The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
LIES FEARS & LOVE
BY TROG |
CHAPTER
47 |
chapter 47
THE PENTHOUSE
Todd sat at the computer in his office at the penthouse, trying to bring order and context to all of the information Briggs had given him. As he plowed through the piles of documents he began to feel tired and was missing Tea even though he had only been at it for a few hours. Rubbing his eyes, he saved the document and just walked away for a while to clear his head. Walking down the hallway he peaked into Leo’s room but he wasn’t there. Hearing all sorts of childish squeals coming from Lourdes’ room, he tip-toed over and knocked on her door.
“Come in,” said Lourdes.
Todd walked in and saw Lourdes and Starr sitting on the floor eating from a big bowl of popcorn, as Leo played nearby with some blocks. They were watching a movie.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Miss Starr is showing me her favorite movie, “James and the Giant Peach!” said Lourdes.
“Starr don’t torture Lulu with this you’ve seen it 100 times, already.”
“I’m enjoying it, Mr. Manning. It’s giving me a chance to get to know Starr better.”
“Lulu said she wanted to see it daddy!” she said defensively.
“Well, Lulu, has her own stuff she likes to watch...her Spanish stories.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Manning,” she said smiling and pointing at her VCR. “I’m taping those for later. I’m really enjoying this.”
“Well, alright, but this is your room and anytime you want to kick them out, I’ll understand. Okay? And if you need extra help around the place, let me know.”
Lourdes was very touched by his concern. Todd Manning was not a man who displayed his emotions easily, but she had come to enjoy his frankness and fairness. She respected him.
“Everything is wonderful. Housekeeping does most of the housework so I can concentrate on the children. And I enjoy cooking for all of you, so that’s not a problem. I will need access to a car though to take Starr to school, and shop for the household. You can check my driving record if you wish. I‘m a good driver.”
“I have a Volvo wagon that I bought for Starr’s old nanny to use. It’s in the garage and I’ll get you insured and give you the keys. Anything else?”
“No. I think that’s it,” she said, impressed by how quickly he handled everything.
“Alright...well...okay,” said Todd awkwardly, before leaving the room.
He walked down the hall and looked into his bedroom. As he approached the closed door of the bathroom he heard water running and could hear Tea’s voice humming away. He knocked.
“Tea? What are you doing?” he said trying the knob and getting annoyed at finding it locked. He hated being denied access to her.
“I’ll be out in a few minutes,” she called out from inside.
Todd left the bedroom and headed downstairs to get a beer. As he made his way down the staircase he stopped short and stared at the place. It was hard getting use to the penthouse this way, but it was beginning to grow on him. It was all brand new to him--this place, this life, his world--but it was all growing on him.
“I’m fucking Ward Cleaver...only I probably have a better sex life. I wonder if I could get Delgado to wear an apron and high-heels like June did...” he said smiling as he walked into the kitchen.
Grabbing a cold beer from the refrigerator, he quickly twisted off the cap and took a long swallow from the deep green bottle as he walked back out into the livingroom. Sitting on a sofa facing the stairs he looked out at Llanview. Life felt so good at this very moment he wondered when it would all come crashing down on him. Lasting happiness was a concept he’d only recently adopted and Blair’s visit this morning left him uneasy. She was like something dark floating around in his world, a shadow of dark portent that hung in the air as he took another swallow from his beer.
“Tea!” he yelled like a petulant child, looking at the top of the stairs, wanting her presence, her reassurance--wanting her near. “Come on, Tea...get on down here...now...I‘m bored!”
The sound of tapping heels came to the top of the stairs and suddenly she was there. Descending slowly in black high heels, she made her way down the stairs and into the livingroom. Her dress was of midnight blue lace with a flesh-colored lining that made her look nude beneath it. It had the thinnest spaghetti straps which held up a tight bodice revealing the top half of her breasts and the hem of scalloped lace just skimmed the top of her thighs. It looked more like a delicate slip than a dress. Her hair was a mass of loose, curling waves hanging over her shoulders and her face was creamy perfection accept for her dark, luminous eyes and bright red lipstick.
Todd ‘s beer bottle hovered in mid air as his mouth opened slowly and his eyes scanned her image, pixel by pixel. Placing his bottle down, he got up, walking slowly toward her and proceeded to rotate around her body as she stood there perfectly still, saying nothing. When he had circled her completely and viewed her from every angle he stood in front of her and looked into her eyes, completely turned on and smiling curiously.
“Are we going out?”
“No....I’m going out. I have a date with Artie Vogel,” she said casually, checking the contents in her purse.
Todd’s smile faded in seconds as he stared at her, his eyes narrowing.
“Excuse me?”
“Querido, I’m having dinner with Artie Vogel. You remember--the lawyer.”
