Chapter 94

Back in Seattle …

What's in a Name?

Taylor POV

ping

I hear my a my phone indicating a notification and check it. It's a text from Ryan wanting to see if I can get the name of the guy Rhiann is with in Vegas. Apparently they feel stupid talking about him with no name or calling him 'the guy' or stripper. I can't help but laugh. I totally get it. It does sound stupid. Before I respond, I call Elliot:

Elliot answers after a couple of rings. "Hey Taylor, what's up?"

I'm preparing for some sort of battle before I answer. "Would it be possible for you to tell me the first name of the guy that's with the girls? Just his first name will work." I chuckle. "It sounds ridiculous calling him some guy or the stripper. I promise you; we're not going to look into him. We would just like to use his name instead of a random description."

There's silence on his end before I hear him exhale. "Let me ask the girls if they want that information revealed." He pauses, before continuing, "Don't be surprised if they say no. I don't think they trust you guys. At all."

I sigh. "I know. This whole thing has been fucked up from the beginning." He's going to continue to make me feel like shit over this forever. At least it feels that way. "I'm sorry this has happened to the girls, Rhiann and you." Apologizing is hard for me to do but I know we were in the wrong and I'll take responsibility for everything. "We fucked up royally but I'm really trying to get things straightened out."

Elliot is silent for a moment. "Thank you Taylor. That means a lot to me and I'll speak for the girls, it's very appreciated. I'll call you back as soon as I hear from Kate." He doesn't even give me a chance to respond before he disconnects the call.

I decide to call Ryan instead of texting him. He answers almost immediately. "Hey T. How's it going there?" He asks and I can hear noise in the background so I know they're in public somewhere. I roll my eyes because I'm pretty sure he knows it's been a shit show from the beginning.

"Just trying to get this mess cleaned up." I answer gruffly. "I'm waiting to hear back from Elliot. He's asking the girls if it's OK to give us his name. They're a little skeptical, which is understandable, considering…"

"OK, just let me know when you find out." He replies.

"How are things there?" I ask. I can hear noise and rustling on his end and I'm assuming he's moving around for privacy. My thoughts are confirmed when it gets quiet after a brief minute. We don't usually talk business in public places.

"We're eating dinner and so far nothing has happened. They were here at some point before us, apparently, but we didn't know it at the time." He hesitates briefly. "Luke didn't do or say anything. We just watched the new videos of her on social media. You should check it out. Pretty amazing stuff this time." I can hear the encouragement in his tone.

I make a mental note to check it out, no matter how much I hate social media. "Thanks for the advice." I chuckle. "So what else is going on?" I know there's got to be something else. This mess can't be ironed out that easily.

Ryan sighs, "I'm not sure how real it is but he's apologized for putting us in the position we are in and fucking up royally."

"What do you think about that?" I ask. Ryan can use his psychology experience on anyone and is reliable in determining if people are truthful or bullshitting. I trust his judgement implicitly.

He answers almost immediately. "I think he's truly sorry for everything. He mentioned possibly scheduling an appointment with Flynn to figure out why he reacted the way he did."

I'm surprised, actually. Luke has always said shrinks are a waste of time and anyone can figure out what the problem is if they try. "That's surprising. I'm sure Grey can get that scheduled as soon as you guys get back to Seattle."

"I have a theory. Maybe he's starting to come out of his funk and is really trying to fix the mess he created." Ryan says, as if he's thinking out loud. "He's always been levelheaded and nothing has ever swayed his judgement. He's still the best for any job. He just needs some clarity and answers."

"Do you really believe that?" I ask, leaving the question vague to see what he says.

"T, I absolutely still think he's the best for any job. He's the top CPO, and rightfully so, and deserves to stay there." He answers without hesitation.

Well, there's the answer I was looking for. "It's good to hear he's thinking about his fuckup and wanting to fix things. However, I'm pretty sure this is far from over. Just imagine what will happen when the girls return to Seattle." I chuckle darkly. "I think I'll resign and move to another country."

Ryan laughs, "That's hilarious. We might just join you. It depends on where you go though." He says, still laughing.

I laugh with him and boy does it feel good. Things have been so stressful lately I didn't think I'd be able to laugh ever again.

My phone beeps and I see Elliot is calling. "Hey, Elliot's calling. I'll call you with an update." I tell Ryan and disconnect the call before he can respond.

I answer the call, "Hey Elliot."

I cringe when I hear what he's got to say. "Kate is going to be calling you. Just a heads up. She wants to make sure you don't look into him or anyone else they've been with." I roll my eyes. "I told her to deal with you directly to make sure there wasn't any miscommunication. I'm sorry Taylor but I'm just warning you that they don't trust you guys at all. She's pretty pissed and I honestly can't blame them."

