Jul 17, 2010 | By: LuvLea1

Chapter 45

Chapter Rating: G


The morning sun had found its way through the small gap in Natalia's bedroom drapes and slowly skimmed along the silk sheets, illuminating the sleeping beauty's visage. She blinked against the bright light as she was roused from her sedative-induced slumber. When her eyes finally opened, Natalia rolled away from the obtrusion. There were a few glorious seconds in which her heartache did not exist; the brief oblivion of the shift between undisturbed unconsciousness and enlivened lucidity, where the pain of yesterday hadn't made its way back to her. It lasted as long as the sigh she exhaled and then reality bodychecked her yet again. If she hadn't been lying down she may have fallen under the oppressive burden of it all. As she did her best to fight back tears and looked around the room, she immediately noticed her clothing, which had been neatly folded and placed on her dresser. The brunette took another deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Spencer," she muttered as she exhaled, her brows furrowing as the memories of Olivia's visit came back to her. Her regret and anguish for not being there for her father when he needed her the most was monumental. Natalia had already decided to be angry at herself for her actions. And though she knew that Olivia's innocence was obvious, she also wanted to be angry at the other hotelier – the very woman who was quite possibly her only source of comfort at the moment.

She threw the covers off and tried to ignore the pounding in her head as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Grabbing a robe from the back of the bedroom door, she made her way to the kitchen. She had expected to see the sticky mess of spilled juice and broken glass on the floor. Instead, it was spotless. The corners of her mouth shifted upwards imperceptibly.

After preparing the coffee-maker for its first of several pots this day, Natalia sauntered into the living room, stopping in her tracks the moment she noticed a pair of feet hanging over the armrest of the twin sofa. Instinctively knowing to whom they belonged, Natalia quietly tip-toed to a chair and sat down. She debated whether or not to wake the sleeping hotelier, and several moments were spent taking in the beauty of the other woman's face before Natalia noticed that Olivia wasn't covered with a blanket, nor did she have a pillow. Natalia guessed that, in all likelihood, this meant that Olivia hadn't planned to stay overnight, but instead had fallen asleep while waiting to make sure that there was no longer any need of her assistance.

Natalia had always considered herself to be a very independent, strong-willed woman, who could take care of herself no matter what came her way. Last night she was confident that she would have been fine without the other woman's help. She was still touched, however, by Olivia's perseverance. No matter how badly she had been treated, or how harsh were the words that had been spoken, Olivia had been there for her – not once, but twice – when she needed someone the most. In light of her acts of kindness, Natalia didn't want to mistreat Olivia, but she was sure that her future decisions – regarding not only the company but also the off-beat relationship between them – were going to upset Olivia greatly.

It saddened the younger woman as she sat there, trying to take in the few remaining moments of calm and silence that this daunting day would offer. She knew the day would be a hectic one – filled with many phone calls, meetings with shareholders, and countless emails of condolences to acknowledge. All of the responsibility had been passed down to her and she knew that she had to get herself moving. Things needed to be taken care of right away.

Olivia began to stir before Natalia had a chance to wake her. The older woman shifted on the couch and stretched out before opening her eyes. She was caught off guard when she saw Natalia sitting across from her and immediately sat up – trying to make herself look more presentable than she presumed she was.
"Morning... You will excuse me if I forego the 'Good' part of that greeting today."

Olivia nodded with a look of sympathy. "How are you feeling this morning?"

Natalia sank backwards in the chair. "Um, sort of like... orphaned."

Olivia didn't quite know what to say to that.

"I'm sorry," Natalia waved a dismissive hand in the air. "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, honestly."

Olivia shook her head and grinned. "Oh, Natalia, you've been making me feel uncomfortable since the very first day we met." She winked.

Natalia smiled, but at the same time looked at Olivia with a contemplative stare. "And yet, here you are."

"Here I am."

"Waking up on my couch."

"Well, I don't recall hearing an offer to bunk with you in your bed, so..."

"I guess I'm just not like all the other women you drug." Natalia gave her a fake look of annoyance.

"Hey, it was for your own good, Rivera." Olivia contested.

Natalia sighed. "Yes, I know," the younger woman agreed. "I would like to thank you, actually, for getting me into bed last night."

Olivia smirked, "If I had a nickel..."

Natalia rolled her eyes.

"Seriously though, no need to thank me," the blonde continued. "You'd have done the same for me, I'm sure."

Natalia gave her a disbelieving glance. "Are you absolutely certain about that?"

Olivia furrowed her brows for a moment before sighing deeply. "Okay no, not really, but it was a nice thought." She started to rub a kink in the side of her neck that had been acquired by the awkward sleeping position on the sofa.

Natalia watched as the older woman attempted – in vain – to relieve the soreness before getting up off of her chair and moving around behind the sofa. She gently moved Olivia's hand away and replaced it with both of her own. She began to knead at the tense muscles with her thumbs.

With each passing second Olivia felt more at ease and let herself relax against the couch cushion, her eyes fluttering closed as the pain in her neck began to be methodically massaged away.

"Do you remember the day we met...?"

"Ah yes, seems like an eternity ago, no?"

"You mentioned something about how you really weren't 'so bad' if I would just get to know you?"

Olivia nodded slowly. "I do recall shamelessly pleading for your acceptance even then, yes."

Natalia cocked her head to one side. "I've been wanting to say that the same goes for me."

Olivia leaned her head back and tilted her chin towards the ceiling to be able to see the upside down hotelier. "I already know that, Natalia. I believe I've made a few attempts at finding that out, haven't I?"

