Disclaimer: We only own the Sparks Publications and all the new characters. All the rest isn't ours.
A/N1: Hello guys! It's me Blair, XoLiteratiLoveroX working with the wonderful Héla! I am so happy to get this posted after our long process of putting the story together. I know I have many stories, but they will be updated and beta-ed by Cat :). Okay so I think our story has to have a special thanks to Sue (Charlotte Lee) Thank you so much hon! If you want to see the profiles and pictures of the characters in The Boston Sparks check out our profile! Much Love and enjoy!!
A/N2: Hi everybody! waves This is Héla (helaluvE). Blair Bear said it all better than I could, I just would like to thank her again for letting me be a part of this, it's been a great pleasure…I simply lurv ya! Please go check out our profile, there is tons of information for you there and we'd love if our readers could be part of this journey with us. With all my love, hope you'll enjoy.
Chapter one: I met this guy…
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mom."
"Well, well isn't it Miss Super Duper Bostonian Reporter?" Lorelai Gilmore quipped with a soft smile.
"Is it? I thought you named me after yourself," Rory Gilmore said plopping down on her couch.
"Miss Super Duper Bostonian Reporter is so much cooler though,"
"Oh yeah… quite long but so exponentially cooler," Rory laughed at their usual inexplicably silly banter.
"Well, you could always call your first kid like that," Lorelai carried on. When she was on a roll it was hard to make her stop.
"Like that's gonna happen anytime soon."
"Don't be silly, you're my daughter, of course it'll happen." Rory sighed, for the first time letting Lorelai know that things were not as bright as her daughter was letting on. "Honey?"
"Yes?"
"Everything is going to be alright," Lorelai assured softly.
"How do you know?" Rory asked her voice breaking with doubts and worry.
"Because I know you, you always manage to get what you want. Remember in fourth grade, the spelling contest?" Lorelai said grinning at the memory.
"Mom," Rory sighed, sometimes she wondered who was the mother in this relationship, "you can't compare a won spelling contest…"
"Won with honors," Lorelai interrupted.
"Right, it's still not comparable to a writing position at the Boston Sparks," Rory said with a sigh, playing with the sleeve of her free arm.
"I'm sure you'll be great."
"I don't even have the job yet," Rory objected.
"You will," the confidence in her mother's voice made a small smile appear on Rory's face.
"You seem so confident. It could go so wrong though, I might screw this up big time and I might never get an opportunity like this one ever again… Oh my god! I'm gonna be jobless, I'm gonna lose the apartment, I'm gonna have to leave Boston… My life's over!" she rambled with a mix of desperation and panic in her tone.
"Rory! Take a deep breath, you're scaring Mommy!"
"You're scared? I'm the one who will have to return to Stars Hollow to work as Kirk's assistant!" she shrieked getting up again and pacing in front of her couch.
"Dramatic much?" her mother winced. Rory stopped pacing and thought about it. She took a deep breath and sat back down on the couch.
"Maybe," she whispered.
"Aw honey, it's just an interview. They'll love you I'm sure," Lorelai said warmly.
"You think?"
"I'm positive!"
"It would be fantastic. It's The Boston Sparks, the most…"
"…read magazine in Boston and its surrounding, I know sweets," Lorelai finished with a small smile.
"I mentioned that already, didn't I?" Rory giggled.
"Only a hundred times in the last two weeks," Lorelai nodded.
In that moment, the front door of the younger Gilmore's apartment opened and a rush of long blond hair and interminable legs ran across the living area to the room opposite to Rory's.
"Hi, Rory, Hi Lorelai," Rory's roommate, Julie Devaux, shouted from behind her half opened room.
"Hi," the Gilmore girls chorused. She came out two minutes later with a change of clothes in her hands and rushed to the bathroom.
"I'm so late! They're gonna kill me," she rambled to no one in particular.