I sigh, audibly, and I'm resigned to having to deal with the tenacious Kate Kavanaugh. "This must be my punishment." I chuckle. I don't blame them either. This has turned into a nightmare and is going to be hard to fix. I'll get it done though. Thank you Elliot. Did she tell you when she'd be calling?" I ask, wondering how much time I have to prepare to be yelled at. Kate can be pretty ruthless.

"You should hear from her in the next 30 minutes." He advises me, giving me better news than I expected. I was hoping it wasn't in 5 minutes.

"Thank you. I appreciate all your help. I'll be waiting for her call. I'll keep you informed as soon as I have information."

We disconnect and I sit and wait for Kate's call.

Elliot POV

I'm so tired of the bullshit that's been going on with the girls and their vacation. Now Taylor wants Alex's name, so they don't sound like morons when referring to him. It's not my call though. Personally, I think they should continue for two reasons. One, they deserve to sound like idiots. Two, it's hilarious. I know Rhi would think so too. That's just how she is. Maybe I should tell her about it sometime AFTER she comes back. She'll get a kick out of it.

I'm expecting a call from Kate after Rhi returns to the room. Apparently there's been an 'issue' between Rhi and Alex so Ana and Kate decided to get out of Dodge. That really made me laugh because I can see a duel in the street between Rhi and Alex. She's got a temper and has no problem making her feelings known when pushed too far. She can be a little, shall we say, brutal in her delivery as well as combative when confronted. This should be interesting.

Taylor POV

Fuck. I don't want to deal with Kate on this. She's like a pit bull and won't let things drop until she gets her way. It's admirable in some aspects but can be frustrating, depending on the issue. Like I told Elliot, this must be my punishment for completely dropping the ball.

I'm going to kick Luke's ass when I see him. I really don't want to have him fired but I do think he needs at least an appointment with Flynn. Something needs to be done, to figure out what the issue is and fix it to protect everyone involved. Especially Rhiann. She didn't deserve any of this.

My phone rings and I look down at the caller ID. Fuck. It's Kate. Let the games begin…

Sighing, I answer. "Hello Kate. How are things?"

"Taylor, I'm trying to figure out what the fuck you guys are doing. You do realize you've really fucked up our entire vacation, right?" She asks, continuing before I can answer. "All because you REFUSED to listen to Elliot! Care to explain why?"

Well, she get's right to the point. I do admire that quality in her, just not when I'm on the receiving end.

"Kate, I can't apologize enough about this whole fiasco. No apology will ever be good enough." I sincerely mean those words. "This whole thing started with Grey and his jealousy; among other issues he has." I'm not making excuses this time. I'm going to tell her everything that I can. "Then he got pissed because every time we asked Elliot, he refused to give it to us. Then, he freaked himself out to the point of flying out there to bring Ana back. Elliot told him if he even stepped foot on the ground he'd lose Ana completely. So, we flew back here but left the guys there to keep an eye on you and keep you safe. I regret following his orders but it's my job. Don't get mad at Elliot though. He's been doing what he can to handle things here but no one listened." I stop there to give her a chance to respond. I want to keep this as civil as possible. Not only because I need information but also to begin trying to fix things so they can enjoy the rest of their vacation.

Kate laughs sardonically then mutters, "Grey and his fucking issues. Always fucking something up because he has money and power. HE's the one that needs the help."

You have no idea.

"At least he listened to Elliot and didn't get off the plane. You all would have regretted it that very minute." She tells me, a sadness lacing her words. "Elliot included."

I inhale sharply. "Kate, the last thing we wanted was for anyone to get hurt. Especially someone we don't know. Not to mention anything to come between you and Elliot." No matter how much trouble she causes for us, she's still good for Elliot and he's good for her.

"Well, someone DID get hurt." She snaps, "Someone you know nothing about. An innocent party in your shit."

I know, don't remind me. "I'm not making excuses for Grey but he was pretty pissed that no one told him you and Ana were leaving or where for that matter." I sigh, "When he found out there was someone else with you he freaked. You know how Grey is. He automatically assumed it was some spy or someone with ulterior motives to hurt his family." Continuing, I admit, "No, we didn't listen to Elliot like we should have. You have to understand something though, as a CPO, we had absolutely no information to go on to check things out, security wise. There was nothing but a driver's license." Which still baffles me.

"Taylor, you do realize that Ana and I have no responsibility to ask for permission to leave, right?" She asks, continuing before I can answer. "We also aren't required to tell anyone about whoever is going to be with us."

