Las Vistas Episode #2

Java Jolt Coffee Shop - Downtown Las Vistas




Sienna flipped the pages of her newspaper quietly, scanning the ads in the employment section trying not to draw attention to herself. The darkest corner of the most out of the way coffee shop she could think of still didn’t feel covert enough to hide the fact that she was dead broke, and wearing the same outfit for the second time in a week. Selling off most of her jewelry, a few handbags, and her favorite pair of Gucci boots had only given her enough to settle the last of her outstanding credit card bills, but without any steady income how was she supposed to live? How did regular people do this all the time? Having to plan and figure out how to pay for the most basic necessities like food, shelter, and valet parking. What was the world coming to when she couldn’t even scrounge up a few bucks to have someone else park her damn car?



Her hopes continued to drop as she perused add after crappy add. She had been holed up there for the better part of an hour trying to find something to do that didn't involve too much effort on her part, having already decided against trying for a retail position again, and at this point she wasn’t holding out much hope for getting the hostess job at Giovanni's. Anything that involved heavy lifting, working with animals, or dealing with children was out and she knew any job that required computer skills beyond web surfing and texting was way over her head.



All of a sudden the top corner of the newspaper began to flop down removing the barrier she had between herself and the other patrons. She snapped it straight and pulled it closer to shield her face. The only thing worse than stooping to looking for a job in a place like this was to have someone she knew see her doing it. "Can I get you anything else?" the server startled her, causing her to nearly knock over her coffee. She grabbed the mug and shoved it in his direction. "You can start by bringing some coffee that doesn't taste like dish water. When did you make this, last week?”



"If you think you can do a better job why don't you come behind the counter and give it a shot." Sienna put down the paper and glared at the man incredulously, her anger casting away her need to be anonymous. “What did you just say to me? Does your boss know that you’re out here serving poison to his customers and treating them like shit?”



“I’d say it’s fair considering how you just treated me and at this point I don’t think he’d have a problem with it. So what’s it going to be princess? You want me to get you another one or are going make it yourself?” Sienna grabbed the newspaper, stood up and pushed past him toward the door. "I don't do manual labor and I certainly don't take orders from assholes like you."



"Hey, I just thought you might need the work since you had the employment section wide open. I guess you're looking for that cushy vice president position you've been holding out for." She stopped in her tracks, exposed, embarrassed, and shot him a look that should have killed him on the spot. The satisfied smirk he gave her in return infuriated her all the more. “Go to hell,” she hissed over her shoulder as she covered her face with her hand and stormed out the door.

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Bolthouse Beach House - Azura Beach



"Who doesn't have measuring cups?" Blair mumbled to herself as she fumbled through the half empty cabinets and drawers in Blake's kitchen. She came up empty again after looking through another drawer and officially called off her search. "Blake, where are your measuring cups? Blake!" she shouted when he didn't answer. A duet of yelling and cat calling suddenly erupted from the living room and a few moments later Blake walked backwards into the kitchen, nearly running into the island; his eyes still glued on the television.



"What's up?" he asked, still not looking at her. "I'm trying to finish dinner. Where are the measuring cups?" Blake bent down and opened the cabinet under the sink and produced the missing kitchen utensil. Shaking her head in disbelief, she snatched it from him and went to the sink to fill it up. "This isn’t' what I had in mind when I agreed to come over for dinner; me cooking while you and A.J. watch football. The least you could do is set the table or make the salad or something." Finally giving her his full attention, he flashed a smile, grabbed a bag of lettuce from the refrigerator, and dumped it into a large glass bowl that was already on the counter. "There. Salad made. Come over next weekend and I'll do all the cooking, okay?"



She rolled her eyes and shoved the casserole she'd been working on in the oven. "As tasty as mini egg rolls and hot pockets would be, I won't be here next weekend. I'm going to visit mom and dad." She paused before she continued, her voice lowered to a near whisper. "You should come with me." Blake narrowed his eyes and looked away from her and back at the television as A.J. jumped up shouting obscenities when his team missed another touchdown. He remained silent for a few moments before giving her the answer she already knew was coming.

"You know I can't do that."

"You can't or you won't?"

"Both. Just drop it Blair, please."

"Fine", she said, turning back to the sink to wash her hands.



