Author's Note:
So I recently watched Pretty Woman for the first time and I loved the film. I thought it would be a great philinda AU so here it is. This is un-beta-ed so all mistakes are mine. Please read and enjoy and leave a comment on the bottom.
The party down below was humming with chatter and music as the guests mingled. He frowned in frustration as he looked out the window, his girlfriend ranting on the phone about breaking up with him right when he needs her the most.
"I speak to your secretary more than I speak to you Phil. I'm not here to be at your beck and call!"
"What, I-"
"No Phil," she interrupts him "I can't go on like this anymore. I need to be able to live my own life and not have to work it around yours for whenever you might need me."
"That's not true," he tried.
"I'm leaving," she said with a finality that was hard to fight with. "I'm moving out now."
"So that's it?" He asked a little stunned by her decision.
"That's it," she replied with little remorse.
"Well goodbye then Rosalind," he added only to realise that she'd already hung up the phone.
Placing his phone down on the table he resisted the urge to pound his fist on the desk in frustration. The low murmurings of the party below reached his ears and even though it was his company that was hosting it he needed to get out. Grabbing his jacket from the back of his chair he shrugged it on as he left the room and headed down stairs. A thousand thoughts were flying through his mind as he made his way through the party.
"Phil," an old girlfriend of his called as she spotted him.
"Cynthia," he relied pausing for a moment planting a small smile on his lips as he greeted her.
"It's so good to see you Phil, I just got married!" She laughed happily.
"Congratulations!" He nodded happy for her. "Did you speak to my secretary more than me?" He asked her a little tentatively.
"Phil," she looked at him meaningfully. "She was one of the bridesmaids at my wedding."
"Oh," a slightly sad look flashed across his features before he covered it up with a happy smile. "Well I'm glad you two hit it off," he touched her arm briefly before moving off again to get out and away from the party.
Picking a car quickly for his escape he quickly realised that he didn't have any keys.
"Phil where are you going?" His lawyer called as he came out of the building towards him.
"Can I have the keys to your car?" He asked avoiding answering the question.
"Sure," his lawyer handed over his car keys pulling them from his jacket pocket. "But where are you going?"
"I just need to get out Grant," he sighed unlocking the car and hopping into the driver's seat. "But don't worry, I'll still be able to close that deal."
A brief look of relief flickered across Grant's face before he realised that his employer and friend was about to drive off in his brand new expensive car. His corvette was vintage and he didn't really like the idea of Phil just driving off in it, especially when he hadn't driven himself in a while.
"Do you even know how to drive this?" He asked a little worriedly.
"Sure, how hard can it be?" He responded a little too nonchalantly for Grant's liking.
"Well it new so just-" he faltered for a moment as Phil bunny hopped off in his brand new corvette.
Crushing his hands into tight fists he wished he'd never given his keys over to Phil. His new car was so going to get wrecked.
Her eyes opened slowly as she roused from the depths of sleep. Looking over at her clock she read 7:12 pm. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she headed over the the small bathroom of the apartment taking a quick shower before getting dressed. Carefully and with steady hands she applied her make up creating a perfect winged eyeliner and smokey eye shadow. Popping her lips she made sure her lipstick wasn't tacky before heading over to her bed and pulling on her boots, the leather reaching up to her knees. Standing back up straight she readjusted her shirt, tucking her sleeveless crimson red blouse into her little black skirt with the first few buttons undone. Tugging on her leather jacket she checked her hair in the mirror repositioning the wig just slightly so that the red highlights were clearly shown amongst the curled brunette strands brushing at the top of her shoulders. Satisfied with her look for the night she picked up her bag and opened the door peering out. The distinct sound of her landlord yelling had her recoiling, shutting the door behind her as she realised she couldn't use the stairs. Her roommate had forgotten to pay the rent, again, and if the landlord caught her she would not hear the end of it.
Walking over to the window she opened it up before slipping out onto the fire escape. Pulling down a few ladder rails she climbed down carefully, with a practised routine. A few people cast curious looks in her direction but she brushed them off as she walked by refusing to let their stares bother her. Making her way through the busy crowds people hardly cast her more than a second glance as they all hurried on eager to get on with their night. She watched as a policeman interrogated a young man over an incident. Slipping in unnoticed behind them she saw the body of the young girl I question sprawled out in a dumpster. Another of many young drug addicts. Exiting back out unseen she headed over to one of the frequent haunts of her roommate.
