Georgia Caldwell spun around in her swivel chair as she faced the starlit sky.
It was hard to believe that there could be a major city underneath that sky; everything looked so calm, so pure.
Of course there was a city underneath that sky: Philadelphia; the city of which Georgia has been calling home since early June.
It was now early November, just a few months after she learned that her father, Grant, ended his business ties with the Clemens family after a disagreement.
For business reasons, this decision did not sit well with Georgia. However, for personal reasons, she was glad about it.
As she spun the chair around to face her desk once again, Georgia decided to call it a night and head upstairs to her penthouse.
James Neelan stood on the balcony of the penthouse holding a cup of coffee in his hand, as he gazed at the full moon and the starry sky.
As a chilly breeze begin to pick up, James walked back inside and shut the door behind him. Just as he did that, he felt a polite tap on his shoulder.
James turned around and a smile appeared on his face when he saw who was standing behind him. "I'm glad you decided to come up, Georgia," James told her as he set the coffee cup down on the table. "I thought you would have been working for a while, yet."
"Not tonight," Georgia replied, as she glanced outside. "Can you believe how clear that sky is?"
"I was just standing outside," James let her know. "I was just thinking about everything that has happened… and how my brother refuses to speak to my mother."
Georgia gave him a comforting nod. "I know it must be hard to see Kevin like that," Georgia began. "But, I do remember when you stormed over here that night threatening to never speak to your mother again because she hid your father's phone number from you."
"If it wasn't for your warmth and comfort, your vase would be history now," James reminded her.
"I remember that!" Georgia exclaimed. "Dealing with what Vivian and Frankie did will take a while, I'm just glad he didn't shut Lalie and us out."
"Frankie is having problems of her own," James mentioned, as his eyes widened. "Remember what you were mentioning earlier about the wedding?"
"Oh, my God, that's right," Georgia nervously replied. "It's not too late, is it?"
"No, let's go!" James urged.
Frankie Stone dropped her jaw and folded her arms, as she looked at Ryan DiMarco with rage. "Do you always have to bring that up?" she demanded to know.
"I do!" Ryan yelled. "I can't believe your mother thinks that we're going to get married."
"I never told her that we were," Frankie firmly told him.
"You were purposely being misleading," Ryan angrily accused. "How am I supposed to marry someone who was going to let another man believe he was the father of your baby?"
"But that man is not," Frankie told him in a serious tone. "I didn't even sleep with him, damn it! Didn't that DNA test prove anything?"
"It proved that you were telling the truth that day in the hospital but that's all it proved for me," Ryan informed her. "It didn't erase what transpired between you, Vivian, Kevin and my cousin… right under my nose!"
"I hope Kevin and Lalie will be happy now that they know the truth," Frankie mentioned.
"Don't pretend to care like that!" Ryan warned her.
"Now, I'm fed up!" Frankie announced, as she slammed her fist down on the table, the sound echoing across the room. "Now, you have pushed me!"
"Oh, now you're accusing ME of pushing you?" Ryan sarcastically asked.
"Do you find this amusing?" Frankie wanted to know.
"I find it disturbing," Ryan let her know.
"I have changed," Frankie informed him. "I'm tired of you thinking that you are so morally right. Do I have to remind you that you left Florida without telling your aunt, ran from a cashier when she thought you shoplifted something?" she wanted to know. "I am tired of walking on eggshells with you, Ryan. When I think I'm saying the right thing, you always find some way to twist it around and make it look bad!" she angrily yelled, as she extended her arms in frustration and walked into the living room. "I don't think I can take this anymore, I CAN'T!"
"Don't stress yourself out, it's not good for you or the baby," Ryan told her in a concerned tone, as he noticed her getting extremely agitated.
"Oh, now you express concern?" Frankie sarcastically asked. "After you bring up that situation for the millionth time. Too little, too late, Ryan!" she yelled. "If I'm stressed, you're the only reason why I am. The ONLY reason!"
"If that's how you feel, then why are you here?" Ryan wanted to know.
"Good point," Frankie replied as she applauded. "I can't waste my time on heartless people anymore," Frankie told him, as she then made eye contact with him. "After you found out what had happened, you turned into a different person," Frankie said in disappointment. "When you are that loving man who I knew for all those years, come find me. Until then, stay away from me."
"I will have a part in that child's life," Ryan let her know. "I'll file for custody if I have to."
"Hopefully it won't come to that," Frankie truthfully replied. "Maybe you'll be able to let go by that time, and we can finally get back to where we were."
Ryan thought about it for a moment, as he watched Frankie shut the door and leave.
Lalie Mills sat at the table with a pen in her hand, as she watched her fiancee, Kevin Neelan, enter the room.
"And what are you doing?" Kevin wanted to know, as he looked over her shoulder.
"Just trying to plan out a tentative guest list for the wedding," Lalie replied, as she looked at the paper, trying to figure out whether or not she left anyone out.
"I'm so glad you agreed to put that ring back on your finger and take your job back," Kevin let her know.
