Chapter 53

Matteo straightened his tie and adjusted his shirt collar before running a hand through his neatly styled, dark brown hair.

Need to look my best for my first television appearance of the day, he thought arrogantly as he flashed a pearly white smile into the hallway mirror.

Picking up his suit-jacket from a nearby table and moving towards the door, he pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and read the missed text messages. Five texts had been received from Michelle.

The woman was clearly upset, even as he had been sleeping peacefully. He knew he should message her back—not to be polite, he could care less about propriety at this point—but in foresight, keeping up the facade that he actually might care about her may go a long way towards keeping her from talking to the press. He wasn't too worried, though. He had quite easily seduced her into bed and successfully bribed her into playing along with his schemes. Not to mention the fact that he all but spelled out how detrimental it would be to her career and her reputation should she decide to tell the truth.

One more brief glance at the cell phone and he swiftly placed it back into his pocket.

She was dumb enough to trust me, but she's smart enough to keep her mouth shut, he smirked to himself and left his suite.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natalia let out a deep breath with an exaggerated effort and shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you got us to the hospital, but I'm just as equally thankful to whatever Deity allowed us to make it here via the parking garage and not through the emergency room doors on two stretchers."

"I'm sure a time may come when your little digs about my driving will become endearing. Today, however, is not that day. I feel I should remind you that I'm not from this city." Olivia undid her seat belt and let it recoil quickly in an audible display of her dejection at the insult.

They walked in silence towards the doors to the main reception area of the hospital and Olivia flung herself into the closest empty seat in a waiting area nearby as Natalia introduced herself to the receptionists and alerted them of their need to speak with 'someone in charge'.

"I could have driven the car," Natalia mumbled when she came back to sit in a chair beside the disgruntled older woman.  

"Let it go, Natalia," Olivia pleaded, wanting to change the subject before the rest of her good mood abandoned her completely. She wrestled her emotions between the knowledge that Natalia was on edge, and the irritation that her best efforts to help seemed to be unappreciated.

"I'm just saying, if you weren't comfortable with big-city driving, why didn't you just let me take over?"

"Because the coolest head always prevails."

Natalia sat back in her chair and huffed. "Damn near prevailed us into the back of a dump-truck at 4-way stop."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Ever the gracious benefactor of the good deeds of others, aren't you?"

Natalia didn't immediately respond. She knew that Olivia had a point; that the other woman was just trying to help, and she should apologise for being needlessly critical. She was about to try and smooth the waters when she saw someone coming directly towards them.

"The doctor is coming our way."

"Thank God!" Olivia reluctantly rose to her feet and followed Natalia towards a tall, distinguished looking man in a long white lab coat who was carrying what looked like a stack of papers equivalent to an entire year of The Beacon's business reports.

"Ms. Rivera," I'm Doctor Aldridge O'Keefe, head of neurosurgery. I'm sorry that our chief of staff can't meet with you right now, but as I was heading up the team that worked on your father, it's safe to say I'm the best one to answer your questions anyhow."

Natalia shook the hand that was awkwardly offered her from under the bundle of files. "I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. This is Ms. Spencer."  She turned briefly towards Olivia and suddenly flashed a confusion expression.  "She is a, um... a business associate from Illinois?" Her introduction sounded more like a question.

Olivia simple waved her hand slightly, not wanting to cause the man to scatter his cargo all over the walkway floor.

"In all honesty I can't take too much time, I'm in the middle of rounds here, but if you wouldn't mind walking with me to the other wing, I can surely talk with you for a few minutes," the doctor said as he re-organised the large group of file folders in his crowded arms and began handing a few off to seemingly random nurses as they walked by.

"Lead the way," Natalia agreed, and the three of them headed towards the emergency triage unit.

"Before I get into the details of what I know for sure," Dr. O'Keefe began, "I would like to extend my sincerest condolences for your loss. I know that perhaps someone here at this hospital has caused a lot of added stress and upset to you and I want to assure you that every faculty member here has committed to being entirely cooperative with the authorities in this matter."

Natalia nodded in acceptance. "I know you've probably already told Agent What's-His-Name everything you know, but I was wondering if you'd mind recounting that information to me personally, seeing as I'm not being told anything at this point."

"Of course. Well, from what I understand the Medical Examiner received a call, the day after we sent your father's body there, from someone claiming to be the Lab Technician in charge of examining your father's blood tests. I guess this individual made up some problems with the blood work and that caused the M.E. to need to do further analysis of the body. "

Natalia waved a dismissive hand at the information. "Yeah, I know everything about that side of the issue. What I was wondering was whether or not you, or anyone else here, has any idea who might have been the one behind the bogus phone call?"

"That, I do not know," the doctor said as he accepted a thick file folder from a nurse in front of a curtained triage unit. "Wish I did, though. It's unnerving to think that someone I'm working with can be capable of purposefully causing unnecessary issues for our whole team, not to mention what they've put you through."

"Well, whoever contacted the media is responsible for that," Natalia sighed.

"If it is any help, we know the perpetrator of this mischief sounded like a younger woman—most likely either a new staff member here or just a regular nurse or orderly, low-ranking on the chain of command."

"Why do you think that?" Natalia asked.

"Well the person that made the call to the M.E. was a woman claiming to be our Lab Technician, Stacey March. Thing is, Stacey is actually a man. He is fairly new to our lab team but all of the surgeons, clinical doctors, head nurses and so on have had dealings with him already. So I'm guessing the woman who called must be just a regular nurse or candy-striper, someone who would have been able to find out the name of the technician in charge, but not have had to speak with him personally in their everyday line of work here."

Natalia pondered the new information for a moment before responding. "Interesting. Thanks so much for your help Doctor."

"My pleasure," Dr O'Keefe offered a much less encumbered hand this time. "Again, I'm sorry for the inconvenience. If there is anything else you need from any of the staff here, let me know."

Natalia nodded once again and turned to depart the congested walkway.

"Well," Olivia finally spoke as she walked alongside Natalia back down they corridor they had been traveling. "That was a bit more insightful than anything you've heard so far."

"Yes," Natalia answered absent-mindedly, obviously deep in thought. "Still doesn't point directly to the person responsible, but I guess it's a start."

"So let's try and break it down a bit further. It would have to be someone who has quite the ax to grind with you personally."

"I'm now in charge of the leading franchise in the entire North American hotel industry. The list of people who want me out of the picture grows daily." The anxious younger woman rubbed her forehead to try and ease the growing tension of an oncoming headache. "Besides, Detective Columbo, you'd technically be high up there on that list, wouldn't you?"

Olivia vehemently shook her head. "Not necessarily. I've almost completely forgiven you for being an incredibly cruel and heartless bitch to me over the past few weeks. And, I scratched my bid to merge with your company, therefore I'm completely in the clear."

"Almost completely forgiven, huh? What would I have to do to gain a full pardon?"

"Pfft, as if you don't already know." The other woman winked, teasingly.

Natalia rolled her eyes. "Second thought, never mind. I can live without it."

"So you see, since I'm off the hook, it would have to be someone who dislikes you even more than I do—which I can imagine must be a very long list," she smirked. "But honestly, how many other lives have you ruined adequately enough to spawn this type of revenge? And like you said before, who would gain something by ruining your standing in the company."

Natalia all of a sudden went stopped in her tracks causing Olivia to falter in her forward momentum when she realized the brunette was no longer beside her. She turned to see the shocked, and eerily cold but angry, expression that had washed over Natalia's face.

"I know who would," Natalia hissed as she turned suddenly and pushed her way quickly through a small crowd of people lined up to see the receptionist. "I know exactly who would!"

Just then a newsflash appeared on the flat-screen television in the corner of the waiting room that Olivia was left standing in. On the screen was the male version of Natalia's gorgeous eyes. She could barely hear what Mateo of saying to the news reporter outside of the South Beach Empire but one flash of the devilish grin and the glint of those dark, deceivingly handsome eyes and her gaze immediately lowered to back to the woman who was racing away from her towards the nurse's station.

"Son of a --"

Chapter 52

Olivia had woken up on the proverbial wrong side of the Egyptian cotton shrouded, king-sized bed. A cool shower joined forces with a triple shot of espresso in an attempt to rescue her from her drowsy state. She’d spent an exorbitant amount of time last night uselessly debating with her conscience – pacing in the kitchen with a new glass of wine in hand; in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to will sleep to come. Little sleep coupled with even less mental clarity was often a potential recipe for disaster.

Forty minutes later she was staring at her disposable coffee cup nestled in the front console of Natalia’s car, watching as the liquid attempted to slosh through the hole in the lid. They’d left early enough to avoid being pestered by the press and paparazzi. The radio was tuned into a classical music station, not solely for the soothing sounds it provided, but because it was the channel less likely to be interrupted by any ‘breaking news’ coverage about Antonio Rivera’s death and the subsequent suspicion of his own daughter’s involvement in his demise.

Conversation had been kept to an unusual minimum, and although Olivia’s irascible mood would have loved to facilitate a good sparring session about any trite theme, she recognized that perhaps now was not the time or place. Natalia was on a personal mission and was therefore most likely preoccupied with thoughts of worry, anger, frustration, confusion, etc. The older woman remained non-vocal and put her own similar emotions in the backseat next to her intent to broach the subject of the futility – and damned near cruelty – of random kisses.

“We’re here,” Natalia’s voice brought her back to reality as the car stopped in a visitor’s parking spot in front of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

Olivia was thankful that they were parked under several large shade trees but still had to squint against the morning sun to read the large scrolling message sign a few yards in front of the car. “They have a souvenir shop?” she asked, her expression showing both surprise and slight disgust.

“Apparently,” Natalia shrugged and turned off the ignition enough to shut off the engine but keep the air conditioner running full blast. She unbuckled her seatbelt and reached for her own coffee. “So, how are we going to play this? Good Cop/Bad Cop?”

