Later that evening, Georgia sat in her penthouse by herself. James was at work, and Georgia was watching the television to keep her occupied when there was a knock on her door.
"Trey," Georgia muttered, as she opened the door and saw her ex-boyfriend, Trey Clemens, standing before her. "I don't know what you are doing here."
Trey smiled at her as he touched her face, before making his way into the living room.
Georgia rolled her eyes as she shut the door, and walked into the living room. "How dare you hang up on me like that!"
"Like what, Georgia?" Trey wanted to know.
"Don't act as if you don't know what I'm talking about," Georgia warned him in a serious tone. "You called me in my office earlier and then hung up without answering. Were you checking up on me?"
"Still have that big ego I see," Trey groaned. "Georgia, I didn't call you and then hang up." Trey put his hands on his cheeks and dropped his jaw in sarcasm. "You don't suppose someone else might know your office number, do you?"
Georgia walked up to him and removed both of his hands from his face and set them back down to his sides. "Who else would call me in my office and then hang up?" Georgia rhetorically asked. "Then, you, of all people, show up at my doorstep!"
"It's a pretty high step in this penthouse, I must say," Trey remarked, as he looked around.
"Trey!" Georgia yelled. "Look, I think you better get out of here," Georgia told him, as she took him by his arm and led him to the door. "I'll call Father. He wants nothing to do with your family again, especially you!"
"By the time Daddy gets out here to drag me away," Trey laughed.
Georgia let go of his arm and made eye contact with him. "Why the hell are you here?"
"To seek a second chance," Trey began.
"A second chance?!" Georgia laughed in his face. "You stole money from my Father's branch in St. Paul! That's not something I can conveniently forget, Trey!"
Trey shook his head at her. "You don't know how important our partnership was," Trey told her as he took her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "You see, it's important to me that I be trusted again and I know there's no way that Grant will hire me again, so… I thought someone as understanding as you would be so kind as to help me out," he suggested. "I'll start at the bottom of the rank, and work my way up."
Georgia looked down at their conjoined hands and separated them. "You should have called me first and saved yourself a trip... well, actually, you did call but then you HUNG UP!"
"For God's sake, Georgia, I didn't call you!" Trey shouted. "Please, just let me work here for a while to show you that our families can be partners again. I can prove myself."
"The only thing you'll prove is your attraction to the till," Georgia retorted. "Trey, I think you wasted your time. Why the hell are you really here?"
"I came with a friend, if you must know," Trey explained.
"A friend?" Georgia asked him. "Since when is someone who holds the bag while you pour the money in, a friend?"
Trey laughed. "Just when you think you know me so well!" he exclaimed. "Look, why don't we meet tonight... or possibly tomorrow night, and I'll get you acquainted with my friend?"
Georgia folded her arms. "Am I supposed to walk in and ask where the accomplices in crime are sitting?" she wanted to know. "I think I'll pass."
"No!" Trey pleaded. "He's not an accomplice. He IS a friend."
"Fine, Trey," Georgia agreed. "Just don't try anything," she warned him, as she held up her ring finger. "I'm engaged now. See?"
"You have come a long way, haven't you?" Trey asked her. "I don't plan on coming between you and your fiance in the least bit. Don't worry."
"Okay," Georgia told him. "Leave now."
"Very well, tomorrow night we'll meet at Frederick's then," Trey informed her, as Georgia shut the door behind him.
"You will give me that job, Georgia," Trey muttered to himself in the hall. "Wouldn't want to see the repercussions if Grant's secret came out anytime soon."
A few minutes later, Georgia stood by herself in her penthouse as she thought about what just happened with Trey. She sighed and sat down.
Just as she made herself comfortable on the couch, there was a knock on the door, prompting her to get up once again.
She walked over and opened it, finding no one on the other side of the door. She stepped outside the door and looked toward the direction of the elevator. She rubbed her arms as she thought about who it could be. "Trey," she angrily concluded, as she walked back into her penthouse and slammed the door shut.
James returned home from work and shut the penthouse door behind him. Inside, everything was still and dark. He turned on the light switch and looked around.
