The Second Time Around (Read 7,478 times)

[unavitasegreta]

Philip and Chloe were my first love, but I was also a huge Philip/Stephanie fan.  If there are any other fans of the pairing out there, I hope you'll enjoy this story.  It is completed, but I'm not sure how many chapters it will end up being since I am still editing.

CHAPTER ONE

A smiling young woman dressed in all black held out a program and two drink tickets. “You are seated at Table Twenty-One, Mrs. McInnis.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie replied, shifting her clutch under her arm so that she could take the items.

Stephanie wound her way around the room, making polite greetings to those she recognized. The ballroom was packed with tables. When she finally found her seat, she placed her purse, program, and drink tickets on the table and pulled out the chair.

She scanned the room for her colleagues, disappointed to see that she was the only one from her team who’d been seated at this table. As her gaze landed on the person seated next to her, she felt her heart skip a beat. Just when she thought the day couldn’t get any worse she’d been seated next to Victor Kiriakis of all people.

Thankfully Victor hadn’t seemed to notice her. She wrapped her palm around her purse and eased her chair back.

“Leaving so soon?”

Stephanie looked over at the man next to her. “Hello, Mr. Kiriakis,” she forced out a smile, hoping that he wouldn’t make a scene. She really didn’t want everyone in the ballroom knowing about the horrible things she’d done in her past. She’d worked so hard to make a new life for herself here in Chicago.

“These dinners are much easier to handle with alcohol,” Victor suggested, moving a bottle of wine closer to her.

Stephanie stared at him, uncertain how to react to Victor Kiriakis speaking to her like she was a human being. In response, she lifted her wine glass and he filled it.

“You are the woman who was engaged to my son, are you not?” he asked, putting the bottle back on the table. “I may be a number of years older, but I rarely forget a face.”

“Yes,” she finally answered, after taking a sip of the wine to fortify her courage. “I … I just didn’t expect you to be so … polite to me.”

“I’m not one to judge,” Victor told her. “Besides, you’re the best of the worst that my son has dated.”

Stephanie cracked a smile, “I suppose I am.” She took another drink from the wine glass. “How is Philip?” After asking, she regretted it. She hoped Victor didn’t think she was still interested in his son.

“He’s fine. Looks like you moved on with your life,” Victor stated, noticing the large diamond on her ring finger.

Stephanie followed his gaze to her left hand, “yes, I did,” she answered, not wanting to discuss her life with the father of her former fiancé.

“Does your husband work for one of the companies on the agenda tonight?”

“No, I do,” she answered. Thankfully her phone started vibrating in her purse and she reached into her lap to pull it out of her bag. “Hey, the ceremony is about to start. Everything okay? … Does she have a fever? … I’ll be right there.” With a sigh, she ended the phone call. Shoving her phone back into her purse, she turned to look at Victor. “My daughter is sick. I have to get home. It was nice to see you again, Mr. Kiriakis.”

“You too,” he smiled politely, “and please call me Victor.”

Rising from her seat, Stephanie put her hand on his shoulder, “I hope you enjoy the evening, Victor.”

*

Victor watched as the young woman walked away. She really was the best of the worst. She hadn’t cheated on his son or led him into illicit drug use. She’d never been a prostitute or porn star.

It was really no surprise that Philip had such poor taste in women given the example that he’d set for his son. It had taken far too many decades to finally find a woman worthy of his love. He feared that Brady and Philip might never be so fortunate.

Looking down at the program in front of him, Victor tapped his fingers against the white linen tablecloth. A waiter came by and refilled his water glass. He checked his watch. The ceremony was set to start in five minutes. If he were lucky, Titan would be recognized early and he could slip out and go home. Maggie hadn’t come, thus he had no reason to stick around for the after-dinner dancing. He certainly had no interest in making small talk or mingling with a bunch of cosmetic company executives. This was supposed to be Kate’s responsibility, but somehow he’d been roped into attending.

“Hey, Dad! Anyone sitting here?”

Victor looked up, surprised to see his youngest child standing beside him. “Son! I didn’t know you were coming…”

“I decided at the last minute. Can I sit here or is this seat taken?” he asked, motioning to the empty seat next to his father.

“It’s empty. The woman sitting there just left.”

