Sheridan sank to the couch, clutching the photo in one hand and the folder in the other. She was utterly confused, unsure whether to believe that Hank had innocently told her something that he honestly believed, or if he had purposely hid the truth from her. Luis stepped closer to her, not quite sure if he should be there or not.
�Miss Cra�Sheridan?� he said timidly. �You didn�t know that was Ella?�
She looked up, as if realizing he was there for the first time. �What? No, of course not, Luis. I wouldn�t have asked you so many damn questions if I remembered her, would I have?�
�Well, I�m sorry I asked,� he said, his voice going frosty. �I�m going to go if you don�t need anything else.�
She waved him away. �Whatever.�
Looking incredibly insulted, Luis turned on his heel and walked out of the living-room and towards the front door. A moment later, just as she heard the door opening, Sheridan looked up.
�Wait!� Her heart was in her throat. Another mistake, she realized�another stupid mistake. She jumped to her feet, tossing the folder on the couch carelessly, still clutching the photo in her hand. �Luis!�
She caught up with him at the front door. He had an irritated look on his face. �What?� he snapped. �Did you need to take out more of your frustration on me? Because if that�s it, don�t bother, Miss Crane.� He bit her name out like it was an insult. Sheridan shook her head.
�No. I�m sorry.� Her voice went a little quieter. �I�m sorry�honestly.�
She must have looked sincere, because Luis� expression softened. �It�s okay,� he said with a shrug.
�I would like it if�if you would stay, please.� She backed away from the door to allow him to come inside. Luis hesitated a moment before obliging, staring at her as though she were a stranger. She may as well have been�the word �please� on her tongue felt incredibly foreign. Being polite all-around was not something Sheridan was used to. She was still trying to figure out if she liked it or not as they made their way back into the living-room.
�Hank told me that she was a red-head,� she said as soon as they sat down. It was a weird feeling to know that she wasn�t sure who to trust�even her father seemed to want this mission of hers to end, and she felt closer than she ever had before to solving the mystery.
�Hank?� Luis asked, surprised. �Really? He must have had her confused with someone else.�
Sheridan shrugged. �I don�t know, Luis. He seemed pretty sure.� She plucked the folder off the couch and flipped through the pages, scanning them. There wasn�t just information on Ella, but information on her mother�various charges of drug use, prostitution, public indecency. Sheridan cringed inside for the old friend that she couldn�t remember�the little girl who had to deal with a scandalous mother like Cindy. She remembered briefly that Luis had told her that nobody knew who her father was, and she felt even worse for Ella.
�God, this girl,� she mumbled as she stared at a line in bold: Cindy DuBois, 31, arrested on charges of DUI with nine-year-old daughter in backseat.
Sheridan lifted an incredulous gaze to Luis. �And no one knows where Cindy is?�
Luis shrugged. �Nope. She disappeared off the face of the earth when Ella jumped.� He leaned back into the couch, getting more comfortable. �It would have been nice to have her in for questioning, but she didn�t even stick around that long. Ella wasn�t even supposed to be in her custody, really, but they would stick her in foster homes and she would run back home to Mommy.� He gestured to the folder. �It�s all in there, Sheridan.�
Sheridan stared down at the folder. �Do you remember� Was I friends with her for long?�
He looked confused. �I don�t know, Sheridan. You didn�t even look my way back then. I was just a silly Lopez-Fitzgerald�middle-class, not worth the Cranes� time of day.� Sheridan glanced away, feeling embarrassed, and Luis sighed. �Look, as far as I can remember, you were always friends with her. When I did catch glimpses of you, you two were connected at the hip.�
Sheridan looked even more frustrated at this news. �I just don�t get it, then. Why would they send me away instead of dealing with the issue?�
Luis stared at her. �What do you mean?�
As if suddenly aware of his presence, Sheridan grew uncomfortable and looked away from him. �Nothing,� she said quickly. �I was just thinking out loud.� Remembering her glass of wine, she picked it up, downed it in one gulp, and made a face. Then she called for Milly, who showed up looking nervous.
�Can I get more wine, Milly? And, uh, Luis?� She looked at him expectantly.
�I�ll have brandy if you have some.�
Milly bobbed a curtsy and said, �Yes ma�am, sir,� before departing. A moment later, she returned with a glass of wine and a glass of brandy, then disappeared again. Sheridan and Luis looked at each other, silent. Finally, Sheridan lifted her glass.
�Cheers,� she said with a weary smile.
