"I hope you're not sinking your hooks into my boyfriend," Frankie let her know.
Lalie looked at Frankie for a few seconds, turned to Trey briefly, and then turned back to Frankie again. "I don't think it's my hooks that you have to worry about," she let her know.
Frankie watched Lalie shake her head, and then head to the door and leave. She wasn't sure what she meant by that last comment, but if it was coming from Lalie, then it was probably unimportant.
"Did you just call me your 'boyfriend'?" Trey asked her.
"I believe I did," Frankie let him know with a smile, as she walked up to him. "I feel that we both understand each other, no matter what people think."
"What people think?" Trey questioned. "Is someone against us?"
"One guess," Frankie told him.
"Don't listen to other people, just listen to me," Trey advised her.
"And that's all I plan to do," Frankie replied, as she wrapped her arms around him and looked up at him with a smile. "I came here to ask you a question."
"Then, ask!" Trey urged.
"I don't know if you were invited to the wedding or not," Frankie began her proposition.
"I don't believe I found any invitations in my mail," Trey let her know.
"Then, how would you like to go as my date?" Frankie wanted to know, watching him smile, and she did, as well. "It says I can bring a guest, and who better than you?"
"Prove to me how much you want to go together," Trey challenged.
Frankie kissed Trey passionately on the lips, as she unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt and placed her hand over his heart. "How was that for starters?" she wanted to know, looking into his eyes, before resting her head against his chest.
"I'd say you just won yourself a date," Trey informed her.
Frankie lifted her head and kissed him once again.
Georgia walked into Trey's office, and sucked in her breath upon seeing Frankie and Trey in a heated kiss.
She let out a polite cough to make them aware of her presence, as she inched closer to the desk with a wan smile on her face.
"Georgia, I wasn't aware that you were standing there," Frankie let her know.
"Obviously," Georgia replied, as she watched Frankie button Trey's shirt.
"I can't wait to finish what we started," she heard Frankie whisper into Trey's ear.
"Likewise," Trey whispered back.
Georgia had simply had enough. "Frankie, do you think that you could make your rendezvous plans later?" she inquired.
"We'll make them whenever we feel like it," Frankie shot back. "This is his office, you have to remember."
"Oh, I remember," Georgia replied. "I painfully remember," she corrected her statement.
"Don't forget it," Frankie warned her, as Georgia watched her wave at Trey and then head toward the door.
Outside the office building, Frankie took her cell phone out of her pocketbook, dialed a number, and put it up to her ear.
"Yes," a voice picked up.
"Mr. Markson?" she spoke into the phone.
"Wanda," Mr. Markson acknowledged.
"Oh, good, you remember me!" Frankie exclaimed. "I hope you didn't forget that you have to run that article on Saturday."
"No, I didn't forget," Mr. Markson affirmed.
Frankie smiled, relieved. "When the profits start rolling in, you can make the check payable to Francesca Stone."
"Who the hell is Francesca Stone?" Mr. Markson demanded to know.
"I'm Francesca Stone," Frankie replied. "You see, my professional name is Wanda Clarke, when I'm learning all these scoops. But, my real name is Francesca Stone. Make sure it doesn't get out, though! I could get in a lot of trouble if people found out I was learning these scoops."
"We never reveal our sources," Mr. Markson let her know. "Your eyes will light up when you see that article."
"I'm sure they will," Frankie replied, devilishly.
Georgia took a deep breath, as she thought about what she just overheard.
"Trey," Georgia began. "I am not even going to comment on what just happened in here between you and Frankie, just be sure it doesn't happen again," she let him know, as she looked at him directly in the eyes. "We need to have a talk about Darryl Lake, and then perhaps we can have one about Frankie, too."
"How do you do it?" Trey asked out of the clear blue.
Georgia gave him a puzzled look. "Do what?"
"Manage to look so beautiful on a day-to-day basis," Trey replied.
Georgia turned around and shook her head, while folding her arms. "Trey, that's not going to get you anywhere."
"I mean, you have so much stress in your life right now," Trey continued. "Between the wedding preparations, and that stalker."
Georgia turned around with her jaw agape. "Oh, and you're not a stress in my life right now?" she demanded to know, extending her arms. "Trey, I can name about a million reasons as to why you are the leading cause of stress in my life right now!"