Philip pulled out the chair, “did you scare her off?”

Victor reached for his wine glass. “Actually, you knew her.”

Philip scooted closer to the table. “I did?”

“Stephanie Johnson.”

“Wow. I haven’t thought about her in a long time.”

“She’s still very beautiful.”

“Of course that’s the first thing you’d notice,” Philip mused with a laugh.

“I also noticed a huge diamond on her ring finger,” Victor told his son, drinking from his wine glass.

“So she’s married?” Philip asked.

Victor nodded. “She had to go home to a sick child.”

“Well, I’m glad she found someone,” Philip noted as the lights dimmed and the emcee began speaking.

[heroicmuse]

This is a great beginning. I'm excited to see where it goes. I especially enjoyed seeing Stephanie interact with Victor while feeling awkward, and I think the setup is great. I assume Philip hasn't moved on, and am curious to see if I'm right about that.

[Kpatch]

What a great beginning to have Stephanie encounter Victor right off, AND miss seeing Philip by a few minutes. I am loving this already. I have no idea how this is going to work if she's married and has a child though. So excited for more.

[gapeach]

Well maybe she's not still married!!

[unavitasegreta]

Chapter Two

“Don’t you dare touch that!” Stephanie warned, jogging down the beauty aisle to where her three year old was reaching toward the bottom shelf of a display of eye shadow.

The little girl ignored her mother and grabbed the brightly colored compact, jumping back when all the others on the row began to pour out from the holder and around her feet.

With a sigh, Stephanie put her basket on the ground and squatted down to pick up the mess.

“Can I have it?” the little girl asked, holding tightly to the compact she’d taken.

“No, you can’t,” Stephanie answered, taking the eye shadow from her as she tried to shove everything back on the display. It wasn’t working and kept sliding out.

“But … but … it’s pretty,” she pouted, her blue eyes filling with tears.

“You can’t take things just because they’re pretty,” Stephanie told her. She gave up on trying to fix the display and just shoved everything back onto the shelf. Unfortunately, that didn’t work and half of the compacts slid back out.

“But it’s pink.” She held up the plush toy in her hand. “My pony is pink.”

Stephanie sighed, “I said no.” She didn’t have to look at her child to know that a loud wail was about to come out of her. What she wasn’t expecting was for the little girl to turn and start running.

Struggling back to her feet, Stephanie took off after her. “Come back here! Ava!”

As the child rounded an end cap, she collided with a pair of legs and the man she’d ran into reached down to stop her. He scooped her up, but her legs kept on going as she tried to break free.

Stephanie caught up, gasping for air, as the man handed her the struggling child. “Thank you,” she breathed, while Ava kicked against her. “Stop it!” she ordered, shifting her onto her hip. Ava at least stopped hitting her chest with her fists, but her legs were still kicking.

“Is she always a runner?”

Stephanie looked up from her struggling daughter. She’d know that voice anywhere. But she hadn’t expected to see him here of all places. Or that her daughter would run straight into him in the midst of a major meltdown. She was shaken from her reminiscence when her daughter’s head smacked into her chin. “I said stop it!” she admonished the child. “If you hit Mommy one more time…” Stephanie warned.

Ava frowned, grumbling something unintelligible, but she settled down.

“I saw your dad a few months ago...” Stephanie wanted to kick herself. That’s all she could think to say after so many years?

“Yeah, we just missed one another that night. He said you had to go home to a sick child.”

“That’d be this little angel,” Stephanie told him, looking down at Ava, who now seemed to be fascinated by Philip. “There’s something I’ve wanted to say to you for a long time.”

“It’s not necessary,” Philip insisted, somehow knowing what she was going to say.

“Yes, it is. Philip, I’m so sorry. I know just saying that isn’t enough,” she stammered as Ava started squirming in her arms. Her arm flailed up and smacked Stephanie on the side of the face.

“It’s all right,” Philip assured her as Stephanie pushed her daughter’s arm down.

“No, it isn’t,” Stephanie insisted. “Philip…” Ava jerked again and Stephanie put her down, holding tightly to her hand.

“I’m serious,” Philip stated, “it’s all in the past. I’ve moved on. It wasn’t easy at first, but I’m in a good place in my life now.”

