Chapter Thirty One- No Money, Mo' Problems
[Blair's P.O.V]
After a long day at work, I had to admit that I was glad to just leave the office so that I could go home to rest. I think being back in the office now was a bit weird because a part of me still felt as if I was out of body, but I was piece by piece getting better. Ellie of course missed me, when it came to her photo shoot, but I did the best I could to basically gift wrap the shoot for the assistant. Earlier on in the day, Humphrey had made arrangements for them to go out to dinner because he had failed to do grocery shopping for the week. She had always gotten on him about it, which was strange for her seeing as that was something that was always done for her, but when it came to him being lazy….she made sure he knew how she felt about it. Meeting up with him at the restaurant, she could quickly see that he had a hard day that consisted of losing another client to Ross. There was a certain look that he had on his face that she just knew over the span of them being together, and now, she wasn't quite sure what she should tell him. He had done his best to keep things fun between them because he didn't want to ruin my night.
"I'm happy for you, I mean I think the shoot sounds amazing" Dan said as he looked on at the prints I had showed him "The lighting just makes the picture so much" he told me
"Look at you being all technical" I replied just happy that he knew his terminology
"I learned from the best" Dan smiled as he gathered the photos together to give back to me
"Where is Eliot?" I asked
"He's comforting Perry. Boy toy is with someone else now, and Perry is taking it hard" Dan told me
"Perry should just give up the playboys, they'll only lead to heart ache. I should know" I teased him towards the end
"Of course" Dan laughed "I'm a little surprised that we haven't heard from the playboy, I mean I at least thought he would reach out to you after your accident" he said
"I think not hearing from him is him trying to give me that space, besides I'd love to see your face if he did decide to make contact" I laughed
"I'd be open to him talking to you, I can't just get in the way of the relationships you choose to have" Dan sighed as he was doing his best not to think about the frustrations of his job
"I'll consider that, when it comes to a certain client" I joked
"Now, he's a different story…he's so damn annoying with all the flirting. I mean you've told him countless times that your dating someone, and yet he still comes with the full court press" Dan replied
"He's just a guy that likes the challenge" I told him
"Well, I'll see if you like that when it comes to a certain secretary" Dan told me
"Please, you dated Serena van der Woodsen….every other girl is just mediocre from there" I laughed at his failed attempt of trying to make me jealous
"I'm a hot commodity, you got me at a good time" Dan teased
"I agree, they always say its best to snatch things up in a recession. I consider you my bargain" I laughed
"Bargain my ass" Dan laughed as the waitress came over towards us with the check "Do you want to grab ice cream on the way back?" he asked me quickly as the waitress seemed as if she was trying to process something in her head "Are we all squared away?" he then asked her
"Sir, your credit card was declined" The waitress told him
"Are you sure?" Dan asked as he pulled his wallet out and began to rifle through it
"Yes, we ran the card three times with the same result" The waitress said as I watched him become more frustrated
"Here, you can run mine" I told the waitress as I just reached for my purse to pull out my card to hand to her
"Thank you. It'll be just a moment" The waitress told me before she turned to leave
"I'm sure it was just a mistake. Did Perry forget to deposit the checks?" I asked just trying to take his mind off of it
"Maybe" Dan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair but it was clear that it was annoying him
[Dan's P.O.V.]
I have to admit that the whole dinner thing bugged me a bit more than I thought it would. I tried to pretend like I could make through the night with my manhood in tact but it just was a huge blow to my pride. I've always known that Waldorf had money, and could take care of herself financially if needed, even without her parent's money, but when your girlfriend has to pay for a dinner that you suggested is a bit much. The whole walk back to the penthouse, she tried to make me feel better by making me feel more manly than I did, but it just didn't seem to help. My plan wasn't to take this out on Waldorf, but it just seemed like she was the easier target in all of this. Making our way into the penthouse, all I wanted to do was take a quick shower then get to bed so I could forget this day ever existed, but that was hard to do when the living room area was flooded with gifts for Blair. Glaring on at the ridiculous amount of presents for her, I just couldn't believe that today of all days he had to add on to the crap fest it was all ready becoming. Looking through the cards, Blair tried to play like she had no clue but I knew without even looking at the card.
