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Beta: Twilight Drama Teach
Chapter 1
Bella's POV
24 March (Tuesday)
Lacey Raines never thought her perpetual clumsiness would result in anything other than trouble. Daniel Russo never thought a graveyard shift in the ER would include more than treating patients. Both were pleasantly surprised when Lacey literally tripped into his arms in the hallway. After casting her broken ankle, Daniel walked her to the discharge desk and turned to leave. Unable to part with her he turned back and bumped into her as she was wobbling after him. Luckily, he steadied her before she fell.
They're both smiling at the other and chuckling over their danger-ridden meeting while recounting the events of that fateful day. Two years later, Daniel decided to ask Lacey to spend the rest of their lives together. He had the perfect proposal planned including a romantic dinner, a stroll through the park, and finally the question spelled out in roses. True to Lacey form, they never made it that far. Her heel got caught on the way up the stairs to Abacus, a local five star restaurant.
They went to the hospital where Lacey discovered she had broken her ankle, the same one as two years prior. They are arguing over Daniel's behavior at the ER. He claims to have been watching the intern to make sure she was doing everything correctly. Lacey corrects him, and says he was "running around like a madman with worry." To come full circle, Daniel accidently bumped into when she stood with the aid of crutches. The ring fell from his pocket as he steadied her. He picked up the ring and held it out to her. It wasn't the eloquent speech he planned, but Lacey said it was perfect.
"I'm sorry today didn't go as planned," Lacey retold his speech. "I told you that day I wouldn't let you fall. Let me do that forever."
Ten months later they sit here freshly tanned, or in Daniel's case sunburned, from their ten-day honeymoon in Rio de Janeiro. The couple wed at Bolt Space with a gathering of their 300 closest friends and family in what Lacey calls the perfect ceremony. It takes a small village to pull off the perfect wedding - or at least a team of seasoned professionals. The information below was provided by the couple.
I huffed as I shoved the laptop away. I didn't want to look at the god-awful article another second. I hated writing for the wedding section. Fucking richies. Someone gets a bit of money and thinks they're entitled to whatever they please. Lacey and Daniel were nice during the interview, but their wedding had cashed out at $1.2 million. Such a waste of money, and with the economy the way it was…I despised the wealthy sometimes.
I have to admit, they're not all wasteful. I had met a few exceptions, like my best friend and her family. Alice grew up lacking nothing. Her father was Chief of Surgery at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Texas, a Top 100 hospital in the nation. Her mother also worked there as an anesthesiologist. Then to top it all off, the Cullen family were old money. In Chicago, where Carlisle and Esme were originally from, the Cullen name went back decades. They got rich off steel or metal, something like that.
You never would never have known unless they said something though. They lived 'modestly' as Alice said. Our definitions didn't exactly sync, but whatever. She was nicer than anyone I had ever met, and damn was she full of energy. She could wear me out just listening to her talk. We met six years ago when I moved here to Garland, Texas. We were both new to the area which started a tentative friendship; tentative for about ten minutes. Alice didn't do things half-assed.
I pulled the laptop back reluctantly. The deadline was two days away so I needed to finish editing. The piece was unbearably…sickly sweet. It was nothing like what I wanted, but I knew what Ben would want. He was the editor, and you don't question the editor. The first time I wrote for the wedding section of D Magazine, the article had been "too realistic. It needs to include magic, fanaticism." Gag. It had to be rewritten. The ringing phone pulled me from my thoughts.
"Hello," I answered while still focusing on the article.
"Bella, how are you?" he answered. Speak of the devil.
"I'm good Mr. Cheney. How about yourself?"
"It's just Ben. Remember, just because I'm your editor doesn't mean you have to be so formal."
"Ben. How are you?"
"I'm wonderful. I just wanted to check to see how the article was coming along."
"I'm actually editing it right now. I just have to get the ceremony information listed below. I'll have it e-mailed to you in…oh, about an hour."
"That's wonderful. That's wonderful. I was calling to discuss a piece you might be interested in." Here it goes. I so didn't want to do another wedding write up again in the near future.
"Oh? What did you have in mind?" I started transferring the information from my notes to the article.
"Well, I was hoping you'd be interested in a humanitarian piece." I stopped typing to key into the conversation.
"Keep talking."
"Bella, I love what you've done with the wedding pieces. I know they're not your favorite, and I know how much you've compromised your writing style for them. I've been rereading over some of your old stuff, and I really liked your humanitarian pieces. I'd like to see what you can do."
