Appointment with Destiny (Read 21,177 times)

[Kpatch]

Chapter 4b


“Oh god, that’s Parker,” Chloe said, holding one hand to her mouth and the other hand to her chest.

“Are you sure, Mrs. Kiriakis? It’s from behind.”

She nodded slowly and a sob choked her throat. “I know my son. It’s him.”

“Take a look at this. Here’s another shot. This one’s in the elevator.” The photo was from overhead and it showed a blonde woman in a tan trench coat wearing big sunglasses and a baseball cap. She was holding Parker’s hand tightly.

“That’s Parker,” Chloe said choking back tears. “There’s no doubt.”

“Do you recognize the woman?” Marsh pinched the screen to enlarge the photo.

Chloe squinted at the picture. “No. I don’t know her. But Parker doesn’t look scared. I mean, I don't want him being scared, but why doesn’t he look scared?”

“It’s possible he knows the woman, or he thinks he does, especially if she claimed she was Dr. Richards.” Marsh moved the tablet closer to Philip. “What about you, Mr. Kiriakis? Does she look familiar to you?”

Philip looked at the picture and shook his head no. Marsh started to press the home key to close the photo, when Philip grabbed Marsh’s arm. “Wait. Let me see that again.” Philip took the tablet out of the detective’s hands. He studied it for a minute. Then two minutes. He shook his head from side to side. “It can’t be. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Oh my god, Philip. You recognize her?? Who is she?” Chloe asked.

“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense, sir,” Officer Rivera said. “Any lead would be a big help, because right now, I’m sorry to tell you, we have nothing except these pictures.”

“Mr. Kiriakis?” Detective Marsh watched Philip who continued to stare at the picture.

He swallowed hard. “It’s … It’s Monica.”

“What??” Chloe cried out.

“Monica who, sir?” Marsh asked. “Can you give us a last name?”

“Um. Yeah. Give me a second.” Philip put his hand over his eyes for a moment. “Frasier. Monica Frasier,” Philip said quietly, taking his hand away from his eyes and refocussing on the picture. “She used to work for me at Titan.”

[heroicmuse]

That was an unexpected twist! I'm surprised Parker seemed to go willingly with Monica -- how well does he know her?

[melly]

Ooooooh.... she is rotten!

I bet she pulled the "I'm taking you to your parents" business. The question is--is she working alone? Or is there something else going on here?

[gapeach]

Never would have guessed it was Monica. I bet she is working with someone, but WHO?

[André DiMera]

Whoa! Monica? Never would have guessed Monica! Looking forward to seeing what happens next!

[doolfan4life]

Who's Monica?

Either way I'm glad they have a solid lead even if she is workin for someone else

[sportsgirl]

I also wonder who Monica is? But something tells me she is working for someone bigger.

[fluffysmom]

Monica is the woman who had a big crush on Philip. Chloe thought they were having an affair which led to their marriage ending.

Monica taking Parker was an unexpected twist.

[sportsgirl]

Ok, now I stand by my 2nd guess now that I know who Monica is!!!

[Kpatch]

Thanks fluffysmom for that excellent summary of Monica!

Here’s a little more context for those of you who haven’t read or don’t remember Monica.

Monica Frasier first appeared in Happily Ever After, and was also in Once Upon a Time. When we met her, she was a young marketing intern Philip was mentoring. Chloe became convinced he was having an affair with her and she divorced Philip over it. (There was lots of circumstantial evidence.) In reality, Philip had gotten too involved in Monica’s love life, mentoring her in that capacity as well. After Chloe learned the truth, she cautioned him against getting too involved in employee's personal lives. It later came to light that Monica really did have a crush on Philip. She put the moves on him and he had her transferred.

Here's a bit of (some of my favorite) dialogue from Once Upon a Time, where Philip and Chloe were in the car driving back to the office after a counseling appointment with Mary.

Starts at Chapter 29c and goes through Chapter 30c


Chapter 29c

“I was just trying to help,” he said.

“I know you were, Philip,” she said, touching his arm lightly. “I know that now. But coupled with the things I overheard Monica say about you getting amorous, and the lipstick prints, and seeing you go into the Regency with her….”

“I get that. I get it,” he said, briefly looking at her again.

Chloe gasped when a cab cut them off. “Philip! Watch out!”

