Being (Read 26,295 times)

[Kpatch]

Best Phloe story ever. I love how they are growing closer and closer.

Thanks for the new chapter Fifi. I can't wait for the bubble bath.

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the unexpected chapter. I love Chloe being able to calm his fears.

[felineflash]

Coming up: An unexpected person turns to Philip for help.

[MrsM]

Can't wait FF!!!

[Kpatch]

Who is this unexpected person? I don't have a clue. Argh.

Thanks for the teaser Fifi. Looking forward to Saturday.

[felineflash]

Chapter 18 - The Arrangement

Philip leaned back in his chair. His last appointment before lunch was due any minute, and this one would be a doozie. Why on earth Nicole wanted to meet with him, he had no idea, but he was certainly curious. Does Nicole even wake up before lunchtime? I guess she must, she’s the one who called and asked if she could be squeezed in. What the hell is she up to?

There was a subdued tap on his door, and his assistant showed Nicole in. “Morning, Nicole,” he greeted as he rose, “rough night?”

“No rougher than usual. Thanks for me seeing me on such short notice,” she replied as she took the seat he gestured to.

“So,” he sat on the edge of his desk. She looked terrible. Pale and drawn, and clearly worried. “What is it that you think I can do for you?”

“And why is it that you think I want you to do something for me?” She asked defensively.

“Don’t you?” He raised an eyebrow.

She let out a ragged sigh, threw her head back and looked at the ceiling, then finally looked at him again. “Yes. I do.”

There was a long silence while he waited for her to go on, but she just blinked. Frustrated, he blurted out, “You gonna quit the theatrics and tell me what it is, or do I have to guess? I really don’t have all--”

“Fine, fine. But it’s sort of a long story, so I’ll give it to you in a nutshell.”

“Wonderful.”

“Aren’t you going to offer me something to drink?” She asked, stalling.

“Oh, for God’s sake…Would you like something to drink, Nicole?”

“Yes, Philip, thank you. I’ll take a glass of water, please,” she smiled.

“Water and…” No liquor? Has hell frozen over?

“Ice?” She suggested.

He poured her water and added a generous amount of ice to the glass, then handed it to her. “Five minutes. Tell me what you want, or you’re out.”

She took a sip, sighed again, then stated, “I was never legally married to Victor.”

“And?”

“And…you don’t seem sufficiently shocked--” She looked at him warily.

“How about this,” he feigned outrage, “Oh, my God, Nicole! You were never legally married to my father?!”

“You knew!” She cried. “How long?”

“Since you came back to town. Dad looked into some of your…affairs…trying to figure out why you came back,” he smiled.

“Victor knows too? I can’t believe this. What about the settlement?”

She was looking decidedly worse now. He refilled her glass as he shrugged, “I guess he just wanted you to leave him alone. And get out of his house.”

Her hand shook as she held the glass. “Oh…well, then…I guess I’ll go--” She said glumly as she started to rise.

“No, you don’t,” he gently pushed her back down into the chair. “What’s going on with you? What do you need?”

“It doesn’t matter--”

“It does, and you’re taking up my time. So tell me what’s up,” he reclaimed his spot on his desk.

“OK,” she put her head in her hands, then looked back up at him. “A few months ago, I asked for--”

“Protection. I remember.”

“Well, I need it now, more than ever. And I don’t know who else to turn to. Philip--”

“Tell me what’s going on, Nicole.”

“Well, you obviously know that I’m still married to Trent Robbins,” she drank.

“Yes. And?”

“And he’s crazy. That’s why I left him in the first place. I left him years ago, and I thought…well, I thought he would have filed for divorce and everything was behind me, but now here he is in Salem. And Philip, you don’t know this guy. I mean, Trent is a very, very, very dangerous man. I mean it. He’s been threatening me--”

“How?” Have to get a word in edgewise, or she’ll run out of breath and pass out.

“He’s threatening to tell Victor about our marriage--”

“Which is moot point, Nicole. Dad knows.”

“Well, that’s not all he’s threatening me with. He’s…he owes money. He gambles. And he wants that money from me. And since I’ve royally pissed him off, he wants…more,” she looked at him with haunted eyes, and he knew what ‘more’ was.

“Nicole, what did this guy do to you? You’re terrified, aren’t you? I have never seen you afraid of anything,” he came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. Whatever this bastard had done, it was bad, very bad.

“What didn’t he do?” She laughed wryly. “Philip, I told you, he’s crazy. I don’t know what he’ll do.”

“So how much is he in for?”

“Twenty thousand.”

“So give him the money.” OK, what’s the problem here? Dad gave you a hell of a lot more than that. And where, exactly, do I fit in here?