"Relax, Jules it's only 7," Rory shouted playing her role of reassuring friend-slash-roommate in their long ago established weekly routine. Julie would rush like a crazy lady in their apartment screaming and shouting about her tardiness and how her three brothers would kill her if she was once again late at their weekly family diner. Rory would then proceed to either reassure her about the time or mock her mercilessly.
"Late again?" Lorelai smirked into the phone.
"As always," Rory nodded.
"She's so a Gilmore."
"At heart, at least, that's for sure."
"How are the Devaux boys?"
"Hot and pretty."
"Glad to hear it. If only I lived in Boston, I'd make the three of them my slaves."
"Mother!"
"What?"
"You are incorrigible! Sean is only 20!" Rory reprimanded.
"Ah, fresh flesh," Lorelai snickered.
"You're awful!"
"Hey, you started with the dirty comments, plus it's not my fault your roommate's brothers are such hotties," Lorelai laughed at her daughter outraged tone.
"You're married," the youngest Lorelai reminded the oldest one.
"Technicality!" Lorelai shouted and Rory giggled.
"Crazy woman."
"And yet, you loooove me."
"Whatever. How's that poor husband of yours?" Rory asked changing the subject.
"Grumpy, gruff and handsome," Lorelai answered looking at the other end of the room where Lucas Danes was also on the phone. "He's on the phone with his nephew," she added to her daughter.
"You know, I'm really starting to doubt this whole nephew story. We never even saw the guy."
"Actually I did a couple of years ago, before the wedding. We went to visit him in Boston."
Rory's jaw dropped to the floor. "Boston? Like my Boston?"
"You own Boston? Wow! Impressive."
"Having a mature conversation with you seems like an impossible task," Rory sighed.
"Mature conversation, how utterly dull," Lorelai remarked with a bored tone.
"Are you sure I'm your daughter?"
"Yup, sorry kid, you're stuck with me," Lorelai smiled and Rory, a hundreds of miles away from her beloved and loving mother did the same.
"I can imagine worse," her daughter replied softly making Lorelai grin.
"I miss you, babe."
"I miss you too, Mom. I'll try to drop by sometime this month."
"As if you'd have the time, you'll have a new job and new friends, you won't even remember me," Lorelai fake pouted for good measure.
"Please! Forget you? Like you'd let me."
"Mean!"
"I'll come down this month, I promise," Rory assured when her giggles subsided.
"I'll have the champagne ready to celebrate your new Super Duper Reporter job," Lorelai smiled.
"Thank you, Mom."
"Welcome, sweets."
They hung up at the same time and Rory placed back the cordless phone on its cradle. She sighed happily feeling both more relaxed and homesick. Lorelai was right; it was going to be fine. She just needed to let the stress melt away and it will be fine. It was not her first job interview after all.
She was about to get up to get herself a hot steaming cup of much needed coffee when Julie barged back into the main room, dressed and ready to face her brothers rage.
"They're gonna kill me," she lamented looking at her watch.
"Pretty much," Rory quipped with a small smirk.
"Not helping!" Julie shouted while running around the apartment, looking for her purse and keys.
"Why are you always so late?"
"It's in my DNA code."
"It's unfixable then?"
"I'm afraid so… AH! Here they are!" she smiled grabbing her keys off the kitchen table. "Ok, see ya later." She said running to the door and grabbing her coat on her way.
"Give my best to the Devaux men," Rory laughed watching her trying to put it on without dropping either her purse or her keys.
"Will do," she shouted finally closing the door behind her.
Rory eventually headed to the kitchen, a smile gracing her lips and feeling lighter than she did twenty minutes ago.
Meanwhile, on another part of the city…
"Luke, for the last time I can't come down this month," Jess Mariano sighed exasperatedly on the phone.
"You could at least try to sound sad about it," Lucas Danes, Jess's uncle replied gruffly.
"I really don't see why I should."
"You're a lost cause."
"A pretty damn lucky lost cause then," Jess smirked.
