A/N: Happy weekend! Saturday, where have you been when I've needed you all week?!
Nicky went to get some beers from the store and Alex spoke to Rob to go through the contract he was drawing up for Mr Kazinski to sign.
"….So, let me get this straight….You've put someone onto costing the training and there isn't any place except in California who can deliver this stuff? That's ridiculous. The busiest ports in the whole country aren't in California!...Yeah…..I agree…Factor that in and look for a 25% reduction….I know, but you can find a way I'm sure…"
Alex waved Nicky back in.
"What's the story with the offices then?...They own the whole floor? Seriously?!...Haha, you're kidding…..Well, keep that under your hat…..Send me the staffing profile and the P&L accounts on email and I'll take a look at them later. …..I hope you're including my frequent flyer discount on those rates…..Yeah, you know it…OK, speak to you later. Thanks Rob."
Alex put her phone on charge and reached for a cold beer. "Thanks Nicholls. You know how to keep me sane." She popped the top of held the bottle in the air to clink with the one Nicky had opened a moment ago. "To swimming in shit and finding a pearl."
"What are you up to Stretch?" Nicky eyed her sudden change in demeanour with curiosity.
"I might have a cunning plan that I thought was cracking a nut with a sledgehammer…but I might have accidentally found a goldmine in the process." Alex grinned.
"In English please."
"I'm buying the maintenance company who are fixing the crane."
"What?!" Nicky struggled to keep the beer in her mouth from escaping as she coughed her surprise into her hand, wiping it on her jeans.
"I'm buying the-."
"I heard that. Why?"
"Well, they're fixing the crane right now for starters."
"Huh? You don't need to buy the damned company for that surely?"
"Probably true, but I wasn't in any mood to procrastinate earlier."
"So, why?"
"I got my Lawyer checking over their contracts and he found that the guy had been trying to sell up about a year ago. A bit of due diligence on their accounts found they weren't investing in growing the business at all. Our time with Bill in Newark told me there are loads of companies with rusty old cranes down there and every other dock along the east coast. If we invest in that company and manage the contracts better, we could clean up by signing every shipping logistics firm in the Atlantic coast onto a retainer.
"Jesus Christ…." Nicky sat back on the sofa. "For a girl who spent more time making out and smoking under the bleachers than in class, you've got one Hell of a sharp brain for business Vause." Nicky was grinning, shaking her head at her friend's ability to be completely AWOL in a hurricane and stroll back in with the winning lottery ticket and a raised brow.
"I need to make the figures work first. I didn't exactly check my accounts before I bull-dozered this through earlier today. I didn't wake up this morning with this on my mind to be honest." Alex chuckled as the realization of how impulsive this whole move had been today.
"Can you afford it?"
"I think so. I might need to shuffle things around a bit, but we got a good bonus on that Milan order paid into the accounts and I want to work a deal where it's not all cash up front."
"I take it all back. You're a badass in business. Just think what you could achieve if you properly set your mind to it."
"Are you saying I don't?" Alex raised an eyebrow and peered over her glasses at her friend, who pondered her response briefly.
"No…..But be honest with me Alex…." Nicky put her bottle down and looked at her friend with all seriousness.
"You were willing to lose that contract and take the lawsuit at whatever cost this morning weren't you?"
Alex shifted in her seat and concentrated on her slender thumb working the edges of the label on her cold bottle instead. She was conscious of Nicky's eyes on her every movement and was about to make an off-hand remark when Nicky spoke again.
"You switched your phone off and risked $2million because you wanted to be with your girl." Nicky spoke softly, but her words were ringing through the air and bouncing off every wall in the suddenly very small office space they were sharing.
"You know I promised to give her a lift this morning Nic." Alex said simply, sighing. She wasn't in the mood for Nicky to complain about how much time she was spending with Piper lately.
"As much as all of this gets your gears going…." Nicky gestured at the office around them. "…Piper means more to you." Nicky shrugged, finishing her bottle.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Don't be stupid. You can't compare the two. Work is work and Piper is Piper."
