Dancing in the Gray (16 page)

He bent down to pet the two long haired
dogs that were running circles around his legs. “You two are
adorable. What’s their names?”

“The black one is Coco and the white
and brown is Louie.” Martie yelled over her shoulder as she checked
the food in the oven.

“What kind of dogs are
they?”

“Shih Tzu’s,” Elise answered. “They’re
Mom’s furry babies. She actually calls them my brother and sister.”
She smiled as she bent down and scratched behind Louie’s ears.
“They do a great job keeping Mom company while I’m gone.” Elise
kissed Louie on the nose, “Don’t you! Yes, you do!” She was using a
dog voice. Trey couldn’t help but smile.

He looked around Martie’s apartment and
saw tons of pictures of Elise from when she was a baby to very
recent photos. Trey walked over to one of the pictures on the sofa
table. It was one of Elise at her graduation from NYU. She was in
her cap and gown and had honor cords and stoles around her
neck.

“Elise graduated summa cume laude at
NYU.” Martie made her way out of the kitchen next to Trey. She was
proud of her daughter.

“Wow. That’s pretty impressive.” Trey
looked down at Elise who was still playing with the dogs in an
obvious attempt to try to ignore her mother. He knew she was smart,
but those honors were given to those who were the absolute top of
their class. It showed that she wasn’t only brilliant, but she was
focused and hardworking. She just continued to become more and more
intriguing every minute that he spent with her.

She picked up another picture and
showed it to Trey. “These are her best friends. The ones she
started her company with. The gentleman’s name is Jeremy. He’s like
a brother to Elise. And, the other beautiful girl in the picture is
Ashley. She’s like Elise’s sister, and she’s about to have her
first baby.” Elise’s friends were her like family, not only her,
but to her mom, too.

Elise went over to the pantry and
reached into a box to retrieve two dog treats. She tossed them to
Coco and Louie who were sitting at her feet waiting on the treats.
She walked over and washed her hands in the kitchen sink, “Mom, do
you need any help with anything?’

“Everything is almost ready, Honey. Mr.
Trey, are you hungry?” Martie went back to buzzing around the
kitchen. Whatever she was cooking smelled great.

“Starved.” Trey answered.

“Momma, just call him Trey.” Elise
walked over and laced her fingers through Trey’s and led him to the
huge granite island in the kitchen. There were stools around it,
and Elise motioned for him to have a seat. “Would you like
something to drink?”

“I brought champagne for mimosas.” Trey
motioned to the bag that held the champagne and orange
juice.

“I definitely need one of those.” Elise
went into her mother’s cabinets and pulled out three crystal flutes
and began mixing the mimosas for everyone.

“Martie, it smells wonderful in here.
What are you making?” Trey asked.

“Spinach and bacon quiche, homemade
banana nut muffins, omelet casserole with pancetta and mushrooms,
and croissants.” Martie pulled the quiche out of the oven and
placed it on a trivet in the center of the island.

“That all sounds delicious.” Trey was
totally impressed.

“Wait until you try it! Elise pays for
me to go to these cooking classes, which I love. The quiche was one
of the entrees in the breakfast food class. It turned out wonderful
at school.” Martie was so passionate. He could see so much of
Martie in Elise.

“And maybe if my mom will shed her
stupid fear of flying, she could actually come to France and take
classes there, too.” Elise cut a pair of eyes to the back of her
mom’s head.

“Elise, don’t make those eyes at me.
And, a fear of flying is not stupid. I don’t like the idea of being
trapped on something so far off the ground.” Martie opened her
double oven and checked on the muffins that were baking. “And,
where are your manners? I have been slaving in this kitchen for
hours; can your dear mom get a mimosa, too?” Martie looked over her
shoulder and winked at Trey.

