Chapter Two: In Which She Takes One For The Team

Work had been a living hell ever since Mr. Fox' critique on Glory's advice piece. Royce had given her a slap on the wrist for her conduct towards the man with the God-Complex. This meant that she was stuck running errands for everyone and writing the stories no one else wanted write until she could get back in Royce's good graces. Although she felt as though she was being unjustly punished for a crime she had no idea she had been committing. How was she to know that she was responding the message from that insufferable Mr. Fox' fiancé? She wasn't a psychic.

Glory had also developed a small form of paranoia. She couldn't help but think that Arden Fox might be stalking her, waiting for the perfect time to murder her. Glory knew what men with money and time were capable of. She had some first hand experience as well as seen enough crime scene investigator shows to know they were capable of just about anything and should never be underestimated. Which is why she had taken up the habit of wearing disguises when she left her apartment. It was a lucky happenstance that she had a box full of wigs from old halloween costumes from over the years.

Tonight Glory was going by the name Veronica, her alter-ego a sexy teacher with a great ass and a big heart. She flashed the guy at the door her ID, getting a strange look before he waved her through. Lucy had called her earlier in the day bawling her eyes out over some guy she had been hooking up with or was it dating? Glory had no idea honestly. This was normal and expected behavior from her best friend who was a serial dater. Lucy 'fell in love' so much it was impossible to keep up.

Glory made her way through the small crowd to the bar where she knew she would find her friend drinking a margarita bitterly. It was easy to spot Lucy, she was like a tall Grecian goddess come to life. Her blonde hair was thrown up in a high bun and she was wearing her infamous red dress. Glory sighed as she took a seat next to her at the bar, "So what happened this time?" She asked as she flagged down the bartender.

Lucy turned her chocolate eyes to me with a frown on her cotton candy painted lips. Her frown quickly turns into a small smirk of amusement, "Are you wearing a wig?"

Glory reached up and ran her hand over the short black bob currently covering her head, "It's a necessary precaution." I said as I looked over my shoulder. She laughed beside me, "You really think he's following you?" She made it seem like the most preposterous idea.

"You didn't see the way he was looking at me in Royce's office that day. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already hired a hit man to take me out." She nibbled on her lip anxiously at the thought.

"What can I get for you?" The bartender interrupts her trip into her paranoid wonderland. Glory forces a pleasant smile to her lips, "A glass of red wine please, iced." He grabbed a glass and headed off to fill it with her chosen poison.

"Well, maybe if you had apologized instead of attacking him like you did..." Lucy interjected. Glory looked over to her friend with a scowl forming, "Whose side are you on?"

She threw up one of her hands in surrender, laughing, "Yours. I'm always on your side of course. I was just saying that maybe you could have handled the situation a little better." The bartender returned, sliding the goblet before her. Glory snatched it up angrily, taking a big drink, "We didn't come here to talk about my problems. What happened with...John?" She asked attempting to redirect the flow of the conversation away from Arden Fox. She had already spent enough of her time worrying about the insufferable man.

"You mean Joe?" She corrected her.

Glory nodded her head, "Yes. Joe. What did good ol' Joe do this time?"

"You know when you came over a couple weekends ago and had a movie night with me?" Lucy asked and a smiled formed on Glory's lips, "Yes I remember because you got mad at me for ruining the ending of 'Lost in Love'. In my defense it was following the cliche Hollywood make-up for a romantic comedy I was just assuming how it would end."

"Anyway, I told you that Joe was going away that weekend to visit his mom in the hospital after some kind of surgery." She nodded her head in response to her friends words, "Well unless his mother is a twenty-three year old model from Brazil with legs that go on forever then he lied to me!" Lucy clutched her cocktail glass a little tighter, "That stupid jerk!"

She took a drink, "I should have known something was up when he got his chest waxed. I mean who does that?"

"Was the model a guy?" Glory questioned curiously, "I mean it would explain a lot honestly..."

"No!" She looked toward her like she had lost her marbles.

"What?" Glory raised her eyebrows, "It seemed like a logical question after you chest waxing statement." Lucy rolled her eyes in response.

Her friend leaned into the bar with a sigh, "I even got her number out of his phone because I was so mad. I thought up this whole speech I was going to say but then I got scared and chickened out."

Glory looked at her friend in her pathetic state and knew she had to take control of the situation, "Give me your phone." She demanded. She watched Lucy grab her purse and fish around int it for a moment, before handing the device over to her slowly, "What are you going to do?"

She ignored her friends question, "What's her number?"

"I saved it under Joe's whore." She replied under her breath. Glory scanned through the address book until she found the number, hitting the call button. The phone rang a couple of times before a gentle accented voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi. This is Ruth from planned parenthood. I was just calling about the results of a test for a Joe Kline." Glory said with a straight face while Lucy choked on her drink in amused surprise.

"The results of his test?" The girl asked in confusion. Lucy was covering her mouth trying to hold back her laughter at her friends antics.

"Yes, That's right. We tried to reach him on his main number earlier but he didn't answer. This is the other number he had listed. It's very urgent that we speak with him if you could relay the message." She tried to sound grim and serious.

"What was the result of his test?" She could tell that the girl sounded upset which brought a smiled to her lips. "I'm sorry but I can't share that information with you. If you could have him call us back as soon as possible that would be appreciated. Thank you. Have yourself a wonderful evening." She pressed end on the call and handed the phone back to Lucy.

"I can't believe you just did that..." She says trying to get herself under control, "You're my knight in shiny pink heels!" She leaned over and planted a kiss on Glory's cheek.