More silence passed between them before Blake spoke again. "Why are you going now; is something wrong?" "No, but I didn’t get a chance to see them over the holidays. And, Isabella doesn't have anything major going on next week and since I passed most of my other cases off to work on hers I have some free time." Blake took a breath. There it was again, the tight knotting of his stomach, the increase of his heart rate, even with just the mention of her name. That same unexplainable reaction he had whenever he even thought about her; which he had done almost non-stop since seeing her at the boutique. What the hell was it about that woman that put everything off balance for him?



He shifted his position, looked away, trying not to look as affected as he actually was. “I thought things had calmed down with all that,” he said casually. “They have but there’s still so much work to do. It’s taken a long time for all that crap about her father, and Nico DeSantos to die down and clean up the mess that Thad made of everything. I’m just now getting call backs for potential contracts that I need to nail down. I need a break before it gets crazy again.”



“So she’s not with that guy anymore; she’s not with anyone right?” Blair folded her arms and scrutinized him closely. “You know, I was going to thank you for staying out of the way and dropping this fixation you have on her but I guess I was wrong. I don’t know who she’s seeing, if she’s seeing anyone at all; not that it would stop you if she was. Do I have to remind you of my previous threat? I will kill you if you screw this up for me. I mean it, Blake!”



“What?! I didn’t even do anything,” he said with a laugh. “Not yet, but that doesn’t mean you won’t and your track record speaks volumes.” He feigned injury when she playfully punched him on the shoulder. “My record isn’t all bad and you know it. I haven’t always been a ‘womanizer,’ he said, making quote marks with his fingers. “I know,” she said, her voice growing somber again. “You just choose the wrong women to be faithful to and that’s what worries me.” She moved closer and reached out to put her hand on top of the one he had resting on the counter, but he pulled away as if she’d wounded him with the gesture. “Don’t worry; I won’t make that mistake again.” She drew her hand back and let out a sigh, knowing that she had touched a very sensitive nerve. “Call me when dinner’s ready,” he said as he turned his back on her and walked away.

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The Next Day



Sienna hurried down the sidewalk, trying to escape the chilly morning air. She kept her head down, maintaining a low profile. Generally no one she knew was ever out and about this early, but she could never be too careful. It was the end of the holiday season and the clearance sales tended to draw a crowd. She hated the holidays, hated winter, hated this side of town, but most of all, she hated the fact that she had to show her face in that two bit coffee shop again. She could have kicked herself for leaving her purse there, though it was understandable. The fact that she didn’t have any money in it had rendered it useless. It wasn’t until she had gotten home later that night that she realized it was gone and a quick mental track back left only one place that it could be; stranded in all of its designer beauty in the dark hollows of that beatnik java joint with the rude hippie who had accosted her.



Of all the people she didn’t want to run into today, it was him. Hopefully the fact that he had been working the afternoon shift meant that he wouldn’t be there this morning. When she finally reached the shop she opened the door and took a tentative step inside. The place was empty except for the waitress standing behind the counter. Sienna approached her quickly hoping to get her bag and get the hell out of there. “Good morning,” the waitress said in a tiny voice. “Hi. I was in here yesterday and I think I left my purse. It’s silver with black accents. A Louis Vuitton.” “Yes, someone did turn that in. It’s in the back; I’ll go get it for you.”



Sienna managed to the return the girl’s smile as she watched her disappear behind a large wooden door that made a loud thud when it closed. She took a seat on the one of the stools and leaned against the bar. How had things come to this? Not long ago she was a free spirit, going where she wanted, when she wanted, buying whatever she wanted; not a care in the world. Now she was sitting in a rundown coffee joint for the second time in a week contemplating how she was going to make it through the rest of her life on only a few hundred dollars. Everything had been so easy before. She had taken it all for granted, and why wouldn’t she? Her family was rich, had been rich for several generations. Why, all of a sudden, did she have be the sacrificial lamb to atone for their wealth?

Just because she wasn’t a successful business owner like her brothers didn’t mean that she deserved to be cut off indefinitely. Yes, maybe she could’ve finished college, maybe she could’ve gotten a job with Thad, but she didn’t want to do any of that and since no one had come up with a better option she opted to enjoy what was her birthright. Was that really so awful? She crossed her arms in protest and let out a sigh. Thinking about all of this made her head swim but she had no choice. Whatever twisted road she had taken to get here, she was here and she had to do something about it.



