I do not own the tv show or the charcters of the Vampire Diaries.
Elijah had told Damon that he had two more interviews to get through that day, and that he would receive a call in the evening to either offer him the job or not. Damon still wasn't entirely convinced that he wanted the job, but he definitely was leaning more towards a yes than he was before. He was glad that the interview was finally over with, and was fairly happy with how it turned out. Damon got in the elevator, smiling to himself as his mood started to pick up. His stomach growled loudly, Damon was grateful that no one else was in the elevator to hear it. The ping noise signaling that the elevator stopped got Damon's attention. The doors opened and Damon looked up with widened eyes, and the familiar face from earlier that day.
"You again," the mystery brunette slyly smiled
Chapter 2:
Elena instantly smiled as the elevator doors slid open. She would recognize those crystal blue eyes anywhere. The man, however, looked startled, and dare she say a little bit intimidated. After a long, pregnant pause, Elena's brows furrowed in confusion when he didn't move or answer her greeting. Suddenly, realization hit her before she spoke again.
"You're not from here, are you?" her face softened, and her smile brightened.
She could see the obvious relaxation in the stranger's face. "Am I that obvious?" he asked while stepping out of the elevator. A small smile graced his face.
"Well, your frightened look when you saw my face again gave it away," before Damon could cut in, she continued, "My guess is that you instantly thought of how I was a bitch to you when you ran into me. Now, seeing me again, you thought I was going to be mean again."
"I - uh…yeah," he chuckled while awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "How does that give it away though?"
"I'm good at reading people, and it kind of showed that you weren't a New Yorker. If you were, you would have been used to encounters like that and it wouldn't have phased you. I'm sorry about that, by the way! You'll get used to it eventually," she smirked at him.
"Okay, okay I get it. I'm Damon, do you work here?" he smiled when he realized she wasn't just some psychotic bitch, and that her reaction to him earlier was no big deal.
"Nice to meet you, Damon. I'm Elena Gilbert. I'm the Fashion Assistant here," she stuck her hand out to him for him to shake.
"Very nice. I just had my interview for the Art Director job," Damon replied.
Elena's eyes lit up when she heard this piece of news. Esquire had been looking for a new Art Director for a little bit now, and she had seen some of the potential candidates' work, including Damon's.
"You're Damon Salvatore I'm assuming? I've seen some of your work, it's brilliant! Did they offer you the position yet?" she asked Damon excitedly.
Damon grinned at her compliment. Elena quickly checked him out, realizing how damn good looking this guy was. He had messy, inky black hair that framed his beautifully sculpted face, a pearl white smile, and his best feature: his unrealistically blue orbs. The man wore perfectly tailored black slacks and a white dress shirt with a couple of buttons undone revealing just a hint of his sculpted chest. Elena averted her eyes from his body before he caught her staring.
"Yeah, that's me. They're letting me know later this evening whether or not they're offering me the job. But you know, I actually am not sure if I even want it," Damon admitted.
"Wait, what? Are you insane? Why wouldn't you want the job, you would be perfect for it! For crying out loud, Damon, it's New York! That in itself should convince you to take it," Elena was determined on trying to convince Damon. She's known the guy for five minutes, but already liked him. She immediately saw the two of them being great friends.
"I'm content with my job now. The only reason why I even flew here for the interview is because my brother begged me since he lives here. We're really close, but we rarely get to see each other ever since he left Virginia," Damon explained to Elena.
Elena's smiled after Damon told her that. Convincing this guy was going to be easier than she thought. Immediately she had ideas for selling him on this job and her smile grew even more.
"What? What's with the smile?" Damon questioned skeptically.
"Okay, you wait here for me. I left my wallet in my office upstairs, so I'm going to go grab it really quick. So will you wait here for me?" Elena asked.
Damon raised one eyebrow at her. He didn't really know what she possibly wanted him to wait for her for. But he nodded his head slowly.
"Um, okay. Not that I'm complaining or anything like that, but why?" Damon chuckled.
"Damon, I already know Esquire is going to offer you the job. I have a gut feeling about that, so you need to take it, and I'm going to convince you," Elena explained.
"I don't think I'm going to take it, Elena. I already told you that. I'm content with my life in Mystic Falls," Damon said exasperated.
"Content doesn't mean you're happy with it. Trust me, I'll talk you into it." Elena stated confidently.