I sigh, "While we're all aware of this fact, Grey himself does not see logic. Especially when it comes to Ana." I'm silent waiting for that to sink in. She's smart. She'll figure it out.

There's a gasp on the other line. "I KNEW IT! That fucker's in love with her isn't he?" She asks, not surprised.

I chuckle. "It seems we all are aware of this except for him. I'm sure Ana knows but he doesn't show it like a normal person. When we talk about it, he denies it and says he 'Doesn't do love.' He's definitely in denial."

She scoffs, "That's an understatement. I can tell you one thing, he's in for a huge surprise when we get home." She says nothing else but she doesn't need to. We're all aware of the wrath that will be raining down on him.

On to the next issue. "The situation with Luke is difficult to answer. I have no idea that happened with him to cause him to act like he has been." It's true, I don't even think he knows either. "I'm at a complete loss and plan on having him meet with Flynn when he returns. Maybe he can figure it out and 'fix' him. I'm as perplexed as you are on that matter." I think for a moment before answering, wondering if I should say this. Fuck it. Honesty and transparency are important right now. "I've talked to Ryan and Reynolds and they believe he really is sorry for what happened. They even think he's gotten over whatever it was that caused this. I'm flying out first thing in the morning and will handle this situation directly. Something I should have done in the beginning."

There's no response from her immediately and I wonder if she's still on the line. Finally, she responds. "I hope you hold true to your word, Taylor, because this shit has to stop. I've spent the past three days trying to get you guys to listen but no one did. Elliot tried but that's where it stopped. THREE DAYS of a four day vacation was spent dealing with the aftermath of some self-righteous prick who disregards everyone except for himself."

I cringe. When she puts it that way it sounds worse than Grey thought. Obviously, there was more at stake than we knew but I should have investigated more. I would have if more information was available.

"Kate, regarding the situation with Rhiann, you have to understand that from a CPO point of view it was a situation we had no control over and didn't know if she was a threat to him or his family." It's a weak defense but an honest one. "Kate, YOU are considered part of the Grey family. Ana is too even though your relationships are completely different. I never intended on anyone getting hurt and never imagined that anything would go wrong."

She laughs, hard and loud. "Taylor, if you ever meet her you'll understand why I'm laughing so hard. She's the nicest person I've ever known."

"Kate, again, without the ability to find out information, Grey panicked and sent Welch and me on a mission to find everything we could on her, which may as well be nothing. Actually, to put it more accurately, we couldn't find ANYTHING. The less we found the more concerned we became." She'll never understand the gravity of the possibilities that could happen in situations like this.

"It's my understanding that Elliot tried numerous times to get you guys to back off and you refused to listen. It went against 'protocol' so you continued to ignore what he was saying." She's blunt when she says, "You just saw her as a challenge. You saw her picture and focused on that instead of doing your job. As a CPO." Her words are barbed.

Ouch.

She continues, "Any information about Rhi as absolutely none of your business. We never mentioned her and we never intended to. We have our reasons why." She doesn't offer an explanation and I'm not about to probe for one. "There is one thing that I will share with you."

Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this? "Go ahead. I'm listening." My voice is apprehensive.

"I'm telling you this so you can consider yourself warned. She's gorgeous and men are attracted to her like flies on shit. She doesn't need a bunch of fucking horny assholes after her just to fuck her. She's an amazing person and deserves more than that." She stops, letting that sink in. "She's a person, Taylor, not an object or conquest."

"Point taken." I don't know what else to say to that. I'm pretty sure that's what happened. In the beginning, I was included in that. Slowly it morphed into a challenge to get information on her. Like I've said before, an enigma.

"Now, I'm only going to say this once. You better start listening to Elliot. He has the information and knows why there is a limited amount of information on her. You can't force it out of him." She's firm and clear to make sure her message is understood. "His integrity is admirable and I trust him wholeheartedly. If he doesn't tell you something, there's a reason for it and you can't and won't get the information from him unless we say it's OK."

What the fuck is all the secrecy about? My mind is running a million different ways and every thought is not a good one. "Understood. Like I said before, I can't apologize enough to make any of this better. I'll do whatever I need to do to prevent something like this happening again."

Kate continues, "You guys are the reason Rhi had a br…" She stops mid-sentence, before continuing, "You are the reason she's hurt. This is our vacation. Did you hear that, Taylor? Our VACATION is no one's business and the first three days have been a complete nightmare because of Grey and a bunch of horny assholes have been stalking us." The tone of her voice changes with her next words, "All this is for naught, Taylor."

Confused I ask, "What do you mean?"

She chuckles, "Welch hasn't been able to find any other information has he?" She pauses. "The only way you will be getting any information about Rhi is if she or Ana and I release that information."

