Out Of The Friend Zone (23 page)

B
rynn awoke the next morning, still tired and groggy from tossing and turning all night. Not only was she worried about the possibility of Chandler losing Willow, but she was also considering the prospect of them living together. She knew this wasn't a decision she could make at the drop of a hat, and she needed to talk to someone about it.

After she showered and got dressed, Brynn made her way into work, leaving Barrett with his regular babysitter for the last time before school started again. As she pulled into the parking lot, she breathed a sigh of relief that Nyla was already there.

Brynn parked her car and hurried into the building. Instead of making her way to her own office, she went directly to Nyla's. When she peered inside, she saw Nyla's head bent down, already pouring over the papers in front of her, in deep concentration.

"Looks like you got a head start this morning," Brynn said, making her presence known.

Nyla jumped, as Brynn's voice startled her. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Nyla scolded. "You should know not to sneak up on people like that!"

Brynn laughed. "Sorry, I thought you heard me walk up. What are you working on?"

"Just the Anderson file. I had an idea in the middle of the night, and wanted to come in early to get a jump on it," Nyla said, sitting back in her chair. "So, what brings you to my office so early in the morning? It must be pretty important for you to come here without stopping at your office to drop your stuff off."

"Ah, you know me too well," Brynn smiled. "You missed some major developments leaving the barbeque so early yesterday. First of all, his mom came back after everyone left. We had a long talk, and she's fine with me and Chandler being together."

"Good. It always helps to have his mother supportive of the relationship."

"So, after we talked to her for a while about our relationship, she said she had spent most of the day trying to calm Brooklyn's mom down, and that Linda may try to sue Chandler for full custody of Willow."

Nyla's eyes turned stone cold. "No way."

"She thinks that with Chandler and me together, we wouldn't be giving Willow the care she needs. In other words, she's just upset and hut that Chandler is moving on with his life, and she's trying to punish him for it."

"Wow, that's one cold bitch!" Nyla was shocked. "How could anyone do that? I couldn't see taking a girl away from her only parent, especially when the parent is as good to his child as Chandler is to Willow. She really is out for blood!"

"Chandler is contacting his lawyer today, just in case she does follow through with the threat." Brynn sighed. "I just don't want to come between him and his daughter. I don't know what I would do if he lost Willow because of our relationship."

"I'm sure that Chandler won't lose Willow," Nyla soothed. "Anyone can see how good he is with her and how much she loves her daddy. No one in his right mind would ever separate them."

"And that's not all. When we were saying goodnight, he got frustrated that we do not have any sleepovers on weeknights, when we have to work or when the kids have school. So, he asked me to move in with him," Brynn told her.

"Oh, my God! Are you kidding?" Nyla asked excitedly. "That is so great!"

"Is it? I mean, aren't we moving too fast? I told him that I would think about it, and that if I said yes, there was no way I was moving into his house. We'd have to live in mine. There are just too many ghosts of Brooklyn in his house for me to be comfortable there."

"I can understand that."

"What do you think? I am so confused. I don't want to make the wrong decision."

Nyla nodded. "Well, what does your heart say? I don't think there's a rulebook that says you need to wait a certain amount of time before you move in with someone. You need to do what you feel is best."

"I don't know what's best. I mean, when I think about his arms wrapped around me every single night, it gives me such a warm feeling. I want to see him every night before I fall asleep, I want to feel him beside me as I dream about him, and I want to see him first thing in the morning when I wake up. I just don't want to rush into anything, and end up making a mistake," Brynn said, weighing her thoughts out loud. "I don't know. I guess Chandler and I need to talk about this some more."

"Good idea," Nyla laughed. "Glad I could help!"

Brynn rolled her eyes with a smile. "So, you and Zaiden seem to be getting along fabulously. This has to be some sort of record for you!"

"Yeah, it is." Nyla's eyes got all dreamy. "There's just something about that man, I can't get enough of him."

"So, is it love?" Brynn asked.

"If it's not, I don't know what it is!" Nyla laughed.