The loud thud of the door closing again startled her, but not as much as the sight of the person coming through it. “Hey Sienna, I figured you’d be back for this. Maybe another cup of coffee too?” he said sarcastically. “How the hell do you know my name? Did you go through my purse?”

“I had to know who it belonged to. Trust me I wasn’t thrilled about having to see you again either, but I knew you’d be back for your little pet here,” he said carelessly dropping her purse on the bar. Sienna grabbed it up quickly, as if any contact it had had with him would’ve tainted it, and began rifling through it. “Get over yourself, all your stuff is still in there. I’m not a thief, but I did collect the five bucks you owed me for the coffee you “forgot” to pay for yesterday.”



“And you don’t call that stealing?! I don’t know what they call coffee under that rock you crawled out from under but that wasn’t it, so no, I didn’t bother paying for something I didn’t get. But feel free to keep the change, I don’t need it” she said as she headed for the door. “From those overdue credit card bills you have in there, I’d say you do. Hope that new Vice President gig works out for you.”



Sienna turned around and walked back towards him. “Since you didn’t take my advice yesterday I’ll say it again. Go to HELL!!” He laughed despite the fact that he was clearly irritated. “I’d say that I’ll see you there but I doubt you’d have the cost of admission. But we could change that if you stop being stubborn and take me up on my offer. Six dollars an hour plus tips? I’ll even throw in two 15 minute breaks free and clear.”



Sienna almost choked. Six dollars and hour? Her maids got paid more than that; when she had a maid that is. The man must have been insane if he thought she would accept that pittance or his attitude. “You really are unstable aren’t you? Why in the world do you think I would ever spend another second in this dump with the likes of you for that chump change?” she replied. “Because I need the help and you need a job and right now neither one of us has a better option. It’s as simple as that princess. Are you in or are you out?

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Las Vistas Episode #1

***Author’s Note: Okay, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen these folks so if their storylines are a little fuzzy you might want to skim Episodes 7, 8, & 9 of Life, Love, and Lies to refresh your memory. And if you have no clue who the hell Mateo is you can go to Episode 1(scroll way, way down) to get some background.


11:23pm Club Oasis – Downtown Las Vistas



Sienna pulled up in front of Oasis and dug through her purse hoping to scare up the ten dollars for valet parking. She only came up with four. Wadding it up in her hand, stepped out of the car and hiked her skirt up a bit; hopefully it would be enough to distract the valet driver from counting the cash immediately. She was related to one of the owners anyway so she figured it wouldn’t be too much of a problem if he did realize she was a few dollars short. Her tactics successful, she threw the valet the keys and hustled to the door, waved an absent hand at the bouncer and made her way inside.



Her first stop was to the ladies room to touch up her make-up. She had wanted Gunther to come with her for moral support but he was working and Mateo was busy with something as well. She would have to do this alone and while she was practically a sister to Blake she knew that a tight dress and heaving cleavage wouldn’t be lost on him. He was her last hope and she had to look hotter than usual if she was going to pull this off. She put on one last coat of mascara and gave herself one last look in the mirror. Here we go, she said to herself before walking back out into the club.

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“Four nights in a row, that’s a record for you,” A.J. said as he passed the bottle of champagne to Blake. “Since when is that a record? I’m here every night,” he replied as he took a swig straight from the bottle before topping off a glass for the woman on his lap. “Yeah, for the first time in weeks. I was beginning to think you were bailing on me for some panty-dropper.” A.J. smiled, happy to have his wing man back. It had been a while since he had seen him in his element like this. Whatever had him down before didn’t seem to matter anymore. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That’ll never happen, man. Never. You must have me confused with someone else,” Blake replied before he took another swig from the bottle. “Right, I must be thinking of someone I used to know,” A.J. said.



Just then he felt the sudden touch of a hand on his shoulder and the obnoxious smell of expensive perfume filled his nostrils. He turned his head to see who it was and the smile he had worn a few seconds before dropped abruptly. “Hey Sienna; what are you doing here?” She sauntered past him and over to where Blake was sitting. “I’m not here to see you A.J. I’m here to see Blake.”