I take a minute to digest that piece of knowledge. I'm at a loss for what she's talking about.

"What do you want her friend's name for? So you can check on him too? After all this shit, Taylor, how can I trust you to not do that?" She asks but doesn't let me respond. "You haven't given us any reason to trust you at all. You say one thing but do the opposite. Here's the deal. The only thing I'm going to give you is his first initial. 'A." You better not try to find anything about him because if you do, I'll use every one of my connections to handle things the right way and you and your little band of goons will regret it." I'm pretty sure she's pissed at this point when she growls out, "Elliot will be the only one I want to communicate with from now on. I don't want to hear from anyone until we get back to Seattle. Understand?" click

With that, she hangs up on me. Well that went better than I expected.

I need to gather my thoughts before calling Ryan back. This whole situation is confusing. I didn't get any more answers than I already had, just more questions. Mainly more questions about Rhiann; why all the secrecy?

I'll deal with that later. Right now, I need to focus on cleaning up the mess we created. No matter how much I want to, I can't blame everything on Luke. He was just the catalyst that triggered the disaster. I can't blame Elliot either, for not divulging information that could have prevented things. After all, he did make a promise to Kate, Ana and Rhiann. That's one thing I've always admired about him, his integrity. I really am interested in finding out why they never mentioned her.

Taylor and Ryan

Sighing, I call Ryan. When he answers, I don't hear noise in the background like I did before so I assume they've left the restaurant. "Kate won't give me the guys name, only his initial. That's the best we're going to get right now."

I hear Ryan laugh, "An initial? We have to call the guy an alphabet letter? That's hilarious." He laughs again and I hear Reynolds in the background start laughing. "So, what's this initial? Let me guess, 'A?'"

I'm shocked, that's eerie. "How did you know that?"

Ryan laughs harder, "You're kidding! It was just a guess." I hear Reynolds laughing in the background again. and roll my eyes. "Did she say why she won't give his name?"

"They don't trust us. At all. Especially with our ability to dig up information through Welch. With the exception of Rhiann, which I still don't understand why there isn't anything." I shake my head at the thought.

"She's really making this difficult for us, isn't she?" Ryan asks, still chuckling.

I sigh, "Honestly, I don't blame them for being upset and untrusting. We've totally fucked this whole thing up, which is something we've never done before."

We're both silent for a minute.

"So, what's your opinion about Luke's actions and this whole fiasco?" He's the perfect guy to ask.

I hear him take a breath, "To be honest? I think things are finally settling down in his mind and he's going to pull out of this." He laughs again, "I think he'll be back to his normal asshole top CPO self, especially after meeting with Flynn. Definitely don't let him get out of that."

God I hope so. "What makes you say that?"

"When we went to dinner, I'm pretty sure she was there before we were. Maybe even while we were there." He starts telling me what happened. "From what I could tell, he didn't even look for her. Even if he did, he didn't have tunnel vision on her like he did before. We had good conversation and actually relaxed. For a change, we didn't have to worry about him doing anything."

Hmm, interesting. "Do you think it's just an act or that he's really getting his shit together?" I wouldn't put it past him to try and pull off a lie like that.

Taking a deep breath, he answers, "I've been thinking about it and I think he's being honest about things. Maybe there's still a bit of attraction to her but if there is, he's in control of himself again. That's a start." He stops for a moment, then continues, "I think he knows he fucked up and is trying to figure out how to fix things. With us and the girls. I can tell you right now, he wants to apologize to her but doesn't know how to do it without causing more trauma." He laughs, "Besides, Kate and Ana would kick his ass."

I laugh at the thought, and hear Reynolds pipe up, "He's pushing his luck by doing that. Rhiann already kicked his ass." The two of them let out roaring laughter and I can't help but join in. I would have loved to have seen that.

Ryan continues, "At least he's showing some restraint and control. He hasn't said anything about her either."

"That's good to hear. Where are you guys at?" I ask, curious. "I'm going to call Reynolds for his opinion too."

"We're on our way back to the hotel. We're going to go back and just chill for the night." He pauses, "Unless you need us to do anything?"

I answer quickly, "No, just stay in. Keep an eye on things tonight. I'll be there in the morning and we'll get this all taken care of. I'll text you when I leave and when I land."

"Ten Four."

Disconnecting the call, I immediately call Reynolds.

Taylor and Reynolds

He answers, "Hey T."

"What is your opinion of the situation out there." I ask. Short and to the point.

He sighs, "I'm going to be frank with you. This whole thing is fucked up. We shouldn't be here stalking anyone. Especially an unsuspecting female we know nothing about. T, since we've been here, a lot of bad things have happened to her. So many that I don't think they've been able to truly enjoy their trip."

