After Thanksgiving, Owen was off on his book tour, while Cristina returned to work. After the New York area, he was headed out west to a number of cities including LA, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Dallas and Chicago. Cristina and Owen spoke every night from whatever city he was in, so she didn't feel too alone that he was not there. He was coming back soon because he was going to attend a party thrown by Phyllis. It was a Christmas party for the publishing company's clients, as well as senior management. Cristina was quite excited to attend. Normally, she would not be invited because she was too lowly in the company but because Owen was going, she was going to be his plus-one.
She had already found a glittery red cocktail dress, which she was going to wear metallic shoes. She was so excited. Her fellow colleagues were jealous. They, too, had heard about how fabulous the party was. They made her swear to tell them everything. Owen had flown back into New York, the day before and he had come to the office to meet up with her for lunch. The girls in the office all swooned when they saw him. When they went out to lunch, she told him that he was a big hit among her friends at the office.
"Well, at least I know all the girls in Phyllis' office like me. That's good," he said.
"Oh, they have liked you for a while, now," she said. "They used to talk about you, every time you came to see Phyllis. Of course, you didn't know who I was, back then."
"Well, because of the way your cubicle is placed, I would have never seen you. If I had, I wouldn't have forgotten you," he said, taking her hand into his and kissing it. "Compliments will get you everywhere," she said, with a chuckle.
"Oh, did you get your dress?" he asked. "Yes," she replied, most excitedly. "I got a really gorgeous dress. I hope I make you proud."
"Don't worry about that, you always make me proud," he said.
The next night, Cristina got all dressed up. She had her hair done at a salon earlier that day. Logan watched his mother in fascination as she put on her make-up. Logan was going to stay with his regular babysitter for the night, while Cristina went out. It was rare that Maria watched Logan at night but she relented because it was such a big night for Cristina.
"There, I am done," Cristina said, as she put on her lipstick. Logan said, "Pretty, mommy,"
"Why, thank you, Logan," Cristina said. "I am very flattered that you think your old mommy is pretty." She picked up her boy and gave him a hug. Their cuddling was interrupted by a knock on the door. She put down Logan and opened the door. It was the first time that Owen had ever come to her Brooklyn apartment. Owen could not help smiling as he saw her. "God, you're gorgeous," he said. "I am the luckiest man at that party, tonight."
"Thank you," she said, blushing a little. "Well, hey Logan," Owen said. "Ready to go to the babysitter?"
"Yup," Logan answered. He was already dressed in his pjs. "I have his bag," Cristina said. "Just going to drop him off now. You can stay here for a bit until I get back. She is just two flights up. Come on, Logan."
Owen closed the door behind them and took a look around. It was clean and neat. It wasn't very luxurious but still, there was a warm and comfortable vibe about it. There were pictures of Cristina and Logan in various spots in the city. There was a picture of Marcus on the fireplace mantel. As he stared at the photo, somehow, he felt a little jealous of him. Owen knew he had no reason to be but he realized that if Marcus had lived, he and Cristina would probably have been married by now. It seemed weird to be grateful that Marcus died, so he and Cristina could be together now.
His thoughts came to a screeching halt when the door opened and Cristina stepped back inside. "Hey, are you ready?" she asked, as she opened a closet and took out her coat.
"Yes," he said. "More than ready. Let's go." He took her arm and they headed downstairs.
Cristina was taken aback by the limo he had hired for the night. She didn't Owen was going to such extravagance. "This is pretty darn awesome," she said, as she settled into the back of the limo. He poured her a glass of wine. "Just something to get you started for the party," he said. "Drink up, neither of us is driving tonight." She took a sip. It was good wine.
The party was being held at a hotel ballroom uptown. The room was very festive since it was the Christmas season. Not only was there a humongous Christmas tree in the center of the room, the room was lit by thousands of tiny lights. Cristina had a lot to tell the girls on Monday.
"Ah, Owen," Phyllis said, as they came through the door. Owen kissed Phyllis on the cheek. Cristina wasn't sure what to do. After all, this was her boss, so she put out her hand. "Nonsense, child," Phyllis said, as she gave her young employee a kiss on the cheek. "There are lots to drink and eat, so help yourself, dears. Anyway, gotta go. I have to mingle. Lovely to see you both." She rushed off in a cloud of silver sequins and satin.
A waiter passed and Owen took two flute glasses from him. "One thing about Phyllis – she may be a pain but she never skimps, when it comes to her annual Christmas party," he said. "Do you want to grab something to eat?" There were food stations all over the ballroom with different kinds of food. Cristina was determined to test them all.
"Okay," she said. "I will grab a plate for you, too." She headed off to the first station and picked up two small plates. She was waiting in line when she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Why, hello there, sweet thing. I have not seen you in ages." She turned around, immediately. "Jeremy!" she said. "What are you doing here?" Jeremy was not a person she would like to see at this moment. She looked at Owen to see if he was looking in her direction. He was looking directly at her. She groaned because Jeremy was her friend with benefits.
"Oh, the same thing as you, I guess. I am my boss' plus-one. Her husband couldn't make it, so I was forced to come along," he said. Jeremy worked in the finance department of the company. His boss was the head of finance. Jeremy's lips brushed her cheek and while he was at it, he took a friendly squeeze of her butt. "Stop that, Jeremy, please," she said.
"Oh, good grief, girl. It has been so long since we've hooked up. It's been like more than seven months," he said. "First you disappear to Maine to work for that blind author and then when you come back, you have been avoiding me like the plague."