“What does a Coroner’s office sell in a souvenir shop? Postcards of the place with a caption that says ‘Wish you were here’ ?”

“Spencer, focus.”

Olivia shook her head in disbelief before letting it go. She picked up her coffee and turned to the other women. “Yeah, Good Cop/Bad Cop... sounds great.” She took a sip. “Or in this case it would be the overly distraught cop who is desperately seeking answers and the cop who is willing to make grown men cry to obtain them.”

“We have to wait for my lawyer; he’s meeting us here.”

Olivia slouched further into her seat and grumbled, “Well now there’s one too many cops… ruins the whole damned thing.”

Natalia rolled her eyes and glanced out of the driver’s side window. “Drink your coffee, Sheriff,” she said dismissively.

“Maybe I should see if they sell t-shirts at the gift shop. Chalked outlines of bodies on a comfy cotton V-neck. A gal’s wardrobe wouldn’t be complete without one.”

“The lawyer is here, let’s go.” Natalia shut the ignition off completely and opened her door to exit the vehicle.

The wave of hot air hit Olivia as she opened her own door. “Souvenirs,” she muttered. “Honestly.”


--------------------------------------


Natalia spent ten minutes arguing with her lawyer, a short and stout, middle-aged man who was awkwardly clutching a dark tan briefcase and clearly melting within his light grey suit. The man was using phrases such as “Possible but highly improbable” and “Negotiable though unlikely” as he nervously ran chubby fingers through his severely receding hairline. Olivia chuckled to herself from the top of the steps to the Coroner’s office. It amused her how accommodating the lawyer was trying to be regarding Natalia’s current mood – essentially pronouncing the mission as being impossible without actually saying it. When one has been given a ridiculously large retainer for a billion dollar corporation, one makes even the most impossible request seem executable. When it turns out it is not, he is the one who is will absorb the blame.

“There are certain ‘hoops’, shall we say, that we haven’t jumped through,” the man stated cautiously. “My concern is that we may be wasting valuable time, and putting you through even more stress than you’re already under.”

Natalia straightened and began to walk up the steps to join Olivia near the front door, admonishing the man as she walked. “I’ve been publicly implicated in my father’s death. It doesn’t get much more stressful than that, Mr. Weinstein. And I am Natalia Rivera… I don’t do ‘hoops’.”

Olivia opened the door for the other woman and spared a glance at the hesitant man behind her. She waved him through the door with a rueful smirk. “What she said,” she grinned and followed them both down a corridor to the clerk’s desk.


--------------------------------------
“Lady, I understand that this is an inconvenience for you but I can’t simply release information to you that hasn’t been cleared by the Medical Examiner.”

“Your first mistake was calling her ‘Lady’ and the second was downgrading this all as being a simple inconvenience,” Olivia chastised the young man – boy, almost – probably not yet into his second decade. She scanned him thoroughly, assessing how easily she could unnerve the poor clerk who was unconsciously gripping and fidgeting with his mock ‘toe-tag’ keychain. Undoubtedly acquired from the damn souvenir shop, she sighed, her ire rising.

“You have to understand, there is a certain process we have to follow here regarding any inquiries about autopsies.” The clerk’s discomfort rose when Olivia took a step closer, pinning him with an icy stare.

The lawyer then tried to intervene. “Ms. Rivera, I will gladly fill out the necessary paperwork for you back at my – ”

“Boy Wonder here says the Medical Examiner doesn’t even have the paperwork ready,” Natalia cut in, her hands on her hips.

“At – At this point I’m not sure, I’d have to speak with him,” the young man answered tentatively, almost as if he knew what Natalia would say next.

“I can wait.”

“Ma’am.” He heard Olivia clearing her throat. “Ms. Rivera, I don’t have the authority to make demands from the examiners.”

“Who does?” Olivia asked before Natalia could.

“The Director of Operations.”

Natalia folded her arms. “I’ll wait.”

“There is a process that – ”

“Listen up, kid,” Olivia interjected roughly but took a deep breath to control her voice as she leaned both forearms onto the wooden partition that barely separated her from the clerk. “How much do you make an hour here? Minimum wage? Just above?” she asked in a smooth tone.

The frightened clerk looked at the others in the room in confusion, none of the faces offering any rescue from the woman who was now very close to infringing upon his personal space. He nodded his head slowly.

“Tell me…” the intimidating blonde waved a hand at his person, indicating he should supply her with a name.

“Chuck?” The young man responded, too rattled to even be secure in the announcement of his own name.

“Chuck,” Olivia repeated, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Is minimum wage an adequate amount of money to afford proper medical benefits?”

Chuck swallowed. “Benefits come with the job,” he answered hurriedly, seemingly oblivious to the veiled threat.

At that point the lawyer felt obliged to step up beside Olivia. “Ms. Spencer, I have to advise against making any threats of violence against this man,” he whispered, backing away when her unchanging look of annoyance fell upon him.

“Have I?” she asked innocently. Finding no answer forthcoming she turned back to the clerk.

“Let’s pretend I wanted to see the Director of Operations, without having to go through any of your goddamned ‘processes’,” she threw the air-quotes in for dramatic effect. “What options do I have?”

“There aren’t an – ”

“Bull!” Olivia shook her head adamantly. “Everyone comes running when someone yells ‘Fire!’”

The lawyer coughed in warning. A warning Olivia ignored.

“Ma’am, please… there’s no need to start a commotion,” Chuck pleaded.

“Oh, contraire. There is most definitely a need. And you have no idea how grand a commotion I am capable of starting.”

Natalia had been standing back, silently watching with slight amusement as Olivia reduced the young man to a nervous wreck. She secretly wished it could go on further, guiltily enjoying that someone else was feeling as distraught as herself, but logically she knew it was about time to ‘rescue’ the poor clerk from Olivia’s jaws. She stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Olivia’s shoulder, urging her to step aside.

“Chuck… Charles, is it?” she asked softly, taking the young man by surprise. When he nodded silently, she continued. “Charles, I’m not interested in causing any ‘commotions’,” she started, quickly raising an eyebrow in thought. “Though it would be mildly cathartic to watch this woman tear you apart. No.” She shook her head. “All I want is a few answers – a couple maybe… Hell, just one answer would do at this point.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. – ”

“Where is the Director’s office?” she asked detachedly as if she had no expectation of not getting the answer she wanted. She watched the clerk’s eyes as they darted to a corridor to the right of her and then flashed back immediately.

“I can’t tell you that, Ma’am,” Chuck stated as he tried to straighten his shoulders in an experimental show of bravery.

Natalia pushed herself away from the barrier between them. “You just did,” she crooned smugly and turned to move past the others, heading confidently towards the corridor. Before she could reach the frosted-paned double doors, they swung open from the other side unexpectedly, causing Natalia to freeze in her tracks.

“Ms. Rivera,” a steady hand was extended towards her. “Dr. Angela Mason, Director of Operations. I’ve been expecting you.”


------------------------------------------


Dr. Mason’s office was rather small – a space made even more claustrophobic thanks to a massive red oak desk and various potted trees and plants. As Natalia and Olivia made their ways to a set of chairs on the other side of the desk, the lawyer decided to try and camouflage himself as best he could in the corner amongst the greenery. The Director, instead of sitting directly down to begin a formal conversation, turned her back to the group, picked up a tiny pruning tools from a cabinet ledge and began tending to a small bonsai tree.

"Many people wonder why I would want to have so many plants inside this small little office." She pushed a few stray grey hairs behind her right ear and reached for a pair of glasses that hung around her neck by a silver chain and positioned them delicately on her face. “All of the living things in the room… these robust but delicate plants… a reminder to believe in something beautiful when surrounded by, well, this profession.”

Both hoteliers sat silently, slightly transfixed – if not a little confused – by the wise woman’s words. They watched as the Doctor pulled her chair in behind her and sat down with a huff.

“You said that you’d been expecting me,” Natalia blurted out, no longer content to be formal.

The woman in front of her made a show of organizing a few papers that had been left on her desk. “Well, of course, Ms. Rivera. I can’t even imagine how difficult the last few days have been for you.”

“How did you know we were here?” Olivia piped up, her previous temperament being temporarily tamed by a discerning look from over thick bifocals.

Dr. Mason turned in her chair to the right and opened up a cabinet door to reveal a small monitoring screen which currently showcased the front lobby and clerk’s station. “I am the Director of Operations here, Ms. …”

“Spencer. Olivia Spencer.”

“I have an eye on everything at all times.” She lowered her glasses and held them briefly as she pinned Olivia with an even sterner look. “Congratulations, by the way,” she offered with false sincerity. “You can successfully intimidate an 18 year old boy.” The edge of sarcasm in her voice was hardly unnoticeable.

Olivia lowered her gaze and shifted uneasily in her chair.

“A feat made even less impressive by the fact that I have three teenaged sons at home. I do the same thing every damned day to try and keep them on the straight and narrow.” The Doctor returned her glasses to her face and rifled through the papers she had been working on before their arrival.

“I apologize for barging in here – well, trying to for that matter,” Natalia began. “But if you say that you’ve been expecting me, than you know how unsettled I’ve been at the fact that you’ve all but implicated me in my father’s death without giving me any information as to why on earth you would come to that conclusion?”

Dr. Mason eyed the lawyer, who seemed pretty useless hiding in the corner, and the blonde woman to Natalia’s right and then directly at Natalia for a few moments before answering.

“Ms. Rivera, I am two years shy of my retirement. Before becoming the Director here I was the one preforming the autopsies. I’ve worked on politicians, A-list actors and actresses, and billionaires far richer than your father. And one thing I’ve never ever done is succumb to hearsay and rumours. I deal in facts, as do all of my Medical Examiners in this building. I stand by their decision to keep your father’s remains for further investigation based on a call we received from the head nurse that ran the initial tests on your father.”