“Yes, ma’am.” Elise smiled and rolled
her eyes as she topped off her mom’s glass with orange juice. She
walked over and handed her mom the glass. She hugged her around the
shoulders and kissed her head. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, Angel.” Martie
kissed Elise on the cheek. “So, Trey, what do you do for a living?”
Martie was bouncing back and forth from the stove to the
ovens.

“I’m in finance. I invest money for
people, do some consulting, as well as, manage retirement
portfolios.”

Martie looked over at Elise and gave
her a look like she was impressed with his answer. “So do you work
here in Virginia, or in D.C.?” The questions continued.

“I have an office here and in D.C., but
I also do a lot of work in New York.”

“You sound just like Elise. She works
very hard, too.” Martie looked over at Elise and smiled. “Elise
hasn’t told me too much and asked that I not ask you too many
questions, Mr. Trey.”

“Momma!” Elise’s eyes were
wide.

“What Elise? You did! I don’t want to
overstep my boundaries, but I’m just trying to make casual
conversation. This is the first time for both of us, if I may
remind you.”

Elise downed the rest of her mimosa and
poured herself another one while shaking her head and mumbling
something.

“I don’t mind answering any of your
questions. I’ll give you the run down and if you want to know more,
ask away. How does that sound?”

“Fabulous, Mr. Trey.” Martie stuck her
tongue out at Elise, who was burning very quickly through her
second mimosa.

“My name is Roger Watts,
III, but my family calls me Trey. My dad used to be a Senator here
in Virginia but was elected to the White House and just started his
second term in January. I have a younger brother who is an
architect and a younger sister who is a nurse. I went to Harvard
and own my own investment firm. I am currently running for Congress
where I hope I can represent the 10
^th
District as well as my father
represented the state of Virginia. And, I think your daughter is
the most amazing woman that I have ever met.” Trey took a sip of
his mimosa while both Martie and Elise wore the same look on their
faces – utter shock.

“Your President Watts’ son.” Martie’s
face was dead serious.

“Yes ma’am.” That was the first time in
five years that Trey was actually scared to answer that question
due to the look on Martie’s face.

Martie looked down at herself and
dusted off some flour that was on her apron. She looked over at
Elise, “Why on earth would you leave that little detail
out?”

Elise shrugged her shoulders, “I’m
sorry, Momma. He’s just Trey to me.” She looked
panicked.

Trey felt like he needed to say
something, “Martie, I don’t expect to be treated any differently
than any other guest in your home. Elise didn’t know who I was when
we first met, and frankly, it was refreshing. She treated me like I
was my own person and not like I was my father’s son.” Trey looked
across the kitchen to Elise who was hanging on every word he said.
“That’s one of the many things that I absolutely adore about
her.”

Slowly, Elise’s look of panic melted
and was replaced by warm, caring eyes and a small grin. Trey’s eyes
stayed locked on Elise, however in his periphery he saw Martie
looking back and forth between them.

“Well, any man who has such lovely
things to say about my daughter is more than just a guest in my
home.” Martie walked over to Trey and put her hand over his,
“You’re like family.” She squeezed his hand gently, “Now, get your
handsome behind over there and help my daughter get some plates out
so we can eat. I’m going to take this apron off and freshen
up.”

Trey smiled and nodded, “Yes, ma’am.”
Martie headed down the hallway to her master. Trey stood up and
walked around the island making his way behind Elise who was taking
plates out of the cabinet and placing them on the counter. Trey put
his hands on her hips and lowered his head to whisper into her ear,
“I’m so sorry. I should have had more tact…”

Elise turned around and cut him off
mid-sentence, “Do you really feel that way?” Her beautiful amber
eyes were piercing his. Trey shyly smiled and just nodded his head.
Elise smiled while she bit her bottom lip and looked around his
shoulder. When she confirmed that the coast was clear, she put both
her hands on his face and kissed him softly. Trey wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her close to him.

They heard Martie talking to the dogs
as she made her way back down the hallway. Elise slowly pulled
away. She wiped her gloss off of Trey’s mouth, but before she
turned back around and grabbed the plates she said, “You continue
to amaze me.”