"That's all you're giving me? I'm serious Vause." Nicky waited for an answer and a contemplative silence beat between them as Alex sorted through an array of replies in her head.
"Say what you like…" Nicky stood up finally, dropping her bottle in the trash. "I'm not making a big deal out of it. I know you didn't come back this afternoon because you were worried about the business Alex. You came back because you couldn't stand being so far away from her in that court room."
Nicky went out to pick her coat up from her chair and turned the main office lights out before popping her head back in the door.
"I'll leave you to lock up….Night."
XXXXXX
Piper sat in the passenger side of Steve's new car and smiled as he talked about the paper her was writing for a research fund at work. She managed to laugh in all the right places and even ask some questions that seemed in context with the topic he was so enthused about. He was obviously trying to take her mind off the day in court and it was a bit of a relief to not be having a post mortem in rush hour as they made excruciating progress towards home. She could see her mother in the side mirror every so often as they were practically towing them through New York. Her mother looked quite perturbed by being here, looking at her watch every so often and obviously complaining to her father about the traffic and what time they would be getting home tonight after this long road trip.
She sensed Steve had cracked another joke by his change in tone and laughed a little, the Chapman façade of good graces came in handy every so often. His workplace stories were drying up and she anticipated a shift to him questioning her about life, so she pre-empted him and asked about his father and if they had got the garden shed finished yet. That should keep him occupied for a while longer….Probably fifteen minutes til they're parked…20 minutes for everyone to drink coffee, to be judged on her laundry pile and the poor quality view from the windows on all sides….offer a take away because you haven't been shopping….they'll decline… because Dad will think of the long drive ahead of them…..Steve will accept…so….oh God, Steve will accept…God Steve will accept and there will be no diversion….It's Ok, he's just a friend staying for dinner…which Alex will hate…..and she really wanted to see Alex. She wanted to movie-star roll out of the car and into oncoming traffic to get an Uber and head there right now to see Alex. But she was sitting in a car making polite small talk with a man she should be grateful to for making sure Darryl didn't execute his plan. The low life scumbag. Sitting there in his fancy designer suit and whispering to his Lawyer. It's rude to talk when someone else is talking. He doesn't even have manners. Asshole. As her fingers curled into fists by her sides, recalling the lines of questionning throughout the day, she felt the engine stop and saw they were outside her apartment.
Second guess this right and you could be done with this in an hour Piper.
"We're here already! Oh wow, the traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Come on let's get warmed up." She flicked the switch for Chapman mode.
XXXXX
Alex stayed in the office and tried to read through some contract information that Rob had emailed over, but she couldn't concentrate. Nothing was sinking in and she was re-reading the same clauses over and over to try and force her brain to focus. In the end, she sent him a quick message to say she'll try and pick it up again in the morning and cut the power to close everything down. She checked her phone for any messages and nothing from Piper was waiting to be opened. She twirled it between her fingers for a moment before dialing her number. It switched to answer machine straight away which either meant the battery was dead or Piper was not in a happy place. There were two beers left in the box that Nicky brought and she picked them up to open one as she dialled an Uber.
Sitting in the back of the car, Nicky's words kept running through like an annoying life quote she ought to roll her eyes at and move on.
"You couldn't stand being so far away from her in that court room."
It was Piper's ineffective Lawyer she couldn't stand. It was the defence team harassing Piper she couldn't stand. It was Saint Steve and his fawning eyes on her girlfriend she couldn't stand. It was Carol Chapman and her disappointed tuts and head shakes she couldn't stand. Or Bill and his apparent lack of emotion at what was happening to his daughter even. Maybe it was that she couldn't stand.
"You couldn't stand being so far away from her in that court room."
Did Nicky have any idea how ridiculous that even sounded? Alex wasn't some lovestruck teenager who couldn't be apart from the girl who circled 'yes' to her goofy dating question. They could be parted, they were very independent women for Christ's sake.
XXXXX
Her Dad was impressed with the fancy coffee machine she used and she caught herself before letting her reflex conversation take over from Chapman mode.
