Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Part 8 - Chapter 6 - Moving On

As soon as Cassandra assured her that she would be fine, Eileen followed Hector to greet their newest guests. She stood silently by, letting Hector be the one to welcome Lawrence and his date to the party and to initiate the introductions. At the moment she didn't feel like she had anything to say.

Lauren had noticed Lawrence's arrival and moved as closely to the group as she could without being noticed by them. She was eager to see who Lawrence's date was so she could size up the latest competition. She was shocked and furious when she recognized Audrey as the woman who she had frightened away from the Stuart-Townsend interview. Lauren hadn't let Audrey get in the way then and she vowed she wouldn't let her get in the way now.

Lawrence kept the conversation with Eileen and Hector brief and excused himself and Audrey as soon as he could.

Eileen and Hector stayed by the door, playing the good hosts and welcoming their guests as they arrived. Eileen tried to stay focused, but she found her eyes kept wandering towards Lawrence and Audrey. Not only did they look like they were having a good time together, but they looked good together as a couple. Eileen knew she should be happy for them and she had no good reason to be jealous, but knowing that didn't change how she felt.

Eileen was chatting with Hector and Chloe about the party when she heard someone else enter the room. When she turned to greet the newest arrivals, she was shocked speechless when she saw Lucy and her butler standing the doorway.

Back at the bar, Andrew looked up from his drink to see a man enter from the backroom.

"Are you going somewhere, honey?" Vanessa asked.

"I've got to go pick up Cassie," he grumbled as he pulled on his jacket. "She went to some friend's party at the convention hall and now she's not feeling well."

Chad suddenly perked up. "Oh, man. I forgot about the party." He stumbled as he stood from the barstool. "I was supposed to be at the convention hall an hour ago. Can you give me a ride?"

The man thought a moment, "Yeah, alright."

"Wait," Andrew interrupted. "Are you sure you want to go now? It's so late, why bother?"

"No, I gotta go," Chad insisted as he started towards the door. "But thanks for the drinks. I owe you one."

Andrew slumped back into his chair and sighed as the two men left the bar. The night had been a total waste.

Andrew's reaction didn't go unnoticed. Vanessa thought he had been acting strangely all evening. Now that they had a moment alone she leaned over the bar and asked him directly, "What are you up to?"

Lucy and Eileen eyed each other silently for what seemed like a long time, neither one knew what to say first.

Finally Eileen broke the ice with a cold remark, "I'm surprised to see you."

Hector was still chatting away about the party, but Eileen had caught Chloe's attention. And Chloe didn't like the way this conversation was starting off. She wondered if she should intervene or stand aside and let her friends work this out themselves.

"Listen, Eileen, I know I'm not wanted here, but I felt like I needed to come. We need to talk."

Eileen shook her head. "You shouldn't have bothered. I already know what you think and I don't have anything new to say to you. I don't need to hear your opinions again. This is my life and I know what's best for me. I don't need you to tell me what I should do or how you think I should live my life."

Lucy sighed, "That's not what I'm trying to do. You're my best friend and I care about you. That's why I can't stand by and watch you make such a huge mistake and not say anything."

"You've said enough already. And I'm not going to stand here and listen to you badmouth my fiance and our engagement. I want you to leave and stay out of our lives from now on."

Lucy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had come here to make amends and only made matters worse. Too upset to speak, she turned and walked out of the room, trying to maintain her composure and her dignity until she was away from the party.

As soon as Lucy and Jordan were gone, Chloe approached Eileen. "What was that?" she scolded.

"I don't know. Can you believe she had the nerve to show up after everything bad she's said about Hector."

"I wasn't talking about Lucy. I was talking about you. How could you be so rude?"

"Me?"

"Come on, Eileen. You and Lucy have been friends forever. You know she wouldn't have shown up here to start trouble. The only reason she would come tonight is to make up with you. You didn't even give her a chance."

"Well, she didn't act like it. When she stops calling my engagement a mistake, then maybe I'll believe that," Eileen said and walked away.

Meanwhile, Cassandra's father, Sebastian, and Chad had arrived at the reception hall. Chad was about to thank Sebastian for the ride, but he suddenly felt sick and ran for the men's room.

Cassandra, who had been waiting in the hallway, walked over to meet her father. "I'm so sorry you had to come get me. I tried to call Zara, but she wasn't home."

"Don't worry about it. Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I just have a headache. I think there's just too many people here," she said, leaving out most of the story.

As Sebastian turned to leave, he glanced inside the room at the party and spotted someone familiar. "Who is that man on the dance floor in the brown suit? Do you know?"

Cassandra looked inside. "Yes. I've heard Eileen talk about him. His name is Lawrence." When a strange look passed over her father's face, she asked eagerly, "Do you know him?"

"No," Sebastian answered quickly. "But I want you to stay away from him."

Lauren hadn't taken her eyes off Lawrence and his date since they walked into the party. She watched them from a distance as they sat together at a table, eating and chatting. The way Audrey leaned towards Lawrence and laughed at his jokes, made Lauren sick. She thought Audrey's actions were so fake.

When she saw the couple head towards the dance floor, she knew she had to do something drastic. She waited until Audrey excused herself to freshen up and then followed her towards the ladies' room.

As Audrey started to open the restroom door she felt a hand grab her by the arm. When she turned around she saw Lauren standing behind her. It only took her a moment to remember where they had met before.

"What do you want from me?" Audrey cried out.

"Don't you get a hint? Lawrence is mine, so stay away from him. This is twice now you've tried to come between us and if you don't back off, I'll make you regret it."

Audrey took a step back, afraid of what Lauren might do next. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Is there a problem here?" R.J. interrupted.

"Yes," Audrey spoke up, relieved that she was no longer alone with Lauren. "She's insane. This is the woman who kept me from going to my interview, now she's attacking me for going on a date tonight."

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," R.J. said calmly and forcefully escorted a resistant Lauren out of the building.

Audrey stood in the hallway, watching them until they were out of the building. She didn't know what was going to happen next or what R.J. planned to do, but she was glad to see Lauren go.

She was about to go back to the party and join Lawrence, when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Audrey?"

The sound of his voice made her breath catch in her throat. She didn't have to turn around to know who it was, but she did anyway.
"It is you," he said as he saw her face.

"Chad," she said slowly, momentarily at a loss for words. She had never expected to run into him here and he seemed just as surprised to see her. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Europe or somewhere . . .not here."

"I'm here for the wedding," Chad replied. "Hector's an old college buddy of mine." An awkward moment of silence passed before Chad said, "So this is where you ran off to, of all places. Talk about coincidence."

"Please don't," Audrey said and started to turn away.

"Come on, don't be like that. I know I deserve it. I did some really dumb things, but I really did care about you. I still do."

Audrey looked back at him for a moment. When she saw his blurred eyes and smelled the alcohol on his breath, she had to turn away from him. "Nothing's changed," she said with disgust and walked away.

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