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EPISODE FIVE: "Let the Truth Be Told"
It's a Wednesday evening and The Brew is rather busy for a weeknight. Alex is tending bar and is running back and forth behind the bar waiting on customers from one end of the room to another. Upstairs and beyond the kitchen, Kyle is sitting at his desk in the office going over inventory spreadsheets and the previous week's financial information. "This doesn't make sense. We should have made so much more than this," he says to himself.
After a few
minutes, there is a knock at the door. Kyle looks up from the
computer. "It's open." Brooke opens the door and walks
over to the desk, leaning across the desk to kiss a hello to Kyle and then
asks, "And why the sad look, Mr. 
Fletcher."
Kyle leans back in his chair as Brooke sits on the edge of the desk. Kyle
is quiet for a second and then begins, "Last week's numbers aren't adding
up. The inventory is way too low for the small amount of money we brought
in. I'm going to have to talk to Alex again." Brooke just looks at
him as he continues. "I should have never left him in charge
again."
"I'm sure there's a logical explanation, Kyle. Don't jump to conclusions. Maybe Alex forgot to make a deposit or you missed something in inventory or something," Brooke attempts to comfort. Kyle shakes his head in disagreement, stands up and walks around the desk to Brooke. "No, Brooke. There's definitely something wrong," he answers. Kyle reaches over and puts his arms around Brooke's waist. "But I'll worry about that later. Right now I want to know how my wife is doing." The two hug and as they do, Kyle adds, "I just hope he's not gambling again."
Outside the opened office door, Alex stands against the wall and listens to the conversation between Brooke and Kyle. He hears them walking toward the door and quickly darts through the kitchen and heads for the stairs to the bar on the first level.
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Later that evening, in Bolton Hill, Holly and Paul are getting ready for bed. Holly is already in bed reading a magazine as Paul takes off his shirt and pulls the covers down from the pillow. As he climbs into bed, there is a knock at the front door. Holly and Paul look at one another. "Who could that be at this hour," Holly asks. Paul jumps back to his feet and walks downstairs to the front door. He looks out of the peephole and then opens the door.
As he opens
the door, Paul mocks enthusiasm and greets the man standing there loud enough that Holly can hear him.
"Mr. Freeport," Paul says. "What brings you to
Baltimore? Come in, come inside." Paul fakes a smile and the
man enters the house. "Thanks, Pete," the man replies.
Paul looks at him and corrects him. "The name is Paul."
The man looks at Paul, unconcerned, and replies, "Whatever."
Holly makes her way down the steps and across the foyer into the living room where the man is waiting. She walks over and gives him a big hug. "Daddy, what are you doing here? I didn't think you were coming to town until the end of the month." Paul watches from across the room. "I just missed my little girl. I have a meeting in DC tomorrow, so I figured I would surprise you. It isn't a problem, is it, Holly," the man asks. "Most absolutely not. We were just getting ready for bed because we have class tomorrow morning," Holly responds. They smile at one another and Paul continues to watch.
Several minutes later, Paul excuses himself and heads to bed. Holly looks at her father. "Daddy, how about if we do dinner tomorrow night? I really have to get up early for class and need to get some sleep," Holly tells him. "Okay, darling. I need to hit the sack as well. I suppose I can use the guest room, correct?" her father asks. Holly smiles and hugs him again. The both of them head upstairs.
Holly walks into the bedroom and Paul is laying over the covers with his hands folded behind his head and staring at the ceiling. Holly climbs on top of him and tickles him. He pushes her away and she falls onto the bed beside him. "Why is he here, Holl?" Holly looks over at all. "What do you mean? You heard him. He has a meeting in DC tomorrow and came by to stay with us."
Paul looks over at Holly. "I don't think that's why he's here." Holly just stares at Paul as he reaches over and switches off the light.
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The next day,
at Brooke and Kyle's apartment in Mt. Vernon Square, Brooke is ironing a blouse
in the bedroom as Kyle is
getting dressed. "You know, Kyle, I haven't heard from Catrina at all
since we got back. She hasn't returned any of my phone calls. I'm
kind of worried about her. I think I'm going to head over there after
school today," Brooke tells him.
