This is just something I thought of. I hope you like. Sometimes you just have to write something down, because otherwise it won't leave you alone. :)
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, just borrowing them.
Elena sat at the bar amused as her roommate licked the salt off her hand, downing another shot of tequila before chasing it down with a bite of lemon.
"Woohoo!" The blond yelled, clearly too drunk to notice that she was now the center of attention and every guy had their eye on her. Her blonde curls fell loosely below her shoulders as she tipped her head back to consume more alcohol.
"Come one Elena! Do another shot, we're celebrating!" She encouraged with enthusiasm, pushing the shot glass toward her friend.
Elena hesitated for second before taking the shot of tequila in her hand. Rebekah was right they were celebrating; well she was supposed to be anyway. After years of hard work and dedication the best opportunity of her entire career to date had finally presented itself. By noon the next day she'd either be an intern at Salvatore & Saltzman; the biggest architectural firm in the entire city of Los Angeles or she'd once again walk away disappointed.
Rebekah tried to convince her not to think about the outcome, just live in the moment and celebrate the opportunity, but she was Elena Gilbert and the only thing she knew how to do was worry. Living in the moment was a completely foreign concept to her. Here they were at their favorite bar in the entire city where they were supposed to be celebrating her success and her friend was clearly having a better time than she was.
Elena hated that, but it always happened. If only she could be like Rebekah, who always seemed to relish in the little things, always so carefree and jovial. Last year at Elena's twenty-third birthday party, she watched as all her friends laughed, drank, and danced until the wee hours of the night while she spent most of her night obsessing over the fact that she hadn't accomplished everything she set out to by her twenty-third birthday. Now with her twenty fourth only a few weeks away, she felt that familiar pang of disappointment starting to set in.
"Elena, come on!" Her friend yelled from across the bar, she looked over and Rebekah was sandwiched between two guys, dancing wildly and clearly having the time of her life. She smiled sweetly at her blond friend, before looking down at the alcoholic beverage in her hand. She worked hard to get to where she was, and if she couldn't enjoy it even for a night then it wasn't worth the stress she'd put herself through. Bringing the glass to her lips swallowed the shot of tequila in one gulp, ignoring the salt and lemon provided by the bartender. Her body tingled all over as the sweet peppery taste of the alcohol excited her taste buds causing her to wince slightly from the sensation.
Elena was never much of a drinker, at least not like Rebekah who was now dancing provocatively on top of the bar, but occasionally when celebratory circumstances called for it she didn't mind a drink or two. Tonight however, she'd need more than two. Her mind was spinning with all the possible outcomes of her job interview in the morning. Her resume and portfolio were great according to her advisors, and she had a unique eye for design but Elena knew that her designs wouldn't be the thing to hold her back from the opportunity. The fact of the matter was, she was talented and her work showed great promise for a career in architecture, but it was what she lacked that would keep her from fulfilling her dream of seeing her very own design gracing the beautiful skylines of Los Angeles.
The bartender poured three more shots at her request and she downed all three almost as soon as he put them in front of her. Rebekah was right she needed to relax, and the only thing that was helping her at this point was the tequila. She promised herself that she wouldn't get drunk, but as time went by and the shots kept pouring, her mind felt fuzzy and her skinned tingled and glowed in excitement. It was the most relaxed she felt in a long time, not wanting the feeling to end she ordered just one last round of the one thing that could put her mind at ease.
The shrill sound of her alarm clock startled her, and almost instantly she felt the sharp throbbing of her temple. She almost crushed the tiny clock beside her bed as her hand reached over to silent the incessant ringing. She bolted out of the comfortable warmth of her bed when she looked over at the time and realize that she only had thirty-five minutes before her interview. How many times had she pressed the snooze button? How could Rebekah let her sleep in knowing this could be the single most important day of her career? Her mind was racing with worry as she scrambled out of her room.
Groaning loudly Elena made her way to the bathroom. The previous night was a complete blur to her; the last thing she remembered was ordering the last round of shots. Everything else after that was a mystery. She didn't even know how they managed to make it home, considering Rebekah was drunk even way before she was. Forcing those questions out of her mind she rushed into the bathroom and splashed cold water against her face. With only about twenty minutes to get ready, she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth before putting on the first appropriate thing in her closet that she could get her hands on. A plain white blouse and her favorite black slacks, she slipped on her black flats brushed her long brown hair into a neat pony tail before rushing down to find Rebekah who apparently never made it passed the couch to her bedroom.
