Oliver dropped by Alexander’s office to check on him and Alexander was relieved and very glad to see him. Oliver closed the door behind him and went to make himself a drink at Alexander’s mini bar.
“So the news is really beating the hell out of you. Does Kyle Reeves have it out for you or what? What’s behind him doing everything that he can to take you down?” Oliver asked as he poured gin into a glass.
“I have no idea. I didn’t even know who he was until the first article came out. Now it seems like he’s a dog with a bone and he doesn’t want to let go of it. He even came by here trying to get me to talk to him and give him an exclusive feature. I told him to go to hell.” Alexander grumbled as Oliver set a glass of gin in front of him and took a seat across from him at his desk.
“How do you feel about all of it? Are you going to let Callie go and wash your hands of it all or stick it out?” Oliver sipped at his drink and reveled in the deliciousness of it.
Alexander sighed and looked over at his friend. “I’m going to stick it out and fight this. The things he’s printing are lies. None of it’s true. I have a call in to the owner of the newspaper with a request to retract the articles, but I haven’t heard anything back yet. Also, I’m not about to let go of Callie. She’s so very special, both here at the office for the work we do and in my personal life. I’m not letting go of her at all. I just hope that reporter goes away before my company is demolished.”
“You don’t know why he’s coming after you?” Oliver asked intrigued.
“No idea.” Alexander picked up the drink his friend had given him and he took a long sip from it.
“Well, if I was you, I’d find out. That is a very curious thing; him coming after you the way that he is. I suspect it’s not just to sell papers.” Oliver advised him seriously.
“You may be right. I’ll look into that.” Alexander agreed.
***
Callie was working on her homework when a knock sounded at the door. She answered it and was stunned when the stranger there handed her an envelope.
“What is this?” she asked in confusion.
“You’re being served notice.” The man said, and then he left her.
Callie opened the envelope and stared at the papers in her hand. Jack walked in just as she was reading them and saw the expression on her face.
“Who was that at the door?” he asked anxiously.
She handed him the papers. “A delivery. We’ve been served. These are custody hearing papers. Vick wants custody of Jenny. I think I’m going to throw up.”
Jack read them and grew furious. “This isn’t going to happen. There’s no way that this can happen!”
“Why are you following Vick around so much? What are you looking for?” She sat down in a chair and rubbed her hand over her forehead.
Jack shook his head. “I just don’t trust him. I want to know what he’s up to. That’s all.”
Callie didn’t believe him for a moment, but she wasn’t about to argue the point with him. “Well, no matter what he tries to pull, we’re going to fight him on this and that’s just all that there is to it. He’s not getting Jenny, period. That’s all that there is to it.”
“Agreed.” Jack looked at her and nodded just as Jenny came bouncing happily into the room.
“I’m ready for ballet rehearsal!” She beamed at them both and they smiled back at her, trying their best to hide their concern and worry. “Will you come with me, Uncle Jack?” She pleaded, and he grinned and nodded.
“You bet.” He left then with Noel and Jenny, and Callie tried to get back to her homework and concentrate, without thinking of what was coming down the road for them in the very near future.
She hadn’t sat back down for ten minutes when there was another knock at the door and when she got up to answer it the second time, she was stunned to see Vick standing there. He looked smug and he came right up to the doorframe, looking into it.
“How you doin, Callie?” He asked, not really looking for an answer. He grinned at her then. “I got a lawyer. I’m suing you for custody of my kid. I want visitation in the meantime.”
“Too bad!” Callie snapped at him. “You’re not going to get it! You’re not going to get custody of her either. No judge in his right mind would even consider it!” Her face was contorted angrily and she glared at him.
He gritted his teeth and came up into the doorway, grabbing her arms and pushing her up against the doorframe as he shot fire at her from his eyes. She reached her hands up to his chest and shoulders to try to push him away.
“You’re not going to keep my kid from me, bitch!” He brought his face close to hers, almost nose to nose, and growled at her. “She’s mine, and you ain’t keeping her! I’m going to get custody of her and I’m taking off with her then, and you and that bitch mother of yours ain’t ever going to see her again! You hear me? Fight all you want, but you’re going to lose, and if you’re lucky, that’s all that’s going to happen to you!” He reached his hand down to her crotch and grabbed it hard.
“Keep fighting me and that kid won’t be the only thing that I take from you!” Vick pushed her back then and walked out of the house, got onto his motorcycle and left.
Callie thought about calling the police, but there was no way that she could prove to them what had happened. Just as she was about to close the door she saw Kyle Barretti across the street with his camera pointed at her house. She wanted to call the police on him as well, but there was nothing to be done about him either. It was infuriating to her and she closed the door and locked it, wondering what she was going to do and trying to think of a solution.
