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Date Posted: 11:52:38 06/21/02 Fri
Author: Repost Fairy
Author Host/IP: 64.193.19.25
Subject: Chapter 68
In reply to: Repost Fairy 's message, "Burden of Proof - 68 and up" on 11:17:24 06/21/02 Fri

Carla took one look at the door to the internal stairs and shook her head. “No way. I let you drag me to that funky little kick boxing class, then I let you talk me into walking all the way here. I am not walking up those bloody stairs.” She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward, breathing heavily. “You are trying to kill me, I swear it.”

Nikita tossed her a careless grin. “Not intentionally. But stairs are such a great way to cool down…”

Feeling nauseous at the mere thought, Carla looked crossly at Nikita. “You can cool down on your own, my friend. I am taking the elevator.”

When they reached Nikita’s apartment, Carla went first to her gym bag, then to the French doors leading to the balcony. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of the gleaming deadbolts that were definitely a new addition since her last visit. “Wow…nice hardware.”

“Aren’t they just? The keys are in the little planter on your right.” As Carla fished out the keys, she heard the refrigerator door shut with a loud clunk. She swiftly dealt with the new locks, then turned to see Nikita standing behind her, holding two bottles of water and eyeing the open doors with resignation. “Smoke break?”

“Guilty.” Carla waved her cigarette packet in the air and made a face. “But you don’t have to worry.” She held her hand out for a bottle of water, unable to hide a proud smile. “I’m down to six a day.”

“Good for you.” Nikita handed her the water. “You’ll be running up those four flights of stairs in no time.”

Carla paused on her way out the French doors to toss a smiling retort over her shoulder. “You know what, Nik? Don’t hold your breath.”


~*~*~*~*~*~


“What’s this?”

Looking up from the stir fry she was haphazardly creating, Nikita peered at the thick sheet of cream paper Carla had just plucked from beneath a magnet on the side of the fridge.

“An invitation to the Chambers Ball,” Nikita answered distractedly as she tossed a handful of sliced mushrooms into the wok. She roughly chopped a red pepper into chunks as though she had a personal vendetta against the poor vegetable.

Carla frowned. All day, she’d had the feeling something was bothering her friend. First the frenzied workout, then the power-walk home. And now she was making dinner as though still facing off against her kickboxing opponent.

Carla knew from long experience that Nikita couldn’t be coerced into sharing whatever was troubling her. There was no point badgering her. Nikita would tell her when she was good and ready. Carla gave her friend an easy smile and waved the piece of paper at her. “Yes, I can see it’s an invitation to the Chambers Ball. What I want to know is why it is stuck on your refrigerator under a pile of bills, instead of being displayed someplace where it can remind you to have a life?”

Nikita gave her a sour look. “Thank you very much.”

Carla ignored her and began to read selected passages aloud. “Judges Association…blah blah…pleasure of your company…blah blah…oh my lord…the Ritz? White tie?” She looked up at Nikita, who was dubiously eyeing a bottle of sweet chilli sauce. “Oh, are you going to this?”

Nikita shrugged. “I wasn’t planning to.”

“Why not? Doesn’t Gray want to go?”

Nikita clunked the bottle of chili sauce on the bench top and began stir frying the contents of the wok. “No, he wanted to go,” she answered flatly.

Carla studied her friend for a moment. Everything—from her posture, to her voice, to her unusually jerky cooking movements—told her something was wrong. “Wanted?” she asked carefully. “As in past tense?”

Nikita gazed into the depths of the wok. “Well, this is just a guess, but I’m pretty sure he will have changed his mind by now.”

Carla stared at her. “Nik, what’s going on?”

With exaggerated care, her friend put the spatula on the spoon rest. “Gray and I broke up on Wednesday night.”

Hallelujah, was Carla’s first reaction. Then she looked at Nikita’s pale face and instantly felt ashamed. Now was not the time for rejoicing, no matter what she thought of Gray. She put the invitation down on the bench behind her, and walked over to Nikita, who was standing motionless in front of the stove. “You want to talk about it?”

Nikita shook her head and pressed her lips together into a tight line, her eyes filling with tears.

Carla stared at her in dismay. “Come on, come and sit down. Dinner can wait.”

Her friend wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. She looked and sounded miserable. “It’s a long story.” Nikita tried to smile, but only succeeded in looking even more miserable. “It’s been quite a week.”

“Well, the sooner you start telling me, the sooner you’ll be done.” Carla turned off the heat under the wok, and pushed her friend gently out of the kitchen. “And this time, I’m not leaving until I’ve heard every single detail.”

~*~*~*~*~

“So I practically ran back to the main conference room.” Nikita ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Joe and I escaped to another room to wait for the other side’s decision, but I already had a feeling that it wasn’t going to happen.” She gave Carla a resigned smile. “I was right. The mediator came to tell us that our request had been rejected, so we talked about scheduling a date for a hearing, then Joe and I hightailed it out of there.”

Carla put one hand up to her chin and fluttered her fingers along her jaw line. Nikita gave her a curious glance. “What are you doing?”

She grinned. “Just checking that my jaw hadn’t literally dropped.”

Nikita smiled, and this time her smile reached her eyes. “I know. It’s a bit much to take in all at once, isn’t it?”

Her head a whirlwind of thoughts of California, new clients, gorgeous barristers and shady businessmen, Carla bit back a smile. “Just a little.” She plucked at the fringing that edged the sofa cushion beside her, and gave her friend a reassuring smile. “Well, I don’t know much about mediations, but I know something else. You did the right thing with Gray, Nik. He’s a nice guy, but he was all wrong for you.”

“So everyone keeps telling me.”

Carla’s smile faded at the bleak look on her friend’s face. As long as they’d known each other, Nikita had always been the confident one. The one who knew exactly what she wanted out of life. But right now, she looked as though she had had the proverbial rug pulled out from under her. As though she’d had second thoughts. Bugger that, Carla thought with determination.

“Nik, Gray was looking for the wife and mummy combo.” Nikita blinked and looked away. “If that wasn’t what you wanted to give him, and I know it wasn’t, you needed to be honest with him. To be frank, I don’t know what took you so long.”

“I know.” All the life had gone out of Nikita’s usually vibrant voice. She looked at Carla with empty eyes. “I kept putting it off because I didn’t want to hurt him.” She shrugged. “And I’ve been caught up with so many other things, it was just easier to push it to the back of my mind.”

Carla reached out and patted her friend’s shoulder. “And how do you feel now?”

Nikita bit her bottom lip. “Sad. Relieved. Guilty. All of the above.” She frowned. “And a bit worried about the fact that I agreed when he asked if we could still be friends. ”

Carla nodded. I know that old tune. “Huh-uh. You realise that boys don’t really mean it when they say that. It either means ‘don’t call me, I’ll call you’ or ‘if I hang around long enough, maybe you’ll change your mind’.”

Nikita lifted her chin. ”I won’t be changing my mind.”

“Good.” She gave Nikita’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Okay. What about everything else that’s been going on? What happens now?”

Her friend shrugged half-heartedly. “Wait and see, I suppose. The hearing will probably be set down for a few weeks from now and…”

Carla waved her hands impatiently. Even if it was shallow, she couldn’t care less about the hearing. “No, not that.” She leaned over and poked Nikita in the arm. “What are you going to do about the devastatingly handsome opposition?”

Nikita blushed, then gave her a nonplused smile. “I have no idea…but I think the term ‘conflict of interest’ has just taken on a whole new meaning.”

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  • Chapter 69 -- Repost Fairy, 11:57:45 06/21/02 Fri
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