Philip hit the brake hard, jerking them both forward in their seats. He instinctively reached out and pushed her back in her seat. Luckily, they were both wearing seat restraints, or they might have gone rigiht through the windshield. Maybe this wasn’t a good time to get into a heated discussion, Chloe decided.

Philip blew out some air. “You okay?” When she nodded, he continued as if nothing had happened. “Look, I can see how my behavior may have looked and sounded really incriminating, okay? And, you’re right, I should have told you what happened before you found out on your own, but we weren’t even in the same place at the same time long enough….”

That’s for sure, Chloe thought. “Because we were traveling all the time.”

Philip sighed sadly and shook his head from side to side. “No wonder we had so many problems. We never had the time to address them on the spot, so they just kept piling up.”

“And we let them,” she agreed. “We’re not famous for addressing problems when they happen.”

Philip glanced at her and smiled. “Okay, so I admit I can see why you might have thought what you thought about me cheating on you based on all that evidence. But it still comes back to you not trusting me enough no matter how many times I told you what really happened. It seemed like you were hell-bent on believing the worst.”

Ball was back in her court again. She rolled her eyes. “So that’s on me too, huh?”

“Chloe, I’m not trying to diminish my part in all the misunderstandings. I get it. I do. But the bottom line is and always was, I didn’t cheat on you.”

Chloe was determined to see this through to the end. “No, but you did get a little chummy with Monica.”

“No I didn’t,” he exclaimed, raising his voice. “I was just mentoring her.”

The light turned red and Chloe realized that Philip was now looking directly at her. She sat up a little straighter in her seat and forced herself to look him in the eye. “Please don’t get defensive, Philip. I know there was nothing going on, except….”

He raised an eyebrow. “Except?”

*

Chapter 30a

The light turned red and Chloe realized that Philip was now looking directly at her. She sat up a little straighter in her seat and forced herself to look him in the eye. “Please don’t get defensive, Philip,” Chloe beseeched. “I know there was nothing going on, except….”

He raised an eyebrow. “Except?”

“Okay.” Keep going, Chloe, she told herself. This is the hard part, but he really needs to hear it. “Except that your mentorship of Monica could be construed as inappropriate by anyone on the outside looking in, not just me. I mean, you’re the boss, Philip. You need to protect yourself from gossip and, despite what you say, I do think she had a thing for you.”

“She didn’t!” he insisted. Then it seemed like he remembered something. “Hmmm. I guess there was a minute or two in England when I thought maybe she did have a crush on me, but she was into Dean, not me.”

It sometimes floored Chloe how a grown man with Philip’s life experience could be so naive. “I know that’s what you think, Philip, but I think she was interested in you also. And if you would have given her the slightest bit of encouragement, it would have been ‘Dean who?’ and she’d have been all over you.”

“Chloe!”

Despite his protests, Chloe thought she detected some recognition in Philip’s eye, like he was starting to catch on. He looked away and started adjusting the temperature controls, turning up the air conditioning a bit.

Forcing a smile, she softened a bit and fingered the dog tag on a chain around her neck. “Honey, I’m saying this for your own good, not out of jealousy. Honestly. Think about it, Philip. You should not be mentoring interns, especially young women. You're far too good looking and rich and powerful. And to top it off, you’re a nice man and a gentleman. That’s heady stuff for an impressionable young woman,” she reasoned. “Girls who get to know you under those circumstances are going to fall in love with you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. You're like Christian Grey without the play room and Don Draper without the sex addiction.”

*

Chapter 30b

“Girls who get to know you under those circumstances are going to fall in love with you. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. You're like Christian Grey without the play room and Don Draper without the sex addiction.”

Philip looked at Chloe and chuckled. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

“Definitely,” she said, looking deeply into his eyes and sighing. Besides being a bit naive, he seemed to have no idea how much magnetism he oozed without even trying. “I’m just trying to add some perspective to the situation.”

He looked forward again, mindlessly staring at the north-south traffic as they waited for the light to change.

Since he seemed receptive, Chloe kept going. “If you want to impart your business wisdom, then I’d suggest you hold a series of Lunch-and-Learns in the conference room. Don't get up-close and definitely don’t put yourself into a situation where you’re alone in an office because it's going to turn personal. It did turn personal, Philip. There is nothing business-related about coaching a girl on how to attract a guy she’s interested in. And having a wine tasting at your home?”

“But she asked my advice,” he protested, “so ….”