"Get over yourself!" Luke shook his head with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
"I can't, it would completely ruin my image and we wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?"
"I pray for a miracle every day."
"I'm a walking miracle," Jess reminded his uncle while leaning against the kitchen counter.
This was their weekly routine. Every Sunday evening they called each other to check up on their lives and even though they annoyed the hell out of each other, Jess and Luke could not let a week go by without keeping in touch. It was how they relationship worked: be there for the other no matter what and preserve what felt like the only family bond left in the Danes family.
"How's work?" Luke asked seating down next to his wife who had just hung up from a conversation with her daughter. Lorelai came to snuggle to his side and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on his shoulder and let a soft sigh escape her.
"Still selling drugs on the streets and in crack houses," he deadpanned.
Luke shook his head, "Seriously."
"The usual, it's busy and… whatever, it's work," his nephew stuttered a little uncomfortably.
"Still loving it, huh?" Luke teased with a smirk. Jess rolled his eyes at his uncle smugness.
"Shut up, old man," he replied without an ounce of harshness in his tone. In Stars Hollow, Luke nodded with a warm smile.
"You do love it."
"Who wouldn't? I'm editor-in-chief of the Boston Sparks; the most…"
"… most read magazines of Boston and its surrounding, yeah I know the drill," Luke interrupted, making Lorelai look up with an intrigued expression on her face.
"And how's the dinner?" Jess asked, desperate to change the subject.
"Ugh," Luke huffed.
"That bad?"
"Well, it's Stars Hollow, crazy people live here and my wife convinced me to hire her niece who's a real pain in the ass."
"Hey!" Lorelai reprimanded with a slap on his chest.
"She is a pain in the ass," Luke insisted with an annoyed expression.
"I thought that title was reserved to me," Jess remarked on the phone.
"Well, she does remind me a lot of you except she's a girl, she's 19 and her parents have enough money to feed the south of the African continent."
"Impressive."
"Yeah but she doesn't really give a damn about her parent's money. She's the rebellious type and she likes to make my life hell," Luke told his nephew with an edge to his voice.
"What did you expect? She's a teenage girl who's working for you in a dinner in that crazy town," Jess shrugged.
"Good point. Ok, I'm gonna go. You're ok?" Luke asked his nephew, the concern parent mode always lingering in his behavior.
"Yes, Uncle Luke." Jess replied with a shake of his head, amused by his uncle.
"Ok, then talk to you next week."
"Sure," and with that they ended their weekly conversation.
Luke let the phone fall next to him on the couch and tightened his hold on his wife.
"Why were you talking about The Boston Sparks?" she asked him.
"How do you know we were talking about it?" he asked a little surprised.
"I know all," she answered with a huge grin and he leaned over to kiss her cheek.
"Jess works there."
"You're kidding?"
"Nope, he's actually the editor-in-chief of the magazine," he said with pride shinning in his voice. "Why?"
"Remember Rory's big job opportunity?" he nodded. "Well it's for a writing position in The Boston Sparks."
"That's… very odd," he said frowning.
"You said it."
Back in Boston, Jess was finishing getting ready for his date of the day with Cathy…or was it Kate? He could never remember their names the first week and it did not matter much since, by then, they would all be old memories. A blur of faceless and leggy pleasures that helped him pass the time. He put his shoes on and headed for the front door when it opened, letting his roommate Daniel Sparks and his younger brother Eddy enter the penthouse. Yes, Jess lived in a penthouse that he chose and paid for two years ago. He definitely had come a long way since his younger years.
"She was totally drooling over you," Eddy insisted as the three men made their way to the main area of the huge apartment, watching his brother roll her eyes. "Hey Jess," he smiled plopping down on the black leather couch.
"No eating peanut butter on my couch," Jess greeted back while readjusting his jacket.
"Your manners never cease to amaze me," Eddy remarked putting his feet on the coffee table.
"It's a gift. Feet. Down. Now."