“Like hell you are!” shouted Todd. “If you think I’m letting you leave this house wearing a...a doily held up by two pieces of dental floss...you’re out of your freaking mind, Delgado.”
Tea kept her cool as she raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.
“Please don’t talk to me like I’m a...possession, Todd! I hate that. And don’t you tell me what I can wear or where I can go, okay? This is no time for one of your jealous macho trips. I’m doing this for us.”
Todd raised his eyebrows and looked at her with horrific confusion.
“You’re doing this for us? You’re going out...naked...with another man...for us?” he said with exaggerated sarcasm, waving his arms around in his customary manner.
“I’m not going OUT with him, I’m just meeting him for dinner. And I’m not naked...I’m wearing a dress. I admit it’s a bit...uh...revealing, but I have to distract him so that he’ll talk.”
Todd paced around manically, running his fingers through his hair and shaking his head, regretting the day he agreed to let her help him.
“No, Delgado, no! You can’t go out looking like that! You’re mine...and you’re...a...a mother, for God’s sake!”
Tea smiled at him and touched his face, trying to sooth his temper.
“Amado, I’m only having dinner with the man, that’s all.”
He pulled away from her.
“No, don’t do that, Tea. Don’t try to seduce me into going along with this. Ah-ah. Not gonna happen!” shouted Todd, shaking his head.
Tea sighed in exasperation.
“Todd, that man knows what Blair and RJ are up to. I just feel it. And I’m going to meet him...that’s final.” she said, stepping around him and heading for the door.
Todd sprinted past her and stood in front of the door with his arms folded in front of him, trying to make himself large and impenetrable.
“You’re not going anywhere dressed like that...not without me...if you insist...I’m going with you.”
“No, Todd!”
“Well, if I don’t go--you don’t go. And if you don’t let me go...I’ll just follow you there!”
“Todd....querido...you know how jealous you get....”
Todd stared at her and down at her dress.
“I’ll be fine...I won‘t be jealous...just go upstairs, change into something...decent...and we can get going,” he said, motioning for her to go upstairs.
“Todd! I’m not changing...this is what I’m wearing and if you can’t handle it? Stay home. Don‘t you trust me?”
“Yeah...I trust you....but I don’t trust that...teenie-weenie dress of yours!”
Tea was trying to stay angry, but she just started laughing.
“Alright, Todd...but you’d better not interfere or you’ll ruin everything.”
Todd looked at her dress again and stepped aside.
“Fine...let’s go. Oh, let me go and tell Lulu we‘ll be out for a while,” said Todd heading for the stairs and disappearing quickly.
Tea looked down at her dress and smiled.
“I think he likes my dress.”
Todd came back down carrying his oversized trenchcoat and walking over to her placed it over her shoulders.
“I think it’s going to rain...there, now we can go,” said Todd as Tea rolled her eyes and they headed out the door.
PILOT--GIORDANO’S
As Todd gunned his black Porsche along the slick, dark highway his eyes kept leaving the road and drifting to Tea’s bare thighs, and now and then his hand would creep over and attempt to pull down the lacy hem of her dress, much to Tea’s amusement.
“Delgado, I don’t know who sold you that...uh...dress, but I think you were ripped-off. That’s underwear, you know, not a dress,” he muttered, staring at the road ahead of him.
Tea grabbed the trenchcoat from the back seat and threw it over her exposed legs.
“There, Todd! Perhaps, now, you can concentrate on the road so that you don’t get us killed.”
“You know, Tea, for someone who’s famous for using her brains, you sure are enjoying peddling your ass for this slime-ball,” he said, still fuming at her attire.
Tea should have been angry at his comments but she only laughed. She was sort of enjoying his childish jealousy knowing Todd was such a passionate creature and had such a hard time controlling his emotions. As hard as he tried to be moderate about everything, when it came to love and hate, Todd was an extremist, taking them both to the limit.
“Artie Vogel is not the sort of man who would be interested in my brain--unlike you, querido. Although, I must say you do seem overly preoccupied with my dress.”
“Well excuse me for having blood in my veins, Delgado! I guess I’m just another stupid man thinking with his penis instead of his brain!” he said angrily, as he drove past Giordano’s and parked down the street a ways.
Tea looked over at him and realized she had upset him by not taking his feelings seriously. Staring straight ahead, his jaw was tight and his eyes were lowered and guarded. She reached out and took his hand.
“Please don’t be angry with me. This isn’t about sex, Todd...this is about trying to get information from this man. We’ll be in a public place...what could possibly happen?”
Todd turned to her.
“Tea, you know very well what this guy is going to be thinking when he sees you in that dress! You want him to be turned on so that he’ll blab, right? So the end result is you want to turn him on. You’re enjoying this power you have over men...like all women do! You enjoy using it on me too! Am I right?” he yelled.
