Chapter 10
Rory didn't have to wait very long before her phone went off. It was Logan. He was pulling up downstairs, She told him to see Fred at the security desk and she would unlock the front office.
"Hey," She said when he stepped through the doors. She stepped around him and locked it back. "Follow me. We are not alone, my CEO is catching up on some work, or hiding from her teenage granddaughter." She said with a chuckle.
She showed him to her office, closed the blinds to the inter office, motioned for him to have a seat. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked. He shook his head and showed her his bottle of water.
She nodded and took a seat in one of her club chairs and he took a seat on the brown tuxedo couch she had in her office.
"How's Tori doing? Sore?" He asked.
"Just a little." Rory said, getting comfortable in the chair.
"Rory, like I was saying before. I am not here to cause trouble, and I will abide by whatever rules you set forth." Logan said.
Rory was confused, what was he saying? "I'm sorry Logan. Maybe it was the trauma of Tori being hurt, but I don't remember what was said."
"Okay." Logan said. "Let me start over, but please can I explain?" She nodded.
"I have moved the HPG Home office back to New York." He started. "I am opening up the top floor of the Courant, so I also have an office here." He stopped to swallow and judge her reaction to this information.
When she didn't say anything, he continued. "I had the HPG apartment in Manhattan and Hartford renovated. Hartford will be my main residence, but I will be spending some time in Manhattan." She nodded.
'Like I said before, I will abide by your wishes, but I really would like to get to know my daughter." He said. He could see tears forming in her eyes.
"Hey, Ace," He said. "I am not asking for custody or any type of scheduled visitation. I just want to get to know her. She knows me as Uncle Finn's friend. We can keep it like that. I can just come with Finn." He stopped talking. He didn't know what else to say.
"Can you say something?" He asked.
She cleared her throat and grabbed a tissue from the box on the table, she dabbed her eye. "I think I need to think about this." She said with a sigh. "What happened between you and Odette?"
"Well, as you know, the marriage was more for convenience than anything." He said. He wanted to tell her that Odette was willing to be the wife he needed. Rory wasn't even ready to be a wife at all. But he didn't want to anger her. "The arrangement that Odette and I made with each other was to examine our marriage after 4 years. With Mitchum passing, neither of us felt the need to stay together."
"So ya'll had an open marriage?" She asked. "Why would you marry her if you were not going to be faithful to each other?"
"Well, first off, we were faithful, or at least I was. She said she was, but I am not sure." He told her. "You knew this was a marriage of convenience. The board was chomping at the bits for me to show some maturity. Mitchum thought the best way was to get married. You didn't want me. You wouldn't marry me." He stopped. He didn't want to go there.
Rory nodded her head, but didn't look up. Her hand became fascinating all of the sudden.
"Hey, Ace" he started, she then looked up at him. "Rory, I didn't want you or Tori to be subjected to the life of a Huntzburger. We both know it would not have worked."
She didn't say anything, so he continued. "Things have changed and I want to get to know our daughter." He said again.
"Yeah, I know, but we signed papers, your name is not on the birth certificate." She told him.
"I'm not here to claim paternity." He said. She looked at him. She was trying to see if she could still read him. Know what he was thinking.
"Ace,..Rory, you know as well as I do, that was the right decision at the time. You didn't want us to be a family." She started to interrupt. He put his hand up. "I didn't mean it like that. You were not ready for the life that would come with me acknowledging Tori, whether I was married to Odette or not."
She nodded. "You also know that at the time, Mitchum had threats on him and our family. Odette and I had bodyguards for several years, Honor and her boys too. The boys hated it. I didn't want you or Tori to have to endure that. Especially if I wasn't going to be around. You mention, when you were convincing me to sign the papers, that you were afraid something would happen to me and my family would get full custody….that is not a problem now. Mitchum is gone. Shira does not have the pull to try anything like that, besides, I control her money." She was trying to hide her smile.
Rory stayed silent. "I thought about her and you everyday. I do not regret our decision . I still think we made the right decision at the time." He told her. Then continued after she only nodded. "Finn would send me pictures and tell me things about her. The few times I was able to see her at the park, just made me want to be in her life more." Logan was up pacing now. He wasn't sure what else to tell her.