"She's probably just busy with the salon," he replies. "Maybe she and Scott went to the beach for a long weekend or sometihng." Kyle grabs his shoes from the closet and walks over to Brooke and kisses her. "I am running late. I'm supposed to meet Alex at the coffeehouse for breakfast. Don't worry about her. I'm sure she's just fine. I'll talk to you later, sweetie. I love you."
Brooke returns the sentiments and Kyle leaves. She turns off the iron and walks over to the bed. She picks up the telephone from the night stand and dials. After a few rings, she hears Catrina's voice from an answering machine on the other line and hangs up the phone.
Catrina is laying in her bed as the phone rings. She listens for the
caller to leave a message and when she realizes they have hung up without doing
so, she gets out of bed and heads to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Catrina
looks at the caller id on the wall to see that it was Brooke who called
her. She sits down at the kitchen table, puts her hands over her face, and
starts to cry.
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Later the same morning, at Paul and Holly's house in Bolton Hill, Mr. Freeport is pouring himself a cup of coffee as Paul walks into the kitchen with nothing on but a pair of pajama bottoms. He is somewhat startled when he sees Holly's father. "You know, I was always brought up that robes and dressing gowns were much more appropriate to wear around the house, Paul," Mr. Freeport criticizes. Paul looks at him and then turns to the cabinet to get a coffee mug.
"I guess Holly already left for school," Paul asks. Mr. Freeport
nods as he sits at the table by the back window. He picks up the newspaper
but watches Paul rather than reading. As Paul finishes stirring cream and
sugar into his coffee he turns to leave the kitchen. "Paul, can I
talk to you for a minute?" Holly's father asks.
Paul stops and turns around. He looks at Mr. Freeport for a few seconds and then agrees. Paul walks over to the table and sits across from Holly's father. "Sure, I have a few minutes before I have to jump in the shower and get to school," Paul answers. Mr. Freeport puts the newspaper down and picks up his coffee and takes a sip. "You know, Paul, it's no secret that you aren't comfortable around me," Mr. Freeport begins. "And it's probably no secret that I'm not necessarily comfortable with you dating Holly."
"What are you getting at, Mr. Freeport?" Paul inquires. "You can call me Bill. There's no reason to be so formal," Mr. Freeport tell Paul. "Okay, BILL, what are you getting at?" Bill stands up and walks over to the counter and refills his coffee mug and then turns and looks at Paul. "I don't like you, Paul. I don't like you and I don't want you dating my daughter. I can't seem to make it clear to Holly that she can do much better than you so I'm going to leave it up to you to show her."
Paul stands up and walks toward Bill. "I don't think it's about what you want, BILL. I love your daughter and your daughter loves me." Bill reaches into his sport coat pocket and pulls out a check. He hands it to Paul. "What is this supposed to be?" Paul asks.
"I'm giving you an easy out. I want to protect my daughter from you and I'm willing to pay a lot of money, as you can see with that check, to get you out of her life forever," Bill tells Paul. "So you can take that money and you can walk out of that door and never turn back. That should more than cover your tuition to Berkley. It should also give you a little extra to settle down out West." Paul looks at the check and then looks at Bill.
Paul's expression turns to anger. "You know, MR. FREEPORT, my father may not have had a lot of money, and he may have worked in one of your factories. And my mother never had fancy country club parties to go to everyday with fancy country club friends, but that doesn't mean I'm not good enough for your daughter." Paul rips up the check and drops it in Bill's coffee mug. He starts to walk out of the kitchen, but then stops and turns around. "You know what, BILL. You think your money can buy you anything you want. Well, guess what, you're wrong. I can't be bought, and I'll be damned if you're going to come into this house--Holly's house--my house---our house, and try to play God with me or Holly. You're the one who isn't good enough for her, and I can't wait until the day she realizes that. And I have a feeling it's going to be a lot sooner than you think." Paul storms out of the room.
Bill watches as Paul walks out of the kitchen, and then looks down at his coffee mug. He laughs aloud and then walks over to the sink and dumps the coffee and the check down the disposal. He laughs again and then says aloud, "You stupid boy." Bill gets angry and drops the mug into the sink. He leans against the counter with both of his arms supporting his body. "Stupid, stupid boy. You don't want to screw with me."