Tea stared at him and realized that this silly argument was escalating into something much deeper. Suddenly her little game was fueling his sexual insecurities and he was becoming dangerously angry. Todd was obviously physically aroused by her dress but he was also angry by its intent, namely, Artie Vogel. It was difficult for Todd two compromise these two things--confusing sex with anger--and it was enraging him.
“You’re right, Todd. I am using my sexual power to get something from this man--information! I don’t want sex from him. I don’t want anything else from him!” she said calmly. She touched his face and turned it toward hers. “I know you hate to see sex used as power...as a means for anything other than love...like it is between us. It is what I love most about you...the purity of your love for me. In the past...with other men...sex was about power--me controlling them, them controlling me--but not with us, Todd. You don’t actually believe I use sex to control you do you?”
Todd looked into her eyes, trying to trust her words.
“But you do control me, like that, Tea. It’s all I think about...when I‘m working, or driving or when I’m brushing my teeth...I can barely think of anything else.”
Tea laughed and put her arms around his neck.
“And do you think it’s different for me, Todd? You’re all I think about...night and day. I count the minutes and the hours all day until you come home and I can get my hands on you, mi amor. Does that mean you’re using your sexual power to control me? Todd! This is love. Love is the power that exists between us, not sex. That’s what scares you...and me too.”
Todd pulls her into his arms and holds her tightly.
“I’m afraid to lose you, Tea. And when you’re dressed like this...when other men look at you...I guess I’m afraid one day your going to look back at one of them and then...maybe I won’t look so great to you.”
Tea kissed his hair and pulled him closer.
“Other men don’t even exist for me, Todd. They might as well be a table...or a chair. I only want you physically...emotionally...physically...spiritually...physically...vertically...horizontilly...against a wall...in a chair...in a parking garage...”
Todd started laughing.
“Alright, Delgado...you’ve made your point. I’m a jealous idiot and I have no reason to be cause you’re my love-slave, right?”
“Exactly!” laughed Tea. “Now, if this dinner tonight is going to make you crazy, and you need for me to prove something to you, that you matter more to me than Artie Vogel...then let’s go home. Right now. We can find another way to get information.”
Todd stared at her knowing very well that this was some sort of “trust” test.
“No...I’m fine with this. Go on ahead and I’ll follow you in a few minutes.”
Tea smiled at him, kissed him sweetly and opened the door. Just as she was sliding out of her seat, Todd reached out his hand to her .
“And by the way, Tea. If he puts one sweaty paw on you? I’ll kill him,” he said winking and smiling.
Tea laughed, shaking her head and heading down the sidewalk toward the door of the restaurant. Todd watched her in the rearview mirror.
“Man, I hate that dress!” he said, smiling and shaking his head. “Man, I love that dress!”
(INSIDE GIORDANO’S)
Tea walked into the restaurant, looking around the place quickly till she saw her target. Artie Vogel was sitting at a corner table, looking nervous and apprehensive as he downed a straight glass of whiskey and ordered another quickly from a near-by waiter. She walked over slowly, getting quite a few leering glances form the male patrons and some outright disapproval from the women as she made her way to Artie’s table.
When Artie Vogel looked up from taking another swallow of his drink, his eyes popped out as he saw Tea standing there and he choked, spitting whiskey all over the front of his shirt and coughing uncontrollably.
“Good evening, Artie,” she said, smiling.
Artie Vogel quickly stood, cleaning the front of his shirt with his napkin and attempted to speak between coughing.
“Oh, my dear...(cough)...you look lovely...(cough)...please, sit down (cough).”
“I’m so sorry I’m late.”
“I just got here, myself, just got here,” he said as Tea noticed the three empty glasses in front of him.
“May I order you a cocktail, my dear?”
Tea smiled and nodded, not having heard the term “cocktail” in a while.
Todd walked in and looked around quickly spotting Tea and some bald, middle-aged man sitting in the corner as the maitre`d approached him.
“Table for one and I want to sit over there,” said Todd, pointing to a table beside Tea.
“I’m afraid that table is reserved, Sir.”
Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill.
“Yeah, it’s reserved for me,” said Todd sharply, as the man quickly snapped up the bill and walked Todd to the table he requested.
As Tea sipped a glass of red wine, slowly, listening to Artie Vogel endlessly droning about himself, she noticed Todd’s black clad figure walking over and sitting at the table in front of hers, facing them directly but not looking over. He ordered a drink and perused the menu as if he didn’t even know she was there, though when he took a quick peak from above the menu he noticed the annoyed expression on her face and was mighty pleased with himself.
