"It's a nice penthouse," Liz said.
Of course it is,Allie thought. It was everything she had ever wanted. But it wasn't real. It wasn't hers.
Allie turned the conversation back to the engagement party. It felt as if she spent her meager free time with Liz, planning Brandy's wedding events.
This was in addition to the normal work she was doing, which involved a lot of scenario testing and human-behavior modeling. She set one program to run and watched the little dots representing people bounce around the screen.
She started when she saw motion in her peripheral vision.
It was Vance. He was on their floor, looking around. Carter was upstairs, and she wondered if Vance was trying to make sure Allie was alone before coming to talk to her.
"Can I help you?" she asked as she stood up.
He looked over her shoulder. She had papers strewn on her desk about the Halcion Drone project.
"Just seeing if you made any progress," he replied.
"I'm busy," she said.
She knew how to handle belligerent drunks, but slimy businessmen were another story. Vance could bring lawyers down, sue her, or have her fired.
"Just know I'm watching you," he said, and she suppressed a shudder as he left.
40
Carter
Carter liked living with Allie. It felt right, being with her.
They had a comfortable rhythm in the empty penthouse with Grant and Kate gone. Carter's favorite part was lying next to her at night, his arm draped over her.
A couple of days before Brandy's engagement party, he played with the dogs in the penthouse while Liz and Allie went over last-minute items for the party.
"Grant and Kate will be back for the party," Carter said, "so it will be a full house."
"She's staying with me, Carter," Liz informed him. "We have to help my mom set up for the party."
"I guess I'll see you over there," Carter replied.
Allie looked at him, incredulous. "You're coming to help, too, so I don't know what you were planning on."
Carter sat in the car on the way over while Allie and Liz went over Brandy's wedding choices.
"She wants orchids," Liz said. "And hydrangeas. They aren't going to be in season, of course."
"What is her budget?"
"Unlimited," Liz said, making a face. "Her father doesn't want to deal with the fallout if Brandy doesn't get what she wants."
Carter let his mind wander while the girls talked about the wedding. He had never thought seriously about being married. A large party didn't interest him that much. He was experiencing the residual stress of wedding planning just by living with Allie, and he didn't know if he wanted to repeat it.
As they pulled up at the Davenports', the caterers were already arriving. Inside the large house, flowers and lengths of fabric were being hung around the room for decoration.
Liz's mother hurried into the room and hugged her daughter.
"Eric isn't here to help," Mrs. Davenport announced. "But I see you brought a big strong man with you, Liz. Good girl! Carter! Look at you. A big-shot businessman."
She kissed his cheek. He'd always liked Liz and Eric's mother.