“May I now be enlightened as to what it was they found in those tests? Or am I about to get the run around from you too?”

“There wasn’t anything suspicious about the results.”

The immediate straight forward answer startled her almost as much as information contained within it.

Seeing Natalia completely blindsided caused Olivia to move forward to speak on her behalf.

“What on earth do you mean? The whole reason that Natalia’s father’s funeral has to be delayed is because you won’t release his body because of a criminal investigation.” Olivia was finished feeling like a chastised child and was on the edge of her seat about to stand up over the older woman. “She has even been questioned by the F.B.I. Her name is all over the tabloids! All because of a ‘suspicion of foul play’ and now you’re saying there wasn’t anything suspicious ?”

Dr. Mason avoided answering Olivia, but instead turned back to Natalia who was still dumbfounded. “As I have stated, I stand behind my team’s decision to investigate further when they received a call from the hospital. I don’t believe they could have possibly known that the claim of suspicious test results was, in fact, false.”

“This is not happening,” was all Natalia could say.

“Upon an extensive review of your father’s body we couldn’t find anything that would implicate anything other than a natural cause of death. We called the hospital to compare our results with theirs, and the head nurse in charge of the collection and reviewing of your father’s blood tests was confused as to why we were asking about them.”

“How is that possible?” Olivia asked.

“The head nurse never made that original call to our office. She had signed off on all the tests and declared her opinion of the cause of death to be exactly as we discovered here. She never suspected otherwise.”

“So who made that call?” Natalia was now more confused than she’d ever been.

Dr. Mason sat back in her chair and removed her glasses once again. “That is the only thing I do not know for sure. I wish I could tell you, not only to ease some of the suffering you’ve experienced as a result of all of this, but also because this extra investigation has naturally put us fairly behind in our own schedule. I even brought in experts from other counties to help with the case.”

“And the leaking of the falsified information to the press?” The lawyer finally chimed in from the corner of the room, his sudden interest most likely piqued by the possibility of a defamation lawsuit.

“I can assure you I’m discussing it with every person on my staff, but honestly, the only people who knew about the information were the ones who examined Mr. Rivera – all of whom I have worked beside for years and can’t possibly imagine doing such a thing. I mean really, what on earth could they possibly gain by doing that?”

“I need to get out of here.” Natalia stood quickly and headed for the door, followed directly by Olivia who placed a steady hand on the unstable woman. Before exiting the office, Natalia turned to the Director. Her face was ashen and her voice childlike when she asked, “Now that you know for sure… What was the real cause of my father’s death?”

The Director’s face took on a look of motherly concern and deep sympathy. “You father died from the complications of an arterial embolism in his brain,” she answered. And when Natalia failed to even blink at her response,she decided to simplify it for her. “He had a severe stroke.”

Natalia pondered the answer for a moment and then looked up at the doctor with pleading eyes. “Did he have a stroke as a result of stress?”

Olivia, who was standing behind Natalia, quickly shook her head at the doctor as if trying to govern her answer. The doctor took notice of it but didn’t need to change her response.

“Ms. Rivera, we examined your father’s brain rather thoroughly in these past couple of days. What we found were a few tiny lesions that had been caused by what is called a Silent Stroke, that is, a stroke that carries with it only slight symptoms if any at all. Many sufferers of such a event are not even aware that one has occurred. Damage was done however and it put your father at an even greater risk of a major stroke. That coupled with his overall age and state of health is, in my expert opinion, what caused his embolism. No amount of stress just prior to the event could have exacerbated what was already taking place in your father’s body.”

Olivia’s shoulders eased at the relief that Natalia had finally been told, however indirectly, that she had not caused her own father’s death. Natalia on the other hand simply nodded and thanked the Director for her time, then headed down the corridor. The lawyer stayed behind to take care of the details of the release of Mr. Rivera’s body to the church for the following day.

The warm air surrounding Natalia as she exited the building did nothing to ease her near-hyperventilating state. Olivia guided her to her car and ordered her to hand over the keys, which Natalia surprisingly gave up without argument. She opened the driver’s side and started the ignition to blast the air conditioning before ushering the brunette over to the passenger side and into the car. When she herself was settled in the driver’s seat, she turned to Natalia and placed a hand on her forearm.

“I just don’t understand,” Natalia said quietly, starting blankly out of the windshield. “I came here for answers and now all I have is more questions.”

“Okay, listen.” Olivia gripped the woman’s hand to get her attention. “Right now you need to focus on what we know, alright? We now know that there is supporting documentation that you had nothing to do with your father’s death. We got what we came for in that regard. I will go to the press myself and declare that as a fact if I have to.”

“And what if the damage has already been done?”

"If your shareholders believe a 30 second unsubstantiated rumour over cold hard proof there must be something seriously wrong with their logic.”

“You’re so naïve sometimes,” was Natalia’s retort, which Olivia took a slight but silent offense to. “You don’t know how things work in this end of the country, do you? Reputation is far more valuable than money, credentials… even truth. If you ask anyone on the street right now if they have ever heard of Natalia Rivera, the Heiress of the Empire fortune, they are going to look at you and say ‘Isn’t she the woman who just mercilessly killed her father?”

“Aren’t scandals a dime a dozen in this town? Who cares what a couple reporters have said when you have the proof that they are wrong?”

“I’ve worked so hard for all these years to redeem myself in the public eye.” Natalia’s eyes began to well up with tears and she quickly turned towards her window before they fell. “So very hard to be the daughter he needed me to be. The Executive the company needed me to be.” She wiped her tears with her hand. “And now it’s all slipping away. It was all for nothing.”

“I honestly think you’re overreacting now.” Olivia tried to console the crying woman. “You have no idea the kinds of truthful scandals I’ve survived and still managed to come out on top of.”

Natalia shook off the well-meant comment. “I just don’t get why a stranger that I’ve never met would want to hurt me with that lie. And who at the morgue, or the hospital, or the police station would want to leak such a thing to the public without confirmation?”

“These are all questions that we can try and find answers to another day, Natalia. What you should be focusing on right now is getting through the funeral and being able to properly grieve for your father.” Olivia turned the key to start the engine and programmed the address to the South Beach Empire into the GPS box on the console before she backed out of the parking spot. She didn’t trust Natalia to give instant and proper directions at that point.

“I want you to drive me to the hospital,” Natalia commanded, her voice suddenly clear and her eyes alert.

“And I want to get you home so you can try and calm down.” Olivia ignored the request.

Natalia reached for the GPS tracker and ripped it from its cradle, tossing it into the backseat.

“Childish much?” Olivia huffed.

“Determined much,” Natalia responded. “I need answers!”

“You need another sedative, in my opinion,” the blonde pulled over into a restaurant parking lot and idled the car as she turned to face the other woman.

“I will go by myself as soon as you leave my suite,” Natalia declared confidently.

“I have no doubt that you won’t.” Olivia closed her eyes and let out a defeated sigh. “Fine. You win. Which way to the hospital?”

Chapter 51

Olivia had always considered herself an expert at seeing the error of her ways through the scrutiny of her 20/20 hindsight. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to be able to detect the possibility of a misinterpretation of intent within the current situation. She took a brief moment to scan the area, taking note of the dimly-lit room, and the cozy little loveseat on which she sat next to the emotionally unbalanced object of her deep-seated desire. Splash a little wine over the picture and you've got a perfect way to evenly dispense the blame if one of us loses control. Olivia glanced at their wine glasses that were both half empty for the second time.


If one of us loses control? The older woman almost rolled her eyes at her own irresponsibility. More like when.

In that despairingly accurate hindsight, Olivia knew she should be asking herself whether or not the set-up was a bit more than subliminally planned. She knew how fragile the other woman was at that point – that Natalia was rapidly unraveling and desperately wanted to find some way to put herself back together, if only for little while. And the more she thought about it the more she hated herself, but she was acutely aware that if she made the slightest advance on the brunette to her right, it would be immediately reciprocated... gladly.

I’ve got all night, Olivia repeated Natalia’s own words in her head.  All night.  Oh god, what I could do to this woman… All.  Damned.  Night!

Her pulse began to race as she did her best not to let her inner thoughts become portrayed in her expression. Years of nervousness in the boardroom had given rise to the ability to fake stoicism, a skill she needed to rely upon heavily in that moment. She inhaled slowly to calm herself and resolved to stay in control.

“Okay, you caught me,” she said, flashing a smile borne of forced confidence.  “The truth is that the story of Olivia Spencer is so utterly boring, it would put you to sleep in less than five minutes.”

Natalia chortled in response. “Somehow I doubt that.” She finished her wine, and after setting the empty glass on the table, she raised her arms and stretched her muscles, giving a short, contented sigh when she finished.  She settled sideways and even further down into the cushions, resting her head on the back pillow of the couch. “Come on, Spencer.” She playfully nudged the other woman’s thigh with her foot. “My life is in shambles. Humour a poor gal, would ya?”

Olivia shook her head and gave her a sideways glare complete with a knowing smile before she finished her own glass and set it to join its counterpart on the table. “Don’t think for one second that I don’t know what you’re up to, Ms. Rivera.” She sat back and once again turned to face the younger woman.

“What I’m up to? Natalia saw the confident nod. “Okay, enlighten me.”

“You think that you can waltz right in here, get me slightly inebriated and then dig for info on me while my defenses are down.” Olivia kept a straight face even while Natalia rolled her eyes and smiled. “Trying to find a weakness in the competition, no?”

Natalia narrowed her eyes briefly in contemplation. “That would’ve been a cunning plan, had I thought of it,” she responded. “Unfortunately, I didn’t. I think you’re forgetting that you are the one supplying us with the wine.”

