44 - A Familiar Set of Choices
"Yeah, I just pulled up to your building a second ago," Marty told his girlfriend over the cellphone, the car keys now shoved in his pocket after locking its doors. "You almost ready?"
"Almost, except my hair is being unco-operative right now," Rory complained, the slight echoing effect telling him that she had Marty on speakerphone. "Stupid curling iron."
"It's a casual celebration, Rory," he chuckled while entering the apartment building, using the spare keys that once belonged to Rory's former roommate to do so. "It's going to be pretty low-key, semi-formal at best. It'll most likely just be Rob, his family, a few co-workers and their dates and/or family. Nothing to get really worked up about."
"But this is the first time I'll be at one of these things as your girlfriend, so in my mind it's a huge deal, Marty," she countered. "And I want to make a good impression."
"Well, Rob and Kelsey love you, so I can't see why anybody else wouldn't," he reasoned, climbing the stairs at a leisurely pace.
"Your boss and his wife are fine, it's their daughter who seems to have it out for me," grumbled the journalist. "Little sociopath."
"Riese isn't a sociopath," he chided. "And she doesn't have it out for you. You're imagining things."
"I know, I'm sorry," apologized Rory with a resigned sigh. "The girl just makes me uncomfortable for some reason. Probably has to do with the obvious crush she has on you."
"And now you're being ridiculous," Marty laughed. "Anyway, I should hang up since I'm coming up to your floor."
"Okay, let yourself in. I'll probably be another minute or two."
"Will do," he agreed, once again using the key Rory had given him. The door clicked shut behind Marty as he made his way into the apartment.
"I won't be much longer," Rory called out from down the hall.
"Take your time. We still have forty-five minutes," he answered back. Marty casually made it over towards the couch to sit down, fully prepared to watch some television while waiting for Rory to finish getting ready. He had just turned the channel to ESPN when his girlfriend entered the living room. "All set?"
"I don't know. You tell me," she said.
"Hmm?" Marty stood up and turned to look at her, only to go wide eyed at the sight of Rory standing in the hallway. He blinked for another moment before giving her the once over again from her feet to her face. Golden strapped heels adorned her feet, which color matched that of the roses that decorated the not quite knee length crimson cocktail dress Rory wore. Its v-shaped neckline captured his gaze for a moment that was dangerously close to too long before he continued upwards until their eyes finally met. "Wow."
"Too much?" Rory inquired, her expression unsure.
"You look beautiful," he managed to say, still a bit dumbfounded by her appearance.
"But is it too much?" she pressed.
"Perfect. You look perfect," Marty assured her, finally managing to rein himself. He glanced down at his own clothes, then back over at her. "Me, on other hand..."
"Oh, please, you look great," Rory assured him in return. She stepped forward to stand in front of him, her fingers deftly buttoning up Marty's shirt. "But if you want, I still have one of your ties from the last time you stayed over."
He frown down at her in consideration. "You think it'll help?"
"Only one way to find out," the reporter grinned, leaving her boyfriend standing alone to retrieve the accessory from her bedroom.
After Rory had returned with the tie in hand, the couple decided that Marty looked better without it and rushed out the door. Despite managing to avoid most of the heavy traffic, they just barely arrived at their destination on time. Marty quickly exitted the car to walk around and open the door for Rory, his hand held out towards her.
"Thanks," she smiled in appreciation, taking the offered hand with the one not grasping the designer clutch that matched her dress. They held hands until reaching the restaurant's entrance, where Rory suddenly came to a halt. "Hold on a sec."
He glanced at her, curious. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'm so happy to be with you," she stated, her free hand reaching up to cup his cheek. "I love you." Before Marty could even hope to reply, the girl who had at one time rejected his advances in college kissed him. When they separated Rory grinned up at him, once more taking his hand in hers. "Shall we?"
"Yes, we shall," the architect agreed, unable to keep himself from grinning ear to ear. They continued inside to be greeted by the restaurant's hostess, who led them to a private room where Marty's co-workers, along with their respective dates and families, had already gathered. In total there was almost twenty people there. Immediately on catching sight of the couple, Marty's boss approached them with his wife and daughter following behind.
"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with his presence," a jovial Rob greeted. "And in such lovely company, too!" He smiled widely at Rory. "It's nice to see you again, Miss Gilmore."
"Likewise, Mr. Stevens," she returned, sounding overly formal.
"Please call me Rob," he insisted politely.
"Okay...Rob," Rory smiled, obviously nervous. The reporter shot her boyfriend a sharp look when Marty was forced to stiffle a chuckle.
"And you remember my wife, Kelsey," he re-introduced the two women, who shook hands before Rob turned Rory's attention to his daughter. "And this is my baby girl, Riese."
"We've met, Daddy," Riese sighed. "I told you this a while ago, remember?" The teen turned to Rory. "Sorry, I think Daddy's going senile sometimes."