"Yeah, the benefits of having a rich girlfriend who is a coffee snob." Became "Yeah, the benefits of having a rich girlfr- as a daughter would not go to waste if I ever make the big time Dad."
He didn't notice the slip or Piper blushing from the shame of denying Alex's existence on impulse. It was hard to get over the disgust that she felt about that reaction and she briefly considered the reaction of her parents if she hadn't corrected herself. When her mother started to ask Steve if he was ready to settle down and have children, Piper grinned behind her coffee mug as he squirmed. It was nice seeing the spotlight on someone else, all the more for it being on someone who was too polite to roll their eyes and be flippant.
"A nice young Doctor like you should have been snapped up by now Steve. You work too much. You need to get involved in some local groups. There's a lovely young lady who has just started coming to the ladies luncheon club on a Wednesday afternoon who would love to meet someone like you. She's mid-twenties I think. That's a good time for having children you know."
Steve smiled through his blushes and tried to catch Piper's eye, but she was avoiding getting involved as she knew precisely where the child-bearing barometer was going to point next.
"Women have to be careful not to leave it too late you know….I keep telling Piper that." Her mother nodded towards her and Piper rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. You've been telling me so long I half expected to get a baby at the same time as my period. It's really not healthy to set those expectations you know." Piper was half joking.
"Well, you'd have to get a husband first dear. I absolutely wouldn't approve if you went about it any other way."
Steve glanced at her to check her reaction and Piper looked away from him quickly. "Oh, I know you wouldn't. Your expectations are very clear."
"I'm sure lots of men would want to date you Piper." Steve chipped in, blinking innocently. "Are you seeing anyone right now?"
"What I'm seeing right now is Victorian mob marching me into a shotgun wedding with a fishmonger who puts a note in the church collection every Sunday." She said sarcastically before casting a warning glance at Steve.
"I don't know what you're waiting for Piper. Polly has found a lovely young man and I bet it won't be long before Susan is taking her grandchildren to the park on the weekend."
"Maybe I'm not waiting. Not all women want to make babies and get married you know. Some women want to focus on a career."
"Not you though. You always dreamed about a white wedding Piper. You've been walking around in my old wedding dress and heels since you could walk. You used to have Cal walk behind you holding the dress up so it didn't get dirty as you tried hard not to fall over as you walked to the cherub in Grandma's garden to link his arm."
"Well I didn't have many friends when I was little. I was obviously very lonely if I was playing with garden furniture. Shall I order Chinese?" Piper waved a menu and it was the cue for her father to stand and straighten his jacket out.
"No thanks sweetheart. We'd better get going now. We just wanted to make sure you got home safe." Her father pulled her in for a hug. "You did great today. I mean, you probably could have been smarter with your answers sometimes, but you'll know for next time."
"Next time?" Piper pulled back, eyebrows in her hairline.
"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, you learn from your mistakes….anyway. What's done is done. See you soon pumpkin." He kissed her quickly on the cheek and pulled his coat on as Piper's mother said her farewells.
As Piper hugged her mother quickly, she could sense Steve wasn't moving towards the door, only standing to bid the polite farewells to her parents, promises of calling in soon and regards to his family and the rest.
Piper and Steve stood at the door, waving her parents off like the married couple her parents would want to bid farewell to after a visit. She closed the door behind them when they were out of sight and sighed.
"Thank God that's over."
"Chinese right?" Steve leafed through the menu, kicking his shoes off and lifting his feet to rest on the coffee table.
"Yeah. Making yourself at home there?" Piper nodded at his feet.
"Sorry. Forgot you're a Chapman." He dropped his legs back down and perused the menu. "So, what do you fancy? Chow mein…beef and black bean…."
"Did you think that was funny earlier?"
"What?" He didn't even look up.
"The 'plenty of men would want to date you' comment."
"What? It was a joke."
"It might be if you didn't know I was dating Alex." Piper folded her arms as she leaned against the wall closest to him.
"It really was a joke Piper. I was just playing with you." Steve ignored her mention of Alex.
