Chapter
3
Her
eyes stared off in to space
Her
arms folded against her chest
Her
legs crossed, one bouncing over the other
She
seemed nervous, occupied
A
woman in her position, a woman sitting in the waiting area outside of Michael Silver’s office had no reason to be nervous
If
you made it to his doorstep, per his request none the less, there were no reasons to be nervous about being in Michael Silver’s
presence. So why was she? Or why did she at least seem as if she were ready to discard her own skin?
Her
fingers went to her lips tugging at them gently before quickly pulling away. Anyone watching her would assume right them she
had snapped herself back in to reality
“Ms.
Davis?”
Alexis
looked up at the woman calling her name
“Mr.
Silver is ready for you”
“Thank
you” Alexis said gathering her things
She
walked in, and the nerves that seemed to give her away before no longer existed
She
was a mystery
Her
mind, before obviously consumed by something other than her meeting with Michael
++++++++++++++
“Alexis!”
He said giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek
“Hi
Michael”
“Come
sit, coffee?”
“Please”
Alexis said relieved he offered
“Did
everything with you, John and Ric continue to go well last night?”
“Yes
it did. I really do like John a lot; personally he seems to be a good man as well as a good business man”
“He
is that… and what did you think of Lancing?” Michael said handing her the cup of coffee “I know it sounds
odd to ask but are you sure you two have never met? You seemed to hit it off right from the beginning”
“Actually
I need to be honest with you” Alexis shifted in her chair making sure she didn’t spill her coffee that was sitting
on the edge of the cup”
“Old
lover from the past?” he asked jokingly
“Michael”
Alexis paused long enough to get Michael’s attention ‘Ric is my husband”
“Your
husband? As in married to one another”
“Yes”
“Why
didn’t you say something, why didn’t you tell me he was going to be John’s attorney?”
“I
didn’t know”
“How…”
“Ric
and I have been kind of separated”
“Kind
of?”
“Yes
I know it sounds indecisive but let’s just leave it at we weren’t together at time we both coincidentally made
the decision to come here”
“Coincidence?
I should say so… and is there a problem with you two working together?”
“No,
no there isn’t. We actually make quite a great team, our record of marriage excluded. Please don’t let mine and
Ric’s relationship sway your decision in any of this. As I told John we’ll seal this deal to both of your satisfaction”
“Married huh?”
“Unfathomable
coincidence” Alexis said placing her hand to her forehead
Michael
let out a chuckle
“An
unfathomable twist to say the least”
“Is
everything ok then?” Alexis asked hoping to be relieved
“One
husband, one child correct?” he asked amused
“That’s
all I’ve got!” She answered playing along
Michael
shook his head not giving it a second thought
“Well
I know you’re anxious to get back to your daughter, so I’ll see you Monday morning to get this deal in full swing?”
“I’ll
be here” Alexis said standing and Michael walked her to the door
“Oh
and Alexis, tell that husband of yours to keep his wife, or kind of wife happy, I think my deal depends on it” he said
with a devilish grin
Alexis
lifted her brow to him
“I’ll
see you Monday Michael”
++++++++++++++++
Her
eyes were staring again
Staring
at the wall of the elevator
Things
had went smoothly with Michael though she had no worries that they would
Her
mind however was still clouded with Ric
Clouded
with last night and how he knew her. His touch, even if it were just his hand on the small of her back to guide her…
his scent, the way she knew his neck would smell if she were to come so close or even the scent of his jacket that lingered
on her for hours after he had said goodnight
She breathed in deeply but quickly breathed out
Alexis
closed her eyes wishing him out of her head
If
she was a runner she would have ran 10 miles by now
If
she was a smoker half a pack of cigarettes would be gone
And
thank God at 10:43 in the morning a drink didn’t sound like a good idea
She
would have done anything to get him off of her mind
She
needed something, a brown paper bag to breathe in, coffee more coffee anything to get him out of her head
Starbucks,
there was one on every other corner
Heaven
Yes Alexis that’s just what you need is more coffee like you’re not on edge
enough
Of
course not listening to herself she made her way across the street
If
her usual, work equal’s avoidance tactic wasn’t working maybe a coffee buzz would
“Double,
non-fat latte to go please”
“Make
that two” the voice behind her said
Alexis
clenched her eyes shut
The
voice she adored
From
the throat she could have strangled
“What
are the chances in a city of millions of people I run in to my husband?” She said turning around almost directly in
to his arms
“We’re
just full of coincidences” Ric said pulling money from his wallet
“I
can get my own latte” she said trying to sound annoyed when secretly she loved that he was there to buy her one
“I
am aware of this but since I happen to be here today it’s on me”
Alexis
rolled her eyes and took her coffee from the counter leaving his
“How
can you be here?” she asked confused
“What
do you mean? I thought we went through this last night”
“No,
no I mean getting coffee, here. I mean why didn’t you choose to get coffee over there” She said pointing to the
Starbucks literally visible down the street
“Alexis
you’re in front of John’s building… I’m about to meet with him”
Alexis
rubbed at hers eyes defeated
Ric
couldn’t help but smile from her restlessness
“Will
you sit with me?”
