by
Anakin
(anakin_skywallkr@hotmail.com)
Maxwell Sheffield opened his mail and looked at his watch : 10.00 am… Where's C.C. for Heaven's sake!
Niles came in with a tray for tea;
"Niles, has Miss Babcock called?"
"No Sir, I don't believe she has."
Right then, the phone rang. Niles picked it up.
"Sheffield residence?"
"Niles!… Give me Maxwell, I need to speak with him!"
The urgency in C.C.'s tone prevented Niles from retorting one of his favorite zingers, and he held the receiver for Maxwell to take it.
"Maxwell Sheffield?"
"Maxwell!… Oh Good God!…"
"C.C.?!… Do you realize it's 10.00 am?!"
"I can't come to work today, nor any other day of the week…"
"What?!…"
"Look, I'm in Chicago right now. It's a family matter, very important family matter, my grand mother just died, and there's a big fight over her will, some of my relatives even wrestled one with the other, now lawyers are involved, I don't need to draw you a worse picture… I had to take the last plane yesterday evening, I couldn't call you until I reached Chicago, and I'll be out for the next four days…"
"But C.C.!"
"Oh surely Maxwell you can understand!… I'll be back on Monday."
"But C.C.!… We had that important soirée to attend for the benefit of young children with AIDS on Saturday!…"
"Can't you go alone?"
"… No! We were also going to meet with our next backers!"
"Oh Maxwell, you can handle that alone for once!… It's not as if we were going to sign any contract right away! Now I'm sorry, I must go…I'll see you Monday." She hung up.
Maxwell looked at the mute receiver with a dejected face.
"Blast!…"
"Something troubling you Sir?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary: C.C. isn't available until next week, when I need her to flash her smile, and work her magic business skills at that bloody soirée on Saturday …"
"I don't see any problem… Why don't you take Miss Fine instead?"
"Niles, I'll have to speak with potential backers for our next play!"
Niles shook his head, still unable to understand.
"You can talk to the backers, while Miss Fine is enjoying herself. It won't take that long, will it?… Really Sir, I don't see why you worry that much!"
Maxwell toyed a minute with the idea.
"You know Niles, that's not a bad idea… I've been very busy lately, and having Miss Fine around me will give me a nice break from business after all… Would C.C. be there, we'd talk business all night long…"
"I know Sir, but no one has found the remote control to make her stop…"
Both men chuckled, exchanging knowing glances.
Fran shut the door, soaking wet, her raincoat dripping, her umbrella broken…
Niles arrived, his eyes wide opened like saucers.
"Miss Fine what on Earth happened to you?!"
"Not a word Niles… Not a single word!… New Yorkers are pigs! I broke my umbrella hitting a man who dared put his hand… Somewhere… in the subway!…"
She ascended the stairs, fuming.
Niles watched her shaking his head and smiling jokingly: What would we do without her! He thought.
Max arrived from his office.
"Has Miss Fine arrived yet?"
"Yes Sir, she went to change… Someone behaved indelicately in the subway towards her I believe."
"Oh… Huh… Tell her to come to my office when she gets down would you?"
"Certainly Sir…"
Maxwell was reading some business contracts when he heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in?"
"Ya wanted to see me Mr. Sheffield?"
"Oh, yes…" He stood up and went around his desk to meet her.
"Miss Fine, what are you doing on Saturday evening?"
"Apart from taking care of your kids ya mean?" She teased him.
"Now Miss Fine… Saturday's your night off…"
"Yeah I know… but I'm doing nothing… Val's with her parents in Florida, as well as Ma and Daddy, so I guess it'll be a 'soap' or 'romantic movie' evening…"
"What do you think of a 'not so romantic but might be fun' evening?…"
"What are you talking about?"
"Miss Fine, C.C. can't be with me on Saturday evening, we had a soirée to attend on some charity event, so I simply thought you might come with me…"
"Oh Mr. Sheffield!… Why didn't you say it sooner!"
"Don't jump too high, I'm afraid I'll have to sneak out on some unofficial business with some potential backers for a while… But not for the whole evening…"
"Oy!… Well… No problem!… There will be a buffet, right?…"
He chuckled.
"Yes…"
"Then you've got yourself a date!" She winked.
She descended the stairs, wearing a long black dress. Her hair was artistically pulled up, and her shoulders were covered by a black veil. She was a vision… As always, thought Max when he took the hand she was extending to him.
"You look absolutely wonderful Fr… Miss Fine…"
She flashed him one of her brightest smiles.
"Thank you Mr. Sheffield!… I know it's an important evening for you, and I wouldn't want to spoil it for you…"
"Not as important as you Miss Fine… Huh… Not SO important I meant…" He smiled sheepishly.
"Of course…" She said, shaking her head slightly "That's what I understood…"
The Limo stopped in front of the Waldorf Astoria. The chauffeur descended and opened the back door. Max exited and extended his hand to help Fran out. Once outside, he offered her his elbow, and they both walked towards the entrance.
After taking the lift, they arrived in the ball room buzzing with people. An orchestra was playing music in the background, and a few couples were dancing. Fran pulled Max elbow, glancing at the enormous buffet next to the dance floor.
He chuckled softly.
"Oh Miss Fine, always the same!…" He went on chuckling softly, looking straight in her eyes. "… But you know what?… I wouldn't change a single thing…" He brushed a finger on her cheek, seeing her blushing, and winked. "Let's head for the buffet then!" And he led the way.
They were enjoying fried shrimp with some kind of Chinese salad, having small talks, when someone hailed Max.
"Hey Sheffield!"
Max turned his head, smiled, and waved to the man who was approaching. He turned to Fran and stood up.
"I'm sorry, duty calls… but I promise I'll be back in half an hour at most."