Luis chuckled. �Sure. Cheers.�
~*~
Two hours later, Sheridan was sprawled out in a very unladylike manner on the couch, and Luis had slumped into the nearby chair. Neither of them were sleeping�just staring off into space. They had gone over the Ella files for most of the two hours, and then wandered off into the realm of the ordinary; then the less ordinary; and tomorrow both of them would be regretting the amount of alcohol they�d consumed.
�Do you think everybody hates me?� Sheridan slurred, turning her head only slightly to look at his face.
�No,� Luis answered automatically, and then laughed. �Well, yes.�
�Oh, great. Thanks.�
�I like you,� Luis comforted, sitting up straight in his chair.
Sheridan squinted at him, as if unsure whether or not to believe him. �You do?�
�For the most part,� he said with a shrug.
��For the most part�?� she echoed, and then rolled her eyes. �Gee, thanks.� After a moment�s pause, she added, �Hank likes me.�
�Hank lied to you,� Luis said defensively.
�I thought you said that he must have mistaken her for someone else?� Sheridan reminded him, sitting up straighter to look at him. He lifted a shoulder.
�I don�t know. I�m just saying that even if nobody else does, I like you.� He looked away, as though suddenly uncomfortable. Sheridan smiled a little.
�Even though you were trying to kick me out of town?� she teased him.
�That was a mis�that was just a glitch.� He stumbled over his words, a combination of nerves and drunkenness, and finally sighed as he looked at her. �I was mad at you.�
�Because I told you to go away?� she chuckled.
�In so many words,� he said dryly. But he smiled a moment later and moved over to the couch to sit beside her. �I think it�s cute that you have no manners.�
�I have no manners now?� she demanded, looking insulted.
�I mean�well, no. No, you don�t.� He laughed, and so did Sheridan.
�I don�t think you do, either, Officer,� she said teasingly.
He laughed again. �I�m really slick tonight, aren�t I?�
�You sure are,� she said immediately with an amused smile. �Just how long has it been since you�ve been good and drunk, Luis?�
�Oh,� he replied on a sigh, staring down at her, �a while.� She smiled again, but didn�t say anything; and neither of them was quite aware of their close proximity until suddenly it just wasn�t anymore. They kissed�a sloppy, drunk kiss; not exactly the dreamy kiss either of them expected. But since they went from kissing to asleep only a few moments later, neither of them really cared too much. It wasn�t until the next morning, with pounding headaches combined with pounding on the front door, that they looked at each other in complete mortification as last night�s events slowly came back to them.
�Milly!� Sheridan called weakly, stumbling to her feet. �Dear God, who is that?�
�This is outrageous! I have to knock to get into my own home now? Where the hell is the maid?�
Sheridan stopped dead in her tracks and looked back at Luis, who was still rubbing his head and sitting on the couch. �Oh my God,� she whispered, looking back towards the front door. When her father�s looming figure came into view, she took a few steps back in response.
He waved a paper that he had clutched in his hand at her and growled, �Just what the hell is this? Were you drunk again last night, young lady? Who is this?�
He fired the questions at her so rapidly that she hardly had the time to take in what he was saying. �I�I� What is that?� She gestured helplessly to the paper.
�You tell me.� He threw the paper at her, and she caught it as it hit her chest. The same tabloid that had run the last controversial story on her had a field day with the photos that the paparazzi sent in to them of Sheridan coming out of the low-budget hotel with Hank. A headline blared at her, making her head hurt even more: Daughter Crane Chooses Unemployed Hank Bennett Over Family Fortune. The caption underneath read: And she stayed at a low-budget motel with him last night!
�You stayed at a motel with him?� her father demanded angrily.
Before she had the chance to answer, Luis spoke up. �With who?�
�And who the hell is this?� her father asked again, glaring at Luis.
Sheridan�s head was spinning. Not only had she wound up kissing the one person she very nearly hated in town, her career was in virtual shambles around her, and the only person that she did trust may have lied to her. She blinked a few times and looked at her father.
�I need coffee,� was all she could say, and she breezed past him and made her way outside. Again, a crowd of paparazzi awaited her, in all of her hung-over glory. She hadn�t even bothered to change out of her red silk pajamas or put on sunglasses. She stared around at the crowd, a million bulbs flashing in her eyes, and then shook her head miserably and walked back inside.
�Milly!� she called out, leaning against the door. �Or�somebody!�
A few seconds later, not only had her father and Luis appeared in the doorway, but her limo driver as well. She ignored the other two and addressed the driver. �Where the hell is Milly?�
�I�m sorry, ma�am,� he said, shaking his head. �I have no idea.�
She looked as annoyed as she felt. �Take me to The Book Caf�, please,� she said, stepping outside again. The bulbs went off as soon as she walked out the door. Luis and her father followed.
