CH18
Three days earlier:
Rick had made the necessary phone calls and now had appointments with 3 of the 5 publicists. First on his list was Amanda Carter, second was Lauren Cerand and third was Lara Shriftman.
Jenn's notes on Paula Haas and Johnathan Hay had made him not call them unless these three didn't work out.
Rick really kinda wished all of them were men instead of women. Gina was what got him into this mess, plus his bad luck with women made him leery of them. His past with Kyra and Meredith hadn't helped.
Actually he was still waiting for his involvement with Kate to up and implode on him. He was cursed when it came to women. It was part of the reason he didn't want Alexis to grow up, she would grow up and see what all the other women obviously saw, and run the first chance she got.
Rick took a deep breath and sucked it up, Kate was different, Kate was better, and Kate didn't see what the others saw.
His meeting with Amanda went alright, she just didn't seem to understand writers and why he needed a publicist. Not that she said that, it was just the feeling Rick took from meeting her. Plus she seemed bashful around him.
His meeting with Lauren went much better. Her age was actually helpful and Rick had no trouble relating with her. Lauren didn't want to interject herself into his life, except to understand him. Find out what his needs and expectations where, why he was looking for a publicist.
Lauren was shocked at how Gina had treated him and his daughter. If she had been there she would have put Gina in her place and taken her attitude straight to Black Pawn and made sure that any pictures taken at the airport would have been about her and Gina. Rick and his daughter wouldn't even have been in the picture.
Lauren was also happy to hear that Gina was now out of the picture. It would allow her to work with his new publisher. A new team to achieve better results.
Lara turned out to be a young, way too young, energetic person. Lara reminded Rick of a young teenage groupie, meeting her favorite someone. Not that Rick was that someone, she had never heard of him and she had never been involved with books.
Since Lara was such a bust Rick actually called Johnathan Hay and made an appointment the next day.
Johnathan turned out to be a full of himself person. He spent most of the time talking about himself and nothing about helping Rick, except about how good he is at helping people.
Rick hated him and couldn't wait to get out of there. Right after he left he called Lauren to set up another appointment and discuss what she could do for him.
The meeting with Lauren the next day turned out to be quick as she needed time to get in touch with Black Pawn and reach out to other publishers as well as countless magazines, TV companies and the various shows that they were associated with.
Rick signed a short term contract with Lauren Cerand. It was only good for 6 months after which they would both revisit their association to determine if a longer association was beneficial to both of them.
Rick had actually left happy with his choice. Lauren hated the idea of the playboy image that Gina with Black Pawn had been trying to create. She was intentionally limiting herself to a small demographic group of people; she was actually limiting the number of people who would be interested in his work.
"Why would she do that?" Rick had been shocked.
"I did a quick search on you Mr. Castle, …." Rick interrupted her.
"Please call me Rick, Richard or just Castle. Mr. Castle makes me sound old." Rick offered smiling.
"Of course Castle. … I found the incident you had at the airport and your argument with Gina about your daughter. As a publicist I don't understand her actions; however as a women I do.
Turning you into a playboy would limit the type of women who would take an interest in you, personally. Greatly limiting the number of fish in the sea. Only the women who are shallow or only see you as a playboy or only are interested in you for your money would be around you." Lauren explains, feeling really ashamed of her gender or some of them at least.
"Leaving Gina as the only one in my life that didn't see me as a playboy, because she created me." Rick tries to understand.
"I'm only speculating here Castle, only Gina really knows what her plan was. But women only interested in a playboy aren't going to be interested in you as a father who has a child. The child would need to be taken out of the picture." Lauren continues her theory on Gina's actions.
"I would never abandon Alexis, never! Not for anyone for any reason. Alexis is my life, has been ever since she was just a day old." Rick defended his daughter and didn't understand what Gina was trying to accomplish.
"Good to know Castle, I can use that. As for Gina, ..." Lauren shrugged her shoulders.
"Compared to the airhead women interested only in the playboy you, Gina would have stood out as the opposite of that. Except by the sound of your encounter at the airport she also wanted Alexis out of the picture or at least in the background, under her control." Lauren finishes her speculation.
It made Rick furious, to think that he had been being used all this time for some plan Gina had, to obtain what. Get into his bed? Permanently, like with a ring on her finger?
"I have a woman in my life now, and I need her to stay out of the papers or magazines as much as possible. It's early still, but I'm not losing her because of some scum paparazzi." Rick tells her.
"What's her name?" Lauren asks grabbing a pen and paper.
