Redemption (Complete)

3. Never

"I think we should do a tea party type shower," Mathilde said as she spoke on the phone with an unknown person. "Of course she would, my dear. She said she didn't want anything fancy. It's positively perfect!"

The voice on the other line seemed to speak for a long time as Constance sat sipping a light herbal tea with honey in it. The men were on the other side of the room and talking in alternating hushed and loud tones. Aiden seemed to be carrying much of the conversation, though Harry's son was contributing a steady amount with his stories from abroad.

Carl though, seemed to be quieter than usual. He most always brought some sort of date with him when he came to Harry and Mathilde's house for dinner and this was a rare exception. Constance chalked it up to the extra work Aiden had handed him, but he looked less stressed and more contemplative today. It was a novel look on him and Constance frowned, thinking.

She waited until Mathilde had gotten off the phone with her daughter before commenting on it.

"What seems to be up with Carlton?" she asked the older woman. "He's alone and- more disturbingly- quiet."

"No idea," Mathilde stated. "He does seem a bit down lately. He must be stressed at work. Board of directors have been on his ass about the new foreign contracts and Aiden has- no offense- been quite preoccupied with you."

Constance hoped she wasn't the cause of his disturbing demeanor and made a mental note to mention it to Aiden later on after they had gotten home.

"Speaking of which, when are you and Aiden closing on the house?" Mathilde talked about the ridiculously large house as if she were buying it for herself.

"No clue," Constance stated. "Aiden takes care of all the details and to be honest, I think he is being ridiculous. Eight bedrooms? How many children does he think we're going to have?"

"Enough to fill at least half those rooms, no doubt," Mathilde threw out, much to Constance's horror. Four children was about two too many. Constance was not a baby- making machine.

"Did you get a due date? And the gender?" Mathilde asked with anxious eyes. It was as if she were experiencing grandmotherhood vicariously through Constance. Both her own children had no serious prospects that she was aware of, and she missed when they were little babes.

"Yes, I have a due date in mid February and well, I am debating having a gender reveal party so I don't know if I can tell you yet," Constance said with a smirk. She knew not being the first to know (or at least one of the first) would irritate Mathilde but she was keeping mum until she made a decision.

"Oooh!" Mathilde cried loudly, gaining a glance over from the men. "Let me plan it! I have the perfect idea on how to-"

"I said I was thinking about it," Constance told her. "Besides, you just want to know because then you would have the inside track on which gender I'm brewing."

Mathilde's face was a sight to see. Several emotions flickered over her face but the one that landed on it in the end was one of admiration.

"You know me too well already my dear Constance," she told the younger woman. "Or has Harry been chatting about my need to be first to know everything. Blast the man!"

Constance laughed softly. "Harry hasn't said anything to me I didn't already know. You are quite easy to read sometimes Mathilde- or maybe it's just because I am the complete opposite that I recognize it." She shrugged and took another sip of her beverage.

"Well, my darling husband seems to be saved due to my own femininity," Mathilde said with a half smile. "You seem to be the only woman I know that doesn't crave gossip. Why is that?"

"Gossip does nothing for me," Constance told her with another small shrug. "Half the time the information is so incomplete that people make up their own truths."

"You are so right my dear," Mathilde said. "You know that secretary Aiden had before he used the temp agency to hire you? Well, she is back and toting a nice big pregnancy bump with no signs of any man around!"

Mathilde was obviously shocked and intrigued by the fact that she was alone and pregnant. She had heard the rumors about the woman and had let her imagination run wild with it.

"She's probably just in town to see family or possibly attend a funeral," Constance stated. "Just because her baby daddy wasn't seen with her doesn't mean anything nefarious."

Constance wanted to steer clear of the gossip from that point on and decided to change the subject to one more to her liking.

"How is Violet getting along in her new place?" she asked.

"Splendid! She is sharing an apartment with her friend Leila. They've been close since they were practically in diapers. Their little house in Berkeley is tres adorable! I tried to convince her to get a bigger place but she said that tiny thing is all she really needs. If I hadn't pushed her out myself, I would wonder if she was indeed my child."

"Plus, she is the spitting image of you," Constance supplied.

"Well- that too," Mathilde said with a small smile.

******

"Honestly, what the hell is wrong with you Carlton?" Harry's voice snapped Carl back to reality. He had been lost in his own thoughts for who knew how long and as a result, hadn't said much during dinner or after.

"Hmmm? Oh- nothing old man," he told him with a wink. "Just wool gathering I guess."

"This must be about some girl," Aiden nodded sagely. "He only gets this pensive when he's thinking about getting his d**k wet or thinking of a way to get rid of unwanted attentions from a one- night stand."

"Then he should look like this on a daily basis," quipped Harry. "With the amount of women at your beck and call, it's surprising that there are any left he hasn't sampled."

"While it is true I have had many women, they all know what this is," Carl said. "I never lie about it."

"This is true," Aiden agreed. "He is always honest about his intentions if nothing else can be said about him." He smirked at Carl when he said it and the younger man found it irritating to say the least.