"Well, things have changed in my life," she said. "I am with someone now. I am in a relationship." Jeremy chortled. "Who? I think I would have heard if you were dating someone in the company."
"It is not someone in the company. I am dating Owen Hunt," she said, firmly.
"The blind author?" Jeremy said. "He can't even see what a hottie you are." Cristina scoffed at Jeremy's comment. "He is no longer blind. He got corneal transplants. Not that it would matter, anyhow, I would have been with him if he was still blind," she said. "He is just a wonderful person."
"Yeah, and a multi-millionaire, too," Jeremy added. "Well, okay, girl. If that is what you want. But you know, I am always open for a romp in my bed." Cristina shook her head. "Not interested, Jeremy. Never again." She filled her plates and quickly left. She walked swiftly back to where Owen was standing.
"Who is that guy?" he asked. "Um, his name is Jeremy. He works in the finance department at our company," she said, taking a bite.
"He seemed very familiar with you," Owen said. "Don't think that I missed how he squeezed your cheek and I am not talking about the one on your face." He felt mad. He didn't want to be mad but he was. He didn't appreciate some guy taking liberties with Cristina's body.
"It was just some guy I used to kinda date," she said. Actually, they didn't really date. They just sometimes had a few sexual entanglements with each other.
"Hmm, I thought that you told me that there wasn't anyone after Marcus," he said. "He seemed very familiar with your body."
"He wasn't a real relationship, if that is what you're asking," she said. She didn't want to go into the whole "friends with benefits" explanation. Owen gave her a questioning look. He didn't quite buy what she was saying. They were going to have to talk about this, later. "We'll talk," he said. Cristina knew the whole Jeremy conversation was definitely not over. This night was not going the way that she had planned.
The mood between them was not particularly cheerful after that. Through all of the eating and the drinking, he did introduce her to some of his fellow authors. At least the conversation was good, Cristina thought. She found that Owen was a little distant after the Jeremy incident. She excused herself and went to the ladies' room. She stared at herself in the mirror, powdered her nose and put on fresh lipstick. She took a deep breath when she walked out of the bathroom and gazed in the direction of her boyfriend.
Owen was talking to a woman. It took her a minute to realize that it was Tamsin, Owen's ex-girlfriend, the one who had caused such a ruckus when she visited them at the house in Maine. She remembered how Tamsin had thrown her coat on her head and how badly she had treated Joyce.
"So this is the greatest news that you can see again, Owen," Tamsin said. "I didn't think that you would have been at this party." She massaged his arm, as she spoke to him.
"Well, yes, here I am. Who did you come with?" he asked. The only way that Tamsin would be at a literary party is because someone had brought her. "Paul Telfer," she said. Owen knew who Telfer was. He was a popular sci-fi author.
"So who are you here with?" she asked. "My girlfriend," Owen answered. "She went off to the powder room."
"Do I know her?" Tamsin demanded to know. "I think you do," Owen said. That was all he said because he knew it would drive Tamsin crazy.
"Who?" she demanded, again. Then, Cristina appeared at Owen's side. "I am back." Owen put his arm around Cristina and pulled her close. "You remember Cristina, right?" he said.
"You!" Tamsin shrieked. She remembered the small Asian girl at Owen's house. "Yes, me," Cristina responded. "Nice to see you again, Tamsin."
"I can't believe this," Tamsin said, as she stalked off. Owen laughed. That certainly lightened his mood, Cristina thought.
"That was just great," Owen said. "I don't remember why I even dated that girl." He kissed Cristina on the forehead. "Do you want to head home?"
"Yes," she said. They got their coats and headed back to the limo. "My apartment, Laurence," he told the chauffeur. The chauffeur nodded and drove to Owen's apartment. This was the first time that Cristina had gone to Owen's apartment. His apartment was in a magnificent building on Central Park West. When he opened the door to his apartment, she gasped at the view of Central Park. "This is gorgeous," she said, rushing to the large windows. "Yeah, one of the reasons I got this apartment. You know how I am about beautiful views."
His apartment was amazing, Cristina had to admit, as she looked around at the designer furniture in the living room and the sleek cupboards in his kitchen. "The apartment is fabulous. The open plan makes it even larger," she said.
"Thank you," he said. "Do you want anything to drink?" She shook her head. "You said you wanted to talk about Jeremy. Let's talk about it," she said.
"Jeremy? So that is his name," Owen said. "I was mad, earlier but not so much, now. The reason I was mad is that I didn't like the way he was touching you."
"Well, Jeremy and I have an interesting history," she said. "But we didn't really have a relationship."
"So tell me about it," he said. She continued, "He and I just each other at the office. We were put on a project, together. I was over at his place, working on the project, one weekend. Things just happened and we slept together. Then, we slept together other times, too. I wasn't dating anybody and he wasn't dating anybody and we were both lonely. So it was like getting an itch scratched. We were friends with benefits with no real commitment to each other. I mean we weren't going to the movies or having dinner or doing date-like things. All we did was have sex. So to me, it wasn't and never was a real relationship. Does that satisfy you?"
"Yes, it happened before you met me. Did you set him straight?" he asked. "I don't want any man touching you the way he did, tonight."
"Yeah, I told him that you and I were together," she told him. "You and me – now that is a real relationship." He came to her and took her in his arms, as they stared out at Central Park.
"I am glad you told me," he said. "By the way, did you see Tamsin's face tonight? She looked like she was ready to explode. That was one for the books." They both guffawed loudly.
A/N Please leave your comments. Thanks for being kind enough to leave your reviews.