CHAPTER 9

       Lance walked into the suite of offices he bought the moment he decided to move “HL Sportswear” headquarters from New York to Los Angeles. He nodded a good morning to Kelly, his receptionist.

“Mr. Hamilton!”

          Her high-pitched voice made him halt. Lance turned and saw her coming out of her desk. Kelly had a concerned expression on her face. The young woman was usually very calm and professional, so seeing her so agitated left Lance a bit bemused.

“Kelly… tone it down a little… I’m right here…” he replied.

“Sir,” she said a little softer this time, her voice almost a whisper, “I’m sorry for raising my voice…”

“It's alright, Kelly. What’s going on?”

“Mr. Hamilton, if I was you, I wouldn’t go there right now… or any time soon for that matter…” the receptionist whispered to him.

          Lance raised an eyebrow when he realized that Kelly was gesturing toward his office. But, from where he was positioned, Lance couldn’t see who was the person Kelly was referring to.

“Why the hell not?” he demanded in a cold tone.

          Kelly glanced around like she was afraid someone beside him might hear her words, then she put one hand up to shield her mouth and tapped her finger against her palm in the direction of his office.

“Because the ‘Ice Queen’ is there…”

“The Ice Queen…” Lance repeated, not understanding what Kelly was referring to.

          He took a few steps back, to stare down the hall toward his office, but the door was closed. 

          ‘I have no time for this nonsense,’ he thought.

          Lance looked back at Kelly and tried to stifle his growing impatience. The girl was highly efficient even if she was a little bit… eccentric. But Lance liked unconventional people, and since Kelly became part of his staff, Lance found she brought a sort of vibrancy to an otherwise stuffy office.

“Alright, Kelly. Let’s stop playing charade. Who the hell is this ‘Ice Queen’ and where is Claire?”  

          Claire had an astonishing ability to know precisely when he would show up, and as a result, she was always present and prepared. His longtime private assistant was a very reliable person, taking always care of every single thing Lance needed or asked for. She never complained about the work volume and traveled with him everywhere. So, it wasn’t like her not to meet him as he got off from the elevator.

“Oh, Mr. Hamilton, didn’t you get the texts I’ve sent you?”

          Kelly frowned and watched Lance’s stunned face. He took off the phone from his pocket and looked at the received texts. Checking his mail and texts was the first thing he would do every morning. But he just got distracted thinking of Annalise, thinking of his brother’s wedding and the entire Sunday just flew away without him noticing it.

“Last night, Claire’s mother fell and fractured her hip. She was rushed to the hospital. She is in surgery right now. Claire was so distraught… Since she had to take the first flight to New York, she asked me to let you know right away… Well, I did it and…”

          Lance nodded slightly.

“Alright, Kelly…” he replied. “I had something else on my mind and I didn’t check my texts.”

          A bit embarrassed for almost making Kelly cry, Lance sighed and put a hand on her arm, trying to calm her down.

“Please, keep me updated. I want to know the minute she’s out of surgery.”

“Yes, sir,” Kelly replied.

“Send Mrs. Perry a huge bouquet of flowers and, if you hear Claire, make sure she has everything she might need. And…”

          He stopped. Kelly blinked, then hurriedly, picked up a notepad and began scribbling. Lance smiled slightly.

“On second thought, send over food for the whole Perry family. I know for a fact that hospital food isn’t always great. And one other thing…”

“Yes, sir?”

“Until Claire’s return to Los Angeles, you’re going to be my executive secretary. So…”

          Lance paused and waited. Kelly looked up, blinking as if surprised to still see him standing there.   

“Are you gonna tell me who is this person waiting for me in my office?”

“Oh, yes… It’s Miss Olsen, sir.”

          After saying the woman’s name, Kelly’s nose curled in disgust. Lance sighed and glanced down the hall, briefly considering leaving the building. Annalise was in his mind, so he had no time for Guinevere and her… well, whatever the reason for this visit was. 

"Mr. Hamilton, I swear I’ve tried to stop her, but I couldn’t. She said to me something quite offensive, then she entered your office, and slammed the door in my face…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry,” he replied and shook his head in disbelief.

          He couldn’t imagine anything Guinevere could have to say to him. Their relationship ended the moment she betrayed him and his interest in her disappeared completely when Arthur announced their engagement.

“Please, Kelly, keep me posted on Claire’s mother,” Lance added as he turned to go down to his office.

          Lance opened the door and swept in, his gaze immediately finding Guinevere. She was sitting on one of the sofas, fixing her makeup, watching her reflection in a pocket mirror she always carried in her little purse.  

“Gwen,” Lance said as he tossed his briefcase onto his desk. “What the hell are you doing in Los Angeles and, more precisely, in my office?”

          Guinevere put the mirror and the lip gloss in her purse, and rose calmly from the sofa, her hands going down to smooth her dress. The motion directed attention to her legs. The dress stopped almost at mid-thigh, which meant quite a lot of those legs were on display.