She peeked out of the window and saw Kyle getting in his car and following after Vick up the street. She groaned, wondering what kind of trashy article he could come up with if he got a hold of Vick and Vick talked.
Callie didn’t have to wait long. The Seattle Times had the new story first thing in the morning. Kyle had produced photos of Jenny getting into the car, as well as photos of Vick in the doorway with Callie, his nose up against hers and his hand on her crotch. It looked in the photograph as if they were lovers, rather than being the truth, which was her being attacked.
The article read that Callie had a secret love child whose father had been in prison. Kyle reported that she was cheating on Alexander with Kyle and having an affair with both of them. Callie threw the newspaper away and screamed, promising herself that the next time she saw Kyle she was going to break his camera.
Rosa came into Callie’s office with chocolate and coffee. “Honey, I saw the paper. I don’t want you to think on that and fret. Don’t you worry about it at all. The truth will come out and then the only one to look foolish will be that reporter. He’s throwing his career away on all of the lies that he’s printing about you, and sooner or later, the newspaper is going to have to make it right. The truth always comes out, and that’s a fact.”
Callie thanked her and took some of the chocolate, hoping that she could last long enough for the truth to come out. Alexander found her later that morning and gave her a strong hug and a kiss.
“Baby, don’t worry. He can’t keep getting away with this. I have someone looking into it. He’s coming after us, like we’re a target of his and I want to know why. We’re going to figure this out and we’re going to get it all retracted. Don’t think on it. Focus on your schoolwork, focus on this new program that you’re creating. Think about the good things. There are so many good things for us to focus on. Don’t waste your time thinking about him, okay?” He encouraged her.
She agreed with him and gave him a kiss in return. “Thank you, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He shrugged, “Let’s not find out. Come home with me again tonight, please. I want you there with me.”
Callie nodded and grinned. “I’d love that.” She told him.
She did love it. They cooked dinner together at his house, watched a movie, and then he took her to his bed. He canvassed her skin with his tongue and fingers, kissing nearly every inch of her that night before making love with her for hours, pleasing and teasing her, and finding all new ways to show her just how he felt about her. She did the same for him, and the first light of day found them curled up with one another, fast asleep.
He woke her with kissed and touches, and she smiled up at him but then grew worried. “I don’t want to do any more damage to your company. I was thinking about quitting even just for a little while until this fight with Kyle goes away.”
Alexander shook his head as his fingers moved to her core and he began to slip them in and out of her. “No. you’re not leaving. I don’t care what the papers say. I want you, and I’m keeping you.”
She grew wet and he spread her thighs open and entered her, moving so deeply and passionately that she forgot all about whatever it was that they had been talking about and focused solely on the man making love with her, and the fires and passion that burned between them.
While they were driving to work, he looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “I was thinking about taking the family on an outing again. A surprise. What do you think? Could we do that?”
She beamed happily at him. “Yes, we’d love that! Thank you! I’ll check with Mama and Jack. When do you want to go?”
“Tomorrow night.” He looked as if he had the world tied up with a string, ready to give to her and had to wait to do it.
“I think that will probably work. I’ll let you know. Thank you so much!” She gave his hand a squeeze and thanked all of heaven that she had found such a good man. He made all of the drama and trouble worth it.
When she got home that afternoon, Jack and Noel wanted to know right away what happened with Vick at the front door. They had seen the photos in the newspaper and they knew that not one word of what Kyle had written was true.
Callie sat them down and told them. “You two had just taken Jenny to ballet rehearsal, and I was here on my own. Vick showed up and told me that he had gotten a lawyer. He said that he was going to fight me for custody of her, and that he wanted to get visitation in the meantime. I fought with him and told him no way.”
“He’s not getting visitation with her!” Jack growled angrily.
Noel shook her head and planted her hand on her heart. “No he’s not, that monster.”
“I fought with him and told him that he’s not having visitation with her between now and when we go to the custody hearing. He attacked me then, grabbing me and fighting with me, but he left right away and I was all right. He didn’t hurt me, he just threatened me. I guess Kyle was across the street sitting there waiting for something, and he happened to get the shot of Kyle attacking me, but the way he wrote it and published it, it looks like Kyle is coming on to me.” She grumbled and rubbed her fingers on her temples, trying to stem a headache that was beginning to build there.
“That’s it, I’m putting in an alarm system.” Jack said, getting up off of the couch and reaching for his phone. “Then I’m going out looking for that son of a bitch.”