"I never thought I'd see the day where a man made you fall in love!" Brynn joked. "I'm happy for you though. I think this being in love stuff is doing wonders for your complexion. Your skin's all clear, and it's got a healthy glow to it..."

"Get out of my office!" Nyla laughed, as a blush crept up her cheeks.

"Thanks, Nyla!" Brynn called as she walked down the hall to her office. It was about time she was finally able to tease Nyla about being in love!

As Brynn sat at her desk getting ready for her day, her mind started to wander over all the questions she had for Chandler about them moving in together. She took out a pad of paper, and began writing them down so she didn't forget any. Brynn knew that if there weren't any children involved, she would have moved in with him in a heartbeat. But when she thought about Barrett and Willow, she became more cautious. She didn't want the kids to get hurt as the result of a rushed decision, one she could have protected them from.

Brynn was finally snapped out of her thoughts by the phone ringing. She looked at her clock and realized that an hour and a half had gone by. She hadn't done any work yet, except for writing down her personal questions for Chandler.

"Brynn Chase," she said, when she picked up the receiver to answer her phone.

"Hi Ms. Chase. This is Rylee Davis, Chandler Tiller's assistant. He was trying to call you, and got interrupted by an important business call. He asked that I keep the connection as he finishes the business with them. Is that alright?"

"That's fine. I'm sure we'll be talking to each other a lot more often, and please, call me Brynn."

"Well thank you, Brynn. Call me Rylee. I'm looking forward to meeting you. Chandler has been so much more pleasant to work for since he met you. I've been his assistant for nearly six years, and this is the happiest I've ever seen him."

"Thank you Rylee," Brynn told her, a huge smile on her face. "That means a lot to me. I'm glad that I can make him happy because he does the same for me."

"Well, he's ready to take the call now. He's practically pulling the phone out of my hand, so I better let you talk to him. It was nice finally speaking with you," Rylee said.

"It was nice speaking with you, too. Maybe we can all get together for lunch one day?"

"Sounds good. Here's boss-man!" Rylee said, before transferring her to Chandler.

"Good morning, beautiful," a deep voice said into the phone.

"Good morning! How are you today?" Brynn asked.

"Tired, and missing you. Think you can meet me for lunch today?"

"I think I might be able to arrange it. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just want to see you, and I can't wait until tonight," Chandler told her. "And I talked to my lawyer and I wanted to tell you what he said, but I don't have much time to go into it now."

"Sure. I'll meet you at noon, at the diner at the corner of 18th and State St. That's about halfway between our offices."

"Sounds good to me. I like the food there," Chandler told her.

"Okay, well I'll see you then?"

"See you then. Love you!"

"Love you too," she said, before breaking the connection.

Brynn worked like crazy right up until lunch to make up for the time that she spent daydreaming that morning. By the time she got to the diner, she had worked up quite an appetite. As soon as she stepped through the doors, Brynn spotted Chandler sitting at a booth waiting for her.

When he spotted Brynn, his eyes lit up. As she approached the table, he stood up and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. Then they placed their order, and as soon as the waitress left, they started talking.

"I have a list of questions that we need to discuss before I agree to live with you." Brynn told him.

"You're making this sound a lot less romantic than it is," Chandler replied with a grin.

"I know, but if we don't think this through, I'm worried it might have a negative impact on the kids," Brynn said.

"You're right. We'll look at it from every angle before we do it. Now, grab your questions and hit me with them."

"First, what would you do with your house?" Brynn asked.

"Well, I can either sell it, or I can rent it out. If you're really nervous about this, then the best bet would be for me to rent it out, and if you decide you don't want me anymore, I'll kick the tenants out and move back in," Chandler said, half teasing, half serious. "Or, if you decide you want to keep me, I'll put it up for sale."

Brynn smiled. Chandler always knew how to calm her fears. "Glad to know I have options," she joked.

Brynn looked at all her other questions, but none of them seemed that important. She crumpled up the piece of paper, and looked into Chandler's eyes. "I only have one more question."