"Ok, Mom," Eddy rolled his eyes and put his feet back down. "Geez!" Daniel who had witnessed the whole exchange laughed and went out to get some drinks from the kitchen.
"How was diner?" Jess asked the bothers when Daniel got back to the living room.
"Very family-like," they replied at the same time.
"You're going out?" Daniel asked his roommate.
"No, I'm just dressing up for the both of you," Jess replied using his favorite weapon; his sarcasm.
"Who's the Lucky girl?" Eddy asked catching the beer his brother had thrown him.
"Some chick from work."
Daniel shook his head with a smile, "Unbelievable, Mariano… unbelievable."
"At least one of us is having fun," the younger Sparks said with a meaningful glance at his brother.
"Edward, when will you understand that I'm not interested in casual dating?"
"When will you stop teasing me about my name?"
"Never!" Daniel and his best friend replied at the same time with smirks appearing simultaneously on their faces.
"I hate you… the both of you," Eddy replied before taking a sip of his beer.
"I can live with that. Night Sparks," Jess called heading to the door.
"I don't understand the power that brought you guys together," Eddy shook his head.
"It obviously knew what it was doing," Daniel said pushing his brother's head.
"Whatever. You should really take example on the guy. He's a sex machine," Daniel raised an eyebrow at the weirdness of the statement and Eddy shrugged.
"Sex isn't everything and Jess will learn that lesson some day." It was Eddy's turn to raise a skeptic eyebrow.
The next morning in the Gilmore/Devaux apartment, the atmosphere was hectic to say the least. Rory, who was supposed to be downtown at the Sparks Company building at 9:45, had woken up at 8:45 due to a brownout which had killed her alarm clock. It was now 9:10 and she was running around the apartment just like her roommate was doing the evening before.
"I'm screwed!"
"You are not screwed," Julie yelled back looking under Rory's bed for her friend's nicest pair of shoes. "Now, stop running around like a freaking chicken and come put some shoes on while I prepare your coffee," she finished standing up before handing the pair of shoes to her friend who was rushing toward her battling with her chestnut hair.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Rory kissed Julie's cheek and run to her bedroom. Julie all but jogged to the kitchen and switched on the coffee pot before looking around the cupboards, hoping to find something quickly edible for her friend. She found a couple of pop tarts left and shook her head.
"It'll have to do," she mumbled with somewhat of a disgusted look on her face. They were best friends, roommates and they loved each other dearly but they could never agree on the other's taste when it came to nourishment. Julie thought it was highly unfair that she had to deprive herself and work out to stay in shape while her blue eyed friend had the body of a goddess without even trying.
"Rory, honey, you really need to get a move on, it's 9:15!" the blonde shouted while pouring the now percolated coffee in her best friend's favorite cup. She popped the pop tarts in the toaster and went to bring the coffee to her friend. Unfortunately, that was the exact moment Rory chose to come through the kitchen door and what was supposed to be a kind and friendly attention turned out to be the worst thing that could have happened to Rory that morning. Hot coffee splashed over favorite jacket, a very sorry blonde, a very distressed brunette; this was officially the worse Monday morning ever in the Gilmore/Devaux apartment.
Things were going pretty smoothly at the Mariano/Sparks penthouse. The two men were silently eating breakfast in a kitchen that was bigger than the mouse hole Jess grew up in and Cathy (Jess had caught a glimpse of her ID the night before) was in the shower getting ready to get out of the apartment for the last time. Jess and the red head had a pretty good night but he was not the kind of guy who let a girl intrude his life for more than a week. He might see her again; she was after all one of his reporter's assistant (which one? He could not tell even if his life depended on it), he might even go out with her a few more times but she would no longer be able to put foot in his place, not if Jess had a say in it.
"Eddy thinks you're a sex machine," Daniel snickered when Jess put down today's Boston Globe.
"Your little brother must be the weirdest person ever," he commented back.
"He wishes I was a little bit more like you."
"The world can only have one Jess Mariano."