Olivia looked away with a slightly embarrassed grin. “Well, I just thought it would help…” Don’t say it! “…loosen us up a bit.”

Natalia raised an eyebrow.

“To help us unwind… mellow out…” Too late, genius.

The brunette flashed a knowing smile. “You’re blushing.”

“Wine makes me blush.”

“Uh huh.” It was Natalia’s turn to wear the confidant grin. “I believe the last time I saw you blush was when you were fogging up my office window.”

“Ooookay! “ The sudden spike in her body temperature began to warm more than just her cheeks, and Olivia didn’t trust herself enough to look at the other woman.  She didn’t need to. The palpable presence of passion within the statement told her everything she needed to know. Natalia was flirting. Wonderful, her subconscious droned.

“You could shut me up by giving me what I want.”

Olivia stared blankly at the brunette.

“I meant by dishing me the dirty little secrets about the great Ms. Spencer,” Natalia grinned, evilly.

The blonde let out a long sigh. “Fine, whatever. Anything to shut you up!” She gave Natalia a sideways glare and smirked. “What do you want to know about me?”

“Your weaknesses, of course. However will I conquer my arch nemesis if I don’t know where best to strike?”

“Ah, yes. Well...” Olivia tilted her chin slightly in an air of supremacy. “You’re out of luck, I’m afraid. Olivia Spencer hasn’t any weaknesses.”

“Oh whatever!” Natalia dismissed the comment with a wave of her hand. “All this talk of getting to know one another… honestly!”

Olivia saw the corner of Natalia lips turn up slightly.

“Fine,” continued the younger woman. “You leave me no choice but to chip away at your confident exterior until I find a vulnerability that I can exploit.”

“Good luck, Rivera.”

The two women exchanged sideways smiles and the room got quiet for several moments. Neither of them were having deep, meaningful inner thoughts – proof that the wine was doing its job. However, the more time that passed, the more worried Natalia became that thoughts of her recent loss and current outrage would slowly take over once again. She wanted to escape them for just a little while longer, and so it was her that broke the silence.

“Let’s do something different,” she said pensively and shifted slightly, partly to face Olivia more squarely but also to wake her body out of the complacent lull of the wine.

“Practically every single thing about each and every one of our interactions has been different.” Olivia joked. “Except that time you drove us in your car. That was just terrifying.” She shuddered.

Natalia rolled her eyes and refused to let herself be distracted from her original thought. “Let’s interview you,” she said.

“Interview me?” Olivia watched the brunette nod.

“You came back here with the hope of merging our hotels together, yes?”

Olivia furrowed her brow as if in deep reflection. “I have but a vague recollection of it,” she jested.

“Well? You must have been prepared to sell yourself to my father.” As soon as she said it, she saw Olivia’s eyebrow rise and quickly embellished her statement. “Your personality, smart-ass. The reason why he should chose you as a business partner.”

Olivia shook her head adamantly. “No, actually. I was fully prepared to beg and plead for that deal.”

Natalia made a low growl deep in her throat that indicated that she was fed up with trying. “Never mind. Obviously there isn’t anything interesting about you. Don’t know why I would bother anyways… not like you’ll be here much longer.”

Olivia could sense that there was more than just playful frustration in Natalia’s words. Her last sentence seemed like less of a statement and more of a question; as if Natalia was looking for an answer she didn’t want to hear to a question she didn’t want to ask. Olivia didn’t know what to say in response? Natalia had been the one to ask her to leave the hotel, the state – her life, in fact. Sure, she’d gotten Natalia to admit that she should stick around, but that was assumedly on the basis that she would assist her in her latest quandary. Olivia couldn’t help but speculate that if she hadn’t been needed, she would most likely not be sitting there. By then she should have watched all the chances, the missed opportunities, and the thoughts of what might have been diminish alongside the landscape underneath her rising plane. Everything within and about California should have been getting further and further away until it vanished completely from the horizon, and then shortly thereafter – hopefully – her mind.

So what was she expected to say now? How much longer was she going to ‘be here’? Did Natalia want her to contradict that statement? Was there an offer in there somewhere? She looked directly at the younger woman who was deliberately looking everywhere but back at her. She could tell that Natalia was watching her though, from the corner of her eye Natalia was watching, perhaps waiting for the response that refused to form inside of Olivia’s brain.

The brunette sighed a long, unintentionally loud sigh and closed her eyes. She had gotten tired of waiting, and Olivia had given up trying to think of the appropriate reply. Natalia’s body stiffened in preparation to move from the couch.

“I should go,” she said slowly in the most impassive tone she could muster, desperate not to reveal anything more of her emotions than she feared she already had. She was aware that she’d probably become the most confusing woman on the planet to the poor blonde sitting beside her. It wasn’t fair to push and pull. That had never been her style. She honestly never expected herself to be one to behave that way.

She began to move forward in hopes to gain some distance for the sake of her clouded mind, but she felt a slender leg stretch over her lap and press her down once again. She paused with her hands still keeping some of her weight off the couch and looked quickly over at the blonde with a flash of confusion and inquisition. Instead of a verbal response she watched as Olivia simply shook her head slowly from side to side twice, indicating that she wasn’t going to be allowed to run away. As she stared into determined, emerald eyes, she acquiesced and gradually eased the weight off of her hands and sank back onto the couch.

It wasn’t until she’d watched all of Natalia’s muscles relax once more into the cushions of the sofa did she take her leg away from the brunette’s lap and return it to be tucked slightly underneath her own. Then with a deep breath, and without delay, she spoke.

“I was an Ugly Duckling.”

Natalia’s brows furrowed in her instant confusion. “What?”

“I had braces, acne and zero allies in my corner,” she continued without breaking eye-contact. “When my mother was alive, she kept telling me that it wasn’t what was on the outside that mattered, but what was on the inside. Of course being routinely overlooked by every single male in all of my classes, and laughed at by all the popular girls, I tended to believe that my mother – God rest her soul – was full of shit.” She watched Natalia’s eyes soften slightly and forced herself to continue. “And then I woke up one day and had breasts. I learned fairly quickly that having them also meant having power. Every ounce of my newfound self-confidence came from the looks that the boys were now giving me. I did everything I could to maintain the attention.” Olivia paused and her eyes left Natalia’s and ventured towards the cushion in between them. “Everything.” Her voice was low and tinted with shame. “I became the woman that any man would walk through fire for, and for me it was all about what I could take from them. I failed to realize just how much of myself I was giving away in return.” She returned a sad gaze at Natalia. “Until I’d given up the last piece of my soul, that is.”

Natalia lowered her gaze to the same cushion, not sure what to say.

“I’ve been married four times. And was nearly married a fifth time… twice. The last fiancé being Andrew… ‘Uncle Andy’,” she made air-quotes with the name.

“Four marriages,” Natalia said in deep contemplation. She was a bit shocked and yet didn’t want to sound judgmental.

“The fifth fiancé lost his position at his father’s company – a company that I was hoping to gain a stronghold in after the marriage was finalized – and so I crashed his bachelor party and dumped him. He was no longer of use to me. I ended up seducing his father instead.” Olivia gave up the information without any emotion in her voice. “And I was about to marry Andrew because I thought he was most likely Emma’s biological father. In fact, I told him he was because he was the best choice. He was good with Emma and kind to me. Before the wedding I had an extremely rare and vastly uncharacteristic need to be honest, and I told him I wasn’t 100% certain that he was Emma’s father.  He asked for a DNA test. He failed the test. His heart was crushed in the worst possible way.”

Natalia drank in all the information that Olivia was supplying. She hadn’t expected, nor did she now think she wanted, the other woman to be so candid.   Olivia was essentially stripping in front of her. Removing a layer that encased a fragile core the younger woman knew damned well no one was allowed to see. They were both wounded women living in strong shells of armour and Natalia wasn’t sure what to do with Olivia’s lowered shield.

“I sure hope you weren’t planning on selling that character profile in order to get the merger!” she joked to try and lighten the mood, but the look in Olivia’s eyes never varied in intensity.

“I’m not selling. I’m telling,” Olivia said evenly. “And there are so many more stories I could tell you about myself that are much worse.” Olivia’s eyes darkened with quick flashes of pain and shame. “So now that I’ve enlightened you on a small portion of what a truly despicable person I really am, I must remind you… you asked for it.”

Natalia narrowed her eyelids as she processed everything for a few seconds more. “I did, didn’t I? “

Olivia looked back down at the cushion in between them and then at her watch. “It’s getting late.” She stretched her folded legs out and lowered them to the floor, scooting to the edge of the couch to reach for the empty wine glasses. “We should probably try and rest up if we are going to storm a government building tomorrow.” 

She needed there to be space between her and the women staring confusedly at her. She felt exposed. She stood up, glasses clinking together in her one hand, and walked around the couch and over to the kitchen area behind it.

Natalia sat pensive in the darkened living-room, staring at the cushion on the sofa where the other woman had been. She wasn’t in the mood to try and rest but she knew that she was being asked to leave in the nicest way possible. How things had gotten personal so quickly was beyond her, though she knew she shouldn’t be surprised. Since when had being within two feet from the beautiful blonde not resulted in some kind of angst-filled tension? She wasn’t sure if Olivia was upset now, and as she rose from the couch, she decided not to ask for the sake of clarity.   She would simply go tend to her own wounds. Alone.

She made her way towards the kitchen but stopped quite a few feet from the older women who had her back to her.

“Do you still want to do this with me?” Natalia’s voice was even and strong, revealing nothing of her strong desire to hear Olivia say ‘yes’, nor of her tentative fear that she wouldn’t.