"Hey. Let's keep that between us. I don't need people thinking I actually have a heart." She mumbled as she lifted her glass of wine, smiling to herself as she took a sip.

"Excuse me? Bartender? My friend and I are going to need a round of shots." Lucy shouted to the bartender who was helping some other customers. He turned with annoyance that was quickly lost when he spotted Lucy. He smiled and nodded his head. Glory let out a huff, not that she could blame the guy—most of them spotted Lucy and crawled all over themselves to please her. After about four shots the two of us were laughing like a pair of hyenas.

"Oh My God! I remember this one time, I walked in on Joe dancing naked in front of my mirror to Salt N' Peppers 'Push it'. Everything was just shaking around awkwardly. I didn't know what to do, so I just scream laughed as I ran out of the room." They both broke out into another fit of laughter at her story. After a couple of stories Glory was feeling like she had accomplished her purpose in coming out tonight.

"I have to pee like sea biscuit!" Lucy proclaimed, "Don't go anywhere!" She pointed in Glory's face before she staggered off toward the restroom.

She shook her head and reached for her second glass of wine, enjoying the moment to herself. The moment didn't last long as a young man sauntered up to the empty space beside her, "Excuse me?" He attempted to get her attention. She raised a brow as she turned her face in his direction. He was wearing a white button up shirt, though he'd left the top two buttons undone to reveal a tuff of hair. His face looked like he hadn't shaved in couple of days because he had that grungy five o'clock shadow think going for him. It didn't take away from his appeal, it gave him a sort of rugged and manly feel.

Her eyes roamed down over his chest to his legs which were wrapped up in dark washed Jeans that hung tight to his muscular thighs. They were the kind of thighs a girl wanted to wrap herself around. His soft chuckle brought Glory back from her very obvious ogling of the handsome stranger. She watched his lips pull back into a friendly smile, "I'm Chase." He put his hand out onto the bar in a polite manner. She planted her hand in his, "Um, Veronica..." He closed his hand around hers and lifted it up to his face, giving her knuckles a feather light brush of his lips that sent white hot desire flooding through her veins.

He gently released his hold on her, "I hope that this doesn't sound creepy but I was sitting over there watching you and your friend and I couldn't help myself from wanting to know the girl behind such a beautiful smile."

Glory laughed and looked away from Chase, "Does that line normally work for you?"

"Normally, how's it working for you?" She looked back to him to find a good humored grin on his face.

"Oh chase." She reached over and placed her hand on his arm, "You're cute but you're going to have to try a lot harder then that to with someone like me." Glory pulled her hand away and took another drink of her wine.

It was precisely at this moment that Lucy returned from her potty break as if the fates couldn't have designed a more perfect moment, "God, I feel so much better now." She says before she notices Chase standing beside Glory. Her eyes widen and her lips pucker a bit as Glory watched her drink him in as she had done moments before.

"Perfect timing! Chase meet Lucy, she just broke up with her cheating boyfriend. Lucy meet Chase, he looks like he'd be a great rebound. Now that my work here is done, I'm going to excuse myself." She said as she hopped down from her bar stool, stumbling a little. Chase reached out to her to keep her upright but she held up a hand to decline, a smile on her lips, "I'm good."

Glory fixed her dress before she strutted off from the pair, her inner goddess berating her for giving over the hot male without a fight. Lucy needed it more then she did. She could take one or not take one for the team.

The cold air outside caused gooseflesh to rise up all over her body and she frowned wishing she had warn something warmer. She stepped up to the curb, letting out a hearty whistle—flagging down a cab to take her drunk self home. She happily jumped into the shelter of the dirty cab to get out of the cold, "Where to?" The Cabbie asked.

"East River Apartment complex please." She slurred as she pulled her arms tighter around herself. Glory stared out the window at the sights of the city, feeling comforted by the steel and concrete jungle that surrounded her. The Cabbie slowed the vehicle in front of a giant building. A man in a suit quickly opened the door and settled into the back seat beside her.

"Where to?" She heard the familiar question.

"Morgan and Beck Tower." Glory would have recognized that voice anywhere. She had engraved it into her memory and replayed it often. Her heart froze up in her chest and she quickly angled her face toward the window to keep the man from seeing her face. What was the odds that Arden Fox would end up sharing a cab with her in a city this big? She groaned internally, contemplating opening the door and jumping out as they pulled up to a red light. No, she needed to calm down as long as she didn't speak or turn around she would be fine.

"It's quite a lovely evening don't you think?" The Cab driver asked trying to get some conversation flowing. Neither one of them seemed willing to speak, grunting a response of agreement.

The cabbie didn't take the hint, "Although it is uncommonly cold for a summer night." They both grunted again, shutting down the chatty cabbie. Soon the driver pulled the cab to a stop in front of her familiar building and a sigh of relief bubbled out of her.

"That'll be twenty dollars and fifty-five cents." He read the meter to her. Quickly she reached into her purse, finding only two twenty waded up together. Glory practically threw the money at the man, "Keep the change!" She opened her door and flung her body out of the cab as Arden turned in her direction, eyes widening in surprise before narrowing in rage, "You!"

She slammed the door shut in his face and they stared at each other through the back window as the cabbie pulled away. She gave him a wave goodbye unable to keep herself from smiling, knowing he must be seething in renewed anger. Glory laughed to herself as she staggered towards her apartment. She had survived the cab ride with Arden Fox and the look on his face had made the paranoia of the past week worth it.