Chapter 1: And so we meet again
"Krystal, no you don't get it…I don't love you. I won't ever love you. It won't happen. I can't keep pretending that you're not hurting us. You know way too much about us, you could jeopardize everything."
"But Jake, I love you and I know with a little time you'll come to love me too if only you'd…." I said, tears slid down my flushed tanned cheeks, as I stared into his eyes. But he cut me off.
"If I'd only what? Give you a chance…is that what you're saying? Krystal, Ness is my life mate. If you love me you would have understood that."
"Jake," He held up his hand refusing to let me finish.
"Krystal, I don't want you. None of us do. Just leave and don't try to contact any of us. Not the Cullens, not the pack, not any of us. Just leave, drop off the face of the earth, I don't care what you have to do." His words coursed through me and shattered what little left I had to live for.
He turned his back and ran off into the rain, and that was the last time I ever saw the boy named Jacob Black.
My alarm clock went off and I opened my eyes. The room was still dark but I guess in a place like Washington there was not much hope for the sun to come out. I yawned as I slid my hands over my face; there was the familiar wetness that I was so accustomed to that I didn't think twice about it. Often times I would wake up at night and find my face drenched in tears. Never rime nor reason, no bad dreams, no memories, only tears. Tonight was the first time I had dreamed in a long time, and it hurt. I brushed the tears aside and went about getting ready for work.
June 2nd, another year older, another year wiser, isn't that what they said? It had been seven years to the day since the last time I ever heard the name Black or anything that resembled it. Seven years to the day since I had last thought about that horrid day back in the clearing. Seven years since I packed everything and moved from Forks, Washington to a bright sunny Las Angeles, California. So, why the hell was I thinking about it now?
It wasn't even like I had moved back to Forks, Washington. If that were the case I could understand the morbidity of these pain staking thoughts, no I wasn't in Forks. I moved to Seattle. There was no reminder of my past life in this place, nothing to force me back to my dark days before I left Forks. It was a whole new town, in a whole new house, with a whole new brand of Native American. There were no Quileutes here, none for three hours, but I guess every time I saw the tanned skin of the mechanic I had come to know and love, Krystopher, I would think of the one whose name I was forbidden to even utter. Yes Krystopher was a Native American, he was a hot one at that, but he looked nothing like him. While Krys was slim and tall, with an amazing sense of style, he was large and muscular and hadn't cared much for clothing in all the time that I had known him. He never even wore a shirt.
I shook my head and forced the thoughts out of my mind. No more thinking about teenage issues from long ago, no more worrying about Quileute boys I wasn't even connected to, no more thinking about a past that no longer existed. No more. For goodness sake it was June 2nd, first and foremost my twentieth birthday, next my second day actually living in Seattle, and my first day of work. I should be getting ready and trying to figure out if Krys had my car ready.
I groaned as I turned and looked at the clock. 6:45 am. Shit, I was running late. I quickly stumbled out of bed and ran into my bathroom to hit the shower. I didn't have time to wait for the water to heat up. Because I was running late I would freeze, lovely. The quickest shower in my life would be an understatement. Quick didn't even begin to describe what it was like. I hopped in, washed off, soaped up, washed my hair, washed off, and hopped out in that order.
I quickly towel dried my hair as I eyed the clock maliciously. 7:05. I needed to speed this up if I was planning on making it out the by 7:30 to get to work before 8:15. I ran into my walk in closet and grabbed the first hanger that I could feel. My favorite royal blue pencil skirt, knee high stockings and low cut black shirt, rested on it. I smiled as I pulled on a pair of sexy lace black undies. I slid on my knee high stockings, and admired the look of my curvy figure in the mirror. A girl could get used to looking this sexy. I blushed a faint pink color when I heard the thud on my front door. It repeated twice and then stopped. Never did it occur to me that I should throw on a robe, not even when I was sprinting toward my front door in nothing but my undies and knee-highs.
I flew down the stairs and threw open the front door when I noticed Krys and my car, which I noted was running. A smile spread across my face as I moved to hug him, and thank him for doing me the biggest favor in the world. As I jumped into his arms I noticed two things, first he lost all color in his face, and he even though he wrapped his arms around me he was stiff. I blushed and noticed that it was so much colder than it had been yesterday, that's about when I realized I had on no clothes.
His smile was impish as I stepped back and fumbled to cover my chest.
"Geez, Lilu I know you're happy to see me but don't hop out of your clothes." He said slyly.
"Shut up you Krys, is it working?" I asked trying to divert the attention from my half naked frame.
"Yea, but this" He gestured to me and wagged his eyebrows. "Is working for me!"
I sighed and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye Krys, I have work."
His grin widened as he pulled my arm so that I would face him. "I know I know, and I wish you the best of luck. But there's something else."
"What Krys, work, need to get dressed, running late, you know, stuff like that."