Olivia turned smoothly and moved to the island countertop in between them, leaning her hands on the marbled edge. Natalia had carefully constructed a sentence that could have been open to several interpretations if she’d really felt like being over-analytical. Instead she opted for lobbing the ball back into the younger woman’s court. “Do you think you can handle it?”

The corner of Natalia’s mouth lifted slightly. “An obnoxious cop, a clueless medical examiner and an entire bureaucratic protocol?” She made a dismissive gesture with her right hand. “Piece of cake.”

She witnessed Olivia’s Mona Lisa-like smile and her slight nod and took the chance to flash a sad smile before turning to leave. “I’ll see myself out.”

Olivia closed her eyes as Natalia walked away. Let her see herself out. Stay where you are! Her subconscious commanded, but all too quickly she was muttering “dammit” under her breath as she strode swiftly to catch up to the other woman. “Natalia, wait,” she called out before Natalia could reach the door. She hadn’t a clue which one of them was upset now, nor why. She planted herself firmly between the shorter woman and the door. “I’m sorry I made you feel uncomfortable… I really didn’t mean—“

“Why did you decide to tell me all of that?”

“Of what? The tiny tale of my terrible self?”

“Mhm.”

“I don’t know. I guess I figured that after all, you’re right?”

“About what?”

“That I’m not going to be here much longer. At this point, what do I possibly have to lose?”

Natalia closed her eyes for a moment and bowed her head slightly. It was obvious that Olivia was doing her best to hide the bitterness in her voice, but the words still stung nonetheless. She looked up at the taller woman and sighed. “I should just apologize now,”  she said.

“For what?”

“For breaking my promise.”

“What prom–”

Before Olivia could get the word out there was a soft pair of lips pressed gently against her own. In the few seconds in which she should have been considering pushing Natalia away, Olivia was instead contemplating giving up her attempt to keep her emotions in check. If she simply allowed Natalia to take the lead, if she just decided to follow, would she not be blameless? Good idea or not, she had survived hundreds of ‘bad’ ideas in the past. What was one more?

She stood motionless, breathlessly waiting for Natalia to deepen the kiss, to give her an undeniable sign that could later be used to prove that it had all been inevitable. She waited for the permission to act recklessly.

But it never came. Instead of creating a spark that would have ignited their combustible passion, Natalia slowly withdrew, keeping herself within inches of the immobile blonde. “A despicable person would have lied,” she said and in a near whisper, pausing to maintain a moment of meaningful eye-contact and then turning to move into the hallway. “Call me in the morning when you’re ready to go?” she asked over her shoulder.

Olivia was caught between wanting to pull Natalia back into her suite and being thankful that the brunette was about to disappear into her own. She could only nod slowly without saying a word. Moving forward into the hall and trapping Natalia between herself and the wall seemed like a very bad idea.

But, again, she had survived hundreds of bad ideas in the past…


What was one more?

Chapter 50

“And other news making headlines this evening… An inquiry has been ordered by state officials into the death of wealthy entrepreneur Antonio Rivera, who died earlier this week from as, of yet, unknown causes. Sources close to the family have expressed shock over the idea that foul play could have been involved. Though Police Chief Tony Bates has yet to comment publicly, no arrests have been made. John, you are at the South Beach Empire as we speak, tell us what you can about–"

The blonde nurse made a disgruntled noise as she turned to see Mateo Rivera standing in the bathroom doorway, extending a remote control at the television set. He was wearing a towel around his waist and fingering styling gel through freshly showered locks of dark hair with his free hand.

“How long of a vacation are we talking about?” Michelle Bradley had been reclining comfortably in the spacious bed that had previously been used for their latest hotel-room romp. Had been, past tense, as she was at that moment sitting straight up on the edge of the bed, her body language doing nothing to hide her surprise and anger at what Mateo had said to her moments before.

The handsome man brushed his fingers on the towel and retreated back into the bathroom to avoid the glare of the younger woman. “Not long… a few weeks maybe?”

“Weeks?!” Michelle all but shrieked at him, standing immediately to follow him. “I have a life, you know? I have a job I need to show up at!”

Mateo sighed, having known the conversation was going to be rough before he’d even brought it up. “Actually,” he turned to face her, doing his best to look at ease and confident, hoping to calm her down with his suave demeanour. “As far as your job is concerned, you’re going out of town for a while to take care of a very ill relative.”

Dumbfounded shock replaced the anger... momentarily. “I beg your pardon?” the woman seethed.

“It’s been arranged. A few weeks of carefree fun in the sun… or snow, if you’d rather go somewhere cold.”

Michelle didn’t know which irate sentence was about to fly out of her mouth first. The audacity of someone to simply interfere with her life like this. It was unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

“You’re unbelievable!” was all she could say.

“Why, thank you,” Mateo answered charmingly, knowing full well it hadn’t been a compliment.

Michelle stood with her hand on her cocked hip, the other hand making useless motions in the air. “You just decided to… just went ahead and… UGH!!” She stormed out of the tiny bathroom. Pacing back and forth in front of the bed, she suddenly stopped and looked over at the black television screen, her eyes narrowing as she began piecing things together. “You’re getting rid of me,” she said in a quiet statement, her eyes closing. She felt Mateo slide into her personal space, and though wanting nothing more than to push him through the window behind him, she allowed him to circle her with strong arms and hold her close to him.

“Nonsense,” he said, reassuringly. “I’m going to be catching up with you eventually. I mean, it’s not as if I can just skip town in the middle of a family crisis, and especially not before burying my father, now can I?” Mateo placed a chaste kiss on the temple of the distraught woman.

“Where am I supposed to go?”

“Anywhere you want, darling. The world is at your beck and call.“ The wealthy heir was doing his best to make the whole ordeal sound like an adventure.

The younger woman couldn’t believe it. Pushing him away from her slowly, she looked straight into his eyes. “How much trouble am I in?” she asked, resigning herself to the knowledge that she had brought this upon herself.

“What makes you think–” Mateo was cut off by a wave of a hand.

“I’m not naïve,” Michelle answered, and then flashed a contemplative look. “Though I’m sure that’s why you picked me, isn’t it?” She asked, accusingly. “What trouble could the dumb blonde pose to your grand schemes?” She snorted and moved to sit on the bed.

Realizing he wasn’t going to win the woman over with his words and good looks any longer, Mateo went over to lean against a dresser and folded his arms. Clearly it was time to drop the act. “The police have received information. Of course they’re going to discover that this information was falsified, and they may decide to start looking for whoever it was that lied to them.”

The woman on the bed covered her face with her hands.

“There’s no way to trace the calls back to you, so don’t start getting over-dramatic about it.”

The glare that Michelle shot at the arrogant man was nothing short of piercing. “Again…” she said. “Unbelievable.”

“Yes, you hate me right now. Understandable, I suppose,“ he said with an annoying smoothness in his voice. “But as you yourself just said, you aren’t naïve.  Are you, my Sweet?”

“Asshole!”

Mateo raised a pointed finger into the air. “A filthy rich asshole, who holds the key to a very lavish lifestyle, if you`re willing to go along for the ride.” He pushed himself away from the dresser drawers and walked over to the bed, sitting slowly down beside her. He brushed strands of long blonde hair away from her face as she stared at her feet. “You see… I’m going to be just fine. I have a very large safety net, Querida.” His words were threatening, even as they dripped from his mouth like warm honey. “You may want to consider staying on my side with this.”

Michelle closed her eyes and let out a long, anguished sigh.

“I hate you,” she whispered.

Mateo reached out a finger under her chin to draw her face towards him. Leaning forward, he placed a patronizingly sweet kiss on the defeated woman’s lips. When he pulled away slowly he gave her a flippant smile and winked.

“I’m used to it.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Olivia unlocked the door to the suite shortly after alerting the woman across the hall that Emma had gone to bed. She looked around the grand living-room, unconsciously checking to make sure it was clutter free. Satisfied that the place looked decent, she quickly went to her purse in search of her mirrored compact. As she arranged her hair and checked her makeup, Olivia looked herself in the eyes and hesitated.

“What the hell is the matter with you? You aren’t going on a date!” She tossed the compact back in the purse with a disgusted sigh.

“If you were, the only thing you’d need to rethink are the shoes. The rest is… well, sufficient.”

The startled older woman spun around, not having heard the door open. Natalia quietly closed the door, smiling at having caught Olivia lecturing herself.

“Sufficient, huh?” Olivia asked with a crooked grin.

Natalia chuckled. “Well, unless the date involved taking me out paint-balling followed by a Big Mac at McDonalds. In that case you’d be spectacularly overdressed.” Natalia moved to where Olivia was standing and lightly tossed her purse over the back of the couch to land in the corner of a cushion, next to Olivia’s.

“Hi,” Olivia said softly, letting the embarrassment of the moment pass with the meaningful look in the other woman’s eyes.

“Hello,” Natalia smiled.

Both women seemed to want to say more, but neither knew the words. Finally, in an attempt to avoid an awkward moment, Olivia pointed to the couch. “Have a seat, I’ll be right with you,” she said as she walked to the kitchen. “If you’re hungry I could order something from the kitchen.” She called over her shoulder as she procured two wine glasses from a cupboard above the sink and reached with the other hand to grab a bottle of rosé wine from the counter. “Though, if you were, I’m sure you would have done that… considering you own the kitchen.” She shook her head and turned to walk back into the living room. “You’ll have to excuse me, I sometimes go into Mommy-Mode: a place where no one on earth can take care of themselves without my smothering care.” She rolled her eyes at herself and placed the glasses on the coffee-table.

Natalia watched as Olivia poured the wine and smiled when a glass was handed to her. She waited until Olivia had sat down on the chair, diagonal to the couch. “You don’t have to apologize for being caring and nurturing; those are amazing qualities to have.” 

