten pounds she lost went. Those ten pounds were accompanied by about five more and all fifteen of them landed in the right places. She could no longer call Maddie a "skinny, stick-legged freak" like she did the time Maddie tried to make a movie in the hotel. Maddie had the same taste in skirt length. She turned this into a distraction technique when she coupled it with her penchant for leaning on her desk with her legs stretched out or sitting on the edge of her desk with one leg on the floor and one hiked up, as she was doing at that moment.

"You didn't answer my question. I'm the only one that can call you incredible or blonde?" London pressed. What are you doing?

"You are London Tipton. You can call me whatever you want." Maddie joked. Your baby would be nice.

My baby would be nice. London thought before responding. "Sometimes I wish my first name wasn't so pretentious. I mean "London"? It's just so…"

"You have a great name. London Leah Tipton. It's short and sweet. Just like you. Now my name… I could kill my parents for naming me that. I mean, you are my best friend and to this day you can't remember my full name."

"Madeline Margaret Genevieve Miranda Catherine Fitzpatrick." London rattled off Maddie's full forty-nine-letter name like it was her own. Maddie stood shell-shocked. Her mother was the only person besides herself that she had ever heard say her name without hesitation or transposition of one of her names.

"How in the world did you do that?" Maddie asked.

"MMGMCF." London said.

"Say what?" Maddie asked.

"MMGMCF. Those are your initials. I practiced every day for a week until I had your name down cold." London said. "Now, what name would you want if you weren't Maddie Fitzpatrick?"

Madeline Tipton. Maddie allowed herself to think. "I like Catherine."

London studied Maddie for a second. She cocked her head to one side and took a good look at the blonde bombshell. She unconsciously licked her lips and bit her bottom lip.

"But you are a Maddie. I can't imagine you as anything else." London softly said with an air of underlying intensity that was not lost on Maddie.

"I… Uh… Okay. Maddie it is, now and forever." Maddie said before hearing a knock at her door. "Come in."

"Maddie, I just wanted to go over…" Mr. Collier started before seeing Maddie's guest. "London Tipton."

"Ray Collier. How are you?" London walked over to Mr. Collier and embraced him, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"You two know each other?" Maddie asked, looking at both of them.

"I had a meeting with Tipton's board a couple of months ago." Collier said.

"You never mentioned that, London." Maddie said.

"I must not have been at that meeting." London answered.

"So how do you two know each other?" Collier asked.

"Raymond, London and I are best friends. I've known her for years." Maddie said. "I talk to her every week. I just haven't seen her in seven years."

"That is a piece of information I should have known a long time ago." Collier said with a chuckle. "London, would you excuse us for just a second." He said, placing his hand on the small of Maddie's back as they walked to her office door, stepping outside. "Why am I just finding out that London Tipton is your best friend?"

"Raymond, I didn't know that I was supposed to make my personal friendships known to the firm." Maddie said with surprise in her voice. She was taken aback by Collier's question. To be the highest-powered attorney in Boston, Raymond Collier is known by his friends and colleagues to be a sensitive and kind man.

"You're not. But I have been trying to acquire a piece of Tipton International's business for three years now. And today I find out that one of my associates is best friends with London Tipton herself…" Collier said. "I need a huge favor…"

"You want me to use my influence as London's best friend to win her business for the firm." Maddie said. "Raymond…"

"Maddie already talked to me." London emerged from the office. "She's been in my ear telling me how the firm can benefit Tipton International. And I think it's a good idea. Why don't we meet tomorrow to discuss it?"

"I would like that very much Miss Tipton." Collier said. Maddie watched the scene unfold in front of her with a confused feeling inside, but she suppressed the look that came with it for the sake of business. "Maddie… why don't you take the rest of the day off. You've got seven years of catching up to do."

"But I have a one o'clock with Barry…"

"I'll have Chloe take care of your calendar for the rest of the day. Go have fun. You need a break. You push yourself so hard. I promise your work will be here when you get back." Collier said.

"Okay. If you say so." Maddie said. "London, shall we?" Maddie offered her arm to London.

"We shall." London said with a smile as she locked arms with Maddie. "Ray, I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay, London." Collier said as he watched the two best friends step out of the office arm in arm.

"Bye, Chloe. I'll see you tomorrow." Maddie said with a haphazard wave over her shoulder.

"Should I forward your calls to your cell phone?" Chloe asked.

"No. Let 'em go to voicemail." Maddie said as the elevator chime sounded. Collier and Chloe watched as the elevator door closed in front of the giggling best friends.

"That young woman is in dire need of letting loose and having some good silly fun." Collier said to Chloe.

"Yeah, she really needs to get laid." Chloe said with a sarcastic chuckle, forgetting that her audience was the man whose name was on her paycheck. "I… mean…uh… what I meant to say was…"

"It's all right, Chloe." Collier said. "There's more than one way to skin a cat. I think we both had the same idea."

What did you think? I know it took a while but, for better or for worse, there it is. PLEASE REVIEW. Chapter four will be here soon.