Ric
pointed towards the open table for two
Alexis
sat not answering
“How’s
Kristina this morning?”
Alexis
finally turned her attention to him
“Fine,
she’s spending the day with Sonny
“And
how are you?” Ric asked alluding to her answer
“Worried
of course about her spending the day with Sonny” she answered dryly
There
it was again. That part about knowing her so well
“She’ll
be fine”
“I
know”
“So
I assume you’ve spoken with Michael today” Ric said now trying to take her thoughts away of Kristina being with
Sonny
“Yes,
he fine with us working together. I think he’s mostly amused by it. I hate though that I basically outright lied to
both of them”
“You
were just unsure of how to handle the situation and besides you were a little stunned yourself”
“I
know I just wish I could have thought a little faster on my feet”
“Well
it seems Michael and John had about the same reaction so let’s not worry about it and just prove that we are the dynamic
duo we claim to be”
“Dynamic
duo huh?”
“Yeah
me and you”
“Yeah…
me and you” she repeated taking a sip of her coffee
It always seemed to come back to me and you
Ric cleared his throat breaking the silence
“Going home today?”
“Yeah I promised Kristina I would”
He shook his head with obvious disappointment on his face
“You, when are you coming home, I mean back to Port Charles?”
Her slip was obvious
“My
flight isn’t until Sunday. I thought I might as well spend the weekend here, maybe get a head start”
Alexis
this time shook her head with obvious disappointment on her face
Ric
looked at his watch
“You’re
going to be late?”
“I
have a few more minutes”
“And
then you’ll be late?” She said smiling
Ric
returned the smile
She
stood and he followed
“I’ll
get you a cab”
Alexis
shook her head agreeing
They
both stood on the sidewalk Ric raising his arm for the cab
He
opened the door for her
“Have
a safe flight home”
“Um
maybe you could come by and um…”
Why
was she making excuses for her own husband to come by?
“Yeah,
that picture Kristina drew for me”
“Yeah,
I’ll tell her you’ll be by”
Both
smiled nervously
They
were back to where the conversation was too heavy to be standing there on the street in Manhattan with
a meter running
It
was the conversation that needed yelling and crying and kissing and his arms wrapped so tight around her…
“Be
safe…” he said as he leaned in
Alexis
froze
His
soft, missing lips pressed in to her cheek too close to her mouth for comfort
And
without saying goodbye she gave him a longing glance from window of the cab as it drove away
Right
then he wished it were only a window that was between then
Ric
didn’t realize he had been standing on the curb of the street blankly staring in to the air
Her
touch, even if it were just her hand exchanging a quick touch as she handed his coat back to him. Her scent, the one that
lingered on his coat for hours after he had said goodnight
Ric
closed his eyes wishing her out of his head
But
he couldn’t wait until Sunday to see her again
End
Ch. 3