"If they want to believe it's more, let them." Carl swigged back the rest of his Scotch and went to pour another. If the conversation was going to go in the direction of Carl's love life, he was going to need the bracing warmth of a good liquor as much as the ensuing numbness that came with it. "I never promised anyone anything, nor do I plan to."

His voice was curt and his tone unreadable for the most part. It was unlike Carl to be so quiet and indecipherable and Aiden wondered what was secretly gnawing at his friend. He didn't want to bring it up in front of Harry. Harry was... not cold, but not as approachable as Ramon and himself.

"This is true," Aiden said and his tone of voice made Carl's head snap to him. Once he saw Aiden's inquiring gaze at him, he knew he would probably pry later on. The thought made him sigh.

"Just a little bit tired is all," Carl stated, hoping to dodge a heart to heart with Aiden. Ever since the man had captured his woman, he had acted like a love guru. As if he was some love aficionado that knew all the answers to Carl's romantic plights.

Tearing his gaze away from his friend, Aiden turned to Harry. "How is your daughter liking Berkeley so far?"

"The school or her living arrangements?"

"Well- both."

"Violet's loving living back in the Bay Area," Harry told them. "She's living with her best friend in a two bedroom house in downtown. Close enough to the university to walk to, but not so close that the noise of the university is impairing her sleep."

"And her classes?"

"She is a smart girl," Harry said proudly. "She'll do just fine in them. She had top marks at UCLA and I don't expect she'll do any worse here."

"She's majoring in... psychology was it?" Aiden asked. "Perhaps we can send her a challenge and she can do some of her hours on Carl."

Harry guffawed at that and his son Nathaniel smiled at the thought. Up til now the young man had been quite active in the conversation, but he had gotten a bit quiet as of late. Aiden brushed it off as most likely being caused by jet lag finally kicking in.. The boy had only been in the country for a day and the time change from London to San Francisco was hell. Nathaniel was 22 years old and a mature 22 at that. He had been graduated business school early and handled his father's foreign businesses with aplomb.

"I wouldn't torture my daughter like that," Harry said after his laughter stopped. "I fear for her sanity after she delves into such a dark, perverted mind such as his."

"Hey!" Carl opposed.

"I cannot tell a lie," Harry stated, placing a hand solemnly over his heart. Carl rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that Carlton?" Harry asked.

"I'd tell you but I have a motto not to speak ill of my host," Carl said petulantly.

"Don't be petty," Harry said with a grin.

"Then don't be such an asshole," Carl retorted lowly.

"I can make no such promises," Harry told him diffidently.

******

Carl was looking off in the distance from the balcony near the ball room. The other men were smoking cigars from the smell of it wafting through a nearby window. Carl only rarely joined in as he wasn't too fond of their smell, and usually only around the holidays or when there was something to celebrate.

And Carl was not feeling all that celebratory.

He had not been able to stop thinking of the beautiful girl in purple that had dodged his advances in the break room a few days ago. Hell, he had even had a dream or two of her since then and had woken up with a raging erection that he had had to take care of on his own. And when he did take care of the problem, he could only think of her- the one with no name who looked vaguely familiar.

Carl heard a brief scuffle behind him and turned to see Aiden coming out to greet him, scotch in hand.

Carl went back to looking off into the distance, hoping to avoid a chat with his friend. He honestly didn't know what to say about the situation. He was never one to indulge in talks about his feelings and he didn't feel the need to start now.

"So what's really going on with you?" Aiden asked when he had made his way towards the stone railing of the balcony and had set his drink down upon it. "Don't tell me it's nothing. You are never this quiet even if you are overworked or stressed out. Your tongue is hinged in the middle most times- unless you are unconscious."

"I don't really want to talk about it, Aiden." Carl's face was determined and stoic.

"Why not? Honestly, of all people to speak with I would be your best choice. I have made myself an insufferable fool in front of you, Harry and Ramon. If you have something on your mind- or someone- you can speak candidly with me."

Carl sighed. He supposed of all his friends, Aiden was the one he would have trusted the most. He had seen the man at his lowest point and was glad to see him bounce back from his unbearable attitude when he was finally able to attain the object of his affections.

If anyone would understand, it would be this man.

"I... met someone the other day," he told Aiden briefly.

"Hmmm. And this someone- whom I assume is a woman unless things have changed drastically since I was in the mountains- is whom?" Aiden asked.

"I- I don't know," he admitted. "She wouldn't give me her name but she seemed familiar- like I had seen her before."

"Had you seen her before?"

"I don't think so," Carl admitted. "She seemed... quite young and I don't usually go for the younger set as you well know. I like them a little more... seasoned." Aiden watched as Carl smirked a bit.

"And what has this woman on your mind at all times?"

"Well, for one- she rejected me," Carl stated with a deep frown. "And two- she was, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen."

"And where did you meet? A bar- or was she a stripper at a club?" Aiden asked. It wouldn't have been the first time he had been smitten with some exotic dancer he had met at a club. Aiden could swear the man did this on purpose- set his sights on someone who was bad news from the get go and then drop them as soon as he had gotten his fill.

"It doesn't matter- I don't think I'll be seeing her again," Carlton said a bit forlornly.

"What did I say last time, Carl?" Carl looked at his friend wondering just what in the hell he was talking about.

"Never say never."