"Katherine Beckett." Rick tells her, and Lauren can see he cares for her in the way he says her name and the look in his eyes. She was more than just in his life, or soon would be.
"I'll be on the lookout for her and your daughter. Combined with your new publisher, we'll have a new plan in no time. Certainly before Thanksgiving, we don't want to miss the Christmas season." Lauren tells him.
Rick was in both a better mood and a foul mood during his drive to his lawyer to go over the Black Pawn response. Especially now that he knew what Gina had been trying to achieve.
It made him want to see Kate all that much more. He needed her to soak up some of his fury and calm him down. Just being near her was making him feel better than he had in a long time.
Problem was, today was Wednesday and Kate wasn't going to be over until tomorrow for her sleep over with Alexis. Lucky Alexis!
Rick was leaving his lawyers office 3 hours later. He had gone in confused and had left furious.
Black Pawn had rejected everything! Henry had called it playing hardball, well that's what he had Henry for.
Rick had gone over everything that Lauren and he had talked about. Everything Gina had ever done since first being assigned to him by Black Pawn to Lauren's conclusions about what Gina was trying to accomplish.
Jenn had been in the office with them taking notes to be typed up later, and it didn't take long before Henry and Rick could hear her sniffling.
Jenn was going through paper quickly since she was pressing her pen into the paper with such force. She was sooooo mad! What she was going to do to Gina if she ever saw her again, ….
They not only kept all of their original points for a new contract but added a few more, and Henry was going to describe to them precisely what their employee had done to Rick under their watch.
Jenn was dismissed so she could type it all up, leaving Henry and Rick to talk.
"I still don't understand what Gina thought she was accomplishing?" Henry didn't get it.
"Can you look into her life? Financial's amongst other things? Phone records, credit rating, I don't know. Something that would explain all this?" Rick asks.
Unfortunately there were limitations what Henry could look into, but he knew someone who could look into her life. Maybe there was something there and maybe there wasn't.
Rick had agreed and asked Henry to send him the bill.
Jenn was done before Rick left and gave a copy to Henry and one to Rick.
"I take it you liked Lauren?" Jenn asks Rick on his way out.
"I talked to everyone except that Paula person. She seemed to be the best of the group you provided." Rick tells her.
"Lauren is good, you're in good hands. Better than Gina's!" Rick didn't miss the venom Jenn had in her voice when she mentioned Gina. "You want Gina hurt, let me know. I know a few people in LA. … Dump a garbage truck in her front yard, paint her house, teepee her house, paint her car." Jenn offered some of the things she knew her friends would be willing to do.
It got Rick to smile and almost start chuckling. Rick was thinking Jenn was actually talking about hurting Gina, like break her leg or an arm, not what Jenn was suggesting.
"I'll keep that in mind Jenn, thanks. And thanks for that list and your comments. I might have ended up with someone else without your help." Rick was thankful for her help.
"No problem Mr. Castle." Jenn smiled at him. Jenn was happy Rick had found someone in his life, she only hoped it made him happy. Rick was too nice to be treated this badly by women he met or worked with.
"It's Rick, Jenn. … Rick." Rick smiled as he walked out.
Rick couldn't help himself; he was up on the roof as soon as he got home. "Yup, still here." The shuttle that could go out into space was still here, and thanks to Alexis he knew how to open it.
Pressing the button and watching the door open, Rick was now clear to sit in one of the two seats. "How do you start this thing?" Rick reached out for one of the buttons, since it had "Don't touch" written all over it.
"And Kate will shoot me if I wreck it." Rick pulls his hand back. "More likely bite me and drain me dry." Rick deflated, this thing was the ultimate toy and he couldn't play with it.
"Oooo wait. If Kate bites me and drains me dry, will that turn me into a vampire? …. That would be so cool! …. Then we could be married vampires and have vampire babies. She'll have to bite Alexis too and turn her too." Rick wasn't so sure Alexis would go for that, but maybe.
"I wonder how long a vampire lives? Is Kate going to have to watch me grow old and die while she stays young forever? …. Yeah, she definitely needs to turn me. Live with Kate forever." Rick was smiling at the prospect now.
"Wait, I thought vampires couldn't be out in the sun? Isn't it supposed to burn them to a cinder?" Rick got out of the shuttle and closed it back up and went back to his apartment locking the doors behind him.
Picking up the house phone. "Hi Kate, …. can you come over early for your slumber party? You can go with me to pick up Alexis from school." Rick offers an incentive for his ambush of a thousand questions.
