Holiday Chapter 11 (long) -- Leigh's Stories

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Date Posted: 19:08:35 09/13/01 Thu
Author: Leigh
Subject: Holiday Chapter 11 (long)
In reply to: Leigh 's message, "Holiday" on 22:56:37 09/12/01 Wed

The head table was set for six; Madeline, Paul, Nikita, Birkoff, Carla and Michael. After announcing that dinner was about to start, Nikita arranged for another setting to be added to their table and invited a reluctant Chris to join them. "Please," she said, when he began to protest. "You can help me put Birkoff at ease, he's still a little upset about this party."

Chris didn't have any qualms about dining at the same table as Nikita and her family; he'd worked close enough to them over the years to be comfortable in their presence. It was Nikita's friend, Carla, which caused him to hesitate.

"Well?" Nikita tugged lightly at his arm.

"All right," Chris finally relented. It was just dinner, but the thought of being so close to Carla over the next hour or so set his heart beating faster and made his palms feel sweaty. He hoped he didn't drop his fork or knock over a glass.

"Good!" Nikita was inwardly relieved. Though what she said about Birkoff was true, she didn't kid herself of the real reason behind her insistence that Chris join their table. That reason was Michael Samuelle. As much as she told herself that her attraction to the French man was perfectly natural given how handsome he was, a part of her was alarmed also at the strength of her attraction to him. Maybe, she considered silently, she should let Chris continue to deal with Mr. Samuelle directly and he could report to her. That was a workable idea.

***

Nikita had Chris sit to her left. Birkoff sat on his other side, then Carla, Michael, Madeline and Paul. Carla, bless her soul, was her usual lively self. She and Madeline and Paul kept the conversation during dinner interesting and varied. Nikita listened with interest as Michael answered questions that were directed at him about his business. Even Birkoff was drawn out of his shell by Carla's easy personality and was soon smiling and showing signs of genuinely enjoying the evening. Only Chris seemed very quiet. At one point, while the others were engrossed in a story Paul was telling, Nikita leaned slightly toward Chris and spoke low enough so that only he could hear, "Everything okay?" she asked.

He nodded. "Fine."

"You know, you're welcome to join in on the conversation," Nikita whispered.

Chris smiled and looked slightly embarrassed. "Sorry."

From across the table, Michael surreptitiously observed Nikita and Chris's whispered conversation. Was there something going on between the two, he wondered? Nikita didn't strike him as the type to be involved in an office romance, especially after the comment she had made the first day they had met about work being her life. But, then again, she was the CEO's daughter and could probably do anything she wanted. Michael frowned as he lowered his gaze to his plate.

Unknown to Michael, Carla had seen him looking at Nikita and she sighed inwardly. Nikita was such a ditz sometimes. Couldn't Nikita see that the Frenchman was attracted to her? But, then again, being Nikita, maybe she didn't. She was so clueless when it came to men. Just look at all the men she'd been involved with in the past; none of them were suitable for her. And often the only reason Nikita agreed to go out with them was because she couldn't get them to go away. Dating was Nikita's round about method of turning someone down gently. She'd go out to dinner with them once or twice, more often if she enjoyed their company, and then she'd let her busy schedule take it's toll on the relationship. Carla was surprised Stephen had lasted as long as he did, usually the men gave up after a few weeks and it became obvious that Nikita was avoiding them.

Carla glanced momentarily at the bald headed man seated next to Nikita. Chris Davenport. Carla didn't know him too well but she knew that Nikita liked working with him. She'd said before that Chris wasn't very talkative but he was dependable and always got the job done.

Another thought occurred to Carla. Wouldn't it be hilarious if Nikita ended up marrying someone like Chris? It wasn't exactly a ludicrous idea. Nikita's number one love was her career, so it would make sense that she would find companionship with someone who's love for the advertising business matched her own. But Chris Davenport? Carla kept from rolling her eyes. Boring! She hoped to God Nikita didn't settle for someone like the silent man seated next to her.

Carla's thoughts then turned to Michael Samuelle and it suddenly occurred to her that he too was a little like Chris. The strong silent type. Okay, maybe not as silent as Chris -- Michael didn't speak much but he, at least, did talk. Chris just sat there, his whole concentration focused on his food and drink. Too bad, Carla thought, as she gave him another inquisitive glance. He was kind of cute.

*

After dinner was over, a large birthday cake was rolled into the room and the band - having been instructed before hand by Nikita, began to play Happy Birthday.