“I just told you, he wants more than the money. Much more,” she shuddered. “I want you to give him the money, and tell him to leave me the hell alone.”

“Wait a second, are you saying you don’t have the money?” She blew through all of that already, and she’s still staying at the Salem Inn?

“Of course I’ve got the money. But giving it to him isn’t going to make him leave me alone.”

A-ha. I see. “Sounds to me like you’re just trying to get out of losing 20 grand. Nice plan, but--”

“I will give you the money to give to him, I’ll give you 50 thousand, if you’ll just…give me some damn protection,” she said wearily.

“Technically, Nicole, the money is still my father’s and therefore--”

“Damnit, Philip, I don’t care! Take it all! Just help me!” She yelled.

“Woah, woah. OK,” he put his arm around her. “Calm down. Alright, you want me to get him to back off--”

“I want you to get him to leave me the hell alone. I don’t care how you do it. Philip, I swear, that man…he’ll kill me--”

“No, he won’t. I’ll take care of it. OK? It’s under control. Just relax. I promise, everything’s going to be alright,” he told her soothingly. “I’ll give him the 20 grand, and he will leave you alone.”

“So you‘ll help me? You‘ll protect me?” She asked in awe. He’s kind of growling, and glowering, and it’s kind of hot. But I believe him. And if anyone can give Trent a taste of his own medicine, it’s Philip.

“I don’t know what Robbins did to you, but I’ve never seen you afraid of anything. So I know that whatever it was, it must have been horrible. I’ll take care of it.”

[Kpatch]

Ah, my hero. Philip. I love how Nicole goes to him for protection like he's the godfather. Their interaction is great. And humorous. Thanks for the chapter Fifi! Can't wait for Monday night!

[MrsM]

Great chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fluffysmom]

I enjoyed the interaction between Philip and Nicole. I can't wait to read more.

[felineflash]

Chapter 19 - Truth and Consequences

Philip poured himself a drink, loosened his tie, and plopped down on the couch. Dad was out again, Chloe still wasn’t back, and he was waiting for Nicole to show up with the money to give to Trent. And I’m going to enjoy giving this bastard his due. The doorbell rang, and a moment later, Henderson led Nicole into the room.

“Here it is,” she handed him a cashier’s check. “Thank you, Philip, really.”

“What, no briefcase filled with cash?” He joked. “Want a drink?”

“No, thanks. Pookie’s in the car. Philip, honestly…this could be the nicest thing anyone’s done for me in a long time. Really…I can’t tell you what this means to me.”

The front door opened and closed, and the next instant, Chloe walked into the room. “Hi…” she said, surprised to see Nicole. “Is that your car that’s still running?”

“Hey there. Yeah, Pookie’s waiting for me, I left the air conditioner on for her. I’ve got to run. Hey, want to do lunch tomorrow?” Nicole said as she made her way to the door.

“Oh, sorry, I can’t do lunch. How about a drink around 5:30?” Chloe watched curiously as Nicole bustled out.

“5:30 at the Pub. Sounds great…I really…well, I need to talk to someone. See ya then, thanks Dimples, I really mean that,” and she was gone.

“Hey,” Philip greeted Chloe with a kiss. “How was your day?”

“Great…what was Nicole talking about?” She replied, distracted.

“Want a drink?”

“Thanks. Philip…what is going on with you and Nicole?” She asked again, suspiciously.

“Not that!” He laughed.

“Oh, God, do you have a one-track mind? I wasn’t even thinking that you were having…a thing…with her. But there’s clearly something going on between you two.”

He sighed and sat back down, and Chloe sat beside him. Now she’s going to stare at me until I give up and tell her. And…Three, Two, One…there it is! The stare. Oh, hell. “Nicole has a problem and she wants me to help her solve it.”

“And…”

“And, it’s complicated.”

“I’m listening.”

“OK, OK. To begin with, Nicole was never legally married to my father,” he paused, knowing that this was going to turn out to be a very long story.

“Oh, boy. So she’s blackmailing you? You don’t seem too upset--”

“No, no, no. No blackmail, I’m doing her a favor. Dad knows that they weren’t legally married. He’s known for months.”

“He obviously didn’t know when he offered her that settlement--”

“Yes, he did. That’s why he low-balled it, he thought she’d never accept, and then he’d hit her with the fact that he knew she’d never been divorced from her first husband.”

“Her first husband? But she did accept the settlement, and Victor did nothing,” Chloe looked confused as she sipped her drink.

“Her first and only husband, Trent Robbins. And yeah, she accepted, and Dad let it go, because he just wanted to get her out his hair and out of this house.”

“I can’t believe your father would just bow under pressure like that…it’s weird.”