"The only reason why I'm a stress in your life right now is because every time you see me, you resent the fact that I'm not the one who's going to be waiting for you at that altar," Trey figured.
"Oh," Georgia guffawed, unable to hold back laughter at that one. "Believe me, Trey, if I were walking down that aisle and saw you waiting for me, I'd hike up my wedding gown and run for the hills!"
"You don't mean that," Trey informed her, as she watched him walk over to her and reach for her hair.
Georgia immediately backed up. "I'm telling you to stop and I do mean that!" she warned him. "I'm so glad that you'll have no place at my wedding."
"Yes, I will," Trey let her know. "I'll be sitting in that congregation teary-eyed as the two lovebirds say their 'I Do's'!"
"The only thing that could bring you to tears is the thought of seeing a big, fat zero in your savings account," Georgia retorted.
"You know, it does," Trey let her know. "Where's my Kleenex?"
Georgia rolled her eyes at his antics. "You won't be there, Trey."
"I will," Trey reiterated. "I'm going with Frankie."
Georgia dropped her jaw. "Will she ever learn?" she asked aloud. "Just when I had that talk with her about staying away from you!"
"Georgia, in the future, I'd appreciate if you let me live my life as I choose," Trey warned her. "You were the one who broke off what we had."
"After I caught you stealing from the company once!" Georgia cut him off, as she watched Trey raise a finger.
"Don't try and ruin my relationships," Trey finished. "I'm going with Frankie to the wedding because she invited me, I will dance with Frankie at the reception, and I will leave with Frankie."
"And live happily ever after with Frankie?" Georgia sarcastically asked.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Trey muttered, as Georgia watched him walk back over to the desk. "Look at that, it's time for my break."
"You're not going anywhere until we discuss Darryl Lake!" Georgia shouted at him, as she watched Trey defy her, as he walked to the door.
"Looks like I am going somewhere," Trey let her know, before leaving.
Georgia stomped her foot on the ground in anger, as the door shut and she was left standing alone in the office. What could be worse? Well, something could be: the thought of seeing Trey in the congregation while she gets married.
Lalie walked into her house, and watched as Phil stood up from the couch, walked over to her and kissed her.
"Your mom called before," Phil let her know. "Your uncle had a relapse, so they'll be out there for a little while longer."
Lalie felt bad about her uncle. "I'll have to call him later," she mentioned. "My mom must have been surprised to hear a man answer the phone. I haven't even told her about us yet."
"I know," Phil replied. "I just told her I was a friend. It would be best for you to tell her."
"I will," Lalie affirmed, as she walked past Phil and put her hand to her forehead.
"Is something wrong?" she heard Phil's voice ask from behind her.
Lalie turned around to meet Phil's face. "Remember your friend Trey Clemens?" she asked.
Phil nodded. "What about him?"
"He's the president of Georgia's company now," Lalie replied. "I went to talk to him, and the conversation turned inappropriate."
Phil's face turned from concern to anger. "How inappropriate?"
Lalie thought about her conversation with Trey again. "He said that his door is always open at night, or that his desk would be a perfect spot to get to know each other, too."
"That bastard!" Phil shouted, as she watched him bang his fists together and then throw one in the air.
"Calm down!" Lalie warned him, walking up to him and gently grabbing his arm. "I left the minute it turned to that… well, actually it got interrupted because Frankie walked in."
"What provoked the conversation to get like that?" Phil demanded to know.
"I went in to talk to him about how he helped you and me by not paying for your room like he promised," Lalie explained.
"Why would you bring that up?!" Phil wanted to know.
"Because I thought that was really hurtful of him to do!" Lalie shouted. "I wanted him to know that it only benefited you and me, because we know each other so much better now. That's when he began saying how he and I could get to know each other well, as well."
"That bastard!" Phil once again exclaimed. "I'm going to go smash his shit-face in!"
"Don't!" Lalie shouted.
"You want him to get away with it?!" Phil demanded to know.
"Of course not, I just don't want to instigate anything," Lalie replied. "Let's see if he does it again."
"We shouldn't give him the chance to do it again!" Phil shouted, as Lalie once again grabbed him from heading to the door.
"He might do something worse if you retaliate!" Lalie warned him.
"Then, you let me know if he does anything else," Phil finally seemed to calm down. "Otherwise, he's dead!"
"I will, I promise!" Lalie assured him.