"And how exactly do you plan on doing that, Miss Elena?" Damon smirked.
Elena returned the smirk before replying. She got the feeling that he was just humoring her by asking how. He didn't actually believe she'd be able to do it, she read it all over his face.
"I'm going to sell you on New York."
Elena stepped out of the elevators and immediately searched for Damon in the lobby. She spotted the dark haired man sitting on an armchair reading a newspaper. She smiled, studying him for a few seconds. She's seen her fair share of good looking men, but she simply could not get over how handsome Damon was. He looked even more delicious as he absent-mindedly stroked his chin stubble while reading. Luckily, she was unlike a lot of girls. When she saw good looking guys, it didn't affect her ability to speak. She was usually not phased, and still generally had her normal confidence. Elena grew up always having a lot of guy friends along with her girl friends, so it was easy for her to be in anyone's presence without getting nervous.
She swiftly strode over to where Damon was sitting and tapped her French manicured finger on his shoulder. He looked up at her, smiling while standing up to face her.
"So, where to?" Damon questioned.
Elena slid her arm through his and led him to the main doors. When they reached the sidewalk, it was crowded with people. There were many business men and women just getting off work. Elena removed her arm from Damon's and stepped closer to the street. She raised her arm up in the air, and hailed a cab with ease. She turned around and waved Damon over to her. The two of them slid into the worn in leather seats of the taxi.
"Where to, miss?" the taxi driver said with a thick Brooklyn accent.
"New York Noodletown please," Elena stated, then continued speaking, looking at Damon now. "I hope you're hungry."
"I'm starving," Damon admitted.
"Good, because I'm taking you to the best Chinese restaurant in the city. You're going to love it!" Elena said confidently.
The ride to the restaurant only took about ten minutes. Damon pulled out his wallet to pay for the cab ride, but Elena slapped his hands away.
"Elena, come on I got it," Damon whined.
"Oh, shut up. I'm treating you today. Remember, I'm selling you on New York, not the other way around," Elena said sternly.
Damon tried to protest again, but she clamped her hand over his mouth and handed the driver the fee along with a tip. Elena removed her hand from Damon's mouth, and he glared at her. She giggled and pushed him to get out of the cab. She grabbed his arm once they both were out, and dragged him into the restaurant.
New York Noodletown was not a big restaurant. It was a corner restaurant in Chinatown, and was always extremely busy. It wasn't fancy at all with it's plain white walls, it's overly noisy environment. Although the place lacked decoration or fancy plates and silverware, the walls were adorned with many awards stating how great the hole-in-the-wall restaurant was.
Elena knew that Damon wasn't going to be impressed by looking at the interior of the restaurant, but she wanted to take him to what she thought had some of the best food in the entire city. While they stood in line waiting for a table, Elena glanced at Damon. The confused expression on his face as he looked around confirmed her thoughts.
"I promise the food is a lot better than what this place looks like. I could have taken you to an expensive, fancy restaurant, but that would be predictable," Elena tried to explain.
Damon smiled at her, "I believe you. Some of the best restaurants ever are the dives."
She was glad that he wasn't one of those stuck up people who only ate at the restaurants that were 'the best of the best.' She returned his smile and agreed with him. The hostess finally called them so that they could finally get a table. The menus were built into the glass tables at the restaurant.
The waitress came over and right away Elena placed their order without asking Damon. 20 minutes later, their Peking duck, Chinese broccoli, and pan fried noodles arrived. Elena's mouth watered just by looking at the meal in front of her. She served the food for both her and Damon.
"Dig in!" Elena exclaimed excitedly.
Elena waited for him to take his first bites of food before she started to eat. Damon laughed at her enthusiasm and took a fork full of noodles into his mouth. He quietly moaned as he began to chew. Elena's eyes brightened at the proof that he liked it. That was the okay for her to start eating once she was satisfied that he enjoyed her restaurant of choice.
The waitress set the check on the table once they were done eating. Damon and Elena made eye contact which quickly turned into playful glares at one another. Elena snatched the check off the table right before Damon got to it.
"Damn it!" Damon exclaimed.
Elena laughed out loud at his whining and handed the waitress her credit card. The two left the crowded restaurant shortly after. Elena decided that the two of them would take the subway to their next destination.
Damon seemed hesitant to get on the subway. Elena rolled her eyes and pulled him on and grabbed them both seats.
