Second Chances
By Ani aka Cherished Dreams
Disclaimer: I don't own Stephenie Meyer's characters. I own the plot though!
Chapter Eight
"You look beautiful Bella." Mike complimented as he helped Bella step out of the taxi. She dug her fingers into his arm and clung onto him for dear life, afraid the heels she was wearing would suddenly collapse beneath her. He steadied her with a grin on his face.
She looked at him thankfully and appraised his attire. "You brush up nicely as well Mike."
They laughed briefly at their silliness and he led the way up the stairs of the Waldorf Astoria and signing into the Grand Ballroom dodging a few frustrated press personnel at not being able to get in.
"Bella! You look stunning! Let me see that dress on you." Catalina gushed, rushing up to meet them.
Her baby blue eyed friend, the traitor, took her hand and spun her around making it almost seem elegant. "Approved. Now!" Her conspiring editor said clapping her hands. "Let's get you to our table, they're about to start. You'll both be sitting with me and with a few of my colleagues and their vips." She tugged on Bella's arm and with wide eyes she dragged a chuckling Mike along trailing behind them.
She turned to Mike, "Rawr, Bella girl, better stake your claim on this one before the other desperado singles spy him." She said winking at her playfully. He laughed, stubbed a thumb at her and rolled his eyes mockingly. He played the part of a gentleman perfectly and helped them slide into their seats, just as the MC started the show.
Dinner was served soon after and conversation sparked throughout the tables. Bella didn't miss that a couple of chairs were unoccupied. "So Catalina, I hear Isabella is starting a new book. How is that coming along?" Bella tensed. Cat's colleagues didn't know her pseudonym; she didn't know whether the question was directed to Swan or to Marsen.
If Cat was worried, she didn't show it. "You mean my Washington client or Bella here? She asked politely. Bella recognized the venom in her underlying tone, and she smiled lifting her champagne chute to her lips. Adam Fletcher, the editor who'd asked the question had once envied Catalina for get the top sellers. It seemed like he had never gotten over it.
"You know that must be hard for you; the whole having two Isabella's. I believe Miss Swan earlier stated that she wouldn't be writing much except a few short stories. I'm confused, did she mistakenly mean she was writing a short stories book or ...?" He ended, a mocking stare on his pale face, encouraging the others at the table to finish off the thought. Was the Isabella at the table the real Isabella Marsen? Or was she another one of those lucky bumbling authors, who'd spit one out and was never heard from again?
Angry tears started to well up in her eyes. Catalina's face paled slightly and her hand went straight to her stomach, as if trying to protect her unborn child from this man. Bella started to open her mouth to defend herself, when her friend interceded for her.
"Actually Mr Fletcher, Bella recently submitted the proposal to Catalina. Cat must've overlooked it, what with her planning her child's new life and all." He paused for effect, glancing around the table at surprised yet nodding faces. "And Catalina was just telling us earlier that she was stressing over having to hand over her two best clients to a Tristan as they're both working on their latest book projects."
When he'd finished, Adam had a non-subtle glare on his face directed at Mike, with the others at the table nodding and smiling at the young man who'd just shut their cocky colleague up and defended his friends. The females were completely won over. Music started and people took the opportunity to move to the open bar and mingle with the other guests. Adam and a few others left the table. Adam left with an almighty huff.
"Thanks Mike," Bella whispered, cheeks reddening, still slightly surprised with the turn their dinner conversation had gone. "No problem. Cat you ok?" She nodded thankfully on Bella's other side, her complexion turning to their natural warm colour.
"Anything from the bar Bell?" He asked standing, spying the bar. "A lemon lime and bitter?" He nodded, "Cat?" Bella frowned, "she's not supposed to have alcohol." He smiled smugly down at her. "There's more to a bar than just alcohol, ya know. There's coke and OJ."
"Nothing for me Mike and with a nod he left.
Once he left, the girls at the table moved themselves to the empty seats surrounding the two. "Where--?" "Is he..?" Bella's face flushed bright red uncomfortably. "It's not like that. He's just a really good friend of mine since high school."