"If he's at that wedding, he'd better sit far away from us, otherwise there will be a scene," Phil declared.
"You need to calm down!" Lalie pleaded, massaging his shoulders, as she leaned toward his ear. "Why don't we go upstairs and make our own unforgettable scene?" she suggested.
"You have manipulative ways, Lalie Mills!" Phil exclaimed.
"I know," Lalie agreed with a smile, as she grabbed his hand.
That night, Georgia turned to James with a smile, as they sat on the couch.
"Work is officially on hold," Georgia announced.
"Really?" James wanted to know. "Let's see how long this lasts."
Georgia jokingly jabbed James in the arm. "I mean it!" she affirmed. "The only thing on my mind now is wedding preparations. I told my father to handle the situation with Darryl Lake."
"I thought you were going to handle it today," James mentioned.
"Well, I did plan to," Georgia recalled, remembering the conversation she had with Trey that had nothing to do about business. "I never got around to it. Let's not dwell on it."
"I took the rest of the week off, too," James let her know.
"I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow," Georgia giggled, as she heard a knock on the door. She got up to answer it and found her mother and Savannah standing on the other side. "Thanks for coming."
"Where are the two guards?" Marietta questioned.
Georgia peeked her head outside. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I'll find out later."
"Mother was so secretive about why you wanted us over," Savannah mentioned, as Georgia watched her walk into the living room. "James, dear, how are you?"
"Thanks for getting Savannah to come over here!" Georgia exclaimed to her mother. "I'm sorry if my call a little while ago was vague."
"It's no problem," Marietta replied. "I know why you wanted Savannah to come over here."
"Savannah!" Georgia called out, as she turned around. "Come here, I want to ask you something."
"The answer is no," Savannah replied out of nowhere.
"What is no?" Georgia asked, feeling worried.
"No that I didn't spend over one-hundred dollars on clothes today!" Savannah exclaimed. "The boutiques along the boulevard are so elegant. I could get lost in there. I'm surrounded by endless fashions of beauty."
"I'm glad that you found your way out in time so that I could ask you something very important," Georgia replied.
"What is it, Georgia?" Savannah wanted to know.
"Would you, Savannah, be my maid of honor at the wedding on Saturday?" Georgia asked her, in the hopes that she'd agree.
"I don't know what to say," Savannah began, as Georgia noticed a smile forming on the corner of her mouth. "Other than 'yes'!"
Georgia beamed, as she embraced Savannah. "I'm glad that you agreed."
"Let's take a picture of the three Caldwell women together," James suggested, as Georgia watched him walk over to the drawer and pull the camera out of the case.
"I'm not photogenic," Marietta fretted.
"Oh, come on, Mother!" Georgia urged.
"Marietta, get in the middle," James directed. "Georgia, stand to the left of your mother, and Savannah, you can stand on the right."
"This should be something to see," Georgia laughed, as she put her arm around her mother and looked down to see Savannah beaming. She turned back to the camera and smiled, as the camera flashed. "Maybe we can finish that roll and get it developed by Saturday."
"Hopefully!" James exclaimed. "Maybe we can bring the film to get developed tomorrow, and have it in time to see on Saturday."
The stalker, shrouded in black from head to toe, stood outside with their ear up to the door, as they heard the part about the picture being ready to see on Saturday.
"You'll be seeing me on Saturday," a deep, scratchy voice muttered.
A little while after Savannah and Marietta had left, Georgia decided to see whether or not the guards were standing outside her door.
She slowly opened the door and noticed that they were, once again, standing watch.
"What happened before?" Georgia questioned them, stepping outside into the hall. "I opened the door earlier and you two were nowhere in sight."
"Rachel Goal informed us that she saw something suspicious in the lobby so we went to check it out," one of the guards answered her.
Georgia was surprised and anxious to hear what came of that. "And did you find anything?"
"No," the other guard sighed. "We're still doing our best, though. We won't let you down, Ms. Caldwell!"
"Glad to hear it," Georgia replied, as she watched James walk towards them.
"What's going on?" James wanted to know.
"Nothing new," Georgia let him know, as she led him back inside and shut the door. "Only four more days!"
"I can't wait!" James exclaimed.
"Neither can I!" Georgia shared. "Our wedding is finally here!" she exclaimed, as she threw her arms around him.
Chapter 28
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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