"And when you asked if I was seeing anyone? Was that a joke too? Because it didn't sound like there was going to be a punchline. Just a very uncomfortable conversation if I answered that."
"Why didn't you answer it?"
"Don't you think I've had enough cross-examination for one day?"
"Because you know she's not right for you?"
"No Steve! Because she's exactly right for me. But you fucking know that my parents won't think that and that is exactly why you thought you'd stoke it up a bit. Play the wholesome and single Doctor who wants to meet a nice lady to have his babies…..You play that because you know my mum eats all that shit right up. You play it because you know I won't."
"I think you're being a bit dramatic about it. It was just a joke. I didn't mean anything sinister by it. Come on, sit down….let's choose some food and chill for a bit."
"I don't want to sit here and eat Chinese with you. I want to see Alex. I've wanted to see Alex all damned day and I really want to sit and eat Chinese with my girlfriend right now. I want to lie on the sofa with her and chill. I want to fall asleep in her arms tonight, feeling safe…..I haven't seen her all day Steve."
Steve stood up and dropped the menu onto the coffee table.
"She doesn't deserve you Piper. I can't stand seeing you pine after her like this when I know she'll break your heart."
"What exactly do you think you're trying to protect me from here?" Piper was exasperated and her patience for this attitude from Steve was wearing thin.
"She's a bad apple. She wasn't pining after you this afternoon when she stormed off to her car was she? She drove out of that car park and didn't come back to see how you were today!"
"Stormed off?"
"Yeah! That's the hotheaded lunatic you're pining after! Someone who gets physical when they can't argue back." Steve's voice started to fade as he realised what he'd said, Piper's eyes flashing in anger at him.
"Alex got physical?...With you?"
"Yeah. Your mom saw her too."
"Did my mother know who it was?"
"No."
Piper's blue eyes flicked back and forth across Steve's face as she looked for a trace of a lie in what he was saying.
"What did you say to her?" She asked calmly.
"Nothing."
"Bullshit. Tell me."
"I didn't say anything."
"You're lying. Tell me what you said or get your coat and get out."
"Piper, this is way out of context here." Steve tried to chuckle and lighten her mood, but she stood firm. "Come on. You know we aren't gonna be best buddies. The feeling is mutual."
"Tell me."
Steve sighed and ran his hand up and down the back of his head before giving in.
"She was giving me shit for introducing you to Darryl."
"And?"
"She said I didn't keep you safe."
"This is school yard stuff. Sticks and stones Steve. What made her get physical with you?"
"I said she'd put your life in danger with the drugs."
"That's it?"
"I told her she was no good for you and to do the right thing and walk away."
"And what, she did?"
"After pushing me against the wall, yeah. See, you can't rely on her to be there for you Piper."
"She pushed you against the wall? That's it? Jesus, you made it sound like she'd pulled a damned knife on you for Christ sake." Piper gathered the coffee mugs up and dropped them into the sink.
"She pinned me against it by the throat..." He spluttered weakly.
"You do realise how pathetic this sounds right now, don't you? It's school yard stuff. Honestly, I should put you in one of those 'getting along' shirts together until you work it out." She shook her head as she rinsed the mugs under the water.
"I just think you should remember that leopards don't change their sports is all. Maybe you need to remember that and what she put you through when you had a relationship with her the first time around."
"Shall I order?" Steve asked gently as Piper dried her hands.
"Yeah, if you're hungry. Go ahead. The beef and black bean sauce is good from there." She shouted over her shoulder as she walked to her room.
Steve flicked the TV on and put his feet back onto the table as he waited for Piper to come back and order. It was fifteen minutes later when she came back wearing a jacket.
"Are we picking it up?"
"They will deliver if you want. I can leave you the spare key to lock up when you're done."
"When I'm done?"
"Yeah. I told you. I want to see Alex...and since you two aren't ready to kiss and make up, I'm heading over to do some kissing of my own. Post the key through the door when you leave ok?" Piper leaned down to quickly hug him with one arm before opening the door.