"Ben, I don't know what to say." The prospect was appealing, but I didn't know what parameters he'd place on it. I'd already learned he had very specific tastes. "What did you have in mind?"
"I don't. It's something I want to leave fully up to you." I could hear shuffling papers on his end. "I was thinking about having it published, contingent on approval, in mid-May or early June. If you decide to take it, I'd want an outline by April 30th. We'd decide then whether or not to move forward and pick a deadline."
"Really? No catches? I get to choose the subject and everything?" He laughed, but I couldn't have cared less. This was what I had wanted. This was the chance I'd been waiting on.
"Really, Bella. It's yours if you want it."
"Yes. Yes. I want it." I pushed the laptop aside and curled my legs underneath me. "Thank you, Ben. I really appreciate this opportunity."
"You earned it. In the meantime, I have two wedding articles with your name on 'em." I felt my stomach roll at the thought, but a girl's gotta make a living.
"Sure, Ben. Send the names and contact info along with the deadlines. I'll take it from there."
"Thanks, Bella. I'll send them to you within the hour."
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up before pulling the laptop back to me to finish the current wedding article. Once Lacey and Daniel's details were on the page I saved the document and sent a copy to Ben. I still couldn't believe the article he just gave me control over. It was going to be great. I needed to celebrate. I picked up the phone and called Alice's shop. She was working today, but maybe she could sneak away for lunch. It only rang twice before her chipper voice answered.
"Thanks for calling Brazen Boutique. This is Alice. How may I help you?" Alice had gone to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. She moved to Garland after graduation and opened Brazen Boutique in Dallas with the help of her parents. It was a lingerie shop where she sold her own designs. She was incredibly talented at designing, and I knew one day she'd go big. She deserved it.
"Well Alice, I was wondering if you had time to pencil me in for lunch," I answered in a matching voice.
"Bella! How are you? How's the article coming? Where do you want to meet for lunch?" I laughed at her enthusiasm because, hell, I was feeling it today too.
"Good. Done. Panera."
"11:30?" I looked at the clock. It was 10:45. That was just enough time to get dressed and to the sandwich place.
"Okay." I heard the bell chime on her end of the phone. "Customer," we both said at the same time and giggled. "See you soon."
"Great. Bye!" I hung up and shook my head. It really scared me to realize how much she was rubbing off on me.
I hopped off the couch and made my way back to my bedroom. I ran my hand along the wall loving the feel of the textured paint job. I bought the house when I moved to Garland six years prior. It wasn't much with two bedrooms and one bathroom, but it was mine. I finished payments two months ago, and it felt wonderful to be a homeowner. Now, I just needed a new vehicle. The truck my father gave me when I was sixteen was old then. Twelve years later, the thing was ancient. I'd go shopping next week.
I walked into my room and smiled. Alice had gone with me to pick linens and things, but it still reflected me. The sheets were red and the comforter was turquoise with a thick red thread design. All the furniture was white, the bed, the dresser, the nightstand, and the mirrored tower chest. I loved this furniture. I pulled on a plain white t-shirt, one of my favorite draped cardigans, and dark was jeans . I paired the outfit with the Michael Kors Lucille Scrunch Boots, a gift courtesy of Alice. I felt good, so I wanted to look good. I grabbed my keys and hurried out the door to my truck.
"Come on baby," I cooed to the piece of shit. "Start for me the first time. You can do it." She started on the first rotation, and I kissed the steering wheel in thanks. I pulled out of the driveway and headed for Dallas. Since we were meeting early, I'd be able to beat most of the traffic. I pulled into the parking lot at 11:25.
Alice's POV
Today was going to be a good day. Well, it would be good in the end, but it wouldn't be pleasant. I woke from a dream where Edward and Tanya were fighting. That was normal; they fought often. This last dream though seemed more serious than the others did. It was going to end soon, and the dream made it seem close. It wouldn't be tragic as they never should have been together in the first place. He started dating her for the wrong reasons. Dumb brother.
The bad dream set the tone of my morning. I got dressed and ready for the day in a not so great mood. Hopefully, once I got to work it would brighten my day. I loved running my boutique. I loved running my boutique. I had always dabbled in designing lingerie, and when I got the chance to make that a reality I was thrilled. I'd had it for six years and built a large, loyal client base. I was familiar with them all, and we often talked when they came to shop. Many had asked if I designed other clothing, an idea I'd been toying with for about year.