"So is he open market?" She frowned slightly. Feelings stirred disturbingly within her. She caught herself before she found herself thinking thoughts that ought not to be thought. She'd only just turned him and a chance of them, down at Thanksgiving. "Maybe you should ask him that question. I don't know." She answered curtly before excusing herself, catching Celia waving at her, from where she had been seated.
As the night drove on, Bella found herself being introduced to new faces, whose names had high titles attached to them, but she mostly found herself chatting with a few of her fellow authors with Mike. She'd even let him drag her out onto the floor, when people were minimal to dance.
When she'd finally gotten tired, she found herself sitting in her seat her eyes closed, humming along to the band's songs and Celia leaning against her. "Iz?" The girl asked snuggling into her side further, forcing her to wrap her arm around the girl. "Yeah Cee?"
"D'you have a boyfriend yet?"
She frowned, eyes still closed. "I used to have one, I don't have one anymore. Why?"
A slow Frank Sinatra song started up and she could hear chairs scraping around her, people getting up to dance. 'Someday, when I'm awful low…' the baritone voice cooed gently, in the background. "You seem sad. And I overheard Cat say that your writings' are sad too. Why don't you have one anymore? Don't you love him anymore?"
'Oh but you're lovely, with your smile so warm and your cheek so soft, there is nothing for me but to love you…'
"Oh but I do… still love him. He went away, and left me." She half-whispered, stroking the girl's bouncy curls.
They listened some more to the song. Perhaps Celia had finally fallen asleep and her line of interrogation had finished. She sighed. Something always seemed to bring him back into the picture, though he had gone so long ago. Would the fissure in her heart ever fully heal? She thought long ago that she'd finally been able to love him but leave the sadness in her past, and yet…
'…your tenderness grows tearing my fears apart. And that laugh that wrinkles your nose touches my foolish heart.'
"…so he didn't love you anymore?" The girl whispered, sadness creeping into her voice.
"He said he did." She mumbled.
"Then why did he leave you?" She exclaimed, not understanding.
"Because he loved me." She replied dumbly. Even Celia wouldn't be able to find the logic in that. She barely had. Once she'd gotten over, the harsh words he'd said to her that night, she'd barely pieced together why he'd left - to protect her, that when he'd said that he'd 'always love her', he meant the words with so much more feeling than was had been in his cold voice.
"I don't understand Iz." She sighed frustrated.
"Me neither, Cee. Me neither." The girl's annoyance lifted the gloom over her head somewhat, a strange kind of amusement starting to fill her.
'Never never change, keep that breathless charm, won't you please arrange it, 'cause I… I love you.'
Only when something brushed against her cheek, did she realize that stray tears had escaped and someone had begun to wipe them away. Horrified, her eyes flew open to meet a pair of green eyes, attached to a concerned male face.
"A pretty girl like you shouldn't cry. I know Ceily's mean and all but still." He said with a half smile, at an attempt to make her smile. Celia scrunched her face up and punched his shoulder. He rubbed it making it seem like it hurt. "Here." He said placing the handkerchief in her hand. Her eyes softened at the affection between them and she dabbed at her eyes and cheeks. "Thanks."
"Bella this is TJ. TJ this is Bella." Celia said introducing them. They shook hands. "TJ's one of them. An editor." She whispered conspiratorially, making a face. Bella forced a giggle for her, and the girl joined her but their giggles soon turned into laughter when they spied TJ's sullen face.
"Celia! There you are." A woman called, she waved her arm.
"I better go guys. Hopefully I'll see you both at the next big one." The girl said smiling happily, hugging them both before she skipped over to her mother.
"You're Catalina's charge right?" TJ said shoving his hands in his pockets looking up at her under his lashes, a slight smile on his face. She could feel a blush coming on, but nodded shyly. "So…" he said sitting down, joining her.