"Clearly he's more infatuated with you than I thought" I sighed "What'd he give you?" I asked not really wanting to know
"Nothing, just stupid stuff" Blair replied as I walked over to one of the boxes
"I hardly call diamonds stupid stuff" I said lifting a Tiffany box from the bag "Diamond bracelet, tickets to Brazil, imported chocolate, and another pair of diamond earrings….yeah, this is a bunch of stupid stuff" I replied sarcastically
"Okay, well its not like I knew" Blair said "I guess Brad was really, really, really impressed with me" she then said
"I think you needed to add another really to that list because diamonds do warrant that" I said "I mean he really out did himself this time, he got your favorites" I told him
"Stop it" Blair replied "This was just his way of trying to…to do whatever he hoped on doing" she said
"Which was to woo you, I mean you can say it because when a guy gives a girl diamonds, its in an attempt to woo her" I told her
"If the girl wants to be wooed" Blair said "I'll just ship this stuff up and send it back to him" she said
"Of course" I replied sarcastically
"What's that supposed to mean?" Blair asked me
"It just means that I'm sure a part of you likes this stuff. I mean this was the diamond that you wanted from Tiffany's" I said
"Okay, I've prided myself in understanding Humphrey speak, but I don't get you…are you mad that I don't want this stuff or are you mad because he sent it? Just clarify this confusion for me" Blair told me
"I'm not mad. I just think you shouldn't pretend that your not fascinated with this stuff" I told her "Diamonds are your calling card, and trips….you love those…hell, I'm still paying for out last one" I then added
"Okay, now I'm understanding Humphrey speak…its saying clearly that I'm an ass right now" Blair said
"No, its saying stop acting like you don't like this stuff. You want this stuff, so keep it" I said
"I don't want it" Blair replied sternly "I'm not interested in Brad, so why keep something that will only egg him on to keep sending more stuff that will make you an ass" she said
"How am I an ass? I'm stating my opinion, and my opinion is that you should stop pretending" I told her
"Whose pretending!" Blair declared "I don't want this stuff" she said
"Clearly, we're not going to see the same point of view on this so lets just chalk this up to us not understanding each other" I said
"Or lets chalk this up to you be insecure" Blair fired back "Ever since dinner, I've tried to baby your ego but I'm not going to. I can pay for my own diamonds, I don't need a man to do so. I can pay for a dinner, I don't need you to do so for me. I can take trips and not sweat the pay back, so please don't act like your doing me a favor by footing the bill because if you want half on it, then I can give that to you" she told me
"That's not what I meant, and you know it" I sighed
"I don't care what you meant, I really don't because I'm tired and I just want to go to bed" Blair told me
"Great, then we agree on something" I said following behind her only to find her stop in front of me
"What are you doing?" Blair asked
"I'm going to bed" I replied
"Oh, no. Not in this room, at least not with me. Your going to bed in there" Blair said pointing over to the guest room
"Why do I have to sleep in there?" I asked in disbelief
"Because I don't see us sleeping together, and as of now…maybe not for a while" Blair said before she stormed into the room to slam the door in my face
"This is my penthouse!" I yelled before she opened the door to throw a pillow out at me
"Go to hell!" Blair yelled back through the door as I just huffed in frustration
[Blair's P.O.V.]
I wanted to be sensitive to the fact clearly his manhood had taken a hit, but the gifts thing had really gotten to me and I just couldn't hold back on Humphrey. I understand that he's having a tough time at work, but that gives him no right to take it out on me. I've dealt with that crap with Chuck, and I refuse to even let Humphrey think he can do so with me. This morning, when I was getting ready to go out, he looked like he had been through hell on that stiff floor in the guest room to the point where I wanted to burst into laughter at the sight of him. His hair was a mess, and although he tried to hide it, I could clearly see him tending to his back. Usually I would worry about his pain, but he deserved it. Under normal circumstances we would hang out and catch breakfast together as our sort of time together, but last night on my protest of all things Humphrey, I arranged to hang out with Serena. She had been busy with traveling around the world, which was something that I knew she had always wanted to do ever since we were little. If I could have watched the look on his face as I left this morning without him, I swore I could have laughed and never stopped because he knew once I stood for something, I stood for it. Once I met up with Serena, we pretty much fell back in to old habits of the girlie chit chat over brunch.
