Title: Blood and Butterfly Wings
Author: Syrianora
Rating: Mature
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All is used for entertainment, none for profit.
Pairings: Mostly Chuck and Blair. (Implied D/S)
Summary: Chuck Bass is prepared to exact his father's most desired revenge upon the Waldorf family. However, when he meets the object of his revenge, Blair Waldorf, he finds himself entranced by the brown-eyed brunette, and risking everything to have her. AU Chuck and Blair. Mature.
Author's Note: Once again, thanks to all who reviewed and signed up for alerts! I'm so sorry this chapter took forever to update: last week was hellish and I just got down to writing today. I do hope to have another chapter up by the end of the week, but don't quote me! Real life does take some wild turns. As always, enjoy, and reviews are adored :)
Chapter 7: Tough Scotch
"Nothing great was every achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
It had been a most frustrating week to be Bart Bass, head of one of the most successful businesses currently housed in Australia. His accounts had been temporarily frozen due to legality issues, he had lost billions of dollars in a foreign account, and he had recently fired his newest secretary due to her lack of what he deemed common sense. Why would the brainless woman think she could take care of the important documentation he needed to see before printing?
Even more disappointing, recent interviews with potential secretaries had been less than successful.
Was it so difficult to find simple help these days?
He entered his ritual coffee shop, a small café located a couple of blocks from the Australian headquarters of Bass Industries. Keeping his eyes trained on documents help firmly by a trained hand, he stopped at the counter and prepared to order his usual hazelnut coffee with three shots of heavy espresso. He was going to need it for the day he was predicting for himself.
However, he heard an unfamiliar voice of a woman break into his thoughts. "What can I get for you today?"
Immediately not recognizing his usual server, Terri, his eyes lifted upward to collide with the beautiful blue orbs of a blonde waitress.
Her eyes were an endless sea of sapphire, and her short blonde bob stopped loosely at her shoulders, a look most certainly inspired by the European fashion of the time. He found himself dumbfounded by the obviously American woman currently replacing his most loved Terri. "You speak English, right?" she questioned, her accent showcasing a hint of a New Jersey background. "This is an American café."
He nodded slowly, finally finding the voice to return the angel's question. "Where's Terrie?"
The blonde shrugged, chewing expertly at her gum and grabbing an assortment of drink ingredients. "All's I heard was that her boyfriend came by last night and got on his knee." She turned to him with a sneaky smile. "The two eloped this morning."
Bart Bass furrowed his brows in confusion. "She had a boyfriend?"
The blonde did not respond, instead finishing up his rapidly made drink and handing it to the confused elder. "You seem like the hard coffee kind-a-guy, am I right?"
Bart nodded, unable to form a logical thought in front of this carefree character.
"Well, here's a little taste of the wild side of café drinking," the woman winked, handing him a white drink. "Try it. It's my own product."
Bart eyed the concoction warily, the whipped cream and topped caramel unfamiliar to the espresso-drinking tycoon. However, he obeyed the woman's orders and took a generous sip of the Starbucks-like potion.
He liked it.
Before he left the café, his eyes had shifted to the nametag on the woman's uniform, memorizing the name for future reference.
Misty Etherest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*The next hour passed by in a blur for Chuck. Immediately after Blair had left the duo, Dan Humphrey had arrived at the scene, and his presence immediately occupied Serena for the time being. Chuck, who needed time to prepare his next move, embraced Serena's diverted attention and took a relaxed seat at the open bar. He ordered a simple scotch, and the bartender expertly filled a glass with amber liquid.
The liquid burned heavily down his throat. Chuck squeezed his eyes tightly against its strength, immediately yearning for the alcohol of Europe. Parisian scotch was never quite as tough. In fact, in Paris, scotch would slide down the throat in a far more soothing manner than the American scotch. How fitting.
Tough scotch truly mirrored the rough nature of the American girls.
His mind rapidly flashed to a leggy brunette. She was beautiful: no question on that matter. But what perturbed him the most was that her beauty was far more rewarding in person. The collection of modeling pictures his father had provided him with showcased a tidy Blair Waldorf, excessively dolled up to the expectations of her employers. The fashion was exuberant, the makeup was flawless, and he was certain that the creamy complexion of her skin provided her one less thing to worry about in the competitive market of fashion modeling. Chuck had worked with many modeling accounts in his time to know that fashion models usually offered the most beautiful poses when fully worked on by jittery interns.
But to see her in person was a far different experience.
He was incredibly certain that her eyes held the deep hue of burned chocolate. Every dark curl was placed in the most perfect manner. A compelling bone structure that was sure to be envied by any high-fashion model of European brand.
And full lips he couldn't seem to escape.
For the next hour, many women approached Chuck and attempted to learn more about this newest bachelor in the premises. Word had gotten around the social event of the European bachelor currently lounging at the bar, with no obvious woman in sight (or thrown casually around his arm). With such a fulfilling invitation, a secretly uninterested Chuck would have to feign attention to such women, nodding at the opportune moments and flashing a quick smile to show his kindly nature.
