The High Note in West hurst
  August 13th @ 11:12pm

There was a knock at Mason Willoughby's office door.  He frowned, irritated at the interruption.  "Get up," he said to the girl underneath his desk in front of where he sat.  There was a hint of disgust in his voice, as the tall brunette stood and adjusted her slinky red dress.  Mason performed a similar action, zipping up his tailored pants.

"Take a seat," he said gruffly to the girl, gesturing towards the black leather chair couch along a side wall, "You can finish up in a minute."

The knock came again as he buckled his belt.  "Come in!" he snapped.

The door opened and an older, bald man stuck his head in. "Sorry to disturb you Mason, but Vincent is here again and wants us to extend him a line of credit for $50,000."

"Well, give it to him.  He's good for it," Mason replied, trying to keep the bite out of his voice.  It wasn't McAlistar's fault, the casino manager was only doing what he was told.

"He hasn't paid us for the last $50,000, sir," McAlistar informed him.

Mason frowned.  He knew Vincent was good for it.  The man was up and down frequently, but he didn't want to make a habit of letting the man gamble with house money. He had no interest in getting into collections.  The Suicide King Casino's clientele was fully vetted when they applied for membership, before it was granted.  Most kept an account with the house, so as to avoid suspicious paper trails. But Vincent was on a losing streak lately, and was trying to get out of the hole without dipping into his own funds.

"I'll deal with it," Mason said.  "Would you have security show Miss...," he turned to look at the brunette blankly, clearly having forgotten her name.

"Vivian," she pouted, miffed at his faux pas. "Vivian Miller.  And I don't need security to show me out.  I know the way." She snatched up her purse, pulling out her lipstick as she stood to go.

Mason smiled, his grin somewhat wolfish, "All the same, Miss Vivian...I was going to say, 'show her to the VIP bar and give her an open tab,' but have it your way."

McAlistar remained expressionless, it hadn't always been this way.  Mason had been going through a rough patch since his best friend, and lawyer, had met with an untimely end.  It happened back in January - when his car ended up in the bay with him inside.  The investigation had concluded that Eric had high levels of alcohol and cocaine in his system.  The accident happened at night, after he left The Suicide King Casino, his car had plummeted into the river.  A couple of things struck Mason as odd, and more than suspicious, though he couldn't prove anything.

The night of the "accident", Eric had left to go home, but the car had been heading south from the club, across the bridge at about 1:30am, instead of west towards his waiting fiance. Mason couldn't come up with a single thing south of the Stewart River that would have interested his friend. As Willoughby's lawyer, Eric had recently sat in on a meeting between the club owner and a group of men who turned out to be high-ranking members of the Torconne family.  

The Italian family was trying to muscle in on The Suicide King Casino's business.  Mason had not taken their "offer" well and had security show the men out.  Just two days later, Eric was dead. The same men tried to set up a second meeting two days after that, but Mason didn't respond.  He told his father what had happened, and his father had asked a few questions, and told him to forget about it.  Sure enough, he never heard from the men again.

Eaten up with guilt and remorse, Mason had withdrawn from friends and family, becoming a man who took no joy from life.  A man that was just going through the motions and trying to figure out why he did so.

As they exited the office, one of the security guards outside the office door accompanied the trio onto the elevator.  McAlistar and Mason got off one floor down at the casino, while the security guard and Miss Vivian continued on down to the jazz club.  As the two exited, a suited security guard stepped forward, "Mr. DiSantiago left, sir."

"He left?" McAlistar asked. "After I went and got Mason, the man left?"

The guard shrugged.

Mason frowned.  "I'll go try to find him, and see what the problem is."  He turned around and stepped into the other elevator, and pushed the down button.  He glanced up at the security camera in the corner.  A Suicide King member was given a key card, which he displayed to a security guard at the elevator downstairs.  This allowed him access to the third floor via a slot in the button panel of the elevator.  The security camera assured nothing was amiss, and a host verified the member's identity in the foyer of the casino. Security had to be tight, with the amount of money being wagered, won, and lost up there every night, at this exclusive casino. Hudson's City's wealthiest paid large membership fees to insure their safety.