“Mmph,” Olivia disagreed semi-verbally while sipping her wine, then swallowed and laughed lightly. “Amazing for a mother of a small child, yes. For a self-made millionaire who is desperately trying to keep her sovereign position above the boys of the Gentleman’s Club? Not so much.”

The brunette smirked and nodded. “I see your point.” She shifted to draw one leg over the other and arranged her body until it was angled to face Olivia directly. “You don’t have to be afraid of me,” she said, her eyes dropping to her wine glass.

“Afraid of you?” Olivia asked, completely confused. “Why on earth would you think I’m–” Before she could finish she noticed Natalia point at the chair she was in, and then move her head to motion to the large expanse of free space next to herself on the couch.

“I promise I won’t make another pass at you or anything,” Natalia added, her cheeks glowing a faint red as she spoke.

Olivia sighed, jokingly. “Now where’s the fun in making promises like that?” she quipped and then slowly moved to the couch.  

“I’m sorry I kissed you earlier,” Natalia confessed. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Olivia took another sip of her wine and reached forward to place her glass on the table. She sat back and took a long breath. “Okay… I’m going to give you a lesson on how to deal with women.” She waited as Natalia laughed. “Because you are obviously a bit clueless as to how the female mind works. But the last thing a girl wants to hear from someone they’re interested in, is ‘I’m sorry I kissed you.’”

Natalia tried to stop smiling. “You know what I meant, smartass.”

Olivia chuckled and mimicked the position of Natalia’s body. “Of course I do,” she replied. “Besides, no one can kiss these lips and then proclaim to be ‘sorry’ about it… come on,” she said triumphantly with an added wink.

Natalia shook her head and smiled, then took a sip of her wine. She was silently grateful that Olivia was willing to let the earlier event slide in such a light-hearted manner.

“Listen,” Olivia started, her tone sounding much more serious. “I know where we stand on the whole… you know… us thing.” She held out her hand when she saw that Natalia was about to interject. “And it’s okay, really. This is about you right now. I want to help, no strings attached.” She reached again for her wine. “It’s actually a good thing that I let go of the merger… saves me having to fight as hard to prove that.”

Natalia blinked in confusion, wondering if she had heard the blonde correctly.

When no words were forthcoming, Olivia lowered her glass. “What’s the matter?”

“What do mean you let go of the merger? When did that happen?” Natalia’s brows were furrowed in both inquiry and contemplation.

“I think it was shortly after you told me to leave the hotel… and your life,” Olivia stated. “You didn’t know?” She saw the dumbfounded expression on the other woman’s face as the answer to her question. She then closed her eyes, remembering that Natalia’s life was in complete disarray at the moment. “Shit, of course you didn’t know. Hell, I’d even forgotten until a few minutes ago. I’m sorry, I–”

“You didn’t say anything…”

“Well, you’ve sort of had some far more urgent issues to deal with.”

True.

“So you don’t want the merger?” Natalia was confused. She knew how much the merger had meant to Olivia’s business. Even though she had always made a point of denouncing it as a possible reality, the other hotelier had never backed down. She didn’t know whether to be shocked or relieved. Perhaps both?

“I didn’t say that.”

Olivia watched the wheels turning in Natalia’s mind. She had given up on the idea of a merger being possible when she saw that Natalia truly couldn’t handle having to deal with such a decision at the present time. She also knew that if the Empire was going to merge with another company, there were probably a handful of other hotel chains that would have been a better fit to the new mould than her smaller Beacon enterprise. Not to mention that her heart was becoming involved in the whole deal, and she saw a rejection of the merger as being much more personal than the rejection of a regular business transaction. Yet, the fact that there was no longer a deal on the table did not mean that there were no more feelings involved. Olivia was hoping that she had just proven that to Natalia in a rather significant way.

“If you still want it, why are you–” Natalia stopped when Olivia looked down at her fingers as they fidgeted with stem of her glass.

She’s doing this for me, the younger woman realized silently.

“What can I say? You gotta know when to hold ‘em…” Olivia didn’t finish the rest of the song lyrics, knowing she didn’t need to.

“I don’t know what to say.”

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. “There’s nothing to say,” she said, and then quickly amended, “I mean, of course there’s stuff that probably needs to be said, but I’m very okay with leaving that for another day. We’re here to deal with the things that really matter. So…”

Natalia continued to stare. “Right, yeah, okay,” was all she could say.

“So, I’ve been doing some thinking,” Olivia started, hoping they could shift the topic of conversation. “The only thing that could get the local authorities involved would be if something out of the ordinary showed up in the medical reports, right?”

“I’m presuming it did, since that agent all but called me a murderer.” Natalia lamented, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

“I don’t really think that’s what he was doing here, Natalia. He irrefutably lacked any resemblance of tact, sure, but you haven’t been accused of anything.” She saw Natalia roll her eyes and open her mouth to speak, but Olivia quickly cut her off with a sharp look and a pointed finger. “And don’t you dare say anything about having killed your father with your words, or I’m going to reach across this couch and smack some sense into you. Got it?”

Natalia raised her hand in compliance.

“Since no one is offering you any information as to what is going on down at the coroner’s office, I suggest we grab one of your ‘boatload’ of lawyers, and go pay a visit to the office ourselves. There has to be some sort of ‘freedom of information’ speech we can spew at them.”

“Information is one thing… clearing my name from suspicion and being able to peacefully bury my father would be great too.” Natalia’s cell began to vibrate in her purse. “One sec, sorry.” She set her glass down and opened the purse to retrieve her cell phone. Reading the name on the caller ID, she huffed and immediately threw the phone back into the handbag.

“Dare I ask?” Olivia inquired.

“The hotel’s Media Liaison,” Natalia answered, and sat back, placing both hands over her eyes. “No doubt she’s calling me to tell me that my photo has just aired on America’s Most Wanted.”

“She probably needs to go over whatever public statement your lawyers have deemed suitable for print.”

Natalia dropped her hands and gave the other woman a sideways glance. “Been in the Springfield news a lot, have you?”

Olivia sighed. “You have no idea.”

“Nor do I think I want one.” Natalia reclaimed her wine and sat back further into the couch.

The blonde pointed to the window. “All of that out there is just hype. You know that, right?”

“Sure,” Natalia answered. “But it is hype that could potentially get me fired from my own company.”

Olivia looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well okay, ‘demoted’ would be the better term, but regardless – declared innocent or not – I stand to lose a hell of a lot if the stockholders believe for a second that I’m unfit to run the Empire brand. All I’d have control over would be the non-stock properties.”

There was more than one thing that didn’t sit right with that revelation, but Olivia couldn’t quite put her finger on it. That the woman who lived and breathed the welfare of her family’s company could lose it all based on hearsay was truly upsetting. Who could be better for the position? “Surely the stockholders can’t all be narrow-minded idiots,” Olivia offered in Natalia’s defense.

“Scandals damage the public’s confidence in a company, which in turn damages the flow of income that company generates. Stockholders are money driven. They don’t give a damn whether it’s hearsay or not, just that it’s been said.”

“So if there is anything behind the M.E.’s decision to investigate further, we need to find out exactly what it is – and more importantly, who is actually responsible.”

“We’re going to go full on Cagney and Lacey then?” Natalia smirked.

“More like Emily and J.J. from Criminal Minds. They’re much hotter.” Olivia winked when Natalia laughed, then let her smile fade when the worried expression crept back over the other woman’s face. “Hey.” She reached over to place a hand over Natalia’s. “We are going to figure this out.” She tried for a reassuring smile, which Natalia managed to mimic though her mood didn’t match.

“Well, if we don’t, you can go ahead and put in a resume to the stockholders.” Natalia sighed.

“Never.” Olivia shook her head. “I’d feel too bad about it all and I’d have to force myself to pretend that I couldn’t run your company better than you.”

“Now see, that is the perfect way to insure that I don’t hit on you again,” she said, folding her arms in defiance. “False bravado. Couldn’t be less sexy.”

“I will have you know, Rivera, there ain’t nothing ‘false’ about my ‘bravado’.” Olivia countered with the air-quotes and a devilish grin. She purposefully ignored the voice in her head that told her to stop flirting. As long as they stayed on their own sides of the couch she was determined to keep the mood as light as possible.

“Is there more wine?” Natalia asked.

Yes, and that’s so not going to help with the 'staying on our own side' rule, Olivia thought to herself as she reached for Natalia’s empty glass. “Sure, as long as you call for a designated driver to get you home safely.” She left the couch and walked towards the kitchen to top up both cups.

“I’m wanted for murder, not drinking and hallway-crossing,” Natalia called over the back of the couch. “Just promise me you won’t drug me again, and we’ll be fine.”

“Dammit, you should’ve spoken up before I spiked your wine.”

The two women laughed and Olivia re-joined Natalia on the couch, handing her a full glass of wine and settling down with her own.

“Now, we’ve established that we are going to kick some Medical Examiner's ass tomorrow. Why don’t we talk about something else for a while?”

“What did you have in mind?” Natalia asked, eager to steer the conversation into any other direction than that of her current life crisis.

“Whatever you’d like. Fashion, film… anything else that begins with the letter F that I can use for some skilful alliteration.”

Natalia raised an eyebrow. “You knew that saying ‘the letter F’ was going to get my mind wandering.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” Olivia proclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes.

“Mmhm. Nice try.”

Olivia sighed. “Fine. Fashion it is.”

“Okay, well, we could start by talking about how you have zero taste in it,” the brunette said, jestingly.

Olivia gasped. “Fine. Fashion it isn’t!” She tapped her manicured fingernail against her glass. “I suppose I could tell you all about myself, but we’d be here for days.”

“Why? Because you’re nearly half a century old?” Natalia hid her grin behind the guise of taking another sip of wine.

