Lalie looked at Frankie's reaction, and then looked over at the mailbox. "Now what were you after?" Lalie asked, but she had a feeling she knew the answer, as she walked over to the mailbox and pulled out its contents. Her eyes lit up as she held up the pretty envelope, which contained the wedding invitation. "I guess I found my answer, Frankie."
"I didn't even know that the invitations went out!" Frankie tried to lie.
Lalie knew better. "Does being pregnant conveniently give you selective memory loss, as well?" she questioned. "You were standing right there when Georgia asked Vivian if she had sent out the invitations," she reminded her. "My question is: if Vivian didn't want me there, why did she mail my invitation in the first place? Knowing the way she thinks, it would make much more sense just to hide it," she figured.
"What makes you think that Vivian is the one that didn't want you there?" Frankie questioned. "Maybe I'm the one that doesn't want you there!"
"Vivian knows who to turn to when she needs someone to act out her plans," Lalie replied, as she watched Frankie squint her eyes. "Now, you can go run along and tell Vivian that her plan didn't work because I received the invitation despite your attempt to snatch it!" She turned to Phil and smiled at him. "Come on, Phil, let's go inside and call James. We have a wedding to get ready for, and a lot of time to practice our grand entrance."
"Slut!" Frankie exclaimed.
"No, that title is all yours, Frankie," Lalie retorted, folding her arms.
"Your gestures speak for themselves!" Frankie exclaimed. "I can't believe that you're related to my baby."
"Believe me, I can't believe you're the mother of one of my relatives," Lalie replied, as she thought about the situation. "But, I won't let that stop me from having as much input into his or her life as possible."
"I don't think so, Lalie," Frankie replied. "He or she will be following solely in my footsteps."
"Did you check to see which direction those footsteps are heading in, Frankie?" Lalie wanted to know. "Not the way to success, that's for sure! And, if you keep this behavior up, I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan wants full custody!"
"I don't care," Frankie muttered. "He can try, but he won't be able to take Julianna or Trevor away from me! Nobody will!"
"Julianna or Trevor now?" Lalie questioned with a laugh. "This baby is going to have more first names than Elizabeth Taylor's last names!"
"At the rate you're going, I wouldn't be surprised if you exceed Elizabeth Taylor's last names in that department," Frankie let her know.
"I haven't even been married once yet!" Lalie reminded her.
"And I can't say that it surprises me, when you're calling off your engagements left and right," Frankie rebuffed.
"I've heard enough," Lalie had finally had it. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take my invitation and my boyfriend, and go INSIDE!"
"Don't trip over the cobblestone on your way down the path, Frankie," Phil advised her.
Lalie went back inside and watched from the window as Frankie walked away.
"So, are you ready to go to a wedding?" Lalie eagerly asked Phil with an excited tone present in her voice.
Georgia rushed into Trey's office and shut the door behind her. She quickly walked up to his desk, and watched as he stood up and made his way around the desk to stand in front of her.
"My family doesn't know that I'm here," Georgia let him know.
"Sneaking around to see me?" Trey wanted to know.
"Don't flatter yourself, Trey," Georgia sighed, rolling her eyes. "I just knew that they'd get mad if they found out that I was still worrying about business related matters a week before my wedding. Why did you come up to the penthouse before? Was it just to crash our reunion, or did you really have to talk to me about something important?"
"It was important, but Grant was stubborn and now it's over," Trey informed her.
Georgia felt worried. "What's over?"
"Darryl Lake was here to see you," Trey replied.
Georgia dropped her jaw. "Me?" she wanted to know. "Well, did you tell him that I'd call him back or that I was held up upstairs?"
"I couldn't, because he wanted to talk NOW or the deal was off the table!" Trey let her know, raising his voice. "Don't worry, Georgia. I handled it."
Georgia nodded her head, and folded her arms, unsure of how to react to that. "Why shouldn't I be surprised?" she asked. "Why couldn't you have just told him that I would be with him later, I'm sure he would have understood."
"Because he was very upset that you were unavailable to talk to him!" Trey exclaimed. "What was I supposed to do? Let him walk out of here?"