"That's for sure," Daniel deadpanned while his best friend smirked. "I told him you'd get over this sleeping around phase sooner or later."
"Never!" Jess's smirk only grew.
"You did once," his friend reminded softly causing the smirk to finally disappear. Jess ignored him completely and finished his coffee before speaking again. His voice was neither tense nor reproachful; he spoke as if what his friend had just said had very little effect on him. Jess was a master at denial and most of the time it made Daniel laugh, today though, it didn't.
"I need to get going, could you tell Cathy I'll catch her at the office," he got up, put his empty cup of tea in the sink, grabbed his jacket off the chair and headed to the door. Daniel watched him silently and wished that for once he had shut up. There were things in Jess's life, in his past, which were better left alone.
Rory arrived at the Sparks Publication at 9:47 and considering her lack of luck that morning, she saw it as a small miracle. She stepped out of the taxi and looked up at the huge building in front of her. She felt a shiver run up and down her spine as her eyes ran up the stone, steel and glass monster and took a deep breath to try to calm down her breathing. This was a dream come true and she could not blow this chance up. So what if she wasn't wearing her favorite jacket? What if she hadn't had coffee yet and the one in her to-go-cup had gone cold ten minutes ago? What if circulation had been awful? What if the Russian taxi driver had been hitting on her in Russian all the way here? She had arrived, almost on time and was ready to make the best of this fantastic opportunity that was given to her. She looked around herself, up again and then stepped through the immense golden and glass doors.
The lobby of the Sparks building was bigger than her former home in Stars Hollow. Shiny and expensive the white granite laid around the place gave it a very austere look. Two elevators were waiting Rory on each of the four sides of the building and she rushed to the closest. Dozens of people were walking around her but luckily enough there was only one person in the one she chose.
She stepped on the elevator and smiled, politely at the man standing with a cell phone attached to his ear. She fumbled with her purse in one hand and a to-go cup of coffee in the other, while trying to slip on her jacket. "… sure, we can just eat tonight and I'll get you back home," he paused and rested his head back on the wall, "that's fine. Okay, bye." He slid the phone into his pocket and watched Rory as she groaned in frustration.
She turned to the dark-haired man and gave him another smile, "hi."He nodded to her, smirking, "are you okay?
"Just … almost late and traffic sucked and this isn't the jacket I wanted to wear today because my roommate spilled coffee all down the front of my really nice pretty jacket," she stumbled over her words, sounding out of breath. She gave a small laugh and pulled her hair from her coat, "that was one of those polite questions to get rid of awkward silences in an elevator, wasn't it?"
He nodded shortly, still smirking.
"Sorry," she smiled apologetically. He waved off and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "I have a really important job interview and it seems that the odds are against me today and this place is so impressive and… I'm rambling again, aren't I?," he nodded his smirk only growing wider. "Sorry, I'll stop talking to strangers and you can keep ignoring the crazy lady," she carried on blushing before turning back around.
"S'okay, crazy works for me too," he said lightly and she smiled to herself not turning around. That was when she realized that they were heading for the same floor; the Boston Sparks floor. She whipped around, grinning.
"You… I mean do you work for the Boston Sparks?" she asked eyes wide. He looked at her up and down, took note of the papers she was holding in her excited hands and realized that she probably was one of the reporters he would be interviewing today. If she was as talented as she was pretty the interviews wouldn't take very long he thought.
"Something like that," he finally answered looking back up with a fake polite smile. She looked perplexed and rose on of her eyebrow questioningly. He just kept on smiling fakely refusing to give her any further information. She glared at him and turned around. This definitely wasn't her day. She closed her eyes and hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with this arrogant ass often. The elevator ride seemed to last forever and she felt his eyes burning holes on her back.
"Stop!" she said sternly. She could not see him but he raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry?"
"Stop starring at me," she explained looking straight ahead. He narrowed his eyes curiously and reveled in the fact that this girl was actually really entertaining.