"Anyhow, now that you ladies are all acquainted," Rob segued without missing a beat. "I must speak with my protege concerning a business matter. Martin, if you'd join me at the bar?"
"Will you be fine if I go talk to Rob for a while?" Marty whispered in Rory's ear, his hand placed gently on the small of her back.
"I think I can manage," she whispered back.
"I'll try not to be long," he promised.
"We'll take good care of your lady friend, Martin," the older of the two remaining Stevens interjected, Rob already having left for the bar. "Now go and make certain my husband doesn't drink too many martinis while Riese and I are entertaining Rory."
"Yes, Martin, shoo!" Riese ordered, leading the reporter to the other side of the room with her mother in tow.
"You simply must tell me where you got your dress, dear," he heard Kelsey say as the three women walked away. "It looks amazing on you."
"Okay then," the architect muttered, taken slightly aback by his sudden dismissal. With a shake of his head, Marty chuckled to himself before turning toward the bar where Rob was awaiting him. He nodded at the bartender. "Rickard's Red, if you have it, please."
The bartender nodded back. "Coming right up, sir."
"So what's up, boss?" Marty asked when they were once again alone.
"How long have we known each other, Martin?" Rob returned.
"Almost four years."
"And in that time, would it be safe to assume that we have a certain amount of mutual trust and respect built up?"
"Whatever it is you're trying to say, Rob, just say it," Marty requested, not used to his boss being so evasive.
"Got a call from the main offices in New York this afternoon," a resigned Rob informed. "And it looks like your work on the Hamilton Project impressed them."
"Really? Wait," he frowned, confused by the older man's behavior. "How impressed are we talking about here?"
"We're talking big promotion, big pay raise," his boss explained.
The younger man raised an eyebrow. "What's the catch?"
"That's what I like about you, Martin," Rob chuckled. "Always quick on the uptake."
"What's the catch, Rob?" Marty repeated.
"They need new head architects in the Hartford and Raleigh offices," he answered. "And they want to give one of those positions to you."
"Wow, that's big," a shocked Marty muttered, taking a large swig from his beer.
"The office in Raleigh is a new outfit," continued Rob. "In fact, it's so new that the actual offices won't even be finished until sometime in June." He shrugged. "On the other hand, the Hartford office is one of the older and more established branches of the company. Either way though, they want you to run one of them."
"Is there any way I can just take the huge raise in pay and stay in Chicago like last time?" Marty sighed, referring to the Dallas offer he'd received several months ago.
"I'm afraid not," the older architect apologized. "Would you like my advice, kid?"
He nodded. Rob was his mentor after all. "Sure."
"I suggest you take one of these offers," he continued. "You're a brilliant architect, Marty. One of the best I've had the pleasure to work with. And while I'd hate to see you leave, I think a change of scenery could be exactly what you need right now."
"Can I get back to you on this?" Marty begged off, feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Of course," Ron nodded in understanding. "Just don't take too long on getting back to me on this, okay? It's rather time sensitive."
The younger man frowned. "How time sensitive?"
"I'll need your answer sometime in the next three to four weeks."
"That's some kind of pressure," he grimaced.
"Sorry that I had to drop this on you here, when we're supposed to be celebrating our latest successes," apologized Rob once more, his hand placed on Marty's shoulder. "But I figured that you'd want as much time to mull things over as possible."
"Thanks, I appreciate that, Rob," Marty nodded, standing up from his stool. "I'm going to find Rory and take our seats now. Knowing her, she's probably starving already."
"I should probably go grab my girls, too," his mentor sighed. "How two such skinny women can scarf down so much food is beyond me!"
"I know exactly what you mean," he chuckled, thinking about Rory's odd ability to eat far more than a girl her size should be able to. A now distracted Marty rejoined his girlfriend where she was still speaking with Kelsey and Riese, then wordlessly led her to their seats. Marty only half-listened to the other people talking at the table with them, too pre-occupied with the conversation he'd just had with Rob.
"Is eveything alright, Marty?" Rory asked, effectively garnering his attention.
"Yeah, everything's great," he half-lied.
The reporter gave him that look, the one that told Marty she was not at all convinced. "Marty."
"I'll tell you after the party," he promised, not wanting to worry her. Or worse, cause an argument. "Okay?"
"I'll hold you to that," the reporter nodded, relenting for the time being. She reached over to grasp his hand, a playful little smile on her lips. "Until then, try to have a good time. A lot of this celebrating tonight is because of your hard work. At least according to everyone I've talked to here."
He affectionately, appreciatively squeezed her hand. "Thanks, Rory."
"Anytime," Rory smiled.
"No, really," he smiled back. "Thank you."
Before Rory could say anything in response, Rob clinked a spoon softly against his glass to grab everybody's attention. While his mentor and friend thanked the assembled people for coming, Marty stole a glance at his girlfriend and suddenly felt anxious at their coming conversation. He honestly had no idea how Rory was going to react to the news of his possible transfer.