Written in 62 minutes. This part is a little short. I know the big pieces of the story, but I haven’t thought out all the connective tissue between them if that makes sense, so some conversations take longer because I want to make sure I’m as close to Jason’s voice as possible, if that makes sense.

See you tomorrow.

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Tuesday, October 23, 2000

Chloe Morgan Fashions: Chloe’s Office

“Tell Barbara I’ll call her later—” Chloe paused. “No, strike that. Tell her I’ll call her nine tomorrow morning—her time. And yes, I know that means I have to get up at three to do that,” she added before her assistant could do more than open her mouth.

Elizabeth jotted a note to herself to actual learn the time zones — she didn’t really know any international ones, and could only remember how American zones worked because she’d moved from one to the other.

“Oh, Elizabeth—” Chloe whirled back at the door, causing both Lotte and Elizabeth to nearly run into her. “I know this is short notice, but you can come to New York next week, right? The whole week. I’d need you there by Monday afternoon at the latest.”

“Yeah, no problem—” But Chloe had already heard the first word and dashed down the hall to her next meeting.

Elizabeth bit her lip, then looked at Lottie. “I have a question about New York—”

“I already fast-tracked a company card so you can book future travel, but I’ll handle the flight arrangements this time,” Lottie said, wincing as she sat behind her desk. “I can get you a car to the airport if you need it—”

“No, I—” Elizabeth stopped. “A company card?” she repeated.

“Mmmm. I handle the travel arrangements—the flights, the transportation, hotels — I put together some notes for February. You need to get that right,” Lottie said, her usually friendly face pinched. “Chloe’s planning a huge return launch and if she misses a single day in Paris or Milan because you didn’t understand the time differences—”

“She won’t. I’ll get it right. I promise,” Elizabeth added. “I can do that—”

“Really? Because you still haven’t applied for your passport. Chloe made it clear, didn’t she? The only way you can even try to do my job is if you’re at her side at every minute. You have to be able to travel to London in January. That’s—”

“It’s—I’m getting it handled. There’s just an issue with my birth—I’m handling it,” she said. Or she was damn well trying. She’d spent her lunch break trying to track someone down at the records office in Colorado, and then ten minutes leaving another message for Steven and her contact at Doctors Without Borders. “I won’t let you down.”

“Okay—”

“But I still had a question. About New York. And traveling. I—where do I stay? I mean—I know that’s probably a stupid question, but is there a specific hotel? Do I stay in the same one as Chloe? That can’t be right. Hers cost so much money—”

“Travel is part of the job, so it’s paid for. And of course you travel with Chloe. You stay in her suite.” Lottie flipped through some paperwork, only half paying attention. “Except in London. She has a house there for herself. I usually stay at the flight in Knightsbridge, I’m sure you’ll be there. And there’s an apartment in Chelsea—New York,” Lottie clarified. “That’s—thank you for thinking of it. I’ll add some notes about both places to the binder I’m leaving you.”

“Oh. I—” Elizabeth sat down at her desk, her mind whirling. She’d understood there’d be travel — of course, it had been the center of Lucky’s concerns — and her dreams. But the nuts and bolts of it — the idea that she’d be staying in New York and London residences—

“You look like you’re going to pass out. What’s wrong?”

“What? Oh.” Elizabeth blinked, focused on Lottie. “Nothing. It’s just—I was a waitress at Kelly’s last week and I lived over the diner. This is…”

“A different world,” Lottie finished. “Play your cards right, and Chloe will find a place for you when I get back to work. But screw this up, and I’ll make sure you never work in this industry again. I have just as many contacts as she does.”

Lottie’s advice — or threats, depending on how Elizabeth wanted to think about it — were still echoing in her head hours later as she trudged towards her car in the parking lot, her tote bag full of fabric samples, her arms bogged down with Lottie’s notes to study at home. She had a lot to do before she was on her own — and not nearly enough time to learn it all.

As she approached her car, she realized that someone was leaning against it — waiting for her. Night had already fallen, the only light source from dim street lamps, but Elizabeth would know him anywhere.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” Elizabeth asked. “You didn’t call, did you?” She dumped her things on the hood of her car, started searching for her phone. “I was going to check when I got in the car—”

“No, Emily told me when you’d be done.” Jason straightened. “I mean, I called, but I didn’t leave a message.” He hesitated. “I didn’t really know what I’d say.”

Despite the way their last conversation had ended, her lips twitched. “Hi, it’s Jason. Call me back?” she offered, and he shook his head, but he was smiling, too. “No, I guess that would be too ordinary for you.”

“I used to just go to Kelly’s when I wanted to see you,” he told her, and she made a face. “Sorry. That’s—probably the last place you want to think about.”