“So you wanted to help her.” Chloe was on a roll and she wasn’t about to stop now. “That’s because you’re a nice guy. But you got sucked into her personal life. Philip, you’re not her friend. You’re the head of a media empire and more importantly, you’re a married man — well, you were married at the time — and it's simply not appropriate.”

Philip thought for a few minutes before responding and exhaled loudly. He glanced out the window. “You know, you sounded exactly like my father just now. I could hear him giving me a lecture just like that.”

“It wasn’t meant to be a lecture,” Chloe said quietly.

“Sure sounded like one to me.”

*

Chapter 30c


Philip glanced out the driver's-side window. “You know, you sounded exactly like my father just now. I could hear him giving me a lecture just like that.”

“It wasn’t meant to be a lecture,” Chloe said quietly.

“Sure sounded like one to me,” he laughed lightly. He turned to face her. “But it’s okay. Because you’re right, Chloe. You’re a hundred percent right and I sometimes forget my position in the world. I just want to be a regular guy, let my hair down, be a friend to the people who work at Titan. … But like you said, I’m not their friend. I’m the boss. And I need to act like one. That’s what you’re telling me.”

“Yes, it is,” she nodded. “The people who work for Titan need you to be their boss more than they need you to be their friend.”

“Wow.” He looked upward at the roof of the car, and Chloe realized she got through to him. “That was kind of hard to hear,” he admitted, “but you know something? I needed to hear it.” He looked over at her and reached for her hand. Bringing it to rest on his thigh, he threaded his fingers with hers. “I’m glad you pointed it out to me. Thank you.”

Chloe felt tears spring to her eyes. She’d gotten through the hard part and he was still listening and he didn’t hate her. She smiled warmly at him, wiping her tears with the knuckles of her free hand. “Thanks for not being angry at me.”

Smiling back, he told her, “This was a really good talk. You know, if we had talks like this while we were still married, well … we’d probably still be married. We need to do this more often.”

“In that case, I’m going to need more waterproof mascara.” Chloe heard the sound of a car horn from behind and she glanced out the front windshield. “Light’s green.”

[mae00]

Thanks for clarifying that someone had called Mary for me Kpatch! I must have been too traumatized over Parker's disappearance to catch/remember it.

Monica was definitely not who I suspected in kidnapping Parker. But it does explain why he went with her willingly and wasn't afraid.

[doolfan4life]

Thank you Kpatch
Much appreciated recap
This makes more sense now lol

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the Monica refresher Kpatch.

[Kpatch]

Chapter 4c


“It’s … It’s Monica,” Philip finally said.

“What??” Chloe cried out.

“Monica who, sir?” Marsh asked. “Can you give us a last name?”

“Um. Yeah. Give me a second.” Philip put his hand over his eyes for a moment. “Frasier. Monica Frasier,” Philip said quietly, taking his hand away from his eyes and refocussing on the picture. “She used to work for me at Titan. She got transferred to an affiliate of ours in New York. That was about a year ago, I think. Maybe longer.” He glanced over at Chloe. “I didn’t recognize her at first because of the hair. She used to have brown hair.”

“She’s probably wearing a wig,” Marsh said. “Do you have any idea what her motive would be for taking the child?”

Philip nodded. He looked away from Chloe and back at the picture on the tablet. “I think she … she used to um … have a crush on me.”

“Oh god,” Chloe said getting up from the table and walking toward the kitchen. “I told you not to get involved with her!”

“Mr. Kiriakis,” the detective leaned over and said quietly, “Did you and she ever have an intimate relationship?”

Philip turned to face Marsh. “No. Never,” he said looking directly into the detective's eyes. “She worked for Titan. That’s all.”

Chloe looked over at Philip for a minute. Then she put her head down on the kitchen counter and began to whimper. “Oh god oh god oh god.”

“We’ll need her personnel records.”

Philip picked up his phone and accessed his contacts. He pressed a key and put the phone to his ear. “Edith? It’s Philip. I’m sorry to bother you in the middle of the night. … Oh, you heard. Good. Listen, remember Monica Frasier? … Right. The police need her personnel records. … No, we don’t know for sure. It’s just a lead right now. … Okay, email it to me as soon as you can, and keep this to yourself. Parker’s safety is at stake.”

[melly]

This is just going to be bad. Chloe is likely to blame Philip for what Monica has done....so they're going to be dealing with that on top of trying to find Parker. Yikes....