"I know, I know. Just…." He blushed.
"Krys," I whined.
"Okay, okay. I know we agreed that the car would be enough but, Happy birthday." He smiled handing me a little black velvet box. I wanted to refuse the present but I could see that it would hurt him. I smiled as I fingered the lid of the box and took it from him. When I opened it I could tell he noticed the way my eyes lit up because his eyes grew bright and his smile widened. "I'll catch you later Lilu, wear that for me will you and Happy Birthday again. Good luck at work." He reached into his pocket and pulled out my car keys before pushing his hands into his long silky black hair and smiling softly. "If it gives you any problems just call." He walked out and closed the door behind him.
I ran as quickly as I could up the stairs and into my room. 7:15. This was turning out to be an interesting morning. I sprinted over to my mirror and quickly applied a light coat of makeup, and reached into the velvet black box to pull out the beautiful silver and jade necklace that Krys had given me moments before. I slid it around my neck and watched as the beautiful necklace dipped into my breast line, and pooled into my bra. Sure, it was a little long but I loved it. I held up the jade charm that was the center of the necklace. It was a large, solar star that flared in all directions and contained a bright green gem in the middle of it. It was an eccentric thing but it made me smile. On the back there was some sort of engraving, I turned it over and read it. "From a friend to a friend, you light up my life." My fingers gently grazed the surface as I smiled. Only Krys.
Getting into the rest of my clothing was not an impossibility, but it was hard enough. I stumbled and fell a few times but I managed to get dressed, and even found a decent and mildly sexy pair of shoes to wear. And I only left my house twenty minutes late.
So here's the deal. I used to work at this corporation in California, Wellington industries. It was one of their many locations all over the world. Wellington inc. manufactured car parts, or at least that was the bulk of what the industry did. It wasn't my job to worry about what was produced. My job was to worry about the company's finances. And I did my job well. I was hired right out of college and worked my way up from an intern whose name no one knew, to a finance exec that everyone wanted to know. Even after my bit with my physco breakdown.
I didn't quit my job, rather the job stopped being what it used to be and there was a company merger. When Wellington Sr. passed on Wellington Jr. decided that the company needed to explore new venues so we merged. We merged with Cameo inc. and now there was a faction of the company opening in Seattle. Well here's the kicker, when they needed an exec to uproot and move to help the company they chose the youngest, and I didn't have tenure so I was chosen.
Now I was meeting my new boss today. He was supposedly some head honcho, a Quileute that clawed his way to the top and made billions. It was his idea to open the faction here. We needed hundreds, maybe thousands of workers and because of the reservations around this area we would have an abundance. Wellington said he had a soft spot for the Natives, so it was a good idea. With jobs more money would be spent which would open more jobs and ultimately help with the unemployment problem here. I didn't mind, I just didn't want to be so close to where the pain had all began for me.
I sped down the roads slick with rain trying to catch the time I had lost attempting to get dressed. The SS Charlie, my car, was running like a dream. It was hard to keep Dodge Chargers in perfect working order. I guess that is why I decided to work for a company that manufactured car parts. The SS Charlie was named by a friend of mine who tired of hearing that everything was named after females so he took the initiative and named my sexy midnight blue charger, Charlie.
Charlie got me to work at 8:11, which was four minutes before I needed to be there. Under normal circumstances I would have taken the time to admire the building, I probably would have even taken the time to explore the building but I was running late and I had to make it up to the top floor within the next four minutes. I scurried out of the car and grabbed both my laptop case and my briefcase. I heeled my door shut, and pushed the electronic keypad on my keys, a push start and electronic door opener…the perks of working for an automotive company.
As I ran inside and up to my new office. I received a few awkward glances from a few middle aged men but I ignored them. I had been getting those same looks since I turned fourteen and filled out. It's something you learn to ignore.
As I made my way into the elevator that would lead me up to the top floor I took a deep breath.
Breathe girl breathe, you can wow him. Just give it a go.
The elevator finally beeped signifying I had reached my destination, and I ran out the door. As I turned the corner and reached a wooden mahogany door with a gold plate that read Liana Octavius, I smiled. It looked nice enough. Years had gone by since I last used the name Krystal Liana Octavius, when I left Forks I wanted to be forgotten. I was sure with the abundance of resources that the Cullens had they could have found me, not that they would want to find me, but if they did I would be embarrassed that they found me in a phys home. So I dropped my first name and chose to use my middle name. It helped that I had never given them my last name, or more accurately they had never asked. I sighed, breath, forget, relax. That was my motto.