“No. No, it’s—it was a good place for me. For a long time.” Elizabeth sighed when she realized the only call she had was the missed one from Jason. Nothing from her parents or brother. Or the state of Colorado. She tossed her phone back in her bag and looped it back over her shoulder, picking up the rest of her things. “I don’t mind thinking about it. I had a lot of  good memories there, and I miss it sometimes.” She unlocked her passenger door, dumped her things, then closed the door to turn back to him. “Especially when I think about how scary what I’m doing here is. Not your kind of scary,” she added when he looked skeptical. “But in a few weeks, Chloe’s entire professional life is going to depend on me, and I just realized how little I know about time zones. Like, what time is it in London right now?”

Jason furrowed his brow. “Well, it’s almost seven here, and it’s five hours. Until the end of the month when the clocks change. And then it’s four.”

“The—right.” Elizabeth let out a long breath. “You know, I didn’t know how to wait tables either and I figured it out. Eventually.” She folded her arms. “So…um, I guess you had something to wanted to talk to me about if you had to track me down.”

“I—” He scratched the edge of his eyebrow. “I didn’t really think about the car—I just—I used to pick you up at Kelly’s—”

“Gram is letting me use the car for now until I can save up for a down payment.” She bit her lip. “You could always just drop me back off at the car if—I mean—” She looked past him to his bike, parked a few spaces over. “It’s been a long day. I could use a break.”

Hangman’s Bridge

Elizabeth leaned over the stone edge of the bridge, closing her eyes. The air was chillier, and there was a bite now to the wind that swirled around this high up over the river. “It’s always so quiet here,” she murmured. She looked at Jason. “We don’t have to talk about last night. We were—it was a disaster from start to finish, and I’m sorry I bothered to go.” She paused. “I mean, I’m just—if that’s not what you wanted to talk about—”

“It—it is,” Jason said, then winced. “I just don’t…I know really know what to say. I don’t like the way I handled it,” he said finally. “With Sonny. I’m sorry you or Emily had to hear any of it.”

“And if we hadn’t?” she asked, turning so that she faced him, her hip pressing against the edge of the bridge. “It’s none of my business, I guess. I’m sorry…I’m sorry I made it weird by bringing up Carly. I, um—” She looked away when he looked at her sharply. Her cheeks heated. “It felt right in the moment, but later, I guess I realized I was sort of…putting myself on the same level, and I don’t—I know that I’m not—”

“You’re nothing like Carly,” he told her, and she dropped her gaze. “That’s not a comparison I’d ever make. She puts herself in the middle. You wouldn’t.”

“I—” Elizabeth lifted her gaze, bewildered. “Because I’m not—”

“But Sonny wanted to put you there.” Jason shifted, looked out over the distance, where the night met the horizon, melding into one. “He knows he was wrong, but he doesn’t admit that well. He’d rather turn the blame on someone else.”

“Okay, but—” That didn’t really explain anything, Elizabeth wanted to say, but stopped herself. “I guess I just don’t understand why Sonny—never mind. It really doesn’t matter—”

“You were right,” Jason told her, simply. “Sonny and I were making it personal. For whatever reasons, and all that matters is making this over. You and Emily deserve to make a clean break from all of it. The other two—” His face tightened. “I don’t really care, but I know you wouldn’t want them to take the weight.”

“I don’t. Our plan might not have a been a good one—or maybe the way we went about it — but all of us wanted the same thing. To make sure Emily couldn’t get in trouble for it. I just don’t know how we can do that anymore. I don’t know what to do. How to fix this. And maybe it’s not fair to expect you to know either—”

“You and my sister are in trouble,” Jason interrupted. “If Zander can tie any of this to you, even with rumor, that will follow you. I don’t care what people say about me. I made sure I don’t have to answer to anyone. But that’s not what you or Emily wants. I told you both — I wanted you to come to me when you couldn’t solve it on your own. Or even before you tried.”

“But I don’t want to cause problems with you or Sonny. I’m—It just feels selfish to expect you to drop everything and fix a problem you didn’t create—”

“Selfish,” Jason repeated. He shook his head. “You’re only in this problem because you’re standing with Emily. You’ve risked your life and your freedom to help her. You’ve done the same for me. When I didn’t deserve it,” he added. “Selfish is the last word I’d ever use to describe you.”

Tears pricked her eyes and she jerked her gaze away from him, staring hard at nothing in the distance. When she was sure she could speak without her voice breaking, she took a deep breath. “Okay. So we’ve cleared it all up. I don’t expect you or Sonny to give us details after this. I know it’s better when we don’t know.”

“It is—” Jason tipped his head. “Are you okay? What did I say?”

“N-nothing. Nothing,” she repeated. “It’s just—it’s been a long day,” Elizabeth said finally. “But we’re okay now. You and Sonny — you’ll handle this, and Emily and I are out of this. Right? Back to a need to know basis.”

“Yeah,” he said slowly, as if unconvinced by her answer. But he wasn’t going to push her, and she was grateful for it. “Come on. I’ll take you back to your car.”

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