"How do you know I'm looking at you?"
"I just know and you're still doing it."
"Well of course I am, you're talking to me."
"Fine, I will shut up and you'll look elsewhere."
"Bossy, aren't we?" her eyes widened in distaste and she turned toward him so he could see how utterly cocky she thought he was. He smirked at the outraged expression plastered on her face and she glared at him again. The elevators doors chose that moment to open and he looked up to check the floor. They had arrived. He nodded at her and stepped out, heading for his office. She stood there, mouth open, eyes fierce, unable to formulate a coherent thought. It took her quite a time to realize that she had reached her destination and it took her another 10 seconds to see that the elevator doors were closing again. She quickly stepped out and found herself in front of the reception desk. She shook her head trying to put the previous events on the back of her mind and made her way to the skinny model seating at the desk.
"Hi, I'm Lorelai Gilmore and I have an appointment with Mr. Mariano," Rory said with a polite smile. The visibly bored out of her mind receptionist nodded her head.
"You're late," she commented eyeing Rory.
"I know, I'm sorry but like I told you when I called you earlier on my way here," Rory began with a pointed look, "traffic was terrible."
"Yes of course," the tall brunette replied with as much disdain as she could muster. The two girls kept starring at each other, neither wanting to break eye contact.
"Amy," a man's voice growled behind Rory, "Jess is waiting!"
"She just got here," the receptionist replied without detaching her eyes from Rory's.
"You're useless!" the man said annoyed and came to stand next to Rory. "Hi, I'm Stan, I'm Mr Mariano's assistant," he explained offering his hand for her to shake. He was a tall black and handsome man who was wearing nice fitting black slacks with a white buttoned down shirt. Rory wasn't much for the bald type but she would definitely revise her opinion for that charming smile.
"I'm Rory Gilmore and I'm very sorry to be late," she said shaking his and offering an apologetic smile.
"It's ok, don't worry. Mr. Mariano just got here anyway and you're the first interview of the list this morning."
"Oh ok," she said not sure how to take this.
"Let's go," Stan said before throwing an angry look toward the receptionist. He led Rory through the multiple desks and the redaction room to Mr. Mariano's office. During the short trip, Rory couldn't stop looking around her and what impressed her most were the brightness and the newness of the decoration. It was very modern and it contradicted with her own idea of a redaction room. The only thing that really reassured her was the hastiness and the people running around trying to catch up with each other or with the news. This was definitely the energy she was looking for. She felt a new shiver run through her and this time she smiled. It was very intimidating but she knew she would fit in perfectly.
Stan, or "the Cute Assistant" as she decided to mentally refer to him from now on (that is if she got the job), stopped in front of what looked like a vast office. They stood in front of a Stan's desk and he offered her a seat next to the glassed doors before calling his boss on the interphone to announce her arrival. The Cute Assistant nodded and hung up.
"Come on, he's waiting for you," Stan offered with a smile and Rory got up to follow him inside the office. Mr. Mariano was standing behind his desk, looking though an immense window, his back to the incomers. His hands were in his pockets and he seemed pretty relaxed. As Rory had guessed, the office was really big. The black desk in the center of the room could make her own desk at the apartment look like a school desk. It was accompanied by one of those very luxurious leather desk chairs that could make Hulk Hogan look like a kid if he sat on one of them. To the left, there was a bookshelf stocked with newspapers and magazines and next to the door, to Rory's right, there was another bookshelf and this one was full of books. Her eyes scanned it quickly and she could not suppress the grin that appeared when her eyes fell on an old copy of Howl.
"Jess, this is Lorelai Gilmore," Stan said trying to catch his attention and Rory looked back at the silent man. She felt a strong sense of familiarity when she focused on his back but she could not pinpoint where it came from. Jess nodded and said thank you to his assistant. Rory's eyes widen when she recognized the voice and she only wished she could follow Stan outside.
