A couple months later.
Clarisse has continued seeing her mystery man, and still only Harriet knows who he is. Sofia is coming home today for the weekend, and is bringing home her new boyfriend also for Joseph to meet as Clarisse has already met him and approved.
And to get some peace and some work done, Clarisse went to stay in a hotel. However she wasn't alone.
Upon waking and finding she was in bed alone, she stretched out her arm over the empty space beside her and sighed deeply, with a smile she focused on something she could slightly hear, sitting up she looked towards the doors leading to the suite. Smiling when she heard humming and knowing HE was still there, she climbed out of bed and slipped on her dressing gown while walking over to the doors.
She opened it slowly while watching him potter around and slowly walked in, making her presence known while doing up her robe.
"Good morning" he smiled over at her
"And good morning to you too" she smiled walking over and kissed him as he put his hands up cupping her face "I was surprised to find myself in bed alone" she smiled up at him
"I know, I am sorry about that" he said putting one of his arms around her shoulders "but I wanted to surprise you with breakfast" he whispered while looking down at her
"well thank you" she smiled and kissed his jaw while placing her hand on his chest and watched as he checked the time "do you have to leave?"
"I do, I'm sorry" he said looking at her just as her cell started ringing
"sorry, excuse me just one minute" she sighed grabbing the phone from her bag and answered it while putting her hand up, with one finger sticking up
She couldn't help but smile when he kissed her finger and with a chuckle she hung up
"the Palace?" he asked
"indeed, it was Amelia" she said putting the phone away and looked back at him
"and you told her you was just about to leave" he smirked while wrapping his arm's around her waist "naughty naughty" he chuckled
"I did, she doesn't have to know any different" she grinned
"that is true" he said lowering his head and kissed her a couple times
Amelia was getting panicked, it was well over 2 hours ago she called her Grandmother to find out where she was and when she'd be back. Just then Clarisse's office door opened.
"Finally" Amelia jumped up and watched as Clarisse swayed in the room "I was getting worried"
Clarisse stopped and looked at her "hello to you too, darling" Clarisse smirked and walked over to her desk "oh and no need to be" she smiled while putting her briefcase on the desk
"well I did call over 2 hours ago?" she asked watching her put her glasses on "and Hello"
"I know, there was a lot of traffic, it couldn't be helped" she nodded and looked at her over her glasses
"did you finish everything you took with you yesterday?" Amelia asked while standing next to the desk
"I did indeed" she nodded taking everything from her briefcase "and I still had time for sleep" she smiled at Amelia
"oh my god, you have 'that' grin on your face" Amelia said moving and sat down while tipping her head back
"what grin?" Clarisse asked while sitting down
"the 'I got lucky' grin" she said lifting her head
"I really don't no what your talking about" Clarisse said shaking her head as Charlotte came in "Hello Darling" she smiled
"oh hey" she said walking over and placed a tray on the desk "I didn't no you was home other wise I would of brought you some tea" Charlotte said standing back "would you like me to get you some?"
"oh yes please" Clarisse smiled "actually" both Amelia and Charlotte looked at her "it's been a long night, maybe coffee might be better" she smiled "and lots of it please"
"coming right up" Charlotte nodded and headed out the door
"did Olivia get to school ok this morning?" Clarisse asked while looking at Amelia
"yes she did, Pierre took her" she nodded
"good" Clarisse said and took the lid of her pen "the quicker I get this all sorted out the better" she smiled and started signing some forms that was on her desk
After a few minutes, Charlotte returned.
"coffee" Charlotte smiled placing the tray on the desk "and lots of it, as requested" she smiled standing back
"ahh thank you Charlotte" Clarisse smiled and poured herself some "ok so what is on the agenda for today" she said looking at Amelia then Charlotte then took a sip of her coffee "lovely, thank you Charlotte" she smiled placing the cup back down
"no problem" Charlotte smiled and opened the diary "Ok, this morning" she started "is clear, I just remembered that as you asked me yesterday to clear it for this morning because you wasn't sure what time you would be getting back"
"ahh yes of course" she chuckled "I forgot about that" she smiled "so after lunch then? what do I have to do?"