A.J. shot him a look that was met with an equally bewildered expression in return. “You’re here to see me?” Blake asked. “Why?’ The woman on his lap was just as curious as she met Sienna’s eyes with an impatient glare. “This is really a confidential matter,” Sienna said, returning the woman’s stare. Not wanting to be interrupted, Blake reluctantly pulled the woman’s head close to his, gave her a peck on the lips and a playful tap on the butt as she retreated to another corner of the club, intentionally brushing past Sienna as she left.



Sienna sat down next to him, making sure he had a clear view of the top of her breasts billowing out of the bodice of her dress. She crossed her legs toward him and began her pitch. “I’m sure you know that I’ve moved out on my own and-” A.J. put his hand up, interrupting her mid-sentence. “Moving in with Gunther because Thad kicked you out isn’t that same as being on your own.” She cut her eyes at him and then turned back to Blake with a saccharin sweet smile and continued. “Anyway, being that my financial situation has changed I’ve decided to start accepting employment opportunities and I figured that I would give you a shot at my services. You are practically family, so of course I thought of you first.



Blake and A.J. looked at each other and then back at Sienna. “I’m flattered but I’m not exactly sure what you’re offering,” Blake said. “I’m offering to come and work for you. I can guarantee about 100 people per event and I’ll only charge $5,000 for the first few nights, just as a good faith gesture. Aside from the premium champagne, I’ll also need my VIP section completely blocked off, and you should probably just assign one of the wait staff to attend to us. I’ll have about 20 people in my inner circle so I’ll need a section of the parking reserved for them too.”



Dumbfounded, Blake stared at her, trying his best not to burst out laughing. She was clearly serious and clearly out of her mind. “Let me get this straight,” A.J. said rising from his seat. “You want us to hire you as a professional party guest? You want me to pay you to sit on your ass and drink champagne for free and let all your airhead friends in on the deal. Is that really what you’re saying to me right now?”



“Gunther’s been encouraging me to recognize my worth and I have. I’m responsible for a good portion of this club’s following. I’ve brought my friends here, told everyone I knew about how great this place is and I did it all for free. That kind of advertisement costs money. Frankly A.J., you and Blake owe me and I’m here to collect.”



Before Blake could stop him, A.J. lunged at her and, only inches from her face, continued his tirade. “Just when I thought you couldn’t be any stupider, you come up with this shit. I owe you? Are you fucking serious?!” Blake stepped between them in an effort to calm things down. “Alright you two, come on, stop it.” “I’m not stopping a damn thing. This is her problem. Someone’s always coming to her rescue, saving her from her own stupidity. Mom and dad aren’t here to do it so now you have Gunther. That dumb ass is so fucking in love with you he’d probably drink your dirty bath water if you told him too.”



“What are you talking about? Gunther and I are just friends and clearly he’s the only person I can count on now since my so-called family has turned their back on me.” Blake tightened his grip on A.J., who had begun to move towards her again. “Get her out of here Blake!” he said in a ragged voice as he balled his fists and began walking past his sister and towards the bar. “Get her out of here before I kill her!”



“Look Sienna…,” Blake began, but she cut him off. “Don’t worry about it Blake. If you and my brother can’t recognize a good opportunity when it bites you, than fine; I’ll just make the offer to someone who does. Tell A.J. I said goodbye will you?” she said in the nastiest tone she could muster before storming off.

***************************************************************




Mateo? What the hell?



**********************************************************


12:55am 5th Street Lofts – Downtown Las Vistas





The sound of the elevator bell took Gunther by surprise and nearly caused him to spill the bottle of developer solution he was putting the cap back on. For a moment he thought it might be an intruder, but the piercing click of high heels on the wooden floor quickly eliminated that possibility. Sienna was back. He hadn’t expected her home so soon which meant, as he had predicted, that things didn’t go well with her business proposal. He hung up his last picture and opened the door just in time to see her running up the stairs to his room. Taking a breath to prepare himself for the whining that was to come, he mounted the steps after her.



