The Gathering 01.09 – Lost & Found – Love Triumphs

            Sam woke up slowly, her head was pounding, but not from having been drunk on alcohol, but from the events of the day before.  She’d had a wonderful late dinner with Lara and Shane.  She had gotten a feeling that something had transpired between the two of them, but she’d ignored it.  Both of them had paid the same amount of attention to her.  Lara was a truly ***** woman that challenged her, and really did make her realize that it was time to move on.  Shane was also there, in the periphery of her vision, alluring and mysterious in all the ways that had always turned her on.

            Her cell phone was ringing; she reached for it, but felt a warm hand getting to it before she could.  She cracked open and eye and saw Shane turning away from her and answering the phone, telling whoever was on the other end that she was sick.  Shane‘s deep voice a welcomed sound in the early morning.

            Sam turned onto her back, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she did feel sick.  Sick of being the adult sick of being alone and sick of the lack of passion in her life Sam didn’t want to go back to one night stands.  She heard Shane hang up the phone.

            “Good morning sleepy head.  That was your dad.  He asked me to tell you that he needs to talk to you as soon as you are feeling better.”  Sam was fully awake now, getting up angrily from the bed, tossing aside the sheet and her feet slapping the floor hard as she grabbed the phone from Shane‘s hand and dialed the number.  Shane stepped back, seeing a rather vague look of anger and frustration in Sam‘s face.

            “Hey.”  She said, her eyes darting left to right and Shane moved to walk away, but Sam caught her hand.  Shaking her head no, Shane realized just how much Sam trusted her by this small gesture of confidence.  “No, I can’t do it, I’m really sorry.  You should have gotten Kinney back on the payroll, I told you that.  I knew that the clients would relent after he went after them a few more times and you lost all your big fishes.  You lost the clients, not me, and I told you that if you couldn’t bank roll half of the venture that I wasn’t going to make up the difference.  I just can’t do it.  I’m sorry Gardner.  I’ll be in Pittsburgh later this week for the partner’s meeting.  I’ll talk to Kinney then; see if I can get him back.”  She said her good byes and hung up, throwing herself onto the bed and burying her face in the covers.