Meant to Be

CHAPTER 36 - Communication is the Key

**It has been a minute, or really more like a month since I've been able to update. Work and life has taken me away from this story but I found some time this morning to give you chapter 36. Thank you for sticking with me and not giving up on this story.**

Rory's eyes gazed out the window as Logan guided the car back towards New York City. There was so much she wanted to say, but after years spent with Logan she knew that he needed time to decompress from an evening with the Huntzbergers.

Logan hummed along to the music he kept at a high enough volume to avoid any possible conversation with Rory. He hated that he let his parents affect him so much, but he didn't want to take the risk of saying something to Rory that would set back all of the progress they had made over the last few months. After so many years spent longing for her, dating the wrong women, scouring the internet for her next big story; he couldn't allow his parents inference to get in the way of the life they were building together. As far as Logan was concerned. Rory would never walk through the halls of HPG with an employee ID hanging around her neck. If she did, he was certain it would only be a matter of time before Mitchum and Shira worked their diabolical magic and Rory was just another memory of the life he could never have. He would just as soon quit the company and move to Siberia if it meant his parents couldn't mettle in his and Rory's life.

In short time he was pulling the Porsche into the parking garage and opening Rory's door to head inside the building and up to the Penthouse. Logan noticed that Rory wouldn't make eye contact with him and he was resigned to the fact that no matter how hard he tried, he would not be able to avoid a big conversation tonight. It was clear after all , that Rory had a lot to say.

As he shut the door to the Penthouse behind him, his eye caught Rory heading to the bedroom as she swiftly, but quietly, shut the door behind her. Logan made his way to the bar and poured himself a double, he would need a little liquid courage to approach Rory tonight. He made his way to the bedroom door and to his surprise, the handle turned, she hadn't shut him out, maybe this wouldn't go as badly as he first imagined.

When he rounded the corner into the grand bedroom, he saw Rory sitting on one or the chairs near the roaring fireplace with her cozy, albeit somewhat silly looking pajamas on her small frame. Logan took a step closer in to the bedroom, "Do you want a drink," he asked as he held his tumbler out towards her. "No, I better not," she replied back without moving her eyes off of the fireplace.

"Rory, I'm sorry for my behavior tonight, but you have to understand that dealing with my parents is difficult for me. After a lot of hard work and several really open conversations with my parents, we've all come to realize that the only way we can have a decent relationship, or at least a cordial one, is if we compartmentalize everything. My dad and I are able to navigate the boardroom together with ease now because we keep HPG at the center of our conversation at work and I was able to get through a dinner at their home without storming out because we didn't mention HPG at the dinner table. We ran in to issues when my professional and personal life was a constant topic of conversation."

Rory looked at Logan and shook her head, "I understand that your relationship with them is tenuous and all I want is for you to be able to navigate the relationship with them in a way that causes you as little stress as possible, but if I am going to be a part of your life you need to be able to communicate how you are feeling to me. I will not sit in a car in silence for 2 hours again Logan. We don't do that," she said pointing her finger back and forth between them, "We talk. We discuss things. We love each other enough to take the time to have those conversations. If you can't do that, if you cant include me in what you are feeling and thinking, then there is no way this will work. We ended things years ago because we didn't take the time to discuss what we both wanted from life and from each other and I won't go through that again. You need to decide right now what you want our relationship to be and if you deicide you cannot be fully in this with me, then we need to end this before we both get hurt."

Logan walked to Rory's side and lowered himself down to his knees so that their eyes met.

"You are everything I want and need. I just want to protect what we have. I want to protect you from my Mom's constant digs at your expense and my Dad's constant maneuvering to manipulate our plans and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that you and I are my number one focus," Logan said as he reached to hold Rory's hands.

"Logan, you can't protect me from all of it. You have to trust that our love is strong enough to withstand anything your parents, or this world, throws at us. That means if I am in your life, I am in their life."

"You're right," he replied.

Rory edged closer to Logan and wrapped her arms around him and he returned her embrace and kissed her with longing. Nothing else needed to be said, at least not tonight. 

As they separated, Rory headed towards the bed as Logan disrobed as quickly as possible before heading to the bed and flinging the numerous pillows and blankets to floor.

"Baby, there is one more thing," Rory said as she cozied up to Logan under the duvet cover.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm taking a meeting with your dad. I just might be interested in the position at HPG after all."

Logan's ability to find the words to respond to Rory's admission escaped him. What. Just. Happened?