Olivia grabbed the pillow that was behind her elbow and tossed it at the younger woman’s legs. “I am NOT!” She huffed indignantly. “I meant because there are so many luxurious layers to my perfect personality, thank you very much!”

Natalia took a large sip of her wine, letting luscious liquid warm her from the inside out, helping her become more relaxed with each passing minute. She reached out a hand and patted the other woman on the thigh several times. “Well, Spence, we’re in luck, because I’ve got allll night.”

When the younger woman withdrew her hand Olivia couldn’t be sure if Natalia had meant for those words to be as double-edged as they had sounded.

She also took a large sip of wine, suddenly feeling the need to be as equally relaxed.

All night, she pondered, secretly hating that the same voice of reason that had pulled her away from Natalia earlier that afternoon was trying to shake her from the ensuing tantalizing daydreams.


Fabulous!

Chapter 49

"Borrrred!" whined Emma as she swung her arms above the floor while practically hanging over the back of the sofa. She lifted her head as much as she could to yell towards her mother, who was searching through her cell phone for a number. "Can we go to the beach?" the little girl asked, staring at the carpet.

Olivia gave the child a quick sideways glance and returned to searching. "Hey, Monkey-Girl, we aren't at home. Take it easy on the furniture." Upon finding the correct number, she pressed 'dial' and made her way over to the window overlooking the front of the hotel.

"Can we go to the movies?" the little girl asked loudly.

"Mommy's on the phone, give me a few minutes, Baby." Olivia pushed open the curtain to view the street below. "Jacques, hello. This is Olivia Spencer calling."

"Ms. Spencer, Good Evening. I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to talk to you about the merger, I'm sure you can understand that things are very chaotic around here."

"Oh no, that isn't why I'm calling; actually I've taken the proposition off the table."

"You have? I'm sorry, I hadn't been made aware..."

"I need to ask you if you have any idea why a federal agent was just here in Natalia's suite, grilling her about her father's death?"

"You're still here?... with Natalia??"

Olivia sighed, not feeling like explaining herself. "Yes, I am. The agent, Jacques?"

The Frenchman cleared his throat. "I don't have any information about it at this time, Ms. Spencer, but I can assure you I am doing everything I can to get to the bottom of it."

Olivia took note of the defensive tone. "Of course. I'm sure you are." She dropped her hold on the curtain and let it fall back into place, turning to glance over at her daughter, who was now kneeling at the coffee table, trying to balance a remote on its top end but having no luck.

"What is being done about the crowd of reporters?"

"Everything that can be done about them, which isn't very much when sensationalists feel the need to create drama where there is none for the sake of 'ratings'."

Olivia could hear the bitter tension in the older gentleman's voice.

"I apologize, I'm very busy here, Ms. Spencer. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No, Jacques, sorry to disturb you." Olivia responded, unsure if she'd really meant it.

"I will be calling Natalia, directly, the moment I have a clearer understanding of what's going on. Good day, Ms. Spencer."

With that the phone clicked to a dial tone.

"Way to make a girl feel wanted, Jacques," Olivia huffed, though she silently respected the man for wanting to protect the family business – and Natalia – from 'outsiders'.

"Mom, if we can't go to the movies, can we at least play some games or something?"

Olivia moved back into the kitchen and leaned against the island counter. "I'm sorry you're bored, honey. I wasn't expecting that we'd be staying here any longer."

The girl came around the other side of the marble countertop and began the remote balancing act in front of her mother.

"The thing is, I'm pretty sure that Natalia isn't going to want to play any games right now, honey."

"Natalia doesn't like playing games?" Emma asked with furrowed brows.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sure if she ever tried, she'd be very good at it, Sweetie, but right now there is a bunch of sad things happening, and she probably doesn't feel like doing anything fun at the moment."

"I think that's the perfect time for fun," the child said matter-of-factly.

"On any other day it would be." Olivia glanced down the hallway towards the sound of the shower running. She looked at her watch and guessed that Natalia had been in the bathroom for nearly twenty minutes. She also noticed that it was only late afternoon and that she had to find a way to entertain Emma for five more hours before the child's bedtime.

"Soooo booorrred!" Emma whined again, putting her cheek on the counter and wrapping an arm over her face.

Olivia straightened. "Okay, what do you say you and I take off for a bit and go get crazy in the big city?"

Emma jumped up and down. "Can we go and watch a movie and eat junk-food?" she asked excitedly.

Olivia shook her head and smiled. "No, we can go watch a movie and have a small bag of pop-corn, then partake of a healthy dinner consisting of lots of healthy vegetables and proteins.”

Emma rolled her eyes. "Ew, I'm starting to get bored again thinking about vegetables."

Her mother gasped and quickly moved around the island, capturing the little girl in a loose hug and tickling her side, causing the girl to giggle loudly. "You stop being cheeky, or I'll bring steamed broccoli to the theater!"

Emma broke away and ran for the safety of the couch. Olivia watched her go and her smile faded somewhat. She didn't feel comfortable leaving Natalia alone for the evening, but she knew it wasn't fair to keep Emma cooped up in the suite all day, and as there was a sea of reporters with video cameras outside waiting for her, she knew the other woman wouldn't want to step foot outside the hotel.

"Get your shoes on and get ready to go. I'll tell Natalia we're leaving."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The first sound Natalia heard when she turned off the water was the light-hearted laughter of a little girl. She could hear mother and child teasing each other in the kitchen, giggling to themselves, and it made her smile even through the tears. It was an unfamiliar sound, certainly a new experience for the walls of her hotel suite; a place that rarely ever saw visitors except for the maids and bellhops. In fact, she couldn't remember having guests in her illustrious suite for years. She hadn't anyone to invite up to her room. Friends had proved to be untrustworthy, either looking for handouts from the heiress, or using her to establish publicity for themselves. More often than not the gossip and rumors that splattered themselves all over the tabloids essentially came from someone claiming to be a 'friend'. Amicable acquaintances could be maintained at an arms length on the ground floors. And lovers? Using such terminology to describe her sexual partners had always seemed rather ridiculous to Natalia. Natalia chose encounters with men who had a paramount desire for discretion. Wealthy men, or men of power, who were too busy trying to keep their own ghosts in their closets to care about her own. Sex happened in unfamiliar surroundings, neutral territory for both parties where it could easily be left behind.

And she always left it behind.

Natalia had purposefully made life revolve around her work. There was little room for anything else. There was no time for friendships or romantic entanglements. Though she did her best to be pleasant and treat people with respect, she had very few connections with other individuals whom she didn't actually employ, or need to deal with regularly for the sake of the company. The person she spoke to the most throughout the day was her secretary, whom she admired for her work ethic and attention to detail, yet knew little about outside the office. Sheila had a husband named Albert, or Rob. Maybe Robert? And a child of some gender. The next person she dealt with each day was her Chief of Staff. Bi-daily calls to give orders and get reports. Random calls to the heads of all the different departments within the company, and a few five-minute conversations with long-standing employees who had never been too intimidated by her position in the company to try and get to know her a little better. Smiles and handshakes from wealthy and/or famous guests – regular visitors of the hotel who required a certain air of diplomacy and a faked intimacy to make them feel as important as they thought themselves to be. Natalia couldn't stand most of the aristocracy that kept her family's business running, and yet it was her ability to make them feel like royalty that kept them coming back.

Her days were full of human interactions. So many that Natalia hadn't much time to reflect on the irony of the lonely existence she'd created for herself. And if she ever did have a free moment to think about it, she would call her father. At the end of the hectic day, it would be his voice that would remind her that she wasn't alone. All of the efforts of the day seemed worth it when she heard the hint of pride in her father's voice. She was fulfilling the destiny that they both had created for her. How could she ever feel lonely when she was surrounded by so many accomplishments?

As she wrapped herself in a large white towel and dried off her cooling skin, she let the sounds from the other room wash over her. Unfamiliar as they were, they were welcomed, and the laughter from the family in the other room soothed her even as it threatened to fill her with a nagging sense of regret.

There was a gentle knocking at the bathroom door.

"Natalia?" Olivia's voice called from the other side of the door. Natalia knew the other woman was checking up on her.

Honest concern, the younger woman thought as she quickly pulled a fluffy white robe from a hanger beside the door and put it on, tying it haphazardly around her waist. Something else I'm not familiar with. She opened the door about a foot, and steam from the hot shower billowed out into the hall.

"Geez, Rivera, it's a damned good thing you're the one paying the water bill around here." Olivia made an exaggerated wave of her hand to clear the air.

Natalia leaned against the doorframe and flashed a barely-there smile. "I'm just finishing up," she said. "And before you ask, I'm fine." She was suddenly grateful for the water that had washed away her tears and made it seem as though her cheeks were flushed due to its temperature. She herself could almost believe her own declaration.

Olivia, however, knew better. "No, you're not," she responded gently with a smile to match the other woman's. "And that wasn't what I was going to ask you."

The shorter woman shivered as the cool air outside the room swirled around damp skin not covered by the robe. She reached out for Olivia's right wrist and opened the bathroom door wider to draw her into the steam-filled room. "Ask your question in here; it's freezing out there."

Olivia allowed herself to be lead into the heated room, but when the door closed she made a point of standing with her back directly against it.

Natalia turned to look into the mirror and began running her fingers through still dripping locks of dark brown hair, seemingly unaware of the distance the other woman was making sure was between them. It wasn't until she caught the reflection of the Olivia's eyes in the mirror that she realized that she had drawn the other woman into her slightly intimate personal space. "Okay, so..." She turned and leaned against the counter, supporting some of her weight with her hands on the side of the countertop. "You were going to ask me something?"