"You seen Nat?" She asked the bartender who told her to have a look up stairs.
Nodding her thanks at him she headed up to find her roommate throwing back a shot and surrounded by drugs.
"What the hell Nat?!" She exclaimed mad.
Her roommate startled up straight at her voice.
"You spent our rent money on drugs?!" She demanded.
"Aww come on Mel, I just needed a little pick me up," Natasha whined a little.
"I just saw the body of an addict in a dumpster!" Melinda told her with anger flashing in her eyes. "I can't believe you spent our rent on drugs."
Frustrated and stressed Melinda stomped down the stairs without waiting for a reply.
"Mel, wait," Natasha called after her stumbling down the stairs after her. "I'm sorry," she apologised as she reached her down at the bar.
Letting out a sigh Melinda shook her head in frustration.
"Our rent is due this week and we don't have any money," she stated a little exasperatedly.
"Look we'll be fine," Natasha soothed as she picked a few olives and cherries from the bar earning herself a warning yell from the bartender. "We'll do a bit of work tonight and it'll be fine. Ok?" She held up a cherry as a peace offering.
Unable to resist she rolled her eyes before taking the offered cherry.
"Ok," Melinda replied her anger now evaporated.
"Good," Nat smiled placing a hand on her shoulder as they headed out of the club.
The night is cool as they walk down the street looking for potential clients. A couple of lads speed past in their car making lewd comments at them with a laugh as the hoon off. They both roll their eyes but refuse to react otherwise.
"It's a bit of a slow night," Nat comments as they hang about on their usual corner.
"Yeah," Melinda replies as she leans against a lamppost closing her eyes for just a second. "Sometimes I think it would help if we could-"
"No pimps," her friend looked at her sharply. "We say when, we say who, we say how much."
"Right," she nodded her head.
The girls that ended up working for pimps usually ended up worse off working overtime and underpaid. Something that neither of them want. This way, without a pimp, they are in control of themselves and everything is on their terms. The sound of a lurching car and its thrumming engine breaks through the silence and has them looking up as a bright red corvette comes down the street towards them.
"Incoming," Nat says as her own eyes follow the bright vintage vehicle.
"You wanna take this one?" Her friend asks giving her a gentle nudge with her elbow.
"You sure?" She asks in return raising her eyebrows in surprise.
"Yeah, you look hot tonight, no way is he gonna say no!" Her friend winks at her slapping her butt as she walks past towards the car that's pulled over to the side of the road. "Don't forget, nothing less than a hundred!"
Melinda walks off with a little wave to her friend as she acknowledges the comment.
"You need a little help there?" She asks as she saunters up to the car leaning in through the open window also leaving her cleavage on display.
"I uh- yeah," the guy inside looks up at her as she tilts her head slightly to look at him through the window. "Do you know how to get to Beverly Hills?"
"It'll cost you ten dollars," she smirks at him watching him with sparkling dark eyes.
"Ten dollars?" He asks.
"Twenty dollars for the personal experience," she winks at him before straightening up.
Looking through the window all he can see is her long legs, swallowing he looks at her again as she ducks her head down waiting for his response.
"Might as well go for it," he says to himself, suddenly finding her sitting in the passenger seat beside him.
She obviously has way better hearing than he thought was humanly possible. He looks at her drinking her in from the leather boots to the red highlights as she gives him a flirty little smile.
"I hope you're not on a time schedule," she smirks at him snapping him back into action.
Tearing his gaze away from her he pulls back onto the road as she compliments the car.
"This car is amazing," she tells him as he struggles to shift the gears.
"Yeah, doesn't feel like it," he grimaced a little as the car bunny hops a little.
"Geez, don't you know how to drive?" She asks him playfully as he drives doggedly at a jarring pace.
"It's been awhile since I drove," he admits.
"May I?" She asks as she rattles off a few facts about cars, courtesy of growing up in a neighbourhood full of boys.
He nods pulling over and they swap seats, the car finally driving as it should be driven without the constant bunny hopping and jarring gear changes.
"Did you know your foot is the same size as your forearm," she tells him with a casual shrug as he looks at her a little impressed. "Just a bit of trivia. An ice breaker," she tells him, "this car really is amazing to drive!"