As the elevator opened on the mezzanine, Mason exited and looked around for Vincent's familiar form.  After a bit, he saw Vincent heading down the stairs to the ground floor with a shapely brunette.  Mason hurried to catch up, "Vincent!"

The brunette stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the familiar voice call from behind her.  Vincent looked over at her with a cocked eyebrow before turning around to greet the club's owner, Mason Willoughby.  In a way the three of them went way back, but the days of sharing lunch in private Catholic Schools, and sneaking alcohol out back during their family's high society galas, seemed more than a lifetime ago.

"Mason."  Vincent's voice was just the other side of sober, as was typical for the carouser.  The woman at his side seemed to shrink a bit, but realizing that the encounter was inevitable, turned around as well.

Mason paused, his mouth slightly agape, surprised to suddenly have come face to face with his high school girlfriend. He quickly recovered, and smiled warmly as if it were a pleasant surprise, as it might have been before his best friend's death.  These days, he found it hard to face old acquaintances.  They reminded him of happier times, bringing into stark relief the times he lived in now.

Ophilia summoned one of her bright smiles, it came easily even though it wasn't sincere.  She and Mason had a very long history together, and even though things weren't right between them, at the moment, it was ever important to keep up appearances between the Willoughbys and the DiSantiagos.  She closed the distance that separated them, lifting onto the tips of her toes while encircling his neck with one of her slender hands, pulling him into her familiar kiss. It was planted firmly on his cheek, and as awkward as it was for her, it was far less awkward than the alternative, which would have been a very uncomfortable silence between exlovers.

"Phi! What a pleasant surprise," he lied effortlessly.  The problem with lying to Phi was that her empathic abilities often uncovered anything he tried to hide, if she was given reason to suspect anything.  After the last Willoughby Christmas Party, the two had a few too many drinks, and ended up going to bed together.  It had been a surprise to both of them, and the next morning had been awkward.  With the holidays so close and each with large families, they'd had ready excuses to go their separate ways in the morning. With the blur of the winter festivities, they hadn't seen each other for a few weeks until Eric's funeral.  Mason had been in a downward spiral ever since.

Familiar brown eyes traveled over his face, taking him in before they softened, and a more genuine smile of concern slid onto her face.  He knew Ophilia DiSantiago well enough to know that allowing eight months to pass without a follow up phone call, had likely done much to tarnish their easy friendship.  Even after their relationship had ended, his freshman year  in college, they would often couple up on a friendly basis and attend some of the required events that high society demanded.  Then after her fiance's mysterious disappearance, they became even more frequent partners, keeping the media speculating at what their true relationship was.

"What brings you here?" Mason said, trying to sound as if everything were fine.  The slightly sunken cheeks and haggard eyes told a different story.  His breath carried the smell of scotch, and he needed a shave.

"Well...just a bit of family business."  She glanced over at Vincent for a moment as if considering something.  "I had to pick up something from Vinny...and he forgot to drop it off."  She gave her cousin a playful smile.  "Isn't that right Vinny?"

Vinny shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.  "Sorry Baby, I was busy."

Ophilia bristled at the pet name, but let it slide, it was a losing battle and she knew it.  "Well, don't let me keep you from it.  Just give me your keys and I'll get it out of your car.  ...I'll leave them for you.  Besides..."  Her tone was a bit pointed and left little room for argument, "...Mason and I have some catching up to do."  Her brown eyes met her ex's gaze and lingered.  There was enough history and feeling that passed between them, that they both knew it was time to catch up and turn things right again.  ...or as right as they could be.

"Yeah?!"  Vinny was happy to hear that suggestion. "SaWEET.  Alright then.  Mace, you make sure she gets home in one piece?  Can't have Baby getting lost, Tony'd have my head on a platter."  He flipped his keys to Mason as he waited for his nod of approval.

