Past & Present Pt. 1

Ronstad & Bradshaw, LLP - Downtown Las Vistas

“So you are alive. I was beginning to wonder if you had fallen off the face of the earth,” Blair said as Blake walked into her office. He placed a large gift basket on her desk and took a seat. His sister was the incarnation of their mother: same intense blue eyes, thick jet black hair, and the same nurturing spirit that, while comforting, had the capacity to annoy him as well. It wasn’t that her near hovering concern was unwelcome; rather, it simply reminded him far too much of what he had been missing from their mother in the years he had been estranged from his parents.

She looked at him now, stern yet still loving, arms folded, just the way his mother used too whenever he came to her with his tail between his legs, sullen and apologetic for whatever devilment had gotten the better of him. But unlike his sister, a time had come when his mistakes became too much for his mother to handle and Blair had been his protective surrogate ever since.

When she didn’t immediately reach for the package he pushed it towards her. She paused for a moment, hesitating to give into the bribe, before tearing into the shrink wrap. She grabbed a bottle of body wash from the basket, opened the top and sniffed. “Lavender Vanilla,” she sighed, closing her eyes to savor the fragrance. “What did I do to deserve such a lavish gift?”

“It’s a thank you and an apology,” Blake replied, ignoring her sarcasm. “For what exactly?” she said as she rubbed her hands with lotion from the basket. “For putting up with my shit all the time and for the way I acted the last time we saw each other.” She smiled at him and shook her head affirmatively. “I suppose I can grant you forgiveness, just this once. I should apologize too actually. I know you don’t like talking about Skye. I shouldn’t have thrown it in your face that way.”

“I’m fine with talking about Skye. You’re the one who always makes a big deal of it.”

“Okay, then why did you get all huffy when I brought it up the other day?”

“Because you were trying to compare that situation with my so-called interest in Isabella Monacco.”

“And you don’t see the similarities? Skye was the wrong woman then, Isabella is the wrong woman now. Sure, the circumstances are very different, but the outcome would be exactly the same. I don’t want to see you make the same mistake twice. It cost you so much the first time.”

“You mean it cost all of us too much; I know that’s what you’re thinking even if you won’t say it.”

“Fine, I’ll admit that my concern isn’t completely about you. I have a lot to lose if you started something with her that went sour, which it would. But have you stopped to think about what it would mean to be involved with her? Paparazzi everywhere all the time, media scandals, bad press for you and your business, and lets not even talk about having to deal with her tyrant of a father. Carlos Monacco may be thousands of miles away but he is still a powerful man and as far as he’s concerned, your business involvements with Thad make you the enemy. I hate to say it, but you’ve already lost family over something like this; why would you want to risk everything else?

Blake folded his arms and tried hard to keep his expression neutral as he let Blair’s words sink in. He had thought of nothing other than what he thought he wanted from Isabella, and, physical aspects aside, he still wasn’t completely sure what that was. All he knew was that the answer to that question required time and exploration; two things that she had adamantly withheld from him. “I’m not risking anything, because I’m not involved in anything, with anyone and I’m probably not going to be, so this conversation is pointless. And for the record, I’m not the only one who destroyed our family and I’m not the one standing in the way of fixing it.”

“I know that Blake; I didn’t mean it that way. Mom and Dad have their way of thinking about things and so does Blaise. None of it is necessarily right, but I just wish that there was some way that things could go back to the way they were before.”

“That’s never going to happen Blair. He’s not coming back, and as long as our brother stays away nothing is ever going to change. He still blames me for everything that happened and they’ll continue to blame me for driving him away. I’m the problem for him. Until he accepts his part in what happened and forgives me he’s going to keep on running from reality.”

“He not the only one who’s running.”

“What does that mean?”

“Blake you didn’t leave town but emotionally you’re running just as fast as he is. You work all the time, there isn’t a night that you and A.J. aren’t hanging out at the club drinking and picking up bimbos, you haven’t had a real girlfriend since Skye, you just sleep with one after another. Have you gone out on more than three dates with anybody? Have you even let one of them stick around long enough to spend the night? I don’t think you’ve ever slowed down enough to let what happened really register. You think you’ve moved on but you’re still stuck in the same place that he is, wishing things had been different, wishing that Skye was still here. I’m not blind. I don’t say anything because I know you’re still hurting, whether you want to admit it or not, but I remember what today it is and I’m pretty sure those flowers aren’t for me, are they?” she said motioning to the bouquet in the chair.

Blake looked down at the flowers and smiled. “No, they’re not. I’m taking them to the cemetery after I leave here. Her birthday is the only time I go anymore. Everything about the situation has registered with me. You may not like the way I’ve dealt with it and it may not be the best way, but I‘ve accepted what happened and my part in it. It’s over and I can’t undo it. What is there to hold onto? Trust me I’ve moved on.” It wasn’t a total lie but it wasn’t the complete truth either.

“I wish you could hear how cavalier you sound. I’m not buying one bit of it but since you’re being so stubborn I’ll drop it...for now. As long as your ‘moving on’ doesn’t have anything to do with Isabella I won’t push the issue. I’m begging you, for your own good and hers, just leave this one alone.”