"So how are things? With the whole aftermath?" Serena asked
"The aftermath as in losing the baby?" I asked as I played with my straw trying to avoid eye contact so that I wouldn't cry
"Yeah. I'm sorry B" Serena said as she rubbed my hand
"No, its okay. I mean I was bad in handling it when I first got out of the hospital. Humphrey had to literally force me to deal with it, but I've dealt with it and I'm in a good place now" I told her
"Do you have any idea as to who did this?" Serena asked me and I should be more than willing to tell her, but I know that she still has a sense of loyalty to Dan
"No. I have no clue" I lied. I can't take that chance of him finding out, he's managed to get things back on track with his father so I can't bring this up again
"I just wish they would do something to find out, so the person who did this would suffer the way you have" Serena sighed "I mean its unfair that someone can do this to you and just leave" she said
"I agree, but what can I do" I sighed as I took a sip of my drink
"Have you heard from Chuck?" Serena asked
"Nope" I quickly replied before I took a moment to think "Okay, it does have me a bit worried that he hasn't called because the last time he magically disappeared…" I said before Serena laughed
"And then blackmailed you into breaking up with Dan, me finding out about your secret affair, then you going on a mind warp where it involved you attempting to marry him" Serena laughed "I'm starting to love our sense of innovated drama" she continued to tease
"I know, we never have simple drama. We have that movie type of drama, where it takes two hours for us to do something" I laughed
"Then the sequel to put the bad guy away for good" Serena laughed
"I miss those days" I sighed "Well sort of" I told her
"How are things with Dan and you?" Serena asked "My mother told me about the tense times between Jenny and you" she said
"Oh, between who?" I asked "Jenny and me? Or Dan and me?" I then asked
"Both, but by your tone I guess I should ask about both" Serena said observing my tone
"Yes, very much both" I told her "Jenny, I can't really repair that damage, so I just encourage Dan to be a brother to his sister. Dan on the other hand, very much in the dog house as they come to call it" I said
"Why?" Serena asked
"Because he was acting like an ass last night" Blair said "We went out to dinner and his credit card got declined, so I paid for the dinner….which lead to him acting like an insecure ass, who made a big deal out of nothing" she said
"Oh, so you had the money problem" Serena concluded
"Yes, we had the money problem. Why did you with him?" I asked
"Uh, yes" Serena replied "I just usually adjusted to the Brooklyn lifestyle which was amazing, but the best way to avoid it is to….avoid it" she said
"Why should I avoid it?" I asked "I mean I have money, I never made any apologies for that, nor will I" I said
"And that's the reason why you will continue to have this problem with him" Serena laughed
"I'm not going to baby his ego, I mean it sucks that he is having a hard time on his job but I'm not his punching bag" I told her
"So what is your plan?" Serena asked
"My plan is to be supportive but not be abused" I told her "I love him, but he's got to suck this up" I said
"Okay, there you go….the plan has been formed" Serena laughed
"What do you think I should do?" I asked
"I just think you see things from his side a bit on the money deal" Serena said
"I do. S, I'm not as high maintenance as I used to be. I even got on him for not grocery shopping the other day, I have become more domesticated than anything" I declared
"Look, you clearly know what to do, so just do what you feel in necessary" Serena said
[Dan's P.O.V.]
Waldorf really made it a point to get her point across, I have to say I'm not surprised because she is quite the stubborn woman. Last night, I viewed my words as just that, words….but after sleeping on the floor last night in the guest room, I'm realizing my words hurt more than I realized in more than one way. I guess a part of me is just so frustrated because I want to be financially secure, and with my job getting more difficult these days, it just feels like everything is stacking up against me. For the first time I thought I was finally living the life, living the dream as they call it but now I just feel like it could be slipping away. I'm still paying for the impromptu trip to France and Italy on top of my rent, so that leaves me with a few hundred dollars but not enough to wine and dine. Everything just seems to be getting to me and I want to shield her away from that stuff so she doesn't have to deal with my shortcomings, but its getting more difficult when clients, such as Rich Garmon, are being taken away. Meeting up with my dad down at the pier, I was a little glad to hang out with him because I have come to enjoy our connection these days. It sucks that it took a tragedy to bring us back together but I'm glad he's back in my life. Having your father in your life is always a bonus is how I look at it as.