“Now Jack, we don’t need any trouble with him, especially right before a custody hearing!” His mother reasoned with him. He sighed and nodded to her as someone at the alarm company answered the phone and took his call. That afternoon there was a technician at the house putting in a new alarm system.
Noel watched as Jack talked to the technician about what he was doing. She shook her head and looked at Callie. “He really hates Vick, doesn’t he? I mean, we all do, but he really hates him, doesn’t he?”
Callie agreed. “We all do, Mama.”
***
Alexander came to the door of the house in a black tuxedo and Callie swooned. “I know you told us all to get dressed up, but I had no idea you’d look this good! Watch out, James Bond!”
He chuckled and kissed her sweetly. Her brother, mother, and Jenny all came out and Jenny squealed when she saw that there was a long black stretch limousine waiting for them.
“What is that for? Is that for us? Are we going in this big car?”
“We are! It’s for a very special night out.” Alexander got into the car with Callie and her family and he wouldn’t tell them where they were going until the car pulled up to a big tall building all lit up in the front, not very far from the Space Needle.
When they got out of the car, he turned to each of them, starting with Jenny, and handed them all tickets. Jenny read hers and squealed loudly again.
“The ballet? We’re going to see Pacific Northwest Ballet? Oh my gosh, it’s Giselle! I can’t believe I’m going to see them do Giselle! I’ve always wanted to see this one! Oh thank you so much!” She rushed to him just as he finished handing the last two tickets to Callie, who was beaming with excitement as well.
Jenny hugged Alexander tightly and he hugged her in return. “I’m so glad to do this for you.” He told her and then looked up at Jack, Noel, and Callie. “For you all. Truly. Let’s go have a beautiful night off.”
He walked with them into the theatre, and they took their seats in the very first row, right in front of the orchestra pit. Jenny looked as if she was walking on hallowed ground and about to see the greatest spectacle ever to grace the face of the earth.
Alexander leaned over to Callie and grinned. “I love seeing how happy she is to see this.”
“Me too. Thank you so much. This is such a big deal for her!” Callie kissed his cheek and gave his hand a squeeze. He nodded and the lights went down. A moment later the curtain went up, and they all had their hearts broken by the beautiful ballet.
When it was over, Alexander asked Jenny for her hand and led her along with the rest of the family backstage. Jenny was enthralled with it.
“Where are we going?” She asked breathlessly.
“Well, I thought that a young ballerina such as yourself might enjoy meeting some of the dancers, the artistic director, and seeing some of the sets and costumes, as well as standing on the stage here.” Alexander was almost as excited as Jenny was, going back stage for a brief tour.
Together they met the ballerina who danced the role of Giselle that night, and Jenny got her photograph taken with her. Alexander spotted a man in trousers and a mock turtleneck and he waved at him.
The man waved back and came over to greet them. Alexander introduced him.
“Jenny, this is Peter Boal. He’s the artistic director here at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Peter, this is our young dancer, Jenny. She’ll be starring as Aurora in her dance academy’s production of The Sleeping Beauty soon.”
Peter reached his hand out and shook Jenny’s hand. “Well it’s very nice to meet you indeed! You must be really excited to be dancing Aurora.”
Jenny nodded with wide eyes, not entirely sure how to talk to Peter, as he was almost god-like in her eyes. “Yes, I can’t wait to do it! I’m practicing every day.”
He nodded. “That’s good. That’s what you need to do to succeed. You keep going and then one day you’ll get there. In the meantime, you might think about taking one of our summer intensive programs for young dancers. That’s a good way to get some very good dancing lessons and maybe even a chance to get noticed by the PNB company and me.”
Jenny grinned excitedly. “Okay! I’ll find out about that and do it!” She promised. “I would love to dance here on this stage someday. I can’t even believe that I’m standing on it now!”
“Keep practicing and then maybe someday you’ll be dancing on it!” Peter told her encouragingly. He shook her hand again and bid everyone a good night.
As they walked out of the theatre, Jenny held tight to Callie’s and Jack’s hands and she looked up at Callie and begged and pleaded with her. “I want to go to a summer intensive class here with them, please! Please!”
Callie gave her a smile. “You bet, honey. We can do that. We can easily do that, and if you work hard, maybe you can get to dance for Peter someday.”
Jenny was so thrilled that she was nearly walking on air. Alexander took them home and when he had gone and Jenny was in bed having sweet ballerina dreams, Jack sat with Callie in the kitchen having a glass of wine.
“I really like Alexander. I think he’s a good guy.” He told his sister with a smile. “I’m glad that you found him.”