Mary Clint, one of my best, and wealthiest, customers asked me to design an evening dress for a benefit she was to attend. I seized the opportunity and sketched a pleated A-line, floor length deep teal one-shoulder evening dress. She fell in love with the design, wore it to the benefit, and my next two months were booked solid by Dallas' top tenth. I had secretly been looking into expanding the business and adding gowns to my repertoire.
Just the thought of my secret project lifted my spirits. I walked into the shop feeling light and happy. I put up the open sign and checked to make sure everything was placed properly. It wasn't fifteen minutes after opening that my first customer came in. She opened the door roughly. Once she spotted me, she sighed in relief.
"Hello, Mrs. Clint," I greeted her with a smile. "You look to be in a hurry."
"Oh, Alice," she said and placed a hand over her heart. "I was so worried Mindi would be in today." Mindi worked the store twenty hours a week. She was a student at Woodrow Wilson High School and wanted to study fashion in college. Whenever we both worked the store, I would teach her new things during the downtime. I just wanted to help her have an upper hand once she went to school.
"Nope, it's me. What can I do for you?"
"Oh, honey, I need a huge favor. Carl was invited to a benefit for the local shelter. It's in two weeks, and I don't have anything to wear. I was hopin' you could be so kind as to whip somethin' up for me. I'm willin' to pay whatever it takes."
"That's not much time. Do you have fifteen to twenty minutes right now?" She nodded. "Let's have a seat and talk about what you had in mind." I lead her to the counter, and we both took a seat. I pulled a sketchpad from under the counter along with my colored pencils. I rearranged everything and turned to her. "Okay. Tell me what you were thinking for this dress."
"Billowy. If it's windy I want it to flow in the breezy. I loved the one-shoulder look you did for the last one and want to keep that if possible." I wrote down key words and started drawing the silhouette. "I would love to have it multi-colored this time but not a pattern; solid colors that blend well. Maybe gathered at the waist or belted. I want it simple but elegant." She continued to talk while I sketched. Twenty minutes later, I turned the sketch for her to look at.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"Oh, Alice! It looks gorgeous." She ran a finger over the page lightly.
"What about the colors? Do you like those?" She cocked her head to the side.
"I love how bright and vibrant they are, but I don't want to make that much of a statement at this benefit. Can we pick cooler, darker colors?"
"Absolutely. Did you have something in mind?" She looked over my colored pencils for a moment.
"What about blue and green? I think it'd look good with a third color though."
"What about this?" I picked up the blue, green, and purple to shade a piece of the paper so she could see the colors side by side. I looked over to see her smile brightly.
"I think it looks perfect, Alice. Will you be able to do this in two weeks?" I thought about all that I had planned and scheduled for the next few weeks before slowly nodding.
"Yes, I can. I can have it ready for you to try on April 2nd. That way, if there's anything that needs to be altered we can have it done in time for the benefit." She pulled me into a hug, and I hugged her back.
"Thank ya, Alice. I don't know what I'd have done without ya." I giggled as she pulled back.
"You're welcome. I'll call you to set up a time for a fitting."
"Great." She stood up and gathered her things. "I need to get goin'. I'll talk to ya soon."
"Bye." I waved as she left the store. The dress looked like it'd be fun to make. I needed to go to a fabric store and see what would be a good material.
The next few hours were busy. Six of my regular clients came in to shop, and we chatted amiably. About ten new people came in for the first time. One was from Seattle, Washington, visiting family. We talked about her plans while she was here, and I even suggested a few places for her to check out. She looked around and made a purchase. I was telling her goodbye when the phone rang. I was glad to hear from Bella as she had been holed up in her house trying to finish some articles the past few days. We made plans for lunch, and I hung up when the bell above the door rang. I turned to greet the customer, but it wasn't a customer. It was my brother, and he looked upset.
"Hello, bother dear," I said. He walked over and kissed me on the cheek, just like our dad always did.
"Hi, Alice," he said.
"What's got you so down?" I frowned at the sullenness in his voice.
"I just left Tanya's house." I waited for him to elaborate, but it seemed he was going to make me coax it out of him.
"Why would that be a bad thing?" I knew where this was heading; my dream had prepared me for it.
"I broke up with her." I turned around and gathered my sketching supplies trying to hide the smile. I didn't like that he felt bad, but I was glad that relationship ended. It was five months of wasted emotion.
