Disclaimer: I don't own Orlando Bloom or any living person depicted in the story. They deserve my utmost respect.
A/N: It has been a while, I know. Muse comes and goes and maybe I have now more on my plate then I can chew. But I will not give up this story, because it means too much to me.
Thanks as always, to my dear friend Viv, who by some miracle of nature IS the best half of my brain, even if we are on different ends of the continent.
And thanks to everyone who reads the story and comments. You make the muse happen!
CHAPTER TWENTY
It was basically a lovely day: sunny, pleasantly warm, traffic was bearable and Verena found a parking spot on the first try.
Still, V wasn't comfortable. The fact that she had made it a point to never lie to anybody unless she couldn't avoid it was weighing hard on her. She took a deep breath before leaving the jeep.
Verena had postponed this meeting with Georgina as long as she could, because she was sure that George would see in her face right away what was going on with Orlando.
George was not only V's agent but also her friend, her daughter's godmother, the one who stuck to her all through her crisis after Chechnya, and the one who would easily throttle her if she had to. Probably, if she had to define the closest friends in her life, Spencer and George, Spence would be her soul and George her conscience.
Verena squared her shoulders, gave herself a mental nudge to not delay the encounter any further, and walkedinto the building.
***
George was pacing in her office and talking to someone on her cell phone.
"I am sorry if you think the fee is too high. I must insist you consider other options, but also remember that my client is unique and worth every penny you pay for the contract. Take your time to reflect on this, Mr. Hansen, but don't delay your decision for too long. We might accept another assignment any time if you don't confirm the deal. My pleasure, as always."
Verena smiled. She had taken a couple of candid shots of George in the time they worked together, but no still image could actually convey the energy and power emanating from her agent. George was like a cheetah, always in motion, poised to pounce the next prey. Verena waited just inside the door until George set the phone down and nodded a terse welcome.
"Good to see you don't have to rely on me to get the business going," Verena commented, walking up to George and giving her a firm hug.
George relaxed slightly, letting down her guard with one of the few people she could indulge into doing so. "Good to have you back, safe and sound, V," she said, returning the hug.
"Have I ever been sound?" joked V, hoping that they could keep the conversation light.
"Not that I could remember. Are you alright?" George asked with that rare tender look she usually only spared for Zoë. Verena felt some discomfort, remembering her anxiety attack in London. Few people knew the full story of what happened to V in Chechnya; George was one of those people. Her concern was genuine, even if it did make V edgy.
"Yes, don't worry. It is all under control again. So what is our business for the day?" replied Verena. The unexpectedly tender manner of her usually aloof agent was getting to her, and she wanted to get over with the meeting as quickly as possible.
Georgina returned to her desk to look for documents. "I was worried because it's taken you some time to drop by since your return. But I have great news. The best we could wish for. Sit down."
Verena poured herself a glass of water and sat down on the couch. The glass gave her something to do with her hands.
After a short pause, Georgina looked up from her desk and flashed Verena a grin that made her look like the Cheshire cat. "Dirk Arndt contacted me. The current GEO representative for the Americas is retiring and he wanted to know if you'd be interested in the job."
Verena was taking a large sip from her water glass and choked . Georgina skirted the desk and started patting between V's shoulder blades, evidently pleased at having surprised her client.
"GEO wants me for the Americas-Department?" V managed to blurt in between coughs.
"Yes, babe. They recognize quality when they see it. As a matter of fact, so do I," explained George. Once she seemed satisfied that V wasn't going to cough up a lung, George returned to her big chair behind the desk. "You'd be probably the youngest regional representative for GEO on the planet, darling, but you deserve it. It implies a permanent job in New York, with all the moving expenses paid, as well as the apartment. You would have to travel now and then, but you'd be mainly in charge of coordinating the work and material of the correspondents and freelance collaborators. I took the liberty of replying that you would be interested and arranged a meeting for you two evenings from now. Dirk will be in New York to discuss the details of the offer with you. They expect you to stay there two or three days to check out the office and meet people."
