A/N: Thank you to all of the readers of this story. It means a lot to me that several people have favorited, followed or reviewed this story. I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter.
Chapter 8
Elsa could feel a dreadful chill run down her spine as she watched Blake approach her. The man's presence was something that she wished to avoid entirely. Over the past two weeks, she was practically forced to go out with him five times.
She was afraid to break things off with him romantically until after the renovations were complete. She was certain that the man was just the sort to take a lack of romantic interest as an insult and then withdraw from the deal all together. At this point, they had already purchased supplies and hired a crew and were about to break ground.
The renovations were on the verge of beginning and Elsa was practically sick with anticipation. She desperately wanted for it to be completed so she could move on to this next chapter in her life. She also wanted it to be over so she could tell off Blake.
"Elsa, darling how are you this evening?" his voice was dripping with a certain arrogance that irritated her to no end.
"I am well, Blake. How are you?" she answered simply, turning to North and Jack in hopes that they could make a good distraction for her so she could send Blake on his way for the night.
Jack glanced up from the floor plan he and North studied at the sound of Elsa's voice. Oh, great; it was Blake. The man was like a cockroach. Jack raised a petulant eyebrow at Elsa as she looked to him in desperation; her back was turned to Pitch so he was unable to see her expression.
'What do you want me to do about it? You're the one that won't just turn him down.' Jack thought irritably, if not also a little jealously.
Pitch had made his presence at the club very well-known over the past two weeks as he had insisted on stealing away as much of Elsa's time as he deemed necessary. The very fact irritated Jack to a level that wasn't what he considered normal for himself so he chose to do his best to hide it. At that very moment, though, he was having a hard time…
Elsa ventured over to the pair that was set up at the stage going over the floor plan with Pitch following close behind. Jack had given her an irritated look and she knew all too well what it meant. He was mad at her, even though he had absolutely no right to be. It wasn't like they were dating each other exclusively or anything. At that very moment, she wished he would be on her side as she was about to use him to stay away from Pitch for as long as possible…
"So how long do you think it will take to finish?" she asked, coming to stand by North.
He would keep Pitch away from her, as the dark man could not stand to be within arm's reach of North. After all North was a very touchy-feely kind of person; he enjoyed a good back pat and a jovial push every now and again. As predicted the man stayed a good six feet away from North as Elsa settled in less than a foot away from his left side.
"It depends," Jack answered cryptically.
Elsa knew that he was doing it to be annoying, so she snapped back, "Depends on what?"
"On when we get started," Jack answered back sweetly, with a toothy grin.
Elsa found herself rolling her eyes at his childish behavior. Why couldn't he just quit being such a brat?
"Well then when are we going to get started?"
"There you go. Ask the right questions and you'll get the right answers," Jack commented smugly as he leaned back against the side of the stage.
Elsa felt like slapping him.
"If we start immediately, we can probably finish up before it starts getting too cold. There really isn't that much to do to finish the job," Jack began, speaking confidently as he was in his element, "We just need to tear down the stage and turn the bar into a waiting area. We also need to develop a foyer thing up by the front door."
"A foyer-thing?" Pitch questioned snidely.
"Yes, a foyer-thing," Jack answered back sarcastically, "We can make that into a receptionist area. That will lead around the outer wall to the waiting area and then onto the dance floor, which should be pretty spacious."
Elsa could not contain the smile that was growing on her face as she listened excitedly. Her dreams were going to come true all thanks to Jack. Really if it hadn't been for his quick thinking in her dressing room and even his volunteered assistance, this may not be happening at that very moment. After this, and even now, he would always hold a special place in her heart.
The smile that broke out onto Elsa's face was not lost on him and, at that, Jack decided to go easier on her. She was most likely being coerced into the dates she had to suffer through with the dark man and he just didn't have the heart to hold that against her for forever.
"Eto sovershenno udivitel'noye!" [1] North cheered out, clasping onto Jack's upper arms and shaking him slightly in his excitement.
At that very moment, an idea was formulated in Elsa's mind. She placed a gentle hand on North's arm to calm his excitement as he released Jack. The slighter man stumbled back dizzily against the stage as he tried to regain his footing.
"So if we start this project sooner rather than later, what kind of a timeline are we looking at?" Elsa asked, setting her plan into motion.
"I'd say before Christmas at the latest," Jack answered, glancing down at his floor plan and failing to see the significant look in Elsa's eyes.
"Zamechatel'nyy!" North cheered, thrusting his hands into the air.
'That's right North, keep speaking Russian,' Elsa thought, continuing on in her plan, "You've been having a difficult time understanding North though, haven't you?" her words were slightly stressed as she gave Jack a meaningful look that wasn't lost on him this time.
"Lyubov', I speak good," North chastised before straightening up slightly in realization as she gave him a glare.
"You speak well North, well," she corrected, "I've been teaching him how to speak proper English for the last three years and this is as far as I've gotten," she explained with a smile to Pitch.
The dark man watched the exchange with a bored expression on his face.
"Vy vse yeshche khotite , chtoby ya govoril po-russki?" [2]
Elsa nodded to him minutely as she looked over at Jack's confused face, "If we begin the renovations immediately, what will the work hours look like?"
Jack finally caught on at this question. She was trying to supply Pitch with an excuse so she could avoid him! This was perfect!
"Despite the simplicity of the renovation it'll take a lot of man hours to get it done before the holidays. North over here also said he wanted to oversee the entire thing since it is his place of business. I'm a little worried that I might have trouble talking to him," Jack assisted with a grin, taking note of an irritated expression as it crossed Pitch's face.
"Well, I could translate for you," Elsa offered insistently.
"That is perfect idea lyubov'!" North exclaimed excitedly.
"I agree," Jack concurred, "it'd be very helpful in getting the renovations done quickly."
"Will we be able to see each other my pet?" Pitch asked uncertainly, drawing the group's attention.
Elsa had to restrain the urge to roll her eyes at the 'pet' name, "From the looks of it, that may be difficult, Blake," she answered with little sympathy, "I should also take my evenings to practice some choreography and get together some class curriculums so that I'll be prepared for when the studio opens. I can't run a dance studio if I'm not prepared after all."
A sour look crossed Blake's face as he agreed grudgingly, "If that is the case, then I will bid you a good evening my dear."
"Bye!" Elsa said excitedly before turning to look over the floor plan with North and Jack in a sign of dismissal.
"Clever girl," Jack murmured into her ear and smiled as he noticed it turning pink with a blush.
A/N: I know the excuse to avoid Pitch may be pretty weak, but to me the excuses that Saten and Christian used in the 2001 movie were pretty weak as well. Also, The Duke didn't really put up much of a fight about it until later… So please review and tell me what you think.
"This is absolutely amazing!" [1]
"Do you still want me to speak Russian?" [2]