"I'm sorry you feel down." I turned around and pulled him into a hug.
"But you're not sorry to see the relationship end." He pulled back, and I continued to clean the counter.
"You know I have nothing against Tanya. I just never thought you two should be together. She's not the one for you." I watched him walk around the store browsing the selection.
"And you know who is?" he asked skeptically.
"Yes, I do." He rolled his eyes at me. I checked my watch to see that I had just enough time to get to Panera on time if I left immediately. "I need to leave now to get to lunch on time."
"Meeting someone?"
"I'm meeting Bella at Panera. Would you like to join us?" I grabbed my purse from the back room. I looked back to see him perk up at the mention of her name.
"How is Bella?" he asked feigning nonchalance. I could hear the interest in his voice though and worked to hide my smile.
"She sounds good. This is her first venture out in a few days. She just finished her articles. She sounded extremely excited though, so she probably got some good news." I walked to the door, and he followed. "Wanna come?"
"No." He seemed to pout at himself. "I'm gonna head home and work on some shots. I still need to develop the film from my Ft. Worth Stock Show shoot."
"If you're sure." He nodded reluctantly and followed me out of the shop. I hugged him goodbye before hopping in my Ford Escape Hybrid. I pulled into the parking lot at the same time as Bella. I rolled my eyes at her vehicle. The thing was ancient and needed to be replaced. It wasn't like she was hurting for money. I think she didn't want to get another vehicle because it held sentimental value. It was a gift from her father when she moved to live with him.
"Hi Bella," I said as I hugged her. When I pulled back, I saw she was wearing a head-to-toe Michael Kors outfit. "You look very nice. What's the occasion?"
"Oh, Ali," she said as her face lit up. "It's a great day. Ben called and offered me an article of my choosing." I followed her inside. "Everything, Alice, from the ground up."
"That's great!" I knew she was getting tired of writing wedding articles. "No more of those fluff pieces, huh?" A small frown marred her face.
"Well, a girl's gotta make a living." She smiled again. "Once I get this article published though, as long as it's good, I'll be able to choose what I want. How have you been? How's the shop? How's the family?"
"I've been doing well. The shop is great. I've still got the regulars and have met a few new people. Mindi's been great. She will be applying to schools soon so I've got to start looking for another worker. The family is great. Mom and dad were thinking about coming to visit in about a month. They wanna see Edward's new work."
"How's Edward?" Her tone was nervous. She wasn't over him. "I haven't seen him in a long time." We placed our orders and found a booth by the window.
"Edward's…okay. He just stopped by the shop before I left." She frowned a bit.
"You should have invited him to join us."
"I did. He said he had some work to do at home. How is Mike?"
Bella started dating Michael Newton seven months before. I personally didn't like the guy. He seemed to be pushy, possessive, and a prick. She started dating him as a way to get over Edward. She had a crush on him from the day she met him but never did anything about it. She said Edward always seemed wrapped up in his work, and she didn't think she could compete with that. It was a ridiculous notion, but Bella was too stubborn to hear it.
"He's good," she said with a pout. "He's getting ready for the Business Vision 2020 conference that's in three weeks in Bangalore, India. He's presenting his paper on 'Cooperative Strategies in International Business.'"
"India?" I had to admit, I was impressed. I knew from Bella that he was very smart. Not everyone could get an MBA from Harvard.
"I know, right? How the hell does someone decided India's a good place to hold a conference?" I laughed. She always did have a way with words and absolutely no filter.
We talked some more about her article she'd been given at D Magazine. She was so excited. I suggested we go out to celebrate, but as usual, she shot down the idea. She wasn't much for the bar or club scene. I knew she'd love it if she'd just give it a chance; one day. Sooner than we liked, lunch was over.
I said goodbye after we made plans for the following Friday. I would have Mrs. Clint's fitting on Thursday, so we were going to watch a movie at my place while I did any alterations that would be needed. When I arrived back at the shop, I worked on Mrs. Clint's design during my free time between customers. I was excited about her dress. Thanks to her, there were so many more doors opening for me.
AN: Wow! I got a huge response to the last chapter. 18 reviews! Y'all make me smile so big. :)
So, big fail. This chapter is unbetaed cause I didn't send it to my beta. She probably hates me. Sorry Leslie.
I didn't make ya wait forever for Edward this time. You got a bit of a glimpse. Let me know what ya think of our characters so far. I hope ya like 'em. Review and I'll send a sneak peek of the next chapter.