Mason nodded, "Sure Vince." As he caught the keys, he motioned Vincent closer and spoke in a quiet voice, "Tell McAlistar that I said it was okay to front you tonight. Just keep it on the down-low.  I don't want my patrons to think it is a common practice. You know how it is."

"Sure thing, Mace."  With a sly wink at Ophilia, Vincent was on his way, throwing a casual comment over his shoulder as he parted.  "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Baby."

Turning back to Phi, Mason said, "How 'bout I buy you a drink?"  He considered inviting her up to his office, but it occurred to him that he didn't want to be alone with her. It would be easier to stay off personal and sensitive topics if they were in public.

Ophilia focused her full attention on her old beau's invitation, completely ignoring Vinny's parting comment.  "Alright."  She gave him a lazy familiar smile.  "...and you can tell my why you look like hell."

Mason gestured towards a VIP table and motioned a waitress over to take their drink order.  Ophilia watched with interest at how the people in the establishment deferred to him, and without asking she realized that this was either his club or one of his family's holdings.  The mezzanine looked over the stage where a live band played some light jazz.  "Me? I'm fit as a fiddle.  You're looking beautiful as ever. What's your secret?"

She smiled at the compliment as she ordered a Sprite.  This particular DiSantiago was a notorious light weight and it was no surprise that she didn't indulge in anything stronger.  "Thanks Mace.  I've missed seeing you around."  Her voice was sincere, he was one of those few people that she didn't have to wear a mask for, or worry overly much about what she said.  If it hadn't been for his lapse of judgment over the holidays, she would have trusted him completely, but as it was she was a little more guarded than usual.

"It's been...what?  Eight months?"  She paused as she considered that fact, lifting one of her eyebrows at him teasingly, obviously remembering the more intimate details of their last substantial encounter.  "Was it that bad?  Admittedly, the entire night remains a bit fuzzy in my mind.  ...but surely it couldn't have been that bad."  She gave him a bold grin as she chided him.

"Bad?" Mason replied. "No.  It was...magical - just like High School...but it was a mistake.  Not that it happened, but that the timing wasn't right.  That's always been our problem Phi.  We've got no problem getting together.  We just can't seem to do it when both our heads are in the game and our hearts in the race. It'll happen when we're both ready, or it won't happen.  It can't be forced.  You're not ready, and right now, my heart's not in the race."  There was a profound sadness in his voice that she'd never heard.

She agreed with a subtle nod of her head, that was the truth of it.  Even though their families still rooted for their coupling, the two of them both knew how unlikely it would be for them to ever be in that right space again, at the right time.

"I didn't get to give you my condolences at Eric's funeral, but...I wish I could have been there for you."  She made a move with her hand, as if she was going to reach out for his, but seemed to decide against it.  "I know that the two of you were close...and I know what it's like to get your world shaken like that."  Her voice was soft and filled with empathy.  "Is everything really okay with you?"

Mason studied her for a second, "I can't lie to you Phi.  I'm going through a rough patch.  I'm dealing with some stuff right now.  But you know me.  I'll spring back.  I just need some time to get my head right."

Ophilia gave another subtle nod of her head as she looked at him.  She looked past his attractive put together exterior, took in the subtle smell of scotch and breath mints that hovered about him.  He looked calculatingly rugged, but she knew his usual meticulous routine and didn't miss the fact that he hadn't shaved that morning and his eyes were haunted.  Despite everything, Mason was one of her oldest and closest friends, and she was genuinely worried about him.

"Are you using Mace?  ...I mean, more than we used to?"  Her voice was soft but insistent as she leaned in closer to him over the table.  His hope of keeping off more serious topics had long since expired.  ...but that was typical for Ophilia, she didn't let anything stand in the way if she wanted something, even if it was just answers.

Mason snorted, "No.  Just some stuff I gotta deal with.  Don't worry about it.  It'll work itself out.  What's new with you?"