It had been three days and Kate found that she actually missed being around Rick and Alexis as she stepped off his elevator. Kate had already caught a whiff of him as soon as she approached the door.
After only a couple of knocks Rick opened the door and Rick's smell hit her in the face and she breathed him in. This time Rick stepped out and wrapped his arms around Kate and held her tight.
It allowed Kate to bury her face into his chest and inhale deeply, filling her lungs and relaxing into his embrace.
"Thanks for coming." Rick lets go of her and lets her come inside so he can close the door.
Rick escorts Kate to the sofa. "Can I get you something?" Rick motions for the kitchen.
"Rick?" Kate questions him.
"Oh right, sorry. I'm still getting used to, … I mean I'm trying to, …. " Rick shut up before he dug his hole any deeper.
Kate moved to sit in his lap with her legs spread on either side and put her arms around his neck. "Seeing flustered Rick is kinda cute." Kate gives Rick a quick kiss to his lips. "So what are you stumbling over in that HUMAN brain of yours?" Kate smiled at him.
"Human. … Yeah, kinda my point." Rick was stumbling over how to ask what he was interested in knowing.
Kate removed her arms and sat back a little. "Oh?"
Rick saw the withdrawal and the tone of her voice, and Rick slid in close and wrapped his arms around her. "It's not that, I swear. Actually I'm more afraid that you'll figure out I'm just some stupid human and dump me for the first handsome vampire you see."
Kate puts her arms back around his neck. "Not going to happen." Besides no vampire could smell or taste as delicious as Rick does, and Kate was nowhere near giving that up at the moment.
Kate may have her fears, but she's trying to work around them.
Rick moved his lips to just a fraction from hers. "Since I'm human and you're not, is there a way you can turn me?" Rick asks his first of many questions.
"Turn you?" Kate was confused.
"Yeah, drink my blood and feed it back to me, or have me bite you and drink your blood. Turn me into a vampire like you." Rick tries to explain.
Kate looks at him funny, what was he talking about? "I'm a vampire because that is my race. I was born this way, I can't turn someone into a vampire. Any more than you can turn me into a human." Kate tries to explain.
"So you're not immortal?" Rick asks.
"Immortal, as in live forever?" Kate questions, watching Rick nod his head.
Kate shakes her head. "No, my life span is likely the same as yours give or take a few years. I'll get old and gray and die hopefully of old age." Kate explains.
With you right next to me hopefully.
That thought got Kate to lean her head into his chest and breathe him in. Spend her life with him. It didn't sound so scary.
"Can we have children?" Rick asks.
This question got Kate to stiffen in Rick's arms and Rick could feel it. "No, you're not a vampire." Kate was only 19, working on 20, and she had never really thought about having children. Kate had spent her life running; raising a family just wasn't considered an option.
Rick pushed Kate away a little so he could look at her. "Do you want children?" Should Rick let her go so she can find someone else so she could have her own family. Provided there were other vampires.
"I've grown up on the run Rick, thinking of having children when I can't even have a home to live in wasn't something I had the luxury of ever thinking of.
Do I want children? … I honestly don't know. And if I never do have a child of my own, it won't be the end of the world. Maybe that will change someday, but right now, ..." Kate shook her head.
"Any more questions?" Kate grinned, shifting her gaze from his eyes, down to his lips and then back up to his eyes.
Rick could think of some really serious questions, but didn't feel ready to ask them, so he shook his head.
"Good, then kiss me." Kate tells him and kisses Rick.
Kate was searching Rick's mouth, getting his taste as she started working on his buttons.
Kate only managed 3 buttons when she put her strength to use and yanked on his shirt causing the remaining buttons to go flying.
Kate searched his chest with her hands as Kate's kissing moved to Rick' neck, where she buried her head and sucked and nibbled on his neck, trying hard to give Rick a hickey.
It got Rick to start moaning as Rick started working on Kate's buttons.
Kate's shirt was soon gone as was her bra and Rick's hands were on her breasts as he plays with her nipples, while Kate has started grinding around in his lap while kissing Rick deeply.
Kate's mind was slowly leaving her and Kate never noticed that her fangs suddenly extended and a tip pierced Rick's lower lip and Kate could suddenly taste his blood.
This caused Kate to start licking his lower lip to get every drop. Kate's throat wasn't even remotely burning, though it did have a slight tickle, telling her she needed to feed again in a day or two.
Kate could smell Rick, could feel Rick with her hands and feel his erection. And now she could taste his blood after tasting his mouth, and Rick's hands were driving her to new heights.