          Still the best part of her…

          At one point, Lance enjoyed those legs quite a lot. Too bad they were attached to the rest of the most disgusting woman he'd ever known. Her expression creased into one of deep concern. Guinevere crossed the room, holding her hands dramatically in front of her to grasp his.

“I came to Los Angeles to do some last-minute wedding shopping, but I also wanted to thank you personally for agreeing to come. It means the world to Art and your parents. I know how painful it must be. I can’t imagine how difficult it was for you to agree to be a part of it… after I broke your heart.”

          Lance just stared at her. She was delusional… Part of him wanted to ask her on what planet she was living, but he already got the answer. She was living on a planet called 'Guinevere', where everything she was saying or thinking made sense and where everything revolved around her.

          Did she honestly believe he was still caught up in her?

“Cut the crap, Gwen. This is me you’re talking to. I know you better than anyone else in my family. You don’t care if I show up or not, so why pretend otherwise? I’m pretty sure you hoped I wouldn’t come. So, why are you really here?”

          She blinked, and for a moment, Lance saw bitterness and a bit of anger in her eyes.

“I heard Flora on the phone this morning and she sounded quite happy. She said you decided to come to the wedding and that you were bringing a… date. It was clever of you, Lance, it really was.”

          He looked at Guinevere and a little grin appeared on his lips.

“Well, you can fool your mother, but you can’t fool me, Lance. Everyone, friends and family, knows you haven’t been in a serious relationship with another woman since… since I left YOU,” Guinevere emphasized. “So, I got curious and I decided to stop here on my way to the airport, and find out more about this woman. Who is she, Lance? How much did you pay her to act as your… girlfriend? Does she know she’s going to… disappear from your life right after my wedding party? That you’re not a serious relationship type of guy? That you’re treating women like they are accessories?”

“Oh, please, Gwen... Just spare me all this cheap drama!”

“Yes, Lance, that’s all I ever was to you. An accessory. And this was the reason why I left you.”

“Oh, really?! This was the real reason for our break-up?!” Lance asked raising an eyebrow. “Listen, you must help me out on this because I’m not sure I get it. You can’t have it both ways, Gwen. Either I was serious about you or were you an accessory.”

          Lance asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. But the truth was that he wasn’t really all that interested in finding the answer to his question. Still, he was curious to find what was going on in that absurd brain of hers.

“So, which one is it… Gwendy?” Lance urged her to reply, using the nickname he knew she was hating with absolute passion.

          Guinevere flushed angrily.

“What I wanted to point out was the fact that you haven’t dated a woman more than one day since I broke things off with you,” she hissed and started to lose her composure.

          He made an exaggerated expression of surprise.

“You flatter me,” he replied grinning. “I had no idea you were so interested in who I’m dating or how many women I’m having in my bed every night. I would have thought my brother kept you too occupied to monitor my love life.”

“What…? No, I’m not…”

“Between making Artie happy, spending all his money on savage shopping trips all over the world, and preparing for the wedding of the century, you still manage to find the time to check out on me and my love life. You are a real force of nature… Thanks for your concern… ‘sis’!”

“Oh, whatever!” she exclaimed quite irritated by his behavior.

          She took her purse and went to the door. Still, before leaving the office, Guinevere made a dramatic turn, stared coldly at Lance, and addressed him in a patronizing tone.

“Bring your… girlfriend, Lance! I do not care! But you know and I know she isn’t me. She will never be me. Don’t think you will be the main news on my wedding day. I will remain the best thing you never had.”

          With that, Guinevere stormed out of his office, leaving Lance smiling while shaking his head, in utter disbelief. This deranged woman had been at one point, his girlfriend… He really ought to call his brother and thank him profusely for helping him get rid of her.

          He sank into his armchair and started looking at his list of appointments. As usual, his efficient private assistant put together his schedule for the next few days. She was extremely meticulous in keeping records of every single appointment.

          Lance frowned when he saw his calendar was absolutely full… or almost… He had an entire hour around lunchtime that was completely free. Perfect! The right moment to meet again with Annalise, whose office was just ten minutes away from his.

“Well, let’s see what her reaction will be once she finds out what I have in mind for the weekend…” Lance whispered and took a deep breath.

          He had planned to call her, but a proposition such as the one he had in mind was really better delivered in person. Lance wouldn’t have a lot of time, and he doubted Annalise had a lot of free time, either, but he knew without arrogance, that if he asked her to have lunch, she wouldn’t refuse.

          Annalise was a professional and he knew for sure, since their last encounter, how badly she wanted the contract. He hit the button to call Claire then quickly remembered she wasn’t there. He connected to Kelly instead.

“Yes, Mr. Hamilton?”

“Kelly, I need Miss Annalise Walsh of ‘S&W Advertising’ on the phone. ASAP!”