“So am I.” She replied, feeling her heart do flip flops in her chest. “So am I.”
***
Kyle continued to print articles about Callie having an affair with Vick and stripping, and all the lies and trash that he could think of to print about her. It continued to be incredibly bad publicity for Summitech, and Alexander continued to ignore it, until Norman Wainwright came into his office and put his foot down.
Alex was pouring himself a drink when his company’s lawyer came into his office and closed the door.
“Oh hello, Norman. What can I do for you?” He asked, feeling a bit weary.
Norman dropped a stack of all of the newspapers that had carried disparaging articles about Callie Forrester onto Alexander’s desk. “You can fire Callie Forrester. She is doing nothing but dragging this company down, and we can’t continue to keep her here. There are far too many employees at this company whose lives and jobs are being affected by this and you can’t continue to ignore it just because you’re having an affair with her! You need to fire her immediately! If you keep seeing her after that, it’s your own problem, but don’t bring down the rest of us with you on your Titanic company!”
“I am not going to fire her. She’s the single most brilliant mind that we have working here, and she is right in the middle of creating a new program that is going to take the tech world by storm. We want to be the company who is at the front of that kind of technology, not the companies who are trailing behind it!”
“This company isn’t going to make it that far if we don’t get rid of her now!” Norman insisted. “You have to think of all of us, Alexander! You always say that we are a team at this company, and we were, but ever since she walked in through that door you haven’t been on anyone’s team but hers! It’s all about her and nothing but her!
You have an entire company here that’s relying on you to keep us all afloat, in work, and looking good to the rest of the world! How are we supposed to deal with all of her bad publicity? We can’t do that! You are going to have to make a decision, and I grant you that it won’t be an easy one, but you’re going to have to choose the company over her or we are all going to go down, and you can’t let that happen! Take some responsibility Alexander!” Norman demanded.
Alexander only looked at him and Norman walked out of the office, leaving Alexander alone with his thoughts and his guilt.
He decided that the best thing that he could do would be to get Callie and her family and go out of town for a few days. Kyle couldn’t follow them all the way to New York City, so that’s where he took them all.
The family couldn’t believe it, but he spoiled them all with first class tickets, and three days in Manhattan. They got their hotel rooms; Jack had his own, Jenny was with Noel in hers, and Callie and Alexander had a suite. Their rooms overlooked Central Park, and the city. They were beautiful, and Callie was totally incredulous at Alexander’s generosity and kindness, not only to her but to her entire family.
Their days were filled with sight seeing and visiting different iconic places in the city, and the first night there they were surprised with a night at the New York City ballet, where they took Jenny to see Balanchine’s production of “Jewels.” Jenny was in seventh heaven, and they all enjoyed the night.
When Alexander and Callie were alone in their room that night, he held her in his arms and kissed her, stroking his hand over her back and her hip as they faced one another in his bed. He gazed into her dark eyes and she smiled at him and gave him a kiss in return.
“Callie, I know that things have been a little difficult for us, and I know that this relationship between us has happened pretty fast, but I want to tell you how much you mean to me. No one else in my life has touched my heart and mind the way that you do. I’m falling in love with you. So deeply in love with you.” He spoke quietly as he touched her face and gazed into her eyes.
She couldn’t stop the smile on her face or the swell of happiness that rose up inside of her. “I’m falling in love with you too! I didn’t expect this to happen. I mean, I didn’t know what would happen, but it just seems like the more we are together, the more you mean to me and the more I want to be with you. I love you too.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
He kissed her deeply and passionately, turning her onto her back and parting her legs. She wrapped them around him and drew him into her, feeling the familiar fires and desire for him in her grow strong until they consumed her, and she gave herself fully and completely to him as she never had before; body, heart, and soul.
As they moved their bodies together, both of them breathless and burning, they whispered their love for each other, kissing in between the words, and loving the way that they felt and sounded on their lips, together. “I love you.” They murmured over and again.
They made love long into the night, and fell asleep together finally, both of them blissful and sure that they had never been so happy. The family had the time of their lives together with Alexander, exploring all of Manhattan that they could, and enjoying every minute of it.
When the long weekend was over, they all flew back to Seattle and Alexander drove them home and left them before heading to his own home. Callie felt as if the world couldn’t get any brighter until she checked her mail and saw another envelope that made her heart stop in her chest.
Jack was sitting beside her at the table and he frowned and looked at her with concern. “What is it?
Callie’s face contorted in disbelief and pain. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “It’s the judge… he’s granted visitation rights to Vick!” She wept as she handed the letter to him.
Jack stared at it and an anger came over his face that she had never seen in him before.