“That does not make up for the pain I caused everyone, especially you.”

Ava jerked on her mother’s hand. “Goooo home,” she whined.

“You don’t owe me anything more than an apology, which you already gave.” Philip looked down at the upset little girl. “I think she’s ready to go home to your husband,” he noted.

“I’m not married,” Stephanie told him.

“Oh, I just assumed with the wedding band,” he nodded towards the large diamond ring.

“Come on!” Ava tugged on her hand.

Stephanie stumbled as Ava pulled on her. “It’s a long story,” she told Philip with a shrug as her daughter continued to act out.

“Maybe you’ll be able to tell me one day,” Philip laughed, watching as the little girl pulled her mother down the aisle.

*

Exiting the store, Stephanie picked up her daughter and plopped her down on a bench outside the drug store. “Look at me,” she demanded.

Pouting, the little girl looked down at her lap. “You’re mad?”

“Yes, I am mad,” Stephanie told her. “That was not polite. Mommy was trying to talk to that man.”

“I don’t want a daddy,” Ava pouted.

“Ava,” she sighed. “We’ve talked about this. Every time I speak to a man doesn’t mean I am going to marry him.”

“Suzy’s mommy got her a new daddy,” she pointed out.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to get you one. Besides, you already have a daddy,” Stephanie reminded her. She put her finger under Ava’s chin, lifting her head up. “Listen to me. The only person I want in my life right now is you.”

“Promise?” Ava asked.

“I promise,” Stephanie assured her.

“Okay,” she relented. “Can we go home now?”

“Yes,” Stephanie smiled, picking her up. “But you are still in trouble for being a bad girl.”

“Can we get ice cream?”

“No,” Stephanie told her.

Ava frowned, “okay,” and laid her head against her mother’s shoulder as they walked home.

[heroicmuse]

Oooh so she's not married...anymore.

Fantastic scenes with Ava. You capture a three year old in meltdown mode so well unavitasegreta.

[Kpatch]

I kept waiting for Stephanie to tell Ava that "sprinkles are for winners." The kid was getting on my nerves. She was distracting me — I mean Stephanie — from a very important conversation.

How awesome to run into Philip in a drug store, like a regular person.

I am loving this story. Can't wait for more.

[unavitasegreta]

Chapter Three

Looking around the room, Philip frowned and leaned back in his chair. He didn’t know a single person other than the handful of Mad World employees spread around the room. He’d made the mistake of coming to this event last season to keep his father company and somehow he’d ended up taking on the responsibility for overseeing Mad World Cosmetics. He didn’t know a thing about women’s cosmetics, but the brand certainly made Titan a lot of money. They’d snagged a celebrity endorsement and had an insanely successful advertising campaign this year. The only company that had outperformed them in women’s skincare, make-up, and beauty was Chanel.

Philip watched as the woman next to him picked up her wine glass and grasped it precariously in her hand.

“Seriously, Maryanne, we need to find her a man.”

“What?” the blonde woman next to her laughed, lifting her own wine glass to her lips.

“Look at her over there. She’s always stuck with Bob and Joe from R&D. They’re like ninety.”

Philip felt bad eavesdropping on their conversation, but he was seated next to them and they weren’t making any attempt to talk quietly.

“It’s only been a year, Stacie,” Maryanne pointed out.

“A year and a half,” the woman corrected.

“Whatever,” Maryanne waived her hand. The movement caused her wine to slosh out of her glass. “Oh crap!” she exclaimed. “I better go wet this before the stain sets.”

“I’ll come with you,” Stacie replied, grabbing her purse and following after her friend.

Grateful that the two women had left, Philip sat back in his chair. He reached into his coat pocket and took out his phone. It was only 7:30. The final award of the night wasn’t planned until 8:45. Philip reached for his glass of brandy, an indulgence he’d picked up from his father, and listened to bland executives accepting awards like it was Oscar season.

Sometime during the evening his dinner companions had returned from their trip to the restroom and were again discussing the friend they needed to set up on a date. He’d tried not to listen to them, but their discussion was far more interesting than droll speeches from people he didn’t know. So far he’d learned that their friend’s husband had died unexpectedly, leaving her to raise their daughter alone. Maryanne felt it was too soon to set her up with someone, but Stacie didn’t. They’d finally stopped discussing who to set her up with when Maryanne had noted that since the woman was their boss that it might be awkward if they set her up with someone and it didn’t work out.