The lazy smile returned to her face as she withdrew, giving him a skeptical eye.  She wasn't really finished with him, but her curiosity was satiated enough to let it go.  "Alright.  I'll leave it.  Besides...you do so know how I love to talk about me!"  Her tone was light but only half joking.  "Alot is new with me actually."  Just then the waitress arrived with their drinks and Ophilia took hers with a polite thank you.  Waiting for her to make her retreat before she continued, as Mason took his scotch and nodded a thanks.

After the waitress departed, Ophilia continued.  "My family is working on a special project and I've been leading it.  It's actually really exciting and I'm meeting some interesting people.  I think I'm going to love it."  Her dark brown eyes seemed more alive to him than they had in years as she touched on the subject of her job.

"Really?" Mason asked, intrigued.  He took a long draw on the expensive single malt the waitress brought him.  "What 'special project' could be so intriguing that it would cause you to become interested in the family business?"

Phi's eyes sobered a bit at his question, remembering all too clearly why she had decided to take the position.  "You know me too well."  She gave him a slight grin as she took another leisurely drink from her straw.  "I must admit that I was far more concerned with my own interests, than I was in family positioning, when I told Uncle Ange that I would accept.  I just get this uncanny feeling that someone in my family is working against me.  ...and you know my hunches, vague usually...but right."

Mason nodded knowingly.  Ophilia had a scary knack for predicting her opponent's next moves, sometimes even before they knew what they were going to do.  To maneuver against her was often an exercise in futility.

She leaned back in her seat as she placed one delicate finger on her straw, swirling it softly around the rim of her glass as she thought.  "The position puts me in contact with some pretty powerful people, that...I hope, will be able to help me finally get to the bottom of Dean's disappearance."  Her voice and eyes were sober again but he didn't see any trace of the pain that he'd seen in them at Christmas.  It seemed that the eight months had afforded her even more time to process and heal, after her fiance's sudden vanishing.

Mason nodded and tossed back the rest of his scotch to buy time while he processed her reply.  "I take it the investigation isn't going well then?"

A humorless smile flitted across Ophilia's face as she shook her head.  "Even calling it an investigation at this point...is...is, a stretch."  She leaned forward and laid an arm on the table, while the other rested on it's elbow, still toying idly with her straw.  "I lost the third detective a couple of months ago.  Just like the others, they scratched the surface, turned up the same ole story and suddenly grew a conscience - not wanting my money.  I'm just done with the dead ends."

Ophilia fell into their special space as if they'd just talked yesterday, and hadn't been avoiding each other for the last eight months.  Mason had been a friend and confidante for too long and he was one of the few people that she could be herself with.  "I haven't told anyone this, and I almost hate to say it...but at this point, it's more my obsession over finding an answer than anything else.  It's driving me insane that I can't find any answers.  ...and if ONE more person tells me to 'Let it go.', I'm gonna lose it."  She shook her head in frustration before continuing on a calmer note.  "Some of these people that I'm meeting have special talents...and I'm hoping that in time, some of them will agree to help me."

"If that's your reason for taking on this project, what will you do when the investigation is complete and you have your answer?"  He didn't want to challenge her motives, but if that was her motivation, she would feel trapped afterwards.  Phi had done a decent job of avoiding getting embroiled in family politics all these years; better than Mason had done with his own, but this move seemed like she was stepping into the quicksand.  Once she was in, she might never escape.

"Well...."  Phi gave him another of her lazy smiles, slow to spread across her face, but truly genuine as it lit up the depths of her eyes.  "My initial motivations aside, I actually feel really good about this endeavor.  My partner is amazing, and the job appeals to my philanthropic side.  ...besides!"  She chuckled a little as her smile turned into a grin.  "The thought of any one else in my family handling this particular project, would worry me."