"Ok folks, this will be the last one for the night." A soft tune started up and washed over them in gentle waves. "Would you like to dance?" TJ asked, nudging her with an elbow comfortably. Bella made an involuntary face; her answer to that was automatic. "I'm sorry, but I can't dance." She hoped he hadn't seen her cling onto Mike throughout their earlier dance.
He made a comical mock-shocked face and she had to bite her bottom lips to keep from the laughter cascading out. "Surely not!" She shook her head at him smiling, "It's true." He chuckled briefly, "It's all in the leading. I promise to avoid your feet if they look like they'll step on mine." She smiled, amused at his answer and persistence. "I'd rather not send you to the hospital." He chuckled some more but shrugged in defeat. "Some other time then."
They watched the couples on the floor as they moved like they were floating on air and Bella couldn't help but envy their gracefulness. "So what do you do when you're not writing? I assume you're a writer from Celia's earlier outburst." He asked eyes trained on the dancers on the floor. "I'm an English university student." She replied. He nodded in acknowledgment. "Just got out myself."
Something about him that held her; she couldn't quite figure out what it was. He was certainly attractive, and caring. She'd loved the way he had interacted with Celia earlier and the comfortable atmosphere he created being near. Bella felt herself… hooked. In a way. She couldn't explain it any other way (this annoyed her; surely her vocabulary would be a bit bigger?)
"Hey Tris! Let's go dude. Quick!" One of Adam's clients waved at him frantically, trying to hide behind a group of people from his editor, who was looking slightly drunk standing up wobbly by the bar, searching the room. "Guess I'll be hearing from you soon then?" He said smiling at her.
She smiled back nodding and reached out to return his handkerchief. He shook his hand and pushed it back to her closing her fingers over it with his. She felt a warm electricity flow move through their fingers. "Keep it. You look like you need it more."
Then he took her hand quickly spun it around and brushed his lips lightly against her knuckles. Her heart beat against her ribcage frantically. Who was this guy? How did he have such an effect on her?
As quickly as he had done it, he had gone leaving her there. Catalina was by her side in seconds. "Oohh, what happened to being professional huh Swan? Tristan that good looking to you?" Bella stood up fast surprised by her editor's appearance but wobbled slightly unbalanced on her heels before strong hands steadied her from behind.
"Can't even stand up now Bell? Will Ben need to work you from the start again?" Mike's voice teased behind her. "You know how to crawl at least right?" He asked, face serious. She stuck out her tongue and moved to whack him on the arm. Just as she did so, her feet tangled and she felt herself falling. Luckily, the blonde was right there and caught her easily enough.
"Hmm… I wonder what'll happen when she starts working with that boy come New Year's..." Her Filipino friend thought aloud, mumbling to herself, obviously amused at the situation. Bella sighed heavily. She'd never get over it now that she'd seen their interaction together.
"Alright, then it seems like we'll never get out of here unless we do something drastic." He said grinning from ear to ear. He lifted the woman in his arms bridal style and the editor laughed, chucking her charge's purse into her lap. Bella yelped at the sudden loss of control of her up-rightedness, started to protest.
"Bye Bella. I hope to see you soon Mike; you're a ton of fun." Catalina said waving them out. "It was nice meeting you too Catalina." He said winking, before walking out of the room. Bella huffed, but waved to her friend before she disappeared around the corner.
Author's Note: dum dum dum! Ok. Song lyrics up there: '…your tenderness grows tearing my fears apart. And that laugh that wrinkles your nose touches my foolish heart.' etc – all the ones in italics, are from Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight. But I'm actually listening to the Tony Bennett version because it's slower and … just much nicer for me – for dancing. (Check my LJ to hear)
Does this fic open a new whole can of worm—I mean musings/questions about the future? (Pairing still stands)
Le sigh – I want to add some Cullen commentary/scenes while Bella's life is going on (where-ever they are). I was thinking of doing it at the end – but I forget stuff quickly unless I write them down and post them up just as quickly. So my question is… will you get confused or kill me if I make a few side stories about the Cullens?
What's your take on it? Thoughts and suggestions welcome.