�Sheridan, young lady, you get back here right now,� Alistair growled. Luis didn�t say anything. His mouth was set in a harsh line, and he walked away without a word. Sheridan ignored her father and, with the help of her limo driver, made her way through the crowd.
Once she stepped inside the limo and locked the doors to make sure her father couldn�t get in beside her, she sighed and lowered her head into her hands. As her driver got inside, she heard her father�s screams: �I swear to Hades, I will have your job! You let me in that limo right now! I am Alistair Crane. I own you. Let me in!�
Her driver looked at her, flustered.
�Ignore him,� she said immediately, �and drive.�
Looking apprehensive, he did as he was told. When they pulled up to The Book Caf� a few minutes later, Alistair pulled up in a sleek black car behind them and shot the driver a look that could kill. Sheridan groaned and rolled her eyes, making her way inside. Beth dismissed her at a glance, but looked as though she might faint when Alistair walked in behind her.
�Hey Beth,� Sheridan sighed, sitting at the counter. �Can I get my usual?�
Beth was incredibly taken aback, not only by Sheridan�s friendly greeting, but by the man now sitting beside her. �S-Sure.�
�You slept at a hotel with him?� This was how Luis greeted her, now in uniform, and looking just as haggard as he had when he left the mansion.
�You�re an officer?� Alistair directed the question towards Luis. Sheridan groaned and lowered her head into her hands, ignoring the activity around her. Paparazzi were lining up outside The Book Caf�, a couple daring to make their way inside. Annoyed customers were leaving at a steady rate, mumbling something about the Cranes being �nothing but trouble.�
�I thought I made it clear that I�� Alistair stopped talking immediately and looked at Sheridan, who said, �Whatever, Father. I know about you trying to run me out of town. Just why is that, anyway?� She looked incredibly grateful when her medium French Vanilla appeared on the counter in front of her. �Thanks, Beth.�
�Sure,� Beth replied, as that was the only word she could seem to get out. A moment later she added, �That�ll be $1.94.�
Realizing that she had forgotten her purse, Sheridan looked back at Beth and said, �Can I pay you later?�
�I don�t think so,� Beth said firmly. �I can hold the coffee for you while you go get your money, but otherwise�� She trailed off and looked out at the paparazzi. �You�ve cost me a lot of customers today, Sheridan.�
�I seem to remember that I own this caf�Beth, is it?� Alistair gave her a deadly look. �Can we get back to our conversation now?�
Luis looked insulted for Beth and said, �I�ll pay.�
Both Sheridan and Beth protested at the same time, �No, Luis, you don�t have to��
�I said I�ll pay,� he interrupted curtly, tossing Beth three dollars. �Keep the change.�
�Thanks, Luis,� Sheridan said quietly.
�You�re welcome.� He paused. �You slept at a hotel with him?�
�Yes, just what was that about, Sheridan?� Alistair demanded. �I came here to talk some sense into you, young lady. You have got to go back to Paris. Stop messing around here before your career dies altogether. Do you know that you�re seen as a joke in the fashion world now? Before, you could have been the best event planner that Paris has seen in ages, and now you�re just the daughter of Alistair Crane.� He stopped for a moment, staring her down. �Look at you, Sheridan. You look like death. You�re wearing your pajamas, and you haven�t got a trace of make-up on. Do you realize that these pictures will show up in tomorrow�s papers? They�ll be in the tabloids for years. You�ll be one of the fashion �don�ts��and you work in fashion. What does that tell you about this nonsense mission of yours?�
Sheridan took a moment to take all of this in. She couldn�t stand the pitying look that Luis was giving her, the quick glances that Beth was throwing her�the video camera that a paparazzo was unsuccessfully trying to hide that was filming the interaction. She finally raised stubborn eyes to her father and said softly, �I did not sleep at a hotel with Hank last night, no matter what the tabloids are saying. He came to see me first thing in the morning because I was upset.� She paused and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. �As for what all of this is telling me�it�s telling me that you, Father, are trying awfully hard to get me out of Harmony. And make no mistake, I plan to find out why.�
On that note, she stood and grabbed her coffee. �Please get out of here. I have enough trouble on my hands without you flying across the world to cause even more damage.�
With that, she walked out�and pajamas or not, she did so with more dignity and elegance than she�d ever had before.
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