"Ok, you have a meeting with the PM at 1 about the Christmas Ball and activities over the Christmas period and 2pm you have a meeting with him and parliament to put those plans into action" she said looking at Amelia "are you joining her for this? because I don't have anything down about it?"
"I am" Amelia nodded and sipped her tea
"ok" Charlotte nodded making a note as Clarisse's phone beeped and everyone looked up "is that mine?"
"no I think it's mine" Amelia said grabbing it from her pocket "no its not mine" she said shaking her head and looked at Charlotte "must be yours"
"no actually, its mine" Clarisse said grabbing it from her bag, she read it and couldn't help but chuckle as Charlotte and Amelia looked at each other
"something interesting Grammy?" Amelia asked as Clarisse looked up
"oh no, it's nothing" she said replying and deleted it and put it back in her bag "ok Charlotte, you may carry on" she said and got back to signing forms
"ok" Charlotte smirked at her then at Amelia before carrying on "because we have no idea how long that meeting at 2 will last for, Pierre is picking up Livy from school"
Clarisse looked up "he is?" Charlotte nodded "I must remember to thank him for that then" she smiled "and for taking her this morning"
"oh don't worry he's ok with it" Charlotte smiled and looked back at the diary
Clarisse smiled "I just realized something" she said looking up at Charlotte "you mentioned Christmas just a little while ago? it can't be that time again, can it?"
"indeed it is" Charlotte nodded "it's 1st December tomorrow"
"wow, this year has gone fast" she said shaking her head "alright, carry on"
"ok" Charlotte chuckled and carried on "after that you will just need to sign the forms to confirm everything and that's it for the day" she smiled
"oh ok" Clarisse smiled up at her "thank you, by the way do I have any messages?"
"yes you do" she said grabbing the pile from the front of her diary "there is one from Joe, he just said that he will be here about 7 to pick up the girls for dinner" she smiled while handing the rest to her
"ok" she said going through them "thank you Charlotte"
"no worries, now would there be anything else?" she asked
"no I think that's everything" Clarisse said looking at Amelia "unless you have anything to add?"
"nope" Amelia smiled "I'm good"
"ok, I will leave you to it then" Charlotte nodded and left
"sooooo Grammy" Amelia started as Clarisse slowly looked up at her "are you going to tell us yet who this guy is you've been secretly seeing?" she smiled
"nope" Clarisse laughed and looked back at the paper work
"oh come on Grammy, it's been 2 months now and everyone is dying to find out" she smirked as Clarisse looked up at her "why won't you tell us"
"because I want it to be a secret" Clarisse said putting the lid back on the pen "for the time being anyway" she sat back and drank some of her coffee
"alright" Amelia nodded "I won't press you anymore"
"thank you" Clarisse looked at her "actually, I am going to go up and have a lay down for a bit" she said standing up and took her glasses of "will you wake me in time for a quick bite to eat before the meeting?"
"of course" Amelia nodded and watched her walk out
Clarisse left and headed upstairs for a lay down, only to be woken not long after by Harriet.
"wakey wakey" Harriet grinned while running the tip of her finger down over the bridge of Clarisse's nose "it's time to wake up" she smiled as Clarisse opened her eyes
she pushed her hand away "what are you doing?"
"well I haven't seen you properly for a while and Amelia said you had some free time" she said sitting up "so I wanted to catch up with you" Harriet grinned as Clarisse sat up with a yawn "she mentioned you was at a hotel last night, and had that grin on your face this morning" Harriet teased "so whats new?"
"nothing is new, and yes I was at the hotel but not with him" Clarisse said looking at her "I was alone"
"your lying, I can see it in your eyes" Harriet smirked as Clarisse just stared at her "how can you be honest with anyone when you can't even be honest to yourself" she said climbing of the bed "you need to start enjoying your life Clarisse" she said walking over to the door "don't worry I will leave you alone"
"Actually, Harriet" Clarisse said sitting up as Harriet looked over "can you stay, I need to talk to someone?"
"of course"
She walked over and sat on the bed talking with her, when Amelia came up with a quick lunch for her Harriet left them to it and wondered of to the living room downstairs.
They spent the next 3 hour's in meetings, when they was finished Clarisse went to see Olivia in her bedroom.
"hey beautiful" Clarisse smiled standing at the door "can I come in?"