Georgia slightly bent her knees, as she heard someone enter the office. She turned around to watch as Darryl Lake walked in.
"Ms. Caldwell, now you show up?" Darryl demanded to know.
"Mr. Lake, I'm really glad that you came back to see me," Georgia told him, slightly relieved but not entirely.
"I'm here to see Mr. Clemens," Darryl informed her. "I'm sorry, but his ideas were so much more creative than yours, and he'd seem like a wonderful person to work with… and not to mention, readily available when I show up for meetings."
Georgia took a step back, as she watched Darryl and Trey converse over by his desk. She widened her eyes as she noticed Trey give her a sly smile, and then turn back to Darryl. For a moment, she felt jealous that Trey actually beat her for the first time that she could recall. 'I can't stay here,' she muttered to herself, as she quickly left.
Savannah looked at James and smiled, as she poured herself a drink. She turned to the bottle and twisted the top back on. "I'd offer you some, but I'm afraid you wouldn't know what it is," she figured, as she walked over and sat opposite him on the couch. She crossed her legs as she sat down and sipped her drink.
"Try me," James challenged.
"I can't, darling, you're engaged to my sister, remember?" Savannah reminded, as she took another sip and set the glass down on the coaster next to the table.
"You know exactly what I meant," James sternly told her, as she watched him smile a tad. "I've been doing my research. I know a lot more about the fancy cuisine than I did that night at the mansion."
"You leave me impressed," Savannah replied, as she looked at James directly in the eyes. "You know that Georgia went to see Trey, don't you?"
"No, she didn't," James informed her. "She said she was going to the mall to find some earrings for the wedding. Why would she see Trey?"
"Georgia is a workaholic, always was and always will be," Savannah informed him. "I saw the way she was acting when Trey was here saying that he needed to talk with her about something important, but father wouldn't let him in. Didn't she seem uncomfortable after that?"
"She was wondering why the hell Trey was here," James tried to convince her. "She's putting work on hold until after the wedding."
"Do you love Georgia?" Savannah wanted to know. "I mean, do you feel a passionate, devoted love for her?"
"Of course, I do," James affirmed.
"Then, you will love her despite her faults," Savannah advised him. "You can ask Georgia yourself when she comes home without earrings. When she says that she did talk to Trey about the company, I hope you'll understand because it's hard to change a businesswoman out of her habits. She'll be there for you as a wife, I have no doubt about that. I just hope you realize that the company will always play an important role in her life, as well."
"I understand that she has a large responsibility as co-owner of this company," James let her know. "What is your role in the company, Savannah?"
Savannah turned away from James, and looked down at her nails, not wanting to answer that. "I have no part," she muttered. "Sure, father pays for almost everything that I want, but there is nothing waiting for me like there is for Georgia."
"Why is that?" James questioned.
"I wish I knew," Savannah replied, wholeheartedly. "I don't understand why father is so reluctant to give me a part of the company. It's almost as if I'm not one of his children, not good enough to pass the company down to," she muttered, but knew that that would be impossible. She always felt the love that her family conveyed.
"Is having a part of the company that important to you?" James wanted to know.
"It would be nice, let me tell you!" Savannah exclaimed. "Listen, James, I want to apologize for the way I acted that night at the mansion… when you came over for dinner."
"I know it must have felt strange to have a middle-class citizen over for dinner," James figured.
"Still, my words were very inappropriate," Savannah informed him, as she made eye contact with him. "It doesn't matter to me what 'class' you're in, James. Georgia loves you very much and I should have respected that, instead of just thinking about how much income you make. You have a job and earn your money, I don't do either of those things. I may have fancier clothes and a fancier lifestyle, but you're still much more successful than I am," she informed him. "I apologize for my uncalled behavior that night."
"Okay, where's Georgia?" James wanted to know, as Savannah watched him look around. "I know she put you up to this."
"James, I was speaking from my heart," Savannah let him know, as she watched a smile grow on his face.
"I know," James replied with a smile. "Don't worry about that night, Savannah."
"Thank you, darling," Savannah thankfully told him, as she wiped away tears from her eyes. "And don't say I didn't warn you about Georgia seeing Trey… please understand who she is and why she did it. I don't want to see the two of you go through trouble because of that bastard."