They shared a modern loft style apartment with two bedrooms and two baths. Elena's room was upstairs while Rebekah opted for the bedroom downstairs. It was a fairly nice place, not too fancy but definitely worth more than the money they paid monthly, especially in down town Los Angeles where even some of the most rundown buildings charged way too much for a single bed and bath.
Elena shot a glanced towards her friend who was slowly getting up. "What are you still doing here Elena?"
"I overslept, and now I have about seven minutes before I'm late to my interview." Elena explained.
"And you're wearing that?" Rebekah turned her nose up disapprovingly at her friend's outfit of choice.
Not missing the look on Rebekah's face Elena looked down at her clothes. Sure they weren't the fanciest clothes she owned, but it's wasn't like she was going to a fashion show, it was a job interview. She may not have looked like a super model, but she looked professional. At least that's what she told herself to keep from rushing back up the stairs to change. There was no time, in five minutes she needed to be at the firm and she couldn't worry herself with trivial things like her outfit.
"It's a job interview, it looks fine." She said snatching her bagel out of the toaster, grabbing her resume and portfolio before rushing out of the door.
"Good luck!" Rebekah shouted as she watched her friend scurry out to her car.
Once at Salvatore & Saltzman, Elena was already amazed by the gorgeous design of the building. She'd always seen it from the outside, but never had the opportunity to go inside. It was located in the heart of downtown LA, surrounded by a slew of other business around the area. Elena could see plenty of bars and restaurants around and she didn't miss Lockwood Architects, the rival firm just across the street.
It wasn't a secret that before Salvatore & Saltzman began just a little less than four years prior Lockwood Architects was the top architectural firm in the city. In a few short years they managed to lose most of their top and loyal clients to the unique and innovative work of Damon Salvatore and his partner Alaric Saltzman. Elena was very much aware of the rivalry between the two firms and she told herself that if she was ever lucky enough to land the internship, she'd be working for the best firm in the entire city.
Once inside she took a moment to appreciate the high ceilings and natural light that shone through the building. She looked down at her phone and realized she was exactly one minute late, she rushed to the receptionist desk where a short haired brunette greeted her warmly.
"I'm here to interview for the internship." She announced, and the woman passed her a form with a smile.
"Just fill this out, and the conference room should be on the third floor, three doors to your right." The woman instructed. "Good Luck!"
It took Elena four minutes to fill out her forms before she nearly sprinted toward the elevator. Looking down at her watch she realized she was already five minutes behind schedule, the interviews were scheduled to start at seven o'clock and it was five minutes past seven and she wasn't even on the right floor. Just like the woman instructed she got to the third floor, however confusion set in when she saw at least twenty other applicants both sitting and standing in what appeared to be a waiting area outside the conference room. Good grief, she didn't like her odds, there were only four internship positions and roughly twenty applicants.
Right away Elena felt what was left of her confidence dwindle significantly as she took a look around the waiting area. Surprisingly for a field usually dominated by men, most of the applicants were women, gorgeous women to be exact. There were only three guys and they were the least of Elena's worries.
Instead she took notice of the woman shaking her head at her in amusement with her perfect strawberry blond hair. She wore a skin tight black dress that was cut low enough in the front to show just the right amount of cleavage. The dress hugged her in all the right places, accentuating her curves, and her bright red pumps matched her red lips which smirked at Elena condescendingly. She gripped her suitcase tightly with her perfectly manicured nails and sauntered over to where Elena stood.
"I'm Andie." The woman introduced herself exuding a confidence that Elena only wished she possessed.
"Elena." She replied feeling more than a little uncertain and doubting that Andie really just wanted to introduce herself.
"Nice to meet you Elena, "Andie said before walking back to her seat.
Elena looked down at her watch once more and it was fifteen past seven and still there was no sign of this Salvatore or his partner Saltzman. Elena didn't know much about her bosses aside from what she read on the internet and whatever information her professors could provide her with. However, she was aware that Damon Salvatore was one of the youngest architects and entrepreneurs in the country and Alaric Saltzman had some inspirational story but she wasn't too clear on all of the details of it. One thing she was clear on however was that punctuality wasn't their best quality.
