The In-Laws
Chapter 1: The phone call.
Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Twilight universe. This is a story for my cousin Cheris. I hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Enjoy!
"Cheris stop reading fan fiction. Our new interior designer is here." My cousin Tessa said from our new office doors.
Tessa and I have always been close. She was more like an older sister than a cousin. We spent most of our childhood together. When I needed a partner to help me open a bar she was the first person that came to mind. We agreed she would handle the business end and I would be in charge of the actual bar. We had just signed papers on our building a few months ago and our interior designer had just arrived for a walk through.
"Sweet, Let me mark my place and I'll meet you out there." I said marking my spot on the screen.
I walked out of the office door and into the main bar area. I saw Tessa standing with a woman slightly over five feet tall. She had short black hair styled like a pixie. I walked over and introduced myself.
"Hi, I'm Cheris, welcome to Castle." I said
"Hi, I'm Alice. Tessa has told me so much about you." She said shaking my hand.
"Oh. I didn't know you two had met." I said slightly confused.
"Sorry Cheris. Alice is Edwards's sister." Tessa explained.
Tessa had met her boyfriend Edward about a year ago at Seattle General Hospital's E.R. We were cleaning up our apartment when she slipped on the wet kitchen floor and broke her arm. They had been inseparable ever since. He seemed like a nice guy always well-mannered and worshipped the ground Tess walked on. I had met him a few times he had actually helped us with our drug screenings for the new employees.
"But don't worry; I am super good at my job. My taste is nothing like Eddie's." Alice laughed.
"I happen to think that Edward has very good taste." Tessa said
"Taste in women yes. Taste in designing… Come on Tessa you have seen his room." Alice smiled.
"I see your point." Tessa laughed
"So Cheris what do you have planned for this lovely establishment" Alice asked pulling out a notebook.
"I want this place to look like a modern day Dracula's castle. Use black as a base color lots of deep reds and purples." I started.
"That sounds nice. How about some mirrors and silver metals with a little wrought iron?" Alice suggested.
"I love it. I want the bar to be extremely high tech. I have worked in so many bars that have lacked in technology and all it does is frustrate you. "I said.
"Do we have a budget set Tess?" Alice asked
"Well with Cheris and I saving up and the money that our opening night sale generated our budget is right at a hundred thousand." Tessa said looking at our budget folder.
"Holy fuck Tess. I didn't know we had that much." I said
"Well we have been talking about this since we were kids. Plus Tia and Britni have been spreading the word about our under 21 policy. Plus there really aren't any clubs around here so promotion was easy. "She said.
I was very glad I had picked her as a business partner. We spent the next four hours looking at samples of paint, fabric and flooring Alice had brought with her. We had become fast friends in that time. Alice was very energetic with a no nonsense attitude like me. We had picked out a lot of things and we made a follow up appointment for a week from now.
"Well ladies my husband will be here any minute so I am going to head out. Cheris her is my number give me a call and we can hang out one day." Alice said handing me her business card.
"That sounds like fun. Have a good night Alice." I said watching her walk out the door.
"Hey Tess, feel like a drink?" I asked grabbing two glasses from underneath the bar.
"Just a Pepsi for me." she said.
"Not even a celebratory shot?" I asked as I poured myself a shot of Jack Daniels.
"I would love to but I'm meeting Edward at his house for dinner tonight." She said smiling and gathering her things.
"When you say dinner do you mean bumping uglies?" I asked downing my shot quickly.
"No! He said he wanted to cook me dinner. Besides he is a gentleman" she said blushing.
"I got news for you Tess, even gentlemen like vagina." I said making her choke on her Pepsi.
"Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you Sissy Bear." she said as she walked up the stairs of the club.
I went back to the office and sat down. I was happy for Tessa. She had been through some horrible breakups in the past few years. When she found Edward I was excited for her. But at times I wondered when I would find my own Edward. I grew up pretty shy around guys. Most of them looked at me like one of the guys or a little sister instead of a love interest. Puberty had been good to me. I had a clear complexion and had grown a healthy sized chest overnight. Boys started to take notice of me but I was just too shy. I became a bartender as a way to make money in college. I even had a special permit to bartend at the age of 18. I got my first of several tattoos shortly after that and the piercings followed. I loved the fast pace and environment of a good bar. But being in that kind of atmosphere had given me a taste for bad boys. The guys I went for had to be the guys your mom warned you about. Piercing and tattoos on a man, the more the merrier in my opinion. The guys moshing in the pit of a hard rock concert were my speed. But it always ended the same. I had dated a few times over the past couple years. We would date for a few months things would start to get serious and they would run for the hills. Instead of dealing with it I would just push it off and move on. But seeing Tessa and Edward so happy together made me want a relationship like theirs. I wanted someone to look at me the way he looked at her. It seemed like they were half of a whole. I pushed the thought out of my head. Dwelling on my failed relationships only ended one of two ways: me becoming depressed and bitchy to everyone or me getting shitfaced drunk. I couldn't afford either right now. I started to look through the notes Tessa had left me about our food providers and the candidates for a cook as a distraction. As much as I loved my cousin her handwriting drove me insane. It was so hard to read and her numbers confused the hell out of me. I struggled through it for a few more minutes before I decided to just call her. I dialed her cell phone number and got her voice mail. I decided to give it another go. The phone rang a couple times before someone answered.
"House of porn." The voice on the other end said.
"Who the fuck are you and why are you answering this phone." I screamed into the receiver.
"Easy there hot lips. I just found the phone on the floor; I thought it was my brothers." He explained.
"Well it's not. It belongs to someone named Tessa. Is she around?" I asked a little pissed off.
"Oh this is Tess' phone. She must have dropped it as her and Edward ran to the bedroom." He laughed
"I knew she was giving it up to him. Wait Edward has a brother?" I asked confused.
"Yes he does. A funny, handsome, strong, sex god of a brother. So are you single?" he asked boldly.
"Who are you?" I laughed
"Oh my name is Emmett. Who are you?" he asked seductively
"Just tell Tess to call Castle when she is done getting laid." I said hanging up the phone.
So Edward had a brother. Who would have thought Mr. Manners had a perverted outgoing relative. Well looks like I was gonna have to do more recon on this Emmett Cullen.
Thank you all so much for reading this. Please leave me a review on what you think. Much love and appreciation! - Tessa