"Next round is on you" I told him as I finished up my beer
"Not the way your drinking it. Maybe you should slow up" Rufus laughed at me "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked
"Just the fact that work is becoming a pain" I sighed "I lost another possible writer" I told him
"Sorry about that" Rufus replied
"Don't be, I mean clearly the magazine isn't as appealing as I thought. Maybe I need to accept the fact that I need to do more" I said
"What more can you do?" Rufus asked "I mean you've logged in long hours, so what more can you do?" he asked
"I know right, but I just wish that I could find a way to save this magazine but now it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel" I told him "Then I took it out on Blair" I sighed
"Trouble in paradise?" Rufus asked
"No…well, trouble for me. I took it out on her because this Brad guy won't catch the damn hint that she's not interested, so he keeps sending her lavish gifts" I told him
"And you fear that you won't be able to give her that stuff" Rufus concluded "Do you think you could give her that stuff? I mean really?" he asked
"I want to, but that's not the basis of our relationship. Blair isn't like that, but I just want the satisfaction of saying that I gave her that or I can get that for her" I told him "But instead she just told me that she can buy her own crap for herself…basically the empowered woman speech" I then added
"The Upper Eastside woman, I've heard it myself" Rufus laughed to himself
"How do you deal when it comes to Lilly?" I asked him
"I just smile" Rufus said as we both laughed "You just have to understand your role in the relationship, if you want to be the big spender then you'll constantly feel insecure, but if your main focus is to be her friend and be the one she needs….then you'll settle into it" he said
"Wow, I'm surprised you gave sound advice on my relationship….to Blair Waldorf" I laughed
"It's taken me some time to get used to the two of you…do I wish you were with someone else….kind of, but I don't want to lose my son over it" Rufus said
"I respect that dad" I smiled "I think it even helped Blair to know that you were there for us during our grieving of Nano" I told him
"Nano?" Rufus asked
"We named our unborn child, it helped with our grieving" I told him as he quickly began to occupy his hands
"Why would you?….I'm just trying to understand it" Rufus laughed to himself "I mean its not funny, but I've never heard of that" he said
"We were just talking about it and we came up with the name nano" I told him "Look, I know its weird but it helped. I mean I really think she's dealing with this and she's moving past this" I said "In fact, its getting around to that point where we could…you know, now" I muttered
"Excuse me?…are you actually sharing that information with me now?" Rufus laughed as he was surprised I was divulging that information
"Well, I can't talk about it with Eliot because he's like a brother to me. Perry isn't exactly in the best emotional state to talk about that, so it leaves you…my dad. Look I'm just happy we're on good terms again and that we've both moved past all the crap" I smiled
"Yeah, well…family has to stick together" Rufus smiled
"That's right, family has to stick together. I guess dealing with the loss of the baby and everything has helped me see that my little family is strong, and that I should feel really good with what Waldorf and I have built….which has made me realize that I was….an ass last night" I began to laugh to myself
"There you go, you were an ass" Rufus laughed "And I don't think its weird…naming your child" he told me
"Somehow I knew you wouldn't, if anything I felt like you were the only person who would understand" I said softly as we both just shared a moment of silent understanding
[Blair's P.O.V.]