“So, tell me, Artie, do you know anyone in Llanview that could help me?” she asked. Tea noticed his eyes were a little glassy, and wondered how much he’d had to drink and as the waiter came by she signaled to him that Artie wanted another drink, even though he was just halfway through the one in his hand.
“Well, Tea, I don’t want to boast, but I’m pretty well connected.”
“Well, Artie, I have met a few people. Do you know Hank Gannon, the District Attorney? He offered me a job as an ADA!”
Artie Vogel sat erectly at the mention of Hank Gannon’s name and took another quick swallow of his drink.
“And are you considering it?” he asked cautiously.
“To tell you the truth, I’m not really ATTRACTED to the punitive side of the law. I think I’ve always had a soft spot for bad boys, that’s why I’m a defense attorney. You must think I’m so shallow, Artie...I shouldn’t have said that.”
He smiled at her lasciviously, pushing his small glasses back up his sweaty nose as he took another drink.
“No, I understand perfectly, Tea. I too have been tempted by the DARK SIDE at one time or another,” he said trying to sound witty and worldly.
Tea laughed out loud at his attempted humor much to Artie’s delight and touched his hand lightly, to which Todd responded by letting his knife fall to the floor with a loud bang. Tea looked over, pulling her hand away quickly and giving Todd an angry look which he ignored.
“I do know Hank Gannon’s brother, though...I’m his lawyer. He’s bit of a bad boy...if you know what I mean. Do you know him?”
“No, I don’t know him,” said Tea taking another sip of wine. “The only person I’ve really developed a friendship with is...Blair Cramer. Do you know her?”
Tea noticed no reaction from Artie Vogel as he shook his head. He obviously had not heard of Blair and this frustrated and confused her. RJ was obviously the connection between Blair and Artie...but why?
“Please tell me more about your practice. I’m so fascinated. Specially the pro bono work. It’s amazing you can do so much of it.”
“Well, my dear...the truth is I could make a lot of money with it, a lot of money. You wouldn’t believe what people are willing to pay to get a baby.”
“Really!” said Tea as she slid her chair around the table, getting a little closer to Artie, and looking up at him with outright fascination as Todd dropped his fork and spoon across the way and they came rattling across the aisle, landing at Artie’s feet.
Artie looked up at Todd, as Todd threw up his arms and made a goofy gesture indicating how sorry he was for disturbing them. He noticed Tea glaring at him as she turned back to Artie with an adoring smile.
“Yes, my dear. Recently, a woman I don’t even know, desperate to get a baby, offered me one hundred thousand dollars if I could get her a baby!”
Tea sat back and stared at Artie. That sum of one hundred thousand dollars sparking a memory, the sum that Blair gave to RJ and RJ dropped off at Artie Vogel’s office. But it still made no sense because Blair was pregnant.
“But of course, I wouldn’t take it. I perform this service out of kindness, not for money. That would make it completely immoral. Completely immoral. Well, Tea, enough shop talk. Shall we order some dinner?”
“To tell you the truth, Artie...I’ve already eaten,” she said looking at her watch. “And I probably should go.”
A look of panic crossed Artie’s face and he put out his hand to stop her as she began to rise from her chair.
Tea tried to pull away but he gripped her tightly.
“But, Tea, it’s so early. I was hoping we’d get to know each other better...much better, my dear,” he said, still holding her wrist tightly and pulling her toward him.
Todd noticed Artie’s little move, quickly stood up and came walking over.
“I think the lady wants to leave!” said Todd looking down at poor Artie Vogel who looked completely confused.
“Look mister,” said Tea looking up at Todd, “I can handle this. Why don’t you just go back to your table and drop more silverware on the floor.”
Todd looked over at Tea with a wicked smiled.
“You know what lady...I’ve been sitting over there checking you out all night. That dress has got me all hot and bothered and...I think we should get the hell out of here, get a motel room and get it on. What do you say?”
Todd lifted Tea up from her chair, slid his arm around her and pulled her toward him, planting a long, wet kiss on her mouth which left Tea breathless.
“What the hell...” said Artie standing up ready to confront Todd, even though he could see that Todd was twice his size. Todd and Tea continued to kiss passionately seemingly oblivious to Artie’s protests.
Everyone in the place was watching them as Todd finally released Tea from his grasp. Tea smiled up at him and wiped her lipstick off his lips with her finger.
“M-m-m-m...that was so good! I’m so damn hot for you, mister...take me out of here and have your way with me,” she said rather loudly and dramatically.
Todd laughed out loud and pulling some money out of his pocket, threw it on his table, then took Tea’s hand and pulled her toward the door.
“Sorry, Artie. I told you I have a thing for bad boys....” she said as she walked off with Todd leaving Artie Vogel and the rest of the patrons silenced and confounded.
2002 Copyright by Trog
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