"Georgia?" James called out.
"You're back," Georgia observed, as she walked out of the bedroom.
"Why were all the lights out when I came in here?" James wanted to know.
Georgia thought back to no one being on the other end of the phone when it rang, and no one standing on the other side of the door when there was a knock. "I was just working on some things in the bedroom," Georgia replied, shrugging off what had happened earlier. She figured it had to be Trey. Who else?
"How was your evening?" James asked her, walking over to the refrigerator and pouring himself a glass of water.
"Trey Clemens was here tonight," Georgia answered in an uneasy tone.
James finished downing his water as he made eye contact with Georgia. "That last name sounds familiar," he admitted. "Who's Trey?"
"The Clemens' were my Father's partners back in Saint Paul, but he cut ties with them after Trey, my ex-boyfriend, was caught stealing money from the company," Georgia explained. "Didn't I just have the most ideal taste back then?"
"Your ex-boyfriend was here tonight?" James asked in reply. "What did he want?"
Georgia sighed as she thought back to what happened earlier with Trey. "He wants a second chance."
"A what?!" James demanded to know.
"Not at love!" Georgia assured him. "At business," she explained. "He wants to work here to prove that he could be reliable again, and he wants me to meet one of his friends tomorrow night."
"Why would he want you to meet one of his friends?" James wanted to know. "Look, I'm off tomorrow… I can go with you, if you want."
"You don't have to, James," Georgia assured him. "I'll just have to keep my purse in my sight at all times!"
"I'll go with you, Georgia," James once again offered. "I think I'd like to meet one of your old flames. Where are you meeting?"
"Frederick's Bar and Grill," Georgia replied. "Let's just brace ourselves."
Lalie put her dinner plate back in the cabinet and shut the cabinet door. She walked over to the dining room table and sat down and looked at her invitation list.
The list seemed to be growing, as she now tried to include the family members from Georgia's family as well.
"What is her sister's name?" Lalie muttered, as she tried to remember. "Savannah, I think," she whispered, as she wrote that name down when the phone rang.
"Hello?" she asked, putting the phone up to her.
"Hi, it's Kevin," she heard the voice on the other end come through.
"Hi!" Lalie exclaimed, rubbing her eyes. "I have been driving myself crazy trying to write down everyone's name. I think I should just invite Georgia over and have her help me!"
"I knew you were," Kevin replied. "That's why I called. I think you need one night out to clear your mind for a while."
"Only one?" Lalie wanted to know. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, we could go to dinner first and then go dancing after that if you want," Kevin suggested.
"Where for dinner?" Lalie eagerly asked.
"We went to Table For Two a week ago," Kevin remembered. "Why not Frederick's for a change of scenery?"
"I'd like that," Lalie replied, thinking about getting her favorite dish there. "I can't wait to spend a quiet evening together. Nothing can go wrong!"
The next morning, Frankie stood outside Ryan's apartment door with her arms folded as she waited for Ryan to answer.
"Good, you showed up," Ryan said to her, as he let her enter.
Frankie put her hands on her hips as she watched him inch closer into the living room. "What's the lecture this time?"
"No lecture," Ryan assured her. "Look, I just wanted to let you know that I think I was too hard on you, and I shouldn't have said things like that."
"I want to be on amicable terms with you, Ryan," Frankie told him. "I don't like fighting, especially since we have this baby on the way."
"I know and that's why I took into account what you said before you left that day," Ryan told her. "I wasn't acting myself, and I think I was just thinking too much about what happened between you and Kevin."
"Nothing happened!" Frankie once again reminded him.
"I believe you," Ryan assured her. "I just don't want to see Kevin in the near future."
"I don't think our paths will cross anytime soon," Frankie told him. "I don't expect us to be at the same stage in our relationship that we were before, but I think we can have that again, Ryan. I really do."
"Let's work on it, then," Ryan suggested. "We have to."
"I'm free tonight and any night," Frankie replied with a smile. "Where should we go?"
"How about the bar and grill?" Ryan suggested.
"Perfect," Frankie answered. "Just you and me… and no interruptions."
Chapter 3
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Tracia