Looking around at the other women she never felt like more of an outcast. She soon regretted shrugging off Rebekah's criticism of her outfit. The women were definitely dressed to impress the bosses, their tight pencil skirts showed off their curvy figures, unbuttoned blouses left very little to the imagination, and the six inch heels made their legs appear to go for miles.
Looking down at her plain white blouse and her straight black slacks she tried to gather all the self confidence she could muster, which wasn't an easy feat considering everything she'd gone through in her personal life in the last few years. Work and school were usually the only two places where she could feel good about herself; she hoped that wouldn't have to change if got the internship.
Damon traipsed aimlessly into the elevator with Alaric following closely behind him, practically guiding him in the right direction. After oversleeping his friend and partner had to come drag him out of bed and practically force him into coming to work. He'd forgotten completely that they had interviews scheduled that required his presence otherwise he would have rather worked from home with the kind of mood he was in.
His good ol pops rung him up at four o'clock in the morning, after ages wanting to discuss matters that he frankly had no desire to speak to him about. Having seemingly no choice Damon was forced to promise they'd have a sit down at some point during the next few weeks because apparently there were important issues that needed to be addressed between them. He thought he'd made himself clear about where he stood as far as their so called 'family' but for some reason it seemed his father had a hard time comprehending. He couldn't decide who he wanted to see less, his sorry excuse for a father or his judgmental and utterly spineless brother, it was definitely a tossup. He inwardly cringed whenever either one of their numbers showed up on his caller id.
As if his day wasn't totally screwed enough, he was going to be subjected to hours with a bunch of amateur architect wanna be's. Great, he thought annoyingly. Why the hell were they even in cahoots with that University again? Oh right, they were doing it as a favor to a friend, well Ric's friend to be precise, Damon didn't owe anyone a damn thing and he certainly didn't use his business to do favors.
But alas a deal is a deal, and every year whenever they found themselves hiring for entry level positions they'd extend the application invitations to ten graduate students studying architecture at the local university, not that he actually had any intention of hiring any of them. The agreement was that they'd interview them; he never guaranteed that they'd get hired. Besides they didn't need amateurs running around the place fucking everything up. They were running a business, the best in the entire city; possibly even the state and they didn't strip the Lockwood's of their title by hiring a bunch of inexperienced students to work for their company.
"Come on man, cheer up. We get to pick on the fresh meet today," his best friend encouraged patting him on the back.
"Ugh, can't you just do the interviews?" Damon asked his tone laced in annoyance. He would've really rather be doing just about anything else.
"No, you're not getting out of this one." Alaric told him.
"Elijah's your friend, not mine." Damon reminded him. "You agreed to babysit for him, not me."
"What about the other ten applicants?" Alaric answered. "They're not Elijah's students, so they don't count, you have no excuse Damon and you're not bailing out on me."
"Fine," Damon agreed begrudgingly before pressing the three.
Once they'd gotten out of the elevator they were greeted by a thunderous applause coming from the twenty something applicants, Damon guessed it was a show of appreciation, but he mostly believe it was just the beginning of a lot of sucking up.
"Yeah, Yeah Yeah... Thank you. Amy Bradley. You're up first." He announced reading his clipboard uninterestedly.
Once they got settled in the interview process began.
Amy Bradley. The first thing Damon noticed was her humungous rack, which seemed to want to jump out of the entirely too small blouse that she wore. She was rambling even before any questions are asked, about her tough childhood and her charity work, none of it seemed sincere, and Damon fought the physical urge to role his eyes. Her portfolio was sub-par, her resume nowhere near impressive. Damon looked at Alaric and he knew they had a solid understanding. Amy Bradley wouldn't be getting an internship with their company, but they'd interview her anyway, just out of courtesy. Starting with all the standard questions:
"Architecturally speaking where do you see yourself in five years?"
"What are you aspirations as an architect?"
"What do you think you can bring to this company?"
"Why do you wish to work at Salvatore and Saltzman?"
They listened to her rambling for ten more minutes before Damon abruptly cut her interview short, thanking her for coming and promising to keep in touch. Once she stepped out of the door, he balled up her resume and tossed it over to Ric, who shot it from long range into the trash can behind them.
"God, I just felt awful doing that, you're a horrible influence."
Damon let out a genuine laugh, "I'm the best thing that ever happened to you."