The editor in chief of the Boston Sparks finally turned around, a smirk playing at his lips and Rory felt her chances of getting the job slip away. He took a few steps forward and came to shake her hand. She silently took it in her own desperately trying to keep eye contact with her ex-future- boss who as charming as he looked like was also one of the cockiest and annoying person she had ever met in her life (and she had gone to Harvard).
"Good morning Miss Gilmore, I'm Jess Mariano," he said mirth dancing in his eyes.
"Good morning, I'm sorry I was late but at least you know why," she said determined not to show that he was more intimidating than she liked to admit.
"Right, the elevator confessions," he mocked and she glared at him. She realized that they were still holding hands and she quickly retrieved hers. "Please take a seat," she nodded and did what she was told. "So, Miss Gilmore," he carried on after taking place behind his desk and looking at her resume, "Beside your obvious talent of informing people about the randomness that occurs in your life, tell me why do you think you deserve a post at the Boston Sparks?" he asked looking back at her. She cleared her throat and tried as hard as she could to not let her anger show.
"Well, journalism is what I was born to do and I'm good at it, really good in fact. I may sound crazy sometimes but it was never a problem when I was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Gazette," he nodded smirking and she carried on, trying not to roll her eyes at him, "I've worked hard to be where I am now and in spite of my massive lack of luck this morning, I really feel like this is the place for me. Plus I love Boston, it's been my whole world for the last six years and it feels like home," she said trying to sound as professional as possible.
"I see here that you worked for a smaller paper, why did you leave?"
"It was a…cooking magazine and even if I love eating, it really wasn't the type of work and writing that I am looking for," she replied with a blush. He nodded while mentally noting that she looked kind of cute like that.
He nodded again and looked at the resume one more time. He had made his mind already (she had him at "Good morning") but it was just too much fun to watch her fidget in her seat. Her resume was the best he had read anyway; she seemed perfect for the job and she obviously wanted it.
"So, what's your favorite color?" he asked suddenly making her eyes widen in surprise.
"I'm sorry what?" she could not have heard him right.
"I asked what your favorite color was?" he repeated smirking yet again.
"I don't see how that's relevant," she replied glaring at him. He really was not your average editor- in-chief.
"Well we have several empty offices available and I thought maybe you'd like to chose yours depending on which color the walls are," he explained crossing his arms and watching the fantastically refreshing display of emotions in her blue eyes. First, there was confusion, and then when the realization of what he had just said finally hit her, they had lit up like blue fireworks.
"Oh my god," she whispered clasping one of her hand upon her mouth. He smiled genuinely at her for the first time then and she dropped her hand to reciprocate the gesture.
"Thank you," she said softly and he nodded his welcome.
"So she got the job?" Brooke asked grinning and linking arms with Sean Devaux and his older sister, Julie as they walked toward the Sparks publications.
"Yup, she's officially a Boston Sparks journalist!" Julie squealed and the three of them grinned.
"I can't believe this! My cousin writes for the most read magazine of the freaking city," Brooke said making the Devaux siblings laugh.
"And its surroundings," Julie quipped. "She wants to have a celebration dinner in Stars Hollow this month," she carried on causing Brooke to moan in despair.
"Oh I'm sure Loraine will be thrilled," she drawled.
"Come on now, I'm sure your mom will be happy for herniece," Sean spoke up.
"Oh she definitely will and it will also be a fantastic occasion for her to remind me how pathetic my life is," the 19 year-old brunette replied.
"Your life's not pathetic," Julie said softly, squeezing her friend's hand.
"I know that but my mother is… a bone head." She looked down sadly and the group stopped in the middle of the street.
"I think we're here," Sean said looking up at the Sparks building.
"Yup, this is it," Julie said and they all looked up.
"Wow," Brooke whispered.
"I was about to say that," Sean said.
"I heard that this building was built for Lydia Sparks," Julie told them her eyes still trying to catch a glimpse of the end of the tower.