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Later that
afternoon, at Scott's office downtown, Valerie is sitting at her desk working on
the computer when her telephone rings. "Good afternoon, Valerie
Reid," she answers. "Oh, hi Catrina. He's a meeting with
Brooke right now. Would you like 
me
to interrupt?" Catrina sits on the edge of her bed listening to
Valerie on the other end of the line. "Hello, Catrina," Valerie
calls. "Oh, I'm sorry, Val. No, you don't even have to tell him
I called." Catrina hangs up the phone. "That was
freaky," Valerie says aloud as she replaces the receiver on the base.
Meanwhile, inside Scott's office, Brooke is sitting on on the chair's across from Scott. "So you don't have any idea why Catrina would be avoiding me, Scott?" she asks. Scott nods. "I just can't imagine why she wouldn't call me. She knew I was coming back last weekend and we had dinner plans last night at The Brew. She never showed up."
"I don't know what to tell you, Brooke. She hasn't said anything to me," Scott replies, scanning Brooke from head to toe with his eyes. "I'll ask her to give you a call tonight when I get home. She's been working a lot lately so maybe that's why she's been so unreachable."
Brooke smiles and stands up, "Thanks Scott. If you could let me know what's happening, I would really appreciate it. I'm so worried about her and it's not like her to be so distant." As Brooke leaves his office, saying good-bye to Valerie on her way to the elevator, Scott walks over to his bar. He pours himself a Scotch and gulps it down in one drink. "God, I love you, Brooke," he says to himself. "God, I love you."
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That night, at
The Brew, Brooke and Valerie are sitting at the end of the bar chatting while
Kyle and Alex and tending bar.
It's very obvious in their brief interactions that there is some tension between
the two men. Brooke looks at Valerie and asks, "What's up with
the two of them?" Valerie shrugs the question off and takes a drink
of her beer.
Meanwhile, upstairs in the restaurant, Holly and Bill are having dinner. "So how was your meeting in DC today, Daddy?" Holly questions. Bill looks at his daughter and smiles. "I cancelled it. I decided that I don't really want to deal with a company in Washington. I was thinking about a company here though, so I can spend some more time with you," he tells her. Holly smiles at him as the waiter asks if there will be anything else for them. They both tell him no and Bill asks for the check.
Brooke is talking to Kyle at the bar downstairs when the door slamming against the wall takes their attention. Paul comes in and hurries over to them. "Is Holly here?" he yells. Alex directs Paul to the restaurant and he heads up the steps. Everyone in the bar returns to what they were doing as Brooke turns to Kyle. "So anyway. Rochelle told me that Catrina signed the salon over to her. And she hasn't seen her for days," Brooke tell him.
At the top of the steps, Paul meets Holly and Bill. Out of breath, he looks at Holly and puts his hands on his shoulders. "I'm so glad I found you. We need to talk. We need to talk right now," Paul tells her. Holly, in a panic, questions Paul as to what is wrong with him. Paul begins, "Your father is trying to break us apart."
Bill forces Paul's hands from Holly and steps in front of her. "You don't want to do this, my son." Paul shoves Bill to the side so he can see Holly again. "He tried to buy me out of you life, Holly," Paul continues. "He gave me a check this morning and told me to leave because he doesn't think I'm good enough for you." Holly stands there in confusion, looking back and forth between her father and Paul.
Bill regains his balance and pushes Holly backward away from Paul. He grabs the front of Paul's shirt with one hand and clenches his fist on the other hand. Bill pulls his arm back and takes a swing at Paul. As he does this, Paul ducks and Bill loses his footing and tumbles over Paul and down the steps.
"Oh no. Daddy!!" Holly screams. As Kyle and Alex run to the bottom of the steps where Bill is laying unconscious, Holly runs down the steps to her father's side. Brooke picks up her cell phone and dials 911. Paul stands at the top of the steps and just looks down in shock at Bill and the crowd.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Coming March 4, 2001, Episode Six: Time to Play Hardball...