"So, what did you think of the food?"
"Oh my god, it was so good. I admit it, excellent choice," Damon said.
"I know, isn't it? I know all the best restaurants in the city. My real profession should be a food critique. Anyway, our next stop on your tour good sir, is Central Park."
"Isn't that a little cliché and toursity?" Damon questioned.
"Okay smartass, yes it's a top tourist spot, but it's seriously beautiful there. Central Park is big, there's a lot to see. For your information, it's cool to have such a big park in the middle of a huge city," Elena retorted while playfully smacking his chest.
"Whoa, defensive!" Damon joked while putting his hands up in defeat.
"Hey now, it's my city. I won't have you dissing it, Salvatore," Elena narrowed her eyes at him.
Damon chuckled at Elena's protectiveness of the city she calls home. Elena abruptly stood up and pulled Damon to his feet.
"Let's go. This is our stop!" Elena led the way out of the subway.
The two of them strolled slowly through the big park just getting to know each other. It was a beautiful day out. For being the middle of June, and thankfully it wasn't overly hot outside. It was the perfect day to explore New York's most famous park.
"So, tell me about yourself. Where did you go to school?" Elena asked as they took a seat on a bench by the Alice in Wonderland statues.
"I went to the University of North Carolina. What about you?"
"I studied FIDM here in the city, actually. But wow, UNC , huh? You're obviously smart," Elena said.
Damon slightly reddened at the compliment, "I don't know, I guess so. But, FIDM is a really good school too, so you're one to talk. What about family? Do you have any around here?"
"My whole family lives in the city. My dad's a surgeon and my mom is a teacher. My older brother is a bartender in Brooklyn," Elena smiled at the thought of her family. She loved them a lot, they were very close. She was lucky enough to have them all live in the same city as her.
"You're close with them," Damon smiled and said it as a statement not a question.
"Very. How could you tell?" Elena asked.
"Your whole face lit up when you started to talk about them, it was sweet. They seem like awesome people," Damon said.
"They are, you'd like them. What about you? Tell me about your family," Elena insisted.
"Well, as you know my brother, Stefan lives here in the city with my niece, Zoë. I'm really close with my brother, and I adore my niece. She's five. My mom lives in Mystic Falls, where I'm from. I love her to death, she's the most amazing woman I've ever known. My dad though, he died when I was 17," Damon's voice softened at his last sentence.
Elena felt a pang of guilt from asking him about his family. She gently touched his arm, "I'm sorry, Damon. I didn't know.."
"It's okay, it was a long time ago. We never got along anyway, to be honest. He was always so obvious about favoring Stefan over me. I never held that against Stefan, but it still hurt, you know? I mean I've always been so close with my mom at least," Damon admitted.
Elena got the feeling that there was something Damon wasn't telling her about his relationship with his father, but didn't pry. She barely knew the guy after all and didn't want to come off as overly nosey. Instead of saying anything more, she gave him a small smile before changing the subject.
"So uh, what kind of music do you listen to?" Elena internally rolled her eyes at herself at her lame attempt to change the subject.
"I listen to anything. I like anything from A Tribe Called Quest to The Black Keys. My favorite band though will always be The Beatles," Damon told her.
Her eyes flickered with amusement before she quickly stood up from the park bench and motioned for him to stand up. She pulled his arm along with her and started quickly walking even in her stilettos.
"Jesus, Elena, must you always pull my arm? You're gonna rip it off sooner or later," Damon laughed. "Where are we going?"
"No questions, just follow me," Elena said without turning to look at him.
"As if I have a choice," Damon muttered under his breath.
"I heard that!" She turned around and they both laughed.
They walked for a few more minutes and Elena stopped walking altogether and turned around to look at Damon. She grinned at him before dramatically waving her hands to a sign behind her.
"Here we are, Mr. Salvatore!"
Damon moved to look at the sign behind Elena and instantly smiled. Elena couldn't help but widen her grin just by looking at Damon's face. He truly looked so handsome when he smiled.
"Strawberry Fields? Elena this is so cool!" Damon said excitedly as his eyes twinkled.
Elena was relieved that Damon was happy where she took him. She was actually kind of surprised that he didn't guess she'd take him there after revealing that he loved The Beatles.
The pair explored Strawberry Fields, walking, talking, and enjoying each other's company. They took a lot of pictures on Damon's phone, since being a huge fan of John Lennon, he just had to take pictures of everything.