"I assure you, Savannah, nothing will come between us," James let her know. "Thanks for the advice."
"Oh, God, I just gave advice," Savannah muttered with a laugh. "I feel like an old mother."
"You're not old enough to be my mother," James pointed out. "You're like a sister… just like you're Georgia's."
"That was sweet," Savannah let him know. "And you're like my brother, just like you're… what's his name?"
"Kevin?" James wanted to know.
"Kevin!" Savannah declared, as she pulled out her compact and looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Oh, my mascara. Excuse me."
James watched as Savannah ran off to the bathroom, and thought about her advice about Georgia and Trey's working relationship. Savannah was right, and one thing was for sure: he wasn't going to disappoint any of his future in-laws!
"Will everything be delivered on time for Saturday?" Vivian spoke into the phone, having just called the photographer, and now she was on the phone with the caterer. "Excellent!" she marveled. "Now, be sure to circle Saturday's date on your calendar because if anything arrives late or, heaven forbid, not at all, you will not be happy."
Vivian hung up the phone just as the doorbell rang. She rushed over to the door and opened it to find Frankie standing with a discouraged look on her face.
"Frankie!" Vivian exclaimed, pulling her in. "Where is it?" she wanted to know, looking down at her hands. "Where's Lalie's invitation?" she asked with an anxious tone in her voice.
"Isn't it funny how when you think you're just about to get what you want, you hit a little snag?" Frankie questioned, with a look of discouragement still present on her face.
Vivian sighed to herself, and folded her arms. "Oh, it's so funny that I can't stop laughing," she replied, deadpan and angry. "Frankie, did you not get the damn invitation?"
"No!" Frankie exclaimed, as Vivian watched her stammer and then turn around.
Vivian grabbed her arm and made her face her. "Frankie!" she exclaimed in complete disgust. "What was so hard about going into someone's mailbox in the middle of the day and taking a wedding invitation out?" she demanded to know. "I thought it was such a simple task, even for you."
"I didn't anticipate Lalie and Phil to be home!" Frankie shouted.
Vivian threw her hands in the air. "Was the car on the driveway?"
"Yes," Frankie cautiously replied.
Vivian forced a smile, as she cracked her knuckles. "Frankie, dear, if the car is on the driveway... what would be the sensible thing to do, especially if you have to rummage through their mailbox?"
"Go the other way?" Frankie replied with a question.
Vivian looked down at her watch. "Well, you came to that realization a few hours too late, I'm afraid," she mumbled. "Tell me what happened. I need to know, so I'm prepared for any ugly confrontations."
"My hand was in the mailbox," Frankie recounted. "Then, I felt Phil's hand wrap around my wrist, and then Princess Lalie came out and I had the pleasure of experiencing a double dose of third degree."
"That sounds messy," Vivian replied, frowning at what happened. "Did either of them say anything about telling Kevin, James or Georgia?"
"No," Frankie replied, seeming confident. "But Lalie told me to be sure to tell you that your little plan didn't work, and that she'll be at the wedding with bells on."
"Is that what she said?!" Vivian demanded to know.
"Well, maybe not the part about the bells," Frankie replied. "But that's what she said!"
"Oh, great, and now there's nothing that I can do about it but sit back and watch," Vivian fretted. "At least I'm hosting the wedding here, so I can kick her out whenever I feel the need." Vivian looked at Frankie in the eyes. "And, as for you, Frankie-" she began.
"Are you going to hurt me?" Frankie asked in a frightened tone.
"No, dear, I would never hurt a pregnant woman," Vivian assured her with a faux smile. "Keyword: pregnant."
Frankie's eyes seemed to pop, as the words hit her. "You'd never strike a woman with a baby in her arms, so I'll be sure that little Dennis or Tess is always with me!"
Vivian raised her eyebrow, as she watched Frankie maneuver her way around her and make her way to the door. "See you Saturday!" she yelled out.
She sighed, as she walked back into her living room and sat down on the couch. "I did tell Lalie that even if she does get invited, that she will decline," she remembered. "Maybe there's hope after all."
Chapter 26
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Tracia