Verena's brain was at the brink of an overload. Regional representative of the major photojournalism magazine in the world, after National Geographic. How many of her colleagues would kill for an opportunity like this? Probably everybody in the business. And a permanent base of operations, so she could stay close to Zoë and a job doing what she really loved …
"This isn't a joke, is it George? If it is, I'll have to kill you after I recover from the news," she asked, sipping now very carefully from her water, pacing her breathing to allow herself time to get over the shock.
"No. I wouldn't joke about this. You know for me business is business. And when you have the Orlando contract done, you could move right away to NY, and Zoë could start school right after Christmas … It wasn't my doing, but we have the golden chance on a platter. So what do you say, kid?" asked George triumphantly.
Orlando. Verena's euphoria died when George said his name out loud. There she had her way out, the motive she had needed for letting him go … or escaping, depending on how you saw it. But if it was escape, why did she feel so hollow all of a sudden?
Georgina Hammond would have been a very bad professional in her line of work if she hadn't been able to read people as well as she could.
"What is wrong, honey? You don't want to go to New York? Has anything gone wrong with the kid? What's troubling you?" she asked, coming back around the desk and sitting on the arm of the couch where V was sitting.
Verena felt cornered. She now had a lot to think over, and she preferred to avoid having to weave any elaborate lies for George.
"Actually everything is fine. Don't worry. I will go to New York for the chat with Dirk. Can you have your secretary send me the tickets? I have also to organize my absence with Spencer so he keeps an eye on … the kid, and I have to drop by for lunch time at the set," she hurried to explain.
She stood up and gave her friend another tight hug. "You are the best, George. Love ya."
Georgina returned the hug. "Love you too, darling, and I'll sure as hell miss you if you escape my claws by heading off to the Big Apple. Take care, will you?"
Verena smiled briefly at her friend and left. George watched her leave and had the uneasy feeling that something was wrong, very wrong.
***
Orlando's ride from the studio dropped him off at the house past midnight. He was so exhausted that he could hardly crawl out of the car and felt weak at the thought of the stairs he still had to climb.
Only the foyer lights in the house were lit, probably for him, and he supposed that the ladies in the house were asleep. Nevertheless, Orlando was very careful to be as silent as possible as he opened the door. He took a trip to the kitchen to get himself something to drink, and it was only when he was about to climb the stairs that he saw a light and heard the soft music coming from the studio.
A tired smile settled on his lips as he slowly opened the door and peered inside.
Verena sat in front of her PC, her chin cradled in her hand. She was asleep.
His smiled grew wider. It was not the first time she had worked late, but this was the first time he had managed to work even later than her. He walked carefully around the desk and laid his hands gently on her shoulders, kissing Verena's cheek.
"Shouldn't you be in bed, young lady?" he whispered. V woke up, slightly startled.
"What …" she said before recognizing him and where she was. Smiling sleepily at him, she whispered, "I didn't fall asleep … did I? What time is it?" Without waiting for his reply, she stretched her arms up and pulled Orlando closer for a kiss.
When they parted for breath he said, "I don't know, but probably late. Let's go upstairs?"
Verena switched the PC off, and they both left the room, holding onto each other as they climbed the stairs.
"What were you doing this late on the set?" she asked him as they reached the master bedroom.
Orlando began undressing and reported, "Fencing practice. You will not believe the choreographies … ouch!"
"What is this?" asked Verena pulling at his hair, which was bound in a low ponytail. "This wasn't there this morning!"
"Extensions, until my hair grows that long. Now, you'll pay for that," he said turning around pulling her close to steal another kiss.
"So I'll have my own long-haired, bearded pirate here?" V teased as she escaped after a quick peck.
"Yes M'lady, you shall, for as long as Gore requires it" Orlando replied, bowing gallantly before going to the bathroom.
Verena changed into her PJs, reluctant to tell Orlando about her trip to New York. She had no reason to feel bad about the interview with the people from GEO, she told herself, and she was in no way misleading him if she just didn't tell him that if the contract with the German magazine worked out, she and Zoë would leave LA and Orlando as soon as possible. Verena had recognized she was in love with him, and she'd told him about her feelings, but she had also avoided any discussion of a future together.