"But you had a whole list there. Brynn, I don't mind answering your questions, if it's going to make you feel better," Chandler protested.

"There is only one question that I need an answer to. The rest of them don't matter anymore." Brynn drew in a deep breath. "Where do you see this going between us?"

Chandler looked at her for a long moment. "Brynn, if I thought that either of us was ready for it, I'd ask you to marry me today. I think you still have some trust issues, and are trying to work past the insecurities you have about my marriage with Brooklyn. And I'm finally able to let go of a marriage that ended three years ago. We have some work to do before I ask you to marry me, but I promise you, that day will come."

He leaned over the table and took her hand. "I can't see myself spending one more day of my life without you, Brynn. And I think that living together will help us come to where we are ready to go the next step and make it official. I love you Brynn, so much so that it scares me sometimes," Chandler told her.

"I love you too," Brynn told him, feeling surer of their relationship now than ever. "And after everything blows over with Linda, I want you and Willow to move in."

"You do?" Chandler asked excitedly. "Are you sure?"

Brynn laughed. "I've never been so sure!"

Chandler squeezed her hands. "I love you so much Brynn!" Brynn giggled as he started placing kisses all over her face. He didn't stop until the waitress brought their food out.

"So, what did the lawyer say?" Brynn asked.

"Just that there's no chance in hell that woman will get my kid," Chandler said. "He said that if she does try to pursue a custody battle, we will first go in for mediation, since the family courts are too full. If we can't reach an agreement in mediation, then we will have to go to court. It's best to settle with the mediator, because the court battle could take forever."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. Mediators are usually pretty fair."

"Plus, my lawyer is putting a letter together for Linda telling her that I have done nothing wrong, and that it's ridiculous for her to want to uproot Willow from her school, friends, and family just for personal reasons. She lives in Florida for nine months out of the year, then the other three months she spends traveling. How is that good for Willow? He's going to make it sound all legal and lawyer-ly, so hopefully that will stop her before she tries to start anything."

"Lawyer-ly? Did you get that one out of the dictionary?" Brynn teased.

"It just so happens I did. They were selling the dictionaries down on the street corner for $0.25 apiece. I got one for you too," Chandler joked.

As she watched him eat, her mind started to wander to all the dirty things she wanted to do to him. She was getting hot just thinking about it.

Chandler noticed that Brynn's eyes were glossed over, and her face was getting red. "Baby, are you okay?"

Brynn grinned. "Do you have a busy afternoon today?"

"Not really. Why?"

"Well, I was just thinking that the babysitter was taking Barrett and Willow to the zoo today to celebrate their last day of freedom before heading back to school tomorrow, and my afternoon is empty, so..."

"So you were thinking about a little 'afternoon delight'?"

"You could say that," Brynn grinned. "I was just sitting here watching you, and thinking about how sexy you are...I guess I got myself a little excited."

Chandler took out his wallet and threw thirty dollars on the table. "We'll take my car. I just have to stop at the office quick to get some paper work that I need to get done by tomorrow."

Brynn smiled as they walked out of the restaurant. She was still smiling as they got into the vehicle. Chandler drove over to his office, and when he parked, he told Brynn he didn't think he'd make it until they got home.

"Rylee is out to lunch, she won't be back for another half an hour, and my office has a lock on the door. Let's go," he said, pulling Brynn out of his car and into his office building.

As soon as they got into his office, Chandler locked the door and shut the blinds on his window. Clothes were shed in a mad fury before they met in a passionate embrace. Brynn hopped up on his desk and they joined together. When things started to fall off his desk from the zealous coupling, Chandler picked Brynn up and sat back in his leather office chair, with her on top of him. She rode him to their climaxes, kissing him at that point to drown out both of their groans of ecstasy.

Brynn laid her head on his shoulder, as they both tried to regain their breath. After a few minutes of silence, Brynn started giggling. "Well, now every time you sit at your desk to do paperwork, you'll think of doing me," she laughed, and got up, starting to gather her clothes.