"Oh, oh. Looks like that time," Carla teased, as Birkoff glowered at Nikita. In answer, his sister stood up and went over to him. She pulled him up out of his chair and took him to stand by the cake.

"I can't believe you did this," he grumbled as the room filled with the voices of everyone singing him happy birthday. "I've never been so embarrassed in my life."

Nikita, seeing her brother's discomfort, placed her arm around his shoulder and gave him a hug. "Don't be embarrassed," she said to him. "Many of these people are here because they're interested in knowing more about you."

Birkoff still disagreed but for the time being, kept silent.

Their parents joined them as Birkoff blew out the candles on his cake and then, with a little prompting from his older sister, hesitantly began to give a little speech.

Slowly, Nikita withdrew to the back, leaving Birkoff to stand alone in the limelight with Madeline and Paul standing a few feet behind him. She wished there was a way she could get Birkoff to show more interest in Section. He was a genius with computers and Nikita believed that, if he allowed it, Section could help him go even further in that field.

Nikita's gaze was drawn back towards the head table and she was surprised to find Michael looking at her. Her heart beat faster as she was once again confounded at the effect he had on her. The corners of his mouth lifted into a small smile and Nikita felt her heart stop beating altogether. She returned his smile briefly, shyly, and then forced her attention back to Birkoff and her parents.

*

Why that little vixen! Carla's brows arched in surprise as she caught the silent exchange between Nikita and Michael, and her mouth nearly dropped open. Could it be? Was Nikita interested in --- ?

No!

She slanted a look sideways to Michael. He sat perfectly still, his face impassive. Carla looked across the room again but Paul was leading Nikita out onto the dance floor and Carla couldn't see her face. Madeline was dancing with Birkoff and others were following suit as the band played.

Could she have imagined the look between the two, Carla wondered? It was possible. But she had this nagging little feeling about what she'd seen, or at least, thought she'd seen. Well, she thought with a wicked little smile, there was one way to find out.

Turning, she smiled sweetly at Michael and said to him, "So are you going to sit there all night or ask me to dance?"

*
For the first time since he'd sat down for dinner, Chris was able to relax. Sitting back, he took a long drink from his glass and then wished he had something a little stronger than wine. He was partly disappointed Carla hadn't asked him to dance, but why would she do that? She'd never noticed him before; tonight should be no exception, especially when she had Michael Samuelle at her side.

Chris had to admit Samuelle had it going pretty good. He'd noticed at least a dozen women eyeing Section's newest client tonight. If it weren't for the fact that Samuelle was seated at the head table with the owners of Section, Chris was certain many of those ladies would have walked over and introduced themselves. He knew a few of them from around the office: Viscano, Quinn, Karen.

Chris suppressed a shudder as he thought of the ladder. Karen was a beauty, no denying that, but also a little strange in a kinky kind of way. She'd hinted once to him --this was shortly after news had gotten out that his marriage had failed-- she'd hinted that she was into bondage.

At first he had been dumbfounded. Bondage? What the hell was she talking about? And then Karen had given him this look that instantly relayed her intent. Chris hadn't known whether he should be flattered -- or frightened.

Maybe it was because he kept his head shaved or something that Karen had thought he'd be into that sort of thing. Whatever it was, nothing could be further from the truth. He was a family man, the sort of guy who wanted a woman he could love and who loved him, children, a nice comfortable home. Wasn't that what every guy wanted? Okay, granted, when he was younger he was into the wild party scene, hitting the bars, etc., but he was thirty-seven years old now. Chris considered his partying days over.

With Andrea --his ex-wife-- Chris thought he'd found his life mate. There was a lot of chemistry between them from the very beginning, they enjoyed being with each other, and had the same basic view of life. Or so he thought. It wasn't until after a year of marriage that he began to realize that maybe they weren't so compatible as he once thought. For one, Andrea didn't want to have children. Second, she refused to cut back on the number of business trips she went on. Chris had been upset about both of those issues but he respected her decisions. It was finding her in bed with another man that he couldn't put up with.

Chris took a deep breath and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. His gaze went to the dance floor where Carla was dancing with Michael. There was a long period of time after his divorce that he had sworn off of women and dating. His emotions were still too wounded from Andrea's betrayal. Instead, he focused all his attention on his work. When Paul had reassigned him to work with Nikita, he was at first hesitant. But Nikita, Chris soon learned, was very easy to work with. She was dedicated to the job, really listened to his input and trusted his work and record enough to let him take care of several very lucrative Section accounts.