"of course, Mom" Olivia smiled
"thank you" she smiled walking over to her "I just came to let you no that your Dad is coming about 7 to pick you up"
"what for?" Olivia asked
"well he's taking you, Fia and her boyfriend out to dinner" she said looking at her
"oh yeah I forgot about that" Olivia nodded "thanks for reminding me"
"it's alright" Clarisse smiled "I see your doing your home work, good" she smiled and stood up "I will leave you to it then"
"thanks Mom" she smiled "I will come find you afterwards"
"Ok" Clarisse smiled and watched her for a few seconds before walking out
With a sigh she went downstairs, sitting in her office she was soon fast asleep. Being woken up by Sofia a while later, they spent sometime together then she went up to get ready before Joe arrived.
When he arrived he stood in the door way to Clarisse's office for a few seconds just watching her as she sat at her desk reading something, he smiled at the fact she had her hand up on her neck, he always loved it when she done that.
"knock knock" he smiled as she looked up "may I come in?"
"of course" she nodded "have you just arrived?"
"I have been here about 10 minutes" he said shutting the door "I am just waiting on the girls" he smiled while walking over and sat in the chair opposite her "reminds me of you"
"thank you" Clarisse half smiled as she closed the book she was reading "so how are you?" she said looking back up
"I am great" he nodded "you?"
"I am just perfect, thank you" Clarisse said looking at him
"Olivia was telling me a couple weeks ago that you got a new boyfriend?" he asked as she looked over at him "that's great" he smiled "good for you"
"thank you" she said taking a deep breath
"I actually have someone new too" he answered
"oh you do?" she asked "do the girls no?"
"not yet, I will be telling them later" he answered
"ok" she said looking down for a second
"is there something wrong?" Joe asked as she looked up
"I can't..." she stopped
"Clari, it is ok you no, I know we aren't together anymore but we are still friends and have been for years" he said watching her
"I know" she nodded "thank you"
"you can talk to me, you no?" he whispered "I am happy that you found someone new, you deserve it" he smiled to try and reassure her
she looked down "actually I am thinking about ending it" she said looking up at him "before it goes to far and I get too involved"
"oh, how come?" he asked
"because if something goes wrong, it will end in tears and heartache and I really can not go through that again" she said looking at him "my whole life my heart has been broken in some way or other and I can't do it over again" she whispered
"I see" he watched her "you deserve to be happy Clari" he whispered as she looked up
"how can I be happy when all I do is end up being hurt?" she looked at him "Harriet had a good point earlier, how can I be honest with people if I can't be honest to myself?" she half laughed while looking down "shes right" she said looking up "what we had, me and him I mean was amazing" she said looking him in the eyes "but I need to end it now before it gets to the point where you can't go back without getting seriously hurt"
he shook his head a little "I'm sorry Clari" he was about to say something else but someone knocked on the door
Clarisse looked up at it "come in?" she said brushing her hair back behind her ears
"its just me" Fia said coming in "we are ready when you are, Dad?" she smiled at him then looked at Clarisse "are you ok Mom?" she said walking over
"yes of course" she said standing up and looked at Joe "have a great time tonight" Clarisse whispered and looked at Sofia "ok" she hugged her
"of course" she said stepping back
"why don't you come too?" Joe offered
"yeah, that's a great idea" Sofia nodded "it will be great" she smiled
"no its ok, I have a couple things I need to do here and I promised Harriet I would help her this evening" she answered
"oh, ok" Sofia sighed
"maybe next time?" Joe offered
"yeah, maybe" Clarisse nodded
"ok, well we will see you later then" Sofia said and kissed her cheek
"take care" Joe looked over as Sofia walked out then followed
Clarisse sat back at her desk as Joe closed the door, after a moment she moved over turning the light off and stood by the window watching them drive away.