"Mmhm." Natalia looked forward again and continued kneading Olivia's neck and shoulders. "I think..." she stopped in contemplation. "I think I just wish that you had met me at a different time."

Olivia closed her eyes once again. "Well, that's a bit of a step up from wishing I'd never met you at all."

"I don't wish that," the brunette interjected quickly. "Well, most of the time I don't. But, things have just changed in a drastic way for me... for this company."

Olivia sensed she knew what Natalia was about to say, but let her proceed.

"I just can't spend a lot of time worrying about how you are feeling in all of this." Natalia unconsciously stopped massaging the other woman. "What I want, or think I might want with you, has to take a backseat now."

Olivia didn't even miss a beat. "Whoa... did you just say that you want to take me in the backseat? Because if that's the case, I suggest we take the limo… more leg room than your tiny car," she smirked.

Natalia sighed deeply and dropped her hands from the blonde's shoulders. She walked around the sofa to stand in front of Olivia; the expression on her face showed that she was completely serious.

"I'm sorry, I use humor to mask nervousness," Olivia sheepishly confessed.

Natalia sat back onto the coffee-table behind her and reached for the soft hands that were folded in Olivia's lap. She chewed her lips and stared at their joined hands for long seconds before speaking.

"I'm grateful for all the efforts you've made, and the concern you've shown for me. But I am currently feeling unbelievably angry at myself for spending such a lovely time with you and Emma while my father lay dying only a few floors above us." The younger woman's eyes began to mist but she held herself together. "I have that on me now. I'm wearing that guilt like an anchor."

Olivia nodded her understanding but kept quiet, hoping that Natalia would continue pouring out her feelings.

"All of the conflicting emotions aside, I still need to work out what I'm going to be doing about this merger that my father never got around to formally accepting."

"Natalia," Olivia finally interrupted, "I told you that we don't need to discuss that right now."

The younger woman let go of the hands in hers. "Are you not at all curious as to what I'm considering? My decision will either drastically improve – or seriously stifle – your company's future growth!"

Olivia shook her head in exasperation. "Of course I'm curious, Natalia, but I can look past it when need be. And for God's sake, the day after your father's death seems as appropriate a 'need be' scenario as any!"

"I can't look past it!"

"Get some X-ray goggles... look through it instead. They sell those at the gift shop, don't they?"

Natalia stared blankly at the bewildering blonde.  "You've gone from 'joking', to just plain idiotic." She waited for Olivia's rebuttal but the other woman could only huff in response. "I have a million decisions to make, and the pressure to maintain order is presently a very high priority. I can't even see past the next hour, so I certainly can't be worrying about what is going on between us."

"I haven't asked you to!" There was a higher pitch to Olivia's voice now. "I came over to give my condolences. I offered you a Xanax, and I accidentally fell asleep on your couch. That doesn't mean I'm about to ask you to make this a priority," she waved her hand in between them for emphasis.

"Spencer, please..." Natalia abruptly stood and walked over to one of the windows. "I'm going to very busy for a while. No decisions will be made about the merger for quite some time."


"You're about to tell me to go back to Illinois," Olivia said flatly.


"I need to be able to focus."


Olivia did not argue. In fact, she wasn't even considering arguing at this point. She could see that Natalia was clearly telling her that she couldn't handle being around her. Whether that was to do with the grief over how her father had passed or the legitimate concern about being distracted during a stressful transition in her life, it didn't really matter. There was something different about this last effort to push her away; Olivia sensed it and accepted it.

"Okay then," was all the older woman could say as she slipped her shoes on and stood to make her way to the door. "I will leave directly after the um... the funeral... If there is any business you wish to discuss after that, I will give you my assistant's card. You can schedule a phone conference when the time comes." She plastered a friendly – though very fake – smile on her face and turned to walk away.

Natalia was stunned at the level of compliance she was witnessing. She managed to move after the woman and held the door open for her.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later," Olivia said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, um... I don't really know what to say now," Natalia responded.

"That's okay. Co-operative Olivia Spencer usually has that affect on people. Enjoy it! It's a rare appearance... happens less often than a Leap Year," she smiled.


"Spencer... I just..."


"No, it's fine, Rivera," Olivia lied. "Right place, wrong time."


Natalia looked down at the ground.

"Hey, you take care of yourself," Olivia offered kindly. "You're a strong woman... you can get through this."

Natalia didn't look up. "Thank you."

Olivia nodded. "I'll see you later," she said and quickly turned to open her own door.

Natalia watched the woman disappear into her suite.

For the very first time, Olivia Spencer was going to do exactly what she had been asked and leave the hotel. It was also, coincidentally, the very first time Natalia realized that was not at all what she really wanted.

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Olivia sat on her bed; the quiet stillness in the room seemed to be such a contrast to the loud flurry of thoughts going on inside her head. She wanted be stay resigned to the fact that leaving LA was for the best. She thought she could remind herself that Natalia was feeling overwhelmed – understandably – and that she needed space. Her ability to be rational, though, was slipping away with each breath. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed her assistant. As she waited for him to pick up, she stalked out into the suite and over to the large wardrobe that housed her suitcases.

"Come on, come onnnnn," she hissed at the dial tone, began dragging a case down the hallway towards the bedroom. "Greg! How lovely of you to make yourself available," she said with stinging sarcasm. "I need you to gather the team together for an inter-web meeting this evening... No, I'm afraid there's no need for anyone to come back to LA."

Olivia sat back down on the bed and rubbed her forehead.

"I'm pulling the merger off the table."




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