"So, You are moving back to the States?" She asked.
"Moved," he said. "I'm not saying I won't have to go back to London on occasion, but most of my traveling can be delegated or done by teleconferencing. I just haven't delegated much because I didn't really have a reason not to."
She nodded. "So,...You would start hanging around Finn when she is around?" she asked. He nodded. She nodded again, "Or Honor. She knows Honor is my friend and Harper's can be introduced as her brother. Harper loves playing at the house, maybe you could come with Honor to pick her up after school sometimes." She told him.
They both sat there, not saying anything for a few minutes, that felt like an hour.
She finally stood up, closing the meeting. She is a businesswoman, she knows how to conduct a meeting. "Well, You get in touch with Finn, Honor whichever you want, but let's keep this low key, I don't need my mom, or grandma finding out. Really, I would prefer no one found out."
"So,"he said. He stayed in his seat. He is also a businessman, he knows how to conduct a meeting. "Are you dating anyone?"
She started laughing. "You just got divorced. Are you looking for a date? Because I am sure you shouldn't have any trouble finding one. I'm sure the line will form again as soon as word gets out that you are divorced and in the States." She told him, letting her eyes roll over his body.
"Do you see something you like?" He asked.
She blushed. "Logan, your looks have never been a problem."
He laughed. "Ace, I'm not looking for the next trophy wife. I have an assistant that keeps my calendar for social and personal needs. I don't need a wife for that."
"What happens when the board tells you you need a wife?" She asked.
"I will tell them if they think my work is not up to their standards without a wife, they can just vote to have me removed." He said. She looked at him. She was confused.
"Mitchum is gone. I have his shares, I have grandpa's shares and I have Honor's proxy. They can vote me out, but it would be a really bad business move, besides, a lot of that huplo about needing a wife for the image, was Shira. Mitchum just went along with it. If he chose to, he could have convinced the board I didn't need a wife."
They both stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.
"What about the press? The threats are gone, but what about the paparazzi?" She asked.
"Well, I can't guarantee there won't be pictures, but it will not be of her as my daughter." He told her. "They generally leave me alone. There were a few of me right after the divorce was announced, but no one finds me interesting any more" Rory nodded.
"When she gets older, old enough to understand. I will be the one to say she is old enough, We can tell her who you are. I see this happening when she is in college." Rory said with a laugh. She was trying to get the meeting back on track.
"Sounds like a plan." Logan told her. They were both smiling at each other.
He cleared his throat. "Tori is my main focus, I don't ever need you to forget that," he said. She nodded. "I would also like to get to know you again." He looked at her to gauge her reaction. "I know, I know, but Ace, I have never stopped loving you. Not in the last 15 years, not in the 5."
"So, you want to start dating me?" She asked. He nodded. "Then what?"
She stood up and walked behind her desk. She needed to put some distance between them. She didn't want him to answer, she wanted to change the subject. "I told you when this all started five years ago, I didn't want to deny you your child, but I could not have you in and out of her life. I can not have her become a spectacle. I don't want reporters hounding her or me." She told him. "I don't want her labeled. But…., If you want to get to know her as a friend of Uncle Finn, or Honor's brother, We can see how that works, but if I say enough, I mean enough." He grinned and nodded his head. "We will not tell anyone you are the father. We will continue with the sperm donor story."
They again stared at each other. Neither one knows what to say next.
He stood up and nodded. "Well, I guess I will be going. I will get with one of them in the next few days." He said. He wasn't giving up on them. She had not said no. He had hope.
"I will send you her schedule ... .I want to be there for the first few visits." She told him.
"Oh, of course Ace," He told her with a grin.
She walked him to the door and unlocked it. He reached down and kissed her on the cheek. "See you later, Ace" and walked to the elevator.
Rory stood there watching him leave. After the elevator doors closed, she turned to see KImberly standing at the door of her office.
"I thought I heard something, didn't mean to intrude." Kimberly said. Rory nodded, turned to go back to her office.