Turning his attention from the two gossiping women, Philip caught the end of the man on stage’s speech as he thanked Bob, Joe, and Stephanie for their creative talent and leadership. When the man insisted that the trio stand up, Philip’s mind began to swirl. A million thoughts all ran together. The woman that the ladies next to him had been discussing was Stephanie. His Stephanie. Well, not his Stephanie anymore, but she had once been his Stephanie.

Wanting to be certain that it was her, Philip leaned toward the woman next to him. “Wow, she’s gorgeous,” he noted.

The blonde woman, whom he knew was Stacie, turned her head to him. “She’s single too.” She along, with the woman Philip knew to be Maryanne, burst out laughing. “I’m sorry,” Stacie stated, putting her hand on Philip’s forearm. “We were just talking about finding her a man.” She lifted her hand. “You have good timing.”

Philip laughed along with her. “What’s her name?”

“Stephanie McInnis,” Maryanne answered.

“You want to meet her?” Stacie asked.

Philip kept looking at Stephanie. “I’ve met her before.”

Stacie frowned, looked at Maryanne, then back at Philip. “Then why did you ask her name?”

He kept his eyes on Stephanie. “I didn’t know her married name. We knew one another a long time ago.”

“How do you feel about children?” Stacie asked.

“Stacie, stop!” Maryanne admonished her. She leaned forward so she could see Philip better. “I’m sorry. We’ve had too much to drink.”

“It’s fine,” Philip insisted. “She’s lucky to have such good friends.”

“Employees,” Maryanne stated, looking pointedly at her friend, “thus we need to behave.”

Philip chuckled as the two women bantered between themselves.

As the evening came to a close, he rose from his seat. Debating with himself, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. Looking at it for a moment, he pushed his chair in and stepped behind Stacie and Maryanne.

“Would one of you ladies mind giving this to Stephanie when you see her?” he asked.

The two women exchanged looks, and Stacie accepted the card. “I’ll make sure she gets it.”

“Thanks.” He smiled down at them. “Oh, I’m Philip Kiriakis,” he extended his hand.

The two women introduced themselves, and though Philip already knew their names, he smiled politely before bidding them a good night.

*

Philip stuffed his hands into his pockets as he exited the Palmer House and turned towards Michigan Avenue. He didn’t know why he’d given the women his card. Did he really want to see Stephanie again? What did he think he was going to accomplish by giving his card to her colleagues?

As he entered his building, nodding his head at the doorman, Philip realized that he was interested in her. That was why he’d given her colleagues his card. He was interested in Stephanie. The realization shook him and he felt numb as he blindly pushed the buttons on the elevator to take him up to his floor.

He was inside his loft and dropping his keys and wallet on his dresser before he even realized it. Philip looked up at his reflection in the mirror and ran his hands through his hair. “What the hell are you thinking?” he asked himself.

Philip unbuttoned his dress shirt on the way to the shower, dropping it into a laundry basket along with his trousers. As he waited for the water to heat up before stepping into the shower he thought back on his relationship with Stephanie.

They had been good together. Really good together. They’d managed to find a perfect balance between work and pleasure. Things hadn’t fallen apart until EJ had her kidnapped. And they’d probably have survived that hurdle in their relationship if it weren’t for Melanie. If he hadn’t slept with Melanie, he and Stephanie would likely have gotten married and lived happily every after, running Titan together. The child she had might have been his instead.

It wasn’t that surprising that he’d be interested in her. She was still drop dead gorgeous.

Resolving to wait and see if she contacted him, Philip stepped into the shower.

[Kpatch]

I cannot even say how much I loved this chapter, how I could see every little bit of it and feel what Philip was feeling. Great way to have him find out more about Stephanie's life, from her colleagues and the awards ceremony. I am hooked!

Love your writing style unavitasegreta.

[villa281]

I am really enjoying the story, Philip and Stephanie are my favorite Days Couple. I have always found that they were very under rated and under represented. Glad to talke to another Phinie fan. I look forward to reading the rest of the story.