"Yeah, it's actually a pretty sappy story. Benjamin Sparks bumped into his wife for the first time on this street and he built this monster as homage or something," Sean explained.
"You call it sappy, I call it romantic," Julie smiled finally looking back down.
"You're such a girl," Brooke teased.
"Rory said to wait for her in the lobby; she should be down pretty soon," Julie ignored Rory's cousin and pushed through the golden glass doors. Sean and Brooke hurried to follow her and soon the three of them found themselves in the biggest lobby they had ever seen in their young lives. They looked around themselves with wonder in their eyes and mouths slightly open. People were buzzing around them like bees in an apiary, reading the latest papers, checking out their Blackberries or talking animatedly on their phones.
"This is freaky," Brooke whispered.
"Welcome to adulthood," Julie grinned and the other two snickered.
"Look at that," Sean said pointing at a glass wall plate in front of them, hung up between two of the elevators. They got nearer to read the inscription which said:
To Lydia, the love of my life,
To Daniel and Edward the prides of our lives.
B.S.
"This B.S. really is a sap," Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Oh shut up, this is so sweet," Julie smiled at the plate.
"Same difference," Sean and Brooke whispered at the same time and Julie rolled her eyes.
"You two shouldn't be this cynical; you're way too lucky and young. I feel…" she was interrupted by a strong body colliding with her own. "Ow!" she cried almost falling back. Two strong arms grabbed her by the waist and steadied her.
"I'm so sorry, I'm such an idiot, I wasn't looking. Are you ok?" a dark haired man rambled obviously flustered. Julie gazed up at his deep eyes and felt herself blush. She cleared her throat, unable to stop gazing into the softness of his brown pools. He smiled, embarrassed and obviously as mesmerized as she was. She grinned and he felt his heart warm pleasantly.
"It's ok, don't worry, I'm fine," she reassured softly.
"No really, I need to be more careful."
"Well, no harm," she giggled looking down and she realized that he was still holding her. She blushed again and he felt his pulse increase rapidly. He slowly let go of her and looked down in embarrassment. He passed a hand through his dark hair while she tucked a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. Sean and Brooke watched the exchange with interest and smirked at each other.
The stranger looked up at Julie and they once again shared a timid smile.
"I better go," he pointed at the elevators behind him. "I'm sorry again."
"She obviously isn't," Brooke mumbled with a smirk and Julie glared at her. The handsome dark haired man smiled and started walking away.
"Do you work here?" Julie called after him. He turned around an amused look dancing in his eyes.
"Not really, I just bump into pretty blondes," he smiled and she grinned.
"Does that happen often?"
"Not really," he repeated laughing and she joined him. "Do you work here?"
"Nah, I just bump into handsome dark haired strangers," she smirked and he smiled.
"I'm Daniel… Not a stranger anymore."
"I'm Julie."
At that moment two of the elevators delivered a horde of people into the lobby and revealed a grinning Rory amongst them. She rushed toward her friends and hugged Brooke and Sean.
"Shouldn't you be at Luke's?" she asked her cousin, oblivious to the interaction between her best friend and Daniel who were still smiling at each other silently.
"He let me go for the day," the younger brunette answered smirking.
"What did you do?"
"I might have told Miss Patty that aunt Lorelai was pregnant with Chris's kid," Brooke said looking at her nails while Sean burst out laughing.
"You're so my mother's daughter," Rory shook her head with a smile.
"Aw! Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Ok let's go I have a lot to tell you and I need coffee," Rory looped her arm through her cousin's and headed for the doors. Julie smiled one last time at Daniel who waved before reluctantly following her friends and brother outside.
Daniel went to lean against the wall next to their family plate and sunk his hands in his pockets watching as his younger brother made his way toward him. They nodded at each other and Eddy mirrored his brother's position.
"Who was the blonde hottie?" the younger Sparks asked.
Daniel who was watching her leave took a deep breath and smiled to himself.
"Julie," he replied softly.
A/N: please don't forget to review. Thanks for reading.