"What do you mean? Has something else happened?" I'm concerned because I've not heard about this before.

He hesitates before he answers. "No, not really. I've observed her tensing up when we're around. It's like she can sense us there, watching, almost like a paranoia. First, we grab them, then Luke freaks her out at the pool and she punches him and now her hand is broken. That sounds like a shitty way to spend a vacation." He stops, leaving me time to think about it.

"That's something I've not heard about yet." I reply.

"That's not all. I don't think it's all Luke's fault." He continues.

Confused, I ask, "What do you mean?"

"T, there's something else going on. I don't know what but it's obvious there's something. No one is that paranoid without a reason." He sounds concerned. "Luke, on the other hand, was so focused on Rhiann that he became jealous of 'A.' By the way, that's the dumbest thing to call someone. I'd rather call him the guy." He laughs.

I roll my eyes and chuckle, "I'm with you on that one, but that's the information I was given. This is a fucking fucked up fuckup." We laugh again.

"Anyway, if you could see her, you would understand the attraction. She's beautiful and from what we've witnessed, her character surpasses anything we've ever seen. Even Ryan has noticed." He chuckles again, "Ever since she punched Luke, which he totally deserved, he's changed his whole demeanor. I don't think it's necessary to get anyone else involved other than Flynn. I suggest it be done as soon as possible though, just to get answers. He's a good guy and the best CPO around. I don't think you should hold this against him." He laughs, "The sooner we leave, the better because shit is going to hit the fan when Kate and Ana get home."

"That's what I'm afraid of." I mutter. "Thanks for your input. I hope you guys are right. I'd hate to lose him but I'll discuss it with Grey and we'll go from there. I'll let you know when I'm heading out tomorrow."

"Ten Four." He responds and I disconnect the call.

I'm skeptical about Luke being able to change immediately but I have hope that he will, especially after talking to Flynn. We need answers. I'd hate to fire him over this and have it be on his record. He'd never be able to find another CPO job. I mean, who wants to hire someone that has a history of stalking his own client? I don't want to crash and burn either. We've known each other for years and are like brothers. Which makes this harder because I want to kick his ass and knock some sense into him. FUCK! I should kick his ass just because I can. I think a round or two in the ring is on the schedule when he gets back.

I need to contact him next; I'd love to just text but I need to hear his voice.

Taylor and Luke

Sighing, I call Luke. He picks up after a couple of rings. "Care to tell me your side of this?"

Hey T. What can I say other than the obvious. I fucked up royally. I got caught up in Rhiann. Her beauty, her personality, her independence and her attitude. It was something I'd never seen in anyone I've ever met. Any other girl would do whatever it took to get my attention but she turned her back on me and told me to fuck off when she punched me." He pauses, "I guess I saw her as a challenge. You know how I get when something is a challenge. I need to defeat it. I feel terrible about freaking her out, causing her to get hurt and ruining the girls' vacation. There aren't enough apologies to make up for the mess I created." Well, he sounds remorseful at least.

"Luke, you've never chased after anyone before. You've never said anything about 'being with someone' and doing all the things 'A' has been doing. You've never gotten jealous over any woman. You've only wanted to fuck them and leave them." I pause, gathering my thoughts, "I'm not sure what happened to you but if you don't figure out how to get past everything I don't know if I can convince Grey to let me keep you on as CPO." I sigh, "I don't want to lose you. You're good at what you do and are a major asset but you've really started to worry me. You really fucked everything up, you know that right?"

He sighs, "I don't know what caused this but I want to meet with Flynn to see if I can figure it out. I want to know for myself, not just to keep my job." OK, he sounds sincere.

"I need to know that you can still be trusted, if you're being truthful or if this is just an act." I say, firmly. "You're not the only guilty party in this mess. We all had a part in it and we all have to suck it up and admit it. Myself included. I'll be there tomorrow morning and we'll figure things out. I don't even know where to begin. I'm meeting with Grey to discuss everything. I'll let you guys know when I'm taking off and landing." Letting out a sigh, I shake my head.

"I'm really sorry T." Luke replies and there's a hint of sadness and regret in his tone. As fucked up as it sounds, I'm happy to hear it.

Hanging up, I think about everything he said. I think he's being truthful for the most part but I still think there's an attraction that he's suppressing. Hopefully, meeting with Flynn will help address his issues and he can move on.

Throughout this whole mess, it's apparent that all three girls have something in common, they're all stubborn. No wonder they're so close. Shaking my head, I leave to find Grey so we can put together a plan and execute it.