[heroicmuse]

I love the setup here. The conversation between the gossipy women was so vivid too. Can't wait for more!

[kathyj]

Catching up on my reading and found your story. Great start - beautifully written as usual.

[unavitasegreta]

Chapter Four

Stephanie tapped the rectangular business card in her hand against her desk. She twirled it around in her fingers, then grasped it with both hands and looked down at it. She’d had it for two months. Maybe it was too late now. Philip had probably forgotten that he’d given it to her colleagues.

Stephanie thought back to when Stacie had given it to her …

“He’s sooo hot,” she cooed.

Stephanie looked up at her as she took the business card Stacie was holding.

“How do yow know him?”

“What?” Stephanie frowned, fearing what Philip might have said to her.

“He said he knew you before you were married.”

“Oh.” Stephanie looked down at the card with Philip’s name emblazoned in gold block lettering. “We used to work together.”

“That’s it?” Stacie asked, disappointed. “Ooooh! He said you are gorgeous. You should call him. He’s not wearing a wedding ring.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie laughed.

Stacie walked to the door, “seriously, call him. He’s hot!”

Stephanie laughed at the memory. Stacie had been so adamant that Philip was interested in her. If she only knew the truth about their past.

She looked back down at the business card. What did he expect from her? He had said that she didn’t owe him an apology.

Stephanie reached across her desk and picked up the picture of her husband. She put the picture down next to the business card and ran her hand through her hair.

“Why am I nervous?” she asked. “I ruined any chance I had with Philip Kiriakis. So I can’t be interested in him. Besides, I’m the one who ended our relationship after he slept with Melanie. And he moved on and married her. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have left Salem and met you.” She sighed and sat back in her chair, staring at the picture of her husband and the business card next to it.

“This is ridiculous,” she stated, sitting up and putting her husband’s photo back in place. She scooted her chair up to her desk and reached for the mouse, clicking the button to open her email.

Philip was just being polite. That’s all. There was nothing more to it than that. Resolving to send him a quick email, she copied his address from the card.

Philip,

I hope all is well with you.

Merry Christmas,

Stephanie

Hitting send before she could chicken out, Stephanie closed her email and picked up the business card, putting it away in her desk drawer. The last thing she wanted to think about was how lame her e-mail had sounded.

*

Across town, Philip felt his phone buzz in his pocket and reached into his coat to pull it out. He swiped his finger across the screen and unlocked the phone. More work emails. Scanning them quickly, he forwarded a few items that required follow-up to his assistant and deleted those that were junk mail.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he picked his keycard up from his desk and headed for the elevators. He needed a few files from the storage room so that he could get some work done over the Christmas holiday. His father had asked him to come home, like he always did, but Philip had no desire to spend Christmas in Salem with his father’s new family. He didn’t mind Maggie so much but he really didn’t want to see his father being more of a dad to Daniel than he ever was to him.

Exiting the Titan office buildings, Philip stopped at the street corner and pulled his phone out. He needed to call and make sure that the flowers he’d ordered for his mother were delivered to the right address. It seemed that she never stayed in one home for very long.

Scanning his emails in the trash folder for the florist’s contact information, he noticed that someone from Chanel had sent him an email a few hours ago and he’d deleted it.

He didn’t think he knew anyone at Chanel, but opened the email to see if he needed to forward it to one of his employees to handle.

Philip,

I hope all is well with you.

Merry Christmas,

Stephanie

He read the e-mail again, noticing the signature line at the very bottom.

Stephanie J. McInnis
Executive Vice President of Fragrance and Beauty Division

Shaking his head, he realized that he’d seen the name “S. McInnis” repeatedly over the past year on various reports. Chanel was the only company that they couldn’t surpass when it came to sales. They outperformed Mad World every year and in every category from skin care to make up to those wipes that women used to wash off their make-up.

Deciding that he had nothing to lose, Philip put his phone into his pocket and headed towards the L train.

[heroicmuse]

Awww... Go Philip! Let's see what develops.

[Kpatch]

It's so sad that Stephanie's husband died so young.

I love how this is developing. She was so nervous to correspond with Philip. And he almost failed to see that email.

I agree with Stephanie's colleagues. Philip IS hot (played by Jay Johnson.)