Mason smiled wanly.  The smile might have fooled most, but Phi knew him too well to be taken in by the veneer of easy confidence.  Despite his words, something was eating at him. "Well, if anyone can put a charming face on for the DiSantiagos, it's you.  I can't blame them for trying to rope you in if there's a philanthropic angle.  A little PR done well goes a long way.  I just wish you didn't have to get mixed up in it.  But we're born into it.  There's no escape.  Might as well embrace it and try to make something positive out of it."  Something in his voice told her that he wasn't just talking about her own familial obligations.  He knew better than to pry.  While Phi and Mason could share of themselves, when it came to family business, they often spoke in generalities.  It was a tacit etiquette born of necessity.  Phi would tell him what her project entailed when the time was right.

"I miss having you around Mace."  She reached out with one of her well manicured hands and patted his arm.  There was a subtle line between friendship and intimacy, and her lingering touch flirted dangerously with it, but she withdrew her hand in time for it to teeter the scales back towards the more casual side of their relationship.  "It's hard to find someone that even remotely gets what our family lives are like."  Her dark eyes mingled with his familiar gaze for a few moments, taking him in and appreciating the fact that they were reconnecting.  It only took that prolonged moment for the tension between them to become palpable.

She gave him a flirtatious grin as she shook her head and looked back down at her Sprite.  "I need to get going..."  It was an easy lie, one that they were both grateful for.  "Care to show me which of these cars is Vincent's?"

With a knowing smile, he stood.  "I don't know what kind of car Vince drives, but it'll be in the underground parking garage.  The auto-unlock oughta show us," he said, holding up the keychain.

Their drinks were barely touched when Mason and Ophilia left the table.  She tucked her arm into his, in a familiar companionable way, as they headed to the parking garage.  A photographer stopped them for a photograph, for the society page, when they reached the elevator from the VIP section.  The two paused for the shot, though Mason needed a little prodding from his grinning high school sweetheart. The photographer thanked them and disappeared into the crowd, more than excited about his recent find and the rumors it would reignite.  Mason inserted his key card at the elevator door, but neither said much as they waited arm in arm for the elevator to deliver them to the parking garage.  Both of them were reflecting on their own thoughts, but it was a familiar and comfortable silence between them. 

It took a few minutes to find the car, they laughed a bit as they tried to guess which ridiculously extravagant car would be Vinny's.  Ophilia felt really good by the time they found it.  It was hearing Mason's laughter and seeing him indulge in a bit of play that did it.  Her eyes were still sparkling with mirth as she reached up to hug him and say her goodbye.  She held onto him tight for a moment, wanting to somehow force this mood to stay even after she left, to somehow keep the melancholy at bay.   "Mason, I'm glad we bumped into each other."  She murmured the words as she pressed her cheek into his, distinctly resisting the familiar impulse of kissing him, instead.

"Listen...Mace.  New Year's Eve, hold that night open for me.  Okay?  This project I'm working on...I'll be unveiling it then and I'm going to need a date."  She paused for a moment and cocked her head to the side sweetly.  "Trust me, you aren't going to want to miss it."  It wasn't a question, or even an invitation, but the almost sheepish way she said it, made it seem like both.

"I guess I'll have to bump Jennifer Costanza to my stand-by list.  She'll cope," he said facetiously. Hudson City celebrity supermodel Jennifer Costanza was not known for "coping" and it was highly unlikely that Mason would have a date with her lined up this early anyhow.  "I'm all yours New Year's Eve...but you'd better not leave me hanging when the ball drops," he said with an arched eyebrow.

Ophilia's upper body swayed playfully in indecision, before giving him a triumphant grin.  "Okay.  I think I can manage that.  Especially if you're giving up a night with Jennifer Cost...aaan...za."

From the Lifestyles section of the Hudson City Daily Star-Gazette:

 The High Note of the night was Ophilia DiSantiago and Mason Willoughby

 "We caught up with Mason Willoughby and Ophilia DiSantiago at the High Note over the weekend.  The pair was looking rather chummy as they tried to sneak away from the party, sparking rumors about a possible reunion of the one time romantic couple.  Might we see more of the two together in the coming weeks? Stay tuned for update as the situation unfolds."