He reached the top to find her throwing her purse on the bed and yanking off her earrings. From her profile he could see the mascara smudge on the side of her face. He was right, things had definitely not gone her way. “What’s the matter with you,” he said, less of a question and more a demand for details. “Assholes! That’s what’s wrong with me. A.J. and Mateo are fucking assholes!” she shouted. Gunther was never surprised when that expletive was directed at one of her brothers, but Mateo? He was certainly an asshole in Gunther’s opinion and the main one that had been holding her attention lately, but he had yet to do anything to her to prove that he deserved the title. As much as he didn’t like to see her upset, this new revelation made him smile a bit.



“Okay, calm down and tell me what happened,” he said as he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her arm so that she would sit down next to him. She let out a frustrated sigh and complied. “A.J. is such an asshole. He might as well have spit in my face when I told him what I was willing to do for him. He got angry, Gunther. Can you believe that? He actually had the nerve to get angry with me because I was trying to do him a damn favor. And that dumb ass Blake; all looks and no brains. He just sat there and didn’t say anything. I at least thought he would try to talk some sense into my brother, but no; he just sat there telling him to calm down.” The anger she was trying to hold onto was rapidly turning into sadness as tears began running down her face rewetting the mascara smudges.



Gunther sighed again. This would be the perfect time to talk some sense into her, try to get her to see that in this situation the person getting the favor would’ve been her. He had tried to level with her when she had first cooked the idea up. She had taken his advice to ‘recognize her worth’ to the incorrect extreme, completely overlooking her real talents in favor of the superficial qualities that had always allowed her to get by. He wanted to tell her to grow up and get a clue, but once again her tears softened his iron will to set her straight. Instead of scolding her he found himself wrapping his arm around her shoulder as she huddled against his chest and sobbed.



“It’s alright. Don’t worry about A.J. Once you both calm down you’ll make up like you always do. Tell me what happened with Mateo.” Sienna took his shirt and wiped her face and nose leaving a large black smudge on it, and hung her head down as she spoke. “He said he was busy tonight with ‘work’,“ she said using her fingers to make quote marks in the air. “But I ran into him at the club; he had some skank hanging all over him. She had on acid wash jeans and a babydoll shirt from two seasons ago and she wasn’t even cute. If he was going to cheat on me he could’ve at least found someone more attractive who had some sort of fashion sense. Do you know how that makes me look, that he dumped me for that…thing?” Her voice cracked and she began to cry again. “Why is everyone turning on me now, Gunther? What did I ever do to make people hate me so much?”



“Nobody hates you SiSi. Mateo is a damn fool; any man in his right mind would give anything to be with you,” he said as he stroked her hair. “And ‘everyone’ isn’t turning on you. Last time I checked it was my shoulder you were crying on, right? I’m always going to be here for you Sienna. Always.” He leaned his head close to hers, closed his eyes and stole a kiss on her forehead. He stayed close, nuzzling the side of his face against her hair. It smelled sweet and floral and set his senses on fire. God, if she only knew.



She stayed in his arms a few minutes longer and then with one last tight squeeze she unwrapped herself from his body, gave him a peck on the cheek, kicked off her shoes and laid down on the bed. Sensing that he had gotten his cue to leave, Gunther stood up and began to walk towards the stairs, but the sound of his name stopped him. “Gunther, where are you going?” she said patting the space next to her on the bed. “Can you stay with me for a little while? Please?”



Gunther stood stunned, his heart racing and his tongue caught in his throat; unsure of whether to run full speed to the bed or back down the stairs. As much as he had imagined lying next to her in that bed, he didn’t know if he could handle the reality of it. She wasn’t asking him as a lover, she was asking as a friend. He didn’t like settling for that position, but it was the only one he could play right now and if he didn’t play it just right he might lose her entirely. “Okay,” he said, finally finding his voice and slowing moving back in her direction.



He cut off the lights and carefully laid down and scooted up next to her, being mindful of all of his appendages. She grabbed his arm and pulled it over top of her, tight around her body and the soft warmth of her skin on his nearly made him melt. The loft was cool and she was shivering a little. A few residual tears slid down the pillow and dripped onto his hand that she had clasped up against her chest. He could feel the easy rise and fall of her breathing and the soft, the slow beat of her heart. Could she feel his hammering in his chest? He certainly hoped not. “You don’t have to stay all night just until I fall asleep, okay?” she sniffed. Gunther pulled her closer to him and closed his eyes; a sense of complete bliss falling over him. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.”

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