When they were checking out the "Imagine" memorial, Damon's iPhone started to ring. He grabbed it from his pocket to answer it. Elena watched curiously as Damon picked up the phone.
"Hello?" Damon answered.
"Oh yes. Hello, Mr. Mikaelson….really? Wow thank you so much…. Okay 24 hours then? ….Definitely, I'll let you know by then….thank you, again. Goodbye."
Elena rose her eyebrows at him waiting for an explanation of the phone call. She heard him say 'Mr. Mikaelson' which meant he was talking to Elijah, which also meant that it was about the job. Elena had a pretty good idea on what Elijah just talked to Damon about, but she wanted the confirmation.
"Well?!" Elena asked impatiently.
"I got the job and I have 24 hours to decide whether I want to take it or not," Damon answered her with a hint of glimmer in his eyes.
Elena jumped up and down excitedly and hugged Damon. He laughed at her and returned her hug.
"I told you, you were going to get it! Congratulations! Have you decided yet? How has my convincing done for you so far?"
"So far you've been doing pretty good, I'll admit it. But I'm still not entirely convinced to move here yet and take the job," Damon said.
Elena scowled at him then looked at her gold Rolex for the time. It was nearing eight o'clock. She decided on somewhere to take Damon. Elena wasn't sure it was exactly an exciting place that would bribe him to stay in New York, but it couldn't hurt. After all, who could turn down a drink?
"Okay, come on then. I'm going to buy you a drink," Elena said as she led Damon out of the park.
They once again rode a taxi that took them near the Brooklyn Bridge. She brought him to a modern, outdoor bar that overlooked the water and the bridge. It was actually a very cool spot. There was music playing and a lot of people socializing. Elena looked over at Damon and saw him smirk at their location.
"Outdoor bar, this is more like it," Damon stated and looked at Elena.
"What can I say, I know the way to a man's heart," Elena joked as she led him to the bar. They both took seats and Elena whistled someone over.
"Jer!" she yelled out to one of the bartenders.
A muscular, brown hair, brown eyed guy approached the two of them smiling. He gave Elena a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Lena, what are you doing here?" he asked as he immediately made her a rum and coke without her having to tell him her order.
"I decided to bring my new friend, Damon here. Damon, this is my brother, Jeremy," Elena said introducing the two men.
Damon's mouth formed an 'o' as he put two and two together. He forgot that Elena said her brother was a bartender in Brooklyn. Elena laughed when she read Damon's realization on his face. Damon stuck out his hand to shake it with Elena's older brother.
"Nice to meet you," Damon said coolly.
"You too. What can I get ya? Your drinks are on the house, both of you," Jeremy said.
"Obviously," Elena scoffed.
Jeremy glared at Elena before turning back to Damon, "I don't know how you hang out with her, man. She's a feisty one, my sister is."
"Jer! You're gonna scare him away before I even get to become friends with him. He's been offered the new Art Director job at Esquire, and I'm trying to sell him on New York instead of just the job. You're already ruining it for me," Elena whined even though she knew her brother was joking around.
Damon laughed at the two siblings' banter. Jeremy asked him again what he wanted to drink, "Bourbon, please."
Jeremy nodded and went to go grabbed a glass to pour Damon's drink in.
"I'll talk to you guys later, we're real busy tonight. Duty calls. Oh, and Damon, it'd be cool if you took that job. Like my sister said, New York in itself should be a reason to take it. Regardless of what I said, Elena's fun to hang out with, and at least you'd start out with one friend if you moved here," Jeremy said before walking away to serve more costumers.
Elena smiled gratefully at her big brother. His comment to Damon definitely
couldn't hurt the convincing process of getting him to take this Esquire job. Elena spun in the stool and looked at Damon to continue conversation. As she opened her mouth to say something, Damon cut her off.
"Sold."
"What? What do you mean?" Elena confusedly asked him.
"You sold me on New York. I'll take the job."
Okay guys there's chapter 2! I'm not sure how I feel about it. I'm sorry if it was boring, but it was sort of just setting up the story and introducing Elena's character more.
Like I said before, PM me if you have any ideas for this story! And please please PLEASE leave reviews! I want at least 10 before I update again. Your reviews motivate me to write the next chapter sooner!
Hope you guys liked it x