Olivia was at that moment forcing her eyes to maintain contact with Natalia's and not wander downward to the long expanse of naked leg that could be seen where the robe had opened slightly. She was here to talk about the evening. She kept reminding herself of this, and yet she couldn't help but be marginally distracted, and she chided herself for it when she saw the recognition in Natalia's eyes and the somewhat sly smile she was now being given. "Um, yes," she managed to say evenly while bringing her focus back to her original mission. "I wanted to let you know that I've arranged for Emma's babysitter to fly back here first thing in the morning." She paused as Natalia moved from the sink to cross over to the other side of the room where she picked up another towel to start drying her hair.

"Okay?" Natalia said, encouraging Olivia to finish her spiel.

"That means that Emma is going to be here with us, and awake for quite a few more hours." She continued. "And as entertained as she is by cartoons, we can't keep her locked away in your room the whole evening."

Natalia stopped squeezing the excess water from her hair with the towel. "Right, of course not." She leaned back against the sink once again with a thoughtful expression. "And she isn't going to be very interested in discussions of hijacked bodies and asshole FBI agents." She tossed the damp towel into a laundry basket underneath the sink.

"Exactly," Olivia added. "So I was thinking maybe we should postpone our plans until she's in bed. I can take her down to the shops for a bit, feed her and whatnot." She again paused as Natalia opened a cabinet in the corner of the room and stretched her body to reach her hair dryer from the top shelf. Task at hand, task at hand, she kept reminding herself. She knew that Natalia was most likely not aware of the effect her movements were having on her, but even if she were, there was a certain amount of propriety necessary right now that she had to get a handle on. "I'm pretty sure you aren't up to tagging along, which is totally understandable... I just wanted to let you know, maybe give you the option... y'know." Olivia finished awkwardly.

Natalia hesitated as she took in the fact that Olivia seemed unsure of herself in that moment, almost distracted. And when she saw the other woman's gaze finally run along her naked thigh, she knew what that distraction was.

Distractions aren't always a bad thing, she heard her mind say as she stood up slowly from the counter. "Yeah, I don't think I would be very good company," she said when the pair of green eyes met hers once again. "I can't seem to get out of my head long enough to stop crying."

Olivia kept her eyes on the darker ones across the room. "I know." She flashed an empathetic look. "We will leave for a bit and give you some time alone."

Alone. The word reverberated through Natalia's brain and caused a wave of emptiness to roll violently in the pit of her stomach.

Keeping her own fear in check, she took a deep breath and moved closer to Olivia. "You'll come back later? Emma can sleep here." She was losing the stability in her voice. "Or you can call me when she goes to bed. I can come over there, if... whatever you want."

Olivia could sense the vulnerability. It was a rare occurrence, seeing the younger woman so fragile. She wanted to move forward and wrap her arms around Natalia. To protect her from her thoughts and feelings. But she didn't dare. Not the way her mind and body were reacting to even the subtlest movement of the half-naked woman in front of her. God, get a hold of yourself, Spencer! She lectured her libido even as Natalia stepped closer. The fragrance of flowery shampoo wafted around her, and Olivia took it in with a long breath that she released in a sigh. "Yeah, okay." She managed to retrain her brain to focus, momentarily. "We won't be gone too long, and I will call you as soon as Emma falls asleep. You can come over and we will work out what our next moves should be... with the detective... and the, uh..." Natalia was now in front of her, inches away. "...the coroner."

The brunette stretched out her arms and wrapped them around the taller woman's neck. She drew Olivia down into a gentle hug that seemed rather innocuous. A simple, innocent gesture of a grieving woman searching for comfort. Olivia trusted her willpower enough to accept that if Natalia was about to lose control, that she herself would have to be the one to maintain it. It wasn't until Natalia turned her head slightly to whisper "Thank you" past her ear that Olivia discovered what a test of resolve this 'hug' was going to become.  She inadvertently squeezed the smaller woman tighter against her when a warm breath breezed across her neck, and Natalia answered with a small sound that Olivia's brain was desperately trying not to translate into a moan of desire.

Natalia herself didn't know the meaning of the sound. She only knew that it felt wonderful to be enfolded by Olivia's arms, to feel safe and much less alone than she had felt in days. She realized that she was now clinging to the older woman, and she couldn't let go.

Okay, this can't be left entirely up to me, Olivia groaned inwardly, torn between wanting to feel the close connection as well as not wanting to let the moment slip into the grey area where selfishness resided. "Well, then." She lightly placed her hand on Natalia's shoulders and gently pushed herself back. "I should probably get back to the kitchen and let Emma know that we will be leaving."

Leaving. "No!" Natalia quickly commanded in a firmer tone than she had intended. "Not yet," Natalia pleaded. "Just a few more minutes." She snaked her arms around Olivia's waist, and settled the length of her body flush against the slender one in front of hers.

Olivia was trapped. She knew it, and struggled not to accept it, keeping her arms at her sides and the palms of her hands flat against the door behind her even as her body betrayed her and pressed forward slightly to feel more heat from the body against hers. She understood why Natalia was making this advance, and that the timing of it was rather inappropriate for several reasons, yet her eyes involuntarily closed when once again she felt Natalia's breath against her neck. A shiver spread itself out deliciously from her shoulder blades and down her spine.

Natalia slowly placed a tentative kiss upon the spot that her breath was warming – just a whisper of a touch – and reveled in the sudden rush of air that it pushed from Olivia's lungs. She paused to see whether Olivia would push her away again or begin to play along, but Olivia didn't move. She aimed another kiss at the side of the long throat and felt Olivia move her head to the side to give her better access. She let her tongue slip past her lips to taste the soft skin.

Olivia fought to keep her hands still and remain in control, but the reality of what Natalia was offering was waging a war against her willpower. "Natalia," she tried to put an end to the slow ministrations of Natalia's lips against her neck. "This isn't a good idea," she said, her trembling voice doing nothing to make her sound convincing.

The brunette drew back far enough to be able to look into Olivia's worried eyes. She ignored the woman's weak protest and she raised her hand to glide her fingertips along Olivia's jawline. She couldn't help but smile seductively when she passed her thumb lightly across Olivia's soft, full lower lip. Seeing the look of concern mixing with lust on the other woman's face caused Natalia to feel a need so strong it hit her like a sucker-punch to the gut.

"I disagree," she said in a silky low tone. "I think this could a very, very good idea." She drew Olivia slowly down to her. She wanted to kiss instead of think. Wanted to touch instead of worry. Passion was something she could actually control, and when she felt Olivia's lips against her own, she was done with thought. Nothing else needed to exist at that moment but delicious sensations. She needed more. She sought to deepen the kiss, trying to capture the luscious lower lip between hers, and Olivia allowed it for a few seconds before began putting up resistance, gently prying herself away an inch.

"Natalia, wait...

Olivia's eyes were glued to the sensual lips that had just left her own. She felt the familiar tendrils of desire that bade her to move in for another kiss, but she quickly decided against it.  I choose now to discover my conscience... wonderful! she lamented, though she knew that no matter how badly her body craved the contact, there was not enough desire in the world that could make it okay to take advantage of Natalia's fragile state. She was fairly certain that it was indeed grief that was controlling Natalia's movements.

"We can't do this," she said with a somewhat laboured breath. It didn't sound as adamant as she had hoped, but admittedly she was simultaneously trying to convince herself.

Natalia loosened her grip around the taller woman's waist and staggered back a step, the look on her face going from confusion, to embarrassment, and then to dismay in rapid succession. She had thrown herself at the older woman in attempt to rescue herself from the sea of hurt in which she was drowning.  She knew there was no point in trying to hide any of the emotions from her eyes, but she sent her gaze to the floor, unable to look at Olivia.

"It's just..." Olivia continued. Shit, make something up, quick! "Emma..." she pointed to the hallway. "We can't, well... not right now." The broken sentence was all Olivia could come up with in her flustered state. She didn't want her decision to pull away to seem like a rejection.

Natalia brought her eyes up and searched the other woman's face, hoping for a moment that Olivia would change her mind. As her cheeks reddened, she lowered her eyes once more and shook her head in disbelief of her own actions. "No, yeah I know... I don't know why I just..." She attempted to recover herself as she slowly backed up blindly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She pulled the tie of her robe tighter and held the top closed with one hand while the other arm wrapped itself around her waist, backing up until she was once again against the counter.

"Don't apologize. I get it. I just... " God, this is awkward. "Raincheck?" She ended with a weak smile.

The brunette shook her head again and smiled. Taking a deep breath she straightened her shoulders and regained a confident pose. "You wish." She smirked briefly and then gave a look that could have been the equivalent to a non-verbal "Thank-you."

Olivia's own shoulders relaxed somewhat as she rocked back on her heels and clasped her hands together. "So, um, I should..." She motioned to towards to other room and moved to the open the door.

"Yeah, okay. " Natalia said as she turned to face the mirror and resumed combing at wet strands of long hair with her fingers. "And just give me a call later... whenever." The attempt at nonchalance sounded pathetic to her own ears.

The older woman nodded and moved out into the hall, pausing momentarily to catch a glimpse of the sad eyes watching her in the mirror before she closed the door. Although she had done the 'right' thing, she hardly felt like giving herself on pat on the back. In fact, she hesitated in even letting go of the doorknob. She simply stood there staring at the door between her and Natalia. Her usual self-pleasing persona argued with her seldom seen sensitive side. Thoughts such as: "Who am I to govern how this woman grieves? She's a big girl, she knows what she's doing", were warring with the part of her that asked, "Who is this woman and when did she become so much more important to me than my own needs?"

Damn-it, either go back in there or let go of the damn doorknob! Olivia closed her eyes tightly and grimaced as if in physical pain from letting go and moving away. When she passed the living room she called to her daughter. "Okay, Emmabug, let's go get ready to go out. Momma needs to take a shower."



A looong, cold shower!