~

“So what’s your schedule like for the
rest of the week, Elise?” Martie asked as she hugged
Elise.

“I have to be in New York tomorrow. I
need to run by the office and meet my new assistant. Then tomorrow
night is the Women in Fashion Awards.” Elise made a mental note to
ask Trey if he wanted to come with her and Jeremy.

“Yes, Jeremy told me about that this
weekend. I’m so proud of you, Elise.”

“Thanks, Momma!” Elise gave her mom one
last hug before they walked out the door. “Once the buyout is done,
my schedule will be less hectic. I think I’ll be spending more time
here in Virginia.” Elise now had two reasons to be here, her mom
and Trey.

“I can’t wait until you slow down,
child. Mr. Trey, it was lovely meeting you. Thank you so much for
the flowers.” Martie gave Trey a hug, too.

“It was lovely meeting you, too. Thank
you for the invitation and the lovely breakfast.”

“It’s an open invitation.” Martie gave
Elise a wink. Subtly was not her mother’s strong point. “You two
have a lovely day.”

With that, Trey and Elise left Martie’s
townhome. As they walked to the elevators, Elise blew out a huge
breath.

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Trey was
smiling as he looked down at her.

“Not for you! My mom was a victim to
your good looks and charm.” Elise smiled. “Just like me.” Elise ran
her hands up Trey’s chest and around his neck. “Thank you for
coming.”

“Your mom is great. I love seeing how
close the two of you are. She’s really proud of you.” Trey kissed
Elise softly. “It sounds like you have a busy couple days ahead of
you.”

“Yes and no.” The elevator rang and
they both stepped in. “I don’t have a specific time to head into
the office tomorrow, but I really need to meet my new assistant.
Then the awards are tomorrow night, so I’ll be spending most of the
afternoon getting ready for the event. Did you have any plans for
Friday night?” Elise hoped that he could join her at the award
ceremony. The elevator stopped on the seventh floor where they
exited and walked towards Elise’s townhome.

“I actually do. I have an event with
Paul tomorrow night.”

Elise was slightly disappointed, but
understood. “So what does the rest of your week look like?” She
wasn’t just making conversation. She liked spending time with
him.

“Well, I have a few calls to make
today, but that can be done from anywhere.” He smiled down at Elise
as she unlocked the door of her townhome and they both entered.
“Then tomorrow, I’m in my New York office with Paul most of the
day. I have some fundraising things to go over, but I need to be at
my firm for a couple staff meetings. I need to start removing
myself from the day to day in case I do get elected. I have an
obligation to my team and my clients so I want to have an exit
strategy.”

“Wow, I thought my schedule was rough
for the next two days.” Elise placed her keys and purse on the
kitchen counter before making her way to the living room to take a
seat.

“It sounds like we both need to be in
New York tomorrow. Did you want to head there this afternoon,
together?” Trey sat next to Elise on the sofa.

“Actually, that sounds great. Do you
want to come with me to my office? I can meet my new assistant then
we can maybe grab some dinner after.” Elise was excited that she
could spend more time with him.

“Let’s do it! Do you need to
pack?”

“No, I have an apartment
there on East 91
^st
. Where were you planning on
staying?”

“With you.”

“Touché.” Trey smiled and leaned in for
a kiss which Elise happily obliged. “Four hour car ride or ninety
minute plane ride?”

“Ronald can drive us.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Elise gave him a
small peck on the lips before she got up and headed for her phone
in her purse. “Let me call Jeremy and warn him.”

Trey pulled out his cell phone and
started making calls of his own. Elise got Jeremy’s voicemail so
she just left him a message. Within minutes, she and Trey were hand
in hand walking to the parking garage to meet Ronald. She looked
forward to their road trip and dinner plans for tonight. She could
definitely get used to having Trey around more often.