He appreciated that, just as he appreciated the very open professional relationship they shared. Working with her somehow had helped him to begin to heal the emotional scars he'd suffered. He didn't exactly know how that was --maybe it was just that she helped him to feel comfortable around women again. Walking into the bedroom to find your wife f---ing another man can really mess with a guy's mind not to mention his heart. But somehow he had managed to overcome the anger, the hurt, and Chris knew that a big part of it was due to Nikita and Section's belief and trust in him.

He was aware that there were those who wondered how he could spend so much time with Nikita and not 'fall in love' with her. The answer though was easy. In the beginning he'd been too messed up emotionally, and then afterwards --when he had begun to heal-- Chris discovered that he'd begun to view Nikita more as a little sister, even though she was the boss. He liked her, maybe even loved her, just as he cared for the rest of the Wolfe family. Over the years they had opened their home and hearts to him and Chris felt he could never betray that sense of trust they'd extended to him.

In fact, it was at a dinner with the Wolfe family that he had first met Carla and discovered how much he really missed being with someone. All it had taken was that one dinner and he'd been smitten, and horrified. After all he'd been through with his first marriage how could he even contemplate getting emotionally involved again? But Carla was� well, she was special. She was funny, and full of laughter. He hadn't noticed how little laughter there was in his life until he met her. In many ways she was like Nikita but not like Nikita too. Whatever it was, Chris found that he couldn't forget her. But neither could he get up the courage to ask her out or to even let her know that he was interested. His heart may have healed but his self-confidence still needed work on.

*
Michael held Carla lightly as they danced. He had known from dinner that he had been officially paired with her for the evening and was a little irritated by it. It wasn't that Carla wasn't a good dinner partner. She was just a little too chatty for his liking. Not that this was supposed to be a dinner date or that he expected her to entertain him, but, still, he would have preferred to have been paired with someone quieter.

Carla, noticing her dance partner's silence, pulled back and smiled at him. "I talk too much, don't I?"

Michael, caught off guard by her astuteness, stared back at her silently.

"You don't have to answer," Carla laughed. "I can see the answer in your eyes. Sorry. Nicky always tells me I talk too much too but I can't help it. I'm part Puerto Rican, it's in our blood to talk. You ever met a Puerto Rican girl who don't like to talk?"

"No," Michael said, blinking. "I can't say that I have." In fact, he didn't think he had any Puerto Rican acquaintances. Carla was the first.

"Proves my point," Carla continued, leaning closer. She pointed with her head toward where Nikita was dancing with Paul. "That's why I think Nicky and I are such good friends. She don't like to talk much --unless it's business related-- but me, I could talk all day and all night and still not run out of things to say. Drives my boyfriend nuts."

"You have a boyfriend?"

Carla pulled back and grinned up at him again. "Not disappointed are you?"

Michael smiled back at her. Chatterbox that she was, she was also a little charming. "He couldn't make it tonight?"

"Chuck?" Carla gave another laugh, but there was a hollow sound to it and her eyes seemed to lose a little of its spark. "He doesn't like fancy parties," she said, with a half shrug.

Michael sensed her discomfort and decided to change the subject. "How long have you known Ms. Wolfe?"

Carla's brows lifted. "Nicky?" Her smile broadened. "Forever I think. We met in grade school and have been inseparable ever since."

She waited for him to inquire further, hoping that he would, but Michael was silent. She waited another second before deciding to do a little digging herself. "So what about you," she asked. "Is there anyone special in your life?"

The corners of Michael's mouth lifted ever so slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come now," Carla said, "I told you about Chuck."

"Why do you want to know?" Michael asked, his smile growing slightly larger. "Are you thinking of leaving Chuck for me?"

"Well that depends."

"On what?"

"Your answer," she replied with a wink.

*

Nikita caught sight of Carla and Michael dancing and watched as they laughed and flirted with each other. Her eyes lowered and she let out a little sigh.

"Tired?" Paul asked his daughter.

She smiled up at him. "A little."

They danced a little while longer and then Paul asked, "How are things with you and Stephen?"

Nikita shrugged. "He asked me to marry him."

Paul stopped dancing, surprise coloring his eyes.

"Don't get your hopes up," Nikita said dryly. "I didn't accept."

Sighing, Paul took her back in his arms. He pressed his lips lightly upon her forehead.

"No lecture?" she asked, smiling.

Paul shook his head. "I know you'll do what's right," he said softly. "I just want you to be happy."

Nikita slipped her arms around his waist and rested her head upon his shoulder. "Thank you," she said to him, and Paul smiled.

*

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Holiday Chapter 12 -- Leigh, 19:25:46 09/13/01 Thu