"The situation with Frankie was full of misunderstandings and lies," Lalie replied. "You never slept together, and you always let her know that you were always just friends. She always found ways to mislead the situation and make it look like something was there that really wasn't."
"She was good at that," Kevin replied, remembering the situation. "At least, now we're finally moving on."
"We are," Lalie agreed. "Thank you for letting me stay here while my parents have been in Illinois, but I should probably go back home for a while… I have to check the answering machine, and there is probably scads of mail that I have to go through!"
"I just hope your Uncle's surgery went well and that he'll be better soon," Kevin smiled. "You can always check on those things and then come back here."
"The operation did go well, but they're going to stay out there a while longer to help him recover," Lalie explained. "You know I'd like to come back here, but I think I should just stay there for a while."
"Whatever you want," Kevin let her know, as there was a knock on the door.
Lalie watched Kevin answer the door and was surprised to see James and Georgia standing on the other side. "Hi!" Lalie greeted, as she stood up and walked over.
"Hi," James and Georgia said in unison as they entered Kevin's apartment.
"Did something happen at work, Georgia?" Kevin wanted to know.
"It's not always about work with me, Kevin!" Georgia informed him with a laugh.
"It really isn't," James cut in. "Georgia has an idea that she wants to share with you."
"It's just a suggestion... so feel free to disagree if you must, but do it kindly so you don't hurt my feelings," Georgia winked.
"We'll do our best," Lalie replied, as she prepared to hear Georgia's suggestion.
"Since both of us are engaged and planning for a wedding down the road," Georgia began. "I was thinking of having a double wedding. I mean, James and Kevin would basically have the same guests, and just my family and Lalie's family."
Lalie turned to Kevin to see his reaction, as she then turned back to Georgia. "Georgia, I think that's a wonderful idea but there's just one thing."
"Turn me down gently, Lalie!" Georgia exclaimed.
"I'm not turning you down!" Lalie assured her. "It's just that we didn't want Vivian at ours, and I know James will probably want her at yours."
"That could be a problem," Georgia nervously laughed.
"Look, even if we didn't invite her, I'm sure she'd find a way to get herself in anyway," Kevin mentioned. "Georgia, that idea sounds great."
"Thanks, you two," James smiled. "Now, Georgia won't be upset all the way back to the penthouse."
Georgia slapped James in the arm, jokingly. "Stop, I wouldn't act like that," Georgia defended, as she turned back to Kevin and Lalie. "We'll discuss this further, okay?"
"Sounds great!" Lalie exclaimed, as she watched James and Georgia leave and then turned back to Kevin. "I don't think Vivian is the only guest that you're going to have a problem with… there's someone that I want to invite. Well, more than invite, stand up with me at the altar."
Kevin nodded, seeming to already realize the person she was referring to. "Who is that, Lalie?" Kevin asked, anyway.
"Heather," Lalie replied.
"If you want Heather to be your maid of honor, then that's fine with me," Kevin agreed.
Lalie was almost taken aback by his accord. "You're fine with it?"
"Heather was a help at the reunion and I appreciate that," Kevin told her. "Maybe there's a chance that things could change between Heather and I… but I can't say the same for my mother and I."
Lalie smiled that he was fine with the idea. "Well, let me get my things together so I can head home and make sure the house is still in order," she announced, as she headed off into the direction of the bedroom.
The next morning, Georgia sat in her office thinking more about her wedding than the work at hand.
The sound of a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts, as she called out for the person to come in.
"Hi, Red," the person said, as she entered.
Georgia watched as the receptionist, Brenda Romans, made her way into her office. "How are you, Brenda?"
"I'm fine," Brenda replied. "I'm just letting you know that we have a new maintenance employee on staff, who will be cleaning this floor at night and also washing the windows from the outside."
"That's always good to hear," Georgia replied. "Thanks for letting me know."
"I know you live upstairs so I didn't want you to worry incase you saw someone strange walking around at night," Brenda explained.
"Oh, don't worry," Georgia began in a carefree tone. "I see someone strange every time I look in the mirror."
"You're stunning, Red!" Brenda exclaimed.
"Well, thank you," Georgia replied. "So, what is this guy's name?"
"Not a guy," Brenda started. "It's a woman. Rachel Goal."
"Rachel Goal?" Georgia repeated the name, unsure of whether she heard the last name correctly or not. She never met anyone with that last name before. "Thanks, Brenda. I'll be sure to make Rachel feel right at home when she's out on that scaffolding."
Brenda laughed at that remark. "I'll let you get back to work."
"Have a good day, Brenda," Georgia wished her, as she watched her walk out of the office. A few minutes later, the phone rang as she continued to daydream about the wedding. "Georgia Caldwell," Georgia spoke into the phone as she put it up to her ear. "Georgia Caldwell," she repeated.
The other end of the line was silent, all that could be heard was the sound of dead air.
Georgia slowly put the phone back down on the receiver as she looked at it for a second. She shrugged it off and went back to work.
Chapter 2
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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