I threw the door open and noticed a beautiful blonde male with vibrant green eyes, who sat casually at a desk which I assumed, belonged to me, and looked up at me. "Hi, you must be Ms. Octavius, I'm James, James Bradley your secretary, you can call me James, I'm here to make the transition easier for you. Here let me take your bags." He offered grabbing my bags out of my hands before I could protest, and led me down a wide cream hallway framed with plants and eccentric pictures. "This whole part of the building is your work area. I would give you the run down but boss man is waiting in your office. He's been here since seven. He seems anxious to meet you, very nervous. So we'll talk later okay." He smiled pushing me gently into my office and tossing my bags onto the long beautiful leather chair that stood against my back wall.
The office was a nice cream color, and everything was situated in a way that I liked already. It was spacious, not cluttered, and very calming. I took note of the bins located on the counter that shadowed my desk. There were files located in that storage area which I assumed that I needed. Obviously a personal designer had come in and orchestrated this whole thing, it didn't seem likely that this design had been with the original building plan. Wellington kept his word after all. All in all, I liked the feel of my new office. I could see myself working in this space, not to mention I had a killer view of the city. The entirety of my back wall was a thick glass.
Finally, I noticed the man that sat in the chair in a stunning grey suit in front of my desk. He definitely was a Native American. His beautiful russet skin shun bright under his long silky black hair. I smiled as brightly as I could and walked over to my desk. His back was toward me, so I doubted that he noticed my arrival. The door did shut silently. He was a fairly big guy; you know broad shoulders, muscular in all the right places. He looked intimidating from behind, but I still wanted to get acquainted with him on a physical level as well.
Pg-13 thoughts, Lilu, get it all out now.
I shook my head, and planted a smile on my face hoping to portray an image of warmness as I made my way over to my desk to remove my coat and toss it aside.
"I apologize for making you wait for this long, had I known that you had plans to come in at seven I would have gotten here earlier." I said, placing my coat on a hanger and in the closet toward the farthest wall, with my back to him. As I walked back over I caught sight of his profile from the side. His features seemed too familiar. For a second he looked like…no he couldn't be. I wasn't in Forks, there was no way. I shook my head again. He had spoken, shit what did he say?
For a moment I stared at him dumbfound, and then his words finally entered into my mind. "No worries, I should have checked when you were scheduled to come in. It is unprofessional to conduct work without checking sources. I just wanted to get to know the chief go-getter Stewie-boy talked so much about." His words were loaded with double meaning, and I couldn't quite catch what the second meaning was. He acted too familiar with me, like he knew me from somewhere.
Stewie-boy, who the hell did he think he was? Mr. Wellington and this guy had to be on friendly terms, the only time I ever heard the name Stewie-boy was when Stewart took me out on a date and his step brother called him that. I decided that it best that we got the meeting under way. "I am Liana, Liana Octavius. It is a pleasure to be here working in Seattle." I tried to sound casual.
"You hate it; you don't like being forced to move." I noticed the half smile from his side profile. I had not moved from where I was standing so it took me by complete surprise when he bound off his chair and casually strolled to me. "Jacob, Jacob Black." He said before his eyes locked on to me and he saw me for the first time. He froze mid step and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. My lungs burned from deprivation as I tried to breathe and think calmly, ignoring all the long forgotten, long buried emotions that were trying to engulf me.
Jacob Black had grown, if I thought he was beautiful before than I didn't know what to call him now. His black hair had grown back to its full length and he had lost all of his childlike features completely. He was grown, tall dark and handsome. And I knew he was not mine to want, not mine to have. I arranged my features into a perfect mask of serenity as I closed the distance and held out my hand. How the hell was I supposed to make it through today? This was supposed to be my past, forgotten, never to be heard from again. I sighed, just a few more hours and I would never see him again, and hopefully he wouldn't notice me.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Black. I look forward to working with you." I smiled and tried to sound encouraging but I am sure my features gave me away.
"K...Krys…Krystal?" He choked out, seemingly confused, and the way he called out that name seemed pained.
No, please I can't. I won't, I'm not her anymore. My thoughts screamed. So I did what came naturally at that moment in time. "Krystal, that's a strange name, should I know her?"
"No, you're…but, and I, you've been gone so long, but you're name is…and" He wasn't making any sense and the more he tried to explain it the more painful it sounded to me. Was he in pain or was my pain just amplified, consuming everything even his words.
"I don't know who she is. I'm sorry." My voice was monotone, and my ears rung. I had always been a horrible liar and I knew I was caught.
Instead of speaking he nodded curtly and sat back in his chair. "We should get started." He said, his comment nearly going unnoticed because it was so low.
"Sure, su…" I stopped myself and his eyes bulged. "I mean yes."
Jacob stood silent for a moment and then launched himself into a boring lecture about the company as I drifted off. Seven whole years, why didn't he leave with the Cullens, I was sure that they still couldn't be here. People would get suspicious. And how much had changed since I left, what was everyone up to?
My mind entered a place of total darkness and I saw the return of the monster I was when he had first left me. Well shit, he was back, I lied, and we were working together. What the hell kind of fuckery was this? Fucking shit, life was a bitch.