“I guess he had his reasons. He just told me to let it go,” Philip shrugged.

“So Nicole’s married to Trent Robbins? Isn’t he…didn’t I hear he’s Max’s biological father?”

“She is, and he is, and he’s a genuine slime ball. He’s been pressuring Nicole to give him money for his gambling debt…and threatening her. She’s scared. I mean, really scared.”

Chloe leaned back, thinking. “So this is why she came to you for protection a few months ago. I remember that night, it was so weird.” She straightened. “OK, so where do you come in?” This is the part I’m not going to like. I just know it.

“I’m going to give him the money. Nicole’s money…well, my dad’s money…well…you know what I mean. And I’m going to tell him to leave her alone. That’s all,” he finished his drink, rose and poured another one.

“That’s all. Right. You’re going to threaten him, aren’t you? Send a guy to ‘take care of him’? Philip…”

“What? I’m just going to scare him a little,” he said smugly.

“Lucas told me what happened with Paul Hollingsworth, Philip. You threatened to kill the man,” she shook her head in distaste.

“It was a threat made in the heat of an argument. I was never going to hurt him! And obviously, I didn’t, since he came out from whatever rock he was hiding under and turned himself in,” he pointed out.

“I’m sure Morgan was thrilled to find out that you threatened to kill her father. Is that what happened between the two of you?”

“I told you what happened with Morgan,” he replied, annoyed.

“Right. But how do I know you’re not sitting here with me right now just because she dumped you for threatening her father?” She asked hotly.

“Because I dumped her. Can we not talk about this right now?” I don’t want to talk about Morgan. I want you. I don’t ever want to think about that mistake again.

“Actually, I’d rather we did talk about Morgan. I’m not even sure if the two of you are over or not.”

“Very much so. I thought this conversation was about Nicole.”

“And you’re just making the same mistake all over again. You’re going to get yourself into a mess all over again. Just like this stupid dock war. Aren’t you?”

“I’m giving a man some money and telling him to leave Nicole alone. I hardly think that’s--”

“Planting drugs on John’s ship? No, I don’t suppose it is, is it? Because you did do that, didn’t you Philip? You planted those drugs, not Paul Hollingsworth.” She paused, then asked once more, quietly, “Didn’t you?”

Damn. Damn, damn, damn. “Those drugs were never going to hit the streets.”

“So that makes it alright? A man is going to prison for something he didn’t do, and that’s alright?” She stared at him.

“Hollingsworth accepted a bribe, Chloe! He set fire to the damn warehouse! He’s not innocent--”

“And neither are you! Do you realize that I lied to the police for you?”

“You…what?”

“I didn’t see Hollingsworth the night of the fire, Lucas did.”

“Lucas was under house arrest,” he countered.

“And he’d figured out how to get his ankle monitor off. He was on the pier, and he saw Hollingsworth. He saw me out there too, but I didn’t see Paul. But he couldn’t go to the police because he wasn’t supposed to have been there, so we decided that I would say I had seen Paul.”

“Why the hell would you lie to the police?” He demanded.

“To protect you. Lucas and I both wanted to protect you.”

“Do you realize that if this comes out, you could go to prison?” He asked angrily.

“And what, you couldn’t? If it comes out that you planted the drugs, I’m pretty sure you’d get a longer sentence than I would for just lying to the cops!” She yelled.

“They were never going to hit the streets, Chloe! I bought them to be destroyed! Don’t you see that?”

“And what if it had gone wrong, Philip? What then? If it had gone more wrong than it already has, that is.”

“I screwed up, OK? I admit it. I didn’t think things through. Hollingsworth is not innocent in this, and he deserves to go to jail. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

“And what if he talks? Why did he admit to it? What’s keeping him from talking, Philip?”

“My father took care of it,” he mumbled.

“Oh, of course. I should have known,” she said with venom. “Philip, don’t you even realize that your actions have consequences? Far reaching consequences?”

Like Tyler. And Claire. And you. And everyone and everything I care about…being in danger, because of me. Because of my screw up. “Chloe…” He reached out to her.

“Oh, no…just, please, no,” she rose. “Just leave me alone,” she ran to the French doors, flung them open, and flew outside. Damn you, Philip, damn you.

[MrsM]

Poor Philip.

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the chapter FF. You left me wanting more.

[Kpatch]

Poor Philip indeed. Chloe is a bit of a nag, no? She was getting on my nerves. Just shut up and kiss him. LOL. Oh Fifi, you always leave me wanting more! Great chapter.

[felineflash]

Well, it was a buttload of drugs, after all. It is sort of problematic, no? Wrong thing, right reason.

[fluffysmom]

I agree with Kpatch. Just kiss him!!