Blake opened his mouth to respond when he noticed that his sister was no longer looking at him, but past him to someone standing in the doorway. He turned to see who it was and felt the all too familiar jolt to his chest when his eyes met the deep sapphire blue pair that were staring back at him. Speak of the devil, he thought to himself.

***************** 

Isabella stared at Blake from the doorway for a few seconds before taking a tentative step inside. Judging from the look on her face, he was the last person she expected to see there or at the least the last person she wanted to see. “I know I’m early. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” She walked in; staying close to the perimeter of the room, keeping what he felt was a deliberate distance from him.

“Not at all,” Blair replied. “Blake was just leaving.” She threw a stern look his way, urging him to leave, before answering the phone on her desk that had started to ring. She spoke to the caller for a few moments before hanging up and moving toward the door. “I’m sorry, I have to pop into a meeting for a few minutes. I’ll be right back and we can get to work.” She turned to Blake and put a firm grip on his shoulder as he rose from his seat. “Thank you for the gift and for stopping by. We’ll talk later; and don’t forget to have Celeste validate your parking ticket...on your way out!” She unclenched her hand and shot him another serious glare as she walked away.

Isabella moved past Blake and put her purse down in the empty chair in front of Blair’s desk. He inhaled sharply as he caught the scent of shampoo mixed with her perfume as she passed. “White roses,” she said looking down at the bouquet of flowers in the chair beside her. “I’ll have to remember that Blair likes those. I think about fifty dozen will be a start to thank her for everything she’s doing for me.” “Actually she likes red ones, but she likes bubble bath better. Those are for someone else,” he said as he scooped them up. “I’m sure they are,” she replied.

He didn’t know whether to take her remark as a jab or an off handed comment. He knew what she thought of him or at least what she thought she knew about him; and his behavior, past and present, didn’t contradict those notions. But if she would give him a chance, if he could just get more than a few moments alone with her.

He watched her as she moved toward the window and stared out at the park across the street, her expression dazed and somber. He looked out the door of Blair’s office and down the hall towards the conference room. She was still there deeply engaged in addressing a group of what he assumed were co-workers or clients. He looked back at Isabella and the empty room around them and realized that, as inappropriate as it was, this was his time, his chance, right now. For however long he had before Blair returned he finally had this woman all to himself and he wasn’t going to waste another moment of this opportunity.

The wheels in his head began turning, trying to come up with the right things to say, but his body was two steps ahead, moving toward her; his hand reached out and landed on her shoulder with a grip that is far more intense than he had intended. And he didn’t release it when she looked up at him in surprise. Instead he held on and said the only thing that felt right, “You can’t keep this up forever.” If he had ever been unsure of the connection between them before he would never doubt it again. The energy flowing between them was strong and mutual; a fact that she proved as she shrugged his hand off of her and increased the space between to keep it at a more manageable distance. 

“What are you talking about?” she said, glaring at him, her expression a combination of disbelief and anger. He closed the gap between them and answered her question. “You know what I’m talking about. Everything around you is going to hell but you walk in here like you’ve got everything under control. This front you’re putting on won’t work for much longer. It’s not real and neither is how you’re dealing with all of this.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“Exactly, and even I can tell it’s fake. How long do you think you can keep this up before you break?”

“As long as I have too,” she said crossing her arms. “You don’t understand the position I’m in. You don’t get it, no one does.”

“Then why don’t you explain it to me.”

“Why would I explain anything to you? I barely know you?”

“You’ve said that already.”

“Because it’s true.”

“What difference does it make? You know a lot of people and I bet you haven’t confided in one of them because you don’t think they’ll understand either, right?”

“That’s right, so why do you think you’ll be any different?” Isabella planted her hand on the back of the chair she was standing next to and leaned closer to him. Who the hell did he think he was, challenging her like this? He was hitting too close to home, too close to the truth.

“Because, like you’ve said, I don’t know you and I don’t have an interest in seeing you lie to the world or yourself. I’m not on the pile of all this shit you’re trying to hold together. Things don’t fall apart for me if you fall apart. All I want is a chance to know who you are.”

“And why on earth would you want to know that?” Blake move forward and put his hand on top of hers and held her gaze. “You know why.”

“I’m sorry Isabella, that took longer than I -” Blair stopped short as she entered the room. She looked at Isabella, then at her brother, and then down at their hands, still connected on the ridge of the chair back. “Blake, I thought you were gone,” she said, the edge on her voice was nearly a hiss. Isabella quickly slipped her hand from underneath of his as they both turned their attention to Blair.

“He was just leaving,” she said as she folded her arms tightly across her body shutting him out again, her eyes locked on his, becoming cold and more distant by the second, warning him not to push things any further. After a moment he relented and slowly moved his hand from the chair and into his pocket. He scooped up the flowers from the chair with his other hand and gave his sister a sheepish grin and a kiss on the check as he left. “Nice seeing you again Isabella. Sis, I’ll give you a call later.” “Oh yes, we’re definitely going to talk later,” she said, maintaining her scowl until as he walked out the door.