"Clari?" Harriet whispered from the door
Clarisse looked over at her "am I doing the right thing?" she asked as Harriet walked over
"well it depends, what does your heart say?" she asked giving her a hug
"I don't no, I am so confused" she said closing her eyes
"that's normal" she said taking her hand "come on lets sit and talk" she led her over to the couch
"you no I have only ever been with with two men in my life, one treated me like shit and the other treated me how a woman should be treated" she said looking at Harriet "he was my best friend"
"and then he cheated on you Clarisse" Harriet answered "just like Rupert did"
"I know" she nodded "and now this, I am so confused and really don't no what to do" she laughed a little "half of me is saying hell no don't do it, don't get involved you will only end up being hurt and the other is say hell yea go for it" she sighed "it is nice being held by a man again, waking up with someone there instead of being alone"
"I know" Harriet nodded "it is amazing" she said taking her hand
"and then I have this problem, do I or don't I?" she said closing her eyes again
"you've had Rupert, Joe and now this mystery man?" Harriet said as Clarisse opened her eyes "I know you will make the right choice, sis" she said leaning closer and hugged her "but whatever you decide just remember I am here for you, ok?"
"thank you" Clarisse said sitting back "you no it would be so much easier if I didn't have the girls, and don't think I don't want them, as I do I love them to bits, but whatever I decide it effects them too"
"what about Pierre? when you hooked up with Joe and had the girls?" Harriet asked
"he was a lot older and knew about me and Joe" she said looking at her "knew we had the history and knew Joe loved me more than his father"
"I see" Harriet nodded
"I think I am going to have a lay down, this is all to much to think about right now" she said standing up
"ok, well I am here if you need me" Harriet smiled
"thank you" Clarisse answered and walked out, leaving Harriet sat in her office.
Clarisse awoke from another sleep she hadn't planned, and noticed the time was 5 to 11. With a heavy sigh she stood up and headed downstairs to get some coffee, she sat in the kitchen her mind wondering while waiting for the coffee to do.
Walking back into the hall half a sleep she was surprised when the lights came on and laughter came through the door.
"Mom" Sofia smiled while rushing over to her
"Hello darling" she said giving her a hug "are you just getting home?" she asked while looking up to Olivia rushing over
"yea, we had the best night, wish you had been there though" Sofia sighed as Greg walked over "and Dad approves of Greg" she smiled while he took her hand
"ahh see I knew he would" Clarisse smiled at them then at Joe
"thanks for dinner again Mr Romano" Greg smiled while shaking his hand
"anytime" Joe nodded
"we are going to go on up to bed, ok" Sofia smiled and said her goodbyes to Joe and Clarisse and headed upstairs with Greg
"and me" Olivia said hugging Clarisse then Joe "see you in the morning, Dad" she kissed his cheek as Clarisse sipped her coffee
"night darling" Clarisse smiled after her then looked at Joe "thanks for earlier"
"no problem" Joe nodded "have you decided what it is you are going to do?" he questioned
"I have and done it already" she smiled and sipped some more of her coffee
"well I will be here in the morning to pick the girls up" Joe smiled while walking over to the door "I may see you then"
"of course" she nodded "goodbye" she said walking over to the door as he opened it
He smiled and walked out, she locked the doors then flicked the light off and headed towards the stairs, she stopped when she reached them, put her cup on the stairs and rushed back over to the door, opened it and rushed outside.
"Joe" she called out as he stopped and headed back over to the stairs "I knew there was something I had to talk to you about" she said walking down the stairs to meet him
"what's wrong?" he asked
"Christmas, what are your plans?" she asked
"well I haven't really thought about it yet" he said putting his hands in his pockets
"well if you like you are welcome to come here for it?" she said folding her arms "both of the girls are going to be here and Greg is too" she nodded "I thought it would be nice for them if you are here too" she smiled "you don't have to answer right now, think about it a while and let me know" she smiled "but please don't tell the girls yet"
"ok, and I don't need to think about it" he smiled at her "I would love to take you up on that offer" he smirked "thank you"
"your welcome" she said turning and stood on the first step "see you tomorrow then?"
"of course" he put his hand on the stair wall and watched as she started walking up the stairs
"by the way" she asked turning around to him "did you tell the girls about your new girlfriend?" she asked
"no I didn't" he shook his head "Sofia was so happy and excited about me meeting Greg, it completely slipped my mind" he shrugged "I am sure there will be other times"
"yeah" Clarisse nodded "well goodnight" she smiled and carried on up the stairs
She went inside and locked the door behind her, and headed upstairs grabbing her cup as she passed.
ooOoo
Soooo any ideas of who "this" man might be? he he