As V repeated her explanations to herself for a hundredth time while brushing her hair, Orlando returned from the bathroom and climbed into the huge bed, looking towards her in expectation. "As much as I love watching you brush your hair, V, I think it's time you came to bed."
Setting the hairbrush on her dresser, she walked to the bed and joined him beneath the covers. After a quick kiss they settled together, his body spooning hers, his arms holding her close as he sighed and turned off the lights.
"Goodnight, V, sweet dreams" he whispered into her ear, then sighed, contented, as she moved closer.
"Sweet dreams, Orlando" she replied. The argument between her logical thinking and her conscience continued in V's head, even as she fell asleep, lulled by Orlando's breathing and steady heartbeat.
***
Spencer drove by the house early the next morning and joined them in their usual hurried breakfast.
He adjusted himself to the busy bustling around in the kitchen while he watched Orlando serve Zoë's cereal and Verena prepare her daughter's lunch bag. Somehow V managed to complete the lunch, make a pot of tea for Orlando and herself, and prepare a cup of coffee for Spencer, all at roughly the same time.
V looked towards Spencer and she knew instantly that her friend and assistant already knew about her trip to New York. He was very likely here to coordinate Orlando's agenda during her absence. But instead of saying any of this out loud, Spencer waited patiently for her to approach the subject. Damn him.
"Orlando, Chip, could you both listen to me for a second?" she asked the pair, who were companionably sharing a plate of toast.
"Yes Mamma," was Zoë's immediate response, and Orlando also turned his attention her way.
"I have to make a quick business trip to New York for a couple of days. Do you think you will be able to behave as long as I am away?" she said, focusing her eyes pointedly on Zoë.
Verena avoided looking at Orlando, but she nevertheless felt his curious look.
"You know you don't have to worry about us," Orlando said cheerfully, though he found it weird that she hadn't mentioned the trip the night before. And the way she was eluding his eyes now was also disconcerting. "When is your flight?"
She looked helplessly towards Spencer. Truth to be told, she had no idea.
"I got it all covered, gorgeous," said Spencer, producing a plane ticket from his jacket pocket. "First flight early afternoon. Today."
"Well, now we know," she said, plucking Zoë from the chair and settling the child on her hip. "I shall pick you up from school and then leave, ok?"
Zoë snaked her arms around her mother's neck. "You will come back very soon, won't you Mamma?"
"As soon as I can, Chip," V promised, giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek. "Get ready now."
The child gave her mother a loud kiss back and left to get her schoolbag.
Spencer was observing Orlando and Verena, and he sensed that they had to talk some things over.
"I will be your assistant for as long as V is gone, Orlando. Beginning now, I guess. You don't mind if I get the agenda from your PC, do you, Verena?" he asked, already on his way out of the kitchen before she could even think of an answer.
"Will you be gone for long?" asked Orlando, crossing the space between them and pulling Verena close.
For a moment, Verena hesitated and thought of telling him the truth: why she was going to New York and how the results of the trip might change their relationship. But in the end she held her tongue.
"No. I have to meet some people from Geo, and I should be back in three days. Can you possibly behave for so long? Stay out of trouble?" she tried to joke with him.
By the way Verena was behaving, Orlando felt that there was something upsetting her.
Since she didn't say, he preferred not to pursue the matter. "Sure I will, as long as you behave, too."
Instinctively, her arms held him tighter, and she breathed his scent and enjoyed the warmth of his arms around her. "I really care for you. You know that, right?"
"I know. And I care for you too. And I will be thinking of ways we can show that to each when you get back. Hurry home, please?" he urged, giving her a soft kiss on her brow.
"I shall do my best. Promise," she told him.
The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the studio's car. Verena hurried to kiss Orlando once more, and then she moved away. "Go now. And have fun at work."
"I shall certainly try. Will you call while you're away?" he asked her as he picked up his backpack and moved towards the door.
"Every night," she said and smiled as he turned and left the house.
For some reason, neither of them had said goodbye.
***
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