The next few applicants were no better and the more Damon sat having to listen to their boring life stories, and reading their resumes full of irrelevant information, the more enticing a three story jump out of the window seemed to him.
But all hope was not lost as Miss Andie Starr walked into the conference room, she was smoking hot Damon noticed, and carried an aura of confidence that had his undivided attention. She wore skin tight dress, and he admired her curves from where she stood. Her resume was impressive; portfolio was the best he'd seen all day. She could have the internship and the job as far as he was concerned. Andie wasn't subtle about her interest in him either, she'd winked at him a few times, laughed flirtatiously at his comments, swung her hips more than she needed to get his attention. And boy did she have it! He was used to women throwing themselves at him, so it wasn't new. This is exactly what he needed someone to spice things up around the office. Andie Starr was definitely going in the YES pile.
He looked at Ric who wore an almost disapproving look and soon as Andie left the room, they deliberated.
"She's the best one we've seen all day." Damon reasoned.
"Yeah, but I don't like the way you're looking at her or the way she was looking at you for that matter," Alaric admitted.
"Don't be silly Ric; I know how to separate business from pleasure."
"Yeah, maybe you do. But I don't know if she does."
The next few applicants were more of the same, but they manage to agree on two more who were not as bad as the others, they weren't great by any means but Damon thought they had potential to not suck completely.
Just when he thought this dreary day had ended and he got ready to pack his shit and leave, Ric pulled him back down in his seat and informed him that there was just one last Elena Gilbert that had yet to be interviewed. Damon fell back against the chair in defeat before telling Alaric to call her in.
Elena walked meekly into the conference room, her resumes and portfolios in hand, handing a resume to each one of her potential employers. She felt herself getting nervous as she stood before these two gorgeous men who looked like they'd just fallen off a page of some magazine she couldn't name. She stood there awkwardly for a few moments drinking them in as they looked over her resume and portfolio. Her eyes were glued to Damon Salvatore.
Sure she'd seen photos of him online and in the brochures her professor had given her. It was obvious that he was a pretty handsome guy with his dark hair and blue eyes, but seeing him in person she realized just how little justice the pictures did his appearance, it was almost as if all of his great features were exaggerated in real life. His dark hair was a rich raven black, messy and unruly but only in the best way. His blue eyes were the most beautiful shade of cerulean she'd ever seen in her life. Alaric was handsome as too, with his sandy brown hair, his eyes slightly darker than his partners. But Elena's eyes kept falling back on Damon.
"This is impressive stuff." Alaric noted, looking over her portfolio. Elena clearly had an eye for design that very few students with such little experience had.
He passed it over to Damon, who despite being quite impressed opted not to utter a word. He could tell where Ric was going with this, he actually wanted to offer little Miss Elena Gilbert the internship and Damon knew exactly how he felt about that. No way he was gonna hire some graduate student to handle important matters at his firm. In three years they had never hired any of the University's students and it was one tradition he wasn't looking to break. He looked up at the girl who stood so obviously nervous before them. God, she even looked young, he thought, as he assessed her from head to toe.
She had these big hopeful brown eyes, that were fixed on him and he could tell she was expecting his feedback since Alaric had already said his peace. He looked for any flaw in her portfolio and he tried to pick apart her answers but there wasn't a single thing there. Miss Elena Gilbert was possibly the best applicant they'd seen all day, despite her obvious lack of confidence and the fact that she wasn't well versed on how to dress to impress her bosses.
"Looks like you're in Gilbert." He said almost begrudgingly and as soon as he said it, he watched as those big sparkling eyes twinkled with excitement and her lips formed a small smile. It was the first time she had smiled the entire interview, but it disappeared almost as soon as it happened. It left him feeling more than a bit perturbed, almost as if she had some kind of spellbinding power radiating from those chocolate orbs that made him crave another chance to see that smile on her face again and watch her eyes light up like the city lights again and again. Dammit! That Elena Gilbert was going to be trouble; he could feel it in his bones.
I'm not sure why I felt compelled to have Elena and Rebekah be friends in this story, I think because I feel like there were definitely missed opportunities with them on the actual show, so I guess instead of making Bonnie and Caroline her friends like they usually are in most stories including some of my own, I thought I'd switch it up a little? IDK.. Anyway, thanks for reading and leave a review let me know what you think!