"Take your time. With these babies [she showed the two halves lobster she had just picked out on the buffet] I can hold at least 15 minutes, and there are a lot more over there!"
He chuckled softly and stepped toward the man extending his hand.
Max had been chatting with the backers for a while already. The informal meeting was going well, and they seemed to be really interested by the potential of his new play, chatting animatedly. He turned his head, and there she was, splendid, in the distance… She was chatting with an elderly lady who was laughing wholeheartedly. He smiled, his eyes fixated on her. He had the rare privilege of observing her without her seeing it, and he was enjoying every second of it.
"Your wife?" Said one of the men he was talking with.
"No… But someone very precious to me…"
"Well Sheffield, it seems anyway that you've got a deal there. When can we meet to sign the contract?"
"Oh?… Huh… Well I guess you'd better see that tomorrow with my business partner… BB Cackbock… Huh sorry, C.C. Babcock…" He answered, his mind absorbed in contemplating the beautiful woman ahead of him, and the fact that she was now talking with a very handsome gentleman.
"Well gentlemen, it has been a pleasure meeting you, we'll discuss the terms of the contract at my office next week… Right now, I have some other important matters to take care of…" He smiled and left.
The gentleman had left and she stood there alone. He approached unseen, and startled her when he sneaked his arms around her waist from behind.
"Would you care for a dance?" He said softly in her ear.
The intimacy of his gesture, and the softness of his tone sent shivers down her spine. She smiled, leaning back on his chest.
"That would be lovely."
He made her turn into his arms gently, and his gaze met hers. They slowly swayed to the dance floor. The music was soft and slow, perfect for an ending evening actually. They lost all notion of time, engrossed in each other's eyes and features. Suddenly, the music stopped… But they went on dancing slowly, oblivious of the world around them.
"I think the music stopped" she said after a moment.
"I know…"
"We should go home it's late, and I want to be up early tomorrow, Brighton has an important test…"
"Niles can take over…"
She pushed him back a little and stared at him a little amused.
"Mr. Sheffield that's not like you to encourage my laziness…"
He interrupted her.
"Shhh…" He put a finger on her mouth, gently attracting her towards the exit of the ballroom.
"… As well as it is not like me to say that you look absolutely stunning tonight, and that I would like a little privacy with you right now…"
Her heart suddenly beat faster. They had exited the ballroom and had reached the elevator. The doors opened, they entered it and Max pinched the 26th floor button.
"Mr. Sheffield what's happening to you?… 'had too much to drink?"
"No" He leaned closer. "In fact, I've never been surer of what I have to do…" He gave her a peck on the lips.
She felt suddenly very shy, and she didn't know what to say, but she had that strange feeling that maybe this was not a good idea, that she was not prepared – yeah right! – she was about to say they should really go home when the doors opened and he led her in front of a door. Before she had time to realize it, they were in the room. She on seated on the bed, he pouring Champaign in two cups.
"Mr. Sheffield…"
He came to sit next to her and gave her a cup.
"Shhh Miss Fine… Fran… I want this evening to be perfect to you…"
"Yeah, and I think your hormones are leading the way… this is not what I had planned Mr. Sheffield…"
"Max."
"What?"
"Max, the name is Max…" He took her hand. "Fran… My hormones are not leading the way… I had not planned this evening at all either. I should have gone with C.C., you know that… It was a very nice evening actually, I appreciated every moment of it, I appreciated being with you, by your side… Well except when I had to meet with those backers… You brought me luck, by the way, they are very enthusiastic… Anyway… I must confess that you were the only thing my eyes were fixated on tonight, you were absolutely radiant…"
"Well… thanks for the compliment Mr. Sheffield, but I really think you've had too much to drink…" She made a move to stand up, but he held her back.
"No Miss Fine, in fact, aside from this cup of Champaign, I only had fruit cocktails… Fran, tonight I realized I wanted that light to illuminate my life forever… Your light… So I decided to do something about all this… At last…"
He stroked her cheek with his hand, looking right into her eyes smiling.
"Fran… I love you…"
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she lifted her hands before her mouth.
"Will you marry me?"
She couldn't hold them much longer. She let the tears run free down her cheeks and threw her arms around him, hugging him. He returned the hug, immensely relieved. It all had come very naturally, and he was happy with the way it finally turned out.
She looked up to meet his gaze and they shared a most passionate kiss. He laid her on the bed as passion increased the temperature of the room, then suddenly, he pulled apart panting.
"Fran I…"
The look on her face made him realize she was thinking he was "taking it back" again, he leaned to kiss her softly.
"No… I won't take it back… " He said softly, lying next to her, his eyes buried in hers, and stroking her cheek. "I'm just not sure we should do this now…"
"I am…" she simply said, and gave him a lingering kiss…
Later, they were lying in bed, in the dark, their eyes wide opened, her back to his chest, their bodies tightly entwined one with the other.
"I love you Max…" She said, stroking his forearm lightly.
He kissed the top of her head, and hugged her more.
"You haven't answered my question" He said softly.
"Which one?"
"Will you marry me?"
She chuckled softly and brought the top of his hand to her lips.
"You doubt it?…"
She turned in his arms to face him.
"I can precisely define the first moment I got drowned into those olive green eyes of yours… It was when I had that 'shopping addiction'… I didn't remember what happened, remember?… Well I did finally… A few days afterwards… It was that look on your face, just before you kissed me… I knew by then that there was no way for me to exit the place those eyes had trapped me in…"
He gave her a peck on the lips.
"… And I fell for you the night of your arrival… That red sequined dress and that smile of yours bewitched my heart forever… I love you Fran…"
They kissed one last time, and slowly drifted with sleep, relaxed, content about their lives and where fate had finally brought them, and secure at last about their future together…
The End
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