After all, he did want these characters to trust him.
He didn't want to arouse suspicion in any way.
Before he handed the stewardess his first-class ticket in Paris, his father had reminded Chuck (the last time of a billion) to avoid bringing the company's name up in any way. First, the possibility of losing current and potential clients was an important matter. Second, Bart wanted to avoid the pretenses Bass Industries would bring to the assignment, for Bart had left behind some committed clients and enraged stockbrokers when he made the decision to move to Paris.
The company's name would have to remain hidden for the entire assignment.
His story was always the same: born and raised in the US, moving to Europe for his father's business (a small jewelry establishment of unknown status in the states), taking some personal time from work to consider some career changes, planning to remain in the country for a couple more weeks. No, he did not have a girlfriend at the present moment. Yes, he was a new friend of Serena's. Yes, he was finding the states to be pleasantly entertaining.
No, he had never met Prince Harry.
And fortunately for him, the girls realized his lack of interest and scurried away.
After nursing his third glass of scotch, his eyes finally found the form of Blair Waldorf. He had been watching her out of the corner of his eye during the entire ordeal with the countless women who had flooded his personal space. It had seemed, however, that the flood had finally washed away and he was to be left with his own thoughts for the rest of the night. His heart lifted in happiness.
He inwardly grinned as she sat, quite uncomfortably, a few inches away from Dan and Serena, who were wasting no time in mauling each other in public. The duo had obviously sorted out their problems for five minutes and had begun to show their open affection to all interested parties.
Blair, however, kept her eyes glued on the ground, dark curls long and flowing and perfectly in place, hands folded on her lap pristinely, her gaze finding some sort of interest in the bland floor tiling of the club.
Just as he was about to approach her for a well-planned conversation (he had studied her enough for the past few days to know her exact responses to his carefully posed questions), he saw another dark figure make his way to the obviously annoyed brunette.
With trained eyes, he immediately recognized the dark figure as EJ, Blair's ex-boyfriend. The European was tall (a bit too tall for Blair's height, he noted), honestly built, and dressed a bit casually as compared to others. EJ was seemingly trying to charm Blair, who was attempting to ignore the character by keeping her eyes steady on the tiling and refusing his advances. Finally, when the European charmer was met with Blair's frightening glare, in a blatant attempt to reject his advances, EJ returned with a bright smile, fingers curling around her arm and tugging her form loosely upward to meet his eyes.
Instantly, Chuck saw red. He felt his blood boil at the callous way the man was treating Blair. When Blair made an attempt to pull her arm out of the man's death grip, EJ merely tugged even tighter.
His fingers seemed to be bruising into the tender flesh.
With a set jaw, Chuck grabbed his drink and made his way over to a struggling Blair, who was attempting to pull out of EJ's hold without attracting any unnecessary attention and possibly ruining Serena's birthday party.
Blair Waldorf. Always taking care of others, no matter the cost to herself.
"EJ, I said NO –"
"What seems to be the problem?"
EJ's enraged eyes met the dark eyes of Chuck Bass, and he flashed a perceptibly fake smile, releasing Blair at once. "No problem here."
The two held a gaze for a few moments, and Chuck turned his eyes to Blair to assess her condition. Her deep brown orbs held a terrified glow to them, bottom lip tugged between her teeth in a nervous habit. He brought a comforting arm around her, pulling her shivering form closer to his. "I do hope you're not upsetting Miss Waldorf here."
EJ sneered. "The lady and I were just talking; that's all."
Chuck nodded slowly, deliberately showing his distrust of the fellow. "You're sure Miss Waldorf will attest to that?"
A moment of silence passed. EJ offered a frightening grin, bringing a relaxed hand to rub gently at the stubble on his chin. "I'm sure she will."
Chuck turned to Blair, who had shifted her terrified eyes back to EJ's cold ones. She made an attempt to speak, blatantly looking like a petrified liar in front of EJ's smirking gaze. Chuck narrowed his eyes, resting a hand on the small curve of her back.
"A jealous ex-boyfriend, I presume?"
Shocked eyes turned to meet the narrow eyes of Chuck Bass, and she made no move to speak.
EJ, however, grew enraged at Chuck's simple response. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
Chuck returned with his signature smirk, and he turned to Blair to meet her stunned reaction. "A drink, Miss Waldorf?"
And Blair realized his most carefully orchestrated plan. She returned with a sneaky smile, looping an arm into his offered one and meeting EJ's surprised gaze. "I'd love to."
And with that, the duo sauntered over to the bar, leaving a stunned and enraged EJ in their wake.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I hope you enjoyed! CB will have a more fulfilling conversation next chapter: stay tuned!
As always, thanks for reading! Reviews are adored :)