My brunch with Serena had served an effective purpose as I thought of numerous ways to make Humphrey suffer. Serena was all pro understanding, which explains her failed relationships, but I can't allow him to get away with it. Okay, I know its becoming a bit repetitive that I keep saying it but that's just how upset I am with him. The nerve of him to make me think that having money is such a bad thing….okay, well he didn't make me think that, but I felt it and he caused me to feel it. To be honest, I'm a little happy that we're fighting over something so stupid because it just reinforces that we can be normal again…hell, that were are normal again. With everything happening with Nano, things just felt so tense that I was either depressed one moment or crying the other moment, so to be mad and scheming to bring Humphrey to his knees is a welcomed change. Opening the door, I wasn't too surprised to see that he had beat me home but he looked pathetic, so I guess he was ready to cave in. For the first few moments, I just acted as if I hadn't even known he was there, just going about my own business without a care in the world. Making myself some tea to drink, I could see that he was thinking to himself on how he should approach, which was kind of funny because lets face it….he's screwed either way. Takes him all of five minutes to get it, and here he comes. Taking a seat at the counter, he just looks on at me as I squeeze the juice of the lemon into my tea.
"How was brunch today?" Dan asked
"It was good" I replied
"That's good. Did Serena say what she was up to?" Dan asked
"Nothing new, just being Serena" I told him
"That's…that's not informative" Dan sighed
"Oh, I'm sorry…I'll be sure to be more…" I began to say before he quickly realized that he messed up by that statement so he was doing all he could to take it back
"No, no, no. I'm sorry" Dan quickly apologized "Look, I was just trying to start conversation" he said
"What a surprise?" I said sarcastically "Why do you need to start a conversation? Just talk" I told him
"Because me starting a conversation with you involves admitting something that I know your going to enjoy" Dan sighed
"And that would be?" I asked
"It would involve me admitting that I was wrong the other night" Dan replied
"That's really not a shocker, you should be use to it by now" I quickly replied as I took my tea into the living room with him following behind
"Somehow, I knew you would say that" Dan replied as he flopped down on the sofa next to me "Can we kiss and make up?" he asked trying to push his puckered lips on to me
"Clearly you've lost your mind" I laughed to myself as I took a sip from my drink
"So is this going to be a talk it out situation?" Dan asked
"Unfortunately, yes" I told him "Explain yourself" I then instructed
"I guess everything at work is starting to get to me, and not being able to pay for dinner just really made me upset then with the Brad guy sending you all those gifts….it just tipped things over for me" Dan replied
"So you think I need to be wined and dined now?" I asked
"I know you don't, but I'd like to. I want to give you that stuff and not have to worry about money" Dan said
"Humphrey, clearly I'm not with you for money…" I said before he let out a sigh of frustration and attempted to get up, but I was quick enough to stop him so that he wouldn't move "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" I told him
"If your going to poke fun then we might as well end the conversation" Dan pouted
"I won't…I was just trying to balance the banter in" I said "Look, I love you. If you were poor, then I'd love you. If you were rich, then I'd love you. I love you through good and bad….I think that's a statement I've come to accept since I do plan on marrying you one day" I told him
"You wanna marry me?" Dan asked as he played with my finger as he wore that stupid grin on his face
"Yes, I'd like to marry you….but clearly I'd have to pay for the wedding so…" I joked before he began to tickle me
"Okay, okay. I get the point" Dan laughed "Look, for now on I will leave work at home and not let it effect how things are with us" he said
"That sounds like a plan" I smiled "You see, I do like this whole being right thing…it makes me feel so empowered" I laughed
"I bet it does" Dan laughed as he got up from his seat on the sofa and headed into the kitchen to look at the take out menu "Since I can't afford to take you out as of now, how about we order a pizza and I splurge by getting you the breadsticks" he said
"You see, I can't wait to embrace my breadstick future with you. Get a girl some cheesy breadsticks, and I'll know we'll last forever" I declared as he just laughed
"All right, cheesy breadsticks, I got the point" Dan laughed as he picked up the phone and began to look on at what he was going to order. I was glad that it wasn't a long drawn out conversation because I really was craving those cheesy breadsticks, just as I was lamenting my victory, I quickly got a text message on my cell phone. Leaning forward, I thought it would be some random message that Serena sent to let me know what she was doing, but it seemed to be something far more valuable. Opening the message, I nearly bowled over in shock as the picture revealed Jenny, Rich Garmon, Chuck, and Ross together at dinner. What the hell was Jenny doing with Chuck? Better yet….what was she doing with Rich?
"What the hell?" I whispered to myself as I looked on "Jenny, what the hell are you up to?" I asked myself as my mind began to churn with possible reasoning.