He chuckles beside her enjoying her enthusiasm.
"Is it hard?" He asks her as she talks about the mechanics of the car and how it drives and how it compares to other cars.
Her eyes flick over to his briefly with a devilish glint in them as she reaches her hand over into his lap squeezing his crotch briefly as she smirked teasingly at him.
"Not yet, but eventually," she let out a sweet laugh before retracting her hand.
He can't help the small smile that she brings to his lips as she lights up with joy behind the wheel of the car. Eventually they wind up outside his hotel and he sees her eyes widen just a fraction as she takes it in. Exiting the car one of the doormen drive it away as they stand together outside the very expensive hotel.
"So, where do you go from here?" He asks as he hands her her twenty dollars and she readjusts the strap of her bag over her shoulder.
"I'll probably just catch a cab with my twenty dollars," she smirks at him a little.
"Ok then," he says a little awkwardly as she brushes past him to sit on a bench near the bus stop.
Watching her for a moment he debates whether he should leave her and go into the hotel or not. For some reason his rational mind seems to have abandoned him tonight as he walks over towards her.
"No cab?" He asks.
"I'm more of a bus kind of girl," she looks over her shoulder at him with just a hint of that spark in her eye.
"I'm Phillip," he holds his hand out to her.
"Melinda," she replies taking his hand in hers.
"Would you like to come up with me Melinda?" He asks still holding her hand.
Rising from the bench she smiles a dazzling smile at him.
"Yes," she replies simply.
Tugging on her hand he pulls her back to him as she begins to walk towards the hotel.
"Here, put this on," he tells her holding out his coat for her. "This establishment is a little different," he elaborates a little as she raises her eyebrows at him.
Draping the coat over her shoulders she slips her arms into the sleeves as he leads her into the building with a gentle hand placed between her shoulder blades.
"Woah," she looks around the lobby with lips parted in awestruck wonder.
The lobby is constructed with marble floors and columns and all the guests are dressed in expensive fashionable clothes. With eyes wide she follows him over to the front desk as he signs in.
"Phillip Coulson, penthouse suite," he told the lady handing over his credit card.
"There you go Mister Coulson," she smiled as she handed him back his card and his key card. "Enjoy your stay."
He smiled at her briefly before pulling away leading Melinda along with him.
"People are staring," she muttered lowly under her breath.
"Don't worry about them," he replied reassuringly with a gentle squeeze on her shoulder.
Waiting at the elevator an elderly couple side eyed them, their stares making her skin burn. She was used to being looked at, her job was aimed at catching the eyes of men, but she wasn't used to this sort of judgemental scrutiny. With a soft 'ding' sound the doors of the elevator opened to the smiling face of the lift attendant. Striding into the lift she flopped down on the lounge inside it with a mischievous grin.
"Look, room for two," she lifted her leg up onto the lounge as she lay back.
With cheeks tinted with the barest of blushes he walked into the lounge with a muttered 'first time using the lift' to the elderly couple watching on. The lift attendant hid an amused smile as the doors closed.
"Hm, top floor," she raised her eyebrows at him as the lift attendant pressed the button for the top floor.
"Penthouse," he replied like it wasn't a big deal.
Giving him an appraising look she rose from the lounge as the doors opened. Allowing him to lead the way she followed as he attempted to unlock the door.
"Damn thing," he muttered as the key card kept jamming in the slot.
"Try this way," she smirked at him as she turned the card around in his hands so that it was the right way up.
Inserting it in the slot the light flashed green as the door clicked open. With a slightly sheepish expression he pushed the door open, leading her into his suite.
"Definitely got a nice place," she commented as she wandered around having a look at the rooms. "Oh and you've got an incredible view," she said excitedly as she walked out onto the balcony to admire the view.
"I never go out there," he told her as he settled down at his desk sorting through a few papers.
"What? Why?" she asked confusedly as she walked back away from the beautiful lights of the area standing out against the dark night sky towards him.
"Fear of heights," he said simply as she trailed her fingers along the back of his chair before situating herself on the edge of his desk.
"What's the point of having the top floor then?" she crossed her legs sitting back a little further on his desk.
"It's the best," he shrugged leaning back in his chair.
"Hmm… seems like a waste," she pursed her lips at him.
Rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly he looked down unsure of what to do next.
"You don't know how this kind of thing works hey?" she asked him tilting her head to the side a little.
"Uhh, no not really," he admitted looking up at her. "This is a bit awkward."
"Well to start with, you could pay me," she suggested.
"Right, how much?" he asked pulling his wallet from inside his jacket.
"A hundred dollars," she said simply.
He raises his eyebrows a little surprised by the price a pulls out a hundred handing it over.
"We don't work for less than a hundred these days," she told him as she tucked the money into the top of her left boot. "So what would you like, you've got an hour."
"A hundred an hour," he commented tilting his head back. "What if I were to ask you to stay the night? How much would that be?"
She looked at him like he had suddenly grown a second head.
"For an overnight, five hundred dollars," she stated firmly waiting for him to refuse.
"Five hundred dollars then," he replied pulling out a couple of more notes from his wallet.
Raising her eyebrows at him she took the money with a slight disbelieving shake of her head. Nobody ever asked for an overnight. Not nowadays anyway.
"So which one would you like?" She asked pulling out an assortment of condoms from a hidden pocket in her boots. "Would you like the red one, the green one, the purple one or my last gold one for champions."
Holding the little packets up near his face he captured her small hands in his lowering them.
"I want to get to know you a little," he told her quietly not wanting to seem like he was taking advantage of her.
She rolled her eyes just the tiniest bit as she sat back a little.
"Look you don't need to woo me," she looked at him honestly, "out of everything tonight I'm a pretty sure thing."
A deep sigh escaped him as he rubbed a hand over his face. God this whole situation was a bit weird. A knock on the door pulls him back into the present as he stands up to get the door. Thanking the room service he takes the bottle of complimentary champagne and the two glasses. Pouring them each a glass he handed one to her with an encouraging look as she paused a little hesitantly before taking it. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took her first sip.
"This tastes wonderful," she exclaimed marvelling at the liquid in her glass.
He smiled a little at her reaction.
"I'm glad you like it," he responded.
The television was on low as she watched spread out on the floor with an assortment of foods and alcohol surrounding her.
"You sure you don't want to join me down here?" She asked him playfully as she looked up at him sitting in the armchair next to her as he read through a few legal agreements.
"I'm good," he answered as he glanced at her for a moment before turning over a page.
"Ok," she shrugged turning back to the television.
A short laugh escaped her as she watched, entertained by the amusing antics of the comic actors on screen. The sound of her laughter turning the corners of his lips upwards as he found enjoyment in her amusement. Her eyes glance over at him and she stops laughing as she realises that he is watching her. Biting her bottom lip she shifts up onto her knees moving closer to him. He watches her closely waiting to see how things are going to unfold. Her hands glide up his legs stroking the tops of his thighs before moving up his chest. Her fingers toy with his tie as she loosens the knot and undoes the buttons of his shirt.
"Where would you like me to kiss you?" She asked lowly looking up at him through dark lashes.
"Where do you do?" He murmured having a little trouble focusing as she began untucking her top and undoing the buttons. Removing the top from her shoulders she let it puddle on the floor before slipping out of her boots and shimmying out of her skirt. He could feel his pants beginning to tighten as he watched her undress before him.
"Wherever," she breathed into his ear as she leaned forwards over him, her chest brushing up against his. Nothing but her matching black lace panties and bra covering her porcelain skin. "Except the lips," she pressed a finger to his lips with a small smirk before she slithered down his body covering his chest with kisses until she reached the waistband of his trousers.
Readjusting his position he evaluated the room as he leant back against the bed's headboard. Clothes were strewn across the floor and Melinda's wig lay upon the top of the dresser. Looking down he admired the beautiful woman asleep in his bed naked, dark hair splayed across the pillow. He wondered why she wore a wig when she had such lovely hair, it just made him want to run his fingers through it and feel the silky strands slipping through his fingers. A small smile tugged at his lips as he watched her sleep with a serene expression, how had such an amazing woman ended up doing this? It didn't make sense to him. She was bright and sweet, funny and charismatic. And he wasn't sure if he was quite ready to let go of her yet after tonight.
A/N
So that was all written in the span of about 3 days. It was actually quite a bit of work so please leave a comment and provide me with some feedback. Comments make my day and encourage me to write more ;)
