Sorry for missing our "update appointment" this past Wednesday… Life's a bit busy at the moment. But thank you so much for giving me feedback, even though I was poor at replying to that said feedback in the previous update.
saori_1902 - Thank you!
Eve (begonia9508) - Oh gosh, don't have too high expectations now, Eve
These aliens might've grown up differently than the ones on the show, but they are still plagued by secrecy and trying to stay hidden. That does things to a person; makes them less honest and less trusting. Which can cause a lot of troubles when they are trying to connect with "outsiders". On another note; Tess didn't have anything to do with putting up the electrical barrier (she's not that smart 
). Thank you so much for your reflections and insight Roswelllostcause - Well, we'll return to Michael and the cave in the next chapter (not this one). Thank you!
Carolyn (keepsmiling7) - Thank you; glad you liked the M&M, even though it's taking "time away" from M&L
A quick recap…
The weekend that just past in the world of Max, Liz and company, featured the office party where Max and Liz met for the first time. Before then both Max and Liz had been sleeping poorly, barely eating and looking more and more like the walking dead. David Perkins was upset at seeing Max and Liz interact at the aforementioned party and decided to take his frustrations out on Tess. Tess didn't take the action lying down, but used her extraordinary abilities to fling David against the wall like a rag doll. She made certain that he was mentally very distraught by the incident.
Now, back to the story;
CHAPTER 18
Liz
Liz caught herself humming along to the song on the radio the Monday morning following the weekend when she had first met Isabel’s brother. She had been able to eat during the weekend and keep food down. Even the dreams were kept at bay. All in all, things were definitely looking up. Not even the knowledge that she had to be face to face with David Perkins today at work could rain on her parade. With a hearty breakfast in her stomach and a good night’s sleep behind her, it shouldn’t be a problem to handle Mr. Perkins.
Nothing really could’ve prepared her for the version of David Perkins that she was going to meet that day. Even people who had worked with the man since the start of his employment three years prior had difficulties recognizing this version of David Perkins.
Liz felt him before she saw him in how the room started shrinking. She removed the tea bag from the hot water in her ‘Architects Rock’-mug that her father had given her when she graduated and let her eyes drift towards the chill. Her hand came to a halt on its way to the bin, light brown droplets of tea dripping slowly and forgotten on the counter from the suspended tea bag.
His gait was slow and gingerly, as if he had aged at least 50 years in the last 58 hours. His hair was untamed, angling in all directions, and in stark contrast with his usual perfect water-combed hairstyle. He was wearing his usual black tie, white shirt, grey slacks and grey jacket, but the tie appeared to be on backwards (how do you manage that?), one of the legs of the pants was pushed into his sock and his shirt was not tucked in. Except for the fact that his clothes actually appeared clean, he was only a beard away from the homeless man who lived in a soggy cardboard box outside the neighboring office building.
Liz spotted Isabel coming around a corner, intending to inform her boss of the day’s itinerary. Liz watched her freeze, the iPad forgotten in her hand. But Isabel, ever the professional, only needed two seconds to collect herself before continuing towards David, taking him by the arm (Liz noticed how David seemed to jump at Isabel’s touch) and guiding him away from the curious eyes of the office towards David’s private corner.
Liz blinked.
Turning around she noticed the small pool (more like a pond) of tea on the counter, resumed the task of dropping the used tea bag in the bin, cleaned up after herself and left the kitchen area, tea cup in hand. Upon entering her office, she sank down behind her desk, put both hands around the cup and started sipping the tea, wondering what today would have in hold. Wondering if her extra hours of good sleep and energy in her stomach was going to be enough.
Isabel knocked on the door and Liz gave her a nod to enter.
“Hey,” she sounded breathless.
“Hey,” Liz answered cautiously, not knowing what to expect.
“So,” Isabel said, closing the door behind her. “You probably saw David…”
Liz bit her lower lip. “Yep.”
Isabel put her head to the side, seemingly unsure of how to explain David’s ‘predicament’. “Well, he’s had a rough weekend.”
“Okay,” Liz answered.
“He’s going to take the day off,” Isabel explained.
Liz forced back the smile and answered professionally, evenly, “Okay.”
“He’ll probably be back tomorrow,” Isabel continued.
“Right,” Liz said.
“Right,” Isabel said and exhaled loudly, looking around Liz’s office as if she wasn’t really sure what to do next. “So… I should probably utilize this free time to organize those files I never have the time to organize.”
“Right,” Liz agreed, picking up her tea cup and taking a sip.
“Unless…”
“Unless?”
Isabel was looking at her pointedly. “Unless you…”
Catching on, Liz filled in, “Unless I…would like some help? Actually, yes.”
Isabel exhaled in relief. “Thank God. Just the thought of having to go through all those papers today. I’ve barely slept. I will have to take David’s phone calls, as usual, but you might need my help showing you some of the ropes now that David’s not here.”
Liz thought it sounded like a marvelous idea. A whole day without David Perkins plus a whole day with Isabel Evans. It was like being paired up with your best friend for group assignment at school.
“Excellent,” Liz smiled. “Actually, I don’t know where David has put the drawings…”
“I’m on it,” Isabel said quickly and left the office in the blink of an eye.
*****
They’d been busy all morning and gotten a lot more done without Liz’s male architect counterpart present to make sexual innuendoes. As they got closer to noon, their energy started to dwindle and their stomachs started to grumble, and their conversations started to lean towards leisure rather than business.“So you liked my brother, huh?” was Isabel’s first dive into the non-work-related pool of topics.
Liz looked up from her calculations, caught off guard by Isabel’s question. “Sure.”
Isabel smiled. “‘Sure’? That’s all?”
A secretive smile played on Liz’s lips as she bent her head to prevent Isabel from getting full stereo of her emotions. “He seems really great.”
“He is. As great as brothers come.”
Liz looked up. “You two seem really close. Is that because of how you were found, that you share the same background that no one else shares?”
Isabel remembered that Liz was still unaware of the existence of Michael Guerin, and even she didn’t know about the ‘magic’ displayed by Theresa Harding that preceding weekend.
“Maybe,” Isabel answered. “But he’s always been there for me. Through thick and thin.”
“Yeah, he has that quality about him,” Liz said wistfully.
“What’s that?”
“Well, when you were on the phone and Max went to get us some drinks, David joined me.”
“Oh,” Isabel said and then remembered, “Right, you were dancing with him later.”
Liz nodded, not really wanting to revisit that memory. “Well, before that, David was talking to me. Actually, he was not at his best manners that night.”
“He was a bit off,” Isabel agreed and then shrugged. “But he’s a complicated man. Obviously. You saw the same thing as everyone else today. He’s not in a good place right now.”
Liz nodded. “Max returned in the middle of the conversation and probably picked up on how David was acting. He became all overprotective. Even though he hardly knew me.”
Isabel smiled. “Yeah, he does that. Sometimes a little too well.”
Liz shrugged. “It was nice. I got a very good sense of how it must be to be his sister.” Or his girlfriend. “It felt very safe. You have a great brother, Isabel.”
“He’s okay,” Isabel said and rolled her eyes. “But he has a lot of bad sides as well. He’s very far from being a saint.”
Liz laughed. “I’m sure.”
“And I won’t spoil your image of him just yet, but some day I’ll tell you all the nasty details.”
Liz extended her hand across the desk and Isabel took it in a firm handshake. “Deal.”
“Can I buy you lunch?” Isabel asked and Liz nodded.
“Yes, please.”
The girls simultaneously started to get out of their seats when there was a knock at the door. Serena, one of the assistants, poked her head in.
“Isabel? There’s a Tess Harding here to see you.”
“Oh,” Isabel smacked her forehead in a ‘how do I keep forgetting my scheduled appointments?’-gesture, “Right.”
“You’ve got plans,” Liz foretold.
“Just lunch plans,” Isabel answered. “You are more than welcome to join us.”
Liz hesitated for a second but since she was feeling pretty good today, meeting some more people couldn’t be a bad thing. “As long as you don’t feel that I’m intruding.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course not.”
*****
Isabel’s lunch appointment was a petite blonde, about an inch shorter than Liz, all dressed up in expensive clothing. But Isabel’s gasp brought Liz straight back to the girl’s face.“Oh my God, what happened?” Isabel’s hand froze in the air about an inch from the bluish area of the girl’s left cheek. The girl had done her best to cover it up, but it was very visible in the bright glare of the midday sun.
The girl waved Isabel’s worries away. “Silly accident really. I’m a real klutz.” Ice blue eyes turned to Liz. “Hi.”
Feeling like she was the odd girl out next to these two stunning blondes with designer clothes, Liz inhaled and answered, “Hi. I’m Liz.”
“Oh sorry,” Isabel said, apologizing for not making introductions. “I got totally sidetracked by your face.”
“It happens,” the girl smiled and Isabel laughed.
“Liz, this is Tess. Tess, my colleague Liz.”
“Nice to meet you,” Tess said and shook Liz’s hand.
“You too,” Liz replied. She couldn’t help but stare at the girl. The same feeling of coldness that she had managed to avoid today due to David’s absence was radiating off this girl. As if she was made out of the same fabric as David.
“How do you guys know each other?” Liz asked.
“Oh, we just met,” Tess explained and looked at Isabel for agreement. “Like…two weeks ago or something?”
“Yeah, something like that,” Isabel concurred. “Tess is David’s girlfriend.”
That explains it, Liz had time to think before Tess corrected, “Was David’s girlfriend.”
Isabel stared at her. “What happened?”
Isabel and Liz seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time, because Isabel immediately pointed at Tess’ cheek. “Did he do that?!”
“No,” Tess smiled cooly. “Like I said. A stupid accident.”
“Good,” Isabel breathed. “I hope you’re telling the truth. A man that hits should never run free.”
“I agree,” Tess answered. “So where do you want to eat?”
“Chinese,” Isabel suggested. “I’m really in the mood for egg rolls.”
“Chinese’s fine by me,” Liz said.
“Chinese it is,” Tess concluded.
TBC...
Thank you for the feedback!
Thank you for the feedback!